First off, as usual, I don't own RWBY or Highschool DxD, and am flat gorram broke, so suing me over this would be beyond foolish.
That said, holy hell, did you guys make it vocal about enjoying the last chapter in the reviews! I cant thank all of you beautiful motherfuckers enough for that! To the guest reviewers, ehehe... I didn't actually think about unlocking a familiars aura before you mentioned it. If either of you had a profile I could reply to I'm sure we'd be chattering far more in depth about that right now in PM's.
So, yea, I thought this would be a quick second half to what was supposed to be a single chapter, but, well a few scenes fought me and a few ran of on me. Also, life still managed to happen, despite most of the world still being closed. Hope all of you glorious motherfuckers are still healthy happy and safe, and stay that way. Closing in on this fics one year anniversary, and I cant express just how happy I am with how well its been received and how much support/feedback you folks have given me. So, without further ado (because seriously, no one likes ado, fuck ado) have the next chapter!
The house is spotless. Nora knows this, she had spent the last two hours cleaning it. She had organized the stupid, stingy, boney old codgers kitchen. She had dusted the wrinkle faced, one eyed cheapskates bookshelves. She had even cleaned up the scatterbrained coots bathroom, which, considering his wildly untamed beard and hair both nearly touch the ground had taken some serious, disgusting effort! "So, I did everything you wanted. Are you finally ready to form a pact with me?"
The old coot hums in contemplation, not quite enough of the lights in the small house turned on to pick out the kitsch from the antiques cramming just about every spare inch of every room in the house. Not that Nora would be able to tell the difference if enough of the lights were turned on, she just doesn't think that everything someone as old as her potential contractee had accumulated over such a long life would be garbage. "Ehh, not quite yet. Same time next week, yea? You're getting close to having earned that pact girlie, don't worry."
The departing pleasantries may as well be coming from a robot. Nora manages to hold her temper until she is back in the dorm room. Jaune is still out helping Rias' peerage. Pyrrha is sitting at her desk typing away at her laptop, probably working on that essay due in history tomorrow. Ren is cleaning up, three garbage bags already full and tied off by their dorm rooms door, a third nearly full as he goes through her desk. Nora stomps from their home summoning circle towards her bed, she grabs the pillow, plants her face firmly into it and screams. "The old man again?" Pyrrha asks, probably without looking up. Face buried in the pillow, Nora can't really tell as she takes a deep breath before screaming again.
"You could just not respond the next time he tries to summon you." Ren offers helpfully.
Nora growls out her response into the pillow, and, predictably, and gets silence for a reply. She throws her pillow at her bed, then repeats "Yes, and I would if I could but I'm not good enough with magic to be able to tell who is trying to get through to me. Just that someone is." Ren rests a comforting hand on her shoulder, tied off garbage bag dangling from his free hand. A familiar tug starts at the back of her head. "Great, someone else is trying to summon me already. If its the old bastard again, you two are helping me hide the body." She grumps while stomping over to the summoning circle, flareing her wings, planting her fists on her hips and is gone from her dorm in a flash. She blinks her eyes open to find herself in an empty, chilly, storage unit. "Someone looking to make a deal with a devil?" she asks by way of greeting, looking around for whoever had summoned her.
"A-HAA!" an airy, distracted voice exclaims. "It worked, I have called forth an assistant from the Underworld to further my craft!" Nora spins on her heels to see a thin, pasty pale man wearing a taupe robe over pale blue slacks and a black t-shirt. His long brown hair brushes his shoulders and is brushed arrow straight. His gentle, high cheekbones and modest nose set over plump lips would probably make him pretty, if it weren't for the unhinged look in his dark green eyes and slight stink to him. Going by the sleeping bag and hot plate set up in a corner next to some easels, brushes and other, chaotically and haphazardly mixed art supplies, the man lives in this unit.
Putting on her biggest, most inviting grin, Nora replies "Nora Valkyrie, here to help you make your dreams come true!" She extends her hand as she walks over to the guy. He returns her offered shake with a grip that Nora almost doesn't notice. It isn't that her aura enhanced strength is making him seem weak, she has interacted with enough civilians that she can easily recognize a strong grip from a weak one, and his is almost nonexistent. His clearly flexing hand showing more bone than meat.
"Cedar Mangrove, Vales newest up and coming artist. My name will be spreading across Remnant like wildfire before the year is out!" Nora carefully keeps her big, friendly grin in place as the man retracts his limp wristed hand to gesture grandly at the mostly empty storage space "Welcome to my humble studio!" Nora doesn't exactly follow artists, but with how important self expression is, everyone knows it when someone new starts making waves in the art world.
She walks over to the man who is still holding his left arm out to indicate the mound of beat up art supplies and his sleeping bag. "So, how can I help Vales next greatest artist make some waves?" Gods, the smell is more like a stench this close. When is the last time this guy has bathed?
He slumps over dramatically "As you can see, I have the tools, the space and the will, but alas, I have no materials with which to create beauty, or to craft works that will evoke the most powerful of emotions!"
He isnt lying there. Cans of pain, brushes, easels and needles, even a few chisels. That, gives Nora an idea. "So, is sculpting something you're particularly skilled at, Cedar?"
He nods enthusiastically "I prefer to work with the softer stones, for gentler lines, but yes, sculpture is one of my specialties."
