I already mentioned this on my other story, but I feel that it bears repeating here:
I'm not gonna lie to you guys, the past few months have been pretty rough for me. One of my close friends died in November, followed shortly by my grandma about a month later. I... couldn't really find the spark to write for a while after that. I'm not looking for sympathy, there's a lot of people (like the one's suffering right now in Ukraine) that could use that, but I felt like people were owed an explanation.
It's been a rough year for a lot of people, but I think I've decided that stuff like that makes it all the more important to spread something happy like this whenever we get the chance.
So. I hope you enjoy This story. I hope it makes you smile. I hope you can read it and remember that there's a lot of colors and experiences that we can easily miss if we're to preoccupied with life's grays.
Life can hit you hard, it can knock you down and take things from you that can never be replaced, but I think a big part of being human is our ability to get back up and keep going. You don't have to be happy right now, you don't have to be content, but if you keep moving forward I FIRMLY believe that you'll find what you're looking for. Happiness isn't something that's given to you, it's something we take for ourselves. One step at a time.
I'll remember that going forward, it's the last thing grandma told me; It's what he would have told me too.
~Amaratsu
Just for some clarification: This chapter is meant to be a short (LMAOOOOO) break from Ozpin centric chapters. A little 'Coffee break' for our main man, if you will. The intended role is for these chapters to further explore the world of Wizard Things without Oz necessarily being DIRECTLY involved...
Okay, fine, you got me. To be perfectly honest, these types of chapters will be the dumping grounds of the crack-fic ideas I've been sitting on. Help.
A lone teddy bear bore silent witness from an empty shelf as two men faced each other across a well-made bed, their faces set in stone as they stared down at an opened suitcase. The case was brand new, one of three that had been delivered to the dorm room of team JNPR, containing both school and casual clothing tailor made for each individual student. The name Lie Ren was proudly emblazoned across the handle.
It was filled to the brim with women's clothing.
Panties, stockings, all of the essentials were present; Even a few toiletries.
Lie Ren looked up into the inscrutable blue eyes of his new team leader and said, remarkably calmly, "Please don't tell Nora. I am prepared to beg."
Jaune Arc looked up at him in shock, "Wha—tell Nora? What?"
"Jaune." Ren said, his calm facade cracking ever so slightly, "These are in my size; Nora can never know. Please."
The blonde boy blinked, looking somewhat gobsmacked, but quickly made a little motion over his heart: "Yeah—yeah, of course—Arc's word." When Ren's slightly suspicious look didn't fade, he gave the other boy a weak smile, "Trust me, man. I've got seven sisters, and some of them love to play dress-up. They'll be holding those pictures over my head until the day I die; I wouldn't inflict that on another dude."
Ren let out an explosive breath, his pink eyes closing as he sagged in relief, "Thank you. Nora can be a little… overzealous sometimes. I shudder to think what she'd do with these if she ever found out."
"No, no, I get you." Jaune said quickly, "Totally get you on that. Not that there'd be anything wrong if these were yours."
"Of course not." Ren replied easily, even as he returned to staring holes through the offending bits of cloth.
"Yeah, I mean, I think I rocked a few of those dresses and you're way better looking than I am."
"Er, right…" Ren said, breaking his staring contest with the clothing to give Jaune an odd look, "Look, I'm flattered but—"
"Not what I meant; Let's just get rid of the evidence." Jaune interrupted with a groan, running one hand down his face.
"Er, yes." Ren agreed, sounding somewhat lost as he went back to staring at the offending suitcase, "Right… How do I do that?"
"What?" Jaune asked, blinking dumbly at his teammate, "Uh, we could probably just hide 'em, or even take them out back to the incinerator if you're desperate."
"Right, right." Ren nodded sagely, then looked up, "That won't work."
"What?"
"That won't work." Ren repeated calmly, "She'll know."
"How—"
"She always knows, Jaune."
"But—"
"Always."
"Look," Jaune said forcefully, laying a firm hand on Ren's shoulder and giving the boy a slight shake when those panicked pink eyes stayed locked on the panty-laden suitcase, "We'll get through this. We're teammates now."
Ren finally glanced at his new team leader, eyes unsure, "We will…?"
"Yes." Jaune said firmly, his eyes hard and sure, "Look, if Nora always knows when you're up to something, then I'll just take the clothes myself."
Pink eyes blinked, snapping back into focus at the blond boy's words and Ren took a step back, shaking his head. "Jaune, no, I can't let you do that."
"It's fine." Jaune reassured him with an easy grin, awkwardly waving one hand before him, "Seven sisters, remember? She can't do anything to me I haven't been through already, and worse. I'll be fine, besides, what are teammates for?"
Lie Ren could only stare at his team leader, caught in a strange swirl of emotions he didn't entirely know how to process. He hadn't thought much of the other boy when they'd first met, but Jaune had more than proved himself brave enough to be a student of Beacon when they'd faced down the Deathstalker side by side. Ren's memory of the events was rather hazy, having been forcefully introduced to a stone wall about halfway through the fight, but considering Jaune had remained on his feet were he himself had fallen it seemed safe to assume that the blond could be relied upon.
"Thank you, Jaune." The black-haired gunman whispered, his throat clogging with emotion. He'd… he'd never had a stranger show him such kindness before. Certainly not one his age. Growing up orphans had been very trying on him and Nora, and they'd gotten through it by sticking together through thick and thin. Still, for as long as he could remember, all that they'd had had been each other. Perhaps now that they were at Beacon, that could finally change. Perhaps they could finally find other people to rely on.
"Anytime." Jaune said seriously, one hand coming to rest once more on Ren's shoulder as that same realization seemed to swim through the other man's eyes. The weight was oddly… reassuring as the two men locked eyes, an unseen bond of brotherhood forming between them in that very instant.
Yes, Ren thought as they clasped arms, this was a man he could rely on. Somehow, he just knew that Jaune would have his back through thick and thin, no matter what should come to pass. He was a true man.
"Am I interrupting something?" A feminine voice asked from the doorway.
Jaune's high-pitched, girly shriek was deafening.
/*/
"Woah, wonder what happened to that chick?" Yang asked, eyes fixed downward as the last strains of a scream drifted up from the floor below them.
"I dunno…" Ruby said thoughtfully, glancing down with a thoughtful expression on her face, "Hope everything's okay."
"Everything's fine, Rubes, don't worry so much." Yang said flippantly, waving off Ruby's hero complex with practiced ease as she flopped down to lounge across one of the beds. Her baby sister just bit her lip, silver eyes darting back down to the floor in concern. Ugh. Yang loved her sister, she really did, but the girl needed to relax and take her mind off things. They needed an activity or, she grinned as their new teammate pushed the door shut behind herself with an exhausted expression and just one of her truly massive suitcases, a distraction.
"Heya, White!" Yang chirped, "How's Beacon's lack of elevators treating ya?"
The petite girl stiffened at the sudden address, icy eyes flashing with surprising heat before she seemed to take a moment to compose herself. Yang almost felt bad for that, the girl was red-faced and clearly out of breath, but she'd never been good at not poking the bear.
"It's Weiss." The girl said shortly. Wait really? Wasn't that just another word for white? Yang's grin widened, she'd actually just been referring to the girl's hair, that was hilarious! "And, now that you've mentioned it, I fail to see how one of the most technologically advanced academies on Remnant could fail to have an elevator installed in its dormitories."
"Hey, just think of it this way: By the end of the year we'll have calves to kill for." Yang said with a saucy wink.
The icy girl opened her mouth to shoot back something she likely thought would be cutting, but once more she snapped her teeth closed over whatever comeback she'd prepared and simply offered a tight shrug. Interesting. Yang could admit to not much liking the girl the first time she'd met her, but it looked like she really was trying to go through with the promise she'd made to Ruby amongst those Nevermore feathers. Good on her, maybe Yang could consider giving her a second chance herself.
