Ruby was over the moon! Not only had she been applauded by the headmaster of Beacon academy for fending off the notorious criminal, Roman Torchwick, she was also given the opportunity of a lifetime; A chance to attend the school itself a year early! Are you kidding!? She was going to be attending the school of her dream! What!?

Right, that was two weeks ago. Now, she was on a Bullhead heading towards the academy itself. She was currently with her honorary sister, Yang Xiao-Long. The taller, more confident, fire-y woman had been ecstatic that her younger cousin was attending the same class as her, and was more than happy to have her tag along. Problem with that, though.

"I'm telling you, Rubes. You have to be more social. You're going to be attending Beacon! This should be the most exciting years of your life! I know I am going to take advantage of the freedoms moving out of dad's place is going to give me." Yang said as she eyed the men and women lounging about the place. Ruby gave her an unamused glare.

"That's easy for you to say! I don't even want to make any new friends. I've got you, Crescent Rose and that one gu…nope, that's it. You and Crescent Rose." She hastily tried to cover up as she realized her slip of the tongue. She of course was referring to the armored individual she had run into two weeks ago. The headmaster had been more than willing to tell her who he was and that he would be attending Beacon as well. It was a shock to her, as she believed he was a full-fledged Huntsman already, what with the Aura techniques he was demonstrating. She had a name to the armor at least; Jaune Arc.

From that night, she would often go out on the town to try and see if she could run into him again. She was successful, meeting him twice over the course of the two weeks. Always when there was a robbery going on. She remembered the first time she had crossed paths again. It was just five days after the incident with Roman.


"It's you!" She exclaimed, running up to the blue clad man who just fell upon a thug with a brutal punch. The guy was out cold, the bag of Dust crystals falling to the floor. The Vengeance Bleue turned to her with a near startled expression before he had to throw another thug trying to charge him over his shoulder. He then delivered a quick punch to the guy's head to knock him out as well.

"Leave. This doesn't concern you." He responded after a moment. He turned to try and take care of another one of the grunts robbing the store when Ruby beat him to it and knocked them away with her Crescent Rose.

"Are you some kind of super hero or something?" She asked, brushing off his comment. He only let out a grunt before back handing another thief. These guys were just a local gang that had more than likely taken advantage of the recent robbery and wanted in on the action. Unfortunately for them, Jaune was going to have to confiscate that Dust for himself while they took the fall. No one was going to know that it was him. The only thing holding him back from robbing the place outright was Adrian telling him not to. The kid was too good for this world.

"I said leave. You're getting in the way." He told her, throwing the body of one of the criminals at her. She was barely able to duck before she noticed that there was a guy right behind her. He was quickly disposed of as the flying body sent them both flying against a wall. She turned back to the 'hero' as he landed a spinning kick on one of the burlier looking men and dropped him like a sack of potatoes.

"Your name's Jaune Arc, right?" She asked, throwing another guy onto a table that then collapsed under him. She had been told his name by the headmaster after all. She didn't know why he would, though her interest had been peaked by him. With his unorthodox way of stopping crime in the city and the weird Aura attacks he was able to throw out, she just had to know more about him.

"…Where did you hear that?" He asked, dropping the last of the men he was fighting. He turned to her fully, taking heavy steps. His eyes were narrowed and his hands tense. She realized that he probably didn't want anyone knowing about his true identity and quickly explained herself.

"H-headmaster Ozpin told me! When we first met and you left, I met him and he told me who you were! I swear I only wanted to know more about you! I don't have some ulterior motive or anything." She tried to explain, taking a few steps back as he got closer. When she finished, Jaune stopped. He looked her over for a few seconds before letting out a breath.

"This is what I get for agreeing to work with that enigmatic bastard. Right, so what else did he tell you?" He asked. He wanted to know exactly what she knew about him in order to judge how hard of a time he was going to give Ozpin. It should be noted, that he didn't stop staring into those mesmerizing silver eyes of hers…

'Not now, Adrian. Save it for later.' He mentally reprimanded, casting a glance to the door of the shop. He turned his gaze back to the reaper before him, as she cleared her throat to speak once more.

"Just your name and that you'll be attending Beacon this year." She stated simply. His height and sharp glare were enough to make her nervous around him. With the man in front of her clicking his tongue before turning away.

"Listen…Ruby, there are people that would love nothing more than to have my head on a silver platter. If they found out someone else has been around me for long enough, they'll go after them as well. You would be wise to stop bumping into me." He warned, walking away and turning the corner. He had just gone out of sight when she ran forward, now more curious about him than ever. You can't just say something so enigmatic and not expect a girl to get curious!

"Wait a minute! I still have…" She trailed off, turning around the corner, only to be met with empty air. She only looked around for a moment before zipping around the area to see if she couldn't find him again. She didn't, but was adamant in her resolve to try and find him again.


In the end, she only found him one other time, and that was a fleeting moment. The scenario was much the same, as another group of thugs had tried to break into another Dust shop. She had only been able to catch the tail end of the scuffle, as she saw him deal with the last of the henchmen. It was as she called out to him when he turned to her with that same sharp gaze. She didn't let it deter her, as she used her Semblance to try and catch up to him.

That's when he went and flew away.

It was marvelous to see. In a flash of that same energy from before, he was off flying into the night sky. She was so awed by the sight that she only snapped out of it when she accidentally dropped her Crescent Rose. She has since apologized profusely and polished her to a factory new sheen. Still, the fact still stood that he was able to fly!

"Oh~! Doth mine ears deceive me? Were you going to start talking about a boy?" Yang teased, giving her cousin a wide grin.

Ah, that's right. Yang.

"N-no! Why would you think that? Boys are yucky and…stuff." Ruby tried to argue. True, she didn't have much interest in the likes of boys as she did weaponry and becoming a Huntress, but there was something about those eyes. That deep, sharp and piercing azure gaze resonated with her in a way that she just couldn't put her finger on. Yang cared not for the inner turmoil of her younger family member and instead took the opportunity to tease her about this newfound 'interest'

"Mhm, sure. And what might I ask is this 'yucky' boy's name?" Yang asked, that teasing smile still on her face. Ruby sunk into herself, a small blush of embarrassment washing over her. She was going to try and brush off her cousin's attempt at teasing her again, but something caught her attention. It was as she diverted her gaze away from her sister-figure that she saw something, or rather someone.

Across the floor, leaning against the far wall was a young man who seemed disinterested in the happenings around him. He was just scanning the room, looking from person to person before looking to the exit hanger.

'The height is right. His body language is the same. What about…' Ruby trialed off in her mind, tuning out her cousin. She wasn't one hundred percent confident in what she was looking at, but if she could just see his…

There. His eyes. Those same eyes that she had been mesmerized by. She finally had a face to go with the name.

"I'll be right back." Ruby said absently as she zipped away. Yang was left stunned, not expecting her timid and reserved cousin to just run away out of the blue. She turned to see where the trail of rose petals lead to. She only had to search for a few moments before she found Ruby walking up to-whoa.

"Hubba hubba. You certainly have taste, Ruby." Yang said with an impressed tone. She was almost proud of her, apparently having 'not' befriended such a specimen. Of course, she couldn't let Ruby talk to just anybody. Yang would have to run him through her usual tests to see if he was worthy enough to be Ruby's friend. Though, from what she was seeing already, there might not be a need for that.

"Look at you, enrolled into Beacon a year early and making friends on your own. I'm proud of you, Ruby." Yang said as she saw her cousin having a conversation with the guy she had mentioned. For her, it felt like just yesterday that Yang had to help Ruby with holding a conversation. Now look at her.

"Come on, Yang. You knew this was going to happen someday. Don't cry now." She told herself as she wiped away a tear that threatened to break free. She took a deep breath before turning and going to try and talk to one of her friends that wanted to try and get Into Beacon as well.


"So…this is what you look like without the armor?" Ruby asked as she stood next to Jaune. So far, she hadn't said much of anything after walking up to him. Neither had he. If it weren't for the few awkward seconds of eye contact, she would have thought he didn't even notice her. She eventually decided to break the silence, with Jaune finally acknowledging her.

"You are quite persistent, aren't you?" He asked, still not turning to face her. She perked up at his question, happy that she was at least making progress with him.

