No Victory in Strength (Minecraft Jaune) - Chapter 4

Next Minecraft Jaune chapter. This ended up being way more popular than I thought so I decided to make it a priority. This chapter is more focused on the romcom shenanigans. I'll admit it's not as funny as I intended, but hopefully it's alright.

For anyone interested in making a commission, email me at: storylover543@gmail.com

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The five of them slowly made their way back to town with the golems and the knight trailing around them. Growing up the way she did, Weiss was used to being heavily guarded. Even before she became the heiress, she was still considered valuable. The second daughter of the Schnees, and the 'backup heir' at the time. Both the SDC's nominal allies and their enemies knew what getting to her meant. Her value only increased once she was made the heiress proper after Winter joined the military, which only made her position skyrocket in their eyes.

It was one reason that she'd insisted on learning how to defend herself. Having to be surrounded by bodyguards as soon as she left the mansion was stifling. It was that, and her desire to live up to her grandfather's legacy, that pushed her to not only learn to defend herself but also surpass the stoic men who treated her like a piece of porcelain. A part of her preened at the fact that she could more than easily match, and even surpass, many of the ones who used to guard her.

And yet another far smaller part missed it. Back when she'd been young and innocent (naive), she'd viewed herself as a princess being protected by her cadre of knights. She'd learned soon enough that they were less knights and more men just trying to earn a paycheck, but the fantasy lingered at the back of her mind.

Seeing Jaune's knight brought that same fantasy rushing to the forefront. The towering suit of armor walked stoically forward, sword and armor gleaming in the sunlight. It looked absolutely pristine with even the clumps of dirt and soot from the mortar falling away a while back, seemingly too afraid to dare besmirch its obsidian visage. It made for both an intimidating and inspiring visage, a figure straight out of a fairy tale.

She had to admit that she was a bit jealous. Despite her skill with her Semblance, Summoning had sadly eluded her thus far no matter how much she trained. The thought of the Arma Gigas - the obstacle her Father placed in her path - being a servile knight was an appealing one. As such, seeing the subservient suit of armor that followed Jaune made her feel jealous. That years-old desire to be the fairytale princess (albeit one that could more than defend herself) was coming back to the forefront.

She wanted...no, needed to convince Jaune of the righteousness of her cause. They could do...so much good together for all of Remnant. His abilities and her guidance, they would be unstoppable.

But how, she thought. Again, she was forced to reckon with the fact that she had nothing to offer him. Money and connections were pointless to someone with his gifts. She could try to convince him with just words - she always thought she had the gift of the gab - but what she was asking for was no easy thing. Months, if not years, of dedication with nothing to incentivize or reward him with. Jaune seemed to be a good man, but would he do all that out of nothing but the goodness of his heart? Domremy was his home, so he had a vested interest in improving it, but she couldn't get that same guarantee for the SDC. Helping all of Remnant sounded good on paper, but it was too...abstract. Indirect.

And then, an idea came to her. Seduction. He wouldn't do so much for a stranger regardless of how good of a cause it was - she doubted anyone on Remnant would - but for a partner? Yes, she could see Jaune caring enough to put in all his effort.

A voice at the back of her head whispered about how she was being no better than Father. She squashed it down. This was different. Father married mother for the sake of greed and short-sighted profit without a care for who he hurt. She was doing this for the greater good of Remnant. And besides, she wouldn't have been...opposed to getting together with Jaune. He was kind, generous, selfless, and rather fetching to look at. It would be a happy union, not like what Mother and Father had.

Yes, it would do just fine...

Trailing behind the rest of the group, Ruby looked down at the ground with her lips curled in a pout. She was looking forward to using Crescent Rose so much! After Jaune's upgrade, she really wanted to see her baby cut through Grimm like it was nobody's business. And, you know, maybe show off in front of Jaune. He told her back when they were forging that he wanted to be a Huntsman before he got his Semblance. Kicking Grimm butt in front of him would've shown how cool she was.

Not that seeing the knight and that Dust mortar wasn't cool, but still!

"It's okay. We'll get our chance next time." Ruby whispered to Crescent Rose, holding the compressed sniper-scythe with both arms, "Then we can do more upgrades! You'll be the awesomest weapon in all of Remnant. Yeah..."

Yang and Blake looked at their sister/team leader and stepped back to get some distance.

To the left of the group, Yang raised her arms above her head and yawned. This definitely wasn't how she thought this mission would go. She expected they'd find news about some settlement that found a good spot and managed to grow pretty quickly, but this? This was nuts. A whole kingdom, talking ani- things that did not happen, and most of all, Jaune. She eyed the golems and the knight. The guy had more protection than Jacques Schnee! She was pretty sure the CEO of Racism would've been seething with jealousy if he saw how much this 'country bumpkin' had.

