All right, here we go. Actual story here. We're going to be skipping ahead to the same place Professor Arc begins, one week prior to Volume 1 of RWBY with Jaune being interviewed by Beacon. I'm going to do everything I can to avoid simply re-writing Professor Arc with a different Jaune, but in this initial chapter I felt that starting in a similar location would be best to establish everything.

There are going to be other differences as well. Velvet, for instance, will still be a member of team CVFY. Jaune's spot on the team will be replaced by another canon character. As I noted in the Origins section, I will be utilizing a few OC's here and there in order to flesh out the world a little, but they will be restricted to supporting/background roles almost exclusively.

Regarding the time skip, what Jaune and Neo were up to during the interim years is going to be alluded to and slowly revealed as the story progresses. It won't be ignored or forgotten, but I'm not going to just tell all of it right away either.

Hopefully everyone enjoys the story.

Unusual Hire

Nearly three years later

Jaune Arc was insane.

He had to be, considering the plan he'd come up with. Oh sure, it had seemed rational and sane and all of that back when he'd come up with it. The risks had been judged, reviewed multiple times, and believed to be worth the potential rewards. Everything had seemed like it might finally be turning their way... then he'd arrived at his destination, and his confidence had taken a double-barreled shot of gravity dust right into its chest.

That was probably due to the fact that all of those considerations and calculations had taken place far from his destination. Now that he was standing there, however... the sheer splendor and power that the place projected reminded him of just who he was up against, and just how likely he was to fail. And failure would probably mean jail-time, which would mean Neo would break him out, which would mean he'd be a fugitive with a record. That would be... rather detrimental to their hunt, at the very least it would require them to move once again.

And they were both sick of moving.

Especially if a miracle happens and this works. This place... Beacon... it's even more beautiful than I thought it would be.

Everything about the school screamed that it was a place of grandeur and wealth. Soaring arches and columns littered the main boulevards, built for no other reason than to please the eye. The central tower and the CCT loomed over the school's buildings, each of which was built in an overdone, grandiose style. It even had three entire docks stretching away from the cliffs for full-size airships to dock at, and the latest version of Valean Bullheads rested on circular landing pads expressly designed for that role.

We had old blast shields and dirt... He shook his head, slowly stepping off of the airship along with a crowd of civilians. How much money does this place have? The Professors at the Academy would have murdered people for half of the money those arch things cost. Gods, so would Shade's.

It had been one thing to know that Vacuo was the poorest and least organized of the four kingdoms, it had been something else to compare it directly to Vale. Even after a year of relocating it still managed to find ways to hit him over the head.

Focus, focus. I'm here on a mission, not here to gawk.

He let the civilians move past, pretty much all of them heading for the CCT tower and the small shopping complex around it rather than towards the school proper. The few who did walk in that direction had the look of janitors and cooks, staff members returning early to get everything ready for the students.

The one thing they all had in common was that no one, absolutely no one, walked within three meters of a blonde woman who stood alone in the walkway.

Glynda Goodwitch... He recited, swallowing a little. He'd memorized everything he could about her, and the other teachers... preparation was, after all, the key to survival. Deputy headmistress, single, early thirties. Reputation as a disciplinarian and considered among Vale's most powerful hunters, heir apparent to Professor Ozpin. Semblance is telekinesis, which she can mix with dust magic to obliterate nearly everything. Whatever you do, keep your foot out of your mouth and don't annoy her.

Blowing out a breath, he waited for the last of the others to clear past her, then started walking her way. He tried to project a calm confidence, but wasn't sure how well he managed it. The Professor visibly took him in as he approached, with no real expression on her beautiful features.

He'd done his best to clean up for this, for whatever it would help. He'd gotten a haircut for the first time in nearly a year, shaved off what bits of facial hair he'd managed to grow, and made sure that Crocea Mors was cleaned up. Clothing had been... harder. His black combat boots had seen better months, months that had been a very long time ago now, the worn leather going with his equally worn blue jeans and old black t-shirt. The only things he had that looked something close to new were the tan desert cloak that he was using as a coat, and then the freshly polished gauntlets he wore on both hands.

The rest of his armor was long gone, sold away for badly needed lien early in their quest, and he'd never felt the need to replace it even after they'd found their feet.

"Miss Goodwitch." He smiled a little, bowing his head. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Beacon is... something."

