Disclaimer: These can be so depressing. I see plenty of authors make these funny, but we all know no one owns anything of what we write here. It's why we write here in the first place.

A/N: Sorry, I wrote that in a grim mood, pun completely intended. Yang would be proud.

I have a good idea of how I want my endgame to go, and now it's just a matter of picking the best way to approach that point like Pyrrha's completely inaccurate idea of destiny.

SHOWTIME!

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Chapter 3: Because Glowing Towers are Always a Good Sign

XXXX Spring M1 W1 D3, 83 AVA XXXX

'It's been a long time coming. I almost thought I'd never get to this point more than once.' Jaune was thinking as he was entering the airship to Beacon Academy, his goal of the past two years and three months of training. Though there were some low points, it was all worth it to be here, for the most part.

Early on, Jaune and his father found that killing Grimm was a much more efficient way to… level up, for lack of a better term… than standard physical training. So they would go out for Jaune to kill some beasties that were in the area, which led to a whole new complication.

Crow's Hill's population never had any less than a dozen fully-trained hunters at all times, and some students to gain experience in a relatively safe environment. As a result, the population of nightmarish creatures was quite sparse, barring incursions. What little they could find were almost all newborn-class, with some rare decades, or D-class for short.

To remedy this, Hans had Jaune signed up for an official apprenticeship, under him of course. Others might use Huntsmen and Huntresses, but the unisex term rolled off the tongue easier for the youngest Arc. As Hans' apprentice, Jaune could tag along on missions. This also had the benefit of scoring good points on his transcripts to compensate for the lack of any previous combat school tenure.

These were the two popular methods to enrolling into a Hunter's Academy, but it wasn't universal. The only true requirement was to be approved the Headmaster, both in theory and practical subjects.

Combat school is the most popular option because Hunters were not likely to take apprentices for several reasons; with the big one is their income. They are forced to train their protégé and/or be stuck with lower level missions until the apprentice is up to snuff. In the case of the Arcs, the family business eliminated that obstacle.

Apprentice transcripts are also held under a harsher scrutiny than combat schools because their education that they have received may be deficient in some crucial areas, whether by the unconscious bias of the Hunter, or by their lack of skill in teaching. As such, they are required to take an exam equivalent of a combat school's education, as well as perform a certain number of missions of varying difficulties and duties.

So while completing required missions for his transcripts, and killing Grimm to improve while doing so, Jaune received a Signal-equivalent education in theory from his mother when at home between missions.

When not doing either of those things, Jaune spent some time in the forge with his father, designing and working on his weapons, the ones currently on his person being adjusted to carry around easier and not bump into as many people.

On many nights, he returned to the Dream to spend time with Marie, slowly acclimating her with emotions and conversation as well as possible. When not conversing with her, he spent his accrued echoes, as he called them by habit, and searched every nook and cranny for more information. Jaune's theory, which was soon proven to be correct, was that as he grew stronger, or filled some seemingly arbitrary requirements, some more books would be available for Jaune to learn.

This includes several more entries in the bestiary, and some books that taught Jaune some very useful tricks, such as the… Jaune stopped his trip down memory lane when he realized that the bullhead wasn't moving anymore, as well as the absence of his fellow passengers. 'That was a short ride, but time flies when reminiscing I suppose. I just wish that this pain in my throat would go away a bit faster.'

Jaune used to hate airships because of his hereditary airsickness. 'Thanks Mom.'Since he was allergic to the common medication, he was forced to turn to alternative methods such as meditation to distract him, otherwise he might have vomited, and Jaune was not inclined to have his first impression among his future colleagues to be known as 'Vomit Boy', and he knows that such a title would have stuck with him for a very long time.

Stepping out onto solid ground, he looked at his new residence for the next four years, and he had to admit that it was beautiful with the early sunset giving the building a warm glow, the orange contrasting nicely with the green orbs at the top of the CCT.

After the nature of his semblance was revealed, Jaune couldn't help correlating anything unusually similar to Bloodborne with the game itself. It was with this borderline obsession that led Jaune to discover that his now brother-in-law borrowed heavily from several cultures, current and past, and a lot of ancient, obscure history. So much so, in fact, that Gomez couldn't properly copyright most of the game, as it fell under the historical fiction genre. 'Though that's a good thing for me now. I wouldn't want to be sued for my wardrobe and weapon choices. At least I now know where the glowing tower of Mergo's Loft came from… minus the giant eye-lined brain, of course.'

Lost in thought, Jaune paid no mind a girl berating another, shorter girl, shaking a vial of dust. He also failed to notice the girl about to sneeze, which resulted in-

BOOOM-CRRAAACCCKKle!

The explosion's shockwave swept Jaune off of his feet, blowing his hat off of his head, and he felt an intense burning on the back of his head, as if his hair was on fire. It was.

'AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! FUCK FUCK FUCK!'exclaiming his pain mentally, using every ounce of his will to not scream and damage his abused vocal cords further for now, only allowing a muffled groan to escape him.

