Residuum
Blood 2.3
i
Judging by how his friends had reacted to the apartment that Ozpin had set him up with, Jaune knew that the Headmaster hadn't cut corners. The blond had actually liked the dorm back at Beacon, despite the fact that it got a little cozy especially with eight people living in it. Often times they would have to keep both bedroom doors open to get some airflow into the room. Most of all, even the dorm was a far cry better than anything he had ever had before.
So when he moved into the apartment, he had felt both awed and a bit disappointed. It was more spacious than the dorm, and both Weiss and Yang had lamented that he had a full room and closet to himself. His team commented on how hard it might have been to procure a residence so close to Beacon, but Ozpin clearly had connections. Either way, while Jaune enjoyed the extra space, he did prefer to be with his friends instead.
However, if he found his accommodations to be big and spacious, Lisa's put his to absolute shame. He was sure that even just the living room was bigger than the entirety of his apartment. Even her kitchen must have been the size of his bedroom, if not larger. In the living room, her couch was an immaculate white and set in front of a black coffee table facing an absolutely gigantic television. There were various framed pictures on the wall, though they weren't of anything in particular at which point Jaune didn't quite understand why she even bothered to have them.
"Come on in," she said, walking in nonchalantly and leaving the door open behind her, "Close the door behind you and make yourself at home. And do take off your shoes, will you?"
The blond complied, walking in after the woman and shutting the door behind him. The silver-haired woman walked toward what Jaune could see was her bathroom, gradually divesting herself of her clothes along the way. He wasn't exactly sure if he should be watching her undress, but unlike any of the girls on his team Lisa didn't seem to care about her privacy. He rubbed the back of his head, watching as she placed her top and her skirt in a laundry hamper before working off her undergarments.
Jaune only remembered having seen Ruby in a similar state of undress, though she had gone red-faced and immediately covered herself up, running into her bedroom in haste. Since then, the girl had taken great care to be fully dressed when coming out of the bathroom.
"There's a great deal for us to go over," Lisa told him, taking off the last two pieces of clothing she wore, causing Jaune to avert his eyes for a moment though his gaze did inevitably come back to her. She walked over to a cabinet and grabbed a white towel and a few bottles of what he thought might be hair-care products before walking into her bathroom.
"Obviously you can't just go in and immediately fight with no thought to hiding your identity," she said, looking completely unperturbed about being naked in his presence, "Unlike Stone and Carmine, you have a private life and I doubt you want anyone to be able to find or recognize you."
Lisa disappeared further into her bathroom and Jaune heard the sounds of a water tap being turned on. Just from the noise, Jaune guessed that she was getting the shower ready.
"So today, more than just preparing you for the arena, we'll have to come up with a good disguise for you," she explained, her voice distant, "What are you doing? Hurry up and get in here."
He hesitated slightly but just shrugged and went after the woman. They had met up a few times between the fight and now, usually for a late dinner after she was done with her work as a news reporter. Lisa was similar to his friends in a certain sense; she always seemed to have a certain confidence in herself like they did, but it was of a very different sort.
As he stepped into the bathroom, the long haired blond had to pause in wonder. Even Beacon's facilities had nothing on this. Much like the rest of the apartment, the size of the room left little to be desired. There was even another door inside, and as Jaune noticed the lack of a latrine in the area, he assumed it was probably behind that door. Lisa was showering behind a transparent sliding door, scrubbing her soap-covered upper body. Jaune ignored her in favor of inspecting the indoor mini-pool she had. The water was bubbling, indicating to him that it was heated. It wasn't the biggest pool he had seen, but he was sure the entirety of his team could easily fit in.
The sliding door opened and Lisa stepped out, grabbing her towel from the nearby rack. Jaune awkwardly stood there watching as she dried herself from neck to toe. He wasn't quite sure why she needed him in here for, especially while she was showering. He knew that most people did not generally appreciate being seen in the nude, but then Lisa wasn't like most people.
After she finished, Lisa's amber eyes fell upon him. She gave him a grin, an eyebrow raised.
"Like what you see?" she asked with a grin, her hand on her hip. Jaune looked around once more before nodding.
