Here you go. Enjoy
Everyone needs something
Ren was buckled down in his harness inside the bullhead. Nora was on his right, snoring on his shoulder. The minx ate too much sap and was suffering a sugar crash of epic proportions in his opinion. There was an urge to take a jar from the crate as it rattled in the middle of the cargo bay, just to put her to sleep for a bit. Granted, he just let her roam free in the forest as the high overtook her. It had to be semblance related with how energetic she was.
On his left was Jaune, holding on for dear life and covering his mouth with his right hand and gripping the armrest with his left. He was smart enough to not eat anything before coming on the field trip, but nausea didn't care for empty stomachs. Metal was creaking from where Jaune gripped the armrest, putting in fresh dents. "Jaune! You're damaging Beacon property!" Weiss yelled over the hum of the engines. She as across from Jaune and had her hand ready on the buckle in case he vomited.
"Mrbml mhmmph mrbl!" Was what Ren could make out from Jaune's muffled voice, and he was sitting right next to him. Weiss just shook her head and eyed him warily. A sigh escaped Ren as he leaned back and blocked out the scene. It was a specialty of his, being quite practiced from Nora and becoming even more adept from his current living situation. It wasn't because they were terrible people or anything like that, Ren respected all of them and Nora was someone he was fond of.
It was just all of them were so God damned Hot. Nora was his type, through and through, and his childhood friend filled out beautifully in his mind. He respected her too much to think of her like that, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. His semblance was useful for keeping him levelheaded and focused when they were traveling, keeping the demons at bay, as it were. Now though, he had two more beautiful, elegant, and downright Curvaceous women he had to live with. His semblance had been in overdrive for the past couple of weeks, and it was killing him.
Ren was quiet before because he enjoyed listening to Nora and her wild imagination. Now, he was quiet because he couldn't trust what came out of his mouth. The number of times he silently screamed in his because of how sexy they made casual nightwear look was lost to him. "Aww, look. She's so tuckered out." Yang said from across the cargo bay. Not as tired as I am of you and your god dammed short shorts. He silently thought. Whoever thought co-ed dorms was a bright idea was either a Saint or a sadist. The Jury was still out on that one.
"She'll be back up before we land." Ren assured his team leader. It was only a matter of time. The only thing keeping him sane was Jaune, the only other lone male in a team. One reason why they bonded so well is because they would rant to each other about the same predicament. How the women on their teams were gorgeous and had no personal space sometimes. Jaune lucked out on getting Blake, Weiss, and Ruby in his opinion. Yes, they were beautiful, but Ruby was the only one that seemed to cause the majority of his problems.
Ren had Yang and Nora to contend with. One liked to tease for fun's sake and the other was just naturally bubbly. Pyrrha was the only island of sanity on his team, and that didn't help at all. He must've pissed someone off in the past life, because this was torture. The familiar feeling of descent pulled Ren from his internal struggle and back into the real world. Nora woke up next to him, smacking her lips together and putting her arms in the air to stretch. The action pushed her chest out, giving Ren a generous view of her perfect breasts.
Fuck my life.
"Again!" Yang commanded as she held up her mitts. Jaune threw a left jab, a right cross, then a left hook. The sound of flesh and metal hitting leather in rapid succession was satisfying. At the end of the combo, Yang pivoted around him, bouncing on her feet. "Good, you're keeping your guard up."
That's because you keep hitting me if I don't. Jaune thought internally. They were in one of the training gyms at Beacon, with the rest of their teams doing their own workouts. He was in a t-shirt and shorts while Yang was in a crop-top and sweatpants. She also had her hair up in a ponytail, which she only did when training. They were both sweating from the previous workout of weightlifting and cardio. If Yang was anything in his mind, it was a slavedriver.
"Again!" Jaune followed the combo from muscle memory, bringing his right arm up to block a fist to his head.
"Could you not do that?" He asked.
"Nope." She emphasized the P just like Ruby did. "Gotta keep those reactions sharp!" A low kick met his knee, but he didn't buckle. Instead, he just slightly shifted towards the impact, lessening the blow, and stabilizing himself. "Good." Yang danced away from him on thew mat. "Most people would flinch at pain."
