A/N: If you're enjoying this story, feel free to check out my discord server. discord dot gg slash RD3Y5pM7u2

Knowing Thy Enemy

I ended up waking up first the next morning, which didn't really surprise me. My Semblance took the [How long would you like to sleep?] prompt both specifically and very literally — six hours after hitting confirm, my eyes would pop open to the sight of the now familiar box.

[You have slept in a bed. Your HP and MP have been fully restored. All ailments have been cured.]

Clearing it away, I sat up, folding my legs and preparing for my morning meditation. While I didn't feel any trace of sleepiness remaining, touching [Gaia's Pulse] for half an hour in the morning made up for the extra hours I wasn't sleeping by preventing the hidden exhaustion debuff to my equally-hidden Stamina meter. Interestingly, the [Well-Rested] buff didn't seem to tick down while I was meditating; I wasn't sure why, but had decided to be glad I wasn't wasting it.

As I triggered the skill, I noticed something in the innate sharpness that [Gaia's Pulse] lent to my passive [Detect Aura]: Blake was awake. Her soul, which had been as quiescent as Ruby's and Pyrrha's still were when I awoke, was now alert. Curious, I cracked an eye, and spotted her doing the same, her yellow iris glinting in the pre-dawn light. After a moment, she closed it and rolled over, not quite falling back asleep, but relaxing again. Hm. Maybe I can shift my schedule a bit so I don't wake her up every morning.

Forty-five minutes later saw me stepping out of the shower with a towel around my waist, rubbing my hair dry with a second. Seeing as the bathroom was empty, I swapped my towel for boxers and shorts, and kept drying my hair as I headed back to the room. Pyrrha and Blake were up by the time I returned, a lamp lit on the bookshelf revealing the former doing yoga while the latter, unsurprisingly, read a book. Ruby, for her part, had her pillow over her head. Didn't she have a makeshift canopy on her bed in the show? I should suggest that. Hell, I'd have one myself if my Semblance didn't make me sleep so easy.

Edging past Pyrrha, I stepped into the closet and grabbed my school uniform from my section. I already miss getting dressed from the interface.

"I didn't know you had tattoos, Jaune," said Pyrrha as I edged back past her, tossing my uniform on the bed.

Wait. Tattoos? Plural? I thought back. When had the first tattoo appeared? After I killed Krios. No, that wasn't quite right. After I mounted the mask and subsumed the Aspect. So I'm betting the second Aspect did the same thing. Wonder what it looks like?

"I'm thinking of getting one every time I kill a Named Grimm," I said lightly, pulling on my a-shirt, and switching my shorts for the uniform slacks since I was already wearing my preferred silk boxers. I should set up a shortcut to switch those for cotton in case I ever get in a fight.

I slipped on the white shirt, foregoing the top button, stomped into my usual boots, cinched the belt, and finally smoothed down the vest. I wasn't sure about mixing it with the black slacks, but the contrast actually wasn't too bad. Finger-combing my hair, I cast [Eagle's Splendor], since the upkeep was now low enough that I could leave it continuously active, and called myself ready for the day.

I had decided, given my stat spread, that I was going to stand out no matter what, so I may as well own it. Going all-out in every spar would result in crushed egos or broken bones, so I would probably stick to my passive stats when we weren't in the field, but other than that, I figured it wasn't worth trying to hold back. That kind of long-term deception was difficult, complicated, and ultimately didn't gain me anything. Could it cause me problems? Yes. But people already knew I'd killed Samiri before even coming to Beacon, so it wasn't like I could avoid drawing attention. That being the case, it would be weirder if I looked, at a glance, like a regular freshman.

Paladins are meant to be paragons anyway, and while I may not have taken a classic oath of Devotion, I don't see any reason not to lean into the All Might principle and make people look at me on my terms.

After finally rousing Ruby, we ate breakfast and made our way to our first lesson, Grimm Studies with Professor Port. Team SYRN dashed in right as the bell rang, but the teacher was still bustling around behind his desk and simply waved them to the remaining open seats.

