Chapter 10

Falling

Well, this is familiar.

The wind in his scraggly blond hair, Jaune Arc was in freefall at the beginning of a school year once again. This time, however, it wasn't from nearly the same height, as his Sensei had thoughtfully just shoved him into empty space a mere three stories above the forest canopy.

Landing strategy practice my pasty ass.

With a grunt, he tried to reorient himself, almost succeeding in getting his shield deployed before he hit the uppermost branches of a maple tree. It snapped readily on impact, only to be followed by ever thicker limbs as he continued his descent. These were absorbing most of the kinetic energy he'd built up before the lowest of the branches halted his fall entirely when it slammed into his gut. The impact drove the wind from his lungs, and he was paralyzed for the few seconds it took his almost-perfect balance to tilt him backward, allowing him to plummet the last ten feet to the forest floor, landing unceremoniously on his ass.

"Nice form, Yak Boy!" he heard faintly from above, the same taunting voice that had haunted him for the last three months, pushing him to do better by stimulating his drive through anger. That, or taking joy in Jaune's misery, take your pick.

Fuck you too, Sensei, he wisely kept to himself, thankful that the small hole he'd made in the verdant forest canopy above couldn't betray the sarcastic sneer on his face.

His final test for the summer was a simple one; find his way back to Beacon in the four days before the school year began. On foot. With no clue where he was. His scroll long since dead with no charger. Sensei had said it would be easy.

Somehow, he doubted it.

Sighing heavily, Jaune took inventory of himself and his belongings, digging the twigs and leaves from his more-unkempt-than-usual hair, and the wood and bark fragments from between the plates of his cuirass. Clambering to his feet, he shucked his backpack, checking the contents for damage. Thankfully, most of it was just clothing, which he had wrapped around the wooden box Casian had given him three months prior; the only truly breakable item he carried. Unfortunately, the impact with the ground had burst both of the filled waterskins he'd brought with him from the makeshift dojo where he'd spent those three months. As such, what remained of his clean underwear and socks were now drenched, and he had no way of carrying water to survive in the late summer heat.

Seems like Vale weather, at least.

With a weary stretch, Jaune adjusted his sword and scabbard, knowing full well he could easily have been dropped into a Grimm nest, just to 'toughen him up' some more. The last three months had been Hell on Remnant, but even he could not stubbornly ignore the fact that he'd progressed substantially under Sensei's tutelage. That he hadn't had to spend countless hours researching obscure Grimm for Professor Port's class, rest his soul, or even more obscure historical records for Prof...Doctor Oobleck's, had certainly allowed a lot more time for combat training. And physical training. Beatings, humiliation, disappointment; all the flavors of hard work and pain rolled into a neat, tidy package.

Casting his gaze about, Jaune picked a course that seemed to work, meandering slightly downhill through the forest and crossing into a large clearing. He passed a few old stumps along the way, but nothing that appeared to be freshly cut, so the prospect of a logging trail wasn't looking good. Crossing the clearing, he found further evidence of civilization in cartridge casings scattered about, largely obscured by the grass. These had also fallen victim to the local weather, a deep patina discoloring both brass and steel. Must be someone's private shooting range out here, he thought, never the gun nut that Ruby was. She would likely be able to tell him exactly what gun they'd come from, down to barrel length, muzzle velocity, and accessories.

Trudging through the dry grass, Jaune was left to his thoughts, the gentle rustling noise of his passage beginning to lull him into a trance. This was going to be tough, but he felt more ready than he had ever been. Even after all his sparring with Pyrrha, and the additional work he had begun to do with her training videos, Jaune knew that he was no closer than he'd ever been to equaling his classmates' skill. The past three months, however, had been enlightening to say the least. Jaune felt more than ever like he belonged at Beacon, and he was going to damn well prove it to everyone else. Granted, that just meant his partner would get that much harder on him, but in the end, that was a good thing, right?

This line of thought got him wondering how everyone had been over the summer, and who, if anyone, had missed him. Sure, he hadn't spoken to anyone beside his Sensei in months, but that shouldn't be cause for concern. He'd sent letters, after all. At least if he found a town, he could recharge his long-dead scroll and make a call or two. That was almost as important as figuring out where the hell he was, and how he was going to get back to Beacon in time.

