As of the time I write this, Individual System has surpassed 1000 follows! I want to take a moment to thank everyone for their support.

Also, I didn't get as much time to go over the chapter as I usually do, so apologies for that.

Individual System

Weiss spent two hours getting ready for the day.

Even though she wasn't a morning person, Weiss got out of bed before the sun rose. She wanted to make sure she had enough time to get ready. It was an important day, and she needed to look her best. Her long hair was tied in a ponytail that fell down her back. Not a single strand was out of place. Her face was without blemish, a tasteful amount of makeup applied to it.

Myrtenaster hung at her side, Dust chambers full and ready to go. Her black school uniform was neatly-pressed, and her combat skirt was at regulation length. Some may not see any point in her actions. After all, they'd have to change into their combat clothes to fight the Grimm soon enough. It should be fine if she didn't put in as much effort as usual into her appearance.

Certainly, quite a few of her classmates had gone along with that logic. Weiss could see plenty of loosely tucked shirts and unbuttoned collars. Some girls had foregone makeup entirely.

Fools, the lot of them.

For most, this would be their first time fighting Grimm. Not her, obviously. Weiss's mettle had already been tested in battle against the creatures of Grimm and, more recently, against those hooligans from the White Fang.

In terms of combat experience, Weiss was easily superior to those around her.

However, her experience did not take away the event's importance. The occasion needed to be treated with the utmost respect. The instructors would be watching them every step of the way and grading their performance. This was not only a momentous event in their development as fighters but also an essential part of their grade.

If they couldn't bother putting in the effort to look professional, where they treating this seriously at all?

Weiss scoffed.

Of course, they weren't.

Weiss knew the statistics by heart. Of those who graduated Pleiades Academy, most wouldn't even bother applying for Atlas or any other Huntsman Academy. They would just use their diplomas to further their social positions like the greedy animals they were.

That was the way of Altas' high society.

They did not understand the honor and obligation that came with being a huntress.

They weren't like her.

Still, Weiss would be lying if she said there wasn't another reason compelling her to look her best that day. It was something she had only found out a week ago.

Winter was coming.

Weiss had already been looking forward to this excursion, even if certain events had somewhat dampened her enthusiasm. However, learning IXA would be coming along with the group had not only restored her enthusiasm, but it had magnified it tenfold. Her classmates, empty and vapid as they were, only cared about being part of the latest trends. Many were part of IXA's fan club.

Not Weiss. She was above such things. For her, IXA's presence only meant one thing.

Her sister would be there.

Weiss already knew Winter was part of whatever secret unit of the military was in charge of the armored fighter. IXA's presence during the exercise meant Winter would most likely come along with him. Winter hadn't told her anything about it, but that wasn't surprising. Her sister preferred to communicate by letter.

Some would call it old-fashioned, but not Weiss. To Weiss, it was yet another sign of how refined her sister was. No silly calls or text messages for Winter. Only lovely and elegant hand-written letters. It was always a joy to find them in the mail.

The fact that they communicated only through letters made the occasions where they met face to face all the more special. After the whole debacle in the Argonaut, Weiss had been looking forward to spending some time with her sister.

Oh, and Jaune would be there too. Weiss supposed that wasn't horrible.

That morning, Weiss had boarded the school's airship along with the other members of her group. There were forty of them in total. Once the ship had taken off, they were called for a debriefing.

Weiss had never walked anywhere faster.

The students were arranged in neat columns, and Weiss stood at the front of hers. Had she been a lesser person, her body would have been vibrating in anticipation. Even with all her training in the art of self-control, Weiss still couldn't entirely stop the excited gasp that left her mouth when her sister came into view.

As always, Winter looked terrific. Weiss had seen her in her Specialist uniform once before. It had been when she had visited shortly after graduating. Her father hadn't been home back then, as was the norm. Her mother… the less said about that, the better. In the end, it had been a good chance for the sisters to spend some time together. Winter had even done her the favor of letting her train against her summons.

Sadly, she had lost the battle against them, but Weiss vowed she wouldn't let Winter down again. She would show Winter how much she had progressed during their time away from each other!

"Good morning, students. I am Specialist Winter Schnee. You will address me as Specialist Schnee," her sister began addressing the assembled students, voice full of command, her eyes carefully studying them.

"You have been gathered here today, so that you may test your mettle against the creatures of Grimm," Winter continued, hands folded behind her back. "For many of you, this will be your first taste of real combat. Others already have some experience."

Weiss stood a little straighter at that, the proud smile on her face unmistakable.

