Chapter 1: Natural Selection
"Ouch." Jaune groaned as he rotated his shoulder on the way to lunch.
"Does it still hurt, Jaune?" Nora asked him in a rare display of seriousness.
"A bit. It's mostly just sore. I should be better in the morning." Jaune explained to her.
As a new way of improving teamwork, JNPR had decided to play with the idea of switching partners for the day. Everything had been going well enough that day as far as Jaune could tell. He and Nora woke up and ate breakfast with Ren and Pyrrha before the two pairs split up to do their own thing. Nora and Jaune had opted for combat training. Everything was going fine. Nora was holding back considerably as a kind gesture to Jaune, he got to try out a few new moves he had been wanting to test out, he worked up a good sweat. However there was one problem that had presented itself.
Ever since the incident where Jaune saved Cardin, the bully had become rather docile and a bit more respectful. This of course was a big relief to the Faunus of Beacon. Many were grateful to Jaune and even admired that he didn't seem to approve of the normal discrimination against Faunus. As a result many of the Faunus students backed up Jaune on almost everything. Some examples were offering to help tutor him in certain subjects that he didn't quite comprehend, reserving the last pudding cup for him at lunch, offering answers on tests, and even outright backing him up in class whenever Jaune answered a question (even if it was wrong). However this latest show of gratitude was Jaune's least favorite. Offering to help train him. He was more fragile than other Faunus and that made it difficult for them to hold back, which resulted in his sore shoulder. Jaune knew he could have just refused but he felt that it would be impolite.
"That's the last time I fight a bear Faunus." Jaune commented.
"Want me to turn him into a rug? We can set him next to our fireplace." Nora questioned her leader.
Jaune rolled his eyes. "Sure, Nora. It'd look really nice in jail."
They entered the cafeteria and took their places across from Team RWBY. Pyrrha and Ren were already waiting for them.
Weiss made a noise of disappointment. "Tch. Still in one piece." She grumbled before handing over a few lien to Blake who had her hand held out while reading a book. The black haired girl smirked as she pocketed her newly acquired currency.
Ren offered Jaune a deadpan expression. "Does it bother you that your life is worth only a few measly lien to your friends?"
Jaune shrugged. "I'm just glad someone bet in my favor."
Weiss rolled her eyes. "Please. It's a bit difficult to make a bet when at least two different people don't bet on different outcomes."
Jaune smirked bitterly. So it seemed that Blake was more or less forced to bet on him since she and Weiss couldn't both bet on the same outcome. She drew the short end of the stick apparently.
After everybody got their food they began to speak about their normal things.
"Then fifteen White Fang members surrounded us." Nora began her tall tale.
"They were Faunus students from Beacon and there were three of them." Jaune corrected her.
"They cornered poor Jaune and told him 'Your Dust or your life!'"
"They asked if I wanted help training."
"Then Jaune activated his Semblance and sent them flying through a wall. They soared through the sky before disappearing with a small 'Dink'."
"Scratch what I said earlier. Yes, that's exactly what happened. I suffer from short term memory loss. I forgot what happened until she mentioned it."
Everyone else at the table wore a blank expression. Jaune sure changed his tone quickly once Jaune acted like a hero in Nora's story.
"Sorry for my youthful ignorance," Ruby began. "But doesn't that basically mean you killed them?"
Nora and Jaune both froze.
"Ah, well-"
"Arc! Don't ignore us!" A voice behind Jaune announced.
Jaune turned around just in time to see a black object approaching his face at a deadly velocity. Jaune ducked down as quickly as he could and felt the object tickle the hairs of his neck.
Nora whipped around to yell at the person who had almost beheaded Jaune. "Hey! You trying to kill some- Coco…" Nora stopped as soon as she saw the senior Huntress in training. Nora may be willing to jump into almost any fight but facing off against Coco Adel was a bad idea for almost anyone.
Coco glanced down at Nora over the bridge of her glasses.
"What did I do, Coco? Your handbag nearly took my head off." Jaune questioned, hoping he would survive this encounter. Each conversation with this girl felt like a Pocket Grimm game where he had to hope that he had the option to flee.
"Velvet's been calling your name for the past few minutes." Coco snarled, pointing to the bunny girl behind her in frustration. "Pay more attention." She scolded.
Jaune looked over at his friends who looked just as bewildered as he did. It looked like they were all so absorbed in Nora's story that they didn't hear or see Velvet.
"Sorry." Jaune apologized while looking at Velvet. "What did you need, Velvet?"
