It was morning in Beacon – a complete contrast to the eventful night of gunfire, screaming and explosions. The winds lightly blew past the facilities, and the sky was clear of clouds. One would say that it must be a joyous morning. It almost made everyone forget the chaotic incident just several hours ago. Surely there should be no dire possibilities for even the most unfortunate of hunters. No, no, no, then there would be no story. The very cause and trouble makers are in the dorm of JNPR, harboring four hunters. Within it, the air was stifling from the intense aroma of melted butter blended with thick syrup.
"So let me condense what you've explained," Ren squinted his eyes as he started distributing plates of fresh pancakes to everyone on the table-excluding Jaune who was still resting from last night's uproar. Ren gave the most towering breakfast, measuring at least 3 feet, to Nora.
"Jaune stayed awake and left, then you followed him to see what was wrong. That much was clear." Pyrrha nodded while she looked at her share of flat cakes. As much as she wanted to stuff herself to rid the feeling of being interrogated by her very teammate, her guilt weighed more than her appetite. Nora on the other hand ate hers with blinding speed. It was as if she inhaled each pan cake one by one; the black hole that was the pit of her stomach demanded more. With no arguments, Pyrrha pushed her share to Nora.
"Thanks!" Nora appreciated the kind gesture, chewing nonstop.
"Oh, there's no need to be grateful," she assured her and waved the thanks off. "There had to be some reason for you to be so... active!" Her brow twitched when the psychotic ginger downed a bottle of thick sap.
"Back to topic," Ren coughed. "Apparently he was trying to talk to Ozpin about something, but you stopped him by..." he motioned his hand in hope that Pyrhha completes the sentence.
"By assaulting him... and causing a quarter of Beacon demolished... At least Glynda was there to fix it..." she muttered. Truth was she tried to convince him to reconsider his decision, but she didn't mention the details. She never expected herself to actually manhandle him. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that it was reckless of her to do something like hurting Jaune of all people. It was mentally numbing already, but to add the Headmaster into this mess passed beyond her expectations. If only she could persuade Ren that there was no need to know about it. She studied his impassive face. He closed his eyes – it seemed that had given up the idea of going further into the situation, but she knew better. The calm interrogator exhaled after his brief contemplation.
"Back to square one I suppose." He crossed his arms in disappointment. Whether it's to her or himself, she couldn't read his mind.
"What ever do you mean?" She shrugged her shoulders.
"Please stop denying it. There's obviously more to the story than that," he snapped his fingers as an idea popped in. "Is it blackmail material?"
"No!" She yanked her ponytail to keep herself from headbutting the table. "I've already said everything!"
"Now, now - you know better." Like a child getting a strict lecture, Pyrrha shrank in her seat, feeling very much defeated.
If there was anyone who can smell even the faintest of lies, Ren may as well be a bloodhound with a lying detector.
"Guess I'm not cut out for lying." Her persistence was obvious to Ren. Although she's a terrible liar, he went with it.
"It's the effort that counts, but I can say you're getting there," he smiled in satisfaction. But there nothing that could get her talking without stuttering and biting her tongue; it was a frustrating process. Pyrrha played with her fingers to distract herself and unintentionally raised the tension in the air. Thankfully for her, Ren initiated once more when both of them couldn't handle the intense gaze from Nora - all wide eyed like she was watching drama unfold. Her cheeks stretched from the sugary goodness.
"We're a team, so it's natural for me to worry about him. You're worried too, yet you're hiding something. So please, instead of telling us why you did what you did, even though that's what vexes me the most, tell us why he was blind enough to walk out in the night?" She couldn't just tell them, no matter how much they stare at her with anticipation. What if they go to extreme lengths to stop him? She certainly wouldn't want to let the hammer wielding tanker do anything beyond reason. Then again, that's something done on a daily basis.
"Out with it," his tranquil yet powerful voice snapped her back to reality, "Why did he storm out?"
"Nyeah! Ahn wih 'e blot!" Nora pitched in and slammed her fists on the splintered table; its creaking legs nearly collapsed from her inhuman strength. Her pouch-like cheeks bulged. Furrowing her brow, she caught two dull pairs of ember and magenta eyes on her. She swallowed and repeated her previous shout, "Yeah! On with the plot!"
