Code: Vein The Lone Revenant King

by Siegfried XIII

AU where the Arc family doesn't exist on Remnant. Jaune as the MC of the Code Vein video game, follows the neutral ending (to Eternity ending) Jaune awakens after millennia of sleeping on the throne of Vein. Where he meets his everfaithful friend Io and a human historian and huntsman Dr Bartholomew Oobleck. If only he knew just what he was in for when he finally woke up.

2. Initiation and Classes

"WAKE UP LAZY BONES!" A cheerful voice resounded throughout the room of sleeping room, causing many to stir from their own slumbers.

Jaune groaned as he peeked an eye open to see the cause of the commotion.

It was Nora.

"It's morning! It's morning! It's morning! It's! Morning!" The energetic orange haired girl sang as she bounced around poor Ren who was forced awake.

The poor teen was obviously the type who liked to sleep in during the morning. But he seemed used to the treatment by now as he sighed and sat up. Then went through his morning routine.

Jaune pitied the teen. He also liked to sleep in.

Unfortunately it wasn't really an option for any of them.

"《All first year student please grab your equipment and report to the Initiation launch site near the cliffs of the emerald forest.》" Glynda's voice came over the intercome, prompting several more groans from the other students.

Jaune sat up with a sigh before he began to pack up his sleeping bag. Once finished he made his way towards the locker room.

He made his way towards Trunk, opened it and began to don himself in his usual Mendicant Shawl. He then sifted through some of his other armor pieces, until he found what he was looking for.

He pulled out a pair of white and glowing warped finger gauntlets. They were something he came across while he was in Vein. They held the same ability as an Ogre-type Blood Veil, they could shift themselves into large claws at his command.

He also pulled out another blood veil, a stinger-type this time. The Silver Garb, a blood veil used primarily by knights that protected the Cathedral of Sacred Blood.

Now that he absorbed the power of the queen he no longer had to worry about weight or even frenzy, so he could wear as many Blood Veils as he wanted.

He swung the armored Trenchcoat over his body, before sealing the front and fastening down the chest armor piece. Once that was finished he returned his gas mask to its rightful spot on his lower face. He then pulled his Mendicant Shawl's hood over his head.

He inspected himself in a nearby mirror. The black hood contrasted nicely with the beautiful silver, white and red armor.

He returned his attention to his trunk, he would need to decide on his weaponry for the Initiation. He was bringing Executioner obviously, but he wanted a second weapon in his Rocket locker just in case he would need it. Luckily they were large enough to fit even his Greatswords in them.

After a few minutes of contemplation he decided something with some long-range would be best. He pulled out a large black rifle with a wicked looking blade attached to the tip of the barrel.

The weapon was a black version of Eva's The Libertador, simply called Black Bayonet. It was slightly heavier but that wouldn't really bother Jaune now.

He closed his Trunk and locked it again. Before he approached his personal Rocket Locker and placed Black Bayonet inside. After shutting the locker he synced his Scroll with the locker and was now ready to call it at any time.

Now completely ready he began to follow the rest of the students on their way out.

On his way he noticed Weiss talking to the red haired spartan girl he had seen yesterday.

He walked up to them.

"Good morning Weiss. Hope you slept well." Jaune said with a smile.

Weiss practically spun to face him, her face a healthy shade of pink.

"G-good morning Jaune! And yes I slept alright! Thank you." she stuttered as she struggled to maintain her stiff tone.

Jaune tilted his concealed head at her stutter, it was kinda cute if he was being honest.

"That's good. So uh who's your friend?" Jaune asked her, refering to the red haired spartan.

Weiss perked up.

"Oh Jaune this is Pyrrha Nikos!" Weiss introduced.

"Nice to meet you." The spartan said with a smile.

"Likewise, I'm Jaune" Jaune said with a nod.

"She's won the Mistral fighting tournament four years in a row! And was even featured on the popular, but extremely unhealthy cereal, Pumpkin Pete's." Weiss said with a puff of her chest, like what she had said were her own achievements.

Jaune blinked.

"Uh... that's cool... I guess..." Jaune said unsure, which made Pyrrha perk up and pay more attention to him.

Weiss was about to berate the Revenant but then remembered that he was from a secluded place hidden from the outside world.

"Oh right my apologies... I had forgotten you're not familiar with a lot of things..." Weiss apologized.

Jaune shrugged it off.

"Nah its fine. I never really paid attention to that kind of thing, sporting events, stage fights, that sort of thing. I find it pretty dumb to be honest. I mean seriously why go out and pay money to watch someone beat the crap out of the other when you could just go outside and watch some random guy beat the crap out of Grimm or other people for free. Better yet, be the one fighting." Jaune said.

Pyrrha blinked at the fact he called sporting events, some of which she had participated in, dumb. Normal people would have been offended but she felt... relief.

Weiss agreed with him somewhat, event like those were a touch annoying to have to sit through, except the Vytal festival.

"Anyways... Jaune... have you given throught about who you'd want on your team?" Pyrrha asked him.

Jaune thought about it for a bit.

"Well I would prefer someone I've already met, like Weiss or Ruby. At least then I have a grasp on how to work with them." Jaune said after a second.

Weiss flushed at the thought of being partnered with Jaune, but didn't say anything out of respect for Pyrrha.

Pyrrha nodded.

"I agree. Although I wouldn't mind being in a team with you." Pyrrha said with a smile.

"Yeah same to you too." Jaune said with a smile.

Weiss' eye twitched, she realized that she now had competition.

"Well I better get going. It was nice meeting you Pyrrha." Jaune said as he excused himself.

"You too Jaune!" Pyrrha called after him.

He gave a wave as he left, exiting the building.

---

Jaune and the rest of the students found themselves each standing on several small steel platforms.

Ozpin and Glynda stood off to the side as the former gave a speech about getting teammates and partners.

"The first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin said dropping a bombshell on them.

(*Crash!!!*)

Jaune looked around when he heard the sound of glass shattering, only to see Ruby with a look of despair on her face.

Apparently the sound was the shattering of Ruby's hope.

Jaune winced at that.

He kinda felt bad for Ruby, she had trouble meeting new people, so this would be hard for her.

Ozpin then went on to explain the mission plan of the Initiation. They would be descending into the Emerald forest and each team of two would need to find a single relic.

He did ask if they had questions but none did.

"Good now off you go." Ozpin said in a sly tone.

Starting from the opposite end of the platforms from where Jaune stood, students began to be ejected from their positions as their platforms rose like a catapult and sent them flying off into the forest.

He did a quick once over on his equipment, making sure everything was secured tightly to his person, especially his weapon...

Last time he had been flying through the air he had been impaled by his sword... sure he revived a few minutes later but it still hurt like a bitch.

He strapped Executioner to his back, temporarily.

He looked to his friends, Yang looked at him and winked, Ruby just smirked, Weiss had already been launched, Ren and Nora too. Blake looked almost bored as she was launched. Finally Pyrrha glanced at him and smiled before she was sent flying.

Next was his turn, he crouched low, palm on the platform, he planned to jump when the platform began to rise.

He was launched with a resounding "Boom!" as the force of his jump just barely broke the sound barrier for a brief instant.

He then found himself flying through the air above the forest. He flew a great deal of distance, before he began to plummet towards a large tree.

With a feral grin, that couldn't be seen through his gas mask, he activated the Stinger-type Blood veil he wore under his Mendicant Shawl.

The massive, segmented spear of a tail shot out at a thick branch of the tree, impaling it. Jaune's momentum continued as he swung below the impaled branch like his tail was a rope. As he swung towards the trunk of the tree he released his Stinger, launching himself at the trunk.

His used his warped gauntlet's ability to form the claw of an Ogre-type Blood Veil just as he reached the trunk, his claws dug into the wood, sending chips and bark splintering as he tore his way down the tree, leaving five distinctive gashed in the tree, that spiraled due to the momentum of his fall.

He released his claws from the wood once he was close enough to land on the ground safely.

He dropped the ground silently, before brushing some stray wood chips off his shoulder with a smirk, as he began to walk in the direction the others had been launched, Northeast.

After a few minutes of walking he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him, he whirled to face the sound, Executioner at the ready, only to relax when he saw the source.

A familiar Red haired spartan walked out of the bushes

"Hello again!" She chirped with a wave.

---

A few minutes prior-- 3rd PoV, Pyrrha PoV.

Pyrrha Nikos touched down on a large and immediately transformed her weapon, a Spear/Rifle/Xiphos combo, into its rifle form and scanned the skies for a certain Hooded man, of whom she wanted as her partner.

(*Thunk!*)

The tree she was on shook as something impacted a branch below her.

She peered down and was greeted by the sight of the very man she was looking for flying towards the trunk of the tree, his warped gauntlets glowed with a dark crimson and black gleam as they shifted into Claws!

She watched in facination as he tore apart the tree while descending the tree, before landing on the ground without any sound.

He looked around before he began to walk Northeast. She quickly dropped after him and began to follow him.

After a few minutes of walking she finally caught up to him and made her presence known by stepping out of the foliage she was in.

