"Stay with us, soldier!"
What?
Perry heard the familiar voice echo around as he floated in cold darkness.
What was happening?
"Oh Gods! Perry! What happened to you?!"
Another familiar voice, this one a female called out to him but for the life of him, he couldn't place who it was.
"Adam, what happened? Where's the human?"
This time an older and gruffer voice joined in as Perry tried to hone in on them. Alas, he could already feel himself floating away as their voices grew weaker.
"...it….lightning…left…..-ed….portal."
The words were familiar and it didn't take long for him to remember.
He was dying. He felt his body tighten at that.
He remembers taking Adam's sword and then….a red light appeared and a woman threw lightning at him.
His body seized as he remembered the sensation of pain that followed.
"..do something!"
"He's go…to…..shock!"
He wanted to say something. Anything that could get them not to worry before all of a sudden he felt a warm light cover him in the middle of the darkness
"For it is in sacrifice we achieve victory."
He felt pain as electricity ran through his veins.
"Through this, we cover ourselves in honor and glory."
He felt strength as the warm light turned into a blazing fire.
"Endless in bravery and bounded by duty, I release your soul, and by my sword, call thee"
He heard the call.
And then he answered.
He opened his eyes to pain running all over his body.
"You fucked up."
Aww, fuck.
Considering he was lying on a cot inside a tent, Qrow was pretty sure who that testy voice belonged to.
He looked to his right and there she was. Seated on a chair beside the cot he was lying on with her legs and arms crossed while looking imperiously at him was her sister.
"Hello, Ra-"
"You fucked up." Raven interrupted him with a cold voice and an even colder glare.
Yeah. He already knew she was going to rub that in.
"Yes, you already said that." Qrow rolled his eyes exasperatedly as he tried to sit up only for him to fall back down in pain.
"Because you fucked up, Qrow!" Raven growled as she looked at his struggling form.
"I know. I know." He groaned as he felt the bandages on his head and abdomen.
"Do you know how humiliating it is that I had to save you from such weaklings?! My own brother, beaten by some chumps?!"
"Nice to see you care about me instead of your own reputation, sister." He drawled resignedly as he settled for laying back down on the cot.
"Don't start that with me, little brother. I'm the only reason you are alive right now." Raven uncrossed her arms and leaned forward with narrowed eyes.
Qrow winced at that reminder. As much as he wanted to, he could not deny it. The truth was staring him right in the face. His sister saved his life.
"Right, sorry." He apologized contritely.
"That's not the word you should be saying." Raven sighed as she leaned back and adopted a proud posture.
What? Qrow's eyebrows rose in surprise at Raven's words.
"I didn't expect you to be one for courtesy, sister."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Raven raised an eyebrow at him and he could only laugh blankly while waving his hand all around them.
The message was received and Raven rolled her eyes exasperatedly at him.
"We might be bandits, Qrow, but we are civilized bandits."
Civilized bandits? Qrow laughed genuinely at the term.
"Is there even such a thing?"
"Yes, us." Raven answered imperiously with a smirk on her face and Qrow couldn't help but laugh even louder.
Oh Gods, since when did his sister develop a sense of humor?
Eventually though, he manages to get his laughter under control and wipe the tears from his eyes as he smiles at his sister.
"Fine...Thanks, Raven. You're the bestest sister ever." He jokes sarcastically with a smile on his face to which Raven only nods and fires back with a joke of her own.
"Why, you're welcome, Qrow. You're only my least favorite little brother ever."
"Hey! I'm your only brother! That means I'm also your favorite." Qrow yelled with a smile on his face.
"To my eternal shame, yes." Raven shrugged as she shook her head in mock resignation.
"Prick." Qrow scowled but the smirk on his face takes away the heat of the word.
"Ass." Raven replied instantly with a smile on her face.
And for one wonderful moment it felt like Qrow had his sister again. His sister who laughed and mocked him and Tai jokingly during the hey days of Team STRQ. She must have been really worried about him if she was behaving this lightly.
Qrow's eyes soften as he looks at his sister.
"Thank you, Rae, really. Thanks for saving my life." He says sincerely, getting Raven to freeze before narrowing her eyes at him.
Raven only looked at him for a moment before turning away with a sigh.
And just like that, the mirth between them disappears but Qrow keeps the smile on his face.
