A Grimm hybrid with idle time on her hands was a dangerous thing.
Weiss shot a contemptuous snort through her nostrils. She wasn't used to having this sort of downtime.
Following her meeting with Professor Branwen and Specialist Schnee, Yang had abruptly taken off. Jaune had gone after her, telling Weiss and Ruby that he needed to speak to the blonde girl alone. Ruby too had ventured off on her own, but Weiss couldn't say what she was doing or where she was going. Maybe she was going to see that strange Penny girl and her robot-like partner Ciel. There was something off about the latter girl, but Weiss couldn't lay a finger on just what it was. No human being should have acted how Ciel did. Even Weiss and her fellow hybrids were better at posing as human beings as she was. Was the dark-skinned girl perhaps a sleeper agent sent by Salem that not even they knew about?
Then there was the issue of Blake. When wasn't there an issue with Blake? The elusive hybrid had managed to sneak away with the rest of the group to Vale, and Weiss had no idea if Cinder was even aware of the fact. She wasn't officially here, and her former professor hadn't mentioned her. Should she tattle and attempt to bring the faunus hybrid to heel? Or let chaos run its natural course with a rogue hybrid out in the wild?
A scowl split the beautiful girl's face as she made her way toward the library. Too many questions and not enough answers made Weiss frown, and as Professor Fall had once taught her, frowning led to wrinkles. Weiss didn't want wrinkles. Sadly the library would not glean the answers that she sought today, but it didn't mean that she couldn't learn something new. Weiss always sought to better herself both for its own sake and for Salem's. She wondered what wonderful new human skills or knowledge she could pick up today when she wasn't busy with class, her teammates, or her mate.
With Professor Goodwitch hoarding all the pornography documentaries for herself, Weiss would have to find a new and interesting topic to study. What was it that humans did, specifically young women such as her? Popular media seemed to indicate that a girl her age should care about things like boys, fashion, and makeup, but Weiss was already far ahead of the curve on all of those matters. She was already stunningly attractive even without makeup, and didn't need that to enhance her beauty. Professor Fall had provided her with the latest in teen fashion, and even when she wasn't wrapped in what appeared to bandages, her black Haven Academy uniform revealed long, slender legs that turned the heads of every student she strutted past. Sadly for them she was taken.
She had a boy in Jaune whom she cared for more than she would ever admit aloud. He cared for her as well. She could still remember the time she had been injured during one of Professor Callows' combat classes, and she had gone back to her own room to curl up and let her wound heal itself. Jaune had forced his way in. Forced her to reveal her vulnerable side to him. He could have killed her. By all means he should have killed her. That was the law of the school. The law of the world. And yet…
He'd tended to her wound. Cleansed it. Bandaged it. And after all that, he'd stayed with her the rest of the night and held her in his protective arms. Her heart still fluttered at the memory of that moment. One which hadn't been about strength or pride. It hadn't been about mating. It had been something far closer to a human emotion. One she'd never felt before that night.
Love.
She'd never felt loved before. Not truly, at least. Salem's motherly love was a strange sensation that felt more like obligation and duty than anything heartfelt. Weiss was loyal to her beyond question, and she knew that her mother would go to any lengths to provide for and protect her. To an extent. Should Weiss have fallen in Professor Callows' class, Salem would neither have wept nor felt regret for the loss. Weiss would have been another failed creation added to the list of many who'd fallen before her. May. Russel. Cardin. The names went on and on. Sons and daughters of Salem who'd been chosen by her to do great things. Sons and daughters of Salem who'd succumbed to the most primal laws of nature, and were never thought of again.
Weiss would not be another name on the list. She would not be a mindless brute. She would rise above the rest. She would be the finest of them all. Weiss would rule the world as she was born to do.
Browsing through shelves of books, Weiss sought something to catch her eye and earn her interest. A book on the Atlesian School of Fencing sounded intriguing, but she was already confident in her combat capabilities. A book titled 'Cold Heart, Hot Love' may have once piqued her interest, but she was already more skilled in the art of lovemaking than the author of such a novel could ever hope to be. More titles, more names, more subjects she didn't find interesting or important enough to even bother removing the book from the shelf to scan its table of contents.
Until…
"Dust and You," Weiss read aloud, a hand coming up to touch the book's spine. "A Beginner's Guide to the World of Dust."
Dust. She'd heard of this strange and magical substance before. Or at the very least, humans believed it to be some remnant of the magic which once existed in the world. If only they knew the truth of the wonder weapon they wielded against the creatures of Grimm. If what she had learned back in Salem's academy was true, and she had no reason to believe otherwise, the true nature of dust would shock and horrify those poor, ignorant humans.
Weiss selected the book from the shelf, pulling it out before making her way back to the central tables of the library. Taking a seat at an empty table, she opened the book up where what appeared to be a bookmark had been stuffed. Instead, what Weiss found was a pamphlet with a crude caricature of a distressed-looking human on its cover.
"Dust for dummies," she muttered. "And other inadequate individuals?" Icy blue eyes narrowed on the offending literature. "I am not inadequate!"
