The Games We Play

DISCLAIMER: This story is NOT MINE IN ANY WAY. That honor has gone to the beautiful bastard Ryuugi. This has been pulled from his Spacebattles publishment at threads/rwby-the-gamer-the-games-we-play-disk-five.341621/. Anyway on with the show...err read.

Recollection

When lunch came around, I took a break from my meditation. The time between classes was, after all, an opportunity for any number of things. While I didn't expect Cinder to do anything yet, the fact remained that slipping her illusionist in and herself out would give her an almost airtight alibi for anything she did outside. Hell, I'd considered that myself; if need be, I'd have Adam slip away during class and minion for me.

Nonetheless, she seemed to be staying put for now, which wasn't particularly surprising, it only being the second day and all. I had kind of hoped the show I'd put on yesterday would have been enough to make her move, but Cinder was very careful and restrained; if she did anything, she'd do her level best to make sure it wasn't noticeable.

In turn, I'd do my best to notice anyway. I still needed to get a good look at that illusionist of hers; it wasn't even necessarily an issue if Cinder left the school, as long as Raven and I were sure about what we were looking at. If Cinder left, I'd call Raven and it'd be her turn to watch her.

For the time being, though, I simply kept an eye on things here, at least for now. I couldn't ignore Cinder just because Malkuth was violently ruining the horizon of my future, but I couldn't stop preparing for future problems just because Cinder was being ominous, mysterious, and generally vague. Tonight especially, I needed to prepare, so I'd stick around long enough to see if Cinder seemed like she was going anywhere or about to burst into a spontaneous monologue about her plans, and then I'd head out for more training.

That in mind, I dragged my half-awake best friend to the meal hall and sent him off to eat, claimed the same table as yesterday as my own, and stared off into space. I'd fixed everything, naturally, and if I'd missed something, I'd yet to hear complaints. The teachers had even brought people in to check things over and had deemed it good enough for students to eat in, which the students of Haven were happily doing. A few people were glaring at me, like Desher who seemed to honestly be thinking about trying to fight me again, but overall, no one seemed sure of what to do about me now that I'd established myself as top dog. Most of the students gave my table as wide a berth as possible and stared a lot.

Most.

"There you are!" Finn all but shouted in my ear as he appeared beside me, clapping me hard on the back with a wide grin. I returned it a bit lazily and sat up.

"Finn," I greeted. "Feeling better, I hope?"

"Right as rain," He answered, resting his arms on the table. "Rumor has it you were the one who patched us up."

"My Semblance is pretty versatile," I answered honestly. "I got some practice healing back in Vale."

"Yeah, yeah," He nodded eagerly. "Heard something about that before I got bored and stopped listening. So many rumors and what ifs I was starting to get pissed off, since we could always just ask you, you know?"

"That does make things simpler," I agreed, feeling a touch wistful at the thought. Sadly, I didn't have anyone to ask about most of my questions. "What did you want to know?"

"The only thing that matters," Finn snorted. "You're going to be one of Mistral's representatives at the Vytal Festival, right?"

"Blunt as ever, Fionn," Albus interrupted as he approached, giving a chiding click of his tongue.

"He said it was fine, you dumb bastard," Finn replied, rolling his eyes as Albus set his tray down on the table and joined us. He tried to swipe a chicken nugget off the older boy's plate and Albus stabbed the offending hand with his fork, but didn't say anything as Finn took away his prize and plopped it into his mouth. I assumed Albus simply considered it a form of taxation. 'You can have it if I can stab you' or something like that.

"I've thought about it," I answered after a moment. "It'd be nice to go back to Vale for a while, but it's still a bit early in the semester to worry about."

"Eh," Finn drew out, wrinkling his nose. "You're strong enough. You'd make the cut no problem, so you might as well decide now, right?"

"I suppose," I agreed with an easy smile. "I'm mainly just wondering if anything will come up. My family and all."

"Right, the Roma," Finn said, clapping his hands. "Heard your gran was Old Jeanne."