The beginning of the lecture was spot-on from the show, but as soon as we got past the pompous introduction, and half the class had stopped paying attention, Port's eyes glinted and he started walking us through how to identify the most common Grimm in this part of Sanus. Yes, it was framed as a story from his grandfather, but the lessons on tracking the Beowolf pack, calculating the number of members, and identifying the age of the alpha were all things I took notes on. His account of capturing the Beowolf alive was also impressive, given his young age at the time, though I noticed he didn't actually mention exactly how he'd managed it. I had just raised my hand to inquire when he whipped the cloth covering off what turned out to be a cage with a full-grown, if small, Boarbatusk in it.

"Ah, Mister Arc, volunteering already? Splendid!"

I considered arguing, but it didn't seem worth it. Instead, I made my way down to the front row. I don't mind killing a Boarbatusk. No sense turning down free EXP.

"You might wish to retrieve your weapon, and perhaps some more appropriate clothes for combat," the professor chided me gently.

I shrugged. "I won't always have time to change if I'm attacked suddenly, sir," I pointed out. "In that case, I'll simply have to make do."

"Well said," he puffed with an approving nod. "In that case, you may begin!" He whipped the cage open, and the Grimm within wasted no time in charging at me, its bony hooves clicking and slipping slightly on the tiled floor, preventing it from building up speed.

Just had to be boars, I sighed internally as I leapt out of the way, switching my active buff from [Eagle's Splendor] to [Bull's Strength], which fortunately was also capable of continuous activation. Deciding to see if I could manage it without activating my [Aura], I planted a foot on the tile myself, my boots' treads giving a much better grip, and lunged forward just as the Grimm skittered around.

Before it could charge at me again, I was already on top of it, wrapping my fingers around its red-marked tusks and holding it in place. The Boarbatusk snorted in rage, tossing its head to try to shake me loose, but I was more than capable of holding on. Its hooves scrabbled on the floor again, but it couldn't gain enough traction to pull away.

"Oh-ho, a cunning strategy," Port commented from where he stood off to the side. "Indeed, if you are strong enough, immobilizing a Boarbatusk will prevent it from using its devastating roll. Knowing and reducing the capabilities of your enemy is clever, indeed. But both your hands are occupied, so what will you do now?"

Rather than answer with words, I shifted my grip slightly and started to pull my hands apart. The Boarbatusk grunted and twisted, then kicked of with its front legs to try to yank me toward it, but both failed, and I increased the torque. Gritting my teeth, I engaged more of my torso and back. Finally, the Grimm let out a screech, and the tusk in my right hand splintered just beneath my grip, leaving me holding about a foot of curved bone.

Wasting no time, I jammed the point into the squealing monster's upper-right eye, twisting and driving it in until the Boarbatusk froze, collapsed to its stomach, and started to dissolve.

[You have gained 165 EXP! You found 150L!]

[By pushing your body past its limits, you have increased your physical abilities! Your STR has increased by 1!]

Neat, haven't seen that in a while.

"An interesting approach indeed, young Huntsman," Port hummed, strolling over to pat me on the shoulder. "In the future, however, you should bear in mind that internal rotator muscle groups such as the latissimus dorsi and pectoralis major are much stronger than the external rotators like the infraspinatus and teres minor."

Human biology had never been my best subject, but I had done enough weightlifting to recognize muscle groups, at least. He's saying I should have applied pressure inward, squeezing the tusks towards each other instead.

Nodding, I said, sincerely, "Thank you, sir."

"Now then, back to your seat, lad. We aren't quite to the bell yet, but we are close enough that I believe we shall call the lesson here for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay vigilant! Class dismissed."

"Jaune, that was so cool!" Ruby cheered as I sat down to pack up my books. Weiss, passing by, gave her a somewhat condescending look, but it didn't look like Ruby noticed. I made a note to address her attitude if it continued.

"And it didn't even look like you activated your Aura!" Ruby went on, as we all sat down for lunch.

SYRN was seated to our left, with Yang taking the seat next to Ruby's and setting down a plate full of chicken, potatoes, and vegetables next to the towering pile of cookies my teammate had retrieved for herself.

