An: Here we go! Part two of Game on! It's not a consistent update but it got a good response when I put it up so here's part two!
Like I said this story is a bit different than most Gamer's and will have a lot of Sex and killing in the later chapters of the story so stay tuned! So until the game on! Also, this is a one-off fic for me. As in I chip away at it in my free time and only work on it on Wednesday or sporadically through the week as I use the rest of the week for school, life, fics and everything else. If you want to see more just let me know! Until the fav follow comment have a good day and as always enjoy...
PS. Also seeing as while there will be more mature content later on in this fic seeing as how there won't be some for a bit I'm dropping the rating to T for now.
"Boots? Check!"
"Smoking white vest that is totally absolutely bitchin? Check!"
"Kick ass gauntlets? Check!"
"All right boys let me her yah scream!" A voice said as it pushed down a door to a roar of approval.
"Ladies and friends! The person of the hour herself! Mink!" A voice yelled as the demoness steeped into a small room...
Well, saying that the place she stepped into a room was a gross misrepresentation of the are. While it was a space it was not a room Although calling it a room is the only way you to perceive such as such an area was indeed definitely with one hundred percent accuracy, not a room. But it was still a place that a being could inhabit for a set period, and the closest word you would know if it was just that a room. But it was also at the same time as far removed from being any kind of perceivable room as a man from Vacuo would be from Atlesian winter chills.
"Thank you! Thank you! You are all too kind! But please! Don't stop." The demoness said as she sauntered into the room that was not a room, as she walked on the floor that was not a floor. A thousand voices if you could call them that jostles and roared, undulated and yelled, as glaring multi set eyes poked around all singing her praise as a magnitude of limbs, eyes, and appendages waved her in as she waved back.
As she walks a blur of vivid colors slammed in front of her as a multitude of sharp leering eyes stared at her as they all glared at her in a baleful purple light.
"Mink!" A sharp familiar voice called out as the demon paused inhaled shaprly as she turned around.
"Baphomet!?" Mink said as she opened her arm as the creature spread it's limbs as they embraced in a tight hug.
"Mink you did it! You really did it!" The creature yelled as it hugged its friend.
"You bet I did! Did you ever doubt me?" The demoness asked flashing her friend a cocksure smile that was returned wholeheartedly.
"Not for a moment! I'm so glad you pulled it off! I can't believe you really did it!"
Baphomet yelled to her friend as they hugged in the room that was not a room on the floor that was not a floor. Thier meeting was interrupted however by a sharp cough came from behind as the two creature broke apart as they stared up at a towering swirl figure behind them.
"Mink." The thing said in a dark, undulating tone as all the denizens of the room that was not a room lost their voice as they stared at the creature that sat behind the desk that as not a desk.
"Madam, I am pleased to see you again," Mink said in curt tone bowing as she stood in front of her patron.
"Mink, I honestly do not know what to say. Just last week you were my lowest ranking underling, you consistently brought in less and fewer souls form our main source. And you even had some of your clients come and steal their's back! Really! There were humans in the seventh realm attacking our doors to get their souls back because you could not sign a contract correctly! That was ridiculous!"
The demon yelled her loud undulating vice echoing through the room was not a room, as it bounced off walls that were not. "I... I apologize. I was-
"You were the worst of the worst! You never sealed a deal, you here constantly being tricked and manipulated by mortals of all things! And you where even being bested!"
"Miss in her defense Mink has been trying her best an-
"Enough Baphomet! Let me finish." The matron said silence the demoness's friend as she noted.
"Like I was saying you were the worst underlying in my care until yesterday. Mink you were the bottom of my ladder until you did this." She said as she showed the room a glowing piece of parchment paper.
"You brought us a Gamer. Do you know how long it has been since we've had a Gamer!? Eons Mink! It has been over an eternity since we successfully signed a Gamer contract in then you! My lowest underling not only brings in one full contract you pour in on our preferred interest Jaune of Arc!?"
"Mink I honestly do not know what to say. You have gone from the wors of my charges the shining star in the span of a night."
"thank you, Matron. I could not have done this without your assistance."
The demoness said keeping her head down her long silver hair flowed to the floor that was not a floor.
"Do not downplay yourself, child. You earned this. You have successfully set us up for entertainment and pleasure for years! Especially if the boy dies!"
The matron said as Mink barely hid her wince.
"Yes, matron this is an honor.'
"It's more than that! Mink this is a miracle! In fact, I am considering giving you a top-ranked position for this!"
The matron said as her eyes widened to her subordinate.
"Matron surely you jest! I am nowhere near ready for-
"Silence! My mind I made up on the matter! Mink! You are at this moment posted to a Seer! Posting"
The demoness said as she grabbed a pen that as not a pen, as she sat on a chair that was not a chair behind the desk that was not a desk.
Here's to Mink! A true underdog tale of grit and tenacity!" The strong said as the denizens broke inot a baleful hip hip!
As the demons cheered Mink grinned a savage smile. The plan was working the gamer was on she has even earned the high grace form the Matron! All that needed to happen now was for Jaune to wake up and things could really kick off...
"AHHH!" Jaune gasped as he shot out from his bed gasping for air. As he awoke from sleep, he never dreamed. He hadn't had a single dream since he ran away from his home. Ever since that fateful day amongst falling stone and charred cinders he had know nothing but blank black dreamless nights as he looked down to his body. His entire body was covered with a coarse, thick sweat as his eyes hot around the room. Instant his sword was in his hand an-
"Oh.. that's right. Beacon." Jaune thought as the memories from yesterday swarmed into his mind. The entrance exam, his new friends, the grim fight. They all came swarming back to his mind as the boy looked around the room.
His teammates and partner were all still sound asleep in their own beds and he guessed from the shadows falling into the room it was early morning not quite time for them to wake up.
As the boy looked around tears fell from his eyes. He made it. He made it! He just got into Beacon academy for hunters, despite! being a man and now life would only go up for him! No more starving! No more looking for food, shelter or clothing! Beacon gave him those for free!
All he needed to do was train! Training, fighting becoming stronger, and he would be fed, clothed and housed for years to come! It was a miracle!
Jaune had gone from starving to death less then two days ago to being fed if not still hungry clothed in a warm, comfortable bed all in the sp of less than a week an-
A train hit Jaune.
The boy gasped out a lung full of air as he was slammed into the bed by an invisible hand as his eyes began to bulge out of his head. Pain.
Jaune's entire world was suddenly and violently compromised by nothing but pain.
He tried to breathe? Pain.
He tried to think? Pain.
He tried to move? Pain.
He did anything at all? Pain.
Tears slipped from his eyes as Jaune fiercely bit his pillow to silence the awful cry that would have escaped his mouth and awakened his teammates.
It was like a million sledgehammers where slamming into his body as his bones broke and shattered under the relentless barrage of brutal cudgels only to be replaced by hastily formed broken shards of glass haplessly reformed and reinstalled only to be broken again. It was the worst kind of agony Jaune had experience in his admittedly short life.
As shards of fiberglass forced their way into his veins searing white-hot agony erupted from behind his eyes as he screamed a muffled mute cry of anguish into his pillow.
It was the battle rush leaving his system as the fighting form yesterday finally caught up with him. He had been running on pure adrenaline for the past twenty-four hours and now that the danger was no longer present his body was catching up with him.
The landing in the forest while not deadly was jarring enough, the getting knocked by the deathstalker? That hurt. The blow sent him flying through the air for Oum's sake! And he still felt the broken rib that had yet to heal fully. As a sharp pain stabbed into his side as the blunt hammers continued to beat him senseless.
Followed by his partner striking him so hard he saw the stars? Only to be grazed by a Nevermore feather? By the time Jaune got to his room, the boy was already half dead, but that was not an unusual thing.
As the boy bit, his tongue took a deep breath and got out of his bed to the bathroom.
Each step to the door was filled with agony as each footfall felt like his bones where exploding only to reform themselves into more brittle fiberglass amalgamations only to explode once more upon his next footstep.
Ten anguished filled steps later he stood in the bathroom looking at himself in the mirror. And he did not look good.
"Well, I loke like a hot mess," Jaune said aloud as he realized the Aur did in fact not heal all wounds as the scars on his face where any indication at least.
The same dark, messy purple bruises from his home life still stayed with him, followed by the horrid orange scar from his wedding day. Those were present as ever standing as silent sentinels on his face. Then came the long straight scar on his left eye still stood as all the wounds from his past stood firm as they added to the shattered horrid tapestry that was his face.
"Somethings never change." Jaune sighed before something caught his eye.
"You're new," Jaune said as he saw a newer light welt of reddish skin on his left side of his face. Unlike the older bruises, this was hot and fresh. It took him less than a second to decide that it was Pyrrha who's strike had lent its mark once more adding her mark to the decorations on his face.
"Less than twenty-four hours and already a new mark? What did I expect?" Jaune asked himself as he stared in the mirror as his reflection spoke.
"What did you expect? Jaune come on. You're partnered with a woman! You know how they all are! It's not like she cares about your opinions. She'll use you till she's tired of you, boss you around when she's bored then beat you when you say no. Why do you expect anything different?"
"They're not all like that," Jaune said as he sighed turning on the hot water washing has faced as he sighed.
"Jaune! Jaune! You know they are all like that! Maybe some are better than others, some might beat you less, but in the end, they are all the same."
"No. Not all woman are like that."
"Jaune. Name one woman who is not abusive, manipulating or cruel? Just one!'
"Vernal was not like that," Jaune said as his reflection sighed heavily.
"You know that Vernal doesn't count! She! Was different!"
"So what are you suggesting?" Jaune asked as she took off his clothes and turned on the shower.
"That you don't get too uncomfortable with them."
"Noted," Jaune told him as the steam rose and his reflection vanished...
Thirty minutes later Jaune stepped out from the shower and dressed into his one spare pair of clothing the Beacon uniform as the heavenly feeling of hot steam washed over him as he donned his clothes shaved and stepped out to a couple of piercing emerald eyes.
"Jaune! I thought you where in there, is everything alright?" His, partner, Pyrrha asked as she eyed her partner warily.
"You were in the bathroom for a while... I thought you might be in danger...
The girl said as Jaune felt his heart thump. The girl truly was beautiful. She wore a thin pink gown that showers her voluptuous body, as he once again found himself blushing fiercely as his five foot six stature against her near seven foot one as he was staring directly into her scarcely cover cleavage making him turn his head.
"Sorry Pyr! I was just taking a shower." Jaune said as Pyrrha worryingly cocked her head as she stared at her partner.
"Are you sure Jaune? Is something wrong? If it is you do know you can always talk to me right?"
Pyrrha asked as Jaune felt his breath catch in his chest.
"It's fine Pyrrha! I was just showering! Nothing's wrong!" Jaune said wincing through the pain in his body as another fresh wave of pain flooded his body.
Unfortunately for Jaune Pyrrha was not a blind woman as she saw his body shake and convulsed in pain.
"Jaune. You are not ok. What is wrong? Tell me. Now."
Pyrrha said taking Jaune's shoulder in her hand and delivering him a piercing glare that shot through is core making him look down.
"I-
"Don't try to lie. Jaune what's wrong? Tell me? I'm your partner, and you can trust me-
"Can he? I mean you do tend to get a little handsy with him you know?"
Nora said standing a few scant feet away from Pyrrha in a pink pair of pajama tops and bottoms with pictures of brown sloth's drawn over them as her teal eye glared at Pyrrha.
"Nora... So lovely to see you up and awake...
Pyrrha said grinding her teeth in such a manner that grated Jaune's ears as his partner stared at the somewhat shorter girl who stared her down.
"Same here. Just wanted to say hi to my teammates and make sure that some of them were still keeping their hands to herself."
Nora said her teal eyes stared at Pyrrha's green ones as he put her hands on her hips as the spartan growled at her.
"You want to say that again, Valkyrie?"
" Sure thing Nikos. I said you tend to get a little rough when people don't listen to you. Especially men. Probably only a matter time before he's sporting some new shiners on his face you know?"
"Why you-
"Good morning friends! How is the day going!? I'm going to be taking a shower! Does anybody want to join me!? Jaune? Nora? How about you Pyrrha? Would you like to shower with me?"
Ren asked apparating into the middle of the teens cutting the room's tension like a knife as he stood in front of Pyrrha, batting his bright pink eyes at the girl making her flush.
"Me!?" Pyrra suddenly gasped at the small boy clad in the green sleep ware that was easily three times too big for him as he was dropped in a longsleeved green shit and incredibly baggy green pants with pictures of seaweed?
On them, all tied together by a snug green nightcap that had a long fuzzy green ball at the end of it that hung lazily off of his head as he bounced up and down.
"Of course you! Why wouldn't you want to shower with me? Or Nora?" Ren asked bouncing on the heels of his feet at the girl who was currently busy turning a shade of red to match her hair as Nora sighed.
"Ren, you can't just task other girls to shower with you."
"Why not? Me and you show together all the time, and you seem to like it! Why wouldn't she?"
"Ren most girls would get the wrong idea if you ask them to take a shower with you. You know this."
"Wrong idea? What kind of the wrong idea? Is the shower not large enough for us?"
"Ren just take a shower. Pyrrha will shower. After you."
"What about Jaune?"
"I just finished showering," Jaune replied as Ren nodded his head once b before smiling happily.
"Oh... Ok! I'll take a shower and be right back out!" Ren said before rushing into the bathroom in a blur of motions leaving Pyrrha still blushing fiercely went to her bed to change her clothes.
"Hey, Jaune."
"Yes, Nora?"
"If Pyrrha ever puts the press on you after today don't let her get to you alright? If you don't want to talk about the issues you don't have to talk. And if some want to get rough just tell me, and I'll sort her out."
Nora said enunciating the word rough as Pyrrha shot her a venomous glare with her beautiful green eyes as Jaune sighed before a deep rumbling came from his stomach as Nora grimaced.
"You also need a good meal. Don't worry Beacon will have food ok?" Nora asked as Jaune nodded his head as he went to get ready.
The rest of the morning was a curt tense affair with little to no words being said in the dorm as Nora and Pyrrha took turns glaring daggers at the other both refusing to speak a single word to the other.
The only one that did have a positive attitude was Ren. Who was like an emerald hummingbird on a caffeine trip.
As he zipped back and forth between the dorm room Talking to every member like he was their best friend, making Nora nod her head Pyrrha blush and Jaune simply try to keep up with the boy's rapid-fire rate of speech as he and his team finally got dressed.
"Ok team JNPR! This is our first day as an official team and as leader I-
"You dolts! It's five minutes to nine! We are going to be late!"
A harsh, angry voice yelled as teamJnpr hear various shots yells and what sounded like hissing? Form the hallway as they looked through their scrolls they saw that indeed it was five minutes to nine and they were going to be late...
"We made it!" Jaune yelled as his team burst through the doors of Grimm studies class, they were all except Ren panting and sweating their lungs out while the green boy jumped up and down bouncing off the balls of his feet as his apparent endlessly replenishing energy supply held true.
