The amount of positive feedback for this story was honestly quite surprising. I'm only two chapters in and already averaging over 40 comments per chapter. I read every one of them and I love seeing people's thoughts. Some of you go into a lot of detail and it shows me if I'm able to convey the story in the way I envisioned. Making sure everyone had a reason for their reaction was a big part of the first two chapters. As some people pointed out, I have to admit this isn't really a 'Betrayal' fic. All of Jaune's friends didn't instantly turn on him. It's not even a Jaune expulsion fic now that I think about it, but I don't really have a good category otherwise.
Since people have asked me this question a lot, I thought I would answer it up here. This is going to be a slow burn story. Jaune, Ruby, and Qrow won't return after a single chapter and be all powerful and skilled. This story is actually going to follow their adventures outside of Vale. We'll get to see different parts of Remnant instead of just rehashing the main storyline. I will show segments centered on Pyrrha's time at Beacon and how it's changed for everyone too. Without Jaune and Ruby there, a lot of stuff is different.
By the way, Ozpin holding a grudge is totally believable.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
To say that Jaune was unable to focus in class at the moment would be an understatement.
Not only were there several students pointing towards him and not-so-quietly whispering due to the recent rumors, but his own team remained fractured. Just the day before Jaune would have been seen sitting between his teammates, partner at his side. Now, he sat on the far end of their row, Pyrrha on the other, with Ren and Nora sitting in the middle, acting as a barrier to separate the two. The usually energetic Valkyrie showed no signs of forgiving the 'invincible girl' anytime soon, but held her tongue from hurling any more mean words and stayed quietly fuming next to her leader. Either of those matters would have been enough to distract Jaune from class, but there was one final thing that dwarfed them in his immediate concern.
Yang Xiao Long, the typically cool golden beauty, was glaring daggers into his back from the row behind them.
'Crap. How did I manage to piss her off so badly? Is it because of my fake transcripts?' Jaune anxiously wondered. 'Not much I can do if that's true… and I guess she has every right to be if it is. Yang trains really hard to be at the top of our year. After Pyrrha at least…'
"Good, everyone is here," Glynda Goodwitch, combat teacher and deputy headmistress, stated as she walked into the room. A stern-looking middle-aged woman with blonde hair tied up into a bun, she was known to be a true disciplinarian. "Before we begin, Mr. Arc and Miss Rose. The headmaster would like to see you two. Both of you are excused."
"Lucky," Rang a voice from the back.
"Just for that, Mr. Lark, you'll get to participate in the first match," Glynda declared.
Jaune stood up, a little confused. He could guess why he was called to Ozpin's office. The matter was either related to his apprenticeship or had something to do with Yang trying to kill him. One of those couldn't be answered by him, as he didn't know. The question was why Ruby was being called? She didn't do anything unless it was about Yang. As the team leader, Ruby was responsible for the shenanigans her team caused like Jaune was for his.
And boy, Nora was a handful sometimes, but that girl was a great friend, so he forgave her easily.
"What did you do?" Jaune whispered after the two left the classroom and made their way up to Ozpin's office. He meant it as a joke, but the girl's answer surprised him a little.
"Nothing bad." Ruby assured him, but her eyes avoided Jaune's gaze.
"Ruby…" Jaune sighed and rubbed his nose. "You're my best friend, but you're a terrible liar."
The young girl did in fact know what this was about. There was only one real reason why the headmaster was calling for only the both of them. It had to be the apprenticeship they had applied for. Jaune didn't know she applied yet, so of course he would be a little confused. Thinking about it, Ruby determined it was probably better to let Jaune in on the secret, so he didn't freak out in front of Ozpin.
"Actually… you're right," Ruby admitted softly. "I did do something. Promise me you won't be mad."
"I seriously doubt you've done anything remotely close to what I've done," Jaune chuckled. "Regardless, I promise I won't be mad."
"After we talked yesterday…" Ruby took a deep breath and the words flooded out. "I might have… gonetoOzpinandappliedfortheHunterApprenticeshiptoo."
It took a second for those words to sink into the boy's mind.
Then things clicked into place.
"You did what?!"
"You promised not to get mad!"
"I'm not mad… I'm just… Ruby? Just… why?"
Jaune gaped at her at a loss for words. Ruby's cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she looked away again and tried to articulate her thoughts at the time. It wasn't easy for the fifteen-year-old girl. Things made perfect sense to her, but telling someone else was incredibly difficult.
"I… figured you needed someone to support you?" Ruby muttered, her voice weak. "Not having people believe in your dream, I know that all too well. You almost had it ripped away but took the chance to better yourself. That's amazing, even knowing it's going to be difficult. I… I guess I wanted to do that too. Being two years younger than anyone else has its downside. People look down at me because of my age. The only reason Yang listens to anything is because I'm her sister."
"Doesn't she do her own thing anyway?" Jaune couldn't resist asking.
"Imagine what she would do if I wasn't her sister!"
They both shared a short laugh and then Jaune glanced at the wall. He couldn't look at Ruby right now.
"Is something wrong?" Ruby was worried as she noticed Jaune turning away.
"N-No… I just… always thought you were pretty amazing yourself," the boy admitted, finally returning her gaze. "Amazing fighter, mechanic genius, funny and kind? If you weren't so socially awkward, I might think you were perfect."
"Than-…. Hey?!" Ruby punched Jaune's shoulder lightly as her face flushed lightly.
"Seriously though, I don't think you need this," Jaune pointed out, his tone losing the lightheartedness. "You are incredible and deserve to be at Beacon. Your team is going to lose their leader. Isn't that going to be hard to come back from?"
"Yeah… Weiss isn't happy about that," Ruby acknowledged quietly and then sighed. "We plan to discuss it later about how we can fix that. I made up my mind though." Those silver eyes of hers met Jaune's blue ones. There wasn't a single trace of doubt in them. "Jaune… I want to help you. To be the best Huntsman you can be, not only as your friend but as someone who believes in you. At the same time, I feel this is something I need to do for myself."
"I see." Jaune grew quiet as he processed this. "If it's what you feel you need to do, I won't argue. These last 24 hours have made me think a lot. I realized we all have our reasons for why we do things. They might make sense to us, but not others. We can't always know at the time how our decisions will impact everybody. All we can do is the best we can at that moment."