Thankfully, the other side of the clearing seemed to have a path beaten through the trees, with footsign that didn't seem particularly ancient. With a spring in his step, even given the sorry condition of his footwear, Jaune picked up the pace, following the trail back to its source. The leather bindings of his armor creaked softly as he moved, now quite well-worn with the amount of time he'd spent wearing the Tigan-crafted cuirass.

He'd walked a mile or two already, with no end in sight, when he stopped, cocking his head to the side to listen to see if what he'd heard would repeat itself. Blue eyes narrowed before Jaune became a blur of motion, his sword leaving its scabbard with a clear, ringing call, his entire body pivoting to his right as the blade plowed through what turned out to be a young Beowolf, cleaving the Grimm at the waist before it even realized it had been detected. A shift and a turn later, a rising stroke from Jaune's blade lopped off another inky black arm before a quick flick of his sword arm dropped the blade back down, beheading the amputee, another Beowolf crumbling to ash before it hit the ground.

The third packmate's claws raked across his scarred, now-deployed shield as Jaune drove the point of his heirloom weapon through the open, snarling mouth of the fourth. The improved blade drove straight through the Beowolf's brainpan before he yanked it free with all the ease that Casian Râuri had promised. The third Beowolf's jaws snapped shut on air as his shield delivered a punishing uppercut, a pair of deft sword strokes lopping off its leg mid-femur followed by both grasping arms at the elbows. A sidestep allowed another wide, horizontal swing, this one driving into a snarling maw and through the hinge point of number five's mandible, horizontally bisecting its skull. Two steps brought him back to the nearly limbless number four, a looping cut decapitating it as Jaune cast a cold gaze around to check his surroundings once again.

Flakes of black ash danced in the breeze, the only evidence remaining of the brief battle among the maples. Jaune took a deep breath to steady his nerves, the outcome of the skirmish something he never could have foreseen a year ago. Sure, the Beowolves had been the smallest he'd ever seen, but he'd blown through them like a thresher in a wheat field.

Don't get cocky, Yak Boy.

He growled softly at the prospect of Sensei's voice being a permanent fixture in his head, but he had bigger fish to fry at the moment. The playful tones of birdsong could be heard again as adrenaline slowly gave up its grip on his senses, and Jaune relaxed, compacting his shield and transferring the scabbard to the baldric on his left hip. After another visual sweep of the area confirmed that he was again alone, he sheathed his blade and resumed his trek through the woods.

Another hour later, his meandering thoughts were broken again by a distant, almost imperceptible sound. Guess I'm heading to the seashore, he mused, finally recognizing the plaintive call of gulls on the breeze. The rest of the morning was spent in a long trek through the woods, the trees thinning at last to reveal a sizeable town nestled into a small bay. The haze of summer prevented any real details being discernible from both the town and what boats were on the water, but civilization was a decidedly welcome sight.

The only wall surrounding the town was hewn stone nearly fifteen feet high, but not overly thick. The Grimm threat in these parts must have been either minimal or kept in check by a robust Huntsman presence. The pair of guards at the gate of the town of Neverheardofit had an air of quiet confidence, or maybe indifference, as nothing seemed to faze them in regards to Jaune's lack of readily available identification.

"Sorry, scroll's been dead for a couple months now."

"Wouldn't do you any good anyway, CCT's down," replied the older of the two guards, a slightly rotund gentleman with a light dust carbine slung over his back. "Nobody's been able to get anything but local comms since yesterday."

"Oh. Well, I'm just looking for passage to Vale. Classes start Monday."

"Beacon?" the much younger guard asked, bearing a striking resemblance to his partner, even in the somewhat casual uniform they both wore.

"Yeah," Jaune said succinctly, taking a moment to let the feeling soak in. Someone had correctly assumed him to be a Huntsman without him having to spell it out.

It felt good.

"I hope I can do well enough this year to get accepted. Still got a year left at Signal," the boy added, his hands resting on the pommels of the pair of machetes on his waist.

"Summer job?" Jaune asked, putting the pieces together.

"Figured I'd keep my son out of trouble for a few months, and maybe a little practice against the odd Grimm," the elder guard said, warmth in his voice and posture as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

Jaune smiled a bit at that, not letting his own experiences with his father taint the moment for the two of them. "Well, I hope you make it then. See you next year?" he added optimistically. Hell, if he could get into Beacon, then anyone could.

