Hey, I'm back. More Neo and Roman in the chapter because I adore them. We've got some set-up stuff, Neo and Jaune interacting, and a special surprise visitor in the form of a certain Beacon student.

I still do not own RWBY if we're doing these disclaimer things.

Looking out over the city of Vale in the early hours of the morning always brought a smile to Roman's face. Seated in the kitchen of their safehouse, having propped himself upon the counter with a cup of coffee to wake him up all the way, he could see right out the fairly large window due to the currently open curtains.

His humble abode on the third story of the building, a cozy little ice-cream parlor going by the name of A Scoop A Day, had a fairly nice view due to it's location.

The view hadn't been one of Roman's deciding factors when scoping the place out. The location was sound for him as far as inconspicuous activity went, considering it was a little bit outside of Vale proper. A road lined with some houses here and there, leading up the hill all the way in a series of twists and turns, would lead to the top of the hill. And right off the road alongside a few nondescript stores, a three story building that had once been home to some store or another before he'd had Neo, in disguise of course, present a sum large enough to get the owner to find a new place of business.

Criminal he may be, but extorting some down on his luck salesman who could then become a loose end was just sloppy. Setting up an accident would have also been silly, as the scrutiny would not only kill the chances of the business picking up but also draw the wrong kind of attention to the place.

So legal means it had been, though the way the lien had been obtained was far from it of course. He had standards.

Back to the view, however; it wasn't a real decider for the place, not at all, but damn did Roman appreciate it. He couldn't see all of Vale from here, but a good portion of it was visible due to the elevation of their little place.

And it brought a smile to his lips, because this was his kingdom. His stomping grounds, his territory, and he really did love it in his own way.

Roman Torchwick was no patriot. There wasn't a soul in this world who would tell you otherwise without you point blank laughing at them.

But having said that, Vale was his home. The majority of his criminal network was based in and operated out of Vale, and he himself was the criminal in Vale.

If the Schnee Dust Company was the monopoly on Dust, Roman's underground empire was the monopoly on crime.

Others could try to compete, but they just didn't match up. And anyone who raised complaints about it suddenly became much less vocal due to application of... gentle coercion.

And he was fine with his lack of influence elsewhere, really. Atlas was hell for organized crime, a military dictatorship painted up all pretty by Ironwood and his ilk. No one but the locals could operate in such a harsh environment, an ironic and unsurprising fact considering the history of Atlas in the first place. It's harsh climates and barren lands kept the Grimm at bay, and the massive military presence did much the same for outside crime looking to set up shop.

Vacuo was a cesspool. At one point it may have been the kind of place Roman would like, a luxurious paradise of a kingdom, the jewel of the dessert. But now it'd turned into a roughneck, backwoods, bar brawling nation of lunkheads due to the interference of other kingdoms and the laziness of the Vacuans themselves leaving them unable to contest their lands.

He had his fingers in some pies over there; but hell, so did everyone else who fancied themselves a criminal. There wasn't such a thing as a monopoly on crime over there, considering how scattered and half-assed things were. They weren't organized enough for that.

Breathing in deeply, he had to admit one thing about Vacuo; the coffee was divine. Compared to the stuff from just about anywhere else, there was no contest. That scent was intoxicating, and it only made the sight of Vale in the quiet early hours even more pleasant for him.

But that left Mistral, then. And boy did Roman have thoughts on Mistral.

That place was a lake filled with piranhas... but at the bottom was a chest filled with treasures never before seen. And everyone and their brother knew about it.

The black markets of Mistral were legendary. You could purchase anything if you had the lien for it and the sense to keep yourself alive long enough to use it. His holdings there were more steady than what he had in Vacuo, an actual branch of his network had grown into that kingdom rather than just the falling leaves rippling in the desert sands.

He had a fair few safehouses and hidey-holes in Mistral as well, he had semi-legitimate holdings, and his name was well known. Before Cinder Fall had come along, expansion into Mistral had been a thought at the front of his mind.

Roman really did love Vale, though; it was the center of the world. Sanas was a continent that saw frequent use as far as travel went, and that made it a splendid base of operations. It was good to be on top here.

A small frown slipped to his lips, a growl making it's way up his throat. "Be nice if that was still the case..." He griped aloud, gripping his mug somewhat harder before calming himself, lest he shatter the damn thing and spill his coffee. A sip of the drink later had calmed his ire somewhat, but not quite enough.

He hated this. Hated working under someone after working so hard to rise to the top. It was infuriating.

But he had to do it. Cinder Fall was too much for him, too much for Neo, and there wasn't enough information for him to even try and oppose her yet. A Maiden was something he wasn't set to deal with, considering their status as freakin' fairy tales.

Forcing the thought from his mind, Roman again turned his gaze outside, letting the calming effect of his quiet morning and the beautiful sight of Vale work it's magic.

It lasted a bit before the silence was broken by the tiniest of noises, an almost inaudible padding of bare feet on the tile and a rustle of cloth.

Roman turned to greet his partner and ask just how her boy-toy had been last night, but upon seeing her he merely stared.

The girl tilted her head, a dreamy little smile on her lips, as she waved at him with her fingers. Her eyes were their usual pink and brown, and half-lidded in such a way that conveyed a pleased sort of exhaustion. Her hair was down, with a few stray strands here and there.

Her lower body was bare if he had to guess. The only thing she seemed to be wearing at all was a black hoodie with, of all things, the Pumpkin Pete rabbit logo on it. Those soft little legs of hers were on display, though the modesty she clearly didn't give a shit about was still preserved by the oversized clothing item falling just a bit below her thighs.

Altogether... "... Neo, what the hell happened to you?" Roman couldn't help but ask, as the girl was more disheveled right now than he had ever seen her before in the entire time they had been working together.

Even when she was wearing her casual around the house stuff, she still carried herself with that dignified and smug air about her. The pink booty shorts and the crop-top with ice cream cones on it were hardly dignified, but her hair was never out of place and she retained that same gait that he would often compare to a predator stalking it's prey, even in her down time.

Right now? She was padding about like a kitten rather than a lion, that little smile on her face not so much out of place on her as it was lacking in any undertone of malice.

In response to his question, the girl merely blinked.

And then Roman saw something he had never expected in all his years of living.

Neopolitan began blushing.

Neo. His favorite murderous little psychopath, who could be manipulated via copious amounts of ice cream, who killed people just as easily as she gave them her name, whose expressions always hid a knife... was now blushing like a schoolgirl.

Her hand came to cover her face almost shyly. A silent giggle came from her, before the girl snatched herself a mug, poured the rest of the pot into it, and skipped off.

Roman blinked. "... holy shit." He mumbled, mildly disturbed.

