Bit of a "in between" chapter, hope I made it interesting!
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Once Jaune calmed down enough to speak he tried to explain everything as best he could, with Whitback helping to fill in patches. He started with how he caught Blake and continued to the point when he left Romans apartment to find someone to help.
"It's a little blurry after that…" Jaune hesitated, the memory still hurt to think about. "Just try your best Jaune." James tried to encourage him.
"There was a woman and a man in a dark alley, he had a knife pointed at her." Jaune shook his head, he still didn't know what had happened between the pair to cause such anger and fear. "I didn't think. I just wanted to get him off her but…" Jaune trailed off, looking at his hand and focusing on what he wanted to happen.
The glove disappeared suddenly, showing James how the flesh absorbed it directly instead of through an incision like Whitback normally did. "I lost control…" Jaune stared at his hand, the sight of the man imbedded in concrete like some perverse cartoon was burning in his mind.
"She was so s-" Jaune felt his throat close off, the woman's face playing in his mind over and over. "I-I killed her too…" he couldn't explain any more, he could feel his hands shaking and his stomach flipping. She was innocent and he had killed her without even thinking.
James was about to place a hand on Jaune's shoulder when he suddenly stiffed and looked up with a straight face. "Jaune killed the man by accident, he wasn't used to our new body and sent a tendril forth without meaning too." Whitback had to explain, Jaune having withdrawn into the deeper parts of his psyche.
"The woman was hysterical, but I admit I was already on edge when she attacked." Whitback frowned awkwardly, not used to feeling such human emotions let alone expressing them.
"I… regret what happened. Had I been clear minded I could have disarmed her and Jaune would have been spared such intense remorse." It's frown deepened as it reached up to touch the liquid forming at its eyes, when had Jaune created those? It was such a waste of material but Whitback doubted Jaune even knew he was doing it.
"But that doesn't matter now…" Whitback wished things could have been different but it was too late. "With the added stress from the alleyway all Jaune needed was a push to go over. A push Roman's men provided." Whitback finished and looked up at James, seeing the larger man scratch his chin thoughtfully.
"Am I going to have to stay in my room again…?" Jaune asked barely above a mumble, coming back to himself after a few moments pause.
\-/
James felt his heart wrench, he never wanted to keep Jaune locked up but it was necessary to keep the public from learning about Whitback… Wasn't it? James frowned to himself, perhaps he had only done what was easiest for him, forgetting Jaune was still a traumatised child in need of support.
"No. You won't" James let out a sad sigh. "It was a mistake to try and hide you away. I'm sorry, Jaune." James could see how he had only caused Jaune more problems by keeping so secluded. If James had done things differently this whole mess might have been avoided.
"I just wanted to stop others from hurting like I did… I only wanted to help…" Jaune tried to explain, struggling to cope. "You still can Jaune." James knew exactly what he wanted to say but the choice wasn't really up to his alone to make.
He turned to the glass where Ozpin was watching, knowing the headmaster of Beacon would understand his intentions. Ozpin walked into the room a moment later, his cane tapping the ground in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other and an unreadable expression on his face.
"Hello Jaune, I'm professor Ozpin and despite the circumstances, it's a pleasure to meet you." Ozpin said politely with a bow. Jaune stared at the silvered haired man while the last of his tears faded into his "skin".
Jaune looked a bit awkward, as if unsure what to say. "This is the headmaster of the huntsmen academy in Vale, like I am in Atlas." James explained, he hadn't taught Jaune much about the other kingdoms but he had explained the importance of Huntsmen and the academies.
"You train Huntsmen in Vale?" Jaune perked up, clearly intrigued. "Do you know Ruby? She said even I could be a huntsman, but James said huntsman fight the grimm." Ozpin didn't interrupt but gave a sideways glance to James, curious what else he had taught Jaune.
"Are the rules in Vale different? Do you have to fight off all grimm here?" James remembered teaching Jaune the huntsmen were the final defense against the grimm, but Jaune had never said anything wanting to be one. Had James not been paying enough attention?
"The Grimm slaughter humans and faunus alike without mercy or thought. Tell me, do you seek the destruction of humans or faunus?" Ozpin asked simply, raising his cup to sip gently and raising an eyebrow at Jaune.
"No!... well maybe I used to want the White Fang destroyed… But not anymore!" Jaune looked up with pleading eyes "What about when you lose control?" Jaune immediately looked down, shame clear on his face.
"... Then nothing is safe." he mumbled quietly and cleared his throat "But it's only when there's too much negativity." Jaune tried to explain with desperation touching his voice. "I don't even know why it happens…"
"You've gotten much better since I first saw you at Jacques'." James said to try and comfort him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "With practice I'm sure you'll have a much easier time staying in control." Jaune shrugged as if unsure but still couldn't stop a small smile from showing off his pride.
