Jaune opened his eyes, wondering what had dragged him from the blissful oblivion that was sleep. One thing he noticed immediately was that his usual sleeping partner, one Ruby Rose, was not nestled into his side like usual. At times he would find his arm resting between her horns as she wiggled in closer, clinging to him.
Her absence was worrying. The fact that he still felt warmth, just lower down, more so. Trying to move, he found himself bound to the posts of the bed. He couldn't yell or scream, even as a lump revealed itself to be sitting on his chest. Rising, blankets falling away, was Blake.
Her mask was off, eyes glowing red in the night. Her features seemed more exaggerated somehow, jawline even more extended than normal, ears larger. She looked feral. Drool ran freely as she leaned in close to his face and licked his cheek. Jaune thrashed as she moved further down, shredding his clothing with her teeth.
She disappeared beneath the blankets, and all he could hear was the sound of his own sleeping pants tearing. The blanket rose slightly, crimson eyes looking at him with a hunger that was not carnal, fangs almost glowing white in the darkness.
He shot forward in bed, Ruby yelping. He kept from screaming, but was covered in sweat and panting. Ruby, having been abruptly shoved away, looked at him quizzically.
"Jaune?" she asked, her voice laced with concern. In the dim purple light coming in through the window, her eyes shone a brilliant red.
Just like Blake's had.
A dream. It had all been just a dream. Or rather, a nightmare. One where Blake had been about to do unspeakable things to him with that shark-like maw of hers.
Things which made his legs squeeze together tightly and his body shiver.
"What happened?" the girl next to him continued. "Are you okay?"
Her presence and her warmth was comforting. Ruby was here, and that meant Blake was not. She would protect him from the tentacled fiend. For not the first time since the arrangement had begun, Jaune was happy to have the redheaded hybrid at his side.
"I'm okay," he said softly, laying his head back down against the pillow. He wondered what time it was. It was always hard to tell with the lack of sunlight. "Just a bad dream."
"Bad?" she questioned. "There was enough negativity to wake me up. That sounds like a pretty good dream to me."
Jaune wondered how she could have ever come to this conclusion. Was it perhaps more hybrid logic? The kind of stuff he was assumed to know already, but in reality didn't have a clue about?
Jaune nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Suddenly, their door slammed open. Weiss stood in the entranceway, red eyes glowing in the darkness.
"What are you doing with Jaune!" she shouted accusingly.
Ruby shifted her position on the bed to sit up straighter. "It wasn't me!" she argued. "He was dreaming! It was his brain!"
The hallway's light filtered in through the open door, and Jaune could make out that Weiss had crossed her arms before her. Her foot tapped on the ground in annoyance. "I'm really expected to believe that, Ruby? That his brain could create such powerful negative emotions in his sleep?"
He felt Ruby's arms snake around his body, and she squeezed tightly as she looked back at Weiss. "Doesn't really matter what you believe," she said defiantly. "But I'll handle it from here. Just go back to your own room and let us sleep. Okay?"
Apparently it was still the middle of the night. There was enough time to get back to sleep. That was good. His eyes felt heavy, and he needed every bit of rest in order to get through the average day here at Grimm Academy.
Weiss stood in the doorway, her face contorted with anger as she eyed them. "This isn't over," she snarled before slamming the door shut.
Jaune let out a breath as his head crashed back down on his pillow. His closed his eyes, hoping that he would be able to get back to sleep soon. And that his dreams would not be filled with anymore visions of Blake and her jagged teeth.
Only a couple seconds later he felt a hand gently graze his cheek, and his eyes burst open once more. "Are you feeling okay?" Ruby asked softly.
Somehow her touch did make him feel better. Ruby was such a good friend. A good friend he had kissed. A good friend he had enjoyed kissing...
His anxiety and apprehension evaporated. "I'm fine," he replied just as softly. "Everything's fine."
Ruby hummed happily, her hand moving down from his cheek to his chest as she nestled against him once more in her favorite sleeping position. He had to admit that he liked it too. Sharing a bed with a pretty girl was nothing to protest.
Not that he could protest even if he wanted to. He was tired. "Thanks, Ruby," he said weakly, as weariness once more tugged at his mind.
"Anytime, Jaune," she said sweetly.
It didn't take long at all for sleep to overtake him. Blake must have still been on his mind, however, as in his half-asleep daze he could have sworn he felt a slimy tentacle lovingly caress his cheek. But he was certain that was just Ruby's hand once again. Ruby would protect him. Just as he would protect her.
He would save her.
Weiss avoided breakfast that morning. It was not that her hunger had abated, no if anything she was more ravenous than was usual. Frustration and a sense of bitter contempt flooded her. Overwhelmed her. He was hers to claim. That Salem-born miscreant had submitted to her absolute will. Yet, this fact did not seem to hold the sway it should.