"It's very nice," he answered, "The bathrooms in my apartment or Beacon aren't this nice."
Lisa laughed, walking up to him and resting a hand on his shoulder fondly.
"You're one of a kind," she said, bringing her other hand up and patting him on the cheek twice. Turning away, she walked toward the bubbling water and touched it with the tip of her toe. Apparently finding the temperature likeable, Lisa slowly slipped in and let out a sigh of contentment. Once inside, she rotated to the far side so she was facing the blond, regarding him with an expectant gaze.
"Well, don't just stand there," she said, "This hot tub is big enough for the both of us."
"I already had a shower before I came here," Jaune told her. Lisa just shook her head.
"This isn't a shower honey, this is a hot tub." She spoke as if that explained everything but to him it obviously didn't.
"Uh…"
"Look, I'm not just your sponsor. Think of me as your coach as well," Lisa explained, "And I need to get a good look at you so I have an idea of your strengths and weaknesses. It's also necessary in order to perfect your disguise. Now hurry up and go take off your clothes and join me."
The blond considered her reply seriously but still felt a little bit skeptical.
"Why do I have to be naked for that?" he asked, "Actually, why are you naked?"
"We'll both be naked because it's fun," Lisa replied casually, "Besides, I just came back from a long day and I want to soak in here for a bit. And I can't properly evaluate you if you're not in here with me."
Jaune just raised an eyebrow. Despite only knowing the woman for around a week, he felt he got a good handle on her mannerisms.
"I seriously doubt that."
"Jaune…" she called out, with a tone he knew to be an annoying one because she usually got like that when she was going to somehow force him to do something. The few times the reporter had used it on him, he had given in.
"Fine." He huffed before removing his clothes.
"Put them in the laundry hamper and grab a towel," Lisa called out, leaning backward against the built in rest and closing her eyes as she relaxed, "Make sure you soap up and shower before you get in here. Nothing against you but I'd rather avoid the risk of contaminating the water."
Jaune did as she asked, showering quickly before approaching her in the hot tub. Likely having heard his footsteps, Lisa opened her eyes to gaze at him from head to toe.
"Stop there for a second and let me get a good look at you," she said, moving through the water to get close to him.
"Um..."
"Don't worry, I'm looking at your physique for purely professional reasons," she said, her eyes roving over his body. Then she licked her lips and smiled at him, a gleam in her eyes.
"And at a certain area for purely personal reasons," she said, winking at him, "Nice."
The audacious woman moved back to give him room to enter. Unlike she had earlier, Jaune dropped into the water without any hesitation and his eyes widened in wonderment. The water was appreciatively warm and the blond realised why Lisa had wanted to just relax in here. The warmth completely surrounded him and he was oddly reminded of the time his team had engaged in that group hug.
"Looks like you like it," Lisa said, sidling up to him and grabbing both his arms, "Now stand still."
She moved her hands up and down his arms, squeezing them every so often and mouthing something to herself. Jaune couldn't make out what exactly she was saying. Her groping moved on to his toned chest and abdominals, rubbing and squeezing his sides.
"I'm assuming since you're a Beacon student, your aura has been activated, correct?" she asked, nodding to herself when he confirmed it, "Your physique is excellent, more than just any Huntsman. You've got a lean body but an amazing amount of strength in your frame. Have you trained while leaving your aura off for a long time?"
Jaune was taken aback at her breakdown, not having expected such a keen analysis from the woman. He wasn't the greatest at sensing aura but even he knew enough to know whether a person had it activated or not, and Lisa definitely did not.
"Yeah, I actually didn't have it unlocked until after I got to Beacon," he said, "How did you know?"
"It's pretty simple actually. Aura protects the body so working out with your aura activated does nothing to grow your muscles as none of the protein gets broken down during exercise," she said, still touching his torso in odd places, "Muscles grow during rest phases but there needs to be damage of some sort; that doesn't happen when aura is used to augment movement."
"Okay, I don't really get it but I do know that a lot of people at Beacon are in good shape," Jaune said.
"I'm sure they understand this as well," Lisa said, "But aura is a crutch with very little downsides for a Huntsman. Once they're fit enough for their purposes without it, aura is enough to make the difference. From what I've seen, there are very few people that are exceptions to this."
