I know this chapter is late, and unfortunately I have some good news and bad news. The bad news is that I may not be able to post anymore for the foreseeable future. If I do it will be very sporadic. The reason why is the good news.
I found out over the holiday that I am currently pregnant with my first child. My time and energy is going to be spent figuring out how the next few months is going to go, but I do hope to still update here every now and then. Please understand that my family comes first.
Either way, enjoy the story!
Dancing is insightful...
Chapter 6: Street Fight
Jaune, Nora, and Ren stood with bemused smiles on their faces as Pyrrha practically lived under a water fountain just outside of the running track.
Though they told her she didn't have to, Pyrrha insisted on working out with them all that morning. Unfortunately, the invincible girl had gotten so used to sleeping in, the one time she needed to get up earlier found her sluggish and lacking energy.
It was because of this that the group took longer to complete their morning exercise and had to postpone the spar between Nora and Jaune.
"I'm sorry." Pyrrha called for the hundredth time, her head hung in shame.
"For the last time Pyrpyr! It's alright! If we did this during the afternoon you'd probably run laps around us!" Nora wrapped her arms around the taller girls waist. "Besides, we probably wouldn't have time to shower if me and Jauney did spar."
A nuclear blush formed on Pyrrha's face as the memories from the previous days shower incident came up again. Then Nora's wording put the image of their entire team showering together. The invincible girls brain fried...
Jaune just walked with his hands laced behind his head. He and Ren walked side by side while the girls were in front of them.
"You know…" Ren started. "This isn't going to last."
"I know. Too many questions. But I thank you all for at least pretending like it's okay for now."
"Pretending is easy." Nora chirped. Pyrrha just remained quiet. She was the one having the hardest time not questioning Jaune. "And believe me, we're all still pissed you decided to do something so stupid without telling us. Next time you think of doing something so dumb again, I'mma break your legs fearless leader!"
Jaune paled. "Duly noted."
"I'll hold him down." Ren added with a smirk.
"Now hold on!" Jaune argued which only got laughs from his team.
Pyrrha looked back at him with a smile. "Does that mean I get to record?"
"Oh, we'd become infamous for people wondering if it's staged or not."
"This is sounding more and more like a snuff film." Jaune deadpanned.
"You brought this on yourself." Ren shrugged.
"Regret, thy name is Jaune Arc." The blonde sighed.
Team JNPR made it to the lunchroom before most others like usual. However, they were surprised that Team RWBY flooded in not even two minutes after them. All four girls froze when they saw Jaune.
Then Ruby used her semblance to tackle him from the table onto the ground.
"THAT WAS AWESOME!" The girls high pitched squeal echoed through the dining hall. "Jaune, yesterday was the best fight I've ever had! You were so cool! And I was so cool! It was so COOL!"
Jaune groaned, having had the wind knocked from him when he hit the ground. The girl was a literal wrecking ball of energy.
"Glad...to be of...service…" He wheezed out.
"Hey Rubes, I think you broke Blake's boyfriend."
"Blake's what?" Jaune gasped from the ground.
The black haired faunus shot a glare at her own blonde teammate. "Ignore her. All that hair product is starting to eat through her brain cells."
Yang rounded on Blake, her eyes flashing red for a moment. "Hey! I only use the utmost high end brands I'll have you know!"
"We know!" Weiss snapped. "You go through bottles of the stuff almost daily!"
Yang smirked. "You're just mad none of them are brands owned by the Schnee."
"I could care less!" Weiss huffed. "What I do want is for you to not take an HOUR in the shower!"
Ruby stood from Jaune and helped him to his feet. The four girls took seats on the opposite side of JNPR since breakfast wouldn't be ready for several more minutes. Just as Jaune expected too, all eyes landed on him from their sister team. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Go ahead and ask."
The girls looked between each other before they seemed to concede to Yang.
"So...combat class yesterday." Yang folded her hands under chin and gave Jaune a playful smirk. "Pyrrha's trained you well."
Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha looked at Jaune in confusion. Jaune held Yang's gaze and deadpanned.
"You all don't really believe that do you."
"Not at all." All four members of RWBY called together.
Yang crossed her arms. "We talked last night and it just doesn't make sense. You went from the worse trainee in Beacon bar none to...well, beating my baby sister." There was a small edge to her voice.
"Yang, you said you'd let it go!" Ruby called, turning on her sister. Yang just ignored her.
Jaune shrugged. "First off, if you're going to get angry at someone for beating Ruby in a spar, then everyone at this table has done so at least once."
Ruby frowned at that and crossed her arms with a cute pout. "I've beat you all too…"
Pyrrha gave Ruby a smirk, the reaper realizing there was still one person she had never beaten and her blush of indignation growing.
Yang faltered a moment at that truth. But she glared at the boy, refusing to back down. "No one fought as brutally as you did."
"So? That means you all aren't taking this seriously." Jaune argued, getting confused looks from most all at the table. "We aren't training to play fight. The grimm we fight aren't going to hold back against us, and bandits or rogue huntsman damn sure won't. We should push each other to our utmost limits to make sure we're prepared to fight when it truly matters."
"That's all fine and dandy Jaune, but that still doesn't explain the skills you showed yesterday." Weiss spoke up, hoping to ease the tension that was growing between the two blondes. She did agree with what he was saying nonetheless.
Jaune paused and looked at the heiress in shock. The pale skinned girl blushed and looked away.
"Wh-what?"
"You called me Jaune...I think that's a first Snow Angel." He called in disbelief.
The girl was shocked herself. "D-don't get used to it Arc! Just explain yourself!"
"And there's the Ice Queen I know." He chuckled, missing the somewhat hurt look on the girls face. "But like I told my team, Miss Goodwitch knows what's happening and I can't tell you all everything just yet. Just know that I unlocked my semblance and it essentially helped increase my combat skills."
"By that much?" Blake asked in astonishment. "Just what is your semblance?"
"That...I'm going to keep to myself for a while actually. The Vytal Festival is coming up and we could be against each other."
Weiss's eyes widened. "I almost completely forgot about the Vytal Festival! Beacon should be making preparations soon if I'm not mistaken!"
"Yes." Pyrrha finally spoke up. "I heard that students should be arriving from other nations by the end of this week actually."
Jaune was surprised that the conversation took the turn it did, but he was grateful. Honestly, he wanted to tell them all everything. But Glynda made it clear that doing so while being watched by Ozpin could complicate things faster than either of them wanted. The older woman wanted to meet Izanami as well, which Jaune was more than willing to set up.
The plan was to get both his team and Team RWBY to meet the woman as well. That way he could explain everything and she could fill in the gaps.
The rest of the breakfast period was spent chatting about the upcoming break and Vytal Festival.
Jaune knew they weren't convinced at his words. His own Team was one thing, but he knew Team RWBY wasn't going to let it go just like that. It seemed like they were trying to be considerate of his feelings, or maybe mentioning Miss Goodwitch deterred their deeper questions.
"This is a mess…" He sighed as he walked out of the last class of the day.
Team RWBY and his own team had not asked him any more questions, but he did notice them shooting him varying gazes. Except for Ruby. She just kept gushing about how awesome their fight was and how much she wanted to do it again. She seemed a bit more clingy than normal too, but he just wrote it off as her excitement.
The boy was so deep in thought, he hadn't paid attention to where he was going. However, it didn't stop him from sensing the person before he saw them.
With a lurch, a pivot, and a swift pirouette, Jaune avoided colliding into the person that was rounding a corner before him. Said person, however, was a bit startled, and stumbled back into yet another person.
Both girls cried out as they collided with each other, but Jaune was fast. In a just as swift motion, Jaune knelt and spread his arms, letting both girls fall into his arms.
"S-sorry, Jaune!" The cute accent of Velvet squeaked out as she immediately tried to remove herself from the blondes arms.
