Disclaimer: I own nothing of RWBY.


Smoke

By: Imyoshi

Vytal Festival?

What was that?

Jaune Arc felt the Mess Hall buzz with life. Excitement gripped the student body and buzzing chattering filtered throughout the room. People laughed. Some rejoiced. Others mumbled. Everything and anything suddenly became fascinated with this Vytal Festival, but he had never heard of this special event.

A nagging feeling told he should know what the Vytal Festival was, especially with the way his friends reacted all differently to this event. Each harbored a different form of expression toward the news but retained a borderline application of anticipation and excitement. It made him feel so lost in the Mess Hall.

"As you all know..." Ozpin proceeded, pleased with the student body's jump in morality. "The Vytal Festival serves as a celebration and beacon of peace between all the Kingdoms. A time to study and unite all our cultures and diversities with other Kingdoms of Remnant and strengthen bonds between Huntsmen alike. And this year it is the Kingdom of Vale's turn to host such an event."

More mumbles. More gossip. More everything! Excitement for such an event he had never heard of burst to life.

"Now." Ozpin chuckled, sipping his succulent warm cocoa. Calm eyes traveled across the room in a humorless game with him gripping them shut at the end. "You are all probably wondering about the Vytal Festival Tournament?"

Nope!

Everyone else but him, on the other hand, leaned on their tables with their attention drawn toward their Headmaster. Teams! Everyone wished to know which teams had been chosen to compete. Now! Before a riot, or worse, a food fight broke out. Anticipation gnawed at them like a hungry Beowolf.

Whoa? He panicked. As of that second, he felt misplaced in a sea of happy faces. Anyone and everyone but him appeared super excited about this Vytal Festival Tournament thing? He wasn't sure what to make of that, less whether or not that affected him in a good or bad way. He only begged it did neither. The last thing he wished to worry about was an expanded workload.

Across from him, Headmaster Ozpin hummed in delight and nodded toward Glynda to finish up. She marched a few steps forward and quietly fixed her specs into place, reigning in the fear most students had of her. It brought a comforting humph to her lips. Beacon Academy was an Academy for future Huntsmen, not civilians. Fear kept them alive. Overconfidence could slaughter a man in an infinite amount of ways.

Although, a smile or two thrown her way would be much appreciated—unless if it was from Ozpin. That counted not. That never counted.

"As of now..." Glynda trailed, ignoring Ozpin's random chuckle. "Six teams will be chosen from Beacon Academy to participate in the Vytal Festival Tournament to compete against other teams. A three-point system will determine which teams are chosen." She frowned once the chattering picked up. Why couldn't students be this excited about class? "First is based on merit and skills. Have enough recommendations from the professors and your team can fight."

Teams looked between each, having silent discussions. All the chattering ended with the Mess Hall turning deathly still.

"Second!" Glynda continued with her fingers up. "Is based off a team that the Headmaster will personally choose himself. That team will be representing Beacon in the upcoming tournament."

Her brow raised, what began as curiosity turned into a vendetta between teams to see which unit the Headmaster chose. A few questions reached her ears. Like who would the Headmaster pick? Who was qualified enough to represent their academy? They asked too many questions, but so few had answers. The Headmistress glared. At this rate, a food fight might break out between the rowdy students. Time to finish this.

"And finally!" Glynda hurried with having work to finish. "The final way a team may be chosen to participate is a vote from the citizens of Remnant. As we speak, a ballot has been sent out to the citizens to choose their final team. I'm not going to mince words, this entirely based on popularity, so it's anyone's guess for which team will be chosen."

This time the talks burst alive like fireworks with everyone eagerly guessing which team the people of Vale would choose to compete. No point in damage control. Time to leave. Not like any of the students had the foggiest clue to who would be picked to represent, anyway.

She huffed at the loud noise, deciding to leave. "The team announcements will be held tomorrow during a special assembly. I do not care if it's the weekend, attendance is mandatory. Do not be late."

Laughing in the inside, Ozpin spun in place and followed her. He backward waved to his students in a lazy fashion. "Please, resume your previous activities and enjoy yourselves, but do get some early sleep tonight. You wouldn't want to miss the ceremony."

The threat of detention hung in the air, not from him personally, he was the cherished Headmaster of Beacon Academy who adored hot chocolate with fluffy marshmallows, but it hovered there.

Student gossip returned to normal the moment they left, if not a more chipper mood. Previous talks got abandoned in favor of the Vytal Festival. If nothing else students remained incredibly predictable. Most discussions focused on possible teams fighting in the upcoming tournament. Any bets made were kept hush-hush. Just another day at Beacon Academy. Nobody could remain silent during this joyous occasion—no one except Jaune Arc.

Truthfully, he hadn't the foggiest idea to know how to feel about this festival. From the looks of everyone clamoring about, it sounded marvelous. Not boring, supposedly. The Arc loved a good fight between teams, and this tournament was supposed to have mixed fighters from other Kingdoms. Maybe this would turn out awesome as everyone said? No one thought the other way. Then again, he knew next to nothing about this Vytal Festival. For all he knew, it had nothing special and might become a footnote in what he dubbed his life.

Oh well. Only Father Time would tell.

Eyeing his breakfast, he settled on not worrying about it. Hunger consumed his thoughts. That fight with the stupidly quiet Ursai made him famish for substance. Not like he planned to nominate his team, anyway. Last thing he needed to fret over was millions of people watching him make a fool out of himself. Doing anything different was plain insane and suicidal. That was more of Nora's department, and perfectly fitting for him, she was far too lazy to do the proper paperwork. Forget about Ren doing it.

He found his friends all seated together. Clearly, from their exuberant movements, they were excited. Those who didn't express outward emotion, ergo Weiss and Blake, still showed excitement in their eyes. Blake had her lips pursed in a thin line, while Weiss bore a small grin that practically equaled Ruby level happiness. One of Yang's puns even almost made her laugh. Ha. Ha-ha. A funny joke from Yang Xiao Long? That was a scary thought.

Wait? No! Scratch that! Scary fit the bill.

Someone must be messing with the natural order.

Sitting beside Ren, he planned to avoid the conversation all together to instead focus on his rumbling stomach. Darn Ursai. Hn, or maybe Ren's health bars weren't that filling? Even the two he secret-borrowed did little to quell his tummy. Made sense why they tasted like dirt. It smeared away the illusion of food when he questioned it. So why couldn't he stop eating them? Either way, he was starving, and no one was coming to the aid of his poor breakfast.