"Yup! That's me! Super persistent Ruby Rose." She said with no small amounts of awkwardness. At this, he gave her a side glance before turning to her fully. He stared down at her with a confused expression, as if unable to discern something about her.

"What's your angle? Why are you so insistent on following me?" He questioned, wanting to know the motivation behind her actions. Ruby only gave him a confused stare in return before answering.

"Angle? I don't have one. I just want to know more about you." She said with a smile. This only served to make Jaune more confused, as he seemed taken back by the statement. He felt something wash over him before he shook his head and turned towards one of the many windows of the Bullhead.

"There's not much to know. I'm just someone who's going to enroll into Beacon." He waved off, looking down at the forest bellow. Ruby stood next to him, also admiring the scenery.

"Either way, I want to be your friend." She spoke, telling him her intentions. He paused for a moment, once again giving her a side glance before a light scowl made its way onto his face. He was going to rebuke her immediately, but another voice stopped him from doing so.

"I knew I'd like her. Can we be friends? Please?"

"Adrian, I told you already that we can't trust anyone." He whispered to his friend. They've had this conversation already. They didn't know who could be working for those people. It was best that they kept to themselves and didn't talk to anyone.

"Hm? Who's Adrian?" Ruby asked, having overheard the beginning of his statement. Jaune looked at her with the slightest hint of panic before clearing his throat and addressing her again.

"Look, I'm not exactly looking to make friends. I have my own reasons for coming here." He said, his thoughts turning to the Faunus and scientist that overlooked his torture. However, before he could delve too deep into those memories, Adrian spoke once more.

"Come on, we're going to be here for a long time. Can't we have just one friend?"

"Come on, we're going to be here for at least four years. It wouldn't hurt to have at least one friend." Ruby tried to argue. Jaune had to pause at that. It was almost an echo with both Adrian's and Ruby's statements. He looked at the young woman, with Adrian next to her looking up at him with pleading eyes.

Damn it, he really couldn't say no to him when he was like this.

"We'll see about that. The ship's landing by the way." He said, not exactly willing to be friends that fast, but at least willing to give it a chance. They both made a good argument. They were more than likely going to be seeing each other a number of times. Especially with Ruby as persistent as she was.

"Oh, we are! Well then, come on! The lady from earlier said that we're supposed to head towards the auditorium once we land." Ruby said as she grabbed hold of his arm and practically dragged him towards the exit. He was surprised at the action and was going to tear his arm away from her, but Adrian's laughter stopped him from doing so.

"Hehe, she's funny. Let's follow her."

'Ugh, the things I do for you.' He thought to himself, grimacing as he allowed the small reaper to guide him where she wanted to. He'd have to talk to Adrian again about things like this.


"I am totally lost." Ruby admitted as she slumped over. They, or rather she, had planned to head towards the auditorium. The only setback being that she didn't know how to get there. He would comment that there was in information booth not three meters away from them, but he couldn't care less whether or not they made it to the scheduled speech or not. She wanted to be his friend? She was going to have to pay the consequences.

"You're mean."

"I'll buy you ice cream later. Let me have this." He whispered, making sure that he couldn't be heard by Ruby this time. There was silence for a moment before Adrian spoke up again.

"You're still mean."

There was nothing after this, so Jaune assumed that he wouldn't say anything else about it. He tuned back into the situation at hand when he noticed that while she was idly walking forward, not paying attention to her surroundings, Ruby had bumped into a large pile of suitcases.

"Oof! Oh, sorry!" She apologized, getting up from falling over. She turned to whoever owned these suitcases, only to be nearly blinded by the sheer amount of white the girl before her was wearing. What kind of psychopath only wears white?

A rich girl with far too many daddy issues, apparently.

"Excuse you! Do you know how much damage you could have caused!? This is genuine leather! Not to mention this Dust could have exploded and blown us off the side of the cliff, you idiotic-" The woman began to yell, talking down to Ruby with her nose so far up into the air her pony tail almost touched the stick currently shoved up her ass.

"Shut up, you egotistical wretch. You sound just like your father." Jaune spoke in an annoyed tone. The Arc was no stranger to who Weiss Schnee was. Or to how much he disliked the family as a whole. He made his statement loud enough that the woman in front of him stopped in her tirade to give him a glare. He'd seen it before, not from her per say, but from her sperm donor. This one was definitely not as potent as what he's seen, though. Then again, considering who he was thinking about, that wasn't saying much. How Jacques Schnee managed to get a woman to spawn a child, let alone three of those gremlins, is beyond him.

"What did you just say? I am nothing like that man!" She yelled at him, trying to stare him down. It was proving to be a bit difficult, seeing as how his height dwarfed her puny stature. Even so, he snatched the vile currently within her hand and twisted the previously loose lid shut.

"Hm, you might be right there. Considering you don't even know how to handle Dust properly. You do know how hazardous Dust is if it's ingested, yes?" Jaune asked, referencing how the particles could become airborne if not handled correctly. Which could then be breathed in by anyone who just so happened to be around it. Jaune still didn't flinch at her glare, nor when the vile of Dust was snatched out of his hand by the woman in front of him. Weiss let out a rather…unladylike growl before ultimately turning tail and to one of the people that she had brought with her.

"You! Clean this up and bring me my things! I am done with this conversation!" Weiss yelled, making the person in question jump to action with a urgency that told anyone that he was very clearly going to be fired if he didn't do as told within a timely manner.

"I…do you know her?" Ruby asked as she stood next to him. The interaction with the Ice Queen had been a quick and abrasive one. She could already tell that the woman was going to be a hazard to her mental health if she was going to be attending class here. Even so, with Jaune addressing her as he did, she would be inclined to believe they had butt heads in the past.

"Once you've met one Schnee, you've met them all." He said simply. He wasn't far from the mark, if you asked someone who had indeed met those of the Schnee family, there were little in terms of differences that you'd have an idea of how all of them carried themselves.

"Do you think she has any friends?"

Ignoring that statement, Jaune turned and started walking down the path once more. He was followed by Ruby shortly after, seeing as she seemed to forget what they were doing in the first place.

"Okay then…wait, what were we doing again?" She asked, stopping after a moment to ponder on the question. Jaune wanted to stay quiet, as he would rather that she gave up the pretense that she would want to be friends with him. That way, Adrian wouldn't be upset with him for not becoming friends with her.

"Talk with her. Or else I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Ugh.

"I noticed that you had a weapon, what do you call it?" He asked, trying to make conversation. He didn't want to go hear a speech from the headmaster with everyone else, that just felt like a waste of time. Granted, so did this, but at least he would only have to deal with the one person as opposed to a lot of them.

"Oh! This is Crescent Rose! I made her to be a lethal Grim slaying machine. With a blade sharp enough to cut through even the toughest of hides, special custom-made rounds that can pierce through any sort of armor all packed within an eighty-five-pound shell." She explained, bringing out her pride and joy in its scythe form. He was impressed, really. The amount of care put into the weapon was admirable. For someone her age to do something like this was damn near unheard of. There were people his age that were still working on their 'true' weapon and were working with the prototypes.

"You are an oddity. I don't think I've met someone like you before." Jaune said, unable to put into words how he felt about her. She has been the only one he has allowed to spend an extended period of time around him. He also couldn't get over the fact that looking into her eyes felt like dipping in aa cool stream of water.

"I wouldn't know about that. I'm just a normal girl that really likes to tinker with weapons." Ruby said, trying to wave his 'compliment' off. Whether it really was one or not was up for debate. However, it was when he was looking over Crescent Rose that she took a glance at his body. She hadn't really noticed, on account that it wasn't on her mind at the time, but he was…fit, in a word. His muscles contracting and retracting as he takes a breath. She only stared at him for a few seconds, but she could already feel her face heat up a small bit.

It was when his rhythmic breathing suddenly stopped that she noticed he was staring at her with that azure gaze again. She let out a squeak before turning away. To her luck, Jaune didn't say anything and let the incident slide. It wasn't like he didn't know that he was appealing. The Huntress from a few weeks ago was enough evidence of that. Still, he felt rather strange knowing that Ruby had looked at him in a similar light. Even if it was for a brief moment.

"Jaune and Ruby sitting in a tree~. K-I-S-S-"

"Quit it or you're not getting ice cream for a month."

"…You're no fun."

