Konichiwa everyone!
This chapter contains various RWBY characters. If this in any way offends you, please avoid reading this. I gotta post these warnings so that I don't get flagged.
Special thanks to WarrenDSherman for calling me a 'bitch ass nigga' in the reviews. This one's for you, my friend.
Cover art: Mallobaude
Of all the people that would've been appropriate to send out on a stealth mission, they chose her out of everyone else!?
Yang grumbled about her bad luck under the cover of darkness, sneaking her way through her dormroom. It hadn't taken long for Weiss and Ruby to nominate her to steal Blake's stupid journal whilst she slept. Why they thought she'd be the best person for the job was beyond her. She was the tallest in the team and had the brightest - and prettiest - hair. Her height would make her stand out and she was NOT dying her hair black to make her more stealthy.
Oh, but she had been the first one to find the journal. She knew where Blake kept it, so she'd have a better chance at finding it without waking her up.
That was the excuse they had come up with, which made her blood boil even more. Last she checked, they all saw her take it out of the drawer. They knew as well as she did where Blake hid her smut. But no, of course she had to go looking for it because she had been the one to find it in the first place.
If this was some kind of lesson from any existing god above, then message received. She would never snoop again. Now could fate kindly deal her a fair hand and make this job easier on her? Was that too much to ask for?
She tiptoed her way across the carpet, wincing at every tiny sound she made. Slow and steady was not her style. She wanted to grab the journal and bolt out the room as quick as possible. Ah, but if she did that she'd wake the sleeping tiger on the bed below hers.
Okay, she didn't know exactly what kind of cat breed Blake's faunus heritage was, but her partner had started looking incredibly predatorial ever since she found her journal.
The bow-wearing pervert was resting soundly in her bed, blissfully unaware of her partner sneaking through the room. Just as well, as the moonlight shining in through the window made her hair stand out like a lighthouse beam. Yang took a moment to pause and watched her partner sleep without a care in the world. She looked as peaceful as ever, despite now knowing the torment her porn was putting them all through.
"Yeah, you just keep on sleeping, Blakey," she growled in a hushed whisper. "Get all the sleep you want, even though you've robbed us all of ours! But no, it's okay, hope you have pleasant dreams." Her eyes widened at the realisation. "Actually, no, don't have pleasant dreams. That's probably where you get all of your ideas from. Oh God, what do you dream about, you little-?"
She quickly pulled her gaze away and shut her mouth. For a split second during her rant, she saw a sea of red, an army of the dead, memories of her first haircut. Visions of terror and madness. Weiss had warned her that talking to Blake and trying to understand her had an effect on the mind. She didn't know what she meant before, but she knew now. Blake Belladonna's insanity was contagious.
Now more eager than ever to get this over with, Yang tiptoed over to Blake's drawer and carefully opened it, pulling out the book and raising it to the moonlight. Crap, it looked even more terrifying in the dark. Her fingers burned from having to touch it again. She was gonna have to give her nails a serious scrubbing when she got back to Team JNPR's room.
Now that she had claimed her rotten prize, she shot one final glare at Blake's snoozing form before sneaking out of the room in the fastest way she could. Thankfully, Team JNPR'S room was just a few steps away from her own, allowing her to return to safety and normality in seconds.
She burst open the door with more force than intended, startling everyone inside who were all currently seated in a circle on the floor. She threw the book in the centre of the circle, narrowly avoiding the scroll that rested in the middle of it, causing everyone to back away in fear and revulsion. Everyone eyed it like it was some kind of disgusting insect.
"Mission accomplished," Yang seethed. "Now get that thing away from me!"
"Lower your voice, Yang," Weiss hissed. "Blake might be able to hear us if we make too much noise. Our own door is still destroyed, remember?"
"I mean, that was kinda your fault, Weiss," Ruby mumbled before immediately shutting up from the glare the heiress sent her.
"Whatever," Yang grunted, stomping over to her sleeping bag that lay on the floor. "Just next time you make me do something like this, give me gloves or something." She stared at her hand in disgust. At this rate, she was gonna have to cut it off to stop the infection from spreading.
"Thanks for being so quick, Yang," Nora cheered happily. "Now that we're all here, the first official sleepover hosted by Team JNPR can finally begin! Let's get this party started!"
Yang rolled her eyes at Nora's enthusiasm but silently thanked her for appreciating her efforts. Going in that room was like jumping into a lion's cage at the zoo. It felt good to be back with her relatively normal friends, whose weirdness was at least far more safer than Blake's. Anyway, her task was done for the night. She might as well enjoy the sleepover whilst she still could.
It hadn't been hard convincing Blake not to show up tonight. When she asked why everyone was moving into Team JNPR's room with sleeping bags in tow, Yang said they were having a sleepover, which naturally meant making lots of noise and staying up until dawn. In the end, it had been Blake convincing Yang why she shouldn't try to bring her along with her.
So really, that had been two problems Yang had solved for everyone today. With that many sacrifices she had made, she felt she was owed some kind of heroes due.
"So, that's the famous smut book, is it?" came Sun's voice from inside the scroll. The video image of the monkey faunus looked at it with awe and wonder. Neptune could be seen sitting next to him, eyeing the book curiously. Everyone thought it best to call the two boys to warn them about the book. Even though they would probably never get to read it, they deserved at least some kind of heads up in case they accidentally stumbled across it. "I gotta say, I thought it'd be scarier looking. It looks kinda normal to me."
"Do not be fooled, Sun," Ren said. "This book truly is the result of madness and desperation. I must confess, I shudder being near it even now."
"Aw, come on, it can't be that bad."
"It is that bad," Weiss snapped. "And you should consider yourselves grateful for not having read the contents inside it. Oh, how I wish I could just wipe my memory clean of that vile encounter."
"So let me get this straight," Neptune's voice piped up. "Blake's been writing some porn on the side and she's using all of you as characters?"
"Yeah, and it's not just us," Jaune sighed. "Some stories feature people outside of Beacon. We have reason to believe that she's written porn of just about everyone she's ever met in her life."
Neptune looked like he was about to say something else when Sun quickly pushed his face closer to the screen. "Wait, wait, hold up," he said quickly. "Everyone she's ever met?"
"Uh, yeah?"
Sun fidgeted slightly and looked awkward all of a sudden, before finally speaking up again. "Well, uh… do you know if she's written anything about me? J-Just out of curiosity, of course."
Frowning, Jaune carefully picked up the book, winced at the way it felt in his fingers, and flicked through the pages quickly. After a few seconds, he looked back up at the scroll again. "No, it doesn't look like it."
"Damn it!" Sun cried in a surprisingly disappointed tone. He must have noticed everyone staring at him since he quickly changed his reaction. "Uh, I mean, yay, great. Glad she doesn't think of me like that." He turned his head away from the scroll, grumbling something about how unfair life was or something like that.
What a strange guy.
"Anyway, moving on," Neptune said over his friend's sour mutterings. "What are you gonna do about it? I know if I found out one of my buddies on my team was writing porn about me, I'd run screaming and never look back."
"What can we do about it?" Yang shrugged. "She's never gonna throw it away, and we can't exactly destroy it ourselves. We've already admitted to snooping through her stuff-"
"That was your idea!"
"-so if we then start ripping up her 'hard work'," she sneered out the word, "we'd end up looking like the bad guys. Hell, if she goes to the teachers about this, we'd probably end up getting detention too." Whilst that part didn't really scare her, she'd rather not get a detention for 'burning your partner's poorly written porn'. Stuff like that went on your permanent record.
