Here we go, here we go. One-handed fanfiction author to the rescue, go me... ugh. There are so many things you get used to using two hands for – and I'm amazed how debilitating losing the use of my left hand has been. I honestly thought "oh it's just the left hand, what's that even used for anyway?"
Well how about WASD in any pc games – can't play them.
Getting dressed is tough too, I'm amazed how hard trouser buttons can be. Also bought some slip-on shoes, because laces are just plain not happening. I'm not even going to attempt that shit.
Anyway, I digress, here's the usual:
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Cover Art: Exvnir
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Chapter 12 - The Devil's in the Detail
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"I'm telling you... something was off about her."
"Nonsense Jaune, you're imagining things."
"I woke up strapped to a bed!"
"It's not unusual to strap patients down." Glynda laughed softly. "It's to make sure they don't injure themselves."
"With chains and leather!?" He could still feel the bruises on his wrists where they had bitten into his flesh, along with the stinging in his arm from yet another booster. Two hours ago! And it still hurt. He was no doctor, though perhaps he could fake his way into the profession (it seemed to work for everything else), but he was fairly sure you weren't supposed to have a booster every eight hours or so.
"No doubt for those with semblances that could break lesser material." Glynda stoutly defended her friend, a theme he was beginning to think might be recurring. Seriously... could no one else see what he saw!?
"Argh..." He groaned, shuffling some scrambled egg into his mouth in an effort at distraction. "Have you... ever been injured here?" He asked around swallows.
"Me?" Glynda said, pointing towards herself. "Not that I can recall, I mean I've had a cold once or twice, but never something that necessitated a visit to Tsune."
"And suddenly everything becomes clearer." He grumbled, rubbing his arm. How had someone like that gotten a career in medicine, especially around children? Did no one do the required background che- oh wait... yeah...
"Cheer up lad." Peter laughed, thumping him on the back hard enough to make his plate rattle. "I know what'll make you feel better – a good day out in Grimm-infested wilderness."
Oh yeah, that sounded great... seriously, was that what real hunters did for fun, or was that just Port? Either way, he'd prefer to avoid that if he could-
"Ah yes, the field trip is tomorrow." The blonde woman to his left nodded. "You and I shall be in charge of all the first years Jaune." Or then again, a romp in the wilderness with a bunch of teenagers sounded awesome... yeah. Maybe he could just slip off and prepare his will before they did that. Oh Gods...
"Isn't this a bit sudden?" He asked worriedly. Surely a single day wasn't exactly considered the right amount of warning for something like this... or had they mentioned it, but he'd been too distracted with everything else? "I mean I just got out of the infirmary, and I've not done any preparation. Maybe we should delay it until next week."
"No can do, lad. It's already been delayed once."
"That's right Jaune." Glynda agreed. "The trip to Forever Fall was actually supposed to take place a week or so ago. Pushing it back even further would make things worse, particularly with the transfer students arriving soon."
"Ah yes!" Peter crowed. "New students from Atlas, Mistral and Vacuo – I can hardly wait."
"Hang on a minute. Can we get back to this trip please?" As much as a slew of new students sounded terrifying – and it really did – he had more immediate concerns to deal with. Like how he was going to guard a bunch of skilled combatants against bloodthirsty monsters. "Like, what is it we're doing?"
"The Forever Fall field trip is an annual event for first years." Glynda explained, settling her cup of flavoured hot-water down on the table. "It's a chance for them to learn about the environments Grimm frequent, while also getting a chance to work on their teamwork in a more realistic setting."
"Okay... so how come it's been delayed?"
"Normally I handle the trip, escorting and supervising the students." Glynda went on. "It's not an easy task on my own, and with you joining as a support teacher it seemed the obvious choice to have you come along under my command. We would have gone a week or so ago, but we had to delay it until you had your combat bout."
"You needed to prove yourself to the class." Peter cut in, leaning forward with one elbow on the table. "No matter how good you are, to the students you still look nearly the same age."
"So you thought they might not follow my instructions? Or respect me enough to listen to me?"
"That, and long enough for you to get some experience with dealing with children." Glynda sighed. "Not everyone is suited to teaching – even if they are the strongest of Hunters. We couldn't just let you out into dangerous territory with our pupils, if we weren't absolutely certain you would be able to look after them. It's not a question of your ability." She rushed to assure him, despite having hit the nail right on the head. "It's more that you might not have the right mindset for teaching."
