Hello! I'm back with a new chapter. But first, an explanation regarding the whole Jaune/Jeanne name changes.
I did try to be subtle explaining them, but I seem to have messed up the whole subtlety, so I will attempt to explain as bluntly as I can the reasons behind it.
Jaune and Jeanne are two different people. Because Jaune needed to retain the memories of future events, Jaune has caused their brain to be forced to simultaneously be two people, which it can't handle. So their brain has… suppressed Jeanne's personality and memories so that Jaune's can exist. This doesn't mean Jeanne is completely gone, and Jaune is still influenced by her, but at the moment, Jaune's personality is in control.
However, as Jaune has needed Jeanne's memories, Jaune is also influenced by her personality, meaning their brain needs to work even harder to supress Jeanne. But when Jaune is under extreme stress or unconscious, the brain's default form to take is Jeanne's personality, as it is the original personality, which supresses Jaune instead, until he forces his personality back through.
Summed up with a metaphor for those who don't understand:
Jaune's subconscious is border patrol, trying to keep immigrants (Jeanne) out of the country. However, when border patrol falls asleep on duty or tunnel visions, immigrants are going to get through, leaving Jaune (police) to try and catch the immigrants to send them back.
An example of the differences: Jeanne thinks logically instead of using emotions, studies everything carefully, and is a Huntress out of selfish desire to be stronger. Jaune on the other hand is mostly oblivious to her surroundings, and is a Huntress to protect those she cares about.
The scene below is from Jeanne's perspective rather than Jaune's, so that should provide an example of just how different the two are. I hope this explains it, despite how confusing it may be, as I really can't think of any other way to describe it.
|(/\)|
Jeanne sighed mentally, trying to sit up, but feeling a sharp pain in her chest. The ground was hard, made of some kind of stone. She cracked her eyes open. Above her and slightly to her left was a cliff face. Falling down said cliff face was a Giant Nevermore, which was nearly cut in half down the centre. Clearly her Semblance, she thought, confused. She didn't have any memory of fighting it, but she supposed that didn't matter.
She looked down at her chest, and found a few stones were embedded in it. That would be the cause of the pain, no doubt, which just lead to further confusion. Why wasn't her chest plate on? Her right gauntlet was, but other than her right arm, she was just in normal clothing.
A somewhat familiar face leaned over her, with green eyes and long red hair, and a tan face. The tournament champion, Pyrrhic Nike or something like that? What were they doing here?
"Jeanne! Are you okay?" They asked.
Jeanne rolled back onto her hands, vaulting onto her feet and ignoring the pain in her chest. If she had failed to put on her armour, then she deserved the pain, and her aura would heal it soon enough anyway. She stood up straight, arms behind her back before responding with a simple nod.
The redhead breathed a sigh of relief. "You had us worried for a second there."
Jeanne looked to her right to see who Pyrrhic meant by 'us'. There was a girl with bright orange hair, dressed in a pink and white colour scheme holding a hammer and looking completely unconcerned, and a reserved boy with black hair and a magenta streak, wearing green with a splash of gold, and white pants. The boy's weapon was nowhere to be seen.
So… judging from the unfamiliar faces and location, Jeanne was currently undergoing initiation at Beacon. But why didn't she remember arriving at the academy?
Jeanne dismissed the thought, and focused. If this girl was showing such concern for her, it was likely that they were partners, and judging from the way the other two acted around each other, they were also likely partners. Not romantic though, she thought. They didn't have that kind of feeling between them, although it was possible that they wanted to be romantic.
"Do you need a hand getting to the top of the cliff?" Pyrrhic asked.
Jeanne shook her head, feeling a stab of annoyance at the comment. A tiny scratch like this didn't mean she needed to be babied, she was a soldier. She had been hurt far more severely, and was insulting that someone thought otherwise.
But still, she was grateful for the comment, as it had told her where they were meant to go. It could have been embarrassing otherwise, Jeanne didn't think she could bring herself to admit weakness by asking for directions.