Instead of fawning over her every action, of holding absolute reverence to her slightest whim, the troglodyte was infatuated with the inferior child. The broken one. It made Weiss' stomach roil, how Ruby flaunted her supposed superiority over Weiss. Despite being her junior!
Such a thing was unacceptable, untenable even! Yet the damned creature, she had her wiles and ways. Her just so stare that reminded Weiss of small fuzzy things that she so wished to eat instead of snuggle. Snuggle was a type of breaking the law, as Weiss had learned, reading the best books she could get from Professor Callows on the subject. Sometimes it was spelled with m's, instead of n's, but human language was often confusing. The exact definition of words wasn't important.
Irregardless of human language and its many failings, of which she had dutifully mastered all the same, Ruby was a problem. Weiss found, beyond general distaste for the girl as a rival and her unfortunate association with the excessively meaty Yang, she did not care about Ruby much one way or the other. The distasteful human quality of the girl's being would not dissuade Weiss as it had many others. Putting up with human nature was something to be expected of a proper, high functioning hybrid of high class and high breeding. And Weiss was the highest of all!
Except the annoyingly tall Jaune. His human form, while lanky and perhaps scraggly, was visually unparalleled. His hand-feet, with all opposable finger-toes and majestic blond hair, must have been quite the sight to see. It was no wonder he so completely fell into Ruby's trap, her natural human-tivity proving too captivating for one as unrefined. Or was he too refined? Weiss' brow furrowed. Could one be too refined?
Against the point! Ruby was claiming with milk and bee fluids what Weiss had fought and dominated for. That was sickening at the face of it but to be confronted with it so often and so totally, to find her rejected from her own self-claimed room!
Weiss was stewing in the corner of Professor Callows' room, Yang on her usual tear. Though she detested the feeling of blood spraying across her face and skin, even Weiss could bathe in the wonderful slaughter that only that particular blonde boulder snuggler brought. Not unlike the semi-frozen cow juices that were vigorously stirred, Yang brought the noise to the floor. Now though, Weiss could not enjoy it. Ruby and Jaune were down below, together. Still together. Where she deserved to be.
So caught up in her ruminations, Weiss did not realize that a small group had converged on her until one of their number spoke. Looking up, she saw Cardin, Brawnz, and Nolan standing around her on the higher bleachers. Wesson was off to the side, watching the shadows intently.
"We've got to chat," Cardin began, arms crossed.
Weiss glared up at him. "No, I don't believe we do."
Nolan chuckled. "If you knew what was best, you'd listen. But of course you don't, you're only good for breeding stock."
Brawnz quickly interjected before Weiss could rise to her feet. "What my idiot subordinate means, we need to consolidate our ranks. Wesson is never going to be able to assume a human form after what she did to him," Brawnz looked behind his shoulder as if fearing that even mentioning the hybrid in question would summon her. "We all know only four of us are going to be chosen by Salem to continue on to our grand mission in Vale."
Cardin sat down above Weiss, glaring past her. "The freak isn't even worth breeding. She's only still alive because she's a parasite to the bigger fish."
Brawnz's smile grew thin. "I'll be taking care of that self-important bitch soon enough. Scores to settle with her, for us all."
Weiss' gaze flicked back to Cardin who tensed up. Something had happened between him and Yang once, though Weiss did not know what. It was curious. Yet at the moment, unimportant.
She looked back to Brawnz. "What are you here for?"
"We need you as our fourth."
Weiss' eyes widened. "Me?"
Nolan nodded. "The new one, Jaune, is just about as much of a freak as the freak. Sure he's all human-y, but he's too far that way. Who can trust a man who doesn't drink some blood and eat some marrow now and then?"
Weiss looked back down to Ruby and Jaune, the two chattering like idiot birds at one another. Cardin's voice picked up again.
"We know that they've betrayed you. We're going to put one of them down. The blonde bull bitch is in the showers now, she won't be there to save her baby sister or her toy."
Nolan grinned. "I'm going next. We've all agreed, none of us are going to go against me. So one of those two will have to. I've got some things in store they won't be expecting. Whichever one it is, I'm going to fuck their face extra hard."
Red eyes narrowed. "Fuck their face? That's a new one."
"I picked it up from a movie. Not quite sure what it means, but it sounded cool."
Weiss tilted her head. "Movie?"
"Ask Tyrian later. Or I could show you some time," Nolan inched closer. "Me and you..."
Weiss glared at Nolan, making the rather unremarkable hybrid back off. "Or not, whatever's cool. Frigid bitch."
She nodded. "I am a cool lady, yes."
Behind her back, Brawnz and Cardin shared a look. Cardin leaned forward. "So you in or not?"
Weiss shrugged. "What they choose to do is on their heads."
Nolan let out a cry of joy, leaping up when Tyrian called out for volunteers. Rushing down into the arena, he blew a kiss back towards Weiss. Weiss' glare settled firmly on his face.
