"I'm really sorry about Yang, she just like that sometimes." The girl who introduced herself as Ruby Rose said to him.

"That's alright, it was kind of my fault anyway." Jaune said.

While that was technically true, by forcing Mt. Yang to erupt into a punching, angry, mess after implying she was a miffed lover in front of everyone on the airship he in effect broken up her unofficial alliance with his idol Weiss Schnee and ensured that she was still capable of becoming an ally, friend or more despite her current hostility towards him. Thankfully the cute girl had elected to take responsibility for her older sister's actions and tried to nurse his injuries with whatever she could find on board the airship.

"I assure you not all the woman in my family are crazy like that." Ruby said pouring just enough alcohol onto a paper towel to dampen it.

"And how many women are in your family?" he asked, family was -usually- a safe topic to talk about.

"Just me and Yang. I think I have a cousin or two somewhere but I don't know them." She said dabbing the damp towel where Yang's fist met his face. "What about you?"

"I live with my mom and seven sisters." He smirked as total surprise spread across her face.

"Seven?" She gasped, "Are some adopted or something?"

"Nope." he casually responded with a smile.

"Well, that's-" she started. "I'm going to get some ice for your head." she continued before she got up to leave.

He smiled as he heard her whisper 'wow, seven.' before looking around. He guessed that he was in one of the fancier passenger compartments reserved for wealthier clientele and other 'exclusive' personnel. After the airship staff and several volunteers pried Yang's fists of his face they offered to upgrade his flight to a better class and to his distinct pleasure he found Weiss there. She refused to acknowledge him, but he knew she was listening as she pretended to read an airship magazine. Before he could initiate another conversation with her Ruby came back with a pack of ice.

"So how come your aura didn't protect you?" Ruby asked.

Oh right, that. "I was running late and had to use my aura and semblance to get here on time. I guess I use up a little too much of it." While the details eluded him he was certain that he got the basics correct.

"Well how far did you run?" she asked.

"Pretty far." He opened his map and pointed to the location of his crappy motel, "I started here then-" he traced his finger across the route he took, which was the most straight foreword route "-ended at the air strip." tapping his finger on it's location on the map.

"Oh, how long did that take you?" she asked.

"It took me less than 45 minutes." He didn't have any actual estimates for how long he had slowed time or even how much he had slowed it as he dashed towards the airstrip, so he went with the amount of time it took to get here in the 'conventional' manner.

'Why was time manipulation and everything that came with it so hard?' he wondered as Ruby gawked at him.

"That's amazing! Is your semblance super-speed?" Ruby asked.

"Yep. At least I think it is." He half-lied.

He felt conflicted about deceiving Ruby like that. While Dio did teach him the importance of lying and the benefits of keeping his true power a secret, even from his closest allies citing that they could potentially turn on and easily defeat you by coming up with ways to counter you. His mother had taught him to always be honest, citing that people always appreciate honesty in friendships, relationships of all kinds and more. Over time he learned to use a mix of the two philosophies and found that by giving people half truths he could get away with more than if he was being completely honest or completely deceptive, which in the end suited him just fine.

"MINE TOO!" she squealed startling him out of his thoughts.

She leaned in a little closer to him placing her hands on the couch to support herself. Her eyes blazed with a determination he had rarely seen in any other person, while she smiled at him.

"Hey listen. I know it's sudden but." She started, fidgeting slightly while a blush crossed her cheeks.

A hope blossomed in the back of his head and he focused his ability to analyse expressions on her as much as he could. He examined her looking for all the tell-tale signs; focused but nervous eyes? Check. Expressions of desire? Check. Slight fidgeting and other nervous ticks that told him she knew what she wanted but wasn't sure how to ask for it? Check. Hundreds of other little signs across her body and face that said that she wanted some form of intimacy with him? Checked in spades.

Could she be doing it? Could it be happening? The fabled event most guys dreamed about? Something that only appeared in the various medias? Was this cute girl about to ask him to be her boyfriend and not the other way around?

"I am wondering-" she started.

'Yes?' he smiled at her.

"-will you be-" she continued.

'YES!' his face seemed to grow brighter.

"-my best friend?" she concluded.

'NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!' his mind screamed drowning out all other thoughts.

"Sure." He said, his smiling face becoming a plastic one.

"Oh thank the gods, when I heard that I was going to Beacon I was nervous, I thought that-"

The sound of his mind crying and the internal despair that he was now officially in the dreaded 'friend zone' -again- had in effect drowned her out. He continued to look at her with his plastic smile, giving the impression that he was paying attention.

'WWWHHHHYYYYYYYY?' his lower lizard brain called out to him.

He felt the despair and anguish of it flow through him, although the part of his mind that tried to be comforting told him that he was in a better position than he normally would be in because he was this girl's 'best-friend' rather than 'friend-friend'. Which if he was correct meant more benefits than most normal friends got. Who knew, maybe he would be able to escape the friend zone and become this girl's boyfriend in time. In the end he supposed it was extremely stupid to expect her to ask him out after knowing him for less than an hour.

'Oh well I can still hope, wait what is she saying?' he thought

"-but I don't have to worry about any of that now that you're my best friend." she concluded with a smile.

"Of course. I won't promise anything but I will try my best." he said, wishing he paid even the slightest attention to what she was saying.

"Really?" she squealed "Oh thank you so much!" she said hugging him.

"Yeah. You're welcome." he responded hugging her back.

'Well when all is said and done I guess this isn't so bad.' he thought.

/-/

'This is terrible.' his mind complained as the effects of his motion sickness took over his body again.

"Jaune are you alright in there?" Ruby called from outside the bathroom he had barricaded himself in.

"Just give me a minute." he called splashing hot water on his face.

'I look terrible.' he critiqued as he looked at himself in the mirror.

While thankfully he wasn't puking his guts out like last time he did look paler and upon closer inspection apparently more gaunt. He groaned and slapped his cheeks a little forcing enough color into them to help hide whatever gaunt features he had. Looking over his reflection he judged himself presentable enough to appear in front of everyone. Another benefit to living with 8 women was that he knew how and what he needed to do to make himself presentable at any time for anyone. Even Dio had praised him one or twice on his dedication to appearances, or at least he believed it was praise.

"Uh Jaune, you might want to stay in there a bit longer." Ruby hoarsely whispered as he unlocked the door.

He opened the door "Why, what cou- uh, oh."

"So Jaune, care to continue where we left off?" his nemesis and best friend's older sister asked, staring him dead in the eyes.

'OH CRAP! HOW DO I GET OUT OF THIS?' his mind screamed.

He smiled and struck a pose, 1 leg crossed across the another while he leaned onto the door frame. His left forearm being pointed upward while his hand horizontally gripped his chin, his right placed on his hip while he smiled at her.

"Oh certainly Miss Xiao-Long, I am eager to start whenever you are." To his surprise she giggled then placed both her hands behind her back in a manner that pushed her large and ever so temping chest towards him.

"That's wonderful. I am so glad we are going to Beacon together." She paused to lean in close and whisper in his ear "Where I get to pay you back in full for earlier."

"OK! I-" He nearly jumped back.

"Great, see you then." she interrupted before walking off, smiling and almost skipping away as if something good had just happened.

He looked around, the few people who were paying attention to them did have various expressions varying from admiration to some form of disappointment on their faces. Though Weiss had a knowing smirk on her face, the rest seemed convinced the two had made up after their earlier and very public spectacle, probably thinking she apologized to him without actually saying 'I'm sorry for punching you'. He didn't think his blood couldn't get any colder, she knew how to play the social game, and apparently she knew how to do it well too. Rather than try and fight the insinuation that they were in some kind of relationship, she embraced it and all but promised to use it against him.

"So. You and Yang huh?" Ruby asked, clearly not hearing the threat her older sister made against him.

"Yeah, me and Yang." he said without properly thinking.

"Hey uh, you look a little gaunt." she said finally taking a moment to look at him.

"I'm not so good with airships." He honestly told her, after that encounter he didn't think he would ever be again.

/-/

Fortunately the terror of what his 'girlfriend' might do to him at Beacon was enough to effectively cure his motion sickness for the remainder of the flight while his mind scrambled for ways to escape or avoid what will inevitably become a big issue for him. He let out a low whine as he stepped out of the airship while a voice in the side of his head yelled 'If you told her what you knew of that woman instead of panicking and fighting her. You wouldn't be in this mess!'

"Jaune, are you feeling better?" his loyal companion asked as she stepped off the airship.

"Just. Happy to be on the ground." He said trying not to alert ruby to his internal distress.

She zoomed in front of him, effectively startling him "Look I don't know, or want to know the specifics between you and Yang, but if you hurt her in any way I will not be merciful." She said with a scowl that just made her look bizarrely adorable rather than any form of intimidating as she poked a finger at his chest plate "And don't think that being my best friend will save you from my wrath or that of my dad and uncle."

"Uh, what do your dad and uncle do exactly?" Jaune cautiously asked.

"Their both huntsmen, really good huntsmen." She responded proudly.

"Uh, how good, exactly?" he asked, trying to hide the fear he anticipated from the answer.

"Well my uncle teaches at signal academy and my dad does all kinds of work." she quickly perked up and tried scowling even more at him before continuing "They also really love Yang and were on the same team together here at Beacon so they know how to work together."

"That's great." he said, the fear of what 2 experienced and highly trained huntsmen would do to him paralyzing any and all other thought processess.

"Great, now do you know where we need to go?" she asked satisfied she had 'warned' him enough.

"I uh, think we go with the rest of the people." he said.

"Great! Let's go!" Ruby said pulling him by the hand forward.

He smiled, he couldn't fault her enthusiasm, this was Beacon academy. An institute where hundreds applied and only a handful got in. To get invited to initiation alone was an accomplishment worthy of many huntsmen. To pass meant that you were the best of the best, you had to be as there were only 3 other institutes world wide that offered the same level of education and training. Shade in Vacuo, Haven in Mistral, and Atlas which shared it's name with the kingdom. Out of all of them Beacon was his first choice with Haven being a close second as Shade was located in a desert and Atlas in the arctic. He smiled as he looked around at what he hopped and prayed would be his home for the next 4 years. It's castle like architecture, lush gardens, open courtyards, imposing tower and more made it appear to be more like a fortress from legend than a place of learning. It was so full of life, so energetic, and so, bleak?

The setting had changed to one more dark and dreary than before. Beacon had fallen, it was in ruins with all life gone, what had once been magnificent and decorative arches were now broken columns. The well maintained gardens lifeless as not even the grass seemed to be able to grow. The courtyards where people would sit, socialize and relax had suffered tremendous damage and instead of inviting seemed more like grave warnings. Where students and other staff members once walked were various Grimm, he looked up, the shining tower of beacon that offered guidance to all was now a partially collapsed mess. Something moved in his vision, it came from the nearby forest, it was something he couldn't quite see from here, but it approached Beacon.

"Hey Jaune! Remnant to Jaune! HEY JAUNE!" Ruby yelled at him.

"Huh what?" He said, looking around.

Everything was back to normal, the architecture was in pristine condition, the gardens were full and well maintained. The tower was intact and instead of Grimm there were students milling about. Another hallucination, he realized.

"You spaced out. You sure you're alright?" Ruby asked.

"I, uh-" he began.

What the hell was he supposed to say? 'I am having hallucinations where we are all probably dead, Beacon is in ruins and their are Grimm everywhere.'

That wouldn't do at all, he met Ruby only a couple hours ago and didn't want her to think he was mentally unstable or something. He pointed towards the nearby forest, despite the distance and all the architecture in the way he could still see the tops of the trees in the distance.

"-thought I saw a giant Boarbatusk over there." he concluded with a winning smile, trying to ignore the offended scoff a dark haired faunus girl with long curved tusks made.

"I don't see anything." Ruby said focusing her vision at the forest and not the girl in the same general direction.

He put an arm over her and began pulling her to the side "Well it's gone now and I-"

His mouth involuntarily opened and his eyes crossed over his nose as something hard with plenty of force behind it met with his testicles. He made a wheezing sound and fell foreword twisting to see what hit him. It was the faunus girl with the tusks, she stood behind him at optimum kicking distance with the foulest expression on her face.

"I am not fat, or a Boarbatusk." she declared staring down at him.

"Ok." he managed to wheeze.

"I have a healthy body type and shape." she continued, her eyes drilling holes into him.

"Yes. You are a strong, beautiful, and extraordinary young woman capable of so much and I am sorry to insinuate otherwise." he almost pleaded, silently thanking his sisters for giving him 'pointers' on what women generally wanted to hear.

Satisfied the girl walked off leaving Ruby to pull him to his feet.

"What was that about?" she silently asked, apparently fearing the girl was still in hearing range.

"She thought I was talking about her." Jaune whispered to her.

"Really?" Ruby quietly asked before taking a quick peak over her shoulder.

"Well, she is kinda fat." she silently giggled as she practically dragged him to what he hopped was the infirmary.

/-/

After recovering sufficiently enough to walk on his own the two delved into a discussion about Ruby's favorite topic; weapons. It proved to be interesting as not only did she explain the intricacies of her beloved weapon Crescent Rose, but also how she hopped to modify it in the future. He in turn talked about his sword and the history behind it, being sure the embellish the facts a little to make his unmodified and frankly mundane sword seem more interesting compared to the self-proclaimed weapons geek's bizarre sniper rifle-scythe. This continued until they heard the call for all first years to make their way to the open-aired auditorium over Beacon's PA system. After asking for directions and getting lost twice they finally made it to their destination. After finding a place to stand Jaune saw a familiar face enter onto the stage.

"Hey I know that guy." he said.

"Oh, you know headmaster Ozpin?" Ruby asked.

"Wait. Headmaster!?" he nearly yelled into her face.

"Yeah, you didn't know?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"No. I met him one and thought he was a detective or something." he said.

"Really? When did you meet him?" Ruby asked.

"Last night, after I was taken to the, police, station." he awkwardly said.

"Me. Too." Ruby replied equally awkwardly.

The silence between them was terrible and led to equally unwelcome insinuations that they were both juvenile delinquents.

"Lets, never talk about this again." He said trying to make things less awkward.

"Yeah, that's probably best." she said, accepting his solution with an awkward smile.

"Ahem. I'll keep this brief." Their headmaster began.

True to his word the speech was short and ridiculously blunt. In the course of 30 seconds the headmaster managed to call everyone present unguided fools in need of proper experience and determination as any and all past training practically meant nothing now that they were in Beacon. After the speech the headmistress took his place and ordered them to assemble in the ballroom at night while scanning the crowd. He nearly winced when her gaze passed over him and stood perfectly still, not even daring to breath out of fear that she would react to him or give some indication of recognition or worse hostility. He however fared better than Ruby who took the opportunity to hide behind him, apparently thinking that if she hid behind someone larger than her she would be exempt from the soul piercing glare Glynda seemed to give. Her shiver as Glynda's gaze passed over them said otherwise.

"Ruby are you ok?" he asked when the headmistress left.

"I'm fine. Is the scary lady gone?" Ruby asked.

"Yep, she's gone." Jaune confirmed.

She forced a gap between his right arm and torso then peeked out from it. Once convinced that she was safe she finally stopped clinging to him and moved to his side.

"So, was it just me or did the headmaster seem 'off' to you?" Ruby asked.

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked 'it seemed more like he was insulting us.' went unsaid.

"I don't know but it seemed like he wasn't entirely there, ya know what I mean?" A new voice asked as a hand clasped around his shoulder.

Ruby made an 'eep' sound while he turned to see his current nemesis smiling dangerously as she tightened her grip on both of them ensuring that they wouldn't escape.

"But enough about that, lets talk about the two of you being taken to the police station." Yang said, while Ruby tried and failed to get away.

'help me.' Ruby mouthed to him as Yang carried them away, probably towards their doom.

AN: Oh poor Jaune how I torment thee. Finally he arrives at Beacon after a short and perilous journey full of non-Grimm dangers. What bizarre antics and adventures await him here? How will he and Ruby survive Yang's interrogation? How will his tutelage under Dio affect his stay at Beacon? Find out soon enough on 'Jaune Arc's Bizarre Adventure'.