"Right... okay." Jaune sighed. "So now that the students know I'm stronger than them, and that I'm not bad at teaching, it's okay for me to run this with you?"
"Exactly." The blonde woman nodded, seemingly pleased that he understood her reasoning. "After what you did against Roman Torchwick as well, there really can be no doubts that you would protect those under your watch."
After he got his ass handed to him and was thrown off a rooftop? Hardly the best of credentials, and this would be worse – the Grimm weren't likely going to bargain with him so that they could both escape unharmed.
Except... what could he actually do to escape going on it? They'd already delayed it once, specifically so he could go along to make the job easier on Glynda. Clearly they weren't going to delay it again, nor were they going to accept sending the deputy on her own when he was clearly unhurt...
Should he go see that crazy faunus again? She would probably injure him quickly enough...
Which was least likely to result in his death?
"Sounds... awesome." He forced out, hoping the smile on his face didn't look as sickly as it felt. "Tomorrow then?"
"Bright and early." His executioner smiled, climbing from her seat. "Now if you'll excuse me gentlemen, I have some paperwork to see to." The moment she was out of sight, a burly arm wrapped around his shoulders, dragging him into Peter's rib cage.
"My boy!" The large man cheered, squashing Jaune's face into his chest. "Alone out in the woods with Miss Goodwitch, a man and a woman, romantic walks – the sounds of nature... This is your chance lad!"
"My chance for what...?" Jaune questioned, extricating himself from Peter's man-boobs with a grimace.
"Don't play coy. This is your chance to have a romantic moment with our very own Deputy-Headmistress!"
"W-what?!" He choked, looking around to see if anyone was listening in. Predictably every single student within a twenty metre radius was watching them. "I'm not asking Glynda out!" He hissed quietly. "We're not like that! Also we'll be in the middle of a forest..."
"It's romantic." Peter exclaimed, loudly.
"It's Grimm-infested!"
"Romantic."
"There'll be students everywhere!"
"Romant-" Peter paused as Jaune glared at him. "Alright, admittedly that last one is a downer. But still! Think of the valleys!"
"What valleys?" Jaune sighed, stacking his plates in readiness to leave. "I don't exactly know the area well."
"Not those valleys." Peter grinned, making some suggestive motions towards his chest, like stroking something round. Jaune's face went red as he began to stutter his denials. "Oh pffttt, I've seen you looking lad. Good taste I say."
"I've not been perving on Glynda!" He cried out, before wincing as every single person in the cafeteria turned to look at him. "I despise you Peter."
"No idea what you mean lad."
"It's too early for this crap." Jaune groaned, as he slumped back into his seat. He did his best to ignore the shit-eating grin on Peter's face.
"It's four in the afternoon!" The older man laughed.
"Like I said, too early." Jaune grumbled, wishing he could have fallen into a brief coma instead of waking up at all. If it wasn't criminals kicking his ass, it was his own allies starting rumours against him. Oh Hell, he hoped this one didn't make it back to Glynda, or he could add 'awkward' to 'potentially fatal' when it came to the next day's trip.
Not to mention he still had his first session with Blake Belladonna to deal with, now that he was responsible for her rehabilitation. What exactly was he supposed to do again to reform someone who had been in an extremist terrorist organisation? Somehow that hadn't been covered in his psychological education... oh yeah.
Fuck my life...
Jaune sighed even louder when his scroll started singing, playing some ridiculous fast-paced tune with trumpets. He knew that ringtone, as much as he wished he didn't. Just one thing after another...
"I have to take this." A quick wave, and a subtle leaving of his plates for Peter to deal with, and he was gone – slipping into the less occupied corridors where the students might not see him. Better safe than sorry however...
"Hello cousin." He sighed into the receiver, before the scroll could jump into another chorus. There was silence on the other end of the line for a second.
"Hey kid!" Roman Torchwick laughed. "You're up and about already, such a go-getter. I'm proud - we should go bowling!"
"Yeah I'm up, no thanks to someone."
"Yeah, no thanks to you crashing my party kid. Anyway, I'm not calling to talk about the many mistakes you've made in life. I'm calling in one of my favours."
