Chapter 1

"No," Jaune Arc whispered as he shook his head. In front of him were two figures, both his age. The male figure with light-blue hair stood confidently as he gazed into the eyes of the love of Jaune's life.

"Please," he added.

His love's cold, pale-blue eyes shifted to him, a cruel smile on her delicate lips as her current partner moved his arms, embracing her waist. She looked away, back to the boy with blue hair, and her hands made their way to his shoulder, encircling his neck.

"Snow Angel…"

The two young men spoke simultaneously, one with affection, the other as a plea. Her eyes went to Jaune when he spoke, narrowing into a stare, but softened significantly when she returned to gaze at her partner, her smile lighting up the room.

Without a word, they began to move away. Jaune growled as he tried to stand, but he couldn't get his knees to cooperate. They sat underneath him, unmoving. His arms were of no help either, feeling heavy, tired, and defeated. Before long, he stopped struggling, and stared in numb horror as the girl he loved walked away with another man.

A moment later, she turned back to him. He felt his chest lighten, a small smile threatening to escape his lips. However, the feeling of hope died when she gave him a disgusted look, continuing to walk away, fading from sight as they went.

Jaune squeezed his eyes shut, trying to prevent the tears from escaping. He called out to the darkness, but nothing answered his pleas. Then he felt something shatter inside him. From there, a spark sprang to life, building into a fiery crescendo. He growled, his body finally obeying his will. Forcing himself upright, he screamed as his hands clenched into fists, and then ran after them.

There was no telling how fast he moved, how far he went, or how long it was before he saw them. They were no longer clothed, no longer ashamed of each other. Their embrace hurt. Their kiss tortured him. Then, they looked at him, daring him to do something.

So he did. Stretching his arm towards them, his fingers formed into a claw. He would end—

"Jaune!"

He gasped, eyes snapping open. He took a few moments to breathe, shaking his head slowly as the light of the world finally registered, color filling his world once more.

It took him a few seconds to realize he was in bed, warm under his ultra cozy bunny onesies. The familiar scent of his partner, a comfortable mix of flowers and cinnamon, calmed his beating heart. He took a deep breath before finally settling down.

"I'm awake," he whispered, looking to his left. His partner sighed, nodding before removing the hand that had been shaking his shoulder. "I'm awake, Pyrrha," he repeated.

"You had me worried for a minute," she admitted as she stood straighter. Judging by her now-messy red hair and crumpled night clothes, she had only woken up just recently. "Nightmare?"

"Yeah," he replied, shaking his head before sitting up. He turned to her with a frown. "Was it that bad?"

"You were growling," she replied, frown present once more as she unconsciously rubbed her right arm, "thrashing your arms wildly."

Something nasty brewed in his stomach. "Did… did I hurt you?"

Pyrrha shook her head immediately. "Of course not."

Jaune frowned before shaking his head once more. Taking another deep breath, he looked at Pyrrha and asked, "What time is it?"

"Six."

Jaune nodded before looking around him. He spotted one of his teammates, still sleeping in bed, his black hair looking a little ruffled, while the bed beside the sleeping figure was empty. "Where's Nora?"

"She took the first shower," Pyrrha replied. "You woke us both up. She wanted to return the favor in her… own way, but I convinced her to let me do it instead."

Jaune shook his head, smiling ruefully. "Thank you, Pyrrha. What would I do without you?"

His partner simply smiled in reply.


Jaune yawned as he exited the classroom, prompting his orange-haired teammate to jump in front of him.

"Are you sure you're okay, fearless leader?" she asked.

"I'm fine, Nora," he replied, waving his hand dismissively. "I guess still a little tired."

"Tired?" his black-haired teammate asked, an amused smile present. "From one of Professor Port's lectures?"

"Well, to be fair, Jauney wasn't sleeping in this time, Ren," Nora replied as she jumped back besides her partner. "Which is odd, now that I think about it."

He flinched. Pyrrha's eyebrows scrunched as she asked, "Are you still thinking about your nightmare, Jaune?"

He shook his head quickly, giving them a small smile. "Of course not."

His three teammates looked at him with varying reactions. Nora seemed unconvinced, her eyes narrowing at him suspiciously while Pyrrha's frown deepened. Ren, at least, looked somewhat satisfied at his reply.

