Bloody Arc

by Kharneth666

The typical Gamer story has a character suddenly become an RPG character. Their body becomes defined by stats, quests and the vaunted Gamer's Mind. This is not one of those stories. Tonight, Jaune Arc joins the Hunt.

14. Torches in Dark Places

Chapter 14: Torches in Dark Places

Jaune had spent much of the night after meeting with Ozpin and Goodwitch pondering his time in Beacon thus far. While he usually went out to kill a few Grimm or played some games to clear his head, some soul searching and focused introspection felt more appropriate than escapism. Besides, he couldn't play right now, because that would mean returning to see everyone else. Seven others close by, with varying levels of concern and curiosity, would not be conducive for meditation with such emotions clouding the air.

Walking to an edge of the cliff overlooking the Abhainn River and the capital it bisected, he sat and put his hat on his lap and settled into a calm breathing pattern, as Orion-sensei had taught him. 'Heh, even now I still call him that sometimes.' In this state, he could even feel his connection to the Dream, but he didn't wish to go there just yet. He had a few matters that he wanted to settle on his own. Much as he would like to hear some advice from a long-trusted source, he had already received it.

His tenure as a student was indeed slower in individual progression of strength and skill, but it wasn't as if it he completely plateaued or was unable to train and improve the normal way. If anything, training that predated Beacon was more like an intensive cram session. Second, he had people around him that were genuinely enjoyable to be around in their own ways, even Weiss once she relaxed a bit. 'People around me… come to think of it, I haven't even called them friends, ever.'

All this time, and he hadn't even noticed, how callous of him. A flicker of contempt formed, but it dissipated just as rapidly into the void. This is the state that he was taught to obtain, but it was hard to muster such focus during daily life, much less in combat, and it was only getting harder. During the latter, it was shameful how little self-control he wielded, especially during the reunion in the Forever Fall. A shadow of his anger began to fill him at the recollection, but with no extra stimuli to feed it, it too vanished. He was almost glad it had happened, because it brought to light his own shortcomings, and how beastly idiocy had almost consumed him. 'For Her sake, I hadn't even noticed getting bitten.'

Close to death once more, and nothing to show for it. 'Hah, some Hunter I am.' His concentration came to a halt as he felt a hand on his shoulder, bringing him back to a much darker outside world; it appeared that the sun had already set a while ago. It was Pyrrha, sitting to his left, and with the eye contact to acknowledge her presence, she asked, "Are you all right?" A shifting to his right revealed Ruby to his right, shifting her silver eyes between him and moon gazing, silently asking the same thing.

"Just mulling over a few things. Ozpin and Goodwitch just finished disciplining me, and sentenced me to therapy. Today was the last straw, apparently."

"Everybody needs help from time to time, but you know we're here to talk too." Glancing, perhaps unintentionally, over the cliff as she spoke.

"Goddess, Pyr! I have anger issues, not suicidal tendencies." He spoke dryly.

"I'm sorry! Th-That's not what I meant!" She exclaimed, until she relaxed at her partner's laugh, revealing it to be sarcasm.

"I know what you meant, and I appreciate it." He smiled. "You're good friends, all of you are." Based on their surprised, then beaming expressions, it seemed that his subtle circumvention of the term wasn't as subtle as he had believed.

"So… goddess?" Ruby asked searchingly. She wasn't afraid to discuss this out in the open since she knew no one was around, and not even a twinge of feeling like they were being watched was to be found.

"Mhm. I thought you had read it already." Weiss had finished the translation in a week, and all barring an uninterested Nora had read it. All things considered, it wasn't that large of an amount of text and it was fairly straightforward, minus the whole… completely 'new' deity, thing.

"We did." Pyrrha admitted, "But I wanted to hear it from you. Truth be told, Ruby and I have known since Initiation."

"When?" He asked, before divining the answer himself. "Ah, when I told Blake. You were awake?"

"Yes, sorry." She apologized, earning her a raised eyebrow from Jaune. "Anyone ever tell you that you apologize too much?"

"… Yes." She muttered, consciously suppressing the habit of apology.

"There's no need to do so. You two didn't jump to conclusions, despite having every opportunity to do so, especially with your own religious practice." Of all of the squad, it was ironic that Pyrrha was the most religious and was partner to what others would call a pagan, heretic, etc. but she seemed quite accepting of their differences.

"All are embraced in the Light, even those who look away." She quoted, bringing up on of the multiple similarities of their respective scriptures.

Looking up at the moon, Jaune commented, "And what a beautiful light it is. If anything, I should be apologizing."

"But no one got hurt." Ruby asked, "Well, except you, but you're better… and team CRDL that you saved."

"I lost control, went at it alone like a dumbass newborn Grimm, and it's only sheer luck that you and Goodwitch arrived in time. I probably would have fought until I dropped. Plus, I wasn't exactly cheery, so I apologize for scaring you all for both of those reasons."

"You were, but you let it go after we stopped you, and that's what matters." Ruby explained, brushing aside his apology like he did Pyrrha's. "Who did it take away?" They both knew the look when he mentioned a debt a few hours ago. They saw it in the mirror when the odd memory or two were dredged up.

He wasn't expecting the question, but for a moment he didn't answer, mustering up the desire and will to talk about it. "Orion Chiro, the fourth member of my parents' team. We were outside the town's walls for some meditation, and it ambushed us. He ordered me to escape, but he was weakened by illness and didn't have many years left to live anyway. He died a Hunter's death." He rubbed his shoulder over the wound both fresh and old. "Sensei fought it off long enough for Pip to swoop in and drive it away from me, but it was too late for his friend." He choked up a bit, remembering the sight of his mentor's fate. "If I hadn't been so overconfident as to venture out unarmed, we might have held it off together, and he might still be alive. Still haven't learned that lesson, it seems. What's the point of keeping my scars if their lessons don't sink in?" Now they knew why he never went anywhere unarmed. Even now he still had Yharnam and Iosefka.

"Nope." Ruby chimed, and both of the others looked at her in disbelief. "What?"

"No, it's not your fault." Pyrrha elaborated, "He was a Huntsman with decades of experience, and he was taken down in minutes by an almost unheard of Grimm. There was nothing you could have done, and like you said, he died with honor. And you have learned; you told us to get the professors, and you saved lives."

"Geez, guess I do need therapy, cause I also have memory problems too." He said with a sad smile, though he disagreed with the 'nothing he could have done' part. "Well, that's enough brooding for one night. How about some music before we head back?" Pulling out his violin as he asked.

At their agreement, as they enjoyed listening to him play, he began 'The First Hunter'. The two girls leaned against him as he played to give as well as receive comfort through the song embodying loss and sacrifice as they remembered the one in their life who had left a similar impact upon their death. For Pyrrha it was her father; for Ruby, her mom, once she was old enough to completely understand that she wasn't coming back.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

After their early morning run, one of extra length and with exercises in between laps now that they weren't pressed for time, Jaune went right to playing a video game. Though Pyrrha didn't know the name, she at least could identify it through her leader's tutelage as a FPS multiplayer. From what she could tell, he was either off his game, or one opponent was exceptionally skilled as he kept getting killed from sniper fire.

It seemed that the thirteenth time in the same match from the same person was the final straw, as he performed what he called a 'rage quit', tossing his controller haphazardly on the couch as he turned the TV off, after yelling yet another addition to a series of death threats of rather impressive and graphic articulation. "Fuck you, AMayZing Hawkeye, you spawn-camping troglodyte! I hope you get eviscerated and they ride your pixelated corpse down the stairs like a meat toboggan!"

This failed attempt of stress relief came about after a message from Goodwitch stating an addendum; that he would not be able to participate in Combat Class without his therapist's approval. So he tried his virtual fallback option to less than successful results. Fortunately, his partner had a solution. "Jaune, get dressed and come with me."

"Honestly, Pyr, I'd rather just stay in." He politely refused her… offer of distraction, but she was undeterred, as she pulled out her trump card, "Then I'm calling in a favor."

He didn't even argue after that, and she knew that he wouldn't. In their time together, though he wasn't the most social, though she wasn't much better, he held his integrity as a point of pride. To him, favors were like a blank check promise. Once he was ready, she bade him to follow her without saying a word.

Their trek ended on the top of the tower of the chasm outpost around 10h30, where their lockers awaited them thanks to her preparations. He asked, "What's all this?"

"I found a way to, as they say, kill two birds with one stone. We don't have anything else to do for a few hours, and with your upcoming therapy that you have reservations about…"

"Ugh, don't remind me." Though she couldn't see it through his sunglasses, as the day was very bright and sunny, she knew he rolled his eyes as he wasn't looking forward to all that talking and the repeat cliché question 'And how does that make you feel?'

"But I know you're troubled with recent events, especially the F-5, and I've been told that trouble's the perfect time to train. We're off campus, so… " She trailed off with a crooked grin, seeing her friend give her one of his own as he caught on. After playing his violin, he had called that noon the Forever Fall Forest Friday Fuck-up, or F-5 for short.