"Jaune! Over here!" A happy, friendly voice yield she saw Ruby waning over other where her team sat. As they approached the other members of RWBY caught sigh of him and flashed him varying degrees of greeting.
"Hey there Goldilocks! Did you come just see me? Can't say I'm surprised! Especially after you spent most of yesterday falling into my arms that is"
Yang asked giving him a flirtatious wink before batting her eyebrow at him before her partner gave her a sharp elbow on the side making her glare at Blake? Was it? Jaune thought as he stared at the faunus student with amber eyes pale skin and a bow...
"Ignore her. Good morning you four. How are you today?" Blake? Asked as Jaune nodded.
"Were good just a bit tired. We were almost late a-
"So where we! It's because somebody wanted to turn off her alarm when she was the one supposed to be keeping track of it in the first place!" Weiss yelled at Ruby who cowered under the older girls harsh words.
"I'm sorry Weiss! I didn't mean t-
"Good morning students! Please take your seats so we can begin class!"
A large, boisterous feminine voice yelled out as Jaune took his seat to see a tall woman enter the room.
She was a tall silver-haired woman who walked with a smooth swagger of her feet and was maybe in her early forties late thirties? But she was a knockout of a woman. She had large hips a full body ample breasts and a sharp smirk on a fresh face as she eyed the class.
"Greetings class! I am Pretoria Port! And I am here to teach you about Grimm! More important how to fight and not be eaten by them!"
The woman said before laughing haughtily as her more than ample cleavage swung in her far to tight red shirt that was clearly two sizes too small for her as her equally small red pants fought a desperate and losing battle to keep her massively muscled legs trapped in the confines of themselves.
"Now! As we go on, I must say welcome to Beacon! Here at this school, we are an equal opportunity school for all students! Be they Human, Faunus, Ladies, Gentleman." The woman said eyeing both Jaune and Ren before sending a blink Ren's way with a nod of her head making the boy blush as he stared down to his desk before Nora put a protective arm around him and glared at the teacher.
"Now! Before we began a short story about my youth when I was but a comely young girl with a chip on her shoulder and an ax on my back...
Pretoria had a rather strange definition of short. As her current story was now well over forty minutes and most of the class was either asleep spacing out or in the process of debating the mysteries of life.
As he looked at his left Ren was clearly knocked unconscious. His head slammed face first into his book snoring loudly as a small puddle of droll polled under his mouth as he mumbled something about Alge?
To his right, Nora sat with her eyes open dutifully staring at the teacher. Jaune had at first thought she was actually listening to him before he realized that she had not blinked in over half an hour and a short check of her pulse showed that she was, in fact, sleeping with her eyes open.
A trick he wanted to learn and proved a theory that if one was asleep, Jaune could not use his semblance on them. Something about them not being conscious? Jaune ruminated before his eyes drifted to his partner.
Pyrrha was to her immense credit still dutifully taking notes, but there was a small tick forming under her right eye that made it look like it had its very own heartbeat as she gave a serene smile that covered a wave of anger.
Below them, their sister team was doing much the same. Yang had long since forsaken notes taking as was busy shooting paper footballs in her hands.
Ruby was for some inconceivable reason in the process of balancing an ever-increasing stack of stationery items on her nose, which was in an impressive display of dexterity as she was now able to fit a textbook, stapler, marker pencil and an apple on her face.
Blake? Jaune guessed was still taking notes, but she seems to be more akin to a zombie on autopilot then an engaged listener.
Out of their whole team, only Weiss was taking active notes as she shot baleful glares at her leader before the woman spoke up.
"Now! Which one of you has the true spirit of a huntress in them?"
"I do!" Weiss shouted jumping at the chance to distance herself from her leader and the ever increasing possibility of putting her rapier through her neck.
"Miss Schnee! I am glad to see you, volunteer! Now come to the front of the class if you please!" The large woman said laughing raucously as the prim girl got up and walked daintily over to the front.
"Now class! It's time for some trial by fire! Miss Schnee will be fighting my personal friend Pete! The Boarbatusk!"
The woman said as she showed off a cage that held a Grimm and-
The hell!? When the hell did she set that up!? Jaune thought as he looked to a massive steel cage that was harboring a furious Grimm.
That had definitely been there when class started, and Jaune had not notice docking inside during the lecture.
You would think he would have noticed that size of cage or angry monster in it by now an-
"So Miss Schnee, do you perchance have any words of inspiration for the class before you start?" The woman asked as Weiss began to grin.
"Why yes! Yes, I do have some words for the class. For one member in specific!" Weiss said before shotting her piercing blue eyes as Jaune making him blush in the process.
"Oh? Is there a special someone in the class for you? Some boy you have your eye on now?"
"Why yes there is! I Weiss Schnee would like to dedicate my first Beacon Grimm kill to Jaune Arc! My first date in Beacon and hopefully my future partner!"
The girl said pointing her sword at Jaune who blushed a shade of red to match Ruby' cape at her declaration as Ren snapped awake at the mention of his leader name.
"What?! What did I Miss?"
"A rich girl that got too big for her britches."
Pyrrh said through gritted teeth as Jaune swore her palms glowed black. As a small wave of fire exploded form Yang as her eye lit up and Ruby eeped!
"Go, Weiss! You can do it! I believe in you!"
"Ruby I do not need your support," Weiss said cooly shutting the girl down in an instant and making Yang's fire grow.
"Oh! What a lucky lad we have! Jaune my boy! Come down here for a front row seat why don't you! That way you can see your suitor putting her very life on the lime for you!"
" Fighting to impress a boy! Oh, how rousseauistic! It reminds me of a younger version of myself competing for the hand of a local village boy named Adam. Oh, Adam, your cheeks were as soft as a mothers bosom and redder than the apple harvests!"
The teacher droned on as Jaune blushed and made his way down the step as all the eyes in the room stared at him as he did.
"Now my boy! I don' mean to be inquisitive but my lad! Where is your muscle! You are skinny as a rail!" The woman said laughing jovially before putting a hand on his should and touch his neck.
"He's clearly starving. He needs proper nourishment now. I'll send word to Sandra to put a special diet in for him."
Pretoria thought as she completely hid her motives behind a raucous laugh as Jaune blushed.
"A growing boy needs his strength you know that right?"
"He's also badly hurt. Busted rib if I didn't know any better. Why isn't his aura healing him yet? Either way, I'll send for Sandra after the fight."
"Now sit Boy! And watch as your lady fights for you!"
"She's not my lady-
"Not yet!" Weiss said smartly as she eyed him making him flush as she shook her hips in way that was purely lethal to mortal men as Jaune gulped as she took a combat stance
"Weiss ready!?"
"Yes, mam!"
"Peter! Ready!?"
Growl...
"Fight!"
The women yelled swing down a massive ax musket hybrid and letting the Grim more out of the cage and into a ball as it roared straight for Weiss.
"Go, Weiss! Kick it's but!" Ruby yelled as she waved a tiny team RWBY flag-
The hell? They get flags!? Where are my team flags? Jaune thought as the fight began.
Peter, as it was called rolled out from the cage and into Weiss with fury and hatred as she deftly sidestepped the abomination before performing an eloquent series of arm thrust summoning an archaic floating glyph before launching several shards of ice from it that did nothing except bounce off harmlessly form it's armored hide as Weiss grimaced and Pretoria laughed.
"You'll need to do better than that girl! Old Peter here has tough skin!"
The women laughed as the Grimm charged again breaking off the ice projectiles in anger as it rolled towards her. She dodged once and in an immaculate display of skill and poise as she stepped away from the black and red ball of death with contemptuous ease putting distance between them as Jaune gasped.
She was stunning. Her hair was like fresh snow could and sharp as an Atlesian blizzard, and her eyes were a piercing cerulean blue that pierced him to his core if he looked them in her face.
Her enter body was a type of pale skin that was as impeccable as it was pristine and he could not help but find himself enraptured by her form.
Weiss took a second to steal his vision, and for a moment their eye met as he gulped loudly before the girl grinned and stormed into Peter in a blaze of ice
"Good show Miss Schnee!" The teacher said as Weiss pierced the girl in it's his leg making it sequel before summoning several glyphs around the thin and shotting herself rapidly in between them in a flurry of white and blue as she pierced and impaled the thing until it died in a pool of blood and began to disintegrate.
"Outstanding! Class, we are in the presence of a true huntress here! Take notes!"
"Thank you, Miss Port. But I dedicate my victory to Jaune. I hope you were impressed by me."
"You were amazing," Jaune said before a catching his mouth as the girl giggled and took his hand an kissed the top of it.
Her impossibly soft lips touched his hand infusing it with a glacial breeze that made his eyes flutter and made him moan lightly as she grinned.
"There is a lot more than a kiss where that came from. Jaune Arc you have the privilege of having caught my eye and my attention. And a Schnee always get's what they want. And I want you."
The girl's thoughts filled his head with predatory thoughts making him blush a terrifying shade of red as Pretoria bid them out as the class ended...
"You did great Weiss! You were really fast!" Jaune said before slamming himself into his food.
It was heaven! The Beacon cafeteria was like a gift from Oum as Jaune begun to eat his food. It was everything a starving man could ask food!
Heap after heap of fatty goodness, foodstuffs that would have been a luxury beyond comprehension a mere few weeks ago where now entirely in his grasp as he saw mound after mound of pizza, bacon, toast, meats of all types, pasta and sliced potatoes as dug in.
While Ren ate his food in rapid jabs and cuts, like a literal hummingbird with a silver wear as Nora ate hers with the speed of a sloth, while Jaune didn't so much as eat his food, but he inhaled it.
He ate like he had not eaten in weeks and he hadn't as he devoured his tray of food completely ignorant of the worried looks he was getting from his friend as they watched there new friend and at most something much more ate like he had been starving.
Well most of them looked on in worried silence three did not like Blake, Ren, and Nora simply ignored his eating as it was natural as Jaune finally finished his food and gave a content sigh.
"Jaune you eat fast!" Ruby said looking at marvel as her new friend finished his food.
"It's not every day you get to eat like this so enjoy it right?" Jaune asked as Yang grinned at him.
"Um, Goldilocks you do realize that you will get to eat like this every day right? Its ok to slow down and enjoy it you know?"
Yang said catching his eyes and winking at him as his mouth dropped.
"I get to eat like this every day?" Jaune asked as a lone tear fell from his face making Ruby panic.
"So Jaune! How's it going! Are you feeling ok? You took quite a pounding yesterday an-
The girl eeped as the table went silent as all eyes shot onto her as Jaune blinked owlishly.
"I mean my face hurts but otherwise than that I'm ok. Why do you ask?"
Jaune asked as Ruby felt the weight of the world on her shoulder as the table turns to Pyrrha who was now shaking nervously in her seat.
"Ummm... Your face looks better! Your scars seem... less?"
Ruby asked mentally berating herself as Jaune grimaced.
"I don't look so good do I?"
Jaune said taking his silver tray and looking into his plate as Ruby began to panic.
"No! Not at all!" Ruby said the table balked.
"Ruby!?" Yang hissed at her sister as she dropped her try with a whack!
"Rose!?" Weiss shouted as Ruby began to stutter.
"I didn't mean it like that! I meant you look fine the way you are!" Rub shouted desperately trying to clear up any misunderstanding as Jaune sighed.
"It's ok. I know I look like hell four years on the road does it to you, you know?"
Jaune asked allowing Ruby to have an out from her awkward situation, hoping she took it.
"You were traveling for four years? Why?"
Ruby asked moving closer to her friend as he turned to face her.
"Because I ran away from home?"
"Why did you run away?"
"Complicated...
Jaune said suddenly noticing the gazes focused on him and becoming rather uncomfortable with them as he tried to deflect the conversation to safer territory.
"You got those bruises on the road?"
Ruby asked as the table stopped to share a keen interest in his backstory.
"Nah I got these at my old home."
"How...
Ruby asked as Jaune fought the urge to grimace.
"Same way I got most of my bruises," Jaune replied trying to deflect the conversation but failing miserably as Ruy pressed on not deterred in the slightest.
"Which is?"
"Ehh My mom used to like to beat the shit out of me every now and then. Normal stuff you know?" Jaune said as the table fell dead silent as his friend's mouths all collectively dropped.
"I'm sure you don't mean that do you Jaune! I mean your mom probably only hit you in the back of the head or with her palm or a sock right?!" Ruby asked as Jaune shrugged his shoulder.
"Sure she did that sometimes, but other times it really was with whatever she had in hand, hangars, skillets, belts, an iron. Normal stuff you know?" Jaune asked the small girl blanched. While the table mouths dropped.
"So it is true-
"That is not normal! Jaune!" His partner suddenly yelled from his other side making Jaune yelped as he scooted away from her furious emerald eyes.
"Pyrrha?! What did I do!? What did I say?!" Jaune asked desperately backing away as the furious spartan eyes dimmed a minuscule amount.
"Jaune what she did to you was unacceptable! You need to tell somebody about that an-
"Stop it! That hurts!" A voice yelled at the table look to see an interesting sight.
"See I told you they where real!"
A voice yelled as a tall girl was pulling the hair of a Bunny faunus who was current wins in pain.
"Please stop! That hurts!"
"Shut up freak what did I say?"
"Disgusting." Pyrrha mouthed as her anger found a brief and temporary new target as the table glared at them.
"Dicks," Nora said bluntly as Yang cocked her gauntlets.
"Somebody should teach those pricks a less an-
"Jaune! Can you get me some salad when you come back? Please!" Ren suddenly asked as the table turn to see him waving at Jaune who had gotten up and was currently walking towards the group.
"Jaune! The salads that way! Not that way! Why are you walking to them!?" Ren asked as Pyrrha gained a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
This is stupid.
I know.
Then why are you doing it?
Because it's the right thing to do.
Even if it's going t get us beat to hell?
Especially if it's going to get us beat to hell.
Jaune told his reflection as it sighed. It followed him along his journey to the scene of the girl getting bullied. It followed him on spoons, knives, trays every reflective surface carried his reflection as they walked as one.
Jaune! She's a woman! You don't even like women! Why are we helping her fight another woman! This is ridiculous!
An Arc never abandons somebody in need you know this.
Great quote our mother to me. Rember, when she beat the crap out of you and nobody, came to help you? And when I say, nobody, I do mean not a single, Oum damned person!"
"Not your sisters, not your dad, not the maid's nobody! Nobody came to help you so why in the seven hells are we going to help somebody else?
Becuase it's what we do. Jaune thoughts he sighed and prepared to get the crap kicked out of him. Again as he walked to the group of bullies.
Well as far as one-sided beatdowns went this one was definitely one of the better ones. As after tapping the ringleader on her back a girl that looked surprisingly boyish, she was briefly caught off guard by the smaller boy with a scarred face told her to stop.
She was so caught off guard that she never saw the shield that struck her face or the sudden sword strike that took her feet and slammed her to her ass.
Now while that was good, but that was where the good times stopped.
As the other girl's picked upon threat and attacked as one.
Now Jaune had fought bad odds before and still managed to come out on top! Much worse than three teens with anger issues and a chip to grind with others but it was still a lousy fight.
