Author's Note:Yeah...I have no excuse for why this took so long. I actually wanted to post this before the end of the year but the site was acting up until now for me. Well, better late than never I guess. Anyways, I decided to split the chapter into two parts since it would mess with the flow so expect the Jaunedice story to end in the next part, which hopefully won't take so long to finish.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy. And a belated Happy New Year!
It was another day of classes at Beacon Academy and today's was History with Prof-Doctor Oobleck. Today's lesson was on the Faunus Rights Revolution which had happened a few short years after the Great War had ended. The lecture itself focused on what lead to the Revolution, something that Ozma remembered all too well.
After the Great War, Ozma and his host, Oslo, the former King of Vale, helped establish a council of representatives to govern the Kingdoms in place of the abolished monarchies. Ozma had refused to accept a seat on the council as he had grown weary of politics and wanted to focus on establishing the huntsman academies.
He came to regret that decision when the councils of all four kingdoms announced the decision to relocate the faunus to the continent of Menagerie. Many opposed the decision as two-thirds of the continent was a barren desert and the small coastal regions fit for habitation were too small to support the faunus from all four kingdoms. He and Oslo agreed with the latter and tried to convince the councils to change their minds.
However, even with the influence of the Warrior King, the councils refused to change their minds and proceeded with their plans. Some faunus complied and left on the first ships for Menagerie though many more refused and protested only to be met with violence which sparked the Revolution that quickly spread to all of Remnant.
He wanted to intervene on the faunus behalf but the rules he had established to prevent the kingdoms from using the academies and huntsman in wars also prevented him from intervening unless it involved the grimm or rogue huntsmen.
Regardless, when the faunus eventually turned the tides and won the war, his outward neutrality allowed him to act as a neutral party and mediate the peace treaty between the faunus and the council during which he was able to secure seats on the councils for each of the academies' headmasters so the huntsmen community would have a say in the council's decisions.
'Jaune, are you listening?' Ozma usually shared these facts with Jaune to make learning history more interesting for him though he clearly wasn't paying much attention at the moment.
'Huh? Yeah, sure.' Jaune said though his attention clearly wasn't on the lesson so Ozma looked through Jaune's eyes until he saw Cardin at the back of the class, whispering to his team while crumpling up some paper into a ball.
'Honestly. Mr Winchester doesn't quit, does he?' Ozma sighed. Ever since the confrontation at the cafeteria, Jaune and Ozma had become more aware of Cardin's bullying as they witnessed him harassing other students, noting how Cardin mainly targeted first-year students, particularly the faunus.
Jaune wanted to intervene and stop Cardin but Ozma convinced the boy otherwise since fighting outside of Combat Class would hurt his reputation with the teachers. Instead they made do with reporting the incidents to the teachers who promised to keep his involvement a secret.
It didn't amount to much at first but the sheer number of incidents reported landed Cardin in detention for the last few days. They thought it would at least make Cardin think twice about causing trouble again but it looked like they were wrong as Cardin seemed to be up to no good again.
'It's best that you ignore him and focus on the lesson.' Ozma advised, 'Bart will handle Mr Winchester.' He assured. Despite Bart's excitable nature when it came to history, his old student was more observant than he seemed...most of the time.
Jaune nodded as he picked up his pencil and started jotting down notes. Though he didn't do so for long when he felt something hit with him at the back of his head. He looked back with annoyance and found a paper plane. He turned his head to see Cardin looking down at him with a smug look on his face before pointing down at the paper plane in his hand.
Curious, he unwrapped the paper plane and saw some words written on it.
'Snitches get stitches.'
'It appears that Mr Winchester has found out who has been reporting him to the faculty recently.' Ozma guessed that either one of the teachers let it slip or Cardin noticed that Jaune was around whenever he got reported.
Jaune snorted at the threat and glared back at Cardin before making a small show of crumpling the paper, telling the bully what he thought of the threat before turning back to his notes-
*Splat!*
"Wahh!" Jaune yelped as he reached behind his head where he was hit and grimaced at the uncomfortably wet and sticky sensation in his hand. He brought the offending object forward and saw that it was a large spitwad. He had a good idea on who shot it at him. Though before he could confront the culprit, Oobleck suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Ah, Mr Arc! I'm glad you are so eager to participate in class!" Oobleck beamed before taking a sip of his mug. "However, let me ask the question first before you jump in, alright my boy?"
