So, this chapter is a little odd – not because of any problems, but because it's all focused on one thing. You'll see, I'm sure.

Beta: College Fool

Cover Art: Kegi Springfield

Chapter 76

"Yang!" Ruby cried happily.

"Sis!" Jaune cried literally. "With him!?"

"Jaune…" Coral said comfortingly.

"JAUNE!" Yang said not-quite-so comfortingly.

"Puppies!" Nora howled, dashing back into the room, skidding across the floorboards on her knees and instantly wrapping all six Grimmlings up in her arms. They squirmed and tried to break free, while one brave Beopuppy gnawed angrily on her shoulder. "It's trying to kill me! That's. So. Cute!"

"Do you think Uncle Qrow is alright? I mean, he just leapt out the window."

"Jaune…" Yang growled again, eyes flashing red, hair beginning to glow. She tried to take a step towards him, but seeing as how she was on the bed, all she managed to do was get herself tangled in the bedsheets and fall atop the naked girl, who sighed dramatically and leaned back, resigned, if reluctantly, to the fact that she was not about to get any tonight.

"Okay!" Ruby called, clapping her hands together. "Enough! Stop! Can we have some peace around here, so we can start figuring things out already!?"

"Puppies!" Nora giggled. She seemed oblivious to the fact one had climbed atop her head and was now trying to give her a lobotomy. Its teeth weren't strong or sharp enough for it. "Aw, it's massaging me."

Ruby sighed. "Look, I'm sure there is a totally reasonable explanation for this…"

She paused and looked to Yang, angry, furious, with an arm that was Grimm and possibly alive. It was looking back at her. Then there was Jaune, catatonic, horrified, and not nearly paying enough attention to impending Yang-death sneaking up on him. And then there was Nora, covered in mini-Grimm and loving it.

"Okay," she compromised. "I'm sure there's at least an explanation. Reasonable probably went out the window with Uncle Qrow."

"Jaune got me pregnant!"

Ruby gasped.

Jaune's jaw dropped open.

The girl in the bed perked up. "He did? Hey, good job, bro."

"No," Yang disagreed, jabbing a finger into the naked girl's left boob. "Not good job. Bad job. He got me pregnant and ran out on me."

"Jaune!" Ruby gasped, scandalised.

"H-Hey, w-what? Wait, but I had to come here with you, Ruby, and-"

Ruby gasped again, this time in horror. Was he saying he'd knocked Yang up and then run off with her? That was even worse! This was like Summer and Raven all over again, except worse because she'd been the rebound against her own sister. No, no, no, this was a disaster! Ruby the Homewrecker, worst sister ever. She hadn't even waited for Yang to break up with Jaune before pulling a Summer.

"Just take both," Coral suggested.

"You can shut up," Yang snapped. "Go screw Uncle Qrow or something."

"I would but for someone leaping out of a bloody portal and into our bed."

"Wait, wait, wait," Ruby tried again. Something had just trickled into her head – past the horror, shock and general confusion. "Did Jaune call you his sister?"

"Yep."

"And Jaune's mom is…"

Coral smiled cruelly. "Yep."

"Oh…" Ruby winced. "Oh heck…"

"Relax, I'm not here for that – or him," Coral said, standing up suddenly, uncaring for her nakedness. Jaune couldn't say the same and covered his eyes with a squawk. His sister ignored him and them, walking over to a chair to push aside some of what had to be Uncle Qrow's clothes and pick up her own. "I'm not really like our sisters. If Jaune wants to do something reckless and maybe even stupid, so be it. It's his choice and everyone will be there to pick up the pieces if it goes wrong."

Ruby wasn't sure she believed her but given that she hadn't attacked, was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. "If not Jaune, then why are you here?"

"I'm looking for something."

"What?"

"Do you really need to ask me that?" Coral asked, voice deadpan. "Use your brain. Consider how you found me. And then ask yourself that question again."

Ruby did so, and quickly blushed. "Oh…"

"Oh, is about right," Coral said with a heavy sigh. "Well, it's been nice, but I think I'm going to get out of here while I can." She finished pulling on her clothing and stepped back to the bed, patting Jaune's head en route and coming to stand before Yang. She eyed Ruby's sister carefully, and then smiled. With one hand she patted Yang's new arm, and with the other she touched Yang's cheek. "Nice to see my little brother has good taste."