She still wasn't going to lift a finger to help the girl move her bags, of course, but she could call them square after that.
"M-maybe we should do introductions…?" Ruby asked hesitantly, making Yang click her tongue. Shoot, there went her fun. She'd been curious just how long Weiss could keep at it before she broke down and asked for help. She'd been privately betting that the girl would be demanding their help by the second bag, but Yang had to give the prissy little princess credit: The girl had been rather doggedly determined in her attempt to singlehandedly transfer her mountain of belongings up the four floors of stairs to their new room. Still, it was amusing to ponder just what would break first: Her pride or her body?
Weiss took a moment to glance around the room, clearly fighting to hide the fact that she was still getting her air back before she responded. "Shouldn't we wait for our fourth member for that?"
Ruby seemed to deflate slightly, so Yang took the opportunity to step in. "Eh, don't worry about it." She yawned, "Not much point in waiting. Our fourth wanted to make a stop in the library while we were waiting, but I'm sure she'll be back soon. We can always run introductions again when she gets here."
Weiss didn't look convinced, but Ruby was perking back up again and Yang would take that as a win. "Yeah!" Ruby said, confidence returning as she spoke, "Like Yang said, we shouldn't waste the time we have now to get to know each other better!"
For a moment, Yang thought Weiss might argue. In the end, however, the slim girl's evident exhaustion won out and she took seat on one of the open beds. "So… how should we do this?" She asked after a few moments passed.
"Guess we could just ask questions, get to know each other that way." Yang said with a shrug, "That sound good to you, sis?" Ruby was quick to offer her support to that idea, clearly unsure how to continue and eager to jump on any idea presented.
Weiss furrowed her brow in thought, but gave a little nod before proceeding, "Very well, in that case I do have a question in mind. I've heard you two refer to each other as sisters, but your last name is different. Did the two of you grow up as very close friends or something like that?"
Yang blinked, sitting up fully to fix the other girl with an incredulous look, "What?" She asked, sounding dumbfounded.
"Hm?"
"We're the Xiao-Long sisters, what are you talking about?" Yang clarified, seeing Weiss' blank look.
"What are you talking about?" Weiss snapped back, irritation finally taking hold of her, "Her last name is Rose. The headmaster announced it when he was assigning us our teams, remember?"
Yang recoiled at the shorter girl's words, mind racing. In truth, she hadn't been paying much attention when their team was announced, she had been far too distracted by her relief at getting on the same team as Ruby and her pride in her sister for being assigned team leader. Had the headmaster really called her by another name? "That can't be right!" She said shaking her head and making her long blond hair bounce in agitation, "Rose? Why would—wait..."
Slowly, ever so slowly, she turned to face her sister. Ruby must have come to the same realization as she had, given the way her face was steadily becoming redder and redder. "Ruby…" Yang said, "Tell me you didn't… Not again?"
"I forgot, okay!" Ruby exploded, crimson from her neck all the way up to her ears, "They had me in that cell and I was panicking and I couldn't get ahold of you and I totally forgot how to spell our last name! The headmaster of Beacon was coming; I didn't want them to think I was an idiot!"
"Wait, what was that about a cell?!" Weiss tried to interject, her voice sounding understandably concerned.
"Seriously, Ruby?" Yang screeched indignantly, completely drowning out their teammate's attempts to get their attention, "You can't just lie to the cops about your name, you could get in trouble for that!"
"I'm sorry, I was freaking out!" Ruby shot back, stamping one foot adorably.
"It's not that hard, Ruby!" Yang retorted, "It's 'X-A'—er—'X-I-O', wait…" She paused, eyes crossing slightly, before blustering through it. "It's Xiao-Long, come on!"
"Enough!" Weiss shrieked over top of the feuding sisters, startling them and breaking up the argument for just long enough for her to make her continued presence known, "It doesn't matter that much if she gave the wrong name, they've surely gone through her paperwork and corrected it. It's fine."
"Ruby, check your scroll." Yang ordered, not missing a beat. Her baby sister scrambled to comply, fingers flying across the screen as she entered her access code (One Yang promptly noted for blackmail/monitoring purposes) and pulled up her personal information. Black, yellow, and white hair all crowded together as the three girls squeezed in to see the screen.
Autumn Rose.
Weiss glanced at Ruby with pitying eyes, "You didn't forget how to spell your first name too, right?"
Ruby, for her part, just let out a little burble as her face turned a rather alarming ashen shade. "S-sis?" Yang asked hesitantly. Ruby didn't reply, even though her mouth moved ever so slightly, small lips wrapping around words to soft to be heard. "Ruby, talk to me… what's wrong?"
"I'm a fraud!" Ruby exploded, startling the other two girls backwards with the force of her outburst.
"Ruby, wha—"
"Don't you get it? Don't you see?!" Ruby ranted, her silver eyes wide and swimming with tears, "Didn't you think it was odd I got in a whole two years early, didn't you think it was too good to be true?!"
"You drove off Torchwick!" Yang rushed to comfort her sister, hands flailing as she sought to find something, anything to wipe that expression off her baby sister's face.
"He was already on his way out!" Ruby wailed, "All I did was make him leave earlier and beat up a few aura-less thugs!"
"That was heroic! Nobody else stepped in!"
"Yang!" Ruby cried, making the blonde brawler's teeth click shut, "You don't get it! The headmaster only ever calls me 'Miss Rose'! He thought I was this Autumn person and gave me her invite by mistake!"
Yang's heart froze. It… it couldn't be… and yet when she thought about it there was a grim logic to what her sister was saying. She'd been far too proud of her sister to really think about it before, but it was unheard of for a fifteen-year-old to be admitted into Beacon for a number of reasons; Not the least of which was the legal implications. Ruby wasn't of age yet, how had she been allowed to attend?
"We tell no one." Someone said, their voice carrying a glacial chill that paralyzed the room. It took a few moments for Yang to recognize it as her own. Ruby tried to protest, but Yang overrode her with practiced ease. "Listen to me, Ruby, you've always dreamed of being a huntress. They might never allow you to come back if they think you faked your way in." Yang hated to do it—she knew just how honest her baby sister was—but this was the only way. Her words had the desired impact, leaving Ruby trembling under the weight of what she was suggesting. "We'll keep this to ourselves. Sister's pact."
Slowly, Ruby nodded.
"You two are being ridiculous." Weiss said snippily from next to them, making Yang nearly jump out of her skin. She'd nearly forgotten the prickly girl was still in the room. "There's no way that's true, it's much more likely that this is all some asinine spelling error. Besides, you're still forgetting that her transcripts would give a lot more than just her name."
"I heard there was a fire in the headmaster's office just before Ruby was invited…" Yang found herself whispering, "What if the paperwork…"
"W-well that would be equally ridiculous." Weiss snapped, abruptly sounding notably less sure of herself.
"Weiss is gonna squeal!" Ruby shrieked, pointing an accusing finger at her own partner. The icy girl opened her mouth, likely to refute the accusation, but the red reaper didn't give her a chance to make her case. A crimson streak crashed into Weiss, taking her off her feet with an indignant screech. "I can't go to prison, Weiss, I'm supposed to be the good egg!"
"Get off me you bratty little—"
"Hold her tight, sis, we're not gonna let—wait… Am I supposed to be the bad egg?!"
"Let me go! This is insane!" Weiss shrieked, kicking wildly as the sisters wrestled her into a chair and held her down long enough for Ruby to secure her hands with a bedsheet.
"Shut it, Ice Queen, we're criminals now. All of us." Yang snapped, silencing Weiss with a red-eyed glare, "Like it or not, you've found out our secret. You're one of us now."
