Multiplayer

by NeoShadows

Life is a game. In an attempt to save a friend during the Breach, Jaune Arc died. Brought back to life with powers of a Gamer, he must now attempt to beat the game called life. He's not alone though. Every win or lose ends in a Reset, so how will he beat a game that never ends?

7. Strangers and Friends

Yo! NeoShadows back, and I'm currently not wearing pants!

. . .The fuck you looking at? What I wear when I'm in my bed at night, editing chapters and chilling, is none of your business.

Alright, I'll be completely honest with you all, I was really close to not finishing Chapter 8 yesterday. Most likely due to the fact that for two days I've been binging on Monster Hunter Generations. Luckily I stopped myself from playing anymore till I finished next weeks chapter. I was really close to not completing it in three days, and even now I'm not so sure about it. I mean, it's necessary to get the story going, but I still find it a bit dry. Good thing I got another DLC planned with it. And a few chuckles inside the chapter. Chapter 9 is where the real action is going to take place.

Reminds me, we have up to 8-9 chapters left till the end of Volume 1 of this story. After that, break time! I'll most likely begin Volume 2 of Multiplayer in the middle of Volume 4 of RWBY. In the space between that time, I'll be publishing One-shots for the time being. Just to let you know. That's still a good two months away though, so no need to worry. I'll be posting a chapter every Thursday till then.

As always, Review Time!

Vallavaryan: That's your opinion, and I respect it. But I don't really see how Jaune and the rest of his team would follow Ruby on her quest when they're beside a wounded Pyrrha. Her death was what would push Jaune to finally get serious and become a proper hunter. Course that could also happen if she was badly hurt, but still survived. But I feel that her death would mean more. It's debatable, and something to talk about some other time, that's just my two cents.

JustJustin3099: Really need to take a grammar class or something, I think I wrote much better when I was in high school. Again, Beta is starting to sound even more tempting at this point. And yes, the whole world does pause when he pauses. As do the Gamers without noticing, unless their a close distance to the Player activating it.

SonicFanFlame: Yeah, Cardin's a bit more fleshed out in my story. He's actually a good character to write once you give him more backstory. And boy, does he have a story here. As for Jaune ignoring Events, the Event Finder is optional. Not all of them are important, and who's to say he didn't find one? There can be more then one. Nope, can't wish for more wishes. As for another Reset, why would they after finally ending the endless resets? That's one of the reasons they wish to end the game. And yes, they still have their abilities other the one connected to the Gamer.

Vavoysh: Damn. It's just like when I use to write Dame instead of Damn. I'll get to work on that when I have the time, thanks for the notice.

Wandai: Pretty much. Can't run away from this Event. And tell me about it, I hate when others simply write Cardin off as some plain old racist for stories sake. Everyone has a reason. Other then a crush on some girl. Hah! I never thought of Ren's attitude like that till I got some reviews about it. Yeah, I guess you can say that. All that's missing is him saying Idiot with a blush!

DarkElucidator: Sure thing. Once I got time to actually play it again. I main as Ruby by the way. Love that girl. Steam ID is neosshadows. If I remember right.

TalonlbnLaAhad: Your insanity is a breath of fresh air, my friend. And I feel like talking to you would give me more and more ideas for DLC. So keep them ideas coming! As for the Event he missed, well that's the thing, I never said there was a single one available. I think you'll like this chapter, and its DLC. I blame my Final Fantasy 13 nostalgia for it.

Blackfirekingkoncor: Kinda confused with what you said there, bud. If it's about Holt being a Player, nope! No OC's are Players. The last two are kinda tricky. But they'll be revealed soon enough.

Acerman: I'm not telling~! You'll find out soon enough, trust me. No idea who Buster Brocket is, going to have to google him later. And thanks for liking the story and giving it a chance. I feel like most people ignore gamer stories at this point after the huge amount that have flooded this sect. Yeah, then and than have always been tricky for me. I'll be sure to watch out for that, so don't worry about being a grammar nazi. Sadly, we are one.

Soulfulbard: Eh, actually he kinda took another one instead. Can't accept more then one. Walked into another one while he ignored the other.

GhostHornet: Hah! We'll see what the future holds. Caught that reference, did ya? I think you're the only one. As for Jaune and Ren, yeah, no. To the disappointment of team RWBY, this ain't that kind of fic. It just comes off that way to them, and it's hilarious.

Benthino: Ah, thanks! Good to know you see promise with my fic. I won't disappoint! Glad to see you developing your own OC's, just remember not to go overboard with them. I'd like to hear about them when they're done. Yes, naughty times are certainly welcomed, I totally agree. As for Roman, well, I got plans for my favorite master criminal, don't you worry.

Wbrendon89: Happy to have you onboard, I promise this will be an epic tale in length and development! Never heard of Mother of Learning, I'll have to look it up when I have the chance. Spoilers! Can't say much on Ren and Pyrrha, not just yet. Nor can I deny or confirm you theory. As for the part of the teacher 'raping' Jaune, well it was written for humor's sake. Didn't really happen, simply got a little frisky with him. Sorry if it came out wrong. Hopefully this next DLC suits you.

Alright, Reviews are done with. Keep 'em coming. Also, if you got your own ideas for DLC's, write them down in the reviews along with your questions and thoughts. Who know's? I might just write one of them and credit you for it.

Now let's get to scrolling!

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Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to RWBY, they belong to RoosterTeeth. All this writing is keeping me away from my games. I still haven't even completed any of the ones on my laptop. Poor Huniepop, no cherry popping today.

. . .What? It's a good game! You have no idea how hard love making is! Litterally took me almost an hour to get laid!

. . .I say these things, and I'm Catholic. God give me strength. . .and patience to align those tokens quick enough to make those girls moan.

Yup, I've damned myself. I blame society. And the Spice channel.

---

Chapter 7: Strangers and Friends.

An audible boom echoed in the arena like a thundering clap, sending a panting Yang Xiao Long skidding on her boots across the room. Sweat rolled down her face, a thrilled grin stretching on her face as she stared down her opponent. A short girl that could give Ruby a run on her money in the short department huffed in equal exhaustion, her shoulders slumping as she reared her head back with an annoyed sigh. She wore brown Roman leather chest armor with floral designs running around the front, a knee length short skirt with silver metal plates padding over the material, and peasant sandals. A gold medallion hung over her neck with a fist clutching a lightning bolt engraved on it. The girl shook her head, her short sweaty brunette hair slapping her cheeks as she scowled.

"Not bad, Hera!" Yang panted as she took a second to recover her breath. It had been a long time since someone had pushed her back like that. All the girl was a missing was a busty chest instead of those mosquito bites she called boobs, long golden hair as silky smooth as her, a few more inches which heels could help with, and a taste in punny jokes and she would be a dead ringer as her twin sister.

Hera grumbled as she rubbed her right fist, "Damn, Cow. Making me exert myself like this." she pouted cutely. It's been awhile since she was forced to let loose some of her strength.

The grin on Yang's face twitched, "That's not very nice, Itty-Titty."

"That's sexual harassment!"

"You haven't seen sexual harassment!" Yang shouted, pointing her finger at the girl's chest. "Not yet at least. Come here! I can help you massage those poor excuse for tits!"

A golden aura erupted from the tiny girl's body with her furious shout, cracking the floor with the pressure she was exerting. Her blue eyes shined brighter as she stared down her opponent with an embarrassed blush. She raised her fist for a jab, punching the air in front of her a second later. A visible shockwave fired from her fist like a bullet, crashing head onto the busty blonde. Yang raised her arms in a cross guard, enduring the blunt air pressure hitting her like a plowing truck. A trail of carved tiles trailed from her feet skidding back from the powerful blow. Gritting her teeth, Yang unleashed her Semblance to convert the damage to raw power, her hair sizzling lightly as her eyes blazed red. Several more shock waves followed after her as she began to weave through the firing shots. Dust clouds blew up all around the girl, shrouding the arena below the class before another resounding clap cleared the dust.

The two girls fists were locked in a power struggle, their auras clashing against another. The ground broke apart into bits that floated around them. Sweat dripped down their forehead, gritting their teeth openly. A smirk broke through Yang's lips. "Guess what?" she sang smugly, earning a frown from the small brunette before winking, "You forgot about my friend, BASHY!" Her left fist swung into Hera's shocked face, knocking her off her feet and sending her flying out the ring.

Above the girls heads, Hera's Aura dropped into the red. Hera gasped as her back hit the wall, nearly breaking right through it. The girl slumped against it with a sigh. She was really starting to hate that left hand of hers. And its sister, Smashy. The big breasted blonde's Semblance was a perfect counter to her own.

A loud cheer erupted form the stands as the bell signaled the end of the match. Walking down into the crater filled arena, Glynda simply flicked her riding crop at the debris, fixing the damage back as if it never happened. Pitting those two girls at another was asking for the place to be demolished. One didn't like holding back, and the other couldn't hold back if she wanted. It was a spectacle to behold.

Tapping a few buttons on her scroll, Glynda called the two huntresses back to the center of the arena. She hid the small smile on her face watching Yang help up the beaten brunette. Despite how much of a brawler the girl was, she still had a caring heart on her. It was good to know that such power hadn't gotten to her head like others had.

"That was an excellent match you two. Despite not having your weapons on you, you both displayed remarkable hand to hand skills. I should expect no less with your Semblances." she nodded sternly before continuing on her assessment of their combat prowls. They were strong, but they still fell short on few fields, "But I still found a few flaws in your stances. Ms. Xiao Long, you tend to run into the fight without thinking. There were a number of times where you could have ended the fight but chose to throw your fists instead. And you seem to have trouble with opponents shorter then yourself. Watch out for that, there are many small sized Grimm that are quite powerful. That, and you seem to relay on your Semblance to finish the fight. Be careful of that, one wrong move and not even your gift will save you when you're left unconscious."

"Got it, Prof!" Yang grinned with a thumbs up.

"Right." Glynda drawled with a quirked eyebrow. She was sure the girl was only half paying attention now that the match was over. Turning her eyes to the smaller huntress, the blonde haired witch resisted the urge to turn her head down to meet the light blue eyes looking up at her own. If there was one thing she had learned about Hera through the last few weeks in her class was that height was a touchy subject for the small girl. "Ms. Kleos, while your Semblance allows you immense strength that can match even a Golaiths at times, your dexterity falls incredibly short on handling blows. Ms. Xiao Long was able to drop your aura into the red with only three hits, and even though the last one had been boosted by her Semblance, I would of thought to believe that you may have been able to hang in there longer. Your hand to hand is well developed, but once things start to heat up you seem to bite the bullet and start throwing your fists in hopes to end the fight. You must learn patience. A team leader such as yourself must keep a leveled head at all times. Do remember that."