"We're here for you, Jaune," he said, smiling and patting him once on the back.

"Thanks, guys," Jaune replied. Then, to change the subject, asked, "So, what is our next class again?"

"Combat Training," Pyrrha replied.

"Great," Jaune muttered. "Another day, another humiliating session in front of the class."

"Well, the students of the other Academies are allowed to join this time," Nora said excitedly, pumping her fists back and forth. "So that's something, right?"

Jaune only groaned, covering his face with both hands.

"That didn't help, Nora," Ren said with an amused undertone in his voice.

"All I'm saying is that maybe Goodwitch will pick one of them for our fearless leader to fight," Nora defended. "I mean, there has to be someone that Jaune can beat, right?"

Pyrrha took a step forward, hesitating for less than a second before settling her hands on Jaune's shoulders.

He sighed, lowering his hands, but leaving his head hanging. "Let's just… go," he said, shuffling forward.

"Was it something I said?" Nora whispered.

Even with him trying to delay the inevitable, Jaune and his team got to Goodwitch's class pretty early, and were able to choose whatever seats they wanted.

Jaune's mood lifted somewhat as he watched his teammates trying to figure out where to sit. Nora, as usual, went for a front row seat, while Ren opted for the one near the exit.

"But Ren!" Nora protested, pointing at her favored place. "Don't you want the clearest and best view of the fight?"

"The slanted nature of the room gives a clear view of the ring no matter where you are," her best friend countered calmly. "Besides, we know Goodwitch will call on Jaune. At least he'll be closer to the lockers."

"Oh Fearless Leader," Nora crooned, crossing her arms.

Jaune rolled his eyes and replied as he always did. "Ren's got a point."

"Boo!" Nora replied and lashed her tongue out at him. "You never take my side, Jaune-Jaune! You owe me pancakes!"

"I'll have Ren cook you some," he replied, earning a roll of eyes from his other male teammate.

"Okay!" she declared, giving him a thumbs-up.

Jaune only smiled. He didn't know why they had the same song and dance every time they argued seating placements, especially in Goodwitch's class. Ren was always correct in assuming the Professor would have Jaune fight. A darker part of Jaune's mind theorized that Goodwitch knew he had entered Beacon Academy illegitimately, and by having him beaten every class was not only a means to expose him, but also punish him for cheating his way in.

He had said that to Pyrrha, one of only two other people that knew his secret, several times. She had never failed to remind him that he shouldn't assume the worse about their teachers.

The last time he had complained, she gave him an amused look whilst saying, "She's only helping you improve."

While she had a point, he still thought he was right.

As they took their seats near the center-top of the classroom, the door opened revealing Team RWBY. The sight of them made his stomach clench.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, looking at him with a slight frown.

He glanced at his partner before shaking his head. "It's… nothing."

She pursed her lips, but didn't say anything as Jaune returned his gaze to the leader of Team RWBY, Ruby Rose. With a bounce in her step, her black, red-tipped hair flowing freely around her, she entered the room with a smile, chatting idly with her older sister, Yang Xiao Long. The taller girl listened while delicately moving a stray strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear. Whatever Ruby said seemed to resonate with Yang as the latter turned to her partner, the mostly silent and aloof Blake Belladonna, and grinned. Said partner scoffed, rolling her seemingly-glowing amber eyes as she returned with something short.

The last member of the team, the one Jaune had not been looking forward to seeing, was oddly absent.

"Guys!" Nora called, waving her hand.

Ruby responded in kind as her team made their way to them. "Hey!"

A small smile formed on Jaune's lips. "A little early, aren't you?"

"Look who's talking, Vomit Boy," Yang answered with a smirk of her own. "Did you guys just walk straight here from Port's nap-time class?"

"Yup," Nora replied with her own smile. "If you arrived any later, we would have stolen your usual seats, slow-pokes."

"Psh, dream on," the blonde replied. "You guys always go for the same place. Boyfriend won the argument again?"

Nora turned bright red for only a second before she waved her hand carelessly. "Psh! We're not—!"

"Together-together, yeah yeah," the blonde said, though touting a small victorious smile.

Jaune just smiled at their antics, but Yang seemed to think his gaze lingered a little longer than appropriate. The blonde smirked at him, causing him to swallow.

"Like something you see, Lady Killer?" his fellow blonde asked, placing a hand on the side of her jutted, generous hips whilst giving him a saucy wink.

