Jaune was jolted awake the next morning by a voluminous, familiar voice. Nora Valkyrie was relatively nearby, cheerily waking up her long-time companion Lie Ren with a sing-song declaration of the time of day. It was familiar; in fact, it was their morning ritual. No one in team JNPR had ever dared to buy an alarm clock – Nora would probably have tried to compete with it, and she was effective enough as she was.

Jaune pulled himself out of sleep with the kind of mental discipline that a year of combat training will give you, though it didn't entirely dispel the fog. His dreams had been violent, almost painted in great strokes which obscured logical detail in favour of overpowering instinct. As a result, his rest hadn't been particularly rejuvenative... but it would have to do.

Today was the Emerald Forest, and Jaune knew that things were still very delicate. One wrong move on his part could lead to he and Pyrrha not being paired together, or to Ren, Nora, Pyrrha and him becoming team JNPR – the idea that Nora wouldn't find Ren and partner up with him never even occurred to Jaune. Time travel or not, if there was one thing he could count on to stay the same it was Nora.

By the time Jaune had finished his ablutions he was basically functional, and as he headed to the dining hall he encountered a slightly panicky Ruby, who had apparently discovered that Yang prioritized breakfast and morning coffee over waking her little sister. This was unfortunate because Ruby couldn't remember the way to dining hall herself, and so she'd been stressing out over missing breakfast. Jaune couldn't help but chuckle as he and Ruby made the trip, noticing that the younger girl paid far more attention to their route this time.

Yang had kept open seats beside her for both of them, and called them over once they had collected their breakfasts. Jaune had chosen a selection of light, slow-burning foods, remembering that it had been pure chance which saved him the embarrassment of losing his breakfast before landing in the Emerald Forest...well. Chance and the fact that he'd forgotten where the dining hall was. Apparently flight was better on an empty stomach, but he'd learned that in combat it could be a disadvantage, so fruits and carbohydrates it was.

Ruby and Yang had chosen somewhat less tactical options; Yang was demolishing a pile of bacon and eggs, while Ruby had procured an entire box of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes. Jaune couldn't help but laugh when he saw that, though he quickly had to apologize to a blushing Ruby, who apparently thought he was laughing at her admittedly childish choice in cereal. Breakfast was much quieter than dinner had been the night before; after all, there was a major event coming up in a couple of hours.

Game faces were coming out all along the table. Well, mostly. Weiss' controlled exterior wasn't giving any easy tells, though Jaune had come to know her well enough to make an informed guess along the lines of her bring more than a little anxious. Blake...well, he'd never got to know Blake that well, but her demure attitude was just as hard to read as Weiss'. He could hear Nora and, technically, Ren's wholly one-sided conversation regarding ways to ensure they were paired together, as the excitable female warrior suggested they bribe Ozpin. Terrifyingly enough, it wasn't the craziest plan Jaune had ever heard her concoct.

Jaune had been prepared since he went to sleep the night before. He'd identified the route he'd have to take through the Emerald Forest, identified the landmarks he would have to try and orient himself around in flight, and had also figured out where he was most likely to cross Pyrrha's path, formulating his plan around the information he had gathered first and second hand in the aftermath of his original exercise. As such, he spent the time getting himself into mental readiness. His approach to each situation had to be flawless if he wanted to be successful.

Breakfast was over in under half an hour, the short time aided by the lack of conversation, and soon the students were making their way back to the lockers. Jaune noted that Ruby didn't need help finding this building; of course, she would care far more about her weapon than less important things...like food. Jaune hung back for a bit while the sisters entered, breathing in and out slowly. This was his first interaction with Pyrrha; if he got it wrong, then the entire plan could be thrown off balance, and that was unacceptable. Jaune's eyes almost flashed as he opened them, utterly resolute. His plan would work; he would make it work.

He crossed the room to locker 636, well away at the back. He passed between a rather indignant Ruby and a sheepish Yang, who seemed to be making an attempt to push Ruby into social interaction, much to her younger sister's dismay. As he continued walking, past the next row of lockers, he locked his neck, making sure that he didn't turn. He could hear Weiss speaking and, a moment later, her voice. Pyrrha's voice, that he had last heard whispering a teary apology before they were separated. It took everything Jaune had not to turn on the spot and run to her, but he forced himself to do it. He had to stick to the plan.

