Sorry for the wait, everyone! Got a little stuck with writing the most recent chapter of my novel, which caused me a longer delay than I'd have thought. But that's finally done, so I was able to get to work on this.

Plus, well, the whole thing going on with Vic Mignogna honestly got me pretty sad and drained me of my cheer a fair bit. Sounds dumb, I know, but as a fan who's tried to follow what's been going on with certain VAs for literal years, including him, the recent news about him was quite a shock, especially since very few people seem keen on believing in the 'innocent until proven guilty' adage that everyone really ought to be following.

Until actual evidence of his wrongdoing comes forth – which I doubt will ever happen – I'm inclined to believe he's innocent. But regardless of his innocence, his career is pretty much done for – he's no longer Broly for the DB fans nor will he ever voice Qrow again for all you Qrow fans thanks to Funimation and Rooster Teeth firing him. So… yeah.

Yeah, not exactly the cheeriest thing to write about in my AN here, but just thought I should mention it. In any case, I'll spare you all the specifics and stuff; I merely did this just to make any aware that weren't aware of it before but have been hearing things here and there anyways.

Whatever opinions you may have about the situation are yours alone, let no one tell you otherwise.

So, again, yeah.

Other than that, not much else to tell other than that I managed to get a ticket to Lost Butterfly, luckily enough, so there's that. I have high hopes for this second part of the Heaven's Feel trilogy. The main song for it – I Beg You by Aimer – really has me looking forward to hearing it on theater speakers, ha ha. Now to just wait a month for it to come out.

Now then, onto the chapter!

Chapter 6

As weeks go by, Jaune had come to reevaluate many of the preconceptions he'd had about Beacon academy.

In some ways, it was a lot like what he'd expected and hoped it would be, but in numerous other ways, it was… different.

Not different in a bad way, he'd like to clarify, but he'd be hard-pressed to bring himself to describe the differences as outright good too.

If he had to try describing it though, he'd say with certainty that the differences from his initial expectations were… unusual.

After all, it wasn't exactly every day he heard students being given the truly arduous task of… collecting sap from trees.

Which is exactly what he and his team were doing right now.

"Nora, learn restraint please," said Ren.

"But Ren, it's good! Think of how well it could go with pancakes!" Nora whined.

"I would if you didn't keep chugging it all," Ren replied flatly.

Nora opened her mouth, ready to retort only to realize belatedly that in response to her friend's words that he was right. Imagining pancakes covered with this sap would be difficult to do if they couldn't even bring any back to try out.

Jaune chuckled slightly at the crestfallen expression on the auburn-haired girl's face, as overly dramatic as always.

However, he didn't let his amusement distract him entirely, keeping his hands near his sheathed swords at all times.

Earlier today, he and the rest of the first year teams had been informed by professor Goodwitch that they were to head to Forever Falls and collect several jars of tree sap per team. Apparently, some of the sap was for professor Peach's use, said use being something well beyond the scope of Jaune's mind to even remotely envision. As for the rest of the sap, however, well, some of it would go to the kitchen staff and any left over the students could use in whatever way they want… provided it was safe, the professor had stressed.

Due to said red colored forest being well away from the academy, Grimm were to be expected and it had been with this in mind that all students had been ordered to change into their combat outfits and gather their weapons and any other supplies they may need. Not that Jaune had needed such an order to do this, but he appreciated how seriously professor Goodwitch was taking this even if it did seem at the outset like a very simple and relaxing activity.

Granted, the Grimm were relatively few in number compared to other areas that they inhabited, but that didn't mean none of them should completely let down their guard.

So, to this end, Jaune had volunteered himself to be on lookout for his team while his friends took care of the sap collecting. Not that he didn't trust them to stay alert or anything but doing a little patrol of his own helped to keep him busy and relaxed.

Well, that and he had a slight allergy to the tree sap. Nothing too serious, just some facial swelling if he somehow ends up ingesting it and that would be horribly embarrassing.

So yeah, best just to leave it to his friends.

"Almost done?" he asked Pyrrha after a moment.

The redhead nodded. "Almost. Only have a few more jars to fill, though I think we've tapped just about every good tree here. We may have to move a bit further into the forest."

