"It's...cozy."

"Sure, that's one word for it…"

Jaune, Ren, Pyrrha and Nora stood in front of their new room, the place where they were supposed to spend the next four years of their life. The cramped room barely had space for the four beds, two nightstands and lone desk that occupied it. The sole window allowed for miniscule amounts of light to enter, as one of Beacon's large spires blocked out the sun.

The only other door besides the entrance looked rather flimsy. Presumably, that would be the bathroom, and it appeared to have the constitution of wet tissue paper, the janky lock appearing like it may be knocked off by a light breeze.

Jaune couldn't help but glance at his two female teammates. If it were him and a bunch of other guys, they could have probably just make it work, but with them? That could potentially add an entire slew of problems with no good outcome for him or Ren.

Taking a step forward, Jaune gagged as a putrid smell assaulted his nostrils. Covering her nose, Pyrrha moved in after him. Ren and Nora followed shortly after. Standing in the cramped space for a while, Ren was surprisingly the first to break the silence.

"There's no way this is right."

"What do you mean Renny?"

"Look over there."

The four teammates scrambled to the door to see their adjacent neighbors putting the final touches on their new room. A dainty purple carpet complemented a set of silky white curtains. Light illuminated the room, as a gentle breeze blew in from the open window hitting the incredulous team with the faint smell of lilac.

Moving to stand in team RWBY's doorway, they saw a set of bunk beds, hastily put together bunk beds if the slipshod appearance was anything to go by, but still!

Bunk beds!

Alongside a couple of closets, desks, nightstands and a full body mirror attached to a sturdy bathroom door, their room was damn near perfect.

'The only way their room could get better is if it had a goddamn vending machine!' thought Jaune, his envy coming to a boil as he felt someone tap his shoulder.

"Eyy, move it Mac. Big load comin' through."

Turning around Jaune saw what appeared to be a delivery worker, his blue overalls hugging his stocky frame. Glancing up, Jaune noticed that he couldn't see his eyes as they appeared perpetually shrouded by a shadow crafted by the bill of his hat.

Moving aside, he watched as the man walked up to Weiss.

"Weiss Schnee?"

"That would be me, yes."

"Sign here."

Weiss looked just as confused as he felt as she was prompted to sign space after space on the clipboard the man had seemingly procured from nowhere.

'You know, I thought Weiss of all people would read more thoroughly before signing stuff.' thought Jaune, as the man took a few quick glances at the clipboard.

With a grunt of satisfaction, he walked back out into the hall only to come back with a massive box wheeled in on a dolly. The package was set down with a dull thud, as the man pulled a notecard from his pocket.

As he began to read, his voice took on a nasally quality that prompted Weiss to gasp.

"Dearest sister, congratulations on passing the beacon entrance exam. I know we've had our differences in the past, but I'm thrilled that you have succeeded in your endeavor. I've sent you a little something as a gift. Hopefully you and your team enjoy it. With love, Whitley."

'No way...that's impossible! There's just no fucking way!'

Jaune raged in his mind as he watched the man tear open the box to reveal his worst fear.

A vending machine stood in the center of the room, already pre filled with snacks and soda. Pushing it to the far side of the room away from the desks the man stood before Weiss, arm outstretched and head held high. With a curt nod, Weiss reached into her combat skirt pulling out a few lien.

With grunt and a slight tip of the hat, the man began walking away as all the teens crowded around the machine.

All but one.

Jaune stared at the man as he left the room. Glancing to the side to see everyone enthralled with team RWBY's newest acquisition, he hastily followed the man out of the room. Seeing that the man had already made it a good distance down the hallway, he yelled.

"Hey!"

Jaune watched in horror as with a slight turn of his head, the shadow that previously hid the worker's eyes lifted, a pair of slitted yellow eyes lying beneath. The eyes betrayed a hidden mirth as he lazily winked at Jaune.

Pop!

Blinking, Jaune couldn't help the spike of fear that ran through him as he realized that the man had disappeared. He may have been oblivious to most things, but he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he had somehow created or summoned that...thing, whatever it was.

He felt like pulling out his hair!

Returning to the room he saw his team alongside team RWBY idly chatting.

"Whoa Weiss-Cream, I didn't know you'd send out for something this cool! I'd have never guessed you had it in you!"

"Didn't you hear the message you dolt?! It was a gift! I'm just surprised by who sent it…"

"Who sent it?" asked Jaune, eyeing the vending machine with open distrust.

"Well if you must know, it was my brother Whitley. We...didn't quite part on good terms, and even then something like this seems far too...plebeian for his tastes. He takes more after my father in certain aspects, so I'm surprised he sent something like this...to be frank I'm surprised he sent anything at all. I'm also confused on how he knew about the initiation and teams so qui— are you guys even listening to me?!"