Velvet approached Jaune and held out a small jar of something to him. "It's a medicinal rub." She explained. "I saw that you hurt your shoulder and thought that this might help. Please use it."
"It doesn't really hurt all that much, Velvet." Jaune said. Behind Velvet, Coco lowered her glasses and shot Jaune a killing glare. "Ah, ah. Nevermind. It just flared up. I'll be sure to use it today." Jaune promised her as he broke out in a sweaty mess. He knew better than to do anything to bring on the wrath of Velvet's team.
"That's good. But if it still hurts in the morning you should get it checked out in the infirmary. Even a small injury can become serious if you aren't careful." Velvet began lecturing Jaune the same way his Mom or sisters would.
"Gotcha. I'll let you know how I'm doing in the morning." Jaune told Velvet, glancing over at Coco to see if his response was acceptable. Coco nodded to indicate that she did.
"Wonderful. Now we have to go. Professor Port has a mission he wants us to go on...again." Velvet said with a sigh.
"Good luck." Pyrrha told them.
"Break a leg." Nora said, waving goodbye.
"Bye. Take care." Ren told them.
"See ya later." Yang said with a yawn.
"Go get em!" Ruby cheered with enthusiasm.
Blake opted to silently wave while Weiss nodded as the pair left.
"Have fun." Jaune told them, waving to them.
Coco turned around at the last second and whispered in Jaune's ear.
"You are so lucky, Jaune." She whispered threateningly before catching up to Velvet.
Jaune continued to wave until the two had left the cafeteria before he let out a breath he had been holding.
"Wow. Survived." He said, while wiping away some sweat.
"What did she mean when she called you lucky?" Pyrrha asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Guess I answered responded to Velvet correctly." Jaune said, pocketing the small jar.
"You don't sound all that grateful." Weiss commented with a mocking tone. "A girl just came up to you and expressed concern for your well being. Poor girl probably doesn't realize that she's wasting her time."
Jaune nodded. "I agree. My shoulder is just going to heal with my aura anyway."
Poor Jaune didn't even realize that Weiss had subtly insulted him.
"I'm grateful for all of the attention from a bunch of the Faunus here. But I can't help but feel that the energy they spend wanting to help me is a bit...misdirected." Jaune explained as he rested his chin on his hand.
Everybody heard Blake's book close with a SNAP. She was staring directly at Jaune with a curious look. "How so, Jaune?"
Everybody was quiet. Blake was silent by nature and everybody assumed that she would naturally be annoyed with Jaune's usual antics. To everybody's knowledge the two had never had a one-on-one discussion before. To see Blake take an interest in some comment of Jaune's was rather unexpected.
"Well," Jaune said, rubbing the back of his head. He was having a hard time trying to put his passing thought into words. "Just because one person has no problem with Faunus doesn't mean that they should assume he is the only one on Remnant. I mean there has to be at least a few hundred humans in Remnant who have no problems with Faunus, right?"
"Not everybody stands by their beliefs." Blake began. "When put on the spot some humans go back on their beliefs that Faunus are equal so they aren't singled out by their fellow men as Faunus sympathizers."
"All I'm saying is that the energy the Faunus in Beacon are spending helping me out would be better spent elsewhere." Jaune explained. He and Blake seemed to have forgotten that their friends were around as they began to get absorbed in their serious conversation.
"Where then?" Blake asked, leaning forward and folding her hands. Many people could say that the Faunus could improve their own situation but those same people failed to provide examples of how.
"I'm not entirely sure." Jaune confessed.
Blake sighed. So in the end Jaune was the same? She couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed in him. She didn't think he was one for spouting lofty words with nothing to back them up.
"I guess if I had to give an example I would bring up the White Fang." Jaune said, causing Blake's eyebrows to shoot up and her teammates faces to become pale. "I mean they're a group of militant radicals who go around stealing Dust and stuff with that Torchwick guy. You four said so yourselves."
Ruby, Weiss, and Yang all exchanged glances to see if they should stop Jaune. After all Blake tended to get very defensive when someone thought that the White Fang had always been a terrorist group. It had been very peaceful when Blake was a child and she hated what it had become.
"But they weren't always like that, right?" Jaune asked, surprising Blake. "They used to have a real goal in mind. But now they seem like some kids who never knew someone who understands them."
Weiss spoke up to make sure she wasn't misunderstanding Jaune. "You would condone their actions?" She questioned.
"Not at all. What they need is someone who wouldn't condone their actions or someone to condemn them for their past mistakes. They need someone to stop them because they understand why the Faunus do what they do." Jaune attempted to clarify his earlier statement.
