Nearly a week passes with more and more calls from the blond's family coming in, leading to the team leader having to be absent most nights to respond to his still worried kin. His nightly disappearances were worrisome at first, mostly due to his team and friends not knowing where he would disappear to. Well, that wasn't actually true; Nora knew why and where her partner escaped off to. But for the sake of protecting his privacy, she chose to keep his location to herself. She did inform the others what exactly Jaune's reasons were for sneaking off for a small portion of the night, but to assure no one would bother him she kept his whereabouts unknown. And she didn't budge, not for intimidation or bribery. The former and latter both came in hand from Xiao Long, more of her curiosity and believing she merited that little piece of information; something about Jaune's absences worrying her baby sister.

Regardless, Nora's lips were sealed. Much to Yang and Pyrrha's annoyance.

Meanwhile, as the two teams spent another night together, the missing blond was sitting near the Beacon cliffs, speaking to someone he had feared hearing, but managed to motivate himself enough to press the call button. Safe to say, their reunion over scroll was a little less dramatic than what one would expect, but it was by far the only civil conversation he had with anyone so far.

"And afterwards, when neither Rein nor Reeha could hold her down any longer, just one hit from my darts and Angela was out like a light."

Jaune chuckled dryly, obviously finding the story amusing, but less so when he realized his mother's outburst was mostly his doing. "I'm sorry for putting you through all that…speaking of; how's Opa?"

"Oh, he's fine. Complaining about his age, drinking his own body weight, and of course he's boasting to his friends at the tavern that his grandson is the leader of his team at Beacon. And he's especially happy about your partner; he says something about her feels familiar. Care to give a guess, Habibatan?"

"Oh, I can list several examples." He muttered, the similarities weren't exactly hard to point out. His partner and his grandfather were a lot alike, and it helped when he opened up a little more to her, specifically over who it was that left that message, but not why they were relieved to know that he was safe. Jaune wasn't a fool, and neither was his partner; he assumed she could easily come up with a few ideas as to what his Nana's message meant. Although, one thing he did greatly appreciate was Nora not bringing up or continuing any discussion about his home life. She respected his privacy. "How's the reconstruction in Eichenwalde going?"

"Better, the city is near completion but there is still resentment between the humans and faunus. So far there have been no major incidents between the townsfolk. Just the common drunken brawl…most of them caused by Rein."

"What's Opa's opinion on all this?"

Ana hesitated, her eyes hardened before giving the boy an honest answer. "He is still bitter, the Fauna Crisis was long ago, but the scars remain. He doesn't believe there should be integration yet, the wounds from the war are still fresh and the tension could escalate into something uncontrollable." She sees the boy's expression falter, as if her answer was not what he wanted to hear. As if the Great War didn't sour relations enough, the Fauna Crisis was a coordinated set of events that sparked another, albeit short, war between the humans and Faunus. It ended exactly like the cataclysm prior to it; with the Fauna faction on the losing end. Though, the Crisis took a heavier toll, if the shifting ideals of the White Fang were of any indication to how the Fanus felt having lost their second uprising. "But, he is active in the reconstruction, helping in any way he can. Brigitte promised to fly out and assist as well, but last I heard she was talking about heading to Vale with a replacement arm in her luggage." She was amused, more so when she saw the blond's face pale.

"O-o-oh, I see…" Jaune stuttered, realizing quite soon he was gonna have more company on the way. "Well, it'll be nice to see her again."

"Of course…granted she lets you live long enough to even spout out a greeting." Ana remarked, smirking at the boy's ever growing fear mount up. Of the two, Brigitte was closer to the version of what Reinhardt used to be; a crusader. Which meant the girl had both the strength, and the ferocity that came with her mentor's training. Jaune on the other hand was trained simply to hold his own and lug enough equipment to keep him protected whilst also carrying enough supplies to apply his mother's medical lessons in the field. Side-by-side one could easily make the mistake of assuming they were twins, if you dyed one of their hairs. However, as even with twins, there is much more beneath the surface than what can be seen.

"I'll live." His words didn't match his tone, though that was more along the lines of him unsure whether he'd be able to hold a candle against his sibling or not.

"Yes, well, I believe it is getting late, and I know you have classes tomorrow. But before you go, I must ask; have you spoken with your mother yet?"

"…" His silence was enough of a response for the old markswoman. She sighed, tiredly. Ana expected this, though she wouldn't deny she hoped he would've at least attempted. "…I haven't gotten around to it, but I will. I promise, Nana." His promise did not reassure her, but for the moment it was the most she knew she'd get out of him. So, she accepted it, nodding slightly while sipping on a small teacup.

"Alright, but do not linger. Your mother can only be restrained for so long. And I do not intend to entertain this further, the moment Angela suddenly gets the bright idea to go after you herself, I will only be an observer at that point. You take care now, Habibatan."

"I will, goodnight, Nana." The blond closed his scroll, leaning his head back against an old tree as his eyes drifted to the heavens above him.

It was a clear sky, and the moon in its shattered entirety was on full display. A beautiful sight, and one he was privy to for years back in his old home; gazing out his home's window at an ever-changing world while he remained trapped due to his mother's fear of the past. Her idea of being safe meant he had little to no freedom, his every move was being watched, and all hell would break loose if he even forgot to check-in with her if he went anywhere different. And it was always more than just a scolding, often times he wouldn't be able to leave his home, only for school and that was it.

Now, when he gazed at the moon, outside of his cage, it was somehow all the more beautiful. He couldn't describe it properly, but he enjoyed his newfound freedom. Which left him with his biggest concern; his mother. The woman was nothing if not overprotective and absurdly stubborn. He assumed if he called her she'd only ramble on about how childish his actions were, she wouldn't even let him get a word in edgewise. Not to mention she would berate him mercilessly over how foolish he was for applying to a school run by Ozpin.