"Yeah, so for now we're just gonna get Jaune's mom to have a look at it," Ruby said. "She might be able to help Blake be a better writer."
"Or at the very least, stop writing dirty stories about us," Weiss huffed. "Either way, it should be a win-win situation, and after tomorrow things should return back to normal."
"Never thought Blake would do something like this," Sun mumbled. "I knew she was all mysterious and cool, but this? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's still cool because she's the one doing it, but… well, you know what I'm talking about, right?"
"Uh, no, not really?" Ruby frowned. Everyone was staring at him oddly. Even Neptune was giving him questioning looks.
"Well, I mean, it sucks for all you guys," he hastily said. "But if you think about, this is really good thing. Blake is just exercising one of her many talents. I always knew she was a gifted girl, and this book proves it-"
"Ah, save your breath, monkey boy," Yang scoffed. "You'll drool over just about anything involving Blake." His crush on her partner was obvious to everyone, but it was amazing the things he would roll with just to earn her favour.
"T-That's not true," he stuttered. "But come on, can't you guys be a little impressed? I mean, she's obviously worked hard on this and... she's just so cool…" The boy trailed off and a dreamy smile stretched across his face. God help the poor guy. It seemed Blake had just unintentionally gained her first fan. Hopefully, it wouldn't be a recurring trend.
"Don't listen to him," Neptune said, pulling his friend away from the camera. "But on the bright side, at least you guys get to have a sleepover because of this. That's gotta be fun, right?"
"It's hardly because we choose to," Weiss grunted. "This is a matter of survival. Growing up, I sometimes had to retreat to one of my families bomb shelters during the threat of a White Fang attack on my home. This feels no different to that."
"Aw, come on, don't be such a stick in the mud, Weiss," Nora laughed. "We can still have a good time. I've got the collector's edition of Remnant: The Game under my bed~"
"I'll play whatever," Yang shrugged. "But Weiss does have a point. Tonight's all about keeping our heads in check. We gotta think like survivalists."
"Pfft, you don't have to be boring to be survivalists," Nora said with an eye-roll. "If you want advice from experts, look no further than me and Ren." She grabbed the Eastern boy by the shoulder and pulled him to her side. "When we were living in the forests of Anima, we did loads of fun things to help pass the time."
"Like what?" Ruby asked.
"Eat every animal we came across," Ren said with a small hint of horror in his tone.
"Aaand we told each other stories," Nora smiled. "Oh, we have so many from living out in the wilderness. Like once I met this guy who was also his own dad and brother-"
Whilst Nora was entertaining a curious Ruby and a bewildered Jaune, Yang and Weiss still gave Neptune their full attention. "So what about you, Neptune?" Yang asked. "You got anyone in Haven doing stuff like Blake?"
"Not to my knowledge," Neptune said. "Although we did have this one guy who used to draw pictures of people banging in his free time. From what I heard, it was really hardcore stuff."
"How romantic," Yang groaned. God, was every wannabe artist a freak? "And where is this Cassanova now? Painting nudes for the upper class?"
"Ah, well, that I can't say for certain. No one really knows what happened to the guy, as not even his team talks about him these days. Whether it's out of respect for his privacy, or that they just don't wanna be reminded of him is anyone's guess, though."
"Not too surprising," Weiss hummed. "Having a known pervert on your team would be humiliating. One can only hope that Blake's journal doesn't become known to the public. I don't know how I'd live with the shame. I'd have to leave Vale, that's for certain."
"You know, you're kinda risking that happening by telling me about this." Neptune pointed out.
Weiss' face became the faintest shade of pink and she looked shyly away from the screen. "Well, I feel like I can trust you," she mumbled sheepishly. There was a noise that sounded like Jaune whining in the background, but Yang wasn't paying attention to that. Her mind was hooked on that story Neptune was telling them.
"Do you have any idea what might have happened to him?" she said. "The guy drawing people screwing, I mean."
"Huh? Oh, right, him." The blue-haired boy turned his attention to her once again. "As I said, no one knows what happened to him. All we know is that one night he just disappeared from the academy. No one has seen him since."
Yang's eyes widened. Now she was more intrigued than ever. "Disappeared? From how you were describing it earlier, I thought he just left out of embarrassment or something."
"He probably did, and we just never saw him do it," Neptune shrugged. "All we know is that he was here one day and gone the next. As far as we're concerned, he just vanished."
Yang hummed and became absorbed in thought. Blake was certainly known for her disappearing acts, but she had stopped doing those months ago. It was unlikely she'd run off if her journal got discovered by anyone else. Hell, she'd probably welcome the reputation, since she was pretty damn proud of her book according to Weiss.
But what was worse - a pervert on the run, or one that stood by her work?
"That's a neat story, man," she chuckled. "But I don't think Blake is going anywhere anytime soon, so I don't think we need to worry about having to track her down again."
The boy on the screen coughed awkwardly. His face became a little more serious. "The, um… the story's not finished yet."
Oh?
"You said he vanished and that no one knows what happened to him," she frowned. "Where do you go on from there?"
"Yeah, I know what I said," he said. Graven of tone, he continued his story. "But there's been rumours floating around our school. No one knows how or why he vanished the way he did, but people have theories. Some say he left out of sheer embarrassment. Others say he was kidnapped in the night. But there's one more theory that's widely accepted amongst us all. It's the one I believe the most."
Yang leaned in closer. She ignored the tingling sense of dread running up her spine, but she couldn't turn away now. "Tell me," she whispered.
Dark-blue eyes met lilac ones. It could've been the video quality, but it looked like Neptune was shaking as he spoke. "Some people claim that they saw him the night he disappeared," he said softly. "They say he was running through the hallways, screaming about how his 'muse was catching up to him' or something like that. When they tried following him though, he was nowhere to be found."
Yang felt the blood in her veins turn to ice water. She looked at Weiss for comfort, but the heiress didn't seem that bothered by the story. She was actually doing her nails whilst Neptune told his frightening tale.
"Legend says," he continued, "that you can still hear his screams echo in the hallway at night. Apparently, if you look hard enough, you can see a pale-white figure carrying pictures of naked people sprinting through the school. The last remnants of a perverted madman."
O-Oh.
Well, that was a worrying thing to think about. Yang now found herself suddenly fearing for her partner's well being. Her crimes against her team were inexcusable, but she was still her partner and friend at the end of the day. The idea of such a grim future happening to her…
Oh God, was this the fate of all artists? She didn't want to lose Blake like that. They were just some punishments in life that were too cruel. She was so preoccupied with the thought of it all, she didn't feel herself start to bring her knees up to her chest, nor the sensation of her arms around them to pull them in tighter.
"Wonderful," Weiss groaned whilst inspecting her nails. "So she's either going to get bored of writing one day, or her own madness will eventually eat her alive. And here I thought this team was finally becoming functional."
"Well, like I said, it's only a rumour," Neptune said. "Just because I believe it, doesn't mean it's true."
"I just don't understand," Yang mumbled quietly. Her eyes were now glued to the floor, hidden beneath bangs of yellow hair. "Why is she only starting to do this now? Is it something we did? No, it must have been me. I am her partner, after all."
"Yang?"
"Uh, Yang? You hanging in there, girl?"
