Jaune walked down the dormitory hallway, humming to himself with his hands in his jean pockets and his sword strapped to his waist. He felt a lot better today than he did the day before.
Things were finally starting to look up for him. For one thing, he'd finally managed to get caught up on all his school work, and on top of that Cinder had offered to help him out with his training. At first he thought she might've just felt bad for him, but after talking to her some more it really did seem like she was just a nice person who genuinely wanted to lend a hand to him.
She'd also given him her number, which was a bonus. It obviously wasn't anything romantic, but it was honestly farther than he'd gotten with most girls.
A little sad, but hey, it's the small victories.
Jaune checked the time on his scroll. He was supposed to be meeting up with Pyrrha on the roof about now, something he'd been looking forward to since the start of the day. He wanted to put Cinder's advice into practice as soon as he could. The girl certainly knew what she was doing, so it couldn't hurt to take her word for it and see where it got him.
As of recently, he found himself increasingly focused on training. He was finally starting to see real progress, and the light at the end of the tunnel was getting brighter and brighter. There was still a ton of work to do, but it didn't seem quite so hopeless now.
"Hey, Jaune!"
Jaune turned to look towards the direction of the voice, seeing Cinder walking quickly towards him. Huh. He was just thinking about her, too.
It was certainly strange how much they crossed paths, but he chalked that up to the fact that Beacon wasn't all that big a school, even with the exchange students there. Huntsman academies were rather exclusive.
"Hey, Cinder. Long time no see, huh?" Jaune chuckled at his own bad joke. "I feel like I see you more than my own teammates, and I live with them."
Cinder giggled and ran a hand through her hair. "Ah, well, it's a rather small school," she said, repeating his earlier thoughts. "Anyways, how are you?"
"I'm doing pretty good, actually. Just about to get some training in with my partner. How about you?"
"Oh, I'm doing just fine." Cinder took a step closer to him and put her hand on his arm, making him blush. "A lot better now that you'rehere."
Jaune let out a nervous laugh and broke eye contact.
There it was again. She was flirting with him, he supposed. It was more than likely she wasn't being serious, though, just joking around. Yang had done the same thing once or twice, although that had seemed much more tongue-in-cheek. Still though, as much as he would've liked to think someone like her was interested in him, he really doubted that.
He'd considered trying to flirt back a couple times when they were training together, but ultimately ended up deciding not to. He didn't want to come off as weird, especially if it turned out he was misinterpreting it all. Besides, he didn't even really know what to say in the first place.
"G-glad to hear you're doing good," he said, cursing his own awkwardness. "So, uh… what brings you around here?" Just because he didn't think too deep into her flirting doesn't mean that it didn't make him nervous, something he was probably making very clear.
Seriously? "What brings you around here?" What am I even saying? Her dorm is probably just down the hall!
"Just exploring the campus is all. I saw you here and just couldn't pass up the opportunity," she said, taking another step towards him. There was maybe a foot of distance in between them.
Jaune froze up, his face getting more and more red. How was he even supposed to respond to that?! Luckily, she kept speaking without waiting for a response, saving him from having to.
"You know, I'm rather disappointed you didn't call me last night. I was really looking forward to that."
Oh right, that… He'd spent the better part of a half-hour trying to decide if he should actually follow through and dial her number, but chickened out on account of his social awkwardness. Luckily, she didn't seem to be genuinely upset with him.
"O-oh, sorry about that," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "I, uh…" He looked for something to say, but came up with nothing.
"Don't worry about it," she said, once again bailing him out. Her lips moved into a smirk as she brought her hand up to his cheek, threatening to shut his brain off completely. "Fortunately for you, I can think of a few ways you can make it up to me."
"Jaune? Are you ready for our training?"
Cinder took her hand off of his arm and stepped back away from him, turning to the source of the voice.
He hadn't even noticed Pyrrha there until she spoke up. Somehow, she'd managed to find both the best and worst timing possible.