Jaune nodded in agreement. His time out in the frontier had provided him with a plethora of experience in many things, which is how he discovered his tree sap allergy. Among the things he's learned, he's become able to tell through sight alone which trees had sap and which ones even had a bit more than others, which had resulted in him being the primary navigator of his team in these parts, not that Forever Falls was a particularly tough place to navigate through, what with how spread out the trees were. Just about the only thing they had to look out for aside from any potential Grimm threats was occasional uneven ground.

Pausing in his walking, he peered south and started to scan the trees he could see for which ones may have enough sap to finish their sap collecting. He wasn't in a particular rush or anything to finish this task, but the professor had informed them all that if they finish earlier, they may take the time to relax while waiting for all the other teams to finish, provided they turn in the jars to her first back at the bullheads they came on.

Although such a thing was rather foreign to him still – rest and relaxation, that is – being out here in such a beautiful forest was enough to help him loosen up a tad bit. Even if he still worried for the safety of his friends and his fellow classmates, he consoled himself constantly by saying that they were all more than capable of taking care of themselves. Plus, with all of them relatively close to one another, providing backup to each other will be a cinch.

A few minutes go by in peaceful silence. Jaune even closed his eyes for a minute to enjoy the sound of the rustling red leaves and the equally red grass. He opened his eyes after that, just in time to see Pyrrha and Ren finished securing the lids to the jars they had been filling.

"Ready?" he asked.

Both of them nodded and he stepped in to help carry several jars, making sure the lids really were sealed on tight lest his allergies act up.

The four of them then proceeded deeper into the red forest, making idle conversation as they did so.

"I still can't believe just how red the forest is…" Pyrrha commented, looking to be in awe of how colorful Forever Falls was. "I'd heard of this place but walking through it now doesn't do the descriptions justice. It's really beautiful."

"Indeed." Ren was in obvious agreement. "I can't say I've ever seen a place like this during my travels."

"Same!" Nora agreed as well. She turned to Pyrrha. "And it really matches your hair!"

Pyrrha smiled and blushed a little. "You think so?"

Jaune nodded. "It does. Not just in color but in beauty too."

His partner suddenly started to stumble. Jaune was just about to drop his jars and help her, but she was able to recover and keep on walking without dropping her jars.

"You alright?" he asked with great concern.

Huh, how odd, the blush on Pyrrha's face had deepened from just a moment ago. "A-Ah, yes. I'm fine. It's just, ah, I hadn't thought you found my hair… well, beautiful."

Jaune could only blink dumbly as they all kept walking. "Why's that? Your hair is beautiful – anyone with eyes could tell that. And of course, the same could be said about you in general – you're a truly wonderful person."

Speaking nothing but the truth, Jaune found himself thoroughly bewildered when Pyrrha's face turned a shade of red darker than both her hair and Forever Falls, the girl speeding up a bit now so that she walked just a little further ahead of him and the others.

…Had he said something wrong here? He looked to Ren and Nora for an answer and found none. Instead, what he did find was looks of matching bemusement on the faces of his friends.

"Uh, Pyrrha, can you slow down just a little?" he eventually said. "We're here."

Reaching the next good harvesting spot for the sap, they all set down their jars and got to work once more, Pyrrha and Ren collecting the sap, Nora trying not so subtly and failing epically in trying to sneak a gulp or two from the jars. And just like before, Jaune established a perimeter around the current area, walking a radius of five meters around his friends.

The once peaceful silence was now a bit awkward for some reason and whenever he glanced at Pyrrha, the girl would look up and meet his eyes, only to then quickly glance away.

He had no idea what he did, but he now aimed to apologize later. Wouldn't do to leave things unresolved.

But in order to get to that point, they had to finish this up first. That meant making sure they all got back to the bullheads in one piece.

Patrolling, he scanned the area, looking for any fresh tracks that could potentially mean Grimm. But aside from some footprints indicating some of his fellow first years had traversed further on, there was nothing to worry about.

Inwardly, he sighed. Maybe, just maybe, he was being a bit too on guard still. He certainly couldn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary, so perhaps this really will be a simple trip, after all.

Trying not to let his now lessening tension seem too obvious to the others, Jaune turned around and made his way back to his team.

