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Pyrrha watched team RWBY from up the table with a wary, confused eye. They were… Tense, even days after whatever had happened between them out in Vale. Tense, but not obviously unhappy. Instead, they were talking and laughing quietly, as usual for them. Blake was a bit leery still, but when Yang muttered something to her and Weiss flushed brightly and threw a piece of toast at the blonde, she laughed quietly like always. Like nothing was wrong.
Like Blake's ears weren't flicking excitedly in the open, in spite of what Pyrrha's instincts told her Weiss was…
"Seems like they went through alot." A distinctly unquiet voice faux-whispered in her ear, throwing a powerful arm around her shoulder. "Eh, cousin?"
"You should not call me that in public…"
"Why not?" Nora shrugged, though now she actually whispered. "We're both Mistrali. Anyone asks I'd say that's why I call you that."
"It's still suspicious, Valkyrie."
"Eh, agree to disagree, I guess…" She shrugged and let Pyrrha pull away from her hug to instead wrap her other arm around her Ashikabi when he joined them, carefully setting two plates down while Nora got comfortable. As if he'd done it a million times - which, Pyrrha suspected, was true. Letting the argument die, she asked instead, "You ready for our day out, P-Money?"
"I suppose…" She hummed, eyeing the empty seats across from them worriedly - on several fronts, some of which she chose to push down.
"Jaune and Neo are in Vale, they left early this morning." She flinched and Nora chuckled, watching Pyrrha with a far too knowing smile when she turned to scowl at the other Sekirei. Nora just shrugged, chewing on a bit of bacon and sighing. "I could tell you wanted to know. It's literally natural to be concerned about where your, uh, crush is."
"Is that the word we're using?" Ren chuckled, "Because it feels… Ironic, given certain aspects of today."
"Both of you are insufferable." She sighed, searching for a change of topic and eventually just asking. "What are we doing today, then?"
"Oh, how very subtle, changing the topic~!"
"Nora, don't bully her." Ren sighed, ignoring the bit of sausage that pinged off his nose. Speaking to Pyrrha, he said, "We're of two minds. Training and meditation in the woods - or heading into Vale, to stock up on a few things."
"Such as…?"
"Spare clothes." Nora offered, shrugging when Pyrrha cocked her head in confusion. She waved a hand at her uniform and sighed, "What? We get a stipend, now. All I own is three of this and my combat clothes. Oh, and my jammies, but I stole those, so… I wanna get some threads now I can."
"I see…" She shook her head and turned to ask, "And what did you decide?"
"Nothing." He shrugged, "We're letting you decide."
"Me?" She blinked, confused, "But you're-"
"No one's master." Ren cut her off, eyes sharpening a bit before he relaxed and dipped his head. "I do not mind either option. It's up to you to decide."
"But, uh, pick fast." Nora suggested, prodding her side with an elbow. "Tickets into Vale are cheaper for the next hour."
"Ah." And, in spite of herself, Pyrrha found herself… Chuckling. Shaking her head, she said, "It… Would be nice, to see Vale and not be constantly peering over my shoulder or ducking my head. But, uh, I might draw some attention…"
"Oh, right, I forgot." Nora drawled sarcastically, "You're a celebrity. Keeps slipping my mind, somehow!"
Ren just sighed and threw a bit of egg at the Sekirei, who spun to catch it her mouth and laughed while she dug into her food. Pyrrha watched them both for a moment before she sighed and tucked into her own sandwich, and allowed herself to relax just the slightest bit. He was away, at least, and Nora and Ren didn't seem overly interested in her. Hell, Nora paid her more mind than Ren did - and she could hardly do anything that Pyrrha was worried about without his help, aside from killing her which didn't seem Valkyrie's style.
So…
She decided to at least try and give them a chance.
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"They left early, on a smaller transport normally meant only for staff to use, but haven made little effort to evade our tracking measures." Goodwitch said, standing beside his shoulder and sipping from a thermos of the same rich coffee Ozpin had a mug of on his desk. Right next to the wide-screen monitor hooked into his desk, with a looping feed of Neopolitan and her Ashikabi boarding a fast-flight Bullhead to Vale. "As you requested, the pilots have standing orders to allow them to book passage - regardless of standard proceedings."