"Yes, Professor Goodwitch." Hera mumbled, her eyes turned to the stands for something.

Glynda dismissed the girls, holding back a sigh of frustration. They were excellent fighters. But they lacked the drive. She was sure that they were only in it for the adventure. Well, Xiao Long seemed to be. Kleos was a different story all together. The girl didn't even want to be here. Her eyes trailed the small girl walking to her team, smiling happily once one of them handed her a small plushy toy Grimm modeled after a Griffon.

Sometimes Fate had other plans, sadly.

Leaving those thoughts behind, Glynda swiped her fingers through her scroll for the last match of the day. Flicking her hands up she brought up the hunter randomizer to the large screen above the arena.

"We have time for one last match today! Remember, today we are practicing on our hand to hand skills in combat. There will be times where many of you will be unable to fight with your weapons due to forgetfulness, being unprepared for conflict, and or when an enemy is able to separate you from it. It is important to fall back into your martial skill in times like this. So leave behind your weapons if your called up on the screen."

Ruby dropped back to her seat with a groan, letting her head fall onto her partner's shoulders. She took it back. Combat Studies was a pain in the ass. Without Crescent Rose by her side, she was nothing! They were partners! In as much as the world allowed. Stupid rules! Why couldn't they understand their love? Hopefully her name wasn't called up to fight today. Everyone else seemed to have something to fall back on when they were weaponless. Weiss had her Glyphs, Blake her Shadow, Yang her fists, and she was sure everyone else was well trained without their weapons be their sides. Ruby, not so much. You'd think with her incredible speed she would of come up with a way to fight without her beloved Crescent Rose, but no. Not much of fighter without it.

Meh, it wasn't like she would ever lose Crescent Rose. Or forget it. Or drop it.

She should stop now before further jinxing herself.

"Lie Ren and Jaune Arc! Will you please come down for the final fight of the day."

"Dammit!"

"Thank you, God!" Ruby cheered loudly as a head thumped onto their desk. Weiss smacked the girl's head to sit back down, earning Ruby a bump on her head. Her watery silver eyes turned to her friend's mortified face with a whimper, "Why, Snow Angel?" she sniffed.

Weiss growled, "Don't call me that! I swear if that doofus of a leader's nickname for me spreads out to others, I'll be sure he sees real angels up close!"

"That's right!" Yang nodded firmly as she waved an odd little flag in her hand, "Only Vomit Boy has the pleasure of calling her Snow Angel!"

"That's rig-NO!" Weiss suddenly roared with a light dust of pink on her cheeks to the whooping blonde girl. She grabbed Yang by the front of her jacket, shaking her body around like a rag doll, "The hell's wrong with you!? How many times do I have to tell you that it's never happening!? And what is that in your hand!? White Knight!? The hell is that!?"

"It's your shipping name." Blake answered calmly as her eyes stopped roaming her pages. She set the book down to turn her own yellow eyes to the arena below. She would be lying if she wasn't interesting in seeing how this was going to go. There was something going on between Jaune and Ren that hung around them. An odd sort of tension that surprised her.

Was it animosity? That couldn't be. Ren seemed like the calm type that would rather be left alone, and Jaune was the awkward boy who was as naive as a ten year old boy who wanted to be friends with everyone. There really wasn't much of a reason for them to be at odds with another. Yet there it was.

Hopefully they would be able to resolve whatever was going on in between them. At the thought she frowned lightly in confusion. When the hell did she begin to care about something as trivial as that?

Leaving behind Crocea Mors with Pyrrha, Jaune gulped audibly as he walked down to the arena besides his fellow Player. Ren didn't seem to care about the fight, his eyes just stared ahead with no real emotion.

Thing was, Jaune wasn't what you called the best fighter. Even with Crocea Mors, he was always fighting with his instincts. Without it, he wasn't sure he would last long in a fight. Especially with a guy like Ren. The pink eyed hunter knew martial arts and primarily fought with his fists with Storm Flower weaving into his combos. His aura control was also incredible, allowing him to harden his fists for some devastating blows. As his team leader, Jaune was suppose to know what his team was capable of. The only thing he never learned of was Ren's semblance. That had always been a mystery to him.

Did it have to do with his abilities as a Gamer? What was the difference between the powers of a Gamer and a semblance anyways? These were questions to save for later when Ren felt like helping him out again. The guy had already put up with him for the last two weeks. It was actually looking like he was warming up to him again. The glaring had dropped by a good 25%! Progress was progress.

'PVP, Activated! Rules: No Weapons allowed! Items have been disabled. Winning Conditions: Drop your opponents HP/Aura into the red! Physical Boost Semblances allowed. Get Ready!'

Standing apart from another, Jaune raised his fists in what he believed was a good form he had seen from a boxing match on TV. There wasn't a thought of winning on his mind. Ren outmatched him in every field he could think of. But he could at least put up a fight. It was better then nothing.

Ren yawned into his hand. He was hoping to go the day without fighting. It was too much of a drag at this point in The Game. Not to mention he was going to be fighting Jaune of all people. The guy was never adept in fist fighting. Or fighting in general really. Not until The Fall.

If it wasn't for the fact he was trying to keep up the appearance of a moderate student to the academy, Ren would of half-assed every fight. As a student of Beacon he was expected to be well trained, enough to be allowed entrance into such a prestige school. If Nora had chosen any other school, the he would of gotten away with his lazy attitude in combat. Maybe. He would never know seeing as she always chose Beacon with every reset. And he didn't feel like being the one that made the decisions in the dynamic. He would follow, he was done leading in anything.

'Scan.' The pink cross hair in his eye observed Jaune's stats, the sight actually making Ren grimace a bit. They were really pathetic. He was only Lvl 8! Everyone else in their class was at least in their thirties. If it wasn't for his abilities granted to him by The Game he would be wrecked in every fight. His Quirk must have been giving him an edge, he couldn't see any other reason Jaune could come off as half decent otherwise.

"Ready when you are, Ren." Jaune smiled nervously towards him. Ren held back an annoyed grunt as he got into a stance himself.

The fight was pointless to him. But maybe it would teach Jaune a lesson on how ill experienced he was. There had to be a limit to how much someone could try.

"BEGIN/FIGHT!" Both Professor Goodwitch and The Game announced.

Jaune breathed in deeply, bending his knees slightly before shooting off his feet towards Ren's waiting form. 'Let's see if that +7 in my Speed was worth the trouble!' Skidding to a stop in front of the raven, Jaune threw a right jab at his face. Ren slapped the flat of his hand at the blonde's wrist just before he landed a hit, twisting it around his grip. He pulled it forward, catching Jaune by surprise before punching at his exposed throat. The blow sent Jaune stumbling back with a rasped gasp for air as he choked.

Damn. Guess he shouldn't of rushed in like that. Squinting through his watering eyes, Jaune quickly spun on his right foot to dodge a dropping axle kick heading his way. If there was at least one good thing he was good at, it was dodging. Pink orbs coolly glanced back at him before several high kicks shot at him. Jaune raised his arms up for a guard, blocking the rain of blows to his face. He grimaced noticing the faint outline of pink cladding Ren's kicks. 50 points of his HP was chipped off with every blow he blocked. Wasn't looking like he was going to be able to keep this up much longer. His arms were beginning to ache. With one last powerful kick to Jaune's guard, Ren quickly jumped back a step before spinning on his feet for a roundhouse kick. It landed, breaking Jaune's guard and sending him skidding back on his feet with trembling arms. Jaune winced at the new pain before shaking his head. He wasn't done yet.

'Scan!' Throwing caution to the wind, Jaune dashed towards Ren with his fist raised for another shot at his face.

'Lie Ren, Mind of the Gamer. 8,700/8,700HP.'

Looked like he could finally see his HP. Guess that meant that he could only do that in PVP matches. Sucked that it was the only thing he could see.

Stepping aside from the flying fist, Ren swung his hand in knife hand gesture into Jaune's side. The aura coating the blade of his fingers chopped off 300 points from his health. This was becoming sad. Another assault of poor formed blows fell onto him. Ren dodged and countered everyone of them, landing every strike he threw into the blonde's body.

'300. 200. 200. 300. 50. And 200.' Ren counted off the damage he inflicted with each hit he scored. If he wanted to, he could simply end the fight now. But that would of painted a picture of a remarkable hunter in Glynda's eyes. That wasn't something he wanted. Then again, taking out Jaune quickly wasn't much of a challenge either.

Another fist flew towards his face. Ren sighed in annoyance as he swung his palms to counter the blow. Jaune never learned.

"POWER STRIKE!"

A surprised grunt escaped Ren's lips. What he thought would be a weak punch turned into a iron hard swiping fist meeting his own. What do you know? Looked like Jaune wasn't as dumb as he thought.

Using the element of surprise, Jaune used whatever speed he was granted to turn on his foot and swing his right fist into Ren's exposed chest. Ren smirked just as Jaune was about to land a hit, his left hand glowing with pink energy.

"Power Strike." A kick to Jaune's shins abruptly ended his attack as he shouted in pain. He began to fall forward only for Ren to swiftly land a glowing palm strike to his face. 'CRITICAL HIT!' The force of the blow sent Jaune falling back with a large bruise slowly forming on his face. He was left with little time to recover before he found himself rolling away from a heel drop onto his already aching face. The floor cracked in spider cracked webs as Ren missed, the action causing him to scoff. Like a roach, Jaune just wouldn't stop moving. "Why can't you just forfeit already?" Ren asked in boredom as he began dodging another rain of knuckles aimed for him. He rolled his eyes blocking a pathetic spin kick with his elbow. His hand twisted the knight's ankle before throwing his body to the side with little effort. Seriously, where the hell was his limit? "You're not going to win this fight. So why bother getting yourself beat up? You have a better chance at me with Crocea Mors." As little as it was.

Jaune panted in exhaustion as he willed himself up. A look at his own health wasn't reassuring in the slightest. 'Jaune Arc, 1,250/4,000HP, 60/70MP.'

"Yeah, you're right about that." he laughed tiredly before giving his friend a strained grin, "But I won't learn anything if I don't try."

Ren glared at the blonde before vanishing from thin air. Cursing, Jaune knew that he had to move out of the way quickly. He already died to a similar move last time.

"Too slow."

Blurring right in front of Jaune just before he could step away, Ren picked the stunned blonde up by the front of his hoodie, leaving him dangling in the air. This really was too easy. Jaune would of posed a better challenge with his sword and shield, without them he was easy EXP. At least he could blow off some steam from this. A glance at everyone watching the fight from their seats in the aisle revealed a worried frown on Pyrrha's face as her green eyes were glued to Jaune's beaten body. Wasn't winning any points there. "Do you give up yet?" Ren quirked his brow as he pulled back his fist for one last power strike to his chest. The area was weak, so he could probably earn another critical hit to end the fight.