"With this, you've wasted the chance of me saving you from danger."
"Once per person, right? Considering I get to keep my life, I think it's worth it." Qrow smiled, lightly patting his chest in relief.
Raven only scoffed at that however.
"More like a waste. Why didn't you just turn into a bird and escape?"
"I was in the tunnels, Raven. I didn't know the area well enough to plot an escape route and there was no place for a bird to hide there. If the White Fang were really dedicated they would sniff me out or use their night vision to find me. So I decided it was better to fight my way through than risk getting squashed in my bird form." Qrow shook his head with a sigh.
What if's, what shoulds, and what could have beens. There were a lot of those floating around his head and while Qrow knew he could have done things better now that he knew more, it already happened.
There was nothing more to do than learn from it.
Raven however sighed disappointedly at his answer.
"What a waste. I expected to have to save you when you were dying to a Maiden, Salem's lieutenants, or even Salem herself. To see you-"
"Wait, wait. Hold up. You would save me from Salem herself?" Qrow cuts in and asked incredulously.
"I would have tried my best but yes." Raven nodded with a sigh.
"Wow, that's...honestly amazing coming from you."
Raven narrowed her eyes at his reply before shaking her head.
"It doesn't matter now. You have wasted your chance. You got beaten by weaklings, Qrow!"
"You don't have to keep repeating it, you know?" He replied with a frown on his face.
"Dying by the hands of a couple of thieves, and terrorists wannabes?! It is a disgrace to the Branwen name!"
Qrow rolled his eyes snidely.
"Ah, right. It's always been about strength and the Branwen name with you. And here I thought you actually cared about me."
"Do not take this lightly, Qrow. What I care about is if weaklings could beat you then they would think they could beat me as well. I would have flies trying to pick a fight with me." Raven growled, her eyes narrowing as she looked at him.
"So you want me to be strong too? Well, you don't have to worry about that. Just give me some time to heal then I'll show you strength."
"More like weakness. Admit it, you got sloppy, cocky, and careless." Raven scoffed as Qrow winced at her words.
One on one, Qrow was sure he could beat any of the fools he fought. The problem was they didn't fight him one on one did they? They fought together and had a semblance of teamwork to inch a victory. It was literally what they teach at Combat Academies! And Qrow lost to it.
"It won't happen again."
"I'm sure it won't, because you are going to train here until you get back in shape."
"What?! Can't you just open a portal to Tai and drop me off at his place? I can recover there and I still need to report back what I found to Ozpin."
"Ozpin, huh? I told you he was going to lead you to your death. Look at what happened to you. You almost died, Qrow. And to chumps no less!" Raven scowled at him.
The worst part about what Raven said was Qrow couldn't even refute it. He made a lot of dumb decisions thinking he could take it all on and while he did give a great showing, the truth does not lie. He got jumped and damn did it hurt.
"What happened by the way? Did you kill them at least?" He asked with a sigh.
"I killed the one who was about to end your life but I was too busy saving your ass to make sure the others were dead. It's been three days since then."
His eyes widened in shock and his skin paled as he took in her words. Not because of what she did but because of something else.
Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no. He sits himself up from the bed immediately, ignoring the pain in his body as he looks at Raven with frantic eyes.
"T-Three days?! Quick, send me back to-"
"No, Qrow. I am not sending you back to Ozpin." Raven interrupted sternly and Qrow gritted his teeth at her.
"I'm not talking about Ozpin, you fool! I'm talking about Yang! Send me to Yang right now!"
All thoughts of reporting to Ozpin goes straight into the back of his mind as he imagines what must be happening right now.
"Why? What about Yang? Is she in trouble?" Raven cocked her head worriedly and any other moment Qrow would have been happy to see any sense of maternal protectiveness from her sister.
"Oh there's trouble alright. It's probably the Beacon Dance right now and you know how things could get! I sure as hell not letting any guy sink their claws on either of my nieces."
Raven stared at him blankly before laughing out loud. She actually laughed at him.
"Don't you think it's a little too late to play the protective uncle? They're adults, Qrow. Even Summer's little pipsqueak is old enough to kill Grimm. You don't need to coddle them."
"You don't understand, Raven. You weren't around to see but there's a blonde, blue-eyed, bastard prowling around both of them."
Sure, he might trust Jaune Arc on his info but Qrow sure as hell doesn't trust him with his nieces!