He whirled to face her, his beautiful yet wickedly curved silver and white blade at the ready.

He relaxed when he recognized her.

"Hello again!" she chirped with a smile.

---

Present time -- 3rd PoV, Normal PoV.

Jaune waved at Pyrrha as she approached.

"Hey Pyrrha! Guess we're partners now?" Jaune greeted.

Pyrrha smiled brightly at him.

"I guess so." she replied, inwardly excited.

Jaune and Pyrrha walked through the forest, they kept small talk to a minimum as they focused primarily on the environment around them.

They eventually came across a large opening in a mountain side, a cave.

In Jaune's experience... most of the things he needed to find were in caverns, so he suggested they search the cave. Pyrrha doubted him but nonetheless agreed.

Then walked into the dark, and Jaune looked around, being easily able to see in the dark. Unfortunately Pyrrha was not as fortunate.

"It's so dark. I can't see a thing." she told him.

"Oh ok hold on a sec." He fished into the pouch he had on the back of his waist, and pulled out a pair of Chemical Lights.

He struck them and the cave was bathed in a chemical green glow.

"Here ya go. I forget that not everyone can see in the dark like I can." Jaune sheepishly said as he passed her one of the Chem lights.

"I didn't know you could see in the dark?" Pyrrha said.

Jaune shrugged.

"Yeah most if not all the people where I came from could." Jaune said.

"Oh my. That's useful I bet." She said.

"Yeah it's pretty useful, especially when you're traversing in underground terrain like we are." He replied.

"Was that common where you're from?" Pyrrha asked him.

"Yeah pretty much. The entire city was interconnected by a series of caves and tunnels." Jaune explained.

"Oh my." She said.

"Yeah, it was a long walk just to get anywhere." He said.

Pyrrha could understand that somewhat, her own homeland of Mistral consisted of floating Islands above the main city. The Islands themselves were connected by long rope bridges made of thick bands of coiled steel wire.

Pyrrha was torn from her reminiscing when a small gust of warm air drifted past them.

"Jaune? Did you feel that?" She asked him with trepidation.

"Yeah... the air was warm..." Jaune said as he turned to the direction the wind came from.

His eyes picked up nothing but blackness, and something yellow floating in the air.

Jaune narrowed his eyes, he recognized the yellow object.

"We're not alone in here." Jaune said cautiously.

A red glowing pattern suddenly lit up the dark ahead of them.

Pyrrha's eyes widened as she realized what she saw.

"Deathstalker!" She hissed.

The large scorpion Grimm screeched at them and charged.

"We need to run!" Pyrrha shouted as she pulled Jaune along with her.

He was tempted to stand and fight, but decided to listen to Pyrrha for now.

They sprinted through the cave and burst forth from the entrance, quickly followed by the massive scorpion.

Jaune glanced back and his eyes widened.

"Holy shit! That thing is huge!! Way bigger than the ones I killed back in Vein!" he exclaimed.

Indeed it was. The scorpion Grimm was three times the size of a regular Deathstalker. It's bone carapace was heavy spike, like a porcupine. The barb of its tail was also studded with small but thick spikes. And it's claws were large and serrated.

Pyrrha glanced back as well and gasped.

"It's an Elder!" She said.

Jaune briefly remembered that Elders were the result of the Grimm living for several hundred years, surviving and learning from their experiences.

They weren't your run of the mill Grimm, they were smarter and had evolved to survive.

"Tch, dammit..." He cursed, wondering why Ozpin had let this Grimm live so long, and why the hell he would launch a bunch of children into the thing's territory!?

He and Pyrrha raced through the forest, heading in a seemingly random direction. When the broke through the treeline they saw a familiar group of students who gaped at them.

"Oh look it's Ruby, and the others... wait where's Weiss? I can sense she's near but where?" Jaune informed his partner.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Shrill screaming from a familiar voice came from above them.

Jaune looked up and blinked in surprise.

Weiss was hanging from the claw of a large Nevermore.

The Deathstalker seeing it's Prey was distracted swiped a claw at him and Pyrrha, sending them both flying towards the group, where they landed in a heap at their feet.

"Great! The gang's all here! Now we can die together!" Yang snarked.

"Eh it's not so bad when you get used to it." Jaune snickered as he stood.

They all rose a brow confused at what he meant.

"Uh guys..." Ren spoke.

"Yeah?" Jaune asked.

"She's falling..." Ren deadpanned.

"Oh! I got her." Jaune said as he looked up at the rapidly falling Weiss.

He widened his stance and prepared himself, just as she reached him.

(*Boom! Woosh!*)

The air and dirt gusted away from him as he caught the girl easily.

The dust cleared and they could see Jaune holding Weiss like a bride, which she flushed at.

"My hero..." she breathed at him, which made him dust pink slightly.

"You alright Weiss?" he asked the girl in his arms.

"I am now..." she said in a dreamy tone.

"Ahem! Alright Lovers break it up! Imminent Doom approaching remember!" Yang teased.

"L-l-l-lovers!? We're not! He-He's not!" Weiss denied flustered.

Jaune was slightly flushed at the comment, and let the girl down, much to her disappointment.

"She's right. We need to quickly grab out relics and get out of here!" Blake told them.

Jaune and Ruby agreed and they went and grabbed a relic, which were chess pieces. Ruby chose the white knight piece while Jaune chose the white Rook piece.

They glanced at each other and smiled.

Ruby put away her chess piece and faced the team.

"Alright everyone! We have to get back up thise cliffs!" Ruby said pointing up the cliffside near the Ruins.

They all nodded and walked past her.

Yang looked at her sister with pride as she saw how much her little sister had grown.

Blake noticed and asked her "What's up?"

Yang watched as Ruby stood on a nearby hill, her cape billowing behind her. Their friends ran past her as they made their way to the Ruined bridge.

Jaune stopped and fistbumped the girl, saying something that made her grin.

Yang smiled at her partner and said. "Nothing."

She took off towards the group, Blake watched her go and gave a small smile, before following.

The Deathstalker and the Nevermore noticed their attempts to escape and gave chase.

The Nevermore flew above them and cut off their escape route.

"Dammit! Guy's that thing has us cut off!" Jaune cursed as he told the rest of his friends.

"Same here!" Ren shouted as he dodged a sting from the massive scorpion's tail.

"Time to split up! We'll take the Nevermore! You guys get the Deathstalker!" Ruby told Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora.

They nodded as they dashed past each other, times slowed as Jaune passed Weiss and Ruby.

"Kick some ass." He told them, time resumed and a purple glow streaked from his eyes as he dashed at high speeds toward the Scorpion Grimm.

The Grimm noticed him and swiped at him with it's left claw. Jaune raised Executioner and stopped the offending limb in it's tracks.

Ren rushed past him and spun like a Buzz saw, cutting off several bone spikes on its back.

The creature hissed in annoyance as it swiped it's tail at the black haired teen, sending him flying into a stone pillar.

"Ren!" Nora shouted with worry, that quickly turned to anger as she rushed the right claw of the Scorpion, smacking it with her hammer, that released a concussive blast from a grenade upon impact.

Pyrrha wasn't idle as she took potshots at the Grimm's eyes.

Most of her shots bounced off the armored head, but one got through and pierced the right eye.

It screeched in pain and reared back.

Jaune grinned underneath his mask, his free hand sparked with red energy as he punched it in the face, stunning it more.

He activated his Stinger, much to the amazement of his present friends, and launched it at the large arachnid.

The spear like tail managed to cut a large opening into the spiked bone carapace.

The creature recovered and launched it's own stinger that the Revenant, who barely had time to block it with his Stinger.

"Pyrrha! Legs! Ren! Tail Barb!" Jaune barked out as he held the creatures tail at bay with his own.

They immediately understood his meaning and rushed to their friend's aid.

Pyrrha dashed past Jaune and unleashed a flurry of sword strikes at the thin legs of the creature.

It hissed at them, in pain, as it tried to rear back it's tail, only for Ren to leap onto it and shoot the connection between the barb and tail repeatedly, making it hang limply.

Jaune sent his Stinger at the limp barb and cut straight through it. It's weight made it fall directly into the opening Jaune had made in it's carapace.

"Nora! Hammer!" Jaune instructed.

She gave a mock salute and, with the help of Pyrrha, launched herself into the air, before falling down with a summersault before smashing her hammer directly onto the Barb.

The Barb was driven through it's body, but it still refused to die.

"It wasn't enough!!" Ren shouted to Jaune, who was already running towards the beast.

Red energy sparked in his hand as he punched the scorpion again, his superior strength stunned it once again.

The tails of Jaune's hood morphed into long vinelike growths and snaked their way into the Deathstalker's wound his eyes glowed a bright menacing purple for several seconds before Hundreds of massive blades exploded from the creature! Killing it instantly.

The newly deceased Grimm exploded into black mist, which soon dissipated in the wind.

Jaune's Vines quickly returned to their normal state and he dusted himself of some remaining black mist that had collected onto his Silver Garb.

He turned to his friends and gave them a thumbs up.

"Bug squashed! Great job everyone." he told them.