She turned to the cliff and started climbing it, using the protruding rocks as hand holds, and stabbing her sword into it when there were none. In the corner of her vision, she saw Pyrrhic hesitate and then follow, with the other two following shortly after. Even with her movement hindered slightly, Jeanne made it to the top in seconds, and leant down to offer Pyrrhic a hand up. She took the hand, and Jeanne lifted the champion to the top of the cliff. After all, if the girl was going to be her teammate, then they would need to be on good terms with each other to maximize efficiency.
|(/\)|
"Jeanne Arc," the voice of the headmaster, Professor Ozpin, called out. Jeanne took a step forward, head held high, arms crossed behind her back.
"Lie Ren." The boy in green stepped forward, also holding himself with confidence, although seemingly withdrawn.
"Pyrrha Nikos," Ozpin continued. Ah, so that was it. Oh well, Jeanne had been close.
"Nora Valkyrie." The girl with orange hair stepped forward, bouncing with excitement. Jeanne frowned slightly, her obvious hyperactivity was going to be a problem.
"The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR."
The audience started applauding, and Nora started laughing manically, hugging Ren. The stoic boy seemed uncaring about the events, meaning the two were likely old friends.
"Lead by… Jeanne Arc!" Ozpin announced. Jeanne nodded solemnly, having expected it. Pyrrha playfully punched her shoulder, beaming at her, and Jeanne smiled. It was a shallow, fake smile, but it seemed to do the trick. After all, she was used to faking smiles.
The four walked slightly into the background. "And finally: Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long," Ozpin said, gesturing to four more girls. "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY, lead by… Ruby Rose!"
Jeanne studied Ruby thoughtfully, as the girl looked shocked and somewhat nervous. She was easily a year or two younger than the rest of her team, but Jeanne could see that she would make a good leader. The way she held herself expressed a type of natural confidence, despite clearly being shy, and she seemed to care greatly for those around her. That meant she would go out of her way to ensure their safety. Ozpin was a smart man.
One of Ruby's teammates, however, was radiating thinly concealed fury. Weiss Schnee, Jeanne identified her as. No doubt the heiress had expected to be leader. That could prove problematic, as the stubborn, stuck up rich girl may take out her annoyance on Ruby, which may seriously weaken the girl's morale and confidence. Jeanne made a mental note to keep an eye out, and reassure Ruby if it was needed. She couldn't stand people like Weiss. They thought they were superior to those around them because they were rich.
"Jeanne, are you okay?" Apparently Pyrrha had noticed Jeanne's agitation.
"Yes. I am fine."
"It's just that you seem a little… not fine." Pyrrha replied awkwardly.
"I noticed a potential problem, which I may have to deal with. That is all." Jeanne replied curtly, turning back to face the audience.
"It looks like things are shaping up to be an… interesting year." Ozpin said quietly, but just loudly enough that everyone on stage could hear him.
|(/\)|
Jeanne stood over her teammates, who were still asleep. She was fully ready for her first day of classes, having woken up at dawn as was her custom, but it seemed her teammates were heavy sleepers. Jeanne checked the time, and as it was seven, she knew she would have to wake them up. It would take at least an hour and a half for them to unpack and get ready for the day. The Beacon uniforms, she had learned from experience, took adjusting to get on.
She walked over to her teammate's bed, Pyrrha's, and leaned over the sleeping girl. She pressed her hand to one of the girls shoulders and shook it lightly. "Pyrrha. Wake up." She said loudly. The girl didn't budge. Jeanne sighed and reached for the girl's pillow, tugging it from underneath her. Pyrrha still didn't wake, Jeanne noticed with frustration.
Well, so much for a pleasant waking, Jeanne thought with a smirk. She walked over to her own bed, picking up one of the three bowls of ice-cold water she had prepared. Just in case. She walked back over to the girl and dumped it on her.
"AAAHHH!" Pyrrha yelped, leaping up and flailing wildly.
"Good morning." Jeanne said, still smirking.
"WHY?!" Pyrrha demanded, and Jeanne shrugged. Looking over to the other two of her roommates, she sighed in annoyance, as they were both still sleeping soundly.
"You should begin getting ready for the day while I wake the other two. I have no need to unpack my belongings, so you need not worry about space requirements." Jeanne gestured to her suitcase, which currently held her changes of clothes, and a few books.
"You travel lightly…"
Jeanne nodded, walking back over to her bed and picking up another bowl of icy water. She walked over and dumped it on Nora.
