This was a draft I wrote right around January, 2022, when I was still 16. I've only got the first chapter since I haven't worked on it since then, though not for lack of interest, I just haven't had time. I would like to pick it up again, since it's a story I had a LOT of plans for. For now, I just wanted to post the first chapter because… I don't know, why not? It's finished, it's ready, so why not put it out there? That, and, I haven't been able to update my main story since I've been busy, so I figured I'd post something that's already done. It'll probably be a while before I make another chapter for this story. Besides, it means I have plenty of times to make revisions to this chapter if I feel like it's necessary, and it... probably is. I'm pretty sure I wrote all of this in one sitting and never went back to make revisions to anything, or do any spelling/grammar checks. Everything past this is the original draft from last year.
Oh, and, uh, I don't own RWBY, Spider-Man, any version of Ben 10, or Generator Rex.
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Well, it's finally here, one super long author's note. You can skip this if you really want to, though I'd be thankful if you didn't.
Oh man, where do I even start with this. Well, for starters, I just want to say that I first had the idea for this story two years ago. I was just gonna go for it, but I wanted to do this one right. I had to finish the story I was already working on, finish up what I was doing at school, AND make time to rewatch all the shows involved in this story to make sure I could make it as good as possible. I did not want to half-ass this.
To put it simply, I knew I didn't have much time for this. I mean shit, I'm halfway through Sophomore year. Pretty soon, I'll be a senior, and once I graduate, it's off to college, so I'll have even less time to write. I want to do this as soon as possible, before I reach a stage in my life where I'll only be able to update every 3 months.
And so, here we are. Together at last for one big project, something years in the making. I can't begin to describe how excited I am for this.
But wait, I want to say one important thing:
Bear in mind that this story will not perfectly follow canon. I love going "off-road" so to speak and exploring all the details that I think could potentially be interesting. I won't be completely rewriting the story or anything, just don't be surprised if things are different.
You already know what's going down based on the title of this chapter, so let's get right to it.
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Jaune Arc considered himself a man of humble dreams. Go to a Huntsman academy, fight some Grimm, save a lot of people, and maybe get a girlfriend along the way. Obviously, fighting monsters wasn't for everybody, But Jaune didn't really see a problem with it.
Okay, sure, he had never actually seen a Grimm in person before, but what did that matter? He had seen plenty of pictures and videos and they didn't look all that scary. All the Huntsman he saw were able to take them down super easily, even when there was a big group against one guy.
Of course, one couldn't simply show up to a combat school.
"HAH! HI-YAH! YEAH, YOU LIKE THAT!?"
Currently, Jaune was in the middle of one of his usual "training sessions," that being him swinging whatever tree branch most closely resembled a sword at a tree trunk until the branch broke. It made him feel a bit too much like a little kid playing around, but it was really the best he could do.
As mentioned, one couldn't just pull up to a Huntsman academy. They required a basic understanding of the Grimm as a whole, transcripts from whichever school they went to previously, and, of course, combat training.
The first one was easy. Everybody knew the Grimm were shadowy monsters with appearances similar to animals that simply wanted to kill every human they saw. As long as you got the basics down, what more did you really need? Jaune could tell his Beowolfs from his Boarbatusks, that had to be good enough.
As for transcripts, that… was a bit more complicated, seeing as how Jaune never actually went to any combat school. His parents never shipped him off to one, thinking he could get hurt if he went.
Which brought him to point three, that being his complete lack of any combat training whatsoever. Jaune's entire array of skills consisted of swinging until either his weapon or his target broke. Parrying? Riposte? What were those? Books?
"Hah, hah, hah." For the first time in an hour, Jaune took a break from swinging his branch at the thick oak tree before him, its trunk marred with scars from hundreds of swings. His breathing came in long, heavy pants, and the sweat on his forehead kept his short, blonde hair glued to his face.
"How long is that now? I've been out here for… three hours?" Jaune straightened his back, wiped the hair from his face, and glanced at his personal scroll. The small device had been set on top of a tree stump so it wouldn't distract its owner while he was training - the word being used loosely - with calls or messages. The small clock in the top-right corner read 2:47 PM.
Deciding he had been at it long enough, Jaune tossed the bent and cracked tree branch to the side, and sent one final look of mock-anger at the oak tree he had been assaulting.
"I'll definitely get you tomorrow."
With that, the blonde young man grabbed his scroll and walked away.
Some may question the logic behind using a tree branch to train rather than an actual weapon. Sure, not everybody could get access to even a basic weapon, but Jaune was an Arc. It was no secret that his family had been filled with warriors for generations. War heroes, world-famous Huntsmen, all men and women worthy of title. If they didn't have weapons lying around, who would?
Well, they did have weapons. Just one, actually. The original Arc weapon, the very same one used by Jaune's great-great-grandfather to fight in the Great War of Remnant so many years ago: Crocea Mors.
It was a thing of beauty. A gleaming silver and gold longsword paired with an absolutely stunning kite shield, decorated with white and gold, the Arc family crest emblazoned on its front. Every time Jaune saw it, he couldn't help but smile.
So then why was he not using that to train? More importantly, why was the son of such a family forced to train against a tree of all things?
Well…
"OH JAUNE? WHERE ARE YOU?" A loud voice, clearly belonging to a woman, tore through the relative silence the moment Jaune walked through the gates to town.
The place Jaune called home was a small town known as Ansel. Like all towns in the wilderness, it was surrounded on all sides by a massive wall, two gates on the North and South walls being the only way in or out. It wasn't a bad place to live, and it was small enough to be one of those places where everybody knew everybody, yet not so small that it was cramped.
"I'm right here Violette. You'll bother the neighbors if you keep yelling.
The girl who had been yelling was one of Jaune's younger sisters, Violette. She was only 2 years younger than him, as was her twin sister Indigo, yet both of them were so short that the tops of their heads only reached his shoulders. [1]
"Jaune, where have you been? Mom's been looking for you for an hour now!" Violette whined. She hated when her big brother disappeared. Every time, he always left without telling anybody, and then she had to deal with their panicking mother.
"Eh, just doing a bit of training Vi. Don't worry so much about me." Jaune reached out and ruffled his sister's hair a bit. Like him, her hair was a radiant blonde, as was true for every other member of the Arc family. Why their parents had named her Violette, though, he still didn't know. Perhaps they just wanted to be unique.
"I don't worry about you! I know you're fine, but mom doesn't, and when she panics, I have to calm her down! Would it kill you to let her know when you're about to leave?"
