For some reason got no sleep. Stress readings on watch all through the night, kept waking up, got up this morning with 25/100 body battery – and I can feel it.

On the bright side, my nephew has moved out so I finally don't have to deal with an extra squatter. I cleaned his room out (he said he did, but just half-assed it) and got a shard of glass in my foot. Turns out he broke a picture frame and just brushed the glass into the corner rather than get rid of it.

Ffs.

Not only did it stab in my foot, but I didn't realise it was glass at first (assumed it was a thorn or splinter) so I reached down to pull it out and cut my finger on it as well. The guys owns and runs a restaurant, ffs, and he can't do anything for himself. While he was staying here, he even invited his gf over and made her do his laundry for him!

Cover Art: Solace O'Autumn

Chapter 47

After his induction into the gang – becoming what Little Bitch Malachite termed as "one of her spiders" – Jaune was allowed back onto the streets of Mistral, left only with a pat on his sore back and a warning not to try and leave the city.

"We'll know," she'd said.

Jaune didn't doubt it. The Quest hadn't given him an escape option as its objective, and while that might not mean it wasn't available, he just didn't want to risk it. Not when these people could track him down to Argus. It was a stone's throw from Mistral, and he couldn't let harm fall on his sister and nephew.

Well, I did originally plan to spend some time in Mistral anyway. This is a good excuse.

His first stop was Haven, but the people there were less than helpful. He wasn't a student so wasn't allowed in, and his requests to have a message delivered to Cinder was met with a condescending smile from the woman working the front desk. He was tempted to whip out his guitar and start singing Baby Shark in the hopes Cinder heard but given the last instance of that had led to a sudden quest to escape Vacuo or be captured by the Grimm, he wasn't taking the chance. Not when a quest to escape Mistral would clash with the orders from these criminals.

Instead, he hovered around hoping to convince someone to pass on a message for him. The few people he caught, he asked if they knew Cinder, but no one did. Haven was a big place, and Cinder was… well, he didn't know what year she was in. First or second, it was hard to tell. Eventually, Jaune gave up and tried his luck at the lower academy instead.

Sanctum was different to Haven by more than just age. It taught a mix of huntsman and civilian families, and it was far safer. Since it taught young children (as young as eleven) they weren't willing to let him in either, but when he mentioned his friends lived here on an orphan program, the person working the front office agreed to call their dorm.

Fifteen minutes later, Nora came bounding into the reception area.

"Jaunnneee!"

"Nor—ooof!"

All those points in Constitution apparently didn't mean much compared to Nora's time training hard in Sanctum. There was no doubting she was stronger than she had been, all but picking him up off the floor and swinging him around.

"Not my back!" he cried. "Not my back! Owowow!"

Nora dropped him. "What? Are you okay?"

"N—Not here." Jaune reached around to rub his back. "Can we talk in your dorm? Is Ren in?"

"Yeah. Okay. Follow me."

/-/

Once they were in their dorm, Jaune explained as best he could to Ren and Nora what had happened. He left his Semblance out of it, and the quest, but he mentioned Cinder as his ally who had overheard people were coming to kidnap him. He framed them as allies of Jax, who Ren and Nora had heard about thanks to the news of him trying to kidnap Guitar Cutie.

And, since they were some of the only people on Remnant to know who that truly was, they found it deeply funny and ironic that he'd captured Jaune instead.

"Anyway, Cinder got me on a boat out but it turns out they were smugglers, and when the merchandise sank to the bottom of the ocean, I somehow got blamed for it. Now this bitch has forced me into her gang and branded me!"

"Whoah." Nora ran a finger gently down his spine. The tattoo was still sore, but it didn't hurt from her featherlight touch. It certainly had when she bearhugged him. "A full back tattoo is kinda cool, but a spider…? Seriously? It's like… the least attractive thing ever. You're literally cutting off the entire dating market for arachnophobes."

"I'm not an arachnophobe," said Ren.

Nora stared at him.

"Just saying…"

"Yes… so… moving on." Nora turned back to Jaune. "It's not like you can't get it removed, and it's not like you can't afford to do so. But you'd best be careful not to show any back as Guitar Cutie or this is going to give you away."

"That's not exactly a problem, is it? Topless, I'm not going to pass as a woman for obvious reasons."

