Replies to my Reviewers
To TheDragon2000: Thanks for your suggestions. I really wanted a Jaune/Sun fusion name but I'll gladly add Line(Ren & Jaune), Yake(Yang & Blake) and Pyrang(Pyrrha & Yang) to the story. Also, I just want to point out that Fusion is a spell, as in only Mages can use it. So all pairs must have at least one Mage providing the power for it.
To Gltchy: This isn't a dimension hopping fic, at least not yet. Haki is known to all veterans of this world and Magic such as Celestial Spirit Magic existed along with the other types in Ozma and Salem's time. Considering that Celestial keys are physical objects, it would simply be a matter of time before a human with Magic happened to find one.
Chapter 11: The Three Tasks I
Jaune stared at Ozpin's hand in shock. 'Magic?! That's definitely Magic but I thought only Mages could have it. Virgo told me herself that the number of mages currently in the whole Kingdom of Vale could be counted in one hand?!'
"Mr. Arc?" Headmaster Ozpin spoke to him, snapping him out of his mental tirade.
"Sir, What do you want me for?"
"Oh," Ozpin replied and put his hand down. "You don't seem surprised."
"No, Sir. You called me up here for a reason." Jaune frowned a bit as he went on. "You may have caught me off-guard with my transcripts but you've not only just said yourself that you can easily fix that problem, but asked this weird question and showed off a Mana coated hand, revealing yourself as a fellow mage in order to let my guard down."
Ozpin and Goodwitch blinked a bit before the Headmaster smiled in something that looked like a mix of resignation and approval.
"Excellent deduction, Mr. Arc." Ozpin said. "However, regarding my earlier question, we'll have to save it for another time."
Ozpin sat up and rummaged through his desk a bit. "This is Hunter License Undertaking Form."
He slapped the paper unto the table, ignoring both Jaune's and Goodwitch's dropped jaws. "If you undertake this, you can get full Huntsman privileges, easily rendering school transcripts as useless, whether genuine or forged. Do you accept to undergo it?"
"Wait! Ozpin, you can't be serious! He's practically a child!" Goodwitch strongly voiced her disapproval. " The earliest students who take their Hunter License exams are Third Years! What's going through that head of yours this time?!"
Jaune looked down on the paper before looking back to his Headmaster. "If I fail or refuse to go through this, what will happen?"
"Nothing. You'll return to your team and pray to whatever deity you believe in that nobody other than us ever gets a reason to go through your files. If that time comes, I will act appropriately as the school Headmaster."
"This however," Ozpin gestured to the paper. "solves that problem. The purpose of a Hunter Academy is to create capable Hunters. If you succeed at this, You'll essentially save yourself from problems that hamper your continued education at Beacon. If you succeed, that is."
Jaune inflected a bit then signed the paper.
"Perfect. I'll have you take the Exam this weekend."
"So soon?!"
"No need to waste time, Mr. Arc. Naturally, I will adjust it to fit your skill set." Ozpin passed the signed form to Goodwitch, who was now glaring at Jaune, as if his apparent stupidity was a great offence to her, causing him to get going.
"One last thing, Sir. How did you know I was a Mage?"
"The Emerald Forest has cameras, Mr. Arc. I believe I mentioned them that day." Goodwitch replied as she rubbed her temple.
Jaune thought back to Initiation, when he had been preoccupied by the scary lack of landing strategy. And all the chaos that followed after. Then he slapped his palm into his face.
"Goodbye, Mr. Arc and good luck to you tomorrow." He called to Jaune's retreating back.
_AKGtBaH_
Jaune pulled out his Scroll and dialed to make a long overdue call.
"Hey Whitley. It's Jaune from the train..."
"Hunter License Exam?!" Pyrrha was shocked at this revelation. Team JNPR had just been informed by their leader for his sudden disappearance earlier. As well as all the results from his 'meeting'.
"And it's this weekend, huh? Jaune, you only just discovered your semblance a while ago and you haven't finished those moves we were experimenting." Ren said in worry. "Are you going to be alright?"
"I'll be fine. Probably..." Jaune nervously replied.
"You just got to have a good incentive for winning." Nora said in encouragement. "You've got this, Fearless Leader."
"Why do you call me that, anyway?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Nora tilted her head.
"No. I'm not fearless. I've never been fearless."
"Maybe you feel like that," Pyrrha replied, moving to sit next to him. "But back in Initiation, you took control over our team so splendidly, that its hard to find any believe you were actually afraid at that time."
"It's even more impressive now that we know that was practically your first combat scenario with Grimm." Ren chipped in. "There's no way I would have believed anyone calling you a civilian after that."
"You're amazing, Jaune." Nora contributed as well. "And we're glad to have you as our friend and leader."
Jaune held back the tears that threatened to spill out. "You guys are the best!"
He pulled them all into an impromptu group hug. Not a single one of them resisted.
The First Exam
"Are you ready, Mr. Arc?"
"Yes, Sir."
In front of Jaune was Professor Port, who Jaune initially believed might have been alerted to Jaune's 'situation'. His later words convinced him otherwise.