"Robin Cartwright," the lad said firmly, offering a gloved hand, which in turn was grasped in Jaune's gauntlet.

"Jaune Arc."

"I knew I recognized you!" Robin shouted through an ecstatic grin.

"Beg pardon?"

"Oh my gosh, you guys were awesome in the tournament!" he clarified.

"Oh. Well, it was a team effort, really. At first, at least," he added, his emotions still fumbling through the new experiences of recognition and admiration.

"Still, the way you totally confused Team BRNZ with a fake huddle in the middle of the match! They never saw it coming!" Robin gushed, not noticing the awkward blush creeping onto Jaune's face.

"Yeah, glad I thought of it," he muttered, scratching the back of his decidedly messy hair. One of the first things he needed to find was a barber. "Not to be rude, but I really need to find transportation to Vale. School starts in four days, and I don't wanna be late."

"You really are in a hurry, aren't you?" Robin's father asked rhetorically. "In case you forgot, the ferry dock is right next to the airport, straight down this street, then hang a right on Sapphire, off the main plaza," he helpfully added.

"Thank you, Mr. Cartwright."

"You just stay out of trouble in town and we'll call it even."

"Yessir," Jaune replied readily, trudging off down the cobblestone street.

He'd barely made it two blocks before the aroma of food threatened to derail him from his goal, but he had to marshall what Lien he had left until he had his ticket to Vale in hand. Still, the smell of fresh baguettes being added to the display window of a bakery had his stomach rivaling the growl of an Ursa. The town was quietly bustling, the people going about their daily lives without a care in the world, and Jaune couldn't help but smile at the little slice of life on display. Marking the bakery's location on his mental map, as well as the barber shop a block off the town square, he postponed indulging in crusty goodness for a little while longer.

Well, looks like I'm definitely close to Vale, he thought, cobalt blue eyes rising to meet a white marble facsimile of their ancestor. The various statues of Aurelius Arc were too numerous for Jaune to remember them all, and this was no exception. It was almost odd that the General had received more recognition than the Last King of Vale, but perhaps history had decided, for once, to recognize the men swinging the swords rather than the crowns dictating their strokes.

His great-great-grandfather stood resolute in the center of the square, resplendent in full plate armor, right hand pointing to something in the distance while his left rested on the pommel of Crocea Mors. For not the first time, Jaune wondered how his venerable ancestor would view what he'd done with the heirloom blade, but he banished the dark thoughts of familial disappointment almost immediately with an ease born of experience. Crocea Mors had been a weapon built for war, and it had served the right hand of the Last King of Vale with distinction before his death on the island of Vytal. What it wasn't was a weapon purpose built for taking on the Creatures of Grimm.

Bidding the statue adieu, Jaune found his cross street and began walking towards the ocean. The scent of the sea now filled his nostrils, and he allowed himself a wan smile at the memories of his visit to Argus. The large port on the northern edge of Mistrali territory was almost a sister city to Orleans if you swapped the ocean for the Gaul River, and Jaune understood why Saphron had settled there. Except for the snow, because, seriously, fuck snow. Maybe that bakery has tartes tatin, too,he mused, one degree of separation removed from drooling outright. The fact that he'd subsisted largely on rice and beans for the summer, with the occasional piece of small game, was clearly affecting his thought processes.

He shook his head to recenter his thoughts, spotting the ferry dock a few blocks away once his vision cleared. The water of the bay beyond was a deep, opaque blue, definitely not some tropical destination, further cementing his theory in regards to where Sensei had dumped him. This also meant that Jaune had been told the truth, but as with all things, Sensei's version of the truth wasn't always as clear cut as one might like. Ducking out of the way of a young couple clearly more invested in looking into each others' eyes than where they were going, Jaune passed between the traffic bollards preventing the few cars he'd seen from inadvertently ending up in the bay. The head of the quay held a small shack that he supposed passed for an office, a short queue of people waiting in front of a ticket window.

Looking to his right, he could see a pair of small landing pads, one of which held an idling Bullhead. Booking passage there would almost certainly be more expensive, but might be the only way he could get back to Beacon in time to make classes on Monday morning. Still, he needed to find out how long the boat ride would be before committing to spending that kind of money, as he desperately needed to replenish his wardrobe from being in the wilds for the past three months. There was other shopping he needed to get done as well, but the pair of jeans he had on was barely wearable in public, let alone comfortable, with the numerous spots of wear and actual holes in them.

