Busy week over here with plenty of work and deadlines to try and meet. Sigh. It's a question I get all the time on how I always manage to meet my crazy update schedule, but I suppose it's just because my work has deadlines like this all the time anyway. I'm just used to it.

Beta: College Fool

Cover Art: Kegi Springfield

Chapter 63

Teeth marks notwithstanding, Jaune didn't think the meeting with Yang's father was going too badly. Then again, maybe it was because he was comparing it to how the same might happen in reverse with his parents, compared to which even a wild animal gnawing on your face might be considered a not-so-bad outcome.

"So, you're Jaune Arc, huh?" Yang's father, Taiyang, said. He looked Jaune up and down with a cautious eye, though not necessarily an angry one. The man's hair and eyes were a similar shade to his own, creating an odd sense of duality. Were it not for the tanned skin colour, they might have been father and son. "I've heard a little bit about you from Qrow. Not so much from my own daughter, though."

Yang laughed nervously.

After the meeting at the docks and the subsequent prying of a corgi off his face, the party had retired to a small diner in Vale, one that just so happened to be the same place he'd met Yang all those months ago when asking directions to Beacon. They'd chosen a seat inside for privacy, or as Yang mumbled under her breath so that they couldn't make a break for it.

The five of them sat around the table, Qrow looking irritated and Ruby like the most awkward third-wheel ever, as Taiyang Xiao-Long gave Jaune Salem Arc the third degree.

"We've not been together all that long, sir."

"None of that `sir` nonsense; it makes me feel old. As for not being together long, I doubt you just fell into a relationship. Shouldn't my daughter tell me when she's seeing someone?"

"No," Yang muttered.

"I shouldn't have to find out from Qrow," Taiyang went on. "I mean, I'm her father and it's her uncle that knows she's dating before I do? How is that fair? She should be coming to me for advice. I should be the one to stand in the background and watch my little girl become a woman."

"Oh my god, Dad!" Yang howled. "Please. Can you not be embarrassing for, like, one second? And the only reason I'd come for you for advice was if I wanted to score my entire team. Which I don't," she added quickly. "Things are complicated enough between those three without me jumping in."

"You have used protection, right?"

Yang's forehead hit the table.

A month or two back he hadn't even known what protection was, other than the concept of having a lot of Grimm between you and the enemy. He was lucky Weiss and Ruby had explained it, since he had a feeling the other answer wouldn't have endeared him to Yang's father. "We've not gone that far. But, uh, I'm sure that if we do we'll wear protection."

"Unless you want children," Taiyang prodded.

Jaune nodded. "Unless we want children."

"H-Hey, isn't this a little too far ahead?" Yang whined. "Can we not talk about this?"

"It's never too early to plan for the future, Yang," Taiyang said, arms crossed and shaking his head. "I've told you about this time and time again in Signal. You can't just rush into things without thinking about it or you'll end up losing an arm or something. You need to be more tactical. You need to think ahead and have a strategy, not to mention a contingency for when that goes wrong."

None of what he'd said was necessarily wrong, yet the colour in Yang's face drained, becoming whiter and whiter, and then slightly greener as he went on. She also slumped in her chair, slipping down as if she wanted to hide under the tablecloth.

"And that's why you need to plan for these things," Taiyang finished.

"I was just planning on not getting pregnant as a teenager," Yang grumbled. "Isn't that enough?"

"No. What's your contingency plan if you do get pregnant?"

"It's a little late at that point, isn't it? I guess I'd give birth."

"And how would you support it? I'll help, but I can only do so much and Qrow isn't a good influence on a baby."

"Hey!"

"Oh, sod off, you. I trusted you to babysit Yang and look what happened to her."

"Hey!" Yang cried this time.

"If she has a baby, I'd support them both," Jaune said, hoping to defuse the argument and save his girlfriend some embarrassment. Apparently, he hadn't, for her face whipped to his with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"Hm, that's good," Taiyang said. "Do you have any income, though?"

"I have a few million lien."

He wasn't sure why Yang and Ruby croaked, nor why Taiyang looked so utterly shocked for a moment, almost falling out of his chair. Jaune also didn't know what to make of Qrow's grumbling that it was probably gained none too legally.