"Regardless, do not allow yourself to grow overconfident. I am sure many of you think you know all there is to know about Grimm. Allow me to dispel that notion. You do not. Aura, weapons, training. In the end, none of those things will stop the Grimm from killing you if you take them lightly."

A slight shudder went through the students at Winter's cold words. Not Weiss, though. She was not afraid.

"As we speak, this airship is taking us to a valley where a large pack of Saybers has been sighted."

Saybers. Weiss remembered them from her lessons. A species of Grimm that had adapted to the snowy weather of Solitas. They specialized in pack-hunting, and their large tusks were deadly weapons.

Overall, they were not that dissimilar to Beowolves.

"Once we land, you will go out there and kill as many as you can. We have sent soldiers ahead of the time to secure the perimeter. Your combat instructors, as well as myself, will also be there, watching your every move. However, do not let this knowledge lull you into a false sense of security. You will be in real danger. Careless mistakes will cause harm to you and your classmates, and they will not be tolerated! Is that understood?"

A few nodded. Some yeses were uttered.

Winter's eyes narrowed.

"Is. That. Understood?!"

This time all the students replied.

"Yes!"

"Better." Winter nodded. "Now, are there any questions?"

Weiss was about to raise her hand when someone else spoke.

"Will IXA really be there!?"

Weiss glared at the one who had spoken out of turn. She vaguely recognized him as one of her classmates.

Winter stared at him.

Her cold blue gaze never left the student, making him squirm in place for fifteen seconds that probably felt like fifteen minutes to him.

"In the future, you are to wait until you receive permission to speak," Winter stated. The student nodded furiously, sweat shining on his face. "Since I am sure many of you are curious, yes, IXA will be part of the security personnel. It is being transported along with us. However, make no mistake. IXA will not interfere unless necessary. Do not allow its presence to distract you from your duty and do not bother the mechanics. Any other questions?"

There were a few more questions after that. Some of which Weiss found dumb. Some of which were quite good, asking for information about the terrain and the number of Grimm they could expect to encounter.

"If that is all, I will now call your names."

Weiss couldn't help but tune out the following part. She respected her sister a lot, but even Winter couldn't make calling her classmates' names interesting. At least, until she came across one particular name.

"Neon Katt."

No one answered. No one replied. Gazes looked left and right for the student in question.

Winter's eyes narrowed.

"Where is Neon Katt?"

xXx

"-but that doesn't really matter."

Jaune's voice and face were as serious as they had ever been while he talked with Penny over the scroll.

"What's really important is that there are pancake people and waffle people. All breakfasts come down to that, Penny."

"Fascinating."

"Now, mom told me everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that doesn't mean their opinion can't be wrong." Jaune made wide gestures with his arms as he spoke, even though Penny couldn't see him. The call was sound-only. All his calls to Penny were. "People are free to like pancakes better than waffles, but that doesn't make them right."

Jaune nodded in perfect agreement with himself.

In a family as numerous as the Arc family, it was natural for people to have different preferences. In movies. In hobbies. And yeah, in food as well. This manifested with particular force when it came to breakfast, which, as far as all Arcs were concerned, was the most important meal of the day. While no Arc would say no to bacon, eggs, or sausages, it was when it came to choosing between waffles and pancakes that a stark divide appeared.

Put bluntly, the family was divided between a waffle faction and a pancake faction. Only one could claim supremacy over the breakfast table.

On outsider may foolishly wonder why they didn't just make both pancakes and waffles for breakfast or why not alternate between them. The reason was simple. Arcs never half-assed the important things in life. For better and worse, the Arcs were all about fully-assing things. It was a trait that had been passed down through generations.

Besides, cooking a full breakfast for a minimum of six people each day was a complicated affair.

Jaune considered himself lucky to be part of the waffle faction. It was the most numerous faction within the Arc family, which meant the pancake lovers were often outvoted. Sometimes, Jaune felt sorry for his few pancake-loving sisters, but really, waffles were just better.

"Waffles are the superior choice. They have tiny squares you can fill however you want, and are way more versatile than pancakes could ever hope to be."

You could even eat them with chicken! Or better yet, chicken nuggets!

Really, it was a good thing his family preferred waffles.

It'd be really unfortunate if he ever got stuck with a group of pancake lovers for whatever reason.

"Sensational, I never imagined breakfast food could be such a complex subject."

"Most people don't," Jaune said with a benign smile on his face. "There are even people out there who just drink coffee every morning!"

