23Heiress
Weiss sat in uncomfortable silence on her dorm room bed, ashamed at the poor performance she had put on in the doubles round. Not only had she run out of Aura, but she had done so in a poor attempt to help Yang by knocking herself and Flynt into a geyser. She had misjudged her own Aura levels, and she had also misjudged her opponent's Aura.
RWBY winning that round was the plus side she supposed, but she wondered if what she did was truly the right choice. Flynt, for whatever reason, decided to look away from her like an idiot. She wasn't even beaten at that point in the fight, she still had enough Aura to pull off that stupid stunt!
Weiss was thankful though she hadn't actually injured herself further than she did. It would suck not being able to sing for the next few weeks, but she could deal with that. What bugged her, though, was her hair.
She burnt her hair.
What used to be almost knee length hair, now only just barely reached her low-back. That's only what just had been burned off. What remained below, had been mostly burned up to her mid-back with some burnt patches going all the way up to her shoulder blades. She would be lucky to have shoulder length hair if a professional hairdresser worked on it.
Though, if what she had heard from the rumor mill, and from Yang rang true, Jaune was inhumanly good at cutting hair. If it were true, then she'd have to ask him how he learned and who else's hair he had cut.
She was pulled from her thoughts as there was a knock at the door.
"Weiss?" Came the familiar male voice behind the door. "It's me Jaune, I was just wondering, is it ok for me to come in?"
Jaune? What did he of all people want at a time like this?
Was he here to take advantage of her current mental state? If he was, he wasn't getting out of it unscathed. His large Aura wouldn't save him in the least from her wrath.
"If you're here just to try and garner my affections then you can just leave." Weiss snapped, she did not want to deal with any of his advances right now. He was the last person she wanted to see.
"Actually, the reason I came has less to do with me and more to do with you. I ran into Yang on the way back to the dorm, she told me what was going on with your... current situation."
Tact? From Jaune Arc? Now that was a surprise. Hell must have frozen over. If he kept this up, she might actually think better of him. Might. She considered her options. Tell him to leave, and continue sitting in silence, wallowing in self-pity. Or invite him in and maybe, just maybe have a decent conversation with someone she didn't like. Though, if he was willing to be actually considerate towards her, then she probably wouldn't mind his company.
After a few seconds of thought, she made up her mind.
"You may come in." She called out, hopefully not having to regret her decision.
She watched as the handle turned and the door swung open to reveal the tall blond.
"Hi..." He awkwardly greeted as he entered the room, walking by her and turning the seat at their desk and facing her.
The Heiress didn't respond, the room shortly thereafter fell into an uncomfortable silence again.
Until Weiss decided to get straight to the point.
"I have to ask. According to Beacon's rumor mill, and Yang, you are exceptional at cutting hair. I would like to know if this is true or not."
The blond knight looked apprehensive. Was Yang actually telling the truth and not pulling her leg? Or was she just giving him a reason to get close to her?
"I'm exceptionally good at cutting hair, yes." A smile formed on his face. "Growing up with seven older sisters kind of forces you to learn things a person might not have willfully learned otherwise."
Seven sisters? Well, it could most certainly explain some things. Weiss sighed quietly, she could ask him to cut her hair, taking a risk at a bad haircut, only having to pay Lien to have it fixed. On the other hand, she could just pay Lien in the first place to have it done and over with while taking no risk.
Though thirdly, he could be good at cutting hair, and she wouldn't have to pay Lien at all. Especially since her father put a block on her card, funds had been sparse she was thankful she had taken fallback measures just a few weeks earlier. She decided to take the risk, the worst that could happen she would have to waste Lien.
"Can you... can you please cut my hair?"
His smile never left his face. "It would be my pleasure."
He stood up and carried the chair he was sitting on over to the entrance of the bathroom, entering and setting the chair in the middle of the room facing away from the mirror. He walked back into the room where Weiss was seated.
"I'm just going to go grab some of the things I need, I'll just need you to wrap a towel around your neck so we don't get any tiny pieces of your hair on you, so just wait for me to get back ok?"
Without another word or moment to spare for any answer Weiss might have come up with, he left the room.
"He may have tact, but he's still a dolt." The Heiress grumbled in annoyance as she grabbed her towel and made her way inside the bathroom. She wrapped the towel around her neck, making sure her hair was un-tucked and flowing freely off the back of the chair.
