Hey everyone, sorry about the massive delay on getting this chapter out. The gears weren't necessarily turning in sync for this chapter, along with being backlogged with my other stories...
But it's all okay now! I managed to get this done without that many difficulties aside from how long it took. I hope you all enjoy it. Feel free to let me know what you think!
Beta: Knight of Cerberus
"Those poor pencils."
The boy took a deep breath, the cold, firm wooden hilt of his practice sword pressed against his palm as he brought it before his eyes
"Now, just as I taught you."
Jaune brought his hand to the flat of the blade, closing his eyes as he tried to feel for his Aura. He found it – as it was always there – and let it flow through his fingertips the way she had described.
"You're doing it!"
Opening his eyes, there was dull white glow surrounding his hand. Jaune smiled as he ran it down the flat of the wooden edge, and then further. He pulled his hand away, and the shape remained.
"Quickly now, before it fades!" the voice urged on, and the young blond turned, swinging the sword in a broad sweep. The white glow faded as the edge cut through the air, and the practice sword met the tree with a loud, jarring thump.
Jaune scowled as he rubbed his sore shoulder, looking at the tiny cut he'd managed to make with the practice sword. He brushed his fingers against the wooden blade again, but this time there was no dull glow… not even a flicker of light.
The boy shoved the point of the wooden sword into the dirt with a scoff. "This is hard."
"It is," the boy felt a hand on his shoulder, "but you're so close. If you can learn how to do this, you'll be able to fight off at least a few Beowolves."
"A few Beowolves won't get me into Signal." He turned, looking up into the girl's eyes. "I'll catch up to you sis, just you watch."
Jaune Arc opened his eyes, blinking up at the ceiling. He took in a breath, propping himself up on his elbows as he looked around the mildly familiar surroundings.
It had been a long time since he'd had that particular dream. He remembered more and more of that day each time it came back to him, things becoming clearer every time he'd seen it. Swiping a hand across his forehead, it came away a little – but not overly – damp.
It had been a long time since he'd seen her and - considering his current predicament - he wasn't exactly looking forward to seeing her again.
If she knew he'd snuck into Beacon, she'd kill him.
The blond sat up, rubbing at his eyes as he turned to the left. Laying on the bed that had been pressed up against the wall was his partner, Blake.
Blake seemed to be sleeping still, most of her blankets having been pushed aside by the girl in her sleep, leaving her in just her pajamas. Jaune's eyes trailed up her legs, right to where her weird dress-thingy seemed to be riding up a little too high, and he turned away, blushing.
Rather than risking looking back at his partner's scantily clad form, he turned the other way, looking towards the other two members of the team – his team.
Closest to him was Pyrrha, the girl – unlike Blake – wrapped securely in her sheets as she slept flat on her back. Ren, the other male member of team ABPL, was curled up in a ball not unlike Blake, only he seemed to still be covered with his sheets as well.
Jaune glanced to the side, looking at the crack in the blinds of the window, a thin streak of light shining through. The boy got up and strode over, pulling the cloth to the side to look out into the night. The moon, its shattered form facing Remnant as it occasionally did, shone brightly against the lavender sky, the shade indicating the coming dawn.
The boy yawned, letting the curtain return to its natural state as he took his scroll from his bedside, dragging his feet all the way over to his bag. The boy reached in, feeling around until he found some loose cloth, and pulled.
A pair of underwear in his grasp, the boy clenched a fist in victory, unzipping the side pouch to find his toiletries. Everything in hand, Jaune made his way over to the bathroom, and got to work.
After a minute or two scrubbing clean in the shower, Jaune was done, toweling himself off in the mirror as he stared at his reflection. Beacon provided towels for them, but apparently they were to take care of their own laundry – not that it was an issue for Jaune.
A strand of long black hair along the sink's basin caught the blond's eye, and he sighed, picking it up. He held it up to the light, honestly puzzled as he realized it could be Blake's or Ren's. The boy shook his head, putting the strand in the waste bin, turning off the light as he made his way back to his bed.
Cracking the window open to let some cool air into the room, Jaune sighed. He breathed in, then breathed out, smiling faintly at just how refreshing the cool morning air felt against his bare skin. Opening the window wider, he leaned against the windowsill as he looked up at the moon.
There had always been something both familiar and foreboding about its light and broken form. It soothed him, but also made him restless.
Hearing a faint creak, Jaune turned in the direction of the disturbance, muscles relaxing as he saw Blake rise from her bed. He couldn't quite see her in the faint light the moon afforded their dorm, but he smiled in her direction, knowing she could see him clearly in the direct path of the moonlight.
"Morning." He whispered, hoping she could hear him.
"Morning," Blake called back even quieter, "Why are you up?"
The blond quirked his lips, shrugging as he turned around, watching the girl walk over. "I don't know. I hadn't slept much the other night, before initiation. I expected to be in bed till someone had to wake me up for class."
Blake approached, her feet and lower legs glowing in the moon's light, but not stepping any further beyond that. "Not very responsible for someone who's supposed to be our leader."