Well, that was true but still – couldn't he at least have the benefit of the doubt?

"Jaune!" Yang yelped.

"What? I'm just saying if we have children I'm not going to leave you with them. Isn't that a good thing?"

"We're not having children!"

"Not now, sure, but it's just a contingency plan, right?"

Taiyang nodded. "That's correct. I'm glad to see you're different from her."

"Dad, don't encourage him," Yang snapped. "Gods, this is why I didn't want this meeting to happen." She turned to him, eyes wide. "Jaune, just… just ignore this conversation ever happened. Let's not talk about children until we've at least… at least…" Her eyes trailed away. "You know…"

"Banged?" Jaune offered, trying to be helpful.

Yang whined through her teeth. "Not in front of my dad!"

"Well obviously, that would be pretty rude. I'm not like my mom."

Yang's face hit the table once more. She groaned into it while Ruby reached over and rubbed her back, offering what sympathy she could. Jaune wondered if he should be doing the same, but Taiyang cornered him with a quick question about what his intentions were with Yang.

He answered easily and honestly enough, earning the occasional squawk from Yang when he said something that embarrassed her. All in all, he thought he was doing pretty well, and Taiyang's expression had actually started to thaw from granite-faced-murder dad to giving-you-a-chance-but-still-ready-to-tear-you-limb-from-limb dad.

Now, if only the mutt below the table would stop trying to bite his ankles. Wasn't Ruby supposed to keep a hold on the stupid thing?

"Grimm may ignore animals but that doesn't mean the same is true in reverse," Remy said. "Animals trained by huntsmen can be even worse. It wouldn't surprise me if it had its aura unlocked."

"I don't care whether it does or not. It has teeth!"

Tiny, razor-sharp teeth that were more like needles than incisors, but which were painful nonetheless and buried in his shin. He tried kicking his foot to dislodge it but all he managed to do was shake it under the table and slam his knee into the metal frame holding the thing up. His eyes watered.

Alright, that was it. The tablecloth reached down to the floor and it wasn't like it wasn't big enough. With a quick flicker of concentration, he sent a tentacle twisting down his left leg and out the bottom of his trousers. It wrapped around the furry beast and dragged it away from his leg.

Ah, blessed relief.

"I'll be staying in Beacon until the tournament is over – got to watch my baby girls fight, after all. You're on Ruby's team, right?"

"Yes, with Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos."

"Hm, I recognise those names. At least one of my daughters sees fit to write home and fill me in on her life."

"I wrote about my team," Yang protested, glaring at Ruby for having upstaged her. "I've told you all about Ren, Nora and Blake."

"You've told me your team is one quiet boy and two girls frantically lusting after him trapped in a constant battle of wits you feel can only end with the `Highlander` approach."

"That's all there is to tell!"

"Regardless, I'd like a chance to spend some time with your boyfriend and get to know him better."

"No way!" Yang cried.

"Sure," Jaune replied.

Yang's foot stamped on his – or at least she thought it was his foot. He winced as his tentacle was pinned to the floor. Sweat beaded on his brow and he met Yang's glare nervously.

"You don't know what you're agreeing to," she whispered, not realising just what she'd stomped on.

"It's not like I can say no, is it?"

"No," Taiyang said, easily listening in. "Besides, it's not like I'm going to do anything to him. I just want to get to know the boy who's dating my little girl. What, do you think I'm going to be horrible to him or something?"

"Yes."

"Yes." Ruby and Yang shared a quick look and nodded. Even so, seeing that she was out of options, Yang groaned and sat back, removing her foot from his tentacle. "Fine, but you'd better not do anything bad to him."

"Would I ever?" Taiyang asked. "Heck, he might even enjoy it. I can show him pictures of-"

"NO! Be bad, be horrible, but do not – under any circumstances – bring out the baby pictures."

Jaune was so distracted watching the two argue that he forgot what was happening beneath the table. When Yang stomped on his tentacle, it had frozen up instinctively, going soft and limp. Now that he had it back it was fine, but it wasn't until sharp needle-like teeth sunk into it that he recalled the original reason for its presence in the first place.

