Jaune's Pineapple Jam 66

Cinder Fall smiled as she stood beside Jaune Arc on Beacon’s Docks with their teams around them. 


She could already see Jaune’s girlfriend seething in insecurity at Cinder’s superior womanly charms. In fact, she could see the rest of Team RWBY’s wariness towards her. Weiss Schnee even went so far as to glare at her.


Cinder almost raised an eyebrow at that. Was the Schnee so close to Belladonna as to feel the need to be hostile to Cinder just because she was next to Jaune Arc? 


Well now, more information for her. It wasn’t as important as the Maiden’s location or the identity of Ozpin’s candidate but it was information nonetheless. Useful information at that.


Her mind was already whirling through plans and scenarios on how to leverage that particular relationship. A distraction perhaps? A trap? An ambush and a kidnapping? Taking the Schnee for ransom and handing her to the White Fang? It would certainly create chaos and commotion that would allow Cinder opportunities to dig herself deeper into her cover and look for a route to get to the Maiden.


Regardless, those plans were for later. Right now, she smirks at the children’s reaction. They were right to be wary of her. None of them were at her level after all. Only one came close to the maturity and allure she exudes.


Winter Schnee, Ironwood’s loyal dog.


“Ms. Fall, I presume?”


“You presume correctly, Ms. Schnee. I assume we will be shadowing you this week?” She nods towards the stern woman in front of them, her smile never leaving her face despite the judging eyes roaming her body.


Winter Schnee may try her best to intimidate and establish her authority over her but it was futile. Cinder herself had stood in the presence of the Queen of the Grimm and nothing less than her fury would rattle her.


The same could not be said for the man beside her however. 


Jaune Arc squirmed nervously and Cinder could only assume it was because of the small frown Winter Schnee was wearing in front of them.


“Hmm….call me Specialist for the duration of our mission and yes, you assume correctly though not completely.”


“Oh?” Cinder raised an eyebrow at that, keeping her tone confident and not subservient towards Winter’s attempt to leverage her position and look much more knowledgeable than her.


“You will not be shadowing me per se but we will be working closely around each other during this coming week. You see, I have a mission of my own to smoothen the cooperation and collaboration between Atlas and Vale’s local enforcement officers. Your mission is different.” Winter nods as Cinder mulls the words in her head.


She knew that of course. It was obvious that Atlas needed to send an envoy of sorts to make sure any operations they run in the City of Vale would not ruffle any feathers. 


Who else were they going to send other than Winter Schnee, eldest daughter of Jacques Schnee, who, despite not wanting it, has the backing of her last name to support any of her actions?


She was the most logical choice though Cinder expected her team would at least have an observer assigned to them considering the mission they assigned themselves to.


“Your team, on the other hand, is assigned to the protection of a VIP, a celebrity if we are being specific. A celebrity that happens to be a part of Mr. Arc’s team who in turn will do PR work for the police.” Winter adds, nodding towards Team JNPR.


Yes, it was a bit of a surprise to learn that Jaune’s team was being assigned to assist the police in their PR work, but thinking about it for a moment, it was the logical thing to do. After all, they had Pyrrha Nikos.


“I don’t need protection.” Pyrrha crossed her arms on Jaune’s other side and looked straight into Winter’s eyes while avoiding Cinder’s gaze.


Cinder internally agreed. It was practically a glorified babysitting mission for them but she would have to reward Emerald for recommending the mission to her.


“You’d have to talk to Professor Goodwitch or the police about that but that is why they do not need to shadow an experienced Huntsman like the rest of your peers.” Winter answered and Cinder smirked silently at that. 


It was a stroke of luck that the mission they chose had them guarding Pyrrha Nikos. When she chose their mission, all she knew was that it was going to be in Vale and allow her to be close to Jaune Arc. 


Imagine her surprise when the details told her that by the request of the Vale Police Department, they had to provide protection and assistance to Pyrrha Nikos in the case her fans got out of control.


The VPD must truly be stretched thin if they were requesting Huntsmen-in-training as security.


