Had some trouble but here we are! Hope you like it!
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Chapter 25
Jaune looked incredibly uncomfortable, that was the first thing Yang noticed when walking into the recording studio with her team and uncle. His hands were tightly pressed together and his spine looked like it was replaced with a steel rod, he just looked plain different from how relaxed (or bored) his posture was in class.
It looked like they had just finished recording judging by what the news lady was saying to the camera. "And we're clear!" A tall man shouted out "good job people! Thanks again Ozpin for coming in on such short notice, the exec's are up my ass about keeping this from getting any worse. Oh and don't worry about the kids voice, We'll tone it down post-production."
"Will that be everything you need from me?" The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees as Jaune spoke, his voice sounding absolutely frigid. Yang had never heard him speak like that to anyone, let alone the headmaster. Ozpin's response was too quiet to make out but the familiar smile on his face showed how little he was bothered by Jaune's icy tone.
"Oz!" Qrow drew the headmaster's attention who made his way over with Jaune following close behind. "Good to see you all made it." Ozpin offered a polite nod to the girls before turning back to Jaune. "Perhaps you should wake Jaune up now?"
'So that's why he looked so uncomfortable' Yang thought idly while Jau- Whitback nodded to Ozpin. "What's that like?" She asked suddenly without really thinking "Not having control of your own body I mean." She clarified, it had to be strange right? Like some kind of sleep paralysis maybe?
Qrow coughed in the background before Jaune (Or was it still Whitback?) could answer, bringing everyone's attention to the news station workers going about their business around them. "Let's take this somewhere else, if you would all follow me please." Ozpin said, his expression as unreadable as ever.
It didn't take long for the group to be led to an empty lounging room, complete with couch and coffee maker. Ozpin almost seemed to materialize in front of the machine instantly. "Qrow, could you make sure we're not listened to?" He called back to the Huntsman, causing the black haired man to roll his eyes and move to open the door.
"Thanks for flying with us uncle Qrow! I'm glad we could see you again!" Ruby spoke up before he could leave, causing the old Huntsman to brighten. "Thanks kiddo, try to stay out of trouble would ya?" He gave her hair a ruffle before turning to exit, leaving the young huntresses to turn their attention back to Jaune.
"You may continue with your questions, the station here is happy to host us for as long as we need." Ozpin sipped at the coffee that had no right being ready so fast, waiting patiently for whatever he was hoping to speak about.
Jaune cleared his throat before speaking "Um, well, depends I guess." He said rather awkwardly, causing everyone to raise a questioning eyebrow. "Your question from earlier, about when Whitback is in control." He clarified.
"It was kind of a long interview so I sorta stopped thinking about what was happening around me. Guess it's almost like falling asleep." He scratched the back of his head, though Yang wasn't sure if he was embarrassed at falling asleep on Tv or if he was struggling to find the right words.
"But most of the time when I give him control I just stop trying to move my body and Whitback… takes over. It's a little hard to explain." He rubbed at the edge of his mask, she supposed his explanation made as much sense as possible. A lot had been learned over the centuries about dust and Aura but any Grimm related information still remained, for the most part, a complete mystery. Whitback was certainly no exception.
"Why didn't you come home last night?" Ruby asked suddenly with the beginnings of a pout "We had no idea if you were in trouble or not after you chased after that woman." Jaune looked taken off guard by the question, hesitating before answering.
"W-well I was hunting Grimm to help Whitback recover the material we had lost during the fight." He explained a little too quickly, Was he lying? Why, what would be the point? What other reason could he have to avoid coming back to the dorms? Was he avoiding them?
Yang felt a spike of guilt twist in her stomach, after how she treated him why wouldn't he avoid them? She acted like he was a monster, not because of what he had done but because of what he looked like. Could she blame him if he had avoided them?
There was an awkward moment of silence before Weiss broke it. "Are you…" She began cautiously " Are you upset this happened to you?" Jaune tilted his head "What do you mean?" He sounded confused.
"All this… Grimm stuff." She motioned to him "Aren't you angry with the people that did this to you?" she sounded confused, almost upset though Jaune seemed quite the contrary "Not at all, I know Jacque might not have meant to, but he introduced me to my best friend." He pulled free his mask to show his inhuman features twisted into a very human smile.
