As promised, here is the New Year's special!
I think the next chapter will be back to normally scheduled randomness and stay tuned for the after-chapter Author's Note where I talk about what chapters are up next and a spoiler talk about the latest RWBY episode at the very end!
"Ugh…" the simple noise escaped the lips of one Jaune Arc as he stepped out of the bathroom in team JNPR's dorm room.
The room was quiet for the first time since early in the evening the night precious and the loud snoring of Nora was easy to make out from the dimly lit lounge.
To ring in the new year, Yang had suggested that both teams have a party to celebrate and unwind before the next semester of classes and training regimens took hold of their free time.
Everyone eagerly agreed, wanting to have as much fun as possible before getting back to work and set to work on planning the event.
Needless to say, when Yang arrived fashionably late to their gettogether – carrying copious amounts of alcoholic beverages in a bag – things took a turn.
Aside from Ruby – who Yang forbade from drinking due to both age and overprotective tendencies – everyone grabbed a drink and started to party anew.
Jaune decided to take it easy on the alcohol and make sure that Ruby wasn't the only one with a clear mind – just incase anything got out of hand.
This led to a lot of teasing at the hands of several of the others, namely Yang and oddly enough Pyrrha once she was under the influence.
And that led to a completely other event… one that he learned to fear through years of sleepovers with his sisters.
"Come on Jauney! You can't just… not drink with us!" A tipsy Yang declared while leaning against her fellow blonde as they sat on the couch.
Or it might be more accurate to say Jaune was sitting on the couch, sipping on a beer, while Yang was laying across the remainder of the seat and somehow keeping her self-made Strawberry Sunrise in its cup.
"Can and will Yang. Someone has to make sure you girls don't fly off the handle tonight."
His response was calm, smart and only served to make the grumpy look on Yang's stay longer.
"Rubes isn't getting drunk and I wanna see what you act like SLOSHED!"
She attempted to hit his shoulder, but ended up slumping against his shoulder more as he kept her steady and stared out across the room.
Blake and Ren were sharing slightly slurred conversation over warmed Sake.
Ruby was showing something one her scroll to Weiss as the young Rose drank some milk while her partner sipped on wine.
… and in the corner of the room, Nora had somehow talked his partner into taking shots with her and Yang – before Yang had spied him 'party pooping' and taken her already wasted butt over to where he sat.
Now he was forced to deal with the party expert of their group trying to convince him to get drunk as the other went about their own business.
"… what do I have to do to please you without getting drunk?" he asked offhandedly.
Her brow furrowed and noises of confusion and what could be taken as constipation escaped her parted lips.
He tuned out her struggles and sipped the cheap beer in his hand… trying to decide whether to get up and stop Nora from turning Pyrrha into an unstoppable monster or just to accept his doom and relax.
"Got it!"
The sudden cry and movement from his neighbor made him jump, especially when she grabbed his face with both hands – drink long finished – forcing him to look into wide pools of lilac.
"Truth or Dare"
He involuntarily took a deep breath – something that Yang was all to quick to pick up on.
"Truth or Dare! Vomit Boy is on the chopping block first!"
It would never come to light how the drunken students managed to form a circle on the floor in a matter of seconds, but damned if it didn't make things easier for Yang.
Dragging a struggling knight off of the couch with her, the boxing bombshell held tightly onto her prey – smirking all the way until her bum settled into a comfortable position.
From there things just went downhill… he would never be able to look at Blake's reading habits the same way again…
But now wasn't the time to be thinking of the regrets that only he would likely remember due to the alcohol in his friend's systems and Ruby getting into the hidden stash of sugary treats Nora hid under the couch.
Now he was more worried about how he was going to deal with all the sleeping bodies spread out around the lounge.
Nora had Ren pinned on the couch, Blake was curled up on the carpet next to the fireplace, Weiss was laying sideways in one of the other chairs and Pyrrha was leaning against the same couch the N and R pair occupied.
Trailing his eyes over from his partner he saw Yang laid back in the recliner, one arm off to the side and the other protectively curled around Ruby – who was half laying next to her and half on top of her.
It was adorable and reminded him of many times he was caught in similar situations with his little sisters back home.
Plan in mind, he moved over to his easiest target.
Nora was the heaviest sleeper of the group and – while being heavier than most of the others too – was rather easy to pick up and transport back to their dorm and deposit on her bed. Her smile as he pulled the covers up over her reminded gave him some good vibes.
Next was the second easiest – especially now that his captor had been removed. Ren was much lighter than Nora and was just as easily dumped onto his bed.
Pyrrha was more difficult, if only because she didn't want to let go once they were at her bed. She stubbornly held onto his arms as he attempted to set her down.
It wasn't until he lightly poked her exposed sides that he was able to escape from the champions grip.