"Heh. True. You're a little flat."

"Woe is me." Jaune rolled his eyes. "My main concern isn't crossdressing, though. It's what to do about the fact I've been pressganged into being a criminal. I tried to reach Cinder, in Haven, but the people there wouldn't let me in."

"It's a combat school," said Ren. "An advanced one. They're not just going to let some civilian wander around when people might be training with live weapons."

"Isn't that the case here as well?"

"We're still only sixteen, so we're not fully trusted like that. Plus, there are kids as young as eleven here. Even if we know weapons safety, they don't want the older students carrying weapons around where a first year might get hold of them. All weapons are locked in storage when not in use. That's why they let you in. It's safe enough."

Sensible, he supposed. Nora and Ren were definitely professional enough, but the same couldn't be said for an excited eleven-year-old, and they probably didn't want one of them to touch a finalist's weapon and accidentally set it off. Not when the younger students might not have the best aura control.

"Can you get into Haven, then?" he asked them.

"We'd have a better chance," Nora said. "But it's not guaranteed. Plus, we're stuck in lessons on most days." Suddenly, she was grinning. "But, you know, if a famous person like Guitar Cutie showed up, they'd probably let you in…"

"No." Jaune crossed the idea out. "That's too much. And I don't want Cinder to know that."

"Don't trust her?"

"Her teammates are obsessive fans."

"That's not—"

"They have body pillows of me."

Nora's teeth clicked shut. "Oh. Uh. Okay, not that then. We have some of your merchandise too, but it's mostly in an ironic way."

He had noticed the posters. "That's fine."

"Mostly ironic, anyway," she said, with a glance to Ren. "Anyway, maybe you need to find a way to reach out to her that is more subtle. You could try vising some of the nightclubs on the weekend. Just about every student in Haven turns out to drink and party. Or you could—"

"Pyrrha." It was Ren who said it. "You're friends with Pyrrha, aren't you?"

Jaune nodded. "Yes, but she's in Sanctum with you."

"She's also world-famous and yet to decide on her choice of academy."

That must have been the official story. Jaune was fairly sure she'd mentioned wanting to go to Beacon to escape some of her fanbase here in Mistral. Saying that would have gotten her in a lot of trouble with her sponsors, so it was little wonder she was keeping quiet on it.

"What's your point…?"

"My point is that Haven Academy will turn down just about anyone else coming to visit, but if Pyrrha Nikos asks to be shown around like it's an open day and introduced to some students because she's considering her options, then the headmaster of Haven himself would make it happen. It'd be a big win for him if she chosen Haven." He tilted his head toward Jaune. "And you could go along as her guest. That'd give you a chance to find this Cinder person."

It felt like a longshot but since all he had at the moment was no-shot, it was enough.

"Great idea. I've asked my sister in Argus to pass on my number to her, but could you try and approach her in class tomorrow as well? Just in case you reach her before my sister does. This is kind of urgent."

"Leave it to us!" Nora grinned. "Now, aside from the awful things that have happened, I want you to tell me all about your travels! Atlas, Vacuo, Menagerie. You're not leaving until I've heard it all. Oh, and we need to plan stuff to do in Mistral. You're a tourist!"

"I'm a criminal."

"Same difference!"

/-/

Pyrrha took a deep breath to calm her racing heart and steady her breathing. A quick exercise she used to have to rely on before a big fight helped do so, and she checked her hair in the reflective surface of the elevator mirror of Jaune's hotel.

Jaune, the man she'd fallen for, who hadn't returned her calls in weeks.

For a moment she'd been heartbroken, until she mustered the courage to talk to Jaune's sister and found out he hadn't returned anyone's calls. It was strange to feel relief at not being ignored combined with fear of not knowing what had happened to him.

And then a letter arrived from Menagerie of all places detailing a strange story of him surviving a shipwreck that left his scroll and belongings destroyed, and which washed him up on the island. Pyrrha had wanted to go out there but Menagerie wasn't a place you could book a flight or a ship to, not unless you were faunus and invited.

So, she'd had to wait. Wait impatiently.

And finally, finally, her impatience had been rewarded.

Though not quite in the way she expected, since a classmate showing up at lunch and tossing a slip of paper with some numbers on it onto her plate had been a little awkward. Pyrrha had gotten halfway through a polite rejection, one she'd given to a few boys but never to a girl before, until the redhead's friend (boyfriend?) had come over and explained it was Jaune's number.