They gaped at him, still in shock over the fact he just impaled an Elder Grimm... from the inside!!

Nora was the first to snap out of her shock.

"That... was... Awesome!! How'd you do that!? What are those clothes!? How did they so all those things!?" Nora asked him as she bounced around him like she was on a sugar rush.

"Thanks! And they're called Blood Veils. It's a weapon developed by my People. They were made using research of a microscopic parasite Grimm." Jaune told them, giving the same explanation as the night before.

"Wait... so those things are... Grimm!?" Ren asked in horror and surprised.

"Technically yes... but also no. They're made using the Grimm that were bound inside the the synthetic aura conductive material that makes up the Blood Veil. They essentially became part of the material, and I use my Aura to stimulate the material, and activate its ability." Jaune half-truthed.

Ren seemed to understand and nodded, albeit hesitantly.

Nora however thought it was the coolest thing ever.

"So cool! What else can they do?!" Nora asked.

"Well... depends on the type of Blood Veil..." Jaune said.

"Huh? Type?" Nora asked him.

"Yeah there's four types of Veils. There's Ogre, which creates Claws, Stinger, which created that tail I used, Hounds, that one creates a pair of wolf heads that bite the enemy. The last one is the Ivy-Type, which you saw me used to finish the Grimm." Jaune listed for them.

"Oooh! Coool!" Nora cheered.

Jaune smiled at her excitement, as did Ren. Pyrrha seemed slightly put off by the fact he was literally wearing a Grimm but figured that as long as he was safe she didn't mind.

Jaune saw a flash of red from the cliff and turned just in time to see Ruby use her scythe to drage the Raven themed Grimm of the cliff-face before decapitating it as she reached the top.

"Holy shit..." Jaune breathed in amazement, he was joined by the others in his awe, as Ruby's cape billowed in the wind, rose petals scattering into the air.

---

"Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Brinzewing, Sky Lark. You four collected the black knight pieces. And are henceforth known as Team CRDL (Cardinal), led by Cardin Winchester." Ozpin announced as the four boys puffed their chests out in pride.

The crowd of students clapped for the new team as they left the stage.

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren. You four collected the White Rook pieces and shall Henceforth be known as Team JNPR (Juniper). Led by Jaune Arc." Ozpin announced.

Jaune blinked at that. "Led by? Me?" He muttered to himself.

Ozpin smiled at him. "Congratulations Young Man." He said.

Jaune lightly snorted at the "young" comment.

Pyrrha clapped him on the back, happy he was chosen as leader.

They vacated the stage and Ozpin began with the next team.

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long, you four have gathered the White Knight pieces, and shall henceforth be known as Team RWBY (Ruby) led by Ruby Rose." Ozpin announced.

Ruby gasped, Weiss looked shocked, Blake nodded, and Yang...

"Aw yeah! That's my baby sis!" Yang hugged Ruby who looked embarrassed.

"Yaaaaang! Not in front of the crowd!!" Ruby whined, which made the crowd laugh.

Jaune chuckled at the girl's embarrassment, alongside his team.

Ruby looked defeated as she glanced at him, but the smile that could be seen in Jaune's eyes made her smile in return.

---

The next morning Jaune and his new team set about unpacking their belongings, having claimed their beds the night before.

Jaune placed his Trunk against the wall, between it and his bed, which was the far right one from the door.

Pyrrha's was beside his, with Ren and Nora claiming the left two beds.

He sighed in satisfaction as he finished placing his trunk down, it would act as a nightstand for him. He placed a framed photo that he had brought with him from Vein.

The picture was one Davis had taken hours before they went to the governmental building to stop the Frenzied Silva.

He stood with his old friends from Vein, his arms were around Mia and Io, while Yakumo stood behind him, one of his hands were ruffling his hair as the man grinned a cocky smirk. Louis was smiling to the left of Io, Coco by his side. Jack and Eva stood on Mia's right, they could be seen holding hands in the photo. Murasame stood in front of Jaune as she was the shortest member of the group.

He stared at the photo and smiled in depressed nostalgia. He missed them everyday.

"Who are they?" Pyrrha asked from behind him.

He looked back and saw she was looking at the picture.

"Just some old friends..." Jaune said whimsically.

"Did they..." Pyrrha hesitated to finish her question, luckily she didn't have to.

"Die? Yes... all but one. The white haired girl beside me, Io. She's the only one left... currently she's at my house in Patch." Jaune ruefully smiled, which she couldn't see because he still wore his mask, he had also substituted the undershirt of his school uniform with a white hoodie that he wore beneath the blazer of the uniform.

The uniform policy wasn't strict, so they could customize their looks a bit. So long as they wore the blazer and Beacon's emblem then they were fine.

He had his hood down at the moment though, revealing his Sunny blonde Hair.

Pyrrha looked apologetic for asking but he shrugged it off.

"It's all good Pyr, you didn't know." Jaune said to her.

She nodded and was about to respond when a commotion resounded from the hall.

"We're gonna be late!! Run faster you Dolt!" the voice of Weiss cried out as they sprinted from their room.

Jaune and the others peeked their heads out and immediately realized they would be late too.

"Crap! Let's go!" Jaune cursed as he ran out of their room, followed by Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren, who closed the door.

They chased after team RWBY, and managed to barely make it to class a few minutes before the bell rang.

They took their seats, with Jaune sitting next to Ruby, who was now between Weiss and him. He waved to said Heiress, and she waved back, seeming slightly annoyed at something.

Class began with very little excitement from the students as the teacher, a large man named Peter Port. He rambled on with stories of his victories against Grimm of various types with various different strategies. Normally this would be fun, but he himself told the stories in a way that made it seem boring.

Jaune however noted that there were key pieces of information for the biology of certain Grimm, and weaknesses that he exploited during his fights.

He took notes based on those key parts. The board had a sketch of the very Grimm he was telling a story about, a Large reptilian Grimm called a Rex. It's arms were short and it's head was large, it had a spot on the base of its neck that wasn't covered in bone plating. Coincidentally that spot was in direct alignment with the heart of the creature.

Jaune copied the detailed sketch, and noted the weakness down. Suddenly he heard his name be called from beside him.

"Well done Mr Arc! You noticed the critical information I gave you! Well done! I would expect nothing less from the teaching assistant of the freshman class." Prof. Port said as he examined his notes.

"Uh thank you sir." Jaune said unsure, and wondering how the man had snuck up on him.

"Seeing as you are ahead of the rest of the class, why don't you go put on your gear and return here for a demonstration of your skills as a huntsman in training." Peter said, singling the Revenant out.

Jaune reluctantly agreed and stood before leaving the room to change.

He returned several minutes later in the same gear he'd worn during the Initiation, Executioner by his side, but this time his Black Bayonet was strapped to his back.

"My my! I knew you were a cut above the rest and your gear proves it, you look like an experienced Huntsman already young man." Port complimented, eying his weaponry.

Jaune nodded. "Thank you sir."

"No trouble at all young man! Now are you ready to begin?" Peter asked him as he stood near a trio of large cages two of which rattled violently.

Jauned blinked at the cages, wondering how the hell he hadn't noticed them before.

He nodded to the man, who then took his BlunderAxe and broke the locks of the two rattling cages.

The cage burst open to reveal a pair of small Grimm that looked like Velocaraptors.

The hissed maliciously as they scanned the room, before their eyes fell on Jaune.

They blinked at him, and he blinked back, then the Grimm did something that shocked everyone in the room, they willingly stepped back into their cages, terrified of the being before them.

Port blinked at them.

"That's... odd... When I went to capture them they were fierce little buggers, and they almost broke out of those cages just before class started..." Peter muttered, which made everyone look at him incredulously.

Peter then kicked the cage and forced them out, then turned the opening to the ground.

The creatures got one more look at Jaune and ran to cower behind the teacher, not even caring he was human.

Peter blinked again at the development.

"Um... it would seem the Velos are terrified of you Mr Arc..." Peter said confused.

Jaune blinked before he just leaned his Executioner against the wall behind him. He removed Black Bayonet and spun it with expert skill, he stopped spinning the weapon and it let out a (*click*) as it cocked itself.

"They should be." He said before he took at the space between Peter's legs, where the two Raptor Grimm shivered in fear.

(*Bang! Bang*)

The heads of the Grimm exploded as two small bullets of crimson energy tore through them.

Peter, to his credit, didn't even flinch. He just glanced at Jaune who now had the bladed rifle propped against his shoulder.

"And for good reason it seems..." Peter said in a serious tone.

Jaune's eyes had a faint violet glow to them, before it quickly faded away like it was never there.

The class was silent before Ruby and Nora cheered, breaking the silence.

"Yes well... please return to your seat Mr Arc." Peter said.

Jaune did as asked and returned to his place next to Ruby, who was going gaga over his Rifle, but not before picking up Executioner.

"As you can see by Mr Arc's stellar, if not a little unusual, performance. A true huntsman should be able to swiftly and accurately dispose of the Grimm, or they may try to go for Civilians. Now who else would like to give a demonstration of their skills as a huntsman." Peter asked, gesturing to the last cage.