"She is not standard…" Ozpin pointed out dryly, "Now, is she?"
"Her abilities are impressive…" Goodwitch sighed, "Even if we've yet to see her fully evolved usage, the theoretical possibilities are extensive."
"Indeed." Sekirei tended to evolve their abilities once they were Winged and while that evolution varied in scale, it almost always stayed 'on brand', as Qrow liked to phrase it, for their prior abilities. Neo's illusions were well known to him, and he'd seen plenty of them in combat-class recordings, and what they could evolve into had a wide range of potentially beneficial outcomes. "Mister Arc's tracking software has been unaffected, then?"
"It has." She nodded, pressing a button on her Scroll that brought up dozens of pictures - mostly cute ones, of Neo and him spending time together, which he was glad to see. A few were more risque, and apparently taken by the Sekirei herself, and Goodwitch shuffled them away into a sub-folder with a sigh and a mutter, "New-Wings…Always so over the top."
"True." He chuckled, "We are beyond being affected, however, and they deserve their happiness."
"Regardless," Goodwitch sighed, pressing another button and swapping to a map, "our access is nigh-complete, even if it is none too subtle."
"The docks…"
"A hive of scum and villainy, Headmaster."
"Indeed." He sighed, "Well. I suppose it was inevitable she would take him to meet her guardian."
"Inevitable." Goodwitch sighed, "And inadvisable…"
"Roman could be just as useful as Neo herself could be, albeit in very different ways, Headmistress." He'd had more than one criminal in his confidence, in his long tenure, and had meant what he'd passed through Qrow to the man - so long as he never went too far, Ozpin was content to make use of him. And thoroughly looked forward to seeing what form that would come to be in the coming years.
It had been so long since Vale had a proper, organized mafia like those of yesteryear… As brutal as they had been, they'd had a certain class to them.
Although he would admit certain lifetimes had left him biased in judging that.
"Miss Nikos has also left the grounds."
"Oh?" He blinked, surprise tugging him out of his musings in time to see the screen jump to a feed of the young Sekirei boarding with… "Valkyrie and her Ashikabi? Interesting indeed. Are their tracking systems functioning?"
"Yes."
"Good." He hummed, "Follow them. Mister Lie becoming more powerful would be an intriguing development…"
"Ozpin…"
"Yes?"
"You're making that face again."
"What face?"
"Your scheming face."
"Ah." He blinked, "Well, to be fair…"
"That's your job?" He just turned, mug in hand, to toast her with it. And she sighed sufferingly and muttered, "Why must my life be like this?"
"Destiny is a hell of a drug."
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They woke up painfully early, earlier than they even did to get ready and head to class, to catch the first flights into Vale that morning. So early in the morning, it was… Eerily quiet on the campus, with barely anyone except for the first workers for morning shifts up. And menial drones doing their jobs, cleaning and handling the lawns outside Beacon under the watchful eyes of an old, bald man with an apron on and his hands folded behind his back. Even the pilots chatting and drinking coffee at the docks, most of them sitting at sleeker looking little Bullheads, looked surprised to see them up - and doubly so when Jaune explained what they were up for.
He was still yawning when he took one of the three seats packed into the back and leaned back to wait out the ride, but…
A cute girl plopping on your lap had a way of waking you up, it turned out.
A couple hours later, he was following her through Vale, down along 'Dock Street' towards where his Scroll said they'd come into the 'Dock Districts'. Which made him wonder exactly how lazy the people naming the wide street they were headed down had been, but… Well, the name didn't really matter, he supposed. The street was just for all the old warehouses they were passing by, so the heavy duty trucks and the cargo-tram running up its middle could move easily. Those were already going steady, in spite of the early morning, but Jaune remembered the one in Ansel had worked twenty-four hours a day, and it had just been a way station a tenth the size of the mass Vale had built up, so the district probably never slept.
Or at least that part didn't…
Eventually, Neo lead him around a corner and up an alley, to a smaller street flanked by old storage yards and parking lots, all half-full of broken down cars and cargo containers. The street was narrower here, and cut in at hard angles to accommodate the backs of the larger warehouses, isolated from the street by huge fences - some of them even made of concrete - but he at least recognized this part of the district, along with the people eyeing him. He'd come in from another direction last time, but he spotted the same warehouse he'd gone to get his fake papers after a couple turns and pulled his hood just a bit tighter around his head.