Regardless, call it luck or destiny but having to guard Pyrrha Nikos as their mission truly was a blessing to her. Not only did she get insight on Vale’s stretched local police force but Cinder was able to interact and slowly build a rapport with Jaune Arc while also observing one of Ozpin’s possible Maiden candidates.


Truly, what a blessing it was and it was all thanks to Jaune Arc.


“It seems our teams really will be working with each other.” She smiles and smirks as she sees him blush at her.

“R-Right, but there’s only three of you. Where’s your last member?”


“Still in Mistral. Headmaster Lionheart currently has a need for her particular talents. He’ll be sending her when the time is right.” She answers without missing a beat, the prepared excuse flowing unimpeded out of her mouth.

“I see.” He nods thoughtfully before looking at Winter.


“What about us?” He asks, changing the subject and getting Winter Schnee to raise an eyebrow at him.


“What about you?”


“While Cinder’s team would be following us, are you going to lead us since my team will be working with the police like you are?”


Cinder raised an eyebrow at that question. Self-doubt in his capabilities and inexperience as a leader? She didn’t think he’d have confidence considering he had a girlfriend in Blake Belladonna but no matter, building him up herself would endear him to her and be a foothold for their relationship.


“Oh no, you will lead your team, Mr. Arc, and neither will you shadow me just because we are headed towards the same area. Your mission as you know it, Mr. Arc, is to work together with the local police department. How you do so is entirely up to them so in a sense they would be the ones you need to shadow.” Winter answers and Cinder internally relaxes at that news.


It seems Winter would not be observing either of their teams. Good, the less eyes on her the better. That was when someone jolts her out of her thoughts.


“Wait, Winter, you told me you were going to be guiding teams.” Weiss Schnee points out with a confused look on her face.


Cinder honestly couldn't care less about it but she had to admit she was curious though she might already have an idea.


“Ah, yes. Those teams.” Winter confirms her idea by pointing at a particular person behind them.


“Salutations everyone!” Penny Polendina saluted with a bright smile on her face.


“”“Penny?!””” Voices rang out as both Team RWBY and Team JNPR looked at her in surprise.


Ah, yes. Ironwood’s pet project, the android, and behind her were Atlesian teams ready to supplement Vale’s local police force. 


Cinder’s eye twitched at that. An android that had sensors to notice and observe irregularities. It was a lot harder to hide from an android’s sensors that can do many things such as see the heat signature of living beings, measure the heart rate of people, view security cameras live, and who knows what else that virtually makes it a spy’s worst nightmare.


Cinder’s only saving grace against it right now in the middle of enemy territory was that it did not know what it was supposed to look for. None knew they already had a spy among them. None but the Maiden below Beacon that is.


She grinned internally as she gave a tug towards the bond between them and felt the other Maiden’s impotent rage try to burn her. She only let the heat diffuse inside her and she would’ve laughed loudly if it weren’t for the people around her.


Cinder had the feeling that if she played her cards right, then she might just pull the Maiden’s power directly inside her. 


The other Maiden made a mistake when trying to possess Cinder the first time Jaune Arc used his Semblance on her because while it allowed the other Maiden to speak using Cinder’s body, the connection was two-way. She felt just how fragile the connection the Maiden powers had with the other woman’s body. 


Cinder only had to pull and pull on the imaginary string connecting them and despite resisting bravely, sooner or later, Cinder will have it all. She could already taste it and it was all because of Jaune Arc.


She watched as Penny Polendina approached him and only smiled despite the closeness between them. 


“Bo-Friend Jaune!” The android greeted and Cinder snorted at its attempt to communicate like a human.


How crude. Certainly not even worthy of being one of her rivals as Jaune squirmed uncomfortably away from it.


“P-Penny! Hello!”


“Hello, Penny. I see you are improving.” Blake Belladonna stepped forward, putting herself in between Jaune and the android.


“Friend Blake! Thank you for the compliment!”


For an android, Cinder will admit it performed adequately as it amicably greeted the rest of Team JNPR and Team RWBY.