A hoarse chuckle was Jaune's answer, "Not just yet." he said with a grimaced grin.

"Jaune." Ren breathed tiredly as his fist glowed, "What else can you-"

"POWER STRIKE!"

Slamming his head into the stunned raven hunter's forehead with the added boost of power strike, Jaune inflicted a good 200 points of damage into his HP as Ren stumbled back. So it did work with whatever body part he was thinking of. Good to know. Now he had an opening to fight back. Charging on ahead, Jaune didn't waste another second for Ren to recover before throwing all his mana into his fists. "Power Strike! Power Strike! Power Strike!" Three more mana powered fists slammed into Ren, depleting his health bit by bit. Ren had enough though. Catching a fist aimed for his stinging right cheek, the raven followed up with a power strike of his own into the blonde's chest. The armor protecting his chest cracked loudly and sent Jaune falling back. He clutched onto his chest in pain, gasping as he felt his aura drop into the red.

It was over. With the sound of the buzzer and Professor Goodwitch calling the match, Jaune had lost.

Guess he had done better then he had hoped for. Struggling to whisper the words, the knight scanned Ren who had taken the time to run his hand over his lightly bruising face. 'Lie Ren, Mind of the Gamer. 7,800/8,700HP.' A small smile reared itself on Jaune's face as he let his head fall back. It wasn't much, hardly anything really, but he made some headway. Didn't know how strong Ren's Defense and Dexterity were, but he had done enough damage with what little Strength he had. It was an accomplishment in his book.

'Oum dammit! That actually fucking hurt!' Ren flinched from the stinging pain on his face. Jaune actually landed a hit, several ones at that. Did not see that coming. A headbutt of all things? Guess he was blinded by his own arrogance. Forgot that Jaune was a Player, no matter how weak he was. Gamers were a clever bunch. His own leader had a knack for tactics as well, even if he didn't know it yet. Bringing up his own status, he was surprised to see that the little blows that landed on him were enough to drop more then a thousand points. Ren's Dexterity wasn't exactly high, so no surprise there.

Still he had left his guard down. He may have won the fight, but the few blows were concerning.

That brought up the thought of fighting Jaune with Crocea Mors. The fight may of gone differently with his weapon in hand. Most of his more powerful attacks were only usable with that blade. If Jaune had fought him with his weapon in hand, then Ren would have had to put some effort into the fight.

Jaune was growing. Slowly, but he was definitely displaying some improvement. It wouldn't be long till he could stand on even ground with all of them. And the thought pissed him off for some reason. Ren cleared his mind of the matter with a thin line on his lips.

'Congratulations! Jaune Arc's HP has hit the red! +1,000EXP!'

What did it matter? It would all be pointless anyways.

"That was an excellent match, Mr. Lie." Snapped out of his thoughts, Ren's attention fell onto the blonde witch standing in the middle of the ring. Her green eyes showed little emotion as she addressed them both on their combat skills. He didn't care. Other then the opening at the end of the match, he had done well. No point in listening to her babble.

"Your skills in hand to hand are amazing, seems you won't be having any trouble if you ever lose your weapon in combat. Add onto to your impressive control over your own aura, I have no doubts that you would have no problem on the subject. But your arrogance at the end left you wide open for a surprise attack." Called it. Even as her eyes narrowed slightly towards his own pink eyes faking interest, he barely paid attention. It wasn't the first time she had talked to him about such things. It had gotten old after the fiftieth run through. "Be mindful of that. Such attitude had fallen many a men."

"I apologize for the lapse of judgment." he bowed. Even if he had gotten tired of her teachings, it didn't mean he wasn't mindful of her. Glynda was powerful huntress for an NPC, that could go toe to toe with Cinder of all people. Did not want to get on her bad side.

Nodding her head at the pink eyed hunter, Glynda massaged the space inbetween her brow as she turned her attention to the nervous knight covered in bruises.

"Mr. Arc, while your large aura reserve allows you to soak in damage, it does not mean that you should. From the looks of it you have no real training in fighting without your weapon by your side. That is not a good thing. Had this been a real fight, you would most likely of died. I will say this, your reflexes do give you a slight edge along with your quick thinking." tapping down the boys individual scores from their matches, Professor Goodwitch went on to shut down the screen above them. The fight hadn't taken too long and ate enough time to end the class. It was time to call off class for the day. "Practice on your fighting skills without your weapons during the next two weeks. By that time, I will be holding another spar against someone adept enough to see how well you've done. I hope to see some actually form the next time you're called up for hand to hand, Mr. Arc."

"I'll be sure to do that, Professor Goodwitch." Jaune nodded before wincing. His aura was working on healing his wounds, but they still hurt. Even when Ren was holding back it still hurt to be at the end of his fist. The guy wasn't even trying!

Finding someone to teach him hand to hand was going to be difficult. Not in the way of finding someone who practiced with their fists. This was Beacon after all, not everyone fought with some odd weapon that was also a gun, as rare as they were to find. No, the problem came from finding someone willing enough to teach him. Pyrrha was a godsend before, teaching him how to fight with his sword and shield in style similar to her own, but they hadn't practiced much on fighting without their weapons. It didn't really come up seeing as she had been too busying building his muscles up first before they got started on swordplay.

If he was honest with himself there was only one person that could teach him how to fight with his without his weapon.

"Ohhhhhh, Vomit Boy!"

Speak of the devil and she will come.

Golden locks draped over his shoulder as Yang dropped herself onto Jaune's back with a grin. "That was quite a match, Vomit Boy. Had me on the edge of my seat." she winked.

"Really?" Jaune asked in awe.

Yang shot him down with a flat stare, "No. I was honestly surprised you lasted for as long as you did with that sad excuse of a form you got into. Where did you get it from? Some crappy action movie?" she laughed.

"Well, no. It was actually from Power Hunters and a few boxing shows."

"That crappy TV show about hunters and huntresses in one piece suits fighting aliens and demons attacking Remnant? I thought only Ruby watched that crap."

"I'll have you know it's a show about friendship and learning to overcome personal struggles!"

"It's a show with crappy acting, horrible special effects, and lousy costumes! I've seen third grade plays with better writing then that shit!"

"Heathen! Those are words of blasphemy!"

"Yeah!" Ruby jumped in alongside Jaune, high fiving her fellow team leader. Finally someone who understood how awesome Power Hunters was! "You just don't understand fine art when you see it!"

"You keep telling yourself that." Was not going to get into another argument about that show again. Ruby, she could understand with her being fifteen and all that, but she expected more from Jaune. Alright, she was lying to herself. After getting to know her fellow blonde she realized he was as big a dork as her little sister. She still remembered the blue bunny pajamas he wore on their first night at Beacon. Wasn't the most flattering bed wear to show off in public. "Onto the real matter at hand, that really was the most sorry excuse for hand to hand I have ever seen. And I've seen Ruby fight without Crescent Rose on her, she could totally wipe the floor with ya."

"I know karate!"

Yang rolled her eyes playfully as she watched Ruby karate chop the air while making kung fu noises. "Ya see?"

"Teach me 'o' great master!"

Fucks sake. Yang smacked her face at the sight of Jaune dropping on his knees and bowing to Ruby as she practiced her sad excuse for kung fu. She couldn't tell if he was joking around or being serious. Should of taught her sis how to fight like a real professional.

The act got old real quick as she pulled him up roughly be his hood. She brought his face closer to her own with a deadpanned expression. "I'm going to pretend I didn't see that and that you're just playing cute. Like I was saying, you suck at fighting with those sorry excuse you call fists. You seem to do alright with your weapons, but Goodwitch is right, you need to practice on fighting without them."

"And what do you suggest?" Jaune asked nervously. Was not liking where this train of thought was going.

"Me. You. One on one. No Crocea Mors or Ember Celica, only our fists wrapped in tape. I swear I'll make a man out of you!"

"Don't you mean decent hand to hand fighter?" Pyrrha interjected with a strained smile. The hell was the busty girl planning with her partner?

"That too!"

While that sounded nice and all, Jaune wasn't too sure about that. Yang didn't like to hold back. Even without her semblance she could still break a boulder under her fist. Being on the receiving end of said fist for practice wasn't what he liked to call a good time. Even if it did help him improve his fighting skills. Needed some time to think about it.

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Is this because you're nervous about practicing in skimpy clothing with a girl who you'll be grappling with in a sweaty display of skinship?"

"Did not think of it like that, but thanks for the mental image." Jaune answered stiffly with blush on his face. That wasn't going to be leaving him soon.

"Eh, too bad then." Yang let the blue eyed boy with a nonchalant shrug. Sounded fun to her, but she wasn't going to force the guy into it. Jaune could make his own decisions. "Just know that if you ever need any help in your hand to hand that I'm right here to help. We may not be on the same team, but we're friends. So don't be afraid to ask for any help if you need it." she smiled gently at him while punching his shoulder.

"Will do." Jaune nodded with a strained smile. At this point he was wondering if he simply bruised easily.

"Why don't we all head off to lunch then?" Pyrrha smiled kindly as team JNPR and RWBY began to make their way out the class with the rest of the students. Classes for the day were over with. It was a good time as any to grab a bite to eat with the end of Combat Studies. "I hear that they're serving pizza today~!" she sang happily. If there was one thing she had come to enjoy at school, it was the pizza. Her manager hadn't allowed her to eat such greasy food in Mistral. And what a delight it was! "We'll grab a few slices and head back to the dorms to eat. Nora is still banned from setting foot on cafeteria grounds after all. We don't want to start anymore trouble then we've already caused."

"This is discrimination! My people will rebel against my oppressors and take over their land! This I swear on my title as Queen!"

"I could eat." Jaune agreed tiredly. Some food sounded nice after the ass whooping he was served.

A buzzing stopped him in his tracks though. Waving the others to go on without him with a small smile, Jaune brought up his menu to see what kind of message he received.

'It's Ann. I got your Lien. Meet me up in Vale around five o'clock today. I won't take no for an answer.'

Jaune blinked in surprise at the message. He almost forgot about the blue haired girl owing him Lien. It was only 5L for crying out loud! Ann must be the stubborn type.

'Guess I should head out now then. Even The Game said she would hunt me down and shove the cards down my throat. Do not want to know how they feel passing through.'That and it was a mission connected to an Event. Trial by Fire. There was still no new notifications on what the Event was about, only that if he didn't complete Ann's mission it would result in an immediate failure. Besides, it gave him the opportunity to make a new friend. There was no such thing as too many friends in his book! 'Going to have to send Pyrrha a quick message then. I wonder if I should ask her to save me a slice or eat out in Vale? Nah, better to eat out. Knowing Nora, there won't be anything left, especially if RWBY joins them. Yang has as much of an appetite as Nora.'

