RWBY: Heroes of the Omniverse

Chapter 4: Balancing Friendships

Tsuyu: Hey, hey, hey! Welcome back for Chapter 4, everyone! I know you're probably wondering where I put EmperorJirachi after last chapter. Well... Does her Kero-laugh. I've got him right here. Lifts her arm to show full-Jirachi-form EmperorJirachi who's shackled with magic chains. Say hi, Senpai~

EmperorJirachi: Shaking in fear. ...help me.

Tsuyu: Aww~ Isn't he precious? Pinches his cheek and giggles. I'm gonna keep him. You guys go ahead and read the next chapter, I have a Jirachi to snuggle with.

???: That's what you think.

Tsuyu: Confused. Kero? Suddenly hit in the back of the head and knocked her down. A mysterious figure then picks up EmperorJirachi and darts away. Tsuyu gets back up and growls before running after them both.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or Ben 10. All characters and settings in this story belong to their respective owners and are not mine. Enjoy!

Chapter 4: Balancing Friendships

The weekend after his first training session had been rough for Jaune. He lost several hours of sleep that he otherwise wouldn't have if he didn't have to worry about doing Cardin's work for him. His current state of exhaustion was very apparent as he entered Professor Port's classroom Monday morning.

He had several bags sagging under puffy red eyes that burned from a lack of sleep. His blonde hair was messy, his clothes were disheveled, and his skin had turned a ghostly white that showed his weakened state of body.

His entire friend circle had the same morning class as he did, meaning that his less than stellar appearance was on full display for all of them to see. They had also noticed he had been a bit more quiet than usual during breakfast, something they had simply chosen not to question. The group now felt varying degrees of worry creep up on them.

Weiss, who sat to the left of the blonde knight, poked his side and gave him a curious look. "What's wrong with you? Did you stay up all night reading comics or something stupid like that?"

"Nah," Jaune muttered sleepily. "I jus' had a lotta work to do, s'all." He slurred his words, barely able to speak coherently.

Pyrrha, who sat on the other side of Jaune, gave the knight a worried look. It was obvious to anyone that she was concerned for her friend's health. "That's not like you Jaune. You usually do your work late in the afternoon, not after curfew when you're supposed to be asleep."

"I know, an' I wish I did." Jaune grumbled bitterly, thoughts of Cardin and the agreement he had made a few days prior swirling around in his head.

In all honesty, the blonde knight was tempted to tell them the truth. To say it was really Cardin's work that he had been doing in the small hours of the morning. The extra workload was just too much of a burden for him to bear. But in his mind, he felt he had no choice but to lie. That is, if he wanted to keep his secrets safe at least. The paranoia of what Cardin might know was just too great to overcome.

Jaune was startled free from his thoughts when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder from behind him. The knight turned his head back to find Nora's worried face staring at him; a far-cry from her usual happy-go-lucky smile.

Jaune blinked, wondering why Nora was staring at him like that. After all, Nora was never one to worry about much. And it wasn't like anything serious was going on. As he pondered this, he flet his eyes slide over the rest of his friends.

He saw that she wasn't the only one. Everyone was giving him that same look, and it both unnerved and reassured him a little, even if he wasn't sure why. Clearing his throat, he did his best to sound as if nothing was wrong. "What?"