A Building Storm

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Beta(s) :

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So.

Here we go...

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"I just think it's weird, that's all." Jaune sighed, watching Yang heft her pack on while Weiss went over a checkl-list on her Scroll at the base of the Bullhead ramp maybe ten feet away from the bench he was sitting on.

"Why, though?"

"I don't know." Crossing his arms, he grimaced at the unease in his gut and went on, "Like… Ozpin said this mission was over your level?"

"Mhm." Ruby nodded, unperturbed by it all as usual while she turned her rifle in her hand, eyeing every inch of it with the wary eye of a Huntress with her precious weapon. Quietly, she said, "Well, for my class, anyway. But he says my team is good enough, so he doesn't mind. Plus he said he, you know, didn't have enough older teams to handle it."

"I mean, you are pretty good…."

"Is that doubt?" Ruby asked playfully, cocking her head and raising a teasing brow.

"What?" He blinked, "N-No-"

"You were!" Ruby guffawed loudly, drawing the eyes of her team and waving them off in the same moment. Pouting, she raised both brows and asked haughtily, "C'mon! Who do you know that's better than my team?"

'Neo.' He very nearly said, grimacing and biting his tongue just before he did. Instead, he sighed and offered, "My dad?"

"Okay, look now, Jaune, you can't compare us to actual Hunters." Ruby pouted, waving a hand up at the ceiling above them and, presumably, at Beacon beyond it. "I mean here at Beacon. You know, the place that matters?"

"That's a little narrow-minded, isn't it?"

"Yang, Jaune is flirting at me!"

"No he's not!" The grinning blonde shouted back, waving her younger sister off with a flippant hand. "He knows I'd kill him if he did, so he's not. Right, Jaune?"

"I do, in fact, prefer having innards to having outards, yes." The blonde barked a short laugh at that and turned around, dropping into a stretching squat and then standing again as she got ready for the flight.

It was a Herculean effort not to stare thanks to those 'should be illegal' shorts of hers, but it was rewarded when she flicked a look over her shoulder and pouted at the loss of a chance to pick at him.

Hah.

Trying to pull one over on him? Joke's on her, he spent entire weekends with Neo! He was immune to such weak attempts to fluster him! Like how he was immune to the flu thanks to the shots Beacon had made them all get. And come to think of it, Neo did have a needle-like sword…

He shook his head before images of a sadistic Nurse Neo invaded his mind and said, "Just be careful out there, okay, Ruby?"

"I'm always careful." Ruby answered seriously, more than able to recognize when the time for jokes was over. "The first time I told my dad I wanted to be a Huntress, he took me out to a cemetery to show me all the headstones of his friends who'd died. He told me later he was lying, just trying to get the message across, but… It worked, you know?"

"Yeah, I-I get that." His father had done the same to him, once upon a time, to try and scare him off the idea. But as far as jaune knew, and as far as everyone had ever said about it, those headstones had been of Hunters. And they had worked with his father, too.

Before the Grimm got them, at least.

"I just…" He sighed, "You never know, you know?"

"I'll make it a promise, then, so my bestest friend that's not a girl feels better!" Ruby grinned brightly, offering him a pinky. When he didn't take it right away, she wiggled it and pursed her lips impatiently, staring him down until he sighed, groaned, and hooked his little finger around her calloused one. She grinned and coiled her finger around his, bouncing their hands and singing, "Pinky swear, of Grimm beware, if I'm lying, the Grim'll find me there."

"That's reassuring, given what had me worried…" Or, well, something involved in what had him worried, at least. Letting her pinky go he sighed, "Still… The Headmaster didn't say why, exactly, he needed someone out at Mountain Glenn so badly?"

"Nope." The girl answered with a loud pop on th 'P', checking the time on her Scroll and hopping up. Smiling, she said, "Whelp. Time to, you know… Head out, kill some Grimm."

"Yep." He sighed, standing and offering her a hug and a smile, "Hug for luck?"

"Oi!" Yang called out, "Vomit Boy! I see you!"

"And that is how you know it's platonic!" He laughed as Ruby stepped in and turned, pressing her shoulder into his chest and letting him awkwardly hug her.

Then she bounced away, turning on a heel to shoot him a mock salute and stick out her tongue, "See ya when I get back! We'll play some Grimm Eclipse!"

