The bullhead touched down softly on the cliffside docks of Beacon, its doors hissing open. Jaune stepped out, his boots crunching against the stone ground. The crisp mountain air filled his lungs as he adjusted the battered red cape draped over his shoulders.

Before he could take another step, a flash of red appeared in front of him. Standing there, her own pristine red cape billowing in the breeze, followed by a trail of petals, was Ruby Rose. She looked at him, her silver eyes narrowing as a playful smirk spread across her face. Crescent Rose rested on her shoulder, its blade gleaming in the sunlight.

"Copying my look, I see?" Ruby teased, lifting her cape with one hand for emphasis.

Jaune shrugged casually, pretending not to notice the challenge in her tone. "Not really. It's cold out there, you know? Practicality beats style."

"Excuses," Ruby shot back, her smirk widening.

Jaune's expression shifted, his lips pressing into a thin line as he placed a hand near his pocket. Ruby's eyes narrowed, watching his every move like a predator ready to pounce. Then, with a quick flick of his wrist, Jaune produced a small bag.

"Souvenirs," he said simply, holding the bag up for her to see. "Fresh cookies from Mistral."

Ruby's curiosity immediately shifted to excitement. "Oh? Is this your token of apology?" she asked, her voice dripping with mock superiority.

"That depends," Jaune began, but before he could finish, Ruby disappeared into a blur of rose petals. In an instant, she reappeared, the bag of Mistral cookies clutched triumphantly in her hands. She held them aloft like a trophy, her grin as wide as the horizon.

Jaune sighed in defeat, raising a hand for a high-five, which Ruby eagerly slapped. "I wasn't copying you," he insisted. "Seriously, it's cold out there. Using Aura constantly to keep warm just attracts Grimm."

Ruby tilted her head thoughtfully. "Huh. That makes sense," she admitted, but then her mischievous grin returned. "Still, you're stealing my style. At least give me credit."

"Not happening," Jaune replied flatly.

Nearby, Nora was scanning the docks. "Hey, where's Blake and Yang?" she asked, noticing the absence of their teammates.

Ruby tucked the bag of cookies under her arm. "Still in Menagerie, I think. Yang promised to keep Blake company while she talks to her parents. Dunno where they are."

"That explains that," Ren said, stepping up beside Nora.

Ruby pulled out her Scroll and held it up. "You know who else we're waiting for?" She tapped the screen to display a news article from the latest gossip site, showing a scandalous image of Weiss and Pyrrha.

The headline blared: Mistral Champion and Atlas Heiress: Just Friends or Something More?

The image showed Pyrrha and Weiss in a perfectly innocent pose, but the framing and dramatic lighting made it look more intimate than it was.

Ren raised an eyebrow. "You'd think the Schnees would address this directly."

Nora snorted, scrolling through the article's comment section. "Oh, they don't have to. Look at this. It's a full-on war in here." She pointed to the endless stream of fan comments.

Some were adamantly defending Weiss, others were Pyrrha's devoted fans, and a few people seemed to enjoy stirring the pot. The majority, however, were asking the same question: Are they a couple?

Jaune leaned in for a closer look and shook his head. "It looks serious."

"It's a riot," Ren said with a faint smile, his voice tinged with amusement.

Another bullhead roared overhead, descending onto the docks. As it landed, its doors slid open, revealing the unmistakable figures of Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos. The two would-be Huntresses looked visibly exhausted, their postures slouched and their faces showing signs of irritation.

As soon as they stepped out, Ruby, Nora, Ren, and Jaune were ready.

"Congratulations on becoming a couple guys!" Nora shouted, her grin stretching from ear to ear.

"Yeah, congrats!" Ruby chimed in, waving enthusiastically.

Ren gave them an approving nod, while Jaune smirked. "Big news, huh?"

Weiss froze in her tracks, her face turning a deep shade of crimson. "We're not a couple!" she shrieked, her voice reverberating across the docks. Her hands balled into fists as she stomped toward the group. "I can't believe people are spreading such shameful rumors!"

Beside her, Pyrrha placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder. Her grip was far from gentle, and Jaune winced as her fingers dug into him like iron claws. "It's not true," she said firmly, her emerald eyes blazing as she stared him down.

"Eh, are you really sure I mean evidence suggest says otherw—" Jaune said, though his tone carried a teasing edge that only made Pyrrha's grip tighten.

"We're just friends," she repeated, her voice low and resolute.

Jaune raised his hands defensively. "Got it, got it. Just friends."