While the blond grabbed his supplies, she was left alone in her thoughts. Jaune could cut hair exceptionally well. Or at least he and the rest of Beacon thought so. She was also surprised at his no attempts to seduce her, she honestly appreciated him for it. He might be finally understanding how he had no chance to be with her.
She thankfully didn't have to wait long as he returned with a couple combs, a brush, a half dozen pair of scissors, a spray bottle, and a large mirror. She eyed the scissors, wondering why he would need so many. Jaune saw her look of curiosity and indulged her.
"I probably won't even use more than two, but I like having my options when it comes to hair, different people have different types so I might need to use a different pair of scissors on you compared to someone like Ruby, or Blake."
Weiss closed her eyes as he got to work, taking a comb through the non-burnt parts of her hair, straightening the strands to make them easier to cut. She hoped her hair didn't have to be cut too short, but if that was the way it had to be to let her hair grow back properly, then so be it.
The room was silent save for the sounds of scissors cutting hair that went on for minutes, Jaune making sure each cut was absolutely perfect as to not cause Weiss any discomfort during the process.
It was Weiss who broke the silence.
"Why do you like me?" She wasn't sure why she asked the question, but in the moment she felt like she needed to know the answer.
She couldn't see his face from where she was facing, but if she could, she would see him give her the smallest of smiles.
"Well, I'll admit, I was first attracted by your appearance, your flawless white hair, your perfect pale skin, the way your hips swayed while walking. The way you fight is amazing, though your attitude wasn't all that great. Especially at first."
"Hey!" Weiss interrupted abruptly even though she was blushing heavily at Jaune's compliments. She may have had an attitude problem, but she didn't like it when it was discussed.
"Just kidding!" The blond knight grinned. "Though, only partially about that last bit."
The snow haired angel huffed in annoyance, he just had to bring it up! She couldn't help but act that way when everyone around her was a bunch of strangers around her age!
"I will admit, I wasn't the... nicest when we first met." She sighed softly. "While there are reasons for it, you can't deny I got better as I learned more about our teams."
Jaune hummed in agreement. "You're absolutely right, you did get better as time went on, and I think it's why my attraction to you changed as well."
"Your attraction to me changed?" The Heiress asked in surprise, not expecting that kind of answer.
"It did." The blond knight confirmed. "I think a part of me noticed the change after the incident with Blake, I noticed your attitude towards people had taken a turn for the better. You seemed happier, and in turn, you treated most people better, you even involved yourself in more school activities."
Weiss hadn't realized how much he had paid attention to her until now, it was flattering in its own way, if not a little indecent in others. He hadn't even mentioned her last name at all, did he actually not realize the significance of the name 'Schnee'?
"Though, I don't think my whole song stunt asking you to the dance while playing guitar helped paint a good picture of myself." Jaune awkwardly chuckled.
Well, he wasn't wrong, but if he could fix her hair situation to the best of his ability, his painted picture as he called it would definitely be much better than before. She had to think of a way to repay him though for the service quality after he was done.
What did he want? Lien? Dust? She had plenty of either of those things. Sexual favors? Probably and hopefully not. Help with his studies? Possibly, though it would surprise her that none of his team had noticed and offered to help.
What about... an outing?
That could work. If the haircut was good enough, she could offer him an outing. Singular. Although if she enjoyed it... she might not mind going on more as long as they were just as enjoyable. That was the plan then, if Jaune did a good job, she'd go on an outing with him.
Weiss was pulled from her thoughts as she heard him put down his pair of scissors.
She could hear the smile in his voice."So I'm sure you'll be happy to know the hair damage only reached up to the bottom of your shoulder blades, but at the same time it's unfortunate you lost so much of your beautiful hair."
Weiss could hear the slight sadness in his voice, he must have liked her hair.
"Let me just do some final trimming, I need to make sure I didn't miss anything and make sure it's all even."
Jaune did just that, he picked up the pair of scissors he would need to use, and trimmed any hairs he missed the first time around. It took less than a minute. Pleased with his work, he took the towel off of Weiss' neck for her.
"You can look in the mirror now, you might not have the same length of hair anymore, but you're no less beautiful as you were with longer hair."
She could tell his words were genuine. Somehow. She didn't know, maybe it was because she knew now he had no reason to lie to her, he genuinely liked her for who she was and nothing else.
Standing up, she turned to look at herself in the mirror and patiently waited for Jaune to position the other mirror so she could see his work. What she saw... wasn't so bad she had to admit. Although, maybe she wasn't giving credit where credit was due. It looked perfect. She couldn't find any other way to describe it, he had cut her hair perfectly.