A loud hush from the table next to her earned the girl's attention, and Weiss turned to see someone in a Beacon uniform glaring at her. The fool. She should have challenged him right then and there for the slight against her honor. A skewering with her brand new human weapon would have taught him a thing or two about manners.
Setting the insulting pamphlet aside, Weiss flipped open to the book's introduction. "Fire, water, lightning, wind," she spoke low, being careful not to offend the fool at the table next to hers. "The powers of nature itself are at your fingertips through the immense and incalculable power of dust."
Weiss hummed to herself. The power of nature itself, eh? The author of this book had no idea what true power was. They didn't realize that nature itself could be bent to the will of a being as ancient and mighty as Salem.
Still, knowing all about dust and its capabilities would only do Weiss a favor. If she knew what she was going up against whenever she fought against a human huntsman, she would have the advantage. She would know all of their tricks and secrets, and they would know none of hers. At least, not until it was too late.
She sat there in silence for a few minutes, reading the introduction to all the different types of dust, until she felt a presence beside her. Weiss glanced up to see a human standing near the table.
No, not a human. A faunus. One she hadn't met yet. She still wondered if that Sun guy had hand-feet.
"Um, hi," the long-eared young woman said. "Sorry for bothering you. Are you busy?"
She in fact was busy, and normally Weiss might have snapped at the distraction for bothering her during her learning time. However, the limp rabbit ears that drooped sadly over the girl's long brown hair indicated that she was already defeated. Body language in the animal kingdom could speak louder than any voice could, and this faunus' ears told Weiss that she was no threat to the hybrid.
"May I help you?" Weiss answered.
The girl nervously shuffled, glancing over to one of the empty seats at the table. "May I?"
Defeated bunny girl at least had manners, needing permission to sit next to her superior. Weiss appreciated her knowing her place. "By all means," she said, gesturing a hand in invitation to sit next to her.
The student, this one too wearing a Beacon Academy uniform, hurriedly took the seat next to Weiss. She looked around briefly before her brown eyes focused more on Weiss'. "I just want to let you know… I think it was very brave what you did the other day."
Weiss' eyes narrowed in confusion. Of course she was brave, but what was this girl speaking about specifically. "What act of bravery are you speaking of?"
The Beacon student glanced around again before settling on Weiss once more. Her voice was low as they spoke. "What happened between you and Miss Goodwitch," she clarified. "It's not every day that someone would stand up to her the way you did. No one from Beacon, at least."
So that was it. The faunus girl must have been a part of Professor Goodwitch's class. She'd seen Weiss' attempt to face the supposedly great Pyrrha Nikos. The same Pyrrha who's managed to defeat Jaune only by a stupid human rule of boundaries. Didn't these people realize that there were no such rules in a real fight? Did they think that the Grimm would respect arbitrary rules of bounds? Weiss wondered how many of them could survive in a real combat environment like Professor Callows' class.
Still, Weiss appreciated the praise. She was certain that she would have been able to defeat Pyrrha if not for that stupid rule about her Aura not being up. "Thank you, bunny girl. It's a shame Miss Goodwitch refused to cooperate."
Bunny girl nodded. "I'm Velvet, by the way."
"Wren Slate," Weiss replied nonchalantly, the name rolling off her tongue naturally.
"So… yeah, Miss Goodwitch can be a real stickler for the rules sometimes," Velvet spoke low, as if saying her name too loudly could bring down the wrath of the unusually tall woman. "But I might have something that can help with what you're looking for."
What she was looking for? Was Velvet speaking about Aura? Could she possibly know that Weiss didn't have her Aura unlocked?
"Really?" Weiss asked hopefully.
When she had come to this school she wouldn't have thought it was a problem. She was strong enough on her own without Aura, her enhanced Grimm hybrid strength and endurance more than capable of allowing her to hold her own against an average huntsman. However, she still wanted Aura. Jaune had it. Blake had it. Ruby and Yang had it, and they had gotten theirs unlocked by Jaune himself. Loathe as she was to admit it, Weiss was jealous. She wanted what they had. She wanted her special bond with Jaune to be even more special.
Was Velvet really suggesting that she could help Weiss unlock her Aura?
"But… maybe not here," she continued, her cheeks darkening. True, unlocking one's Aura was a supposedly personal experience. Weiss still recalled the way Yang had so violently reacted to it. She wondered why the same hadn't been true for Ruby.
"I agree. It is a rather intimate subject."
Velvet nodded hurriedly. "One of our dorm rooms would be a more appropriate place to do this. Definitely not the library."
Weiss closed her book on dust, eager to learn more about Aura from the faunus. "Allow me to return this book to its proper home and then we can return to my dorm. My teammates are currently out, and we should have the room to ourselves."
"That's for the best. Definitely," Velvet agreed. "But I have heard you and your teammates are pretty relaxed on stuff like this."
Weiss pondered the words. Jaune being there would definitely be a plus, with him being the most human of all her hybrid companions. "Should we wait for Jaune? The three of us doing it together might lead to the best results."
