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Getting knocked down always hurt but getting knocked down multiple times by the same person was always more painful. Whenever they taunted you about easily beating you was probably another form of masochism, that wasn't something Jaune needed to be thinking about while he was being beaten by someone a full head taller than him. Cardin may have been more sadistic than Jaune initially thought and he hoped that he didn't find out how sadistic any time soon, "Why don't you just stay down there and lick my boots while you're at it?"

"I'd... rather not," he muttered as he stood up, he raised Crocea Mors preparing for the next attack from his opponent. Cardin was a full head taller than Jaune but more specifically Jaune was slouching so it made it looked like Cardin towered over him. Cardin hefted a large heavy mace that looked like it was meant to be opened and act as some sort of overly complex blender, The Executioner as it was known, getting ready to strike her opponent. It was clear to the crowd that the blond man was at a disadvantage to the taller woman, she was to all eyes apparent the one that was going to win this fight. Her strength overshadowed any tactic he could surmise as with her next strike she managed to knock away his shield leaving him defenseless.

He looked more than a little helpless without the shield, like a seal going up against a drunken sailor. She gave him a look of degradation, "Is that really all you've got? A little shield that can't take a hit and a sword too dull to use."

"Kinda, I didn't expect you to be into this sort of thing," Jaune said unknowingly insulting her, she gave him a look that most people would only apply to those that insult their dead grandparents, "I thought Neo was the sadistic one."

She gave him a darker look after that, and he could almost feel a look from Neo coming. Cardin charged him preparing to club him like the drunken sailor she was, and Jaune felt the hit coming like the baby seal. He raised his sword to block the blow from hitting him, but it never connected as the lights came on and the bell sounded. He let out a sigh of relief as the onslaught of attacks had finally relented and he was no longer trapped in a cage with a sadist. He didn't expect for the large sadist to be replaced by a pint of angry ice cream, when she came up and began kicking him like he was a sack of puppies. This got several laughs as he curled up into a ball to protect himself from the much smaller woman's somehow even more viscous onslaught.

This went on passed the laughter and went more into the obscene. People went from laughter to awkward chuckling to silence with several coughs. The longest laugh came to a close when someone tapped on Ruby's shoulder and told her that it was less than appropriate, that didn't stop Neo as she went far until after the bell rang. She only stopped when her leg got tired and she walked away from the mess she made. She didn't leave without insult though, as she spit on him in passing.

Jaune just sat there crumpled up in a puddle of himself, he may have been crying a little. He just sat there as the click of small heels disappeared, this only lasted for several seconds until it was replaced by the clicking of heavier heels. Cinder walked up to his crumpled form before she said to him, "You suck."

"Thank. I really needed that after getting my ass beat." He answered her sarcastically. Cinder put a hand on his back trying to comfort him, but it didn't do anything as she was rubbing the back of his armor.

"You want some candy, some cake, a lap dance, some ice cream?" She said as she tried to comfort him mixing something in the middle there that she hoped he wouldn't notice. She wasn't the best at comforting people as she was the emotional wreck of the family, Ruby didn't need emotional support and Tyrian was either gallivanting across the world or somehow always smiling like a lunatic whenever he was home so nothing there. Well that wasn't all true Ruby needed a moral compass since hers was... a roulette wheel at the best of times. She continued polishing his armor unknowingly before she continued, "Look all we have to do is keep your mind off the crushing defeat. Maybe you get up and go for a weeklong jog? Wherever you end up you can live there as like a farmer or something."

"What was the middle thing?" He said as he turned up to her, it wasn't answered as the woman distracted him from the question.

"Come on get up. People will think less of you if you give up now." She pulled the man up by his armor and dragged him along. She was the only person that both did and didn't care about him. She was one of the better friends he made it wasn't really a comparison; Arslan didn't even give him the time of day (well she glared), Mercury and Emerald were friendly (while he had made friends with Mercury, Emerald was a hard nut to crack), and he didn't really interact with the rest of Cinder's team. So, making friends with Cinder was probably a good thing, but then again she treated him like a slave so there was that. She made him do her homework and carry her bags and plenty of other things that she found uninteresting. It was getting a bit much and he was managing, but one thing kept prodding the back of his mind; why had she not turned him in yet.

After half the day they were all having lunch in a cafeteria too large for the number of students that supposedly went through this school. The only people that mattered were the ones that weren't black ghosts. All dressed in multicolored outfits with three reds, two yellows, a green, a white, and a grey. They were all heavily focused on a woman in grey who was recounting a tale.