Weiss, who was fed up with Ruby's constant chatter, immediately raised her hand.

"Ah! Ms Schnee! Very well! Come test your metal against some Grimm." Peter said with enthusiasm.

She passed by her leader and Jaune as she made her way to leave the room for her gear.

She returned quickly and held her Rapier, Myrtenaster, in ready stance for fencing.

Jaune was slightly reminded of the Blade Bearer, who wielded the sword Iceblood, because of her stance.

"Go on Weiss! Represent team RWBY!" Ruby cheered as she and the rest of her team held up tiny flags with Weiss' face on them.

Jaune blinked. Where did they even make those? And where did they come from!?

He shook his head and returned to watching Weiss.

Port had just released a Boarbatusk Grimm from the cage. It huffed and glared at Weiss.

"Come on Weiss! Show it who's Boss!" Ruby cheered.

"Ruby! I'm trying to focus!" Weiss snapped at the girl.

Ruby wilted and said in a slightly depressed tone, "Oh... sorry..."

Jaune noticed the change and looked at Weiss, then back at Ruby. He immediately understood the situation. Weiss was jealous that Ruby was chosen as team leader instead of her. And couldn't honestly express it without coming off as entitled.

Jaune wanted to help out, but knew they would be able to sort things out eventually.

Weiss used her glyphs to get closer to the Grimm, where she struck at the Boarbatusk, only for her weapon to bounce off completely.

"She needs to go for the belly... there's no armor there..." Jaune muttered, and Ruby heard him.

"Go for it's belly! There isn't any armor there!!" Ruby told her.

"Stop telling me what to do!" Weiss shouted at her, the Grimm capitalized on her distraction and rushed her, knocking her blade from her grip.

"Haha! Now what will you do without your weapon?" Peter asked flamboyantly.

Weiss managed to dodge the boar and used a glyph to knock it onto its back, where it struggled to get up.

Weiss ceased her opportunity to reclaim her weapon, before launching herself at the Boarbatusk as it struggled. She buried her Rapier into it's black flesh, silencing it.

"Well done Ms Schnee! An excellent performance!" Peter applauded her as she panted on the floor.

(*Brrrring!*)

The bell for the end of class rang and the student began to pack up their things.

"That was a good first day students! Class dismissed." Peter said before exiting the room.

Ruby went up to Weiss.

"Weiss! Are you alright!? Did you get hurt?!" Ruby rapidly questioned.

"Grrr! Just stop it! I've had enough of your childish antics!" Weiss snapped at her.

"What but-"

"But nothing! You've done nothing to earn your position! All you've done is be a Nuisance! I can't work with a team led by a Child! Ozpin made a mistake!" Weiss spat as she stormed out of the room.

"Sheesh! What's with her?" Nora questioned.

Jaune just shook his head.

---

The rest of classes passed and they all returned to their dorms. Jaune noticed that Weiss was not with team RWBY as they entered.

He told his friends he would join them in a bit and waited outside the dorm room, for Weiss.

Several hours passed and Jaune had given up on talking to Weiss. He went into his room to see his friends all sleeping soundly.

He smiled at them.

Suddenly he heard the door across them open and then close, Weiss had returned to her dorm.

Jaune's eye twitched, he had wasted all that time to try to talk to Weiss, but the moment he gives up she shows up!

He heard the door open again and through the door he heard Weiss speak.

"I may not be the leader of the team... but I promise you... I will be the best partner you will ever have."

Jaune smiled at her words, seems someone already set her straight.

He then heard door close, then reopen.

"Also... I always wanted bunkbeds as a kid..." Weiss said before closing the door again.

Jaune opened his door just in time to see her sigh with relief.

"Finally expressing yourself?" He asked.

Weiss whirled around to face him, her cheek pink.

"Y-yeah... I got some good advice..." Weiss said.

"That's good. I was gonna talk to you about this but I guess I'm not needed." Jaune said with a shrug.

Weiss had a lightbulb go off in her head as she realized this was a moment to spend some time alone with Jaune.

"Well... I was going to go make some coffee for Ruby, she's doing some late night studying." Weiss said with a little pride.

"My my! How thoughtful!" Jaune teased.

Weiss didn't seem to pick up his teasing and just nodded.

"Would you like to join me while I go?" Weiss asked.

He thought about it, before ultimately agreeing.

"Yeah sure. Why not. I haven't had Coffee in a while." Jaune said.

Weiss looked happy he accepted before she quickly calmed herself.

She led him down the hallway to the dorm's Cafe. Where she quickly made herself, Ruby and Jaune, a cup of coffee.

They talked on the way to the cafe and even more on the way back. Jaune learned that she had two siblings, an older sister, and a younger brother.

The way she talked about her sister jogged an old memory of his. Of a younger Jaune playing in a house of seven older sisters.

She asked him of his family. And he told her that he used to have seven older sister, which she gawked at. He didn't tell her what had happened to them, for fear of spoiling the mood, and because the Memory hurt so much to remember.

He really didn't want to remember the day they were all devoured by those Horrors, which led him to becoming a Revenant in the first place.

Weiss and Jaune arrived at their rooms and soon parted ways for the night.

Jaune settled into his bed with a sigh, he had dislodged the memories of his youth... and knew he wouldn't be getting a decent night's sleep that night.

Jaune layed down and soon fell into a fitful slumber.

---

The next few months passed and one day he woke earlier than normal, by nearly two hours.

He groaned as he sat and rubbed his face, to clear the sleep from his eyes, and to suppress the memories that had arisen as nightmares.

He stood with a quiet sigh and silently moved to their shared bathroom.

"Might as well shower..." he thought to himself.

He stripped naked and turned on the shower, once the water was up to his preferred temperature he stepped in and faced the showerhead. He closed his eyes and just let the water pound the skin of his face. He let out a sigh of content as he allowed himself to relax.

(*Cla-click, Creeeeeak!*)

Jaune spun as he heard the bathroom door open. A drowsy Pyrrha rubbed her eyes as she walked into the bathroom, once the sleep was sufficiently removed she looked up and froze.

One thing about the shower you readers need to know... their shower had no curtains or any door to block the one showering from view.

So there Pyrrha was frozen as her eyes took in his physic, starting from his matted wet sunlight hair that had several of his bangs fall onto the bridge of his nose and around his eyes.

His Cerulean eyes blinked at her in slight surprise, before her gaze roamed to his neckline, before to his broad, muscled shoulders, to his strong arms and prominent pectoral muscles.

Her face got more and more red as her eyes roamed over the scars on his body, before taking in his chisled abs.

Pyrrha gulped at the sight of them, before her gaze went lower and she nearly had a nosebleed.

"Uh... Pyrrha? You ok?" Jaune asked her confused.

"I-I I-I'm sorry!!!" Pyrrha exclaimed as she retreated and slammed the door shut.

Jaune blinked at her reaction.

"What was that about?" Jaune muttered to himself as he continued with his shower.

He didn't know that being around someone when their naked wasn't a normal human thing. It was only Revenant mindset.

Once Jaune finished showering he turned off the water and wrapped his waist in his towel before walking out into his room.

Only to pause midstep as he saw the rest of his friend gathered in his room, both team RWBY and the remaining JNPR members.

They stopped in their conversation with a very red faced Pyrrha and faced him.

They all, except for Ren, who had already seen him naked, and Nora, for obvious reasons (ahem Renora ftw ahem), began to turn a bright red, especially Weiss and Ruby.

"Wa-Wa-wa-wa-" Weiss sputtered at him her face the same shade as Pyrrha's hair.

"Wooo! Looking good lover boy!" Yang purred as she practically licked his body using her eyes.

Blake had a small nosebleed as she gave him a thumbs up. "Best day ever." she said.

"Eeep!" Ruby squeaked as she covered her eyes with her hands, but could be seen peeking through her fingers.

"Wa-Wa-wa... Why aren't you wearing clothes!!?" Weiss shouted finally finding her words.

"Uh... cause I just took a shower?" Jaune stated.

"Then why didn't you put on clothes afterwards!?" Weiss exclaimed.

"Cause my fresh pair of clothes are out here?" Jaune hesitantly asked, completely confused.

Weiss sighed in frustration.

"What's the problem? I don't understand what you're so upset about. It's just my body." Jaune asked confused.

They all paused and looked at him, they could see the genuine confusion in his eyes.

"Jaune... do you not understand that your body should be kept private?" Ren asked.

"What? Private?" Jaune asked confused.

"Yes Private! As in no one but you should see it, ... or your significant other." Weiss said.

Jaune blinked at that.

"Uh... Oh! You mean having a sense of shame! Yeah we never did that in Vein." Jaune said as he punched his palm lightly.

"Huh?" Weiss asked dumbly.

"Yeah we never needed it, it's dumb, we just didn't feel the need to hide our bodies in anyway. Heck my old home had a hotspring in the back and everyone would gather there and we would just relax." Jaune said.

"... you at least wore swim wear when there were ladies present? ... Right?" Weiss dreaded his answer.

Jaune looked at her like she grew a second head.

"Swim what?" Jaune asked incredulously.

