The walk of shame to the headmaster's office under two hundred pairs of eyes had been a time of grim reflection for Yang.
At this point she could confirm the start of a losing streak and the inability to stop it made her piss boil in rage.
She took a deep breath.
Anger had brought her here. Anger couldn't get her out. In fact, Professor Goodwitch believed the scolding should be separate to prevent further aggression. She had to wait her turn outside the office, sitting on a single chair like a misbehaving child. There hadn't been a moment of hesitation from the teacher to drag Jaune first into the headmaster's office. Yang had barely gotten acknowledged from the woman, getting a casual remark to take a seat and wait her turn.
Second fiddle in her own reprimand!
Impatience did it's part to make minutes feel like hours on the uncomfortable hardwood, until curiosity got to her and she stood up to listen at the door. If nothing else, there could be valuable Intel about him and a chance to better prepare for her turn.
"...wasting your chance after your family begged the headmaster to let you in, Mr. Arc. A young man with your background and lack of education should be thankful for the opportunity."
Goodwitch was in the middle of a heated tirade and Yang had tuned in at the juiciest part, the infusion of guilt. She had heard enough of those at her time in Signal to recognize the patterns. Next would come the prompt to show remorse for his actions.
"So what do you have to say for yourself?"
A long silence ensued after the question of the blonde teacher. The blonde outside pressed her ear closer to the door to hear something spoken more silent, maybe a mumbled apology or denial of guilt. The effort turned out to be unnecessary when Jaune spoke in an easily understandable tone.
"That's a crock of shit and you know it, ma'am."
An audible gasp from Goodwitch rang through the room and Yang shared the reaction with her eyes going wide. Defiance against authority was seldom wise but always entertaining. She opened the door silently to watch through a small crack.
Jaune stood before Ozpin, the headmaster seated behind a large desk with Goodwitch at his side with a menacing scowl. The guy was still shirtless with the tattoo in full display and Yang was thankful for the opportunity to take a better look at the massive body art. Even though she hated admitting it, the inked Beowulf looked badass on his skin. The toned muscles underneath accentuated the grimm, giving the beast a three-dimensional look.
"Don't pretend to do me a favor. I wouldn't be here if it didn't benefit your interest."
"That's a bleak worldview Mr. Arc," Ozpin said in a calm voice.
The addressed teenager was similarly calm. "It matches reality, sir. I know people like you. Their reasons are never as noble as they want them to appear."
Chills ran up Yang's spine. This didn't sound like the talk between teacher and student. A tense and controlled atmosphere surrounded the three, as if both parties felt the need to stay cautious. Most of all Goodwitch, who couldn't hide the subtle hand twitches towards the wand in her belt, whenever Jaune changed his stance in a slight manner. "Then why accept? Nobody forced you to enroll here!"
Yang swallowed, her ears perked to the max.
"I was bored and had nothing better to do with my life."
Unsurprisingly, the answer outraged Goodwitch, until Ozpin raised a hand to calm his colleague. "I don't think Beacon is the right place for the Grimmhound, but maybe Jaune Arc can find something worthwhile here."
"I hope so," Jaune replied with no excitement or confidence in his voice.
"Be as it may," Goodwitch said with enough disdain to make up for Jaune's reserved nature. "We can't tolerate students acting out and causing trouble."
The staff of Beacon liked to state the obvious. What institution could tolerate troublemakers? That's why his enrollment at Beacon was so ridiculous to Yang. And why would somebody with an obvious shady past walk right into this kind of environment?
"I don't plan to make trouble, unless others can't take a hint and force the issue."
The way Jaune acted around authority gave Yang mental whiplash. Why was this guy so suicidal with his replies? At some point you took the blame and feigned remorse, even when you didn't believe yourself at fault. It worked wonders on her dad. Not Ruby though, the little gremlin always could spot a fake apology.
"I think that won't be a problem for your opponent tonight," The headmaster established eye contact with the peeping girl through the crack. "Isn't that right, Ms. Xiao Long?"
Caught in the act and put on the spotlight, Yang stepped into the room with a sheepish expression. "I'm sorry for eavesdropping."
Ozpin seemed amused by her antics. "It saves us time and the necessity for repeating parts that involve both of you."
The ever present scowl on Glynda deepened even further. "We are aware of your circumstances as well, Ms. Xiao Long. You have the potential and tools to become an exceptional huntress, given that you learn to control yourself."
It was the same song and dance every time. They claimed she wasted her gifts on petty squabbling. She should learn to use her power responsibly and apply herself in a positive way. Easy enough for them to say when their performance wasn't dependent on going berserk. There wasn't a dimmer switch on her semblance and said powers were fueled by strong emotions.
"Try to keep both of your tempers in check from now on." Glynda said, focusing only on Jaune, before Ozpin coughed loudly and made the tense woman blush.