"Oh, I've been waiting for this." He commented with glee and eager anticipation, going to his weapons to put them all in their proper place, that being on his person, as she did the same while replying, "You're not the only one."

"No other appointments or obligations?" He wanted to make sure, as they had been stopped short so many times before.

"Nope, and our scrolls are off, so no one will interrupt us by calling. I left a note on the fridge that we'd be gone for a few hours." She went into a ready stance; still wearing her crooked smile that made him shiver with delight. "So, shall we begin?"

Unbeknownst to them, Dove Bronzewing had been following them from a far enough distance to not be sensed through any of their six senses, the last gifted and enhanced by aura, and even activated his semblance to increase his stealth. Even at a distance, vibrant red hair, 'bronze' armor, and leather were rather conspicuous. Still at the precipice of the cliff the pair had earlier descended, he watched them begin their spar, and felt an opportunity was at his fingertips. A moment later, the scroll in his hands made that expression literal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Life was good for the two at the top of the tower, unaware of the beehive that had been stirred. Depressing thoughts were absent, and a long awaited combat between them was finally taking place. Noire had once said to Jaune, 'Anticipation could be one of the greatest of pains', and if that was the case, the torment was now over. In this rematch, he couldn't even feel the anger he usually did in fights, as jubilation had taken over. 'Now this is a fight!' At the moment, he was dual wielding Brador and Yharnam, switching what he used for offense and defense to remain unpredictable, as he had fluidly shifted to this set after a good minute with Ludwig at center-stage.

For his Spartan adversary, there was just as much rejoicing. In their first and only match, he had stuck with the then unnamed spear. But with his use of weapon switching, even mid combo, it was like having multiple opponents switch off at random. She tried to use her semblance as a test, but each of his weapons produced the same result of no result. His weapons were immune to her Polarity, and her habitual but subtle usage of it in the beginning led to a few close calls. But that made it even better. Her semblance, though a part of her, still felt like cheating, and to be forced to a test of pure skill without her 'blessing' was…'A treat. To just… let go like this is thrilling!'

They had both lost track of time. Though it had only been minutes, hours could have passed and they wouldn't have noticed, as they wanted to go until they couldn't go any longer. Neither of them had landed a hit, as they were more evenly matched with Jaune's full arsenal to bear. Pyrrha had seen a bit of it against the Malathyst, but with him no longer blinded and hampered by rage he was much more skilled in its execution.

With a strike from Jaune's mace against her shield that resounded like a gong, they separated by a few feet, dagger scraping a spear thrust aside as she skidded back. After a few moments at a stand still, they stopped for a water break. After all, something like this shouldn't be impaired by something so minor as dehydration. Unfortunately, that's when they realized that they were no longer alone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Phoebus Lupin was bored, and it wasn't even noon yet. He'd already sharpened and polished his axes, cleaned all firearm options, and was now just scrolling through the Beacon Academy Bulletin, an app exclusive to those on Beacon grounds. Nothing really going on, until a notice of a live stream video caught his interest. Pulling it up, he watched as the two arguably the best at Combat in their year have a no-holds barred match, and it quickly killed his boredom as if it had tried to stop the two. She attacked like she was trying to kill her partner, and he responded in kind.

"Hey, Mari, your idol's Jaune. Come take a look."

Summoned by the name of the Spartan, Mari Nilla passed though the slit in the sheet functioning as a 'door', not even minding or acknowledging that he was shirtless. Artemis had set it up on their first night in the room to prevent accidental breaches in privacy, and made the tad unfair assumption that they would be his fault, being the only guy in the room.

"If you're lying, I'm gonna bash your face in." Usually such a shy girl, still with her pince-nez on for reading, the oceanic haired teen ripped the scroll from his hands before squealing in delight at seeing the match on the screen, even hopping on his bed to sit on her knees, thankfully avoiding its previously sole occupant as she made rapid fire comments that he could barely process, distracted by the seashell necklace bouncing off her chest.

"My my, finally got a girl into your den, wolf boy? Careful, your right hand's going to be jealous." Drawn by the commotion, his partner, a girl by the name of Sel Jung used her green, tendril-like hair to part the partition, just in time to see him flip her off and say, "Classy, and for your information I'm left handed."

"Thanks for sharing. So, what's got the bookworm in a twist?" She asked, but the enthusiastic viewer had regained awareness of her surroundings, and she said, "Pyrrha Nikos is fighting with Jaune- HEY!"

Once fully debriefed, the snake Faunus used her hair to snag the scroll with a cruel smirk and a glint in her violet eyes to match, paying no mind to the white wolf wanting his property back, tail swishing in agitation. "How 'bout we go see in person? I know where they are."

"Oh, can we Artie? Please?" Mari begged their leader, Artemis Arget, with clasped hands.

"You're free to do as you please, but I must confess my own interest." She answered stoically as she walked over for Sel to hand over the scroll, only to immediately turn area when she noticed her only male teammate was sans upper body attire.

"Put a shirt on, please." She requested. It wasn't that he was ugly or unfit, but instead he knew that she was uneasy around men. It was well hidden, but he knew where to look; he could see in her wide green eyes whenever any guy got within ten feet of her.

"What, I'm in my… den, as my dear partner labeled it. If anything, you three are the intruders." He complained gruffly. "So can I have my scroll back, please?" He chortled in good humor as she tossed it without looking at him. "Thanks."

Unable to say no to a giddy Mari wanting to do something other than read, Artemis agreed to go with her partner. The snake agreed to accompany them as well, commenting to him in particular, "Might as well be all four of us. I'm not sure if the puppy's completely house broken yet."

"If I'm a puppy, then you're a rag doll. Fitting, considering how easily Arc tossed you around." She narrowed her purple eyes at the reminder.

"That was a cheap shot on his part, and you know it." Sel was obviously still salty about her recent loss against the guy who wore the aroma of blood and lumenflowers like cologne, but he still laughed at her misfortune nonetheless as he put his armored vest on, finding the Academy uniform too stuffy for his tastes. 'Who knew hair could channel electricity so well?' After Jaune Arc pulled out his mace's hidden gem, pun intended, of a Shock Crystal her hair had been frizzy and uncontrollable for hours, exposing a near crippling vulnerability that he would be happy to exploit in their next training session when he could afford it.

"Enough bickering, let's go." Mari was getting annoyed at the delay. After all, every second wasted here was a second not watching perfection. She rushed off, leaving the other three in the dust.

"Such a fan girl." Sel sighed, fiddling with her earring of a small, purple hand before they hurried to catch up. Half way to the cliff overlooking the outpost, they could see that a few others were wandering in the same direction with haste, and likely for the same reason. Team SLAN (Sylvan) walked up next to the other half of team JNPR, the hammer girl looking at the people around them curiously, asking her maybe boyfriend, "I wonder where everyone's going? Is there some banquet I didn't get the memo of?"

Fortunately, Mari was in earshot, and she explained as she passed without stopping, "Pyrrha's fighting, and I get to watch for free!"

"What?" Valkyrie asked in disbelief and… betrayal? As they kept pace, "And they didn't tell us? I'm hurt, angry, sad…" Her stomach grumbled, evidence that they were heading somewhere to eat, "and a bit hungry. But that's not their fault, Ren."

"They left a note." Ren pointed out. "And we shouldn't eat too much before training."

Donning an impish grin, the short red haired girl jumped on her partner for a piggyback ride, pointing to the cliffs. "Away, my noble steed! To glory!" The Vytalian grumbled, but not with animosity, as he sprinted to comply. "Wheeee~!"

Mari seemed glad that they arrived quickly enough to get a decent vista, as soon enough what seemed like a good third of Beacon's student population came here with the same agenda. 'Word seemed to spread quickly.'

"Wow, it's even better in person!" His sea-faring roommate cheered as she looked through her handheld telescope, all the better to see the two weave around each other like a brutal dance. "This is the best fight ever!"

While Lupin was more reserved in judgment, he had to admit that it was something he would happily pay to see. Having no contact with anything outside Vale and its surrounding territories except brief moments at a time, he hadn't heard of Pyrrha Nikos at first, something that shocked the aquatically inclined Mistralian. He had almost even gone up to talk to the redhead before Initiation, a trait that he secretly enjoyed seeing on a woman. But with this humbling display of skill, and Mari's lecture of her prestige, how could he even try to compare?

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Above them on top of the cliff, the two could see what seemed like half the student population watching and cheering them on. As they continued, Pyrrha's smile became rather fixed. Jaune could tell how fake it was compared to the genuine article. When they started fighting again, she was more restrained, her edge and passion gone, and she was almost mechanical however near flawless in her execution that she was.

During a weapon clash and contest of strength, his back to their observers and whispering to not attract their attention, "I've got an idea of how we can lose the buzzards. There's a window in the wall on the opposite side of the cliff that you should fit in, and I'll get you down there. Just follow my lead, and I'll meet you downstairs."

With a quick, light nod and a face of relief, he pushed up and back, giving him enough room to bring out Djura and launch her into the air, only to immediately pull out Orion as a bow as the hammer returned to his back. Firing an arrow, he intentionally missed close enough for his partner to grab the line that trailed after it, and used it to rappel into the opening, once intended for arrows, just wide enough for her to squeeze in side face.