Neo must have noticed his anxiety because she slowed down and looped an arm around his waist, holding him so close he had to wrap an arm around her shoulders. That seemed to send the people watching a message and they scattered, which made him chuckled awkwardly, "They, uh, know you that well, huh?"
He'd expected a mischievous look, or a wink, but instead Neo flicked him an anxious look, bit her lip, and looked away before she nodded stiffly.
"Neo…?"
"Forget it." A little notepad that appeared on her shoulder said while she stared at the ground. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Hey." He stopped walking and held her when she stumbled and turned, blinking up at him in confusion. Smiling, he said, "I dunno how all this… Works, really, but- I do know that, all the extra stuff aside, we're partners. You've told me about Roman. I know you're involved…"
"And?" The note read, pink eyes blinking up at him brightly.
"And I'm still here." He smiled, "So… Relax, okay? I was just, you know, making small talk."
"Why?" She blinked, brows furrowing. "You hate small talk. You always need something to actually talk about."
"I'm… Nervous, I guess." He sighed, taking a half-step while she giggled silently at him. Rolling his eyes, he pinched her side, right above her hip, and she wriggled against him in a vain attempt to get away from his fingers. Smirking, he let her bounce away and turn to pout at him and waggled his fingers, "Seven sisters. I know all the ticklish spots, so don't- Oof!"
The illusory pillow shattered when it hit his face but backed by her abilities, it still hit, and he glowered at the laughing woman while she backed away up the street.
"Low blow, Neo." He sighed, "Low blow."
She winked, cocked her head and waved at her head and then his, 'All my blows are low.'
"Yeah, yeah." He sighed, "You're very clever."
"And sexy~" A sign she spun to life read as she walked, leaning over to show off a bit more skin over the top of her jacket. Jaune flushed and waved for her to go on, and she laughed mutely, turned, and waited for him to catch up so she could lean on him again, smiling even brighter than she had been before.
He was willing to call that a victory and smiled…
While he tried not to stress out about meeting what amounted to his new girlfriend's dad… Who was a criminal famous across the Kingdom.
When they got back to the warehouse Jaune had gone to weeks ago, it was mostly the same, albeit a bit busier. Several large cargo-trucks were parked at the handful of freight-doors on the small warehouse, with their windows covered by curtains and sheets on the inside while their drivers slept. Workers were inspecting the trailers, kicking tires and checking the walls while they were either loaded or unloaded. A few were loitering along the fence, too, smoking and chatting while they watched Jaune - and, he considered after a moment, probably keeping a lookout for any trouble. He knew the place was working under Roman, after all, so…
He had to try and think like a criminal.
Which, he realised, he actually was, as weird as that was to think about - faking combat papers was a felony, after all.
A man was waiting at the door, but he didn't pay Neo any mind, just flicking Jaune a look and grunting, "He's good?"
She nodded and, with a sigh, the heavyset man waved them through, turning to mutter something into his radio. He thought he caught 'blonde' and 'noodle', but that was all.
Inside, the warehouse reminded Jaune of the smaller one like it in Ansel. Drivers flitted about between storage containers and shelvers on little carts while stockers unpacked merchandise to set out for outbound loading and a few people walked along with clipboards in hand, cataloguing what was coming and what was going while another small group stuck smaller, wrapped up packages into larger stacks of them before they covered them up with more of whatever was being stocked - which was a shocking amount of cat litter and pet food, from what he could see as they walked. All with the splash of colored vests and reflectors he was used to, even if there were way fewer people than normal… And almost all of them sported tattoos, scars, and expressions that told him he was one bad look away from someone ripping him in half lengthwise.
Assuming they were okay with going against Neo, at least, which… Didn't seem the case, from how people avoided her gaze as they walked, headed towards a set of stairs that lead up.
Upstairs, things really changed.