"And what's wrong with that? As long as he's strong then I don't see the problem. Why are you so worked up about this? Is he weak?" Raven asked with a tilt of her head as Qrow did his best to remember everything he knew about Jaune Arc.
"I don't know if he's weak or strong but he faked his transcripts to Beacon. More than that however, this guy already slept with two women at the same time, Raven. I won't let either of my nieces be a notch on his bedpost."
Qrow's eyes widen in horror however as he sees Raven nod in approval.
"A rule breaker and a stud then. He must be impressive. Tell me more about this blonde, blue-eyed bastard you seem to hate so much."
S-She approves? No, wait. This is Raven. She always had weird thoughts about things.
Shaking his head exasperatedly, Qrow only sighs as Raven raises an eyebrow at his silence.
"I don't hate him. I just don't like him sinking his claws on my nieces."
"So you keep saying but you haven't told me anything about him just yet." Raven hums casually as her eyes continue to stare at him.
"Why are you so interested in this?" Qrow tilts his head in confusion.
Out of all the things Raven could be interested in, it would be this? Why?
"Can't I be interested in my daughter's love life?"
"Not when you left her you don't." Qrow shoots back and he sees her stiffen for a moment before her posture relaxes once again.
"Regardless of why I am asking, you telling me about him could convince me to send you straight to where you want to be." Raven offers and he only stares flatly at her.
"I know what you are doing, Raven."
"I would be disappointed if you didn't, Qrow." Raven only smirked at him.
He sighs dramatically at that before acquiescing to her request. It's not like he was losing anything in this exchange.
"Fine….his name is Jaune Arc and he is-"
"He is a menace!"
Winter watched stoically as General Ironwood slammed a fist on top of Headmaster Ozpin's table.
"Isn't that an overraction, James?" Headmaster Ozpin raised an eyebrow.
"I believe it isn't, Ozpin. Qrow is missing because of Arc's information!" General Ironwood seethed before he leaned back from the table due to the influence of his Semblance.
"Ahem, James." Glynda Goodwitch called out from her position standing behind Headmaster Ozpin, mirroring Winter's own position behind General Ironwood.
"What is it, Glynda?" General Ironwood asked, trying to regain his calm.
"Are you sure you should be speaking about-" Glynda glances at her before General Ironwood cuts her off.
"Winter has my trust."
And what a trust it was. It was her first time hearing Qrow was missing much less it was possibly because of Jaune Arc.
Her General's decision to target him for observation now makes a lot more sense to Winter.
"Thank you, General." She remarks when she sees General Ironwood nod at her.
Headmaster Ozpin stared at her for a moment before sighing resignedly.
"I understand your concern, James, but the fact is that this is not the first time Qrow has cut contact with us for an extended period of time. For all we know he could have found something bigger because of Mr. Arc's information and decided to investigate what it is before returning back to us."
"Or he could be dead and we don't even know about it." General Ironwood answered back gravely, his words weighing down the atmosphere around them.
Qrow Branwen, dead on a scouting mission? It sounded impossible to Winter's ears but even she knew the strongest falls sometimes.
The fact that Headmaster Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch did not immediately rebuke her superior is a testament to the fact that they knew that possibility as well.
Headmaster Ozpin however clasped his hands together in front of his mouth.
"He could be, James, but again Qrow could also be just investigating deeper. Let us not be hasty in our conclusions. Until we have evidence that Jaune Arc is an infiltrator as you suspect, you will not act on your suspicions about him."
"Oz-"
"No, James. To detain him because of circumstantial evidence, and that's what you currently have, is wrong." He emphasized, staring straight into the General's eyes.
Winter only stood still behind her superior, her hands clenching behind her back.
"Why do you have so much trust in him, Ozpin? You even let him in your academy knowing his transcripts are fake." General Ironwood shook his head disappointedly.
Winter's eyes narrowed at that. She has already been briefed before on Jaune Arc's fake transcripts and she has to say that it really does paint him on a bad light.
Headmaster Ozpin only sighed however.
"If you had bothered to really investigate him and done a background check beyond his transcripts then you would know he comes from a respectable family, James."
"So that's it then? He has a good family and you suddenly let him in." General Ironwood responded sarcastically.