Nora, still grinning – and not forcing it now either, takes a knee and concentrates. Hard. Then she raises her right hand and slams it down onto the cement, pulling it back up almost as soon as the slap of flesh meeting ground can be heard. The result is a spiky, chaotic mound of ice about half again as wide as her splayed out hand and half a foot from the base to the highest point. "What about ice?"
The guy lights up, a bit of the deranged glint in his eyes replaced by hope, his motions less forced and more eager as he darts to the jumble of artistic tools. He returns with a mismatched set of chisels and a few hammers, all different sizes and made of different materials. "Yes, YES! This is perfect! I can begin my rise to fame and fortune with ice sculptures!"
Nora has to nearly dive out of the way of Cedar as he slides to his knees by the small mound of ice, already working to pry it from the cement by the time he slows to a stop. Nora shuffles over and sets about making another mound of ice for the guy to work with. By the time she has two dozen of the spikey mounds of ice on the floor for the would be artist to work with, he shouts in success. Nora twists to look in his direction to see the man holding a, well, a flower of some sort. That isn't terrible, and carved from ice. "I mean, its not like you'll be able to sell anything you make tonight to start getting your name out there, but practice makes perfect I guess?"
Grinning and admiring his own work more than paying attention to her, he spins the rose, Nora thinks and mutters, probably more to himself than as a reply "Just a quick burst of my semblance and this work will be finished."
Nora freezes midway through turning to try getting her contractee something more uniform than a jagged lump to work with. She nearly falls over from her crouch when she twists to look at the artist, and all but shouts "What do you mean semblance!" There is simply no way a guy this weird, this weak and undisciplined went to any combat school, let alone an academy. He has to be bluffing.
The guy forces a chuckle, before fishing a slip of paper out of his pocket, reading from it rather than looking at her. "I am legally obligated to provide no more information on my possession of an aura and semblance besides confirming that I posses both. The revelation of any information on the circumstances of my attaining both, or the identity of the individual who provided me with them will be met with harsh legal action. I hope you will be courteous and not press the issue."
Nora blinks owlishly at the thin artist, working through the jumble of legalese he had just recited at her. She shakes her head to clear it, then asks "So, what about the script you just read at me?"
The guy shrugs "The individual found me a few days after the incident. They had a lawyer with them, and I signed the paperwork to register myself as an aura enhanced civilian, as well as the gag order about the who how and why of me being as such." All Nora can really reply with is a noncommittal grunt. There isn't much wiggle room the guy had on that. An awkward silence holds over the slowly cooling storage unit, until Cedar asks "How does this, pact forming, work, exactly."
"Oh, that's easy. I do a thing for you, you give me something in return for my services, pact formed. If you're real happy, we can book an appointment for another summoning." Nora shoots back, before turning and trying her idea for getting the guy a uniform block to sculpt. She hisses in pain when she jams all the fingers of her dominant hand slamming the claw she had formed instead of slapping the cement with an open palm. Hissing in discomfort, she examines the result of her experiment. A cylinder of ice about two feet tall, with a circumference the same as the space between her fingers when she forms a claw with her hand.
Nora realizes that someone is looming over her shoulder. She looks up to see Cedar peering at the cylinder she had just formed. "That looks like it will be perfect for my payment to you! I will start immediately!"
Nora blinks up at him "That... would probably melt before the night is over, Cedar."
"Not when my semblance stops entropy from acting on it it wont!" Nora just sits there, trying to wrap her head around just how lucky the guy got with that. It'd be mostly useless for fighting grimm, but for an artist, its perfect. She spends the rest of the night making increasingly large, uniform and clear blocks of ice, and trying to work out a weekly summoning schedule with the quirky but determined soon to be artist.
_-*R-DxD*-_
Jaune returns to the dorm room still utterly drained. Sure, he had spent the next few hours after unlocking Koneko and Kibas auras talking them through using their auras and lightly sparring with Asia. But burning through that much of your own reserves that quickly really takes it out of you. Jaune then realizes that there is still an active summoning circle he is standing on, and dives away from it. Nora returns to the dorm with a flash, a wide grin splitting her face from ear to ear. "I formed a contract! I formed a contract!" She singsongs, bouncing around the room waving a white and blue, something, around as she does so.
Pyrrha reaches out a hand to help Jaune to his feet, which he gladly accepts. "That's great Nora, what'd you get from it?" Jaune asks as he ambles over to to Nora who is holding out an ice sculpture of herself. It's about a foot and a half tall and easily fits in the palm of her hand. Somewhere between chibi and caricature in style, the statues fists are planted on its hips, feet shoulder length apart. The statues grin is literally from ear to ear, and dominates more than half its face, and the upward flared wings account for well over half of the statues height. It isn't a masterwork, but it isn't bad either.
"Won't that melt if we leave it out in the dorm room?" Ren asks, having crowded around Noras outstretched hand with the rest of the team to inspect her payment after she finally stopped jumping around.
Nora shakes her head, and walks through the gathered team to set the statue on her desk. "Nope! The guy who summoned me has a semblance that slows entropy just about to nothing. He set that up on all of the sculptures I saw him finish tonight."
Jaune tries to blink away his confusion, then shambles over to the couch to flop down onto it. "You were summoned by a former huntsman, then?" Really hoping to have the most easily believed explanation confirmed.