A tiny squeak sounded from Velvet's throat, and another look at her showed the bunny girl blushing. "No, no… I mean… he already has so much on his plate right now with you and the other girl. The redhead."
True, but Ruby wasn't with him right now. "Actually Jaune is busy with Yara right now," she recalled, replacing the book on its shelf. "But it wouldn't be a problem to bring him here in order to help us out."
"Oh, wow, he's really busy," Velvet gasped, a sense of awe in her tone. "How does he make time for all three of you?"
There was more than just awe in Velvet's voice. There was respect as well. As there should be. Jaune was the mightiest of all the hybrids, handpicked by Salem herself to be the leader of their infiltration team in Vale. He had more than enough time to keep all three of them, plus Blake, in line. He knew how to make them all submit to his will at a moment's notice.
"He's an Alpha," she said truthfully. "He knows how to lead a pack."
"Alpha male, yeah, for sure," Velvet agreed all too readily. Perhaps she knew something about Grimm pack mentality? "It's just so unusual in this day and age to see something like that so out in the open. It's… not that easy for me."
Weiss regarded the girl, who seemed to have shrunk in on herself in shame again. Her sad bunny ears flattened atop her head indicating shame or cowardice. "Why do you say that?"
Velvet couldn't meet Weiss' gaze as they walked through the library doors back outside. "It's just because… I'm a faunus. A rabbit one at that. There'd be all sorts of negative stereotypes attached to that kind of behavior."
Did Velvet think that people would choose to associate her more closely with the Grimm because she had animal traits? Weiss knew that humans were racist, but the idea of stereotyping a faunus as being more bestial than human because they displayed a pack mentality hierarchy was news to her.
"Well I think that's wrong, Velvet," Weiss stated firmly, leveling a finger at the faunus girl. "Just because you're a faunus doesn't mean that you can't be an Alpha too."
"You really think so?" she asked hopefully. "You think that one day I too could have my own… pack?"
Weiss didn't know why, but she felt a strange sense of camaraderie with the bunny girl. She hadn't met a human or a faunus in Vale who seemed so open-minded to the pack mentality that came naturally to Grimm hybrids. Ruby had met that strange Penny girl, and Yang was enjoying both physical and verbal sparring with that Sun boy. Maybe Velvet… maybe she could be Weiss' first human friend.
If nothing else, it would do wonders for earning valuable experience in dealing with inhabitants of the human kingdoms. And that's what they were supposed to be doing here, right?
"I think you can, bunny girl," Weiss said reassuringly. "If you want a pack, go out there and make one. If you're strong enough to help me out with my problem then I'm sure you're strong enough to attract others to your side."
"That's… wow. I don't know if even Coco would have that much belief in me. Definitely not Yats or Fox."
Weiss didn't know what a Yats was, but did Velvet have a pet fox? She wondered if it would get along with Ruby's dog.
"Perhaps when we get to my room I'll give Jaune a call. He can teach you all about what it means to be an Alpha."
She saw how Velvet swallowed hard. "M-maybe. Maybe if we're in the mood after I show you the secrets that Miss Goodwitch wouldn't."
That sounded like a grand idea. Weiss may have just met this Velvet girl, but she could sense that it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
"No. I don't think I will."
Yang's hair was glowing, its incandescent brilliance almost blinding to look at. Jaune could almost feel the heat radiating from her even as he stood in the doorway. Was this her Semblance? People normally just didn't burst into flames, much less be unharmed by said fire. He had no idea what her Semblance might entail, but all he could think was that if this was it, it suited her passion.
Then there were her eyes. Like two hot, burning coals, a pair of glowing red orbs stared into him and sent shivers down his spine. Shades of her Grimm hybrid form passed in his mind, and he could almost imagine a pair of horns sprouting from her forehead and her tanned skin paling. In his mind's eye he could see her right arm twisting and bulking up as it warped into a black and muscular mess. He couldn't let any of this come to pass. He couldn't let the onlookers stay any longer.
"All of you," he shouted to the group of cowering students in the training hall. "Get out. Now."
Some were slow to react. Others all but ran for their lives upon hearing the order. Even as they all passed by him, Jaune didn't take his eyes off of Yang. Nor did Yang's own intense gaze leave him.
In seconds the pair of blondes stood alone among the wreckage of Beacon's training droids.
"Powerful as ever," Yang commented, taking a few steps toward him. "It's good to see living with these humans hasn't taken any of that from you. They know their place when you enter the room."
Jaune would let Yang thing that if she wanted. Every other hybrid seemed to believe he was far more powerful and capable than he actually was. How did she not realize that they were terrified of her fiery hair and wanton destruction rather than himself?
"Yang," Jaune offered softly as he strode forward to meet her in the middle of the room. "What's going on? What's wrong?"
The girl snorted a harsh laugh. "What's wrong," she echoed. "You really need to ask that question?"
Obviously, otherwise he wouldn't have answered it. However, Jaune knew Yang wasn't feeling like her normal self, so he wouldn't respond with sarcasm. "You can tell me," he offered, coming to stand in front of her. Even with a taller girl such as Yang, he had to look down upon her as he spoke. "We're alone now."
