03/12/2016 - Several alterations and revisions to comply with the previous edits.
Jaune rose with the sun, his head rising from the floor just as the first rays of light were cresting the horizon.
There was no protracted time between sleep and wakefullness - he simply switched gears. The same could not be said of the rest of the room's occupants, as they were still fast asleep. 'Ah...I guess this is a habit I don't need any more.'
People here didn't have to wake up at the crack of dawn or the day's end, to make sure they could travel the most distance that day/night. People here didn't actually need to travel anywhere – because this was their destination. 'It's mine too.'
Still, seven years of early mornings weren't going to vanish overnight. The blond reasoned that waking up early wasn't really a bad thing...in fact, it might be helpful. He didn't believe in such things as unlimited food sources – surely there must only be so much breakfast to go around? There were lots of people eating, after all.
So, by that logic, the first person to the dining hall would be able to eat as much as they wanted. Course of action decided, Jaune got to his feet and regarded his surroundings. The floor was almost covered in slumbering teens, males and females separated by a distinct line.
Effortlessly maneuvering through the minefield of snoring bodies, Jaune found his way out of the room. Following the same corridors as the night before, he found the dining hall again only five minutes later.
Wandering inside, he found that there were already a few people there. Including... "Yatsuhashi!"
The towering second year, currently without his armour or weapon, looked up at the call. "Jaune." He nodded in acknowledgment of the underclassman's presence, taking a momentary break from his eggs and bacon.
The younger man quickly assembled a tray and crockery as Glynda had shown him, left hand effortlessly balancing the metal rectangle while he placed a bowl and plate on it. A quick raid of the foods on display yielded a bowl of fruits and a massive pile of what the nice men in white hats had called 'pancakes'. He also grabbed a mug of brown liquid near the end – Qrow had called it 'coffee', and most of the people he knew seemed to drink it.
His sustenance attained, Jaune made his way over to the table currently seating the older youth. He remembered just in time to collect a knife, fork and spoon, reaching out with one hand to select the pieces.
From his seat, Yatsuhashi found one of his eyebrows rising. The blond was fetching cutlery with one hand...and with the other, he was supporting and balancing a tray piled high with pancakes, fruit and a mug. This wouldn't be so strange for a second year student...but even he would have had a little trouble doing that without looking at the tray.
Once prepared for his war on breakfast, Jaune took a seat across the table from the second year. He immediately started on the pancakes, savouring the sweetness. Most of the things he had found to eat in the out-lands were either tasteless or bitter. The sheer number of sweet things Beacon had on offer was astounding.
Velvet's partner watched with what was fast approaching incredulity as the mountain of pancakes started to vanish into the gaping maw that was Jaune's mouth. He went through almost half the stack in two minutes, before reaching down to the mug beside him. He lifted it to his mouth, taking a swig of the contents...and froze.
It was creepy – every single muscle in the youth's body seemed to instantaneously go to full power, resulting in the kind of stillness normally associated with inanimate objects. He held that position for a full five seconds, and Yatsuhashi was debating whether or not he should call the infirmary when movement returned.
Laying the mug down slowly, the look in those blue eyes was...euphoric. This was the look of a man who had woken from the best dream ever, and then realised that it was actually his life.
"Yatsuhashi, I...understand." The words were spoken slowly, reverentially. The look on the blond's face echoed the sentiment, as he regarded the mug with the kind of expression normally reserved for God and mothers.
"You understand?" The second year certainly didn't, and he was fairly sure he didn't want to. But some morbid curiosity compelled him to ask, even as those blue eyes met his own dark ones. They shone like diamonds.
"Why...everyone drinks this 'coffee'. It is like..." Jaune started grasping at the air, as if trying to pull words from the sky and into his mouth. He didn't even seem frustrated – this wasn't the pause of someone unused to language. This was what happened when a language simply didn't have the capability to properly describe something.
Still, there was something fairly close. "It is like...being awake...and then...waking up again." Having expressed himself as much as necessary, Jaune lifted the mug again.
Looking on, Yatsuhashi was reminded of the look on Coco's face when she first saw Beacon's supplies of ammunition. 'This is an obsession in the making,' he realised. He sighed. 'Beacon's going to need bigger coffee orders again.'
That was saying something, considering the popularity of the drink. The majority of the student body tended to have more caffeine in their blood than oxygen, particularly after first year. If it weren't for the fact that Ozpin was just as hooked on the drink as any student, it would doubtless have been outlawed as an addictive substance years ago.