Sending his partner a quick message that he had something come up that he had to take care of in the city, Jaune was ready to head off to the air ships when a slight cry caught his attention. Whipping his head around for the culprit, he took a few steps around the corner of the hall and found the source.

Standing on the tip of her toes he found Hera trying desperately to reach for something ontop of the soda machine in front of her. He narrowed his eyes for a better look. It looked like her plushy doll had been tossed atop of the machine for some odd reason. She was always carrying it around with her wherever she went. The sight actually reminded him of his own little sister and how the others would tease her by taking her toy and raising it above her head to reach for. It pulled at his big brother heart strings.

Hera grunted tiredly as she tried jumping for her plushy Griffon, Pegi. Nothing was working though. If she wasn't afraid of getting in trouble for wrecking the soda dispenser then she would have had little Pegi in her arms by now. Should of stuck with her team instead of going for a drink. Then that bastard wouldn't of tossed Pegi away from her reach. Damn her genes!

A presence stepped beside her as her shoulders fell in defeat. Seemed she had no choice. A lecture and a bill for the damages wasn't new to her. A broken machine pooling with sticky soda was better then her plushy being away from her for another second. She was just going to have to try holding back a little. It wouldn't be enough to stop any sort of damage. At least their wouldn't be a giant man sized hole in the wall like the one above her head.

"This yours, Hera?"

Mid swing, Hera abruptly paused her attack. A slight breeze brushed past her as her fist came inches from meeting its target. Her head turned to the side, her watery eyes brightening in surprised joy at the soft masked Grimm staring back at her.

"Pegi!" she cried happily before snatching it into her hugging arms. The presence beside her chuckled, bringing her attention to the person who brought her back her precious.

Jaune smiled gently down at the curious blue eyes staring up at him. She really did remind him of one of his sisters. Even had the exact cute face.

"You okay there? It looked like you were having a bit of trouble." he asked as he crouched down a bit to her level. Man, she really was small. She was shy an inch or two below Ruby. Made him wonder if she was a prodigy too. A girl couldn't be that tiny at his age.

Hera nodded her head shyly at the blonde haired knight. Jaune, if she remembered right. Didn't he get his ass handed to him earlier?

"Yes, thank you, Jaune." she smiled nervously as she continued to hug her stuffed Grimm closer to her chest.

"No problem. I wouldn't be a very good gentlemen if just let a little girl struggle. Guess you must be like Ruby and skipped over a few grades. That must be pretty cool." he grinned widely.

The small girl's eyes narrowed suddenly, twitching faintly at the boy. Not this shit again.

"Little girl? Skipped over a few grades? How old do you think I am?" she asked slowly, her fist trembling lightly at the stupid grin on his face.

"Eh, what, you look thirteen from the looks of it." he answered honestly, unaware of the growing pressure hanging over the girl. To him she still looked like a cute little girl. "You must be very skilled for a girl your age. What's your toy's name? Is it Grimmy, Griffy, something with a y at the end." he continued to coo.

Ah,to be a kid again. He could still remember his own plushy. 'I wonder whatever happened to you, Sir Knightly Bear. We could of taken the world by storm.' Last he had seen him, his mother had promised to wash it. That was year ago. Hadn't seen his little buddy since.

Little did he know, his mother had given it to the neighbor boy who was only five. It was about time he stopped playing with stuffed animals. There something about a sixteen year old boy playing knights and dragons with a stuffed bear in a high pitch voice that wasn't right.

The smile on Hera's face tightened, the twitch in her eye going crazy as she raised her fist in front of the oblivious fool. One more word. That was all it would take.

"I bet if you continue to put all your effort into your studies, Santa will see how good a girl you are and visit you in Beacon! I'll put in a good word for you too. How's that sound?"

An audible snap broke the silence in the air. It wasn't until Jaune opened his eyes did he see the flying fist shooting for his face.

"IDIOT!"

'What did I do now!?' The fist smashed into his face with enough strength and force to send him soaring to the very end of the hallway. His back nearly smashed straight through the wood, the splinters digging into his clothing as he slumped to the floor. A quarter of his HP had been knocked out with one hit! A gurgled moan of pain fell out of his lips as heavy footsteps marched towards him.

The small olympian themed girl growled once she reached the groaning blonde, picking him up by the scruff of his hoodie. She made him look straight into her eyes, "Listen closely, Jaune. I am not a little kid. I. Am. Seventeen! I'm seventeen, god dammit! So don't treat me like some little kid or you'll wind up just like that bastard I sent flying through Beacon's new window!" she shouted loudly as she gestured to the splintered hole above them.

"I was wondering if that was new." he drawled in pain. As if his pretty face wasn't beaten up enough for the day. Hera really could pack a punch behind that tiny fist.

Still though, through the haze of pain Hera looked adorable even with such an angry expression on her face. He was starting to see his youngest sister in her expression. Must of been the damage to his brain.

With a woozy smile, Jaune patted the girl's head, "I'm sorry, little Hera. Big brother didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I wuv you."

Hera pulled at her hair in frustration. The idiot didn't even seem to be paying attention! Guess even when she held back her fist was still able to knock his brain around a bit. It wouldn't be surprising if he was seeing his little sister instead of her face, if he had one. He may of gotten Pegi down from the soda machine, and she was truly grateful for it, but that didn't excuse the embarrassment and the insult she felt.

This was why she had wanted to stay back in the country. At least they knew not to mess with her there. Their barbed words were better then being treated like some preteen.

Resisting the urge to teach Jaune a lesson with her fists, Hera chose instead to walk away from the matter. Leave the idiot to groan in pain. Even if he was a nice guy that didn't excuse him for his behavior regarding her height.

"Remember this, Jaune. Seventeen! I'm not afraid of sending you to the nurses office with a broken, stupid face if you forget it!" she huffed cutely before turning on her heels and heading off to her dorm.

Once the petite huntress had left the halls, Jaune breathed a sigh of relief. Thank god for aura! Pretty sure he'd be dead by now without its help. It paid to have a force field around your body.

"Aaaaaaaaggggghhh!"

A loud shout startled Jaune as a body seemed to of fallen out of the sky and crash through the ceiling. The body of Russel Thrush fell into a groaning heap a few spaces from where he lied. He had been wondering who Hera's first victim had been.

"My everything hurts." Russel whimpered as he struggled to get back up. Who knew the girl could punch? Well, he did after watching her fight toe to toe with Yang, but he seemed to of forgotten that little tid bit of information when he was picking on her. Wasn't going to be doing that again.

An arm picked him off his feet, settling him onto the person's shoulders as they helped Russel steady himself. The yellow hair and blue eyes were a dead give away to his helper's identity.

"Jaune?" Russel frowned in confusion. Why was he helping him? Team CRDL wasn't exactly the most popular group in Beacon. It was no surprise that all the students kept a good distance from them. So it was surprising to see someone helping a guy like him up, especially a guy like Jaune. Weren't he and Cardin enemies or something? Why help him?

"Sup, Russel? Hera send you flying too?" Jaune chuckled weakly as he winced. The bruise was slowly healing, but the pain wasn't stopping anytime soon. Exact same spot Ren had hit him too.

Russel hung his head in humilation. He wasn't use to being treated like this. Cardin wasn't the most friendly team leader.

"Yeah, guess I deserved it for messing with the midget." he grumbled lightly only to receive a smack to his head. "Oww! What the fuck was that for!?" he barked angrily.

"That wasn't very nice. Midgets are people too. And midgets is an offensive word. Besides, she's not that small."

"I swore she looked like a twelve year old."

"I guessed thirteen. Now I feel like a creep."

"Welcome to my world." Russel sighed in depression. Talk about jailbait.

With his aura now finished healing whatever damage the squirt had thrown at him, Russel leaned off the blonde knight as he dusted himself off. Definitely going to head for the showers after this. Could of swore he killed a few baby Nevermores when he was sent rocketing for the sky. Even had some blood and feathers on him that were turning to black smoke.

Curiosity getting the better of him as Russel narrowed his eyes at Jaune who had begun typing on his scroll.

"Why did you help me just now?" he asked in slight suspicion. He wasn't the kindest person to help out. Most of the students thought of him as some racist for his team's treatment of faunus. He didn't hate them, but it wasn't like he trusted them either.

Jaune raised his eyebrow quizzically, almost as if he didn't understand the question. "Why not? It wasn't like I was going to leave you lying there in pain. That's just mean."

Mean? That's why he helped him? Because it would be mean not too? Russel shook his head in disbelief. The guy was an idiot. Who thought like that?

"But we're enemies, aren't we?" his face scrunched up in doubt. There teams never got along with another since Jaune and Cardin began sparring against each other regularly in Combat Studies. "Why would you help an enemy out like that?"

"Who said we were enemies? Just because me and Cardin don't get along with each other doesn't make us enemies. We go to the same school, eat in the same lunchroom, or use to, and have the same dreams. To be hunters." Jaune grinned.

It was true that Cardin wasn't the most open guy, he was a flat out racist, but it didn't mean he hated the guy. Anymore. That was the thing with dying. It opened up your mind to a lot of things. Cardin wasn't his friend, but some part of the brown haired hunter's mind had thought of him as one. It's why he was registered as one in his scroll.

Who knows? Maybe he could find some way to change Cardin's mind on the faunas. Doing nothing never did anything. It reminded him of an old saying his grandfather had once said to him.

The true sin in life was turning your eyes away from what was in front of you.

"You guys aren't enemies, your all just guys I haven't had the time to befriend yet."

Russel stared dumbly at the smiling blonde knight in disbelief. Was he for real? Where the hell did he come from, did he walk straight out of some cheesy comic book!?

But. . .he sounded sincere. As much as he hated to admit it, Jaune wasn't that bad a guy. Just oblivious. And he screamed like a girl. It made it easy for them to write him off as some kind of comic relief, the idiot that was always getting picked on. But even Cardin had said that Jaune wasn't to be taken lightly. It's why they hadn't bullied him like they had been planning on. Cardin saw something in the blonde, enough to even tolerate him. It wasn't till their argument last week when they had been picking on the bunny chick that his leader began to curse his name out. He almost sounded betrayed in some sort of way.

And then he began disappearing off to Vale at the end of every class since. Cardin would come back early in the morning with his armor battered and dented along with bruises and small cuts on his face. Something had been going on with his leader that he wasn't willing to share. Hell, for some odd reason he had even stopped bullying faunus. He simply cursed them under his breath with an odd look on his face. Sky couldn't' tell if it was one of regret or anger. His leader was changing, and it didn't look like it was in a good way. An odd vibe was coming off of him and his team didn't like it.

