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Neo hummed to herself as she took a Bullhead back to Beacon. It took a while, but Neo was finally able to get some 'personal justice' for Jaune. Junior had been unwilling to harm the kid, at least not until he squeezed everything out of the brat's family. After he was done with that…. Junior let the Malachite twin and her have at it, as long as he was alive. No permanent lasting physical damage was allowed, but that was alright. Punching the crap out of Cardin was cathartic, especially if it led to putting him in a coma. Since Cardin had Aura, they could really go at it for longer.
In the end, they did let Cardin live, but not without making sure his life would be a living hell. All his limbs had been broken and healed up incorrectly, making him limp should he ever wake up. Neo especially enjoyed stomping on certain parts of Cardin's anatomy, but ultimately was not allowed to 'bring a souvenir' home, as part of the deal was to leave him whole, so to speak. Still, while physical recovery may take up to 5 years, depending on treatment, mental recovery would take much longer…. if not irreversible. Mental trauma was just soo much fun to inflict!
As Neo landed into Beacon, making sure her disguise was up, she walked towards her dorm before sighing. Although beating up Cardin had been cathartic, it didn't change the fact that Jaune was gone. Though it was bittersweet, at least her favorite masseur would be safe from what was planned for the future. Even if he had stayed, Neo and Roman already had backup plans to ensure Jaune would be safe and ride out through the whole thing unharmed.
Still, not all plans would go as planned, so having Jaune out of Vale was the safest plan, even if it meant not having her massages as well as another place to eat her ice cream in peace.
'The sacrifices I make,' huffed Neo in her mind as she walked through the hallways.
"Hey, did you hear about the new staff addition?" said a student as he was talking to his partner just as Neo was passing by.
"Yea, can't believe that they hired a masseur for us," laughed the other student, causing Neo to prick her ears.
"Hey, don't knock on it till you try it," replied another student that happened to be walking by, "I made mine right after a massive workout, and I feel great. No sore muscles for me!"
The other two students glanced at each other before flipping out their Scrolls, trying to make an appointment.
"Holy crap, why is the waitlist so long!?" exclaimed one of the students.
Neo didn't bother listening in anymore as she left. No matter what new masseur Beacon had, it could never compare to Jaune. Especially with that Aura massage.
Neo made it into her room, ignoring the fact her 'team' wasn't there. Taking a quick shower, Neo crawled into her bed to sleep.
Jaune yawned as he woke up early in the morning. His first few days at Beacon had been rather hectic. On the first day, only his few friends had come to get a massage, along with the staff. But when it was heard that Pyrrha Nikos had gone there, everything began to snowball from there.
Stretching his body for a bit and changing out into some workout clothes, Jaune took a deep breath of air before stepping outside. Taking this chance, Jaune began jogging around the campus to not only to exercise, but to familiarize himself with the area so he wouldn't get lost.
"Jaune!" shouted a voice.
Jaune looked over to see Pyrrha in her own gym tracksuit, jogging up right next to him.
"Hey," smiled Jaune, "Do you usually jog this early too? Don't you have class?"
"Not until nine o'clock," replied Pyrrha, "It's only 7:20. I have time to get a morning jog in before preparing for the morning."
Did Pyrrha usually wake up this early and jog? Yes and No. In the past, while she was still training back at home, she would rise early to do a jog. However, as she started Beacon, she was unable to keep that schedule, being the leader as well as having a creep for her partner. She would add it into her workout schedule after school or at night, but she began getting used to not having to wake up early to run, valuing her sleep. A bad habit that Pyrrha had been meaning to get rid of, but hadn't had a good reason until now.
"I see. If you want, we can jog together for a bit. Ah, but I might slow you down," said Jaune, "If you want to run at a faster pace, then just go ahead."
"Nono, this works fine," smiled Pyrrha, "It's nice to go a pace like this. This lets me warm up and get my blood running in time for class."
Plus, if she needed a heavier workout, she could wear some weights underneath her tracksuit. She did get plenty of those from her sponsors, though she let Nora have at them for the most part.
The two enjoyed their jog, with Pyrrha pointing out specific buildings as they passed for Jaune to familiarize himself with.
After an hour of constant jogging, Jaune was on the bench, breathing heavily as Pyrrha stretched her limbs to limber up a bit more.