A few moments later another noise came to him as he heard much louder steps coming down the hall. Not loud in that they were stomping, but loud in that compared to Neo's near silent steps- which was another thing he realized, the fact that he had actually even heard her footsteps in the first place was unusual- they may as well have been.

"Oh, there's my h-hoodie... Ack!" And then a thump alerted Roman to the fact that the blonde in question had likely just been slammed against the wall. Judging by the silence in the hall for the next few moments followed by the stuttered and stumbling response of the kid, Roman could infer he'd just been greeted very physically and affectionately by Neo. The next words only served to confirm this. "G-good morning to you too, heheh..." The teen mumbled, before continuing on far enough to find the kitchen.

And at that, Roman had to do a double-take.

Whereas Neo was as out of sorts as he had ever seen her, the kid looked right as rain. "Ah. Hello there, uh... Roman. C-can I call you that? You don't look like the kind of guy who'd like to be called mister."

Again the criminal mastermind blinked.

Aside from the missing hoodie, an improvement if you asked him, the kid was like he had been yesterday except with a pair of ocean blue eyes rather than the mismatched pair Neo boasted. Further, he seemed even better than the day before; a night with her had apparently boosted his confidence something fierce, because the kid stood straighter now and his eyes weren't near as nervous as before.

That was... useful, he supposed? If the kid wasn't a nervous wreck then he and Neo could definitely work their magic, influence him to make decisions with their benefit in mind.

Of course, it wouldn't be for free; just as Neo enjoyed the heights of luxury at her whim, the kid would be rewarded similarly should they establish a working relationship of sorts.

Roman replied after a moment. "... Roman is fine, kid... anyhow, this is gonna be a weird question to ask, but I just gotta know; what the hell did you do to Neo? I... I think ya' broke her." Neo had taken many a man for a ride, and none of them had seemed to elicit that kind of response from her. It was fairly likely this kid was her first time with a virgin, though. Maybe she got a few extra kicks out of that?

At that rather sudden question, and recalling quite a few things about the night prior, Jaune had the decency to blush. "Er... well... we did a lot of things..." The teen reached up and rubbed his head sheepishly. "But, uh... basically we just kind of... kept going. Until she was, uhm... s-satisfied." He coughed, embarrassed, and made it a point not to meet the other man's eyes.

"... okay." Roman nodded, making special note of the fact that he had specifically stated she was satisfied rather than until he couldn't go on. Which implied that Neo had tapped out first in that sheet-wrestling match, and that was absolutely galling to hear because she was a trained killer who had run through small armies of men without breaking a sweat. "Right. Well, I'm glad to see that everyone in the household is doing well. Though seeing Neo in that hoodie of yours was rather jarring, I must admit..." Her fashion sense was typically much better than that.

If this kid lacked in experience, he damn well made up for it with sheer stamina it seemed. That wasn't exactly useful information to Roman as he certainly had no plans to take the kid for a swing in the sack, but he couldn't help but admit that managing to outlast Neo in bed was something that more qualified individuals had typically fallen short of.

Moving on, though. He took a sip of his coffee, gesturing for the kid to take a seat. "Make yourself at home, kid. Far be it from me to mistreat Neo's pet."

Taking the light jibe for what it was, Jaune let out a little laugh as he pulled up one of the chairs. "I feel like I should be offended, but considering how the two of us met I, uh, guess I don't have much ground to stand on."

Roman snorted. "Can say that again. Neo's a gal who doesn't want for much until she sees something that catches her eye. And then all bets are off. She doesn't exactly play by other folks' rules, after all." After a moment of silence in which the teen just kind of sat, still slightly reeling from the events of the previous night, and Roman himself merely occupied himself with his coffee, the ginger-haired man spoke again. "So'd you two end gettin' anything figured out about your Semblance or did ya' spend all night going at it like rabbits?"

Blushing at that, Jaune spoke up. "Er... well, some stuff got done." A tiny smirk came to his lips. "I can do this, now." His eyes changed from blue to the same mismatched color as the girl who'd stolen him away the day before, one a vivid pink and the other a deep chocolate brown.

After a moment, Roman was greeted with a mirror image of himself seated at the table.

Quickly noting that the kid had at least managed to gain Neo's illusory transformation ability, Roman nodded. His transformation was spot on with exception to the tone of the skin being ever so slightly off, almost unnoticeable even, and his bangs being a tiny bit too short.

Well, now. Wasn't that just neat? Taking another sip of his coffee, the thief grinned at his doppelganger in the chair. "Well, well. I was admirin' the view of Vale and now it's palin' in comparison to this fine gentleman in my kitchen." He joked... partly joked. He looked good and the kid was giving a very fair rendition.

And with a sound like the muted shattering of glass, the blond teen was before him again, mismatched pink and brown eyes giving way to the ocean blue he'd begun with. "Hah. Neo said you would like that."

And speaking of Neo, as if called by her mention the girl padded back into the kitchen once more, her mug emptied and her hair having been brushed back into the immaculate precision Roman knew her for.

But she was still wearing the kid's god-awful hoodie and presumably nothing else, the now fully cognizant girl completely unconcerned by this as she quickly made her way into the seated teen's lap, pressing herself against him in a display of affection Roman would silently liken to a cat.

The kid seemed to share that idea, as his hand promptly found the girl's hair and began gently stroking it... like one would a cat.

Neo seemed pleased. He could almost imagine her purring if not for the complete lack of vocalization from her.

Rolling his eyes, Roman threw back what remained of his coffee and released a contented sigh. "Right, then. I've got stuff to do and I would rather appreciate the two of you not destroying the kitchen in a tantric sex-ritual."

With that said, he dropped his mug into the sink and took his leave.

Which left Jaune blushing profusely, the content Neopolitan in his lap unconcerned with her partner's jibes. Shifting to lock eyes with her most recent lay, the girl gave him a smirk.

Jaune was by no means an expert on her expressions, but that look was different than the ones she'd given him during their activities the previous night, so he could safely say that wasn't what was on her mind.

But... well, that didn't narrow it down. "Uh... d-do I have something on my face?" He asked, somewhat uncomfortable with the attention.

The girl shook her head, a little exhale of air that amounted to a laugh coming from her lips. Soon enough a scroll was thrust in his face.

'I didn't exactly get to tell you last night, but you did pretty good for a first timer.' It was around that point Jaune realized that was his scroll. How in the hell did she manage to get through without the password? That was just plain freaky. He continued reading, as Neo had managed to gauge his reading speed rather accurately and could tell that he had paused somewhere. Due to that, she had taken to shaking the scroll lightly, somewhat insistent. 'Moving on from that, we're going to put some work in on your Semblance today. The gist of it seems to be that you can copy what my Semblance does, so either you managed to get the same thing as me somehow, which is unlikely on such a scale that it's insane to even think it, or your Semblance copying mine is just what it does; copy other people.'