"I'm a bit confused, Jaune." Nora confessed. She wasn't an idiot by any standards. She was actually quite intelligent. But she liked a very simple and straightforward approach to everything.
"Well, here's an example." Jaune said, pointing to Blake and Yang. "Yang, suppose Blake wanted to leave and rejoin the White Fang right now. What would you do?"
Yang donned a serious expression. "I'd stop her obviously."
"Exactly." Jaune said, satisfied with his explanation.
"So you think that all the White Fang need is a slap on the head and some understanding?" Blake asked, her eyes hidden by the shadow created by her bangs.
Jaune took a moment. He was actually making it all up as he went along. But he was convinced that what he was saying mirrored his true thoughts. "Yes."
Blake looked up with a small smile. "I see." She then opened her book again and began to read as an indication that their conversation was over.
It was later that night that Team RWBY was relaxing in their room. Blake was reading her book before Yang jumped into her bed.
"So you seemed to give up on that debate with Jaune pretty easily." She said with a quizzical look.
"It wasn't really a debate, Yang. It was just a friendly conversation." Blake replied as she turned another page.
"Most friends talk about the weather, clothes, homework, food, music, games, other friends, but the possibility of reforming the White Fang isn't typically one of them." Weiss said, jumping into their conversation as she brushed her hair on her bed.
"Although should any of us really be talking about what's typical for other people after all the stuff we've done this year?" Ruby asked. She was wrapped up in a blanket on her bed with a textbook in front of her.
Ruby did have a good point. With the contrasting personalities of their team it was no surprise how atypical they were as a whole. Normally these girls would be like water and oil.
"I think you all are just reading too much into it a simple talk." Blake waved dismissively.
"Blake, that wasn't just a talk. That was a test. I should know. My Father and sister do it all the time." Weiss shot back.
Blake thought for a moment. Was she subconsciously testing Jaune? It was possible. She had met too many humans who had preached about how wrong the current treatment of Faunus was but had changed their tune as soon as they were questioned by other humans. Team RWBY had obviously not let Blake down since they were willing to stand by her when they fought the White Fang but she never really thought that Jaune would be someone she would take seriously enough to test. She wasn't oblivious. She knew Team JNPR knew about her Faunus heritage but they hadn't mentioned it until Jaune specifically singled her out as an ex White Fang member today.
Blake shrugged. "Maybe so." She admitted.
It was at that moment that there was a knock on the door. The four girls exchanged looks. They weren't expecting anybody. Yang picked herself up from Blake's bed and answered the door.
"You guys? What's up?" Yang asked, letting Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren into their room.
"We realized something today." Ren admitted bluntly while Pyrrha looked nervous and Nora looked outright scared.
Team RWBY all tensed up. It wasn't like Jaune's teammates to seem so somber.
"What's wrong?" Weiss asked first.
Ren glanced at Nora and Pyrrha, who both seemed intent on remaining silent, before continuing. "Well, you all know that Jaune isn't exactly the most 'elegant' of fighters." He said, trying to keep some of his absent friend's pride intact. "We also know that you've had quite a few run-ins with the White Fang. But instead of calming down they seem to be growing more active."
It was true. White Fang attacks were at an all time high. Dust prices had shot up by about 150%, and they were behind the Breach.
"More than a few." Yang scoffed.
"Exactly." Ren said. "And given the fact that you four are a magnet for bad luck, it isn't odd to think that eventually you would run into them again. But there is also the possibility that we may be close to you when it happens and will likely get caught up in it. There lies the problem."
Ruby began to grow teary eyed as she began to draw her own conclusion. "So you don't wanna be friends anymore? You don't like us?"
Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren all had panicked expressions and glanced at Yang to make sure she wasn't going to kill them as Ruby began to sniffle. Weiss sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"No, you twit! They just said it's about Jaune." Weiss said, handing Ruby a handkerchief with the SDC logo on it.
"So we're still friends?" Ruby asked with one more puppy dog look at the members of her sister team.
"Of course, Ruby. We aren't going anywhere." Pyrrha assured her.
Ruby smirked and handed Weiss her handkerchief back with a "Heehee". Her expression turned back to normal in an instant.
Crocodile tears... Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren thought all at once.
"So what is it about Jaune?" Blake chose to ask.
"If we run into the White Fang around you then Jaune will obviously choose to help you. It's frustrating, but nobody will be able to change his mind when that happens." Ren continued as he and his other two teammates adopted pained expressions. "And when it does happen he will die."
The air froze. Ren said it with such finality that they almost believed Jaune was dead at that very moment.