Weiss sighed as she got her answer.

"Wait wait wait! You're telling us that you have bathed with a bunch of women?!" Yang asked in... amazement?... jealousy?... both? Both.

"And men." Jaune chimed.

"How many women have you seen naked?!" Ruby asked in slight horror.

Jaune thought about it for a second.

"Well... there was Io... Murasame, Coco, Eva, Mia, Karen, Emily, Sophie, Aurora... and I think that's it..." Jaune listed off the top of his head.

Meanwhile Pyrrha looked at his photo and saw some of the ones he had listed were in the picture, she also noted a large number of those listed weren't in the picture.

She noted that they were all highly attractive women. And suddenly felt defeated.

The rest of the female cast suddenly felt a little vindicated, except Yang and Nora.

"So you wouldn't mind showering with me then~?" Yang said in a sensual tone.

Jaune didn't notice the tone shift and just shrugged, "Yeah sure. Just not now obviously, cause I already showered."

They blinked as they remembered Jaune's state of dress.

"Go put on some clothes!!" Weiss ordered.

"Or don't. Better yet just get rid of the towel." Yang teased.

Jaune didn't noticed and just stood up and went to his trunk, opening it and pulling out fresh uniforms.

He decided it would be best not to change in front of them, seeing as they seemed to be adamant about him showing a sense of shame. So he went back into the bathroom to change, returning in his uniform with the hoodie underneath the blazer.

They all sighed in relief when he returned, except for Yang who looked visibly disappointed. Although there was a decently sized part of them that wished he had said fuck it and changed in front of him.

He then attached his mask to his face and pulled his hood up.

"Ok let's see... today we have, history with Dr. Oobleck as our first period, then Grimm studies with Professor Port, then Dust Alchemy and then Nature studies with Professor Peach, then after lunch we have combat class for the remainder of the day. And I get the pleasure of being Madame Goodwitch's assistant, during class... again." Jaune listed off once he was completely prepared.

"Yeah same here." Ruby said, her teammates nodding.

"Alright, since we're already ready... might as well be early. If you're on time you're late, and if your early you're on time." Jaune said, using a motto from his time as a Revenant Soldier under Silva.

Weiss seemed to agree with the sentiment, as did Ren and Pyrrha.

"That was... very Militaristic of you Jaune." Weiss said.

"Eh it's just a motto from Vein, I was a soldier in the Fenrir army under an old commander and father figure to me, Silva, the previous king of Vein, before he was known as a King." Jaune said with a shrug

"Ooh! You had a king?!" Nora asked.

"Yeah until he Frenzied due to the Parasitic Grimm in his body." Jaune said.

"What happened to him afterwards?" Ren asked.

Jaune looked at Ren and spoke. "I killed him."

"Oh..." Ren uttered.

"He deserved to rest, he had lived a life of horror and loss, like most of us. But unlike us... he was forced to fight against his own daughter... who Frenzied and became a being we called the Queen... I killed her too, and nearly Frenzied myself... Jack stabbed me to end me while I was still me... but Cruz... the Queen, used what remained of her control to save my life, but it cost me my old Semblance." He told them an abridged version of the Queenslayer operation.

"Wait what did you mean old Semblance?" Weiss asked.

"My Semblance was tied to my heart, which was destroyed when Jack stabbed me. When I was healed by Cruz she managed to restore my heart, but my Semblance wasn't the same anymore, it was different slightly." Jaune said.

"What was your old semblance?" Ruby asked curiously.

"It allowed me to... essentially disperse my physical body whenever I get killed and come back to life, so long as my heart wasn't destroyed, it was actually a fairly common semblance in Vein."Jaune explained, passing off his Revenant status as a Semblance.

Their faces took on a look of shock.

Yang suddenly remembered what he had said during the Initiation.

"That's what you meant by 'not so bad once you get used to it'!!" Yang exclaimed.

Jaune nodded at her.

"So you could essentially die and comback to life!?" Weiss shouted.

"Eeeeeyup." Jaune said.

"But you can't do that now?" Ruby asked.

"Hm? Oh no I can still do that, it's just my Semblance had changed into a Semblance that can copy other's... so long as I consume a sample of blood from a willing donor, with the intent to pass on their Semblance, or if I absorb something called a Vestige. Basically a unique type of dust that steals memories from those who come in contact with them. It's only found in Vein, and are highly dangerous." Jaune explained.

Weiss gaped at the man who claimed to be able to copy Semblances.

"I've never heard of such a thing!?" Weiss said, and her teammates couldn't help but agree.

Jaune used Shifting Hollow to appear behind her, then he created a spike made of Ice and just had it hover in the air.

"That was a Semblance called Shifting Hollow, it basically dematerializes my body and allows me to teleport in a short range, it can even be used to avoid attacks by completly phasing through them. It's just like Ruby's own Semblance." Jaune said.

Ruby looked confused.

"Uuuh... What? Jaune... my Semblance only makes me move really fast..." Ruby said.

Jaune rose a brow at her.

"Then... why does your body completely turn into rose petals whenever you use your semblance? Ruby my eyes can track speeds up to Mach 6... but you when you use your Semblance don't just move fast, but you completely vanish and only rose petals remain." Jaune deadpanned at her.

"I... I never noticed?" Ruby said hesitantly.

"Exactly... Ruby your Semblance ignores the concept of mass, you're deconstructing your molecules and changing the order they go into a form at can easily move through space around you. You're essentially teleporting with a trail of roses left behind you." Jaune explained.

Ruby's head spun as his explanation, but she internally felt like something had clicked for her.

Yang gaped at his explanation, as did Weiss and the rest, however Blake took on a teasing look.

"Did he just figure that out before you did." Blake teased, earning a high-five from Yang.

Ruby's eye twitched but chose not to say anything. Instead she asked a question to Jaune.

"So... is there a way for me to use it without getting as tired or as much aura?" She asked.

"Well... boosting your aura reserves would greatly improve your ability to use it long term, but it would be best if you learned how to use it like Shifting Hollow, dispersing your body, phase through any attacks, before reforming your body directly near your enemy. You can use that moment to gain the element of surprise to deal a critical blow to them. I'll show you what I mean during combat class. For demonstration purposes I'll use my own scythe based weapon during that fight." Jaune said, that immediately gained Ruby's attention.

"You have a Scythe!?" Ruby squealed.

"Yeah, I got it from a Frenzied Assassin I fought." Jaune said.

"Can I see! Pleeeeeeease!?" Ruby pleaded, extremely close to Jaune now.

Jaune relented when she gave him the puppy dog eyes, and went to his trunk.

He opened and pulled out the Assassin's Sickle, a scythe that had the curved blade positioned vertically and not horizontally.

Ruby sped past him when he turned around, swiping the scythe from his hands as she passed.

Jaune turned around to see Ruby examining the haunting yet beautiful weapon.

"It this... made of some kind of crystal?" She asked him.

"Yes and now... the original wielder had a Semblance that could control water, she created the weapon herself, she made it with water dust and a crystalline metal only found in Vein." Jaune lied, it was actually made with a shard of the Queen's thorns and tempered in blood from its previous owner, who could in fact control water.

Ruby oohed at the weapon and gazed into the weapon, for a second Ruby thought she saw the face of a woman with long hair in a twin tailed style, she blinked and the face was gone.

She handed the blade back to Jaune, reluctant to return the weapon.

He took the weapon gratefully, and skillfully spun it like a baton. He would be taking it to the locker room before first period.

Speaking of...

"We better get going. Don't wanna be late to class." Jaune said as he opened the door for them.

They all agreed and walked past him i to the hallway.

"I'll meet you all there, gonna put this in my locker." Jaune said, gesturing to his scythe.

They went their separate ways, with Jaune going to the locker room.

Along the way he came across a certain brown haired teen picking on a certain Rabbit faunus. Jaune recognized her as Velvet Scarletina, member of team Coffee and his fellow TA for the second year class.

As Jaune got closer he could see that the bully, Cardin Winchester, was flicking her ears.

"Ow! Stop it! That hurts!" She winced with each flick.

Cardin just laughed at her and continued to flick her ears.

Jaune narrowed his eyes, which glowed their usual violet.

Jaune quietly walked up to the teen, towering over him by nearly a head.

Velvet saw him and her eyes widened.

"She said to stop Winchester." Jaune grit out.

"What? Who the... hell..." Cardin spun to face him, but paled when he saw exactly who he was dealing with.

Cardin and Jaune had sparred a few times, and the last one resulted in Jaune nearly shooting his balls off because he made sexual comments towards Pyrrha and Nora.

"Get lost." Jaune growled.

Cardin's pride flared and he responded with "Why don't you make me Jauney Boy!?"

He was rewarded by a scythe blade to his throat. He flinched and looked up at Jaune, who's glowing eyes held nothing but Icy contempt that would have made any Schnee look like warm and welcoming people.

"How about another spar... in combat class. We can settle this there." Jaune asked, but it wasn't meant as a question.

Cardin realized he was fucked, but his pride refused to allow him to back down.

"You're on Jauney Boy! I'll teach you a lesson first, then this Animal!" Cardin gloated before walking off.