"There was a snake," Mercury was telling a story that made little sense to the people around her. Whatever this story was it made all those that were listening turn to her, "It was eating everything in sight, and the things that it didn't eat were turned into half snake hybrids. It seemed like they couldn't be stopped..." She paused a few seconds trying to build up suspense, as most eyes were focused on her she had to ham it up, "until the Winter came and they all froze to death. But all was not lost as when Spring came a few thawed out and that is why lizards exist."

All of the people listening had a mix of looks, Emerald was just rubbing her temple as a vein bulged on her forehead, Arslan just had her arms crossed with a nonplussed look on her face while one of her eyes twitched, Weiss had her hands over her mouth with her eyes closed before she leveled her hands at her 'friend' and asked, "What does that mean?"

"It's the origin of lizards. Were you even listening to the story? Do I have to tell it again?" Mercury asked absently, and she was about to follow through on that when she began to speak up.

"No, never speak again." Emerald was quick to stop her partner by shoving a sandwich into Mercury's mouth silencing her temporarily, that got a few more chuckles than she expected and even worse several eyes on her. She reacted to this by shrinking back into her seat and blushing she didn't like the attention. The few people around her didn't pay attention long enough because if they did a few of them would have seen her evaporate.

Jaune on the other hand of the spectrum of wanting to disappear, probably wanting to be noticed he was picking at his chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes. Arslan, who was sitting right next to him, wanted nothing to do with it mostly focusing on her rice. But her calm tranquility was continually delayed by her partner noisily picking at his food, picking, and picking, and that was enough. She grabbed his fork and threw it across the cafeteria, but this was only after 15 minutes of him picking at his handheld food that she thought didn't think need a utensil. She took a deep breath that sounded like ninety percent anger and said through her teeth, "What is wrong Jaune?"

"Uuuhh... nothing," He said trying not to anger her even more than he already had apparently. Cinder looked at him and then to her teammates and when she saw none of them showing interest in his problems, she had to ask the question that no one else was going to ask.

"No, Jane something is wrong. And as your friends you should tell us." She said glancing over the fact she said the wrong name while elbowing Ruby, who was sitting right next to her, to draw her attention to the person across the table from her. When Ruby noticed she should be paying attention to the one that didn't belong she focused her eyes and asked a question as well.

"Yes, Vomit Boy, what is wrong?" Even to her it sounded hollow with no real emotion behind it and they all picked up on it as well. But he just picked up his tray and stood up to avoid eye contact.

"Look I'm fine, there is nothing wrong." He said while avoiding eye contact, he didn't get far from the table when someone shoulder checked him knocking him back into his seat. Cardin wasn't particularly limber, and her size was also a factor not giving herself enough room to be able to maneuver through the tight cafeteria setting. She gave him a look most would call pity before she moved her eyes away.

"Uh, sorry about that man." She said that without looking him in the eyes. She moved to where her team was sitting having a nice conversation about something nondescript enough to matter even to them. When Cinder saw this she just had to ask again.

"Are... you... being bullied?"

"What? No. I'm fine, you don't need to worry." He smiled while saying that, yet it was one of those hollow smiles Ruby gives to throw attention away from her probable crimes. This was the sign that someone needed to help him but that came from the least likely person.

"Are you sure Cardin isn't bullying you?" Eve asked the question that they were all thinking about asking. They were surprised that she was paying attention to this conversation at all, yet alone getting a strange look from the rest of the teams.

"Yes, Cardin is not bullying me." He said with total confidence in his voice that what he said was true.

"We could help you deal with her if you want. I mean Ruby's probably got an idea already." Weiss said placing a hand on her partners shoulder.

"We'll frame her for murder."

"No, that's too extreme," Weiss whispered to her partner, she quickly turned to Emerald and asked, "You have any ideas?" Weiss was just greeted with her disappearing from her vision after she was asked that question. They all heard from the other side of the Cafeteria a small commotion, they saw Cardin and a little rabbit Faunus.

"Blimey! What da 'ell mate. Lawd above! Bottle ov Scotch was yer goin' idiot. Innit." The little rabbit girl proclaimed as Cardin walked into her.

"Oh, I am so sorry, here let me get that for you," she told her as she pulled out a handkerchief and began vainly attempting to clean a stain currently forming on the smaller girl's blouse. This only made the rabbit angrier as she began pushing the larger girl woman away from her.

