Morning came soon after and Jaune had just woken up, still a bit tired from the dance last night but he would deal with it. The night had been pretty good, he got to enjoy a night with Pyrrha, and he thought he made a good impression on her. It made him glad because he loved Pyrrha, even though he had not said it yet but that was going to change soon. Not only that, but the dance that he and his team had been practicing turned out great and everyone loved it. All in all, it was a perfect evening. At least, that is what he wanted to say…
Things took a bad turn outside of the dance, apparently Ruby had spotted someone sneaking into Beacon tower and unfortunately she didn't call for backup and went on her own. That back up would have been nice, because the suspect that Ruby went after ended up escaping. Whoever they were, they snagged some data from Beacon Tower, though Jaune didn't know what it was. The main question that was going through his mind was who could have done it?
He knew for a fact it couldn't be the group from Haven, Jaune had seen all three of them last night at the dance. No matter how skilled they were, Jaune seriously doubted that the three could go to the tower, grab the information, and make it back to the dance undetected in that kind of time. So, who else could have the motive to try and take information from the computer's mainframe? Did that group have an accomplice or something? There were many thoughts going through Jaune's head but all he knew was that this wasn't going to be good.
First Torchwick and the White Fang gathering dust for God knows what, and now they had people infiltrating Beacon and stealing information? What was next? Jaune did not have a good feeling but knew he couldn't dwell on it for too long. Today was the day that the students got their first missions in the field, and Jaune and his team were looking forward to it. They could kick some ass in a legal way this time and not fight giant robots on the freeway. Jaune got up and went to the bathroom to get ready, they had some time but Jaune liked to be prepared.
As he was brushing his teeth, Jaune looked on his scroll and saw that he got even more messages from his former classmates at Kingsglaive. He wondered what that was even about, and how some of them even got his number. Though it probably wasn't too hard considering Talia had it and she was one of the most popular girls at school at that time. Jaune looked at the messages and immediately rolled his eyes, this was unbelievable. Most of the messages were of people asking him how he managed to get Pyrrha Nikos as his girlfriend, like he pulled some magic trick or something.
Jaune groaned at the fact that nearly all of his former classmates probably knew that he and Pyrrha were a thing, considering the popular girls saw them firsthand. It really made Jaune angry, why couldn't people just mind their business? Now whenever he and Pyrrha went out somewhere they risked getting bombarded with questions by all of Jaune's former classmates. He would have to try and figure out a solution to this later, considering he might see a lot of them at the Vytal Festival.
After Jaune was dressed he stepped out of the room to find his teammates still asleep, to which he rolled his eyes. It seemed that some things would never change, but this was no day that they were able to sleep in. They had to go out and get a mission soon, something they could not do if they were still in bed. Jaune clapped his hands to wake his team up and then he felt his scroll buzzing. He looked at the message and he saw it was from his mother, she said to come to her office as they needed to talk about something.
This confused Jaune because what could they have to talk about? It couldn't have been about what happened last night because Jaune didn't know a damn thing about it, just what Ruby had told them. Did something happen back at the house? Jaune did plan on going to check it out and make sure it was ok whenever he got a break. He and his mom were almost never there and Jaune really didn't want his house to be robbed, considering that his game console, his other jewelry, and his marijuana was over there. Jaune then made his way to the door and stopped at Pyrrha's bed who was still sleeping.
"Hey beautiful, it's time to wake up." Jaune said rubbing her head and Pyrrha was starting to stir awake.
"Five more minutes…" Pyrrha begged and Jaune rolled his eyes.
"You said that five minutes ago babe, plus today is when we get our first mission so we can't be in bed. You guys need to be dressed and ready when I get back." Jaune said and Pyrrha grabbed his arm.
"Wait, where are you going?" Pyrrha asked.
"Mom needs to talk to me about something, I shouldn't be gone too long. Get ready because we may have to leave today depending on the mission." Jaune said seriously as he kissed Pyrrha goodbye and walked out the door.
Jaune made his way to his mother's office and wondered about what kind of mission he and his team would get as their first one. If he was being perfectly honest, Jaune could care less about what they chose as long as it involved killing grimm or fighting in general. He didn't want to just do labor work because that wasn't a mission, that was community service. He had a feeling that his team would feel the same way, so he would leave it to them to choose since he did not have a preference.