"You should say thanks, not sorry Vel." The voice of Coco called dryly, though she took her time removing herself from Jaune. "Nice save twinkle toes. Didn't believe you could move like that, but Velvet hasn't shut up about what happened in your combat class yesterday. Guess she wasn't exaggerating."
Jaune put his face in his hands. 'This is the attention I didn't want.'
Coco chuckled. "I take it showing off hasn't had the effect you wanted?"
"I wasn't showing off." Jaune sighed. "I'm just trying to get people to realize we aren't playing games here."
"Not your job twinkle toes." Coco shrugged. Jaune frowned at that. Velvet just stood to the side, seeming to want to melt in on herself. "Believe me, we had to learn the hard way that punches aren't pulled in the real world. It's a lesson everyone learns at some point."
"Does that mean I shouldn't try to get that lesson out of the way in a safer environment?" Jaune challenged, not annoyed with the girl, but incredulous nonetheless.
The fashionista pulled her shades down and looked Jaune right in the eye. "What are you, a professor now?"
That did annoy Jaune a little.
The girl shook her head. "Look Arc. We have a year on you and you know what that means?"
Jaune rolled his eyes. "You're more experienced."
"Nope. It means we're just a year into the bullshit. That's why so many second years still have classes with first years. We do get to go out into the field a lot more, but the basics are always being repeated. We aren't huntsman and huntress yet. We're all still learning. We look to our professors for the lessons we need to learn."
Jaune looked down, taking in her words. He understood what she was trying to say. "I get it. But our professors aren't perfect either. A lot of professional huntsman and huntress lose their lives or go rogue. We're still people too and at the end of the day, we're all responsible for our own destinies."
Coco took on the same demeanor as Jaune. She pushed her shades back on her face and looked to the side in contemplation. "I suppose that's true too...but from what you said, it sounds like you're trying to control the destinies of your classmates as well as your own. If we're responsible for our own destinies, we still need to make our own mistakes."
"Well said Miss Adel." The new voice interrupting the conversation made Jaune's blood run cold. The three teens turned to find the headmaster of the school walking towards them with his ever present coffee mug in hand. "Good evening students."
"Good evening Prof. Ozpin." Coco and Velvet greeted. Jaune gave a halfhearted greeting as well.
Ozpin's gaze took them all in within a moment, lingering on Jaune for only a fraction of a second longer. "If I may be so bold, Mr. Arc, the faculty of this school has survived a long time and were hand chosen by me to teach the up and coming generations of huntress and huntsman. They are very capable of preparing our students for the future. I can only assume they have done well enough if your own progress these past few months are anything to go by."
All eyes fell on the blonde. Jaune grit his teeth and cast his gaze to Coco and Velvet. The fashionista had her arms folded while Velvet held an apologetic gaze. They both seemed to agree with Ozpin.
"You're right, professor." Jaune conceded. "I'm sorry. It's just I've been a bit stressed recently what with the incident in Forever Fall."
"Wait, that was true?" Velvet spoke up. "Cardin really tried to attack you and your partner with Rapier Wasps?" The anger that welled in her voice gave Jaune pause.
"Do not fret Miss Scarlatina. Mr. Winchester and his team have already been dealt their punishment. Thankfully no one was hurt in the altercation."
Coco scoffed. "Anything short of expulsion is lenient for doing something that could have gotten other students killed Prof."
Jaune was surprised that Coco spoke up to Ozpin like that. After their short conversation, he thought she was a bit conservative on such topics. However, he was starting to realize she simply spoke her mind, regardless of who she was talking to.
'More people I should try to get know honestly.'
"As I said, Miss Adel. Their punishment has been dealt. Such a simple incident shouldn't result in losing four talented young huntsman."
"A simple incident?" Coco growled. "What part of someone could've been killed didn't you hear?"
"Coco, stop…" Velvet tried to urge. Jaune noticed as well. The girl was clearly losing her cool. He hadn't realized she had such a strong opinion on the matter. But beyond that, she seemed fiercely loyal.