He was far from his best still starved and not on full, meanwhile, these three where all rested well fed and pissed off, what was a silver lining of sorts.
Now while that did make them mad and sloppy, it also made them stupidly strong.
As the initial momentum from his first strike lost, it's momentum the full weight of a three versus one fight with three well nourished trained combatants versus a half-starved still not fully heald played you.
A sword, two daggers, and a class for some they all fell into Jaune like jackals as the three girls attacked him at once.
As he ducked the first dagger leaning back before a sword stuck his back making him cry out before a giant silver mace came, and uppercut him out of the way as his face explode in pain as he was sent spiraling down into a bench making him cry out.
"NO! Let me!" The giant girl yelled as she actually intercepted her team's attacks taking two strikes to her back as she winced in pain. Really this girl did not look like a girl. Her cheat was far to flat she had no curves and just looked like a guy Jaune thought before a shadow came to stop his thoughts, as a giant mace struck his chin sending him flying through the air and briefly into unconsciousness as his world began to spin...
"Hey!? Are you okay!? Hey! You! Please answer me!" A worried thickly accented voice asked as Jaune's vision cleared as he saw a pair of beautiful a pair of brown eyes staring at him.
"Hello?"
"Please don't be dead! Please don't be dead! Please don't be dead!" The girl thought as the faunus girl cradled Jaune in her lap treat him to a luxurious lap pillow as he opened this eyes.
"Where am I?"
Jaune asked the girl who's face opened in a shocked face.
"Don't move! You took a nasty hit back there!" The girl said as Jaune tried to sit up only for a pair of strong hands to force him back down.
"Please sit down! You took a nasty hit! Your team is already in enough trouble as it as, and you don't need any more problems!'
"Where is my team?" Jaune asked as the girl's beautiful face fell for a second.
"They got involved with the other team, and a fight broke out. It took up most of the cafeteria, and Miss GoodWitch had to break it up!"
"Miss GoodWitch? Who's that?"
"She's the dean, but please take a break! They are all in her office! You need to rest for a bit!" The girl said as Jaune sighed.
"How long was I out?"
"Around three minutes."
"Not so bad."
Jaune said as she stared up at the worried nervous faunus student who was resting his head on her leap. Placing a firm hand on his chest and keeping him down.
"Why did you help me... If you don't me asking? Why did you step in back there?"
"Why? You needed help that's why. "
"But you don't know me."
"I don't need to. You need help, and that's all that matters an-
"Oum! He is too cute! Why did such a cute boy have to come save me! This day won't can't get any worse! I already got bullied by first years, but not only did I have to get saved by a junior I had to get saved by a man?"
" Why Monty!? Why me!? I guess I should be happy Coco isn't here to see this. She would have had a field day!"
"That's nice but please! Don't put yourself at risk for me! I don't want you to get hurt!"
"Please don't be hurt! You already look bad enough, and I can't stand it when people to get hurt!"
The girl thought as Jaune raised his head only to blush as he hit something incredibly soft as hid end up fice first in her chest.
"Sorry!" Jaune blurted attempting to shoot out from Velvet's grasp as the girl; grippe him in a steely grip.
"Don't make any fast moves! You got hit in the head, and you shouldn't move so fast!"
"Thanks... What's your name again?"
"Velvet Scarletina. Nice to meet you."
"Jaune Arc-
"Jaune Arc!? The Jaune Arc!? That explains the bruises. I'm sorry some people are so cruel. No one deserves that." The girl thought in pain express as Jaune looked around.
"Why did my team leave me?"
"I think they were to busy annihilating the other team before GoodWitch froze them and took them away."
"I see...Wait! What about my next class!?"
"What's your next class?"
"History of the world followed by a break then Combat. "
"Hey! My schedule is the same as yours! How about I walk you through your classes?" The tall faunus said as Jaune blushed and took her hand.
"Sure that's sounds nice." Jaune said as the two began to walk out of the cafeteria.
"Welcome! Welcome! Time for world history!" A bleary voice yelled as a woman in green and white moved back and forth in a green blur of motion as Jaune looked cross-eyed at her.
"Today we will take about world history, the great war, and manufacturing and maintaining intercontinental relationships!" The woman said moving and speaking in such a motion that it made Ren appear as methodical as Nora as Jaune's head began to spin as Velvet giggled.
"Can't focus?"
"She talks faster then I think."
Jaune said as Velvet giggled melodically at him. "Don't worry I can take your notes."
The faunus girl said smiling lightly and taking out a second piece of paper.
"But what about yours?"
"Don't worry I can take notes for us both, I'm used to taking notes for my leader, she and the other guys on my team never take notes anyway so this worked out."
Velvet said as Jaune leaned back in his chair before a pair of green eyes locked onto his.
"Mister Arc! So glad you wish to participate! Do you know what the key faunus advantage during the battle of fort castle was?"
"Night Vision?"
"Exactly! I am glad to see life on the road has not as of yet dulled your senses! Now class-
"Wow your pretty smart you know?"
Velvet said as Jaune blushed under her compliments.
"Not really, I just had a lot of time to study when I was... camping," Jaune admitted successfully deflecting the conversations as the faunus girl nodded before they went back to class. Jaune was glad she did as discussing how Vernal taught world history would have probably lead to a confused faunus followed by a police report if she pressed on.
As the teacher went on, she began to speak about aura. Specifically how out of every ten women only three could unlock their aura. And out of every ten men, only one could unlock their aura.
And out of every ten live births, only one out of nine was a male. And how the majority of the world was female. All knowledge Jaune knew. But what got to him was the fact that if a man with his aura unlocked had a child with a woman with their aura unlocked. Not only would their child be guaranteed have there are unlocked their child would be a rare person to get a semblance.
Even the word brought the class to a hush as the teacher took a moment to ride the silence.
"A semblance! Class as I am sure you all know is the rare and coveted power that manifests itself only! When a man and woman who both! Have their aura unlocked have a child! Whether male or female that child will have the option to gain a semblance!"
Oobleck said as the class all tuned in as the woman gave a slight smirk.
"A power to best all others! Semblances often manifest themselves as strange and unique abilities! From increased speed, inhuman strength and even more exotic skills like the Schnee family summoning! I would ask Miss Schnee about it, but she seems to be absent for some reason...
"Anyways! Semblances are incredibly rare and are highly sought out! And being eligible to have one is an almost guaranteed entry to the hunter academy of your choice! If you so wish. Though almost one hundred percent of females with their semblances go to hunter academies, almost none of their male counterparts do so."
The teacher said as the class gained a dark murky atmosphere as Oobleck spoke up.
"Class I will not sugar coat things for you. Our society is unfair to those who can not unlock their aura. Those that can unlock their aura are the top of the totem pole and those that can not? Are the bottom. It is also oppressive to men. Unreasonably so, and when a man gets a power that suddenly propels him from the bottom of the social ladder to the top? Well, things tend to not go so well for those involved."
"While some of them use this power for the betterment of others! Think of names like Xiao-long, Alistar... The vast majority of male semblance wielders turn to a life of crime and tend to forgo the path of heroics and instead go down in infamy."
"When you think of male semblance users while you might think of names like Xiao-Long or Alistar you will surely think of names like Taurus, Brawnren, Torchwick! These are names of several male semblance users who have used their powers to strike back at a world that abused them and have on multiple occasions drowned themselves and the world around them in the blood of hundreds in the process."
"Often these incidents led to major civilian death, large-scale robberies, and in some case all out revolts. That all caused Grimm to swarm and many many people to die. This has lead to severe prejudice against males who have their semblance unlocked! Most hunter academy even refuse to admit them! Or at least they did despite their clear advantages in the war on the Grimm!" The teacher said as Jaune gulped before Velvet put a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry. You are not like that."
"You're not like them. I know you are a good person. I know this. Don't worry about it ok?"
Velvet thought squeezing Jaune's hand and making him smile at her.
"Thanks, Vel. That means a lot."
"Vel? I guess we are in nicknames now?"
"Friends right?"
"Friends." Velvet said as the class went on...
The class ended half an hour later as Jaune took several more notes and the teacher Oobleck sent them off for the day.
"So what now?" Jaune asked as Velvet shrugged her shoulders. The class was over, and the two students had a shared break. And seeing as how Jaune's team and friends were nowhere in sight, and Velvet's had to do something else left both teens with an empty period and each other.
"Your team never came back so I guess you could hang out with me?" Velvet askes blushing lightly as Jaune nodded.
"Sure why not?" Jaune asked his team had not come back yet and this seemed like a good enough idea. As the faunus blushed and the two walked off.
Well, this was a good idea. Jaune thought as he read his comic book in peace. In the end, the two teens seeing as how they had nowhere to go and Jaune had literally a lien to his name decided to hang out together and wandered off to the Beacon library to read. It was a good decision even if the library was awfully crowded for some reason. As Jaune and Velvet sat on a shared bean bag chair he Beacon library as the two had both decided to share a seat.
Jaune sat comfortably in the girl's lap as he began to read as the girl read a history book but the fact that she was holding it wrong lead Jaune to think she was not getting much out of it. As he leaned back into the soft pillowy mass of Velvet's bountiful chest Jaune felt a tremor guilt run through him.
As much as he detested woman touching him without his permission, he could not argue that on the opposite side of the spectrum they felt absolutely heavenly to the touch.
As a shudder ran down his spine as Jaune took the time to enjoy the soft pillowy feeling of Velvet's breast on his back as he leaned into her soft forecasting her to blush as the girl despite being a girl did not try to touch or fell him making her an exception to the rule.
"Don't get too comfortable. Even if she is good. She is the exception to the rule. She is not the norm."
His reflections said to him as he caught it in his scroll as he nodded to if before pushing himself back into Velvet's heavenly soft body as he sighed happily. Jaune rarely got a chance to read, the last time he read a book Vernal had nearly executed him for slacking off when he should have been guarding the supplies. Good times Jaune thought as he enjoyed one of his rare passions.
As the two figures sat rolled together on the bean bag alone at the end of the Beacon library a small spread across their faces as the two former strangers became closer...
"Here we are. I'm glad I got to meet you Jaune." Velvet said as Jaune nodded to her.
"Same here. We should hang out again soon." Jaune told the taller girl who was like most woman nearly two feet taller than him standing near seven feet as she blushed fiercely at him.
"Really?! If you'd like I could... you know call you... If you want! That is I mean if you don't that's ok. I mean you don't have to if you would rather not...
"Sure. Her's my number."
Jaune said as Velvet's face took on a deep shade of red to match his partner's hair followed by her adorable bunny ears shot up as they entered the arena.
"Mister Arc! Miss Scarletina! Glad to see you arrive!" Miss GoodWitch said flashing them a glare that while fierce was nothing compared to his team and fired as they saw Jane and Velvet walked inside side by side. As all of his friends except Nora and Ren glared daggers at him.
"Jaune! Over here! Where over here!"
Ren yelled shaking his twin pistols at him saving his arms wildly as Nora sighed heavily.
"Ren he heard you the first two times."
"But Nora he-
"The first match will be Jaune Arc! Versus... Ruby Rose!" The teacher said as Jaune sighed.
"No rest for the wicked," Jaune said as he sighed and Velvet pushed his shoulder.
"Keep at it ok," She asked as Jaune nodded and walked to the arena...
"Jaune! You are Jaune!" Ruby said as Jaune blinked.
"And you are Ruby! Ruby?'
"No! You are him! The prince in the castle!"
"Prince? What are you talking about Ruby?" Jaune asked as the girl's mouth began to open before GoodWitch spoke.
"Students take your positions and synch your aura's!"
The dean said as the two figures faces appeared on the screen as the bar's fill GoodWitch grimaced. As Ruby's bar went straight to max while Jaune's rose to a steady seventy-five percent and rested at a simple yellow.
"Mister Arc why is your aura so... low?" The dean asked with a harsh grimace as Jaune shrugged.
"A bit tired after yesterday. Initiation was a rough time." Jaune admitted as the dean grew a complicated expression as she nodded to her charge.
"Do try to get a good night's sleep Mister Arc. You should not have to fight in three quarters."
"He should not be fighting at all!" Pyrrha year before she was l silence by a glare from the dean.
"Mister Arc is a student at Beacon. And for better or worse he will fight like the rest. Now take your stances."
The dean said as Jaune drew his sword and shield while ruby drew her weapon Jaune took a deep breath as he prepared for the fight.
Ruby's fast she's quicker, stronger, and far agiler than you. This fight is not in your favor. Jaune thought as he began to shift his stance.
"Rose ready?"
"Yes!"
Even if she's got you on raw skills, you have her on experience. Ruby's never been in a real fight, as far as I know, the battle yesterday was probably her first battle, and you have her in her experience. You can win.
"Arc! Ready?"
"Yes," Jaune said taking a breath as he opened his eyes to gall at Ruby who was taken aback by his glare.
"Begin!"
The dean shouted as the two fought.
Instantly Jaune gritted his teeth as he was pelted by a relentless torrent of sniper rounds, just as he predicted. Ruby began peppering him with ranged weapons fire as he grunted in defiance.
Hard rounds clanged and shrieked off of his shield filling his world with the harsh cries of metal on metal as cascading waves of sparks entered his field of vision. As Ruby fired upon the boy letting loose a total of twenty rounds before reloading.
She can only fire twenty at a time. Jaune checked off her ammunition capacity as the girl switched tactics.
Instantly she was a blur of roses charged him as he shifted his feet smashing his shield forward causing it to clang off her scythe in a shower of spark making him grimace in pain.
She's stronger than me, but not by that much.
Jaune thought as the girl was to her shock and awe unable to overpower him by sheer force and hopped backward ber slashing forward in.
Make an opening. Jaune thought to lower his guard ever so lightly on his left side as he watched Ruby's eye widen as she saw her opportunity.
Bingo. Jaune thought as the girl slashed forward only to meet Jaune's pommel to her face.
FWAP!
Jaune felt flesh strike metal as the girl took the shaft of his sword straight to her face making her cry out in pain and shock as the hit struck her square in her face.
Now! Jaune thought as he leaped forward shield bashing the girl in the face making her cry out before planting his feet and swing his full sword force taking her in the neck and sending her staggering before delivering several more sword strikes before the girl fell back in a shower of roses.
That was good! Jaune thought as he saw Ruby' aura in the low green as she hovered somewhere around eighty percent as the girl retreated at the far end of the area and reanalyzed her strategy.
She had tired of attack him up close, and that had failed, and she was now reevaluating her plans.
She's probably-
BANG!
Like I thought. Jaune grimaced as the girl began to fire upon him again. This time she ran around him trying to get a flank off, but the act of shooting while running and given the Beacon arena's small area meant she could thankfully not reach her top speed. Thank Oum as if the girl could reach top speed she would inevitably have overwhelmed him with sheer weight of fire. Luckily though the physical constriction of the arena prohibited that and allowed Jaune to act like a sturdy redoubt as he weathered her storm of bullets with relative ease.
Even still Jaune was not infallible as a few shots broke past his shield guard making him grimace as the sniper rounds impacted him taking down his aura to around seventy percent as Jaune noticed something.
