Hai Guys, U-knight here, please consider leaving a review, I love to see'um. Good, Bad, Ugly, I don't care. If anyone has suggestions on which direction I should take this story, I'd love that too. Thank you guys so much! Thwip Thwip!
Jaune wondered to himself why he was going along with this. This is a terrible idea, no way around it. If his aunt or the headmaster, or really anyone for that matter caught on to who he was, his days of parading around in tights would be over. Why did the headmaster what to talk to him? Sure, Jaune had turned in an application to attend Beacon. But that was only due to his aunt Glynda's harassing. He hadn't attended any sort of combat school prior, so getting accepted was practically an impossibility…unless his aunt pulled some strings. Hmm…
"Wait, but even disregarding that, to Professor Ozpin, I'm just some lunatic with a mask, so why would he want to see me?" Jaune said internally. Jaune took a deep breath. "Okay, calm down buddy." He said to himself. "You're overthinking things. He probably wants a statement of what happened from all those present at the robbery." Jaune chided himself for jumping to conclusions.
A familiar feeling fell over the young vigilante. He felt…like he was going to throw up.
"Ahh, that's right." Jaune murmured to himself. "I'd forgotten how much I hate flying." You would think that half a year of web-swinging would help alleviate this flaw of Jaune's, but some things are more psychological than physical. It was a good thing his mask hid his green-tinged face from his aunt and scythe girl.
"Young man, please do remove that frightening mask at once. I don't need students panicking about how the white fang infiltrated our school." Glynda said firmly. Jaune had never seen this side of his aunt before. His aunt had never been outgoing per say, but she was definitely nicer than this at home.
"Oh, you have me confused Ma'am. I'm not a part of the White Mask." Said Jaune, trying to disguise his voice, lest his aunt recognize it. Jaune mentally noted that his red and blue suit shared the red color that was one of the colors of the White Fang. Ironic, considering the numerous run-ins he had with the extremist group.
"Please don't blame me for not taking your word for it." Glynda's eyes narrowed at her nephew, but she didn't press the issue. "And pray tell, what do you call yourself? Please tell me it doesn't end in -man." She asked. Jaune swallowed hardly.
"Erm…Spiderman?" He answered as if asking a question. His aunt simply rolled her eyes.
"Professor Ozpin better have good reason for this." She thought to herself. Jaune decided the best way to avoid further conversation with his scary aunt was to instigate one with the other girl on the bullhead. Jaune turned his head to find the red-hooded girl, only to find her staring at him unabashedly. He scooted closer to the strange girl. He was about to speak up when she beat him to it.
"Isn't it cool? A real live Huntress!" She practically squealed. The realization she was staring at Glynda and not him occurred to him.
Jaune sighed. "Oh yeah. She's pretty neat…I suppose." He whispered the last bit, hoping she wouldn't hear. She did.
"Aww, you were cool too. Where do you keep those ropes you were shooting earlier?" She asked kindly. Jaune considered telling her how the web fluid came from the power his semblance granted him, but it occurred to him that the less she knew about him, the safer his identity would be.
"Are you a spider faunus?" The girl asked before he could respond. Hmm. Jaune thought to himself. Is there even such a thing as insect and bug faunus? He sure hadn't seen any. But the girl had given him a reasonable cover story. He decided to take it.
"Uh…Yeah. Let's go with that. Spider faunus." He said with some uncertainty. Her next question caught him off-guard.
"Is that why you hide your face? Because you don't like how you look? I'm sure it's fine…you don't need to hide it…" Jaune suddenly felt incredibly guilty for gaining the undeserved sympathy of the sweet, albeit naïve girl. Her question was quite deep. Why did he hide his face? He originally assumed it was to protect those close to him, but the only one really close to him was his Aunt Glynda, and she could obviously handle herself. Why then?
"Don't spider's webs come out of their butts?" This question from the same girl who previously asked one so deep. If Jaune had been drinking something, he would have done quite the spit take.
"N-not for spider faunus…it…it comes out the wrists." He managed to reply without bursting into laughter. On the plus side, he completely forgot about his motion sickness as the two talked for the rest of the flight.
"Spiderman. Heh. Do step into my office, won't you?" Ozpin said to the masked boy whilst stifling a chuckle.
"Hey! It's a cool name!" Replied Jaune defensively as he stepped into the headmaster's office. It was surprisingly spacious and devoid of many furnishings. It didn't look like the headmaster spent much time in here…but if not in his office, then where? The next thing to catch his eye were the moving shadows on the ground. The boy looked up. So many moving gears and cogs. Jaune personally felt like the constantly moving room would be unsettling to work in. He didn't blame the headmaster for spending his time elsewhere.
