Chapter 8 - CHAPTER VII

CHANGING LOCATION

KINGDOM OF VALE

UNKNOWN

POV

As Neo had rolled her eyes as when she got stuck in with trying to "flip" the "blonde dumbass" to their very side at Cinder's very behest as She's only obeyed the fire-bitch because the boy own one to her and roman as he had helped him with his dust problem and then he bought her food and ice cream after there mission and then the blonde dumbass she quote in fire-bitch very word was cute enough in a boy-next-door kind of way and he is a genius in strategies and great tracker as that she can speak with experience but as also the very leader of his own team and the very one and just then only Pyrrha Nikos - the Invincible Girl - as had a crush on him and he can't see that's is beyond her at times A crush so blatant everyone knew, except the boy in question for some reason The job was a chore for Neo as the very mute girl just had known that she would be able to seduce Jaune Arc easily right but in reality that was very much difficult as he didn't know about anything about girls or anything related toward flirting and many other things like that's at all But just now she couldn't be more grateful... Why ? Because Jaune Arc was cute in a way she's wanted to corrupt. He also had a big dick, and as it had been a long time since Neo the cat had slept with a guy capable of not being annoyingly as very dickheadish has just well as being well endowed but he was a sweet boy just has he was in his eighteen but then he was one of the boy she would help him as Arc have prove and her and as just many people before her that's he was trustworthy compared to fire-bitch now and then a bonus he was very good to her and roman and as she will help him.

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CHANGING LOCATION

THE NEXT DAY

POV

As then mornings had arrived in the kingdom of vale as the sun was setting on the window Arc residence as the light was escaping from the curtains blinds as then his eyes fluttered awake with a groan, his throat parched with need of water. A blonde mane sprawled all over his chest, a pair of large tits squished against his side while her head rested against the crook of his arm It almost felt like home again as waking up to find that one of his older sisters had snuck into his bed during the night.

But he'd never had a naked woman resting against him before. That was novel, and new.

"Don't worry, there's still one functioning clip." She let out a seductive laugh that triggered Jaune to initiate another make out.

He let the bra fall to the wayside, revealing all of her glistening skin under the isolated light, and took to cupping both of her breast in his hands and squeezing as he kissed Glynda. She let out low moans in between the kisses, triggering Jaune even farther until he worked his way down from her lip to her neck, sucking on the skin and moving down until he had to lay Glynda back down on the ground so he could wrap his mouth around her right breast and nipple. Her low moans evolved into louder, longer moans, and in the pleasure she reached down to her nether regions, pressing into herself underneath the fabric.

Jaune saw this and let it continue for a minute before pulling away, prompting her attention. He reached down to her hand and pulled it away too. He then slid his fingers underneath the straps at her hips, pulling the garment of modesty down to reveal Glynda in all her beauty. She let out sharp breaths as he did so, her belly contracting wildly to match her breathing.

Jaune lowered himself once again onto Glynda, spreading her legs which she used to wrap around him, pulling himself close to her and kissing her. He pushed himself into her, and in a drawn out movement, Glynda's mouth opened and eyes widened as he came closer, and he closed his eyes and breathed slowly until he reached the end. They laid there for a moment, staring into each other's eyes, taking in the absolute bliss they felt right then. She lifted her arms around his chest and pressed herself tightly into his embrace, and he started a rhythm of back and forth that started slow and sped up as time went.

At first it was sensual and quiet, but as the speed increased so did the beastly pleasure and demeanor of it, both breathing heavier and moaning in her case. Glynda let go and outstretched her arms again above her, Jaune holding them down and the pressure driving both of them crazy, driving against the other harder every second.

Glynda began squeaking in growing intensity until she climaxed, Jaune's member getting even more lubricated in the process, and brought up a concern to him at the last moment.

"Glynda" he whispered, "how should I..."

She put up a hand to his face, stroking it lovingly, "it's alright, go ahead..."

He nodded, driving the couple further on in their spot of light and sanctuary on the marble floor. Her back arched with impressive flexibility into his as she clawed at the ground in thrill of the sensation, and he gripped to her hips tightly as he came to his end, letting himself go in a spectacular finish. They both clinger to each other in a cathartic posture, their every muscle flexing in reaction, before falling limp into the floor on top her cape.

Jaune laid over her, catching his breath first before laughing. "What" she laughed back.

"I'm just thinking... are professors and students allowed to have 'relations'?"

She laughed again. "I'm sure there isn't a rule against it, but, if there is, I'll just have to kill Ozpin." She reached with her neck and kissed him.

"Perfect, it's a plan." And at that moment, the doors to the amphitheater opened up, Weiss and Ruby walking in for some late night practice. They spotted the two naked bodies in the middle of the floor and froze, Ruby dropping her scythe and Weiss covering her partner's eyes.

Jaune and Glynda stared wide eyed right back to Weiss, frozen.

Jaune cleared his throat and lifted a weak finger, "Uhm... I can explain..."

Four years. He had four years to fall in love with his beautiful teacher.

He didn't think it'd take that long.

Her soft hands rested on his chest, pushing them apart gently as if she didn't want to let go. He held her close still, and the gorgeous woman put her face in the crook of his neck, "You told me you loved me last night." He really hoped it wasn't a spur of the moment thing. "Do you?"

She hummed, not responding for a moment. "I… do admire you." She finally relented, "Maybe love was a stronger word than I intended, but I admire your drive, your determination. I admire how much you've managed to grow in such a short span of time." Her entire face was completely red, and she tried to hide it from his view by burying it in his neck.

"Then what's wrong?" He caressed her skin, his thumb drawing circles on the small of her back.

She was shy and skittish, so unlike how she was normally that it almost gave him a whiplash. "You got your night."

Wait. That couldn't be it. "You…" He laughed, he couldn't help himself, she must be thinking it was some kind of pump and dump, that he would just go 'Well, that was fun. Bye.' and dip out. She was an idiot.

Her gaze turned into a glare as she stared intensely at his face. "What?" She growled, but she wasn't able to break free, his muscles wrapping around her like steel.

It took him a moment to calm down from his laugh, smiling like a billion Lien. He placed a chaste kiss on her lips, then again, and again until her expression softened. "My teacher is an idiot, that's all."

She pouted, pouted. He shook his head, still smiling. Grabbing her hips, he pivoted and threw her on her back, and spread her knees. She looked away in embarrassment as her beautiful pussy was revealed to him once more, the pink, cute lips still slightly gaped from taking his girth the night before. His cock hardened again at the sight, his morning wood lost some time ago. He shifted forward on his knees, getting between her legs to keep her from closing them.

He grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him again. He dipped low to place another kiss on her lips, "Who says this needs to be a one night thing?" He kissed her again, "But I have some rules."

Her eyes dipped down to his erection, her pussy lips grinding against his cock. "Rules?" She asked.

"I want loyalty, as much loyalty as I will give to you." He kissed her forehead this time, making her blush again, "And two, exclusivity. We will be each other's only romantic and sexual partner."

She swallowed as she looked into his eyes, "That sounds… like a romantic relationship."

"That's the idea."

She bit her lip, "You're half my age…" More than that, considering double his age would be thirty-four, and she was around thirty-nine. He didn't care, Hunters lived long if they weren't killed in combat, long enough that even that kind of age difference lessened into triviality with time. Considering she was a teacher at Beacon, she still had a long life ahead of her.

Honestly it might be he who died earlier after Beacon.

"I don't care."

"You're still my student!"

"Did you have fun?" She asked.

His brows furrowed, "Yeah- why?" She was screaming his name just the night before, telling him how she loved him and how much she loved their coupling, "Do you regret it?"

Her eyes widened, but she didn't shy away from his touch, "No!" She whisper-shouted, "No. I don't." Her hand found his, sighing, "I just…" She sounded more like a teenager than a woman her age, even if you wouldn't be able to guess she was nearing forty from her face or skin. Even her hands showed no signs of age. That was the wonders of Aura, he guessed, his mother was the same, despite being even older than Glynda. His other hand found her shoulder, pulling her into a passionate kiss, their lips meeting with force. She melted into his touch, and his arms lowered to hook behind her torso, pulling her into his embrace further. He didn't care that they had a morning breath, or that they were sticky with sweat and sexual fluids.

She let out a cute moan as his tongue slipped between her tongues, finding hers. He couldn't say he was in love with the woman, but he'd always admired her strength and poise, her knowledge and no-nonsense attitude. She cared about her students, taking them to the task harshly to prepare them better for the field. Every time he failed, every time he missed or did something stupid, she was there to tell him his error in perfect detail, but never derogatory.

And then she would tell him how to improve himself, how to do better, how to be stronger.

She worked to speed up the process, wrangling her body to help Jaune with removing her articles of clothing, starting with the corset, then her blouse, then her skirt and heels, ending with her laying on her black and purple cape in nothing but her thin bra, stockings and panties.

"Now you..." she whispered, sitting up to help pull off his drenched shirt, then undid his belt and slipped off his jeans after his shoes came off. "Let me" she said as she pulled his gray boxers off to reveal his fifth limb, giggling in her delight all the while.

She gave him the pleasure to undue her bra, stroking his well toned chest as he did so. He got the first clip easy enough, but the second clip refused to come undone, much to his frustration. It broke in his attempt, and he held the bra to her bust with a scared look.