"Err…yes, Doctor." Jaune stammered while his cheeks turned red at the laughter from the rest of the class. "Ask away."
"Very good. Now where was I?" Oobleck said before taking yet another sip of his mug.
"The battle at Fort Castle, sir." Weiss spoke up helpfully.
"Ah, right. Thank you, Miss Schnee." Oobleck said and cleared his throat. "One of the most pivotal turning point of the war for the faunus where General Lagune's forces was defeated and he was captured. Since you're so eager to participate in class, Mr Arc, can you tell me one of the reasons why General Lagune lost the battle?"
"Err…yes, doctor. The reason the general lost was because of..." Jaune scratched the back of his head as he struggled to think of the answer, 'Oz, a little help?'
'We covered this exact topic a while back for one of your history projects so you should know the answer already.' Ozma answered unhelpfully.
'A hint would be nice.' Jaune pleaded.
'I'm your mentor, not your cheat sheet for historical facts.' Ozma firmly retorted. The last thing he wanted was for Jaune to start getting lazy with his studies.
'Ugh, fine! Let's see, Fort Castle…Fort Castle…' Jaune hummed as he racked his brain for the answer. He faintly recalled researching the topic like Ozma said but that was ages ago! Out of options, he scanned the seats for anyone who might help him out.
He spotted Ruby who quickly caught on to his silent request but shrugged her shoulders apologetically. Weiss was busy pouring through her notes. He purposely avoided Yang and the way she was fluttering her eyes at him though he did not expect to see Blake doing the same, albeit more slowly and stilted. Was she blinking morse code or something?"
Ozma sighed at Jaune missing the obvious hints though the boy redeemed himself when he turned to Pyrrha mouthing something before pointing at her eyes?
'Eyes?' he thought before realizing the hint, 'Oh yeah, that's it!' He then turned to Oobleck and confidently answered, "It's their eyes, Doctor." Jaune smiled when Oobleck nodded and gestured for him to elaborate, "The faunus won the battle at Fort Castle thanks to their night vision."
"An excellent answer, Mr Arc." Oobleck praised before turning to the rest of the class, "Now can anyone else give me the other reasons why the faunus won the battle?"
"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train animals than a soldier." Cardin spoke up smugly. Oobleck shook his head at Cardin's answer which earned some dirty looks from others around him. He sneered as he glared back at them, cowing a few who looked away, much to his own delight.
"You're not the most open-minded person, are you Cardin?" Pyrrha spoke up while glaring at Cardin.
"What, you got a problem with that?" Cardin retorted, glaring back at her.
"No. I'm just saying that you got the answer completely wrong." Pyrrha pointed out.
"Oh yeah, then what's the right answer?" Cardin demanded.
"Experience, or rather the lack of it." Blake interrupted, drawing everyone's attention. "General Lagune was inexperienced and overconfident. He made the mistake of trying to ambush the faunus in the night. Despite his forces outnumbering the faunus, they were quickly overwhelmed and the general was captured." she then turned to Cardin, "Maybe if he had paid more attention in class, he wouldn't have made such an obvious mistake and be remembered as such a failure."
"Why you!" Cardin shouted as he stood up with his fists clenched tight. He froze when he heard the sound of someone sipping a drink behind him and turned to see Oobleck standing there.
'Wait, when did he?' Jaune thought as he and several other students looked back and forth between the spot Oobleck had been standing and where he now stood behind a visibly startled Cardin.
'Bart always did like to get the jump on others.' Ozma chuckled in amusement.
"Mr Winchester. Just because I didn't say anything to you fooling around in my class earlier does not mean that I'll allow you to disrupt the class." Oobleck stated evenly, briefly glancing at Jaune apologetically before taking another sip from his mug. "And since it's obvious that you haven't been paying attention, you are to see me after class for additional readings."
"B-but professor, I-"
"Doctor!" Oobleck corrected before clearing his throat. "Now, I know you have your electives to attend afterward so I'll allow you to leave before then. As such, I expect to see you here after class. Am I clear, Mr Winchester?"
"Y-yes, doctor." Cardin answered through gritted teeth as he heard muffled laughter around him.
"Very good. Now take your seat." Cardin did as instructed before Oobleck vanished in a blur and reappeared in front of Jaune, "Since I'll be busy overseeing Mr Winchester's studies, we'll have to reschedule our session for another time."
"Umm, sure. Sounds like Cardin needs the extra lesson anyways." Jaune grinned at the way Cardin glared daggers at him.