Yang gawked at the girl, who they were all fast coming to realise was one of the eldest of the daughters of Salem. Said demi-Grimm stepped back and paused at Ruby, looking down, meeting her eyes.

"Tell your Uncle I'll catch up with him again sometime. Tell him that I shall have what I came for. I will not be denied."

"Um. Okay?" Ruby had the distinct impression Coral was leaving to escape something, likely the complicated explanations to come. Honestly, Ruby wished she could follow. Instead, she turned back to Yang in time to see her fix one hand around Jaune's throat. It wasn't big enough to choke him and the other hand didn't seem willing to co-operate.

"Damn it, Yin. Help me strangle your father."

"F-Father?" Jaune stammered.

"Puppies!"

"Ugh." Ruby groaned one final time and stalked forward, interposing herself between Jaune and Yang. It wasn't hard to break Yang's grip, but it was harder to stand in the way of her glare and not shake. "Yang, you can't kill Jaune. We still need him to rescue Pyrrha."

"But he got me pregnant."

"W-We never even had sex!" Jaune yelped.

"I think that's something we need to figure out, too," Ruby admitted, shooting Jaune a little glare. His proclamations of innocence aside, there was obviously something up to make Yang spontaneously grow a Grimm-arm, and Ruby felt fairly safe saying it wasn't something her dad had done. "But maybe you can make your Grimm puppies disappear?"

Nora gasped and held them close.

"Nora, if Uncle Qrow sees them…"

"I'm fairly sure he already saw them. Maybe when they jumped into bed with him."

"Still," Ruby argued, "I think we need to agree what we're going to say to Uncle Qrow. We can't… Well… The truth…" She struggled for the right way to phrase it. "The truth isn't very convenient. I think…"

"Kind of hard for me to hide this, sis," Yang said, tapping Ruby's head with the Grimm arm. Ruby shivered. It felt warm and alive, and not quite in the same way a human hand did. Maybe it was the eyes. It had to be the eyes.

"Yeah, but we can hide that Jaune was responsible. Maybe?"

Yang raised an eyebrow even higher.

"J-Just because Uncle Qrow might kill him if he finds out the truth. As in, he might actually kill Jaune. Stone dead. Not even joking."

To her relief, Yang seemed to consider that – and not in the "hm, good idea" kind of way, but rather for the actual danger it posed. "Ugh," she grunted, looking away. "Fine. But he owes me an explanation. A lot of explanations, and so much more to boot." She pointed her Grimm arm at him. "You put this inside of me. You get to take responsibility."

Jaune looked confused. "Um. Okay?"

"You don't get to run out on me."

"I won't, I won't."

Yang finally relaxed. "Good."

Ruby breathed her own sigh of relief. This was… well, it was complicated as all hell, but compared to what it could have been, she thought it came out okay. "Now we just need to figure out how we're going to explain this to Uncle Qrow. He's going to have a load of questions."

"Damn right I do."

"And not only him, Miss Rose."

Ruby whirled to the doorway, eyes wide. They watered a second later as she caught an uncomfortable amount of her uncle's body, though she thanked anyone listening that he had a towel to cover his lower half. Beside him was someone she didn't recognise, despite how strangely familiar their voice was.

"U-Uncle Qrow," she stammered. "And… um… random small child. H-Hey."

Yang blinked at the two. "I thought Dad said you were too irresponsible to adopt a kid. I'm fairly sure he said we're supposed to call child services if we ever see you trying it."

"This isn't my son!"

"Better not be," Jaune groused. "You and my sister…"

Qrow blanched.

"Now, now," the young boy said, in a voice that seemed far too old for him. He stepped past the confused Ruby, spared an interested glance for Nora and the Beopuppies, and then walked over to Qrow's bags by the bed, where he stooped and picked up a familiar cane. He turned to stand before them, cane in hand. His face took on an amused expression "Do you recognise me now, Miss Rose?"

"No."

The boy staggered.

"Do you need help finding your parents?" Ruby asked.

Qrow laughed into his fist.

/-/

"I'm so sorry," Ruby cried for the fifth time, face bright red and buried in her hands. "Oh, I can't believe I said that. I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine, Miss Rose," Oscar, or Ozpin – Jaune wasn't sure which at this point – said with a chuckle. "I suppose it was a little much for me to expect you all to recognise me given the sudden change in appearance and age. There is nothing to apologise for."