Things in store? As in, things that are unusual, hidden. Deceitful. Ruby, freak though she was, was not the worst hybrid the school had ever produced. No that honor had belonged to the extremely short lived Christopher, who ended up getting himself eaten before actual lessons could begin. Even compared to the three that had come to enlist her, Weiss believed Ruby was a superior choice in most categories.
Jaune was an idiot. A total buffoon. Yet, he was her servant. Her subordinate. Nolan, broken antlered and scrawny as he was, was unpredictable. Weiss knew in a straight fight Jaune could win, but he was so very stupid. He would easily fall for one of Nolan's schemes and be struck down.
If it was Ruby who was killed, Yang would go berserk. She would have to be put down. If it was Ruby also, Jaune may become inconsolable. Crazed by the loss of another human-touched. An improvement that would be, but not one Weiss wished to see. Jaune's softer nature was, if anything, relieving. Interesting. He did not view her as simple breeding material.
Nolan's shit eating grin as he waited for one of the two to challenge him got the better of her. Weiss thrust her hand into the air.
"I will accept his challenge."
The two behind her were incensed. She knew that. Flipping her long hair behind her shoulder, she did not care. "Beg to Salem that whatever he has in his hypothetical stores is enough to make me consider sparing his life."
Nolan glowered at Weiss as the smaller girl arrived, her massive weapon manifesting in her hand. He had very thin arms, very thin legs. From the back of his head, arcing forward around his skull to the front, were two perpetually broken antlers. Like the broken limbs of a dead tree. He was nothing to look at, nothing to worry over.
Weiss smiled.
The two charged each other, Nolan lashing out a kick that Weiss very easily leapt over. The two fought in this fashion for a while. Nolan would attempt to kick or punch Weiss, she would elegantly dance out of his reach. Weiss, growing bored, spun into him, driving her knee into his chest.
The blow floored the hybrid, Weiss feeling bones crack. Yet a crazy grin came to his face as he pulled out a strange bottle. Weiss, too committed to the kneeing, was unable to avoid as the contents of the bottle splashed across her face.
"Take that you uppity, would-be-queen bitch!"
Weiss fell back to the ground, blinking.
Nolan crowed. "That's a dangerous drug humans use! It's employed by powerful predators to ensnare breeding partners who would otherwise resist their superior charms. Just hit your prey with a few of these bad boys and you can do whatever you want with them! They're called roofies!"
Weiss glanced down at the many white pills now scattered all about. She glanced up at Nolan.
"Well?"
Nolan stopped his victory dance. "...Well what?"
"When are they supposed to work?"
Nolan looked confused. "...they aren't?"
Weiss rolled her eyes. "In the name of Salem, you don't even know how to use them do you?"
Nolan looked back to Tyrian who was giggling his foolish head off. "Um-"
He abruptly found his legs kicked out from underneath him, the one that took the blow directly breaking in half. Weiss stood over him, staring down at the frail hybrid.
"For the record, I am Weiss, Master of Slang. I know very well what frigid bitch is supposed to mean. And I am quite aware of all the filthy words you have uttered toward me today."
Nolan whimpered. "Please, have-"
His whimpering was cut short by his own screaming, Weiss spearing his good leg with her long black blade. Her head tilted as his blood sprayed up.
"What was it you wanted to happen? To penetrate someone's face? Well, I think I can oblige."
Nolan, ripping his own flesh to get unpinned from the ground, barely moved out of the way as Weiss drove her horn down with crushing power. For all the good it did him as she nearly tore his arm off at the shoulder. Swinging her head back, her hair slapping Nolan as her horn tore a shallow wound across his throat, she tsked to herself.
"I missed."
Nolan feebly tried to stop the second attempt, his arm splitting in half as Weiss' horn ripped flesh and muscle, shattering the bones in its path. The edge of her horn came out through the mangled remains of his arm, piercing him between the eyes. The young man convulsed, drool already beginning to pool from his mouth.
It was over.
Weiss cracked her neck, glaring up at Jaune. The young man looked suitably impressed if nothing else. Afraid? Well he should be. Ignoring the reactions of the rest of her fellows, especially the wild cheers of Ruby, Weiss made her way to the showers. Where Yang would be.
Grimacing, Weiss did not want to have an encounter with that brute just yet.
She also did not want to go back to her room. She felt she had earned something.
Yes, she resolved to herself, she had indeed earned something. Something Ruby would not take from her. Something Jaune would not deny her.
He had seen what she could do if crossed.
Ruby pushed the door to her room open, and was immediately relieved to step inside. Here in her own private kingdom, she didn't have to deal with the mutterings and stares of other students. Here she wasn't judged by her peers for being different. Before it had been a place of peaceful solitude. Now, however, it was so much more. Now it was a place filled with warmth and companionship.
She had taken quite a liking to that literal warmth, too. The feeling of holding another in her arms, and being held by him in turn.