"Mhm," I answered. "And Mom's here, along with three of my sisters."

"Sisters?" Finn repeated, furrowing his eyebrows as if thinking about something. "Now that you mention it, wasn't there someone—"

"Professor Arc, you idiot," Albus muttered, swallowing a chicken nugget.

"Professor Arc," Finn exclaimed, as if he'd come to the realization entirely on his own. "You related?"

"She's my sister," I answered with a nod. "Youngest of seven."

"Seven?" He repeated, whistling. "Big family, eh?"

"Yeah," I said. "We're a bit spread out now, though."

"Are you all Hunters?" Albus asked, arching a brow.

"Yup," I answered proudly. "You?"

Albus made a face.

"Albus has daddy issues," Finn kindly informed me. "And mommy issues. And half-sister issues. And half-brother issues. He's a bastard in various senses of the term, you see."

Albus leaned back in his chair and kicked him in the shin hard enough to push his chair back.

"You're one to talk, Fionn," He said, giving him a flat look.

"Hmph," Finn snorted before turning back towards me. "To spare Albus's delicate feelings, I'll change the topic. Vytal Festival. You're in, yeah?"

I chuckled and inclined my head.

"Assuming nothing world-changing happens in the meantime," I hedged because it was a distinct possibility. "Then yeah. I'd be glad to go."

"Excellent," Finn said with a broad grin. "We've got to completely crush the other Kingdoms, you see?"

"Oh?" I asked, amused.

"Of course," Albus replied, looking at Finn like he was an idiot for even needing to say so. "This isn't about victory, it's about bragging rights."

"Mm," Finn agreed, nodding quickly as he looked my way. "See, the Vytal Festival is a big deal. We're celebrating the peace between the Kingdoms and shit like that, because after we all teamed up in the War, we were officially friends and couldn't kill each other anymore. But we can still be assholes to each other, and that's why there's a tournament at every festival. The point is to prove we're the best without all the bloodstains, but you can't just do stuff like that by halves—I mean, can you imagine if there was this long drawn out battle at the end and we just barely won? Afterwards, we'd have to be all 'It was a very close game' and 'you were a great fighter' and 'I thought I was going to lose for a second there.' It'd be horrible, right?"

"Appalling," I assured, biting down a laugh.

"Yeah," Finn shouted, clapping a hand on the table hard enough to jostle Albus' cup. "You can't brag about shit like that. We've got to crush them and then we'll be all like 'Hey, what matters is that we all did our best and had fun' and then go like this."

Finn leaned his head back with a slight smirk, a shit-eating grin on his face. After a moment, his expression returned to normal.

"You know, the classic 'We all have to be sportsmanlike here, but seriously, fuck you guys. We won again, bitches,'" He finished.

"You realize that to get to the finals, we'd probably have to crush each other, right?" I asked.

Finn rolled his eyes.

"It doesn't matter who gives the grin, as long as the grin gets given," He stated firmly. "At least one of us needs to make it to the finals; it doesn't matter who gets in the way."

"As long as we're clear," I said, absently remembering that Haven had won the tournament quite a few times. "Sure, I'm in."

"Hell yeah," Finn shouted again, clapping me on the back with twice as much force as before. "Team Haven is as strong as ever."

I chuckled again, resting an elbow on the table and my head on my hand. Olivia had mentioned it before and, truthfully, the Vytal Festival was a good opportunity. I wasn't certain of anything, but it wouldn't surprise me if Cinder used the opportunity for something—whether by going or staying. If she stayed, the strongest students in school, plus a number of the professors, would be on the other side of the ocean. If she went, though, then she'd be across the ocean, right in the heart of Vale along with God knows how many important figures. Either way, she would have plenty of chances to cause trouble, and it was best to keep my options open until I knew what she had planned.

Speaking of which…

"Is Cinder going, too?" I asked, glancing at Albus as the older boy frowned.