Yang shook her head. "We're never alone here, Jaune," she muttered bitterly. The fire both in her voice and atop her head went out when she spoke next, and when her eyes met his again they were back to their calming lilac color. "Not since we've come to Vale. Humans everywhere. Including…"
The last word hung in the air, leaving Jaune on the edge of his seat. Yang may have calmed down, but it was clear that she was far from untroubled. "Yang?"
"First my uncle. Now Winter Schnee. Tell me that's just a coincidence, Jaune."
Jaune swallowed. "What does Winter have to do w-"
"You tell me that woman doesn't look exactly like Weiss!" she snapped, interrupting Jaune from his attempted excuse. "I guess we know what her last name is now. Schnee. Weiss Schnee. It has a nice ring to it, right?"
Weiss Schnee. Jaune had to admit, it sounded far better than Wren Slate. When Jaune realized that Winter must have been related to Weiss he hadn't really considered the implications that came with knowing her full true name. Weiss Schnee. Jaune had once wondered who the girl beneath the white skin and red eyes was. Who would she have been? Who would she have grown up to be had it not been for Salem? With this new information, with Winter, he could finally get a glimpse of who Weiss was meant to be. He could scour the CCT Network for any information on a missing girl named Weiss Schnee.
Yang's revelation caused another thought to enter Jaune's mind. "Wait, does that mean your last name's Branwen?"
"Yang Branwen," the girl snarled. "Like I'd ever take that bitch's name."
"Who?"
"It doesn't matter," she said bitterly. "None of this matters. Can't you see, Jaune? The walls are closing in around us. They're onto us. It's only a matter of time until they strike. Until they either capture or kill us. And trust me, I don't intend to be taken alive by these humans. To be experimented on again…"
Yang nearly choked up with the last word, and she glanced away from Jaune rather than meet his gaze. Truth be told, Jaune had no idea what she'd gone through in being transformed from a normal human girl into the monstrosity that lay beneath her human skin. He had no idea how she came to have her massive Grimm arm. However, if it was enough to give even Yang pause, the strongest of the hybrids he'd ever met, he could only imagine what kind of horrible things were inflicted upon her in her youth.
He could understand why she might believe that humanity would want to do similar things in an effort to figure out who she was and how she functioned.
"Yang…" he said softly, his hand coming down to gently touch her shoulder.
Only for it to be slapped away in an instant. "Don't touch me."
Jaune pulled his hand back instantly, lest his whole arm be ripped from its socket in the blonde girl's rage.
"You have to calm down," he chose to say instead. "We don't know anything."
"How can you be so stupid!" she screamed. "Gods, you were always so strong back home, but so fucking stupid! Can't you see that it's over? We've failed, Jaune! We failed the moment we touched down at Beacon! This was a mistake! It was all a mistake, and we're going to die because of it!"
Yang was trembling. She was angry, and that was nothing out of the ordinary. But Jaune realized her trembling came not from anger, but from fear. Yang was afraid. Maybe rightfully so. However, he couldn't let her stay this way. He was their leader. He was the so-called Alpha of their pack. It was up to him to take charge and ensure that their team remained safe here in Vale.
"Yang…"
He also knew that Yang was a different sort of beast. She wouldn't respond to calming words and actions. No, Yang was a girl of action.
"When they come for me I'm going to kill as many of them as I can," she whispered. There was almost a sense of excitement or anticipation in her tone. "It's been so long since I've been able to tear living, breathing creatures apart. These robots don't do anything for me. When they come I'll slaughter them. They'll see what I am, and they'll have to kill me."
He was an Alpha. He was her Alpha.
He needed to put her in her place.
Jaune didn't even think when he reared back and slammed his fist into Yang's face.
The harsh smack of flesh on flesh echoed in the near-empty room, and Yang stumbled back a few steps as her right hand came up to cover her nose. Shocked eyes stared down widely at her hand before shifting up to regard Jaune.
"Jaune! What the fuck!"
"You need to calm down," he said evenly, pointing a finger at the girl.
Jaune's heart was racing. He was picking a fight with one of the strongest and most violent people he'd ever met in his life. Perhaps only Tyrian himself was the person who Jaune would have dreaded to fight more than Yang. Even Salem, for all her power and immortality, didn't scare him as much as Tyrian and Yang. He knew Salem could vaporize him in an instant. She would do so without so much as a smile or effort. It would be over in an instant.
Not with Tyrian. Not with Yang. They would take their time. They would relish every moment. And here he'd just picked a fight with the unstable hybrid who only days ago had tortured a Boarbatusk for fun.
"You wanna go?" she growled, barring her teeth like an animal would. Even in her human form, her hybrid instincts were coming out.
Jaune's fists clenched, his stance widening and dropping lower into a fighting pose. "I promised you a fight when we got to Beacon, didn't I?"
Ever since the two had met, Yang had wanted to fight him. The first time he'd met the hybrid girl all those months ago, she'd taken a swing at him. Only slipping on the spilled blood of their lunch had saved him from being pulverized by her oversized fist. Since then Yang had tried and challenged him to fights, only to be turned down or interrupted at every turn.