Jaune despised that game - generally, he hated hack 'n slash games as a rule - but he smiled and nodded nonetheless, waving and waiting until her Bullhead had lifted up and zipped away before he turned to head inside. He passed by another few teams heading out onto the large landing platform as he went, all of them toting weapons and bags and dressed to the nines in armor and combat suits. A few of them, mostly older students he barely even recognized, paid him nods as they passed.

But most just ignored him, either chatting amongst their teams or, in a couple instances, staring off into space with a hard set to their jaw.

The latter reminded him of his father…

"Well, something looks to have upset you." Pyrrha's voice dragged him out of his own head as soon as he stepped out of the building and into the cool air.

He turned as she pushed off the wall, smiling warmly as ever as she tucked her hands into the pockets of her warm, dark brown coat. It was a bit fancy for what he was used to, from living out in Ansel, with bronze buttons that kept it closed at the front and dark, padded leather on the elbows and knees that gave it a faux-rustic sort of feel. She'd opted for thick cargo pants as well, which was where she was warming her hands, as well as a sturdy looking pair of boots that went up to mid-calf.

"I see you like the outfit." She chuckled, dipping her chin into the scarf she had wrapped around her neck.

"It looks good on you." He smiled, bobbing his head towards the library to invite her to follow. He didn't need to look to know she was following and asked over his shoulder, "Is that what you got in the mail yesterday?"

"Yep." The woman said, slipping up to walk by his side. "Something about a fashion deal. I don't mind so much. The clothes are nice. Sturdy."

"Not combat rated, though." It wasn't a question, and she wasn't surprised when she snorted at the thought. "Yeah, thought not. Still, looks good."

"The cut is a bit too well fitted in a few areas, if you were to ask my opinion." She sighed, tucking the coat around her tighter and then shoving her hands back into her pants. "But over-all, I can't really complain too terribly much. My skirt shows off more than these trousers do."

"True." He might not have been interested, but he'd have been lying if he said anything else. "Anyway, why bother? Aura can keep us warm."

"I rather enjoy the chill, so dressing up, I can let my Aura relax and enjoy it without fear." She chuckled, "A bit paradoxical, perhaps, but… Well, I suppose there really is no 'but' there. It's just a bit paradoxical."

"Hey, as long as you're happy."

"On that note…" She cocked her head to the side, avoiding his gaze, and said, "I… Have something of a favor to ask of you."

"Oh?" He blinked, "And why does that make me nervous?"

"Well, it's nothing to be so frightened by, if I do say so myself." Her awkward, anxious chuckle didn't do much to make him believe that though. He sighed and gave her a look, and she rolled her eyes. "Oh, for all that is- I just wish to ask for you to arrange a… Friendly bout between myself and N- Er, your small friend."

"You want to fight Licorice?" He sighed, shaking his head amusedly when Pyrrha mouthed the word. Like she was trying to memorize it. Rolling his eyes, he asked, "Why?"

"I just... Want to know who is the better fighter."

"Why?"

"To know who is the better fighter, I suppose."

"Okay, but, again, why though?"

"I don't know, Jaune. It just sounds fun to me, I suppose?" She shrugged unsurely and slipped ahead of him to tug the door to the cafeteria open.

The heating hit them and she sighed, unbuttoning her coat to expose a very fitted red sweater with her symbol plastered across her midriff. The collar was cut dangerously low, too, with a pattern of bronze laurels stitched into it around an expanse of flawless skin. He understood what she meant by it being 'too well fitted', though. He had a feeling that if she tried, she could bust out of it in two very specific places.

'Maybe there is a god…' He thought to himself, chuckling and offering a quiet, "Nice, uh, blouse."

"Yes, yes, now you see what I meant." She sighed, rolling her eyes as they crossed the cafeteria, more than aware of Pyrrha's ogglers. She didn't seem bothered by them, though. She was probably used to onlookers by now, though.

Jaune, though, ground his teeth in agitation for it. It was like she was just meat to them…

"Just ignore it." Pyrrha sighed, "I could be wearing footy pajamas and people would stare at me. I've learned to simply shrug it off."

