The Name of the Game

by literalsin

A man from Earth wakes up to find himself stuck in the body of a fictional teenage boy with an ability that turns his life into a video game and foreknowledge of events to come. What could possibly go wrong? A take on the RWBY/Gamer crossover niche with an SI twist, a focus on world and character building, and fleshing out some of the details RT missed. Rated 'M' for a reason.

14. Arrangements and Agreements

The Name of the Game

a RWBY/The Gamer crossover, SI.

Arc 4: Bad Blood

Chapter 14: Arrangements and Agreements

---

"You take us on the best dates, Jaune," Melanie quipped, bending down to pick up a stack of lien and toss it into my Inventory window, currently set to visible for party members.

Miltia hummed, tossing in a couple of potions. "Actually, considering the monetary gain, in addition to the power gain, it really is a nice date. Far more productive than a movie."

Melanie rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes. Money. Woo. Can't a girl get a little romance now and then?"

"Feeling neglected?" I asked, only partly teasing, as I helped with picking up drops.

"Yes," the brusque twin deadpanned.

On my other side, Neo hummed agreement. "Some alone-time would be nice. I mean, your sister's getting the whole weekend. Seems only fair we would get a day or two each, ourselves."

"Well, I had been thinking about working out a rotation for that sort of thing. In between grinding, taking care of the gang-related stuff, and so on…" I admitted, shrugging. "Would you two like individual dates or would you prefer to go together?"

The twins shared a look before nodding and turning to answer, syncing, "Individual dates."

Nodding, I stood and looked around, spotting more mobs heading our way—zombies, as seemed to be the theme inside urban areas. It made sense that the twins would, occasionally, want to do some things separately—they shared many interests, yes, but they liked to be reminded that they were more than a unit and were each special and appreciated individually. Probably just a natural consequence of being twins, made a bit worse being looked at as a novelty in Junior's club. As for Neo, well, we had kind of just jumped head first into this thing with no real foundation to work with. In the short term, it was fun, but even with our mutual promise of partnership it wouldn't work without effort on both our parts—that meant getting to know one another better outside of the bedroom. The problem here was finding a way to choose the order that wouldn't leave someone's feelers hurt. The girls were all more mature than I gave them credit for, especially compared to women on Earth, but those situations could be avoided altogether simply by thoughtful planning and actual communication between parties.

"So," I began, spinning up a quartet of Wind-element AP Rounds and sending them downrange to destroy half a dozen zombies as one of the rounds crit and punched through two more targets after the first. "To be fair, you can decide the order and times for this amongst yourselves."

The girls shared a momentary look before Neo suggested, "Melanie brought it up, she can go first."

Miltia chimed in, adding, "I don't mind going last. Pretty much any day is fine with me."

Melanie hummed a moment in thought, taking in the remainder of the approaching group of zombies. "Monday night. Take me out somewhere nice to eat and take me dancing."

Extending the blade on her parasol, Neo grinned. "There's a movie I want to see. Tuesday or Wednesday works for me, depending on how things with the gang go."

Shifting my gaze to Miltia, I found her readying her claws. Her eyes met mine and she smiled. "Surprise me."

"Okay, then. Are we ready to get back to grinding?" I asked, gesturing at the cluster of mobs now barely twenty feet away. Zombies were really slow and there was no real danger of them running at us—I had yet to encounter either fast or smart zombies, all of the ones I'd seen to date were classic Romero-style shamblers. It was almost disappointing, not to see rage zombies. Then again, so long as they weren't Resident Evil zombies, I could care less. Fuck those things.

"Let's," the twins synced, darting off together to hit the group's right flank, Miltia sweeping in low to pull a zombie on the edge of the group off its feet. Beside her, Melanie made a small jump, landing with her bladed heel in the thing's skull before pushing off and twisting in the air into a scissor kick, decapitating another.

Neo closed in from the other side, three copies of the girl splitting off while the original disappeared, each of the illusions pulling one of their own zombies. As soon as they were clear of the group, a blade materialized at the juncture between spine and skull at the base of one of their necks, Neo's illusion around herself dropping momentarily as she kicked the falling zombie off her blade before cloaking again and repeating the maneuver on the other two zombies.

Lifting my left hand, I took aim and fired, my line launcher spearing a zombie through the chest. Giving it a yank and reversing the winch brought the monster flying towards me, where I met it in the middle with a Flash Step into an Iaido draw with my sword, cleanly severing its head from its neck before reeling my line back in and sheathing my sword. Throwing up Invisibility, I stepped into another silent Flash Step, appearing behind another zombie and striking, the monster's head exploding in the direction of my swing under the damage I'd dealt it from various stacking bonuses—wind and fire elemental manipulation for speed and damage, sneak, my buffs, and so forth. After that, it was simply a matter of rinse and repeat to finish off the rest.

I had finally taken the time to create a Flash Step skill that morning. The new skill was silent, meaning it immediately became part of my stealth skill set, and allowed me to instantly cross distances of ten meters in any direction at the moment, its range increasing as it leveled but also allowing me to overcharge it similarly to Powered Leap for further jumps. With proper timing, I could Step continuously, with only a half-second pause between steps—meaning I had a new fast movement form of running. Twenty meters per second averaged out to 44mph as my base speed just using Flash Step at what amounted to a walking pace, but stacking that with Haste and my run speed… I needed to measure it, but I knew it was damn fast. It was a continuous mana drain using it that way, but I had mana to burn really.

The biggest problems were imparted momentum and turning—it was a great technique for getting between point A and point B, but if I had to turn to do it odds were good I was going to fall. With some practice, I could probably figure out how to solve that problem, but until then I'd use it for straight line travel and short bursts only. The good news meant that all that momentum I build up was good for something—namely, dumping damage into something at the end of a run. That technique was pretty much Ruby Rose's bread and butter, with her weapon of choice.

I'd convinced the girls to party up and come grinding with me with the argument that the twins and I could use the levels—pointing out that they were still level 22, while I was level 23 now, and Neo was at level 33. Bringing us all up to around the same level had appealed to the girls, but what really sold it was Miltia reminding them about the drops and the fact that I'd already agreed to split the loot with them. So, we had spent the time between around 10A.M. and 2P.M. killing mobs. The twins had already gained a level and I wasn't far off myself, while Neo didn't seem to be getting much, if any experience—likely due to the level gap between us. The zombies themselves were only level 25, so were no particular challenge. The few grimm we ran across—stalkers and beowolves, mostly—were likewise no challenge by myself so with a full party taking them out was child's play.

With another group dispatched, I checked my map and found we had nearly cleared this block out—Spirit Density was down to 25%. We had decided to start close to the apartment so that we could extend the range of our own safe area, guaranteed free of grimm—and given the gruesome find from last night, the girls were willing and eager to do so, as no one wanted to wind up getting mauled. "We're nearly done here," I announced as we gathered more drops. I really needed some way to do that faster, or automatically.

"Are we going to Sanctify the block when we're through?" Miltia asked, raising a good point.

I nodded. "I think we should. At least get the ones in the immediate vicinity of the apartment. Maybe find a way to tie them into the one at the apartment so they can all run off the one bounded field, that way we don't have to waste so much Dust. I'll have to dig through Sanguine's notes and see if she had any ideas. Purity White is expensive, and rare—and even with a small stockpile I don't feel like burning through it all trying to cover a larger area than I have to. If we clean out the area around the apartment block, Sanctify that, then keep the area within about a one or two block radius from the edge of that cleared that should create a large enough safe area to discourage most things."

"Just make sure to get your sister here to renew the wards," Melanie reminded, and I nodded.

I noticed Neo frown before standing, head tilting off to the side. "Anyone else hear that?"

No one got a chance to confirm one way or another as, below us, the ground started trembling faintly—evidenced by the few potions still on the ground beginning to rattle. Quickly picking them up before they broke, I stood with the others and looked around. "Over there," Melanie pointed towards the far end of the block, hidden from sight by a couple of buildings.

We quickly ascended to one of the lower buildings and had a look. "What is that?" Miltia asked, a disgusted look crossing her face.

Just down the road, a small horde of zombies were swiftly congregating, all piling on top of each other and the flesh that made them up beginning to meld. "Not sure," I hummed, equipping my glasses and zooming in. "Never seen them do this before."

"So, it's new," Neo summarized, and I nodded. "And new is bad."

"When it comes to most mobs, yeah. Something like this, I'd say was a setup for a… fuck. It's a boss fight," I realized, my mouth nearly running ahead of my train of thought. It hadn't completely formed yet, so we had a minute to go over our options. We could flee, yes, but the rewards for killing a boss tended to be well worth the danger of taking them on to begin with. The girls were all close-range fighters, and a boss of the size this one looked to be shaping up as was best fought at range and only in close by a tank or a DD with a high dodge score or DEX modifier. The twins might qualify for the second category, but I wasn't willing to risk them getting squished. 'Well, why can't they be ranged?' I mused, looking them over before quickly pulling up stats sheets. 'Yeah, their INT is high enough, they could all do it…'

"Okay, new strategy!" I announced, grinning. "Miltia, hold out your hands," I ordered and the girl obeyed without hesitation, as I knew she would. "Focus your Aura into your hands—just imagine compressing it into a ball."