"S-so, what's your weapon?" Ruby was able to choke out. Jaune took the change of subject happily, seeing as Adrian was having behavioral problems as of late. The kid needed to know when to leave something alone.

"My weapon is Douleur. A greatsword." He explained briefly. He took the sword at his hip and unsheathed it. He allowed the woman to look over it, her gaze taking to it like a moth to a flame. She inspected the weapon with a critical eye he didn't think she was capable of. Regardless, she brushed a hand over the broad side of the metal while also trying to look for something. He couldn't understand what, as everything involving the blade was plain to see.

"I really like the design, and the craftmanship is top notch. I've only seen this sort of quality from a master blacksmith." She praised. Jaune said nothing, his only reaction being a deeper intake of breath than normal.

"In order to handle the amount of power I run through it; my weapon needs to be a durable as myself." He said, allowing a small bit of his energy to flow into the blade. Ruby was awed when she saw the deep blue metal glow and hum with energy. She had never seen something like this before.

"Cool. So…what else can it do?" She asked, excited about what else this sword could turn into. Perhaps a shotgun, like her father? A gauss canon? The aesthetics that could be pulled off with a weapon like this were limitless!

"I understand what you mean, but I regret to inform you this weapon does not shift into anything else. It can kill, and that is all I need it to do." He informed her, wanting to stop any thoughts of Douleur being a mechashift weapon from her mind. It was obvious she revered weapons such as that in high regard, given her own weapon, but he himself did not fancy them. He required a stable, dependable weapon that could remain functional no matter what abuse it takes.

The fact that it won't malfunction when dipped in water has been his saving grace on a number of occasions.

"Aw, really? But you could totally-" Ruby began to argue. However, Jaune was quick to quiet her voice when he let out a pulse of that same energy once more and let it condense in his hand.

"Any threat that requires long range combat is a nonissue." He said, allowing the orb of energy to stay in his palm for a moment before letting it fizzle out a moment later. Ruby was going to say something else, but realized that he was right. Though, she had never even heard of someone being able to use Aura like that. Maybe he was a prodigy and that's why the headmaster was interested in him?

Oh!

"I just remembered what we were doing out here! We were supposed to go to the auditorium and catch the headmaster's speech!" Ruby exclaimed, her feet running in place. She was looking around, trying to guess where exactly the auditorium would be when Jaune felt a vibration in his pocket. He took the scroll Ozpin gave him out of his pocket and looked at the new message he had received.

'No need to worry, mister Arc. You and miss Rose are not in trouble. All students will be sleeping in the cafeteria tonight in preparation for initiation tomorrow.'

"Figures that he'd know where we were." Jaune said aloud, knowing enough about the headmaster that he was always in the know about things. Part of why he believed Ozpin finding him wasn't as hard as the man said it was. Either way, he turned to Ruby, who was now zipping here and there, a trail of rose petals following in her wake. A Semblance regarding movement, from what he could remember in their previous encounters. Superspeed perhaps, if not teleportation outright.

"We're fine, Ruby. I got a message from the headmaster. He said we just have to be in the cafeteria by nightfall." Jaune called out to her, making the woman turn to him a few yards out before appearing in front of him in a blink. Maybe keeping her away from him would be harder than he thought, if she could move this fast.

"Huh? You got a message from the headmaster? Gasp! Do you know the headmaster personally!? Is that why you're here!? Are you here as his personal agent and that's why you have to hide your identity while you're out!? Like some sort of super hero?" She asked in rapid succession, thinking of all the implications of the headmaster messaging Jaune specifically. She then let out yet another gasp before giving him a gigawatt smile.

"Super hero! Gosh, I'm friends with a super hero!" Ruby exclaimed as she jumped in place. Jaune lightly grimaced at her, finding her optimism annoying.

"Stop. I'm no hero, nor do I know the headmaster personally. I'm simply here because he sought me out for my…abilities." He explained, flexing his fist. Ruby wasn't phased by his words, instead looking at him as if he were some icon of peace

Ugh.

"Such humble words! Truly a great super hero. Anyway, where do you want to go now?" She asked, seeing as how they didn't need to be anywhere until nightfall. She wanted to get to know him a bit more too.

Jaune only groaned, as he felt she wasn't going to stop calling him a 'super hero' no matter what he said. The only thing that he could think to get her to stop doing that was if…

"No."

'Come on, just a little smack. I promise I won't hurt her…too much.'

"I said no! That'd make you a big bully, and I thought we didn't like bullies!"

'Adrian, bud, I know you like her, but if she keeps thinking this about me and realizes the truth later, she isn't going to like us anymore.' Jaune tried to explain to his friend. There was silence for a moment, but the boy spoke up eventually.

"Everyone stops liking us, eventually. Why is it so bad to have a friend before that happens?"

Jaune didn't have an answer for that. He felt a wave of guilt washing over him, knowing that although he only had Adrian's best interests in mind when he pushed others away, he also had to think about what Adrian felt on the matter. The amount of somber loneliness he said that with gave the blonde pause. He was right, everyone eventually grew to despise him, so…why not? Just this once. For Adrian.

"…Let's head to the forge. I need to make sure my gear is in optimal condition." He suggested, seeing that Adrian was delighted to hear him trying to converse with her. Ruby turned to him with a bright smile and shining eyes. He felt uncomfortable looking into them.

"Great Idea! Then after, I can introduce you to my sister! Well, she's technically my cousin, but I've known her my whole life, so she's pretty much my sister." Ruby said as they began walking forward. Jaune noted that she couldn't possibly know where the forge was, but simply plucked a flyer from the information kiosk they were passing and took a gander.

"If she's anything like you, I pray for my sanity." He commented, looking through the pamphlet. Ruby laughed at his 'joke', though if you were to ask him, he wouldn't know what you were talking about. Regardless, he found the information he was looking for and turned them to the pathway that would take them to the lockers holding their equipment. He still had to retrieve his shield. It was too large to carry on his person.

"I wouldn't worry about that. Yang is way different from me. She's actually pretty good at socializing and…stuff." Ruby said, realizing how she hadn't ever had to describe her sister to anyone. Anyone that she talked to was always someone that Yang had introduced, or at the very least someone that already knew about her cousin. She figured that this was going to be another new experience to her. Meeting people that knew nothing about her or her family. Maybe now she can get rid of that stupid nickname everyone gave her back in primary school!

Calling her 'petals' just because her Semblance made them was a stupid reason!

"So, Ruby, you wished to know more about me, but might I ask more about you?" He questioned, figuring that was where you were supposed to start, right? With how Ruby took to the apparent 'progress', maybe it was.

"Well, if it will get you to open up a bit more, then sure! I was born on the island of Patch. Only an hour or two from Vale if you take a Bullhead, if you're wondering. I was raised by my father and uncle. They're the ones who taught me how to fight and make my weapon. My dad's the best scythe wielder I know, if not just the best Hunter outright. Up until now, I've been going to a standard combat school which my dad and uncle also teach!" She began, telling him basic information about where she came from and what life's been like in her home town. He thought about his own home town and let out a sigh of somberness.

He envied Ruby. Truly, he did. She was so happy. Everyone was. They all had families and people to lean upon. A place to call home. He couldn't have that luxury. Not anymore.

"Then Yang, my cousin if you don't remember, applied to Beacon. I came along to make sure she didn't tear down a nightclub or something. I also got to spend the night doing whatever I wanted by myself for my sixteenth birthday. That's when I met you, remember?" She asked, referencing when they had run into each other. Though, Jaune was far too familiar with how they met that night.

"You mean when you were about to get killed by Roman." He stated, not asked. He knew what would have happened should he decided not to intervene. Or if Roman wasn't such a blowhard and talked so much. For as effective a criminal the man was, he didn't know when to shut up.

"Er, y-yeah. Thanks again by the way, for saving me." She said, suddenly a bit shy. It was rather awkward to be talking about your brush with death, after all. Even more so when the person who got you out of that predicament was standing right next to you.

"Forget it. Now, do you have anything else that you need while we're here? I need to get my shield." Jaune said as he entered the building in front of them. Ruby seemed to be surprised that they had been able to reach their destination so quickly. Maybe it had something to do with that pamphlet he was reading earlier. She should probably try to get her hands on one of them too.