Here and now, however, he was all hers. If he had to beat some sense into her in order to calm the girl and bring her to heel, he'd do so. He wasn't the same Jaune he used to be. He wasn't the helpless loser who'd first arrived at Salem's Grimm Academy. He was strong now. Forged in the fires of hardship and pain. A survivor of the worst place on Remnant.
Yang's eyes flashed blood-red again, holding their color as she stared at him. Her own fists closed tightly as well. "Here to assert dominance, Jaune? Our little Weiss'll be jealous if she sees you trying to put me in my place."
This wasn't about Weiss. It wasn't about Ruby, or Blake, or anyone else but Yang. He didn't care what they might think about him. All that mattered was getting through to the blonde girl across from him. All that mattered was making her realize that he was here for her. She was in his care here at Beacon. He would protect her. He would save her.
Just like he would all of them.
Jaune held his hand open, and beckoned her to come to him with his fingers. "Bring it."
Yang didn't need to be told twice, and with a grunt of effort leapt at him with right arm reared back. Jaune crossed his arms in front of his face and took the punch. Even without the enhanced strength of her Grimm arm, and even with his Aura up, it packed a wallop.
Jaune skidded back several feet, sore but ultimately unharmed by the massive blow Yang had just struck on him. Lowering his crossed arms below his face, he stared out wide-eyed at the girl who stood there with a smirk on her face.
"Not bad," she said excitedly. "Most people's bones would shatter tanking a punch like that. You really are strong, aren't you?"
Jaune's arms shifted to more of a classical martial arts position up and in front of his torso and chin. "Was that your best move?" he asked. He didn't know if he was trying to taunt her, or if he was asking out of genuine concern for his own well-being. Maybe a little bit of both.
Yang flashed her teeth, grinning widely, hungrily, at the boy in front of her. "I can do this all day."
That's exactly what Jaune feared.
She came at him again, her feet and her assault grounded on the floor this time as she swung. Jaune bobbed out of the way of her right fist, and weaved away from her left hook not even a second later. His arms remained up and guarded as his feet peddled backward, avoiding each and every swing the blonde took at him. Her grunts of effort echoed in his ears with each attack, and he realized that he wouldn't be able to evade forever. He didn't want to either. He'd finally decided to give her the fight she'd always wanted. That meant he would have to fight back.
"You gonna dodge all day?" Yang taunted. More fists flew, but all of his experience back in Salem's school had taught him how to evade. "I thought you wanted a fight!"
The boy sensed he was nearing the end of his rope. The wall of the training room stood only inches behind him.
When Yang's next punch came, he ducked, and her fist slammed behind him sending shards and splinters of concrete flying in all directions.
Jaune pivoted on one of the soles of his boots, ducking underneath Yang's fist even as she dug it out of the hole she'd made in the wall. Coming up to stand behind her, Jaune brought up his own right arm and brought it down on top of her head like he was swinging a hammer. It was the first time he could recall swinging a closed fist on someone in anger. He didn't know what it would feel like when it connected.
As it turned out, painless. Maybe not for Yang, but he hadn't felt a thing.
The bottom of Jaune's fist crashed down atop Yang's head, his hand glowing with the white light of his Semblance. Enhancing his strength and endurance.
Yang cried out, and her body crumpled to the floor like a sack of potatoes. For a moment Jaune wondered if he'd gone too far, if using his Semblance to enhance the Aura around his fist had been too much for the girl. She was down to a knee, and Jaune stared down guiltily at her heaving shoulders.
"Yang?" he asked worriedly. "Are you o-"
Her head snapped around, wide red eyes and an even wider grin staring up maniacally at him. "Oh fuck yeah, that's what I'm talking about!"
Jaune couldn't prepare for what came next, and her fist moved like lightning and struck like thunder. Yang's uppercut slammed underneath his chin, knocking Jaune's whole head backward, and to his surprise, somehow didn't snap his neck in the process. The force of the blow managed to knock him up into the air, where he unceremoniously crashed down onto his back a second later.
His bell was rung, and his vision swam as he struggled to push himself upright while sitting on his butt. Two Yangs sauntered slowly toward him, the blurred images slowly condensing into one as his brain managed to focus on the girl in front of him.
"I don't know what it is, but somehow I managed to hit harder after you hit me," the girl seemed to brag. A finger and thumb came up to scratch her nose. "Would it sound weird if I asked you to hit me harder?"
Jaune pressed his hands onto the floor and forced himself back to his feet. Blue eyes blinked as he regained a semblance of control over his senses once more. "As long as you don't call me daddy," he quipped.
Yang burst into laughter. "Don't worry, I'm not a freak like Weiss is. She'd be getting the wrong kind of pleasure fighting you like this. But me?" she said, raising her fists again. "I just wanna fucking hurt someone."
He would gladly be her punching bag if it meant saving some innocent person's life. Not just a punching bag, however. He was determined to win this fight. Not only to calm Yang down. Not only to try to get through to her. But to prove to himself how far he'd come.