Jaune couldn't help but think of Pyrrha and how insanely in shape the girl was. He knew she worked out a lot without her aura and the results spoke for themselves; the general consensus put the redhead as likely the strongest student in the entire school, let alone the first years. Jaune wondered if this played a contributing factor.
"You're even better than I thought," Lisa said, softly biting down on her finger as she gave him yet another one of those looks, "Whatever regimen you went through before Beacon gave you a body that I could dream about. Not some sort of musclebound freak like Stone but with your aura backing you up, just as strong if not stronger."
Her hands began to make their way lower, sliding down his hips and feeling his thighs under the water. Smiling at him, Lisa sucked in a breath and ducked underneath the water. The blond could feel her slowly repeat the same procedure on his legs.
After a short moment, the pale-haired woman came back up and let out the breath she was holding, her chest pushing out with the movement. He barely caught a mischievous grin on her face before she pushed up against him. As her bare breasts pressed against his chest, he felt her hands drag down across his back, finally resting on his behind as she gave them a firm grope. Jaune flinched slightly, feeling slightly ticklish as she did so.
She held that position and he felt her lean her head onto his shoulder, her hot breath on his neck. The blond stood there awkwardly, waiting for the woman to finish her evaluation.
"Oh come on," she said after finally stepping away from him, "I know you're attracted to me, how are you still not erect?"
"Uh, what?"
"Never mind," she said, sighing, "Well, you have an absolutely absurd amount of explosive power in your legs. More than that, it's been fostered, bolstered, and protected. I saw it in your upper body, but damn are your legs strong. Whoever trained you was really smart; they obviously saw your strengths and made you that much better while training your weaknesses. The problem with explosive energy is usually that it can't be used too much, but I can clearly see the training there."
Jaune thought back to some of the training he had done with Qrow. The man had made him do a lot of weird exercises; the blond had done them reluctantly at the time, not understanding the point but perhaps his mentor knew a lot more than he was willing to tell.
"However you happened to get this body, it's actually perfect for the arena," she said, "The fights in there tend to be vicious and short. Having explosive power like you do is a huge advantage. We'll just have to come up with your fighting style. Obviously, you can't use the same weapon you used in Beacon so we'll have to get you a weapon that fits you."
"How do you know all of this? About my body, I mean." This was a point that had been bothering him this entire time. Lisa was a lot of things but he hadn't expected her to be so knowledgeable about the body.
"My father was a fitness trainer," she explained as she began to get out of the water, "I spent a lot of time in the gym as a child, usually as he gave advice to a lot of different people, including Huntsman. You pick up a thing or two. Anyway, we've been in here long enough. Let's go dry off and we'll go over your disguise."
It was with great reluctance that he followed after her, having really enjoyed the warmth. Lisa tossed him another towel as she already began drying herself off, scrubbing her hair diligently. Jaune followed her example and started on his hair, though he spent considerably less time than her.
"I'm sure you've heard this from just about any other female, but I'm extremely jealous of your hair," she said, watching him with a pout as she opened a closet full of bathrobes.
"I have," he replied, remembering Yang's reaction to his hair as he caught the robe she tossed to him. He put the robe on and tied the strings around his waist, watching Lisa empty the laundry hamper into her washer.
"We have a couple of hours between washing and drying your clothes," she said, grabbing his towel from him, "Luckily they're all dark so I was able to do it one load. Come on, follow me."
Lisa led him into her bedroom where she pulled a chair over to her round bed, gesturing for him to sit in it. As he took a seat, she walked over to her closet and pulled out a pair of underwear, sliding them on and finally covering up her bottom.
Grabbing a clean hairbrush from her dresser, she sat on the bed behind him and began viciously drying his hair with the towel like he had failed to do. The blond didn't bother to stop her; he knew it was easier for him to just let her do what she wanted at this point.
Once his hair was sufficiently dry, she began to comb it. He could hear her make a frustrated noise, probably because of how easy it was to tame. After a minute of brushing, Lisa stood up and walked over to her dresser again, opening the top drawer and rummaging through it. Withdrawing a few sticks, Lisa stood behind him and began pulling at his hair. He bore her assault with patience, letting her pull and tie his hair as she pleased.
