Another day, another chapter.


Chapter 4: School Days


If you were to ask Jaune, he would tell you in earnest that he never expected himself to have quite a bit in common with Blake Belladonna. It made sense on paper: Blake Belladonna was an ex-terrorist, Jaune D. Strife, or as his papers and identity established by Ozpin would say, Jaune D. Arc, was the son of two ex-terrorists.

You'd expect the similarities would end there, but they didn't. They had liked all sorts of the same things: books, seasons, places, even food. Blake had a sort of dry wit, and Jaune could appreciate her somewhat scathing sense of humor when asking questions and receiving answers on the sort of life he lived, or why he came to Beacon, and etcetera. As far as Blake knew, they had both come to Beacon to make a positive change in the world—a selectively dishonest answer Jaune chose because it was easier to say than, "Actually, I'm only 25% a student here. The other 75% is me being a spy."

Whether she had believed him or not was up in the air, but considering she never pressed further on the subject, he felt that it was safe to say that it was over and done with. If anything, the only thing that did bother him genuinely is the fact that he hadn't seen Neo and whoever she was working with since initiation.

The fact that they were here already was troubling—what could they have been plotting? Leonardo Lionheart hadn't been following direct orders for months now, according to Ozpin. If the Headmaster of Haven Academy had sent his spies far ahead than what Jaune would have anticipated, he was already moving a few steps farther than Jaune had envisioned.

"J-Jaune?" A quiet voice asked. The blonde didn't need to look to know it belonged to his partner, Pyrrha Nikos. Her fiery red hair was let down when she slept, sticking out in every which-way. "You've been doing this every morning. It's been three weeks since school started and it's like you work out without fail nearly every day."

Jaune considered the predicament he was in: his pajamas of choice tonight were the same as always: a light gray and black tank-top, and a pair of plain black basketball shorts. His hands were fixed to the back of his head, fingers interlocked as his legs were the width of his shoulders apart. He had lost count after his fiftieth squat, and that was somewhere around twenty minutes ago.

Honestly, he wasn't sure why they came so easy, but he knew his fondness of them began with Uncle Zack.

"Oh, I woke you up?" Jaune asked. He got low and brought himself up one more time, then pulled his scroll off the nightstand to check the time. The numbers, "2:45AM" greeting him. He sighed, tossing it back onto the nightstand without a care in the world. "Shit, I let the time get away from me. My bad, Pyr."

Pyrrha propped her head up with one hand, talking sleepily. "You didn't wake me, just surprised me is all. I mean, if you want to train, you're always welcome to join me."

"Really?" Jaune said, considering the offer. It wouldn't be quite so different from his current schedule; he'd just be moving his morning sessions to the night instead. Most of his espionage work was done during classes anyway, but the problem was being able to even spy on them. Combat Class had gotten him their names easily: Cinder Fall, Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, and Chocola Bisque. Team CCEM, which Ozpin somehow explained sounded like, "Cream" was led by Cinder Fall.

Jaune dropped to the floor, resting one arm behind his back as he began to do push-ups. He did his best to keep silent, his mind and his body already far away from each other. He kept his reps up, never waning in momentum as he finally said, "Maybe I'll take you up on that offer. Wouldn't hurt to get a little closer, and I'm sure there's plenty I could learn from you."

"Glad to hear it," Pyrrha said from mostly underneath covers. Her eyes remained above the comforter, allowing her to steal glances at Jaune's sweat slicked body. Beads of sweat slid down from his forehead to his chin, or trailed down his muscular back. She allowed herself the stolen glances, thankful that he hadn't decided to stop working out. Well that, or to end prematurely and turn to catch her staring.

"Fair warning though," Jaune said, giving himself one good shove off the ground so that he could switch arms. He kept the same pace even with his non-dominant arm, something Pyrrha took note of. "I'm a hard worker. So I apologize in advance for going and getting rough and dirty with you."

"Rough?" Pyrrha asked, a red tint to her cheeks. When the blonde didn't answer with words, but instead let out a grunt of affirmation, she was ashamed to admit that her legs crossed each other reflexively. "We're going to get… rough and dirty?"