"Blimey! Get off ov me, qui' toachin' me knockers. Aight mate." She fronted her hands pushing her out of the way as she stormed out of the Cafeteria. The silver woman pointed out to both of their teams.

"I get why she was so afraid; I mean that little girl was terrifying." They all looked at their teammate and internally asked what was going on inside her head.

"So, she's out of the running. Who does that leave for bully?" Ruby said apathetically.

"It's Neo. There are no other people that have kicked his as-" Eve tried to answer the question no one was asking partially because of how humiliating for him it was, but he still stopped her from finishing that thought.

"That's enough of that. You all have a nice day, I'm done." He launched up and out of his seat leaving the cafeteria entirely in under a minute. This didn't sit well with Cinder, if he was dealing with something too large he would crack, and if he cracked he would tell them that he snuck in to Beacon, and he would tell them that she helped him stay in Beacon after getting here. She narrowed her eyes as she commented to herself.

"I think I do need to worry."

"I got it everyone pities him after he got his ass beat by a girl half his size." Ruby said while hitting her palm with her fist as if she just solved a crime. Cinder looked at her sister who didn't really care what happened to the Vomit boy. After all this conversation about the feelings of other people Arslan snapped her chopsticks and proclaimed.

"Can you not all flock to me after I sit down next time!"

History class was also something that Jaune did not excel at, but he was picking it up after having to do twice the work of normal students. A large woman with a southern accent was giving the lesson on something about the Faunus war but it was boring to him, and Jaune managed to fall asleep on a regular basis in class so she wasn't particularly fond of him. The main problem was when Lil' Miss called him out for sleeping in class like right now, "MR. ARC!"

"Huh," he mumbles as he raised his head and half lidded eyes.

"Now that you're awake would you care to answer the question?" She asked him with a dirty glare, she may have been sitting behind her desk, but the glare was intense as if she were right there inches from his face. Much to his exasperation he didn't even know the question much less the answer he had to wing it until he thought of something.

"The answer," he looked away from her to the people that were sitting across the room from him, Eve and Cinder, when Cinder realized that he didn't know the answer she began miming something, "that the Faunus... had over... that guy's stuff..." Cinder began pointing towards her eyes, and when Eve noticed the attempt at helping him she did as well. She put her hands together and put them beside her head in a sleeping motion, when Cinder noticed this, she raised her hand and in a knife-like motion she began stabbing Eve. This confused Jaune as what they were doing, was the answer stabbing them while they were asleep, was that the answer?

"Night-vision, idiot." Cardin whispered behind him trying to help, it was odd that all of the woman around him pitied him enough to help him. He had stalled long enough, and he had to answer.

"Was night-vision," Jaune said slowly and with mild confidence as that all of his people around him were helping, "they used it to sneak up on that guy and kill him in his sleep." Lil' Miss gave a scowl to all of the people that aided him in his plight of ignorance, she was trying to make an example of him but with the help of those girls he was just barely getting through the class.

"Yes, you are technically correct..." He looked so happy and gave a positive look to the people that helped him answer the question. She didn't let that happiness last however she had to degrade him a little for that, "Yet you are only correct because the answer was presented to you by someone else. Next time try paying attention, and you won't weight them down."

"Right..."

"You and y'all cohorts of his will stay after for additional readings. Am I clear or do y'all need me to track ya down?" It wasn't long before the bell rang and most of the students funneled out of the classroom. When most of the students were finally gone, she proclaimed to the four of them, "Look I understand that y'all have a thing for mister Arc but babying him like that will not help him anymore than it hurts him."

"What!" Jaune exclaimed as if he had been told the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Eve didn't react to what the woman said, Cinder just raised an eyebrow at the accusation, but Cardin shrank down into her seat and blushed a little.

"Now petty infatuation is no reason to baby the boy, so it stops now. Y'all worked hard to get here and we only accept the best of the best, and I wouldn't want to see all of that effort end in poppycock!" She said not paying attention to three of the eyes trying to avert her gaze, there were no comments that they could make to salvage that one. Lil' Miss still continued to tell them off, "Pages 51 to 91, I want an essay on my desk by the end of next class."

Eve was first to leave the room scratching her head confused as what an infatuation was, when Jaune left the classroom he expected to be hit in the back by one of the two girls he just got in trouble. What he wasn't expecting was the taller woman to tap him on the shoulder and ask him something, "Hey... ya know If you need help with the work, we could do it-"

"Move along harlot. He isn't some cheap whore." Cinder said as she kicked Cardin out of the way of Jaune. Cardin fell over and gave Cinder the death glare as she got up, she tried to talk to Jaune again, but Cinder shut that down when she waved at her and said, "Buh-bye."

