King: And we're back baby!
Knox: Aw shit!
King: And the winner of the 11 Million View special event is... RUBY!
Knox: AW SHIT!
King: With the most votes by far. Second place was Blake, by the by. But it wasn't just about votes. How you expressed it was important too. Some of my favorites came from the Penny camp. Anyway, if your favorite choice didn't make it, it should be clear we're far from done with this 'fan club.' Now, Ruby will be joining them at least by the end of their vacation. Which WILL be next chapter. After that, it's business as usual. With a few new surprises and old faces. Anyway, on with the show!
Inspiration: [This feature is still down. Try again later.]
Side note: I do actually have an old friend group for Jaune in mind. It only makes sense he'd have some friends from Arcadia. You get to meet one of them today. Have fun with that.
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Tuesday
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As Jaune woke once more into an Arcadian day, he walked across the hall to one of the bathrooms. After a quick shower, he found himself looking in the mirror. It was impossible to deny his training was definitely doing wonders for him. His metabolism was pretty good, so he wasn't overweight beforehand or something. But he definitely had little in the way of muscles. Now, though, he was on his way. One other thing to catch his eye, though, was the facial hair forming. He kneeled down to the cabinet under the sink to find his razor. He then remembered he took it with him to Beacon.
After a sigh, he walked back to his room quickly and put on his clothes before looking through his bag. Only to realize something important to his search. "Did I forget it?"
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As breakfast was winding down, Jaune finally made his way into the kitchen area with a slight grumble.
Marie looked up from her project as her brother approached. "Morning. Going for the rugged style now?"
"Apparently, I forgot my razor. Where are the others?"
"Your friends are in the other room. Finished pretty fast and decided to wait for you."
Jaune sighed and waved before taking a breakfast bar from the counter. "Thanks." As he rounded the corner, he found a fairly crowded scene as Nora and Yang were arm wrestling as the others all gathered around. It was a constant question among them: who was stronger, Yang or Nora? So far, they seemed pretty even.
Jaune finished his last bite and moved over next to Pyrrha and Velvet. "How long have they been at it?"
"About fifteen minutes." Velvet side eyed Jaune a moment before turning to him, "You're growing out a beard?"
Jaune shrugged, "Maybe one day, but today I just forgot my razor at Beacon."
"Well I think you'd look great with a beard."
Nora paused a moment, having heard them and the image of Jaune with a full beard entered her mind. Yang was able to use this and push Nora's hand to the side a bit before the bubbly red-head returned to the situation and returned the state to stalemate.
Jaune sighed, knowing he could get them to end this now. "Nora, if you win, you can pick where we go next."
Nora jumped in her seated position and turned to him with excited eyes, "Really?!" After Jaune nodded, giving his word on the matter, Nora turned back to Yang before slamming her hand to the side and beating Yang rather quickly.
Yang recoiled at the sudden impact and almost fell away in shock. "What just happened?"
Jaune thus explained, "Nora is very strong when she's motivated. I think she holds herself back day to day."
Nora was jumping around, excited about her plans for the day.
Blake raised an eyebrow, "If that's her restrained, I'm concerned about her going all out."
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Meanwhile, back at Beacon, Glynda groaned as she made her way to the teacher's lounge. Thankfully, the virus in their system had been isolated and removed. Now came the reorganization of their systems to prevent a second incursion. And it was all miles over her head. Glynda was never a tech girl. She could use a scroll and basic systems, but she was never the kind of person that could follow anything more difficult. Thus, she was only here because she lived on campus like any other teacher there.
As she entered the room, she found many of her fellow faculty around an oblong table in the center. It was time for a Beacon staff tradition again. Discussing favorites. That made it sound worse than it was, but it was the basic idea. The teachers would talk about students that had good work ethics, attitudes, and other factors that each teacher considered important. It was just a way for them to kill time.
"I'm staying with my opinion." Port spoke jovially. "Ms. Valkyrie continues to be the best student I can find in my class. Attentive in class and often asking questions."
"Because your stories are so crazy they'd need to ask questions." Bart laughed before taking a swig from his mug. "Personally, I'd say Ms. Nikos is my choice. She's shown to be learned, but willing to learn more. She's shown genuine care for others, I even caught her trying to help inform Mr. Arc when he didn't know a question. Not that he knew what she meant."
