Author's Notes:

Here we get my attempt at writing Yang and Ruby for the first time. I hope it goes well. Also an attempt at splicing a Qrowment into the middle of the chapter.

One or two more chapters of pre-Initiation to go.

I also want to be able to portray Jaune to differ from canon. Obviously, since he's spent time with Qrow, he's not going to be too green. Then again, a year isn't too long in the grand scheme of things, therefore he should retain a semblance of goofiness that Jaune is normally written in.

Woah... the Tower of Beacon looked amazing from afar, even as just a silhouette, but up close... it was breathtaking!

Ruby still couldn't believe that the Professor Ozpin had let her into his Academy a whole two years early, it was a dream come true for the little red-hooded girl. The only thing keeping her grounded in reality was the crushing form of her older sister Yang Xiao-Long - who was quite literally crushing her.

"I can't believe my little sister's coming to Beacon with me! Ohhhhh, I'm so proud…"

"Erk… Yang, please stop…"

"What? Is an older sister not allowed to show her dear younger sister how much she loves her? Everyone's gonna think you're totally the bee's knees!"

"She can, but I'd rather not you suffocate me while you do..."Ruby said, aptly ignoring the knees comment. At her words, the taller girl dropped Ruby from her tight embrace and placed her hands at her hips.

"Sorry Rubes," Yang apologised. "Was that a little too tight for ya?"

It was, but that wasn't the most pressing factor of the hug. Ruby drew her silver eyes to meet the large twins her older sister had that caused her the pain. Fah, those were totally a pain to Yang, weren't they? They had to be, being so… so… large.

Ruby wasn't jealous at all...

"Whatcha looking at Ruby? Ruby?" A perplexed expression remained on Yang's face until she followed the younger girl's line of sight, the expression swapping to a mocking grin. "Oh… I see." Yang kept her hands on her hips while leaning closer into her sister. "I wouldn't worry too much, Rubes, you got time."

"I-I drink milk! Waaaaah!" Yang was right, she had time to grow... her sister was two years older than her after all. Ruby Rose took off at the speed of sound, leaving petals in her wake. It looked as though the airship they were traveling on had long since touched down, prompting Ruby to use her Semblance to escape her crippling insecurities about her body as she ran towards the school.

Yang reached out her hand in an attempt to stop her sister, "Ruby, wait!" Even though she knew that Ruby was long gone, it didn't stop her from trying. "Okay, so maybe I took it little too far... heh, little." Shaking her head, the blonde made to catch up. "Rubes, wait up!"

/-/

Stupid Yang, stupid boobs, stupid knees...

Today was supposed to be a great occasion where Ruby Rose would start her journey on becoming a fantastic Huntress, yet it was all ruined because her body refused to grow. The red-tinted brunette wondered if the cafeteria would serve milk at every meal. Unfortunately for her, this cost her precious few seconds of attention that could have been used to avoid the figure clad in white inspecting her large array of suitcases.

Said figure looked up far too late to brace herself for the oncoming projectile, "Hold on-!"

CRAAAAASH

KABOOOM

"Ugh..." What was left of the carnage was a crater in the floor and a red and white tangled mess on the floor. "Omigosh! I am so sorry, I didn't see you there!" Ruby was up in an instant and offered her ash-covered hand to the pretty girl on the floor. Her light blue eyes looked at it before she grimaced and instead chose to stand up by herself and dust her once pristine dress, now splotched in black.

"I wouldn't expect you to if you were moving at the speed of a bullhead..." She said quietly.

Ruby lit up; she didn't expect her to be so understanding! Some people just didn't get how hard it is to maneuver at the speed she could reach with her Semblance. Luckily for her, this nice princess lady knew what was up - she would have to ask her about her own Semblance later.

"Which brings up the question on why you were moving at the speed of a bullhead on a public footpath! What were you thinking you dolt?!"

"Bwah?"

