Author's Notes: Here is the next chapter you are waiting for. I am really happy that I got over 2000 views in a few days. This really motivates me to write more for you guys. Thank you for sticking with me.
Disclaimers: I don't own RWBY or the original story.
Chapter 02: Restart
"Hey Vomit boy, aren't you glad it's not you on that ship."
"Heck yeah! Thank god."
"Everyone comfortable…Good! HERE. WE. GO!"
Ruby flipped to the next chapter…Chapter 2: Back to the Starting Line
"So we are back to our first year in Beacon." Blake remarked with as he bite into her fish filled bowl.
"Time traveling is kinda cliché, don't you're think?" Sun tried to get Blake's attention who was too busy eating.
(Beacon Academy)
Jaune felt… tired… for some reason. He didn't quite remember how he fell or why he was on the ground to begin with but he knew why he was here. He found some empty transcript papers by some fluke and decided to try his luck in one of the most prestigious Hunter Academy on the planet. What could possibly go wrong?
Apparently a lot…
"AH HA! I knew it! I knew Jaune couldn't have gotten into Beacon on his own!" Weiss grabbed onto Jaune's collar and shook him demanding answers, "You're finally exposed! You ruffian!" Even though Jaune physically stronger, he did not fight back rather he let her strangle him. She continuously shook him back and forth but no response.
"W-Weiss! Please… you're hurting him." Pyrrha tried to stop the fight seeing that Jaune was starting to turn blue.
"But don't you get it! It all makes sense! How else could have THIS Jaune gotten into Beacon!?" Once again, the Ice Queen strikes the bull-eye on that topic.
"Weiss. Please let him explain." Weiss stopped for a moment to think. She looked at Jaune, then Pyrrha, then back to Jaune before dropping him.
"Fine, but this better be good!"
(One explanation later)
"…" Pyrrha and Jaune stared at the group after explaining Jaune's false acceptance into Beacon.
"So, you're like Sun." Yang remarked. Even though it wasn't the best summary of Jaune's actions, it wasn't the worst.
He sighed, "Yup, that's pretty much it." Jaune, finally free for the guilt of lying to his friends, now waits for their reactions.
…
…
…
"All those in favor of forgetting-about-Jaune's-fake-transcript-and-be-his-friends-forever-and-ever: Say aye." In one breath, Ruby made a mouthful of a motion and raised her hand up high with a toothy smile. "Aye!"
"If a guy like Jaune can sneak his way into Beacon, without being caught, become a leader, and get a partner like Pyrrha, then his cool in my book." Sun raised his hand, "Aye. Oh! My vote represents all of team SSSN."
"What!? Since when?" Neptune questioned on his leader's response.
"Vomit Boy, since Ruby's ok with you, then Team RWBY on board, right girls!" Yang gave Jaune a thumbs up while eyeing her other teammates.
"Sure."
"Fine…But I'm still not happy with this."
Coco took off her sunglasses to clean them. "Listen rookie, my team and I don't really care if you lied your way into Beacon." She put them back on and smiled, "All that matters is that came clean us. Now you just got to survive another 3 years."
"Really?" Jaune baffled. He didn't believe his friends would just ignore his biggest mistake of his life.
"Dude, it not like you caused the destruction of Vale. You'll be fine if you work hard." Fox made his own comment which finally made Jaune feel much better.
"Thanks everyone. You don't know how much this means." Jaune took one deep breathe to relax, "That sure takes a load off of me."
"Now let's get back to the story." Nora reminded everyone.
Every situated themselves in their spots and Ruby continued reading. Let's just hope there are no more surprises.
Well for starters, he knew absolutely no one here. Everywhere he looked, it was a stranger's face. But more importantly, it was the face of a Hunter of Huntress. Their presence alone was enough to make him look like a sheep in disguise in a wolf's den. He was hoping to blend in well enough and if his acting failed, well he'd be chewed up and offered to the wolf god as a chew toy.
But that was only the first worry. The second thing he realized, he was… well… not lost.