Normally, Ozma wouldn't approve of such behavior but for this? He'd make an exception.
"Excellent!" Oobleck then dashed right back to the front of the class. "Now where were we?" he asked in a chipper tone.
"You left off at General Lagune's defeat at Fort Castle and its effects on the revolution, sir." Weiss answered while raising her hand.
"Ah, right you are, Miss Schnee. Thank you again." Oobleck took another sip from his mug before continuing with the lesson.
If someone asked Jaune what his favorite class at Beacon was, he would say that it's Leadership Course taught by Headmistress Goodwitch.
Leadership Course was, as the name implied, a class elective for team leaders that focused on teaching students the importance and responsibilities of being leaders. As such, this made the class one of the smallest in Beacon with barely a few dozen students, though this allowed Professor Goodwitch to tailor her lessons to her students' needs.
While Jaune did appreciate Professor Goodwitch for helping him become a better leader to his team, this wasn't the reason why the class was his favorite. The actual reason was-
"Oof!" Jaune wheezed after Weiss elbowed him in the ribs.
"Jaune! Pay attention or you'll get us into trouble with Professor Goodwitch." Weiss whispered harshly.
"Sorry Weiss." Jaune said as he turned his attention to the headmistress and her lesson though he couldn't help but glance to Weiss sitting next him and smiled.
Due to the class being so small, the lessons took place in a smaller lecture hall, meaning the team leaders had to sit closer to each other. And since they'd rather sit with someone they knew than someone they don't, or didn't like…
Someone let out an audible sneeze from the back of the class and Jaune glanced there and saw Cardin scratching his nose before muttering a quick apology at the headmistress.
Anyways, this made it easy to convince Weiss to sit together. Sure she did lay down ground rules before she accepted his offer. Some of it was easy to follow like not fooling around or generally being lazy during lessons, something he rarely did nowadays, mostly due to Ozma's strictness when it came to academics.
The other rule was that he would pay attention to the lesson and not do anything that would hurt his reputation among the teachers and hers by association. While he did understand the reasoning behind it, he couldn't help himself and look at Weiss every so often, not believing his luck that he'd get to sit next to his crush and like this every week.
Best class ever!
Ozma rolled his incorporeal eyes at his host. He was honestly baffled why Jaune liked the Schnee girl so much. Sure, she was beautiful and graceful but her attitude towards Jaune was…lukewarm at best. Still, it was Jaune's choice as well as his first romantic pursuit in years so he'll do his best to respect the boy's decision and support it. As long as he didn't get too distracted and pay attention in class-
*Thwack!*
"Oww!" Jaune yelped as he covered his stinging forehead which felt like he'd just been shot. He looked down on the floor and notice shattered pieces of chalk there.
"Mr Arc, is there a reason why your attention is on Miss Schnee instead of the board?" Professor Goodwitch demanded as she telekinetically moved a new piece of chalk from her desk. Everyone watched as the chalk danced in the air above the professor's head before it went still and pointed itself at Jaune, ready for a second shot.
"No! I wasn't…looking! I mean, not that there's anything wrong with Weiss but I…er." Jaune stammered as his eyes darted back and forth between a visibly ticked-off Weiss and an equally annoyed Goodwitch. "Umm, I'll shut up now." he said as he meekly shrank into his seat, his face turning red with embarrassment.
Thankfully, no one in class laughed at him, likely due to wanting to avoid Professor Goodwitch's ire. Of course, Ozma had no such issue as he chuckled at Jaune's misfortune.
'Oz…' Jaune warned while his eyes twitched at the laughter.
'Now, now. You really should pay attention in class rather than making, as your sisters might say, 'goo-goo eyes' at Miss Schnee.' Ozma teased and chuckled when Jaune's face turned even more red.
"Mr Arc, I trust that you will pay more attention to the lesson instead of fooling around from now on, correct?" Professor Goodwitch asked while keeping the chalk trained on him.
"Y-yes, professor." Jaune gulped before adding, "I-I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
Professor Goodwitch narrowed her eyes at him, as if trying to discern if he was telling the truth or not. A tense moment passed before the chalk floated back to the board. "Very well. Now let's resume the lesson. What do you think are the most important things a leader needs to consider when going on a mission?"
Weiss' hand instantly shot up the moment the question was asked.
Goodwitch smiled at her star student and nodded, "Very well, Miss Schnee. What is your answer?"