Once he got to his mother's office, Jaune turned off the episode of Black Clover that he was watching and knocked on the door. His mother called from the other side and told him to come in, which he did and put his scroll in his pocket. When he entered the office Jaune saw his mother sitting at her desk with a pensive and irritated look on her face. He wondered what that was about, it couldn't have been about him could it? He didn't do anything wrong, or at least he thought he didn't. Rather than think on it more, Jaune decided to get to the point.
"Hey mama, you wanted to see me?" Jaune asked and Glynda smiled.
"Yes honey, please take a seat." Glynda said warmly and Jaune sat down.
"So, what's going on?" Jaune asked and Glynda just sighed.
"Earlier I along with General Ironwood and Professor Ozpin spoke with Miss Rose about the incident that occurred last night. She said that she saw a woman who fought with glass, and it looked like she fought using a dust semblance. Miss Rose seemed to know more than she let on, but Ozpin dismissed her, you know how he is. So, I need to ask you for your honest answer. One your escapedes with Team RWBY, did you encounter a woman fitting that description?" Glynda asked her son but Jaune just shook his head.
"No we didn't, there was this one woman that we encountered but she was short and had pink hair. She did have a glass like semblance, but it was mostly to get away, and she fought using this weird umbrella as a weapon. She looked like Mary Poppins, but she didn't use any dust or anything like that." Jaune said honestly and Glynda nodded.
"I see, yet another criminal to add to our list, I swear it is a new problem every week. And with James here my life becomes even more stressful." Glynda said annoyed and Jaune looked confused.
"Wait Mom, how does General Ironwood being here make your life stressful?" Jaune asked and Glynda groaned.
"The General is a good man Jaune, but he can also be very reckless, and he loves to show his military bravado. He wants to send his army to Southeast Vale in order to find out what is really going on and to eradicate any forces that stand in his way. Logically, Professor Ozpin and I rejected his idea and chose to keep doing things secretly. However, General Ironwood can be very stubborn so I know that he hasn't let this go, I just hope that he can understand our reasoning." Glynda said honestly and Jaune nodded.
To him, his mother and Professor Ozpin's decision made the most sense because they had to be calm about the situation. They had to gain more information secretly and over time and not just go in guns blazing. If they did what Ironwood wanted then it could backfire badly, like what if their enemies were not even there? Then the public would just see an army roaming the streets and it would make everyone very nervous. Not to mention their enemies could attack in places that Ironwood's army would not be able to get to in time.
Jaune knew that Ironwood was big on military power, considering he loved to talk about it and show it at whatever gala that Jaune's mom dragged him to. It was clear that he was a good guy and he wanted to do what was best for the people, but Jaune also found that Ironwood could take things a little far. Jaune knew that he wanted to figure out this Torchwick and White Fang thing more than even Blake did, but his methods were a bit reckless. They wouldn't find Torchwick that way, they guy was incredibly evasive.
"Well, considering that I fought bad guys at the docks and on the freeway, I can't say that I am in a position to judge General Ironwood's ideals. Having said that though, I do believe that sending troops like that is a bad idea. If people start seeing military troops in the streets then the public will be in outcry and whoever is behind all this will start appearing less and less. Not to mention, if the troops are all distracted in the Southeast, what if the bad guys attack another region? The army will not be able to make it there in time." Jaune stated and Glynda nodded with a smile.
"That is absolutely correct Jaune, I really wish General Ironwood understood that. But I am glad that you still have that good head on your shoulders. You know, you really remind me of your Dad more and more every day." Glynda admitted and Jaune widened his eyes.
"Oh, um ok." Jaune said shocked because his mom never really talked about his Dad.
"I will talk to you about him soon Jaune, I have been putting it off long enough. For now though, you should get back to your team since you have to pick your first mission today. Don't go overboard understand?" Glynda said threateningly and Jaune nodded.
"Yes mama." Jaune said while doing his best to not roll his eyes.
"Good now give me a hug and get back to your team." Glynda said as Jaune hugged her and nuzzled the side of her face.
"Love you mama." Jaune said and Glynda smiled.