The ginger girl shakes her head, before grabbing her pajamas and climbing up to her lofted bed. "Zero training, complete wuss. Just, somehow got his aura and semblance unlocked. Ren and Jaune are careful to keep their gazes parallel to the ground as dirty clothes start arcing towards he hamper the girls share. "And before you ask, that's all I know about it. He cant say anything more because legal reasons. Anyways, I'll have him re-apply his semblance to anything he's made for me as payment at our weekly appointments."
Jaune nods "That's great to hear Nora. Anyone else have important news from the pacts we've been forming?"
Pyrrha sits next to Jaune, her right leg crossed over her left, hands in her lap wrists also primly crossed, replies "I have someone in the VPD I can talk to if things with Suriel get to a point that we need the police to not look at something too closely, and Ren threw out all of those employee discount vouchers we had for that nice diner by the bullhead docks down in Vale."
"Why'd you do that?" Nora asks as she hops back down, barefoot and clad in her usual 'boop' t-shirt and short shorts.
Ren plops onto the couch, leaning against the arm opposite the one Jaune had picked. "The girl who was summoning me for a leg up on next years initiation got fired from there for being a faunus. I'm... going to talk to Blake about that tomorrow." Nora folds herself down onto the ground crosslegged, leaning against Rens legs with her left shoulder.
Jaune looks over to the other man "Sounds like the start of a plan. We should probably tell Velvet too, seeing as she is openly a faunus. Maybe get a boycott started if we can spread the word wide and fast enough."
Frowning, Pyrrha shoots a glance at Jaune, before reaching across his lap to grab the remote off the arm of the couch he is leaned against and switching the TV on. "I don't know about that, there aren't many places to eat that provide weapons racks."
As the champion starts flicking through channels, Ren side-eyes her "And as huntsmen and huntresses we need to be a more unified front than civilians can afford to be. If we let the small things that make us different divide us-"
Nora cuts the two of them off by headbutting Rens leg and shoving Pyrrhas leg at the same time. "Guys, can we not talk politics? I mean, yea, it sucks that stuff like that happens. And we all know that Pyrrhas too nice to want to do anything to hurt the owner even if he is a massive jerk. But, its been a long day and I just wanna relax, and I think you guys all feel the same way." Pyrrha and Ren both mumble apologies, and the team mostly falls to silence as they try to decide what to watch. Eventually they settle on watching one of the old X-Ray and Vav movies they had stumbled across near its start while channel surfing. They spend the rest of the evening mostly in companionable silence, occasionally quipping at one inanity or another, and joking about some of the more over-done themes in the series. After the movie ends, the station announces that the sequel will be played next, the rest of the team decides to change into their pajamas, Ren and Jaune climbing their lofted beds to do so first, then Pyrrha. After Pyrrha climbs back down to the couch and leans against Jaunes shoulder, eyes drooping with exhaustion, Jaune asks "Pyrrha, how did you manage to fight through the rest of initiation after unlocking my aura?"
She tilts her head up from his shoulder to look at his face "What do you mean? It barely takes a tenth of a huntresses aura to unlock someone elses normally."
Jaune pinches the bridge of his nose with the arm that isn't pinned in place by Pyrrha. He had been afraid she was going to say something to that effect. "Then, I have an experiment I wanna try when we visit Rias' peerage tomorrow after class."
Nora looks over to Jaune, as does Ren, curiosity plain on both of their faces. "I thought it was smarter for us to keep trying to form as many pacts as possible, while you help out your friend?" Ren queries, neutral tone turning up just enough to make his reply a question rather than an admonishment.
Jaune knows that he would be wincing or rubbing at the back of his neck out of embarrassment if his partner didn't have him more or less pinned in place. "It... it was pointed out to me that what I told the three of you in regards to learning magic is the equivalent to throwing someone in the deep end of a pool and screaming 'swim' at them, as far as teaching is concerned." Pyrrha reaches over with the hand not resting on her and Jaunes knees to pat his shoulder reassuringly at the self depreciative tilt his voice had taken at that admission. "Luckily for us, Akeno is still trying to walk Issei through the square one basics of magic, so a few more students who are already more far along than that wont be that difficult for her to teach as well, or disrupt their training camp." The team falls quiet again at that, not really having much to say on the change of plans for the next day. Plus, the next movie had started.
With all of the excitement of the last week and a half, the evening is relaxing, in a domestic sort of way. Which is why the events of the following morning, while not exactly welcome, are far from unexpected. Despite Pyrrhas reluctance to rise in the morning, and the difficulty of herding Nora anywhere, team JNPR makes it to the cafeteria before team RWBY and are all seated and eating when their friends finally arrive in the bustling hall. Ruby, Weiss and Yang all head for the buffet tables, while Blake ambles over to the omelet bar.
Weiss joins team JNPR fairly quickly, her tray only holding a bowl of fruit salad, a plate of sausage links and a few slices of toast slathered in jelly. After taking a bite of her fruit salad and chewing, she greets team JNPR. For a few more minutes they continue eating in silence, Jaune picking away at whats left of his waffles, ignoring Noras grumbled accusations of 'heresy' and mostly sipping at his apple juice while she trucks away at her stack of pancakes. Pyrrhas omelet is long gone and she is hungrily slurping away at her fifth or sixth cup of light tan coffee, while Ren mixes his spoon around whats left of his bowl of oatmeal distractedly, empty glass of milk pushed away from arms reach. "So, Jaune, I was studying last night and your friend Ravel decided to pop in. We had quite the illuminating discussion."
