Weiss Schnee was... irritated, both at her childish team leader and the blonde haired ruffian in charge of team JNPR, but mostly at Jaune and not for the reasons that most people would have predicted based on their interactions thus far.

"That infuriating, two faced... Okay Weiss, deep breaths..." Doing her best to control her muttered outburst and general emotional turmoil, Weiss sent a glare at Yang, who gave her usual light hearted chuckle before turning to her with a smile.

"You still got your panties in a twist over the Boarbatusk thing? As far as most people are concerned you handled yourself fine, so Weiss are you still so upset over it?" Weiss' anger at Jaune faltered for a moment as she remembered her fight in Professor Port's class that day, whilst most people would have been overjoyed at the outcome, she held herself to a higher standard and to have allowed the Boarbatusk to hit her was a failing in her eyes.

"Boarbatusk's aren't native to Atlas, so it isn't like I have studied them much, but that's not what I am angry about!" Suddenly Weiss realised she might have said too much, Yang's eyes filling with mirth as she seemed to realise what she was actually upset about, after all it isn't like there had been time for her to get angry about anything else...

*Flashback*

She'd done it, felling a Boarbatusk in front of the whole class and in style, to the applause of her classmates and Professor Port who started rambling on about the beast in question. Still, even as she climbed the stairs back to her seat Weiss couldn't help but start mentally berating her own performance, she could have finished that in half the time if she had been faster or more precise in her initial strike.

*THUNK* The noise made her look up from her notes, the small notepad with a sticky note attached lying audaciously in front and to her right, though a quick glance to her right showed Ruby with the same look of confusion on her face meaning it hadn't been her that put it there.

Grabbing the book before her leader could, Weiss read the note as quickly as she could so that she could then get back to her class notes, though she had trouble not turning around and flinging the notebook back at it's owner given her frustration at the situation.

Weiss,

Good performance, but you might find Pages 30-34 useful for future encounters with Boarbatusk Grimm. Let me know if you have any of your own insights.

Jaune

Sinking back into her seat and trying not to let her frustration show, Weiss tried to decide whether she was furious at the message and the indication that Jaune thought she needed help, or confused over the change in attitude that had continued over from the day before. Ever since the boy seemed to realise she was a Schnee his attitude had changed, and whilst she didn't mind people being more polite to her than he had been originally, it wasn't the usual fawning brown nosing she received from most people when they realised who she was.

It was almost as if he was... afraid of upsetting her for some reason, and given the fact he had admitted to living in the Vale badlands for some unspecified period of time, the implications about possible Schnee activities out beyond the well structured and monitored Kingdom holdings concerned her. For all she would defend the SDC to the point of exhaustion in public, Weiss wasn't blind or stupid, she knew that her father had started moving the company into practices that were questionable at best, it wasn't as if all the classified information and off the books meetings could be classed as 'subtle'.

But for all her investigating Weiss hadn't found any SDC links to Vale beyond the transportation of dust, it was one of the reasons she had accepted the offer from Beacon actually, so if the Schnee name did inspire fearful respect out of someone like Jaune than she could only dread to think what other dark deeds were being hidden from her...

*Flashback End*

"Oh, well if it isn't the fight it must have been something to do with that 'present' from Jaune... Did you not like what was inside that little notebook? I will admit that I didn't think Jaune would be the type to write you love letters given your first meeting, but they do say opposites attract..." Yes, she had definitely said too much, Yang was not going to let this one go unless she showed them the book.

"I haven't had time to read it yet, as unlike you and our 'glorious' team leader I was actually listening to the lecture rather than doodling away or flirting with boys across the classroom." She wasn't going to risk revealing the book until she knew what was inside, last thing she wanted was to hand it over and find out that it actually had been a poem or something equally as embarrassing.

"So cold Weiss..." Yang looked like she was about to continue when Ruby appeared between them, though surprisingly she was focussed on Yang rather than Weiss for a change.

"What is in that book is not something you have a right to pester her about Yang, besides don't you have gym class on the other side of the school in about five minutes?" Yang looked at her scroll before shrugging, only to sigh and nod her head as Ruby crossed her arms and presumably stared her down.

"I suppose I shouldn't miss a class on the first day after we were late to our first one, though don't think this is over Weiss, I will find all your juicy gossip out one way or another..." And with that Yang turned on her heel and headed down the corridor, her pace moderate despite the distance she had to cover.

