Here we are, once again, I took a rare day off from work for this, which feels odd since I'm just working at home, but hey – it all works out.

Beta: College Fool

Cover Art: Kegi Springfield

Chapter 12 – Counting Sheep

Damage control was something he knew about. Uncle Watts talked about it all the time, and even gave him lessons on it. Big Sis often mentioned it in terms of what she had to do when mom and dad had an argument, quickly followed by something called make-up time, or as Cinder put it, `elsewhere time`. Either way, between his lessons with his Uncle, and all the different examples of how it needed to be applied whenever Uncle Tyrian did… anything, Jaune always assumed he'd be pretty good at the whole thing. It was just a case of drawing attention away from what you didn't want them to see.

It was simple.

"This isn't simple!"

It was just a case of making it work.

"This isn't working!"

"I know! I'm trying!" Jaune thought back, more panicked than anything else. On the outside, he remained calm, even as he was sat in what was a rather crowded Team RYBN dorm room. Their hosts were arrayed on their beds, with the rest of them scattered about the room, some on seats, others sharing beds, and Jaune crossed legged on the floor.

The flowers he'd bought Yang were behind him, and they still smelled nice. It was weird how the vase had changed, however. Now, it stuck out from an emptied grenade canister, possibly from Nora's weapon. Maybe it was that avant-garde thing Yang had mentioned? No, that wasn't quite as important as the disaster unfolding before him. He had to try again, some desperate attempt to contain this before it spiralled out of control.

"I think you're overreacting," he said. "It's not like anything actually happened, and certainly nothing bad. I say we just move on with life and let bygones be bygones."

There, a reasonable and well-thought out point, backed up with the clear evidence of no harm between any of them. There really was no reason to be so paranoid. At least, he thought so… but why was everyone staring at him as though he were insane?

"Arc," Weiss sighed. "You were kidnapped by a Beowolf. Literally carried away for goodness knows what, while we had to fight some great tentacle monster across the forest. I think this warrants a little concern."

"Yeah," Yang agreed. "Even if you're badass enough to not care when a Beowolf takes you away without your weapons, some of us aren't."

"Yang is right, Jaune," Pyrrha said. "We could have… you could have been lost to us. This isn't something we can take lightly."

"But it didn't," he protested, "I would have been fine, guys. It wasn't anything to worry about."

"Jaune." It was just the one word that Ruby spoke, but it was enough to draw his attention. That proved a mistake, for her silver eyes narrowed and stared into his. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't help but squirm, while inside, Remy had no such resistence and writhed uncomfortably.

He broke contact with those silver orbs, staring down at the floor as he fought for breath.

Ruby remained ignorant of the effect she had on him, and padded over to sit down beside him. She poked his arm and glowered. "Stop trying to make us not do this," she said. "We were worried about you… it hurt to have you missing like that. I – we – thought you would have died."

"Ah…" Guilt mixed with shame at that, but it was the desperate desire to have her silver eyes stare at someone else that made him capitulate. "I guess…"

"Well, it's only Arc who wants to complain about this," Weiss said, "I think the rest of us are all in agreement of how much a danger this person is. Miss Goodwitch looked worried about him, and I think that's reason enough for us to be on our guard."

"I can't help but agree," Ren said. "Though I've yet to see him myself, it appears as though he's interacted with members from both our teams. I'd rather not take any further risks."

"Blake won't say what happened in hers, though…" Nora whined.

"He threw me into a tree," Blake turned a page in her book. "That's all that happened."

Phew, well at least there was one person not exaggerating what he'd done. Still, she was being a little quiet and seemed to have stiff shoulders. "Did he hurt you?" he asked, a little concerned. He'd been in a rush, not to mention angry. He hadn't hurt her, had he?

"I'm fine," the girl said. She glanced up from her novel, amber eyes meeting his. It was perhaps the most expression she'd shown for the whole discussion, and he caught the barest hint of a smile behind it. "Thank you for asking."

"Well, it looks like we all got fairly lucky," Yang said. "Blake wasn't hurt, and I managed to arrive before that monster could do… could hurt Ruby. Apart from a few wasp stings, we got out in one piece."

"It could have easily been different, though," Weiss warned. "He seemed in a rush, distracted… he fought to delay us and then escape, possibly to catch up with the Beowolf that abducted Arc." She looked towards him with a small smile. "You're lucky we managed to distract him, Jaune."

"Yeah, lucky me…"

"Objection!" Nora interrupted suddenly, hand in the air.

"What could you possibly be objecting to? That Arc was lucky to survive?" Weiss sighed and planted her hands on her hips.

"Not that," Nora said. "We need a name for this person. If we're going to hunt it down, it needs a name."

"I think it's more of a he, Nora." Ren sighed. "Also, that's not an objection; it's more of a motion."

"Renny, you can't just go around assuming a monster's gender like that."

"It wore boxers."

"And I can't? Really, Renny, we don't live in the dark ages." The dark-haired man raised a hand, then seemed to think better of it. He sighed and waved for her to continue. "As for a name," Nora cheered, "I was thinking something like the Grimminator."

Jaune's face twisted. That was… not a great name.

"How about Grimman?" Ruby suggested.

"That's cute, sis, but you can't just mash words together. What happens if you shout it and we think you just mean a normal Grimm?" Yang grinned to show she meant no malice, even if Ruby pouted regardless. "I think we should go with a more human name. It might take away a little of the mystery, plus no one would be able to tell we're talking about something we're not supposed to be. It would be like a code word."