Munch!

The Arc regretted nothing. Not even the tiny sounds he made up when he chewed away at the defenseless morsels named bacon and eggs. Somewhere along the line of chewing Captain Toast and his brigade of hash browns, he briefly wondered if Nora's imagination might've been rubbing off on him? Munch! Munch! Nope! He didn't see it.

He was more than halfway finished with his plate of Chew Town when Ren tapped him on his shoulder. It took him a moment to register that Ren had physically jabbed him and it wasn't Nora poking him with her trusty fork.

Darn, Nora.

"Jaune?" Ren stared stoically and subtly pointed at his right arm. More precisely at his torn sweater sleeve. "What happened to your arm?"

A forkful of doomed eggs slowly lowered as Jaune tilted his arm to see the damage. Oh? Look at that? A quick flash of surprise fear crossed his eyes before he quickly hid it, settling to look foolish instead. Ren noticed anyway, having an uncanny ability to read someone's fib, but patiently waited for his silent leader to answer.

His leader quickly adverted his eyes to stare around the table, happy to find their partners and friends too enthralled with Vytal Festival stuff, especially Weiss, to pay them any mind. He settled on taking that bite of his eggs, giving him both food and time to come up with an excuse. Any excuse. Ren merely narrowed his glare.

What to say? What to say? Couldn't very well tell Ren that he just killed two Ursai less than half an hour ago, and ruin the surprise, could he? Nope! That led to too many questions. Questions he preferred to be answered tomorrow. One more day.

Peeking around the table, he paused to stare at how Blake's bow twitched in what he guessed discomfort? Yes? No? He hadn't a clue. It only made him wonder how or why it moved? Then his thoughts settled on a random white lie—a lie so convoluted and idiotic that it would never work in his lifetime or the next, and was doom to fail on the spot.

"A dog tore my hoodie sleeve." Jaune casually answered, not noticing how Team RWBY suddenly quieted.

Ren raised a brow. "A dog? Really?"

"Yup! It was this..." Jaune glanced at each member of Team RWBY to give a random-accurate description of the imaginary dog. He first looked Blake's color scheme. "Black and white dog." Ruby's adorableness. "It was short like a puppy." Weiss' rare eagerness. "It loved to drool." Yang's bashfulness. "And loved to roughhouse."

Ren leveled his stare, voice dripping in condescending. "A dog? You're telling me that a small dog attacked you and made that tear in your sweater—?"

"My favorite sweater, I might add! My sisters made it for me."

"Okay... your favorite sweater." He sighed, agreeing with him. Wait? What? No! That wasn't right at all! Ren easily saw through his leader's white lie, and on an average, he wouldn't push, but it appeared that his friend was hurt, so his moral compass was working against him. "Jaune? What really—?"

"I'm sorry!" Ruby suddenly latched onto Jaune's arm by the speed of her Semblance. Her eyes glistened with bridging tears ready to fall at a moment's notice. "I didn't know that Zwei could get out of our room, I'm so sorry! It's my fault Zwei ruined your favorite hoodie. Your sisters must've worked so hard on it!"

If anyone knew the kindness of a sister, it was Ruby Rose. Sisters were the best. Sometimes they were all someone had, and sure, they loved to embarrass their younger, sweeter sisters by hugging them too tightly in public, but it was a love-hate relationship.

Wide-eyed, Jaune stared down at the clinging Ruby, finding his left arm falling asleep with her near the burst of unshed tears. Slowly, ever so slowly, he turned to the rest of her team, watching how they whistled nonchalantly in every other direction but his. Although, he spotted Yang silently giving him the sideways glare for possibly upsetting Ruby. Even his unfaithful team remained unnaturally quiet to the sudden outburst of sad Ruby.

Finally, he glanced back down at Ruby and everything just clicked.

No freaking way.

"Wait? Wait? Wait?" Jaune paused, holding his one free hand out. "You're telling me that, that was your dog that ripped my hoodie and not some stray that somehow got into Beacon?"

Ruby squeezed harder, nodding an adorable pout. Without even trying she made his heart bleed and throat choke. That and the feeling in his left arm had gone numb, too. He should probably stop all this nonsense before it escalated any further.

Remembering Yang's I'm watching you look from yesterday, he beamed brightly at Rubes, grateful for her unknowing contribution in his white lie. No reason to make her feel any more responsible for a crime she never committed. Besides, he owed her and all.

"It's okay, Rubes!" Jaune gave her a thumbs up with his torn sleeve arm. He then laughed it off as one elaborate joke. "No harm done! I'm fine. I'll just sew it back up."

A tiny whimper came from the lovable cinnamon roll, and he felt a ton of guilt piling onto his shoulders. Not to mention the blame for more than two months of lying began weighing heavily on his soul. His last sense of morality ate away at him, but it would all be over on Monday when it came time to show off his moves. Watch out, combat class! Just two more days. Two more days and all the secrets would be over.

She burrowed partially into his hoodie. "Really?"

He grinned, rumpling up her locks. "Yeah. It's nothing. Honest. Okay?"

Using his sleeve to wipe away her heroic tears, and snot, he deserved that, she hugged him before vanishing in a whirlwind of rose petals, no doubt off to where this Zwei was. Seconds passed and Weiss grumbled, saying something dolt-ish underneath her breath before quietly excusing herself to go after her. Blake offered nothing, following the trail of drama, not wanting to lose the chance of seeing any form of punishment toward the Intruder. Her black bow twitched at the idea, practically dancing.

It was a secret-feline thing.

Only Yang remained alone with Team JNPR. She not so stealthily left the table to chase after Ruby, but not before giving Jaune another I'm watching you look! What? A third one? As if it was his fault that the imaginary dog he thought of just so happened to be real, and Ruby's of all imaginary mutts. Cut him some slack.

No such luck, she glared at him, then ran off. Why did it feel like Yang was slowly starting to suffocate the life out of him? Like the more, he interacted with Ruby, albeit each time came with a whimper, the more fuel he added to his fire, and the said fire was Yang Xiao Long's dangerous side.

After watching their sister team disperse, three heads turn toward their leader, waiting for him to say something. However, Jaune used the moment to take immense joy in his breakfast, ignoring his teammate's curious stares as hard as possible to devour Captain Toast's remaining troops. His fork threatened to break under his firm grip, bending to the force he placed on the hash browns.

