Chapter 4
"Oh I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" a blond woman was currently warping Ruby in a bear hug
"Please. . . stop" Ruby said in response
That was as far as Jaune ever got before he decided to tone out everything around him to concentrate on his breathing exercises. Funnily enough, during their travel, Jaune had discovered that he had a debilitating weakness for air transportations. It was hilarious the first fifty times Jaune and Ryuki had to travel via bullheads, but strangely enough Jaune never got around to getting over it. But that didn't mean he wasn't trying. His latest attempts at getting over his motion sickness involves breathing exercises he had almost succeeded to, until
". . . The Robbery was lead by nefarious criminals Roman Torchwick and Cinder Fall, who had escaped from police custody shortly after getting arrested. If you have any information on their whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you Lisa . . . " The narrator on the on-board television system boomed
Jaune immediately turned to Ruby, who had also seen the news and looked at him too
"Looks like they escaped" Jaune told her
"And who might YOU be?" the blond woman who was hugging Ruby earlier was not between the two teens in a defensive stance
"Yang! No need to get overprotective. This is the badass guy I was telling you about, the one who went toe-to-toe with Roman Torchwick!" Ruby explained excitedly
"Pleasure . . . to . . . meet you. . . names. . . Jaune" Jaune tried to introduce himself, but soon found himself suffering from the effects of motion sickness once more
"You okay there buddy?" Yang inquired
"Yeah . . . I'm fine. . . just . . . air sickness. . . " Jaune famous last words, after which he had barfed all over the floor between him and the two girls
"Jaune, NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ruby squealed
"Ewwww, get it off, get it off, get it off!" Yang squealed as well
-[Remnants of Lore]-
Jaune was vomiting. Again.
"Man, I really need to get over this motion sickness" Jaune said to himself after puking at a nearby trash can, he quickly surveyed the area around him, staring in awe at Beacon Academy in all its glory and splendor. An explosion happened somewhere nearby and Jaune looked around to see where it came from
"What! How dare you!" Jaune turned and saw three girls, Ruby along with a girl with black hair and a girl with white hair, all standing in a circle. suitcases and brief cases cluttered about, and it looks like a fight was about to go down
Jaune took this as an opportunity to intervene, hoping to deescalate the situation
"Now now ladies, lets not get into a fight over this, I'm sure this is all just some big misunderstanding" he quickly interjected
The white-haired girl quickly took a bottle of dust from the black-haired girl and quickly turn around and walked away, with the black haired girl doing the same albeit in the opposite direction. Ruby called out to the white-haired girl
"I promise I'll make this up to you!" Ruby shouted out, the white-haired girl seemingly ignoring her as she continued walking away. After a heavy sigh she said "I guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day"
"You can say that again" Jaune spoke up, causing Ruby to turn to him "We haven't formally introduced ourselves yet, the name's Jaune" Jaune extended his hands out for a shake
"Ruby. Ruby Rose. Nice to meet you Jaune" Ruby took his hand and shook it
-[Remnants of Lore]-
"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on" Jaune defended
"Look, I'm sorry, vomit boy was the first thing that came to Yang's mind" Ruby apologized on behalf of her sister, who had apparently started calling him Vomit Boy
"Oh yeah, well, what if I called you Crater Face" Jaune teased
"Hey, that explosion was an accident" Ruby's turn to defend
"Well the name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue. Ladies love it" Jaune once again introduced
"I know Jaune, professor Ozpin was kind enough to mention that before. And do they really?" Ruby asked, giving him a skeptical look
"Right . . . T-they will, well I-I hope they will. I mean, Ryuki always says that . . . never mind" Jaune shrugged it off
"Oh yeah, about that. You mentioned that Ryuki was the one who taught you how to fight?" Ruby asked, trying to think of a different topic
"Yeah he did" Jaune instantly perked up "He taught me all sorts of epic moves while we were out travelling across Remnant!"