"What are you doing?" Melanie wondered, watching her sister. A moment later, her eyes went slightly wide as a small sphere of green colored Aura condensed between her twin's palms. "Well, if she can do it…" Melanie hummed, duplicating her twin's actions and drawing Neo in as well, a sphere of pink Aura already beginning to form between the shorter girl's hands.

I had hoped for that, actually—that, upon seeing Miltia make the attempt and succeed, it would convince the other two it could be done without having to argue with them over it. Not that I expected Neo to, but Melanie might. On to phase two. "Now, stretch it out into a tube or bar."

Once more, Miltia complied, followed a moment later by Neo and Melanie. Shifting my focus showed the boss had nearly finished forming, taking shape as a giant humanoid zombie of some sort with only a few missing pieces. When Miltia moved to follow my gaze, I shook my head. "No, focus on that," I warned, gesturing towards the incomplete technique in her hands. Phase three. "Spin it. Focus on the mana inside and make it spin as fast as you can."

The pattern repeated as before and I smirked under my mask, seeing three complete Spinning Mana Arrows. "What now?" Miltia asked, looking up to meet my eyes.

"Now?" I asked, my grin going wider. "Shoot it at that thing," I gestured off to the side towards the boss, which now showed up as a Horde Zombie, level 35.

Her expression shifting into one of determination, the red-clad twin nodded, stretching out her hands palms out towards the boss. "Ha!"

A spinning green arrow streaked out down the block, striking the Horde Zombie in the lower abdomen and doing a fair chunk of damage—barely one percent of its total HP, but considering it had over 100k HP, that was still around 1k damage. A glance at Miltia's MP bar showed the attack had cost her 5MP, which was insignificant compared to her total mana pool. Another streak of green and one of strawberry pink flashed out towards the boss with similar results. Melanie's shot struck it in the chest while Neo's struck its head, which garnered an immediate reaction as the Horde Zombie loosed a window-shattering roar. "I think we got its attention," Neo observed with a bit of trepidation.

"You're fine. You three stay here and spam that attack as fast as you can—try to aim for its head, as that's clearly its weak point. Neo's one hit did like five times the damage because it was a crit—five percent of its HP."

"What are you going to do?" Melanie asked, worry creeping into her voice.

I grinned. "I'm going to do what I do best—I'ma go piss it off and draw agg."

"What? Wait!" Miltia began, but it was too late, as I'd already yanked myself off the roof and higher. Pushing off the building I'd grappled onto with a Powered Leap, I sent myself arrowing on an intercept course with the boss and threw on Invisibility. Three more streaks of mana dug into the Horde Zombie's head, further enraging it as it walked swiftly down the block for the building the girls were sniping from. "The fuck you do," I growled, both hands crossing over my chest as I neared its head at beyond terminal velocity. Mana spun up in my hands and the sound of a thousand chirping birds filled the air as a pair of Plasma Blades spun up, one in either hand. Even if it heard the attack, it couldn't see me and it was too big to dodge.

I twisted in midair, shifting my body to pass over its head instead of plowing into it, swinging both blades down one after the other as I spun over it in a pair of attacks. Stacking bonuses stacked and I smirked as its HP bar promptly evaporated by a third. The difference in damage between myself and the girls was ridiculous as far as magic went, but then that was mostly due to a combination of passive skills and stacking bonuses. I wondered, for a moment, if I couldn't somehow teach those skills as well… 'I'm almost afraid to see how much damage I could do if I stacked everything available to me. I could probably one-shot this thing, easily.'

The Horde Zombie stumbled, falling to its knees and clutching the top of its head as I stuck to a nearby building slightly behind it, dropping Invisibility so it would have a clear target to focus on. Its head turned, beady, red eyes drawn to the yellow-white glow of my Plasma Blades and locking onto me with a burning hate. "Come on, ugly. Let's play Attack on Titan."

Quicker than I thought it could, it recovered enough to throw a massive backhanded slap at me, its hand smashing through the building and tearing out the upper floors as I Leapt, the blade in my left hand becoming a spinning disc of plasma as I flung it at the Horde Zombie's head to free up that hand and fired my line launcher. It seemed to be ignoring the now constant bombardment of attacks from the girls, which I noticed were growing progressively stronger—likely leveling from use by level disparity. I only had a moment to think on that, or the fact that I had inadvertently created the skill Strike Raid, as I winched myself across the distance separating me and the boss, flaring gravity around me to speed my flight.

The Plasma Blade I'd sent flying at it had only grazed the right side of its head on the first pass before circling around behind its head and arching back towards my position. The Strike Raid's second blow caught the Horde Zombie down the middle of its left ear as it returned to me. With no hands free, however, I opted to let the blade whip past me and dissipate somewhere behind me. I was more focused on swinging the blade in my right hand at the back of the boss's neck as I passed, striking and dumping more mana into it to force it to dig in deeper as it passed between two vertebra.

As I swung past, a cluster of six of Spinning Mana Arrows punched through the back of the Horde Zombie's head, sending it toppling to the ground. 'Did they dual-cast?' I wondered, in a bit of amazement, not having expected them to get that as quickly as they had. As soon as it hit the ground, it began disintegrating and I received an EXP gain notification.

Your party has defeated a Field Boss!

Your party gains 40,000 EXP! You gain 10,000 EXP!

You gain 1 INT, 1 DEX!

Your level has increased by 1! Melanie Malachite's level has increased by 1! Miltiades Malachite's level has increased by 1!

You have unlocked the titleField Instructor!

"That was awesome!" Neo's voice called from street level and I grinned, dismissing the messages and hopping down to join them. I would check out the title later.

Miltia hummed in thought, looking over the spoils. "Kind of weak for a boss, though."

"Field boss," I corrected. "Mob hierarchy goes: trash mob, normal mob, elite mob, dungeon mob, dungeon elite, field boss/mini-boss, boss, then the raid versions of those dungeon variants up through boss. That was low tier and, at level 35, well below the party's CR."

"Huh?" Neo asked, raising an eyebrow. "Sooo… it was weak only by comparison?"

I nodded. "Pretty much. That seems to be a recurring pattern around Vale—probably because Hunters keep the place cleaned out, for the most part. I bet money if we left Vale, we'd run across something much nastier. Come on, let's see what it dropped."

What it dropped turned out to a small mountain of red and blue potions, a single florescent pink potion, 50kL, and a skill book for Life Drain. Absently eating the skill book, I Observed the pink potion and my eyes went wide. "Holy. Fuck."

"What?" the girls chimed, looking at where I cradled the potion reverently in my hands.

"It's an Elixir. It won't remove status effects, but what it will do is completely restore one person to 100% HP and MP. You could be on death's door, hacked to pieces and this would make it better, so long as you could get it down your throat. Well, depending on the version anyway," I explained, quickly dropping it into Inventory where it wouldn't get damaged. "They're supposed to be super rare. I haven't run across one before now, so I have to assume they are and it was sheer luck that thing dropped one. Considering my luck stat sucks, maybe… Nah. I'm not wasting points in it to increase the odds of shit dropping."

"So, how much would you say it's worth?" Melanie asked, looking contemplative.

I shot her a deadpan look. "You don't sell Elixirs. They are worth your life, in the literal sense. They are to be jealously hoarded for when they are most needed."

Melanie frowned at that, but nodded. "Fine, I get it. It would just be kind of useless if something happened and you weren't around with it."

"Good point," I admitted, standing and leading us down the block towards the apartment, since we were now done with this block. We slipped into an alley and I dropped the Instant Dungeon before we continued on. "I'll make sure you each have potions to fall back on, but maybe I can do something more. Give me a few days to do some research."

That seemed to satisfy the girl and I turned my thoughts to solving that particular problem. Supposing one or more of them were incapacitated, then there would be no one around to provide heals—meaning whatever they'd run up against could finish them at its leisure. The girls weren't planning on becoming Hunters any more, but the reality was that grimm were a threat to everyone, even inside cities like Vale, if they attacked in any real numbers. I needed some way to cast a mostly-permanent regen effect—and permanent effects were what bounded fields were all about. One more reason to check Sanguine's notes.

We made it back to the apartment and I dropped into my preferred chair, observing the girls as they sat. "So, I want to try something. Say 'Stats.'"

Three repetitions of the word followed before Miltia looked up and met my eyes. "We have points to spend. Why do we have points to spend?"

"Neo?" I asked, shooting her a questioning look.

"Nothing here, but then I didn't level," Neo confirmed, closing her own stats page.

I nodded. "Right. My Semblance breaks reality for other people too, apparently—at least, if you're in my party. Normally, training by lifting weights or something would slowly increase muscle mass—right?" I got nods all around. "Yeah, my Semblance interprets lifting weights as work and grants me a point of STR for that. But when I level, I get stat points independent of training."

"Five points per level?" Melanie asked, and I nodded. "So, why don't we have a huge pool of points?"

