Hello everyone, coming at you live with a new chapter. I hope that you enjoy it. Was a little bit of a struggle to write but it is done.

Jaune was far beyond relieved when their aircraft touched down back at Beacon combat academy. It seemed an agonisingly slow process for the loading ramp to lower far enough for him to escape the confines of the aircraft. Darting out as fast as his legs could possibly carry him, at speeds that might have rivalled even Ruby's. Once free and under the bright sun, he dropped to his knees with his arms held out wide and basked in the warmth of the afternoon sun.

Whilst it was true that the flight back had been hell, it had only been accentuated by both Yang and Nora trying to force him into giving up his fish supper from the previous night. An act that left him feeling utterly betrayed and yet, in a way it proved to be an incredibly good motivator. The blonde fought with renewed determination, concentrating and blocking out their faked retching noises to reach deep within himself and call forth the essence of his soul to calm his unruly stomach.

Still on his knees, he felt the knots in his stomach begin to unravel and his muscles begin to relax. Every part of him was once again beginning to unwind. Wiping his forehead on the back of his sleeve, he removed the film of sweat that had developed over the course of their flight back. Pyrrha walked over to him and tentatively helped him back to his feet with a smile as Yang and Nora both walked past shooting him disappointed looks. To his absolute surprise they handed Ren two small wads of crumpled up cash while the lotus smirked.

"T-they made a bet?!" Jaune asked incredulously as he climbed up to his feet again with Pyrrha's help.

"Yes, and both Yang and Nora lost their entire month's money." Weiss explained. The knight shrugged, a little unsure of how to feel after having just been the foot of a bet between his friends. His deliberations were soon cut short as a stern looking Goodwitch marched up towards the landing pads, her high-heeled boots click-clacking against the stone pathways. She stopped in front of the freshly disembarked students and folded her arms.

"Welcome back students, there will be an assembly within the main auditorium in one hour. I would advise that you use this time wisely to get yourselves cleaned and changed and for your leaders to debrief you on your performances in the forest. That is all." She concluded and stepped out of the way as a whole stampede of first-years rocketed off towards their dorms at the promise of hot water and clean clothes.

Jaune and his team remained behind, spun around and thoroughly disoriented by the sudden rush. Once in the clear and having gathered themselves once again, they too set off back to the dorms at a calm yet hurried pace, a result of Weiss' constant insistence that the showers would still be there even if they walked. Very few words were spoken between the teammates save for the few necessary to establish the order for the showers. Pyrrha was set to be the first in, followed by Ruby whom usually took an eternity, then Weiss and finally Jaune. The three girls deciding that as he was a boy, he had the least to do.

Quickly swiping the door lock they barrelled in and all set about their various tasks in a flurry of activity; gathering up towels and setting out uniforms ready for their inevitable rush to get ready. No more than thirty seconds had passed before Pyrrha was in the shower, the hot water cascading over her supple body and washing away the accumulated grime of the past two days. With tender-loving-care she ran up a lather in her hair of her juniper scented shampoo and slowly but surely worked out the various knots and tangles until she was able to run her fingers through the flowing red strands smoothly.

Jaune's first step when he got in was to drop his armour and collapse on his bed. Reaching under his pillow he retrieved his newest issue of his 'X-ray and Vav' comics. Settling up against the headboard he set about reading the graphic novel while all around him was pandemonium. It puzzled him just how it was such a big issue for women to get ready when it took him barely ten minutes to be ready and out the door.

When the knight was about halfway through his comic, a voluminous cloud of steam signalled Pyrrha's return from the shower. Before the door could even begin to swing to Ruby had darted into the bathroom with a trail of rose petals. Looking over the top of his comic, the blonde's eye's caught sight of his partner clad in nought but a towel. His cheeks flushed scarlet as he caught himself staring, his jaw beginning to hang slack. Sure, he had seen her in a towel before, but never more than a fleeting glance. Never such prolonged appreciation as he was currently and unmistakably guilty of. With an extreme effort he tore his eyes away from his partner and forced them back onto the cartoons of his comic.

He read on as Ruby darted out of the bathroom and Weiss headed in, the final push before Jaune could finally sort himself out. Judging by the pride that the heiress seemed to take in her appearance, the knight estimated that it would be roughly another fifteen minutes at least before she was out again. That would leave him with just a little over ten minutes to get himself ready and out the door. Whilst that wouldn't prove to be too much of a problem, and he was glad for being able to rest for three quarters of an hour, he did wish that he could have that little bit longer to shower though. The events of the past few days had left him feeling thoroughly unclean in a way that only an hour long soak in the bath could fix.