"Mister Arc." She replied, her voice was polite, neither overly cold nor warm. "I trust the Headmaster's summons was not too abrupt?"

"No, of course not." He demurred, focusing hard on his words. Being polite and courteous came naturally to him... but Neo had often told him he let his emotions out too easily and the last thing he wanted to do was to show his nerves. A real huntsman would be a little bemused, but hardly nervous after getting a call to see Professor Ozpin himself.

Keep the freaking-out internal Jaune.

"I mean, it was a little surprising," He went on, trying to keep calm. "I actually didn't expect a response so quickly. I assumed there'd be a lot of people ahead of me."

At that she actually gave him a small smile, though she murdered the expression quickly enough. "You would be surprised. If you could follow me, I will take you to him."

Jaune dipped his head again, "Thank you."

"You are welcome, though no thanks are required." Goodwitch turned, leading him down the courtyard's road, towards the central tower.

"Will I be expected to turn over my weapon?" He asked, following, hoping to keep her talking. Anything she revealed might be something that would help. "Sorry, I'm not really sure on the protocol for this kind of thing."

She gave him another almost-smile, "It is quite all right, Mister Arc. We understand how hard it is for huntsman of your caliber to go unarmed, you may keep your sword."

Huntsman of my... yeah. Well, at least the resume seemed to pass their checks, or she'd have already tossed me over the cliffs. Thank you, Professor Haley, for giving me that extra week.

He still hated the woman's memory, but the grace period she'd given him had proven to be all-important. The record of his expulsion had never gotten out thanks to the school's collapse, which had made it easy for a friend of theirs to modify the old records into something far more impressive by swapping his academic and combat scores with that of Rau and Primula.

And so Jaune Arc, average student but abysmal combatant had become the class's valedictorian and the second best in combat only behind his partner. Neo had, after all, made it very clear that she wouldn't accept him supplanting her regardless of their situation. Extra embellishments hadn't been hard to add in on top of that... making him an ideal, if inexperienced teaching-wise, candidate for the newly opened position for an Associate Professor at Beacon.

"I did have another question, if you don't mind me asking..." He hedged, giving her a chance to interrupt, then continuing when she didn't. "Why the age requirement for the position? I don't think I've ever heard of a maximum age for a teacher."

She glanced at him as they continued walking, "I'm sorry, but the Headmaster would be the one to ask about that... it is a newer development."

...what's that supposed to mean? "Oh. So the other professors aren't as young as we are?"

Goodwitch blinked, something almost like color appearing in her cheeks before she coughed delicately into one hand and returned her gaze forwards. "...No, they are not."

Oh... that did come out a bit flirty, didn't it? He could almost feel Neo glaring at him, and he discretely checked the area behind just to make sure he was just imagining her eyes boring into the back of his head.

Thankfully the woman seemed content to leave their conversation there, leading him the rest of the way to the tower. The interior proved to be a broad hall with a raised stage tucked away in the back, and smaller but equally well crafted archways leading to other areas of the building. Ignoring all of those, Goodwitch led him to the rear wall, opening a locked elevator with her scroll and ushering him inside.

A short ride later deposited him in the office of the most powerful man in Vale.

It was... as plain as the rest of Beacon was overdone. Aside from a few chairs and a battered old desk, the only decoration was a clockwork assembly set into one wall. Beyond that, the only real luxury looked to be the grand windows letting one see the school and city, and a couple of bookshelves filled with old texts.

...did the budget run out when they got this far? No, no. Focus Jaune. Make sure the lies have bits of truth in them, and don't ask the wrong questions.. and stop staring at the books. That's for later.

He shook his head a little, trying to push the thoughts aside as the office's owner rose from behind his desk. "Mister Arc, thank you for coming."

"Professor Ozpin." Jaune replied, swallowing down another bout of nerves as he walked forwards, shaking the man's hand over his desk. "Thank you for giving me this chance."

Ozpin simply smiled as they sat, Goodwitch moving around to stand behind her boss. "Think nothing of it, your resume quickly came to the top of our list."

That could have meant anything, good or bad, and Jaune merely nodded rather than risk saying something wrong.

Ozpin glanced down at several papers before him, drawing one of them up. "I have been reviewing your records, Mister Arc. You studied at the Vacuo Academy for the Gifted from the time you were thirteen up through the fall of the school, correct?"