"I am no such thing!" The spoiled brat spat back, glacial eyes burning with righteous fury.
"Oh?" Yang asked quietly, her golden locks beginning to glow with fury, "You really think so? What do you think happens if you squeal, huh? You gonna go through Beacon with a team of two?"
Weiss' jaw dropped, a look of horror playing out across her expression, "No…"
"Yes." Yang shot back, "What, you gonna join Vomit Boy's team? That one team of guys that fought the Grimm? You don't have a lot of options here."
"I—I"
"Look at her, Weiss, you know Ruby would never do something like this on purpose! The Headmaster made a mistake; we can't let them sink Ruby's career over it!"
"I…" Weiss hesitated, then looked away, "Very well, you're… you're right. This is no fault of Ruby's and she comported herself adequately against the Nevermore in initiation, so I can hardly argue that she's unqualified to be here. This 'Autumn' can just apply again; Ruby may not be able to if the truth came out..."
"So it's agreed, then?"
Weiss nodded her head, although she still didn't meet their eyes, "Yes. I will keep silent on the matter."
"Good." Yang said, even as her knees went watery from relief. Ruby was safe, her baby sister could still achieve her dream. "We're in this together. A family. We take this secret to the grave. Ruby! Get me something sharp!"
"WHAT?!" Weiss shrieked again, abruptly renewing her thrashing.
"Think of it like initiation, you gotta show your guts. We'll be blood sisters!"
"Get away from me you brute!" Weiss cried shrilly, desperately kicking at Yang as the larger girl approached her.
"Don't be a wuss, your aura will heal you!" Yang admonished her, rolling her eyes at the girl's theatrics, "C'mon Rubes, just hand me a pencil or something, I'm not being picky here." A brief silence met her words, "Ruby?"
She turned to find Ruby staring intently at the door to their dorm room, which was cracked open ever so slightly. "Wasn't that closed?" Ruby asked nervously.
Footsteps echoed throughout the room; Yang only realized they were hers when she tore the door open, red eyes scanning the hallway before she closed it with a relieved exhale. "We're clear." She breathed, "What were you thinking leaving the door open, ice queen? What kind of criminal family do you think we're running here?"
The look on Weiss' face could have curdled milk.
/*/
Amber eyes blinked out from around the corner, hidden ears flattening to her skull as Blake peered at her team's room from the stairwell. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe it! How had they found her!? Had they found her?
She couldn't get wrapped up in whatever 'criminal family' her blonde partner was so set on establishing, and that was assuming the two sisters weren't White Fang plants. The fact that the Schnee was still breathing suggested they weren't, but it wouldn't do to be careless. She was certain the White Fang would never stoop to aiding and abetting common criminals, but that didn't mean enterprising individuals wouldn't think to sell her out to them in return for their favor. Blake Belladona had been an integral part of the White Fang, she'd been Adam's right-hand-woman (among other things), there was no way The Fang hadn't put out a reward for her capture or worse! It was only a matter of time before the criminal sisters recognized her name and sought to take advantage… she had to disappear.
No…
She hadn't counted on having to run again so soon, and those two had probably already moved to cash in on the reward for her capture! She'd known it'd been too convenient that no one seemed to recognize her! She needed time to think of a new plan without The Fang breathing down her neck.
Amber eyes narrowed. She needed to cover her tracks.
/*/
"Pyrrha, I said eyes on the wall!" Jaune snapped shrilly as he desperately shoveled panties into his bulging backpack. Pyrrha let out a soft 'eep' but complied, her red hair whipping through the air as she snapped back around.
"I-is this really necessary…?" She asked hesitantly, carefully keeping her face to the wall as she spoke, not wanting to be caught trying to sneak a peek again.
"I'm doing this for the team, Pyrrha." Jaune responded, voice low and serious as he zipped his backpack closed over the incriminating evidence before casually shouldering it and testing the straps.
"But—"
"I promised I'd help Ren, Pyrrha, and I won't go back on that. An Arc keeps his word."
"It's true." Ren admitted, his voice carrying a note of apology, "We'll tell you about it after we fix things."
"Couldn't I help?" Pyrrha asked, her voice carrying a note of worry, enough to give Jaune pause.
"Sorry, Pyrrha, this is something we've got to handle alone." He said carefully, stepping over to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Pyrrha took his action for the signal it was and turned around to face him, catching him off guard with the concern swimming in her emerald eyes. "But we're a team now," She reminded him, already turning towards the door, "Whatever's going on, I'm sure it's something we can handle together. Just let me get Nora and—"
"No!" Jaune snapped, panic shooting through him as Ren stiffened beside him. He moved without thinking, one hand slamming against the wall by Pyrrha's head to cut off her escape and prevent her from unintentionally destroying their teammate's life. Desperately, he wracked his mind for some kind of excuse; Some way to convince her without betraying Ren's trust.
Wide green eyes blinked up at him from close proximity like a doe caught in the crosshairs, Pyrrha's lips opening in a small 'o' as she stared up at him. There was nothing to it, he'd just have to come clean with what he could. "Pyrrha," He murmured, his voice low and honest, "Please. Ren's trusting me with this. I know I was just made team leader a little bit ago, but Ren came to me with something private and I want to help him. It's… personal for him; I don't want to betray his trust by talking too much about it, but I promise once we finish up, I'll tell you what he's comfortable with."
Jaune wasn't sure Pyrrha got the message. She said nothing for a few moments, just staring up at him with one red lip held between her teeth and eyes oddly unfocused. Was it just him, or did her pupils look more blown out than normal? "Pyrrha?" He asked after the silence had gone on a little too long.
"Yes?!" Pyrrha squeaked, snapping to attention, "I—er—yes. That would be just… that would be grand, Jaune."
"You alright there, partner?" Jaune asked, pitching his voice a little softer, abruptly worried that Pyrrha wasn't feeling well.
"I'm doing… good?" Pyrrha said, sounding oddly breathy, but Jaune couldn't help but notice how she couldn't meet his eyes. Her own seemed locked on his mouth for some reason, nerves probably. "C-can't complain?"
"I don't know, I heard hesitation." Nora said thoughtfully from right beside Jaune's ear.
For the second time in one day, an ear-splitting scream pierced the air of Beacon academy.
/*/
Ruby/Autumn Xio-Long/Rose wasn't a hero, not anymore. Her soul had been forever charred black like a sheet of burned cookies, leaving nothing but bitterness and regret. Yang didn't know it yet but her sweet little sister was gone, consumed by the fires of evil. That didn't mean that Autumn was opposed to helping those in need, but she did it for icky reasons now. Selfish reasons; Evil reasons. So, when she heard a girlish shriek emanating from one of the nearby rooms a floor down from her own, she stopped to consider her options.
See, Autumn didn't do nobody no favors. She was an evil girl that did evil things to goody-two-shoe losers, so it wouldn't be right for her to just go running in and doing no daring do. She wielded her scythe for her and her alone. Oh, and evil. When she felt like it. Autumn was edgy like that, not even evil could count on her!
Still, she had to maintain her position in Beacon, she couldn't let Yang qui—er, she couldn't get to do more evil without proper training. Then again… foiling a crime had been her ticket into this cashcow, so it couldn't hurt to foil a few more! Yes, that was it! She'd foil a few crimes, get herself into the headmaster's good graces and clear her nam—er, use his trust to do evil things. Yeah.
Nodding to herself in a sufficiently wicked manner, Autumn Rose noted that the door in question had been left suspiciously unlatched. Time was of the essence. "What's going on here!" She cried villainously as she shoved her way inside, ready for battle. At least, she thought she was.