The six of them were now sat in Qrow's room, arranged on the floor with Qrow dressed (thankfully) on the bed, and Ozpin standing a little to the side, leaning on his cane. Nora and Ruby had two puppies each in their laps, some of them sleeping, while another two played with Jaune's hands, enamoured with him since they could sense the difference within him. Yang was sat a little to the side, isolated by Ozpin and looked quite defiant about it.

It was that which prevented him from properly relaxing, and likely Ruby too, since it looked like she was prepared to leap up in her sister's defence if she had to. That was good. This conversation could be all kinds of awkward, but Ozpin was far less likely to try and kill Yang than he was him. If Ozpin knew the truth of who he was, it would mean his death. Instantly.

"Now, I realise that I have been away for some time, but I can't say I expected my absence to have such a profound effect on you all, especially you, Miss Xiao-Long."

"Yeah well, I'm just full of surprises," Yang growled.

"It would certainly seem so." Ozpin said, watching Yang's arm for a second, and then looking to the miniature Beowolves.

They were different to the ones Jaune summoned, he could tell. For one, they were much, much smaller, but there was also an intelligence there that many of his lacked. It might have had something to do with Yang being human, and thus adding a little more human intelligence to them. Maybe because she was less of a Grimm, they were weaker and smaller, but compensated in other ways. He'd have to ask when they got a moment alone, but now was not the time.

"These Grimm you have summoned seem remarkably… tame," Ozpin said.

"They do what I want them to," Yang replied. She brought out her hand – her human hand – and held it out before her. One of the Grimm on Ruby's lap perked up and scurried over. It sat before the hand, and Yang stroked its snout.

"Intriguing," Ozpin said, leaning forwards.

"It acts more like Zwei than a Grimm," Qrow said. He looked to Ozpin. "You think that has something to do with Yang's closest knowledge of animal behaviour being Zwei? Maybe she imposed his behaviour over these ones."

"I'm afraid I have no prior experience to go on, but it seems plausible. Would you mind sending him over here, Miss Xiao-Long?" He saw the hesitation on her face and smiled as best he could. "I promise you that it will not come to harm because of me."

Yang held the gaze for a second longer, but on some unseen signal the Beowolf turned and crept over to Ozpin. Its nervousness might have reflected Yang's, and Ozpin seemed to recognise that for he knelt slowly and extended a hand, making sure that none of his movements could be construed as threatening. When the Beowolf sniffed at his fingers, Ozpin smiled.

"Amazing. Were Oobleck here, I'm sure he would faint from excitement."

"Can we keep them?" Nora asked suddenly. "Please, please, please…"

"That is hardly a decision to be made on a whim, Miss Valkyrie." Ozpin stood, and the Grimm scurried back to Yang. "While these Grimm do seem to be under control, and remarkably docile for what they are, they are still Grimm."

"I'm not going to let you kill them," Yang said.

Qrow sighed. "Firecracker-"

"Should they remain under your control, I don't see it as being an issue," Ozpin said. "However, the very fact they are Grimm will not lead many to trust us, or you. How do you intend to take them downstairs without the patrons here panicking, or worse, starting a pitch fork mob?"

"I can unsummon them," Yang said.

"Can you…?"

"Yin says I can."

"And there we move onto the other topic," Ozpin sighed. "You say this arm of yours was simply present when you awoke?"

A bead of sweat appeared on Jaune's forehead. Next to him, he felt Ruby stiffen a little, and he held his breath, especially as Yang's eyes brushed against his for a moment. Yang looked away, back to Ozpin and Qrow.

"Yeah, pretty much."

Jaune sagged.

"And you have no idea how you came to have such an addition to your biology?"

"None whatsoever."

Ruby was glaring at him. Stop it, Ruby, he begged. I didn't get her pregnant, I swear. It… It's all Remy's fault.

"Excuse me!?"

Jaune shook his head and turned back to the conversation in time to see Qrow shake his head, hand held against his face, as he muttered about having failed his niece so hard she got turned into some kind of half-Grimm, half-human monster.

"Monster!?" Yang howled.

"Not that," Qrow assured her. "I just…"

"No, you don't. I'm still me. Yin is just… he's an extra. He tags in and helps me out."

"And you're in communication?" Ozpin asked suddenly. He didn't seem pleased at the thought.