"That's a good idea," Jaune said, eager for any chance to avoid a terrible name.

"Timmy!" Nora slammed a fist into her mattress. "No one would expect so wild a monster to have a name like that. It would be perfect!"

"That makes no sense, though," Yang complained. "It should be something relevant. How about Grimbald, or hentacle?"

"Yang," Ren sighed. "That was terrible."

"I wonder what his tentacles feel like," Nora mused, switching topics faster than he could keep up with. "Are they rough and hard as he slams you around against your will, or is it more of a sticky, slimy gross violation of your most private places?"

"Neither, actually. They were surprisingly gentle."

All sound in the room died. It wasn't because of Ruby's words, for despite all expectation – and Nora's implicit question being directed at her, Ruby hadn't opened her mouth. As one, everyone's heads slowly turned to the person had had spoken, whose eyes were wide and mouth clamped shut.

"Blake?" Nora whispered, before her eyes lit up. "Oh, Blake~ You never told me you had a run in with Hentacle's tentacles!"

"I have no idea what you mean."

"Is that why you switched your book? Ooh, the beast from beneath the-" Nora didn't get to finish, for Blake slammed the book under her pillow and glared at the ginger girl. Her gaze seemed to demand answers. "A good partner always knows what their partner is doing, even when they want their 'alone time.' And I'm a very good partner, right Renny?"

"A-a-alone time?"

"She always knows, Blake."

The dark-haired girl's face turned increasingly red, as she looked between her partner and her leader with wide eyes. "A-Always?"

"Always. I'm sorry, Blake."

"Kill me now..."

"Oh, it's too early for that, Blake," Yang giggled. "You can tell us more about it later."

"Does Blake have some kind of secret, Remy?"

"No idea. It certainly sounds like something she wants to keep hidden from her team. I'd try not to get involved. You know what Coral always says; curiosity killed the cat."

"There's no cat here, though." he pointed out. Hm, maybe he should keep an eye on Blake, just for research purposes, of course. It was all about fitting in, and to do that, he had to know what was normal behaviour.

"Either way, Rubes," Yang said. "That guy – before I arrived – he didn't do anything… bad to you, did he?"

"Bad?" Ruby asked. "Is this that tentacle hentai thing, again? Are you going to tell us what it means?" Jaune nodded along with his friend and leaned forward, eager for the same answer.

Yang, sadly, seemed a little less so. "Ah… maybe when you're older, you know? Just… did he do anything unusual, anything that felt weird?"

Ruby's face scrunched up, likely at being dismissed in such a manner, but she soon adopted a thinking pose and hummed to herself. "It wasn't… he didn't hurt me," she said, "At least not other than throwing me into you. Blake was right," she added, "He was almost… gentle. It tingled a little, but…" Ruby glanced down, cheeks going a little red. "It felt..."

"Bad?"

"No," Ruby protested. "It almost felt kind of good."

Hey, that's good news, Jaune cheered internally. Blake was uninjured and he hadn't done anything to offend or upset Ruby, apart from the whole accidentally kidnapping himself thing. She said it felt good too. Maybe I should do it more often, that might make some kind of peace between them and my Grimm form.

Yang… didn't seem to agree. Her face was pale, eyes wide as they stared at – or perhaps into – Ruby. She leaned to the left, and for a moment he thought she might fall. "No way," she whispered, aghast. "This can't be happening… Blake, I can understand, but my little Ruby!?"

"Excuse me?" Blake gasped.

Yang didn't hear her teammate. All she kept repeating were the words, "Not like this," over and over again.

"Let's move away from that topic," Pyrrha laughed nervously and gestured for Ren to go and help his partner, who was fast approaching catatonia. The young man did so with a sigh, leaving Pyrrha to turn to her own partner. "Ruby, I think… maybe in future, it might be a good idea not to engage that person on your own."

"Why not?" Ruby pouted. "I can fight."

"It's not fighting she's worried about," Weiss sighed.

"Then what is it?"

"Uh…" The heiress looked aside. "Ask your sister… when you're older."

"You're all rubbish! You won't even tell me or Jaune what tentacle hentai is."

"Yeah," Jaune chipped in, sharing a nod with the younger girl when she looked his way. "I think we have a right to know if Ruby has been tentacle hentai'd."

"No one's been tentacle hentai'd," Pyrrha said. "It's, that's not even a word. Look, just stay with my next time, okay? We'll take down Hentacle together."

"Why is my name Hentacle now? That sounds terrible!"

"You're asking me? Jaune, they're all insane. I gave up on following this conversation ten minutes ago."

"Wait, but then what have you been doing?"

"Meh, sleeping, mostly."

"You son of a-"

Weiss stomped a foot down on the floor, bringing the room to silence and also interrupting his thoughts. His partner looked frustrated, but more with the clamour than anything else. "Enough," she snapped. "We need to be organised about this if we're to have any chance whatsoever. What we know is that this, Hentacle, seems interested in abducting huntsman. If we take Jaune's case as an example, then it's possible he might return for him again."

"What do you think his goal is?" Pyrrha asked.

"Ooh, maybe he wants to devour all the virgins," Nora suggested. "That's why he's gone for Ruby twice now."

"Eek!"