The redhead felt her face grow hotter as she recalled her 'lessons' with Jaune the previous day. Kissing lessons. An act that humans did to show affection to one another. Weiss had done it incorrectly in Professor Fall's class, but Ruby felt as if she had nailed it. If Jaune's own emotions were anything to go by, she would say that was for certain. She had to admit, it felt nice. Very nice. She would guess that it felt the same for him.
The boy had emitted nothing but positive emotions as his lips were firmly planted on hers. It was strange. She thought that she was the only one who was afflicted with that kind of positivity. Yet Jaune had been emitting it when he was with her. Did it come with the territory of being more human, perhaps? Did all hybrids possess the ability to be positive, and yet none of them were able to harness such feelings? She wished she could ask Salem about this, but being granted an audience with the woman was nigh impossible. Maybe she would simply ask Jaune about it. Or maybe she was just unique, but not in a bad way.
The positivity felt nice. It was good. Maybe she was right and everyone else was wrong. Maybe all of the other hybrids were just jealous that they couldn't feel like she could. If Ruby had to choose between how she felt now, and being inherently negative like all the other hybrids, she would pick her current condition in a heartbeat. Now that she had someone else to share her positivity with... it was like nothing she had ever experienced before. It was a feeling she doubted any of her fellow hybrids could ever describe.
Her attention turned to the bathroom, where the faint sound of running water filled her ears. Jaune must have been back from his private nightly training lessons. He had become quite diligent lately, that was for sure. The desire to become stronger was an admirable thing. Most hybrids just inflicted violence for the sake of violence. As a way to blow off steam, or for entertainment. Jaune, however, seemed to want to improve himself. To become the very best he could be. He and Weiss certainly had that in common, but unlike with her, Jaune didn't let it go to his head. No, he was still the same caring guy he had been when they first met.
An idea struck the girl, causing a sly smile to curl on her lips. She wanted to talk to Jaune. He was currently here, in the shower. If she just happened to accidentally walk in on him in the shower, it would be no one's fault, right? After all, she was such a clumsy girl. All she wanted to do was talk! It wasn't a big deal anyway. It wasn't as if he had never seen her naked before. They would just be even now, right?
With a plan in mind, Ruby crept up to the closed door, and pressed her ear against the door. The water was still loud and running, and Ruby knew that he wouldn't be aware of her presence until she revealed herself. And in turn, revealed all of himself.
Laughing mischievously to herself, she grabbed the handle and pushed the door open. The warm damp air hit her as soon as she entered. The curtain was closed. All she had to do was reach out and pull it-
And see the last hybrid she would have ever expected.
"Ah!" the startled cry of Weiss shouted.
Ruby's red eyes widened in shock. "Weiss? What the- what are you doing here?"
"Close the curtain, you idiot!" the other girl shrieked.
It took a moment for her brain to register the words and for her body to follow the command, but close the curtain is exactly what she did. Ruby then rushed out of the bathroom, moving to stand in the middle of the dorm room.
Why was Weiss in her and Jaune's bathroom? In their shower? She had her own room! Unless she had accidentally entered the wrong room? A quick glance around showed that this was not the case. This wasn't another incident of Blake abducting her from her bed and placing her in Weiss' room while she slept. No, this was absolutely her and Jaune's room. Which again begged the question, why was Weiss here!
Time passed by as Ruby stood there in quiet indecision. Should she leave? No, that was foolish! This was her room! No one had the right to make her feel uncomfortable in her own room, much less leave it! No, she would wait until Weiss came out of the bathroom, and then confront her fellow hybrid on just what was going on!
Apprehension filled her as the sound of running water stopped. Muffled sounds inside the bathroom indicated that Weiss was toweling herself off and getting dressed. Any second now, the girl would step outside. And she would be ready.
Ruby squeezed her fists closed, nodding as she pumped herself up. "Okay, Ruby," she said softly. "It's just Weiss. Whatever happens, you stand your ground. This is your territory. Your room. And if she doesn't like it, she can just-"
"Ruby!" the sudden sound of Weiss' voice shouted as the door burst open once more. Ruby jumped back in surprise, a soft yelp slipping past her lips. "What in the world were you thinking? Did you not hear the shower running when you decided to enter?"
The anger in the other girl's voice drove all of her former bravado from her thoughts. So much for that. "I- I thought it was Jaune in there!"
Red eyes narrowed on her, and Weiss' hands moved to rest on her hips. "Is that supposed to make it better? What exactly do the two of you do in here if such an action is considered acceptable?"
It really wasn't. Had Jaune been uncomfortable with the situation, she would have merely played it off as an accident. With Weiss, however, there was no such defense. "Um... well, we..."
"You know what?" Weiss interrupted. "Forget I asked. From now on, things are going to change around here. I will make absolute certain of that."
Change? What right did Weiss have to change anything? The challenge from the other girl filled Ruby with renewed bravery, and she stood up a little straighter as she responded. "What are you doing in here anyway? This isn't your room."