"We talk, yeah. But he can only control what my right hand does. I have control of my own thoughts, body and everything else. He can tell me what to do, but it's my choice if I do it or not."

"How can you be so sure?" Ozpin asked. "Though you may hear him as a voice in your head, it may be that he exhibits more control over your life than-" Ozpin cut off with a wince. He pressed a hand to his skull. "Not now. No, I'm not being hypocritical at all. Oscar, do you mind? I… Yes, I know this is your body. Just…" He sighed. "Forgive me," he said, this time to Yang again. "I was just saying that we have no way of knowing for certain whether you are still you or not."

"And my word isn't good enough?"

"It is, Miss Xiao-Long, but we have no proof it is your word at all. For all we know the real Yang is trapped inside, begging us not to believe you."

This was bad. This was the exact reason why he couldn't tell Ozpin and Qrow the truth about himself, because no matter what he said, they'd find some way to twist and change it, to make him the enemy. If they were willing to disbelieve Yang of all people, then he had no chance. Still, this was his responsibility, so he spoke up, "We can prove that, though. All Yang has to do is tell us something only she would know."

"It may not be that simple," Ozpin said, "But it would at least confirm her as not being an imposter."

"Something only I would know?" Yang stroked her chin with her Grimm hand. "Huh, okay. Uncle Qrow, you're the one who got drunk and pulled down the curtains in the front room two years back. You blamed it on Ruby and she got in trouble."

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby gasped.

"Qrow?" Ozpin asked. When the man guiltily nodded the pint-sized headmaster sighed. "Qrow, really…? To a child?"

"Yang took the bribe to back me up," Qrow muttered.

"YANG!" Ruby gasped.

"To be fair, this was two days after you spilt your paint on my hair," Yang said. "You deserved it. Anyway, does that prove it?"

"It proves, perhaps, that you have access to Miss Xiao-Long's memories…"

"Oh, come on," Yang groaned. "Look, I woke up, had a Grimm arm, freaked out, talked to it, made friends, it decided I was its mother-"

Ozpin blinked. "Excuse me?"

"And then I realised I had to come here and save Ruby before she did something stupid like try to walk to the Grimmlands and save Pyrrha on her own." Yang glared at her sister as Ruby giggled nervously.

"That certainly does sound like what Yang would do," Qrow pointed out. "And if she belonged to the Grimm, she'd have no interest in all of that."

"True…" Ozpin allowed. "And Qrow tells me Raven opened a portal to him. How did you convince her to do that?"

"With force."

Qrow's mouth fell open.

Ozpin blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Raven is a bitch," Yang growled. "No offence, Uncle."

"None taken, and yeah, I could have told you that about her…"

"Anyway, once she found out about Yin, she tried to kill me. Basically, she said I was an enemy, tainted and that she was done with me. Cure me through death and all that." Yang said it as if it were nothing but Jaune's hands clenched into fists. He could see how much it bothered her, evident in the barely restrained anger in Yang's tone. "She just came at me – wouldn't even let me retreat, and then she started pulling out powers out of nowhere, flying and burning eyes and fire and stuff."

"Burning eyes?" Ozpin asked suddenly, leaning forwards. "Miss Xiao-Long, I need you to think very carefully. Are you sure you saw burning eyes? They weren't just bright red like your own?"

"Uh, no. They were like, literally on fire. Little flames coming out the edges." Yang touched the outer edges of her own for emphasis. "And unless she has an additional Semblance effect of being able to fly, summon fire and throw it around like it was nothing, then I don't know how to explain it."

Qrow looked agitated. "Ozpin…"

"It's possible. She would have been below thirty at the time when we believed her to be taken in by the tribe. I didn't expect this, but it certainly would be possible. It would also explain a lot." Though naturally whatever it explained, they weren't going to find out. "I'm surprised you were able to defeat her, Miss Xiao-Long. How did you manage that?"

"Choked her out," Yang said.

"You… choked her out…" Ozpin choked himself. "You choked out a maiden…?"

"Not normally," Yang explained, making a choking motion with two hands. "The puppies brought a tarp to trip and wrap her up in, to distract her, and then I got in close and pushed Yin down over her face." Her Grimm arm grew into an amorphous blob that might have been big enough to cover an entire woman's head. "She couldn't breathe, and all I had to do was hold on and keep my aura up so the fire wouldn't burn me. She gave up first, summoned the portal before she passed out."

