I apologize for the waiting. I was swamped with work after the chapter was uploaded, so I only had time to write very recently.
Now that's settled, Merry Christmas! Or Happy Holidays for those that don't celebrate Christmas!
Hopefully you enjoy this gift of mine.
After what was probably the most important and longest meeting of his life, Jaune left Ozpin's office. It was already nighttime and Jaune was mentally exhausted, wanting nothing more to lie down. Luckily, Ozpin gave him directions to his new room.
From what Ozpin told me, Initiation starts tomorrow, so the candidates must be resting somewhere. If things went like I originally planned, I would probably be among them. Now I'm part of some secret magic cult. He thought as he sighed. How am I supposed to explain this to Mom and the girls? 'Hey, I got hired as a teacher at Beacon, despite not knowing squat about teaching and not even being in my twenties!' Yeah, like they will buy that. And I can't exactly ghost them, otherwise Mom will get worried and the last thing I want to do is worry her.
The realization hit him.
I'm going to have to lie to them, won't I? He thought. He hated lying to people. If it was a white lie like a birthday surprise, he would be fine, but actually keeping secrets from the people closest to him? He hated it. But this is basically the 'secret identity' cliché from comics. If I tell them, there's a chance of them being in danger.
He pulled out his scroll and sent a quick message to his family. For now, I'll tell them I made it safely to Beacon and tell them I'm in a team tomorrow. Hopefully, this won't come back to bite me.
As he finished his thoughts, he realized he reached his location. Using his Scroll, he unlocked his room and entered. After a quick look around, he had one single thought:
Is this a room or an apartment!?
Seriously, he was expecting something out of a movie, with only a bedroom, a dresser, and a bathroom down the hall. What he saw was nothing but luxury.
It was a living room with two couches forming an L, a chair in the opposite corner, a TV, a kitchen connected to the living room with a counter separating them. There were two doors on opposite sides, the left leading to a room with a kingsize bed and a dresser, the right leading to a bathroom with the basics and… a hot tub?
"Why would a teacher need a hot tub?" Jaune said as he scratched his head before he heard his stomach rumble. "Oh right I didn't have lunch or dinner, not to mention I threw up on the ride here. Let me see if there is anything here."
He opened the fridge and… it was full of beer.
No seriously, there was nothing but beer. "Not sure if this is a joke or a warning…" Jaune muttered, seeing that there was nothing else in the fridge. He yawned. "Screw it, I'm going to bed. Tomorrow I'll find something to eat." He said, going to his new bedroom. He didn't even change out of his clothes, just took off his armor and equipment, and flopped on the bed. "Hopefully this will all be just a weird dream…"
*BANG*
Jaune groaned, quickly woken up to the sound of loud knocking on his door. He groaned. "Guess it wasn't a dream. Also, who is knocking at…" He took out his scroll and looked at the time, wincing at the sudden lights, but he saw the time. "6:30AM?!"
He considered ignoring the knocking and going back to sleep, but the knocking was way too loud. He was surprised the door wasn't blown off its hinges. "Gods I hope this is a one-time thing…" He said as he got up and headed to the door, opening it, the person on the other side stopping mid-knock.
It was one of the women from the first video, most likely Summer.
She waved at him with a smile on her face, the other hand showing a text on her scroll. 'Hello'
"Hello, Miss Rose." He signed at her, making her freeze. The realization hit her as her smile widened and he could swear her eyes were sparkling.
"You know sign language!?" She signed.
"Did the headmaster not tell you?" He signed, confused.
"No! He just told me we had a new T.A to help me! Although on second thought, I should have realized it sooner." She said, playfully bopping herself on the head.
He chuckled. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Miss Rose. I'm Jaune Arc, rolls off the tongue and the ladies love it." He signed and immediately mentally slapped himself on the head for it. Old habits die hard i guess… I really shouldn't flirt with the staff, not to mention with someone that is probably the same age as my mom.
Summer giggled, though it was more her body mimicking the movements. "I'm sure they do. And Summer is fine. Miss Rose makes me sound old." She signed.
That would be the only 'old' thing about you… Jaune thought. Seriously if nobody told him, he would expect her to be in her twenties, judging by her face alone. Does being a Maiden come with a youthful look? He added, mentally adding the fact that aside from her face, there wasn't a single inch of visible skin on Summer's body. Even her neck was covered. Questions for later…
"Alright, Summer. I hate to ask, but why are you here so early?" He asked.
"Oh, Ozpin wanted me to escort you to the, and also to make sure you got used to waking up at this hour. The staff is expected to be up at this hour."
Great, I'm going to be up before the sun is. Jaune thought with bitterness, but then relaxed. There were a few times in the past where he had to wake up early to help out, so this would be no different, except daily. Besides, I bet Huntsman are expected to wake up at ungodly hours. Better get used to this, whether I like it or not.
He was snapped out of his thoughts as his stomach grumbled.