"Haha! To think a strapping young man as yourself would aim to take this exam so early. I, myself, only started mine as a Second Year. You are going to go far, lad. Just remember to slow down a bit sometimes. There's nothing wrong with being ambitious, but you should still take time to admire where you are currently."
"Thank you, Sir." Jaune said as he received the paper from him. This was gonna need a lot of his brain power.
Jaune was burning with enthusiasm.
One long, agonizing paper exam later
"Uuuuhhh..."
Jaune was burned out of enthusiasm.
His head was pounding as he passed his finished paper to Professor Port. After a nerve-wracking seven minutes of seeing his teacher mark his scores, especially since half of the questions were hypothetical questions and scenarios rather than what was taught in his Beacon classes.
"Hem Hem."
Jaune jolted at Port clearing his voice.
"Good work, Mr. Arc."
First Exam Clear
"Now then. Please head to this location," Jaune suddenly received a Map alert on his Scroll. "for your second exam. Doctor Oobleck will be waiting for you." Professor Port gave him a thumbs up as Jaune rushed out of the classroom.
"Such passion! Reminds me of a certain man back in the day, when I was blah blah blah blah..." And then Professor Peter Port proved without a doubt, that even being alone in a classroom... would not stop him from giving self-serving stories about himself.
Jaune rushed off the Bullhead into the city, giving his thanks to Slagathor("It's Jeff!"). Jaune had just entered the marketplace when a small figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere, causing to crash into it. Due to him recognizing that it was a child he had just collided with, he quickly shielded her body with his as they rolled to a stop.
After shaking their hair free of dust, Jaune took a look at the child. It was a little girl with long shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. She was also a Raccoon Faunus. A Raccoon Faunus who looked like she was about to cry.
"Woah. Woah. Woah. I'm sorry if I hit too hard please don't cry please." Jaune fell to his knees in a panic, trying to pacify her.
"I-I-It's not that, mister." The girl hiccupped through her tears. "I can't find my mommy!" She ended her sentence with a fresh wail.
"How long were you separated from her?" Jaune tried to speak over her cries while wiping her face clean.
"S-hic-Some minutes ago. I don't know."
'Minutes?! How come nobody's tried to help her?' He then heard the 'whispers' behind him.
"Look at her filthy ears. What an eyesore."
"What a noisy brat. Can't those animals raise their cubs properly?"
"The Vytal Festival is almost upon us. How dare those lousy beasts spoil our excitement?"
Noticing that the voices were coming from a direction rather than all around them, the voices came from a couple directly behind him. While they were teenagers like him, their uniforms spoke clearly of their origin.
'Atlas Students.' He then noticed a bench behind them. 'Perfect.'
"What's your name?"
"Snff. Raphtalia."
"That's a lovely name. Come now." Suppressing his anger, he carried Raphtalia in his arms and headed for the bench, steamrolling the Atlesian duo without hesitation.
"Y-You bastard!" The girl called from the ground.
"You gonna pay for that!" The girl's partner had stepped forward with his weapon drawn when Jaune's patience snapped and his anger leaked out.
"Go away!"
A wave of pressure slammed into the Atlesian student as he beheld the boy holding the raccoon girl.
No, not a boy.
There was a Knight there.
The Knight, while holding his charge safely in his arms, was glaring at him with enough heat to render him to ash and he could a strange weight over him, getting heavier and heavier-
The surrounding crowd was a bit startled when a second after the Atlesian Huntsman charged forward, he had been literally stared down into unconsciousness. The Huntress looked like she might avenge her partner, but something in the Blond Knight's expression changed her mind. She swiftly carried her partner, who had started foaming in his mouth, out of sight.
Jaune sat Raphtalia down and after fiddling with his scroll a bit, he placed it next to her.
"We don't know where your mother is, and looking for her will increase the chances of us constantly missing each other." He stood back a bit after dropping Crocea Mors next to her as well. "So we do the next best thing."
A song started playing out loudly, catching everyone's attention around them.
"We bring her to us."
Play while reading "Here Comes the Hotstepper (Evian version - Yuksek remix)"
"Hit it
Nah, na na na nah, na na na nah, na na nah, na na nah, na na na nah
Here comes the hotstepper, murderer
I'm the lyrical gangster, murderer
Pick up the crew in-a de area, murderer
Still love you like that, murderer"
As the song went on, Jaune danced to the tune perfectly. For once in his life, Jaune was grateful for the dancing lessons his sisters forced him through.
"Here comes the Hotstepper
I'm the lyrical gangster
I'm a live in-a me danger
Still love you like that
Hey
Da da da da
Da da da da
Da da da da"
As the song ended, Jaune was greeted by a round of applause by his audience. He scanned the crowd but saw no worried parental faces amongst them.
"Um, mister Huntsman."
"Jaune. My name's Jaune."
"Mister Jaune. I don't see my mommy..." Raphtalia looked like she might start crying again.
"It's okay. Let me tell you what I'm doing. I'm causing a scenario in which I attract a large amount of attention on myself." Jaune gently rubbed her raccoon ears as he talked, calming her down. "This way, I'm attracting kids as well. And if the commotion is enough to draw in kids amongst adults..."