She's stronger, but I have more aura. I just need to get the hits in. Jaune thought as he began to raise his sword over his shield. He held the stance shield up and sword pointing out over the top like a spear as the girl fired on him.
As the girl began to pelt him with sniper rounds, she mixed her attacks in with melee rushes. She broke at him in a dead sprint trying to swipe out his legs from underneath him only for Jaune to block her strike and stab her in the face making her gasp before shield bashing her once more before she fled again.
Defense Jaune, that's how you win this. He thought as the girl glared at him as their aura's where now equal levels.
The girl began to fire on him again attempting to whittle him down with firepower before rushing in for more attacks. Unfortunately for Ruby, she traded even with blows but drastically uneven for damage with Jaune making her aura dorp at a considerably higher rater then his as the girl found her aura striking into the deep orange as Jaune found his in the low yellow.
Jaune for his end did not have his way either. Ruby was fast and ridiculously skilled. She simply lacked real-world combat experience as she simply needed more live fighting versus humans to become a true terror.
As the girl glared at him panting heavily as she gripped her scythe tight, she was going to put on a final attack and soon. That was obvious as Jaune took a step forward. Ruby took this as a sign and charged and blurred ahead in a whirling attack making herself a torpedo of red Jaune saw it.
He saw the girl blurring at him in a blaze of energy as she came in a tornado of blades rose petals and chaos. Jaune simply took his stance and stepped to the side...
The look on Ruby's face was almost comical as her silver eyes widened as Jaune merely side steep her attacks she attempted to pause as a shield met her face giving a satisfying whack as he slammed into his enemy's defense before she stood back stunned and Jaune struck.
End her now! He thought as he began a flurry of sword strikes taking Ruby completely off guard as he hit her neck side and shoulder before smashing her scythe down with his shield and tackling her to the ground straddling the girl's chest before raining down strike after strike on her body before GoodWitch yelled at him to calm.
"Winner! Arc!"
The dean yelled as Jaune held his sweaty sword to her face before getting off of the girl panting heavily as Ruby looked beyond crestfallen as the boy held out a hand to her.
"Good fight Ruby," Jaune said panting heavily as Ruby looked ready to crack before swelling aloud gulp and smiling at him.
"Thanks. You too!" She said with a bright smile as he picked her up by her hand."
"I lost! Why!? My first battle with Beacon and I lost! And it had to be him! How can I protect him if he's better then me! I need to get stronger!"
Ruby thought as Jaune grimaced slightly as he helped her up as the dean appraised them.
"Mister Arc! Let me be the first to congratulate you on your first Beacon victory and the first one of this school year!"
"You fought well even at what appeared to be a significant aura disadvantage you held off a stronger, faster opponent whittling them down until you had your chance then struck back to capitalize on the opportunity and won."
The dean said with an approving s smile, but Jaune sensed something beneath it. Like it was hiding the thinly veiled level of pity? Or disapproval as she appraises him before glaring at Ruby making her eep!
"Miss Rose!"
"Yes?!"
"You had a significant advantage in his fight, and yet you still lost. You had the benefit of a full aura a ranged weapon and superior speed and strength. Yet you still managed to lose!"
"I'm sorry!"
"Sorry will not cut it in a combat situation, Miss Rose! If you can't even manage to beat someone like Mister Arc how do you plan to deal with a real threat in the field!" The dean asked making Jaune grimace.
"Not even beat me?" Jaune aksed as the dean pause as a flush came to her face as she coughed once.
"Not like that Mister Arc! I assure you I was merely commenting on your... lack of aura! And the natural strength that Ruby has giving her a clear advantage over you!"
"But you already said that...
Jaune said as the dean paused before going back to her appraisal.
"While you started off well. Pelting the enemy with ranged fire you failed to vary your attacks insisting on trading evenly with an opponent that had a superior aura to you."
" That is a recipe for disaster Miss Rose, and if you do so in the future, you may find yourselves at the mercy of opponents far less merciful then Mister Arc."
"Yes, Miss GoodWitch! I'll do better! I swear!"
"See that you do. Otherwise? You both did well! I see lots of room for growth and huge potential from the both of you! Otherwise good fight and keep training dismissed!"
The dean said, and Jaune and Ruby began to walk back to their friends.
"You did good Ruby," Jauen said smiling weakly as the two walked away from the arena and the girl sighed.
"You don't have to lie to me Jaune. I know I got beat. By a ma-
"A friend."
Jaune said stopping her from saying that word as nodded her head.
"A friend?"
"We are friends right?"
"Of course," Jaune replied as Ruby sighed smiling weakly as they returned to their friends he smiled at the girl
"Hey, Ruby so that you know. That was a good fight. And no matter what anybody says I'm proud of you." Jaune said as the girl froze stared then smiled at him.
"Thank you." She said as they walked back to their teams as Jaune saw a bit of good news.
As his partner was no longer staring daggers into him but was now beaming a fierce pride as she looked at him with the single most prideful glare that he had ever seen as she beckoned him to sit next to her as Ren waved him eagerly cheering on his leader while Nora merely smiled at him.
Meanwhile, Ruby's welcome was far less cordial. Weiss was glaring openly at the girl spitting venom with her eyes as she stared at her leader with naked contempt.
Yang for her part while trying and failing to look supportive was smiling weakly at her as she flashed her a slight smile.
Blake for her part was the only one not shooting her a wary look as she gave her a blank expression as she sat down.
"Jaune! You did amazing!" Pyrrha said as she gripped his shoulder making him flush and wince as her strength nearly broke his arm as he winced. "
Yeah! You were all bang! Fwish! And she was all ahh! Don't stab me!" Ren said waving his gun scythes animatedly as Nora rubbed his head affectionately as she sighed.
"You did good Jaune. We are proud of you." The girl said may as Jaune sat back down to what was perhaps the first warm greeting of his team as they sat in harmony.
This happy moment was overshadowed by a dark show came over as he saw the polar opposite of it in team RWBY as Weiss sated at her leader with naked contempt as she scooted as far away from her as possible while still sitting on the same bleacher.
Yang looked pitifully at her sister and while into openly saying anything was still not flashing her a smile as she quit rubbing her shoulder.
"Cheer up Rubes! You got all the time to get better!"
The girl said with a faux smile as her sister sighed into her hands.
Blake said nothing as she merely read a book as the team sat in silence.
"Jaune? Why are you not eating?" Pyrrha asked with a discerning glare as she saw Jaune's empty dinner plate.
"I'm not hungry!" Jaune said grimacing, but a rumble from his stomach killed that excuse in a heartbeat.
"Jaune you are clearly hungry. If you want to eat you should eat." The girl said as she put a hand on his shoulder.
"You practically inhaled your food this morning but now you are refusing to take a bite of dinner?"
"Just not hungry," Jaune said wincing as hunger pains entered his body. Oh, he was hungry, but he was not about to be stuck by becoming overeaten. He knew when his body was coming back from starvation he last thing he wanted to do was overeat. That would lead to disaster and-
"Arc. Not eating is an unhealthy habit and not one that I condone." Weiss said as she took a break from giving Ruby a baleful gale that would have frozen the sun as her face did a complete one-eighty turning from venom to one of pure bliss as she stared at him.
"It's ok Weiss. I'm just not hungry...
Jaune said as the heiress shot him a glare that pierced his core.
"Arc. Do not pretend to be tough to impress others. I am already impressed enough with your stately arena display."
"You liked my fight?"
"You where amazing! You fought with skill and tactics using your own ingenuity to defeat what I considered to be a superior opponent and triumphed handsomely!"
Weiss said making Ruby cower as Jaune grimaced. Ruby was Jaune's friend even if she was a woman. Jaune did not generally like women, but his opinion had been changing slightly as of late mainly due to Beacon.
And if Ruby, Velvet, and Nora could be different maybe Weiss could too? Perhaps she just needed a friend as well?
"Why are you so optimistic? Out of all of them, you want to be friends with the heiress? Why do I even try?"
"An Arc forgives. You know this."
"Weiss, what are you doing later on this week?"
Jaune asked as the heiress's mouth dropped open before slamming back up in an instant.
"Besides my date with you which I assume we are still on?"
"Yes but besides that?"
"I... I'm not doing anything why do you ask?" Weiss asked batting her eyelids playing with her tiara whimsically as she looked at Jaune with a coy grin.
"Would you like to fight me?" Jaune asked making the girls face blanch before gaining a confused expression.
"You want to fight... me?"
"Yes! I think that a fight can bond people and I think it might make us better friends!"
Jaune said making the girl paused before a smile broker her face.
"That sounds lovely Jaune! I would love to spar with you."
The girl said before Jaune's scroll beeped alerting him to a notification.
"I need to go to the library. A book I borrowed needs to be returned."
"I'll walk with you."
A sly voice from his left said, Blake? Stepped up nodding at him gain curious glance from the table as Pyrhha look ready to speak but paused and smiled a loving smile to him.
"Have fun. If you need anything, please call us." Pyrrha said giving him a bit of space and making Nora widen her eyes at the girl as team RWBY bid their member a farewell and JNPR did the same as they walked away.
"Do you want to hold hands? I heard you like it when girls do that to you?"
Blake asked as Jaune blushed slightly as the taller beautiful faunus girl spoke to him.
"Sure," Jaune said as he held out his hand and as a thin silky one embraced his.
"He's skinny. Far too skinny. He never got that rib checked out either, at least he isn't overeating. Though I doubt someone like him would."
"Jaune, may I ask you a question?"
"Sure?"
"Back in the cafeteria why did you help the girl?"
"Velvet?"
"Yes, she was getting a harassed why did you help her?"
"Because she needed help."
"He seems a good person."
"That's all?"
"That's all."
"Even if she was a faunus?"
"Now I'll see what his intention and don't even try to lie to-
"Does that matter?" Jaune asked the faunus girl as her sharp amber eyes widened.
"But...
"Humans don't like faunus as a rule. Male's are a bit better than the women, but they still cast a glare at them."
She thought as Jaune stared at her wondering why she was wearing that bow. Jaune had been around more than enough faunus in the wilds to know what one looked like.
The bow was an obvious tell and one that literally moved now and then. That and one her eyes where into human too slitted a cat like maybe she was a cat faunus? Two her stance was far too graceful for any human to attempt to achieve.
Three she had claws. Well even if they were filed and painted a thin raven colored now so it would not be obvious, but he knew the difference between a claw and a nail. He learned that the hard way...
"So you didn't care that she was a faunus?"
"Please say yes. Please say yes. I risked everything for humans like you...
"Of course. Why would I care if she was a faunus., It would be the same thing for a human. She needed help, so I gave it to her. What's so hard to believe about that wouldn't anybody help another person in need?"
Jaune asked not wholly believing his own words but saying what he thought she would want to hear as she smiled a light smile at him.
"I believe they would.'
"No way in hell would they do that. But I'm glad you do. You're proof that I was right and Adam was wrong."
"It's nice to see a human that doesn't mind the faunus.'
"Is that rare?"
"You have no idea most women don't even talk to us let alone help us at all."
"I don't get it. The faunus are the same as humans I mean you are a faunus but-
"What did you say!?"
Blake asked as her ears perked up and bow went rigid.
"I said just because you are faunus does not mean-
"I am not a faunus!"
"Uhh yes, you are Blake. It's obvious that you area faunus, I have no idea why you-
GAH!
Jaune gasped as he went form the middle of Beacon hallway to the damned wall as a sharp elbow that was now placed directly under his jugular bruising his flesh and cutting off his air supply as he gasped in pain.
"What was that?!"
"I said that you were a faunus!"
"How!? How?! How!?"
She thought as Blake forced her elbow into his neck making him choke and gasp as his eyes began to water.
"Why! How did you know!? Did the fang send you!? Is that how a boy got into Beacon?"
"Ths is bad! BAd! BAD! BAD! He's probably an assassin and-
"NO! The fang didn't send me!"
"The fang!? So you do know about them!"
"No! I don't! I know them I have no relation to them! I swear!"
Jaune hissed through gritted teeth as Blake growled at him.
"Liar! Tell me the truth! How did you know that-
"The bow! The bow gives it away!"
Jaune said as Blake blinked owlishly at him as she held the boy against the wall.
"The bow...
"It gives you away! Clear as day!"
"How?"
"Blake! It twitches!" Jaune gasped gasping for breath as the girl blinked at him.
"It... it twitches?"
"Yes! It's obvious if you ask me!"
"It.. it can't be...
The girl said as Jaune's vision began to fade to black as the light faded and his body began to fall limp.
"It is! Please! Let me go! I can't breathe!"
Jaune gasped as Blake put a hushed hand over her mouth and whispering into his ear.
"Sorry about this!" Blake hissed into Jaune's ear before Jaune could reply a fist slammed into his jugular making his eyes bludge.
GAK! Jaune gasped as Blake slammed a fist into his neck before delivering a brutal punch to his gut before kneeing him in his crotch before dropping him to the ground and yelling...
"Get off of him!" Blake yelled as Jaune wondered what the hell she was saying before gasping for breath.
"Jaune!? What happened to you?!" A familiar thickly accented voice said as Jaune looked up to see the frightened eyes of Velvet above him as Blake spoke.
"I was walking with him to the library before I left for the bathroom. When I came back he was getting roughed up by some older classmates right Jaune?"
Blake asked as her strange sword gun hybrid poked menacingly out of her side as Jaune gulped.
"Yeah... She helped me out...
"We should tell Miss GoodWitch! And-
"That's not necessary."
Blake said cutting Velvet off as the elder faunus glared at her.
"Why not? He was just harassed by a group of older students! Why wouldn't we press the issue?"
"Because...
Because of what?"
Velvet asked Blake signaled to Jaune for help.
"It's no big deal Velvet! I just got a bit unlucky."
"Jaune! You shouldn't be harassed especially on your first day!'
"Velvet it's fine-
"I disagree." the faunus said in an unusually strict voice as she gave him a harsh glare that she was previously thought incapable of.
"Jaune I don't know what happened, but I think I should call my leader. She would know what to so and-
"Velvet! It's ok! Was it just some bad luck ok? Don't press this... For me?" Jaune asked as the taller girl sighed and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Ok for you..." Velvet said as she smiled brightly at him as they began to walk away.
"He what!?"
Pyrrha shouted at the top of her lungs as Blake and Jaune rolled their eyes as in return for Velvet not telling her leader Jaune would have to tell his partner.
That partner was now on a rant about a woman, and sexual harassment before her shouting inevitably brought the other members of team RWBY specifically the RWY of the team as they got their own opinion involved in the matter which was more or less the same.
Worry, form Ruby, who fitted between checking Jaune's face for bruises and sprinting to Velvet to ask her for information.
Anger form Yang, who was burning with anger in the most literal sense of the word as also checked him for injuries just a bit more roughly then Ruby, and a finally there was a call for the authorities form Wiess, and it looked like it was going to spiral out of control before Nora spoke up.
"Listen up!" The quiet girl shouted catching the teams off guard by her sharp outburst.
