This story is not a Steins;Gate crossover. That means time travel, the Phone Microwave, and all that stuff does not exist. Similarly, this is also not a reincarnation or dimension travel fic. It only has some Steins;Gate elements.
Enjoy!
Enlightenment.
It was a curious concept that originated centuries ago from the land that was now called Mistral. It referred to a spiritually awakened state in which a person attains an intrinsic understanding of life itself. Over the years, an entire religion had formed around the pursuit of enlightenment. It was a relatively minor religion, but it still had a sizable following.
To achieve enlightenment, the followers of the religion underwent extremely arduous journeys involving them throwing away all their earthly desires and living their lives as monks, meditating for days on end. According to them, that was the only way to attain enlightenment.
And as far as Jaune Arc was concerned, they were either lying their asses off or just flat-out wrong, because in the span of the past eight seconds, he had just achieved an enlightenment of his own.
As he desperately rifled through his duffel bag for the third time, he once again contemplated the noble truth of life he had just arrived at.
He was a fool.
Not because of his academics or how he had cheated his way into Beacon without any combat experience, but rather the fact that he had trusted his sisters to pack for him.
He should've known that something was up when Saphron and Jade had first offered, but his mind had been so worried about his parents finding out that he was distracted enough to take them up on their offer - and even feel grateful.
What a fool he was.
Sighing deeply, Jaune finally gave up on searching his duffel bag. His gaze landed on the baby blue onesie lying ominously in the corner of his bag. The only sleepwear his dear sisters had packed, undoubtedly as a practical joke.
For a moment, he considered wearing it. It was definitely comfortable, and the fabric possessed innate magical properties that empowered the wearer with an ancient spell -
Jaune shook his head rapidly to clear those thoughts.
No more.
He was at Beacon now, where nobody knew him. This was his fresh start, his new leaf. He couldn't fall back to his old ways now.
Normal. He just had to be normal.
He shoved the blue onesie deep into his bag before pulling out a fresh t-shirt and pair of pants. It wouldn't be as comfortable to sleep in, but it was the only solution that ensured nobody would laugh at him and think him to be a weirdo.
The flight on the Bullhead had already been a close call. Thankfully, his sisters had packed him some motion sickness pills, so he had been able to avoid hurling in front of everyone.
Changing into the fresh set of clothes, Jaune nodded a single time in satisfaction.
There.
He was normal.
He fitted in.
The old Jaune Arc was nowhere to be seen.
Everything was going well.
Unconsciously, he let out a few low chuckles under his breath before he tensed up when he realized what he was doing and immediately stopped.
Well, okay. There were still a few things to be ironed out.
But that was fine.
He just had to keep it up.
「」
The night was fairly uneventful. Jaune wasn't entirely sure why they had been required to arrive a day early just to listen to a single speech, but he supposed the headmaster had a good reason for it.
Fortunately, nobody he knew had gone to Beacon. He had spent a good five minutes examining the entire hall to be absolutely sure. He was safe.
After brushing his teeth and eating a good healthy breakfast of fruits and fibers, he headed over to the weapons locker room. He navigated his way to his locker and retrieved Crocea Mors, attaching the sheathed blade to his belt.
A conversation off to the side drew his attention, and he turned around to see a white-haired girl talking to Pyrrha Nikos herself. It took him a few more seconds to place the name of the white-haired girl, but he eventually remembered it; Ruby had mentioned it yesterday to him. Weiss Schnee, the heiress to the SDC.
Well, it made sense that the two would be talking to each other. They would make a great team. An unstoppable combination. Jaune was about to turn back around when he caught sight of Pyrrha's expression.
She looked... uncomfortable.
Jaune frowned.
She hid it extremely well, of course. Weiss obviously didn't notice, seeing as how she continued speaking without any pause - and to be fair it was nearly imperceptible; to most people, Pyrrha would look perfectly at ease. However, you didn't live with seven sisters without gaining an intuition about these sorts of things, which was why Jaune found himself walking up to them.
"Hello!" he interjected, smiling. "My name is Jaune Arc. How are you two doing this morning?"
Pyrrha smiled back at him, and he could see the minute traces of relief on her face at his interruption. "I'm doing excellent, thank you. And how are you?"
Before Jaune could respond, Weiss spoke. "What atrocious manners," she said, narrowing her eyes at him and crossing her arms. "We were in the middle of a conversation, you know."