"You know what, that also brings up the previous incident." Coco continued, all but ignoring Velvet. "What type of huntsman will those racist bigots be? They harass faunus all the time. What's going to happen if they get sent on a mission to save faunus? You think they'll just suddenly forget their prejudice?"
Ozpin's smile was no longer on his face. Jaune could see a dangerous look in the mans eyes. It sent a shiver down his spine. Glynda's story was still fresh in his mind.
"Miss Adel, I understand your concern. We are keeping close watch on Team CRDL I assure you. We have not ignored their treatment of their fellow colleagues. Before such a day shall come of Team CRDL being deployed, I can assure you all prejudice will be dealt with. If not within the walls of this school, where else could such rehabilitation happen?"
Rehabilitation...what, were they prisoners now? The conversation was clearly taking a turn that Jaune didn't like.
"Hey, how about you two come hang with me and my team, if you're not busy. We were going to head out into Vale in a bit. I could use some more clothes…"
It was heavy handed but Jaune wanted to give everyone an out of this conversation.
Velvet nodded. "Fox and Yatsu are busy so we had nothing to do. I need some more casual clothes as well."
Coco and Ozpin held each others gaze. The older man took a sip of his coffee. "Very well. I had hoped to have a moment of your time Mr. Arc, but if you and your friends have already made plans, we will catch up later."
With those words, Ozpin turned on his heel and made his way back towards his office.
Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat. The look didn't go unnoticed by either girl. They looked at the blonde in confusion, though it was clear Coco was still a little heated from the argument.
"What'd you do?" She asked bluntly.
"Pretty sure it's about combat class…"
The fashionista nodded and folded her arms. "Makes sense. Screw it. Let's go shopping. It'll probably help us both."
Jaune found a new regret.
"This is completely your fault." Ren sighed.
"I take full responsibility…" The blonde responded dejectedly.
If he had known inviting Coco to go shopping would have turned into a several hour, multi store outing, he would have taken being grilled by Ozpin.
It didn't help that all of Team RWBY as well as Nora and Pyrrha had gotten swept up in the fashionistas pace. The two lone males of the group were designated as bag carriers, holding well over ten feet of boxes and bags a piece.
"Really liking the sound of breaking your legs." Ren added.
Jaune glanced at his friend with mock tears in his eyes. "You're still mad at me aren't you?"
"What gave it away?"
"The scathing sarcasm." Jaune was actually saddened. He knew he truly pissed Ren off. The usually calm boy had been shooting snide remarks at him all day. They were mostly well deserved too.
Ren cursed as he saw real sadness enter Jaune's eyes. With a sigh, he bumped his team leader with his shoulder. "Look, I am upset. But I'll try to be patient until you tell us everything. If I'm being honest, there are things me and Nora have kept to ourselves too. Things that we'll tell you all when we're ready."
Jaune's eyes widened again as the feeling that he didn't know his friends hit him. He had no idea about Ren and Nora's past. Neither had talked about what they did before coming to Beacon. It made his stomach drop as he realized he never asked
Seeing Jaune's mood seem to fall further, Ren was able to pick up on what he was thinking. "Don't worry Jaune. Our past is a touchy subject. Even if you would've asked us, we probably wouldn't have been forthcoming."
"Hey, stop lagging behind slowpokes!" Coco shouted.
The group was heading towards a restaurant to close out the day.
It was a bit awkward at first with Coco and Velvet joining the group. However, the girls almost immediately fell into an amicable gait as Coco complimented them all on their wardrobe. As the shopping began, it was clear Coco was dead set on getting all the girls more clothes to compliment their personalities and individual styles.
Truthfully, she just wanted to fuck with them.
A long red dress with gold accents and slits on the bottom for Pyrrha made the girl gain a whole new level of confidence. Being told to let her hair hang loose with it made that confidence come full circle as people literally walked into poles at the sight of her.
A pink halter top with a boob window and black shorts with black leggings gave Nora a look that Ren couldn't take his eyes off of. Nora still acted her brash self, but the indefinite blush on her cheeks let them know she wasn't as used to such an outfit as she seemed.