Cinder was sure however that its success in its interaction was only because it already had a prior connection with teams RWBY and JNPR. Her thought was only supported by the fact that it tilted its head in their direction and greeted with nary a blink.


A human would have been wary, cautious, or curious, but an android did not have such compunctions.


“Hello!” It yells loudly while waving a hand.


Cinder only nodded, signaling both Mercury and Emerald to take the brunt of interaction with the thing. 


Some people might have thought that she was isolating herself with her silence but Cinder only let them think that. She only smiled at Jaune, trying to let him know that her words were only for him and those worthy of it. It was only one of those things that she was planting to pull Jaune Arc to her.


She knew his kindness wouldn’t let her be isolated for long and Cinder was perfectly prepared to leverage that.


While Jaune Arc currently had a girlfriend in Blake Belladonna and was showing himself to be a well-liked person with all the people he had hanging around him, Cinder was confident she could pull him to her side.


She had to.


And the first step to doing just that was going on this mission. 


How hard can it be?


Thirty minutes later, she was standing in front of an orphanage with wide eyes and a dry throat as cops led them inside.


Turns out, it was going to be very very hard.


—----


Public Relations isn’t hard per se but they’re just very very tedious.


“Welp, here we are. Vale’s Home for Happy Children.” Captain Roger of the Vale Police Department smiled as he looked at them with his hands on his hips. “They used to be sponsored by the Vanilles as the family hired their servants from them but ever since fire broke out in their estate….” Captain Roger shrugged before continuing with a wry smile on his face. “Well, ever since the Vanilles died out, the City has been trying to keep it afloat by itself. The Police Department and the Fire Department try to do our best but we can only do so much before babysitting them gets overwhelming. Your mission for the day is to take care of them, talk with them, inspire them, and most importantly, be seen with them.” Captain Roger finished with a large grin on his face.


Babysitting. They were going to be relegated to babysitting.


Pyrrha only looked on warily at the orphanage in front of them however. 


It’s not that she hated children but dealing with them was always either a hit or a miss. 


Some children were like angels that Pyrrha would like nothing more than to cherish them but some children had no knowledge of personal space and dealing with them always left her frazzled.


This was going to be bad.


“Babysitting?! You are going to give us babysitting?! Can’t you give us something more exciting to do?! Something like detective work?!” Nora yelled in despair to which the captain only shrugged.


“Sorry, we already have a Team SNNN assigned to do that.”


“Sun? Sun’s team gets to be detectives?! This is so unfair!” Nora threw her hands up at that.


“It’s okay, Nora. I’m sure it’s not that bad. We can go for pancakes later before going back to Beacon.” Ren chuckled before patting Nora comfortingly, who only perks up at the mention of pancakes.


“Really?! Well, I guess this isn’t so bad!”

“Ha! Well, I’m glad you like it! We actually wanted to have you filmed while working with the police in catching criminals for a recruitment video but when a few people found out, lawyers were involved.” Captain Roger laughed before shrugging as he looked at Pyrrha’s direction.


“I’m sorry.” Pyrrha only cringed at that. 


She knew what he was talking about. She received some calls from her Marketing Manager after all. 


Apparently, she can’t just agree to be in a recruitment video for an institution, not that she knew it was supposed to be a recruitment video. 


“Eh, it’s fine. We can’t technically film you or put you in danger but we can make you do some community service. If people see you working with the police then it's not our problem if they take a video of you on their own volition, right?” Captain Roger waved a hand before smiling knowingly at them.


Pyrrha however only pouted at him, she could already see where this was going. 


The paparazzi. They were going to involve the paparazzi.


Letting people film her without moderation or in an official capacity usually does not end well. They always seemed to know where she was and what the most sensational or scandalous headline they could use depending on the time and place where she was spotted.


She was lucky that nobody expected her to suddenly appear in front of an orphanage out of nowhere but it was only a matter of time before people got word of her presence here. 


She wonders what headline they will use this time?


Pyrrha Nikos, adopting a child or surrendering her own?