Oh Gods... Jaune groaned to himself, rubbing a hand down his forehead. As though life couldn't get any worse right now, Roman was going to have him do some kind of stupidly dangerous and illegal-wait...
"One of my favours?" Jaune repeated. "What do you mean one of, I only owe you one!"
"Ha ha, yeah... no. You see last night I would have been better off just killing you. Letting you go was a favour to you, since it helped you out. So now you owe me two favours. But don't worry so much – we're about to bring that back down to the oh-so-manageable number of one."
"Doesn't looking after Neo for you count as a favour, I really feel it ought to." The blonde faux-teacher complained, leaning back against a nearby wall. Two favours... geez... and the worst part was that he couldn't even really argue with the guy. He was pretty much right. Sparing his life had been a stacked agreement, with Roman getting relatively little from it – other than escaping with his rep intact. He could have scored more by killing Jaune - and clearly he had the skills.
"Nah, that's more of a side benefit." Roman laughed. "For me, obviously."
"Ugh, fine. What's the favour – I said nothing that will hurt the students, right?"
"Yeah, yeah. I wouldn't bother with them either if they didn't oh, you know – try to kill me. Anyway, my boss – who is the kinda woman you really don't want to cross – wants to meet you to discuss what she wants from you."
"What she wants from me? I don't owe her anything... do I?"
"No, you don't. But when I said don't cross, I kinda meant you, me and Neo. We're maybe all dead if you don't play ball – so I'm using one of my favours to ask you to come down, and agree to whatever she asks of you." Oh great, so now Roman had gotten them involved with even bigger criminals, and their lives were going to be on the line, oh yeah, that sounds great.
He was going to be made to do more illegal things...
He was going to be blackmailed...
He was going to be killed...
"Kid? Oi! You still there!?" The criminal shouted, making Jaune break out of his stupor.
"Yeah, I'm here... was just, you know... hyperventilating a little."
"Cute... Fuck... Calm down. Look – I don't know what her full plan is, but from you she just wants to meet you, probably to make sure you're not a threat to her, then she wants you to voice for some of her people when they come to Beacon – say they came from Vacuo too, or just... don't argue against it when they say they did."
"That's it?" He whispered, trying to plan out what might happen. Sure, they were obviously criminals – and might do something bad. But at least he could keep an eye on them here, right? That way if they were doing anything ... too dangerous, he could get the students away... and be arrested himself. Maybe he could just say he didn't realise they had become criminals... two years changed people a lot, right?
Where had all the good choices gone?
"I think so. Just get over here day after tomorrow so she can meet you, and for the love of everything – don't piss her off!"
"Yeah... I'll be there." Jaune agreed miserably, flipping the scroll closed when the screen flashed black. That made his schedule scarily full. Now all he needed was a date with death for the Friday, and he'd be all sorted.
And to think, a couple of weeks ago he'd had dreams of being a hero. A hunter in training... by now he'd be the leader of a team, have a girlfriend, be the best in class... Instead he was stuck as a teacher, being blackmailed by criminals and surrounded by sexy girls he couldn't date because they were all 'underage.'
This is bullshit.
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Some might have asked. What did Jaune Arc know about psychology?
More than he would have expected, less than he would have liked - he might have replied. Reading through the books had been an enlightening enough experience, and certainly some of the things he read seemed to resonate with things he'd seen in real life.
When he'd first accepted the post of student counsellor, he would freely admit his reasons had been less than altruistic. Sure, the Headmaster had weaved the tale of Miss Scarlatina, and the other people he could help. But ultimately he'd taken the post because it would get him out of other work. After all, if he was counselling people, then surely he wouldn't be free to handle any life-threatening events... except, that hadn't worked very well.
Still, he'd read ahead diligently enough. Prepared himself for the problems he thought any visitors might be facing. Bullying of course, because he had fully expected Velvet to be his first visitor... he'd also read up on depression, PTSD (it was a hunter school after all), and some other small problems such as anxiety and phobias.
It hadn't really covered the reformation of former terrorists.
"Uh... hello Professor." Blake Belladonna greeted, from where she was stood nervously in the doorframe, still in her school uniform. Along with a less-than-expected figure.
"I thought I would escort Miss Belladonna to you Mr Arc." Glynda Goodwitch commented lightly, one hand on the faunus' shoulder. The black-haired girl looked frustrated – clearly displeased with the suggestion that she needed to be escorted to her sessions like a prisoner.