"I really only need my Crescent Rose. Though, I guess I could try to make a bit more ammo while I run maintenance again." She said as she went to her own locker. By some strange coincidence, their lockers were right next to each other.

"Ozpin had something to do with this, I'm sure of it." Jaune grumbled to himself. He wasn't especially bothered by it, but these things couldn't be happening as just a coincidence. With how Ozpin messaged him earlier, he'd bet good money on the man arranging this for whatever reason. He'd learned of similar stories about the headmaster, so it wasn't a stretch to believe that theory.

"So, what kind of shield do you-woah! A tower shield, then. I guess anything less would look a bit weird on you." She said, admitting that using something like a kite shield wouldn't be adequate considering his height. Jaune took his shield, separating it into two pieces to check if they had been tampered with in any way before bringing them back together again. Ruby was impressed with it, as she couldn't even tell that it separated in the first place. That took some precise engineering to pull off.

"I'm a large target, so I need a larger shield to defend myself. Chagrin has served me well so far. It also serves as an effective blunt weapon should I lose my sword." He said as he made sure nothing else was tampered with. He noted that his two bags were untouched, with the only thing he bothered with checking himself being his family picture. He stared at it for a moment, caressing the image before he heard Ruby shutting her locker and quickly placing the photo back and closing his own locker.

"Hey, I was thinking, do you want to meet my cousin now? I still have to make sure I have a spot to sleep in if everyone's going to be in there for the night. Oh! You can sleep next to us! It'll be like a sleepover!" Ruby suggested, being giddy at the prospect. It was great having a new friend! Though the one was good enough. This counted right? Making new friends just meant making the one? Whatever, she thought it counted.

"…Maybe later. I really do have to make sure my gear is ready for tomorrow. You can go ahead." Jaune said, absentmindedly. Looking at his old family photo always brought his mood down. He made his way towards the forge, his expression somewhat blank. Ruby caught on to his body language and paused, worried that she might have said something that offended him.

"Are you alright? You don't have to take a spot next to us If you don't want to. I just thought it would be a cool idea." She said, wanting him to decide for himself instead of just listening to her. Jaune stopped at the door before shaking his head.

"It's nothing. Go and talk with your family, Ruby. While you still can." Jaune said, whispering that last bit to himself. Regardless, Ruby was able to make out what he said. She found that strange, though perhaps there really was more to Jaune than he said there was. Even so, she understood that he would probably want to be alone for now. Not to mention, she actually did need to convene with Yang in order to tell her about him. With enough luck, she wouldn't try to scare him off like she did with so many others. She understood that she was only looking out for her, but she was a grown woman for crying out loud!

"I don't think she'd be able to really scare him though, he is pretty strong." She said to herself as she walked towards the cafeteria. She had put her gear away again, seeing as how the plans to head to the forge were put on ice for the time being. It was a bummer, sure, but she was going to hang out with her cousin for a while, so that was something.

"I'm pretty sure uncle Tai wouldn't appreciate…anything happening here." Ruby said to herself as she saw the entirety of the boy's side trying to show off their muscles In the least subtle way possible. To be honest, none of them really had anything to look at. Now, Jaune on the other hand…

"Huh?" Ruby thought to herself, wondering where that came from. Though, to be fair, Jaune was pretty built. Not like some grotesque body builder who uses steroids as a meal substitute either. Like he put time and effort into how he built his body. Something that he planned and worked on for years to attain. A kind of focus none of these other boys wouldn't know about. Jaune was…something else entirely.

"Ruby!" Yang called out, getting the woman's attention. She turned to see Yang halfway across the room. Though, a bit too close to the boy's side for her liking. It didn't bother her either way, seeing as how either she or Yang were more than capable of taking care of any guys that would try anything.

The old reliable crotch kick was always effective.

"Hi Yang. Anything happen at the headmaster's speech? I couldn't make it. I was busy doing…stuff." Ruby tried to explain, realizing how it would sound if she said she didn't go to the assembly to hang out with Jaune. It wasn't like she did it on purpose! She didn't know where to go! Though, now that she thought about it, did Jaune know? No, he couldn't have. He'd have told her If he did. Right?

"Oh~. It wouldn't have anything to do with that fine specimen of a boy, would it?" Yang asked as she wiggled her eyebrows in a suggestive manner. She said so in jest of course. She knew Ruby wouldn't, or rather couldn't, do anything so promiscuous. It just wasn't in her to do that. Still, she wanted to know what she was doing for all that time.

"Jaune is not just a boy!" Ruby said out loud, her mind still on what she had been thinking about before she was talking to her sister. Of course, her slip of the tongue hadn't been lost on her. With someone like Yang, she knew exactly where her mind would go to with a statement like that.

Did that say something about Yang, or herself?

"Ghk, that is to say, he's just a friend! Nothing else!" She tried to cover up. Yang blinked a few times, even going so far as to try and clear out her ears to make sure she heard that right. When she was done with her 'maintenance', she turned to Ruby with the most shit eating grin the reaper had ever seen on her family member.

"So, his name is Jaune? Well, I want to hear all about how he's 'not just a boy'." Yang teased, making Ruby deflate and groan in defeat. She really had dug her own grave when she let that slip out without thinking, didn't she?


"Are you okay?" Adrian asked, looking upon the sole Arc polishing his shield. He's been doing this since he entered the forge. He didn't even attempt to look over his blade, just kept going over his shield. He knew this to be his go to when he was troubled by something or other.

Jaune only stayed silent for a moment before letting out a sigh and stopping what he was doing.

"No Adrian. I'm not. I'm sorry that we couldn't hang out with Ruby for much longer, but I just needed to think some things over. I promise to get you a double scoop of ice-cream the next chance we get. That sound good to you?" Jaune said, trying to appease his friend for the time being. He didn't need to make the both of them sad. Not of he could help it.

"I know you miss mom, dad and the others. I wish I could have met them."

Jaune had to strain himself not to let out a sob, as small as it was. His eyes were watering and that same feeling in his gut was burning away at him again. That same emptiness when thinking about his sisters and parents. How he'll never get to see them again. Never get to tell them how much he loved them.

"Can you tell me another story about them?"

"…Sure, bud. I'll tell you about the time Rouge had to track down a Boarbatusk because it had stolen her purse." Jaune began, more than willing to reminisce on a happy memory with Adrian than think about the present. Adrian was happy, so he at least had that.


"Sir, are you sure keeping someone like this is a wise choice? He's obviously exhibiting some form of psychosis." Goodwitch asked Ozpin as she looked over the security footage of Jaune within the forge. They had seen him do similar things around the rest of the campus, even around Ruby, where he'd be talking or responding to someone that clearly wasn't there. This was the most blatant it had been since they had been observing him. Ozpin himself only gave the current footage of Jaune a sad look before turning to his deputy.

"Glynda, we can't refuse someone just because they're mentally unwell. If anything, we should be trying to keep him here so that we can help him with whatever is causing this break from reality." He argued. It just didn't sound like Glynda to outright refuse a student for such a benign reason. It was almost cruel of her, even.

"Ozpin, you know better than anyone how I would like nothing more than to find this young man the help he needs, but when you are talking about someone with that kind of power, we simply cannot endanger the rest of our students. Miss Rose is especially crucial to our cause. The fact she is attempting to entangle herself into that thing's affairs is-" She began to argue, being enlightened as to what exactly happened to Jaune Arc. He wasn't simply driven out of his home by the Queen, he was taken from by her. Him along with hundreds of others taken from their homes, with the entirety of their records scrubbed from the face of the planet. To then be used as guineapigs for her deranged experiments until whatever was sitting at the forge talking to a non-existent person that at any time, could raze this school to the ground.

Ozpin, however, decided to stop whatever his right hand was trying to imply.

"That thing is a child, Goodwitch. A child that is afraid and too scared to allow himself a weakness. Regardless of what he was made into, or what he could turn into, he still deserves a second chance. I will not hear you refer to him as an 'it', 'thing' or otherwise in my presence. Is that clear?" He ordered. He understood that having a student that could very well be a sleeper agent of the Queen was a possibility. However, he would not deny this boy a chance at happiness simply because of a possibility that could all be speculation and nothing else.

Ozpin may have made many mistakes in the past, some of which involving a similar scenario to this one, but he would be damned if he ruined any more lives. Starting with this one, he'd try to make amends for all the destruction he's caused so many before.