"That's certainly an interesting way to go about it," Ozpin remarked. Beside him, Qrow looked visibly ill.

"Yeah, I'll say. On the bright side, I'm pretty sure this is Yang. No one else would be stupid enough to go and try that…"

"Hey!"

"You are perhaps correct," Ozpin chuckled. "Very well. Miss Xiao-Long, is it possible for me to speak with this Yin character? Can he communicate?"

Yang remained silent for a moment, obviously listening to the parasite's response. It was all internal so not even Jaune could hear it, but he knew what the answer would be even before Yang shook her head. "No. He can't control or do anything through me. He says all he can do is change how my arm works, and that even if he gave my arm a mouth, you wouldn't understand what he was saying."

"Regrettable, but also a relief. And you say that this… this Yin." Ozpin barely avoided saying `creature` or something similar. "You say that he views you as his… as family?"

"As his mom, yeah."

"I see…"

"And you're not even slightly freaked out about that?" Qrow had to ask.

"Oh yeah, I went nuts at first. But hey, I figure I could literally sell him for booze and still be a better mom than Raven ever was." Yang paused and sighed. "That was a joke, Yin. I'm not selling you. Yes, I know. Relax." She rolled her eyes. "He's pretty literal about things. He's only just learning what stuff like humour, sarcasm and stuff is."

Ruby perked up. "So, he's a baby Grimm?"

"Pretty much. He's learning things through me." Yang grinned. "He calls you Auntie Ruby, by the way."

Ruby clapped her hands together, delighted at the thought. Jaune smiled a little too, especially when Qrow and Ozpin seemed to relax. He knew what they were thinking; that Yang had lucked out and somehow managed to impose her will over the Grimm instead of it being the other way around. With no other experience to go on, they'd default to what they knew, that Grimm were mindless. This one obviously wasn't, but they probably assumed that was because Yang had done something to it.

"As long as you can control him, we will allow it for now," Ozpin eventually said. "I'm not sure removing it would be possible without harming you, and if he truly sees you as a mother figure, then perhaps you can keep him under control."

"Nurture over nature?" Qrow asked.

"Such doesn't work with Grimm due to their mindless nature, but this parasite appears different. If it can reason even in a limited fashion, then it should be easily influenced by the one who carries and raises it. Of course, you will need to keep it hidden," Ozpin chided. "You cannot walk around like this."

"I have a coat with long sleeves and gloves," Yang said.

"Good. We shall leave the matter for now, then." Ozpin pointedly did not call it over, and Jaune could imagine Yang would be under incredibly scrutiny in the coming days. That was his fault, so he'd cover for her as best he could. "We have more immediate concerns, however. Not least of which is why I am not here before you, but also an explanation as to what is truly happening in the world at large. Mr Arc already knows this," he explained gesturing to Jaune, "But allow me to provide to you all the truth. One that is known by few, and which might very well shake the foundations of your world."

Ozpin leaned forward.

"There is a Queen of the Grimm. Her name is Salem, and she controls the Grimm."

No reaction.

Jaune began to sweat as Ozpin waited for one, as did Qrow, while Nora, Yang and Ruby sat there in complete silence, already more than aware of all of this and everything involved. As the seconds ticked by, Jaune coughed, and Ruby's eyes suddenly widened.

"Oh!" she gasped, none-too-convincingly. "Oh wow, I… Really? I-Is that true?"

Nora caught on and brought a hand to her mouth. "My goodness!"

Nora, please. Who even speaks like that?

"Uh, yeah," Yang added. "That's crazy. You sure? I'm pretty sure we'd have already heard about this if it were true. Wow, you're bringing out a lot of crazy…" Yang trailed off as Ozpin sighed, his eyes flicking to Jaune.

He laughed nervously.

"You told them, Mr Arc?"

"Um, yeah?" Not in the way Ozpin assumed, but he'd run with it. "Sorry."

"I suppose it saves me some time now, though in future I'd ask that you keep any secrets I give you as such." Rather than be angry, he shook his head, amused. "I suppose this is what I get for believing a young man will keep secrets from his female teammates and friends. How foolish of me."

"Regardless," he went on, "We must move quickly if we are to prevent Salem's plan from reaching fruition. Qrow is a valued agent of mine and has been busy scouting the actions of our enemy, understanding their plans. Make no mistake, if we cannot defeat Salem, our world is in peril."