After reading all of that, having placed one hand over her own on his scroll to calm her insistence and hold the thing still to read, in addition to just enjoying the soft warmth of her skin, Jaune hummed. "Uh... is that... weird?" He mumbled, unsure. He hadn't exactly known what he was getting into in the first place, having been along for the ride mostly. He felt almost disappointed that she had to pull her hand away from his to continue typing.

'Very much so. Depending on what you can actually do with that ability, what its limitations are, you could have something worth your weight in gold. At the very least.' He paused for a moment, reeling at that information. Was this really that uncommon that she would emphasize that so heavily? Apparently so, judging by the next line. 'Since you're a noob at this, I'll explain more; a Semblance is something unique to you. Think of it as your soul manifesting in a way that affects the world around you. Not everyone has one, at least one that they're aware of, but those that do have a leg up on the competition right from the start.' The girl paused in her typing to shift in his lap some, making herself more comfortable. 'And you seem to be able to copy those. If it's a one time thing and you just ended up with my Semblance, that's already good; I'm not being arrogant when I say that the things I can do with my Semblance make me the most valuable asset Roman has.'

Compared to anything else Roman had, she was infinitely more valuable. Valuable underlings could still be replaced, material objects could be reclaimed, and wealth can simply be earned back. But what she offered was irreplaceable, and Neo knew that full well. Roman went to great lengths to keep her content, and as such she had no intentions of disappointing him in any capacity.

It wasn't just because they were friends, even if neither of them would willingly admit it. Roman would treat her almost exactly the same way if he didn't like her so much, simply because she was that valuable.

That was one of the reasons why she was so content to let her guard down around the man. She knew he wouldn't betray her for anything in the world, because chances were whatever it was he was offered to do so... she could get it. And anything she couldn't get him? It was something Roman wouldn't want to begin with.

So Neopolitan was content to let Roman see her with her hair down, so to speak. He himself often remained somewhat guarded even in her presence, but that was because he was easily the less valuable member of their arrangement and they both knew it. Neo didn't need him to function in any capacity, she could find another employer should she ever feel like it.

It kind of hurt to think about that, because she did value Roman so much that she would never betray him like that.

From an outside perspective, Neopolitan had no need for Roman Torchwick. But she knew full well that life just wouldn't be the same without her ginger boss man.

Keeping off that train of thought any further, Neo merely cuddled up again to her newest toy and idly tapped out more information for him to ingest. Goodness, was he comfortable... 'Since a Semblance is so unique, having the ability to copy them is like winning the lottery. If it's a one time thing, you struck gold by getting mine. If it's one at a time and you need to change it somehow, that's fine; just stick with my abilities, since I can show you how to use them, probably better than anyone else would teach you theirs. And if you can take multiples at the same time, jump through them whenever you want? You are quite possibly one of the luckiest people in the world.'

And she was pretty lucky, too, for having found him first. Having someone with that kind of ability, no training whatsoever, transcripts to get into Beacon Academy, and a naivety that she could exploit to twist him to her own benefit? That was once in a lifetime right there.

On top of that, he was hot under those clothes! And a quick learner! And not a quick shot! He'd kept going, and going, and going and even though he had next to zero idea what he was doing he made up for it because he just kept going!

So yes. Neo was excited for the future; her newest plaything was already above and beyond any expectations she had when she dropped into his lap yesterday. Reaching up to brush one hand against his jawline, something that brought a flush to him, she giggled silently. Her pilfered scroll soon found his face once more. 'Go get ready. Armor, weapon, everything. You showed me you had stamina, and we're going to abuse that to the limit. We're going to make a man out of you in a whole different way than I did last night.'

Jaune gulped at the rather... sharp look on her face as she said this, but nodded nonetheless. "O-Okay. Uh... are you going to let me up?"

A delicate brow was quirked at him, and Neo shifted in his lap so that her legs were listlessly dangling over the side of his own. Looking at him expectantly, it took the teen just a moment before he realized what she wanted.

So Jaune reached underneath her legs, marveling briefly at the softness of her for not the first time, before lifting the girl bridal style.

She grinned impishly at him and, despite knowing that was a smile from the devil, Jaune felt his heart flutter at the sight of it.

Training with Neo, as Jaune had come to find, was hard. He had expected it would be, because all the things in life worth doing usually are, but actually experiencing it was something else.

She gave him some basic pointers on footwork, hints on a few little things to look out for in a fight, where to look to try and get a feel for how the enemy is going to move. Little stuff, just hints and tips that he could use on a general level.

And then she proceeded to kick the crap out of him.

And then they repeated the process. Over and over again. For three hours straight.

The one good thing about this whole process, aside from the fact that Neo was still wearing just his hoodie, was that Jaune could actually see some progress being made.

She came at him at a level that he couldn't beat. He just had to try and survive the onslaught. If nothing else that on its own got him used to combat in a way that he'd never been before.

That was the most intensive part of the training. As a sort of cool down, she'd taken her own weapon, a thin blade within her umbrella, and walked him through a few basic motions of attack. Not really a "style" or anything like that, just... helpful advice on how to swing, where to aim, and so on. Again, it got him more used to the weapon in his hands.

Neo was giving him basics. The most basic of the basics, even, but that was what Jaune knew he needed. She had beaten that into him already.

Of course, after their cool down... Neo had gone right back to kicking his ass for another hour, though she had encouraged him to try and attack her if he saw an opening.

He didn't see many openings, and the ones he thought he saw were feints she left to try and goad him.

They worked most of the time.

This lead to now, where Jaune Arc was pinned beneath Neopolitan for what had to be the hundredth time today. The girl was straddling his chest, her knees pinning his arms to his sides.

For his part, Jaune was embarrassed more due to the fact that she had absolutely no sense of shame than the fact that she had been beating him up all day.

Again; she was wearing nothing but his hoodie.

And judging by the rather satisfied look on her face, she knew where he trying to avoid looking. Almost chidingly, the girl slipped his purloined scroll out of his hoodie pocket and placed it between her legs, shifting just a bit to hold it with her thighs.

Jaune gulped, pants much tighter than before as Neo's hand slipped down between her legs and began tapping out a message on the scroll.

Gods above, seriously!? She was going to do that? Jaune felt his breath hitch as the girl above him casually carried on with her typing, a smug smile on her lips.

How was it that covering herself somehow made him more excited? The way the skin of her thighs was pressed in by his scroll? The knowledge that something of his was hovering just scant few inches away from her crotch? How his hoodie had ridden up just enough that more of her soft, creamy skin was on display, while his scroll was blocking the view of the most tantalizing part? Was it because with her now typing by holding the scroll between her thighs like that it would make for a really misleading scene if someone walked in? Or because she was forcing him to look at her now?