Which served another question; why was it his mother hated Ozpin? Yes she detested him. Called the Beacon headmaster a plethora of colorful names he wasn't exactly tempted to repeat, much less aloud. Still, any time he asked for details, no one gave him a clear answer; they just merely parroted his mother's words back at him. Speaking of unclear answers…

*Ding*

His scroll broke his train of thought; he glanced towards the opened screen, the image of a purple skull took precedent as his device's background. Knowing he'd be out for a bit longer than he wanted, the blond got comfortable once more as he answered the hacker's call.

-JNPR Dorm-

Currently, within team JNPR's dorm room were the aforementioned team members and their sister team, minus a blond leader. Nora and Yang were playing some game on their scrolls, with Weiss and Pyrrha having a rather lengthy conversation over their classes, mainly the ones that didn't have a boasting, pompous blowhard who does nothing but speak of his past triumphs. Ren and Blake sat quietly away from their respective teammates, choosing to read quietly instead of participating in the group's activities. The only member currently outwardly worried was the leader of team RWBY, if her consistent pacing around the room was of any indication.

When Nora told them of Jaune sneaking out past curfew to have conversations with relatives it seemed harmless enough, but it raised a valid question; why do it in secrecy? A popular little theory amongst the group was that a perhaps some of the blond's family were ones not exactly in the government's favor, hence the need for secrecy. Weiss was quick to rule the theory as absolute, and she remained adamant on her beliefs, much to the annoyance of the blond's partner.

*click*

Ruby froze in place, all eyes snapped to the door as it opened and a familiar face walked through. For Jaune, this was a night he wanted to end with him taking a quick shower and just collapse unto his bed. However, upon entering his dorm he quickly finds seven pair of eyes locked on to him just as he closed the door. Like Ruby, he froze in place, staring awkwardly at the added company before waving awkwardly and heading for a cabinet that contained his sleepwear.

Just taking a few steps inside and he finds his path blocked by a flurry of roses and a fellow team leader glaring, or at the very least attempting to menacingly glare, holes through him. And in her defense, she had somewhat of a right to be angry with him; sneaking out past curfew meant running the risk of getting caught by Goodwitch, or worse; Lacroix. There wouldn't even be a strike one, the first and only time he's caught; Oum have mercy.

"Hey Rubes." He greeted casually, attempting to traverse around her. Only for the silver-eyed girl to immediately block his path. He tried again, multiple times actually to walk around her, only for Ruby to cut him off. "Ok, this is the least fun game ever." He tried playing off her irritated expression with a joke; it did nothing. Actually, she appeared more pissed off just by his small attempt at a jest.

"Where were you?" She asked, her tone indicating more of a demand to know.

"Out?" Jaune wasn't exactly sure what she was hoping to find, but he wasn't exactly eager to share the full details of his little runaway stunt. Last thing he wanted was more people telling him how much of an idiot he was; he got enough of that through his family, he didn't want to hear it from the people he had to spend four years alongside.

"Family call?" Nora asked, her head peeking out from the side of the bed. When he nodded, the bubbly bomber rose up and walked over to Ruby. She leaned over and whispered something in her ear. Whatever it was, it caused the reaper's expression to shift, easing his conscious. Though, when his partner gestured him to take his shower, the blond did so as he normally would; walking over to the dresser, removing his shirt, gathering his sleepwear, and waltzed over to the bathroom, closing the door with the metallic click.

Meanwhile, the whole of the room fell silent upon what just occurred. Weiss was near the point of scowling and cringing hard, all the while sporting a reddened face similar to Ruby. Pyrrha was not nearly as red as the two, but had instinctively averted her eyes once she saw him walk towards the dresser. Blake kept her face hidden in her book, though; she was in no way reading her piece of literature after giving a small peek at her acquaintance, only to see his shirt expose a bit too much skin. Ren was not exactly reacting much, though out of curtesy he would avert his eyes as well, Nora however would just focus on her scroll, a proud grin plastered on her lips. To team JNPR this was nothing new; their leader would often partially undress in the room then finish up in the bathroom.

Yang was a bit taken back by her fellow blond's brazen attitude towards undressing in front of his teammates, and guests no less. However, what caught her attention, as she was not one to shy away from a little exposed skin, were the scars littered across the boy's chest and back. She noticed a plethora of old wounds, a fair few were possibly from fighting Grimm if the claw marks were of any indication. And yet, she found herself doing a double-take at the burn marks and the ones closely resembling blade entries. Particularly one entry that was dangerously close to a rather vital organ.

The others probably saw him beginning to strip and immediately looked away. When her head turned to her friends, hoping someone saw what she saw; Nora saw a good portion before calmly tuning her attention back to her scroll. The brawler placed her scroll down, waiting till he heard the sounds of water running before turning her head towards the bubbly bomber, whom was staring back at her curiously.

"So…he tell you how he got 'em?" Nora wasn't clueless; she had a fair idea of what Yang spoke of. But, she merely shrugged, figuring those were her fearless leader's to share, and if Xiao Long did ask; it would make a great story time. She knew already, she had asked not too long ago, earning a few short stories, some kind of mundane and boring, others a little exciting, but the two he always tensed up on; the jagged tri-claw marks on his upper right chest, and what looked like a stab wound just a few ticks near where his heart should be. The latter was the more worrisome for the red-head, as once the memories of that wound passed, her partner would play it off as something unimportant. She begged to differ, highly, but stayed quiet, respecting his choice not to share that bit of information.

"Yea." Nora responded curtly, her eyes focused back on her scroll, though she could feel Yang's eyes still fixed on her. Actually, she could feel all eyes locked onto her now. And when she gazed up, she was right; her friends were all staring at her, as if waiting for her to go further into detail. "What?"

"You're not gonna tell us, are you?" To everyone's surprise, it was the usually quiet Blake who chose to ask the question on everyone's mind.

To which Nora shrugged again, this time a faint smirk itched at the corner of her lips. "Not my place to say. You wanna know? Ask him." Was her only say in the matter before refusing to respond further. It helped that Yang's curiosity didn't peer further. Though, she could only assume it was because she intended to indeed ask the blond knight when he returned.