Blake was currently feeling a combination of blessed restfulness and anxiety. Having grown up on Menagerie, where technology hadn't quite been as omnipresent as it is in the main kingdoms, she was used to nature being all around her, so being out here in Forever Falls filled her with a minor sense of nostalgia, enough to make her remember her parents and the simpler times from back then… at least before she ran off to join the White Fang.

And that was where the anxiety was coming from, if only minutely.

…She'd abandoned Adam and by extension the White Fang in an area similar to this, a peaceful forest of pure red for as far as the eyes could see. The vibrant red all around her reminded her of that day and of Adam in specific, the particular shade of red of Forever Falls an almost exact match for the red streaks in both her former partner's hair and outfit.

Despite how desperately she wished to put him and the rest of her past behind her, the B of team RWBY couldn't help but wonder just how her former friend was doing.

Was he still as dedicated to the White Fang's cause as he was before? Did that mean he was also still putting innocent people at risk, just like he'd attempted to do back on the train?

Given how different he'd become from when the two of them first joined the White Fang, it was likely. And that saddened her, for it meant he was slowly yet steadily becoming a monster like many had accused the White Fang of being.

Had running away truly been the right thing then? Should she have remained behind instead to try changing things?

"Yo, Blake! How come it looks like you're seeing blue instead of red there, eh?" Yang called out as she approached her. She hefted a few jars full of sap up. "Could use a hand here, you know."

The blonde's sudden approach was enough to snap her from her thoughts before they could continue their downwards spiral, something that Blake was silently thankful for.

Thanks that she expressed through a roll of her eyes. "Seeing blue? Did you think I was feeling depressed, Yang?"

The blonde smiled a little. "Sure looked that way to me. Why the sad look? Didn't get to finish that porn book of yours from earlier?"

Blake blushed. "T-That's not it. And it's not porn."

"Yeeeeaaahhhh, if sex makes up more than 80 percent of the book, with a flimsy plot to excuse it all, it's porn." Yang shot her a cheeky grin. "And boy oh boy, you're a kinky one too…"

"When did you even look at it anyways?" Blake asked defensively.

"When you were in the bathroom earlier. Skimmed through it just to see what it was about." Yang's response had been casual and accompanied by a casual shrug. "Now, you gonna help me or what? These jars aren't going to carry themselves."

Blake once again rolled her eyes but obliged her partner by taking one of the jars. "Ruby and Weiss almost done filling the rest?"

"Yep~. Just a bit more to go then we can head back. Gotta say, kind of a bummer to not do any fighting, but being out and about like this is pretty nice."

"Oh? And here I thought you were just a brute," Blake teased, the normally quiet and tense girl eager for a little payback for the earlier mocking.

A sign that being on team RWBY so far was proving to be a surprisingly therapeutic experience. Not that she was just comfortable enough just yet around them to reveal the… other things about herself.

Under her bow, her cat ears twitched ever so slightly in response to that particular thought.

Yang gasped overdramatically. "Me… a brute? The demure and fragile me? Oh, Blake how could you call me such a cruel thing?" she moaned out in an obviously fake tone of sadness.

It was enough to make Blake laugh quietly.

"There you go," Yang suddenly commented with a much quieter voice, a small smile on her face. "Feel better now?"

The shift in her demeanor was enough to take Blake aback now. "…You knew something was bothering me all along, didn't you?"

Yang nodded. "Wasn't exactly that obvious considering how quiet and anti-social you are normally, but I've experience picking out that sort of thing." She glanced back in the direction Ruby and Weiss were in. "Being a big sister can be tough sometimes, you know… but rewarding too."

Blake was at a loss for words. In the few weeks since team RWBY was formed, she's come to learn in short order that there was more than meets the eye to each of her teammates, her partner naturally included, but this was a surprise.

"Sorry for worrying you then," she murmured.

"Eh, no problem. We're partners, after all." Yang played it off with a shrug as she walked forward a bit. Blake endeavored to keep pace with her. "So, what was bugging you?"

Blake's immediate instinct was to just stay quiet, bottle it all in. This lasted for all of a few seconds, however, as she fought back against this instinct of hers. When she'd parted ways with Adam and the White Fang, she'd done so to have a fresh start. To do that, she knew she must change, if only a bit. Now was as good a time as any to really start doing that.