"Your conduct is highly inconsiderate and outright dangerous! Not to mention you just caused about two-thousand lien's worth of dust to explode right on top of us! You're lucky that I'm not going to ask you for compensation or anything of the like." Constipation? Two-thousand lien? She didn't have that kind of cash! And why did this girl turn from nice to nasty just like that? Ruby was just done internally singing her praises too...

Ruby didn't think there was a way out of this either, her eyes darted around and met the alluring amber orbs of a girl clad in black and a cute little bow, but she quickly returned to whatever book she was reading and slowly walked away.

"Noooo..."

"No? I think you should start off by saying `thank you` and then apologising, you clutz!"

Somebody save her...

"Hah...hah... I finally caught up to you..."

/-/

He was finally here. Beacon Academy. After all the crap he just had to pull to get himself here, Jaune would argue that it almost wasn't worth it.

Pah, who was he kidding? He was at the Beacon Academy, home to some of the best huntsman in all of Remnant!

Even after the little debacle he got into in Forever Fall, Crocea Mors felt fresh and at home on his metal arm bracer. Vul had been a real piece of work about how he would get to Beacon.

`For your last test, you gotta make it to Beacon from Forever Fall. Alright, see ya. `

It wasn't exactly what he said, but the general meaning definitely translated over. To be honest, the blond was sure that he just didn't want to deal with his little apprentice's shenanigans any more than he had to, which Jaune agreed to wholeheartedly vice versa. But a week in Forever Fall wasn't the worst send-off he could have given him; Jaune would count his blessings where he may.

Apart from that whole incident… his back still felt sore from being scraped along the eternally orange floor of the forest...

However, that's all in the past and now he was ready to show the world what Jaune Arc was made of! So what if he had to traverse a mountain or two and a few rivers just to get all the way up here?

Due to his… special circumstances of arrival, Jaune had climbed up halfway along the long pathway towards the Academy proper - twigs in his hair and scrapes on his skin. He prepared to take his first step on the footpath before almost falling flat on his face due to a sudden burst of wind and... rose petals? The only thing saving his face getting a juicy kiss from the ground was instead the highly tactical movement of his forehead so it would instead receive the blow, which - despite his vast amount of Aura - was already forming a small, purple bump on his head.

"Ow, fuck!"

It still hurt like a bitch, too.

What the hell was that?

CRAAAAASH

KABOOOM

Maybe if I got my head off the floor I'd get my answer.

Following the instructions of his inner-self conscience, Jaune tore his head from its extremely comfortable spot on the ground to look at the unfolded chaos. What he saw was a young-looking girl in an edgy-looking outfit and the most beautiful woman he has ever seen in his life.

"Noooo…" The walking rose explosion complained for whatever reason.

"No? I think you should start off by saying `thank you` and then apologising, you clutz!" The beautiful woman replied.

Too bad she seemed like a huge bitch.

The younger girl's interestingly silver eyes were wildly searching for something, possibly anything, to get her out of what Jaune assumed to be a highly uncomfortable conversation that she would rather not be having. Maybe the first person he had to save at Beacon Academy didn't have to be in the jaws of a Beowolf or on the thin line of potential death.

Beggars can't be choosers, I guess. Jaune had to start his huntsman journey somewhere, after all.

Alright, straps on his leather armour? Little loose. He reached over to his sides and fastened each one - trekking Forever Fall did that to you, he supposed. Crocea Mors? Jaune tapped the golden pommel. Where she belongs. Earring? He began to pat around his body, steadily increasing in speed once he couldn't feel the item anywhere. Someone may have thought he had strapped bongos onto his body and wouldn't have given him a second glance. Huntsmen these days and their weapons.

Oh gods. Had he really dropped them in Forever Fall? Screw killer robots.

"Nope, not there... not there, either... come on, really?" Trust his mentor's parting gift to go missing like that. Opening the several pouches adorning the blond's multiple belts across his torso and pants - to no avail - Jaune let out a frustrated sigh, only to notice the jingle under his ear.

"Oh," he said, "that's is where earrings go."

Still, screw killer robots. In any case, Jaune had a scene to cut into.

