GIANT JET SHELL!~ Oof, missed my four-day upload by ten minutes... but if ya round it down I technically made it right?
Okay, so first things first. I ain't gonna lie that I struggle with power scaling and the like, but to answer the questions regarding Hawkins' strength, I'd say he's already a top tier in regards to RWBY standards especially now with the time skip after Menagerie. However, when compared to the One-Piece characters in my story, I'd say he's about Crocodile's level or a tier below it.
And oh baby I can't believe my story hit 200 followers! To be honest I didn't think I'd get this far with my story but I'm really glad I pushed through. Thanks to all my readers both old and new, and to the many guests who decided to give my story a chance.
With that cheers everyone and happy reading!
The school bell chimed as Jaune scrambled for answers. The lead of his pencil smoking by the end of class, he handed his paper to his rushing instructor and gathered his belongings.
"Don't forget to review pages 62 to 65 everyone. There will be another pop quiz on the subject tomorrow, and this one will be graded." Oobleck hurried to his desk, sat himself down, and sped through his stack of papers with a blue pen in hand.
"Hey Jaune, wait up." Emerald waved to her brother and caught him by the sleeve.
"Hi Minty, what did you think of our first class?"
His sister shrugged. "History is kinda boring, but it's funny watching Doctor Oobleck prance around the desks while he's scolding snoozing students."
Emerald glanced at her bow-wearing partner who's face was covered by a thick leather novel a few feet away. There wasn't a title on the book, so the Hawkins siblings assumed it was study notes.
"By the way, my partner asked me if she could talk to you during lunch. I don't know what it's about, but she's been sneaking peeks at you ever since she heard your stories about Menagerie."
Jaune curled a brow, but the opportunity to make another friend was too good to pass up. "Oh, you mean Ms. Belladonna? I wonder what she wants to talk about. Maybe she's got familial ties to Faunus as we do?"
"You'll have to ask her if you want answers."
Jaune nodded and their journey through the bustling hall came to an end. The doors of their next class flew open to reveal a man with well-kept gray hair and a large mustache. His red suit adorned with gold buttons, paper diagrams of Grimm and their respective subspecies littered the chalkboard with brief summaries written below them.
"Ah, welcome young first-years. It is an honor to teach such youthful minds, please take a seat and we will begin at once!" Chortled the stout man.
By the boldly written name on the chalkboard, the instructor went by Professor Port.
"Hey Jaune, why don't you sit with us?" Ruby waved to her blonde friend as she sat along the third row of desks.
The teen in question glanced at his younger sister, who shrugged and followed him to their seats.
"Now, since today is your first lesson, I'll spare you from the heftier lessons and focus on simple explanations. However, before you take out your textbooks, I'd like to congratulate three particular students for achieving a perfect score on their military strategy exams!" Port stroked his mustache and puffed out his chest.
"Everyone please give a round of applause to Weiss Schnee!"
The heiress straightened her back and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. Of course, Weiss hit one-hundred percent on the exam. The standards of a Schnee wouldn't accept anything less.
"Next, let's show some enthusiasm for Roman Torchwick Crocodylus!"
The bowler-hatted student smirked at the bewildered visage of his partner. Did she assume that she was the only one who knew how to handle a battlefield?
"Last but not least, we have Jaune F. Hawkins!"
The young magician's eyes widened and his head turned to his fellow students who shared the top spot. Roman tipped his hat in acknowledgment, but Weiss shot him a look of betrayal as if he'd cheated on the test. Slinking into his chair, Jaune tried to hide but a pat on the back from a silver-eyed reaper fixed his posture.
"Wow Jaune, I didn't know you were so smart!" Ruby giggled at the flushed expression of her blonde cohort.
"While I am impressed that you three managed to ace my exam, don't forget that this is only the first step to your futures as hunters and huntresses. There are many hurdles to come, and some will prove difficult despite your natural talents. With that, let us begin your first lesson shall we?" Port strutted to the end of the chalkboard and raised a hand at the diagram of a pig-shaped Grimm with tusks.
"Ah, the Boarbatusk. Be on guard when it's around, despite its short stature its brute strength is nothing to scoff at. Why, in my younger days I encountered a horde of these Grimm, in fact..." The instructor's lesson quickly turned into storytime and his students began to drift off into dreamland as a result.
"Ugh, how long can this teacher talk about how he defeated a Boarbatusk with a shoelace?" Emerald rested her head on her arms and yawned.