Pyrrha, while plainly suppressing a giggle at her partner's expression, was watching me with an almost hungry expression. "You've gotten much stronger, Jaune."

"It was just a Boarbatusk," I demurred. "But I admit, I didn't use my Aura. I wanted to see how far I'd come without it."

"So those muscles aren't just for show, Ladykiller?" Yang asked, leaning around her sister to slug my shoulder.

"Are yours?" I rubbed the spot, smiling slightly.

"Heh, good point. I guess I'll be seeing you in the gym later?"

"Probably." I had reached the point a few months ago where weight training just wasn't practical for me to make any stat gains — even with no active buffs, I would need between 500 and 600 kg on the bar for it to even be a struggle, putting me even with where Bia had been when I met her — but I still found it relaxing. Plus, there was always the chance I would eke out another point in STR or CON here or there, so it was still worth at least a bit of time investment. "If you think you can keep up."

Yang answered that with a challenging grin, and Ruby sighed. "You just had to say that…"

"Still, I'm looking forward to sparring with you," Pyrrha insisted. "You were already the best challenge I've had in a year, back in October."

"Yeah, such a challenge I disqualified myself," I snorted.

"But if you hadn't, you might have beaten me!" Pyrrha didn't sound daunted by the prospect, she sounded delighted.

"I've broken Grimm bones before, and nobody ever makes a big deal out of it," Nora pouted slightly.

"Only when you've been eating Shock Dust," Ren corrected her gently. "Despite all times I've told you not to."

"That's incredibly unsafe!" Weiss sounded offended.

"Pffft, I don't swallow it anymore," Nora waved her off. "I just crunch it up to get the electricity out, to use with my Semblance." She took a bite of her lunch, and added, "Also coz it's tingly."

While Weiss was sputtering, I heard a sniff from my other side. "A Schnee, speechless. Will wonders never cease?"

Looking around, I saw Team SBLE had taken the other third of the table. The speaker, diagonal from me and positioned as far from Weiss as possible, was the petite girl I'd noticed before Initiation, Giuliette Escutcheon. She still wore her pink hair in an elaborate braid, and couldn't stand an inch over five feet tall. Nevertheless, as she brushed a loose lock behind a double-pierced ear, she took her seat with the bearing of a queen.

I recognize her name from one of the local encyclopedias; they're another of the former noble families of Vale, along with the Arcs and the Winchesters.

"What was that?" Weiss demanded.

The girl didn't even look her way. "Eat me."

"Chill, Gules," said her teammate, Bernice Argent, the girl with the bobbed silver hair who had asked us to be quiet the same night. She had a smile on her face that gently crinkled her eyes, which were the same azure color as the stripe that was somehow dyed in a ring around her temples. "'Sides, the discussion is about raw strength, right? I'd put my partner up for that prize." She threw an arm around Leo's shoulders.

Leo flinched minutely at the contact, but when he spoke, his soft voice seemed much more at ease than the last time I'd seen him. "That's also a Semblance, though. What Jaune did was impressive because it was just raw muscle."

I considered verbally waving it off again, but that would run counter to my resolution to own up to my strength. Instead, I just asked, "You've figured out your Semblance, Leo?"

"Super strength," supplied the last member of their team, the leader Fillet Sable. "Um, I'm Fi, by the way." She waved awkwardly.

"Jaune Arc," I introduced myself in turn, earning a raised eyebrow from Gules.

"It's not exactly that," Leo corrected, delicately picking up a fork. "It's… unstoppable force, but only from my palms. I've had to be really careful opening doors. It's kind of a drag, to be honest."

"Yikes, dude," said Yang. "It doesn't turn off? Our uncle's is like that, that sucks, dude."

"Still, it's not an area-effect, so while you always need to be careful, eventually it should become second-nature," I offered.

"Hope so," he muttered.

"Why didn't you attend a combat school?" Gules asked me pointedly. "You should have been in my class."

"I didn't start training seriously until I lost my memory in July," I replied, the excuse dropping easily after nine months and 155 (active) points in CHA.