Jaune frowned, trying to think up a response to that. Did she not think he was capable? No, that wasn't it...
"You look vexed." The black haired girl noted. Jaune just stared at her until she sighed. "Relax. It was just a joke."
A joke?
"Ah." Jaune smiled again, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry, I'm still not quite awake. The shower helped, but I've always been slow in the mornings."
Blake just nodded, clasping her hands in front of her as she stood.
This is more awkward than Alys in fourth grade...
"So," Jaune started after a moment, quietly in consideration of their still sleeping teammates, "I... don't know much about you."
"I'd imagine you wouldn't, no. We didn't talk very much yesterday." Blake agreed.
"Yeah." Jaune nodded, looking at his bare feet for a moment, before meeting Blake's eyes, blinking. "What did you think of initiation?"
"Initiation?" The girl quizzed. It wasn't exactly the greatest conversation starter in Jaune's opinion, but it was common ground at least – something they both participated in, and something they both likely had an opinion of.
"It was boring." Was Blake's response.
"Boring?" Jaune prodded. What about fighting a giant two-headed snake was boring?
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissatisfied that we had an easy go of it... but I'd been expecting more of a challenge at least. What about you?"
"I don't like Grimm..." Jaune replied honestly, thinking of a way to twist his words as he spoke. "I suppose I'm glad we didn't run into as many as Ren and Pyrrha's group did. I mean, it's a Huntsman's duty to fight them, but that doesn't mean I look forward to it all the time."
Blake nodded with a straight face. "Our objective was to retrieve the relics and we managed to do so with little resistance, which is something we'd appreciate on an official mission."
Jaune nodded in tandem, agreeing with the girl even as she made excuses for him.
"I've never fought one of those snake things before." Jaune admitted. That thing had seemed a little over the top, even for the initiation of a school like Beacon.
Jaune kept his eyes on Blake's as the girl hummed, watching as she glanced down at his bed's disturbed sheets.
"You can sit, if you'd like." Jaune offered, uncertain as to whether that was what was on the girl's mind or not. The boy felt a little relieved, however, when Blake motioned to sit at the very edge of his bed, her knees pressed together.
The sitting girl smiled up at Jaune, and Jaune smiled in return.
"What... should we talk about?"Jaune asked after a moment of hesitation.
"I don't really know."
Jaune's grin grew as he chuckled nervously, the black haired girl doing the same in response.
Jaune, in his time back home, hadn't exactly been the best at making friends. Sure, he'd gotten along fine with most – emphasis on most – but he never really had anyone he considered a true friend.
Well, aside from his self proclaimed seventh sister, but she was a whole other case.
"Why don't you tell me about yourself?" Blake suggested, tilting her head slightly.
It was an innocent enough question, but it still gave Jaune pause. The boy had spent a long time developing a cover for himself: A student of some nearly forgotten combat school, having barely made it into Beacon based on his grades...
But as he leaned against the windowsill, staring into the girl's eyes, nothing came to his mind but the truth.
"I grew up in a village not far down the coast from Vale, with my family." Jaune started out, trying to think of exactly what he could share without digging himself a hole. "My father's a retired Huntsman, and my mother runs a produce stall where she sells the vegetables she grows in the garden – even though we had enough Lien without her doing so."
"Sounds peaceful."
"It was peaceful... back when I was an only child." Jaune admitted, the corners of his mouth turning up in a smile.
"You have siblings then?" The girl leaned forwards.
"Seven sisters."
"Seven sisters?" The girl's eyes widened.
"That's everyone's reaction, yeah. Though, in a small village like mine it's more common than you think." Jaune noted. "We had a bigger garden before we were forced to move."
The girl hummed, before her face twisted into a sour expression that didn't go unnoticed by Jaune.
"Did they all make it?"
Jaune nodded, knowing what Blake was referring to. "We were lucky."
"That's good."
The blond looked over his shoulder, staring in the direction of the dull pink glow brought on by the sun about to peek over the horizon. "What about yours?"
"I'm an only child." Jaune heard the girl say, turning back to her. Blake didn't say more, instead just staring at the floor with a somber expression.
Jaune wouldn't pry – his six younger sisters and all their problems had proved doing so wasn't exactly the best course of action.
"That's hard to imagine."
Blake just nodded, looking up at Pyrrha's bed. Jaune did the same, watching the steady rising and falling of the girl's sheets as she breathed, feeling a gust of wind blow past him into the room.
It looked as if the redheaded girl shivered, and Jaune did as well, reaching up to pull the window closed.
"Are you hungry?" Jaune asked of his partner, latching the window.
"I suppose I am..." Blake started slowly, "but I wouldn't mind taking a shower first."
"Sure, I need to get dressed anyways. Oh, I used the towel on the far left..."
"It's morning!"
Yang groaned, stubbornly shoving her face deeper into her pillow as she tried to ignore the jubilous call of her team's leader.
"Sis, didn't you hear? It's morning!"