Honestly, for all the dumb luck out there, he could not believe that white lie worked.

The minute their leader left, Nora pouted, arms sourly crossed. Lucky Ruby. She wanted a pet, too. Someone to love, and cherish, and plot pranks with until the moon hung over their heads with their faces blue from exhaustion. Yes. A pet. She, Nora Valkyrie, the unchallenged Pancake Queen of all of Remnant, would have a snuggle buddy, and she knew just who to ask.

"Ren!" Nora latched onto his arm, gripping tightly with her chin pressed to his shoulder. Her eyes sparkled like tiny diamonds with her lips curled. "Can we get—?"

"No, Nora."

She frowned, squeezing much tighter. "You don't even know what I was gonna say!"

Ren booped the girl's nose with his free arm. "You wanted to ask if we could get a pet of our own."

"... Are you a mind reader?"

His lips twitched, so close! "No, I just know how you think, and the answer's still no, Nora."

Her pout returned, and she shook in place. No more playing nice! "Aw! Why not? Give me one good reason, mister."

"Our leader wouldn't want us to own a pet."

She laughed in victory. Ha! Ha! "He wouldn't be a pet he would be family. Maybe our team's mascot! And I promise to love him, bathe him, cleanup after him, and read him bedtime stories."

The Lie glared, grabbed his fork, and spoon-fed a distracted Nora a leafy green. She gagged! "Regardless of bath times, Jaune wouldn't want it in our room. To have a pet we must all agree. I have a good feeling he would be against it."

The Valkyrie stopped choking on the devil's food to grin wolfishly at her handsome friend. "So what you're saying is all I have to do is get Jaune to say yes? Perfect! I'll just wait for the right moment to strike and then boom! He won't see it coming."

Ren wished to poke many holes in her plans, but instead, he used her victory grin as an opportunity to shove another forkful of Mint Giant's Fantastic Greens into her mouth. She wheezed, acting dead on the spot once it went down her throat. Humoring her, he reached out and plucked her flapjacks away to enjoy some of the buttery goodness in a rare moment of self-indulgence. By the time she recovered, half of her meal was gone with Ren looking impeccably clean for eating something doused in heavy syrup. The betrayal on her face was equivalent of a backstab with her trusty fork, and she reached out to retrieve her stolen pancakes, but he moved quicker and held them away with his cheeks stuffed with fluffy delights.

"Hand them over!"

"Finish your vegetables first and then we'll talk. Mmmmm, these are good."

The entire time they bickered, Pyrrha Nikos sipped her apple juice in fascination related to a soap opera.

...

"That was a close one."

Escaping Ren and his annoyingly observant eyes never drained him this much. Whelp. At least it was over. Jaune now headed for his team's room to fix his hoodie and maybe get in some Aura practice before meeting up his team for some fun at Vale that apparently, Ren made him promise. Jerk. Just for that, he was swiping two more of those yucky health bars, but first, while he was on the topic of Aura related mishaps, something had been eating away at him since this very productive morning.

Stopping in front of his team's door, he remembered how the Ursa Major got demolished from his Aura sphere. The sensation of that Grimm's body getting torn to shreds remained in his body like muscle memory. Every direction. Each muscle. Aura ripped apart that beast in a display of fiery power. All from just Aura contact! To say he was interested in this new development of Aura properties would be a gross understatement. If anything, this only made him want to test the power more, push it further! See what limits existed!

That was if any limits existed at all.

That made him stop. Limits? Once he managed to break passed the first barrier, did limits exist? Looking down at his hand, he found his excitement growing, but it got overshadowed by a sense of seriousness that seemed to grab him during his studies with Aura properties. Something he picked up. Like some eggheaded scientist. It made him want to study and discover, and he planned to fulfill that urge by retreating into his room.

That was until a hand grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Hey, Vomit Boy!"

Oh no! That voice. Not her. Not now. He couldn't even tell whether or not she was furious. That only made things ten times worse!

"Y-Yang?" Jaune hesitantly turned and grinned harmlessly while moving for his Scroll to unlock the door. Any second now. "How's it hanging? Is Ruby fine? I didn't mean to make her sad. I didn't even know you girls had a dog."

Yup! It wasn't his fault for that dog existing. Blame Mother Nature. It belonging to Ruby was all coincidental or a conspiracy working against him. Exactly! Why else wasn't it anyone else's dog like Weiss? Because that would be too easy, and life hated being on easy mode.

"She's fine!" Why didn't he believe her? "C'mon, I wanna show you something."

Tossing her arm around his shoulder, she forcefully led him away from the sanctuary of his room, noggin trapped in a headlock. Her grin was bright, sunshine inducing, and innocent like a seven-layered rainbow, and Jaune Arc was terrified of every part of it. She then led him into her team's room, and the blond wondered if he was going to meet his Maker here, of all places. Well, breakfast ended some time ago, and his team was expecting him for a trip to Vale—bless Ren—so she had little time to hide a body.

Maybe if he made a mad dash for it right now, he could reach Nora in time to protect him at the cost of all his pancakes for a year? Sounded like a terrific plan, no holes, it included a Nora. The perfect plan. Probably would've even worked if he hadn't been thinking about how to execute it before getting dragged into Team RWBY's room.

Darn it!

When he invaded the quarters, the first thing he noticed was Blake reading on a mattress suspended by a few tethers of rope. Where the cords connected was anyone's wild guess, and moving beyond that, he noted the absence of both Ruby and Weiss. Okay? What was going on here?

As if becoming a mind reader, Yang left him to enter her team's bathroom, coming out a second later with a dog snuggled up in her arms, drooling excessively on the carpet. The dog's appearance stunned him, so much so that he missed the small hiss coming from Blake who quietly scooted back on her bed.

"So, Jaune!" Yang held up a dog to his face. Ew, dog breath. "This little guy is Zwei! Ruby snuck him into Beacon before leaving home. Me, honestly, I felt like the little rascal was going to find his way here eventually, maybe my pops would've sent—anyways! Is this the dog that took a bite out of your hoodie?"

He blinked twice, thoughts catching up with him after his brain shut down for a reboot. So Yang wasn't going to murder him? She only wanted to know if Zwei here was the one that made the Grimm-sized bite mark on his hoodie? Realizing that he a chance of living, he tilted his head to get a better look of the dog. Zwei was downright adorable, tiny, and constantly wagged his tail. The dog even went as far to lick his nose, and Yang couldn't help but awww at the scene. Ah! So underneath all that tough exterior was a Ruby-cream filling.