Using the classic roll, Jaune put out the fire on his head. Thankfully, his clothes were durable enough to withstand the fire, as well as a soupçon of lightning and ice, without so much as a scuff. 'Being family with two of the best tailors in the world certainly has its benefits.'

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Ruby rose was just having one of those days. After her sister publicly embarrassed her like an overbearing mother on the airship, she decided to ditch her for her friends; whom try as she might, Ruby couldn't remember the names and faces of, no matter how many times she's seen them. 'Have I ever talked to them? Probably not… being social is Yang's thing.'

Yang took off in such a hurry that she sent Ruby spinning as she left. Trying to regain her balance, she stumbled into what appeared to be a lot of luggage. 'Who needs this much stuff that the staff couldn't have taken it themselves?'

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? Be careful with that!"

Shaking her head to rid herself of circling stars, Ruby turned around to see a white girl staring with an angry expression, and I mean white. Pale skin, wearing an almost completely white outfit with a hint of red from the inner lining of her bolero jacket, Ruby stared at the for some reason angry girl. "What?"

"Get off my stuff, you dolt!"

Taking a look below her, Ruby saw that she was indeed still awkwardly lying on luggage, also white, from when she tripped from being dizzy.

"Sorry, I was dizzy." She began to apologize as she stood back up.

"You could have blown us off the side of the cliff!" As she continued to yell at her, she stopped to rearrange a suitcase full of vials of different colors, which was obviously Dust.

"I didn't mean to…" Interrupted yet again the white-haired girl, who's name was still an unknown to her, with a new addition of shaking a glass vial, filled with a red Dust, in her face.

'Maybe if I stop trying to talk, she'll get bored and go away. Dad said that's how I should treat bullies, but Uncle Qrow said to beat them up. What should I do? It's my first day at Beacon. I want to make friends, not beat up people. Yang does plenty of both of those on her own.'

With both of them lost in themselves, verbally or otherwise, they took no notice of someone walking besides both of them, staring at the academy buildings. They also failed to notice a red powder escaping from the vial with each violent shake. This led to some being inhaled by the red-cloaked girl, and just like ordinary, lowercased dust, caused her to sneeze.

"Achoo!" Said sneeze caused the ignition of the Dust in front of her face, leading to a chain reaction involving several of the other unsecured Dust vials, in a beautiful display of the wrath of nature. However, seeing as the two girls were at the epicenter of said explosion, they were not as inclined to appreciate its splendor as an outsider would have.

After a few seconds, the catastrophe ended, leaving the girls relatively unharmed, but covered in soot that could easily be brushed off. They were standing and just staring at each other, trying to comprehend what had just happened. However, a low groan of pain and the rustling of clothes interrupted their inner musings. Turning their heads almost in sync, they spotted someone rolling to put out the fire that had caught on his hair.

As the leather-clad stranger put out his fiery hair, he raised into a crouch, patting out any embers still remaining, and grabbed for his nearby hat. As he reached, both girls could see an odd tattoo on the back of his head. It was a blue outline of a five-pointed star, with markings inside the pentagram looking like an eye staring back at them.

'A tattoo? What a weird place to put it. I bet that hurt. Oh wait, is he okay?'

'Oh great, first this idiotic child, and now this. With that outfit, and that tattoo, he looks like a criminal. Maybe if Beacon's standards are so low as to let these two in, it isn't the best anymore.' These were two different thoughts from different girls.

The strange person, now identified as a guy as he turned around, put back on his leather hat to cover his lack of hair, and looked to see what exploded behind him, and seemed bewildered by the two soot-covered girls, as they continued to stare back at him.

The boy looked to be their age, or at least the white-haired girl's age, was wearing a stranger than average outfit. Seeing many unique outfits, as is common with their chosen profession, was no new thing for the girls, but the boy's was even more unique than most.

Huntsmen and huntresses usually wore light clothing for speed, with a touch of armor here and there depending on their respective fighting styles. Weiss had talked with her family's tailor a few times, and she told her that clothes could tell a lot about a person, including their background and fighting style.

Their future peer wore a black leather duster, a red scarf, a forest-green inner coat with steel-grey trim and three large brass clasps, a white collared shirt, black trousers with two belts around the right leg acting as a holster for a baton-like object, and combat boots. Weiss couldn't read anything off of him like her former tailor had taught her to, as it seemed to be all-purpose, with no preference of one fighting style over another. 'He's either the most well dressed thug I've ever seen, or an aristocrat who decided to run away and become a bandit.'

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While Weiss focused on his clothes, Ruby was more focused on his weapons, as in more than one. Every huntsman and huntress she'd ever seen before, whether in person or admiring in magazine articles, 'which doesn't make her a fan girl, Yang', only carried his or her personal weapon, a reflection of who they were, and was an extension of that person.