Jaune rolled his eyes before averting his gaze. He couldn't hide the slight flush of his cheeks completely, though, and began studying Blake, concentrating on her long black hair and the peculiar bow which hid her cat ears. It wasn't too long ago when Team RWBY shared the fact that she was a faunus, and while he had no problems with that, he was always curious what they looked like. She glanced at him, one eyebrow raised. His eyes widened before he forced himself to smile, scratching the nape of his neck. He gave her a nod of greeting, which she returned automatically before looking away.

"Where's… Weiss?" Jaune asked carefully.

"Ice Queen should be here soon," Yang replied with an annoyed tone and shrug. "Wanted to invite someone apparently."

A hand squeezed Jaune's heart, making him take a deep breath before replying with, "Oh."

No sooner did he say that then she entered the classroom.

To Jaune, Weiss was the image of absolute beauty. Whether because she was always immaculately dressed, or due to the elegance of her stature, he couldn't decide. He found his eyes wandering towards her long, beautiful silver-white ponytail before glancing at her light-blue eyes that sparkled with life as her smile seemed to bring the sun inside the enclosed room. Her pale skin, with a sprinkle of light pink dust on her cheeks, glowed with such sheen that left him breathless of her allure.

He wanted to wave and shout a greeting at her, but held his hand and tongue. The dream he had this morning still painfully present in his mind. Oh, he knew she would never be deliberately cruel as she was in his dream, but he couldn't deny the possibility. While used to her cold rejection of his every wooing attempt, he dared not stoke her temper now.

Especially since her bright mood was mostly because she entered with him beside her.

"Hey, it's Neptune!" Nora declared.

The young man beside Weiss looked a bit surprised being called out, but he took it in stride. Brushing his light-blue hair upwards with a swipe of his hand, he gave them all a smile of greeting.

"Hello there," he replied smoothly with a quick wink.

"Why, hello to you as well," Pyrrha greeted back curiously. "We haven't seen your team come here before."

"Well, Snow Angel invited me," Neptune replied, earning a wide smile from Weiss.

Jaune scowled. She never smiled like that when he first called her that. In fact, anything Neptune did, always brought the opposite reaction compared to when he had done it to Weiss first.

"Does that mean Sun is coming?" Blake asked stoically, though her cheeks colored slightly.

"Don't know," Neptune replied with a shrug. "Didn't see him this morning."

Jaune just nodded neutrally before trying to close himself from the world. And failing. As Team RWBY plus one took their usual seats near the fighting ring, his eyes narrowed towards Weiss and Neptune.

"They're laying it on a little thick, aren't they?" Nora asked in a stage-whisper to Ren. Said boy replied with just a roll of his eyes, but Jaune couldn't help but agree.

Neptune had smoothly laid his arm across Weiss' shoulders, which earned him the demure, almost hesitant action of her laying her head on his. Even as the classroom slowly filled up, he ignored it to watch them with obsessive curiosity.

At some point, Professor Goodwitch had strode into the classroom. He ignored her, continuing to watch the couple's interactions. Names were called, duels were fought, but his eyes never left them. He watched as Weiss giggled shyly at something Neptune said as she absentmindedly twirled a strand of hair around her finger. He also noted that ever since Neptune got the ghost of a kiss on her cheek, their hands had been affixed to each other.

Jaune knew he really shouldn't have continued watching. Especially when the uncomfortable clench of his stomach was overwhelmed by the fire that blazed in his heart. Especially when his muscles stiffened, and his trembling fists began to ache.

However, he couldn't tear his eyes away.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha's voice suddenly penetrated his brain as he blinked and looked at her. She just pointed towards Professor Goodwitch, who was staring daggers at him.

"Mister Arc, are you back with us now?" she demanded firmly as she affixed her glasses before slamming her riding crop into the palm of her free hand.

"Y-yes ma'am," he replied hastingly.

"Then get ready," she said. "You and Mister Winchester are up next."

The fire faded. The only thing left was the feeling of his stomach, which now turned inward as he felt everything sink into a bottomless pit. Glancing at his team, he saw Nora giving him a thumbs-up while both Pyrrha and Ren gave him small, supportive smiles. He gave them a brittle grin and made his way to the exit.