"Jaune. You said your fine. Is that true?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Is anything wrong with you? Are you physically hurt, are you emotionally damaged?"
"No, I'm fine."
"Then there is nothing to worry about-
"But!" Weiss began before Nora glared her down.
"Jaune said he is fine. So he. Is. Fine. If he wants to change his mind or talk about in the morning that's one thing but until then he's fine. And I for one think he could use some rest ok?"
Nora said as the teams reluctantly as they agreed and left for their rooms or beds but not before Pyrrha, Yang, Weiss, and Ruby had to double check or in the case of his partner tipple check that he was ok.
Before either leaving his room or finally going to bed as Jaune sighed heavily as he went to his one bed out under his own covers.
First day in Beacon. Done. Jaune thought before closing his eyes and going to sleep...
"Hey there! Who's my big strong hunter! How are you!"
The irritatingly sharp voice of Mink said as Jaune opened his eye to see a familiar room filled with nothing as Mink loomed over him still smoking a sickly cigar.
She was still wearing those hilarious and ridiculously oversized white cowboy boots, large steering white blazer, and long flowing silver hair as she blinks down at him.
"Mink. What do you want?" Jaune asked getting up groggy in the swirling void of darkness around him as the sole ray of light was where he sat.
"To congratulate you on your first arena win! Gotta say I'm loving those level ups!" The demon said as she napper her fingers as a floating silver screen popped up.
"You got four levels off of that fight! Use those points wisely!"
Mink said Jaune sighed as he looked at his contract screen.
Name Jaune Arc.
Level up! +4!
Health 70/190
Level 9/?
Xp till next level 700/930
Class: Survivalist
Passive last gasp.
Skills. Do or die. Deflection.
Special abilities. Semblance unlocked Kinetic telepathy.
Quirks.
Paranoid.M
Gullible.M
Faster.M
Forgiving.P
Traits.
Stalwart.P
Stubborn.M
Honest.P
Title. Prince in the castle.
Rank?
Stat break down.
Str: 42
Wit 13
Charisma 40
Charm 27
Intellect 46
Vitality:79
Will 83+ 20 due to stubborn trait
dexterity: 44
deception 13
Luck 44
Mood. Tired, Hungry.
Skill points available twenty.
"Some of my stats went up from yesterday that I didn't level up. How did that happen? I thought that I could only do level up at night?"
"AH! You noticed that! Well, meat sack to answer your question you can only level up your specific levels at night!"
"Specific?"
"Basically your day to day activities like fighting, learning, training, running etc. can all level up their specific abilities and corresponding stats during the day. While it is not as effective as doing it at night."
"And while you will only earn skills at half the rate of a woman you can still level them up, so training is still important to you! So what do you want to do with your twenty skill points meat sack?"
"Put ten into dexterity, five to deception and three to strength and two to vitality."
Jaune said as he watched the corresponding levels go up as Mink nodded.
"Good good! Now let's check out your bestiary you got some juicy new contacts! You lady killer you!" Mink said as the screen flashed as he saw a sign that said new contacts as Jaune opened first one.
Name: Velvet Scarletina.
Social Rank. 24/200
Health 200/200
Rank new cute friend.
Relationship rank 28/200
Status Crush. Velvet has a crush on you.
Title. Honey Buns.
Quirks.
Shy,
Bashful,
Stubborn.
Special Skills Some call it stalking...
Traits.
Forgiving.
Compassionate.
Enduring.
Stat break down.
Str. 1+ 3
Chr. 30
Charm 50
Vitality 70
Intellect+1 30
Wit. 49
Dexterity 89
Will.+1 70 + 20 due to stubborn trait.
Deception 10
Luck 20
Alignment Progressive.
Defining trait. Empathetic.
"Defining trait? How do I know that already?"
"Looks like you bonded with the bunny girl today lady killer! Good work!"
The demoness said as Jaune stared at her stats before noticing something.
"Wait she has a plus that means-
"She's capped that skill once before, so it's that plus two hundred!"
"She's firm...
"Your damned right! That bunny has a kick! I mean look at those legs!"
The demoness said as she showed a zoomed in picture of the bunny girl's immensely muscled thighs making Jaune sweat as the Demoness floated up next to him.
"Hey, their lover boy don't give me that look! Giving how much she likes you it's probably only a matter of time before she grabs that head of yours and forced it between those creamy things! I hope you got a good tongue in that mouth of yours cause if you ask me those are some real melon cracker thighs!"
Mink said as Jaune stuttered brightly gaining a fierce blush form the boy as she laughed raucously at him.
"Easy there mortal! Keep up that affection, and you'll be getting a taste of the bunny's honey sooner or later!"
"Mink! I don't even think I like her?"
"Ehhh? What if she likes you? You do know she has the crush thing, and it's not just for show." Mink said making him sigh as Jaune picked the next name on the new contacts list.
Name: Blake Belladonna.
Health 160/160
Social rank.20/200
Rank. Friends.
Blake is impressed by your willingness to stand up for the faunus.
She is currently grateful for your concealing of her identity from her team.
Relationship rank 40/200
Mood curious, vindication.
Special skills?
Passive, From the shadows.
Quirks.
Keen.
Possessive.
Untrusting.
Effective.
Traits.
Reformer.
Stubborn.
Avenger.
Stat break down.
Strength 70
Wit. 60
Will 100
Intellect 80
Charm 20
Chr 50
Vitality 50
Dexterity 80
Deception +1 30
Luck 40
Alignment progressive.
"Why is everybody so damned stronger than me?"
"You had your aura locked for years, my friend! That means you had one hell of an XP cap for the time you spent in the wilds! In fact, your lack of aura led to a whopping minus 80% XP loss in your travels!"
The thing said as Jaune sighed before a thought popped into his head.
"Mink. I've noticed that I don't' seem to know everything about my self. It's like he has flashed of know what's that about?"
"So glad you asked! In case you forgot or I just didn't tell you, you are currently under the effect of locked memories!"
"Locked memories?"
"Remember this is a show for us back home! And to keep it interesting for them some of your memories that are locked. As in you do not necessarily know them! Think of it like this! The other you know everything because well it's his life! While you! On the other hand, do not, and your memories are locked so that when a major event happens you can have a strong emotional response."
"Why the hell would you lock my memories? And not his?"
"Well Duh! Because we need to eat of course!"
The thing said as Jaune began to sweat.
"Eat? What do you mean to eat? What do you even eat?"
"This."
The demoness said as she floated over to his chest and placed her hand on his chest relishing the way his heart thumped!
"You eat human hearts!?"
Jaune asked panicking as the demon cocked her head to him before tossing her head back and laughing raucously.
"What!? No! Of course not meat sack! We don't eat human hearts! Why the hell would we do that?!"
"Then why did you put your hand on my chest and say this?! If you don't eat hearts what do you eat?!"
"Emotions silly! Demons love human emotions!"
"You eat... emotions?"
"Yup! We can't have emotions like you do. And we find them delicious! Specifically fear, love, desire, jealousy! We love the stuff and right now the entirety of the seventh realm is gaining a straight feeding line to you! So thanks for the meal!"
The demon said relishing the way the human began to shake as his blue eyes went wide in panic. As the demoness took a deep whiff of him before snapping her fingers together as a large sheet of paper came into reality as she wafted it over his head before rolling it up and lighting it with a spark of purple flames from her hand.
"What is that? Fear? Anxiety? Trepidation? That's the good stuff!"
The demoness said taking a deep whiff of her cigar as she began to smoke it taking a long draw from it as Jaune glared at her.
"I'm not your meal!"
Jaune yelled at the thing that cocked it's head in surprise before grinning at him.
"Aww! That's so cute!"
"What? That you think using me as food is ok?"
"No. I think it's cute that you think I give a shit about what you want."
"Demons," Jaune muttered bitterly before speaking up.
"Anything else I should know?"
"A bit. Rember when I was talking about the casualty continuum?"
"Yes? What about it?"
"Well I've been looking it over a bit, and it's looking a little bit funky as of late."
"Funky? The hell does that mean?"
"Well, you remember what I said about how it goes over the general chance of shit breaking out and hitting the fan?"
"Yes...
"Well did I ever explain the difference between hard breaks and soft ones?"
"No... what the hell is a hard break compared to a soft one?"
"I'm glad you asked! Well as you know the casualty continuum is basically a giant random number generator that rolls a die every day to determine the amount of chance that shit is going to hit the fan. while it does control a lot, it is still limited to work in the confines of the world you are currently residing in."
"Explain."
"For example! The current casualty rank of point four percent is low. Extremely low. That means taking into everything about your world as of now there is a point four percent chance of shit hitting the fan. Less than a percent!"
"But it's still a chance."
"Exactly! That means if it does happen for whatever reason the shit that breaks for it to rupture the casualty continuum is going to have to be some incredibly powerful calamity."
"What your saying is.
"The lower the chance of a break that has a break the worst the break will be. Now don't get me wrong! Any interruption of the casualty continuum is a terrible horrible thing! But since a low percentage break takes a lot more effort and recourses to make a break happen, when it does if it does happen, it is going in to be especially hideous to contend with for all parties involved...
"And you are telling me that there is a chance of it happening?"
"What I'm saying is that it's looking funny as of late and if I read the flows right it's might get a bit hectic in the next day, or next week. It's a bit fuzzy right now."
Mink said as Jaune signed as he rubbed his head.
"Great. When rains it pours."
"You got that right flesh sack your first day is done so be careful! It's about time for your Beacon field trip and let's just say this might be a plot device." The daemon said in her infuriatingly sweet sing-song voice as Jaung glared at her.
"Anything else? Or can I get back to bed so I can watch me tomorrow."
"Yup! One more! You got some interesting developments in your personal files of yours! You got a new contact in there so check it out! Let me pull them up for you!" Mink said snapping her finger as the warning icon lit up in his personal files as Jaune opened the first one.
Name: Yang Xiao-Long.
Social Rank 52/200
Relationship rank 56/200
Mood Protective lover.
Fetishes, wrestling, rough, dominance, Romance.
Passive Poke the Dragon.
Insight 50/12
Push pending...
"Push? The hell is that?"
"Keep reading!"
Name Ruby Rose
Passive Red like roses
Social Rank. 57/200
Title Dolt
Relationship Rank 50/200
Mood, White Knight.
Fetishes, Handholding, teasing. Romance
Insight 53/16
Push pending...
Ther's that word again... Jaune thought as he kept reading.
Name Pyrrha Nikos
Social Rank 59/200
Mood Guardian.
Title Cereal Girl
Relationship Rank 57/200
Your impressive area display has drastically increased your relationship score.
Fetishes, Rough, dominance, Pain yours, bondage.
Insight 51/8
Push pending...
Name: Velvet Scarletina.
Social rank 24/200
Mood crush. Velvet has a crush on you.
Relationship Rank 28/200
Title Chocolate Bunny.
Fetishes, Care, pinning, marathon, toys.
Insight 20/20 Harmony.
"I have a personal log for Velvet already? I just met the girl and what the hell is Harmony?"
"What can I say meat rag? You bonded with her. Oh! And as for harmony if your insight ever is equal to another you two are in harmony! It means that you will both progress in your relationship score much quicker than usual."
It said as Jaune looked tot he final piece of the puzzle in front of him.
"What the hell does push mean?" Jaune asked as he stared at the words push pending.
"Push pending! My little prince! Is the name for what happens when some one's insight reaches fifty of another person giving them the option to push."
"What does that mean?"
"It's like this. Have you ever heard the phrase all conversation is just a form of manipulation? Well, it's true. Insight gives people unique information about you and opens up character specific dialogue options. So when anyone's insight reaches fifty, they gain the option to push you."
"And that means?"
"It simply means that everybody wants something for everyone, period. But most people will not ask other for it even if they want it just because they can. They will wait to bide their time setting up a goal followed by a plan and then attack."
"So they might attack me!?"
"Not like that! It merely means that every girl and guy in your bestiary has an agenda that involves you. And their progress towards that agenda is in this file. And once they have reached a fifty or greater levels in their insight of you they might just act on said agenda. That's why it said push pending! And not Push conscious!"
"What does push mean though? What are they going to try to do to me?"
"Well, that all depends on the person and their agenda. Usually, they will try to force a quirk or trait onto you."
"Force? Like, make me develop one?"
Yes. Remember the progressive traditionalist stuff? They all have a different view of the world and would like it if you fit their views. So they will attempt to push you into seeing things from their point of view."
"How would they do that?"
"They might try to get you alone, or in public they are bold. And they will well push into you."
"So they will talk to me?"
"They will attempt to convince you to do something or see something a certain way. They will try to use their insight of you to advance their own agenda. How the hell they will try to do this I have no idea. Humans are weird you know?"
"You're telling me so I'm guessing that a push is universally bad?"
"This can be good, or it can be B A D." The demon said annunciating each letter as Jaune gulped.
"What kind of agendas do they have?" Jaune asked as the demon grinned.
"I don't know that's all up to them. They are your friends after all so you should know. Now get some rest tomorrows going to be one helluva day...
Jaune awoke with a sharp break as he shot open his eyes once again awaking from his dreamless slumber to see the dull, bland ceiling of his Beacon dorm room, luckily he was not run over by a train of hunger pangs this time as he swung his legs out of the bed and made his way to the bathroom.
After a ten-minute morning session, Jaune was showered shaved and cleaned as he opened the door to find a familiar pair of emerald eyes waiting for him.
'Hello, Jaune! Good morning." The melodic voice of his partner sang as Jaune nodded his head to her.
"Morning Pyrrha how are you?"
"I am grand. Yourself?" She asked with a strained smiled as Jaune sighed internally.
"Fine bathrooms free," Jaune said as she nodded her head as she walked past him and inot the bathroom.
"Morning Jaune." A sleepy voice said as aloud yawn entered the rooms Nora dragged herself out of her bed. Her lose pink sloth covered pajama hung loosely around her body as she showed parts of her ample chest as she cocked back ahead and let out a mighty yawn as Jaune saw a flash of twin pink dots and turned a vicious level of red.
"Morning Nora. You ok?" Jaune said looking dead to the floor as the girl yawned and stretched.
"Tired. Pyrrha in the bathroom?"
"Yeah."
"K. I'll wait," Nora said flopping back on her bed before she began to snore loudly.
Aporximetly thirty minute later both Pyrrha and Nora where showed dress and up, while Ren was zipping up and down the room talking about every subject under the sun while studying for every Bacon class simultaneously.
He was somehow testing, using and checking his own self as he ran back an for with a mass of papers between him as JNPR finally got ready and walked outside just as their sister team was emerging from their room right on time.
"Morning," Jaune said yawning loudly as a blur of red roses ran into him.
"Good morning Jaune! How are you?" Ruby said taking his hand in hers ignore the flame for her sister the icy mist from her partner and the sheer venomous glared form his partner as she took his hand and her voice filled his head.
"This is it! Today I Ruby Rose! Will show you Jaune Arc! Exactly what I'm made of! I'm going to be the best friend you ever had! Come Cookies or milk!" Ruby thought Jaune smiled.