"Yes, sir." The woman said, taking a deep breath before nodding. She still had her reservations about Jaune Arc, but she could realize that her initial grievances were ones born of shock. She had seen and experienced much in her time within Ozpin's Inner Circle, so she knew a potential danger when she saw one. Even if Ozpin didn't want to admit it out of some guilt of his previous mishaps, she would help him in realizing just how dangerous it really was.

She walked out of his office, planning on adjusting her schedule so that she would be able to monitor and test exactly how big of a threat they were dealing with.


"Jaune, you in here?" Ruby asked as she entered the forge. She had been jostled around by her cousin for about an hour or so trying to pry as much info about Jaune and what they were doing while everyone else was listening to Ozpin's 'boring' speech. Yang's words not hers.

"Over here." Jaune's voice came from the far end of the forge. She perked up, thinking that with the silence, there would be no one else in the building. Regardless, she entered and went further into the hall of steel.

Oh, that was a good one!

"Hey there, Jaune. Wanted to check up on you and tell you that curfew's in another two hours. Wanted to tell you now in case you were working the forge and couldn't shut it off immediately." She said, walking up to him. He was currently looking over his sword, with a maintenance kit next to him.

"Thank you for coming in to tell me, but I do not intend to sleep in the cafeteria. I have a separate room I'll be staying in. It's part of the arrangement Ozpin has for me." He explained, his back still towards her. Ruby got curious at this. He says that he doesn't know the headmaster personally, yet he has his own room before even being an official student here. Curious.

"So, what is this 'arrangement' you have with the headmaster anyway? It had to be pretty important if he's set aside a room for you to sleep in separate from the everyone else." Ruby asked, sitting in a nearby stool. Jaune only paused for a moment before figuring that it wouldn't hurt to tell her.

"I am to report to Ozpin for any specific assignments that require my level of expertise. In other words, he'll call upon me whenever he needs this power." Jaune explained, allowing his energy to hug his skin for a moment before having it recede again. He went back to polishing his sword, adding the final touches before putting everything away.

"Are you okay?" Ruby questioned. She had noticed since he walked out of the locker room that he had been in some sort of slump. She didn't know what caused it, or why it affected him so much, but as a friend she couldn't in good conscious not at least try and help him.

"If you are referring to my behavior earlier by the lockers, I'd let the memory slip from your mind. Everything is fine." He waved off, knowing that he probably came off a certain way when leaving for the forge. He didn't need Ruby trying to pry into his business. Friend or not, he wasn't willing to open up about this to anyone.

"But I can tell that it isn't. Something happened in the locker rooms and you're upset. It's okay to talk about stuff like that. Keeping it bottled up inside isn't going to help you. Even if you don't want to tell me what's wrong, just admitting that there is something wrong can help." Ruby said, only knowing things like this due to experience. It was partly how her father and uncle would tell her to deal with her problems and emotions, mostly because it was how she dealt with the fact that she'd never see her mother again.

Jaune took a deep breath, debating with himself whether or not to dignify that with a response. More accurately, he debated with Adrian. Seeing as how the kid has been nagging at him near constantly ever since he arrived here in Vale. Even more so once he started interacting with Ruby.

"Can't we tell her what's wrong? I thought you liked talking about our family."

"Ruby, I don't know you enough to share my problems with you. Forgive me if I'm not comfortable sharing private information." Jaune explained, both answering his new acquaintance and Adrian at the same time. Ruby wanted to press further, but knew he had a point. They had only interacted with each other less than twenty-four hours total, so he had a right to be reserved around her.

"Okay, if you're sure. I was thinking of using the training rooms before bed. The pamphlets said we could do that if we wanted, though I don't think anyone else knows it. Do you wanna come?" Ruby suggested, at least wanting to see him in combat before tomorrow. Jaune lifted his blade from his station to make sure it was up to his standards before getting up and placing it in his sheath.

"Very well. Perhaps you can do better than you did facing Roman." Jaune jabbed. The comment made Ruby sputter for a moment before pouting at him with indignation.

"Hey! He got a lucky shot, okay!? I totally would have had him If he didn't…" Ruby trailed off, remembering the fact that the mention of her mother had sent a spike of melancholy through her. Jaune gave her a glance, finding it curious as to why she went quiet. He thought back to that night, and what Roman had said to her and could deduce that it had something to do with the thief's mention of her mother. Maybe they had something in common after all.

"Believe me when I say you wouldn't stand a chance. Even with that Semblance of yours, Roman is an experienced criminal who, despite his appearance, is no stranger to combat. My first encounter with the man was similar to your own, though I was able to eventually force him to retreat." Jaune said, knowing that Roman was a real threat when it came to confrontations. Regardless of the fact that he would rather be able to slip in and out with whatever loot he set his sights on, the man was never without contingencies. As was evidenced when he was able to distract them long enough to get to his escape vehicle. Always a means of escape, no matter what.

"Whatever, first I wanted to try and fight the drones Beacon had, but now I challenge you to a duel!" Ruby exclaimed, pointing at him in a dramatic fashion. Jaune turned to her with an eyebrow raised, finding her either brave, or exceedingly stupid. He wasn't going to deny her either way, but he figured that she was probably something of the latter.

"Oh oh oh! Are you going to fight? Please say yes! I haven't seen you fight someone in so long!"

He had stop himself from rolling his eyes at that. Adrian apparently forgot about the time he fought those thugs just last week. Though maybe he was referring to him fighting someone as Jaune Arc and not Vengeance Bleue. He would admit, he wanted to test his current progress on someone else. Grim were too predictable for his taste.

"So be it. With any luck, you should be able to learn a thing or two." He answered, returning to their walk to the training rooms. Really, he only agreed because Adrian was begging him to. He could guess Ruby's plan of attack; Try to blitz him from the side with a swing of her scythe, seeing as how the weapon couldn't attack otherwise. If she was smart, she wouldn't bother with range, what with his shield. He was also able to get a look at her fighting style the night they met, so he was at an advantage there.

"Alright! Let's go!" She exclaimed, rushing forward. Jaune only shook his head. She was wasting Aura at this rate.

"I know what you're doing. You're going to clothesline her, aren't you!?"

"…No I'm not." Jaune lied, knowing full well that he was going to do that. Something he always did when fighting less experienced people. It was funny, alright? What was life without a bit of humor in it?

"Yeah, you are! What do you think is going to happen if you tried that with her!? You're so much taller than her!"

"She'd probably…drop like a sack of potatoes…snrk." Jaune answered, trying his best not to burst out laughing at the thought of it.

"I've got you now-hghk!"

"That's not funny! What if she gets really hurt!?"

"She's the one who challenged me, Adrian. You can't blame me for hurting her in a fight. Whatever happens is on her." Jaune said as he continued walking. He could just about see Ruby waving to him from the training room. Adrian still wasn't happy with him though.

"…Can you at least try to teach her, like you said you would? Please? I don't want her to die."

Jaune was caught off guard with that statement. He was talking about her bout with Roman. Jaune again remembered that he also had to take into account what Adrian thought on the matter, Even if he thought it would be funny, hilarious even, if he ended it immediately with a haymaker, it wouldn't be fair to Adrian that he did so without at least making sure she wouldn't get into that situation again.

The things he sacrifices for this kid.

"Alright, deal." He whispered as he approached Ruby. That was the end of the conversation with his friend as Ruby did a small jump in place before entering the training room and to the middle of the arena.

"Took you long enough! Get over here and let's get started!" Ruby demanded as she readied her fighting stance. Jaune let out a huff before stepping into the ring. He made sure his shield was held in place and his sword firmly in hand. He stared over and her from around his shield and noticed that while her stance was good, it too easily telegraphed her next move for those with experience.

"We can start whenever you're ready." She spoke, anxious to begin the match. Jaune was going to get the fight going and teach her to correct her footing by beating it into her, but a quick glance over to a pouting Adrian told him not to.

"You're going to charge me from the left." He said simply. Ruby at first thought he was going to say he was ready and was already charging forward, but stopped just as she swung her scythe…at his left. She stared at him in shock, seeing his eyes staring into her own, not a muscle indicating that he was going to block her attack.

