Ah, man, does it feel good to be back to this! I am so sorry it took me three months to come up with this. First, I took April off from writing due to massive burn out. Then, I poured all my time into RWBY Watches The Empire Strikes Back, and don't even get me started on that can of stress-filled worms.
But, I'm back on point, and the story of Jaune Leman Russ Arc can now continue. Consider this the first part of the Season 1 finale.
Wolves of Remnant
Chapter 11
"Letting you anywhere near those two was a mistake." Jaune grumbled, his hands crammed into his pockets as he and Pyrrha walked back to the airship docks.
"Oh, come on, Jaune, it wasn't that bad." Pyrrha said.
"Easy for you to say. You weren't the one being embarrassed."
"Jaune, come on."
"How in the hell did they even get those pictures?" Jaune said, "I specifically told Mom to burn them."
"I don't know. Maybe cloud storage?"
Jaune stopped in place. Pyrrha nearly burst out laughing as she saw things adding up in his head and Jaune almost burst out into a string of curses when he heard familiar voices nearing the docks. Looking over, he saw Team RWBY approaching. Weiss and Blake were clearly having it out up ahead, but years of experience told him it was best to leave that be. Instead, he turned to an exasperated-looking Ruby and an uncomfortable-looking Yang.
"Hey guys." He said.
"Hey Jaune." Ruby sighed. "Sorry if we're not exactly cheery."
"I can see why. How long have they been like this?"
"Since about noon." Yang said, "There hasn't been a single place we went to they haven't been at each other's throats."
"What started it?" Pyrrha asked, "If that's okay."
"No, it's fine. You're probably gonna hear about it anyway, living across the hall and everything." Ruby said, "We came into the city cuz Weiss wanted to see how Vale celebrated the Vytal Festival and greet the people coming in from Vacuo- "
"Here translated as 'spy on the competition'." Yang said, trying to lighten the mood.
"Pretty much, yeah. Anyway, we were at the docks and noticed a crime scene. Another Dust shop robbery where only the Dust was taken. We heard the detectives mention the White Fang. That was probably the start of it."
"Like five seconds later, we heard some shouting coming from the docks." Yang continued as Ruby walked over to the girls to stop them from getting things physical. "We saw a Faunus guy jump off a ship, followed by a pair of guards. A stowaway, apparently. After that, well, things basically turned into this."
"They're really going at it." Pyrrha commented. "What was said exactly?"
"Weiss took some shots at the White Fang, and Blake started getting defensive when she started generalizing about Faunus. Then, Blake started taking shots at Weiss."
"So, they're both just butt hurt." Jaune concluded. "Just let 'em hash it out for however long it takes. They're big girls; they'll get over it."
"You really think it's that simple?" Yang asked, an eyebrow quirked.
"It worked for my sisters and I." he shrugged as the Bullhead came in. "And if they don't, Ozpin will probably step in. Or Ruby will. It's up to her whether or not you guys participate at Vytal, after all."
"Seriously?" Yang asked shocked.
Jaune gave her a side-long grin as he and Pyrrha boarded. "I can neither confirm nor deny that."
XX
Jaune growled as his slammed his pencil down on his desk. He was working on his Dust Chemistry homework with Ren in the dorm, but it was hard to concentrate. Not only was Nora tantalizing him with a fresh pizza while he worked, but Weiss and Blake were still going at it across the hall.
"I'm about ready to walk over there and give them an attitude adjustment myself." He told Ren.
"Justified as it might be, and as much as Ruby and Yang might allow it, do really think you have it in you?" Ren asked.
"If reason cannot be applied, unreasonable means must be taken." Abruptly, the shouting across the hall abruptly stopped.
"Well, looks like 'unreasonable means' won't be required this time." Pyrrha joked. Jaune, however was frowning.
He liked to think he had a decent understanding of female behavior thanks to living with an increasing number of women over seventeen years, and he knew that if women were fighting and things suddenly got quiet, worse things were to come. Whatever was happening in Team RWBY's dorm, he knew it was nothing good.
Suddenly, he heard the door across the hall slam open, followed by Ruby calling Blake's name. He opened his own door and saw his best friend standing in the hallway, Blake nowhere to be seen, but her scent led down the hall in the direction Ruby was looking.
"Ruby?" he asked softly.
"Don't Jaune." He heard Yang say as his fellow blonde stepped up behind her sister, "Just don't."
XX
Two days later
"Okay, now I'm worried." Jaune said as Team JNPR sat down for breakfast with Team RWBY as they always did, but once again, they were short one Blake.
The looks on the faces of their sister team were mixed. Ruby's hair was fraying with how worried she was, Yang seemed dimmer than her usual self- probably also worried for her partner and sad she hadn't yet returned- while Weiss was practically expressionless, a great contrast from her usual prim confidence.
"She still isn't back?" Pyrrha asked. RW_Y gave her deadpan looks. "I'm sorry, that was a dumb question."
"Pyr, what have I told you about apologizing?"
"'It's a sign of weakness.'" She sighed reminding herself of Jaune Arc Rule #6, "I'm- it won't happen again."