"Nora," Ren growled. "Ruby, I'm sure he's not going to eat you. Honestly, he's made no attempts to harm any of the girls in our group."

Thank you, Ren, Jaune thought silently. It was good to have a voice of reason in the crowd, since his had gone mostly ignored. Really, Ren was a pretty cool guy. He might even be a good fit for one of his sisters.

"In fact," Ren went on, "The only people he's tried to abduct have been men, including Winchester."

Okay, now I'm setting you up with Coral, Ren. You fully deserve it.

"Snrk, you mean when Cardin was talking about how the monster tried to molest him?" Yang giggled and snorted into her hand. "You took that seriously?"

"At first, no, but after listening to Weiss' encounter, I realised she did see him approach Team CRDL. It made me think, and then I realised how he's repeatedly captured but released Ruby, and why he sought to escape rather than to fight you."

"Yang," Blake whispered, "He's not wrong. It would also explain…" the dark-haired girl didn't finish, but did look down to the book beneath her pillow.

Wait, it explained what? What was being said about him? Jaune looked between them all, but the rather surprised expression on their faces didn't give anything away. Did he argue against this? Did he agree? The decision was taken out of his hands.

"Unacceptable!" Nora roared. "He might come for Renny – I won't allow Hentacle to take your purity, Renny. I won't allow it! Yang!" Nora slammed a finger out to point at the girl. "You are now entrusted with the sanctity of Renny's family jewels. Do not let any Grimm monster defile them."

"Ugh… okay?"

"We shall have to do the same for Jaune," Weiss sighed. "It sounds strange, but there's no denying there have been two attempts to kidnap him now, once during initiation and now again in Forever Fall. We'll need to keep an eye on him and be there should he need our aid."

"Really, guys," he laughed, "I'll be fine. I can look after myself." Seriously, what jewels were they even talking about?

"I'll do it," Pyrrha volunteered. "I'd be happy to."

"Me too," Ruby joined in. "No monster will get close to Jaune without getting through me first."

"Gods," Yang grumbled, "at this rate it's a race as to who will defile my sister first, argh… dad is going to kill me."

"Yang, Jaune isn't going to defile me," Ruby sighed, hand on her face. "Right, Jaune?"

"Sure," he said. "I wouldn't do anything to Ruby she didn't ask me to."

For some reason that didn't seem to calm the blonde any, who looked between the two of them and then fell back onto her bed, one arm held across her eyes. "I'm doomed," she groaned.

"I think we're all getting distracted," Weiss crossed her arms and sighed once more. "How about we call this meeting off for now? We have a name for the monster, and we also know we need to keep an eye on Ren and Jaune, lest they be targeted. We might need to keep an eye out for Team CRDL too, as much as it pains me to say that. For now, though, we should probably take a break. I'm not sure Xiao-Long can handle any more revelations."

"I've heard too much," the blonde said. "My baby sister… why…?"

Ruby rolled her eyes at him, but otherwise ignored Yang. They shuffled out of the room a moment later, each splitting up for their own things. That left Ruby and he in the corridor, without task or direction.

Well, that… hadn't exactly gone to plan. It's not like it makes anything worse, though. I already knew they were going to try and find my Grimm-form, or Hentacle. I just need to make sure I know what their plans are.

"Ugh, that meeting was weird," Ruby complained. "I'm sorry about Yang; she can be really weird sometimes. I still don't know why everyone cares so much about what those tentacles felt like, though. Do you?"

"No idea."

"What are you going to do now? I want to go and do some maintenance on Crescent Rose. He's firing okay, but I'm worried something might have been knocked loose when I fell in the forest."

"Fair, I suppose," he shrugged. "I was just going to wander around. I didn't have anything planned. Why?"

"Well, actually, I was wondering if you could do me a little favour?"

/-/

Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy let out a long sigh and poured a new cup of coffee for himself. The thermos was half-empty, and while he might once have espoused the virtues of optimism, the tall pile of discard books and empty flasks before him had long since drained that away. With a sigh, he closed the current tome with a hefty thump, leaning back to take a long sip of thick, black, caffeine. It wasn't even his preferred brew, but that was never a good choice when there was research to do. He tended to be… indisposed, after a cup of that wonderful brew.

Fairy tales - oh, how he despaired of them.

They were endless, like the Grimm that swarmed across the world, except based in black ink and lettering, and they didn't tear out your entrails so much as your eyes – and oh, my, he really was more tired than he'd thought, it seemed. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and took another drink. Maybe it was time for a break. Yes, that sounded like a wise option. Necessary, even… if he had to read another story of children being abducted by the Grimm-boo monster, he'd go insane.

The tales were common-place, ubiquitous across Kingdom, culture and even time itself. There were recent ones, but also folklore from the distant past, all of which spoke of Grimm that abducted and stole away unruly children, usually for purposes unknown, though it was assumed it was to eat. Grimm didn't need to eat, of course, but that was probably easier to explain to a child than gory murder.

At least, he had thought that the case. It was easy to dismiss the tales as cynical attempts to keep children in bed, but then again, was it not easy to dismiss the tale of the Maidens, too? Nothing could be discounted, not when one of his students had been abducted twice now. It was possible – dangerously so – that people taken away by the Grimm in the past had been put through fates different to what they had first thought. It was also possible that this phenomenon was to occur anew. He needed to prepare.

There were calls to make.

