If Humans were meant to fly
The next day dawned bright and clear, and Jaune found himself on the bullhead headed towards Beacon. Looking out through one of the many windows, he found himself entranced by the view. The morning light's reflection off the buildings of the city was something truly wondrous. The light hit reflective glass and splintered, sending its rays cascading everywhere.
A voice broke him from his musings.
"Hello and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."
As the image of 'Goodwitch' faded, Jaune adjusted the leather straps holding his sword. 'Well, it looks like it's time to get this show on the road.'
As the bullhead settled, Jaune walked into the brilliant morning light and looked around interestedly. 'So, this is what a Hunter's academy looks like… It's… Honestly kind of boring.'
There were no hints of anything dangerous like he expected. After all, how were you supposed to learn to fight the grimm without any grimm? 'Maybe I should have got more information…'
Shrugging, Jaune continued his way forward, letting himself get swept along by the tide of humanity. That is, until he heard the explosion. Within an instant, he had spun towards the source of the explosion and brought his hand to the hilt of his sword, ready to draw.
"…"
Two girls stood in the epicenter of an explosion, which despite appearances, did not seem to have caused any harm. Quickly analyzing the scene, he spotted light reflecting off the dust that remained in the air. Looking back at the two girls, he saw one holding an open case which looked to contain several containers of dust. Sighing, he relaxed his grip on his sword he continued on.
'Seems like the only danger here is the students themselves. Really, who would open a case of dust in an area filled with hunters? The chances of something going wrong are…'
Something clinked against his foot. Looking down he saw a vial of dust resting by his foot.
'Oh for the love of…'
Jaune sighed and picked up the bottle. Noticing the cork was slightly ajar, he placed his thumb on top of the lid and pressed it back into place to firmly seal it. Moving towards the duo who had been joined by another girl, he took a second to analyze them.
The newcomer had a monochrome color scheme, but what interested him the most was how she stood. She stood lightly, so if an attack were to come in her direction she would be able to dodge with only a moment's notice. What really caught his attention was how the moment he started walking towards them, her bow twitched minutely.
'Hmmm odd…'
The girl in white stood in a manner that suggested to him that she was filled with pride in herself and her skill. Noticing the positioning of her feet and the sword by her side, he labeled her as a fencer, though there was something off about her stance. He had not come across many who used rapiers, so he could not truly point to what was different from a more normal stance.
The final one wore black clothing also, but with a deep crimson cape that looked almost like…
'Please don't tell me that's his daughter… I'm not sure I could handle a world that cruel…'
Shaking off these thoughts, Jaune analyzed her stance, but found little there to indicate what type of weapon she used. There were elements of her stance that looked like Qrow's, but other parts aspects were distinctly different. From the way her feet were positioned, he assumed she likely was fairly quick, given that her first response to aggression seemed to be flight.
Already regretting it, he moved towards the girl in white who was storming away and coughed politely.
The girl dressed in white turned to him glaring, haughtily.
"Excuse me, but I think you dropped something…"
The girl in white blushed a deep crimson and snatched the bottle from his hand. Glaring at the monochrome girl, she replied in a slightly conceited tone,
"Thank you, I'm glad someone here has manners."
"No problem," Jaune smiled in a disarming manner, "Be careful with those bottles though, that one was completely unsealed. I wouldn't want you to get hurt…"
If possible, her blush deepened and she quickly walked off in the direction of the school.
The girl who he hoped was not Qrow's daughter muttered something to herself and turned to face the space the newcomer had recently occupied recently, recently because she had already started walking off. Seeing this, the girl with the crimson cape folded, slumping to the ground.
"Welcome to Beacon." The girl muttered sadly to herself.
'…'
Jaune's mind stalled. How exactly was he supposed to deal with this?! If this was indeed Qrow's daughter, he couldn't just leave her there. Despite how annoying the man was, he had still become something of a friend on the journey here. Plus, leaving a young teenage girl to wallow in misery on the ground didn't seem like a particularly nice thing to do. Bracing himself, Jaune walked over to the girl.
"Uh, hi?"
Xxx
Ruby had not had a good day so far. Between her anxieties about what other students would think of her and the excitement of going to Beacon, she had not gotten much sleep. Yang had promptly abandoned her on arrival. She had knocked over some girl named Weiss Schnee's luggage, got yelled at, and was then abandoned again by the other girl.
"Uh, hi?" a young male voice roused her from her thoughts. Opening her eyes, she found two concerned blue ones staring back at her.