"Absolutely not! And don't pick a side!" Pyrrha pleaded. "That's not fair!"
"No more secrets! Secrets are only cool when they're revealed!"
"Then they wouldn't be secrets, Nora," the magenta streak-haired man defended.
"Psh! Well duh, that's because those are stupid secrets! Do I need to give you a dictionary?"
"My vocabulary is fine. I just think you've had your fill for one morning."
"Make me – I dare you, blasphemer!" She back flipped on her chair with determined balance, her dual forks pinpointed between Ren's eyes.
"I prefer not," he raised both hands in defeat. Angering the sugar addict was the least of his concerns.
"He wanted to drop out of the the academy!" Pyrrha exhaled and leaned on the already unstable table. She broke under pressure, yet it wasn't from them. Rather, she really couldn't find any other excuse for herself other than that Jaune was possible sleepwalking. And they were right, why would she hide it? Just for some personal comfort? Stupid selfish idiot, she disparaged herself. Ren, who was usually the calm one, slipped his most expressed surprise.
"I'm surprised," he shrugged casually while dodging the playful stabs from his fork wielding companion.
"Ahm mnot! (I'm not!)" Nora followed through. Her grabby paws swiped Ren's pancakes when they were focused on the Spartan's expected reaction.
"Wha-why are you not surprised about this?!" For them to not even show the slightest hint of empathy meant that they are completely prepared for this. Unbelievable! "Jaune could have left! We would be assigned to some random person as our new leader! He's my - our friend!" She exclaimed in one breath, crossing the border of hysteria. Gah! I don't want to lose him!
Other than her family, Jaune was the first to treat her as a person rather than profit or some celebrity. A suppressed memory of flashing cameras and walls of microphones influenced her adolescence. At least she wasn't pressured from him unlike her peers and everyone else in Mistral. His charming ignorance was a whiff of fresh air from all of the other annoying acts of praises and ass-kissing from even the most impressive fighters in the kingdom. The way he puts himself in front of others, his honesty, and his simple-mindedness attracted her. If it weren't for his pick up one-liners, he could also make her giggle every so often.
"Or he could have been told off from the staff in that area." Ren ran through multiple scenarios that would have happened had Pyrrha not interfered. "Or even if he did succeed in confronting the Headmaster, surely he would tell us in the morning, or, and this is what's most likely going to happen no matter obstacle, he could have realized that it was just the spur of the moment and come right back here. There are many paths he would've taken, but most of them would not be too terrible," he clicked his tongue in slight irritation. "If only he didn't take action at night." The redhead swore she heard faint curses across the table.
She saw where he's going with, but it still didn't sit right with her. Even if it wasn't for her to pry on, it would be rude to leave Jaune to face things alone. A knocking on hard wood came from someone in the bedroom. "Knock knock," the intruder groaned, but he tried to play it cool. It was someone they already expected. Taking small strides, their very leader – surprisingly in uniform like the his friends - woke up in a middle of something he wished he didn't have.
"Sooo I heard you guys were talking about me." Jaune walked towards them and sat next to his fidgety partner. "I guess word got out, right?" Ren shook his head.
"If only I knew what that word was. But it's good to see you've recovered. Here, help to yourself."
"Too late!" And too late is was, for each plate was spotless from any residue whatsoever. "Another!" Nora smashed the collected ceramics on the table, startling both Jaune and Pyrrha to jump from their seats. Before the pieces could reach to the ground, every shards were poured into a close by trash bin. "In a minute. I promise you," Ren wiped sweat from his brow, his hand occupied a brush.
"Okey dokey, but first," she chirped before commenting, "Jaune! Tell us your secret!" She crouched on the table and slammed her hands onto his chest – she never understood personal space. Being a refined gentleman, he flailed and dropped on his back, taking the chair on his ass with him.
"Okay, okay! Before or after this?" He pointed at the sore swelling on his forehead, his back still laid on the floor.