True to his estimate, Weiss reappeared just shy of fifteen minutes later. Pulling himself up and off of his bed he shuffled on dead feet through to the bathroom, pausing only to grab his towel and a fresh set of boxer shorts. He dived under the shower, glad for being the last given that it meant immediately hot water. He stood perfectly still under the torrent, allowing it to flow through his hair and face. Droplets hung from his nose and tickled him terribly to an extent that he found himself chuckling happily to it. He felt rejuvinated as the water ran across his body ridding him of the accumulated sweat and the smell of desperation, cleansing him entirely.

In that room, under that water, time ceased to exist for the knight. He knew nothing more that the drumming of the water dripping off of his body to his feet, the warmth of the steam. It was bliss, his own little piece of paradise. Well, it was until a rather angry sounding Weiss broke it apart.

"Hurry up you dolt! We're going to be late!" came her voice through the door. Despite its muffled nature, there was no denying the urgency in it. The blonde shut of the water and leapt out of the shower, towelling himself off and slipping into a fresh set of underwear. He flung open the door and rushed over to his wardrobe and retrieved his uniform. It was only a matter of moments before he was dressed in Beacon's uniform. He never believed that he would get used to the uptight formality of it all, and in a way it confused him that a combat school would have such an impractical uniform.

Once dressed he grabbed his scroll and together with his team ran out of their dorm room and down the corridor. Team BRNY burst from their own dorm and followed closely behind, keeping pace as they practically sprinted through the grand halls and hundreds of unnecessary hallways before finally arriving at the auditorium. They merged with the gathered crowds, every first year together. JSPR and BRNY found themselves stuck in the centre of the press of bodies with just enough space to breathe comfortably as everyone pushed closer to the stage. It was an incredibly claustrophobic setting.

Such a close proximity to the various other students led to particularly awkward circumstances. Pyrrha was pushed right up against him in the crowds leaving the two of them more than a little bit red in the face. She didn't seem to mind too much, smiling brightly whenever he turned round to apologise. If he didn't know better, he might have thought her to be enjoying the contact.

He was pulled out of his musings as the enigmatic headmaster took to the stage. He was accompanied, as always, by the stern and precise form of Professor Goodwitch as well as a man that Jaune hadn't yet seen before. He was a tall and proud looking man with greying black hair and garbed in the crisp and formal attire of soldier. Hung upon the left side of his chest were a series of decorations and commendations from what must have been a long term of service.

"Students." Ozpin began. "Today we stand together united both as teams and on a global scale. Vale, Atlas, Vacuo and Mistral. The four kingdoms of Remnant, all striving together and working towards a brighter future, yet this was not always the case. On this day eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or whom traded with who, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of countless forms of art and self expression. As many of you are well aware that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the very core aspects of art itself; colour. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, neither would the generations to come. It was a trend that lived on and still survives to this very day. We encourage expressionism, individuality and unity through diversity. Over the coming weeks as the world comes together to celebrate the peace, huntsmen and huntresses the world over will work to uphold it. As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional huntsman or huntress on a mission."

High tech holographic screens, not too dissimilar from those of their scrolls rose from the floor around the edges of the amphitheatre. Each one was labelled with a specific type of mission ranging from defensive duties through to Grimm culling.

"Looking around at these screens, you will notice the wide variety of tasks available for your choosing. Some of you may be taken out of the kingdom for several days, while others may work within the walls for the duration of the festival. But no matter which path you choose; remember to be safe, remember your training and remember to do your very best."

The mood was one of inspired awe as Professor Ozpin left the stage, accompanied by the subdued applause of the gathered students. Jaune's mind was kicked into overdrive by the mention of missions. Shadowing a real huntsman or huntress? The idea was so exciting that it was a hard struggle to contain himself. Ruby seemed to share in his enthusiasm, hopping up and down on the spot and irritating a few nearby students, including one heiress in particular.

"Ruby! Will you please stand still!" Weiss hissed, her eyes flaring up angrily.

"But Weiss~" She whined. "We get to work with real huntsmen or huntresses!"

"I know. But now isn't the time to get all excited. Can you please wait until we're outside?" She retorted. Ruby pouted and stuck her tongue out as Weiss turned back to face the front. Jaune leant over towards the petite rose with a grin and whispered to her.

"Don't mind the Ice Queen Rubes, I'm just as excited as you are." He chuckled.

"That makes the three of us." Pyrrha chimed in with a smile. Weiss rolled her eyes and sighed discontentedly, seemingly hearing her teammates behind her.

