Minor Changes part 2

"Well, here we are. Our very own room." Jaune breathed out. It was simply a room he'd be staying in for the next four years, but to him, it represented a beginning.

He opened the door using his Scroll and grinned at his team mates.

"After you." He bowed slightly.

"Aren't you a gentleman?" Yang grinned back before entering.

Ren's smile was smaller, but no less subdued for it. He followed after the blonde.

"Hmph." Weiss entered afterwards.

Jaune sighed. That put a small damper on his good mood. Weiss wasn't happy with Ozpin's choice for leader, and he knew he'd have to deal with that soon.

"So, now that we're here…" Yang told him when he entered.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"We should begin our first mission." She told him seriously.

"First…mission? What?" he asked, feeling an unusual mix of anticipation and fear rise inside him.

"We have a mission? Already?" Ren asked.

"Why were you the one informed and not our…leader?" Weiss asked.

Jaune winced. That had hardly been subtle at all.

"Yes, our first mission." Yang answered, her tone still serious.

Jaune didn't know whether her seriousness was a good thing or a bad thing. "Well? He asked nervously.

"We have to…" Yang's voice trailed off.

"Yeah?" Ren asked.

At this point he could tell that all of them were tense. This was their first mission, their chance to make an impression on their teachers.

"We have to…"

"Spit it out already!" Weiss snapped.

Nervous as he was, Jaune agreed. Dragging it out like this only added to his apprehension.

"Decorate the room!" Yang finished with a wide grin.

The sound of a needle being dropped would've been deafening.

Ren sighed and facepalmed. "I'm going to get ready for class."

"Are you serious?!" Weiss demanded shrilly.

Jaune felt his eye twitch.

"Awww, c'mon, don't be such killjoys." Yang whined.

"I think Ren's got the right idea here. G'night." Jaune ignored her.

"Agreed." Weiss replied curtly, also ignoring the whining blonde.

"Fine, but don't blame me if they happen to peek at you." Yang told the heiress.

"Come again?" Weiss asked.

Jaune's eyes narrowed. What was she up to?

"It's one big room with two guys and two beautiful women. Do you trust them that much?" Yang asked the heiress.

Jaune's eyes widened. That manipulative little-!

"What?" Weiss asked, taken aback.

"Part of decorating means putting up some kind of wall between us, y'know? I don't know about you, but I don't really trust Jaune here." Yang "whispered" to the heiress, making sure they could all listen, "Just look at those wide eyes of his, probably imagining dirty, dirty things."

What? That…that…using even his own shock against him!

"I am NOT-" Jaune tried to deny, only to be silenced by the disgusted glare the heiress sent his way.

"Come on, I think our room need some…character." Yang told Weiss.

"Maybe you have a point." Weiss conceded, "Let's start our mission."

"But….but..." Jaune stared, flabbergasted. But he really hadn't! He'd just wanted to sleep!

Yang winked at him and gave him a sly little smirk. "Wait for me!" she called after the heiress before running after her.

"WHAT?!" Jaune finally blurted out.

"Give up, they're not listening to you anymore." Ren told him.

"But I…" Jaune tried.

"Nope." Ren shook his head.

"But she…" Jaune explained as best he could.

"I know." Ren nodded sympathetically, although the amused glint in his eyes told him he had been enjoying the show.

"WHAT?!" Jaune blurted out again.

Yang Xiao Long was an evil, EVIL, manipulative little…

Why wasn't she the tactician here?!

"See? Doesn't the room look so much nicer now?" Yang asked with a grin.

"I have to admit it really does." Weiss nodded.

Even Jaune would admit that the room looked a lot more…personable. Although the large drapes hung right in the middle of the room to serve as a divider kind of gave it a very distinct feel.

"Are you sure you don't want to put anything in the room?" Yang suddenly asked him.

"Huh?" Jaune asked back.

"You didn't decorate your area much at all." Yang told him.

It was true. Ren had placed a few exotic looking things around his side, Weiss's area looked rather high class and organized, with their schedule hung on the wall, and Yang's area had a variety of posters and a homely if a bit messy look to it.

His designated area was, in comparison, pretty bland. He hadn't brought anything here save for clothes, his weapon, and a small framed photo of his family, which he'd placed over his drawer.

"I'm sure." He answered.

Yang frowned. "We'll be staying here for four years. Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." Jaune replied with a small smile.