"I like the more direct approach." Jaune advanced, closing the distance and keeping a low guard. Two jabs missed their mark as she slipped her head left and right. He threw a cross, only for her to duck underneath and deliver a blow to his body. Sharp agony flared from his abdomen and caused him to wince in pain, but he powered through worse. Before he could retaliate, she danced back out of range, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"Oooh. I swear I hit your liver. That must've hurt." Yang goaded from a distance.
"It did." He gritted out. "Mind if you stay still so I can repay you?"
"Not a chance." Fine then. Time to get down and dirty. Jaune kept his guard up high as he advanced on Yang a second time. He threw a jab, which missed her head and sailed over her shoulder as she dodged it. Instead of bringing his arm back, he grabbed her shoulder with his left hand and stepped in to trip her. What he wasn't expecting was for her to drag him down as well, wrapping her legs around his stomach. Oh no.
It was out of muscle memory that he put his forearm up before she could snake her arms around his neck and choke him from behind his head. His face was against her side with his metal arm pinned next to him thanks to Yang's hold. "Good! You're thinking outside the box!" She patronized from above him. He tried to get better leverage with his right arm, but Yang wasn't having it. The chokehold became tighter as her right bicep bulged, pressuring him to tap out, like so many times before. Not. Fucking. Likely. And Jaune did the only thing he could do.
Jaune bit her side causing her to yelp and instantly slacken her grip. Capitalizing on the moment of weakness, he jerked his head out of her hold and brought his right forearm to her neck. The sudden action pinned her to the ground beneath Jaune. "How's that?" He asked on top of her. Call it petty, but a win was a win in his book. Yang only smirked at that.
"It's good." She growled out from beneath his arm. "But not-" Her body twisted beneath him as her legs shifted position and her hands grabbed his arm. "good-" Jaune's vision was filled with Yang's thigh as she pulled his arm out and rolled him on the mat. "enough!" The armbar was painful as she locked herself into place, smothering him with her leg. "If you bite me again, I'll break it." She warned, adding more tension onto the limb. Jaune groaned and tapped her thigh with his metal hand in submission. The tension subsided as she let go of his arm and sat on the mat. Jaune just laid there staring up at the ventilation above. Beacon hadn't bothered installing a ceiling, probably because it was high enough where it didn't matter.
"You're a monster." He huffed with labored breath.
"I'll take the complement." Yang shifted in her position to watch the rest of her team workout. Heavy breathing coming from her as well, making him feel better that she had to work for the win. They stayed there in peaceful calm, the dull roar of students improving themselves with weights and machinery filling the void. "I heard from Ruby you killed an Ursa today." Yang probed. Jaune waived a hand dismissively.
"It was just a Grimm. Not a big deal." It really wasn't. One Grimm was easy enough for anyone to handle.
"Ruby said it was huge. Easily over four meters." She added.
"A lot of Grimm are big. What's your point?"
"She told me Team Cardinal ran away from it, scared out of their minds."
"Did Ruby tell you she didn't help at all?"
"Yeah, she was pretty proud of that fact." Well, that was news to him. Jaune looked over to Yang, seeing her glaring right at him. "It means you are improving." She continued, then pointed at him with an angry finger. "And before you say it's not a big deal or that it's not enough, you killed an Ursa Major. Something Team Cardinal ran away from, and no beginner Hunter could ever take on." Yang continued to bore into his eyes. "Do you understand what I'm saying?" Jaune dumbly nodded. "I want to hear you say it."
A sigh came from him as he laid on the mat. "I'm improving. There, you happy now?" Yang assessed him with her gaze for a moment before talking again.
"No, you still need to apologize to Pyrrha." Another groan came from him as he sat up.
"Spell it out for me."
"You disappeared after you fought her. She thinks it's her fault that you were in the forest." Pyrrha actually thought that? His gazed roamed the gym until he found her. She was with Weiss on the barbell rack spotting the heiress as she struggled with the weights. At least Weiss knew what she lacked and how to better herself.
"How bad was it?" He couldn't imagine her taking it too hard.
"Oh, she puts up a front of being perfectly fine, but it doesn't take long to figure out that's all it is. A front." Yang explained next to him. "In reality she was upset and was the first to offer help to go look for you." That was worse than he expected.
Brain, please talk me out of doing something stupid next time.