"Then Mommy will think I'm here and come looking." Jaune nodded in approval at Raphtalia's quick thinking. A Warthog Faunus in glasses, who had been watching from the moment Jaune had helped up Raphtalia, overhead their discussion and pulled out his Scroll to record and upload. Like a sent out signal, various spectators who hadn't pulled out their Scrolls from the beginning, did so immediately, unknowingly helping out Jaune's plan.
"Now then..." Jaune moved to his Scroll and set another song.
Play while reading "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars
"This hit, that ice cold
Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold
This one for them hood girls
Them good girls straight masterpieces
Stylin', wilin', livin' it up in the city
Got Chucks on with Saint Laurent
Gotta kiss myself, I'm so pretty
I'm too hot (hot damn)
Call the police and the fireman
I'm too hot (hot damn)
Make a dragon wanna retire man
I'm too hot (hot damn)
Say my name you know who I am
I'm too hot (hot damn)
And my band 'bout that money, break it down
Girls hit your hallelujah (whoo)
Girls hit your hallelujah (whoo)
Girls hit your hallelujah (whoo)
'Cause uptown funk gon' give it to you
'Cause uptown funk gon' give it to you
'Cause uptown funk gon' give it to you
Saturday night and we in the spot
Don't believe me just watch (come on)"
"Jaune?!" Jaune looked to see both Ruby and Weiss, staring at him.
Ruby in amazement.
Weiss in shock.
"Perfect!" He dashed forward and brought back the girls. "This is a group song."
"What?! No! I refuse to-" Weiss was very vocal about her belief in public showmanship.
"Come on, Weiss." Ruby laughed, her very attitude contrasting against Weiss'. "It'll be fun."
Jaune and Ruby then trapped Weiss in between them (Jaune holding out his spare hand for Raphtalia to join them) and proceeded to finish the song with her reluctantly (but still with more professional dancing skill than her captors) in tow.
"Come on, dance
Jump on it
If you sexy then flaunt it
Well it's Saturday night and we in the spot
Don't believe me just watch come on!
Don't believe me just watch uh
Don't believe me just watch uh
Don't believe me just watch uh
Don't believe me just watch
Don't believe me just watch
Hey, hey, hey, oh
Uptown (woo) funk you up (come on)
Uptown funk you up (say what?)
Uptown funk you up
Uptown funk you up (come on)
Uptown (woo) funk you up (come on)
Uptown funk you up (say what?)
Uptown funk you up
Uptown funk you up (come on)
Uptown (woo) funk you up (come on)
Uptown funk you up (say what?)
Uptown funk you up
Uptown funk you up (come on)
Uptown funk you up
Uptown funk you up (say what?)
Uptown funk you up"
The crowd went wild as Jaune, Ruby, Weiss and Raphtalia bowed at the finish.
"Talia!"
Raphtalia's ears perked up with her head as she responded with joy. "Mommy!"
"Are we missing something?" Ruby looked to Jaune for answers. Jaune briefly explained about how Raphtalia had been separated from her mother and he created a one person flash mob for her sake.
"You really did that?" Weiss asked him with evident shock in her eyes. "For someone you didn't know on the streets?"
"Of course I did. Even if I wasn't aiming to be a Huntsman, how could I ignore a crying child alone in the middle of the street?" Unknown to Jaune, a couple of Scrolls were still recording and uploading his conversation to the CCT.
Weiss' shock changed from shock to what might have been approval had Ruby's next words taken his attention.
"Yup. I guess for a hero, this would be a good use of free time."
'Free time? Free time... oh.. oh...' "I"M NOT ON FREE TIME!"
Jaune practically vanished as he rushed towards his previous destination.
"Wait!" Raphtalia's mother called out as he disappeared. "I wanted to thank him..."
"Don't worry, Ma'am." Ruby assured her. "I'm a friend of his from Beacon. I'll pass it on to him."
"Thank you, Miss Huntresses." Raphtalia beamed up at her savior's friends. Weiss stared at her with a blank expression on her face, before slowing patting her head and offering her a smile.
"We didn't do as much as Jaune did, but you are welcome."
Omake
Jaune was rushing through the city away from his new fans trying to make it to his second exam, when a peculiar sight stopped him.
It was a large wall with a mirror on it. The 'peculiar' part? His reflection was a baby version of him, complete in baby versions of his attire and weapons.
After waving his hands and making various motions which the baby accurately followed, he promptly started dancing again with Baby! Jaune copying him, while 'Hotstepper' played in the background.
After dancing a bit and swing his sword a few times (Baby! Jaune's was a plastic toy), Baby! Jaune pulled out his Scroll and pointed at the Map Alert.
Jaune did the same and remembered he was supposed to be elsewhere and ran off. Baby! Jaune watched Jaune run off before facing the reader. He raised his chubby hand in a gun motion and spoke out.
"Here comes the Hotstepper."
KingVessel: I just watched that Hotstepper song after so many years and it got stuck in my brain. Please enjoy and review.