Cardin tried to talk to him a few more times but she gave up shortly after being interrupted every time by Cinder's buh-bye. Jaune was a little more than not confused as why she was trying to get rid of the other much larger girl and when she finally left, he was presented with an answer, "Come on Jaune, we need to talk."

They had a silent little walk, Jaune was starting to suspect Cinder was fond of those, to the top of a dorm building. She led him to the edge to see an amazing view of Beacon, with the courtyard and the gardens all in view. Cinder presented this to Jaune and before she could say anything he said, "I get it," he gave a resigned sigh before continuing, "If I don't do your essay you'll throw me off the building right."

Cinder narrowed her eyes and scanned the edge and then back to Jaune then back to edge. She did that for a few seconds until finally she put a hand on her forehead and with a hearty sigh said, "Jaune what do you think of me?"

"The type to push a man off a building for slighting her at all." He said with a wide mouth and raised eyebrows. She scowled at him as he raised his shoulders giving her the look of just do it.

"No, I'm not going to push you. In fact, I think I've been pushing you too much already..." She tried not to meet his eyes. There was an unsure look on his face as he stood there waiting for her to tell him what to do but with that pause there was nothing. She just tried not to look him in the eyes as he was looking at her forlorn, "I think you should just focus on doing your own work. Okay."

"What. Why?"

"It looks like your grades are slipping and if I let you continue doing my work then my grades will slip as well." She said it in a matter of fact tone that made him feel useless.

"Cinder, I'm fine you-"

"You need to focus on yourself," She cut him off while placing a hand on his shoulder trying to comfort him. It didn't last long until he pushed her hand off his shoulder before he asked her a final question.

"What is this really about? Is it like Ruby said, that you all pity me? Is that the real reason you guys are so nice to me, because you all pity me?" He said with a teary-eyed look that most puppies give when they don't get a treat. Why did he always look like a puppy to Cinder? She made no attempt to soften the blow when he asked the question that would hurt him in more ways than one, so with a dry look on her face she told him the truth.

"I don't pity you," Jaune looked her in the eyes trying to keep from crying, "That would require me to care if you got kicked out, and since day one I have made sure that you know I don't." She had a firm look on her face that most would consider anger or just firm dislike, "Do you want to know why I don't tell on you?"

She looked him in the eyes until a little tear formed in her eye, "Cinder why-"

"You're not the only one that cheated their way into Beacon." Cinder moved to one of the pipes to take a seat not on the ground. He followed her over to the pipe and he could see the tears forming in hers. She sat there in silence before she could answer any of the questions he had going through his mind, he just choked on his words several times before she finally answered the question, "I got into Beacon two years before Ruby."

"Wait that-"

"Don't interrupt me." She didn't wait very long to continue though barely choking out the words as she tried not to cry, "I didn't... go... because of what happened after Signal. You've probably heard bits and pieces here and there about the things that happened."

"Ruby has mentioned several unsettling things about ex-boyfriends and slaves." He mumbled to himself.

"Well the truth is... I was the popular girl, I had hundreds of friends, everyone loved me. I mean I got invited to all of the parties and asked by hundreds of boys to dances." Cinder told him all forlorn and nearly crying for what would be something that most people looked back on fondly. Jaune just had to react with a mild lack of concern.

"That doesn't sound so bad. I mean you aren't the odd one in your family..."

"That's what everyone says," Cinder looked him in the eyes, "No one asked me if I was happy. That was the loneliest time of my life, I didn't have a single real friend that actually cared about me. I mean in the short time I knew you I have to say that you are the closest thing I've had to a real friend." Cinder shook her head a few times. Jaune was trying to find the reason why Cinder didn't actually go to Beacon, because being lonely didn't stop him. Cinder saw this look of confusion from him and continued, "Then after graduation I was about to move out to go to Beacon but that was only disrupted by my 'friends' inviting me out on a pro hunt. We all thought it would be easy and it wouldn't take a week, Mom of course was against it. Come to find out later that the reason she was against it was because those friends of mine weren't exactly trustworthy."