Looking back to the left of the pier, Jaune got the barest glimpse of the summer beach crowd before he caught a flying tackle to the midsection. He'd been caught unprepared, and thus was incapable of stopping himself from falling, but he could still try to turn the situation to his advantage. With a grunt of effort, he managed to spin, grabbing a pair of wrists in his gold-trimmed white gauntlets as he did so. Jaune landed on top of his assailant and inside their guard, legs wrapped around his lower back as he pinned them to the ground. For the briefest moment, he wondered who would be stupid enough to attack him in broad daylight, until he managed to identify his attacker.

It was, apparently, a silver-eyed tomato.

"Ruby!?"

She blinked twice before answering. "Hi," she squeaked, the mother of all nervous grins plastered on her shocked face. Her eyes were frantically wide, but still staring directly into his own as a shower of rose petals slowly rained down upon them.

"But how?!"

"Ummm…" she trailed off, her gaze cutting down her body to where he was wedged against her pelvis, his larger frame forcing her legs apart in a decidedly unladylike pose. The fact that she was clad in a skintight bathing suit that left absolutely nothing to the imagination wasn't helping matters either, and Jaune's face soon was trying to play catchup with hers with the deepening shade of crimson blooming across his cheeks.

"Sorry!" he blurted, desperately trying to push up and off of Ruby's supine form. The awkward moment was having none of it, and he fumbled for what seemed like hours trying to extricate himself from the tangle of limbs that was the pair of socially awkward dorks. Ruby herself seemed paralyzed somehow, the iron grip of her legs around his hips not relinquishing itself despite her desperate desire to let go.

After several moments, and not a small amount of stares and a few chuckles from passers-by, Jaune finally regained his footing, grasping Ruby's wrist and pulling her to her feet as well. "Better?" he asked, watching as she dusted herself off, adjusting the back of her swimsuit so that it wasn't riding up into her butt.

"Yeah," she muttered, looking herself over before she stopped abruptly. "Jaune!" she shouted suddenly, jumping onto him again in a tackle hug that thankfully didn't have a semblance-boosted running start this time. Her frame tensed for a moment, then went slack, as she felt his arms wrap her up as well.

"It's good to see you too, Ruby. I'd ask if you missed me, but I think I already know the answer," he said with a chuckle. His mirth died when he felt her sob in his arms, her slender frame quaking as she clung fiercely to him. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice a paragon of concern.

"I...we thought…" she began, unable to find or form the words before her blush returned at a third voice joining the conversation.

"Wow, I never figured you for a little homewrecker, Rubes," came in a playfully sarcastic tone.

Before Jaune could question Yang about her word choice, his eyes took in the near nudity of the blonde bombshell. A pair of what could be generously called eyepatches were doing their valiant best to protect what little modesty was mandatory for Yang's bust, while the tiniest micro-bikini bottom he'd ever even dreamed of graced her hips, neither showing tan lines anywhere on her skin. The long-debated-among-the-cruder-Beacon-students question of whether the carpet matched the drapes had apparently been rendered moot by the homeowner deciding to install hardwood floors instead.

"Hey, Yang," Jaune said casually, relaxing his grip on her little sister. "How have you two been?"

"What?!" both girls shot back, Ruby pushing against his breastplate to stare him in the face. He returned her gaze with trepidation, even his social ineptitude able to read the mood easily. Ruby looked mortified that he'd even asked the question, while Yang Xiao Long's eyes had flickered to a dangerous shade of red.

"Where the fuck have you been!?" Yang demanded angrily, her playful smile gone like smoke on the wind.

"Huh?"

"We thought you were dead!" Ruby shouted, punching him in the chest in frustration. "Ow," she muttered, shaking feeling back into her hand.

"Wait, what?" Jaune replied, his face a mask of bewilderment. "I didn't have scroll signal out in the wilds, but I left a note behind in Shion before I left! Even if nobody found that, I sent three letters home last month! Didn't you think to contact my family?" he asked, still flabbergasted that this was happening. When he was met with a pregnant pause, his eyelids drooped in disappointed annoyance. He was about to offer a flat 'really?'at his friends' density when Ruby spoke up, her index fingers tapping nervously together.