"But…your room is supposed to be a reflection of yourself…" Yang muttered under her breath.

A reflection of himself, huh? Well, what did it say about him that the only thing he'd use was a picture of his family?

"It's fine." He shook his head. "Well, now that that's done, when do our classes start?"

Ren looked at the schedule the heiress had hung close to her bed. "Says it's Grimm studies at 9."

"Grimm studies, huh? Sounds interesting." Jaune said.

"9? But isn't it 9:05 right now?" Yang asked.

"What?!" Weiss glanced at her Scroll, "We're late!"

After being let off with a small warning, Jaune and company took their seats, not before greeting Ruby and her team, who looked pretty sleepy.

Maybe they hadn't slept well last night? He knew he hadn't.

In hindsight, this should've been his first clue.

Well, whatever. He looked at the aged professor with anticipation.

"Where was I?" Professor Port asked, "Ah, yes, when I was a boy…"

It didn't take long for the professor's words to fade into "Blah blahs" and "etc.'s".

Jaune felt his eye twitch and realized why Team RVBN looked so sleepy.

'And I got excited for this?!'

"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable!" Port boomed.

Jaune looked over at his team mate, who was snoring loudly.

"A true Huntsman must be dependable!"

Jaune looked over at Ruby, who snoring lightly. So they really were sisters, huh?

"A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!"

He looked over at his notes, which consisted of a stick figure slaying a dragon and saving a princess, all drawn with the artistic skills of an orangutan.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" Port challenged them.

Jaune hastily snapped his notebook shut. It was at this point that he noticed Weiss shoot him an angry glare.

"I do, sir!" Weiss raised her hand.

"Well, then, let's find out!" Port exclaimed before gesturing at the cage behind him, "Step forward and face your opponent!"

"You can do it, Princess!" Yang cheered.

"Go for it." Ren nodded.

"Good luck!" He called out.

Weiss glared at him. "I don't need luck."

He winced. He hadn't meant to offend her. "Right, my apologies."

"Let the match begin!" Port announced right before a pig looking grimm charged out of the cage.

Weiss used her blade to block and rolled to a side.

Jaune frowned and began to observe the grimm.

"Not expecting that, were you?" Port laughed.

Charging head on against this thing was suicide, he decided. This thing had to have a weakness somewhere. He resumed his analysis.

To his shock and dismay, the heiress charged at the boarbatusk.

"Weiss, don't!" Jaune cried out.

She stabbed the grimm through it's think plating. Which proved to be a mistake when the grimm started shaking around while the heiress desperately tried to pull her blade out.

"Bold new approach, I like it." Port commented.

"Yikes, that looks fun." Yang commented.

Jaune frowned. A weakness. He had to find it.

It was at this point that Weiss managed to free her blade, but not before she was thrown to a side. She looked up only to see the grimm charging her way.

Things were looking grim, no pun intended, but the boarbatusk's charge revealed its weakness to him. Jaune smiled coldly.

"Weiss, it's belly has no ar-" he began to order the heiress.

"Stop telling me what to do!" Weiss snapped at him. This distraction cost her, as the boarbatusk charged at her.

In another world, Weiss would have received a notification from a different leader and realized that the underbelly of the grimm was unarmored.

In this world she didn't receive the warning.

She barely managed to roll out of the way.

"Well? What are you gonna do now, leader?" Yang asked him, and though her tone was teasing, he could tell she was testing him.

He glared at her and then glared back at the duel.

"Weiss, listen to me!" He snapped.

"Shut up!" Weiss snapped back.

'I am an Arc.'

"Listen!" he replied, his tone cold, his eyes blue steel, "It's belly is unarmored. Use that information as you will."

Her eyes widened slightly.

The boarbatusk leapt into the air and began to spin around and charged at the heiress far faster than it had before.

Weiss raised her blade and a defensive glyph appeared before her, knocking the grimm away and exposing its unarmored belly.

She then leapt into the air and thrust her blade downwards, killing the grimm.

"Bravo! Bra-vo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training!" Port cheered, "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay vigilant! Class dismissed!"

Weiss left the classroom with a huff, passing by Ruby as she did so.

"Sheesh, what's with her?" Ruby asked.

Jaune's mask of command fell and he breathed out.

"Not bad, Vomit Man, not bad at all." Yang grinned at him.

"Huh?" Jaune asked.