Taiyang, Qrow, Ruby and Yang stared at him when he yelped.

"Jaune?" Ruby asked.

"N-Nothing. I-It's fine." He laughed awkwardly, all the while flailing his tentacle under the table, corgi attached to the end and shaking vigorously. "I just bumped my knee on the table." There was a bang from under it for emphasis, though it was less his knee striking the wood and more the horrible monster Ruby and Yang called a pet. And yes, it had aura, since it didn't let go of him even when he tried to slap it against the wood.

Yang, assuming he was being his usual self, turned back to her father. "Okay fine, you can come and watch the tournament, and I'll introduce you to my team, but there are rules."

"I'm your father. You can't lay down rules with me."

"Can and will!"

There was a growl to Jaune's right and he looked over the edge of the table. His eyes grew wide as he saw the backend of a small, grey corgi reverse out from under the cloth, dragging something in its teeth. The black tentacle twitched wildly.

"Stop it," he hissed downward.

Zwei looked up, growled louder, and started to drag his tentacle further out, no doubt hoping to expose him.

Jaune dragged him back under with a growl of his own. While outwardly calm to anyone watching, his tentacle windmilled under the table, flinging the dog left, right, up and down in an attempt to make it let go.

"What do you say, Jaune?"

"Yes!" Jaune howled, finally getting rid of the thing. It bounced away with a startled yelp, hitting Ruby's legs. He watched the girl reach down to snatch the dog up and hold it in her lap, the beast growling the whole time. It also gave him a chance to notice her wide eyes, and the horrified expression on Yang's face.

Yang croaked weakly.

"Wait, what did I just agree to?"

"You agreed to let dad sleep in our dorm," Ruby whispered, betrayed.

"Only until Ozpin can set me up with a room," Taiyang said. "It'll probably just be for the night."

"Oh."

Oh…

The corgi seemed to grin viciously at him.

Son of a bitch…

/-/

Two restaurants over and not nearly enough alcohol down, Cinder sat before Adam Taurus, looking somehow more murderous without his mask. She wished she could be anywhere else than here, even trapped in that snot Ruby's room while they forced her to take part in a video game tournament. Hell, she'd have rather been in one of that fat idiot Port's lessons. It would have been preferable to this.

"You are seeking to call off the attack," Adam said, less a question and more of a statement; a dangerous statement, a statement that spoke of swords and anger and her having to hide a body in a hurry.

"I'm doing nothing of the sort," she lied. "I'm simply rescheduling it. Timing is important in matters such as these and something has happened to make our previous appointment… unfeasible."

"My men are prepared," Adam said. "We've been collecting Grimm for months. The longer we wait, the more risk you are asking my people to shoulder."

Cinder huffed. Honestly, did it look like she cared? Did it look like she had an iota of interest within her body? What she wanted was to go back to Beacon, hide in her room and sup of the bottle of wine she'd smuggled in earlier until she could enter a drunken trance and convince herself her plans hadn't all been rendered obsolete by her idiot brother.

Instead, she was dealing with Angsty McEdgelord, who seemed to be under the curious misconception that he could intimidate her with his brooding glares.

She'd changed the diapers of eldritch abominations, thank you very much. She'd forced a six-year-old tentacle monster to have a bath when he didn't want to. She'd played hide and seek with a ten-year-old in the middle of the Grimmlands.

Adam Taurus could frown all he wanted, but to her it was a childish pout.

"I'm sure your brave warriors can appreciate the value of not running in to die where patience would serve them better." Not that she was even sure on that given the White Fang's current record. They must have all been lemming faunus. "Regardless, the scheduled attack no longer serves our purposes. I wanted to make you aware ahead of time so you could make whatever changes you need to."

"And when will our new attack be?" he asked dangerously.

"When I find a time better suited to it," she replied, not really bothering to tell him she'd be long gone by that point. He could do whatever he wanted after she'd gotten the maiden, though given his track record that would be to get himself and his people killed.

Oh well, she'd survive the crushing guilt. It would be hard, but she'd manage.

"And is your colleague, Hentacle, okay with this?"