Yang barely heard them. Her mind was a hurricane of guilt. She could already see Blake running through Beacon's hallways, howling about her struggles as an artist. Yang had come so far helping Blake lead a normal life. She didn't want all her efforts being destroyed by a couple of dirty stories. Unfortunately, that seemed exactly like what was happening now.
"E-Excuses me, guys," Yang hastily said, standing up and walking away from the group. "I need to be alone right now." She walked across the bedroom and made her way to Team JNPR's bathroom. She heard Nora saying something about remembering to flush before she shut the door behind her. She stared at her reflection in the mirror miserably.
Of course it was her fault Blake was now like this. If she had been any kind of decent partner, she would've seen the signs months ago. Or maybe she had already seen them but chose to ignore them, thinking it was just one of her partner's many quirks? Damn it, she was so heartless!
Yang's eyes became misty. Her hands gripped the sink with enough force to almost make cracks form in the basin. This wasn't natural. People didn't just start writing porn out of the blue, especially about their friends. One of them must have influenced her to do so. But who? Who?
The culprit looked her dead in the face. No amount of reasoning could convince Yang otherwise. She was the guilty party. She had caused her poor little partner to start writing smut about her friends. And she knew exactly how she did it.
She looked at her body in disgust. She glared at her curvy figure, snarled at her well-toned thighs and arms, and she absolutely detested how perfect the shape and size of her breasts were. Her golden hair flowed down her head like a river of sunshine, and her face was devoid of any imperfections.
Her raw sexiness had influenced her partner. Corrupted her until she had no choice but to release her frustrations out on pen and paper.
How could she have been so blind? She had always been so careless with her looks, always walking out in the open with pride from how she looked. She didn't once think about the consequences her actions must have caused. Her dad and Qrow had always told her to dress modestly, but she always thought they said that to prevent people from taking advantage of her. Whilst that was technically true - though if anyone tried anything with her, they'd be missing a few fingers - the real reason was far more damning.
Her good looks caused people to write smutty fantasies.
She had been such an idiot. She had been so reckless with her beauty that it was starting to melt the minds of those she cared about. Blake was only the beginning. How long would it be until Ruby started to write her own perverted material?
No. She would not allow her sweet baby sister to fall into such depravity. It was time to start taking some responsibilities for her actions!
She immediately buttoned up her jacket to hide her dangerous cleavage. It was a start, but her body was still too perfect. She would have to buy more formal, less revealing clothes tomorrow in order to conceal her sultry figure. She'd probably have to think about having a different hairstyle too, as it was far too alluring in its current state. The change would feel odd for a few days, but it was for the greater good.
She would not allow anyone else to fall to the taint.
[/]
The airship ride to Vale was a calm and relaxing one. Unlike her husband and children, Christina Arc did not suffer from motion sickness - something she constantly teased the rest of her family for having - meaning she could look out the window and enjoy the view in peace.
And what an impressive view it was. The buildings stood tall and proud and the streets were alive with the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Whilst she prefered the quiet life of living in the countryside, she would admit that it looked like an exciting place to live. It seemed like a million things were happening at once in the streets below her.
However, none of that compared to the sight of Beacon Academy looming in the distance. It looked more like a castle than a school. Its large spires pierced the sky and the building stood out with its brilliant white brickwork. Its tower stretched the highest of all the buildings in the city, gazing down on the city like some kind of omnipotent being. It was truly the pinnacle of architectural perfection.
But there was still one more thing she needed to see. Her whole reason for travelling out into the city, and whose presence would push every impressive sight she had seen to the back of her mind. It wouldn't be long now and she couldn't wait until she finally landed.
The airship began to slowly make its descent to the docking station, eventually coming to a gentle stop. The doors unlocked and she pushed her way through the crowd of people trying to exit the airship. Once she made it outside, she frantically looked around for her target in mind. Now was the time they had agreed to meet, so he had to be somewhere nearby.
And then she saw him. Standing out from the crowd with that recognizable shade of blond hair, he stood by the exit to the docking station waving to her. Even when greeting his own mother, he still had that shy, slightly awkward demeanour about him. It seemed there were just some things that not even a prestigious hunter academy could change.
That made her happy.
But not as happy as seeing him again. She promised herself on the flight that she wouldn't be overly emotional when seeing him. That it would embarrass him and probably make the reunion awkward. It was only when she saw him again that she realised how quickly she was about to break that promise.
She closed the distance between him and her in seconds, crashing into him as she pulled him into the tightest hug she could muster. The heartache born of months without communication was suddenly healed in that moment. Her baby boy was alive and well.
"There you are," she sobbed, tears of happiness streaming down her cheeks. Oh, let them flow. If people were gonna judge her for getting emotional from seeing her son, so be it. Idiots like them would never experience the joy she was feeling right now. "Gods, I've missed you so much."
"Haha, Mom, take it easy," Jaune laughed as he hugged her back. Goodness gracious, had he gotten bigger? Her arms could barely get around him. "Come on, ease up a bit. You're choking me here."
She rolled her eyes at his silly complaint but stood back regardless. She was getting tears all over his hoodie and knowing what a slob her son was, she'd be the one to end up washing it. She looked up at him with a beaming smile, her vision still slightly blurry from tears.
"You've grown," she laughed. "You're far more muscular than when you were living at home. Beacon's been treating you well."
"You think so?" he chuckled, inspecting his arm for good measure. "I don't think I look any different than before. I certainly don't feel any different."
Of course he didn't. Trust him to disregard his own achievements. He was probably just be being humble, though knowing how her son was, it was probably a result of his endless list of insecurities. The poor child.
"Well, I do see the improvement," she said. "So would your family if you remembered to visit…"
His expression dropped. "Um, yeah, that," he sighed. "Listen, I'm so sorry for not-"
"I'm joking," she said with an eye-roll. For now, at least. His punishment would come in time, but not now. "Don't worry about that now. I'm trying to give you a compliment. You look very well, son."
His face lit up again, albeit slightly. "Well, I've really gotta thank my partner for that," he said. "She's been sparring with me every night before bed. Any muscle I've gained is thanks to her."
"Oh, your partner's a she?" Christina could only hope that she and her son got on well, as her boy had trouble acting calm around any girl outside of his family. Still, it was a mother's job to tease him about girls and she would not abandon her duties so quickly. "And what's she like then?" she asked with a coy grin. "Do you think she's pretty?"
A bright-red blush formed on his face. All too easy. "Er, um, wha-?" he stammered. "I-I mean, yeah, I guess? Yeah, s-she's very pretty. I've never really thought of her in that way though."
"Oh, is that so?" Normally she'd stop there, but he still needed to pay for not calling home sooner. Besides, she was having too much fun. "You don't feel a little attraction towards her? You've already admitted she's pretty~"
"W-Wait, it's not like that! I mean… well, not to say she isn't beautiful - she is beautiful - but I, I… argh, I dunno!" He buried his face in his hands. "God, why do you have to say stuff like this?"
"I'm just being curious, that's all," she said, shrugging in a way that pretended to be innocent. "She makes time to train you every night, you say? Sounds like she might be trying to get close to you~"
The boy in front of her could no longer form comprehensible words. Okay, that was enough teasing for now. She wanted to be able to talk to her son after all this time.
"Well anyway, remind me to give her my thanks if I see her," she beamed. Whether he realised it or not, he was muscular than before and even stood up a little straighter. Her son was a tall boy, it was only right that he carried himself confidently. "This is a good look for you, Jaune."