"I love you too son, now go on." Glynda said after kissing Jaune's head.
Jaune told his mother goodbye and left her office, heading back to his dorm with a lot of thoughts in his head. Some were about Ironwood, and the question being if he really was going to let things go or not. Jaune really hoped he did, he already had to deal with Torchwick, the White Fang and that weird group from Haven so he really did not need the general making things worse. All those soldiers storming the gates in the Southeast of Vale? Yeah Jaune did not really imagine that going over too well.
The other thing that was on Jaune's mind was what his mom said about his Dad. His father was never really talked about in their house, Jaune knew that he was a huntsman and in the same class as his mom. He also knew that his dad was a swordsman just like him, but other than that he really didn't know anything about him. Well, he knew that his father was deceased and wasn't some sort of deadbeat or anything like that.
Jaune's mom seemed really uncomfortable talking about his dad, so Jaune never really pressed her about it, she would tell him when she was ready. Maybe that is where Jaune got his passive lifestyle from, he didn't press his mother for info about his Dad, so he didn't get into anyone else's business either. It was weird when Jaune was younger and all of the kids were bonding with their dads and he couldn't, but his mother was more than enough. Jaune felt that as long as he had her then he could accomplish anything.
Getting back to his dorm room, Jaune pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind and was starting to focus on the team's first mission. He would let the others pick it because he honestly didn't care what they did, but he would be there to preserve order and make sure the team completed their task the right way. That being said though, Jaune would be lying if he said that he wasn't excited. He was ready to start being a huntsman and he had a couple of new moves that he wanted to try on the grimm. Before he could do that though, they needed to get a mission, so he opened the door and his team was ready.
"Hey you, what took so long?" Pyrrha asked as she kissed him.
"Mom just wanted to talk to me about some things, don't worry nothing major. Anyway, are we all ready?" Jaune asked his team and they all nodded.
"You bet! Ready to kick some grimm butt!" Nora said enthusiastically and Ren just sighed.
"Nora, the mission we get may not have that much grimm hunting." Ren said while Nora pouted and the other just laughed.
"Ren has a point, anyway it will be up to you three to decide what mission we get because I don't really care. Looking through lists is not really my forte." Jaune said while Pyrrha scoffed.
"You're just saying that because you wanna watch your shows on your scroll while we choose the mission isn't that right?" Pyrrha asked accusingly.
"You know me so well." Jaune said with a smile as he kissed Pyrrha who rolled her eyes but kissed back.
The group got their things and went to the auditorium, because that is where the mission requests would be. But first, Professor Ozpin wanted to talk to all of them which meant that he was going to go into one of his dramatic speeches. Jaune really thought they were unnecessary, especially because it was all about stuff that they already knew. He supposed that was what a headmaster was supposed to do though, make sure his students were ready. Who knows, maybe it would not be that bad.
Jaune was wrong and was bored out of his mind with Ozpin's speech, by God it was everything that he originally thought it was going to be. He wasn't the only one either, considering that Pyrrha had her head on his shoulder and seemed to be sleeping. Nora was doing the same thing on Ren's shoulder and Ren looked bored too. It wasn't the fact that what Ozpin was saying wasn't true or important, it was the fact that this topic had been spoken about so many times in Oobleck's class that it was starting to get repetitive. Jaune thought about watching Bleach but deciding against it considering his mother was looking right at him.
After the speech was finally done, the students went on to get their missions. As Jaune said before, he had no input, so he let the other three choose the mission while he watched Bleach on his scroll. Unknown to him, his mother was looking at him disapprovingly and shaking her head at the same time. This was her son though, the boy who was excellent at fighting and brave to protect his friends yet was so lazy that he didn't have any input on his first mission.
Jaune's watching of Bleach was interrupted when his team started coming back to him, letting him know that they had indeed selected a mission. He saw that Nora and Ren had big smiles on their faces, so he guessed that they were the ones that selected the mission. Though Jaune had to wonder what mission could make both Nora and Ren happy, considering their personalities were completely different from each other. Jaune took out his headphones and put his scroll in his pocket and gave his team his full attention.
"Yo guys, what did you all pick?" Jaune asked and Nora responded happily.