CHANGING LOCATION

POV

It turned out to be quite easy. Especially during class hours, Jaune found himself in a decently sized room, open spaced with a full wall mirror along the far side wall. The floor was slightly padded; designed for exercise that could hurt one's feet. The room was even equipped with a small music station. Jaune took one look at it, had no clue about what songs to pick, and had settled for something called a playlist, it was called 'Dance like Nobody's watching'.

The blond felt it was a bit much to be honest, he wasn't even appropriately dressed for dancing. Having no 'dancing' clothes, he had resorted to just his long-sleeve compression shirt and one of his pair of jeans. Thankfully they were naturally stretchy to make do with a Huntsman's active job.

But, as the energetic beat started to box around the room, Jaune decided to just be. He closed his eyes and let his mind conjure the perfect scenario.

Unsurprisingly, to a young man with his experience, his mind conjured a heated fight with countless Grimm. All raving for his life. Jaune counted to three, let his body really feel the beat.

And he danced.

He wasn't perfect or well choreographed. But he flowed, he twirled from imaginary claws, he pivoted away from gnashing teeth. Jaune figured what he did was definitely not dancing from a normal perspective.

But it was fun, it was refreshing to him. No worries, no risk of death, just himself, the music and the flow of his body.

For the next few hours, there were no thoughts of what tomorrow may bring, or what Junior's favour could be. There was just a young man discovering his hobby all over again. Finally, as the music wound down and his body was covered with a slick shine of sweat, Jaune decided he'd danced enough for the day. He turned the lights off and left the room, grabbed a quick shower at the stalls and deposited the room key at the Gym's reception.

The blond left to find his friends as they left their final lesson for the day. As he turned the corridor he managed to avoid bumping into a group of four people.

"Ah!" Exclaimed the rabbit Faunus, "that's him!" She pointed at him. The rest of her group focused on Jaune. Another girl, one with a stylish pair of shades cocked her hip and leant towards him.

"This is the guy who smacked that Cardin prick around eh?" The rabbit girl nodded, her long ears flopped back and forth. Shades turned back to Jaune, "you forgot to mention that he was a hottie, little bun". Jaune and the rabbit Faunus blushed.

"C-coco! You can't just say that!" Shades, now known as Coco shrugged her shoulders.

"And why the hell not? I call 'em as I see 'em, and this one", she poked a well manicured nail at Jaune. "Is a certified hottie, hands down". The blonde decided now might be a good time to figure out what the hell was happening.

"I'm sorry, who-"

"Is this hot piece of ass in front of you?" Coco cocked her hip, tilted her shades down her nose and grinned. "I am Coco Adel, leader of team Coffee, and these lovely guys and gal are my teammates!"

Jaune stalled, his mouth opened and closed. "Y-your team is called 'Coffee?" Coco looked physically struck and staggered back.

"He didn't even mention how hot I am…" The rabbit Faunus jumped in to hide her leader's rambling.

"It's actually CFVY. Yeah, I don't understand Headmaster Ozpin's naming conventions either." She pointed to herself. "I'm Velvet Scarlatina, I was the Faunus you helped yesterday." Jaune nodded.

"Of course, I recognised you. Sorry for not asking for your name, things were pretty hectic after all that…" Coco, having recovered, wrapped her arm around Velvet's shoulders.

"Ohhh, he remembered you! That's soooo cute, isn't it Bun-Bun?" Velvet's ears dropped as she not so subtly elbowed her team leader in the stomach. Coco went down to her knees muttering something about sensitive rabbits. Jaune was confused, so he turned to the remaining two team members.

"Is that normal?" The physically imposing male on the team inclined his head, he was well-built and even managed to stand nearly a head taller than Jaune, something the blond was not used to.

"It is a cycle that occurs just as the birds make songs on the morrow".

Jaune stared at the huge man.

"He means yes. It does happen a lot". The final member of team CFVY clarified, he was quite the stand out. Dark skinned, pale cloudy eyes, blazing red hair and featured a nasty scar on his face. He extended a scarred hand and grinned lazily.

"Since our lovely leader didn't bother to introduce us. I'm Fox Alistair and the tall mystical one behind me is Yatsuhashi Daichi. After what Velvet told us about yesterday, we wanted to meet ya". Jaune extended his own scarred hand and shook Fox's.

"It's nice to meet you all, but I didn't do it because it was Velvet in particular. I just don't like bullies". Fox's grin grew cheekier.

"Even better, Coco also wanted to make sure you weren't trying to get into Velvet's pants by being her hero". Jaune had a few seconds to react before Fox was viciously yanked backwards by a furiously blushing Velvet. "Ignore my teammates. They're all idiots!" Quickly, the rabbit Faunus grasped Jaune's hand.

"But seriously, I just wanted to thank you for yesterday. No one else even tried to help me". Jaune frowned.

"Yeah… I don't get that, why did everyone else just watch?" Velvet's shoulders dropped, but Coco stepped in, arm wrapped again over her partner's shoulder.

"Cause to most, a Faunus getting abused is just another day in this shitty world."

"Coco!" Admonished the Faunus.

"What! It's true! That Cardin prick has been bullying you since he started, I'm just glad someone finally stopped it." A thought occurred to Jaune.

"You're Velvet's teammates right? Why didn't any of you stop him?" Coco's brows narrowed at him.

"We tried, went to the teachers and everything! They said without proof, we're up a certain creek without a paddle". The idiom went over Jaune's head, but he got the gist. "Also, me and Fox tried to beat the shit out of the prick. But Bun-Bun didn't want us to get into trouble". Velvet glared at her leader.

"You know he'd just go tell a teacher that a group of 2nd-years were picking on him, all that would've accomplished would you two being in trouble."

"I mean, It would've felt good to smash that shit's face in…" Coco slowly cowed to Velvet's stern glare.

"Well, what about you Velvet, why didn't you stop him? I mean, you just said you're a 2nd-year student. Surely you're better than Cardin of all people?" Fox snorted whilst Coco let out a snicker. Velvet just sighed.

"As my teammates just let you know, in a fight I would demolish that garbage."

"But?" Jaune guessed..

"But, If I were to defend myself, Cardin would just have claimed I was some kind of Faunus supremacist or something even more stupid, and boom; more racism against other Faunus students". Jaune winced.

"That's. That's really unfair." Coco nodded.

"Life's unfair Jauney, that's just how it is sometimes".

"Yeah… I know that", he sighed. His brow perked up, "wait, I didn't give you my name!"

"Oh Jauney, I have my ways, and a woman never reveals her secrets".

"She threatened Cardin's team to tell her your name".

"Bun-Bun!" Velvet shrugged.

"Life's unfair Coco, 'that's just how it is sometimes". Coco spun to the boys on her team.

"Fox, Yattie, my dear sweet Bun-Bun just sassed me!" Yatsuhashi nodded solemnly.

"Just as the bird must learn to fly, they must learn to survive by themselves, young Velvet has begun her metamorphosis."

"Vel's a rabbit Faunus, not a god-damned pigeon, Yattie!"

"Vel's about to kick your ass if you talk like she isn't here". Coco glanced over her shoulder at the Faunus.

"Ohhh, bunny's got claws… Maybe if you're good, I'll let you use them on me". Velvet's face went as scarlet as her last name.

"Coco… not in front of Jaune…"

"Oh grow up Bun-bun, Jauney isn't scared of lesbians." Shaded eyes glanced at him, "are you?"

Jaune raised his palms. "Love is love". Coco grinned.

"Damn right, knew there was a reason I liked you, but I like my Bun-bun more". Velvet stomped her foot, Jaune kept it to himself that he found it more adorable than threatening.

"Coco! Can you not discuss our love life in front of everyone!?"

"Relaaaaaax. I just enjoy letting people know how lucky I am. Okay?" Velvet pouted, and Jaune felt very much out of the conversation at this point.

"Sorry to interrupt. But, was there anything else you needed? I was just about to go meet my friends". He could feel that Ruby was already preparing the search party. Coco -who had been distracted pampering her partner- clicked her fingers in recollection.

"You're right! I wanted to let you know I owe you a favour for what ya did for my Bun-Bun." Jaune's eyes widened.

"What? You don't need to do that! I just did what I felt was right, I didn't expect a reward".

"Tough shit, here's my number, put it in your scroll and give me a call when you aim to collect". The shaded girl poked her tongue out mischievously. Velvet fondly slapped the back of her lover's head.

"Just accept it Jaune, Coco does not take no for an answer. Trust me, I know first hand." Coco poked the faunus on the cheek.

"It got me you didn't it?" Velvet scoffed playfully.

"I just felt sorry for you is all. Don't look too into it".

"I'll take it!" Coco cheered. Jaune turned to the males of team CFVY, both who looked utterly used to the bizarre romance between Coco and Velvet. Fox shrugged his shoulders.

"You get used to it, it's honestly really cute… in a 'car crash' kind of way."

"I'll take your word for it, but if that's all?" Velvet turned away from her doting partner.

"That's all Jaune, thanks again for your help!"

"It was no problem, as I said, I don't like bullies. Let me know if he starts up again". Team CFVY nodded and Jaune turned to find his friends before a Ruby shaped blur tracked him down.

"Oh Jauney!" He spun around.

"Yeah?"