"How's my best Beacon friend doing?" Jaune asked the girl making her flush a brilliant shade of red as she began stammering openly
"Best friend!? Best friend!? He thinks I'm his best friend! This is the best thing ever! I-
"Jaune! I thought I was your best friend!?" Ren said as he teleported from his side as he latched his arm onto Ruby making the girls mind turn to mush.
Literally, Jaune stopped hearing coherent words form her head as a fain slushing noise filled his head as she literally had her brains melted.
"Jaune! I thought I was your best friend!" Ren said pulling Ruby as her brain stuttered to life.
"Two... Boys... I'm surrounded by two cute boys! But I only like Jaune! Besides Ren is cute, but he already has Nora! Right? I think they are together but not together-together? Or something! But still two boys-
"Hey, there Sis! You are looking mighty lucky over there! Knee deep in boys less the five minute in the morning! Watch out Jaune she's cheating on you!"
Yang said making Ren blush a fierce shade of Ren as he jumped back into their group slamming into Nora and clinging to her waist making the taller girl sigh as she rubbed his head before Yang snatched Jaune from her sister and hugged him...
Woman. Jaune thoughts he felt his head press into Yang's ample cleavage as she hugged him. He knew this game soon she would feel him up and-
Jaune's thoughts where briefly vindicated before a voice entered his head and made him pause.
"He's still too skinny. Why aren't you eating? What's wrong? If you need to talk I'm always here for you ok? No one should be starved let alone beaten. I'm so sorry this happened to you."
Yang thought she felt an actual level of empathy from the girl making him pause. Most woman just used the hug excuse to grope him or press him into themselves, but she uses it to check up on him, but she also was checking him for harm making him blush as the group walked to their breakfast.
Once again Jaune inhaled his breakfast making his team cast worried glances toward him as he scarfed down slab after slab of bacon, toast, hashbrowns, ham and a glass of water.
Once again Jaune got a pained glance from his partner who looked like she desperately wanted to ask him something but never did as their friends ate Jaune could not help but notice how Weiss was not being very friendly to Ruby.
In fact, the girl was actually downright mean to her younger leader. Going from snide comments to direct and actually hurtful insults in less than a day and shattering the girls will as the meal went on.
This was a trend that continued through the day. From berating her for messing around in Pretoria's class despite the entirely of her time don the same thing, to not taking notes in Ooblecks in every flaw every little mistake that Ruby made Weiss analyze criticized and made several ways he could improve if she just were better.
This happened until it finally reached a break-in point in a shouting match in the Beacon hallway between the two that left the younger girl in tears and Wiess facing down an angry Yang while Blake was nowhere to be found.
Pyrrha looked upset about Weiss' behavior but remained neutral. Ren and Nora seemed utterly immune to it all as Ren ranted on and on about algae and Nora pretended to listen. as they did this Jaune sighed as he did if no one else would do it then he would as he went after Ruby...
"Come on Ruby! Where did you go?" Jaune asked roaming the Beacon hallways looking for the tear-stained girl before a strong hand gripped his shoulder.
"She went that way."
A cool voice said as Jaune let out the single highest shriek he could have as Blake appeared behind him as she smirked.
"Blake?! Where did you come from!?"
"Behind you." She said with a shit eating grin as Jaune glared at her.
"Jeeze! Did they only teach stealth in the white fang or-
GAK!
Jaune gasped as once again another fist slammed him into the wall as Blake glared daggers at him.
"Quiet! Don't bring that up in public!"
Blake hissed as Jaune gasped in panic.
"Sorry! Blake! Air! Plese!"
"Sorry! I didn't mean to! Just don't say that in public!"
Blake said releasing Jaune as he gasped.
"What is it with woman and slamming me into walls!?" Jaune hissed as he coughed loudly as Blake cocked her head at him.
"You like it when girls pin you to a wall?"
"I thought it was a myth that guys likes girls slamming them into walls."
Blake asked as Jaune glared at her.
"No, I don't! But that doesn't seem to make a difference!" Jaune said with a slight blush as Blake cocked her eyes at him questioningly.
"Because that seems obvious, I mean if you do I have nothing against that. I read worse than that every day in Ninjas. I mean you are cute when was the last time I had sex? It has been a while. Maybe I can work out something with you?"
"I mean I don't like it when I am slammed into a wall especially by girls with golden eyes! I mean seriously! It's like every time I meet a girl with gold or amber eyes she always pins me to a wall!"
"You have a history getting pinned to the wall by a golden-eyed woman?"
Blake asked as Jaune nodded once.
"You got it in one. You should have seen the last one I knew!"
"Oh, what was she like?"
Blake inquired as the boy took a moment to think before replying.
"Well, she kinda looked like you actually. She looked a lot like you to be honest. You both had smooth creamy skin, flowing black hair. though she was a bit crimson. Bright golden eyes though she had a thing for red."
Jaune said before he grimaced slightly as he reached a hand to his face.
"I take it that the last time you two met things did not end up so well?"
"You could say the last time we were in a room together things got a bit heated," Jaune said as he reached a hand up to his face to touch his burn mark as Blake grimaced.
"Sorry about that."
"No worries. Not your problem. You didn't collapse your house on your wedding day did you?"
Jaune asked the faunus girl as Blake flashed him a smile.
"No, I did not. But if you are looking for Ruby she went to the left."
"Thanks, Blake! I owe you one!" Jaune said gripping her hand tightly only to regret the action the instant he touched the girl...
"You better not tell anybody about the white fang. I risked everything to make it here and I can't let a loose mouth run free. Even if you are cute. Don't make me regret letting you live."
Blake thought as Jaune felt a cold hand gripping his chest as he ran off to find Ruby.
He found her ten minutes later crying on the roo before sigh deep and waked or got her an putting a hand on her shoulder and surprising her.
"Jaune!?" Ruby asked turning around her once calm silver eyes puffy and red stained with tears as she briefly wiped them off her face as she tried to back up from him.
"Wh- What are you doing here!?" Ruby asked blushing fiercely as she desperately tried to wipe her tears away from her face as Jaune walked over putting his hands on her shoulders and making her eep!
"looking for my best friend. You didn't look so good in the hallway. Or sound so good either." Jaune said making a light joke as Ruby shot a glare at him.
"Look who's talking." Ruby snapped back before covering her mouth.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! It was just-
"It's fine Ruby. I know that you didn't mean it. Now honestly what's wrong?" Jaune asked the girl as she sniffled once more.
"It's Weiss...
"You don't say," Jaune said in his most sarcastic voice possible as Ruby glared at him.
"Was it that obvious?"
The girl asked shrugging her shoulders and going to lean over the Beacon roof's railing as she looked into the bright Vale sun.
"Nah its just Beacon has fragile walls so when you say you are nothing but a spoilt rich brat it tends to carry through the hallways."
Jaune said making the girl roll her eyes.
"Why me? Why does this kind of thing always happen to me? I didn't ask to be a leader! Hell, I don't even think I should be a leader! Weiss was right! I'm too young I have no experience! I have no charisma! And me-
"Nope."
"Jaune why did you say-
"Nope."
"Jaune-
"Nope!"
Jaune replied again as Ruby narrowed her eyes at him.
"Jaune why are you saying nope? It's starting to get creepy can you stop?"
"Nope!"
"Jaune stop that, it's creepy."
"You first," Jauen said making Ruby blink owlishly.
"Stop what?"
"Stop trying to be something that your not."
"Jaune-
"Ruby, you want to be Weiss right? More like her? Because she's older, more mature, smarter? "
"Yes?"
"Well don't. Ruby, you are looking at this the wrong way. You are not Weiss you will never be Weiss so you should stop trying to be!"
"But she's so much better than me!" Ruby demanded adamantly yelling at her best friend for the first time.
"She's smart, strong, well educated, has good mannered an-
"None of that matters."
"Jaune-
"So what if she's smart, educated strong and knows what fork cuts meat and which cuts cake? She might have all of that, but still despite her smarts despite her skills and abilities Opal still picked you to be the leader."
"She knew what Weiss was. She saw all her talents all her potential, but she still picked you. You know what that means right?"
"That she has a bad taste in talent?"
"It means that she saw something in you. She saw inner potential some inner talent that Weiss could never possess. She saw a leader in you, Ruby. She saw the spark of greatness! And I see it too!"
"So what if you're not as smart, or well mannered as Weiss? You are kind, funny, quick on your feet, you have a great head for strategy, and you lead your team to kill the Nevermore on the first day! There is no better leader for team RWBY then you in my opinion! You are the best leader in the school!"
"J-
"And more importantly! You are you. You are Ruby Rose, the one, and only Rub Rose. And only you can be you. Not Weiss, Not Yang, and not me. So don't worry about trying to be the type of person Weiss wants you to become. Only worry about being the best person you can be."
Jaune said mollifying the girl before she began to cry again!?
What did I say!? Jaune that as his mind raced a million thoughts a second before Ruby began to laugh. It was a short hard thing that sounds like a kicked puppy before she put her hand on his shoulder.
"Thank you, Jaune. You kicked some sense into me when I needed it the most."
"No problem it's what friends are for right?"
Jaune asked making the girl blush before she began to fidget.
"Jaune, there is something I have been mean to ask you, later on in the evening around five can you meet me here? There is something I have been meaning to ask you about and I think now is the right time."
"Sure what's it about?"
"That's a secret! I'll tell you then! For now, I got to go find my partner!" Ruby said before disappearing into a blur of roses as Jaune smiled at the girl before a ticking of a cane filled the air as Jaune hear footsteps behind him as a sweet feminine voice spoke up.
Tick! Tak! Tick! Tak!
"My my mister Arc. That was quite the impressive speech if I do say so myself." A clear voice said from behind as Jaune turned to see Opal standing before him steaming mug of coffee? He guessed in hand as the grey-haired elder woman eyed him with an enigmatic smile.
"Opal!?" Jaune asked as the elder woman giggled as she walked over to him. Long, intricate black silver cane clicking on the ground as she swayed over to Jaune making him sweat as she walked up.
"That's headmistress Opal to you. Be lucky that my dean was not here to hear that. I'm not sure if she would have put you over the roof or over her knee with her cane in hand if she had her prerogative."
The woman said in a calm voice as Jaune gulped.
"I'm sorry mam! I just-
"Calm down mister Arc. I merely jest. I highly doubt that my second would do anything that severe to you."
The woman said chuckling lowly as she rested her hands on her ornate black and silver cane.
"That severe?"
'Oh fear not Mister Arc. I look out for the safety of all my students. Although I do hope that the presence of a young man at my school would knock some of the starch from her stockings. Maybe a passionate night with a blushing young schoolboy would do her some good no?" The woman asked before sighing as she saw the panicking young boy in front of her.
"Once again I jest. But you do impress me Miser Arc."
"I do?"
"Yes. I had been meaning to talk to miss Rose about her team troubles for some time, but you beat me to the punch. And you did a splendid job of reassuring herself and giving her a much-needed confidence boost int he process. Thank you for that. She needed that."
The woman said as hey sleet grey eyes stared at Jaune with an unreadable expression as Jaune gulped.
"Mam? Did I do something else?"
"No Mister Arc. But I do suggest that you find a good pair of clothes."
"For what mam?"
"For tonight of course. It won't be due to go on a date with something less than your best attire you know?"
"Date!? She just said she wanted to talk to me! That's not a date. Headmistress mam." Jaune said making the woman chuckle.
"Mister Arc what would you call being asked to appear alone on the Beacon roof by a member of the opposite gender as but a date?"
The woman said flashing him an unreadable smile s Jaune blushed as she checked once and walked away.
"I will speak with you again Mister Arc. Until then have a good day...
Blood. The sky was the color of blood as Jaune looked out inot the setting Beacon sun. They giant firey orb hung low in the air as it fell down toward the horizon line coloring it a violent showing or blood orange and a violent yellow as the colors collided and crashed into one another as he looked at it.
"I'm sorry!" A sharp voice said as Ruby burst out of the side door and slid on the rooftop before zipping over to Jaune panting heavily as she did as the older girl sat next to him panting heavily as Jaune smiled at her.
Ruby looked nice. She was wearing a brand new Beacon uniform; her hair was now made up in a neat bun that Jaune found quite appealing as she smelled of a sweet cherry perfume as she smiled brightly at him.
"Sorry, I'm late! I got held up getting dressed!"
"Don't worry about it you look great," Jaune said as the girl turned her head to the side as she blushed heavily.
"You don't mean that!" Ruby said blushing profusely as Jaune put a hand to her and gripped it interlock their fingers together.
"I do. You're beautiful." Jaune said as he heard her brain fizzle and short.
He heard her gears grinding in her head as a low sparking noise entered her brain as a warm? Felling entered his body. This had been happening more as of late. It seemed his semblance was growing to allow him to not only hear but feel the emotion in somebody as Ruby held his hand.
"You said you had something you wanted to talk to me about? What is it?" Jaune asked s ruby gained a severe expression. It was jarring, to be honest seeing her ordinarily carefree face become hard as slate as she gained Stelly appearance before taking a deep breath turning to case his face as her silver eyes locked on his.
Jaune felt like he was stuck as a massive hand gripped his boy and forced his head to look into her own as Ruby's eyes glared at him.
"Jaune. I am your friend. Your best friend. I know that I have not known you for long, and we have spent less than a week together but! I am your friend!"
"I truly am. And when I see my friend in pain, I don't like it. Not at all. Something is bothering you Jaune. I don't know what it is, but I want you to know that whatever it is you can talk to me. No. I want you to talk to me. Jaune, please tell me what's wrong with you."
Ruby asked as Jaune felt himself locked into her gaze as his breath came short as his pull quicked. His knees began to quake as his palms began to sweat as he thought a massive for build in his chest before he broke...
"Ruby... You know who I am. You know I ran away from home."
"I do."
"When I was at home... I didn't have the most comfortable life back in my house... My mom liked to hit me... So did my sisters. Not all of them! Mind you. Some were nice to me! Usually... sometimes they did nothing, and sometimes they helped...
Ruby stood silently as she kept her hard glare a Jaune before he sighed as he turned his face to the sun.
"Ruby, can I ask you a question? I don't often ask this, but I think I should ask. This time."
"Anything."
"Why did she do it? Why did she hit me? I didn't like it. I don't think I deserved it. I didn't deserve it... did I?"
Jaune asked as a burst of feeling came from the girls head before it went silent. As Ruby simply stopped thinking as she glared at Jaune.
"I don't know. I don't know why your mom beat you. I don't know if she was angry, whether she hated you. Or she was just mean-spirited."
Ruby said as she turned her face away from Jaune's, silver eyes gazing inot the sunset as she kicked her boots over the Beacon's roof's ledge.
"I like to think that everyone has their reasons. And that at the end of the day we are all good people. But I will say this. You did not deserve that abuse. You may not be perfect but no one deserves to be beaten, and you are no exception."
"I don't know about her reasons, and I honestly don't care. Jaune you are a person. A human being. I don't care if you are a guy or not, you deserve respect like anybody else. I can't go back in time to help you, even if I wish I could."