"You guys are going out to look for her again, I assume?"
"What else can we do?" Yang asked.
"Let her be?" Weiss offered.
"How can you say that, Weiss?" Ren asked.
"Yeah! She's your teammate for pancakes sake!" Nora agreed.
"She's also a big girl. She can handle herself on her own." Weiss fired back.
"Oh, for the love of- is this because she's a Faunus?" Jaune asked. Every single one of Team RWBY's faces dropped and they stared at him.
"Wut?" was all Yang could muster.
"You know, the whole bull about Schnees and their treatment of faunus?" more blank stares and the pieces connected in Jaune's head. "You guys don't know, do you?" More staring. Jaune sighed, pulled out his Scroll and began working with it. "Let's start with the obvious, then. Her bow."
"Her bow?" Ruby asked, regaining some of her sense.
"Yup."
"What about it?"
"Have any of you ever noticed how it manages to stay perfectly upright? Even in the wind tunnel on the east side of campus? Or how it looks suspiciously like cat ears? Or that she never, ever takes it off, even to take a shower?"
"Getting weirdly personal, Vomit Boy." Yang said, her eyes narrowing.
"Yeah, how did you know about that last bit?" Ruby asked. Pyrrha and Nora raised their hands.
"That's how. Mostly Nora." Jaune said, pointing a thumb at his female teammates.
"I sometimes people watch when I get bored." She said cheerily.
"And what about her name?" Jaune said, showing them his scroll, which displayed a picture of a tall, brawny man with black hair and an impressive black beard. "Do you know who this is?" The entire team shook their heads. "That is the Chieftain of Menagerie, Ghira Belladonna. He is also the founder and former High Leader of the White Fang."
"Are you serious?" Yang said, pulling his hand to get a better look.
"And this," he ran his finger over the screen and panned the picture to a female faunus with black hair and the barest signs of wrinkles around her eyes, "Is his wife, Kali. Look familiar?"
"She's a dead ringer for Blake…"
"Or Blake is a dead ringer for her." Jaune said.
"How did we miss this?" Ruby asked, staring down at the table.
"I think the bigger question, is how did you miss this?" Jaune pointed a finger at Weiss, snapping her out of her funk. "The hatred between the SDC and the White Fang is legendary. How could the heiress of the company not know her enemy or their history?"
"I- I-" Weiss stammered before taking a moment to collect herself. "I wasn't always the heiress, you know. The position was originally my sister's until she gave it up when she joined the military."
"I'm hearing excuses, not answers, Ice Queen."
"That's besides the point, Arc." She replied angrily.
"And what is the point, Princess?"
"That we have been living with a White Fang terrorist for the past four months and none of us noticed!"
"Wrong." Nora said.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard her." Jaune said. "The point is that your friend, who happens to have ties to the White Fang, is missing, and the White Fang are currently acting up in the city. Whatever her past with them is, she is still your teammate and our friend, and she is in potential danger out there on her own. We all know she's skilled, but in the right situation, quantity has a quality of it's own. Now, I suggest we finish our food, and then we will all go out and look for her. Together."
"Jaune- " Ruby said.
"No arguments Ruby." Jaune cut her off, "Like I said, Blake is our friend as much as she is yours. I appreciate that you feel this should be kept in-house, but I am not in the habit of leaving friends behind and I know you aren't either. Besides, you have to admit that my Semblance would help expedite things."
Ruby glare-pouted hard at him, until Yang put a hand on her shoulder. "He has a point, Rubes."
"Alright, fine." Ruby sighed.
"Glad we're on the same page." Jaune smiled warmly, "All I need before we leave is something with her scent on it for reference. The riper, the better." The entire table sat in silence for a moment. "And I just realized how wrong that sounded as soon as I said it out loud."
XX
Twenty minutes later, Teams RW_Y and JNPR stepped off the Bullhead into Vale, fully armed and with Jaune clutching one of Blake's dirty undershirts in hand.
"Alright, Jaune, you're up." Ruby said, motioning Jaune forward. The scruffy blonde nodded and lifted the shirt up to take a deep whiff. Since unlocking his Semblance, Jaune had come to learn that each person had their own distinct smell.
There were often commonalities, like when two people coincidentally used the same shampoo in the shower, or the same deodorant or perfume, and that could sometimes mask the smell if they used too much, but more often than not, they eventually became additions to the overall scent. For example, Nora's scent was a mixture of strawberries, pancakes, maple syrup, and just a hint of Dust compounds from when she made her own grenades.
Additionally, Faunus had a property to their scents that simply wasn't present in humans. He couldn't quite place it, but if he had to describe it, it would be something primal, animalistic even. It sounded racist, sure, but it was unfortunately accurate. When he smelled Blake's shirt, he picked up the scent of body odor mixed with lavender and fish. He tossed it back to Yang and smelled the air itself. He panned his head from left to right until he had it- there! On his two o' clock headed into the commercial district.
"Got her." he said, pointing in the direction. "We should probably split up so we can cover more ground."