Pyrrha finally released him, and Jaune resisted the urge to rub his shoulder. Beside her, Weiss was practically seething, glaring at the group with her arms crossed. "Do you all have any idea how humiliating this is? Spreading rumors like this is completely inappropriate!"

Before anyone could respond, Pyrrha and Weiss turned their combined glares on Ren, Nora, and Ruby. The three culprits froze under the intensity of their stares.

"You can't just listen to everything you hear online!" Weiss lectured, her voice rising with indignation.

"That's right," Pyrrha added, her tone firm but less shrill. "Spreading gossip like that is irresponsible."

Ruby, Nora, and even Ren endured a solid hour of lecturing, their initial amusement fading into sheepish apologies.

As the lecture came to a merciful end, Jaune raised a hand sheepishly. "So, uh, what I'm hearing is... it's not true?"

Pyrrha's emerald eyes locked onto him with the force of a sniper scope. "Jaune," she said sweetly, her voice betraying the iron beneath it.

Weiss, meanwhile, turned her icy glare toward him, her arms crossed so tightly it seemed she might snap in two. "You're not helping, Arc."

Before Jaune could reply, he felt a sharp pinch in both ears. His knees buckled instantly as Weiss and Pyrrha, now tag-teaming their wrath, dragged him down to eye level. "Ow, ow, okay! I get it!" he yelped, waving his hands in surrender.

Pyrrha maintained her unnervingly polite smile, though her grip did not relent. "Sometimes jokes like this can cause more harm than good."

"Exactly," Weiss agreed, her tone clipped. "Perhaps you should think about that before making light of these ridiculous rumors."

Jaune gave them his best sheepish grin, though the pain in his ears dulled its effect. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. No more jokes about it. Knight's honor."

Weiss and Pyrrha exchanged a glance, then simultaneously released him. Jaune dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, rubbing his ears.

"You two are terrifying," he muttered under his breath, though not softly enough.

"What was that?" Weiss asked, her voice as frosty as the Schnee crest itself.

"Nothing!" Jaune said quickly, jumping to his feet and plastering on a grin. "Absolutely nothing."

Nora leaned in close to Ruby, whispering, "Should we save him?"

Ruby shook her head with a smirk. "Nah. He's digging his own grave at this point. Besides, we got lectured already. It's Jaune's turn."

Ren sighed and muttered, "We should probably intervene if they actually try kill him." But even he didn't move, instead placing his hands behind his back.

Pyrrha finally stepped back, adjusting Akoúo̱ on her arm with a flick of her wrist. Her usual warmth returned as if the prior storm of fury had never happened. Weiss, on the other hand, looked at Jaune as if daring him to speak again.

Jaune wisely kept his mouth shut, and the group began to relax. Ruby broke the tension by tearing into the bag of cookies Jaune had brought from Mistral, gleefully munching away. Nora leaned over her shoulder to grab one, her earlier irritation completely forgotten in the face of sugar.

"So, Pyrrha, Weiss," Ruby began, her mouth full. "If you're not a couple, what were you doing in those pictures? They looked kinda... uh, close."

Weiss groaned loudly, pinching the bridge of her nose while glaring at Ruby. "We were walking through Argus. Someone must have taken a picture at the exact wrong moment."

"It's the tabloids," Pyrrha added, shrugging. "They'll spin anything to make it look more dramatic."

"Totally not their fault," Nora interjected with an exaggerated wink, which earned her another warning glare from Pyrrha.

"Moving on," Ren said smoothly, cutting through the conversation. "What's the plan now that we're all back at Beacon?"

"Good question," Jaune said, eager to change the subject. He glanced toward the academy in the distance. "Semester's beginning. I guess we can... relax? Maybe?"

Ruby perked up and posed up with Nora. "Relax? That's not a word in my vocabulary." She hefted Crescent Rose onto her shoulder. "There's always something to train for!"

"Speak for yourself," Weiss retorted. "Some of us enjoy civilized activities."

"Like reading?" Nora asked with a roll of her eyes.

"Yes," Weiss replied. "And refining my combat techniques, maintaining my equipment, studying tactical—"

"Sounds boring," Nora interrupted, popping another cookie into her mouth while Ruby looked at her as if she was a heathen.

Weiss's glare could have turned a Beowolf to ice.

As the group entered the cafeteria, the smell of freshly prepared food wafted through the air. The large hall was filled with the hum of students chatting and laughter echoing from various corners. Despite the noise, there was something comforting about the familiarity of it all. It was as though they had never left.