"Phew, I almost think I wouldn't be able to do that..." Even as Ruby seemed to wilt from her commanding pose to her usual socially awkward self, Weiss was surprised to find herself thankful for the intervention from the normally passive girl, it said a lot about the girl's determination to be a good team leader for her to stand up to her older sister on her behalf.

"I assume this isn't just a ploy to find out what is in the book for yourself?" Not that she would let Ruby off the hook just yet, as far as Weiss was concerned she was still the far better leader for the team.

"Of course not, I mean I would like to know but I don't want to try and intrude as Jaune specifically dropped it on your desk, even if I am team leader and I want to make sure that he hasn't been horrible with what he's written..." If Weiss could imagine having a younger sibling, this is probably how they would end up in her mind, and despite her irritation with how carefree the girl acted more often than not, Weiss couldn't bring herself to truly hate the girl who ground to a halt in her usual unsure manner.

"As much as I... appreciate you stepping in to control your sister, I can handle myself Ruby..." It was painful to give her thanks for something she could have easily dealt with herself, but the beaming smile that Ruby gave her did warm Weiss' heart a little, even as they arrived at their next class.

"I know you can, but it doesn't mean you have to, as team leader it is my responsibility to maintain team harmony... Or at least I think it is..." Despite how unbecoming such an action would be, Weiss had to resist the urge to facepalm even as they all entered the Physics lab, primarily because it would impact negatively on her leaders already fragile confidence.

"Let's just get sat down, and I better not see you doodling again like you were in the last class..." Ruby's head dropped a little at the admonishment, but if she couldn't be the official leader then Weiss was going to make damn sure that everyone knew she was the unofficial one, which was why she had selected the leader's set of classes alongside Ruby.

Beacon did, alongside a main set of core classes such as Grimm studies and History, a variety of 'specialisation' class choices that young hunters could choose from in their first year, each aimed at giving different groundings that would suit roles within a team. For those like Yang, who were almost solely interested in improving their combat activities, there was a range of classes focussed on improving their skills and conditioning like Aura enhancement and gym. Leader classes, such as the one they were in now, were meant to improve not only the strategic thinking of the attendees but their overall knowledge.

Blake had chosen the Scouting class set, which given her natural talents towards the ability made a lot of sense in Weiss' head, but whether she had anything to actually learn from the class Weiss wasn't so sure.

"Ruby, Weiss, over here!" The polite greeting from Pyrrha got both girls attention, and Weiss followed Ruby over as the scythe wielder waved enthusiastically in response.

"Pyrrha, what are you doing here? Not that I don't think you shouldn't be in the leader's class, but I thought Jaune would have... I'll shut up now." The warm laugh of the Mistral champion managed to bring a smile to Ruby's face despite her embarrassment, Weiss taking the seat on the other side of the tall red head as she nodded in understanding.

"That is what I thought as well this morning, I was intending to join the combat class but Jaune held a team meeting and laid out his plan that had us all attending different class sets and then having study sessions afterwards to ensure that we all have a fundamental understanding of the different areas we may need to fill as part of the team." Weiss' opinion of the blonde rose several notches at this statement, it was probably one of the best ideas she had heard since she had arrived here, other than the idea of bunk beds in the RWBY team HQ.

"Still, wouldn't it make sense for him to be here given he is the leader of your team? I know he has quite the practical knowledge on Grimm but he cannot be so arrogant as to assume he cannot learn more about leading?" The fact that Weiss now desperately wanted to join these study sessions remained a thought for now, she could always 'stumble' upon the group later this evening and get invited by proxy without having to do the demeaning thing of asking to be there.

"Actually Jaune requested I come here for that reason, he doesn't want to be the only one capable of leading the team or coming up with strategies, his precise words were 'two minds are always better than one' and that there may come a time where he is busy fighting and therefore not able to come up with strategies himself." As the class quieted, signalling the arrival of their teacher, Weiss had a chilling thought as to another possible reason that Jaune might not have chosen this class.

She had hardly been subtle in her desire to be the team leader of RWBY, which means that for an intelligent person it wouldn't take much to work out which class set she was planning on taking, and if Jaune was actually afraid of Schnee's for whatever reason...

With a small frown on her face, Weiss resolved to have a look through the little book he had given her at the first opportunity, then she could use the return of it to try and get a better handle on the boy and what had caused his sudden change in attitude...