The hallway that split the two sides of the offices also seemed to split the work. On one side were more normal looking workers typing away at computers. The other, though, had a half-dozen men in black and red suits sitting around tales and talking while a trio of Faunus stood apart from them, faces covered by cloth masks and hoods tucked around their ears. Between them were stacks of crates he couldn't see into, open cases of Dust with their vials on display, and stacks of Lien scattered between them. His curiosity was killing him, but…
Neo squeezed his side and he looked down to see her shake her head, point at her eyes and then his, and point ahead, 'Eyes forward.'
"I know, I know." He sighed, "Just… Curiosity, you know?"
Her eyes narrowed and she dragged her finger across her throat, eyeing him meaningfully.
"Yeah, I know…" He nodded, "Curiosity killed the cat. Don't worry, I'm not about to go digging through stuff. I'm just… it's hard not to see when I know, you know?"
Neo didn't seem convinced, or impressed, but she shrugged and let it go with a tiny, quiet sigh. And a quick, razor sharp look into each office. Jaune didn't see anyone in the more 'normal' side react, but he did pick out a couple of the black-suited men that flinched ever so slightly and suddenly turn to talk to each other. Swallowing nervously at that, Jaune murmured an apology and let her lead him on, into a back office that had very obviously been converted into a living space - and was half-full of smoke that he choked on, waving his hand and coughing.
"So!" Roman Torchwick smiled, leaning forward to tap his cigar on a bowl on the side of his desk while he twirled a pen in his other hand. "How are you doing, Jauney boy? Or should I call you lover b- Ow! Damn it, Neo, let me do the bit!"
Neo just shook her head, continuing on her way around him and spinning the umbrella she'd whacked him on the head with while she opened a window and hit a switch that started the ceiling fan up. While the smoke started to filter out, she paced back over and grabbed a nice, wide rolling office chair, like on the lawyer shows his mom liked, dragging it around the desk while she stared smugly at Roman, lips pursed and eyebrows raised mockingly while he glowered and took a long drag on his cigar.
"Why…" He sighed, "Must you ruin everything, Neo? I spent half an hour setting up that bit."
She just shrugged and turned to Jaune, poking his belly and pointing at the seat meaningfully. He sighed and sat and she followed, curling up sideways in his lap with her head on his shoulder, her legs over the arm of the chair, and everything soft pressing into him. And that ever-present little smirk that told her she knew how insufferable and unfair she was being. Still, he wrapped an arm around her back to support her and let her get comfortable.
"She, uh…" He shrugged, "She's always like this."
"Oh believe me, I expected worse." Roman sighed, taking a short drag on his cigar and leaning back in his own really nice chair. "As much as she's been looking forward to finding you? I half expected a little Neo on the way before I saw hide or hair of her again."
He choked on air for a long moment and Roman blinked, staring off into space for a second before he grimaced and took a long drag of his cigar, burning it down and tossing it into the bowl with a mutter while Jaune finally stammered, "A-A what?!"
"Oh, please." Roman chuckled, "You're telling me she's all over you and you haven't considered it?"
"N-No!" He squawked, flinching when Neo sat up a bit and ducked her head, pouting deeply. "What? Why would I?! We're students a-and I've never- Y-You've never said anything!"
"Arc…" Roman sighed, "She's mute. She can't say anything."
"I know that!"
"And you still said that?" He sighed, shaking his head, "And here I thought I was the bad man in the room…"
"What?! I didn't mean- She knows I didn't mean it like that!" He flicked Neo a look and she curled up, pretending to cry into his shoulder before she peeked up at him between her fingers and stuck her tongue out. "You two are… Ugh. Why did I come here again?"
Neo spun a tiny sign up from her hand for him to see, "Because you like my boobs?"
"...Ugh, I almost would have preferred the evil criminal shotgun talk." He groaned, resting his head against the back of the seat. He felt soft lips on the base of his chin and almost jumped, looking down at a worried looking Neo, and sighed, flicked Roman a look, decided 'to hell with it' and pressed a kiss against her forehead that had the girl curling up into a tighter ball in his lap, giggling silently. "I'm not actually mad, relax."
She held up a pinkie and, rolling his eyes, he shook it with his - a pinkie promise.