"Cinder?" He mused, considering it. "I honestly don't know. She decided not to last year, but she could definitely make it if she wanted. I'd have to ask. Why?"

"Oho!" Finn laughed, shit-eating grin making a comeback. "Didn't you hear, Al? Cindy took an interest in our boy here after the fight. In fact, I heard—"

And he said this loud enough to be heard several tables over.

"—That she stopped by Jaune's room last night," He finished, turning my way.

"That's true," Adam chimed in helpfully, making his triumphant return. He had a glass of water in one hand and a loaded tray in the other—he refused to drink coffee while at school, saying it would just keep him awake. "Right after class."

I sighed.

"This asshole is Adam, by the way," I introduced. "He's my chief minion. Adam, this is Finn and Albus. And yes, Cinder came by."

Finn quirked an eyebrow, looking interested at that admission.

"Yeah?" He asked. "What happened?"

I remained silent for a long moment, drawing things out, before shrugging with a slight grin.

"Not much," I answered. "She showed me a few things about Dust Weaving—"

"Oho!"

"—Which didn't involve taking any clothes off," I finished.

"Aww," Finn groaned, smile dropping and leaving him looking disappointed. "This story sucks. The one in my head was better. Hey, Adam, was it really as boring as he says?"

"It was pretty fucking boring," Adam admitted. "There was a lot of nerd talk."

Finn clicked his tongue and shook his head. Albus kicked him under the table again.

"I happen to like a woman who knows how to accessorize," Albus added. "I've seen Cinder murder dozens of Grimm in that dress of hers."

"Oh, you make a good point, Al," Finn agreed, smile returning. "That dress is her weapon in various ways and she's showing it to you? That's a sign, my friend. Hunters don't pass around their weapons to just anyone. I think she likes you. Or at least wants something from you."

He was probably right about that last part, I mused, weathering the words with an air of boredom. The rest was mostly ridiculous. I had little doubt that Cinder would be willing to seduce me if she thought it meant getting what she wanted or convinced me to obey her, but mainly because Cinder struck me as cold and pragmatic. Any interest she had in me as a person was probably similarly cold.

Granted, I would do the same in her position and then some. If it would help unlock the secrets of Babel or tell me how to defeat Malkuth, there wasn't much I wouldn't do—and having sex with someone I hated wasn't even close to the bottom of that list. Having carved up my body with a whirlwind of glass, burnt it alive, crushed it, electrocuted it, and generally mauled it for the sake of my goal, there really wasn't much else I wouldn't do for the right price. I just didn't really care all that much and after everything I'd already done to it, there really wasn't anything anyone could do to change my opinion of my body one way or another.

"Jaune," Emerald interrupted as she approached, pausing as I turned to look at her. She glanced at the others and then back at me before jerking her head towards the other side of the hall. "Do you have a minute? Cinder wanted to talk to you."

Speak of the devil.

"Oho!" Finn started again and I ignored him with a smile, putting my game face on.

Seeing as I had no tray and wasn't hungry on account of not needing food, I rose from the table to the sound of Finn's cheers. Cinder was seated near the end of the hall, which I got the feeling was unofficial senior territory, but no one said anything about me trespassing.

Imagine that.

"Good morning, Cinder," I greeted as I approached her table, smiling easily. Emerald followed a step behind me, shooting my uncertain glances that she probably thought I couldn't see—but I could. I totally fucking could just like I could feel the concern radiating off her soul, and it cheered me up a little bit. It seems I'd made all sorts of impressions yesterday; enough to make my possible future enemies sincerely worried and react.

After a night like I'd had, it was nice to have some good news. At least some things were going according to plan. If her henchmen were worried about the power I had and Cinder was continuing our conversation, it meant I was something she couldn't afford to leave be. A more extreme reaction would have been nice, but I'd take it.

"Jaune," She answered, returning my smile gently. The expression was pleasant, even if it didn't reach any deeper than her skin. "How was your second day of school?"