[]{}#%^*+=

"Jaune-Jaune, you are the best leader ever!" Jaune had to admit he enjoyed the look of shock on Ren's normally stoic face, even as he felt his breastplate start to buckle under the sheer strength of Nora's hug.

"Wait, why is she happy? You sent her to the crafting class set, I honestly thought we would be getting messages about her destroying half the school out of boredom..." Amber's comment showed he was the only one who had read the entire class set list last night, rather than skimming through the class titles for interesting sounding ones.

"I'm not that bad... And I'm happy because Jaune-Jaune sent me to the class with explosions in it! Professor Ivan even gave me some ideas on how to improve Magnhild's awesomeness!" The rapid switching of emotions along with the cute pout would normally have caused Jaune to smile, if it weren't for the fact he was already laughing his head off at the others, who all bar Rine and Pyrrha were now grabbing scrolls to look at the class lists again.

"Jaune, you sent Nora to the... Demolitions class?" For the first time Yang actually sounded a little concerned, even as Ruby inched her chair away from a now cackling Nora as discreetly as she could.

"Are you trying to tell me that it doesn't suit her style? And me and her have an agreement that should keep her focussed, right Nora?" The cackling stopped as quickly as it started, Nora looking dead serious before she pulled three separate notebooks out of her bag.

"One for each class fearless leader! And only minor doodles of how I will break your legs if you don't deliver me pancakes as promised..." The casual threat only made Jaune nod as he looked through the first sheaf of notes, surprised despite himself at the level of detail the hammer wielder had included, smile gracing his face once more before holding his hand out for Nora to shake.

"One extra pancake per set of lesson notes, along with five blueberry pancakes every weekend, handmade by me..." As Nora grabbed his hand to shake, Jaune just had enough strength to stop her initial attempt whilst he finished speaking.

"And no using explosives on the team unless there is a threat to one of us and that is the only way to save us, understand?" Given the explosive pink glitter balls in all their beds this morning (barring Ren's of course), it was a caveat that Jaune was going to insist on before letting Nora proceed any further.

"Hmmm..." Nora frowned, obviously weighing up the pancakes vs explosives use equation in her head, before raising her free hand and pressing down on the end of his nose.

"Boop, you drive a hard bargain Jaune-Jaune. You better make good pancakes..." And with that Jaune lost her to her usual rapidly changing train of thought, but the objective had been completed regardless and that was what mattered.

"Jaune, did you just bribe Nora into doing her work? And then use the bribe to compromise with her into not pranking us with explosives again? And Nora agreed to that?" Ruby was now looking at him in a mixture of awe and disbelief, obviously amazed at the compromise that had been reached.

"It's all about knowing how to deal with the people in your team Ruby, Pyrrha and Ren are the type of people who will understand why they should do something if you explain to them why, but Nora is more of a 'trust and act' type of girl. As long as you reward her for good work, she will always see a benefit to keeping up her end of the bargain. Everyone is unique, and a good leader will recognise that they can't just shout orders and expect people to fall in line." He had learned that the first time the Grimm had attacked Rine's village, a costly lesson indeed...

*Flashback*

It had not been an easy task for Jaune to persuade the leaders of the nearby Faunus village to allow him sanctuary, even if it was only temporary until he could find out where he was and how to get back to Vale proper, the fact that he was human less of a factor than the fact that he was an unknown person and another mouth to feed.

"I don't know why you volunteered for the night watch human, but if you are thinking of betraying us..." The speaker, a relatively elderly deer faunus armed with a crossbow and a short spear, had probably spent more time watching him than he had outside the walls of the 30 house settlement.

"Quiet Gramps, he helped me when he didn't have to remember, and I don't think he could really lie to save his life..." The 'help', if it could be termed that, came from the young girl he had helped the day before, who was entirely focussed on scanning the edge of the treeline.

It was due to her mother that Jaune had been able to enter the village, the older fox Faunus obviously having quite the pull inside the settlement given how quickly her intervention had changed the decision, so Jaune had decided to help out any way he could as a method of thanks...

Something that had been bothering him for the last 10 minutes recaptured his attention as the old Faunus carried on his complaining, Jaune turning back to the forest with a frown on his face. It took less than a minute for him to confirm his hypothesis and he turned to Tangerine and muttered his concern to her as quietly as he could

"It's too quiet..." To his surprise the girl didn't immediately dismiss his concern, but the huff of disdain from behind him meant that the old faunus had heard him as well.