"They held the funeral Tuesday," she said, voice barely above a whisper. "Family only."

Jaune could only facepalm at the news. "Oh, for fucks' sake, Dad," he muttered.

"All we had to go on was the last place anyone saw you, and Ren and Nora finding Pyrrha's sash in Shion with a bloodstained wall behind it," Yang explained, more serious in tone now, and calmer, if her lilac irises were any indication.

"Well, that wasn't my blood!" Jaune retorted, voice starting to break as his emotions bubbled forth. Deep breaths, Yak Boy. Emotion can carry you far, but you might not like where you end up, came an unbidden nugget of wisdom, flavored with Sensei's...unique...wit. Jaune opened his eyes, having not even closed them consciously. His hand splayed out, palms towards the ground as he gathered himself again. "Okay, one thing at a time. What are you two doing here? Where the hell is here? How long is it going to take to get to Vale?"

"You're joking, right?" Yang asked. "We live here, dumbass."

"Welcome to Port Arcadia!" Ruby chirped.

"I swear, if you've been on Patch this whole time, I'm the first of many people who's gonna beat you to a pulp."

"Noooooo, I only got here this morning! I got dropped off by my Sensei. Said I had to find my own way back to Beacon."

"Pfft. That's thirty miles that way," Yang scoffed, pointing out over the water. "On a clear day, you can see Vale from here."

"What's a sensei?" Ruby asked.

"The person who's been training me for the last three months. Training hard," he added, shuddering at the memories.

Yang's lilac eyes narrowed in thought for a moment before a cocky smile slowly blossomed on her lips. "Prove it."

"What? How?"

"Well, Signal isn't officially in session yet, so the sparring room should be available."

"Yang…" Ruby began, not liking where the conversation was headed. Jaune wouldn't be the first friend her big sister had stomped into the ground.

"Feeling that confident, Yang?" Jaune fired back, causing both sisters to do a double take.

"Oh, nice. Grew some balls over the summer, did you? I like it. It's always fun to take the cocky ones down a peg," Yang purred.

"You're one to talk. This your new battle gear? Sure looks like it lets you take a pounding."

"Like you'd know what to do with…" she began, trailing off as she remembered another avenue of attack available to her. "You'd know all about pounding a girl, wouldn't you?"

"I'm not afraid to knock down a woman if it's called for."

"What about knocking one up?"

Ruby's silver eyes darted back and forth at the verbal exchange, aghast at how quickly this was degenerating into madness.

"Uh, what?"

"Never mind that. Whaddya say we get some chicken for dinner after I stomp out Vomit Boy here, Rubes? You and I can have the breasts, since we both know Jaune's into dark meat," she added with a wink tossed in his direction.

"I like breast meat just fine too," he replied, furiously trying to figure out what minefield Yang was trying to drag him into.

"Really? You've barely paid attention to mine. Or are you more of an ass man?" she asked, turning around and arching her back to put her almost completely naked derriere to best use.

"How do you walk in that thing, anyway? Doesn't it feel weird?"

"I know, right?" Ruby interjected, glad to have an ally in combating her sister's inappropriate fashion choices.

Okay, what the actual fuck? Yang thought, her display having failed to even get a blush out of the dork. Terra really made a man out of him, didn't she?

"I make it work. Besides, maybe I might catch me a future husband on the beach."

"What happened to being flexible?"

"Ehh, I still want kids one day. What about you, Jaune? How many kids are you and your wife gonna have?" she asked, wiggling the bait a little more, trying to get him to take the hook so that she could really embarrass him.

Jaune raised an eyebrow in thought, unsure just what Yang was up to this time, but knowing it certainly wasn't good. "Haven't really thought about it. It would depend on what she wanted, to be honest."

"You haven't even had that conversation?"

"Umm, why would I?" Jaune asked, increasingly confused.

"Because that's what a good husband and father does?" Yang replied, her irritation beginning to manifest in a twitching eyelid.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Jaune," Ruby said softly. "We know."

"Know what?"

"We know all about your secret love child, Vomit Boy."

Jaune blanched at Yang's accusation, finally giving her the reaction she'd been digging for. "Who the hell told you? That was supposed to be a secret!" he hissed.

"Nobody. I figured it out all by myself."

"How?!"