The blonde slowly turned her head to the side, glaring at Ruby. Yang had barely been able to tolerate Ruby's early morning antics at home...
And now there were two of her.
"If the sun isn't up yet, there's no reason for me to be." Yang muttered, closing her eyes.
The shrill screech of a whistle sounded, and Yang flailed, moving her hands to cover her ears.
"Wake up, lazy butt!" Yang heard Ruby call, and she blinked her eyes open – only it wasn't Ruby, but the leader of her new team, Nora.
The grin the girl had stretched across her face was uncannily similar to Ruby's when she was being mischievous, but much less infectious with Yang's current mood.
"Okay..." Yang heard from one bed over. "Who's bright idea was it to give her a whistle?"
"It was me. I did it." Ruby declared proudly, as Nora blew into the noisemaker softly. Yang winced at the high pitch, looking over to her partner's bed.
One of Weiss' eyes was half lidded, the other still closed shut. Her hair was splayed sporadically, and her lips were curled into a frown – all evidence that her own slumber had been disturbed recently, and in a similar manner as to Yang's own.
Weiss sighed in response, pulling the hair in front of her face to the side as she swung her legs over the edge of her bed.
"What time is it?" Yang's partner asked.
The blonde herself propped herself up on one arm, looking in the direction of Ruby and Nora, blinking the sleep from her eyes as she noticed the two of them were dressed in their uniforms already.
"Eight o'clock." Nora responded chipperly. "That leaves about forty-five minutes for the two of you to get ready for classes. I could have let you sleep longer, but I wasn't sure how much prep time you guys needed, or if you wanted to get something to eat first."
Yang stared at the girl for a moment, before smiling. "That's thoughtful of you."
"I let her know you might take awhile." Ruby admitted – Yang noticing she was wearing her cloak alongside Beacon's uniform.
Yang hummed her thanks, sitting up as Ruby hopped over to her bed. The blonde looked at the mass of bags still piled in the corner of the room, and cringed, turning to Weiss. "I guess we should get dressed first?"
They could worry about unpacking – and decorating – later.
Yang strode over to the closet, swinging it open as she yawned. The blonde grabbed what had to be her uniform, not even checking its size – already knowing the smaller looking one belonged to partner.
Though, Yang did grab the Schnee girl's outfit, holding it out to the girl behind her. "Here."
"Thanks." Yang felt the hanger lifted from her hand, and turned, walking back to her bed.
The blonde pulled her undershirt off, turning towards Nora. "So what's our first class?"
Yang noticed the girl's green eyes lingered on her chest for a moment, before they turned down to her scroll as she slipped into the bra she'd worn the other day. "Today our first class is with a Professor Peach: Dust Mechanics, it says."
"And we're all in that class?" Weiss asked, her head peeking out past the closet door, using it for privacy as she changed.
"Yeah, we're only splitting up for a couple classes after lunch." Nora noted, her eyes scanning the holographic display.
"Tomorrow we have one class together, first thing in the morning." Ruby mentioned from across the room, kicking her legs in the air as she laid back. "The rest of the day, we're all scattered around, for whatever reason."
"And classes start at the same time again tomorrow?" Yang had to ask. Maybe she could set an alarm, hopefully wake up before she'd be woken up.
"That's right."
Yang hummed, pulling her leggings on. They hadn't really discussed anything – or really even talked much the night before. "We're split up before lunch, right?"
The orange haired girl before Yang pulled her legs up beneath her on her bed. "I've already thought about that. How about we all meet up for lunch together?"
"Seems like a plan." Yang confirmed.
Nora nodded in response.
Fully clothed, Yang sat back on her bed, running her fingers through her hair. She glanced to the side, seeing her partner walk over, dressed in her uniform as well.
Yang smiled at the girl, patting the open spot on the mattress next to her. Weiss raised an eyebrow, but still sat, smoothing out the few wrinkles in her skirt the action caused.
"So..." Weiss started out, looking over to Ruby and Nora. "What are we going to do for roughly thirty minutes until class begins?"
Yang glanced over at the bags in the corner once more.
"We could start unpacking?" Yang suggested. "Just get our clothes put away, at the very least."
"Sure!" Nora agreed cheerfully. "I already put my stuff away, so I can help you guys!"
"When did you do that?" Yang asked, realizing she didn't see Nora's bags among the ones in the corner, remembering the vivid pink suitcases that had been there the night before.
"I did it about an hour before Ruby woke up."
"...And when did Ruby wake up?"
"At about five in the morning."
Yang cringed. "That early?"
"Yeah, if I'm not up early enough, I can't do my workout." Nora explained.
"I see... well... sure," Yang confirmed, "I could use some help."
Jaune took a breath, settling into his seat. The boy spread a notebook before him, setting a pencil to the right of it, as was the common fare for taking notes. Blake took the seat to his right, bringing out some stationary and the like of her own.
"The other two aren't here yet." Blake noted.
"They're not?"
The girl nodded in response. "You left them a note, right?"