For some bizarre and inconclusive reason, Jaune seemed to know the layout of this academy. He saw the courtyard where the students gather and the main building where all the attendants were gathering. It was odd because… this was apparently his first time visiting such a place. Did he study it beforehand? No… that would be impossible. The only time you would ever see the word 'study' and 'Jaune' in one sentence is 'Jaune does not study'.
"The more I learn about Jaune, the more I see Sun in him." Being a member of team SSSN, Scarlet know many of Sun's personalities and studying isn't one of them.
"Jaune, somehow, knows the layout of Beacon. I hardly find that believable." Weiss was still not a hundred percent sure about Jaune being in Beacon.
"Didn't your mom say something about Jaune's souls?" Velvet turned to Yang asking her, "maybe some of his memories transferred over to the past Jaune."
"How should I know?" Yang did not like talking about her mom a lot to people. Sure, Blake was an exception, but that was because she was too stubborn.
Either way… his head didn't seem to feel right. He wondered if it had to do with the long trip from the city to the school. He did have a case of air sickness after all.
As the blonde knight followed the other students to the courtyard, Jaune thought to take short break for the moment. He needed to gather his thoughts because they were certainly not in the right order.
He shook his head hoping for the strange feeling in his gut to finally end but that only seemed to make things worse. Something was off. He was off. This whole school, the whole setting felt… off. He couldn't put his finger on it but it was certainly there. Like a terrible itch you just can't reach.
"Oh I know that feeling," Nora pulled Ren into a hug, who effortless kept his tea in his cup without spilling, "I had to ask Ren to help me find my weird itches. Turns out giving me coffee doesn't that to me."
"One time, Nora took one slip, ONE slip, of coffee and she couldn't sleep for 3 days straight zero signs of sleep deprivation." Ren told the real reason why Nora is never allow coffee.
But his irritation soon stopped when an explosion caught his ear making him turn to the source of the noise. Apparently something or someone exploded in the middle of the courtyard entrance creating a small crater the size of a Grimm.
"Oh no. Not this." Weiss facepalmed herself not wanting to look at this scene.
"Uh, not my best moments either." Ruby wasn't happy about this particular scene either.
Following the explosion was a barrage of irritating remarks which came from the silver haired girl. Weiss Schnee, if memory serves. Wait… how did he know that? Had he seen her somewhere before? No that can't be it. Jaune would've remembered seeing a lady that gorgeous but it seems like only her name rang a bell.
"Well, well, well," Yang elbowed Jaune on his side, "already set your sight on Ice Queen, Lover Boy?" Jaune just chuckled a little before scratching the back of his head.
Weiss watched how Yang teased the knight and ignored it, like always.
From what he could get from the one-sided conversation it seems like the girl in red messed up some kind of formula and caused the explosion earning Weiss's irritation. Jaune opted to interrupt but someone else beat her to it. A Faunus…
"A faunus?" Coco got confused. Blake's eyes widen as she stopped eating. She was completely caught off guard by this chapter.
Wait… how did he know that? How in the world did he know that she was a faunus, or better yet… how come he knows her name too? Blake… Blake Belladonna. Again… he was certain that he never heard that name yet it rings familiar to his head. Everything that was happening was giving him a major headache. It almost made him want to rip his head off or at the very least his hair.
"JAUNE ARC!" Blake swiftly grabbed Jaune by the neck and strangled him more furiously than Weiss. "I'M GOING TO RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!"
"Blake, you're a faunus?" Velvet called out to Blake. She stopped for a moment turning away from Jaune, who turned blue, again. All the times she hid her heritage, wasted. "I am so HAPPY!" Blake was caught off guard by the statement making her drop Jaune saving once again. "I'm not the only faunus of group anymore!"
"I had my suspicions." Coco added, "I mean, that bow is so last year."
"We already knew." Scarlet noted while Sage nodded.
"Scarlet! Sage! How do you know!?" Sun shouted.
"Neptune told us." Scarlet pointed Neptune who was tip toeing away even though there was nowhere to run.
"You told them!"
"I couldn't leave my bros out. You know how I am."
"I told you not to!"
"Sun! YOU told your team!" Blake's anger redirected itself to the monkey faunus.
"I only told Neptune. I swear!" He held his hand in defense.
"You still told him!"
"It just slipped. I'm sorry!"