Ren mumbles something about being full and rises to get rid of his dishes. Nora starts looking anywhere but in Weiss' direction. Pyrrhas cup is frozen mid-tilt, her eyes wide and slightly panicked. Jaune, grabbing on to his nerves with both hands and asks "Ah, I take it the two of you hit it off, then?"
Weiss nods, before taking a sip of her tea. "After some initial, disagreements, over her brother and Rias' engagement, yes, she seems quite intelligent and well mannered. In fact, with the stories she had to share that you were involved in, I'm surprised that you showed as little evidence of having experience dealing with people from high society when we first met as you did."
Jaune can't suppress his wince, but he hopes it isn't too obvious. "Alright, I'll admit I came on too strong, but, in my defense, I was a raw ball of nerves during initiation. Foot in mouth syndrome isn't the only bed habit I thought I'd beaten years ago I fell back on that day."
Weiss nods "Understandable. And, I'll admit that I may have let that poor first impression color my opinion of you unduly. From how you have carried yourself these last few months and the stories Ravel shared with me its clear that you most certainly aren't a lecher. So, I would propose that we have, a, fresh start, of sorts, between us."
Jaune decides to not mention that she hadn't actually apologized, as he hadn't either, and simply extends his had to her. "Jaune Arc, its a pleasure to meet you."
"Weiss Schnee, and the pleasure is mine, I'm sure." she replies, shaking his hand before returning to her breakfast.
He offers her a sloppy grin, and, after taking his last bite of waffle continues "Though I am keeping 'Snow Angel' in my back pocket for when I do finally manage to melt your heart."
Weiss looks over Jaunes shoulder and her eyes bug out slightly as she flinches away from him. Jaune turns to look at Pyrrha, but is confronted only with his partners slight smile and politely placid features. Weird. Weiss retakes his attention with a small, frustrated growl "But I do have to ask how a man who spent the bulk of his formative years interacting with high society could possibly think that 'Snow Angel' is an acceptable compliment or pick-up line?"
Jaune does his best to maintain his calm, upbeat demeanor. "Well, when the only real interaction you get with the fairer sex is either with women who are already taken, so far out of your league by dint of birth that the idea of romance is laughable at best, or honey-pots looking to gain an informant in your benefactors household, there aren't many opportunities to practice."
"Well that was a depressing monologue. Morning guys, whats up?" Yang cuts in, sparing Jaune whatever response Weiss would have had for that admittedly weak excuse for his poor game.
Nora shrugs "Eh, Ice Queen and Jaune decided to do a fresh start thing thanks to their rich friends."
Jaune rolls his eyes playfully "Speaking of rich friends, can we drop the puffed up propriety and excessive worry about manners and etiquette Weiss? I'm pretty sure Ravel would have told you about Sairoargs plans, and even with my slightly elevated place working for his family compared to a few months ago, I don't plan on acting like a traditional noble when he succeeds. Or even when my even more ambitious plans turn out after we get his hammered through."
Grumbling, Weiss stabs a link of sausage and rips half of it from her fork in one bite. Ren returns to the table as she does so, walking beside Blake with a relaxed gait. "Thanks for saying you'll help Blake. Could you let me know when you get through to Crimm so I can tell my friend where to go once the eviction notice gets posted?"
Blake nods, a scowl on her face, tray loaded down with an omelet that has more than a few anchovies sticking out of it and a cup of tea. The faunus in disguise nods "I think I'll be able to get it taken care of during lunch break today. I'll let you know as soon as I finish the call."
_-*R-DxD*-_
Weiss is, mostly, paying attention while she and her team do their level best to interpret their notes from Professor Ooblecks class. After her talk with Ravel the other day, she still has quite a lot to unpack, and Ooblecks ramblings seem small in comparison. First, the fact that the supernatural does exist, is, big. How many urban legends and old wives tales have credence or are actually something she needs to worry about? Conversely, how much of that is just mortals misinterpreting the affairs of the underworld, heaven, and the other assorted pantheons and their realms?
She pauses to pinch her nose as Yang and Ruby start arguing over a word Oobleck may or may not have used loudly enough to fill the otherwise empty and silent common room. Of course, that calls into question whether or not the Brother Gods are actual deities. Which segues into whether the fact that most of Remnant is either agnostic or atheist, even the most devout followers of the Brothers being fairly lax in their worship and preaching the faith they keep, is a good thing or not. Not that the few bits of legitimate literature she had been able to find on said deities was exactly inspiring, nor did it paint a picture of beings worthy of worship. They had power, yes, but aside from that and pride, not much else could be said of the potential honest-to-themselves deities.
What she needs is more information. The problem with that is that Ravel had claimed she would be too busy for another appointment until late next week. Weiss seriously regrets that she had not been paying much attention to what Pyrrha had been doing that evening that had lead to her even trying the summoning circle. If she had managed to remember the champion fighters screen-name that would be a potential source of trustworthy information. Especially since the girl is both honest, and had been, from what glimpses of the girls screen Weiss had grabbed and can remember, posting hints and leading questions instead of pursuing lines of inquiry. Unfortunately, she had been too busy forging ahead down the proverbial rabbit hole on her own to notice much of what her friend had been doing.
