Disillusioned

By Lightningstrxu

Beta Aethling & Jiu-Jitsu Dude

Chapter 4

Jaune currently had his head buried in a dryer, reaching out to grab ahold of a stubborn sock when a hand suddenly slapped his behind.

"Hey Jaune, how's it hanging?" the offending slapper asked jovially as the boy yelped and banged his head on the top of the machine.

"Well, I bumped my head." Jaune griped, pulling back and rubbing the sore spot on his head. "And somebody slapped my butt for no reason." his eyes narrowed taking in the grinning culprit.

"What?" Reese shrugged. "I slap butts."

"That is regrettably true." a dark-skinned blonde girl sighed from off to the side, diligently folding her clothes as she removed them from the dryer.

"You know you love it when I do it to you." Reese beamed.

"I assure you, I don't." the other girl replied stone-faced.

"Always so stuck up Ars." Reese's eyes widened. "Hey, did I ever introduce you to my partner?"

"Nope." Jaune shook his head.

"Ah well, here she is, my partner and esteemed leader of Team ABRN, Arslan!" Reese ran over to her partner gesturing dramatically and presenting her as a game show host would present a prize. "But we just call her Ars."

"You call me Ars!" sighed the blonde.

"Oh. Well, nice to meet you...Arslan." Jaune waved making sure to put extra emphasis on her proper name; the last thing he needed to do was risk making another enemy, especially so immediately after he and Emerald had made up. "What brings you here today?"

Arslan's just stared blankly at him before motioning to the room around her.

"Right, laundry…" Oh! Emerald's clothes should be finished drying by now.

Jaune walked over to an adjacent dryer, thankful that Haven's laundry room had plenty of facilities, he would have felt bad tying up the room all day. Opening up the dryer, he set about the meticulous task of retrieving his partner's clothes.

"Man, whipped already." Reese chuckled. "I didn't think she beat you up that badly."

"It wasn't that bad." he sighed, it was starting to get old hearing how badly he was beaten. He got it, he sucked.

"Hey now, take it easy." she sauntered up to him punching him playfully in the side. "A lot of people would pay good money to have a girl like Emerald step on them, and you got it for free!"

"Uh-huh…" Jaune could only nod.

"Yeah it's weird right: why would anyone want Emerald to step on them when Cinder is right there?" she added matter of factly. "So, what's got you playing servant?"

It took a moment for Jaune to respond, a little taken aback at how blunt Reese was. "I lost a bet, so I'm doing her laundry for the week."

"Well, at least you get to play with a pretty girl's underwear."

He could only shrug in response. After years of being buried under the laundry of his sisters, girly clothes weren't a mystery to him. If he was being honest, Emerald's underwear was almost painfully plain.

"Man, these are boring." Reese voiced his thoughts aloud, holding up a pair of underwear she'd snatched when he wasn't looking.

"Give me that!" He snatched the garment from her hands and tossed it into the basket.

"Hey, was just having fun." she waved her hands in front of her dismissively. "If I wanted something interesting, I would grab some of the ones Ars has."

"Reese!" Arslan finally snapped. "Come back here and finish your laundry, before I throw all your clothes in the trash."

"Ugh, yes mom!" Reese groaned. "Talk to you later." she waved as she moved over to her partner.

Jaune shook his head; these were his classmates, these were the people he would be spending the next four years with, the people who were the future defenders of remnant. Seeing that they were all just a bunch of goof-offs just like him? It gave him hope.

Maybe, just maybe, his dream could be a reality.

######

Emerald's leg bounced up and down impatiently, her mind only just barely registering the instructor's lesson. Professor Lu stood in the central arena, going over the various intricacies of aura, a refresher on the basics But with the training she'd received from her mistress, Emerald certainly didn't need it.

Her partner on the other hand…

Red eyes narrowed as Emerald glared at Jaune, nose buried into what seemingly was the textbook that had been provided, but from her angle it was clearly a comic book.

"Seriously?" She whispered under her breath.

Jaune was perhaps the worst student she had seen so far, he hadn't even used his aura properly in their fight: if anyone needed to pay attention, it would be him. Because of her little outburst the other day, she was already on Professor Lu's radar, and if he was caught slacking off that would place both of them firmly in the spotlight.

Attention was the last thing she needed.

Annoyed beyond belief, her hand swiftly met the back of his head. "Pay attention!" She hissed.

"Ow." He flinched, rubbing the spot on his head. "That hurt!"

"It was supposed to." She said through grit teeth.

"Does the universe have it out for my head?" He griped.

"If it hurts so much, just use your aura."

"My what?"

"This is why you need to pay attention!" Emerald spat out louder than she meant to.

"Mister Arc, Miss Sustrai!" Emerald sighed as she turned to see the professor looking up at them. "So nice of you two to volunteer for the class, you two will be perfect for this demonstration."

With an annoyed huff Emerald stood Jaune following behind her.

"Yes, Professor?" Emerald tried to ask innocently.