Her thoughts drifted back to the Grimm. A horde like that definitely wasn't normal. So many Grimm types all working together like that, and aiming for Jaune specifically? It was like something straight out of a Captain Atlas comic book.

She shook her head. Dwelling on it by herself wouldn't do anything. They'd talk about it later. Besides, she had better things to focus on. Her mouth curled up in a smirk and she licked her lips at the sight of Jaune's shirt clinging to his back. Growing up in Patch made her a country girl at heart, and that affected her tastes in men too. Seeing shirtless men working hard chopping wood was what made her realize she liked guys. Being in a Huntsman Academy gave her a lot of free eye candy too.

Generally speaking, Jaune wasn't exactly the hottest guy she'd seen. He looked good, sure, but so did just about every other Huntsman-in-training. It was a common joke that there wasn't a single ugly Huntsman or Huntress in all of Remnant, especially with a trained Aura keeping you looking younger than your age.

Still, Jaune was different, at least so far. Not a meathead jackass like Cardin or some of the other guys at Beacon, and he actually liked her (awesome) sense of humor. That was more than a lot of guys who pretended to laugh while trying to look down her shirt. She was gonna win this one. Weiss cream wouldn't know how to flirt if it bit her in the ass, getting Blake to talk was like pulling teeth, and Ruby...well, she loved her little sis, but she wasn't exactly a social butterfly.

Yeah, she was pretty sure she had this in the bag.

To the right of the group, Blake looked down at the ground, her head a jumble of thoughts. She wasn't worried about being distracted. With Jaune's golems (and that knight) around, she doubted anyone could get near them. No, she had more important things to worry about.

The first being those damn cats. She was used to being insulted - she grew up hearing slurs from cruel and apathetic Humans - but something about being mocked by cats, of all things, pissed her off to no end. They already had it bad enough being called 'Animals' by the Humans, and now the actual animals were calling them fakes and wannabes? She was putting up cats next to dogs on her list.

The second being that loan. The cherished book was back in their temporary room in Jaune's castle. As much as she wanted to read it, she didn't want to reveal her secret habits in front of the rest of the team. That and the 2000 lien debt weighing on her mind. She needed to find a way to pay it back. She couldn't face her parents (one of these days...) with something like that hanging over her head. Even Adam would've been too ashamed to look at her.

At least it gave her an opening to broach the topic, "So, Jaune...is there any work you need done?" she asked. Her three teammates looked at her with suspicion. She ignored them all.

"Work? Uh, should be stuff around town to do. Why?'

"Uh...I'm going to buy something. I can't say what it was-" Weiss rolled her eyes, "but it's something I really need, and I need some extra cash for it. "

"You need more money than the gold bar, Blakey? I wonder what you're buying." Yang grinned.

"Oh, how much? I could give it to you if you-"

"No, no. Thank you, but...I'd rather earn it for myself." The gears in her head shifted, "But if you're thinking of good causes to be involved in, could I suggest-"

"So, Jaune, you were thinking of expanding your kingdom?" Weiss asked in a rush. Blake hissed and looked at the babbling heiress. She did that on purpose. Well, it wouldn't matter. She'd convince Jaune to help her one way or another.

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She could do this!

That was the thought that ran through Ruby's head as she stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She could do this. She was Ruby hecking Rose, she fought beowolves for fun and could strip an assault rifle with her eyes blindfolded. Dating a guy? Easy street. Wouldn't even be any effort!

...Right?

Okay, so maybe knowing how to build firearms from scrap metal wasn't something that translated to dating, but she could make it work! She got into Beacon two years early and made the leader. That had to mean something, right? Right, of course, it did. Headmaster Ozpin wouldn't just do that for no reason!

She slapped her cheeks and pulled back from the sink. She and Jaune were going to build another upgrade for Crescent Rose, which gave her the right time to 'strut her stuff'. Whatever that meant. She knew she couldn't just ask Jaune out. They'd barely known each other for a couple of days and all the romances from her favorite comic books didn't just...happen! Okay, some of them did, but those were the ones that got a lot of people up in arms in forums. She needed to be better than that. No one would accuse them of being poorly written!

"Ruby, you ready?" Jaune called from outside.

"C-Coming, gimme a sec!" She adjusted her hair and stepped outside, looking up at Jaune with a bright smile, "Ready!" she chirped, trying to sound...uh, seductive? Alluring? Bah, it didn't matter!