He collected Crocea Mors from its repository and returned it to its usual position on his belt. Having done so, he tried to force all the memories of Pyrrha which were messing with his emotions aside for a moment, stuck a silly grin on his face, and returned to where he knew Weiss was trying to talk Pyrrha into teaming up with her. "Oh, hello again, Weiss!" he greeted the heiress, whose entire body suddenly stiffened.

The pale girl turned slowly to look at him, and he knew that if looks could kill, it would take more than Monty to resurrect him. "You again." she stated, boring holes in him with her eyes.

"Yes, me again. Jaune Arc, the one and only." agreed Jaune cheerfully.

"Hello Jaune!" offered a third voice. He glanced in her direction uncontrollably, and his heart skipped a beat. As beautiful as he remembered, Pyrrha Nikos cut an undeniably impressive figure, seeming almost too good to be merely human. But that was just appearances – inside, Pyrrha was perfectly human...just a better soul than most.

"Yeah, hello." he replied, quickly turning back to Weiss.

Stick to the plan Jaune, stick to the plan...

"So, Weiss, after you spoke so admiringly of me the other day..." he began, watching from behind his mask of overconfidence as Weiss' marble face grew slowly redder, "and with the rumours about teams flying all around, I was thinking that perhaps you and I would make an interesting duo in the days to come. Waddya say?" Weiss seemed to be a bit too emotional to speak properly, and time seemed to slow for Jaune as he anxiously waited for the line he hoped was coming.

"Actually..." Oh thank Monty. "I think the teams are comprised of four students each." Jaune tried not to let the outpouring of relief he'd just experienced show on his face as he turned back to Pyrrha, and tried even harder to crush any signs of recognition.

"Oh, really? Well then I might as well offer a lady such as yourself the same deal." Keeping his voice straight was becoming increasingly difficult; listening to his father's advice had truly been one of his greatest mistakes.

Weiss apparently got herself back under control around that time, because she interjected physically, taking a stand between Jaune and Pyrrha. "Okay...Jaune, wasn't it?...do you have any idea who you're talking to?" His teammate. His teacher. His partner. His best friend. The only woman to ever think of him as more than a friend, more than family. The reason he was here now, trying to make things right.

"Not in the slightest." replied Jaune. Weiss seemed to blanch slightly.

"This," she began, "is Pyrrha."

The red-haired warrior waved from her position several inches above the heiress, with a cheery "Hello again!"

"Pyrrha was the top graduate in her class from Sanctum."

Still working to preserve his 'utterly oblivious' facade, Jaune managed to reply with "Never heard of it."

Weiss grew visibly more frustrated. "She's won the Mistral Regional Tournaments four years in a row; a new record." Jaune was sure that Monty was laughing at him from somewhere as he tried to hold himself together in the face of the combined laughter, longing and mild insanity which was building like an avalanche against his psyche.

"The what now?". His voice didn't even waver; someone ought to be giving him a medal.

Weiss' composure finally snapped. "She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" she exclaimed, flapping her arms out of sheer frustration. Jaune reassured himself that he could find a quiet corner for a moment after this conversation to vent; acting on top of a fragile mental state was taking its tole on him. Who would have thought Jaune Arc, the one and only, would have difficulty playing a fool.

He gasped, in the manner of a small child who just learned how the magician pulled a coin out of his ear. "That's you?" he exclaimed to Pyrrha, who was grinning sheepishly. "They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"

Pyrrha nodded as she replied, "Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly the cereal isn't very good for you." Weiss had pulled herself together at last, and pushed back into the conversation.

"So, after hearing all this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?" Jaune turned his eyes downward, allowing his posture to slump in defeat.

"I guess not. Sorry." This was the moment of truth; Pyrrha's next action would tell Jaune whether or not his act had worked.

"Actually Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader." He felt a hand rest on his right shoulder for a moment, and looked up to find that Pyrrha had closed the gap between, standing with her hands behind her back no more than an arm's length away.

"Oh, thank you, Pyrrha, that's very kind of you." Jaune smiled, bringing himself back to his normal stance.

"You shouldn't encourage him, you know." Weiss scolded. Pyrrha rubbed the side of her head with a grin as Jaune turned around so he was facing the Schnee heiress once more.

"Well, apparently at least one person thinks I might be worth following. You sure you're not interested, Weiss? Spots for Team Jaune will be filling up fast." He gave her a wink, but remembering past mistakes once again, kept a decent length away from her. He didn't enjoy repairing his clothing; the last thing he needed was a javelin through his hood. Again.