The lack of attention from her didn't bother Yang this time. It was useless advice as always. If she could control herself, she would already do it. Nothing more embarrassing than only being known for your epic temper tantrums, a reputation she fought against without success at her time in Signal.
Quite the opposite, it was getting worse.
Jaune left the office without another word. Yang watched him close the door and turned back to the two adults, busy talking to each other about mundane organisational stuff. Her mind took a while to process that their scolding had already ended.
"Wait a second, that's it? No informing of our parents? No black mark in our school file? Not even detention or extra schoolwork?"
Ozpin began rifling through some documents, the matter already banished from his mind. "We can't punish you as students until you pass the initiation. Consider this a stern warning for more severe consequences on later transgressions."
From the look on her face, Professor Goodwitch really wished she could discipline them and Yang took off before the woman could change her mind. Getting outside, she saw him turn the corner at the end of the corridor and sprinted after him. That speed made her catch up to him a few moments later, realizing they had gone deeper into the facility and nowhere near their destination.
"Where are you going? The ballroom is that way!"
He looked at her as if she was crazy. "You don't honestly want to go back there? I'm not spending the night in a room full of nosy and gossipy teenagers."
Yang imagined the scene and cringed. Getting scrutinized by a whole semester of students sounded like a terrible way to end a catastrophic day. Her feet moved to follow him through the dark corridors of the empty school, pale light through the windows as only source of orientation.
"Aren't you cold without a shirt?"
"Aura keeps me warm."
"I see…"
There was no denying how awkward the mood had become. Well, to her at least. How do you talk with somebody whose face you wanted to forcibly remodel via fists?
"That's a flashy tattoo," Yang said without a shred of sarcasm. The thought of getting something inked had been on her mind from time to time. "I would have gotten one ages ago, but there's too many options."
The struggle came in picking something meaningful. A dragon or tiger could be cool, but also really cliche and pedestrian since so many had them. Edgier stuff like skulls and bones wasn't her type. The names of her family members would be meaningful, just not flashy enough for her taste. And then the question of placement and size came into play, making the decision process ten times harder.
"What do you think suits me?"
Jaune stopped and reached for a smoke, then frowned at the lack of cigarettes in his back pocket. "I think you don't have to play nice with me. We stay away from each other and everything will be fine, deal?"
He turned towards Yang to get her approval for this idea, only to find a scroll shoved into his face.
"This woman… do you know her?"
It was a shot in the dark from Yang, born from desperation and lack of options. If he wanted her gone anyway, she might as well ask him before they parted ways. Junior had been the most connected criminal in town available, but Jaune seemed well-known and infamous in those unsavory circles as well.
His eyes widened and any chance to get rid of Yang Xiao Long became null as she noticed the reaction. Jaune recognized the blackhaired swordswoman in that picture. On second thought, the likeness between the woman and Yang explained the eagerness from the latter to get answers.
"Damnit…"
Big lilac eyes drilled into his soul, the seconds in the empty hallway ticking away. Jaune watched her bending down until she was on her knees. Every fiber in Jaune's body bristled with discomfort at the sight and he grabbed the girl roughly at the arm to pull her back up.
"What were you about to do?"
"Given our history, I figured you want me to beg on my hands and knees for information about my egg donor."
The fact she was willing to throw her pride away for the chance of some information about this person in particular didn't sit well with Jaune. "Her name's Raven. She's a bandit and very capable with the sword. I met her once two years ago and haven't heard of her being in Vale since then."
It wasn't much and most of the information Yang had known already, but the tidbit of Raven not being in Vale saved a lot of time.
"What kind of person is she?" Yang asked with the desperate tone of somebody grasping at straws.
As delicate the situation should be to tell a daughter about her mother, the method couldn't be any simpler for Jaune. When in doubt about somebody, he always went back to three simple checks to get the basic gist of the person.
How they fight.
Who they fight.
For what they fight.
Raven failed at two out of three.
"The raging bitch kind that steals from defenseless people and calls it survival of the strong." Jaune went down the hallway and further into the academy. "There's really not much else to say about her. She wasn't a person I wanted to know better"
A not too subtle hint for her not to bother with the bandit leader. Jaune already saw how pointless the attempt was from the determined look on Yang's face. Ultimately, what she did wasn't his problem anyway, so he dropped the subject and concentrated on his search for a resting place.
He didn't comment on her following him anymore.
They found the school infirmary, unlocked and unoccupied. One of the sickbeds called Yang's name and only her iron will stopped the blonde from crashing into the mattress. "I'm still all muddy from the fall." Yang lamented and ran a hand through the filthy mess that was her hair.
Jaune had already claimed his bed and rested on his side, the bare back pointing towards her. "There's shower in the next room."