Ruby was initially embarrassed about the black frilly miniskirt with a red quarter sleeved blouse that hung low on her chest, showing that she was more developed than most would think. With dark red and black thigh high socks that pinched her thighs, she was educated on what an absolute territory was.
Yang was thrilled to receive black short shorts and a yellow tank top that barely covered her prized chest; a black sleeveless sweater vest over it that hung down to her calves. With yellow stockings to completely cover her legs, she thought the look was both sexy and conservative at the same time.
Weiss found the form fitting sleeveless baby blue turtleneck a bit gaudy, but the way it flowed down into a white asymmetrical skirt that covered her right leg down to the knee, and left leg to mid thigh made the look more bold than anything she had ever wore. With white pumps and knee high socks, she felt daring.
For the first time since she was a child, Blake found wearing a skirt to be comfortable. The black jean skirt she wore stopped mid thigh and she wore white thigh highs, giving her an absolute territory just like Ruby. The white sleeveless button up she wore was brighter than she would have liked, but she couldn't help but adore the look when she caught people, specifically Jaune, gaping.
The group found themselves at a small mom and pop restaurant near the edge of the city. Velvet suggested the place, saying it was run by a faunus couple that made the best risotto you could find in Vale.
It was when this was brought up that Jaune noticed something.
Weiss seemed uncomfortable.
He thought he was mistaken at first but it seemed like Weiss went out of her way to avoid Velvet. Then when the restaurant was brought up, the girl visibly looked like she'd rather be anywhere else. Jaune initially was put off by the girls actions. He didn't want to believe she was discriminating against faunus. Weiss wouldn't would she?
As they were all seated, he kept glancing at her. She seemed to withdraw into herself. Velvet went around the table, suggesting things for everyone to try. However, when she made it to Weiss, the white haired girl curtly cut her off and asked for just a salad.
He wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. He sorely did. But the thought of the girl being a racist made his blood boil. It was one thing to be cold to those around her for the sake of her name. But to actively treat Velvet as such…
Just as he was about to call the girl out, someone beat him to the punch.
"Jaune." Velvet had moved next to him while he was in thought. "Come with me for a moment, please."
Just as he had done with Blake, Velvet stood and moved towards the entrance of the restaurant, expecting him to follow.
All eyes were on him as he looked around with a just as puzzled look. With a shrug, he stood and followed the bunny faunus.
As soon as Nora opened her mouth, Ren flung a pancake into it.
"No, Nora."
Weiss was sure she saw the 'Emergency Nora Deterrent' case again.
Deception.
It's a word that Velvet hated.
Well, maybe not the word itself. But the application of it
She had grown up in a family of deceitful liars. From her mother and father, to her older brothers and older sister.
Life was a game of manipulation and lies.
Being a faunus on top of that left little room for optimism from the girl.
Despite her terrible childhood, Velvet persisted in her goals. She wanted to get as far from her shitty family as possible while making sure she wouldn't end up like them. Her idea was to become a huntress; a paragon of good and righteousness in their bleak world.
Bullshit.
She found out her naive thinking wouldn't last in the real world. Arriving at Beacon had been a real eye opener.
From other students that still treated Faunus poorly, to the tales of huntsman and huntress dying on their very first official missions. Velvet's idealistic thinking of what being a huntress was like was immediately shattered.
She had almost given in to despair until she met her team.
Coco Adel, Fox Alistair, and Yatsuhashi Daichi. Three people whom from then on out would be her true family.
Even though they were all human, none of them treated her differently because she was a faunus. All of them openly shared their thoughts and opinions on the world, and even their fears and worries for the future. They had become close extremely fast.
But Velvet immediately felt like a burden too.
She heard what others said about her team. Mostly about herself and Fox, whom was blind. But the remarks about her team being faunus lovers made her blood boil. Unfortunately, she knew she could never retaliate. It would only be seen as justifying all the harsh words thrown her way.