At the lockers, he noted Cardin was already done donning his usual grey plate armor over his black clothes and was now testing the balance of his mace with both his hands. The bigger, oranged-haired boy looked at him.

"Hey, Cardin," Jaune greeted softly.

"Arc," he responded before completely ignoring him.

Jaune nodded and moved past him, deeper into the room. As he reached his locker and opened it to get his things, he couldn't help but glance at Cardin every now and then. It wasn't that long ago when the bigger boy had inadvertently found his secret. Cardin and his team had been bullying him before that, and it only got worse when they learned of his situation. They forced him to be their gopher boy until the events of their field trip at the Forever Fall forest.

When he had defended Cardin and decapitated the Ursa attacking them with a single stroke of his sword.

They had left him alone after that, Cardin having muttered something about him earning their respect. Didn't mean they were friends, or even prevented Cardin from doing his best to beat Jaune into submission everytime Professor Goodwitch called them to fight. Still, Jaune thought wryly as he strapped on his armor, the situation was under better control than before.

He did his final check on his weapon, Crocea Mors, a simple sword with a sheath that unfolded into a kite shield. Not that he needed it. The simplicity of its design made it much more reliable than the more modern weapons.

Still, Jaune wished his weapon had some ranged options, or at least could incorporate Dust.

With both boys ready, they returned to the classroom, and went straight to the fighting circle, Goodwitch synced their Aura levels to the holographic screen floating above them for the whole class to see. She also began to explain the rules, a constant that Jaune chose to ignore. Instead, he looked at his opponent.

Cardin watched him steadily, ready to dish out punishment as per usual. Forcing a swallow, Jaune tried to calm his nerves by turning to look at his teammates. Instead, he found himself looking at Team RWBY. He saw Yang shouting for him to kick ass while Ruby and Blake were holding little flags with his name on them. The former waved hers enthusiastically, while the latter moved hers half-heartedly.

At least Blake was still cheering for him, Jaune thought darkly as he spotted the last member of the team.

Weiss ignored the brewing battle below, all her attention on Neptune. Even though the guy was looking down at the fight about to start, her eyes never left his face, the smile ever present on her lips.

The nervousness vanished as the fire reignited inside him, burning into something ugly, into something… familiar. Part of Jaune knew he should smother it before it took root, but he ignored it as he continued to stare at pale girl.

"Mister Arc!" Goodwitch called, her voice far away. He turned to her, expression blank.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I asked if you were ready."

"I am," he replied, swallowing once more.

Professor Goodwitch looked at him for a few more seconds before nodding. "Then, let the match begin!"

Cardin wasn't the only one surprised when Jaune rushed at him, sword drawn and at the ready; almost everyone at the class gasped at his actions. Anyone that knew Jaune Arc expected him to fight defensively—raising his shield and waiting for his opponent to move. Him going on the offensive, not even unfolding his shield, was so far off the usual that it almost caught Cardin off guard.

Almost.

Using the length of his mace to block the initial strike, Cardin redirected the force of Jaune's blow to the side as he moved in the opposite direction. Smart move as the blonde's next strike was a horizontal cleave to Cardin's mid-section. By dodging the clumsy blow, Cardin turned the tide of the battle.

Even though Cardin was surprised by the first two blows, it quickly turned into disappointment when the blond swordsman began flailing his weapon around carelessly. Strong strikes to be sure, but utterly devoid of technique.

While he considered Arc to be a poor fighter, even on his better days, the little skill Nikos had managed to drill into him seemed to have completely vanished.

Cardin didn't even need to try. Jaune was tying the noose around his neck more effectively than Cardin ever could. It wasn't long before the blond finally overextended to the point that he couldn't recover when the bigger man moved in for the kill.

With just one swipe, the mace hit Jaune squarely on his exposed side. If it hadn't been for the blond's Aura, the impact would have shattered his ribcage and crushed his internal organs. Instead, the blonde boy flew to the edge of the ring, almost earning him another loss.

Jaune huffed as he used his sword to support him as he tried to stand up, the pain in his side overwhelming. He stared at his opponent, a little surprised that Cardin didn't seem interested in rushing him, to take advantage of his position. Instead, the bigger boy eyed him curiously before he turned towards the audience. He spotted Weiss and Neptune, and an expression of understanding formed on the former bully's face. When he looked back at Jaune, it changed to something more pitying.