"Information and logistics. A leader must know the details of the mission first so they can prepare themselves and their team accordingly." Weiss answered.
"Well said, Miss Schnee." Goodwitch praised, "It is a leader's duty to prepare their team for what they will face on missions."
"Why do we need to gather info when the mission boards already have them?" Cardin interrupted and as much as Jaune hated it, he agreed with Cardin as he remembered his father's missions having said details.
"While that may be true, it won't always be the case, Mr Winchester. Some missions will be lacking in details and it will be up to leaders like you to decide on how to gather more information should you take on that mission."
Weiss started jotting down Goodwitch's words and Jaune followed suit as did some of the other students in class. Then they were interrupted by the bell ringing, signifying the end of the class. This prompted everyone to put their things away.
"Just a moment, students. Before you leave, I have an important announcement to make so please sit down." Nobody argued against the headmistress and did as she asked. "Thank you. Now, as you all may know by now, we have an upcoming field trip to the Forever Fall Forest."
Jaune and several other students nodded their heads. Everyone had received notifications about the field trip on their scrolls a few days ago. The trip would be chaperoned by Professor Peach and Professor Rainart though aside from that, there were no other details given so the students were curious about the announcement.
"The field trip will act as a simulation of a mission out in the wilderness for first years who will learn what would be expected of them on an actual mission. As such, all first year team leaders are to prepare your teams for the field trip as best you can." the students immediately started whispering amongst each other.
"What should we do to prepare for it?" someone asked and several others voiced their agreement.
"That will be up to you. You can read up on Forever Falls or brush up on your survival skills for example." a few students like Weiss took the hint and wrote it.
'Guess I'm going to the library later.' Jaune thought as he briefly imagined a study date with Weiss before wondering if he could ask one of the second years he knew for some hints.
Though almost as if the headmistress had read his mind, she said, "As for the upper years, none of you are allowed to give your juniors any hints on the field trip to avoid cheating. Am I clear?" Goodwitch asked as she snapped her riding crop and upper-year students bobbed their heads rapidly in compliance. "Very good. You are now dismissed."
'Well there goes that idea.' Jaune grumbled before he remembered that Ozma used to be a headmaster at the school, several of them as a matter of fact.
'Sorry my boy, but even if I wanted to tell you-which I don't-I doubt that any information I do have will be up to date.' Ozma stated the moment he sensed the boy's intent.
'Can't blame me for trying.' Jaune sighed.
'On the bright side, you can spend more time with Miss Schnee at the library.' Ozma teased jokingly, laughing when he felt Jaune's embarrassment as the boy's face went red. 'Speaking of her, it appears she's on her way out.'
Jaune then realized that Weiss had already left and was heading for the door with the rest of the class. He quickly grabbed his things and went after her. Just as he was about to catch up to her, he was suddenly grabbed from behind.
"Hey there, Jauney boy." Cardin greeted in an unusually friendly manner, which instantly put Jaune on edge. "Let's chat for a bit."
"Sorry Cardin but I'm kind of busy." Jaune said as he watched Weiss leave, souring his mood even further. Though when he tried to pry Cardin's hands off his shoulder, he felt Cardin tighten his grip.
"I wasn't asking." Cardin sneered, "Besides, I only need a couple of minutes to talk about snitching on me."
Jaune winced as he felt Cardin's fingers dig into his shoulder and raised his aura to withstand the discomfort while also using some of it to reinforce his arms for a strong punch to Cardin's-
'Jaune, don't. The last thing you want is to get into a fight, especially with the headmistress being nearby.' Ozma warned. 'Try talking him down.'
'I kind of doubt Cardin is going to listen to whatever I say.' Jaune remarked while glaring at Cardin who smirked as he squeezed harder.
Ozma sighed in agreement. He has encountered individuals similar to Cardin countless times in previous incarnations and almost all of them rarely listened to reason. 'I know but whatever you do, do not throw the first punch.'
"Glad you're listening, Jauney boy." Cardin smirked, taking Jaune's silence for compliance. "Now about you snitching on me-" he said before he was interrupted by a resounding-
*Smack!*
"Yeowch!" Cardin jumped into the air while clutching at his stinging backside. When he landed, he spun around with his fists raised, ready to deliver a beatdown. However, he stopped and visibly went pale when he came face to face with a girl wearing a beret and sunglasses.
'Who wears sunglasses indoors?' Jaune wondered though Ozma was more interested in why Cardin looked so terrified of the girl.