Pyrrha looked past him at Cinder, frowning. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation." If he didn't know her as well as he did, he would've said she seemed angry at her. "Anyway," she said, turning back towards him, "If you're ready-"
"We weren't done talking." Cinder stared back at the other girl, her tone cold and unfriendly. "Why don't you allow us to finish, then you can do… whatever it is you two do," she said, narrowing her eyes.
Jaune looked between them, completely taken off-guard. Nora often told him how dense he was, but he wasn't so stupid that he couldn't detect the tension in the hallway. Why was she always telling him that, anyway?
"Excuse me?" Pyrrha sounded just as shocked as he was. "I… listen, I apologize for interjecting, but we are supposed to be training about now. Right, Jaune?" she said, turning to him.
Cinder opened her mouth to say something back, but Jaune spoke up before she could, putting an end to whatever was going on there.
"W- why don't we catch up later, alright?" he said, trying his best to diffuse the situation. "I'd love to talk, but you know how it is. Gotta stay on top of training, hah hah…" Despite his very convincing fake laugh, neither of the two girls seemed any less on-edge, with Cinder continuing to glare at Pyrrha while the latter shifted on her feet and avoided eye contact.
The former spoke to him without ever looking away Pyrrha. "If that's what you want, I suppose…"
Jaune cleared his throat. "Okay, then… You wanna go up to the roof now, Pyr?"
"Yes, let's do that."
"Alright, then." Jaune looked back towards Cinder. "Talk to you later?"
"Yes, we will," she responded assertively. The girl stood still and watched them leave until they were out of eyeshot.
He and his partner made their way towards the roof in a silence that Pyrrha only broke once they closed the door behind him.
"So… is that who you were training with yesterday?"
The question didn't need to be asked. Jaune was thinking the exact same thing.
"Yea. I honestly don't know why she seemed so upset," he said, sighing. "She was fine when we were talking right before, and then you came and… well, you know what happened."
"It was certainly strange." Pyrrha paused. "I mean, don't you think her behavior was a little… concerning?"
Jaune thought for a few seconds.
He supposed it was, at least a little bit. But even more than that it was just downright weird. She seemed really ticked off that Pyrrha had cut their conversation short, even if she had a valid reason to do so. Maybe she just had a short fuse? It was possible, but if that was the case he'd imagine that she would've gotten frustrated with him plenty of times during their training. Besides, that would have to be a really short fuse.
Maybe he should just not worry about it. He doubted Cinder would want him digging into her personal issues, and he didn't really want to piss her off. Seriously, she could fight.
"I suppose so. I don't know though, I guess I'd have to get to know her better before I assume anything."
Pyrrha sighed. "Maybe it'd be best if you just… avoided her?"
"I don't know, Pyr," he said with a frown. "Doesn't that seem a little mean?"
"I-" Pyrrha shook her head. "Nevermind."
/-/
Heat rushed to Cinder's face as she watched Jaune walk down the hallway with his partner, leaving her standing alone outside his dorm.
She was going to murder that slut! At the first opportunity, she would punish her for trying to separate them. What the hell did she think she was doing, interrupting them like that!? Why couldn't she just leave them alone!?
Yet somehow, Nikos cutting their conversation short wasn't even the worst part. No, that was what happened afterwards. Jaune, her sweet, beloved Jaune, had turned her away and left to go with that skank of a partner. She understood that he just wanted to stop an argument, but it still hurt.
A singular tear rolled down her cheek and dropped to the floor unnoticed by Cinder, who simply stared ahead where Jaune had left, clenching her fists. Her chest felt heavy as his words echoed in her head.
It was Nikos' fault. All she'd asked was for her to let them finish speaking, but that little whore just had to insist! If she'd just had the slightest bit of patience, this wouldn't have happened! Why couldn't she just have waited? Why was it so important to her that she had to pull Jaune aside right then and there?
Cinder's breathing got heavy. Suddenly, it made perfect sense. The first time in the library could've been excused as an accident - an unforgivable accident, but an accident nonetheless - but this was the second time she'd separated them.
She'd done it on purpose! Nikos was trying to take him from her!
It had been a possibility before, but she really hated her because of how much time she spent around Jaune. Now, though, it was all but confirmed.