"There we go," she said, pulling him out of the chair. He absentmindedly noticed that she had shrugged off her bathrobe and opted to go topless instead, but was soon looking at his changed reflection in the mirror.
Lisa had tied his hair into a style similar to how Glynda wore hers, a bun tied tightly on the back of his head. She had left a few strands to fall on either side of his face from the front and tied the bun in an elaborate way around two of the sticks she had grabbed. All in all, Jaune felt surprised at how different he looked with just a different hairstyle.
"It makes a world of difference, right? With some hair color and a new outfit, you'll be almost unrecognizable," she said, smirking at her handiwork. Jaune was definitely impressed with her work.
"The only thing really left is to go over your fighting style," she said, "Well, we won't really be changing your fighting style per se, just adapting it work with something other than your sword. Now, based on what you told me about your fighting style a few days ago, I do have some ideas for a new weapon."
Lisa walked over to her bedside table and grabbed a scroll off it, going through it quickly before holding it out for him to see. Seeing the blade she had in mind, Jaune walked towards her eagerly. His eyes gleamed as they devoured the screen, drinking in the sight of the weapon she had come up with.
The silver-haired woman noticed his grin and leered right back at him.
"Like what you see?" she asked him for the second time.
"Definitely."
ii
He stood carefully still as he eyed his opponent, awaiting the start of the match. He certainly felt the thrill for the upcoming battle and was excited for it. He hadn't really fought someone with her skillset before. There wasn't really anyone amongst his friends with a ranged fighting style apart from Weiss, though even she often fought in close range despite being what she referred to as a 'Dust-mage'.
When they had first learned of his opponent for his debut match, he and Lisa had gone over several of her previous matches. Skye was ranged fighter that could fire blasts of wind in both concussive and cutting forces using a bladed oar. Jaune, who was primarily a close-ranged fighter, would have a hard time getting close to her but would win the match if he got within range. He did have an advantage of being unknown but the lack of a semblance would work against him. Lisa was still confident in his ability to win and informed him of the reputation he would get when it became clear that he had been fighting an uphill battle.
Just as when she had first measured him in her hot tub, Jaune couldn't help but feel impressed with the woman's preparedness. Her disguise had multiple layers to conceal his identity. She had dyed his hair black before tying it up in a bun to prevent anyone from anyone finding him using his hair colour. The outfit she got for him was dark and covered him up completely, including a hood to further hide his face. It wasn't an infallible disguise given his face could be revealed quite easily, but wearing a mask felt uncomfortable now that he had gone without one for so long and all the competitors got by mostly on good faith in regards to their identity.
"You're new," the woman called out, a single eyebrow raised as she watch him with a cocky grin. Jaune didn't reply, raising his shoulder slightly in a shrug.
"Going for the strong and silent look?" she asked, shaking her head, "It's wanting."
The blond heard a bell go off, signalling the countdown. He looked to the right and saw a screen counting down from fifteen. A small shuffling sound drew his attention back to Skye. His gaze roved down her body from head to toe. She had short brown hair falling no longer than her ears, streaked with a bright blue throughout. Her clothes weren't the most protective, her midriff bare for the most part and aside from her oar, Jaune couldn't spot any other weapons on her.
As the countdown neared zero, both he and his opponent readied themselves. Sky began to twirl her oar slowly, obviously beginning to gather some wind. The blond crouched slightly, his hands near his hips ready to grab the weapons Lisa had provided him.
The match started with a loud ding and Skye struck immediately, sending a blade of wind right at him. The blond had anticipated her opening strike and dodged to the right before charging at her explosively. The brunette was momentarily surprised at the speed at which he had accelerated but the distance between them was still enough for her to react.
She blew him back with a concussive force, a wide-area gust of wind that would not miss, sending more blades at him right after as she spun and twirled her weapon. Jaune knew his aura dipped slightly at the hit though he deftly dodged the follow-up strikes with short hops to the side.
"You're quick on your feet, Surge," she shouted at him, her assault continuous.
"You're annoying," he shot back at her, causing her to grin.