Pyrrha had known about Ren and Nora being his friend, and they'd talked once, maybe twice. She wouldn't call them friends, but they were certainly some of the least-annoying of the people around her. Sanctum was big, though, so they weren't even classmates for anything other than combat class, and Pyrrha was usually pitted against teachers there.

Stop getting distracted. I need to be calm. I need to be collected. I need to be suave.

Pyrrha knocked on the door.

Jaune opened it.

He looked the same and yet different. Older, slightly tan from Menagerie, and somehow more roguish and devilish than before. It was probably down to his hair being longer and uncut since he'd been lost at sea and then washed up on an island, giving him a sort of ragged castaway look that Pyrrha hadn't realised was a thing, or her thing, until she saw him wearing it.

Huh. I'm into castaways. Neat…

"You made it." His smile was familiar, and made her heart skip a beat. "Come on in. I need to ask your help on something."

"S—Sure. And it's good to see you again. I was worried."

"I'm sorry about that. I wish I could have called…"

"It's fine. You weren't able to call your family either, so I know it wasn't out of choice." Pyrrha stepped in and swallowed as the door closed behind her. It occurred to her, in a flash, that she was alone in the hotel room of a man her age.

Oh, how her sponsors would freak out.

He could do anything to her.

He wouldn't…

But he could!

I'd be so helpless, she thought, gazing at his noodle arms and conveniently forgetting she was a three-time championship fighter. And… And oh, he was unbuttoning his shirt. Pyrrha's eyes widened to the size of dinnerplates as he pulled it off to expose his bare chest.

This is all too fast…

FULL STEAM AHEAD!

Jaune turned his back on her, and it was the huge spider on his back that snapped her out her thoughts.

"—and they tattooed this on my back!" he said, finishing what Pyrrha was sure was a deep and interesting story.

If only she'd been paying attention to it at all.

Because Jaune's back was big and firm and really, really wide in a way that women's backs just weren't, and Pyrrha found her head tilting as she tried to take it all in at once. She'd heard women say boys had cute faces, big arms and handsome smiles, but he didn't think anyone had ever expressed an interest in backs to her before. And yet she felt like she could have stared at his for a long time.

"Pyrrha?"

"Oh. Um."

She really ought to say something, but she didn't want to admit she'd tuned his words out in favour of devouring him with her eyes. Damn it, brain. Say something innocent and normal and not weird.

"C—Can I touch it…?"

Damn you, horny brain!

"The tattoo…? Sure. I don't mind."

Horny brain, you genius! I'll never doubt you again!

Jaune sat on the edge of his bed and Pyrrha knelt behind him, grateful he couldn't see her licking her lips or gazing down on him like a wolf on the carcass of a baby deer. Gingerly, she pressed her hands to his shoulders, right where the very ends of the spider's upper legs were. Pyrrha had never touched a tattoo before and wasn't sure what she expected. The skin was a little bumpy, but that was probably because it was new and his skin still raw.

"Does this hurt?" she asked.

"No. As long as you don't push down or slap my back like Nora did, it's fine,"

"Hmm. It sure is fine…"

"Pyrrha?"

"Oh. Um. I mean, the artistry is very finely done. There aren't any mistakes."

Pyrrha slid her hands down over his shoulder blades, slowly chasing those spider legs. They kept going and going, down under his blades to his sides, which while not being muscular also weren't flabby at all. Jaune's back was smooth and flat, not quite a huntsman but also not your typical civilian.

Something special.

"It must have hurt while it was done," she whispered, stroking down his spine.

"I was unconscious for most of it. Drugged and out thanks to those criminals."

Criminals…? Pyrrha wanted to ask but got the feeling she was meant to know since he just out and said it. Instead, she hummed as if she knew what he was talking about. Maybe he'd fill in the details.

"Nora says I could get it removed after I'm done with them—"

"Don't."

"What?"

"I mean…" Pyrrha blushed. "It's nice?"

"It's a spider."

"I mean you look good with a tattoo. Not… well, the spider isn't an issue. Maybe you could cover it up instead, transform it into something different. I kind of like looking at it." And touching it. Plus, Jaune having a tattoo would be a great excuse for her to keep asking to see it. "And what's the harm if it's usually hidden away?"