Pyrrha Nikos, The Invincible Girl was down. She'd been forced to her knees, hiding her face in her hands from beside her partner who was supporting himself against the wall with one hand over his heart. Jaune looked like he'd seen a ghost, face pale and eyes wide. Across from him were his two new teammates, Ren, and Nora she thought? Not that Autumn bothered to remember anyone's names. She was cruel and evil like that.
"Renny's hiding something from me!" Nora cried, clearly taking Autumn's sudden appearance in stride as she leveled an accusing finger at her partner.
Autumn turned to regard the calm gunman with a shrewd eye, she never would have pegged him as the type to be so devious as to lie to his partner. Perhaps she'd have to get his criminal expertise for the many heists she'd no doubt have to plan. Ren, for his part, didn't look very disturbed by the accusation. If anything, he looked remarkably bored. And gray. Weird, she could have sworn his outfit had way more color than that. "What makes you think I'm hiding something from you, Nora?" He asked flatly, sounding remarkably monotone. How could he be so callously indifferent to his partner's emotions? He was clearly a criminal mastermind.
Nora just rolled her eyes, "Let's just say you kiiiiinda have a tell."
"I don't know what you mean, could you elaborate?" Ren asked, still completely neutral.
"I can't tell you that, silly, then you'd know how I can tell! I bet even Ruby knows, and I don't even know why she's here." Nora paused, blinked, then turned to give Autumn a curious look, "Why are you here?"
Crime. Wait, no! She couldn't say that! Or could she?
"L-leader meeting!" Jaune shouted from across the room, giving her the perfect out as he lunged towards her like a man in desperate need of a lifeline, "We were going to go to a new leader meeting, she promised to pick me up!"
"Oh, alright, have fun then Jaune-Jaune." Nora chirped, already turning back towards Ren with a predatory expression.
"Jaune. Don't leave me." Ren somehow managed to sound pleading without any emotion.
Ruby twitched as Jaune grabbed her hand, dragging her out the dorm room with surprising strength, but not before turning to show Ren a large backpack he was carrying. "Don't worry Ren, I'll take care of things on my end."
This was not in the plans. There was a boy holding her hand for the first time and Ruby wasn't sure how to handle it. Jaune's hand was sweaty and warm around her own, but not uncomfortable. For a moment, she expected to be swept off her feet (she almost was when he took the stairs two at a time), but that moment never came. It was sweaty and awkward and honestly not all that different from having Yang drag her around when they went shopping.
Thank dust for that. Ruby wouldn't have known what to do if holding his hand made her all gross and dumb over the first friend she'd made all on her own.
Oh crumbs, she couldn't ever let Yang know that Jaune had taken her hand-holding virginity! He'd never survive! Sure, he'd seemed all cool and brave and knightly when they'd first met, but it hadn't taken long for her to see that Weiss had been pretty accurate in her description of him (tall, blond, and scraggly. She could think mean poopy things like that, she was Autumn Rose now! Or would Nega-Ruby be better?). Jaune was too pure for this life of crime she'd become entangled in, too kind and soft to survive The Xiao-Long crime family. He was an honorable little noodle, and her first friend, so he could never learn the truth or his upstanding morals would surely force him to reject her.
Tears prickled at the edges of silver eyes, but Autumn furiously blinked them away. She was Autumn Rose, she was evil, she didn't cry over losing a friend. Even if he'd been the first she'd ever made all on her own, even if he seemed to get her and accept her in a way few others had; even if, deep down, she'd thought they'd spend their time at Beacon growing as team-leaders and heroes together…
Ruby gripped his hand just a little tighter, tiny knuckles going white as she clung to the last vestiges of the life she'd dreamed of having; Of the friend she'd thought she'd have. Oh Jaune… if only he knew how lucky he was to be free of the darkness that stalked her every waking moment. If only he knew how fortunate he was to be pure, clean of the sticky ashy remnants of icky evil. He truly was blessed to have the chance to attend Beacon with squeaky-clean transcripts and a clear conscience.
Jaune seemed to sense her inner torment and, in yet another example of how he'd no doubt continue on the path of righteousness that had been so cruelly denied her, slowed to a stop to give her a searching look. "You alright there, Ruby?"
Ruby sighed, such was the nature of dreams: They must always come to an end. Just like her dreams of being able to move so fast that she could phase through walls. There was still a suspiciously Ruby-shaped piece of new siding on the side of her house that spoke to the end of that particular fantasy.
Autumn Rose opened her eyes and gave Jaune a sad little smile. One day, they'd have to say goodbye, the paths they walked were too different for anything else, but she couldn't bring herself to cut herself off from her frie—from such a convenient tool so soon. One day they would surely part as enemies, but today didn't have to be that day. "I'm fine, Jaune, I was just wondering where we were going."
Jaune slapped a hand to his forehead and groaned. Autumn most certainly did not find this funny, the little giggle she let slip out was simply to lure him further into a false sense of security! "I'm so sorry, Ruby, I totally just kidnapped you. Ren asked me to do him a favor and keep something from Nora, and I totally just used you as an excuse to run off to the incinerator to take care of it for him."
Autumn frowned. That didn't seem right, Jaune was too nice a guy for some villain like Ren to take advantage of him. She hoped the boy wasn't trying to lead Jaune down a path of temptation, she wouldn't allow it! She'd lost her chance to play the role of hero, she couldn't let Jaune be lured down the same dark road! P-purely because she didn't want the competition, of course.
"Jaune." Autumn said quietly, not quite able to meet his eyes, "Ren's not what you think he is."
Jaune blinked, "Wait, Ren really is a girl?"
…
"What?"
Jaune's eyes widened comically even as his face went beet red, "You didn't hear that!"
No, ignore that! She had to warn Jaune before Ren could sink his slimy claws into her frie—er—contact! "No! Look, Jaune," She said seriously, fixing him with her most serious stare, "Ren is trying to seduce you."
"Ren's into guys?"
What?! How was he so dense! "Jaune, I'm trying to warn you that—"
"Not that there would be anything wrong with that, I just don't think you should be giving out his secrets if he wanted to keep it private—"
"You're not listening to me!" Ruby shouted, stomping one foot on the ground (and privately wishing she had Yang's semblance to make it hurt more than just her foot), "Jaune, I—"
"My, my, you do work fast, Jack my boy." An amused voice said from right beside them. Autumn's blood ran cold even as Jaune's face drained of all color, she knew that voice. Slowly, she turned to find herself face to face with her greatest nightmare: Headmaster Ozpin, one of the greatest heroes on Remnant and a man who wouldn't hesitate to see her bought to justice for her crimes.
"I-I don't know what you m-mean." Jaune stammered, his voice cracking more times than it didn't.
"Don't you?" Ozpin said with a genial smile, giving Jaune a wink, "I saw your work with miss Nymphos earlier, it was quite the show. Qrow was right, not that I should have doubted him, you 'Blond Bastards' really work a magic not even I understand."
Autumn wouldn't have thought it possible, but Jaune's face got even paler, "Wh-what?!"
"I was just on my way back from the incinerator," Ozpin chuckled, patting a heavy looking case of firedust at his side as he steamrolled over Jaune's stuttering with thoughtless ease, "Had to pick something up for a project of mine, but that doesn't mean I'm entirely blind to the goings on under my nose. There's nothing that happens in this academy I'm not aware of." Ozpin chuckled, "Do keep that in mind, Mr. Bark, Miss Rose."
Ruby froze, her entire world crumbling in the face of Ozpin's knowing smile. He knew.
Jaune said something else, but his voice was lost to the roaring that filled her ears. Ozpin knew; everything she'd thought, everything she'd planned for, it was all over. The world seemed to sway around her and she vaguely felt herself slip to her knees. Her dream, her future, Yang… it was all over…
"Ruby!" Jaune's shout pierced the static that had filled her mind, his incessant shaking bringing her back to herself even as his fearful blue eyes pierced her own.