He furrowed his eyebrows before he realized what she was going to say. This was something that she probably didn't feel comfortable with and was really straining herself to tell him. He was uncomfortable and she was uncomfortable, but she had already come too far to quick now, "The truth is probably more macabre than you think, it was like a weekend of camping that's what we all thought. Just a campfire cookout some tents and a lot of beer, everything was going well until we were all hammered, and the boys got frisky. I was uncomfortable and tried to go to my tent, but I didn't get there..."

Jaune couldn't listen anymore and he had to stop her, so he sat next to her and was gonna put a hand on her shoulder, but he chickened out at the last minute. He couldn't help but hope this would end differently than he was expecting, "A pack of Beowolves attacked and killed all of them. I ran screaming covered in blood all the way back home, I lived. But that never stops gossip and the rumor started that I had left to them die."

"Ohh, I was expecting that to go a different way."

"The rumors were right, I kicked one of those drunk idiots to the beowolves and ran. That day I realized that I didn't care if they lived or died. I didn't go to Beacon not because of some trauma or whatever I told the recruiter, I didn't go because I could care less about some random people. I only care about my family. I mean hell the only reason I'm here is because Ruby got in two years early and I still looked young enough to pass for eighteen." Cinder finished and wiped away the tears that formed in her eyes.

"Then why did you help me?"

"I don't know, maybe I find you interesting, maybe I saw a charity case that needed help or just maybe after a little while you grew on me and I would miss your presence if you were gone. So, for the love of the gods you need to let us help you." She grabbed his arm as she said the last part.

"Because I need help," he said with a downtrodden look as he realized after that speech, she still thought so little of him.

"Everyone needs help, whether it's now or later all that matters is that you understand you are stumbling. It took Ruby just as long to understand that asking for help isn't defeat it is just asking for help." There was a second of were Jaune was contemplating whether to accept her help or tell her off for thinking he needed it, but they didn't talk. They just sat there in silence for a while not looking at each other in silence. His head was swirling with a wild mix of self-hate and apathy for himself as she also pitied him. She hugged him gently from the side to show that she actually cared for him, but that wasn't something he needed.

That was until someone opened a can of soda right in front of them. It startled Jaune enough to almost fall off the pipe and from the roof entirely, Cinder just turned to her partner to say, "We were having a moment."

"And I'm having a soda." Eve retorted while raising her left eyebrow. Cinder just scowled as her partner was still drinking the soda, Jaune on the other hand was holding his chest after nearly falling off the building.

"What do you want?" Cinder said through clenched teeth.

"Well I noticed since Jaune was struggling in class, so I thought we could help him." Cinder just gave a exacerbated look that could tell thousands of stories, but when Jaune didn't immediately do a backwards somersault off the roof that meant progress.

"Sure," Jaune replied as he stood up and dusted off his blazer, "There is nothing wrong with asking for help. Right?" Cinder was surprised. Had her speech worked? They almost never worked since it always went in one of Ruby's ears and out the other, then she would say she understood to get Cinder to shut up. Even then she would attempt to do what Cinder had pleaded with her to do for a time, but it never stuck. So, when one of her speeches actually worked that was a sign that she may be a natural at motivational speeches.

"Good, training begins at dawn." She said promptly trying to leave before the two of them began making out, she didn't leave without one last thought, "Do either of you know what book we're supposed to read for class?"

"THE TEXTBOOK!" This was shouted up from underneath them, Cinder rushed to the edge to see Cardin sitting in her windowsill.

"How much of that did you hear?" Cinder inquired with a look Ruby would call cold.

"Most of it..." Cardin murmured barely audibly.

"You know I will kill you if anyone finds out."

"I... understand."

"Good," when Cinder leaned back over the ledge, she noted that Eve was gone and Jaune was standing there. He had a little concerned look on his face as to what she just said to the other girl. She just gave him a self-satisfied smirk and said, "What?"

"How bad do you think Eve's training is?"

"It can't be that bad I imagine."

"You'll... come, right?"

"Yeaaaaa suuuuurrre. What time did she say to be there?"

For Jaune getting up early was easy because his sisters always woke him up by bouncing on his bed at 7, and if he didn't want them to see his awkward teen morning growth spurts, he had to get up even earlier. It was 5 AM on a Sunday and he got dressed quickly trying not to wake his teammates and since he'd been surrounded by woman all his life getting dressed before they could see anything had become second nature to him. The part that caused the most disruption was putting his armor on without making a sound, he though that he had accidentally woke Mercury, but she just rolled over in her bed. He did note that Arslan was gone already, he somehow hadn't even noticed her leaving.