Miltia was ahead of me with an answer. "We do, though. We didn't get to choose them this way, we chose them by training. We both have a high DEX and STR, and that's where the majority of those points are—plus INT and WIS points clearly representative of our education and intellect. Charisma and Luck are the only two that have values that aren't immediately obvious. When you run the numbers, it looks like they were assigned based on how we trained and studied. Or…"

"Or?" I asked, grinning. I'd already figured out where she was going, given my experience dealing with The Outsider and my imported stats.

"Or it's just an assessment and there are no points," Miltia finished her thought, and I nodded.

Neo hummed, drawing their attention. "Okay, so say it's an assessment and there aren't really any points for anyone but Jaune, normally. But there are points now?" The twins nodded and she asked, "So, does that mean they won't do anything? Or is Jaune's Semblance granting anyone who parties with him the ability to improve themselves outside of training? And if so, will those benefits stick around if you're not in his party?"

The twins shared a look before grinning. "Let's find out," Melanie suggested, reaching out and tapping the up arrow beside her INT score. Beside her, her sister dumped the points into WIS. Knowing the difference between them on those two scores was only ten, they would be evenly matched once they'd finished.

They closed their stats windows and nodded, and I dismissed the party. "Feel any different?"

"Not really?" Miltia admitted.

Melanie shrugged. "Is ten points really a noticeable difference?"

"It depends on the stat. If you'd dumped it in STR, you would have definitely noticed. Let's check and see if they're still there. Party, testing purposes." A quick check proved the points were still there and their stats had adjusted accordingly. I had to assume a ten point jump was simply not enough for them to notice much of a difference in the mental stats. "In the meantime, try to see about practicing Spinning Mana Arrow," I suggested.

Miltia smiled while Melanie took on a mildly awed look. "I still can't believe we can do that. Your Semblance is bullshit and I'd assumed that was what let you cast Aura like you do. Everyone else needs Dust. That, or you needed to be a caster type of person, trained to do it—someone like Cinder, or Goodwitch, or the Schnee family."

"Technically, we did train. For like, ten seconds," Miltia pointed out. "It's a stupid-simple technique. Whatever the basic requirements for projecting Aura as an attack are, we clearly meet them. Jaune's Semblance just sort of acts as a shortcut, I suppose. ...Which means, Jaune, we need to test that theory. If it works, we want skills. Spells. Abilities. Hacks. Soon." She blinked, eyes going wide as she regarded the other two girls for a moment before adding, "What if it lets us eat skill books? We need to test this now."

I rolled my eyes and would have offered for her to schedule a time to work on that, if my scroll ringing hadn't interrupted. Checking the display, I found it was Joan and quickly answered. "What's up?"

"Hello to you too, Jaune," Joan's voice was teasing, but she knew by now I tended to skip pleasantries on calls. "Can you do me a favor? I'm still packing for the next week, and the sooner I get packed the sooner I get to leave, as soon as Jane gets here. Mind picking Jun up from school and bringing her home?"

I shrugged, though I knew she wouldn't see it. "Eh, sure, why not? I haven't seen the squirt in a few days and I kind of miss her." Funny, that, seeing as I hadn't even known her that long. I paused a moment before remembering I didn't know where she went to school. "Uh, where's her school?"

Joan gave me the details and I turned back to the girls, dropping the scroll back into inventory. "Looks like I'm going to be leaving a bit early, so we won't get to do that testing you wanted," I began and the girls sent me knowing looks.

"Go pick up your sister," Melanie ordered imperiously, waving towards the door.

"But first," Neo popped up from her seat, throwing her arms around my neck and planting a kiss on my lips. "Mm. Better."

"Me too!" Melanie demanded, joining Neo and leaning over her shoulder for a kiss of her own.

Miltia leaned over Neo's other shoulder and waited patiently for her own kiss. Once she was satisfied, she helped pry Neo's hands off me and dragged her towards the door. "Want to spend the night at our place?"

"Sure, why not? Sounds like fun," the ice cream themed girl laughed.

The girls left the apartment and, for a moment, it felt strangely empty with them gone. Shaking the sensation off, I made my way up to the roof and across town under Invisibility. I found Jun waiting in front of the school, talking to a couple of other kids milling around as the rest were either being picked up by parents, walking home, or taking buses. Dropping down around the corner from her, I checked to make sure I wasn't being watched before dropping Invisibility and walking up. "Hey there, kiddo."

"Onii-chan!" Jun squealed, launching herself at Mach 1 to latch onto my waist. "I missed you! Where did you go?!"

"Well, I kind of needed some time to myself to work things out in my head, so I got a place of my own," I told her, already leading her away. "Want to see it?"

"Yes!" the girl shouted, beaming a grin up at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, come here," I said, picking her up and slinging her up into a piggy-back carry. "Try not to squeal in my ear."

"What do you mean?" she asked as I threw up Invisibility on both of us. She found out a moment later as I fired my line launcher and pulled us up. "EEE!"

"What did I just say about rupturing my ear drums?" I groaned. And I had promised to take her by the apartment, which would mean even more squealing. Shit. I debated the merits of casting Silence on her, just to preserve my ears. Sure, Gamer's Body would prevent any lasting harm, but in the mean time… the girl could shatter glass.

---

"That was awesome!" Jun enthused as I opened the door and let her in before me.

Reaching down, I mussed her wind-tussled hair, drawing a small glare for my efforts. "Well, I'm glad you had fun."

Jun stuck her tongue out before darting off deeper into the house and disappearing around a corner. "Onee-sama! Nee-chan!" she greeted and I blinked, realizing that had been two greetings—and that I sensed another Aura aside from Jun's and Joan's. It was familiar, though… Frowning in confusion, I closed the door behind me and followed Jun's path into the Arc family living room.

I paused at the entrance, taking in the scene before me. Joan sitting on one of the chairs, Jun wrapped around an older redhead's waist. For a moment, my eyes were drawn to the words above her head.

The Second Deadly Sister

Divine Mirror

Jane Arc

Level: 61

The redhead's green eyes swung up and locked with mine at the same moment mine came down. "You!" she pointed, eyes going wide in swiftly dawning realization.

"Me?" I asked, pointing at myself in confusion for a moment, before her voice and Aura finally registered. "Kuro?" It seemed I had been right after all. 'Goddamnit. Right, that's it. Everyone gets ID'd at the door from now on.' I groaned quietly, hand coming up to palm my face in exasperation. "Why does this keep happening?"

Was it some facet of Marital Arts, or a result of my high Charisma score? Or was it just bad luck? Or bad Luck, rather? Yeah, I'd suspected, but only really in jest. 'Well, it's not the end of the world, and it isn't the first time it's happened—and hey, at least she's only a half-sister this time, so that's something. Fuck it. I'll get over it, she'll get over it, it'll be okay.'

The redhead's face paled, the hand pointing at me going up mirror my face-palm. "Oh, god. Kill me now."

Joan pushed off from her seat, looking between the two of us with an expression of confusion. "Something I'm missing here?"

"Nee-chan, what's wrong?" Jun asked, releasing her elder sibling—clearly one of Lily's kids, one of the twins I'd seen in the pictures, in fact. The mask and the hair dye, though… Well, there was a good chance I wouldn't have recognized her even without the mask, if my Semblance didn't tag her for me. My imported memories were good enough to know what the sisters looked like, but on a personal level I'd always sucked at facial recognition and that didn't change between bodies. Well, it was worth noting that masks worked here, at least as far as my Semblance was concerned—though maybe now it would label her properly, now that her identity had been confirmed.

Kuro—no, Jane—looked between me and Joan. "I… we… you know," she muttered, shooting a look down at Jun. Covering the girl's ears, she said, "This and that."

Jun's eyes went wide, as she clearly heard anyway. "You did 'this and that' with onii-chan?!"

"Oh, god," Jane groaned. A smirk spread over Joan's lips and Jane shot her elder sister a glare. "Don't you start! I know about you, damnit. It was an accident!"

"Sure it was," Joan nodded. "He slipped, you fell and landed on his…"

"Shut uuuup!" the younger of the pair whined pitifully.

Joan turned her gaze on me, mischief plainly evident. "You're not planning to make this a thing, are you?"

I sighed, pulling at my hair momentarily before letting it go and shooting her an annoyed look. "No, Joan. It really was an accident. No, let me rephrase that. Neither of us knew who the other was. I only suspected, but seriously, what are the odds I'd run into one of you and you wouldn't recognize me? It was intentional, but had we known we would not have." Present company in mind, I turned and shot a look at Jane. "I think."

"Aren't you supposed to be confined to bed for amnesia or something?" she asked, attempting to change the subject.

Joan wasn't quite willing to drop it yet, however. "So… was it fun?" she asked, a questioning look dancing between Jane and myself.

"Yes," I admitted at the same time Jane squeaked, "No!"

A moment later, Jane's eyes went wide, shooting me a betrayed look. "Jaune! Stop," she whimpered.

I couldn't help it. I tried to roll a Will Save, I really did, but it must have rolled a Natural 1. "That's not what you said last night."

"Jaune!" Jane whined, apparently feeling quite bullied.

Jun, on the other hand, detached herself from her elder sister and turned to shoot a glare at me. "When will I get to do this and that with onii-chan?! We haven't even gone on a date yet!"