So she did what she felt was appropriate. She gave him a curtsy.
"I..." The Heiress paused, thinking about what to say next. "I cannot thank you enough for what you did for me. If I had to have anyone else do my hair if you couldn't, I would have had to take an embarrassing walk to a high-end salon to get the job done."
The knight only smiled in response. "I have to thank you too. Since coming to Beacon, nobody has needed a haircut so I hadn't gotten a single chance to put my better skills to work."
Weiss giggled in response, which caused Jaune to chuckle alongside her. He knew she hadn't been laughing at him, she had been laughing with him. They laughed for a short while before they both calmed themselves down. Weiss was the first to speak.
"I know you didn't ask for any kind of payment, but I want to return the favor." She wasn't her father.
She paused momentarily to collect her thoughts and to word this properly. "I was thinking, you may take me out on a single outing. Good or bad, I will spend the entire time with you."
Jaune was speechless, the white haired girl in front of him, who denied his advances so many times, was allowing him to take her out on a date? Was his Semblance Fortune? It had to have been, he'd never be able to get a date with Weiss otherwise!
Before he accepted, there was something he needed to know first. "I thought you were interested in Neptune, why let me take you out on a date?"
Weiss hadn't expected that sort of question, she had just expected him to take the offer. Since there was no time to formulate any sort of answer she'd normally give, she went with the truth.
"Neptune... I thought he was interested in only me, but obviously not after I found him with another girl he was taking out on a date. He was only interested in me just for my looks, just another pretty girl he could show off by his side. Besides, it's not like we had an official relationship at any point."
Jaune nodded his head silently, before moving on as to not anger Weiss further. She clearly didn't want to talk about Neptune anymore.
"So how does tomorrow sound?" He asked. "It'll give me the rest of today to plan out where to take you so we're not mindlessly wandering the entire time, also, would you like it to be formal or informal?"
Weiss considered her options. Firstly, he might expect her to want a formal date since she was an Heiress. Secondly, though, she wouldn't mind if it not being formal, she might have grown up with everything being formal, but even she wanted to break away and let loose for a night sometimes.
"Informal, so we don't have to be completely limited to certain venues in Vale."
"What time would you like to go out?" Jaune was more than thrilled with Weiss' choice. But he also wanted to make sure she was ok with whatever time she wanted.
"Well, what time works best for you?"
"Anytime, I'm completely free all day tomorrow."
"Then, anytime in the afternoon or evening would be nice." Weiss always wanted to go out during that time, but Atlas had an early curfew.
"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Jaune gathered up his supplies and left the room.
Weiss' eyes still lingered on her now freshly cut hair, admiring the evenly cut strands.
"Oh, and one more thing. I know Neptune told me not to tell anyone this, but I figured you'd like a little payback material. The reason he declined your offer to the dance, was because he can't dance." With that, he left again.
Weiss just stood there, speechless.
Until she giggled.
As Jaune closed the door to RWBY's dorm behind him for the second time, he let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in, his mind was racing a million miles a second.
He had a date with Weiss.
He was ecstatic! Never in his life did he think he could get a date as easily as he had, and all it took was a haircut? A simple haircut and she offered him a date, just like that? He should have offered sooner!
Although, it was true it was simply that. A date. Singular, not plural.
Whatever. There was nothing he could do to change it unless Weiss decided otherwise he would not push her for more dates, seeing as he didn't do so this time around, and she appreciated it.
It's not like she thanked him on a regular basis after all.
Now came the hard part, he had to figure out where to take Weiss for their date, and what time to do so.
Seeing as he couldn't do that in the hallway with his hands full of hair supplies, he crossed the way and entered back into his own team's room.
In his absence, Pyrrha had returned to the room. She had just finished her daily training routine she had set for herself. Unfortunately, she had to end early due to one of Professor Goodwitch's classes which required the use of said room she had been using. Ending early once in awhile couldn't hurt.
When she had returned to her team's dorm room, it was absent of any of her teammates. Perfect. She had best feeling after a training session was a long hot shower. She had taken off all of her clothes except her underwear when Jaune walked in the room.
The spartan froze on the spot, eyes widening as she turned her head towards the sound of the door closing. She hadn't expected him of all people to suddenly walk in on her in nothing but her undergarments!
The red-head felt her cheeks, no, her whole body heat up in excitement at the thought of the boy she liked seeing her almost in her full glory. Why couldn't he have walked in just a few seconds later?