"I think I can take it from here Glynda, thank you."
"Very well then Jaune." The woman nodded, relinquishing her hold on the prisoner. "Come along Miss Rose. We have work to do." To his surprise, he finally noticed the small form of Ruby Rose, head bowed as she trotted after the woman, a longing expression on her face as she looked back at Blake and he, before the door closed behind her.
"Ruby is helping Glynda?" He wondered out loud.
"It's her punishment." Blake answered, reminding him of her presence in the room. "Once we were ushered out of the medical room, Ruby received her own punishment for disobeying your orders and endangering herself. And you."
Ah, that made sense. It wasn't something he had actually considered – what with the pain at the time, and then the needles soon after. But if Blake was punished for running away and acting without orders, then Ruby would have to be as well – for knocking him down and rushing into danger. Both of them had, in a sense, broken school rules.
"I'm surprised Ozpin didn't have me counsel her as well."
"Ruby suggested that actually." The black-haired faunus smiled, a rare flash of amusement appearing in her eyes. "But the Headmaster said something about such being less a punishment and more a reward for her. In the end he said her judgement wasn't in question, which was what you would be helping to improve – but her discipline. And of course, there was only one person who could improve that..."
"Poor Ruby." Jaune chuckled. Well, perhaps Ozpin knew what he was doing, she'd certainly lean discipline from Glynda Goodwitch. After a moment he realised the two of them were still standing in the doorway, the visitor shuffling her feet. "Ah, please come in. Sorry. Would you like a drink? Perhaps some milk?"
Open mouth – insert foot.
"Water please." The girl replied, apparently not having noticed the slip. He poured the two of them some iced water, before leading her over to some seats he had prepared in advance. The old classical reclining seat for the patient, and an armchair for himself.
That was how it worked in the movies, so it had to be legit.
Another thing he had learned from movies, and a little from the books as well, was the importance of coming to terms with yourself. He had no idea what that meant, but it appeared regularly throughout many of the books – so it was clearly a good thing.
"Before we begin Miss Belladonna, I want to give a few small rules about our sessions, okay?"
"Okay..." The girl nervously replied from where she was sat on the recliner, drink in hand.
"Nothing bad." He laughed. "First of all, I don't know anything about the White Fang, or being a faunus – so if I say anything wrong, feel free to correct me. Alright?"
"Okay." She replied, more confidently this time, as her shoulders seemed to loosen.
"Secondly, I know I'm also your teacher. But whatever you say behind closed doors will remain behind closed doors, so you can be blunt with me and speak your mind." The girl nodded, taking a sip of water as she awaited the third rule. The one he was fairly sure she would balk at.
"And finally, you're not allowed to wear your ribbon in my sessions."
"What?!" Blake choked, spraying water over her bare legs as she thumped her hand into her chest, baleful yellow eyes snapping up to glare at him. Even with her bow still on, he could see the fabric twitch aggressively.
"I'm not here to offer counseling to Blake Belladonna, human student at Beacon Academy. I want to talk with the faunus, Blake."
"I'm the same person." She complained, not making a move to remove the accessory.
Aww, come on... I thought that was a pretty smooth line actually.
"Miss Belladonna. Your ribbon is nothing more than a disguise hiding what you truly are. How can you hope to come to terms with yourself, if you're hiding behind a mask?" He leaned forwards, blue eyes staring into her own. "It's about coming to terms with yourself Blake."
"I'm happy with who I am." She argued.
"Coming to terms..."
"You've already said that."
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way." He sighed. She crossed her arms, defiantly meeting his eyes.
"What's the easy way?"
"You take the bow off."
"The hard way?"
"You take the bow off."
"Wait, what? They're both the same."
"Which should give you a good idea how this is going to go."
The girl frowned at him, making sure to show her displeasure both through her narrowed eyes, and her impressive pout. Despite that, she finally reached up and began to lightly unweave the ribbon wrapped around her ears, letting it fall into her lap as she revealed her heritage. The two furry appendages twitched, individually at first, flicking back and forth, before settling into focus facing towards him.
It was fascinating, in a strange way. She had two human ears, and also two faunus ears. Which meant she had four ear canals, and could theoretically hear sounds completely different to how he did... The irony of course being that if he asked her, she wouldn't be able to explain it, because she had lived her entire life that way – and didn't know what hearing with just two ears was like.
