For those who didn't realize it, Jaune dreamed of Ruby's fight against Torchwick, back in episode 1.

Review Answers:

Scotius - Actually, Ruby's grown a bit. She's almost a young adult, though she's still fairly childish. It's part of her character.

Overreader99 - I don't think Jaune or Ruby want me to say anything about how they deal with that. It will be answered eventually. :)

I write my answers to reviews up here since I saw other writers do it, but recently I discovered the "respond to review" button. Anyone know why other writers write review answers up here? I might start responding to reviews with the button instead.

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY. If I did, this would be canon. Consider that, then come back after life makes sense again.

"regular speech"

'mental speech/thinking to oneself'

Days later

Jaune Arc woke up bright and early for Signal. He was extremely happy. It was a dream come true, and nothing could dampen his spirit.

Not even future-Ruby.

'Jaaaauuuune...'

'What?'

'It's too early...'

'It's 8:10 already! Signal starts at 8:20, and Yang's waiting!' He grabbed his toast from the toaster, before snagging his bag and running out the door. He didn't need to climb any stairs, as his apartment was on the first floor. Yang stood right outside, her bag slung over her shoulder, wearing the brown blazer and skirt that belonged to the Signal Academy female's uniform, of which Jaune wore the male counterpart of. She and Jaune had met several times over the past few days, before exchanging scroll numbers. Yang learned that Jaune's apartment was on the way from her house and Signal, and soon, they had also exchanged promises to walk to school together.

"You ready?"

"Ready," Jaune replied.

"Good. Let's get going."

They walked for a while before Yang spoke up. "Hey, seen the news lately?"

Jaune shook his head. "Nope. Too busy settling in. What's up?"

"White Fang again. There was some big fight in Vale yesterday."

'Good thing we weren't there.'

"That's not good. What if they start a riot here?"

"Relax. Patch is relatively racist-free. No way they're going to come here." Yang casually dismissed his concerns. Jaune felt sadness coming from Ruby.

'What's wrong?'

'The White Fang did come here in the future. Years in the future.' Jaune tried to send soothing emotions to Ruby. He wasn't sure if it worked, but the sadness abated.

'Thanks.' Jaune made a mental note to ask more about the future.

"Something up?" Yang had noticed his's silence. She had turned her head to look at him, an eyebrow raised in question.

"N-nothing. So, what type of weapon do you plan to make?"

Yang's trademark grin returned, and she spun around, walking backwards to face Jaune. "Gauntlets. Gauntlets all the way. Easy to hide, and I get to punch people in the face. What about you?"

"Mmm. I already have a sword and shield, but I'm hoping to add some things. Maybe a scythe or gun?" Yang's eyes widened, and she laughed.

"Scythe! Man, you have your work cut out for you. Those things are hard to learn to use."

"Speaking from experience?"

"Yup. Ruby's trying to learn how to use a scythe. I decided to be the good big sister, ya know, learn alongside her. It sucked."

"Really?"

"Couldn't even slice the dummy."

Jaune frowned. "Can't be that bad."

"It was that bad. I kept either missing the target or smacking the target with the stick." Yang's grin grew a bit. "Punching, on the other hand, comes naturally." Jaune groaned. "Eh?"

For once, Jaune and Ruby spoke together. "Don't."

First class was Dust Usage with Taiyang, according to the class layout sent to his scroll. The siblings' dad wore the same clothes he wore when Jaune had met him while shopping.

The classroom was moderately sized, with seats lined up in neat rows and columns. Taiyang stood at the front by a large whiteboard and desk.

Jaune took a seat in the middle of the classroom, and Yang plopped down to his right. Once the classroom filled up, Taiyang began.

"Hello, everyone! I'm Professor Xiao Long, and I will be teaching World History. If you're not in this class, please leave." The whole class murmured in confusion. Some students, Jaune included, pulled out class schedules, but when a couple stood to leave, Taiyang laughed.

"Settle down, settle down! It was a joke. This class is actually Dust Usage." He was still chuckling when the class finally died down. Yang shot Jaune a grin and slipped him a note saying 'best dad ever.'

'I still remember this from my first year!' Ruby giggled. 'It was hilarious! Even better was when one of the students were actually there for World History! His face was sooo red!' Jaune stifled his own chuckle.

"Right then! Down to business! I think you're all grown up. We won't be doing any 'Who are You' projects to get to know each other." Taiyang leaned forward, both hands on his desk. " You can do that on in combat class, or during lunch. Today, we're jumping straight into class. And since this class is about Dust, who can tell me where Dust comes from?"