He pushed down on the table to help himself up, and staggered to the side. The various books and thermos flasks spoke of how long he'd sat there. Decorum demanded he clean those up… practicality said one man couldn't clean up twenty thermos flasks and over forty books. A librarian attendant looked his way, then sighed and motioned that he could leave it. Sometimes it was good to be the headmaster, though he'd make a note to send a nice gift their way, perhaps a new cappuccino machine for their staff office.

A commotion by the main desk caught his ears before he could leave, however. It looked like a student, Mr Arc if he wasn't mistaken, being told off by the woman behind the desk. He bowed his head apologetically – which at least spoke well of his upbringing, before he went off to stand by a set of shelves and peruse the books.

Ozpin paused, thoughts of leaving dismissed. He did have to interview the young man on what happened at Forever Fall… why not get that out of the way right now?

"A pleasure to see you here, Mr Arc," Ozpin said, approaching the young man with a polite smile. "How are you finding Beacon?"

"Oh, good afternoon, sir," the young man nodded. "I'm doing well and Beacon's amazing. How are you?"

Exhausted. "Very good, thank you for asking. I wanted to come over and have a quick chat with you, Mr Arc, to save the need for us to do it later."

"I'm not in trouble, am I? I don't think I'm behind on lessons."

"Nothing of the sort," Ozpin chuckled. "In fact, I've never heard Bartholomew speak so well of a student before. No, I wanted to speak about what happened at Forever Fall."

"Did something happen?"

"The abduction attempt, Mr Arc… the Grimm creature with the tentacles?"

"Oh, that," Mr Arc laughed and scratched the back of his head. "It's not really a big deal, sir. I was able to get free without any trouble. There wasn't ever any danger."

Hm, his casual dismissal felt honest, if a little misguided. Arrogance among students wasn't uncommon, but spoke perhaps more of over-confidence, or a general lack of regard for his own safety. Either way, Ozpin made a mental note to warn Glynda. It couldn't hurt to be prepared.

"I would not call it nothing, young man. Our world is a dangerous place, with many who would seek to do it harm. While no lasting harm came of your encounter this time, that's not to say someone will not be hurt in the future. It might be you, but it could just as easily be your teammates."

"I wouldn't let that happen, sir."

The certainty in those words was so sudden, Ozpin felt himself pause. The student's eyes were sharp, lips set in a thin line. It was a good look, he felt. It was the look of a potential huntsman, steadying himself – one determined to protect his companions.

"I'm glad to hear it," he said, "but be wary, Mr Arc, some foes may be too much for us, even at the best of times. Better, perhaps, to avoid such situations altogether."

Perhaps I shall need to keep an eye on the young man myself. If our foes seek him, enough so as to try and capture him, then it would be prudent to keep him out of their – out of her – clutches. He was no closer to understanding why, of course, but as his old friend James was fond of saying, sometimes you did not need to know the reason. You simply needed to know what the enemy desired, and how best to keep that out of their hands.

Perhaps it would be wise to call in some help for the task too? He would have to think more on that later.

"Tell me," he said, "did you see the Grimm-like human yourself?"

"Not at all. I was carried away by the Beowolf, but I managed to break free and kill it."

No lie, at least none that he could detect – and the young man seemed forthright enough to trust, or perhaps that was too basic to mistrust. Not everyone could be a tactical genius, but Mr Arc seemed particularly adept at wearing his emotions on his sleeve.

"With your bare hands? That is impressive."

"Ah, well, it wasn't that big."

"Miss Rose's report suggested it was at least seven feet tall."

"Only when standing," the student chuckled. "It was much smaller when it was on all fours. I've seen way bigger."

Ozpin wasn't sure what to say to that. Most Grimm were measured head to tail, and on all fours or not, a seven-foot Beowolf was a seven-foot Beowolf. He'd have called it a needless boast, were it not for the fact the boy was here and alive, and had apparently killed a Nevermore in just as simple a manner. Is that why they want him? Does he have some power they desire – or dare I say – a power they fear?

He would need to researc- oh dear…

Ozpin cursed under his breath. More blasted fairy tales. They would be the end of him. For now, however, the solution was clear. Mr Arc needed to be kept within Beacon. Whether or not some power hid within him, it was their duty to look after their students, and this was clearly a dangerous plot in store. The faculty would need to be alerted, made aware that Grimm might attack and that they might seek to abduct the rather oblivious, yet powerful, young man.

"If you don't mind me asking, your skills seem to be quite adept for the job. Where exactly did you learn how to face the Grimm unarmed?" He half-expected some hesitation, but again the boy surprised him, if only by answering immediately.

"Oh, well, there were a lot of Grimm back home," he said. "Sometimes they'd knock me down and I had to wrestle free, but I guess I picked most up from my family."

He had to wrestle Grimm? That sounded like something Peter would say, except that the look on the young man's face held no sign of a lie. "You lived in quite a dangerous location, then?"

"Eh… I guess some people might call it that. It wasn't so bad once you got used to it. My mother was really big on making sure I knew how to not get hurt."

The constant presence of Grimm, the fact he needs to get used to it, and a general disregard for danger. The boy's records stated he was from outside the Kingdoms, but this suggested a frontier town that had been destroyed by the Grimm. It might explain his attitude, and his rather specialised skillset. Gaining students who had lived and survived in the wild was honestly not as uncommon as it sounded. He could recall the Branwen siblings with little better a history, and they had proven themselves in time. One could never underestimate the human desire to survive, or how far one could go to achieve it.