"Of course it is quiet boy, it is night time, I don't know what it is like in your smarmy little safe cities..." Jaune had put up with more than enough, especially given that if he was right then they were all in danger right now.

"Yes, it is night time, but where are the sounds of the owls and other night animals? At the start of the shift we could even hear some wolves off in the distance, now there is nothing! Animal's only quiet like that for one reason and that is because of Grimm, and a lot of them at that!" Jaune's snarled reply seemed to have broken what restraint the deer Faunus seemed to have, raising his crossbow threateningly at him.

"You talk a lot of shit for a pampered little human, I oughta gut you right here and throw you over that wall..." Before Jaune could reply there was a cry from the opposite wall, before the sounds of gunfire indicated that Jaune had been right, though given the sudden cacophony of howls that sounded from all around them he might not have much time to gloat about it...

!"£$%^&*()_+

"Jaune... Jaune!" The repeated calls of his name drew Jaune from his memory, giving an apologetic shrug to Ruby as she seemed to relax at his returning focus.

"Sorry Ruby, got lost in memories for a moment... Now, shall we get started on our studying? If we get it done quickly we can play a game or something..." That seemed to divert people's concern, as Ruby started speaking about what they had learned in their classes that day, with Pyrrha joining in whenever she felt something needed explaining in further detail.

Whilst it wasn't the same as attending the classes themselves, the general information would still be useful to everyone on the teams, despite the already tired look on Yang's face as Blake wrote the information down next to her. It seemed to be a good thing for Ruby though, as the younger girl motioned and darted around in her seat enthusiastically.

She wasn't the only one as first one and then two hours went by, even Blake having to withhold yawns as she spoke about what she and Jaune had learned in their first scouting classes,making Jaune realise that he might have to alter his strategy with them now covering all 6 different class sets rather than the four he had originally planned for.

"I think that will do for the night, otherwise I may have to carry Nora back to the dorm with me. Obviously we will have to come up with a different method of doing this given the extra people and classes, but for now I think we will all need a good night's sleep before the first combat class tomorrow." There were several tired nods of agreement before suddenly a pair of arms wrapped themselves firmly round his neck and a head rested firmly on his shoulders.

"Giddy up horsie, your queen is tired..." Despite the weight on his shoulders Jaune decided that he really didn't mind, even as the others packed up their stuff, maybe coming to Beacon wouldn't be quite as difficult an experience as he had first imagined.

Though, maybe he should have told the three present members of team RWBY and his sister that Nora's restriction on explosives ONLY applied to the three other team JNPR members... No need, Jaune was sure that would become clear soon enough...

!"£$%^&*()_+

It had been a challenging day, even by Weiss' own high standards, though as she stepped into RWBY's dorm room Weiss knew that the reason for her exhaustion was more due to the emotional and mental turmoil she was experiencing rather because of the physical exertion of her classes.

"Do you really believe that acting in such a manner would cause those in power to reconsider their decision?"

"Hone your skills, perfect your techniques! And be not the best leader, but the best person you can be..."

It was easy for Professor Port to say, whilst Weiss was aware that she could act a little spoiled at times, given the White Fang attacks on her family it wasn't as if she had many friends growing up to help her with socialising. It had taken a long walk through the grounds to even admit that much to herself, though in her defence her 'partner' was nothing but an immature and awkward...

'Stop with the excuses Weiss, you've been difficult to Ruby since the start despite the fact she has only tried to befriend you, the only one stopping you from having friends is yourself.' Great, and now she was berating herself mentally as well, this place really had done a number on her.

At times like this, Weiss fell back on the one true measure of social interaction she had ever put her faith in, what would Winter do? And as she approached the bunk bed she and Ruby shared and pulled back the cover that was preventing the light Ruby was using from illuminating the entire room, Weiss knew that her sister would reconcile her differences first, and then seek to build the relationship from there.

"Ruby..." Whilst she would normally be unwilling to awaken someone from their slumber, especially given how cute Ruby looked even whilst dozing, Weiss wanted to get this out of the way tonight so that they could start afresh in the morning...

That and it would be irresponsible of her to leave her partner face first in her notes in what would undoubtedly become a painful position by morning, especially given the younger girl was clearly making a determined effort to make up for the two years of Academy training that she missed by graduating early.