It only took eight minutes for the water to eventually shut off, another four for the blond to emerge, dressed in a blank armless muscle shirt, and sage shorts. A towel was wrapped around his neck as he quietly rejoined the little party. He noticed the eyes fixed on him, and it had begun to annoy him. He could only assume what they were thinking, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to go through an interrogation over where he disappeared off to. If anything, he was actually hoping to just sit on his bed and enjoy a nice reread of one of his favorite books; Ninjas of Love. Something about his discussions with Blake brought about fond memories of his first time immersing himself in that particular piece of literature. And to add to the fond nostalgia; his first encounter with the author of said book was by far one of the highlights of his youth, especially since he never expected…actually, he should've, but he wondered how he didn't piece it together sooner.

Although, he did just receive the last bits of his old arm, whatever was recovered, and he had hoped to salvage whatever tech he could. The book or salvage? As he pondered which to occupy his time with, he failed to notice his fellow blonde waving her palm in front of his face; trying to get his attention. It was only when she snapped her fingers that the boy took notice.

"Yea?" he tried not to sound too annoyed that she had snapped her fingers so blatantly close to his face.

"I think it's time we get to know each other." She announced, a few of the others nodding, Weiss excluded.

"You did that almost a week ago." He recounted, walking towards his bed. Jaune kneeled down and reached under for a small box.

"Yea but you weren't there." This time it was Ruby arguing a point. Thankfully, after his sudden break down in front of his partner, the blond decided to skip out on the get-together, Nora only nodded and left him to rest and think.

"And you waited until now to ask me?" One brow rose, questioning the logic of his team and classmates.

"Again; you aren't around much." Not much of a surprise for Ruby to stay on the point of her argument, rare though for it to actually be based in facts. The blond had indeed been off most nights, all for reasons he could disclose, vaguely but he knew it wouldn't sedate the brawler.

"Alright then…" He relented, sighing heavily as he dejectedly sat atop his bed, opening the box and retrieving his tools and severed prosthetic. "But I'm going to work on this as well, so don't rely on me too much."

"Alright, ladies and gents, group up." Yang declared proudly as the others gathered 'round, Pyrrha and Weiss sat on the champion's bed, Blake choosing to sit at the foot of Pyrrha's bed as Ren sat at the foot of Jaune's. Ruby, in the blink of an eye, took a seat beside Blake as Yang plotted herself beside Ren. "Here's how it's gonna go, each of us gets the chance to ask someone here a question, depending on whose turn it is. You gotta answer honestly, and you only get two skips. I'll go first."

"Sheisse." Jaune muttered, hissing as Nora pinched him, not so subtlety.

"Bun-bun." Yang pointed to Jaune, ignoring the mix of embarrassment and annoyance he displayed at her using that nickname. "How'd you get those scars?" Like Nora, Yang had not sense of subtlety when it came to these kinds of questions. Weiss almost appeared as if she wanted to just disappear, her palm slapped against her face once her mind had registered what her teammate had just asked. The others remained deathly silent, leaving Jaune to decide whether he'd answer or not.

Surprisingly enough, he didn't look offended by her question, rather, his expression appeared genuinely surprised, forming a nostalgic smile soon after. It sparked a bit of curiosity, in most cases folks don't tend to enjoy dwelling on scars, others tend to relish in their wounds and make a story out of it. Although, the latter is almost always battle worn veterans who relish the reminder of their glory days.

"Training, hunting, sparring, a couple defense missions; take your pick." He answered fondly, sparking a great deal of curiosity amongst the group, especially the last bit. Ruby was all too happy to voice the thoughts of all those present.

"Defense Missions?!" She asked with beaming stars in her eyes.

"Yea, when I was thirteen my Opa took me and my sis on a few defense missions for a few nearby towns. Well, to be fair it was one escort detail and three defense contracts in the same place, never went on any after Eichenwalde…" A small shudder escaped the boy's gasp; the image of the hordes of Grimm swarming towards the city's crumbling walls still had him on edge. His mother wasn't so lenient on him joining any further missions after that. Although, in her defense, it was only supposed to be one defense mission, a three week mission quickly became a two month stay in the city under reconstruction. While he didn't do much fighting at the time, his job was mainly aiding the injured in the field.

"You've been to Eichenwalde?" Blake asked, her own curiosity peaked when hearing of one of the cities most affected Faunus Crisis.

Jaune nodded. "Yea, worked as a field medic, and helped out wherever I could, on and off the field, took out a few Grimm too." His words indicated a sense of pride; the same could be said for Nora who was beaming at her partner after hearing of his younger ventures. "Mostly Beos."

"Is that where you lost your…?" Ruby trailed off, she had spoken her mind aloud, not exactly meaning to. She wanted to phrase it differently, or ease into it. Yet, it came out regardless.

Jaune crossed his arms; memories of his surgery began flooding in all at once; the screaming, the pain, the silence. "Hmm, no, I lost my arm two years prior."

If the silence following up to his response wasn't low enough. He didn't hesitate for this response, nor did he intend to. And in all honesty, Jaune expected this; having to disclose a bit about himself. Although, judging by the shifting expressions, from curiosity and interest to sympathy and…pity; the conversation from here on out could go either with more questions about his arm or any other route entirely. He prayed for the latter.

"So, what's your Opa like?" And it was moments like these the Jaune thanked Oum for giving him a male teammate.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, and the way his leader became eerily silent after revealing at what age he had lost a limb; he chose to stir the conversation back towards the one name that often came up when the blond reminisced about his home. Which was actually very rare, now that he thought of it.

Meanwhile, a widened smile shone brightly on the leader of team JNPR, with Jaune reaching for his scroll and opening up a chat box. Within seconds an image sprung up, and the balking expressions on those who saw his Opa were what made him giddy. He waited, knowing full well the one word folks used to describe him.

"HE'S HUGE!" There it was, and from Ruby too.

"That's what I said when I saw him." Nora commented.

"Exactly the same way too." Jaune teased, earning a playful shoulder swat.