"At least you had your family," Ozpin comforted. "Many are not so fortunate."

"I know. Honestly, I'm fairly lucky with that. Even if things weren't always great back home, I was never alone."

Ozpin smiled, pleased and – if he was being honest – a little impressed with the young man's maturity. It would have been so easy in his shoes to be boastful, and yet much like Bart claimed, the boy was an eager and dedicated student.

One thing did catch his attention, however. Mr Arc – and his family – survived in dangerous territory which sounded like it had been overrun by the Grimm. Their negativity would have drawn more for sure, which begged the question of how they were still alive.

It was a question which provided its own answer, as troublesome as that was. If this creature hunted him before even Beacon, it would explain how he and his family survived whatever disaster took his home. The Grimm sought to capture him, and his family must have protected him long enough to send him here, to learn how to protect himself.

Some kind of secret organisation? Some sort of religious cult that sought to protect a power passed down through a bloodline? He recalled that there was once such an organisation for the Maidens, but that it had fallen to power plays and arrogance. It was possible that whatever they sought, Mr Arc's family had defended in secrecy. That meant one thing for Ozpin, and that made him sigh. More research… more delving into legends and more accursed fairy tales.

I'll have to increase the coffee budget again, he thought. I've a feeling I'll be hooked up to an IV of the stuff soon enough. He'd have asked Glynda to help him, but even he wasn't that cruel.

"Well, thank you for talking with me, Mr Arc." he said, not half as thankful for the new leads as he made it sound. "I appreciate the time."

"Oh, it's no problem, sir. I was just looking for something."

"That is why many come to a library," Ozpin chuckled. "Might I enquire as to what it is? I couldn't help but notice your discussion with the head librarian earlier. I might be able to help if she could not."

And honestly, the distraction would be welcome.

"Really?" The young man's eyes lit up, and Ozpin had to stifle a laugh at that. Ah, it was nice to see someone who desired to learn so. "It would be amazing if you could. I've been searching for so long but can't find any books about it."

"I shall help you if I can, Mr Arc. What is it you were looking for?"

"Tentacle hentai."

A long moment of silence passed between them. In the distance, a bell tolled the hour and various students walked by.

"Ah," Ozpin eventually said, certain he must have misheard. "What was that again?"

"I'm looking for some tentacle hentai," the young man repeated, without a lick of embarrassment. "Do you know where I can find some?"

Well, it looked like he hadn't misheard after all. He didn't know whether he should be offended at the question or impressed by the boy's forthrightness. He settled for awkwardly bemused.

"I'm afraid I do not, Mr Arc. I don't believe there would be any of… that kind of material in the library."

"That's what the librarian said too," he sighed, "But I thought a library was a place filled with information. I tried to look it up on the terminals too, but it came up with some kind of error message."

"I believe that would be a blocked site, Mr Arc. We do not encourage our students to use school-equipment for such… interests."

"A block… like a censor?" the young man mumbled. "Some kind of information control?"

"Mr Arc, might I suggest… it feels as though your energy might be better invested into other things than… than what you're looking for."

"What do you mean?" the student asked.

Ah, what a conversation… Ozpin hesitated as he struggled for an answer. This wasn't the kind of thing he could throw Glynda's way, since by the time the students reached their hands, they were usually at least somewhat wise in the ways of the world. No amount of sex-education training had prepared him for this. He would need to wing it… not an appealing thought.

"I understand that someone your age might feel certain… frustrations," the headmaster began, wincing at the final word. "It is also normal, perhaps even expected, that you would seek material with which to relieve those urges." Oh gods, that was the wrong word. He cringed and wished Peter could be here to do this instead. "I simply believe that a young man your age might be better served looking elsewhere for their entertainment. Perhaps socialise with your teammates and spend some time with them?"

"Oh, this is," Jaune said. "Ruby asked me to find some because she wasn't able to. We were going to check it out together."

"Miss… Rose…?" Ozpin's face fell as an imagine came into his mind, of either the girl's father – or worse, her uncle – finding out about this. Children experimented, and they grew up in time, but the last he'd heard, Taiyang hadn't exactly accepted that fact of life. Certainly not when it came to his precious daughters, anyway.

He wasn't sure Beacon could handle that… or that he could handle the resultant paperwork.

"I really think the two of you should look elsewhere," Ozpin winced, "and maybe with Miss Xiao-Long in tow." That way the older sister could maybe act as a chaperone, and he wouldn't have to imagine the impending calamity. "I can understand your curiosity, especially as you grow up, but this is a school, Mr Arc."

"Well, yeah… aren't we supposed to learn about things here?"

"Subjects, yes, not… this. We teach about Grimm, about what it means to be a huntsman and the cultures of our neighbouring Kingdoms."

"I thought tentacle hentai came from Mistral?"

Ozpin wanted to slap a hand into his face. He just had to mention culture, didn't he? "Mr Arc, there are many things that come from Mistral, some of which we welcome more freely than others. This… this is not one of them."

"No tentacle hentai, then?"

"No… no tentacle hentai."

The young man's face fell. "Ah, damn… Ruby will be disappointed. We were going to learn all about it in all-night study session."

"Too much information, Mr Arc. I do not need such details."