"Yeah, that we'd gone to breakfast, and were headed to class immediately after. I taped it to the door." He hummed. "Well, there's still a minute or two until class starts, but they're cutting it close."
"I hope we're not punished if they're late."
Jaune nodded his agreement as he stretched his arms behind his head, looking at his partner out of the corner of his eye as she pulled a book from her bag. He leaned forwards slightly to see if he could read the title on the spine as she began to read, the cover facing the other way.
"What?"
Jaune looked up at the girl's voice. Her eyes hadn't left the book. "Oh, nothing. I was just wondering what you were reading."
"I see."
"I noticed it's a different book than the one you were reading in the cafeteria," Jaune mentioned, remembering the other one's pale cover. "I was just curious."
"Did you?" The girl turned to look at him this time. "I'd just finished that book."
"So you had another one ready to go?" Jaune let out in wonder. "I don't know whether that's impressive or sad."
"Sad?" His black haired partner accused.
Jaune's eyes widened at Blake's hostile tone. "That's not what I meant! I was... I mean-"
The girl turned her eyes back to the novel. "What do you mean 'sad?'" Her expression hadn't changed, nor had her tone.
"I didn't mean it like that, I just meant it was kinda sad that you went straight to another novel, instead of... I don't know..."
"Talking to you?"
"Yeah! That! ...I guess."
Blake scoffed, turning a page before closing the book. "We talked plenty in the cafeteria, didn't we?"
"We did." Jaune admitted. "But I still don't feel like I know you, really."
"It's pretty foolish to think you can know somebody in just one day."
Foolish? Jaune's eyebrow twitched.
"Well, maybe for you."
The girl grunted, just continuing to read.
Sure, Blake had talked to him in the cafeteria – as had he talked to her, but that was just idle chit-chat.
Blake's favorite color was black, and she liked reading. Whoopidy-do, what was he supposed to do with that information? File a missing person report?
You couldn't even find Ozpin in his office with that information.
The boy sighed, picking up his pencil as he twirled it in his fingers. He looked down at his notebook, putting down the date and the title of the class, as he always had.
"Good morning, students!" A voice boomed out, causing Jaune to flinch. As the boy did so, his pencil lead broke, and he sighed at his luck.
He had another pencil, but he supposed he'd wait until the professor was done his introductions before he'd reach for it.
The short, yet large man at the front of the class cleared his throat. "My name is Peter Port, professor of Grimm Studies here at Beacon Academy. You may refer to me as 'Professor Port', 'Mr. Port', or even 'Peter', if you'd like."
Jaune blinked, looking behind him at the other students. Everyone seemed to have rather ordinary expressions on their faces, but Jaune turned back to the professor with a smile.
The blond liked this guy – much more than any of the teachers he'd had to deal with in high school.
"What are we going to be learning about in Grimm Studies, you might ask? Why, but our very enemies, how to kill them, and claim victory! I am of course, talking about the act of hunting itself, in the sense that so many behind the walls of the Four Kingdoms have long forgotten! Monsters! Demons! Prowlers of the night: The creatures of Grimm have many names, but I simply refer to them as-"
The door into the lecture hall slammed open, and in strode two familiar faces.
Ren hunched over, catching his breath as Pyrrha stumbled forward, using the boy's shoulder as support.
"Sorry... we're... late..." Ren panted out, struggling to stand straight.
Both of Jaune's teammates seemed to be out of sorts – Ren's tie was loose and his shirt was partially untucked. Pyrrha's ribbon wasn't tied, and Jaune could clearly see one of her buttons was undone.
"No, no, it's quite alright!" The professor laughed boisterously. "It's your first day, so I'll let you off with a warning this time. However..." The man's expression turned dark. "The last time I was late, it resulted in civilian casualties. Now please, find a seat."
Ren and Pyrrha snapped straight. "Understood." The girl declared. "It will never happen again."
Professor Port – a man far too intimidating to have been just a simple teacher – turned. The moment his eyes left the two, they ran towards the empty spots next to Jaune and Blake, Pyrrha vaulting over the desk to take a spot next to Jaune, while Ren slid in next to Blake.
"Hi." Jaune greeted, not really having had a chance to talk to the other female member of his team.
"Hello." She let out after a breath, Jaune noticing she hadn't had her hair done up in a ponytail like before – as tussled and unruly as it was – though she still wore her circlet.
"As I was saying..." The professor of Grimm Studies was smiling jovially again. "The creatures of Grimm are but prey, and we are Hunters! Or, you will be, upon your graduation from this prestigious academy. Now then! Earlier I mentioned..."
Jaune turned his eyes to Pyrrha's fingers, still listening to the professor's lecture. He watched as the girl tied her ribbon, before she looked on either side of where she sat.
"Here." Jaune whispered, tearing a piece of paper out of his notebook and sliding it to the girl, leaning to the side to grab two pencils – one for himself, and one for her.
"Thanks."
Jaune's eyes trailed down to her chest, before he locked with her eyes once more. "You missed a button too."
The girl looked down, and blushed. "...Thanks."