"Yeah, Professor Port's stories are a tad exaggerated aren't they?" Jaune chuckled and slapped his cheeks to keep himself awake.
"Hah, all this talk about Boarbatusks has riled me up. As a reward for being such an attentive audience, let's end our day with a display of action yes?" Port turned to a curtained cage which had remained ominous during the entire lecture.
He gave it a few knocks, and the contents within the cage stirred. Grunts and snarls beckoning through the bars, Port asked if anyone wished to prove their mettle and defeat the raging beast within.
"What's that Jaune, you can take down a Boarbatusk with your bare hands?" A sneering Cardin whistled from the row above the blonde.
"Is that so Mr. Hawkins? Well, don't keep us waiting, get down here and prove your mettle!" Port exclaimed and waved the young magician over.
"I, but I... um?" Jaune's lips quivered as his classmates giggled and snickered.
"Come on Jaune, you can do it! Professor Heracles said you took down a humongous Deathstalker didn't he?" The little reaper to his side pumped her fists and grinned at her fellow awkward socialite.
"Y-Yes I did, but I had help from-"
"Enough stalling lad, time is ticking and I'd like to end my first day of class with some action!" Port twirled his mustache and Jaune complied with his instructor's orders.
Standing at the front of the classroom, Jaune cracked his knuckles and gulped. He wasn't a brawler by any means, but he did practice boxing basics with his uncle Kuma from time to time. Port plucked his trusty weapon, Blowhard, a blunderbuss with a brass barrel and its trigger merged with a double-sided battle axe.
"Good luck, Jaune!" Ruby along with her team cheered as Port broke the lock of the Boarbatusk's cage.
Armed with tusks and a boney-plated hide, the snarling Grimm dug in its hooves and charged. Malevolent red eyes narrowed on its target, Jaune raised his hands to meet his opponent, but the monster spun on its hooves and veered to the left. Brushing against his side, Jaune dipped in the nick of time and regained his footing.
"Hah, unlike Beowolves and Ursa, the Boarbatusk can pivot on its heels and change its direction mid-charge. You weren't expecting that were you, Jaune?" Port chuckled as his student dodged another attack.
"Yeah go get 'em Jaune, show that Grimm who's boss!" Ruby called.
"Keep your eyes on your target and widen your stance!" Pyrrha chimed.
"Don't die?" Blake muttered, unsure of how to motivate her acquaintance.
"Stop wasting time Jaune next class is in ten minutes!" Emerald shouted.
Jaune sighed with a thin smile. Cardin did say he could beat a Boarbatusk with his bare hands, but some assistance from Doppelman wasn't cheating, right? I mean, his shadow's hands were just an extension of his own, so they were perfectly legal.
Taking deep breaths, the blonde commanded his devil fruit to manifest and slither its way across the floors and latch onto the shadow of the Grimm, a jolt of pain nicked at his heart when he did so but Jaune shrugged it off and took the initiative. He ran toward the bone-plated beast with his hands raised and clamped his fingers on the monster's tusks. As expected the Boarbatusk tried to power through, and Jaune allowed it to do so when his back faced the Grimm's cage.
"Alright, that's good enough Doppelman," Jaune whispered and his shadow released its hold on the grunting beast.
He too let go, and the Boarbatusk propelled itself to where it emerged. Jaune dashed to the cage and slammed the door shut, and used a spare lock lying on the Port's desk to finish the match. With a satisfying clunk, Jaune came out victorious and flashed a goofy smile at his professor.
"Hm, impressive Jaune, I must say I didn't expect such an elaborate plan but your work ethic is unmistakable. Take what you've seen here today class and provide a one-page summary that will be due for tomorrow." Port nodded and told Jaune to gather his belongings while patting him on the back with a chuckle.
Students groaned, but no one saw Jaune's doppelman at work as they were too focused on the wild Grimm. All except for Emerald, Roman, and Neo of course, but they felt no reason to call out their blonde goofball on his resourcefulness.
"Ding!~"
Despite only hearing the class bell twice, Jaune already felt the fatigue of being a student. However, lunch was still one period away and Jaune had to power through the lessons of his next instructor Thumbelina Peach and her assistant Heracles.
"Hey, why's the door locked? It's not fair to say if we're late if we can't get inside the classroom." Yang huffed and tugged on the door handles.
"Welcome to Botany-un!" A beetle-themed forest champion slammed the doors open which sent Yang flying across the hallway.