No promises. That was probably as much help he was going to get. The road of improvement apparently covered all aspects of his life, and he still wasn't making much headway.
No time like the present. Jaune stood up and stretched his body, working out the kinks from the earlier spar. "Thanks, Yang. I'm glad I know at least one competent leader."
"You'd be more competent if you changed that attitude of yours." She offered her hand to him. "Help a gal up?" Jaune grasped her wrist and pulled her up, bringing her uncomfortably close to him. She was a beautiful woman, even with both of them covered in sweat. But right now, he more important things to do instead of gawking.
"Sorry." He said flashing her a smile. "Old habits die hard." Yang went to smack him, but he dodged out of the way, moving towards Pyrrha and Weiss. As he approached, Jaune could see Weiss working on the bench press, struggling with the light weight she was using. Any progress is good progress. The tremble in her arms and the redness of her face told him she was pushing herself. It brought a smile to his face as he leaned on the gym equipment beside them and silently watched. After a few more reps, Weiss put the barbell back in place and turned to look at him.
"What do you want?" She huffed, red in the face. Pyrrha was ignoring him up to this point and continued to do so, racking weights on the bar.
"I wanted to apologize." He began, feeling less confident about the endeavor and looking at the ceiling.
"You do? I might consider it if you groveled." Weiss said, crossing her legs and arms with an expectant look on her face. Jaune shook his head.
"Not you, to Pyrrha." He explained. The person in questioned turned around and displayed a plastic smile on her face.
"I think Weiss has the right idea."
Ah shit. He was going to have to pull out all the stops for this one. If there was one thing Jaune learned from his female dominated family, it was how to ask for forgiveness. With as much pride as he could muster, Jaune kneeled on the gym floor. "I'm sorry." Weiss and Pyrrha shared a look between each other as he said it. The champion fighter shrugged her shoulders before Weiss turned back towards him.
"Not good enough." Jaune cringed at the icy tone in his teammates voice. "We are distinguished women and deserved to be treated as such. You might get away at asking forgiveness like that to Ruby or Nora, but not with us. Try again."
Alright, the Violet protocol it is then. Assume all the blame. Bowing his head so that it looked like he was groveling, Jaune continued. "I'm sorry for worrying and being an idiot by wandering off on my own and not telling anyone. I hope you can forgive me Pyrrha for not thinking about how you would feel." Laying it on thick always worked in his family, and he hoped it would work now. His dad even did this once when he didn't call for three months straight. I'm more like my dad than I thought. Genetic behaviors aside, Jaune waited for their response.
From his position on the ground, he couldn't see their reactions. It was only after Jaune heard the muffled laughter did he look up. Weiss had a smug smile on her face while Pyrrha was holding her hand over her mouth. Amusement was in the redhead's eyes he sat back up. "Hmmm." The heiress began. "That's a start. I think you need to work it off. Pyrrha, doesn't his swordsmanship seem lacking to you?"
"From firsthand experience, I believe it is. Remedial training might help his poor performance." Pyrrha agreed with a hint of malicious intent. A chill ran up Jaune's spine as his instincts urged him to flee, wide eyes looking between the two women.
"I agree." Weiss declared, getting up from the workout equipment and patting Jaune's shoulder as she walked away.
We need to run.
I don't think we can get away.
"Oh, and Pyrrha, we need him back in one piece, so try to ease him in." Weiss called back as she met up with Ruby and Blake on the track. Jaune got to his feet just in time for Pyrrha to put an iron grip on his shoulder.
"Get your weapon Jaune." She ordered, pushing him to the nearby locker room. "We have to make up for lost time." The way she said the phrase made him second guess apologizing.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, huh?
You got me into this, now get me out!
No dice. You're on your own.
Bastard!
"Now, because of how covalent bonds interact, we can assume what properties certain molecules have, like water or air. The interesting part about Oxygen is that it's constantly burning everything around it; a process known as oxidization, what we covered in the last chapter." Weiss lectured on in the confines of Team JBRW dorm room. Ruby's head was spinning from the overload of information that was being emitted from her teammates mouth. Atoms, interactions, pressure, temperature, altitude, periodic elements, and even quantum physics!