"Wow! You have to show me sometime okay? And what weapon do you use? Can I see it?" Ruby bordering on fangirl
Jaune chuckled
"Sure, maybe after initiation. And as for my weapon. . ." Jaune pulled out Crocea Mors along with his shield "I use these bad boys" Jaune boasted, striking a pose for added effect
"Ooooh . . . well I've got this" Ruby said, pulling out her scythe, giving it a few twirls while going into scythe mode before setting the blade down on the ground
"Waoh. I saw how you used it in the fight before, but I haven't really been able to take a good look, do you mind?" Jaune asked, putting away Crocea Mors
"Sure!" Ruby handing over the weapon
Jaune quickly took a look at the details of the weapon, staring down the sights, and pulling back on the mechanisms before handing it back to Ruby
"It's also a high caliber sniper rifle I see" Jaune beamed at her
"Customizable too" Ruby added "Sorry, I kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, I may have gone a bit overboard in designing it"
Jaune stared at Ruby in awe
"YOU made that?" Jaune bewilderingly asked
"Yep. She's my Crescent Rose" Ruby grinned at him, before putting the scythe gun away
"That's cool!" Jaune complimented
"So why'd you help me out back there, in the courtyard" Ruby asked, changing the topic and continuing their walk
"Eh why not, my mom always said 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet' " Jaune answered
"Hm, Hey where are we going?"
"Oh i-I don't know, I was following you"
They both paused and looked at each other
"We're lost, aren't we?" Ruby spoke
"Y-you think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? Some sort of recognizable landmark?" Jaune asked, earning a few chuckles from Ruby "Is that uhh is that a no?"
"That no" Ruby simple said "Well come on, let's try finding our way back"
It took them a while, but Jaune and Ruby eventually found their way back to the courtyard and from there, the auditorium where the welcoming ceremony was being held. As they walked in Yang had called up Ruby
"Ruby! Over here! I save you a spot!" Yang called to her, waving as she did
"Oh hey, I-I gotta go, I'll see you after the ceremony!" Ruby said her goodbye to Jaune and walked towards Yang
"Hey wait!"Jaune called out, and sighed when he was all alone again "Great, where am I supposed to find another nice quirky girl to talk to" he said to himself, before looking around and trying to find a spot
He found one not too far from Ruby and Yang's spot, and he noticed that the white-haired girl, whom he now knows as Weiss because of eavesdropping, was talking to the two other ladies. From what he could gather, Ruby was trying to patch things up with Weiss, but wasn't having any luck. He heard Weiss mention something about "tall, blond, and scraggly" followed by pointing a thumb back at him.
"Wow, first day of school and already somebody is looking down on me" Jaune chuckled to himself, not really paying mind to the hollow insult at this point "Maybe I should show her how wrong she is? Maybe that'll get her to stop being so cold"
Jaune was about to walk over when
"Ahem. I'll . . . Keep this brief." A voice boomed all throughout the auditorium. Jaune turned and saw Professor Ozpin, along with Proffesor Glynda standing up on the stage.
"You have travelled 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" Ozpin said
"Well that took a turn" Jaune murmured. He wasn't the only one though, various students had also started murmuring as soon as the headmaster had said those words, but none were daring enough to voice it out loud
"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" Ozpin said, with that, made his way down the stage. Professor Glynda took over saying
"You will gather at the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed" Glynda finished, and with that, the rest of the students started going their separate ways
Jaune took this time to get closer to the trio, hopefully introducing himself to Weiss
"I'm a natural blonde you know" Jaune said, walking up to Weiss and the two sisters "And believe me when I say that I'm not as scraggly as I look. Names Jaune Arc, you are?"