In the image the young Ziegler showed was a mountain of a man with greyish platinum blond hair, a vertical scar over his left eye and in one arm was a blond haired toddler clinging to his wrist, seemingly swinging back and forth. Sitting calmly on the giant's lap was a brunette, considerably older than the boy, smiling widely at the camera while trying to keep herself composed. She was failing, that much was certain. Poking from behind his head was a young lass, perhaps a little older than the blond, holding a pink toy gun and holding onto the man's shirt. What caught two pair of eyes in particular were the girl's cat ears; a faunus.

"He may look intimidating; but he's as soft as can be." Jaune reassured them, remembering the many times he watched folks attempt to hold a conversation with an old soldier who could've easily popped their heads off with a simply twist. A morbid thought, but he wasn't the only one thinking that. "As a matter of fact; he's what holds our family together. If it wasn't for him…I wouldn't be here." Now one would think he referred to training; that his grandfather was his mentor, training him to become a true warrior. However, there was something in his tone that hinted at there being more to the history than what lay on the surface. "…by the way, is anyone else going to answer questions? Or is this all aimed at me today?"

Surprisingly enough, it was the heiress who responded. "We all had our turn our first night as teams, and the day you were discharged from the medbay. It's your turn to share with the group."

Civil, that was not a word he would've associated with the prospect of having a conversation with her given his first impression. Realizing what this meant for him, the blond decided to dive into scavenging his broken prosthetic. He'd still answer their questions, but it would be nice to hear their responses to questions too.

"Who are these other girls in the picture?" Pyrrha asked.

"My sisters." Jaune answered, his right arm extended out, gesturing to the appropriate individuals without needing to look at the photograph. "Hana and Brigitte. The latter being my closest sibling, and the former being my partner in crime." He chuckled, Nora snaked an arm around her fearless leader's neck, bringing him closer to her.

"That's my job now, right?" She held up a fist, instantly receiving grin from her partner, and a fist bump that echoed a metallic ping when their fists connected. Though the contact proved their fist bump was unintentionally hard, neither seemed too fazed by it.

Blake was the first to speak up after getting a good luck at the blond's former partner in crime, as he put it. "So…you're a faunus." For some reason she almost sounded hopeful, a small gleam of it shone in her eyes, only for it to shatter upon the blond shaking his head.

"No, human as the day I was born." He replied, unaware of the disheartening expression his book-buddy expressed. Knowing the popular belief of the Faunus gene being dominant, another question regarding his sibling would arise, so he clarified. "My mother took her in after a mission in Mistral, she was one of the survivors of an air raid on her city. When she arrived…she was as pale as snow, at the time no one knew if it was from what she saw when the bombs dropped, or the ash from the debris that settled on her." Jaune trailed off, the image of the girl who his mother brought home, the emptiness in her eyes, the lack of life in her movements, and the eerie silence had him assuming she was nothing more than a lifeless husk. But, as he said before, his grandfather was the reason his family is as close as it is. "But, that doesn't matter anymore, she's better now. And hey, just because we don't share blood; doesn't make her any less my sister, right?" A collection of nods responded, hell, even the heiress agreed, albeit reluctantly.

"So, bun-bun…" He cringed, that name was given to him by his grandparents, used relentless by his family, and was now utilized by the queen of gossip, or so Ruby labeled her. "What's your mom like?"

He blinked. Once, than twice, slowly glancing at the fellow blond, genuinely surprised to hear a normal question from her. "…umm, well, where to start? My mother is everything to me…she's the reason I'm here studying to be a hunter. When I was little she'd tell me stories of her time as a student, when she and my uncles caused some havoc of their own. She told me about all the good they did, all the people they saved as hunters. I want to be like how she used to be; out in the field saving lives, protecting people…making sure my brothers and sisters come home to their families."

"How she used to be?" Ren asked, curious in how his leader phrased his wording; indicating a shift in how the blond saw his mother. Or, perhaps she was simply retired; after all, Atlas was still very much searching for the infamous doctor. And with her son in Beacon, no doubt they'd pull whatever strings they had to get to his leader. To the credit of these first years, Ren was not the only one thinking it either.

The smile on Jaune's lips faded, slowly. The stories he'd been told by his family, by his mother were ones of hunters in their prime; warriors out on the front lines safeguarding the kingdoms and protecting the peace. Or, that's what they were led to believe. "My mom decided to hang up her old armor, taking up a simple job as Zurich's doctor. She still helps people, don't get me wrong, I'm proud of what she does…and for a while, when I told her I wanted to be like her; she assumed I only wanted to be a doctor. But when she found out what I actually meant…" The blond imitated the sound of an incoming bomb whilst his real hand dragged across his damp hair. "She did not take that well." He let out a dry chuckle, the image of the good doctor's fearful expression left him with a pinging guilt, especially now.

"Does it have anything to do with that message your Nana sent?" Nora asked, catching the interest of both her team and the other four around her. Of the seven students present, Jaune showed more trust in Nora than the others. Of course, that was to be expected; they were partners. Though, the fact that the bubbly bomber knew of certain traits pertaining to her partner garnered a great deal of curiosity from their fellow hunters in training. And it left a bitter sentiment in their stomachs; Jaune trusted Nora enough to reveal bits and pieces of himself that he chose to keep secret from both his team and friends. Although, given that they had only known one another for about a week, none of RWBY were too quick to obtain anything too personal from their friend. The same could not be said for Ren and Pyrrha, mostly the latter.

"Yea, something like that." Jaune mumbled his eyes shifting back to his nearly disassembled prosthetic. The last of any good scrap had been stripped, now all was left was to dispose of the waste at a later day. Placing all the viable salvage in a separate container, the blond placed it in a drawer by his bedside, and unceremoniously tossing the stripped scrap unto its old box. He shoved it back under his bed, intent on lying down, only to realize his bed was currently occupied.

"I have a question." It had to be the heiress, and just as he was about to sleep too. "You're name is Mistrali." She had better have a point to it, especially since she was only pointing out the obvious, not exactly asking any form kind of question. "But your mother is Atlesian, am I to assume your father is from Mistral?"

Oh, well, there was an obvious answer to this little question, though the blond only knew vague details of the whole ordeal. "Actually, I was given a Mistrali name in honor of my godfather. I never got the chance to meet him, but my godmother talked about him once in a while."