Putting on a facade of exhaustion coupled with the fact he dashed over to the scene at commendable speeds brought upon a convincing act to the two. A dirty, rugged blonde in leather rags and a bird's nest for a head of hair? Seems pretty severe for a friend chasing his particularly fast companion.

As Jaune put his hands on his knees he panted out, "Hah… I finally caught up to you…" he made to address the girl in red but came to the sudden realization that he had no idea what her name was. In a desperate attempt to both make him not look like an idiot and still save the girl he said the first thing that came to mind, "Rose…?" He squeaked out.

Her hood bounced as she tilted her head, "…Do I know you?"

The other girl raised an eyebrow, "Do you need help?"

"Me?" Jaune managed to look confused. "Nope, I'm good." He turned to meet the girl in red once more, eyes wide and begging.

Take a hint, damn it! This is your ass I'm trying to save here.

"You shouldn't just take off like that," Jaune ignored her - instead silently pleading she would help him out through grit teeth. "Someone could get hurt. I can't save you all the time, you know?"

"Oh…" The girl appeared to understand something, putting a finger next to her mouth. "Sorry… John, It won't happen again, I promise!"

John, really?

In any case, the last-ditch message seemed to have reached its target. Taking her behind the shoulders, Jaune started to push the girl away from the snow-white woman. She wasn't making it any easier by standing ramrod straight with her heels in the ground. "Thanks a lot for taking care of her, she's a real clutz - I know."

"Hey! I'm not that bad… I don't think I am, anyway…"

His target widened her pretty sky-blue eyes, taken aback at the scene, before they hardened into ice again. Suddenly, she started rummaging around her skirt pockets for something. "Hmph. At least take this and make sure that your friend over there takes good note of it."

"I'm right here, you know…"

The woman harrumphed, sharply turning her head - leaving her destroyed luggage and a large crater in the ground.

…

With the imminent threat gone, Jaune exhaled deeply and let go of the gothic girl's shoulders and crossed his arms. "John? Seriously?"

She pouted and held a light blush at her lack of creativity. "Look, it was in the heat of the moment okay? And it's not like you can talk anyway... like Rose? Doesn't take a genius to figure out how you got that one…"

"The funny thing it's pretty close to my actual name too."

"Wait, Rose or… no way, your name's John?!"

"What? No, it's Jaune."

"Oh… that's such a coincidence since Rose is actually my name! Or last name at least…" She mumbled. "I'm Ruby, by the way, Ruby Rose!"

"Wow, I didn't know I was that amazing… alright, Rose, I'm Jaune. Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue, ladies love it."

"…Do they though?" Ruby asked skeptically.

Damn it! Vul, you bastard, that makes both you and my dad suggesters of this accursed line. Though maybe the way how he rolled around on the floor, laughing, wasn't the most reassuring sight.

Upon the sight of her newfound friend silently staring at a shaking fist with barely constrained fury, Ruby asked, "Hey, are you alright?"

"Never been better," Jaune answered, sporting a blush of his own under the embarrassment of having made himself look like an idiot. "Just peachy."

"So… you wanna start walking?"

They had to make it into the actual building to become students, didn't they? With no better option, Jaune agreed with the little girl's request. "Lead the way, m'lady."

Ruby giggled.

/-/

"Holy crap. You mean you made that thing?" Jaune was in absolute awe (or terror, he had yet to decide) at the sight of a giant farming tool made to instead cut the heads off Grimm. The duo had walked for around, ten minutes and detouring off of the main path inside of the academy. Ruby slammed her weapon into the ground, making Jaune flinch back slightly at how large it was.

"Yeah! It's also a high impact sniper rifle." Ruby stated proudly.

Jaune could only compute so much, he was a mere human after all, "So it's a scythe… that's a gun."

"Yes."

"That's crazy…" Furthermore, the young blonde only knew of one other person to ever use something as stupidly dangerous as a scythe as a weapon. He secretly hoped she didn't have a cripplingly unhealthy addiction to any sort of substances because then that would be way too much of a coincidence. "…as in actually mad, are you mad?"