Seeing a new weapon was like meeting a new person to Ruby, but better because she didn't have to try talking to them. But from what Ruby could tell, this boy had at least four different weapons. When he was picking himself up, she counted two sheath-like constructs on his back, obviously able to mecha-shift into two different weapons with the proper key, likely the katana on his left side, with no sheath, as the ones on his back had no proper hilt. Standing towards her and the mean girl next to her, finally no longer yelling at her, Ruby also sees an oddly large pistol on his right hip holster.

'OOoh, maybe his sword works with the sheaths to make two different weapons. That would be so cool. If he has that gun, maybe they're both two-handed. Maybe he'll tell me. They look so cool~!' Her eyes had the slightest twinkle, before she remembered the trio's situation.

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For about a minute, Jaune and the two girls looked at each other for different reasons.

'Damn it, why'd I'd catch on fire? I look so uncool now. It's okay, just play it off.' Judging the girls by being covered in soot, he decided that they were the ones responsible for the explosion.

'No harm in asking… It was probably an accident.'

He broke the short silence with, "Well, that… happened." He made the comment with a heavy rasp in his voice, the girls displaying a small wince from the extreme discomfort they could hear from him talking.

Breaking out of her thoughts first, the taller girl with the long ponytail seemed to get angry at his question. "This dolt next to me decided to trip and fall over my stuff, and then tried to kill us by causing a Dust chain reaction."

The smaller of the two, both in hair and in height, tried to defend herself, "Hey! It's not my fault! It was an accident! You shaking that vial in my face caused me to sneeze!"

The other girl was having none of that, "Don't you blame this on me, you idiot! Why are you even here? You look like a child. Ugh, this day cannot get any worse! Now I have to get this soot off me before the welcoming speech. You better leave me alone if you know what's good for you."

After berating the girl rather harshly, she turned her wrath on Jaune, "And you! Why are you even here if you get hurt from something like that? And to top it all off, you look like a dirty criminal. Beacon's going to the dogs, I swear to Oum."

"Fuck you too." Jaune glared at her back as she left in a huff. 'Did she seriously just insult my outfit? It was a gift from my sister, you frigid bitch! I almost didn't recognize her with all that soot, but there's no mistaking that haughty arrogance. I'll eat my fucking hat if that wasn't an Atlasian, and a Schnee to boot.'

Turning back to the other girl, he saw that she was now sitting in the crater, hugging her knees with a face like a kicked puppy and budding tears at the corners or her eyes.

'Curse my weakness for crying women. Must have been from growing up around so much estrogen. Besides, if, Oedon forbid, Mom found out I didn't help a near-crying girl, I'll be black and blue for a week. At least my throat doesn't hurt as much now.'

Resolving to help the girl, he measured his next words carefully to say as much as possible with minimal effort. "Need… hand?"

Seeming to break out of her inner depression, the girl looked at him.

Jaune decided to continue, breaking out into small coughing fits as he did so, "Ignore… bit-, girl. Sounds… spoiled brat. Now you know… not to deal with her. People like that aren't worth the trouble."

Looking less somber, the girl replied, "Thanks, I guess. I'm really sorry about that. It really was an accident. Are you okay? You voice sounds like it hurts to talk."

'How is she worried about me when she's like that? Maybe she's just trying to be friendly after what happened.'

"A bit… wearing off now. I should be good in a minute. Want to… walk around, or would you rather hang out in this little crater?"

That seemed to snap the girl out of her funk, and she smiled at him for his bad joke. Taking Jaune up on his offer, "Hi, my name's Ruby, Ruby Rose."

As she started brushing off the soot off of her, Jaune could see that she wore red, a lot of red. Thigh high boots with red heels and laces, black leggings, a black 'combat skirt' with red trim, a belt holding a cross, an ammo pouch, a rose emblem that's likely her personal symbol, and several bullets. Strangely enough, she wore a corset over her modest, neck-high top. 'Odd choice for what seems to be a shy girl, but to each their own.'

What drew the most of Jaune's attention was her long, hooded cloak in a vibrant shade of red. 'What a beautiful color… Focus Jaune, don't be rude. I should be introducing myself instead of silently checking her out, no matter how cute she is.'

"Jaune, Jaune Arc. A pleasure to meet you, in spite of the snow bitch earlier."

Adopting a small frown at his name-calling, "Likewise, Jaune. Could you please not call her that? She seems like she's having a bad day."

Raising an eyebrow at her request, "Why not? I call them like I see them. Even if she's in a bad mood, that's no reason to take it out on us just because she's not having a 'perfect' day. Shit happens, and she should learn to deal with it."

This time, she seemed to snicker at his less than polite choice in words, which confused him, "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing, you just remind me of my uncle, is all. He talks like that a lot at home."

"Sounds like a cool guy." Jaune's interest was piqued.

Ruby nodded enthusiastically. "Uh-huh, the best. He taught me everything I know. Like how to fight…" Ruby stopped, reaching for the metal box at the small of her back, and revealing it to be a giant red scythe, "-with my Crescent Rose here."