Jaune held the pencil out to her, turning his full attention back to the professor's lecture, but sparing a brief glance to his left as she watched the redhead button her top.
The boy shook his head, leaning forwards in preparation to take notes. His pencil hit the paper as he was about to write, and the lead point snapped once more.
"Are you kidding me?" He hissed, tossing the useless pencil back in his bag as he rested his chin in his hand, teeth grinding in annoyance.
"...I was but a boy, then, and when my grandfather told me something, I listened..."
Not taking his eyes off the professor, Jaune leaned to his left, reaching for his bag. He felt his fingers brush against something soft, and he furrowed his brow, turning to look. The boy instantly retracted his hand, realizing his hand hadn't been anywhere near the bag on the floor, but was instead brushing against Pyrrha's leg.
He looked up at the girl, her blushing face looking down at him as he leant over.
"Sorry." He whispered, reaching into his bag and retrieving a pencil for certain.
"I'm sorry." She whispered back, though Jaune had no idea what she was apologizing for.
Jaune sat up, looking to his right. Blake looked away – though Jaune knew she'd been watching him – instead turning her attention back to Professor Port. Ren, on the other side of Blake, seemed to be writing notes just fine, though he took in a lengthy yawn. Perhaps he didn't get the best sleep?
The blond sighed, dragging his pencil across paper as he wrote closer to the bottom of the page – he could always ask around, see if someone took the earlier notes, then cram them in.
"Of course, the Beowolf thought it was being so clever..."
Jaune's pencil stopped moving at the odd name.
A Beo-what?
The boy blinked, quickly writing down the rest of what the man said, though he skipped over the name.
"...and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!"
The man bowed in a grandiose manner, and Jaune motioned to bring his hands together in a clap, pausing just before they made contact as he looked around the room. No one else had been clapping, so the boy just set his hands on his desk, ready to write.
"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable!" The man's back straightened. "A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!"
Jaune nodded, as he took those points down.
"Who among you believe themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"
Well, I am honorable. I think. Dependable I can work on... same with strategy. Well-educated and wise? Oh yeah, that's me alright...
A moment passed and the Professor raised an eyebrow, looking out over the class. After a moment, Jaune realized no one had raised their hands, or otherwise made a sound.
The blond slowly raised his hand.
"Excellent!" The man proclaimed. "Better late than never, right Mr. Arc?"
"Sorry," The boy apologized, standing, "I was just... going over my notes."
"That's quite alright, my boy!" The man gestured for him to come forwards, and Jaune slid past Pyrrha, the girl leaning back to let him out of his spot. "Now then, have you ever fought a Boarbatusk before?"
"A what?" Jaune asked.
There was a loud crash and a growl from across the room, and Jaune barely managed to suppress a shriek, jumping at the sudden disturbance. Situated against the far wall, there was a large cage, some weird, boar-looking Grimm inside it.
How the hell did I miss that?!
A few of the students in the room laughed at Jaune's expense, the blond blushing at the sudden attention. Professor Port turned towards those who had been laughing, and said laughter ceased.
"I suppose this will be a learning experience for you, then! Take a few minutes to go grab your gear..." The professor instructed, before addressing the class as a whole. "While Mr. Arc is preparing, I'll be taking questions."
Jaune nodded, jogging over to the classroom's door as he cast a look over his shoulder at the cage, and the beast within.
"No questions? A shame then... Allow me to tell you another story, back from when I was just a budding huntsman..."
"With a mighty swing of my axe, I cleaved the beast in two... but wait, there's more!"
Blake took in a long breath through her nose, before sighing. The girl glanced down at the book set in her lap, making note of where she was, before closing it and shoveling it into her bag.
It annoyed her to no end, her current situation: The professor was loud enough that it disturbed her reading, and – to be frank – his stories were boring.
The girl turned to her partner's empty seat, looking past it to Pyrrha Nikos – worth mentioning that she was the Pyrrha Nikos, as in the four-time Mistral Regional champion Pyrrha Nikos.
Being on the same team as the girl was both a blessing and a curse: A blessing in the sense that she'd be... learning... alongside one of the best, but a curse in that their team was practically guaranteed to be participating in the Vytal Festival Tournament later in the year.
That meant attention she didn't want, nor need.
Currently, Pyrrha was resting her chin on her arms, watching the professor as he walked around the room with lidded eyes. Clearly she was as entertained as Blake was with the professor's tales, but was at least making the effort to listen – a task Blake herself had abandoned.
The girl yawned, glancing over to Blake. The faunus offered a smile of support, which the redhead reciprocated, before turning her attention back to their professor.
Another yawn sounded from her right, and Blake turned to its source: Pyrrha's partner, Lie Ren.
The boy twirled a pencil between his fingers, before writing something down as the professor talked. Blake leaned a little closer to take a look, having no idea what kind of information he could strip from Professor Port's words.
The girl blinked, taken aback at what looked to be an entire page full of notes. Then, the boy groaned, flipping his pencil over to erase a number, filling it in a moment later.