Jaune blinked. Wait. Did she just lecture him about interrupting her - by interrupting him? Huh, that was new. He didn't point it out, though; he didn't want to be purposely inflammatory.
"I don't mind," Pyrrha said, smiling. "Are you ready for initiation, Jaune?"
Jaune paused. "Honestly? I'm a little nervous," he admitted before asking, "How about you? Are you nervous too?"
Weiss scoffed. "Did you just ask if she was nervous? Her, of all people? Do you have any idea who she is?" she demanded.
Jaune opened his mouth to reply that of course he knew who Pyrrha Nikos was, that he wasn't stupid and he was a completely normal person who knew all the notable celebrities like a normal person would, but before he could respond he paused as he noticed the look in Pyrrha's eyes.
Though her polite smile remained on her face, she seemed to grow even more uncomfortable - yet at the same time, she also seemed resigned, as if she was fully expecting him to start freaking out about her.
Immediately, Jaune's mind began racing as he tried to figure out why Pyrrha would react this way.
And then he achieved his second enlightenment that week.
"Well?" Weiss pressed when he didn't reply.
Jaune blinked as he suddenly found himself waging an internal war within himself. He wasn't sure how he should respond.
He could take the easy way out, confirm that he knew who Pyrrha was, have a completely normal reaction of gushing over meeting a celebrity before quietly excusing himself from the conversation. It was the safest route. The route a normal, ordinary person would take.
But at the same time, if he chose this route, then the uncomfortable look in Pyrrha's eyes would only get worse.
He didn't want that.
There was one other option he could take - but he couldn't. It was what the old Jaune Arc would do, and Jaune had sworn that once he set foot onto Beacon, that era of his life would be over. He was a new Arc now. Yet at the same time, the choice seemed to be calling out to him, urging, compelling him to take it. He could feel the familiar twitch in his arms, the impulse singing in his mind. He wanted to do it. But he mustn't.
Hesitation and uncertainty whirling around in his mind, Jaune made the mistake of looking up and meeting Pyrrha's eyes.
Where she had looked uncomfortable and resigned before, she looked almost hopeful now at his growing silence.
Damn it.
In the end, he couldn't even last a full day.
Jaune began chuckling. At first, it was low and quiet, but it slowly grew in volume and intensity until it reached the maniacal pitch he had perfected long ago.
"No... The question you should be asking yourself is, do you have any idea who I am."
"You literally just introduced yourself," Weiss said slowly. "You're Jaune Arc."
She took a wary step back as Jaune suddenly burst into insane laughter. "FUAHAHAHA! That was but a lie meant to deceive you. The truth is," his face morphed into what could only be described as an evil smirk. "I am the mad scientist..." he waved his arms around in several dramatic motions, finishing with a striking pose. "Hououin Kyouma!"
Weiss and Pyrrha both stared at him.
"What," Weiss said flatly.
"Although I admit, you do seem rather familiar," Jaune continued, leaning in close to examine Pyrrha. "Hmm..."
His eyes suddenly widened in shock and he staggered back. "It can't be," he whispered. Pyrrha seemed to draw into herself slightly until Jaune pointed at her and declared, "You're the girl who's on the cover of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes! Pyrrha Nikos!"
Pyrrha blinked. "I... why yes, I am."
"Magnificent!" Jaune exclaimed, genuine excitement growing within him. "I love those! I even have a special edition Pumpkin Pete hoodie - "
He froze before he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Pyrrha, who shifted underneath his gaze.
"Lies," Jaune hissed. "You can't fool me. I know who you truly are." Pyrrha tensed up again, only for Jaune to continue. "You're a member of the Organization, aren't you?" She blinked in confusion. "I see. So you hope for me to lower my guard just because you're on the cover of my favorite brand of cereal, hmm? How devious. I expected no less from an agent sent by the Organization. However, I see straight through your plan. Don't think you can fool me."
"Just what are you talking about?!" Weiss demanded. "Are you delusional?"
Jaune didn't respond, instead turning around and pulling out his scroll. "It's me," he whispered tensely. "I fear that despite my best efforts, the Organization has finally tracked me down. I need backup as soon as possible. Hurry, I can't hold out for much longer - "
"And how incredibly rude! Having a scroll call while you're talking to us!" Weiss plucked his scroll out of his hand faster than he could react.
"Oi!" Jaune protested.