"You had never had coffee before?" Asked the giant, wondering how the blond had reached his current age without at least trying the stuff.
The younger man froze again, the last of his drink making its way to his stomach. 'Coffee must be a common drink...' "No, there was...none where I...come from." Jaune quickly realised that he'd made a mistake with that response.
"I see. Where do you come from, Jaune?" That was a question with no good answer. The truth would draw attention, lying would doubtless be noticed and he didn't have any convenient half-truths. 'Wait...maybe if I use the same thing I told Ruby...'
"Training." That worked, didn't it? If the younger girl had accepted training as a reason for not speaking, surely it would work as a reason for not knowing what coffee was...
"I see." Yatsuhashi replied, scooping more egg off his plate and shoving it in his mouth. That answer was obviously a deflection, especially after that panicked look on the youth's face when the swordsman asked the question. 'Where has he been that he would try and lie to cover for it? Or rather, where has he been where he would lie about it, but still be such an awful liar?'
Interesting but, ultimately, none of his business. He'd helped the kid forge a weapon, that didn't make him responsible for him. He had his own things to deal with, after all. 'I should finish. Coco will need waking up after last night.'
CFVY's leader had been up late trying to fabricate a make-shift pillow, when it turned out that someone had replaced the stuffing in hers with rocks. Fox had taken the blame for that...but the tall swordsman couldn't help but think that the small grin on his partner's face was far more damning than the red-head's track record.
"Well Jaune, I should get back to my team. I hope your initiation goes well."
The blond nodded around a mouth full of pancakes, swallowing the mass of food before replying. "Thank you Yatsuhashi. Have a good day."
Nodding in acknowledgment of the well-wishing, the giant returned his tray to the furthest end of the serving area for cleaning. Moving out of the hall, he glanced back over his shoulder to the strange young man near the back of the room.
The look on his face was largely inscrutable...but ever so slightly thoughtful.
Jaune completed his breakfast in good time, eyeing his empty mug sadly. The ambrosia within had been unlike anything he'd had before, and he couldn't wait to try it again.
Still, that would have to come with his next meal. For now, the blond carried his tray to the place Glynda had told him they went once used. Laying the metal on the rack, with the dishes set on a separate one nearby, Jaune left the dining hall.
Outside, the sun was still rising. The darker blue of the night was giving ground before the dawn, light spilling forth like a coursing flood.
No matter how many times he saw it, Jaune always loved that sight. It reminded him of good times - times long gone. The bad times were gone too though, so maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. After all, these were new times. Beacon was a whole new life, and Jaune could do whatever he wanted with it. For the first time in years, he had time. More time than he knew what to do with, really. Perhaps he should spend it with friends? He had already made two, after all.
Ruby and Yang...they were kind to him, offering him a place to eat with them and not drawing any further attention to his speech after their first meeting. He should try and repay their generosity...
Inspiration struck, and the blond smiled to himself. Yes, that would work.
He turned around, racing back into the dining hall. Collecting a tray and two plates, he piled both high with pancakes and grabbed two mugs of coffee. Food secured, the blond retrieved some cutlery and took off out of the hall, quickly crossing the courtyard to the building where he had spent the night, moving inside and retracing his steps from a quarter hour before.
Entering the ballroom, the blond looked around for a moment in search of his friends. It only took seconds for him to spot the combination of yellow and red in close proximity, and he examined the route he would need to take. Holding his tray with both hands, Jaune moved past dozens of sleeping girls until he reached the two sisters. Settling into a cross-legged position between the two, he resolved to wait until they woke up before presenting them with the food.
As he sat there however, someone else rose from among the many sleeping forms. The movement caught his attention immediately, and he examined the figure as it looked around.
Female, quite short, orange hair. Light blue eyes, a bit unfocussed at the moment. It was...sniffing?
The eyes opened fully moments later, the girl fixing her attention on the blond sitting a ways across the room. Or, more accurately, on the tray in front of him.
Licking her lips, the girl leapt from her sleeping bag in an arc that carried her over the slumbering students between her and her prize. A highly impressive feat, considering that there was a separation of several metres, and she was going from a standing start. Jaune watched with a frown as the girl reached for the breakfast in front of him.
Just before she landed, he stood up. Catching the shorter figure by the shoulders, he frowned at it while holding the girl in the air. "Not for you." He stated firmly, his own blue eyes meeting hers.