Eyes wide, the blonde brawler's fellow students watched as she soared while screaming in frustration. An anticlimactic thud later, the students quickly hurried to their seats in fear of what the erratic man known as Heracles had planned.
"Oh, you don't have to do that every time Heracles-san." A womanly voice quipped.
Unlike the lecture rooms with chalkboards and bookshelves, the botany class desks were stacked with buckets of dirt and seed packets.
Standing at the center of the plant-related piles, was a dainty woman with an hourglass figure and peach-colored hair tied in a messy bun. Her orange eyes covered by thick rectangular goggles, she wore a standard lab coat, thigh-high black boots, and a pair of black gloves that reached to her elbows.
"Welcome to Botany, everyone. I will be your instructor for this class and you will address me as Professor Peach. Please excuse my assistance Heracles-san. He's a little too enthusiastic, but he means well all the same."
"Huh, she seems nice." Jaune grinned and found a stool near a wide table.
He expected his sister and her teammates to join him, but the presence of a blonde brawler and her partner thwarted his expectations along with the respective heirs of the RDI and SDC.
"Oh, hey guys." Jaune greeted nervously as Yang seemed to be staring quite intently at him.
"Sup, Jaune." Yang shrugged her shoulders and plopped herself beside him.
Unbeknownst to the tarot reader, Yang's reasons for dragging her team to sit with him were simple. She wanted to see if Jaune was worthy of being Ruby's first official friend at Beacon. Sure, her younger sibling had her teammates, but when Yang asked her about the blonde boy she met in the courtyard, Ruby told her that while Jaune might be a goof, he's the closest thing to a friend that she has at Beacon right now.
So naturally, the blonde brawler took it upon herself to verify her suspicions and deduce the qualities of the awkward blonde beside her.
"Um, is there something on my face, Ms. Long?" Jaune gulped as his cohort's lilac stare hadn't moved since she sat down.
"Don't worry about it, just seeing what goods you're packing," Yang smirked at her fellow blonde's flushed cheeks and attempt to stare in another direction.
His cerulean eyes landing on the curious visage of Weiss, Jaune noticed both she and Roman were seated at the far ends of the table with Yang, Cardin, and him in the middle. Jaune could already tell from the get-go that Roman and Weiss were a poor combination given their backgrounds and rivaling dust companies.
"Is something wrong?" Weiss huffed, seemingly annoyed that the blonde had been staring at her for a good minute.
"Sorry Snow-" Jaune bit his tongue at the death glare on the heiress' face.
"Sorry, Ms. Schnee." He corrected and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Is that all?" Weiss continued, much to Jaune's surprise.
"Oh, well I've been wondering why you decided to sit next to me that's all. Given that Ms. Nikos is on the other side of the classroom with her team." The young magician mumbled.
Weiss rolled her eyes and frowned. "Believe me, if I had a choice I would have taken any other seat. But because of Yang's antics, I along with the rest of my team were forced to sit with you."
"Then what about the time in the cafeteria?" Jaune blurted without a second thought.
"My answer remains the same." The heiress sighed and turned her head towards the front of the class where Ms. Peach and Heracles appeared to be pouring an assortment of seeds into a large pot.
"I see..." Jaune's shoulders sagged as his eyes dimmed.
A gentle elbow to the ribs and Jaune turned back to Yang who for some reason, had a fierce grip on her Cardin's ear.
"By the way, Cardin didn't get a chance to say that he's sorry for what he said about you during the initiation. That, and I heard his racist remarks when we were in Doctor Oobleck's class. So, how long is it going to take a simple and heartfelt apology, Cardin? You don't want me to use you as a sandbag again do you?"
The brawler narrowed her eyes with a vicious smile as her ginger-haired partner winced under her grip.
"Alright just let go already!" Cardin snarled as he lowered his posture to meet the one that had his ear as its prisoner.
His left ear released from Yang's possession, Cardin rubbed his sore skin and grimaced at Jaune.
"I'm sorry for all that shit I said." He growled.
Yang punched her partner in the stomach, and Jaune could have sworn he heard a rib crack.
"See, was that so hard? We'll work on changing your racist views another time, as for now let's just focus on getting along, okay Cardin?" The brawler sighed as her partner scowled.
A smile etching onto Jaune's lips, he thanked Yang for her efforts and offered to help her in the class' assignment should she need any. His fellow blonde nodded with a grin of her own. Jaune seemed to be a decent person despite his dorky tendencies, so maybe, just maybe she'd approve of him being Ruby's first friend at Beacon.