They made their way down to the basement with Ruby smirking smugly at her team as they passed them by. They all tried to suggest crafting together, but Jaune said that it was better if they worked on Crescent Rose alone since it was a personal project and that was sacred. Oh, how she felt all floaty and warm when he said that. He really was the one for her. Everyone else treated building and maintaining their weapons as a chore, a 'necessary evil'. They should've been thanking their weapons for giving them the honor!

The warmth of the forge was comforting when they got there. Ruby breathed in the smell of steam and coal as she put on the nearby apron, "So, any ideas?" Ruby asked as she laid Crescent Rose on the crafting table. Past Ruby wouldn't have even considered the idea of anyone but herself tinkering with her baby, but that was...well, in the past. Past Ruby was dead, long live Present Ruby!

"Hm, I have a few." Jaune put a hand on his chin, "We could put in an Unbreakable enchantment. Make sure that it never breaks, but you probably don't need that right now. I can tell that Crescent Rose is really well-maintained. Better than just about any weapon I've seen, really."

"She is." Ruby preened at the compliment. It was about time somebody realized.

"Alright, so we'll shelve Unbreakable for now." He snapped his fingers, "Oh, oh! Alright, I hear me out. I'm thinking of two things. First one is Sharpness. Smite already makes your weapon hit harder against Grimm, but Huntsmen still have to fight criminals and bandits and a bunch of them have Aura. With this upgrade, Crescent Rose will crunch through their Aura in one or two hits."

"Huh, cool! Buh, uh, I'm trying to focus on fighting Grimm." She knew she had to fight people at some point - it was practically impossible for any Huntsmen not to run to bad guys, but still - "Maybe we could shelve it too?"

"No problem. I get it." He smiled understandingly before grinning, "Then I think I have the perfect upgrade." He pulled out a blueprint from...somewhere and put it on the table, "Multishot! Three bullets for the price of one! One bullet not enough to get through a Goliath's hide? How about three at a time hitting the same spot with every pull of the trigger? Especially since Crescent Rose uses high-impact rounds. Grimm are gonna get mulched! And with a little tweak, you can switch between having it shoot all at once or separately."

"That...sounds...AWESOME!" Ruby squealed. Crescent Rose's weakness was always her rate of fire. Sure, it could pack a hit, but it was still a bolt-action rifle with a limited magazine (NOT CLIPS). Ten rounds were nothing to scoff at, especially with each bullet's power, but it was still a deficiency. Sadly, a fifty-round magazine just wasn't feasible, "Oh, I can't wait to kick some Grimm but with this!" Maybe with Jaune watching so he could ooh and ahh about how amazing she was.

"Let's get to it."

Sadly, Jaune had to do most of the work. It wasn't her, he said, it was just that you needed his Semblance to make sure that the enchantment actually stuck. Anyone else and it just wouldn't work. He still did his best to include her, which she appreciated.

"And...done!" Jaune stepped back and gestured to the unfurled sniper-scythe. It didn't look any different than before (except for a new lever close to the safety), but she could feel the power radiating from it, "Why don't we test it out?"

"H-Here? Are you sure it's safe?" Ruby asked, though she was already shifting her baby to her sniper state.

"Yep! I've done it before." He made his way to the other side of the room and trapped a button. The wall shifted around to show a training dummy...wearing diamond armor. She was sure Weiss would've gotten a heart attack at the sight of it, "Sorry if it looks rough. That was the first diamond armor I ever made. Not really useful for actual patrolling, so I use it to test out how strong some of the weapons I make are."

"Rough. Sure..." It looked pretty darn good to her, but maybe she was just blind, "Alright, here we go..." She twisted the lever to the 'tri-shot' position, as Jaune called it, and aimed straight at the torso. Taking a deep breath, Ruby squeezed the trigger and watched in awe as three bullets, one right after the other, impacted against the diamond's shiny surface. Her eyes widened. The recoil hadn't increased at all, and when she detached the magazine, she saw that only one bullet had been spent. Just like he said.

"Oh, my Gods." Ruby gasped. This was one of the most amazing things she'd ever seen.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Jaune grinned.

"It's more than cool, Jaune! It's, it's...!" She didn't know the right words to say. Instead, she turned Crescent Rose back to its compact form before she tackled Jaune in an excited embrace. Jaune laughed even as he struggled slightly to keep balanced, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! This the best thing someone's ever given me!" Well, someone outside of her family, at least. Dad, Yang, and Uncle Qrow gave her a lot of stuff growing up.

...But it didn't mean she'd give up her soulmate to Yang!