"Both!" she jumped in excitement, only to trip and snapped all of the table's leg. It crashed on the tiles with a loud thud, yet Nora payed little attention it to. On the wooden top, she crisscrossed her legs and listened intently. 'Thank Oum all of this is school property,' everyone thought in unison.
"Yes, maybe you can enlighten me." Ren smiled. "Tell us why you were tussled by you-know-who." The suspect wanted to object, but she knew she'd be ignored.
Drawing a blank, the blonde honestly had no clue why she did that. Did he upset her? Did he make an unpleasant face? What the hell did I do to deserve that? Did I subconsciously copped a feel?...That's a possibility. The only thing he did was stand there in dumbstruck.
"Actually, that's what I want to know too," Jaune turned his attention to the champion. "I don't know what I did, but if I did something to you, anything to you at all, I believe I deserve it." His words were so sincere, it felt as if they pierced her already troubled heart. It only added the guilt in her conscious.
"I am so sorry, Jaune." she paused for a second. "I can't tell you." She couldn't tell him her ever growing infatuation of him which led them to this. She couldn't just tell him how he made her body limp and weak from his touch, and how he captivated her from just his gaze. And if she did tell him, she sure as hell didn't want to find out how he'll react. She couldn't describe the feeling as well she hoped she could, but one was for sure, it made her shudder in fear. With a puppy-dog face, Jaune tried to become one with the floor to hide it. "But it's not your fault," she attempted to counsel him.
"So you're to blame then," Ren pointed at her general direction, a brush on one hand and a dustpan on the other.
"It's no one's fault!" Her face matched her hair in a mixture of anger and embarrassment.
"If you really cared, you wouldn't dodge my questions." He shook his shook in disapproval . Noticing Jaune getting up, he changed his question before feeling a burning sensation, as if lasers were installed on Pyrrha's optics. "So Jaune, what happened after that?"
"Nothing happened after that," Pyrrha answered for him.
"Seriously," Ren countered, "you're only stalling the inevitable. Jaune?"
"Give me a few minutes to recollect myself." Se sat back on hid seat, rubbing his sore forehead.
When he thought about, he just couldn't remember significant details. It was almost as if his subconsciousness was suppressing some sort of trauma, but his curiosity made him pry harder. Jaune leaned his chin against his palm, contemplating deeply on what screwed up that night.
The crashing, falling, and searing pain was the very first step - surely that killed several thousand brain cells - but even with very little blood in his head, what caught his attention was how vibrant and highly decorated the room was. Every corner, reflecting little color from the moon's light, had some well-crafted furniture and expansive shelves which was stacked with neatly ordered encyclopedias; it crowded the walls and told how intelligent Ozpin really was. Above him was a bell-shaped chandelier and if cut off from the supporting ceiling, the bulbs and crystals would shred his very being. And of course, in the center of it all, there was a king sized round bed, heavily stacked with thick and springy mattresses, where the Headmaster slept, and Jaune landed directly next to him. The young warrior sharply inhaled. Much to his relief, Ozpin was a heavy sleeper, even after hearing his door burst in from a human cannon ball. Even if he didn't wake the man, it triggered something he'd desperately wished he hadn't.
The bed squeaked as Ozpin's silhouette rose up from his slumber. It was so quick and unexpected, Jaune scrambled off the mattress. That wasn't what shivered his spine the most when he thought Ozpin was awake; it was the brief visible white teeth revealed from his murderous grin. Before he knew what he did after that, he was struck so hard by an invisible force that he flew straight back out of there. He could never forget the blackness that invaded the dim chambers when his spinning head turned back to the exit.
"Hello," an impatient voice began. "Remnant to Jaune! Are you in there?" Nora waved back and forth frantically in search for a conscious reply.
"Lesson learned: never wake a sleeping lion," he warned with a shudder. "You'll regret it." As they were about to question what that metaphor even meant, a distinct voice interrupted them.
"Go!Go!Go! To class!" A loud yet squeaky order resonated to the hallways and through the cracks in the door frames followed by three other loud footsteps.
"Class?... It's almost 9 and they have less than 5 minutes to get there!" Jaune leaped from his chair and dashed out before anyone could respond, following trails of rose petals from Ruby.