"Okay, you two are toothache sweet, I swear to the gods." Roman snorted, standing and padding away towards the little kitchen-ish area. Digging through the fridge, he asked, "What do we want for dinner? Mistralian? I have a pizza in here somewhere?" Neo sat up and Roman added, "And no, Neo, ice-cream does not count as dinner."
She deflated and pouted when Jaune snorted at her, but he just squeezed her against him a bit and said, "What? It was funny."
She rolled her eyes and summoned a sign, "You're pretty rude to the beautiful girl in your lap."
"Yeah, yeah." He chuckled, "What do you wanna eat?"
She smiled wide, which was his only warning before her next sign manifested, "I'll take a bite out of you if you let me."
"D-Don't tease me!" She huffed again and rolled her eyes, but this time sounded a bit less amused than before, somehow. Ignoring it and shaking his head, he said, "Pizza or Mistralian? What's your pick, uh, babe?"
"Oh, man." Roman called out, "That made me cringe."
"Yeah, it was bad." He sighed while Neo laughed in his lap, her entire body shaking from the force of it. Pinching her side again and smirking when she spasmed and turned to glare up at him, he called over, "She said pizza."
"I mean, she can't say anything…"
"Hey." Jaune warned, "You already used that joke."
"Fair, fair…" The man sighed and laughed, "Anyway, I'll-"
"Torchwick!" A woman dressed in the same black and red suit he'd seen coming in called out, barging through the door and making Jaune jump hard enough Neo slipped off his lap. She landed on a hip and rolled, coming up to stand in front of him, and the woman stammered, "A-Ah, I forgot she was here- But, uh, you… Have a guest."
"Yes, well, they can come back later." He sighed, gesturing at Neo and Jaune with the frozen pizza in his hand. "I already have guests."
"I… She's not someone that 'no' is an answer for…"
"And why," he sighed, "isn't she?"
"...She broke Franklin's arm when he wouldn't let her in the warehouse." The woman explained quickly, adding a frightened, "Uh, Sir."
"Well then…" Roman frowned, "Sounds like pizza's off. Sorry, lover-boy, but I need to borrow your girl for a bit."
"Why? What's going on?" Jaune asked, worry creeping up his spine as he stood and laid a hand on Crocea Mors on his waist - he still wasn't amazing with it, but with Neo's help, he was a decent defender, at least. "Is there… You know, trouble?"
"Oh Gods- Is there trouble?" Roman snorted, grabbing a cane by the door and spinning it around his wrist with a wide, comfortable smile. "Kid, we're in one of the red-line districts. Trouble is brewing here like tea in a Mistral whorehouse. But don't stress that cute little noggin over it. Neo and I? We're old hands at this."
"Still…" Jaun murmured, "I can back you up."
"Uh huh?" Roman flicked Neo a look and Jaune caught her frown before the man turned back to him. "Look, kid, I appreciate you wanting to try, but-"
"I suck at fighting." Jaune cut him off, "But I can take a lot of hits. Even if that's all I'm good for… I can help."
"...Well." Roman sighed, "You sure can pick 'em, eh, Neo?"
The girl shrugged and joined Roman by the door, turning and eyeing Jaune. Her face was flat, but he'd seen her enough to see the tension in her shoulders. And the way her lips had quirked down, while her eyes flickered between colors, told him she was thinking. Drawing his sword, he rolled his shoulders - and wished he'd worn his armor, too - shrugged and tried to smile confidently. All that did was make her sigh and shake her ead gently, backing up.
So he followed and added, "Please. We're together now, like I said, before. That doesn't mean I ignore what you… Your job," he heard Roman scoff at that, but ignored him, "it means I accept it. And if there's danger, I protect you. That's my job. Protecting you. Isn't it?"
She glared and a sign spun out to bat him over the head. When she straightened it, it read, "No. Partners protect each other."
"Even better." He smiled, "I can protect you, and you can protect me, whatever the trouble is."
"Well…" Roman sighed, "Walked right into that one, sweetheart." Without looking, Neo pivoted, swinging her sign around to smack Roman, too, and the man muttered, "Always with the domestic assault… Why, I have half a mind to go to the cops, young lady!"
Neo just showed him the finger and turned her attention back to Jaune. She sighed, frowned, then smiled thinly and nodded. Turning, she waved for him to follow and slipped past Roman out the door.