"Thank you all for waiting, now, if you'll please put your attention upfront." Ms. Peach gestured to a green potted plant with two wide flaps with pink spots that acted as a mouth along with purple-tinted leaves.
"Today and for the rest of this week, we will be examining a dust empowered specimen named Pop Green: Devil. The one in front of me is a test sample, as the true size of this magnificent plant is capable of swallowing a Beowolf whole."
The goggled instructor picked up a wooden stick from her desk and poked her specimen. It reacted immediately and snapped its jaws onto the stick but it wasn't strong enough to break it.
"I urge everyone to take care while handling their plants. There have been a few mishaps here and there, but none of my students have lost any fingers yet."
"Yet?" Jaune gulped.
"Moving on, as long as you keep your wits about you and focus on your studies, I believe each and every one of you will excel in my class. Please get your books out and turn to page 16 and read parts one through five." Ms. Peach withdrew a thick booklet from her desk as Heracles scooted a chalkboard on wheels across the room and positioned it beside her desk.
"As you already know, my name is Heracles-un!" The armored man roared earning the absolute attention of the entire class.
"True to Ms. Peach's words, I must emphasize the powers the pop greens possess and cannot stress enough the risks they pose. Even before my fellow instructor and I devised a series of dust and pop green combinations, the plants themselves are a force to be reckoned with. You all have been warned." Heracles serious tone sent a chill through the spines of his audience.
Reserved for times demanding of respect, Heracles' tone of authority did not match his usual jolly demeanor sending quite an intimidating aura towards his students. Content with his sincere warning, Heracles slapped on a smile and returned to bumbling about being a champion of the forest and his adventures on the Boin Archipeligo as Ms. Peach guided handfuls of students to a corner of the room stacked with empty pots and bags filled with fertile soil.
"Psst, Jaune." The blonde in question turned to the side to meet with the smile of a little reaper.
"Oh, Ms. Rose. Can I help you?" Jaune grinned.
"Um, your sister says that you know a thing or two about plants. Apparently, you helped around the farms in the agricultural districts of Vale." Ruby scratched her cheek and asked if her friend could help her get through today's class.
As the two waited for their turn to pick a potted plant from Ms. Peach, Jaune opened his textbook and skimmed through today's lesson.
"Oh, that's an easy one. Here, grab that watering can, and let's get to work." A swell of pride lifting his chest, Jaune took it upon himself to methodically explain the instructions provided by the textbook.
"Wow, that actually makes sense..." Ruby blinked and cupped her chin as Jaune finished his summary.
"Also, be careful not to spoil your seed with water. A drowned plant is no good unless it's made to inhabit a large body of water."
"Okay, thanks for the help Jaune. I have to get back to my team now, but I'll make sure to tell them all that you taught me!" Ruby held up her hand for a high five which Jaune eagerly met.
Bidding a short farewell, both students plucked a small bag of dirt and a pot from the pile and headed back toward their tables.
"Hey guys, how's everything going?" Jaune plopped himself on his stool and curled a brow at those seated next to him.
Roman kept a distance from his plant, apparently, his seed sprouted too early and the bowler-hatted teen was trying his best to subdue his possession without killing it. Yang, on the other hand, rested her head on her hands as she lazily stared at her project. She hoped to see some kind of action like Roman, but all her pot did was sit there. As for Cardin, all he did was put his seed in his pot, covered it with dirt, and yawn. Last but not least, the esteemed heiress of the SDC followed her instructions to the letter and began scribbling down notes about today's class.
"Huh, I guess team CRWY doesn't have a lot of experience with plants," Jaune muttered and began his preparations for a happy pop-green.
Lost in tranquility and peace, Jaune meticulously cared for his plant as if it was his own flesh and blood. He carefully dipped his water pitcher over the pot while shifting the soil with a small shovel to ensure the seed within was properly humidified.
Unfortunately, some things never lasted, and the peace Jaune had worked so hard for evaporated in an instant.
Lifting a small pouch of soil, Jaune's fingers faltered and the bag's contents spilled all over the person dazing off to his right. Lifting her head, Yang's lazy visage shifted to one of absolute rage as a clump of dirt smeared her cheek.
His jaw slack and eyes wide, Jaune panicked for an apology as Cardin and Roman snickered in the background. Weiss didn't say anything, but by the smirk on her face, it was clear she was amused.