"Me? Probably not. Her? If the worry didn't give her a heart attack, she'd give herself one thinking about all the crazy stuff that could happen to me." As Jaune talked, he walked along the side of the brick road Violette was standing on.
Yup, that was the reason for everything. Jaune not going to combat school, never receiving formal training, never even getting the chance to practice with a real weapon, it all went back to his parents. Jonathan Arc, the relatively famous Huntsman, known by many throughout the continent of Sanus for his accomplishments, and Juniper Arc, a stunningly beautiful woman who used to work at a hospital at the edge of the city of Vale. Both of them were no strangers to what it meant to be a Huntsman, as well as all the dangers associated with it.
Apparently, being the only son of a warrior family did not increase your chances of being allowed to follow in your parents' footsteps, it only lowered them. Despite voicing his desires to be just like his father, and his father, and his father, Jaune's pleas to be trained as a Huntsman had been ignored ever since he was five years old.
It wasn't that his parents didn't care about him, they simply cared a bit too much. Supposedly, they had decided years before Jaune was even born that they would try to keep all of their children as far from the Grimm as possible.
And so, that was why Jaune couldn't even let his mother know that he was practicing fighting with a tree branch.
"One of these days, you're gonna get caught, Jaune. Just remember that I told you so when you end up grounded." Violette walked alongside her brother, offhandedly commenting on his predicament. She had hopped up onto the small curb lining one side of the brick path, playfully folding her arms behind her, turning her body left and right as she sent a teasing smirk at her older brother.
"W-well yeah, probably. But I can't just do nothing!" Jaune defended himself.
"Uh-huh. How much do you actually think you're learning by beating up a tree?"
"... Th-that's not…" The young man averted his eyes from his sister, choosing not to answer the question.
Okay, sure, maybe there weren't a whole lot of techniques to be learned from his preferred method of training, but at least it was physical work. Years of assaulting trees had allowed Jaune to build up a decent amount of muscle. He may have looked lanky, but underneath his Pumpkin Pete hoodie and slightly baggy jeans, he had a decent amount of muscle built up. Not enough to be considered incredible or anything, but a bit more than the average guy his age had. [2]
"No answer? Yeah, I figured. I don't know why you're still trying at this point. You should really just find something else you want to do. If you spend too much time trying to be a Huntsman, it'll be too late to learn how to do anything else. I love you, but I am not letting you live with me when you're an unemployed, middle-aged man." Violette was a nice enough girl, she was just a bit… blunt. It wasn't that she tried to be mean, she simply lacked a filter between her mouth and her brain.
Jaune would have returned with an absolutely scathing comeback, one that would never be repeated even after 10 generations had passed, but chose to say nothing when he realized that they had arrived at the Arc family household. It was a large home compared to the others around it. That was only natural, considering that there were ten people living there. Jaune, his parents, and his seven sisters.
Yup. Seven. Sisters.
Despite the large family within, the house wasn't anything special inside. A simple kitchen, a large living room with a fireplace and TV, eight bedrooms on the second story, a handful of bathrooms, and a small room on the first floor that Jaune's father used as an office. The man had been retired from Huntsman duty ever since Vert, the fourth Arc child was born. Since then, he had been relegated to a simple prey hunter and trapper, while still looking out for any Grimm who wandered too close to Ansel.
And within the office was Crocea Mors itself. The weapon was secured inside a glass display case which was built into the wall behind a large mahogany desk. When Jaune was a kid, he had crept into the office dozens of times just to look at the glorious sword and shield through its glass chamber.
"We're home!" Violette ran ahead of her brother and flung the front door open, happily announcing her presence to the entire household. Almost immediately, a head poked around the corner at the far end of the entry hall.
"Oh, Jaune! Where have you been? How many times have I told you not to just leave without letting me know?!" There she was, Juniper Arc, the patron of the Arc family. She always wanted to know where her family was at all times. When she lost track of any of her children, she didn't last a full minute before panic set in. Honestly, it was like she forgot that her son was seventeen years old already.
"Sorry mom, I was… helping out Mr. Carob. He said he'd pay me fifty Lien if I gave him a hand with the shop." Jaune gave his prepared excuse, as he always did.
Technically, it wasn't a lie. Before he went to train, Jaune was always sure to assist one of the neighbors at their shops. It gave him a cover story, an alibi, he made some money, and he got to help somebody. It was a win-win-win-win.
"Honestly Jaune, why do you make me worry so much? Just a few seconds, that's all it takes to tell me." Juniper heaved a delicate sigh before a small smile stretched across her face. Apparently, her happiness at seeing her son safe overpowered her annoyance.
Of course, Jaune considered telling her his whereabouts beforehand, but he never knew who would end up needing help, and it'd be trouble if he claimed to be helping somebody who required no assistance that day.
For her part, Violette just shot her brother a quick deadpan look before returning her attention to their mother.
"Well, there you go mom. If you need me, I'll be in my room." With that, the short girl brushed past Juniper and began climbing the staircase at the end of the entry hall.
"Thank you honey, I'll call if I need you."
Jaune watched his sister go, waiting until she was gone to speak.
"Do you know where dad is?" Upon hearing the familiar question, Juniper's face fell slightly.
"Jaune, sweetie, I really don't think he'll change his mind." Her voice was gentle, like she was afraid that speaking normally would cause her son pain.
"Yeah, I know. But I figure I should give it a shot anyway." Jaune shrugged off the warning nonchalantly. He had heard it plenty of times already, this time was no different
"... Alright then. He should be in his office right now."
"Thanks mom." Jaune turned away from his mother and made a beeline for the white-painted door in the room beside the entry hall. He didn't bother knocking before opening the door. Whenever anybody did, his father always made sure they knew it was fine to just come in without doing so.
Like his mother had said, the head of the Arc family was seated at his desk filling out paperwork. Despite being the man he came to see, Jaune's attention was only on him for a brief moment before shifting to the glass case behind him. There it was, Crocea Mors. The shield was never collapsed when stored. It always remained fully open in order to reveal its full glory, its partner sword resting vertically behind it so as not to hide the Arc family crest on the face of the shield, its hilt poking above the top of the shield like a banner.
Jonathan looked up from the paper he had been signing. He looked almost identical to his son, just older. His muscles were larger and more developed, his blonde hair was slightly longer, and he allowed his facial hair to remain as a stubble rather than being clean-shaven. When he saw his son in the doorway, his lips stretched into a smile. He always enjoyed getting visits like this when he was working.
