Chapter 1
It was a fresh and brand new day at the prestigious Beacon Academy. Saturdays were always the days that students capitalized on the most because it was typically their only day to get their mind off of classes, homework, and combat. To no surprise, Jaune was the most notorious student for letting the weekend be his day to slack off and do nothing but play video games, spend hours procrastinating on the internet, and walk around the campus contemplating on the meaning of life. To put it in simple terms, he liked to call it his "me time."
"Another freakin' day of… wait a sec it's Saturday…" Jaune said in response to his scroll's morning alarm. The blonde leader eased himself up into a sitting position, and took a long deep breath to say his short pep speech. "My name is Jaune Arc, and once again I live to see another beautiful day. The sun is warm… and the grass is green."
"Jaune! Jaune, are you in there?" Pyrrha's voice said through the door. The unexpected morning call immediately snapped Jaune out of his morning trance.
"Yes Pyrrha, I'm up. Now I just need to get myself dressed and ready for the day. Where'd did Ren and Nora run off to? Jaune asked while getting out of the bed.
"They're already finishing breakfast downstairs. Please hurry or we're going to be late." Pyrrha pleaded.
"Late for what? Okay fine, I'll be done in about 10 minutes." The young hero answered back. "Good thing I showered last night." He muttered to himself. Afterwards, Jaune bolted out of the dorm, zipped passed Pyrrha and ran straight for the shower room. He only spent five minutes getting cleaned up, which the teenage boy felt was rather impressive for a guy his age. After the shower, he hurried back up to the room to get dressed while not even noticing that he passed by Nora and Ren and made it back to the room.
"Jaune, don't forget to-"
"Yes, I know Pyrrha. Gotta brush my teeth!" Jaune said very fast to the gladiator after he closed the door. He rushed to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and raced back to the closet.
"That's not what I meant." Pyrrha sighed.
"I'll just grab this, and this, and that should do it." Said Jaune. After he finished getting dressed, Jaune grabbed his scroll and finally came out the door to join his crew. "Alright team, your main man is ready for action!" Ren and Nora's jaws hung open in shock while Pyrrha giggled and tried hard not to laugh out out. To their surprise, Jaune was wearing a green shirt with a castle silhouette and a slogan saying "You got rooked!" as well as khaki shorts, sandals, and a navy blue bucket hat.
"Jaune, you might want to take a look at your shirt." Ren pointed out. Jaune looked down and was shocked to see what it said.
"Holy crap, I remember now..." Suddenly, Jaune got quiet and had quick flashbacks of instances with him playing chess as a youth. It became obvious to everyone else that he was now in a complete stupor.
"Jaune, is something the matter?" Pyrrha asked with great concern.
"Nothing, it's fine. Anyway, we'd better get moving." Said Jaune. With all of his morning chores done, Team JNPR embarked on their Saturday adventure.
Outside of the dorm, they saw Team RWBY standing as if they had been waiting for a while. Yang and Ruby bursted into laughter when they saw Jaune in his unexpected attire. Weiss and Blak both facepalmed and shook their heads.
"Wow! Looks like vomit boy used the wrong side of the closet today." Yang laughed.
"Nope, we just had to rush him, that's all." Nora cheerfully answered.
"I mean hey, what's so bad about wearing something different every now and then." Jaune added. "Don't ya'll get tired of wearing the same attire every day?" Everyone else stood quietly and looked around, not knowing if Jaune was being helpful or insulting. "I'm sorry, forget I said that. Anyway, what exactly do you all have planned for today. I was just going to-"
"Watch Red vs. Blue, play your addicting video games, walk for hours while talking to yourself like a crazy homeless guy. Yep, we know you too well." Ruby interjected. "But not today Jaune! Because we planned this whole day just for you!"
"For me!? Why?!" Jaune asked in confusion. "I mean, yeah we're friends and all, but I really don't think anyone should be too concerned about me."
"We DO care about you Jaune, and I know that you know this deep down inside." Pyrrha added.
"Look, I know you all too well, and you're probably all just saying that just to drag me into some crazy life threatening situation. If this has anything to do with Grimm, the White Fang, or that weird orange haired guy with the bowler hat… hold on, it might not even be any of that; this has to be prank. Yang's probably gonna take me to some night club while Nora spikes my drink with some weird ass drug that gets me all loopy and stuff. Am I right?" Jaune rhetorically demanded.
"I'm not gonna lie, he does know me pretty well." Yang chuckled.
"And me as well." Nora joked. Weiss shook her head in annoyance.
"Look Jaune, I respect your desire to have time to yourself. Believe, me, I know from experience. But we have to know how to balance our private time with our social lives." Said Blake.
"What she says is true, Jaune. Granted, you do get on my nerves most of the time, but that still doesn't mean you should be a loner your whole life." Weiss said assertively.