"…You got those guns in nine months?" Fi asked incredulously, looking at the tight-fitting sleeves of my uniform shirt. They weren't painted-on, because that was just asking for them to tear whenever I exerted myself, but I was decidedly more built than anyone else at the table. Or in the year.

"Healing Semblance." I wiggled my fingers. "I had to eat a lot of protein for muscle repair." I hadn't, actually, because my true Semblance was seven kinds of bullshit, but nobody outside the family needed to know that. At least I've stopped getting bigger along with the STR and CON bonuses, or I'd be a wall of muscle by now.

"Tch," Gules clicked her tongue, I was guessing out of jealousy.

"Oh, quit fussing, your Semblance is literally indestructible," her teammate chided her.

"Yes, thank you for revealing that to the public, Bernice," Gules snarled.

"That's 'Barrie'," the girl replied sharply, before she smiled again. "I was just makin' sure nobody took you lightly, coz you're so tiny."

"Yeah, hilarious, you're taller than me," Gules rolled her eyes. "So is almost everyone. You want a medal?"

"Are they always like this?" I asked Leo.

"It's only been a day, but… yeah," Fi sighed, before raising her voice as Barrie opened her mouth again. "Oi, cut it off here."

"Hmph," Barrie pouted, but didn't argue, turning back to her food.

"So much for lunch and a show," Yang quipped into the ensuing awkward silence.

DM: Paladin - Notus | Wednesday 12:47

‹Paladin› hey

‹Paladin› how's your day going?

‹Notus› Better now. :)

‹Paladin› flatterer

‹Paladin› are you holding up okay?

‹Notus› Yeah, I'm good. As long as I'm not practicing any magic, it's not a hassle to make it to the weekend.

‹Paladin› that's good news

‹Paladin› when we meet up this Saturday, would you care to make it a date?

‹Notus› I was wondering if you were ever gonna ask. Way to leave a girl hanging. I would love to. :)

‹Paladin› I didn't want to assume too much in case it was just a birthday kiss

‹Paladin› forgive me for being a bit stunned at a pretty girl kissing me out of nowhere

‹Paladin› in a way there's more pressure since you said yes

‹Notus› Now who's the flatterer? :) Seriously though, it's just a date. I expressed an interest, you decided you might return it, now we see if we're compatible. It's not brain surgery.

‹Paladin› anywhere in particular you might like to go?

‹Paladin› or shall I surprise you?

‹Notus› I'll leave the details up to you, but dinner and dancing is always a good time! :)

I was both looking forward to and somewhat nervous about sparring with my team — aside from my match with Pyrrha, the only people I'd fought were my sisters, who were so far above me there wasn't much chance of me actually hurting them. In a spar, anyway. Still might be a tiny bit pissed about the gun thing. And I guess I dueled with Blake that one time, but we got interrupted by Krios and I was a lot weaker then.

I knew that Pyrrha, at least, was probably skilled enough that I wouldn't crush her, but Blake was twenty levels below me now, and Ruby was even further. Although the fact that she's already in the twenties despite being two years younger means she was probably miles ahead of her old class.

Still, as the four of us warmed up, having changed into workout gear, I had at least the shape of a plan. A concept, at least. Twelve percent of a plan.

"So, who's first?" Pyrrha asked, bouncing somewhat eagerly on her heels.

"Well, I've fought you and Blake before, so I was thinking I'd spar with Ruby to begin with," I replied. "I have an inkling of what you can do from Initiation, but that only tells me how you fight Grimm, not people."

Pyrrha looked a bit disappointed, but nodded readily. "Then, Blake, if you don't mind?"

Blake shot me a look that said plainly she would rather be reading, but drew her weapon gamely.

Ruby seemed to have frozen, obviously not expecting to be put on the spot as I strapped the Family Sword to my arm. "Uh, are you sure…?" she asked weakly, tugging at her cape.

I tilted my head. "And here I thought you'd like to show off your 'baby'?"

Ruby yanked Crescent Rose off her back immediately and cradled its collapsed form. "Don't you imply I don't want to! I just– I watched you break off a Boarbatusk's tusk with your bare hands earlier, y'know?"

"I… promise not to break off your tusks?" I said, bemused.