"Hello son. Is there something you need?" There was no need to ask. Jonathan was well aware of his son's reasons for visiting, just as he was aware that Jaune was looking at Crocea Mors, hardly even sparing his father a glance.
"U-uh, yeah, I do." Jaune tore his gaze from the beautiful armament, focusing instead on the man he came to see. "I came to ask you to train me. Just a little bit, just an hour a day, even just every two days. If I want to make it to Beacon, I need some kind of experience, and I'm running out of time."
That same plea. Every day, always at three o' clock, Jaune visited his father to ask for training. He never even bothered to change the wording. His request was always exactly the same, as if it were memorized.
"Hm? Running out of time?" Jonathan pretended to be clueless, as he always did.
"Yes! Beacon's entrance exam starts in just two weeks and if I show up with no training, there's no way I'll pass!" Jaune's voice grew desperate. It had to work today! His dad had to agree this time!
"Well, then, that certainly sounds like quite the predicament. I just have one question. How exactly do you plan to get to Beacon?" Jaune sighed in defeat. He knew that was his father's way of hinting that he didn't want his son going in the first place.
"Dad, come on! For twelve years, I've only asked you for one thing! I don't even ask you for presents on my birthday, I just ask for basic training!" Jaune's voice raised slightly. He wasn't angry, it was just difficult to keep quiet about this particular subject. "I only want one thing, to be like you, to be like grandpa. Everybody else in our family was a hero, a legend! I want to be one too."
Jonathan's smile fell away as he listened. Every day, it was always the same conversation, yet still he tried to remain patient with his son. He had been the same at his age, after all.
"I'm aware of what you want Jaune, but I just don't feel right about it. I lived the Huntsman life, your grandpa lived it, and his grandpa lived it. I know exactly how dangerous it is and how high the mortality rate is. I know it's every parent's dream for their kids to be like them, but I'm worried you might be a bit too much like me."
Jaune hung his head. Yet another failed attempt.
"And whose fault is that?" Both Arc men perked up at the sound of a new voice. Jaune looked behind him and saw that one of his sisters was standing behind him.
"Vert?"
The fourth Arc child, Jaune's older sister. She was about the same height as him, kept her hair neatly trimmed at shoulder length, and, as her name suggested, wore way too much green clothing. Shirts, pants, even the glasses she wore were all varying shades of green. In truth, it looked awful. The short scarf she had intentionally burned holes into, the non-prescription glasses with tacky frames (of which she owned dozens), the combat boots she had cut in half, reducing them to shin-height, and whatever abomination of a sweater and skirt combo she had selected for the day… not even the fact that everything was the same color, her fashion sense alone made Vert a bit hard to look at sometimes.
… She was Jaune's favorite sister.
"I mean, I'm just saying, you told us all those stories when we were kids. All those war stories about great-great-grandpa and his son, all those Grimm you said grandpa hunted, then there's your own stories… I mean, did you really think you could tell those stories to a little kid and not expect him to want to be like you?" Vert kept her voice polite. No anger, no smugness, just a simple, plain tone.
Despite her… strange… appearance, she was a very polite girl, who remained civil even if everyone else in the room was having a shouting match, though she was known to respond with a bitingly sarcastic, witty remark if anybody dared turn their insults in her direction. Of course, that too was done without the least bit of anger or annoyance. Vert would go right on smiling politely as she delivered the most scathing comeback you would ever receive, in the most polite tone you would ever hear.
Naturally, with so many siblings, they were bound to have severely differing opinions regarding most topics, including Jaune's dreams. Like Jonathan and Juniper, both Bleu and Indigo, the sixth and eighth children respectively, strongly opposed his dreams of being a Huntsman. Rouge and Violette, the second and seventh children, simply didn't care either way. Only Saphron, the eldest Arc child, and Vert actively supported his dreams. And then there was Merigold, the third child, who alternated between being for or against Jaune on different days.
Unfortunately, even when Jaune did receive support, it never helped much in the end.
"While I admit that I am partially at fault, that doesn't change anything. When I was Jaune's age, I was also obsessed with being a hero, and you know where that got me? I constantly ditched my team, followed fleeing Grimm right into traps, and nearly got myself killed a million times. I know how badly you want to be like me, Jaune, and that's exactly why I can't let you be a Huntsman." Jonathan firmly denied both his children.
Vert shrugged her shoulders and lightly patted her brother on the arm.
"Sorry little bro, not this time, I guess." Her business done, Vert turned on her heel and left the two Arc men alone. Only with Jaune, did she act slightly less proper and polite, and fall into casual speech. It made him feel a little more comfortable, especially since it was the only time she dropped her ever-present smile for a more natural, even expression, like he was the only one she relaxed around.
Still, it did not make this particular situation any better. Jaune sighed heavily and made to follow her out.
"Jaune."
Just before he left the office, the blonde teen froze. His father had just called him back.
"Yeah, dad?" Though he knew not to get his hopes up, Jaune couldn't help the bit of excitement that slipped into his voice.
"... You understand, don't you? It's not that I don't trust you, nor is it that I don't think you're capable, I just… I know what it's like to feel as if you have something to prove. I wasn't kidding when I said I nearly got myself killed a million times. My old team hated me because I always had to get bailed out of bad situations. I just… I can't send you to Beacon knowing how badly you want to be a hero. If I got word one day that you got hurt, or that you died… I don't know what I'd do. You're the only son I've got." Jonathan somehow seemed more downtrodden than his son as he spoke.
This was always Jaune's least favorite part about their disagreements. Being a Huntsman was important not only to him, but to his father. He knew the man did want Jaune to follow in his path, but he still wouldn't allow it in hopes of keeping his son safe. His desire to be a Huntsman was mirrored by his father, the difference was that while Jaune's dreams were pushed down by someone else, Jonathan was forcing himself to push down his own dreams.
"... Right, I got it dad." Jaune turned back around and left the office for real, closing the door behind him as he went. Unbeknownst to him, the older Arc had leaned back in his chair and was staring absentmindedly at the ceiling.
"I'm sorry Jaune. I just can't do it. I can't send you out there."
He was aware of where his son went every day. Starting when Jaune was eight, he had begun to disappear for hours at a time every day with no explanation. After a week or two, Jonathan decided to follow his son out of the house to make sure he wasn't doing anything dangerous, only to discover his secret "training." It hurt to watch. The retired Huntsman knew exactly how much Jaune wanted to be like him, just as he was aware of how easily he could have trained him for just that purpose.
How easy would it have been, nine years ago, to simply walk over to his son and say "You know, I can show you how to swing it properly?" or "How about trying a real sword?"