"What? Noooo…" She didn't sound all too convinced by herself. "Anyway, his name is Crescent Rose and he's super awesome! What's your weapon?"

Jaune contemplated telling his new friend more than she needed to know, ultimately going against the thought. You never know when you're going to need to get the jump on someone. Not that he planned to give Ruby a nasty surprise or anything, she seemed way too nice and kind-hearted and the way she lost herself talking about weapons was reminiscent of an old friend; he was sure they were going to get along just fine.

"Hm… I got this sword." Jaune unsheathed Crocea Mors from her home behind his forearm, pointedly not revealing her shield-half or mecha-shifting any of the tools on his crooked belt.

"That's… so cool!" Hold up, what did she just say? Ruby had already holstered Crescent Rose and burst into a coagulation of petals, appearing next to Jaune in less time than he had to blink. "It looks like the weight is perfectly balanced across the blade and the edge still seems razor-sharp despite it looking so old! It doesn't even have any sort of rust or blemish across the steel! Can I touch it?"

She could tell all of that from just looking at it? It was incredible, and also all true so Jaune had to wonder what she would reveal to him if she had to opportunity to hold it. "Go nuts, Ruby." He allowed, offering the hilt to her.

Ruby squealed in delight as she snatched the blade from his hands, running her fingers across the smooth metal. "It's so pretty… I swear, it's almost like it has a soul of its own!"

"Hah… wouldn't that be absolutely crazy, right?"

"Yeah, it not even my precious Crescent Rose has a soul of its own… unfortunately… that reminds me! What do you call it?"

"Her. Her name is Crocea Mors." Respectfully, Ruby handed back Crocea Mors and – swiftly sheathing her – Jaune nodded to her in thanks. "She's a family heirloom, used by my father and my father's father and his father before him. Somewhere along the line, it was used in the Great War to save loads of people."

"That explains it then, gotta love the vintage ones eh?" Ruby nudged Jaune's side with her elbow playfully.

"Yeah." The girl next to him smiled brightly and Jaune couldn't help but stare into those silver eyes of hers.

"W-what? Do I have something on my face?"

"It's just your eyes." He unconsciously leaned inwards a little bit, unaware of how Ruby tried to lean away with her feet still firmly planted on the floor. "They're… interesting." Jaune caught himself before he got any closer to the poor girl's face, spluttering with red adorning his face. "Gah! Sorry…"

Great job, Jaune. Fifteen minutes in and you're already looking like a massive creep!

"Naw, we're good…" Jaune couldn't help but disagree but thanked Ruby internally while simultaneously smashing his head against a metaphysical wall. "So… do you know where we're going?"

"No."

"I was following you!"

Surprised at his friend's bold words Jaune was offended, "How could you have followed me if I told you to lead the way?!" He gestured himself tipping an imaginary hat, linking back to his funny line earlier, "Remember?"

"I don't know!" Ruby waved her hands frantically. "W-w-w-where are we supposed to go? What if we're late!?"

Grabbing her by the hand, Jaune took off at speeds rivalling Ruby's semblance, "Less talk, more run!"

The awkward mood didn't last long, which Jaune was thankful for.

One year ago, after the White Fang raid on a Mistrali frontier town

Twittering of birds woke him up. What a nightmare… Jaune wondered what he and Lyn would do today. Maybe they'd- "AHHHHH! OW!" His blond head of hair skyrocketed upwards, slamming into the forehead of someone else. Who wouldn't if the first thing they saw in the morning were two soul-piercing, bloodshot and crimson eyes?

"WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK, KID!?"

"WELL MAYBE DON'T PUT YOUR FACE RIGHT ABOVE MINE WHILE I'M SLEEPING! Wait... WHY THE HELL WAS YOUR FACE RIGHT ABOVE MINE WHILE I WAS SLEEPING?!"

"I-I don't know. Just wanted to, I guess." The head-butt target sounded genuinely confused, rubbing the spot where he was rightfully assaulted. "Why was I doing that…?