Joan broke down laughing while Jane collapsed into a chair, shaking her head. Seeing as it looked to be up to me to deal with the situation, I turned my focus on the littlest deadly sister. "So, you want a date?" She nodded vehemently, puffing her cheeks out and glaring as she crossed her arms. "Okay."

Jun stopped glaring, her expression shifting to suspicion. "Just like that? Really?"

"Really, really. Just like that," I agreed before gesturing towards the stairs. "Go change clothes. You can't go on a date in your school uniform."

"They do in my manga," she denied, but quickly hurried upstairs. At the top of the stairs, she paused, turning to shoot me another suspicious look. "You're not going to leave before I get finished changing, are you?"

I shook my head and the girl took off like a shot for her room. Turning my attention towards the elder siblings, I moved over and put my hand on Jane's shoulder. She jerked slightly for a moment before relaxing. "Shit happens. It's okay. Okay?"

"But, but I molested you!" she argued, refusing to meet my eyes.

Running a hand up to tousle her hair, which drew an annoyed look, I smiled down on her. Joan's words our first time came back to me, then, "You couldn't do anything I wouldn't have allowed." Grinning, I decided to go for a little added mortification, on her part. "Besides, I wasn't an unwilling participant, and if anything we molested each other. Mutual molestation, as it were."

Across from us, Joan only laughed harder. "Goddamnit you brothercon, shut up already!" Jane hissed, looking up to shoot a glare at her elder sister.

Joan stopped laughing, but her smug look remained. "He knows."

Jane's expression shifted to confusion for a moment as she processed that, before she looked up to me. "You… know she has a crush on you?"

I nodded and Joan snorted. "And he doesn't care."

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Of course not, if he doesn't remember over ninety percent of his life he may as well be a different person."

"You wore a green dress to your prom and I was the only boy you'd dance with. You stepped on my toes the whole night, when I wasn't dancing with your sister—who wore an identical dress, because I was the only one who could tell you two apart, and you figured using them not being able to tell you apart would be a good bullshit filter for guys," I deadpanned.

Both girls' eyes went wide. "You remember?" Joan asked, and I tilted my hand back and forth in a so-so gesture.

"Some. Not much. Less than 10%, I'd say," I admitted with a shrug. "But it's something. Some things come back in fits and starts." Which was not entirely untrue, just not in the way I'd phrased it.

Jane sent me an incredulous look. "And you're okay with that?"

Joan broke into another momentary giggle fit. "Oh, little sister, we're more than okay with it. In point of fact, I'm planning to spend the weekend getting fucked six ways from Sunday." She took on a contemplative look, regarding her younger sister. "Though, you know, you're welcome to join…"

"Oh god," Jane whimpered. "No. Nope. Nun-uh. Never again."

Joan and I shared a look before we both rolled our eyes before the eldest sister decided she'd had enough—her tolerance for bullshit apparently having reached its limit. "Oh grow up, you big baby. It's not the end of the world. It happened, you enjoyed it. If you don't want to do it again, don't. It's really that simple. Stop freaking out."

"So you're going to move?" I asked, remembering the fact that my Aura had certain effects on women in the vicinity, especially during the act and that Jane—Kuro at the time—had been intimately aware of it for the past week, before finally giving in. Jane's eyes went wide as she frantically started waving for me to shut up. It was too late, however, as Joan turned a curious look on me, demanding I elaborate. "She lives next door to me. You know what my Aura does, so yeah…"

Joan's eyes narrowed as she turned a very unamused look on her younger sibling. "That would imply you're in Vale three weeks out of the month, as opposed to out hunting. Now, the question is, what exactly are you doing that you don't want me to know about to the point that you didn't want me to know where you live when you're not here, that makes a comparable income?"

Jane was granted a stay from having to answer as the rapid-fire pitter-patter of little feet slapping against hardwood announced Jun's return as she came running down the hall upstairs carrying a pair of shoes, jumped onto the balcony and ran down before performing a flying leap across the room, snagging my neck and swinging around until she had settled against my back again. "I'm ready!"

"Just a second, sweetie," I told the redhead on my back before turning my attention back to the two elder siblings. "I'll have her back around ten, probably. In the meantime, you two talk. I don't want any trouble when I get back. Joan, stop teasing your sister. Jane, stop freaking out, you'll be fine. Understand?" I had pulled up charisma and Intent for all of that and apparently I had gotten my point across as both girls blushed, refusing to meet my eyes as they nodded. In a way, that was kind of weird—both were higher level than me, older than me as far as they knew, fully trained Huntresses… and yet, reduced to schoolgirls at times. Then again, I'd seen the same thing or close to it back on Earth, just never in response to myself. Some men just had presence—which, I suppose was exactly what Charisma as a stat was, in a way. "Good. We'll be back later."

"Since when does Jaune do that? He sounded like… well, like dad!" Jane hissed as I left the room. I missed Joan's response, but Jun had thoughts of her own on the matter.

"Onii-chan was super scary," she murmured, burying her face between my shoulder blades as I carried her outside.

Chuckling, I asked, "How so? I wasn't going for 'scary,' you know. Not in an 'I'm going to kill you' sort of way, anyway."

"Nn," the girl denied, shaking her head. "It made me think if they didn't behave, they were going to get a spanking. Daddy gets like that if moms start arguing."

I turned my snort of laughter into a cough. I did not really need to know that tidbit about the Arc parents' sex lives. "Well, that is an option," I admitted. My curiosity got the better of me and I asked, "Do they do that often?"

"Uhhuh! It's like they don't learn!"

Yeah, that's about what I'd thought. "Do you think that maybe they do it because they like it?" I suggested, a smile crossing my lips.

The redhead on my back shifted around and poked her head over my shoulder to look me in the eye, an exaggeratedly incredulous look on her face and her green eyes having gone very wide. "Spankings aren't fun, they're scary!"

I turned away to hide my grin. "Is that so?"

"Un! It is so." I felt her nod. "I listened at the door once. Mama Lily started a fight over something silly and daddy said she needed to be disciplined, and Mama Iris volunteered to help. It was all 'Eee, no, not that! Anything but that!' Smack! 'Nooo, don't!' Smack! I ran away, but… but I know I heard screams from outside! And when everything got quiet again later, Mama Lily was walking funny and couldn't sit down for the rest of the day." My jaw locked and I fought not to burst out laughing, but silent shaking gave me away. "What's so funny, onii-chan?! It's not funny!"

"I'll tell you when you're older," I denied. She looked ready to protest, so I needed a distraction. "Hop down and put your shoes on, I've got a surprise."

"Is it like the last surprise? 'Cause I wanna do the swinging thing again. When can I get one of those?" she asked, using one arm to slip her shoes on from her position atop my back before dropping down and bouncing on her heels—flat and surprisingly sensible shoes, for a girl. Maybe she hadn't gotten to the high-heeled phase. I'd had a friend whose wife started their daughter on that nonsense when she was eight, so I wouldn't have been surprised. Her outfit was a cream colored one piece sun dress, also surprisingly reserved by Earth standards. There were parents who dressed their daughters like miniature whores and I was thankful the Arcs had the sense to instill some idea of how to dress properly in their children.

"Not as fun as the last surprise, no," I admitted. "But then, you wouldn't want the wind to ruin all the work you went to getting your hair just right, would you?" She shook her head and I laughed. "As for getting a line launcher… tell you what, I'll get you one as a graduation present and teach you how to use it. Deal?"

"Deal!" she beamed.

Holding a hand out, I focused on my selection and activated Summon Vehicle. A chunk of my mana drained away and where there had been empty driveway, there now sat a black sedan—the very one we'd used just a day or so ago. "A princess should arrive in style, right?"

Jun's eyes had gone a bit wide before she threw her arms around my waist in a momentary hug, then ran around the car and hopped into the front passenger seat. "Ooh, leather," she grinned, wiggling into the seat.

I took a minute to open my inventory and equip one of my nicer sets of clothes—black slacks, white button down dress shirt, and different boots because I refused to wear dress shoes—before I slid inside the car and buckled up, watching her bounce on the seat a time or two before putting on her own seatbelt. "So, how's a movie sound?"

"Sounds awesome," the littlest redhead beamed. "Let's go!"

---

We had some time to kill before the movie, so we spent it playing air hockey in the theater's small game room. Jun was surprisingly good, though based on the fact that she knew where to look to find a stool to stand on to reach the table properly I got the impression she had been here more than a time or two. To put it simply, she kicked my ass. I wasn't too terribly upset, though, given the way she beamed afterwards. It was hard to stay mad with her, or even annoyed really. She was just so damned earnest and adorable.

A small popcorn and large soda in hand, we went up and grabbed seats on the top row. Well, I chose a seat. Jun jumped up and plopped her bony little ass down on my lap with enough force to bruise my thighs, had I still been an unenhanced human anyway. It still hurt—to the point I'd say she crit and rolled for damage. The movie Jun picked was some magical girl movie adaptation of a series she had been reading, something involving witches and giant robots—it was weird even by my standards for anime, and I'd watched a lot of anime since getting high speed internet and access to torrents. Catchy music, though.