But he didn't. Throughout the years, he told Jaune no when he asked for training, he watched him every now and then to see if he improved at all, and saw little change. How could there be change, with such a pathetic excuse for combat training? It hurt Jonathan, but still he did nothing.
"... I really am sorry Jaune."
A Few Hours Later:
Dinner would be ready soon. Juniper, Rouge, and Violette were always the ones to make it, and they cooked better than anybody in Ansel. That was the simple reason the Arc family never ate out.
While his mother and sisters prepared everything downstairs, Jaune sat alone in his room. It wasn't anything fancy or extravagant. There was a decent bed, a small desk, a large wardrobe tucked away in the corner, and a sizable bookshelf packed to the brim with comics. Jaune had spent years using the money he earned from doing odd jobs to pay traveling merchants to track them down for him. There was little he valued more than his comic collection, and nearly all his free time went to reading and rereading random titles from the bookshelf.
But today, he didn't feel like reading comics. Instead, he simply sat at his desk and stared at the wall. He had been thinking for a while now, not just today, about what he would do if he couldn't convince his parents to let him go to Beacon. What happened then? Could he try again next year? Did Beacon even accept anybody over the age of seventeen?
"Knock, knock, little bro."
Jaune shifted his attention from the bare wall to the doorway.
"Oh, hey Vert. What's up?" He greeted his green-clad sister kindly, like usual.
"Just checking on you. You usually take the rejections pretty well, but you seemed a little extra… off… this time. What's wrong?" The bespectacled Arc wandered into the room and plopped down on Jaune's bed. She obviously wouldn't be leaving until she received an answer. The problem was, Jaune didn't really know what the answer was.
"I'm… not sure." Vert raised an eyebrow. "I mean, it wasn't dad. That was a pretty normal reaction, it's… something else, something I've been worried about. What happens if I don't make it to Beacon? I always thought I could convince dad at some point before it was time to enroll, but now there's only two weeks left and… I gotta admit, I'm kind of losing my confidence here." Jaune breathed deeply. He hadn't been talking fast, yet he felt out of breath for some reason.
Vert opened her mouth to reply, but Jaune cut her off.
"I'm starting to think that maybe I should just… go."
"... What?" Vert's face was dangerously neutral, so perfectly empty, so devoid of emotion, that it was unsettling. Jaune actually shivered a bit looking at her.
"H-hold on, give me a second! It just seems like the right thing to do at this point."
"Running away from home?" Vert once again raised an eyebrow.
"Well, yeah? Vert, there's nothing else I want to do with my life. I couldn't do blacksmithing, not leatherworking, none of it. I always try to think of what I could do with my life, what my future has for me, and I never see anything but Beacon. I can't imagine myself anywhere else. I tried, I really did, to think of something, anything else, and… this is it. This is what I'm meant for. If dad won't help me, then maybe I should just go on my own." Jaune felt like a criminal on trial desperately pleading his case. "I've got the Lien to cover a ride to Vale, and I could probably manage for a few days off what I have left. I know I'm not trained, but if I could just try, I could just have the opportunity to get in, at least I'll know I did something. It's better than completely missing my chance."
Vert regarded her brother carefully, turning over every one of his words in her mind. She could understand where he was coming from, but how was she supposed to tell him that? For crying out loud, she was eighteen! What kind of responsible adult would tell their little brother to run away from home so he could fight monsters?
No. No matter how you looked at it, it was a bad idea. Even if she could sympathize with her little brother, the middle Arc child knew she had to tell him the truth.
… What was the truth, though?
Her sweet, kind, "baby" brother, a title she loved to bestow on him despite their one-year age difference. She had always looked out for him as best she could, gave him what little advice she could offer, and stepped in to offer even a tiny bit of support whenever he pleaded his case to their parents. She had never, not once, truly helped, had she?
At best, she offered the same canned argument about how Jaune's dreams were her father's fault, maybe a bit of guilt-tripping, some well-placed logical points, but she quit the moment their father said no, while Jaune continued to try. Yet, she also never told Jaune to stop, nor did she assist him with training on her own, even simply as a fellow, inexperienced sparring partner.
At the end of the day, she never truly helped her baby brother, nor did she do the responsible thing and help him understand that their father wouldn't change his mind, something she was aware of even as she stepped in to support him. Vert allowed him to irresponsible continue dreaming without helping his case or telling him to be realistic.
She wanted to, of course. Gods, she wanted to. It hurt her to see her baby brother so downtrodden, so defeated, feeling chained down, locked away with his dream within sight. She truly did want to help, but simply never believed she could. The elder Arc sister relegated herself to occasionally stepping in, offering support, telling herself "that had to make him feel a little better, knowing somebody was on his side."
She wanted Jaune to be happy, but didn't truly want to help. She was just as terrified as her parents. Her sweet Jaune, the crybaby who used to break down every time he got mud on his shirt. The kind boy who went out of his way to look after each of his sisters, even the older ones. The brave boy, who ventured into the spider-infested attic to retrieve Indigo's favorite doll, knowing full well he was terrified of spiders.
Her Jaune… going to fight monsters.
"... Little bro, I don't…"
Vert trailed off. She knew her brother was feeling down, that his gaze would be filled with sadness, despair, possibly even defeat. What she didn't expect was hope. His eyes, fixated on hers, almost seemed to glow, like there was energy in them, as he sweet baby brother observed his big sister with hope filling his body.
Hope, that Vert would support him again.
Hope, that his big sis would tell him he was on the right track.
Hope, that his favorite sister would tell him "Go for it, make your dream real. You can do it, Jaune.
"... It's not fair. When you look at me like that, how am I supposed to… Honestly, such a troublesome little brother." Vert took off her oversized, pillow-like beret and playfully shoved it on Jaune's head, almost causing him to faceplant into his bed.
"Wah?!" A surprised yelp emerged from Jaune's throat as he lost his balance and tipped off the side of the bed, falling onto the ground as he tried to pull the large hat off his face. Vert laughed into her hand as she watched her dopey little brother dreaming of being a hero struggle with a simple decorative clothing item.
"You've always been a doof, Jaune, but maybe that's what we need. All these Hunters and Huntresses are so serious, so grizzled, so unhappy. Maybe… we'd do better if one of our defenders of peace could come home and cheer everybody up, like a hero is supposed to do."
Vert's smile slipped off her face. She knew it was all just self-justification, very bad self-justification. It was a terrible idea, no matter how one looked at it. Forget being a Hunter, simply going to an academy could get you killed, even with combat school to give you a push. If Jaune were to go to Vale, could he even get into Beacon in the first place, with no transcripts to speak of?