"Heya Cardigan! How you're doing?" the girl greeted cheerfully. Jaune chuckled at the nickname though this did make Cardin angry enough to come to his senses.
"W-what do you want, Adel?" Cardin growled, though it was obvious to everyone that he was iterally shaking in fear. "A-and my name is Cardin!"
"Aww, come on Cardi Boy." the girl continued, ignoring Cardin's words, "Can't a girl just come by to say hi? Plus, I still haven't shown my full appreciation for what you did to my Bun-Bun a while back. Speaking of her, how is she doing?" Adel asked playfully though Ozma easily picked up the subtle threat in her words.
Curious.
"H-how would I k-know? I-I haven't been near her lately." Cardin stammered, his legs visibly quaking now.
Even more curious though Jaune was more entertained at the sight of Cardin cowering.
"Huh, really? Then I guess I don't have to reintroduce you to Gianduja." Jaune quirked a brow when Cardin let out a deep sigh of relief. "You can go now, Cardigan."
Cardin looked like he wanted to say something but didn't. He stopped to give Jaune a look that said 'I'll see you later!' before storming out of the lecture hall. Once Cardin was gone, Jaune turned to the Adel girl.
"Thanks for the help back there." Jaune said to the girl-
*Clap!*
"Gaah!" Jaune yelped, his cheeks turning red as he covered his other cheeks.
"No sweat, Johnny boy. Glad I could help out Bun-Bun's new friend." the girl said while looking at her hand before grinning mischievously, "Oooh, firm. Mama likes." which made Jaune's blush turn even brighter.
The fact that Ozma was chuckling in his head didn't help either.
"It's Jaune actually." Jaune corrected her hesitantly as he rubbed his backside while wondering what was up with the girl. And why was she reminding him so much of Yang right now? "And who's Bun-Bun?"
"Oh, that's what I call my teammate. You helped her out a while back and as her leader, I wanted to say thanks." the girl answered.
"Umm, glad I could help?" Jaune said while trying to recall if he ever helped anyone called Bun-Bun. 'Any idea who it is, Ozma?'
'Not to my memory. It's likely to be a nickname.' Ozma answered though he couldn't recall anyone that could fit it.
'Yeah, probably…' Jaune was pulled from his thoughts when he noticed the girl was circling around him. He became worried at the way she was eyeing his backside. "Uh, what are you doing?"
"Just checking you out." the girl replied nonchalantly.
"Huh?!' Jaune and Ozma both blurted out in shock, the former's blush returning full force while the latter thought that Jaune's semblance was attracting the opposite gender to him based on how dense he was. It would explain the boy's inexplicable charis-
The girl snorted, pulling both Jaune and Ozma from their thoughts, and smiled wryly, "Not like that, Jauney Boy. I just want to see what the guy who helped Bun-Bun is like. Besides, I'm batting for the other team, if you know what I mean."
"Oh…" Jaune said as he laughed sheepishly while Ozma quietly shelved the previous thought away, never to be brought up or shared. Ever.
"Aww, don't sound disappointed. Honestly, if I was straight, I'd be all over you." the girl lowered her sunglasses to wink at him.
"Err…thanks, I think." Jaune said before he realized something, "By the way, you never told me your name."
"Bun-Bun didn't tell you about me? Guess I'll be having words with her later." the girl mumbled before turning her attention back to Jaune, "Well, since Bun-Bun didn't say anything you can call me-"
"Coco? Are you here?" a familiar voice called out and Jaune turned to see Velvet poking her head in through the doorway.
"Velvet?" Jaune said curiously.
"Jaune? What are you doing with Coco?" Velvet asked.
"Hey Bun-Bun, what's up? Me and Jauney Boy over here were just chatting." Coco answered in his stead.
"What's up is that you promised we'd go down to Vale after class to pick up some dust and you're late." Velvet lectured as she hurried over to the pair. "And I thought I told you not to call me Bun-that in public."
"Relax, Velv. There's no one else here besides us and Jauney boy." Coco said and Jaune looked around before realizing that they really were the only ones left in the classroom.
"Wait, you're Bun-Bun?" Jaune said in sudden realization.
"Mhm…" Velvet nodded her head as her cheeks turned bright red.
'Kind of obvious in hindsight.' Ozma commented.
Jaune agreed as he resisted the urge to laugh at the frankly adorable nickname since he knew what it was like to have embarrassing nicknames. Largely thanks to his sisters…and Yang lately.