"I did not say that, James. What you need to consider is that the Arcs have bred mighty and trustworthy warriors time and time again. It would be foolish of me if I turned him away and wasted his potential." Headmaster Ozpin replied calmly.
"And for all you knew he might have been compromised before even coming to Beacon! How could you even be sure he had potential in the first place?"
"That is merely conjecture, James, and as for knowing his potential...Well, his father, Nicholas, is a proficient Huntsman who is instrumental to the protection of his home and the hub of numerous frontier towns near him."
"Not enough." The General shot back instantly with narrowed eyes.
"Few people know of this since it is not publicly known but his grandfather, Cornelius, also fought for equality during the Faunus Revolution and paved the road for peace between the early White Fang and the Kingdoms together with the late Nicholas Schnee." Headmaster Ozpin added as he glanced at Winter.
Winter's eyes widened at the mention of her grandfather. She knew her grandfather built their family company after the Great War and survived the Faunus Revolution but to learn that he was instrumental in pushing for peace in Remnant together with an Arc was new.
General Ironwood however has a more different reaction.
"That only gives him more reason to sympathize with the White Fang if his grandfather fought for their rights." He points out firmly with a frown on his face.
"I didn't take you for a racist, James." Glynda Goodwitch remarked and Winter flinched at the venom in her voice.
Not General Ironwood however, he remains calm as he answers.
"I am not, Glynda, but I am a pragmatist. If his family has history with the White Fang then it only makes it more likely for him to have some too."
"His family has history with both the White Fang and the Schnees, James." Headmaster Ozpin sighed exasperatedly before shooting the General a meaningful look.
"The Arcs are a storied family with his great-grandfather, Jupiter Arc, even being a trusted adviser of the last King of Vale during the Great War."
Winter didn't understand why the mention of Mr. Arc's great-grandfather is important but her superior seems to have gotten the meaning before he narrowed his eyes and leaned forward.
"I prefer to look at the current situation instead of the past deeds of his ancestors. Circumstantial they might be, but the evidence still paints Mr. Arc in a suspicious light."
"Which is why we have already acquiesced to your request not to give him further access to...our guardian." Headmaster Ozpin cut in, his eyes flicking to Winter before returning to General Ironwood. "Do not push for more, James."
Both men stared at each other before the tension between them relaxed when General Ironwood sighed resignedly.
"So be it, Ozpin, but if something happens be prepared for me to tell you I told you so." The General spoke as he stood up, causing Winter to straighten even more.
Headmaster Ozpin however chuckled tiredly. "Please, old friend, relax. We have the Beacon Dance tonight. Take the time to relax. I'm sure Glynda would appreciate the help babysitting the students."
General Ironwood paused before his eyes flicked to Glynda for a moment and back to Ozpin.
"I think I just might. Who knows, it might even be a good time to observe the students." He said after a deep breath, unsaid was the fact that he was particularly going to observe Jaune Arc.
Headmaster Ozpin shook his head mirthfully as Glynda sighed behind him. "Ever the workaholic, I see."
"Needs must, Ozpin, needs must. Now if you will excuse me, I have a dance to prepare for." The General answered though a smile appeared on his face as he smiled at Glynda who only nods back.
Turning around and walking with her General towards the elevator, Winter kept her thoughts to herself before General Ironwood spoke as they closed the elevator behind them.
"Winter, what have your observations been of Jaune Arc this past week?"
She hesitated for a moment, thinking on the information she gathered from her sister and her own observations before nodding to herself.
"Sir...aside from his unusual relationship with Pyrrha Nikos and Blake Belladonna, he has been a diligent student training hard with his team." She answered slowly with a frown on her face.
"Is that all?" General Ironwood raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, Sir."
It was the truth. In her time observing Jaune Arc, he has been nothing but a model student in his training and his interaction with his peers.
If the General did not mark him for observation and if her sister did not tell her about his unusual relationship status during their numerous conversations then she really might have thought that he was a model huntsman-in-training and team leader in Beacon.
General Ironwood stayed silent at her words before Winter gathered the courage to ask something as the elevator started to go down.
"Permission to speak, Sir?"
"Hm? Go ahead, Specialist."
"If I may ask, Headmaster Ozpin seems to have an unusual amount of knowledge about the Arcs as well as my own grandfather."
"That isn't a question, Winter." General Ironwood chuckled and Winter coughed in embarrassment at that.