"You're welcome. It's nice to see someone who really loves their work." He (sadly) pulled back from her embrace, "Make sure to kill a lot of Grimm with her!"

Her. He even talked to Crescent Rose with the proper pronouns. Was he trying to show her just how perfect he was? Cause she already had plans for an engagement sniper rifle up and ready!

Speaking of...

"Jaune, I wanna thank you for all the great stuff you've given me."

"Oh, you don't have to-"

"No, no. I want to." Ruby shook her head, "I wanna build you something. I know I can't do as much as you can, but still!"

"I...well, thanks, Ruby. Sure!"

Ruby smiled and turned to the forge proper. What could she make? As tempting as making a sniper rifle was, it would've taken too long even with the right materials. She had to make something small, something he could keep on him.

In the end, she decided to make a keychain with a Rose emblem hanging off it. It wasn't the best thing, but still, "Here." She offered it to him.

"Thanks! I'll make sure to keep it with me!" Jaune nodded happily as he took it. Okay, now it was time for her to flirt! Show him that they were soulmates!

"So, Jaune, are you a runner? Cause you've been r-"

"Oh, by the way, I'm thinking of another upgrade!" Jaune said, cutting off her awesome line (that she totally didn't steal from Yang).

"Y-Yeah?"

"Yeah! We could get something like Piercing - so your bullets punch through the Grimm and hit more targets - but I'm thinking of something rarer. Infinity." Her brows furrowed. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? "It'll take a bit for me to gather the materials, some of them you can only find in the Ever After, but when Crescent Rose gets it? She'll be shooting, well, infinitely! Infinite ammo! No more reloading! How does that sound?"

How did that sound?! He was basically offering to turn Crescent Rose into the best gun in the whole wide world! It was...it was...!

Ruby's mouth curled up in a delirious smile before she passed out. The last thing she remembered was Jaune's eyes widening and asking if she was okay before everything went dark and she had dreams of her and Jaune frolicking in a field of bullets and Dust grenades.

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"What am I gonna do with you?" Yang sighed as she set Ruby down on the bed. Jaune had come up carrying her worrying about how she'd passed out. Weiss and Blake had forgotten to be mad with how worried they were, but Yang wasn't fussed. She knew what the smile on her little sis' face meant. She wasn't hurt. On the contrary, she'd passed out from sheer weapon overload. It happened before, mostly when she got really into finding just the right upgrade for Crescent Rose. Jaune must've said something.

"How is she?" Weiss asked as soon as she left the room.

"She'll be fine. A couple hours of sleep and she'll be right as rain." An idea suddenly came to her, "Actually, could you two keep an eye on her? She moves around a lot when she gets like this."

"Why don't you do it?" Blake raised a brow.

"Cause I gotta get something to calm her down when she gets grabby. Old Xiao Long family recipe." It wasn't a lie...kinda. So what if the old recipe was warm milk and some cookies? It did make Ruby calm, "I'll go down in town and get what I need. Should be back in like half an hour tops."

"Maybe I should go with you," Blake said.

"Maybe I'll give you something to pay back that loan you took if you stay here," Yang countered.

Blake's eyes widened, "H-How did you know that?!"

"The guy running the place asked me to keep an eye on you. Wants to make sure you don't just skip town and leave him hanging." She liked Blake, but she wasn't gonna help her dodge a loan. Or drag the rest of their team into it.

"You took a loan?" Weiss looked aghast, "I thought you were smarter than that, Blake!"

"Sh-Shut up! I needed it for something important!"

"Yeah, yeah. Be a good girl and keep an eye on Rubes with Weiss cream and maybe I'll pull you out of that hole you dug for yourself. 'Kay? Bye~" She walked out the door while Weiss lectured Blake about being responsible with cash. Oh, the irony.

"Is Ruby alright?" Jaune asked. He stayed down in the living room while they carried her up to give them some privacy.

"She's fine. Just got a little too excited. I'm sure you've seen it before."

"People passing out? Uh...no, not really."

"I mean getting girls excited. You know, like me."

"Uh...okay?" Jaune looked confused. Was she being too subtle? Well, time to up the ante, "So...what do you say the two of us go down into town and you give me a private tour?" She made sure to lean forward and grin. It was a killer move that would've had any guy back at Signal or Beacon wrapped around her finger, "What do you say?"

"I guess I could, but I thought you guys already got the tour and explored the town? Not sure what else I can show you."

"Oh, come on! You built this place! I'm sure you know all about any secret places. You know, the kind where we can get a lot of privacy~ So we can do stuff that...private like?" Shit, she was talking too much.