"Just… remembering some stuff from the past," she said a little lamely. Just because she intended to change didn't mean it'd be an immediate process. "…I once had a good friend, but over the years he, well, he changed."

"Not for the better, I'm guessing."

Blake nodded. "The scenery here… the color reminds me of him."

"Red, huh?" Yang mumbled. She slowed down a bit and looked around her, as if looking upon the shockingly red leaves and grass for the first time. She then hummed. "Didn't part on good terms?"

"No."

Another hum. "I see. Well, Blakey, you sure seem to have a dark past. Probably why you read porn – to make up for it all." Though meant clearly to be a good-natured jab, it lacked the playfulness from before.

Nonetheless, it was enough to make Blake smile a bit. "Try not to use that joke too often, Yang, or else it'll go just as stale as your other puns."

"Ha, I'll keep that in mind." Yang then stopped outright and looked at her. "But getting back on topic here, whatever it is that happened, Blake, it's in the past now for a reason, I'm guessing. And there's no point in dwelling on it anymore than you need to. Otherwise the only thing you're gonna accomplish is making yourself miserable."

The disguised Faunus could only nod. "Fair point and one I've been trying to act on, but…"

"But it's tough," Yang finished for her, bobbing her head in agreement. "You got me there. But hey, when's the last time something worthwhile has been easy, right?"

Yang turned to her, a smile on her face now. "But I'm sure you'll pull through. And if you ever need someone to unload on, you can always come to me, alright?"

Now it was Blake who was smiling. "Thanks, Yang," she said, meaning it.

Then, a bit against her own will, she chuckled. "I have to say though, didn't expect such a serious conversation from you of all people."

"Heh! Well, I am a big sister, after all. Guess looking after Rubes for all these years just got me too used to being in 'big sis' mode all the time."

"Noted. The relationship the two of you have… it's nice to see." Blake paused. "I'm guessing there's a bit of a story there too, isn't there?"

Yang was now the one to look a little solemn. "Kind of, yeah."

Nodding, Blake continued. "In that case, if you're willing to tell it, I'm willing to listen. It's only fair, after all, what with being partners and all."

Yang's smile returned in full. "Thanks. Maybe later, though – looks like they're finally done."

"Will look forward to it then," Blake said.

Feeling better now than she'd been feeling minutes ago, Blake waited alongside Yang as the other two members of the team – her friends, she corrected – now caught up with them, their sap collecting finally done.

Once Ruby and Weiss caught up, bickering lightly over something or other, Blake took the remaining time spent of their trip thoroughly enjoying it, her entire being much lighter than it had ever been.

Perhaps running away from the White Fang had been the best decision, after all.

Off in the distance, having already finished filling most of their jars with sap with only one more that needed to be filled, was team CDRL.

The all-male team worked and relaxed in complete silence, uncomfortable silence.

The reason for this? Off in the near distance was just the barely visible sight of team JNPR, now finished with their sap collecting and heading back to the bullheads.

The four teens paused in what they were doing to eye team JNPR as they trekked on, the four of them currently engaged in what seemed like casual banter.

However, the one they were all focused on was the leader of the team, Jaune Arc, currently talking to his partner. From the looks of it, he seemed apologetic about something, said something that the redhead was awkwardly waving off.

"So," Dove suddenly began, the first of them to break the tense silence. "What's the plan?"

"Plan?" Russel asked, confounded. "Plan for what?"

"Well, I mean, here we are, pretty much glaring daggers at that Arc guy," Dove mumbled out. "Can't help but feel as if we're going to do something, you know?"

Sky looked at Dove as if he were insane. "Why the hell would we do that?"

"Let me guess," Russel started. "For that spar, right?"

Speaking those words, they all looked to their leader whose hands had balled into fists in response to that remark.

The three teens fell silent, waiting for Cardin to now make a comment. But when a full minute passed with nothing being said, Russel continued. "Are we going to do something to him, Cardin?"

Not that he wanted to per say – having been in the front row in combat class when the spar had occurred, he and the others here had gotten as close of a look as was possible at their leader essentially being toyed with the whole time. And for all their arrogant and bullying ways, they knew when they were outclassed and weren't too keen on 'avenging their leader for the loss' or whatever bullshit reason they could think up.