"Well, Nora says it'll scare a lot of women off because it's a spider."

All the more reason to keep it, she thought.

"Women who would be scared off by a tattoo aren't women worth keeping," she said. "Would you be scared of a woman with one?"

"No."

"Some men don't like them on women either." Pyrrha had no opinion before now and couldn't really decide if she liked tattoos now or just liked Jaune enough to enjoy anything on him. "Everyone is allowed their opinion, but it's pathetic when people try and force theirs on other people. Just because you don't like tattoos doesn't mean you have any right to insult others for having them."

"Pyrrha, we're talking about hypothetical women that don't exist."

Yes, and those hypothetical hussies had better stay in their lanes.

Because Pyrrha had her hands on Jaune's lower back, right down by his butt, and she was beginning the journey back up once more. Her palms slid over his skin as she mapped him out and just enjoyed the feeling of him.

"Uh. Pyrrha? What are you doing?"

"Sports massage."

"Sports massage?"

"Helps improve blood flow to reduce pain and inflammation."

"Oh! I've heard of those. I guess you'd know how to do one being an athlete and all."

"Yes. Of course." The athlete who received massages would obviously know how to give one. It was a good thing she wasn't in love with Jaune for his intellectual attributes. Pyrrha giggled and gently laid him out on his stomach and knelt over his hips with her knees on either side. "Just lay down and let me do this for you. It'll take the pain away."

"Hmmm. Are you sure this is okay? It feels like I'm taking advantage of you."

"Good~"

"Hm?"

"I mean it's good to worry, but you don't have to. I want to do this for you." Pyrrha changed the subject. "So, any fun with your Semblance of late?"

"Ugh. That's part of this. The reason I haven't run away on these criminals is because I got a quest related to it, and the consequence for failure is death—" Pyrrha's eyes narrowed. Jaune? Dead? No. Not acceptable. "So, I've been trying to reach out to Cinder for help since she's a huntress and she helped me before."

"Tell me about this quest first."

Jaune did so as she continued enjoying his back. The quest description helped to explain all the criminal stuff she'd completely missed earlier and gave her enough of an idea of what was going on that she felt safe entering the conversation properly once more.

"You definitely shouldn't leave Mistral," she said, and not even because she wanted him around. "No one likes to say it but everyone knows the city has a strong criminal empire that's involved all the way up to the political sphere. It wouldn't surprise me if every politician in power wasn't in the pocket of at least one crime family, maybe more."

"It's that bad?"

"Mistral is… well, we're not a lawless place but it feels like it sometimes. The criminals are usually more organised, so there isn't a lot of disruption to normal people. It's better this than terrorists like the White Fang, right?"

"Right. The strange thing is Little Miss Malachite isn't all that high a level. Cinder eclipses her, and I think even you beat her."

"Well, levels are usually combat related, aren't they? I doubt she's gotten as far as she has by punching people in the face like I or Cinder have. We're huntresses."

"But she could be beaten."

"Hmm. But she'd be expecting that, wouldn't she? This woman has to know you hate her, and she'll be assuming you'll look for a way to turn on her. You need to be careful. It's a good idea to find help – and I will be helping you," she stressed. He wasn't going to get away without her aid. "But if all the huntsmen in Mistral over the last two decades haven't been able to root out the criminal families via force, then we're not going to be able to."

"All this talk of we…"

Pyrrha pushed down on him. "That's because this is an us moment. If you're involved, then that means I'm involved. And you want me to be. Being the best friend of Pyrrha Nikos will help you out."

"You think you're that famous?"

"I know I am. I bet my left arm the gambling around my fights is run by criminals. It's big money. If they know you're with me then they're not going to waste this hold they have on you asking you to smuggle drugs through customs."

"Maybe not, but that just means they'll want something relating to you instead. I don't want to get you in danger as well."

That was sweet of him, it really was, but she didn't want him getting himself killed either, and that was very much what his Semblance was telling him would happen. And his Semblance had predicted things with alarming accuracy. It had predicted an attack on his boat by Grimm, it had predicted an attempt on Cinder's life, and it had even predicted this crazy kidnaping attempt by the Grimm and this "end of the world" threat that he'd told her about.

That was a lot of scarily accurate predictions.