Summer frowned. "Jaune, when was the last time you ate?"
Oh gods, she was using the motherly tone on him, somehow possible through sign language.
"Uh, yesterday? Though I think my breakfast is currently on the floor of a bullhead?" He signed, a bit scared of her stare. Before he could add any further, Summer grabbed him and they zipped along the hall at breakneck speed. If Jaune had anything in his stomach he was sure that it would be gone now and splattered across the walls.
Summer dragged him to the cafeteria where she sat him down and quickly filled a tray with food. Though he found odd that she didn't eat anything, but he chalked it up to her having it eaten before getting him.
Summer was lovely company and they talked a bit about one another. Apparently she had two daughters trying out for Beacon, although two things did confuse him.
One was that the daughters, Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long, looked nothing alike in the pictures she shared. Jaune assumes Yang looks more like the father and he isn't going to bring that up until Summer does.
The other was that Ruby was apparently fifteen and was only offered a place at Beacon a few days ago. Summer didn't explain why or how, but considering Ozpin allowed Jaune to become a teacher a few years early, he assumes the man was somehow involved in this.
Regardless, they quickly ate and left right as the students were walking in, some girl in pink shouting something about pancakes to some boy in green.
Summer lead him to a cliff near the Emerald Forest, where Ozpin was already waiting. "Ah, Mr. Arc." He said, raising his cup at him. He can't tell if it's coffee or hot cocoa. "I hope you had a good rest."
"My brain needed to reset after all that info dump yesterday." Jaune said with a deadpan stare.
"Yes, I have been told that the news are… world changing." Ozpin said. "And a little bit of warning. I would like to have all conversations about you-know-what only in the privacy of my office."
"Understood." Jaune said. "You probably don't want people thinking you're crazy."
"Yes… that is the reason." Ozpin said, sharing a look with Summer that Jaune missed. "Anyways, do you have any questions?"
"Well I was wondering what Initiation actually is." Jaune said.
"Ah, but of course." Ozpin said. "The students at these Academies are divided into teams of four. Here at Beacon, we have two students become partners via eye contact."
"That seems… incredibly stupid." Jaune said.
Ozpin chuckled. "You would not be the first to say it." He said, glancing at Summer, who pouted. "But I believe it has its merits. From having students working with someone out of their comfort zone to make sure there isn't any trickery."
"Okay… that makes sense." Jaune said, but he still felt there were better ways to decide this. "And how do you launch them into the Emerald Forest?"
"Oh we use the launch pads and send them several feet in the air." Ozpin answered calmly, taking a sip from his mug.
"...Launch pads?" Jaune asked.
"Yes, like the one you're standing on right now." He pointed at Jaune's feet, who looked down at the platform he was standing on and quickly jumped off.
"Okay, I could forgive the eye contact thing, but this is just crazy!" Jaune yelled. "Why are you launching them into the air in the first place!?"
Ozpin was about to respond when Summer raised her arm. Ozpin chuckled. "Yes you may explain, Summer."
"Well, on missions, if the distance is too great, Huntsman are carried through the air on ships." She explained. "The area sometimes either does not have a good landing zone or is crawling with Grimm, so Hunstman are expected to jump from great altitudes. This way the students can start practising their landing strategies. And if you think this is out of nowhere, don't, because this is taught at schools like Signal."
…Jaune is beginning to think he dodged a bullet here. "Okay, the beginning I understand. What about the rest? How do they pass? How are the teams formed?"
"Well they have to reach the ruins and pick up relics, which change every year. This year is chess pieces and a team is formed with the students who have the same pieces. There are a total of 12 pieces, so only 3 teams can be made." Ozpin said. "Now obviously there are Grimm in the forest, so they'll face many challenges."
"Isn't that… dangerous?" Jaune asked.
"Correct, but this way we can see those who rise to challenge and those who do not." Ozpin said. "You can rest assured that we'll be monitoring every single one of them and if they are truly in mortal danger, then Summer here will help."
Knowing how fast she was, Jaune was sure she could end any threat in an instant, so he nodded. "Wait, then what am I doing here?" He suddenly realized.
"Well, I would like future students of this academy to know who you are." Ozpin said. "For starters, I would change your posture. One must look professional."
"Uh, do I get a few minutes to prepare myself?" He asked.
"Take as long as you need… which is as long as it takes the students to get here." Ozpin said, pointing his cane behind him. Jaune followed it and saw the students heading towards them.
"Well here goes nothing." Jaune said, trying not to sweat from nervousness.
I am very sorry for the short chapter. Originally, it was supposed to contain Initiation and the ceremony afterwards, but i really wanted this chapter to be out around Christmas, so I had to cut it short here. If there are any mistakes, I apologize. As a consolation prize, take this Christmas Omake.