"It wouldn't be easy, even with that gr-" Ozpin stopped himself before he said something rude. "Even with Whitback helping you it would take months if not years of preparation to even train as a huntsman. Are you prepared to make that commitment? Even if the people you want to save only fear you?" Ozpin didn't want to dissuade Jaune, only test his reaction.
"Doing nothing wouldn't make anything better. Huntsman and huntresses are heros that help people." To Jaune it made perfect sense "I want to be a hero too!"
\-/
An hour later Jaune was getting comfortable in a vacant room in Beacon while Ozpin, Qrow and James were inside the headmaster's office. Qrow was the first to speak, having remained silent the entire time Jaune was with them. He didn't dislike the boy, he just couldn't help but be cautious after seeing what Whitback was capable of.
"Do you two seriously think it's a good idea to train something so Dangerous?" Qrow didn't think Jaune was completely lost to the grimm but that didn't mean it couldn't influence him. "I know you both see how much that grimm has changed Jaune already."
"Only with the Jaune's permission, which I believe speaks volumes for Whitback." James defended a bit too quickly. "Jaune is only a danger if there's too much negativity." Qrow squinted his eyes at James.
"Don't you think you're a bit too "close" to be making decisions like that?" Qrow pointed out, he never thought James could go easy on someone but it appeared he had grown attached to Jaune over the years. Did he forget what the grimm were capable of? It was in their nature to destroy and Qrow spent enough time around the beasts to understand they couldn't be reasoned with.
"Peace, let's not let emotion get the better of us." Ozpin cut in before an argument could start. "Let me ask you, how many huntsman and huntresses graduate every year?" he asked Qrow who looked a little confused at the sudden question.
"Couple a classes maybe…? Why?" Qrow didn't know what Oz was getting at, what did graduated huntsmen have to do with Jaune being dangerous?
"And how many die every year?"Ozpin didn't need to go on, Qrow knew they lost far too many huntsmen every year.
"More than a few classes worth…" Qrow mumbled. Despite the message of peace the council tried so hard to cram down everyone's throat, the grimm were getting more aggressive by the day.
"We're losing this war Qrow, even if Jaune is a risk he is still one of our best chances of catching Salem off guard and turning the tide of this war." Ozpin explained not unkindly and Qrow nodded, sighing quietly in defeat.
"Of course he will kept under close watch, to make sure he doesn't lose control again. He'll also have to learn to keep a low profile before he becomes a "public" student at Beacon." Ozpin clarified, hoping to put at least a few of Qrow's worries to rest. Good intentions wouldn't matter for Jaune if the public saw him as a creature of grimm, they have lost far too much to see grimm as anything but monsters.
Ozpin knew it wouldn't be easy to hide Whitback from the public but he didn't think it impossible. There were all manner of semblances, he was sure that would explain anything Jaune wasn't already able to hide, like his immense weight and strength. Morphing his body into tendrils and weapons would need to be made off limits around others.
"I suppose with how much the Atlassian council likes to watch my academy, Beacon would be the better place for Jaune to learn without interference." James sounded a little disappointed but didn't push the subject.
"Then it's official." Ozpin announce with a tap of his cane. "I'll fill in Glynda on the details when she gets back. I'll be in touch with both of you shortly." Qrow nodded to Oz, giving a glance to James before leaving the office with an exhausted farewell.
"You haven't told Glynda yet? Risky move Oz, you know she hates being left out of the loop. She practically runs this school for you." James smiled with Ozpin, he admitted to himself to being a bit disappointed she wasn't at Beacon during his recent visits.
"Indeed, now I've gone and recruited a fifteen year old grimm hybrid." Ozpin chuckled, he wasn't going to be getting away with this one without a few choice words. "Will you be staying the night?"
"Unfortunately I have spent too much time in Vale already, Winter is handling things while I'm away but questions will start popping up if I stay much longer." James didn't want to leave so soon but he had little choice in the matter, all he could do was hope Jaune became an amazing huntsman.
\-/
Deep in the emerald forest, far from prying eyes, Qrow branwen raised harbinger in its sword form to deflect a tendril aimed for his ribs. He charged a second later and kicked Jaune with as much force as he could muster, using his aura to keep from breaking his foot.
"Come on Jaune, it's been three months already. You have to stop using your tendrils already." Qrow scolded while Jaune landed on the ground with a loud thud. He recovered quickly, twisting his sword and adjusting his shield to ready himself for another attack.