"I think I need an adult…"

"I am an adult."

"Who even are you?" They were in a forest, an undiscernible location to him, generic trees and various greenery around them. "Are we still in Mistral?"

"Just your friendly neighborhood Mr. Saivyorlife. You haven't thanked me yet, by the way."

"Why would I thank you for something I don't even remember?"

"You mean you don't remember the raging fires, broken buildings, hulking Grimm?"

"Yeah, of course I do, but it was just a… nightmare. Gods, you're telling me that all happened?!" Oh Gods, oh Gods; it was all real? So he did manage to kill that Grimm and save Pearl. He remembered massacring as many as he could in a broken rage at Lyn's... Lyn's death.

It made him want to throw up.

Sensing the teen's sudden grief, the man stood up from his position on the floor after receiving that painful knock on the head and his expression grew neutral. He made no attempt to comfort the weeping boy but instead commanded, "Come on, let's get moving."

Jaune was filled to the brim with unbridled rage, "What?! So after all of that - all that death - you decide to save me from my own demise and then just expect me to follow you? You should have just left me for dead. Probably would have been better if I died like the rest."

"Say that again." The figure stopped walking, refusing to turn around. His gruff voice was a gravelly blade that scraped across Jaune's ears. A moment or two of silence prompted him to speak once more, "…I said, say that again."

Unwilling to back down, Jaune held onto his guns. "I should have died along with the rest of them…" He spat.

Without hesitation, the man grabbed Jaune by the edges of his hoodie and violently slammed him into one of the many trees that he was near. The force of it alone made leaves fall from the branches above and Jaune's gut threatened to spill. "Don't you dare say that. I can't believe that you of all people would say that. I thought you wanted to be a huntsman!" Blood-red eyes bore deeply into sea-blue.

"H-how do you know-"

"And yet you sit down there on your ass and wish for death? How are you going to protect those who need protecting if you're lying dead in a ditch, huh?" He slammed Jaune into the bark of the tree again. "If you want to stop feeling the pain here," one of his hands removed their grip on his hood. His finger sharply pointed to his chest. "You need to get stronger here," his finger moved to the temple of his head. "And here," his hand gripped the side of the teen's arm - not helping Jaune's queasiness.

In a complete manner reversal, the fire in the man's eyes died and his overall grip loosened, lowering Jaune from the tree but still grabbing his hood tighter. "For people like you - for people like me… the death of others is a tool to make us stronger. So learn. And become strong. For your sake. And for the good of all the people on Remnant." His gaze slowly drifted to the flask beside his hip.

He scoffed, "Strength, huh…"

Jaune couldn't hold it in any longer.

The repeated shaking, prodding and brutal slamming had built up the sick feeling he had. All the way up to the point where he released the contents of his stomach all over the face of the man who - not just ten seconds ago - was screaming in his face about his childish whining. Streams of gut-chunks repeated splashed all over his beard, trailing down to his open dress-shirt and eventually piled up on the floor.

Covered in puke, the man opened his mouth to say something, "Ah-" which proved to be the worst mistake of his entire life.

Well second-worst at least, as just as Jaune thought it was all over, another jetstream of puke came pouring out of his mouth.

Guess where it ended up.

/-/

Flowing water was freezing on his face and hands as the blond cleaned himself up. Clad only in his boxers and that tacky red cape of his, his kidnapper was on his hands and knees shoving his face into the river, bubbles of air rising where he was. Hanging from a tree branch were the rest of his clothes, soaked but vomit-free.

Jaune had figured out Crocea Mors was missing, most likely back in the ruins of a town he never got the name of. Moreover, he didn't know where this strange man brought him or where he was in relation to the rest of the world so as it stood, he really had no choice but to follow him or get attacked by stray Grimm. He figured he may as well get to know the half-naked man in a cape if he was going to be stuck with him for a while.

"You look kind of like a flasher dressed like that." Okay, Jaune, not the best start. You really should have just asked for his name or something, not insulted him right off the bat. Though, to his credit, it is hard to like someone who's first impression was watching you while you slept and slamming you against a tree for sulking around like a baby.