For some reason, that just added fuel to the fire already burning inside Jaune. In his fury, he stole a glance once more to Weiss, hoping beyond anything that she would at least deign to look at him, to watch him, maybe even support him.

She was still staring at Neptune as if he was the only important thing in the world.

Jaune grit his teeth, the fire inside him now overwhelming his reason. He growled animalistically, the world around him gaining a yellowish hue. He roared, dropping his sword as he stood up and dashed at Cardin, fists at the ready.

The stupid expression on the former bully's face as Jaune flew at him was exquisite, and the feeling when his fist smashed into Cardin's face was even more so. He continued his flurry, his fists flying to the bigger boy's midsection. He ignored Cardin's counter, the mace that had sent him reeling before, now felt like a feather hitting his head. With a last shout, he raised his knee stomach-high before lashing out with a kick to Cardin's chest, sending him flying.

Jaune growled, preparing to jump after him, only to feel himself hit a solid purple barrier. He turned his head, knowing only one person that could do that, his fist ready to fight her off.

"Winner by ring-out, Jaune Arc," she declared, staring at him as if he had grown a second head.

He felt the rage suddenly leave him, eyes widening in horror as he realized what had happened. He stared around him, noticing that it wasn't just Professor Goodwitch giving him strange looks. Almost everyone of his year was standing up, looking down at him with a mixture of emotions. He saw Pyrrha's eyes wide as saucers, Nora grinning widely, while Ren frowned. Even team RWBY was looking at him oddly. Ruby was gaping at him, Yang's eyes glittering with some sort of interest, and Blake's usual blank expression was anything but.

Weiss… she only stared at him with a mixture of confusion and a bit of wonderment. Finally, she was paying attention to him. If only because he did something awful.

"Excuse me," he said to Professor Goodwitch before dashing away. She yelled something, but he ignored her, knowing what was coming after his bout of rage.

Dashing through the exit, ignoring everyone around him, he made his way to the bathroom, to an empty stall, and waited. He waited for the cold of fever to penetrate his bones, for the tired weakness to seep into his muscle… for the painful coughing that was strong enough to expel blood.

He waited until he realized the sickness wasn't coming. He blinked, staring at his arms as they shook. His eyes glistened for a moment, tears building up. Emotions began to swell inside him, fear, triumph, anger, happiness, mixing together in a cocktail that left him dazed and confused.

Why did it not come? Especially when it did so readily all those years ago, before he promised that he would never lose himself to it anymore? He stayed in the stall for who knew how long, still expecting the symptoms to appear, only snapping out of it when someone knocked on the door.

"Jaune?" Ren's voice asked from the other side of the door. "Are you okay?"

"No," he croaked out. "Yes. Maybe."

There was a slight pause before Ren continued. "Congratulations by the way."

"For what?" Jaune asked in a daze.

Again, there was a pause. "For winning your first duel."

"I… yeah, thanks." This time, he initiated the third pause before saying, "Ren… can you come back later? I'm not feeling too good."

"Do you need to go to Medical?" Ren asked. "Or I can whip something up for you."

Jaune chuckled, forgetting his fears for the moment. "No way I'm drinking anything you make."

Ren replied in kind as well before adding, "Everybody's a critic."

"It's your own damn fault," Jaune accused lightly.

"Opinions."

As Jaune's mirth faded, he touched the door that separated them. "I just… need some time. Can you tell Pyrrha and Nora that for me? Please?"

He could hear the shift in fabric on the other side, making him wonder what Ren was doing. After a while, he received another inquiry. "What you did earlier, Jaune… was that your Semblance? Have you finally found it?"

"That," Jaune replied sharply, "was a mistake. Something I will never, ever repeat."

"I… understand," Ren replied hesitatingly. "Come back soon, okay? We need our leader, after all."

"Yeah. Will do."

He heard Ren slowly walk away, probably waiting for his leader to call him back. Jaune remained silent, even when the door finally opened and he heard Nora ask, "Hey, where's Jauney?"

"Is he okay?" Pyrrha chimed in as well.

"He's asked for some privacy," Ren replied.

Jaune blinked when he suddenly heard Yang ask, "He's not vomiting, is he?"

"Yang!" Ruby's voice also surprised him. "He's not hurt, right? Cardin hit him pretty good on the head."