Stupid sexy Neo.

Her hand moved, leaving his scroll supported solely by the flesh of her thighs. He tried to get a hold of himself enough to read it, ignoring Neo's very proud expression as she watched him squirm.

'You're learning. It's going to take a lot of work to get you up to Beacon's level, but I think we can manage. You'll need to come back here whenever you get a free moment, because we're going to have to work you to the bone. But you can take it, right?'

Jaune grit his teeth and nodded, determination lighting up like a fire within him. "I am not going to a waste of space. This is my dream and I'll fight for it until it kills me."

Neo quirked a brow, but smiled nonetheless. Again her hand darted between her legs, something which killed the mood he'd gotten into as he again was reminded of her bare crotch only a foot from his face and hidden behind nothing but the thin material of his scroll.

'You need a style. Not some mumbo-jumbo martial arts swordfighting crap from a Spruce Willis movie, but something you fall into when you fight. Right now you just swing that thing of yours around without any kind of intent behind it. You may as well be a kid with a foam pirate sword for all the good that will do you.' Jaune grunted at that, but carried on reading. 'I'm the best teacher you're going to get. Anything at Beacon will be shared with a class of other students, but you have me all to yourself.' Boy, did he ever... Jaune could definitely say he wasn't going to get the kind of special attention Neo gave him from his teachers at Beacon. 'You're not flexible enough to fight like me. I could make you that flexible, but it's going to take a lot of time and a lot of practice... not to mention some potential injuries that we can mostly hand-wave because Aura speeds up healing.'

That got a little shiver out of him as he imagined the kind of crazy exercises he would have to do to reach that kind of flexibility. But... if it would make him stronger, then it was worth it. If he had to break himself to reach his goal, so be it. This was what he wanted and he was going to take it.

Seeing his resolute expression, Neo just giggled silently before poking out a few more lines of text on the scroll.

'You're going to fight your way, Jaune, and I'll fight my way. Just because you're a copycat doesn't mean you can't be a little original; that shield of yours is something I don't have, and you've got a more powerful build than me; if it wasn't for the fact that you knew I'd just beat you up again until you stayed down, you could have thrown me off any time.' He blushed and looked away with a grunt, admitting that as truth. Neo weighed like nothing and she had next to no leverage on him... but she'd just keep throwing him down as many times as it took to assert her dominance. He didn't look away long, though, because there was more she'd written. 'I think you can use that. You're not as flexible as me, but you don't need to be. I dodge almost everything because I'm petite. You can half-ass it with that shield of yours, use that to cover your blind spots as you dodge instead of bending in a way that makes it so they can't exploit your blind spot.'

That made sense. Crocea Mors shield-sheath was an extremely durable piece of work, something that had a venerable, ancient feel to it. A few little scratches here and there from it's long and storied history, but never had the shield faltered under a blow. It was wide enough to cover his vitals easily if he was dodging, and Jaune briefly imagined himself pulling off some, as Neo had said it, half assed versions of her own dodges. He'd seen plenty of them, and while she never moved exactly the same way that she had before, there were some reactions she had that were practiced and experienced.

In theory, it seemed viable. She always seemed to have him completely in her field of view no matter how she dodged, because she bent in a way that let her do that. He couldn't do that, but he could cover the spots he couldn't see with his shield. If his footwork was more solid, something that would only improve over time, Jaune could see that really helping him.

A soft poke to his nose brought Jaune from his contemplation, the multi-colored girl straddling him having apparently typed up a whole new message during the course of his thoughts. He blushed at that, but also at the sweet smile Neo had on her face. She was stunning, really.

Neo herself was actually just marveling at how cute Jaune could be when he was lost in thought before she drew his attention. 'Once I have you able to keep yourself alive, we're going to work on attacking. You need to get a handle on your sword or you're going to be halfway worthless. You have a week till Beacon starts up, and I want you acceptable at dodging and moving within the next few days so we can dedicate the rest to making you useful in a fight.'

He nodded.

Another sweet smile from Neo, one that he honestly felt to be somewhat uncharacteristic of her after seeing the almost predatory expression on her face in their... "fights". She leaned forward, capturing his lips with her own in a surprising and chaste kiss before pulling back. His scroll came between their faces once more.

'Come take a shower with me, then we're going out somewhere. Trust me, you'll like it.'

Jaune wasn't sure if she meant the shower or the place they were going, but a certain part of him had made up it's mind on just which thing it wanted right now.

Vale's commercial district house a great many warehouses for storage of product. It was also not particularly far from the safehouse Roman had set up in the A Scoop a Day ice cream parlor, which rested close to the river which separated residential from commercial district. That made said warehouses an ideal place to set up shop, as it were.

Roman sighed as he looked over his plans, glaring over the small wooden table in the back corner of the warehouse.

Briefly, he glanced around the building with a frown.

So much fucking Dust. Everywhere. And she wanted more of it. That was what he was doing right at this very moment, overlooking his most recent target.

From Dust Till Dawn was owned by a single elderly man who also appeared to be the owner of a food cart. Altogether a fairly soft mark, the man was getting on in age and was perfectly normal; no background at all that would leave him with connections to get back at them, no connections currently to any major players in the game. It was a solid mark, and especially so as the cozy little area the store operated in tended to be practically dead at night and his hours of operation were well beyond that point.

All he would need is some additional muscle to actually transport goods, but Cinder didn't want the White Fang to be involved just yet so he had to resort to other methods.

Junior's boys would be suitable. Useless in a fight, but they were physically capable and that's all he needed out of this. The one issue was that this area was fairly close to a police station, but the woman herself had stepped up and offered to act as the getaway pilot in one of the Bullheads he'd acquired. A part of Roman figured this was just one of her usual displays of her superiority, by putting him in close proximity to her he'd be forced to reel in his rampant dislike of the woman lest he anger her... but it was also free insurance on the heist, because he had a safety net.

Risk taker or not, Roman liked to be able to make decisions with no consequences. He did feel uncomfortable having Fall around, but he had little choice; her suggestion hadn't seemed like much of a suggestion at all.

But hey. Whatever. Fuck it, right? She wanted to help him rob some quaint little shack in Vale then fine, Roman wasn't gonna stop her. He couldn't stop her if he wanted to.

"... I need a smoke." The man muttered to himself, clicking his tongue irritably at the mental rant he'd just lost seconds of his life to. "Damn woman is getting to me even when I don't have to see her smug face."

That in mind, he whipped out his lighter and a cigar. All of the Dust in the warehouse was secured well away from his little corner nook which held the planning table, a few other little knicknacks of his, and an inconspicuous door to exit the warehouse entirely. He was confident that the Dust was all safely contained, as he'd personally overseen checks of each incoming crate multiple times before allowing the beleaguered goons he was working with at any given time to put them away.