He tore his head from the river and glared at the teen, who's legs were crossed on the bank, muttered something unintelligible and dove right back into the drink. He came back up and started walking over to the tree where his clothes were before sitting down and gesturing for Jaune to come over with a finger. No reason to to be incompliant, the teen made his way over and sat down on the opposite side of him.

"I, uh, didn't mean that flasher comment, by the way."

"Shut up, kid."

"Okay."

"I'm guessing you have a few questions, ask away." Was he for real? If he could ask anything he wanted, maybe he'd get a few answers about his situation.

"Who are you, really?"

The figure raised an eyebrow, "Don't ya it's a little rude to ask that without introducing yourself first? It's the least you can do after throwing up on me."

"That was your fault anyhow, if you didn't shake me around so much-"

A single finger came to his mouth to hush his words. "Do you want your answers?" As disconcerting as it was to have a half-naked man in a cape treat you like a little child, Jaune still nodded wearily. "Good. Now, why don't you introduce yourself."

"J-" His eldest sister's advice suddenly came in full force, echoing in his mind. Jaune found it fine to tell a cute girl and her aunt his real name but he thought that a man who essentially kidnapped him against his will who brought him into the middle of the forest was taking it a tad too far. "-Uwaaaaan."

"Juwaaaaan. Seriously?" Alright, he should have seen that coming. His alias was way too similar to his actual name in the first place. `Juwaaaaan` didn't know what universe that would have worked in.

Sighing in defeat, he conceded his real name, "It's Jaune. Jaune Arc." He admitted, not even bothering with his trademark line since, well, he just didn't swing that way. Not that there was anything wrong with being on that side of the fence, or anything.

The man on the other side of him scoffed.

"What?"

"Sorry. Just thought you were missing something there."

"How-?"

"You can call me… Vul." He said, cutting Jaune off.

Instantly, Jaune was skeptical. `Vul` sounded like some sort of edgy nickname someone would have over the C-Net. "That's not your real name, is it?"

Damn, that sounded cool.

"Wow," he whistled. "Look at you, not as dumb as you let on, are we? No, it's not my real name and I don't plan on telling you it either. A guy like me needs his privacy." Well, that seemed highly unfair for Jaune; he just revealed his identity and had still no leads on who this guy was.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Huh?"

"You've said it before. People like me. People like you. What does that mean?"

If `Vul` was surprised at the choice of question, he sure as hell didn't show it. His hipflask, halfway up to his mouth was placed back down on the grassy floor. "People like you and me… we're different from the average Joe. We were made to fight. Maybe once upon a time, for different things, but it doesn't change that fact that the minute that we were born, our purposes were decided by the sisters of Fate and Destiny. And it just so happens that your Destiny and my Destiny are intertwined like that. So lucky you, you're getting good ol' Vul here to show you the ropes."

It still didn't make much sense to Jaune. He wasn't made to fight; his father had barely taught him anything about the sword in the first place. Looking down toward the grass, Jaune pushed, "What do you know? About me? About Destiny and Fate and all this nonsense."

Vul moved his eyes from Jaune and nodded slowly, "A lot more than you think, kid. A lot more. I'd like to believe that one way or another, one year from now? You'd be attending Beacon with or without me in some far-away world."

Even if Jaune had once said that he'd go to Beacon himself, it was more blind hope than anything, "Yeah. Right."

"What else d'ya got for me, kid?"

"Are you a huntsman?"

"Psh. `Am I a huntsman`, of course I'm a damn huntsman. I got a sweet cape, a sweet weapon," He nodded to the large blade of steel lying next to his drying clothes, "and a sweet face."

"That cape's kinda tacky though…"

"Say that again."

"Wait, a tacky cape-"

"Must. Not. Murder. The child."

"-were you the one that saved me in an alleyway in that town?"

Red eyes rolled, as if searching for an answer. "There are a lot of alleyways in the world kid. And a whole lotta beat up gangs. Could you be more specific?"