"Honestly I'm grateful." Weiss looked stunned with her mouth slightly ajar as she stared at Jaune like he had just charged at a rampaging death stalker. "So... does this mean you're not going to kick me off the team?" He asked nervously.
\-/
Ozpin interrupted before anyone could answer by placing a hand on Jaune's shoulder "The question isn't if they want to kick you out, but if they're willing to take the risk to let you remain." Jaune seemed to understand something his teammates missed, frowning deeply before replacing his mask.
Ozpin didn't want to admit it but the fact was; people were scared. The Crime in Vale was only getting worse, dust robberies were at an all time high and now the video of Lucy was circulating like wildfire. Something was happening in Vale, and somehow it continued to elude him despite his best efforts to root it out. Which in itself meant that only Salem could be pulling the strings, no other knew the holes in his net so well.
Something had to be done but if Salem wanted to get to Jaune, either to kill him or take him, then she wouldn't think twice about using any personal connections he had against him. Those connections needed to be secured or severed before they became any more difficult to break.
"You three have a choice in front of you." Ozpin stepped between Jaune and his team, facing the latter. He hadn't intended for his students to be forced into this decision so early in their lives but desperate times... "For starters I would like to make it clear that the first option is too simply continue your schooling without Jaune on your team."
"You'll be able to continue your life as you had originally intended when applying to beacon, under the condition that you agree to never speak of Whitback or Jaune again." It was a fair offer, one that he purposely meant to sound very much like a "way out".
"The second option is much more complicated, involving exposing yourself to risks that go far beyond that of a normal Hunter." He couldn't tell them about Salem without risk of word spreading but he had to make sure they knew what they would be agreeing to.
"There are certain groups of people targeting Jaune for a variety of reasons, these people are not normal citizens. They follow no rules but their own and will not hesitate to do whatever they believe necessary in order to accomplish their goals." Maybe he could have specified the White fang but if they chose the first option it would be best if they knew as little as possible.
"Basically you're saying the people after Jaune will come after us." Weiss clarified with a frown, looking rather upset at the idea of yet again being the target of assassins. Ozpin could see the same frown on Yang's face but knew he could blame neither of them, the idea of having to constantly look over your shoulder was far from comforting.
"Precisely" He nodded to Weiss "Originally I had thought keeping Jaune at Beacon would prevent anyone from openly confronting him, but it appears I was mistaken." He thought the White fang would avoid his school considering how dangerous an attack would be. Clearly this "mystery woman" convinced them differently, and Ozpin somehow doubted losing a single assassin would stop the attempts on Jaune's life.
"And so, because of this mistake, I now have to force my students to choose between a friend or their own safety." He didn't want to push such a difficult decision on people so young, but he was running particularly low on options. "I understand if you need some time to think about it."
"I'm staying." Ruby barely waited for Ozpin to finish speaking before the words were out, causing a light smile to touch his lips. Of course the little Rose wouldn't hesitate if it meant helping someone in need, so much like her mother she was. Her sister on the other hand looked like she wanted to argue, though she didn't seem to be able to find the proper words.
"I can't convince you otherwise can I…?" Yang's voice was resigned, she had to know just how stubborn Ruby could be. "Nope, He's my friend and he needs help." She said with a simple smile "So I'm gonna do what I can to help."
Yang let out a defeated sigh "Then count me in too," she said while placing her hand on the miniature reaper's shoulder "Someone's gotta watch your back if you're busy watching his." She added with a smile that managed to look genuine despite her obvious fear for her sister's safety.
Ozpin felt a twinge of guilt for basically forcing Yang to join through Ruby but still held relief in some part of himself. Their were barely a handful of people that knew of the truth about Jaune and simply put; he could use any help available.
That only left one member of team RASY unaccounted for, Weiss looking to be deep in thought before realizing she was the center of attention. "Don't look at me like that, of course I'm staying too" she crossed her arms and turned away with a defiant look in her eyes. "I told you I would be the best teammate you ever had, and a Schnee keeps their word."
Yayy!" Ruby leapt to hug the blue eyed teen, causing her to yelp in surprise and try to pry the little Rose from her. "You'd risk your life because of a promise you made to my sister?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow to her partner, her tone a mixture of confusion and curiosity.