Xxx
'Silver eyes?'
Mentally smacking himself, Jaune smiled awkwardly and offered a hand to the girl.
"Hey, my name's Jaune… is everything all right?"
The girl's eyes widened slightly and her face flushed a bright red.
"Oh! Um… Yeah, everything's fine!"
The girl reached up and grabbed his hand, and with a slight application of strength, Jaune pulled her to her feet. Seeing that she was back on her feet, Jaune started walking off. After a few steps, he realized that there were no footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw the girl awkwardly poking her fingers together.
"Well, aren't you coming?"
The girls head shot up so fast Jaune worried she had given herself whiplash.
"Oh! Uh, yeah! I'm coming!"
Catching up to him, the two began to walk off.
"I'm Ruby by the way…"
Xxx
"Um… So… I got this thing!"
The sound of an activating mecha shift weapon caused Jaune's hand to reflexively fly towards his sword's hilt again. Processing seconds later the lack of danger, he noticed Ruby looking at him oddly.
"Oh! Um… Nice scythe!" he said weakly, trying to play off his reaction.
"It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle," Ruby said, grinning at him.
"Oh… Cool! Did you design it yourself?" Jaune replied with somewhat more feeling than his last statement.
"Yep! So, what do you got?" Ruby asked excitedly.
Jaune grabbed the hilt of his sword and unsheathed it with a tug. Twirling the blade, he brought it down in front of him so the girl would be able to examine the blade better. The girl's eyes practically shined.
"Wow! What does it do?!"
"Uh… Slices stuff?"
Cocking her head, the girl looked at him.
"Nothing else?"
"Uh no?" Seeing that the girl was unsatisfied with that answer, he tried to justify himself.
"Well you see I'm from Vacuo and I spent a lot of my time at Dusk going into the desert to fight grimm. In the desert, it's common that mechashift weapon gears will have issues from prolonged exposure. Thus, you need to do constant maintenance. I decided it would just be simpler if I didn't have to deal with that…"
The girl's eyes shone again.
"Ooh that's practical! Wait… you're from Dusk academy?! I'm from Signal! What's it like there? Do people really…"
'And I thought she was shy…'
Xxx
Walking into the auditorium, Jaune took a moment to appreciate the vast structure. With high ceilings and beautiful designed stonework, the hall was impressive to say the least.
"Hey Ruby over here! I saved you a spot!"
His companion next to him startled and looked to the blonde girl who was apparently calling for her.
Glancing over towards him Ruby said in a rush, "Oh! Hey, I have to go. I'll see you after the ceremony." With that, she ran off to go join the blonde.
'Whew, it's over…'
Trying to field questions about a city he had barely been in was surprisingly difficult, Jaune noted. Apparently, if he was going to try and keep up this cover, he might need to do a bit of investigation into his 'home'. Slipping his way into the throng of people, he found himself near the front of the auditorium. Leaning back against a wall, he did his best to try and not stand out. This was surprisingly easy given that he had a massive sword on his back, but as he looked around, he noticed that everyone seemed to have fairly unique weapons.
'Hunter school, right… I should have expected this.'
The sound of a mike turned Jaune's attention to the stage at the front. There stood the woman who spoke on the aircraft 'Goodwitch, wasn't it?' and a man with grey hair and spectacles.
"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 as 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."
As the man with grey hair walked away slowly, Jaune noticed his eyes sweeping the crowd. They fell upon Jaune and, with an almost imperceptible nod, he continued walking away. Jaune ignored the blonde woman who was now talking and slipped back through the crowd towards the exit. Exiting the auditorium, he walked up to one of the fountains. After a few minutes, the grey- haired man walked up to the fountain.
"I see you've arrived safely."
"I take it you're Ozpin?"
"I am."
Qrow, on the bullhead ride to Vale, had informed Jaune of the various people he would meet there that would provide him the information he needed. Among them the key person was Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon.
"I'm sorry to say this, but I was unable to locate anything with the time I had in the city."
"Perfectly all right, we didn't expect much progress to be made in a couple of days."
"So why did you call me out here?"
"For this."
Ozpin held up a transparent rectangular piece of glass. Ozpin handed the item to Jaune who, after being prompted, placed his index finger on it. Looking up at Ozpin, Jaune cocked an eyebrow.