At the reveal of the rather large weapon, compared to the shorter girl in front of him, he was a bit taken by surprise.

'Huh… I was not expecting that today. I figured that with her smaller frame it would have been lighter weapons, like daggers or a combination with some firearms since she wears bullets as an accessory. Oh well, she seems comfortable handling that behemoth.'

"You're stronger than you look, Ruby. All in all, it looks really damn awesome."

His compliment got a really big, adorable smile out of Ruby. "Thanks. I worked, like, really hard making her. I might have gone a bit overboard though. She's also a high-impact sniper rifle."

"Wait… you made that? That's even more awesome. I made all of mine as well with my Dad. What caliber does it use, .38?"

"Nope, .50 actually. I use the recoil to move around quicker in a fight." Ruby got excited when Jaune mentioned his weapons.

"Ooh, since I showed you mine, can you show me yours? Please please pleeeeeeaaasssseee?" She began to look like an excited puppy that got a treat, hopping excitedly with her hands clasped.

'Damn, that's adorable.' He thought beforedonning a smirk, "Sure, but only one. You choose."

"What? Why only one?" She almost looked of sad.

"Well, despite how awesome your weapon is, it still only counts as one." Jaune looked up and down at her, "Unless, of course, you've got other weapons stashed about somewhere. Quid pro quo, Ruby."

Ruby was almost offended at that remark, no matter how charming it made her new friend sound. "Wait, what?' She thought, before shaking her head to rid herself of random thoughts, "Of course I don't. Crescent Rose is all I need. I've never seen someone with more than one. Why so many, Jaune?"

"Well, I like to be prepared for a lot of situations, and my current arsenal allows for that. I plan to make a few more if I feel the need to. I'd rather have something and not need it, than need it and not have it, you know? Back to the matter at hand; make your pick, Red."

"Ugh… Please don't call me that." Looking at her options like a kid in a candy store for a minute, she made her choice, "I pick… the gun. What does it do? Can it shift into another weapon?"

With a small merchant's smile, "An excellent choice, but you must be patient. All in good time." Drawing his firearm, "This is Evelyn. Evelyn, meet your new biggest fan, Ruby." Introducing the two like an old friend to a new one for further levity.

She doubted that this Evelyn would ever trump her Rose, but she had to admit that she was a beautiful work of art. Not only in its design of an old-style single shot pistol, with a customized steel hammer and a dark wooden stock similar to a flintlock, but in its ornately designed barrel that's double in length that most firearms in this old-fashioned style. Taking a closer look, with her face mere inches away as if to drink in every detail, she could see that it was a bit... off. For one thing, every metal portion of the gun had this weird pattern like a topographical map.

Working in a forge for quite some time, Ruby knew quite a bit about metallurgy. Evelyn, and his other weapons, was forged with at least two different metals pressed together and folded to highlight every layer in the finished product. The two colors were a grey somewhere between gunmetal and quicksilver, and a 'so dark it's almost black' red, much like the roots of her hair. The three metals layered chaotically, almost hypnotic in their beauty.

"She's so pretty, Jaune! How'd you make the metal like this? I've never seen its like before. Can she shift into a sword? I can see the seams in the barrel."

Jaune, giving the petite reaper, an enigmatic smirk, "Nope. Sometimes a gun is…" With a flick of his wrist, the long-barreled pistol shifted into a semi-automatic rifle. "Just a gun. As for the metal, it's a family secret, so I'm afraid I have to keep that to myself."

Finished with her close-up, Ruby paused to look around, "Hey where are we going? Aren't we supposed to go to the welcoming ceremony?"

Jaune was a bit confused, "What ceremony? I was just walking around with you." With a sudden look of realization, "Oh wait, that other girl mentioned something like that."

Ruby just gave him a blank stare. "You know… the ceremony that the Goodwitch hologram told us about? Where's the auditorium? I don't think that it'll be a good idea to be late. She was really strict when I met her."

He blinked at her slightly anxious behavior. "Oh, I must have missed that. I was meditating on the flight here. Maybe it's that building we passed that other people were going into."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Ruby grabbed his arm to drag him alongside her.

"All right, all right." He smiled at her childish exuberance.

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'Hello solitude, my old friend.' Strangers now surrounded Jaune, as Ruby had rejoined by her… sister he thought Ruby had said as she was dragged away by a buxom blonde. He could still see the two a few rows away.

'Hot damn, that's a bombshell if I've ever seen one. I never would have guessed that they're related. Oh well, maybe I can ask later.'

Jaune didn't think that he was a lecher or anything negative like that, he just had an appreciation for the opposite gender, and looking around, he noticed many attractive girls, and guys as well, but that wasn't for him. 'Is there something about aura that enhances physical attractiveness or something? I can't find anyone that drops below a seven out of ten, five being average of course. Based on the law of averages, one would think there would be at least someone.'