"False!" Weiss snapped, her finger coming up to emphasize the word. "I have decided to grace you with my presence and become your and Jaune's new roommate." Her head moved to throw her still damp hair back over her shoulder. "After all, I need to look after what's mine."
The sheer arrogance of both her words and body language made Ruby's blood boil. What right did she have to come into her room and place a claim on her roommate? This was beyond any level of conceit Weiss had ever displayed before. Did she actually believe what she was saying?
"Yours?" Ruby asked incredulously. "If you haven't noticed already, Jaune is my best friend and roommate. What makes you think that you're closer to him than me?"
"Because I defeated him in a horn duel," Weiss stated matter-of-factly.
The words sent a chill through Ruby's body. No way. There was just no way. "You're lying!" she shouted.
There was absolutely no way Jaune could have been defeated by Weiss. Jaune was one of the strongest, if not the strongest hybrid in the school. The idea of him being defeated by Weiss of all hybrids in a contest of strength and endurance was laughable. And yet, Weiss seemed to believe her own words. She seemed to truly believe she had defeated Jaune in a duel, and thus had a claim on him.
"I am not lying," the shorter girl snapped back. "You may even ask him yourself if you wish to confirm it."
Oh she absolutely would. Once he got back, at least. Until then, all she could do was continue to protest the very idea of it. "Oh yeah? When did this phantom duel happen? In your dreams?"
"I'll have you know it took place in the kitchen. The first time Jaune and I cooked together, he surrendered to me in a horn duel. He submitted to me, and therefore I have established dominance over him. He is mine to do with as I please."
Ruby scoffed. "He is not," she protested. "And I don't believe you could have defeated Jaune with that single horn of yours."
Weiss took an angry step toward her. "Better to have a single horn put to good use than an ineffectual pair like yours," she retorted. "What an utter waste of good keratin."
"What's that supposed to mean!"
"It means that it's not the number of horns that matters, but how you use them," Weiss explained. "I may have only one horn, but at least I put it to good use. And I have already used my single, glorious horn to dominate the strongest male in our school. Proof that it is indeed superior to your mere... cosmetic accessories."
A hand unconsciously drifted up to feel her horns. They were just as potent as Weiss'! She was going to regret her words someday.
This would be cleared up once Jaune got back. Even if this did happen, he must have just been joking. There was no way he would ever let himself be defeated by Weiss in such a manner. There was no way he would ever let himself become subservient to her in the pack hierarchy.
"Therefore, I will be moving into this room in order to keep an eye on my claim," Weiss continued. "In order to prevent you from getting any more of your foul scent on what is mine."
Ruby's eyes widened at the implications. To prevent her from scenting him any further. To prevent them from sharing a bed. To prevent them from cuddling. From any further kissing lessons...
Weiss had just crossed the line.
"I refuse," Ruby growled as she closed the gap between her and Weiss. "I challenge any claim you might think you have on Jaune."
"Is that so?" the other girl said as she too moved forward. "If you wish to make it official, just say it."
She nodded, steeling herself for what was to come. "One, two, three, four! I declare a horn war!"
It was troubling how normal this had become for him. How normal this place had become.
Jaune walked down the hall back to his room with little apprehension. Sure, there was always the threat of Blake popping up seemingly out of nowhere, but her last sudden appearance had been some time ago. It was almost as if the encounter with her in his dorm room, and her subsequent encounter with Yang's Grimm arm had been enough to not only scare the terrifying girl away, but to keep her away as well. That, and the fact that he shared his bed with Ruby. Perhaps his roommate had been correct. Perhaps her scent was deterring the other girl.
He lifted an arm, taking a whiff of his armpit and scrunched his nose. Speaking of scents, he would be in dire need of a shower once he returned. After a nice training session, he had worked up a nice sweat. But it would all be worth it.
He would become strong. Strong enough to take on any of the hybrids in battle should it ever come to that again. It inevitably would. Tyrian may have been a madman, but he was focused enough to make his dislike for Jaune clear. There would be future matches against the hybrids. And when they happened, he would not kill them as others like Yang did. Or even Weiss. He would show them mercy. He would show them a better way. A human way. He would do all he could to make them get in touch with their humanity. To make them remember what they once were.
Jaune had seen a different side of Weiss today, yet it did not deter him from his path. From his goal. If anything, it only strengthened his resolve. Weiss was a victim just like Ruby, Yang, or any of the others. She was so much more than just a mindless animal with a penchant for violence. Weiss was proud and curious. A girl driven to be the best. Even funny when she thought she knew so much, yet knew so little. Had this been any other environment, he was certain she would have been a straight A student.
He would stand by her just like he would Ruby. He would show her the beauty of human warmth and compassion. Of what it meant to care for another. To choose this kind of behavior over their feral nature.