If others were privy to this simple train of thought, some would label team CDRL as cowards. However, they'd be wrong. In fact, that they could recognize the difference between them and Jaune Arc in terms of strength, skill, and experience and respond accordingly was a surprisingly tactical move on their part.

After all, only a complete fool would dare challenge someone well beyond their abilities and believe they have a chance at victory.

But just because the three of them knew this didn't necessarily mean their leader might feel that way. And if Cardin were to say they should try jumping Arc or prank him or whatever, then they could only follow.

While weeks have passed since the spar, their leader had been preoccupied with his thoughts and while that might seem like a sign that nothing would be done, now was the perfect chance to try evening the score if Cardin so desired, considering they were all out here in a forest where anything could happen.

Dove knew this. Russel knew this. Sky knew this.

And, of course, so did Cardin.

"Yo, Cardin!" Dove called out. "Come on, man, tell us what you're thinking. You've been holding back on us this whole time. Do you want some payback or not?"

They all waited a few seconds for a response to come, but when it looked like he wasn't going to answer yet again, Dove prepared to ask their leader again.

Only to stop when Cardin let out a heavy sigh. "…No."

"Say what now?"

"I said no," Cardin growled out as he turned around, his normally haughty expression gone. "No ambushing him or trying to prank his blond ass… we're going to leave him alone, you hear me, you punks? Same goes for the rest of his team too."

The three other members of team CDRL was utterly stupefied.

"Okay, we're cool with that," Russel spoke. "But I got to ask here: why? We were all thinking you'd be itching to even the score."

Cardin's expression scrunched up, grimacing. But then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

As he did so, the C of CDRL thought back to that day, recalling with perfect clarity the blond teen's immense strength, his nearly impossible to follow speed, the precision of his movements.

And above all else, he recalled perfectly the teen's intensity and conviction – not to win, but to help him of all people in fighting better, in drawing out even just a bit more of his potential…. As well as the words spoken at the end there, after helping him up.

There'd been genuine faith in those words, even hope that bordered on anticipation. It had been enough to practically burn themselves into Cardin's brain.

His loss to Jaune hadn't been the least bit embarrassing, especially when everyone else had been just as shocked and entranced as he'd been by the blond teen's actions. Hell, even the professor had looked completely stumped by the one-sided lesson.

He's done a lot of thinking since then… and decided he didn't like that blond bastard, not one bit.

But Cardin could respect him, if nothing else. And it was out of this respect for the blond that he's done so much thinking lately.

Payback, his buddies had asked of him? Well, they weren't wrong about him wanting payback per say, but it wouldn't be done the way they were thinking of.

No, payback to him now meant showing the blond bastard up.

Jaune had faith and hope in him being a great huntsman, eh? Fine then. He'll become the best fucking huntsman Remnant will ever see, then relish in the look of shock in the guy's eyes when he exceeds his expectations by a goddamned mile.

Yeah, to him, that'd be the most appropriate and perfect payback possible.

"…Heh!"

"Something up?"

"Nah," Cardin answered. He'd tried to keep himself from chuckling in anticipation, but it looks like he hadn't been successful there. "Just thinking again."

"You ever gonna let us in on those thoughts of yours?" Dove asked, now looking annoyed.

"Not if you keep whining like that. Now come on, let's get this done so we can head back. Wanna try something new during training later."

The three other members of the team could only look at Cardin in complete bewilderment but didn't argue.

All that mattered to them was that Cardin looked a little happier now.

They were cool with that.

What exactly, Ozpin pondered, could the queen and her forces be planning?

He paced his office with a sense of befuddlement and anxiety that he hadn't felt in a very long time.

Things certainly hadn't gone as he'd been expecting or hoping for today.

At first, things had started out normal enough – wake up, freshen up and change, get his usual cup of coca, then get to work – but then not too long after Glynda had taken the first-years to Forever Falls for the sap collecting, he received a message from Qrow.

Although the man was an unapologetic drunkard, he was good at what he did and always stuck to a certain schedule when it came to updating him about things. The only times where the Q of former team STRQ would break this habit of his is when there was something truly worrisome or at the very least unusual had occurred during his journeys.