One leak and one mishap was all it took to set this whole place off into a flaming metal death trap, and Roman was against that idea. While he had no earthly clue just what Cinder was actually going to need all this Dust for, despite him actively looking into it on the side so as to try and be one step ahead of her somewhere down the line, the criminal mastermind had a feeling that all of it going up in flame wouldn't exactly be according to plan.

In a big enough way that may get him killed.

So for now Roman was running a very tight ship in regards to this operation, planning each and every little detail out with extreme precision, the likes of which would put the Atlesian busybodies to shame.

But for now, break time. The heist wasn't going to be a hard one; hell, it was one old man. The sole complication was how close the place was to the police station, but that just meant he had to do this on a timer. And with about four guys, easily acquired from Junior, he could clear the joint out easy in just a few minutes; well before the cops even got wind of the operation.

Placing the tobacco product to his mouth, Roman flicked open his lighter with a flourish and lit his cigar. Taking a deep, satisfying drag, the man released a moment later with a content smile. "Once this heist is up, I'll be on another. And then another. Least I'm good at this job, little as I want it." He wanted to steal something cool, damn it. Not Dust.

Especially not this much fucking Dust. There was nothing anyone could feasibly do with this much Dust unless they were just going to resell the shit. The White Fang plus every criminal element in this goddamn city working in tandem as an army wouldn't have enough people to go through all of this Dust. It was absurd.

What the hell did she need this for? Or... did she need it at all? What could she really use this for that was actually practical? Was it even about using the Dust?

Frowning at that latest thought, Roman slipped his scroll from the pocket of his jacket and made a quick check.

Scoffing, he shook his head. "Prices have gone up. Not too much, but if stores keep going out of stock..." He ran a few calculations in his head, considered a few little factors here and there, and a few possibilities popped up that changed things. If the SDC saw opportunity, maybe, then there could be some fluctuations... depending on how much attention the VPD gave to this, and whether or not Huntsmen got involved... alright.

His calculations completed, Roman had a decent idea what would happen... or at least some of it.

First and foremost, Dust prices would rise up significantly within the next three weeks if he continued with his usual schedule of heists uninterrupted. The surplus built up had been expended for the most part, and now everyone was being forced to place orders for more... all at once. Which was going to bump prices up. Enough that your common civilian would need to start making concessions in their Dust usage, and that those who weren't so well off would be practically in the gutter. Only the wealthier citizens of Vale could continue to keep their opulent habits untouched.

That in and of itself didn't bode well for Valean economy, something that made him cringe a bit. A city in a financial crisis was a city where there was less to steal, after all. But moreover, it would impact the morale of Vale.

Which could agitate the Grimm. And Grimm, when attracted by sufficient negativity, could be very bad. Cost of living in the kingdoms tended to be fairly low for the simple reason that they couldn't afford to have too much suffering and sadness in one place; the poorest caste of people tended to be suffering and sickly, beggars and thieves, and absolute bastions of negative emotion.

Minimizing that kept Grimm at bay just as much as their walls and defenses did.

If cost of living increased, those who were making it in life by the skin of their teeth wouldn't be anymore. Too much more rise and the middle class would cease to be middle and simply become slightly more well off than lower class. Dust was a commodity that was absolutely invaluable.

He hummed. Was that her plan, then? Increase negativity enough to provoke the Grimm? No, no, not her whole plan; too simple for Cinder Fall. But a facet of it, maybe. That could be important. She'd be increasing focus on the defenses, too, since more Grimm poking their noses at the gates would cause far more active defense. Potentially moving some of Vale's defenses from internal structures.

Taking another drag from his cigar, basking in the glorious sensation he'd come to love over the years, Roman allowed his train of thought to continue.

Cinder wanted him to believe she wanted the Dust for something, but he was now confident that was a front. She didn't need this Dust; not all of it, at least. This was to drive up prices, lower public faith in the authorities, and increase the strain on the people of Vale to live their lives. Doing so would agitate the Grimm, which was part of her plan if he was right.

There weren't many things you could really do with Grimm, though. Roman jumped to the obvious conclusion that she was going to try and get the Grimm angry and inside of Vale.

And though he would never admit it, Roman Torchwick shivered at the thought.

Was she going to try and instigate a second Mountain Glenn? Right here in the main city?

Contrary to popular belief, Mountain Glenn did not fall by coincidence. That mess was caused by someone. He knew that much for sure, having been forced to do some investigation due to how the fall put the ax to some his plans. The reports released to the public painted it as an unfortunate tragedy, but his inside sources had confirmed serious evidence towards intentional tampering. That had all been disregarded, though, because to hear that the fall of an honest to goodness city as opposed to a little frontier village was bad enough without knowing it had been caused by someone.

Admittedly, even his own guys hadn't found just who was responsible anywhere. Admittedly again, though, he put little effort towards it. Just knowing it had been the machinations of humankind as opposed to happenstance was all he needed. His resources which had been intended to move to Mountain Glenn to strengthen his position there were instead dedicated to bolstering himself even more in Vale, on guard for any tampering that could lead to the same fate, but there was nothing to lead him to think it was part of a greater plan.

Back to the point, though... was that what Cinder was up to? Was she legitimately aiming to destroy the city in it's entirety?

That was... crazy. Utterly insane. Bonkers, nutso. Ludicrous.

... it was also something he could see Cinder Fall doing, however.

But, then again, it could all be for the sake of distraction. If she got enough attention on the walls, perhaps she had a target inside the walls of Vale that would then be weakened?

Roman had no idea what that potential target would be, though. The council members? The CCT? Beacon Academy? Maybe even Amity, when the Vytal Festival kicked off later this year? For the moment he had to assume the worst just to make sure he wasn't caught with his pants down, assume that Cinder Fall wanted it all and would do whatever it took to get what she wanted.

He needed more information. She was keeping him in the dark, dividing him and her other unwilling recruits in the White Fang so they couldn't give one another all the pieces of the puzzle. They couldn't band against her if they couldn't communicate at all.

It was time he took advantage of Cinder's ignorance and began to figure out just how far this rabbit hole went.

Clearing his scroll of the research he'd done, Roman took another puff of his cigar and dialed a very special man of his.

Only a single ring before the call was picked up. "Hey, Cricket. Been ages since I heard from you, how's the wife?"

Snorting at the coded response, which was also a not so thinly veiled jab at him, Roman replied. "Overbearin' per the usual. Got a bit to catch up?"

"I can make time for an old pal, for sure. Just a sec." From the other line, the ginger thief could hear a bit of laughter and casual banter as the man on the other end of the call made his excuses to leave the poker table early.