"Yeah," Jaune said. "I have a tendency to start and not stop until the other person is finished. If whatever you were doing was good enough before, I'm positive that what we can accomplish together will be incredible."

"O-Oh my," Pyrrha began. She could feel herself squirm underneath her sheets, her thighs rubbing together at all of her partner's implications. Pyrrha had to admit: she definitely had a crush on her partner and team leader, Jaune Arc. To think, that one minute he would have been some fleeting, but very cute boy at initiation, to her partner that was going to get rough and dirty with her... "Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Well, yeah," Jaune said, plainly. He ended his last push up with a flip, landing on the soft yoga mat as quiet as he could. One hand pulled the bottom of his tank-top up, and another fished for his towel. He turned to Pyrrha, figuring he could convey his message better if they saw eye-to-eye. Absentmindedly, he wiped sweat off of his hard abdominal muscles, saying, "But don't worry, I'm sure you have the stamina for it. And hell, if you didn't before, you'll have it by the time we're done, partner."

"O-Oh…" Pyrrha breathed, huskily. Her entire face was red, her hands gripping the comforter to her bed like her life depended on it. Embarrassed by his incessant staring, she buried her head underneath her covers. She squirmed near endlessly, her mind playing a million different scenarios a minute at Jaune's implications. While she was relieved he liked her back, to think he would be so forward and skip straight to sex as opposed to something tame like hand-holding was… different.

But, even with that being different, why did she find herself enticed by his offer so much? Her body felt like it was on fire, and her stomach hungered for something entirely foreign to her. "So… when do you want," she began, poking her head from underneath her covers. "To sta-"

Fire. That was the feeling of Jaune's hand on Pyrrha's skin. He placed the back of his hand near her neck and collarbone, no-doubt getting a feel of her smooth skin. Despite her best effort, she let out a low groan, quickly clamping both of her hands over her mouth to suppress another.

"Are you okay, Pyr?" Jaune asked. He flipped his hand over, and she could feel his calloused fingers graze her neck. Was he really going to do this, even with their teammates in the room? Any scenario of this in her head would end with her telling them that they would need to wait for a better time, but currently the wetness between her thighs had decided to hell with that. "You look flushed. I'd hate for you to get sick while we're training."

"Training?" Pyrrha asked. Nearly immediately, her breathing leveled, and her squirming stopped. She poked her head out from underneath the covers. "You were talking about training the entire time?'

"I mean, yeah," Jaune said. "Aren't you the one that proposed the idea?"

"Oh," Pyrrha said, attempting to control her hormones. She offered a smile, slowly burying her face back underneath her covers. "You're totally right. How silly of me."

"Silly?" Jaune asked. He waved it away with his hand, toweling his neck and arms. "Nah, you're good Pyr. I thought your confusion was cute, honestly. I didn't take you for being much of an airhead. That being said, I think I'm going to hit the showers."

He moved towards the window near his bed, opening it slightly. He stuck his head out, getting a feel for the cool air of Spring, before bringing it back inside. "The last thing I'd want is to reek of sweat."

Grabbing a fresh set of clothes from his drawers, he milled about the room for a bit, cleaning any sort of lingering mess from his workout before shuffling towards the bathroom. The door closed gently, finally allowing Pyrrha the opportunity to grab her pillow and scream into it, quietly forcing the bed to creak with a rapid flurry of her legs.

"He's so damn stupid!"

/ - N - /

Scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.

Breakfast was a standard affair. The most important meal of the day was one not many students skipped, especially when they were to be undergoing Professor Goodwitch's brutal instruction in Combat Instruction 101. Hailed as a favorite class by many, Professor Goodwitch's class was the only place where many students could cut loose.

Who'd have figured that in a combat school that taught you to solve problems with violence, it would suddenly become something everyone loved?

"Good morning~!" Ruby chirruped. Beacon's youngest had far too much energy for anyone in the morning, but honestly Jaune couldn't help but crack a smile. Ruby lit up a room everywhere she went, and the overall energy she brought with her was nothing short of refreshing.

"Good morning to you too," Jaune said. The energetic girl made a show of skipping around the table before sitting down beside him, her smile as bright as the morning sun. I'm surprised you're up so early. You were late on Monday and Tuesday, but today you're bright and early."