"Man, I don't think I've ran that much," breathed out Jaune. He hadn't expected to push himself that hard, but with Pyrrha as his running partner and encouraging him on, he had pushed himself harder than he normally did.
"You did quite well," complimented Pyrrha as she leaned back to stretch her spine, unintentionally pushing her chest forward.
Jaune couldn't help but notice that figure, even if it was being covered by a baggy tracksuit. He was sort of familiar with Pyrrha's body shape, having massaged her back before, but his mind couldn't help but flashback to when Pyrrha had been one of his first customers, who ended up sleeping over as a result. The onesies that she wore with the middle zipper pulled down to her navel due to the chest size being too small for her. Where the rabbit of Pumpkin Pete had been bulging outwards.
Jaune shifted his gaze quickly to calm himself down. It wouldn't do for his heart rate to go up when he was trying to calm it down.
"What are your plans after?" asked Pyrrha as she finished stretching.
"Probably head back to shower a bit before going to the cafeteria to get breakfast. After that, I might head to the library to study a bit before meeting up with you guys at the forge. Ruby said she wanted to look at Crocea Mors before I finally get it sharpened up a little."
"Your sword? It seemed pretty sharp last time I checked," commented Pyrrha, remembering Jaune bisecting an Ursa Major in half.
"Yea, but I've never sharpened it before," said Jaune, "I tried using some civilian-grade grindstones, but my sword doesn't seem sharper than before after I'm done using them. And it's hard to find polish for my sword when I don't know where to look."
"We can help with that," nodded Pyrrha, "I know some good brands. You can use mine to see if it works with your sword."
Jaune smiled as he finally managed to calm his heart down before standing up once more. The two said their goodbyes as they ran back to their own rooms.
"Wonder what's the whole deal with the cafeteria?" muttered Jaune as he made his way toward it.
He had been warned by his colleagues and friends about the 'perils' of Beacon's cafeteria. Surely it wasn't hard to make some good food with proper equipment, right? Jaune had seen the kitchen, it had top-of-the-line equipment as well as ample room and fresh ingredients.
Still, just to be safe, Jaune grabbed a bowl and went to the cereal dispenser, getting some of his favorite cereal before pouring milk into it. At the same time, he ordered a breakfast burrito.
Jaune hummed as he ate his cereal, waiting for his breakfast burrito. Soon, he heard his name being called, and quickly went to fetch it, having already paid earlier. However, upon receiving the said item, he frowned.
No, to say he frowned was an understatement. The burrito had clearly been plopped onto the plate without care, making it look sad and soggy. The sauce on the side looked like water with red food dye in it. Jaune made a face before taking it back to his table.
'Maybe it just looks bad,' thought Jaune as he grabbed his burrito, 'Least it feels warm.'
Taking a bite, Jaune chewed it for a bit before slowly stopping his chewing. Putting the burrito down, he took a knife and fork from somewhere before splitting it open.
"No wonder I felt like what I just ate was all dough," sighted Jaune as he prodded open the burrito.
His first bite into the burrito had absolutely no substance besides the tortilla. The way it had been wrapped was abysmal in his opinion, and upon looking into the ingredients, Jaune's eye twitched. The description of the burrito was that there were eggs, sausage, cheese, and gravy. A simple combination, but Jaune was willing to try. Instead, upon opening the burrito, he found undercooked eggs that still had raw yolk running down it, burnt sad-looking small sausages, barely any cheese sprinkled on, and gravy that had a fishy smell, making him wonder if it had gone bad or if they had gotten a cheap brand of gravy. And to finish it all, there were barely any of the said ingredients in the tortilla, making the tortilla amount to about 50% of the burrito.
"This… is an insult to all breakfast burritos," declared Jaune as he tossed out the burrito, finishing his cereal before stomping into the kitchen. Jaune wanted to believe that the cafeteria staff made a mistake, or maybe because it was early in the morning, they weren't paying attention. However, looking over at other people who had gotten breakfast items made by the cafeteria staff, it looked just as pathetic. Jaune could only hope that the lunch and dinner menus weren't as pathetic. It also explained why there was a longer line at the serve/make your own breakfast area, or why there were kitchens in the dorms.