Their first few semesters had been difficult, but they persevered and came out stronger as 2nd years. Considered the strongest of such as well.
The harassment didn't stop.
Even newly incoming students began to pick on her, Team CRDL being the worst of the bunch. Eventually it got to the point that there was always at least one team member with her at all times. She had broken down one day in their room, letting out all of the pain she felt. All her anger at not being able to truly do anything to stop her own pain, let alone others.
It was that same night, after she went out for a walk, that she truly met Jaune.
(Flashback)
She had seen the boy around before and had thought very little of him. Tall and cute, but naive, just like how she used to be.
Ironically, she had bumped into Jaune almost like she had earlier that day. But the boy wasn't nearly as fleet footed back then; their collision ending with her on top of him in a precarious position.
She jumped up immediately, apologizing profusely, while Jaune cursed his own lack of coordination and apologized back. The two stood in awkward silence for a moment, Jaune staring at her ears and Velvet becoming increasingly uncomfortable.
"Wh-what's wrong?" She sighed in disappointment, thinking he was going to comment on her being a faunus like most other people. She wasn't wrong. Not entirely.
"Your ears...they're really...um, cute." He scratched his head sheepishly, looking away and completely missing the massive blush that burned Velvet's cheeks.
"C-cute?" She squeaked, her ears perking up at his words.
"Yeah...sorry if that's rude. I know it's just a part of you and it's really weird to say that a part of you is cute especially since we don't know each other and now I'm rambling, gonna shut up now." He looked down in embarrassment.
Velvet felt her heart skip a beat. Jaune was cute. Very cute. And he seemed like he didn't care that she was a faunus really.
"It's alright...You're Jaune Arc, right?"
"Short sweet and rolls off the tongue." He perked up.
The girl giggled at the lame joke but couldn't help but feel it was endearing. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Velvet Scarlatina. We have a few classes together."
"I know." He said, once again looking down. This time it seemed in sadness. "Me and my team saw what Cardin and his team were doing during lunch. I wanted to apologize for being too much of a coward to do anything about it back then."
His words caught her off guard. She wasn't surprised people had seen, and even less surprised no one did anything about it. It was the norm for her. But hearing someone actually apologize not for the actions of her offender, but their own inaction brought back all her memories of the idealistic huntress.
"It's alright Jaune. I'm used to it-"
"But you shouldn't have to be." Jaune interrupted a bit sharply. The girls eyes widened at the conviction in his eyes. But also the pure anger aimed at himself. "No one should be subject to that, human or faunus. And we're supposed to be training to be huntsman and huntress. What type of huntsman am I if I just turn a blind eye to injustice like that?"
"Human." Velvet answered flatly. Jaune looked in her the eye, his mouth open in shock. "And it's nothing wrong with that Jaune. No one person can change the world, especially not in a day, or by simply standing up for a lone faunus girl getting bullied during lunch."
She smiled wistfully.
"The thought is appreciated Jaune, but you shouldn't be angry with yourself. You weren't the only one who did nothing. And I understand why people would simply sit and watch. The faunus have a stigma, ever growing with what the White Fang has been doing. Keeping your head down is for the best."
She prepared to walk away, the conversation simply making her depression return. She was sure Jaune would just accept what she said as the natural way of things and go about his business as well. As she turned away, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"That's bullshit Velvet. Just because things are like that now doesn't mean we should just give up and accept it. I'll fight against those stigmas as long as it takes to make a change."
The girl was left speechless. Jaune turned and walked away after that.
That short conversation had been somewhat of an eye opener for the girl. She knew Jaune to be the weakest student at Beacon; all puff and no substance. However, the conviction in his words made her want to believe in him. From that day on, she admired the boy and strove to have that same conviction.
Though it was easier said than done...
(Flashback End)
Jaune followed Velvet outside the restaurant and then around the corner, into an alleyway. They walked towards the other end, hoping to avoid anyone eavesdropping. A solid brick wall made the alley a dead end, yet it was wide enough to fit a moderate sized car. The girl turned to the blonde and sighed. He could see just how tired she seemed to be.