"Nope!" spoke Nora, as she reached for what appeared to be her third chocolate bar, if the wrappers on the floor were anything to go by.

'How'd she even get over there so quickly?'

"Well maybe your brother had a change of heart? Perhaps he's realized how important you are to him and just wanted to do something nice for you." said Pyrrha as Weiss let out a sigh.

"Perhaps…"

"So not that I'm complaining, but shouldn't you guys be unpacking and setting up your room?"

Blake looked at the suddenly bashful team as they shuffled.

"Our room's a dump!"

"Nora!"

"What?! It's true!"

Moving past the nervous team Yang glanced into team juniper's decrepit room, whistling as a black mist seeped out of the room.

"Yikes…"

"Move over!"

Weiss pushed past Yang only to pause, her features aghast as she looked upon the moldy room.

"There must be some mistake! There's no way that room is safe to live in! Why, the amount of sanitation codes that are being violated must be too numerous to count!"

"Maybe you guys could ask the headmaster about it?" chimed in Ruby, as she glanced over at the disaster zone.

"I don't think that's gonna help."

Seven pairs of eyes turned to Jaune.

"I'm pretty sure this is happening because of me...it's just like in the forest. I think that's why you got that package too Weiss...I don't think your brother really sent that. Somehow, whatever I'm doing is affecting the world around me and I have no idea how to stop it."

"Why would you even want to send Weiss a vending machine?" questioned a dubious Yang.

"I don't know! I just looked over to your room and thought to myself that the only way your room could get any better was if you had a vending machine. I meant it as a joke, but not even two seconds later, the most shady man I've ever seen comes in here with a prepackaged speech and a vending machine! How is that a coincidence?!"

"I must admit, your semblance is a peculiar one...so you say it just happens?"

"Yeah…"

Pyrrha closed her eyes in thought. While constant semblances were quite rare, they did exist. She had never heard of one that could appear as tangibly as his could though…

"So just do it then!"

"What do you mean Nora?"

"Just do it! Instead of waiting for it to activate on its own, just do it!"

Seeing Jaune's look of confusion, Ren stepped in.

"What she means is that maybe you should seek to use your semblance. Yours seems to be a strange mixture of passive and active usage, so maybe if you use it with some intent behind it, you may be able to use it more predictably."

"Yeah!" cried Nora as she draped an arm around Jaune, "and the perfect moment to test that is right here! Think you can fix our room fearless leader?!"

Feeling his anxiety reach new heights , Jaune pried Nora from his arm. Walking closer to the door he took note of how much darker the room seemed to be as a series of growls echoed from the room.

From within the pitch black fog three pairs of glowing red eyes appeared. As tendrils of smoke wafted from the room, he swore he heard a faint whisper carried along the smoky trails.

Turn back…


"Professor Ozpin, I would like to formally request a transfer to a new room."

"Oh? On what grounds Mr. Arc?"

"Sir, it has come to our attention that the room has a serious roach infestation."

His eyes never wavered, even as Ozpin fixed him with an amused smile.

"A roach infestation? My, that would be a problem...unfortunately we don't have any open dorms at the moment. We only have a limited capacity for each new batch of students. I'm afraid there's nothing I can do."

Jaune's head hung low. They were going to be stuck in that nightmare of a room for the foreseeable future. It was almost too cruel!

"Unless…"

Jaune's head whipped up.

"There is a cabin just on the edge of the emerald forest that one of our professors uses when he's out capturing grimm. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if a team used it for a while. Unfortunately, the place is being monitored, both inside and out. If you're so inclined, you may stay there."

Jaune paused at that.

'Did this man just say there are cameras inside…'

As if sensing his thoughts Ozpin was quick to put his fears to rest.

"Of course the bedrooms and bathrooms are not monitored. It's mainly the entrance and exit alongside the surrounding forest. Since the cabin is outside of the immediate safety of Beacon, I'm sure you understand why such measures must be implemented. Of course, there would be a few stipulations if you agree."

"Such as?"

"Hmm...you and Lie Ren must share a room. I'm sure this was fairly obvious, but in a school filled with teenagers, I feel I must stress this."

Thoughts unbidden assaulted Jaune's mind, vivid images of what he and Pyrrha or Nora, could get up to. Images of their well toned bodies sharing a bed with him…

Even as steam began pouring out of his ears and his face gradually grew crimson, he prepared to tell one of his boldest lies to date.

"Sir I would never even dream of doing anything of that nature to either of the girls! We've known each other for a short while, but I can already tell they're going to be great friends!"