Ruby chuckled lightly, "Well, you know me. I like to adapt to my environment quickly."

"She didn't sleep."

Ruby's body jolted as if she'd been shot, her embarrassment prevalent in the way her body slowly shook. "W-What ever could you mean, Weiss?"

"She's not wrong, Rubes," Yang said, chiming in. The pair sat across from him and Ruby, and it wasn't long after that the rest of their respective teams had filed in as well.

"You were up nearly all night, just watching videos on your scroll," Weiss said.

"The worst part, they weren't even anything worth teasing you over. Why'd you decide to watch something so boring? I looked down at one point and saw that you were watching someone make a mug with a wood turner," Yang added.

"That's what you saw?" Weiss asked. "When I got down to fetch a glass of water, I saw that she was watching someone fashion a knife out of milk and chocolate."

"How do you even accomplish that?"

"With chemicals and a lot of free time, I presume."

Jaune let the smallest of shit-eating grins grace his face as his eyes slid towards Ruby.

"Don't." The diminutive girl clipped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Damn, I don't even get a shot, huh?" Jaune asked, chuckling. He felt a slight nudge on his shoulder from his own partner, the red-haired girl looking about as stern as she could muster.

"No teasing," Pyrrha said. "If anyone gets a pass, it's Ruby."

"Who's going to—" Jaune began, but he stopped to think about what he was saying. Pyrrha dominated the top of their class as undoubtedly the best fighter. Second was Yang, and that didn't surprise him in the slightest given the girl's confidence. There was something about the way she held herself and moved that spoke volumes of her strength.

So he couldn't exactly say, "Who's going to stop me," with two of the strongest first-years in the team right next to him.

"Fair point." Jaune conceded.

Together, JNPR and RWBY ate with little fanfare, having the occasional conversation. Jaune listened with partial interest, dividing just enough attention between his friends and his eyes scanning about the cafeteria.

Three weeks of not seeing them made relatively no sense. How would they be able to keep up with their personas if they weren't in school? He had to be missing something; and it had to be more than just them luckily being split by Beacon's grouping system.

Two hands settled on his shoulder, prompting Jaune to look up. Green eyes stared back into his blue, the dark-haired girl offering a playful smile.

Or they could just do that, Jaune thought. That's fine. If the opposite of what I think is going to happen, then I'd really be unhappy if I somehow came across a million lien.

"Good morning," Jaune said. His heart beat rapidly against his chest, granted not in fear of Neo, but rather the implications her appearance would make. Jaune knew she was a spy for Leonardo Lionheart, but as far as he knew, Neo didn't know him to be working for Ozpin. He was just someone that conveniently showed up wherever she was, granted that was due to Roman Torchwick having a knack for doing everything with a flash and flair.

Neo cocked her head, slightly raising an eyebrow and creating an expression that seemed to ask, "Miss me?"

Jaune ignored it entirely, instead asking. "I've been meaning to ask, but could you introduce me to your team? I'd really like to get to know them better."

When her eyes narrowed into dangerously thin slits, Jaune gave her a half-grin. "Too obvious, huh? Would you have preferred if I asked you on a date in the city instead?"

When she casted her eyes away and drummed some fingers on her cheek at the thought, Jaune scoffed. "You're actually considering the idea? That's cute."

"Ahem."

Jaune brought his attention away from Neo and back to Ruby next to him. He could feel three sets of eyes on him, all of them a mixture of fury and curiosity.

"Jaune," Ruby said, in a sing-song voice. Her voice was strained, her tone clipped. He wanted to believe that she wasn't angry for the reasons he was expected, but it also wouldn't surprise him. His semblance could be annoying like that. "Care to introduce us to your… friend?"

He could feel Pyrrha's glare on him, his partner calmly awaiting his next words. Huh. That would explain why she had gotten so awkward during their conversation earlier in the morning. He had to admit, having a girl have a physical and vocal reaction to his touch was pretty exciting, but surprised she'd be remotely interested in him.

His gaze darted between everyone else at the table, but he found none of them as intense as the one he felt. Who was scrutinizing him with such tenacity? The weight of their eyes on him was so palpable he could pick it up and carry it.