No, bad Pyrrha! Get those naughty thoughts out of your head for now! Although... having Jaune think those kinds of things about her might not be too bad. He might actually get a hint if she addressed him in this state of undress.
"Oh, Jaune!" Pyrrha half-feigned startlement. "I didn't hear you come in, where were you?"
The knight's gaze settled on her, she felt so dirty but so good at the same time. Yes, Jaune! Get flustered at the sight of my amazing body!
"Hey Pyrrha, you just about to get in the shower? You don't mind if I sneak in there for a minute, do you? I just finished giving Weiss a haircut so I need to wash my hands and put my hair supplies away."
No reaction was evident from Jaune as he walked past her into the bathroom, the sound of running water soon after. This just didn't make sense, wasn't Jaune supposed to be bad with girls? Wait, she was missing something, something important, think Pyrrha, think!
Was she not attractive enough for him? No, that couldn't be it. After all, she was perfect for him! Seventeen years of age, physically fit, ate healthily and was willing to do anything for him. What was she missing?
As if seeing the inquisitive nature of her thoughts on her face, Jaune, who had just finished washing his hands, answered simply.
"Seven sisters."
That's right! How could she have forgotten? Jaune would be completely desensitized to girls in their underwear. Maybe she just needed to have nothing on to get his attention?
If this was the case, she would gladly make as many babies with him as he desired! So many babies, if his sisters were any indication!
Pyrrha never got to try, as her knight in shining armor spoke.
"Before you take your shower, do you think you could help me with something important?" He asked.
The red-headed spartan blinked in surprise, her crush was asking for her help? She would gladly give it!
"Splendidly! What do you need help with?" Pyrrha was ready for anything...
"I need some help to figure out where to take Weiss for the date I'm taking her on tomorrow." Her knight replied rapidly.
She blinked.
She blinked again.
Then her brain caught up.
Pyrrha felt like someone had shoved a serrated blade into her gut and twisted it.
This wasn't happening.
It couldn't be happening.
How could Jaune be going on a date with Weiss!?
"I'm sorry, but, could you repeat that one more time for me? I don't think I quite heard you correctly."
She must have heard wrong, there was no way Jaune was going on a date with Weiss, that was just silly.
"I'm going on a date with Weiss, and I'm not sure where I want to take her, can you help me? I'd appreciate a girl's perspective."
Jaune was oblivious to the fact that Pyrrha's heart just shattered and formed daggers in her eyes which were aimed right for him.
"I'm sorry." Her voice was solemn. "I don't think that's something I can help you with."
It hurt. So much.
It hurt to think about all she had done for him only for nothing she wanted in return.
She saved him from falling to his death in Initiation.
She had apologized for harshly pinning him to a tree.
She had unlocked his Aura.
She had trained him personally.
She had cheered him on in combat class, even though he never won a single battle.
She had tried to give him the night-vision answer in Oobleck's class.
She had kept his forged transcripts secret after he had ranted at her about not wanting to be weak.
Even though Cardin might have overheard, it wasn't her fault, though!
She had used her Semblance to save his life from an Ursa!
She had never questioned a single order he had given in combat...
Well, his Arkos callout didn't count.
"Oh, I see... that's too bad." He was still oblivious to Pyrrha's feelings. "I guess I'll have to ask Yang then-"
She snapped.
Pure rage filled Pyrrha. If Ozpin's little group wanted her as their Maiden so badly, they damn well would get it!
Jaune couldn't finish his sentence as she snarled in fury and used her Semblance, sending him through JNPR's door and into the hallway.
Satisfied, she walked into the bathroom and shut the door. She had a shower to take after all.
Team RWBY minus Weiss were almost back to their own dorm when team JNPR's door exploded outwards dumping 'vomit boy' as Yang would call him, in the middle of their path.
"Jaune!? Are you alright!?" Ruby was the first to talk and the first to zoom to his side to check him for any apparent injuries.
Blake and Yang turned their heads to one another. The latter could read the former's silent question by her facial expression alone.
What the hell just happened?
Yang just shrugged her shoulders in response, an unsaid response added with it.
I have no idea.
"Hey, Vomit boy!" Said 'boy' groaned in response causing Yang to grin, she knew he was alright now. "You know, when they said 'knock on wood for good luck', I didn't think you'd take it so seriously."
"Yang!" Ruby whined in the direction of said older sister. "Now's not the time for jokes!"