“You okay?” Jaune bumps into her, jolting her out of her thoughts and causing her to blush with wide eyes as the thought of a child intersects with Jaune.


The image of a red-haired young boy with blue eyes rushed through her mind.


“Y-Yeah! It’s just PR work, you know?!” She answers panickedly with a bright flush on her face before cringing awkwardly at herself.


Of course he wouldn’t know, Jaune never had to experience any sort of PR work before. To his credit however, Jaune only smiles at her supportively.


“Come on, it’s not that bad, right? At least it’s not the hospital like you and Weiss said yesterday.”


“Yes. At least it is not the hospital.” Pyrrha smiled at that. 


No posing with a newborn, that was good.


“See, you’re getting it now. Just think positive. Besides, you are not alone. You have me-I mean us, this time.” Jaune smiled back before floundering as his eyes flick towards Cinder’s team.


Pyrrha’s eye twitched at that. Yet as she turned to look at Cinder’s team, she saw the woman staring with eyes wide in worry at the orphanage.


It seems Pyrrha was not the only one who had apprehensions in dealing with children. It was then a mean thought enters her mind.


A smile slowly grew on her face and pleasure shoots up her spine as she sees wariness enter Cinder’s eyes. Pyrrha did not enjoy being mean or passing her work to others but there was no reason she should interact with the children alone. Not when Jaune reminded her she was not alone. Besides, it would keep Cinder occupied and allow Pyrrha and Jaune to have more time to themselves.


“Yes, I do have all of you, don’t I?” She mutters before looking back at Captain Roger with a bright smile on her face. 


“Since Cinder’s team is assigned to my protection, they could help us out with the kids, right?” She asks, already hearing Mercury grumble behind his leader.


“Hey, hey. We are here for your protection, you know? Not to do your own mission for you.”


Pyrrha only ignores him and tilts her head innocently at the police captain in front of her.


Captain Roger only shrugged. “Eh, sure. As long as you are not actually going to do anything illegal then you can do whatever you want.”


“Splendid!” Pyrrha cheered, staring straight into Cinder’s amber eyes. “I’m sure the children will appreciate someone mature enough to be a maternal figure like Cinder.”


Hag. 


The unspoken insult flashes between them and Cinder could not stop the scowl from appearing on her face. It has never felt so good to defeat a foe like so. Pyrrha did not relish being mean but putting Cinder in her place was cathartic.


The taste of victory dies in her mouth however when Cinder replies flatly.


“How could I be a maternal figure to them? I have never had an example of a maternal figure in my life myself. In fact, I’ve never had parents in my entire life.” Cinder drawled as Pyrrha’s eyes widened at that.


An orphan. Cinder Fall was an orphan.


Now….now she just felt like a bully. No wonder Cinder had qualms entering the orphanage. Being here must have reminded her of  her lack of parents or even not so pleasant memories.


“I-I’m sorry.” She cringed apologetically.


Cinder only looked at her for a moment before she smiled slowly and flicked her hair back gracefully.


“It is fine. I have moved past it. I am not the only one who is an orphan after all.”


Pyrrha winced. Whatever she wanted to do to put Cinder down, it backfired and allowed the dark-haired beauty to set herself up as gracious and humble. She could already see Nora’s eyes brightening at a fellow orphan who was by all rights doing well for herself.


Emerald only added to Cinder’s growing image by quickly piping up with her praise.


“I was actually living in the streets before Cinder picked me up. I owe everything to her.”


She wasn’t the only one however because everyone turned to Mercury expecting him to say something and he did.


“My father used to beat me up before I joined up with Cinder.” Mercury says with a shrug and everyone only looks incredulously at the casual ease he has at the mention of an abusive parent. “What? It’s true. I’m not going to sugarcoat it.”


That’s when something tickles the back of her mind.


“Wait. Picked up? Joined? You didn’t meet in Haven?” Pyrrha asked confusedly and while it wasn’t that rare just like in the case of Ren and Nora, it was still curious to think three orphans would find each other like that.


Cinder paused a moment before narrowing her eyes at Pyrrha.