"Oh, stop it," he laughed, looking away from her and rubbing the back of his head. "Really though, I'm still miles behind the rest of my team and everyone else at Beacon. Compared to them, I'm nothing spec-"
"Oh no, you don't," she snapped, flicking his nose with her finger. "Jaune Arc, this is my first time in months finally being able to see you in person. I will not have you use that time belittling yourself." Especially considering how far he had come in those months away from home. She would not allow him to dismiss his achievements so easily. "Look at yourself. You're a huntsman-in-training at one of the best hunter academies in the world. Wear that with pride, son."
Jaune blinked dumbly at her words, before laughing in a more happier tone than before. "You kinda sound like my partner when you speak like that," he laughed.
"Your partner knows what she's talking about," she smiled. She was liking the sound of her every second. Whoever she was, Christina was looking forward to thanking her for supporting her son. At least she saw the potential inside him, even if he didn't.
"Yeah, she does," he sighed. "Man, all of my teammates are the best. I gotta introduce you to them, they all know you're coming. We might even bump into Team RWBY along the way- er, that's a team that my team are very close friends with."
It seemed her son was making new friends around every corner. Beacon sounded like a wonderful place, despite the dangerous career path it offered its students. "Then what are we waiting for?" she beamed. "Let's get moving. I'm dying to meet all your new friends."
"Hehe, yeah, of course," he said, sounding a little nervous for some reason. She was about to ask him what was wrong, when he met her gaze with a serious expression. "I am sorry for what I did to you," he said quietly. "I know I said it yesterday, but I'll say it again for good measure. I'll never make you worry like that ever again."
She smiled and hugged him again, this time more gently than before. If anything, he was the one holding tighter this time. "Please don't make yourself upset about that," she said gently. "I've already forgiven you. Let's try to continue today on a more positive note. You can start by telling me more about your time in Beacon."
He pulled away from her and gave her a shaky smile. As he lead her through the streets of Vale on their way to Beacon, he told her all about his life at the academy. There were some good times and some bad ones - a particular case involving him getting bullied came to mind - but he seemed to be enjoying his time away from home.
And oh wow, he had a lot to say about his team. If his dream was what encouraged him to go to Beacon, then his team was what encouraged him to stay. He adored them like they were his own family, and in some ways they were. They slept in the same room, ate during the same time, hunted creatures of darkness together. They were all as thick as thieves, which was reinforced by how well they got on with each other.
She was shocked to find out that his partner was none other than Pyrrha Nikos. She didn't know much about the girl, but she was aware of her reputation as an accomplished tournament fighter. It certainly explained the change in his physique. Having someone as talented as her being your personal trainer would no doubt change a person.
What was even more surprising was how her son claimed to not have recognised her when they first met.
"Really? At no point did she look familiar to you?"
"I'm serious, not once. It was only when I got told that she was on the front cover of the Pumpkin Pete cereal did I realise who she was."
"Surely you must have heard of her on TV? In the newspapers?"
"You know I don't watch the sports channel. And newspapers are boring."
"I just find it odd that an aspiring hunter had never even heard of her before. You were always a bit of a shut-in, but this is a bit much."
"Moooom!"
After much banter about her son's total lack of awareness, they had finally arrived at the gates of Beacon Academy. Good Lord, she thought the place looked impressive from a distance. Looking up at the building, she was awestruck by how beautiful it was. She had seen pictures of the academy before, but nothing compared to seeing it in person.
"Oh, it's beautiful," she gasped, starstruck from the sight of it.
"It is, isn't it?" he smiled. "I had the same reaction as you when I first came here. Mind you, the novelty tends to wear off when the headmaster throws you off a cliff for initiation."
Oh yes, that was right. Despite how incredible it looked, a deathtrap was still a deathtrap. That was enough to break her sense of wonder. Coming back to reality, she noticed the disturbing number of teens walking around with guns, blades, and other dangerous objects. They handled them so brazenly too, carrying them around like they were fashion statements.
She knew she shouldn't be worried, these students were trained to use them responsibly after all. But considering how she was a normal civilian, it had her on edge with how open they were with their weapons. She was thankful that her son at least had the decency to leave his behind when he met her.
"There's an awful lot of weapons around here," she murmured, keeping her voice down to not upset anybody. She wasn't usually afraid of a bunch of teens, but give anyone a gun and they looked like a Goliath.
"You get used to it after a while," he laughed confidently. "Besides, we're all trained, so there's nothing to worry about."
"I know, but still, at such a young age? Don't you think something can go wrong? Has there been any accidents yet involving weapons?"
"None that I've heard of," he hummed. "Although there was that one time when my friend Ruby sneezed into a cloud of dust, causing a huge explosion to happen in the courtyard."
How reassuring…
"There you are!" Came a loud, girly voice from afar. Rushing up to them was a short, ginger girl with a slightly tall, Eastern-looking boy following behind her. "We've been waiting here forever, Jaune! What took you so long?"
"I thought I'd show my mom the city first," Jaune addressed the girl. "She hasn't been to Vale in a while, so I figured I'd show her the sights." He then turned his attention back to her. "Mom, these are two of my teammates, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Guys, this is my mother, Christina Arc."
"It's lovely to meet you both," Christina said warmly, extending a hand at the pair of them. "My son speaks very highly of you all- hrk!"
The girl named Nora nearly ripped her arm off from how hard she shook her hand. Was the girl a fan of her work, or was she this enthusiastic with everyone? At least the Lie boy (or Ren, which name were you supposed to use first in their culture?) was a bit gentler.
"Nice to meet you, Mama Arc," Nora cheered. "Wow, you're like, really pretty. I don't know how old you are and it'd probably be rude of me to ask. I mean, you're old enough to be a mom, so you're probably a little bit old, but regardless, you're super pretty. Seriously, wow. Good job."
The girl spoke a mile a minute, but Christina somehow managed to catch up with all that. Well, enough to understand that she was giving her a compliment.
"Well, thank you very much, dear," she chuckled. "I do try to look my best. You're quite beautiful yourself if you don't mind me saying."
It was true. Despite being a little eccentric, Nora had a lovely shade of orange hair, a sweet-looking face, and a healthy figure befitting of a huntress. That pink outfit she was wearing complimented her, making her stand out from the crowd and the bright colours matched her personality.
"Aw, shucks," she laughed. "I'm not much to look at. You're the one with the pretty hair and eyes. I hope I look as good as you when I'm older."
Christina couldn't help but smile at the girl. She liked Nora already. She was sweet, energetic, and very polite. All in all, she seemed like a very pleasant girl to be around.
"Your husband's a lucky man. I can see why he put eight babies in you."
And just like that, those assumptions died in a horrific car crash in her mind. She could almost hear the sound of screeching tyres going off in her head.
"How do you maintain that figure?" Nora carried on, completely oblivious to her horrified expression. "Most people would have a stomach looking like a deflated bouncy castle after that many kids, but you are keeping it real. I can barely see the ripples-"
"Maybe we should talk about something else," Ren - that was what she was calling him now - said in an eerily calm voice. "My apologies, Mrs Arc. Nora has a habit of saying whatever is on her mind a little too often than necessary.
"I-It's quite alright," she said, turning her attention to the green-clad boy. Anything to distract her from what Nora had just said. "I'm just happy to be here. I've been looking forward to meeting my son's team."