Jaune turned his attention to the headmaster himself. His face looked kind, and rather amused. He wore small spectacles in front of his hazel eyes, as well as a green scarf around his neck. His grey hair was of medium length, covering one of his eyes, but the man bore no other indication of aging, giving him something of a timeless look. Ironic for the guy who pretty much lives in the clock tower.
"Sir?" Jaune asked, curious as to what the esteemed headmaster would want from the "cosplayer".
"Hmm… the voice and formality would suggest a teen. Good. Do sit down, won't you?" The headmaster half rambled to himself. Jaune's eyes widened behind his mask. "Let's see," The headmaster leaned in. "Blonde hair on the gloves. Medium length. You told Ms. Rose you were a faunus, but I'm quite sure that's not true." He continued to examine the boy.
"W-w-wait, you couldn't possibly know if or if I'm not a faunus." Jaune interjected, somewhat unsure of himself. He swore to himself as his voice cracked during the last bit.
"I blew a high pitched whistle before you walked in. Seeing as you are not on the ground in pain, you are not a faunus." The headmaster deduced. "Voice crack. Currently going through puberty. Though height and build would suggest around seventeen. Late bloomer I suppose." The headmaster spoke aloud. Jaune's face turned red behind his mask.
"Hey now, insulting my manliness was uncalled for!" Jaune retorted with injured pride.
The headmaster smiled. "I'm sorry Mr. Arc, it won't happen again. Or would you prefer Mr. Goodwitch?"
"Mr. Arc, please…" Jaune's eyes widened again…"Dustamit!" He swore. How on Remnant did he figure out his identity in less than a minute? The headmaster continued as if reading his mind.
"It was simple, Mr. Arc. After Glynda called me, I had her send me a picture with you and Ms. Rose. It was obvious even by the grainy picture that you were an adolescent male. With those kinds of powers you demonstrated, why wouldn't you be enrolling in Beacon, my school? There are noly two reasons why you wouldn't. One. You couldn't, and two, you won't. You were obviously capable of combat, ruling out "couldn't". Second reason being "won't" Meaning that you could have been a criminal and refused to draw attention to yourself. You obviously weren't with Mr. Torchwick's enterprise. That left the White Fang, thus I had you questioned by Ms. Goodwitch. There aren't many people alive who aren't intimidated by your aunt, Mr. Arc. You are one of them. That made me curious. The whistle confirmed my last loose end. Said Ozpin, finishing his lengthy explanation with a large smile on his face.
"But how did you even know I existed?" Asked Jaune.
"Ah, I forgot to add that part. After ruling out both "Couldn't" and "Wouldn't", I could only conclude that you, in fact, did apply for Beacon. As we've been sitting here talking, I brought up the online database of applications. There were only forty-seven male applicants with blonde hair." The headmaster leaned in closer with a large smirk on his face. "Guess how many of them didn't list what their semblance did?" Jaune visibly gulped as Ozpin continued his lesson in deductive reasoning. "Just one." He started pacing around the room. "Now then, I knew who you were, but without proof, there's not much I could do. So I made you admit it yourself. Emotions are quite predictable, really. I rile you up by questioning your masculinity, then give the power back to you in asking you what you prefer to be called. You want to reaffirm your…manliness, as you put it, and you felt you could do so by taking back the control of the situation. Simple." The genius headmaster sat back down. Jaune stared at him with his jaw hanging down, again masked by…well, the mask.
"How do I even…I…I never even had a chance." Said the boy in awe.
"Now that we've settled that, tell me Jaune. Why do you run around with that mask?" Asked Ozpin, turning serious. Jaune took a deep breath. It was now or never.
"I don't like all the red tape Hunters and Huntresses have to go through before they get the green-light to go save someone. By the time a formal inquiry is made, even the fastest Hunters could be too late. My aunt, she's strong. I know she is, but she barely made it in time to save us back there. Without all the go-betweens and chain-of-command crap, she could have gotten there much sooner." Jaune spoke this all so fast, Prof. Oobleck would have been proud. Ozpin sat with his hands intertwined and resting his chin on his hands, staring at Jaune for a time.
"I agree." Said the headmaster.
"Now wait, before you-" Jaune started before hearing what the man said. "Wait, you agree?" He asked dumbfounded.
"Yes. I agree. And further than that, I'd like to help you." He said confidently. He slid a piece of paper over to Jaune. On it was his application with a big stamp marked "Approved".
Ozpin smiled at the masked teenager. "Welcome to Beacon, Spiderman."