SPOILER FOR RWBY VOLUME 8 EPISODE 1 DON'T READ THE TOP UNLESS YOU SAW THE EPISODE FYI.
Well I got to watch the first episode of RWBY volume 8 and I still can't believe what they did. They actually put yang as the leader of jaunes team like I feared. The confirmation was pretty much part of the whole first episode along with the opening.
I swear I face palmed myself like five times throughout the episode cause I mean what qualifications does yang have to even lead a team? The only thing she's done is beat up a lot of people and chase after Blake's tail because the fans pushed for it (not hating, just don't care for bumblebee or whatever their called). (Sigh) I will reserve my judgment until after I've seen the rest of this season mostly cause I'm hoping beyond hope that this changes.
"We'll be dealing with Roman directly" Blake's confusion was evident and why wouldn't it be? They already knew of Romans involvement with the fang but because they had no idea where he was operating from they couldn't take him down. Obviously something must have changed or new information came in to shed some light on Romans business.
Jaune nodded "I can tell you already came to a conclusion of how our objective has changed compared to the other missions". Blake nodded cause she knew what this change meant, in capturing the thief they'd not only expose him as a traitor to vale but it would be a significant blow to the fang. A smile came to the cat faunus's face "what are we gonna do once we have him"?
It was a dumb question because unlike the government or police they didn't have a moral code to hold them back from getting the info they needed out of Roman. There was a small part of her that felt kinda guilty and worried that her sudden lack of care for someone's life wasn't bothering her that much. The fact she even cared at all was a small comfort because it meant she hadn't lost site of herself like Adam had.
The inner turmoil showed on her face so jaune place a hand on her shoulder to snap her out of her thoughts. "We'll do what we have to and hopefully it'll bring us one step closer to quelling the trouble growing in the kingdom" said jaune with a hopeful smile. That kinda hope was exactly what she needed and with any luck they would be able to put all this killing aside once they got rid of the fang.
Blake involuntarily rubbed her hands together, not because it was cold but because in the back of her mind they never felt clean enough no matter how much she washed them. Jaune noticed her hands and sighed deeply "Blake are you ok"? She looked down at her hands and forced herself to stop "sorry, it happens when I'm not paying attention".
The blonde nodded "have you been sleeping well? You know if you have any trouble I'd be more than willing to lay with you again". A tinge of pick colored her cheeks "you know our friends are going to make fun of us if they ever see us sleeping together".
Jaune crossed his arms and raised a brow "Blake I'm willing to put up with a little bit of teasing if it means I'm there for you when you need me". The cat faunus watched him for a long second before she turned away from him. Blake's hand grabbed her elbow and her ears flattened before she spoke "if your sure, then...tonight".
She didn't say anymore but jaune already understood "come to the commons room when your team goes to sleep and I'll be there". Blake nodded before quickly leaving through the door she came from. Jaune watched his friend take off back to the dorms and dare he say the way she asked him for help before she left was incredibly cute "Salem help me if she ever heard me say that out loud" he said with a small smile.
There was still plenty of time before he was supposed to return to the dorms so he pulled his scroll out and stared at his contacts. Jaune sighed before clicking on the unknown number listed at the bottom of his contacts. The screen changed black before a small red icon began to blink in the center of the screen.
After a few seconds a program started up that made tracking his scroll or tapping into his conversation nearly impossible. "Really gonna have to thank junior for this" he whispered to himself. Once the program was finished it began to connect to another scroll and after a while the receiver pick up.
"You sure took your sweet time calling me jaune"!
The blonde couldn't help but feel a little ashamed of himself "Yeah I know, sorry about that mom". A beeping sound echoed from his scroll letting him know she wanted to video chat. Jaune thought about telling her not to do video but knew if he even voiced his objection he'd get a earful from her.
