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To Live and Learn

CHAPTER 2

"'Join the academy', they said. 'Meet new friends,' they said."

-A typical phrase among Huntsmen-in-training

I went to the ballroom where I would be staying until tomorrow. As I entered, it was only a room with a dark brown wooden floor and a few windows apart from students unpacking and unfolding their sleeping bags while others were just sitting down and chatting.

Thinking for a moment, I noticed that no one has recognized me as the Podunk guy yet, despite it being all over the news the other day. I did get a few glances, but they don't appear to be intrigued by my everyman appearance. Maybe they do recognize me, but they didn't see what I did as much of a feat—being capable of slaughtering Grimm is a minimum requirement here after all, so it's probably overshadowed by all the much more impressive stunts actual Huntsmen and Huntresses pull. Not that I'm complaining, I'd rather be known as 'Vomit Boy' than have someone remind me of my embarrassing fraud of a reputation.

Then an overexcited female voice suddenly blurted out, "Ren, look! It's Jaune Arc, the Defender of Podunk himself!"

Oh, for crying out loud, I thought.

Before I knew it, an orange-haired girl dashed toward me and repeatedly shook my hand with her tight grip. "Hi, my name is Nora. I'm a huge fan of your work. You were awesome! How often do you see someone defeat an Ursa Major and a bandit lord at the same time? Oh, you got to tell me your secrets." she babbled, still shaking my hand and speaking with such energy with a voice that was fairly high-pitched for someone who was around my age. I was trying to process what she all just said.

"Calm down, Nora, I think he's a little tired from his trip." A raven-haired boy said as he caught up with his friend, appearing far more laid back than her. He had a single pink stripe on his hair and he was wearing some jade-colored Animan-garb on top of white slacks.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Nora apologized, letting my hand go as she stepped back. "It's just a huge honor to finally meet you. This is Ren, well, Lie Ren, but everyone calls him Ren. Nobody calls him Lie, it sounds too much like 'Lie' as in 'lying'." [1] She giggled before slowing and toning her voice down as she turned her face to Ren. "No offense."

"None taken," he said without ever changing his tone and expression.

She turned back to me and began to babble loudly once again. "We've been together for soooo long, well not 'together-together', not saying he's handsome; he IS handsome, but that'd be just weird, right?"

"Umm... right." It was the only thing I could say at the moment, not knowing what to think anymore.

"Well, enough about us! Tell us about you! How did you save an entire town from an Ursa Major and that big meanie, El Segador?!" she asked with an eager grin.

I was worried I would have to answer questions from my apparent fans as if being interviewed by journalists and the Great & Powerful Ozpin weren't trouble enough. So I just went with the half-truth, Something which I could rely on if all else fails. "I don't know how I did it honestly, I just... did it."

She didn't appear to be disappointed at that answer at all. "Wooooow! So you're telling me that you are so amazing, you just simply defeated them like it was nothing? Awesome! Even Ren and I have a little trouble beating a few bandits and a single large Grimm. You on the other hand, just put them in their place like it's nobody's business! You are more hardcore than I thought."

That was obviously not what I meant, but with someone like this, what else could you do? "It's nothing, really, I was very lucky it went that way," I responded, still technically being honest to an extent as Señor Deadface would have killed me if it weren't for the Ursa I accidentally lured into town, otherwise, I would not be making this encounter, let alone write this very line at all.

Ren finally spoke again after letting Nora do most of the talking. "Still, you have to admit, it was impressive. The authorities have been after El Segador for years; not only did you stop a robbery, but you succeeded in where everyone failed. His clan hasn't been the same since his demise."

"Yeah, it kinda does," I replied, at least acknowledging how astonishing that I managed to even survive that day. It was becoming uncomfortable discussing a fiasco that I'm not wholly proud of so I had to drop it as soon as I could. "Listen I got to go, thanks for the support."

"Anytime!" Nora said.

That was a bizarre experience. I just realized that I have an adoring fan on the same campus, honestly, I didn't know how to feel about that. I do feel ashamed because she is praising me for something I only did because I didn't knew any better, but at the same time, she seemed so happy that I didn't want to disappoint her. To think these were only a couple of my fans, it was almost hard to imagine what the others would be like.

I chose not to think about it. I've met enough people with varying quirks and personalities who I will be stuck with for the next four years that I need a break and get my bearings. I doubt that they're going to be the last weirdos I'm ever going to get acquainted with within this gathering of aspiring killers in colorful outfits that would make a circus jealous.

=o=

1. Many people assume that Lie Ren's naming order is 'surname first, given name second' due to him hailing from Anima, where some parts follow that naming order. It's soon confirmed that this is not the case for him and that he is often addressed on a last-name basis, intentionally or not. Not that he minds at all.

If there's anything more embarrassing than my undeserved reputation, it's my choice for apparel for the night—A light blue adult-sized onesies, accompanied by bunny slippers of the same color. Anyone starting in elementary school would deem wearing these discomfiting which I barely felt until now because I never thought of wearing them outside the house.