Jaune glared his glacial stare of glowing violet as he watched the Bully leave.

His eyes returned to normal and he sighed in frustration before he turned to face Velvet.

"You ok?" he asked her softly.

She nodded.

"Yes I am... thank you." She said, her voice had an accent, one Jaune knew from his days as a human, Australian.

"No problem, I hate people like that, especially if they bully girls with cute ears." Jaune said.

Velvet went slightly pink at the comment.

"Anyways I better get going, I have to put this in my locker for combat class later." Jaune said with a wave as he walked away.

"Oh uh... see you later then!" Velvet called after him.

---

Jaune arrived in class 20 minutes before the class began.

He couldn't sit with his most of his friends, due to Oobleck's rule that male and female students would sit separately. It only applied during his class period though.

Jaune sat in the front of the room, Cardin kept throwing things at his head to antagonize him. And he was about ready to put the bully in his place.

Jaune growled in annoyance, and Oobleck noticed his frustration.

"Mr Arc! Could you tell us what advantage the faunus had that made the General's nighttime assassination fail?" Oobleck asked him.

Jaune stood and looked back at Cardin menacingly.

"There are a number of reasons, why he was doomed to fail. Low morale from exhausted troops who couldn't even catch a break in the terrain. The fact that they thought faunus soldiers wouldn't have some form of night watch. But the answer you're looking for is Nightvision. The General thought it was smart to sneak up onto the Faunus at night where they had home field advantage, and the advantage of sight! If he had thought a little harder, maybe he wouldn't have been slaughtered like a Pig before a Lion." Jaune answered, sending a subtle threat towards Cardin, who scoffed.

Oobleck nodded in complete satisfaction.

"Well done Mr. Arc! I am happy to see you have indeed studied." Oobleck said, in truth Oobleck had taught Jaune a lot of this already, before Beacon. He was hinting that he was glad he remembered what he had been taught by the Doctor.

Jaune nodded and returned to sitting in his chair.

"Personally Professor-"

"Doctor!"

"I think it was because it's easier to train an animal than a person." Cardin arrogantly spoke up.

Jaune clenched his fist.

"You're not the most open minded person are you Cardin." Pyrrha spoke before Kaune could do anything to the bully.

Cardin stood up abruptly.

"You picking a fight with me girly?!" He goaded.

"There's no need for that Winchester... remember I'll be... dealing with you in combat class." Jaune said, his eyes returning to that same glacial stare.

Cardin gained a nervous look in his eye.

Weiss looked at Jaune, he had been acting a little off ever since their conversation a few months ago. He was still the same kind Jaune they loved, but whenever he noticed someone he deemed a threat, or he just didn't like, he would gain a cold look that made even herself shiver. It was usually reserved for Cardin and his team, but there were a few times she noticed it during combat class, when he would take his turn on the simulator.

She had brought it up with her Team and the members of NPR. But even they didn't know. Well that wasn't entirely true. They said that they noticed that he seemed to have nightmares every night. He was quiet about it but they had noticed when one of them randomly woke up to him jolting into a sitting position from a fitful slumber.

That had actually been what they had been talking about that morning.

Weiss would talk to him later, this all started that night they had talked, something had happened then that made Jaune start having nightmares.

Wait didn't Jaune say he had seven sisters? But he was the only one besides that Io girl... then what happened to his sisters?

Weiss' eyes went wide and she quickly whipped out her scroll.

She sent a text to her team.

'I think I know what might be wrong with Jaune, and why he's been having nightmares.'

They felt their scrolls silently buzz, and glanced at them.

Ruby looked at Weiss confused.

'What?' she texted her.

'?' Yang sent.

'Jaune told me that he had seven sisters.' Weiss informed them.

'Yeesh, that's enough to give anyone nightmare." Yang joked.

'No you dunce! Think about it! If Jaune and that Io girl were the only survivors of Vein...' Weiss texted with a glare at the blonde girl.

Weiss could see realization dawning in their eyes.

'then what happened to his sisters...' Blake texted.

'and his parents!' Ruby added.

They stopped texting after that, a somber mood fell over them, which drew worried looks from Jaune.

He wondered if they were alright, ever the altruist.

Jaune faced forward and listened to the remainder of Oobleck's lecture.

---

Classes went by in a flash, Grimm Studies was the same as always, Dust Alchemy basically taught them about dust mixtures and their effects. Nature Studies taught about useful and harmful plants and animal that can be found in nature. Finally it was now time for combat class, which would last for the remaining 6 hours of the day.

Jaune dressed into his usual combat armor, Silver Gear, Mendicant Shawl, and the warped Ogre Gauntlets.

He had strapped Executioner to his back and grabbed his Assassin's Sickle before he came to class.

His new weapon drew the attention of other students as he approached his team and RWBY.

"Alright Rubes you ready to see what I was talking about this morning?" Jaune asked.

Ruby nodded a grin on her face, she was excited to see more of Jaune in action. He smiled at her excitement.

"Cool, now to talk to Madame Goodwitch." Jaune said as he walked away.

He approached the woman and greeted her.

"Good afternoon Madame Goodwitch."

"Ah yes. Good afternoon Mr Arc. What do you need?" She asked him.

"Caught Cardin at his usual antics. I plan to teach him a lesson again with a spar." Jaune informed.

She sighed, "Was it that Scarletina girl again?"

Jaune nodded.

She sighed again.

"I don't know what Ozpin was thinking letting that boy into this school and I don"t care if he is a councilman's son. He makes the faunus students feel unsafe with all his racist comments about them." Glynda told him.

Jaune nodded. "I've noticed. He's been trying to go after me too, but I keep scaring him away."

Goodwitch nodded.

"And you wish to challenge Mr Winchester?" She asked.

Jaune nodded and said. "I already did. And he accepted."

"Very well. You two will be our first match for the day." She said.

"Thank you Madame. Oh and I will be displaying something for Ruby, it should help her with her Semblance." Jaune said.

She nodded and they parted ways.

Jaune returned to his friend and waited.

Glynda stood on the arena stage and began to speak.

"Good afternoon class. We shall begin here shortly, our first match of the day will be Cardin Winchester... and Jaune Arc." Glynda announced.

The class began to snicker, they knew Cardin was about to be destroyed.

"Will the fighters please join me in the arena." She instructed.

As Jaune passed Ruby he told her to get a front row seat.

He and Cardin stepped onto the Arena stage and stood before Glynda.

"Now the rules of this fight will be tournament style, meaning the first aura to drop into the red will be disqualified, alternatively if you get knocked out to the ring you are disqualified. Understood?" She informed them.

They nodded.

"Good now take your positions in the ring." She ordered.

Jaune's gaze went cold as he took his position opposite from Cardin, who sneered at him.

"You may begin at anytime." She said.

Cardin took the chance to begin his usual trash talk.

"This won't be like the last times Jauney Boy! I got a secret weapon this time!" Cardin mocked.

"Is it more Explosion dust?" Jaune taunted.

"No! And I'm not telling you! You're gonna experience it for yourself!" Cardin denied angrily.

Jaune shrugged.

"Well whatever. Doesn't matter." Jaune said coldly.

Cardin growled and charged at him. As he approached he took a heavy swing of his mace at Jaune.

Jaune lifted his Sickle and with ease blocked the attack, before retaliating with a spin if his weapon that forced the mace to the concrete, followed by the butt of his weapon smacking the teen in the face.

"Gah! Fucking Hell!" Cardin cursed as he held his nose, it wasn't broken, but it was close.

Jaune then launched a kick at Cardin, sending him flying.

Cardin tumbled to the ground and managed to right himself, only to look up and see Jaune appear in front of him in a flurry of crimson energy and ash.

"What?!" Cardin exclaimed as he barely managed to block a strike for Jaune's Sickle.

Jaune vanished in another swirl of Crimson and Ash, before reappearing behind Cardin. The Revenant sent another strike of his Sickle which Cardin barely ducked.

From his low position Cardin swung upwards at Jaune, who blocked it.

Suddenly Cardin's mace began to glow an electric blue as it sparked with Lightning dust.

The sparks of electricity coursed through Jaune's weapon, and actually shocked him but not enough to do anything to him.

However Jaune wanted to see what Cardin had planned, and pretended to be stunned.

Cardin stood to his full height and smirked at him.

"Ha! Not so high and mighty now eh Jauney boy!?" Cardin mocked, before taking a swing of his mace towards the 'stunned' Jaune.

Jaune rolled his eyes and decided to stop pretending. He used Vanishing Hollow, an advanced version of Shifting Hollow, to phase through the attack and reappeared above Cardin. He then swung his Sickle downwards smashing the blade directly into Cardin's aura, completely stunning him and taking out a huge chunk of his Aura.

Cardin stumbled to his feet his head lightly concussed from the impact with the floor.

He was suddenly punched by a fist covered in red sparking energy.

Jaune dropped his Sickle and his now free hand shifted into an Ogre Claw. Cardin looked at the sharp organic blades that made up the claws and felt afraid.