"How did you…know that?" She asked, dropping her stance and taking a step back. Their fight hadn't begun yet, so there wasn't a point in staying In her stance. Jaune turned to her fully and gestured to her legs with his sword.

"Your stance told me. With how your feet were pointing to my left, I could tell you were going to come in from that direction. Though it was a small angle, it was more than enough to tell me your first move." Jaune explained. Ruby looked down at her boots and contemplated on those words.

Funny, she was pretty sure that schooling wasn't supposed to start until next week.

"Normally, someone would have to charge forward and wait until the last moment to decide where they are going to strike from, but with that Semblance of yours, you could simply start neutral before quickly charging into your chosen side. The advantage of a movement-based Semblance." He advised, giving her ideas as to how she could start a match. Ruby stayed silent, taking in this information as best she could. Seeing as how he did deal with crooks on the regular, he knew what he was talking about.

"Ideally, that would land you the first blow and from there you can choose the pace of the battle. What with your focus on speed and precision, you should make sure your opponent never has the chance to counter, keep the pressure on and end the fight quickly. It shouldn't be too difficult if you're hitting them with over eighty-five pounds of force." He continued, giving her an overview of how someone like her should be fighting. She might already know this, she might not. Either way, he was giving his point of view on the matter and trying to give her valuable information. As per his deal with Adrian, of course.

"What if it doesn't?" Ruby asked, invested in this conversation. She hadn't expected the spar to turn into a lesson, but if it gave her an advantage going into Initiation tomorrow, then she was all for it! Not to mention, Jaune seemed to be rather driven talking about this sort of thing too! It was the first time seeing him like this, so maybe this could tell her more about his character in the process. Win-win!

"If it doesn't, and the opponent is able to dodge or block your attack, then your best bet is to back away with your Semblance. Chances are they're going to try to attack from the opposite side. Wait for them to miss and overextend before attacking once more." Jaune instructed, glad that she was taking his advice to heart. There were others that he had corrected them on their fighting styles, mostly other mercenaries he was fighting alongside, that would become angry at him for questioning their ability. It didn't bother him too much, seeing as how he wouldn't have to deal with them for much longer at that rate. Even so, he continued with his advice.

"Keep in mind, if the battle persists and you find yourself engaging with an opponent who can keep up with you, you're going to need to find a way to even the playing field. Can you think of a way to do that?" Jaune asked, this time wanting Ruby to try and come up with an answer. This was advice for her after all. She couldn't just listen and do whatever he said.

He wasn't the Atlas Military.

"I could…try to back away and do range. My sniper packs a pretty heavy punch." Ruby suggested, shifting Crescent Rose weapon into its sniper form. Jaune nodded, knowing that it was a viable strategy, but was also one that had limitations. If they were able to keep up with her speed up close, they were more than likely able to at least dodge or take enough bullets to close in on her again.

"Viable, but they could close the distance fairly quickly. I'm thinking more along the lines of what could you do in order to stop the fight immediately?" He asked, wanting to point her in the right direction. Ruby had to stop to think on that. What could she possibly do to stop a fight with someone that can keep up with her? Usually those who could do that won because they had more Aura and stamina than her, or because they were lucky enough to knock her off balance and cause her to lose her grip on Crescent Rose…OH!

"I can knock their weapon out of their hands!" She exclaimed, excited that she came up with that on her own. No one would think their opponent would suddenly try to rip their weapon away from them! Sure it was always a thought, but for someone to do so in the middle of battle wasn't terribly common. Jaune nodded, as that's the answer he was looking for.

"Mind you, most people have a solid grip on their weapons at all times, so doing so isn't going to be easy and you only have one shot at it because they catch on to what you're trying to do. My advice is to hit their elbow as hard as you can." He continued. At this, Ruby was confused. She thought he was going to say hit their hand or wrist.

"Their elbow? Why?" She asked, voicing her confusion. Jaune put his sword back in his sheath, seeing as how they weren't fighting right now. He then gestured to her arm, to which she stared at, still confused as to what he was trying to say.

"Have you ever hit your funny bone before?" He asked simply. At this, Ruby finally realized what he was hinting at and promptly winced while rubbing her elbow and nodding. He nodded in kind, going to continue from there.

"It's a natural reaction for their muscles to contract and seize once that nerve is struck with enough force. Striking there will either force them to drop their weapon or give you enough time to rip it off of them yourself. It requires a good amount of precision, so I would advise practicing before trying it on an opponent. Like I said, you only have one shot at it before they catch on." The blonde spoke. He saw the gears turning in the reaper's head, soaking in that information. He thought that maybe she was accepted a year early for a reason, if she was taking information so easily.

"Is there any other way to incapacitate them? In case it doesn't work?" She asked, wanting to keep her options open, should the one tactic not work. Jaune let out a small smile, liking how she was thinking outside the box Instead of confining herself to the one move.

"Of course. While I use one, most people don't have a shield, so they don't have something to defend from gunfire. While they might have plans to make sure they don't take too many shots, they're normally not prepared for an attack on their senses. You use Dust, yes?" He asked, gesturing to her gun. She nodded, this time catching on to what he was advising.

"I could use electric Dust to blind them! Or Fire Dust, even. Oh, that's not bad." Ruby thought to herself, already thinking of what she could do to turn her regular electric and fire rounds into flashbangs to fire into her opponent's eyes. Still, there was one problem she realized about that rout.

"But isn't that kind of…underhanded? Seems a bit cheap to essentially throw sand in someone's eyes." Ruby retorted, believing that it was a bit cowardly to do stuff like that. Striking the elbow to knock a weapon out of the hand was one thing, as it was one of the main points to try and do in spars, but blinding someone just to get the upper hand was something else entirely.

Jaune only gave her a briefly annoyed look before remembering that she was still green in terms of fighting experience. Not everyone learned this lesson from the start, the small scar over his eye told him that.

"Ruby, not everyone is going to fight fair. Take Roman for example. He uses a flair as a projectile. He does that because they are bright and blinding to those who aren't expecting it. He wasn't going to hesitate to blow your head off when he had his weapon aimed at your skull. Why should you risk yourself like that if that's the alternative?" Jaune challenged, wanting to get the point across that playing fair against opponents that want you dead is only going to put you at a disadvantage.

"I guess…" Ruby trailed off. She didn't like it, but he made a good point. She remembered her dad saying something similar, but wasn't too upfront about it. Her uncle was uncomfortable with the subject and didn't really say anything on the matter. Still, it didn't sit right with her.

"That's enough of a lesson for now. We only have so much time before curfew. Now come, we still have a spar to take care of." Jaune said as he made to get to the other side of the ring. Mostly so that Ruby could process his information and get into position.

"Thank you. I know you didn't want to."

"Maybe not, but I know you like her. I did say I would anyway, and I always keep my word to you." Jaune said in a low voice as Adrian smiled at him. He then turned, seeing that Ruby was once again in her battle stance, though her feet were still a little angled, he knew changing a stance you've had for a while was going to take some time. He gave her points for trying, though.

"We begin in three. Two. One. Start!" He exclaimed, watching as she zipped forward, her scythe already mid-swing as she came in from his right side this time. Even so…

"I've got you this time-hghk!"

He clotheslined her.

"Heheh. Like a sack of potatoes." Jaune chuckled to himself as he turned around to stare at the splayed woman below him. Her weapon was at her side, with her face planted firmly into the ground. The only indicator she was still conscious was the groan she let out. A mild feat, in Jaune's eyes. Seeing as how she was going so fast and he brought his hand forward with a bit of effort. Still, she was probably going to feel that in the morning. Maybe missing a tooth or two at that.

"…You were planning on doing that from the start weren't you?"

"You don't know that." He retorted, a cheeky smile on his face. He quickly schooled his features as he saw Ruby getting back up.

"Ugh, what happened? Did I win?" She asked, trying to get the blur out of her vision. She shook her head before feeling herself get lifted by her hood. She flailed for a moment before she was put down on her feet.

"No. You must learn to Strike through your opponent, not run through them." He spoke. Really, that was a great strategy against someone smaller or physically weaker than her, but she herself wasn't that large to begin with. Not to mention he was a giant compared to her. Again, it probably would have worked on other fighters, but it was a shame that it happened to be him this time.