"Well, there was that photo your sister shared. I have to say, I've seen worse matched couples."

"Wait…"

"And then when I saw Terra's timeline, I did the math and figured out you'd gotten her preggers during winter break, when you went to Argus. Haveta say I'm impressed you did the honorable thing. Not a lot of guys your age are able to commit to a marriage."

"Marriage…" he mused aloud before he saw where the disconnect was, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Terra's my sister-in-law, Yang," he said flatly.

"What?" Ruby asked, perking up slightly. Her sister merely flinched in surprise, digesting the news for a moment before she spoke.

"Oh, wow. That must be ten kinds of awkward. I mean, I don't know that I'd want Ruby to know what my spouse looks like naked."

"It's not like that, Yang. Saph and Terra asked me for...a donation," he admitted with an embarrassed grimace.

"Oh," Yang said simply.

"Huh? Oh, ewww!" Ruby said as the euphemism finally clicked in her mind, jumping away from Jaune like he had the plague.

"So wait, why doesn't Terra have her wife listed on FriendLink?"

"Saph dumped her account three years ago after she got catfished. She was a total wreck for months. Plus the rest of my family didn't even know they were married 'til they showed up in Shion together."

"So what happened there? How did you survive?" Ruby cut in again, back to worrying about her friend.

"Well, I was there when the village was hit, obviously. Bandits, then Grimm, because who doesn't love a party," he remarked darkly. "End of the day, I wind up one of the only two people left alive in the village. The other person almost didn't make it. I saved their life with my semblance, just like I did with you, Ruby. Turns out they're a former Huntsman, and I convinced them to train me. Had to be someplace secret though. We couldn't stay in Shion after all that."

"That sounds so cool! I mean, not the destroyed village part, obviously, but…" she trailed off, looking up at him again, her eyes watering slightly before she stepped forward and hugged him once again. "I thought I'd never see you again," she said quietly as Jaune's left arm returned the embrace, his right held out to his side. Taking the hint, Yang stepped in as well, giving him a much less affectionate side hug.

"I still wanna see if what you put everyone through was worth it," she muttered, poking a finger into the center of his breastplate.

"Oh, you'll see soon enough," Jaune replied with a smirk, releasing them both. "So when are you guys heading to Vale?"

"There are a couple of complimentary flights booked for Signal grads on Saturday and Sunday, but they're never full. Most of the student body here isn't from Patch to begin with, so they'll be coming in from wherever they spent the summer. You should be able to hitch a ride with us."

"Good, because I'm almost broke, and I need to find a place to stay until then. What's the hotel situation around here?"

"You can stay with us!" Ruby immediately volunteered. "Our cabin is just a little ways outside of town."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, Dad's out of town, so we're all alone out there. We need a big, strong man around the house, Jaune," Yang said with a sultry simmer in her voice.

"You need someone to do all the crap chores you don't want to, got it."

"You're no fun anymore," Yang grumbled.

"Seven sisters trained me well. Lead the way, ladies."

"Well, we need to get changed first. And I still want to swing by Signal on the way home."

"Yang, you're not beating Jaune up."

"He can take it. He came back from the dead once already."

"I wasn't dead!," Jaune squawked.

"Details," she dismissed with the wave of a hand. "Come on, Ruby. Don't you want to say hi to your friends?" she asked as they started down the boardwalk toward where their lockers were located.

"They're not here yet. It's only the incoming freshmen for orientation weekend."

"It's okay, Ruby. I've always heard you guys talk about Signal. I'm kinda curious what a school that produces kickass Huntresses like you two looks like."

"Oh, I mean, it's not Beacon or anything," she began, averting her gaze at the praise, her cheeks rosy.

"So what did you get trained in?" Yang asked, pecking away at her scroll.

"Swordsmanship, some aura techniques. A lot of philosophy, oddly enough. Warrior mindset and all that. Found one mother of a stumbling block and got over it."

"Oh?" Ruby cut in.

"Yeah. A lot of the time, I was still trying to fight like I didn't have my aura unlocked. I was so afraid of taking a hit that I couldn't commit to taking the offensive. Sensei beat it into my head that I'm actually pretty good at taking a hit if I have to."

"How'd he do that?"

"By actually beating it into my head with a bamboo cane."

"Oh."

"Yeah. That was the go to method of correction."