"Well, if it's not here, then it's not here. Thanks for your help either way, headmaster." The blonde student shrugged his shoulders, but managed a smile. "I'd best go tell Ruby. Have a nice day, sir."

"You too, Mr Arc," Ozpin mumbled, one hand massaging his brow. The pain only went away when he did, which left the man to sigh and wish he'd scrapped the whole idea up front. I found out a little about his past, some information on what occurred at Forever Fall, and then more than I ever wished to know about his current endeavours. He shivered at the thought. Gods, the boy was seventeen and the girl fifteen. Kids, these days.

With a sigh, he strode up to the main desk, to address the librarian that nodded a greeting to him. "Headmaster," she said. "How can I be of help?"

"Samantha, is it not?" He waited for her to nod and smile. "I think it's about time we saw to removing the… adult section of the library."

The girl's face froze, but she recovered with admirable grace. "W-Whatever do you mean, sir? Naturally, the library only caters to educational nee-"

"I'm more than aware of the predilections of some of our students, my dear, as I am on how the librarians saw fit to provide access to such material." The poor girl's face turned crimson, but he smiled to lessen the blow. "While I have no fault over such things, I think it might be turn to bring that to a close… before impressionable eyes come across it."

"I understand, sir," she sighed. "I'll have the books removed."

"Thank you, Samantha." Ozpin nodded and moved away. Hopefully, she'd get the books removed promptly. It wouldn't do for Taiyang to hear how his innocent daughter stumbled upon it and became… curious.

Frankly, if Mr Arc wished to indulge her, then he could be the one to try and explain himself to two over-protective grown men.

His job was just to protect the boy from this Grimm creature.

Which, now that he thought about it, really needed a name. Hm, what was that movie he'd seen Peter and Bart watch the other day? His mind recalled the scene, and then the title, prompting a considering nod. That could work, if the two names were mixed.

The Grimminator. Hmm… it does have a nice ring to it.

/-/

Jaune hummed as he looked down at the message on his scroll from Ruby.

Never mind, it read. We'll just have to find some other way. The others definitely know what it is, but Yang won't tell. I think we should try Blake. If we keep bugging her, she'll tell us eventually, and from what Nora keeps saying, it sounds like Blake knows a lot about this stuff.

Hm, not a bad idea. Jaune typed in a reply, little more than a promise to help her corner Blake some time for answers. At least she wasn't upset he'd failed in completing her favour.

"This is strange," Remy mumbled. "It's like they're purposefully keeping this stuff away from the two of you. It was easy enough to write off with the teams, but now the headmaster – and the computers themselves blocking it?"

"I know, Remy. It sounds just like what Uncle Watts taught us, about how Governments can control the flow of information to influence the opinions of those beneath them. Do you think Vale is doing that to us?"

"Not to us, specifically. They don't know about us. It's possible they might be doing it to others, though. But for what purpose?"

Jaune wracked his mind to try and recall his uncle's lessons, which was hard because they could be boring at times and were never as exciting as Big Sis Cinder's or Uncle Tyrian's. Well, Tyrian's were only exciting in the hard-racing-panic kind of sense, but at least he never fell asleep during those. From what he could remember, those in power usually only controlled people for one of two reasons; to maintain their own power, or to maintain a current political leaning from the people.

"Wait," Jaune paused in the middle of the hallway. "Remy, think about it – what's the one thing in this world which has tentacles?"

"Cephalopods? We did read about those in that other book."

"Okay, yes, fine, but I meant Grimm, and more specifically, us. The Kingdoms are always pushing the Grimm as evil and bent on destruction-"

"Which your mother is."

"- but maybe it's possible they're hiding this tentacle hentai stuff because it shows the potential for peace between Grimm and humans. Why else would they censor it from impressionable students?"

"That's… not a terrible thought," Remy pondered. The parasite swirled around within him, and he felt it settle near his left shoulder, but not break the skin. "Didn't Uncle Hazel say they do the same with faunus, too?"

"Yeah. I mean, I can't think of what else this would be. Tentacles are in octopus and squid sure, but I doubt they'd censor seafood recipes or cookbooks. It has to be something they don't want us to see, and this is all I can think of."

"It could also be something else Grimm-related," Remy warned. "What if it's some kind of science experiment they do on our kind, to try and understand and recreate our powers?"

Jaune gasped. That was… that sounded horrible.

"Either way, Jaune, we need to continue looking for this. Cornering Nora's teammate and extracting answers should be a priority!"

"Right. I'll get Ruby involved too. If this is something which could show the Grimm in a good light, I think she would be the most likely to believe it. After all, she said my tentacles felt good."

"There was something about the way she said that which bothere-"

"Oof!"

"I'm sorry!"

Remy's words were cut off as something collided into him. He staggered back but caught himself before he could fall. The other person wasn't quite so fortunate, however and stumbled against him. His arms wrapped about them.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Did I bump into you? I'm really sorry." Something tickled his nose, and it took him a second to realise it was the fur from a long, brown ear.

The girl's brown eyes stared back up, wide and nervous. "H-Hello," she whispered.

It's the girl from the cafeteria, he realised. The faunus whose ear Cardin had grabbed onto. She looked a little different, though it took him a moment or two to place it. For some reason, she'd gone without her tights, drawing attention to her legs.

"H-Hi," she said again. "Um… I… uh…"

Was she still frightened of him? The thought was enough to sting, but he forced it down and smiled as kindly as he could at her. This might be a chance to show the poor girl he wasn't scary. He was a totally normal guy, after all.