"You're a real sap, you know that?" the mohawk hunter grunted. But he seemed like an alright guy in his book. "No wonder Cardin can't stand you. A guy like you tends to piss him off."

"How is he doing anyways?" Jaune asked with a frown. When he thought about it, it's been a while since he's seen the mace wielder. He wasn't even in class today. Did give him the fortune of having Weiss as his Dust partner in Professor Pithos class though.

"It's complicated. He hasn't come back from Vale since last night. We got a text back from him before classes started saying he was too busy with something to go to class today. So we know he's okay." It was still worrying. If Cardin hadn't sent a message to them, then they would went off to the Headmaster.

Didn't sound good to Jaune. Vale was in the middle of dealing with Torchwick and the White Fang. Now wasn't the best of times to be strolling around the place.

"Well I'm heading off to Vale right now. I'll be sure to look out for him." Jaune nodded as he took a peek at the time. Shit, nearly half an hour had gone by. Ann was going to kill him if he was late.

Russel hesitated, but nodded back in the end. Any help was welcomed at this point. Cardin was their friend, even if everyone else thought of him as a jerk.

"Thanks for that. Guess you really aren't such a bad guy after all." Russel thanked him before turning away. It was about time he headed back to the dorms. Maybe Cardin already made it back when they were gone?

Waving at the creamy green haired hunter away, Jaune went on his way to the air ships. No time to waste now.

Swore he could of saw Russel smile for a brief moment though.

'Congratulations! You've Unlocked Russel Thrush's Friendship! Hedge Fang Ability, Unlocked!'

---

An iron fist smashed the side of Cardin's face, sending him skidding on his side. He grimaced in pain before the mechanical clanking rushing towards him alerted him to his opponent. A dropping heel stomp aimed for his head. Rolling to the side he missed having his head pulverized to mush as the blow destroyed the floor to bits. He shot back up and blocked the onslaught of blurring fists with his forearms. Bits of his arm guards were chipped off and dented, causing him to grit his teeth openly. If this kept up he wouldn't be able to even lift his fists! Seeing a spinning kick coming his way. Cardin slammed the side of his fist into the ankle before it could hit him. The action sent his opponent tumbling back, cursing loudly before they found themselves lifted up in the air by a rising uppercut below their chin.

"Sneaky whelp!" Flipping in the air, his opponent landed back on their feet, wiping away the blood trialing their cut lips.

The man in front of Cardin wore a silky dark blue jacket, loose fitting pants and legs wrapped in black cloth, studded arm guards, tabi boots, and a black belt with a serpent design. His short black hair was combed back, tied in a short ponytail falling to his shoulders and multiple scars ran on his face. Green eyes narrowed back in wary, his mechanical fingers twitching as they circled another.

This fight would have been over sooner if Holt allowed him to use his damn weapons. But noooo! Had to teach the kid to fight without them to make up for missing class today. Damn little whelp, playing pet just like that little orphan brat. The hell were they? 'Social warriors' or a fucking daycare!? It was bad enough that he had them practicing in one of their warehouses, but he was not a teacher!

"That all you got, Nara?" Cardin tried to grin smugly, only for it to come out as a weary expression.

Nara spat a wad of bloody saliva in response, "Don't kid yourself, boy. I've yet to break in the gears in these arms." his gruff voice growled.

"Then start breaking them in!"

"As you wish, boy!" Vanishing from sight, the ninja themed man began to appear around Cardin in blurred after images. Each one took a shot at the brown haired teen with blurring fists, smacking him around with each blow. A palm strike to Cardin's chest was blocked and twisted around in a grappling hold. But the strength of Nara's robotic arm broke free, delivering a jab at the boy's windpipe. Cardin choked in agony before Nara followed through with a windmill of punches to his chest. If it wasn't for his armor protecting him, he was sure the metal knuckles would of broken the skin.

Cardin swatted the fist aimed for his face again, taking the opportunity to kick the man back a few steps. It didn't derail Nara as he dashed back at his opponent with a knife hand. They traded blows once they met each other, dancing around one another as they countered and retaliated each attack they threw back. Nara jumped high in the air, flipping back for an axle kick to his head. Cardin raised his arms to block the descending blow, wincing as his arm guards shattered. Kicking off from his failed attempt, Nara went on to aim for his leg only to be tackled by a rushing charge by the hunter. He snarled, punching his dense fists into the boy before being slammed into a ship crate. A pained gasp escaped his lips that evolved into a growl. Underestimating the kid wouldn't do him any good. A jab with his knee into Cardin's stomach freed him from his hold. Looked like it was time to get serious.

Blue sparks zapped around his right fist as it assumed a clawed gesture. If Holt wanted to give the boy some real training, the he would give him real training.

With a burst of speed, Nara charged right back at Cardin, zipping around in a bee line as sparks trailed behind him. If their was one thing Cardin had learned from fighting Nara the last week, it was to avoid his fists when they sparked. Even with aura shielding him, the electricity cladding the man's arms stung like a bitch. He ducked under a swipe for his head, leaned to the right to dodge a knife hand plunging for his sternum, moved further to the right to miss the spinning back kick that grazed his lips, and jumped over the rushing charge of slashing sparked claws.

The guy wasn't so tough. And here he thought he was going to learn something today. 'So much for Holt's left hand man! I bet if I had Beaufort this fight would have been done long ago.' Cardin smirked smugly. The glint aimed behind him aimed to differ.

An iron grip caught the back of his combat uniform, digging into his back before swinging him around in a circle above Nara's head. Chains trailed the detached hand swinging Cardin around, leading back into Nara's wrist. Having had enough of seeing the boy's face turn green, Nara grinned savagely before tugging his hand back to him. Cardin followed along and soon met the familiar iron knuckles of his so called teacher.

He flew back into a large crate, his body sparking as he dented into the metal with a loud metal crunch.

"C-Cheap shot." Cardin grumbled in a wheeze before falling onto the floor. A static buzz cloaked his body in an orange red veil before vanishing in an instant. His aura had dropped to zero. Nothing was left to protect him now.

Nara stalked forward, calling off the electricity jumping around his hands. "Don't think we're finished yet. In real life the fight doesn't end when your aura is in the red or reaches zero." he smirked cruelly, stopping in front of Cardin as he looked weakly up at him, his face dirty and bruised. The ninja grabbed him by his hair and pulled him up, raising his fist back for another knuckle sandwich, "It ends when one of us is dead and buried in the ground below!"

Before Nara could send his fist packing into the flinching brunette's face, a rather large hunters knife cut through the air and stabbed itself into his arm. Oil spurt from his limb as if it hit an artery, splashing his face. A loud whirl of gears escaped from his arm before it dropped limply by his side in a cloud of exploding smoke.

"Now what I say about trying to kill my recruits, Naragami? It's bad enough I've had to bury twelve of them already, I don't need my little student to wind up the same. That's just bad business really."

Nara grumbled under his breath as he let the hunter go. Great, looked like he knew what he was going to be doing for the next hour. What a joy.

Watching as the shaggy blonde descended down the steps of the top level of the warehouse, Nara took the moment to rip off a piece of his jacket to tie around the bleeding fluid running down his damaged arm, "A 'Stop' would have been a better phrase to stop the fight, Master Holt. Do you know how difficult it is to repair an arm that had once belonged to an Atlesian Knight? I had to fucking take a class on robotics to figure this crap out. Which isn't easy for a criminal to take." he grunted as he fastened the black ribbon bandage he made.

Holt quirked a brow, tilting his head to the side in amusement, "And do you remember who had smuggled said appendages from Atlas in the first place and surgically attach them?"

"Not you." he deadpanned, leaning back against the damaged crate as he closed his eyes, "Didn't you pay some fancy doctor to do all this shit? And if I recall, I'm the one who had to break into their Robotics Department and literally rip them off one of those bots. Which was hard to do seeing as I had no hands!"

"I fail to see how that was my problem."

"If it wasn't for your crappy men accompanying me as meat shields, I wouldn't be standing here to speak of. Hopefully this boy will make a better shield then the last batch."

"Standing right here, you know!?" Cardin barked lightly as he struggled to get back up. It was going to be a painful time waiting for his aura to regenerate. Everything hurt!

"Quite." Nara retorted blandly, knocking Cardin down with his good arm, "The adults are talking."

Holt sucked in a breath with a grimace. The assassin was never one for holding back. The concept of playing with his target never registered to him. It was a waste of time and resources. That was why he had him fighting most of his new recruits, to test their worth out and see if they were capable fighters once they passed the first test. Normally Cardin would have had to complete the first one, but Holt was saving that one for later. Wanted to ease him into the idea and his groups cause. It was a work in progress, but nothing a few more days wouldn't fix.

"Would you mind explaining to me why I'm even training this whelp?" Nara growled in annoyance, glaring back the groaning Beacon student. "He hasn't even brought us a trophy to gain entry into our little group. So why am I sparring against a boy who hasn't even hunted his first faunus yet!? Don't tell me you're going to let him join without hunting a faunus like that little orphan Ann of yours!? That would be an insult to the others who have spilled blood for you!"

"You know for a ninja, you're pretty emotional." Holt sighed tiredly before glaring right back at the livid pony tailed man, "And I never said he wouldn't hunt one down. Call this a trail run. If he's willing to join us, which I'm sure he absolutely will, then problem solved."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Kill him?" the game hunter shrugged calmly, ignoring the dropped jaw of said student. "What's he going to do? Tell the authorities that he joined an anti-terrorist group that wishes to amputate the limbs of faunus for peace and wanted out after spending a few days with them? That would leave a horrible stain on his hunter career and most likely get him kicked out of said school."

The fuck!? All this time the bastard had been leading him on! At this point it was too late to back out, the police would think Cardin was in on their plans. It made him curse loudly at the news.

Holt rolled his eyes at Cardin. He wasn't the one who had agreed to see what he had to offer. The last four days the hunter in training had been learning about his social cause and its benefits. He'd even placed bets down in the Underground Grimm Coliseum below the warehouse and won himself a nice stack of Lien. If he was thinking about backing out now, he would have to be an idiot. Or he was leading him on. The thought made him sniff. To think his heart had been toyed with like some plaything.

"Stop your mopping, Cardin. You've actually done some growing since joining the FoF. Your hand to hand has increased dramatically in over a week, your aura has grown quite a bit, and I'm pretty sure you're closer to discovering your semblance then you would have at Beacon. And you should thank Naragami for that." he grinned widely as he gestured to the now smoking man, "His constant training has pushed you to the very edge each day. Life threatening combat is way better then petty little spars. It's the kinda training that Beacon forbids due to its high fatality rate, but you've survived! It only proves how great a hunter you are."