"Wow, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me!" Jaune squeeled.
'Don't get your hopes up." Weiss sneered. Pyrrha tried her best to ignore the interaction.
"Jaune, please… for us and for… yourself." Pyrrha begged. Jaune broke eye contact from the group, looked down and thought to himself for about five seconds and looked back up.
"Alright… I'll go. As long as we don't get into any crazy shenanigans!" Jaune stated. Everyone let out a hooray just to show how glad they were to get the introverted boy out of his shell.
"There's a bullhead loading passengers right now. It should be heading for Vale pretty soon." Said Ren.
"Right, let's go team. Time for adventure!"
After the eight friends finally arrived in Vale, they all looked around the main plaza area to see what was available.
"So, what should we do first?" asked Jaune. Pyrrha nodded to Nora and Ren in a subtle way that nobody else quite understood.
"There's a lot to see and do around here. It'll be easier if we split up and regroup later." Ren suggested.
"Ooh, I know. How about Ren and I go shop for some dust. We completely forgot to restock last week." Said Nora as she and Ren headed east.
"I know of a good bar where the three of us ladies can go chill." Yang said, looking over at Weiss and Blake.
"Wait, don't you mean the four of us?" Ruby implied.
"Sorry lil' sis, you're too young for the place where we're going." Yang corrected. "We'll catch ya'll later." Yang, Blake, and Weiss headed north, leaving only Ruby, Jaune, and Pyrrha.
"I guess that leaves just the three of us." Said Jaune.
"Actually, I just realized I have an errand to do. Gotta go!" Ruby winked at Pyrrha and then used her super speed to zip away.
"She may be small, but boy can she move quick!" Said Jaune.
"So, looks like it just you and me." Pyrrha said placing her hand on Jaune's shoulder.
"I got an idea! There's a comic book store around here I've always wanted to check out. Let's go there first." Jaune suggested.
"If, that's what you like." Pyrrha said with a light smile. Unknown to either of them, Ruby was watching from the corner of an alleyway.
"I hope this works." Ruby said to herself.
A few hours had passed since Team RWBY and Team JNPR arrived in Vale. Jaune and Pyrrha had already visited a few shopping outlets during their time together. Suddenly, Pyrrha felt her scroll vibrate which she knew indicated a text message. When she opened it, the message was from Ruby and it read:
'How's everything going with Jaune?' Pyrrha typed in replied. 'Fine, I guess. He seems okay but I can tell he's still bored.'
Ruby messaged back. 'Don't give up, I'm sure he'll come around 😊.' After reading the message, a lightbulb lit up in Pyrrha's mind.
"You know Jaune, I actually think that hat helps bring out the color of your eyes." Pyrrha complimented. "Even though you were probably in a hurry, you're very good at matching your clothes."
"Thank you, Pyrrha. I'm glad somebody appreciates my choice of apparel for today." Jaune said happily. "Back when my dad was a teen, he used to watch this show called Good Times which of course isn't even on the air anymore. Every time I wore this hat, my dad would call me JJ, who was one of the main characters, and then I would yell out "DYNO-MITE!"" Pyrrha gave a small giggle, knowing that her idea was working just a little bit. As they were walking, Jaune noticed a particular pathway that caught his attention.
"I think I know where we are now. This sidewalk should take us all the way to park. It'll be a good change for scenery for us." Jaune implied.
"That's sounds lovely!" Said Pyrrha. She grabbed Jaune's hand and headed to their next destination.
The cute couple eventually made it to Central Park Square, a small area where middle aged men were all sitting at park tables playing chess. At each table, there was a chessboard and a clock that the players would hit after making a move. The games were going so quick the chess pieces sounded like rain drops. Most of the park players were trash talking, smoking, and handing each other things under the table that looked rather suspicious, and possibly illegal. Jaune looked very excited watching all of the games, while Pyrrha on the other hand was completely out of their comfort zone.
"Um, Jaune. I don't we should be around here…" Pyrrha said, feeling very uneasy about the people surrounding them.
"Jaune, what are you staring at?" Pyrrha asked. The young huntress then saw exactly what Jaune was so fixated on. An old man was sitting at a park table by himself and had a chessboard set up. He also had a cardboard sign that read "Will play for $5." Jaune was certain that the man was waiting for somebody to play.
"Pardon me, sir. Is it okay we play a quick game?" Jaune asked. The old man just stared quietly at him and pointed to the sign where the fee was indicated.
"Hold on, let me check my… Damnit! I knew I should've withdrawn some earlier!" Jaune said, scolding himself.
"Wait, hold on! This should cover it." Pyrrha hurried over to the man, handing him money. The gruff old timer quickly snatched it out of the spartan's hand and looked back at Jaune.