"What do you eat anyway? It felt like I hit a wall or something." She complained as she checked to see if her nose was intact. Luckily it was. Which was a wonder too, as when he looked at her, he couldn't see any physical damage to her face.

Really needed to train a bit more, then.

"Are you seriously thinking about increasing your strength because you couldn't break a girl's nose?"

"It's the principle of the matter, Adrian. If I couldn't break her nose then, who's to say I couldn't break something else of an opponent later?" Jaune tried to reason. He under no circumstances was saying that he intended to break her face.

Now expecting it on the other hand, he will fully admit to.

"There's that name again. Who's Adrian?" Ruby asked, noting for the second time that day Jaune uttered that name. Jaune once again had a flash of panic before clearing his throat and changing the subject.

"So, Ruby, do you want to try your hand again at sparring with me, or do you want to do something else?" He asked, wishing to deter her attention to something else. He didn't want anyone else to try and figure out who Adrian was. For the safety of his friend and honorary younger brother, he would never put the kid in danger like that.

"I'd rather not get run over by a Bullhead again, thank you very much. How about…you show me that power again. You used it on the rooftop when you were trying to take down that Bullhead, and I want to see how you used your Aura like that." Ruby suggested, remembering the lightshow he displayed on that night. Jaune thought on it for a moment, noting that she believed it to be simple Aura as opposed to what it actually was, and was grateful. Didn't need to tell her exactly what it was he as using when he did those attacks. He could simply wave it off as simple Aura technique.

"Very well. Now mind you, that technique is a closely held secret. I don't want just anybody knowing about it. It is only by chance that you were told who I was underneath the armor." He fabricated. Again, he didn't want her figuring out who he was or knowing of him in the first place, but Ozpin apparently had other plans. The dick.

"I get it. Super hero alter ego and stuff. You said people wanted to track you down, so it's for that power, right?" Ruby guessed, recalling the warning he gave her before he turned the corner and disappeared. Jaune had gone toward the door and made sure no one was in the hall before closing and locking it. He'd give her points for creativity, even if he detested the title of 'super hero'. Sounded rather gaudy and pretentious if you ask him.

"…Right. Now, what exactly did you want me to do. I can do many things with this power, so you'll have to be specific." He said, wanting her to clarify what she meant. Ruby thought for a moment, placing a finger on her chin. It was when he was approaching the ring once more that she came up with something.

"Can you do that one attack again? What did you call it? Something…Javelin?" She tried to remember. It was all so sudden and the move itself fairly spectacular, so she couldn't quite recall what he named it.

At this, Jaune became genuinely embarrassed. She heard that? Ugh, he let Adrian name his special moves and this is where it gets him? Great.

"R-Riot Javelin-anyway, I suppose I could. I'm only doing this once, however." He said quickly. She still seemed ecstatic to watch a real-life super move regardless. So, he turned to one of the training dummies in the far end of the room and pulled back a fist. He allowed his energy to pool in his hand, concentrating the power into a focal point. He only put so much into it, considering the confined space, so the blast was only going to be so strong.

"This is going to be so cool." Ruby practically whimpered as she stared in awed wonder. She'd only seen stuff like this in comic books

Gasp! She runs into a super hero in the middle of his patrol, finds out who he is by chance, runs into him again as his true identity, they hit it off, they become friends, and now he's trusting her to witness his power!?

SHE'S THE MAIN PROTAGONIST'S BEST FRIEND! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

"Say the name!"

"I don't want to."

"Do it!"

"She's right there. She knows what it's name is."

"She wants the full experience! Do it!"

Truthfully, he had finished charging it a long time ago, he was just arguing with Adrian over if he should yell out the name or not. Adrian was for it, saying that it would be wrong not to when she was clearly hyped up about it while he was against the idea, saying that since this was in a casual setting and she knew what it was it wouldn't make sense to do it here.

"What are you, chicken? Bock bock?"

"Oh you really know how to push my buttons. Fine." Jaune finally relented, knowing that Adrian wasn't going to let him hear the end of it if he didn't say it now. So, with just a tiny bit more power than was necessary, he threw the attack forward, uttering it's name.

"Riot Javelin!" Jaune yelled out, the energy bomb bursting forth at blinding speeds and making contact with the dummy. It then promptly exploded.

Along with a solid chunk of the wall and floor.

"Woah." Ruby breathed out as she saw the destruction the attack caused. A sizeable crater had been made in the far end of the room. She had been knocked over by the winds it made like last time, but holy moly.

"Hm, maybe I put too much power in that." Jaune contemplated as she stared at his open palm. Ozpin was probably going to say something about it, along with the fact that the entire school would have felt the impact, But hey. He figured it was his own way of affirming his power to the headmaster. Not to mention this was a small way he could get back at the old man for forcing him to be friends with Ruby.

"That was totally wicked!"

"That was totally wicked!"

Jaune had to clean out his ears, as he could have sworn he heard that in stereo. Still, he turned to Ruby as she got back up and turned to him with a gigawatt grin.

"Can-can-can you do other stuff like that? Can you…can you do that but stronger? Gasp! You can fly! I remembered that! How do you do all these things with Aura!? TELL ME!" Ruby practically demanded while gripping his shirt and trying to shake the information out of him. Jaune turned to Adrian, who was over the moon that they finally had someone else to talk and show these moves to.

"I told you she was nice! She's not one of those people!"

"Alright, stop. I said I was only doing that once. Now, if I'm not mistaken, it's getting close to that curfew you mentioned. You also said you had a cousin you were here with, I'm sure she's expecting you pretty soon. It's best you get back to her." Jaune said, not wanting this to go on any more than it already has. He was pushing her towards the door, with the woman trying to dig her heels into the ground to stop herself.

"No! I want to see more cool energy stuff! I want you to give me a ride!" She complained, only stopping after that last comment. So did Jaune, as she realized what it was she just said. She turned bright red before correcting herself.

"Give me a ride while you're flying! Is what I meant." She said in a rushed manner. Jaune only cleared his throat before continuing to push her towards the door.

"I've shown you enough. You can't tell anyone about this. If you do, I'll know, yadda yadda yadda. All that other stuff. Now, scram." Jaune spoke, tossing her out of the room and closing the door behind her. She quickly turned back around and tried opening it, using as much force as she could to force the offending piece of metal open to no avail.

"Let me in! LET ME IN! I demand to know your secrets!" She yelled. She received no response, and with a few more seconds of trying, she finally gave up. She supposed he did show her enough, given the fact this was the first time they really interacted together.

"Fiddlesticks! I really wanted to know what it felt like to fly." She bemoaned in a downtrodden tone. She then made her way back to the cafeteria to meet up with Yang again and get ready to sleep. Tomorrow was a big day after all.

"Ugh, Yang's probably going to ask me about Jaune again. So what if he's a guy? I can't have a guy friend who just so happens to have abs that could grind meat?" She asked herself. It took a few seconds for her to realize the implications of her saying that. When she did, she shriveled up on herself a bit before letting out a groan.

"Note to self, never tell Yang I said that." She decreed. The rest of her walk back to the cafeteria was mostly uneventful after that, as no one else was in the hallway other than her.


"Huhuhu, I knew you liked her."

"…What are you talking about?" Jaune asked as he kept his hands on the door he just shoved Ruby through. He stood there for an amount to time to make sure she didn't come back in. Even when she wasn't there anymore, he still stayed. Adrian only giggled a small bit before speaking again.

"Come on, this is the nicest you've been to anyone. You can't tell me you don't feel something for her."

"Adrian, this is the first person I've interacted with in a very long time. How do you know this isn't me just trying to be friendly?" Jaune questioned, finally exiting the room to head towards the lockers again. He still had the rest of his things there, so he'd need to make the trip there before he made his way to the room he was promised. Adrian still persisted.

"Because you've tried being friendly before, and you didn't show him your powers on the first day."

"If you're referring to old man Doc Mitchel, then that was a different story. I was injured and didn't know if I could trust him then." Jaune retorted knowing that the doctor, while a total stranger to him, had patched him up after a particularly grueling fight against the agents trying to take him back. The man was kind enough, though after Jaune recovered, he left as soon as he could without a goodbye.

"But you had no choice but to talk to him while you couldn't leave. You could have now, but you didn't."