"I don't really know any places like that, but I'll give you a tour, sure."

"Great!" Yang gave him a megawatt grin.

The tour was...okay. Jaune actually gave her a tour and wasn't distracted at all when she tried to subtly show off in front of him. Yang knew she was hot. Call her proud or whatever, but she never saw the point of pretending to be humble. She was hot, badass, and had the best hair in all of Patch if not all of Vale. Trying to deny it would've just been lying to herself. She was also undeniably the hottest girl in girl at Signal. She got some competition once she got to Beacon, but her looks were still nothing to scoff at.

But Jaune didn't look at her twice. She was almost offended before she saw exactly why, "Hey, Jaune~" A girl with tan skin and long brown hair grabbed his arm and cozied up to him, "You wanna go somewhere tonight? I've got tickets for that new Spruce Willis movie."

"Oh, Chai! Uh, sorry but I'm kinda busy-"

"Jaune, Jaune!" Another girl, this one almost as pale as Weiss with her blond hair in two long braids, took his other arm, "My family's been inviting you to dinner since forever! Are you finally gonna accept?"

"Eris, I'm actually kinda-"

So on and so forth. Jaune couldn't take two steps without being swarmed by another gaggle of girls trying to get his attention. It made sense. He was the guy who turned a regular village into a kingdom that could rival Argus. And that was just six months. In six years the place might've been flying higher than Atlas! No shit the women here wanted a piece of him. He was Jacques Schnee without the racism and oldness. He would've been a hot thing even in Vale.

"Oh, Jaune. We still have a tour to do," Yang called out. The group of women all turned to look at her with daggers in their eyes, but she just smirked back. She was training to be a Huntress. She'd stared down Ursa Majors without blinking. It'd take more than a bunch of thirsty civilians to scare her.

"R-Right! Tour." He extracted himself from the pile of disappointed women and led her away to a cafe. Everyone in town greeted him happily and Jaune was quick to respond, greeting back and asking questions about their family or how their studies were going. Man of the town. He led her to a corner booth and slumped down on the chair, "Thanks for that. Going down here is kind of hard sometimes."

"You seem popular." Yang grinned.

"I guess." Jaune laughed, "I mean...they're interested in me cause of my Semblance. I'm not stupid." He sighed and rolled his eyes, "Me and Chai actually used to date. We were only together for a few months before she broke up with me. Said I wasn't ambitious enough. I was actually tempted to fake my transcripts to get into Beacon Academy when I turned 17." He laughed softly, "But then a week after our breakup I got my Semblance and...well, plans changed."

"A good change, right? I mean, look at this place!"

"Yeah." He chuckled, "I mean, I got what I wanted. I'm helping a bunch of people, I made my family proud, and I've lived up to my ancestors. That's a big thing for us Arcs. It was when I started building that Chai talked about how it was all a big mistake and she thought wrong."

"Yeah, I bet." Yang snorted.

"Yeah. But, I don't hate her. I just don't wanna get back together."

She doubted it'd stop her from trying, "So...anyone special you do have in mind?"

"Huh? Not really. I've been so busy with building everything that I didn't really think about that. Things have been slowing down recently, though. Makes me wonder if I should go somewhere else. Expand my horizons or whatever you call it."

Yang grinned. Alright, he'd just opened up to her and he was definitely single. Time to hit him with the one-two punch!

"Hey, Jaune. Are you a rash? Cause you make me hot and uncomfortable!"

...

Jaune didn't look as flattered as she thought he would at the fact that a hot girl was flirting with him. Actually, he looked really confused. What the heck? She was giving him a compliment!

Okay, here came another!

"Are you a runner? Cause you've been running all over my head since yesterday!"

"Uh..." Jaune scratched the back of his head. That wasn't 'flattered to be hit on' scratching. That was 'what the fuck is going on' scratching. Didn't he get it? She was flirting with him! And with some of the best lines she had!

Fine, again!

"Did it hurt when you fell from the sky? Cause, you know, you're so great!"

"It...what?" Jaune shook his head, "Uh...sorry, I'm lost. Are you trying to see how good the puns are? Cause they're okay, but I'm not really sure why you started joking." His eyes widened, "Oh, wait, you're trying to cheer me up, right? Thanks!"

"No! I mean, yeah, I am, but that's not-"

"Well, well, well." Yang froze and turned to the left before cringing at the sight of Weiss cream glaring down at her. Despite barely passing five feet in heels, Yang suddenly felt small at the heiress' look, "What was that about finding something to help Ruby?"