"…"
"…"
"You have got to be kidding me." Jeanne said in disgust, heavily exasperated as the girl was still soundly asleep. She took the phrase 'heavy sleeper' to a whole new level. Although Jeanne was glad to find Ren was much easier to wake, and he looked downright furious from the water, although he made no vocal complaints.
"Wake up Nora," Jeanne instructed him. The boy nodded.
"Pancakes." He said simply. Jeanne looked at him in confusion, until she heard the orange haired girl spring up.
"WHERE?" Nora demanded. Jeanne sighed.
"Seriously? A bowl of ice-cold water didn't even cause her to budge."
"You just need to learn how to wake her." Ren said quietly.
"Both of you, get ready for the day and unpack. Classes start in two hours." Jeanne commanded, and the two walked off to do so, with Nora already bouncing and speaking in her rapid-fire way.
"Le… … … c…tr… … … wa…" A voice sounded in her head. Jeanne's eyes sprung open. It sounded like the noise was coming from one of the old radios, filled with static, despite being mental. It made no sense.
"I…. s… … you…" The noise continued. Jeanne felt a stab of white-hot pain in her forehead, and collapsed to the ground, barely stopping herself from crying out.
"Ne… c…ol… … … dy…"
Another stab of pain came, even more extreme than the first, and Jeanne lost consciousness.
|(/\)|
"Jeanne? Are you okay?"
Jaune groaned and tried to sit up, only to collapse back down.
"Jeanne!" The voice exclaimed again. She heard some footsteps coming towards her quickly, and someone pulled her up. "I'll get you to the-"
"No, it's fine." Jaune replied. "I just had a random wave of dizziness." She felt bad for lying, but that wasn't entirely a lie. She opened her eyes and was surprised to see the ceiling of their dorm staring back at him, with Pyrrha's concerned face hovering over her, looking concerned.
How did she get to their dorm? She had passed out by the Beacon cliffs.
"Jeanne, are you sure you don't need medical treatment?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yes, I'm fine." She confirmed. She checked her scroll, and found it was nearly eight, and looking around the room, no one had unpacked.
"Where are Nora and Ren?" She asked. As if on cue, the pair walked back in, dressed in their uniforms. Speaking of which, Jaune noticed she was wearing her own. It was surprisingly comfortable, although wearing a dress felt weird.
"Never mind. Now, you three should get unpacked, we need to go to class soon, we don't want to be late on our first day."
"Yes, we know. You already told us silly!" Nora replied. The three began working, and Jaune noticed she didn't have enough stuff to bother unpacking it. She merely nudged his suitcase under the bed, and she was set for the day, so she waited patiently for the others to finish.
It didn't take long, and soon the room was neat and tidy. Apparently, even Nora valued cleanliness. That, or Ren had constantly told her off when she put things in the wrong place. Jaune checked the time, and found it was eight thirty. "Well, would you all like to head to class early?"
"Sure."
"Yes."
"Mphmmh." Came the three simultaneous responses.
"Alright! Let's go!" She said, stepping out into the hall. She knocked on team RWBY's dorm, which was opposite theirs.
"WHAT IS IT?" A voice demanded loudly.
"You guys have class in half an hour. Grimm studies with Professor Port." She heard a sharp intake of breath in response and smirked. "I knew you had forgotten."
"W-we didn't forget!" A second voice replied.
"Suuuuure." Jaune chuckled. "See you in class." She finished, walking off with her team in tow.
"How did you know we had class anyway? You haven't checked your timetable." Pyrrha asked.
"I memorised it." Jaune responded. That was true, her timetable hadn't changed once in two years. Professor Ozpin seemed very content with things how they were, so had left it like that. Besides, only third years and above got elective classes, and the war had stopped Jaune from ever reaching that stage.
JNPR walked down the hallways, Jaune in front, and everyone else quickly becoming lost. The layout was fairly simple, and maps had been provided, so it had only taken even someone as incompetent as her a week to memorise it the first time.
They walked into the classroom, most of the class already sitting in their seats, with only eight vacancies. She left the front row for RWBY, and the team sat in a line at the side of the classroom. Jaune once again checked her scroll. Eight fifty-five. She chuckled, RWBY had probably forgotten again, which wouldn't surprise her. They had a tendency to get caught up in their own business, becoming oblivious to everything around them.