She came at him again with no warning, obviously expecting Jaune to be up to the challenge of facing off against her in combat. He was, and as Yang took another swing at him, her hair bathed in fire as she did, Jaune amped up his own fist as well. Glowing with pure white light, an immovable object collided with an unstoppable force. The crack of Aura-protected skin and bones cut through the air, only the sound of Yang's own cry of pain able to be heard above it.
This time it was Yang who stumbled back from the blow, and she shook her right hand in pain. She stared up at him with gritted teeth, as if insulted that he had dared to deny her blow with his own fist.
Jaune looked down at his own glowing hand, unharmed and pain-free. An idea came to him.
"I'll break you in half!" Yang snarled, stalking toward him once more. Without being able to transform into her Grimm form she was a far more tamed fighter, but her human guise had done nothing to dampen her spirit.
Jaune's fists remained upright, but he didn't intend to use them. No, he instead wanted to test the limits of his Semblance. Maybe this wasn't the best time or place, and maybe Yang wasn't the correct opponent. But if he could withstand a blow from her, he was confident that he'd be able to take a hit from anyone.
Even as Yang's fist pumped back once more to strike, Jaune concentrated. His face was a shield. His flesh was a wall. He would not falter. He would stand his ground.
The blow struck. His neck twisted as Yang's fist slammed home, but he felt nothing. The same couldn't be said for her, and as he turned back to look at her, saw how the girl clenched her fingers over and over again trying to undo the pain she'd just wrought on herself.
Jaune took the opportunity and went on the offensive.
Right. Left. Right. Left. There was little skill on display here. Jaune was not a boxer. He was not an unarmed fighter. His technique was probably sloppy and used far too much energy. He probably left himself open. But right now that didn't matter. He could turn his body into an unbreakable shield with his vast amount of Aura and his amplification Semblance. Right now he just needed to hurt Yang.
He needed to calm her down. If that meant beating the fight out of her, then he'd do it.
Blow after blow connected with the blonde girl, her grunts of pain hurting Jaune almost as much as they must have hurt her. Okay, probably not, but it still hurt Jaune to inflict pain on his friend. On a girl who was a victim in all this. On a girl who was terrified of what she thought would happen to her here in Vale.
Jaune breathed heavily as his assault relented, certain that the many solid blows he'd struck on the girl would bring her Aura down low enough to cause her to end this.
He was sadly mistaken.
Yang's hair was a raging inferno now, and red trickled down from her nose onto her lips. Her tongue darted out to lap up the precious fluid, making her piercing crimson eyes burn all the brighter.
"Oh my gods, I've never felt more alive than I do right now," she whispered excitedly. "I feel like I can shatter the rest of that motherfucking moon right now."
Jaune knew how much Yang loved to fight, but the fact that she was so eager and wound up after the beating she'd just taken surprised even him. She was breathing heavily, snorting uncontrolled breaths through her bleeding nose as she regarded him with an almost psychotic grin.
"Yang, end this," he told her worriedly. He didn't want her to snap. He didn't want her to lose control and let the Grimm part of her come out.
"End?" she asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "No, Jaune. You've filled me up with so much rage that I can't stand it. I need a release. I need to kill someone. Even if that someone is you!"
Yang's fists were on fire as she ran at him. Even if he didn't know the specifics of her Semblance, Jaune knew that if he didn't give this attack his all that she very well could kill him. He'd never seen someone be literally on fire like she was, but even he knew that if she struck him head on without the protection of his Semblance, he was a dead man.
Amplifying himself with as much Aura as he could muster, Jaune ran forward to meet his attacker. Fire met light once more. Fist met fist. Yang met Jaune.
The latter screamed in pain as he felt his fingers shatter.
Yang screamed too, triumphant in victory as Jaune stumbled back. She pressed on, but the fire had gone out. And Jaune still had one good hand.
His left arm wrapped around her body, and in a twisting motion threw both Yang and himself down to the floor. The two rolled there struggling for dominance before finally Jaune emerged on top. Using his superior weight to pin Yang under him, he pressed his right forearm down onto her windpipe.
And slammed his left fist down on her nose.
Blood splattered up and Yang grunted in pain once more. She thrashed and squirmed underneath him, but his superior size held her down. He gave another swift punch to the face.
She snarled. "Get off me!"
"It's over!" he shouted back. "Stop fighting!"
Her blonde hair had lost its glow. Red eyes retreated back inside her, and lilac took command once more. Whatever had happened, Yang had used all that power she'd managed to acquire on him. On a normal person it would have worked. It would have been fatal. Only Jaune's amplified Aura had been able to stop such strength.
It'd cost him a broken right hand. It would heal in him thanks to his Aura, but it was a testament to the strength Yang possessed. To the power of her own Semblance. Where his offered absolute protection, hers offered absolute destruction.
How fitting for the hybrid.
Underneath him Jaune felt Yang's panting breaths, but the fight in her began to subside. He stared down at her, a bloody nose and bloody teeth leering back up at him. Maybe she was content now. She'd gotten the fight she always wanted from him. She'd given him the best she was able to in her human form, and he'd done the same. She'd seen his strength. She knew why he was their leader. Why everyone had considered him the strongest student at their school.