"Well? Are you coming?" she asked, ignoring his question and getting up.

"R-right!"

Had she just referred to him as Vomit Man?

In his haste to stand up, he tripped over himself and fell over, face first.

"Yeesh, Vomit Boy, watch yourself before you wreck yourself." Yang grinned before offering him a hand.

Jaune smiled back sheepishly before taking her offered hand. "My bad."

Still, he knew his good mood would be brief. He knew now for a fact that being team leader was going to suck.

He'd have to talk to the heiress later.

The two leaders

Jaune sighed softly. How was he supposed to approach the heiress? She'd been avoiding him all day. Although…

Truth be told, he had to admit he wasn't exactly doing his best to approach her either. Things between them had been really awkward since Port's class.

"Jaune?"

Jaune looked up and saw his first friend, the resident Red Riding Hood looking at him curiously. Behind her, he saw the headmaster nod at him before leaving.

"Oh, hey." He greeted her, "Were you talking with the headmaster?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. He gave me some good advice." She replied with a smile, "But what are you doing here?" she asked, probably asking why he was in the courtyard instead of in the dorms.

"What are YOU doing here?" Jaune asked her.

"I…I had to think about a few things, so I came here." She replied a bit hesitantly.

Jaune briefly smiled. "Me too, actually."

"Great minds think alike!" Ruby declared with a smile.

He couldn't help it. Even with all his doubts and problems weighing on him, he smiled back.

"So what were you thinking about?" Ruby asked.

Jaune sighed. "About this whole team leader thing."

"You too?" Ruby asked with wide eyes.

They both stared at each other, surprised. Then they both started to laugh.

"Great minds really think alike." Jaune told her.

Ruby grinned at him. "They so do."

They said nothing for a few seconds, quietly reveling in the fact that somehow, two-like minded individuals had managed to find each other in the chaotic flux that was Beacon.

"I just don't know if I have what it takes to be a leader." Jaune finally broke the silence.

"Neither do I. I mean look at me! I'm the youngest person in Beacon and I'm in the same team as Pyrrha Nikos, a super awesome ninja and Nora!" Ruby sighed. She then looked up, "But I've thought about it, and I'm going to do my best so that I can be a team leader that people can look up to!" she declared proudly.

Jaune stared at her.

"What?" Ruby asked, noticing his stare.

Even though the people she'd been paired up with were seemingly better than her, even though she was probably insecure about her situation, she was still going to face the challenges before her head on.

Jaune smiled softly and shook his head. "You really are amazing."

Her face became slightly embarrassed, but she chuckled and scratched the back of her head. "You really think so?"

Jaune nodded resolutely. "Definitely." More than him, at any rate.

"I think you're going to be a good team leader too!" Ruby reassured him. Then she paused for a few seconds and grinned at him, "Not better than me but still good!"

He internally snorted. He'd just seen evidence that Ruby and Yang were definitely related.

Jaune shook his head sadly. "You're wrong. I'm not skilled as any of you."

Ruby frowned. "You might not be as good a fighter as us, but I definitely think you have what it takes."

Jaune's eyebrow rose. "Really? Why?"

"Remember our initiation?" she asked.

He internally sighed. That had been a fluke, nothing else.

"We are all so different, but when you told us what to do, we listened." She told him.

"Huh?" Jaune asked. He'd been expecting her to bring up his grasp on tactics, not…this.

"A good leader shouldn't just be the best fighter," She declared, "A good leader is the person that can get a group of people to work together, even if they're nothing alike," she gave him a slightly disgruntled look, "I wish I had that kind of charisma. What kind of dork are you?"

"Apparently a bad one, if the master disapproves of me." Jaune commented dryly.

Ruby stuck her tongue out at him.

Jaune smiled briefly. "I wish that were true, but you saw what happened with Weiss back in Port's class. I can't even talk to her properly." He told her with a sigh.

"Then maybe you should start with that." She replied firmly, "C'mon, let's both be the best leaders that Beacon has ever seen!" She made a pose that he'd seen in some old anime once.

Jaune stared at her, shocked.

"What?" she demanded, dropping her pose and looking slightly flustered.

He smiled. "You really are amazing."

"That I am." She nodded as she gave him an embarassed smile.

To be a leader

"Weiss!" he called out to the heiress.

She turned around. "What is it?" she asked coldly.

He flinched. "I-I need to talk to you. Alone." he soldiered on.