Of course, the idea of using Pyrrha as a potential source of information opens up another, entirely different can of worms. Namely, that Ravels blunt statement of not giving up secrets not hers to tell, yet still being a close, long time friend of Jaunes calls Jaunes nature as a human into very pointed question. The fact that Pyrrha seemed to be in the know of the supernatural called her, and the rest of team JNPRs nature into question as well. Part of her desperately wants to confront her fellow students. That part, of course, is being thoroughly held in check by how disastrously that exact approach had worked out when she jumped to conclusions and accusations with Blake. Nearly losing one of the first real friends she had made in years is not an experience she cares to repeat. So she will be patient, and wait for him to come to her.
Hopefully, not in another attempt at romance. Their recent, reconciliation, may have cleared the air between them, but the fool is still clearly crushing on her, and missing the fact that Pyrrha is doing the same for him. Not that she hadn't appreciated watching his morning workout routine from the windows. Plenty of girls and a few of the boys had been sad when that particular display of eye candy had stopped, likely in favor of training with his team, but Pyrrha had been making her intents and claim increasingly well known to the other girls at Beacon. Weiss knows exactly how that confrontation would end, should she ignore the Invincible Girls warnings and let Jaune think he has a chance with her. Weiss would like to stay out of the Intensive Care Unit, thank you very much. Still, the fact that he is, probably a devil, which isn't that big of a deal, considering what Ravel told her about the assorted factions of the underworld, is a question she desperately wants answered. Still, from Ravels insinuations of Jaunes ties to the Heir Apparent of the Bael Clan, her social opinion on Jaunes nature may very well need to take a back seat to the political implications and repercussions, whether or not she is able to get the answers she desires.
Which only leaves the rabbit hole she is still chasing even deeper and darker. Jaune, had been sponsored by the Heir Apparent of one of the three most powerful houses in the underworld. Close enough friends with the heiress of the clan that had given birth to the underworlds current ruler that she came to him for assistance with an absolute disaster in the making of her arranged marriage to the second or third in line of the last of the top three socio-political powerhouses of the underworld. The hint he had dropped about plans built off Sairoargs intent to throw the current order into mad disarray and on its head is both concerning and reassuring. Concerning in that her somewhat dense, but well meaning friend might very well get himself killed chasing an untenable goal. Reassuring in the fact that she could potentially have a very powerful group of allies in restoring her families own name and honor, as well as repairing the damage her father had done to the SDCs reputation.
The urge to smash her head against the table grows. Confront Jaune and potentially ruin at least one friendship. Wait and potentially die due to circumstances she had been unaware of, and miss out on a chance to further her own goals as well. Follow Jaune around hoping to see proof of what he is herself, and risk death by Nikos due to a misunderstanding. Also risk being thought of as a stalker with the last one, which would be its own disastrous pitfall. "You know, if you have to fart Ice Queen, its fine, none of us will judge you for it." Yang snarks, shocking Weiss out of her reverie.
Before she can defend herself, another, faux mocking voice joins the conversation "You know that's not what that look is Xiao Long." Weiss twists in her seat to see Coco standing over their table, clad in a tan pair of slacks and a black, v necked blouse along with her usual sunglasses and beret. "I know me an Velvet have had that look on our faces enough times before we figured out the trick to studying for Ooblecks class." Behind her, the rest of the RA's team is holding the elevator door open, all of them dressed as casually as their leader.
"There's a trick?" Ruby asks, and Weiss shifts to see her partner had taken her uniform jacked off, and has a slightly manic look in her eyes.
Coco hums an affirmative, before extrapolating "The scroll Beacon gives everyone has some pretty robust features. Most importantly for Oobleck, it has great audio recording quality, and you can slow down the playback." She pauses, and Weiss realizes that one of the newer replacement students, Dun, she thinks, going by the rooster talons his legs end in, is playing an acoustic guitar in the far corner of the room. When had he walked in? "So, snap a picture of the notes he has on the whiteboard before class starts, record the lecture..."
"Then play it back slower." Blake finishes, understanding bright on her face and in her tone. Apparently, she had unbuttoned her uniform jacket while Weiss was lost in thought. Just how spaced out had she been?
Grinning, Yang, with her jacket tossed onto one of the nearby couches and the vest underneath hanging open, interjects "Thanks for the tip." before glancing around almost conspiratorially. "Hey, Coco, I know that you're one of the people, in the know, about Blake. And, well, I thought you might appreciate something I figured out since, well, you know." Coco arches her left eyebrow enough that it can be seen despite the sunglasses covering her eyes, and motions for Yang to continue. "So, you remember when we got back that first Friday night here?"
The upperclasswomans placid features shift to a mild scowl "As I remember it was actually early the first Saturday after initiation, but go on."
The blonde brawler winces "Anyways, remember how Blakey started cackling when Jaune handed Weiss off to her so he could look after Pyrrha while we took care of Rubes?" Coco nods, and Weiss can feel heat rushing to her face as Yang presses on. "Well, I think I know why Blake started cackling like a madwoman after that now." She can feel the heat growing. All of them have some holes in their memories, but that had been strange enough that she remembers it fairly clearly.