"Uh… you rubbed a guy's face in dog crap?"

"Oh," Vul snapped his ringed fingers. "Yeah, I remember that one. Holy cramoly, that was you? Daaamn, kid, they really did a number on you."

"Thanks for that."

"No problem."

"No- I meant that sarcas- you know what, whatever. Why'd you do it, save me, I mean?"

Vul crossed his arms and closed his eyes, "Well, as a huntsman I think it's my job to protect the people. So if I see some random kid getting mugged in a dark alleyway, I think that's going to be one of many calls-to-action I'll take."

"I- that's a fair point, actually." An actually logical chain of reason. Jaune could safely admit he did not see that coming. Just as the teen opened his mouth to ask another one of his burning questions, he noticed the huntsman's joints popping quietly as he shuffled.

"Welp. This little game of twenty questions is going to have to get cut short." The gruff man stood, basically sliding into all of his clothes in a single, smooth and practiced motion.

It was almost as if he was experienced in the protocol of vomit-clothes.

He fixed the cuffs around the mid-ground of his forearms and holstered that menacing blade of his. "Let's go kid."

Jaune stood up and dusted the grass off of his jeans - this time following behind him, "Where are we going?"

Unbeknownst to the teen, the man who called himself `Vul` flashed a menacing grin.

"To train."

/-/

Panting breaths were the only thing coming out of Jaune's mouth as both he and Ruby managed to make their way into Beacon's Grand Hall with time to spare. `Grand` very masterfully described the space, the blond thought. Green banners displaying Beacon's very own insignia in white were hung around the walls. A mighty stage held only a singular microphone that showed no sign of recent use and speakers decorated the edges of the platform.

There were just so many people here, hundreds - no thousands - of times more than in his little frontier village in the outback of Mistral. People of so many cultures, dressed in so many colours, wielding so many weapons… it was overwhelming, to say the least. Jaune thought Ruby would go to town on the variety of weapons here; she seemed like the type.

Speaking of Ruby, "Jaune… you can, uh, let go of my hand now."

"Huh?" Jaune didn't seem to understand as to what she was exactly referring too, "What do you mean?" Turning his head to look at Ruby, he saw that she was as red as her namesake; face somewhat a mix between a frown and `having been caught with her hand in the cookie jar`.

Though it looked like Jaune was caught with the 'Ruby's hand in his own'.

"Oh, uh, whoops. Sorry." He managed to reason.

"It's alright, you still haven't let go of my hand, by the way. I'd appreciate if you did that."

His hand appeared to have developed a sudden polarity against Ruby's hand, ejecting itself from its previous position while both parties eventually resorted to not wanting to look at each other. If the first incident between them was quickly dissolved, here's to hoping this one would too - Jaune believed.

"Hey! Ruby! Over here!" A disembodied, and loud, voice made clear through the crowd. "I saved you a spot!"

Ruby rushed forward to try and peek over the mass of bodies, proving fruitless due to her vertical disadvantages. Seeing this, Jaune decided to give her a non-physical hand this time due to the advantageously vertical nature of his body. Peering where Ruby could not, he spotted a long-maned blonde waving her arm in the air. She could obviously see her target while said target couldn't say the same.

"She's over there," Jaune informed the struggling girl. "I can lead you over there if you want."

"That's my sister, Yang! You'll love her, she's super nice; don't worry. Lead the way, my good sir," Ruby bowed.

"With pleasure," he returned.

Jaune could get used to her ability to wave the mood like that.

Ending Notes:

I did enjoy writing Jaune and Qrow's interactions. There's just something to their dynamic, I dunno.

Why does Qrow call himself Vul in front of Jaune? Short (non-canon, sorta) answer: For shits and giggles. Guess why he chose that name. I don't think It'll be too hard.

Also, this was one of my shorter chapters - coming out at around 5.5k words without the notes. I want the average to be around 7-9k in the future, something that I adhered to with the first chapter at 8k words.

Sleepover when?

Soon.

Thank you for reading this chapter!