"Well, this is what I think about your apology." She held her hand as if she was holding an empty plate. Immediately, the plate of ice cream appeared.
*SPLAT*
Everyone cringed from the sight. Sun's face found itself covered by the ice-cream. The plate slowly slid off of face revealing the banana stuck in his mouth making a smile while the other banana was on his forehead making a as unibrow. The rest of his face had dripping vanilla ice-cream.
"You, ok buddy" Neptune approached his leader
"Just…get back to the story."
About a minute later, the trio crowd disburses leaving the red riding hood alone down on the floor that seemed like a puppy that just got abandoned by its owner. Riding on something more than his instinct, Jaune approached and offered his hand.
"Hey… I'm Jaune."
Shyly the girl accepted and returned the gesture. "Ruby…" She said with a cute smile before letting out a sneeze, recalling his face. "Are you the guy who threw up on the ship?"
"Most likely…" He replied showing his smile in return. "Come on. The auditorium is this way…"
"Wow, Yang. You were right about Jaune being the 'Lady Killer'." Coco commented.
"I know, right? It's so cute." Yang smiled. Ruby and Jaune blushed again from Yang's dumb jokes.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Jaune's mom always told him. 'Strangers were simply friends he hadn't met' and this situation seems to prove her theory. Meeting a stranger for the first time and getting to know that person led to a rather comfortable conversation. By the time, Ruby got to following him, they became fast friends, or at least friends they were happy to be with. Though the boy would've preferred to have a better nickname other than Vomit Boy on first encounter but then again… he did make quite the first impression on board the shuttle coming here.
"Yeah, his 'impression' ended up on my boots." Yang raised her eyebrow at Jaune, making nervously laugh.
"Thanks for helping me up back there." The red riding hood smiled showing a gesture of her appreciation in the only way she knew how.
"Don't mention it." Jaune shrugged it off as he seemingly followed the road that he was already familiar with. "We might be working together soon so we may as well be friends. And seeing as how you made your first impression I think you could use one. Must be pretty tough coming to a new school alone."
"I still haven't forgive you for ditching me!" Ruby wanted to tell her sister that for a long time.
"I was just trying to get you meet new people, not their weapons."
"I wasn't alone." Ruby replied recalling how she was literally ditched by her sister who went on with her group. "My sister abandoned me out in the wild while she went out to hang with her 'friends'. Pft… some family she turned out to be."
"Well, I guess it's not all bad." Jaune chuckled. "It got us to meet so I'd call it a win-win."
"That's a pretty small thing to call a silver-lining."
"I agree with Jaune and his way of finding the good in everything." Pyrrha happily stated. It was so obvious.
Silver lining. Somehow that phrase got Jaune to thinking. Perhaps he really was an optimist, looking only at the positive things that made his life move forward. Even in the darkest times, he had the ability to see even the tiniest glint of light in this dark world. Would he call that a gift or perhaps the ability of a hopeless romantic?
"Well I like to look at the positive things in life." The boy boasted. "It gives you confidence not only to yourself but to those around you. Like my mom always said: Having a positive outlook in life will inspire everyone."
"Did she really say that?"
"Well… it sounds like something she would say." He defended.
"Dude, you sound like a momma's boy." Sun added, making a few people chuckle. Jaune just smiled and scratched the back of his head.
"Hey, I love my mom." Jaune didn't really care if other made fun of his family, because his parents never let people get to them. So, he follows their examples.
A short silence came between them before Ruby thought of presenting her weapon. "So… I have this." She easily unleashes her Crescent Rose, demonstrating its size and strength with relative ease. In another time, such a weapon would've surprised Jaune but to his amazement, he simply stood there gawking, almost expectantly.
"Oh cool. A scythe?"
"It's also a customizable high impact sniper rifle." Jaune simply raised a brow to that sentence. "It's also a gun. So what do you got?"
"Is your sister always some kind of weapon nerd?" Coco whispered to Yang.
"Yeah, but it's funny when she get so caught up in explaining every little detail about a single weapon."