Ruby starts giggling, then Coco and finally Yang join in, laughing as Weiss embarrassment, and what had likely been going through the faunus in disguises mind at the time becomes clear. Weiss rounds on the girl in question, whose face is far to serene to be anything but a facade "You most certainly had not captured the Schnee heiress, Blake! You were entrusted with the care of a friend in need!" Weiss whisper yells at the other girl.
The mask of serenity cracks just enough to allow for a slight twitch of the lips to form a smirk "I have no idea what you are talking about, Weiss."
"You! Carrying on like a cartoon villain while you were holding me up because my dolt of a partner tried to run away from a pill for the headache and a bottle of sports drink!" Yang and Coco are now laughing uproariously, Ruby is blushing, but still laughing as well. Off in the far corner of the common room, Dun had stopped the quiet folk tune he had been picking on his guitar, and is looking at the quintet of girls like they had all taken leave of their sanity. "Besides, even if you do decide to continue misconstruing that situation as you having captured me, you had already left the White Fang so it doubly doesn't count!" Weiss presses in her whisper yell, the traitors laughter masking her voice and keeping the faunus secret safe.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Weiss."
Weiss is saved from further ridicule by her scroll starting to ring. She checks the screen, and after seeing her younger brothers name on the caller ID, excuses herself to figure out what Whitley wants. She answers the call once she is a few feet down the hallway from the common room "Hello, brother."
"Weiss, how has Beacon been so far?" he answers, cutting, apparently, straight to the chase.
Allowing herself a slight smile as her embarrassment fades "Quite well, Whitley, thank you for asking. My teammates are, eccentric, but skilled."
For a moment, the line goes quiet, before Whitley presses "Weiss, I know that father has been, preparing, you for when you take over the company. Which includes being introduced to important contacts and partners, correct?" Weiss offers a quick affirmative, the apprehension in his voice quickly draining what pleasure she had been quickly gaining from having an honest, civil, conversation with her brother. "Well, he has been, in contact, with someone who is new to me, at least. I was hoping you would be able to put my mind at ease about her. Is Haille Ragnar one of the individuals you needed to know of for when you take over?"
"I never heard of her either. What sort of interactions has he been having with her?" Weiss answers.
Another drawn out pause. "That's just the thing, I can't be certain. The two of them sequester themselves in his office, or his and mothers wing of the manor for hours on end. She is about a decade younger than mother, and just as full figured, but..."
"Father has never done anything that could even potentially be misconstrued as him being unfaithful to their marriage and risking his ties to the company or family." Weiss finishes for her brother. "What do you know?"
"Well, since I've known about her, SDC security has been exponentially built up, and almost everyone of note from before Haille showed up has been replaced." He pauses "Along with a lot of upper management, even a few board members, I think. When I hear the two of them talking, she usually has something to say about the right people being in the right places."
Now its Weiss' turn to steady herself. She eventually asks "Just how much control has she garnered?"
"I don't think that her lack of a position on the executive board is any hindrance to her anymore. She, she has started talking with father about ensuring the correct person is selected as heir this week, and..." Whitley takes a deep breath "You are staying safe, right, Weiss? Not taking any foolish risks or going places where, accidents, could be arranged, right?"
_-*R-DxD*-_
When Jaune and the rest of his team arrive in the clearing Rias had been summoning him to over the last few days, the entire Gremory peerage is once again waiting for him. For a few awkward seconds silence reigns in the clearing. Jaune decides to break it with introductions "Hey guys, meet my queen, Pyrrha Nikos" he gestures in the general direction she had been standing behind him "Nora Valkyrie, my rook" Nora chirps her own greeting at that "and Lie Ren, my bishop." Issei looks more than a little confused, as does Asia, so Jaune decides to explian "Pyrrha is going to help me out with unlocking the last two of your auras, then the rest of my peerage is going to get some extra lessons on magic from Akeno while I help get Asia through more basic close combat training."
Pyrrha steps forward "Hello, everyone, so, which one of you is Akeno?" waving at the group of devils as she does so.
"That'd be me." The devil in question announces, stepping forward to offer her fellow queen a handshake. Pyrrha accepts, and, after they release each others hands, the raven haired queen querries "So, I hear you have a sacred gear?"
Pyrrha nods as she steps back out of Akeno's personal space, probably more paying attention to Rias introducing her peerage to Jaune's than the conversation with her peer at the moment. When Rias goes quiet as Jaune walks to within arms reach of his fellow king, the red haired queen replies by upturning her left hand and igniting a tongue of flame in it "We know what it does, mostly, and I think I have an idea of how it works, but that's about it."
"I'm sure we'll figure more out before today is over." Akeno shoots back with a small grin. "After all, you and the rest of Jauns peerage are all mine after the main event."
Nora and Ren take big steps away from the sadistic queen at that. "Speaking of the main reason all of us are here..." Rias prompts, making eye contact with Jaune
He reaches his right hand out to rest it on Rias shoulder, Pyrrha doing the same. He looks over to his partner and nods. Midday sun beating down on the clearing, a light breeze ruffling team JNPRs Beacon uniforms and the tracksuits and PE outfits Rias' peerage are wearing, the pair of Remnantian devils recite in unison "For it is through desire that we become mighty. By this ascension we become idols of power and decadence to lord over all. Limitless in strength and unbound by time. I release your soul, and by my hand elevate thee."
