WS14/15/20/31/32/33/38

"We also have out fourth member, Neo." Cinder waved a hand towards the lazy girl, only to pause when she noticed the bed was empty. Where had the girl gone? Had she slipped out without them noticing?

"Oh wow, you're friendly." Jaune laughed.

What? Cinder's head snapped back so quickly her muscles spasmed. Jaune was stood in the same spot he'd occupied before, but before him now was the small form of Roman's enforcer, her tiny hands wrapped about Jaune's as she pumped it up and down and smiled at him.

Her paranoia kicked in immediately. The girl hadn't so much as paid attention whenever she said something, and seemed here on sufferance. For her to suddenly be interested in Jaune, spoke of hidden intentions. This reeks of some kind of plot. What are she and Roman planning? Her hackles rose when the multi-coloured girl didn't leave his side. Instead, she hovered beside him, one hand clutched to his belt as though to not let him escape. Mismatched eyes stared back at her innocently, but Cinder's narrowed. I'm watching you…

"Aw, she's adorable," Jaune cooed and patted her head with one hand. The psychopathic murderer, for Cinder knew her to be one, acted as a puppy might and butted her head against his palm.

[...]

"You've put yourself in a situation where you will need to fight your friends or your family, and that's not going to change. Your plans of brokering a peace are not only doomed, they're completely nonse-"

"You believe in me?" Jaune asked, paying no attention to her whatsoever. He sounded amazed, but also a little touched.

Neo bobbed her head up and down, a saccharine smile on her face.

Cinder saw red. "Stop that. Get off him!" She reached forward for the girl, only to growl when Neo ducked behind her little brother and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Whoah, whoah," Jaune waved his arms to stop her. "Sis, stop! Look at her; you're scaring her so much she can't even speak!"

Scaring her- can't speak? Neo!? The idea was laughable, but before she could point that out, her mouth fell open as she watched the clever little snit look up at him with watery eyes and bury her face in his stomach. Why, that manipulative little- She growled and took a threatening step forward, prepared to tear the girl away from him, but for Jaune's expression hardening.

"Cinder, stop it!"

"Jaune, you cannot be serious. She doesn't believe in your idiotic plan; she's manipulating you."

"It's not an idiotic plan. Just because it's not been tried before doesn't mean it won't work!"

[...]

"Well, my mom always had plans for what she wanted of us, you know how it is. I never really wanted to follow them, which was why I ran off to Beacon. I guess Cinder agreed with my mom's point of view more than I thought." He looked down at the table, lost in the woodwork for a few seconds. "It's nothing to worry about though – I'm not going anywhere. I just got upset. I'll be fine in a bit."

The new girl tugged on his arm and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Ah, not that Neo ever tried anything like that," he laughed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest that."

The girl smiled up at him and bobbed her head up and down.

[...]

She turned to Jaune with a wide smile, only for it to fall when she caught him patting Neo atop the head. Ruby's cheeks puffed out but she forced herself to remain calm.

[...]

So what if Jaune went off to spend time with some leggy woman, and what did it matter if he had a shy, childhood friend who ticked all the same boxes she did. She was still his teammate, which meant she could go out and spend time with him and everyone else. They could have fun at the arcade together, two best friends playin-

"Oh, Neo, you want to come as well?" Jaune asked, looking down to the girl who tugged on his sleeve. She smiled widely and nodded. "Neo can come too, right?"

"Sure," Yang smiled.

[...]

Ruby leaned in a little closer. "Do you think that Neo girl is as well?"

"No," Weiss shook her head. "He seems indulgent of her, and he's obviously not upset to be close to her. I'd say she seems more like a younger sister to him."

—WS14

[...]

"Yeah, we'll-" Jaune cut off as he felt something tug on his sleeve. He blinked and glanced down in time to see Neo smile back up at him. "Oh, hey Neo. Is something wrong?" The girl shook her head and held out one hand, a small line of tickets dangling from her fist. "For me?" he asked.

Neo nodded.

"I shouldn't acc-"

"Take the tickets!" Remy roared.

"W-What the hell, Remy? I thought you said we were going to beat him through skill?"

"I said we were going to win! I never said we needed to do it legitimately." Jaune could imagine the parasite rubbing its little claws together, but he was less sure. It felt like cheating… even if using Remy in the first place was probably already that. He was about to reject the kind offer, but for the parasite speaking up. "It would be a real shame if Yang didn't get a gift from you… a real shame…"

"Thanks, Neo!" Jaune stuffed the tickets into his pocket and rubbed a hand over the top of her head. She smiled proudly and jogged off.

—WS15

[...]