Cinder felt the half-maiden powers surge in her hands, begging to be released. She didn't really want to hold them back, either.
What made that bitch think she was worthy of him?! He was too good for her, far too good! She would make her regret thinking for even a second that she could have him!
She wanted so badly to march up to the roof and do just that, but unfortunately she just couldn't. At least, not yet, and not with Jaune there. If he were to see her do that, he would see her as some kind of monster. So as much as she didn't want to, she would have to sit patiently and await her chance. She wasn't exactly known for her patience, much the opposite in fact, but if it meant getting rid of Nikos then she was willing to do so.
Cinder practically stomped back down the hallway towards her dorm, still seething with rage.
As she walked, her mind once again went back to the conversation she'd had with Jaune, or more specifically, how he'd left her to run off with Nikos.
She'd tried to push back and keep him there with her, but that didn't work. It only made things worse. She saw the look on Jaune's face when he talked to her, and it was obvious that he had been uncomfortable. At least he didn't seem angry or upset with her, but still. It could very well come back to bite her. Especially now that she knew that Nikos was after him too, it would be a disaster to give him any reason to turn her down.
The whole thing only served to make her bad day much worse. She'd woken up upset and sleep-deprived, having stayed up almost the entire night staring at her scroll and waiting for Jaune to call her. It wouldn't have been all that bad if she'd gotten any opportunity to talk to him, but that hadn't happened either. His damn friends still just couldn't leave him alone!
Of course, she did eventually get some much needed alone-time with him, but Nikos just had to put a stop to that. Because Oum-forbid she actually find some happinessfor once in her life, right? Nope, Pyrrha fucking Nikos just had to keep her away from Jaune, the one thing she'd ever really wanted, the one thing she'd spent years looking for!
Cinder clenched her fists, barely managing to resist punching a hole in the wall. She was back at the dorm now, but couldn't enter how she was. She needed to calm down first, adopt her usual calm demeanor, and walk without letting Emerald or Mercury know that something was wrong. Questions were the last thing she wanted from them.
Pushing the door open, she saw that Emerald and Mercury had listened to her orders and were waiting in the dorm room. The former took the time to look up at her, while the other simply stared down at his scroll, avoiding eye contact. He seemed to be doing that a lot recently.
"Mercury, Emerald," she said, closing the door again. "I trust you both have made progress on your respective tasks?"
"Of course, Cinder," Emerald said proudly. "I've acquainted myself with Ruby Rose, just as you requested. She doesn't seem to notice any holes in my story."
"Good." If the girl was expecting any more praise, she wasn't getting it. "And you, Mercury?" Cinder turned to the other person in the room. "I recall telling you to form a relationship with Jaune Arc of Team JNPR?"
Mercury looked up at her. "I… well, I'm still getting to that."
Cinder already knew he hadn't started. If there had been any chance to talk to him, she would've beaten him to it. Still, a simple reminder never hurt anyone.
"Why do you think I keep you around, Mercury?" she said. The boy was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. "I keep you around because you're useful. Now, you're only useful because you do what I say and when I say it." Cinder glared at him for a few seconds before continuing. "Now, if you want to stick around, I suggest you stay useful."
Mercury tried to defend himself, but was quickly interrupted. "I've tried-"
"You will begin tonight, or you can expect consequences," she snapped out. "Believe me, Mercury, you don't want to know I have in store for you if you fail me."
Cinder scowled at him for a few seconds before slamming the door shut again. Threatening him didn't make her feel any better. Clearly, she needed a better method of letting out her frustration. Preferably, something more violent.
The Emerald Forest was riddled with grimm, or so she'd heard. Right outside Beacon, too. The "creatures of darkness" were really the perfect targets for blowing off some steam, being both abundant and fragile to anyone who knew their weak spots. Cinder could remember entire days spent slaughtering them around Evermore after Watts had said something or another, or even just for the hell of it.
The hallways were mostly empty as she walked towards the elevator, as to be expected late in the evening. Although even if someone was there, she probably wouldn't have noticed. Her mind was on other things.
As usual, those "other things" just so happened to revolve around Jaune.
