Author's Notes: Hey, guys! Sorry for taking a while. Life's been busy. Quick few life updates on myself (if anybody is curious): I got vaccinated and I'm allowed to travel somewhat far from home if need be. I got a "Student's Drivers License" so I can drive only with supervision now. And currently, I'm trying to gather papers I might need to apply for a service crew job in a fast-food chain down the street. I think most of you have heard of McD's. Hopefully, everything goes well. No worries though! I'll do my best to still keep working on this story. I wish I could update my stories as fast as the others...
Oh! And there are a few minor changes so... This chapter's title was supposed to be "Waifu Tier List Part 2" but I just thought the new current title is a bit more fitting.
Announcements for the next chapter will be on the Author's Notes at the end of this one. Anyways, enjoy!
In team CRDL's room...
Everyone was sitting on the floor except for Dove, who was manning the computer, and Russel who opted for the bed.
"A tier list?" Jaune asked.
And to that, Sky answered, "Yeah! We're gonna give all the girls we know of a rank and see who the best are. It'll be fun!"
Jaune wasn't ecstatic though. "I think I'll pass. I'm not sure if this is such a good idea. I mean, how would you guys feel if people talked about you guys behind your backs?"
"Pretty bummed. But people talk smack about us all the time." Cardin said.
Ren put his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow. "And whose fault do you think that is?"
"I get it. I get it... Our team kinda racked up a pretty bad rep."
"Hey, man. It's fine. Girls gossip about us guys all the time." Dove said. "We're not doing something bad here."
Jaune remembered he had plenty of sisters doing exactly just that even at the dining table. "Fine, I'm in."
"Good man!" Cardin gave him a few pats on the back. "Now who should we rank first?"
Sky tapped on Jaune's shoulder. "How about we start with your teammates and your other lady friends? Just so we could get them out of the way."
The blonde was not sure and turned his head to Ren for an answer.
He simply shrugged. "I don't see why not."
Ruby gasped and yelled out to the gang. "Hey everyone! The boys are gonna make a tier list and rank us!"
"Ooo~" Nora, who was laid down on the floor got back up again and got behind Penny, eyeing the scroll with great interest.
Pyrrha was already sitting beside Penny, opposite Ruby, and leaned in closer.
"Finally! Somethin' interesting is going on." Yang stood beside Nora and watched along.
Weiss remained on her desk, and Blake on her bed, reading textbooks for that upcoming history test their professor announced. Though they did keep an ear out to listen in.
"Wanna make predictions? I bet I'm gonna be pretty high up there~"
Ruby turned to her sister and placed a finger on her lips pointing upwards. "Shush, Yang! They're starting!"
"Okay then! Who was your partner again? Nora, was it?"
Ren nodded. "Nora Valkyrie. Yes."
"Let me just pull up her profile real quick." Dove Bronzewing typed in her name and then pressed enter. Her basic information was displayed on the screen along with a couple of images. The screen was big enough for everyone to see without having to go near.
"Where do you even get this stuff?" Jaune asked.
"Beacon's database. Everyone has access to them."
"Everyone? Really?"
"Yeah, just basic info. Name, age, height, weight, stuff like that."
Russel sat up and took a good look at the images. "Huh... Not bad."
She was wearing her classic black sleeveless vest with a white T-shirt underneath. For the bottom half, she wore her short pink skirt and white ankle boots.
The girl assumed a wacky pose, standing on one foot while the other is balancing a big chess piece on the sole of her feet, specifically a rook. Her upper body was bent forward to keep herself balanced while both of her hands were face-down, fingertips lying under her chin.
In the next picture was her in Beacon's uniform. Red plait skirt, tanned vest, white T-shirt with a red ribbon tied at the color... Standard stuff. She had a huge toothy grin with her eyes closed with a hand raised, waving at the camera.
The guy turned to his teammates. "Don't know much about her. She seems like a solid B-Tier though."