Almost shyly to do so, Jaune revealed his weapon which just so happens to make out his appearance of false knight in shining armor. "Oh uh… I guess I got this sword and… this shield too." He then went through the arduous length of explaining the dumb functions of his armaments which retracted the shield to a scabbard. Though it was convenient to have such a function he had to admit that his great-great granddad had some rethinking if he wanted to fight enemies with such an outdated weapon.
"Nonsense! A weapon can never be outdated, even if it is a really…really… really old weapon." At first Ruby was ready to defend the weapon, but lost track at the end.
"At least you tried." Jaune appreciated the gesture.
But Ruby didn't seem to mind. She always welcomed new weapons into her fold and even more so with this. Even if it was the classic you had to admire its craftsmanship. Perhaps it wasn't so bad to be ditched by her family.
But just as Ruby got to admire the boy's coat of arms, her eyes suddenly darted to his chest plate which stuck an out of place piece of cloth. "Hey Jaune… you got something sticking out of your armor."
The boy reached out and raised his eyes to the piece of torn cloth. It was a red piece, that didn't seem to match his outfit one bit. "Huh? What… is this?"
"Check it out, that portal thingy sent that piece of cloth to Jaune too." Everyone could see it, but Nora just wanted to say something.
"Isn't it yours?"
"Red's not really my color." Was it some kind of prank that he was being played on? He couldn't really tell. Feeling the cloth, Jaune noted something solid was hidden inside. Like someone kept it to be a pouch of some sort. As he unfolded the thing he discovered a small vial inside. "What the…?"
It was a bottle or a small vial of sort that was meant to keep dust. It was about half the size of his palm with the shape that would've rivaled that of a wine bottle. But what was more particular was the dust inside the thing.
"That's just dust vial. Nothing special." Weiss stated.
"But Yang's mom gave it to Jaune, so it must be important." Ren was right on one thing, that dust vial is important.
Jaune and Ruby were familiar with the concept of dust. Even as kids they've seen them used by everyday use from lighting fuel for lanterns or creating fire on kitchen stoves. Heck, it was so widely used that even warriors of great caliber use them but only sparingly seeing as how expensive they were in these times. Even the well-funded Hunters commonly have to buy them from shops to replenish their own supplies.
Normally, dust of these kinds would come in all colors of the rainbow… but the one in Jaune's hand however, was pure black, incoherent to the darkest fur of a Grimm. Never had any of them seen such an ill colored manner of that substance.
"Black dust?" Weiss is a dust specialist, but she has never seen or heard of Black dust before. In fact, none was ever discovered. Blake and Sage had the same idea but remained quiet.
"Ohh~ black dust sounds fun! Maybe it bad guy dust, or maybe dust that you have to eat to use." We all know who comes up with these ridiculous ideas.
"Is that… dust?" Ruby hesitantly moved back not wanting to repeat the same mistake of exploding herself a second time. "Please don't bring it anywhere near me."
"Ah… it's probably just one of my sisters messing with me." Jaune deduced knowing well how prankful his siblings could be. After all, whoever heard of dark dust? But before the boy could analyze it further, the sound of the school bell ringing in the distance caught their attention. "Oh no! That's the bell! We gotta move!"
"Even with Jaune's predetermined knowledge, he still can't keep up with schedule." Weiss noted which some people laughing.
(Auditorium)
Ruby had never seen a place packed full of Hunters before, much less full of Hunter Trainees. Everywhere she turned she saw another warrior-to-be holding another awesome looking weapon. And the moment she caught her sister calling out she said her goodbyes and parted ways with Jaune barely giving him a moment's notice.
But Jaune was too busy to notice. His attention was more focused on that vial that he had on hand. A part of him wanted to say that this was nothing more but a trick, a prank set up by his sister to let his curiosity come over him which would prompt him to open the vial causing a huge embarrassing situation. It had to be... it must be... but… it wasn't.
No… his sisters wouldn't stoop so low. They might be a pain at times but they'd never do something so outrageous. Still… what was this strange feeling in his heart? Why did he clutch onto this little thing like it meant the world to him? Why is it that he can't remember?
"Hey, Pyrrha said you have what…seven sisters? What is that like?" Yang interrupted the reading to ask Jaune.
"Yeah, I heard that too. Are they hot?" Neptune came up to and grabbed both shoulders, "don't lie to me man."