In this case, it was thankfully the latter, though it still caused Ozpin no small amount of confusion and even worry.

Qrow usually was tasked with any leads there may be about finding out and tracking down the queen's current generation of pawns, humans and Faunus that have come under her sway for one reason or another. This was an assignment that had only grown more serious following what had occurred several months ago, the sudden attack on Amber having come as a true shock and mortal blow to him.

It was imperative that these people the queen had at her disposal now be dealt with one way or another before they can be mobilized again and do more harm to others.

This meant a lot of traveling being done for Qrow, travelling that took him throughout the lands for weeks and months at a time.

Recently, the alcohol-loving man had ventured further and further out into the frontier lands, where towns and villages were less and less plentiful while Grimm tended to make up for that number.

It had come as a genuine surprise to Qrow and now to Ozpin to realize that the frontier had actually expanded, with previously small villages having grown in size and population by a small yet still noticeable margin.

Why had they grown? The answer had been both simple and honestly amazing.

The Grimm population, normally so vast as to be the very embodiment of despair, had gone down out there, enough for these villages that lied the furthest away from the walls of Vale to have enough courage and time to develop.

All the centuries and even millennia he's been alive had long since taught Ozpin that no matter how many Grimm were slain, it was only a matter of time until more were spawned and migrated out of the Grimmlands, thereby pushing the Grimm population back into the areas they'd been cleared out of before. It was for these reasons that expansion became increasingly difficult to do for humanity, especially when it simply wasn't possible to slay every Grimm in a given area, thereby allowing them time to further develop and grow in size, strength and intelligence.

It was precisely because of this that the rare but all too dangerous Leviathan-classed Grimm ever came to be.

However, Qrow had noticed an anomaly here. For reasons he couldn't discern, there simply weren't that many Grimm hanging around the frontier lands anymore. That wasn't to say they were gone completely, but the few that had occasionally made their way near the expanding villages had been so few in number that the villagers had been able to band together and deal with them easily enough all on their own, his help not really needed.

Really, Qrow had had to journey even further out into the lands to really spot Grimm in greater abundance and to his surprise, the Grimm hadn't looked too interested in traversing much closer towards the villages.

It was almost as if some invisible force had been at work here, something the man had inquired about in his usually blunt way.

And apparently, according to people he's spoken to at various villages and towns, they owed their chance at expansion all to a young man, a teen really, that had passed by at some point during the past two years.

A certain blond young man that Ozpin knew the name of.

Jaune Arc.

"Just when I thought my interest couldn't be peaked anymore," Ozpin murmured to himself right before taking another sip of his cocoa.

He's learned from the young man's application weeks ago that he'd wandered around the frontier, had listed people to contact to prove this, but never had Ozpin imagined that young Arc had traveled that far out into the frontier, where safe long-distance communication with the inhabitants there truly was impossible.

Just as there was more than meets the eyes to Ruby Rose (pun intended), the same could be said almost triply so for the leader of team JNPR.

"….Hmm." Suddenly having a random thought, Ozpin went to his desk and swiftly accessed the security system Beacon had.

Specifically, he accessed the hidden cameras out in the forest where initiation was held, focusing on the areas Jaune Arc had traveled and fought his way through.

It took quite some time speeding through the continuous recording that had gone on since then as well as the present time, but the headmaster was patient and skilled at the manipulation of the camera recordings.

A solid hour later, after reviewing what he needed to review, he came to note a truly interesting observation.

Whenever there weren't humans and Faunus present, the Grimm tended to act almost docile, much like actual animals left out in the wild. This meant forming certain territories and at time migrating elsewhere for better spots, not that they needed to given their complete lack of need for any sustenance.

And he was quick to realize that the areas Jaune Arc had traversed during the initiation remained suspiciously clear of Grimm even weeks after he's ever been there. It was almost as if the Grimm were avoiding the very path he walked, though not necessarily out of fear – they weren't capable of emotion in any recognizable way – but more as if those very areas were almost invisible to them or at the very least held absolutely no interest to them.

He's studied many things over his many lifetimes, including animals and their habits. He could recall how some packs would instinctively avoid certain areas, somehow recognizing said areas as belonging to much more dangerous animals, predators that would end their lives at a moment's notice for either food or for sheer sport.