Walking to the stairs that curved along the wall, he wagged a finger with the intent of mocking the mostly booing audience until he was fully immersed in the near pitch-black interior, with only two thin shards of sunlight piercing through it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Walking to her office, Professor Goodwitch took notice of the herd, but had initially paid no mind to them. Signing a few papers, the thought kept popping up, distracting her from her work until she surrendered to the impulse to seek out the cause with a dignified huff.

Making her way to the booing crowd, "And just what is going on here, children?" she loudly asked to gain their attention.

As one, they snapped to attention, a habit ingrained to not draw her ire that she couldn't help but find amusing. Nevertheless, she suppressed any outward showing of it as she waited for an answer.

A student in the middle of the crowd, Miss Valkyrie on her partner's shoulders, answered, "Jaune and Pyrrha were sparring."

Looking at the crowd, "That does not explain why everyone else is here instead of spending time more… productively."

"But it's Pyrrha Nikos!" Another girl, hidden in the crowd, exclaimed.

"That does not give any of you all the right to barge in on their training. The only ones who should be here are their team, unless you were all invited?" Based on the few guilty expressions, they had not been, as she had suspected. "If you all have nothing to do, feel free to stay. I'm sure I can think of something in thirty seconds to occupy idle hands."

That prompted most of the students to disperse like a gunshot, leaving only half of team JNPR. The young man said, "Thank you, Professor. They've been trying to spar alone for some time now, but circumstances had perpetually postponed it."

"I'm merely fulfilling my duties, but you are welcome nonetheless. Speaking of which, how did Mister Arc appear emotionally?" After last night's discussion, she wondered how he would behave in a combat setting.

"He looked happy, until they noticed the crowd. Not surprising, since this was a rare opportunity for them." He replied. With a nod, she went and returned to her duties.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dove had a duty of his own to accomplish. With the layout of RWBY's and JNPR's suite given to him in detail by Cardin, he used the tree as a springboard to jump up and grab the ledge of their patio by his fingertips. He knew that he couldn't go by the front door on the off chance that someone was still there. 'Besides, what stealth is in going through the front door?'

As he silently climbed over the edge, he saw that his caution had been rewarded, as the patio door was open, and the latter half of RWBY were chilling on the couch, reading and playing some game rather intensely. The loud volume would be of great use, and he thanked God out of habit rather than conviction that today was a warm spring day, with a light but pleasant breeze.

Staying low to the ground, he went the long way around, staying as far as possible from the two to reduce the chance of being heard, as being seen wasn't a problem. He kept breath slow, just like his mother had taught him years ago. Circling around and passing through the kitchen to arrive at the threshold on Jaune's room, if the letters 'J & P' on the door were any indication. Before going in, he couldn't resist the urge to check out the ladies on the couch. What could he say? They had fantastic legs, almost completely on display, though Belladonna had this curious scar of a bite mark on her ankle. Though their top halves were also of high quality, he paid little mind to them, remembering that he still had a job to do.

Entering the tidy room, he searched through the desk he assumed to be his target's based on the picture of several people on it, Jaune included. Combing through the drawers, he found a book with a white leather cover and black indecipherable symbols. However, one symbol was recognizable, matching one of Arc's tattoos. 'This is it.'

Flipping through the pages, the text within was equally cryptic. He couldn't take it with him, as his team would easily be at the top of the list of suspects when it was discovered to be missing; instead, he settled with taking a picture of the book as evidence. It didn't feel enough though, as he thought of a way to show initiative, a key way to get into his 'employer's' good graces. He remembered that Weiss was curious about Pthumerian, the conversation that led him on this search. 'Maybe she tried to translate it?'

If she did, then that would be proof enough for Winchester Senior's theory and to arrest Arc for heresy and or treason, depending on the contents. Practicing another religion wasn't illegal, but with his new seat on the Council, Dove felt that it was only a matter of time. When Cardin explained to Dove what he was to look for, he didn't really have an opinion, being an atheist and all. Faith, to him, was people's own business so long as they didn't shove it down his throat. To soon have it at the government level was off putting to say the least, especially coming from Winchester. If it was someone like, say, Pontiff Sand, then he would more at ease. 'Enough supposition, Dove. Find what you came here for and get out.'

His streak of good luck had appeared to stop when he found that the door to the heiress' room was closed, until a long cry of victory from Yang shattered the peaceful ambience of the room.

"Yeah! Suck my fist, you fucking Orphan!" Without hesitation, he opened the door just enough for him to squeeze past; a small squeak in the hinge was thankfully covered up by the gamer's odd self-congratulation.

These pair of desks was easier to identify the owners of, as Schnee's was almost sterile in comparison to the bullet casings and miscellaneous tools adorning the other. Two small stacks of papers were on the back left corner. One was written in the same symbols as the book, but handwritten. The other stack he guessed the other was it's equivalent in Vernacular.

Taking a picture showing the top pages of both stacks, he couldn't help but indulge his curiosity and read some of the first page. 'Just a bit won't hurt, if only to make sure that what I'll be giving has worth.'

But as he read, his content smile from his successful infiltration slowly dropped to a confused frown. 'The hell? It's just some philosophy, and I even agree with some of this. This is what that pious cunt's worried about? Seems a bit anticlimactic.' But he had spent enough time here, and it was time to leave. That was his last thought before he felt something as smooth as silk tighten around his throat, cutting off his air supply. As he was kicked behind his knees to force him down on them, his vision faded to black. 'Well, it seems my luck's run out' he thought as the last thing he heard was the buxom blonde call out, "Well well well~, what do we have here?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Just when Pyrrha thought that their fighting couldn't get any more intense, Jaune had found a way to turn it up a notch. Within the tower, the several floors that comprised it were cast in near perfect darkness, marred only by a few slits of light. While Jaune had the advantage with his night vision being superior to hers, she was no slouch in the dark. He was nearly silent as he performed hit and run tactics that had caught her unawares at first. Her heart was pounding as they played their game of cat and mouse, and by the way his chuckling echoed in the circular room, he could hear it. In any other circumstance, this would feel like something straight out of a film noire.

But she had an advantage that he didn't know about, her semblance. With her Polarity, while she was unable to physically manipulate his armaments, she could still sense them and their relative distance. Sparring like this reminded her of training blindfolded to hone this ability. As they continued, she shook off the rust that had accumulated from disuse. But he still had the advantage as he used his body to attack as well with punches and kicks, which had more success than with his weapons, which occasionally glowed red like Grimm eyes and markings in the dark.

Just before this, she had almost cornered him underneath the stairs, but he pulled out a Beast Roar that deafened her for a moment, the force knocking her back enough for him to slip away and meld into the dark.

Right now, Jaune was hiding, waiting for an opportunity or a better angle as she walked around. She didn't dare look at his position, as he was smart enough to figure out that she was able to 'see' him somehow and adjust accordingly. He was crouched down against a pillar, based on how low to the ground all his metal was. She slowly approached a beam of light, and without warning used her shield as a mirror to blind him for a moment. But it was for naught, as while his weapons, boots, hat, and gloves were there, their owner was not. Even his eye pendant was there; resting on top of his hat, jewel side down.

Her body lurched, head slamming into stone from a suplex. Disoriented, she was unable to mount a proper defense as he pinned her arms above her head and positioned his body over her in such a way that she could not easily break free, but it wasn't uncomfortable either. She struggled with her arms, but her own weapons pinned them down, the shield making any effort of twisting Miló fruitless.

"Well, I'd say that we're tied now, aren't we." He spoke with his head only a foot from hers, deep blues filled with delight. Not in arrogance in his victory, but just with a sense of being alive. She knew, because she could feel it herself. "It appears so. How did you figure out my semblance?" It was obvious that he had done so, as he had discarded any metal on him as a decoy.

"I've known it was something to do with metal since you tried to do something during our first bout. I had dismissed it at first, but you tried it on every weapon I used upstairs. Here, your eyes were more focused on whatever metal came close." He explained his logic, and she was impressed. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that he planned this event of theirs. "Very good, Jaune. I can alter Polarity."

"Why not just call it magnetism?" He asked, "Is it because it sounds cooler?"

She shyly looked away with a nervous smile, mumbling, "I was eight" to admit that it was her thought when she discovered it soon after her aura was fully awakened. While she didn't have training when her father died, her mother still fully intended her to follow the path of a Huntress.

"That's quite the advantage you have, Pyr, and it's even better in how no one knows about it." With that statement, her good feeling crashed. It wasn't in how he said it, but how it reminded her of other thoughts and praises built upon deception. "What's wrong?"

It was strange how his question made her want to tell him. After their heart to heart last night, with another heart in the mix if she included Ruby, it was only fair that she showed the same trust. "Yes, it's quite a… blessing." She began morosely, and he listened even more intensely. "You didn't see the tournaments that I won, so you wouldn't know what they called me after; 'Invincible', 'Untouchable'. After my second win without even getting hit once, people stopped trying to get to know me. If anyone ever tried to talk to me, it was like… Weiss in the locker room on the day we met."