"As have we with you," he smiled in a way that sent shivers down her spine. "It's a pleasure to meet the mother of our leader. I welcome you to our academy and I hope you enjoy your stay."
My, how formal. The boy certainly knew his manners. Hopefully, the majority of males in the school were as polite as him.
Nevertheless, there was something about him that made her uneasy. He had been nothing but polite with her so far, but his cool, level-headed demeanour had her slightly on edge. In a school that trained children to be weapons, his calm nature made him seem sinister in her eyes. Like an assassin ready to strike.
And those eyes. The colour of them was already unusual, but it's the way they looked at her that made her tremble. It wasn't in a perverted way, but it was almost like he was analyzing her as they spoke, looking for any traces of weakness about her. Probably a useful trait for a huntsman to have, but she felt like she was being put under a microscope.
"T-That's very kind of you to say," she stammered, turning her head slightly to avoid his eyes. She didn't want to seem rude, but she couldn't help but feel vulnerable under his gaze. She just hoped he wouldn't feel offended and slit her throat in anger.
Oh God, did she really just think that? She was more paranoid than she realised.
Thankfully, for better or worse, Jaune didn't seem to notice his mother's nervous demeanour and kept that happy attitude of his. "Hey, where's Pyrrha?" he asked his team. "Didn't she come here with you guys?"
Oh yes, Pyrrha Nikos. She sighed with relief in her mind. Finally, the chance to meet someone normal in this school. She'd probably ask for her autograph later, just to give to her children as a present. Her youngest daughter was a huge fan of hers.
"Oops. Nearly forgot about her," Nora giggled. "You're gonna love her, Mrs Arc. Wait there. I'll wheel her out."
Um, wheel?
Before she could ask what she meant by that, Nora had already bolted off. She caught Ren looking at her with those eyes again, causing her to quickly turn her head away. Good Lord, she was being intimidated by children. Heavily armed children to be fair, but still children. If her husband Solomon saw her acting like this, he'd be in hysterics.
After a few minutes of waiting and avoiding Ren's gaze, the sound of squeaky wheels could be heard in the distance. She looked up and saw Nora looking as cheerful as before, pushing someone in a wheelchair towards them.
"Oh my God," Christina said out loud upon recognizing who was in the chair.
Sitting in the chair, wearing a light-blue hospital gown decorated with sigils of a lightning bolt going through a hammer was Pyrrha Nikos herself.
At least, it looked like Pyrrha Nikos, but the state she was in could've proven otherwise. Her red hair that she usually wore in a ponytail was all frazzled and wiry, hanging down her face and obscured most of her face. She still wore her signature tiara, but the gold paint was fading and it looked like she had doodled on it. There were drawings of crows drawn crudely in black marker decorating the whole thing.
The girl, who was apparently the real Pyrrha Nikos, looked up at her. Her hair covered most of her face, but Christina could still see her green eyes shining through her bangs. They were sunken and glowed with madness. A demented, toothy-grin stretched across her face when she saw her.
"Is that you, Yang?" she asked in a hauntingly merry voice. It felt like she was addressing Christina, but it was hard to tell. "My, you look different today. Did you do something with your hair?"
Christina was at a complete loss for words. This? This was her son's partner? This was the one they named the Invincible Girl and was hailed as one of the strongest people alive?
What the hell did this school do to these children!?
Nora didn't seem fazed by her attitude and happily answered Pyrrha's question. "You better look your sharpest, Pyrrha," she said. "You're speaking to our dear leader's mom today."
"Jaune's mother?" she gasped. The second she said the words, she instantly threw herself out of the chair and stood directly in front of her. Grabbing Christina by the shoulders, she pulled her close so that she was mere inches away from her face. Christina yelped as she was dragged forward, but Pyrrha's unblinking gaze silenced any of her complaints. Her green eyes bore into hers, drilling into her like emerald needles.
"Is this true?" she whispered, her grip on her shoulders tightening as she spoke. "You are the mother of Jaune? Is this true!?"
Christina gulped. The girl may have been younger than her, but she was taller, stronger and a million times more terrifying in this state. Meeting her gaze was like looking into the eyes of death. Pyrrha had managed to go from eerily happy to terrifyingly serious in a second.
"Um, yes, I am," she stammered out. "Christina Arc, at your service..."
She awaited judgement in the grip of the celebrity. A moment of silence passed and she could see Pyrrha's eyes twitch slightly. Her piercing gaze started to look a little softer, which helped slow down the pace of her rapidly beating heart.
A scream of joy erupted from the redhead and she threw her arms around Christina in a crushing hug. She jumped up and down in delighted, dragging her with her. Christina's brain rattled in her skull whilst the rest of her bones tried to stop her from snapping in two. Why wasn't anyone helping her!?
"Oh, what joyous days are these," Pyrrha squealed, finally stopping with her lethal jumping. "The mother of Jaune has finally graced us with her presence. Glory unto you, Lady Christina!"
"I-It's nice to meet you too, dear," she chuckled nervously. Anything to please the bubbly death-machine that was currently holding her. "It's great to finally meet my son's partner. You've done a great job with whipping him into shape." At least that part was true.
"Oh please, the honour is mine," she gasped dramatically. "Your son is a golden god that I am not worthy to be in the presence of." She dropped to her knees and bowed her head. "Your kind words bring me peace, O great Mother Arc."
Staring at the madwoman prostrated before, Christina decided to take a raincheck on that autograph. Why was no one else horrified by this? We're they not seeing the same thing as her? Even Jaune didn't look fazed by his partner's actions. Had the madness claimed her baby boy too?
No, not him! Take her instead, just leave her son in peace!
"She seems so much different on TV," Christina said softly to Jaune, trying her best to avoid Pyrrha hearing her. The girl in question was mumbling some kind of prayer, so she was probably too distracted to hear her.
"Yeah, she hasn't been quite the same since she read Blake's journal," Jaune nodded. "But she's in good hands. Nora's the best nurse Pyrrha could ask for."
Christina shot a worried glance at the ginger blabbermouth. "Nora's her nurse?" she asked. That would certainly explain her current mental state. She had only known Nora for two minutes and was already assuming the worst.
Nora grinned and pulled out a scroll of paper from her cleavage and handed it to her. Unraveling it, it was revealed to be a masters degree in medicine from a prestigious university.
"Fully licensed and approved," Nora said with a wink. "Nurse Nora Valkyrie, at your service."
They let lunatics be hunters and nurses. These were strange and scary times they were living in."
"Oh, that reminds me," Jaune said, "I still need to talk to Mom about Blake's journal. I haven't even shown it to her yet. Sorry guys, but we're gonna have to go. I'll meet you guys for dinner."
Go? Yes, go! Don't apologise, just get her away from these people!
"You got it, Jauney," Nora grinned, giving Christina a wave. "It was nice meeting you, Mama Arc." She tapped Pyrrha on the shoulder, who was still down on the ground. "C'mon, Pyrrha. If you be a good girl, Nurse Nora will buy you some of that chocolate you love."
Pyrrha stood up with a blissful smile on her face. "Mmm, butterscotch," she hummed in delight. Christina felt her heart stop when Pyrrha looked at her again and pulled her into a hug. "It was a privilege, Lady Christina," she said before whispering in her ear, "your son looks delicious when he sweats~"
With Pyrrha's final message burned in her memory, she got back in her wheelchair and the rest of Jaune's team walked back towards the school. She watched them leave with fear in her heart, whereas Jaune looked on with a loving smile on his face.