The girl frowned back at him, apparently unconcerned about being held at arm's length. "Oh come on, not even a couple? They smell really good..." Her gaze moved from the blue eyes in front of her to the delicious food resting near Jaune's feet.
"Go to the...dining hall. It has...pancakes." The blond thought that this would solve the issue immediately. He was, however, incorrect.
"But they're in the dining hall, and those are here. Nearby pancakes are better than far-away pancakes." Jaune blinked.
"They are?" He asked in confusion, not understanding how proximity would affect the quality of food.
The girl he was currently suspending by the shoulders seemed to consider it. "Hmm...I suppose they're better since they're easier to get. But far-away pancakes make you work for it...so maybe they're actually better, since you need to do more to get them?" Blue eyes closed as the girl hummed, bringing her right hand up to her chin.
"I've decided. I shall try far-away pancakes today, and I'll have Ren make nearby pancakes tomorrow. I shall call it the Great Pancake Experiment!" Her course of action set, the warrior finally seemed to notice her situation.
"Could you put me down now? I need to go and hunt the far-away pancakes." Jaune set her down after a moment's thought, and she immediately started to move back to where she had been so she could collect her clothes. After a few steps, she turned around to face the blond.
"Since you helped me make such an important decision, I guess we're friends now. I'm Nora – what's your name?" Surprised at the sudden declaration of friendship, it took Jaune a moment to respond.
"My name is Jaune. It is nice to meet you Nora."
Nora nodded to herself. "Jaune. I'll remember that. Now then, time for pancakes~!" Skipping away happily, the fact that she didn't step on any of her classmates was miraculous.
Still, the conversation had apparently been enough to wake the sisters. Groaning blearily, both sat up in their sleeping bags. "What's going on...Dad, did Zwei bring a Beowolf home again...?" Silver eyes managed to focus, allowing the younger girl to recognise the figure currently towering above her. "Jaune...?" She asked, yawning hugely.
The blond nodded, returning to a sitting position. "Yes Ruby, it is me."
Rubbing at her eyes, the scythe-wielder realised that there was a delicious smell coming from next to her. "Jaune...did you bring food?" She asked, looking down to discover twin mountains of pancakes with mugs of coffee.
The blond nodded happily, quite pleased with himself. "Yes. You were both...very kind to me. So, I...brought pancakes and coffee."
The younger girl smiled blearily at the figure seated next to her. "You didn't have to, Jaune...but thank you."
Yang had been waking up while the two exchanged words, and thus had the gist of the situation by the time she entered the conversation. "Breakfast in bed, eh? You're a real lady killer, Jaune."
Her fellow blonde cocked his head sideways. "Lady...killer? I have not...killed anyone."
Yang sighed to herself while she got into a sitting position, claiming one of the plates from the tray. "It's another figure of speech, Jaune. It means someone who's good at attracting women."
The young man seemed to consider this, frowning slightly. "That is...interesting. I was...always told that I was not very good with women."
The brawler chuckled to herself, taking a delicious bite of breakfast goodness. "Well, I'd disagree. Ruby, if you don't do anything I might just have to poach him."
Yang's little sister was taking a drink of coffee when the blonde spoke, and began to splutter and choke at the comment. When she was back in control, she gave her older sister a look somewhere between 'glare' and 'pleading'. "Yang, don't tease him like that. He brought us pancakes!"
The chuckling from the elder sister continued, even as she gave her young sibling a massive grin.
Jaune watched in confused silence, trying to understand what was going on. He decided that it was probably a family thing, and made to stand up and give them space. However, a strong hand shot out and grabbed his ankle.
"Oh no, you ain't getting away that easy. You might have given us breakfast, but you also woke us up early. So, you've got to sit here with us and talk."
Ruby groaned at her sister's antics, the blonde girl's smile attesting to the complete ineffectiveness of the sound. Jaune thought that made sense, so he sat back down. "I understand. What do you want to talk...about?" He asked.
Playful lilac eyes flashed above a widening smile. "Oh, nothing important. Likes, dislikes, availability. You know, normal things."
Ruby started choking again, though Jaune didn't understand why. "Yang, I said don't tease him! We don't do things like this to people who feed us!"
The elder sister looked to her sibling with a look of playful shock on her face. "Tease him, dear sister? I was just wondering if he would agree to a sparring match later." Leaning forward, the blonde's grin reminded Ruby of a shark. "What were you thinking about?"