Sadly, the heiress wasn't even the first to do so upon her arrival in Vale, having received three previous requests to join her team. "I came all the way to Vale to avoid it, but that reputation followed me here. Sometimes I wish that I didn't know my semblance, or that it was something else."

Though she never showed it, keeping her kindness and geniality at the forefront, whenever Yang brought friends over to expand their social circle, they talked to Pyrrha only about how amazing she was in combat. That one girl who wore some armor that was shaped like seashells, Mari she believed it was, hailed from Mistral and was a big fan, giddy to even sit at the same table. She had gotten so excited that her glasses kept falling off her nose.

Gently, he held her chin to turn her face and reestablish eye contact. "You're not." He cut into her brooding, asking, "Not what?"

"Invincible or Untouchable, you aren't. I just won, and I seem to be touching you just fine." He gave a brief smile, before they both blushed as they realized that they were still in the same compromising position. As he rolled off to lie next to her, he apologized for staying on top for so long, deepening her own blush from a pink to a darker red. Looking at her, he laughed, "You're adorable when you blush."

At his cheesy flirtation, she couldn't help but join his laughter, echoing in the dark to thrice its volume. She hadn't laughed that hard in so long, she had almost forgotten how. It almost hurt her lungs to do so sans restraint. Calming down, she rolled to her side and wiped her eyes, brimming with tears of joy, she said, "Thank you, Jaune. I really needed that." By 'that', she meant everything that he did to just make her feel normal, and he didn't even seem to be trying to do so.

"Anytime." He seemed to understand, and that made her feel even better.

"So…" She began, giving Jaune a wicked smile that seemed to make him fidget a bit, "Got it in you for one more?"

He refused to back down, especially from her first shot at an innuendo spar. "Do you? You seemed to have a hard time taking it from behind."

"I've heard that the first time's always-" She remarked as she began to stand up, but changed her mind and rolled on top of Jaune almost playfully to pin him in the same way he had done to her. "-the hardest, but that was a rather quick finish. I thought you said that you had stamina for days, or was that just typical male boasting."

Jaune didn't take that lying down, as he overpowered her to turn the tables. "I'm not like most men; and you have my sincerest apologies, but I prefer to be on top."

But when he pinned her again, he had forgotten to secure her legs, and she wasn't afraid to play dirty as her thigh made solid contact between his legs, bulging his eyes in panic and taking his breath away with an uncharacteristic squeak as he assumed the fetal position.

Once again, it had slipped her mind in the heat of the moment that he didn't have an aura shield, and she put more than a fair bit of strength into that blow. "Oh God, Jaune, I'm so sorry."

His voice was almost an octave higher as he replied while trying to stand up once the pain was more manageable. "No, no. That was a good hit. And here I thought I'd have at least one date before getting to third base." He gave a nervous, pained chortle.

Even when taking a hit, he still found victory as she stammered more apologies with a red face. But what made her cheeks flush even more was when she, um, hit him there it mashed against her thigh for a moment, allowing her to feel… Jaune through his pants.

Before they could try and continue fighting, verbally or otherwise, both of their scrolls rang, even though they were turned off. Pyrrha thought, 'Oh, thank the heavens, a distraction.' Neither answered them, until Jaune asked, "Didn't you turn them off?"

"I did." She protested. Scrolls could be turned on remotely by a call, but only on an emergency line. A precautionary measure that had saved lives in the past since its implementation, but not one to be taken lightly. Pyrrha answered hers first, Jaune walking over to put his own scroll next to hers. On the other side was Yang for Pyrrha's, and Blake for Jaune's.

Jaune answered first, his tone a bit harsher than intended, "What?"

"There's been a problem." The blonde answered, before trying to look at their surrounding and finding nothing but black. "Where are you guys?"

"Doing some sparring in the dark. What's the emergency?" Pyrrha answered, more than a bit irritated as well but hiding it better due to practice. Today so far had been everything she had hoped for and more, minus the crowd, and now it looked like it would be stopped short yet again. As Jaune put his hand on her shoulder to calm her down, and it worked, Blake turned to her scroll to reveal a knocked out Dove Bronzewing tied to a chair in their dining room. Jaune commented, "That… needs context. Were you three going to have a kinky ménage? Because I'm a bit disappointed at your poor choice in men, or that you wouldn't keep it in your room."

It must have been serious, because Yang didn't even try to retort, instead cringing in disgust. "Ew, no! We found him sneaking around in Ruby's room, specifically on Weiss's notes." She did not need to clarify which notes she meant, and he dropped his humor and adopted his 'leader face', as Nora had once put it. "Call in everyone, we'll be there shortly."

After hanging up, "Thanks Pyrrha for busting me out of my funk. This was nice." He smiled at his partner, as if nothing was wrong, as they walked back to their lockers to hitch a ride back to campus. It wouldn't have been the first time, after Nora tried it following one of their excursions in the woods.

"No, Jaune, thank you."

"Before we go though, I do have some advice that helped me." He spoke confidently as they put away their armaments, or most of in Jaune's case. "Don't flee from yourself. If you have a quality, be proud of it, embrace it, whatever it is." The Hunter recognized her self-loathing, however mild, when she spoke of wanting a different semblance, something that was ingrained to her identity, and it was worrying. "You don't have to say anything… but you can come to us if you want to talk too."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Dove came to, he was tightly restrained to a chair to the point of discomfort, and experienced a brief sense of déja vu. He didn't move to indicate that he was awake, and kept his breathing pattern regular. Used to constantly squinting, he ascertained his surroundings. He was still in the suite, and concluded that he had been caught, but not turned to any official authority as of yet. As his head was limp to one side, he could see the couch had been turned around, and several members of the two teams who had claimed this residence were sitting on it. Nora was even snacking on some popcorn. 'Well, that explains the smell. Here I thought I had brain damage.'

Based on the several breathing patterns to his left, the other members were sitting at the table. Doing a head count, the two he had used as a distraction had not returned as of yet. He wasn't dumb; he knew that this was setting up to be an interrogation. Fear tactics, physical threats, the works, but he wouldn't give in, not again. As the front door opened, he knew that he would be put to the test.

"So, how was your date?" Yang asked teasingly, making Dove doubt that their spar was actually considered a date.

"Refreshing." Jaune said, playing along with the jest. His partner followed, if he was hearing the click of heels on wood correctly; but if Jaune hadn't spoken, he wouldn't have known that he was there. "How's the Orphan of Kos?"

"Dead as his mother, the stubborn bastard." 'What the fuck?' "Yeah, that boss battle's a bitch." 'Oh, right. Video game.' He remembered that was what she was doing during his stealth mission, pun intended.

"Indeed. Everyone else have a good day?" And so the group of eight carried on with superficial dialogue as if he didn't exist, the heiress mentioning some plans of a 'Girl's Night', much to the childish delight of someone next to her.

"But of course that leaves us with our guest of honor." He could hear Jaune pull up a chair, not too closely, as someone sat on it. "Why don't you say hello, Mr. Bronzewing?"

Realizing that he had been caught, he 'woke up', to no one's surprise or concern; well, except to the youngest in the room, appearing to not realize that he had been faking it for a while. "Hello."

"Good afternoon." Arc wasn't wearing his hat or duster, and he looked more than a bit sweaty, as did his partner. But what Dove did take notice of was that Jaune didn't seem to wear any weapons, his ever-present dagger lying innocently on the table. "Are you comfortable?" He asked, as if this was a normal conversation.

"Not really. Bindings's are chafing the wrists a bit." A joke might help; he'd seen it in the movie. Get them mad, or at least the one asking the questions, and they might do something that he could use to turn this in his favor.

The blond actually looked offended, but not at him. "Well we can't have that. Blake, would you be so kind as to untie him?" 'What?' and it seemed that he wasn't the only one, as the girl wearing the bow had the same question. He clarified, "It would be rude if we had a guest that wasn't left satisfied. Don't worry, he's not going to run."

The reality sunk in, and the underlying threat came to him clear as day, as well as why they seemed at ease with his presence. If he ran, they'd report him for trespassing. Personal right to privacy was a big deal here in Beacon, after all, and was dealt with in a harsher manner than just a detention or two. Dove sank into the chair, having forgotten that little detail until just now.

"Would you like something to drink?" Jaune asked, leaving the unbound confused.

"Wha-" "You look like a coffee guy. Do you like dark roast?" This whole approach seemed off to Dove, and he couldn't help but ask, "What's your game?"

Not off put by the unexpected inquiry as he himself had been, his captor just smiled in a way that wouldn't have been out of place on his partner. "As long as you're here, it's my duty as a host to make sure you're comfortable. So~, coffee?"

"Um, sure. Dark roast is fine."

"Excellent. We have a good blend, from what I understand." He went into the kitchen to pour a cup of some already brewed. Continuing as he went back and forth, "I'm not really a coffee man, you see. I'm not a fan of the taste."