No one answered, everyone glancing around and looking at each other. Yang caught Jaune's eye and shrugged. Jaune turned to Ruby.

'Any ideas, Ruby?'

'It's a trick question. The knowledge of where Dust comes from is a secret. To the world, no one knows where Dust comes from. No one even knows what exactly Dust is.'

'So, no answer?'

'No answer.'

Taiyang looked around and smirked. "No answers? Good. That means you haven't been fed lies as to what Dust is. Truth be told, no one knows for sure. Its volatile nature makes it hard to study, and even then, scientists have no clue where to look or how to start."

"Although, we don't understand it, we can still use Dust. 'Dust and Tricks' was on your book list; you should have either checked a copy out of our library, or bought a copy yourselves. If you don't have your copy yet, feel free to move your seats a little and share." Yang and Jaune each pulled out their own copies, but many people in the class weren't as fortunate. The screeching of desks moving filled the air as people found others willing to share. "Let's continue. We're starting with the basics: using Dust attacks. Turn to page ten, then look up. Once everyone has looked up, I'll demonstrate."

Moments later, "Alright. Watch closely." Taiyang took a pebble and a pouch out of his pocket. From within the pouch he pulled out a brown crystal. Holding the crystal tight in his left hand, he tossed the pebble in his right. To the class' (except Jaune) amazement, it floated there, right above his hand. "Cool, eh? With practice, you won't even need to bring rocks with you. You can just do this-" setting the rock on the desk, he waved his hand again. The students watched, captivated (once again, except Jaune) as an arrow made of rock appeared in Taiyang's hand. He set that down as well.

'That's nothing. I could do that too.' Ruby grumbled.

"Now, start reading page ten. I have some rocks and small crystals up here; feel free to try them. And please, don't ignite, toss, pierce, break, or eat the crystals. No need to raise the school's medical bill."

As the class got to work, Jaune quickly skimmed over the first couple pages, finding them boring and filled with obvious safety information. Of course fire dust was dangerous to handle, and why would anyone even try to use earth dust to create stone armor without supervision? That was asking to be suffocated!

'Just cause I'm here to teach you common sense doesn't mean everyone has someone in their head to keep them from doing silly things.' Ruby scolded.

'But what kind of person strikes a piece of earth dust to see if sparks come out?'

'...'

'You did, didn't you.'

'Yang did too!'

There was a loud bang.

Jaune's head whipped to the right. Yang sat there, covered in dirt, tattered remains of a paper on the soiled desk in front of her. She scratched the back of her head nervously and shot her dad a grin.

"Uh, oops?"

The second class was Combat with Professor Branwen. Unlike the last classroom, the Combat classroom was situated like a lecture hall, with the Professor's desk at the front. Behind the desk was an arena, with a large screen above. To the sides of the arena were doors leading to the changing rooms.

Professor Branwen stood from his seat near the desk as students filed in. He was dressed in a grey dress shirt and black pants, a red cape on his back and a flask on his hip. His appearance reminded Jaune of Ruby.

Jaune took a seat near the front, and Yang plopped down next to him. Most of the dirt had come off, but a few clumps stayed in her hair. She had laughed it off, and only gotten a scolding for failing to follow directions.

"Settle in, settle in. Kiddos, welcome to Combat class. I'm Professor Branwen. We ain't gonna sit around behind desks and read little books. In this class, we're gonna have action, so you can learn to fight." He took a swig from his flask.

"Now, I gotta see what you can do. So, we'll be starting some short fights so I can see what you've got." The screen above flickered to life. It displayed little cards, each with a picture and a name. The cards spun around, mixed together, then came out in pairs.

"The screen above's gonna tell you who you're fighting. Don't complain, and don't ask for a change, 'cause the real world isn't going to let you choose your opponent. We have sparring weapons - take your pick." Professor Branwen indicated to the right of his desk, where a few simple weapons lay. On screen, Jaune's card came out next to a brown-haired person he didn't recognize, Bronze. Yang was matched with Star.

"Before we start, does anyone need their Aura unlocked?" A few hands were raised. "Good. Tell your parents or your friends to unlock it for you, 'cause I ain't doing it. That's personal stuff. Today, you sit out. If your aura isn't unlocked by tomorrow, you're fighting anyways. Consider it practice for when you run out of aura." Yang snickered at the horrified faces. "People who get paired with someone without aura will also get to sit out. Jaune, Bronze, you're first."