"She's right you know." Dammit Blake, you traitor!
"I'm sure he's fine Ruby, he's got a large amount of Aura after all, and you know what they say. Large Aura, large-mmph."
Yang was cut off as Blake's hand met her mouth, saving the younger sibling from the elder's banter. So Yang did the only thing she could do in the situation at hand.
She started licking the Faunus' hand.
Which in turn got a raised eyebrow from said Faunus.
"Really Yang? That's the first thing you think to do in a situation like this?"
"Why yes Blakey, it is. It was too purrfect of an opportunity to pass up."
Now that had earned a real glare from amber eyes.
"Just what is going on out here!" A shriek pierced the silence.
Weiss had joined the fray. They were all going to die horrible deaths.
Her hair was done up in its usual manner with her usual small icicle tiara, except she had no pony-tail in typical fashion.
The aura of death Weiss was giving off instantly vanished as she laid her eyes on the fallen knight, surrounded by shattered pieces of wood that was once JNPR's door.
"Jaune!? Are you alright!?" She dropped to her knees beside him, looking him over for injuries.
"Yeah, I'm alright. My Aura took the hit." The male just awkwardly chuckled as the ice princess and red rose helped him to his feet.
Meanwhile, Yang just stared at Weiss in surprise. She was acting nice to the person she constantly complained about whenever he tried to woo her? A change of heart this soon? Wait... Weiss' hair was short, and not burnt. That means...
Oh Jauney boy, you lady killer. Scored brownie points with Weiss so soon? Next thing you know she'll be baking for the next nine months.
"Alright lovebirds, keep it to yourselves until my sister can't see you." She knew it'd get a reaction.
"YANG!" Three different voices cried out, two in embarrassment and one in anger. Sometimes, it was just too easy.
It was Blake to finally brought order to the chaotic group.
"Jaune, what happened?" There had to have been a reason he was launched out of his dorm room.
"I... I don't exactly know myself. I had just finished Weiss' haircut and returned to my room. Pyrrha was there, and it was obvious she wanted to take a shower, so I told her I'd be quickly washing my hands since I had tiny pieces of Weiss' hair on my hands. So when I came out of the bathroom, I asked her for help and she completely freaked when I said I'd get Yang's help since she told me she couldn't help."
That behavior was unlike Pyrrha. There had to be a more specific reason.
"Exactly what were you asking her help for Jaune?" Yang asked, even more curious.
He glanced to Weiss, who immediately nodded a 'yes' in response.
"I asked Pyrrha for a girls advice on where I could take Weiss to on our date tomorrow."
Oh... that made more sense. Pyrrha had Jaune already, just not in the way she wanted. Which, to get mad and take it out Jaune for not noticing the way she felt about him, instead of just getting frustrated and admitting your feelings to him?
That was pretty low.
Wait, Jaune was going on a date with Weiss? Better get the details.
"C'mon Lady Killer, I'll take you down to the cafeteria if you want my advice about dates." Yang slung one of her arms around Jaune's shoulders as she started walking him away from the dorm rooms.
Stopping momentarily, she glanced back at Weiss and grinned. "You don't mind if I borrow him for a little while do you Weiss-ickle?"
"No..." Weiss was seething from the nickname. "I don't mind. So long as you never call me that name again."
She started pulling Jaune along again. "Good to know Weiss-cream!"
"YOU INSUFFERABLE PRAT!"
That got Weiss mad alright. Just the reaction Yang was looking for.
"I guess we should send Professor Goodwitch a text, or call her to see what can be done about JNPR's door... or what's left of it." Was the last thing Yang heard Blake say before she walked out of earshot.
Grinning, she pulled Jaune further into her one-armed embrace.
"C'mon Lady Killer, you and I are going to have a long talk, and once we're done, then we can talk about your little date with my sister's partner."
Jaune could feel a trickle of sweat run down the side of his head.
Something told him this would be more like an interrogation more than a talk.
As Yang continued to drag him off to the cafeteria, he silently hoped for the best.
Authors Note: Funny story, the idea, and writing for this story came before my previous one-shot How it came to be. Though, the first chapter never got completed until now. I guess you could say that it further helps me to de-rust, but it's also helping me learn how to be a better writer. Which will come in time eventually?
Another funny story, this story was written over a long period of time, with the majority of it being written in three sittings. The last scene, though, it just flowed from my fingers, I didn't even have to think about it all that much. Not sure why to be honest.
I hope you liked the story and I hope you enjoy what's to come!