"Um…uh….I," Jaune eye became shifty unable to find the words.
"Come on leave the kid alone," Before Jaune could say anything, Sage pulled Neptune back to his seat.
"Let's just say it's a challenge every day. That's all I'm going to say."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
If there were any kids running around the auditorium this time of night, they might declare this to be the largest pajama party, ever. Even Jaune would agree that this place reminded him much of his childhood. But of course back then, the girls wouldn't be pitched near them. Still… it was refreshing to have some semblance of the good old days.
Jaune had to remind himself to send a thank you letter back to his mom for packing his favorite blue cotton PJ. Sure it was a bit childish but the fluffy soft fabric made it worth the embarrassment. And to top it all off, the school even gave out some free refreshments to ensure all students were kept hydrated. It seemed like a good thing until Jaune had a little too much of it and his bladder began to react to that intake.
"Oh my god!" Sun started laughing at Jaune's attire, "Seriously, a onesie with rabbit slippers! Dude that's so lame." However, one particular faunus was somewhat happy about the slippers. She thought they were very cute.
"Don't you have boxers or something?" Coco got curious.
"That pajamas was a gift from my sisters before I left for Beacon." Jaune replied. "Come on, guys."
"Phew… a little too close for comfort there." The boy said to no one in particular when he exited the boy's restroom which again, he easily found for some reason. "Who knew that drinking six cartons of milk can actually be bad for your stomach? Bwah!" He stopped almost mid-sentence when he felt an impact coming from the front. He must've slammed onto someone, hard and he couldn't help it if the lightings in this area were bad.
"Ow! Watch it you!" A familiar voice whipped at him. Once Jaune had the lights up he recalled the silver haired girl who was chastising Ruby earlier today. That expensive looking outfit and hair color wasn't exactly common around here. "What is it with people slamming onto me? Can't you watch where you're going!?"
"Here comes the hate train! Weiss is going to lay it down hard on Jaune." Everyone knew what was going to happen next, Yang just said what everyone was thinking.
"S… sorry about that." The blonde knight to be apologized as he extended his hand to help the girl back up. "It's a bit dark out here so… and…"
"I'm not interested in your excuses." Weiss retorted swatting his hand away. "Just make sure that it doesn't happen again. I've already had one bad falling experience and an explosion to boot so I don't need another one happening."
"I hope so too." Weiss glared at Ruby who nervously smiled.
"Hey, I said I was sorry. It's not like I intentionally run into you." Though Jaune was perhaps thinking about it right now.
"Then prevent it from happening in the first place. Seriously, you people need to pay more attention to your surroundings." She trailed off her words quickly, brushing pass the boy with an irritated grunt. It was almost as if she was annoyed just by breathing the same air as he was.
"Ouch…harsh much?" Yang cringed a bit fully aware of how bad Weiss used during their first meeting.
Once she was out of earshot, Jaune couldn't help but groan silently to himself. "Sheesh… talk about waking up on the wrong side of the bed." But he stopped when he noted something glittering on the floor. A small silver pendent barely the size of his thumb. It was definitely not something he would wear but it looked just expensive enough to belong to a certain girl that just passed by. "H… hey you dropped something!" But Weiss was already long gone by the time he shouted.
"That's MY pendant!" Weiss shot daggers at Jaune, "You better not be thinking of selling it for lien."
"I would never do that, honesty!" Jaune tried, "I swear, on my name, that I would never take advantage of you or your money."
Weiss turned away and huffed as she was not convinced…yet.
The boy let out a sigh, thinking that it would be best to just go back to his sleeping bag and return it the next morning. Hopefully by then that girl would be in a better mood.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The next morning came fast if one would believe it. Ruby felt like it was the dawn of a new day, well at least for her as today was the day of their initiations. The time when words no longer meant anything. Where socialization and people skills are muted and the only ones allowed to speak are the weapons these Hunters and Huntresses hold in their hands. It was a fine change of pace because she knew that her Crescent Rose would never fail her in her time of need. It was the weapon she cherished and the weapon she would only use against her enemies.
"Relying too much on your weapon does not make you a very effective fighter." Ren made that wise statement.