"I don't know if 'thank' is the right word for what he's done for me." Cardin scoffed as he finally got back up on his feet. He only needed one finger to describe how he felt about the training. Was close to death the first day Holt had thrown him at Nara. If it wasn't for their medical facility then he would had died that very day.

Holt was right though. Flexing his battered fingers, Cardin could certainly feel the growth he had attained. Beacon was great, but it was full of weak minded people that believed everyone could get along. Even the students who didn't trust faunus thought better to keep their mouths shut and settle for subtle glares and mean looks. It was pathetic. Not to mention all the lame classes not dealing in combat. What good did it due him studying about the fauna of Remnant? History didn't matter to him when he could make history with a swing of his mace. And he didn't even want to get started with Professor Port's class. All a Grimm needed was a good bash and it would die like the rest.

The Friends of Faunus were different. They trained constantly and weren't afraid of what others thought. Even if he didn't really agree with their opinions.

Faunus were victims. They were poor creatures forced to live with animal ears, tails, horns, and other appendages. It wasn't right for them to live in such a state. Without those ugly parts, they looked as normal as you and me. For the last week Holt had been talking to him about his ideals, trying to make him see the other side of the story. The man still believed they were animals, but misunderstood animals. If it weren't for their appearances, then there would be no problem, not hate, no discrimination between the two species. And for that to happen, there could only be one solution for it.

Amputation. By cutting off their animal parts, they would look as normal as any human being. Sadly the faunus didn't understand that. They believed it was the wrong way to go and that humans were simply savages. That was alright though, Holt had smiled happily as he had gone over it with him. Faunus didn't have to amputate their own animal sides. They would do it for them. After all, good friend looked out for their friends and made the tough decisions for them. The Faunus weren't enemies, they were their friends, and it was their job to help them fit into modern society.

Cardin was not a fan of the faunus. Honestly, he hated their guts and wished to send every last one of them back to Menagerie. But what Holt had been talking about had recently been playing in his head. It was odd, feeling both hatred and remorse for them. He wouldn't change his mind though. Animals were still animals. And nothing would make him see otherwise.

Puffing a ring from his cigar, Nara glanced back at his master, "What are you doing up here anyways, master? I thought you'd be busy managing the cages down below."

"The last match ended almost half an hour ago. The fighter's taking a small rest while we go to intermission. So I thought I'd come up here and see how training's going. Glad I did, I seem to catch you ready to gut Cardin every time I do."

"I still don't see the point of those things. Our men could be busy hauling ass and hitting marks. The White Fang seem to of caught up about us and the Vale city police are keeping an eye out for us. If we hope to send a message about our cause, then we have to deal with the White Fang first. Those animals are starting to become a nuance."

"It's to build moral, and Lien. Every heavy gambler will come to our little hide away to bet Lien on fights and learn about our cause while they're at it." Holt explained with a smirk, "Soon they'll think about joining us. More men, less problems. Junior's great for spreading the word out about our Cages to the right kind of people who won't snitch. Not to mention the fact that I love me a good fight. Why else do hunt I hunt Grimm for captivity?"

"Because it turns you on?" Nara commented dryly.

"Accusations! And very truthful ones at that." Holt chuckled before reaching into the inside of his coat. A note was shoved into Nara's face a second later, "Now, onto business. Since we're talking about the Fang and how annoying they are, you can start dealing with them. An informant of mine has recently found one of their warehouses. Take some men and send a message. We'll make some normal humans out of them if it kills them."

"I'm a killer, I don't do well in taking prisoners." That wasn't his thing. His thing involved killing his targets dead. In the end he sighed, snatching the paper with his undamaged arm and pocketing it away, "We'll take who we can. Can't promise bodies won't be dropped."

"Then amputate them if you kill some. The point is to send a message after all. Oh, and message Cross for me, will ya? We have some loose mouths in need of putting down."

Nara nodded his head firmly. It was time to get to business again.

Putting out his cigar, Nara went off to get ready. First things first though, he was going to need to repair his right arm. Couldn't complete a mission leaking oil onto the scene.

With his left arm gone to work, Holt pulled Cardin towards him. It was about time for a break today. The boy was going to have to leave for Beacon soon. And the next match was ready to take place in a bit.

"Training is over for the day, Cardin! How 'bout we go down and enjoy a match before you head out? You got a big week ahead of you." he grinned oddly with a glint in his eye.

Cardin shrugged as he put his hands in his pockets. He could go for a drink and a snack. Also needed time for his aura to heal his wounds. His team was beginning to ask questions to where he was going everyday. "I'm game. I got a hundred Lien on that guy with the red short hair."

"Ohhhh, sorry about that, but Rex lost his match last night. Did not do well against that large Creep. Ate him up like kibble."

That was dark. Almost forgot how fucked up the games were bellow the warehouse. "Then I guess I'll have to find someone else to bet on." he said with a shaking grin.

"That's the spirit! Got to find something to do while my little Ann is off in Vale. I think she might be on a date."

---

"You're an hour late." Ann glared coldly at the nervously chuckling blonde walking beside her through the streets of Vale.

"I said I was going to be a little late! Something came up and I found myself trying remember my own name. Pretty sure I was calling myself Juan for awhile. Ohh, that could be my alter ego or something!"

Ann stared mutely at the now fantasying blonde for a good minute before shaking her head in disbelief. He really wasn't giving his kind a good name. And he was supposedly a hunter in training at Beacon academy? That was shocking to say the least.

After waiting as patiently as she could, Ann was ready to hunt the blonde boy down before finding him scrambling to get off the air ship docks. He made a straight line for the nearest trashcan and then proceeded to throw up what little there was in his stomach. Add on to those five minute, it took him four to pass over whatever was upsetting him before he noticed her waiting for him.

Seeing as she had missed out on both breakfast and lunch today, she decided that they should head for some place to eat. That way she could hand him his Lien and even see if the guy was interested in making more money. Holt had said to find more people to join the FoF.

"Hola, my name is Juan, Juan Arc! And I'm here to make you scream in ecstasy~!"

The hell kind of accent was that? The blonde kid really was something else. Wasn't everyday you met an idiot like him. The blue haired girl rolled her eyes at Jaune as they made their way to some noodle bar opened close by. Looked like they were having some kind of sale going on. Which honestly didn't make sense to her. They were noodles, not clothes. Cheap food was cheap food though, so who was she to complain? Stepping through the flaps, Ann took a seat along with Jaune on their red wood stalls, ringing the small table bell to get the owner's attention.

Jaune paused his practicing on his new persona to stare dully at the very familiar old man greeting them with a smile, "Wait a minute, haven't I seen you before?" Jaune asked in confusion as he scratched his head in thought, "Yeah, you work at Dust till Dawn, drive trucks around to produce stores, and even work around the Bullheads! You work here too!?"

The old man shook his head mutely, grinning widely as he took out a photo from his pocket. It showed off several other old man looking exactly the same as him down to every wrinkle on their face. On the left hand corner the words 'Annual Family Photo' were scribbled in cursive font.

"Huh? So you're all some kind of tuplets or something. I can't even begin to pronounce the word to describe what you guys are." Whatever it was must have been literal hell for the mother giving birth.

Chuckling at the blue eyed boy trying to make sense of the picture, the old man pulled out his notebook to write down their orders. Seeing as the boy was still wrapping his around him and his brothers, the old man turned to the blue haired girl.

"We'll take two small orders of the 50% off Classic Ramen. And some plain water, please."

Nodding his head, the old man was ready to walk back to prepare their meals only to be stopped by the blonde boy raising his hand. Jaune's face was buried in the menu laid out in front of him as he read over their options.

"Classic Ramen? That's two pork slices, a scallion, and something called a kikurage mushroom. I'm actually feeling like a large bowl of Shrimp Ramen, three pork slices, a seasoned poached egg, and a pork bun. Oh! And a glass of Everybody Loves Grape Soda if you have any."

"That's a 17L meal." Ann frowned before looking through her wallet. She only liked to carry twenty with her. The blonde was going to be sucking her dry, "The discount noodles only cost 5L small each, and water's free. It would be better to go with that instead."

Jaune waved the matter away with a carefree grin, "Don't worry about it, I'm paying for us. Dad always said that the man paid for the meal, even if he's flat out broke! Call it my treat."

"Is this some kind of macho thing?" Ann raised a brow quizzically with a thin line on her lips. "And I'm not going to owe you more Lien. It would be better if I paid and we ate cheap noodles instead." she argued with a glare.

"And you don't have to owe me any Lien in the first place! What's so wrong with accepting a free meal anyways?" Jaune asked curiously as he leaned his head on his fist. That was the whole reason he was here with her anyways. All over a measly five Lien.

"Nothing in this world is free." she answered passionately, turning her glare to her free glass of water the old man handed her while he patiently waited on them. Memories flashed passed her eyes, murky alley ways, cardboard shelters, knocked over scavenged trashcans, and dirty yellow grins. A bright light washed away the scenes, only to be replaced by heavy books carried on top of laid out hands, strict voices and smacking rulers, fancy dresses too tight to breath, honeyed words and stern expressions, and an overbearing presence. Ann's emerald eyes stared deeply into her drink, her blue hair momentarily flashing to red locks. "Lien makes the world go 'round. It's what defines you as a person. Without it you're better off as dirt. So nothing's free. Just like this water. It's only offered as a way to make you order something better, anything's better then tap. And even then the guy giving it away still has to pay for it. It's better to go cheap then spend your Lien on worthless crap that you can be saving for something that lasts longer."

"It's just noodles though." Jaune was not getting where Ann was going. She was making a simple little dinner more complicated then it ought to be.

"You just don't understand." Ann scoffed in disinterest. Course he wouldn't understand how things worked. Probably grew up in a cozy little home that never had to worry about bills or social standing. Daddy must of paid off the headmaster to let an idiot like him in.

"You're right about that. Guess you didn't have the most comfy childhood growing up." Jaune nodded solemnly before his eyes brightened. Switching his eyes to the old man, Jaune grinned as he held up two fingers, "Make that a double order! And make it quick before she has any say in the matter!"

Nodding happily, the old man dashed back to prep their meals. Ann growled in anger as she turned her eyes to Jaune, only to pause as his blue eyes stared into her own in a determined expression. It made her blink, caught by surprise.

"I have no idea what this crap about Lien mattering most is about, but I do know that shouldn't stop you from enjoying the joys of a large bowl of ramen and some juice!"

"Somehow I feel that sounded a lot more epic and inspirational in your head."

"It did! But that's beside the point. A kind gesture or favor shouldn't have to be repaid. It's simply done without any thought of payback. Honestly, you could have accepted the 5L and never had to speak to me again and I wouldn't of cared one bit. I simply did it because it was the right thing to do. Besides, buying a pretty girl food isn't a waste in my book. There's nothing on this world that weighs more then a girl's blushing smile."