"That's because you have an even bigger sweet tooth than Ruby." Yang quipped, earning more than a few snickers, and a cackle in the orange-haired girl's case.

"Yes, much like how you're lacking in the appreciation for subtlety that is required for tea." As this exchange continued, Dove was handed a full mug and Jaune had gotten tea for himself, leaving it on the table to brew. Outwardly, the intruder was calm, but inside he was sweating a bit. 'Did I fail a test or something? No, this dialogue seems way too natural to be a performance. Do they not take this seriously? 'Cause I'm not sure whether to be glad or offended if they are.'

"How long was I out?" He asked, and his answer was a vague 'not long enough' from Blake.

"Speaking of which, a curious question popped into my brain. Isn't it funny that, while almost every student on campus came to watch us spar, you were here, rifling through a girls' room? How fortuitous. Now to be fair, I too have a healthy appreciation for the fairer gender, but that's a bit stalkerish, wouldn't you agree?" 'And here it is.' The tall redhead looked a bit peeved at that, and he could understand why. He had used her fame to his advantage, and that does not earn any brownie points.

"Fortwotous?" Ruby whispered to her teammate, who replied in an equally low whisper, "Fortuitous, it means lucky. Read a dictionary sometime."

"Is this how you repay debts? I saved your lives, and I am repaid with breaches in privacy of not just myself, but those around me as well?" Though the questions were piercing, his cadence was calm and collected, almost cheerful as he played the role of a magnanimous host. Used to seeing the guy in question either standoffish or angry, saying that it was a bit of a cognitive dissonance for him was an understatement. 'Honestly, I think I'd rather see him angry. At least it would be expected.'

"I didn't have a choice." He pleaded while remaining aloof as he played along to the light ambience of the room.

"Oh, so someone just tossed you in there, or teleported you?" Weiss asked snidely, as it was her room that had been breached. But his main interrogator remained unmoved. "There is always a choice, Dove. So please explain why you don't feel like you do, and have some coffee."

His insistence made the prisoner, for that's what he was despite any façade suggesting otherwise, made him glance at the brew nervously. Any escape route was blocked, and he didn't bring his weapon or armor to reduce noise. "Oh don't worry, it's not poisoned or anything. That would make me both a bad host, and a wasteful one at that. Drink." He insisted with a solemn tone, and Dove capitulated. 'Well, at least it's good coffee.'

"Why are you being so nice, Arc? I'm not complaining, but I was expecting some dark room and being beaten half to death."

He just laughed at that. "You watch too many movies, and please, call me Jaune. We could perform some… enhanced interrogation techniques, but we're not going to do that. Crude methods like that do provide answers, but they are usually the wrong answers. Right now, I'm far more interested in the truth. Do you know the best way to do that?"

"I feel like you're quoting something, A- Jaune." Dove quipped.

"That's because I am. I do that by making people happy, and I'd like to do the same to you, no homo."

"Sorry, man. I'm afraid you're not my type." Jaune just laughed at the gay joke, and he wasn't alone, before taking a sip of tea.

"Good one, but I did say no homo, so your retort was wasted. But, back to the matter at hand. I'll give you one more chance to explain yourself before I invite Professor Goodwitch for a cup of tea, and I do not believe that she will be as forgiving as I am."

He broke under the pressure. "I'm doing it for my mother. She's in the hospital's long-term care, and before Beacon I took to stealing to pay it off. It's a rare, and expensive disease, so I got greedy and went on a shady tip to the wrong house at the wrong time." Once he started, it felt like a dam broke, and he just kept going. "After getting a beating so bad I pissed blood for a week, a guy showed himself and told me that I was hired because he found my semblance useful. So long as I follow orders and produced results, he'd pay the medical bills."

"Who? And what semblance?" Jaune asked, indifferent to his sob story. The latter might be a bit rude, but considering the circumstances, he wasn't in a position to complain.

"Cobalt Winchester." That name drop raised several eyebrows. "I overheard one of you talking about the Pthumerian language, and he got real interested. I was next to the tree, and as for my semblance…" It was easier to show them, and as he fully opened his eyes, his appearance seemed to blend into his surroundings, rendering him virtually invisible unless someone knew what to look for. He could have tried to escape, but it wouldn't have helped in the slightest.

"What disease does she have?" Jaune's question threw him off guard once more until he replied, "The doctor either didn't know or didn't say, but the main symptom is an ultra sensitivity to sunlight. Her skin will blister and burn if she isn't in a dark room at all times."

"Neat." Jaune replied nonchalantly to his sob story. "Any other noteworthy symptoms, like blindness, diarrhea?"

"No, just the one. Why?"

Jaune looked for something on his scroll, "Because you're being played for a fool. She's not sick, she's being poisoned."

Reading the screen, it was on a link describing the effect of overdosing on lumenflower extract, and it was exactly as Dove had described, the teen going into shock as the deception unraveled.

"Your… 'boss' definitely has the doctor taking 'care' of her in his pocket. I fully understand the overwhelming desire to protect family, but I also understand how others can exploit that for their benefit. Now, would you like a chance for revenge?"

"How? Now's that he's on the Council, and the head of a religious order, he's practically untouchable."

Jaune just grinned, and said, "Practically is the key word. It won't be much right now. But instead of going to him with your spying, you go to me first, and I'll feed you juicy, but ultimately harmless info until he loses interest. Written messages and in person only, no scroll messaging. He'll find out otherwise."

"Wait, the Council can just spy on everyone like that?" Nora asked loudly.

"Yeah, if they know what to look for. Why do you think so many people try their luck and live outside the Kingdoms?" Their official powers, however restrained they were in use, made the Big Four kingdoms instead of republics or democracies, the distinction of the right to vote inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

"I'll do it." Dove agreed, fully wanting payback for his deception, with an angry tone.

"Glad to have you on board." The two shook hands as they came to an accord. "Don't worry; we're not proposing a revolution or anything like that. Just finish telling me why you were here, and you can go on your merry way." Blake seemed to twitch at the word 'revolution', but it was likely his imagination.

"He has it in his mind that you're a heretic dead set on converting Hunters against humanity and the Light… and that sounded a lot less crazy until I said it." Dove had the decency to feel sheepish at the confession.

"Just a bit. Hold on a sec, can I borrow your scroll?" Loaning it, Jaune went into Weiss' room, stayed in there for a few moments, and then returned. "As far as anyone outside this room is concerned, your stealth mission went without a hitch."

"Uh, what?"

"Unfortunately, all you found was my journal that I keep records of some inspiring philosophy. I write in Pthumerian as a code because I'm a fan of the Bloodborne video game, and I lent it over to Weiss because she has a fascination with history and languages. Your team is free to read it yourselves if you doubt me."

Dove felt like he was missing something, but he just went with the flow at this point. "He won't appreciate failure."

"You didn't fail, you just didn't find what you hoped for or expected. Now, off you go." He finished with a cheery smile. Dove opened his eyes to escape unnoticed to any passersby, making it in time for the team to leave for the appointment that Cardin was dragging them to. As they departed, Sky grumbled, "Honestly, who in their right mind names something The Bloody Jewel?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Waiting until he was sure that their guest had left, he asked the room, "Well? How was that for a performance?"

Thunderous applause greeted him, as well as an attempted wolf whistle through a mouthful of popcorn. He bowed, appearing humbled at their praise. "Thank you, you're too kind."

"Eight out of ten. You were almost too accommodating." Weiss critiqued.

"I still say you should have broke his legs." Nora whined after she swallowed, but only half-seriously. "But why are you not an actor, pulling that straight out of your ass?"

"I was inspired by desperation, and had a fantastic supporting cast." He admitted. When Blake had knocked the now misled Dove out, she searched through his scroll for evidence, piecing together his reasons and motivations through numerous calls and voicemails to and from the hospital and an unknown caller ID, as well as pictures. As the move knocked the intruder unconscious for over thirty minutes, there had been enough time to plan out the best way to use this to their advantage.

"How did you know about lumenflowers?" Along with birds, Ren also had an interest in flowers. It was why he had a lotus flower as his emblem, along with it being a nod to his Vytalian origins. Along with a unique fragrance, extract was once used to treat insomnia, before advanced medicine rendered it obsolete.

"I use it as a cologne every now and then. It's only dangerous if constantly imbibed in quantities larger than what could possibly be conceived as accidental, given its rarity." He explained with a shrug, knowing that he'd need said aroma coming up soon for more than one occasion.

"Speaking of special events, we're kicking you guys out for the day and until late at night." Yang declared with a shooing motion of her hands.

"Girl's night?" Jaune asked, as he finished his tea and strapped his dagger to his back. Growing up with so many women gave him a seventh sense for this kind of thing. "No problem. I'm sure we can find something to occupy us. Let me take a shower first."

After taking a quick one, "Ready to go, Ren?"

"Hmm." He hummed his assent with a gentle dip of his head, the two guys passing Coco and Velvet at the elevator. Jaune tipped his hat with a smile, as a gentleman should. "Enjoy your evening, ladies."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Now in Vale, Ren followed Jaune to a parking garage, asking, "Shouldn't we wait for a bus or something?"