Perhaps it was the feeling of desperation and ignorance, but one thing was for sure: his heels kicked nothing but air. No matter how hard or fast his steps were, they never met the ground. The hell? His head kicked into high gear, and his entire body spun a 180. His startled eyes met a very stern glare behind glass frames, followed by a loud strike of her crop on her palm.
"How lucky of me to stumble upon you of all students, Mr. Arc," Glynda mused at her catch with a slight smirk, but she cemented her poker face in order to frighten the boy. Something told him that she didn't just "stumbled" upon him. Rather she was stationed next to their door, waiting to pounce at him; she probably overheard their conversation as well. She held her leather tool high above her head level, which in turn raised him until he touched the ceiling. "Apologies, you will have to excuse yourself and come with me. You will comply and submit to my orders." Jaune could only nod timidly; he doubt escape was an option.
She turned her attention to the three onlookers. "I'm taking him with me. Any objections?" She didn't give them the chance to even part their lips as she gracefully walked past them with a straight back facing the three clinging on their door, knowing that they never had a say in this in the first place.
"I pray for your survival," Ren said with a zen expression.
"I second that prayer," Pyrrha nodded in agreement.
"If you're gone for good, can I have your bed?"
"Nora!" The two chimed in. It's not that she wasn't sympathetic or cared about the unfortunate friend, but imagine the cool mattress fortress she could make.
"Tee hee," she played innocent and trod away from her lecturers, leaving Ren and Pyrrha to access their previous situation in the room, watching their leader cross his heart and shed tears of his departure.
"You're going to have to throw me a bone sooner or later," Ren waved the topic and held the door open, "so I won't bother with the details."
"I swear I'll confess; however, today's not that day," the red head smiled as she looked at their destination to class. "Now let's go! We don't want to miss Peter's lecture."
"You're almost as motivating as you are unconvincing."
From his dorm to the clock tower, his time together with Glynda was dead silent, excluding his classmate who murmur as they pass by the disciplined dictator and floating prisoner. After reaching to an elevator, Jaune fear subsided, leaving him to only contemplate as time was very limited.
"Hey, uh, Glynda, can you tell me where we're going?"
"First of all, it's Ms. Goodwitch, and I expect you to address me as such," She made her point as she plopped him down on his back. Ignoring the poor guy's groaning, she proceeded explaining her laws. "Second, we'll be approaching Professor Ozpin's office. And thirdly, you are to keep silent until I say otherwise. Saying anything now will only be used against you." As they escalate to their destination, she turns to him and Jaune felt pressure on his shoulders. "Do I make myself clear?"
As an empowering Aura inevitably leaked out of Glynda, he saluted and nodded vigorously. For a carefree blonde, it really looked silly. Nonetheless, it put him at ease as she in turn nodded approvingly.
When they finally reached to the very last floor, the lift opened, and across the spacious room of enormous grinding gears was Ozpin, drinking his special brew with a straw... with a loopy straw.
Never in his life did he ever wanted to run out of there so desperately, to claw through the floor and never admit his irrational thinking, but his better judgment held his temptation from doing that. Glynda was the first to move - the sounds of her heels echoed throughout the walls. Then he felt an invisible tug in his tie, gagging him in the process. Realizing it was her semblance wringing the life out of him, he tripped forward with the noose – I mean tie . It was best to go with the flow, yet his feet skid through the transparent floor as he was almost out of air. When Ms. Goodwitch ushered Jaune out of the elevator and removed her pseudo tugging, she stood next to the headmaster with her head high high and her arms tucked. Jaune was still standing; honestly he felt more secure if he was closer to an exit. However, the Headmaster didn't show signs of anger, relief, sadness, or any emotion that would indicate what his next course of action would be.
"You may speak." Glynda said abruptly, pointing at him. "Don't take this for granted." Her warning held venom - its harshness was genuine. Still on his feet, Jaune could only try to lighten the mood.
"So," Jaune scratched the back of head and looked down, "did you have a nice nap?"