Once upon a time, Jaune would have shuddered at such a horrible notion, but he wasn't in any position to throw stones nowadays. His own morning routine wasn't so different from that. It was only recently that Jaune had started to find the time to do anything more complicated than making a cup of coffee or pouring himself some orange juice before leaving his apartment.

"Father says coffee is the lifeblood of gods and kings. Only a few are worthy of harnessing its power."

Jaune chuckled. "Yeah, I imagine Dr. Polendina would say something like that. No offense, Penny, but I think he'd inject the stuff into his veins if he could."

"None taken. Father has done studies about the feasibility of such a thing."

Of course, he had.

"Always with the tests, that guy." Jaune shook his head, smiling.

The airship had taken off almost half an hour ago. Jaune was in the cargo hold, sitting and leaning against a big metal box strapped to the floor. It was his job to guard it since that was where IXA was stored. At least, that was what they had told Pleiades Academy. In reality, the box was full of snacks, so the crew could eat while watching the students fight.

Jaune's smile grew a little wider as he noticed yet another minute passing on his scroll's clock.

Another minute without motion sickness.

This time, Jaune hadn't forgotten to buy motion-sickness pills, not that it had been necessary. Red, Blue, and even Winter had all given him pills before the ship took off, the latter saying, "You will not embarrass the Atlas military during this mission," before pushing the pills into his hands.

He had taken the pills Winter had given him out of curiosity, and they were working surprisingly well. He was going to need to jot down the brand for future use.

Having Penny around also helped. She was pretty easy to talk to, which meant a lot coming from Jaune. He had never been all that good at making conversation with others. He always ended up getting nervous or saying something stupid, sometimes both.

With Penny, the part where his words became jumbled in his mouth had yet to happen. They just talked and played games over their scrolls. It helped that Penny didn't have one mean bone in her body. She listened to whatever he said without judging, always asking questions but never dismissing him. It made him comfortable around her.

Weird as it may sound, Jaune Arc's best friend was a girl whose face he had never seen.

"He had me doing stuff all day yesterday," Jaune commented. "Said since I was leaving today, he needed to get as much data out of me as possible."

It hadn't really gotten him any closer to mastering his Semblance.

Well, that wasn't entirely fair. Jaune could sometimes use it now, which was an improvement over how things were before. However, he still hadn't gotten the hang of willingly activating it. It just sorta happened once out of every twenty tries or so.

"... about the mission, will you be alright, Friend Jaune?"

Jaune blinked. Penny had sounded almost sad there.

"Yeah, sure. What brought that on? Are you okay, Penny?"

"I am perfectly fine." Penny hiccuped. "I function at full capacity."

"Penny…"

"I… read the mission report."

Jaune frowned. "I thought those were classified."

"Father left them on his computer."

Jaune almost sighed. To think Dr. Polendina would just leave sensitive files where his daughter could read them. Talk about careless. Really, he shouldn't be surprised. The guy let his work distract him way too easily.

"IXA's records were included in the report. It showed Friend Jaune's vitals throughout the last mission."

Oh.

If Penny had seen IXA's logs, it meant she knew how badly he had been hurt during the fight with Adam. She knew how close he had come to dying in the Argonaut.

For the first time, an awkward silence fell between the two friends.

"Penny, I-"

"Yoho! Anyone around here?"

The sudden intrusion made Jaune jerk his head up. As usual, Penny cut the call the moment someone else appeared. She was shy like that. He'd have to talk to her later. Jaune didn't want her to worry about him too much.

Jaune blinked as the owner of the voice walked, or rather skated, into the cargo hold.

He stared.

She was a girl. Maybe not as beautiful as someone like Winter or Weiss, but still cute in her own way with her dark pink hair, green eyes, and slim body. However, that wasn't what made Jaune stare.

It was her clothes.

He had seen the uniforms the students of Pleiades Academy wore while they were boarding. They were mostly black with skirts for the girls, pants for the guys, and blazers for all. Underneath, they wore grey button-down shirts.

All in all, it was a rather formal outfit.

This girl was not wearing that.

She wore a light blue tank top that didn't cover much and a pink combat skirt. She had bracers on her arms and pads on her shins and knees. On her feet, she had, of all things, roller skates. The girl looked around for a bit as she skated in before her eyes finally settled on Jaune.

"Hey, you!"

"Me?"

The girl was suddenly in front of Jaune.

"You're a mechanic, right?" The girl did not give Jaune time to reply. "No. Wait. I see the insignia now. Army mechanic. Got it. A bit hard to tell with that uniform, though. It's a bit drab, don't you think?"