"Going anywhere but here" Weiss simply replied before walking away
"Okay ouch" Jaune said to himself
"It's okay Jaune, at least you're on the same boat as I am at this point" Ruby spoke up
"Yeah Lady Killer, you'll get her next time" Yang teased
The three then spent the better part of the day just hanging out and getting to know each other better, they would have spent more time together, had Jaune not received a text on his scroll
"Sorry girls, something I gotta do. Catch up with you later" he smirked at them, before giving a quick wave and parting ways
Jaune made his way back to the courtyard, where he saw Ryuki waiting for him
"Took you long enough Jaune. Now come one, Ozpin wants to have a word" Ryuki greeted before nodding in the direction of the main building, where Ozpin was standing in front of
"This can't be good" Jaune said, following Ryuki
The three men then made their way to Ozpin's office, where Glynda had been waiting, along with two other men. Ryuki and Jaune looked to the two new individuals, both black haired men, one slightly older than the other. One was clearly an officer in the military judging by how he presents himself, the other, they we're guessing was another staff member. Ryuki gave the two men a good hard look, sizing them both up before giving a questioning look at Ozpin
"Mr. Ryuki, this is James Ironwood . . ." Ozpin motioned to the military man ". . . and Qrow Branwen" motioning to the other black haired gentleman "Both trusted allies Mr. Ryuki, anything to tell me will eventually be shared with them as well, so it be far simpler to invite them here instead"
"No need to be so formal Professor Ozpin, I'm merely a guest with apparent information you all need" Ryuki commented "Although I do wonder what the General of Atlas' military is doing in a place so far away from home?" Ryuki smirked at James
"While my reputation as General precedes me, I also happen to be the headmaster of Atlas Academy. Be that as it may, I am here on an educational visit as it were, from one Headmaster to another in preparation for the Vytal Festival in a few months which is to be here in Vale this year" James explained "Nevertheless, I am troubled by the knowledge that apparently, Lighthouse Academy was an attack as you say, and not an accident"
"How can you be so sure that it was an attack and not an unfortunate disaster" Ozpin asked
Qrow took this moment to take out a flask he had, occasionally taking a sip or two as the conversation went on, all four individuals now staring at Ryuki and Jaune
"Well, why don't we review the facts here" Ryuki said, then looking at Jaune "And to help me out, my buddy Jaune will explain exactly why we believe that it was an attack" he finished, the older hero grinning at his protégé
"M-me?" Jaune stammered
"Wha-" James began but was quickly cut off
"It's all right Mr. Arc, feel free to speak your mind" Ozpin ushered the teen
"W-well, in the first place you would have to look at why exactly the school was attacked" Jaune started
"For the same reason that any other location would be attacked by Grimm, they were attracted by the negative emotions that had gathered in that area" James answered, with but a hint of spite, this did not go unnoticed by the other people in the room
"But that's the problem sir. When the school fell, when we had visited, there was a school wide celebration going on" Jaune said, earning surprised looks from everyone but Ryuki "That and even if there were a lot negative emotions, which is unlikely given the event at the time, it would take nothing less than half the population of Vacuo all suddenly generating negative emotions to attract that much Grimm to attack the school all at once"
"Which brings me to my next point: the amount of Grimm" Ryuki piping in "Jaune, if you could explain" Ryuki motioned his hand out, as if to give the floor to the younger blond, who had finally seen where he was going, now somewhat better prepared to explain things
"Right, normally when the Grimm are attracted to a location, they come in small waves. But when Lighthouse Academy had been attacked, it was as if the Grimm had decided to group together first and THEN attack" Jaune explained
"Which is highly unlikely given the nature of the Grimm themselves" Qrow added
"And that's not even the weirdest part. . . " Ryuki interjected, looking back to Jaune to further explain
"The weirdest part about the Grimm were the species that attacked" Jaune said
"What do you mean? Are there new forms of Grimm?" Glynda asked
Jaune shook his head "It's not that. It's the fact that, similar to animals, certain Grimm species tend to occupy certain habitats. And in a dessert biome like Vacuo, the most common form of Grimm are the deathstalkers, nevermores, and the king taijitus, with the occasional Goliath"
"And your point being?" James asked
"The Grimm that had attacked Lighthouse Academy, they were mostly Beowolves and Ursas" Jaune answered
"Grimm that were miles away from their natural habitat and Grimm that the students of Lighthouse Academy had yet to face" Ryuki added "Most of the Freshman and Sophomores, those who have yet to go on missions outside Vacuo, were at a complete disadvantage. They put up a good fight, but they weren't able to deal with them effectively" at this Ozapin and Glynda had concerned looks on their faces
"And what of it? Grimm have been known to migrate long distances from time to time, it may simply have been a coincidence" James said, still a bit skeptical