Jaune's eyes glowed violet as he swung the claw at Cardin, completely shattering what remained of his Aura, and sending him flying out of the arena.

Jaune's arm returned to normal as he retrieved his weapon and approached the stage's edge where Cardin fell.

He looked at the downed teen, who gazed at him like he was a monster. His armor was torn to shreds, his claw having cleaved through it like paper. He had made sure not to draw blood from the bully.

"I'm only gonna say this once Cardin... lay off the Faunus.Or you'll answer to me, and next time I won't hold back as much." Jaune coldly stated, before walking away towards the stands, but instead of going up the stairs he just Shifted to where Ruby was.

He appeared crouched on top of the wall that separates then stands from the arena.

"Did you see what I did?" Jaune asked the girl who gaped at him.

She nodded dumbly at him, she had witnessed the weapon completely pass through him before he reappeared as a solid mass above Jaune, the way he did that reminded her of Blake's substitution Semblance.

"Good, try seeing if you can replicate that. It should help you in the long run. Remember, short bursts, or you'll get tired faster." He told her.

She nodded at his advice and resolved to practice what he had shown her.

Jaune shifted again suddenly and reappeared next to her this time.

"Alright then. Oh and be sure to update your records for your Semblance." Jaune told her.

"I will." She said.

"Good." Jaune nodded

---

The first two hours of combat class passed and each student had their chance to fight at least once.

Afterwards they all got into their teams and were instantly to use the combat simulator. They were given a simulation that had objectives they needed to complete.

JNPR was assigned a joint simulation with Team RWBY. It was a horde survival simulation, they would have to fight through several waves of various Grimm created from the simulator. And to protect computer generated Civilians they needed to protect.

The two teams talked over several strategies and agreed that one team would be on standby and every five waves they would trade out so the other team could rest up. However those with ranged weapons would lend fire support during their rest period.

This condition prompted Jaune to go switch his Sickle out witb his Black Bayonet, much to Ruby's slight disappointment.

Jaune and Ruby did a quick game of Rock Paper Scissors to decide what team would be first, winner goes first. Ruby won.

Jaune and his team sat in their simultated base, a dilapidated town hall. They could hear RWBY fighting in the ice covered courtyard outside.

They were on their fourth wave, one more and it would be JNPR's turn. Pyrrha and Nora we positioned in the windows on either side of the door, the former sniped at some of the Grimm that got past RWBY. Nora on the other hand would launch a grenade to thin the horde to a manageable level for RWBY.

And the few Grimm that managed to slip past the two Jaune would handle himself.

Ren was with the Civilians, keeping them calm and protected.

Jaune idly shot a stray Creep Grimm that had managed to sneak by his teammates.

Suddenly he heard Ruby's voice call out "Switch!"

That was their cue to cover RWBY and switch out with them.

"Ren!" Jaune shouted back into the room where the Civilians were huddled.

Ren sprinted out of the room and out the door, Pyrrha and Nora leaped through their windows and began to cover the retreating RWBY.

Jaune joined his team, clapping his hand to Ruby's as they passed each other.

"Alright team. Let's kick some ass." Jaune said as he drew Executioner from his back, replacing it with his Bayonet.

His teamed shouted their agreement and attacked the Grimm.

Nora smashed several of the Grimm with her hammer, detonating a grenade that killed them.

Ren weaved through the horde slicing through Grimm with his Storm flowers.

Pyrrha decimated the Grimm she faced with a flurry of rapid shifting from her weapon. A spear thrust became a sword slice before shifting into her rifle and blew the head off any Grimm unfortunate enough to be her target.

Jaune himself fought like a literal demon. His Executioner cleaved through Grimm after Grimm as he Shifted to each of his prey. He had taken to keeping the tail of his Silver Garb active using it to impale several Grimm if they got too far away.

His Left hand's claw was active as well. Any Grimm his sword missed would be simultaneously torn to shreds.

He would occasionally change his hand back to be able to use Flames of Rage at the occasional large Grimm.

Flames of Rage was a skill he had learned from Murasame, it was a trap type Gift. He would through a small amount of fire at his enemies and the fire would expand into a ring that exploded whenever they would enter it.

It lasted for only a few seconds but that was more than enough time for a stray Grimm to burst into flames.

Jaune skewered a series of beowolves with his Stinger, killing them instantly.

Five waves were up.

"Switch!" Jaune shouted to RWBY, who burst from the building and began to cover them as they retreated to the computer generated building.

Once inside they retook their positions from earlier.

This would make it the... nineth time they had switched. Meaning this was their 40th wave, and RWBY was handling the 41st-45th waves. Their simultation would end at the 50 wave mark.

The teams had decided prior to beginning that when the last five waves hit they would join forces to exterminate the remaining Grimm.

Several minutes passed and Jaune soon heard Ruby's voice again.

"45!!" She shouted.

"Alright team! Final stretch! Let's go!" Jaune told them as he charged out.

They split up and joined with the rest of RWBY, pairing up.

Pyrrha joined up with Weiss, shield raised as she speared a Grimm.

Ren joined with Blake and they began to hack through the monsters with ease.

Nora joined up with Yang and together and wreaked utter havoc upon any unfortunate Grimm.

Jaune himself stood back to back with Ruby. They glanced at each other and nodded.

Ruby smirked and spun her scythe, taking out a Beowolf. Meanwhile Jaune split a Beowolf of his own. Time slowed around them as they released their grips on their respective weapons. Ruby lashed out and caught Executioner, while Jaune caught Crescent Rose.

Ruby used Jaune's blade to cleave through Grimm at high speeds.

Jaune himself scythed through Grimm after Grimm at equal speeds.

They kept rotating in a Circle as they cleared a small clearing free of Grimm around them.

They repeatedly would switch weapons around as they fought. Showing a level of teamwork that could only be obtained through absolute trust. Had they been paired together instead of their current pairs, they could have easily become the top pair in the school.

Jaune blocked a stray claw of an Ursa that nearly hit Ruby with his Stinger, before decapitating it with Executioner, which he held in that time.

Ruby herself used the crook of her scythe to remove an arm from a Beowolf as it attacked Jaune, before blasting it's head off.

The Grimm Horde began to thin as they approached the end of the 50th wave.

The simulation ended once the last of the Grimm had been eradicated.

Ruby and Jaune panted as they leaned against each other for support.

The simulation deactivated and the arena came into view.

The rest of the class was silent in stunned amazement at their victory.

"Well done teams RWBY and JNPR! I haven't seen this particular simulation be cleared since Team STRQ and my own former Team's participation. And the teamwork you displayed during the final five waves, was extraordinary! For an instant I thought I was looking at teams of fully graduated huntsman and huntresses. Mr Arc and Ms Rose, your display of effortless teamwork and absolute trust was nothing short of Inspirational! The last time I saw such a sight was between Summer Rose and Qrow Branwen." Glynda praised.

Ruby flushed at being compared to her mother and uncle, while Jaune, who didn't know who they were, just nodded.

"Thank you Madame Goodwitch." he said.

"You're welcome. Now please return to your seats." Glynda asked them

They did so and both teams sat in a group in the stands.

Glynda called for the next teams and a new simulation began.

---

Jaune walked through the halls of the dorms, he had woken up due to another memory in the form of a nightmare, and decided to get some fresh air.

"Going somewhere?" a certain white haired heiress asked from behind him.

Jaune turned to face her and smiled.

"Good morning Weiss. What's up?" Jaune greeted.

"You're what's up Jaune..." Weiss stared at him.

"Uh? What do you mean?" He asked.

"You know exactly what I mean Arc. The Nightmares. The fact you've been acting differently ever since we talked a few months ago. I left it alone because I thought this was normal for you. But then you started getting distant from some of us. And then when I go to ask your team of anything was wrong I find out you've been suffering from nightmares constantly..." Weiss said in a worried tone.

Jaune stared at her blankly before he sighed.

"I'm fine Weiss. It's just repressed memories coming to the surface... even if I would prefer them to be permanently repressed..." Jaune said tiredly.

"... about your family... am I right?" Weiss asked.

"... how did you...?" Jaune looked surprised.

Weiss looked smugly at him.

"Hmph! Remember who you're dealing with! I'm the top of the academic class for a reason! You told me you had seven sister. But you also told us all you were the only one besides that Io person to survive in Vein. Meaning... something happened to your family..." Weiss trailed off as she saw Jaune flinch at the reminder.

"Jaune... I know what ever happened must be painful for you... my own family is a broken mess. My older sister joined the Atlas military to escape from our father. My brother is under constant pressure from my father, and while he is the only one of us siblings that really wants to take over the company, he does not have that opportunity, because I'm around. That's part of the reason I'm here... to hopefully allow my brother to take my place... so I can be free as well. My mother... she's a drunk who doesn't even go a second without a bottle of wine in her hands. And don't even get me started on my father... he only married my mother for power... and treats us... his children like tools. Then there's what remains of my cousins and my parents siblings... the majority of them have all been assassinated... by the radicals of the White Fang." Weiss told him, "My point is Jaune... I've lost family too... and... I care a great deal for you. And if you need someone to talk to you can count on me to be there for you.