"Is that redhead on your team seeing anyone?" He stumbled in shock.

"Bu-but, aren't you and Velvet…" Coco smirked and wrapped her arm around Velvet's waist.

"We are. But we're also open to sharing…" The shit eating grin of the fashionable dressed girl sent shivers down his back. Add to the fact Velvet also seemed interested to know, despite the intense blush adorning her cheeks.

Jaune's mind shut down for a few moments.

This was definitely not what he expected when he came to school.

Once he managed to collect his mind from the onslaught of two upper years asking if his partner was single. He found his friends on the way back to their dorms. Ruby had given him the close shoulder for not meeting them when they left class. It lasted all of three seconds before she cracked and excitedly asked about how his dancing went.

"It was good, refreshing." The reaper groaned.

"Don't be boring Jaune! C'mon tell me more! What did you dance to? Were you good? Didyouweartights?" Jaune missed a step and stumbled.

"What was that last one?" Ruby giggled overly loud and swished her cape back and forth.

"Nothing, oh what's that over there?" She dramatically pointed down the corridor, Jaune -having no reason to not believe her- turned, only to find an empty hallway. Confused, the blond returned his gaze to Ruby, or at least where Ruby once was. He barely spotted her dash into her dorm room, a haphazard wave sent their way. His blue eyes found Yang for an explanation.

She shook her head, a big dumb grin on her lips. "Can't tell ya Jauney-boy, but I will tell you." She leaned in, "I find the whole thing hilarious." Weiss just scoffed and dragged the blonde bombshell towards their room.

"That is enough of laughing at your dolt of a sister for one evening. We have homework to start".

"Ack!" Yang playfully flailed. "Blake, save me! I don't wanna do homework!"

"Remember that time you called my books smut?" The blonde hesitated.

"N-no?" Blake's yellow eyes narrowed.

"Suffer…"

"Noooooooo…" Yang wailed childishly as she was finally dragged into JNPR's sister's team dorm. Blake followed after, she gave a small wave as she entered.

In the hallway with the rest of his team, Jaune placed his hands on his hips and turned to them.

"Say what you will. But we are not as weird as team RWBY."

"Aye aye big bro, we're as normal as red striped sloths!"

"I don't think those red striped sloths are normal… or even exist for that matter, Nora."

"Heresy! Regent Cereal; slay this knave!" Pyrrha bowed her head dramatically and gave Ren an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry Ren, but the Queen has spoken." The boy in question just sighed. "Do as you must… Regent Cereal." Nora pointed at Jaune.

"You too! Fearless Big Brodius, help apprehend the heretic".

"What did you call me!?"

"CHARRRRRRGE" Nora pushed him and Pyrrha after Ren, who had started to skulk into their dorm during the Queen's orders. Jaune's confused scream was joined by Pyrrha's heartfelt giggles in that school hallway that evening.

Forget everything I just said, we're definitely weirder. He managed a small smile even through his utter befuddlement. And I wouldn't change it for anything.

Later, after the heretic had been caught, -Nora made everyone dogpile Ren- and executed, -Ren was forced to make Nora pancakes that evening- team JNPR had changed for the night and were relaxing in the living room. Jaune had started to retell his encounter with team CFVY. Midway through his recounting, his scroll buzzed. Pulling it open, his good mood instantly soured.

'Come to Junior's this Saturday. . Your favour is due.'

Of course now was when the gang leader decided to ruin his day.

Well, at least now I know when and where to go. Better than it being tomorrow or even worse; tonight! Small mercies and all that.

"Jaune, are you okay? Did you get bad news?" That was his partner, always worried about her friends, but this was something he definitely couldn't let anyone know about. So, what did he do?

He deflected.

"Hey Pyrrha, Coco wanted to know if you're seeing anyone", he ignored his partner's choked cough, "apparently she and Velvet are open to 'sharing'."

Pyrrha; the poor girl couldn't handle the suddenness of the question. She spent the next several minutes blushing up a storm, whilst trying to cough up a sweet she had just eaten.

"You go girl! Slay! Slay! Slay!"

"Do you even know what that means, Nora?"

"Nope!"

Jaune smirked and headed over to help his partner to not choke.

Deflection successful.

CHANGING LOCATION

POV

Jaune took a breath, settling into his seat. The boy spread a notebook before him, setting a pencil to the right of it, as was the common fare for taking notes. Blake took the seat to his right, bringing out some stationary and the like of her own.

"The other two aren't here yet." Blake noted.

"They're not?"

The girl nodded in response. "You left them a note, right?"

"Yeah, that we'd gone to breakfast, and were headed to class immediately after. I taped it to the door." He hummed. "Well, there's still a minute or two until class starts, but they're cutting it close."

"I hope we're not punished if they're late."

Jaune nodded his agreement as he stretched his arms behind his head, looking at his partner out of the corner of his eye as she pulled a book from her bag. He leaned forwards slightly to see if he could read the title on the spine as she began to read, the cover facing the other way.

"What?"

Jaune looked up at the girl's voice. Her eyes hadn't left the book. "Oh, nothing. I was just wondering what you were reading."

"I see."

"I noticed it's a different book than the one you were reading in the cafeteria," Jaune mentioned, remembering the other one's pale cover. "I was just curious."

"Did you?" The girl turned to look at him this time. "I'd just finished that book."

"So you had another one ready to go?" Jaune let out in wonder. "I don't know whether that's impressive or sad."

"Sad?" His black haired partner accused.

Jaune's eyes widened at Blake's hostile tone. "That's not what I meant! I was... I mean-"

The girl turned her eyes back to the novel. "What do you mean 'sad?'" Her expression hadn't changed, nor had her tone.

"I didn't mean it like that, I just meant it was kinda sad that you went straight to another novel, instead of... I don't know..."

"Talking to you?"

"Yeah! That! ...I guess."

Blake scoffed, turning a page before closing the book. "We talked plenty in the cafeteria, didn't we?"

"We did." Jaune admitted. "But I still don't feel like I know you, really."

"It's pretty foolish to think you can know somebody in just one day."

Foolish? Jaune's eyebrow twitched.

"Well, maybe for you."

The girl grunted, just continuing to read.

Sure, Blake had talked to him in the cafeteria – as had he talked to her, but that was just idle chit-chat. Blake's favorite color was black, and she liked reading. Whoopidy-do, what was he supposed to do with that information? File a missing person report?

You couldn't even find Ozpin in his office with that information.

The boy sighed, picking up his pencil as he twirled it in his fingers. He looked down at his notebook, putting down the date and the title of the class, as he always had.

"Good morning, students!" A voice boomed out, causing Jaune to flinch. As the boy did so, his pencil lead broke, and he sighed at his luck.

He had another pencil, but he supposed he'd wait until the professor was done his introductions before he'd reach for it.

The short, yet large man at the front of the class cleared his throat. "My name is Peter Port, professor of Grimm Studies here at Beacon Academy. You may refer to me as 'Professor Port', 'Mr. Port', or even 'Peter', if you'd like."

Jaune blinked, looking behind him at the other students. Everyone seemed to have rather ordinary expressions on their faces, but Jaune turned back to the professor with a smile.

The blond liked this guy – much more than any of the teachers he'd had to deal with in high school.

What are we going to be learning about in Grimm Studies, you might ask? Why, but our very enemies, how to kill them, and claim victory! I am of course, talking about the act of hunting itself, in the sense that so many behind the walls of the Four Kingdoms have long forgotten! Monsters! Demons! Prowlers of the night: The creatures of Grimm have many names, but I simply refer to them as-"

The door into the lecture hall slammed open, and in strode two familiar faces.

Ren hunched over, catching his breath as Pyrrha stumbled forward, using the boy's shoulder as support.

"Sorry... we're... late..." Ren panted out, struggling to stand straight.

Both of Jaune's teammates seemed to be out of sorts – Ren's tie was loose and his shirt was partially untucked. Pyrrha's ribbon wasn't tied, and Jaune could clearly see one of her buttons was undone.

"No, no, it's quite alright!" The professor laughed boisterously. "It's your first day, so I'll let you off with a warning this time. However..." The man's expression turned dark. "The last time I was late, it resulted in civilian casualties. Now please, find a seat."

Ren and Pyrrha snapped straight. "Understood." The girl declared. "It will never happen again."

Professor Port – a man far too intimidating to have been just a simple teacher – turned. The moment his eyes left the two, they ran towards the empty spots next to Jaune and Blake, Pyrrha vaulting over the desk to take a spot next to Jaune, while Ren slid in next to Blake.

"Hi." Jaune greeted, not really having had a chance to talk to the other female member of his team.

"Hello." She let out after a breath, Jaune noticing she hadn't had her hair done up in a ponytail like before – as tussled and unruly as it was – though she still wore her circlet.

"As I was saying..." The professor of Grimm Studies was smiling jovially again. "The creatures of Grimm are but prey, and we are Hunters! Or, you will be, upon your graduation from this prestigious academy. Now then! Earlier I mentioned..."

Jaune turned his eyes to Pyrrha's fingers, still listening to the professor's lecture. He watched as the girl tied her ribbon, before she looked on either side of where she sat.

"Here." Jaune whispered, tearing a piece of paper out of his notebook and sliding it to the girl, leaning to the side to grab two pencils – one for himself, and one for her.

"Thanks."