"Your parents named you after your godfather?" Weiss was somewhat curious at this point, more so for clarity than genuine interest.

"Well, no, my mom didn't really like the name Gerard, and she wanted to stick to an Atlesian sounding name. She actually wanted to name me Johan…its close enough I guess." He mumbled. Realizing he liked the name his mother originally wanted for him, and yet still conflicted with the emotional attachment he held towards the name his godmother picked out for him. "Alright, last question then I'm knocking out for the night." Jaune mumbled, yawning while drying off the rest of his hair.

"What about your dad?" Jaune froze, not out of shock, but rather out of realization. His mind played back, subconsciously searching for memories of his father; he found none. Of all the things he had in his life that was the one thing he grew up without. And it stirred uneasy emotions in his stomach, not out of anger towards the brawler for asking a legitimately fair question, but rather he was displeased with the thought of the absent man who often, at the mention of him, would bring his own mother to tears.

"I don't know...never met him." He answered; the others were quick to pick up in his change in mood. Yang realized it much quicker than most she had touched on a rather sensitive subject judging by the shift in his tone. She instantly recognized it; the feeling of curiosity mixed in with sadness, guilt, and anger. At that point Jaune didn't know what else to say. Or, he did, but he felt no need to shed tears over a subject he still had mixed feelings over. He glanced to his partner; she met his gaze, and nodded.

"Can I ask one thing…before we head to bed?" Jaune stole a quick glance at Ruby, doing so only because her puppy eyes were at max. Normally, this wouldn't affect him; however, Ruby's was different in that her use of the infamous puppy eyes; they were not being used for nefarious reasons.

Or at least he hoped not.

Still, Jaune smiled, nodding once to show he relented. There were only two so far he showed leniency towards; his partner and Ruby, both never actually asking for much nor taking advantage of his lenient attitude towards them. Unless they felt they absolutely needed to, but that was simply due to personal opinion on what constituted a necessity. For Ruby, it was always a situation akin to asking for an extra sliver of desert as the meal was ending.

"How'd you get the scar here?" She gestured to, where common anatomy for humans dictated, a heart would be. Yang's attention zeroed in on her baby sister, she assumed Ruby wouldn't have seen it given how quickly she and her partner averted their eyes. "B-b-but y-you don't have t-t-o if y-you don't want to."

And like with Nora, Jaune bit on his tongue, debating internally on what to share, and how to word whatever he spoke of. The wound itself was no issue it healed like any other, and the perpetrator was of no burden to him, he knew exactly how he handled it, and was firm with the decision he had made. What bothered him was the sentiment, or rather lack of, that he felt during that incident; remorse. It unnerved him to reveal anything given how his conversation with Nora went. His partner didn't judge him, nor did she treat him any different. What bothered the blond was the discussion they had, the logic he lived by was clearly not a shared opinion with his partner, he could only wonder if he would receive the same reaction from his teammates and friends. The last thing he needed was judgmental and scornful eyes peering down on him every second of the day. He barely tolerated that from the heiress.

"…three years ago, Zurich, an assassination attempt by the White Fang." The room fell silent once more, the icy cold atmosphere was only matched by the morbid fact that judging by where Jaune caressed, had the assassin been just a little more accurate; Jaune wouldn't be with them now.

Blake was trembling, her fists clenched and her eyes focused elsewhere. "A-are…are you sure it was White Fang?" She asked, something in her hoping for him to have doubt over his attacker. What he said next would only crumble her resolve.

"Yea, definitely Fang. I mean, if the fact that she kept calling me a 'filthy human' wasn't proof enough, the trademark mask and getup was pretty spot on." Jaune commented, his mind racing at what he was about to reveal next. "Truth be told, it wasn't the first attempt on my life, but I was actually able to fight back that time." He could feel their stares, the pity in them was unbearable, but from two, he received two very different stares. From Blake, he saw guilt, as if she felt responsible for his injuries. Weiss was something else, he saw a sense of familiarity, as if by the account of his story; the White Fang attempts on his life, she saw more than just a brute, as she often put it. "She got a good hit on me, won't deny that. But I'm only lucky she missed, after realizing she didn't pierce my heart, I used the momentary shock to take her down…I took her mask too, as a reminder."

He was now treading into the part of his tale that had him in hot water with Nora the first time around, and he knew the heiress would definitely berate him for the action he took following his win over the assassin.

Blake, for the most part, felt her heart threatening to burst through her chest. She held fear over his admittance to being attacked by a White Fang member, but to keep the mask as some sort of reminder? Reminder to what? She could only wonder, and pray her first thought was not what he intended.

"By take her down, you mean restrain her and hand her over to the authorities, right?" Pyhrra seemingly almost begged for that to be the case, but when Jaune shook his head, he swore he could hear a collective of gasps from his friends.

"You…killed her?" Weiss was unsure if she wanted to hear the answer to her question.

"No." Jaune replied, steeling himself for the backlash. "I let her go."

"WHAT?!" Came the collective response from his friends, the loudest ones being an ear-piercing shriek from Weiss and an astounded Blake.

He knew the questions that would follow, so he continued, his eyes locked on to his partner.

"I was kidnapped, two times in my life; both were for ransom. Assassinations were more often than what my mother would've wanted, but this attack occurred because I publicly spoke out against the Fang in my home. My family has influence in Zurich, so of course more than a few folks took my words to heart…so when I was attacked, I wasn't surprised…I shouldn't have been. I still remember the look on her face when she stabbed me. I know she had a mask on, but I could still see bits of her expression; she was shocked. The Fang had sent a novice to take me out *heh* I kinda feel offended now that I think about it…but when I got the upper hand, and I had the assassin restrained…all of my anger just came forth, mixed in with the adrenaline rush. Keep in mind, the dagger she used was still lodged in my chest, so imagine a man who appears to have been stabbed in the heart berating a White Fang rookie. I even remember the exact words I spoke that day. 'It's because of people like you that I live in fear, it's because of you that my sister can't walk our city streets without people assuming she's a Fang member, and it's because of you that the faunus will never be accepted.'…and then I heard it…she was crying. Granted, I did say a few more things…I even threatened her with her own blade. But, when I heard her crying, I felt a shiver crawl up my spine. Without thinking, I took off her mask, and..."