"Huh? This isn't even turned on," Weiss frowned as Pyrrha examined the scroll over her shoulders.
Jaune faltered before a confident smirk once again passed over his face. "That's what I want you to think. See, this scroll was specially modified to detect my fingerprints on the screen. If it isn't detected, then it automatically turns off."
"So you were just talking to yourself, then," Weiss stated flatly.
Jaune chuckled nervously. "I don't know what you're talking about - " he lunged forward, snatching his scroll back and storing it away.
"You're actually deranged," Weiss said disbelievingly, even slightly fearful, as if she couldn't accept that someone like him was accepted into Beacon.
"How dare you, you - you Snow Angel!"
Weiss bristled. "What did you just call me?"
Jaune smirked. "Oh? Did you not like me calling you that... Snow Angel? Did you want me to stop... Snow Angel?" He chuckled. "Perhaps I'll stop if you apologize for doubting me... Snow Angel."
Weiss trembled in fury. "You insolent cur!"
"Jaune, Weiss," Pyrrha suddenly spoke up, looking amused at their antics. They stopped, properly chastised. Pyrrha nodded before turning to Jaune. "I'm not part of the Organization. I don't know what it is, but I assure you, I'm not."
Jaune paused, hesitating slightly. "Oh. I see." He coughed into his fist. "Well, I sense truthfulness in your words, so I suppose I shall believe you."
Pyrrha smiled. "Thank you, Jaune."
Her smile was no longer artificial, he noted, but rather fully genuine. Her uncomfortable aura had disappeared entirely, and she finally seemed to be at ease.
He smiled back at her. A sincere smile. "My pleasure."
「」
As he stood on the cliff, absently listening to the headmaster, he was mentally cursing up a storm at himself.
You idiot! Why the hell can't you just keep your mouth shut?! You just made a fool of yourself in front of Pyrrha Nikos and Weiss Schnee! They think you're a delusional weirdo now, and in a few days, the entire school probably will too.
It should be fine though, right? His outburst could be attributed to nerves caused by initiation. He could still return to being a normal, ordinary, run-of-the-mill student.
Do you really believe that?
Jaune bit his lip. No, no he didn't. It was doomed. School hadn't even officially started yet, and he had already failed his promise to himself to not revert back to his old ways.
He really hated himself sometimes.
But at the same time...
He found his thoughts shifting over to Pyrrha Nikos. Whatever he had expected from her, the display just now definitely wasn't it. She was... different from what he had initially thought. Though to be fair, preconceived notions were rarely the truth. He of all people should know that.
Obviously, she didn't like her immense fame and popularity. But then again, that should've been obvious to anyone who took the time to look underneath the surface and actually think -
His thoughts were abruptly interrupted when he saw Weiss being launched into the air out of the corner of his eye.
What the fuck?!
He whirled around to look at the other people lined on the cliff, who were also being catapulted into the air one by one.
His eyes widened in fear. "Wait," he spoke up frantically, "Headmaster, I haven't unlocked my - "
The rest of his sentence was forcibly stuffed back into his throat when he was launched into the air.
Jaune Arc screamed.
「」
His father had always told him to look on the bright side. Unfortunately for Jaune, he wasn't sure what the bright side in this situation was supposed to be. It was as if all the negative karma he had stored up in his seventeen years of life had decided to collectively rear its head and impale him in the ass.
Jaune had been prepared to fight a Grimm. He had been prepared to go on a survival trek through the forest, or even face off against his fellow initiates in a battle royale. Those, he could all handle without Aura. Or at the very least, someone else could've helped him, or he could've just given up.
But a six hundred meter high free fall through the air?!
Yeah, he was fucked.
As the ground rapidly neared, he tried to think of something, anything, that would help - but he could come up with nothing.
He was going to die here.
Strangely enough, as soon as he came to that realization, he calmed down and stopped screaming. There was no point anymore, after all. He was going to meet his end here no matter what; might as well go out with some dignity.
This was what he got for forging his way into one of the best huntsman academies in Remnant, he supposed. Damnit, he had thought that Beacon would unlock his Aura for him -
Hold on.
What was that?
Something red and gold was streaking toward him like a homing missile.
His eyes widened as a spear impaled his armor. Wait, not impaled. The tip of the spear abruptly halted the instant it made contact with his armor before becoming affixed by some invisible force.
Then, the spear began decelerating. More importantly, he began decelerating with it.