"Game of five, no second delay, and no takebacks!" the man stated.
"Deal. Now let's play!" Jaune said in his game-on voice while starting the speed clock. The man made the first move with white, and quickly hit the clock. Jaune, who had the black pieces, moved a pawn and hit the clock again. Piece by piece, both players got their pieces through the opening and were already in the middle game.
Pyrrha watched in aww as Jaune and the stranger kept blitzing move after move. There were exchanges, attacks, counterattacks, defensive maneuvers, and various tactics going on which added great quality to the game. Some of the other park players stopped what they were doing and put their attention on Jaune's game. As Pyrrha watched, she noticed something rather unusual, but couldn't quite figure out what it was. Suddenly, it dawned on her, but she chose not to say anything. Now in the endgame, each player had less than a minute on the clock. Jaune was still eager and optimistic while the old man was getting very nervous. A couple moves later with only ten seconds remaining, Jaune slid his queen to the back rank and mated the white king.
"Checkmate!" Jaune declared. The man was completely dumbfounded and could not believe what has just happened.
"I don't believe it!" the man exclaimed. "Your moves and playstyle. You remind of someone… from my past."
"Wow, I feel very honored sir. But whom are you referring to?" Jaune curiously wondered.
"You'll find out soon enough." The man said with a kind chuckle. "I see great potential in you." He handed Jaune back the $5, and then they both shook hands and bided farewell.
"Jaune, you were great! I never knew you played chess!" Pyrrha said in amazement.
"It's all good. I just caught a lucky break." Jaune said with modesty. Shortly after, a dark-skinned man from another table quickly came up to Jaune.
"I saw that game you were in earlier. What's your name?" the man asked.
"Jaune, don't tell them your last…"
"Arc, Jaune Arc." Jaune answered, ignoring Pyrrha.
"I'm Vinnie. You play good, Jaune. I'll be lookin' for ya next time. Don't be a stranger now!" Vinny said as Jaune and Pyrrha left the park.
"Wow, I made some new friends. This is so awesome!" Jaune shouted in joy. Then, Jaune's stomached growled.
"Looks like you could go for a good lunch." Pyrrha noted. "Let's find the others."
"Sounds good. I'll message Ren and Nora to meet back at the entrance. You should also let Team RWBY know." Said Jaune.
A few minutes later, Jaune and Pyrrha were the first ones to make it back to the same place they were at before the whole group split. Not too long after, Ruby zipped in.
"Sorry I'm late! How did everything go?" Ruby asked.
"You should've seen it, Ruby. Jaune won a game of chess." Pyrrha answered.
"Wow that's… awesome! Who did he play?"
"It was an older gentleman in the park." Jaune stated.
"Look, there's Weiss, Blake, and Yang."
"Girls, you're not gonna believe this! Jaune beat this weird homeless guy in chess!"
"He what!?" Weiss, Blake, and Yang all said at once.
"Girls, it's true. He knows how to play chess!" Pyrrha replied.
"That's preposterous!" Weiss refuted. "How can that stupid…" Before the heiress could finish her insult, Pyrrha and Ruby both gave her a displeased look. "I mean… good job Jaune."
"Hey it's cool. I know it may seem farfetched for a guy like me to play that kind of game."Jaune said, politely shrugging off Weiss's cold comment. He then got quiet and thought to himself. "To be honest, it brought back great memories from my childhood. The five girls immediately drew their attention to the blonde boy upon hearing his statement. "My father taught me chess when I was six years old, and then every once in a while, I played my sisters and friends. Not to brag too hard, but I actually won the majority of my games."
"That's great. If you're passionate about something and put your mind to it, there's no telling how far you can climb the latter." Said Blake. "I learned to play chess from an old friend… unfortunately I don't know if I'll ever get to see him again." Yang already had a feeling whom Blake was talking about, but didn't say anything.
"Anyway, we should find Ren and Nora and get some lunch. There's supposed to be a really good lunch buffet near the shopping strip. Let's go team!" As Jaune lead the way, Weiss skeptically looked at him from behind.
"Those men at the park… they may be a bunch of hoodlums, but they are no pushovers. If that annoying flirt can win even one game against them, that must mean that he's… oh who am I kidding, he must have had beginner's luck." Weiss thought to herself and shook her head.
"Is something the matter, Weiss?" Blake asked with concern. Weiss snapped out of her train of thought and was started all of the sudden.
"Nothing! Just daydreaming." Said Weiss. "We'd should probably get something to eat now. Let's follow them."
As soon Team RWBY and Team JNPR had left the area, a tan mustached man wearing a dark coat and fedora sat at a park bench and looked around.
"Hmm, a new chess player at Beacon, eh? This should be very… entertaining." The man gave a rather sinister chuckle and sipped his coffee cup.