There was confusion, and genuine curiosity on the heiress' part. Blake was listening intently, Ruby as well. Pyrrha and Ren were stoic, though they too were listening to their leader's tale.

All the while Jaune's eyes were still locked onto Nora's. "I saw myself…"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Weiss snarled, her patience running thin.

To which Jaune sighed and turned his attention to the heiress. "She was a kid, Weiss. No older than me." In an instant, Weiss' anger vanished, replaced with astonishment, as were the rest of the listeners. "When I saw her, I didn't see a terrorist. I didn't see an assassin; I saw a child, scared, with her life in my hands. I know better than anyone what that's like; to feel so powerless and vulnerable under the tip of a steel dagger, to have your life hanging by a thread, wondering if you'll ever live to see what comes next…" His voiced almost croaked, one thing he made quite clear to his partner when he told her this story; he never got over those memories, the ones where he was taken from his home, his life in the hands of different individuals who had their own ways of entertaining themselves. His eyes averted his partner's choosing instead to lock onto the floor, flashes of the times he was held captive sparked in his head, every little detail reemerged. "I don't know entirely what I was thinking at the time, but within the span of a minute, I cut the ropes, and I only one thing to her; run. I don't condone nor do I sympathize with how the White Fang is nowadays, but something in me just couldn't let her be taken by the police. To this day I haven't seen her, but I haven't forgotten what she looked like." Tan skinned, sky blue eyes, reptilian-like freckles, a bit shorter than him and her auburn hair tied into a small bun.

His eyes glanced towards the heiress; the fury in her eyes was unmistakably aimed towards him for allowing a dangerous criminal go free. "Jaune, why did you keep her mask?" Somehow Blake had gotten closer, having taken a seat beside him on his bed.

"To remind myself; the people in the Fang are there for a reason, someone or something made them so desperate that they'd choose bloodshed over diplomacy. And honestly, while I would never condone their idealism, I understand why they're so vengeful. I just wish I could've done more…but I was so angry at the time, if I hadn't told her to run…I might've just let the authorities take her. And knowing how things were at the time, and how certain people feel towards the White Fang; they would've tried her as an adult…and when they found her guilty…" He shuddered; there was more to this story than he was telling that much was certain to the amber-eyed book worm. She could guess what outcome came to any Fang member caught by authorities, worse if said member was a younger than them. She wanted to ask, maybe discuss what he'd seen, to get a better insight on his past so as to see where he stood on the idea of equality; be it by action or by doing nothing. But, as it showed previously, Jaune was secretive over his private life, he never disclosed much about what he did before coming to Beacon. She could relate; wanting to keep certain bits of your past a secret, though, she was indeed more interested in his past experiences, particularly the ones revolving his upbringing with a faunus sibling and his views on the Fang.

The heiress appeared displeased with his reasoning, but the blond cared little for her displeasure. Instead, Jaune chose to wave off any further questions and hit the hay. It's not that he didn't want to continue conversing with his friends, hell he was actually curious as to what the heiress' opinion on his actions were. But, he was genuinely tired, and knowing from the call with his hacker from earlier; he was about to receive some stubborn guests the next day that would tire him out more than An hour long of Port's winded speeches. It really paid to have someone give him a heads up of incoming danger, though; the fee for that info was what he held issue with. Still, in the interest of actually gaining sleep, Jaune chose to close his eyes and doze off, unaware of a pair of sky-blue eyes peeking into his window, hidden in the thickets of a nearby tree. The window to the dorm was opened, just a bit, and given the volume of their voices this wanderer should not have been able to hear their conversation. But she did; every word.

Her attention locked onto the blond when he began telling the tale of how he had received an injury on his chest. She waited to hear the berating, the insults he would probably throw her way for being so incompetent. But none of that came, instead she found herself listening to his side of the story, the part where the rage had settled, and his own opinion came into to speak its own. He left out some core details, perhaps the most damming of them; her identity. She remembered too, being under his grasp, realizing her mistake at the last minute and being taken down in an embarrassingly short amount of time. She was supposed to be short and agile, able to sneak about without being detected. And even when she got the upper hand the first time around, as if placed on high alert he was able to keep up with her with the following attacks that culminated in her quick defeat. And then she panicked, feeling one arm restraining her wrists, while a metallic limb was pressed tightly against her neck. In the heat of the moment she screamed, she kicked the air; she flailed her body around hoping to get him off. But she wouldn't deny; for a fourteen year old, the boy was built to be sturdier than most. And in the midst of her ranting, he blew up as well, yelling all these things at her that made her want to silence him by not missing the second time. She remembered every word he said, every insult, every increase in his grip with each raised tone. She had never felt so humiliated, so demeaned in her life. Every word stuck, haunting her, causing her to actively deny each accusation towards her organization of them being terrorists. Yet, when she took a moment to stop being a 'grunt', and look back on their actions and missions, she finds it harder to justify her actions.

All of her conflicting emotions came from that one moment, where most humans would've either killed her or turned her in, this one chose instead to give her one, and only one, option; run. And she did, back into the unwelcoming arms of her peers who were quick to punish her for her mission failure. In hindsight, sending a novice to assassinate a doctor's son should've been easy, if said son's grandfather was not a crusader and actively training his grandson.