Thankfully, she didn't squirm much, aside from occasionally shifting to grab more popcorn or a drink. I, on the other hand, simply sat back and attempted to follow the plot with no point of reference. Slowly, I came to realize the movie she'd chosen was like some weird fusion between Madoka Magica and Evangelion if someone had added the Grimm element onto the top of it, and about as dark as you'd expect—all vaguely disguised with explosions, bright colors, and cheery theme songs that, when taken in context later, were some of the best fridge horror I'd come across, in either world. Needless to say, it was a very adult movie billed as a kids' movie.

As a project for later, I made a note to look into the possibility of kaiju-class and greater grimm—that being anything in the Huge to Gargantuan size categories, that is, between 15 to 30 feet, or 30 to 50 feet. Daikaiju-class started at 50 feet and went up from there—Colossal, Colossal+, and upwards, depending on your source material. It was a rating system I'd worked out for monsters from various genres, after one too many late night Godzilla reruns. If they were common enough to be thematic in a movie, that could be an issue. I was aware of the Deathstalker and Giant Nevermore lurking about in… I believe it was Forever Fall Forest, where ever Ozpin sent the prospective students for their team assignment exam, anyway. Those couldn't be the only examples, and having killed a kaiju-class zombie only a few hours previous put the thought in mind.

"You read that?" I asked as we were leaving the theater some two hours later.

"Uh huh," Jun nodded happily, skipping along beside me. "It's good."

I hummed, thinking back to the other stuff on offer. There had been another movie, also an anime adaptation, that had looked more kid-friendly. "You sure you wouldn't have enjoyed that other one more? What was it called again?"

Jun rolled her eyes. "Trope-tan. It was good, but they never finished the series, and the writer changed production studios midway through over a disagreement with the original production studio, so quality was kind of off afterwards."

Eh, I had no room to criticize there—I'd watched worse as a kid. "So, you hungry after all that popcorn?"

A growl from the seat beside me announced her stomach answering the question before her mouth could. "Uh… a little?"

"Do they not feed you at school?" I asked, shooting her an incredulous look as I opened up my map and dug through filters for the one that would show only places to get food. Picking out something that looked like an Italian restaurant, I set a waypoint and set off.

"They do, but it seems like it's never enough. I'm always hungry now," she admitted. "Onee-sama says it's cause my Aura and Semblance need a lot of fuel."

I hummed, nodding. It made sense. People who weren't video game characters had to draw their power from somewhere—either externally, from the world around them, or internally somehow, either from converting caloric content to fuel or some other means depending on whether the energy was physical, spiritual, mental or some combination of the three. At least, I guessed—it was enough of a recurring theme in various media that it was likely true here too, but it was worth looking into later to confirm so as to not operate on false assumptions. I knew how to use Aura, but I hadn't the faintest damn idea what it actually was. Yeah, if I was going to go to Beacon I was actually going to need to… study.

I shuddered briefly at the thought. I was a grown man, I had been out of school for years, I didn't think I could take having to go back to that routine—but it was either that, or try and act outside the course of events as I knew them. Outside Beacon, I was free to act but would be acting at an information deficit in regards to goings on in and around the school, where most of the action would be centered. Inside Beacon, my movements would be restricted inside school hours and possibly even outside of them, but I would be right where I needed to be for most of what was to come. The best compromise I had come up with to date was having the girls acting in my stead for some things outside the school, while I was stuck locked in. Well, I still had time to figure things out for a while yet. I turned my attention back to the girl with me.

"What is your Semblance, anyway?" Jun was silent beside me and after a moment, I turned enough to observe her. She had turned in her seat enough to lock eyes with me. There was a look in her eyes that I couldn't place, which remained even as her face broke into a large smile that I wasn't entirely sure was genuine. I knew that look—I'd worn it enough to recognize it from the outside. I was being judged—though, for what I didn't know.

"It's a secret!" she beamed, turning away and looking out the windshield.

Shrugging, I chuckled quietly. I wouldn't push her for details, but I suspected that whatever it was would be enough to earn her a secondary title, like the rest of her sisters. Then again, I had to wonder at the origins of 'Divine Child' as a title—she wouldn't be a child forever, obviously. 'Divine Aegis' was self-explanatory once I'd seen Joan's Semblance in action. 'Divine Mirror' would likely also be pretty obvious, but I had yet to see Jane put hers to use. Jun's, I couldn't even guess at, however. I'd assumed it was speed-based or something, but now that I had a better idea how they worked, I had ruled that out—which meant her speed was all her, not her Semblance. Well, it wasn't worth worrying over at the moment, seeing as I wouldn't be getting anywhere with it any time soon.

The restaurant turned out to be an older brick building, delicious scents hanging on the air for a block around the place that set my mouth watering as we walked up after having parked. The interior was filled with the murmur of multiple conversations under soft music and dimly lit enough that the candles at individual tables and booths stood out. We drew a few odd looks from the wait-staff and host and a quick glance around told me the clientele were mostly older couples and a few groups of men conducting business. The host approached and I breathed a quick confuse/charm combo, pulling up Charisma at the same time. The man smiled and greeted us like he had known our family for years—which, technically speaking, given the Arcs' popularity it was very likely they had at least heard of us. Luckily, the wait-staff followed the host's lead and we were quickly seated at a small table.

Jun was surprisingly well-mannered, considering her age—aside from the wide eyes taking everything in with a seemingly perpetual look of amazement. At least it gave me a chance to exercise my own oft neglected manners—opening doors, pulling out chairs, and the like. It was only really novel from the startling difference between Earth and Remnant—and once more, I wondered at how my former home could have gone so wrong in so many ways, out of what had likely started out as simple good intentions being twisted to hurt as many people as possible. 'I suppose the best thing to do here is to simply enjoy it,' I mused.

"So, how's school going?" I asked after we'd had a chance to look over the menus and order.

The girl across from me hummed, waving her hand back and forth in a so-so gesture. "It's kind of boring. Everyone's so… stupid."

"How so?" I asked, though considering the age group… 'Wait a minute.' I held up a hand to stall her. "Hang on. I've never asked before, always just sort of assumed. How old are you?"

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, as the girl shot me a glare and puffed out her cheeks, crossing her arms. "How old do I look, onii-chan?"

"There's no way to answer that without upsetting you, so I'll just be honest. I figured around eight, based on how you act and your size," I admitted, chuckling. I could have sworn my Semblance had told me the answer at one point, but if there was ever an age field it didn't show up now under Observe. 'Changed with an update? But that wouldn't explain any discrepancy with it saying she was one age and her being another, unless it was wrong. Is that even possible?' It was something to think on. Maybe I could dig around my menus and see if there was a section for biographies.

"I'm just small for my age," she hissed, though I had to admit I appreciated the fact that she wasn't really making a scene as I'd worried she might. The fact that her gaze drifted down towards her chest and the frown that followed told me she was likely a bit jealous of her older sisters—in that way children tend to get insecure when compared to others. Well, I say children, but I suppose in some ways it's common to everyone regardless of age or gender—women will always be jealous of women they perceive as more beautiful, men will always be jealous another man with a bigger cock or more money. It was made worse on Earth by media portraying things to unrealistic standards or outright lying to their viewers—magazines were notorious for airbrushing and using photoshop on models, the porn industry selected men with larger than average penises or even had them wear prosthetics. And then, there was all the over-sexed programming broadcast twenty-four seven, in an effort to normalize degeneracy and devalue traditional social mores. 'Programming' indeed.

"I'll be twelve come June 6th. Don't forget my birthday, onii-chan," Jun warned, pulling my mind back to Remnant and out of comparisons between the two worlds that would either wind up pissing me off or emphasize how lucky I was to be out of that shit-hole, though probably both.

Pulling out my scroll, I went ahead and made a note of it. "While we're on the subject, how about giving me the rest of our siblings' birthdays? And our parents. Since, you know, I don't remember."

That seemed to put a damper on the girl's ire and she began dutifully relaying information—names, important dates, and other interesting little tidbits. She was a veritable well of information on the Arc family and I took compete advantage of the opportunity. Thankfully, my Semblance had enough decorum not to add a quest to 'pump' her for information as it had when I'd first met Joan—I didn't think I'd have been able to keep a straight face, if it had. "So, our dad's name is Jacques and his birthday is January 10th. My mother is Iris and yours is Lily, and their birthdays are July 1st and September 4th, respectively."

"That's right," she nodded, sending me an expectant look that said she wanted me to keep going.

"The sisters are Joan, Jane and Jean, Jen," I began, and Jun shook her head.

Rolling her eyes, the younger girl warned, "Don't let her hear you call her that. She prefers Jennifer, 'cause it makes her sound more mature—even though Mama Iris keeps saying it's 'Jen' on the birth certificate."

"I'll keep that in mind," I agreed with a smile. "Continuing on… Jana, Jillian, and Jun. So, I have to ask, whose idea was the naming scheme?"

Jun's mood shifted visible, just a bit, as her smile turned mildly forlorn. "Grandpa and Grandma Arc. I never got to meet them. It's sort of a family tradition that's been around longer than the color naming rule that came about after the war. Joan said Grandpa always said that tradition was more important than silly superstition. Papa and Mamas agree, so we got different names. Then again, Mama Iris and Mama Lily are both named after flowers, so they don't really break the rules—irises can be white and lilies can be red."