Cinder smiled. Jaune would be thrilled with it. "He will manage. He understands the importance of good timing, hence why I have his co-operation in this affair. He will be most displeased if you were to try and ignore me on this matter."

Adam's eyes narrowed. "I don't like this."

"Neither do I, but it's a sacrifice we shall both have to make if we want the attack to succeed." Cinder rose before Adam could find a reason to stop her. She had a bottle of wine with her name on it. "I will be in contact. Don't draw any attention to yourself."

"Cinder!" Adam called, halting her. "The White Fang are not peons to be thrown away in your games. We've looked after ourselves for years and can do so here. We chose to work with you because our interests aligned, but if yours have wavered, then we might have to part ways."

"Is that a threat, Adam?"

"No. It's a promise."

Hm, how droll, if a little cliché. The animal was a fan of the movies, it appeared. "My will hasn't faltered, Adam. I've simply discovered a more opportune moment to strike." She regarded him with a stern expression. "Do not test me on this. You would not like the consequences."

Adam watched her leave. His hands on the table clenched into fists.

/-/

"Why does that have to be here?" Blake hissed.

"Because it's this or my dad," Yang replied, not in the mood as she stroked Zwei, curled up in her lap. "Trust me, we got the better end of the bargain."

Blake's lips peeled back but she didn't argue. What she did do was pile some of her books around her bed, constructing an impromptu – if flimsy – defence between her and the adorable corgi. "It stays away from me or it gets thrown out of the window."

"And you complain when people compare you to a cat, Yang drawled.

"Because that's racist!"

"If the hat fits…" Yang rolled her eyes. Seriously, she'd met dog faunus that didn't chase cats and she doubted every bull faunus in the world turned into psychopaths if they were surrounded with the colour red.

She wasn't even sure faunus had any instincts like their animal counterparts. Blake was just weird.

"You seem in an unusually foul mood," Ren noted.

"Nothing unusual about it, bucko. My dad is in the same room as my boyfriend giving him the third degree. I've also got to rely on Ruby to cover for me and not let any embarrassing stories get out." And that was bad because Ruby would sell her up the river if it was a choice between Yang's stories being revealed or her own. Ruby was great and all, but surprisingly quick to throw Yang under the bus when it came to it.

"How bad can it really be?"

Yang stared at Ren.

"Admittedly, I have no experience," Ren allowed.

"Yeah, exactly."

"But I'm sure you haven't either."

"I'm one for one on terrible experiences," she said. "That's a hundred per cent record. It'll do." Yang idly petted Zwei and leaned back on her bed, sighing. It wasn't that she didn't trust her dad or Jaune together, but that she… well, didn't trust them together.

Oh sure, they were both awesome – but Jaune was empty-headed and blunt, while her father was practically a battering ram himself when it came to subtlety. And I never did get a chance to corner Qrow about what he told Dad. The asshole snuck away the first chance he got. Yang made a mental note to hunt him down later and remind him just why what passed between uncle and niece, stayed between uncle and niece.

"It's the second rounds tomorrow and there's a chance we'll be fighting," Ren said. "I'm sure you'll forget all about it then." And if not, she could distract herself pounding an unfortunate SOAB into submission. "Will you be okay to fight still?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. You and me, right?"

"Yes."

"Keep Renny safe," Nora said. "He's squishy and sensitive, so if anyone comes at him with violence in mind, you'll need to break their legs."

Yang laughed. "Got it."

"Nora, I can look after myself…"

"Oh Ren, you're adorable." Nora patted his head, turned to Yang and mouthed `break their legs` theatrically. Yang made a show of winking back, earning a suffering sigh from their team leader. Blake didn't join in the fun, too busy crouching behind her book fort with her bow peeking over the top, eyes searching for the corgi.

"What if your dog needs to relieve itself?" Ren asked.

"He's house trained," Yang said.

There was a flush from the bathroom, followed by the door being nudged open and Zwei stepping back out. He trotted past Blake's fort, ignoring her hissing, to clamber back onto Yang's bed and curl into a little ball.

Nora and Ren stared at him.

"Well, it's not the strangest thing I've ever seen," Ren said.

"Not even this week," Nora giggled.

Blake hissed and made clawing gestures in the air.