A man near the end of the table by the fridge finished a cup of tea and sighed contentedly. He was dressed in a pink suit which matched his hair. This was Beacon Academy's herbology expert Alexander Peach. "I'll throw my hat in for Mr. Ren. He's been nothing but attentive and picks up my lessons rather quickly. It can be hard to do so thanks to how similar some plants are in the wild."
His wife, Celia Peach, sat next to him in her forge suit. She'd unzipped the gear and removed the upper half to show her black tank-top and heavily tattooed arms. "I'd say Ruby Rose is my pick."
Alexander chuckled, "Big surprise. You pick the only person more of a weapon nerd than you."
Celia rolled her eyes and gave her husband's shoulder a playful punch. "Seriously though, she takes weapon management seriously and has a better handle on forge etiquette than anyone else."
The last of the group at the table was sitting back as he popped a small candy into his mouth. He was the youngest of the Beacon faculty, being in his mid-twenties. Dressed in the usual dual colored vest (today's being blue and yellow), white dress shirt, and black pants. His blue hair was cut short and parted to his right. Professor Justinian Bysantine, Beacon's Dust Applications professor, and occasionally its teacher of Myths and Legends. "I'd say my favorite is probably Yang Xiao Long. Eager to learn about Dust applications and can actually still learn something." They all knew he was referring to Weiss Schnee with that last crack. The heiress made it no secret that she was basically an expert on all things Dust.
Celia raised an eyebrow, "Didn't she almost blow up her station?"
Justinian just smirked, "You say that like I didn't prepare for that. After all, what's the fun if something doesn't blow up now and then? Within reason of course, but my point remains."
Port gave a side glance to see Glynda as she got some coffee from the teachers' pot, "How about you, Glynda? We're talking first years this time."
Glynda would admit that she's participated in these talks before, but hadn't in a while. For old times sake, she decided to answer. "If I had to pick, I'd say Mr. Arc."
"Really?"
Glynda nodded as her cup was finally ready for her. "I admit he wasn't a good fighter when the year first started. However, his improvement has been impressive. What's more, he actually listens when I give advice after a sparring match. Most of the first years are still set in their ways from their combat schools. They hear what I say, but often don't bother to listen. Mr. Arc will actually take what I say and learn from it. It's as simple as that."
Port smiled and nodded, "Perfectly understandable."
But Celia wasn't so kind. She just smirked and leaned onto her hand, supported on the table by her elbow. "Oh? Is that it or maybe you have a thing for younger blonds?"
Glynda's eye twitched. She knew what was coming next.
Alexander chuckled with his wife, "Hey, we both know that's not her type. We know she likes her men a bit older. With little round glasses and a coffee mug in hand twenty-four-seven~" He and his wife proceeded to laugh to themselves.
Glynda sighed and turned her gaze toward them. "Will you two ever grow up?"
Celia just grinned, "Probably not~"
"You might want to consider it." The voice that entered the group caused the two Peaches to jolt up in shock. Ozpin had entered the room. "I just stopped by to tell you all that James should have a prototype for a new system up by the end of the day. He intends to test it with a specialist coming in from Atlas tomorrow afternoon. Do try to be on your best behavior." He made a clear glance toward the Peaches.
The married couple responded in unison, "Of course, sir."
Ozpin turned and walked off with his message delivered.
Glynda let out a sigh from her nervous state. "I need to get back to work." She walked off soon after, just trying to calm her nerves again. This usually meant breaking a training robot or two. Or twenty. Damn Peaches…
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Meanwhile, across the kingdom and on the small island of Patch, Sienna was sitting on a hillside looking out over a harbor nearby. If she was being honest, she didn't like the ocean. But, she did enjoy harbor towns. It was a weird dichotomy, but not the weirdest she's ever known. She actually preferred the forest areas like those further in, on the island. She never really considered it, but this island may just have everything she wanted in a more permanent home.
As she had that thought, however, her eyes drifted slightly over to Tai as he spoke to one of the merchants on the road nearby. The merchant was a young woman who seemed to be smiling. A lot. Sienna could actually feel her glare forming, only to slap her cheeks and shake her head.
What the hell? Where is that coming from? Am I… Sienna looked back toward the ground in thought. This is too fast right now… Right? She looked back toward Tai again as he finished his conversation. I guess… the heart wants, and all that.
As Tai walked up the hill to meet her, he waved. "So, now that that's out of the way, how about we head over to the town and get you some new clothes. You didn't seem to bring anything other than what you're wearing and with everything yesterday…" He trailed off and waved his hand around a bit to represent that they both knew what he was talking about, but didn't want to say it out loud.