Ruby's head dropped onto the desk with a loud thud. It was never this bad back at Signal…
"Pay attention Ruby, we still have to cover acids and basics for the upcoming test." Weiss said next to her desk. A small whimper came from Ruby as she suffered the slow and agonizing death that was studying. This all started when it became obvious Ruby failed tests that even Jaune could pass. Turns out, being accepted into Beacon two years younger than everyone else, people just assumed you knew the course material.
It was with Weiss's suggestion and Jaune's permission that she would be tutored every night to make up for the education gap. Ruby called it torture. Sitting still and reading dull material every night just made her want to light every cursed textbook on fire and throw it out the window. But try as she might, there was no avoiding her treacherous fate. A knock at the door interrupted their session, and Ruby was happy for the distraction. "I got it!" She jumped up and dashed to the door. When Ruby opened it, Jaune's body slumped down onto the doorway and onto the grounded.
"Help…" He groaned. "She's a menace…" Ruby looked back up to see Pyrrha smiling and giving a tiny wave to her.
"Hey Pyrrha, what's up?" Ruby asked, ignoring Jaune's anguish.
"Oh, just dropping off Jaune." She explained. "He's such a fast learner and his Aura reserves are marvelous. Great for training, practicing, and conditioning. Isn't that right Jaune?"
"I hate you with every fiber of my being." His response had no real venom to it, and only made Pyrrha laugh.
"That's how I know it's working. I used to say the same things to my trainers." Pyrrha looked fondly down at him. "I can't wait to see how great you become." The interaction felt weird to Ruby, and she was bad at socializing in general. Maybe it was just how some people behaved? She did read in People for Dummies somewhere that they act differently depending on who they're around. It made no sense to her, just act one way!
"I can't be great if you nearly kill me!" he shot back from the ground, crawling towards his bed.
"Nearly, Jaune. Nearly. I'll see you tomorrow! Bye guys!" Pyrrha waived and crossed the hall to her dorm. As her door opened, Ruby could hear the ranting of Nora and Yang scolding her over something. Finally, someone else can feel her wrath. Living with her was great, but she acted more like a mother than a sister when they were at home. Ruby closed the door and turned around towards Jaune, who was crawling up to his bed.
"See Ruby? Why can't you work as hard as Jaune?" Weiss commented on the display, which earned a glare from her and a snort form Blake.
"I don't see her doing anything!" Ruby pointed to Blake who was reading a book on her bed.
"I am studying mature and complex themes for Goodwitch's writing class." Blake countered, obviously trying to avoid Weiss's attention. I'll drag you down to hell with me.
"You're reading porn!" Ruby roared, bottled frustration seeping out.
"It is about confusing relationships and how adults handle them. There's nothing pornographic about it." Blake continued to weasel her way out of doing any work.
"Really?" Ruby asked.
"Really."
"Then read some out loud." Ruby propositioned. Blake looked like a dear caught in headlights with her wide amber eyes.
"I would like to hear some of this. I didn't know Ms. Goodwitch had a writing class." Weiss added, giving Blake her full attention. She looked back and forth between them before her eyes settled on Jaune.
"Jaune, how was sparring with Pyrrha? Did you learn anything new?" Blake said, trying to shift the attention.
"Don't change the subject, read the book!" Ruby ordered, pointing at her.
"Please don't drag me into this…" Jaune's comment went ignored.
"I don't think your ears are ready for the material." Blake continued to delay.
"I am ready! I'm just as mature as you are, and I drink plenty of milk!"
"Take of your shoes Jaune, you're tracking dirt everywhere." Weiss nagged Jaune.
"Give me a minute, I just got back." He reminded her.
"Just because you drink milk, doesn't mean you're ready!" Blake shouted over the other conversation.
"I already know about sex, read the porn!" Ruby refuted.
It's always chaotic in Team Jabberwocky's home.
A club somewhere in Vale
Music reverberated through the building as Roman put up his feet in the VIP lounge. The couch he sat on was expensive leather and the table that held his boots was a combination of oak wood and glass. As far as rooms went, the lounge held a few more couches and love seats, as well as other decorations to give and exclusive vibe. It also had a giant one-way window where it overlooked the dancefloor and bar, being that it was on the third level. This place was a favorite haunt of his because of the discretion and the superiority he felt here.
