Restoring the Family Honor

Chapter 9.5; Girls' Night In

The real reason Jaune never trained to be a hunter is that he was busy fighting the temptation to be a playboy. It's Jaune vs. his imagined Harem. AU, Some crack.

Disclaimer; I don't own RWBY and this is total AU. Enjoy the ride, check author's note at the end for concerns, and kindly leave a review.

It seems I wasn't as clear on some things as I thought I was, so here is a short interlude explanation chapter.

-Javlineers Dorm Room-

Ruby shook the little bottle and brought it close to her eyes. After a second, she groaned and set it down to rejoin its siblings. "It's too light!"

Coco looked up from her own toenails and sighed. "Ruby, you're the one who said that our girls night in would be, quote, painting our toenails and talking about cute boys. Yet I detect a general lack of painting toenails or talking about boys from you."

Ruby glanced at the rest of the girls. Almost everyone else was already waiting for their first color to dry and she hadn't even chosen one. She turned her attention back to the older girl. "It's not my fault no one makes a color that matches my hood! It has to be a specific shade of red!"

Coco took one look at the reaper and tossed a bottle to her. "This wasn't really your idea, was it?"

Ruby at least looked slightly bashful. "When I said that we could all have a girls' night without Jaune she sounded really excited for that."

Weiss shouted out from behind her textbook, "I was being sarcastic. You took off before I could say anything else, and now no one is letting me study!"

Coco shook her head and turned her attention to the the Kitsune Arc sister. "Vell, what are the odds for Velvet's date?"

"It's one-to-two that teasing is tossed around but the bunny chickens out, one to one that they kiss but don't go any further, five-to-one that they go all the way, and twenty-to-one that the date goes off without a hitch."

"Are you taking bets that something strange happens?"

"If you'll take one-to-one hundred thousand odds, then sure. His semblance can just do so many weird things if there's enough fluid shared and a desire. There's a legend that Jaune's great grandfather turned into a real horse for a day because his girlfriend wanted to try horse riding. I'm not expecting something like that, but Velvet probably has some rather strong and strange desires. I give it two-to-one that she inadvertently does something weird with his semblance."

"Hmm. I stole a kiss from him earlier, so I could pretty much do whatever I want with him for the next 24 hours, right?"

Vell considered the fashionista for a moment before speaking. "While the duration of his semblance is based on the type of fluid, the intensity is based on the amount. With a short kiss you generally trade enough saliva to give him ideas and maybe get him to do something if he already wanted to do it. If you want your own pony, you'll need to spend a while sucking face. Either that, or suck something a bit further down."

Coco gave an exasperated look. "Aren't you hoping to be the only woman for Jaune? Why do you keep pushing other girls to go for him?"

The kitsune smiled. "You misunderstand. I hope to be his wife and the only supplier of Arc essence. The more girls that get addicted to what he brings, the greater the power I'll wield when I control the source. It's a very fine line, if other girls don't think they have a chance to be with him, they won't try and won't get addicted. On the other hand, I need to keep them fighting with each other so that no one can usurp my position as leader. Or worse, girls that are unworthy will creep in, and it'll end up being my responsibility to deal with the pointless junkies."

Coco rolled her eyes. "You say it like he's some kind of drug. I do get the appeal, but I wouldn't call him addicting."

Vell gave a patronizing smile. "Of course. Of course. After all, why would the essence of a man who will cater to your every whim ever make you dependent, much less when imbibing him gives incredible power." Her face settled into a less joking expression. "But really, it's more of a mutual enslavement, so long as you get close enough. The girl is addicted to him, and his semblance feeds all of her thoughts and desires to him as if they were his own. Jaune does whatever the girl wants because he thinks that is what he himself thought to do, and the girl will want to do anything to make him feel good because his semblance will bring that pleasure to her. It really is an almost flawless system."

Coco sniggered. "The way you describe it… most people would just call that a good marriage. But speaking of relationships, what's with this harem? You already said that you don't plan to share, so how is this even a real harem?"

Vell gained a look of disgust. "It isn't a real harem, technically. It's more of a social group than romantic. Not all of us are content to share a source of nearly unlimited power with any woman who can pin him down for a kiss. I know that Cherri, Hestia, Lorelai, the Belladonna, and Nora all want to be harem queens where they lead but others share his bed. Yang, Rin, Cream, Casandra, and Pyrrha want to enjoy the benefits of being in a harem or just plain don't care so long as they get their fix. Myself and Navy want him without any other girls in the way. Weiss is a spoiled brat who won't take a good thing unless its presented with garnish on a platinum platter; she wants him all to herself but refuses to play the games to get him. Ruby, on the other hand… she's not as innocent as she seems, even if her sister refuses to acknowledge it. She's willing to play, but how far, that I don't know."

Coco had a suspicious look. "Really? Every single girl? Projecting much?"

Vell just shrugged. "What can I say, uncle Jirai does good work. What girl doesn't like tall blonde and loving? If that isn't enough, there's always the fact that he's effectively a noble and incredibly rich. With his semblance he can be anything any girl wants, so long as they get close enough. A woman's aura can sense that's on offer and it will go for it. The Arc gets protection and progeny and in exchange the woman gets her every wish fulfilled. Only real downside is that it makes the Grimm go crazy. The monsters have been trying to kidnap an Arc heir as long back as records were kept. But that's really only a downside if you're doing it wrong. You're supposed to keep him locked at your side with plenty of guards that rely on only what you can give." The faunus had a strange glint in her eye that spoke of burning memories.