Jaune yelped as the girl zipped around him, a literal rainbow left in her wake.

"No offense, I know the army keeps us safe and all. Serious respect for you guys, but don't you think you could stand to wear something a little more colorful? It's just… white and gray is so boooring."

Privately, Jaune agreed. He liked white as a color, but it just didn't work without something brighter to go with it. For example, the inside of Winter's collar was red. The same went for Weiss now that he thought about it.

"Well, look at me talking. It's not like I am in any position to throw stones. Pleiades' uniforms are just the worst," the girl said, leaning in and putting a hand on the side of her mouth as if sharing a secret. "I changed out of mine the second I could. Combat clothes are just so much better, don't you think so?"

That was her combat outfit?

Wait, where those nunchaku made out of glow sticks?

"Come on, you can answer. I won't tell anyone… eh, what was your name?"

"Jaune," he replied, slightly bewildered by how fast the girl's mouth was moving.

"Johnny. Got it. Nice to meet you, Johnny."

"That's not-"

"Name's Neon Katt. Coolest cat to ever grace Pleiades Academy!" Neon's tail waved from behind her as if to reinforce the point. "I was supposed to go to a boring debriefing, but really, who needs those? Am I right?"

Neon leisurely skated until she was right next to the sitting Jaune. Not for the first time, Jaune marveled at how good combat skirts were at avoiding anything resembling a panty shot.

"I said no to that whole thing. Been exploring the ship instead. Did you know there are a bunch of vending machines? How cheap is that? We're being taken to fight Grimm. The least they could do is give us free snacks."

Huh, so that was why Red and Blue made sure to pack snacks.

Neon knocked on the big metal box. "Hey, is IXA in here? I've been looking all over to see where they're keeping it."

"Really should have started with the cargo hold then," Jaune muttered under his breath as he stood up.

"I thought they'd keep it somewhere with more people guarding it, but this works too. Hey!" Neon was suddenly right in front of Jaune, her face inches from his. "Can I see it? I want to see the robot!"

Jaune shook his head.

"Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen."

"Come on, pretty please!" Neon begged, her face getting even closer to Jaune's, prompting a blush out of the boy even as he stepped back.

"Look," Jaune said, holding his hands in front of him to stop Neon from getting too close again. "I get everyone wants to see IXA, but that's not going to happen."

Mainly because there was no IXA inside the box.

"I have my orders. If you want to see IXA, you're going to have to wait until the exercice. You'll even get to take pictures."

"Really?"

Jaune was about to say yes when another voice spoke.

"I thought I smelled something rotten here."

Jaune blinked and looked to the side. This time, it wasn't just one person who had come into the hold, but a group of them, students from Pleiades Academy, about six of them. Unlike Neon, they were still wearing their school uniforms. Over half of them were girls.

"Clairey!" Neon said, cheerfully waving at them, seemingly obvious to the dark looks aimed at her.

The girl at the front of the group, Claire, Jaune guessed, frowned. She was a pale brunette with dark eyes.

"The name is Claire, faunus," Claire said. "Claire Kleid."

The last name was something Jaune distantly recognized. He had heard it on the news once or twice but couldn't quite place the context.

"You have a lot of nerve being here. Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused by missing the orientation?"

Murmurs of assent rose from her classmates, some a bit louder than others.

"Eh, I don't really care about that stuff. Didn't really seem all that important."

"Not that impo-" Claire took a deep breath, trying to calm down, even as her skin flushed with anger. "Whatever. I don't have time for you. No one here does, faunus. You!" She pointed at Jaune. "I heard enough. That box over there is IXA. Open it for us."

Jaune blinked.

Slowly.

"Am I sorry, what?"

"My classmates and I are here to see IXA," Clarie explained, motioning to herself and the people around her. "We're fans. Pipe even has a two-digit fan club membership number."

One of the boys grinned sheepishly as he raised a card. Jaune's eye twitched when he noticed it was an IXA Fan Club membership card.

Seriously, how had the IXA-craze spread so fast?

"Look, I am glad to see support for IXA." A bit. It honestly felt kind of weird. The whole thing hadn't fully sunk in for him just yet. "But I'm not about to open this for you."

That got him frowns.

"Excuse me?" Claire said. "What did you just say?

"I said no." Jaune shrugged. Beside him, Neon oohed. "Sorry, but that's not going to happen. Orders and all that."

"Do you not know who I am? You…" She looked at him up and down. "Janitor!"