A good big sister would tell him no, that he should stay here, with his family, where he would be safe, and secure, and happy, and…
"..."
… Happy…
At last, Jaune succeeded in removing the beret that had been shoved down onto his head, grinning triumphantly like he had just slain a mighty Grimm. His goofy face turned to face hers, that dopey expression of his covered with a smile, albeit a small one. His favorite sister always somehow managed to raise his mood just a bit whenever he really needed it.
"... Jaune." Vert spoke in a tone Jaune had never heard before. Not polite, not neutral, but energetic. Saddened. Excited, even.
"... This is your life. We all love you, and we always will. But, all we can do, all we have the right to do is give you advice. We can't decide your future for you. We can't force you to stay here, and I can't tell you that the best choice is to run away. I can only say… that you should be happy."
Vert lowered herself off the bed and knelt down in front of Jaune, who now looked confused, yet slightly thoughtful. She gently reached out and placed her right hand on his, and her left hand on his cheek, a very familiar gesture for the two siblings.
"I don't want you to leave. I want you to be safe, I want you to be secure, I want you to be somewhere I can always see you, watch you, protect you. But, more than all of that, I want you to be happy. I can't lock you away here, trying to safeguard you from the world, knowing you're miserable. So… so…"
Vert took a deep breath. Her emotions were starting to escape her, her tone growing heavy and her vision blurring slightly.
"... Do what you think is right, baby bro. If you want to stay here, with us, and go on trying to find a way to settle for us, do that. If that's not possible, if you need to do this, if you feel you'll be cheating yourself out of happiness if you don't follow your dream… then go. Go, Jaune. Get yourself a ride to Vale, and don't stop until you've got yourself a place in Beacon, even if you have to march right into the Headmaster's office and demand a place in his school, you will make it happen!
"I… I can't promise I'll be happy. I won't pretend that I'm okay with it, that I'll feel comfortable knowing you're somewhere I can't reach you, living a life I can't support you with, but… so what? I've kept you here for 17 years. I've had my happiness, my satisfaction, for 17 long years. What I want doesn't matter, baby bro. It's time for you to take some happiness for yourself." Vert breathed deeply as she finished.
There was nothing else to say. She had given the best advice she could think of. As she slowly pulled her hand away from Jaune's cheek, he looked conflicted. He looked joyous, excited, positively jubilant that his big sister had told him such kind words. Though, it also hurt, to have his goals acknowledged. It was what he wanted, and yet, it hurt. To hear that he should go for it, that if he felt running away was the right choice, then he should do it… it was confusing.
Jaune hadn't thought it would work. Even Vert, for all her amazing, big sister qualities, had to have a limit, a line she would draw in her support. He had expected her to tell him that running off to be a Hunter was absolutely out of the question, that there was no hope if he couldn't convince his father to assist him. But, she didn't. And now that she had, Jaune didn't know what to do. He was just talking before, throwing out a desperate idea and defending it to feel like he was onto something. If he were to do it…
What was his plan? Did he steal away in the night? Did he wait for his father to go to work? Should he try to get Violette and Rouge to help him? There were so many questions that he had not a single answer to. There was only one thing he actually knew right now.
He wanted to cry.
Jaune didn't know why he wanted to cry, but the urge was getting stronger. With every passing second, as Vert's hand pulled farther away from his face, he felt more emotions coming to the surface, all because… it was the final push. He did know the answer. He did know what he wanted. He just needed that one last bit of support to tell himself "This is it. No turning back, no changing your mind, go do this. Make it all happen, Hunter."
The dam broke. Jaune grabbed Vert's retreating hand and began to cry. He knew exactly what he was going to do. A plan was still necessary, but he knew exactly what he was going to do, one way or another.
He would leave his family behind. He would run from his home and go straight to Vale, and he wouldn't stop until he was accepted into Beacon, even if he had to march straight into the Headmaster's office and demand a position as a student in his school.
Jaune… had never spent a single night away from his family before.
"V-... Vert." The weeping blonde forced his words out, pathetically crying for his big sister to help him, like she always had.
In response, Vert gave him one of her beautiful smiles. She had already been showing it to him, from the moment he grabbed her hand, he simply had yet to notice it. Her free hand reached out and rested itself on Jaune's head, patting it softly. In a surprise motion, he seemed to fall forward into her, almost knocking Vert over as he pulled her into a one-armed hug, his free hand still clutching hers. The green-garbed girl happily returned it, squeezing her brother tightly as he pressed his face into her shoulder.
"I know Jaune. It's okay. I know you'll be alright no matter where you end up. You're an Arc. You'll walk proud, you'll stand tall, you'll fight with courage, and you'll keep going until you can be a hero for everybody. No matter what happens, you will be a hero, Jaune. I know you will." The soothing words were sweet in Jaune's ear. Like magic, they seemed to dry up his tears, and stop his emotions from spilling out.
Sensing he had calmed, Vert reached over and, grabbing hold of her beanie, once again, placed it on Jaune's head, albeit more gently than last time.
"But, just because I told you to do this, I'll still be angry if you don't take something of mine with you." Vert sternly informed her tear-stained brother.
"... But this hat doesn't go with anything I own." Jaune managed a small chuckle as he pulled the hat off.
"I'm not telling you to wear it, just take it with you. Relax, I've got more. Now, come on, up you go." Vert abruptly got to her feet, pulling an unsteady Jaune to his feet.
"Wha? Where are we-?"
"I understand you'll want to leave as soon as possible, so you should at least spend one more dinner with everybody first, don't you think?" The girl dressed in questionable attire sent a playful wink in Jaune's direction as she dragged him from his bedroom.
"But wash up first. It won't do you any good if you come to dinner with tear-stains on your cheeks."
"A-ah, right. Yeah." Jaune, about to go down the stairs to the dining room, suddenly shifted awkwardly and turned into the bathroom to wash his face. Vert patiently waited outside for him to finish.
"... You know that was all just self-satisfaction. 'It's your turn to be happy?' You just felt guilty seeing him so sad and wanted him to smile. You know there isn't a single percentage of this idea that can be considered good."
"... Yes, thank you, me. But, even so," Vert, standing beside the staircase with her arms crossed under her breasts, shifted her gaze up, towards the bathroom. Jaune was gently scrubbing his face, but she could still see his goofy grin underneath his hands, one he likely could not remove from his face if he tried. He was in pain, he was afraid, he had no idea what would happen, but he knew he would try. The adorable, naive boy would at least go out and try to achieve his dream, even if it hurt, even if it was scary, even if he could know nothing about what would happen.