Ozpin's deadpan stars met his proclamation.

"Right, Ren and I will share a room. What are the other stipulations sir?"

"With you four occupying the cabin, I'm afraid Professor Port will be unable to capture the grimm required for his lecture. If you accept this agreement, you will also be accepting responsibility for capturing different grimm for his lecture. The grimm must be captured biweekly and must be rotated. Bringing in a Beowulf twice in a month will not suffice. Now, do we have an agreement?"

Biting his lip, Jaune weighed his options. Sure a nice isolated cabin would be amazing, but the grimm hunting just seemed like a lot of extra work. Maybe if it was just killing them that would be fine, a five minute job tops. But capturing one? That sounded like a lot of work he didn't really want to do.

On the other hand…

'Turn back'

Remembering those words whispered from the dorm turned dungeon managed to make that grim capture deal seem like an opportunity he'd be downright foolish to turn down.

"We'll take it."


The four friends stood just outside of the wooden cabin, its rustic design was aided by the surrounding foliage. The rays of the setting sun, added a tinge of amber to the green forestry. It was almost easy to forget that this was a forest populated with man eating creatures of darkness.

...almost.

Upon entering the cabin, the team took in their new home. It was a simple enough wooden cabin. It showcased a sizable common area and a solid kitchen space while a straight set of stairs led to the bathrooms and bedrooms.

Unlike their last room, the cabin smelled strongly of maple syrup, something Nora found great pleasure in.

Moving up the stairs Ren lay claim to one of the rooms by tossing his duffel bag into the first room up the stairs. Jaune followed in after him opting to look around the room.

A single desk, two beds each with their own nightstand, and a fully functioning window.

'Thank god.'

Hearing the girls shuffle and unpack, he closed the door and lay on the unclaimed bed, mentally rejoicing that Ren was the quiet type. He liked Ren he really did, but after the hectic day he'd had he really just needed to relax and decompress.

'Come to think of it, I nearly died like four times today. Not to mention this crazy power...too bad it just seems to work when it wants to…'

Raising a hand to the ceiling he stared as he looked it over. He didn't look different and he certainly didn't feel any different, save for when his powers acted out. Only then did he feel a notable difference as an impulse took over, his body acting out of turn regardless of his desire.

It was cool when it worked, but when it didn't…

Well honestly nothing that detrimental happened to him, but it was still embarrassing and awkward to explain every time something unusual happened.

Deciding to ponder the joke that was his life later, Jaune closed his eyes.

'I'll worry about all this crap later.' he thought, as he drifted into a dreamless sleep.


"Monsters! Demons! Creatures of the night! These are some of the names man has ascribed to the grimm over the years, though I prefer to use the term 'prey'!"

Jaune's eyes struggled to remain open as Professor Port rambled on about his exploits as a younger man.

He'd told them of times he'd fought off hundreds of grimm single handedly, how he'd managed to woo every female that entered his vicinity and how he somehow used his "magnificent aura" to light a fire underwater.

'Somehow, I feel like that's actually something I could do if I could just figure out my semblance.'

Glancing around the room, Jaune noticed an irate Weiss fuming as Ruby showed her a drawing of what appeared to be a rather portly Port.

Barely holding in a chuckle, he caught the last of Port's speech.

"Now who amongst you believes you exemplify these traits?!"

"I do sir!"

"Very well! Please fetch your weapon and we shall see how you fare in the arena! "

A few minutes had passed and Weiss had returned, her school uniform traded out for her trademark combat dress and rapier. Jaune watched in rapt fascination as she took a combat stance as Port revealed an impossibly large cage.

"Now due to a recent development, I unfortunately won't be able to go out capture grimm myself for the foreseeable future, so I chose to make this hunt rather grand! Now, I need a totally random volunteer…Mr. Arc! You're nice and random, please come into the arena!"

"Um sir, I don't know if I'm really the best person to help Weiss out here…"

"Nonsense my boy! You're the perfect candidate! Now please, come into the arena posthaste!"

"May I at least go get my weapon sir?!"

"I'm afraid not. Let this be a lesson class, you never know when the grimm shall strike or when some unsavory news may catch you unawares! Why, I've just recently heard the news that my favorite grimm hunting cabin will be unusable to me for the next four years. Can you imagine that my boy?!"

'I see…' thought Jaune even as he moved to the arena, resignation coloring his thoughts. Seeing the pseudo-neutral look Professor Port fixed him with, he supposed in a way he really did deserve this. With a weighted sigh he responded.

"No sir...I can't even begin to imagine."

'These next four years are about to be some bullshit.'