"Doesn't it hurt to wrap them up like that?" He had to ask, somehow finding the girl to be much less threatening now that she had cat ears. Maybe it was racist, but she looked too damn cute.
"A little, but you get used to it."
You shouldn't have to. He thought sadly to himself. But who was he to try and change decades of racial hatred between two species? He couldn't even get into a combat school – legitimately, anyway.
"Well there we go." He said, clapping his hands together gently as he picked up his pen and notepad, readying them on his knee. "If you'll lean back on the seat, we can begin."
If only it could ever be that easy.
"I don't need counselling." Miss Belladonna stated, in what she probably thought was a dignified and proud manner – but which to him came across as petulant.
"Lay down on the couch Miss Belladonna." Jaune sighed, idly he wondered if it were too late to call Glynda back.
"I'm just saying this is a waste of time." The girl complained, getting up and walking agitatedly around the room. "I realised long ago the poor methods they were taking, and left of my own accord. Doesn't that prove my sincerity?"
"To Ozpin and myself perhaps." Jaune attempted to reason, pointing to the frighteningly large stack of paperwork on his desk. It had taken three students to carry that from Ozpin's desk to his – and damn if the man hadn't looked smug about it. "But to the officials and Council, they need to see further evidence. So lay down, and let me help you."
"I'm not being psycho-analysed." The young girl huffed, sitting on the recliner, but not laying down. "I haven't done anything wrong. I won't be treat like a criminal."
"Uncooperative." Jaune commented, idly scratching the word down onto the notepad.
"I'm not!" The black-haired girl complained, ears flicking back angrily.
"Argumentative." He continued, writing that down as well.
"That's Bullsh-!" The girl managed to catch herself, yellow eyes narrowed into slits as she bit her lip to stop the words coming out. Without a single word she lay back on the seat, crossing her arms and staring determinedly at the ceiling.
Make sure the patient is comfortable and at ease. He read off the cheat sheet he'd prepared from the psychology books. Yeah... well, zero out of two wasn't bad, right?
"So." He said, with what he hoped was a caring smile plastered on his face. "Why don't you tell me how you first got involved with the White Fang?"
"..." She turned her head, choosing to stare at the wall rather than him. Despite the clear refusal, he gave her a few short moments anyway – wondering if it was maybe just nerves, and that she might crack and reveal her history if he were patient enough. No such luck.
"Alright... if you don't want to talk about the White Fang, how about what made you think it was a good idea to leave your team and Beacon?"
"That was a mistake..." The girl sighed, still refusing to look at him. "I let my emotions get the better of me. It won't happen again."
Finally, some progress. He thought to himself, leaning forward with his pad and pen still in place. He hadn't actually written anything yet, and truth be told had no idea what he was supposed to write. But it made him feel more official.
More in control.
"I see, and what caused you to experience these emotions?"
"There was a... disagreement." The faunus girl explained, letting out a long sigh. "Weiss and I had an argument, and I revealed I was once part of the White Fang – look, I already told you this at the diner, why are we doing any of this?" She pushed herself back up into a sitting position, ears flicking back as she levelled a hard yellow stare at him.
"We're doing this because we have to, Miss Belladonna." He sighed. "I also seem to remember you being a lot more cooperative, and dare I say, thankful last night as well. I went through some of the worst torture of my life for you last night... the least you could do is work with me."
The black-haired girl wilted, ears flattening as she broke eye contact with him first. He hadn't wanted to break out the big guns... the guilt trip, but by the Gods above if she wasn't going to work with him he would use every underhanded tool in his repertoire.
He'd learned from the best after all. Heaven help them all if his mother and Roman ever actually met.
"I-I'm sorry sir." She said. "I know you were injured helping us against Roman-"
"Oh yeah... that too."
"Wait? What torture were you referring to? Never mind... I know you helped us there, and I know you saved my education at Beacon too. Really, I'll say it again – thank you. Thank you." She bowed her head as she spoke those words, hands clasped before her.
"But?" Jaune guessed, raising one eyebrow.
"But I don't need counselling." She finished.
And somehow he didn't think the comment 'that's what they all say' would go down very well. Honestly, the words reminded him of what the Headmaster had said in the past about Miss Scarlatina, that those who needed help the most were rarely willing to accept it.