He was overjoyed.
"... That's alright, isn't it? Everybody has to do something ill-advised at some point in their life, or there won't be any point to their life in the first place." Vert mumbled, providing herself one final bit of self-satisfaction.
Downstairs:
Jaune tried his best to act as he always had. It wasn't the easiest thing he had ever done, to say the least. How do you act natural when you're planning to run from home, and at your final family dinner, no less?
It wasn't a problem, he just had to keep his head down when nobody spoke to him, and crack a smile when somebody did, just like always.
"Jaune! You're finally here! We've been waiting forever!" A short bundle of energy by the name of Indigo barreled into Jaune the moment he came off the staircase. His youngest sister, the eighth Arc child, and the twin sister of Violette, was always like this. She loved her big brother almost as much as the rest of the family combined. Most of the time when Jaune was unable to slip away to train, it was because Indigo desperately wanted to spend time with him, even more so than girls her age. Well, she and Violette were only two years younger than him, so it wasn't much of a difference.
"Sorry, sorry, I just had to wash up before I came down. I got pretty dirty helping Mr. Carob earlier." Jaune half-heartedly apologized, as he usually did, while gently pulling Indigo off of him. It wasn't that he didn't want to hug his sister, but that if he didn't disengage contact soon, she would latch on for the rest of the night.
"Well hurry up, before Merigold eats all your dinner." Violette was the next to come around the corner, giving her twin sister a stern look that clearly said "Get back to the table this instant."
The two really did look similar. They were both a head shorter than Jaune, they both had young, innocent faces that could easily belong to twelve year-olds, and even styled their hair in the same manner, all of their long hair wrapped into a single, tight braid that nearly reached the back of their knees, their bangs parted over the sides of their faces like curtains. The only real difference was in their personalities, which were polar opposites.
Now free to enter the dining room, Jaune sat down in his usual spot between Vert, the fourth child, and Bleu, the sixth child. Bleu was very much the opposite of Vert in that all her clothes were painfully orderly. While Vert remained atrociously random and unpredictable, Bleu's outfits were so carefully picked out, they seemed to better belong in a fashion magazine aimed at rich Atlas kids readying for prep school.
Everything always had to match, her blazers with her pants, her hats with her socks, her scarves with her gloves, everything prim and proper, no matter how insignificant the occasion. It was like sharing a home with somebody who frequented art shows.
So, it only seemed fair that, while Vert was unerringly polite, Bleu was-
"Yo, Jaune! About time you got down here! You know how long we've been waiting!?"
… That.
"Oh leave him be, Bleu. If Jaune wants to take his time, let him take his time. Nothing wrong with freshening up a bit." A girl much taller than everybody else at the table, save for Jonathan, was rapidly pulling her body back to her seat after reaching towards Jaune's plate, which was suspiciously lacking in food.
"Of course you'd think so, Meri. It means more easy pickings for you." The sister beside her gently knocked her on the head and rudely snatched food off her plate, ignoring the protests as she tossed the scraps of chicken and potatoes at Jaune he didn't think twice about accepting them.
The food thief was Merigold Arc, the third child, and the food savior was Rouge arc, the second child. Merigold was always hungry, no matter how much she was fed, and always looked for opportunities to raid her family members' plate. Thankfully, Rouge was there to keep her in line. Usually.
"I'm a growing girl! I need my nutrients!" Merigold protested, practically slapping her long, wavy hair out of her face as she gave up on retrieving her food from Jaune's plate.
"Oh please, you're 19 already. Besides, if you keep these eating habits up, pretty soon, you'll be growing in all the wrong ways." To prove her point, Rouge did not hesitate to grab hold of her sister's belly through her shirt, resting her head in her free hand as she sent a triumphant smirk at her younger sister. Merigold did not seem to care and did not even bother to remove her sister's hand as she continued eating. Rouge merely laughed a bit to herself before releasing her sister and returning to her meal, her freckles somehow seeming to become brighter as she laughed, before returning to their muted shade. Unlike Merigold, she did not have to worry about moving her short hair to the side before she began to eat, as it just barely went down to her eyebrows.
"Now now, everyone, can we please keep it calm tonight? It'd be nice to have a peaceful dinner without any arguments." Saphron Arc, the oldest child, was visiting home for a few weeks while her wife, Terra, was on a business trip to Vacuo. She felt lonely waiting in their home, so she decided to make a trip to visit the family, bringing her one year-old son, Adrian, with her. Jaune in particular was happy to see her, especially because she was another supporter in his regular pleas with his father.
Not that it mattered much now, but she was still a welcome presence.
Up till now, Jaune had followed his own advice. Keep his head down, and avoid engaging unless somebody spoke to him. He minded his own business, facing his plate of meat, potatoes, and fresh strawberries. It was a simple meal, but one Violette always managed to bring some magic to.
While it was certainly the safe option, if this was to be his last meal with the family for a long time, Jaune felt he should at least try to do a little more. Strike up a few extra conversations, crack a few jokes, make it an enjoyable meal for everybody present.
Looking up from his plate, there was a familiar scene playing out. The twins were arguing over some random topic. Bleu was nudging his shoulder repeatedly, absently asking him if he was still dreaming about being a Hunter without looking away from her food. Vert quietly ate her meal without attracting any attention to herself. Merigold surveyed the dinner table like it was a warzone, carefully scoping out opportunities to snatch her family's food, all while Rouge kept an eye on her with an amused look on her face. Finally, Saphron simply chatted with her parents, telling them all about her life away from home and making subtle comments about how the second eldest Arc child had yet to find a place of her own.
Simply put, it was chaos. There were multiple conversations going on at once, each voice steadily growing louder, and it was only a matter of time before somebody found half their plate had been raided. It was impossible to relax at a dinner such as this, and that was why Jaune loved it. It was so utterly chaotic, he doubted he would ever enjoy something similar, even in an all-out battle with a swarm of Beowolves.
Despite his plan still weighing on him, he couldn't help but smile.
"... So, uh, I saw some pretty cool stuff today." Jaune's voice was just loud enough to be heard over everybody else's. All eyes were now on him, their owner's previous conversations forgotten. Jaune didn't usually speak up at the dinner table, so everyone tended to pay attention when he did.
"I uh, I was down at Mr. Carob's today, and there was this huge woodpecker that came through-"
After Dinner:
The family meal had ended about 3 hours ago. Every member of the Arc family had turned in for the night, except for Jaune and Vert. Jaune had taken the utmost care to interact with each and every one of his family members before the meal was over, and to spend time with them afterwards.