For a second, his mind completely blanked. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
And then determination and hope sprung to life in his mind as he grabbed onto the spear with all of his might. He could feel himself slowing down until finally, he was descending in the air at an almost lazy pace.
Hysterical laughter bubbled its way out of him as relief overwhelmed his mind. He was saved.
When he was lowered through the canopy and became level with a massive tree, however, the spear suddenly pulled back. Jaune panicked, until the spear shot forward again, slipping through an armor strap and stabbing into the tree behind him.
Jaune blinked when he suddenly found himself dangling by the strap of his armor. Apparently, whoever had thrown the spear wanted him stuck to the tree.
Well, whatever. He wasn't going to complain.
After several minutes, he saw Pyrrha Nikos walking through the forest, seemingly looking for something. Or someone. He glanced at the spear impaling him to the tree, noting the specific color scheme...
"Jaune?" she called out.
"Over here!" Jaune shouted.
In a flash, Pyrrha was there, looking up at him. She waved her hand and the spear returned to her. Jaune dropped to the ground and landed with a roll to absorb the impact, wincing slightly at the rocks and twigs digging into his back.
"Hey," she smiled. "You alright?"
Jaune looked at her. "Yeah..." he said slowly. "You were the one who threw the spear?"
Pyrrha looked away sheepishly. "Umm... Yes. I... I'm sorry if I ruined your landing strategy, but I just really wanted to be par - "
"Pyrrha," Jaune interrupted, his expression dead serious.
"Y-Yes?"
"If it weren't for the fact that I don't want to get sued for sexual harassment, I would kiss you right now."
Pyrrha's eyes widened before she blushed. "I - what?!"
Jaune laughed. "Kidding, kidding." Then his expression became solemn. "In all seriousness though, you just saved me. Thank you. Seriously, I would just be a splatter on the ground right now if it weren't for you. I owe you my life."
"Oh, stop it," Pyrrha said, smiling. "You would've been fine. Your Aura would've protected you."
There was a long moment of silence.
"Your Aura would've protected you," Pyrrha repeated, now looking cautious. "Right?"
"Yeah..." Jaune chuckled nervously. "About that..."
Pyrrha's eyes widened in shock. "You don't have Aura?!" she exclaimed. "What?!" She blanched in horror as the realization set. "Y-You would've actually died if I hadn't..."
"Yeah, but I didn't, so it's cool," Jaune grinned but then paused when he saw Pyrrha's expression. She looked genuinely distraught, her eyes filled with fright and distress.
"You almost died," she said again, this time her voice barely a whisper.
Jaune sighed. "I... I'm sorry. But I'm fine now. You saved me."
Pyrrha was silent for a long moment.
"How were you even allowed into Beacon?" she finally asked.
Jaune hesitated. "I don't know," he lied. "I guess the headmaster saw potential in me or something."
"I see..." she said slowly. "Well, he must've had a good reason. I suppose I won't question it."
Jaune hummed noncommittally. "Yeah... Anyway, so I guess we're partners now?"
Pyrrha wavered for a moment, looking as if she wanted to press the issue. Ultimately, however, she dropped it, allowing him to change the subject.
"Yes," she smiled. "I don't think I've formally introduced myself yet. My name is Pyrrha Nikos, and as your partner, it's my responsibility to keep you alive."
"That would be nice," Jaune agreed. "Being alive is one of my better qualities - "
His eyes widened when she suddenly stepped in close and reached out her hand to cup his cheek. He instantly froze, his mind screeching to an abrupt halt. She was close enough that he could smell her shampoo; a sweet intoxicating scent that did not help his composure in the slightest.
"P-Pyrrha?" he asked, suddenly extremely unsure of what to do. He was acutely aware of her palm against his cheek. It felt soft and warm - and oh gods, he had no doubt that if his older sisters saw him right now, they would be falling into hysterics at just how flustered he became from a mere woman's touch.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."
As she spoke, they both lit up in a brilliant glow, him white and her red. It died down after several seconds. Jaune immediately jumped back, his cheeks warm and his heart thumping furiously against his chest.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha said, concerned. "Are you alright?"
Jaune blinked. "Y-Yeah, I am." Deflect, deflect. A sly smile appeared on his face. "More importantly, I see that you've been reading your fair share of Mistralian manga."
Pyrrha's eyes widened. "How did you know?!"
"Aha!" Jaune said triumphantly. "So you do read them!"