Jaune and Bronze stood and headed to the changing rooms. Jaune taking a shield and sword, while Bronze snatched a mace. When they came out, Jaune immediately took note of Bronze's attire. Bronze wore (fittingly,) bronze armor over his school uniform. Jaune's had changed into his hoodie and jeans before donning his armor, and held his shield in his left hand and sword in his right.

"You two ready?" At their nods, Professor Branwen continued. "Then we're all just waiting for the screen." It was true. The screen displayed both of their pictures, but the aura gauges were empty. A large loading bar covered part of the pictures.

As the bar loaded, Ruby took the moment to pass Jaune advice. 'Don't get hit by the mace, even with the shield. The power behind the mace will take a lot out of your aura. Focus on dodging, and-'

'Ruby, let me do this myself.'

'But-'

'Please.'

'If you're sure...'

"Go on." Professor Branwen took a long drink from his flask. The screen above finally displayed their auras.

Bronze started by charging, swinging in mace from right to left. Jaune ducked under and returned with a clumsy strike from his sword, which Bronze parried upward with the shaft of his weapon.

As Jaune's sword was knocked upward, Bronze swung his mace in a circular motion, regripped the mace, and repeated the same motion. Only, this time, Jaune was off balance from the parry, and heard Ruby's cry of 'Move!' too late. He received the mace with his face.

The gauge showing Jaune's aura dipped. 88%. He heard gasps from the audience as he spun backward from the hit, barely managing to stay standing. Bronze wasn't finished. The mace reversed direction, striking from left to right. Jaune swung his shield up, but there was a loud crack as the two objects collided, and he stumbled backward.

His aura read 84%.

He attempted to launch an attack of his own, slicing downward with his sword. Only, Bronze swung his mace downward as well, and the two weapons collided, the superior weight of the mace knocking the sword out of Jaune's hand and continuing. Jaune barely rose his shield in time.

79%.

Jaune kept his shield up, ignoring whatever it was Ruby was saying. He edged toward his sword, but Bronze walked over and kicked the sword behind himself, leaving Jaune with no way to attack.

A man in all green, striking a giant snake and causing the head to explode.

He blinked away the brief vision ('Ruby, I don't need help!') and charged at Bronze, hoping to be able to either reach his weapon or enter close quarters, where the mace would be difficult to use. The mace came at him again, and Jaune caught it by handle, pulling back to wrench it from Bronze's grip and his other hand ready to strike-

A fist met Jaune's stomach and he involuntarily let go, hastily retreating as Bronze landed another strike with the mace.

73%.

Jaune took a moment to catch his breath as Bronze stood there, watching, waiting, letting him stand.

Jaune charged once again. His opponent's weapon came at him again, and Jaune caught the handle - the scene from before repeating itself.

Except, this time, when Jaune pulled back at the weapon and Bronze moved to punch him again, the fist collided with the metal of the shield. The impact and pain caused Bronze to stumble back, retreating for the first time in the fight. Jaune savored the victory and looked to the overhead board.

Jaune - 73%.

Bronze - 97%

'Three percent is better than nothing.' He thought to himself.

'Don't take your eyes off-'

Bronze's fist met Jaune's, interrupting Ruby. Jaune fell back, and Bronze jumped on him, pinning the shield and mace down and raining hits on Jaune.

"Stop." Professor Branwen looked down at the two of them as they stood. 54% to 96%. "Bronze, you better use that head of yours. Muscles aren't going to get you everywhere. I don't suppose you've ever heard of a feint? Stop being so straightforward. Or if you are, be faster at it. And in a real battle, don't just stand and let your enemy stand." The professor's eyes turned to Jaune. "And you. Mostly same problems. Use your head. Also, pick a weapon you can actually use. Your sword form is an eyesore. Your shield wasn't much better, and your aura isn't going to protect you forever. Next up, Yang and Star." He took another gulp from his flask as Jaune and Bronze left the arena.

As Jaune emerged from the changing room, Yang stood outside, waiting and frowning. She put a hand on his shoulder and leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"I know you can do better."

She stepped past him into the changing room, locking it behind her. Jaune returned to his seat, simmering with anger at himself. For being a failure again.

'Jaune. We have to talk.'

He tensed. 'Later.'

Jaune sat in the Combat classroom, alone, his bag hanging off the back of his seat. Everyone left - even the Professor, who had told the class "If you need me, see Mr. Xiao Long."

