17

Chapter 17 – Jaune Story

"Yes! Yes, she's doing it - she's finally tearing his pants off," Jaune said as he let out a quick giggle. Blake hummed in agreement as she reached down to turn the page, the small bear sat between in her lap leaning forward eagerly. "Noriko is so kinky… I love it!"

"Argh I'm so bored!" Yang's voice rose like a siren, cresting in one final frustrated groan as the bed above her rocked dangerously. Yang apparently throwing herself down on it.

"Reading," Blake replied evenly as she tried to do just that, idly slapping Jaune's paw aside when he tried to turn the page early. She gave his nose a small flick in warning, ignoring his mutters about her being a slow reader.

She liked to savour the words, not rush through them like her life depended upon it.

"What'cha reading," of course, that was hard when you had Yang as your partner. The girl hanging over the side of her bunk so that her long hair fell in a waterfall beside Blake's face. Completely blocking her sight of the tempting pages. "Ohh, more porn?"

"Yang, I realise you're easily bored, but that doesn't give you the right to drag everyone else down with you," Blake sighed as she looked up into those lilac eyes. She thought it should have been awkward meeting the gaze of someone hanging upside down, but nowadays she was a master at it. Especially when it was blondes who were involved.

"I'm just saying classes are boring, there's nothing going on – as my partner isn't it your responsibility to see to my mental health?"

"That's a doomed endeavour."

"Rubes!" Yang warbled dramatically, "Blake's bullying meee."

The small girl waved one arm, apparently too tired after the day's classes to care – or even speak. The small arm hung in the air momentarily, before slumping off the side of the bed, the girl grumbling as she got comfortable.

"My own team turns against me," the buxom blonde sighed, "but I'll stick to my responsibilities Blakey, don't you worry."

"Joy…" She closed the book with a sigh, realising she wasn't going to get any further now that Yang was bored.

"Damn it Yang! We were so close!"

"So," the girl said as she flipped off the bed, landing on her feet before the two of them. Blake's amber eyes nervously watched the stack of books holding up their bunk, waiting for it to collapse and crush her. Somehow it held, as it had for some time now. By this point Blake firmly considered their bunks to be a miracle. "Talking about your personal safety Kit-Kat, where were you yesterday evening? Or even the day before, when you came back very sweaty."

"Training," Blake said instantly, trying to keep her eyes from flashing down to her mattress, which a certain ancestral family blade was hidden beneath. The last thing she needed was to have to explain that… also Jaune's dad still hadn't returned her message.

"Uh-huh?" Yang said, clearly not believing it in the slightest. "You just happened to sneak out at eight, and not come back til midnight? That's some serious dedication there."

Don't say anything, she'll just take it as ammunition.

"You know what I think you were doing?" The blonde leaned in closer as she made obvious kissy motions. "I think you were meeting your special someone out in Vale for a night of passion."

"You've been watching too many trashy movies," Blake deadpanned as she pushed the other girl's face away.

"Maybe the guy who got you that teddy bear you seem so focused on? What do you think Weiss?"

"Tch," the heiress scoffed from her bed, where she was busy brushing her hair. "Probably that reprobate monkey Sun – he's spent enough time chasing round her skirt."

"It's not Sun," Blake argued as she scrunched her nose up. Not that there was anything wrong with the guy, other than that she really didn't know him at all. All she knew about him was that he was a monkey faunus, came from Vacuo and apparently was into her. Hardly a strong basis for a relationship. Also she already had two blondes in her life, and between Jaune and Yang she didn't think she could survive another.

"Ahh, hear that Weiss? She said it isn't Sun – not that it wasn't true!"

"Well she's not wrong," Jaune commented from her lap, "though if that was your idea of a date then I think your approach needs work."

Blake snorted in amusement at his words, though Yang seemed to take it as confirmation of her own suspicions.

"I knew it! So, tell us more about him, your mystery beau."

"Brave, blond and furry."

"The only man I'm seeing," Blake said as she poked Yang in the forehead, "is the one in your imagination."

"You skank," Yang gasped as she placed a hand over her mouth and pretended to sway, "stay away from him, he's mine!"

"I'll do more research tonight," Jaune commented from her lap, "if you spend time with your team, remember?" She did remember his little rule, as much as she despised it at times. But there was no arguing with results, and whether she wanted to admit it or not, Jaune was better at finding information than her. Probably because he didn't feel exhaustion or fatigue, and could just keep looking with full attention.

"You really are bored aren't you?" Blake groaned as she leaned back on the bed with one eyebrow raised. "Fine, what is it you want to do?"

"That's more like it!" The blonde laughed as she grabbed Blake's hand and pulled her up, leaving Jaune to slip to the floor with a quiet oomph. "Anyway, I just got a new album from the Achieve Men – you've got to hear it."

Ugh… she already wished she could switch places with Jaune.

"Bla, bla… rubbish…" The small bear mumbled to itself as the terminal screen flashed. "Nothing concrete… ugh… maybe enough to suit though."

Certainly enough for Blake to be pleased, and that was what counted really. As long as he kept up his end of the bargain and kept the intel coming, then she would slow down and spend more time with her team.

It was win-win really. He didn't get to do anything at night other than this anyway, and the last thing he wanted to do in their waking hours was sit watching her at the computer. His small frame froze as he saw a different news story – not from the title, but rather from the picture included in it.

Wasn't that the girl that had been seen with Torchwick the other night? Wanted as a suspect for a particularly violent murder… he shivered, a good job indeed that he'd held Blake back. He saved the story into the folder with a swift click, before freezing as a shadow suddenly cast over him.

His small furry head flinched as he turned to the right, looking up uncertainly into the eyes of the Headmaster of Beacon Academy.

"Hmm…" the man said simply, a mug of steaming coffee in his hand as he looked down on Jaune. "A bear using the computer…"

"Umm… hi?" Jaune tried, lifting one hand in a small wave. The man blinked again, shaking his head as he lifted the mug to his face.

He gave it a short sniff, face scrunching up as he looked down at it.

"Did I pick up Bart's coffee again by mistake? Good Lord…" The man spared one final glance towards Jaune, before shaking his head and walking away, mumbling something about never telling Glynda.

Okay… that was a thing, as Yang might say.

But why was the Headmaster up at… five-thirteen… Ooooh shit.

Five am was a time that might as well have not existed to Team RWBY – for not a one of them had ever been awake to experience it. But that didn't mean others might not at what was too damn close to morning for him to be wandering around!

The terminal flickered off as he tossed himself from the table, his back smacking into the hard floor as he bounced twice towards the door – quickly scrabbling to his feet and waddling away.

"Damn it, damn it, I'll never hear the end of this!"

He just needed to get back to their room and it would be fine! The hallways blurred slowly by as he pushed his little legs to the extreme, his vision bobbing aggressively as he ran. Too late however, he heard footsteps approaching ahead.

His small button eyes scanned left and right, but he was in the middle of the hallways and trapped. Whoever they were, he'd never escape their long strides on his tiny legs. Instead he waddled over to the left wall and slumped at its base, content to play the abandoned teddy bear.

With a little luck they'd leave him be and he could sneak by.

A pair of shoes stopped before him, turning to face him.

"Well, well, well…" a deep voice laughed, as a hand came down to grip him by the midriff, holding him up in the air. "Look what we've got here."

"Isn't that Bitch Belladonna's bear?" Another, whinier voice laughed.

"Sure is Russell," the teen's face lifted in a sneer as Jaune felt hatred boil up within him. As well as fear… Cardin Winchester chuckled, eyes flashing cruelly. "What a lucky find."