He nodded again, fighting the urge to swallow. This was the tricky part. Changing his records from Vacuo had been relatively easy, though expensive. Getting rid of his old fake transcripts that said he'd attended Signal on Patch had been a lot harder... evidently the guy he'd originally worked with had known his stuff. The time they'd had to float around in various archives hadn't helped either.

Erasing those from the public record had taken more than a month, two break-ins of public buildings, and a far more harrowing burglary of Signal itself.

Neo may have had fun but my nerves were not made for that kind of thing...

"Not many who departed from that Academy chose to continue as Hunters." Ozpin continued, sipping from a cup of coffee and looking at Jaune over his spectacles. "Yet you did, but on your own rather than applying to Shade or one of the other academies. Why?"

Because after what I learned, I didn't trust them... or you. "Because I wasn't ready then. After everything that happened... I needed some time to pull myself together."

Ozpin regarded him, then his resume, then set the paper down while idly playing with his coffee mug. "What do you think of those who took that time, but decided to quit this life?"

"I can't blame them." He replied, his voice coming out quieter than he'd intended. As a rule he didn't like to think about what had happened, didn't like to remember that night. "It took my partner and I a while to get over it, and there were times we almost didn't continue either."

So many dead ends, so many unanswered questions. So many clues that didn't seem to lead to anything but more frustration. So many close calls and near reveals, so many tired nights where it had all seemed so pointless.

"But we kept going," Jaune blew out a breath, "Because we had each other, and we had a goal."

The Headmaster nodded slightly, "It is good that you had someone close to you, such burdens should not be born alone. What made you continue on, rather than find a more peaceful career, or return to school? What was your goal?"

"Because people needed our help." He realized how simple and corny that sounded even as he said it, and quickly continued, "Our goal was and is to protect them. As for school... well, we both felt that, after what happened, we'd learned enough. We knew the kingdoms' laws, we knew how to kill Grimm."

"Is that the purpose of a huntsman?" Ozpin cocked his head to one side, "To kill Grimm?"

Jaune shook his head, "No. You could spend your whole life doing that, could kill a dozen Grimm every day until you died and you wouldn't change anything. Being a huntsman is about protecting people, sometimes from the Grimm, sometimes from criminals... sometimes from themselves."

The other man seemed amused at that answer, smiling as he sipped more coffee. "An answer I'd expect from a man far older than yourself, Mister Arc."

He tried not to shift awkwardly in his seat, "It's... been a long three years sir."

"I can only imagine." Ozpin replied, leaning back in his chair. "If I may ask, why do you wish to teach at my school? With your qualifications you could easily pass any licensing test and continue your life. Yet instead you risk everything, move from one kingdom to another, all to apply for a position you have no practical experience in."

Here we go... at least he didn't seem to know we've been in Vale for more than a year. Resume is holding up so far, just have to keep supporting it.

Jaune swallowed, took in a long breath, then spoke, "I... learned a lot, when the school fell. I've learned more since then. I've seen graduates from Shade, from the other schools... and I realized that I'd learned things that they hadn't. They were older than me, years older in some cases, they'd completed their classes, had their licenses, had all the training in the world... but they still seemed so... so..."

"Raw?" Goodwitch suggested from behind her boss, her voice oddly gentle. "Inexperienced?"

"And naive." He nodded, grateful for the extra support. "And unprepared, and... so arrogant. Gods I couldn't believe how arrogant some of them were."

The woman's lips pressed together, picking up on the key word he'd thrown in there to get their attention, "Were?"

Jaune felt himself relax a little, moving away from the exaggerations and lies towards things he had actually seen. "Once, when I was in northern Vacuo, I saw a new huntsman get killed by bandits who didn't even have their aura unlocked, and they did it without the bandits losing a man. They had rusting, broken old weapons... and they killed him because they had a plan, they knew what they were dealing with... and the kid just ran into their ambush like an idiot because he was used to being king of the hill."

She grimaced, looking away, as if she was remembering similar scenes. He saw that, seized on it, and kept rolling. "Another team got killed on a caravan escort when they ran off alone. They wouldn't listen to the caravan leader, said he was just a useless civilian." Goodwitch winced again, "Or to my partner and I, because we weren't," he made air quotes, "real huntsman. You know how awful it was to see that? To know what was going to happen, but not be able to do anything about it?"

"I do." Ozpin replied, tones still soft. "Believe me that I do, Mister Arc. Do you wish to impart your earned wisdom on students, so that they are better prepared?"