"Remember what I told you about the attacking Grimm back when we first met Ozpin?" Ryuki solemnly asked
It was here that Ozpin and Glynda truly paled, making the connection and realizing the implications. James could only look at the two in confusion while Qrow was just taking yet another sip of his flask, simply taking in the information
"What is it?" James asked, curiosity gnawing at him
"Well, according to Mr. Arc and Ryuki here, the Grimm that had attacked had apparently sprung up from the sands beneath" Ozpin answered a little softer than normal, which was perfectly audible to everyone as the room had fallen silent after Ryuki's explanation
"That preposterous! Ursa's and Beowolves emerging from the sands!?" James bellowed
"I thought so too. . . until I saw them dropping from the sky after being flown in by bullheads" Ryuki simply said "And then I remembered, in Vacuo they had these transports that were capable of burrowing underground for protection in cases of sandstorms while travelling across the vast deserts. It wouldn't be so difficult to procure a few of those and load them up with Grimm"
"But why go through all the trouble?" Glynda asked
"Tell me, was there something extremely valuable or important being kept at the academy at the time?" Ryuki asked aloud
The rest of the individuals including Jaune had remained silent
"How about SOMEONE?" Ryuki asked instead
It was as if lightning had struck Jaune as he immediately shouted
"The records!" Jaune shouted out at Ryuki, having understood what his master was saying
"Bingo" Ryuki simply said
"But . . . that doesn't really make any sense, why go through all that trouble for a single person?" Jaune asked
"Beats me Jaune, but if they were going to kidnap or even kill someone, the Grimm was able to provide enough chaos and distraction to get in and get out without standing out" Ryuki answered, looking at the other people in the room, noticing the silence that befell them and the knowing worried looks that they were now giving each other
"Well, looks like it's time to go Jaune, come one, we have time to grab some dinner before you head back" Ryuki said, putting an arm over Jaune and started walking him out
"Who said you could leave" James called out
"Your faces" Ryuki called back, "It's clear that you guys need some alone time to discuss some secrets, and as a man with secrets of my own, I respect that. I'll be staying at a hotel in Vale, Jaune has my number in case you guys need me" Ryuki waved, not even bothering to look back as the doors closed behind him and Jaune
The rest of the evening had been uneventful for Jaune, dinner with Ryuki was just the two of them, Aegis having apparently gone somewhere
"Don't worry about it, It's not like there's anything on this world that could actually hurt the guy" Ryuki laughed
He had gone back to the auditorium to prepare for bed, Jaune saw Ruby with her sister talking to the black-haired girl He and Ruby had met earlier in the courtyard. Jaune figured Ruby was probably trying to make friend with her too, and he would have gone over as well, but he was exhausted from the whole ordeal earlier today that he had decided to just call it a night and get prepare himself for initiation tomorrow, using the verbal argument that had ensued when Weiss joined the other girls as background noise to lull himself to sleep
-[Remnants of Lore]-
"Wake up lazy bug!"
Jaune woke up to the sound of a girl waking somebody up, he looked around to see a girl with ginger hair waking up what he could only guess as her boyfriend. Jaune watched them a few seconds longer, noting how the girl was clearly a morning person (seriously, who sings out "it's morning" 4 times?) and the guy, black hair with pink highlights, who was clearly not a morning person. Jaune figured he may as well get the day started and began packing up as well, heading to the bathrooms afterwards for his morning rituals
It wasn't long before he soon understood why the guy was not a morning person. His girlfriend (apparently just a friend who so happens to be a girl, as the girl puts it "not together-together") had been talking non-stop ever since she woke both him and Jaune up.
At least he was able to get some info from the girl, apparently they were going to be divided into teams. So Jaune instead focused his efforts into observing the people around him, how they act and what information he could glean from them, trying to see which ones he'd be compatible with
Jaune had just finished grabbing his gear from the locker provided to him when he saw Weiss talking to Pyrrha Nikos. Which actually surprised him. Considering he had seen her fight a few times when He and Ryuki had visited Mistral, he wasn't expecting her to be here at all, considering it's so far away from home. Then again, Jaune figured that Beacon IS arguably the best combat school in Remnant, so it would make sense that someone of her caliber would be applying here. Jaune noticed Weiss' not so subtle attempt at trying to form up teams with her.
Jaune also noticed that Pyrrha was somewhat hesitant. He had seen it before, The Invincible Girl of Mistral they said, everybody knew here there. Jaune probably figured that was another reason Pyrrha chose a school so far away from home, maybe she was trying to get away from the pedestal that fame at home put her in. He can only imagine how hard it would be to fit in with all the expectations bearing down at her. It was here that Jaune decided who he wanted as a partner.