With a blush and a squeak, the brunette hid her face behind the breakfast mountain. Her aim accomplished, Yang leaned back with satisfaction in her eyes. "Well, that's good to know. Just remember sis, he's two years older than you~"
Watching from between them, Jaune was pretty sure he could feel the heat from his younger friend's face. He looked back and forth between the furiously blushing brunette and the self-assured blonde, trying to employ knowledge of human interaction that he hadn't been good at even before his wandering days.
"I...do not understand." He admitted, arms folded and legs crossed.
"Yang here is trying to embarrass her sister by insinuating that she is romantically interested in you." Looking up from his contemplation, Jaune's blue eyes met amber. 'Ah – it's the faunus who doesn't want people to know about her.'
"Why?" He queried, the explanation making the 'what' of the situation clear enough. The black haired girl considered it for a moment, looking from the brawler to the scythe-wielder.
"I'd imagine it's because they're family. Teasing like this is common between siblings, or so I understand."
Jaune nodded, filing this away for future use. 'Perhaps it is only between female siblings? I don't remember my sisters doing this with me...' "I see." Standing up, the blond presented his hand to the girl. "Thank you for...helping my understanding. My name is Jaune, it is very nice to meet you."
The girl regarded the outstretched hand for a moment, then shook it. "Blake." She replied simply, and Jaune resolved to remember it. "Now then, since you've woken me up so early I'm going to go and eat. See you in initiation."
Walking away from the trio towards her own sleeping space, the black-haired warrior's thoughts swirled in her mind. 'Why did I do that? I don't know him, I don't even really know the sisters. So why?'
That was fairly simple, thinking about it. His stilted speech, innocent expression and lack of understanding...he was just like a child. The White Fang had once been full of children, and Blake had become used to the role of big sister.
It was one of the many things she had mourned with the passing of the White Fang she had once known.
Jaune watched Blake move away, his own thoughts on the reasons for the girl hiding her race. It still didn't make sense. In his mind, the faunus were as human as anyone, they just had a few animal traits as well. To Jaune at least, it had always made them seem more than human. If he'd been a faunus himself, he felt like he would have been proud of it.
'There is a cause and a consequence for everything...so to understand the action, I need to understand its cause.' He'd ask Qrow about it, when he got a chance. His mentor was a Huntsman, so he'd probably know about these things.
"Jaune, you're not checking her out are you? Don't be breaking my sister's heart now!" Yang's laughter was cut off by a Ruby-shaped projectile wrapping itself around her head, remaining pancakes forgotten in the pursuit of vengeance.
The young man watched on in complete bemusement as the two wrestled, not once leaving the relatively tiny space they'd claimed. Yang was obviously the stronger of the two, but Ruby treated her sister like a climbing frame. It was...ridiculous. But at the same time, highly entertaining.
Jaune found himself giggling as he watched, a sound he hadn't had many chances to make in years gone by. It felt good to laugh again.
The sisters didn't seem to appreciate it however, as the two stopped immediately to look at the chuckling observor. They shared a look, then mirrored each other as they grabbed their pillows. The two projectiles just bounced off the youth, but he did fall over...his hands pressed over his mouth, as he tried to contain the mirth they had elicited from him.
Just watching him in the throes of laughter, the two sisters couldn't help but follow suit. The three lay on the floor, trying to contain the gales of laughter breaking free of their lungs. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until they were finally back in control.
From his spot on the floor, Jaune smiled at the ceiling. "Yang, Ruby. Thank you for this. I have not...laughed like this in a long time."
The rustle of fabric heralded the arrival of silver eyes, as Ruby patted the blond's shoulder. "Well that's no good. I guess you'll just have to stay with us and laugh some more." Blue eyes met silver, and they stayed that way for a long moment.
Then Jaune's smile widened even further. "I...suppose I do not have a...choice." The smile on the brunette's face matched his own, and Jaune experienced the same sensation as he had when first meeting Ruby. 'What is it about those eyes that makes me feel like this...'
"Okay, bit too close there." Reaching over to her little sister, Yang bodily picked her up and shifted her back to the red sleeping bag. Jaune rolled himself to his feet, turning around to look at the sisters. Ruby seemed to have realised how close the two of them had been, but was smiling through the blush.
Yang had fixed a scowl on her face...but her eyes didn't match the expression. "Don't get any ideas, lady killer. You want my sister, you have to go through me." The words earned the elder sister a thump from Ruby, but she didn't even seem to notice.