"He ignored it completely, though!" Nora replied. "Was that his Semblance?"

"I want to know as well!" Yang interjected. "It looked a hell of a lot like mine!"

The voices, thankfully, faded. It seemed Ren was able to divert their attention away from him, at least for now. Or maybe it was because Jaune was in the boy's bathroom and the unspoken rule prevented the girls from just barging in. He didn't want anyone take an interest in how he beat Cardin. Especially not that. Granted, he seemed to avoid the cost that it brought, but he didn't want to bet that it would remain that way.

His luck, after all, wasn't that good.

So he stayed in that stall, taking deep breaths, waiting for a sign to tell him it was fine to stop worrying. That it was fine to leave the stall.

It came unexpectedly from a ringtone from his scroll.

Blinking, Jaune paused for a moment, letting the music play for a moment before he took his scroll out. Pressing on the yellow diamond button at the center, he extended the scroll, only for his eyes to widen and mouth open when he saw the name of his caller. He pressed on holographic screen before placing one end of the scroll on his ear.

"Hello?" he asked unsurely, not knowing why he would call now, at all times.

Silence was his reply. Jaune wondered if the caller had made a mistake, maybe butt-dialed him, but after a few more seconds, he heard a hard voice reply from the other side.

"Boy."

Jaune felt ice climb up his spine. That word, in that tone… that only happened when he was about to receive punishment.

"F-father?" he asked.

"Time to go home," was the reply.

Jaune swallowed. "Um, go home?" he asked. "I can ask some time off, I guess, but work is really busy—"

"Do you take me for a fool, boy?" the hard voice interrupted. "Did you think your lies would never be uncovered?"

"L-lies, Father?"

"Your stay at Beacon has come to an end."

Jaune paled.

"Did you hear me?" his father asked. "It's time to go home, boy."

Jaune licked his lips, cold sweat forming on his forehead. His thoughts ran back to his team, with Ren's earlier words resonating with him, giving him strength. After what seemed like days, he grit his teeth. "No."

There was a short pause on the other line. "What did you say?"

"I said no, Father," Jaune replied, a bit more solidly this time. "I won't leave Beacon. I'm needed here. My team needs me here."

"They need a fraud and cheat with them?"

Jaune flinched once more. "I'm improving. I'm no longer sick. I can… I just won a duel earlier." He took a breath. "I am also a team leader."

"What you are is an untrained boy who has not realized he's too big for his britches. Does becoming a team leader, as you claim, erase the fact that you forged your documents to gain entrance to an Academy? Have you not realized the risk that you put, not only yourself, but those that follow you, in?" His father snorted. "Of course you don't. Listen to me. Pack your things. Take the next flight home. Do not let your arrogant mistake cause irreparable damage."

Jaune shook his head sharply. "I'm sorry, Father, but I can't do that."

"Then you've forced my hand, boy. See you soon."

With that, he heard the line cut.

Jaune stared at his scroll, eyes wide. Hands shaking as he folded his scroll back to its original form and pocketing it, he stared at the ceiling.

His father knew he was at Beacon. That meant that either the rest of his family knew as well, or were about to find out. He swallowed nervously, realizing what could come next.

Part of him hoped they weren't too angry at his deception. The last thing he needed was for them to come at Beacon and drag him away.

He needed time, to prepare and to build support. Depending on the flight schedules, his father would be here within the week. That gave him a few days. He needed to find people to back him up. His first thought was to inform his team. There was no way to hide it anymore. He might have had Pyrrha's support, but his two other teammates did not know the true nature of his entrance in Beacon. He would need to tell them.

He opened the stall, staring at the mirror in front of him. Opening the faucet, he splashed cold water in his face.

Jaune was pretty sure he could get Nora on his side. Quirky, cheerful, she had always been someone that followed his lead. Then again, if she was offended by his less-than-honest entrance to Beacon though, he would face the full force of her explosive violence. She would probably not be satisfied by just breaking his legs with that enormous hammer of hers.

Unless he could get Ren to his side as well. Oddly enough, he wasn't sure how his male teammate would react. Something about Ren gave him pause when it came to something like this. Sure, they were in friendly enough terms, but the calm, studious boy always felt like he hid something big beneath the surface.

He shook his head. If he was having trouble trying to convince his team, he didn't dare think about how RWBY would react.