"Mm," I contemplated the question briefly before answering truthfully. "Dull. There was nothing worth paying attention to. Do the seniors have it any better?"

"I suppose it depends," She hedged. "I've always found classes rather easy to keep up with myself, though."

"I figured as much," I chuckled, nodding slightly at her as I took my seat. "Was there something you wanted to talk about or did you just want to arrange another meeting?"

"We can meet again whenever you wish," She assured. "But in truth, I was a bit worried about you."

"Oh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Emerald and Mercury said you were gone when they got back to their room," She explained, the concern shining in her eyes impressive in their faked sincerity. "After yesterday's performance, I'd feared that several of our fellow students might have done something out of hand in response. Things are generally fairly civil here at Haven, but…with the way you wounded their prides, I wasn't sure. Added to that, I heard you were barely in time for class. Are you okay?"

What a considerate way of asking where I was all night, I thought. I mean, she managed to sound honestly worried and everything, which I thought was a little impressive. And given that she was a seemingly concerned upperclassman and I was a supposedly unknowing freshman, I should respond with…the truth?

I paused to consider the possibilities carefully before answering. I could make up a lie but there was no real point, I decided. She'd undoubtedly notice my continued absence simply by, you know, the fact that I was continually absent. I had no intention of putting a stop to my training just to keep from arousing suspicion and I'd known from the beginning that Emerald and Mercury would notice the fact that I didn't sleep in the room—I just, you know, didn't care. This was a good opportunity to give my story, though, which I could use to help explain other things, down the line. If I played it right, I could use this to my advantage, even.

Yeah. Best to tell the truth, if in a deceptive manner. That had gotten me this far, after all.

"Ah, that," I answered without missing a beat, giving her a reassuring smile. "Sorry to worry you. I was out training all night."

Cinder raised an eyebrow at me, blinking once.

"All night?" She asked, keeping her voice concerned. "That's…impressive, certainly, but when will you sleep?"

"I'll just rest in class," I answered, shrugging. "Quite frankly, they seem to be a waste of time, so I might as well, right? That's what I used to do back in public school. The teacher's droning voices are surprisingly easy to relax to. Mercury knows what I'm talking about."

Mercury froze for a moment as Emerald and Cinder turned to look at him. The former was glaring daggers at him but Cinder just looked dully inquisitive.

"They…" He paused before beginning again, giving a quick but shallow nod. "They're pretty fucking boring, not going to lie. It's…nothing we haven't learned already."

"The first week of classes is often like that," Cinder admitted. "They need to blow off the dust that's accumulated during the breaks and make sure everyone is following along properly. It'll get better in time."

"I doubt it," I answered bluntly, leaning a cheek against my fist. "I already read all the books and I'm with Mercury—it's nothing I didn't know."

"You read ahead?" She asked, throwing me a glance.

"Of course," I replied, with a slight roll of my eyes. "I think it's all boring, but that doesn't mean I intend to do badly. My family would probably give me grief if I wasn't better than everyone at everything, so I read all the textbooks. And then I read a bunch of other books that were a lot better and nowhere near as expensive. After the training I've done, this is nothing."

"I…see," Cinder murmured. "Well, it's hard to argue with your results. That's probably for the best—though yesterday's battle silenced most arguments, there were several rumors that you only got her thanks to your grandmother's connections."

She shot me an apologetic look to go along with the words, but I just shrugged and returned it with a half-smile.

"Well, they're not really wrong," I admitted amusedly. "Grandmother kind of enrolled me at the last minute. I imagine a lot of people complained, but if any of their arguments ever got to the part where she gave a fuck, I never heard about it."

"Oh?" Cinder wondered, tilting her head to the side. "I heard you enrolled under special circumstances, but no one told me your grandmother was actually involved. You certainly have enough skill to enter Haven on your own merits…did something come up?"

"Eh," I drew out. "Sort of? I only moved to Haven recently and I wasn't really certain what I was going to end up doing here for a while. Eventually, Grandmother got me enrolled here. I think she expects me to show off and take control of the school in my family's name or something. Which I guess I have, so she should be pleased."