Now, after watching Beacon's broadcasted initiation she found herself with a simple goal; kill the young Ziegler, the source of her shame and doubt. She would finish what she should've done away with years ago. And yet, she hesitates, just like before. Not solely because of the blond, but for another in the room, another familiar face from her past; Belladonna. No words could describe the fury Ilia was feeling at the sight of her old teammate amongst these humans, and hiding her Faunus heritage no less; it was shameful. Throughout the whole thing she'd been waiting for her moment, and her waiting came to fruition. As soon as the blond rolled in his covers, Belladonna's team left shortly after, across the hall from this room; convenient, should the assassin feel so brazen to further relieve her frustration on another irritating tick in her life. It didn't take long for the lights to go out, but she didn't rush it. No, she waited for over an hour, plenty of time for the blond's teammates to fall asleep. As per her profession, Amitola slithered down the tree, scaling up the wall with ease as she found the window still open. To her luck, she was able to open said window without the annoying metallic creaking. Carefully, she unsheathed a familiar dagger; its aim would be precise and without fail this one and final time. She silently approached the blond's side of the bed; her dagger was descending towards his neck, steadily. The only time she flinched hesitated really, was when he shifted. To her favor; the blond rolled on his back, exposing his chest with his arms to the side. His metallic arm dangling off the side of the bed, still connected to him.

That should've been a red flag off the bat, but with her target right there in front of her, vulnerable and unaware; she acted on impulse. She shouldn't have, she knows that, but seeing him like this, this small window of opportunity, she acted.

She took the bait. A metal fist shot up, an uppercut delivered without mercy. She stumbled backwards; her vision blurred with the sudden counter to her second attempted assassination. What she was able to make out was the blond quit literally bolting from his bed, tackling her to the ground, and once again restraining her on the floor. All of this was painstakingly familiar, down to the way she watched the blurred world spin as she embraced the floor after an extended time apart. Only difference was her face slamming against carpet rather than concrete. Her flailing this time was met similarly to a feather struggling against the weight of a boulder. She could breathe fine enough, but the strength that held her in place was far more rigid than the last time.

"Damn, was hoping for her to be wrong." And like that, her anger boiled to newer levels. The lights flickered on; one of the blond's teammates had bolted from his bed amidst the struggle, flipping on the lights. The three teammates were quick to rise from their beds, disheveled and still half-asleep. What they never expected, not so quickly after just hearing their leader's tale; an actual White Fang assassin held firmly under his grip. Their leader didn't seem fazed by it, rather, he was grinning widely.

'Guess I owe Olivia for that little tip.' The blond mentally thanked his new source of information, the woman's constant hacking into the video feeds and scroll location pings were proving to give him an edge on these new attackers.

"Nora, find me something to tie her with!" Seeing her leader holding down a masked Fang member had her dazed, for only a few seconds. After the initial shock had passed, the red-head bounced into action, searching the closet for anything to help restrain the assassin. She did so feverishly, fear and anger coarse through her veins as she realized, in her search for restraints, that her leader, her partner, was almost killed tonight. The only comfort to her distress was that he managed to subdue his attacker, but the fact that there was an attacker at all stirred an uneasy pit of emotions in her stomach. This was a shared sentiment between her fellow teammates.

As for Jaune, he was wary when Olivia sent him the warning after his talk with his grandmother, but it appeared as though her constant surveillance bared some fruit. The adrenaline rush had begun to die down, but he could still feel his heart beating profoundly, more so his ragged breathing wasn't so much from tackling the assassin; his heavy breathing came from the fact that there were still people after him after all this time. He knew the possibility existed, but in Beacon, he had hoped to at the very least be able to sleep at night without having a knife in arm, and a gun between his mattresses.

Nora returned to her partner with a red scarf, wasting no time Jaune was quick to pin the assassin down further, pressing his knee down on her hands, earning a hissing gasp from the captured faunus. It didn't take long for the blond to tie the scarf tightly around the faunus' wrists, hoisting her up and forcibly sitting her down on a desk chair. Seeing a glint of metal at the foot of his bed, Jaune reached towards the weapon intended to be used in ending his life this night. He twirled the dagger in his hand, a testament to his training with his uncle from Mistral. Among other tricks he could pull, he instead opted to handle what came next with calmness. The last thing he needed was a rise in tensions.

But then, the minute he turned to face his attacker, when his ocean blue met her sky-blue, seeing the familiar hatred in her eyes, the same colored hair, tanned skin, and if he were to take her mask off, he knew he'd find a similar set of freckles he noticed on her exposed skin. The memory of their first encounter flashed before him once again, three years later and they sent the same one. In a way, he was somewhat glad it was her, because this attack only proved something to him; letting her go the first time was a mistake.

He stole small glances at his teammates; Ren was the calmest of the three, but given what the blond knew of his partner, he could only assume the usually stoic boy was worried beyond belief internally. Pyrrha was more battle prone than anything, but given their weapons were in their lockers, for obvious safety reasons, her secondary fighting method consisted of hand-to-hand combat techniques. As for his partner, he could see her visibly fighting back the urge to break this assassin's legs for attempting to end her partner's life.

These three, his teammates, his friends, could've been in danger because of a bad call he made three years prior. In fact, in those days, with his naïve way of thinking he had hoped his small act of mercy would perhaps have her think twice on her life decisions. A stupid and childish notion, he knew, but he truly wished that was the case. Although, not many had the opportunity he had; to fix a mistake that placed his team in danger.

Jaune walked up to her, the dagger twirling in his hand, stopping only once he was directly in front of her. He kneeled down at eye level, his neutral expression challenging her heated glare.

"Can't say I'm surprised they'd try again…although, I am disappointed to see you." His tone was leveled, calm. But beneath that self-control, he felt his anger boiling beneath his patience. It was one thing to target him, but to for his own team to be put in danger; he'd correct the problem, before it became a bigger pest later down the line. He had already decided on his next course of action. The knife's tip kissed the exposed nip of the assassin's neck. Her breath hitched upon contact, the blond's teammates looked to their leader with widened eyes. "I'm only going to ask this once…" His voice was still calm, still neutral, and yet she still felt the overwhelming malice radiating from him. "Was I your only target, or were you going to lay hands on my teammates?" Ilia felt her blood run cold; his eyes were daring her to answering wrongly.