"So where does this leave us?" He had to ask, rubbing one hand down his face. Perhaps a better psychiatrist – or an actual one – would have known how to turn her around, or how to wear her down. But he was nothing but a fake, at more than just counselling. "If you don't accept these sessions then you'll be expelled."
"I'll show for the sessions." She said quickly. "I'm just saying... maybe we could say we did the counselling? But don't?"
"You want me to lie?" He asked, wondering just how he could manage to sound so offended at the thought. The irony was thick.
"Not lie..." The girl said, looking uncomfortable. "Perhaps just fail to mention that we didn't go through with it all." She fidgeted nervously, as though just realising what she was trying to proposition a teacher with. He didn't know if it was bravery on her part, or if she had honestly started to get a handle on his personality, and suspected he would agree.
And the saddest part was that he knew he would.
Blake had already had the rug pulled from underneath her, the fear of expulsion forcing her into compliance in a way no amount of poor counselling from himself could deliver. And besides, the rift in their team looked to be healed, and unless she had any other crazy secrets then there wouldn't be any real problems.
Similarly, he had enough troubles to try and work with, what with the field trip the next day and Roman and his mysterious boss after that – not to mention the hours he still had to put in each night to learn the curriculum ahead of time. On top of all that, he didn't have the time or the experience to try and force Blake into spilling her past – especially when he wasn't even sure he would be able to do anything to help her when she did.
"I can see how that would benefit you." He spoke carefully. "But how would letting you not have to do the sessions help me?"
Well sir... maybe we could do something else... His brain supplied, in a seductive voice, before he shook his head. No way. She considered him an older man, and no matter how sexy she was – and those ears really did nothing to detract from the image – he would never have a chance with someone like her.
"Well... maybe we could do something else?"
Oh Gods, do good things happen to bad people after all!?
"Something else?" Jaune managed to get out, voice going a little hoarse at the end.
"Sure... like homework, or you could continue with your paperwork?"
No... no they don't.
"You get to skip the sessions, but I don't actually get anything I wouldn't have already had from that arrangement." He said, wondering about the ethics of negotiating deals with his own students. But by this point the both of them had already crossed the line of what was really allowed.
Am I becoming like Roman here?
"Well I... I don't know what to offer." Blake frowned, brows drawing close as she looked at her knees in thought. "I suppose I could help you out with things?"
Help?
That word sounded nice... when was the last time anyone had actually helped him with anything? At least for free... In fact, help was what he probably needed the most at this point in time. And if she could reduce his workload by even an hour or so, then that would be an extra hour's training with Neo!
Sure it would be immoral... and deceitful and-
"Deal." He replied immediately, holding one hand out towards her. The faunus girl eyed it nervously. "Help me with my paperwork during our sessions, and I'll quit with the counselling." The girl nodded, taking his hand and shaking it firmly. "I hope you realise how much faith I'm putting in you Miss Belladonna, if you haven't learned from your mistakes – like you say you have, then I'll be in trouble too."
"You can call me Blake." She said, nodding to his words. "And yes, I realise sir. I'm not about to run away from my team again, I'll make this work." She looked so serious at those words, yellow eyes once more meeting his own as she nodded.
"Then you can call me Jaune while we're working." He grinned, pointing over to his desk. "You can start on your psychological forms, start filling in all your information and details. You'll need to give medical details as well, so make sure it's all correct."
"Okay... Jaune." She hesitated next to his seat, before gingerly settling herself into it, looking at the myriad forms arranged on the desk before her. She reached for one, and began dutifully filling it in.
Heh... maybe this won't be so bad after all. He considered, even as he picked up the next set of books he needed to read to keep ahead of Oobleck's history class.
At the very least, he had his own sexy assistant now. That had to count for something, right?
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There we go, another chapter done. One thing I've mentioned before is that I want to show the butterfly effects of Jaune's actions on the plot, but also sometimes how his actions change nothing at all. In this chapter Jaune actually made a pretty serious mistake, one any normal person probably knows – but one we all make too. I'm sure a few of you will mention it (one or two even mentioning it as though it's a mistake I made)...
I don't make mistakes... lol...
The "money" faunus thing was totally on purpose! Yep, absolutely.