"Let me try again." Jaune said stubbornly, he refused to admit defeat just yet. He was already stronger and tougher than most any huntsmen and yet he wasn't even coming close to Qrow. Even without Whitback trying to help, Jaune thought he could at least put up a fight but he had spent more time on the ground than standing since they started sparring.
After a few more hours of being tossed around by the experienced huntsman, Jaune was finally given a break when an alarm rang from Qrow's scroll. "That's enough for today kid, Glynda should be waiting in the usually spot." Qrow said while tapping his scroll to shut it up.
Jaune nodded but didn't leave right away, instead turning to Qrow and asking "Did Ruby come with you to Vale?". His mask hid the somewhat nervous look on his face, Ruby was the only person his age he knew of. Beside blake of course, but he didn't know if he even wanted to find her again.
"Nope, too much homework. Why?" Qrow explained while raising an eyebrow. "No reason, I just wanted to thank her." Jaune replied quickly with a nervous chuckle. "Hmm." Qrow simply hummed.
You're going to be late for Glynda's lessons. Whitback reminded him, causing him to jump slightly. "I gotta go, I'll see you later Qrow!" Jaune called as he took off at a brisk pace back towards Beacon.
"Good to see you made it on time today." Glynda commented as Jaune rushed into the vacant classroom they used for his theory studies. "We have a lot to cover before you can hope to keep up with other first years, open you textbook to page-"
Jaune almost immediately zoned out, the nearly endless pages of text boring him to no end. He would rather clean his room than read through "The creation of the steam engine". At least Whitback enjoyed the lessons, soaking in every word Glynda spoke, it couldn't learn enough as far as it was concerned.
"Miss Goodwitch? Do you think I'll be allowed to go back into the city?" Jaune asked once the lesson had concluded and the sun outside was falling below the horizon. She looked caught off guard at first but it was gone so quickly Jaune could swear he imagined it.
"That would be up to Ozpin." She replied evenly while adjusting her glasses. "But I don't think he would have a problem with it, so long as you keep practicing your control like James taught you."
"I do every night!" Jaune answered with a thumbs up since his mask covered his smile. "I wonder when he'll visit next…" Jaune wondered idly to himself, he hadn't seen James since the night they arrived at beacon. It was a bit nerve wracking at first, but Jaune found himself enjoying the experience before long. It made him feel like he was making progress towards something he wanted.
The rest of the night he spent in his room, legs crossed and controlling his breathing like James had taught him. With his senses he could hear and smell almost anything in the school, but he didn't focus on that. Instead he tried to focus only on his breathing, the way air filled his chest before being released back out. Need for oxygen or not, it gave him something to focus on.
"we are not slaves to our bloodlust." Their voice reverberated, two consciousnesses melting to one. "we are not slaves to our instincts." They chanted, repeating the words they told themselves every night. "we are not slaves to our emotions." It helped them remember it when they needed to the most. James said people could convince themselves of anything, so Jaune and Whitback would continue to convince themselves no matter how long it took.
"We are who we chose to be."
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Hope this chapter is up to snuff! School has been kicking the shit outta me but again I'm happy to have this out within the week. I hope it makes sense how i've built up Jaune with basically the same goal in mind as canon but with obvious differences. I plan on rewatching rwby from the beginning to hopefully better understand the mind set and personalities of the "gang". the last section of this chapter is basically just the average day Jaune will be going through until he is "ready" by Ozpins standards (spoilerish* its gonna be when team rwby and J*npr are there) Hope to here any thoughts and have a good night/morning!
Sm0keyPanda Thank ya kindly, I'm glad you agreed with my Roman! He's arrogant but not stupid! I mainly worry about inconsistencies but I should really learn to relax a bit more. Thanks for your support, let me know if it gets better! I'll keep doing my best!
chendong2698 not to worry! I just had to get this chapter out of the way before getting to beacon, next chapter we should be seeing him interacting with familiar faces, promise! Thanks for the review!
Guest, My goodness, careful or you'll make me blush! I don't think I've ever received such a compliment on my work, when I first saw it on my email during school; instant good day! I hope I made the after conversation between Jaune and James alright and even if James isn't at Beacon Jaune can still contact him via scroll which i just may use if Jaune has a particularly bad day. I truly hope I didn't mess up the follow up, and made accurate depictions of Jaune and James. As for the grimmified body, they both definitely noticed once they saw his face. When I thought who might have a negative reaction, canon James came to mind but the circumstances are very different in this story so i thought Qrow would be the most cautious after fighting against the grimm for so long. Oz on the other hand i tried to make a "big picture" sort of thinker, knowing the grimm were winning and needing more "defenders" so to speak. Hope to hear your opinion again, thanks for taking such an interest!