But now was not the time to ponder over that. On the stage, he could see two adults walking up to the microphone to give a commencement speech. The older gentleman he recognized as the headmaster of Beacon, Ozpin. To his right was a very beautiful, but frowning older woman. 'Maybe that's the Goodwitch that Ruby mentioned? She certainly looks strict enough to fit the role… is that a fucking riding crop? Who uses that as a weapon and expect to not be the butt of dominatrix jokes? She might as well have everyone calling her Mistress and wear a tight leather corset… never mind on the latter.'

Jaune broke from his amusing thoughts as Ozpin began to speak with a bored tone into the microphone. "I'll...keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge… to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose-direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

Jaune thought about the man's words as he handed the microphone over to his assistant and walked away, drinking again from his mug. 'Sounds like a bit of reverse psychology combined with a bit of lighting a fire under our asses to try and prove him wrong. He didn't have to sound so bored though. I wonder how many times he's said it year after year.'

The woman on the stage began to speak in a pleasant, but firm tone. "Your initiation will begin tomorrow. So eat, rest, and prepare for the morning. Directions will be sent to your scrolls at the appropriate time. Dismissed."

Seeing almost everyone begin to head to the dining room for a good meal or to go explore the grounds, Jaune decided to meet up with his new friend. He enjoyed talking with such a passionate individual, and it certainly had nothing to do with how cute she is. Nor with how hot her sister is, nope, nothing to do with any of that at all.

'Get it together, Jaune. Uggh…fucking teenage hormones.'Going to meet up with the girls, a familiar now soot-free face apparently had the same idea. 'Oh great, the bitch is back for round 2.'

Indeed, Jaune could see the still unnamed white-haired girl walking aggressively towards the two girls. 'I should wait it out, see what happens, and jump in at the right time to piss her off. Payback is a bitch!'

He quickly began to pay closer attention, and with his hearing, it was a simple task. Ruby was recalling her volatile experience to her blonde companion with a hasty, worried tone when…

"You!" Ruby was startled and jumped into her confused sister's arms. "Oh no, it's happening again."

Continuing another aggressive rant, "You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!"

"Oh God you really exploded," she said with a flat but incredulous tone. At that point, the blonde girl realized that her sister was not joking or being sarcastic at all.

Replying to her sister's newfound belief in her story, "It was an accident!"

The whitest of white girls held a brochure in front of the dark-redhead that, to Jaune, sounded like a recitation of legal disclaimer bullshit.

At the beginning of her disclaimer for Ruby, all Jaune heard was a name.

'Wait, did she say Schnee? Called it! This must be the Weiss that Bianca told me to keep an eye out for. She didn't mention that she acts so spoiled. How'd she put up with that family for so long, let alone be friends with her beyond professionalism? I'd dye all their clothes in a week.'

"-and talk about boys like tall, blonde, and thuggish over there" Weiss said with such sarcasm Jaune almost thought he wrote her script.

Ruby gained a hopeful, naïve look on her face and responded, "Really?"

Weiss took on the coldest, deadpan look on her face that Jaune had seen in a while as if she shouldn't even have to answer that question. "No."

'To be fair, no one should have ever missed that sarcasm. Oh well, it's showtime~!'

"If I might interject?" Jaune took advantage of the situation, and gained the full attention of the three girls with a drawling tone.

"I'm curious, but why did you have all that luggage with you? You… are aware that the academy staff takes all students' luggage to their dorms during and after Initiation, right? Based on that, and the fact that you were clearly shaking that unsecured Dust vial in Ruby's face, blinded by your petty need to belittle others for your lack of proper judgment, you caused that explosion all on your own. And here I thought any Schnee would be more careful around their primary source of income. Perhaps you should keep that pamphlet for yourself, so that accidents like this might be prevented." Jaune fought as hard as he could to keep a straight face, but he couldn't help wearing a small, mischievous smirk at the end.

Weiss just stood there in shock, as if this was the first time someone ever dared spoke to her in this way at length. 'As spoiled as she likely is, this probably is the first time. It's been a long time coming.'

"How… dare you speak to me or about my family in such a manner?"

Jaune's amusement continued to grow, "Oh, what are you going to do? You don't have any Dust to shake in my face now. Besides, I wasn't insulting your family, just educating you. If I was to insult your family, I would mention the SDC's questionable labor practices and recent shady business decisions and partners." Gasping in faux astonishment and placing an open hand in front of his mouth "Oops! That slipped out, I'm sorry."

It was a comedy act to their two nearest observers. Even the kind Ruby began giggling, sounding like little bells, and it wasn't sinister at all.

'Oh man, this is priceless! Look at her face. Come on, take the bait Weiss, I dare you.' Jaune was mentally patting himself on the back for a job well done, and preparing for the finale.

Weiss's face grew redder in anger with every word Jaune had spoken, and at the sounds of laughter around he, her fury erupted like a volcano.

"I'm not going to stand here and be talked down to by a shabby vagabond like you. I will ruin you!"

At that moment, any positive atmosphere vanished in an instant when Jaune lost all amusement. The area's silence became oppressive with something… primal in the air.