When the speeches ended the crowd dispersed, dividing up into the various small teams of the first years. Jaune and his team immediately set off around the various screens, reading up on each of the different classes of mission and what it would entail. It was decided by mutual agreement that a mission outside the kingdom was preferable, though what kind they were still unsure of.

As they walked along, skimming the various locations and objective Jaune quite suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes were locked on one of the missions, a Grimm clearance. Though it was not so much what it was, as where it was. For there, displayed on the screen was the name of his home town. According to the briefing the local sheriff was having some trouble with the local Grimm.

"Hey guys! What about this one?" He called after his teammates. They turned on their heels and walked over to him with expressions of curiosity.

"What's so special about that one?" Weiss asked.

"Well, it's a really small village quite far away. They need all the help that they can get, and judging by the briefing there will be a decent amount of action for us. That and... it's my home town."

"So you want all of us to go all that way, just so that you can visit your family?" The heiress demanded, her hands balled into fists and rested on her hips.

"Come on Weiss, he's just worried about them. Wouldn't you be worried about your family in that situation?" Ruby said, jumping to the aid of her leader.

"Well of course I would, but I would trust that they would take care of themselves. Aren't your family all huntsmen and huntresses anyway?"

"Some of them are yeah."

"Well there you go, I'm sure that they call look after themselves." She huffed. "Now why don't we take a look at some of the 'search and destroy missions?"

The heiress began to walk away and with a resigned sigh, Jaune made to follow after her. Before he could make it so much as two steps a hand grasped his shoulder in a gentle yet firm manner, fixing him in place. Turning around he found it to be Pyrrha, the Champion smiled at him and shook her head ever so slightly. Beside her, Ruby stood resolute with an unusual fire burning within her silver eyes.

Ahead of them, Weiss paused and turned to see her three teammates standing resolutely by the same screen. With a sigh she walked back over and crossed her arms, icy blue eyes flitting between each of them.

"Oh you cannot be serious." She sighed.

"Weiss, Jaune is our leader. Don't you think that as his team we should support him on this one? You said it yourself, you would be worried in his situation.."

"My family would give us somewhere to stay for the duration of our stay. It won't be anything too fancy, just a bed and four walls really, but it would be warm and my Mom is a great cook. That has to be better than sleeping outdoors right?"

"It does sound like a better choice to sleeping on the ground." The heiress' cold look held for a few moments before she finally relented with a sigh. "Fine... We'll go help your village."

"Thank you Weiss." The blonde smiled. He stepped up to the screen and selected their chosen mission, inputting the details of his team and syncing the mission details up to his scroll. The details of their accompanying huntsman/huntress was set to be forwarded to them closer to the time once one had been arranged.

With their mission selected and locked in, the four teenagers sought out their partner team BRNY. They were stood over by the 'search and destroy' board with professor Ozpin, organising the details for a mission. They smiled collectively as JSPR approached.

"So guys, what did you choose?" Yang beamed.

"Grimm clearance mission up North. A town is in some trouble." her fellow blonde replied. "What did you get?"

"Cool, plenty of action for the lot of you huh?"The brawler grinned and cracked her knuckles. "We got a search and destroy in some failed expansion outta the kingdom. Plenty of Grimm to hand the beat-down to."

"We get to smash up an old city!" Nora chirped, grinning ear to ear.

"Nora, I don't think that is quite the case." Ren said, patting his lifelong friend on the shoulder.

"Awww... that's no fun." The Valkyrie whined.

"We had best get going. We need to get some training done if we're to be in top form for this mission." Blake said as she led her team off and towards the exit, pulling her partner along by her elbow. JSPR bid them a goodbye before they too made for the exit.

The sounds of steel-on-steel had fallen silent that evening, the training pair had chosen to forgo their nightly sparring to better train the knight's aura manipulation. They sat in the centre of the roof, cross-legged with their eyes closed as was their norm. The shattered moon shone down brightly in its full glory, illuminating them is its pale and unearthly light. Pyrrha held gently onto his hands as they worked, at first this had been a way for her to help him manipulate his aura. By joining her's with his, she had been able to guide him in how to summon it. Yet once he had learned how to do it on his own she still seemed to insist on holding his hands, it had become almost a tradition between them.

Concentrating on his breathing, maintaining a slow and steady rhythm, the knight reached deep within himself and grasped at his inner power and pulled at it, just as he had many times before. Slowly, this stored power began to soak into him and fill him with energy. His body began to glow a bright and ethereal gold as his aura flowed free and formed a solid barrier around his body. Sweat beaded the blonde's forehead as he fought to maintain his personal soul-shield. Thirty seconds passed, then a minute and then five with the knight's aura holding firm and unwavering around him.

Near ten minutes had passed when Jaune finally relinquished his control over his aura reserves, the longest time he had ever managed to hold it for. He leant back on his hands, panting heavily. Pyrrha smiled warmly and handed him a bottle of water which he accepted gratefully, taking a long draught before he proffered it back to her. The redhead took a few sips and set it aside, returning her attentions to her partner.

"That was excellent Jaune. A few more sessions like this and we'll be ready to begin working on discovering your semblance."

"R-really?"

"Yes, your aura control is getting a lot better. Not many people can hold a solid shield for as long as you just did. It requires a great deal of concentration and willpower. In fact I think we can call it a night for now."

Jaune blushed with pride at her compliment and puffed his chest out like a rooster. She giggled a little at the sight and pulled herself up to her feet. She gathered her things and walked with him towards the staircase down to the dorms.

"Pyrrha, have you uh... you given any thought to who you want to take to the dance?" The blonde asked nervously. He had been thinking about this since Ozpin's speech in the auditorium, a dance meant that people were expected to have dates, and that meant he had to ask someone. He had thought about asking Weiss but dismissed that one out of hand. Ruby had seemed a much more sensible choice however, he didn't really feel like facing off against Yang when she found out. No, by far Pyrrha was probably his best choice. She was his best friend, partner and incredibly beautiful. The problem was that she was the champion of Mistral, a celebrity in her own right and that meant that a lot of other guys would be looking to woo her for themselves. They had already begun. On their way back from the assembly, three different guys had tried their luck and been turned down. Jaune had felt a feeling of relief in seeing that, one which he simply couldn't explain and had troubled him a little. She was his friend, so why did he feel pangs of jealousy at the thought of her going to the dance with other guys, and why did he feel relieved when she turned them down?

'We're just friends.' He had repeated to himself in his mind, although a part of him disagreed. A tiny insignificant portion of his heart seemed to hold a candle for the red-haired victor and that scared him a little.

Pyrrha's breath hitched at his question, her mind running at a million miles a minute. Was her partner about to ask her to the dance? It seemed a long shot and one that she didn't want to hold out too much hope for. A warm feeling directed at the knight rose up within her, she wrestled with it and fought it into submission although it still lingered on the edges of her mind.

'We're just friends' She told herself, steadying her nerves.

"No, I can't say I have. In truth there are very few people I would want to go with."

"W-well, I uh... I was wondering..."

'Here it comes'

"If you um... If you'd like to... maybe, come to the dance w-with me?" He blushed. The champion fought the urge to squeal with excitement and lock him in a bone crushing hug. Instead she smiled brilliantly at the knight, her hands trembling somewhat at her side and her eyes shining brilliantly under the light of the shattered moon.

"I would love to!" She answered him, unable to contain nor mask the sound of excitement in her voice. "I've never been to a dance before, at least not with anyone my own age. This is going to be so much fun!"

"R-really? I'd have thought that the Champion of Mistral would have had men clambering over one another to take you to a dance." He said with a grin, stepping in and hugging her tightly. The redhead paused for a moment, content to be in the arms of the knight.

"I've been blessed with incredible talents and opportunities; I'm constantly surrounded by love and praise; but when you're placed on a pedestal like that for so long, you become separated from the people that put you there in the first place. It's become impossible to form any sort of meaningful relationship with people. So there are very few people I would want to ask at all except my partner." She said with a sigh, her cheeks turning red as she mentioned the knight.

"Well then, it's gonna be a first for us both and that makes things a lot more fun for the both of us doesn't it. I mean, except for the dancing bit... I uh, that makes me nervous. I've never danced with a girl before."

"Don't worry about it, we'll just have to work it out as we go along." She smiled and together the two of them left the rooftop and headed back to their dorm room.

Ruby was nervous, more nervous than she had been in a long time. The little rose was about to take a foray into entirely unknown territory, she was about to ask a boy to be her date. More specifically, she was about to ask Jaune. She had relayed her plan to Weiss the moment that both the blonde and his partner had gone off to the roof to train. At first the heiress had been stunned and shocked into silence, she uttered only one word to start with.

"Why?"

"I-it's a mixture of reasons really. When we got here, he was the first friend I ever made. He was kind and funny and I guess I felt comfortable around him, like I didn't have to stand on ceremony and could just... be me y'know?"

"But Ruby, he's such a dolt! You could do so much better." The heiress retorted, crossing her arms in defiance.