"I'll help you get into Haven," she said. "And we'll both talk to Cinder. If she got you in this, even accidentally, then she ought to help you get out. And, if needs be, I'm not afraid to throw a fight so some crooks can win big."

"Pyrrha, no…"

"I don't care about my fame. I do care about you."

"Hmm." Jaune sagged under her. "Fine. But Pyrrha, one thing…"

"Yes?"

"Does a sports massage normally focus on the butt so much…?"

Pyrrha gazed down to her treacherous, treacherous hands. One was clapped on each of Jaune's cheeks. Help me, brain.

"The glutes are a core muscle that is often neglected through the day. Massaging them reduces stress."

"Really?"

"Yes," she bullshitted. "Who's the professional athlete here?"

"You are."

"Exactly. Now take your massage. We'll go to Haven after."

/-/

Things had finally started to go right for Cinder.

Yes, the Fall Maiden had manged to slip away, but everything else was going great. Salem thought her obsession dead, and she was no longer expected to give up her plans for Vale in favour of becoming some humiliating shark-dancer for the woman. With mere months remaining until Vale and the Vytal Festival, everything was going to plan.

Almost, anyway.

Adam Taurus was ghosting her over the White Fang's support, but she assumed he had business of his own on Menagerie. The island lacked a CCT of its own. But, other than that, everything was going just fine.

There was a knock on the door to her room.

Odd. Mercury and Emerald had their own keys.

"Ahem." Cinder cleared her throat. "Who is it?"

"I do apologise, Miss Fall. It's your headmaster. I'm showing a guest around Haven who would like to speak with you."

Ugh. Leonardo. The cowardly headmaster was one of Salem's plants, which made him useful to have on side, but frustrating to deal with. He was a spineless man who would tell Salem anything she asked, and probably was reporting back on Cinder to make sure she was loyal. Luckily, Cinder wasn't fool enough to show any disloyalty in front of him, but tha didn't make him any less of a pain to deal with.

A guest, though? Odd. Could it be Ozpin…?

No. No, that was silly. She'd failed to kill the Fall Maiden – failed to even make the attempt – so there was actually no reason for Ozpin to even suspect Salem was active. If anything, the man would be relaxed right now. All the better for her arrival in Vale in the next school year.

"One moment," she called. "I'm coming."

Cinder faked the sounds of pulling on the school uniform jacket and moved to the door, opening it with a polite smile. "Hello. How can I help you?"

"Cinder. Miss Fall." Leonardo looked excited as he rubbed his hands together. "We've two guests here today looking around Haven. You've heard of Pyrrha Nikos, no doubt. Her fame precedes her. She's here to look around Haven to maybe apply next year!"

Ah, that explained some of his glee.

But only some.

He looked like he was saving the best for last.

"And she's brought a guest you might recognise from Vacuo." His teeth flashed as he stepped aside. "It's your friend and bandmate!"

Jaune Arc stood before her with an awkward smile.

Jaune Arc stood before Leonardo Leonheart with an awkward smile.

Leonardo was loyal to Salem and had obviously been ordered by her to keep an eye out for Arc, and would surely be reporting back to her the nanosecond this meeting was over. Salem would learn Jaune was here. Cinder would be expected to collect him and bring him to the Grimmlands.

And then.

And then…

Baby Shark, do-do-do-do-doo. Baby Shark, do-do-do-do-doo. Baby Shark!

"No…" Cinder whispered. "No, no, no, no, no."

"Cinder." Jaune took her hands, while she stood too shocked to escape him. "I need your help. I need your help really, really badly."

"…"

"I'm sure I can leave him with you while I show Miss Nikos around," said the headmaster, giving her a pointed look and a nod as if to highlight how helpful he was being by giving her a chance to abduct Salem's obsession and steal him away to the Grimmlands.

The cretin even had the gall to wink at her.

Cinder's eye twitched. "Yes. Yes, I'm sure you can."

"Great. With me, Miss Nikos. You'll simply love our combat rooms—"

The second he was gone, Cinder's fingernails dug into Jaune's collar and the boy yelped, yanked off his feet and dragged inside. The door slammed shut and then locked behind them. It opened a moment later and, to make sure no one would listen in, Cinder jammed a sock on the doorhandle.

Next Chapter: 10th November

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