"Forgive me, Sir...it just seemed unusual and I wanted to know your thoughts about it."
"My thoughts? You are wondering how he knows so much, I presume?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Well, all I will say is Ozpin has his mysterious ways. In time you will know of them of course but for now, it would be better if you focus your thoughts elsewhere, namely Mr. Arc."
Winter nodded at that before bringing up one last concern.
"Forgive me, Sir. I just worry that Headmaster Ozpin might have a relationship with Mr. Arc that we do not know about that's making him hide his tracks."
It was convoluted and an improbable way of thinking things but when investigating matters, Winter has learned not to immediately rule out the improbable.
"They have a relationship alright. I believe Ozpin wants to cultivate Jaune Arc to be one of his assets."
"An asset, sir? Like Qrow?"
"Possibly. You already have an idea that things in Remnant are not what they seem which is why Remnant needs people like us, Huntsmen and Specialist alike. In time I will brief you all I know but like I said, there are other things to think about. Like the dance for example. I want you to be there."
"The dance, Sir?"
"Yes, Winter, the dance. As mundane as it seems it is also a wonderful opportunity to observe Jaune Arc. With people busy with it, it would be the opportune time for an infiltrator to act."
"You mean to catch him red-handed." Winter nodded in realization.
"If he is the infiltrator, yes. If he is not and stays in the dance...then you would have managed to spend time also watching over your sister. Wonderful, isn't it?" General Ironwood smiled at her and she nodded back with a smile of her own.
"Indeed, Sir. And all I need to do is watch over Jaune Arc."
Jaune shivered as the time for the dance slowly crept up on him.
"Again, we need the room after the dance." Ren said unashamedly, his ulterior motives open to anyone who was listening.
It will only be three hours until the dance starts and the last thing Jaune expected to be doing was having a staredown with Ren inside their room.
"You've had the room for the week, Ren. Don't you think it's time for you two to give us the same." Jaune sighed tiredly as he looked at Ren and Nora across from him and Pyrrha.
"It's not our fault that you and Pyrrha preferred to do it on the rooftop." Nora piped in getting Pyrrha to blush as she screeched beside him.
"Nora?! What are you saying?!"
"Do what?! We were training!" He adds with a blush of his own.
What goes unsaid however was the fact that he and Pyrrha did do some stuff on the rooftop. Only kissing and making out of course but it was not for a lack of trying and they only stopped from doing more because Jaune insisted they focus on training.
What can he say? He at least wanted to be able to beat his girlfriend in a fight.
"Could have fooled us with the grunts and praises you've been exchanging." Ren replied flatly to Jaune's own frustration.
"I-arghh! You can hear us?!"
"I reckon a lot of people can hear you if they just opened their windows. It's not every night- no scratch that, it is actually almost every night with you two when you train together on the rooftops." Ren nodded to his question and Jaune could already see Pyrrha shrinking into herself in embarrassment.
"You know what?! This is getting us nowhere. It is time to decide who gets to use the bedroom tonight." Jaune yells loudly, changing the subject back on track and away from any night time activities he and Pyrrha may or may not have done atop the rooftops.
"You plan on inviting Blake, correct?" Ren raises an eyebrow and Jaune looks at Pyrrha who nods enthusiastically before he could even ask for permission.
"Of course." He verbalizes shyly.
Sue him, he wants a repeat of the threesome, alright?! He's a normal healthy boy!
Ren disagrees however as he shakes his head in refusal.
"Then I must protest, Jaune. You aren't the only ones using this room and Nora and I would feel uncomfortable-"
"I wouldn't mind." Nora interrupts with a smile on her face, causing Ren to snap at his girlfriend immediately before correcting himself with a sigh.
"...I would feel uncomfortable if you invited someone from outside of this room."
"I…that doesn't seem fair. If you guys are going to be like that then we will also protest you using this room every night for a week straight while Pyrrha and I were out training."
"It's not every night."
Jaune and Pyrrha only looked flatly at him and Ren at least had the temerity to blush and look away as Nora squirmed with a blush on her face.
"Look, guys. We don't have all day to decide." Pyrrha interceded calmly, to which Nora nodded excitedly.
"Right! Us ladies have to prepare too, you know?!"
Jaune nodded gravely, having seven sisters already educated him on how long a girl needs to prepare for special events. Gods know it took Saphron three hours just to prepare for her first date with Terra.