"Ahaha...about that-"

She didn't get the chance to explain herself before Weiss pulled the ultimate dirty move. She reached her right hand out, grabbed Yang's ear, and twisted. The powerhouse of team RWBY screamed and whined as Weiss dragged her up and out by the ear while everyone watched. Ugh, this was so embarassing! The worst part was Jaune just laughed along like it was a big old joke! Ah, whatever! She was gonna get her chance with him later!

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"Honestly..."

Weiss dragged Yang back to the castle. The blonde struggled and whined the whole way, though every time she did, Weiss just twisted her ear harder. Yang was easily stronger than she was, but there was something about getting your ear twisted that just made you feel like a helpless kid.

"To think you would use Ruby's state to get some alone time with Jaune. For shame, Yang." Weiss finally let go of her.

"Oh, come on! Ruby's fine! She just passed out cause Jaune made her too excited about guns."

"And yet you had to get a 'secret family recipe'." Yang just laughed and rubbed the back of her head, "Well, you're going to be watching over your sister and keeping Blake busy while I talk with Jaune."

"Uh-huh. And I'll do that cause?"

"Cause if you don't, you can kiss any help from me with the upcoming midterms goodbye."

"Wha- that's blackmail!"

"Yup," she said, popping the P. She'd been spending too much time with them, "And you know what'll happen if you fail midterms. Remedial lessons with Professor Port." Yang looked as if she'd been told she only had minutes to live, "Just imagine it, Yang. Two months of listening to his lectures, and actually having to pay attention like I've been for the past few months. And I won't help you with a single test. You'll have to take down notes, parse through his droning to the actual lessons all while resisting the urge to slam an icepick into your brain-"

"Okay, okay! I'll do it!" Yang shook her head, "Geez, anyone ever tell you how scary you are?"

"It's come up. Now, off with you then."

Yang scoffed but did as she was ordered. Weiss waited at the front of the castle till Jaune came back, "Oh, Jaune!" She put a smile on her face that was less forced than she initially expected, "How lovely to see you. Apologies for what happened just now."

"No, it's fine. Yang was just trying to cheer me up."

"Oh. Is something wrong?"

"Nah, just some old stuff. I'm over it." He shrugged, "You need something?'

"Nothing crucial. I was just wondering if you could perhaps show me around your home? I would explore myself, but I wouldn't want to be rude and intrude in places I'm not supposed to."

"I don't really mind if you go looking wherever, but sure. Least we won't get mobbed here," he said that last part under his breath. She was tempted to press him before thinking better of it. This was meant to be the start of their courtship so it would be better not to bring up something negative.

Weiss smiled and nodded along as Jaune walked her through the castle. She'd been through many, many tours of mansions and estates growing up. For the elite of Atlas, it was their way of showing off how much wealth they had; or were desperately trying to cling to. Many families like the Marigolds were in debt and yet they still insisted on getting the finest furnishings and decorations. It didn't matter that all of Atlas already knew of their impoverished state. It only counted if they actually admitted it.

The tours of her childhood were all self-aggrandizing and filled with not-so-hidden boasts. Jaune was different. While there was obvious pride in his voice, it was that of a craftsman who took a healthy amount of fulfillment in his work. Every single part of the castle was personally crafted by him sans anything their family brought over from their old estate. The rooms of his parents and sisters were all locked, of course, but everything else was open.

Weiss didn't let herself get distracted by the luxurious trappings. She had to court Jaune, and that meant Jaune courting her. Atlesian decorum demanded it, really. Growing up the way she did, Weiss was used to being pursued. She was the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. Many sought out her hand in order to tie themselves to her family name. And as she grew up, their attention was drawn to her personally as well. She was a beautiful and talented young woman. The White Rose of Atlas, though she despised the name.

Weiss had little experience in being the more aggressive one in a courtship. She was raised as the one pursued, and Atlesian culture demanded that there was a proper ritual to it. One couldn't simply club someone over the head and take them back to their cave or h-hold hands like the Valeans did it. There was a proper chain of events. Even her short-lived crush on Neptune was initiated by him flirting with her after she gave him the signal that she was open to it.

"So, Jaune...have you considered the future?"

"What do you mean?" He turned back to look at her as they stopped walking.

"Well...you're a young man in the prime of your life. I'm sure you don't plan to stay in your kingdom forever, splendorous though it may be. Do you have no wish to expand your horizons? Perhaps with a partner by your side?"

"Huh. I mean, yeah, I'd wanna explore around one of these days, I guess." He stretched his arms above his head, "I'm still looking at places to expand, but Domremy's in a pretty good place right now. They don't really need me around looking after things, at least for a while."