He flicked the man a look, but he just shrugged, sighed, and offered, "Well, kid… You're in it now."
"It?"
"Well over your head, yeah." Roman chuckled dryly, "Let's just hope it's just the shit and not the dirt we're in by the time all is said and done, yeah?"
Jaune felt more anxiety shoot up his spine…
But he nodded and said, "I, uh, I imagine that's usually the plan. Yeah?"
"Only usually." Roman smirked, and Jaune… Couldn't tell if he was being serious, or if Jaune was missing something.
Downstairs, the warehouse's work had ground to a stop, with almost everyone gathered around the door that they stepped out through. And most were armed, sporting short shotguns, stubby revolvers and a few heavy looking tools. The men and women he'd seen in the office were there, too, dressed in their suits with their jackets unbuttoned now and near-uniform handguns in their hands. Only two of the twenty or so weren't armed and standing, and they were by the door they'd come out of behind a wall of the rest of them, tending to the big man Jaune had seen guarding the door, who's arm hung loose and twisted at a nauseating angle. He met Jaune's eyes and grit his teeth, and he tried to smile reassuringly.
Then the woman tried to straighten his arm while her friend got a splint out, and Jaune couldn't keep looking.
Across from them were three people. The furthest from them, sitting on a low crate by the door with with one ankle resting on his knees, was a silver-haired man who didn't seem to be paying attention. He had his arms crossed and was leaning back against the wall with his eyes closed. The second was a dark-skinned woman dressed in white with green hair, and she stood close to the last. A woman in a dark red dress with short black hair and a thin, pleased smile as she surveyed the assembled workers. A smile that widened when they came out - and her eyes honed in on Neo, who shrank back a step under her gaze.
"Neo…" She said, flicking Roman and Jaune each a look before she turned back to her. "Just who I wanted to see. Why, Roman, you must be a mind reader."
"And you must have been raised in a cave somewhere." Roman countered, leaning on his cane and frowning deeply. "Why else would you savage my friend here, hm?"
"He would not let me in."
"You're meant to ask to see me." Roman nodded, "And wait. That's how us civilised folk do, after all."
"I am many things, Roman, but patient? That has never been among them. Not when someone is in the way of what I need, at least." The woman sighed, flicking Neo another look. One Jaune didn't like at all. Smiling toothily, she gestured at her and turned to Roman, "You have something I need, Roman, and I think it best we speak privately about my… Acquiring it."
"If you need a weapon, or Dust, we can make a deal. That's my proverbial bread and butter, after all. Unless you want bread and butter, of course, in which case I'll arrange some." Roman argued quietly, stepping between the two women and spinning his cane around his wrist. He caught it just below the handle and waved it at the woman with a smile. "Otherwise? I'm not sure what I have that you could want, frankly."
"Oh, Roman, I am not treating you as a fool…" Cinder warned, "Do not treat me as one. What I want is something a bit more special, a bit more potent than guns and Dust."
"...Bombs?"
"No!" She snapped, veneer falling away for a moment before she took a step forward, cocked a hip, and waved a hand… At Neo. "Her."
"Oh, you want to hire her for a job?" Roman perked up, backing up a step and waving his hand. The workers around him spread out a bit as he sighed and went on, "Well why didn't you just say that, beautiful? I'm sure she can give you good rates on- Agh!"
The arrow slammed into Roman's shoulder and exploded off it in a shower of what looked like dust and the woman frowned, pacing forward and lowering her bow, "My name is Cinder Fall. Not 'beautiful' or any of your oh so charmless nicknames."
"Uh huh…" He growled, flicking the workers and gang members a look. "Well, you idiots? Shoot her, would you kindly?"
None of them responded, though. They just stared off into space until, after a second, one of them shrugged and grunted, "Sure, boss, if you're sure…"
A moment later, the group walked away, helping Franklin up and along while Roman watched, eyes narrowed in confusion. Confusion Jaune understood, until he put it all together… Cinder wanted Neo, specifically, and her green-haired companion's face was twisted in confusion and focus. Cinder didn't want Neo the criminal - he wanted Neo the Sekirei, and already had at least one with her. And even if he hadn't seen a male Sekirei yet, he was willing to bet that the silver-haired man was another one as he padded forward, turning to slap a woman's behind as everyone left and laughing when she ignored him.