In all seriousness, Zwei was innocent as dogs came. So the answer was a relatively easy one.

"Yup."

A lie got him into this mess—darn it, Ren—and so a lie would get him out of it. Besides, he severely doubted Yang planned to punish the dog. Maybe no food for the night of something tame like that, but nothing emotionally scarring for the little rascal, and Ruby probably would've fed him during the late night. Sounded like the Ruby Rose thing to do. The real punishment probably included no tummy rubs for a whole week, a sentence that would scar her more than Zwei. No doubt.

Now here came the part where he felt guilty for lying, but that only applied to this situation if he liked dogs. He did not. By Monty Oum, he despised them with a strong passion, but that was a whole different story with a tragic past, emotional scar, and time-worn healing. No one cared about that.

So he shrugged. Shrugged and jabbed Zwei on the forehead with a dull glare. "But like I told you, Yang, it's okay. I don't care anymore."

He waved and made his way toward the door, wanting to escape before things escalated out-of-control. Yang, his warden, on the other hand, had planned for him to cave under Zwei's adorable drooling just like Weiss. So seeing him uninterested in making friends with the furball threw her in a strange loop. No one had ever resisted Zwei's cuteness. Not even dad, hence the reason they adopted him!

"What?" Yang huffed with Blake silently observing from the edge of her book after he seemingly showed disinterest in the Intruder. "You don't like dogs or something?"

The Arc turned to beam with a cheeky smile. "Nope!"

Slam!

...

Escaping Yang never proved so heart-wracking.

The Arc entered his team's room and shut the door. He slid on the wood, sighing, before quickly retreating to stretch his arms over his head, popping joints into place. That fight with the Grimm left lingering knots in his muscles, but Aura quickly soothed the strain muscles the deeper he concentrated. He rightfully felt them expand to accommodate for his growing control. An interesting sensation.

"Alone at last!" Jaune sighed happily, creating a ball of Aura in his hand for future testing. He willed another and aimlessly spun them in circles as he fell back on his bed. "Now! Time to figure out what happened in Emerald Forest today and—!"

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Well, that was a great five seconds of training. I have to do that again soon."

He absorbed his Aura and sat up. The leader silently prayed it wasn't Yang at the door asking—forcing—him to give Zwei another chance. So not going to happen. Possibly there was a chance of Ruby taking a crack at it. He would be more lenient if that turned out to be the case. Maybe even Weiss if he was guessing, so picture his shock when he opened the door to find the last person he suspected on the other side with a novel firmly pressed to her chest.

"Blake? What are you doing here?" He flinched. That sounded harsher than intended.

She offered no reaction to remark. She stood still, very still. Her painted-on features remained and the girl cleared her throat with a hand pressed to her chest, almost as if she prepared a speech. Unusual? Wonder what she wanted. They had less in common than the floorboards.

"Jaune?"

"Yes?"

"You mention..." Blake stopped to carefully peek over her shoulder, through the hallway, and at her team's room as if the potential possibility of someone spying on her lurked around. When she figured the coast the clear, she silently held up a book and pressed it against her chest. "You mention you don't like dogs. Is that true?"

"Yeah, I'm not their biggest fan." His grip tightened on the handle. Was Blake here to do Yang's dirty work? Make him see the error of his ways? Yeah. No! Not going to happen. So he eyed her carefully as he slowly pushed the door closed. "But thanks for reminding me. I needed that."

Upon seeing the slowly closing door, she stepped forward with her book pressed against her nose that smushed the skin. Amber eyes peeked over the cover. A low tactic from her more primal instincts that were more humiliating and demeaning that any discrimination she had faced, demoralizing in every regard, but by Oum was it effective. He already gave up trying to shut the door.

Reel in the kill.

She hesitated with her bow wiggling in anticipation. Her plan, more like an impulsive idea, must work. Please work! "Wait! Don't do that! I wasn't going to try and change your mind about Zwei. I came here wondering if it was possible for me to read in here... sometimes."

Error in processing. Proper exchange response not found. "What?"

"I don't like dogs either!" Blake blurted out; going all in. "I can't enjoy my books with Ruby's dog in the room, and she won't put Zwei in the bathroom, so that's why I'm asking if I could be allowed to read in here? Ever since our leader surprised us with Zwei, reading's become such a hassle, and I appreciate my books far too much to quit."

"How did she even sneak that dog into Beacon, and how come Professor Goodwitch of Ozpin didn't see it the night before initiation?"

Her jaw set with her finger running up the book's spine. "Ruby said something about hiding Zwei in her weapon's bag before stuffing him into her weapon's locker. The dog can supposedly get into tight spaces."

He folded his arms while leaning on the doorway. "And Yang's okay with having Zwei in your room?"

"You try saying no to Ruby."

Fair point.

When the information all sunk in, he took time to break down what Blake said. As a fellow dog hater, he sympathized with her struggle, but a swift glance over his shoulder revealed an empty room, a place used for Aura training—alone. Saying yes meant he traded all that away and gave up his limited training sessions so she could have a place to read.

Could he view himself doing that with someone he barely called a friend? An acquaintance as it were. Even that stretched the word. Only one way to find for question-upon-question interrogation.

"What about the library? Can't you read in there? And they got books."

Her bow flattened. Professionalism overcame her, and she was determined not to lose. If she could beat Ozpin's interrogation, then this was cake. "Yang never leaves me alone. She's always there waiting for me, calling books a waste of time, and because of her we always get kicked out."

"Courtyard?"

"Too many people, can't concentrate."

"What about the Mess Hall?"

"I don't want my books getting covered in fats and grease. The pages will stain."

"Anywhere else?"

She huffed. "Ruby doesn't understand what leave me alone means. She says she does, but she doesn't."

"Bathroom?"

"Uh, no."

"Hn?"

Jaune ran his fingers through his hair, sparing another look back at the vacant room before peeking down at his ripped sleeve. That Aura discovery tugged at his soul, and the urge to experiment was intoxicatingly strong, but an Arc was never supposed to turn down a person in need. Pride stubbornly shushed him for considering any other option. Arg!

Jaune's resolved wavered. She saw this. Her bow danced with her tongue wetting her lips. Time for a Ruby Rose tactic! Shaking in place with sparkling eyes, she hummed while hiding behind the safety of her Catcher of the Tuna hardcover.