"We won't be gone forever," Ruby reminded her friend. "Just a couple of months. It's like not seeing some family during summer break. Time will pass super-fast and we'll be back here in no time."
"I hope you can work things out with your team first," Jaune replied, looking worried. "You won't want to leave them upset."
"No… you're right about that." Ruby agreed instantly. "We're going to talk about it more after class." Her eyes softened as she looked at him. "Is your team okay?"
"Ren and Nora are looking forward to hearing about my adventures." Jaune answered.
The way he phrased that told Ruby her friend was still hurting and Jaune wasn't ready to talk about Pyrrha. Pushing the issue wasn't going to help. He could only talk about it when he was ready.
Jaune also realized he made the atmosphere a little awkward and tried to lighten the situation.
"When I get back, we'll be the top team at Beacon, and Team RWBY can be in second place."
"Oh, it's on Vomit Boy!"
"Right back at your Crater Face."
They shared a laugh and pushed the unpleasant discussion into the back of their minds. Right now, they had a meeting with Ozpin about their future. Once they arrived, knocked, and were let in, they received quite a surprise, specifically Ruby.
"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby gasped, seeing her uncle sitting at the edge of Ozpin's desk. She knew he was stopping to say hi to Ozpin, but she didn't expect him to still be here.
"Sup, Squirt," Qrow greeted her, hiding his flask. "Guess which Huntsman you two brats are going to follow?"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"
Jaune, Ozpin, and Qrow were forced to cover their ears at the high pitch noise emitting from the small girl, who vanished in a flurry of rose petals to tackle her uncle.
"Yeah, yeah, you need to promise never to make that noise again." Qrow grumbled, but the fondness was evident in his expression.
"I promise!" Ruby cheered. "I can't believe you're going to be our teacher! This is going to be awesome!"
Once she calmed down, Jaune walked up and shook Qrow's hand after introducing himself.
"Thank you for this opportunity, sir," Jaune told him. "Also, thank you for saving me earlier."
"No problem," Qrow laughed. "Yang's got a bit of a temper and misunderstands things." His face lost any amusement as his next words. "You do realize you have a lot of work ahead of you. This isn't going to be a walk in the park."
"No, sir."
"For the love of… don't call me sir," Qrow rolled his eyes. "Makes me feel old. It's Qrow."
"Or as Yang says, Drunkle Qrow." Ruby whispered.
"Call me that and I'm pushing you into a Grimm Nest." Qrow warned, looking straight at Jaune.
"Er, I won't." Jaune muttered, a little nervous at how intense the man could be when not dealing with his niece.
"He's just pretending to be tough, but Uncle Qrow is a big softy." Ruby assured Jaune.
"Yeah, I can see that."
The boy doubted it, but it wasn't like he could say it in front of her.
"Now that you've all met," Ozpin interrupted them at last. "Mr. Arc, Miss Rose, please have a seat." After both of the students were seated, Ozpin continued. "The reason I called you in today was not only to meet Qrow, the Huntsman who will be chaperoning you two but to give you both one last chance to back out of this apprenticeship program."
"Huh?" Jaune was shocked.
"I'm not!" Ruby cried out simultaneously.
Ozpin held up a hand for them to be silent.
"I am aware you two want to participate for your own reasons," the headmaster continued. "Please understand that I'm not questioning those. After talking with both of you, I've already verified your conviction. The thing is, you may not fully comprehend what exactly this program entails. It's why I wanted you both to talk to Qrow first. Let him say his piece then you can make your final decision."
"You two are young and don't understand what it's like to be out in the field," Qrow continued where Ozpin left off. "We aren't going out, killing a few Grimm, and then coming back to town. My job sometimes requires us to be out in the wilds for days, if not weeks at a time. We might be able to spend a night in a small border town, but that will be rare once we get going."
"So we'll have to camp a lot?" Ruby asked. "Cool! We haven't done that in ages. Yang hates sleeping in tents."
"Tents?" Qrow raised an eyebrow. "You think we're going to lug tents around? You'll have a light sleeping bag and pray you can find a soft piece of ground."
"Survival camping?" Jaune asked as Ruby gaped at her uncle. "My grandfather took me on a weeklong trip once. We had a small pack with almost no food, no extra clothes, and just enough tools to survive." He shivered. "That was rough."
"Pretty much, kid." Qrow nodded in confirmation. "Except, it's going to be even worse. Constantly moving, fighting Grimm, and dodging bad weather. After a couple of days of hiking in the mountains, battling Grimm half the time, and dealing with heavy rain, you're going to hate me. You'll wish you were back in Beacon in no time."
"Once you start a mission with Qrow, you can't just stop in the middle of it," Ozpin added. "Lives could be at risk if you fail. That's what you need to consider before you accept. It's not going to be easy and it will be dangerous. I can't stress this enough." He turned to Jaune. "You'll have a little time for Qrow to teach you some of the basics, but most of it will be learned as you go."
"I don't have time to babysit you," Qrow warned. "I'll teach you the important stuff for survival, but it's up to you to apply it. Asked Ruby here. I'm a tough teacher."
"He is," Ruby confirmed. "When I learned how to wield my scythe, I had a lot of trouble. Uncle Qrow didn't pull punches and I hurt myself a lot while practicing."
"You should have seen her the first time she tried to swing at an actual dummy," Qrow snickered. "She was overzealous and-…"
"S-Stop!" Ruby stammered as she interrupted. "Don't tell him that!"
"Now I want to know-…ow!" Jaune rubbed his shoulder as Ruby punched him. "Never mind, my conscience said it's not right to pry."
"Yeah, it did." Ruby wore a smug look on her face.
"Moving back to the more serious topic," Ozpin continued. "Once you are out in the field, you need to remember that Qrow is in charge. If he gives you an order, you are to follow it. He's a professional and there will be situations where you need to react immediately."
Ruby and Jaune nodded together.
"I don't think you fully understand," Qrow pointed out, looking at each of them in turn. "You think you understand, but when we're out in the field, I might be forced to give an order you don't want to follow. I might tell you two to flee and leave me behind. I might tell you that someone is beyond our reach and can't be saved. Trying to would only lead to you getting seriously hurt. Not following my orders could get you, us, even innocent people killed in the wrong situation. If I tell you to do something, you have to do it. No ifs, ands, or buts."
"But-…!" Ruby tried to interrupt.