Jaune put on a face so cold, winter would be envious. "Oooh?" drawing out the question for a few seconds, "Shabbily dressed am I? And what did you say earlier after the explosion you caused? 'A dirty criminal?' That would just break my sister's heart to hear you say such cruel things."

Not reading the mood at all due to her blinding anger, Weiss continued to dig her metaphorical grave, "And why should I give two broken lien about some bargain bin seamstress in whatever backwater slum you crawled out of?"

Jaune grew even angrier with the spoiled brat in front of him insulting his family, but he retained his icy composure and resisted the now tempting urge to add some more scars to her face. No one insults an Arc in front of another and gets away with it. Rather than respond verbally or physically, he did something unexpected and pulled out his scroll to make a call.

At being ignored, Weiss continued to yell at him. "What are you doing? Don't ignore me!"

Holding out one finger in the universal 'hold on' gesture, Jaune began talking to whomever he just called, "Hey, Jaune here. So I've got this girl here who has a rather low opinion of your wonderful work. Would you care to retort? … Yep… I told you so… I see." Turning his attention back to Weiss, holding out his scroll, turning on the speaker button, "She wants to talk to you." The video call option was off, so she couldn't see who Jaune had called.

Ripping the scroll out of his hands, Weiss focused her irritation on the person on the other side of the call. "Listen here. I don't know who the hell you think you are how good you think you are, but you made your little brother here look like someone that'll kill in a back alley in Mistral for a few lien!"

After a few seconds of silence, the other line responded with a tone so nonchalant and bored she might as well have been talking about the weather. "Hello, Weiss. How are you?"

Weiss nearly dropped Jaune's scroll in shock of hearing a familiar voice, and with a timid voice that surprised everyone else, "B-Bianca?"

"Indeed, Weiss. I am quite disappointed in you attitude towards my brother." Weiss quickly looked at Jaune in horror, recalling everything she had said to and about him. "And here I thought that we were friends and that you loved my work, but clearly it wasn't good enough for you. I'm sure your father would be quite proud of you for treating others like this, if what I've heard is any indication. Goodbye Weiss, and never speak to me again. Now, give the scroll back to my brother."

Complying with her now former friend's request, Jaune turned off the speaker setting and resumed his conversation, "… I will, I owe you one after all. Say hi to Mom and Dad for me… Farewell."

Weiss felt the immediate needed for privacy, and with as much dignity as she could muster, walked away.

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With his revenge completed, Jaune put back on his smile, "So Ruby, Ruby's sister who's name I don't know yet… Dinner?"

Ruby wasn't quite happy about what had just transpired. "Jaune, why were you so mean to her? You didn't have to do that. Now she just lost what sounds like a good friend."

Jaune sighed and tried to find a way to put it delicately, "Ruby, she insulted my sister and her work. I will not tolerate anyone insulting my family. If she's like that to everyone around her, then she won't make any friends at all. People like that either shape up or ship out."

The blonde girl nodded in agreement, "He's right Sis. I would have done the same if she went too far with how she was talking to you. By the way, Jaune, was it? Name's Yang, Weiss to meet you."

Accustomed to puns like that from Opal and occasionally Rouge's punny humor, Jaune responded in kind. "Indeed, Yang. Thank you for Schneeing it from my point of view. So, we going to keep standing here and not be going to a nice meal? Teaching someone life lessons gives me a huge appetite."

"Oh dear Oum, there's two of them." Ruby could only stared at the horror occurring in front of her.

Yang and Jaune burst out laughing, with Yang concluding, "Oh, we're going to get along just fine."

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Not everyone in assembly had immediately wandered off and missed the frigid back and forth. Of that small number, two girls, unaware of the other, watched the confrontation with interest and reached similar conclusions.

One was tall with long red hair. During Ozpin's speech, she had stood right behind the boy with the hat and he had caught her interest. Well experienced in combat, she took not in his confident, but alert gait. 'I'm glad that he helped that girl out, even if it was a bit harsh. That went so smoothly, it almost seemed planned. But he seems like a good man, if how friendly he was being with those two, and his dedication to family, are any indication. Looks like I was right to come to Beacon after all.'

The other also had long, flowing hair, but it was as black as night. She was more curious in that a Schnee was involved in the altercation, at that it did not end in her favor. 'Impressive. Not many people would stand up to a Schnee like that. I almost feel sorry for her. It's unlikely, but it might help the Schnee out in the end. Looks like I was right to come to Beacon after all. But what was that…presence? I must have imagined it, but some caution won't go amiss. I hope they have decent tuna.'

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Putting what had happened earlier behind them, the two sisters and Jaune sat down for a hearty meal. Both sisters went with fried rice with chicken, although Ruby's tray also had a small column of cookies. Jaune had the largest, rarest steak that the chef's could or would make, with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy, as well as some haricots verts.