Jaune let out a sigh, rubbing his eyes in tiredness. For whatever reason, Adrian was being particularly argumentative lately. Whether it was because of their new situation or because of Ruby herself was unknown to him, but he didn't have the energy for this right now.

"Adrian, bud. Can we do this later? I'm…very tired. I'd rather get to initiation fully rested. Please?" He asked, now in the locker room and getting his things. There was silence for a moment before Adrian answered.

"Okay."

"Thank you." Jaune breathed out as he closed his locker, bags in hand. He made sure his family photo was intact before making his way out of the building. Only, he stopped a step or two before the end of the locker row. He frowned, crossing his arms and letting out a huff. Couldn't be left alone for two minutes, could he?

"What do you want?" He asked to seemingly nothing. After a moment or two, someone emerged from around the corner of the locker row he was about to pass. It was a woman with black hair and monochrome clothing. The bow on her head seeming a bit off to him before he stared into the yellow eyes looking up into his own blue ones.

"Nothing, just wanted to know who was in the locker room when we're supposed to be In the cafeteria." She said, keeping her arms behind her. He could tell they were holding something, weapons presumably by the tension on her skin.

"Bullshit. What do you want from me?" He demanded. It was too much of a coincidence that she would be here when he was, or that she was right around the corner he was going to walk past. She only stayed quiet for a few seconds before answering.

"You know Adam. I want to know how." She demanded of him. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was getting at.

"Adam? Never heard of him." He tried to wave off. Of course he knew who that genocidal maniac was. The guy was a lunatic hell bent on killing all of human kind. Now whatever her relationship with the Faunus was he…hold on.

"Don't try to be koi with me, I know you two have crossed paths before. I'd recognize that stare anywhere." She said, letting her arms fall from her back to reveal her weapon and it's sheath. His eyes flickered to them before staring at her again. So, this was that girl Adam had been traveling with? Wonder what a fellow terrorist was doing here?

"Right. I'll answer any questions you have about that maniac, so long as you answer mine." He countered; his arms still crossed. If she had seen his eyes and recognized him, then she was there when he and Adam finally crossed blades proper. That Moonslice technique of his caught him by surprise, cost him a helmet, but after that it was a washout. Didn't kill him because some kind of explosive went off between them and in the smoke, he was able to escape. Jaune would guess it was this lady's doing.

"Then ask." She said in a blunt manner. Right to the point this time. Maybe she really did have common sense. You don't have the element of surprise, you don't have anything to really ransom, nor do you have the ability to overpower him. Being cordial was the best thing she had right now.

"What is a White Fang member doing in Beacon, hm? I'd imagine the right-side woman of Adam himself would detest the idea of being here. Being that Faunus and humans live and learn equally." He asked, knowing that true equality was something Adam never wanted to happen between humans and Faunus.

He figured the daughter of Ghira and Kali Belladonna would be much the same.

"Former White Fang member. I cut ties with them to try being a Huntress." She answered, visibly twitching when he called her a White Fang. Interesting to say the least. Still, he wanted to know more before saying anything.

"Aw, what's the matter? Things get a little too serious for you? Couldn't stomach all the mass murder and fear mongering you guys were doing?" He goaded, wanting to get a reaction out of her. Surprisingly enough, her expression didn't tell him that she was unwilling to do all that, but that guilt was eating away at her.

"He…things went too far. There weren't supposed to be people on that train." She said, half as an answer, half to herself. Jaune only grimaced, what kind of coward was he looking at here?

"Really? With all that time being partnered with Adam, a simple train heist is what caused you to tap out? You're telling me you went on every mission he asked of you and a simply robbing of a train was what made you think things were going too far?" He asked, at least knowing who was on that train when the Atlas shipment of Dust had been robbed. The woman just flinched harder as he saw anger start to build up in her eyes.

"He was talking about killing everyone on that train. There were children in there. Not just humans, but Faunus too." She argued. It just disgusted him more.

"Funny, if it were just adult humans, would you have even batted an eye? Even if it were fully grown, trained military men on that train, would you have cared if they died or not?" He pressured, already knowing the answer, but wanting to confirm it for himself. She stayed quiet, taking a step back. He took a deep breath, calming himself from the heat building in his stomach. At last, she spoke.

"It's different. Those are families that don't deserve to die. Those military men would be trying to kill us." She tried to rationalize. She shook his head.

"Is it really? You were the ones trying to rob a train, they'd only be doing their jobs. As for being different, do you really believe that? Those men would have families too. People that cared about them, and you would have killed them just to steal some Dust. To make the message that Faunus deserve equality, you murder people?" He asked, getting down to how the White Fang operate now. At this point, the woman had her anger reach a tipping point.

"We wouldn't need to kill anyone if they were willing to listen in the first place! Besides, from what Adam's said, you aren't exactly a saint either. How is that any different than me?" She growled, her pupils becoming slits. It was at this comment that Jaune had to really control himself. Was she being serious?

"You want to know the difference between you and me? I'll tell you. I may not have the cleanest hands, but I don't go around prancing about trying to tell everyone that I did it for a greater cause. I'm not hiding behind a brainwashing cult to excuse my actions. I'm. Not. A. Coward." Jaune said in a low tone, glowering over her. She took a step back, her expression shifting from anger to indignation, then to slight fear. He scoffed before giving her some room.

"Willing to listen? How long did you give them? How long has it been since Ghira started the White Fang, Blake?" He asked, referring to her by her name. Blake was shocked that he would reference her father and the group that he founded, but was given no time to ponder on that as Jaune continued.

"Fifteen, almost twenty years? How long do you think a movement like that takes in order for change, true change to take place, hm? Especially since it's taken place so soon after the Faunus Revolutionary War. It took mechashifting weapons almost two hundred years to be normalized like It is today. No one was truly opposed to the idea because it simply made combat more effective. So, what do you think is going to happen when you try to tell humans that have gone to war with your people not fifty years ago that you want equal rights? There are people that grew up scared for their lives because a bunch of fucking idiots didn't like each other! It is going to take entire generations of kids to grow up around the other race in order for any sort of change to occur. Any sort of change." He ranted, finding it exceedingly retarded how impatient Sienna Khan is for making the White Fang go this direction so quickly.

Adam wasn't even to be fully blamed. Don't get him wrong, everything Adam has done was his own doing, but the fact that he was given a chance to become what he is, is partially the fault of those that encouraged him to do so.

"Listen, I'm not going to sugar coat this, you're astronomically stupid for not thinking Adam wouldn't care if that train was filled with people. What you've done is not willful ignorance, it was being too much of a coward to do something about it. How you worked up the courage to come here of all places, I don't know, but you did want me to tell you all I knew about Adam, so here. I've had to fight him on a number of occasions defending a settlement and their supplies. I kept hearing him rant on and on about Faunus liberation and how they would either be respected or feared. When we finally fought without any interruptions, I asked him if he truly killed people with Faunus freedom in mind. Do you know what he told me?" Jaune asked, finally getting to what she approached him for in the first place. At this point, Blake was ready to run, unsure whether or not he was going to become hostile. Yet still, she had to know.

"What did he say?" She asked, her voice small and meek.

"No. Now get out of my sight." He spoke. Blake only stared at him for a few more moments before quickly walking back the way she came. Jaune carried on back to his room, scowling the whole time. The nerve of that woman trying to justify her actions with that bullcrap, astounding. The fact he had to point out to her just how long a rights movement was supposed to take just angered him more. Completely soured his mood from earlier. To think he was actually having a good with Ruby.

"Are you okay?"

"No Adrian, I just…let's just go to bed. I'm done with today." He said, finally getting to his room and placing his things next to the lone bed in the room. He made sure to leave enough room for Adrian to sleep in, the kid got scared easily. Needed him to sleep peacefully.

"I'm sorry for annoying you earlier."

"What? No, no. You weren't annoying me, bud. You…I love you, okay? Always know that." Jaune said quickly. He didn't want to upset Adrian just because he was mildly inconvenienced. Adrian looked up at him with a small smile, hugging him.

"I love you too, Jaune." He said as he closed his eyes closed for sleep. Jaune wasn't too far behind, as he was starting to doze off as well.

"Hopefully Initiation isn't as annoying as today was." Jaune wished as he drifted off into a deep slumber, wishing to get a good night's sleep for tomorrows test.