Turning the last corner, Jaune saw a familiar blonde girl with an oversized arm standing outside of his room. Yang was looking inside, but as for why, he couldn't say yet. As he neared he saw that there was excitement on her face. There were few things that he knew got this particular hybrid excited. His heart froze, fearing the worst for his roommate. For his friend.
For the girl he had kissed.
"Yang?" he asked as he approached her. He hadn't even realized he had broken out into a jog until he got there. "What's going on?"
Jaune pushed up next to her, unaware that he had lightly shoved the hybrid aside with his shoulder. Uncaring that she might take the act as some sort of physical challenge and use it as an excuse to repeatedly slam his body into the ground.
Surprisingly, she took no offense to his action. Her eyes were too focused on what was going on inside the room rather than himself. "Fun," she said simply. "Come see for yourself."
Yang's explanation had been less than helpful, so he decided to take her up on her offer. Looking into the room, he saw that Ruby was not alone in their room.
His roommate and Weiss stood in the middle, slowly circling one another with their heads slightly dipped. Their laser-like focus was on one another, letting neither himself nor Yang distract them from what they were doing. Then it happened. They both charged, clashing heads and horns with each other before backing off.
Jaune blinked. He was momentarily at a loss for words, but soon found himself able to compose coherent thought. "What... what are they doing?"
"Oh that?" Yang said nonchalantly. "Horn fencing."
He blinked again. "Horn fencing?"
For the first time since arriving, Yang spared him a glance. "Oh, I guess you must not have a horn in your Grimm form. At least not an upper horn," she added with a wink. "It's what hybrids who have horns do to settle disputes. Assert dominance. All that good stuff."
Jaune nodded absentmindedly. These hybrids, they not only ate like animals. They not only thought like animals. They fought like animals as well. Right now Ruby and Weiss continued to circle each other, before they would inevitably charge forward once more like a pair of rams or elk butting their heads together. It was like something out of a nature documentary. Only Jaune was here witnessing it live.
Thankfully this current fight was nothing like what Weiss and Nolan had gone through earlier today. There were no weapons involved. No overt acts of violence beyond the clashing of horns. If this was merely a battle to settle a dispute, there probably wasn't the threat of death.
If there was, he would step in to interrupt them in a heartbeat.
"Shouldn't we stop them?"
"Are you kidding? This is great." The pair clashed again, causing Yang to cheer in excitement. "Wooooo! Kick her ass, Ruby!"
He on the other hand could not force himself to pick a favorite. Despite his closeness to Ruby, he still cared for Weiss. Her, and all of the sharp, painful pokes she had given him with her horn. It was just a part of her personality. Her arrogance and pushiness were so very human.
"So what are they fighting over?" he asked the girl next to him. "If they're settling a dispute or something."
"You know what? I honestly don't know," Yang shrugged. "But who cares! We're getting to see some good stuff, and my sister's in the middle of it!"
Jaune couldn't find it in him to get excited over the violence. It was a mindset which set him apart from the hybrids. Where he used violence and force only when necessary, they embraced it. It seemed to be ingrained in their behavior. A cynical thought entered his mind not a moment later. In all honesty, were humans and faunus really so different? Did they not also fight wars and commit horrible atrocities on each other?
Maybe he and the hybrids weren't so different after all.
Such existential thoughts were pushed from his mind when Weiss jumped up on the unused top bunk of his and Ruby's bed. "It's over, Ruby," she sneered, looking down on the other girl. "I have the high ground!"
The height certainly did give Weiss an advantage. Height was not something he would normally associate with the girl. Looking down on others, however, was entirely appropriate.
To Ruby's credit, she did not seem deterred in the slightest. "You underestimate my power!" she shot back.
With a powerful spring in her step, Ruby leapt upward horns-first, slamming into the girl above her. The impact made Jaune wince, and both girls came tumbling off the bed and onto the floor, crashing in a loud, jumbled heap.
This had to end. If this went on longer they may actually hurt each another. Screw their dispute and their way of handling it. It was time for a little good old fashioned human diplomacy.
"Ruby, Weiss," he said as he stepped into the room. He moved to kneel next to both girls who were currently recovering from their fall to the floor. "Stop. That's enough."
"Booo!" Yang jeered from behind him. "Party pooper."
Jaune rolled his eyes. Of course Yang would be the one to complain about him putting an end to this senseless violence.
Ruby squirmed on the floor, rolling slightly as a hand gripped her forehead. "No," she said weakly. "It's not over."
The girl managed to get up on all fours, as did Weiss next to her. The two once more weakly butted heads together, this time doing nothing more than eliciting a dull clicking noise as their horns touched.
Jaune sighed and placed a hand on both of their shoulders in order to separate them. "You really need to stop doing that," he told the redhead. "You're going to get brain damage."
She turned to regard him, her eyes widening and narrowing in quick succession as she tried to focus on him. "Shut up, Jaunes. I don't need this from the two of you."