And with three hours remaining before the dance starts? That's already a tight fit if Jaune was going to calculate the time it would take the girls to prepare based on his own personal experiences with his sister.
"Indeed, it would be optimal if we decide now." Ren agreed, having the sense not to question why the girls need to prepare this early.
"How though? We've been having this conversation for an hour." Jaune asked and it was true.
They have just been circling back to this same topic.
Neither of them wanted to back down on this, both boys utterly dedicated to fully enjoying this special night with their own lovers.
"Look, boys. I think we all know what we should do to settle this." Nora said in such a serious tone that all of them couldn't help but turn to her to listen.
Satisfied that she has their undivided attention, she opens her mouth to speak. "I think we should all just use the room-"
"""NO!""" Jaune, Ren, and Pyrrha all shouted before she could even finish her sentence.
"Oh come on! You didn't even let me finish!" Nora pouted and Jaune couldn't help but shout with a blush on his face as Pyrrha nodded aggressively beside him.
"We don't need to let you finish to know where you were going with it!"
Give it to Nora to be the one to suggest they all have sex in the same room at the same time.
"No, Nora. We will not be doing any of that." Ren stated sternly with narrowed eyes and Jaune and Pyrrha have a front row view to the sight of Nora meekly calming down with a small nod.
"Yes, Renny." Nora replied with a blush on her face as she squirmed uncomfortably.
Damn, who knew that would be the secret to calming down Nora? Just have Ren say no sternly and she immediately quiets down.
It's not on Jaune nor Pyrrha to comment on their relationship however so Jaune clears his throat to get the topic back on track.
"Now that we know we are not going to do that, we still haven't decided on who gets to use the room."
"Indeed, it seems we are at an impasse." Ren nodded and Jaune sighed tiredly at that.
Impasse, indeed. Yet there is a way to resolve this. A way in which many men have decided a great many things. His eyes harden as he stares at Ren who narrows his own eyes at him.
"There is only one way we could resolve this." Jaune begins.
"Yes, so it has come to this." Ren continues.
"What are you two talking about?" Pyrrha asks as she and Nora tilt their heads at them.
Both Jaune and Ren nodded and spoke two words at the same time.
""ARM WRESTLING!""
.
Two chairs and a table between them later has both Jaune and Ren grunting against each other with their hands clasped together.
"Come on, Jaune! You can do it!"
"You can do it, Renny! I believe in you!"
Both boys strain against each other even harder as they get cheered by their very own girlfriends.
"I…argghh gotta admit, Ren. You are stronger than you look." Jaune groaned as Ren raised an eyebrow.
"I don't know what you mean, Jaune, I've always been this strong."
If it weren't for his friend's shaking arm Jaune would have believed Ren to be infallible.
"Heh, you know what I mean." Jaune waggled his eyebrows.
"I…ugh, assure you, I don't." Ren gritted his teeth as his eyes began to glare at Jaune.
It almost shames him to admit that he now has to resort to petty tricks like distracting Ren with his words just to get an edge.
"I can see him failing, Jaune! You're almost there!"
Hearing Pyrrha's cheers however makes him throw away any shame he feels as he pushes even harder. It was true, he could feel himself inch closer to victory.
"ARRGHHHH!" He shouts as his biceps bulge in effort.
"Oh, no! You can do it, Renny! If you win this I'll sit on your face!" Nora shouted desperately.
S-Sit on his face?! Jaune's eyes went wide in horror as he suddenly felt Ren gain a second wind.
"D-Damn pervert." He whispers as a blushing Ren gains an inch over him and Jaune has to struggle even more just to stop himself from losing.
"Jaune! If you win this, Blake and I will do that thing with our tongues you like so much!"
The world pauses as he hears Pyrrha's words. That…thing that they do with their tongues?
Jaune's resolve hardens but it wasn't the only one to harden as the world suddenly resumes its movements.
"W-Who's the pervert now?" Ren shoots back and Jaune could only avert his eyes away with a blush of his own.
"Shut up, dude."
Seconds turn to minutes however and yet neither of them could claim victory over the other. Jaune will admit it, for someone who looked so feminine, Ren sure holds a lot of power inside his body.
Yet he wasn't any slouch either.