Blake took a closer look. It was... a recipe?
The girl looked up at her teammate's face. He looked straight forward, appearing intently focused on what the professor was preaching. Ren frowned, writing down something else – completely unrelated to what the man had been saying.
Blake leaned back in her seat. Okay, so I'm not the only one who's not paying attention.
Though, a cursory glance around the room at the students behind her was enough to have told her that on its own.
The door into the room clicked open. "Professor?"
Jaune, the leader of team ABPL walked in, wearing the same gear Blake had seen him in the day before. The girl watched on as he thumbed the hilt of the blade at his side, walking up to Professor Port.
He looked a little apprehensive as he shuffled forward. Blake found it odd at first, but then remembered he'd admitted that he'd never fought a Boarbatusk.
They were fearsome opponents.
"Aha, welcome back." Professor Port greeted. "I trust you've taken care of any preparations you feel you've needed?"
The blond blinked. "Yes?"
"Wonderful!" The professor walked over to the chalkboards on the back wall, bending his knees slightly.
A moment later he jumped roughly ten feet in the air, grabbing the weapon that had been hanging on the plaque above, landing softly.
Ren's pencil hit the desk, the sound echoing around the classroom.
"Now then, please take your position directly across from the cage." The professor ordered, stalking over to the said cage with his weapon over his shoulder. "If you're the first thing the beast sees as it leaves the cage, it will move to engage you directly, above all others. Safety first, and all that. You can never be too careful!"
Blake didn't see what was safe about keeping a Boarbatusk captive in a classroom full of students, but she saw the blond nod, drawing his sword and holding it before him. The girl drew her lips tight, recalling all she'd learned about the boy when they'd talked in the cafeteria before class.
After getting their food – which, admittedly, wasn't much – they'd found a table off in the corner to sit at and ate. She'd answered what few questions he'd asked, but otherwise, she hadn't talked much. Of course, Jaune was the one who initiated conversation for the most part, Blake content to just read. Jaune hadn't really bothered her much beyond a couple interruptions, and even those she'd expected.
The big issue was that there was still something off about the boy and, more irksomely, she didn't know what.
Idly, Blake realized his notebook had been open next to her, and she hadn't even looked at all. Shaking her head lightly, she scanned the open page, finding there were few notes; but, they were indeed notes on what their professor had been talking about before Jaune had left to get ready to fight.
That he'd been able to take anything away from what Professor Port had been saying spoke volumes about his patience and ability to listen.
The girl leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms as she watched her partner settle into a stance, prepared for the beast in the cage to be unleashed.
She'd apparently missed whatever was said between the professor and his partner, as the older man brought his axe down on the lock, the cage knocked open by the Grimm within.
With a squeal, the Boarbatusk charged out of the cage, across the open floor of the classroom. Blake watched as the Grimm barreled towards Jaune, but the boy didn't move immediately, then dodging to the side when it was too late for the Boarbatusk to shift with him.
The feet of the boar-like Grimm scraped along the floor, leaving light furrows across the tile. Looking closely, Blake could see they were not the only such scuff marks, the tile long since worn.
Is this normal for his class?
Blake kept her eyes on Jaune, the boy continuing to hold his blade at the ready as he took a couple steps to the side. After a moment, Blake realized he was positioning himself in a way that the boar would do something similar.
Did he have a plan?
The look on the blond's face was one that was vaguely familiar to Blake: one of concentration, of thought.
She hadn't seen her partner fight for real yet. All she'd managed were the quick glances during the Taijitu fight, and that was it. If he was anywhere near as intelligent as he seemed in this situation, he'd definitely work out as leader of her team.
At least, from what she knew.
The boar charged again, and Jaune dodged to the side again, not striking what was an obvious opening to her. Was he waiting for something?
The blond settled into a stance again and waited, the boar turning before roaring.
The boar charged again, and Jaune dodged again. And again. And again.
They kept changing positions back and forth across the floor, the only real difference being how Jaune seemed to be breathing heavier.
The blond sheathed his sword, pulling it and its scabbard off his belt.
"What's he doing?" Pyrrha asked.
Blake narrowed her eyes as the boy brought his blade to his shoulder, sheathed as it was. He bent his knees, ready to dodge again.
I have no idea. Blake responded silently.
The Boarbatusk charged once more, and Blake's partner tensed up, dodging at the last second with a leap to the side. Unlike the previous dodges however, the boy's legs got under him, and he chased the Grimm down, running alongside it.
The beast turned, facing the blond as he ran towards it. Jaune brought his sword around, running his hand along the length of it.
The Grimm's large tusks clattered against the tiled floor, severed cleanly. After what was barely a moment, the boy took his blade, and rammed it right in the center of the Boarbatusk's head.
The blade, sheath and all, glowed brightly as it was buried to the hilt. Jaune pulled his sword out after a moment, the glow fading.
What the fuck?
"Fine work, Mr. Arc!" Professor Port praised from where he'd been watching, though Blake only had eyes on her partner as he returned his blade to his belt. "An impressive performance, especially considering your lack of experience."