"He knows." Ruby whispered, her voice soft and fearful.
"Ruby, what are you…?"
"He knows, Jaune."
Her words made Jaune go bone white as he crossed his arms desperately over his front in the universal symbol for 'no', "Nuh uh, no way. He doesn't know shit!"
He was a good friend, better than she could have asked for, but there was little point in hiding the truth now. Autumn Rose was afraid of many things: losing her family, the dentist, raisin cookies, but she was no coward. She would face the end of their relationship head-on. "He knows I'm a fraud, Jaune."
The words that came tumbling out of her mouth brought her friend up short, as she knew they would. Now would come the condemnation, the contempt; the rejection. Silver eyes slid closed as Ruby awaited her fate.
"You're not a fraud, Ruby, what are you talking about?"
Silver eyes shot wide, "I am!" Ruby wailed, shocking Jaune hard enough to knock him on his backside, "My name isn't even Autumn, it's all a lie! I—I'm a criminal, Jaune; A monster. I should have never been admitted into Beacon." The truth was dawning now; she could see it in his eyes. Jaune leaned back, as if to get a better look at her in all of her shame, and it hurt. "Jaune… I'm not really Autumn Rose… I'm just Ruby. Just a little girl who stole the opportunity from someone who really deserved to be here."
Jaune opened his mouth and Ruby cringed, bracing herself for the rejection she could feel coming. "Ruby, you've literally never called yourself Autumn, what are you talking about?"
Ruby's mouth fell open. She had! Well, okay, only for the last ten minutes or so. "I—it's on my Beacon ID!"
Jaune cocked his head, "Wait, so you've been introducing yourself as the wrong name this whole time?"
"No! No, no, no!" Ruby demonstrated her relation to Yang by socking the blond in the arm, making the boy gasp in pain and surprise (wuss) before she fixed him with a furious silver eyed stare. "You're missing the point, Jaune! I'm a fraud, they only let me in because they thought I was someone else. I shouldn't be here! I'm evil! This is the part where you—" She broke off, swallowing before she could continue "where you h-hate me…"
Jaune winced, rubbing his arm (she refused to feel bad about that, she'd been gentle. Ish.) before fixing her with a crooked smile. "Well, that would be pretty counterproductive… I mean… I—" He cut himself off abruptly, one hand going up to rub awkwardly at the back of his head, "I shouldn't be here either."
A thunderous frown played out across Ruby's face and this time when she hit his arm she didn't hold back, making the boy cry out in pain. "Don't say things like that Jaune, yes you do!"
Jaune frowned at her, blue eyes stormy, "No I—"
She hit him again, "Nope."
"Ruby—"
A third time, "Nope!"
"Ow! Ow-ow-wow! Okay, okay!" Jaune squeaked, fiercely rubbing at his arm, "I give, I give! Look. Just hear me out, okay? You've got skills. You deserve to be here, and you can't convince me otherwise because I saw what you did with that Nevermore. Me? I just told Pyrrha and Nora to take care of our grimm, but you killed that thing with your team as equals. You belong here, and not even Ozpin is dumb enough to not see that. You could tell him the truth, and I guarantee he'll let you stay."
Ruby's eyes went wide with panic, "Jaune, you can't—"
"I know." Jaune said with an awkward laugh, reaching up to scratch the back of his head, "I'm not going to tell anyone. We'll get through this together, Crater-Face, we're in the same boat."
"Watch it, Vomit-Boy." Ruby grouched back at him, standing up on her tiptoes to poke him in the chest with a fierce pout. She held the position for a few seconds before they both broke down into giggles. "You mean it, though?" She asked after a moment.
"Well, duh." Jaune said with a dopey smile, "Us team leader's gotta stick together. We're in the same boat, after all."
"Yeah." Ruby said, giving him a look, "Sorry we're on the opposite side of the law now."
"Not so much as you'd think." Jaune chuckled weakly.
"Right." Ruby said, rolling her eyes, "We still heading to the incinerator?"
"Ah." Jaune said with a grimace, "That option's out now. The headmaster took the fuel out for whatever reason, he mentioned it when you were freaking out. I'm not sure what to do now, honestly."
"Oh. Uh, what did you need it for, anyway?"
"Destruction of evidence." Jaune said solemnly.
"Oo~" Ruby trilled, "That sounds pretty evil! Maybe Autumn Rose could help with that!"
"Wait, is that what that was about?" Jaune asked, "The names and stuff? That supposed to be a nickname?"
"Oh, yeah. That's my evil name now." Ruby chirped cheerfully before placing a thoughtful finger on her chin, "Not really sure if it's good enough, though. What do you think?"
Jaune narrowed his eyes and let out a considering hum, scrunching his face up in thought. When that didn't work, he poked his tongue out from between his teeth and paced in a short circle muttering to himself. Ruby looked on solemnly, knowing that it took time for the best thoughts to be born and content to wait. She'd taken almost a full week to agonize over naming her baby, and that had been one of the hardest decisions she'd ever made!
"Hey, why not Bloodrose?" Jaune finally said, smacking a fist into his palm excitedly, "Wasn't your cool gun thing called 'Crescent Rose'? It kinda fits the theme of that. Plus, you know, Ruby? Blood? They're both red; It's kinda like you're hinting at what your real name is the whole time!"
Ruby gaped at the genius that stood before her, but it was Autumn Bloodrose that opened her mouth to squeal excitedly. "That's. Genius!" She shrieked, zipping around Jaune in pure glee and making the blond laugh as he spun around to try and keep up with her. "That's so cool! I love it!"
"It was pretty good, wasn't it?" Jaune sniffed, looking extremely pleased with himself, "We should give all sorts of things cool names like that, attack moves and stuff."
Jaune flinched back when Ruby teleported into his personal space, silver eyes practically shining, "Jaune. Yes." The girl whispered intensely. "Team attacks… code names… We could do all sorts of things!"
"You think so?"
"I know so." Ruby hissed, eyes practically bugging out in excitement as she vibrated on the spot, "We can have team leader meetings and brainstorm them!"
"Huh, yeah!" Jaune said, clearly warming to the idea, "That's a great idea!"
"I know!" Ruby squealed, before stepping back to give him a coy look, "Although this isn't quite how I would have expected you to use your new criminal connection, Jaune."
"Yeah." Jaune chuckled, "Actually, I—" He paused as a sudden thought seemed to strike him before turning to her with shining eyes, "Ruby, you're a genius!"
"I am?"
"I can use my criminal contacts!" Jaune continued excitedly, "Could probably get two birds with one stone like that, actually!"
"Yeah!" Autumn Bloodrose cheered, "You can use me, your criminal contact!" She paused, "Wait, what are we doing?"
"I need to get to Vale." Jaune said, already wheeling around and marching towards the landing bay.
"Yeah! We need to get to Vale!" Autumn cheered again, dashing after him.
Jaune smiled at her, "You didn't have any plans, right?"
"Psh, naw." Autumn waved his concerns off, "I was just running to get a band-aid for Weiss."
Jaune slowed for a moment, looking somewhat concerned, "Wait, what? What for?"
"Because her Aura's lame." Autumn snorted flippantly.
"Did…" Jaune swallowed nervously, "Did you ever do that…?
Ruby stopped dead in her tracks. She pictured Weiss' reaction to being kept waiting, and then she pictured Yang's reaction to being forced to listen to the heiress complain for ten minutes. It wasn't a pleasant image. "Oh crumbs…" She whispered.
"You think when you're thinking up an excuse for that… you could not mention that I—uh—borrowed you?" Jaune pleaded.
"Er, yeah, of course." Ruby said, her silver eyes shifting side to side desperately.
"Let me see your hands."
Ruby hurriedly uncrossed her fingers and presented her perfectly innocuous hands to her friend, "I promise I won't squeal on you." She said, throwing in a little puppy-dog eyes for good effect.