Both Jaune and Pyrrha collapse as they finish the aria, a wild cacophony of warning tones from team JNPRs scrolls cutting through the otherwise placid and silent meadow. Jaune dully fishes his scroll out of his pocket, he is down to seven percent of his aura remaining, and Pyrrha is at a whopping eleven percent. "Well, that proves my theory, I suppose." Jaune gasps out as he does his best to regain control of himself.
"What theory is that, Jaune?" Rias asks, looking more at herself as the deep crimson sheen that had enveloped her slowly fades.
Akeno, both arms held up in front of her, still gazing at them as if the blue-white glow was still flowing from her, absently replies "I'm guessing that it has something to do with devils and auras."
Pyrrha looks towards her fellow queen as a worried looking Nora helps her to her feet, and interjects "I had to spend less than a tenth of my aura to unlock Jaunes. I think its safe to say that it isn't something so simple for devils."
Ren shoots a glance over at Pyrrha as he helps Jaune to his feet "It was the same for the kids in Kuroyuri. We, lived on the edge of civilization, everyone had their aura unlocked young. The village council could go through nearly two dozen kids in a day each if there were a lot of us the right age on New Years Eve."
"So its super hard for devils to unlock other devils auras, but humans can do it for anyone just fine. It sucks, but I don't get why we're worrying about it right now." Koneko interjects, deadpan as ever, already moving to drag Issei to the patch of forest she spars with him in.
Jaune shrugs "For you guys, yea, not a big deal. But part of my job being the first devil operating out of Remnant is to get Aura more accessible to the Underworld. So, if its hard for a devil to unlock someones aura, that's not good news. Even worse, its looking like the older or more powerful a devil is, the harder it is to unlock their aura for another devil."
Rias heaves a sigh at that "So, the Old Satanist faction is going to throw a fit when word gets out that it's easier to give a major boost in power and capacity to younger or newly reincarnated devils over the older, naturally born devils."
Jaune shrugs, doing his best to look nonchalant "Ehh, whats one or twenty more assassination attempts, right?"
"Wait!" Issei shouts, just as Koneko grabs a corner of his t-shirt, struggling to fight the diminutive rook off to no avail "What do you mean one more assassination attempts? And why the hell are you so calm about the thought of so many?"
Jaune looks over to the recently reincarnated pawn "It, kinda goes with the territory with being a reincarnated devil moving up too fast? I mean, the only reason I'm a King right now is because I chugged a glass of poison cut with wine that was meant for Sairoargs mom. Normally it takes a few decades at the minimum to make mid-class. Forget about testing out for high class and your own peerage."
"But, but... I'll be old by then!" the Boosted Gear wielder protests, looking just about ready to break into tears.
Rias shoots a glare at Jaune as she makes her way over to her pawn, wrapping up the nearly despondent kid in a gentle embrace "I was trying to avoid letting Issei or Asia know what the norms are, Jaune. If someone doesn't know what is accepted as normal or possible, they tend to beat expectations."
"You drank a glass of poison?" Pyrrha shouts at Jaune, half-staggering half stomping away from Nora to glare at him. She looks concerned more than angry, not that it doesnt look like he's going to answer some pretty pointed questions in the near future.
Jaune spares his partner a glance, and notes that both Ren and Nora look almost as worried as Pyrrha does when he looks beyond her. Crap. "I pulled through just fine. Besides, if I hadn't done my duty as a servant of house Bael, we wouldn't be a team right now guys." he shifts to look back at the huddled mass that is Rias trying to console Issei as he forces a gratuitous amount of crocodile tears at the revelation of just how long his journey to the top will probably be "You don't need to worry that much Issei, after the first few decades as a devil you should be able to more or less control how old you look, its not like you're gonna be stuck as an old man when you get to strike out on your own."
Rias pushes Issei back until her arms are straight, removing his face from her bust, showing his eyes to be clear, not red-rimmed and poofy. "Besides, more powerful devils normally move up faster, the same with prodigies." the younger devils king informs him, clearly looking to comfort the despondent young man.
Sniffling a bit despite the lack of actual tears, Issei looks over to Jaune, but, before he can reply, Akeno cuts in as she breaks Konekos grip on Issei's shirt "That aside, we have a specific goal for today, Issei. So you are coming with Pyrrha, Ren, Nora and I to work on magic while Jaune drills Asia on self defense."
"Koneko, Kiba, find a good place to spar." Rias orders, before making her way over to Jaune as the two bigger groups split off "I take it that your little experiment with your queen, Akeno and I had other goals?"
Jaune nods "Yea, I barely knew anything about auras or semblances when Sairoarg reincarnated me, and house Bael barely figured any more out while I was one of their pawns. I just need to find someone to tell me how well a devil can unlock a mortals aura now." Jaune pauses, looking between the slowly retreating duo and group, vaguely aware of Asia standing awkwardly off to one side of him and Rias. "After that, its just a matter of finding out if devils unlock their sembalnces any different than mortals do. So, if anyone in your peerage figures theirs out..."