"W-why wouldn't I?" Weiss responded after finally freeing herself of their leaders bear hug, her cheeks shading a light pink. "No reason." Yang answered a little too quickly, had she thought her partner would choose to leave them? 'That's between them' Ozpin thought to himself before his nosy habits could get out of hand.
"Thank you… All of you." Jaune spoke up from behind Ozpin, not looking up while his voice held sadness oddly enough. "I'm sorry for being so much trouble… I'll do my best to protect you al-" He was interrupted by Yang quickly moving in front of him and giving his helmet a hard tap with her bracelet.
"Don't be stupid, were not staying just so you can protect us and feel guilty. We all have our reasons, don't think you're so special." Yang spoke with a teasing smirk, breaking the tension before it could get worse. "We're staying because it's our choice, not yours."
"So what now? Do we just go back to school?"
"For today you will be, but you'll be excused from classes." Ozpin started while walking to the door to let Qrow back inside. "You'll need the time to pack." He finished as the other Huntsman made his way back into the room.
"What do you mean? What are we packing for?" Weiss asked and Ozpin let out a soft chuckle "Did I forget to mention?" He was so caught up in all the doom and despair he forgot to tell them one of the perks, It wasn't like he would just let his students run head first into danger without first preparing them as best he could.
"Your new training begins tomorrow."
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Somewhere in the industrial district, Cinder Fall sat in an abandoned warehouse sipping at a glass of wine while she looked over her scroll. "Theories about the mysterious human-like Grimm have already started popping up." The news woman's voice played loudly from the device, her visage looking as professional as always.
"From Grimm-Faunus to government experiments and even some believing it to be a natural child of Man and Grimm. So tell me, what does one of the top experts on Grimm in Vale think about this strange discovery?" The image switched to the calm expression of the headmaster of Beacon.
"Grimm appear in all shapes and sizes, it's difficult to say anything for sure without being able to study this new species more closely. Perhaps it was a unique variant of some lesser known species, never to be seen again." Ozpin was always good at speaking a whole lot without actually saying anything, Cinder wondered how the station believed that would convince anyone they were safe.
"I doubt anyone would mourn the idea," The reporter replied with a chuckle before turning her head to her opposite side, the camera shifting to show the armored man Cinder was hoping to see. "What about you Mister Arc, you actually fought the Grimm woman correct? What was that like?"
"You're right, I fought the creature." Jaune's responded evenly, his voice sounding as if it was being distorted somehow. "Honestly I noticed very little difference compared to other Grimm." He shrugged lightly but somehow the motion looked stiff, like he was somehow unused to the action.
"Like other Grimm it was a danger to this city, and I dealt with it like any threat to my home." Cinder Raised an eyebrow, where was the naive young man Roman spoke of? Had the Grimm changed it's personality somehow? No, she had far too little information to make any assumptions yet.
"And the great city of Vale thanks you for it," The reporter gave a slight bow and turned back to Ozpin, droning on about nonsense that Cinder quickly stopped listening to. Did this mean Ozpin trusted the Grimm? Why else would he bring it in for an interview if he didn't plan on using it more overtly?
"Something wrong ma'am?" Emeralds voice drew Cinder attention if only slightly "Not at all…" She responded quietly, barely registering the younger girl's words. If Ozpin trusted the Grimm enough to be on Tv, did that mean he would let it fight in public competitions as well?
If Roman was telling the truth and Jaune was capable of losing control and going into a berserker state… A sadistic grin began growing on her face as a new, brilliant addition to her ever changing plans fell into place.
"Nothing Wrong at all."
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This chapter was a bit difficult just because of how many options I had floating around my head. Thought of seperating the team, making pairs and even just having Jaune do very poorly in the interview. Lemme know what you think of what i decided, If i made it work or just conomplicated things unneedidly. Well it's 5am right now for me so I'm really sorry if this AN sounds a bit odd but either way I hope you all enjoy your days/nights!
Kisekhan, Glad i could make someone happy! I will try my very best to keep the story moving forward, hopfully i'll get finish it as well. thanks again for the support!
Khor Evik Valkhavlakh, Dont even worry about it! Life can be a complicated roller coaster, I would never hold it against someone for getting distracted by it! It's a relief to hear I'm still alright with the characters, this chapter was kind of hard to do that but I hope I kept it up! Thank you again for all the help you're offering!