A vein throbbed in the girl's forehead, but before she could respond, the intercom crackled into life. "Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation, again, all first year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately." Her retort apparently overridden by the instruction, Weiss simply turned on her heel and walked away. You could say what you wanted about the girl, she had certainly mastered conveying emotion through walking; Jaune didn't need her words to tell him that Weiss was utterly infuriated with him.

Pyrrha walked past him on his right, Miló in her right hand and Akoúo̱ in her left. "It was nice meeting you, Jaune."

"Likewise." he replied, as she exited the building and moved out of sight.

Moments later, Yang and Ruby moved up beside Jaune, having apparently been watching on. "Having any luck there, lady killer?" asked Yang, clapping Jaune on the shoulder. Jaune almost buckled; even casually, Yang was a force to be reckoned with.

"Well, Team Jaune is still a one man operation; I guess it takes more than confidence." Jaune replied, rubbing his head bashfully.

"Well, it's about time that changed; let's go, Jaune." said Ruby, patting him on the back to get him moving as they left the now-empty locker room as a group.

Minutes later, the three were lined up side-by-side with the rest of the first year students, atop the launch platforms on Beacon Cliff. Jaune had expected to be nervous about this part, but found that he was almost surprisingly calm. I guess numerous near-death situations and a year of close-combat training with the best warrior in your year will take the edge off most scenarios, Jaune thought to himself. Ozpin and Goodwitch stood just to the side in front of him, and as soon as Ozpin finished his explanation, the first student was launched. Jaune had about twenty seconds to prepare for flight.

He bent his knees, leaning forward until he was crouched on the launch pad, and pulled Crocea Mors from his belt, activating the shield. He turned left in time to see Yang don her sunglasses before flying away into the sky, followed shortly after by her sister with a daredevil grin. Jaune had time to give the headmaster a smile of his own before he felt the platform shift, and suddenly he was airborne.

His fight brain took over as he began to implement his plan and landing strategy. He identified the landmarks which indicated where he'd ended up the last time he did this jump, and he angled himself towards it. He pulled his shield under his feet, turning it to the wind. He kept the shield in place with his left hand, and with his right he prepared a thrust with his sword.

Jaune's landing strategy went as follows: Use his shield to present a far less aerodynamic surface and thus much reduce his velocity, and once in an acceptable vicinity of his targeted landing spot, he should be low enough to dig his sword into tree branches. That would take even more speed off, and he should hit the ground with much less force. He would be injured of course, but lightly, and his aura would heal him in no time -

It takes markedly less time for the human brain to accept negative occurrences than to accept positive ones; it was for this reason that Jaune had only flown about a third of the way to his landing when his brain suddenly recalled an important fact: his aura was meant to be awakened today, by Pyrrha. And this lead to another fact: he was essentially falling the height of a cliff at a speed greater than gravity, with no way to land safely.

Pyrrha Nikos made her landing safely on a large branch near the top of a tree, and immediately checked her surroundings through Miló's scope. She noted a blonde figure in armour, holding a sword and shield, falling through the air. It seemed to be screaming.

Without a second though, Miló was transformed, aimed, and tearing through the sky. Seconds passed, until a faint "thunk" resonated through the forest. A distant "Thank you..." reached her ears, and she cupped her hands to her mouth to reply.

"I'm sorry!"

Jaune Arc sighed to himself as he swung gently in the breeze, attached as he was by his hoodie to a javelin stuck several inches deep in a tree for the second (technically) time in his life. It had all been going so well, too... He sighed again. I guess all the forward knowledge in the world can't make up for stupidity. He looked to the sky, considering the time. He was going to be here for about five minutes by his reckoning, until Pyrrha arrived to rescue him.

Well, it could be worse. Things were still, more or less, going according to plan.

Author's Note

Two chapters a day for two days. That's a record for me. And I keep managing to write them longer, which probably explains why it's pitch black now and I'm pretty sure it was light when I started. Ah, well.

I hope you're enjoying the story; I'm certainly enjoying writing it. I want this version of Jaune to be a somewhat different person, being changed by his experiences and by his improved skills...but at the same time, I want him to be recognisable as Jaune. Hence, the occasional Jaune-esque moment.

Please, leave any criticism or comments as a review, and I'll be sure to reply to you. Enjoy your day!