Jaune's smile glowed in the low light, the warmth of the scene something he had wanted since the day after he started wandering. "I understand, Yang. I will not try...anything." His fellow blonde started nodding, but the young man's smile grew as he continued.
"I will not try because I will...succeed." The look on Yang's face was a mix of shock and laughter – the look on Ruby's was...well, Jaune couldn't tell. The younger sister was apparently trying to bury herself in her sleeping bag.
Before Yang could respond, Jaune left the hall at a decent speed. For him, at least.
'I can't do anything less than succeed...' He thought to himself. 'If I'm going to be as strong as Qrow, if I'm going to achieve my dream...then I cannot fail!'
To the watching sister, the blond imp went from being crouched in front of them to out of the door like the wind itself. Blinking in shock, she couldn't do anything but shake her head. Looking down to Ruby, she found that the younger girl had turned as red as her weapon. She really shouldn't...but on the other hand...
"There's hope for you yet, sis – your first crush actually likes you back." She earned a massive barrage of thumps for her trouble, but the blonde's attention was on the door. 'Jaune...we don't know his last name, or where he comes from. He says he gave up speaking for training, and he's always curious about things...plus, he's as fast as Ruby, and just as much of a weapon maniac.'
The first thing Jaune had said upon seeing Ember Celica was that they had impressive 'fighting spirit'. That was, almost word for word, what Ruby had said the first time she brought the gauntlets home from Signal. A coincidence? Or was it, as Yang's sister-related paranoia liked to scream, something else?
The elder sister frowned slightly, casually locking the brunette into a headlock and rubbing her knuckles in her hair. 'I'll need to know more about him before I let him get any closer to Ruby.'
Jaune sat atop one of the stone constructs which enclosed Beacon's courtyard. They served no purpose other than decoration, as far as he could tell, but they were tall and they were flat. Thus, they were a seat.
He was cross-legged, thinking about what had happened in the ballroom. That sensation he got whenever he met Ruby's eyes...just what was it? It felt almost as if something inside him was moving, but he knew that his organs and bodily functions were all acting normally. And at the same time, the feeling seemed...detached from him somehow, as if he were experiencing it across a gap.
He had nothing to compare it to, and he was reluctant to speak about it - after all, how much more strange would he seem if he started talking about things even he didn't properly understand?
"I...guess I'm just weird." He sighed to himself, closing his eyes and feeling the wind in his hair.
"Well, no argument here." Qrow settled down beside his charge, cloak drifting slightly in the breeze. He knew the line was for his benefit – the blond had recognised him as soon as he set foot in the courtyard. "But weird's not a bad thing." He continued. "Weird's just another word for special, and I'd say that fits you pretty well."
The Huntsman watched Jaune's face flicker between emotions, the blond struggling to express himself. "But I don't...want to be special. I want to be...normal."
The older man sighed, laying a hand on his young friend's shoulder. "I know, kid. You didn't ask for what happened to you, and you sure as hell didn't deserve what you had to go through. But that's life. That suffering made you strong – hell, those fancy feet of yours can already give me a workout. One day, maybe someday soon, you might just be strong enough to work with me."
Jaune's gaze snapped to his mentor, blue eyes seeking darker orbs. "Really? I could work with you?"
Qrow nodded, meaning every word. "Jaune, you're a lot like me. More than you know, if I'm honest - and trust me, that doesn't happen often." He chuckled to himself, then continued. "Once you graduate Beacon, if you still want to work with me, there's nothing that'll make me say no."
The Huntsman got to his feet, looking down at his charge. "So don't worry about being weird. Some people might not understand, but I do. Tell me, do you think your friends understand too?"
Blue eyes turned to the ballroom, recalling how the sisters had acted so casually in his presence, and how he didn't feel the slightest bit like he shouldn't be there. "I do." He replied simply, and Qrow nodded.
"Then I'll leave you to them, for now at least. I'll see you after Initiation – you remember what we went over the other night?"
A nod from the blond, as he stood as well. "Alright then. Go out there and show them just what weird can do."
Blue eyes flashed, and Qrow found himself wrapped in a hug. "Thank you, Qrow." Came a quiet voice, and the veteran sighed.