Looking at that steak, the girls thought that any less cooked and it would be moving. Yang was the first to break the silence. "So, you're definitely not a vegetarian, are you?"

He rolled his shoulders as he took off his hat, as he found it rude to eat indoors with a hat on. "Nope. Ruby, I noticed your cross. Do you need to say any prayers, because I can wait if you do."

Staring at the top of his head, she almost didn't hear the question. "What… oh, no. I may go to a temple on occasion, but I'm not that devout. Besides, the cross is more of a fashion thing, anyway. You?" She asked, reciprocating his politeness.

"No, I don't pray at meal time. I just didn't want to be rude if you did." Jaune left it at that, and began tearing into his almost bleeding steak.

The Temple of Oum is the largest, and almost the only religion in Remnant. Sure, others exist, but they were miniscule by comparison and were scattered on the edges of civilization. It was fairly relaxed in its rules, home to some sound wisdom, but far too open to interpretation. Jaune quickly shifted topics, "So, how are you two sisters? If you don't mind me asking, of course. I'm sure you get this a lot, but you don't look that related, cousins maybe."

Ruby answered, "We have the same father, who Yang took after with her hair color, and I look like my mother, from what I'm told." Their smiles withered a bit.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to bring up a sore topic. So, what do you think Initiation will be?"

Yang answered this time with a shrug, "No idea. It's supposed to be a secret. I even tried to bribe our uncle with some really good booze, but no dice."

"Shame, my parents were the same way. Though they did give some cryptic advice to get rid of my apprehension of heights."

Ruby looked a bit confused, "You're afraid of heights?"

Jaune raised a finger in denial. "Ah-ah, apprehension, and past tense. I had some…" He struggled to find the right word. "help in that regard from a friend of the family."

The three talked a bit more as they ate, the girls answering his questions about what Signal was like. In another life, Jaune might have gone there and have been acquainted with these two earlier, but he dismissed the 'might have beens', focusing more on the now.

"Well ladies, it's been a pleasure, but I have a feeling that it's going to be a long day tomorrow, and I'm going to catch some z's. Good night, and pleasant dreams." With that, Jaune went to clear his tray before going back to the ballroom that was converted into a temporary sleeping area to do just as he said, leaving the siblings to talk before following his example.

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Yang, with a face of mischief, "So Ruby, I couldn't help but notice you checking out our new blond friend here. Does someone have a new crush? Come on, you can confide in me."

She started blushing, her face going as red as her name and cloak, sputtered, "It's not like that Yang. I just met him today. I can't like him like that! Not that there's anything wrong with him. But-"

The elder sibling cut off Ruby's embarrassed ranting with a laugh, "Oh really? You were staring at him the entire time."

Ruby, going against Yang's prediction of going a new record red, calmed down instead, "Well, I kind of was, but not because of that. I was wondering why he had his hair."

Confused, Yang pointed out the obvious, "Because people grow hair? What's odd about that?"

"Well, when the explosion happened, Jaune was caught in the blast. His hair caught fire, and he was half-bald when he put his hat back on. It's how I saw his tattoo. But now he has a full head of hair."

Stopping on the way to the locker room to change, Yang asked, "Wait… He has a tattoo? I'm sort of jealous, I've been thinking about getting one, seeing how cool Dad's is. But the point of tattoos, at least to me, is to show them. Why would he have on the back of his head, covered by hair? As for his hair, it's probably his aura."

"How so?"

"… Right, I forgot you skipped two years in Signal. Aura is taught in more detail in the final year. In most cases, aura acts in default as a defensive measure. If his hair caught fire like you said, then he is not a usual case. Did he get any burns from the fire?"

"I could only look for a few seconds, before I saw what awesome weapons he has, but I didn't see any."

"So he does have an unlocked aura, and it may have some defense to it, but from what I can tell at this point is that it acts to heal him instead of shielding. Maybe it has to do with his semblance."

While people might think that Yang is a stereotypical dumb blond party girl, and she might act like that on occasion, Ruby knows that she's smarter than she looks. She earned her spot in Beacon Academy after all, despite its exceptionally high standards and selective acceptance rate.

The girls had picked a spot in the ballroom to sleep for the night on the side that most of the other girls had picked, leaving a subconscious gender divide in the room. Yang quickly found enjoyment in the sleeping attire, some more lacking than others, of several people on both sides, including some stereotypical flexing and posturing of some boys trying to impress. "This is fun. It's like a big slumber party."

Ruby was not so comfortable, as evidenced by her closed off posture, even in her very modest pajama pants and tank top, "I'm not sure that Dad would approve of all of the boys around us."

"Well then it's a good thing that he isn't here, because I certainly approve." Yang's eyes wandered in appreciation of the variety on display.

Until she and Ruby noticed that the noise level dropped to dead silence near the locker room entrance, and had rippled to the rest of hall from curiosity. They looked to their right, and discovered what, or rather who, caused the sudden silence.