Sadly, there was no way for Jaune to disagree. As much as his mom had calmed down after having eight children, and that was definitely enough to cause some changes in a woman, she still nominally wanted to conquer the world. Extinction of humanity wasn't really a part of the plan anymore – she needed those for grandchildren! – but she definitely wasn't on the side of the average person any more than Uncle Watts, Cinder or Tyrian were.

Jaune listened in silence as Ozpin further explained his own role, how he had fought for hundreds of years or more. He knew some of it, if not the specifics. One thing he did feel was an odd sense of sympathy for Oscar, who it felt like was in this against his will. Kind of like I am, really. I should try and say something to him…

Or not, since Ozpin would instantly hear it.

"One change is that in this body, I can no longer fight on the front lines-"

"Question!"

"Yes, Miss Valkyrie?"

"How is that any different to normal? When did you ever fight on the front lines?"

Ozpin stared at Nora.

Qrow broke down laughing.

/-/

It was well over two hours later, when everyone was asleep, that Yang received the message on her scroll. She wanted to roll over and ignore it, but she knew it had to be addressed. Another part of her just wanted to curl into a ball and pretend it didn't exist in the first place, but she instead stood and pushed the covers back with a quiet sigh.

"Are you okay, mom? You feel upset…"

"It's fine," Yang whispered. Despite all attempts not to, she felt some foreign emotion rush through her. Yin's almost unconditional affection often had that effect, making her feel better – and a little light-headed – at the same time. She touched his body and smiled in the dark. "Thanks."

"I don't know what I did, but okay. I'm glad I could help."

"You helped, but I… I need to speak to your father privately." Yang quietly opened and closed the door to the girl's room. According to the text, Jaune would be waiting outside. They'd been trading glances all evening, words unsaid and words that needed to be said. "You should get some sleep while you can," she told Yin. "You don't need to listen to us."

"Are you going to fight?"

"I…" Yang couldn't answer. Her eyes watered a little, but she didn't want to lie to Yin, even if it would have been a white lie. "I don't know, Yin. I just don't know."

"Oh…" Yin sounded dejected. "Goodnight, then. I love you," he suddenly added.

Yang choked on some emotion. "I… I love you too, Yin. Good night." Gods above, she was too young for this, and for the tears in her eyes. Fuck. Good job Ruby wasn't awake to see her.

Making her way downstairs and out of the inn, Yang was relieved for the coat that kept Yin hidden, even if there were very few people out and about so late. She found Jaune in the inn's beer garden, sat on a wooden picnic bench. He stood when he saw her, and then froze, as if he had no idea what to do or say.

He nodded to a small wooded area where they could speak in peace. Yang followed, and soon after they were stood with but five or six feet separating them.

"So…" Jaune said weakly. "I guess I owe you an explanation…"

"A bit late for that now. Yin filled me in. My own s- The Grimm parasite inside me filled me in, while my boyfriend, the one who should have told me the truth, neglected to do so."

He winced. "You're angry."

"I think I've got a right to be."

"You have," he assured her. "And I… I should have told you. I know."

"But you didn't. Because you were afraid." Yang hated that she gave him an out. She hated that he had one at all, and especially hated that it was a good excuse. If he'd told her the truth right up, she'd have either tried to kill him or take Ruby and run. "I can see why you didn't at first, but did you ever intend to tell me?" she asked. "Surely, by the time we were dating you'd have felt confident enough to be honest. I mean, you lied to me. You tricked me."

"I didn't trick you, or I didn't mean to. I just… didn't tell you everything about me." He cringed when Yang crossed her good arm over her chest, her Grimm arm slack at her side, asleep. "It's a weak excuse," Jaune admitted. "I really was afraid, Yang. Not just of you reacting badly, but also that I might lose everything I had. I didn't want to be kicked out of Beacon and to never see you all again. I'll admit I messed up, and I'm sorry and I want to fix it, but things were bad. And I'd never had friends before, let alone a girlfriend. I had no idea what to do. Everything was new and exciting and the thought of risking all of that just… it frightened me."

Just like Yin. He was like that in some ways, though Jaune had grown up since the bumbling idiot complimenting people's knees that she'd first met. And sheesh, she finally understood where that nonsense came from. Even their first meeting and his casual flirting with her… he hadn't been flirting at all, just stating her beauty as a fact, as if it were obvious to everyone. He'd been such a child back then.