"Nah, I've got something better." Rounding the corner, "Behold, 'tis Fenrir the Magnificent!"

Ren had to agree that it was an impressive specimen of machine. Two wheels paired in the front, with one in the back would allow extraordinary maneuverability. The body was a combination of polished black metal over brushed gold mechanics. Ren could see the space for extra compartments over the front axle, likely to store Jaune's weapons on the road, before tuning back into his friend going over the vehicle's specs.

"-foot throttle and a hip based turning option that comes in handy for combat. Real beauty, isn't he?"

"And here I thought you weren't into guys." Ren quipped.

"Was that sass?" Jaune asked in good humor. "I'm proud of you."

"Mild teasing at best, but the best humor is the unexpected. Where'd you get it?"

"It's a trophy. Finished hunting a small group of bandits, and I couldn't just leave this poor guy to rust." He shook his head in shame.

"Not to be rude, but where will I sit? I'd prefer to not ride bitch."

"Nor do I want you to. Too many Y chromosomes for my tastes." Lightly hitting the side, a sidecar mecha-shifted into being.

"Ah, that works. So, where to first?" He asked as he put on a spare helmet, taking a quick picture of the bike of man and machine and sending it, explaining without guilt, "Nora asked for pictures."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The girls were mostly following Coco and Yang's lead, as they had the most experience with 'outings' such as this. But Nora, it seemed, didn't quite understand why Ren couldn't have stayed. "But I could have put his hair in pig tails, and Jaune's grandpa thought he was a girl at first glance."

Hearing her scroll ping, now with a new ring tone like a mini boom of thunder, she checked it. "Oh cool, Ren showed me a picture of Jaune's motorcycle."

"Yeah, I've seen it. It's almost as good as mine." Yang boasted, blinded from pride in her own machine. The two of them had rode together, and it had been quite fun racing on the freeway, to say the least. No cops showed up, which was even better. Despite all its cool features, she said that hers was better because she had won that race, if only because of that truck that came out of nowhere and forced him to detour or crash.

"Can we not talk about Jaune today please?" Weiss asked, to which Coco tsked. "But that's protocol for shindigs like this. Paint each other's nails and talk about cute boys. Speaking of which, do you miss your boyfriend that much, Nora?"

"We usually do everything together, but not together-together. Have for years." She explained, correcting the context of the title bestowed on her companion. He's a boy, and a friend, that whole cliché.

Noticing that Blake, now without her bow, and Velvet were talking, she went over to them and asked politely, "Do you two know each other?"

Velvet replied, "Yes, we grew up in Menagerie together, and our parents are friends."

"Ah, where are my manners? Weiss Schnee, a pleasure to meet you." While they been in the same vicinity, even eating lunch on occasion at the same table, they had never talked to one another. She extended her hand, formally greeting the rabbit Faunus, which was accepted with a smile. "Velvet Scarlatina, and likewise."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I'm not complaining, but this is where you wanted to go first?" Jaune asked, not expecting his companion to select an arcade as their first destination.

"Mhm. Now I can play without worrying that Nora will break something and gets us kicked out." It had only happened twice. "Do you know how to Dance?"

"Unfortunately… oh, you mean the game. Not my cup of tea, but it'll do in a pinch."

A good two hours was spent in that arcade, mostly on the 'dance floor' matching arrows to feet with style. After that, lunch and then a park for some good old meditation. While there, they came across the other half of team CFVY.

"What's up?" Fox greeted them; not looking up from his scroll while Yatsuhashi was doing what they had planned to do.

"Not much, our team, and the other half of yours, grouped up and kicked us out for a while. You?" Jaune asked.

"Watching out for the big guy. Last time he came here, someone almost pick pocketed him." Tapping his teammate's unarmored shoulder, "Wake up, we have company."

"I am aware, Fox. Greetings." Yatsu grumbled eloquently. "And I was meditating, not napping."

"Your eyes are closed for an extended period of time and you shut out the world around you, it's the same thing." He debated, clearly having had this argument before.

"So you guys don't mind if we join you? It's a lovely day." Ren asked.

"Sure, enjoy your group nap." Fox quipped, not once having looked up from his scroll.

Eventually, the four went to where all guy's nights, now that it was night, inevitably ended up; at a bar, or to be more specific in this case, The Blackwater Tavern.

After a delicious roast chicken and potatoes, accompanied by more than a few drinks, and a demanding text from Nora, Ren asked, "So Jaune, Nora wants to…"

Jaune interrupted him by grabbing the scroll and turning it off, "I think you both can handle one night apart from each other." He chuckled, raising his stein for another sip of the black brew. "Besides, this is guys' night. We drink, talk about women, not to them, unless you're trying to pick them up or vice versa. It's a sacred tradition."

Ren doubted the part about it being sacred, but the other two seemed to nod their heads in agreement, so he didn't try to dispute it. He had even forgone his usual abstinence and shared saké with Yatsuhashi. "You make a good point. As I was saying, which girl in our team do you like most?" Due to his timing, Jaune spit out some Grimm's Blood back into its container, rather then everywhere in front of him, which would have included Ren in the line of fire. Fox was not so careful, earning a glare from his moistened teammate. "You don't beat around the bush, do you?"

"Why would I? It's a simple question." Ren didn't see the need to be anything but straightforward. It was how his friend preferred things up until this point.

"Yes, but answers to simple questions rarely are the same." Jaune interceded with the faintest of slurs to indicate his inebriation. "Case in point, how's you and Nora? I think today's the first time I've seen you two apart."

"We weren't talking about my relationship status, Jaune, but about yours."

"Why not both? Quid pro quo, dude." Fox arbitrated, taking a shot. "Can't talk about this with Yats here, with his vow of celibacy until marriage and all that jazz." Yatsuhashi just sat there, unconcerned with the dig even if it was interpreted as such.

"Fine, but I asked first." Ren agreed.

"Look, it's complicated. I'm team leader, which means I'm responsible for keeping the team from tearing each other apart."

"Even I know that's a poor excuse. Relationships between teammates happen all the time, your parents for instance."

Jaune finished the rest of his stein, which had been half-full, "I have no experience with girls in a romantic sense."

"What are you talking about? You flirt and tease all the time." Ren's questioning had Jaune blink in confusion. "That's just talk. One can't grow up with beautiful girls, and then women, without learning how to be comfortable around them."

Yatsuhashi, having mostly kept silent, spoke up. "Jaune, your usual manner of speaking is flirting and or teasing. It's very similar to Coco, and we've lived with her long enough to know."

Jaune took a moment to consider his next words, thanking Haes for the refill. "Talk is easy, but beyond that… Like I said, I have absolutely no experience with romance. I didn't have much of a social life before Beacon."

"We noticed." Fox quipped, remembering Jaune as the recluse he had been.

"I'm being serious here. I didn't really connect with people around me enough to have friends, much less anything more. Which meant no dating for me."

"Untrue. You went on a date with Coco." The big guy stated it as a matter of fact, but it wasn't received as such.

"Well, that's news to me!" Jaune asked, startled, with a voice slightly louder than usual for indoor conversation. "The only time we've been alone together, we just went for a walk around town, talked, laughed, had lunch… okay, I hear it now."

Ren asked bemusedly, "You were on a date, and you didn't know?"

"I told you, I'm not good when it comes to that sort of thing. But at least I know now, so there's that. Or-"

Fox stopped him, much to his relief, from going on a full Nora-level babbling. "All right, you're clueless, we get it. Besides, I should thank you. I finally asked Coco out after we got back from Crow's Hill." She, much to his surprise, had said yes.

"I didn't say that I was clueless." The blond corrected him. "Another thing I picked up is to recognize signs of when a girl has a crush, or is interested in someone."

"So you know about…" Nora wanted to play matchmaker for Pyrrha and Jaune, but didn't want it to be too obvious. Which is why she helped organize these events in the first place, to get Ren to subtly interrogate Jaune while off guard from the alcohol.

"Yes, I know Pyrrha's interested. There have been a couple of moments, and today's spar was a pretty obvious one. Even Fox here could have seen it."

"You know I'm not actually blind, right?" That misconception had occurred too often to be considered amusing anymore.

"Then what's the problem?" Ren dived to the crux of the issue.

"It's not just with her that moments have occurred." He sighed before draining his stein. "So you see my dilemma. If I make a decision, then someone loses no matter what. The emotional fallout would be detrimental, and that could mean the difference between life and death."

"So more than one girl might like you. Boo freaking hoo." Fox wasn't one to spare feelings, especially with a heavy buzz.

Before Jaune could retort, Fox commented wistfully out of nowhere while looking at the door. "Has it been a year already?"

Ren and Jaune looked back, and saw Jack, along with two his teammates, Roman Onyx and Beau Réal. They weren't in their usual garb, but instead in matching black suits with yellow ties. Jack's was the only face they could see, as usual, but he wasn't smiling like he usually was. The other two's were, also as usual, obscured by masks. Roman's was black, form fitting to his skin to appear skull-like and currently morose. Beau's looked like porcelain, but also covered his entire head. It was expressionless, blank, white, and a bit disturbing if he was looking in your direction without saying a word.