"Well, I can't help being the smallest and youngest and cutest of the group." Ruby covered her mouth realizing too late what she just said. The faced away from the group who tried to hold it in.
"Well, you are cute." Jaune agreed with her making her blush again.
"Well looks like someone got up right this morning." Yang noted her sister's cheery and upbeat behavior with a smile.
"Absolutely. No more small talk or awkward situations. Today I'm going to let my sweetheart do the talking." She caressed her Crescent Rose making sure all the bolts and gears were in their place. If she had a choice she'd probably take it to bed with her.
"See, I told you." Yang said to Coco.
"Ok, I believe you."
"So have you decided who you're going to team up?"
"Well duh. With you of course." The red riding hood answered only to notice her sister muttering something about meeting other people. "My dearest sister. Are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?"
"What? No of course not. I just thought that it was time for you to break out of your shell and you know… meet other people."
"Ugh… you sound just like dad." Ruby groaned. "Well unlike you, I didn't get to bring any of my friends from home. I can't help it if I don't know anyone here."
"Wait, did I say that?" Ruby got confused. She remember saying something different to Yang, but she could put her finger in it.
"Obviously, there will be many differences in your lives since Vomit boy is on the only thing that changed."
"Well why don't you try partnering with Blake or… that guy you met yesterday? What was his name again?"
"You mean Jaune." Ruby recalled but hung her head down a bit. "I… guess he's nice enough to hang out with… but I seriously doubt he's any good in a fight."
"What makes you say that?"
"It's a hunch." She answered. "You know, like how you judge people's strength just by looking at them? He… didn't exactly give me that cool Hunter feeling. You know?"
"You really think that lowly of me, Ruby?"
"What! No, no…I… What I should be saying is…um…"
"I'm kidding." He giggle for moment making Ruby puffed her cheeks in annoyance.
"You're mean!"
"Oh come on now. It can't be that bad." Yang poked her sister's nose thinking that she might be exaggerating. "I mean… if he wasn't able to defend himself, do you think he would be accepted into one of the most prestigious school in Vale? It is a school of Hunters after all."
"Unless, he had a fake transcript…" Weiss does seem to want to let go of the whole fake transcript when it was already solved.
"Yeah… but I don't know. He just didn't have that hoo haa vibe." Ruby did a few karate chops proving her point.
"Why don't you give the guy a chance? How bad can he be?" Her answer came in the form of that same boy yelping out in the distance. Apparently he entered the wrong combination for his rocket locker and with a simple press of a button, the container boosted away with his entire luggage with it.
"No wait! Come back!" He pleaded. "My pajamas are still in there!"
Most of the group started laughing on how Jaune just lost his stuff. Jaune just slumped on his seat hoping the scene would blow over soon.
Ruby could only raise a brow to her sister who seemed to understand what she was going for. The guy hardly looked like the well trained fighter and his demeanor made him look like a lost sheep who seemingly wandered in a den of starving wolves.
"Ok I think I know where you're getting at." The blonde bruiser stated. "But come on. You can't judge people by their appearance alone. Give the guy a chance. Who knows? Maybe he might be a fierce warrior deep down."
"Thanks Yang. That really means a lot to me." Jaune smiled at Yang who did the same.
"That's sweet of you to say," Her eyes slowly wandered elsewhere, "but… you can also thank me with a kiss." Suddenly, Jaune couldn't even look at Yang or stop himself from turning red. Outside everyone vision, Pyrrha frowned slightly.
"Hahahaha, relax Jaune."
He just sigh again. After it was his fault for falling into that trap.
"Somehow… I doubt that." Ruby returned but felt some form of pity in watching the poor boy see his luggage off. "But… I guess it can't hurt to try."
"There's the spirit." Yang playfully nudged her sister's arm forcing her towards the boy. "Go get'em tiger."
"I hate it when you're so pushy on things!" Yang innocently whistled like nothing was happened.
"Bwah!" Ruby barely got a chance to protest when she found herself smacking onto Jaune's chest plate. She darted evilly to her sister who simply whistled innocently. "Ah… hey there… Jaune."
"Oh hey Ruby." The boy replied heaving his attention away from the missing rocket locker. "You having a better day that I am?"