Reluctantly jaune clicked on the video icon and allowed his mother to appear on his scroll. "Much better, honestly jaune you give me your number and barely ever answer when I try to call" Salem complained. Jaune couldn't help but feel even more guilty about the whole thing especially since he was so busy with work and school that he completely forgot about calling her back after he ignored so many of her calls.
"I'm sorry about that but I've just been swamped with work and school-".
"Too swamped to even take a few minutes to let me hear your voice and know that your ok"?
Jaune bit his lip and knew he shouldn't apologies again unless he really wanted her to be cross with him. Salem sighed deeply before her features softened and a smile bloomed across her face "I suppose it matters little in the end since you'll be coming home with cinder when your finished in vale". The confusion jaune felt obviously showed on his face because Salem let out another sigh "I'm guessing she didn't tell you"?
Jaune shook his head and explained all that he knew of the situation in vale and hoped Salem would shed some light on what was really happening within their group. A troubled expression formed on Salems face "I see, so Alec is finally making his move after all this time". The blonde didn't understand "what do you mean master's making his move? isn't he on our side"?
"Oh yes, he's on our side except this side doesn't include you in it" she said calmly which only confused him more.
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I be included in this"?
"It's a long story but to sum it up quickly, Alec's problem isn't necessarily with you but your father and he's never been able to let it go even after all these years. There's also the fact that you've been gone for so long that your absence is only fueling his suspicion that you've turned traitor. In fact Alec's been keeping a eye on you in hopes he can find evidence supporting his suspicions so I can give the order to have you done away with".
To say all this was a lot to get his head around was a understatement and worse he felt sick to his stomach that his own master actually thought like that. Jaune rubbed his face and sighed "ok that kinda explains masters motive I guess but what about cinder and vernal, are they helping him? And why haven't you stopped him yet"?
Salem smiled "Jaune I've made a rule to not intervene in the squabbles of those I rule over as long as they still succeed in fulfilling my orders. I've shown plenty of favoritism to you and it's creating a divide between me and my subordinates so I've decided that if Alec aims for your life you have the right to do the same in reverse. This rule also applies to those who choose to side with one or the other of course".
"Mother don't you think that's a little reckless? We're supposed to be in the middle of trying to retrieve the relic from Ozpin and his cronies and you want to green lit a battle royal between your forces"? Salem chuckled "sweetie I've been doing this since before the current humanity came to power and if I fail this time I could always try again when your children or grandchildren grow up. This could be a family business".
A frown split jaunes face "mom my family has suffered the worst thanks to this war between you and Ozpin, I don't want my descendants to go through the same thing. Besides that I'm not about to have kids anytime soon, I'm only seventeen and I don't even have a girlfriend yet". Salem tapped her temple in thought "what about cinder? She's very beautiful and has a pair of good hips that would be great for bearing children".
Jaune face turned red like a tomato "MOM" he yelled at the screen. "Well there's always vernal, she's loyal to you more so then me and she's been smitten with you for a while. Better to have someone who'd stick with you through thick and thin then not at all".
Jaunes hand gripped his face as he groaned in embarrassment "can we please get back on topic? I need to at least know what the plan is if I'm going to stand a chance against master, cinder and Adam".
"Not vernal"?
Jaune thought about it before answering "I think I might be able to get vernal to join me if it really comes down to it. Although I would much prefer not to fight cinder as well if I could avoid it" he said grimly.
"And yet you'll have to cause you know who's side she'll choose in the end". Salem words were always filled with truth and in this case they were also filled with dread. "When you were younger you always spoke of how you wanted to be a knight like in the story books I read you but by now I'm sure your aware of the duties that come with such a job"?
Jaune nodded but even still he couldn't just give up on what he wanted nor could he run away from what was going to happen to his friends if he turned a blind eye. The blonde stared at Salem for a long second "you know mom I really miss the days when everything wasn't so confusing and I got to spend my days quietly at home". Salem smiled warmly "I do too but time waits for no man and I'm proud to see how much you've grown even though you had to without me".