'And yet that hasn't stopped you from teasing Ruby with hers.' Ozma pointed out as Jaune has teased Ruby with her nickname on several occasions.
'Oh come on, I only use it when I need to stop her from trying to melt down my sword.' Jaune argued as he has used Ruby's nickname to distract her.
'And what about when you were playing video games, hmm?' Ozma retorted as Jaune had used Ruby's nickname to throw her off when he was losing a fight on Road Battler V.
"Jaune…are you okay?" Velvet asked worriedly when Jaune had been so quiet, before turning to Coco with an accusing look in her eye, "Coco…what did you do?"
"Nothing Bun-Bun!" Coco answered cheekily but Velvet kept staring, "Okay, okay…I did smack his butt earlier. Pretty nice and firm too by the way, but that's it, I swear!"
"Coco!" Velvet exclaimed, mortified at what her teammate had done.
Jaune then cleared his throat, interrupting the pair, "Anyways, are you alright Velvet? Cardin left just now and he wasn't exactly in a good mood." he asked, hoping to take Velvet's mind off her nickname and distract Ozma while he was at it.
"Oh, he walked the other way when he saw me so I'm fine…but thanks for worrying about me." Velvet replied bashfully.
"Aww! You two look so cute together!" Coco exclaimed as she appeared in between the two and pulled them closer together. "I approve!"
"Huh!?" Velvet sounded out surprise.
"Approve? Approve of what?" Jaune asked before he noticed the mischievous glint in Coco's eyes as she grinned at him.
"Of you becoming Velvet's boyf-mrmph!" Coco said before Velvet abruptly lunged forward and covered her mouth.
"Friends!" Velvet blurted out in a panicked tone. "Coco approves of us being friends! Isn't that right, Coco?" she insisted while staring at Coco. Her sunglasses had dropped low enough to reveal her brown eyes rolling before nodding, "See?"
"Really? Thanks for your blessing." Jaune said politely before quietly muttering, "I think…" he wondered if blessings for friendships was a thing for people in the city cause this was the first he heard. Cityfolks were weird sometimes.
Ozma took a deep breath, an impossible feat without a body but he did it nonetheless as he resisted the urge to scream and vent out his frustration. How can someone be this dense! They've watched terrible cliched Mistrali cartoons with this exact scenario for Brothers' sake!
"Anyways, sorry about this but we gotta go before the airbus leaves without us. Come on Coco, let's go!" Velvet said as she started pulling Coco towards the door.
"No worries, I get it. Guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Jaune smiled.
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it." Velvet replied as she reached the door.
"Oooh~You sure you're just friends?" Coco teased while swooning dramatically.
"Coco…" Velvet warned sternly, but the way her face turned beet red only made Coco laugh as the pair left the room, leaving behind a bewildered Jaune scratching his head, wondering what was so funny.
'Let's just go to the library already.' Ozma sighed at his host's cluelessness, 'You still need to read up on Forever Falls for the field trip, remember?'
"Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me Oz" Jaune said as he headed for the door.
'You can thank me by keeping your grades up.' Ozma said wearily.
"Sure, sure. Hmm, do you think Weiss will still be at the library?" Jaune asked.
'Perhaps. And who knows, maybe you two could go on a study date together.' Ozma suggested jokingly, wanting to tease the boy a little as payback for the frustrating situation with Velvet. Poor girl.
"You think so?" Jaune smiled as he picked up his pace, eager at the idea of a study with Weiss. Sure it would be more homework than an actual date but he'd be happy as long he got to spend more time with Weiss. "Thanks for the idea, Ozma."
'You're…welcome, my boy.' Ozma sighed, disappointed his teasing hadn't worked as intended but he supposed that as long as Jaune was happy and motivated, he'd put up with it.
Author's Note: So Jaune finally met Coco. Gee, I wonder why Velvet hasn't introduced Coco to Jaune until now? Regardless, the field trip will be coming up in the next chapter where the conflict with Cardin should be resolved, one way or another.
Putting that aside, apologies for taking so long to update. IRL stuff to attend to plus lack of motivation, bla, bla, bla and etc. Still, I felt like ending the chapter here is unsatisfying so here's a little bonus Omake for your enjoyment.
Omake:
Weiss smiled to herself as she walked down the hallway. She had finished her assignments for the week ahead of schedule and submitted to the professors who praised her work ethic. This would raise their favourability with her which will help her down the line.