She needed to make him hers before Nikos could. Plain and simple. His partner was competition, competition that slept in the same room as him and trained with him five days a week. That made her dangerous.
Her one saving grace was that the girl seemed too nervous to act. The school year had started months ago, and yet she still hadn't made a move on him. Still though, no way was she going to risk losing him. She needed to get her feelings across to him, and beat that skank to it.
Her face heated back up again as she remembered how his partner had tried forcing him away from her.
What, she thinks she can control him now?! Govern where he goes and who he speaks to!? He deserves so much better than that!
Nikos couldn't make him happy, not like Cinder could. She would do anything, anything just to see him smile. Nikos, though? The idea that shecould give him any sort of pleasure would have had her laughing her ass off if it didn't make her want to throw up.
He needs me to be there for him. I have to keep him safe from her and-
"Hey, you lost or something?"
Her train of thought was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice that called out to her just before she could get into the elevator. She turned towards the source and her scowl only got worse. It was the same ginger boy that had been staring at her in the library.
"Can't blame you. It is a big campus, after all. Name's Cardin. Why don't I show you around?" he said, leaning against the wall and smirking at her. Everything about him screamed of arrogance.
"I'd like nothing less," she bit back. Her response was so immediate that the boy could hardly even finish his sentence. "Unless you want to have a problem, I suggest you leave me alone and mind your own business." If her words weren't hostile, her tone definitely was.
"Sheesh, you've had a rough day, huh? I think I can help with that. How about you come with me back to my dorm?" Apparently, he didn't get the message. That only served to irritate her further.
"Are you deaf, or just an idiot!?" Cinder was all but yelling at him. "I believe I said loud and clear that I don't want to talk to you. Leave me alone."
She turned back around and made to get into the elevator, but stopped in her tracks when she heard him speak up again. "Yea, whatever. I just saw you talking to Jaune the other day in the library and felt bad that you had to settle for that loser."
Cinder froze, her eyes widening with rage. Time seemed to slow down as she whipped around to look at the pathetic bastard that dared to speak a word against her sweet Jaune. The boy had his back turned to her and had already begun to walk in the other direction. If he was expecting to get away with that, he was dead wrong.
"Say that again!" The boy looked back and stared at her with shock for a few seconds. "I said," Cinder took a few steps closer to him, "Say. That. Again."
Cardin got over his confusion and glared back, evening moving closer in a foolish attempt to intimidate her. "I said, I felt bad that you-" Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by a blade of obsidian glass pressing against his neck.
She didn't even care about keeping her cover. All she could think about was making sure this son of a bitch got what he deserved. As far as Cinder was concerned, she would be more than justified in slitting his throat and letting him bleed out.
"Well? Go on," she hissed, "I'm just dying to hear what you were about to tell me. Or maybe you just lost your train of thought?"
He took a step back only for Cinder to close the distance again, still holding Midnight up against the side of his neck, right under his jaw. "Y-yea, that's it. I lost my train of thought. I don't even remember what I was about to say." Sweat began to drip down his forehead. Good. She wanted him to fear her.
"Wow, you are dumb. Well, how about I help you out?" Cinder pressed harder against his neck, enough so that it would have drawn blood if he didn't have aura. "I believe you were saying that you felt bad for me. Now why, exactly, is that?"
"H-hey, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just kidding around," he said, doing a terrible job of faking an amused smile. "Just a joke." She pressed harder. "I-I'm sorry, alright!? I shouldn't have said that!"
Cinder stared him in the eyes for a few seconds, contemplating her next action.
His fake apology only made her want to kill him even more. His aura meant it wouldn't be as simple as dragging the blade across his jugular, but she was still more than confident she could manage. It wasn't a question of whether or not she could do it, but rather if she could get away with it.
Beacon would obviously launch a thorough investigation, which was likely already happening with her break-in from a few months ago. Her powers would leave little evidence behind, but if they did manage to catch her…
It wasn't so much the school she was worried about, but Jaune. Or rather, what he would think of her if he found out that she'd killed someone, even if they'd deserved it. She wasn't ready to risk her relationship with Jaune, not for this and not for anything.