A few more moments and the line went quiet. "It really has been some time, Roman. Half a year, almost, since we last had anything worth talking about." The voice was more serious now, though still with it's own humorous lilt.

Roman chuckled. "Things have changed. We're in deep shit, as you may be aware."

"Yes, well, the woman who tosses fire around like nothing was one clue. The fact that she's completely subjugated Adam fucking Taurus was another. But, you know what really cemented things for me? Really made me come to the conclusion that things are all kinds of messed up?"

Humoring the man, Roman took the bait. "That'd be?"

"We're now officially working together. The White Fang is working with Roman Torchwick. That's just not even remotely right. What's the world coming to when self respecting terrorists are working with a guy like you?"

Biting out a laugh, the master criminal decided to get to the meat of things. "You got a point. That said, though... our lovely benefactor and her plans have actually gotten to a place that concerns me enough that we need to take a more, ah, active stance."

"What? She just has you stealing Dust to arm her, and by extension us, right? How's that got your panties in a bundle?"

Roman sighed. "If we ain't careful, we're gonna have another Mountain Glenn on our hands I wager."

The line went silent, this clearly having affected the man on the other end. "How sure are you?" He asked, a good bit of fear in his voice at the thought.

"I ain't." Roman admitted flippantly, drawing a grunt from the other man. "It's a gut feeling, a hunch... but there's some evidence. I am not stealing Dust to arm her attack dogs. If that was the case we'd have moved on to stage whatever the fuck comes next by now." Roman tossed his hat to the table, running one hand through his hair and taking another deep drag. "I've got more Dust than there is use for. Only thing I can imagine is she just wants to deny the Dust to Vale."

"Which will jack up negativity and suffering, which will attract Grimm like flies..." A deep gulp as the man recognized the potential there. "Do you really think she'll do it? You actually work closer to her than any of us grunts do. If she could get enough Grimm sniffing around, find some way to get through the walls..."

"No doubt in my mind that she's willing to do just that if it suits her needs." He replied uneasily, shaking his head. "May not even be her end goal. May just be a step on the way towards somethin' else. We need to actually get stock of the situation. I need you to up your game." He chuckled a bit. "This is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill. Your income is gonna get a bit heftier soon, but it's hazard pay pal."

"Roman, by this point I'm probably filthy stinkin' rich anyway because of your payments. I can't use them while I'm here, remember? All that builds up."

"I know. It's why I'm motivating you with lien and the threat of our entire fucking kingdom coming down on us."

"Gods I hate it when you're right." The man groaned loudly. "What do you need to know?"

"Literally everything. I can't afford to dismiss even the dumbest rumor around your camp right now. This shit is serious."

A loud sigh echoes out. "I'll send you every little speck of dirt I find, then, boss. First and foremost, you remember just who was working along with Taurus here in Vale?"

Roman paused, briefly trying to recall. "You talking about, ah, Bella... donna? Yeah, the kid of Menagerie's big daddy chief. What of her?"

"She's gone. Up and abandoned Adam on a mission the very day after our mutual benefactor made her first offer to him, when he refused. Dunno if the two events are related, but she never did more than shadow Adam about so her running off didn't seem important enough to mention."

The thief hummed for a moment. "Any idea where she got off to? Or what spooked the kitty-kid?" The day after Cinder Fall's arrival, she left? Was that a coincidence or was there some relation between the two?

"Ghira Belladonna was the leader of the Fang when they were peaceful protesters and nothing more. His values probably stuck with her even through the militarization of the Fang, so she finally got cold feet. I don't know where she went, but... well, you can find out if you need to I'm sure." Another pause. "I'll get back in touch with you when I get more information."

Roman grinned wryly, glad to see one of his best was ready to roll. "I'm countin' on you here, Perry. Don't let me down, yeah?"

Snorting in response, the man on the other end of the line replied simply. "When have I ever let you down, Roman?"

"Just what I wanted to hear." He mumbled as the call came to an end, leaning back with one hand coming to rest over his eyes and the other slipping his scroll into his pocket. Discarding his used-up cigar, the man shook his head.

They were in such a shitty situation.

He'd put Perry into the White Fang years back when they started acting up on his turf, to keep an eye out and make sure they didn't get in his way on a heist or cause any trouble with the gangs he sponsored or storefronts he managed. None of the stores had any kind of anti-Faunus policy to begin with, so they tended to be safe, but there had been some... incidents with the gangs in the area.

Perry had been useful in the Fang, and was practically the only agent Roman had that could have done this. By sheer coincidence, Perry was a Faunus while also being a fairly talented individual in the subtle art of infiltration. He'd only really needed him there for a few years while they were still new to the area, unknowns. A threat. He'd been ready to let his favorite infiltrator ditch the fools in the coming months, but Cinder Fall complicated things.

Now Roman was extremely glad he hadn't given his man the orders to pull out just yet. He needed to know what Cinder had the White Fang doing, it could help him put the puzzle pieces together to get something out of the insanity.

But, then, what could he even do against Cinder Fall?

For the moment, not a damn thing. He'd be ready the second there was something to jump on, but the woman was a professional if nothing else. She was prideful for good reason, because she was good. Alarmingly good, because Roman had never even heard of the woman before. Even now his sources were investigating her as subtly as possible so as to prevent it from getting back to him if she managed to catch wind of it.

Who was Cinder Fall that she could just come out of nowhere like that and blindside almost all of the major players in Vale?

When Neo had said they were going out somewhere, Jaune hadn't been sure just where she'd meant. Any number of possibilities really came to him, and he didn't have any real way to narrow it down at all. He was kind of in the dark.

So while he likely would've been surprised with just about anything they ended up doing, he still had to admit that a clothing store was one of the last places he expected his new acquaintance to bring him to.

It must have been a clothing store Neo frequented, seeing as how the clerk at the counter had no reaction to them appearing out of thin air. The brunette woman merely regarded them with a quirked brow before rolling her eyes and returning to her fashion magazine.

Jaune, for his part, was kind of lost. Of all the things he did pick up from his sisters, fashion was not one of them. He wore clothing for comfort more than any other factor.

Seeing as how he was so far out of his element, he found himself just letting Neo drag him along, a smile on his lips as she giddily tugged him towards the back of the store where the dressing rooms were.

That smile died within the first ten minutes and has since been replaced by an expression which screamed "someone please save me, I can't take much more."

Neo seemed quite pleased by his suffering as she continually dressed him up in a wide variety of random outfits for what seemed like an eternity.

That lead to now, where Jaune found himself in possibly the most normal outfit he'd had the pleasure of trying on at all. A scroll found it's way to his face, and the blonde teen sighed.

'Make the pants blue.' Neo demanded, that same smug smile on her lips as always.