"I guess…"

"It's just the way of things, for me." She shrugged, turning to give him a smile. "And i don't mind everyone who looks."

"I-I wasn't- I mean, um, just-" He grunted and let his head hang, grumbling, "I hate you sometimes, Pyr."

"Oh, but I'm having so much fun." She chuckled, taking a tray and offering it to him before grabbing one for herself. "Now, about my other fun…"

"I'll talk to her about it." He promised, heaping half a pizza covered in meat onto his plate and moving on to the mashed potatoes. "But, uh… Just so you know, she's not a very nice fighter. She's, uh… Vicious, actually."

"Oh?" Pyrrha asked, "How so?"

"Imagine fighting a sentient poodle with a sword."

"That's… An image." She snorted, "But I'm sure I'll be quite alright."

"Pyr…"

"I'm a champion fighter with almost a thousand recorded wins, and an unknowable amount of unrecorded ones." Pyrrha countered with a little smirk, like she was amused he was even worried about the problem in the first place. "Trust me, Jaune. I know my limits."

"Alright…"

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Neo smirked at her Jaune's message and typed out a quick reply, "Busy over the next couple of days, but I'll be free on the weekend. Hang out like normal and I can get us a spot for a spar?"

Jaune's response was quick, as always, "Sure. Normal has to involve pants, though."

She responded with a smirk emoji and a kiss emoji and Jaune just sent back the actual word 'sigh'. Which was somehow even funnier than just about anything he could have actually said. Hitting the button, she leaned back on the crate she was sitting on and pulled her jacket open, blowing a kiss up at the camera as she snapped a picture that was all kissing face and breasts and hit send.

Yet again, jaune's response was instant, "Why?!"

She only laughed and closed her Scroll, looking up as one of the twins came over, carrying a tray from the bar upstairs, "Your steak and potatoes."

Neo only grinned to show her thanks. It wasn't like whichever twin this was - the red one, but she didn't know which that was - knew how to read sign. And why would she? It wasn't like she worked frequently with a mute person, or anything like that, after all.

Okay, so maybe Neo was a bit petty towards the twins, but that was her right.

And mister Stabby would correct anyone that disagreed.

"The last shipment runs out in a couple of hours." Red Twin said while she tucked into her food, "Roman wants you on that one. Didn't say why."

She only nodded, biting off a piece of her steak and giving her a thumbs up.

"Glad you follow. Anyway…" Red Twin smirked and cocked a hip, "So. Who was the skin show for, then? Looked like you wanted to put on a hell of a show..."

Neo met the woman's eyes and, for a moment, felt embarrassment flare up inside of her. And then she felt aggravation. Why should she be embarrassed for teasing her Jaune? Ridiculous. But stabbing Red Twin wouldn't really help things in the larger scheme, as fun as it would probably be. And the idea of going after twins was always fun, even outside of the stabbing aspect…

But there was work to be done, and Roman needed Junior on side.

And that big bastard loved the girls like they were his own…

Finally, she decided that some fun was in order, and raised one hand, fingers making a circle while her other came up, one long finger pointing towards the hole-

"Ugh, nasty little gremli…" Red Twin scoffed, turning to stalk off and tossing back. "Forget I asked."

Neo smirked as she watched the woman vanish up the stairs, back towards the dull throbbing of the club above. Turning back to her food, she sighed and thought about the pic she'd sent. Had she gone a bit too far with her teasing?

…

Nah, obviously not, Jaune would say if she was actually bothering him.

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So, bit of a short start to this, but I want to get the momentum back up on this story. Find my old notes, remember my plans, tweak them all because of course I am, the like.

Hope you enjoyed!

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Magos Avreal Dealek :

Yes! I was working through a different story and then this one took its slot. Apologies for the wait!

Shadow of the Hitokiri :

Nothing. They simply elected to, randomly, kick me out. The kind of reasons they gave me were 'you keep forgetting where the pasta strainer goes'. I honestly think Kyle, a roommate, was upset that the direction people wanted to go in didn't have him in charge, and so ousted me to wrest control back.

But honestly? I can't care anymore. *shrugs*

Smokey Panda :

He's just a decent damn man trying to survive, yeah. My heart goes out to him.

Dustin0106 :

Sorry for the wait, hope you enjoy the story once more!