"Please?"

A low blow move, sure, but she reeked of desperation. A sanctuary for her beloved books laid before her, and it smelled of fresh oranges with a dash of maple syrup, but no hint of canine. Zip! Only fruits and sweets, an aroma worth snuggling up with a good book.

Knowing his resolve melted, the leader accepted defeat humbly. Blake tugged at his heartstrings and played them like a talented musician, and an Arc never abandoned a friend—uh—acquaintance? Yeah, that worked. Stranger worked, too. After all, strangers were just friends he hadn't met yet. Not to say she was a stranger, because she wasn't. Maybe one day they could bump up the acquaintance status to become great friends.

He threw the door open with that thought in mind and waved his hands for her to enter Team JNPR's infamous domain. "Fine, you can come in. Our home is your home."

Her beaming smile made it all worthwhile.

Later, when the rest of Team JNPR returned, they were astounded to find Blake in there of all places, lazing on their leader's bed with a book in hand and appearing very content with no Fearless Leader in sight. When Nora blurted out where was Jaune, she offered them a shrug and mention he mumbled something about having somewhere to go. No one bothered questioning her right after. Instead, they fussed over Jaune and his unknown destination. Hopefully, nowhere too dangerous. Wait. Who were they kidding, this was Jaune!

Like he would go somewhere dangerous on purpose!

...

Jaune Arc must be a glutton for pain.

Who returned to the crime scene of their life-and-death battle within the hour? Nora-level mad people, that was who, but he was oddly okay with that. The insanity part, not the being forced to return to Emerald Forest part. No sane, thinking inside-the-box individual would've conjured up the idea to forge Excalibur. So rationality? How about no. Who needed worthless qualities?

Not to say he preferred the evergreen forest over his team's room, but life had a habit of kicking people while they were down.

On the sunny side, his hoodie was restored! Who knew Blake could sew? How nice of her to repair his sleeve. Of course, she did for reasons to taunt Zwei's handiwork, even though the mutt was innocent, but he had wisely kept his mouth shut. Still didn't save him from getting kicked out of his team's room.

Tch, whatever, now that he didn't have a room to practice in, he made do with surrounding trees. Slash! Excalibur's edged buried deep into the defenseless trees, cutting with a ferocity that remained unparalleled to bark. The cutting power impressed him. Occasionally, he fired an Aura ball through the sky to watch it soar like a shooting star.

Huh? Shooting Star? Not bad, not bad at all. It rolled off the tongue in a way that carried weight. His Aura sword bore the name Excalibur, why not his handgun? Shooting Star fit perfectly. Giving it a name meant he cared enough to grow an attachment to objects, and he was more than attached to his Aura weaponry. Yes. His pistol would be entitled Shooting Star.

Plus it had the word shooting in it. Perfect for a firearm.

Well, while he was busy on the subject of Aura, he concentrated with his palms out and a couple of Aura sphere burst to life. They burned in a bright hue, pulsating above his palm in warmth. He was about to store them within his pal but stopped to study them. Same Aura, and the same size as the one used to kill the Grimm. The explosion flashed before him, and he experimentally poked one to prove it wouldn't hurt him, but after witnessing its overly destructive power, he had to be sure.

Maybe he could use his Aura balls as a form of attack? Worth a shot.

He absorbed one of them and held the other out, deciding now was as good as a time as any to test out his theory. A sense of giddiness overwhelmed him from just thinking about the power. Anything Aura related brought out this inner Aura nerd hiding from within. An Aura scholar, if anything, that fascinated over all the details of Aura and hell-bent on unveiling the secrets of the strange power. A fun discovery.

The nice niche made him appreciate the field of science more. No wonder scientists went insane over experiments. It was intoxicating when things finally happened.

Humph! First, he needed to test the Aura sphere's capabilities. A quick look around revealed a large stone that just begged to be incinerated down to the fragment. Hearing its plea, he walked toward the rock, doubly making sure nothing hid behind or in the forest for that matter. He didn't want a repeat from last time.

Coast clear.

Fantastic! Standing next to the boulder, he took a step back and crashed his sphere of Aura against the stone, noticing the Aura shred the rock apart with pebbles flying everywhere. He felt it happen. Then he grinned when the boulder got flung away, breaking against a trove of trees from an enormous impact force, scattering a rainfall of rock fragments across the clearing.

All the leader could do was whistle at the destruction. The Aura sphere had acted like a mini-explosion in his hand. Definitely something worth writing in his Aura notebook. How he never thought of using his balls of Aura, after witnessing firsthand Excalibur's might, as a weapon begged for him to get his head examined, but none of that mattered now. He was more than ready to make up for lost time. Endless possibilities danced at his fingertips.

"Phew!" Jaune cracked some of his bones, feeling much better after losing his team's room as a source of practice. What a great stress reliever! "Whoa! I'm getting good at this! I wonder what I should call that attack?"

Growl!

Whoops! There went his good mood.

He turned. Behind him was a single Ursa Minor, hardly surpassing his height. It growled with a mighty roar, teeth bared. The drool was a bit much, but he found his blood rushing at the implications. Another one? Seriously? How could he notice these things sniffing around the forest? Green and black weren't exactly camouflage buddies. He had an easier time tracking Nora down than catching these guys before they snuck up on him. The worst part about it was they happened to be annoyingly loud once they announced their presence, erasing away the illusion of predator subtly.

Someone must be playing tricks on him.

Huffing, he rubbed his forehead and ran a hand through his hair, not in the mood to fight another Grimm. At the very least it was an Ursa Minor—one Ursa Minor. That happened to be the light in this grim situation.

Oh? A pun? He liked that. Too easy, Yang.

Growl!

"Arg! Fine! I'll make you a deal." Jaune warned with a tease, already reloading Shooting Star. Oh yeah, that name was a keeper. Focusing his Aura, it clung close to his skin, and his senses sharpened. "If you run away right now, I'll promise not to shoot you in the back."

His answer came in the form of a menacing growl, razor-sharp teeth, bared fangs, and ferocious claws. A failed tactic as his fear for the beast steadily dropped the more of his kind he slaughtered. So far the tally was three. Aura control tipped the odds in his favor. It then lunged toward Jaune, growling a sinister snarl that did not make him recoil.