Jaune's eyes trailed down to her chest, before he locked with her eyes once more. "You missed a button too."

The girl looked down, and blushed. "...Thanks."

Jaune held the pencil out to her, turning his full attention back to the professor's lecture, but sparing a brief glance to his left as she watched the redhead button her top.

The boy shook his head, leaning forwards in preparation to take notes. His pencil hit the paper as he was about to write, and the lead point snapped once more.

"Are you kidding me?" He hissed, tossing the useless pencil back in his bag as he rested his chin in his hand, teeth grinding in annoyance.

"...I was but a boy, then, and when my grandfather told me something, I listened..."

Not taking his eyes off the professor, Jaune leaned to his left, reaching for his bag. He felt his fingers brush against something soft, and he furrowed his brow, turning to look. The boy instantly retracted his hand, realizing his hand hadn't been anywhere near the bag on the floor, but was instead brushing against Pyrrha's leg.

He looked up at the girl, her blushing face looking down at him as he leant over.

"Sorry." He whispered, reaching into his bag and retrieving a pencil for certain.

"I'm sorry." She whispered back, though Jaune had no idea what she was apologizing for.

Jaune sat up, looking to his right. Blake looked away – though Jaune knew she'd been watching him – instead turning her attention back to Professor Port. Ren, on the other side of Blake, seemed to be writing notes just fine, though he took in a lengthy yawn. Perhaps he didn't get the best sleep?

The blond sighed, dragging his pencil across paper as he wrote closer to the bottom of the page – he could always ask around, see if someone took the earlier notes, then cram them in.

"Of course, the Beowolf thought it was being so clever..."

Jaune's pencil stopped moving at the odd name.

A Beo-what?

The boy blinked, quickly writing down the rest of what the man said, though he skipped over the name.

"...and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!"

The man bowed in a grandiose manner, and Jaune motioned to bring his hands together in a clap, pausing just before they made contact as he looked around the room. No one else had been clapping, so the boy just set his hands on his desk, ready to write.

"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable!" The man's back straightened. "A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!"

Jaune nodded, as he took those points down.

"Who among you believe themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Well, I am honorable. I think. Dependable I can work on... same with strategy. Well-educated and wise? Oh yeah, that's me alright...

A moment passed and the Professor raised an eyebrow, looking out over the class. After a moment, Jaune realized no one had raised their hands, or otherwise made a sound.

The blond slowly raised his hand.

"Excellent!" The man proclaimed. "Better late than never, right Mr. Arc?"

"Sorry," The boy apologized, standing, "I was just... going over my notes."

"That's quite alright, my boy!" The man gestured for him to come forwards, and Jaune slid past Pyrrha, the girl leaning back to let him out of his spot. "Now then, have you ever fought a Boarbatusk before?"

"A what?" Jaune asked.

There was a loud crash and a growl from across the room, and Jaune barely managed to suppress a shriek, jumping at the sudden disturbance. Situated against the far wall, there was a large cage, some weird, boar-looking Grimm inside it.

How the hell did I miss that?! few of the students in the room laughed at Jaune's expense, the blond blushing at the sudden attention. Professor Port turned towards those who had been laughing, and said laughter ceased.

"I suppose this will be a learning experience for you, then! Take a few minutes to go grab your gear..." The professor instructed, before addressing the class as a whole. "While Mr. Arc is preparing, I'll be taking questions."

Jaune nodded, jogging over to the classroom's door as he cast a look over his shoulder at the cage, and the beast within.

"No questions? A shame then... Allow me to tell you another story, back from when I was just a budding huntsman…" With a mighty swing of my axe, I cleaved the beast in two... but wait, there's more!"

Blake took in a long breath through her nose, before sighing. The girl glanced down at the book set in her lap, making note of where she was, before closing it and shoveling it into her bag.

It annoyed her to no end, her current situation: The professor was loud enough that it disturbed her reading, and – to be frank – his stories were boring.

The girl turned to her partner's empty seat, looking past it to Pyrrha Nikos – worth mentioning that she was the Pyrrha Nikos, as in the four-time Mistral Regional champion Pyrrha Nikos.

Being on the same team as the girl was both a blessing and a curse: A blessing in the sense that she'd be... learning... alongside one of the best, but a curse in that their team was practically guaranteed to be participating in the Vytal Festival Tournament later in the year.

That meant attention she didn't want, nor need.

Currently, Pyrrha was resting her chin on her arms, watching the professor as he walked around the room with lidded eyes. Clearly she was as entertained as Blake was with the professor's tales, but was at least making the effort to listen – a task Blake herself had abandoned.

The girl yawned, glancing over to Blake. The faunus offered a smile of support, which the redhead reciprocated, before turning her attention back to their professor.

Another yawn sounded from her right, and Blake turned to its source: Pyrrha's partner, Lie Ren.

The boy twirled a pencil between his fingers, before writing something down as the professor talked. Blake leaned a little closer to take a look, having no idea what kind of information he could strip from Professor Port's words.

The girl blinked, taken aback at what looked to be an entire page full of notes. Then, the boy groaned, flipping his pencil over to erase a number, filling it in a moment later.

Blake took a closer look. It was... a recipe?

The girl looked up at her teammate's face. He looked straight forward, appearing intently focused on what the professor was preaching. Ren frowned, writing down something else – completely unrelated to what the man had been saying.

Blake leaned back in her seat. Okay, so I'm not the only one who's not paying attention.

Though, a cursory glance around the room at the students behind her was enough to have told her that on its own.

The door into the room clicked open. "Professor?"

Jaune, the leader of team ABPL walked in, wearing the same gear Blake had seen him in the day before. The girl watched on as he thumbed the hilt of the blade at his side, walking up to Professor Port.

He looked a little apprehensive as he shuffled forward. Blake found it odd at first, but then remembered he'd admitted that he'd never fought a Boarbatusk.

They were fearsome opponents.

"Aha, welcome back." Professor Port greeted. "I trust you've taken care of any preparations you feel you've needed?"

The blond blinked. "Yes?"

"Wonderful!" The professor walked over to the chalkboards on the back wall, bending his knees slightly.

A moment later he jumped roughly ten feet in the air, grabbing the weapon that had been hanging on the plaque above, landing softly.

Ren's pencil hit the desk, the sound echoing around the classroom.

"Now then, please take your position directly across from the cage." The professor ordered, stalking over to the said cage with his weapon over his shoulder. "If you're the first thing the beast sees as it leaves the cage, it will move to engage you directly, above all others. Safety first, and all that. You can never be too careful!"

Blake didn't see what was safe about keeping a Boarbatusk captive in a classroom full of students, but she saw the blond nod, drawing his sword and holding it before him. The girl drew her lips tight, recalling all she'd learned about the boy when they'd talked in the cafeteria before class.

After getting their food – which, admittedly, wasn't much – they'd found a table off in the corner to sit at and ate. She'd answered what few questions he'd asked, but otherwise, she hadn't talked much. Of course, Jaune was the one who initiated conversation for the most part, Blake content to just read. Jaune hadn't really bothered her much beyond a couple interruptions, and even those she'd expected.

The big issue was that there was still something off about the boy and, more irksomely, she didn't know what.

Idly, Blake realized his notebook had been open next to her, and she hadn't even looked at all. Shaking her head lightly, she scanned the open page, finding there were few notes; but, they were indeed notes on what their professor had been talking about before Jaune had left to get ready to fight.

That he'd been able to take anything away from what Professor Port had been saying spoke volumes about his patience and ability to listen.

The girl leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms as she watched her partner settle into a stance, prepared for the beast in the cage to be unleashed.

She'd apparently missed whatever was said between the professor and his partner, as the older man brought his axe down on the lock, the cage knocked open by the Grimm within.

With a squeal, the Boarbatusk charged out of the cage, across the open floor of the classroom. Blake watched as the Grimm barreled towards Jaune, but the boy didn't move immediately, then dodging to the side when it was too late for the Boarbatusk to shift with him.

The feet of the boar-like Grimm scraped along the floor, leaving light furrows across the tile. Looking closely, Blake could see they were not the only such scuff marks, the tile long since worn.

Is this normal for his class?

Blake kept her eyes on Jaune, the boy continuing to hold his blade at the ready as he took a couple steps to the side. After a moment, Blake realized he was positioning himself in a way that the boar would do something similar.

Did he have a plan?

The look on the blond's face was one that was vaguely familiar to Blake: one of concentration, of thought.

She hadn't seen her partner fight for real yet. All she'd managed were the quick glances during the Taijitu fight, and that was it. If he was anywhere near as intelligent as he seemed in this situation, he'd definitely work out as leader of her team.

At least, from what she knew.

The boar charged again, and Jaune dodged to the side again, not striking what was an obvious opening to her. Was he waiting for something?

The blond settled into a stance again and waited, the boar turning before roaring.

The boar charged again, and Jaune dodged again. And again. And again.

They kept changing positions back and forth across the floor, the only real difference being how Jaune seemed to be breathing heavier.

The blond sheathed his sword, pulling it and its scabbard off his belt.

"What's he doing?" Pyrrha asked.

Blake narrowed her eyes as the boy brought his blade to his shoulder, sheathed as it was. He bent his knees, ready to dodge again.

I have no idea. Blake responded silently.