There, that was all true. Not the complete series of events, granted, but all true.

"I would assume so," Cinder assured. "You've certainly worked fast."

"I dislike things that waste my time," I admitted. "If I drew things out, there would probably be duals and arguments and God knows what else, and it might go on for weeks or months. Some people would try to attack me, some would try to ignore or shun me, and some would try to mess with me however they could. It seemed like a lot of effort for something I don't care about all that much, so I went out of my way to establish dominance as quickly as possible. I have beat the crap out of less people, less people need to get the crap beaten out of them—it's a win-win situation, really."

Cinder hummed, nodding to herself as she filed that away. Or, at least, I assumed she was keeping a mental file on me—I was certainly keeping one on her.

"What about your friend?" She asked, nodding towards Adam who was listening in with Levant's help.

"Adam's my chief minion," I stated remorselessly, taking pleasure in the flash of annoyance I felt from him. "Grandmother made him my bodyguard or something, I don't know—what matters is that he works for me now."

"Was he out training as well?" Cinder wondered, looking curious. "Emerald said he seemed tired."

"I could hardly have brought him along if couldn't handle some training," I replied. "There's no room for the unprepared where I'm going."

"And where are you going?" Cinder's smile became subtly challenging as she meet me gaze evenly. I matched it with a grin of my own.

"Straight to the top," I said.

"He must be very strong indeed then, to be your right hand man," Cinder mused, looking past me with a touch of renewed interest.

"Strong enough not to die," I answered with a shrug. "Which I suppose is all I can really hope for, under the circumstances."

"I see," She replied. "Well, I suppose it makes sense that he was sleeping in class, then."

I chuckled.

"He was probably going to sleep through class anyway," I admitted with a shrug. "He's good enough in a fight, but…well, you know. Hard to blame him, though, since everything's so boring. It's a little irritating, but I'll probably end up doing school work for two."

"That's very kind of you," Cinder praised with a gentle smile. "You must be quite fond of him to go through so much effort."

She tilted her head to the side as I shrugged, pretending to consider something.

"Well," She said after a moment of silence, smiling playfully. "Since it seems Mercury also intends to sleep through class, perhaps he should train through the night as well?"

"What?" Mercury asked, sitting up straight. "I mean, um…yay…I love training."

I looked at him for a moment and then shook my head.

"No thanks," I rejected. "Adam can survive it, but Mercury probably wouldn't."

I shrugged as if there was nothing I could do about it.

"Besides, Mercury can't be my minion," I stated. "He's your minion, right?"

"I'm not sure I like being called a minion," Mercury began.

I rolled my eyes.

"Henchman, subordinate, ally, whatever," I corrected, my tone calm and blunt as if the topic didn't mean much to me and neither did the words. "What matters is that he's yours. Right?"

Cinder didn't drop the mask but her eyes met mine and there was an understanding in them. A very, very cold understanding.

"Well, I suppose we've been friends for a long time," Her voice said in a cheerful tone, so detached from her emotions that it deserved to be counted separately.

"That's cool," I replied, smiling out her without lifting my head from my fist. "We have a lot in common Cinder. If you want to train together, I don't mind—we can do it during the daytime. Instead of sewing every day, we can mix it up a bit."

"That's an idea," She said, considering it. "Sure. You're very strong already, but maybe I can still give you a few hints?"

"I'd like that," I said, standing at last. I made a show of starting to turn before pausing and looking back at her. "Oh, that reminds me. Are you going to attend the Vytal Festival this year? Finn and Albus just asked me to join, something about crushing everything that got in our way. Grandmother would approve, I think, so I said I'd think about it. It might be fun."

"Maybe so," She mused before giving me a beautiful if empty smile. "You know, I think I will. It seems I'd be in good company."

I returned the smile.

"In that case, I'll definitely go," I told her. "If all of us are there, I'm sure we'll have a blast."