"Would you say you'd be willing to dedicate yourself to a different cause then?" she asked carefully.

"I'm willing to help people out, sure, but there's only so much I can do even with my Semblance. I can't help everyone." Indeed, that was the source of her conflict with Blake. Even with Jaune's gifts, he had to choose who to prioritize.

And she needed to ensure he chose her.

Weiss made a show of picking up a silk handkerchief from her skirt pocket and dropping it to the ground. This was the first and most common sign that you were open to being courted. Jaune watched the handkerchief slowly fall and land on the floor without a sound.

...

"Uh, your handkerchief fell."

"So it did." Weiss looked straight at him. She couldn't just tell him to pick up. That defeated the whole point of the gesture. No, he had to pick it up and return it to her of his own volition. Perhaps, if he was being particularly gentlemanly, he would kiss the cloth before handing it back to her.

...

The two of them stared at one another, "Are you...gonna pick it up?"

"I suppose I will if I must." She pursed her lips. Why couldn't he see what she wanted him to do? It was so obvious! Weren't Valeans the ones who had archaic customs about knights and chivalry and honor? This should've been a no-brainer for him.

Unless...was he saying that he wasn't interested in her? The thought made her heart clench both out of pride and worry. She needed to convince him and this was the only way she could gain an advantage over Blake.

Plans borne of desperation came forth. Perhaps...she could serenade him? Not singing outside his door like some lout, but a private concert? Yes, she could see it. She could frame it as a thank you for the sword he'd given her. Weiss took pride in her singing voice. If not for her desire to be a Huntress and redeem the SDC, she could've made a career of it. Her fans numbered in the hundreds of thousands, at least. She could no doubt charm Jaune.

Her brainstorming was interrupted when his scroll rang. He looked at the screen and his eyes widened, "Oh crap, the new Captain Atlas show's premiering! Sorry, we gotta this short! See ya!" He turned and left before she could say anything, leaving her (and her handkerchief...) alone in the hallway. She'd failed.

Weiss slapped her cheek. No, she hadn't failed. Not yet. Despite missing her glaringly obvious opening gambit, she was sure that she could charm Jaune in the end. With a resolute nod, Weiss picked up her handkerchief and turned only to run smack dab into Blake, the Cat Faunus giving her a narrow-eyed glare.

Weiss barely opened her mouth before she found it gagged and Blake unfurled Gambol shroud's ribbon.

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She had to seduce Jaune.

That was the thought that ran through Blake's mind as she left Weiss bound and gagged in one of the guest bedrooms. All day long, her treacherous teammates had been trying to sink their hooks into Jaune. From Ruby's cutesy attitude and eagerness to craft, Yang's (terrible) flirtations, and Weiss...honestly, she had no idea what she was doing. Dropping her handkerchief? Was she trying to make Jaune pick it up like he was one of her servants?

She shook her head. It didn't matter. She had better things to focus on than what her friends were doing. Right now she had Jaune to herself. Ruby was still sleeping and both Yang and Weiss were...tied up. It'd give her the chance to enact her plan.

She overheard the conversation between Jaune and Weiss. Jaune was open to helping people, but he needed to choose who to focus on. Clearly, he should choose to help the cause of Faunus equality, but she knew she had to convince him. Why help the Faunus over everyone else? Especially as a Human. He wouldn't have been nearly invested in it as she was.

But what did she have to convince him with?

Money and connections? She had far less in both compared to Weiss, and she doubted he much cared about either given his gifts. The gratitude of the Faunus? Perhaps, but that was too abstract, and she wouldn't be surprised if Weiss also made claims about how all of Remnant would be grateful to Jaune.

And then it came to her: Her. She could be what pushed him to help the fight for equality. It wasn't perfect - and she couldn't deny that a part of her felt guilty for even considering it - but she would only use it to push him in the right direction. She could find some other way to repay him for all his hard work. If not money, then maybe exotic materials he couldn't find in Vale or those portals of his? She was sure she could come up with something. Even a guy like Jaune must've had things he couldn't just get and build.

But that could come later. For now, she had to enact the first step in her plan.

Jaune was in the living room watching a show on the big-screen TV. Perfect. It was almost too easy. Blake sat down on one of the plush chairs, leaned back...and waited.

It would only be a matter of time before Jaune fell for her. That was how it always worked. Adam fell for her, Ilia fell for her, and Sun fell for her. And in all three cases, she didn't have to do anything but be near them while they were alone. Jaune would've been no different, she was sure. All she had to do was stay near him and he'd fall for her. And then she could guide him to the right cause he could devote himself to. This was all for the greater good.