Sienna smiled and stood up, dusting herself off. "Thanks. I'd appreciate it. I didn't expect to stay for more than a day at most." As Tai led her down to the town by the ocean, Sienna found herself staring at his back. It was impossible to ignore what was building up inside her. And now that she was more or less stuck here for a few days, she really didn't seem to mind.
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Back in Arcadia, Nora had been researching events happening that day and one caught her eye. There was a Jousting event happening and Nora was curious ever since she heard about it. And many of the group were also interested, so it became a group event.
As they arrived, they found a massive stadium that bordered on a coliseum! It was a massive building, easily reminding some of them of Amity Coliseum. They were apparently arriving somewhat late as the line was basically non-existent. As they approached the ticket counter, the seller jumped once she noticed Jaune. "Oh my gosh!" She bowed in her booth as she continued, "Good afternoon Young Prince!"
Jaune sighed and walked up to the booth. "I just wanted to get some seats for me and my friends for the event today."
The seller did a quick head count before looking pretty nervous. "I'm sorry, Young Prince. We have enough seats, but I assume you all wanted to sit together. Unfortunately, none of the seats left are nn groups larger than three."
"Well that sucks." Yang crossed her arms as she shifted her weight. "I guess it's the best we've got."
"Now hold on." The seller pulled up a small book and started to shift through the pages. "As I thought! We have a VIP booth reserved for you Young Prince."
This just confused Jaune more, "What? But I didn't…"
"According to the notes, it was reserved ahead of time by one of the contestants today." She closed the book and bowed again. "We hope you all enjoy the show."
Jaune looked around at his friends, but got caught on Nore's clear excitement at the idea. Jaune sighed and turned back to the seller. "Thank you. We'll take up the offer."
"This is going to be so awesome!" Nora was bouncing with excitement. Even if the sport itself wasn't great to watch, they were getting VIP treatment.
As they walked the hall to their booth, Blake asked, "So, how does Jousting work as a sport? I've only read about them as locations. They didn't go into detail."
Jaune turned slightly to answer her, "Well, I don't know what the Jousting in your books was like, but I can explain our version. First off, two people will charge each other on horseback and in full armor. You get a shield and a set of five lances. The lances are blunt and made of wood, by the way. The idea is, both sides charge each other. You win either by breaking all five of your opponent's lances or knocking them off their horse."
Pyrrha brought her hand to her chin in thought, "I see. It's a risk / reward system. The easiest way to break your opponent's lance is by taking the attack head on with your shield. However, if you do that, you can be more likely to be knocked off by the force of impact."
As the explanation ended, the group reached the box and opened the door to find luxury inside. To call it a VIP box might actually be underestimating it. There was a series of very nice seats, a small bar with snacks and drinks, it was a sight to behold.
Cocco whistled and walked in as she looked around. "Damn. Got to hand it to you, Arc, you must have crazy willpower to not want this kind of thing all the time."
"Thans, I think." Jaune moved around, looking around the room. "Still, who would reserve this kind of box for us? I don't think I know anyone that competes…"
A low horn signaled the beginning of the competition. As they all got to their seats, the announcements began. It was mostly thank-yous and basic housekeeping at first. Then came the big moment. "And now! Welcome to our grounds your Jousting Champion! The Obsidian Knight of Uldrin! Xander Uldrin!"
The head of the Uldrin House galloped out atop his black horse adorned in midnight blue armor. His own armor was black as night and gleamed in the noonday sun. As he galloped across the grounds, he held up his House banner as it waved in the air above him. He cried out a warcry and was soon joined by the audience. One interesting note as well was the series of ribbons attached to his steed's armor. There were three gold ribbons and eight silver ribbons that flowed out from the headplate of the horse's armor.
Yang raised an eyebrow seeing those, "What are those about?"
Pyrrha tapped her chair in thought, "I think they look like trophy ribbons."
Jaune nodded, "They are. Each one represents a Championship win. Gold ribbons are his current run and silver are his previous wins."
"He's won eleven times?!" Nora shouted in shock. "But," Nora lowered her voice after that outburst, "I thought he only had three wins."
Jaune shrugged. "I mean, it did say it was three inn a row, which I think is a record. And there are three gold ribbons, so there's that."
"That's pretty round-about logic." Emerald commented.