Only now did he remember why he'd wanted to fight her in the first place. To calm her. To reassure her. The only way he knew how. Words were lost on the aggressive hybrid, but actions weren't. If he showed his strength, if he proved his dominance over her, then maybe she would believe him. Maybe she would trust him. He would protect her. He would save her.
"I won't let anyone hurt you," he whispered to her reassuringly. "Not your uncle. Not Winter. No one. Do you understand?"
He couldn't read her expression. Lilac eyes stared up into his, and she didn't say a word.
"Trust me, Yang. You have to trust me. I'm here for you. For Ruby. For everyone. I'm going to protect you all. Okay?"
With her hands splayed out at her sides, Jaune believed that the last of the fight was out of her. He released his forearm from its place on her throat, allowing her some literal breathing room.
Yang's head reached up and her teeth clamped around his neck in an instant, biting down hard.
"Ahh!" Jaune screamed in equal parts surprise and pain.
She didn't let him. Her teeth remained clenched down on his flesh. Sucking. Chewing. Like an animal.
"Ah, Yang!" he gasped, struggling in vain to escape her vice-like grip. "L-let go!"
As it turned out, Jaune's words were powerless to stop the girl from attacking him like a rabid animal. Only the sound of someone's throat clearing had managed to do the trick.
Yang released her hold on him, and Jaune twisted around to see who was standing behind him.
Winter Schnee. Her arms were folded across her chest. She did not look happy.
Just how many girls does this boy have wrapped around his finger?
That was the first angry thought Winter had as she strode down the hall beside the young man known as Jaune Arc.
It wasn't unusual that he was in a relationship. Huntsmen and huntresses who worked closely together often formed relationships with each other. It was easy. Convenient. They both understood the lifestyle. They understood the risks entailed with their duties. With no time to date like a normal civilian, it made sense for those in the profession to 'hook up', as the saying went. Those relationships often bore children, who would grow up and aspire to become huntsmen themselves.
If their position on the training room floor was anything to go by, it seemed as though Jaune and Yara were already halfway there.
Winter had heard tales of these things before. Huntsmen and huntresses who were lovers often sparred together. In the heat of the moment they would sometimes let their passions get the better of them. One moment they could be fighting, spilling each other's blood and inflicting pain on one another. The next they would lose themselves in the moment and begin furiously kissing each other, their adrenaline from fighting quickly shifting over to lust. They'd strip from their clothes before making passionate love in the arena they had been training in only moments earlier.
She was lucky to have come upon them when she did. With the way Yara had her mouth clamped over Jaune's neck, sucking and undoubtedly leaving a love mark on his flesh, Jaune and her had been only seconds away from having sex.
Why was he about to have sex with Yara if he was already courting both her sister and Rosalyn? Just what kind of a sexual deviant was he?
Winter seethed silently. This was all his fault. Somehow, she knew it was all his fault. He'd turned her precious baby sister into a pervert. It could not, and would not stand.
"Tell me, Mister Arc," she said evenly, her hands clasped behind her back as they walked. "What is the nature of the relationship between you and Miss Xanthic?"
A false name, she knew. But it was the one Jaune would respond to. Similarly she would refer to Yang's sister as Rosalyn rather than Ruby. What hurt most of all would be to pretend that she didn't know her own sister. Wren Slate was a stranger to the Specialist.
"We're just friends," he admitted. He was very good at lying. It almost sounded believable.
"Friends," she echoed. "Is that why she was kissing your neck while you lay between her legs on the floor?"
Jaune's head snapped up, and wide blue eyes stared over to her. "No, no, you've got it all wrong," he insisted. "She was biting me, not kissing. Gods, no, that's not how we are. She'd break me in half if she ever tried to-"
He stopped himself short of whatever he was about to say. Ever tried to what?
"Yes?" she asked expectantly.
"Um, never mind. It's not appropriate to talk about that sort of thing in public."
It's not appropriate to fornicate in a public training room either.
Still, Yara wasn't Winter's main concern here. She wanted to know more about Weiss. More about the relationship she had with this boy.
"And your other teammates?" she pressed. "Wren and Rosalyn?"
Jaune turned away, and Winter saw how his body language indicated discomfort. Embarrassment. "We're…"
Cheating on my sister with that redhead, Winter wanted to snap.
"It's complicated," he finished. "Really complicated."
"I'm an intelligent woman. Please, try explaining it to me."
The boy who walked beside her exhaled. He was tired. Understandable after he and Yara had just sparred and nearly made love together.
"I love them," he said earnestly. His eyes met hers once more, and the fact that he could say the words while looking at her added credence to them. "I love them both. With all my heart. I'd die for them before I'd let anyone hurt them."
Schnee's do not share, was what she again wanted to say to him. However, there was something in his tone that was believable. He may have been a good liar, but even Winter could hear the passion behind his words.