"Yeah, sounds about right." As Cardin commented, the rest of his teammates nod in agreement.
Then Jaune butted in with a question. "Wait. Are we just judging based on looks here? Or..."
"If we knew what she's like, we'd probably rank her up higher..." Dove then turned back to the computer. "... Or lower. It depends. She seems cute though so, I think B-tier is reasonable."
"I say we bump her up higher," Ren commented, earning the stares of everyone.
"Yeah, I agree." Jaune seconded.
"Tell us why then we'll decide." Cardin, as well as the rest of the guys, listened in on what he had to say.
"Nora has a bubbly personality. She's hyperactive. Likes pancakes. She can be a clutz at times but she's very dependable." Ren paused briefly and smiled, deep in his thoughts for a quick moment. "She's definitely an A - tier at the very least if not S."
"Couldn't have said it better myself." Jaune lifted his hand for a high five.
Ren obliged and slapped hands with his leader.
"Isn't she like... A bit crazy though? I've seen her fight in our combat classes. And even in the Vytal festival tournament." Russel began laughing as he remembered the look on team JNPR's opponents back then. "She single-handedly launched everyone off the platform."
"She's CRAZY strong. I bet getting a hug from her hurts a whole lot." Sky said as he started imagining it.
"Oh, believe me. It does hurt." Jaune chuckled a bit. "But what's wrong with her being strong? She can control her strength. Got hugged by her from time to time and she doesn't squeeze me that hard anymore."
"Nothing's wrong, dude. It's just... she's kinda intimidating. She's cute and all but I don't see myself dating someone like that any time soon."
Ren simply looked at Sky, his expression was really hard to read.
The blue-haired guy had both his hands raised to chest level. "Hey, dude... It's a personal and honest opinion. Don't get mad."
"I'm not." He shrugged. "It's a respectable opinion."
"Aww... that's so nice~ I'll take it." Nora had a satisfied smile on her and laid back down on the floor, resting her head on Penny's lap.
"Ay, ~ A-tier ain't bad. Boys find ya pretty attractive~ I can't wait for my tur-"
"Yang! What did I just say?!" Ruby lightly punched her sister on her arm.
"Next!" Cardin said.
Responding with a nod, Dove immediately put Jaune's partner on the screen. "Pyrrha Nikos."
The redhead paid very close attention as soon as her name was called. She would even subconsciously inch her face closer towards Penny's scroll.
The image they used for her was the same thing as Nora's. The first picture was of the athlete in her combat attire, a brown overbust corset with a vertical strip of lighter brown in the center, and a miniskirt with a long red sash wrapping over it. She also wore bronze greaves starting below her mid-thigh down to her boots and a pair of cuisses for thigh protection. She was assuming a battle stance in the image, feet apart with her left foot forward, shield up and her short sword ready to strike.
Everyone, including Ren, had their eyes on the blonde.
"What?"
Sky shrugged. "I mean she's your partner."
"Yeah. You know her more than we do." Russel then looked at the screen, pinching his chin. "Without considering her personality, her looks and social status put her on S-tier in my book. So what's she like?"
"I'm surprised that you guys aren't judging mostly by looks alone."
Dove leaned his head back, seemingly offended by the statement. "I beg your pardon?"
Suddenly, Cardin's arm wrapped around Jaune's shoulder, giving him a couple of pats before pulling him close. "Look. We are men of culture. How shallow do you think we are?"
"Pretty darn shallow..." Ren simply answered.
"Oh, I'm not. Same for the rest of us! Right guys?" Cardin turned to the rest of his teammates looking for some form of validation.
Dove nodded approvingly.
Sky fistpumped. "Oh, heeeell yeah!"
"Russel?"
"Yeah yeah... I'm with you, dude." He immediately brushed his leader off and then asked Jaune. "So... Is she one of those celebs who act real nice in front of people, especially the camera, but is kinda really bad once you get to know them?"