He grinned at the airborne Grimm, finding that this Ursa Minor—no, finding this Grimm unable to strike any fear in his heart. Nothing compared to when he first stepped foot in Beacon, absolutely nothing. As he slowly raised his right arm, his heart rejoiced for he never felt so close to belonging here, right alongside his team and companions at Beacon Academy.

No words could express the feelings bubbling up inside.

Jaune Arc merely sighed in content and aimed at the Grimm. Maybe, just a glimmer of a chance, everything was finally working out for the better, and he might be able to carry on his family's legacy after all.

Time for a cool catchphrase.

"Soar... Shooting Star!"

...

The return back to Beacon was uneventful.

Good thing too, his Aura levels remained drained from training. Optimism kept him upright, but his chest ached from being a bit winded, and his muscles throbbed with some numbness spreading. Aura might've cured these alignments, but he never knew when he needed more, so he purposely held some of the burning embers at bay, which felt out-of-place. Since when did actively suppressing his Aura become a thing?

Oh well. Probably nothing to fret over.

After dealing with the drama of this morning and afternoon, all he wished to do was lay down on his bed and relax before venturing off to Vale for the evening. Three Grimm in one day was enough. At the very least they raised his confidence in fighting, not so much tracking and awareness. Not only that but he began to notice the extended reserves of Aura building up his soul. Something difficult not to regard after two months of training. Of course, he beamed at the progress.

Still, he couldn't help but feel a tad guilty to what pushed him to this path.

Crocea Mors.

The Arc knew he abandoned his great-great grandfather's legacy and felt his insides churn because of it. A sword of that honor and tradition—a family heirloom—shouldn't be left to rust away and be forgotten. Disgraceful! Once, it was all he had when coming to Vale with nothing but hopeless optimism and a fool's dream to piggyback on and now look at it. He couldn't even recall the last time he sat down and polished the metal. The sword only saw action during training with Pyrrha or Professor Goodwitch's class. Even then that was mostly for show.

It deserved none of that.

"Maybe I should send them back home?"

Sighing out loud, he hit himself on the head. Great! He just killed his good mood. Way to go, Arc. Grumbling, he shook his head and quickened his pace to his team's room to prep for this team bonding exercise. Then sparring with Pyrrha, and finally some free-time to laze around. A fitting schedule for a Saturday, but he hardly looked forward to any of it. Vale was a wildcard and dealing with his partner's I'm Sorry Smile only soured his mood. Whatever. Nothing he could do about it now.

As he edged closer to his dorm room, a nagging feeling overcame him. He forgot something crucial, and for the life of him, he could not figure out what.

...

"Welcome back."

Right! Now he remembered the reason why he left the room in the first place. Blake Belladonna. Team RWBY's quiet teammate who not-so-secretly read perverted books was crashing in their room to avoid Zwei. In the short time since he left, she somehow made herself comfortable on his bed, seizing all the pillows to rest her back on. Her feet dangled off the edge, bouncing up and down while her nose remained buried in her, ahem, literature.

Jaune blinked from the doorway, mind rebooting. "Um, hey, Blake."

"Did you finish whatever it was you were doing?"

Page Flip!

Okay, this was weird, he didn't know how to talk to Blake, but he offered a smile to start. "Yeah, all done, now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go meet up with my team for a day out. Nora's been wanting to go to Vale all week and promised all of us syrup in our sleep if we don't go."

She offered her a smile of her own, loving her new reading accommodations. "Well, I'll be here if you need me."

Page Flip!

"Yeah, sure." Jaune headed for the door. The threat of syrup in his sleep hung over his head because he knew Nora would go through with it. "Just don't touch any of Nora's stuff because—just don't touch any of it! Bad stuff will happen, very terrible, syrupy things."

"No problem."

Page Flip!

...

All things considered, they managed to keep property damage down to a minimum.

The Bullhead ride back home retained an atmosphere entitled Team JNPR. After a full day of fun and explosions—mostly explosions—no one felt like uttering a word. Things had started off good, but after Nora consumed a large batch of candy when the rest of Team JNPR wasn't looking, the table flipped.

The park would never be the same again.

Now the sun began to set. A hazy afterglow of orange filled the horizon. Both Pyrrha and Jaune silently agreed with pained looks that chasing their sugar-fueled friend robbed them of any energy to bother training. The only who appeared fine was busy taking care of a sleeping Nora, who had her arms wrapped snuggly around his neck with her snores indicating a deep sleep from a sugar crash. Where Ren found his energy they would never know, but even he seemed to be slipping, just about ready to shut down.

The leader groaned once their feet touched cobble. Muscles hurt and he was dead on his feet. Good thing he saved some Aura for just this reason. Even then he his eyes refused to stay open too long, alternating between walking like a zombie and wishing for sweet release. Nora Hunting, Aura practice, and fighting three Grimm drained too much of his energy. Bed sounded heavenly right now, and he would shoot anyone if they thought about stealing it from him. Point-blank with Shooting Star, right in the dead center of their chest. Dead. Finished. Bam!

Entering their room, they blinked, surprised to find Blake fast asleep on their leader's bed, curled like a ball. Her book laid idly forgotten as she must've dozed off some time ago.

Couldn't blame her. Not with her pillow fort.

Jaune breathed. Best to shake Blake from her catnap before her team sent out Yang to retrieve her. They preferred having a door. Anyway, that was his bed, a bed he desired to doze off in, and the idea of firing Blake point-blank with Shooting Star was a big nope. Not with Yang Xiao Long as her partner. A partner Jaune Arc was more than sure was gunning for him in the most painful sense of the word.

Moving to snatch her from dreamland, he touched her shoulder gently, shaking her softly with her body curling deeper into that ball.

"Blake? Blake? Wake up."

If Pyrrha had been more awake and alert, she reasonably would've warned her partner of the dangers of waking up a potential fighter. Blake was a Huntress-in-Training, she might attack in her sleep in instinct. Instead, her mind was dizzy and not thinking much but how warm her covers were. So she watched. They all watched as Blake's practice-driven hand swiped out toward an unsuspecting leader.

Thud!

Groggy eyes shifted focused, and hazy minds sharpened. Ren and Pyrrha stopped moving to stare at their leader, who caught Blake Belladonna's assault in mid-swing, appearing indifferent about the whole experience. None of it phased him. He merely shook her hand with vigor to wake her.