"What about this?" she asked, gesturing to Yin.

"It's not…" He winced. "It's not actual pregnancy, you know?"

"Maybe it's not, but it certainly feels like I'm a teenage mother," she growled back. "He calls me mom and I have to deal with all these new feelings, teaching him, making sure he knows what's right and wrong. And… And I'm not ready for that. I didn't even get a choice in the matter."

"I gave him to you so he could help heal you."

"You think to ask my permission?"

"You weren't in a state to give it. After the battle, your arm was cut off and I didn't even know if you'd live or die. For all I knew, you were going to die on us right then and there." His voice cut off with a choke. Yang looked away, ashamed. "And Ruby didn't want to let me stay with you," he added. "I would have, Yang. I wanted to stay and wait for you to wake up, but Ruby, Nora and Blake wouldn't trust me to do so. They trusted me, but not with your life. I had to go with them, which meant I couldn't do anything for you, or even be there for you." He straightened. "Unless I gave you something that I knew would protect you."

So, he gave her a Grimm parasite… and Yin had been useful, both in explaining the situation to her and in helping her cope with her disability. Ironically, by making it so that I kind of don't have a disability anymore.

She couldn't say she regretted having him, not if the alternative was not having an arm at all, but that didn't mean she appreciated all the changes she was going through. Least of all, she disliked how Qrow had looked at her, like he thought she'd become someone – something – different. Her uncle was better than Raven at least, giving her the chance to explain and the benefit of the doubt.

"I don't like this," Yang said. "When I was young, mom walked out on us. I barely even knew her, and then Summer – who I loved as my real mom – walked away and didn't come back, too. I know that wasn't by choice on her part, but it felt like everyone was leaving me. And I got over that," she said, fighting to control herself. "I grew up and I got used to it. I endured. I looked after Ruby, came to Beacon, made friends and even got a boyfriend. And then he left, too."

"Yang…"

"And that hurt, okay? That fucking hurt. Yeah, I got in over my head ad got hurt, but I didn't expect to wake up and find that everyone had abandoned me. Nora, Blake, Ruby, Uncle Qrow and even you. Especially you," she hissed, jabbing a finger into his chest. "And then I find out you were part-Grimm… and that I'm now part-Grimm, too. Damn it, Jaune. What the fuck was I supposed to think?"

"I don't know, Yang," he said, closing a hand around her finger. She wanted to tear it free and jab it into his eye socket, but she couldn't. Her shoulders rose and fell, and she gasped for breath, not past tears, but past anger. "But what I do know is that I was always part-Grimm. I was part-Grimm when I first met you, part-Grimm when I brought you flowers, and I was part-Grimm when we danced together at the ball." He stepped a little closer. Her breath caught in her throat and she glared up into his eyes, defiant. "I was part-Grimm then and I still am now. It doesn't change anything about me. It doesn't change anything about you, either."

"Ozpin would disagree," Yang spat. "Raven did, too."

"But Ruby doesn't. Nora doesn't. I don't. Even Qrow spoke out to defend you." When she didn't snap at or hit him, he stepped closer again, cautiously at first, but with growing confidence, until he wrapped both arms gently around her. "I should have been there, Yang. To explain, or to stay with you."

"You should have…"

"And I wanted to be. It wasn't my choice not to. It was Ruby's – and only because she loved you so much that she couldn't handle the thought of me hurting you in some way. I left Yin, a part of myself, behind because even though I promised I wouldn't do anything to you, I couldn't leave you alone. I had to help you. I had to be there in some way."

"You broke your promise to her?"

"I did. I couldn't leave you alone, Yang. I couldn't leave you like that."

Yang bit her lip. She wanted to say that he had anyway, but in a way he hadn't. A very technical way; a way that wouldn't exist for the average person, but Yin had been left in her knowing about Jaune, about Salem, and about Ruby's decision for them to head to Mistral. Those things might have been accidents, but they might also have been a message, and - as best as he could manage - an explanation.

"I'm not forgiving you that easily," she growled. "You got me pregnant and ran out on me. With my sister, no less."

"T-That's not true at all!"

"So, where does this leave us?"

Jaune's shoulders fell. "I don't know…"

"Is that all you know how to say?" Yang mocked. "I don't know. I didn't know better. I don't know what to do. Why don't you spend a little less time talking about what you don't know and a little more on what you do—mrfl!"