"Staring into sky isn't going to bring your rocket back." Fox deadpanned stated.
"Don't worry Jaune." The girl cheered. "I'm sure someone will return your locker… when they find it… eventually. At least you still got your gear." She gestured to his sword and shield which were probably the only thing he had left other than the clothes on his back. It was a silver lining if he ever saw one. "Besides… you won't need them to fight off monsters. All you need is your trusty weapon and your mad skills."
Heh… skills. Like he had any.
"But you've gotten so much better," Pyrrha rekindled on the events of yesterday's fights, "Remember what happen at the Colosseum, you're skills have improved greatly."
"Weiss even noticed your improvements." Blake promptly added causing Weiss freak out, but it was too late.
"Weiss, you noticed me?" Jaune was taken aback. Who wouldn't be? For the first time in his life, his old crush actually noticed him.
"I-I just said that you've improved. Don't take it out of context." Jaune nodded. He was really glad to have taken those extra training with Pyrrha.
"Easy for you to say. Now the only thing I have left is… this." He took out the black dust vial which was still left unopened from yesterday.
"Is that the dust vial from yesterday?" Ruby shot a curios look at the object. "Odd… I've never seen black dust before."
"Me neither."
"You… still think it's a prank from your sisters?"
"Does your sister actually prank you?" Pyrrha asked.
"Sometimes… One time, they secretly snuck into my room while I was sleeping and put make-up and a dress on me."
"That must've been crazy, huh?" Sage added.
"You have no idea."
"Maybe. But I'm probably just overshooting it. I'm not exactly an expert on dust."
"Hmm… oh!" Ruby's eyes widened when she recalled a small pamphlet she received from a certain heiress the other day. "Here. Maybe this can help."
Dust for dummies and other inadequate individuals.
"Who reads pamphlets these days?" Nora palmed her fist, "Dust is all about explosion and stuff. You have to experience it to know it." Nora proactive nature knows no bond.
It was probably a self-explanatory title that was meant to belittle those who read it. Jaune already felt like the person on the front cover and unconsciously accepted it. "Huh… that's convenient."
"If you're still having troubles, maybe you can ask one of the teachers for help… or her." Ruby reluctantly gestured to the silver haired individual in the distance who seemed to be having a pleasant conversation with a lady of her own age wearing an ornate Greek armor set. "She seems to be some big shot in some rich family who makes this stuff. You might get more out of her."
"Wow… well… thanks."
"Well at least this Jaune has more brain than ours." Jaune couldn't really tell whether that was an insult or a compliment as Weiss was talking about him, but not the same 'him'.
"Uh~ thanks Weiss, I guess."
"Great. I'll see you later then—ahh!" She choked on her words when Yang yanked the cover of her hoodie.
"Oh not so fast, little sister." The blonde buster called out, bringing the girl back. She then turned her attention to the boy in question. "Hey there. Sorry but my sister isn't exactly good with people. The name's Yang. How do you do?"
"Ah… Jaune… Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you too." Jaune reluctantly accepted the handshake and immediately regretted it as he keened on the extremely tight grip Yang pulled out. The girl was strong, almost unnaturally so. If she was part of some heavyweight championship, she'd take the belt hands down. Heck, he'd even watch it if there was mud splashed around. Unlike his sister, Yang was a more upbeat and perky. She was a big ball of sun and he wasn't just talking about her color scheme or… other things. You can practically tell that she was an outgoing gal with more than enough experience in her fingers alone.
"Wow… look you Jaune. You can tell a lot about me from a simple handshake. That's pretty rad." Jaune smiled and just kept quiet knowing Yang would make sillier, yet lame jokes about him.
Yang, however, was happy that Jaune was not focusing on her body than most boys. It made her rethink her impression of Jaune.
"So Jaune." Yang continued, pulling Ruby into a headlock position knowing well that she would try to escape. "You interested in being my sister's teammate?"
"Yang!"
"Huh? Uh… well that seems nice." The boy answered unconsciously. "It would be nice to have someone as competent as her around. Plus she's… pretty much the only friend I have since I got here."