Jokes aside, writing this was hard, for my hand reasons. One of the biggest challenges is capital letters and endurance – with capitals my left hand isn't strong enough to press the shift key yet – so I need to do the caps-lock rigmarole, which is a real pain every single time...
Endurance is more a case of my hand seizing up and becoming tired and cramped – a serious problem for me, considering I write 9-5 weekdays as well. Still, I'm hoping the quality isn't impacted too heavily lol.
On a side note, no I didn't "squeeze" forever fall in at the last moment because I forgot. It's been referenced in Staffroom Chronicles, and before this chapter so Jaune did know, he just kept forgetting because he had more immediate worries every time. Then it snuck up on him. I've been in his shoes there... "oh, i'll put it off til later." BANG. Later is now.
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Omake: Coeur al'Aran (I'll alternate these, one by me, one user submitted). – I actually considered a fic based on this once.
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When he woke that morning, it still took him a few hours to realise something had changed. Perhaps it was the usual morning confusion meddling with his brain, or perhaps because for once Neo was absent from his room. It was probably also the result of the overly specific nature of that which he had gained. Either way, as Jaune Arc sat ramrod straight in the middle of the cafeteria.
He couldn't help but marvel.
He, Professor Jaune Arc...
Had unlocked his semblance.
That was a good thing... definitely. He just... well... he just wished it could have been a little more combat oriented, or perhaps useful.
"Good morning Professor." Ren greeted as he sat down across from the young adult, Team RVNN following close behind. It wasn't unusual for the young male leader to sit by the Professor – Jaune suspected it was a desperate attempt for male companionship from what was otherwise an oestrogen-heavy world for the poor boy.
"Morning." He greeted back, sipping on some orange juice.
"Good morning Jaune." Pyrrha spoke.
Good morning future husband. She also spoke, at the exact same time. Jaune promptly choked on his orange juice, bubbles frothing from the glass as he tried to regain breath whilst trapped in citrus doom.
"H-hey." He weakly acknowledged, as he caught his breath.
Oh yes... his semblance was an interesting one alright. And something he had spent more than an hour trying to figure out. Something he had once considered wanting, and no doubt something that many men would give a leg for.
He could hear the internal thoughts of women.
What a weirdo. Velvet didn't comment, drawing his eyes to her. And now he's looking at me, why is he always staring at me? You see something funny!? You want some!? He coughed and broke eye contact with the polite-looking girl. Yeah, damn right you look away. You don't mess with the bunny.
...Yeah...
Anyway...
Another thing was that his semblance seemed to become clearer the more he focused on a single person... almost like how you could better hear a person if you focused on them. He supposed it made a certain amount of sense, even if it was some form of telepathy.
Out of curiosity, he looked towards the last remaining woman on the team.
The person you are calling, is not available right now. Please leave a message after the boop.
"Boop." Nora greeted, waving at him.
Jaune shivered.
"Heya guys!" A familiar female voice greeted, as four more figures dropped into the seats around them. The blonde haired Yang Xiao-Long confidently stole a piece of apple from his own plate, biting into it while giving him a thumbs up. "Hey Prof."
Why, hello there...
"Morning Miss Xiao-Long." He smiled back.
Tch, why so polite all the time...
"I've told you to call me Yang." She complained dramatically. "We're not even in lessons yet."
"Sorry, sorry." Jaune nervously laughed, internally trying to find an off-switch for his semblance. They had to be controllable to some degree right? Otherwise Glynda would walk around with an armada of random objects orbiting her. "I forgot."
Maybe you'll remember my name when I have you screaming it in ecstasy.
Need that off-switch! Like right now!
"So how is Team RWBY?" He asked, hoping to distract the girls from how he was acting – anything that would give him some time alone to try and figure out how this worked.
"I am well Professor." Blake Belladonna smiled calmly, her ever-present book in hand.
Bow down in wonder slave, for you feast thine eyes upon a Queen.
"Great..." Jaune mumbled, as his head tilted to one side. Blake...?
Such reverence is well-deserved slave. Down on your knees... kiss my feet.
"And you Miss Schnee?" He desperately asked, begging for some form of salvation.
I will have you on your knees slave... just you wait. You will pet me...
"I am well Professor Arc, thank you for asking. How are you?" The Heiress smiled back, as pristine and composed as she always was.
I am sooo bored.