"Navy or...?" Jaune assumed she wanted him to choose a particularly dark shade since she liked the contrast between the brightness of his hair and whatever he was wearing.

At her nod, he continued on; the black slacks he was wearing were now a dark blue.

This was part of the training too, in a way, or so she'd said. Personally Jaune felt like Neo just liked to hassle him; she'd had him changing his clothing's appearance this whole time rather than trying on different colors.

Admittedly it was faster than running around, a bit more precise too since they knew just what looked good and could just run to grab it. Really, the most difficult part of the whole thing was that he was now being instructed on how to use one of Neo's other abilities at the same time.

Projected illusions. They weren't solid enough to interact with and shattered like glass at a touch, but they could be made into lifelike projections of people, objects, or anything really.

Currently, he was trying to preserve his dignity by maintaining the illusion of a closed changing room curtain. Neo had forbidden him from actually closing it, so if he messed up then anyone could see him changing.

Jaune was trying not to mess up, but this particular ability was a bit hard to control and took fairly constant concentration. He'd seen the curtain he projected waver multiple times and nearly disappear on him once.

He was mostly safe now, fully dressed as he was and garbed in a pair of pants that Neo had decided suited him, even if she wanted to play with the color settings some.

Gone was the hoodie, his old friend through thick and thin. He would still certainly wear it from time to time, but a sneaking suspicion came to him that Neo was going to be using it more than him seeing as how she'd been so comfortable in his hoodie.

In it's place was a simple white button up shirt. He still fully planned to wear his armor, it'd be wasteful not to, but for the moment he only had his wrist armor. While usually it was halfway tucked into his gloves, right now Jaune was without those as well. So he'd been more thorough in his tightening of the small bracers, which started at his wrist and only went back a few inches. The off-white color and metallic grey trim fit with the white of the shirt just fine, in his opinion. He didn't look, well, bland for lack of better term.

A pair of, currently, navy slacks and black monk-strap shoes made up the attire of his lower body. His tennis-shoes didn't mesh with the more classy look at all, and Neo seemed insistent that any associate of theirs needed to be suitably dashing.

It wasn't a bad look, not really. The shirt was comfortable, he'd tried on like six different pairs of each type of the shoes presented to find one that was moderately comfortable and easy to move in, the pants were also comfortable and easy to move in.

He'd been allowed to keep his criss-crossing belts for practicality's sake seeing as how he had his storage pouches and the lock for Crocea Mors. His elbow-pads were on as well, gunmetal grey and slightly worn leather. Off to the side were his shoulder pads and chestplate, not currently worn due to just how much of a pain it would be to take them off once they were on and vice versa.

Instead, he again used Neo's Semblance to make them appear on him.

Turning to the girl with the new look complete, he shrugged his shoulders. "How is it?"

'It's not bad.' Neo admitted, typing that up quickly before pulling the scroll back for another series of taps. 'I feel like it's missing something, though. Stay here a minute. I know just what you need.'

And with that, the multicolored girl was off.

Jaune sighed, leaning back against the wall of the changing room and letting the illusions fade; the pants came back to black, the armor on his chest and shoulders disappeared. He chuckled a bit, amazed by just how... fantastic this whole situation was.

He had been just a regular guy not even two days ago, having cheated his way into Beacon Academy with no idea what he'd face there. It had been a stupid decision, as he'd learned from the reality check of Neo utterly trashing five guys who he couldn't even dent. Those had been normal street toughs and he'd been run over like nothing.

If he drew his sword, maybe he would've had a chance, but Crocea Mors wasn't his go-to for fighting unarmed civilians. Neo had smacked him upside the head for that admission, though, and told him quite plainly that it was either them or him.

His worldview was going to be undergoing some drastic changes if he continued to stick with Neo, but he'd already agreed. He was in deep, honestly, because trying to back out didn't seem feasible with, well, her as the one he'd have to cross to do it. It would leave him with a sour taste in his mouth seeing as how she had been one of the most genuinely... well, helpful wasn't the right word he supposed since it was a mutual agreement. But she had done more for him in the sense of training than anyone in the world before her, and that meant a lot to Jaune. Not to mention the other things they'd done... she was his first. And then his second less than a day later.

Then there was the fact that she could and possibly would kill him for abandoning her after making their deal. Neo had a sadistic and dangerous side to her, as their training had shown him.

Honestly, though, a part of Jaune figured he'd deserve it if he backed out of things so easily. He gave his word, and that meant something. It had to mean something, because that was all he really had.

"Hey now, someone's looking snazzy." A confident voice called out, drawing Jaune's attention towards the fact that he'd apparently lost concentration on the damn curtain. Thank goodness he was dressed. Had his eyes faded back to blue as well? A quick glance in the mirror confirmed it. Okay, so at some point during his mental rant he'd turned off the copycat thing.

Immediately upon hearing the compliment, Jaune rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and smiled. "Thanks. I, uh, guess I needed a makeover." He took a moment to glance over the girl who had approached him.

She was pretty, that much was certain, but moreover he had to say she looked cool. Her sweater was stylish, a soft cocoa brown color that was secured to her by some kind of dark brown leather cinch or something. Her colors consisted mostly of those blacks and browns, some browns close enough to look like black from a distance. The girl definitely knew she looked good, too, because she was rocking those black trousers and high heeled boots. Offering him a sly grin, the girl pulled her shades down to regard him and revealed a pair of chocolate brown eyes. "That's not just gear for looking good, either, huh kid? Planning to get into some scraps are we?"

He noted that her own clothes didn't seem too civilian either. "Unless the bullets are a fashion statement, I guess I'm not the only one?" Jaune asked with a chuckle, making note of the golden cased bullets lining her handbag's strap and her belt.

The girl nodded approvingly, grin getting a bit wider. "Girl has to protect herself. It's a big bad world out there. What am I gonna do, hit them with my handbag?"

Jaune conceded that with a nod. "I guess so. I'd take a gun over a purse any day." Even if he'd never fired a gun in his life. The brunette seemed to notice that even though it went unsaid, glancing at his belt to see Crocea Mors hooked there.

"Looks like you've got yourself more of a classic there, though." She replied, nodding to the sword.

He shrugged, chuckling a bit. "I guess so." He echoed his early statement, wincing a bit as he realized that but earning little more than a chuckle from the brunette. His own sword was visibly simple. Even at a glance, most people could see outright that there was no particular mechashift function... at least anything overtly projectile. Crocea Mors was a simple but sturdy blade, shield simply unfurling from the sheath which held it.

Judging by the bullets this girl was toting around, her weapon of choice was probably a gun of some sort. He didn't see any weapon on her, though. Not really knowing what to say, Jaune couldn't help but feel his face heat up a bit as he was now faced with one of his greatest weaknesses; social interaction.