"I can't stop what happened to you nor can I stop your past pain. But I can say this. I won't do that to you. Your friends won't do that to you. And somebody tries to do it to you again?" Ruby said as she gained a hard glare.
"You'll protect me?"
"We'll protect you. You and me, together. As equals." Ruby said standing up pulling the boy up as she did as they two stood over the setting Beacon sun.
Jaune felt something then, it was a fast, fragile thing. Small and weak, a timid flame in a billowing storm. A tiny insignificant light in a torrent of a harsh blizzard, weak delicate and dim but it was there, and it was growing. As Jaune stared at the older girl, he smiled as he genuine bond between them as they shoot on the Beacon roof in front of the setting sun...
"AWWW! Look who made a friend!" Mink said sarcastically as Jaune glared at her.
The thing was sitting cross-legged on the floor? If you could call a swirling mess of shadows as such as she shot a shit-eating grin at him.
"Ruby is a good person."
"You think? She's a pure cinnamon roll of innocence! For now, wait till she wakes up."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"That's for me to know!"
"And me to find out.' Jaune said robbing the demon of her catchphrase as she shot out an impossibly long purple tongue at him.
"Boo! You are no fun!"
"I'm sorry you don't like my sense of humor. Mink."
"Eh! Either way, check out this relationship file! Ruby just pulled off her first push!"
Mink said as Jaune gulped as he opened his personnel file with a rapidly blinking sigil on it.
: Name Ruby Rose.
Social Rank 60/200
Rank Inseparable.
Relationship rank 60/200
Affect quirk: Affection.
Bonded.
Bond Rank one.
Mood. True friend.
Ruby and you have genuinely bonded. Leading to a much broader understanding of one another. It is now significantly harder to lie to one another. Though it is significantly easier to gain insight on the other.
Fetishes, hand holding, teasing, cuddling.
"Bonded? Affection? Mink?"
"Well! Since you asked so nicely! Let me break it down for you! Affection is a rare thing that can happen when a relationship rank breaks fifty. It means that someone has gained a genuine feeling of closeness and affection towards you. This. Is. Not. Good."
"Why? How can affection be bad?"
"Jaune emotions cloud judgment. Ruby now not only thinks! She knows that you two have a strong bond with each other. You have grown closer, and this will make her bold."
"Bold?"
"Rember how I told you most men have harems?"
"Yes."
"Well while most women have to be in a harem no woman want's to be in one. They want a man for themselves that they and only they can touch, mark and claim. If this keeps up, she will continue to act bolder and bolder, and she might try to claim you for herself. I.E. not wanting to share you."
"But if I don't get a harem I don't get my soul!"
"And we don't get any ratings!"
"Mink this is serious!"
"I know! If you don't get a harem, the casualty continuum is going to go haywire!"
"I didn't even think about that!" Jaune said as he began to sweat as the demon sighed to him.
"Jaune. I know this might be a bad spot for you, but I don't think this is game over for you. Not yet at lease. You are still probably going to die. But you might not be locked away from a harem.
"Why not?"
"Rember the casualty continuum? Well, it's getting a bit out of hand...
Jaune was going to die.
Hot blood splattered across his face as he jumped back. To close, to close! Jaune thought as he ducked into a ball swiping his sword forward grimacing as he felt metal cut flesh as hard stell bit into and cut through flesh, muscles, and tendons. He came out of his roll rolling back dodging a mass of black and red narrowly avoiding a set of reaving claws as he grith his teeth.
"AHH!" Jaune cried out as he swung his sword decapitating an Ursa Majoris as he dashed backward.
"Come on! This way!" Jaune yelled as he saw the retreating form of Ren in the back of the group sprinting at full speed as he ran away. It was a small triumph that his best male friend was going to get out of this alive. Even if he was not. Jaune thought as he saw Ren sprinting away Storm Flower in hand as Jaune allowed himself to smile in satisfaction.
Good. At least he got away. Jaune thought as fought a fighting retreat into the forever falls. It was a fierce bloody affair as he sprinted through the thick dense trees of the Forever Falls. Dodging and weaving past the massive red tress forcing the Grimm horde to break apart their numbers as they chased him through the forest.
His entire world was filled with black and red as Grimm swarmed him.
"Damn sap!" Jaune yelled as he was currently covered in the crap as Ren after drinking the nineteenth! Damn jar finally sippled the crap all over Jaune making him a damned target for the Grimm! But still! even if he was covered in sap there was damn near one hundred Ursa coming from the forest! There was no way that was an average number for them!
Luckily they only targeted him as Ren ran tog et help as Jaune's scroll was ripped from his arm and broken by an Ursa as Jaune cursed the top of his lungs as he saw his only way of contacting his friends was ripped away from him and buried by a sea of black and red.
"Come at me then!" He yelled as the first Grimm charged him as he roared...
"Well, we didn't die," Jaune said to himself as he sat by a crackling fire. Sure he was full of brand new scars, and fresh cuts bleed out on the soft grass of Vale as he watched at the Beacon tower.
By sheer luck or skill, Jaune had escaped the Ursa Horde and was now waiting for tomorrow. And though he did survive the Grimm attack he did not escape unscathed. A cold shiver enters his body as he covered his exposed chest. One Ursa had gotten lucky and managed to destroy his Beacon uniform tearing his shirt and undercoat to shreds. And tore his pant apart while leaving a deep gash on his side.
Luckily his aura had healded that wound, and the blood loss was minimal as it was no longer dripping red and was now another deep scar on his side as he sighed hevily as he huddled closer to his fire pit.
He was still a good two days walk from Beacon. One if he cut through Grimm territory. Not that he wanted to do that.
"Do we want to go back to Beacon?"
His reflection asked as Jaune caught it in his sword and was forced to admit that despite it being his goal Beacon was not all it was cracked up to be.
He had come to Beacon to be free! To escape people who were controlling his destiny and make it on his own! And for two days it was perfect! Despite the starvation and new environment, he was finally free! No controlling mother no pitying sisters just him and his team! It was perfect! Until Jaune realized that he had traded one prison for another...
Things had been going poorly for the past few weeks for the boy as Beacon went from liberating sanctuary to a gilded cage for the boy. It had all started on his second day and his date with Weiss. While the date inning of itself was fine, and they had even scheduled a follow-up date later on this week, Jaune learned a lot about the heiress including her family and overall goals at attending Beacon.
Though he has to admit he was jealous that Weiss actually had a positive relationship with her family and he didn't. Then he came back to Beacon and it fell apart. Apparently, he was not as secretive with his starvation as he intended to be and the local nurse Sandra just had to inform his team that he was recovering from severe starvation and was in need of help.
When he really wasn't. Jaune had been in a lot worse hunger pangs than this before and all he needed was a month to bounce back to normal. He had tried to explain this but his friends were having none of that. He was soon placed on a strict diet plan of nothing but soup and crackers. He was banned from all combat classes until his aura came back and was placed on lock and key until he recovered.
Jaune hated it. As much as he liked his friends he did not want them watching him like a damned child! He could handle himself and their constant vigil and rigorous set schedules and downright pitying gazes made them insufferable to him!
The only ones that he could stand to be around after a while where Ruby, Blake, and Ren. All the others even Nora had taken to treating him like a child that would die if the wind so much as blew in his general direction! And he had grown tired of it.
As he grit, his teeth the words of his tutor entered his mind. "Jaune you are a man! As a man, no one tells you what to do! What to say, what to think or what to eat! You make your own decision and anyone who says otherwise can go to hell!"
Jaune grimaced as he looked into his sword as his reflection stared at him.
"So what's the plan? We going back or are we going on the road again? I gotta say I never thought I would miss a woman but you were right. Some of them are different."
"I know I'm going crazy. Are you defending a woman? What happened to you?"
"Hey what can I say? They grew on me. Especially Velvet and Ruby. If we go for one of them they could be a good package deal so they have my vote."
His reflection said smugly as Jaune grinned at it.
"Really? What about Pyrrha?"
He asked as he blanched and stuck out his tongue.
"Good gods no! She's so controlling! She's a traditionalist and a slave driver! I'd rather you take the Schnee before you touch her!"
"Picking a Schnee? Now I know you are mad."
Jaune chuckled to himself as the reflection Jaune shrugged his shoulder.
"So what are we doing?"
"We go back."
'You sure?"
"Yeah. I just can't leave them. Better or worse they are my friends and I need to say goodbye if I do leave. I just have to get there on my own time," Jaune said aloud he leans back onto the grass already he missed his Beacon bed as he looked up into the brilliant starry sky and sighed, he had a fire, a makeshift bed of twigs, grass and tree bark.
All in all, it could be a lot worse.
"I could be dead," Jauen said sarcastically before finally closing his eyes as he began to rest...
"Get up. Life just got a bit complicated."
"Mink!? I'm in the forest an-
"No talking. Just watch."
Mink said cutting off the human as she snapped her fingers as his screen came up.
Name: Jaune Arc.
Health 130/197
Class Survivalist.
Rank?
Title Prince in the castle
Passive Last gasp
Active Quests.
Ruby Rose route. 16% Complete.
Yang Xiao-Long route 9% Complete
Weiss Schnee Route 2% Complete.
Pyrrha Nikos Route 8% Complete.
Blake Belladoana Route 5% Complete
Velvet Scarletine Route 10% Complete.
Glynda GoodWitch Route 2% Complete.
Beacon route hold...
Return to Beacon! 40% Complete
Soul reclamation. 3% Complete
Quirk gained! Ennui
Ability gained! Repressor
"Two weeks! It's been two DAMNED weeks without a level up!"
The demoness ragged aJuaen bit his lips.
"I mean don't get me wrong! I'm loving this angry brooding thing you got going on! You taste amazing but come on! We need story and plot progression! I need a bit more out of you kid!"
"What do you want from me? He's not fighting! And anything I get from studying is negligible! What can I do?"
"Fair point. I need to make some changes if this is going to work and you need to level up fast."
"What the hell is Repressor, and why does it say ability?" Jaune asked as the demoness sighed.
"Jaune I'll be honest this is it. If you have any chance of getting your soul back it will be decided in the next two days."
"Why so soon?!"
"Because this is it, this is where the tutorial ends. If you can successfully make it back to Beacon I stop holding your hand and you are going to play the Gamer for real."
"What the hell do you mean tutorial? Are you saying that the game hasn't even started!?"
"I'm saying that this is your first make or break test. If you make it back to Beacon the Gamer will kick into high gear. You remember how I told you about the hard breaks versus the soft breaks? Today was a hard break. You got swarmed by a hundred Ursa in the forest. Your friends think you are dead. Your school thinks you are dead. For all intents and purposes, you are dead."
"If you make it back to Beacon the Gamer will begin to actively work against you. And life will get difficult."
"More so than being stuck in a forest full of Ursa?"
"Jaune the first break of the casualty continuum happened today. I know you may not like me but I do not want you to just die. As such! I have come forward with a deal for you!"
"A deal?"
Jaune asked as the demoness snapped her fingers as a piece of paper entered her hands.
"This here is a contract. Much like the one you sold your soul for. If you agree to allow this game to use save points I will guarantee you that in addition to the reset at the end of the week the casualty continuum will be reduced by two percent at the end of every day!"
The demoness said as Jaune gasped.
"Every day! That would make it almost impossible for it to break! What's a save point?"
"Basically you will have places where you can save your game no matter where you are. You can level up a lot quicker if you choose this."
"Deal," Jaune said sticking out his hand as the demon gripped him. Jaune grimaced as he saw his name written in his blood appear on the contract.
"Jaune this is it. Make it back to Beacon. Do not die in the wilds and you will have a real shot at getting your soul back. I know you don't like me but I don't hate you."
"Noted. Anything else you need from me?"
"Oh yeah! Almost forgot! You need to pick a day!"
"A day? Why?'
"Just pick your favorite day of the week! Hurry up!"
The thing said as Jaune glared at it.
"Friday? I guess? Why do-
"Got it! Friday! Thank's meat sack!"
The demoness said as she snapped her fingers as a purple fire appeared over the contract.
"Anything else you want to know?"
"The hell are Repressor and Ennui? And what the hell dose ability mean?"
"Glad you asked! Ability is the beginning of the end! It is the first tool you will get to finally really play the Gamer!"
"What do you mean finally? I'm playing it now aren't I?"
"Oh no, no, no! You see remember when I told you that here you would build your character? This is your first real tool to do so! You see you have the paranoid quirk! Basically, that does two things. One it makes you harder to manipulate and staggers your personal growth. It also means that there is a load of things that are not quite right with you!"
"Explain."
Jaune said dryly as the demoness nodded her head her long silver hair flowing into the nothingness as she grinned.
"Well, years of traveling in the wilds has lead to you developing a who slew of traits quirks and a lot of other nasty personality traits in the process! You are basically a walking powder keg of issues and sadness. And every day there is a chance of an event triggering a repressed quirk coming to life and asserting itself into your file!"
"Ok, so I have a few repressed memories, how does this help me?"
"I'm getting to that! You see not all of your repressed quirks, traits are bad. There are some good ones in there as well! So I am giving you the chance to add or subtract from your current roster."
"How?"
"Like this!"
The thing said as it snapped its fingers as a strange cylindrical object with three small screens on it appeared.
"Here's how it works! You will at the start of all of our talks gain the ability to get rid of any quirk or trait you have allowing you to prune your selection. You will also be given a chance to spin! If you spin you will be given a combination of quirks and traits that will be added to your stat sheet! With every spin, you get one repression, and you can pick one of the assorted quirks or traits to repress."
"Do I have to spin? Or is it a choice?"
"Completely optional! But if you spin the wheel you will unlock more tools for yourself to use that will be of great help to you. So what do you say meat sack? Want to take a spin?"
"Yes." Jaune said as he reached out a hand and touched the thing as it suddenly began to spin with a blurring display of lights and sound, it's three screens flickered like a mad roulette wheel before it finally came to a halt as one word lay on the screen surrounded by two blanks cards."
"Oh? Ladykiller! Not that's a great quirk!"
"LadyKiller? What the hell does that mean?"
"It means what it says! You get additional damage to opponents of the opposite gender! Along with some rather unique dialogue lines! It also makes it twice as hard for one to deceive you effectively nullifying the Naive trait!"
"That's amazing! What do the blank cards mean though?"
"That is the second part of the spin! If you want you can give up your repressions for a guaranteed positive quirk!"
"Give away my repression? How would that work?"
Like this! There are two blank cards. Right now you have one repression. If you give it up I can guarantee at least one of these cars will be a positive or mixed quirk!"
"As opposed to me finding two negative, mixed, positive or any combination of the two?"
"Exactly! If you want a guaranteed one negative minimum take me up on the offer!"
"I could also be missing out on two positive quirks."
"Or you could get twin negatives with only one repression making life more difficult for you. In the end, it's up to you really I'm just giving you your options."
"You said the more I used this thing the more tools I will get? If I take your deal will that count towards them?"
"Absolutely."
"Fine. I agree to show me what I get." Jaune said as the cards flipped to reveal two words.