An hour passed and Jaune...didn't look up from the television at all. Blake pursed her lips in annoyance and crossed her right leg over her left. That should've gotten his attention...but it didn't. He kept watching, and even when the show ended thirty minutes later and he finally looked up, he llooked at her the same way he always did, "Oh! Sorry, didn't see you there, Blake! Did you watch the show too?"

"Yeah, it was...interesting." She made a show flipping her long raven hair.

Still nothing.

"Yeah, Captain Atlas is awesome! Really glad I got to see the premiere." He stood up and stretched, "Well, I gotta go. Promised the dogs I'd give em a walk. See ya!"

And then he left, leaving Blake feeling like she got an egg on her face. What just happened? Why didn't it work like the last three times? She sat near him, crossed her legs, and even flipped her hair. Ilia would've gone crazy at this point! How much willpower did Jaune Arc have?

No, she couldn't be discouraged. She had to put in more effort than she thought, but this wasn't the end. Thankfully, she was a reservoir of knowledge due to her taste in literature. She could find a way to seduce Jaune easily. All for the good of the Faunus.

She stood up from her chair and left the living room only to run into Ruby, Yang, and Weiss all glaring at her with their weapons drawn.

"Any last words, Belladonna?" Weiss hissed.

...

"I regret nothing."

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Their first mission.

Pyrrha stepped off the Bullhead and breathed in the crisp country air. The place they were sent to - a miniature kingdom, according to the briefing - reminded her of Argus. It was completely landlocked, sure, but the atmosphere was the same...well, before she became the Invincible Girl. Then it became stifling.

"Four AM. We've arrived exactly on schedule." Her partner, Ciel, said. She didn't really know how to feel about her. While she wasn't a fan (which was a good thing), she also wasn't very open despite being her partner. Ciel wasn't unfriendly, but she was also taciturn to a fault. She'd assured Pyrrha early on that it wasn't anything against her personally. She simply preferred to keep to herself, and while Pyrrha respected that, it made her feel as closed as she'd been back in the tournament circuit.

Especially given their other teammates.

"Woah! Ren, look at this place! It's awesome!" Nora screamed.

"Indeed. Very impressed." Ren nodded calmly.

Ren and Nora. The two couldn't have been more different from her and Ciel if they tried. The two were childhood friends and, while friendly to both of them, were obviously far closer to one another than the rest of the team. She had to admit, she'd felt jealous seeing their close bond and inside jokes. The last time she tried to tell Ciel a knock-knock joke, she got told that she wouldn't open the door unless the person on the other end properly identified themselves without 'making a circus of the whole thing'.

Sighing, she looked around once more. Their mission was to make contact with Jaune Arc and reinforce Team RWBY's claims of a village being turned into a kingdom. Judging from everything around her, it seemed like they were telling the truth.

Her eyes landed on a particularly creepy-looking crow perched on top of the bullhead before she turned away. She hated crows. Always so ominous.

"We should make contact with this Jaune Arc," Ciel said.

It didn't take them long to find him. A guy walking around with eight dogs was bound to draw attention. Nora, of course, cooed at the sight of the animals while Ciel simply noted it down, "Ah, hello!" Pyrrha smiled awkward, "Um, my name is Pyrrha Nikos. This is my partner Ciel Soleil, and my teammates Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. We were sent here to check up on team RWBY?"

"Another Huntsmen team? Huh, cool! Name's Jaune Arc!" He stuck his hand out. She looked for any trace of recognition in his eyes, but there was nothing. She let out a sigh of relief and offered her own hand in a firm handshake.

"Nice to meet you, Jaune."

The creepy crow from before cawed. She hoped that wasn't a bad sign.

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Pyrrha has arrived, and because this isn't a personal story for me, she isn't gonna be a walking L whose role is to suffer. Anyway, Team RWBY has tried and failed to get with Jaune. Ruby was the closest and she passed out at the end.

Next chapter we can finally meet Ozpin and start exploring the factions more.

Questions:

1. So...how scummy do you guys think Weiss and Blake are? They're both working towards the perceived greater good, but they're undeniably doing some iffy stuff with the way they're trying to seduce Jaune to their side.

2. To continue a previous chapter's question, how do you think Pyrrha would try to flirt? Canon shows her just being passive and by V3 she was too bogged down with the Maiden stuff. Given team RWBY's aggression here, I expect she'll have to be aggressive herself if she wants to try and get with Jaune too.

3. So, which RWBY girl are you all rooting for currently now that we've seen them all try (and fail) to flirt with Jaune?