"I don't want to do better, you might not see him for what he is, but I do. He's sweet and caring and he only wants for us to do well. It might just be some crush and it might not work out but I'll never know if I don't try, and with the dance coming up I'm not going to get another chance like this Weiss. You don't have to agree with it but I'd appreciate if you'd help me."

Weiss was silent for a good while, her eyes cold and forbidding. Inside her mind a battle raged between her two possible options with neither having the advantage. On the one hand she doubted the suitability of their leader as a romantic interest for the young reaper. While yes, he was honest and didn't seem the type to exploit her, he was still a complete goof. Yet on the other, denying Ruby her help might lead to potential resentment should she go ahead with her plans. It was the lesser of two evils, and whilst she didn't approve of the match, it was her duty as Ruby's partner to help her out.

"Alright, I'll help you." She relented with a sigh. Before she could react, the rose had shot forward and the speed of a bullet and tackle hugged her.

"Thank you! I'll never forget this!"

"You're welcome Ruby now please get off!" The Schnee cried.

With a blush Ruby released her hold on Weiss and took a seat beside her with an expectant and yet nervous look. Weiss took a moment to smooth out her clothes and compose herself before looking Ruby up and down critically in a way that made the young rose shift uncomfortably.

"It'll do." She said at last. "Now here's the plan..."

By the time the two training partners returned, Ruby had become a nervous wreck. At the mere sight of her chosen blonde, her hands clammed up and her heart began to pound at a million miles a minute. Over the past couple of hours her partnered had tutored her in exactly what to say and how to act but in that instant she had forgotten it all. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea after all. Looking over at her partner she was about to abort. The heiress gave her a rare smile, bolstering her courage and helping calm her nerves.

"Pyrrha, would you mind coming to the library with me? I need to get a book and it'll be faster finding it with two of us." Weiss said, stepping towards the heiress.

"Sure, I don't see why not." The champion replied and followed the heiress out of the room leaving the knight and the reaper alone together.

Stage one complete, now that she was alone with him it was her chance. She watched as he stumbled over to his bed and dumped his armour at the foot before collapsing with a sigh onto the soft mattress. He lay staring up at the ceiling for a short while, an awkward silence settling between the two. Taking a steadying breath Ruby broke the silence.

"Tough session tonight?" She asked. It seemed a good start.

"Kinda, I guess it's just frustrating. I thought I'd have learned more by now." He answered.

"You're doing really well Jaune, everyone has noticed how much you've improved. Even Goodwitch seemed impressed. You just gotta keep at it."

"I guess you're right Rubes, thanks." He smiled warmly, making her knees feel weak.

"H-hey Jaune... I was wondering, the d-dance is coming up and well... I was wondering if y-you might uh... might like to go... W-with me I mean." She stammered, her hands trembling violently.

"I-I'm sorry Ruby, I kinda already asked Pyrrha..." he replied with an expression akin to both shock and extreme guilt. He looked her dead in the eyes as he spoke. Hearing those words Ruby's heart sank, this was not going according to plan at all. Tears began to form in her eyes and it took everything she had to keep them from falling.

"O-oh..." Her voice trembled uncontrollably as she spoke. "I guess that makes sense."

The knight climbed to his feet and sat beside her, he paused a moment before enveloping her with his arms in a tight hug. She snuggled into his chest in silence, no longer able to trust her voice.

"Ruby, there are plenty of other guys out there who would kill to be able to go to the dance with you. You're Ruby Rose! The prodigy that got into Remnant's top combat school two years early. If you don't have a date to the dance, I will go in a dress and dance with you. What do you say?"

She giggled at the thought of the tall blonde in a dress and pulled away from his chest looking up at him with her bright silver eyes. She nodded slightly and cuddled into him all the tighter. It wasn't exactly what she had in mind for the dance but it was a good compromise.

"A-alright. But will you really wear a dress?" She giggled.

"You bet, a nice flowery one, just for you." He grinned and booped her on the nose.

For a long while neither of them moved. It was only when the lock to their dorm clicked open that the two of them moved apart again. They exchanged easy smiles with one another before Jaune settled in to enjoy the rest of his comic book. If anything was certain, it was that this dance would be an interesting affair for all involved. And the blonde couldn't wait.

Aren't they just the cutest? I tried to move the shippy side of it on a little bit quicker, though I hope it wasn't a little bit too quick. Let me know what you think in the reviews. As this one gets published, Im almost done writing the next. Im gonna try and write as much as I can but updates might slow down as I approach exam season. It's my final year and I need to focus on my exams if I have any hope of following my history/archaeology teaching dreams.

As always, don't forget to favourite of follow if you liked this. Updates every weekend ish.

Thank you all for reading, and I'll see you all in the next chapter.