"What did I just say?"
Ruby went silent and Jaune fidgeted in his seat. Qrow observed them closely, watching their expressions. This was a big blow to Ruby, who up until now, never had to entertain such a thing. She had always imagined protecting people as a Huntress in a fairy tale. This was another reason why this apprenticeship was reserved for older students. First and second years don't always get to observe what happens when a mission goes wrong. It's usually a shock and many people never fully recover from it. The number of students who actually make it to the fourth year is drastically smaller than those who even manage to enter Beacon.
"What are the odds of something like that actually happening?"
Qrow and Ozpin turned to look toward Jaune. The boy was nervous, but his question wasn't actually a bad one.
"Not often," Qrow admitted. "I can usually recognize those situations and avoid them. It's impossible to foresee everything though. I might order you two to retreat while I handle something. There are ways I can escape dangerous situations by myself, but not while looking after you two. To be frank, you two will be slowing me down."
Jaune's expression darkened as he gazed at his feet. Even though he knew his skills were subpar, it hit deep hearing a professional Huntsman admit that he was just baggage. His hands clenched into a fist. Anything Qrow taught him, the boy promised to take it to heart and work harder than he ever had before. This was the one chance given to him. Hearing that he could be responsible for other people's lives did make him hesitate for a moment.
Ren's words still haunted him about what could have happened at initiation.
"I can handle myself though," Ruby protested. "Isn't running away while someone is in trouble against what Huntsman and Huntresses stand for?"
"And what happens if you run into a situation where you can't win?" Qrow demanded, his voice rising slightly. "If you die, who's going to protect the people in the future who need help? You can't help anyone if you're dead."
Ruby went silent as her face paled. Jaune's throat went dry as he heard this. It sounded like Qrow had some personal experience with it. The man actually looked a little ashamed at raising his voice. Ozpin rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked tired as he spoke.
"This is something you need to understand, Miss Rose. We don't want to lose people; students, civilians, anyone. Sometimes terrible things do happen. That's why we work hard, learn from those who have the most experience, to minimize how often they occur. I have no doubt you and Mr. Arc will do great things in the future. You'll help more people than you can count and help push back the forces of darkness. For now, you're students and you have much to learn."
"I see…" Ruby bit the corner of her lip. "Uncle Qrow… I promise to follow your orders."
"I don't mean to scare you, kiddo," Qrow told her. "But this is something you, both of you, need to know. It's information that can save your lives."
"You're the boss," Jaune spoke up at last. "I know you can't move as fast with me around, so I'm going to make sure I cause as few problems as possible. If listening to you stops people from getting hurt, I'm all for it."
"Good attitude," Qrow replied, satisfied. "Now, seriously, this is your last chance. Are you both prepared? There's no shame in backing out."
"Yes!"
Both kids answered immediately. While hearing all this was a shock to them, they agreed with Ozpin that they needed to hear this. It was the first major step to becoming a full-fledged Huntsman. Jaune was already learning the risks he had overlooked when first entering Beacon, while Ruby was beginning to feel the weight of the real world on her shoulders. Everything wasn't always like a fairy tale.
"Then I guess we're in business," Qrow declared, reaching into his pocket. "Now the plan is to leave bright and early tomorrow morning."
"That soon?" Ruby gasped.
"I wanted to leave today, but you two probably need some time to say goodbye to your teams."
"…Good point." Ruby about-faced quickly.
Jaune actually wouldn't have minded leaving earlier, but Nora would not be happy if he left before they had a goodbye party.
"I do have your first assignment," Qrow continued, passing over a piece of paper. "It's a list of what you all need to pack before we leave. There's not a lot, but you have to have this. Nothing more, nothing less."
Jaune took the paper and unfolded it while Ruby watched over his shoulder.
"There's barely anything here." Ruby commented, eyeing the very small list.
"I did warn you we were traveling light." Qrow reminded her. "We have to carry everything we bring. After the thousandth step, you'll start feeling the weight of every pound."
"One extra set of clothes, a lightweight bag…" Jaune listed them one by one until he got the last one. "…a hammock?"
"Never underestimate the usefulness of a hammock."
None of them noticed Qrow's lip twitch.
"It looks like you just scribbled it down," Ruby pointed to the writing while the rest of the list was typed. "Was this because of what you told Weiss?"
"That item has always been on the list." Qrow refuted, crossing his arms.
"But it's handwritten-…" Jaune started to add before he was cut off.
"To help you with your first assignment!" Qrow's voice grew louder, overshadowing the kids' questions, as he took out an envelope. "Here's some Lien to buy anything you don't have." He pushed the envelope toward Jaune. "That's all you get, so make it count. You're in charge of the money. If I give it to Ruby, she'll spend half of it on cookies."
"What?!" Ruby looked incredulous. "No I wouldn't."
Qrow stared at her and even Jaune looked skeptical. Ozpin sat silently, just listening in.
"Traitor!" Ruby accused her friend.
"I didn't say anything!" Jaune protested.
"Trust me," Qrow warned. "Never give her money unless you need cookies or weapon parts."
"I wouldn't spend all of it on cookies," Ruby mumbled, crossing her arms and slumping down in her seat. "Maybe a little… not much… just enough for a snack…"
Jaune felt a lot of pity for her and figured he could use a little of his own money to treat her. Ruby deserved it for being such a great friend. He hoped she would be okay out camping. If Qrow really wanted them to go light, a certain circular treat will be noticeably absent.
"Anything leftover you can keep," Qrow added, looking between the two kids. "I'll give you a word of warning. Buy cheap and you're going to have a bad time. As I said, this is a lesson. Make the most out of what you have." He tapped the desk. "I think that's all for now. Remember, we leave first thing tomorrow, so make sure to get your affairs in order."
"We will." Jaune promised instantly.
"Then you're free to go," Ozpin told them. "Oh, some extra advice before you go on your merry way. Your team is currently in class, so this might be your best chance to go and buy everything you need. After that, you would free the rest of the afternoon to settle anything you may need to with them."
Jaune and Ruby thanked him and left the room.
"This is going to be so cool," Ruby whispered, as the door shut behind them.
"We weren't too hard on them, were we?" Qrow asked, pulling out his flask and taking a swig once he was sure the brats had gone. "Giving Ruby a life lesson and seeing her expression killed me a little. I hoped she would have a couple more years to mature before then."