"Aren't they just the best?" he sighed happily.
"They're certainly a very… colourful bunch," she said. Colourful was the only polite way of describing them. These children looked like they'd be sent straight off to the madhouse once they graduated.
"I know, right?" he laughed. "I just hope I can someday be as strong as them. I know I'm their leader, but they're great role models for me."
Distraction! She needed a distraction now!
"Y-You mentioned something about a journal?" she said, trying to hide the disgust in her voice.
He slapped his forehead playfully. "I almost forgot again," he laughed. "Come on, I'll show you it somewhere private before I get distracted again."
He ended up taking her to a small pavilion in one of Beacon's many gardens. The colourful flowers and neatly-arranged shrubberies helped her forget the horrors she had witnessed.
They were sat down at a table in the pavilion. She had little time to admire the pretty scenery before he slapped a small black book in front of her. "You remember how I said I needed to show you something?" he said, pointing at the book in front of her. "Well, this is it."
She picked up the book and studied it. It was small, thin, and for some reason had an unsettling aura about it. "It's… a book," she noted, a little confused why he wanted to show it privately to her. It didn't look like anything suspicious.
"Yes, I suppose you could call it that," he muttered gravely. Well, what else was she meant to call it? It was a book. And was it just her, or did he have a little disdain in his voice?
Still, in school full of weapons and homicidal teenagers, books were at least a familiar territory for her. "Is it yours, dear?"
"God, no!" he yelped, as if the idea of owning it horrified him. "No, this belongs to my friend Blake. It's her… story journal, I guess you could call it. She writes stories in it, 'cause I guess she wants to be an author or something."
"Oh, is that so?" she said, surprised that a girl training to be a hunter also had other aspirations. Especially one involving books. "But wait, if this is her book, why do you have it? Did she lend it to you?"
"Nah, we swiped it from her last night," he said casually enough. "Now before you get all uppity about it, know that we did it for a reason. Blake's a pal, but this book is uh, kind of a problem right now."
Disregarding the fact that her son had just admitted to stealing someone else's property, she pressed for further information. "What kind of problem are you talking about exactly?" she said, studying the book again for good measure. "And furthermore, what business of yours is this book? It's not even yours."
"Yeah, but we had a look inside it when she wasn't looking," he admitted. A disappointed groan left her lips. "Look, don't worry about my dwindling moral code right now. All you gotta know is that this book is sorta ruining our lives. I called you here so you could help us."
"Help? How can I help? What's even in it?"
"Read it and find out," he grumbled. "I was hoping you could give Blake some writing advice after you read some of her stuff. What with you being the greatest writer in the world and all."
"Don't think you can flatter your way out of this," she said sternly. "You admit to stealing someone's private property, and now you're asking me to critique it? Isn't this a little rude to do to one of your friends? Think about what the poor girl is thinking right now, knowing that her work is missing."
"Trust me, we're doing her a favour," he huffed. "Look, she's likely never gonna stop writing these things, so the least we can do is help her improve. It's a win-win situation."
"You still haven't told me how this affects all of you. Again, what do you care what she writes in her private time?"
"Alright, gimme a minute." He took the book from her, flicked through the pages for a bit, before coming to a stop. "Okay, read that and tell me that it doesn't affect us," he said, pointing at the open page.
Christina sighed and looked at the page. It seemed like there was no getting around this. Jaune's time at Beacon had made him more assertive, which was in some ways good and some ways bad. But to criticise a girl's hard work without her knowledge was something she didn't feel happy about. It was a complete disregard for someone's privacy.
But perhaps she could help her out somehow? The girl apparently had aspirations of being an author, something she could relate to when she was that age. She would certainly be doing her a favour by giving her a few pointers. Maybe she'd be able to meet the girl personally? Everyone in the school seemed terrifying right now, but a fellow book-lover felt like something she could handle.
"Fine, I'll do it," she groaned. "But after this, we're having a long talk about respecting other people's privacy." She looked down and let the words on the page flow into her mind.
[/]
Enter the Dragon - An action/romance by Shadowcat
A very Asian wind blew across the horizon.
The land of Chijapaorea was a place of learning, honour, and martial arts. It was also home to one of the most fearsome warriors alive - Lie Ren of the Green Dragon Clan.
Also known as 'the Blooming Flower', he had mastered all forms of combat across the land. Kung fu, Kendo, Thumb-wrestling, he knew it all. Legend has it that he could hit someone so hard, it would hurt. His fighting spirit was a flame that would not be closed.
And today, he would face his ultimate challenge. His ultimate destiny…
He had left his village at a young age to pursue his epic quest. He walked the path of the warrior; living his life on the road, honing his skills with a blade, and rarely stopping for noodle breaks. His journey had been long and hard, but as he looked up at the mountain before him, he knew it was coming to an end.
The mountain stood tall and erect, its head piercing the heavens. Milky-white snow formed at the top of it, sometimes dripping down to the earth. Indeed, some of it landed in his eyes when Ren looked up at it. What a mighty big mountain it was.
His destiny waited for him at the top of that mountain. Apparently, his destiny wasn't afraid of heights, as it was the tallest mountain in the Chijaporea. He would have to walk his way up, as the service elevator was broken. He felt like such a baka for not wearing his mountain-climbing gi.
He walked up the mountain for many hours. The heels in his sandals were beginning to wear down, making them look like wooden flip-flops. He was sweating all over, making his gi reveal the outline of his muscular body. But he refused to stop for rest because then he wouldn't sweat as much, preventing his gi from revealing the outline of his muscular body.
Destiny required him to be moist.
He finally made his way to the top. There, sitting cross-legged at the edge with his back turned to Ren, was a man dressed entirely in yellow. Sensing his presence, the yellow man (note to self: is that racist considering the setting?) turned to face the boy in green. The man had tanned skin, hair that shone brighter than any rice field, and one of those cone-shaped hats that hid his face. But his yellow garb made him unmistakable to the young warrior.
It was his arch-rival - Taiyang Xiao Long of the Yellow Dragon Clan.
Taiyang smirked and threw his cone-hat behind him. The wind current made it act like a frisbee though, so it travelled back and hit him in the back of the head. He placed it on the ground and stood on it, allowing him to speak without any distractions.
"So, the Blooming Flower has come to challenge me again?" Taiyang taunted. "This amuses me more than that time I killed your family, boy!"
Ren's teeth gritted in anger. Yes, Taiyang had indeed killed not only his family but his whole people too. When he found out what had happened, he could barely finish his noodles. And so it was that Ren had devoted his whole life to one single purpose - to kill the man who killed his family.
"You have disgraced the good people of Chijaporea for too long, Taiyang of the Yellow Dragon Clan!" Ren said. His emotions were angry, but his tone was as calm as a floating petal. It made him sound honorabru. "We shall engage in combat for the last time!"
"Aha! But what hope does a sapling like yourself have against the pride of the Yellow Dragon Clan?" Taiyang laughed cockily. "My legacy runs like the waters of the waterfalls. I am known across the land as the Billion Manslayer. I could kill you right now and the universe wouldn't even blink. My power is root and stem. Not even the gods themselves dare face me. I am unstoppable!"
It didn't matter because Ren was the chosen one.