"How do you know?"
"The door is open and I can see it."
A simple explanation. Everything about Jaune Arc was simple and straightforward, something Yang could appreciate when it wasn't used to infuriate her.
The door to the bathroom closed behind her after giving him a meaningful look. "Don't get any funny ideas while I'm in there."
Peeping on her in the shower was the last thing on Jaune's mind. His thoughts centered around how much his plan to stay unnoticed had failed. People would talk about tonight and spread the news across the whole school, bringing unwanted attention towards him. That happening was inevitable for somebody with his background, although he didn't anticipate it happening so early.
The water shower stopped a half-an-hour later and Yang entered the room in a cloud of steam with her blonde hair put up and wrapped in a towel around the head. She almost nosedived into the neighboring bed and rubbed her face against the soft pillow in bliss. Minutes of heavenly silence went by with the two of them resting five feet from each other. He was almost asleep, scratching at the gates to his welcoming dreamland.
"Do you think I'm an asshole?"
The random question startled Jaune awake and confused him. Why would she care about his opinion? He couldn't be considered friendly or even unbiased towards Yang. "I think you're used to getting what you want, either through good looks or forcing the issue with brute strength."
A bland and neutral answer. There was only one juicy morsel she could latch on and to draw him out. "You think I look good, loverboy?"
He gave her the flattest expression imaginable. "I have eyes, don't I?"
The urge to cover up under her blanket intensified under his gaze. Her shorts and tank top were damp and clung to Yang like a second skin, leaving not much of her curves to imagination. The young woman wasn't blind to her allure. As an early bloomer, the world confronted her just as early with how people could react to a decent pair of boobs.
"You dodged the question. Do you think I'm an asshole?"
"In comparison to whom?" Jaune said with a furrowed brow. "Yang, I met a lot of assholes and you're not even in the same ballpark. Beginner level douchebag at most."
"Gee, that's oddly comforting, thanks Jaune."
"You're welcome."
"I still want to kick your ass at the next possible opportunity."
The lack of venom in her voice made Jaune look at the girl. Yang's smouldering anger towards him was gone, replaced with a deep desire to prove the outcome of tonight counted as a fluke. It meant he was stuck with her, until she managed to beat him decisively in a fight.
Jaune could live with that. "Feel free to try. Can we sleep now?"
Yang couldn't resist the temptation after getting such a prime opportunity to tease. "Sleeping together? How bold of you Mr. Arc."
"You're not the first girl today to assume I proposed sexual intercourse."
Jaune cut the light and left a young woman to sit in the dark.
"Wait what?!"
RWBY
Outside, a blackhaired cat faunus exhaled in relief. The darkened room meant she was the only one able to see and so much harder to spot. Yang Xiao Long kept nagging him for details for a few more minutes before both finally went to sleep.
Only after seeing the chests of them rise and fall in steady rhythm, Blake Belladonna allowed herself to slip away. She fumbled through her scroll and slid into an empty classroom, looking through her contact list to press a certain name.
The scroll rang only twice even this late at night. The face of a male bull faunus with red hair appeared. The grim mask on his face told Blake she had interrupted him on official business.
Adam Taurus was always busy.
"It's been barely a day, Blake. I thought we wanted to reduce contact to a minimum. It was your idea."
It had been and still was. Beacon was the first step to find her own way of fighting for the faunus without raiding dust mines or bombing cargo trains.
She didn't have the stomach for it.
Adam tried to be moderate in approach whenever possible, something only his rate of success allowed him to continue. He provided minimal casualties on both sides and maximum profit for the White Fang, but his way of doing things was the exception among the ranks. Most didn't bother to be merciful towards humans.
"You also said I should call if something dangerous could happen," she said and watched the mirth vanish from his face. "The Grimmhound attends Beacon with me."
Adam stood so still, Blake wondered if the transmission had paused. "Are you sure it's him?"
The question was justified, since she had never met him herself. Adam had though, and his description left almost no room for doubt.
The worried look on her face was all the answer he needed to spring into action. "I'll be there as fast as I can! Keep your distance until then."
"Adam…"
"Blake, I know you don't want to be a part of the White Fang anymore and I respected your decision, but don't expect me to stop caring about you."
Blake's heart fluttered. Her boyfriend was such a softie.
"Stay away from him. And don't reveal you know me!"
The thought had never occurred to her and now she was worried. Dragging Adam into unnecessary danger would haunt her forever. "Does he hate you? Are you enemies?"
Adam took off his mask and looked deep into her eyes, herself getting lost in his baby blue orbs and handsome face. Her long-distance boyfriend was the posterboy for the faunus revolution in many ways. Most female recruits had at least a picture of him, the young heartthrob leading the cause like a dashing hero.
"No, the opposite. That's the problem."