The Boarbatusk charged once more, and Blake's partner tensed up, dodging at the last second with a leap to the side. Unlike the previous dodges however, the boy's legs got under him, and he chased the Grimm down, running alongside it.

The beast turned, facing the blond as he ran towards it. Jaune brought his sword around, running his hand along the length of it.

The Grimm's large tusks clattered against the tiled floor, severed cleanly. After what was barely a moment, the boy took his blade, and rammed it right in the center of the Boarbatusk's head.

The blade, sheath and all, glowed brightly as it was buried to the hilt. Jaune pulled his sword out after a moment, the glow fading.

What the fuck?

"Fine work, Mr. Arc!" Professor Port praised from where he'd been watching, though Blake only had eyes on her partner as he returned his blade to his belt. "An impressive performance, especially considering your lack of experience."

"My what?"

"Your lack of experience fighting against a Boarbatusk."

"Oh. Oh." The boy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Thank you."

"Again, well done." The professor nodded. "Please, return to your seat. There are still a few minutes remaining until class is over, and there's one more thing I'd like to cover."

Blake suppressed a groan at that, but continued watching as Jaune walked over to their shared desk. Pyrrha stood to let Jaune in, as leaning back wouldn't be enough now that he was wearing his armor.

"Hey, what you did just now..." Pyrrha started as he slid his way in.

"What about it?"

"...It's nothing."

Blake frowned. It wasn't necessarily surprising that a girl with more fighting experience than she had knew what had just happened... but it was frustrating.

"Do you..." Blake leaned forwards, the blond turning towards her, "...think you could tell us what the hell you just did?"

Jaune picked up a pencil, and smiled at the girl as their professor started talking. "Later."

Blake blinked, watching as Jaune moved to write.

The boy's pencil lead broke. He sighed, grasping the length of the tool with both hands, before snapping the whole thing in two.

"That was aggressive..."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Like, I get Dust works that way. That's simple but..."

Weiss pursed her lips, trying to decide how to better explain it to the girl. "Think of it this way: There's three ways to activate Dust. You can use other forms of Dust, you can activate it physically – like a collision... or a sneeze – or you can activate it with your Aura."

"Physically I get - that's how ammunition works. Same with the reaction between two types of Dust." The girl's brow furrowed in confusion. "But I don't see how you can use Dust with a semblance."

The white haired girl frowned, unsure what was so hard for the girl to understand. Taking another forkful of food in her mouth, the heiress chewed, unsure what to say.

"It depends on the semblance."

Weiss turned to the newcomer at the table, her partner, Yang. The girl sat down next to her with a tray full of food while Nora, the leader of their team, sat across from her.

"What took you guys so long?" Ruby asked, clearly happy to see her sister and partner.

"Our history class is at the other end of Beacon." Yang stated. "It's quite the walk."

"We'll keep that in mind when we need to go there this afternoon." Weiss noted. "You said it depends on the semblance?"

"Well, it makes sense, right?" Yang offered, preparing to dig into her meal. "Not everyone's semblance is, well, useful. And not everyone's semblance can really utilize Dust. Like Ruby."

"Oh, I get it now!" Ruby declared. "You can activate Dust with your Aura, but unless you have a semblance to channel it with, it just acts like raw Dust?"

Weiss smiled. "Precisely."

"Why didn't you just say that in the first place?!"

The heiress grumbled, stabbing her fork into a carrot on her plate. "That is what I said the first time, but you disagreed, saying-"

The girls next words were cut off by a loud belch. Weiss and the two sisters turned, the heiress herself glaring at Nora, making note of her leader's empty tray.

"Whoops, sorry."

Ew...

"So..." Ruby started out awkwardly. "How was history?"

"Hard to follow." The orange haired girl noted. "The professor seems like he's going off on a tangent one moment, then it's right back to the material he's teaching."

"You don't know when to stop or start with your notes." Yang explained.

"I see..." Weiss acknowledged. How was your free period?" The blonde quizzed.

"Ruby and I are already done our Aura homework."

"...We had homework?"

The heiress turned to glare at her partner. "You're joking, right?"

"Was it those readings we were supposed to do?"

Weiss could only sigh. "Yes, it was those readings."

"Oh yeah, I did those in history class."

Weiss didn't honestly know what to think of Nora – neither as a person, nor as a leader.

The girl was carefree, and maybe a little odd, but it wasn't like she didn't know what she was doing. In the morning, she made sure they were up and ready for class on time. She arranged their lunchtime meeting. There was nothing wrong with the girl's leadership, nor her actions as leader.

It bothered Weiss to no end, and it bothered her even more that she didn't know why it bothered her.

"The next class is one we all have together, right?" Ruby asked, the girl turning to Nora.

"Yes, Grimm Studies." Their leader confirmed, though it looked like she was distracted, looking out over the many bodies at the surrounding tables. Her lips turned up in a smile and she stood. "Ren!"

The girl waved her arms high in the air. "Ren!"

Weiss grit her teeth, noting how Nora didn't seem bothered by the stares she was receiving from those at the nearby tables. The heiress turned, ignoring everything in favor of looking for who she was calling out to.

"We could see you from across the room." The boy named Ren stated, balancing a tray in hand as he navigated through the narrow aisles between the tables. The rest of his team was behind him – Jaune, Pyrrha, and that black haired girl Weiss hadn't spoken to yet.

Ren took the seat next to Nora, with Jaune taking the seat next to Yang. Their partners all sat one seat further.

"What did you guys have last period?" Ruby asked rather suddenly.

"Aura Theory with Professor Peri." Jaune, the team's leader, answered.

"She certainly knows how to make a lesson interesting." Pyrrha tacked on with a faint smile, spearing something on her tray.

"Better than Professor Port." The black haired girl countered.

"Much better than Professor Port." Pyrrha confirmed.

What's wrong with Professor Port?

"What's wrong with Professor Port?" Jaune asked, mirroring Weiss' thoughts. "I liked him."

The other three members of ABPL turned towards the blond, staring at him in disbelief.

"How?" Ren asked, Weiss confused by the exchange occurring before her.

"I got to kill that... whatever that was."

"Boarbatusk."

"Boarba-what?"

"Ooh, I like those." Nora exclaimed. "They're cute."

"What?"

Weiss just turned her attention back to her food, and continued to eat, tuning out everything that was said around her from that point on.

Jaune smiled to himself as he strode forward, his eyes locked on the hall before him as he walked, only looking down to make sure his tie was straight. With a quick adjustment, he was again certain it was in place.

It had been such a good day so far. The classes, the professors... Beacon was everything he could have hoped for – everything he'd ever wanted.

But none the less, it frightened him.

In Port's class, he unwittingly offered himself up as a volunteer to take on a real Grimm – only the second he'd ever fought – in front of his entire class. Doing that had been more terrifying than fighting any beast that he could dream up, though he'd certainly managed to pull that win out of his ass once he figured out how to go about it.

From that point on, the day got better, and the day got worse. He'd had more time to talk with Pyrrha and Ren – though Blake had continued to keep to herself. All the other classes had their ups and downs. In a few more hours the day would be done, and he'd be able to unwind a little.

The blond grinned to his right, meeting his partner's eyes for a moment before she turned her eyes forward. He and Blake were the only ones from their team who had history class that afternoon, so it gave him a little more time to spend with his partner.

Though, it still irked Jaune she didn't seem to be one to talk much. The boy could accept that, but she still felt like such a stranger to him, even after a whole day.

'It's pretty foolish, to think you can know somebody in just one day.' He'd dismissed her words back then pretty easily, but now he was seeing the truth they held.

Well, if she didn't want to talk, then he guessed he wouldn't talk either.

"So..." The girl spoke up, Jaune sighing as she broke the silence he'd finally resigned himself to. "That thing you did with your sword earlier..."

"What about it?" Jaune asked, turning to meet the girl's eyes.

"You never did explain what it was that you did." Blake accused, though it was more like she was just pointing it out.

"Ah, just a neat little trick my sister taught me." Jaune stated. "If you concentrate, your Aura can take form. What she always did was a little different – and she's way better at it than I am."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, she's... good."

"Good?"

"Really good." Jaune confirmed, realizing he'd made a huge mistake.

The skin prickled on his neck, and a shiver ran through him.

What the fuck was I thinking? Why am I here? I'm so dead!

She was here. In Beacon.

And there's no way she wouldn't know he lied to get in.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Jaune blinked. "Oh, uhh... I was just thinking about class coming up."

"About what those girls on the other team said?"

"Yeah." Yang and Nora had warned them about this 'Doctor Oobleck', and his tendencies when they'd eaten at the cafeteria table with them during lunch. "I'm sure they were exaggerating..."

"The... energetic one doesn't seem like she had much of an attention span, no." Blake seemed to agree. Jaune watched her bring a hand to her chin, the girl humming.

"Nora? Yeah, I suppose." The boy thought back to when he'd first met the girl. "Definitely unique."

"You can say that again."

"Definitely unique." Jaune joked with a smile, earning a scowl from the girl. It didn't matter if she didn't like it; he did.

Jaune made note of the open door before him – certain it was the entrance to their Professor's classroom – pulling his scroll out of his pocket to check the time. It hadn't taken them very long to make it there, but that had also likely been an exaggeration on Nora and Yang's part.

"You mind going in and saving a seat for me?" Jaune asked, Blake turning towards him. "I've got to go to the washroom really quick."

