Professor Arc

Chapter 40

Jaune had the sinking feeling he was going to regret this.

That was maybe saying it a little lightly. There were varying degrees of sinking. Some ships bobbed atop the waves for a little bit, slowly descending into the depths. This feeling was perhaps better represented by the idea of a ship pointing nose down, fired out of a cannon and into the ocean, while also being filled with blocks of cement.

To put it lightly, he wasn't feeling super confident in his continued survival.

"Please don't cause any trouble," Jaune whispered.

The little blonde girl he was giving a piggyback to wound her arms around his neck, making him stiffen as he felt her breath was over his ear. To anyone watching it might have been the cute sight of a small girl clinging to an older sibling. To him it was someone threatening to asphyxiate him.

"Sorry," he amended, "I meant don't cause any irreversible trouble. You're my sister, so anything you do here reflects on me. You did promise not to kill anyone, remember?"

'Noah Arc' nodded, her blonde hair falling over his shoulders. When Neo had handed him the fake ID she'd managed to have made he'd raised an eyebrow, asking why she'd chosen a man's name. Once he'd picked himself off the floor he'd wisely kept quiet over it.

That still didn't make this a good idea. It was just a necessary one.

He needed Neo on his side, which meant doing what he could to keep her happy. The agreement they'd come to before had included him allowing her a little more freedom and this was the only way he could think to manage that. With the Vytal Festival approaching, Beacon was opening its doors to many people... no one would notice anything wrong about one small addition. Ozpin had even agreed.

Well... he'd signed the paperwork.

It wasn't Jaune's fault if he hadn't read it, even if the blonde had pushed it across the desk and said it was some stuff that needed signing. As far as anyone was concerned, Noah Arc was bunking with her older brother, though obviously she would have restricted access to some areas of Beacon (not that Jaune felt that would stop her), but otherwise would be welcome so long as she didn't interfere with Jaune's responsibilities. Again... not that he thought that would stop her doing so.

Now it was just necessary for Jaune to spread the information of his little sister across Beacon, so that no one would think her presence unusual. That wouldn't be too difficult a task. All he had to do was find someone capable of spreading that gossip around fairly quickly.

In Beacon that was easier than one might have expected.

God damned Beacon rumour mill...

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Yang let out a long sigh, smiling in bliss as she leaned back, clutching her full stomach.

"I'm surprised we managed to make it through classes detention-free," Blake said, an empty plate before her.

"Me too," Yang said, "I've never been so quiet in my life."

As far as Yang was concerned, the build-up towards the Vytal Festival was epic. The excitement in the air, the way people rushed to and fro. Sure, she could have handled not being in detention for most of it, but she was in good company since just about half the student body seemed to be faring the same. Their team had actually managed to escape that fate today, through the incredible power of staying utterly silent in all their classes and barely moving a muscle.

"I can well believe that," Weiss sniped, though she too looked exhausted.

"It's almost like the teachers are actively trying to get us in trouble," Ruby sighed.