"But not necessarily surprising." Pyrrha spoke up in defence of the situation, "He is older, so if he was as impressive as we heard then it would only make sense if he accomplished so much."
Nora huffed, "Still."
As Xander finished his gallop to show off for the audience, the announcer spoke up again. "And his opponent is a new competitor to our Jousting Grounds."
That got the audience excited. New talent was always nice to see and how they would grow. Most would get to be the ones to say, I was there when it all began.
The announcer was about to continue, but the doors suddenly blew open to show someone riding atop a brown horse with a white head and neck. The rider was shown to be a person in light black armor with a skirt, tall boots to match, a white cape, and pink hair tied back into a braid. The rider began their charge around the arena and gave a loud cheer of excitement.
Jaune, who had been getting a snack, fumbled his stadium food a bit, barely catching it back onto the counter. "You cannot be serious!"
This caught everyone off guard. Yang spun around, concerned, "Yikes. What was that about? You know her?"
Jaune moved his hands from mhis plate and took in a breath before letting it out. "Two things. First, yes. That's my old friend Astolfo. We've known each other since we were kids."
Jaune's romantic partners all felt a little jealous, but also relieved. Jaune knew someone that cute, but never seemed to have romantic experience. Thus, despite who he knew before, they were the ones he ended up dating. It actually felt kind of nice.
But Jaune continued. "And that's a guy. He just likes 'looking cute,'" Jaune used air quotes around that last part.
That just made all the girls jealous that a guy actually looked more feminine than some of them.
As the crowd cheered, Astolfo grinned from ear to ear. He moved his horse to the starting position, ready for his debut as a Jouster. He grabbed his lance of pink painted wood and black shield. Across from him, Xander had a black lance and blue shield. Astolfo swallowed his nervousness and took his Jousting stance.
With a loud cry of a horn, both riders charged each other. Astolfo held his weapon stiff and shield to the side, ready to deflect the incoming attack. As they reached one another, the world seemed to slow down. Astolfo's lance struck against Xander's shield, only to bend slightly and shatter a third of the way down. As they reached opposing sides, Astolfo growled a bit as he had his lance replaced.
"That was fast." Sun recoiled a bit from the break. "I figured it would be harder than that."
"It's not that surprising." Neptune leaned forward in his chair as he spoke. "He's at a disadvantage, and a big one."
Pyrrha nodded, in tournament-competition mode, "Mr. Uldrin looks like he's twice the weight of Astolfo. He also has more experience. And that's not to mention the height difference and arm length. He likely knows the best way to break his opponent's lance without putting too much risk on his own."
Back on the grounds, Astolfo and Xander slammed another charge together. This time, there was no breaking. After a short turn, the two charged again. This time, Astolfo lost his second lance. After two more charges, he lost a third. His fourth lance lasted a solid five rounds before finally shattering in half.
"This is hard to watch." Ruby was feeling bad for Jaune's old friend.
Weiss nodded, agreeing with her team leader. "It's Pyrrha said. He's at too much of a disadvantage. It would be miracle if he could break even one of the Uldrin's lances."
Jaune lifted his arms up before slamming them on the armrests of his chair, standing up not long after. "COME ON ASTOLFO! Get your head in the game! At least break ONE of them!"
In the moment of quiet, and the proximity of the box to his side, Astolfo turned toward the box in surprise.
As did any of Jaune's friends. This made Jaune turn a bit red and sit back down. "Sorry."
"No, it's fine." Velvet waved off his embarrassment. "You were cheering for your friend. There's nothing wrong with that."
"It was surprising though." Coco chuckled, "I didn't expect you to blow your top like that."
Meanwhile, back on the grounds, Astolfo's surprise turned to a determined grin. He turned back to Xander and got ready for another pass. Xander smirked, seeing the change in demeanor of his opponent. With another charge, lances struc steel. Then again. Again. Four passes. Five. Over and over until ten charges were made. With this charge, the sound of splintering wood echoed through the arena. Astolfo had broken Xander's lance. The crowd erupted in cheers for this newbie who finally broke the champion's lance. Xander grinned and grabbed a new lance from the set by the side of the arena. The two locked eyes again and prepared another charge. This time, however, the force actually knocked Astolfo clear off his horse and onto the ground. It was another win for Xander Uldrin.
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After the rest of the matches, the vacationing group made their way outside.
Penny skipped a little with her arms held out to either side. "I must admit, this was very informative."