"There is a nearby village where we can shadow the local sheriff! This way we can help the people by protecting them from grimm. We head out tomorrow!" Nora said with a smile and Ren nodded.
"Nora and I are from a village as well, so it will be most beneficial to help those in a situation that we were once in." Ren said honestly and Jaune nodded.
"I see, well I have no problem with it, what about you love?" Jaune asked Pyrrha.
"It sounds like it should be a good learning experience, so I have no problem with it either." Pyrrha said with a smile.
"Great, you guys said we leave tomorrow? We should make sure we are all ready, I may have to go into town to get more dust and beef jerky so see if you guys need anything as well." Jaune said to his team and they nodded.
Team JNPR got their mission and made their way back to their dorm to prepare for their mission. When walking through the courtyard they saw Team RWBY about to leave for their mission and caught up with them. If Jaune was being perfectly honest, he was worried about Team RWBY going on a mission alone because his team would not be there to save them. Even though they would be shadowing a huntsman, Jaune really did not trust the four to stay out of trouble. They overheard team RWBY talking about saving the world or something and Nora responded.
"You're going on a mission to save the world without us?! I am hurt, sad, maybe a little hungry. That last one is not your fault though, Ren!" Nora accused while glaring and Ren just turned his head.
"Yes, damn you Ren! You have prevented our room floor from having syrup on it." Jaune said sarcastically causing Nora to pout and everyone else to laugh.
"Anyway, where are you guys headed? No wait, I am good at this, you are going somewhere in Southeast Vale correct?" Jaune said as he narrowed his eyes at the group who flinched.
"Oh, well uh…" Ruby tried to say and Pyrrha rubbed her temples.
"Seriously? Just be careful alright?" Pyrrha said annoyed and RWBY nodded.
"We will, don't worry, anyway where are you all headed?" Weiss asked.
"Outside the kingdom, Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village. We set out tomorrow." Pyrrha said as Sun and Neptune came over.
"Then you can party with us tonight! We're shadowing a crime specialist, all intercity detective stuff, we get junior badges." Neptune said coolly.
"Nice." Jaune said nodding in approval.
"We normally go to the city with you guys, which means that stuff is always exploding and junk. We wanted to take this opportunity to see the Kingdom when it is normal." Sun explained and the others nodded, though team RWBY looked annoyed.
Jaune understood Sun and Neptune's logic and he honestly could not blame them. Every time they were in the city it was to stop criminals which as Sun mentioned, involved certain things blowing up and fighting in the streets. Visiting the city while it was peaceful was a real treat because the serenity was so calm and there was a lot to do. Jaune himself had to go there soon so he could get more dust for Kikoku and be ready for their mission tomorrow. He would likely bring Pyrrha along so they could spend some time together before the mission.
"Well-" Ruby tried to say but was interrupted.
"Four minutes ladies!" Doctor Oobleck yelled and the RWBY winced and everyone else looked nervous.
"Oh, you poor souls…" Jaune said in utter contempt and his team gave the RWBY their condolences.
A mission with Doctor Oobleck as the huntsman you are shadowing? Jaune could think of hundred things that he would rather do. It wasn't that Doctor Oobleck was a bad guy or a bad teacher in that fact, but the man had spoken so fast that it was hard to understand him class. In the field of battle, he didn't look like much, in fact Oobleck had always struck Jaune as more of the researcher type instead of a huntsman. He wondered how Team RWBY was going to survive his antics for a certain amount of time, he did not envy them in the slightest.
After wishing team RWBY luck, Jaune and his team went back to their dorm so that they could prepare for their mission. Even though the mission was not going to be very difficult, Jaune still wanted everybody at their best so that they could be ready for whatever came at them. After going over their inventory, the only ones that needed to restock on ammo and things like that were Jaune and Pyrrha, luckily enough. Jaune said that they should go into the city in which she agreed, glad to spend some time with Jaune. Nora gave them a list of snacks that they should have for the mission, to which both of them rolled their eyes but took it anyway.