"Well, I was thinking we could be on a team together?" Weiss asked Pyrrha
"Well . . . that sounds grand" Pyrrha simply replied a little less enthusiastic about it if Jaune was hearing her tone correctly
"Great!" Weiss enthusiastically replied
It was here that Jaune took his time to intercede, walking in between the two girls
"You know what else is great? Me. Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you" Jaune said to Weiss, a little louder than normal, hoping Pyrrha would be listening
"You again?" Weiss deadpanned. Still looking down at him
"Nice to meet you Jaune" Pyrrha greeted, Jaune figured he'd play around for a bit
"Yeah yeah," Jaune said, pushing Pyrrha aside "So, Weiss, I couldn't help but hear your fondness over me the other day?" he flexed his muscles, knowing it would only irritate the girl more
"Oh you've got to be kidding me" Weiss facepalmed
"Don't worry, no need to be embarrassed. So, I've been hearing rumors about teams, I was thinking you and I would make a good one. What do you say?" Jaune asked, knowing Weiss would decline
"Actually," Pyrrha cut in "I think the teams are comprised of four students each soo . . ."
"You don't say?" Jaune took this opportunity to try and win Pyrrha over to his side "Well hot stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team" Jaune winked at her
It was then that Weiss had apparently had enough and decided to intervene, rushing between the two, holding her arms wide, pushing the two as far apart
"Jaune, is it. Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" Weiss asked him
Jaune was about to say yes when he saw that slight falter in Pyrrha's smile, Jaune knew that Pyrrha was afraid that he would recognize her and immediately change his perspective of her, so he decided to play stupid
"Not in the slightest snow angel" Jaune replied, noting Pyrrha's smile come back to her, it was an amazing smile he had to admit
"This is Pyrrha" Weiss motioned to the girl behind her, who had greeted once more in response "Graduated top of her class at Sanctum" Weiss finished, expecting Jaune to get intimidated
"Never heard of it" Jaune simply replied
"Won the Mistral regional tournament four years in a row, a new record" Weiss added
"The what?" Jaune said back, still playing stupid when in reality, he had actually been to her last match and had been amazed by her skills
"Shes on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallows Flakes Box!" Weiss screamed, having had enough
Now Jaune had to admit that he recognized her now, that was too common information
"That's you!?" Jaune fakingly exclaimed "They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"
"Yeah, it was very cool . . . sadly the cereal isn't healthy for you thought" Pyrrha replied, Jaune noticed that she might be trying to downplay the achievement, maybe in an attempt to make her more relatable and down to earth?
"So after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to be asking HER to be on your team?" Weiss asked
"Definitely" Jaune grinned
"Well that sounds like a lovely idea Jaune" Pyrrha added
"Seriously please stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged" Weiss cut in
Now that Pyrrha was on board, it was time to turn the tables and try to discourage Weiss to join
"Looks like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune, spots are filling up quick. Now I'm not supposed to do this but maybe I could pull some strings? Find you a place? What do you say?" Jaune teased, getting right up Weiss' face for added effect
"A-all right, that's a bit too close. Pyrrha, a little help please?" Weiss called out to the girl behind him
Jaune turned around to see Pyrrha launching her famed weapon Milo in spear-from right at him
"Woah!" Jaune exclaimed, as he easily caught the spear, twirling it a bit in the process to divert the spear's momentum "That was close" shocking both Pyrrha and Weiss that he had caught it, to be honest, he was thankful enough that Pyrrha hadn't used any extra force in that throw aside from her own strength
Just then a voice boomed all-throughout the locker rooms
"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation. Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff, immediately"
"Hmph!" Weiss, still not acknowledging Jaune simply turned around, walking away
"It was nice meeting you" Pyrrha followed behind Weiss, grabbing her weapon back from Jaune "Good catch by the way"
"Thanks, it was nice meeting you too!" Jaune called out, before going back to his locker and finishing preparations
"Those were some moves back there Lady-Killer" Yang had greeted him, Ruby in tow
Jaune chuckled "I did what I could"
"Come on, let's go" Ruby, calling out to the other two as the trio made their way to initiation
-[Remnants of Lore]-
And that's another chapter hot off the press XD i suddenly found myself inspired after re-watching a few RWBY episodes. so I'm officially set until for this week, meaning my next lastest deadline for a new chapter would be on April 27 XDDD
^thats actually a bad way to go about it. please don't ever copy that.
anyways, I've already started working on Chapter 5 so who know, maybe that one will come out in a few days? we'll see :)