Jaune gave her a stern look but after a moment it transformed into a hesitant smile. "Alright, I'll see you later then?"
"Pff, duh." Ruby snorted, slugging him (gently this time) in the shoulder, "We gotta have those leader meetings. Get going, Jaune, I'll handle my team." Jaune laughed at that, but headed out towards the bullheads with a smile and a wave.
Good. Autumn Bloodrose carefully uncrossed her toes, letting out a relieved sigh as she settled back down on her feet again, she hadn't been sure how much longer she could have kept that up! Autumn chuckled darkly to herself, that silly Jaune, trying to convince her that they were so similar. She should have known her friend would never give up on her, of course he'd try to redeem her tortured soul. They walked a difficult path now, however. She was split between the shadow that was Bloodrose and the light that Jaune would certainly stop at nothing to drag her back into. Still, he'd have to step up his game! He was too naïve, too innocent, he should have never believed her so easily. It served him right, really, that he'd fallen so quickly for her devious trap. He was the light, and she was the darkness, and toe-crossing totally counted and stuff no matter what Yang said!
Satisfied, Autumn Bloodrose stalked towards the nurse to fetch band-aid; it was but the first step on her path to conquering Beacon once and for all!
Pleased with her plan, she failed to notice a shadow detach itself from a nearby corner and slink after her departing friend.
/*/
Jaune Arc sped through the corridors of Beacon academy with a head full of plans and a backpack full of women's clothing. It wasn't exactly what he'd envisioned when he'd applied for Beacon, but considering he'd somehow managed to get in despite having no aura he wasn't really willing to push his luck by complaining.
You'd think he'd have at least heard of aura considering his dad was a huntsman.
"Hey Jaune, check this out!" Papa Arc said, brandishing a knife before himself before violently slamming it into his own gut.
"Daddy, NO!" Little Jaune screamed, his tiny hand outstretched in a futile attempt to save his father from certain death. Unlike the large kitchen knife, the gesture was pointless. Little Jaune lacked the strength or height to save his father and his tiny blue eyes welled up with impotent tears as he watched the blade pierce his hero's flesh.
There was a brittle snapping sound as the knife's point glanced off his father's rock hard abs and snapped at the handle. Jaune could only stare, tears still tracking down his baby-soft cheeks.
Papa Arc grinned and offered his son a wink. "Abs of steel, son. Abs of steel."
Wow. Little Jaune thought, my dad is so cool.
"Wow." Current Jaune said, "My dad is such a dick."
Shaking his head, Jaune took the time to fish out his scroll and shoot off a quick message to Ren explaining that he was going to make a quick run to Vale to deal with their problem. It was unfortunate that he'd have to lug the backpack full of incriminating evidence that far, but he figured if worse came to worse he could just dump it in some clothing store's trash bin or something. In the meantime, he took a careful peek around before surreptitiously sending a message to AClockworkOrange. If anyone knew how to get their hands on true-blue Beacon issue, it would be his best (and only) criminal contact. He figured it'd cost him some extra, but he still had some savings to fall back on, and if he was lucky maybe he could just sell off the extra uniforms Ren had provided.
He didn't really want to think about what might become of the uniforms, but he also didn't like to think about the noises he'd heard from Ms. Higgins bedroom all those times he'd come over in the early mornings to mow her lawn and he'd made a pretty penny for that.
Maybe things were finally looking up for him?
A blade pressed a cold line into his throat, a hand wrapping in his long hair to pull his head back for better access as a feminine voice hissed in his ear: "Tell me everything you know about the Xaio-Long Family, criminal scum, and I may be merciful!"
Foot, meet mouth. "Uh."
"Don't play dumb with me, Jaune." His captor snarled, her voice dripping with condescension, "I know all about your little farce. You're in bed with the Xaio-Longs, covering up their misdeeds… You think I missed all your little allusions to criminal contacts? You think I'm a fool?!"
"Bluh." Jaune said eloquently as the blade dug into his windpipe, thankfully stopped from piercing his flesh by aura but more than adequate for choking him out.
"Why are you here?!" The voice spat, the hand in his hair tightening rather painfully, "Are you a mole?! A plant?! Are you here to spy on me?!" His captor shook him roughly, making him squeak in pain and terror as the blade grated against his aura, "Answer me!"
"I'm not anything!" Jaune choked, "I don't even know who you are!"
"You're. Lying!" The voice whispered fiercely, "I heard you talking to—to Autumn or whatever her real name is! Destruction of evidence, right?" Jaune went deathly still as his captor shifted against him, her breath fanning against his neck as she reached for his bag. A bead of sweat fell from his forehead to the floor as he heard his backpack unzip.
There was a beat of shocked silence.
"It's not what you think…?" Jaune tried valiantly, cringing so hard he could feel himself withering away.
"What is this…?" His captor whispered, "Blackmail? Extortion?! Were you going to do this to me?! Parade me around like some whipped animal as you—"
"NO!" Jaune screeched, momentarily forgetting about the blade at his throat in his mortification, "What is wrong with you!?"
"With me?!" The voice demanded shrilly, "What's wrong with you?! You're some criminal that's running around Beacon stealing women's clothing!"
"I didn't steal them!" Jaune shrieked, "They—they're mine, okay!?"
Jaune felt his captor's shocked exhale against the back of his neck, and the pressure on the blade against his throat lessoned somewhat before the girl forced it back with a snarl, "Liar!" She hissed.
"It's true!" Jaune squeaked, internally panicking as he tried to spin something out of his rear that could convince the psychopath holding him hostage, "I'm serious, I just got this suitcase with my name on it full of women's clothing! Would you go telling everyone about that?! I figured I'd get rid of it before anyone saw and started thinking I was some kind of freak; I mean, just look at how you reacted!"
He was getting through to her, he could tell, but then she tightened her grip. "Why not just tell the staff?" She snarled in his ear, "You're not fooling me that easily, you could have—"
"Are you NUTS?!" Jaune shouted, actually shouted, "Have you met the headmaster?! He's crazy! He keeps calling me a harem protagonist; I'm pretty sure he did this on purpose!"
"That's the worst lie you've told yet!" The girl growled, "You?! Don't make me laugh!"
Okay, that hurt, not gonna lie. He knew he wasn't exactly the peak of suaveness but come on! He was a pretty cool guy, right?!
"You've done nothing but talk circles around me and I'm not falling for it!" The girl continued, "Now listen up, pervert, I'm not some doe-eyed idiot for you to waltz over and seduce! You think I'd buy that the headmaster of a school would stuff your bag full of girl's underwear to try and—"
"Two in less than an hour? My goodness, you're on a roll, Mr. Shark." Headmaster Ozpin crowed from right behind them, "Just remember my boy, keep it PG. You can see, but never touch!"
Jaune literally felt every muscle in his captor's body tense against him, "Th—this isn't what it looks like!" She said shrilly.
"Oho, that won't work on me, young lady." Ozpin chuckled good-naturedly, "Why, Raven used to flirt the exact same way! It's a tried-and-true method for capturing a man, I assure you."
"I—I was threatening him!" The girl shrieked.
"That's exactly what she said!" Ozpin laughed.
"Can I go now?!" Jaune added.
"NO!" His captor hissed, even as Ozpin tutted and muttered something about him not understanding a woman's feelings, "You still haven't told me what I want to know!"
"He's definitely the traditional sort of romantic." Ozpin offered, "The type that holds the door and what-not. I'm sure he'd appreciate it if you dropped hints but waited for him to be the one to ask you out. I'd suggest an old-fashioned type of date with him, dinner and a movie or some such; dinner last, of course, give him some time to warm up to you and get over his nerves."
"I—wha—no, he's a criminal, headmaster!" The girl snapped.