"I saw what you were about to do Jaune. Though I appreciate it, please don't do so again." She started.
"What do you mean?"
Velvet gave him a 'really' look. "You were about to call out Weiss."
The blonde had the grace to blush and look away. "So you noticed too."
"Of course I have." Velvet sighed again. "I've dealt with such things all my life Jaune. Believe me when I say there's no love lost between me and her. But she's also far from the worse. CRDL has her beat by a mile." Her last sentence was laced with a venom that Jaune wasn't used to hearing from her.
"Sorry, Vel. It's just frustrating. And I get that I'm a human, so I can't possibly understand what it's like for you. But Weiss is supposed to be our friend. Seeing her act so...callous...it just rubs me the wrong way."
Velvet smiled sadly. "It's always nice to see that people like you exist for every Weiss though Jaune. Do you have any faunus friends? Besides Blake?"
Jaune's eyes widened. "You know about Blake?"
Velvet titled her head with a confused look. "Of course. The bow is a pretty bad way to hide her ears to be honest. Who's actually fooled by it?"
"Literally everyone else."
The brown haired girl blinked and thought for a moment…
"Huh. Well they're unobservant." She shrugged.
Jaune just pinched the bridge of his nose.
The girl folded her arms and took a step closer, making Jaune blush a bit. She looked up into his eyes with a serious expression. "Jaune, remember when we first actually met."
The boy nodded. "We kinda had a small disagreement."
"Do you remember how I said that stuff like this was the norm?"
She watched him bristle at her words. He was clearly going to start ranting but she put a finger to his lips.
"Shush. I don't think like that anymore. You opened my eyes to that Jaune. But there's an entirely different level to it all when it comes to the Schnee. They have history with the faunus that puts Weiss in a difficult position. I'm sure she has her reasons and at least for her sake, I can give it a pass."
Jaune wanted to argue that past experiences didn't justify treating others poorly. But it was like a knife to his heart when he realized he didn't know much about Weiss.
It was the hardest pill to swallow. He had attempted to court Weiss without even really getting to know her at all. Sure, he thought they were similar in part of their loneliness. But other than that, why else did he want to get with Weiss?
"You alright in there?" Velvet waved a hand in Jaune's face.
"Yeah...I'm...just starting to realize that I don't know what I'm doing as much as I thought. I believed I had changed but it's clear that I've got a long way to go…" Jaune took a deep breath as he spoke. The path ahead wasn't as clear as he initially thought, but he also knew Izanami would hit him if he accrued unnecessary taint within his soul again.
"We've all got a lot to think about Jaune. I'm happy that you feel so strongly for us faunus as well. Maybe we can actually talk and hang out sometimes...if you'd like?"
Jaune smiled. "That would be nice. Thanks Velvet."
Velvet smiled brightly. She wouldn't lie to herself; she was happy to know Jaune. Fox had teased her once saying that she had a thing for a human. She berated him, saying that she was just happy to make another friend outside of their team. But a small part of her did entertain the thought that she may have a tiny crush on him. But friendship was what she wanted more than anything at that moment.
That moment was ruined as several people turned into the alley.
Three people of varying sizes paused as they saw the two at the end of the alleyway, the smallest one in the front with a black baseball bat slung over their shoulders. Jaune and Velvet both tensed for a second before sighing in annoyance.
"This isn't about to happen is it?" Jaune sighed.
"Benefit of the doubt?" Velvet deadpanned.
The sinister smirks that adorned the peoples faces dashed her small hopes.
The group of three were one female and two male, all human. The shortest, the woman, stood at the front of the group wearing a black jacket open in the front to reveal a green tank top with fishnet covering her stomach. Black short shorts barely covered a part of her thighs and she wore fishnet stockings down to a pair of sneakers. Her black hair was in buns with green, pink, and yellow streaks through it.