"What happened to their fourth?" Jaune asked in a low voice. After a while of running into JORN, but only meeting three of the four, he had come to the conclusion that it had been a casualty.

Yatsuhashi answered, "A mission gone awry due to faulty intelligence. From what I heard, a Nosferatu showed up out of nowhere with a swarm of Bacars, and Jacqueline… didn't make it. To honor her memory, they included a jackal somewhere on their weapons, as she was a Faunus."

Jaune winced, not sure what to say about that. As Haes walked around, he was inspired and signaled her, pointing to the trio. "Those three, their first round's on me." She acknowledged him with a smile and a nod, before he turned back to Ren.

"My end of the bargain's completed. So, what's going on between you and Nora?"

"We're best friends, and have been so since we were kids." He answered. "Our mothers were friends, and mine took her in after a Grimm attack when we were seven."

"Shit, my condolences." Jaune apologized for bringing it up.

"It's fine." And it was, Ren was calm, if a bit red in the face from the measly amount of alcohol he imbibed and a low tolerance. After another saucer down the hatch, that made three. "'It's in the past."

"And that's all? You've never thought about it, not once?" Fox asked with sarcastic disbelief. As Ren looked up and away, the three had their answer before he tried to explain, the alcohol loosening his inhibitions more than he had anticipated.

"Of course I've thought about it. She's… Nora. But she doesn't see me in that way." With a wistful hmph, "After all, we're not 'together-together'."

"Yeah, but do you ever think that she protests a bit too much?" Jaune asked, having heard the term frequently during her longer rambles.

"No, so drop it. If she like me that way, she'd tell me." He denied curtly, and his friend raised his hands in a placating gesture to show he was backing off. Calming down from his brief flash of lost control, "I think I've had enough for one night."

As they paid their tab and left, Orys handed Jaune his usual bottle of Grimm's Blood to replenish his stock at Beacon, but didn't ask for payment, "Courtesy of your friends."

Nodding in thanks as he passed by the three, Jack and the masked duo raised his glass of a dark purple beverage for a silent toast, their leader's grin having returned with a vengeance.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back with the Huntresses in Training now clad in pajamas, night had fallen, along with the level of liquor stashed in the suite, appropriated by freshly painted digits.

Yang, however, felt it was time for the real fun to begin, and with reservations beginning to be impaired there was a lesser chance of refusal. Her "AHA" cut into their, as well as the other dialogues taking place. They saw her come out of Jaune's room holding a bottle from his stash, along with a stack of shot glasses from the kitchen.

"Yang, you can't just take other people's property." Weiss complained in an attempt of stern discipline but the slur in her words took away the impact it might have had.

"Oh, relax, Ice Queen. I'll pay him back. Now, who's heard of the game Never Have I Ever?" She smirked, foreseeing her victory when only Coco, and Velvet raised their hands. "Well, then I'll explain the rules. Nora?" She called to the one girl who wasn't paying attention, obviously still trying to get Ren to respond on her scroll with increasing anxiety.

"I don't get it. He's always responded after the third text. But now he hasn't said anything in over two hours. What if he's been kidnapped? Then we'd have to mount a rescue operation and-"

"Nora!" Yang called out louder, succeeding this time. "I'm sure he's fine. Besides, he's with Jaune and the male half of CFVY according to Coco. They can handle themselves."

"I know, but we usually do everything together, and-"

"Relax." Pyrrha added, hand on her teammate's shoulder. "You've been worrying all night. If they're not back by morning, then we can go 'rescue' them."

"You promise?" She asked, pleadingly, to which her fellow redhead nodded with a smile, cheering her up immediately. "All right, let's play!"

"Okay, the rules are simple." Yang continued now that they were all on board. "One person makes a statement about something they've never done, and if someone else has, they take a shot of this." She held up her 'borrowed' bottle of Grimm's Blood before filling the shot glasses. After their motorcycle race, Jaune managed to convince her to try it. Surprisingly, it was exactly as he had initially described; a strong, pungent kick, but with a pleasant lingering aftertaste of salted caramel. 'After the Deathstalker, the smell is barely a bother, so at least something good came of that accident.'

Remembering one last tidbit, "You're going to use something lighter, Ruby."

"What, why?" Her sister whined at being excluded.

"Because I said so. This stuff is too strong for you." She had been keeping an eye on her younger sibling and her consumption rate out of habit, having been taking care of her for several years now.

"No it's not!" Before she could be stopped, Ruby applied a quick burst of her semblance to grab a shot and down it like a champ, plugging her nose to deal with the smell, and only coughing once from the burn tickling her throat. "Mmm, delicious. See? No problem."

"Oh, quit being a mother hen for one night, Yang." Coco came to Ruby's defense, though when she sniffed the bottle, she asked to herself "Oh god, what is this stuff?" Checking the bottle, she saw that it was 100 proof, and not pure alcohol like its fragrance implied.

With that argument out of the way, they began, with the one who proposed the game going first. "I'll start off easy. Never have I ever… used a sword."

Pyrrha, Velvet, Weiss, Blake, and surprisingly Ruby took a shot, before Yang remembered that she had tried a bunch of weapons before Uncle Qrow taught her how to use a scythe. "All right, we'll go in a circle. Blake, you're next."

"Never have I ever… played video games." Blake retaliated, and all barring Weiss and Velvet drank. She much preferred reading as her method of escapism, and Yang's returning grin meant that she had taken it as a declaration of war.

And so the game continued. The questions began with revealing trivial facts, from eating something to going on a date. But they soon became deeper, more potentially embarrassing, or aimed at specific people who avoided a couple of rounds. For instance, Ruby went with "Started a bar fight" to which only Yang drank, shocked at her sister's cunning betrayal.

After a few circles, they were all pretty deep in, but thankfully they didn't have to go anywhere for the night. Weiss was getting frustrated, as her questions rarely got many to drink, and because others felt that she was lagging behind they aimed some at her, with more success than not. But it was her turn, so, "Never have I ever had any intentions to have intimate relationships with Jaune." Cue the huge tone shift, as several of them looked at her wide-eyed.

"Damn, that's cutthroat." Yang commented, almost impressed.

"I'm a businesswoman, I have to be." Weiss stated as a matter of fact. "Well?"

Trying to buy more time, Pyrrha asked, "I thought we're only supposed to ask about things we've never done. So…"

"I have not. While he is physically attractive, he isn't to my tastes." Weiss explained with the same gravitas as if he was a bottle of wine.

After a few nervous glances at each other, the liquid courage they had already imbibed drove every girl but Nora and Velvet to down another shot. "Ruby!"

"S-so what if I do, Yang?" The youngest retorted, a bit surly with buried emotions coming to the forefront. "He's nice to me and everyone else here, and doesn't treat me like a child." Meanwhile, it was unclear whether her red face was either from the topic of discussion, from being flushed due to her inebriation, or a bit of both.

"It's not that, but… you finally admit you have a crush on him?" Yang asked teasingly, not wanting the party to be ruined by infighting. Her brain finally catching up to her mouth, Ruby became a stammering mess, before surrendering and tried to isolate herself in her hood, only to realize that it wasn't there, having taken it off hours ago. She made do with her hands covering her face as her sister gave her a big hug to both rub it in and calm her down.

"So are we all explaining our answers?" Coco cut into the awkward family moment. "I went out on a date with him, though I don't think he realized it was a date."

"How does that work?" Blake asked, having read such a scenario in one of her books. She wanted to compare fiction with reality.

"When I met him, he was almost a complete social recluse; either training, eating, or in his room. Something about someone close to the family dying." Coco mentioned, though only Pyrrha and Ruby had any clue as to whom, having heard the story last night. "So his mother gave me this beret in exchange for giving him a breather. If one of you does date him, he's quite the gentleman, even when he isn't trying to impress. Seeing him now… well, if I wasn't dating Fox, I might have followed through. Not to mention that he'd be much better than your ex…" Seeing Yang's glare and hearing her threatening grumble, "Whom it seems we're not going to talk about."

Velvet went next, her natural timid nature temporarily drowned. "Jaune and I have something in common. We both like women. What about you, Blake?"

"… We're up late together all the time. No Yang, not like that." She cut off her partner before she could launch a predictable innuendo. "We talk, debate, and share several common interests and views. He's intelligent and… comfortable to be around." She didn't know how else to put it. Outside of combat, in a relaxed environment, he exuded a soothing presence.

"Not to be shallow or anything, but it doesn't hurt that he's easy on the eyes." Yang added. "Though I agree with comfortable. That just leaves his partner. What did you two do in the dark, P-money?"

Through their little get-together, the champion had avoided saying in detail exactly what had occurred in the tower. As neutrally as she could, "Just like I said, sensory training. We played a game of cat and mouse in the dark. Um, no offense Blake."