Picking Cinder up was the hard part, he knocked on the door and waited. Is this what going on dates was like, he didn't know. When the door opened, he wasn't expecting to see Ruby dressed in her pajamas with her sleep mask still on, "What do you want tall blonde one?"

He was about to ask but decided against it, "Cinder said she'd come join Eve's training with me."

"Heh," Ruby hadn't even moved her mask when she gave a little chuckle, "Oh you are serious, good luck with that." She pulled the door open and let him in, she pointed up towards the top bed held up by glass and nails. Ruby was up in her bed before he could ask any questions, she did mutter one last anecdote before passing out again, "Just do not commit any crimes to wake her."

He ignored that while he went up to her bed and gently shook her shoulder. It wasn't much but it did dangerously shake the bunk bed in his opinion, "Hey time to train."

"She cannot hear you," Ruby mumbled through her covers, Jaune turned back to Ruby.

"Then how do I wake her?"

"Uggghhhh," before he could react Ruby was right next to him and she pushed Cinder out of her bed, "like that."

"I'm awake!" Cinder said as she sat up from the floor. Oddly enough she was already dressed in her typical combat dress heels and all. She sat up shakily for a few seconds before falling back asleep... on the ground. Jaune just shook her shoulders trying to rouse her from sleep, she rattled like a bobblehead, but this had little effect. That didn't wake her either, Jaune tried to give a look to Ruby who was already back in bed again. That didn't stop her from giving him more instructions.

"Just take her and pour coffee down her throat. If that does not wake her then…" Ruby fell back asleep before she could finish, and what she said was very ominous. It was almost like she didn't really care about what happened to her sister.

"Uh, that doesn't seem like such a go- "

"For the love of the gods it's 5 AM on a Saturday! Just take the girl and if anything happens, she'll kill you…" Weiss said still in her bed trying to get him to leave so she can go back to sleep as well. Jaune gave a concerned look to what her team just said yet he didn't want to risk training with Eve alone. He put one hand on her shoulder before lifting her up into his arms. She stayed asleep as he carried her out of the room before he turned back to the two women in beds.

"What if I can't wake her?" He stood in the doorway of the room while waiting for a response. They didn't reply to him and the door slammed in his face leaving him alone in the hall with an unconscious girl in his arms. He hoped no one asked any questions about that so he jogged his way to the cafeteria. When he finally got there, he set her down in a seat and went to get her coffee.

It didn't take long for him to get the coffee and when he returned to the sleeping body of Cinder. How was he supposed to wake her with coffee if she was still asleep? He put it on top of her head while he ate breakfast. Jaune ate in silence for several minutes with an unconscious woman, he hoped this wasn't what all dates were like.

When she began to awaken, she didn't move but she did take the mug off her head. After she took several sips from the coffee she said, "Where the hell are we?"

"Getting breakfast," he gave her an inquisitive look when she didn't remember promising to help him with Eve, "You know for training." Cinder much to her credit just raised her sleep deprived eyes while scowling at him. She took several more sips before it finally hit her.

"What training?"

"You're both late." Eve said as she continued to do crunches while hanging from a tree. She had told them to meet her there and she had only said dawn, yet the sun still hadn't come up yet, raising the question.

"How are we late? You said dawn right?" Jaune said as walked up to the tree. Cinder just watched from a distance hoping she wouldn't have to walk in the morning dew grass, she did notice that Eve was wearing her workout cloths. Cinder assumed they would have to wait for her partner to change for the training. Eve jumped down from the tree and looked at the horizon when she answered the question.

"Right, I forgot I let you have a late start." It wasn't even dawn and she counted this as late, Cinder didn't even know this early existed before now. Eve however was perfectly fine with it though when she said, "It is brave of you to train in your combat gear. The added weight will prove difficult..." she paused as she gave a look at the two people before she continued, "Well regardless we should begin. Arslan you want in on this as well."

"If I don't have to talk to any of you." Jaune went from mildly unsettled to majorly panicked when he heard the disembodied voice of his partner. It wasn't five seconds before Jaune realized she was meditating behind the tree. She was wearing her combat cloths minus the robe, and without it her abs were exposed. When Cinder took stock of the two very above average looking woman with incredibly hard abs, she nodded her head.

"Well since you two have this. I'm out." She turned to walk away from the three people, until she walked right into Eve.

"Don't be silly you need the exercise," Eve said as she dragged her partner to the others before she declared, "Now then we should begin with laps around the school."

"Okay... how many?" Jaune asked her expecting a reasonable number like 2 or 3.