The head cook in charge of the morning breakfast for that day was grumpy and tried to chase Jaune out of his 'dominion', but Jaune shut him down when he showed him his badge that he had gotten from Glynda, signifying he was part of the auxiliary staff with kitchen privileges. The cook grumbled about rebellious brats, but left Jaune to his own devices.
Still feeling like having a breakfast burrito, Jaune went to work, grabbing the ingredients he needed. Luckily, the ingredients were at least fresh for the most part. It was there that Jaune decided to add a little more to the burrito. Grabbing eggs, sausages, bacon, diced potatoes, diced tomatoes, and avocados, he began his work. Jaune had considered gravy, but after taking a quick whiff of it, he decided against it while putting a note to Ozpin about it. After grabbing one tortilla, Jaune thought about it before grabbing a few more. He was sure his colleagues would appreciate it, and if not, then his friends or whoever wanted it.
After ten minutes, Jaune stepped back with a grin, having finished his work. He had made five burritos total, and had sliced each one in the middle. He could see his ingredients bulging inside the tortilla, just how it should be. After eating his own share, there were 8 half burritos left. Putting them on a plate, Jaune took them out, not noticing the glare from the cook, nor the envious looks from students as he walked out with his burritos.
Jaune ran right into Gynda and Peach as he exited the cafeteria.
"Professors," greeted Jaune.
"Just call us by our name, we're colleagues now," giggled Peach.
"What are you carrying?" asked Glynda curiously.
"Oh, some breakfast burritos that I made," said Jaune, lifting the plate up, "I made extras when I didn't like what the cook made what was his version of a burrito. I was hoping to run into you to offer some of mine."
Both Glynda and Peach had to make an effort to not audibly swallowed at the sight of food. It would be improper as ladies to do so. Both of them had not had the chance to cook this morning, so their only option was to get something from the cafeteria. But now it was a choice between Jaune's burritos or the cafeteria….. it wasn't a hard decision.
Though there was a bit more protein than they liked it, it was still better than what the cafeteria had to offer, not to mention they could burn it quickly through their workout. Each of them only took half a burrito for themselves, stating it was more than enough for the morning before heading to the cafeteria to pick up some coffee.
Jaune ran into Port, who gladly accepted a whole burrito, Ozpin, who only took half, and Oobleck, who had refused as he had already eaten but thanked Jaune for the offer. Meaning he had one and a half burrito left.
"I guess I should see if Pyrrha and her team wants them," hummed Jaune.
"Wants what?" asked Pyrrha as she appeared with Nora and Ren, wearing their uniform.
"These burritos," offered Jaune, holding up the plate, "Still got three left if your team wants it."
"Appreciated, but unnecessary," said Ren as he held his hand up, "Nora is feeling like pancakes today, so I'll be cooking for her and myself. I may take up your offer next time."
"You should take one Renny!" said Nora cheerfully, "You need more protein to build up some muscles, like me!"
"Perhaps next time," said Ren as he gently flicked Nora's forehead, "But for now, let's get you those pancakes."
Nora giggled as Ren went to the self-serve station and went to work.
"I…" hesitated Pyrrha, glancing at the burrito. They certainly looked good.
Jaune smiled as he held it up closer to Pyrrha, who finally caved in and took half a burrito.
"I'll make it up to you," said Pyrrha.
"You already do teaching me half this stuff at Beacon," replied Jaune as he walked away.
Pyrrha looked at her burrito, taking a small sniff before biting into it, relishing the taste.
Jaune looked at the leftover before deciding to take them to his room to eat another day. Just as he was walking across campus, he met up with two rather late students.
"C'mon Yang, we're going to be late!" complained Ruby as she was running towards the class building.
"Sorry, but hair this good has to be maintained," replied Yang, fluffing her hair to showcase it.
"Blake and Weiss already left to eat breakfast ages ago! We're not going to have time to eat!" whined Ruby.
Seeing the dilemma, Jaune didn't really have to think much.
"Ruby, Yang, catch!" shouted Jaune as he tossed the burrito halves toward them.
Being accomplished Huntresses-in-training, the sisters caught them with ease, glancing down before realizing it was food for them.
"Thanks, we'll pay you back when I get to tinker with your weapon!" shouted Ruby as the two continued to rush through the courtyard.
