[#] Starting next month, alongside my regular series I'll also be posting a brand-new RWBY fic, Rusted Professor.
[#] Also 'RWBY NOT!' Is already posted.
[#] As always, Ko-fi subscribers have access to 5 chapters ahead, plans start at 1 dollar.
COMMENTS:
Gur40goku[archiveofourown]: Cinder smugly watching as Adam crushed the Arc sisters... only to screw up majorly as she just show her face to 4 women that now want her dead and are running to Jaune. God i love how evil shoots itself in the foot.
Avip: This reminds me of a RWBY meme, I don't remember the season, but it featured Ruby celebrating that they only managed to win because of Cinder's stupidity.
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[Image]
[Pyrrha Nikos]
I start to wake up with a goofy smile on my face, the soft morning light filtering through the curtains. The dream is still vivid in my mind, every detail so real that I can almost feel Jaune's touch, the sound of his voice confessing his love. I sigh, feeling a wave of happiness.
But as I open my eyes, I realize I'm lying on Jaune's chest.
His body is warm and firm beneath mine, the rhythmic sound of his heart beating against my ear is so soothing. The feeling is so comforting that I allow myself to stay there for a few more moments, savoring the peace I find in his warmth.
I remember last night that we didn't 'do' anything physical, but his simple presence, the connection we shared, is enough to fill me with a deep serenity.
"Finally, we're together, and that's all that matters." I whisper, satisfied. "I wish this moment could last forever-." I try to speak, but I'm cut off by someone kicking our door open.
TWACK!
"House Cleaning." A skinny man with dark hair announces, wearing Beacon's cleaning staff uniform. "Any brats at home? Unlike your spoiled and privileged asses, some of us have to work hard-." The annoying voice cuts off as he contemplates the room. "King-size beds? Is this a school or a love hotel? Can you believe this, Ne-! I mean Suzy."
Behind him enters a tiny woman with a sulky expression on her face and crossed arms.
"Aaaaah. Isn't she cute in her snot-green uniform?" The peculiar man says in a condescending tone. "Miss Suzy Sunday is in a bad mood."
He tries to pinch the cheek of the small, dark-haired woman, but she threatens to bite his hand.
Horrified I cover myself pulling the sheet up to my neck, my eyes wide with indignation.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" My voice comes out shrill, mixing surprise and anger.
The thin man with dark hair raises his hands in surrender and an awkward smile on his face.
"Sorry, sorry! My bad, I didn't know anyone was still here. I'm Greek Candlestick, and this is my little sister, Suzy Sunday. We were recently hired for the academy's cleaning staff."
Suzy, the tiny dark-haired woman, remains with her arms crossed, her expression sulky. She doesn't say a word, just watches with a critical gaze.
"You're siblings with different last names? And how exactly did you get into our dorm?" I press, suspicion sharpening my voice. "The lock only opens if no team member scroll is inside."
Greek gives a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his neck.
"Oh, you know, I have some skills from… another life. Nothing much, just a trick here and there."
Beside me, Jaune finally wakes up with the noise. He gets up, his hair disheveled and his eyes still sleepy.
"What's going on here?" He asks, his voice hoarse with sleep.
Greek turns to Jaune, and freezes, wide-eyed.
"Oh fuck!" Greek screams, sweating cold. "Is that Jaune Arc?!"
The tiny girl next to him froze in shock.
Jaune blinks, yawning, but quickly focuses on the intruder.
"You…" Jaune says in a tone as if he knows the man.
As Jaune gets up, the cleaner and his sister take a step back towards the room exit, tripping over the cleaning cart.
"Shit!" Greek complains, knocking over one of the trash cans from the cart, spilling its contents on the floor.
CLANK!
Jaune's eyes widen as he notices wallets, scrolls, laptops, and other items that were inside the trash can.
"Looks like we need to have another talk, Greek." Jaune says, cracking his knuckles.
"P-please at least put on some pants first." Greek pleads, stammering.
Jaune looks down, noticing he's wearing his classic bunny-print pajama shorts, before responding with a smile to Greek:
"Nop."
I get out of bed, the sheet still wrapped around my body, and follow Jaune as he drags Greek by the neck to a cleaning closet on the hallway.
Greek's sister follows them, her face a mask of joy, silently laughing at her brother's suffering. Blake, with her face peeking out of Team RWBY's dorm, films everything with her scroll, a trickle of blood dripping from her nose.
Despite this crazy morning, I start to laugh alone, relieved, certain that all this chaos proves that Jaune really is back.