Maybe his brain damage comment hadn't been too far off. Jaune took hold both Weiss and Ruby's hands as he stood up, his Aura-fuelled strength allowing him to pull the two of them up with ease. Neither seemed eager to stray from his grip either, judging by the way both leaned against him.
Only Weiss made a halfhearted protest against his actions. "Unhand me, servant," she said softly. "I did not say you could touch me."
Never mind the fact that Weiss seemed to be clinging to him in order to stand upright. Jaune smiled, knowing that her actions and her words were entirely contradictory. That her actions spoke far louder than those words.
He led them over to his and Ruby's bed. "Both of you sit. Rest. Recover. Okay?"
Ruby nodded weakly. Weiss' arms folded across her chest as she looked away with a huff. But again, the white-haired girl made no moves to contradict his orders.
"And no more fighting," he quickly followed up.
Grunts of acknowledgement came from both. Both had begun rubbing their heads to try and soothe away the pain they undoubtedly felt.
"I need to take a quick shower. And when I get back out here, maybe you can explain to me why you were... horn fencing," he said, using Yang's own lingo.
Another pathetic sound left Ruby's throat as she fell over sideways onto the mattress.
"Whatever, party's over," Yang said disappointingly. "I'm out of here."
Good. The last thing he needed was to leave them alone with an instigator like her.
After grabbing a fresh set of clothes, Jaune stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. He made sure to lock it. One could never be too careful with a bored Yang lurking about.
After emerging from the shower fresh and clean, Jaune saw that both girls were still sitting on his bed. They both seemed to be acting civilly enough. That was worth something at least. The last thing he needed was for them to start ramming their heads together again.
The only difference was that Ruby changed into her sleeping attire, which consisted of the shirt he had given her some time back. He supposed that was proof of whatever spat between her and Weiss being over. She was ready to sleep, and that meant no more fighting. The question was, why was Weiss still here? Why wasn't she going back to get ready for bed in her own room?
He supposed that was another question he could ask later. Right now, however, he only had one on his mind. "So do you want to tell me why the two of you were fighting?"
Ruby's eyes darted away embarrassedly, like she had just been caught trying to steal from the cookie jar. Weiss on the other hand seemed to puff out her chest with pride, her usual haughty attitude radiating from her posture.
Jaune frowned at the fact that neither seemed willing to talk openly about it. Was it because of the nature of the dispute? Or because they were both in the room together with him, and neither felt they could speak freely?
Finally though, Ruby spoke. Only she decided to ask a question of her own. "Jaune, is it true you lost to Weiss?"
He looked back into her worried red eyes. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't try to deny it," Weiss said quickly. "You can't take your surrender back."
His focus shifted to the other girl now. "No, really. What are you talking about?"
Weiss stood, taking a pointed step toward him. "In the kitchen, during our first time," she explained. He wished she hadn't worded it like that. "We dueled, and you surrendered. Therefore I won. I have a perfectly legitimate claim over you to do with as I please."
Jaune's mind stretched back to their first time cooking in the kitchen. Where he had taught her about things like eggs. He couldn't recall most of the finer details, but he was starting to remember one of the many times she had attacked him with her horn. That incident in particular had been worse than normal. Her assault on him had been aggressive and persistent.
He did seem to remember telling her that he 'surrendered'...
"Oh, that..." he said slowly.
"Yes, that! Don't try to brush it off as if it was nothing!"
A hand came up to nervously rub the back of his neck. These hybrids and their rules were all so foreign to him. After all, he wasn't one of them. "I didn't realize that was a, uh, duel..."
"Hah!" Ruby exclaimed as she too stood up. "It doesn't count then since Jaune didn't know it was a duel! You must not have declared it, did you?"
Weiss' head snapped over to look at Ruby. But the fact that she didn't reply to the girl spoke volumes about Ruby's protest.
"So that means it doesn't matter if he surrendered," she continued. "No duel, no claim!"
Weiss' hands curled up tightly. The seething rage simmering inside of her was threatening to erupt at any second.
Jaune still didn't know what this 'claim' was about. Or what Ruby and Weiss were dueling about in the first place. However, seeing how their attention had been brought on him and his own duel, maybe it wasn't too important.
"Regardless, I'm still not leaving," Weiss said angrily. "Our own contest resulted in a draw. You have no grounds to expel me from our room."
Our room? Jaune didn't like where this was going...
"You're going to put up with me?" Ruby asked amusedly. "And my defective emotions?"
Jaune didn't like the way Ruby worded that. There was nothing wrong with her or her emotions. He would need to show that to her at some point in the future. He needed to make her see that her humanity was beautiful, and that it should be embraced.
"I will endure what I must in order to look after what is mine," Weiss stated confidently. She turned, and lowered her head to give Jaune a light poke to the arm. "You. I require sleeping attire."
"Don't you have your own?"