Reaching out with his gauntleted right hand, Jaune grabbed one of the daggers affixed to his waist. He immediately noticed the the look of concentration and wariness on Skye's face as she eyed the weapon with apprehension. It had both an unusually thick blade and a long handle, painted completely black so as to blend in with his outfit.
Rearing back, Jaune flicked the blade towards her as if striking with a whip, activating the transforming mechanism in the weapon. The blade glided towards Skye, extending past its range as it swung at the woman, a long chain connecting the blade to the handle. As it flew, the switch Jaune had activated extended the blade itself, opening up the normally straight-edged blade into a sickle.
"Whoa."
Skye reacted fantastically, combatting the blade with her semblance and sending it flying away from her. Instead of falling to the ground uselessly, the chain retracted sharply and sandwiched the blade back into the handle. Jaune grabbed the other dagger with his free hand, this one only bandaged, and attacked again.
The brunette seemed to realize she was trapped with the blond's ranged attacks, her aura steadily decreasing as she fended them off with her semblance instead of risking getting hit in case she couldn't swat them away with her weapon. Slowly but surely, Jaune was advancing forward, taking his time to dodge the slicing blades of wind she continually sent at him.
In a sudden movement, Skye brought her weapon above her head and began spinning it ferociously, beginning to shield herself within a concave wall of air that neither of Jaune's sickles could penetrate from the front or the sides. He moved forward quickly, hoping to take advantage of his temporary reprieve of her wind attacks but she was prepared it before he could reach her.
A blade of wind hit him this time, his close proximity to her rendering it almost impossible to dodge. The blistering attack stung harshly, no doubt leaving a welt where it had struck him and decreasing his aura a decent amount but Jaune powered forward, ignoring it as best he could. The next attack hit him in the head, almost blindsiding him and knocking his hood off.
"You sure are a pretty one," she said, "Too pretty, actually. I think I'll enjoy this."
He knew he couldn't keep taking these attacks so he lashed out again, send another sickle vaulting towards her. This time, instead of trying to hit her directly, he used his proximity to her to swing the sickle around and catch her from the back. She was too close to the wall however and the blade lodged deep into the wall, the chain being pulled taut as it was unable to retract.
"Oops," she said, noticing the blunder, "Down one weapon."
She took the opportunity to hit him again a few times but Jaune grit his teeth and bore the attacks as best he could. He swung his other sickle at her, this time on the opposite side. Like the one before, it became wedged in the wall and the chain wasn't able to spring it back. Jaune kept hold of both handles, refusing to let go as he barely dodged another blade of wind by ducking slightly. He noticed Skye look disappointed; clearly she was trying to leave a mark on his face.
"The same mistake twice?" she said, "You need to know when to quit."
Jaune didn't bother replying, not wanting her to catch wind on what he was going to do next. Activating a button on both weapons, Jaune jumped at her. The handles retracted into the firmly wedged sickles with enough forced to carry the blond with them.
Skye was completely caught by surprised as he blasted through her wall and body-slammed into her, smashing her into the wall. Feeling slightly dazed, Jaune wasted no time in getting a firm hold of the woman, not wanting to give her another chance to keep him away.
His body and his head still stung from her attacks and he used the pain from them to drive his rage as he finally attacked. Pulling out the chains from his weapons, he wrapped them around her neck and swiftly got behind her, pulling both of the handles upwards as they rough metal began constricting her airways.
"You talk too much," he told her, grunting from exertion.
Skye dropped her weapon and began pawing at him and at the chains around her neck as Jaune choked her. Her movements started becoming frantic and Jaune kept a close eye at the screen to watch her aura deplete into the red.
Slowly, her movements became sluggish and finally relented, her hands dropping to her sides as the girl finally went down. With his victory assured, Jaune relaxed his hold and removed the chains from around her neck, letting the unconscious girl fall to the floor.
He felt the adrenaline die out as the arena clamored with his win. Medics rushed out to check up on the girl and Jaune noticed a disguised figure he knew to be Lisa standing near the entrance to the arena, waiting for him.
Not bothering to acknowledge any of the cheers he was getting, Jaune walked over to his sponsor who gripped his arm and led him away. Not paying attention to where they were going, Jaune dutifully followed her into the room she had prepared for them.