"Yeah, sure, fine by me." Blake smiled tauntingly back at him. "Don't be late like Ren and Pyrrha were."

"I still can't believe they slept in..." Jaune groaned.

"Just don't fall asleep in the washroom and you'll be fine then, right?"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. I'll be back."

Jaune smiled to himself as he turned, looking down at the map he pulled up on his scroll. He quickly found the shortest route to the nearest bathroom, and began walking. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing Blake duck into the classroom just as he turned a corner.

Blake was a nice girl: Jaune could admit, he didn't quite know what to really think about her yet, but she was nice. She wasn't like the girls in high school who'd been paired with him for group projects then actively ignored him. He couldn't really say she was friendly though, either.

Maybe getting to know her better would change his opinion, but right now she was simply 'nice.'

Jaune took another step forward, but found himself being pulled back by a hand grabbing the back of his collar. The boy gasped as he was spun around, closing his eyes in response to the rough handling.

The boy was slammed up against the wall hard. Eyes squeezed shut, the blond took a breath, slowly opening his eyes to identify the aggressor.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" The girl asked furiously.

Jaune sighed. Yeah, she was pissed.

"Hey sis…"

________________________________________________

CHANGING LOCATION

BEACON ACADEMY

HISTORY CLASS

POV

Blake's eyes twitched back and forth as she watched a man likely twice her age zip back and forth across the room, about five times faster than she believed possible for anyone to move. The man stopped dead, the girl certain his neck should have snapped from the momentum, except it didn't.

The girl blinked, and the Beacon professor disappeared from her sight once more. Blake sighed, looking down at her notebook. It was completely blank. It wasn't that he was too fast to keep up with; she just couldn't spare a second to write when he was just so active.

Blake snapped her head back up, Doctor Oobleck – not Professor, but Doctor – back standing behind his desk. The instructor spoke so fast she actually had to focus, or else all she'd probably pick up would be a word here or there.

The man slammed his pointer into the board behind him, pointing at Vale on the map pinned to it. Blake shook her head again, as she tried to focus on the slew of words coming out of the man's mouth.

There was a hefty sigh from next to her, and Blake's attention turned from the front of the class to her partner.

The blond boy who was also the leader of their team didn't look too well, resting his head atop his crossed arms, using them as a chin-rest. He'd been sweating and awfully pale when he'd come back from his trip to the bathroom. Perhaps he wasn't feeling well?

Blake thought about asking the boy if he was okay, then abandoned the idea when he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

It looked like he at least had it under control. It was a little respectable in that sense, that he didn't want to miss a lecture over his sudden illness – even if he didn't take anything away from it.

"I guess I deserve this…" Jaune muttered, barely audible.

Blake cringed in solidarity. Must have been something he ate, considering he'd been fine just beforehand. She tried to recall what it was so she could avoid it herself if it was served again for dinner, but she couldn't picture what he had on his tray in her head.

"…And you can clearly see here, how the natural defenses of the Valean Valley also make it rather ideal for agricultural growth. Irrigation systems were easy to implement, and farmers could grow their crops in relative safety..."

Blake turned her head back to their instructor, but occasionally glanced towards the blond next to her. She had to give the boy credit: However ill he was, the only real sounds he made were repeatedly stressed sighs.

As the lecture went on, Jaune seemed to get more and more agitated, and Blake couldn't help but pity him. She considered raising her hand and asking for permission to take him to the infirmary, but she didn't know if that was a good idea. She didn't know the boy well enough yet. Would he be mad that she called him out, and got him out of the lecture when he was trying so desperately to hide that something was wrong? Was he too nervous to say something himself?

Her leader glanced over, out of the corner of his eye. He tilted his head slightly, acknowledging her with a confused look.

"Is something wrong?" he whispered, his words coming out with just the slightest tinge of nervousness, "You're staring."

Blake shook her head briskly, annoyed she'd been so distracted. "No, it's nothing."

He's trying to hide it from me…

Had he been feeling ill the other day too? Blake had thought the blond had been acting rather strangely, like he was hiding something. Had he been putting up a tough front because he'd been under the weather, and she was just noticing it now?

The girl brushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. He'd been picked as leader of their team over herself, Pyrrha Nikos, and that Ren guy. Had one of the professors who'd been monitoring them notice what he'd been doing, and that's why he was chosen for the position?

While everyone else had simply performed at their best, he'd acted normal when he was at his worst. And if he was sick yesterday, all the way through to the present, that meant he fought the Boarbatusk under the same conditions.

Blake hummed, turning back to Doctor Oobleck's lecture. It was admirable.

If I were in his situation, what would I appreciate the most? He's obviously sick, but he doesn't want anyone to know…

Would the best thing to just ignore it? To act as if there was nothing wrong?

After taking a brief moment to consider it, Blake nodded to herself.

Yeah, that would be best. Just ignore it.

She could do that.

The boy took in a shuddering breath as he put one foot in front of the other, walking down the hall. He looked to his partner, the girl walking alongside him, matching his stride.

Goodness, how he wished she'd say something. Anything, to get his mind off of what he'd just experienced before class.

He rubbed at his jaw, which his sister had gripped tight as she stared into his eyes, stressing each word as she spoke to him. It was like he could still feel her grasp, her fingernails resting lightly atop his skin, though they felt like claws ready to rip and tear at any moment.

"Eight o'clock, the dorm roof. I'll see you there."

The boy clenched both his hands into fists and let out a long sigh. He really hoped he didn't seem too nervous or anything. He wanted Blake to talk, not ask questions; even though he already knew how hard it was to get her to do either.

"So, sparring class next?" Jaune asked, hoping the girl would answer that at the least.

"That's right."

Blake showed no signs of continuing on her statement, so Jaune just grit his teeth and let out a grunt to acknowledge that he'd heard her. He looked down at the map, and plotted out their path to the locker rooms. They'd have to get their weapons.

There was something else he had to worry about too, in that case. Was there anything special about sparring that he should know? Some kind of, like, code? He'd only really sparred with his sister, once or twice and those times were rare enough already, nor did they resemble anything official.

Jaune raised his head as he realized there was something he could have Blake distract him with. "Hey, if you don't mind…"

The girl turned towards them as they walked, a questioning expression on her face.

"How do you fight?"

"…what?"

Jaune was confused by the response, before he realized his question wasn't quite what he meant to ask. "I mean, how do you fight? I'm not saying you did nothing in initiation but like I didn't see you do anything, you know?"

The girl seemed to ponder that for a second, her lips drawn tight as she thought of a response. "I suppose you didn't, no. It's... hard to explain how I fight."

Jaune hummed. "Yeah, I suppose it would be. Thinking about it, I would have had a hard time answering that if you'd asked me too."

Less so because it was hard to explain, and more so that he couldn't explain it in a way that sounded good.

"That reminds me," Blake started, surprising the blond, "what was that thing you did with your sword earlier? With the Boarbatusk."

The what? Oh. Jaune opened his mouth to respond, but hesitated for a moment as he didn't exactly know how to explain that either. He could explain it away as something his sister taught him, but then that would beg the question how his sister knew – which in turn would lead Blake to his sister.

And that could be bad, depending on his meeting tonight. Hell, he could be out of Beacon in a couple days anyways.

With that in mind, he supposed it didn't matter.

"It's a... type of Aura manipulation – you know what that is?" Blake nodded. "I mostly use it to make dull things sharp, because that's what I'm good at."

"From what I saw, it looked like more than that." The girl said. "The sheath of your sword is just blunt metal, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Jaune responded, not sure what she was trying to say.

"So you're giving an edge to something that otherwise has no edge." With the way she said it, it sounded like she knew what he'd done better than he did. "Why not just use it on your sword itself instead?"

Shit. "I, uhh... The sheath gives a heavier strike." The blond turned away, embarrassed by the flimsy excuse he gave his partner. Yeah right, she would never buy that.

"That makes sense, actually."

…you're kidding.

"The extra weight behind the strike is probably what gave you the power to cut through the tusks. I see…"

Jaune just smiled awkwardly to himself as the girl seemed to think about that. There was no way he was going to be able to change his excuse now.

I probably should have just told her the truth.

"Still, it looked a little awkward, you having to sheath your blade like that in the middle of a fight…"

The girl trailed off, and after another couple seconds of silence, Jaune turned back towards her, only she was a few steps behind, having stopped mid-stride. "Blake?"

The girl looked up to him, her eyes glowing dangerously before she blinked, adopting a more natural expression. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

The girl blinked again, before she walked forward, then past Jaune. "Yeah, I'm fine. Was just thinking about something." Oobleck, he went to the bathroom. He didn't look so great when he came back."

"He's ill?" Pyrrha practically demanded an answer. "Should we say something?"

The black haired girl shook her head quickly. "No, I don't think we should say anything." Blake turned out to the arena floor, where Jaune moved towards the starting area. "It seemed like he was trying to hide it. I'm sure it was because he wanted to stay for the lecture... not that he was really able to pay attention to it. He seemed really distracted."

"Really?" Ren wondered aloud, looking at the blond on the floor below. Even from where they were sitting in the upper viewing area, he could see the truth in Blake's statement. Jaune did look uneasy.

Ren turned his head slightly. It could have also been the size of Nora's hammer that caused that reaction. Hard to say, really.