Ruby snorted, but looked a little more relaxed. "Fine, fine, I know you won't hurt me. Just… I really prefer fighting monsters to people."

"That makes two of us," I agreed, speaking up over the clashes of Blake's and Pyrrha's weapons as they exchanged blows. "But I've had to fight people before, and I also prefer not being dead, so we're gonna prepare for both."

Not wasting any more time, I lunged, drawing the Family Sword in a horizontal slash.

"Eep!" Ruby ducked, deploying her scythe and twirling it, forcing me to catch the blade on my shield. "I wasn't ready!"

"You need to always be ready," I chided, swinging again. Cinder and her lot won't wait for you to gather yourself.

"Jerk!" She stuck out her tongue.

I smirked. "Let's get you some investment. If you beat me, I'll let you inspect my other weapon."

Having hopped back from the engagement, she froze for an instant. "Your secret weapon?"

"My gun, yes," I nodded.

"You're on!" Her grip and jaw both firmed, and in a blur of petals she rushed at me. It was my turn to duck as she swung high, then I thrust my shield out to slam into her second strike, hard enough to jar the scythe in her hands and throw her slightly off-balance. I wasn't using any of my physical buffs or [Aura] yet, just my passives, but that was plenty to weave a flurry of slashes at my diminutive teammate.

She was equal to them, though, spinning her scythe again and shifting her hands around to safely block and parry with more ease than I'd expected. I guess I haven't checked.

[Name: Ruby Rose]
[LV 21]
[Title: The Dreamer of Dreams]
[Race: Human (Silver-Eyed)]
[Age: 15]
[Job: Beacon Student]
[Class: Sniper]
[Semblance: Petal Burst]
[Stats: 21 STR, 11 CON, 92 DEX, 13 INT, 16 WIS, 28 CHA]
[Background: Half-sister of Yang Xiao Long. Protégé of Qrow Branwen, Master Huntsman of Vale. Attending Beacon on invitation from Ozpin following a short battle with Roman Torchwick.]
[Emotions: Nervous, excited.]
[Relationship: Ally.]

Ah, that's why. Her DEX is nucking futs for her level. Ruby didn't falter as we continued to exchange blows, but sweat was starting to stand out on her forehead. Gonna have to work on her stamina. Although, I guess this isn't her specialty.

Ruby seemed to realize the same thing as I brought the Family Sword up to lock with her scythe blade yet again. Planting the heel of the polearm against the ground, she jumped up, chambering both feet, and tried to kick me in the chest. I caught her easily on the shield, and she used the leverage to leap away, triggering Crescent Rose's mechshift in midair to return it to a sniper rifle and landing in a skid, already lining up her shot and pulling the trigger.

"Those are–" I blocked the shot, having to lean into the subsequent fireball so the shield wouldn't be yanked off my arm. "–practice rounds, right?"

"Uh, heh-heh…" Ruby grinned sheepishly, yanking the current magazine out of Crescent Rose and replacing it with a different one that had a band of orange tape around it. "Sorry, Jaune."

"No harm done," I shook my head.

The me of six months ago would have had a fit about how dangerous it was to train with live weapons. Practice rounds or not, both our blades were sharp enough to rip through Grimm without slowing down, and our practice wouldn't be worth much if we didn't aim for lethal targets, or we might find ourselves swinging at a real enemy's weapon instead of their body out of pure habit. But I, at least, was several months past the point where practice weapons just didn't do anything for me anymore. They were still occasionally useful for refining my form when I wanted to focus on the pure skills I'd gained, but the first contact in a spar was usually too much. Even reinforced wood just couldn't hold up to my stats, at least not when I was matching them against people like my sisters. Still, seeing as we are using steel…

"I hope you know I'll have to crank things up if you're gonna try to play keep-away." I activated my [Aura], knowing she'd spot the glow, as well as [Reinforcement] and [Cat's Grace], which I'd long since confirmed no one could detect. 63 cost/min with no regen will drain me in 45 minutes or so. No way this takes that long.

With my own DEX having just outright doubled, my next charge was significantly faster.