"Hello there," he said, "It's Velvet, isn't it?"

"Y-You know my name?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Ah, well, you introduced yourself when we met in the cafeteria. I'm sorry, was that too casual? I can call you Scarlatina if you want?"

The girl shook her head wildly. "No," she said. "No, no, I don't mind. You can… uh… you can call me whatever you want – whatever you want at all."

Whatever he wanted? That sounded like the kind of begging Tyrian would brag about his victims making, that they would do what he wanted, whatever made him go away and leave them alone. Jaune's smile faltered and he stepped away, allowing the girl to stand.

She glanced away, eyes on the floor or the wall past his shoulder, never once meeting his eyes. Her cheeks were dark too, and he noticed her breasts rising and falling in fear. "So," she said, "I, uh… well, I was wondering…" She trailed off weakly.

She was trying her hardest to act normal. It was admirable, really. It spoke of great courage and bravery, of someone who wouldn't be cowed – even when she was intimidated. He smiled at her, as friendly as he could.

"I'm sorry for bumping into you, Velvet," he said, stepping past her. No matter how hard he tried, she was still clearly agitated around him. It was best to leave her be. "You look better than you did the last time," on the floor and upset, "I'll see you around."

/-/

Velvet could only stand and watch as he walked away. She considered bashing her face into the nearest wall, but didn't think the wall deserved it. I'm such an idiot, I can't believe I wasn't able to say anything. What am I, a huntress or a frightened rabbit?

"It didn't work," she sighed.

There was a rustle of newspaper, as the figure that leaned against the nearby wall lowered their upside-down Vale Daily News. Coco adjusted her glasses with one hand. "Nonsense, bun-bun. It was first-contact and that's important. You can't chase after a guy if he forgets who you are."

"Coco, I made a total fool of myself… I just stood there and stuttered like some little child."

Bad enough that she'd let herself be bullied by some first years, but now she – who should be older and far more mature – now found herself reduced to a nervous wreck by another first year. Sure, he had a kind and beautiful smile, and when it came out her legs felt weak, but that was no excuse!

"Seems to me like you need some practice," Coco said. "If he makes you nervous, then we'll have to build up your immunity."

"Coco, no…"

"Coco, yes! We need to expose you to him at every possible chance, until you can not only talk to him without stuttering, but push him up against the wall and ravage hi-" Coco's treacherous mouth was cut off as Velvet slammed a hand over it and pinned her against the wall. Two other students wandered by, and looked more than a little confused, but Velvet just smiled winningly at them. Only when they left did she lower her hand.

"I meant practice on him, bun-bun. Have to say, though, your pinning technique is good."

"Can you… not talk like that so loud?"

"Oh, I'm just playing with you, bun-bun," Coco laughed and threw an arm around her shoulder. "Still, first time I've seen the guy and… well, he doesn't look all that bad, but I'm not sure I see the whole hero thing you were going on about."

Velvet sighed, and then instantly cursed when she realised how dreamy it sounded. "You didn't see him in the cafeteria," she said defensively. "He was… you wouldn't understand."

"Apparently not… ah, young love."

"You're the same age as me."

"Anyway," Coco ignored her point entirely, "This wasn't a bad test run. I know what I'm working with now, which isn't much, I'll be honest bun-bun, but we'll soon win you your man."

Velvet felt the blood run to her cheeks. "That's too much, Coco. I just want to… maybe talk to him, you know? Get to know him."

"Push him down into a mattress?"

"I didn't say that!"

"You did," Coco smirked. "Last night, while you were asleep. Did you know you talk in your sleep?"

Oh gods, no… she could feel her world cracking into a million pieces. Velvet's face transformed into an expression of horror as she stared at her teammate. She… she couldn't control her dreams! That wasn't her fault!

"D-Did the others hear?" Velvet asked.

"Let's move onto a different topic," Coco laughed nervously. "About this guy, we need to get you and him together in some more casual situations."

"Coco," she begged, "You didn't answer my question…"

"I'm thinking you could try and sit with his team at lunch, or maybe we can find out what his hobbies are and see if it's something you two have in common."

"Coco… they didn't hear, right?"

Coco stopped and looked at her, and Velvet sent back her most pleading look. Please, she begged. Please tell me that it was just her teasing me and that I didn't do something like that. A bead of sweat ran down her teammate's forehead.

"Coco?" she tried again.

"Mutual hobbies are important," Coco said with a wince.

Velvet's head fell into her hands. Her life was officially over. "Kill me now," she whimpered.

"Hey, it's fine. I mean, I'm sure they wouldn't have paid attention or anything. Fox and Yats wouldn't do anything…"

Oh gods, now it made sense why Yatsu was so stone-faced as he sharpened his sword that morning. Velvet's eyes grew wider as she remembered the wide-set frown on Fox's face too. They'd made excuses to leave earlier, saying something about going on a hunt.

"Please," Coco gasped, turning to Coco. "Tell me that they're not going to hunt him down and try to interrogate him."

"They're not going to hunt him down."

"You could at least try to sound like you believe it!" Velvet cried.

"Yeah, bun-bun… even I'm not a good enough liar to make you believe that."

A groan escaped her, panic settling in somewhere around her toes and then quickly escalating up to the tips of her ears. She was doomed… she was actually doomed.