Weiss blushed a light pink when she said this.

Jaune looked at her and sighed.

"I told you I had seven sister... that is correct but those were the ones I grew up with I had one more sister... Their names were Rouge, Jennifer, Hailey, Noir, Hannah, Shannon, Saffron. My eighth sister's name was Cruz..." Jaune told her.

Weiss' eyes widened at the final name.

"The Queen? The one that Frenzied? The daughter of Silva?" Weiss asked.

Jaune nodded.

"Cruz and I were twins, even if I took after my mother and she after our father... Yes Silva was my father. He and my mother got divorced when Cruz and I were in our earliest years... she didn't want to leave Silva, while I didn't want to leave my mother... so we were split up for a few years. I had honestly forgotten about her... then monsters attacked the city when I was 14... and I was forced to watch my mother and sisters, except Cruz, be eaten alive while I was locked in a trunk they had placed me in to protect me." Jaune told her.

Weiss gasped in horror as she covered her mouth with her hands.

Jaune continued unabated.

"I spent a couple days in that trunk, to afraid to even leave it, because the monsters were still outside, waiting for me... Then Silva came and saved me, Cruz wasn't with him." Jaune said.

"Why not?" Weiss asked.

"Getting to that hold on." He told her, she nodded and he continued.

"Silva took me in, and when I expressed my desire to fight, to avenge my sisters, he had me sent to the military. Where I recieved basic training and minor experience. Later I was nearly killed by one of the monsters... and my Aura and Semblance awoke..." Jaune half-truthed, he had actually been turned into a Revenant when that happened.

"I was in a coma for a long time, and when I woke up I found out that my only remaining sister Cruz had Frenzied." Jaune told her.

"So... why was Cruz not with Silva when he saved you?" She asked again.

"... She had volunteered for an experiment with the Parasitic Grimm... to be able to fuse the human body with the Grimm to prevent more Frenzy... but as you might have guessed... it failed... instead she became the queen of the Frenzied which we later called The Lost." Jaune clarified.

Weiss looked appalled at the concept.

"The Parasitic Grimm enters the body at birth... it was completely microscopic and airborn... like a virus... we took steps to manage the spread of the Parasite in our bodies, it even became mandatory for people to have their aura unlocked as it helped slow the grimm in our bodies... but if we lost our will to continue fighting it would take us over... we were also forced to rely on human blood to survive... the Grimm fed on it, and it refused to allow anything else to be digested in our bodies... It was a hellish existence..." Jaune told her.

She looked more and more horrified as he told her more about life in Vein, no matter how abridged the version he told her was.

"When Cruz Frenzied... I immediately was ordered to join my fellow soldier Jack, who happened to be one of my trainers. We were ordered to go scouting for the Queen, but when we found her... I saw what had happened to my sister... she looked like she was in pain, tormented by her Frenzied state as she attacked us. Jack and I... we fought her until Silva showed up and joined us in the fight... I was the one to deal the final blow. And when the Queen's blood spattered into my mouth by mistake, the experiments that had been done to her made me close to Frenzy... and Jack decided to kill me before I could become another Queen." Jaune finished his abridged version of his memories.

"But then what remained of Cruz saved you..." Weiss said.

Jaune nodded.

"Yes... it cost me my memories for a time. But I met Io when she woke me up in the middle of a broken street. I had apparently fallen off the cliff we had fought Cruz at and had landed there. We both later met Louis and the rest of our friends. Louis was Cruz's boyfriend before she Frenzied." Jaune informed.

Weiss was flabbergasted by his story, it was so unbelievable that she actually could believe it. There were too many details for it to be made up.

Jaune had been through so much pain and death, he had watched his mother and most of his sisters eaten alive by Grimm. His only remaining sister died by his hands, and his father later did as well. It was no wonder he was having nightmares.

Weiss could think to do only one thing, no matter how embarrassing it would be, she hugged him tightly.

Jaune was surprised by the sudden contact.

"Weiss?" He asked.

"D-don't get the wrong idea! I'm only doing this because you definitely needed a hug! It's not because I have feelings for you! Which I don't!" Weiss denied with a stutter.

Jaune was slightly flushed at the contact, he hadn't had a hug from anyone else but Mia and Io, so it was an unfamiliar experience for him.

He did return the hug, with some small amount of hesitantion. They stood there in silence for several seconds.

Jaune felt slightly better now that he had told someone what he'd been through... the hug helped too.

"Thank you Weiss... I feel a lot better now... thank you for hearing me out." Jaune said as they separated.

"Of course. However... next time you start brooding and try to close off from us I won't be so nice! If you do feel like you can't talk to anyone about certain things... just ask me and we'll talk. Understood?" she said as she fixed him with a stern glare.

A bead of sweat slid down Jaune's cheek as she stared.

"Sheesh! She glares just like Mia!" Jaune thought as he quickly agreed.

Weiss then smiled "Good! You can go back to whatever it was you were doing now."

"Actually I think I'm good. I only really came out here to clear my head. And you kinda did that for me." Jaune chuckled.

Weiss smirked at him.

"Well then. That is acceptable I suppose. However now you owe me one... hmm... Perhaps you could accompany me to my next concert in Vale?" Weiss asked, clearly hinting that it would be a date.

"Concert? You sing?" Jaune asked her a little surprised, yet not.

"Hmph of course! My music is known far and wide across Remnant. Although I do suppose you wouldn't know very much about that... Hmmm..." She hummed in thought before an idea struck her.

"Ah! Give me your Scroll." She instructed as she pulled out her own of said object.

Jaune blinked but did as she asked.

She used his Scroll to scan hers, before handing it back to him.

"I've saved my Scroll number to yours. Now hold on a second." she told him as she began to send him things via their private chat.

Jaune felt his Scroll vibrate and looked to see she had sent him a link to an application called AuraSound.

"Um... AuraSound? What's this for?" Jaune asked her.

"It's a music app. Create an account and use it to listen to my music, I uploaded most of my publicly known songs to it, as a way to gain my own small fortune insteadof relying on the SDC, I get paid 5 Lien for every download of one of my songs. It had a nice feature to it, it has an AI that can tune music to your Aura by analyzing you and can choose a song in your Playlist that will play while you fight. Your Scroll will then Play the song either aloud for all to hear, or will use your aura as a catalyst that sends vibrations into your ears that make it sound like music is playing but it only can be heard by you." Weiss explained.

Jaune looked at the App with no small amount of amazement.

"So someone invented an app that basically... plays music while you fight... like a video game?" Jaune asked incredulously.

"In layman's terms... yes that's exactly right." Weiss said with a small sigh.

"That's... kinda awesome..." Jaune admitted.

Weiss nodded. "Indeed."

"So... how do I find your music? And is it possible to upload any music I might have that isn't digitized?" Jaune asked her.

"Just search for my name, you'll find it. And yes. All you have to do it activate the app, choose the Upload icon and then play the song aloud, the AI will do the rest. It is best if you Upload the music in a... quiet environment." Weiss explained.

"So not around Nora... got it." Jaune chuckled.

Weiss giggled at his joke.

Jaune glanced at his scroll and saw the time was almost 8am, they would have an hour before class began.

"Wow time flew by... we better go wake up our teams. I'll talk to you later Weiss. Thanks for listening. Oh and as for that offer to your next concert, I would love to. Let me know when and I'll definitely be there." Jaune said with a smile.

"Oh good. Because my next show is this weekend." Weiss said with a slightly mischievous grin.

He tripped when she said that.

"What?! This weekend?! That's a couple days away!! Damn I gotta find something to wear quick!" Jaune said as he rushed back to his room leaving a giggling Weiss behind.

Weiss eventually stopped laughing and looked at her scroll.

"Did you get all that?" Weiss asked, revealing that she had been in a group call with Pyrrha and Ruby.

"《Yeah... looks like you were right Weiss... he's been through a lot...》" Ruby said from her Scroll.

"《Indeed he has...》" Ren's voice came from Pyrrha's end of the line.

"《Damn... that's fucked... can't believe he was forced to kill his own sister and his father!》" Yang said sounding depressed.

"《Especially after watching the rest of his family be eaten while he couldn't even do anything to stop it.》" Blake added.

"《Renny! Let's make our Fearless Leader some pancakes! That'll cheer him up for sure!》" Nora chimed in.

"That sounds like a fine idea Nora." Pyrrha agreed, she loved pancakes just as much as Nora did, if not a little less.

Weiss heard Ren sigh of agreement from their end and smiled at their dynamic.

(*knock knock knock*)

The sound of knocking came from Pyrrha's end and Weiss could hear Jaune's voice.

"《Hey guys? Why is the door locked? Could you let me in?》"

"《Oh! Gotta go! Bye! I'm sorry!》" Pyrrha hastily said before her line went dead.

Weiss and her team were silent for a second before...

"《Hey... so why does Weiss get the first date?》" Yang asked.

Weiss sputtered and quickly said "it's not a date!" before ending the call.

Weiss sighed in relief before smiling and turning to the direction of the first class of the day. She then walked away with a small skip in her step.

Oh yeah. Totally a date.