Story idea belongs to College Fool, RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.
Enjoy!
"Wake up lazy butts! It's morning!"
Why does she have so much energy at... 6:30 in the morning?!
Jauque let out a soft groan as Natalie's shouting roused him from sleep. He blinked the sand from his eyes to see the bubbly girl leaning over a resigned-looking Ryan's bed, already in her uniform, while Penelope was sitting up and yawning. The flame-coloured hair which was usually brushed and set perfectly about her face was tangled and disheveled.
He could hear Weiss giving team Frost a similar wake-up call across the hallway while he got dressed in his uniform.
"Rebecca! For the last time: get out of bed!"
"I don't want to!"
"Ugh, Jamie! Can you help me out here?"
"Will do Snow Queen. Becca? Do you want me to tickle you?"
"I'm up! I'm up!"
Jauque chuckled at the antics of the two sisters as he checked his team's schedule for the day. "All right guys, pay attention." Ryan and Natalie looked up from the headlock she had him in while Penelope leaned out of the bathroom, brushing her hair into some semblance of order.
"We got Grimm Studies at nine with Professor Port, then General History at ten-thirty with Doctor Oobleck. We have lunch after that for an hour followed by Combat Training at one with Professor Goodwitch."
He looked at his watch to see how long they had for breakfast as Penelope walked out of the bathroom with her hair perfectly brushed. "It's seven right now, so we have around an hour and a half to get some breakfast."
Natalie let out a cheer, unintentionally tightening her hold on Ryan. The boy glared upwards as he exerted his semblance. The now calm girl released her grip immediately and then grinned sheepishly as her partner ended up face-planting into the floor. Jauque rolled his eyes at the duo's actions before heading out into the hall to go to the cafeteria.
Upon arriving at the cafeteria, Jauque made his way to the line and loaded up his tray with scrambled eggs, bacon and toast along with a glass of orange juice. He claimed a table for his team and waited for them to join him. Penelope had a bagel, yogurt and a sunny-side-up egg, Ryan had toast and fruit salad while Natalie had marginally less pancakes than the day before and half of a grapefruit, which she picked at with a glare towards her partner.
Jauque finished his bite of toast before looking up at his team. "So what do you guys think classes will be like?"
A familiar grin appeared across the table as his excitable teammate promptly answered him. "History sounds boooring, Grimm Studies seems like it could be interesting and Combat sounds awesome!"
Ryan gave her an indulgent smile, "History is still important Natalie, however boring it may be."
They began to debate the various merits and drawbacks of each class and Jauque was amazed at how easy it was to converse with them, barely needing to create a facade to do so.
Why is it so easy to fake this friendliness? Am I actually getting closer to them? No! I am not here to make friends, I am here to find out who 'Queen' is. I'm out of here at the end of the year and these people are merely means to that end.
He swallowed the last of his orange juice and stood up, picking up his empty tray as he did so. "I think we should make our way to class now. Otherwise we would end up being late."
His team smiled at him before following his lead as they headed off to their first class at Beacon.
They entered the Grimm Studies classroom and took a seat near the front next to team Frost. Over the next ten minutes, the room slowly filled up as students trickled in from either breakfast or their rooms. At 9 o'clock exactly, a rotund man with silver hair and an impressive mustache strolled into the room, hands clasped behind his back. He surveyed the room with a trained eye before addressing them.
"Over the years, society has had many names for the creatures of Grimm. Monsters, demons, horrors in the night. A well-trained huntsman or huntress can have another name for them as well: prey. Now this is not supposed to convey the notion of them being harmless or just masses to be slaughtered. As you have likely found during Initiation, the creatures of Grimm are dangerous beasts that should be respected and treated with proper caution. Now then, what types of Grimm did you all fight in the Emerald Forest?"
Several shouts of 'Beowolf' and 'Ursa' rang out from different parts of the classroom, even one or two 'Boarbatusk' or 'King Taijitu'. Natalie bounced in her seat while waving her hand. "Ooh, ooh, we fought a huge Deathstalker!"
Professor Port appeared mildly impressed by her statement. "Indeed? That is a truly magnificent kill, definitely not easy."
He turned to team Frost, one bushy eyebrow raised in curiosity. "And what about you lovely ladies, what did you find yesterday?"
Weiss gave him a winning smile. "We fought a Nevermore, Professor."
The huntsman seemed confused by her statement, clearly thrown off by something she said. "Just one? Normally, Nevermore travel in large flocks."