"Weiss!" As Ruby started her usual muttering ramble, which wasn't aided by her drowsiness in the slightest, Weiss put her hand to the younger girl's mouth and then indicated to the door.

Ruby seemed to understand her intent and groggily got up and followed Weiss out into the corridor, and from there they went to the kitchen area they shared with team JNPR, it was as good a location as any and at least would allow them to sit down if nothing else.

"Ruby, I owe you... an apology." Seeing the sleepiness leave her partner's eyes as she uttered the words and Weiss mentally braced herself for the girls reaction...

"Not really Weiss, if anything I think I should be apologising to you..." What? The humble tone caught Weiss by surprise even as Ruby gave her best awkward smile before continuing.

"I know you wanted to be the team leader and that given my age I must seem very childish at times to you, and my lack of leadership training isn't really helping matters..." Weiss realised where this was going and found herself surprisingly upset with Ruby's attempted apology, she was the one in the wrong and apologising here!

"Ruby, that's not what I..." Weiss stopped as Ruby sent her an almost imperious look that somehow conveyed a command and a plea to let her finish in the same moment.

"But, given your desire to apologise I imagine that you are prepared to give me a chance to learn how to be a better team leader, or at least I hope that's the case. Regardless, I know that Yang and I can get a little... Unruly at times, and thanks to Jaune I realised that I can't just assume that what I do to work with and lead Yang will necessarily work in the same way for us. But regardless of our differences and the team dynamic, you are my partner for at least the next four years Weiss, and I really want to make this work in a way that is good for both of us..."

That was probably the single longest coherent string of sentences Weiss had heard from the scythe wielder in a conversation, and despite her attempts to remain impassive she couldn't stop the small smile from appearing on her face as she opened her arms for a tentative hug.

"I think we both have things we need to work on in regards to our friendship, though if you are serious about trying to improve your skills as a leader and academically I suppose I can help... I can't have my leader show me up by being a dunce can I?" Ruby's expression shifted the moment she heard Weiss mention friendship, the girl practically teleporting into the hug with a grin on her face that showed she was either ignoring or forgiving the dunce comment entirely.

The two talked for a while longer over two mugs of hot chocolate, she'd have to buy some for Jaune later to make up for using his supply now, before Ruby's tiredness caught up with her and the girl headed off to bed with a yawning wave. Weiss stayed to wash up, as she didn't want to be the first to leave a mess in case it set the standard, though she hadn't expected the voice talking to her as she turned to put the cups away after washing and drying them.

"That was a nice thing you did, even if Ruby almost stopped you from repairing the bridge from your end..." Whilst it was good the second object of her emotional turmoil seemed to have saved her the effort of tracking him down, Weiss wasn't sure she was ready for the potential upheaval this next conversation could cause.

"Jaune? What are you doing up? Is this about the book?" Best to get the niceties out of the way first, especially as it gave him a potential out of a longer conversation if he desired it.

Now if only she could stop feeling so guilty every moment his passive gaze rested upon her, then the evening as a whole would be considered a success...

A/N: So, as we progress I find myself needing to expand further on both the world of Remnant and Beacon itself, hence the 'class sets' which expand on the classes we have seen thus far and make sense in the very wide and varied roles that hunters seem to fill at the same time.

The six first year class sets are as follows: Combat, Crafting, Support, Scouting, Leader and Forging. Each of these is made up of three or four sub-classes that are enclosed in this 'speciality' and I would love to have any suggestions beyond what I have hinted to in regards to class suggestions or even class sets for 2nd year students that I could have team CFVY hint to or provide information about.

I think this adds to both the 'realism' of Beacon's studies, as well as giving a reason for Beacon to be considered the 'best' hunters academy in Remnant, not only are Beacon's students strong but they are also the most diverse and therefore most able to cater to the mission requests they get in.

Which brings me onto my next point and a question for the more seasoned RWBY followers here, how do hunters get assigned when they graduate from the various academies? Is it a Naruto system where they get hired for various jobs like mercenaries? Are there hunters guilds? Or do they just act dependent on how well connected their team is/what their life plans are?

Let me know if you know/have an interesting idea in how to approach this potential issue.

Lastly, a call for a beta! Considering some of the rookie spelling errors I am making as I write this that I only catch after reading the published version, someone who could volunteer just to give it a once over before I do publish it would be much appreciated!

Regards

Defias