"This is Chocola," Jaune said. "She's an old friend—"

With a roll of her eyes, Neo's hands went from resting on Jaune's shoulders to wrapping them around his neck. He could feel her chest graze his neck for a brief second before she tilted his head to the side and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Okay," Jaune said, rolling his eyes as the faintest blush tinted his cheeks. "Despite that, she's just a friend, that enjoys teasing people and making them miserable, primarily me."

"Is that really it?" Ruby asked, sizing Neo up.

I wonder how long I can play wilfully ignorant to this, Jaune thought. With a sigh, he said, "She's mute."

When his friends and teammates at the table look confused, he explained. "I forgot the circumstances specifically, but her voice box is either damaged or not fully developed at all. She can't speak."

"Ohhhh," Nora vocalized for them. Comically, her knife cut through a large stack of pancakes, the huntress-in-training effortlessly plunging her knife into the totally not shortstack. "I just thought she was like Ren."

"Nah," Jaune said, grinning. "The only thing that they have in common is being quiet. Chocola likes to allow her actions to speak for her, which is why she kissed me on the cheek when I said we were friends. Righ—yowch!"

Three fingers squeezed uncomfortably near a pressure point on his neck, forcing the blonde to grit his teeth in pain. He forced the involuntary tears welling up in his eyes back down, attempting to manifest a supreme look of calm on his face. "Chocola, why would you ever?"

Neo only gave him a cutesy look, her expression making it seem as if she did nothing wrong. Her free arm wrapped around his armpit, and with a light tug she got him to rise to his feet. Her other hand released the pressure point and interlocked fingers with his own hand, the diminutive girl smiling happily as she pulled him away from his table and towards the far side of the cafeteria.

Even as Jaune muttered a quick, "I'll be right back," Ruby and Pyrrha had already decided one thing.

"I don't like her at all."


Author's Note

Short chapter is short. Also long overdue. By the time I publish this I'm going to start working on chapter 5, which will be back to regular length. I'm just going to be honest, I've been super unmotivated to write lately with all the injustices, protests, rioting, and etc. going on.

I've mentioned it before, but if you didn't know, or didn't care before, I'm afro-caribbean/ afro-latino. On account of my mom being african-american, and my dad being haitian, I'm deadass straight up black. Crazy, huh? And everything going on with George Floyd, the protests, the injustice, and the idea that despite me genuinely never sticking my nose in anything, that I can still get killed, profiled, or discriminated against for with the aggressor practically receiving zero repercussions doesn't sit well on my heart.

So forgive me for this being long overdue, and short. I'd ask you to cut me some slack, but I've received more than enough of that, and I'll continue to try and produce content at a regular rate. In the meantime, if you want something else to read while I'm writing the next chapter, if you're a fan of the Persona Series at all, you should give my story, Royalty, a read.

Normally I've tried plugging my ko-fi or my twitter and shit, but honestly atp I'm so far withdrawn from thinking of moving myself as a creator forward that I don't really care to, right now. Probably some time longer down the line, or maybe even next chapter I'll consider doing it again, but if you have money I'd insist you donate it to a cause you believe in. I've donated to a couple programs for people like me recently, and while I can't protest because I'm part of the at-risk population, I'm more than happy to amplify the voices of people that need to, and should be heard.

TL;DR

I've been in a place where I haven't wanted to create, but rather destroy, since everything around me has been going on. That being said, I fought the urge to destroy, and I'm going back to creating, so bear with me while I try and get everything I feel the need to fight for under control.

R.I.P George Floyd.
R.I.P Breonna Taylor.
R.I.P. Oluwatoyin Salau.

And to many more who have had their lives ripped away from them.

This may be a grim joke to make too, but on the off chance I ever stop writing ever, after a time period of like six months or so, chances are I might've been victimized too. I've already been told by one of my previous employers that I look a stereotype, I just don't act like one.

So, on the off chance I get shot, hung from a tree, killed in an act of police brutality, or whatever, I want you to dedicate some time to doing something you enjoy, improving yourself, spending time with loved ones, something that'll make you happy, cause I'm sure by extension it'll make you happy too.

And in the words of my favorite creator ever, Daniel Desmond 'Etika' Amofah, "Please, have yourselves a damn good one."