"Since the two of you seem so knowledgeable about the subject of aura and its uses in combat, how about you provide a practical demonstration for the class."

"Uh, I'm not sure that's a good idea." Jaune glanced around nervously. Emerald's eyes nearly rolled out of her head. What could he possibly be stalling for? He was a trash fighter, but that should make him the most eager to want to get a practical lesson.

"Nonsense." Professor Lu smiled, Emerald knew that kind of smile well. A false one that was friendly but with a heavy undertone of harsh punishment if you didn't do what she said.

"Now, please enter the ring." the instructor added curtly.

The red-eyed girl didn't need to be told twice, she was already in enough hot water with the professor, stalling would just get her deeper in trouble. She couldn't afford to be a problem student.

"Come on!" she ordered, grabbing Jaune by the arm and dragging him into the arena.

"I was kinda hoping to have a little more practice before being dragged back in front of the class."

"Shut up and don't get in my way." Emerald sighed. "Look, just... try and look like you can do something at least."

"Now if you two are ready, you shall now face your opponent." Lu was surrounded by a soft green glow and pointed up. High up in the rafters movement caught Emerald's eyes, something large began to lower itself from the shadows.

"No way!" red eyes widened in disbelief. A massive chitinous form descended, dangling from a thick white silken strand As it made contact with the ground its eight legs clacked and skittered on the stone surface. Turning to face the duo, six beady eyes bore into Emerald's own.

"What the hell is that!?" Jaune asked, voice trembling slightly.

"So glad you asked Mr. Arc." the professor smiled confidently. "This, class, is a Widowmaker. Luckily this one isn't fully grown, nor in a colony like they're usually found. They also prefer to ambush their prey rather than fight head-on. However, that doesn't mean they aren't a tough opponent. But, with all of their usual advantages stripped from them, I doubt that this shall be a difficult opponent for you. You fight to ten percent aura or until the Widowmaker is incapacitated." Lu pointed at the pair. "Begin!"

In an instant the spider Grimm rushed forward, eight legs propelling it forward with blinding speed. Emerald jumped gracefully to the side. Jaune, however, felt the superior option was to hold up his shield and hope for the best.

"Ahh!" he yelped as the spider caught him in the chest knocking him to the ground, its limbs battering off his shield.

"Get up you idiot!"

"I'm trying to!"

With a frustrated growl, Emerald ran to her partner's aid. The blades of her scythes lashing out and chains wrapping around one of the Grimm's legs, she braced herself and wretched one of disgusting limbs to the side.

"Now!"

With that brief moment's reprieve, Jaune managed to find his footing again. Back on his feet, maybe they could actually form some kind of plan and-

"Ahhh!" Jaune ran at the beast sword arm flailing.

"Or you could continue to be an idiot." she muttered under her breath.

She was surprised by the fact the some of his spastic strikes managed to hit the Grimm, but it was unfazed by the sloppy cuts. Emerald noticed that, in his single-minded focus, Jaune was unaware of another chitinous limb coming to blindside him. Bounding forward, her blades managed to cut off the offending limb before it struck.

"Pay attention!" She knew for a fact that she would be better than most of the students here, but this was the kind of riff-raff Haven let through their doors? It was a wonder humanity had lasted this long.

"Thanks for the save." He panted out, reeling back.

"I shouldn't have to." she griped, taking a step back, a crack beneath her foot caught her attention.

Glancing down, she noticed she'd stepped on the Widowmaker's severed leg, splitting it in half. Odd; Grimm parts dissolve quickly once separated from the main body, yet this limb persisted. That's when she saw it.

Beneath the normal black and white of a Grimms usual skin, was a beige nothingness.

"There's no way…" She looked up at Professor Lu and remembered her office visit from the other day.

The paper doll that had come to life and served her tea.

The myriad of clay sculptures.

This thing wasn't a real Grimm: it was a giant clay sculpture animated and controlled by the professor. Which meant…

"Jaune, when I say 'go' run at it and strike at its left flank."

"That seems like an awful plan."

"Look I know I'm asking a lot - for you at least - but...just trust me." Emerald pleaded, she couldn't blame him for his doubt. On paper the plan was pointless, and absolutely no one should ever trust her.

But, putting on the best puppy dog eyes she could, making her voice sound a little desperate. "Please."

Gods she wanted to gag, she hated acting like this.

"Alright." he nodded, turning to face the Grimm, which Emerald noted was being surprisingly patient, she guessed that Professor Lu was willing to let them have their moment to plan.

Emerald's grip tightened on her scythes, her legs tensed, she trained one eye on the clay construct, and the other on the instructor. If this were a normal Grimm, this plan would never work.

"Go!"

Jaune sprinted forward, readying a strike at its left side as the Grimm launched into a devastating counter-attack.

Well it probably would have been devastating if it didn't strike the empty air just short of where Jaune should have been, allowing his sword to cut deep into its side.