Pyrrha gasped in outrage. "You tricked me!"
"I did no such thing," Jaune countered. "It's only natural that I know. After all, you are my dear partner, and a good mad scie - I mean, a good partner always keeps track of his partner's hobbies."
Pyrrha snorted. "Much more likely that you're simply a stalker."
Jaune drew back. "How dare you! If you really want to know, I figured it out because of that little speech you just gave."
She blinked. "You mean my incantation to unlock your Aura?"
Jaune blinked. "What? That was to unlock my Aura?"
Pyrrha stared at him. "Yes! What did you think it was?"
"You revealing your inner chuunibyou side?"
"Of course not!" Pyrrha exclaimed before pausing and narrowing her eyes. "And besides, you're the last person I want to hear that from."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Don't think that I haven't forgotten our first meeting yet, Jaune Arc - or should I say, Hououin Kyouma."
Jaune winced. "Ah. Right. That. Hey, can you do me a favor and forget I ever said that?"
"Only if you forget the fact that I read Mistralian manga."
"Deal."
"Pleasure doing business with you."
They looked at each other for a moment before both bursting out into laughter.
"My, you're quite interesting, Jaune," Pyrrha said, chuckling.
"The same could be said about you," Jaune replied, smiling. "Anyway, shall we go and collect the relic?"
Pyrrha nodded.
"Let's go."
「」
After his near-death experience, Jaune was able to put things into perspective and come to a compromise.
Despite his hopes, it appeared that his Hououin Kyouma persona couldn't be suppressed completely. It was a part of him, after all. Fortunately, it seemed as if Pyrrha wasn't weirded out at all by his initial display back in the weapons locker room. She did send him several glances during the span of initiation, but that was more out of concern for him than anything else. However, he still wished to... limit himself. He'd let his Hououin Kyouma persona come out in moderation, and only if he had no other choice.
Unfortunately, this was one of those situations.
"The enemy we face is highly dangerous, undoubtedly sent by the Organization to prematurely claim my life," Jaune said tightly, his eyes narrowed as he, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora faced off against the massive Deathstalker. "However, I am the mad scientist Hououin Kyouma, and I refuse to die to anything with an IQ less than 170." He struck a dramatic pose. "And so, our counterattack shall hereby be named Operation Ratatoskr!"
"Yes sir!" Nora shouted before bending her knees to charge forward.
"Wait!"
Nora glanced at him, confused.
"What?"
"Charging in one-by-one will be ineffective," Jaune cautioned. "We already know how impervious it is to physical attacks."
"Then what do you propose we do, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.
Jaune didn't respond.
Pyrrha sighed. "Mr Hououin Kyouma?"
"Oh, you were talking to me? Should've just said so in the first place," Jaune said, ignoring how Pyrrha rolled her eyes in exasperation. "That being said, I'm glad you've recognized my supreme genius. To answer your question, the solution is quite simple. You see, the reason why insects and arachnids can survive falls from great heights is due to their small volume-to-surface-area ratio; they naturally have a low terminal velocity because their mass is so small yet their surface area is so large - "
"What's your point?" Pyrrha interrupted when the Deathstalker, which had been watching them warily, took a few tentative steps forward. It wouldn't be long until it decided to go onto the offensive.
"My point," Jaune spoke hurriedly, "is that the Deathstalker has an exponentially higher volume-to-surface ratio. Thus, despite its carapace being significantly stronger than a normal scorpion's, it will still sustain lethal amounts of internal damage if dropped from a sufficient height. Such as, for example," he looked pointedly behind them at the broken bridge and perilous drop below, "right behind us."
Nora blinked. Her eyes had glazed over halfway through his explanation. "What?"
"He's saying that it will die if we push it off the bridge," Ren summarized succinctly before looking at Jaune. "But are you sure?"
Jaune shrugged. "Even if I'm wrong, it'll be out of our way, won't it?"
"Good enough for me," Pyrrha said, readying her weapons.
"Excellent," Jaune said before flinging out his arms dramatically. "With that - "
「」
"' - let Operation Ratatoskr commence!'" Nora recounted excitedly. "After Jaune shouted that, we all rushed the Deathstalker, and through the use of teamwork, friendship, and high-yield explosives, we were able to push it off the edge of the bridge. And Jaune was right! It landed with a loud crack - and boy, was that kinda disgusting - before dissolving into black smoke."