"Your power does not frighten me, demon!" Ren said. "Nothing frightens me. I have lived without fear since the day you killed my family. You entered my village under the cover of night and destroyed it with your powers. I had to watch my whole family die in front of me. Meanwhile, you just kept laughing and challenged me to fight you then next time I saw you."
"Yes I know, I was there-"
"Silence!" Ren shouted. How dare someone interrupt his monologue!? "Since that day, I have travelled the land, getting stronger so that I can one day kill you. And so that day has come, Taiyang. Today you die by my hand!"
Silence fell across the mountaintop as the two warriors stared each other down. Had this took place in the West, a tumbleweed would have flown past between them.
"Mwhahaha!" Taiyang said laughingly. "Your foolishness truly knows no bounds. I shall take delight in killing you!"
The final battle was drawing nearer. They both started to remove their gi's, as was tradition to do before a fight.
"It is not me who will die today," Ren said. "My strength has doubled since we last met. I will be the greatest warrior this land has ever seen!"
"Fool!" Taiyang shouted shoutingly.
They both began to remove their underwear, as was tradition. The thick, pungy scent of battle was in the air. Both warriors had sweat trickling down their biceps, waiting for the other to make the first move. Neither of them felt the icy cold wind, as they were both muscular enough to ignore the cold.
They then poured oil over their bodies, giving their abs and pecs that deliciously smooth feel to them, and giving them a bit of extra shine.
Tradition.
"No more words!" Ren roared. "Fight!"
With a cry for battle, they both slammed into each other. Their bodies clashed like the sun and the moon, neither of them giving ground. Their hands explored each other's bodies, trying to rub more oil into each other as much as possible. They stared into each other's eyes with a warriors gaze.
"You are weak and pathetic!" Taiyang cried. "Give up and I will grant you an easy death!"
"This flower still has a few petals left," Ren growled.
They jumped away from each other and drew their swords. Their blades were long and hard, and a little bit lubricated due to the oil. Ren's sword stood at attention to face Taiyang. Ever since that man killed his family, Ren wanted nothing more than to stick his sword deep inside Taiyang.
Taiyang grinned and charged up his special move. His body started to glow with special warrior energy. "Ryuakumambison!" he roared and then swung his sword with both hands. A stream of hot white energy burst from the blade, hitting Ren in the chest and sending him flying back. His nipples twitched violently from the impact.
"Nani?" he growled. He had no idea Taiyang's sword could shoot so powerfully. He stared at his chest and cried out in anger when he saw that some oil had disappeared from the attack. How was he supposed to fight without being slick!?
"Foolish flower," Taiyang taunted. "Did you really think you stood a chance against the pride of the Yellow Dragon Clan? You are a stem between my shears!"
Victory seemed impossible, but Ren would not be plucked so easily. He saw Taiyang's bare chest, still greasy with oil. The way the slippery liquid dripped down his muscles like an amber waterfall gave him an idea.
What was is that Master Sensei Ruby-chan-san-kun once said?
"Improvisation is the key to battle, mate."
That was the last thing she said before she died of diabetes after consuming too many fortune cookies. Damn you, Taiyang!
Moving with the grace of the wind, he rubbed himself against the unexpected Taiyang, desperately trying to get as much oil on him as possible.
"What ninjary is this!?" Taiyang shouted. Ren ignored him as he tried absorbing more of his body liquid. He could feel himself getting more slippery by the minute.
Having taken enough muscle juices, he jumped back and charged up his own special attack. He stood firm on the ground and started shouting really loudly. Because that's what you do in a fight - stand still and shout so that you get more powerful. Taiyang didn't stop him because shouting is scary.
This continued for ten minutes until Ren finally had enough energy. "Flower Fury, Giga Smack!" Ren roared, uppercutting Taiyang high in the air with his butt. Taiyang went soaring. For a second he looked like he disappeared until he came falling back down to earth.
"Hmpf, too easy," Ren muttered, grabbing Taiyang's legs and burying his face in his crotch for extra grip. He swung Taiyang around before throwing him to the side. Taiyang went crashing to the ground and laid there, his naked muscular body covered in mud and oil. He didn't try to get up.
It was over. The battle was won.
"I have avenged my family and clan," Ren said with pride. But his work wasn't finished yet. The oni before him still needed to be shanked.
Taiyang looked up at him with pleading eyes. "No, Ren, don't do it," he weeped. "Have mercy on me!"
Mercy? What a joke. This was the man who killed his whole family and now he was begging to be spared. This foolishness had to end.
"I will never forgive you," Ren snarled. "You killed my family and clan. I will have vengeance!"
"But you don't understand," Taiyang cried. "Yes, I murdered your family, but I it because… no one understands me."
Ren gasped. His sword quivered in his hand. Ever since setting foot out on his journey, he had been blessed with incredible power and purpose due to being the chosen one. He too had trouble connecting to people because of it.
"Is that true?" he whispered. It was unthinkable, but he felt he understood his nemesis on a deeper level now.
"It is," he sobbed. "But not only that. All those terrible things I did? I only did them to get you to notice me. I… I love you, Ren!"
Ren's face went as pink as the flower he was associated with. Love. He didn't know if he was worthy of it. He had failed to stop the death of his people. He didn't deserve such tingly feelings.
But he looked into his nemesis' eyes and saw that his words were true. Taiyang was in love with him. And maybe it was just him being emotional after the fight, but… maybe he loved him too?
"Oh, Taiyang, I had no idea you felt that way about me," he blushed. "I too have a confession. I… I love you too."
Taiyang gasped in a 'is this nigga serious?' way. "But how? I killed your family! Your entire clan!"
"Nobody's perfect," Ren smiled. He had thought about Taiyang the entire time on the road. But his thoughts of hatred slowly gave way to feelings of romance the more he dwelled on it. It was definitely there all this time, but it was so subtle that his feelings had been kept hidden, even from himself. Their relationship was deep like that.
Ren knelt down next to his new lover and firmly planted a different kind of sword into a tighter, warmer sheath. Ren lived by the warrior's code: Live by the sword, die by the sword.
In this case, he was fucking by the sword. In the ass!
"Oooh, Ren-senpai," Taiyang moaned. "This is all I ever wanted in life." It was all Ren wanted too, even if he hadn't realised it until now. But such was the way of life.
Ren cut through Taiyang's innocence like a knife in the shadows. Taiyang had purposefully kept himself pure in case the young lotus chose to spread his seed inside him. It was a truly magical moment, one that they would speak about in haikus and the occasional doujinshi.
Their bodies were slick with oil and sweat as they rutted like greasy pigs. In that moment, the bitter rivalry between both clans came to a close. The green and the yellow would be unified to form one colour - love.
Ren looked over to the snow that coated some of the ground. An idea formed in his head. "Let's do it in the snow," he said. "The cold will make me harder."
Taiyang nodded and Ren carried him over to the snow, still deep inside him at all times. He and Taiyang had been alone for so long, that he would never let them feel that way ever again. He was finally connected to someone, and to sever that connection would break his heart.
They laid down in the snow, the white substance acting as a frosty blanket of passion for the two. Ren was right - everything about them was hard now. Their muscles strengthened, their nipples hardened, their penises grew at least seven inches. They were the epitome of manhood.
Speaking of manhood, Ren's speed quickened until he couldn't hold back anymore. "Flower Fury, Giga Smack," he whispered in Taiyang's ear before unleashing his energy deep inside him.