[Jaune Arc]
I wasn't sure if Professor Goodwitch would be in a bad mood, due to me missing some classes after my suspension.
But when she asked me to face an entire team without my semblance, weapons, armor, or shield, I was sure.
"Team CRDL vs. Jaune Arc." The professor declared to me and my opponents, staring at us.
Church said he wouldn't help me with this too, so it will be a good opportunity to test my skills without him.
"Break their legs, leader." Nora yells, excited.
"Defeat him without losing Aura, and I'll let you take me on a date." Yang says, all excited.
'Now that's an interesting idea.' I think in silence.
"Begin." Glynda announces, pulling my attention to the fight.
Cardin advances, his black adamantine mace reflecting the cold light of the hall. A snarl escapes his lips, but his eyes don't have the malicious glint I've seen so many times.
"Nothing personal, Arc."
"Whoa!" I exclaim, surprised. "That's the kindest thing I've ever heard from you."
"Fuck his shit up!" Cardin shouts, charging.
"That's the ginger asshat I know." I reply, smiling.
Cardin leaps, bringing his mace down, trying to crush me. I dodge, feeling the weapon's wind pass close to my face.
CRASH!
I take advantage of his open guard and kick him in the side, sending him flying. He rolls across the floor, raising a cloud of dust.
"Cardin Winchester out." The professor announces.
Russel, Dove, and Sky attack next. Russel comes with a horizontal strike, but I duck, feeling the blade pass over my head. Dove tries a high kick, but I dodge to the side, grabbing his leg and using his own momentum to throw him against Sky. The two fall in a tangle of limbs out of the ring.
"Dove Bronzewing Out! Sky Lark out!" The professor announces.
"Weird". I mutter annoyed, as I didn't want to get them out of the ring so fast. "I need to train more to control my strength."
Slowly I turn to Russel, the last member of Team CRDL, who swallows hard, staring at me fearfully. With a malicious laugh, I approach my target, bring my thumb to my chin, and cracking my neck.
CRECK!
"I surrender." Russel says, quickly leaving the ring.
"Aaaaaaaaaah." The whole class complains in unison.
"Congratulations, Jaune. Impressive victory without taking any damage to your Aura." Professor Goodwitch's voice echoes through the hall, but her tone is serious, with no hint of praise.
She approaches, her heels resounding on the stone floor.
"However, you still have much to improve. Your strength, speed and reflex are undeniably amazing even among professional huntsmen, but your skills still needs to be honed. Don't be complacent by your easy victories."
She stops right in front of me, her eyes fixed on mine.
"Therefore, I'm planning a special field lesson. In which you will be hunted by all your classmates."
"What?" I question, surprised.
A murmur of surprise goes through the room. I look around, seeing mixed expressions of excitement and apprehension from the students.
"Dibs!"
"Yang! Professor Goodwitch said it's for the whole class." Ruby complains to her sister. "And you can't claim dibs on a person."
"...still dibs."
[Yang Xiao Long]
After almost half an hour of travel, we arrived at an isolated area of the city of Vale, near the south wall.
I stop my motorcycle, Bumblebee, in front of a large imposing building. The construction is rustic and oppressive, appearing to be a solid block of concrete with few windows that rises from the sidewalk.
"Is this some kind of prison?" I ask, removing my helmet.
"This is a prison." Jaune says, dismounting from behind me.
The helmet created by his semblance dissolves into a golden mist as he stares at the building with a worried face.
"Normally when a guy asks a girl out on a date, he's the one who drives her to a cool place." I say in an ironic tone. "They don't hitch a ride on the girl's bike and take her to a prison."
Jaune's serious face dissolves into laughter at my comment before he responds to me.
"Normal girls aren't able to defeat Ursa Major in arm wrestling."
"Aaaaah." I sigh, feigning embarrassment. "You're such a smooth talker blondie, you know what a girl wants to hear."
Despite the friendly atmosphere between us on the sidewalk, we quickly fell silent with the serious and oppressive atmosphere of the prison as we entered the building.
We approache the reception, where a bored elderly lady was absorbed in her scroll. She didn't even look up as we approached.
"Visiting hours are over." She says curtly. "Only licensed lawyers with appointments can enter."
Jaune and I exchange a quick glance as I shrug confused. He takes a step forward, placing his hands on the counter.
"I'm not a lawyer, but I have an appointment." Jaune informs in a polite tone. "To visit one of the prisoners in the maximum security wing."
With no interest in returning Jaune's respectful behavior, the secretary, still not looking in our direction, put down her scroll and turned to the monitor.