It truly was a strange feeling, to plan such a sudden evacuation. The smart thing to do was to wait, to take an extra two or three days and properly plan out the best way to do this. Sadly, that just wasn't an option. Jaune was already teetering on the brink, and every second he spent with his family, the more painful his decision to leave became. If he didn't leave soon, that would be it.
To put it bluntly, Jaune was 100% certain that if he spent one more night at home, he wouldn't be able to go through with this.
So, it had to be tonight.
He had spent the past hour shut in his room, filling out a very, very long note that he planned to leave his family. There was no point hiding where he was going. There was no doubt that every member of the Arc family knew exactly where he would go if he ever went missing for days on end, so instead, Jaune chose to be honest, to lay bare as much as he possibly could, and make sure they all knew how much he loved and cared for them.
It was equally important to reiterate that he just couldn't stay any longer.
There was nothing left to say. Jaune had filled nearly an entire notebook before he was satisfied. The two backpacks slung over his shoulders were loaded with clothes, essentials, and a handful of comics. He needed some kind of entertainment, didn't he?
Furthermore, an earlier check of the Bullhead schedule revealed that the last flight to Vale would be leaving at 11:30, two hours from now, and the entire airport would be shut for a month afterwards. Apparently, with increased Grimm activity, the engineering division wanted to take the opportunity to build up the security both for the airport and the Bullheads themselves, so tonight would be the last night to catch a ride out.
It doubled as a guarantee his family would not be able to retrieve him any time soon. With any luck, he'd have improved enough that his team, or maybe even the Headmaster would advocate for him to stay.
But he was getting ahead of himself.
In all honesty, a plan wasn't truly necessary. Everyone in the family, Jaune included, was a very heavy sleeper, so he barely needed to be quiet. Furthermore, all the bedrooms were on the top floor, so sneaking around was even easier once he made it downstairs. The notebook filled with the contents of Jaune's heart was placed right in the middle of the coffee table in the family room, the first page flipped open so nobody would miss it. All that was left was Crocea Mors.
That was perhaps the easiest thing of all. The glass case it was in was secured by a simple lock, and Jaune knew exactly where the key was, seeing as his father had taken it out multiple times to unlock the case and give his children a better look at the grand weapon.
Stepping into the office, Jaune went straight to the bookshelf on the far left side of the room and jammed his hand in the gap between the shelf and the wall, fishing around until he felt a small piece of metal taped to the back of the bookshelf. Withdrawing his hand, Jaune took a second to observe the carved piece of brass before shifting his attention to the Arc family heirloom's display case.
"... I mean, it's not stealing if I was meant to receive it anyway, right? Ha-ha, heh… please don't smite me, Grandad."
Jaune wasted no time unlocking the case and pulling the shield and sword from their display case, bucking slightly at their unexpectedly hefty weight. It took only a moment to right himself and assume a comfortable stance. As much as he would have liked to revel in the shine of the blade, the beautifully painted symbol on the shield, and the overall regality of the two together, there simply wasn't time. Remembering how his father had done it, Jaune flicked the shield, causing it to collapse into a sheath, an action that was much louder than he remembered.
The next minute was spent in fear, the blonde boy not even daring to breathe for fear of waking his family.
When it became clear nobody was coming, Jaune walked straight to the door and exited his home.
He ran.
Straight-away, he ran.
No more hesitation could be allowed. If he looked back, if he stopped, if he slowed down, it was over. Just a little bit of sentiment, a little bit of guilt, of remorse, of regret, and fear, that was all it would take. Jaune had to run. Run and don't look back, don't think, don't feel. Charge forward like an idiot and don't think about anything except his end goal.
"Get to Beacon, join the academy, become a hero. Get to Beacon, join the academy, become a hero. Get to Beacon, join the academy, become a hero." Over and over, like a mantra, Jaune repeated this to himself. He sprinted for two miles, all the way to the airport.
At last, he arrived. It was a rather remote location, the airport could hardly be compared to what one would see in the city. It was really just a humble collection of 6 separate landing pads, each holding 3 Bullheads.
"Let's see… East platform, transport number 7."
It did not take long to locate the Bullhead with a large number 7 painted in green on its side, signifying it was bound for Vale. Jaune was about to head right over when he felt a hand grip his shoulder. In the span of a millisecond, he felt about a million emotions, each one trying to cripple him with some varying level of fear, so he responded by jumping nearly seven feet away purely on reflex.
"Wow, that's some athletic ability. Maybe I have no reason to be worried after all." A playful, polite tone could be heard breathing out those teasing words.
"VERT-!'"
"Sh, don't say anything. I've been waiting here for a while now. Don't worry, I'm not here to convince you to come back, I just wanted to say goodbye before you left."
Jaune was not allowed any time to protest before his big sister wrapped him in a hug. As per her request, he said nothing. She must have known how close he was to abandoning all of this, and hoped to spare him the pain.
"Hey, don't be afraid baby bro. It's okay. I know that no matter what, you will be a great Hunter. You have a month before mom and dad can chase you. I'll do what I can to get them to understand on my end, but the rest is on you. Do everything you can Jaune. Train hard, fight hard, study hard. Make friends, treat your team like a second family, and show everybody at Beacon that you belong there." Vert sent the brightest, most encouraging smile Jaune had ever seen his way. He truly wanted to say something, but before he could, Vert once again grabbed his hand and dragged him to the Bullhead, laughing like they were children again, like it was something as simple as pulling her little brother to go play in the fields.
Vert, too, wasted no time at all. The moment they reached the Bullhead ramp, she wrapped Jaune in one final hug and shoved him into the Bullhead. He had to stumble for a few seconds, barely managing to catch himself before he fell on his face. A single man wearing pilot gear was resting in one of the passenger seats, eating noodles out of a box.
"Ah, hey there kid. Good timing, I was set to leave as soon as I finished eating. Got your fare?"
"A-ah, yeah. Right here, sir." Jaune nervously patted his pockets until he located his wallet and handed the pilot a few hundred Lien. Satisfied, the man deposited his meal box into the on-flight trash can and hopped into the pilot's seat. The sound of the engine's roaring to life could be heard, but Jaune could still hear one thing over the sound of the engines.
Turning to look over his shoulder, he saw Vert was still standing there, waving him goodbye.