I blinked as something about that niggled at my memory. "White? I know Lily's a redhead, but Iris is blonde in all the photos—and all her kids are."

"Heh, yeah…" Jun nodded agreement. "That's true. But Mama Iris's sigil is a white iris. Do you know what it means?"

Shooting her a confused look, I asked, "The sigil or the flower?"

"The flower, silly," she rolled her eyes. I shook my head and she provided the answer. "Purity. Mama Lily's sigil is a red lily—a…"

"Spider lily," I guessed, drawing a wide grin and a nod. 'Lycoris radiata.' She opened her mouth to ask and I shook my head. "I've got a good idea what it means. How important are sigils, on a scale of 1 to 10?"

Jun snorted, sending me an incredulous look. "Ten. It's part of how you identify yourself to other Hunters—aside from huge weapons and flashy clothes. It's also supposed to be really personal and say something about yourself."

Joan's sigil I knew to be a larkspur, after her Semblance—I think it was also called a doubtful knight's spur, but beyond that I had no idea as to its meaning in the language of flowers and my knowledge of that mostly came from having worked in a greenhouse with my grandmother for a few years as a child, in another world. Of course, there were others I knew off the top of my head—Ruby's rose, Yang's burning heart being the two that came immediately to mind. Jaune's, as I recall, was a pair of crescent moons. Still, we were getting off topic. "Okay, still, that doesn't explain why white and not yellow."

"Because of her Semblance," Jun answered, as though the answer should have been obvious. In retrospect, I suppose it should have been. Jun's next words cut off that line of thought. "Her hair goes all white and glowy-glowy when she uses her Semblance. Well, Papa said so, but I've never seen it."

The wait-staff arrived with our food and conversation was curtailed for a moment as I took the time to savor a forkful of lasagna while, across from me, Jun tore into her stromboli. "So, we got off track. How's school, and why is everyone stupid?"

Jun took a moment to wipe her mouth before sending me an annoyed look. "They all act like little kids."

"Says the girl who insists on calling her oldest sister 'onee-sama' and her brother 'onii-chan,'" I retorted before my brain-to-mouth filter could kick in. Giving an internal shrug, I decided to run with it.

The diminutive redhead pointed her fork at me threateningly before stabbing into her stromboli. "That is that and this is this."

"So, in other words, you should get a free pass and others shouldn't? That doesn't sound very mature," I countered. "Why do you do it, anyway?"

Jun thought on it a moment while she chewed before finally answering. "Because it annoys my sisters, and Papa and Moms. Do I really need a reason beyond that?"

Nodding in understanding, I grinned. "Well, I can understand where you're coming from there. Being the youngest must be tough. But what if I told you it annoyed me, too?"

The little redhead shot me a betrayed look before she broke eye contact, suddenly finding her plate very interesting. "Does it really? I thought, since the hospital, it didn't any more."

"It was amusing for the first five minutes, and a bit adorable," I admitted, my words causing her to peek up at be from under her lashes. "However, don't you think you're getting a little too old for that?" She pouted, but I could see I was getting through to her.

"You're a meanie," she grumbled, quietly going back to her food.

I nodded, digging into my own food. "Maybe, but only because I care. Sometimes, that means humoring someone. Other times, that means telling them the hard truths no one else will because they're too polite or afraid of hurting your feelings. Sometimes, feelings need to be hurt for the message to sink in. If you want me to treat you like a young lady, act like one. If you want me to treat you like a kid, likewise, keep acting like one. It's entirely up to you, but I bet you can guess which I'd prefer."

Jun sat in silence the rest of the meal, following along quietly back to the car after I'd taken care of the bill. It wasn't until we pulled up to the Arc family home that she decided to break her silence. "If I act more mature, does that mean you'll marry me?"

"No," I denied, shaking my head. "I'll give you some advice: building a marriage is a bit like building a house—start with a strong foundation and work your way up from there. Get to know someone, become friends with them, build a relationship over time, and only when the thought of being apart from that person, or hurting that person causes you pain should you even consider marriage. And if it doesn't work out, ideally you would remain friends with them after. Of course, real life doesn't always match up to our expectations…"

It never had, in my experience. Then again, my experience was in a world with Tinder and Snapchat and other hookup or cheating apps, and where such behavior was becoming popularized in a push to normalize it—more of that 'programming' that turned otherwise decent people into sorry excuses for human beings, because they felt like they could get away with it. Well, with any luck that movement would never come about on Remnant. Then again, considering how much they tended to value families and fidelity to the people you were with, somehow despite the obvious push for polygamy, I doubted it would.

She nodded and I killed the car, getting out and opening her door for her as I had for much of the night. She stopped me just before the door to the house, not turning to meet my eyes. "Onii… Jaune," she began, correcting herself a moment after. The name sounded almost foreign on her lips at this point, coming out a half-syllable shorter than I was used to hearing the pseudo-French pronunciation—to the point I could have sworn she'd said 'John' instead. I put it down to her having not used my name in a while—after all, there was no way anyone on Remnant knew my name as anything other than 'Jaune.' "Can we… would you be my friend?"

Reaching out, I rubbed the top of her head, drawing a momentary annoyed look before I switched from rubbing to scratching her scalp, sending her eyes half-lidded and drawing a contented sound from her lips as she pushed up into my hand—yeah, it seemed that trick was almost universal. "I will," I agreed, sending her a smile. "Come on, your sisters are probably wondering why we're just standing out here."

"Let them wonder," she deadpanned. "Serves them right for doing 'this and that' with onii-chan before me." She turned green eyes up to meet my blue, beaming a smile. "I wanted to get one more in."

"I see that," I chuckled, opening the door and pushing her inside. "Let's go see if your sisters managed to break anything."

---

The two eldest deadly sisters appeared to have settled things between themselves by the time we got back—or, at least, had not resorted to violence so far as I could tell. As we entered, they stopped speaking and Joan turned a thoughtful gaze my way for a moment before turning back to Jane. "You okay?"

"Yeah, go ahead. Have… fun," she sighed, forcing out the last word and sending me a small wave, clearly still not sure where we stood. Well, to be honest, neither was I.

Joan's grin was ear to ear as she hopped up from her chair, grabbed her bag, and took me by the elbow and began pulling me back towards the door. "Oh, I intend to." She paused long enough to scoop Jun up in a hug. "Be good for your sister, kiddo. I'll see you in few weeks."

"I will. Stay safe," the smaller girl returned the hug before being let down, then turning to give me one as well. "I had fun tonight. Can we do it again soon?"

Laughing, I nodded. "Sure, I'll work you into my schedule," I grinned, half-joking—only half, because at this point I needed a schedule to keep up with everyone.

Joan gave my elbow a tug and I rolled my eyes, following her outside and back to the car. "We've got a few stops to make before we head back to your place, if you don't mind."

I shrugged, sliding into the car as she threw her bag in the back seat and climbed into the passenger seat as I started the car and pulled out of the driveway, back onto the dirt road into Vale. "Sure. Where to?"

"How much food do you have?" she asked, instead. At my curious look, she rolled her own eyes. "Enough for two people for four meals a day?"

Doing some mental math, I hummed in thought before answering, "Maybe. Why four?"

"If you're not sure, then we'll need to go ahead and stop now. You're looking for high caloric count, high protein—chicken, fish, bread, rice."

Blinking, I shot her a confused look. "What are you up to?"

"Jane told me you're living in Sang's old apartment," she began, and I blinked.

"Oh. Oh. Huh," I hummed. "So, you're her teammate—one of them, anyway. Which means Hei was another."

Beside me, Joan nodded, turning away and watching the fields roll by in the moonlight as we passed the woods and into farmland. "She told me you found a dead guy," she added, and I hummed in agreement. "Please, just drop it. It's over and done with. Let the dead rest in peace."

"Well," I hemmed, thinking on it a moment. "I could care less that some piece of shit got his face eaten off. Good riddance to bad rubbish. The problem is, I'm pretty sure the thing that did it is only there because of me. I opened up an Instant Dungeon—an Illusion Barrier—over the apartment to clean it out before we Sanctified it and something got away. I've got a feeling it was the same grimm—especially since it happened so close to the apartment. Theoretically, the wards should have scared any grimm off, so whatever it was either wasn't afraid of them or simply didn't care."

"Driven off, not scared off. Lesser grimm can't stand to be in the presence of an active Sanctification—it's pretty much antithetical to them. Only the more intelligent ones are aware enough to associate the wards with Hunters, and Hunters with death," she corrected. "Either way, you're right. A grimm that ignores wards is either strong or ignoring its instincts—which implies intelligence. Which is bad." Sighing, Joan shook her head. "I suppose I can't stop you from trying to hunt it down. If you need help, ask. But we've gotten off topic. Sanguine had notes, patterns, and so forth—which Jane tells me you ate."

Chuckling quietly, I nodded. "Yeah, I ate all the patterns. The notes are still in her journal. By the way, how did you not know she lived there?"

Joan turned an amused look my way before asking, "Where does the other girl live—Neopolitan, I believe her name was?"