"Of course not!" He stood up straight and tall, looming over the guy on the bed. His body language oozes of picking a fight.
The mohawk-haired guy scooted back and had both his hands up. "Whoa whoa! Hey! Chill there, buddy. I wasn't assuming that she is. Just asked because it's a common stereotype I see in movies."
"Well, she's not! Far from it even."
"Then tell us, man. What's she like?" Despite Jaune's slight aggression, Sky remained calm and collected.
He turned his head left and right, looking at all their faces. The rest seemed to feel awkward or uncomfortable. He sighed. "S-Sorry." Jaune sat back down and started speaking his thoughts on the matter. "Pyrrha is very... no... wait... EXTREMELY nice. Like, you wouldn't believe. I don't know anyone else who apologizes for every little thing, even ones that weren't necessarily her fault. She's also a good listener, very smart... She probably even has a photographic memory. And it's not just for class to keep her grades up. In all the time I spent here in Beacon, I only mentioned what my favorite food is once. So whenever I happen to be late for lunch, she always gets it for me and even pays for the meal... Which is also very thoughtful of her. I kinda feel bad when she doesn't let me pay what I owe her though."
"..." The boys were silent, listening to him with no interruptions.
"Oh! I forgot the best part! She's also extremely helpful." He began recounting the times Pyrrha have had his back. "She's been training me patiently every other night. Helping me with my studies... Anything I can improve at all. I can't remember a time where I was struggling without her trying to aid me however she can... even when I don't deserve it."
"Go, Pyrrha!" Nora cheered, raising both her fists up.
Pyrrha had noticeable reddening cheeks as she listened in.
"Aw~ Someone cares for little our Jauney~" Yang gave Pyrrha a few supportive pats on the back.
"That explains why Pyrrha had an advantage." Ruby frowned, poking her forefinger's tips against each other.
"..." The heiress beside her, though jealous, made it look like she was unaffected by Jaune's compliments towards his partner by maintaining composure.
"Hm." Penny just kept on observing Jaune, Ren, and team CRDL on her scroll with a blank expression, with a hint of interest.
Blake was sitting on her bed, reading while still keeping an ear out for the boys' conversation.
"She's that good?" Russel asked. "You never run into any problems with her? How about... How do you think she feels about you being her leader despite you being... well uh... You know..."
"Dude? You're not exactly... the sharpest tool in the shed, get my drift?"
Jaune raised a brow. "Uh... Beg your pardon?"
"Damn it, Jaune! That's a basic idiom!" Dove was cringing and fuming at his response. "You're inept!"
"Yeah... No offense, but you're kinda dumb and probably the least skilled fighter here in Beacon. Sky here is a close second though, "Cardin closed his hand and pointed backward with his hand towards the halberd user of the team.
"HEY! I'm not that bad!"
Ignoring his blue-haired teammate, Russel turned to Jaune and said, "Yeah, bro. You suck. Pyrrha ain't bothered by that?"
"She's not!"
"At least... At least I don't think she is. Now that I think about it, I kinda feel bad for being the dead weight of the team."
"You're far from being dead weight, Jaune." Ren placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're great at delegating tasks according to our strengths."
"Yeah, that's... That's what leading means, right?" Sky had a sheepish grin on his face, having one of his hands on the back of his neck.
With their words, Jaune's frown turned upside down. "Thanks, you guy-"
"Yeah yeah. Great. Could we please just get back to the tier list?" Cardin interrupted. "Dude... Rank her."
"S-tier. Definitely S-tier."
The rest of the boys seem to agree...
Except for Cardin. "Well, I don't like her. I think she should be on A-tier."
Yang rolled her eyes. "Oh, here we go..."
Now everyone's eyes were on him.
Ren raised a brow.
Jaune had mixed feelings with Cardin's statement but decided to ask, "Why?"
Before he could answer, Dove butted in. "Was it because she beat you that one time?"
"It's more than just that, dude. Don't you guys think she's too... perfect?"