But I've never been much to care about what people think about what I wear. After all, I've been aiming to balance my stature as a heroic savior with an image of an awkward everyman who is about as nerdy as your typical modern teenager when he is not saving the world and rescuing kittens from daemonic hounds made out of evil and darkness and such. Considering my interactions with the girls, it appears to have been working so far.

I know I could have just slept with jeans or with boxers on at least but wearing jeans in bed is rather uncomfortable and there's no way I'm showing my heart-patterned boxers in public if I am to make a fool out of myself anyway, I might as well get comfortable.

What I should be worried about instead of whatever stupid thing I wear, was the initiation. There was no doubt that I have to impress The Great & Powerful Ozpin by going through trials that he himself has set up. So I sat in the corner of the locker room and waited for it to clear off any potential eavesdroppers before calling the most intelligent trustworthy person I know who has previously attended Beacon. If there was time I could use advice from my older sisters then it was certainly now.

Bleu appeared on my scroll's screen, wearing her dark blue nightgown. I haven't seen her much in person since she was too busy teaching at a Huntsman academy on Mantle which was enough to show that she's tougher than she looks when you remember that place is filled with everything wrong with urban cities that I couldn't imagine that it used to be a kingdom before the war ended. And she was greeting me with a bright smile no less. "Hello, Jaune! How's Beacon treating you?"

"Not as bad as I fear it to be, sis. I even made a few friends, it's tomorrow's initiation is what I'm worried about." I told her, straightforward from there.

She seemed to be more focused on a familiar sight. "Are you seriously wearing those in public?"

"Do you want me to show them my other 'pajamas' if you could even call them that?" I snidely replied. With what little I had to say, she already knew what I was talking about.

She audibly sighed. "Fair point, but you really need to buy some new pajamas. Viola was starting to wish she didn't design them like that. Seriously, you don't have a reason to be lazy this time."

Well, I planned to. I always had the feeling that Viola only made these so that everyone at the house could stop cringing every time they look at me at night and made them cozy enough to keep me from wearing my old PJs, knowing that I wouldn't care what I look like so as I was at least relatively bearable to look at while getting a chuckle out of it. I admit it's partly my fault for not telling Viola to make me less embarrassing sleepwear, then again I got too comfortable with the onesies that I forgot to ask. "Don't worry, I'll work it out. Anyway, can you give me some details about the initiation tomorrow?"

She raised her brow. "You want me to spoil the initiation for you? Doesn't that ruin the excitement?"

I scoffed at that remark. "The only thing that would be exciting about it is when it ends."

"And why would I do that?" She chuckled. "Even if I tell you, The Great & Powerful Ozpin might have made changes to the initiation after these years." She had a point, I must admit. Since she was in her early thirties, it has been a decade since she had her initiation.

"I'd say it would still be worth it, every little bit might help even if it's outdated. You wouldn't want your only brother to die a shameful death on the initiation, would you?" I told her. I was able to bully her into doing what I wanted several times before and I'll do it again, and I wasn't going anywhere until I got it, and she wasn't very good at resisting it.

She rolled her eyes. "Jaune, you're not getting killed—I've seen what you can do, you'll be fine."

"I almost died to an Ursa and a group of bandits!" I yelled while keeping the volume low enough to make sure no one could hear me even if the locker room was empty.

"...And you didn't." she retorted. "Seriously, do you think that father trained you all for nothing?!"

That widened my eyes a bit. It was then clear that self-deprecation won't get me anywhere other than further arguing, so I had to give her another reason before I had to deal with another pooh-pooh talk about my exaggerated accomplishments. "I just wanted to be prepared this time. All I just need is a little heads-up, that's all."

She sighed again. "Knowing you, even if I refused, you would still stubbornly hold out for me, would you?" She looked like she gave up on trying to make me think otherwise, which was good news for me. "Fine, at the very least, you'll learn something from this."

It appears that I finally got to her again. Some things just never change; being an annoying little sibling has its perks. She took a deep breath before explaining. "The initiation will take place at the Emerald Forest. You will be launched into the air and you will have to land with your own landing strategy. You still have one right?"

I remember during Dad's training, I would sometimes be thrown off a cliff without a parachute just so I could work on my landing strategy. If it wasn't for my huge aura reserves I would have died or at least been very severely injured on my first few attempts. [1] This was one of the things I was rightfully worried about and I wanted to be prepared as much as possible this time. "Just like we practiced at home." I nodded.

That caught her smile. "Good. Now about the Grimm, you have not much to worry about. Usually, the forest is just full of Beowolves, some Ursa and if you're very unlucky, a King Taijitu. It's nothing you can't handle. Besides, as I taught you back at home, King Taijitus aren't that bad if you aim for their heads." [2]

I gulped at the latter. Even if they are not as tough as they appear to be, their appearance alone was enough to give me a series of nightmares. I already hate snakes like most people with a functioning brain do, and those things being two-headed giant snakes made them even more terrifying. It didn't help that Rouge kept trying to scare me with them every time we visited the swamps at Pucelle. Now I was regretting not bringing a ranged weapon so I didn't have to deal with them up close. "I hope you're right about this."