"We go until lunch." Eve said as she took off running around the campus. Jaune didn't have time to question as Arslan took off running after her. It was just Cinder and Jaune left over as it began to dawn on them that they were serious.

"So you're gonna stay right?"

"Heh... maybe... They have quite the lead though. I may sneak away before they get back." Cinder said as she walked away from tree thinking that she had plenty of time before Eve got around Beacon. Jaune gave her a disappointed look that made her feel like whenever Ruby asked a question about the morality of something horrible.

"So you're just gonna leave me here to suffer."

"Look it's not suffering... It's... training," she said while raising her shoulders to shrug off the comment.

"You're falling behind!" Eve shouted as she passed them having completed a lap already, she was followed shortly after by Arslan running just as fast. Cinder half closed her eyes and glared as she raised her mouth. Cinder gave a chuckle before she turned to Jaune just to see him take off after them much to Cinder's dismay, but he called out to her as he passed by.

"You're falling behind." She glared at the man that ran from her but all she could think was that he could run. She shook her head as she ran after them as well.

It was nearly noon as Ruby and Weiss watched the courtyard. Ruby as usual had a glazed over look while she and Weiss were having tea and crumpets. Ruby was having a long day being woken up at dawn only to have to help vomit boy abduct her sister, then Weiss said they should have brunch. Now they were doing something only super villains do before they cut the heroes in half with lasers, petting white cats.

"Hmm, this is quite the scrumptious display of etiquette." Weiss said as she raised her tea cup to her mouth with a single pinkie sticking out, "It is quite remarkable that the events of today's enterprises."

"The fuck are you smoking." Ruby was looked at her while her eyes narrowed. Weiss was taken aback by the girls direct anger that raised the tension between them.

"Talking all high and mighty as a joke," Ruby just shook her head at her partner was trying to impress her, "I mean... we can try to talk about something else."

"Yes, we could paint our nails and try out clothes and talk about cute guys."

"Really?" Weiss asked almost inquisitively really hoping that Ruby was being serious. Ruby just gave a stray look and a twitch of her eyebrow responded.

"Do we even know any guys?" Ruby smirked as she said that. Weiss went to respond to that only to be interrupted by the fact that she didn't really know any men currently at Beacon.

"Huh, I guess not..." Ruby chuckled at the sound of that, having finally gotten her partner to not put on a fake face. That was Ruby's shtick so when she finally got through she needed to stay through as well. Weiss gave a smile to only to notice two people walking through the courtyard alone, she stood up and invited Mercury and Emerald over.

"Mercury, Emerald what are you two doing right now? We're having tea, would you like to join us?" Mercury turned to the sound of someone calling her and when she finally locked onto Weiss and Ruby she dragged Emerald with her to the tea party.

"What up bitches?"

"We are having tea and trumpets." Ruby answered to the grey woman.

"That doesn't seem right," Emerald commented on the remark from her red friend, "but this is probably better than searching for Jaune and Arslan."

"Really? You'll spend time with us, this is the first time you've ever wanted to do something with us." Weiss said as she jumped over the table and grabbed Emeralds hands.

"Uhhhh, Mercury help." She said as she looked to her partner who was already sitting down. Ruby was already pouring tea for the both of them, she couldn't do much to flee this situation as she took a seat as well. Mercury shrugged as she took the tea.

"You dug this hole now lie in it."

"It is lay." Ruby corrected her dryly, it wasn't until she saw Eve and Arslan racing around the school did she ask "What was that about looking for Arslan?"

"Oh we woke up this morning and half our team was missing," Mercury informed them.

"We thought we should look for them... we haven't had much luck though," Emerald informed them while looking down at her tea. Ruby and Weiss heard this but were heavily distracted by Jaune following the path wheezing like a vacuum cleaner.

"They are working out," Ruby said as she looked off in the distance waiting for the last person to pass.

"How do you know?" Mercury said with a mouth full of treats.

"Jaune came by this morning and abducted Cinder." Ruby told them all getting several looks from the people.

"That's... not... exactly true," Weiss looked at her partner trying to prepare a comeback for her partner to cover the lack of empathy in her voice.

"Oh so he's safe, I thought he was abducted by ninja's," Mercury told the truth as Emerald sighed in relief. It was the other teams turn to react to Emerald, they gave her a look that made it clear they were surprised that Emerald went along with Mercury's ideas. When she noticed the looks at her and she noticed she had to correct her.