Winter sighed, but kept a smile. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."
As they were leaving, though, a loud voice could be heard approaching. This then resulted in them hearing the word in question. "JAUNE!" Said blond was suddenly tackled as his old friend was just as suddenly upon them.
"What the heck?!" Yang recoiled at the girlish figure that had appeared in their ranks.
Astolfo had her arms wrapped around Jaune's waist and was actually lifting him off the ground. Astolfo was barely taller than Ruby and had the muscle definition of Weiss! Yet here he was, lifting Jaune like he was nothing. "I haven't seen you in forever! I thought I had totally forgotten you left for Beacon when I reserved that box!"
"Astolfo!" Jaune kicked a bit and choked out, "Let go! Spine breaking!"
"Oh!" The smaller man(?) instantly dropped Jaune. "Sorry about that."
"I'm okay." Jaune winced, clearly still sore. "Since when were you that strong?"
Astolfo grinned and struck a proud pose, "I'm totally strong now! My dad says its compensation for having an empty head."
Penny's head tilted slightly, "That seems rather rude."
Jaune sighed, "Honestly though, not inaccurate."
Astolfo smiled and nodded. "Yep~ My head's as empty as a clear blue sky!"
"He's a 'I-know-what-I-am' kind of guy. As long as what you're saying it true, he doesn't really register it as an insult."
Astolfo nodded with a big grin. When his scroll beeped, he pulled it up and jolted slightly. "Oh man! I need to get back to the stables! I'll catch you later!" With that, he ran off back to the arena.
Yang let out a snicker. "I have to admit, Jaune. You have some… interesting friends."
This was where Jaune surprised her. "At least you're self aware."
Yang nearly tripped in shock. She turned to see a grin on his face and a clear sense that he'd gotten her. She let out a quick laugh and practically beamed, "Damn! Look at you! A week ago, you'd have just taken that. Now you're firing back. Good for you."
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Wednesday
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Wednesday found a rainstorm hitting Arcadia, causing the vacationers to stay inside.
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Meanwhile, in Atlas, Whitley chipped at a small wooden figure. Once he was satisfied, he placed it onto his desk. It still needed to be painted, but one could still see what it was. It was a version of himself like he'd been pulled right out of a fantasy story. He was dressed in a long coat and wielded a Shashka sword in one hand and pointed forward with the other. It was meant to be triumphant, something he had little experience with it seemed. He moved the piece next to a pair nearby. These were both based on his sisters, creating a set of three. Winter was adorned in armor of a knight with a tattered banner in hand as she looked off to the distance. Weiss's piece was like a mage with flowing robes but kept a theme of her elegant, ballet-like fighting style. Both his sister's pieces were already painted with great detail. Both of them were themed around the color white or a pale ice-blue.
Whitley grabbed his paints and held the grey in hand before he paused. He held the grey up to his face and his eyes narrowed slightly. It was the same color as his vest. The same color he was surrounded by all the time. Just once, he wanted to stand out. His sisters could do so thanks to their skills, but he didn't have those. At least, no skills that could help him with this problem. He was something of an artist, had a good level of business acumen, and a decent toy maker. But that's it really.
He placed the paint down and turned to his closet on the opposite wall. There was one splash of color in there. A vest that Klein had gotten him for some occasion he couldn't remember. It was a reversible vest that had the usual grey on one side. The other side, however, was a bright candy red with white trim that seemed to outline the piece of clothing. Whitley stood up and walked over to the closet and moved things around to find the item in question. It was so unlike anything else he owned, he'd never worn it to show off the vibrant side. It wasn't even like Weiss's half jacket where one could see the defiant color on her collar. If it was worn with the grey on the outside, you saw nothing else. But now, Whitley turned the vest around, running his thumb across the colorful side of the fabric.
After a moment, Whitley put the vest away, the color now disturbing everything around it, and returned to his desk. He popped open the red paint and began his work once again.
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Off in Vale, Roman and Neo had set up shop in a safehouse under Junior's club. They didn't really have any better options since Cinder knew most of their usual haunts. They were going to lay low until they were sure she was gone and far from the kingdom. But this also left them unable to really do anything either. And Neo was getting antsy. If there was one thing Roman wanted to avoid, it was a bored Neo.
The self-claimed criminal mastermind of Vale had his scroll open as he looked over the past few days' events. The day they returned from the theater, three of Roman's four warehouse safehouses were burned to the ground. It was obviously Cinder's work, but no one was really able to prove anything. Stupid magic fire shit.