"Remember Jaune, you're an Arc. You'll walk proud, you'll stand tall, you'll fight with courage, and you'll keep going until you can be a hero for everybody. Don't stop Jaune." As the engines grew louder, Vert had to cup her hands around her mouth and shout to be heard. "I better see your face in the newspapers one day. I want to hear all about how my baby brother saved the world!"
That was the end of it. The Bullhead ramp finally finished closing, and lift-off was imminent. Jaune hurried to his seat and strapped himself into the harness. There truly was no going back now. By the time he landed in Vale, this airport would be shut down. His family would be unable to follow him, and he would be unable to return home for at least a month. It was do or die, he had to make everything happen on his own from now on.
"...I'll walk proud. I'll stand tall. I'll fight with courage. I won't ever stop until I become a hero. This is it… thanks Vert. I wouldn't have made it this far without you.
Jaune forced back the tears that wanted so desperately to spill from his eyes. He would not cry anymore, no matter what. For better or worse, everything was finally coming together, and no matter what, he was going to get into Beacon.
And he would become the hero he dreamed of being.
One Week Later:
"This is not happening!"
The mournful scream echoed in the small holding cell, lit only by a single, hanging light fixture. Jaune sat at a table in the center of the room, head resting in his hands, as he contemplated every mistake that had led him to this point.
"I can't believe it. It's over. All of it. There's no way I can come back from this! Why would Beacon accept a criminal into their school?! I didn't even do anything!"
The poor blonde's despairing moans were growing harder and harder to listen to, so a hand made its way to his shoulder in a comforting gesture.
"H-hey, it's okay man. I'm sure if we just explain everything, they'll let us go. None of that was really our fault anyway." The youthful voice came from a boy who seemed fairly tall and muscular for his age, with average features, and short, brown hair to match.
"Yeah man, like you said, you didn't even do anything. Besides, I've been in prison plenty of times. Trust me, it never takes more than a few hours to get out. I'm pretty chill with prison guards… most of the time." Another voice, this one belonging to a boy who looked similar to the first, started out confident, but trailed off and ended up making Jaune feel worse.
"Listen hermano, it's really not that bad. It was just a little bit of property damage, and we helped people along the way, so they'll probably give us reduced punishments. Worst case scenario, we'll probably get a few weeks of community service. Ugh, I really don't want to have to pick up trash again." The final boy, with darker skin and hair than the other three at the table, slumped forward until his arms were laid flat against the table, resting his face on his left arm as he sighed in annoyance.
"You nerds are freaking out way too much. If they try and lock us up, I'll just bust us out. Don't even worry about it. Besides, your cousin would kill me if she found out we got thrown in jail." The final boy seated at the table was the only one who looked the same age as Jaune, and he seemed the least concerned with their current situation, made evident by his feet kicked up on the table.
Jaune heard all their reassuring words, but barely took in any of them. Stopping his moaning for a minute, the defeated hero wannabe slowly pulled his head from his hands and, turning to face his four table-mates with an incredulous expression, forced out "WHO EVEN ARE YOU GUYS!?"
Finally getting a proper look at the group of boys, he saw that the first looked like he had found his clothes in a dumpster, the second had a strange, green jacket with a white circle over the left breast, the number 10 etched in black within the circle, the third boy wore a mostly red jacket with orange highlights and a set of goggles over his forehead, and the oldest looking one wore a plain black t-shirt and blue jeans, and he looked the most like a thug.
The other boys gave each other a quick glance before turning back to Jaune and introducing themselves down the line.
"I'm Peter Parker." Dumpster-clothes-boy introduced himself first.
"My name is Ben. Ben Tennyson." The kid in the green jacket went next.
"And I'm Rex Salazar. Pleasure to meet you hermano." The goggle-wearing boy went third.
"Kevin Levin." The final boy didn't even bother to look in Jaune's direction.
Sighing in defeat, Jaune put his head back in his hands.
"What even happened last night?"
.
.
.
You know, my original plan a few years back was to make this story about Jaune, Kamijou Touma, Izuku Midoriya, and Peter Parker. But then I realized that A Shattered Vale exists, and it was actually really good, so I didn't feel the need to include Touma, so I replaced him with Ben 10, and then I realized Midoriya was the only anime character among 3 Western characters, so I swapped him for Generator Rex. Not really important, just throwing it out there in case anybody was curious. Alright, everything past this is from the original draft from last year.
I wanted to be a bit practical with this story. I wanted to be a bit more creative with Jaune's fake transcripts, and rather than just saying his parents were okay with him going to Beacon, but didn't expect him to last long, I'd give him an actual reason for needing the transcripts and a reason for not really contacting his family.
Anyway, if you usually skip author's notes, I would advise reading this one. It's here that I'll be explaining things in further detail, so this'll help to avoid confusion.
[1]: First of all, the names of Jaune's sisters. As far as I know, there isn't any place where all of their names are directly confirmed, so I actually did some extensive research on this (by that I mean I did like, 3 google searches and scrolled through a few wiki pages). Eventually, I found this fan theory that Jaune's sisters are all named after the seven (French) colors of the rainbow, the argument for this being that Jaune is French for yellow and that "arc" could be derived from "arc-en-ciel," which is French for rainbow. (I know it's because of Joan of Arc, but I like the idea). Plus, his family symbol is literally a double rainbow, so…
Of course, there is Saphron, who isn't on the rainbow, and there's the fact that the French word for orange is just "orange." I only changed that one because it'd be boring to just name one of Jaune's sisters "orange." And for anybody curious, I'm about 98% percent sure that "bleu" is pronounced the same as "blue." Anyway, just to be clear, the Arc siblings go in this order: Saphron, Rouge, Merigold, Vert, Jaune, Bleu, Indigo, and Violette. Yeah, I know the colors are out of order, but I decided the order before I realized that, and I didn't care enough to change it.
[2]: I know that the dance episode in volume 2 showed us that Jaune looks… painfully skinny, but I disagree. I mean, my man was one-hand decapitating Ursa, and holding back the Nuckelavee by himself. Yeah, aura boosts his strength, but my man Jaune's gotta have a little muscle on him. He's not Dolph Lundgren, but he's definitely more built than I am.
And yes, Kevin is here for a reason.
Okay, that's out of the way. There isn't a whole lot else to explain here really. It was all right there in the chapter. Jaune's desires, him leaving home, his path to Vale, the works. I will say that this story will not only focus on his perspective. Everybody on the team can be considered a main protagonist, so it'll be a constantly switching point of view.
Anyway, that's the J of J.P.T.R. down, so let's hurry up and get to the next.
Thanks for reading and remember to leave a review.
Aren signing off.