"Now that I think about it..." Ren spoke up, Blake and Pyrrha turning towards him. "Didn't he seem a little apprehensive about fighting the Boarbatusk earlier as well?"

"He did." Pyrrha confirmed.

"I'd figured that had been because he hadn't fought a Boarbatusk before." Blake said, before she shrugged. "Honestly, he might even have been sick yesterday too. I mean, I don't know him, but it seems like he's hiding it."

Humming, Ren brought a hand to his chin in thought. As Goodwitch repeated the same instructions regarding the match as she had for the previous bouts, he thought back to meeting Jaune in the cafeteria with Nora.

He had seemed fine then. Why would he hide it?" Ren pondered aloud, not getting an answer. The girls were probably wondering the same thing.

Jaune drew his sword and said something to Goodwitch; probably declaring that he was ready. Nora held her hammer Magnhild tightly, nodding when the professor turned towards her.

It seemed the match was about to-

"Begin!"

Nora dashed forwards, the heavy head of her hammer held behind her as she crossed the distance between her and Jaune. Ren frowned. Nora would have noticed Jaune had no ranged weaponry. Why not force him to close the distance with her instead, keeping him at a distance with her grenades?

Unless...

Nora swung Magnhild low, forcing Jaune to step back. The boy held his sword with both hands, the point towards Nora. Jaune having dodged the first swing, Nora spun, twirling the long haft of her hammer.

Ren sighed. He couldn't be one-hundred percent sure, but it looked to him like Nora was trying to show off.

Not that she wasn't trying, oh no. If anything, she was trying harder: her swings were quick and precise, and she tried to go for the isolated limbs rather than just swinging for the center of mass like she usually would when she felt like sending Grimm – or people, Ren supposed – flying.

Jaune was retreating – what Ren would probably do in his situation. The blond ducked below a horizontal swing that was a little too high, and quickly dashed past Nora, not retaliating. He probably realized he was getting too close to the arena's edge.

Nora pressed her attack, seeming to swing recklessly, though she wasn't; like he, Jaune, and Pyrrha had discussed earlier, she was leaving openings on purpose. Baiting Jaune.

Nora preferred to simply overpower her opponents. It was what she was good at. But that didn't mean she couldn't fight smart when she wanted to. Had she maybe overheard their earlier conversation?

Had that been what she'd been thinking so deeply about?

Ren's childhood friend swung Magnhild around from the left. Jaune didn't move in on the open side as the massive head passed. Nora pulled Magnhild back down. Jaune didn't take the opportunity.

Right in the seat next to him, Ren heard the sound of flesh smacking against flesh, and took his eyes off the fight for a brief moment. Pyrrha sat, with her hands covering her face.

"We're stupid." She stated with a sigh. Ren turned his eyes back to the match, though he gave her a questioning hum.

"We both thought he was just completely oblivious to the openings Dove was leaving in the last match, and how you weren't reacting to them as they were bait." The redheaded girl said the last part to Blake specifically. "But..." She continued. "He'd when he'd fought the Boarbatusk in Port's class, he-"

In that moment, Ren came to the same conclusion Pyrrha just had: "He waited for an opening... and the openings that were too obvious he didn't pursue. He fought the Boarbatusk as if it were a person. As if it were trying to trick him."

Jaune treated everything he fought as if it were as intelligent as him – if not more.

Ren crossed his arms, leaning forward in his seat.

The match below just got even more interesting

________________________________________________

I'm so screwed. I'm screwed. I'm s-c-r-e-w-e-d.

Jaune backed away, the force of the wind put off by the massive hammer's head blowing his bangs back into view. Nora took a moment to recover, and Jaune moved even further back, pushing his hair back to the side. How the hell was he supposed to get close enough to hit her when she was swinging that thing around?

Not again!

Jaune stepped to the side as the shorter girl swung the hammer down at an angle. It impacted the arena floor with such force, he could swear it cracked. He winced reactively as he imagined what it would feel like to get hit by that.

Hell, it hurt more than enough when he'd been building that bird house and hit his thumb by accident. That hammer was probably fifty times smaller than the one swinging for his head, too, and he wasn't nearly as strong as the girl swinging it.

Well, so far his strategy of not getting hit was working, but there was nothing he could really do.

Nora swung her hammer viciously, and Jaune took a step back. He couldn't look towards the professor, because then he'd certainly get hit. He considered surrendering, but killed that line of thought instantly.

'You're not getting any mercy from me, understand.'

The memory from his training disturbed the flow, and he tried to backstep again as Nora swung low. The boy stepped on his own foot, and stumbled back. He afforded a glance towards his feet, and Nora fell upon him with her hammer raised high.

Jaune had to force himself from closing his eyes as the heavy metal came down. He brought his sword up in an effort to do... anything.

The boy locked every one of his joints, but bent his knees. He winced at the shrill screech of the hammer rubbing up against his sword as it feel, finally reaching the cross-guard of the blade.

Even with Aura, the strike hurt. His arms, his shoulders, his wrists, his back. Everything hurt.

He looked up, the massive weight coming down on the cross-guard. His arms strained against it, but it didn't continue.

I stopped it.

Everything felt numb, and he let out a gasp as he pushed back meekly. He extended his legs, straining against the weight.

Now what?

The head of the hammer seemed to explode with concussive force, and Jaune closed his eyes reflexively, his sword knocked out of his hands. For a brief second he couldn't hear, his ears popping and the air pressure from the explosion pushing down on him.

Momentarily blinded and deaf, Jaune stepped forward. He blinked his eyes open, his vision swimming. Finally not being concerned with the weight of the hammer's head about to crash down on him, he saw his opponent's face as he blinked away tears.

The girl looked genuinely surprised, but her expression quickly changed: Nora's face morphed into a look of intense concentration. Her eyes met his, and Jaune wasn't sure what he'd saw in them – though he'd seen those same eyes before.

They were the eyes of someone focused purely on the fight before them. And they brought Jaune back to the moment.

His arms high above him as they'd pushed back against Nora's downward strike before he was disarmed, he couldn't spare even a second to consider his options. It was the best opportunity he had, and he was already stepping forward.

Jaune just did what felt right. He turned his body as he continued forward, driving his shoulder into Nora's chest. He took another step, pushing against the girl until she took a step back to steady herself. He pushed off her when she did, and she brought the haft of her hammer around to separate them.

Jaune didn't think. He grabbed for the hammer's haft, managing to push back against it with both hands. With his hand around its width, he tugged, and pulled Nora towards him. The girl struggled, but his split-second decision gave him the upper hand. Though his balance was precarious, he pulled one leg up as high as he could, and kicked. Nora stumbled backwards, while the weapon he held was uncomfortably heavy in his hands. Now she was disarmed, while he had a...

He looked down at the thing in his hands. "It's a grenade launcher?" He asked himself aloud.

There was a feminine roar from in front of him and he looked up to see Nora sprinting at him. The boy turned the grenade launcher in his hands to fire at Nora.

Only to find he was holding it backwards.

Nora jumped when she got close and fell backwards, her feet in front of her. Jaune stared at her in despair, and saw something peculiar: a black, white and red print of what looked like the cutest bear-Grimm he'd ever seen, before the girl's two feet planted straight in his face.

Jaune coughed as he hit the ground, staring up above his head smacked against the floor. Before he could push himself up, Nora was above him, her weapon in its hammer form. She put the weight against his armored chest, and simply pushed down. He was effectively pinned to the ground.

The blond boy couldn't help but glance up her fluttering skirt. No, he had not imagined that at all.

Nora gasped. "Where do you think you're looking?!"

Jaune quickly turned his head to the side, face beet-red. Nora didn't seem to accept that as an answer, and removed her hammer for a moment, before pressing its weight against the side of his face, pushing it into the ground.

"I shurrender!" Jaune called out as best he could with the great hammer grinding his jaw into the ground.

"The match is over." Jaune heard. "Miss Valkyrie..."

"What?"

"You can remove your hammer from Mr. Arc's head now."

"Oh! Right!" The pressure was gone, so Jaune sat up, rubbing at his jaw. He looked over to where Nora was standing, to see her fold up the hammer into its other form, before putting it on her back. The girl herself was blushing, giving him the stink-eye, and being extra careful in making sure her skirt did not move all at once. "Well fought. The two of you can return to your seats."

Jaune pushed himself up to his feet as Nora began to walk towards the stairs. She didn't give him a second glance. First, their meeting in the locker room, and now this? The boy jogged to catch up, and the girl stopped before she began her ascent.

She turned and glared at him. "You go first."

The blond tilted his head at Nora's offer. Wasn't it polite or something to let ladies go first? "No, it's fine. You can go first."

Not a second later, the girl's blush returned as she grit her teeth, and Jaune realized his folly. "On second thought, I'll go first!" Jaune offered in a hurry, stepping past the girl. Nora's eyes followed him the whole way.

Jaune reached the top of the stairs, and looked back down at the girl. She was still staring at him, and she waited for him to move. He kept his sigh to himself, and instead walked towards his team, feeling her boring holes in the back of his skull with her stare.

The blond grimaced. Did his team notice? He could already picture Blake and Pyrrha's faces, twisted in disgust, while Ren looked down his nose at him, sneering.