The fact that he also partially owned the place helped. It was more of a favor for a favor type of exchange when the owner on paper needed a loan. Roman always knew a good investment when he saw one. Right now, he was smoking his favorite Vacuo brand from Sanus and reading the Vale Times. Dust was becoming a scarcity in the city, with his current string of robberies driving up insurance prices and making local distributors even more paranoid. Having a few officers of the local law enforcement in his pocket could only do so much before their competence came into question.
Roman didn't want to lose whatever contacts he had, and he definitely didn't want to die a blistering death from his new boss either. So, he had to get creative. Using informants that owed him a favor in Atlas, Roman wanted to know when the next bulk shipment would make its way to Vale. Which is why right now he was waiting and bidding his time, buying what little dust the local gangs held to appease Cinder. He'd get his revenge on strong arming him, one way or another.
Dropping the newspaper onto the table, he massaged his head and looked over at his partner in crime. Neo was sitting on a loveseat and staring at the one-way mirror, watching the crowd below. It was one of her favorite pastimes. That, and being a little shit to anyone that annoyed her. The pink, brown, and white strands of hair barely reflected in the window, with her heterochromia eyes and matching outfit. If anything, Roman was glad she was a constant in his life. Or as constant as a teleporting ice cream addict demon can be.
He may need to reevaluate his life choices.
Smoke wafted from his mouth as leaned back in the couch, letting himself dissociate for a moment to gain some clarity. The cigars only calmed his nerves so much, and it never really solved the problem. Off brand purple paint stared down at him from the ceiling as he lost himself in thought, trying to find new approaches to Cinder's employment. Roman didn't get this far by being an idiot, and he planned to live a long life in obscurity after pulling off the greatest heist in Remnant. Make himself a living legend in time immemorial.
A knock on the lounge door interrupted him from his thoughts. He rented the place out for the night so he could get some peace. "Come in!" he yelled over the music, changing position into a more respectful posture. Cinder was known to drop by unannounced, and he hated that. Hei Xiong entered the lounge, dressed up in his usual attire of black waistcoat, white button-up shirt, and black slacks. His hair was black and closely trimmed, just like his beard, and the man always wore shades wherever he went.
"Junior," Roman motioned for him to take a seat across from him. "Always good to see you."
"I wish I could say the same." Junior said, taking his seat. "You've been putting my men at serious risk for the past few weeks."
"Hey, I've compensated them accordingly. You can't argue that. Just be thankful I unlocked their Aura before they were executed." Roman did it as a favor for Hei, and to make the cannon fodder just a bit more durable.
"Sure, whatever you say." Junior leaned back on the couch and pulled out his scroll. "I got the information you wanted on the next Dust shipment."
"That soon? Damn Junior, you work faster than I thought. Ever considered being a journalist?" The man grunted in response, sliding the device over the table.
"Didn't need to look hard. The SDC have been scrambling to meet demand, so they might have cut a few corners. Can't say I blame them." That was true. Roman's work only driven up the price of Dust, something the SDC was only too happy to supply.
"Two days, huh? That's as short notice as it gets. Hey Neo, what's the weather forecast for this week?" Roman asked her. Never underestimate the value of weather when conducting crime. A loud whistle escaped his mouth when he saw the quantity. "Twelve tons of Dust? They've been holding out on me." Neo came up to him and held out her scroll. Fortune was smiling on him today as he saw scattered storms on the day of delivery.
"Perfect. You're a miracle worker Junior." Roman added, sliding the device back to him.
"Things are getting hot in Vale, Roman. You need to slow down before the city starts taking drastic measures." Junior warned, getting up from the seat and making his way towards the exit.
"Can't stop this train, Junior. Got people to see, things to steal. You know what I'm about." The door closed behind Junior as he left, leaving Roman alone with Neo. "He seemed stressed out, didn't he?" He asked her. She just shrugged her shoulders and went back to her position on the loveseat. Wasting no time, Roman whipped out his own scroll and thumbed his newly acquired contact. It rang a few times before someone answered.
"What?" the voice snarled. The image was grainy but Roman could make out the iconic white mask.
"Adam, old buddy, old pal, I have a proposition for you…"
The plot moves forward ever slowly. Until next time.