"This device is called a 'scroll'; normally we pass them out to students after initiation, but it's more beneficial for you to receive yours now so I can explain the items pertaining to your mission. The device holds my contact and information along with Qrow's. There is a file labeled 'Work' that holds all the data we have gathered so far. If something happens and your cover has been blown, activate the emergency distress beacon. It will broadcast your signal and I'll have a team get there to extract you as quickly as possible."
Jaune nodded as he fiddled with the menu option in the scroll, looking through the items Ozpin was talking about.
"If you have need of funds, contact me, I will provide for any resources you may need. Your payment will be delivered to an account in your name for the duration that the mission proceeds."
Jaune paused as he came across the application that was linked to his new bank account. The number slightly shocked him.
"That's quite a lot to pay one person."
"Try not to fail then. Good luck Mr. Blanc."
Xxx
Yawning tiredly, Jaune walked through the hallways of Beacon.
After the assembly had commenced, the students had been led to their lockers to put their weapons away and then to the cafeteria for dinner. Jaune had snatched some of the food up and quickly downed it, not stopping to sit down at any of the tables.
He then received some instructions on how to get to the sleeping area from the teacher who was overseeing them.
'Port? Something like that…'
Jaune then set up his sleeping roll before getting changed. Noticing that there were showers he had quickly utilized one to clean himself up. Showers were a rare luxury for him, as he spent enough time living in the wilderness, he usually used an oasis to wash himself. Stepping out of the shower, he toweled himself off and slipped on a pair of sweatpants he had purchased in Vacuo. Jaune's damp blonde hair fell into his eyes and, sighing in annoyance, he brushed it back. Reaching into his pile of clothing, he pulled a short dagger out. With a few deft practiced swipes, he had trimmed his hair so that it would not hamper his sight. Strapping the dagger to his calf, he tossed the rest of his clothing into a cloth bag.
Jaune quickly traveled back to his locker and hung his clothing up. As he walked out of the storage area, he started to head back to the sleeping area.
As he entered the designated sleeping area, he saw that the rest of the students had arrived. The students were setting up their sleeping bags and chatting among themselves. Ignoring them, Jaune moved towards his sleeping bag, stepping between sprawled bodies.
Reaching his destination, he slipped into his bag and then realized an unforeseen issue. Even though the students were only softly chattering, there was still too much human mass around him. Jaune was used to sleeping in the wilderness or in a single room in an inn. He had teamed up with other Sand Walkers for a job, there had been three other people sleeping around him in the wilderness, at most.
Realizing the futility of trying to sleep, Jaune slipped out of his sleeping bag and re-rolled it. Trying to remain inconspicuous, he managed to slip out of the room.
"There he is! Jaune! Over here!"
'I'm cursed'
Wincing slightly, he turned to face an excited Ruby standing next to the blonde girl from the auditorium.
"Um… Hey Ruby!"
The blonde girl stepped forward, slightly invading his body space.
"Mm very nice…"
Cocking his head, Jaune stared at the blonde, slightly confused.
"I'm Ruby's sister. It's nice to meet you!"
Taking Yang's extended hand, he shook with her, noting the strength of her grip.
"My name's Jaune, but I think you already knew that…"
Ruby then interjected herself into the conversation.
"Woah! You have a tattoo! That's so cool!"
'Ah… I may have made a mistake not wearing a shirt'
A black sun was inked into the skin of Jaune's left pectoral. All he could do was hope that neither of them understood the significance of it.
"Oh yeah! I got it before I graduated from Dusk."
Jaune winced as he realized he had brought the topic back to his 'school'; Ruby decided that now was the perfect time to ask more questions. Jaune, noticing that students were slowly settling down for bed, took an opportunity that presented itself.
"Hey, I would love to talk more, but it seems like people are going to bed…"
Ruby deflated slightly at that, gaining the expression of a kicked puppy.
'Wow… That expression is really way too adorable'
Doing his best to placate her he grinned, "Don't worry; I'm sure we'll have more time to talk later…"
"Promise?"
"Of course!"
Waving goodbye, Jaune headed towards his destination- the doors to the hallway. Glancing around and seeing that no one was really paying him attention, he slipped out.
Jaune slipped through the silent hallways of Beacon, eventually coming to an exit to the outside world. As Jaune walked out, he took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh night air. Looking around, he saw that there was a flat roof on one of the nearby buildings. With a couple of jumps, he had landed at his new resting place. Unrolling his sleeping bag, Jaune laid down and exhaled, going to sleep almost instantly.