"About?" she replied, her tone still artic.

'I am an Arc.'

His eyes hardened with confidence that he wasn't feeling. He idly noticed his partner looking at him curiously. "It's about team dynamics." He told her firmly, his eyes becoming cold steel.

Weiss nodded. "Good, I wanted to talk about that too."

Unbeknownst to him, the heiress had had a chat with Professor Port at the same time he'd been chatting with Ruby, which was why she was at least willing to hear him out.

Jaune nodded at her and looked at over at his other two team mates. "Yang, Ren, we'll be back in five."

"Go for it, Vomit Man." Yang told him, grin in her face as she examined his face.

Ren nodded and gave him a discreet thumbs up that he was sure only he'd caught.

Lie Ren and Yang Xiao Long were very perceptive, it seemed.

Jaune opened the door and waited for the heiress, who exited with a huff. He soon followed after her and

closed the door.

"So…" Jaune sighed, "This is about team dynamics, like I said."

"What about it?" she fired back.

He sighed. No easy way around it. "I know you're uncomfortable with me being the...you know, leader."

Weiss's already cold eyes became positively artic. "What gave it away?"

"I uh-" Jaune stammered.

"Why are you the leader?" she demanded.

Jaune took a step back.

"Your inferior combat skills? Your lack of social etiquette? You don't deserve it!" she almost yelled, "Port is wrong! He has to be!"

Jaune winced with each accusation, although he did wonder what Port had to do with any of this.

"I worked hard, I trained harder than anyone, so why? Why are you the leader?" her voice became soft at the end, almost insecure.

Jaune looked at her and realized, perhaps subconsciously, that he was seeing shades of her true self. The girl behind the cold and haughty mask of the skilled huntress in training.

"I..." he closed his eyes. He hadn't realized how deeply this had bothered the heiress.

When he opened his eyes, they were determined but honest. His attempt to truly connect with his team mate.

"I won't apologize." he told her bluntly.

She blinked, surprised.

"Apologizing would be an insult to everything you've done and everything that's happened." he elaborated, before she could gather her wits.

Weiss said nothing.

"But I want you to know that I thought you deserved it too. I honestly thought you would be the leader." he admitted.

"Wha-" Weiss tried to ask, only to be cut off.

"I know I'm not the best," he smiled bitterly as memories and thoughts of his own childhood flashed through his mind, "I know I fight about as well as a frightened gerbil and I know I have the social graces of a suicidal lemur."

In spite of the seriousness of their discussion, Weiss's lips twitched.

"So I have a proposal." he told her.

Her eyes narrowed. "Oh?"

"Until such day comes that I become worthy to be leader of this team, I want you to be my partner in this." he proposed.

"Your partner?" she asked.

Jaune nodded. "I can act as field leader, but I want your input on everything else we decide to do. If I'm about to lead us astray, I want you to veto my choice. If I'm making the wrong decision, I want you to stop me. I want you to be my...co-leader."

"So..." Weiss looked at him, "What you're saying is that you want my approval on any decision you ultimately decide to take?"

Jaune nodded.

Weiss studied him cautiously, as if to make sure he was being sincere before sighing softly. "You...No, that's not what I wanted..." she muttered softly.

Jaune smiled sadly and nodded to himself. "I see..." It hurt, yes, but he could understand why she'd reject his offer.

He turned around to leave for now. He'd have to earn her approval some other way it seemed.

"That's not what I meant!" she sighed exasperatedly, stopping him from returning to their room, "Why are you so..." she paused briefly, as if trying to come up with the right word, "...so reasonable?"

"Because even someone like me has to have a good quality?" Jaune asked with a self-deprecating grin.

Her lips twitched again. "I guess you do."

Jaune smiled. Her words might've been harsh, but her tone was more teasing than actually hurtful.

Her lips twitched once more. "I do like your idea." she admitted.

"Then what did you mean when you said you didn't want that?" Jaune asked, confused.

She sighed and looked away. "I... I wanted to...I just..." she trailed off.

Jaune said nothing and waited for her to continue.

After a few seconds, Weiss sighed once more. "Look, I know this makes me sound petty, but the truth is..."

She once more trailed off.

Jaune gave her a reassuring smile.

She smiled back, but he could tell her heart wasn't in it. Still, she continued, her voice suddenly quiet. There was also something else in her face and in her voice, something that he recognized.