" Martyr! Mixed. You seek an honorable end in combat! Will always seek to sacrifice yourself for the sake of others! + 10 will. As long as Martyr is unrepressed you can not retreat from a fight nor can you back down from a confrontation, no matter the odds."
"Marty!? Ok and the other-
"Drunkard! Mixed Years of drinking have led to you developing a rather severe case alcoholism! When drunk plus ten to charm and charisma! Minus one to intelligence. When sober all changes except for intelligence are negated. When deprived minus ten to charm, charisma and two to intelligence. "
"Hey!? I'm a drunk?! When the hell did I have time to become an alcoholic?!"
"That's life kid. You had a shit life in the world and this is how you coped with it, some people smoke your teammate cuts himself. You chose to drown your sorrows and-
"Ren cut's himself!?" Jaune asked as the demoness gained a shocked look as she gasped quickly slamming a hand over her mouth.
"Whoops! Spoilers! Sorry about that one kid! But yeah, if you see him take to long in the bathroom it might be best to not interrupt his private time. Anyways you got one positive and two mixed! Not bad if I do say so myself!"
"That's not fair!"
Jaune said as Mink noded
"Say what you will but you're starting to wake up! Good luck in the coming days! And remember! Game on."
Two years ago... Atlas...
"Theft, Murder, larceny, trespassing, assault, battery, arson, and a whole slew of other offenses, I must say you have quite the reputation for yourself you know that? I mean honestly! You stole from not one, not three but all of the dust mines this side of Atlas made off with the goods got off Scott free and came back to do it all again!"
The Atlas sergeant said as she looked down at the man in front of her knee-deep in the piercing cold and covered by fresh snow as she scoffed at him.
Even in a blizzard, she had to hold her nose as the sheer rancor from the man's body threatened to make her gag. The man was tall for a man as he stood at a large six-foot height just shorter than her. He was a rough unwashed man that smelled like he had spent the better part of his life in a brewery. He was a messy unshaven and wore a tattered pair of a white t-shirt long pants and had a cross on his neck.
"Capn...
The man mumbled as the woman stared at him.
"What did you say?"
"He said there should be a captain in there somewhere!"
Said one of his two compatriots who were currently on their knees hands behind their necks as a squad of Atlas soldiers surrounded them on the snow covered grounds of Northern Atlas. The three bandit had been recently captured by their sixth Atlas patrol unit and where current under guard awaiting transport as her squad surrounded the criminal assault rifles at the ready.
"Captian?" The Atlas sergeant asked the female of his companions. A tall woman with short cropped black hair, and blue eyes. She spoke in a rushed curt tone and had a glare that could melt snow. She wore a cut pair of leather shorts!? Of all things, why she wore shorts in the winter she had no idea but she at least had the foresight to wear a large puffed jacket.
"Why would he say that?"
"Because that's what he is! He's our captain! For some reason...
The woman mumbled under her breath shooting a venomous glare at the man as the other bandit spoke up.
"Hey! Don't talk about he boss like that! Boss you are going to get us out of this mess right? Boss! Boss!?" The other companion this one a man with short blonde hair blue eyes and a chipped tooth said as he glared desperately at his boss before the man slumped over in the snow clearly hung over and began to snore loudly.
"I can't believe it."
The woman said as she shook her head as the man truly began to panic.
'Boss! Get up, boss! We need you!"
The man yelled as the boss of the group began to snore loudly. Making the female curse the male moan and the sergeant blink owlishly at the so-called legendary bandit.
"I think he's hungover...
The sergeant said as she looked at the famous bandit clan leader with a thinly veiled level of disdain. She had no idea how the hell this hungover drunkard was giving Atlas such a problem but she was determined to bring him in all the same.
"Captian! You gave us quite a run, you stole from the dust mines of Atla made off with millions of lien in dust minerals and Ore. Only to be caught in a tavern with the daughter of the Schnee company herself? I have to say Qrow Brawnren you are by far the worst bandit that I have ever heard of."
The woman asked as the man suddenly shot up like a bolt of lighting from the snow, and looked at her square in her face as blood red eyes glared at her. The woman felt herself flinching back her hands grasping for her pistol as a messy unshaven face broke into a crooked smile as began to speak in a low dry raspy voice.
"But you have heard of me?"
: An There we go done! Another day another chapter! A new chapter of Game on for you to enjoy! I have no idea if this stories going to be good or not but here it is! If you liked it good! In case you where I got a lot of inspiration from this fic from all over ff. From random gamer fics from lesser know authors even from Couer himslef so if you see refrences they are most likey one hundred percent inteneded as parodys of other work.
It's probably going to have a weird update schedule for you I'll put it up later so until then thanks for reading, here's a stat break down for all of you who like a little background to the character. Followed by a little something else...
Name: Jaune Arc
Title: Prince in the castle
Passive. Last Gasp. The first hit that takes health to zero will instead take it to point five. This happens once a day and resets at midnight each day.
Fetishes N/A
Rank?
Quirks
Paranoid. Mixed. Gains increased defensive score when being manipulated/ Slower relationship gain on his end.
Stalwart. Positive. Will never act in a way that he deems contrary to his own honor code. And will always do what he believes to be right no matter what. Will refuse any offers that do so.
Forgiving. Mixed. Quick to forgive transgressions made by others. /Dramatically increased rate of relationship gain.
Naive Mixed. Double manipulation score against others. Halves defensive scores for lying and deflection offensively or defensively.
Quirk gained! Ennui! Mixed. Can repress almost any form of mental trauma. Halves the impact of stressful situations and physical harm. Increase chance of mental break if emotions become unstable.
New quirk! LadyKiller Postive Plus 25% Damage to members of the opposite gender in combat! Allows unique dialog options to be had with them as well. Also doubles all deception scores concerning members of the opposite gender.
New Quirk! Martyr Mixed plus 10 to will. Seeks to end one's own life in honor. Will attempt to sacrifice himself to save others. Can not retreat from battle nor back down from a challenge.
New Quirk! Drunkard Is addicted to alcohol. If drunk plus ten to Charm and Charisma and minus 1 to Int. If sober minus 1 to Int. If in withdrawal minus ten to Charm, Charisma and minus 2 to Int.
Traits
Honest, People find you easier to believe making manipulation easier.
Stubborn. Will not back down from a challenge plus 20 will.
Faster, requires half the normal nourishment than a normal person to subsist. Warning if more then half of the normal nutrient uptake is broken you will take health damage.
Repressor. Will repress any severe negative quirks. Does not remove the quirk from you but will temporary nullify the effect until it is awakened again.
End of day Stat break down.
Name Jaune Arc.
Str: 47 +2 increase
Wit.14 +1 increase
Charisma:40
Charm27
Intellect:45 -1 due to Drunkard trait sober.
Vitality:83 +2 increase
Will: 89+ 20 due to stubborn trait + 10 due to Martyr trait.
dexterity: 54 +10 increase
deception 18 +5 increase
Luck44
Omake. Darkest Remnant. Part one: The old road...
Dear Oscar Pine. I know that you do not know me. Nor do you care to. I am but your distant relative and I have naught for you but this letter, before you ask this is not a letter of joy, of good tiding and family prosperity, it is one dire warning for ruin has come to our family...
Do you remember our old mannor? Standing tall on top of our hill standing opulent and imperial like a Beacon? I lived all my years in that ancient rumor shadowed house. I spent my days alone surrounded my luxury and decadence. And yet it is my most profound shame that I must admit that I grew tired of simple luxuries and grew a taste for the more exotic means of entertaining myself...
I had heard tales and rumors that our land was built upon some ancient and unfathomable power! And through might and ritual, I did my best to uncover it! I spent what little remained our families fortune searching, scanning digging for the treasure, it became my obsession. I left no stone unturned no door unopened or book closed in my vivacious pursuit of unearthly pleasures!
And then one fateful day I found my answer. Deep below our mannor, I had spent what remained of our fortune on working men and sturdy shovels. We dug for hours, days! Deep beneath mannor, and well into the cold slat filled crags, looking for something! We dug for hours and days on end before I found it. A damnable portal from a time before time! In it, I was promised a portal to a realm of unimaginable pleasure!
As we set foot on the cold unfeeling earth, our every step unsettled the ancient ground as we approached the archaic portal of antiquity! But when we opened the portal instead of a real of pleasure we found a realm of madness and death!
I ran as fast as I could! As chaos overwhelmed me and my men! I ran and sprinted as fast and as hard as my legs carrying me time slowed and ground to a halt as I fled from that damnable portal of antediluvian evil! I ran into the swirling shadows of antiquity of the shafts before consciousness failed me...
Dear Oscar Pine... Do you remember our house on top of the hill? Do you remember it stood as a Beacon of our families wealth and status? Now it is a festering abomination! Please! I beg of you! Come home! Come claim your birth rate and cleanse this land! Please! I implore you clear this land and seal the horror that is...
the Darkest Remnant!
NEHHH!
A hoarse cried as the sharp crack of a whip filled the air.
"Easy girl! EASY!"
WHACK!
The man whipped the hoars as Oscar sat on his plush seat. "Signed Ozpin."
Oscar said aloud as he read the letter. He had been reading this letter for what had to be the thousandth time. Reading and re-reading it aloud as he sat in the swinging rickety carriage. Honestly, Oscar had no idea what he was doing.
As another brutal jerk of the old road rocked the carriage. The sudden lurch nearly sent the boy flying out of his chair as he felt his spine ache under the harsh treatment of the rickety cartridge as it road along the old road. It seemed like only yesterday he was enjoying fine dining in the upper crust of Vacuo and now he was here. Summoned to the most backwoods influenced parts of Remnant on the world of until less than a fortnight ago to find a long-lost relative.
Now he was on a quest to save his families name. As the carriage shook and jutted once again nearly sending him flying off from his perch as the sound of creaking wood and tortured metal filled his ears, as it rocked violently as the carriage man laughed manically as they rode forward he was comforted that he might be going to his doom at least he was not going alone.
As he looked up he saw his two hired companions sitting solemnly in front of him. There class descriptions celery floating above their heads as saw them. On his right was the Crusader though his name was Jaune Arc. He sat solemnly draped completely in beaten heavy plate armor as he nursed a battered long sword in front of him.
To his opposite sat his companion. A Highwayman name Lie Ren. He was a tall man shrouded in garbs and coats, as he absentmindedly cleaned a pistol and laid out a rusty knife in front of him.
Truly they were not the best heroes around one even being from the villain class and the other a disgraced crusader but!
They where the only ones to answer the call when a young noble NPC had come asking for help. Personal matters aside those two had come to his aide when no one else would, and he was ever grateful for that. The fact that he was paying them a fortune was probably only a minor consideration to their work. As he put away the scarred letter and began reading the second as he looked out of the window of the carriage.
You will arrive along the old road. It twists and turns in a disturbingly serpentine pattern through the corrupted countryside. Leading only I fear too only more generous places. There is a sickness in the ancient pitted cobbles of the Old Road. And on its writhing path, you will face viciousness! Violence and perhaps other more damnably transcendent terrors! So stell yourself and remember! There can be no bravery, without madness!
The note finishes ominously before there was one last brutal jerk off the road as the world turned upside down as the carriage crashed and careened into the ground...
"Are you ok?"
"I'll live," Ren replied dryly as Jaune's best living friend got up from the wreck of the carriage.
"What about the kid?" Ren asked as Jaune looked to his right where a subtly moving piece of wood was laying.
"I got him," Jaune said yanking out the NPC from the wood as his head read NOBLE. As the boy Oscar moaned lightly Jaune grimaced at the prim noble boy.
"You'll live. Now get up we walk from here." Jaune told the boy as he turned to see the dim shadow of what appeared to be their destination as the boy got to his feet.
"What about the driver? Where did he go?" The young Nobel asked Jaune as he turned to face the boy.
He was short. Even for a noble. Standing barely over four and a half feet and garbed in a green-white coat and pants as Jaune grimaced.
"He ran."
"But I paid him for a full journey!"
The noble protested glaring at the crusader who sighed heavily.
"It looks like you should have picked a better man.'
"Why I-
"Jaune we have company," Ren said as two figures walked into the clearing with the word BRIGANDS over their heads.
"Get back kid. It's time for us to do our job." Jaune said as he drew his battered longsword Crocea Mors as Ren drew the dulled and rusty Storm Flower. Both weapons having seen better days as they walked to the men.
"So how do you want to play this? Me upfront just like old times?"
Jaune asked as he twirled Crocea Mors as Ren finally finished polishing Storm Flower.
"Just like old times," Ren said dryly as the two men walked over to the figures in tattered cloth and garb as the two walked forward.
"Sure miss having a full party you know?" Jaune asked as he drew his sword.
"Same here."
"You ever wonder how everyone is doing?" Jaune asked before a gunshot rang out.
Bang!
Ren fired with less than a seconds hesitation as he fired a bullet into the skull of the smaller bandit as the man shirked as his aura took the shot as Jaune dove forward.
The first bandit a large man with a massive flail and blunderbuss hissed in pain as Crocea Mors bit into his flesh making him cry out as meat met metal and was carved out from the man as metal sliced flesh and made the man howl.
As rich crimson blood flew out from the man as it sprayed over his armor as the man lurched backward.
BANG!
Jaune grimaced as a wall of buckshot slammed into his armor buckling it and bruising his skin but thankfully it held firm, as the other bandit got out a rushed shot as he raked Ren and him with blanket fire as he Jaune blacked a brutal mail thrust by the man who's insanely muscled arms nearly broke his making him shudder as the fought the man's titanic strength.
Before Ren dashed in cutting the man across the arm making him howled as more rich blood sprayed onto the ground coloring the cold mud crimson as Jaune hissed as the man fell back.
Another strike from his word sen the larger man rolled before Ren slashed forward slicing the man's throat as he expired in a mess of blood and sinew.
Shocked by his larger friends death Jaune pounced on the other bandit slashing his sword into the man slicing him in two ending in a stunning confluence of skill and power.
"They left loot." Ren said walking over to the dead men as he began to pilfer their corpses.
"Some food, a bit of gold and a locked treasure box. Do you have a key?"
"No. Let's take the food and gold and be gone."
Jaune said as he turned to a cowering Noble.
"You killed them?"
The boy asked shaking as Jaune nodded his helm.
"Yup."
"Why!?"
"Because they would have killed us otherwise, kid this is nothing but the beginning. You hired heroes for a reason. And there is a lot more killing for us to do. So I'd suggest you gear up. We have a walk to do...
The crusader said as he pointed his battered crimson sword still wet with blood as he pointed to their destination...
Three hours later Oscar arrived panting and exhausted at his destination. It was worse then he imagined. He was in a tired squalid town. The people where thin and sickly never meeting his eyes. As they walked for in the deep salted ground Oscar frowned as he stared at the seething mannor on top of the hill. This place had fallen into ruin! The town buildings were in shambles! Its fields were sickly and polluted! And it's people sickly stock that looked closer to the dead than the living! Either, way it was time for a change. The master of the town had returned home and there was work to be done. And he needed to do it.