"Thanks Jaune!" Jaune smiled and was glad to be Ruby's first friend.
"Great! See? You two have so much in common." Yang retorted to her sister who seemed to be trying to gnaw her way out of her gauntlets. "He's a long in a big school just like you. You two can get along great." Ruby could only bark back in reply. "So what school did you graduate from? My sister and I got out training from Signal but my little girl here got out two years early and I couldn't be prouder. An't that right Ruby?"
"Ugh… need… air… can't… breathe…"
"Yang, are you trying to kill me!?"
"Nope~" She emphasized on the 'p'.
Jaune was certain that Ruby's face was turning blue at this point but at the moment his mind was a little tattered. He gathered up his thoughts and tried to remember what was on the transcript. Even if it was a fake, there was no point handing it over if you don't remember all the contents written on it. He had to ensure that his background story fits his credibility otherwise his stay here was definitely going to be a very short one.
"More fake info, I presume?" Weiss asked, receiving only a nod.
"Oh me? Well… Mantle Huntsman Academy." The boy held his words up not stuttering like before.
The name was familiar. Though not exactly the most prominent school around the four kingdoms, it still produced some of the most skilled Hunters up to date. "Mantle? Oh so you must be from Atlas. I guess that must mean you have some mad skills behind that sword of yours. Mind showing us a few tricks on…"
But much to Jaune's relief, a familiar voice on the intercom interrupted them. "Will all first year students, please report to Beacon Cliff for the initiation. I repeat: All first year students please report to Beacon Cliff immediately."
"Guess she means us." Yang muttered disappointingly. "Oh well. Maybe during the initiation. Come on sis. We don't want to be late."
"Ugh… sweet air…" Ruby sighed delightfully as she was finally released from her choke hold. "Who loves you? I do…"
"Phew. I didn't die that's good."
"Yang, I swear, you seem like you were about to tear Jaune apart." Blake commented aware of Yang's perky attitude.
"What can I say? I like a good challenge."
"Oh! What if Jaune was already actually good at fighting in this story!? Maybe he can even take down a bunch of Beowolves on his own at the initiation!? Or maybe he can beat Cardin this time?"
"That would be an interesting change in Jaune's character. I might even give him a shot at sparring with me." Fox stated.
"Me!? Fighting YOU!?" Jaune knew his limits and Fox is definitely someone way above him limits. He seen Fox in action during the breach. "I don't really think my other self could pull that off."
"Well, we'll never know unless we keep reading." Ruby cheered, "Who's next!?"
"My turn~!" Yang raised her hand first, actually it was the only hand up seeing as everyone is still enjoying their free summoning refreshments.
Yatsu and Ren asked for more tea together. Apparently, they share the same taste in tea flavor.
Neptune got a medium grill T-bone steak.
Nora was chowing down on endless plates of pancakes.
Coco is enjoying a tall frappuccino vanilla latte with whip cream.
Sage has his warm bowl of soup and bread.
Scarlet is actually holding a mirror checking his hair and face.
Velvet had a red velvet cake.
Fox had been wanting to try these spicy buffalo wings for awhile.
Weiss got a fruit salad.
Ruby and Yang got more of their mom's cookies.
"Alright! Here we go~!" Yang started flipping to the next chapter.
To be continue...
Author's Notes: I bet you guys are wondering if I was bashing on Sun in the beginning. No. That is what I believe to be the appropriate reaction to Blake discovering Sun has told Neptune about her. And based on the Neptune's character, he is most likely to have told Scarlet and Sage regardless of Sun's request. Does this mean there will be no BlakexSun? I don't know. And frankly, I don't plan on doing THAT pairing. Is there pairings in this reading story? Maybe, I'm still not sure about it.
If you have any other questions, please write review or PM me.
Questions and Answers: (Well, it isn't ten, but is something and that awesome in my book)
kideaxl: I'm glad that I haven't disappointed you.
FleeingReality: Thank you. I too love reading stories.
duskrider: Much appreciated.
New Universe Returns: You know! ;)
Lyricoe: Well, maybe there will be some romance. I certainly have considered it.
Cerberus13: They will see some differences, but overall Jaune is still Jaune.
kirito emiya: Me too! :)