"I'm not blushing, nor am I smiling."

"The days still early!"

"It's almost seven at night."

"Why can't you girls ever humor me?" Jaune's shoulders sagged in defeat. It still wasn't stopping him though. "What I'm saying is that Lien is important, and junk, but when you think about it negatively like that it loses its bright side." he smiled softly as their food made their way to them. The smell of rich broth and savory shrimp along with poached egg made his mouth water. A snicker escaped his lips catching the hungry growl from Ann's mortified face. "See? A nice hand crafted meal that brings smiles and pleased faces to people for a moderate price. It's alright to shell out a few extra Lien if it makes you smile even for a brief moment, it makes it all the more special. And I don't expect anything back in return like Lien for it or some kind of sinister favor, as long as it makes you even a tiny bit happy, it's all the more worth it."

The steam of Ann's ramen bowl wafted up above her face, clouding her face from the blue eyed knight. Even as a cool glass of grape soda clinked next to her free tap water she didn't show any signs of responding.

Laughter and excited barks drifted into her ears from days past, making her grip her chopsticks tightly. A warm smile blurred behind the hazy dark past peeked into her thoughts. Damn Blondie. Talking about shit he didn't understand.

Ann stabbed her chopsticks into the bowl roughly, splashing some of the broth around as she began to furiously slurp the noodles into her mouth. Done with the nicely soft yet firm noodles, she quickly worked on the pork slices then the poached eggs, chowing them down with gusto. She leaned her head back and finished off the broth, gulping it down before chugging her grape soda. The glass of water was moved aside as she sighed in content, wiping her mouth of the meal before glaring back at the stunned open mouth face of Jaune.

"If you really feel so strongly about that, then prepare to for your wallet to beg for mercy." she turned her glare to the sweating old man, shoving her bowl into his chest with a sadistic grin, "Keep them coming! I've skipped out on breakfast, lunch, and only had microwaved mini pizza's for dinner last night! I plan to make up for the lost time."

"It's just a boy!" Jaune whimpered as he watched the blue haired girl dug into another bowl. Thank god his parents sent him his allowance yesterday. The Lien he was rewarded for his first mission wouldn't be enough to pay for everything. Well, if you couldn't beat them, join them. Grabbing his own chopsticks, Jaune went to work on his own bowl. Now all that was left was to try out that pork bun.

"Hey! That was my bun!"

"I didn't see your name on it."

---

A quick look over his Inventory revealed that Jaune had 79L leftover from the 200 he had to begin with. His new friend had eaten six bowls, three pork buns, and a vanilla chocolate swirl ice cream. Where the hell did she put it all!? She looked the same as she did before devouring all that food. The smug look on her face was the equivalent to a middle finger as she licked her treat.

Guess it was nice. When he met her yesterday, she seemed so bored and cold. The look she wore now was better then those almost hallow green eyes staring at him. Well worth the 121L spent.

'7:43pm, huh? Looks like dinner took longer then I expected. Better send Pyrrha a text that I'll be back soon enough. Maybe then she'll stop blowing up my scroll with worried texts.' He appreciated his partner's concern, but it was rude to be looking at one's scroll during a meal. Had to switch it to silent after getting an annoyed stare from Ann as noodles hung from her mouth. If only he had the courage to of taken a picture.

With another sigh of content leaving her lips, Ann closed her eyes as she took a sip from her straw in Everybody Loves Grapes soda. Normally she stuck to bottle water she carried with her from the warehouse. It was better then buying drinks, a total waste of Lien. But this grape fizz wasn't that bad. Not to mention the ice cream. It's been a while since she last had one.

And it was all because of Jaune. Green eyes glanced back at him from the corner of her eyes as he text on his scroll. She was beginning to think he was some odd figment of her imagination. After all, no guy could be that nice with no motive behind his actions. Compared to the people she usually dealt with, he was an anomaly. She didn't know if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.

Ann didn't want to admit it, and she never would even with the threat of her guts opened up to a bed of burning coals, but she had fun. Another thing she had forgotten about with her line of work and past. He did spend a lot of Lien on her tonight, it was about time to do what she called him out for.

A blue Lien card slapped into Jaune's face just as he hit send. Flinching slightly from the surprise attack, he reached for it only to scowl in mild annoyance.

+10 Lien!

"What did I say about paying me back?" he sighed, "It's only Lien, and not that much to begin with. You seem to care more about this stuff then I do. Guess you must be saving for something very special."

"Too bad. I'm more then willing to go through with the alternative."

Jaune gulped at the dead serious stare aimed at him. Duly noted, "Fine. But I'm not happy about it."

Ann shook her head, "It's not about making you happy, it's about getting rid of a burden. You spent a lot of Lien for some odd reason, I would feel like a damn bum if I didn't find some way to pay you back." scanning around the area, she was happy to note the streets were mostly empty other then a few people minding their own business. Reaching into her hoodie's pocket, Ann slapped an odd flier into the startled knight's chest, "I can't pay everything you spent today, but I know of a way you can make triple what you had originally. You seem like a decent hunter in need of cash anyway, this would be perfect for you."

"UGC, Underground Grimm Coliseum Matches?" The flier was designed with clawed streaks tearing at the paper with bold dark red print. Pictures of different species of Grimm locked up in creaking cages surrounding one dark silhouette of a man was painted on it. What was this? It reminded him of some kind of boxing match, only with creatures of Grimm. "What am I looking at?"

"An opportunity to make some extra Lien." Ann shrugged nonchalantly as she finished her frozen treat and tossed it in a nearby trashcan, "Keep it a secret though, the cops don't need to know about some innocent old fun. You might even be enlightened by some of the people there about a new social cause that will be making waves soon. You should at least check it out some time."

Honestly, the piece of paper was giving him a bad vibe. But he could ignore that and trust in Ann. She hadn't given him any reason not to.

"I guess the next time I have some free time, I can check it out. Where is it anyway? Doesn't seem to be an address on this thing." It didn't have anything on it that showed him where these fights were at.

"There's a map written in invisible ink on the back. All you got to do is mix some Fire Dust along with some Lightning Dust into a fine powder and flash a blacklight over the powder on the back to reveal the map. Be sure to do it in the dark though, it doesn't work otherwise." A buzzing in her jean's pockets caused her frown before taking out her scroll. She sighed as she read over the message, "Time for me to head back to work. Boss needs me now that night is coming."

"Yeah, my team must be worried sick about me." All except Ren. Lazy bastard was most likely passed out on his bed.

Turning away from the blonde, Ann suddenly paused in her steps, thinking to herself before speaking again.

"And you were right. I am saving for something special. Something only Lien can buy. So, thanks." she said deathly softly before running off form sight. For a second, he could of swore he saw a smile on her face.

Jaune smiled as he waved good bye. Everyone had their reasons. It just took some time to figure them out. She wasn't as bad as she seemed. He was actually glad she had called him out to meet. It was almost like a date.

'Oh my god! Was that my first real date!? Wait till I tell my mom about this!'

Today had been a good day. And nothing could bring him down.

"There he is! Get him!"

"Say what now?" Jaune blinked before he found himself being tackled by several men and woman in Vale police uniforms. What followed soon was him being beaten by night clubs, a police shield, the butt of a shotgun, and even a waffle bat.

"I'm not here to hurt you!"

"You! Have! The Right! To! Remain! Silent!"

"Stop resisting!"

"Seize and desist!"

"You like that, you piece of shit?!"

"Don't make me do it! I'll fucking end you!"

"TAZE HIM!"

Two sharp prods pierced Jaune's aura, sending several volts of electricity into his system. His body twitched wildly before his body numbed. It didn't help that he heard the snap of rubber gloves behind him.

"Check him for weapons! Leave no hole un-fingered!"

Jaune whimpered as he felt his pants torn off and his eyes rolling back. This was not how he saw his day ending.

"You guy's finally caught her? Nice! Now let's bring her in for-WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU IDIOTS DOING!?"

Smacking the reaching fingers ready to dig for gold, Officer Church waved the officers away from the familiar blonde boy. Damn, looked like he passed out. He checked his pulse and was happy to see it still beating healthily. Other then the bruises and nightmares he was to receive, the kid was alright.

Turning to one of the officers who for some reason was garbed in their heavy duty chest armor and helmet, Church proceeded to smack the man on the head, "The hell was that!? What I tell you idiots about jumping the gun like!? This kid's one of Ozzy's students, I'm pretty he has a right to sue for police brutality!"

"But sir!" the man countered as he pointed to the passed out blonde, "We saw this suspect hanging out with our target. Which means he must also be involved with the FoF!"

"Really?" That wasn't good. Church frowned in worry as one of the officers cuffed his wrists behind his back. At this point they had no choice but to bring him in. With a deep sigh, Church nodded his head at them to put him in the back of the police car. And fix his pants.

At least they finally had a lead. Catching a slip of paper fall out of the kid's hands, Church grimaced. It was one of the Friends of Faunus poster's. Lead to their gambling arena where they recruited new members. And the kid had this? It was sadly not looking good for him.

"Be gentle with the kid." Church barked as he watched the boy's head smack against the top of the car, "We still have to question him before we make any judgments."

Looked like he had a business call to make to Ozpin. Hopefully he answered instead of Glynda. Was not looking forward to that talk.

'I hope it's not what it's looking as, kid. You got a lot of explaining to do.'

---

DLC 2: Summon Madness.

"Who the hell is this?"

Jaune dog eared the page he was reading to turn to his slowly brow twitching fellow Player. And he was getting to the good part too! Blake was on to something with these Ninja's of Love books. He'd never seen gauntlets like those before. Except the ones on Yang.

The book was soon taken out his hands by armor clad fingers. The owner of said hand hummed to herself as she skimmed through the pages with mild interest. Didn't have books like this on Pulse.

Ren stared dumbly at the Valhalla garbed pink haired woman standing beside Jaune's bedside. She looked as if she walked out of some fantasy world. Which was saying something coming from a man of Remnant.

Earlier today his leader had gone off to Vale for some new comics. It didn't send any flags off when he had left. It was a chill Sunday, no signs of conflict in the city or from the White Fang. Even Cinder's faction was months away from causing any trouble. So Ren had prepared himself for a nice day of relaxing by himself. Pyrrha, bless her lovely soul, had even taken Nora out of his hair. As if he didn't have enough reasons for-

Ren shrugged off the thought as he returned his attention to the noob blonde and his pink gunblade wielding friend. Was getting of topic there for a second.

After a nice stroll around Beacon and even grabbing some exotic tea Professor Goodwitch had lent him; it was good to know a fellow tea enthusiast in school, Ren had walked back to his dorm to savor what little time he had left to himself only to find Jaune sitting back in his bed, comic book in hand, with a strange armored woman that sent chills down his spine. The woman carried an aura that terrified him, and he was best friends with Nora.