"My what?"
"Your lack of experience fighting against a Boarbatusk."
"Oh. Oh." The boy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Thank you."
"Again, well done." The professor nodded. "Please, return to your seat. There are still a few minutes remaining until class is over, and there's one more thing I'd like to cover."
Blake suppressed a groan at that, but continued watching as Jaune walked over to their shared desk. Pyrrha stood to let Jaune in, as leaning back wouldn't be enough now that he was wearing his armor.
"Hey, what you did just now..." Pyrrha started as he slid his way in.
"What about it?"
"...It's nothing."
Blake frowned. It wasn't necessarily surprising that a girl with more fighting experience than she had knew what had just happened... but it was frustrating.
"Do you..." Blake leaned forwards, the blond turning towards her, "...think you could tell us what the hell you just did?"
Jaune picked up a pencil, and smiled at the girl as their professor started talking. "Later."
Blake blinked, watching as Jaune moved to write.
The boy's pencil lead broke. He sighed, grasping the length of the tool with both hands, before snapping the whole thing in two.
"That was aggressive..."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Like, I get Dust works that way. That's simple but..."
Weiss pursed her lips, trying to decide how to better explain it to the girl. "Think of it this way: There's three ways to activate Dust. You can use other forms of Dust, you can activate it physically – like a collision... or a sneeze – or you can activate it with your Aura."
"Physically I get - that's how ammunition works. Same with the reaction between two types of Dust." The girl's brow furrowed in confusion. "But I don't see how you can use Dust with a semblance."
The white haired girl frowned, unsure what was so hard for the girl to understand. Taking another forkful of food in her mouth, the heiress chewed, unsure what to say.
"It depends on the semblance."
Weiss turned to the newcomer at the table, her partner, Yang. The girl sat down next to her with a tray full of food while Nora, the leader of their team, sat across from her.
"What took you guys so long?" Ruby asked, clearly happy to see her sister and partner.
"Our history class is at the other end of Beacon." Yang stated. "It's quite the walk."
"We'll keep that in mind when we need to go there this afternoon." Weiss noted. "You said it depends on the semblance?"
"Well, it makes sense, right?" Yang offered, preparing to dig into her meal. "Not everyone's semblance is, well, useful. And not everyone's semblance can really utilize Dust. Like Ruby."
"Oh, I get it now!" Ruby declared. "You can activate Dust with your Aura, but unless you have a semblance to channel it with, it just acts like raw Dust?"
Weiss smiled. "Precisely."
"Why didn't you just say that in the first place?!"
The heiress grumbled, stabbing her fork into a carrot on her plate. "That is what I said the first time, but you disagreed, saying-"
The girls next words were cut off by a loud belch. Weiss and the two sisters turned, the heiress herself glaring at Nora, making note of her leader's empty tray.
"Whoops, sorry."
Ew...
"So..." Ruby started out awkwardly. "How was history?"
"Hard to follow." The orange haired girl noted. "The professor seems like he's going off on a tangent one moment, then it's right back to the material he's teaching."
"You don't know when to stop or start with your notes." Yang explained.
"I see..." Weiss acknowledged.
"How was your free period?" The blonde quizzed.
"Ruby and I are already done our Aura homework."
"...We had homework?"
The heiress turned to glare at her partner. "You're joking, right?"
"Was it those readings we were supposed to do?"
Weiss could only sigh. "Yes, it was those readings."
"Oh yeah, I did those in history class."
Weiss didn't honestly know what to think of Nora – neither as a person, nor as a leader.
The girl was carefree, and maybe a little odd, but it wasn't like she didn't know what she was doing. In the morning, she made sure they were up and ready for class on time. She arranged their lunchtime meeting. There was nothing wrong with the girl's leadership, nor her actions as leader.
It bothered Weiss to no end, and it bothered her even more that she didn't know why it bothered her.
"The next class is one we all have together, right?" Ruby asked, the girl turning to Nora.
"Yes, Grimm Studies." Their leader confirmed, though it looked like she was distracted, looking out over the many bodies at the surrounding tables. Her lips turned up in a smile and she stood. "Ren!"
The girl waved her arms high in the air. "Ren!"
Weiss grit her teeth, noting how Nora didn't seem bothered by the stares she was receiving from those at the nearby tables. The heiress turned, ignoring everything in favor of looking for who she was calling out to.
"We could see you from across the room." The boy named Ren stated, balancing a tray in hand as he navigated through the narrow aisles between the tables. The rest of his team was behind him – Jaune, Pyrrha, and that black haired girl Weiss hadn't spoken to yet.
Ren took the seat next to Nora, with Jaune taking the seat next to Yang. Their partners all sat one seat further.
"What did you guys have last period?" Ruby asked rather suddenly.
"Aura Theory with Professor Peri." Jaune, the team's leader, answered.
"She certainly knows how to make a lesson interesting." Pyrrha tacked on with a faint smile, spearing something on her tray.
"Better than Professor Port." The black haired girl countered.