Neo was sitting at a sofa nearby as she pulled a newspaper page to the side. Neo was old school with how she got her news for one reason and one reason alone. If she read something that pissed her off, she could have the satisfaction of tearing it asunder. You can't do that on a scroll. At least not without making it unusable. As she read the page, her eyes went wide and she practically bolted toward Roman.
The thief jumped at her sudden approach and having the outdated news print shoved into his face. "Damn it Neo! If you want me to read something, don't shove it less than an inch from my face!" Pushing the paper back far enough to read it, he skimmed over the section, reading it out loud as a way to semi-confirm what he was reading was the correct one. "Huntsmen reserved stretched thin with new settlement projects. Vale is in need of Huntsmen-Level candidates for a new program… Neo, what the hell does this have to do with us?"
Neo rolled her eyes and pointed to the words [Huntsman-Level] and then a word further in, [former]. She then pointed back to Roman.
Now it was Roman's turn to roll his eyes. "Yes. I'm Huntsmen level. I did graduate from Shade. Lot of good that did me. Kind of ironic now. So what?"
Neo then pointed to a new word near the end of the article and shoved it forward for him to read again.
Roman looked at the line and read aloud, "Vale's Council is considering amnesty programs for huntsmen-level criminals willing to turn over a new leaf…" There was a pause as what Roman read sunk in. "You can't be serious."
Neo gave him a look that said it all. What else could they really do? Cinder destroyed a lot of their work. And she had this crazy magic shit. If there was a good way out and away from her, it was with the people that proved to be a thorn in her side.
Roman sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are you serious? You want us to become Beacon stooges? I think you've spent too long at that dumb school."
Neo huffed and rolled the paper.
After a while of Neo's annoyed stare, Roan sighed. "Look, I get it. It might just be the best option we have to avoid Cinder and whatever magical shit is going on around her. But huntsmen? Really?"
Neo moved to smack him across the head with the paper, only for him to catch it. She narrowed her eyes; a threat, but not a mortal one.
Roman met her stare before finally letting go of the paper and leaning back over the top of his chair. "Fine. But if they try to say I can't smoke my cigars, I'm bolting."
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The day in Arcadia went by fast. It didn't help that no one really had the drive to do too much thanks to the rain. The dating group had gathered together on the couch in the living room and were currently enjoying a small movie night. Sun and Neptune were playing a game on their scrolls in a side room joined by Yang and Weiss. Though Weiss was dragged there despite her protests. Blake was reading in a small library the Arc family kept, of course. Winter was currently enjoying a nap, something she rarely got to. Emerald was actually with Simone in the kitchen as the older Arc sister taught her how to cook something other than the most basic meals. Growing up on the streets didn't help Emerald's cooking skills, and the former thief would readily admit it was nice to learn more domestic skills instead of skills solely for survival. This left Ruby, Penny, and Coco sitting at the dining room table.
"I'm just saying," Coco tapped her folded sunglasses against the table lightly as she spoke, "I can get a new design in the works right now."
Penny smiled but shook her head. "No thank you. I rather enjoy my current attire."
"Worth a shot." Coco sighed and turned her attention to the other girl at the table. "What about you, Ruby?"
But Coco didn't get an answer right away. After a second, longer than someone with Ruby's reaction time should have taken, Ruby responded. "Oh! Sorry. What were we talking about?" It was clear she wasn't there with their conversation.
This caused Coco to raise an eyebrow before trying to look around at what could have distracted her that much. Even with as little interaction as Ruby and Coco have had, she knew Ruby was the blatant type when she was bored and not paying attention. Whatever grabbed her attention, it was in sight and not in her direct reach. Coco found a few things that might work, but nothing that would hold the younger girl's attention. Until she looked a little farther to her side.
There was a doorway to the living room. And the angle allowed them to see the scene of Jaune and his partners. It was an oddly romantic scene, even with how different it was compared to the norm. But just the scene wouldn't be enough to distract Ruby. Unless… Coco's eyes went wide in that moment and she dropped her sunglasses onto the table.
Ruby blinked, a little concerned that a fashionista actually dropped her accessory she'd not even considered letting go. "Um Coco? Are you okay?"
Coco returned to her normal state and picked up her glasses. "I'm fine. Just… I have a question for you Ruby."
"If this is about my outfit, I like what I have."