"Damn, Emmie," he chuckled, "you can use your Illusions on that many, now? Must have been practicing."
"Shut up, Mercury." 'Emmie' snapped, flicking him a look. "We're working."
"Indeed." Cinder smiled, flicking her hands and dismissing her bow and arrow. Crooking a finger at Neo, she smiled, "Now come along, girl. You should be grateful. Plenty would kill and die for a chance at a kiss from me… And have, in fact."
"She's-"
"Taken." Jaune cut in, turning and spinning Neo to face him. She was surprised but didn't resist when he pulled her against him and stole a kiss. He pulled away and she trembled, leaning against his chest while he turned back to them, placing his shield around her and shrugging, "Sorry you came this far for nothing, but… Well, I found her first. She's my Sekirei."
"I see…" Cinder frowned, facing twisting in displeasure for a moment before she sighed and eyed Neo, looking for… Something. "And I suppose killing you and taking her would fail to get me far… She seems the doe-eyed and loving type. No?"
"Oh yeah." Jaune laughed, heart hammering in his chest while he slid behind her, pulling her against himself like he imagined a real lady killer would. Holding her chin, he smiled, "We're partners, not master and servant. And we're more than one kind of partner, too…"
"Oh?"
"Jaune…"
He held up his Scroll and smiled, letting Beacon's icon flash as it snapped a picture. Cinder flinched and he shrugged, hand on Neo's waist. Her own held his, though, and her weight against him… Grounded him, somehow. Enough to at least sound calm as he went on, "I'm a student at Beacon… And I just uploaded that picture to the cloud. So if you did kill us, they'd know I was here, and what you look like."
"You're threatening us?" Cinder scoffed, raising her chin and humming when he nodded stiffly. After a long, tense moment, she held up her hands and backed up a step, sighing, "Fine. I have nothing to gain from killing you… So long as you delete that picture."
"Once you're gone," he nodded, "happy to."
"Fair." She nodded, flicking Roman a look and smirking. "That is what a spine looks like, by the by, Torchwick."
"Right, well… If we're done?" Cinder nodded and, with that, took her leave, headed out with Mercury trailing behind her, who lingered just long enough to fire off a pair of finger guns at Jaune and whistle before he was gone. Jaune let Neo go once they had and turned, just in time for Roman's cane to thwack him upside the head.
"The hell?!"
"You have more balls than brains, you dumbass!" The thief sighed while Neo turned, beaming up at Jaune and latching onto his arm, tugging him down to press a kiss at his chin. Roman wagged the cane at her for it and snapped, "And don't you encourage him! He almost started a fight…"
"But I didn't."
"Yeah, well…" Roman sighed and nodded, "Good work on that, at least, kid."
"Thanks."
"I'd offer to take you out for drinks, but…" Roman flicked Neo a look, "I think someone wants some private time."
He blinked and looked down at the smaller woman, who smiled sheepishly and turned to press herself into his chest. Chuckling, Jaune wrapped an arm around her and asked, "Uh… Dinner and cuddles?"
He felt her nodding into his sternum, arms holding him tight.
XxX-XxX-XxX
ZLC genesmith :
So I was told after I kind of established the parlance lmao. Reacting is still a technical term in universe, but not everyone would use a technical term. Regardless, thanks for the information.
Geralt Rex :
The Fang also do MORE than just fight racism in this - they also contend with people hurting Sekirei. Which is INCREDIBLY concrete - Blake's flashback and background, what I have shown at least, proves that. This is why Sun is in the Fang - they are OBJECTIVELY saving lives in this story. Also, uh, Vacuo based backstory regarding all of the above that hasn't been released yet. XD
54godamora :
They WERE, yes, but now I have added some more.
Yes, plus Cinder.
Blake is just a Faunus. However, the rest is more or less correct - though it's purposefully ambiguous on if THAT LAB was involved with Penny.
Nine Yetis :
Kiiiiinda but not quite. Details will emerge in time.
Phantom117a :
Indeed! Lots of scheming in this story.