"Oh Jaune, as bitter as ever... You're not being rude to your new friends are you?"

"Of course not. I am a lot of things, Bleu, but being a straight-up jerk isn't one of them." Well, I at least tried not to be one.

"Good, because you'll be paired with the first person you make eye contact with, they'll be your partner for the next four years; if you want to get through Beacon, you will need to trust one another." [3]

I thought of Ruby and Pyrrha for a second. So far those two are the most ideal candidates for being my companion during our first exercise that probably wouldn't have a shortage of uncertainties. Yang wouldn't be bad either, but gods help me if I ended up being paired with Weiss 'Cold as Ice, Not Very Nice' Schnee. "Anything else?" I asked.

"Your objective is to retrieve a relic, your team will be formed depending on the relic you took." She took a deep breath. "I've said enough. Take it with a grain of salt though, it's been a while and some of these might now apply anymore. Most importantly, keep this between us, okay?"

"Don't worry. I will." I replied before giving her a smile that would remind her of her little brother during his better days. "Thanks a lot, Bleu."

"You're most welcome—and Jaune, please don't push yourself too hard," she said before ending the call. I got to give it to Bleu, she had yet to let me down, even if I dozed off at some of her lessons. She's always known to be the reliable one, practically carrying us Arc children. I wouldn't know what to do without her.

I exited the locker room and made my way to my futon. I reminded myself of my questionable apparel and saw that Yang was appreciating some shirtless boys in front of her, making me grin as I thought of something evil and dastardly. I simply walked through her line of sight as if it was no one's business, effectively spoiling her eye candy. Her smile quickly turned into a cringe as I grinned at my own mischief while arriving at my futon.

All I needed was a little bit of fun. It was one way to cope with being in a school to become a killing machine in a world that hates your guts. The people I met here are surprisingly friendly and decent, aside from a certain snotty corporate brat. Not to mention, the girls were beautiful too, I wouldn't mind spending four years with them. The problem was that I don't think I should be too attached to these people, in case something goes terribly wrong, and this being a school for Huntsmen and Huntresses and all. We still had to go through hazardous terrors to see if we were good enough and the initiation tomorrow will only be the beginning.

Perhaps I was thinking this a little too much, they did manage to get themselves into this prestigious academy, after all, it's myself that troubles me—I'm nothing like them, I'm only here because of sheer chance and stupidity. I'm worried that I'm going to slow them down because of my cowardice and unwillingness to become a Huntsman like them. The fact that I was trying to make them believe that I was some lovable idiot to get them to be protective of me didn't help.

Why not convince Ozpin to drop me off, or maybe get myself expelled if I'm daring enough? I didn't want to be here after all. Yeah well, the problem is, Dad would not only be disappointed in me, but it would also leave my family name an ugly reputation. Staying out of the radar was the only thing and we all know how that turned out. Rouge, for all her flaws, at least managed to graduate to Beacon, even if she did eventually lose her Huntress license, she wasn't pursuing to be a Huntress anyway since she only attended to stay out of trouble for a little while.

Although even if Rouge was not the worst person I've met, I wasn't going to stoop lower than her and dishonor my family, so I've decided to get through Beacon while making sure my hide is safe and avoid being too impressive that teachers get the wrong idea and send me into dangerous missions because of it. I thought about trying to find a way for me to leave this school early without risking my reputation so I didn't have to stay longer than I should and so that I'll be able to go home and return to my peaceful, boring life.

I sighed and took a deep breath. Only time will tell how well my life in Beacon will go. I was still barely twenty-four hours in the academy and I needed to get some sleep. There was a long road ahead and I needed to give some time to myself while I still could.

I took one last look at the shattered moon before falling into a slumber...

...

...

...

And then it was rudely interrupted by loud sounds of female squabbling.

"What in the world is going on over here?!" I heard a certain Ice-Queen yell. "Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

"Oh, not you again!" she then exclaimed in unison with Yang, without any regard for everyone trying to sleep in the room despite the former's scolding.

I groaned. It's going to be a long year, I thought.

=o=

1. The Arcs are well-known for their large aura reserves, making them very durable fighters.

2. King Taijitus are infamous for their huge and menacing appearance, however, their fragile heads made them less threatening to any experienced Huntsmen. This is due to being one of the few Grimm specimens not to bear a mask on its face.

3. Contrary to popular belief, partnerships are considered null after the initiation, and students are often encouraged to treat all of their teammates equally. This has not stopped many students, and even some staff members from various academies, from believing that partnerships during initiation still have some relevance during the duration of their school year(s), with some minor academies even implementing it as part of their official system.