As if he wasn't angering her more than before, Glynda's glare showed how much Ozpin's assistant did not take his words lightly. "Mr. Arc! Are you testing me?" A woman full of pride and discipline, she wouldn't hesitate to grind Jaune's bones to dust, but he didn't know better – rather he can't. If she wanted, she could level this floor by just from popping a blood vessel.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I was just asking a simple question!"
"It's alright, Glynda," Ozpin interrupted the fuming witch, "I could use the humor," Ozpin chuckled at Jaune's poor choice of words. As the calm man redirected her ever growing blood lust, Jaune noticed that each of Ozpin's digits had a splint. There's no need to guess why this happened.
"To be honest, it was wonderful. I slept like a baby - completely out of it!" He beamed in response, but Jaune couldn't tell if he was being honest or sarcastic. "I didn't even wake up when Glynda here crippled my hands." Either way, his gentle optimism was almost sickeningly contagious. "Although, I will say that its effects were the very opposite to everyone else." And then came the obvious.
"As if that wasn't apparent enough." Glynda scoffed at Ozpin's placidity. "If you can laugh at Professor Ozpin's condition, surely you can conjure some jokes about your senior's near death experience."
Oh, right, there was that. "I'm not laughing. In my defense, I bet very few of them died - 10 people, max."
"Near death experience, Jaune," Glynda pinched her nose, irritated by his lack of sense. "Try none," Glynda sighed, "They were all quite fortunate. Several victims need stitching and no fractured bones pierced their lungs, but many will require therapy. And if it weren't for me, the place would've collapsed into rubble."
"Then how are you so... not hurt?"
"Meat shields," she said with confidence, "you always need meat shields. Mr. Bartholomew volunteered without arguing." Suddenly, all he could imagine was the constant noise of hasty screaming and pounded flesh from the green hair Speedy Gonzales, along with a maniacal cackle of a certain woman.
"Thank you Ms. Goodwitch, you were very successful in seizing my drinking hand." Ozpin responded and gently shook his hands. It wasn't just his drinking hand, but even his wrists were locked with thick casts, rendering his joints immobile. "But enough about me. We're here to talk about you."
Here it comes. "What's there to talk about?"
"I believe you know what," Ozpin grinned, "so you don't be surprised about how we know about your forged transcripts."
Curtained by a blank face, the boy couldn't believe what he just heard. "Wait, wait, wait...What was that? I believe my ears are deceiving me."
"You're a cheater, endangering the lives of everyone around you," Glynda answered. Both of them waited for Jaune's response.
"But if you knew all along, then why didn't you do something about it?"
Ozpin took a long sip of his fresh concoction – savoring the taste. "At first it was for amusement," he chuckled, "we haven't met risky people like you for years."
"For amusement..." Jaune droned, "you're kidding me. Please don't tell me your second reason is your previous statement." Wiggling his broken index finger, Ozpin snatched a box full of colored folders which stems out names of hundred of students.
He slid Jaune's supposed folder across the table until it paused at the center of the desk. Then his skimmed through several pages to show what appeared to be Jaune's transcripts, all neatly ordered and filled out with defining words, describing his false identity.
"If I kid, you'd be out of breath by now. Second, I think you don't value yourself as much as you think you should, which was the why you came to me last night. Well, try to anyways. So let me enlighten you."
"Everything you've added in your paper met our minimum standards, but you didn't put anything remarkable." Minimum standards... the two words swirled around Jaune's brain. "Nothing to show what you've done that could put you on top; it was quite odd that you've had no achievements to don for yourself. Then again, you probably thought that would have caught you, forgetting that this place is for the very best for a reason."
The blonde fraud remain motionless. "You just had enough for us to believe we'll set you aside for later. Well, that's what you believed for us to behave as, right? After what transpired during your initiation?" The question flew past Jaune as he tried to reevaluate his circumstance. What the hell could he excuse himself with?
"We can feign ignorance, but we are always aware of what happens in this academy and even what happens outside of this kingdom. Which is why you must not be shocked to be even stand here in front of us." He leaned against the transparent desk. "Why do you think I left you alone since the event in Emerald Forest?"
"I-I thought you would focus on other matters than on one single insignificant individual. I kinda figured I could camouflage under your radar..."