Christmas Omake(Warning for Mature Language)
"I can't believe I agreed to this…" Jaune said, clad in a Santa outfit. It had everything, even the beard included. Around him was what you would expect to find in a mall: a small house, a Christmas tree and all sort of Christmas decorations around him in a square formation, not to mention a throne for him to sit on. "Why do we need to do this again? Last I checked these are students almost in their 20s, not children."
"Oh, don't be like that, Jaune." Kali said, wearing antlers, a red ball on her nose and a brown onesie that seemed a size too small. Jaune felt bad that the only Faunus of the group had to be the reindeer, but Kali didn't seem to mind. "You're never too old to believe in Santa."
"Okay, but why me? I'm the one closest to their age!" Jaune said. "Wasn't there a guy named Port who could actually pull the look?"
"Exactly, but he was hired for the same job in a mall in Vale." Willow answered, wearing a Miss Claus outfit, which was basically a female version of his, only a bit tighter. She looked very smug about it and he was pretty sure he caught the other Maidens glaring at her for some reason. "That and the council was skeptical of a man in his 50s having girls on his lap."
"Pretty sure the same could be said about a teacher with students of the same school." Jaune said with a deadpan stare.
"Teacher's Assistant." Summer corrected in her Elf uniform. It had a red skirt, a green sweater, a hat similar to his but green, fake ears, and gloves and stockings that covered her arms and legs respectively. As always, the only skin visible was her face.
"Still applies here." Jaune said. "Seriously, what was Ozpin thinking?"
"Oh quit your yapping. At least your clothes aren't suffocating you and all the guys aren't looking at you like a piece of meat." Raven grumbled in a similar uniform to Summer, only without the gloves or stocking, exposing more. "I feel like a whore in this…"
Jaune was inclined to agree. Seriously, did someone shrunk their uniforms in the washing machines? Or did Ozpin give them the wrong size?
"Let's just get this over with." Jaune said as the students came in.
Some of them were simple...
"I want a new scope, anti-tank bullets, chocolate cookies, new Night Black boots, not Dark Black. They look like the same color but they are not. I also want my weight in cookies, the complete Berserker collection, 100 dozen of…." Ruby began to rant off her Christmas List and Jaune didn't have the courage to tell her to stop, merely patting her on the head.
"I want a kingdom of pancakes!" Nora yelled.
"Sure." Jaune said, already feeling bad for Ren. Speaking of which…
"The only reason I'm sitting here is because Nora insisted." Ren whispered to Jaune. "Just smile and nod, we'll take a picture and we can forget this day ever happened."
Jaune nodded, though considering Nora taking pictures, he was pretty sure this would never be forgotten.
Some of them were concerning...
"Can you grant equality to all the faunus?" Blake asked.
"If I just gave equality, don't you think people will just wave if off and continue with their prejudice?" Jaune answered back.
"Hmmm, you're right. Then can you give me infinite fish?" Blake asked instead, drooling a bit. Jaune glanced at Kali, who facepalmed.
"Can you create a father figure that can give me parental love?" Weiss asked. "And a mother who doesn't have a drinking problem?"
Jaune glanced at Willow, watching her trying to hide a bottle of wine. "I can give you a headpat and say 'I'm proud of you'?"
"That will suffice." Weiss said, leaning her head for headpats.
And some were just… weird.
"Yang… you're supposed to sit on my lap, not straddle me." Jaune said, really trying to ignore the feeling of her butt on his lap.
"Aw, but I've been naughty all year~~" Yang said with a smirk. "Instead of hot and hard coal this year, you could give me your hot and hard-"
Raven quickly picked up Yang and threw her through a portal. He was concerned that Summer didn't even reprimand her.
He couldn't relax as the next girl sat on his lap. "And what is your name, little lady?"
The girl on his lap licked her lips, her pink and brown eyes staring at him like he was a piece of meat.
Jaune sighed. He was lucky that these were baggy pants…
"That… was exhausting." Jaune said as the five of them walked down the hall. "I swear I can't feel my right leg."
"Quit complaining. You know how many men would kill to be in your position?" Raven asked, rolling her eyes.
"Oh yeah, I felt extremely lucky when that Cinder girl began to ask if I could bring her power, whatever that meant." Jaune said, before groaning. "I just want to take a nice warm bath and go to sleep."
"Now hold on a minute." Willow said, grabbing Jaune's shoulder. "You still need to give us our presents."
"Huh?"
"You still need to fill up our stockings." Kali added, grabbing his other shoulder.
"Now hold on a minute…" Jaune said.
"Pants off. Now." Raven said without any sort of innuendos, grabbing him by the legs
"Uh Summer mind lending me a ha-and you're already stripping." He said looking at her friend, who was beginning to take her clothes. He sighed. "Where is Ozpin when you need him?"
Unbeknownst to Jaune, said Headmaster was currently engaging in similar activities with Salem, their 'battle' shaking the entire tower.
In case I don't upload anything else before the end of the year, I wish you a Happy New Year! Hopefully 2024 will be a better year for RWBY.