"I haven't told you about her," I deadpanned. "You've been talking with the twins." She nodded and I rolled my eyes. "I suppose you have a point, though, if you're implying it just never came up."

"It really didn't. She didn't get the place until after graduation, and usually when we got together it was for missions or out in public, never at her home. I never really thought to question it," Joan admitted. "Why'd it take you so long to put together who she was when you have her journal, hmm?"

I snorted. "The woman wrote in shorthand and abbreviated most names. Some were easy from context: 'Oz,' for instance, is obviously Ozpin. 'J,' 'H,' and 'N,' were not so easy when mixed with other names. And as I said, shorthand. There weren't enough context clues to connect it to you. Why's it matter, anyway?"

Grinning, Joan stuck her tongue out. "I figured if we were playing the 'why didn't you figure this out' game, I should get a turn. And, just to rub it in, how did you not know you were screwing Jane?"

Groaning, I resisted the urge to thump my head against the steering wheel—we were still in motion and that could end poorly. "Fine. Fair enough. Well, now we know and we're all caught up. ...Right?"

"As far as I know," Joan shrugged. "To get back on topic: there should have been a pattern in there labeled as something like 'enhancement ritual.' Do you know which one I'm talking about?"

I shook my head in the negative. "Not off the top of my head, no. I'll have to dig through my Semblance menus and look for it. What's it do—aside from what's on the tin?"

"It's a temporary enhancement meant to aid in training. I'm not entirely sure on the specifics, but I know it works. I also know it's one of those that the more effort you put into it, the better the results."

There was a tone in her voice I recognized as a mixture of excitement and anticipation. Shifting my gaze to her for a moment, I asked, "It's one of those from the 'works better if you fuck on top of it' family, isn't it?"

The blonde beside me snorted, rolling her eyes. "The proper term is 'tantric ritual,' but yes, essentially. Except, more that this one falls into the category of 'only works if you fuck on top of it.' It's an Aura blending technique. The thing with this particular ritual is, the more time you put into it, the stronger its effects. In other words…"

I blinked, thinking it over. "Two days of screwing over the top of a seal, stopping only long enough to eat, nap, shower, and for bathroom breaks. The food is because… Aura is part physical, as in your body burns calories for it. An Aura blending ritual must burn through Aura at a phenomenal rate, then." Well, that partly answered one question, but just brought up more—and further emphasized my need to study.

"Correct. Head of the class," Joan grinned, shifting in her seat and shooting me an amused look. "Think you can keep up?"

Rolling my eyes, I chuckled. "I'll fuck you dry before I won't be able to keep it up, if that's what you're implying. And on that note, critical, need-to-have item to add to your list: lube. Because friction burns aren't fun for anyone."

Joan winced, her legs squeezing together instinctively in much the same way mine have in the past at the thought of being kicked in the balls. "Yeah, no. Let's not risk that." She recovered quickly, however, and turned a sly look towards me. "So, your twins tell me I have you all to myself for the weekend. Did you do that for me?"

"I did," I admitted, sending a smile her way. "I thought you could use the attention."

Biting her bottom lip, she turned away, a soft look gracing her face for a moment. "I really appreciate it, Jaune. You don't know how much this means to me. All of this."

I snorted softly, shaking my head. "I think I do."

"You don't," she denied, turning a look on me that was one part determination, one part something I couldn't readily place. "But you will one day."

Turning away again, she breathed out a sigh before continuing. "I love you. I know you probably haven't quite wrapped your head around that yet or decided how to handle it—and that while you like me, you don't love me back. Not the way I want, anyway. At least, not yet. Just having you know and accept that is enough for me, for now. That you're willing to actually give me an honest chance is beyond the best outcome I could have imagined. I'm willing to wait a little longer to hear you say it back. I've waited this long, after all."

She knew me better than I'd thought, I supposed. Or maybe I was just that easy to read. "I'm—"

"Don't," she cut me off. "Don't apologize for something you can't control. You can't make yourself love me. It'll come with time, or it won't. I just have to believe it will." Taking a breath, she turned an impish grin on me that left me wondering how long she had been faking her smiles to be so good at it. "Until then, there's no point in not enjoying ourselves. And on that note, how was she?"

Shaking my head, I shot her a confused look. "Who? And pick a mood, damnit! Don't drop heavy shit in my lap and then start flirting right after, it screws with my brain."

"You'll live," she deadpanned. "And who do you think? Have you been screwing any other girls I'm not aware of?"

"Kuro? Err, Jane, rather. That's going to take some getting used to. She's like a different person with the mask on," I sighed. Then again, so was I in some ways—I was just always wearing a mask now.

Nodding from her position in the passenger seat, Joan chuckled. "Is she? I wouldn't know. So, spill. Details!"

I turned and shot her a flat look for a good three seconds before shifting my eyes back to the road. "Let me see if I've got this straight. You want me to describe to you, in detail, how your younger sister and I screwed each other silly over the course of a night?"

"Absolutely."

I sighed, palming my face. "You're a pervert. One hundred percent pervert."

A smirk stretched its way across her face. "Not really. What turns me on most is the thought of slow, passionate lovemaking in the missionary position for the sole purpose of procreation. Want to make a baby later?"

I stepped on the brake hard, drawing an angry blast of the horn from the car behind me as I pulled over to the side of the road. I tried to keep a straight face as I turned to level my best flat 'what the fuck' look on her, but I knew I failed the moment she broke down laughing. "Ahh hahaha! Your face! Heh. Ah, hold that pose for a minute so I can get my scroll out."

"Fuck you, Joan," I groaned, then rolled my eyes when she nodded enthusiastically. "Right. That's it. I'm double-bagging my shit later."

The blonde's eyes went wide momentarily before narrowing into a mild glare. "Absolutely not. I forbid it."

"And how are you going to stop me?" I challenged, meeting her glare with one of my own.

The elder blonde smirked. "So tell me, what level are you now?"

Palming my face, I groaned as I realized that even with my over powered stats, Joan was still stronger by sheer level disparity—and unlike the twins and Neo, she had the passive skills boosting her stats, unless I missed my guess, which meant even my unreal damage output wouldn't scratch her and my mental spells likely would do precisely dick. That was disregarding her Semblance's ability to no-sell damage, period. It kind of put things into perspective, really—and brought up horrible questions about just how terrifyingly strong someone like Ozpin must be. "Fuck."

"Yep. You are. You enjoy it though," she teased, and I sighed, nodding agreement. "Well, come on. Let's get going. We're wasting time when we could be setting up the ritual. Speaking of, if you'll dig through your menus and lay it out for us in the bedroom, I'll get food started. We'll get done prepping faster that way."

"Fine," I grunted, easing the car back into traffic. "Just so you know, I'm on the pill, so don't go getting any bright ideas."

Peals of laughter came from the passenger seat and I rolled my eyes. "Don't worry, I'm not planning on being a real mom any time soon." Leaning across the divide between the seats, her lips brushed my ear as she whispered, "I'll let you know when I'm ready, though."

---

Looking down on my handiwork, I compared it to what I knew it was supposed to look like. All the lines, circles, and symbols matched in shape, position, and size relative to each other according to how it was displayed in the open tab of my Semblance's crafting menu—with a few tweaks here and there according to the much more detailed notes in the journal now stored in my inventory. Pulling it out, I reread a couple of select passages before closing it with a satisfying thump and storing it again. Kneeling, I touched a finger to the Dust paint on the floor and pulled on my mana. The entire thing lit in a soft white glow momentarily before I felt the wetness against my finger evaporate and the design sank into the floor itself.

Grabbing the frame of the bed from where I'd pushed it into a corner and out of the way, I heaved and hauled the heavy thing across the flood before setting it within the bounds of the design now sealed into the floor. Taking a few moments to center it, I decided it was good enough and left the bedroom, the smell of cooking food hitting me full in the face as I stepped out. The faint sound of a song drifted through the apartment, along with the sound of humming. Making my way towards the kitchen, I paused to lean against the wall and observe the scene before me: Joan, blonde hair pulled back in a high ponytail, swaying slightly as she stepped around my kitchen barefoot while humming along to whatever was playing on the radio. The apron over her front did more to accentuate her womanly curves than hide them. She turned to the oven and bent over to open it and check on its contents and I found my eyes drawn to her ass, where her jeans may as well have been painted on.

Instead of saying what was on my mind, I pushed off the wall and moved up behind her, taking her hips in my hands and pulling her rear against me, letting her feel the obvious bulge in my own jeans. "Mm, hello there," she purred, taking hold of the handle of the oven door with both hands and rocking back softly against me. "See something you like?"

"Tease," I groaned softly, sliding my hands under her shirt and softly stroking her flanks. "Are you enjoying putting on a show for me?"

She turned to regard me over one shoulder, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips as her eyes met mine. "Absolutely. I don't suppose I need to ask if the domestic image does anything for you, since the proof of that is plainly evident," she mused, rocking her hips back again.

Leaning forward a bit, I moved my hands up and cupped her bare breasts under her shirt—apparently, she had removed her bra at some point while I'd been busy doing seal work. Finding her nipples, I gave them a soft squeeze and pull, drawing a breathy sigh from her lips. "We keep this up and we won't make it to the bedroom."