"What, you don't know what yours is yet?" Rias teases, as Jaune pantomimes a few stretches at Asia then waves her away. The newly reincarnated bishop slumps away to a more open part of the clearing to start warming up, a deep frown on her face, and already looking weary and sore. If Jaune hadn't gone through the same 'first week pains' of getting fighting fit years ago, he'd feel bad about the kicked puppy look on the petite blondes face.
"Throw me in over my head or give me a few years training, and I will, according to every bit of literature I could find on auras and semblances. Then again, those all focus on humans and faunus, so, if anyone in your peerage manages to figure it out..." Jaune trails off awkwardly, Rias already has a hell of a lot on her plate, and asking for one more thing makes him feel like more than a bit of a jerk.
Rias chuckles "If it isn't one of those two things for someone in my peerage, I'll be sure to let you know. Now, if you don't mind, I have tactics manuals and rating game footage to go over."
Chuckling, Jaune shoves Rias towards the distant manor "Yea, yea, you do your part for your peerage. I'll just be out here trying to teach wet tissue paper to stand up for itself."
"Hey!" Asia shouts, halfway through trying to stretch her right quadriceps, overbalancing and falling to the dirt as she tries to turn to pout at Jaune and Rias. Or maybe glare at them. He hadn't seen much between talking with Rias and turning to look in the direction of the noise she had made. "I'm a healer and a bishop of the Gremory peerage! I don't think its right for you to talk about me like I'm not here!"
"I talked to Sirzechs, and, someone from Sonas peerage will stop by your dorm to get you access to the broadcast of my rating game against Riser." Rias half-whispers as she turns back towards the manor that serves as one of her families summer homes.
Jaune hears the footsteps padding towards him and reflexively blocks Asias sloppy, angry swipe at him. "Trying to seize the initiative is always a good idea. But the hit needs to connect for that to work." he instructs, turning to look at the stricken, halfway panicked bishop. "You cant be scared either, that just gets you hurt worse in the fight."
After he shoves the bishop back, she does her best to growl at him. Its adorable, and far from intimidating. "I'm... I'm not a fighter, Jaune. I want to help people, to heal them, that's why I have my sacred gear."
"Good. You know what your strengths are." Jaune replies, assuming a proper fighting stance, sliding his feet out to shoulder length, left foot ahead of his right, both fists raised and ready to block or strike. "The problem is, your enemies aren't gonna want to play to those, so you need to be able to defend yourself in a fight. That's where I come in, Asia." The girl rushes him, and he easily catches her sloppy attempt at a right hook in his left hand "Hey, Rias, you whoop that pompous assholes seven ways from Sunday for me, alright?"
He throws Asias jab away from himself, and catches her attempted follow-up on his right knee while Rias half-turns to look at him and reply "You gave me the leg up I need to do exactly that, Jaune."She pauses as Jaune hooks his raised leg around Asias waist then launches her away from him with a kick. "And if that doesn't work out, I'll just have to move to Remnant with my peerage. Then the two of us can take your world by storm."
Jaune catches Asias next attempt at a strike with as much gentleness as he can manage, while Ris struts back towards the manor. "Thumbs outside the fist, Asia. You want to break the other guys bones, not you're own."
He tosses her away from him, and, after she recovers, she pouts up at him from where she had skidded to a crouched halt "Why did you insist on this, Jaune?"
He shrugs, and squares off into an wide, easily read fighting stance. "Bishops only fight with magic. Everyone knows that." He starts charging down Asia, who, for a girl only two days into self defense training, falls into a decent guard stance. "They are utterly useless in close quarters combat, unless their magic has a physical aspect." She almost dodges his purposefully slow, telegraphed jab, and mostly blocks the follow-up right cross on her arm. "And you, a healing sacred gear wielding bishop? Useless without a bodyguard, and easily eliminated, right? An easy weak link in the Gremory peerage that only looks like an asset on the surface, who will probably just hide back at your headquarters and patch up whoever can crawl back to it during this weekends rating game. A few pawns to draw off the guard, then a knight can zip in, knock you out, and move on to more important things before the rest of your peerage knows what happened. Right?"
He blocks her retaliatory kick, which would have had him rolling on the ground clutching his groin, had he not. The follow-up storm of punches is just as easy to evade or block, but Jaune already knows that this training session is successful. Not a single speck of Asias face looks reluctant, soft or apologetic as she thrashes at him. The form isn't there. The strength isn't there, hell he's about as tired as a guy can be going into the fight, but losing wasn't a worry from the get go. Already Asia is red faced as he continues to block and dodge her sloppy attempts at hitting him. But all of that is just so much white noise and problems to worry about later. Its all in the eyes, and Asia Argento is a girl who refuses to let her friends down, to be the weak link, the predictable foe – if things come to violence. And Jaune recognizes the fire now burning in those big, teal, eyes. She wont let her friends down, that was never in question, he had simply opened another path for the former nun to protect those she holds dear.
As Jaune eases back into the slow, for him at least, spar with the girl who had barely worked up a sweat a day in her life before now; he is confident in the knowledge that his current task will make a major difference in one of his oldest friends lives. Even if it isn't as soon as she would like for it to be.
I mean, its just Asia, right? The girls harmless, no matter how hot a fire you light under her ass is, right!
Anyhow, Love it? Hate it? Feel like fifty pounds of rotten ground beef? Shoot me a review, that shits what keeps my metaphorical gas tank full for writing this.