Jaune opened his mouth, closed it, and then sighed. "I want a world where kids don't have to watch their school burn to the ground to learn what I did."

A world where they don't have to learn anything about this at all...

The Headmaster regarded him, sipping from his coffee again. After a long moment... he took another drink, then nodded as if it had helped him make a decision. "Well said, Mister Arc. If you could review these papers?"

He glanced down as a hand slid several sheets towards him, his eyes flicking over the top. "Contract for... wait, that's it?"

Ozpin smiled, "I prefer to be decisive on such things."

Jaune blinked at him, then blinked again when something murderous flickered across Goodwitch's face before she got her expression under control again. He wasn't sure if she was reacting to him being hired, or to what Ozpin had said.

Really hope I didn't just make an enemy of a teacher on day one again... especially the one I'm going to be working with. "Um... all right. Wait, I thought this was for an associate position? This says for a full professor."

"Quite." The other man waved a hand slightly, "In truth you will be somewhere in between. Initially you will simply be shadowing the other professors, particularly Miss Goodwitch, until we are sure you can handle a class of your own."

...a class of my own? Me? He felt a little dizzy, this was moving way too fast. It had in fact blown right past his best-case scenario and was still going. There had to be a catch, there was always a catch, something to make this dream fall apart. "A... class? What would I teach? What could I teach? You said yourself that I don't have experience."

"I had initially thought that you might be able to impart simple excursion and camping knowledge." Ozpin shrugged, holding his cup in both hands and smiling over it. "However, after seeing your... zeal, I am considering a group tactics course, or a combination of the two. We will start you gently, do not worry."

"Gently?" He was too numb with shock to say anything more intelligent.

Goodwitch took a step forwards, "Perhaps only the first years. They tend to be more in awe, more willing to learn than older students set in their ways. And in either case, they are the ones most in need of guidance and assistance."

They want me to teach first years... me. An expelled liar, a failed huntsman, and a criminal. Oh gods, this is... this is... The worst thing was that he couldn't decide if this was a great thing or a terrible thing. Guilt at what he was doing started to well up again, only to be pushed down as he focused on the objective. No, no! This is great. This is everything we needed and more! Just... with a lot more pressure attached. We're doing the right thing... even if we're not doing it the right way. I can do this!

"All right." He shook himself a little, trying to focus on something besides his unstable emotions. "Um, what about the age thing?"

Ozpin cocked his head, "Age...thing?"

Goodwitch let out a quiet cough, "He was curious about the age limitation."

"Ah." The Headmaster nodded, "We can discuss that later, once you're settled in and we see how the students respond to you. Did you have any other questions?"

He licked his lips, "My partner... would she be able to stay with me, or at least visit? We're paying for a hotel right now since we weren't sure if-"

"-you'd get the position?" Ozpin finished for him, "It's quite all right, Mister... no, Professor Arc. She will be free to stay with you, provided she sign a few non-disclosure agreements and agree to a few rules. Will she still continue taking missions while you teach?"

"I don't know, to be honest." He answered, lying through his teeth once again. "We'll have to talk about it."

"Of course." Came the reply. "Now, if you'd care to review the paperwork in more detail... there are quite a few things you'll have to sign."

Four hours later, a beaten and exhausted young man shuffled down a busy street in Vale, moving away from the city's Bullhead docks, a cramping hand rubbing tiredly through his hair.

"Paperwork..." The word came out like a curse. Why did I have to sign my name so many times? And initial so many other places!? Why wasn't once enough?

He'd barely understood some of the things he was signing, while others had actually worried him a little bit. Especially the part where he was now required to use the Beacon medical staff for any and all injuries or illnesses from this point forwards. That wouldn't have been so odd if not for the number of times and ways it had been repeated, as if whoever had written the paperwork was concerned he wouldn't want to.

Why wouldn't I? Beacon should have the best equipment and doctor around, shouldn't they? In the end he'd gone ahead and signed anyway, mostly because he'd been terrified he was about to wake up, or be told that even one refusal would see the offer withdrawn.

Can't let that happen now. Not when we're finally getting somewhere.

Ahead of him, the door to a coffee shop all but exploded open, a multi-colored blur nearly knocking two teenagers down before resolving itself into the form of his partner.