"Is that a bad thing? Or..."
"I'd like to argue that it is. I just think someone like her is... unrealistic. She must have some sort of flaw. I mean, flaws are what makes us humans, to begin with, am I right?"
Everyone was taken aback by his words.
"Wow... That's deep." Russel smirked just to be a tease to his leader. "I bet you're just jealous."
"Dude, I'm not! Seriously! Her goody-two-shoes attitude... It's annoying. I don't like people who think they could do no wrong."
"Pyrrha never claimed anything like that."
"She implies it through her actions."
"I don't think she would apologize for every single little thing if she did."
"Guys! Guys! Calm down." Dove put a stop to them and decided... "Let's just put it to a vote. For those in favor of ranking Pyrrha S-tier, raise your hands."
Jaune, Ren, Sky, and Russel raised their hands.
"Then it's decided." He finally placed her picture on her designated rank.
"Tch." Cardin crossed his arms and turned away. "Fine."
"If it makes you feel any better, I agree with you," Dove said.
"Thanks."
Sky tapped on Jaune's shoulder. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask. How did you and Pyrrha become a thing?"
"..." The blonde took a few seconds to process his words. "What?"
"Yeah, when and how did you two start dating?" Russel pressed on.
"We... We're not actually... dating."
"Wait... Really?! I could've sworn-" And then realization hit him. "Wait Wait... Hold on." And now Sky started laughing out loud. "I can't believe it! You have no idea that she's into you."
"..." Jaune's face turned red. "I mean... Does she?"
Pyrrha's eyes shot wide open. Now both her hands were on Penny's shoulders as she slightly leaned closer towards the robot girl's scroll, so much so that she started to obstruct Weiss' view.
Instead of asking the red-head to move out of the way, she simply sighed and sat on her bed frowning as she listened in on the conversation.
"Is this actually happening right now?!" Nora quickly got up from the floor and took a spot to get a good look at Penny's scroll.
Yang's eyes widen too. She froze for a quick second before making a decision, about to walk towards the door. "Should I crash their party?"
Three girls gave their answers at the same time.
"NO!" Pyrrha and Nora said in unison, the latter grabbing Yang's arm.
"YES!" Weiss shouted, earning the rest of the girls' stares.
Realizing the implications of what she just said, Weiss was tempted to outright leave the room in embarrassment. She decided not to, turning away. She at least wanted to know how the boys' conversation will go.
And now Cardin told Ren. "You guys didn't tell him?"
"I just thought letting this play out was best. Let him figure it out on his own."
"And how's that workin' out for ya? Bet there was no progress made at all."
Jaune suddenly raised his voice to interrupt. "Since when?"
"And how could you guys tell that she..." There was a brief pause from the blonde, still in a bit of denial. "...likes me?"
Sky gave a defeated sigh and started talking in a harsh sarcastic tone. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with her training you every other night? Her being always so suuuper helpful to ya? Oh, and don't even mention all the sappy stuff you both talk about."
"W-Wait, how do you even know about those?! You've been spying on us or something?"
"Not intentional, dude. You two make clankin' noises all night with all that sword training. CRDL's team aren't the only ones who know about it."
Russel began to chuckle and shared a story of his own. "Cardin wanted to get up there one time to stop you two from making so much noise, but the teams from the other dorms nearby stopped him. Apparently, they didn't want anyone ruining their soap opera."
"And at that point, gossips spread about you and Pyrrha possibly dating. Or at least the prodigy girl having a crush on some blonde clutz." Cardin gave him a few pats on the back.
"..." Jaune couldn't look them in the eye. Inside him, he felt a tad bit guilty for not knowing, and yet there's still that one side of him that's in denial. "Or... Maybe she's trying to be a good friend?"
"I don't know what to tell you at this point, man. If you don't believe me and my team, ask your friend, Ren, over here."
He just sat there, awkwardly staring at his blonde leader.