"Yatta!" Taiyang cried as he was filled to the brim. The two laid against each other, soaking in the feelings of pleasure they were feeling. Their bodies were as slippery as a fish, yet they found themselves glued together. "This was all part of my keikaku all along," he breathed blissfully.
Ren shook his head and kissed Taiyang on the forehead. "Love doesn't follow a keikaku," he whispered. "It is much like the flower petals in the summer wind - it is free and goes wherever it wants it to go. Because people can't stop the wind. Because wind is air, and people can't stop air. Because air is wind."
Tears poured down Taiyang's face. "Ren-senpai is so poetic," he whispered. "You really are the chosen one…"
Ren smiled. "I am your chosen one," he said lovingly, leaning down to kiss him again. And so it was that the land of Chijaporea finally found peace.
The End
[/]
Christina's eyes followed the final word of the story. She didn't think she needed glasses, but considering what she had just read and the absurdity of it, she had to believe that there was simply something wrong with her eyesight.
"Hmm," she hummed, trying to be polite and pretending to think about what she was about to say. 'Hmm' was just about the best review this story was gonna get from her. She had read better stories in newspapers that were being used to wrap chips.
There was mediocre, there was awful, and then there was… this. She didn't even know where to begin with her feedback, other than recommending the girl never touch a pen and paper again. She knew it was cruel to think that way about a young aspiring author, but her brain honestly hurt from reading that. She felt her normally golden hair just turn a little bit grey as she read each word.
And the content! The content! If it was true that an author's writing was a window into their soul, then this Blake girl had a lot of sexual issues she needed to sort out. Her idea of romance was traumatising. She felt sorry for any poor soul who dated her in the past.
She supposed she shouldn't have been too surprised. Hunters were known for killing things, and this was the finest example of literary suicide she had seen. It was even worse knowing that the girl had clearly tried her hardest when writing this. If this is what her best looked like, she'd hate to see her worst. She didn't know if her eyes could take it.
"No need to beat around the bush. We all know it sucks," Jaune said. "See? Told you it was bad."
"I guess I had to see it to believe it," she muttered. She quickly looked around to make sure no one was looking before giving her opinion. "I'm not really sure what to say here, dear. I respect your friend for trying her hand at this," to an extent, "but it's as you say. It's just, well… it's no good is what I'm trying to say."
"Believe me, we know," he sighed. "Nora mentioned something last night about putting it in the library to give all the librarians heart attacks. We all think this thing is garbage."
At least they all stood on common ground with something. "Mind you, this still doesn't strike me as a big emergency. True, the writing in here is far from good, but I don't see how it's causing you or your friends distress."
"Don't you?" he said surprised. He pointed back down at the page. "Look closely at the names she used. Don't they sound familiar to you?"
She was hesitant to look down at the page again, but she felt she could stomach it one more time. Her eyes scanned the page quickly to avoid going permanently blind. She didn't recognise the name Taiyang Xiao Long, nor did she Lie Ren…
… wait a minute.
Memories from earlier flashed in her mind. When Jaune had introduced his team to her, there had been another boy on the team. A scary-looking Eastern boy named… Lie Ren…
She looked down at the page again with wide eyes. She didn't know how to spell his name, but it was spelt like how it sounded on the paper.
Oh my word…
"That's the same boy on your team!" she gasped. Looking closer, even the physical descriptions matched. He was even dressed in green, which is what the real Ren wore when he greeted her.
"Yup," he sighed. "Taiyang's real too - he's the dad of two of my friends. And it's not just them two, Blake's been writing stories about other real-life people as well."
"She's using existing people as her characters?" she said, dumbfounded from what she was hearing. This book just got made a million times more disturbing.
"That's right," he said gloomily. "We haven't read the whole thing yet - nor do we plan to - but we have reason to believe she's written a story about everyone in Beacon."
A sudden realisation struck her. Everyone at Beacon?
"Has she written one about you?" she asked in a steady tone. His answer would determine how she felt afterwards.
His face paled. "Um… no?"
Christina's eye twitched. She knew she wouldn't stand a chance against a huntress in a fight, but the name 'Blake' was quickly becoming synonymous with 'strangle to death' right now.
"Look, Mom," he quickly said before the situation could get out of hand, "this is exactly why I called you out here. You're the only one who can fix this mess."
"How do you expect me to do that?"
"As I said before, just read over the stories and talk to Blake on how she can improve them."
Oh no! She was not doing that! Most kids demanded their parents to buy them cars or new clothes. Her son was asking her to help critique his friend's shameless porn! She'd rather have an empty bank account than do that.
"Jaune, I am not teaching your friend how to write erotic literature," she growled. It would require her to read even more of her stories. That alone was asking too much of her.
"Hey, no one said anything about being erotic," he said. "In fact, I'd be happy if you stay away from the sexy stuff. The less boning, the better."
This conversation was seriously giving her an aneurysm.
"All I'm asking you to do," he continued, "is to just give her some writing tips. If she's gonna write anything, it might as well be something decent. Or at least something not about us."
"Ugh, I don't want to do this, Jaune," she groaned. A grown woman explaining to a teenage girl she barely knew why her erotic stories were bad? It was humiliating. What if this Blake girl recognised her? An established author caught reading such filth? She'd never live it down.
"Please, Mommy," he whimpered, making his lip quiver when he spoke. A clearly desperate effort to make her do this ridiculous favour.
"That's not going to work," she growled. It might have done a few days ago, but not anymore. "What's in it for me if I do this?"
Jaune paused. "Erm… I'll call home more often?"
"Not good enough. You already promised that."
"Please, Mom, I'm begging you," he pleaded in a way that sounded genuine. "This whole thing is making us feel awkward. Besides, you don't want me appearing in any more of these stories, do you? Not that I'm in any of them, but it could happen." He gripped her hand tightly and looked her dead in the eye. "Save me from being a sex symbol, Mom," he whispered.
Vacuian wine. Atlesian chocolate. A warm blanket over her and a comfy bed. Those were some of the many things she needed to feel calm again.
What was her son was asking of her was madness. It was madder than him wanting to follow the dangerous footsteps of his father. If she did what he wanted, she'd probably end up about as sane as the rest of his team.
But… curse her overprotective motherly instincts, but she did indeed not want her son to star in such degrading material. Someone had to protect his image whilst he was out fighting monsters. It would be agony for her to read this, but if it was for her son… then fine.
Fine.
"Fine, I'll do it," she groaned. To think she almost related to Blake in the beginning. She really should have known better.
Jaune rushed up to hug her tightly. She rolled her eyes and returned the gesture without much enthusiasm. "Thanks, Mom, you're the best!" he cheered, giving her head a little kiss.
She scoffed. He said that now, but chances are he would forget about all this when it was over. Meanwhile, these traumatic memories would likely stay with her forever. This would go down in history as the strangest sacrifice a mother ever had to make for her son. Even still, she would find a way to make him repay her for her services. He could start by buying her some headache tablets.
"How do you plan for me to approach Blake about this?" she said. "I take it she has no idea your planning to have me critique her work? I can't just offer my help out of nowhere. Are you gonna introduce me to her first?"
Jaune laughed nervously. "I admit, I didn't really think that far ahead. Getting you to agree to this was my first priority. I was kinda hoping you'd figure that part out."
Would one of these gun-toting teens be kind enough to shoot her?
Anime porn was a mistake.