"Whoa!" Ruby exclaimed. "That's so cool!"
"Cool?" Weiss scoffed. "Any idiot could've thought to push the giant scorpion off the bridge."
"Not true," Pyrrha said quietly. "I didn't, and neither did Ren or Nora. All of us were preoccupied with thoughts of how to defeat it in battle. Jaune was the only one who was able to identify the simplest, most efficient solution that resulted in none of us being harmed."
Weiss seemed to be warring between her desire to argue and her desire to not be antagonistic toward Pyrrha Nikos.
Fortunately, Ruby spoke up. "Well, it was definitely a lot easier than what we had to do to take down the giant Nevermore."
"Ooh ooh!" Nora perked up. "Tell me, tell me. What happened on your end?"
Before Ruby could respond, the headmaster began announcing the teams. They both quieted down, finally allowing Jaune a moment of peace. Just a moment, though.
"So... should I start calling you Hououin Kyouma?" Yang whispered teasingly.
Jaune sighed deeply. "Please don't. My name is Jaune Arc - "
" - next up is Team Harpoon, initials HRPN, led by Hououin Kyouma," the headmaster announced, pictures of Jaune, Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha being projected onto the wall behind him. The large 'H' underneath Jaune's smiling face made it clear who the headmaster was referring to.
Jaune's head whipped over to stare at the headmaster.
"What," he said flatly.
Next to his side, Pyrrha began shaking, trying to suppress her laughter.
"So your real name is Hououin Kyouma after all?" Weiss said, looking offended. "Then why even introduce yourself as Jaune Arc in the first place?" She shook her head. "What a weirdo."
Jaune could only gape at the headmaster.
Fortunately, the blond deputy headmistress strode onto the stage a moment later, her expression wooden, and whispered something into the headmaster's ear.
"Ah," the headmaster said after a few moments, blinking. "It appears I've made a small mistake. The team shall be renamed to Team Juniper, initials JNPR, led by Jaune Arc." The 'H' underneath Jaune's picture was replaced by a 'J'.
Immediately, Jaune's faith in the headmaster was restored. It had just been a minor error. Everyone watching would probably forget after a few days. Not a big deal -
"My apologies for the confusion," the headmaster continued. "You see, after Mr Arc had shouted repeatedly in the forest that he was, and I quote, the 'mad scientist Hououin Kyouma', I understandably got a little mixed up." He smiled genially. "My bad."
Jaune's head fell into his hands as laughter sounded around the hall.
Next to him, Pyrrha lost the battle to keep silent and began outright snickering.
"I hate my life."
「」
Pyrrha loved her life.
It was definitely a drastic change in attitude from only a few hours ago, when she had been heavily questioning her life decisions. Indeed, she had originally chosen to attend Beacon against the wishes of her parents in order to escape the fame and attention that had suffocated her in Mistral. She just wanted to be a normal girl.
Unfortunately, upon arriving at Beacon, it had seemed as if her hopes were in vain. From the second she boarded the Bullhead to when she entered the hall where they had slept, she had felt the uncomfortable sensation of people staring at her. Even worse, while everyone had been mingling and making small talk before bed, nobody had approached her. She had stood in front of her sleeping bag awkwardly, glancing around every once in a while, to no avail.
The very next morning, Pyrrha had felt hope stir within her again when Weiss Schnee came up to her, but those hopes were quickly dashed when it became clear that Weiss was only there to recruit her into a partnership due to her name.
She had plastered on a false smile and nodded along while inwardly regretting her decision to come to Beacon. Perhaps she had made the wrong choice after all.
Then Jaune Arc arrived.
Initially, she had thought him to be a welcome distraction and nothing more. He had probably only approached them because he recognized them, after all. However, since he had taken Weiss's attention off of her for a moment, giving her a quick breather, she was thankful. She would make some small talk, give him an autograph if he asked, before excusing herself.
Then Weiss had asked him if he had any idea who Pyrrha was. And Jaune had gone completely silent.
As the seconds had ticked on, hope had bloomed in Pyrrha's heart.
Could it be...?
And then Jaune Arc began laughing. Not a normal person's laughter, but rather the insane maniacal laughter of a stereotypical supervillain. Or a mad scientist.
The conversation only went uphill from there. Jaune was peculiar and eccentric - extremely eccentric - but in a good way. Slowly, Pyrrha found herself relaxing until she was able to smile for real.