“No, we didn’t meet in Haven. I was already doing missions before I met them.”


“Missions?! But you’re so young?!” Jaune gasped and Pyrrha winced at the awe in his voice.


This was not going the way she wanted it to go! In her attempt to insult Cinder and pass the work to her, Pyrrha inadvertently just made her look better!


She heard her laugh as she looked straight at Jaune.


“Why, thank you, Jaune. And yes, I had to go on missions. Mistral is a large place and we do what we can.” Cinder replied proudly before her smile falters as she continues to speak, albeit a bit more sadder. “Yet while Haven sends its students frequently out on missions, we still feel as if we could not protect everyone. Caravans get lost. Villages get overrun. People still die.”


She heard Ren and Nora gasp at that. Pyrrha’s eyes snap toward them and it was perhaps the first time she has seen Ren be so emotional.


“What’s important is you do your best. I am sure the people you have already saved appreciate your efforts.” Ren bit his lip before looking down to the ground while Nora held his hand comfortingly.


Cinder looks genuinely surprised at that before sending Ren a soft look.


“Thank you…uhm…Ren, is it?”


Cinder looked uncomfortable but Ren only laughed goodnaturedly at her.


“My name is Ren, Lie Ren. This is Nora Valkyrie. I’m sorry for being emotional but we are both orphans from Mistral.” Ren answered, a small smile appearing on his face as he nodded at Nora before looking back at Cinder.


No, no, no! Pyrrha watched in horror as the rest of her team smiled amicably at Cinder. She didn’t begrudge Ren and Nora from making friends with fellow orphans but this was going too fast!


In an effort to keep things from going too well in Cinder’s favor, Pyrrha’s mind tries its best to grasp onto anything to change the subject. Her eyes snap towards Captain Roger’s or more importantly, the door behind him.


“Y-Yes! I’m sure the children will appreciate your shared experience being orphans!”


…….Gods, smite her now please. 


Never has she wanted the ground to swallow her up more than before because what in the world did she just say?!


She blushed furiously as everyone looked at her awkwardly.


Why?! WHY?! WHY DID SHE SAY THAT?!


She wasn’t adorably awkward Ruby Rose! She was Pyrrha Nikos! Four-Time Regional Champion! Mascot of Pumpkin Pete! She’s appeared in several interviews and magazines! There was no reason for her to be this awkward and yet…..there was just something about Cinder Fall that grates her so!


Everything from how she walked, talked, and looked at Pyrrha sent warning signs to her head! Her obviously trying to get close with Jaune ever since the night of the dance only added to Pyrrha’s wariness towards her!


She saw the minx smirk at her even as everyone looked at her awkwardly for that but luckily Captain Roger moves them all along by shrugging to himself.


“She’s right. We’ve tried to bond with the kids but they’re orphans. You guys would know best how to handle them I think. Now come one, if you don’t have any questions, let’s go already.”


And just like that, Captain Roger leads them along as Jaune tries to walk beside her and comfort her.


“You alright?” He asks worriedly and Pyrrha only nods with a silent gulp.


Gods, she just made a fool of herself and made Cinder look all the better.


Could this day get any worse?


……She should not have thought that.


Creak!


They didn’t even reach the door yet when it creaked open and out comes Lisa Lavender.


Lisa blinked. Pyrrha blinked. She was sure everyone blinked because why?!


Just why was Lisa Lavender even here?!


Pyrrha only sighed tiredly as she saw a shark-like grin appear on the reporter’s face.


She hopes wherever they are, Team RWBY was at least faring better than her.

—----


“HUSSY!”


Myrtenaster pierced through a Beowulf’s eye.


“SKANK!”


Gambol Shroud decapitated an Ursa.


“HARLOT!”


Glyphs launched a Nevermore through a wall.


“WHORE!”

Grimm died to the shouts of jealous women in the middle of Mt. Glenn.

-------

NEXT CHAPTER: Mountain Glenn

UPDATE: This was supposed to be longer but stuff happened.

Stuff can be found in discord.