"The fact you could give it straight to her proves that you are able to put aside your feelings for your niece," Ozpin pointed out. "If you couldn't, I would have had to step in and prevent this."
"Don't have to lecture me, Oz." The man's face seemed to grow much older for a minute. "I know what happens when you get careless. What happens when you put feelings first over what's the smart thing to do. I've lost too many friends and family because of that. When I first taught Ruby, I swore to myself when we trained, I wasn't her uncle, I was her teacher. This is just an extension. However I treat the Arc boy, I'll treat her the same way."
"Hmm…" Ozpin hummed.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, it's just you might have to teach them different things," The headmaster pointed out. "Miss Rose needs to learn how to focus, and use her mind to think things through before acting. Mr. Arc needs combat experience. I have a feeling they both can learn from each other, not only you. Use that."
"Whatever you say," Qrow sighed. "I'm going to sleep off this hangover until tomorrow. Any other surprises I should know about? Did that boy's grandfather teach him how to make battleships out of sticks and dirt?"
"Mr. Arc's grandfather was quite an exceptional Huntsman," Ozpin commented, glancing at a folder on his desk. "If Mr. Arc's parents would have let him teach the boy, he could have easily been one of the top students. I wonder…"
Ozpin tapped the desk lost in thought.
"Don't leave me hanging." Qrow rolled his eyes. "Speak up."
"…It's possible Mr. Arc's grandfather taught him all those skills because his parents wouldn't let him train while he lived under them."
"Huh, if he couldn't train the body, train the mind?" Qrow shrugged. "Makes my job easiest at least. Jimmy always goes on about how it's hard to train a tactician. You have to be born with that mindset to truly shine. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to throw up in your plant over there then crash. I just might make it to a couch."
"That's everything!" Ruby cheered, checking off the list.
"I still don't know if this hammock was a joke or not," Jaune muttered, looking at the net-like object in their bag. "So I chose something heavy-duty, but not outrageously large and cumbersome."
"It's good your grandfather taught you so much about camping," Ruby admitted. "I wouldn't have known anything about quality. All those ropes looked the same so I would have grabbed the most expensive one."
"Those are a little more than what we will need," Jaune laughed. "Plus, they are super heavy and I know you'll complain about one hour into a hike carrying them."
"Hey!" Ruby punched his arm as he laughed. "I know what I'm getting into." Her face sobered up. "Well… I thought I did at least."
"My dad told me something similar when I was younger as he tried to discourage me," Jaune sighed. "I thought he was lying back then and didn't believe him. It was obvious they didn't want me to be a Huntsman. Looking back, I wonder if they even tried teaching me anything."
"I'm sure they had their reasons," Ruby patted her friend on the back and decided to change the subject so Jaune didn't start moping. "So, I was thinking about Uncle Qrow's words and he's right. I've kind of already known that for a long time. My mom disappeared on a mission when I was a kid, so I understand the loss."
"Ruby…" Jaune knew about that. They talked about their families plenty of times when they were hanging out at Beacon.
"I told you before, while I miss her, I'm not going to break down," Ruby reminded him. "I've had years to come to terms with it. Mom would never give up, no matter the odds. She was everything I dream to be." Silver eyes looked over at Jaune. "We need to get stronger, to learn, to grow in order to protect people. If we don't stand against the Grimm, who will? If we keep moping about the past, we can't move forward. Then all the sacrifices people made before us were in vain. I won't, can't, allow that."
"I never understood why Yang treats you like a kid," Jaune commented. "You're a lot wiser than me."
"Then smile and keep moving forward," Ruby told him. "That's what mom would have wanted from me, so I'm going to laugh, enjoy life, and protect everyone I can."
Jaune felt a shiver down his spine. Even if the girl didn't know it, to him, she was already a top-tier Huntress. A lot closer than him anyways. At first, he was worried about traveling with her, but now? There was a lot to learn and Ruby would be a great teacher. Her only flaws were she could get easily distracted and still had a few childish tendencies. Not that he minded.
They just made her cute.
"Speaking of Yang," Ruby muttered, her footsteps slowing down. "I'm going to have to tell her and my team about why I applied for this apprenticeship without telling them."
"Yeah, that was kind of a big mistake, and you can trust me in recognizing big mistakes," Jaune agreed. "You did kind of rush in applying… not that I'm mad at you!" He added the last part really quickly. "I do appreciate your support. Really I do. Thinking about it more carefully now, having you by my side is going to make facing the dangers a lot easier."
Ruby's bright smile responded to his words.
"We all need someone to lean on from time to time. It doesn't mean you're weak. So promise me, while we're learning from Uncle Qrow, you're not going to put yourself down."
"But what-…?"
"No. Putting. Yourself. Down." Ruby emphasized each word.
"Okay, I promise."
"Good." Ruby crossed her arms and huffed. Jaune looked better so she knew she did the right thing. "Now that we finished shopping… WHAT DO I SAY TO MY TEAM!?"
As it turned out, the team leader had been trying to remain calm but had been secretly fretting about what to do. Jaune pitied her. He really did. Yang would be upset for sure. Ruby was putting herself in a dangerous situation. That was not something her sister would approve of. Weiss… that was kind of self-explanatory. Snow Angel wouldn't appreciate their team leader abandoning her post. The only person Jaune wasn't sure how she would react was Blake. All their time in Beacon, they might have spoken like twice, and nothing more intimate than 'excuse me' or 'thank you.'
"Calm down!" Jaune grabbed her shoulders. "Take a deep breath and relax."
Ruby began inhaling deeply over and over before she slowly stopped shaking.
"Trust me, this isn't going to be as hard as you think it is," the boy continued soothingly. "It's going to be easier than anything I had to deal with over the last day for sure."
"What should I say?" Ruby asked quietly. "Weiss already mentioned I was being selfish. Yang didn't say much, but she's totally disappointed in me! I can tell."
"Hang on!" Jaune held up a hand. "Listen, I know you did this to support me, but from their point of view, you are leaving them. They have the right to be upset. I understand that all too well now. Don't make the mistake I did. Talk to them, be honest, and accept they have the right to feel like they do. "
Boy, did Jaune learn that lesson. His talk with Ren pushed that home. If you make a mistake, even if you did it with good intentions, you can still hurt other people. Pyrrha found out about his fake transcripts and did what she thought was right. He, on the other hand, did what he thought he had to do to become a hero and protect people. Both of them had made mistakes that hurt others. Jaune's mistake was a lot worse than hers, but Pyrrha's mistake cut him deeply directly.
People can't help feeling what they do.
Ruby bit her lip and stared into Jaune's eyes. She saw the experience he had compared to her about this subject. Her throat dry, she slowly nodded, preparing herself for the uncomfortable talk.
The moment Ruby stepped into her dorm room after splitting up with Jaune at Beacon, three sets of eyes greeted her. Cold blue eyes from Weiss seemed to pierce through her. Red eyes exuded the anger Yang was feeling. At least Blake's amber eyes only showed curiosity, rather than hostility.
"Hehe," Ruby giggled nervously. "I take it I have some explaining to do?"
"Really?" Weiss raised an eyebrow. "That's what you're going to open with?"
"What do you want me to say?" Ruby asked, surprised.
"An apology for unilaterally deciding on abandoning our team for one."
"I didn't abandon anyone!" Ruby protested.
"Then what do you call it when you just decide to run off with Vomit Boy and leave us behind!" Yang snapped back.
"Stop!"
Yang, Weiss, and Ruby turned toward Blake, who for the first time they could remember, raising their voice outside of combat.
"Remember what we agreed upon?" Blake asked the two. "That we would let Ruby explain herself without yelling and accusing her?"
Yang went silent and looked slightly embarrassed at her outburst, but her eyes betrayed her irritation at her sister's decision. Weiss pursed her lips and looked annoyed, but like Yang, was allowing Ruby to actually talk without interruptions for now.
"Now let's let her talk and try to avoid interruption," Blake continued. "Otherwise, we'll be here all day." She gestured to Ruby once she was sure the rest of the team would be silent. "We would like to hear your full explanation, Ruby. There wasn't any time before class and we would like to have a clear picture rather than pieces."
The young leader was immensely grateful for Blake's level-headedness. Things would have deteriorated into a shouting match if she hadn't intervened. Now, with everyone calmed down, she would be allowed to explain her position. Jaune helped her rehearse a few things she wanted to say, along with helping her understand why her team would be upset. There were quite a few similarities between them and the mistakes they had made.
"First, Weiss, you're right. I need to apologize." Weiss raised an eyebrow again, but this time actually looked a little surprised. She had obviously expected some kind of pushback. "As the team leader, I sometimes have to make decisions on the fly. The apprenticeship I accepted, there wasn't any time to talk with you all about it. What I should have done though, is immediately tell you afterward, rather than waiting until the following day. You all deserved to know the truth since it affected our entire team."
In a way, this was the same mistake Pyrrha made. The champion made a decision that directly affected the entire team without so much as a discussion. As an adult, since Ruby made a mistake, the first thing she needed to do was apologize.
"That's all well and good, but that's not the only problem," Weiss pointed out, at least a little mollified by Ruby's apology. Jaune had been right. An apology from the start was a good way to disarm people. "You are literally going to be traveling Remnant, without us. Not for a couple of days, or even weeks, but months. Ozpin made you this team's leader and now you're bailing on us? That's why we're upset!"
"I'm not bailing on all of you!" Ruby protested, the volume of her voice rising a bit before she caught herself. "That wasn't my intention."
"But you are," Yang interjected. "Look, Ruby. Our teams have been together for a couple of weeks and we get along…" She glanced at Weiss for a brief moment. "…pretty well. Now, while we're getting used to living with a team, you're going to go off on your own, leaving us behind."
Ruby found that logic rich, given the fact when they first arrived at Beacon, Yang left her behind. Though, she forgave Yang because she met Jaune that way.
"It's not like I'm going to be gone forever," Ruby reminded her, trying to keep herself calm and not have another outburst like before. After their last argument, she felt really bad for what she said. "A couple of months. Like a summer break. You would have been gone far longer if I didn't get accepted into Beacon early."
"Yes, but you would be back at home and…" Yang trailed off and Ruby's eyes narrowed.
"And what, Yang?" The young leader asked. "Safe?"
"That's not…"
"We just had this conversation," Ruby pressed, not letting her sister speak. "This morning to be precise and you know what you did? The second we finished, you misunderstood what happened and tried to kill Jaune. For no reason! We all know Jaune didn't manipulate me. I chose to help him out of my own free will. Like a Huntress should. He needed someone to support him."
Yang fell silent, unable to retort. Blake was actually proud of Ruby for standing up to her sister. Weiss, however, was nonplus and crossed her arms again.
"We need you here too," the heiress told her. "You have a responsibility to our team too as our team leader."
Ruby really wanted to remind her that Weiss started off hating the fact Ruby had been made leader but held her tongue. That would cause a separate fight and Weiss did have a point. Going off with Jaune and Qrow meant she couldn't lead her team. Instead, there was another route she could take. Something she discovered talking with Jaune about the program they were allowed to participate in.
"I know, but in a way, this is going to help me be a better team leader." Weiss looked skeptical, but at the same time interested. "I… don't have much experience leading anyone." Ruby tapped her fingers together. "I've been really shy most of my life. Being friends with you and Jaune helped me open up, but that doesn't change the fact I don't know a lot about the real world. This is a chance for me to learn in an exclusive way only a few people at Beacon get to do. Think of how much I have to learn from it."
The white-haired girl shifted and Ruby knew she had her full and undivided attention.
"You also have a point about me leaving the team," Ruby continued. "I have a responsibility to you all. So the fact is someone needs to be appointed Acting Team Leader. As my partner, Weiss, I think you should take that position. You've been trained to be a leader, right?"
"I… have." Weiss was taken aback. "You've actually thought about this a lot."
Yang grimaced at the fact Weiss would be in charge, while Blake kept a passive expression. Though, her bow seemed to twitch slightly.
"Woah there!" Yang interjected. "That's something we should all decide right?"
"Do you think you'll be a better leader than Weiss?" Blake asked. Yang didn't immediately answer.
"Well?" Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, well?" Ruby asked, zipping over next to Weiss and slapping her hand as the two stared at the blonde.
"I… argh… whatever." Yang sighed and collapsed back on her desk. "Ruby, are you absolutely sure you want to do this?"
"I've been asked that many times and the answer is still the same." Ruby answered.
Yang eyed her younger sister and saw the determination in her eyes. The same determination she had when she decided to become a Huntress. Ruby had grown up so fast and Yang never realized it.
"Can you promise me one thing?" Ruby tilted her head at Yang's question. "You'll be careful and call us every chance you get?"
"Of course!" Ruby ran up and hugged her sister. "I'll miss all of you, especially my bestie!" Before Weiss could defend herself, she found herself wrapped up in her own hug. "Keep me up to date about what's happening and I will too. I'll even try to help lead, even if it's from a distance. If you have trouble with Yang, Weiss, I'll reprimand her for you."
"Yeah, yeah, can you get off now?" Weiss groaned.
"I'll let you know if Yang starts a mutiny." Blake assured Ruby.
"Whose side would you take, Blakey?" Yang asked in stride.
Blake looked at her partner, then at Weiss, then back to Yang.
"To be determined."
"Hey!" Yang and Weiss shouted simultaneously before turning to each other. "Stop that! No you stop that! Ugh!"
Ruby giggled as Blake rolled her eyes.
"I might hide in Team JNPR's room if things get out of hand," Blake muttered to Ruby as Yang and Weiss continued to argue. "Think they will let me?"
"They probably will," Ruby confirmed. "Though, please stop those two killing each other."
"You overestimate me," Blake sighed and then the corner of her lips twitched. "I'll try."
"Okay," Weiss said, at last, clapping her hands together. "While the situation isn't perfect, we can admit this apprenticeship will be good for Ruby."
"I can accept that, Ice Queen." Yang acknowledged, though she still looked a little unhappy.
"Oh, Yang!" Ruby realized she never told them. "You won't believe it! Uncle Qrow is going to be the Huntsman in charge of us!"
"What?!" The blonde gasped and then grinned. "Luuuuucky! You're going to have a blast!"
"That drunk?" Weiss couldn't believe her ears as she looked at Blake, who shrugged.
"We have to have a going-away party for you at least!" Yang declared, trying to be supportive. "Grab the snacks!"
Unknown to Ruby, the reason Yang was happy was that she knew Qrow wouldn't let Jaune try anything. If he did, her uncle wouldn't let him escape unscathed. Castration would be getting off lucky. Not that Yang expected Jaune to try anything. The guy was too nice, but being alone out in the wilds for days at a time? Stuff could happen, especially with Ruby who can be a bit naïve with social queues.
Though, Ruby was growing up. Yang had to swallow her pride and concede she would have to trust her younger sister.
Meanwhile, in Team JNPR's room, Jaune also had to inform his team of what he was told in Ozpin's office.
"Tomorrow?!" Nora gasped. "But… that's so soon!"
"I think that's the point," Ren pointed out. "Huntsmen sometimes have to leave at a moment's notice. I was wondering where you were off to all day since none of the professors commented on your absence. Did you get everything you needed?"
"Yeah, it took some time to make sure we had enough money, but it all worked out," Jaune informed him. "Wish we had a little more time before I had to go, but Qrow can't wait." Pyrrha fidgeted from her lone spot on her bed. "For now, I wanted to spend my last day here with my team."
"We love you too, fearless leader!" Nora jumped and crushed him once more in a hug. "Most of us do anyway."
"Nora!" Ren hissed.
"Sorry."
Jaune patted Nora's back and she finally let go.
"Okay, since we don't have much time, we have to make every minute count!" Nora declared. "We got snacks, food, games, that new movie Jaune wanted to see, and Ren can make his special pancakes before we have to sleep."
"Wait, why do you have that movie?" Jaune asked, confused. "You didn't know I was leaving."
"Nora wanted to surprise everyone with it this weekend, but now it got pushed up a bit." Ren explained.
"It was going to be an awesome movie night!" Nora agreed. "Until… well…"
Pyrrha's eyes traveled to the floor and Jaune bit his lip.
"Nora, I have a favor to ask you," the boy said. "Do you think we could move the schedule around? Maybe you and Ren could start preparing the pancakes? The kitchens will still be open for use."
Ren raised an eyebrow and glanced at Pyrrha, whose eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Jaune. Nora's lip trembled and she stared at Jaune for a moment before answering.
"Sure thing, Jaune-Jaune!" Her voice was determinedly cheerful, but everyone could tell there was a strain to it. The hyperactive ginger was trying to act like everything was perfectly normal. Jaune appreciated the effort and the fact she also caught on so quickly. Sometimes, her instincts were quite surprising. "Come on, Renny! Those pancakes aren't going to cook themselves."
Nora grabbed Ren's arm and tugged him toward the door. As they passed Jaune, Ren whispered as softly as he could so only Jaune could hear.
"Keep calm."
Once the door closed behind those two, the atmosphere in the room became stifling. Pyrrha wanted to say something, but every time she opened her mouth, nothing came out. Jaune wanted to say something too. He just wasn't exactly sure how to phrase it. A bizarre mixture of emotions swirled within him. Disappointment, sadness, doubt, even a tiny bit of anger as he tried to figure out what to say.
"We need to talk about us."
Jaune found it nearly impossible to look at the redhead, settling on staring at the wall over her shoulder. Pyrrha fidgeted and opened her mouth.
"Jaune… I really am sorry. I-…"
"Let me speak," Jaune interjected, holding up a hand. "I've been thinking and I've talked to Ren already. We figured out why you told. I know you well enough… well I thought it did…"
Pyrrha felt like she had been slapped.
"...You took the trust I had in you and shattered it when you told Ozpin," the boy continued, still avoiding looking directly at her. "I was upset when I let that slip, but I thought you would keep it quiet. Instead, you nearly got me expelled. The only reason I'm talking to you now is because I wasn't."
"I had to do something!" Pyrrha protested, finding her voice at last. "You weren't ready yet for Beacon. If you got hurt because of your lack of training, I wouldn't know what to do."
"So it's about you?" Jaune's eyes narrowed slightly.
"That's not what I meant-…"
"Do you have any idea what my life would be like if I was kicked out?" The boy's eyes flashed and he finally looked at her. Anger burst to the front momentarily, clearly visible as the champion stared. "I would have been forced to go back home, to a family who never believed I could be a hero. Any chance I had to prove people wrong and help others would have been lost. All because of one person that I thought I could trust."
He wanted to be calm and talk this through. Yet as the words tumbled out, so did his emotions. The anger was quickly taken over by sorrow. He hated the fact he couldn't control himself.
"You didn't accept my help though," Pyrrha tried to explain. "I wanted to help you, but you pushed me away. All it would take is one mission, Jaune. One mission where you get ambushed by a Grimm and you would lose your life. I couldn't allow that."
"Couldn't? Who gave you control over me? You were my partner, someone I was supposed to spend my next four years with. A family. Now? Every time I look at you, I question what I can trust you with. Will you tell my secrets to someone else? What I did was wrong, everyone agrees with that. I was even planning to apologize for snapping at you before accepting your offer. But I never got the chance."
"I know now I should have talked to the entire team before I did anything," Pyrrha found herself on her feet, her hand on her chest. Her heart ached as she felt Jaune's words weigh down on her. "Jaune. This was for you! To keep you alive because I care about you. You're my best friend. The closest I've ever had."
"If that's how you treat your friends, I hate to see how you treat your enemies." Jaune mumbled.
Then his hand slammed over his mouth.
Sorrow was replaced by horror as he registered the words he just let slip. Pyrrha, the strongest girl he knew, looked like she was on the verge of breaking down. No matter how mixed up he was, that blow was below the belt. His mom would have slapped him with all her might if she heard about this.
"Pyrrha…" The boy tried to explain.
"You don't know what it's like," Pyrrha muttered, her emerald eyes watering. "To be put on a pedestal. Everyone believes you are in a world above them. Relationships are rare with people thinking it's impossible for them to be with me. You weren't like that. You didn't even know who I was. All you saw was me. Not Pyrrha Nikos the Champion or Invincible Girl, just Pyrrha. To me, that was the greatest thing that ever happened to me."
A tear ran down her cheek.
"I overlooked a lot of signs that indicated you didn't attend any combat schools. That didn't matter to me. People who attend Beacon have a lot of potential and you could improve. Then you told me your secret." Her arm shook and she grabbed the wrist with her other hand. "I was terrified. Terrified about what would happen if I lost you. To me, your life was more important than my happiness. I didn't want to tell Ozpin, but at the time, I was so overcome at the thought of losing you, I couldn't think straight. So I told him."
Her head hung and a tear fell, hitting the carpet.
"Ren was right. If I was thinking straight, I should have told him and Nora. We could have all decided what to do."
"You didn't give me a chance though," Jaune interjected. "You didn't see if I could improve on my own. All I heard is how you felt. Not how I or Ren or Nora would feel."
He hated himself for saying this. Here there was a girl who was willing to destroy herself to save him and he was pushing back. He knew he shouldn't and that she was absolutely right, but there was a part of him that refused to let him admit it. It made him a shitty person and he knew it. Pyrrha letting his secret out was only doing it to ensure his survival. That was the only silver lining in the current strain of their relationship.
"My life, everything I wanted to do, would have been gone, in that one instance." Jaune couldn't stop, even as the voice in the back of his mind yelled at him to. "I want to forgive you, Pyrrha. I really do. What you said… I didn't know that. But I can't. Every time I look at you, I just feel the pain return. Knowing that my partner, my friend, nearly destroyed my dreams."
"We can't… ever go back to the way things were." Pyrrha's voice was barely audible.
"No, we can't," Jaune confirmed her worst fears. "Maybe we can repair things when I come back. After some time. I don't really know. I want to, I really do."
"I see." Pyrrha looked up and saw her leader's face. Dark lines were etched there and his eyes were dull. All traces of anger were gone and were replaced by defeat. The odds of things being repaired were slim if not impossible. The remains of her hope dashed away when she saw his expression. "Jaune… Please believe me. I never wanted this to happen. I'm so sorry."
"I'm sorry too."
For what, he never said.
Pyrrha pushed past him and left the room, leaving the boy alone. A minute passed as he stood there, processing and repeating the conversation that had just occurred.
"AHHHHH!"
Jaune collapsed on his knees and started hitting his bed. Anger coursed through his blood. Anger that wasn't directed at anything but himself. He was confused at what he was feeling, at what he did. All he wanted to do was apologize and try to explain himself. What actually happened was he pushed her away, even after learning how much she cared about him. How much he helped her without even realizing it.
Was it possible that she…?
It didn't matter anymore.
Even if it was true, the damage was already done.
Even if it was true, there was no way it could happen now. Everything that was built up had been great until that one day.
And now it was all gone.
"What is wrong with me?!"
The next morning, at the crack of dawn, both teams dragged themselves out of bed. Jaune and Ruby had to go down to the Bullhead docks and their teams were determined to see them off. The mood was heavy as both teams were going to lose their leader for several months. The two leaders in question had their bags packed and were at the head of the pack.
Team RWBY was a little confused that Pyrrha wasn't with them. Well, their leader wasn't, but she wasn't saying anything.
"Are you ready for this?" Ruby whispered.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Jaune muttered.
"Is he… sleeping?" Weiss asked incredulously, as the group approached the only Bullhead currently at Beacon. "And… oh god…"
She wasn't the only one to cover her nose. Blake and Nora had their hands over their faces as they approached. Qrow was leaning against a low wall, two empty bottles littered the ground next to him as he laid there, snoring loudly.
"Yeah, this is a familiar scene," Yang sighed, walking up and kicking her uncle in the side. "Yo, rise and shine. If you don't get up, dad said I can get the ice bucket."
"I'm up… I'm up!" Qrow hopped to his feet and staggered as he rubbed his head. "Fuck, Yang. Can't you ignore Tai's shit for one night?"
"Eep!" Ruby covered her ears with her hands.
"Right," Qrow realized, muttering to himself. "You'll be traveling with the squirt. Got to watch my fucking mouth."
Ruby pressed harder.
"Shit! I mean, fuck… damn it. This is going to be tougher than I thought."
"Are they going to be alright with him?" Weiss asked quietly to Blake. All she got was a shrug in response. Honestly, Blake didn't think he looked like much either. Looks can be deceiving though.
"You don't care if I swear, right?" Qrow spun around to face Jaune. "You're going to hear a lot of it in some of the towns."
"You're actually pretty tame compared to my grandfather's drinking buddies." Jaune replied, looking unperturbed. Just because he didn't swear a lot, didn't mean he didn't know how to. It was a choice. Ruby didn't look happy at the fact.
"You'll take care of our fearless leader, right?" Nora asked Qrow.
"Eh, might throw him to a Beowolf or two." Qrow answered amusedly at the word fearless. He still remembered Jaune's face as he was chased by Yang. "Builds character."
"You sound like a trustworthy person," Nora laughed. "Jaune is going to learn a lot from you." She turned to her leader and wrapped him in one more hug. "Don't forget us with all the amazing adventures you'll have."
"As if I… ack… could ever forget you guys!" Jaune coughed but still managed to hug the ginger girl back. "Take care while I'm gone." Then, remembering last night, guilt welled up and leaned forward. Quietly, so only Nora could hear, he whispered his last request as the current leader. "Listen, Nora. Pyrrha made a mistake, but so did I. Can you try to forgive her?"
"Have you?"
The question was honestly kind of surprising. It was just Jaune couldn't answer it the way he wanted to.
"Not yet, but I'm trying." He wanted to believe it, but ultimately it was a lie. Last night he pushed back any progress he could have made. "This is between us though. Please, try to include her."
"I'm sorry, Jaune." Nora's voice was deeply apologetic. "She hurt you badly and I can't forgive her until you do." She let go and tried to look like her normal bubbly self. "Make sure you call us!"
"Yeah!" Yang agreed, looking at Ruby. "Call us every chance you get!"
"I'll make sure to tell you all about our cool adventures," Ruby promised. "I'm also going to check up with Blake to make sure you and Weiss don't kill each other."
"I'll just freeze her and store your sister until you return," Weiss assured her. Everyone stared at her and she blushed. "What?"
"Wow, she made a joke." Yang couldn't believe it. "This is it. The end is near. I don't think I'm ready to go yet."
"She might not be joking." Blake pointed out reasonably.
"I'm going to miss you, bestie!" Ruby lunged forward and wrapped Weiss in a big hug and this time, the white-haired girl returned it.
"Okay, brats!" Qrow announced, staggering a little as he stood up straight. "Let me see your bags. Got to make sure you got everything." Jaune and Ruby stepped forward and handed him their sacks. After a quick check, pausing for a fraction of a second longer in Jaune's bag, he nodded in approval and tossed them back. "Looks like we're good to go. Load in. We are burning daylight."
Ruby hugged Yang one last time and darted forward after her uncle. Jaune grabbed Ren's hand and did a quick bro hug before turning to follow. However, he was stopped when Blake stepped forward.
"Jaune?" Blake asked quietly. This was surprising to the boy, as they barely ever spoke. "I just wanted to let you know. We all make mistakes and do things we aren't proud of. We can't change the past, but we can move forward. Hopefully, you can find what you're looking for."
"Eh… thanks Blake." Jaune replied. The mysterious raven-haired girl gave him a shadow of a reassuring smile and left to join her team. Thinking the attractive girl would get a lot more attention if she smiled more often, he entered the Bullhead, with the door closing behind him.
"Things are going to be quiet without Ruby around." Yang moaned after the Bullhead took off.
"That's not necessarily a bad thing." Weiss pointed out.
"Nope and I wouldn't mind a little peace," Blake agreed. "We both know Yang won't be quiet."
"Maybe I'll just hang out with Nora," Yang rolled her eyes. "I bet she knows how to party."
"Let's do it, Yang." Nora agreed and then looked sad. "I miss Jaune-Jaune already."
"He'll be back before you know it," Ren patted her shoulder. "Keep occupied and the time will pass quickly." Things were going to be awkward for a while regardless. Pyrrha vanished last night and didn't come back at all. Ren had gone to look for her but had no luck. Something happened during her talk with Jaune, but it wasn't something he could pry into. "Beacon will make sure we have plenty on our plate to keep you busy."
"It would hardly be the best Huntsman Academy otherwise." Weiss agreed.
"I'm surprised P-money didn't show up to see Vomit Boy off," Yang commented, looking around. "Is she still in shock about his transcripts?"
"I would be if Arc was my partner," Weiss huffed. "Breaking the law to sneak into Beacon? I wouldn't want to look at him."
"Cool it, Ice Queen." Yang reminded her. "We discussed that enough times." She rubbed her temples. "I'm still pissed at Cardin, so don't annoy me right now. If he didn't blab, Vomit Boy wouldn't have been offered the apprenticeship and Ruby wouldn't have followed."
"Huh?" Nora was confused. "Pyrrha was the one who told Ozpin though."
"WHAT?!"
That piece of news was completely unexpected to the rest of Team RWBY. Ruby never mentioned it. There was no reason for her to. To her, it didn't matter who told Ozpin. Now that they knew, Yang and Weiss immediately began to barrage Nora and Ren with questions. This was quite a shock to them. Pyrrha's crush on Jaune was hardly a secret among the first years.
"Okay, you two," Qrow informed Ruby and Jaune, as the bullhead began to stabilize in the air. "Here's the plan. This ship is on a direct route to our first destination. We'll be there for 1-2 days while I get some information. During that time, I'm going to see what you're capable of, Jaune. Test what level you're at and figure out how to get you up to speed. Understand?"
"…Yeah…" Jaune groaned.
The way Jaune said it felt like it implied his nervousness about what he had in store. That wasn't the case here. There was another reason Jaune's face was slowly turning green. Nora had made him eat a big breakfast so he would have energy for his new adventures. That was now coming to bite him on the ass. Qrow didn't notice, but Ruby did.
"Jaune… you okay?"
"I'm… fine… just… you might want to stay away." Jaune muttered, closing his eyes and trying to remain calm.
"Oh… OH!"
Ruby bolted to the far side of the Bullhead.
"What are you doing, Squirt?" Qrow asked, confused, finally noticing his niece's strange behavior. His eyes then fell on Jaune. "Wait a second… don't tell me. You get motion sickness?"
"Uck… yes?" Jaune moaned.
"No, no, no." The man shook his head and pushed himself back in his seat. "We are stuck on this Bullhead for three hours. Don't you dare! Huntsman can't get motion sick! Air is the primary means of travel."
Jaune covered his mouth and his face turned a truly sickly shade of green.
"AIM FOR THE TRASH CAN!" Ruby screamed.
Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish to ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.
Finally out of Beacon and on to the brand new adventures.
Wishez: New adventures await… which means more chapters to edit.