Jaune led the way to a table near the center of the room, setting down his belongings before taking a seat. Ren and Nora followed suit, Nora immediately scanning the area for dessert options. Ruby lagged behind, carefully cradling her bag of cookies like it was the most precious thing in the world.

"Okay, we're sitting here," Ruby announced, placing the bag in the center of the table with exaggerated care. "And these cookies are off-limits. Got it?"

"Sure, sure," Jaune said, waving her off as he leaned back in his chair. A mischievous grin crept onto his face, and before Ruby could react, his hand darted out, snatching a cookie from the bag.

"Hey!" Ruby's indignant shout turned heads in their direction. "Jaune, you meanie! That's mine!"

Jaune smirked, holding the cookie just out of Ruby's reach. "You shouldn't leave them in the open if you don't want them taken."

"They weren't in the open! They were in my bag!" Ruby lunged for the cookie, but Jaune casually passed it to Nora, who took a massive bite without hesitation and passed it to the others.

Ruby gasped dramatically. "You monsters!"

Ren, seated across from them, sighed as he calmly poured himself tea. "You knew this would happen, Ruby. You brought them into the lion's den."

Pyrrha chuckled softly, sliding into the seat beside Jaune. "You could share, Ruby. It's the polite thing to do."

"I brought these back from Patch!" Ruby protested, protecting the cookies she got from Patch and the one she got from Jaune as a souvenir. "They're my cookies!"

"Not anymore," Jaune teased, tossing another one to Ren, who caught it effortlessly and placed it next to his tea without a word.

Ruby slumped into her seat, crossing her arms in defeat. "I hope you all choke on them."

"Love you too, Ruby," Nora said with her mouth full, crumbs falling onto the table.

As the cookie drama subsided, Weiss sat primly at the edge of the table, her arms crossed as she scanned the room. "Has anyone seen Blake or Yang? I thought they'd be back by now."

Ruby perked up slightly. "Oh, they're still in Menagerie, probably. Dunno"

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Still? Shouldn't they be back by now?"

Ruby shrugged, grabbing a salvaged cookie from the bag and nibbling on it. "Yang promised to help Blake with her parents, remember? They'll be fine. Menagerie's supposed to be safe... I think?"

Weiss didn't seem convinced. She glanced toward Pyrrha, who was quietly observing the conversation. "You don't think it's strange they haven't returned?"

Pyrrha tilted her head thoughtfully. "They might just be taking their time. But... I did hear something concerning."

Everyone at the table turned toward her. Jaune, who had been about to grab another cookie, paused mid-reach.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, her voice tight with worry.

Pyrrha hesitated, her fingers lightly tracing the edge of her shield, which rested against the side of her chair. "There have been... rumors. About unrest in Menagerie."

Ruby frowned, setting her cookie down. "Unrest? What kind of unrest?"

"Some are saying there's a civil war brewing," Pyrrha said carefully, her green eyes flicking to Weiss. "Between different factions of the White Fang."

The weight of her words settled over the table like a heavy fog. Even Nora, who had been grinning moments ago, grew serious.

Weiss's face paled slightly, her hand gripping the edge of the table. "A civil war? That's... That's ridiculous. Menagerie is the Faunus' sanctuary. Why would they fight with each other?"

"Power struggles, maybe," Ren said quietly, his voice steady. "If the White Fang is divided, it would make sense for internal conflicts to arise. You guys did kick their ass here in Vale."

Ruby shook her head, her silver eyes wide with concern. "But Blake never said anything about this before. If it's true... do you think she and Yang are okay?"

"I'm sure they are," Jaune said firmly, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "Yang wouldn't let anything happen to Blake, and Blake's more capable than most. If there's trouble, they'll handle it."

Weiss didn't seem entirely reassured. She looked down at her hands, her expression troubled. "I wish she'd told us if something was wrong."

Nora, sensing the somber mood, reached across the table and placed a hand on Weiss's shoulder. "They'll be fine, Ice Queen. You'll see. Yang's got that whole 'unstoppable force' thing going on, and Blake's got that ninja vibe. They're probably kicking butt together right now, if that's true."

Despite herself, Weiss managed a small smile. "I suppose you're right. Still..."

Pyrrha leaned forward slightly, her voice calm and soothing. "If there's any real danger, they'll let us know. For now, all we can do is trust them and be ready if they need us."

The group nodded, the weight of the conversation lingering even as they tried to shift back to lighter topics.

Jaune couldn't shake the feeling that the rumors Pyrrha heard might hold more truth than they wanted to admit.

Then again rumors can be just… rumors.