"Your point being?" Joan grinned, pushing off the stove and leaning back into me, tilting her head to the side for a kiss.

Our tongues danced slowly, exploring, teasing and I noted absently that she tasted of vanilla. Grinning against her mouth, I moved one hand down from her breasts to slide down the front of her pants, under her panties, and softly stroke her outer lips—already puffy and hot, and moisture beginning to bead as her arousal grew. Parting her lower lips, I ran two of my fingers back and forth between them, not quite deep enough to penetrate but enough to stroke her clit and spread that moisture seeping from her core to cover her hairless lips. She whimpered into my mouth, her kiss growing a bit more desperate. Pulling back enough to separate our lips, I began slowly stroking her clit as I asked, "So, is this what you wanted? A little play outside the bedroom before we get started?" I slid my fingers inside her, drawing a gasp out of her in the process. "You want me to bend you over and fuck you right here, don't you?"

"Yes," she moaned, breathless, as she tried to shift her hips and grind against my hand.

I shifted my hand a bit, drawing my fingers inward as I stroked her from the inside. The woman bucked in my arms, reaching out and putting her hands back on the bar on the stove to steady herself as I pumped my fingers slowly in and out of her cunt, slowly increasing the pressure of my strokes over her G-spot. The angle was too awkward to put my thumb to use on her clit as I wanted to, but I didn't need it at this point and she didn't appear to care. My soft pulling and squeezing of her nipple with my left hand grew rougher, turning to pinching and harder pulls, rolling it between my fingers for a few moments before shifting to the other side.

Feeling her muscles beginning to clench around my fingers as she grew tighter, I knew she was close to coming. Releasing her nipple, I moved my hand out from under her shirt to grab her ponytail, wrap it around my fist once, and pulled sharply back—drawing her back against me. Her cunt clamped down hard enough I was sure it would have broken a normal man's fingers as she came, clenching her mouth shut to keep from screaming as the warmth of her nectar began to collect in my palm. I slowed my strokes inside her, easing her down gently as she slowly unwound, the occasional shudder running through her body. A quiet creak drew my attention to where her hands had fisted around the handle of my apartment's oven—where there were now clear impressions where her fingers had clamped down.

I removed my hand from her pants, drawing a whine momentarily before I took hold of them and began working them down her hips. A knock at the door drew our attention and we shared a glance before Joan shook her head. "Ignore it."

The knocking did not stop—in fact, the knock-er picked up the force of his or her blows, sending the sound echoing through my apartment. Sighing, I released her pants and made for the door. "I may as well see who it is. And if we really do start now, we'll wind up burning the food."

"Fuck the food," she grumbled, though I heard her open the oven and check anyway.

Pulling up charisma and Intent, I threw the door open and prepared to level a glare on whoever was on the other side of it that would likely send them running back down the hall if they had even a hint of survival instinct. Instead, I found my annoyance tapering off into confusion as I took in a familiar redhead on the other side of my door. "Jane? Why're you here? Is Jun okay?"

Instead of answering, she bit her lip and asked, "Can I come in?"

Shrugging, I moved aside and gestured her in. "So, what's going on?" I asked again as I closed and locked the door behind the Second Deadly Sister.

Instead of dropping onto my couch, she moved into the kitchen, where Joan shot her a look mirroring my own confusion. "Jun is fine. I called Jean and got her to switch with me for tonight and tomorrow."

One of Joan's thin, blonde eyebrows crept towards her hairline. "Oh? Why's that?"

A look of annoyance crossed the redhead's face before she shook her head. "You're attempting the enhancement ritual, right?" When the eldest sister nodded, Jane continued. "It works better with three—greater Aura pool. More than four and it gets kind of finicky and you start losing effectiveness, but three is a good, prime number."

"Who…?" Joan began, then shook her head. "Sanguine and Noir, obviously."

Jane nodded. "Though, supposedly it works better with a man involved—something about balancing energies and a more intimate connection. That's about the edge of my theoretical and practical knowledge. I just know it worked better for us with a group of three than just Sang and I."

A smirk stretched its way across Joan's face and Jane sighed, rolling her eyes and looking away. Instead of the teasing we were both expecting however, she asked, "Are you sure you're up for this? I thought you said never again."

"Yes, well, that was before I made an interesting discovery earlier," she grumbled, turning a sour look my way. "Your Aura is evil."

Shooting her an amused look, I asked, "How so?"

Sighing, the redhead leaned back against the counter top, crossing her arms and pushing her breasts up in a way I wasn't sure was entirely unintentional. "I've spent the last week getting shitty rest, at best. Between the twins, that other one, and Joan you and that damned sex Aura of yours have alternately interrupted my sleep, kept me awake and horny well past when my shifts ended, or gave me wet dreams any time I managed to actually hit REM and you started going at it. After all of that, I've made a horrifying discovery."

"Let me guess," Joan began, only for Jane to cut her off.

"I'm telling this story, you be quiet," she hissed and Joan laughed, nodding and gesturing for her sister to continue. "So there I was, having put Jun to bed, taken a nice, relaxing soak, and curled up in my old bed. 'Peace and quiet, at last,' I thought to myself. Yeah, no. Five minutes after putting my head down, I was too horny to sleep. I burned through the Dust in my vibrator and it did nothing for me. Do you understand my problem now?" she asked, and I shook my head. Jane shot me a flat glare. "A week of conditioning from exposure to your Aura left me unable to get off without it. You are going to take responsibility, damnit." Tilting her head downwards, she quietly admitted, "And I've never come as hard as I did when I was with you. Ever. This is your fault."

Joan burst out laughing and I bit my lip to try to fight the spread of a smile, but that was a hopeless battle from the start. "Okay, let me try something," I chuckled, stepping closer and casting my diagnostic spell. Humming at the results, I muttered a quick 'Observe' and read over the details. "Sorry, but everything I've got here says you're perfectly healthy. Normal. No debuffs, no psychological effects, no biological issues. If you're having issues, it's in your head. My Aura isn't quite that bad. Yet. Knock wood," I hastily added, reaching out and tapping the counter top twice.

"So really, either you're having problems because you enjoyed it and it's harder to get off without the extra stimulus… or you're looking for an excuse." I held up a hand to stop her as she opened her mouth. "I don't care. You're a big girl, you can make your own decisions. I'm still not entirely comfortable with the whole 'sibling incest' thing, but I can't deny it's a turn on. I also can't deny that you're a beautiful young woman and I enjoyed what we had last night. The way I see it, you've got two options. Option one: quit cold turkey and give yourself time to sort of reset—I can seal off the apartment Monday and you won't have to worry about me interrupting your rest again. Option two: I can scratch your itch for you, but that means both of us getting over the 'squick' factor. But if you decide to go for the second option, I'm going to have to decline for tonight. I promised Joan a weekend, and you know how that song and dance goes with Arcs and promises." Turning a questioning look on the eldest sister, I asked, "Unless you don't mind. It's entirely up to you."

The sisters locked eyes for a moment, crystal blue and brilliant green, before the sound of a timer beeping interrupted their staring contest. Joan grabbed a pair of pot holders and began pulling dishes out of the oven. "I don't mind," she finally allowed, shooting a glance up towards the redhead. "That is, if that's what you want."

"Just… just for the weekend," Jane sighed, closing her eyes. "Once you get the apartments sealed off, I think I can rough it for the rest of the week. Besides, I'll be at the family home for the week anyway."

Joan shook her head, chuckling quietly. "You think." Sighing, she gestured towards the dishes atop the stove. "Well, I suppose it's good I made extra. I kind of figured one of your girls might show up, but this works out too. Where do you keep your plates?"

I had to think on that a minute, as I hadn't really spent much time in my own kitchen yet. "Pretty sure they're in the shelf on the far left."

Joan shot a look at her sister and Jane pushed off the counter and began getting down plates and glasses—this was all apparently old hat for them, deciding who did what. "We'll eat, then get cleaned up. Then, the fun begins!"

"I thought it'd already begun," I smirked, shooting Joan a knowing look.

The elder blonde tsked, waving her hand dismissively. "Please. That was just foreplay."

Placing plates within reach of her sister, Jane sent us a confused look before understanding dawned. "Oh. I interrupted something, didn't I?"

"Yes," the word echoed, unamused and flat, from both myself and Joan.

Jane winced. "I'm sorry. I'll make it up."

"You'd better," Joan threatened.

"Girls, play nice," I grumbled, shooting them both a warning glare.

"Yes daddy," they chimed, seemingly contrite from their tones but their identical smirks gave them away. They had been waiting to use that.

I facepalmed as both burst into giggles. "Do me a favor. If you want me to be able to get it up again within the next forty-eight hours, never call me that again. This is weird enough as it is." The pair nodded in agreement, but I could tell I'd be getting teased with that later.

'Well, about the only way it could get worse is if I got a quest to seduce either Iris or Lily,' I mused, before my eyes went momentarily wide and I paled. I waited several seconds for the other shoe to drop and my quest system to do just that. When nothing happened, I breathed a sigh of relief that earned me amused looks from the sisters. 'Whew. That was a close one. Need to be more careful in the future not to give it any ideas.'