"Fine," she said, taking the blade off of his neck. "I'll let you go, but if you so much as look my way again, I will make you regret it." There was nothing hypothetical about it. It was a promise, not a threat, something the boy actually managed to catch onto, surprisingly enough.
"Right, of course," he said, breaking eye contact.
"Good." Cinder finally turned around and got into the elevator, punching in the ground level button.
/-/
The danger of the Emerald Forest was clearly not exaggerated. Cinder had never seen so many grimm in one place, at least not outside of Evernight. Obviously, they were attracted by her negativity, but they still had to be in the area to detect her in the first place.
A lifetime spent training and half the maiden powers meant she had no problem cutting them down, but she doubted a first-year huntsman in training could do the same. A team of four? Maybe, but not easily.
If anything, she was glad there were so many. It gave her an outlet for her temper, something she desperately needed at the moment. Almost an hour had passed since she ran into the Cardin boy in the hallway, but she'd hardly calmed down.
He had officially made himself a target. Cinder was not about to let him get away with bad-mouthing her Jaune like that.
He has some nerve, slandering him like that! I'm going to make his life hell!
Only a small part of her mind was focused on fighting. Her body carried out the movements almost robotically, dodging, slashing, and torching the grimm on its own. It was practically instincts at this point. She found weak points and ripped into them without even thinking.
A stab wound to the stomach from Midnight killed an ursa.
Who the hell does he think he is?! Speaking down on Jaune like that!
A burst of fire took out a beowulf.
And Nikos, too! Does she think she can have him just because she's his partner? Because of her worthless titles!?
Cinder turned and saw a death stalker poised to strike. For the first time in a while, she was fully aware of her surroundings.
She braced herself, waiting for the creature to charge at her, but it stayed completely still. Looking around, she saw that all the other grimm were doing the same, grouping around the small clearing she found herself in. It would have certainly been a strange sight for nearly anyone else, but Cinder had seen this many times before.
The queen was here. Maybe not in person, but she was present in some other form. Salem had spent thousands of years honing her magic and didn't hesitate to use it when she thought she needed to, even on members of her own inner circle. She rarely did, though, so if she was using it now to contact her, then it was undoubtedly important.
Cinder did her best to compose herself and stood still, waiting for Salem to reveal herself.
"Cinder…" A cold breeze swept through the trees. The voice sounded distant, but powerful nonetheless. It came from all around, almost as if the forest itself was calling to her.
"Cinder." Turning around, she saw the figure of Salem towering above her. She could see right through her body, but that didn't make her any less intimidating. "What is it that you plan to accomplish out here in the forest? Have you forgotten about our plans, or do you believe you've found something more worth your time?"
"Master." Cinder kneeled in front of her. "I've hardly been here for long. I assure you, I have spent more than enough time developing my plans."
Salem saw right through her lie. "As much time as you've spent chasing after the boy?"
Cinder looked up at her in surprise. "I have been… pursuing some personal interests, yes, but believe me, that has no effect on what happens to Beacon."
"Is that so?" Salem looked down on her with a scowl. "Listen to me, Cinder. Beacon will fall, and you will make sure of that. Perhaps I might give you permission to go after the boy if you succeed, but until then, your focus is needed elsewhere."
"My queen!" she said, jumping up. "I really don't think it is unreasonablethat I start to pursue him before the Vytal festival. I am more than capable of doing both."
"If I recall, you are also capable of waiting, however much you dislike it. Patience has gotten you this far, has it not?"
"It has," she responded through gritted teeth, "but you must understand that I can't miss my chance to-"
"I do not care for your excuses," Salem snapped at her. "You will take the rest of the maiden powers or you will suffer the consequences." The grimm around them started growling, circling around the clearing. "I'm sure Tyrian would be more than happy to pay a visit to a certain Jaune Arc, but I would simply hate for that to be necessary. Would you not agree?"
W- what? She… she can't possibly mean…
Cinder drew in a hitched breath and looked up at her. "M-my queen! You can't… you can't really be serious?" The look on Salem's face gave her an answer, and it wasn't the one she wanted. For a second, she didn't even believe it. "You can't do that! He has nothing to do with any of this!"