"Yeah yeah, don't go crying on my shirt kid. I swear, I get enough of that with my nieces." Chuckling a bit, Jaune backed away from his mentor. With a big smile, he took off running for the edge of the stone structure. He leapt off with a somersault, rolling when he hit the ground. 'Landed perfectly. He redirected most of the energy, and his aura took care of the rest.'
As the blond made his way towards the locker room where Luna Machaera was stored, Qrow felt a small grin tugging at his lips. 'Heh. Maybe I should tell Peter he won't need to do his annual cull this year.'
Jaune stared at the piece of paper in his hands, trying to decypher the meaning on it. 'There aren't letters...so they're numbers.' Numbers...he remembered how to draw them, and he remembered that they meant how many of something there were.
'So, what are these ones...I think that's a six...and that's a three. So, six-three-six...' That didn't help very much. Presumably there were intervening numbers, but he couldn't quite recall them. The blond looked around the room full of lockers, a sinking feeling in his gut. 'I'm going to need help...'
Looking around for any kind of assistance, Jaune found that he was out of luck. Yang and Ruby were having a conversation, Blake was nowhere to be seen... 'I'm on my own.'
Taking deep breaths, the young man strode into the room. He quickly discovered that each locker had three numbers engraved on the front. 'Oh, so I just need to find the one marked six-three-six.' Breathing a sigh of relief at the realisation, Jaune went in search of his weapon.
He eventually found it at the room's far end, and entered the code that the paper told him to. The locker popped open, revealing Luna Machaera and the second part of his arsenal. Slipping the belt over his shoulder so that his weapon was slung across his back at a diagonal, Jaune reached inside and slotted the rest of the locker's contents on to his left arm.
Thus equipped, he closed the locker and turned around. Still no sign of Blake...Yang and Ruby were still talking. 'This room is full of people...I should probably try and make more friends.' Glynda had urged him to keep practicing, and he'd had rather good luck so far. Maybe it would hold?
Scanning the space in front of him, the blond saw there were a couple of girls not far from the sisters. He recognised one of them as the shouty princess girl from the day before, but the other was new to him. 'Okay. I'll just go up and introduce myself...maybe they'll be friendly.'
Moving forward, the blond noticed that they had stopped speaking. A chance! "It is nice to meet you. My name is Jaune."
The white-haired girl seemed startled out of whatever thoughts she'd been entertaining, and turned sharply to look at the blond offering his hand. "...Jaune, was it? Jaune, do you know who I am?"
Well, that was a new response. The young man tilted his head, frowning as he leaned a bit closer. Delicate face, scar over the eye, odd hair colour. Would have been prettier without the haughty expression... "I am sorry, I do not...recognise you." He answered truthfully, nothing about the girl ringing a bell beyond catching sight of her the day before.
She blanched, taking a step back. "How...then, do you recognise her?" The girl gestured to her companion, a taller girl with red hair.
He stepped closer to that one, narrowing his eyes as he examined her face from different angles. Green eyes, really red hair. Her features were smoother than the other girl's, yet everything about her projected strength - a far cry from the rather formal poise in her companion. The armour she wore supported that idea of strength...and yet, none of it was familiar.
She was smiling a little, the expression natural on her. But, still nothing. "No, I do not...recognise her either." He gave the shorter girl an apologetic look. "I...apologise. Should I know?"
She certainly seemed to think so, as there was a strange look building on her face. Before she could speak, however, the red-head next to him spoke. "No need to apologise, Jaune. It's just a little surprising. I'm Pyrrha." Extending a hand, Pyrrha's smile grew as he took it.
He shook it, noticing the same expression of surprise on her face as had been on Yang's. "It is nice to meet you, Pyrrha." He let go of her hand, and she seemed to recover from whatever it was that had so surprised her.
"It's nice to meet you too, Jaune." She seemed to mean that, as he could see a light in her eyes.
"...You really don't know who she is, do you?" The blond realised he had been ignoring the white-haired girl, and he turned back to her as she spoke.
He was going to reply, but the girl beat him to it. "That's Pyrrha Nikos. Top graduate at Sanctum, four-time winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament, renowned throughout the four kingdoms as a combat prodigy!"
Jaune felt like he should be impressed...but he had absolutely no idea what this girl was talking about. "I...apologise again, but I do not know what those are."
He could hear Pyrrha smothering a laugh behind him, even as the girl he was currently facing took 'flabbergasted' to a whole new level. She spluttered, waving her arms around as she apparently tried to cope with the concept of such obliviousness. Her fit, however, was interrupted by Pyrrha.