As soon as both of them were securely in the room with the door locked, Lisa discarded her cloak, tossing it haphazardly onto the bed before pushing Jaune into a seat and falling onto his lap.
"Now THAT…" she said huskily, "that was everything I imagined."
Jaune rolled his shoulder backwards, ignoring the way the paled-haired woman rested her head on it.
"She was annoying," he said, rubbing a sore spot on his abdomen, "Her attacks weren't easy to take so often."
"The way you wrapped your chains around her neck," she continued, her breath hot on his neck, "Her frantic struggling, clawing at you as she was slowly asphyxiated…"
Jaune felt her shudder against his body, ignoring it as he was used to her odd antics by this point.
"I didn't think it would be as hard to win as it was," he said, frowning slightly. Lisa grinned as she slowly relaxed against him, the warmth of her body comforting after the battle.
"Though you can't deny it was fun," she said, "I saw the look in your eyes when your hood got blown off. Too bad you never look at me like that."
"Maybe if you were a fighter," he muttered, closing his eyes as Lisa snaked her hand underneath his clothes to feel his bare chest, lightly trailing her fingers across his skin.
"That would be a different kind of battle," she said, "Still, it's like you said before; fighting in an open area is your weak spot. You're going into every fight with a disadvantage."
She unfastened Jaune's cloak, letting it slide off his shoulders as she pulled up his dark-colored shirt, him dutifully lifting his arms as she removed it and tossed it aside. His body was littered with marks, many old ones from his time in the Wilds but there were also some glaring red welts from where Skye's attacks had struck him.
The blond had to suppress a shiver as he felt Lisa's cool fingers work over them, his skin burning from her ministrations.
"I guess even with aura these kinds of injuries couldn't be helped," she said. She leaned over the side of the couch, grabbing a jar of ointment and uncapping it.
"Temporary though they might be, I suppose you could take these as victory scars," Lisa said as she meticulously began rubbing the cream onto his skin. Jaune didn't reply but he definitely understood the sentiment.
It was supremely comforting, a cozy warmth surrounding him as he drifted off with the enjoyable feeling of Lisa's soothing fingers on his blistering skin. He hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time.
iii
Roman interlocked his fingers, stretching them out and cracking a few of them. Letting out a pleased sigh, the man began doing the same to his neck as if in anticipation of something to come. Beside him, his diminutive partner rolled her eyes as she largely ignored his antics to watch her programme.
"Now now, don't be like that Neo," he said, "You of all people know the trouble we went through to get this."
He grabbed the simple white envelope off the table, opening it and taking out the single sheet of paper contained within.
"It's the moment of truth." He glanced at Neo who ignored him in favor of watching the fight with great interest. When he didn't get any reaction from her, he cleared his throat in an attempt to get her attention.
"I said, it's the moment of truth," he repeated, "Oh come on! This sheet of paper cost a finger, an expensive engagement ring, and likely a marriage to get. It'd be nice to see some appreciation for my effort."
Neo made a gesture with her hand which Roman took to mean somewhere within the range of 'shush' and 'fuck off'. He huffed in annoyance at her attitude.
"The fight isn't in his favor." The redhead caught sight of the screen that his partner's were glued to, "He's a close range fighter if ever I've seen one and with daggers like those, it doesn't look like he can get close to-"
Roman watched as the cloaked fighter swung his dagger at his unsuspecting opponent, the blade attached to a chain.
"Never mind." He felt slightly impressed. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to get the girl's attention, he went on to open the information sheet without the fanfare he wanted. Scanning it thoroughly, a smile slowly began to grow on his face.
"Oh my," he said, "How naughty you've been, Mr. Flore."
It was this kind of information that made it all worth it. A collusion with Atlas to build some sort of machine that allowed the men in power to play God. And all behind the backs of Vale's actual authority.
The criminal wondered if it was this type of information thought could officially make a traitor out of a countryman. He had no doubt that this correspondence between Flore and this Atlas official was at the very least an act of treason; there was no way Vale would ever sanction such a project.
"How would you feel about a new semblance, Neo?" He waved the letter at her in hopes of getting her attention. Roman was only joking however, knowing better than anyone that she would never go for such a thing, even if it were actually possible. He wasn't really going to trust a piece of paper, after all.