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Jaune was glad that he had caught the triplets trying to swap his usual sleeping garb of loose, black gym shorts and a muscle shirt with a fuzzy blue rabbit onesie. 'That thing might have been comfortable at first, but it made me itch for week after the last time they pleaded with me into wearing it.'

Walking past others to find a place to sleep for the night, he noticed that conversations around him had died down. Looking around, most if not everyone was staring at him, or rather certain, distinct features that he possessed. 'Well, I figured this might happen. I wish I didn't have to leave my pendant in my locker, but I don't need that kind of attention.'

There were three reasons why Jaune had been stared at. To those who admired the male form, he had a rather toned, almost chiseled from marble swimmer's build, perfect for a hybrid of speed and strength. This was the smallest of the three reasons, as the other two were tied to be of far greater interest.

Jaune's body, or rather what was visible, mainly his arms and legs, had several prominent scars. Claw marks, bites, and slices of various sizes were present, but not to a grotesque degree. Jaune might have gained advantages that allowed faster healing, but they didn't completely prevent scars, nor did he want it to. He was proud of each one of them, as it showed that he conquered adversity on the Hunt.

The audience, for the most part, respected the scars and could picture the many battles that he had fought to earn them. The tattoos however, baffled most of them, as very few had seen someone their age with tattoos before.

As a side note, while the Temple of Oum's official stance on tattoos was mostly passive neutral, some more conservative sects were more active in their views. Jaune's father had told him that during his touch up session with Nickel Lowe at home for his Goliath; representatives of the Golden Eagles had come to share the organization's… negative disposition towards her line of work defacing God's greatest work, that being humanity. Before it became violent, Hans had scared them off, as size to that degree works wonders for intimidation.

Jaune had several rune-like images placed almost at random on his body, that to those who managed to get a closer look as he walked, looked as if they were cut into his flesh with a blade, or branded, rather that poked in with a needle. Each was unique in shape. Three were on each arm; on his deltoids, biceps, and forearms. He also had one on each calf, as well as others hidden by his shirt.

'I'm glad that I could get them all instead of having two choose between four of them. I still don't know what the two that I inadvertently got, but if they're anything like in game, then I might have some issues down the road.'

Jaune had had two years to train and gain the necessary echoes to inscribe all sixteen Caryll Runes, as he habitually called them because he didn't have any other name for them. Acquiring them hadn't taken nearly as long as Jaune had expected. Some had given him useful abilities, and others had enhanced said abilities and/or his body in tandem with the chalices. 'No complaints, and if Dad's hints of initiation tomorrow are any indication, I'm going to need every trick in my arsenal to survive.'

Paying no attention to anyone around him, he laid down on one of the remaining bedrolls and stared up at the ceiling.

Over the next few minutes, most people's desire for conversation had ended as well, with the notable exception of the two sisters, who had the courtesy to quietly walk over to talk to someone who was reading by a wall. It was a quick chat, as Jaune had heard their voices, but ignored their words as he tried to go to sleep, leaving the one with black hair to go back to reading. Whether she felt his gaze on her or by randomly looking around, blue and amber eyes made contact. Jaune shifted his own gaze to her large bow, before going back to eye contact, silently conveying his thoughts to her with a raised eyebrow. She looked shocked at that, and glared at him with anger and a hint of desperation. With a wink and a smirk that seemed to give her some measure of relief, he turned around and went to sleep.

'I've lived around Faunus my entire life, and some of them went though that same fashion trend. A bow isn't going to hide your true nature from my sight. But I'll keep silent. It's not my place to tell anyone.'

Deciding to Dream for a relaxing cup of tea with Marie, he finally went to sleep, feeling prepared for whatever way come on the morrow.

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Chapter End

Sorry (but not really), no 'Vomit Boy' epithet for Jaune.

If you want a visual of Jaune's attire, it's the Old Hunter's Attire set, with Gascoigne's Cap sans blindfold.

The metal for Jaune's weapons looks like Damascus steel, or Valyrian steel for my Game of Thrones fans, with red ripples in the metal.

I found it strange that at least two characters in RWBY wear crosses in canon, but I don't remember religion being mentioned once in RWBY thus far (I originally wrote this before Volume 4). If I'm mistaken, let me know. Anyway, I wanted to take the idea of honoring Oum as a god in Remnant a step further than just homage, and firmly establish a religion, along with all the baggage that comes with it.

I didn't bother describing each Caryll Rune on his body. I had done so in a previous version of this chapter, and it was a text wall. So, if you're curious, I left a list of each rune he has and where they are inscribed.

Beast (sternum)

Beast's Embrace (heart, outer)

Moon (heart, inner)

Eye (back of head)

Lake (left shoulder)

Deep Sea (right shoulder)

Oedon Writhe (right deltoid)

Formless Oedon (left deltoid)

Clockwise (left bicep)

Anti-Clockwise (right bicep)

Corruption (above belly button)

Guidance (right breast)

Blood Rapture (right forearm)

Heir (left forearm)

Hunter (right calf)

Claw mark (left calf)