"Sounds brutal," Yang said sympathetically.

"You get used to it. Went through a lot of bamboo," Jaune added absently.

"Okay, Vomit Boy. Wait here, we'll be right back," Yang said, dragging her little sister into the women's locker room.

Jaune stood waiting, looking around and taking in several envious stares from some of the other beachgoers. He offered a trio of boys a gentle smirk, the fingertips of his left hand tapping idly along the hilt of his sword. The implication, as well as Jaune's rough-and-tumble appearance, was clear, and they slunk away with a few contemptuous sneers thrown in for good measure. Cobalt blue eyes narrowed at that, the temptation to put the idiots in their place strong before Ruby emerged from the locker room in her customary battle dress with one modification. Gone was the full black shirt under her corset, replaced with billowing white sleeves and some mature exposure of her burgeoning cleavage.

"That's new, Ruby. It looks good on you," he said with a gentle smile, doing his best to suppress the memories dredged up by the scars he could barely see on her chest. His sisters had taught him well on how to appraise women's fashion, and he was definitely impressed with how one simple change had effected such an improvement. "The sleeves look a little loose though."

"Yeah, I've got an idea on how to keep them out of my way when I'm fighting. I like the new armor," she returned the compliment, blushing again. Whether this was from his praise of her, or something else, she couldn't say.

"Yeah, it's a little heavier, but much better fitted. I need to get it repainted though. Well, my shield mostly."

"We've got some stuff at the house, I don't know if the color's right."

"Ehh, I need to buy some things before school anyway. But thanks for the offer. For everything, really."

"I should be the one thanking you, Jaune," she said softly.

"Please, don't. All of you are special to me, and I would have done the same for any of you."

"I know, but...you saved me, Jaune. Thank you," she added, giving him a warm smile that made his heart swell with pride.

"Thank you for being such a good friend, Ruby. I don't know if I'd even still be at Beacon if it wasn't for you," he said sincerely, clasping her shoulder with his right hand and squeezing gently.

"Get a room, you two," Yang snarked from behind her sister, now back to her normal, curve-hugging battle attire. Jaune's gauntleted hand dropped back to his side, and Ruby's smile evaporated.

"Have you two eaten?" Jaune asked, glad to now have funds free to indulge his roiling stomach.

"I still can't believe Nora used to be quiet!" Ruby exclaimed, stuffing more of the baguette Jaune had treated them to into her mouth. The crackling sound of her chewing through the flaky crust threatened to drown out the conversation.

"I know, but Casian said it was true. Makes me wonder what prompted the change."

"I'm just wondering when she's gonna snap and drag Ren off into a dark closet somewhere," Yang fired back, licking nearly-melted butter off her fingertips, humming contentedly.

"I swear, those two are so oblivious about how they feel about each other," Jaune groused. "You could cut the tension in our dorm room with a knife sometimes. What?" he asked, bewildered by the flat gaze from both sisters.

Yang exhaled softly through her nose before answering. "Nothing. Come on, we're almost there."

Signal Academy was, as Ruby had informed him, no Beacon, but the smaller campus still held a certain gravitas. The red brick of the buildings peeked out from the gaps in the prodigious ivy that threatened to engulf them entirely, the centerpiece of the campus a long hall three stories tall. Four smaller structures appeared to be dormitories, given the small knots of young teenagers milling about in the courtyard.

Freshman orientation weekend officially started the next day, but the students not native to Patch had arrived on the ferry from Vale shortly after lunch. Getting settled into their dorm assignments had taken most of the afternoon, but now the eager teens were allowed to mingle until dinner in the dining hall.

"Did you guys have to stay in the dorms?"

"Freshmen have to, but only during the week. Didn't hurt that Dad teaches here, but yeah, Ruby was a disaster her first year."

"Yaaaannnnggggg."

"Zwei was super depressed about it too."

"I bet," Jaune replied, knowing full well what an attention whore the little corgi was. "At least Sunny still has my younger sisters at home."

"Oh? What is he?" Ruby asked eagerly.

"She is a golden retriever," Jaune corrected her gently.

"Because of course she is. Does she have blue eyes too?" Yang asked with a smile.

"Huh? Why does everyone always...you know, that is kinda weird to have a blonde dog, too, now that I think about it."

"Blondes do have more fun. Well, present company excluded, of course."