"Well done on setting your people back a thousand years or more," Yang sighed. "Alright, let's get some sleep. I'd like to be well-rested for when I need to kill my dad tomorrow morning."

"I'm sure nothing will happen."

She appreciated the effort, she really did. Sadly, Ren just didn't know her father like she knew him. The sooner the tournament came around the better. Right now, she wouldn't have said no to a spontaneous White Fang attack.

/-/

Ruby sighed as she finished explaining to Weiss and Pyrrha why her dad was going to be bunking with them tonight. It was all nonsense, of course. He could have gotten a hotel and she was fairly sure the headmaster would have been able to get a room for him, even if it was late evening by the time they reached Beacon. Heck, Jaune could have bought her dad a house in Vale just to get him out of their room.

And wasn't that a weird thing to realise. She'd known Jaune was easy with his money, having bought her that comic – which she still loved – but to learn he was easily as rich as Weiss? Well, that was a thing.

She was just glad Yang had offered to take Zwei. It was bad enough their father without having to wrench her beloved pet off Jaune's face. Oh she knew why he went for Jaune. Zwei was trained well – too well – and it looked like he knew exactly what Jaune was. They'd have to keep him away unless they wanted a battle of the ages in their dorm room.

Still, I can't help but think we got the raw end of the deal, she thought, watching her father inspect their dorm.

He was a guest and not even vaguely related or known by Weiss or Pyrrha, yet both – like her – stood by awkwardly, wishing they'd spent a little more time cleaning up, or at least known he was coming. Ruby cringed when her dad's eyes roved over her laundry basket, which was true to form completely overflowing.

She'd meant to take it to be washed earlier, but something had come up, like `something` had every day for the last week and a half. It wasn't laziness, totally not. Just things. Huntress things. All very important and stuff.

"Our room is normally cleaner than this," Weiss blatantly lied, showing that she felt as awkward as Ruby did. "Unfortunately, the Vytal Festival has us too busy to keep on top of things."

"Y-Yeah," Ruby agreed, smiling widely. "Really busy."

"What? No, it doesn't-"

Pyrrha silenced Jaune with a well-placed elbow to the gut.

"Hm, that's fine." Taiyang smiled. "Goodness knows our team was no better when we were here." To Ruby's utter mortification he moved over and started rummaging through her laundry, folding clothes into neat piles so it fit better. "You really do need to keep on top of this though, Ruby. Yang and I aren't going to be able to do it for you forever."

She didn't think it was possible to feel any more humiliated than she did then and there. "I know…"

"Ha. You always were messy, just like your mother."

"Daaad."

I take it back. I want Zwei here. Jaune and Yang are dating – they can sleep together in their room with dad. I'll take Zwei. The only thing that stopped her suggesting it was the knowledge Yang would never accept.

"It was too late to ask Ozpin for a room, so it'll only be for the one night," Taiyang said to her teammates. "Thanks for putting up with me; I know it can't be easy."

"It's fine." Weiss tried to play it off like it wasn't the weirdest thing in the world to have a teammate's father sleep in your room.

"I have no problems with it," Pyrrha said, too polite to ever speak the truth.

Jaune cringed and mumbled something under his breath. He, at least, knew what to really feel, and deserved all the indignation for the fact he'd accepted her father's request before she and Yang had a chance to talk him out of it.

"You can stay in my bed," Jaune offered, knowing it was the only thing to do. "I'll sleep on the floor for the night. I have a sleeping bag around here somewhere. Weiss, can I borrow one of your pillows-" He was cut off by a white shape impacting his face. "Thanks," he mumbled into it.

Ruby and Pyrrha chipped in with some of their own stuff, quickly constructing a rather comfortable looking bed for him to sleep on. Since they might be called on for camping at any time, every team had spare supplies like sleeping bags and spare blankets. Before long, Jaune looked comfier on the floor than he had in his bed, practically festooned in pillows.

"Ha, this reminds me of our time in Beacon," Taiyang reminisced. "We'd have sleepovers with our friends too, and occasionally one of us would bring a girl back." He paused. "Well, I would. Qrow never did. He wasn't very good with the ladies."