In turn, Jaune stared back, obviously waiting for an answer. "Does she really-?"
"Yes, Jaune. She likes you. The best way I can describe it is that she has a 'schoolgirl crush' on you."
Hearing that from who he considered 'the brother he never had', his doubts were mostly gone. Jaune was more inclined to believe that his partner had those feelings towards him for a while now. "B-But... why me though?"
"I think it would be best if you ask her yourself."
"..." He was deep in thought for a brief moment. Then he internally panicked. "Oh, this is bad. Really really bad... Why do things have to get so complicated?"
"Complicated? Dude, you're probably gonna make this unnecessarily hard for yourself. What are you talking about?"
"I think it's because another girl already confessed to him recently."
The room went briefly silent before Sky spoke in a somewhat comical fashion, standing up and pointing to him. "No way... How are you this lucky with girls, man? As your new homies, we demand to know your secrets!"
Cardin however was not convinced. He pointed at the blonde as he spoke to Ren. "This dude? I've seen this guy flirt. It never gets him anywhere. Uh... No offense, Jauney boy."
Ren nodded. "Yes, but a girl actually did approach us in the cafeteria and pretty much admitted that she has a crush on him."
"G-Guys? I think I know who he's talkin' about." Russel then got off of his bed and took his scroll out. He began tapping on it. Once he found a certain picture, he held it up for them to see. "Didn't we see this girl at the cafeteria talkin' to team RWBY and JNPR?"
The rest of the boys, except for Jaune and Ren, went closer to take a better look.
Dove pinched his chin and scanned the girl from top to bottom with his squinted eyes. "This is the girl who beat us at the tournament... Aaaand she got herself torn to pieces by none other than-"
"Guys! Could we please not talk about this?! Are we gonna do this tier list or not?" Jaune was getting heated again.
Ren remained silent and felt bad for bringing Penny up.
Members of team CRDL shared looks with each other before the leader spoke. "Sorry, man. We'll drop it."
"Thanks. I'll talk it out with Pyrrha." Jaune took a brief moment to look at another girl's image displayed on the computer's holographic screen. "I guess I should talk to Penny too. You guys better not be trolling me."
"We mess around with you a lot but... this ain't one of those times."
Ren nodded. "Sorting this out with them as soon as possible would probably be the best."
"I don't know how to go about it though..."
At that moment, Ren's scroll began to vibrate in his pocket. Thinking it was probably just a received message, he quickly took a look to see. "..." He was wrong... and decided move the scroll away from Jaune's sight, playing it natural to avoid suspicion.
...
As soon as the awkward silence came, Sky tried to break the ice. "So! Since her pic is already up, what tier are we gonna put this Penny girl on?"
While the boys were casting their votes, the girls' scrolls suddenly began to buzz. Wondering what it was, they each took a look. Everyone had the same notification from the app.
Status Update:
Penny - 75% - Green heart
Pyrrha - 95 (+75) = 70% - Blue to Green heart
Weiss - 65% - Green heart
Ruby - 80% - Blue heart
Yang - 75% - Blue heart
Velvet - 50% - Blue heart
Blake - 45% - Blue Heart
Coco - 40% - Blue heart
Nora - 50% - Violet heart
Ren - 0% - Violet heart
||Color ranking guide: Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Violet||
"..." Weiss' heart sank as she stared at the screen. Another girl just outranked her.
There was a bit of tension at the girls' place right now, specifically between Penny and Pyrrha, the latter being a bit tense as their gaze met.
Penny's normal demeanor did not falter at all. Cheerfully, she said, "Not to worry, Pyrrha Nikos! I'll be sure to have a nice long talk with him and fix this situation."
"I-I..."
Before Pyrrha could answer, the heiress was triggered by Penny's words and decided to interject. She crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows. "Is it going to be the same type of talk that significantly lowered his feelings for me? Is Pyrrha going to be next?"
Pyrrha's eyes widen and turned to Penny for an answer. She was already fearing the worst.