The way the Grimm were acting was eerily similar to that. Predators they may be, but they knew better than to intrude on the grounds they felt belonged to the apex predator.

The 'apex' in this case being Jaune, again, even though it's been weeks since he's ever set foot there.

"How very curious, Mr. Arc…" Ozpin said aloud with only himself to hear. He leaned back a little into his chair, arms rested on his knees and his fingers interlocked in his lap. "I'd thought myself truly lucky to have Ms. Rose here, no matter how much it may pain me to possibly have her fight… but now I see I'd been more blessed than I'd realized."

Was this a good sign of sorts? A part of him, the naïve part of him that never quite withered away, truly wished it to be so.

But the rest of him disagreed strongly. Was it a sign? Perhaps. But a good one? That remains to be seen, especially since so little was still known about Jaune Arc. Even taking into account the reputation he'd swiftly been building for himself in these past few weeks, Ozpin couldn't afford to take it at face value.

In fact, the much more cynical part of him, the one he'd so desperately tried to hide a few lifetimes back, was now rearing its ugly head, whispering to him of all the bad things this could possibly mean, that it was far too good to be true to have such a potential new ally figuratively fall into his hands like this.

A young man whose very presence and actions could have such long lasting effects even after how many years have passed on the frontier… a young man that the Grimm seemed to avoid after the fact… indeed, it really did feel too good to be true in a way.

In fact, the more he started to dwell on the effects Jaune Arc seemed to have had on the areas he's visited thus far, the more he dwelt on the young man's current actions here at Beacon… he began to realize something here.

The blond was, if only a bit, just a little too… too perfect in a way, at least when speaking from a certain perspective here.

Recalling what other details Qrow had mentioned in his message, it was clear that the villagers and townspeople thought of the young Arc as a hero, a figure to be admired and even idolized.

But Ozpin has met many heroes over the centuries, had even been considered one himself far back then.

And in his personal experience, heroes had always been extraordinary people… but there had also been those that could only be described as monsters themselves, often possessing abilities truly beyond the pale and with mindsets that could only vaguely be understood and empathized with.

The latter category was one he couldn't help but place Jaune in the more he thought on all this.

Hence the worry he was currently feeling.

"Jaune Arc," Ozpin began. "Just what kind of hero are you?"

This is a filler chapter, pure and simple, but one with a point.

For one thing, not much really ever happened in volume 1 of the series beyond set-up, of both the setting (to some minor extent) and of the characters and their relationships with one another. It wasn't really until the last few episodes as well as the latter half of volume 2 where things truly began to pick up in terms of the plot for RWBY.

For another, as much as I like RWBY, the series was really lacking back then (still is now too, but will withhold my opinion on that matter), sort of just skipping days and weeks at a time between some episodes with little to show for it in regards to the characters interacting with one another.

In all honesty, the Forever Falls scene between Blake and Yang that I wrote was really something that could've and should've happened in the show – Blake had abandoned Adam after all in very similar scenery and given how hung up she was about him and the White Fang, I'm surprised it took until volume 2 for her to get so obsessed over it and stuff. Plus, it'd give her a better foundation for the friendship and possibly more that she later had with Yang.

Sure, since this is my fic, I could 'fill in the gaps' however I want with plenty of drama and action, but typical teen drama and spars, no matter how well written or intense, could only go so far, which is why I'm holding off until the much more serious parts I've planned for this fic. This is also why it's been nothing but build up so far in this fic.

If said build up is getting frustrating for you guys, I understand and apologize, but again I believe it necessary for what is to come. The next few chapters will finally be delivering on that aspect and from there, things will really pick up.

Hope you guys understand.

Ah, and on another note, the Cardin scene. Just want to say right now that this won't be the last you see of him. Though I've no plans to make him a frequent recurring character, he will still have his own little storyline going on in the background. His Forever Falls scene was merely one of many steps in that direction. To me, he's always been one of many characters that could've been so much more, only to be pretty much dropped out of the limelight after just an episode or two. Consider this my attempt to correct that, ha ha.

Until next time, everyone. Take care and may you look forward to what's coming next!