"I have plenty of fun," he grumbled.

"Reading terrible comics and watching even terribler comic book movies doesn't count."

"Says who?" Ruby fired back testily, crossing her arms and standing defensively next to Jaune. "X-Ray and Vav for life!" she added, extending her right hand out for Jaune to slap in solidarity.

"Dorks," Yang muttered, still managing to smile at her sister's antics and high spirits. They both failed to notice a subtle shift in her gaze, masked by the large sidestep she took before Jaune caught a vicious chop block to the back of his right knee. The impact managed to upend him, and he slammed onto his back in the cobblestone courtyard, his ears ringing. He barely had time to raise a defensive aura before a weight crashed onto his chest. A pair of long blades hammered into the ground point first, scissoring together to pin Jaune's head back, his aura sparking against sharpened Tigan steel.

"YOU ASSHOLE!" his assailant screamed in anguished rage.

"Liv?!" Jaune managed to croak out, barely able to breathe.

"Do you have any idea what you've done? What I've been through because of you?" she yelled, eyes red and brimming with tears. "I was the only one! The only one who believed you were still alive."

"Olivia, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened, but I promise, I tried to let you all know I was okay." Jaune offered in apology.

"Everyone thinks I'm crazy," Olivia sobbed, slumping as Jaune felt the pressure on his neck dissipate.

"Heyyy," he replied, his patented big brother voice soft and soothing as he reached up to pull her into a hug.

"They sedated me for the funeral," she mumbled into her brother's neck.

Jaune took several deep breaths to still his rage and focus on comforting his sister, his eyes squinted shut in anger. Letting go with one of his arms, he reached up to extract Fang and Claw from the cobblestones underneath him before sitting up, still holding on to Olivia.

"What are you even doing here, Liv?"

"I start combat school here on Monday, duh," she sassed back, sniffling a bit as her emotions resumed an even keel. "Mostly because I wanted to get away from Dad, but Yang sure talked it up as being a fun school."

Jaune swung his gaze back to the blonde in question, finding her wearing a smug, yet warm, smile. "Thank you," he said softly, puzzling out the true reason for their visit easily enough.

"Any time, Vomit Boy."

"All right, break it up!" came a stern female voice, the thusfar unnoticed crowd of freshmen parting to allow an older woman in a long black dress with white accents to approach the two pairs of siblings. Thin spectacles were perched on her narrow nose, white hair with the occasional black holdout done up into a prim and proper bun. The obvious authority figure looked at the four at the center of the spectacle, her eyes narrowing as she fixed one of them with a stern gaze. "Miss Xiao Long. I might have known," she muttered darkly.

"Hey, teach!" Yang said with a grin calculated to be just wide enough to annoy the woman.

"Hey, Professor Clark!" Ruby added brightly.

"Miss Rose. And Miss Arc, correct? Would any of you care to explain what is going on?"

"Miss, umm, Professor Clark Ma'am?"

"Professor Clark is more than sufficient, I assure you," she replied, well used to students unfamiliar with a disciplined school setting.

"Umm, okay. After thinking over your generous offer, I've decided that I don't need counseling regarding the untimely death of my brother after all, no matter what my Dad says."

Rosemary Clark raised an eyebrow a fraction of an inch, regarding Olivia for several moments before shifting her gaze slightly to Jaune. "I see. Congratulations. I also recall instructing you and your classmates to secure your weapons in your assigned lockers before returning to the courtyard. Please tell me why you haven't done so?"

"Becausssssse I was busy?" she answered, hoping the excuse would fly.

It didn't.

"You were. As I understand it, your brother will be resuming classes at Beacon Academy next week?"

"Yes ma'am," Jaune replied, eerily reminded of Glynda Goodwitch.

"Good. Then you will be able to see each other on your weekends, assuming you don't manage to earn yourself detention," Clark added, clearly doubting Liv's ability to stay out of trouble. "Weapons. Locker. Now," she growled, prompting Olivia to get up and scurry off with a shouted apology to her brother. "As for you three, seeing as you are not wearing visitor passes, kindly return to the front office to obtain them, or remove yourself from campus immediately. I don't need any of your...distractions," she said acridly, fixing Yang in place with a threatening stare.

"All right, sheesh. Come on, guys, show's over," Yang muttered, pulling Jaune to his feet.