"Name?" She spoke in a dry, disinterested tone.
"Jaune Arc."
The woman hit the first keys on the keyboard only to stop mid-motion. Quickly, she raises her head in our direction.
She is wide-eyed, staring at Jaune with fear and reverence.
"I-I apologize, Mr. Arc." She stutters, trying to maintain a professional demeanor. "We d-didn't know you would be visiting us so soon after you dropped… 'her'." The woman says in an apologetic tone, as if justifying her unprofessional stance until now.
As the secretary typed with efficiency, I blink surprised by the change in the secretary's attitude. Before, she was acting like most public servants attending to any ordinary citizen.
Now she seems to be dealing with a high-ranking politician or something of the sort.
"Is this lady your partner?" She asks in my direction.
"Lady?" I repeat confused, as I've never been called that in my entire life.
"Yes, her name is Yang Xiao Long." Jaune explains, all smiles.
"May I see your ID?"
I quickly hand over my Huntress in training license, feeling a chill down my spine from this jerk calling me Lady.
She quickly prints a badge with my information and photo and sticks it on my jacket, while for Jaune, she hands him a badge on a lanyard that was stored in her drawer.
"My system indicates that due to your special conditions, you don't need an escort." The secretary says, reading from her monitor. "Is that correct, Mr. Arc?"
"Yes." Jaune responds with a nod.
With Jaune's confirmation, a metal door on the side lights up green before opening.
"Let's go, Yang." Jaune says, walking ahead of me.
I silently follow the leader of Team JNPR through wide concrete corridors but without cells on the sides.
Noticing my confusion, Jaune begins to explain.
"The most dangerous and violent criminals in Vale are held in this prison." Jaune informs as we approach the elevator at the end of the hallway. "We're going to the area where criminals with awakened Aura are imprisoned."
My eyebrows raise, confused. I stop walking, making Jaune turn to me.
"Ok... this is officially my third worst date." I say, my voice echoing through the empty corridor. "Why did you bring me here, Jaune?"
Jaune stares at me for a few seconds, his eyes firm but gentle. He takes a deep breath before answering.
"Yang…" He begins in a serious tone. "We're going to see your mother."
"You found my mom?" I question, pressing Jaune against the elevator wall by his shirt. "How? Why?"
"In order…" The blond begins. "Yes. By plane. Pretty sure I promised you I would... or that I'd bet I'd find her... Church wasn't with me when we had that talk, sooo I'm not sure."
I release Jaune, my hands trembling as I bring them to my face. Anxiety consumes me, every thought tumbling over itself.
'My mom... here?' I think as I feel distressed. 'The woman who abandoned me, who left our family shattered, is within my reach? Will I finally know why she left us?'
"Yang?" Jaune calls me, clearly worried about me. "Are you okay?"
I don't answer immediately, breathing erratically, feeling distressed.
While I was distracted amidst a whirlwind of emotions, Jaune presses the elevator's emergency stop button.
Before I could question him, Jaune creates a cable, connects it to his scroll, and then connects it to the elevator panel.
"Cut the security camera feed." Jaune says in a serious tone. "I want to talk to Yang alone."
{{Got it.}} His blue AI responds.
As I stare confused by Jaune's actions, he turns to me with a serious expression on his face.
"Yang…" He begins with a firm but understanding tone. "Sorry for bringing you here without telling you, I thought it would be a… 'cool' surprise for you."
"Huh?" I murmur, confused.
"Say the word, and we'll get out of here." Jaune says in a sad tone.
"Wait, Jaune!" I say, raising my hands, stopping him. "I know I'm shaken, but I want this... I think I need this."
Jaune stares at me, his eyes searching for something in mine.
"Are you sure, Yang?"
I take a deep breath, feeling the weight of the emotions I've carried for so long.
"I am sure." I reply, clenching my hands. "I need to let this go, these emotions that weigh heavy inside me."
Jaune nods, understanding. He removes the cable from the scroll, and the elevator starts moving again. The silence between us is heavy, charged with unspoken expectations and fears.
The elevator doors open, revealing a long, dimly lit corridor. Jaune guides me, his steps firm and decisive. We stop in front of a metal door guarded by two armed guards with rifles.
As soon as Jaune shows his badge, one of the guards types a code on the panel next to the door.
"You have twenty minutes." The guard informs, opening the door.
With a nod, Jaune agrees before guiding me into the large, well-lit room with a female figure with long black hair wearing an orange prisoner's jumpsuit and a golden collar around her neck and both hands cuffed.