"What she said!" shouted Yang.
Jaune could only chuckle as he went back to his room to put some stuff away before heading to the library.
"You two were almost late!" scolded Weiss as Yang and Ruby halted right before her and Blake.
"Sorry, my bad," apologized Yang, knowing it was her own fault.
"What's that on your hand?" asked Blake.
Ruby and Yang blinked as they looked down, realizing they still had Jaune's breakfast burrito on hand.
"Oh, Jaune gave us something to eat while we were rushing to class," said Yang, "Didn't realize what it was until now."
OHM NOM NOM
Blake, Weiss, and Yang slowly turned to see Ruby demolishing the burrito without hesitation.
"It tastes so good!" cheered Ruby before eyeing Yang's half.
Yang immediately began eating hers before anybody else could get any idea.
Weiss sighed. Breakfast at the cafeteria had been abysmal today, and yet, somehow, despite being almost late, the two sisters were rewarded with a delicious hot breakfast.
"I call next," said Blake.
Weiss almost threw her shoe at her before informing her team that she had dibs on the next meal. It was only fair, right?
Afternoon, in the forge
Jaune stepped into the forge, holding onto Crocea Mors. He had been in the library studying after breakfast, catching up on any relevant information that he needed. Luckily, lunch was more palatable, so Jaune didn't need to cook.
"Jaune, over here!" waived Ruby in front of the grinder. The rest of team RWBY was there to support her effort, along with team PLN.
"So, show me the blade and maybe I can make some upgrades to it," grinned Ruby, her eyes shining in excitement.
"I just really need it sharpened and polished," sweatdropped Jaune as he drew out Crocea Mors.
Before Jaune handed it to Ruby directly, Ren stopped them.
"Hold it, I want to test something," said Ren before pointing to the table next to them, "Put that sword over there for me."
While team RWBY were mystified by this, Pyrrha and Nora knew what Ren wanted to test. Jaune nodded as he placed the sword, still in the sheath, onto the table.
"Now Ruby, could you pick it up for me?" asked Ren.
Ruby shrugged before picking up Jaune's weapon, holding onto it as if it was no big deal.
"Sure is lighter than I thought," hummed Ruby as she unsheathed the blade a little before putting it back in, "I'm a little surprised you could cut through the Grimm Ursa Major with this."
"Must've been luck," said Weiss with a little scoff before holding her hand out, "Let me see."
Ruby tossed Jaune's weapon at Weiss without much thought before the others could even warn her. Weiss caught the weapon with one hand, gripping onto it before the gravity of the situation sank in.
Weiss almost shrieked as she felt herself being dragged down by the weight of Jaune's sword. It was only by taking a few steps forward while quickly using her other hand to grab the other end of the weapon before Weiss stabilized herself.
"You call this light?" gasped Weiss as she held it back up, "That almost dragged me down!"
At this, now the other team members of RWBY were confused and curious. Yang and Blake both gave it a try, swinging the sword a little.
"It is a little heavier than I thought, but not to the extent Weiss seemed to be talking about," hummed Blake.
"Really? I thought it was pretty normal for a sword and sheath like this," questioned Yang before tossing it to Ruby, who caught it with no problems, "Though it might be due to my workout."
"Then care to guess the weight?" asked Ren, "All at the same time please."
"40 pounds," -Weiss
"35 pounds," -Blake
"30 pounds,"-Yang
"20.43 pounds-" Ruby
Team RWBY all looked at each other with questioning looks after hearing each response.
"Interesting," hummed Ren, "Looks like we were right. The sword weighs differently for each user. Jaune says it only feels like 10 pounds for him, Pyrrha says 20, and Nora and I say about 30. The actual weight is 35 pounds."
"So Jaune has a sword that has a temper," hummed Yang, "Guess Ruby will have a blast tempering it, huh?"
Everyone groaned at that pun, though Ruby was too distracted at Jaune's weapon, her eyes shining.
"How does that work!?" shouted Ruby, "I wanted to upgrade my Crescent Rose with a heavier blade, but it would be too heavy and throw off its balance. But if I figure out how your blade works…. Ehehehe!"
Jaune was slightly disturbed at Ruby drooling over Crocea Mors with a hammer and drill that he was sure she didn't have earlier before gently reminding her what he wanted.