"Crapbaskets!" Ruby exclaimed, vanishing into rose petals as the Family Sword cut through where she'd just been standing.

"Gonna have to teach you how to swear properly," I teased, already moving toward her again.

"Pfft," she tossed her hair out of her face and squeezed off another shot, forcing me to dive forward and roll. "I live with Yang, you think I haven't heard worse?"

I'll make it a long-term project. Hashtag #LetRubySayFuck.

"All right, that'll do it," I said after another ten minutes, and Ruby immediately dropped to lay on the floor, panting. "We've gotta work on your stamina."

"That was so much worse than running!" she complained, not sitting up, but turning her head to glare at me. Or, trying, at least. It was more of a pout and frankly it was adorable. "You're faster than me without my Semblance, you're stronger than Yang when she's not mad, and you go after me relentlessly like my uncle." She took a deep breath. "We've gotta do this again!"

I barked a laugh. "Not where I thought that was heading, but we certainly will." Blake and Pyrrha had wrapped up — a victory for the latter, even without her Semblance — and moved over to join us. "We'll do this a couple nights a week, and workout the others. On the weekends we'll take tyro Hunts to keep our eyes in; with four of us we can take bigger ones than they would give me when I was on my own."

"Oooh, that'll pad out my allowance so I can work more on my baby," Ruby cheered tiredly, throwing a fist up.

"As a general team formation rule, you're going to be hanging back and sniping," I told Ruby. "Pyrrha's main job is to cover you. That goes for fighting Grimm and people. An ounce of sniper is worth a pound of suppressive fire."

"And you and me?" Blake asked.

"Just like with Krios; I'm out front while you disappear and look for an opening," I decided. "Almost wish I could have a rematch with that bastard now that I'm actually strong enough, but I shouldn't jinx it. There's ten more Named out there."

Ruby and Pyrrha both chuckled, though Blake just arched an eyebrow. Hah, she doesn't believe for a second that I'm not serious about killing the rest.

I shrugged. "We can make an early night of it, since it's the first day. Hit the showers." We didn't have any homework yet, other than reading, and I didn't want to monopolize all my team's non-class time. Just because I was a training freak didn't mean they had to be.

Pyrrha helped Ruby up and they left, discussing Pyrrha's cereal sponsorship, which Ruby had actually seemed more interested in than her tournament performance. Pyrrha didn't like her fame much, but Ruby was so earnest it was hard to deny her, and even harder to stay uncomfortable when she put in the effort to be friendly.

"I still just can't picture a pumpkin-based cereal tasting good, no matter how much sugar they add to it," I shook my head, stowing the Family Sword back on its bandolier, before noticing Blake hadn't moved, and was still watching me carefully. "What's up?"

"You came up with a formation for fighting people. That's not our job; Hunters are supposed to kill Grimm."

"If you witnessed a terrorist attack in broad daylight, would you just shrug and go home?" I asked, somewhat pointedly. I knew the question was basically rhetorical, though. And the enemy's movements are something I can't very well have butterflied away. Cinder is still aiming for Amber, and Vale, and she'll bring the Fang with her.

Blake's bow folded flat, which I presumed she wouldn't have allowed if we weren't alone. "Are you talking about the White Fang?"

"I'm talking about anyone," I shrugged again. "But frankly, I think the Fang are the most likely perps. Neither of us is exactly popular with them, so if we do cross paths, it probably will come to a fight. Either way, though, I like to plan for the worst-case scenario. That's part of why I had such an easier time with Samiri than Krios."

"Hence the formation. …Are you expecting to fight a lot of people?" she asked softly.

"Planning? Not really. But we never did settle things with your ex, did we?" I gave her a sad smile. "Something tells me he isn't the type to give up and leave the Kingdom, or to leave something he perceives as a slight unavenged."

Blake cringed. "You're not wrong."

She seemed to shrink in on herself, and I sat down beside her, putting a supportive arm around her shoulders.