Jaune blinked when all he was met with were light smiles and reassuring nods. He even got a pat on the back from Pyrrha as he sat.

I guess they didn't notice. Jaune let out the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding as he leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes.

"That was an interesting match." Pyrrha mentioned. "You reacted quickly when you were disarmed."

Jaune just nodded slightly to show he acknowledged her comment. Despite how relaxed he felt in his seat, he felt a chill.

The boy opened his eyes again, and looked over to where Nora had been sitting. The girl continued to stare at him. Jaune closed his eyes again.

Crap.

Pyrrha let out a long groan as she arched her back, throwing out her chest as she stretched. Releasing a content sigh, the girl fell back into her bed, relaxing among the sheets. "Wasn't bad for a first day, was it?"

She didn't ask the question of anyone in particular, mostly just putting it out there. Her partner Ren was in the shower, so the only people who could answer were Jaune and Blake. When silence was all that resounded, the redhead propped herself up on her elbows.

Jaune was sitting on the edge of the windowsill, staring off into the distance as far as Pyrrha could tell. If he really was ill, as Blake suggested he might be, the cool, fresh air might be good for him. He must have been thinking of something as well, as he had a rather deep look on his face.

Past Jaune, laying back on her bed, was Blake. The girl was already in her yukata, as everyone had pretty much agreed they weren't planning on doing anything after they came back from their dinner. She seemed invested in a book she was reading.

Both her and Jaune radiated the feeling of wanting to be left alone, regardless, so Pyrrha didn't feel like repeating her earlier question. The girl drew her lips tight as she fished into her pocket, pulling out the coin she'd picked up during initiation.

She looked at it closer. It must have been old, as Pyrrha couldn't remember seeing any kind of metal currency before in her life. She'd heard of coins though, at least. From what she could remember there had been two different kinds: cheap metal rounds that simulated wealth, and actual precious metals in the shape of coins. The latter were now worth quite the amount to collectors, while the former were simply replaced by Lien cards and forgotten.

The piece she held in her hand had few markings, so a part of her half-hoped it was one of those rarities. But it could have also been just a simple coin, its silvery face long since worn.

She flicked it into the air with her thumb, catching it. It was tails. The girl looked to the bathroom door, feeling slightly guilty about what she'd done to her partner before. She flipped the coin again, only this time she reached out with her Aura, feeling it as it fell.

She grabbed it quickly. Tails.

As she waited patiently for Ren to get out of the shower so she could take her own, Pyrrha continued to flip the coin. It would seem miraculous to anyone but herself that she managed to get tails thirty six times in a row, before she made a mistake and accidentally left it heads.

Well, you can't win them all.

The girl grinned to herself at the thought, and then shot that down immediately. She looked at Blake and Jaune, the two of them distracting themselves.

Pyrrha floated the coin above her hand, spinning it in place. She frowned. When she'd fought that Ruby girl in class earlier, she'd come close on more than one occasion. It was actually impressive, forcing Pyrrha to use her semblance so much in a fight – even if all she did was manipulate the girl's scythe a little.

The annoyance had been clear enough to see on her opponent's face. The girl let her hair down as the coin continued to spin, picking up speed.

Is my semblance really cheating?

The sound of a door opening startled Pyrrha, and she dropped the coin. It landed right in the palm of her hand, and she looked up at Ren, the boy wrapped in naught but a towel.

Ren didn't say anything as he entered the room. Had he seen? If he did, Pyrrha hoped that he'd only have seen the coin falling. Ren showed no indication of having caught her in the act however, simply meeting her eyes and nodding his head back in the direction of the bathroom.

Pyrrha called out a quiet "Thank you", and put the coin on her nightstand. She stood up shortly after, grabbing a fluffy cotton bathrobe and heading into the adjoined room.

The girl stepped in front of the mirror, wiping it down as the steam had left it foggy. She smiled at her reflection, before brushing her hair out a bit. Once she was satisfied, she turned on the shower, and stripped as it warmed back up.

Pyrrha looked at the drain and hummed. She turned back to the bathroom door, opening it just enough so that she could stick her head out. Ren looked at her curiously.

"I'm going to have a bath instead." Pyrrha mentioned. She looked over to Blake, who nodded – even though it could have just been her nodding along to something in her book.

Jaune didn't seem to hear her.

"I'll let him know, don't worry." Ren called out.

"Thanks." Pyrrha smiled, getting a nod and a smile in return.

Ren was nice. There was more to it than that, obviously, but if Pyrrha had to pick one word to describe him, that would be it. He was quiet, respectful, intelligent... A good partner. At least, as far as she could tell.

As Pyrrha closed the drain, she began to think more about the others, as well. Blake spent a lot of time in her books, but she'd proven to be a good conversationalist when the topic interested her. Thing being, Pyrrha didn't exactly know what kind of topics did interest the black haired girl. She supposed she could always talk about books – that particular topic being the one that Pyrrha knew Blake had an interest in – but not really being one for leisurely reading herself, Pyrrha didn't think that would last very long.

Maybe she could just ask her for recommendations or something then? Hopefully nothing too heavy.

Her team's leader, on the other hand... Pyrrha liked him. He seemed very genuine. Like, an all-around good guy. Much like with her other teammates, however, she only had a day and a half or so to go on. But from the day and a half she'd known Jaune, he certainly seemed okay.

For some reason, what Blake had said about him acting fine when he seemed ill stuck out in her head. She could understand the motivation, in a way, but it still seemed odd to her.

The champion dipped a foot in the hot water, turning off the tap. She climbed in the tub and slid into it until the water reached her chin. She let out a long breath, and leaned back against the lip of the tub.

Oh well.

Jaune glanced down at his scroll, taking note of the time. He sighed and scratched at the back of his neck, shivering as a stiff breeze hit him.

Well, I suppose it's time.

The boy grabbed his hoodie off his bedpost, and pulled it over his head, Pumpkin Pete proudly displayed on the front. Just looking down at the cereal mascot brought to mind the image of a cute looking Grimm emblazoned on a pair of white panties.

Jaune shook his head vehemently. That was what he had to think of right now? No! It wasn't the time.

"Going somewhere?"

"Uh..." Jaune turned to Ren, actually forgetting he hadn't been alone in the room. The other male member of his team was seated cross-legged on his bed, dressed in his pajamas. "Yeah, going to head out for a walk. Clear my head."

"Fine by me." Ren nodded. Jaune slipped into his shoes and made his way over to the door.

Shit, would he even come back to this room?

The blond looked over to Ren, the boy's eyes closed. What was he doing? Jaune turned to Blake next, the girl still reading. As she usually did.

If he was leaving – for good – should he say something?

Nah, screw it.

"Oh, Jaune?" Ren called out as the he opened the door. The blond turned back to his teammate, the boy still sitting there with his eyes closed. "If you're not feeling better, you should probably head to the infirmary and get some medicine."

The blond scrunched his face in confusion. "Okay...?"

Ren nodded, and Jaune exited the room, closing the door behind him.

That was weird. So... the rooftop, then.

Jaune stood at the bottom of the stairs headed to the upper floors. The blond's feet were heavy, and he looked to the set of stairs headed to the ground floor instead. Maybe he should go for that walk instead? He sighed, clenching his hands into fists. No, this wasn't something he could avoid. He took the first step up the stairs, and then the next.

It felt like he was climbing up the execution platform.

Realistically, he knew the absolute worst that could happen: She would report him, no questions asked. But, if she'd wanted to do that, she could have done it already.

The alternative? Blackmail. It wasn't something he'd considered at first, but it was a very real possibility. She'd hold it over him, and have him do whatever she wanted.

Was his sister the type to resort to blackmail? Hell no, there's no way on the three continents that she'd do that. But there was a chance; he hadn't seen her for a year, after all. Who knew how she could have changed.

Finally, after what honestly felt like the thousandth step, he was at the rooftop access. He took a deep breath in through his nose. Trying to calm himself.

He pushed the push bar, and the door unlatched. Jaune swung it open, careful not to make a sound.

There she stood, her silhouette framed by the full moon – there was no way she hadn't planned that. Even if he hadn't been expecting to meet her here on the roof, the moment he saw her, he'd know it was her. Jaune stepped out on the roof. His sister stood there with her arms crossed defiantly, her head tilted forward so her bangs covered her eyes. She didn't say anything as Jaune approached.

The boy felt nervous. Hell, he almost felt naked as he walked across the roof. A breeze whipped its way past him, and he shivered. His sister stood there, either unaffected or uncaring.

She looked up at him. "So... you've come..."

Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat. "Hey sis..."

It had been weird seeing her in Beacon's uniform, back in the hall, but whatever the hell she was wearing now... it suited her. "Did you miss me?"

The question came as quite the surprise to Jaune. "Couldn't you have just asked me back in the hallway, when you ambushed me?"

She snorted in amusement, before she stepped forward. "Oh, come on, that was kind of fun, right?"

Jaune almost reflexively took a step back, but stood his ground as she approached him. "Fun?"

The blond didn't get an answer. His sister didn't speak again until she was just a couple feet before him.

She snickered. "I'm still taller than you."

Jaune could almost feel the tension leave his body as she said that, looking down into her eyes.

"Your ears don't count."

The girl took two quick steps forward, and in a surprising move, wrapped her arms around him.

"I've missed you."

Jaune smiled. "I've missed you too Velv."

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