The two men both had black sleeveless shirts on with green spray paint in the shape of a heart with a sword through it. The tallest one wore blue jeans while the shorter one, about an inch or two shorter than Jaune himself, wore beige cargo pants. The tallest one was bald, wearing dark shades while the shorter one had his long hair pulled back in a ponytail, his blue eyes staring sharply at Velvet in particular.
"Lookie here boys." The woman spoke, her voice nasally in a natural way. It just showed that she had no filter. "I thought fucking your pets was illegal. Maybe I was wrong."
"That's a new one." Velvet quirked an eyebrow. Jaune could taste the annoyance rolling off the girl. He knew Velvet usually kept her anger in check, specifically for those reasons she had constantly talked about, but right now she seemed far from willing to let those words slide.
"She is a cutie." The tallest one called next, walking in front of his two companions. "And she's a rabbit. You know what they say about rabbits and fucking."
Velvet sighed. "Jaune, I'm going to set faunus back a few years." She took a step forward and Jaune smiled.
"What are-" The large man started but was cut off.
"Let me stop you right there." Velvet rose a hand. "We can skip all the back and forth banter and get to the part where I give you something new to hate faunus for."
Jaune was surprised at Velvet's words. This was a side of her he had never seen and he couldn't help but love it. Many thought she was a pacifist but he supposed her team had started to get that out of her head.
"Cheeky little shit aren't you?" The girl called. "Go ahead Biggs. She's all yours. Wedge make sure no one interrupts. I want a taste of tall, blonde, and handsome over there."
Jaune shot the girl smirk. "I wouldn't recommend it. You'd choke."
"Oooh, kinky." The girl moved her bat from her shoulders and twirled it once. She moved to stand next to 'Biggs'.
Wedge moved to lean on a wall, obviously watching to make sure no one showed up to interrupt their fun. However, Jaune noticed something about him that gave him a bit of pause. There was a slight glow about his body. The same small glow as around the man known as 'Biggs' as well. With a quick connection to their aura with his semblance, his eyes widened, before setting into a somewhat deadly glare.
"Oh I do so love cliches like this." Velvet moved her hands behind her and under her shirt before producing two knuckle dusters.
"I didn't know you had those." Jaune commented as he tried to get his anger under control.
"I need something to fight with besides my special weapons and semblance. I've been experimenting."
"They have aura so go nuts." Jaune called a bit darkly.
With those words, Velvet blurred forward and sent three swift punches right into Biggs torso, ending with an uppercut that sent the man soaring back towards the entrance to the alley.
Jaune's frown deepened as he noticed the girl wince a little, as if she were stung when Biggs was attacked. Wedge faltered too before abandoning his post and running towards Velvet.
Jaune was impressed as Velvet ducked low under a right hook from the man and sprung upwards with a twirling uppercut. He had to hold his fanboy in as he noticed the girl mouth the words 'shoryuken'. Wedge was sent flipping several yards away, landing in a heap.
Jaune once again noticed the delinquent girl wince as if she were the one to get hit.
The rabbit faunus landed with a huff and put her hands on her hips. "Really? That's it?"
"Don't be so cocky rabbit." The girl called before crouching low. In the next moment, she vanished.
Velvet's eye widened and she turned as she felt the girls presence behind her. However, the girl wasn't there. It was too late for Velvet to block as the woman came down from above, her bat sparking with green electricity.
As Velvet turned her eyes upwards in surprise, she was shocked further as Jaune appeared in front of her and caught the bat with one hand. The look on the woman's face was even more shocked than Velvet.
"How the fuck?" She cried and vanished again. However, Jaune vanished too. A loud crack and a yelp from the girl drew Velvet's attention to the back of the alley.
She saw Jaune holding the girl up by the throat pinned against the wall. The look of rage on his face was something she had never seen before. It was full of hatred.
"Jaune, how...what happened?" She asked in bewilderment.
"She's controlling them somehow." He answered. Truthfully, he knew how though. Just not specifically why she could do it.
"A semblance that controls other people?" Velvet asked, scared of what someone with that power was capable of.
Jaune bit his tongue. No, it wasn't a semblance.
It was magic.