"What? But it was massive!" Rebecca gave a loud exclamation of shock at the thought of a flock of giant Nevermore.
Port responded in a mollified tone. "Aah, that makes more sense. The Giant Nevermore is a solitary Grimm while the normal Nevermore are not much larger than most birds."
He motioned to the diagrams of various Grimm above the blackboard, "Today's lesson will be on the common Beowolf. While individual Beowolves are hardly a threat unless you are severely disadvantaged, a pack of them will coordinate their attacks instinctively much as a pack of wolves will work together against a deer. Now if you would copy the diagram of the Beowolf from the board, I will begin to go over their strengths and weaknesses."
Jauque spent the rest of class sketching the Beowolf into his notebook and marking down what Port was saying next to it.
Jauque gave a light groan as he took a seat at the lunch table, a bowl of soup in front of him. History had been tough as the teacher had rattled off information at a rate thay surpassed even Natalie. Thumps of various volumes sounded around him as the others filled up the table around him. Penelope started off the midday conversation. "So what does everyone think of their classes so far?"
Rebecca rolled her eyes with a derisive snort. "The stuff Port was going over in class was stuff I covered in Signal last year."
The blonde boy raised an eyebrow at her before responding. "I believe he is just making sure everyone is on the same page, Rose. However, I can't follow more than three consecutive words of what Oobleck says."
Jamie gave a sympathetic nod in his direction. "I'm with you there, Ladykiller. That guy talks too damn fast."
Something tapped him on the side of the head quite forcefully and he turned to see Natalie with her arm raised, clearly unapologetic about her poke. "Is there something you wanted, Valkyrie?"
"Yup! You never answered my question during Initiation."
He blinked a couple times, racking his mind in an attempt to discern what she was talking about. "And that was...?"
"About your parents!"
Oh, that question.
Jauque gave a quiet sigh as he closed his eyes momentarily before opening them again to face both teams. Natalie was staring at him intently, clearly anticipating his response. While they were hiding it to various degrees, the other six people around the table were obviously as interested as the bubbly girl next to him. "Lunch isn't really the best place for this conversation. How about we all gather in my team's room after classes and talk there?"
Any possible responses were cut off as a nearby voice gave a yelp of pain. "Please stop, that hurts!"
A couple tables away, team Aerie guffawed as their leader pulled at the rabbit ears of a brown-haired faunus girl. She was attempting to pull her head away from his crushing grip but couldn't free herself.
Hmm, standing up for her gets me another potential lead.
Everyone at Jauque's table glared at the scene and gave mutters of discontent. They looked at him in surprise and confusion when he suddenly stood up and stalked towards the other table. "Jauque? What are you doing?"
His faced set into a determined scowl. "The right thing."
He quickly approached Carson and the mystery girl, arm snapping forward to grip the larger boy's wrist. "Let her go, asshole."
The orange haired boy maintained his grip before standing to his full height and smirking arrogantly down at Jauque. "Now why would I do that, huh?"
Jauque returned the smirk and replied contemptuously, "Do you really want to be known as the guy who needs to bully girls smaller than him to feel good about himself?"
Carson gripped the collar of Jauque's shirt, letting go of the girl who immediately scampered out of his reach. Indigo eyes alight in rage, he growled down at Jauque. "You got a death wish or something? Because if we spar today, you are fucking dead."
The hand holding his collar let go with a quick shove as Carson turned back to his table. Jauque made his way over to the girl who was being tormented and have her a look of concern. "Hey, you okay?"
Warm, brown eyes gave him a look of gratitude and a gentle smile crossed her face. "Yeah, thanks for helping me out..." Her voice trailed as she went to say his name.
"Jauque Arc, and your name is?"
"Veronica Scarlatina. Oh! My team just showed up so I'll see you around. Thanks again."
She darted off with a wave that Jauque returned. He strolled back to his table and finished his lunch.
"Now students, who here has fought in a tournament-style duel before?"
A few hands, Penelope included, were raised into the air as Professor Goodwitch scanned the class before calling on one of them.
"Miss Bayley, would you like to explain the rules for the rest of the class?"
The brown-haired girl nodded before raising her voice. "Both combatants use the sword form only and the duel ends when either one fighter's Aura drops below 15% or they are forced out of the ring."
Goodwitch gave her a small smile and turned back to the group as a whole. "Well spoken, now for our first duel, I would like Blair Belladonna and Ryan Lee to the stage."
Both teams cheered for their respective members as they headed up to the stage and squared off, blades drawn. Both were coiled like springs, awaiting the signal to, "Begin!"
The duelists rushed forward, swords clashing together as they traded strikes. Ryan twisted his blade through Blair's guard and swiped at her midriff. She vaulted backwards, leaving a clone in her place and swinging her blade towards her opponents open side. A loud smack was heard as Ryan's Aura level dipped, the boy disengaging as he judged his foe. Twice more, he slipped by her guard only to be foiled by her Semblance and receiving hits from the agile faunus.
He cut through another clone before suddenly spinning in place and parrying Blair's counterattack with a fierce grin. She gasped slightly as his free hand pummeled her ribs. She growled as he went further on the offensive, both fighters moving about swiftly. They danced fluidly across the stage, blades clashing against one another, fists and feet punishing openings.
Both Auras were in the yellow now and Blair smirked as she landed a hit on Ryan's hastily raised guard, knocking his blade to the ground. She swung at her now unarmed opponent, intent on ending the match there and then. Her blade carved a glittering arc through the air as a snap kick from Ryan launched it out of her hands. Both fighters circled one another, now locked in hand to hand combat. A few light blows were traded as they fully judged the styles of one another.
A right cross flew by Blair's face as she leapt backwards, clone taking the blow. However, instead of stumbling and leaving himself open, Ryan continued the motion and brought his leg up in a roundhouse kick that knocked Blair sideways in the middle of her disengage. Her eyes widened as the point of his elbow thundered into her stomach, dropping her Aura barely into the red and ending the match.
"Well fought both of you. Mr Lee, you did well in countering Miss Belladonna's Semblance, however you overextended your attacks early on which could have been much more punishing. Miss Belladonna, you Semblance was useful in the beginning to confuse and evade Mr Lee. However, you were predictable in its usage and the fact that you stayed defensive almost the entire match let Mr Lee dictate the pace of the fight."
Goodwitch had a few more students spar until class ended, analyzing them and noting strengths and weaknesses. Jauque was jostled around as he left the room, courtesy of Carson. "Oh, sorry about that Jauquey Boy, didn't see you there." Voice dripping with sarcastic sympathy, the taller boy headed down the hall with the rest of his team.
Jauque gave a brief yawn as he flopped onto his mattress, exhausted by the day's events. He felt several gazes boring into the side of his head so he rolled over, blue eyes locking with ones of green across the room. He pushed himself upright, closing his eyes for a second before opening them and scanning the room.
"We are continuing the conversation from lunch, I take it?"
His resigned question was met with several forms of agreement, from cheers and yells to subtle nods of support to disinterested gazes. He turned his focus to Natalie and scooted back on his bed so his back was to the wall. Slightly more comfortable, he resumed speaking.
"Well, to answer your question Natalie: I'm not sure what my parents were like. I don't remember them much at all."
A few people seemed taken aback by his statement although he noted that Blair and Ryan appeared to be going over his words. The faunus girl narrowed her eyes at him. "You said what your parents 'were' like. Are you saying that their gone or what?"
Jauque smiled to himself, glad someone picked up on his hint. "You could put it that way. From what I've been told by a friend of my parents, they died when I was roughly a year old."
He trailed off, letting an uncomfortable silence settle over the room. A minute or two passed before Rebecca hesitantly broke the tension. "Wh-what happened to them?"
He leaned over to his bedside table and picked up the picture frame sitting there. He handed it to the closest person, Jamie, before returning to talking.
"The friend I mentioned earlier told me that they died as heroes in the battle for Dragon's Point. At least, that's what the official record will show. He said that unofficially they were intentionally put into a situation during the battle that they couldn't survive as a de facto execution for colour treason."
If the silence before was uncomfortable, then this one was absolutely excruciating. They seemed unwilling to act, unsure of what to say or do. Ryan was the first to move, placing the picture back on the bedside table before sitting next to Jauque and placing a hand on his shoulder. The show of support was enough to break everyone else from their stupor and either willing or not, they engulfed him in a hug.
Jauque maintained a somber outward demeanour, mutely accepting the support from both teams. On the inside however, he was grinning from ear to ear, quite pleased.
Was this all it took? A bit of friendliness and a sad backstory to have them wrapped around my finger? This may be easier than I thought.
Hopefully chapter 5 will be done by the weekend although I can't promise anything.
Thank you to everyone who has followed and/or favorited the story.
See you next chapter!