"You've met her, she's very charismatic and she always convinces me to go outside on adventures." They all giggled at that idea.

When the giggling stopped Ruby pointed her scroll to the corner of the courtyard with a bunch of pillars obstructing the path into the courtyard. She held it there for several seconds until finally a hand shakily emerged from it. Cinder fumbled from behind the column covered in sweat as she tried to run the running was mostly just shaky staggering through the gardens. She was carrying her heels as her makeup was running from sweat, eyeliner and lipstick was dripping down her face. She was shambling like a skeleton and after Ruby got her video she called out to her, "Do you want a change of cloths? Or a towel?"

She looked around with a scattered thought almost like she heard the voice of the gods, then she crashed to her knees and proclaimed "KILL ME!"

Cinder walked through the courtyard after taking a shower and changing into her workout cloths. A white tank top with crimson accents and a large RECW 3 marked on the front, along with black shorts and tennis shoes. She found Jaune dying on the pavement as Eve was lying down on her face and arms while Arslan was meditating on her back. She asked them, "So when does training begin?"

"We were waiting for you." Eve said as she turned her head to face the others. Cinder just looked at Eve as she was the only one to react to her, and she was pretty sure that Jaune and Arslan were in coma's.

"What are you doing?"

"Planking. Now we move on to strength training." She said as she got up knocking Arslan off her back. Arslan landed in the same pose as she was meditating in sideways.

"Are... we... ever... combat... training?" Jaune wheezed as he gave up halfway through the question.

"What? No, we're just working out..." Cinder and Jaune both glared at her as she petered out at the end.

"So... you never intended to train him?" Cinder asked the question that would have been on the exhausted boys mind before she herself realized, "I did all that running for nothing."

"We are training, we're working out as friends." Eve responded with a look of confusion. Cinder just leaned back and ran her hand through her hair slicking it back before she proclaimed.

"Fine, I'll do it." Cinder said as she grabbed his chest piece and dragged him by the strap on his chest armor. When Cinder was nearly out of sight Arslan, who had yet to move from her meditating pose, informed Eve.

"Training and workout partners are two different things." Eve blinked a little time before raising an eyebrow then turning to Arslan.

"Which are we?"

"Don't romanticize this."

After a long morning of physical training Cinder convinced him that she could train him. That went well for one night but he couldn't move on Sunday and she slept through the entirety of Sunday. They didn't make it back to training only focused on resting. Ruby just looked at her sister in bed before she did what was necessary, "WAKE UP!"

When Cinder didn't move Ruby did what was necessary, she took Cinder's pillow out from under her bed and put it on her head. Ruby held it down for several seconds before Cinder began flailing her arms and legs. When Ruby finally released the pillow Cinder launched herself up and shouted, "I'M AWAKE!"

"It is time for class."

"It's Sunday." Cinder said as she tried to stay awake. Ruby narrowed her eyes as her sister began lying down again.

"You slept through it; Time for class."

"Damn it, I did it again."

It didn't take long for her to get ready and go to class until she ran into Jaune in the hall. They exchanged pleasantries before they went to class. A short brisk walk in total silence, followed by running into Eve at the entrance of class. She looked them both up and down and asked them, "You both look like death, how was the workout."

"Great, I only vomited twice," Cinder said as Jaune heard one of the most concerning thing in a while.

"You didn't even make it through the morning run. You're boyfriend at least made it halfway through the day." Cinder scowled at her as they all entered the class.

"I'm sure after an exciting weekend you made sure to do your extra writings." A booming southern voice asked the trio as they tried to walk away from the the voice. She Lil' Miss didn't take long to walk over to them with an authoritative glare, "Well where are they?"

"I knew there was something I was forgetting..." Cinder said aloud. Jaune smacked his forehead as he realized, Lil' Miss just shook her head as none of them head it.

"I'm very disappointed in you," Eve said looking at the other two that didn't do the essay, Lil' Miss wasn't as pleased that Eve stole her line. Lil' Miss didn't get the chance to chew her out for that, "Don't look at me I was never going to do it to begin with."

Please like, comment, and subscribe. Or you know don't you have free will and I don't control you so whatever.

This was a long chapter to write and I doubt it came out the best it could. It will take some time to write the next chapter.

Eve and Arslan will be workout partners and probably a little competitive with each other. Cinder will be training Jaune from now on but that will be oddly different.

Ruby and Weiss have a much different relationship, Ruby will be the apathetic one and Weiss will be the overly polite rich girl.