Xxx
The morning sun shone brilliantly in the sky as Jaune arose. Rerolling his bag, he stood up and stretched, yawning cavernously. Blinking in the morning light, he settled his body into a familiar stance that he had learned long ago. Bringing his arms around his body slowly, he placed his feet with care upon the stone. Jaune focused inward to the source of energy inside of him. Like windstorm, it surged through him, swirling about uncontrolled. Jaune closed his eyes, focusing entirely on his body and the source of energy. With a deep breath, he jumped into action; his body spun through the sky and his legs sliced the air. Landing lightly on his hands, he pushed his body up to soar through the air again.
While Jaune's body was in motion, he focused on the energy inside of him. Jaune focused and began to adjust the energy as his body continued to fight the air. Finally feeling the energy synced with his body, the tumultuous storm died down into a gentle breeze. He opened his eyes again. Letting lose the breath he had taken at taken at the start, Jaune grabbed his sleeping roll to head back inside.
Xxx
'I think I'm going to get spoiled by these showers'
Stepping out of the shower, Jaune dried himself off and put on the clothes he had retrieved earlier. Stepping out of the room, he had headed towards the cafeteria. Snagging some food, he sat down to eat in the mostly empty cafeteria; students finally began to trickle in. Finishing his breakfast, Jaune fished a silver pocket watch out of his pocket. Checking the time, he saw that it was only half an hour to the start of initiation. Jaune stood up and headed towards the lockers to retrieve his sword. Slipping past an evidently excited girl and her more stoic companion, Jaune walked into the locker room, glancing around to see a couple of students readying themselves.
Arriving at his locker, Jaune's mission was interrupted by two girls standing in front of it, discussing something about 'teaming up.' Recognizing the girl with white hair as the one from the previous day, Jaune nodded politely as he passed her. The other girl with red hair was standing in front of his locker.
"Excuse me miss, may I get to my locker?"
The girl looked mildly surprised for an instant, but nonetheless stepped aside. Jaune popped open his locker and withdrew his sword. Slipping the harness over his head, he tightened some straps and rolled his shoulder, making sure the sword was secured. Turning back around, he saw that the red-haired girl was looking at him, appraisingly ignoring her companion who had started chuckling maniacally to herself.
'Huh? What does she want?'
Internally shrugging, Jaune smiled and nodded at her and walked outside into the fresh morning air. Ozpin and Goodwitch stood to the side of a series of grey metal circles set into the ground. Goodwitch directed him to stand on one and Jaune followed her instructions, a little bemused.
After about fifteen more minutes, the students had all arrived, and Jaune had again been engaged in conversation by an excited Ruby. Thankfully, she had moved on from questions about Vacuo to discussing the upcoming initiation.
Their conversation was interrupted by Ozpin as the last students filed out of the school.
"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest. There have been rumors about your partners. Let me answer them, you will be paired up today. The first person you make eye contact with shall be your partner. You will enter the forest and retrieve a relic and then return here. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."
'Partners, huh? Well this might be an issue…'
Glancing at Ozpin, Jaune cocked an eyebrow. Ozpin noticed this and nodded slightly.
'Huh… Wonder what he's planning…'
As the first students were launched, Ozpin wandered over to stand by him.
"Whoever your pair up with will be temporary and when you leave we'll assign them a new partner," muttered Ozpin softly.
This slightly stunned Jaune. He had met hunters previously and the partner of a hunter was probably one of the single most important things to them. Breaking up the bond even if it was recent just wasn't done…
Seeing Jaune's expression, Ozpin sighed. "I don't like it either, but if you're to fit in as a student, there is really no other choice."
Nodding slightly, Jaune stared forward, concentrating.
"Good luck Jaune! Maybe we could be on the same team!" called out Ruby, as she too was launched.
With a hiss, the spring under Jaune fired, sending him flying into the air. Twirling in the air to bring his feet under him, Jaune focused on a rapidly approaching tree branch. With a burst of power, he connected, then repelled himself off the branch, sending his body flying forward. Bouncing from tree to tree, he eventually came to a stop.
As Jaune looked around the clearing he had arrived in, he heard an echoing gunshot from above. Looking up he spotted and incoming black mass with a fluttering red cape. The mass twirled a scythe and with another gunshot, slowed their landing to the forest floor so that they could land softly next to him. The mass who was Ruby looked up excitedly at him.
"Awesome! We're partners, Jaune!"
As Ruby stared up at Jaune, adorably happy, Jaune only had a few thoughts on the matter.
'Well shit.'
Author's Note: Edited for Grammer