Jaune's heart froze, intentional or not, his captor had hit the nail right on the head at the worst possible time. Hopelessly, he tried to turn to see the headmaster's reaction, but the blade at his throat remained firm. That didn't stop him from hearing the headmaster's sigh. "I know." The old man said gently.
"I—what…?" His captor seemed stunned, but Jaune barely noticed over the pounding of his heart in his ears.
"But sadly, there is no law against stealing your heart."
Jaune slumped in the girl's arms, relief and despair mixing inside him to create the most bizarre medley of emotions the young man had ever experienced. He must not have been the only one experiencing some sort of emotional trauma, because the girl simply let him go limp on her as her mouth let out several incomprehensible noises.
Ozpin didn't seem fazed by their reactions in the least, if anything he appeared to be rather pleased with himself as he walked by the two of them with an airy chuckle. "Now, if you two lovebirds will excuse me, I've still got to collect my lighter. I misfiled it earlier, you see." He said with a casual wave, before pausing and giving them an uncharacteristically serious look over his shoulder, "Oh, and Mr. Arc? Do make sure you don't break her heart. Bad things tend to happen to those who hurt girls that use the Raven patented brand of flirting... Ta-ta now!"
Jaune blinked as the headmaster stepped out of sight, swallowing nervously, then let out a short shriek as his captor abruptly dropped him to the ground with a loud 'thud'. Not entirely sure what to do, he licked his lips and debated asking if he could leave again when the girl let out a long groan followed by the sound of someone smacking their head against the wall. Slightly concerned despite himself, he made to turn around, "Um, are you—"
The tip of a blade tickled his cheek, "Don't even think about it." The girl said tightly. Jaune nodded carefully from his position on the ground, slowly raising his hands in the air to make it clear he wasn't a threat. After a tense moment, the girl slowly withdrew her blade with a long sigh, "Can… can we just pretend this never happened?" She said, exhaustion coloring her tone.
Not likely. "Yeah, of course." Jaune lied through his teeth, "Consider it done."
His aggressor groaned again, "Look, it's been a bad day for me, okay? Let's just assume I can buy your little story that the headmaster is grooming you or something and move on. You know anything about the Xiao-Long crime family?"
"Uh, no?" Jaune said honestly.
"Figures." The girl hissed, clearly displeased with his answer, "All I could find was some bunk article from a couple years ago about how some Huntsman got accused of murdering both of his wives after one disappeared and the other went missing a few years later. Someone on the council apparently stepped in and got his term knocked down to house-arrest, but I'm not sure I'm buying it."
"What—uh—does this have to do with me…?" Jaune asked slowly.
The girl paused, "I don't know." She said, "Maybe I just need someone who knows; Someone who understands. Maybe I just want to make sure somebody knows I came here to be a huntress, to make things right. Not get wrapped up fighting gangs, psychos, and perverts."
"I'm not a pervert!" Jaune whined, "Seriously! I'm not!"
"Better a pervert than a monster, Jaune." The girl said wistfully, "Look, it's best if you pretend you never saw me."
"I never did see you." Jaune protested.
"Yes, exactly like that." Came the girl's whispered reply, her voice ghosting back to him even as he felt the blade withdraw.
"No, I'm serious," Jaune said, turning around, "I really never did—annnd she's gone." Letting out a groan of his own, the boy slumped down to the floor and ran an exhausted hand down his face. "Man… Getting held hostage by random psychos better not be a common thing around here…" He paused when his scroll chimed, letting him know that Ren had responded to his messages. "Huh," He muttered distractedly, even as he pulled himself to his feet and finally made his way to the bullheads, "Who would have thought Ren was the type to primarily use emoji's?"
/*/
"Jaune-Jaune's gonna meet with the mob!" Nora squealed excitedly, blatantly poring over every text her partner had received in the last few days. In her defense, there weren't many and they were all from her, but that did little to stop her from adding heart reactions to as many of her own texts as she could get her fingers on.
A girl had to do what a girl had to do.
"WHAT?!" Pyrrha screeched from beside her, snatching the scroll from Nora's hands and casually fending off her attempts to retrieve it while she pored over the message their fearless leader had sent.
"It's truuuuue." Nora whined, making a swipe for the scroll that Pyrrha parried without even looking, the cheater. "Just look, he blahs on and on about how he'll put his life on the line defending Renny's honor and how he'll use his criminal connections and good noodle powers to fix the problem!"
"Nora, this only says 'Got a solution, heading down to Vale to take care of both problems.'" Pyrrha said, deflating slightly and finally allowing Nora to reclaim her prize.
"Yeah, you gotta read between the lines." Nora chirped, thunking a hand to her head and making a 'doy' sound.
"That's—" Pyrrha started, then cut off with a tired sigh, "Nora, I'm sure that's not the case."
"You think so?" Nora said distractedly, sending herself her favorite emojis and installing a few more onto Ren's scroll for later.
"Of course." Pyrrha said confidently.
"Oh, okay then." Nora said with a nod, eyes still on the screen as she changed the autocorrect to change 'Nora' to 'Pancake Qween'. "I mean, I just figured since he was going to Junior's he'd be using the guy's gangster powers."
Pyrrha froze.
"I mean, the guy is totally a mob boss, everyone who's anybody knows Junior. He does information dealing and stuff. Renny and I heard about him once; could have gotten our hunter weapons waaaaay earlier than we did, but Renny said no."
Slowly, mechanically, Pyrrha reached out to take the scroll back. Nora whined through her teeth as the little device was taken from her once more but did little to stop the redhead as she slowly navigated back to Jaune's text. The leader of team JNPR had indeed sent his destination in case Ren wanted to meet him, but it did little to help Pyrrha as she wasn't as familiar with Vale. Awkwardly, she turned to her side, wringing her hands as she locked eyes with their captive.
Lie Ren looked remarkably calm for a man who'd been tied to a chair with frankly impressive number of knots. Nora had been liberal in her choice of makeshift rope, making use of every sheet, comforter, and article of loose clothing she could get her hands on, and Pyrrha hadn't exactly been in the proper state of mind to stop her until it was too late. That didn't really excuse her from doing absolutely nothing to help him when Nora began her 'interrogation', but she'd been forced to stare at a wall for five minutes and had been rather curious. Besides, he hadn't broken.
"Is she telling the truth?" Pyrrha asked him bluntly, showing the man the message.
Ren sighed, eyes drifting closed, "It is."
The scroll clunked to the ground as Pyrrha's hands came up to cup her mouth in horror. Fortunately, her body stepped in to take over when her mind froze in terror. Wasting little time, she spun on one heel to march towards the door, crimson hair flicking through the air like a bloody slash as she made ready for war. "We have to save him." She said.
"Pyrrha, wait." Ren said, attempting to sound reasonable, "He's our teamleader, I don't know what he might be thinking going to see Junior, but I think we should have a little faith. He probably thought that Junior's was a good place to meet up and head to the mall or something."
Pyrrha turned back, hand already on the doorknob, "Either way, that's not a part of town he should be running around alone."
Ren blinked, the first real emotion she'd seen from him since the 'interrogation' had started, "Don't you think that's a little harsh? He's a student of Beacon and our teamleader. I think we should trust his judgement."
"Ren." Pyrrha said, her voice sounding strained, "He took initiation without Aura."
There was a beat of silence, then Ren flexed his arms and tore through the sheets like tissue paper. "Come on." He said gruffly, covering the ground between the chair and the door in a flash, "We've got to save him." Pyrrha flashed him a small smile, and the two took off down the hallway.
"Well." Yang said from the doorway, having had to practically throw herself backwards to avoid getting run down by the Invincible Girl, "That was unexpec—woah, are you okay?!"