[Image]
"Mom?" I question, astonished, recognizing the figure.
Red eyes open, staring at me as if looking deep into my soul.
"Yang." Raven Branwen says in a disinterested tone. "Is that your boyfriend? He reminds me of Tai when we were young."
Perhaps I would have felt ashamed of the comment, if her attitude hadn't made me furious.
"Are you serious?" I ask, my blood already boiling. "You abandon us, get thrown in jail, and the first thing you comment on is my boyfriend?"
"Boyfriend?" Jaune repeats, confused, but a sideways glance from me makes him shut up.
Raven gives me a tired smile, but stands up, showing that besides the collar, her hands and feet are also cuffed.
"A woman with a bad temper, attracted to a handsome soft-brained blonde." She says in an ironic tone. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
I clench my fists until my knuckles turn white, my eyes reddening as I stare at the woman who manages to be arrogant and haughty even when imprisoned.
At the height of my rage, about to punch my bitch of a mother, Jaune positions himself between us.
"I even see the resemblance, at least appearance wise." Jaune says between us, staring at Raven who seems to recognize him. "But there're many glaring differences between the two of you."
"Who are you?" Raven questions, finally getting annoyed. "Your voice is familiar to me."
With a mischievous smile on his face, Jaune points his finger at Raven's face before speaking:
"You are the biggest coward in all of Remnant." Jaune says in a showman voice.
Jaune's words hit Raven like a punch to the stomach, her eyes widening in astonishment.
"It's you!" She shouts, distressed. "Ozpin's pawn who destroyed my life."
Jaune laughs loudly at Raven's reaction, the sound echoing through the room.
"I can't imagine why the little bird is so frustrated with me. After all, by your own philosophy, I've done nothing wrong. The fault lies with you… for being too weak."
Raven's eyes widen, despair stamped on her face. She turns to me, her cuffed hands trembling.
"Yang, you don't know the whole story. You don't know everything."
I cut her off with a sharp gesture, approaching with firm steps before starting to speak:
"About what exactly?" I ask in an ironic tone. "The shadow war, the maidens, or perhaps about the Queen of all Grimm and her immortality?"
Raven's jaw drops at my response.
"I know everything, Mom."
The shock on her face is palpable. She tries to formulate words, but all that comes out is a hoarse whisper.
"How…?"
I sigh tiredly, staring at the pathetic woman I spent so much effort trying to find.
I feel like an idiot remembering the insecurity I felt from being abandoned. But now, with this simple exchange of words, I see that Jaune's first statement about her is right.
Raven is a coward, nothing more, nothing less.
"I always feared not being good enough for you, Mom." My voice trembles, but I keep my gaze steady. "Somewhere in my twisted mind, I thought you abandoned me because I wasn't strong enough. But now I know the truth... you're the true coward."
Frustrated, Raven opens her mouth to dispute me, but a shot silences her.
POW!
I stare wide-eyed at Raven fallen on the floor, then turn to Jaune wielding a weird gun.
"Relax." Jaune says, dematerializing the weapon with his Semblance. "I just thought you'd heard enough for today."
"Rumph!" Raven grumbles, getting up.
As she stands up again, I understand what Jaune did when I noticed the glue on her mouth, silencing Raven.
Unable to contain myself, I let out a laugh, the kind that makes your eyes water.
The situation is so absurd that I can't help it. Raven, the woman I idealized for so long, is here, handcuffed and gagged, unable to defend herself. It's a pathetic sight, but somehow, liberating.
"You're right, Jaune," I say, wiping a tear from the corner of my eye. "I don't want anything else from her. I don't need explanations, apologies, or justifications. She's just a coward, and I had better, with Ruby, my dad and Summer."
Jaune gives me an approving look, a discreet smile playing at the corners of his mouth. He knows how difficult this is for me, how much I struggled to reach this point. And in a way, he also knows how liberating this is.
I was on cloud nine, until Jaune asks me something before we enter the elevator:
"Now, could you explain this boyfriend story to me?"
Sighing tiredly, I turn to him, pulling him by the shirt.
"Just shut up and kiss me, you himbo." I say, pulling the blond for the act.
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E ai gurizada…
[#] I hope you enjoyed this chapter, if you are interested, my Ko-Fi[avipbr] subscriber has access up to 5 chapters ahead:
Chapter 46 - Upgrades
Chapter 47 - Thats family
Chapter 48 - My body
Chapter 49 - Arrogance before the fall
Chapter 50 - Make your own destiny
[#] You can reach me on X/twitter, @AvipBr