"It is in your hands. Succeed, and you have no reason to worry about him." Salem began to disappear, her projection slowly fading away into a cloud of fog.
"You can't! You can't!" she screamed, collapsing back onto her knees. Salem was already gone, and her grimm started dispersing through the trees, having somehow been ordered to do so by their master. Cinder slammed her fist into the dirt.
Was this what she got for all her efforts? After all she'd done for Salem, this was how she was rewarded!? Her nails dug into her palms as the image of Jaune, bleeding out on the ground under Tyrian Callows, came into her mind. Her breathing got unsteady.
No, that wouldn't happen. She wouldn't let it happen. She was going to make him hers, no matter what Salem had told her, and protect him. Whether it be from Tyrian, Nikos, or anyone else, she would do whatever it took to make sure nobody harmed him.
"I won't let anything happen to you, Jaune," she said to herself. "I'm going to keep you safe. No one's going to hurt you, I promise."
/-/
Mercury opened the door to the locker room, where he'd seen Jaune enter just a few seconds earlier.
Talking to this guy was practically the last way he wanted to spend his time. He was used to doing Cinder's dirty work at this point, but when it came to her love life he'd much prefer to be left out of it. He'd tried to just ignore his boss' instructions and avoid talking to him, but it hadn't taken long for her to get impatient.
Actually, "impatient" was underselling it. She had been livid with him.
So here he was, following him through the hallway and looking for an opportunity to talk to him. It wasn't the first time he'd ever stalked someone before, but knowing exactly why he was doing it this time made it feel a lot weirder. Helping Cinder hook up with some student was not what he wanted to be doing at Beacon.
Mercury quickly scanned his surroundings, spotting a lanky, blonde teen on the other side of the room. Great. Now all he needed to do was exchange a few words and he could be on his way.
The boy didn't even seem to notice him approaching until he was practically right behind him. He was lucky Cinder wanted to protect him so much, because it would honestly be a miracle if he lasted even a day as a huntsman with that little awareness.
"Hey, you know if I can find an empty locker somewhere around here?"
Jaune whipped around, apparently startled by Mercury's completely unnoticeable appearance. Seriously, this was Cinder's boytoy?
"H-huh? Oh, yea. They should have some extra over there," he said, pointing down the hallway. "Most of the ones closer to the door are already taken, but you shouldn't have any real trouble getting one if you look farther in."
"Thanks, bro." An idea popped into his mind, making him smirk. Maybe if he could just get him to say something nice about Cinder, he could report that back to her and she would be too happy to bother him for a few days. "Say, I think I recognize you from somewhere…"
"Oh," Jaune scratched the back of his neck, "well-"
Mercury snapped his fingers, interrupting him. "I remember now! Pretty sure I've seen you hanging around one of my teammates."
"Really?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "Who's your teammate?"
"Her name's Cinder Fall. You know her?"
"Oh, yea," he said, chuckling. "Not too well, but we've hung out a couple times."
Mercury extended a hand, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. "I'm Mercury, by the way."
"I'm Jaune," he said, taking his hand and shaking it. "Nice to meet you, Mercury."
"You too. So, about Cinder…"
"Y-yea? What about her?" Just mentioning her seemed to make him nervous. Seriously, what was she doing to the poor guy?
Nevermind. He really didn't want to know.
"Well, what do you think about her?"
"O-oh, well…" Jaune's face became a light shade of red. "She seems nice… a little weird, maybe, but pretty. I-" The boy froze, having realized his mistake just a second too late. "Err… pretty nice, I mean," he stammered out. "She seems pretty nice."
"Uh huh." Mercury rolled his eyes. "I'm sure that's exactly what you meant."
"I-it is! I just misspoke is all," he said, still trying to save face.
"Right, dude. I'm going to go find an empty locker now."
Mercury walked away, finally putting an end to the conversation. He'd gotten all the information he needed, and really didn't feel like continuing it. Hell, it was just as awkward for him as it was for Jaune.