"M'fine." Nora sighed dreamily, down on one knee and clutching at a bloody nose, "Toootally fine. Well, someone is anyway… Rawr."
"Right…" Yang said, giving the odd girl a look. Nora ignored it, staring off into the distance with a hungry expression. "Ahem." Yang coughed awkwardly, then again when it failed to attract the other girl's attention."
"Hmm?" Nora finally said after the third such attempt.
"I'm looking for Jaune." Yang said casually, "He ran off with Ruby earlier? Just need to know where they got to."
"Oh." Nora said, nodding, "He said it was a team leader meeting, but then he ran off to get kidnapped by the mob."
Yang froze, "Wha—?"
"Oh yeah, they were totally going to come and kidnap Ren for being too manly, so Jaune-Jaune went to fight them off for Renny's honor. Pyrrha and Ren are worried though, so we're gonna go save him from Junior."
Yang's face went white, "Junior…?" She whispered, "He went… to Junior?"
"Yeah, that's what I said." Nora confirmed, nodding sagely, "Junior probably wanted Ren to be his new sexy bouncer. He'd draw in all the customers and totally beat up the nasty ones with his ninja moves. Jaune had to go bargain with him to save Ren."
"Bargain…" Yang repeated dully, "He'll… he'll sell out… Ruby!"
Nora blinked, "Ruby?"
"That rat bastard!" Yang screeched, eyes burning crimson as she lunged through the door, her hair blazing, "I'll kill him!"
"Yeah!" Nora cheered into the empty room, "Let's kill Junior!" Picking herself up from the floor, she jogged out of the dorm and ran boob-first into Yang's little sister.
"Glmpfufmf?!" Ruby squeaked, putting both hands-on Nora's breasts in a way that would have gotten any man but one smeared across the floor like delicious road-jelly in order to push herself out. "Nora! Please tell me you haven't seen Yang!"
"I haven't seen Yang." Nora chirped happily, playing along, "But if you're looking for her she was just here!"
Ruby's face paled, "You didn't tell him where Jaune was, did you?!"
Nora tilted her head to the side, thinking, "Yup!" She said, popping the 'p' in that way she found so entertaining.
"Oh, dust!" Ruby cried as she turned to a battered and irritated looking Weiss, who was clutching a finger covered in a band-aid to her chest like she was terrified it would fall off, "Weiss, she's gonna kill him!"
"Ruby, why do we have to—" The rest of whatever Weiss was going to say was cut off in a shriek as Ruby grabbed her by the hand and hauled her down the hallway with the help of her semblance.
Nora blinked, not at all used to being the one left behind in a conversation but shrugged it off as a learning experience. Humming happily to herself, she started skipping down the hall towards the bullhead docks, idly wondering if there would be any left by the time she got there. It sure seemed like a lot of people wanted to head to Vale today. Oh well, she wasn't going to miss this for the world. Besides, even if she was a little peeved that Jaune-Jaune and Ren were keeping stinky secrets from her, she wouldn't dream of leaving her team leader in the lurch. Ren needed more guy friends anyway, and besides, anyone who'd stick their neck out for Ren on the first day of meeting him was a good guy in her book.
On a side note, any girl who stuck their neck out for Ren in similar circumstances had better be ready to get in line.
Either way, Beacon was shaping up to be much more entertaining than she'd thought.
/*/
"Please!" Jaune begged, giving the suited man a pleading look, "I just need to meet with AClockworkOrange! I've been here before and met with him!"
"Sorry kid." The man said, not sounding sorry at all, "Look, I'm sure you and the guy got along, but if he's not messaging you back maybe it's for a reason."
"I'm sure he just hasn't seen them!" Jaune said desperately, "But there's not a ton of time, and I know he hangs out here!"
"Doors are closed until 9, kid." The man said firmly, waving Jaune away, "Don't matter if you need to meet up with your man or not, you wait just like everybody else."
Jaune groaned but nodded reluctantly, slouching his shoulders as he made his way over to the main road. Well, that idea was a bust for now, all the more of a shame since the backpack on his shoulder—or more accurately, the articles inside—felt like they were burning a hole into his back. "Great…" He muttered to himself, running a nervous hand through his hair, "Now what, Jaune? You just had to go and talk up a big game to Ren earlier, didn't you? I can't just go back to him and tell him I failed… I wish I knew that Clockwork Orange guy's real name…"
Pressing himself against the street corner and out of the way of pedestrians, Jaune let out a frustrated sigh. He supposed he could just wait until opening, but he really didn't know if his quarry would even be there. If only he'd had a chance to talk to the big guy inside who ran the bar, a nice dude like that would have surely helped him find what he was looking for. He'd seemed a little intimidating the first time Jaune had met him, but Jaune had the feeling he was a nice guy under all that gruffness. Just like his dad. Probably. Either way, he needed a plan, needed a way to ditch the clothes in his pack and maybe get uniforms for his teammate and himself; Needed to deal with the person currently pulling on his sleeve.
"Sorry," Jaune said automatically as he looked up, blinked then looked down, "Am I in your way?"
The little girl pulling on his sleeve blinked up at him, her differently colored eyes big and curious. Her pink, white, and brown hair spilled down her shoulder attractively as she tilted her head to give him a considering look.
"Uh," Jaune said hesitantly, "Can I help you?"
The girl smiled at him enigmatically but reached out to tap his scroll meaningfully before hooking a thumb back towards The Club.
"Uh." Jaune said, confused. The girl just rolled her eyes and repeated the gestures.
"Oh…" Jaune said, the meaning dawning on him, "Are you saying you can help me?"
The girl shrugged even as she gave him a cattish smile, one that had the blood rushing to his face even as his heart began to pound with newfound hope. "Do you know the guy I'm looking for?"
The girl put a finger under her chin, like she had to think it over, before smiling at him and nodding slowly.
"Great, awesome even!" Jaune said, almost not able to believe his luck, "Could you take me to him?"
The girl blinked at him, and the colors in her eyes seemed to flip-flop every time she did. A trick of the light maybe. Either way, Jaune held his breath as she thought it over. Eventually, she shrugged.
Jaune deflated, "You don't know?" He said, desperation creeping into his voice, "C'mon, please! I'll do anything!"
The girl's eyes snapped to his, and Jaune had the distinct impression he'd made a mistake. 'Anything?' The girl's eyes seemed to say, and as if to reinforce the point she made a show of licking her lips seductively.
Jaune's back slammed into the wall behind him as he shot backwards, hands up and face flaming, "N-not anything crazy!" He squeaked, voice cracking, "I just—I—Uh, I…" He trailed off when he saw that his abuser had doubled over with silent laughter. "V-very funny." He sulked, face still beet red as the girl wiped a mirthful tear from one eye. "In all seriousness, I would owe you big time. Please."
The girl finally straightened up, still letting out a few silent chuckles as she seemed to think over the situation. Finally, she shrugged and pointed off down the street. Blinking at her sudden change in demeanor, Jaune leaned over to get a look at what she was pointing at and found himself staring down a nearby ice-cream cart. "Oh, just ice-cream?" He said, getting it after a moment, "You sure? Yeah, I'll buy you all the ice-cream you wan—urk!" He cut off with a muffled choke when a surprisingly strong hand grabbed his collar and dragged him down to the girl's level. The girl suddenly looked positively predatory; eyes wide as she stared him down with a smile full of teeth. She made an 'again' gesture. "Uh, about you being sure?" Jaune said nervously. Multicolored hair slapped him across the face several times at the girl violently shook her head. "Er, 'all the ice-cream you want'?"
Neo's eyes were positively feral as they glowed with anticipation. The funny blond boy didn't know it yet, but he'd just made the greatest mistake of his life. As she yanked the dumb kid along behind her, neither of them noticed his scroll get knocked loose and fall to the pavement.