"He wasn't always like that," she whispered. "He believed in the cause wholeheartedly. He was right next to me in so many picket lines and protests. He even saved my father's life, once. But then… he started running up 'accidental' deaths in missions. At first it was just one or two, and I could tell he regretted it. He spent multiple nights just staring at the wall. But over time he seemed to just give up. Especially after Sienna took over and started praising him for 'placing the mission above everything'…" She drew a shuddering breath. "He was the one to start the trend of wearing masks. He always had, since his scar was too big for an eyepatch, but one day he started wearing a Grimm-painted mask, and people went along with it. 'If humans want to make monsters of us, let us wear the faces of monsters.'"

There wasn't much I could say. I knew, or could have guessed, most of it, but it seemed like Blake needed to get some of this off her chest. And I'm the only one who knows she used to be White Fang. Hell, I'm the only one who knows she's faunus, at this point. Gonna have to nudge her into sharing that much with the team. All I could do was continue to offer support, and I was glad to do so. I guess I'm glad to learn more about him, though. 'Know thy enemy' and all that.

After a few minutes of silence, I decided to change the subject. "Have you called your parents since you got into Beacon?"

Blake stiffened, though she didn't pull away from me. "Have you?"

"Nice deflection, but the situation isn't comparable," I smirked down at her. "I've never met mine, and they're out of CCT range even if I knew them. Yours love you dearly and are probably worried sick since you dropped out of contact. Would you rather they hear from you, or from Adam?"

"He wouldn't call them," she argued. "He hates my father for not pressing harder for equality while he was High Leader."

"Anyone else below him him might not feel the same way, though," I pointed out. "And you can't pretend like your dad doesn't still have some major pull with most of the group."

"Low blow," she grumbled. "I'll… think about giving them a call this weekend."

Finally she pulled away, getting to her feet, and I followed her silent footsteps out of the training room.

"If it makes you feel better, I'd say there's even odds the headmaster has already dropped him a line, so they don't think you're dead," I said as we cut through the quad that was the quickest path to the dorms.

"Quite correct, Mister Arc," said Ozpin, seated on a bench in the courtyard. "They expressed their hope you would contact them soon, Miss Belladonna, though they noted they would wait as long as you needed."

Blake's entire face seemed to tense up, and she abruptly powerwalked away, looking just short of breaking into a run.

I took a step after her, then hesitated. She probably needs to cry it out, and she won't do that with company. If she wasn't back by midnight, I'd text her, but otherwise I'd let her have her space.

"I could have told you she'd react like that," I told the Professor.

"I suspected as much myself," he admitted. "Ghira and Kali were extremely relieved when I spoke with them, however, so I imagine they had been quite distraught."

"I was already encouraging her to call them. Hopefully this doesn't set that back."

"As you're her team leader, Mister Arc, I will leave it in your capable hands."

I sighed and changed the subject. "I haven't had time to go through the library yet, sir; could you tell me if there are any resources on the Named?"

He arched an eyebrow. "I believe so. While I admit I was intrigued by your ambition, I don't know if I should be enabling you to quite that extent while you're still in school."

"I could ask Professor Port instead," I suggested. "I'm certain he would agree it's best to 'know thy enemy'."

Now Ozpin smiled slightly. "I'm certain he would. And, with the way your luck has gone, I can certainly understand wanting some more information."

"Considering I don't even know what they all are, research is definitely on the table before I find myself in front of another one," I promised.

"Ah, well, I suppose I can help you out on that front," Ozpin hummed. "You are, of course, more than familiar with the youngest, Krios the Amalthean. He was considered quite weak in comparison with the others, but nevertheless was usually included. If only to bring the list to a round twelve. Even so, I would wager most of our graduates wouldn't have been able to stand up to a monster like that, even with a partner. I would not have assigned it to anyone but my best."

"Professor Goodwitch?" I suggested. "Or one of my sisters?"

"Bianca or Violet, perhaps," Ozpin allowed. "But none of the others, if it were up to me. If I were to assign such a mission Glynda would be an option, alongside Peter or perhaps Professor Branwen from Signal. It's quite intriguing, if worrying, that you encountered Krios less than a day's walk outside the city. As I don't believe anyone from Vale has had the opportunity to say it, thank you for seeing to his destruction. It is likely you've saved countless lives by that act alone."

I nodded solemnly. Not killing him was never an option, but he's right, and I hadn't thought about that. He really was way too fucking close.

"And likewise, of course, we cannot overlook your defense of Flight 1387, and the killing of Samiri the Marathonian. While I know your sister arrived in time to assist you, she was quite insistent that you could have won on your own."

"I could have," I agreed. "Samiri underestimated me, I think, so as long as I could have crippled it, I could have killed it."

"Indeed. As you've no doubt noticed, the smarter Grimm are subject to their own foibles, most commonly overconfidence. Though, aside from the Named, it's less critical than it seems, because so many powerful Grimm remain anonymous."

He sipped from his mug. "In any case, the next according to the general list is Amphivena the Emperor Taijitu that roams the sands of the far West, said to be well over 300 meters long and at least ten in diameter. Up North in Solitas is Tegmine the Karcinos, which occasionally emerges from the sea to ravage Mantle. Avoiding it was one of the driving arguments for the raising of Atlas. Maahes the Nemean stalks the desert of Eastern Anima, frequently preying on SDC mines."

Another sip. "Echidna the Lamia is said to be sleeping on the tail of Menagerie, birthing monsters since time immemorial. Ladon the Wyvern once made its home in the mountains of western Sanus, though it hasn't been seen in hundreds of years; while deep in the southern swamps it is said the lost and unlucky may be lured off the path by the glowing stinger of Chelamma the Antarean.

"Then comes one whose whereabouts are not a mystery at all: Crom Cruach, the Nuckelavee of Southwest Anima. Your friends Mister Lie and Miss Valkyrie could tell you more, perhaps." Ozpin sighed. "Suhurma the Oniare is said to lurk in the seas around Menagerie, though it has been spotted as far away as Casgadam Isle, almost due South of here. Morvarc the Isantim dwells beneath the Great Frozen Lake of Solitas, occasionally devouring entire fishing communities whole. And finally, there is Monstra, the terrible Leviathan of the sky that vanishes without a trace when it isn't wiping entire civilizations off the map." His voice had turned even more solemn than it started, and his gaze was fixed on the darkening sky overhead.

"Thank you for the information," I said politely, after a minute or so of letting him reflect.

"Certainly," Ozpin drained his cup and stood, smiling slightly again. "As I told you before, I am a teacher above all else. I can only wish my students the best with their ambitions."

"Long days and pleasant nights, sir."

Ozpin nodded genially as I started toward the dorms, eager for a shower. "May you have twice the number, Mister Arc."

Three steps later, I froze. The fuck did he just say?

I whirled around, but the courtyard was empty.

Goody, something else to be paranoid over…

Name: Jaune Arc
Level: 44 (Next: 14.85%)
Title: Academy Student
Race: Human
Age: 18
Job: Beacon Student
Class: Paladin
Semblance: The Gamer
HP: 4385/4385
MP: 2926/2926
STR: 101.5 (53)
CON: 111.8 (50)
DEX: 124.8 (53)
INT: 90.8 (50)
WIS: 98.5 (52)
CHA: 110.8 (50)
Points: 124
Money: 1,237,961L
Status: Cursed – Yellow Death [High]

A/N: Quiet one, but I thought it was important to set up the new status quo and spend some time with some of the new side characters. I'm not planning to do a ton of rehashing canon plotlines — for one thing, a lot of them revolve around teams that don't exist in this AU, and a lot of others revolve around a Jaune that doesn't exist in this AU. The next one should cover the date, and then some action. (No, not like that. …Not yet, anyway.)

So, now we have the names (and species names) of all the Named Grimm. Jaune hasn't been told what all those species are, although I'd wager y'all can guess at least most of them. (Assuming you don't, y'know, google them.)
Casgadam is a corruption of Madagascar spelled backwards; it's a name for one of the islands South of Sanus that don't have names in canon.
I'm aware Leviathan was a name given to a species in canon, but frankly, as big as that thing is, I'm of the opinion that 'Leviathan' should be the biggest damn thing in the water. (Or the air, as Monstra tends to fly.) If I bring those up, they're probably gonna be called Tanninim or Rahabim in this AU.