Weiss, being immune to the frozen atmosphere because of her title as the Ice Queen, spoke up. "This is obviously something you three have...discussed."
The three nodded. Pyrrha, for the first time, chose to speak. "I've been training with him lately at night on the rooftop to help him get better in tournament style matches. It's easy to fight people when you are protected by the rules of you lose and Grimm fight on instinct. But in the real world where there is real danger he may not make it." Pyrrha began anxiously picking at her fingernails.
Yang nodded and crossed her arms while leaning against a wall. "I get what you mean now. Jaune isn't ready to fight the White Fang."
There was a silent agreement in the room. Jaune's team, Ruby, Yang, and surprisingly even Weiss had begun to have hopes for Jaune. Not high hopes but hope all the same.
Blake was biting her lip. When the White Fang had begun operating more like a military, they broke new recruits who were like Jaune pretty early and then rebuilt them as hardened warriors. That wouldn't happen at Beacon. The school was a bit too protective of their students in comparison.
"That's why we want your help. We want you to help train Jaune." Nora announced seriously.
Team RWBY all looked at Nora incredulously. They were being asked to train Jaune? That was such a-
"Great idea!" Ruby said, jumping down from her bunk.
"No, it's a horrible idea." Weiss shot the request down. She directed her gaze at Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren. "Why us of all people? Why don't you do it? Or better yet have him receive extra lessons from Port or Oobleck?"
Pyrrha looked at Ren and Nora before responding. "As good as those two are in a real fight, do you really think they would do well in combat training. Have you ever wondered why it's Goodwitch and not them teaching our Sparring class?" Team RWBY had never really asked themselves that question "And we can't train Jaune to fight the White Fang because we've never fought them ourselves."
"How can we be expected to teach him to fight an opponent we have never fought ourselves?" Ren asked.
"So the three of us are gonna be training with each other." Nora finished.
"So you're foisting the responsibility on us?" Weiss asked haughtily.
Ren flinched. "Believe me, we don't like asking this of you. If there was another way to help Jaune we wouldn't hesitate to take it."
"Don't worry! We'll train Jaune!" Ruby declared.
"I don't think so!" Yang and Weiss said in sync, startling everybody else in the room.
In a rare occasion, Yang and Weiss were agreeing with each other.
"Sorry, Ruby, but I'm playing the big sister card. You can't train Jaune. You're too young to be teaching him how to fight, and I don't think he'd take it very well if a fifteen year old girl told him he can't fight."
"Well I'm playing the vice leader card. As the leader of the Team you don't have time to be playing around. You need to keep training yourself. You may have gotten into Beacon early but you have to work to show that you deserve it."
Ruby cringed at the tag team duo that was her sister and her partner. Weiss and Yang shared a nod of approval with each other.
Jaune's teammates turned their eyes to Weiss. "Oh no. Don't look at me! There is no chance in Remnant of me teaching Jaune Arc. Not even a candle's chance in a cyclone! I realize that he is your friend and that you are worried but this is something I believe he must do on his own if he is to grow."
Nora opened her mouth to speak before Ren placed a hand on her shoulder to silence her. He and Pyrrha nodded in understanding. They weren't really expecting much from Weiss.
Yang stepped forward and cracked her knuckles with a grin. "Well, looks like I have no choice. I'll train Jaune to fight."
"NO!" Pyrrha and Nora said at the exact same time.
Yang blinked in a stupefied manner before looking offended. "Why not?"
"You'll beat him to a pulp on the first day of training him." Nora insisted.
"Would not!" Yang said, sounding like a child.
"He threw up on your shoes." Pyrrha said with a deadpan expression.
"On second thought," Ren said with a raised hand. "I don't think that you training him would be wise either." He was no fool. He knew how long woman could hold grudges.
That just meant that there was only one person left. Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren knew the hard part would be convinci-
"I'll do it." Blake announced much to everyone's surprise.
"You will!" Pyrrha asked with an elated smile.
"That was easy." Nora said with a sigh as she wiped imaginary sweat from her forehead.
"What's the catch?" Ren asked her skeptically.
"No catch." Blake said with a smirk. She had almost forgotten how amusing Team JNPR could be in the midst of all the serious discussion.
"Blake," Yang interrupted. "Are you sure?"
Blake stood up. Then, as if she were in a trance, began to remove her bow. Her cat ears twitched as they were allowed to breath at last. Blake smirked dangerously as her amber eyes seemed to glow ominously. "Who better to teach him how to fight the White Fang than the girl who was one of the White Fang?"