Jaune Arc - no. Hououin Kyouma, huh?
Needless to say, she made sure to... influence events so that he would end up as her partner. Of course, she hit a minor speed bump in the fact that he didn't have Aura - but that was fine. The headmaster must've had a reason for letting him in, and who was she to question the headmaster himself? Besides, she wanted to be his partner. She didn't wish for him to get kicked out or fail initiation. Perhaps it was selfish of her, but... she was allowed to be selfish for once in her life, right?
She admitted she had had some reservations about Jaune, but those disappeared over the course of initiation. He didn't bring up her moniker "The Invincible Girl" a single time. He didn't ask for an autograph or a picture or make a big deal out of being her partner in any way. He treated her like... well, like a normal girl.
Pyrrha had never experienced that before. The combat school she had attended before had been extremely competitive, thus naturally all her peers had treated her differently, and she had never quite been able to make friends inside school. Outside of it, either; they placed her on a pedestal with all the accompanying preconceived notions that came with it.
It was as if there was a tangible barrier around her, keeping everyone out and preventing her from forming any true relationship.
But Jaune was different. Jaune had taken one look at that barrier, declared that he was a mad scientist and as such no barrier could possibly hope to impede him, before breaking right through. And he was genuinely fun to be with. He joked around, he bantered, he even poked fun at her a few times - and she had responded in turn. Everything she had ever wanted in a friendship, she found in him.
She couldn't have asked for a better partner.
Pyrrha Nikos smiled.
Life was good.
「」
Halfway through dinner, Jaune's fork fell out of his hand and clattered noisily to the table. He didn't move to pick it up. Pyrrha shot him a questioning look.
"Jaune? Is everything okay?"
"Leader," Jaune whispered. "I'm the leader of team JNPR."
Pyrrha quirked an eyebrow. "You just noticed?"
"I was a little distracted by how the headmaster had gotten my name wrong in front of the entire school. But... he made me leader." His shock slowly morphed into outright horror as the realization finally sunk in fully. "He made me leader."
"Well, you did lead our counterattack against the Deathstalker," Pyrrha reasoned. "It makes sense."
Jaune shook his head. "No, you don't understand. I-I can't be made leader. There must've been a mistake. I mean, you would've been a way better choice. Same for Ren. And Nora - " He faltered slightly, glancing at Nora who was currently making a concerted effort to drown her pancakes in syrup. For dinner. He carried on after a moment. "All three of you would've made a far better leader than me."
Of course they would. He was a fraud, after all, who had only managed to get into Beacon through forged credentials, whereas they were the real deal. Hell, he was chosen over Pyrrha Nikos herself. What the hell was the headmaster thinking?
"I don't believe so," Pyrrha interrupted his thoughts, her expression serious. "As I had said earlier, you were the only one to identify the simplest, most effective solution when facing the Deathstalker. Furthermore, you naturally took command during the fight; we all listened to you." She smiled. "You're a leader, Jaune, even if you don't think so."
"I agree," Ren spoke up quietly. "You give yourself too little credit."
Nora chimed in with something unintelligible, her mouth stuffed with pancakes, but the thumbs-up she shot him conveyed her sentiments.
But that wasn't me, Jaune wanted to say. That was Hououin Kyouma.
Instead, he just sighed. "Perhaps..."
「」
Jaune examined their dorm room with a critical eye. "Hmm... Not bad, not bad - " he turned around to see Nora jumping up and down on the bed with her shoes on. "Nora," he sighed. "Let's not break - "
He froze.
Wait.
With her shoes on?
His head snapped over to see that yes, Nora hadn't taken off her shoes yet and yes, she was gleefully jumping on the bed. He opened his mouth, then closed it a moment later, barely managing to tear his eyes away from the scene.
"Right," he began, his voice strained as he tried his best to ignore the fact that Nora was blatantly committing war crimes with a smile on her face. "I think we should unpack and decorate the room tonight so we don't have to do it tomorrow morning."
"Sounds like a plan," Pyrrha nodded.
They began unpacking, putting their belongings away. Jaune's eye twitched when he pulled a familiar white piece of clothing from inside a shirt where it was hidden - clearly, his sisters didn't want him discovering it early. A small note fell out as well, which simply read "For when you need it."
Jaune stuffed the piece of clothing deep inside his drawer, resolving to promptly forget about it. The note itself, he crumpled and threw away.
After they had finished, they stood back and regarded the room.