The girl who'd approached him seemed to have figured that out immediately, her grin widening. "Name's Coco. You?" She asked, providing him an easy out.

"Ah, Jaune. Jaune Arc." He latched onto this immediately. "Nice to meet you." And thank you oh so much for saving him from awkwardness. He hardly had time to be awkward with Neo latching onto him immediately, but normal conversation seemed to bring out his social ineptitude immediately.

... maybe it was because Neo didn't actually talk? Food for thought.

But rather than sit back and look awkward, Jaune decided to talk and be awkward. "So, ah... you come here often?"

"Little bit." Coco replied teasingly. "It's my favorite clothing store." She nodded outside to the plaza, visible even now through the windows of the storefront. "Lots of places around here a girl can have herself a good time."

"That's cool." Jaune replied, unsure what else to say. "I'm, ah, still kind of new to Vale. It's a big place. Friend of mine dragged me out here because she thought I, uh, needed a makeover." Seriously, his awkward handling of conversations hadn't come up with Neo or even that ginger guy, Roman. Though his confidence was kind of at an all-time high when he talked to that guy... his face flushed a bit as the memories of just why his confidence had spiked came rushing back to him.

The girl noticed, quirking a brow at him. She laughed a bit as this only made him blush more, shaking her head. "Geeze, kid, I'm not gonna bite. You said your friend dragged you here?"

"Er, yeah." He stumbled out, trying to get himself back under control. "Something about how no associate of hers was going to look like a hick."

"Hah!" Coco barked out a laugh, grin overtaking her face. "Sounds like a girl after my own heart. Gotta say, though, not sure you're pulling off the monochrome look there. Have you considered going for a shade of blue?"

Jaune couldn't help the exasperated groan the came from that statement. So it wasn't just a Neo thing, this "fashion" thing she was forcing upon him. "She said the same thing, as a matter of fact. Ran off to go find "just the thing" I needed to finish off the look, too. I have no idea what she'll come back with."

The brunette grinned, about to say something more, but a sudden ringing came from her scroll and the device appeared like magic, that was just how quickly she retrieved it. Brows furrowing, the girl's original statement was forgotten. "I've gotta dash. Nice meetin' you kid, sorry to cut this short but it looks like my team misses me." She began to walk off, before pausing mid-step and looking over her shoulder. A wide grin crossed her lips. "Word of advice before I go; figure out a landing strategy."

And with that, she was gone.

Jaune was rather confused, honestly. "... A landing strategy? What?" Weird girl. Cool, though. Very cool in fact.

He continued to ponder over just what the heck she meant by landing strategy all the way up until Neo found her way back to him.

The girl seemed to appear out of nowhere, and immediately she thrust her hands out, presenting him "just the thing" she had been looking for.

It was a vest. Well, a tail coat... vest? He didn't really know what it was called, to be honest, but it was essentially a vest with coat tails. Not quite like her own outfit, but a sort of similar vein.

She pushed it towards him insistently, and Jaune relented by taking the clothing item from her, looking it over some more as he held it. It was black, which would apparently go well with the blue and white he was meant to have. The vest was thin enough that wearing his armor over it wouldn't be any hassle, either. The lining was actually a golden color that immediately reminded of his family's symbol, which was emblazoned upon the shield of Crocea Mors. Three golden buttons on the left side to hold it closed, with a pair of pockets that he almost didn't notice on the sides. And the tail wasn't really long, a sort of rounded triangle shape that had a slit cut all the way down it, it'd fall to mid-thigh if he had to guess.

Having finally gotten it on, Jaune quickly clasped the buttons and, seeing the look on Neo's face, he chuckled sheepishly before his eyes retook the appearance of her own.

"Sorry. Got distracted." He apologized, recreating the curtain with some difficulty. Neo inspected it, before nodding. It was acceptable, then, that was good. She looked back to him expectantly.

Taking a breath and trying to maintain focus on the curtain while simultaneously changing his appearance, Jaune again made use of the mental scene, walking through a veil of water and coming out as something different. He let it paint his pants to that dark navy blue, let it form into the armor on his chest and shoulders, and let it shade his eyes back to blue.

Soon enough, Jaune Arc was staring at the full-length mirror in the room, his white button-up shirt covered by the tailcoat and then that covered again by the white of his armor. His navy pants, the sleek black shoes, and the crisscrossing belts at his hip seemed to work fine together as well.

Altogether, Jaune had to admit he looked more... professional than before. Suave, even. He gave a smile at the mirror, imagining himself as some sophisticated secret-agent type from the movies. His armor was fairly sleek, only covering his upper torso and shoulders, and the dark brown leather straps didn't stand out quite so much against the black of the vest as they slipped over his shoulders to secure his chest plate.

Neo seemed to approve as well, stepping up next to him. He could visibly see her influence in the outfit, the more... theatrical look obviously being her preference. But he couldn't say he didn't like the way he looked. It never really occurred to him before just how an outfit change could make someone look different without even changing much.

"I like it." He eventually said, offering her a smile. She grinned back at him, as if to say 'of course you do, I picked it out', but he didn't retort. After a few moments, his smile softened a bit and her own expression shifted to something questioning. "Thank you, Neo. Even if this is a mutual thing, you're doing more to help me reach my dreams than anyone else has."

A strange expression came to her face, one he didn't recognize, before the girl just shrugged... and then a particular grin he did recognize found her, as she quickly pressed him back down onto the bench.

He tried to question what she was doing, but before he could even get a response out Neo had slid the curtains closed behind them, shattering his suddenly shaky illusion in the process, and then claimed his lips for herself.

Now they were going to have to buy these clothes out of principal, but on the upside, Jaune was beginning to put serious progress towards checking things off his list of "fantasies I don't expect to come true." solely due to one Neopolitan.

AN:

This took some time, solely because I'm a lazy bastard. I still feel the urge to go over Roman's scene multiple times due to just where I'm taking that particular plot point and how I want it to be air-tight, but for the time being I've decided it's fine.

This chapter is sort of a settling in chapter for Jaune. He's getting used to how things will be if he pursues this path, that is to say basically being Neo's protege/sex toy. He's still going to be rather far behind the other Beacon students such as RWBY/NPR, but he should have enough ability to him that one Mr. Winchester will not pose significant threat. He deals with something much smaller and more deadly than him on the regular, after all.

I don't recall if I mentioned this before, but this story is one of the most planned and plotted out of any story I've ever written. I've a general line of events that goes all the way to V4 from here that will put me in a very interesting position to write from, and the events of this story should be greatly entertaining to read if I know people the way I think I do.

Anyway. Next chapter is going to be the introduction to Beacon, probably first day/initiation, and so on. See you then.