"Much better than Professor Port." Pyrrha confirmed.
What's wrong with Professor Port?
"What's wrong with Professor Port?" Jaune asked, mirroring Weiss' thoughts. "I liked him."
The other three members of ABPL turned towards the blond, staring at him in disbelief.
"How?" Ren asked, Weiss confused by the exchange occurring before her.
"I got to kill that... whatever that was."
"Boarbatusk."
"Boarba-what?"
"Ooh, I like those." Nora exclaimed. "They're cute."
"What?"
Weiss just turned her attention back to her food, and continued to eat, tuning out everything that was said around her from that point on.
Jaune smiled to himself as he strode forward, his eyes locked on the hall before him as he walked, only looking down to make sure his tie was straight. With a quick adjustment, he was again certain it was in place.
It had been such a good day so far. The classes, the professors... Beacon was everything he could have hoped for – everything he'd ever wanted.
But none the less, it frightened him.
In Port's class, he unwittingly offered himself up as a volunteer to take on a real Grimm – only the second he'd ever fought – in front of his entire class. Doing that had been more terrifying than fighting any beast that he could dream up, though he'd certainly managed to pull that win out of his ass once he figured out how to go about it.
From that point on, the day got better, and the day got worse. He'd had more time to talk with Pyrrha and Ren – though Blake had continued to keep to herself. All the other classes had their ups and downs. In a few more hours the day would be done, and he'd be able to unwind a little.
The blond grinned to his right, meeting his partner's eyes for a moment before she turned her eyes forward. He and Blake were the only ones from their team who had history class that afternoon, so it gave him a little more time to spend with his partner.
Though, it still irked Jaune she didn't seem to be one to talk much. The boy could accept that, but she still felt like such a stranger to him, even after a whole day.
'It's pretty foolish, to think you can know somebody in just one day.' He'd dismissed her words back then pretty easily, but now he was seeing the truth they held.
Well, if she didn't want to talk, then he guessed he wouldn't talk either.
"So..." The girl spoke up, Jaune sighing as she broke the silence he'd finally resigned himself to. "That thing you did with your sword earlier..."
"What about it?" Jaune asked, turning to meet the girl's eyes.
"You never did explain what it was that you did." Blake accused, though it was more like she was just pointing it out.
"Ah, just a neat little trick my sister taught me." Jaune stated. "If you concentrate, your Aura can take form. What she always did was a little different – and she's way better at it than I am."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, she's... good."
"Good?"
"Really good." Jaune confirmed, realizing he'd made a huge mistake.
The skin prickled on his neck, and a shiver ran through him.
What the fuck was I thinking? Why am I here? I'm so dead!
She was here. In Beacon.
And there's no way she wouldn't know he lied to get in.
"Are you okay?"
"Huh?" Jaune blinked. "Oh, uhh... I was just thinking about class coming up."
"About what those girls on the other team said?"
"Yeah." Yang and Nora had warned them about this 'Doctor Oobleck', and his tendencies when they'd eaten at the cafeteria table with them during lunch. "I'm sure they were exaggerating..."
"The... energetic one doesn't seem like she had much of an attention span, no." Blake seemed to agree. Jaune watched her bring a hand to her chin, the girl humming.
"Nora? Yeah, I suppose." The boy thought back to when he'd first met the girl. "Definitely unique."
"You can say that again."
"Definitely unique." Jaune joked with a smile, earning a scowl from the girl. It didn't matter if she didn't like it; he did.
Jaune made note of the open door before him – certain it was the entrance to their Professor's classroom – pulling his scroll out of his pocket to check the time. It hadn't taken them very long to make it there, but that had also likely been an exaggeration on Nora and Yang's part.
"You mind going in and saving a seat for me?" Jaune asked, Blake turning towards him. "I've got to go to the washroom really quick."
"Yeah, sure, fine by me." Blake smiled tauntingly back at him. "Don't be late like Ren and Pyrrha were."
"I still can't believe they slept in..." Jaune groaned.
"Just don't fall asleep in the washroom and you'll be fine then, right?"
"Yeah yeah, whatever. I'll be back."
Jaune smiled to himself as he turned, looking down at the map he pulled up on his scroll. He quickly found the shortest route to the nearest bathroom, and began walking. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing Blake duck into the classroom just as he turned a corner.
Blake was a nice girl: Jaune could admit, he didn't quite know what to really think about her yet, but she was nice. She wasn't like the girls in high school who'd been paired with him for group projects then actively ignored him. He couldn't really say she was friendly though, either.
Maybe getting to know her better would change his opinion, but right now she was simply 'nice.'
Jaune took another step forward, but found himself being pulled back by a hand grabbing the back of his collar. The boy gasped as he was spun around, closing his eyes in response to the rough handling.
The boy was slammed up against the wall hard. Eyes squeezed shut, the blond took a breath, slowly opening his eyes to identify the aggressor.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" The girl asked furiously.
Jaune sighed. Yeah, she was pissed.
"Hey sis..."