"I believe I made it specifically clear that I would not be denied a gift," she spat angrily. "You gave Ruby one of your shirts. You will give me one as well."
Is it really a gift if you demand it from someone? he silently wondered. He shook his head incredulously. "I'm going to run out of shirts at this point."
"That's okay," Ruby said quickly.
He eyed her curiously. "Right..."
Another poke from Weiss brought his attention back to her. "Hurry up now. I'm tired after my battle with Ruby, and I wish to retire for the night."
Jaune sighed and moved over to the dresser containing his clothes. He pulled out a simple white undershirt and handed it to Weiss. He had expected her to behave like Ruby, and simply strip in front of him with no regard for modesty. He was equal parts thankful and disappointed that this was not the case.
"Turn around," she ordered. "Do not peek while I change."
He complied, knowing that he was in for a severe horn assault if he did not.
It took only a few seconds, and Jaune heard the light thump of her black dress hitting the floor before she pulled the shirt over her head.
"You may look now."
Jaune turned back to see the comical sight of Weiss' petite body in his shirt. It hung loosely from her almost like a short dress. Without her high heels, she must have been close to five feet tall. He wouldn't have been surprised if two of her slender bodies could fit inside a single shirt of his.
"Do you find something amusing?" she asked.
Jaune hadn't even realized he had been smiling, and was quick to wipe it from his face. Weiss glared at him accusingly, and her arms once more moved to cross her chest.
"Nope. Nothing at all," he lied.
Red eyes remained staring at him for long seconds before she relented. "Good. Now I am prepared for sleep."
Before Jaune could comment, he felt the iron grip of Ruby take his arm and pull him down onto the bottom bunk with her. For someone so small and short, she was very strong. He supposed that came with the territory of being a hybrid.
"Oops, looks like there's no more room down here," Ruby said unapologetically. "I think you'll need to take the top bunk, Weiss."
There was indeed precious little room left on the bottom bunk. It was a bed normally designed to fit one person, and perhaps two at the maximum.
To no one's surprise, Weiss did not back down from the challenge. "I think not," she snarled as she approached.
Squirming her way on the other side of Jaune, she managed to squeeze in between him and the wall the bed was positioned against. Her small frame came in handy for once, and she was just able to fit in next to him. Even then, it only worked because her body was pressed up against his own, and one of her arms was draped over his chest.
"There, see?" she said smugly. "That wasn't so hard."
Oh how wrong she was.
With Ruby cuddling against him on one side, and Weiss doing the same on the other, things were becoming very hard indeed...
Jaune laid on his back, sandwiched between two girls who were driving both his mind and his hormones mad. On one side lay the girl who he had kissed. On the other lay another beautiful girl who seemed keen on spending time with him.
Had this been any other situation, this would have been living the dream. What every guy could have ever hoped for in life.
And yet these were two Grimm hybrids who could tear him apart at a moment's notice...
Life was strange sometimes, wasn't it?
Ruby's face nestled into the crook of his arm, her hair and horns rubbing affectionately against him. "Good night, Jaune."
He did the only thing he could with his arm so that it wouldn't hang off the side of the bed, and curled it around to rest on her back. "Good night, Ruby."
Feeling a weak jab on his other side, he turned to regard Weiss who had mimicked Ruby's own position. "Wish me good night," she demanded.
Again he complied with her request, and his arm came around to grip her tightly as well. Her body seemed to relax against his as he did so. "Good night, Weiss."
A victorious hum sounded in her throat.
Minutes passed by, and the breathing of both girls fell into a slow, rhythmic pattern. They were both out cold. Their fight must have taken a lot out of them. It said a lot that they could be so close to one another after such a battle so long as he was in between them. They would put aside their differences and animosity so long as they could both be with him.
As Jaune closed his eyes, his mind wandered, and he wondered what it might be like if these girls did want to do more than just cuddle one day. How could he not think about such things in his position? Grimm hybrids or not, they were both attractive in their own ways. Both had exceptionally enticing human forms...
"Good night, Jaune."
Eyes snapped open at the sound of a third girl's voice. A voice that sent chills down his spine. One that was not in the bed with him.
But rather, under it.
He couldn't see her. He rarely could until it was too late. But he knew who it was.
"G-good night, Blake," he said nervously.
Jaune held Ruby and Weiss just a bit tighter after that.
Author's Note: My thanks go out to Burkion and Lightningstrxu as always for their contributions of both ideas and writing. Couldn't pump these chapters out every week without them.
So Jaune has a new roommate. Well, two, actually. The idea that Blake sleeps under his bed and basks in his negativity is beautiful. Blake is the literal monster that lives underneath Jaune's bed. Fitting for his own personal boogieman. Or "Boogie Blake" as we dubbed her.
Thank you to everyone for your continued support. I continue to be amazed as each week goes by to see this story grow and continue to thrive. I truly appreciate you all.
I hope you liked the chapter.