With her work done, she was going back to her room for a quick shower to refresh herself before dinner and if time permits it, treat herself to some dessert after. It was a shame she couldn't bring her cake butler to Beacon but the school's selections were adequate. Though thanks to Ruby, she has grown more appreciative to cookies in particular lately.
However, as she turned the corner to the hallway leading to her dorm, she saw Yang outside, pressing her head against the door. As she got closer to demand why she was acting so strange, Yang saw her and shushed her.
How dare she order a Schnee to be quiet! Weiss thought indignantly and was about to give the blond a piece of her mind when said blond beckoned her over. Her curiosity won over her annoyance as she approached Yang and whispered, "What are you doing?"
"Just listen." Yang whispered as she cupped her ear against the door.
Was she eavesdropping? On her own teammate? Weiss wanted to tell Yang off but the way the brawler was smiling and stifling her laughter as she listened piqued her own curiosity. She quietly leaned against the door beside Yang and mimicked her as she cupped an ear to the door.
At first, all she could hear was Ruby's voice grunting and gasping inside the room. Was she doing something bizarre like ogling the weapons catalogue? Again. It was disconcerting at how obsessive she was about weapons and- Wait…there was a second voice mixed with Ruby's…a distinctly male voice!
"Urgh! Damn it Ruby, my stamina can't keep up!" Jaune's voice grunted.
"Come on, Jaune. Is that all you got?" Ruby's voice taunted, her typically high-pitched voice unusually flustered and…husky? What in the world was she doing?
"I'm just getting started!" Jaune retorted which was followed by a series of grunts and heavy panting.
Wait a minute, are they doing what she thinks they're doing? Weiss' cheeks turned beat red at the implication. Surely not!
"Haha! You can't outlast me!" Ruby's voice cheered, which was followed by more grunts.
Oh gods! They are! In WRBY's dorm of all places! Have they no decency?! And why isn't Yang doing anything? This is her cousin for Oum's sake!
"Are you sure about that, Little Rose?" Jaune teased in an almost tender tone.
Pet names? Weiss thought as her blush went even redder in hue. Gods, this is getting more serious than she had anticipated.
"Eep!" Ruby squeaked in a flustered tone.
"Haha! You're mine now!" Jaune declared triumphantly.
"Gah! Jaune!" Ruby cried out.
"That's it!" Weiss yelled as she stormed through the door with her Glyphs manifesting behind her. "I'm putting an end to this…debauchery. Huh?" Her Glyphs immediately dissipated when she saw Jaune and Ruby, who were seated on the floor and clearly not doing anything indecent, turn to look at her.
"Hey Weiss, what's up?" Jaune greeted casually.
"Umm…what were you two doing just now?" Weiss asked curiously, her eyes scanning for anything out of place.
"Oh, we were playing Road Battler V, see?" Ruby answered while pointing at the screen projected in front of the pair. One side had a knightly looking man wielding a jousting lance while the other had a woman dressed as a scarecrow holding a massive scythe. "I was kicking Jaune's butt when he cheated."
"When did I cheat? All I did was use your nickname." Jaune said with obviously feigned innocence.
"Hmph!" Ruby huffed as she puffed her cheeks.
Jaune simply laughed as he patted Ruby's head affectionately before turning to Weiss with his scroll held out to her, "Anyways, wanna join us?"
"T-thank you for the offer but I'm fine." Weiss said while fighting back her embarrassment. Besides, video games were beneath a Schnee. "Anyways, what was with all the noise earlier?"
"Oh…that. We kind of got carried away with the trash talk when playing." Jaune explained apologetically.
"Trash talking? That's all it was?" Weiss said before sighing in relief at the misunderstanding.
"Yeah. Sorry about that" Ruby joined in, "Yang left after complaining about the noise."
"Wait, Yang knew?" Weiss then spun around to see Yang stifling her laughter as she rolled on the floor with her legs kicking in the air but she froze when she realized Weiss was staring. "Yaaang."
"Oops…busted. See ya Weisscream!" Yang laughed before sprinting off.
"Xiao Long!" Weiss yelled as she swiftly gave chase, leaving Jaune and Ruby confused as they heard Weiss' voice promising bloody murder upon Yang who just laughed in response.
"Er…best three out of five?" Jaune suggested.
"You're on! And no more cheating!" Ruby said as she picked up her scroll.
"Whatever you say…Little Rose." Jaune teased.
"Gah! Quit it!" Ruby exclaimed and Jaune laughed in response.