Jaune and Pyrrha got on the airship, when they found a couple seats they sat down and Jaune put his arm around Pyrrha who leaned into him. The two exchanged a few kisses before separating and held each other close while smiling. Jaune was really lucky to have a girl like Pyrrha as his girlfriend, considering his previous girlfriend hadn't really been in their relationship for him, she just wanted popularity. Pyrrha also felt lucky to have a guy like Jaune as her boyfriend, back at Sanctum guys were tripping over themselves just to impress her. It was nice to be with someone that was just himself and allowed Pyrrha to be herself around him.
The airship landed and Jaune and Pyrrha made their way to their first destination, which was the dust store so Jaune could fill up Kikoku. It didn't take that long because Jaune already knew what he needed; it was imperative that he get gravity dust because he perfected a new move that involved it. Pyrrha had also been training as well, she was determined to keep her skill as a renown tournament champion. Everyone on Team JNPR was determined to do their best at the Vytal Festival and ultimately take home the trophy.
The couple walked out of the dust store and then went to an ammo shop so Pyrrha could get some more rounds for Milo. Pyrrha was also thinking about giving her weapons a quick upgrade for tomorrow and wanted to get rounds of all type. Jaune said he would help her and the two were thinking of the best ammo to get the most of. That is, until he heard a voice calling out his name and turned around to see one of his old classmates outside. Giving the nod to Pyrrha he told her that he would be right back.
"Calvin right? What's up you need something?" Jaune asked the brown-haired boy.
"Nah just trying to catch up, how you been man? Everything going alright at Beacon?" Calvin asked and Jaune just rolled his eyes.
"Try again." Jaune said in a deadpan voice and Calvin flinched.
"Uh what?" Calvin asked confused and Jaune responded.
"I said try again, you and I barely spoke back at Kingsglaive and you were one of the ones who tried to bully me for having a mom who is the Deputy Headmistress at Beacon. So, you aren't here to catch up, I know that for a fact, so what do you want?" Jaune asked and Calvin sighed.
"Fine, we didn't treat you right and Kingslglaive but look where you are now Jaune! You are the only one of us that was good enough to make it into Beacon! We all knew deep down it was because of your combat skills but we also didn't think it was fair that your mom is the Deputy Headmistress of Beacon. Not to mention your non-caring attitude about the social status at school and how you just went with the flow, not caring about what anyone thought of you. It was a skill that all of us wish we had but you had it, forgive us if we were a bit jealous." Calvin said honestly but Jaune just rolled his eyes.
"You didn't answer my question. What do you want?" Jaune asked getting irritated and Calvin just sighed.
"Fine, I wanted to know if you were going to the reunion back at Kingsglaive in a couple months and if were bringing Pyrrha?" Calvin asked and Jaune looked at him like he was stupid.
"Why in the hell would I want to do that? And what does Pyrrha have to do with this?" Jaune asked incredulously.
"Dude, you are the only one to make it to Beacon and are you are dating the tournament champion Pyrrha Nikos. Don't you know how exciting it would be for you two to come?!" Calvin asked with cheer but Jaune just frowned.
"How do you know I am dating Pyrrha?" Jaune asked as he narrowed his eyes and Calvin became nervous.
"Well, you know…" Calvin stammered but Jaune wasn't having it.
"Answer the question." Jaune stated and Calvin gulped.
"Well, Talia and Nami came up to us at lunch and told us that she saw you in Vale and that you told her that you were dating Pyrrha. Not to mention she kind have put it in the group chat we have for postgraduates of Kingsglaive." Calvin admitted and Jaune glared at him.
"And why is Talia people telling my business?" Jaune asked annoyed and Calvin flinched because he knew how much Jaune hated rumors.
"You know how girls are Jaune, and you may be different but a lot of teens like us gossip about other people. What does it matter to you anyway? You never keep in contact with any of us and we have tried to reach out to you but have gotten no response. You clearly don't care what we think so what does it matter if rumors about you and your girlfriend are going around?" Calvin asked and Jaune glared.
"Because it is my, scratch that OUR business, meaning it only involves me and Pyrrha. Speaking of which I have to get back to her, so later." Jaune said heading back into the store but was stopped by Calvin.
"Wait! Are you going to come to the reunion or not?" Calvin asked hopeful but was shot down when Jaune just glared.
"What do you think?" Jaune asked as he walked back into the shop.