Neo had changed her look several times in the past couple of years, and often used her semblance to help with that... but for today she had her multi-colored hair in her favorite cut that came down to her chin, and as usual she hadn't bothered with makeup for her pale features. Her black pants and corset went with her knee-high heeled boots, but contrasted heavily with her worn fighting gloves and long white leather coat.

She skidded to a stop in front of him, both of her eyes a worried shade of cream. When he didn't say anything she spread her arms in a demanding fashion, her expression bouncing between terrified and hopeful.

Jaune stared at her for a few seconds, letting that contrast shift increasingly towards fear... then gave her a smooth little bow. "You are addressing Beacon's newest, and youngest, Professor."

Neo's eyes flashed to an excited pink, and she bounced up and down while clapping her hands. He barely had time to laugh at her reaction before she leaped at him, impossibly strong legs wrapping around his waist while her arms snapped around his neck.

She'd evidently been drinking a latte because her lips tasted like coffee and sugar, a combination he didn't really mind as he kissed her back. Someone nearby let out a wolf whistle that they both ignored, separating only when Neo decided that she'd had enough of exploring his mouth with her tongue.

Once she was on the ground again, she beamed at him and put her hands on her hips, nodding once in approval.

"It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, actually." He admitted sheepishly, speaking as the two started off down the street. "Our friend did good work, they accepted all the papers and transcripts, didn't even ask me questions about it."

Neo cocked her head, frowning a little.

"I know," He admitted, "I thought that was odd too, but Ozpin did ask quite a few questions about how I handled the aftermath. I told them how hard it was, how I realized how important it was to stick together, how much I learned. They seemed impressed by my maturity, how I wanted to make sure other students didn't have to figure things out the same way we did."

And he hadn't even lied about that. He did want those things... it just wasn't all he wanted.

His partner nodded, grinning a little before lifting her hands and signing a question at him. It wasn't real sign language, but in some ways that was a good thing. It meant no one else could understand them when Jaune felt like replying in kind rather than with verbal words.

"We get to move in at the end of the week, they apparently have to get a room set up. Just a few more days."

Neo frowned at that, clearly not happy. Not that he could blame her... the sooner they got into Beacon the sooner they could start their search. He slid an arm over her shoulders and shook her gently, "Don't be like that... look on the bright side. We'll have a room in a secured school, one that we're not paying for either."

She cocked her head a little to one side, then relaxed as she nodded in approval. It was a feeling he entirely agreed with... safe homes and lien had both been in very short supply ever since they'd started their self-appointed mission. As risky as it was to stay at Beacon, to chance being caught out... it was also one of the safest places in the world for them.

Weird how that worked out. But at least it had worked out. After so many false starts, so many times they'd had to flee from rumors or from actual sightings...

"We should celebrate." He said aloud, "It's been so long since we could. Maybe a fancy dinner or something."

Neo blinked, then rubbed two fingers together.

"We've got enough saved up from that last job." Jaune shrugged, "And I get my first paycheck next week. We can spend."

She considered that, then dug her scroll out of her pocket. She checked it while they walked, Jaune absently steering her around and past other people on the sidewalk. A few people gave them the usual assortment of odd looks that they got when they visited larger towns. For all that Neo was an adult, her height and appearance had led to more than a few people thinking something far more inappropriate than two consensual adults was going on between them.

Including our hotel... He sighed. Having the police called on them their first night hadn't been fun. Stopping Neo from beating up said police had been even less fun. The cops had let it go after a frustratingly long time, but at least the hotel had been embarrassed enough by the argument in their lobby to lower their nightly rate significantly. Have to focus on the bright side.

Neo's elbow indicated that she'd found her place of choice, though he could only sigh when she held her scroll up for him to see. "Neo... I love you, but a gourmet ice cream parlor is not a fancy dinner."

Her below dug a little more sharply into his side.

"...split the difference at the Club?" He asked, "I'll have Junior make you those vodka shakes again. We have to talk with him anyway."

Neo tapped her lips with a finger in thought, then nodded in approval.

And here we go again. As far as new chapter go, I'm going to be going to a schedule to get both this and AR out every week. Chapter length is likely going to vary between 3k and 5k depending on the chapter, I likely won't go longer than that in the interest of making sure I can get chapters out. My tentative plan is for two chapters per story per week, with this fic updating on or around the weekends while Another Realm updates during the week itself.

Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."

Thanks, Kat