That moment of fear passed, replaced with her own brand of malice aimed at the blond. She remained silent, unwilling to answer his question, mostly out of pride and stubbornness. But she would only test his patience as his brows narrowed, the blade digging just a tad bit into her neck. With each second she felt the blade slowly being pressed into her neck. She tried turning away, only for the blond to forcefully grab her chin and turning her head back to him. "Don't you dare look away from me." He growled. It was when she peered into his blazing eyes that she remembered another individual, a walking nightmare. An individual that was well known amongst both White Fang and Atlesian military for wiping out entire bases, often single-handedly and frighteningly enough, at almost every base she was stationed at. She could feel the same malicious aura emitting from this boy that she felt on the individual who she watched massacre hundreds of her brethren without so much as pausing for some show of mercy. And then she saw it, an illusion brought to life by her own fear; that damned mask glaring down at her. Those pulsing crimson eyes piercing into her very core.

It was only when she felt a metallic hand on her neck that she snapped back to reality. She was staring at the blond again, his expression remained neutral, but his demeanor had changed. The fury was still there, but it had calmed down.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." He commented, cleaning the blade from the small stain of blood on it. Ilia did indeed feel a small ting of blood drying on her neck, but she ignored it, her glare had returned, though, not as strongly as she displayed before. "Answer my question." He demanded.

"If I had to." She snarled, admitting to not having an issue harming his team, a grave mistake on her part.

Jaune remained silent; his whole appeared eerily frozen in place, as if time had halted. And without a hint or warning, the blade twirled in his palm before it hoisted up and came down on the assassin's leg, the tip and upper half of the blade was embedded into her flesh. "That's the wrong fucking answer." Jaune's reply was cold, unnerving, and lacking any form of remorse. Ilia was screaming through her tightened lips. If she screamed openly, there was a chance they'd be caught by staff or security, and as a White Fang, things would look direr for her than they would for the hunter she intended to kill. Tears welled in eyes, running freely down her cheeks as the pain had become too much, she wanted to flail, to run or jump out the window but she finds herself unable to move due to the bit of steel in her leg.

"JAUNE!" The blond didn't turn to face his teammates, though; he knew how they must've been looking at him right now; with disgust or horror. But right now, he chose to ignore the shame pinging in his head.

Jaune leaned towards Ilia, his hand grasping the hilt of the blade. "Trying to kill me is one thing, but…" He twisted the knife, causing the faunus to whimper and shrivel under the pain. "Targeting my team is something I won't overlook…" He gave the knife another twist before forcibly removing the dagger.

Without warning, their door slammed open, Yang and Ruby being the first to enter. Blake and Weiss following close behind. "Guys, we heard noises and-" The girls recoiled, not expecting to see not only their sister team huddled around a fifth individual, but a bleeding White Fang at that. And from the looks of things, Jaune was currently holding a blade in hand whilst the assassin was bleeding from an injury to her leg. To their horror, mostly for Ruby and Blake, the last thing they wanted to see was their friend staring down at the injured assassin with those cold dead eyes, as if he cared little whether this girl was currently bleeding out in his dorm room.

For Jaune; this was spiraling out of control. All his pent up anger and hatred towards the White Fang had finally surfaced, and it came in the form of the one Fang member he showed mercy towards. Because of his decision to let her go, he involuntarily placed his team in danger, and it was a threat he'd never allow to be repeated again. "I made the mistake of allowing you to go free once before…I won't make that mistake again." His friends, as well as the assassin, felt their hearts skip a beat. For one, his tone sounded genuine, as if he intended to keep true to his word.

Nora had seen and heard more than enough she reached for her partner, intending to end this sudden shift in attitude before he escalated this any further. She reached forward hell-bent on ensuring her partner wouldn't end up making a mistake that would ruin him. As her hands were about to grasp his shoulder, he turned towards her, startling the redhead. The way he looked at her unnerved her; his face was cold and calculating. Her hopes lingered on whatever it was he would ask next. She knew her and the others could overpower him, overrule any outlandish order, and intervene in any sudden moves he made. But, she held her breath, praying her partner wouldn't force her hand.

"Call Goodwitch and Lacroix, let them know we caught an intruder…"

Her prayer was answered, and with no time to waste, she quickly reached for her scroll, giving her partner a sideways glance; he had kneeled once more in front of the White Fang; only this time he was healing her, at least that's what Nora could see. Regardless of how quickly things escalated, she was glad her partner didn't do anything drastic…at least, nothing lethal. Still, once the professors took this Fang member into custody Nora intended to have a long winded talk with her partner over what occurred tonight; make no mistake she was not going to see her partner act in such a way again, especially not if she can help it.

A/N: OK, first things first, Jaune is not a psycho; I assure all of you…I have another story where he has a few screws loose…shit, spoiler I suppose. I only wanted him to come across as protective, but with a flare and attitude that mirrors both his parents. Keep in mind my dear readers, I aim to have our blond side on gray morality, it'll be more clear as the chapters come.

Also, the Faunus Crisis will mirror the Omnic Crisis from the game, just in case no one got that little reference.

And one last thing, for the sake of consistency, all Overwatch characters will be the same age they are in the game, EXCEPT a select few. Mercy, McCree, Satya, Hanzo, and Genji have been aged up five years. Ashe by three years, and four for Baptiste (Yes, he's in the story.) The reason behind the sudden change in ages for these particular characters was to adjust them to be placed in hunter teams, and to give them bigger roles in the Faunus Crisis, which will be explored further in the next three chapters. Thank you all for reading, ciao!

Translations:

Sheisse – shit

Responses:

TheGreatSeeker; Yes and no. The storyline will follow up to the events of vol 3, but will diverge greatly during the tournament. I cannot divulge too much, due to spoilers mostly. But I will say; the invasion will still be in this timeline.

Roger9481; I'll divulge into this a little more later on, I don't want to randomly throw out exposition, but it will be explained in the next few chapters. I assure you.

Guest; I can't say who his father is, not yet at least. It won't be known until further on in the story, and I'm glad you like the story so far.

John Spicer; oh, make no mistake, Jaune has indeed earned his place at Beacon, but his family's reasoning for not wanting him to attend Beacon will be due to the headmaster and his secrets. For now, that's all I can say, but I will say; Jaune will find out very soon why his family didn't want him to attend Beacon.