He was proud of the strength he managed to build through training with his team and it was the only thing allowing him to compete equally against Ren. He was acutely aware that if they did this during the start of their year, Ren would've already beaten him. Sure, he would've done his best and made it hard for Ren but he was also certain he would've tired out by now.
He smiled as he looked back on how far he had become from his old self.
"W-What are you smiling for?" Ren asked as he gritted his teeth with sweat dripping down his forehead.
Jaune, equally haggard, only widens his grin as he opens his mouth. "It's time for me to finish this."
And just like that, he activated his Semblance and amplified his Aura to make him stronger. He laughs as he suddenly starts winning. Their deadlock, broken, as Jaune is only inches away from victory.
"S-Semblance! That's cheating!" Ren shouted desperately even as he cycled his own Aura to counteract Jaune.
"We never said no Semblances." He smirks and yet in a flash of inspiration, Nora opens her mouth and dooms Jaune.
"Ren….if you lose….I will show Jaune my boobs."
The world turned grey and Jaune could see Ren suddenly frown angrily as he gathered his strength and pushed Jaune back.
His Semblance. He was using his own Semblance to mute Jaune's feelings. His passion. His determination. Yet he will not fall just like that. Color suddenly returns to the world as Jaune grits his own teeth to fight against Ren.
He fails to take into account one factor however.
Pyrrha laid a hand on his shoulder and Jaune almost let his concentration slip then and there but he only frowned before Pyrrha opened her mouth to speak.
"Do you really want to see Nora's boobs that much?"
BAM!
"Way to go, Renny!" Nora threw her hands in the air, jumping towards her boyfriend who immediately caught her with a smile.
"Sorry." Jaune turns to Pyrrha bashfully, rubbing the soreness away from his arm.
Pyrrha only giggled however before giving him a peck on the cheek.
"It's okay. You did your best."
He sighed however before giving Pyrrha a small shy smile. "Thanks, Pyrrha. I just wanted to give us a place for tonight."
She laughs before wiggling her eyebrows. "I'm sure we can find somewhere else we can enjoy each other."
"Somewhere private, I hope." He growls as his breathing deepens when Pyrrha puts a palm on his chest.
"AHEM!" Nora interrupts and Jaune and Pyrrha immediately jump away from each other with a blush. "Now that we know Ren and I will be using the room tonight, it is time for us ladies to prepare! No mush, men. Mush!"
"Wait! What about us?! Where will we get ready?" Jaune yelled as he found himself being push out of the place with Ren.
"I don't know and I don't care. Just make sure to wait for us before entering the place, okay? Okay! Now go!" Nora finishes by handing him and Ren their clothes.
"Bye, Jaune. I'll see you later." Pyrrha waves just Nora closes the door on them.
Jaune blinked owlishly as Ren sighed resignedly beside him.
"What do we do now?" He asked absently as he pats his suit down on his hands.
"I suppose we must find a place to change." Ren answers as they turn towards each other.
"You think Team CRDL will let us use their room?" Jaune shrugged to which Ren only shrugged back.
"You would know better than I do."
"Hmmm, there's no harm in asking them, is there?" Jaune hums but before they leave, he nods back towards their door. "Congrats again, man. Just make sure not to use Pyrrha and mine's bed."
"You are welcome, Jaune, and don't worry, we don't plan on doing so." Ren nods with a smile on his face before tilting his head at him. "Perhaps you could ask Blake to borrow her team's room for your own?"
Jaune's eyes widened in horror as he snapped towards his brother from another mother. He did not just ask that. Surely Ren did not just ask what Jaune thinks he asked, right? Right?!
Before Jaune could even open his mouth however, the door opens right from across them and what he sees is a vision.
His eyes widen and his mind goes blank before his mouth suddenly decides to blurt out the first word that comes to mind before he could even stop it.
"Beautiful."
"Jaune?!" Ruby Rose screeched with blushing rosy cheeks.
Author's Note:
Alright! Last Chapter was controversial for most of you and yes I agree I could have written it better. Maybe make Qrow go down in a cooler way but the purpose of it remains. I wanted to show the White Fang as having more bite than bark in my fic. They were set up in such a cool way only for them to be treated as fodder. Anyways hope you still stuck around and enjoyed the chapter.
Featuring the introduction of Raven "I saved your life!" Branwen!, and the return of Jaune "not a pervert!" Arc!
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