"He wasn't?" Ruby asked. "Uncle Qrow always told us he had lots of girlfriends." And other stories about barmaids in distant lands he'd met.

Taiyang seemed to find the idea hilarious. "Oh, that Qrow," he laughed. "Well, far be it for me to tarnish his reputation in front of his nieces. Let's just say there's a reason I dated both of my teammates, and a reason Qrow is a bachelor to this day."

And then, to her horror, her father started to tell them stories about his time as a student. He'd always been good at that, painting pictures about huntsman life that excited her. Professor Port could have learned a few things.

On the other hand, she just wished it wasn't about how he'd gotten with her mom. There were some things a person didn't need to know.

"Ha, and there was the time one of my friends dared Raven to make out with Summer in truth or dare. We didn't think she'd do it and Summer's face was so red, but if there's one thing about Raven, it's that she never backs down. You should have seen how much tongue she used!"

Ruby smashed her face into her pillow.

Kill me now.

/-/

The second round of the tournament came around without too much issue, if you didn't count an early morning greeting by Zwei via the medium of teeth to be an issue. Luckily, Taiyang snatched the corgi out of the air and hugged him to his chest, laughing the whole time.

"He doesn't seem to like you much. Not an animal person?"

"I have a pet back home, or more of a companion, but no, some animals don't like me much." It appeared to be dogs mostly, since a few cats had turned their noses up at him but not outright moved to claw his eyes out.

Mannie would have had something to say about the way Zwei was growling at him.

Luckily, the tournament itself saved him from having to spend any more time with the dog, since Taiyang couldn't enter the student stands with them and had to go sit with Qrow instead. The whole team breathed a sigh of relief once he was gone.

Ruby and Yang's dad was nice, but sheesh.

"I warned you," Yang said. "You've only yourself to blame."

"He's nice," Jaune defended. "Just…"

"A little too much? Dad's always been like that. Qrow said he had this `presence` which made him stand out in Beacon. Overly friendly, overly nice, overly enthusiastic and just able to get on with everyone he came across."

"He certainly seems to have a large personality," Pyrrha said.

"Hm. That's the issue, really. His personality is so big it squashes everyone else in the room. You should see how much other fathers glare at him whenever it was teacher-parent conference day. He made them look small in front of their wives."

It was an odd way to put it, but Jaune wasn't sure he disagreed. There was just something `big` about the man, or maybe he was, like Yang said, just that gregarious. Either way, he hadn't actually made any move to threaten or beat him up for being Yang's boyfriend, so in his books Taiyang was great.

It's better than if Tyrian came to meet Yang, he thought, shuddering at the idea.

"He doesn't seem to dislike me though," Jaune said, smiling at Yang.

Slowly, she smiled back. "No, he doesn't. I'm a little surprised."

"He can probably tell how blunt Jaune is," Weiss said, rolling her eyes. "He can hardly lie to save his life and not even an angry father can ignore that. The chances of him cheating on or mistreating you are less than zero. He's probably just bemused at how `nice` Jaune is."

It always amazed him how Weiss could say something that sounded like a compliment, and yet somehow was also an insult at the same time. He decided to take it as the former and ignore the latter. Besides, he totally could lie. He'd been doing it quite well for almost half a year now.

The rest of the students from the four schools filed into their section of the stands, taking their seats and listening as the ceremony began for the day. While he and the others had assumed the tournament would be just fights, there was actually a lot more to it in terms of speeches, sponsorship, cultural displays and more. That was probably necessary since the fights themselves rarely lasted more than ten minutes. The whole thing could have been done in a day without the extra bits to break it up.

It eventually moved onto the roulette wheel however, with the crowd leaning forward eagerly and Jaune doing the same.

The wheel clicked to a stop on Team RYBN.

"Not Pyrrha, not Pyrrha, not Pyrrha," Yang, Ren, Nora and Blake chanted.

"You know, just to hear the end of that I wouldn't mind if it was me," Pyrrha groused. Unfortunately for her, and fortunately for Team RYBN, it was not. They ended up against a team from Atlas that he hadn't heard of before.

"Sweet! Easy win," Yang laughed.