Ozpin snapped his fingers in futility. "You thought wrong, but don't worry because you are more important than you think."
Puzzled, Jaune pointed at himself to be certain - as if there was another person behind him that Ozpin was actually referring to. "I am?"
"He is?" Off guard, Glynda questioned Ozpin with the same volume of disbelief.
"Yes, you are. This is not a prank," Ozpin paused until both of them regained their composure, "and even if you're currently equivalent to a professional hunter buried six feet under," Jaune flinched at the accurate comparison, "you have plenty of potential. For instance, when you've unlocked your Aura – a real abundant one at that - and when you coordinated your team to take down the Death Stalker. In a short span of time, you've outperform my expectations." He even knew about his Aura bit with Pyrrha. Well, that's pretty embarrassing. "And you're still growing, both physically and mentally. Surely you've met someone who think the same as us." The silver haired professor noticed the forced cough from the neighboring teacher. "Excuse me, who think the same as me."
"Well, there's Pyrrha. She never doubted me." Unfortunately, praises resulted bruises in his case.
"Pyrrha Nikos," Ozpin perked up from the mention of the redhead. "To be acknowledged by the 4 time Mistral tournament champion proves how right I am. I implore you, Jaune, please be a student under our academy's care and be the man you've always wanted to be: an official hunter. Of course, under one condition." Great, no one ever mentioned him getting away scot-free. "Before the Vytal Festival, you will study and train a lot more than every student ever will this semester. It will be exhausting and in some ways painful, but that's not all."
"So It's not one condition? I haven't decided, and already I'm getting more than I bargained for."
"To accelerate your progress, you'll be assigned with certain people who will share their knowledge with you. This way, you can find what you're best suited for – may it be fighting, strategy, info gathering, support, and so on and so forth."
Assigned with certain people? Could it just be the normal teachers in Beacon? Is it going to be Peter? Oh, I may as well choke myself with my tie. Then again, this will only last until the Vytal Festival, whatever that is. So far the deal didn't sound too bad or misleading. He gets to stay and improve himself with a lot of hard work and still hang out with his friends. This can definitely pay off for him, but the small smirk from the Headmaster signaled danger. Or was it just the piercing gaze from the iron willed blonde?
"I want to stay and graduate from Beacon," Jaune swallowed his hesitation, "and it'd be pretty interesting for what you got in store for me... I accept your conditions." With some vigor, he proudly shouted out his happiness. "From here on out, I won't let you down, Prof!"
"Excellent," Ozpin stood and extended his arm, "this will be your first step in gaining the experience and knowledge you'll need to succeed the person you are now." Just like that, Jaune grasped and firmly shook his hand. Very brief and unnoticed, Jaune's Aura seeped into Ozpin's hand. Feeling uncomfortable and a tad shaky with his heart pounding away at his chest cavity, Ozpin held his breath and bit his tongue, but not revealing any signs of his distress, he waited until Jaune let go and skipped towards the elevator.
After Jaune said his goodbyes and gratitude, he descended back down to class, ignorant of what the man plans were. Although, he and Ozpin were content with the outcome, Glynda was having none of it. Turning to her right, she asked her insane superior. "What are you scheming?"
"Scheming?" Ozpin playfully gasped. "Such a harsh word. If you've listened to our conversation, you should be ahead of schedule," Ozpin sighed as he bit down his straw, sipping.
"Oh, I listened word for word," she hissed, "and I do not approve of this, and neither will my peers."
"Don't you mean your 'meat shields'?" Ozpin quote unquote with his fingers, but was unable to do more than strain his joints.
She scoffs at him, ignoring his counter. "This is your worst mistake yet. Wasting our resources and hours for one single student. I've warned you before, but I swear you can only learn from getting your end screwed over."
"I think you pronounced 'best' wrong, and you're being too personal, Glynda. You can't judge a book by its cover, no matter how silly it may appear. Besides," he mused, feeling his pumping heart slow down, "this is just starting to become interesting." Very interesting. "Mind accompanying me to the cafeteria for some breakfast? The increased paperwork is starting to become such a bother."
Glynda rolled her eyes. "Subtle."