Now it was onto the girls of team RWBY.
"The things I do for friends…"
His mumbling halted as he approached the curled-up brunette on the carpet. He half expected the faunus girl to snap her eyes open and attack him out of self defense… or at least that was what the anime he watched taught him would happen.
Instead the feline huntress actively attempted to move closer into his hold as he moved her. He honestly couldn't tell if she was purring or it was just the way he was walking – and he really didn't care at this point – he just wanted to sleep.
Ignoring the pout on Blake's face as he got her situated in bed – something that was made very difficult due to her having one of the top bunks in the room – and went to fetch the resident Ice Queen.
Lifting the petite girl into his arms was much easier than the others – she was by far the lightest – and turned out to be the least fussy about being moved to her normal sleeping arrangements.
Now it was onto the last of the crew… and the most problematic.
"How the hell am I supposed to do this?" he questioned as he looked upon the mama bear and cub.
He kept adjusting his hands in various ways, trying to envision how they could scoop Ruby out of her sister's vice, and failing to do just that.
No matter what angle he attempted to come from, it always ended with having to move some part of Yang to finish it.
"Screw it… I'm to tired to be patient."
Giving into the growing drowsiness playing with his mind, he approached from the side and went for the double – that being lifting Yang up with Ruby on top of her and just dealing with it from there – moving to get an arm under her back and another under her legs.
If he wasn't so focused on his self-imposed mission, he would have noticed the shift from a light smile to a smirk on the lips of his blonde obstacle.
He barely got his arm under the small of her back before her free arm snapped up to capture his waist in a similar hold to how she clutched Ruby to her side.
With much more experience than someone should ever have in maneuvering another person into an enclosed space, Yang pulled her snared prey down into her side.
He ended up on the right side of the seat, his left arm pinned underneath his captor and the smaller of the two previous occupant's legs now laying over his own.
Blinking twice, he narrowed his eyes and gave a tired glare to the half-lidded lilac eyes that were watching him. Her smile made his anger melt away, leaving only tired agitation.
"How long have you been planning that?"
He knew this wasn't a spur of the moment thing, knowing her track record she had probably planned this beforehand.
"I hear Nora's snores disappear and what do I see? A shining knight whisking away his friends to safety. How can I not plan a surprise?"
He grumbled something about her being annoying which earned him a jab to the side, curtesy of the arm securing him to her.
"Just cause you fell for a simple trap doesn't mean you get to be an ass. My head hurts, you refused to party so therefore you owe me a shoulder to sleep on."
Sputtering slightly, the drowsy knight attempted to sit up – only to feel the grip around his waist tighten and a head full of hair settle onto his shoulder.
"Just go to sleep Jaune. You don't want to wake Ruby struggling to escape do you?"
Her voice was full of fake honey and he knew full well if the adorable reaper that Yang had adjusted to be lying across his legs and to the side woke up, he would not be waking up anytime soon.
So instead of poking the angry bear who literally had a vice grip on his side, he leaned back and decided to accept the comfort provided for him.
"Fine. But you get to explain this to Pyrrha and Weiss when they ask questions in the morning…"
He was in no way dealing with that hot mess when he woke up.
"Fine… but next time we have drinks, you aren't skipping out on the fun. Deal?"
"Deal."
A/N: Holy cow! *Spoilers*
We got full on action and setup for the big end to this volume.
First things first, Jaune's emotions came out full force and Miles did a great job with expressing them. The fight between him and Cinder really shows how far he has come despite still barely being a match for her.
I really like the scene where he and Cinder were doing the final rush and Ruby interrupted it at the last second.
The other thing I really need to note is how much I love Hazel's portrayal. His voice and character are cool and I can't wait to see more from him.
As for the elephant in the room, I highly doubt they are going to actually kill off Weiss at this point, but daaaaaaaang did I not see that one coming if they do. Miles and Kerry got balls!
Also… Jaune Semblance incoming next week. I can almost taste it.
*Spoilers Done*
Now! We are through the holiday season, and as I prepare to tackle the challenges I have set for myself in this new year I have also already laid out the next few chapters of this story, so I can maybe get ahead a little bit and make this a weekly story like I wanted to when I originally started.
Next up is the second chapter of In Which Jaune moves in, hopefully implementing a few of your lovely suggestions that I really liked.
Then I move onto finally hitting In Which Jaune is a faunus. A story I have had requested multiple times in the past. I will hint that Blake plays a big role in the story. Take that as you will.
Lastly, the final item on my list is In Which Jaune is a brother. This will be my first chapter in this particular style and I am excited to have a slight change up! I hope you will all like it when it does drop.
Please keep leaving your ideas in your reviews, I do read and try to respond to all of them!
And in no way is the last little bit of this chapter set up for something to come soon…
Happy New Year's! - CP