"That makes sense. I'll keep you in the loop. Thank you for your belief in me, Cinder. It means a lot."

Ah, well… maybe she wouldn't disabuse him of that notion. "It is fine, Jaune," she said, eyes closed. "Naturally, my faith in you remains-"

"You believe in me too, Neo?" Jaune asked. "Thank you!"

Cinder's eyes snapped open, followed by a quick growl as she saw Neo stood between Jaune and the door, a wide smile on her face. She nodded happily, and then opened her arms wide. Jaune stooped down to wrap his around her in a warm hug.

"Aw. Thanks, Neo."

The comb in Cinder's hand went up in flames. She had to resist the urge to do anything, though, even as Neo squeezed him tightly and watched her with a cocky smirk. I still need the girl. I can't kill her. I still need her. Damn it, I want to kill her.

—WS20

[...]

Maybe this would be an easy night after all.

The foot that was placed in the centre of his back disagreed.

The world spun as he was non-so-gently thrust forward, and he caught the briefest flash of colour before he was sent through the hatch. There was a loud clang as his body struck it, one that reverberated through the warehouse. It was followed by a high-pitched cry and an altogether louder sound as he impacted the wooden stage.

[...]

 "Why did you fall in, anyway? Don't tell me you're that clumsy."

"No, someone pushed me in. I didn't see a face, but I thought there was a flash of pink." Jaune paused when he noticed Roman flinch. "Someone you know?"

"No, no," Roman blatantly lied. "I was just thinking how I need to have a talk with a little friend of mine, because I asked her to do me a favour and I think we're on different wavelengths here."

—WS31

[...]

"No, Neo." Emerald grabbed her scroll and sent a quick message to the girl, one filled with urgency and just enough begging. There was no telling what this would cost her, but a favour was a favour, and she needed this. "Neo can get in there without any trouble, and she can rescue him, too. Her Semblance lets her cross short distances almost instantly."

"Teleportation?"

"Uh, well…" Emerald tried to think of a better way to explain it, but the exercise was rendered useless by the sound of shattering glass. Neo appeared beside the two of them with a shit-eating grin on her face.

Emerald's eyes narrowed.

That was far too quick. How did she read my message and get all the way from Beacon to here so soon? There's something off here…

—WS32

[...]

Jaune nodded and made to move towards her, only to freeze for some reason. It didn't look like he wanted or intended to, more like something was holding him back. He looked down at his chest.

There was a small pair of arms wrapped about it, one under his left arm and the other over his right shoulder. A face materialised there, eyes twin shades of pink and brown, with hair a similar colour that spilled down around him. The girl wore a cocky grin.

"No!" Lavender growled, lunging for him.

Jaune winked out of existence, and Lavender's fingers smarted as they struck the sheet metal wall.

[...]

"Emerald, have you seen Jaune? He was right here, but someone took him."

The green haired girl waved back and jogged over. She looked a little worse for wear, probably because of the Grimm, but wore a small smile nonetheless. "He's fine… a little shaken up, but okay."

"You have him!?" Weiss' eyes widened, and even Pyrrha and Ruby took a step forward in obvious relief. "But I don't see him anywhere…"

"That's part of what's keeping him safe," Emerald boasted. "Neo, bring him out!"

It was a flicker at first, or maybe more of a ripple in the air. Weiss watched as it formed the shape of a person, or what soon after turned out to be two people. Jaune stood before them, dazed and a little surprised, while a far smaller girl hung off his back, her arms around his neck.

Emerald tapped Jaune's shoulder and smirked. "See, I told you I could get him out of there in one piece. Thanks for the help, Neo."

—WS33

[...]

That was why he'd tried to latch onto the kid. Someone young, idealistic, easily manipulated, but better yet someone who Cinder seemed to harbour a strange affection for. If he could have worked his way into Jaune's good will, he could have counted on him to cover his and Neo's ass. That was the plan, anyway.

Problem was; it wasn't working.

Oh, Neo was doing her best, and he had to admit her latest gambit was nothing short of a miracle. It was the only good thing to take away from the mess that was the White Fang rally. The Paladins were gone – technically not his fault – and the White Fang were nervous as all hell – also not his fault – but at least Neo had managed to make it seem like she and he had helped the kid. That was a damn sight better than the truth, that being of how it was Neo who kicked him down into it in the first place.

It wasn't enough, though, and it wasn't fast enough. Jaune might have good will towards Neo, but apparently being cute and sexy in his presence wasn't winning him over. Worse, he downright hates me. Not sure if it's the job or just our run-ins, but the chances of us being buddy-buddy seem to be less than none.

—WS38