"I imagine he doesn't. Just as you somehow managed to confuse him for a janitor."

In spite of wearing heels, no one had noticed when Weiss had entered the room. All gazes turned to her, some now dipped in nervousness.

"M-Miss Sc-Schnee," stuttered out Clarie, a stark contrast to her earlier attitude. "What a surprise. I did not expect you to come here. Are you here to see IXA with us?"

"Hardly," Weiss scoffed as she flipped her hair. Her eyes were cold, and her tone detached. It was a significant departure from the girl Jaune had talked with nights ago. "Specialist Schnee tasked me with informing you that the ship will land in a few minutes. It would be prudent for you to change into your combat clothes."

"O-Of course, Miss Schnee. We just need to see IXA, and then we'll be on our-"

"Kleid," Weiss interrupted.

"Yes?"

"As I understand it, your father is running for councilman. That is why it comes as such a big surprise to me that you fail to recognize something as basic as the ranks of our military."

Clarie Klied blinked. Not sure what Weiss was getting at. Weiss sighed.

"Look at the insignia on his arm," Weiss said, an elegant finger raised in Jaune's direction."Do you not pay attention in class?"

Clarie's face paled as she followed Weiss' finger.

"That's a…"

"A Warrant Officer insignia. It is not exactly a high rank, but he's still not someone a student should be able to boss around, even if he's just a mechanic. Understood?"

"I… Yes, Miss Schnee."

"Good." Weiss looked at her nails for a moment, bored. "What are you waiting for? You have orders, don't you? Leave."

The students didn't quite flee, but they did walk away as quickly as they could without looking like they were running away. Once they did, Weiss shifted her cold gaze over to Neon and Jaune. She seemed to glare at Neon with particular intensity for a moment before walking away in silence.

"Damn," Neon said, whistling. "Weissy is in fine form today."

Jaune looked at Neon. The girl did not seem the least bit bothered by what just happened. "Is that normal?"

"What, Weissy being Weissy? Sure thing. Always a bit of a grouch that one, but at least she's that way to everyone. Not like Clairey. She didn't speak up much until her dad started campaigning. She got all these hangers-on after that. An attitude to go with it too." Neon shrugged, seemingly not caring about it. "At least Weissy is always Weissy, you know? Bit too cold, though. Doesn't let anyone close. Never met anyone who needed a party so badly."

Jaune said nothing, still staring at the path Weiss had taken.

Never let anyone close, huh?

"Sooo, can I see IXA now?"

"Nope."

"Aww."

xXx

The ship landed twenty minutes later. Convincing Neon to go away so he could get changed in secret had been trying, but he'd managed it. By the time Jaune left the ship, he had done so as IXA, the elite Atlas combat droid. The students and even some of the teachers oohed and aahed upon seeing him. Some even took pictures.

Jaune noted, with no small amount of amusement, that Claire was one of those students.

"Students," a teacher said once the students had been assembled. They all stood over the snowy and rocky terrain that stretched for miles in all directions. "You have all received the best training we could give you. Today, we put that training to the test. Today, you will face the creatures of Grimm!"

The teacher paused for a moment, allowing her words to sink in.

"I will explain the exercise once more before we begin. Once the bell rings, you are to go and kill as many Grimm as you can." The teacher then pointed to a small drone flying next to her. "These drones will record you at all times. You will be graded based on the number of Grimm killed as well as the efficiency of your kills. You are free to choose how you approach this test. Team up or go at it alone. The choice is yours."

Jaune could already see a few students mouthing words to each other, likely requests to team up. IXA's cameras allowed him to pick things out rather easily.

Weiss ignored all those who tried to call her attention.

No one tried to talk to Neon.

"You will be monitored at all times, and the teachers and the forces graciously provided to us by Atlas will step in if things go wrong. However, do not allow this knowledge to make you grow complacent. Whether it is a young Beowolf or a Giant Nevermore, letting your guard down against the Grimm is fatal! Fight to the best of your ability and nothing less."

Another pause. The tension spiked. Even in the cold, nervous sweat appeared on the students' faces. Eyes darted around. Muscles tensed. Teeth clenched.

The alarm sounded.

"Go!"

And they were off.

AN:

For those who don't know, there is a Chinese RWBY phone game that's going to close down this year. It's a bit of a shame since it means it'll never come here, but from what I understand, Jaune's bio apparently introduces him as the 'waffle-loving leader of Team JNPR.'

Which I just love since it'd mean Jaune likes waffles but is outvoted in Team JNPR.

So yeah, Jaune is Team Waffle.