Yang's cough pulled her back to the present. The other girls had all gathered around her. "Group therapy time; What disaster did the Arc save you from? Slavery? Abusive parents?"

Vell sighed. "Somewhat and absolutely not. Let's just say that Daddy was a faunus and Mommy was a gang leader. She ran a successful ring in Atlas, so of course she was on the top of the list for ambitious scumbags that didn't like her choice of 'pet.' Her second in command started plotting against my mother from the moment I came out of the womb with a tail. My parents were killed in front of me when I was 6."

Everyone was doing their best to keep a straight face at the emotionally dead delivery of the story. Those who hadn't heard it before averted their faces. "That's when I unlocked my semblance. I was in denial. My soul cried out that they couldn't be gone. No power can bring back the dead, so the brothers answered my prayer in the next best way. I recreated them. Copies. Shadows, false images that could do everything but thought nothing. They beat down those who betrayed me, and I lived in that room with nothing but the corpses of my parents and their killers for one month. It was my own fantasy world where nothing could reach me, and nothing could go wrong. The copies killed anyone who dared even try to break that illusion.

"When Jaune came, I was already almost dead. He was the first one to ignore the copies and headed straight to me. My copies attacked but he didn't even flinch. He held my head in his hands and looked me straight in the eye. I still remember his words, 'These imitations are below you. Give up this illusion. Let's go and make a reality that's better.' I wailed and willed the constructs to attack even more viciously. He didn't move. He didn't cry out. He refused to be hurt by what he saw as illusions. That is what broke me. He saw me alone, felt me alone, smelled me alone, and everything else was fake. He denied every blow and every wound that he received, and he made me believe it too. He destroyed my fantasy world and dragged me with him to remake reality in his image. That is the man I love, and that is the man who is my king, even if he chooses someone else. The one who can shatter every false reality until we reach his dream. I have sworn upon my parents grave that I will either recapture that moment of just the two of us and make it into a lifetime, or I myself will be shattered. I believe in my love for him with the same intensity that he willed against the world I had created. I will do everything in my power to help him change the world, and once the new world has been created, I will make sure that every woman recognizes whatever true reality is left."

Everyone sat in stunned silence for a long minute. Eventually Weiss choked out an objection. "That's impossible! There's no way you could have kept up using your semblance for a full month right after unlocking it! Your aura would be depleted within minutes, especially without Arc to support you. You obviously misremembered and reconstructed a romanticized version of your meeting with the Arc. There's no way he could actually be like that: The entire time I've known him he's been tactless and irritating and… and…"

"And he's been treating you like the total Ice-Queen Tsundere that you are." Vell flicked the shorter girl with a tail. "Leave it to a Schnee to be entirely unable to reconsider a notion once it has been conceived. Let me break down for you why you're good for nothing but a slave and an amusement. Point 1, you know nothing about aura. It's the power of the soul, yet you never even think for a moment that it can be influenced by the soul, or that using your soul to power a forcefield could ever have any negative affects at all. Point 2, You completely fail to realize that Jaune doesn't actually like you, and only puts up with you because he has to. Point 3, You don't even realize that you're being played. Jaune knows your type and is acting to get what he wants, which is your hatred, because its miles better than what passes as love in your twisted family. I don't get what Cherri sees in you. Whatever it is doesn't matter anyway. I look forward to seeing you shattered when the real Jaune emerges in full again."

Yang whistled. "Wow. Bitchy much? Get it? Cuz' foxes are-"

"I get it Xio-Long!" Both Weiss and Vell replied at the same time.

The kitsune looked over the girls who were doing their best to avoid her gaze. "I don't want you pity. Jaune gave me purpose and made me stronger. Be prepared to fight for him. If you won't, then you don't deserve him."

Vell walked away and sat with a huff. Weiss looked around for support before going to sit in a huff on the other side of the room. Blake looked between the two for a moment before approaching the Arc sister. "I know the difference between illusions and reality. Jaune is mine, but I'll still let you join us once I win."

The two faunus smiled at each other for a single moment. They both understood. They couldn't give up their anchor. Lines would be drawn, but everyone in the room understood that they would need to fight for a place with the Arc heir and a portion of the power that he gives.

Chapter 9.5 Done

There were some things I wanted to clarify quickly. The events happen in the way they are described, but character interpretations may be wrong. The girls will allow others a taste, but many won't allow free access to Jaune for just anyone.

Jaune's faunus transformation is temporary. About a week/ one maybe two chapters. The urges will keep building, but that's the nature of the story.

One thing that I bring up briefly is the aura thing. Flavor wise it's the light of your soul, yet they don't do anything with that flavor. Why? Disappointing…

On a closing thought, how did this get so serious? This was supposed to be a lighthearted mini chapter two answer three questions and have some fun with imagining a girls' night in for huntresses. It ended up with a depressing backstory reveal and hostility. Wow. Next chapter will return with more humor. Until then, stay tuned and leave a review with a question or thing to improve.