She turned to the door, just in time to see the team barrel through, before realising they weren't late, and awkwardly trying to regain dignity as they headed for their seats.
Jaune looked up at the Professor's signature weapon, the blunderbuss axe. The weapon had, at first, seemed incredibly impractical and hard to use… until Jaune had seen it in the hands of its creator, when she had decided no other weapon could possibly match the Professor better.
Said Professor entered the room, standing in front of some of the many blackboards, each detailing some species of common Grimm.
"Monsters! Deeemons! Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! HA-HA!" He declared, only to seem slightly embarrassed as no one found the joke funny. "Uhhhh… And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying: Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world! Our planet is simply teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces!
And that is where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntressess…" The man said, winkingly slyly at Yang, who groaned uncomfortably. "Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why the very world!"
Jaune and another student stood up, fist-pumping.
"Ayyyy-yep!"
"WHOOO!"
The two declared loudly. Everyone looked at them strangely, and the two sat back down, the other student doing so in embarrassment, Jaune having no such troubles. Port's speech was actually somewhat rousing, so she thought he had deserved the praise. He hadn't gotten any the first time.
"That is what you are training to become," Port continued. "But first: A story. A tale of a young, handsome man… Me! When I was a boy…"
At this, Jaune could visibly see most of the other students completely tune the man out, but she continued listening. She had learned at a later date that Port's stories were actually genuine, unembellished recounts of his past. However, her eyes widened in confusion at what the man was saying.
"Blah blah blah… Despite smelling of cabbages, my grandfather was a wise man. 'Peter', he told me, Blah blah blah blah blah.
Blab blah blah blah. Blah blah, but in the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!"
Jaune simply stared, feeling a stab of anger. She had thought the first time that she had just tuned out the man, but he was actually saying BLAH instead of words! In his later years, he had told STORIES. Of VALUE.
"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honourable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated and wise! So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"
"I do, sir!" Weiss yelled angrily, her hand springing up quickly.
"Well, then, let's find out!" He replied, gesturing to a cage in the middle of the classroom. Jaune had to admit, Port must have taken a lot of time to plan the reveal, because no one had noticed it until he pointed it out. "Step forward, and face your opponent!"
Weiss began walking forward, and Jaune turned to study the cage. It was fairly simple in design, but clearly very efficient as it was rattling heavily, without showing signs it could break. When he looked back, Weiss had already changed into her combat uniform, and had Myrtenaster in her hand.
"What the… that was quick. Was she wearing that under her uniform or something?" Jaune asked no one in particular.
"Goooo, Weiss!" Yang yelled.
"Fight well!" Blake continued, waving a small flag that said 'RWBY'. Where the hell she had gotten that from, Jaune would never know.
"Yeah, represent teeeeeeam RWBY!" Ruby added.
Weiss lowered her sword and looked at the girl. "Ruby! I'm trying to focus!"
Jaune felt a stab of annoyance. The blatant disrespect and bullying of the leader would need to be addressed, Weiss really was taking her feelings of disappointment too far. And against the wrong person.
"Oh, um… sorry."
"Allllright!" Port declared, standing next to the cage with his weapon in his hand. "Let the match… begin!"At this, He brought it down and shattered the lock on the cage, and a Boarbatusk sprung out, charging at Weiss.
Weiss rolled out of the way and hacked at it, and Jaune closed her eyes. She knew how this fight went, and it really wasn't a very interesting fight. Weiss let her misplaced annoyance at Ruby hinder her fighting ability, and performed very poorly indeed, so she instead tuned the fight out.
"Bravo! Bra-vo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress in training!" Port declared loudly, interrupting Jaune's thoughts, and Jaune snorted. Boarbatusks weren't that difficult, and Weiss was heavily panting, indicating she had nearly been exhausted from the short skirmish.
"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and… stay vigilant! Class dismissed!"
Wait… assigned readings? HE HADN'T ASSIGNED ANY READINGS! Jaune mentally yelled. This man was INSANE. She watched Weiss glare at Ruby as she left and frowned.
"What's with her?" She asked, twitching in annoyance. "How did she get this far if she is that immature?"
None of Weiss' teammates responded.
Jaune forced herself to calm down, remembering Weiss had quickly matured. Maybe she would be able to again? Even as she thought that, Jaune knew she was tempting fate.