It was almost enough to soothe her temper. Unfortunately, a few pretty words wouldn't undo the disgrace and dishonor he'd brought upon Weiss.
"If you had to choose one of them, who would it be? Polyamorous relationships aren't exactly looked upon favorably in the world. Nor are such marriages possible. Who would you marry if you had to choose between them, Jaune?"
He looked away once more. He shook his head. "Impossible."
"Impossible? Why is that?"
"It's… complicated."
Not the answer Winter wanted to hear. She didn't want copouts. She didn't want excuses. What she wanted were true and honest answers about him, Weiss, and the relationship they shared. She wanted Weiss to grow up happy, find a loving partner to marry, and live a wonderful and fulfilling life away from the household that she'd been taken from as a child.
If Jaune Arc could not provide those things for her, then he was not worthy of her sister's time and affection.
"So, um, where are we going?" the boy asked, looking around the halls of the dormitory building they strode through.
"To your room, of course," Winter answered matter-of-factly. "After your… spar with Miss Xanthic, you're probably in need of a shower."
Jaune nodded, but his voice told her he remained unconvinced. "And why are you coming?"
Because I don't trust you with my sister. "Is it wrong for a new teaching assistant to want to get to know her students better?"
The boy beside her frowned, and this time shook his head. "I guess not."
"Good. Then you won't mind me coming in to speak with Miss Slate and Miss Rouge for a bit."
And perhaps find out more of what exactly your relationship with them entails.
Knowing their destination now, Jaune took more of a lead in their journey through the exchange student dorm. When they came upon the room she knew to be his, he fished out his scroll and swiped it to unlock the door.
He pushed it open, and Winter heard a pair of female voices from within.
Sitting on one of the beds, her sweet sister was beside an unknown faunus student. Tall rabbit ears pointed up from a head of long brown hair. A scroll was held between them.
Noises… were coming from the scroll.
"Oh, Jaune!" Weiss said excitedly, springing up from the bed. "And you've brought Specialist Schnee with you." Her hands clapped together happily. "Wonderful!"
The faunus girl's brown eyes widened, and her tall ears drooped down atop her head. Was it fear? Embarrassment?
"Velvet was showing me something called PornPlace-dot-com," she said, holding the scroll up for both the boy and Winter to see. "Where I'd once thought that pornography documentaries were only available in physical video form, it turns out that there are thousands, no, tens of thousands of such videos on the CCT Network!"
Sure enough, Weiss… her sweet, precious little sister, held up her scroll to show a man and a woman having graphic, uncensored sex. Pale blue eyes widened. This was… this was…
"Wren!" Jaune shouted, snatching the scroll from her fingers and mercifully shutting the movie off. "You can't…"
"I know, I know, I should have waited for you," she said almost guiltily. "But it was simply such an amazing discovery that I couldn't help myself." Weiss looked back over to Velvet, who was beginning to shrink in on herself in what had to be embarrassment. "Velvet has been so helpful, and she offered to help show me how to navigate the website. There's so many categories that you'd never run out of new videos to watch. Humans have so much sex, Jaune!"
Winter couldn't take it. Here she'd come to find out more about her sister and her relationship with this boy, but seeing this, hearing this… she wanted to know less. Far, far less.
She took a step backwards. Weiss' face radiated pure joy. She was… she was a sex-addicted pervert. Her poor sister. Her poor, poor sister…
Jaune would die for this.
But for now a tactical retreat was necessary. She couldn't handle this right now. She needed time to process it. Time to think. Time to destroy a few training droids herself.
"Excuse me," Winter said hurriedly, exiting the room as quickly as she could.
Strolling back down the hallway as quickly as her long legs could carry her, she realized that she needed some alone time with Weiss. Time away from Jaune, Ruby, Yang, and their corrupting influence.
Qrow could go screw himself. If anyone was going to save Weiss from them and herself, it was going to be her.
Author's Note: What's this? Two story updates in one day? We're starting this new year off not only with a bang, but with a Yang as well!
My apologies for taking so long to update this fic. As I mentioned at the beginning of my brand new Jaune x Summer Rose story, I had a very rough November and December, both emotionally and physically. I didn't feel like writing. What I did feel like writing just wasn't this. But hopefully things will be better in this new year.
So yeah, if you are interested in some Jaune X MILF action, go check out the new story on my profile, A Fall Summer Knight's Dream.
But back to this, I had a lot of fun writing all these scenes. Writing Winter's point of view will offer a new and fun experience. Weiss making a new friend in Velvet is bound to lead to more comedy. With the addition of her, now Weiss, Ruby, and Yang have all made a new human/faunus/robot friend who isn't Jaune. The question is, should Blake make a friend as well? And if she does, should it be Neo?
And before anyone asks, and I know someone will misinterpret this, no, Weiss and Velvet weren't doing anything dirty with each other. Just watching porn. You can thank my friend Ikedawg43 for the idea of Weiss discovering internet porn. It was so great I just had to include it.
Anyway, I've rambled on for long enough. But after almost two months without an update I had a lot to say.
I hope you all enjoyed the latest chapter. Thanks for reading.