It looked... bare.
There was nothing hung up on the walls aside from a few small photos tacked onto the small space above their respective beds, and the shelves were practically empty with only their school-assigned textbooks resting on them. An awkward silence descended upon the room as they slowly realized that it was... well, a pretty pitiful sight.
"Do you guys have more stuff coming, or...?" he trailed off.
"No," Pyrrha said slowly. "This is all I brought..."
"Ren and I don't have much," Nora said quietly, her expression unreadable.
Ren inclined his head silently.
Another silence fell upon them.
Jaune broke the silence first. "Huehehehe," he chuckled as Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora glanced over curiously. "I understand now. So this is how it is."
"Huh?" Nora tilted her head. "Jaune, you good?"
"FUAHAHAHA!" Jaune's sudden maniacal laugh made her jump slightly. "I am more than good, Nora - I'm positively ecstatic."
"What are you talking about?" Pyrrha asked.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune swept his hand in a dramatic flourish, gesturing at the room. "Tell me, what do you see?"
"Our dorm room?" she answered dryly.
"Wrong!" he exclaimed. "This is not our dorm room. No, it's something much more important than that. This is our lab. It is the place where we shall make our plans, hold our meetings, and ultimately tear down the world's ruling structure and plunge Remnant into chaos!"
Ren blinked.
"And what a perfect lab it is," Jaune continued as he began walking around the room. "Free of clutter, its clean and minimalist design will ensure that we'll always maintain a peace of mind. There are no distractions to divert our attention, and we'll never feel cramped or restricted."
He paused in front of the small photos taped above their beds. "All that remains are the truly important things," he said softly. "There is no need for lavish materialistic goods. All we need are our clear minds and our fellow lab members. Speaking of which..."
He pointed at Pyrrha. "You! You are now Lab Member 003!"
He then pointed at Ren. "You! You are now Lab Member 004!"
He then pointed at Nora. "You! You are now Lab Member 005!"
"And I," he splayed his hand across his heart, "am Lab Member 001, the mad scientist Hououin Kyouma! And together," he spun around in place to face the massive windows, the moonlight streaming in and illuminating his figure. He flung his arms outward dramatically. "We shall take Remnant by storm!"
There was a long moment of silence as the three stared at him.
Then, whether it was because they were exhausted after initiation or they just couldn't hold it in after seeing that ridiculous over-the-top display, Pyrrha and Nora began laughing and even Ren cracked a small smile.
"Lab members?" Pyrrha said, her voice brimming with mirth. "Please, I beg of you, don't drag me into your delusions."
"He's like one of those cosplayers we saw in Mistral," Nora said. "Remember, Ren? Oh, Pyrrha, I gotta show you this funniest video of this guy throwing himself to the ground - "
"I think I've seen that video!" Pyrrha interrupted excitedly. "It's the one where he was at the convention trying to hug the other Nezuko cosplayer, right?"
"Yeah! And it's so in-character too. Not that I blame him. I'd do the same if Ren was dressed up as Giyuu."
"Eh, Rengoku's better," Pyrrha said automatically.
There was a slight pause.
Pyrrha's eyes widened. "I mean - "
"You've watched KnY?" Nora's eyes went wide as Ren glanced over in surprise. "Wait, seriously? That's awesome!"
The conversation then descended to Pyrrha fruitlessly trying to deny the fact that she watched Mistralian anime while Nora and Ren teamed up on her. Their previous topic of consternation was completely forgotten.
For a moment, Jaune simply smiled. Operation success.
Then he joined in.
"Oh, did I tell you about how she started monologuing during initiation? It was so cute, if not a little cringe."
Pyrrha gaped at him in outrage. "You... You..."
Jaune Arc laughed.
Essentially, this fic is the result of me rewatching Steins;Gate (best anime of all time btw, go watch it if you haven't already). Additionally, I had also been searching for JaunexPyrrha fics at the time - and there were far too little. And so, in my heavily sleep-deprived mind, I thought to myself, hold up. Jaune Arc with Hououin Kyouma's personality... And the idea just grew from there.
Just a note: in Remnant, although many of the normal anime/manga exist (such as kny), Steins;Gate does not. There is a proper backstory for how Jaune became his chuunibyou self. Similarly, Jaune is not a carbon copy of Okabe - they have different situations and backstories. This should be reflected in his behavior and personality in this chapter.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this lol. Please let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading!