Hey guys and gals, I'm back! Guess what? Jaune's Guilty Pleasure has been out for an entire year (And a bit)! When I started this I didn't think it would get this much attention and it's all thanks to you awesome readers. I couldn't have done it without you all, and I'm serious when I say, er, type that. Thank you all, you're the best.

Better nearly two months late than never I guess, but I do apologise for the absurdly late chapter. It was going to be out a while ago but some personal things happened with a good friend of mine and I had to delay for a few weeks.

Enjoy the chapter!

Reviews!

garoorar: Now that you say that, I actually see that as well… interesting.

Cloy552: His mom is really, uh, something. Honestly, you haven't seen the half of it.

Guest (Guest): Thank you.

thehidden6lade: Thank you, I enjoyed writing it as much as I did watching it. Chibi this weekend, hype!

Eogos: Thank you!

Benthino: Thanks for the praise, hope you enjoy the chapter.

Ace1stonewall: It was a fairly vague shout to Beyond the Boundary, yes. Nice spot.

Gabriel H. Sapphire: Wait, run now? Uh, shoot, hold on. Alright, see you in- anywhere but here!

RyoTheSaiyan: One of the more… aggressive arguments in a while. Yes she, along with a few other characters from the internet, are one of the starting points that I used for her. As for the heel/face turn, you will have to read on to find out… and nice going being genre savvy.

Noble graysin: Yes it was partially off of Beyond the Boundary.

Vexy Minion: Thank you.

RPGPersona: Yeah! It isn't too hard though with a semblance that makes your brain work faster. He can hit range, he just needs to not run out of bullets until he figures out how to reload a gun without dropping his shield. Jaune may have won because he managed to get his opponent to waste aura by getting them mad, surprise him with a weapon he never had before, and his strangely large amount of aura. Yes the interrogation- I mean, introductions will be fun. I honestly feel bad for Emerald for the things she just might go through… Oh well, Jaune's had worse.

CharMaster (Guest): Interesting. I've never had either so I can't say anything.

patleon909: I was just as surprised at the amount of people that got attached to her, it affected quite a few more than I thought it would.

Yagonator: Sorry about that, I could've done it in a better way but what's done is done. I'm going to try and do better. About Pubert, that was one of my favourite references to implement.

BuffaloFiction: It was loosely based off of that moment, yes. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Guest (Guest): Who knows, they might, they might not. It's up to them… and me.

Dark Durian: Interesting is a good way to put it. Jaune just might be able to bring Roman over, or he might not. We'll have to see if your hopes pull through.

Lttaco: I feel sorry for the teams once Jaune's family swings by. Heck, I feel sorry for Beacon in general. Especially Glynda.

dracohalo117: Thank you, hopefully the wait was worth it.

Fan (Guest): Sure.

Ha RT reference (Guest): Thank you.

SensualRequiem: It was an interesting spot, who knows, I may have unconsciously gotten it from there. Thank you, I will.

goddy80119: Yes it was.

Jaster Mereel's heir: Thank you, I enjoy writing it. Yes that was a quote from Sherlock Holmes, I'm glad someone spotted that. Yes that was also a reference. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Shinku Ryuuga: Wow two and a half chapters? We'll have to see if your guess is right. Emerald will go through things, but Jaune's been through worse.

Cabbage cabrera: It is? I'll have to try them both sometime and see for myself.

Mukukuku: Unfortunately no, it was a quote from Sherlock Holmes. Though that may have quoted Sherlock Holmes as well.

A Literal Goose: Yes I am, a friend of a friend was nuts for it at one point and showed it to me. Thank you.

SageZan (Guest): It was partially taken from that, yes.

Demetrion: Shh, no one needs to know yet.

freddy. lane.1: Happy you enjoy it!

Jazzatron: Sorry about that part. And yes, that chapter will be fun.

bigdogcop36: Who knows. One of the many mysteries of Jaune Arc. I would've personally just let the scene play out and laugh.

zachary2: Thanks!

Acerman: To be honest that wasn't a reference, but it could've been an unconscious thing on my part. Interesting spot though.

KennysDead (Guest): Thank you. It's always nice to see that someone enjoys a reference.

References some sharp people noticed in the last chapter:
-The Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits vs Olive Garden Breadsticks argument between Miles, and Michael and Kerry.
-Beyond the Boundary (Kyoukai no Kanata)
-Oobidoobi's RWBY web comic 'Parental Guidance'.
-Sherlock Holmes' quote about impossibility and improbability.

Go check out the awesome source material for my references, seriously they rock, or you can see if you spot them yourself. Up to you.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or anything I reference in this story, they all belong to their respective owners.


Chapter 23- Explosive Consequences

If there was one regret Jaune had about deciding to go to Beacon it would be the homework. And assignments. And tests. Really just the non-fighting classes in general. Then again, it didn't help that he didn't pay attention in most classes. He could blame it on Professor Port going on a tangent every class, or Doctor Oobleck speaking too fast for him to comprehend and keep up with without his semblance, or Professor Peach never being there. The last case aside, his teachers were very competent as hunters and professors- that much he was sure of-, but concerning his own engagement in their classes, that was what was severely lacking. They would have his interest for a good third of the class, and then he would simply stop listening. Either way, the main reason for why he had a pile of books stacked before him had absolutely nothing to do with his failure to pay attention in class. He had to catch up on notes and homework because he had been sick for several days.

Literature, Grimm Studies, Dust Alchemy, Combat, History, the new Home Economics class they implemented purely because Weiss nearly burned down the dorms trying to learn how to make a bowl of cereal. He missed out on them, and thus had to make up for it with piles upon piles of work. He had been looking forward to the new class because he would finally have something he was actually good at. Literature was… a whole other can of worms that he never wanted to open again. Ever. At least, not after the argument Yang had with several students about the book they had been using as a reference. His book. Needless to say, the poor students found themselves in the infirmary the following day.

At any rate, because of the classes he missed he was now trying to catch up in the library. Key word being 'trying'. Who knew that it would be so hard to pay attention to your work with someone sitting across the table from you silently reading, and another person watching you from across the room not-so-silently reading? Who would've guessed Amethyst was a loud reader? Eye brow furrowing in annoyance, the knight attempted to focus on something, anything, other than the laughter and loud exclamations from the opposite side of the library. From the way her bow twitched, he could tell that the other occupant of the table was having a similar problem. Chuckling under his breath, the young author turned his attention to the stack of workbooks and textbooks taunting him with their blank lines. Why did homework exist? If they wanted them to do more work they could've just extended the class times. Picking up his trusty writing utensil, the blond student began his work.

Slowly getting into a rhythm he gave his book a cocky smirk. At this rate he could finish it without having to use his semblance. And that is the Dust Alchemy done, all that's left is History. He placed the textbook off to the side with a yawn, how long had he been at this? He looked over the table absentmindedly. Blake was still reading the same book but on closer inspection she had gone through approximately two hundred and thirty pages. Considering the black haired avid reader took about half a minute to go through each page, it had been just a little over an hour. Jaune smiled thoughtfully, this would be around the eighth time she's read that same book so her pace was understandable. Suddenly his smile shifted into a frown, shaking her memories away. It was rare for him to still be feeling the effects of mind reading so long after the initial use of his semblance.

The sound of tapping brought his attention back to the bookworm that started to tap the table in annoyance, patience thinning at the librarian's constant laughter. "Blake, do you pace when you're worried over something?" He found himself asking her without realising. The young woman across from him spared him a curious gaze over her book, not understanding the suddenness of the question, before giving her answer.

"If I did, I wouldn't recall it." She stated, taking a hand off of her book and waving it nonchalantly, "After all, if I was worried over something else, I wouldn't be paying much attention to what I was doing." Jaune nodded slowly, brow furrowed into a frown. The bookworm cocked her head to the side, "Why do you ask?" He shrugged, he really didn't quite know himself.

Briefly glancing over the Home Economics book he had been supplied with, the blond author spoke, "How was the new class?" He queried. The girl stiffened for a moment at the question, but didn't show any other outside emotion. She had forgotten that Jaune hadn't been there to experience it. That lucky b-

"It was… interesting to say the least." She answered with an underlying tone of venom. For their first ever class Goodwitch had decided to go for something most people had probably tried and was fairly simple, baking a cake. It seemed like a good idea at the time, after all who could mess up a cake in any way other than burning it? Apparently that issued a non-verbal challenge of some sorts to the members of Team RWBY. Weiss' creation couldn't even be called food, Ruby used the ingredients to bake cookies and Yang… well while it was delicious, it was also explosive. And ruined her perfectly good fish cake. After a horrible pun or two on Yang's part, and a handful of explosive cookie throwing, they were then kicked out by Goodwitch. What surprised her most to be honest, was the fact that Nora's cake didn't explode. "I think it would be best for you to fake being sick whenever we have it." I know I will.

Jaune blinked, what could possibly go wrong in a cooking class? As if contemplating the very nature of life, the blond's expression furrowed into a thoughtful frown once more as he began to think on the question and completely forget about the cat girl and mountain of school work before him. Seeing her book buddy currently engrossed in his own mind Blake turned her attention back to the book at hand, eagerly waiting for her favourite scene of the novel.


From the front desk of the library, Amethyst stealthily watched the interaction between the two, light purple eyes peering over the top of a black book. With her frustrated expression hidden by the book she tapped on her desk impatiently. They'd been silent for the longest time and when they had finally began to speak, it was a short conversation. Her gaze turned to the cards hidden behind her book. She'd never been wrong with these before, and dust if she would be wrong now.

"Hey guys, what's up?" She queried, suddenly leaning over the two. Jaune snapped out of his thoughts and waved at the older woman, quickly recovering from the heart attack she had induced by practically teleporting next to them. Blake gave her a respectful nod but refrained from taking her eyes off of the book. Clearly she had reached a good part. "Couldn't help but notice the mountain of books over there, are they yours Jaune?" The knight in question groaned,

"Don't remind me." He whined, face hiding behind his hands. She pitied the poor boy, schoolwork had never been fun unless you counted the times she was allowed to torment her team during combat class.

"So is Blake helping you with this?" He shook his head negatively. Amethyst tapped a finger to her chin. "Strange, I would've thought you would be under her tutelage. She does seem more… dependable, as a student." The blond agreed reluctantly, he couldn't really blame her for thinking that. His own appearance didn't really shout 'Good Student', and neither did his school record. The known to be smart people of their group after all were Ren, Blake, Weiss and Pyrrha. Luckily enough it almost managed to balance out with the less scholarly of the group. Nora had Ren, Ruby had Weiss and he had Pyrrha. Yang was a whole other equation in itself, so Blake's placement as the party girl's leash was questionable.

"Now that I think about it, don't you two have fairly similar weapons? You both use a sword and a gun." Continued the librarian, the faintest of smirks visible on her face. "Do you ever train together?"

The black haired bookworm waved her hand, eyes still glued to the book before her. "Not particularly, but that is an interesting proposition." Jaune's eyes widened, sparkling slightly. This was his chance! He could get Blake to teach him about fighting with a handgun. Amethyst's smirk widened, seeing the look in the young author's eyes clear as day. He smiled and began to speak.

"Hey Bla-"

"Jaune!" Shouted an upset voice from the exit. "You're late." The leader's heart stopped, was it already that time? He began to sweat as he heard his red haired partner rush through the library towards him. If there was one thing Pyrrha hated most, it would be spiders. Second to that however, was not being on time. Whether it was being late for homework, late for an appointment or late for a scheduled training session, she disliked it. She could forgive anything but that one thing.

One of the things she enjoyed about Jaune was that he was always punctual unless it was out of his control i.e. Nora. However, seeing he was late for their scheduled training session and not in mortal danger, the Spartan girl couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in her partner. Amethyst in the meantime was a little disappointed herself. None of the three Jane Caur enthusiasts could get a single word in as the young champion dragged the blond knight out of the library, leaving no room for argument. Amethyst's eyes shifted back to her desk, had she read them wrong? She assumed it had meant Blake, but what if it actually referred to Pyrrha? The librarian clicked her tongue in annoyance, and here she had high hopes too.

Blake watched the purple haired woman stand silent for a full ten minutes, not moving or saying anything with only the occasional sound of disappointment coming from her mouth. The cat Faunus shrugged, it probably had nothing to do with her. She turned back to her book, bow perking up happily at the next scene. Yessss~ She mewled mentally. Their efforts have finally gotten noticed!


Jaune ducked under a sword swing, eyes watching his opponent carefully. He analysed for any form of fault in their posture. None at all. He grimaced before leaping backwards, trying to create some space between them. Normally, that would have been a very, very bad idea. In this case, that fact still held true as he found himself face down several feet away. Shaking off the sudden feeling of nausea he got to his feet. Staring down his opponent Jaune kept his sword hand in front, his shield currently missing.

Sidestepping an attack he quickly moved into the offensive, throwing attack after attack at his opponent. They weaved through the attacks gracefully, only deigning his attacks the honor of being parried or blocked every ten or so swings. Saying he was frustrated was an understatement, but he wouldn't let that seep into his attacks. He tried to knock them off their balance by kicking their leg but they just leapt over the attempt and kicked him away, knocking Crocea Mors out of his hand. Falling into the ground with a grunt he held up his arms in defeat as a sword found its way to his throat.

He sighed, "That is 89 - 0 now right?" Pyrrha chuckled warmly, helping him off of the ground. The young champion didn't have the heart to tell him it was actually 93 - 0, but who was counting? She smiled at him,

"Don't get too disheartened, you were closer this time. Your swordplay without a shield has slowly gotten better. I'm sure the robot is shaking in its boots." He sighed once more, rubbing his sore everything. If that were true he should have won at least one of these little bouts. He glared at the training robot with the absurdly high win streak against him.

"One day I will beat you, and it will be glorious." He cried at the robot across the arena from him. It just stared blankly at him, mocking his very existence. Not even giving him the pleasure of retorting or getting a rise out of it. It just… stared. Then, its mechanical shoulders seemed to jostle slightly before it made its way to the charging station. He glared at it, "You laugh now, but it will happen one day."

Pyrrha watched the interaction between the two with interest. When or how Jaune somehow managed to make friends with a training robot she didn't know, but doing so was just so… Jaune-like that she couldn't question it. She chuckled at his antics, stretching her muscles as she spoke. "How about we wrap it up here for today? I think some food and rest will help drill in your form." The male student followed her example and stretched, it would probably be best to end it there lest the win streak reach 90. The two left the arena, one in more need of a shower than the other.

The two made their way to the cafeteria, each wrapped up in their own thoughts. "Thanks." His voice came from behind suddenly. The girl spun around, giving him a confused look. "You're understanding, caring and help me with Nora when Ren isn't here." He elaborated, "You have always been there for me, when I was being difficult with Cardin, during initiation, even when you thought I was feeling a little bummed out you made me that 'get better' dinner. And although I got food poisoning afterwards, it was still a kind gesture." She laughed sheepishly. Maybe making the dinner hadn't been the best idea, but it was the thought that counted. Besides, she got to nurse him back to health for an entire week. It took nearly an entire month to plan out, but in her opinion it was worth it. She never did find out why he had seemed so down for weeks on end, but seeing how that woman he was with in Vale never came back Pyrrha was sure it had to do with her turning him down.

The red haired student's eyes widened considerably as she felt a warmth envelope her, her vision going mildly dark as if obscured by a body. "Really, what I'm trying to say is thanks for all you've done. I'm really glad you're my partner." She blushed, was this it? Would today be the day? He was hugging her right now wasn't he? Her brain reprimanded her like a drill sergeant, do something woman! Her body, however, was paralysed. Her heart beating a million miles a minute.
"You're one of my best friends, and at the end of the day I wouldn't have it any other way." And just like that, he somehow managed to send all of her hopes crashing back to Remnant. She smiled warmly at him,

"M-me too." She replied sadly. Although she loved being friends with him, a big part of her knew she wanted more. "I'm glad that you're my partner as well." Jaune breathed a heavy sigh, feeling a weight lift off of his shoulders. A few seconds of awkward silence followed the unexpected thanks from the young boy. The red haired student gave him a questioning look after much pondering. "Jaune, what brought up the need to thank me all of a sudden?"

The knight shrugged at her despite fully well knowing the answer. "I just felt like I needed to get it across I guess. I want you to know just in case something happened..." The champion gave him a confused expression as he trailed off but decided to leave it alone. He would explain what he meant to her in due time, after all they were partners. Any secret of his was a secret of hers, and vice versa. She would tell him anything he wanted to know. "So what exactly did I miss out on in that one cooking class?" Except for that specific thing. She smiled nervously at him, her smile faltering slightly as bad memories began to surface.

"Nothing too important." Absolutely nothing at all interesting happened in that class as far as she was concerned and nothing could make her say otherwise. It was a memory best left forgotten. Pyrrha did wish however, that she had stayed in the dorm room to take care of Jaune rather than go to the class where absolutely nothing at all happened... nope. "It's best if you don't dwell on it. I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner or later."


"In conclusion, bananas aren't meant to be eaten in one go." Argued Neptune pointedly. "If you eat it in one, you're missing out on the delicious taste. That, and it's unhealthy to swallow so much at once." He explained, pointing to a chalk diagram he had drawn with the permission of Port. He tapped his large pointing… device on the blackboard. "Understand?" The blond childhood friends stared blankly at the crude drawing, unable to comprehend any of it. Even Neptune's live display of the archaic manner in which he ate bananas was foreign to the two. Eating parts of it in small bites? It gave them shivers just thinking of it.

"Do you have any idea what he is trying to say?" 'Whispered' Sun to the other student beside him. The knight shook his head negative. Even with the help of his semblance he just couldn't wrap his head around whatever Neptune was saying. "Neither do I." The blue haired boy rubbed his temples,

He gave them a look, "I can hear you. You're not exactly being silent with your whispering. If anything, it's louder than talking normally." He pointed back to the diagram with his pointing device. "It's simple, don't shove an entire banana in your mouth in one go." Jaune frowned,

"But Sun told me that was how to do it. How else are you supposed to eat a banana properly?" It just didn't make sense to either of the two blonds. Neptune sighed, how was working with these two so hard? He turned to his teammate, an annoyed expression settling on his normally cool visage.

"Sun, where on Remnant did you learn that devouring it whole was the 'right way' to eat a banana?" He queried, an exasperated tone of voice signalling that just maybe he was getting tired of his two blond friends and their shenanigans. The monkey Faunus contemplated deeply on the subject. The cogs in his brain began to turn as he tried to identify the patient zero in the banana eating method.

Turning to Jaune he spoke, voice dead serious. "Dude, I think Light was the one who told me how to eat it." The knight blinked once, a brief pause of silence settling, before frowning thoughtfully. Neptune cocked his head to the sighed, who or what is a Light? Turning to the two members of Team SSSN the blond writer's frown remained,

"If it's Light then…" He trailed off before placing a firm hand on the blue haired boy's shoulder, a glint in his eyes as he made eye contact. With a grin he finished, "Looks like you were right Neptune, we can't eat bananas whole… ever again." He emphasised the last point, this time looking Sun dead in the eyes. "Knowing Light, she did it for some form of personal pleasure. After all, she really likes embarrassing Opal and I with her antics." The blond boy from Haven smirked at his friend,

"Not that it was too hard to do. After all, if something happened to one of you, it would happen to the other- and you were easily embarrassed." Jaune glared at him lightly, he wasn't wrong. As twins they were unsurprisingly in sync, and just so happened to be doing whatever the other was doing at the time on most occasions. Several people they knew called it 'Emotional Telepathy' but he and Opal just chalked it up to mere coincidence. "Speaking of family, has your mom said anything who is coming?" He queried curiously.

Jaune leaned back in his seat, "I don't recall her saying anything specific about their visit except that herself and a few of my sisters would be arriving." He shivered, if Light came she and Yang would have a field day with their antics. Hopefully she was bringing the saner of his sisters because he wasn't sure if he could handle dealing with them on top of his life at Beacon. The three male students jumped on the spot as the door slammed open behind them, interrupting his thoughts.

A voice projected into the room from the open door, "There you are Mr Arc, I've been looking for you." Jaune's blood ran cold as he recognised the owner of the voice. Slowly turning on the spot he thought up everything that he had done recently that would get him into trouble with her. It's just like whenever mom calls me! He cried mentally. He finally turned to Glynda, his mind whirling. "Now I see why you haven't been hearing the message. For whatever reason Peter got rid of his PA system." The leader of JNPR gave her a light chuckle as she made her way over, Professor Port had taken down the PA system in the Grimm Studies class because it had gotten in the way of his stories one time too many. The blond deputy turned to the two Haven students, "I will be borrowing Mr Arc for a while. Don't destroy this room or you will have to deal with…" A pleased expression found its way to her face, "Peter's ramblings in detention. Good day." With a flick of her crop Jaune was suddenly in the air and making his way to the door against his will, a cry of 'Not again!' echoed through the room as Goodwitch followed closely behind the floating boy. Sun and Neptune exchanged looks, faces pale.

"Let's uh, get out of this room. And not touch anything." The blue haired boy laughed nervously along with the monkey Faunus, detention with Port was not something he wanted to see any time soon.


Jaune frowned at the blond professor as they 'walked' down the corridor. "Miss Glyn- er, Goodwitch. You do realise I can walk right?" The older woman nodded, not bothering to turn and face him. Her eyes stayed forward, an aura of strange determination surrounding her calm demeanour. She continued to walk to an unknown destination as she spoke,

"I am well aware of that Mr Arc. I am also well aware that you can run. Away from here, or more specifically me." He laughed sheepishly, she had him there. Then again, making a break for it from the woman who can literally stop you in place with a wave of her hand wouldn't be a good idea. Ruby told him how Glynda shook an entire ship like a maraca without breaking a sweat when she first met her. Jaune sighed, exhausted as he resigned to the fate of floating next to the woman for an indefinite amount of time. Seeing as Glynda knew more about the school's inner workings than Ozpin more than likely did, he might as well get a few questions answered while he still could.

"Since when did Beacon have a Family Open Day?" He asked curiously. He had never heard about it before his mom had brought it up, and according to everyone else neither had they. The deputy frowned at his question, Beacon doesn't have a- oh dear. The woman came to a sudden stop. Jaune blinked as the colour drained from the older blond's face. Did she just-?... He nodded with a sigh, answering his own mental question. Goodwitch had somehow stopped using her witchcraft while he was mid-air, resulting in the faint glow to dissipate as he was freed from her power. Inertia was still a thing however, so he found himself plummeting face-first into the ground several feet away from the still professor as a result of her brisk pace.

"Did she tell you that there was a Family Open Day?" She asked slowly, fear and trepidation leaking from her tone. "Your mom?" She clarified. Jaune nodded from the floor, confused by the teacher's sudden frightened behaviour. She sighed, fear slowly morphing into irritation. "Of course she did. Listen Jaune, Beacon doesn't have a Family Open Day." The knight blinked as the older woman pinched the bridge of her nose, "Ozpin may owe your mother a favour… or ten, and he stills owes your dad after that one Blackjack game. So knowing Ozpin and your mother, she's using one of those to visit her only son and make sure he hasn't come to harm." He blinked again. Ozpin owed his parents? Since when did they know each other? And what happened between them to instil that much fear and irritation into Goodwitch? Only Nora and Ozpin were capable of that feat. More so the latter than the former though.

"I have so many questions." He said simply, a hand stroking his chin in thought. "But more importantly, why did you drag me out here?"

The woman adorned a misty look as she began what would turn out to be a long explanation of a lesson's worth of events, "Well you see..."


Jaune stared at the deputy in confusion as she finished her admittedly lengthy and overly complicated explanation. "So you're saying because I missed out on one lesson I need to take a supplemental one?" She nodded affirmatively, hand on hip accompanied by a pointed expression.

"Yes, you missed out on the introductory lesson so I want you to make up for it." Explained the witch. The knight frowned, he was sure Glynda knew he was fairly competent at cooking. At the very least good enough to not warrant the need to make it up. So why did he need to do the introductory lesson in his own time?

"But cooking by myself? A bit unfair don't you think?" He reasoned. Everyone else got to have each other to help them. Dust, Ren was a cooking wizard so the class probably went well.

Goodwitch shook her head negatively, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Don't worry, there will be others taking this class with you." She reassured cryptically, reaching for the door.

The writer's eyes widened when the door opened to reveal Ruby, Yang, Weiss and Blake. He sighed in relief, he would be lying if he said he wasn't glad about the fact that he wouldn't be cooking alone, but... He watched in mixed amusement as Yang and Blake fought over what ingredients they would be using. "Fish!" Cried the introvert as she pulled the bowl towards her. The busty blond shook her head and pulled the bowl to herself.

"Who's ever heard of fish in a cake? I say we put in chilli!" The two were suddenly tackled into the stove top as Ruby tripped over what appeared to be nothing and fell into the them, spilling the milk she was drinking over all three. Why Ruby believed drinking one of their main ingredients was a good idea he had no clue. Weiss, the poised and proper heiress, made a motion to help them up but slipped over the spilt milk, which then sent her flying straight out the conveniently open window.

Goodwitch face palmed while the knight just shook his head in pity, Oh boy, I don't see this ending well...

"M-miss Goodwitch?" Began Jaune as he slowly closed the door. Thankfully none of the girls had noticed their presence. "Why exactly are Ruby, Weiss, Yang and Blake all here?"

Goodwitch sighed heavily, rubbing a temple. "Look Jaune, I'll make it simple. You will all be working together to make a cake." Explained the teacher. "All the ingredients are ready along with a few others just to trick you. Just remember, I will be eating whatever you make." The blond gulped as the witch placed her hands on his shoulders, long nails gripping tightly and nearly drawing blood. Thank dust for aura. "Listen, I don't expect much. Dust, I don't even care if it's terrible. As long as it can be called cake you five can never take this class again for all I care." The young writer eyed his fellow blond questioningly. As long as it can be called cake? Just what happened last class? If he looked closely, he could almost see her shaking. "Well then Mr Arc." Jaune nodded expectantly, "It's all yours!" She cried before uncharacteristically running off.

It will be alright Glynda, Jaune is good at cooking. She reassured herself as she made her way to her office. He'll make sure you'll live to see tomorrow, curse you Ozpin. The witch's hand went to her crop, this was Ozpin's fault. It was always Ozpin's fault. Why he wanted them to do a remedial class was beyond her. He would get his comeuppance one day!

The blond writer sighed and silently entered the room. What had to happen to make Goodwitch act like… that? Other than Nora's destructive rampages and Ozpin's schemes that is. "I take it Goodwitch wanted you to prevent us from destroying the school?" Jaune span around to see Blake mixing a bowl full of what he assumed was fish and cake mix. He shook his head,

"I think I'm supposed to help you bake this cake." He scratched his head as he watched her stir the strange mixture, "Why is everyone in Team RWBY here-" The knight paused and counted the number of females in the room, one, two, three... "Wait, is Weiss okay?" Jaune's expression fell considerably as he rushed to the window in shock, Blake following suit. The two stared over the edge only to see the heiress dusting herself off casually. "Oh wait aura... right." He laid a hand on Blake's shoulder as the two heaved a sigh in relief. Thank dust. If something happened to my teammate I would've- The young author froze, those weren't his thoughts. Sparing a glance to his left the blond knight stared questioningly at his book buddy. He shook his head and rubbed his temples, heaving a tired sigh. That must've been the sleep deprivation speaking. "Why is everyone making something different?" The cat Faunus shrugged,

"I want to make a fish cake, Yang wants to make a chili cake, Ruby just wants cookies and I think Weiss just wants to pass. Really, I don't know why we can't just make a fish cake. I'm sure Professor Goodwitch will enjoy it." Jaune watched unfazed as the youngest of the group brought out a batch of freshly baked cookies only for them to explode in her face as she tried to dip it into milk, startling Yang into dropping her cake mix. Which then exploded.

He rubbed his temples slowly. I think I know why Goodwitch wants me to take this extra class. The combination of Ruby, Yang, Blake and Weiss cooking together was deadly. "Oh hey Vomit Boy, didn't see you there." Greeted the blond girl from the floor casually. The knight waved back at the downed student hesitantly,

"Hey Jaune!" He turned to see Ruby waving the smoke away, revealing a cake sized hole in the floor. "What brings you here?" She queried, taking a bite out of a smoking cookie. The male student began rubbing his temple again,

"Miss Goodwitch wants me to take a supplementary class. To pass I have to make sure you guys don't kill her with your cooking." He stated bluntly. The rose smiled,

"So you're going to help us pass?"

He shook his head, "Nope. I'm just going to make sure you all don't kill her." There was no point trying to do the impossible in one go, might as well take baby steps and not killing someone should be easy enough. Hopefully Weiss would get back soon, he needed more sane people to keep the rest of the team, namely Yang, in check. "First of all, you should be making one cake, not two cakes and a batch of explosives." Ruby laughed sheepishly, "Secondly, why is Yang, regrettably the most competent of Team RWBY in terms of cooking, making a chili cake?" The young woman shrugged at the question, making no attempt to get up from the floor.

"I wanted something to spice up the class, but now that you're here~" She purred at him, flicking a hand in a cliché catlike gesture despite Blake being in the room and herself being on the floor. "Hows about you and I have that date you owe me Vomit Boy?" She winked, "I can deal with a failed class." The group of students jumped as the door slammed open to reveal a certain heiress.

"Definitely not." She snapped, her heels clicking on the tiled floor as she entered the room. "I will not have a teammate failing a class. It'll make me look bad as co-leader." Jaune raised a brow, sending a look at Ruby. Co-leader? The young leader laughed sheepishly once more. Blake sighed before moving back to mixing her fish cake, from the looks of the situation she'd need to finish this for them to even have a cake to give to Goodwitch. Two batches had exploded already after all so she wouldn't take any chances. Next lesson they were making sandwiches. Tuna sandwiches included.

The white haired girl span on the spot, a finger pointed at the only male in the room. "Arc, you're going to help us pass whether you like it or not." She demanded. Weiss took a couple of steps closer to the boy, "I don't know why you're here, but now you're going to cook." The young author winced as a bunch of bananas were thrust into his hand roughly. "Now peel."

He saluted, "Yes Mistress Snow Angel!" He snickered as a bowl was thrown at him, dodging to the side before beginning the task bestowed onto him. Ruby and Yang shared an annoyed look. The heiress glared at the sisters, "What are you doing dawdling aimlessly, get to work you two!" She snapped, clapping her hands together hurriedly.

The blond brawler rolled her eyes, making her way to the counter. "Last time I checked you weren't the best cook."

The girl nodded, "And that is why I will supervise. Yang, you're going to work on flavour, Ruby, the cake batter and Jaune will do decoration." She turned to the three students, "Yang, no gunpowder, Ruby, no cookie batter and Jaune… stop eating that banana." Amber eyes span around at the mention of banana eating only to be disappointed at the result. His entrancing way of eating had grown on her slightly. "Blake, you keep making that backup cake. After all, we can't completely trust Yang with flavour." The buxom boxer glared lightly at the flat member of their team but refrained from making a comment, instead she turned to her partner.

"I guess that makes you the Backup-Blake! Ehh? Ehh?" She quipped. The rest of her team just groaned, already sick of her puns. Her sister of all people booed her. However, amidst the outcry of the nonbelievers a ray of yellow broke through with its glorious laughter.

Jaune was laughing.

The members of Team RWBY gaped in surprise. Jaune was laughing. She grinned at the young writer, sliding along the counter towards the cooking blond. "I can't help but notice you laughed at my pun Vomit Boy~" The novice knight took a step back,

"Is there something wrong with that?" He asked hesitantly. Dust, this is Dust Alchemy all over again! He cried mentally. The blond student shook his head to clear his thoughts of fear. He wouldn't show weakness, he was an Arc. The boxer shook her head, a hand slowly making its way towards the boy.

"Not at all Vomit Boy. If anything it's right. Now I'm sure you and I should have that date. Just you, me, a couple of puns and a room. What do you say?" She wiggled her eyebrows at him suggestively from the counter top. Jaune just kept his gaze at his feet uncomfortably.

"Absolutely not." Snapped Weiss coldly. "We need to get this done Yang. I will not fail this class just because of your obsessions over puns." Jaune nodded along with her, Glynda would kill him otherwise.

"I too would like to pass." His fellow blond winked at him, he passed in her books. Laughing nervously he continued, "How about we just, I don't know, work on the cake for now?" He turned to the black haired bookworm in an attempt to ignore Yang's admittedly cute pout. "How is the back-up cake going along?" The girl shrugged at the question. Testing a small part of the batter Blake wiggled her bow in delight, a placated expression settling on her face.

Flashing the rest of the group a thumbs up the Faunus girl continued her cooking. Weiss nodded, pleased. "Alright, Jaune get the decorations ready whilst Ruby gets the batter done." Saluting, the single male in the room began to sort the ingredients into two categories. Things that would make good cake decoration, and things that would more than likely poison Professor Goodwitch. Of course they would be using the former in their cake and wouldn't intentionally give Goodwitch food poisoning, that thought hadn't crossed Jaune's mind multiple times at all. From the corner of his eye Jaune could see his fellow blond grin at the pseudo cooking leader.

"So Princess, how do you feel about a chili cake?" The idea was shot down immediately via a weak chop to the head from the heiress, an unamused frown staring back at the busty boxer. Yang pursed her lips at her teammate. "Tomato?" Another hit to the head, harder this time. "Strawberry it is then." She grumbled as she began her work, poking a tongue out at Weiss. "Spoilsport." She shot under her breath.

Weiss gave a confident smirk as she watched the group work. With Yang on taste, Ruby on batter and Jaune on decoration they were sure to pass. It didn't hurt that Blake was making some sort of back-up cake. 'It's a shame we can't cook. A nice home cooked meal is apparently what most men like.' The white haired heiress rolled her eyes.
"I can cook." She retorted, the faintest traces of hurt underlying her voice. "Besides, there are ways other than food girls can use to get through to men."

'We lack the ability to use at least eight of those.' Weiss glared at the quip. She didn't have to listen to this mutiny.

"It's not like we need to use any of them." She retorted, "Besides, we have a group making a cake to direct."
'About that…' The heiress jumped backwards in surprise as a strawberry cake appeared before her, looking surprisingly well done. Looking up she saw the grinning face of one confident Yang Xiao Long. From behind her it was obvious that Jaune was having trouble keeping the resident cookie and strawberry lover away from the cake.

"How did you-"

"-Bake it so quickly?" Finished Yang, her proud voice overpowering Weiss' confused one. "Unfortunately since we weren't allowed to use gunpowder we used some leftover cookie mix, that wasn't explosive -I think-, to help flavour the batter and added a smidgen of fire dust to the oven." The white haired girl's attention dropped to the more than burnt oven. Not only was the metal door to it wedged into the wall, but it appeared as if Jaune was cooked well done as he held Ruby back, his clothes singed slightly.

"Ruby no, that's Glynda's cake!" Cried the knight as he tried to futily hold her back by the hem of her cape. Ignoring him, the younger student pulled harder against the young author. With swiftness resembling her semblance Ruby took off her cape, surprising everyone in the room who had never seen the girl without her cape.

Yang fell backwards as she was tackled to the floor by her younger sister, sending the cookie, strawberry cake upwards and over the still confused 'co-leader'. Jaune watched in horror, hand still outstretched as if he could still grab Ruby, as the cake began its descent. Weiss followed his line of sight to the end point of the flying cake's trajectory and as if by some stroke of misfortune it happened to be heading for one Glynda Goodwitch. Ruby and Yang gasped from their spot on the ground as the cake made contact, splattering pink and white frosting around the general area. Strawberry and cookie flavoured pieces flew onto the floor dramatically as a single tear began to form in the young reaper's eyes.

And as if the situation couldn't have gotten worse, Goodwitch exploded. Not in the angry way too. The blond professor of Beacon exploded in a very literal manner. And so did the parts of the floor the cake had landed on. Ice blue eyes stared unblinkingly at the new hole in the floor, slowly making their way to contact the sheepish lilac and silver eyes of her teammates. "We at least have the back-up Blake… right princess?" It was more of a hopeful question than a reassuring statement to the heiress. The three members of Team RWBY turned to their final teammate with hopeful looks.

Blake gazed back at them, a guilty expression slapped clearly onto her features along with a few crumbs of fish cake. The empty plate before her spoke for itself. "In my defence." Started the feline Faunus, "I was fully confident in my teammate's collective ability to cook and saw no need for a back-up cake."

'Oh we are going to be in so much trouble.' Weiss nodded solemnly. Yang phrasing the concerns of the entire team in one sentence,

"I think the correct terminology for this situation is, we are royally screwed." The other three girls nodded along, for once agreeing with their blond teammate. The heiress paused, speaking of blonds... "Wait, where did Jaune go?" Ruby and Blake shared a look with the other members of team RWBY. "How did he-" The youngest of the five females in the room pointed at the hole in the floor. Yang's eyes flared just as brightly as the fire on Goodwitch's cape. Weiss sighed, now there were two ticked off blond women. Yang's eyes burned holes into the... hole in the ground... with the intensity of her glare. "Oh that little-"


Entering the JNPR dorm room after the creation of the cake, the blond boy was surprised to see two of his teammates. Namely the N and R of JNPR. What surprised him however wasn't their presence, but rather the lack of Nora's destructive rampage or bubbly babbling. Approaching the two partners he took note of their appearance and frowned. Ren was silent, not much of a change to be honest, but the look of hidden depression on his face was evident. Over their months at Beacon as a team Jaune had come to think of and understand Ren as if the brother he never had but really could've used when he was younger what with all the women. He shivered at the thought of his team finding out what his sisters had done to him, no matter what they said young men should not be wearing frilly dresses. It was emasculating. The next time he wore one it would be when the unthinkable happened, a miracle be it good or bad.

His sisters forcing him to crossdress was beside the point though. Point was he had come to understand Ren's way of thinking, which was 'Anything that hurts Nora dies. Either by her or me'. It didn't take a semblance to read minds to be able to recover that from the black haired boy's constant doting of the girl. The only thing that would bring him down would be his childhood friend's unhappiness. That then brought the young leader to the next problem.

Jaune stared silently at the Valkyrie's downcast expression, it was just wrong to see Nora not happy, bouncing around and causing mayhem with every five steps. He turned to Ren, "What's gotten her so down?" The stoic boy sighed,

"Nora feels as if the word scramble in the newspaper cheated her." He explained to the best of his ability, "She won't tell me exactly what that means though." The two males of JNPR watched as the girl rocked back and forth on the bed, clearly she didn't like it when someone cheated. The knight's frown deepened. The black haired male turned to his friend, "Have any ideas?" He shrugged, Might as well see what I can do.

Walking up to the girl he smiled in a way that he hoped was soothing, "What's up?" The novice knight's smile faltered upon receiving no response, but trying his best he kept it up. "Nora?" To his surprise the girl turned around with tears in her eyes,

"Fearless leader!" She wailed, tackling the blond to the floor. "The newspaper cheated!" Jaune chuckled at her, rubbing her head soothingly and also mouthing for help from Ren. The black haired boy shrugged, a smirk on his face. Wide smirk still present he slowly exited the room. The writer stared agape as the boy left him to take care of the pancake fanatic alone.

Ren stood outside the dorm room silently, back against the door as his smile faded. As much as he loathed the idea of it, he couldn't help his best friend out of her funk. He had no way to understand the inner workings of Nora Valkyrie, all he could do was take care of his best friend the only way he knew how. Make her the best pancakes she's ever had.

However, if his instincts were right, his leader would be able to do what he couldn't.

Jaune gazed upon the door before him, a sliver of trepidation hidden behind his confident smile. He had taken Nora here knowing that the ladies of RWBY would be able to cheer the Valkyrie up but he didn't know if they had returned yet. Steeling his nerves the young man rapped on the door, sending a soothing smile towards the still sniffling girl. "Don't worry, if it's a test of knowledge Blake and Weiss are the smartest girls I know. Ruby has her days of surprisingly good advice and Yang-" There was a pregnant pause as the blond failed to think of anything. "Uh, she's good at cheering people up?" Though there was that case where they teamed up on Blake, so he had to give her points for that encounter. He frowned in thought. Weren't they going into Vale to find clues with Blake at some point? Shrugging to himself Jaune continued knocking on the door, "Anyone home?"

With a grin and a cocked fist the door swung open to reveal Yang. Who then swung back. "Hello~" She sang to the downed boy, "Thanks for leaving us alone with Goodwitch. Thought I'd just return the favour eh?" Jaune smiled at Nora, once again thankful for the existence of aura as he nursed the Yang-fist-sized red spot on his cheek.

"See what I mean?" The upset girl's mouth crawled the smallest amount upwards, a win in his books. Jaune winced as he moved into a sitting position. Unfortunately aura didn't do much on pain. Still hurt like mad. "Now before I apologise-" he ducked under a book only to receive a pillow to the head, courtesy of an unknown occupant in the room. "I'm fully aware I deserve this." He coughed, "But I would like to help Nora with a little problem of hers."

The blond girl turned to the Valkyrie, finally noticing her distressed expression. With a cry of 'What's wrong?' The girl pulled her into a hug, dragging her into the dorm room of Team RWBY as she did so. Jaune followed suit, explaining the situation. "So apparently the newspaper cheated in one of its puzzles." He began, "And who better than you guys to fix it- where's Ruby and Weiss?" Blake, the person who had flung objects at him, shrugged.

"Why don't you ask Goodwitch? Or maybe check the hole in the home ec lab." Based on her tone it didn't sound like a shot at him, but boy did it sting. Did Blake always sound so condescending? Or uninterested?

"At any rate, we need the help of you gals to solve what Nora apparently couldn't. Ms Valkyrie, if you would?" The normally exuberant girl nodded, still within the arms of the strangely mother-like figure of Team RWBY.

Blake stared at the sheet of paper the girl pulled out of… somewhere and began to read.

Word Scramble

TOLSH

NAAMCEADBEYO

EUQNE

AJNECRUA

ZPZAI

AICELPNSEC

Blake stared at the sheet in confusion. "What is wrong about these?" She asked, perplexed by the girl's source of negativity. Wordlessly, she pointed to a specific scramble, 'AJNECRUA', and the hint that came with it.

"Without a doubt the answer should've been my fearless leader, but instead the answer was-"

"Jane Caur." Finished the other three simultaneously, astonishing her slightly at the synchronisation. Some a little more excited than others. Yang let go of the girl as she took hold of the paper to take a closer look. Seeing Nora's confused look she decided to elaborate.

"Jane Caur is an author." She stated, proceeding to bring out an example book. "And since she was interviewed by this newspaper not too long ago she was featured in the scramble." Nora turned to the paper, still unconvinced. As she tried to process the information in her head she took a few steps closer to the window, gazing outside in thought.

She'd seen Ren do the very same thing plenty of times after one of her destructive rampages. She brought a hand to her chin, emulating his thinking pose.

He would contemplate life for a bit.

She opened the window.

Let some fresh air in.

She took a step towards the open window.

And just before deciding to jump out he would come to a conclusion that would always favour her way of thinking, no matter what the facts were pointing to.

The Valkyrie span around, facing the three other students, and outstretched her arms, the beginnings of a wide grin on her face. Nora's face. Moving from zero to one hundred the girl's exuberant personality came back full force with all of it aiming towards her poor leader. Jaune gulped audibly as blue was frozen in place by deep green. "Jaune, you must actually be Ja-!"Out of strange habit, the blond knight tackled the Valkyrie, placing his hand over her mouth to silence her. What he hadn't accounted for, was the window behind her. Blake and Yang watched incredulously as the two fell out the window.

Yang's eyes widened considerably as she rushed to the window in shock. "Dust are they oka- oh wait aura. Right." Blake sighed, equally worried but remembered that aura was a thing. What was Nora about to say? She really knows Jaune is what? She stared at the blond by the window. Well, they say curiosity killed the cat but I don't know any Faunus named Curiosity so- The black haired bookworm blinked, somehow finding herself on the other side of the room to where she was standing just a moment ago. So she did pace when she was worried.


Pyrrha strolled silently through the Beacon Gardens, her mind currently occupied by a certain blond teammate. A hand brushed over an arm as she walked, gripping it lightly. It wasn't champion-like to be ruled by your own emotions. Time and time again she had to hide her true emotions behind a smile. Her first impression of the resident heiress hadn't been the best, not after she was so keen on spreading the word of 'Pyrrha Nikos'. Hiding her irritation behind a smile all she could do was nod along to whatever she said.

Letting the chips fall where they may.

That was what she was planning to do come initiation. However, the grandiose entrance of one Jaune Arc had changed that plan. Instead she wanted to seek him out. After subtly trying to secure the position as his partner had failed due to an unfortunate run-in, she tried a more direct approach. As in, directly approach the area in which she saw him land.

Jaune Arc. Her partner for months. Her friend. He started off not even knowing who she was, her, Pyrrha Nikos and only realised the gravity of her achievements through a cereal box! Whenever she was around him it was as if she wore her emotions on her sleeve, he could read everything about her and what she was feeling with a simple touch. And yet he couldn't read the most important one. Her feelings for him.

Her hand tightened around her arm, she wanted to tell him so badly. Why did everything come out so easily except for that? She was Pyrrha Nikos a champion for dust sake. Surely love was child's play to her? The girl sighed, rounding a corner. Perhaps that was the whole problem. She was Pyrrha Nikos, the awkward teen who had been put on a pedestal ever since she was young. The untouchable champion that just wanted somebody to reach out to her. Now that people were finally doing that, she wasn't able to hide her emotions properly.

Not today though. No, she would change. Determination surged through her, deep green eyes taking on a striking appearance. She would do it, next time she saw him she would make clear her feelings.

"Sorry about the leg. I didn't realise you were low on aura. Lack of sleep does that to you." Apologized a voice. Pyrrha froze, determination shifting slightly. Too soon, too soon, too soon. She wailed mentally. The Spartan girl shook her head roughly. No, she would do it. She had to do it.

Taking in a deep breath she turned in the direction of the voice. "Jaune, the truth is..." She paused, was she going to do this? Pyrrha smiled, looking up to face the knight. "The truth is I actually love- Nora?" She gasped, stunned to see that her blond partner was giving the bubbly Valkyrie a piggyback.

The author too bore an expression of shock, which then morphed into a look of… confused understanding? He nodded slowly. "Okay Pyr, um, I won't judge?" He trailed off questioningly. He had never been in this situation before, so it counted at research. That was his story and he was sticking to it. Yep. "In that case, how about you… carry your um, person of affection. I'll get out of your way." He awkwardly handed the girl to his partner. The red haired girl just stood on the spot, holding her teammate in her arms as her true object of affection hurried off.

"Can we have pancakes when we get home dearie?" Cooed Nora as she cuddled up to the champion. "We're also going to have to talk about your stance on sloths." Pyrrha's distraught gaze turned to the pancake lover, one arm still outstretched towards the direction the knight had ran off. That certainly had not gone as planned.


As he approached his dorm room Jaune's eyes widened briefly upon seeing them on his way back from… Whatever that was. Not the most orthodox way of confessing he would admit, but he'd give Pyrrha bravery points. He would also have to take some points away for involving him in the process though. That was besides the point. Right now, standing before him in the strangely empty halls of Beacon Academy, were Cinder, Emerald and Mercury. If you don't want me to reveal your secret then don't be surprised the next time we meet. The four stood in the hallway in silence.

Cinder turned to her two lackeys, dismissing them with a wave of her hand. "Mercury, Emerald, the adults are talking." Mercury grinned and saluted the blond boy before walking off, dragging a hesitant Emerald behind him. Cinder smirked at him, "You did a wonderful job carrying out orders, but I could've done without the cliché eye widening." The knight glared at the queen, what was a supposed writer slash woman-that-was-blackmailing-him doing in Beacon? He didn't need this right now, especially so since Cardin had already helped him with his research on being exploited.

"What are you doing here?"

She laughed, a warm feeling encompassed him as the deadly woman stared him down. Unfortunately it wasn't the good kind of warm feeling. She took a few steps around him, a predator circling her prey. He winced as the temperature noticeably ramped up. "Oh Jaune, you're in no position to question me. After all, I'm sure you still haven't told them about that yet." His fists clenched at her words but he said nothing. He couldn't say anything. She was right.

"Don't you dare hurt any of my friends Cinder, or I swear I will hunt you down." She scoffed at the petty threat, he was hardly anything more than a toy in her eyes after all.

"An amusing proposition." His fist hit the wall in anger, the echo of the impact filled the silence between his defiant glare and her burning gaze. Did she think it was some kind of deal he was trying to strike with her? Her eyes flickered dangerously at the action, the feeling of heat around him raising drastically. "You shouldn't raise a fist against a woman, it's ungentlemanly."

"Tell me that again when there's a woman around." He spat back despite the increasingly unbearable heat. Despite his best attempts to hide his discomfort he couldn't hide his perspiration nor his ragged breathing. She smiled back at him, a hand moving towards his cheek. He slapped the hand away, drawing a frown from the woman who began to briskly walk off. No one had dared to defy her whilst she was in the middle of asserting her rule before.

"So long as your friends don't get in my way, no harm will become of them." She stated ominously, a tone and expression of finality accompanied the end of their conversation. Just like that the heat died in a single motion. Cinder's hips swung as she walked off, but Jaune had already turned the other way and left. He could still feel the heat weakly persisting in his clothes as he stumbled off. He shook his head, not confused in the least about Cinder's true nature.

She was no woman, she was a devil in disguise, and he would do everything in his power to make sure her plans never came to fruition. No harm would come to his team, his friends, or even Roman.

Neo would kill him otherwise.


And there we have it! Drawing a few parallels with Jaune and Roman in the final scene and our blond knight has unsurprisingly, for us, ran into the woman that has him by the balls, the woman that nearly killed his friend and a man who just learned that attempting to piss him off is fun. The poor boy. Next chapter Jaune's mom and a few of his siblings roll up to talk with his many, many female friends. The poor girls.

Turns out Gravity Falls, Rick and Morty, and old Fire Emblem games were a lot more addictive than I thought it would be. Expect references to the two meta-as-hell shows and great Tactical JRPG in the future. Who knows, there may have been some already.

Now, before we end this, a small omake to celebrate one year of Jaune's Guilty Pleasure!