"Weiss, I think we should probably get going. It can't be that long until Initiation starts."
The girl, Weiss, seemed to pull herself together. "You're right, of course, Pyrrha." Looking Jaune in the eye, Weiss fixed a stern expression on her face. "You should really stay more in touch with the world. Honestly, you'd think you lived in the out-lands. Not recognising Pyrrha Nikos..."
The girl turned too quickly to notice how Jaune abruptly froze, panic sweeping through him. She walked away, her rapier at her waist as she headed for the door leading to the Beacon cliffs.
Moments later, Pyrrha moved up beside the blond, who was still standing frozen. "Sorry about that...she didn't mean any harm. It was nice meeting you, Jaune." As the red-haired warrior moved away, sword and shield in hand, the young man remembered that he was supposed to reply.
"Likewise." He called after her, as he tried to himself back under control. He watched her go, Weiss' words still echoing in his head. He would need to try and get caught up with the world. He didn't want to attract attention, and not knowing about anything was, he realised, an easy way to get noticed.
Yang and Ruby walked up beside him, the latter noting how stiff he was. "Hey, Jaune? You alright?" A small hand reached out and squeezed his shoulder, breaking him out of his thoughts.
Looking down, Jaune recognised his brunette friend and smiled. "I am...perfectly fine, Ruby. I was just thinking." Looking from the younger sister to Yang, Jaune saw a strange look in her eyes for a moment. Then it was gone, as the fellow blonde gave him a clap on the back.
"In that case, come on lady killer. There's a difference between fashionably late and not turning up." As her two companions followed the brawler, the young man seemed to ponder her words.
"What is the...difference, Yang?" he asked, the use of 'fashionably' confusing him.
"Hell if I know." She replied, getting a massive sigh from both her fellow students. She took the moment to look over her shoulder at her fellow blonde. 'So he didn't recognise Pyrrha Nikos or Weiss Schnee...'
Yang wasn't sure how that piece of the puzzle went together with everything else she'd learned...but her drive to unravel the mystery of Jaune was growing.
Outside, the Beacon cliffs were lined with first years on metal plates. Ozpin and Goodwitch stood at the very end, next to the only three unoccupied plates.
Taking their positions, the trio turned to look at the Headmaster. "This year's Initiation will be taking place in the Emerald Forest," he informed them. "Once you land, find a partner and head to the north of the forest. A temple there contains several relics, enough for each pair to take one. Once they are secured, make your way back here to complete the task."
Taking a sip of his coffee, the Headmaster's slightly uninterested expression was suddenly serious. "Do not hesitate to destroy anything and everything in your path. This forest is full of Grimm, and our professors will not intervene. If you are careless, you will die." Warning delivered, the Headmaster made to activate the plates.
His aide stopped him, clearing her throat. Looking to the blonde, realisation dawned on Ozpin's face. "Ah, yes."
Turning back to face the students, he added "Partners will be decided by eye contact. Whoever you lock eyes with first upon landing in the forest will be your partner for the next four years." as an afterthought.
The resounding cries of "WHAT!" that echoed from along the line were cut off as the first person in line was catapulted into the air. The launches moved down the line, each person devising their own way of landing.
When it was Ruby's turn, she gave Jaune a massive grin and a wink before take-off, soaring into the air like a bird. That left just the blond, who noticed that Ozpin was looking at him.
"Take care, Jaune. The Grimm in this forest will likely not prove a challenge for you, but this is your first time going into live combat with your new handicaps."
"I understand, sir." The teen told him, expression serious. "I will...remember my promise."
Nodding in acknowledgment, the Headmaster tapped his control pad. Jaune was launched into the sky like a rocket, following his friends.
From the cliff top, three figures watched. Qrow was standing in the shadows of the treeline, and his eyes remained fixed on the blond figure until it dropped out of sight.
'Alright, Jaune. It's time to show them what you can really do.'
Author's Note
And here we go, Initiation is upon us. A lot of you were probably expecting it to happen this chapter, but I wanted to get some more ground-work in first. Is it me, or has Jaune interacted with a lot more people this time around? Oh wait, I suppose it really was me. Huh.
Anyway!
Will Jaune be able to get by with only Luna Machaera? Who will he end up with as a partner? What is the second part of his arsenal? And can his past remain a secret in the face of a motivated Yang?
Time will tell!
I hope you enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any comments or criticism, please leave a review and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!