"I'm... not bad, thanks."
Ooh, he sounds tense. Want to play doctor?
"Are you sure Professor? You sound a little under the weather." The concerned girl asked, looking at him as though checking him for any signs of illness.
We should take your temperature. Just bend over Professor~
"Ha ha." He spoke – actually pronouncing the words instead of laughing. "No, I'm – fine. Totally fine."
Damn right you are. Yang not-spoke.
Petting my ears has been known to produce therapeutic effects...well... for me anyway. Blake thought. You might want to try it, just in case.
Just ignore it and it will go away... ignore it all. He mentally commanded to himself, reaching for his dessert, a single small chocolate-chip cookie. His necessary bit of sugar for the morning slog.
GIVE ME THE COOKIE! A purely demonic voice intoned, rasping like gravestones dragged against gravel. Jaune froze, blue eyes slowly landing on the small cutely-smiling Ruby Rose. Whose eyes were closed as though in pleasure. GIVE IT TO ME!
"Would you... like this cookie Ruby?"
"Really, can I?" The girl gasped, not waiting for an answer, but instead reaching over and snatching it from his hand. "Thanks Jaune – you're the best!"
COOKIES FOR THE COOKIE GOD! She bit down on it, spraying crumbs left and right as she devoured it. BWHAHAHA! ABANDON HOPE, THEE WHO'S CHOCOLATE CHIPS PASS THESE GATES! FOR ONLY ETERNAL DIGESTION AWAITS THEE!
"I have to go!" He stuttered, climbing to his feet and fleeing from the room to escape those damning voices.
"Bye Professor-Jaune!" Nora yelled.
Boop!
If he could just make it back to his rooms... yeah, he could sleep it off – tell them he was ill. No! If he heard Tsune's inner thoughts he would never survive! He would... he would lock himself in there. Refuse to speak to anyone other than Peter until this was sorted. Surely they had ways of controlling semblances...
Surely other people had problems like this before him!?
"Oof-!" Miss Goodwitch let out as he collided with her, knocking the two of them to the floor.
Ouch... damn students always running in the halls.
"I'm so sorry!" He apologised, quickly helping her up and picking up some of the work. "I'm so sorry Glynda."
"Oh, Jaune, it's you. Don't worry about it." The older woman smiled, waving off his apologies as she accepted the sheets of paper from him.
Mine.
"Ah... is the paperwork okay, I didn't damage anything did I?"
"No, no. It's fine don't worry about it Jaune." She smiled, hefting the paper higher in her arms. "This is work I'm taking to Ozpin, so it will just get stained with coffee in a few hours anyway."
Mine.
"Good luck with that then." Jaune laughed, his beating heart calming down once it became clear that Glynda wasn't as crazy as the other girls were. Anyway, I need to get back to my rooms... just forgot something. I'll see you later?"
"Yes, I'll see you at lunch – or dinner if Ozpin tries to dig his heels in." He laughed at her threat, before he turned to head back to his own quarters.
That ass is mine.
Hear no evil, see no evil, purge my mind of all evil... Just... get back to his room. And everything would somehow be fixed.
///
"Safe!" Jaune cheered, as he slammed the door behind him and leant back on it for support. He'd made it back to his room, and without once bumping into any other scary women en route. He still dreaded the twisted horrors he might have found in a certain medic's mind.
"...?" Neo asked, which was to say she tilted her head and raised one eyebrow. But after the two of them having shared living space for so many weeks, he had gotten used to imagining the silences too.
"..."
"Neo? You're back?" He asked uncertainly, watching her nod and grin.
"..."
"No... it can't be."
"..."
"How can you be mute in your own mind too!?" He cried, all sanity having fled as he collapsed to the floor in a dead faint. Neo watched it with wide eyes, her mouth open in surprise as she crept closer to her unconscious roommate.
The hell's up with him?
"...?"
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Well, there we go. Omake done. I considered that for a short series once, but ultimately decided against it because it stood more effectively as a one-shot.
Next chapter will be in 3 weeks.
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Patreon . com (slash) Coeur
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I'll also be cleaning up my profile page in the next few hours, as I want to more accurately cover which stories will be released next, and in what order. While also re-doing the summaries to be a little less whimsical, and a little more interesting.
Feel free to check them out! It will detail when they will be released. (At least in terms of the order).