In reality, to Jaune with his burning Aura active, it had seemed like her palm swipe moved in natural speeds. He hadn't realized he caught her attack at what was essentially half her momentum. Fast compared to average standards with her being Team RWBY's ninja as all.

"Wakey, wakey, Blake."

When she finally awoke, her cheeks burned in mild embarrassment. Jaune laughed, she cleared her throat. A quick thank you later, and she left. Once the door closed, Pyrrha felt like questing her partner for his out-of-place reflexes, primarily because he groaned like a zombie in his current state, but he already dropped into his bed and passed out by the time Blake escaped.

Smiling at the lost thought that his training was finally baring fruition, she decided to follow her leader's example and drift off for the night. She slinked underneath her covers, sighing from the comforting warmth of cotton. Pillow met head and her eyes closed, but before dreamland opened its chocolate-flavored gates for her, a soft cry disturbed her slumber.

Moan!

The champion turned her head, hiding the cutest smile with her blanket. Nora held onto Ren stubbornly, burrowing deeper into his back with legs wrapped tightly around his stomach as he attempted to separate her from his body to push her into her bed. No escape. No mercy. Nora Valkyrie chose to sleep on his back, and by Dust, she would have it. The adorable mumbling only made it harder for him to deny her.

A giggle threatened to escape her lips, so Pyrrha muffled her mouth with her pillow, loving the way Ren eventually gave up and slipped into his bed, with Nora along for the ride, covering them both with a thick blanket. Sleep took them, and her eyelids grew heavy. Time to dream.

Tomorrow was going to be a big day.

...

Waking up early on a Sunday morning?

What a nightmare.

The buzzing chatter of everyone destroyed for any peace of mind either. Jaune discovered this the hard way waiting for Ozpin to announce the teams competing in the Vytal Festival, unable to hear himself think. Even with the assembly scheduled in the early hours of the morning, no one appeared to mind. Today must've been an exception for anything.

Team JNPR and RWBY sat far the assembly stage, having arrived late due to sleeping in, and Weiss wasn't thrilled at being late to this assembly, and no amount of cookies from Ruby was going to fix her mood. That didn't stop her leader from trying, hoping to tempt the Heiress with treats of chocolate chip and snickerdoodles. Sugar cookies might not be good enough, plus she devoured them all.

"I wonder which teams are going to fight in the Vytal Festival Tournament?" Yang yawned, fighting back drowsiness.

Ruby bounced in her seat, fueled from the mass of two bags of sugar cookies. "I know! Hurry up already!"

Jaune, however, yielded no such enthusiasm, mimicking Yang's yawn. Sleep sounded so much better. Only Professor Goodwitch's silent threat of detention stole him away from his bed. Part of him hoped to slink away and crawl back underneath the sheets halfway through the ceremony, but his professor somehow knew who and who did not attend these things.

"Attention, students!" Ozpin's voice boomed throughout the ballroom. He stood at the stage where he first gave his speech for all of Beacon's newest applicants with a Scroll in hand to maximize his tone. "Are you prepared to hear of the six teams that will be competing in the Vytal Tournament?" Loud cheers. "Good! Then let's not dillydally any longer and get started."

He tapped on his Scroll, and a large holo-screen revealed, showcasing the team leaders of four different teams and none of them of which were Team RWBY's or Team JNPR's leaders.

"Please, if the leaders of the teams would so kindly make your way up to the podium."

The four selected leaders arrived on stages with a chorus of students cheering them on. Half and half on gender and they moved before Ozpin, waiting patiently behind the man with three of them excited, and one neutral about the whole experience. Suffice to say reactions were a mixed bag.

Ozpin beamed at the fourth-years, waiting for the excitement to settle down before tapping his Scroll. A few precise clicks later and his face appeared next to the holo-screen. Two question marks, no doubt the last two teams, glowed with strenuous anticipation.

"Now we move forward to the team I have chosen to compete in Beacon's name." Team RWBY's leader appeared on the screen. "If Ruby Rose would kindly appear on the—ah! I didn't even get to finish my sentence!" Ozpin smiled at the super speed Ruby, patting her on the head, and vaguely laughing at her older sister's cheering. "Good. Very good indeed. That only leaves us with the team the people of Vale voted for."

Touching his Scroll, he shuffled around and loaded up the results from the poll, taking part in the anticipation build up from his students. In all honesty, his mind worked to unravel the mystery to who the people of Vale picked to be their champions. The odds were reasonably mixed for anyone's favor.

Beep!

He glared up from his device with something stuck in his throat. There, on the bright fluorescent screen in bold letters underlined Team JNPR in all its whimsical glory. Next to their name happened to be the poll counter, revealing the numbers game that pushed them to the top. On an unrelated note, the vast majority of their votes came from Vale's residential zones, near a fragmentary park.

Pyrrha Nikos came in the lead with a staggering ten percent with Nora Valkyrie following behind with an impressive eight percent. Jaune Arc and Lie Ren pulled in the other seven percent, adding them to a sum result of Vale's voting percentage between the four Kingdoms. No other team came close. However, the reason Team JNPR stole an unprecedented number of votes revealed itself beneath the ballot.

Under team names flourished a comment section with descriptive detail of a particular team's outing the day prior. Nora's Sugar Rush of Mayhem and Destruction with the combined efforts and teamwork of Team JNPR to subdue her had garnered the eyes of the citizens of Vale with interest and ongoing passion.

Wow. Simply wow.

Stunned in unnerving silence with the rest of the student body, Ozpin promptly regained his sense of awareness and wits, coughing into his Scroll. "And would Jaune Arc of Team JNPR please step forward. The people of Vale have chosen your team to represent them."

The trembling stillness stretched. Jaune didn't move a muscle, dumbstruck, but Nora in-character kicked their leader's butt off his seat, yelling cheerfully for him to get up there. Go, Fearless Leader! Only then he remembered that he was, in fact, the leader and willed his legs to carry him on stage in a wanderlust of chaos.

What a notoriously long and petrified walk that turned out to be.

Reaching the stage, Headmaster Ozpin nodded at the mute Arc to stand with his other leaders and diligently resumed his speech. "Now that our teams have been chosen to compete, it's time I begin explaining the new rules and challenges that were added to this year's Vytal Festival. Listen closely." Jaune gulped, finding his chest heavy with dread and building anxiety. "First and foremost, if any leader or team here would prefer to quit and retreat out of the tournament, you have until the end of the week to do so before you forfeit any chance." The leader visibly relaxed at the escape opportunity. "Second, all teams that compete in the tournament will undergo a strict reevaluation to determine if whether or not you are fit to be a future Huntsmen team after the tournament is concluded. Remember, we must never strive for mediocrity."