"None taken. It's a turn of phrase, nothing to do with race. So, nothing of note happened?" Blake knew deflection when she saw it, and she couldn't help but be curious, to coin another feline themed phrase. 'Great, now I'm starting to do it.'

"N-no, just that he won." That was a bit of a shock on the first retelling of the evening. Rationally, they knew he had the advantage in the dark, and that he could hold his own well enough against her without it, but to hear that she had been defeated had still been an eye-opener.

"Okay, even I know that's not all of it." Ruby scoffed, as even with her limited ability in reading people she had noticed that. At all the expectant stares, Pyrrha crumbled and told them in detail of their adventure hidden from sight. More than one of her audience gasped at their battle of insinuation, thinking that it was out of character for her. When she got to the part of when she thighed him between his legs, more than a few winces went around, with Velvet even crossing her legs in sympathy.

"And, he was… uh… hold on." Pyrrha was even more flustered at this point, faltering in her speech, and took another drink to both calm her nerves and to gain an excuse to stop talking for a brief moment. The alcohol burned away some of the newly formed tension, but she still looked away. "He was at full attention, if you get my meaning."

"What meaning?" Nora asked, before she realized the answer to her own question. "… oh. Oooooh. Pyrrha's a pervert."

"And I'm done." Weiss left the circle amidst the Spartan's denials and excuses that wasn't intended in that way, covering her ears and having no desire to hear further gossip of this nature. Velvet joined her on the couch, using her rabbit ears to cover her other ears.

The next few minutes devolved into telling jokes, more often than not what the now sleeping heiress would consider crude. Even Yang's more cringing ones were met with raucous appreciation. But soon they weren't the only ones making noise. Outside the door, they could hear two male voices singing, going off key a few times while the handle jiggled. As the door opened, Jaune and Ren burst in barely able to avoid toppling to the floor, clearly intoxicated with a bottle two thirds empty. Now inside, the door no longer muffled their voices.

"Keep rushing and a running Running! The drumming of the buckshot pumpin'! Got molten metal in my Veins!"

"REN!" Nora shouted in delight, appearing to instantly sober up as she glomped her no longer missed partner, uncaring as they both crashed and interrupted the duet. Jaune merely took it in stride as he took off his boots and left them by the door. "How are you? You didn't call, and I got so worried. We were gonna send a rescue party and everything and-"

Putting a finger to her lips, Ren shushed her. "It'sh fine. We had fun, but can I go slee-?" He fell asleep, unable to finish his question. Nora easily picked him up and took him to their room, likely to tuck him in. But as she didn't return, the remaining five just assumed that she had conked out too.

"Nice paint jobs. Very pretty." Jaune commented as he sat down at his usual spot on the table, taking another swig of Grimm's Blood before undressing to leave only his dress shirt to cover his upper body, rolling up his sleeves. He was clearly the most inebriated of the bunch, swaying in his seat, and it was baffling how he could still talk clearly, let alone have the required dexterity to undo buttons or how he got back from the city.

Yang, as the first to figure out his meaning, wiggled her fingers, nails coated in burnt orange, fabulously. "Why, thank you good sir. How were your drunken misadventures?"

"Just some guy stuff and manly talk. You?"

"Oh, just girl stuff." Ruby stretched the truth, but her sister was having none of that. "So I heard Pyrrha felt your dick." Yang blabbed, before gasping in 'surprise' and covering her mouth. "Oops."

"I'm just glad it was her thigh and not her knee, her armored knee. I plan to have kids sometime in the future." Jaune just went with the flow, but winced at the recollection, either ignoring the entendre or not caring due to the true circumstances of the event.

"How'd you get back so drunk and not get caught?" Pyrrha asked. What people do in private was fine and regulations were lax on that front, but public displays like they clearly had done were not met with mere slaps on the wrist.

"Ah, more questions. Wonderful." He commented sarcastically. "If you must know, Ren drove, as he was still mostly sober. He was tipsy when we arrived because I managed to persu-, purse… talk him into trying some of this-" He lightly shook the bottle still in his hand. "On the elevator ride up. I like the guy, but he's a bit of a lightweight. As for me, I could drink a deep sea of this." He giggled at the inside joke, holding his gut with his unoccupied arm.

Blake was no stranger to see Jaune drink a bit, but never to the extent that he was visually impaired by it. "How much did you drink?"

It took him a bit to recall the exact amount, but "About two and a half bottles, this one included. On a completely unrelated topic, this stuff makes decent mouthwash."

"TMI, dude." Ruby cringed a bit, knowing he had motion sickness, which likely didn't mesh well with alcohol.

"Oh… sorry." Looking at an identical, but empty container already on the table along with small glasses, "Glad you ladies seem to like it too. Never Have I Ever?"

"Yep!" Ruby popped the p. "You want to play?"

"Sure, I'll play catch up."

Grabbing the bottle out of his hand, before he was about to drop it, Coco advised, "I don't think that's a good idea. You look like your liver's about to start a… hic… mutiny." She, thankfully, knew when her limit was reached when she started hiccupping.

"I know my limits. Besides, my liver has a helping hand." He sighed, "But you have a point. I'll do two 'I've done that' answers before I stop, sound fair?"

The ladies huddled up to deliberate, both on his proposal and in the questions to ask, Coco bowing out to check on Velvet. The four saw this as a prime opportunity to get to know more about him, who was both an open book, but yet also not. To keep it fair, they'd only ask questions someone had asked before. Breaking up, Jaune was staring at them with dreamy expression, holding up his head with a stupid grin. "Ask away."

"Never have I ever… started a bar fight." Ruby went first.

He began to reach for the glass, but stopped midway in thought. "Actually no, I didn't start one, but I sure as hell finished it."

This time, Pyrrha asked, "Never have I ever gone on a date." Jaune drank, before answering to Coco, "Your boyfriend clued me in. One down, and one to go."

Yang went with an easy one. "Never have I ever had sex." Cue another drink and surprised reactions. Ruby exclaimed, "You've had, had…"

"Sex, yes. I just drank didn't I?"

"Who was she?" Blake inquired, but he shook his head.

"I don't know her name. Uncle Pip took me to a high-end brothel, and they all wear masks to escape the possible social stigma. After seeing my father's embarrassing blustering in the ways of courtship, as he put it, he 'graciously' took it upon himself to educate me, or rather to have me educated."

"But a prostitute?" Pyrrha asked in concern.

"Courtesan" He corrected deliberately. "And who better than a professional? It's no different than learning how to use a weapon from a master. Well, maybe a little, but the principle remains the same."

"But your first time's supposed to be special." Ruby expressed with an innocent tone, prodding her index fingers, painted blue tinted silver, together, to which Coco jumped in, putting her scroll back in her pocket after taking some pictures. "No Ruby, a girl's first time is special. It's not quite the… hic… same with guys."

The sole male in the room nodded, and continued for her. "If I was a girl, I'd rather my first be someone who knew what they were doing, rather than some awkward fumbling."

"And now I'm picturing you in a dress. Is that weird?" Yang asked, unsure how to feel about the mental image.

"Just a bit. Damn it, it's still too hot in here!" With barely any warning, he stripped off his dress shirt to leave his upper body bare, not that any one else in the room minded. "Well, now that the conversation has switched to theoretical gender bending on my part, I think I'm done for the morning." He pointed out that it was about 2h as he shambled off to bed before remembering something that had come to mind on the return ride. "Oh, two things before I forget. Someone remind me to ask Rubes about a commission, and Weiss and Velvet are cuddling on the couch. Rather adorable, really."

"Already got pictures." Coco playfully heckled the two sleepers. "Gonna tease the hell out of bunny bo… hic… bout it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter End

I feel that there's something of an unspoken rule about too much of an OC team, but it was useful to see an outsider's perspective of Pyrrha and the 'pedestal' she told Jaune of at the Dance in canon.

For Beau Réal's mask, think Deathstroke's only pure white with white eyepieces, appearing as one solid piece.

In case you were curious about the others' nail colors:

Blake - Nightshade purple

Weiss - Apple red

Pyrrha - reddish-bronze metallic

Nora - Magenta with pink glitter

Coco - Copper

Velvet - Ice Blue (matching her hard light weapons)

I tried to fit them all in, but it felt forced, so I made do without, as it wasn't that important. For Jaune randomly partially stripping, people do random things when drunk. And the song he and Ren was singing was "Hell to Pay" by Miracle of Sound.

I like adding in references to other source materials, so I've decided to make a contest of it to encourage reviews. The only rule is that it has to be included with an actual review. Entries with just an answer will not be counted, correct or otherwise.

I will hint at a reference hidden in the chapter, and the first to guess correctly will be PM'ed congratulations, and I will answer one spoiler question. They will also be congratulated by name on an A/N of the next chapter. As this is the first round, I'll give you all two chances to win.

First, I'll take a page out of Hidetaka Miyazaki's book and go with Berserk. This is a two-part answer, so have both pieces please.

The second will be from Sailor Moon. Bit of a polar opposite from the other one, no? This one will be a bit trickier, but I hope you all have fun.

UNTIL NEXT TIME!