"I figured. But that's not what this is about." After a pause, she added, "anymore." Coco shook her head to get back to the moment. "I just want to confirm something." Coco's smile widened as she leaned down onto the table with steepled fingers. "Were you maybe just glancing over to the scene about that-a-way?"
Coco pointed to the doorway, but Ruby was way too aware of where she was pointing. She turned a bit pink in cheeks. "What? I mean… Why would I be…?"
Coco's grin just spread again. "Come on, Ruby~ It's just a little girl talk. Besides, why not?"
Ruby shook her head like a madwoman. "What? Come on. There's nothing to talk about."
Penny turned to her friend, her usual smile in place, "I must disagree. This is very enjoyable. To be able to enjoy conversation with friends."
Ruby sighed, "Well that's good I guess."
But Coco snickered. "And I do believe I've heard on that list was 'talking about cute boys' right?"
Ruby pulled her hood up over her head and hid her eyes from them.
This got Coco to laugh. "Oh come on. It's not even like he's an unobtainable type. He's already dating three girls, and we know they're not exactly against the idea of more. It's a little out there, but that's not a bad thing. So why not?"
Ruby groaned and removed her hood again. "Look, I'm still a little new to this, okay."
"You are pretty young."
"It's not because I'm young!" Ruby kept her voice down, but made it clear she wanted to shout. "It's just… Jaune was my first friend at Beacon. And I don't want to mess that up."
Coco sighed and shook her head. "See? That's why I said you're still young. Look, that whole, ruining friendship by dating thing is dumb. Even if the worst happens and you have to break up, friends can stay friends. There's nothing wrong with that."
Penny turned to the fashion-forward huntress student, "Are you speaking from experience?" There was no teasing or mockery. She sounded genuinely curious.
This caused Coco to sigh and relent. "Yeah. Happened back at Combat School before Beacon."
"Are you both still in contact?"
Coco shook her head. "Not really. But not because of that. I went off to Beacon and he decided to go to Shade. Time zones aren't exactly compatible. We fell out of touch, but we talk now and then."
"What are you guys talking about~?" Yang had suddenly appeared and spooked Ruby and Coco. Penny just waved.
Ruby took a breath her hand over her heart, "Yang! What the heck?! I thought you were playing a game with the others."
Yang chuckled at her sister's reaction. "I was. But I wanted a break for a bit. That also doesn't answer my question."
Penny, ever the girl failing social understanding, answered her, "We were discussing Ruby's developing infatuation with Friend Jaune."
Yang blinked, turned to Penny to read her face for lies, and then back to Ruby who hid in her hood again. "Huh…"
"Huh…? That's it?" Coco questioned, "Just huh?"
Ruby peaked out from her hood, also a bit confused by the lack of sisterly teasing.
Yang actually moved a chair out and sat down next to Ruby. "I mean, I guess I saw this coming. And you could do a lot worse than Jaune." Yang's foot was tapping on the floor at a rapid pace, though she wasn't aware of it or why it was happening.
But Ruby could recognize it. That kind of reminds me of… She turned to Yang with her eyes a bit wider. "Yang?"
The older sister turned to the younger, confusion across her face. "What's up?"
"You're doing that quick tapping thing. Do you…"
Yang cut off her sister's thought process. "What? Of course not!"
Coco was having a field day. "Oh? I think the blondie protests a bit too much~"
Yang turned with a glare, but let out a sigh as she relented. "Look, I don't know what I feel, okay? I mean… I'm not against it, but… I don't know."
"Hey, it's fine. You don't need to explain it."
Yang let out a huff and fixed a light glare on Coco. "And what about you, huh?"
"What? About Arc?" Coc sat back with a shrug. "Honestly, right now I'd be all for it."
This caught the table off guard. "What?"
"Yeah. But the thing is, we just found out he's a celebrity, a Prince, and he's related to one of my biggest idols. So, I'm not doing about it until I can really figure out if it's genuine or if it's just the celebrity effect."
Yang couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Damn. Probably couldn't have happened to a better guy."
Penny smiled as always. "I imagine so."
Coco nodded and used her glasses to point to Ruby. "Don't worry Ruby. We'll keep this downlow for now. He's got enough on his plate for now."
As the group continued to talk over these discoveries, they were unaware of a presence leaning on the wall just past the doorway. There stood the laziest Arc, a smirk painted on her face. She had a plan forming. After all, she heard everything.