Jaune was confused to what his friend was talking about for a good second, before smacking his head dumbly, "Oh, that." he nodded before pointing to the black book in the pink haired woman's hands, "I can explain. It's not mine, it's a friends. I swear to you, I don't even know how Ninja's of Love: The Sextaliation, got into my hands. I'm completely innocent of mind, dammit."

Ren scoffed. As if he was the only one who hadn't read that smut. Even he had one hidden below several locks and mechanisms below the boards of his bed. Still didn't understand how Nora had found his copy of Ninja's of Love: Deadly Red Tails. And they said he was the ninja.

"That is not what I'm talking about, and you damn well know it." he glared as he felt the twitch in his eye start to spasm. That could not be healthy.

But Jaune still didn't seem to understand what he was talking about, "I'm lost here. Do you know what he's talking about, Light?" Jaune decided to ask his new friend.

'Light' simply quirked a brow at him without taking her eyes of her what was becoming her new favorite book. She didn't even know honey could be used like that, "I believe he's speaking about my presence, Jaune."

"Really? You sure it's not about the smut? Because I think I was fooling him with my brilliant excuse."

"You weren't fooling anyone." Both Ren and 'Light' deadpanned as Jaune hung his head in shame. It was his mother finding his secret 'stash' all over again. Wasn't his fault, Dad was the one to give him those bunny faunus magazines in the first place.

A sigh escaped Ren's lips as he rubbed his forehead, "Yes, Jaune. I'm talking about the strange woman standing next to you. She doesn't seem to be a hunter, not to mention my Scan isn't coming up with anything on her. Nothing but her name that is." The cross hair in his iris faded away as he glared at the nonchalant woman engrossed in the filthy, yet story rich, tale in her hands.

Lighting. Who the hell named their kid after natural plasma?

"Actually, I was hoping you could tell me." Jaune shrugged as he hopped off his bed. Walking to his raven haired friend, Jaune rummaged through his pockets for a bit before finding what he was looking for. A pink crystal rose marble decorated with blades, roses, and lighting was then dropped into Ren's hand, "See, when I went to Vale for my new additions of X-ray and Vav, I was stopped by this weird guy wearing a travelars cloak and for some creepy reason, a brown paper bag with a smiling face stamped onto it. He wanted me to play some weird chance game, something involving a box and colored balls. And I won, somehow. All I know is that he was really surprised, cried a bit, slapped himself in the face, and then rewarded me this. Along with a these." Two more crystals dropped into Ren's palm, catching him by complete suprise.

"How did you get your hands on Summon Gems?" Ren was slacked jaw at the little trinkets. They had the power to summon warriors, weapons, and beasts from other dimensions to fight by your side for a limited time. To get them, you had to undertake some impossible mission or find them by utter luck. How the hell did he-

The twitch grew in intensity as he slapped his forehead. Right, Jaune had a high Luck stat. Shit like that tends to attract towards him. Lucky bastard.

"Like I said, I won them." Jaune answered simply, throwing his arms behind his head. Not at all startled by the woman that now stood besides him. "After I got them, The Game had simply told me to pump some of my MP into them, and boom! Next then I know, Light's patting my back soothingly as I threw up in the nearest bush."

"It wasn't the most pleasant first meeting." Lightning lightly grimaced, recalling finding herself summoned in a ray of light to some blonde boy ready to throw up. Still better then Snow by a mile.

"I think it went pretty great. Didn't get any barf on ya, did I?" the emotionless stare received begged to differ, "Anyways, once she popped out of nowhere, Light went on about following my lead and pledging herself to fight by my side till the end of her quest. You should really hear it, because I'm completely lost once she starts talking about some place called Valhalla. I thought you saved the day after fighting that weird cherubic golden wheel thing?"

Lighting visible scowled with a groan, rubbing her own head as she felt a headache coming on, "Trust me, so did I. It's easier to stick with the original story for sanity's sake."

Did not care, Ren simply wanted answers and he got them.

"Right, as much as I would love to hear such a tale-"

"Trust me, you don't. Even I began to question what the hell was going on once my sister took my place."

"-I'm more concerned about how long her summon time will last." Ren's scroll vibrated, alerting him to Pyrrha messaging him. A quick look at it, and his thoughts were confirmed, "Pyrrha's coming back along with Nora. And I don't know how to explain the scary pink haired woman with a crushing presence to our team."

Lightning blinked in confusion, pointing to herself as she looked to her new 'master', "Do I really look scary?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

"Nah! You look sweet as a pink peach!" Lightning blushed lightly at his words before turning away shyly.

'Not another one.' Ren was seriously considering smacking the sense into his leader. The fuck was this, some anime?

The door to their room clicked as Pyrrha walked into their room with a cheery smile along with Nora. Today had been a better day then she expected. Nora, once she calmed down, was surprisingly a great listener. It was nice to have someone to vent to about her feeling for Jaune. And she even pinky promised not to say anything, which was sacred to the orange haired girl.

Blonde hair and blue eyes greeted her vision, causing the smile on her face to widen further. And it looked like Jaune was finally back. Maybe they could study together for a bit. Sounded like a great way to get closer to him.

Unfortunately, the smile on her face quickly vanished into a frown noticing the pink haired armored woman standing besides him with a flat look on her face.

"Huh? Does anyone else feel like they walked into a warzone?" Nora asked as the tension in the room could suddenly be cut by a broad ax.

"Jaune." Pyrrha said slowly as she glared at the woman standing really close to her partner, "Who is this?"

"This? This is-"

"I'm his new partner." Lightning cut in, suddenly hugging the blonde boy close to her chest, smirking at the response she got from the red haired girl. "Lightning. And I'll be fighting besides him from now on."

"Is that so?" Pyrrha smiled dangerously as her hands magnetized. Akouo and Milo flew into her hands from across the room, her red blade shifting into its spear form. She closed her eyes as a dark shadow fell over her smiling face, "Funny, I thought I was his partner. Guess I'll just have to fix that silly little mistake then."

Lightning's Blazefire gunblade twirled in her hand in response, loading a shell into its chamber with a click, "I suppose so. Perhaps you'll be able to entertain me for now. I do hope you'll prove a challenge, I have my mind set on trying out something involving honey, butter, flapjacks, and ropes that I've read about in a book with my new 'master'."

"I strangely dread and await what she has in mind."

Pyrrha did not like what she was hearing, both from her new 'rival' and her beloved partner. Throwing her semblance clad hand to the summoned warrior, Pyrrha yelled out a war cry as she sent her crashing through the wall as she followed. Good thing she was mainly wearing armor. This was gonna be a piece of cake.

"Thundaga!"

The large streaking bolts of blazing lighting firing out of the hole begged to differ.

Clashing steel and feminine shouts of fury broke out throughout Beacon as both proud warriors fought over the greatest prize of them all: A naive blonde with a stupid smile. Truly a prize to tear apart the landscape for!

"THAT'S MY SWEET BLONDE ASS!"

"YOU WOULDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH IT!"

"AND YOU WOULD!? WHEN'S THE LAST TIME A MAN'S EVER TOUCHED YOU!?"

"HE'LL DO MORE THEN THAT TO PLEASE THIS GODDESS!"

"YOU BITCH! THAT'S MY LINE!"

Jaune whistled at the scene out the hole Pyrrha created, gesturing for Nora to pass the popcorn she had magically found. Wasn't everyday you could see woman fight so savagely. At some point Lighting had noticed Pyrrha was using her metal armor to her advantage and switched it in a flash of light to some skimpy witch armor devoid of anything she could control. And Pyrrha was starting to gain revealing tears in her school uniform. It was honestly a sexy fight to watch.

"How long is her summon time going to last?" Ren mumbled as he found his eyes glued to the battle. He gulped noticing a tear near Pyrrha's chest that flashed the skin of her breast. Hopefully long enough.

"The pink bar slowly draining by my MP says, not for a long while. I think Light's somehow forcing herself to stay here."

"Do I wanna know what the other summons are?"

"Says that the blue crystal is called, The Intergalactic Bounty Hunter, and the red one is called, The Premium Heart Angel. Should I try them out?"

The earth trembled in a thunderous roar, shaking the foundation of Beacon to its core as they found Pyrrha flying back into their ruined dorm. They blushed, including Nora who had begun to snap photos, at the remainder of her uniform. She was basically wearing rags at this point.

"Don't worry, Jaune. I think I got her by the ropes." she smiled wearily before the thundering foot clops of a horse caught her attention.

"COME FORTH, ODIN!"

An odd hooked like sword was flung towards the battle damaged red head that she quickly blocked with her shield. Using her power of magnetism, Pyrrha sent it back to its owner with a shout before firing several shots from Milo's rifle. The bullets were blocked as Lightning flew after her, crossing blades in a shower of sparks. Parrying a slash to her lower body, the Valhalla goddess snatched her defending arm and spun her around, using momentum to throw her out to the waiting blade of her Eidolon. Truly, the girl was a fine opponent.

"I'll be back for you later." Lightning smirked to Jaune with a flirty wink before feeling a familiar tug on her body, "Oh, that's just cheating." she deadpanned before being pulled back into the fight.

Ren slowly lowered the crystal balls in Jaune's hand with a flat look on his face.

"Now's not a good time."

Jaune nodded along as he pocketed the trinkets. Did not even want to think about what this little experiment was going to cost them.

---

Abilities, Skills, and Perks List:

Hedge Fang[4AP]: Spinning their body around like a wheel, the Player deals a blow with their weapon based on their Speed stat; Speedx50. Has a 75% Accuracy rating. Example: 5 Speed x 50= 250 Damage. MP Cost: 10MP.

---

Ah, Final Fantasy 13. I actually loved that game, it was honestly my first FF game. My family wasn't exactly flowing with cash when I was a kid, so I never got to play some of the classics till I was in my teens. Hell, my first Gameboy was a Gameboy Advance, and that was given to my by my best friend. He was awesome, sucks that I can't remember his name. Makes me feel like an ass.

Anyways, things are starting to move along now. Jaune has be taken in as a suspect, his pretty ass now locked up. Of all the times to have a pretty face.

Still thinking of a cover photo for this fic. Got a PM from one of ya that I'm looking over about an artist. So if anyone else has one in mind, let me know. I won't get it commissioned till the end of this volume, so there is plenty of time till then. And if you got any DLC ideas, don't be afraid to let me know. I could use some more inspiration. And OC's if you feel like sharing.

Time for bed, got a big week ahead of me. Family yearly trip to the beach is Sunday, so I got to finish what I can before then.

Till next week, Read and Review! It's common courtesy.

NeoShadows fading in and out.