"We shouldn't underestimate them," Ren said, standing. He nodded to the group. "If you'll excuse us, we need to get changed."

"See ya," Yang laughed, stooping to kiss Jaune's cheek as she passed by. "Make sure to cheer for us."

Port and Oobleck began a rundown of the team's stats, techniques and their past performances, quickly entrancing the crowd as footage from their previous fights was revealed. For all that Port liked to talk, he was good at keeping the crowd distracted from what was essentially a ten minute wait, he and Oobleck going through what they thought the odds were for either team, and then working the crowd up by pointing out things they'd have to `watch out for`, including Yang's fiery temper and Ren's as of yet unknown Semblance.

He idly wondered what they'd said about him before, since he'd been in the changing rooms and unable to hear it. More than likely, they'd just focused on Pyrrha, since that was really all you needed to say when looking at their team's odds. Pyrrha Nikos and three distractions; the ultimate combination.

Once the two teams came back out and met in the arena, the roulette began to turn again, selecting what terrain they'd have to fight on. It settled on an combination of half mountainous terrain, half desert, and Port happily warbled about the treacherous footing of both and how it might influence the fight.

"Yang will be fine," Ruby laughed, confident in her sister's ability to handle herself no matter what she came up against.

"I'm sure she will be," Weiss noted. "Both she and Ren are light on their feet, so the sand shouldn't be a problem. The only concern is where their opponents have a Semblance to take advantage of it, but seeing as it's a team from Atlas, I'm not so sure."

"I don't think Semblances were regional," Jaune pointed out.

"They're not, but if you had a Semblance that relied on a certain kind of terrain, I doubt you'd choose to study at a school with none of it. Not when Shade Academy is literally surrounded by desert."

"Fair point…"

Something tickled the back of his mind as he watched the two teams prepare for the opening signal. It was an odd sensation like water rushing over him, except thick and viscous. He looked around, wondering if someone was staring at him, but even Cinder was focused on the match, leaning back in her seat with a bored expression. Yang's father in the main stands was cheering on his daughter, as was Qrow, albeit with less volume.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, noticing his sudden stiffness.

"Sorry, I thought I heard something."

They accepted the excuse easily enough and all turned their attention back to the fight. It had started now, with Yang and Ren throwing a number of probing attacks towards their opponents. Though the crowd yelled with excitement, he knew that both teams were trying to get a feel for the other, neither expanding too much energy so early on.

The same feeling from before tickled his mind again, except somehow louder, more tactile – and also heavier. It hit suddenly and he drew in a quick breath.

"Jaune…" Remy warned, recognising it.

He stood quickly, whispering to Ruby and Pyrrha that he needed to do something. Ruby looked worried but was too engrossed in the fight, while Pyrrha offered to come with him. He shook his head. "I won't be long. I just need to… this is important."

Once he was free from them, he made his way over to Cinder, trying as hard as he could not to break into a sprint, pushing other students out of the way. His face was red and his breath came out in sharp gasps.

Neo saw him approach and tapped Cinder's shoulder, pointing him out. Cinder cocked her head, unsure for a moment but clearly concerned at just how flustered he looked. She signalled for Emerald to scoot to the side, leaving a chair for him free. He didn't take it.

"Whatever is the matter now?" she asked, looking him up and down.

"You said you'd work with Beacon," he hissed, voice low and eyes glancing about nervously. No one was close enough to hear over the roar of the crowd. "You said you'd not do anything and just accept Ozpin giving you the maiden's powers!"

"I did."

"Then why!?"

Cinder shared a glance with Mercury and Emerald, who both shrugged, nonplussed. It slowly dawned on him that she didn't know what he was talking about, and that possibility frightened him even more. "Why what?" she asked. "What are you talking about?"

"There are Grimm on Amity Colosseum."

"What!?" Cinder's eyes widened. She didn't know. She had no idea.

"Grimm," he repeated, swallowing. His head spun. "I can sense them. Hundreds of them."

And they were angry.

Very angry.

Uh-oh. Things are never easy.

It looks like not everyone is on board with the `let's cancel the invasion` plan. So, is it time for Cinder Fall to play the Hero of Beacon? We'll see.

Next Chapter: 26th April

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur