Hiya, Mithos here! This chapter will bring a close to our first week at Beacon (Who knew one week would take a month to write?). I hope it comes off as funny, because I thought some of the lines were gold.

As always, special thanks to Hakumein for actual laughing at my jokes (and giving me ideas), masterofbones for laughing at everything else (and correcting my terrible grammar), and Ordon for getting the idea of a Murloc invasion into Remnant stuck in my head.

Hope you all enjoy the story!

Jaune opens his eyes to find himself lying upside down on the couch, legs dangling off the back. How did I get here? There was studying with Weiss, then the game, and then the alcohol was the last thing I remember… Oh. OH. Oh no.

"Good morning, lover-boy." Yang looks down at him, sitting on the chair opposite of him. "You comfortable in that position?"

Why is she waggling her eyebrows… Oh. I get it. No, Yang, this is serious business! Quickly fixing his posture, he faces her with the most somber expression he can muster. "Yang, please be honest. What happened last night?"

"Let's see." She puts a finger up to her chin in consideration. "We went to the nightclub."

"Right…" He tenses up as she continues.

"Then we danced…"

"Uh huh." Jaune moves closer in anticipation of her answer.

"Then you had the Crevice Spike and we stayed at Junior's place since the airships stopped running." The tension drains from his body as he relaxes and slouches back on the couch. Yang grins as she sees him relax. "Oh, and some stuff happened in between that was pret-ty embarrassing."

Jaune ruffles his hair in frustration. "Damn it, Yang! What happened?!" She smirks in response with a zipping motion with her mouth to indicate her silence. This fuels his panic as he feels cold sweat running down his back.

As Jaune bangs his head on the table trying to remember, Melanie and Miltia leave their rooms, yawning and stretching out their arms. They greet him with a "Good morning," Melanie with a big smile on her face while Miltia refuses to meet his eyes.

Miltia not looking at me is a bad sign. "Morning. Say, the alcohol seems to be affecting my memory. Can you remind me what happened after I got drunk?"

As soon as the words left his lips, Miltia's face blooms red as she runs off back to her room, slamming the door on arrival. Melanie's smile grows. "You don't remember? This is going to be interesting."

Damn it, is there some sort of secret rule for girls to not answer my question?! On that thought, Junior leaves his room with a scowl on his face. Thank you, finally someone that might be reasonable. "Junior, can you enlighten me on what happened last night?"

Junior's scowl grows visibly worse as he furrows his eyebrows. "What happened? What HAPPENED?!" His voice booms, shaking the table. Oh god, he sounds even angrier than when Yang ruined the club. "You decided to stick your tongue down the throat of everyone you talked to!"

A sweep of relief runs through him before he begins panicking again. Thank god it wasn't like last time. Wait. Everyone? He can see Yang and Melanie grinning at what that implies. "I'm so sorry!" He stands up and takes a deep bow, back in a ninety degree angle. "When I drink, I tend to get overly friendly. I'm really sorry for what I did!"

Yang gives a shrug. "That's alright. Though, I was hoping you'd get more embarrassed." She pinches his cheeks as he straightens his back. "Not as big of a reaction as I had wanted." Only because this wasn't as bad as the first time...

Melanie gives him a coy smile. "I accept your apology. However, use less tongue next time."

Good, I didn't want to ruin my friendship with the twins. Wait, next time?

"That's okay. But there's no way in hell you're ever getting a drink at my place again." Junior sighs as he finishes off the chorus of pardons.

"Wait. Did I…?" Jaune adjusts his shirt collar nervously.

Yang gives him a light punch. "There you go, you love hunter! This explains your troubles! You were just batting for the wrong team!" Jaune groans at the nickname variation she made for him. "Made a big scene out of it too. For how long you were going, I thought you were going to suffocate the man."

"Yes. Now stop talking about it." Junior shakes his head as he walks off to the kitchen. Jaune can feel a hot burning sensation on his cheeks. Well, that definitely didn't happen last time.

Yang lets out a loud laugh. "That's the expression I wanted to see." She starts fiddling with her scroll. "So Jaune, what are your plans for the rest of today? I'm planning on bringing the rest of my team out for some bonding if you want to join us?"

Melanie sends a glare at Yang. "Actually, Miltia and I were planning to go on another shopping trip that we would love some company for." The two girls look at each other, staring each other down for their respective invitation.

Jaune misses the sparks flying between the two as he remembers his plans for today. Oh CRAP! He pulls the scroll out from his pockets. 57 Missed Calls and 108 Messages from Pyrrha. "Yang, did you ever let our teams know we weren't going to be back last night?"

"Now that you mention it, that completely slipped my mind. Eh, I'm sure Rubes will explain it to everyone. Not the first time I didn't go back." The tapping on her scroll intensifies. "Why, what's the problem?"

Looking at his scroll again, he notices it is already past the meeting time. "I have to go! I'll make up for this next time! Again, I'm really sorry!" His voice barely reaches them as he runs out the door, clothes disheveled and shoes only half donned.

"So… do you think we should tell him about the girls he kissed that left their scroll numbers for him?" Melanie removes a small stack of papers from her pocket.

Yang takes the papers and rips them up. "Naw. This awkward easily-embarrassed Jaune is so much more fun."

Melanie nods as she takes out a significantly larger stack of papers from her other pocket. "Then what about the guys'?"

Yang flashes her a smile as she takes the other stack. "I've got a plan for these."

Jaune sits in a seiza position, staring at an imaginary spot on the picnic blanket to avoid the gaze of his angry partner. Even without seeing her face, he can feel the intensity of her stare on him, hot enough to set fire to the grass or the trees surrounding them. Looking around, he sees everyone else in park avoid looking towards their direction, afraid of being caught in the crossfire. He tries to extend his hand out at the lunchbox in front of him before Pyrrha slaps it away, her anger unabated.

"Pyrrha, I believe he has apologized enough. Let him eat." Ren begins eating from his lunch of fried rice, kimchi, salted salmon, and egg rolls. "He looks like he's about to pass out."

That's because I haven't eaten in twelve hours! God, Ren's lunch looks delicious. Jaune wipes the drool off the corner of his mouth and looks down at the lunch in front of him, unable to touch it due to the angry woman in front of him. As his stomach rumbles in hunger, he looks up at her with the best puppy-eye impression he can muster. "Please? Honestly, I really am sorry."

Pyrrha lets out an exasperated sigh. "Jaune, you keep disappearing on us. With how unpredictable you are, you can hardly fault us for being worried or angry you didn't reply to any of our messages. But I suppose it isn't worth ruining our outing for that. You can eat."

"Yay!" He quickly shovels the food into his mouth, pieces of chicken sticking on to his face. "Thars iz diligous. Tanks for the food!" Swallowing before he continues, he turns to face Ren. "As your leader, I now designate you as Main Chief!"

"You're welcome. But I hope you would appreciate it by eating it more cleanly." Ren hands him a napkin that he uses to wipe his face. "I suppose I should be happy that you're not as bad as Nora."

"Speaking of, where is she?" Scanning around the park, he can not find any signs of the orange haired girl. "I thought this was supposed to be a team bonding picnic."

This time, Ren lets out a sigh. "On our way here, Nora found a stray dog and went chasing after it. I let her know where we are, she should be here any moment now."

As if calling out her name summoned her, Nora runs in through the park entrance with thirty dogs in tow. "I'm queen of the castle~" She gives a short hop each time she repeats her ditty as she approaches the rest of the team. People scamper off as the dogs threaten to stampede and run them over, one couple even losing their blanket in the escape.

On arrival, she gives a waving motion toward the dogs. "Disperse, my minions!" With that command, the dogs all split off in different directions. She sits down on the blanket next to Ren and begins eating her lunch of pancakes like nothing happened.

"Nora's semblance isn't talking to animals or something, right?" Jaune looks over at Ren, hoping he would have some answers.

"No, but she always did have an affinity with stray animals. It was difficult keeping some from following her to Beacon." Ren wipes the syrup off Nora's face with a napkin.

Okay, so don't try to understand things you learn about Nora. That way lies madness.

As Nora slurps her pancakes, she finally meets the gazes of everyone. "Oh, hey Jauny, you're actually here! You didn't come back yesterday, so we took bets on what happened to you. My bet was that you were abducted by an alien. Were you?" She crawls closer, her face inches away him as she stares into his eyes. "Were you?"

Jaune slides back to gain some distance. "No. Yang dragged me out to a club and we lost track of time. Ended up staying at a friend's place overnight."

Pyrrha interjects. "So you and Yang spent the night together?"

"Yes." Wait, that sounds wrong. "Well, we were in separate rooms. I think. I don't actually remember." Wait, that didn't help. "Basically, nothing happened, so don't worry about it!" He gives them a feigned smile, hoping to alleviate their worries. Please don't ask any more questions. It'll be really awkward if I have to talk about the kisses again.

Everyone gives him a look of disbelief, not trusting his story. A few seconds later, Nora opens her eyes wide. "Wait, that answer is exactly what an alien-made clone of Jaune would say!" She grabs his face, squeezing to form fish lips. "If you aren't an imposter, then tell me, WHO IS JAUNE IN LOVE WITH?!"

"I love Master. But I don't think that answer helps tell me apart from a copy, considering I never told any of you." As he takes her hands off his face, he can see a look of disappointment on Pyrrha's face. Was she really hoping I was an alien clone? "And please stop doing that."

Nora blinks a few times, before giving a shrug and going back to her pancakes. At the mention of Jaune's master, Ren takes out a book from his bag. "Here's the copy of Grimm you requested. I'll give you the other copies later."

Jaune stares blankly at the book as he flips through the pages. "Ren. These pages are hand-copied. Why are they hand-copied?" Oh God, he even hand wrote the page numbers. How much time did he spent on this?! Upon closer examination, Jaune can see dark circles under the boy's eyes.

Ren tilts his head in confusion. "What do you mean? How else would you copy something?"

Jaune screams out. "With a copier! Modern technology! Something that doesn't make you spend days on!" Ren continues looking at him with a blank expression. "Okay, tag out. Pyrrha, you're in."

Pyrrha clears her throat. "What he means is that with a copier, you can copy these pages without having to handwrite them, saving you a great deal of effort. You do know what a copier is, right?"

Nora bursts out in between Pyrrha and Ren to interject her own answer. "Nope! Ren's sensei was super old fashioned, so he's very technology inept. The only thing he knows how to do on his scroll is to make calls!" Jaune and Pyrrha look over at Ren who nods in agreement.

Question marks float over Jaune's head. "Wait… So then how do you enter our room?"

"Duh? That's why we're always together!" Nora grabs Ren by the shoulder and pulls him closer. "We're like two peas in a pod! If one pea had the strength of ten other peas and the other pea is a ninja!"

Ren appears nonchalant as Nora tightens her grip to prove her point. "In the case she's not there, I climb in through the window. The teachers have already been notified of this."

What the hell? "Nora, the two of you have been together for awhile-"

Nora interrupts. "But not together-together."

"Right. Haven't you tried to teach him how to use electronics?" How does one live without electronics? I go into withdrawal a day without it!

"I tried, but inexplicably they always explode in Ren's hands." Nora shrugs. "So I gave up on trying."

Jaune suppresses the urge to facepalm as he hands the book back to Ren. "Can you make sure he uses a copier to do the next ones? And Ren, whenever you have technology troubles, just ask me. It'll save me headaches in the long run."

"Aye aye, boss man!" Nora salutes Jaune before running off to chase the nearest dog in the vicinity.

Ren gives a slight nod before he begins to pursue her. "I'm going to make sure she doesn't get too rough with the animals. Her hugs can and did break ribs." With how her last one almost suffocated me, I'm not surprised.

The remaining two clean up the empty lunchboxes before moving the blanket underneath the tree's shade. Drinking the tea Ren prepared, they sit next to each other observing as Ren chases Nora as she chases after a dog. When Nora finally catches up, she holds it in an iron grip while giving it a hug. After a few moments, Ren taps on her shoulder, causing her to change her hug into a toss into the air instead. She begins juggling it, giggling as the dog's saliva spray around her and the dog's legs flail around wildly in an attempt to escape.

Seeing this scene, the other children in the park start crowding around them, where Ren replicates Nora's behavior with the children. Ren cracks a small smile as the other children laugh and leap on to him, asking for their turn. Nora eventually lets the dog go before joining Ren playing with the children.

Jaune breaks the silence. "You know, when we're like this, do you think we resemble the other parents looking at their children?" He looks over to see Pyrrha's face with a tinge of red. That's strange. It isn't that hot of a day.

Pyrrha looks at the other parents in the park, avoiding his gaze. "Perhaps. But in our family of four, I believe you would be the difficult child in the family."

"Hey! That's… actually accurate. Strangely enough, Nora doesn't get any complaints." He scratches his head. "I wonder why."

"It's a difference in expectations. People expect Nora to behave as she does. You, on the other hand, are hard to predict." Pyrrha inches closer. "I don't mind, but I wish you would inform us about your side adventures."

Jaune looks away with a 'Mmm,' an answer neither accepting or denying her request. Sorry, but I have secrets that I can never tell any of you.

Turning their gazes back towards Nora and Ren, they see the children dragging them off towards the playground. The two look over in their direction for permission, where Jaune gives a shooing motion to give his authorization. The kids chase them, smiles cemented on their face as they run around in a game of tag. Whether it is the pollen getting into his eyes or the scene's inherent innocence, Jaune finds himself teary eyed.

"Jaune, what is your reason for wanting to be a Hunter?"

That was an abrupt change in topic. "Master, the person who took care of me, was a Huntress. I admire her more than anyone else in the world, so it only seems natural that I would imitate her. Why'd you ask?"

Pyrrha looks at at the children swarming around Ren and Nora with a shine in her eye. "This scene reminds me of why I wanted to be a Huntress." She wipes away a small tear from the corner of her eye. "My family comes from a long line of Hunters, and it is up to the eldest of each generation to continue the legacy. That fell upon me, but…"

Jaune hands her a tissue. "Did you not want to?"

Pyrrha uses the tissue to blow her nose. "No, I did. But being a child, that didn't stop my jealousy of the freedom that my siblings and other children had. While they were off laughing in the playground with their friends, I had to run and throw spears until my arms and legs felt like falling off."

"But it was worth it in the end, right? You can reasonably call yourself one of the best in your generation. And that gave you opportunities that few can say they had." He sees her look away with a pained expression. "Am I wrong?"

Pyrrha bites on her lower lip. "You are correct. However, as a child, I couldn't see past my jealousy. All I wanted were friends of my own, people I could relate with. Eventually, I broke down in anger and told my father I wanted to quit and my reason why."

Jaune pours more tea for Pyrrha, not asking for her to continue. She'll tell me more when she feels comfortable enough to do so. They find their eyes naturally drawn back towards their teammates. Nora leads half of the group of children in an attack on Ren, while Ren carries the other half in a strategic retreat into the play structure. However, Ren's group eventually becomes cornered and they bow down in surrender. What kind of surrealist game did they change to?

Pyrrha lets out a small laugh. "What game do you think Nora ended roping them into?"

"I don't know, but seeing as how Nora is demanding reparations, I don't want to think too hard about it."

A few minutes elapses in silence before Pyrrha continues. "After hearing out my outburst, my father told me to follow him. He lead me to a bench to watch the playground that my siblings and their friends were playing at." Jaune passes her another tissue as she looks down in an attempt to suppress her tears. As she speaks, she deliberates over each word as if they directly weigh her down. "I will never forget what he told me: 'Pyrrha, you want the freedom and innocence they have. You want to have friends you can play with, and to live with a sense of security without the fear of Grimm. However, you must understand, it is only because you have taken the responsibility of being a Huntress that gives them this opportunity. Because you have the talent to survive and fight back against the Grimm, that none of them will have to. You're the one that will protect their smiles.' After he said that, my father held me in a close hug, saying 'I'm sorry for forcing this responsibility on you.'"

The sounds of laughter around them seem out of place in their solemn atmosphere. As Pyrrha wipes away the tears on her face, Jaune wraps his arm around her, placing his hand on her shoulder and holding her close. The soft sobbing slowly dies out before she begins speaking in a whisper. "My father died a year later defending an orphanage outside Vale. In his letter to me, he told me how he had been reluctant to be a Hunter as well. However, when he considered the choice to have the ability to defend his future children as opposed to not, that cut away all his hesitation." She rests her head on his shoulder. "The reason why I told you this story is because I want to bridge the gap between us. Jaune, I know you hide things from us. But I want us to be open, so I'll take the first step so you can take yours whenever you're ready. I want us to be partners more than just in name."

What can I say to that? Any promise will seem hollow, any answer will seem like a deflection. I'm sorry Pyrrha. Even if I see you as my partner, it'll be a long time before I can place that trust again. But, even if I can't do that, there is something I can do.

The two remain sitting in stillness, watching as the world continues without them. After the children around Ren and Nora disperse after being called by their parents, they return to restore the team once again.

"Hiya!" Nora gives a large smile and a wave as they approach. "Whatcha two talking about?" Ren takes a quick glance at Pyrrha before looking away. He opens his mouth to say something, but stops midway with a frown on his face.

Jaune musters as much confidence as he can to return the smile. "We were just talking about what to do next. Since we still have time, why don't we go watch a movie and go window shopping?"

"Ooo! I've been trying to find a pancake pattern to act as our new curtains for awhile now! That way, I can spot which room is ours even from the ground!"

Don't question it, don't question it. They pack up the rest of their belongings and begin walking. However, Pyrrha stands in place, staring at the ground and lost in thought.

"Pyr? Let's go." Jaune turns back to grab Pyrrha's hand as she gives a conflicted smile. Sorry, but I can't fulfill your wish for us to be transparent. But at least I can try and give you the friendship you wanted.

"Why did we let Nora pick the movie? The blood covered up so much of the screen I couldn't even see the actor's faces!" Jaune unlocks the door to their room to let everyone in.

Ren walks over and places their lunchboxes into the sink. "At least the dialogue was interesting. It must have been difficult to write a story composed entirely of one liners."

Nora tosses the shopping bags on the side of her bed. "Well, I liked it. I especially liked the part where the zombie's head came off." That was like every other scene! "What did you think of the movie, Pyrrha?" Pyrrha sits on her bed without a response. "Pyrrha?"

"Hmm?" She looks up with eyes unfocused. "I thought the movie was good." Ren opens his mouth to say something before falling silent.

It's probably my fault she's so down. But I can't answer her expectation of me. Not yet. Hoping to clear the mood, he changes the topic. "Did we drop everything off? Let's go get food from the cafeteria before it gets too late." Nodding in agreement, the three follow Jaune to leave the room.

Oh hey, it's Team Ruby. "Good evening, gi-" As they step out, the reality of what he is looking at sinks in and his words leave him.

"Good evening, Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, and lover hunter. You all looked like you saw a ghost." Yang grins as she observes their reactions. "So, what do you think?"

In front of him, Jaune sees Weiss wearing a maid uniform, wearing a lace headpiece instead of her usual ribbon that ties her ponytail. A duster is strapped onto the side to complete the costume. Next to her, Blake is dressed in a police uniform, the police cap replacing her black ribbon. By her side, she has a baton that is most certainly not a prop. Ruby also has donned a costume, a wolf costume with fake plastic teeth. She carries a wicker basket that finds use only in fairy tales.

Jaune can only mumble the scrambled words 'Blargu,' as response for the scene in front of him. Everyone stands in silence before turning to face Nora when a flash of light comes forth from her scroll. "What? There's no way I'm not keeping a picture of this."

After Nora's response, Weiss and Blake unleash their anger as they stomp forward towards Jaune, backing him into the door of Team Juniper's room.

Weiss takes out the duster and points at him with a glare on her face. "Yang said this was your idea." She smiles in a way that send shivers down his spine. "How would you like to die?"

"Yes, Jaune." Blake walks forward, slapping the baton on her hand menacingly. "What are your last words before you meet misery's manifestation?"

The danger of his situation finally snaps him back into reality. "How was this my idea?! The only thing I told Yang was… wait, how in the hell did Yang convinced you to do this anyway?"

The blonde responsible takes out her scroll and taps on it with a growing grin. "I have dirt on everyone. And I mean everyone."

Jaune catches the subtle threat. "Yes. This was entirely my fault. It was my idea to make everyone dress up in ironic costumes. This is in no way Yang's terrible elaborate plan to make me take the fall for her."

A laugh escapes from Pyrrha at his confession. "I'm sorry, it's just… Jaune, you didn't have to..." She continues her hysteric laughter.

That was the first genuine laugh I heard from her all day. If me playing the fool would alleviate her worries, then… Using his partner as distraction, Jaune takes out his scroll and unlocks the door to his room. "YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!" He sprints toward the window, jumping out of it as the baton whooshes past his head. Grabbing the tree branch, he makes a spin to kill his momentum before landing.

Jaune looks up to see the rest of the two teams staring down at him. He quotes one of the movie's one-liners before making a mad dash. ""Hasta-la-vista, baby!"

Ruby shouts at him before he can get much distance. "Wait, so are we still going to the date tomorrow?"

As soon as she said it, Jaune turns around to see a gigantic red ball of Aura emitting from the window. Well Nora, with this I definitely won't forget which room is ours looking from the ground up.

"I'm so sorry, Jaune." Ruby looks up at him with a pout. "I didn't realize Yang would get so angry. I just used the word date like Blake taught me, but I didn't realize how I misused it, and then you had to get punished, but seriously who knew Weiss could move so fast-"

Jaune puts his hand on her head to ruffle her hair while giving a reassuring smile. "Rubes, it's okay. It's not your fault. Your team is just... really protective." And vindictive. "Yang apologized, and we got a crazy story out of it. Who knew Blake was so proficient in rope use?" Actually, why does she have rope treated with beeswax anyway? The only reason I can think of is…

Ruby returns the smile but with a hint of guilt in her expression. "Well, I'm going to make it up to you. I'll teach you so hard you'll hit a target from a hundred yards away blindfolded!" She pushes him in front of the stand of the shooting range, placing an unloaded handgun in front of him. "That's a G20. Let me know if the weight or feel is good. It doesn't have the cartridge in it, so just know it's lighter than it's supposed to be."

Jaune picks up the handgun, copying the police's shooting pose he saw in the action movie yesterday. "The gun itself is fine, but it feels weird holding a weapon that's not a sword."

"Once we mod your sword, that won't be a problem. Now let's adjust your posture." Ruby grabs his arms in an attempt to fix his stance. "Ughhh… I can't see from it from your perspective." She grabs a short stool and places it behind him to stand on and elevate her height.

"Shouldn't we put ammo before we shoot? Isn't that the whole point?"

"Pshhh. You're not getting live ammo as a complete beginner. We're going to do some dry runs and image training before you get to actually shoot. Now let's see." Ruby closes the distance between the two and grabs his arms, changing his form until he stands in the correct shooting posture. "Huh. Everyone else says you're scrawny, but you actually have some muscle."

"Thank you! You have no idea how many times I hear that. So, how do I look?" He pulls the trigger a few times as he takes imaginary aim at the targets.

"You look...fine." She shortens the distance until he could feel her breath on his back.

"Uhhh Rubes?" There is no answer as she wraps his arms around his, squeezing his biceps. "RUBY!"

Ruby shakes her head as she escapes her trance. "Huh? What? Oh, sorry, were you saying something? I got distracted by something Blake said the other day."

What the hell is Blake teaching this girl? "I was talking about my shooting posture. Does this look right to you?"

"Yup, it looks fine! Now try and do some visualization and aiming while I tell you how accurate or off you are."

A few hours later…

"Jaune…"

"Don't say it…"

"You haven't hit the target a single time yet." That line never works! It's almost like it motivates them to say it anyway! Ruby holds up several paper targets with the only holes being outside the picture of the person. "Let's try this one more time to see what happened. I don't see any problems with how you're aiming, standing, or holding the gun. This is really weird."

Jaune picks up the gun, loading the cartridge in. Taking a deep breath, he stands exactly how Ruby describes it, lining up the sight and taking aim. He squeezes the trigger, firing several rounds. He lets out a sigh as each shot misses the target's human silhouette. Removing the cartridge, he places the gun down and facing towards the range. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I feel like I'm aiming correctly and everything too."

Ruby taps on her scroll, causing the machine to bring up the paper target up to them. "I saw it. You have everything down, but the moment you press down on the trigger you unconsciously move your aim, causing the shot to miss. It's almost like…"

Like I can't even consider the idea of killing another person. Even if it's only a picture of a human figure, I can't take aim at it. "Thanks Rubes, but I don't think a gun is for me. I really appreciate your help though."

Ruby places a hand on his shoulder. "Jaune…"

Jaune takes her hand off him and gives a feigned smile. "No, it's okay! Master never taught me how to shoot anyway, so it's fine! As I said, a sword feels right to me, so I should just stick with that." Ruby opens her mouth to try and interrupt, but he continues speaking to prevent her from doing so. "Now, let's go get dinner. I might be able to convince the lunch lady to give us more cookies with my impish boy charms."

Ruby cracks a small smile at his claim. "Jaune, I think she will reduce the amount of cookies we get. No charms."

"Hmm. What if we use Ren's boyish charms instead…?"

Jaune collapses on his bed, the fatigue over the weekend finally catching up to him. Still can't believe Weiss, Yang, and Blake hung me from the tree last night. I couldn't catch a wink of sleep yesterday. He looks over to see the rest of his team in their beds. Ren sleeps in complete silence, chest not moving and breathing quietly like a corpse. Nora sleeps with the sheets and pillows already on the ground, her legs hanging off the bed. Pyrrha's posture seems relatively normal, the only thing out of place being the book still in her hands.

Jaune cracks a small smile as he reminisces about the weekend. Studying was actually fun with Weiss. Yang is pushy, but everything is exciting with her around. My team always seem so supportive, and I'm never bored with them. And Ruby is so innocent, it's a fresh breath of air. I guess Ozpin was right to suggest that I come to Beacon.

His scroll vibrates in the drawer next to his bed. Who would message me so late? Speak of the devil, it's Ozpin. After opening and reading the message, Jaune grins in anticipation.

Come to my office at 8:00 pm on Wednesday. We have your first mission.

And that's the chapter! I hope it had a good mix of character development with fluff to make it enjoyable. As we can see, Pyrrha is a bit obsessive with the idea of Jaune, but he can't really respond in kind. The conflict will be something we see more in the future.

As for the story, this is where we start heavily diverging from canon as we follow Jaune's missions and how he ends up being pulled into all the plots and schemes of Ozpin vs. Salem/Cinder. Keep an eye out for the next arc, it's going to be a biggie!

And, as always, thank you all so very very much for reading and leaving reviews. Every comment pushes me to write as quickly as I can, so please comment away! Oh, and I plan on writing a smile omake/side chapter for Jaune/Master's interactions for Beacon for the 300 followers breakpoint. Let me know if that's something you guys want!

Mithos out!