The Aura user ignored him, picturing out a variety of ways to convince his team to back out. Ren was easy enough, Nora might require a bribe, but Pyrrha? His partner practically lived for fighting. Being a four-time champion came from wanting to win. Getting her to go along with the plan might be a bit tricky—!

"And finally." Ozpin interrupted Jaune's inner monologue. "The winner of the Vytal tournament will be exempted from the second rule. For if you win, you deserve to be here." Flicking through his Scroll, he opened up the academies chosen teams. He then turned to his challengers, pointing at the screen. "These are the other teams that have been chosen to compete as well. I strongly advise you to study your opponents and learn whatever information it is you can for the upcoming battles. Knowledge wins battles, ignorance leads to defeat, knowing your opponent better than they know you can be the difference between victory and defeat."

The students grew restless. Controlling their attention spans turned troublesome, and their murmuring disturbed the assembly. Yes, yes, discussing new rule changes and leader choices merit animated debates, but the center of gossip pool whirled around Jaune Arc, one of Beacon Academy's worst students in skill.

"Quiet down now." Ozpin's voice reverberated. "I have not yet finished explaining the rules of the Vytal Tournament. We still need to discuss how the round lineups work." A push of a button. A tournament barrack. "The tournament will consist of a three-point system. One point for three battles each."

A four-panel box appeared on the holo-screen. "First is a standard team vs. team brawl. The winner receives one point." Next a two-panel box. "Then the fight will be followed up by a partner fight between other partners. The same rules apply. Win, gain a point, but lose and receive nothing." Finally a single box. "And the last fight will consist of a leader free-for-all tournament-style battle with the winner receiving one point."

It sounded weird at first, but eventually, everyone understood the point of the free-for-all. It kept it regulated. Only one team could potentially snatch three points and win the tournament. A keen-witted setup to maneuver. Something to stir up competition.

Taking a step forward, the Headmaster addressed the chosen team leaders, eyeing each one appreciatively. "The tournament will be held in two months. May the odds be in your favor, and good luck."

Ozpin smiled once more and turned away, signaling his goodbye with a light-hearted chuckle.

Beep! Beep!

Disorder took over the ballroom. Students immediately pressed against one another to disperse and partake in their Sunday, getting lost in idly chat about the Vytal Festival. Most of the leader escaped to search for their teams, all except one. Jaune Arc remained frozen, lingering behind with his mind jumbled up like a piece of paper. Ideas flashed before him. None of them made a lick of sense, which made the problem of convincing Pyrrha not to fight in the tournament all the more headache inducing.

If luck tossed him a bone, truly blessed his lucky star, she might wouldn't want to fight.

"You know you can't just lose, right?"

Turning around, Jaune Arc came face-to-face with Cardin Winchester, his ex-bully with hands tucked into his pockets in an egotistical manner. The parallels between this Cardin and past Cardin were troublesome to spot, but his signature smirk was gone, and he didn't appear to be pleased. Ever since that incident in Forever Fall three months ago, the ex-bully acted more reserved. Rumor had it he apologized to Velvet.

To think of all the things that had changed since the beginning of this semester.

"What?" Jaune tilted his head.

"Losing..." Cardin grunted, moving pass him with Jaune dubiously following. They trailed behind the crowd with no one sparing them a second look. "I know you, and you're thinking of backing out of the tournament. Well, I'm here to tell you, you don't have that option."

Jaune glared. "And why not? What's stopping me?"

Winchester rolled his eyes at the idiot, slapping him on the back of his head to knock some sense into him. "Think, Jaunie-boy! You heard what our damn Headmaster said. If you lose, they'll check your background, your name, your school... your transcripts."

Oh? Oh!

The news hit him like a freight train, raising the stakes in this gamble he played, and he couldn't help but agree. Still, he shrugged. "Then we won't compete."

No problem.

"Eh! Wrong!" Cardin scoffed. Yes, problem. "Please! You have Pyrrha Nikos on your team. You were chosen by the freaking Vale to fight. Not competing now will draw even more attention to yourselves. People will ask questions, demand answers, and they'll get them. Face it, there's no way you can weasel yourself out of this one."

Stopping, the leader stood still as the mass of students maneuvered past them. His breath hitched. A sickness spilled into his stomach with his eyes wavering from panic. The gut-churning conclusion was Cardin was indeed correct. Drop out now, and people would want to know why. That couldn't be allowed to happen.

Jaune glared with his posture on edge. "Why are you telling me this?"

Cardin ignored his face, not paying any real attention to the troubled tone he adopted. Everything and everyone else was more interesting than the blond dope. Still, it was a fair thing to ask. One minute he was blackmailing him, and the next he was saving him from throwing his career away. Life was just strange like that. Eventually, he began to walk away, not answering his question as the sea of countless faces washed him away.

"You know? That's a good question. Why am I telling you this?" Cardin's voice got harder to hear, and Jaune thought he saw the telltale signs of his smirk. "I don't hate you... and we're not friends."

Watching his former bully waltz away, Jaune thought heavily over Cardin's parting words. If he backed out, people would question and talk, but if he fought and lost, life here at Beacon might come to a swift end. The only way to avoid backlash was to win and take his chances and back out, hoping no one bothered doing a background check on the Cowardly—not Fearless—leader of Team JNPR.

Oum, help him!

Eh? Maybe Cardin was only trying to psyche him out? Definitely wouldn't be the first time. He could also compete and do well. If he lost, he lost. He already unlocked some of the secrets of Aura with a crafted weapon to call his own. He made it further than he initially believed possible.

Who knew? Maybe they wouldn't check his transcripts if he fought hard enough?

Maybe Team JNPR might even win?

This leader chuckled humorlessly at the thought. Like his team could win the Vytal Festival Tournament. Pyrrha could solo a one-on-one tournament, but this one focused on a team of four. Cardin was right, as insane as that sounded. No dropping out of the competition. Too many questions. Not enough cover. There was no getting around it he was wedged in between a Grimm and a boulder.

Hn? He needed time to think it over.

It wasn't like losing would have any foreseeable consequences for anyone else but him, right?

Right!

"... Right?"


Author Notes: Rewritten.