Emerald could see the look of confusion on Professor Lu's face. She loved that look: that flash when shock, confusion and realization hit all at once.

Emerald lived for that single moment.

The tension in her legs let loose, and like a coiled viper, she sprang forward. Her twin scythes bit like fangs into the construct on either side of its head. Using the weapons as leverage, she lashed out with a kick to the spider's face, its head cracking into clay dust.

The Widowmaker's legs buckled as it fell in a heap.

"Victory for Team JCME!" Professor Lu clapped lightly. "A sloppy victory, but a victory nonetheless. Thank you for the demonstration. Now, please return to your seats and we shall continue the lecture."

Emerald let out a sigh of relief, she had managed to get through this. Hopefully Jaune had learned his lesson, and he'd pay more attention. Maybe just maybe she could fade back into obscurity.

######

Emerald flopped onto her bunk, glad to finally be done with class, and out of that suffocating uniform. Now, she had a moment where she didn't have to pretend to be a plucky young huntress looking out for the good of Remnant. Here in this sanctuary, she could be herself.

"Gods, he sucks so much!" Emerald let out a growl of frustration. How was she supposed to maintain any kind of cover when she had to babysit a guy who seemed to barely know the first thing about fighting?!

The door opened, catching her attention, she was surprised when Cinder walked in.

"Good evening Emerald." Cinder said cooly.

Emerald sat up in an instant, spine straight and posture perfect in order to make herself presentable. "Good evening Ma'am."

"You did wonderful out there today." her mistress smiled softly. "Exactly as I expected of my star pupil."

Emerald struggled to keep a smile from forming on her face, as she felt the warmth of pride that always coursed through her whenever Cinder praised her. "Thank you."

"You're partner on the other hand...is less than admirable."

She felt her heart twinge. "I know."

"You will fix this." Cinder added, her tone telling that this was an order and not a request. "The best and the worst always receive the most attention."

"Yes." the green-haired girl nodded dutifully.

"Another thing." red eyes looked up awaiting her next orders. "Tomorrow evening, I will be using our room to contact my benefactor and her associates. You must keep Jaune away from the room while I do so."

"How do I…?"

"That is not my job to figure out. You're a resourceful girl, Emerald, I trust you will think of something."

"I will." she nodded again.

"Good." Cinder turned on her heels grabbing a briefcase as she went. "I shall be out late as usual. I look forward to seeing results from you."

With that, Emerald was alone once again. But now her mind raced: she had a task that she must somehow complete.

To somehow turn Jaune Arc into a competent fighter.

A weary sigh escaped her lips. A small part of her wishing she was somehow back on the streets. At least she wouldn't have to deal with this.

#####

Jaune sighed as he trudged out of the training hall, where he'd retreated after classes hopelessly hacking away at the practice dummy.

"As if flailing at a post will make me better." he griped.

He didn't know the first thing about swordsmanship, and he doubted what he was doing would make him better. Maybe if he had paid attention in class that might have helped, and honestly he had tried! But every word that came out of Professor Lu's mouth was complete gibberish.

Reaching his locker, Jaune stowed his weapons and armor inside and began to retrieve his backpack. A shot of pain ran through him though, and he spilled his books across the floor as he dropped the bag..

"Damn it." Earlier in class, when he had been forced to fight, he had been knocked down by that spider thing and it had bruised his chest pretty bad. Thankfully, the armor that he wore held up, or he might have broken ribs.

Jaune knew he should probably have gone to the infirmary, but he really didn't want to go there again. Everyone seemed to treat injury like it was a rarity, like it was some strange occurrence. Almost none of his classmates wore armor like he did, yet they seemed impervious to injury.

Probably had to do with aura, the mysterious term his professor kept rambling on about. Reaching down to pick up his books he caught sight of one in particular.

'So Your Body Is A Glowing' A Beginner's Guide To Aura.

A stupid kids book he picked up at the library, hoping to use it as a cheat sheet during lessons.

But then Emerald had called him out on it, and the disaster that was class had happened.

"I should probably return this." he mused, stuffing all his books back where they belonged.

That sounded like a plan: go to the library, return this book, and take out another. "Maybe the have a 'Swords for Dummies' book I can take out?"

This was it, no more would he be the load. He'd study at the library and be the hero he was always meant to be!

"Jaune!" a shout snapped it out of his thoughts as he saw Reese barreling towards him on her board. "Jaune I need your help."

"What's going on?"

"Sun thinks he can drink more milk cartons with his nose than me, we need a judge."

"Sure!" Jaune answered without a moment's hesitation as he followed Reese to the cafeteria.

He could always study tomorrow, the books were going nowhere, and he could really use a break!

Hoo boy how long has it been...9 months well I'm sorry. Haven't felt much for this story lately, but I love the idea of it so much I soldiered on and gave you guys another chapter. This fic means a lot to me and I want to see this pairing make waves. Hopefully next time it won't take as long.

Now excuse me I have to go deal with two blondes stuck on an island with sexual tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.