Everyone, even Penny sensed the seriousness of her tone.
"Of course not! I will tell him nothing of that sort. And... I am very sorry if my talk with him resulted in your loss of affection points, Weiss. I would have never said anything if I knew you actually liked his advances instead of implying otherwise." The girl frowned and gazed apologetically towards the lady in white. "I thought I was trying to help. Will you ever forgive me?"
Weiss was now put on the spot. They were all staring at her as if she's the bad guy here. Her tough exterior was starting to waver especially when was being so... adorable.
The robot girl was looking at her with puppy dog eyes. "Please? I'm more than willing to make it up to you."
Weiss finally broke and sighed in defeat. "Fiiiiine... You are forgive-"
She couldn't even finish before Penny dropped her scroll and gave Weiss a big hug, chest pressed against the heiress' head. It wasn't crushingly tight like normal, but she would still twist her hips wildly during the hug, ragdolling her victim in such a wholesome yet comical fashion. "Oh thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU!"
"Y-Y-You're welcome!" Weiss pulled away, a bit dizzy. "But you still have to make it up to me." She said, tapping her forefinger lightly against Penny's forehead.
In response, Penny saluted with a wide and cheerful grin. "Of course! I will not disappoint, Miss Schnee! I will not rest till my debt has been paid."
The girls had a good laugh, not noticing that the boys were almost done placing Penny on a tier.
A moment later, Pyrrha spoke up. "Pardon me. If I may ask, what exactly are you going to tell Jaune then?"
"Oh? I'll try to give him another pep talk. Say that I don't mind if he likes someone else more as long as he's happy. Though, I would prefer it if I get picked instead."
"That... sounds kinda okay. I don't think there's anything wrong with that." Yang said.
"I agree," Blake added.
"And I am going to tell him about every girl I know who is crushing on him and has access to his feelings through the app my father made for me! And may the best girl wi-!"
Most of the girls, Ruby and Weiss mostly, had their faces turned bright red and shouted. "NO!"
Author's Notes: Okay! A tiny bit of drama there and some... major developments regarding the Arkos. I wonder how this will turn out with all the other girls in the mix. Stay tuned!
About the next chapter? No set date on when it comes out. Sorry... BUT! I do have an outline of scenes I basically wanna happen in Chapter 6 without spoiling you all too much. As always, it's posted on my online tip jar FREE for everyone to read. More info on that on my Fanfic profile. Thank you all again for your support! Seriously, I never thought another one of my guilty pleasure stories would reach a thousand followers. I'm humbled and honored!
And of course a HUGE heartfelt thanks to those who are both able and willing to support my monetary needs. Even the smallest amount helps. You guys pretty much fed me at times when I need it the most, like that time when I was in "Driving Theory" (where they taught us basic road rules, signs, and stuff) when I was trying to get a license. I got extremely hungry at the time because I haven't eaten breakfast and lunch. By the time, I got out of the room, I went to the canteen instantly and got food. So huge shout out to Robert Walker again, Kaiser_Powers, and... another supporter who insisted that I do not say his/her name. I appreciate you guys a lot!
Of course, supporting me this way is optional, and I appreciate you all regardless! Reading my story is enough, especially if you guys write your praises and more importantly those constructive criticisms. I'm always looking for ways to improve so I could entertain as many of you readers as possible. Sorry, if my attempt to apply for McDonald's goes well, I won't bring this type of stuff as much. So yeah... Sorry. *insert me with a peace sign and a sheepish grin here*
And a question for you guys! If I were to try and make a new RWBY fanfic again, what ship would you prefer me to write on? Or... should I do another story that has multiple ladies trying to get Jaune's attention and keeping the winner/s ambiguous? I'm gonna try to take on requests. And for those of you who are wondering, no I'm not gonna ask for anything in return. I'm just looking for one-shot (or full-on story) ideas to write about.
Again, thank you all so much for taking your time to read all this.