He slumped in the seat, arms dangling behind him.

'Jaune, I can help.'

'I don't need help.'

'Everyone needs help every now and then. I can teach you. A couple of my friends used swords.'

Jaune gritted his teeth. 'You've been saying that for the past ten minutes. I thought you of all people would understand.'

A pause. 'Understand what?'

'What it's like to want to be a hero.'

Another pause. 'I don't understand.'

'I'm tired of being weak. Of needing others. I thought, maybe I had a chance when I beat Zwart. That I was getting better. Then I find that you were helping me. That in the end, I'm still the one who needs help.' He sat up and put his face in his hands. 'I need to do this. To prove to myself that I'm not here by luck. That I belong.'

'Of course you belong! You made into Beacon in the future! How could Signal not accept you?!'

Jaune scoffed. 'Probably dumb luck that I got into Beacon. I didn't even take down 10% of that guy's aura.'

'Don't say that! Everyone starts off bad at first.'

'Bit rich, coming from a child prodigy.' He retorted cynically. 'And if everyone starts bad, then I should have been even with that guy. He creamed me.'

'Then train! Become better! Let me help!'

"I DON'T NEED HELP!" He yelled out loud. He pulled at his hair out of stress, which he noted had gained a slight reddish tinge. He didn't care.

"I NEED TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS MYSELF, AND YOU'RE NOT HELPING! ALWAYS SAYING YOU CAN HELP!"

'But I can! I survived a war. I know how to fight. And I can teach you how to fight.'

"Some war." He grumbled. "You say it's serious, that I have to do something, but you don't tell me what happened or who the enemy was. I only know that there was a person called Salem. Maybe the war was never that bad. You certainly act cheerful despite the 'horrors' you witnessed." It felt very good say that out loud. To let out his anger. His frustrations that he'd bottled for years. "Maybe you and your friends were just kids who bit off more than they could chew-"

'SHUT UP!'

Jaune shut his mouth immediately.

'You don't know anything! Stop talking like that!'

Jaune sat in silence. Muffled sobs reached his ears. Too far. He had gone too far. He hadn't meant to hurt Ruby like that, or to point fingers like that. He could see Ruby's face. Her crying, her tears, everything.

After a while, Ruby calmed, but sniffles and hiccups could still be heard. 'You want to know why I don't say anything about the future? Why I always insist on helping you? It's because I care about you too! I don't want you to see any of the things I saw! I just...

I want you to be happy. You were my best friend, the first I ever made at Beacon. The one who picked me up when I was down, both literally and figuratively. The one who was always there. At one point, even my team left me, but you stayed.'

Jaune stayed quiet, listening to Ruby's soft voice.

'Even though you're a different Jaune, one that I never met, I still care about you. I want to see you laugh, smile, and be with friends, without worrying about the next meal or the next battle. Someday, you'll have to fight, and then nothing will be the same. But until then, I want you, and everyone else, to be normal.'

Jaune spoke up. 'I don't want to be normal. I want to be exceptional. To be a hero.'

'And I'm willing to help you become better! When war comes, I want you to be ready, unlike me and my friends. We weren't ready.'

'A hero needs to be able to do things themselves. I have to become stronger on my own.'

'NO YOU DON'T!' Jaune flinched at Ruby's exclamation. 'You don't have to prove yourself or anything by doing this alone! Jaune,' Her tone changed. 'I was practically raised on stories. They were the reason I wanted to be a hero.'

Jaune, though surprised by the topic change, nodded to himself. 'Me too.'

'Do you know what my favorite stories were?' At Jaune's "no," she continued. 'They were the ones where the hero started small. The ones where they climbed their way up. And in every one of those stories, the hero had a mentor or a partner.

Sometimes, the partner was the former damsel in distress, who picked up the fight when the hero couldn't. Sometimes, the mentor was an equal to the hero, and they trained together, so they were both partner and mentor, and ended up a friend.

Let me be that for you. You can play the hero, and I'll be your partner, mentor, and friend. As a partner, I will always be there for you. As a mentor, I can teach you. And most importantly, as friends, we can trust each other. Please?'

Jaune stood and headed out to lunch. 'I'll think about it.' As Ruby receded, he murmured quietly to himself. "Thank you, Ruby..."

Jaune has an enormous aura. It's due to the combination of his naturally large aura and the aura of a skilled Huntress.

Dunno if Jaune was being too harsh for his character. He did rant in front of Pyrrha in canon, but that wasn't as bad as it was here.