The girl gasped and for a brief moment, he thought he might have had her attention. Her gaze was still affixed to the television screen however, and Roman glanced at it to see that the hooded fighter's face had been revealed, blown back from catching one of Skye's wind-blasts.
"Is he your type?" If Roman didn't know any better, he would have mistaken the fighter for a girl. His face was rather feminine, dark hair tied back into a knot and blue eyes revealed. Looking at Neo, he noticed a smile spread across her face, a delighted look in her mismatched eyes.
That was never really a good sign.
"And there goes Mr. Surge's first weapon."
And soon after, he also lost the second in a similar fashion. Roman noticed what Skye didn't however, and it was that she had been trapped between her opponent and the wall. He had seen her fight before of course, and her attacks weren't ever deadly. He never bothered finding out if it was a limit to her semblance or just her as a person, but it was never really prudent.
"That's the match." Roman knew there was no way the man would let Skye go now that he had caught her; she was a long-range fighter and he couldn't afford it. What he didn't expect was how the man wrapped his chains around the slim girl's neck.
"Damn." He whistled at the ruthlessness. Roman noticed Neo's leg shake violently, her heel tapping at the ground. It was rare to see her this excited.
As they watched Surge brutally choke out his defeated opponent, the man leaned back into his seat as he wondered about Neo's unusual excitement.
"Do you know him?" he asked, "You looked like you recognize him."
As the match finally ended with Skye's loss, Neo exhaled deeply and typed out a message to Roman.
"A Beacon student in disguise?" Roman read aloud, "You went out on a date with a student?"
Neo grinned and fell over, spreading out over the couch as she lay down. Roman's eye twitched when he saw her boots touch the meticulously clean sofa.
"You are pretty good with faces, especially a pretty-boy like that one. Just be careful." It went without saying, of course. Messing with a Beacon student meant messing with Ozpin, and Ozpin required intensive and careful planning to get around or avoid.
"Anyway, it looks like there's a test subject out here in Vale." Roman waved the letter around, finally getting Neo to pay some attention to their task, "I never thought this whole Project Simulacrum would have gotten this far. Alas, our search continues."
Neo huffed and turned onto her side, already annoyed with their next burden. Roman just rolled his eyes at her reaction; she did the same thing for almost everything they had to do.
"Still, implanting artificial Semblances into people," he said, reading the letter once more, "I never would have thought ol' Ironwood would be funding this kind of research. Especially behind Ozpin's back."
fin
Notes: Long overdue, I know. I've quit some bad habits cold-turkey recently and am getting back into the habit of writing.
There was an anonymous person that left a review recently that pointed out my overuse of 'said' and it's synonyms. I hadn't really realized it, so thank you for pointing it out to me. It was a great help and I've begun to work it out of my writing. You won't notice in this chapter since this was written for some time and I didn't want to go back and edit it, but I did implement it in the scene iii so you'll see a marked difference there.
Speaking of scenes, time to tell you that it was my shitty idea to write in scenes that really killed my muse for this story. I constrained myself by trying to write into scenes, and it fucked me over when I forced myself to write within those limits. I'll admit it was stupid to do it, though honestly I didn't realize until I found myself stuck and unable to write for this past... year is it?
From here on out, I'm no longer going to be writing in specified scenes (the whole i, ii, iii stuff); this isn't a play. I won't be going back to change anything already written, but this chapter is the last of this format and from now on I'll write normally.
In regards to this chapter, it's shorter because I'm attempting to streamline my writing process. I'm avoid filler for the sake of filler, as I realize that I have a bad habit of pandering to the audience and it's a crutch of mine that I'm trying to do away with. Scenes like Jaune putting his hand on Pyrrha's breast (didn't need to happen at all), or Pyrrha's over-the-top dramatic conversation with Jaune on the rooftop (my inner Arkos-fan leaked) weren't necessary and definitely could have been done better.
Anyway, here's to better beginnings. Please make sure to review so I know if there are still people out there interested in this. Let me know your thoughts on not just the chapter, but the state of the story and whatever else.
Thanks!
knuckz