Jaune sighed. Ruby was going to be disappointed. Insulted, maybe. She was a prodigy that had been given early admission to the Academy after showing her fighting skills by deterring a known criminal. She was also someone who worked hard to live her dream. She wouldn't have dared to even think of cheating her way through. Even if she wasn't going to be affronted, Yang would definitely be and she would let her fists do the talking.

Blake Belladonna… well, he doubted anything would change between them.

Weiss. Oh, Weiss, Jaune thought. He didn't even dare predict her reaction. Would she be aggrieved, or dismiss him even more? He didn't want to experience either of those.

In fact, as he walked out of the door, he thought about talking to Cardin and his team first. Maybe they would understand his situation. They already knew his secret, after all.

He snorted. He must be desperate if he was thinking of asking—

"Mister Arc."

Jaune froze, realizing that someone was still waiting for him at exit of the bathroom. Arms folded around her chest, Professor Goodwitch stared at him behind her oval spectacles, making him stand in attention.

"Professor?" he asked.

"The Headmaster requests your presence in his office. Immediately."

"I, uh, okay," he replied, before he realized something. "Um, Professor, I forgot my weapons—"

"Your team has collected them for you," Goodwitch said before turning sharply. "Now, come."

Taking a second before following her, Jaune took a moment to look at his surroundings. Students walked along the hallways, some stopping to point at him. He stiffened his shoulders and looked ahead, not wanting to see anything from their gaze. After every so often, he would steal glances at the Professor, uncomfortable at her silence.

After a few minutes, both of them stopped at the elevator leading up to the Headmaster's office. She got out her scroll, pushed at the display, and the door opened. She stepped inside, then turned to look at him silently. Jaune took a breath before stepping forward, and the doors slipped shut behind him, leaving the two alone at last. He looked at her nervously once more before shaking his head.

"Excuse me, Professor," Jaune ventured, "but do you know what Professor Ozpin wants?"

Goodwitch just gave him a cold stare before looking away, making Jaune take a deep breath.

After what seemed like hours, the doors finally opened, revealing Ozpin in the center of the room, sitting behind his desk, eyes down as he studied something in his scroll. As Jaune took a step forward, he noted the odd noise of grinding metal and looked up. His jaw dropped at the sight of huge intertwined gears, moving at a sedate pace. He stepped further into the room, slowly turning in a circle to gaze at the inner workings of the giant clocktower, each piece working in tandem, doing mysterious work.

He tried to look further, deeper into the odd mechanical workings of the office's aesthetics, when Professor Goodwitch called his attention again.

"Mister Arc."

He blinked before returning to the present, looking at her with an apologetic look. "Sorry."

He moved to her side, the fascination of his surroundings not quite leaving him as he stole a few more glances before someone called his attention again. This time, though, it wasn't Goodwitch.

"Jaune Arc, leader of Team JNPR."

Jaune turned to Ozpin. He wasn't quite sure how to react to him, having only met him a handful of times. His first impression of the older man was that he was eccentric, and not all there. The silver hair denoted his age, enforced with the way he held his walking cane, yet his face was still somewhat youthful. He didn't know if it was because of the his mostly neutral expression or because he wore a pair of pretty fancy small, dark circular glasses.

However, Ozpin's expression was far from neutral this time, and his eyes were far sharper than the last time Jaune saw him.

"Yes, Professor Ozpin?" he asked.

Ozpin double-tapped on his scroll and a bunch of holographic screens sprang to life behind him. Jaune blinked for a moment, eyes going towards the files being presented before they widened as he recognized what was on display.

They were the documents he had submitted to enter Beacon Academy. His forged transcripts.

"I think you owe us an explanation, don't you agree?" Ozpin asked softly.


Author's Notes: Thus my first chapter into the RWBY-verse. Short story, six chapters. Drafts are done. However, the reason for the delay is pretty much life. I've been really busy and that exacerbated my writer's block. It didn't help that my beta-reader and editor is also busy in real life. If anyone is interested in helping me out, I welcome it. PM me if you're interested. Or email me at demoneyeslaharl at googlemail. I use Google Docs, and I have a link that will allow people to comment. I mostly have problems with maintaining tenses and have odd word usage. Insights on how story flow works also is appreciated. Enjoy the story, guys!