Walking back into the shop, Jaune found Pyrrha at the register paying for her ammo. He walked up to her and kissed her, and she kissed back but she wondered what happened outside. Jaune just told her that it wasn't anything to worry about and she knew that he was lying but decided to let it go for now. After leaving the weapons shop, Jaune and Pyrrha went to go get some snacks for the mission tomorrow. The didn't buy everything that was on Nora's list because it was ridiculous, but they did get the items they deemed necessary.
After getting everything that they needed, Jaune and Pyrrha were on the bullhead back to Beacon, though Jaune was lost in his thoughts. The reason why all his former classmates were texting him was because they wanted him to come to the reunion they were having? Jaune seriously had his doubts about that because he wasn't popular and just because he went to Beacon didn't mean that they cared about him now all of a sudden. Jaune thought it was mostly because if he went then his former classmates would get to meet Pyrrha. Speaking of which, Pyrrha nudged his shoulder and looked at him with a worried expression.
"Baby, are you sure you're alright?" Pyrrha asked in worry and Jaune just sighed.
"The guy at the ammo place was an old classmate of mine. He told me that Talia pretty much told all my former classmates that we are dating, and some have even texted me asking how I managed to pull it off. Now, they want me to come to the reunion they are going to have at Kingsglaive and they want me to bring you with me. I think you can imagine why; it's irritating because these people basically hated me when I went there and now they wanna be my friend." Jaune said with honesty and Pyrrha looked irritated too.
Considering the fact that Pyrrha was a tournament champion, one could guess that she had a lot of rumors made about her back at Sanctum. People said that she cheated in tournaments, she only got invited because of her parents, some even said she used enhanced drugs to get where she was. She never let it bother her though, just like Jaune she put those rumors aside and continued with her life. Also like Jaune, those same people who doubted and dogged her now wanted to be her friend but she wasn't having it.
"I am sorry Jaune, I know that must be really irritating." Pyrrha said in contempt but Jaune just smiled.
"Don't worry, the only people whose opinions I care about are my friends, my team, my mom and my wonderful girlfriend. Love you." Jaune said with honesty and Pyrrha widened her eyes, that was the first time Jaune said that he loved her.
"I love you too." Pyrrha said with happiness as they shared a kiss and held each other, waiting for the airship to land.
The couple got back to the dorm and walked into see Nora holding Ren in a chokehold. Jaune burst out laughing and took a picture on his scroll, but Pyrrha just punched him in the arm and got Nora off of Ren. Pyrrha demanded an explanation for what was going on and Nora told them that Ren still would not make her pancakes and she had to take extreme measures to get him to reconsider. This cause Jaune to once again burst out laughing and Pyrrha rubbed her temples trying her best not to laugh like her boyfriend.
After his laughter died down, Jaune told Nora that until she shows that she can control herself with pancakes, she could not have them in their room. Not only did she spill syrup on their furniture, but she got more and more hyper each time she ate them. Nora said that Jaune was being a tyrannical dictator but Jaune held his ground no matter how much he wanted to laugh at Nora's misery. Ren thanked Jaune and threw Nora a victorious smirk that ended up getting Ren in another headlock.
Once everyone had calmed down, the group had relaxed for a bit before going to bed. They made sure that they had everything they needed in order to accomplish their first mission and once everything was finalized they needed sleep. If they were going to shadow a sheriff, then they would need to be attentive and alert. Jaune was happy that he got a team like this, and no matter how much his former classmates annoyed him, it didn't matter because he knew his team would have his back. With that on his mind, he kissed Pyrrha goodnight and drifted off to sleep, ready for his first mission tomorrow.
Author Notes:
Hey y'all, sorry this took so long I have been swamped with video games lol. First let's talk about RWBY Volume 8 and how Ironwood lost his damn mind and Watts is the goat for hitting Cinder with facts. Idk if I said this before, but I am a huge Persona fan and I love Persona 5 Strikers, it really feels like a sequel. I also played Guilty Gear Strive's beta and I want it right now, it is so much fun. Anyway, Team JNPR's first mission is tomorrow and Jaune met up with another of his former classmates. What will happen next? And what new moves has Jaune perfected? Find out next time!