His lips were on hers.

Son of a bitch…

Despite herself, she felt the tension seep out of her. Her eyes gently closed as she leaned into him, hand working its way around his neck as she allowed his on the small of her back to support her. He smelled and tasted familiar, comforting almost. It was something she knew, and after the stress, pain and sheer terror of dealing with not only Raven, but also a suspicious and dangerous Ozpin, Yang couldn't believe how much she needed this.

When they parted, Yang was frustrated to find she hadn't had enough.

"I might not know much," Jaune said, cheeks flushed, breath heavy on her lips. "But I know I wanted to do that. I love you, Yang. I swear."

"But did you think to ask my permission before you did that?"

His face fell. "I didn't-"

"Don't say it," she snapped. She bumped her forehead into his, not enough to hurt him, but enough to surprise him. "We really need to work on your confidence a little. It was a joke. If I didn't want it, I'd have kicked your ass seven ways by Sunday. You don't even have the advantage of being half-Grimm now. Yin could kick your ass."

"I guess I don't," he laughed, and it was a breezy thing filled with relief and also something more. "I guess I do need a little more confidence. It's like my dad always said, all you need is a little confidence."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "You ever think it was a bad idea to take relationship advice from a man whose claim to having a wife is that she kidnapped and sexed him into submission."

Jaune's mouth fell open. "E-Eh… now that you mention it, yeah. What the hell!?"

"Idiot." Yang laughed. "Make no mistake, you owe me, Jaune. You owe me so much I don't even know how you can go about paying me back."

"How about dominion over all the Grimm? I am the Prince of the Grimm, after all."

That would require her to become a Queen, which was pretty much what he was saying, whether he realised it or not. Yang's heart hammered in her chest and her face burned red. Damn him. He'd always been like this, she reflected, saying shit that made her head swim without even meaning to.

He leaned in towards her. "Can I kiss you again?"

Trust him to start asking for permission now. Well, he'd be screwed if he thought he was going to embarrass her by forcing her to say yes. Instead, she leaned forwards and captured his lips herself, surrendering once more to the sensation.

As her hand dug into the back of his hair, Yang smiled into his mouth, ignoring the hacking and retching sounds Yin was making at having awoken to find mommy and daddy making out, and him, an eternal and helpless captive forced to watch.

"No more running," Yang whispered when they parted. "Whatever happens, whatever Ozpin decides, you're not allowed to run out on me again. If you do…"

"I won't," he promised.

Yang believed him.

Okay, so this chapter was only a single focus and a single scene, really. I've not needed to do this for a while and it does slow things down for this chapter, but rest assured it's a one off. I basically took all the exposition from the show (which I personally felt went on a little too long in S5) and summarised it into a single chapter. The whole reveal of Yang, the suspicion, and the resultant Yang – Jaune drama, was too important to either force into a small segment or drag out over multiple chapters. As such, I just felt it had to all be handled here. Future chapters will be bringing in Blake and Weiss' perspectives (and concluding them, etc). This was just a big enough issue that it felt really choppy when I started writing a Blake scene.

Now, while some might be a little frustrated to see that Ozpin and Qrow didn't learn the truth about Jaune, I would point to the fact that Jaune really would be in extreme danger if they did, so it makes sense for Jaune and Co to keep it hidden. Being an innocent and known ally `maybe infected` by Grimm is better than literally being the son of the big enemy, and raised by the Grimm.

That said, although I don't like to spoiler (and won't), I will say that just because Ozpin acted like he accepted everything here, doesn't mean he won't be looking further into things, etc. It's not over and done with or brushed under the rug and we didn't get an Ozpin PoV this chapter. Similarly, we didn't get Qrow's reaction on Coral, but that doesn't mean it's been forgotten either. It should be fairly obvious that Qrow wouldn't want to address that in front of everyone (or Ozpin), so just trust that he'll bring it up later.

P.s. The line about Ozpin not fighting made me think this in canon too. I was like "When did you ever? You sent RWBY to scout the White Fang and Torchwick in a literal death zone." And then it was doubly ironic later when Hazel appeared and Ozpin DID fight, and fought on the level of Leo with ease. "Huh, so much for not being able to fight. You're fighting more than you ever did before, and more effectively!"

Next Chapter: 2nd August

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