Was it because it was something that he himself had felt for so long in his life?

Self loathing.

"...I wanted the recognition."

"What?" Jaune asked. Recognition?

She looked away bitterly. "I wanted to be recognized for my skills, I wanted to rise above everyone else, I wanted to impress my fami-" she stopped.

Recognition. Her last statement. His eyes widened with sudden realization.

Weiss Schnee, for all her skills and abilities was, for some unfathomable reason, a kindred spirit. He understood perfectly.

"Do you know why I came here to Beacon instead of joining the military?" Jaune asked her suddenly.

"Huh?" Weiss asked, confused.

"It's because I wanted to make my family proud." He admitted softly.

He knew what it felt like to constantly be outclassed, to constantly be reminded that he was inferior.

Weiss's eyes widened.

"I am an Arc," he smiled bitterly, "And with that comes the respect, the fame and all of the burden attached to the name."

He loved his family, but he sometimes wished they weren't so amazing in everything. And he hated himself whenever thoughts like that crossed his mind.

"There was never a day when I didn't feel like I wasn't really a part of the family. Never a day when I didn't wonder what being normal was like. To not have this weight on my back." He recounted with a small smile.

But...

"For what it's worth, I think you are better than you give yourself credit for." Jaune finally broke the silence.

"What?" she asked.

...Weiss Schnee was leaps and miles above Jaune Arc. No matter what he did, he knew she would always surpass him.

"There were times during our initiation when I thought not all of us were gonna make it without getting injured," he admitted softly, remembering their desperate fight against the Nevermore and the Deathstalker, "I don't think saying that you kept all of us alive that day is an exaggeration."

Her eyes widened for a few seconds before she then looked down. "Not all of you. You almost died." she mumbled quietly.

He shook his head firmly. "That was my fault, not yours. I couldn't plan for everything," he looked at her, "Your glyphs were the only reason we managed to kill the Nevermore. You kept Ren safe from the deathstalker."

If a hunter's duty was to protect and save lives, then Weiss Schnee already had a head start on them.

"I think you're well on your way to greatness." he finished, and he couldn't deny that although he was happy for her, he could not entirely squash the jealousy in him.

"Do you...do you really think so?" she asked.

Compared to him? Hah, she was leagues above him! Jaune nodded, eyes full of conviction. "I know so."

Weiss looked at him, surprised.

He gave her a small smile. "And besides, with me around people will definitely notice you, even if it's only because of how much better you are."

She blinked, as if taking a second to understand what he'd said. Then she gave him a smile. Not a slight twitch of her lips, not a half-hearted attempt at one, but an authentic smile.

His jealousy seemingly vanished and he smiled back.

"I'll take your deal." she told him.

"Thank you." he replied at her gratefully.

"If I manage to turn you into a great leader people will definitely notice me," Weiss replied, and again, even though her words were mocking, he could tell there was no real malice in them, "And with me by your side, you won't be just good, but great. I will not settle for any less!"

"I'm never going to get a moment's rest, am I?" Jaune grinned, "Still, with a team mates like you I feel like we're not going to be just great. We'll be the greatest!"

And he meant it. Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long and Lie Ren would become the best. He knew it. He would make sure they did.

And maybe, just maybe, he would be there when they did.

His apologies to Ruby. She could still be the best leader though.

Weiss's smile widened. "Oh, we will, and a Schnee never breaks her word. Team JRSY's going to the greatest!"

"Hell yeah!" Jaune heard Yang's voice coming from their room.

"Yang?!" Both he and Weiss cried out.

The heiress slammed the door open.

"Oh! Umm...oops?" Yang asked apologetically with a sheepish smile.

"Th-that was supposed to be private!" Weiss exclaimed indignantly.

"I...uhhh..." Yang stammered. Weiss glared at her and her hand reached for Myrtenaster, "Hey, he was listening too!" Yang pointed at Ren, who threw the blonde a dirty look.

"You too?" Jaune asked incredulously.

Ren gave him the same sheepish smile Yang had. "Umm...oops?"

"Ren!"

As he and Weiss complained to their sheepish team mates, he felt something warm feeling welling up inside him, and he felt, for once, that being leader might not suck so much.

A.N.: Had to rush this a bit because I'll be unable to write for some time. Anyway, from this point on this could go the Yang route or the Weiss route, although in all honesty, I felt like the pairing would be more of a sub plot as I typed this out.