~Omake~ Birthday

Jaune yawned loudly, getting up at his usual time of ten in the morning. A sated smile adorned his face as he shuffled out of bed, stumbling his way to the shower in a tired daze. Having nine other people using the same hot water made for the habit of not taking any longer than five minutes lest they trigger the ire of the person after them. In record time he was out and dressed, ready for a full day of getting whooped by Violet at video games. As if having mirrored his exact moves for her own morning routine Opal exited from her bedroom at the same time, showered and dressed. Even though he had entered the shower after her he was a hair width away from perfecting his fast dressing technique, leading to a similar exit time. "Mornin' little bro." Greeted the young woman with a tired smile. The two yawned in sync as they stretched and made their way to food. The young man lazily glared at his twin,

"We're the same age, you aren't older." He stated pointedly,

The girl gave him a light grin, "Am too, by seven seconds." He poked his tongue out at her, a sign she won the argument and he couldn't think of anything else. A recurring argument spanning over several years floated above their young heads, the age old question of whether or not Opal was older. Once the twins entered the living room they were treated to getting jumped by the two youngest of their family. Jaune's mouth widened into a grin as he and his twin caught the younger twins Azure and Misty.

"Happy Birthday!" They cheered happily. The two blond twins gave each other a surprised look before grinning at their younger siblings. They had completely forgotten that it was today. Keeping track of eight other birthdays made it a bit hard to remember. Jaune ruffled Azure's hair affectionately, earning a pout from the younger girl. Just like him Azure was just a bit younger than her twin, leading to a form of camaraderie between the two Arc children.

"Where are they?" Shouted a voice from the other room. The twins paled as they held the younger of the four up as a shield against the incoming threat. "There you are!" Cried Light, running in between the meat shields and tackling the two onto the couch. She nuzzled them affectionately, much to their dismay. "It's your birthday so I'm going to spoil you silly."

Opal rolled her eyes from inside her arms, "As if you don't do that any other day." Jaune nodded in agreement, still caught in the vice grip that was Light's affection. "You're only a couple of years older than us, don't treat us like we're still children." Jaune nodded again.

The two birthday children stopped squirming once their mother entered the room. "Stop fighting you two." She scolded lightly. At this point in time she barely reached the height of Jaune and Opal, the two growing very quickly as opposed to the woman who still looked young enough to be in high school. The blond mother gave them a pointed look. "Your father is currently busy, and Luna, Lily and Violet are out so you're going to have to wait for their gifts." She explained, "But in the meantime you can open your gifts after we have breakfast." The two blond twins cheered, breaking out of Light's hold and hugging the woman.

Light smiled as she gave them a wink. "Just wait 'till you open my gifts." Azure nodded along, a twinkle in her young eyes. She had helped choose the gift for her awesome brother and Misty helped come up with Opal's gift. Her twin gave a knowing smirk as she pushed up her glasses with an almost cocky expression, she had taken careful consideration for her gift whilst Azure chose... something she thought would be nice.

After scarfing down their food like they hadn't eaten in weeks the birthday twins found themselves back in the living room, each with two different wrapped presents in front of them. Jaune gestured to his sister, "You go first." She shook her head, gesturing for him to go before her. Sharing a single look the two exchanged an entire conversation and instead chose to open the gifts at the same time.

Jaune's eyes widened considerably as he opened his gift from Light and found several issues of X-Ray and Vav, and a notebook all wrapped up in a blue onesie. He grinned at Light and the two younger twins, pulling them into a tight hug. Light squealed silently at the unusually voluntary display of affection from her younger sibling. Opal, upon seeing her gifts, joined the hug causing the older girl's squeal to become audible. Misty pushed up her glasses, she knew she would like her gift. The oldest of the five Arc children laughed at the sudden display of affection from the normally unwilling twins and nuzzled the two birthday siblings once again. The young bookworm looked at the notebook with starry eyes. It was small, pocket-sized, and came with a pen. Pressing a button on its side he was surprised to see a red beam of light streak across the room, illuminating a small point on the wall opposite of them.

"Mom look!" Shouted Opal, trying on the jacket Misty got her. The young looking woman smiled at them, giving praise to the look of her new clothing and… whatever Azure got Jaune, before exiting the room. Opal stared at the blue thing Azure got for her twin. The young male had put it on in record time and was now strutting back and forth for their other siblings like a model. With a light chuckle at his antics she turned to the gift Misty had gotten her. A blue framed picture of herself and Jaune that the girl had no doubt taken no less than a week ago. She smiled warmly at the memory.

Everyone's attention was brought to the door as a large cake was brought in, dozens of candles illuminating the room despite it being very much day. Jaune blinked, "Mom we aren't turning that old yet." Opal nodded,

"Are you sure that cake isn't for you-" she yelped as the cake knife suddenly appeared next to her, halfway embedded into the floor. "Thanks for the cake!" She corrected hurriedly. The occupants of the room laughed heartily at the young girl.

"Make a wish." The twins nodded, walking up to either side of the cake before blowing on it simultaneously.

Azure ran up to Jaune excitedly with Misty following closely behind, "What did you wish for?" She asked curiously. The blond shook his head with an amused look. If he told her, that would mean it wouldn't come true. He paused momentarily before sitting down on the couch, gesturing for the younger twins to sit next to him. He didn't need a wish to get what he wanted, he would do it with his own determination and some help from family and any friends he made along the way.

Jaune smiled wistfully at the two girls sitting either side of him, running a hand through Misty's neck length hair and messing around with one of Azure's twin tails with the other. "One day I want to go to Beacon and write my own story." He stated simply. The youngest of the three gave him a weird look, hadn't he already written a lot of books?

"Beacon?" Repeated the girl. Opal perked up slightly, not that anyone had noticed. Unlike her, Jaune decided not to go to a hunter school. So how was he, a boy who spent most of his time engrossed in and writing books, going to get into Beacon?

He chuckled and brought out a small map for Azure, oblivious to his twin's concerns. "You see over here?" He pointed over to Vale, watching his two younger sisters' small hands clutch at the map curiously. At their age it was a little too hard for them to even pretend to follow, however they still tried their hardest.

"So it is a different time there?" He nodded, proud of their understanding of the situation. "So when we are having dinner, you will have breakfast. If you take an airship and run really fast you can have two dinners and two breakfasts" the knight chuckled and hugged the two, ruffling their heads affectionately. He would miss them and their childlike innocence when he left. Their mother watched the scene with a warm smile, glad that they were so happy with their gifts. She would have to give them hers at a later time, after all she didn't want to disturb them when they seemed so content. Save for Opal who couldn't get out of Light's embrace. She chuckled, it almost seemed like nothing could break the peacefulness of the moment.

Within a second of her formulating the thought, the door burst open. A man grinned as he entered the room, brandishing both Crocea Mors and beer as a young girl followed behind him apprehensively. Jaune's eyes widened as he recognised her as the girl that he and Sun had gone to school with once. With a hearty chuckle the man spoke, voice booming. "Jaune, I have brought you the three greatest gifts a man could want!" Laughed his father, "A weapon, booze and a woman!" Jaune just gave his father a strange look before moving his attention to the girl, mouthing to her his apologies.

Without a moment's hesitation, a swift kick to the groin brought the proud man down. The young looking mother dusted her hands clean despite only using her leg to bring him to his knees. She turned to the young girl and shooed her off, she didn't need anyone corrupting her little sweetheart after all. The girl ran out of the house hurriedly, but not before greeting Jaune happy birthday. She sighed as she made her way back home, somewhat fearful of the strange overprotective woman. One thought circled through her head. How was she going to explain this to her dad?


See you next chapter, until then please Follow, Favourite and Review your thoughts.

Those who spot a specific reference get… Weiss, Ruby and Yang not burning down Beacon? That and a fish cake cooked by Blake and sprinkled with love... and maybe a pinch of Faunus angst may have gotten in them too.