Her words brought a warm feeling to his chest "thanks I really needed to hear that. So, about the plan mas- I guess I shouldn't call him that anymore since now that he's my enemy and all huh? Anyways what's the plan their working on"?
Salem smiled devilishly "they are aiming to unite the underground of vale under their rule to force the higher ups like the council into doing their bidding. Every politician has a few skeletons in the closet and with plenty of connections there's no doubt something can be found to twist the arm of each council member to turn against Ozpin".
"Ok but if that was all they wouldn't really need a giant force like the fang" the blonde questioned.
Salem smile never faded "the fang is there to give a legitimate reason for the council to dismiss Ozpin and his followers. If Ozpin fails to stop or contain the fang after a long period of time and in times of crisis the people will begin to question weither or not he's really qualified to continue to lead Beacon academy and be their protector. All that would be left is to give the council the support of the masses under our control to boot him out and install one of our agents as headmaster".
Jaune thought about it and realized it was a roundabout way of gaining control of the academy, one that didn't match with cinders way of doing things. Now that he thought about it cinder did say she was following Alec's orders in the first place and this plan did seem more like his doing then hers. The only real question was should he stand in their way and if it was really necessary for them to come to blows?
His answer was clear before he knew it "I can't let them go through with this".
"If that is your choice I won't stop you" Salem answered. The Grimm queen looked at the time on the corner of her scroll "it's getting late now, do make sure to get some sleep and I'll talk to you later". Jaune nodded before wishing her a good night.
After slipping his scroll back into his pocket he headed down to his dorm room to prepare for night ahead. Blankets and a pillow were collected before heading to the commons where to his surprise Blake was waiting with one of her books in hand. "Did I make you wait long" he asked when he was close enough to the couch for her to notice him.
The book in Blake's hand closed on her thumb with enough force to cause her to whimper from the pain. When she regained her composure she turned to the blonde with a fierce scowl spread across her face "don't talk like that it makes me feel like I'm doing something shameful". Jaune smiled devilishly "you mean a man and a woman sleeping together alone in a room isn't shameful"?
Blake's face turned visibly red "th-that's not wh-what we are doing" she spluttered. The blonde smiled as he took a seat next to his faunus friend "Really? And here I went through the trouble of getting a pillow and blanket for us" he said as he lifted the items in his hands to show her.
Blake stared at the blonde for a long second before frowning "your just like yang you know that"? The blonde chuckled "well if you want to blame anyone for the teasing it would definitely be her". He nudged her arm with his and spoke warmly "but in all seriousness are you ready for bed cause I am".
She didn't speak but instead took the pillow out of his hands and laid against the armrest of the couch. Jaune follow suit and laid behind her when she made room for him and covered them with the blanket. The two remained silent as they huddled under the thick blanket just like all the other times they had in the past until Blake scooted back into jaunes chest where his arm wrapped around her and held her tight.
Blake turned her head towards the blonde before she spoke "this doesn't mean anything". Jaune smiled warmly as he closed his eyes "don't worry I know".
"I mean it".
When jaune didn't answer her she listened to his steady breathing and knew he fell asleep. It was strange because even though she was dying of embarrassment from the situation she could be a little honest with herself when he was asleep. His breath against the back of her cat ears sent shivers down her spine that nearly had her purring out of impulse and his touch was enough to have her feeling safer then she had in years.
He wouldn't have to know anything since he was asleep so she took the chance to make herself more comfortable by turning around so she could bury her face in his chest. "You comfortable down there"? Blake froze for a second before lifting her head to see blue eye's looking back into her own.
"I can explain" she tried but jaune just chuckled at her attempt. "Don't bother" he whispered into her cat ears before closing his eyes again. That night Blake wished she never ask for him to sleep with her.
Lol Blake getting caught at the end was something I enjoyed writing. The scene with Salem and jaune reminded me of my last talk with my own mother and let me tell you it was just as tiring. Oh and as for the top that's just me ranting cause I'm a jaune fan.