"Oh man, I'm so sorry, Ms. Long!" Jaune sputtered as he reached his hands on the blonde brawler's head to clean the mess.
"H-Hey, get your hands off my hair! You're only going to make things worse!" Yang's voice seethed with fury as her eyes shifted from lilac to blood red.
"I-I can fix this, just let me-" Jaune's lips clamped shut as the sound of snapping hair echoed in the classroom.
The table of team RCWY went quiet and the chatter around them seemed to settle down as well. All eyes on Jaune and Yang, the magician in training trembled as his sights veered down to his clenched hands which had a couple of blonde hairs in between their fingers. They didn't belong to Jaune.
"M-Ms. Long, I swear it was an accident!" Jaune pleaded in a futile attempt to ease the temper of the beast he provoked.
Yang said nothing, her eyes darting back and forth to the golden locks in Jaune's hand to his sweaty face, she snagged the quivering boy by his collar as her hair light up in a heated and fiery blaze of gold.
"You and me in combat class after lunch. If you dare to bail out I'll make sure to pay you back one way or another, capisce?"
"B-But I..." Jaune muttered.
"Capisce?" Yang's grip grew tighter and the words in her fellow blonde's throat died then and there.
"Y-Yes, Ms. Long..." Jaune sulked. Great, not only did he have to challenge Cinder to a fight, but he also had to deal with an enraged kickboxer.
Not a second too soon, the lunch bell dinged and Jaune made his escape like a leaf in the wind. Huddled in the corner of the cafeteria with a lunch tray and empty table, the young magician felt his heart rate spike when a hand patted his shoulder.
"Well, your luck sucks doesn't it, Gold Nugget?" Emerald giggled at her brother's downtrodden expression while he prodded his mashed potatoes and slices of ham with his fork.
"What am I going to do, Minty? Mr. Thrush and his friends are counting on me to win back their right to sleep in their dorm, but now I have a second obstacle in the form of Ms. Long. Neither she nor Cinder are pushovers, and I don't think I can take down both of them consecutively." Jaune grumbled.
"Why do you have to be so negative about the situation? If you keep that up you're going to ruin my appetite." Emerald quipped.
His sibling rolled her eyes and waved to her book-loving partner not too far away. Sleek amber eyes meeting a mischievous crimson and saddened cerulean, Blake made her way over and sat next to Emerald.
"Oh, hello Ms. Belladonna," Jaune said with as much enthusiasm he could muster.
"Hello," Blake said curtly and tore open the plastic wrapping on her tuna sandwiches.
"Um, I don't mean to pry, but where are Ms. Rose and Ms. Nikos?" Jaune asked looking to the two females in front of him for answers.
His sister shrugged. "Ruby told me that she'd try to calm her sister down during lunch, and Pyrrah offered to help her out too."
"Hm, that is reassuring, but I don't think their efforts will bear any fruit. You saw how mad Ms. Long was, and if a short-tempered tribe leader is anything to go by, I can already tell that next class is going to suck." Jaune moped.
"It can't be that bad. Sure, Yang will probably throw you around a little, but I'm pretty sure you can do the same to her if you actually put some in the effort." Emerald grunted, her patience thinning at her brother's poor attitude.
"Not to mention you impressed Professor Port and the rest of the class when you put that Boarbatusk back in its cage," Blake added.
The Hawkins siblings tilted their heads at the ebony-haired girl who curled a brow in response.
"What? Did I say something weird?" Blake's lips curled downward at the blank stares of her cohorts.
Jaune was the first to come around and cleared his throat. "Sorry Ms. Belladonna, truth be told I didn't expect such words of encouragement from you. Thank you very much."
"Huh, I guess you aren't as stoic as I initially thought." Emerald grinned.
Blake's shrugged off the praise and went back to her meal, but sent a glare Jaune's way when she caught him staring at her bow.
"Alright a Boarbatusk is one thing, but what about Ms. Fall? I did a tarot reading about my chances of winning against her yesterday and the odds came out at 55%. Sure the chances are in my favor, but there are so many variables that could change the percentage in a heartbeat."
"I'm sure you'll think of something, Jaune. Papa always manages to pull off the impossible when he's in a tight pinch doesn't he?" His sister said and took a sip from her ice-tea can.
"You know what? You're right Minty, with Doppelman and Funkreed at my side, what could possibly go wrong?" Taking what comfort he could in his now cold meal, Jaune finished the food on his tray and slapped on a goofy smile as the lunch bell dinged.