"I agree, but whoever finds her, call us." Ruby said, "She's on our team, we should be the first ones to talk to her."
"Fair enough. Why don't you guys head straight in? Me and Pyrrha will go along the river and skirt the residential and industrial districts, make sure she hasn't crossed over. Nora, Ren, you guys go north and look along the walls. From what I've heard, that's where the largest population of squatters is. Perfect place to hide out in. Any developments go through Ruby first, then the other team."
"Aaaand, break!" Nora said, punching the air and running off with Ren over her shoulder.
"Gimme a sec, Pyr. Weiss!" the white-haired girl turned as he approached.
"What do you want, Arc?" she asked, arms crossed over her chest.
"For you to think about what you've just learned. As the heiress to a legacy that has been more than a little sullied in recent years, I think Blake is someone you can relate to."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, and neither do you, Arc."
Jaune grinned and began to walk away. "Maybe, maybe not. Just think about it, Princess."
XX
A few hours later
Jaune and Pyrrha had reached a curve in the river and could see where it flowed into the ocean. They had passed by nearly a half-dozen bridges in the time since they had split from the group and Jaune hadn't picked up Blake's scent once. He was simultaneously grateful and worried by that.
True, it meant that she probably hadn't come this way in the two days she had been gone, and thusly validated his plan… but then again, she had been gone two days. He was still relatively new to tracking via scent, but he was fairly sure that a person's scent didn't linger that long. The best he could hope for was a fresh trail.
As he finished asking the owner of a bakery if he or any of his employees had seen Blake, showing them a photo of her Ruby had sent to everyone's Scroll, he was relieved to hear that one of them had seen her walking around with a blonde male with a monkey tail following her that morning in the commercial district. He thanked them and sent Ruby an update as he left.
Looking up, his breath caught in his chest when he saw Pyrrha. She stood facing the river, her eyes closed as she allowed the wind to blow through her hair while she basked in the warmth of the sun. He internally cursed himself for being so focused on Weiss before initiation that he didn't notice how beautiful this girl who had encouraged him was. Fucking idiot, that was him. He shook his head before his mind could go any further with that line of thought. He had to focus on the task at hand.
"Good news." He said as he walked up to Pyrrha, who had forgone a disguise this time in favor of her combat gear, "Blake was sighted in the commercial district this morning, but it sounds like there was a faunus guy with her."
"Is that a problem?" Pyrrha asked as they resumed walking.
"Well, that all depends on her." Jaune said, "I don't think it's too much to assume she spent some time in the White Fang, considering her parentage, right?" Pyrrha nodded. "But then the question becomes more complicated. How long was she in? What kind of connections did she make in that time? How did she part ways with the Fang? If she left on bad terms, is it possible that some of those former connections would come after her for revenge?" he sighed. "There's just so many variables to consider."
"You're awfully worried about her." Pyrrha said, her voice a little concerned.
"When a terrorist group with a predilection toward extreme violence is involved, can you blame me?"
"I guess not…"
A thought entered Jaune's mind, almost unbidden. "Hey, Pyr?"
"Hmm?" Pyrrha looked at him.
"I know this is kinda out of left field, but would you like to grab something to eat once we finish here? Just the two of us?"
Pyrrha froze in place. "Just the two of us? You mean, like a date?"
Jaune's eyes widened. Crap, that is what he had suggested, wasn't it? "Y-yeah, I suppose it would be, wouldn't it? B-but only if you want to!"
Relief washed over him when Pyrrha's face split in a massively beautiful smile.
"Jaune, I would love to!"
"Great!" Jaune said with a small chuckle. "How does seafood sound? We're headed toward the docks anyway, and I know a little place that makes the best stuff."
"That sounds grand!"
Jaune smiled as he took his place in between Pyrrha and the street, while Pyrrha happily clung to his arm, apparently too giddy to realize just how she might look if there were more people around. Briefly, Jaune wondered where the idea to ask Pyrrha out, much less the confidence to do so, came from. Sure, he could admit that he was attracted to Pyrrha. You had to be blind or just plain uninterested not to be.
But he knew himself. He was absolute garbage when it came to talking to women in any form of romantic manner. Not even seven sisters plus a twin was able to change that. Once he had seen just how many beautiful women were attending Beacon with him, he was sure that he would have to drop a line to Joan at some point if he ever wanted to make some kind of headway.
'I want to think it's just that I'm getting better at this, but luck sounds a lot more plausible.' He thought to himself as Pyrrha and he continued their trek toward the sea.
Little did he know that, within the Warp, a golden form looked down upon him with a small grin on his face.
"There we go. Now, get me some grandkids, wolf-boy."
XX
I don't know if you guys could tell or not, but I suck balls at writing romance. I know I wanted this to have an Arkos pairing, and I had to get the ball rolling somehow. Jaune asking Pyrrha out is great, but why would he just do it out of the blue when he was never able to do it in canon?
Basically, I realized I had written myself into a hole and the only way out I could think of was Big E. I mean, he's already influenced four Remnants (what I call the people of Remnant) already, what's a fifth?