This was officially the worst day ever.

"Look on the bright side," Coco said, and clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Your boy-toy said you looked `better` than you did before, and the only change is you wearing no tights. I guess he likes your knees, after all. You go, girl."

This was officially the best day ever.

/-/

"And this will be your room," the stern woman with glasses said, indicating the rather cramped dormitory with four beds within. Cinder opened her mouth to speak, but could only sigh when Roman's tool – the strange girl, Neo – pushed past them and dove onto one of the beds. The multi-coloured girl bounced up and down atop the mattress, and seemed delighted by its sponginess. That didn't stop her testing the other three, however, as though to find out which was the best one.

"I apologise for her, Miss Goodwitch," Cinder said diplomatically. "Neo can be eccentric at times, but I assure you, she's simply as excited as we are to study here."

"I will accept that, but do ensure no damage comes to the furniture, Miss Fall. Or it shall be you who pays for it."

Insolent woman. Cinder felt a flash of fury but hid it behind a polite mask. "Of course, please don't worry. I'll personally make sure there is no damage."

The pink, brown and cream-coloured girl flounced back on one, apparently pleased with it, for she staked her claim by laying down and spreading her arms and legs wide. Once-upon-a-time, the plan had been for the girl to come in disguise, but their earlier entrance removed the need for such. Roman had not made her public yet, and so her appearance was unknown. It would be easier this way.

Well, not easier for them, of course, but her darling brother had seen fit to ruin the original plan.

"Lessons begin tomorrow, and I have forwarded details to your scrolls," the blonde teacher went on, eyeing them all with the look of a woman who suspected they were only half listening. Well, she wasn't wrong. "I have seen your records from Haven and expect good things from you all. I assure you, our standards are just as strict, so do not take this time to ignore your studies."

"Yes, ma'am," Mercury and Emerald called in unison.

Miss Goodwitch seemed impressed. Enough so, that she nodded at Cinder and stepped away and out the room. Before the door closed behind her, however, she called back. "Oh, and Miss Fall. I can't help but notice that your skirt is… a little short. Please see to lengthening it or buying a new uniform. I don't believe our students can handle the distraction."

Damn Coral and her ways. If the girl wasn't the daughter of her mistress, insanely powerful in her own right and one of seven sisters that would happily band together to punish her, then she would have immolated the girl long ago.

As it was, it was all she could do to smile and make her excuses, waiting until the teacher was gone before scowling at her companions.

"So, this is Beacon?" Mercury chuckled. "It doesn't seem all that different to Haven. The scenery, sure, but there's still nagging teachers everywhere."

"It's a school, idiot." Emerald snapped. "Not that I expect you would have ever attended one."

"That's a bit rich, isn't it, coming from you? At least I lived in a house."

"You-"

"Enough." The single word, spoken with a commanding edge, was enough to bring the two of them to immediate silence. The sound of a mattress straining and the bathroom door slamming reminded her that Roman's little pet wasn't quite so simple a matter. She would need to be watched. "We're here in Beacon and we have a day before lessons," Cinder said. "We should take this time to try and locate our target."

"Jaune Arc, right?" Mercury stood up and followed her to the door, which swung open at the press of a button. "We taking the mute with us?"

"No," Cinder said. "The less she knows, the better. Her loyalty is firmly to our dear friend, and his is in question. She is a necessary evil, for now. We should do our best to keep her away from him."

"Understood," Emerald said. The green-haired girl looked about the corridor, and much like she'd been trained to, smiled at each person who looked her way. Cinder nodded. They were to fit in, after all. Thanks to Jaune, they'd be here for far longer than first anticipated.

"How do we find this guy, anyway?" Mercury asked. "We know what he looks like, but it isn't like he's going to come up to us."

"No," she said. "He won't. Jaune will be here in disguise and staying low. I personally trained him on the importance of such. He will do his best not to draw attention to himself an-"

"You hear about that Arc, boy?" a random passer-by said to her friend. "I heard he got dragged away by a Beowolf and killed it with his bare hands!"

"Yeah, well I heard he saved Cardin Winchester and his team from being molested by some sexual predator."

"Wait, the same guy he turned down in the cafeteria last week?"

"The very same," the first smiled. "Maybe there's something more going on there, you think?" The two girls giggled loudly and moved further on down the corridor, out of sight.

"So…" Mercury drawled, "Staying low?"

"I said he'd try to stay low," Cinder growled, one hand pinching the bridge of her nose. "I never said he'd be any good at it."

Her sweet, little, brother had some serious explaining to do.

Not every chapter can be an explosion of tentacle action and Cardin-molestation. While I'm aware that 99% of you (the other 1% being clinically insane) are here to see the glorious continuation of Cardin-chan's efforts to woo Grimm-sempai, I'll just point out that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

But what's this, Cardin-chan, a challenger appears? Fight on, in the name of love and justice!

Honestly, it always feels a bit apprehensive after a huge chapter like the last. In terms of story structure, last chapter was a climax (or disaster), and this chapter is the follow-up (or reaction, dilemma, decision). They're necessary, of course, and a story doesn't work without them (you can't have every chapter an explosion of action, after all). It's just that it works in traditional writing because the reader can turn the page, while in fanfiction, the reader has to wait for the next chapter.

But hopefully there were enough lulz to make it bearable.

Next Chapter: 5th April

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur