White Knight Errant

A RWBY fanfic by Andrew Joshua Talon

DISCLAIMER: This is a fan based work of prose. RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth and WB Animation. Please support the official release.


Over the past three months, Jaune Arc had learned a hard lesson: Angry people make stupid mistakes. And you make them angry by talking shit.

So Jaune had become a pretty damn good shit talker. Which meant you had to be quick-witted. Clever. Brilliant.

"Uh," Jaune began, as Pyrrha Nikos stood there smiling at him.

Right now, he didn't feel like any of those things.

I hate you brain, I really freaking hate you right now.

"So... Uh... How'd you find me?" Jaune managed.

"My Semblance," Pyrrha said, walking up to him. She held out a hand. "I can track you magnetically after touching anything metal on your body."

"Well... That's not weird or creepy," Jaune muttered, accepting the hand and letting Pyrrha pull him up. The Spartan-like warrior immediately flushed and covered her cheeks.

"O-Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry! I-I didn't think of how, uh... I mean... Oh you must think I'm crazy! I'm really, really sorry!"

Jaune blinked and held his hands up. Now was the time to be diplomatic.

"... Yes, I do think you're kind of crazy."

Her face fell.

FUCK.

"But uh, my uncle used to say that all the best hunters were a little crazy!" He said quickly, "I mean, I'm nuts! I'm here with a sword and shield! I may as well be running around with stone tools and furs!"

Pyrrha... Giggled a little. She cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry. I must come off as a little... Uh... Aggressive."

"Juuust a little," Jaune said with a nod, "Like, there was this one girl-The one who said I was her long lost fiancé? She actually wanted me to fight some criminals menacing her shop... And then she tried to get me with a shotgun wedding. Like, literally. An actual shotgun."

Pyrrha stared at him, her lips twitching.

"Is that another joke?"

"I really wish it was," Jaune said with a nod. "So uh... You tracked me down? Was my overwhelming charisma too much for you to handle?"

Pyrrha again giggled.

"Something like that," she agreed, "But there's another, far more selfish reason. You see... I do know about the Arc family. Your mother's Doctor Isabel Arc, right?"

Jaune shivered. Pyrrha frowned.

"You okay, Jaune?"

"Oh yeah! I'm totally fine!" Jaune said quickly. He knew Uncle Qrow wouldn't blow him in to his mom, but just the thought of her right now scared the HELL out of him.

"Just uh... Yes, she's my mother. So you know her how-?"

"Her Aura healing skills are first rate," Pyrrha said, "Her techniques helped me recover after some severe injuries in the second Mistral Tournament. I-I wouldn't have been anywhere near as successful without her expertise. She was also very kind to me. Treated me... You know... Normally. As just another person."

She smiled warmly.

"Kind of like you did."

Oh. A celebrity who desperately wanted a real, human connection? One who had tracked him down with her powers?

"You... Do realize that makes you sound like even more of a stalker, right?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha's eyes widened in shock.

"O-Oh dear... Oh my... I-I just-! I didn't-!"

"Just relax, Pyrrha, I'm messing with you," Jaune said. Mostly.

Pyrrha flushed.

"It's... Annoying and endearing when you do things like that," Pyrrha admitted. "I guess... I just haven't had this kind of sincerity with another person before. Someone I know comes from good people. It is selfish, maybe I went overboard with it-"

Jaune reached out, and rested a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder. She started, and looked up into his eyes. He sighs.

"Okay, look. I totally get being selfish. This is... Me being selfish. My mom wanted me to be a doctor. And I'm going to be a Hunter, so... Yeah."

He smiled brightly.

"So, now that we've got that connection, we'll be fine as partners! Unless you're, ya know, secretly going to drug me and marry me against my will."

Pyrrha gaped, bright red.

"N-NO! No! I-I would never-I couldn't-!"

"Joking again, Pyrrha," Jaune sighed. Pyrrha gaped... And then snickered.

"You're just... Impossible!"

"Well that's not going to make our four years together any better, is it?" Jaune chuckled.

Oh shit. Wait. Are we flirting? Am I really flirting with the crazy girl who used her Semblance to track me down? The celebrity super Invincible Girl who is WAYYY out of your league?

"Well... Um... I might be able to get used to it. Eventually," Pyrrha said with another soft, polite laugh.

Shit. I totally am. The last thing I need is another crazy girl after me... I need to let her down easy. Or wait, do I want to do that? If she's crazy she'll just go full Shotgun on me! Maybe if I told her I just want to be friends...

"Cool. Then we'll be friends," Jaune said cheerfully. "The best of friends."

Pyrrha stared intently at him. Her eyebrow might have twitched. Jaune blinked.

Oh. Right. I told Iridescent that I just wanted to be friends and that led to the shotgun... Shit... SHIT-!

"But uh... Maybe... Possibly... We can rethink that at a later date or something... OH HEY! We're in the middle of a test!" Jaune realized loudly.

Pyrrha nodded furiously, as desperate to escape the awkwardness as he was.

"Oh! Oh, absolutely!" Pyrrha agreed. "The test!"

"We-We should get on with that!"

"Y-Yes! Absolutely!"

"You're magnetic, which way?"

Pyrrha pointed back towards the cliffs in the distance.

"That way!"

"GREAT!" Jaune said, grabbing her hand and racing off. "Let's get going and-"

The growls of a few Beowulves greeted them, just before the Grimm emerged from the trees. Jaune sighed, and let Pyrrha's hand go. He drew Crocea Mors and unfurled his shield.

"You assholes couldn't have shown up... FIVE MINUTES SOONER?!" Jaune roared, charging into battle alongside Pyrrha. She took down two Beowulves with two shots from her transforming rifle, while he slashed his way through two more at close range. They moved together so easily, almost like she was dancing with him. She smiled warmly at him as they set up for another wave of Beowulves.

Crap. There was going to be a shotgun in his future, he just knew it.


Headmaster Ozpin observed the initiation from his office, his ever present cup of coffee serving him faithfully and without complaint as he watched the young students battling their way towards their goals. At his side was Professor Goodwitch, the assistant headmistress, who watched with her usual cold expression.

"I still can't believe you let him in," Glynda sighed, as she watched Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos fight their way through some more Grimm, "The boy's transcripts were too good to be true."

"And yet, his performance demonstrates the opposite," Ozpin commented, as the green cloaked knight slashed off the front legs of an Ursa, then stole out of the way of the beast to allow his partner to take it down with her spear. Glynda frowned.

"That... Is a strange contradiction," she allowed, "His form is far rougher and less... Refined than a graduate of a combat school should be."

"He could have easily been homeschooled and simply used the combat school as cover. Many students have done far worse," Ozpin said.

"That puts his motives into question," Glynda argued. Ozpin handed her a scroll. She frowned and looked over the contents.

"What are these?"

"Reports along the main road between Radian and Vale. Five days after our young Mister Arc set out from Radian, by his own admission," Ozpin stated, "A Nevermore terrorizing the small town of Edge was dispatched before local hunters could arrive."

Glynda flipped to a picture of a Nevermore being hit by a train. She flipped to the next picture, which showed it dissolved. She snorted.

"What's the connection?"

"Check the first picture. Notice anything?"

Glynda flipped back. Her keen eyes locked onto a small green figure on the train station platform, caught by the cameras along with the unfortunate Nevermore. The cloak was less torn and ragged, but still familiar. And there was no mistaking the sword and shield the figure carried.

"Just because Mister Arc may have been there," Glynda stated, "Does not mean he was able to defeat a Nevermore-"

"Check the next article, about the Faunus being liberated from being used as slave labor," Ozpin said. Glynda flipped to the article, as Ozpin's keen eyes stayed glued to the screens.

"I... Yes, another sighting, but that still-"

"Once is coincidence. Twice is happenstance. But there are at least ten incidents where an individual matching the description of Jaune Arc was there, and just as quickly vanished," Ozpin said. Glynda flipped through, reading the articles. Her disbelieving expression shifted away from doubt, to concern, to shock.

"How on Remnant could one boy get into so much trouble?" Glynda asked.

Ozpin sipped his coffee, and considered his answer.

"At first... I considered the possibility that he was one of her agents," he said. "It would not be the first time Salem has tried to sneak a spy into our midst."

Glynda's eyes narrowed at Jaune Arc, who even now was arguing with Pyrrha Nikos about something. The poor girl looked torn between guilt and... Was she blushing? What?

"However," Ozpin said, "Given her age, she falls into a pattern of behavior. One she can't escape entirely, no matter her efforts. Such agents in the past were too... Squeaky clean. Too artificial. Too good to be true." He nodded to Jaune on the screen, who threw up his hands as part of the argument.

"Mister Arc is certainly not that," Glynda deadpanned.

"Indeed," Ozpin said, "Furthermore, she usually wouldn't go this far to stage so many incidents to make her agents look genuine. Too much at once makes them look like frauds."

He rubbed his chin.

"However," he said, "The Arc Family does have a history of individuals with very powerful Auras-Almost superhuman stamina when it comes to that, if properly trained. As well as unusual Semblances, with strange side effects. It is entirely possible that Mister Arc is unconsciously using such a Semblance, and has yet to master it."

He shook his head.

"It does not fully eliminate the possibility he is a spy, or has his own agenda counter to ours. However, in either case, it is far better to have him here to keep an eye on him."

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?" Glynda asked. Ozpin smiled.

"Indeed..."


Jaune sighed.

"Look, I'm just saying I didn't like your cereal. You don't have to apologize for it! It's not your fault!"

Why she'd brought along a sample was... Well, Pyrrha had a habit of keeping things in her pockets, and he had been curious... She'd just wanted him to not think she was weird.

Maybe sharing a free sample of some cereal she was the mascot of that she'd been carrying around wasn't the best way to do that.

Pyrrha flushed, and nodded quickly.

"I-I know... I'm sorry-"

"AND STOP SAYING THAT!" Jaune shouted. Pyrrha's jaw dropped.

Honestly, even her parents had never shouted at her like that. Her trainers, sure, but never with that raw kind of anger and frustration. They'd never needed to!

Jaune grimaced, and held up his hands.

"Look, I'm sorry. I shouted at you in anger. I was the one out of line. That's my bad. But you gotta stop apologizing all the time for stuff that's not your fault! It makes you seem, ya know, weak willed! I mean, what if I was one of those creepy, pushy guys out of a Mistralian hentai comic who blackmails you into doing naughty things?!"

He paused, seemed to realize what he'd said, and blushed bright red. Her own face wasn't much better.

"N-Not that I... Read those things, of course!" He forced a laugh. "I-I've only heard of them! Yup! Only heard about them!"

"I-I mean... You would never do that," Pyrrha insisted. Jaune scowled.

"You don't know that! You just met me! For all you know I am a creep!"

"I've seen how you fight," Pyrrha insisted, "You can't hide your true nature when you fight!"

"You can if you turn invisible, or-or something!" Jaune shot back. Pyrrha's eyes widened. Jaune, noticing this (and possessing basic pattern recognition skills), swung around and got his shield up. A Beowulf lunged at him, its jaws knocking his sword out of his hand and latching its jaws onto his shield.

"JAUNE!" Pyrrha cried... But Jaune was already reacting. Namely, by charging up his fist with Aura... And punching the Beowulf right in the face.

"Stupid!"

PUNCH!

"Motherfucking!"

PUNCH!"

"BITCHASS GRIMM!"

PUNCH!

The Beowulf staggered back, as Jaune hefted up his Aura charged shield and brought it down onto the Beowulf's head, smashing its skull open.

"THOUGHT YOU WERE SMART, DIDN'T YOU MOTHERFUCKER?!" Jaune shouted, kicking the dissolving remains of the Beowulf.

Pyrrha watched the fight with wide eyes. Jaune's fighting style was... Rough. Unrefined, but thoroughly savage. Unrestrained. If he didn't have a massive Aura pool to draw on, he'd have been finished by now. But he was still going, albeit winded. It was so different from her precise, constantly drilled forms.

So... Honest and brutal.

And the profanity!

She bit her lower lip and blushed. This was doing something to her. Jaune was doing something to her.

Why did she like it so much?

"Pyrrha-!"

She wasn't so distracted she missed the two Beowulfs trying to pounce her from behind. Two shots from Milo over her shoulder, without even looking, and both were dispatched. Jaune's eyes widened in genuine amazement.

"Oh... Uh... Wow," he said.

"Like I said," Pyrrha replied, "Your fighting style is all I need to see to know you. And I know you're... Very honest. Trustworthy... And a bit um... Unrefined."

She winced.

"Sorr-"

"Do not say that again!" Jaune shouted. "Just say something else! Seriously!"

"... I apologize?"

"Uggggh...!"


Ruby Rose rushed through the Emerald Forest, hot on the trail of Jaune. He had wanted her to be his partner, and she really wanted to be his!

... His partner! Yes! Absolutely his partner!

Yang's teasing was just annoying, that's all. She'd just made a friend, a real friend! Someone who had looked out for her and chosen her! Her! Someone she'd known since her childhood, and had grown up into a really great guy!

Why wouldn't she want to find him?

That stupid Nevermore had gotten in the way. She had jumped off after crashing into it, letting the Grimm go off. She had more important things to worry about.

She skidded to a halt in a small clearing. She heard the sound of steel crashing against Grimm bone plating. She grinned.

That has to be him! He can't be too far away! She zipped off in the direction of the sounds. They got louder, and louder. She could spot a flash of steel shining in the sunlight, as she heard a Grimm die.

"JAUNE! IT'S ME!" Ruby shouted, bursting into the clearing, her smile wide.

Her silver eyes met blue eyes... And her face fell as she skidded to a halt in front of the student.

"No," Weiss Schnee groaned, "No... Not you. Anyone but you!"

"HEY!" Ruby growled. "You think I'm happy to see you?! You jerk! I didn't mean to blow up your Dust! You should have been handling it better!"

"I WAS handling it correctly! You slammed into it!" Weiss shot back, her eyebrow twitching as she pointed her sword at Ruby. Ruby huffed.

"You didn't have to get angry about it! You're the one dragging explosive materials around!"

"Uggggghhh," Weiss groaned, smacking her hand against her face, "I can't believe this... Look, let's just go off in separate directions, all right? You can go find your weird boyfriend-"

"HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" Ruby shouted, her pale face going bright red.

"-And maybe I can find Pyrrha Nikos," she sighed, "The faculty has to make allowances, right?"

"What, for your lesbian crush?" Ruby snarked. Weiss's pale cheeks went paler as she glared.

"I am not a lesbian, you-you crude little-! I just prefer to partner with people who aren't completely inept!"

"Ya know, you two are making a lot of noise," drawled a happily familiar voice. Ruby's eyes lit up as Jaune entered the clearing.

"JAUNE!" She shot towards him, tackling him in a hug and wrapping her arms and legs around him like an aggressive tree sloth.

"OOF!" Jaune grunted, and patted her on the head. "Hey! Sorry about that... Not my best idea, the catapult thing-"

"Nonono, it could have worked!" Ruby insisted, "But now you're here and now we can-"

"Ah, hello," Pyrrha said, waving awkwardly. Ruby's eyes widened and she looked up at Jaune. They were filled with hurt and betrayal.

"You... And her...?"

"We're partners, dumbass, we're not going to get married," Jaune grunted, lightly cuffing Ruby's head.

"OW! Hey!" Ruby scowled up at him.

"Oh come on!" Weiss groaned, walking over, "You and the ignorant farmboy? Seriously?"

"If it helps, she's a weird stalker," Jaune commented dryly. Pyrrha flushed deeply.

"N-No I'm not!"

"I KNEW IT!" Ruby cried.

"She is not!" Weiss insisted. "How dare you libel her!"

"Joking, everyone, joking," Jaune said, sighing heavily. He looked at Weiss, and shrugged.

"Well... Since we're now a four person team, we should probably try to get to the relics now."

"We are not a team," Weiss growled.

"Fine. We'll all just walk in the same direction, and fight Grimm separately and not work together as a team at all," he said dryly, "That work?"

"You're just absolutely infuriating!" Weiss groaned, "You and your little girlfriend!"

"HEY!" Ruby shouted.

"Not my girlfriend," Jaune said. Ruby squeezed him painfully. "URK! RUBY!"

"Time is wasting. We should get moving, please? Sorr-"

"Pyrrha," Jaune stated flatly.

Pyrrha winced.

"I mean, if you please...?"

"You're just fine, Pyrrha," Weiss said quickly. "It's nice to know someone has their priorities straight around here!"

"I'd heard aristocrats were inbred but I didn't think it was this bad," Jaune muttered. Weiss whacked him over the head. "OW! HEY!"

"You-You RUFFIAN!"

Jaune cuffed her on the back of her head.

"OW! Wha-You can't do that!"

"Just did," Jaune stated flatly. "We going or not?"

Weiss moved to hit him back, but Pyrrha rested a hand on her wrist. Very tightly.

"He's right, let's focus on the task at hand, mm?" Pyrrha said, her smile now a bit... Frightening. Ruby was also glaring, hugging onto Jaune even more tightly.

Weiss coughed, and decided to remember her manners.

"R-Right... You're right of course, Pyrrha. I'm terribly sorry... Let's get those relics!"

"And can you let me go?" Jaune asked.

Ruby grinned, and snuggled into his chest.

"Nope! You'll have to carry me the whole way!"

"Brat," Jaune sighed, ruffling her hair... Before he shoved her to the ground.

"ACK! Hey!" Ruby protested.

"We can hug when we're not in constant danger, all right?" Jaune said. Ruby pouted, but nodded.

"We'd better!"


The Deathstalker was ancient. It had been asleep for a long, long time. Not that Grimm cared about such things.

It had gone into hibernation to conserve its strength, as it hadn't had any prey for a while.

All that changed when it felt... Anger. Lust. Rage. Spite. Jealousy...

The Deathstalker then heard... voices. Human voices.

"Ruby, why would the relics be in a cave?!" A whiny, screechy voice said.

"They're always in caves, come on! It would be cool, right?" An equally childish voice retorted.

"As cool as it would be to explore the dark and dangerous caves... Aren't the ruins over there?" A young, reedy male voice asked, sounding both fond and exasperated.

"Oh... Uh... Oops?" The second voice apologized.

"You're like a freaking puppy," the male voice sighed.

"In all the best ways!" The second voice said cheerfully.

"It's all right, Ruby. I should have spoken up, it's my fau-" A fourth female voice, apologetic and kind, interjected, but was interrupted.

"No, no it's not," the male voice said. "Seriously, stop that."

"Why don't you hit her when she says something wrong, you barbarian?" The first voice said mockingly, getting further away.

"Because she's not a grade A bitch, that's why!" The male voice retorted.

"Why you-!"

The sources of emotions got further away... But the Deathstalker was now hungry.

It began to unfold itself from its long hibernation.


Jaune Arc wasn't stupid.

... Mostly.

Yes he had spent three months fighting and walking his way to Beacon after forging his transcripts and lying to his mother. After he broke his scroll due to swinging his sword too hard during training.

... Training that involved trying to cut an apple in half in a cool way and-Okay so maybe he was a little stupid. Unwise? Okay, yeah, let's go with unwise.

He was unwise. But he wasn't stupid. Ozpin and the other professors were watching their every move, and would assign teams based on their performance together.

So he really, really, really prayed that the people watching this didn't think these four were a good fit. Okay yes, he would have loved to have been paired with Ruby. She was a friend and he liked her. He was the baby of his family, she was the baby of hers, and they both sucked at social situations and loved to talk hyper nerd.

As annoying as she could be, he knew she was going to be something amazing someday, and maybe he could help her realize that. Or at least not be dead weight.

Pyrrha too, for all her annoying qualities, wasn't a bad partner. They'd gelled pretty quickly in the fights they'd gone through. She just needed some confidence. Confidence enough to realize that she could do so much better than maybe/sort of stalking him.

Okay, so maybe he also had confidence issues. Sue him. He could fight, that didn't mean he was any good with anything else. His little journey made him about as subtle, refined, and elegant as a pillowcase full of bricks.

Probably why he was dreading the prospect of Weiss being put into this... Team. Okay, yes, she was clearly very talented, intelligent, and she was good with her sword. The Beowulf she silenced that was lurking near the Ruins went down in a single thrust demonstrated that. She clearly had some skills.

"We wasted so much damn time and now there's only two relics left!"

She was also a pain in the ass. He was perfectly happy to be Ruby's big brother and Pyrrha's... What, life coach?

But Weiss... Yeah. He did not have the patience to deal with a spoiled little princess. No thank you. He'd dealt with his sisters long enough to know that sucked and he wasn't having any part of it. He wasn't a siscon, thank you very much, and Weiss thought him some uncouth lout or whatever. Putting them together would be a disaster.

But anyway, they'd finally made it to the ruins. They were on a small plateau, separated by a narrow canyon near the base of the cliffs. Several ancient pillars stood like stepping stones to the stone... Gazebo maybe? They'd hopped on those, and gotten into the heart of the ancient... Temple maybe?

History was not Jaune's strong suit. Especially not ancient history. But he recognized the two relics easily enough-Oversized chess pieces. A knight, and a rook. The only ones left.

"At least there are relics left to take," Pyrrha suggested. "So, which one do we take?"

Ruby hummed. "I guess we'll take-"

"HOLD UP!"

Yang and... Blake? Yeah, Blake, arrived, jumping from pillar to pillar. Yang grinned broadly, her eyes and hair still burning from the power of her Semblance. Blake was silent, as usual, and eyeing everyone like a well fed cat.

"YANG!" Ruby laughed. "Nice to see you! And you too, Blake!"

"Yeah, we got through it all," she said, "Seen anyone else?"

"No, they're all ahead of us," Weiss groused, "Since someone thought this was a field trip and not a serious mission!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Ruby whined, waving her hands, "Will you just let that go?"

"Look, we can get our relics and then run," Jaune pointed out, "They don't give you points for how quickly you get this done, right?"

"Well... No," Weiss groused, "But reputation matters a lot at Beacon, too!"

"Oh come on Weiss-cream, so we're taking our time," Yang chuckled, "Just means we're going to be fashionably late. You always save the best for last-"

"YEEEEHAAAAA!"

A giant Ursa broke through the treeline. Atop it was that redheaded girl and her calm, pink-eyed friend. The redhead waited until the Ursa had stampeded right to the edge of the small canyon that separated the ruins from the rest of the valley, before she hefted up her hammer, and slammed it down on the panicking Grimm's head.

In that same motion, she and her friend leaped, using the leverage of the tumbling, dissolving Ursa to launch themselves over the gap. They tumbled through the air like acrobats, and landed on the stone tiles just outside of the little... Gazebo the relics were lying in.

Yang and Ruby clapped. As did Jaune.

Weiss gaped in disbelief as the two strode in. The redhead (Nora, right?) waved and beamed.

"Hey! Sorry we're late! I mean, I wanted to ride an Ursa, and that was a lot more fun than walking here-OOH! HORSEY!"

She grabbed the relic that resembled a knight, and beamed.

"All ours! No takebacks!"

The boy (Ren, yeah) nodded, looking stoic and calm as always. Also neatly coifed. Jaune felt his hand go up to his ragged, messy blond locks with a frown.

Geez, he needed a haircut. He hoped Beacon had a barber.

"Isn't... Isn't anyone going to comment on how... Bizarre that was?" Weiss weakly asked.

"What? That was awesome!" Ruby cheered.

"Maybe we should have thought of that, save some time, eh Blake? It was a bear to get here," Yang giggled, elbowing her stoic partner. She actually looked like she was considering it.

Weiss looked to Pyrrha in desperation. The Spartan smiled and shrugged.

"It did seem effective... And a bit fun," she said.

Weiss's jaw slowly closed. She held her head between her hands with a groan.

"I'm surrounded by lunatics," she mumbled.

"Please, we're all perfectly sane," Jaune said cheerfully. He grabbed the rook and tucked it in his messenger bag.

"I mean, do we need to get more?" Ruby asked, worried. "Do we need to find one for each person-?"

"No! It's just one for each four person team! Didn't you pay attention to Headmaster Ozpin at all?!" Weiss said angrily. Her eyes widened, looking around. A horrible realization hit her. "Oh no..."

Ruby wore an evil grin.

"Yup... Looks like you're stuck with us!" The little reaper giggled. Jaune bonked her on the head. "OW! JAUNE!"

"Come on, she feels bad enough," Jaune scolded her.

Weiss's gaze softened just a little. Perhaps she'd slightly misjudged the brute. He was crude, yes, violent, but maybe not entirely beyond redemption-

"And she expressed something other than 'bitch', we want to encourage that," Jaune said. Ruby beamed and nodded.

"Ohhh! Reward her for good behavior?"

"Exactly."

Pyrrha sighed, and held Weiss back. Jaune stepped back, ending up in Blake's orbit nearby the ruined stone table.

"Woah, chill out Weiss!" Jaune said.

"That's my line," Yang whined, as Weiss reached out her well-manicured fingers to strangle the blond.

"I'll show you good behavior, you-!"

The mountain behind them rumbled violently. The young hunters in training all turned to look.

"Ohhh... That's where the cave was," Ruby observed... Just before the cliff face shattered and a truly gigantic, scorpion-like Grimm burst out with a roar. She winced. "Ohhh... Crap."

From above, gigantic razor sharp feathers rained down upon them like javelins. Everyone took cover as the giant feathers slammed into the ground, bouncing off the stone but going right through anything less dense.

A Nevermore missing some tail feathers shrieked as it roared overhead, ascending to come about for another run even as the gigantic Deathstalker charged for them.

Jaune stood up from behind the fallen stone pillar he'd taken cover behind, a slightly shaken Blake rising with him. He'd yanked her out of the way just in time.

She would probably have been okay, but... Instinct was instinct. And what were Jaune Arc's instincts telling him now?

"Okay! We have the relics, and we don't want to be killed by Grimm, so I vote we run for it! Yay or nay?"

They all bolted, Jaune included. But he still couldn't help being a smartass as they did.

"The yays have it! I love democracy!"

"SHUT UP AND RUN!" Weiss bellowed.


Geez. Right after Qrow had found Jaune, Ozpin had another mission lined up for him. Wasn't that the way?

Still, at least he got to hitch a ride on an Atlas military transport most of the way. It cut the trip time down considerably, and he could just jump out the hatch and glide down to earth. No sweat.

In this case, he was just dropping by an airship trading outpost on the way to Atlas-Fairly big with a lot of airship traffic, but not a lot of local citizens given the mountainous terrain. It was called Apex, and it was cold as fuck.

Still, he got into the airship port easy enough, returned to human form, and headed for the nearest bar. It was fairly swanky, all things considered: Clean, with uniformed staff and table cloth. A little too swanky for his usual digs, but hell, Ozpin was paying for his expenses, so Qrow decided to go ahead and indulge a little.

He had just made it to the bar, when he spotted her: A curvy blonde woman. Her figure was dynamite! Her hair was in a nearly wound braid down her back-The kind of style that drove him a bit wild. She was dressed in sensible business clothing, too-Nothing too fancy, so she wasn't an elite, but not too poor she didn't fit in.

Well, while he was splurging... Maybe he could see if some of Jaune's good luck had rubbed off on him. He slicked his hair back and walked casually down to sit one stool away from her.

"So. What brings a gorgeous woman like you to the middle of nowhere?" He asked in his most charming voice.

The woman turned around. Qrow felt his mouth go dry and his stomach fall.

The lady was gorgeous from the front to the back, thankfully. MILF-tastic would be the best way to describe her, and those gorgeous blue eyes were framed and enhanced by those silver-rimmed glasses.

Eyes widened in shock, as her pretty cheeks blushed.

That wasn't why Qrow couldn't talk right now though.

"Qrow?! What are you doing here?!" Gasped Doctor Isabel Arc. "Why are you hitting on me?!"

Okay. Okay. Think fast, Qrow. Think fast.

"Because I have... Fantastic news!" Qrow said, turning the charm up on his smile as high as it would go. "It's about Jaune-!"

Isabel grabbed his hands in hers and stared intently into his eyes. It would have been pleasant, if not for the fact that her grip was painful. Also, judging from the smell of her breath, she'd been drinking a fair amount already.

"Really?! Is he all right?! Is he safe-?!"

"Ah, yes, he is just fine," Qrow said quickly. "He's safe."

As safe as you could get in a Hunter's Academy.

Isabel sagged... And then pulled Qrow into a bone-crushing hug. While Qrow enjoyed the fact her boobs were pressed tightly against his chest, her grip was hard enough he was having trouble breathing.

"Oh that-that's WONDERFUL, Qrow!" Isabel sobbed. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"It's-It's okay, it's okay," Qrow gasped, "Mind uh...?"

Isabel coughed and loosened her grip.

"Sorry. It's uh... It's been a while since I enhanced my strength for anything other than lifting the couch," she said, embarrassed. She sighed deeply.

"Honestly, I'm so... I'm so ashamed of myself. I've been so worried, and guilty... We had such a horrible fight before he left, and I..."

She broke down in tears. This was something Qrow was really not equipped to handle. But since she was still hugging him, he could at least pat her on the back.

"Hey... It can't have been that bad-"

"It was horrible," Isabel sniffled, "I-I said so many horrible things... But... Well... I'm so glad!"

She kissed his cheek. He smelled her perfume. She was grateful and happy, and Qrow's depression was easing just a little...

"So where is he?"

Ah. Yeah. Right back in force. Okay, think Qrow. There had to be a way to get out of this without betraying Jaune... Or Isabel ripping his spine out.

She said it couldn't be done, but he remembered that mission he and Nicholas had gone on with her. Maybe she just had to be drunk enough to do it? Since she was already tipsy, he wasn't taking any chances.

"Well... Ozpin's keeping an eye on him while he recovers," Qrow manages.

Isabel stared intently at him. She began to flex her fists worryingly.

"You told me he was fine-"

"He is! He is! But three months out in the wild? It's rough on a kid," Qrow said, maybe a little too quickly. "He's just recovering."

"I should go see him," Isabel began, already getting up, "I can heal him-"

"Woah woah woah!" Qrow said quickly, seizing her arm. She stared intently at it. A similar expression she had made before she had smashed the skull of an Ursa Major trying to chow down on her future husband with her bare hands.

"Listen..." He licked his lips. "Listen... For the last three months, he's been carrying that argument with you inside of him. It drove him to prove himself. Honestly, the kid survived stuff I might not have at his age. If you swoop in right now, like you are, you're just gonna bring all that back up and drive him away again."

"But... But he's my son," Isabel protested, "I know what's best for him-!"

"And that kind of thinking drove him away," Qrow said gently. "Just... Give him some time, all right? Live your life. He'll be writing you letters-I made sure he sent you one the moment I found him. Let him recover psychologically... Then you can go see him, all right? He's been living his own life like a man. Let him be a man for a while longer, and then you can see him."

"I just... I want to see him so badly," Isabel sighed, "I want to apologize, I want to hug him and hold him-"

"Build things back up with him slowly, at first," Qrow said, "Again, that was a rough argument. You don't want to just charge in because he will run off. And I might not be able to find him this time. You don't want that, do you?"

Isabel sighed.

"I... No, no, I suppose not," she murmured. She glared at him. "He's not actually in the Hunter's Academy, right?"

Well. Shit. Now what, brain? Qrow thought.

"... I think he applied, and I don't know if he made it in, but I do know that Ozpin is keeping him in Beacon," he said.

It was... Technically true. He didn't actually know if Jaune had made it past Initiation. He was pretty confident the kid could, after seeing what he could do. A solid team to back him up and he'd probably do pretty well.

If he didn't piss them all off, of course.

Isabel sighed.

"I guess I just have to wait for him to be rejected," she stated. "Maybe I can talk to Ozpin and get him to make Jaune a medical intern. I can do that for him at least-"

"No!" Qrow said, again far too quickly. "No more meddling, no more manipulation! You want to rebuild your relationship with him, right?"

Isabel grimaced, but... Finally relented.

"... I suppose you're right again," she said. She bowed her head. "I... I was so... So broken when Nick was killed... Jaune wanting to go down the same path, I..." She burst into tears again. "Ohhh Qroowwww!"

Qrow coughed and patted the sobbing woman again on the shoulder. She again embraced him, so hard his ribs creaked.

He looked up at the bartender.

"Hardest stuff you got," he said.

"For you?"

"For both of us," he sighed.

That kid was going to owe him for this...


Why am I feeling irritated with Uncle Qrow all of a sudden? Jaune mused to himself as he and the others ran through a large, ruined gate structure. The overgrown weeds and vines couldn't hide that it was once a beautiful gatehouse, and even now had an ancient splendor.

CRASH!

Well, had an ancient splendor. The Deathstalker smashing through it and reducing it to rubble kind of ruined all that.

"THERE'S THE BRIDGE!" Yang shouted, pointing ahead at the long and far too thin looking structure across a truly massive canyon. They kept running, even as the Nevermore screeched overhead and dove to strafe them again.

"GEEZ!" Ruby shouted, shifting Crescent Rose to sniper rifle mode. She tried to lock onto the Nevermore, but it was a futile effort while running. "I CAN'T GET A BEAD ON-!"

"PYRRHA! SHOOT THE DAMN THING!" Jaune shouted. Pyrrha pulled out Milo, shifted it to rifle mode and fired a few quick, inaccurate bursts at the Nevermore. The huge crow-like Grimm screeched in rage, launching more javelin-like feathers that went wide and hit everything but the young students. That was good.

Two of them went wide and struck through the bridge ahead, and the ancient stone structure shuddered as a very large section of it collapsed into the fog-filled abyss below.

That was bad.

The group skidded to a halt as they watched the bridge fall and the Nevermore fly overhead, pulling up with another deafening screech.

"That's a problem," Blake observed.

"Last thing we want is to be stuck between that and these things on a bridge," Jaune agreed. He sighed as the massive scorpion rounded the corner and headed right for them. "Okay then! Guess we're fighting."

He looked at Nora, Yang, Ren, and Blake, who had stayed loosely clustered the whole time they were fleeing. Maybe one of them would be willing to step up and be leader? He already felt like a put upon babysitter as it was.

"What's your plan?" He asked.

Nora stepped up, hefted up her mighty hammer, and swung it around with a flourish.

"SMASH 'EM!" Nora shouted with a wide grin. Jaune slowly nodded.

"Okay... Anyone else have a plan to take down one of these guys?"

"Aw!" Nora pouted.

Weiss opened her mouth, but Ruby beat her to it.

"Wear down the Nevermore with long ranged fire, hit it from above to get it low, and then hit it with melee attacks to take out its wings!" She said eagerly. Jaune nodded.

"Okay! Take who you need and I'll take who I need to take out the Deathstalker! Nora, Ren, Pyrrha, with me!"

"Wh-Why not me?!" Weiss demanded angrily.

"Your Semblance lets you get airborne, you're better suited to taking out the Birdy!" Jaune shouted, running towards the Deathstalker as it charged them. Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha followed. Weiss flushed.

"He-What is-?!"

"Flirt later, Weissy, fight now!" Yang shouted, opening up with Celica Ember on the diving Nevermore. Blake contributed her own fire as well, being surprisingly accurate with her shotgun though not doing major damage to the huge monster.

"Get me up high, Weissy! Stop flirting!" Ruby shouted.

"I'M NOT FLIRTING!" Weiss shouted, even as she quickly created some Glyphs in mid air. Ruby obligingly hopped up onto one, took aim, and opened fire on the Nevermore. Weiss contributed by launching ice missiles at it as it dove in for another pass. The huge Grimm took multiple hits, but like a bomber in the terminal phase it still unleashed a withering payload of javelin-like feathers that rained down upon them.

The team managed to evade the shots, Blake using a clone to take the hit for her. Ruby scowled up at the Nevermore as it flew off and wheeled around, going into another dive.

"Is it just me, or does it seem to be carrying a grudge?" Yang asked.

"Well... I did cut off half its tail feathers when I crashed into it," Ruby observed, "I guess that would make it pretty mad."

"Gee, imagine that!" Weiss sneered.


The Deathstalker's huge stinger shot out like a cannonball. Jaune pumped everything into his shield and Aura, and stood his ground even as Pyrrha, Ren and even Nora dodged. Pyrrha's eyes widened in shock and her mouth opened in warning...

"JAU...NE?!"

The stinger had hit his shield, hard, and drove him back. His aura fluctuated. Jaune groaned. He felt like maybe a quarter of his aura had gone with that hit... But he was still alive and combat capable. Most importantly, the Deathstalker's attention was all on him.

"HIT IT!" Jaune shouted. Nora and Ren went to work immediately, Nora launching grenades at the Deathstalker's head from the right while Ren opened fire with his dual SMGs. The Deathstalker roared angrily, holding up its claws to defend its eyes. Pyrrha went to work, adding additional fire from Milo from the left flank. Ren proceeded to get behind the beast, laying down a withering fire of bullets that bounced off its thick armor.

It pulled back, and Jaune raced forward to join the fight. He slid under the Deathstalker's waving claws and came up to hit it in the face. It lashed out with large mouthparts, and Jaune again tanked the hit with his shield. The stinger also came down again, nearly knocking Jaune off his feet as he fell into a crouch. He gritted his teeth, the strikes hitting so hard his bones felt like they might rattle out of his body!

"JAUNE GET OUT OF THERE!" Pyrrha shouted. Milo struck one of the Deathstalker's eyes, driving in deep. The monster howled in agony, falling back and trying to grab the projectile with its huge, clumsy claws. Nora landed a hit to the Grim with her hammer, right on the head, and narrowly avoided a stinger strike thanks to Ren yanking her out of the way.

Pyrrha landed next to Jaune, as Nora and Ren regrouped with them. Pyrrha held out her hand, and Milo flew from the wounded Grimm right back to her hand.

"Okay... Armor's too tough for our weapons to pierce," Jaune panted.

"Not on the underside," Ren observed, "But now that we wounded it, it won't let us get that close."

"Yuppers! That's how they work!" Nora contributed.

"Okay, so we need to flip it over," Jaune concluded, "Or..."

He eyed the stinger.

"Okay. New plan," he stated, "Ren? Keep the claws busy. Nora? Get it to attack you with the stinger. When I yell, you hit the stinger when it comes off and drive it into the thing's head!"

"All right, how do we get the stinger off though?" Pyrrha asked gently, as the Deathstalker charged again. Jaune took a deep breath.

"Throw me at it," he stated, "With your Semblance. As hard as you can."

"Got it, Fearless Leader!" Nora cheered, leaping back into the fray and unleashing several grenade shots from Magnhild. Ren dashed forward with his usual grace, dancing around the Deathstalker's huge claws as he fired quick bursts into its face.

Pyrrha gave Jaune a concerned look, even as they ran to the right flank of the huge Grimm.

"Are you sure about-?"

"I am completely sure," Jaune said, holding Crocea Mors with both hands, and charging his Aura. His sword glowed white as he narrowed his eyes at the Deathstalker.

"Once I hit it, help Nora and Ren finish it off," he ordered. Pyrrha flushed, and nodded. Her aura ignited orange, and she held out a hand to touch Jaune's shoulder. Jaune rose up from the ground, held aloft by his armor. Strangely, her own Aura began to shine more brightly as did his. A warmth filled her, despite the desperate situation. Like her very soul was being embraced. She felt a blush crawl up her neck.

"I-I take it you've done this before?" Pyrrha asked.

"Once," Jaune admitted. "I got lucky that time... And it was a Nevermore... And there was a train-"

The Deathstalker tensed as it pulled back, its tail quivering. It launched its stinger right at Nora-!

"GO!"

Pyrrha threw her hand forward, and Jaune shot forth like a rocket! So fast and hard was the acceleration, it ripped a scream from his throat.

"GYAAAAHHHH-!"

No... FOCUS... The telson joint... Focus on the telson joint... End segment of all arthropods, the joint is the weakest part...!

He swung his sword, overcharging his Aura as much as he could...!

The stinger came off as he flew through the sudden gap between body parts he had opened. He tumbled through the air, which let him see Nora leap up high, and bring the hammer down on the stinger... Before he slammed into a tree.

"URK!"

"WOOHOOOO!"

The force of Nora's blow sent the stinger downwards... Right through the head of the Deathstalker. It screeched in agony, Grimm ichor oozing out of its mortal wound. Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora poured more shots into the armor gap, and the monster collapsed before dissolving into a fine mist.

Pyrrha lowered her weapon, and her keen eyes locked onto a still, green and white form.

"JAUNE! JAUNE?!"

Nora and Ren followed her, running over to the fallen tree Jaune lay by. Pyrrha was by his side in a moment, checking his pulse.

"Jaune?!"

"Uggghhh," Jaune groaned. Relief flooded Pyrrha's face as he slowly sat up, rubbing his armor plate.

"You all right?" Pyrrha asked. Jaune nodded, holding up a hand.

"Y-Yeah... That was... Just a really hard tree..."

"They tend to be," Ren said. Jaune looked up at the stoic teen. He couldn't tell if the guy was joking or not.

"Was that scream the signal?" Nora asked eagerly. "I thought it was! You never specified what the signal was, by the way, so I just went with what felt natural!"

"... Yeah, that's on me," Jaune admitted. He slowly got up, and Pyrrha hugged him tightly. "Ah... Easy there, Pyrrha, I'm okay-"

"I-I know," Pyrrha said with a warm smile, "I just... You feel... Very comforting."

"Uhhhh... Sure," Jaune managed. Crap. He was in deep. He was going to have to figure out how to get away from her sooner than he thought.

No, don't focus on that, focus on what was important! Like Ruby and the others' lives!

He looked around.

"Where are the others-GAH!"

A wingless Nevermore crashed in front of them, making the whole team take a step back. An instant later, a spinning red and black cyclone fell upon the neck of the bird-like Grimm. Its head came clean off from the multiple blows, and the entire Grimm soon dissolved like the Deathstalker had. The cyclone slowed, revealing itself to be a very dizzy Ruby Rose.

"Ugh... H-Hey... Jaune..." Ruby managed, staggering forward. Jaune, as was his instinct, moved forward to catch her.

"What was that?!" Jaune shouted, as Yang, Weiss and Blake ran up to join them.

"Well," Weiss huffed, "We injured it, got it down to low level... Then this little maniac decided to jump onto it and cut off its wings!"

"It worked, didn't it?" Ruby managed, her eyes still spinning and her face green. "Ooogh... Think I used... My Semblance too much..."

She bowed her head... And barfed all over Jaune's boots. Weiss held a hand up over her mouth, Yang immediately reached out to hold her shoulder, and Blake made a face. Nora grinned, Ren remained stoic, and Pyrrha grimaced in sympathy.

"S-Sorry!" Ruby managed. "I-I'm so sorry...!"

Tears were at the corners of her eyes. Jaune sighed, pulled out a handkerchief, and wiped her face clean.

"It's fine... Good work," he said, "That was pretty awesome."

Ruby beamed... And then collapsed into his arms.

"You used up most of your aura, you idiot," Weiss sighed, though not as harshly as before.

"You overdid it, Ruby," Yang sighed, ruffling her little sister's hair in relief. "You'd better be careful. Don't want you to end up eating crow-"

"Ugggggh," Weiss moaned, as Yang giggled.

Blake stood awkwardly by, seemingly not sure how to respond, but she did look concerned.

"Ooogh... I feel terrible," Ruby moaned. "Jaune... Will you carry me...?"

Jaune sighed... And pulled her onto his back.

"Hold on tight," he said, "Let's all get out of here before any more show up."

"Aw, but that was fun!" Nora whined. Ren squeezed her hand.

"We can have pancakes for dinner," he said.

Nora beamed brightly.

"We can smash more Grimm tomorrow!" She cheered.

"The bridge is still an issue, but I can get us across with my glyphs," Weiss said, a bit hesitantly. Jaune gave her a tired smile.

"Thanks Weiss... Come on..."

The party headed for the bridge. Ruby nuzzled into his neck with a happy sigh.

Jaune for his part shook his head. He had no idea why any of these people had followed his orders. He was glad they did, because it meant they'd won, but... Ugh. He couldn't afford to think about that now.

Worrying had never gotten him anything. Just getting shit done.

Besides, it wasn't like the other members of their little party were fretting over anything, right?

Well maybe Weiss, but eh...


Pyrrha watched Jaune intently the whole trip back. She barely took her eyes off him.

He was... Oh... He was something. She knew it. His audacity, his determination, his... Lack of refinement...

She bit her lower lip.

No, no, it wasn't healthy, perhaps... But she'd been denied so much over her life. She had denied herself so much. And here was a boy-No, a man who had demonstrated that he didn't care about her reputation, titles, or anything else: Just her problems. Her... Weaknesses.

Her.

She had weaknesses. She had... Problems. She was normal, in his eyes!

Well, okay, maybe she was a little crazy in his eyes but... That was better than being seen as a perfect, unapproachable goddess!

He'd taken charge of the fight almost immediately, had figured out the strengths and weaknesses of everyone involved, and had devised effective strategies to win!

And that Semblance of his... She knew it had to be his Semblance! She'd never felt that strong, that much in control, that warm...

Yes, Ruby Rose had taken out the other Grimm with her 'team'. But Jaune had gotten them into action.

Speaking of... Ruby did look genuinely exhausted after that fight. She could sense her Aura exhaustion from here. It was good of Jaune to carry her all the way back to the cliffs. Really.

Ruby, her head pressed against Jaune's, caught her gaze... And shot her a tiny but undeniably smug smile.

Pyrrha kept up her smile... But her fists were clenched, and a vein was tightening over her right eye.

She would have to get that looked at... Yes... Maybe have Jaune take a look at it, he was the son of a doctor after all...


Nora, for her part, was glad she'd gotten such a great team! Pyrrha was a lot of fun, and Jaune was pretty smart and tough! He took trees like no one's business! It was going to be a lot of fun for them all to play together! That was for sure!

I wonder if I can use him as a missile in the next fight?

She looked over the group. She saw Pyrrha, Weiss, and Yang all giving Ruby and Jaune very intense looks. She hummed.

Hmm... I'll have to ask. These girls don't look like they like to share their toys...


Ren was just glad they'd triumphed and found some worthwhile allies and potential teammates. Pyrrha had proven extremely powerful offensively, but also very fast and agile-She was almost like a mixture of himself and Nora, which definitely maximized their fighting potential.

Jaune too had been fairly surprising-He'd been able to tank several hits and stay on his feet, and also devise an effective strategy to take down their opponent utilizing all of their strengths. He'd even been willing to use his own durability to make himself into a flying guillotine, of sorts.

That took courage... And more than a little insanity.

But he was used to that. He lived with Nora, after all.


A good scrap and victory made Yang want to curl up on the couch and relax with a nice hot meal. She felt the good kind of tired, like after a very hard workout.

Her partner was a little... Odd, but definitely spoke with actions rather than words. Blake was pretty fun to tweak. Sure, she didn't say much, but her reactions to her puns were hilariously understated.

Ruby had pulled through, of course. Yang knew she could do it. Her being bossy might take some getting used to, but hey, better Ruby than her. She didn't want to do any big picture thinking, just beat the tar out of Grimm and remain the cool big sis.

And she had to admit, Ruby's little jealousy fits over Cryba-Jaune, were pretty cute. He tolerated it like a good big brother should. She couldn't help but admit she liked how he handled Ruby.

It put some thoughts into her head. Some... Dangerous thoughts.

He didn't come off as some insecure boy who didn't know himself... He came off like a man. A real man, who went into battle and fought like hell, knowing how to win. And he laughed at her puns-Like, genuinely.

He had come a long way from those days when she beat him up and made him eat worms.

So had she.

Uh oh... She eyed Pyrrha Nikos. The Invincible Girl was... Blushing over Jaune?! How in the hell had that happened?!

Even Weiss-cream was giving him looks. Infuriated, sure, but that blush didn't come out of nowhere.

Well, crap. She'd intended to just tease Ruby about her crush and maybe get to know Jaune better. See if he'd be any good for some dating. She wasn't some kind of romantic who thought it would lead immediately into marriage and happily ever afters, she wasn't Ruby, but he seemed like he might actually be... Fun. Maybe train him up so that when Ruby was older, he'd be perfect for her and they'd be happy.

But if other girls were already looking his way... She might need to rethink some things...


Blake had kept herself calm throughout this entire situation. She was glad they had all pulled through-She didn't know the others very well, but it was good they'd all come through in one piece.

She was presented with a number of conundrums though.

Ruby Rose, a 15 year old rookie pushed forward into this class. She was powerful, and skilled, clearly a prodigy. She had more than demonstrated that, as well as decent tactical aptitude and some leadership skills. It was easy for her to follow her lead, as taking that kind of responsibility was...

Well, not something she wanted anymore. Responsibility in general was not something she wanted any more.

Even if it was to a 15 year old, at least said 15 year old seemed to be fairly competent.

Weiss Schnee, the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. The arrogant young woman had rankled her something fierce, but when push came to shove, the heiress had stepped up and fought alongside her without any issue. She didn't intend to get any closer than she had to, but it was... Nice... That she was at least somewhat dependable. Though the Schnees were duplicitous by nature, so she wasn't going to hold her breath.

Yang Xiao-Long was fiery, powerful, and full of terrible puns. She was also very kind to her, despite them knowing nothing about one another. She was cocky, brash, and... Well... Fun. Seeing her fight and fighting alongside her was like going to a fireworks show: Explosive and filled with joy and laughter.

She'd almost smiled many times. It was a difficult effort around Yang to keep her stoic composure.

She might have considered her a friend... If Blake was someone else.

Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren were both curious oddities. Nora was energetic and childlike, while Ren was stoic and almost supernaturally calm. They were bound together, she could tell, and had been for a while. Some moments, she could almost see hints at what it was. Some kind of mutual tragedy that forged the pair? She didn't know for sure.

Pyrrha Nikos. She'd heard so much about the famous champion that she had been expecting her to be like a slightly more modest Schnee. But instead, she got an excessively polite, almost shy young woman. Obviously she was incredibly skilled and powerful, but to have such a meek personality? It was strange. Yet she was smiling and a bit looser than she had been at the start, like a bird whose cage was opened and she was figuring out what her wings were for.

She was allowed to be poetic. She read enough books.

And finally, Jaune Arc. Strange, he almost looked familiar. He went around like some kind of wandering ranger, or the Rusted Knight, her old childhood hero (though without the beard). His weapons and armor smelled of hard travel in the wilds, and a great deal of use against Grimm. His eyes were hardened-Not unlike how she was, when the first White Fang protest she'd been part of had been gassed and riot police had attacked without mercy.

Like he had seen the ugliness of the world.

Yet he made jokes. He fought hard. He'd protected her without hesitation or even knowing more than her name.

Again... Maybe someone she could have been friends with, if everything was different.

But it wasn't. And she had to accept that.


Weiss Schnee was flabberghasted at the start of the day, and after everything she'd gone through... She was straight up exhausted. She'd come to Beacon expecting... Well... Maybe the same professionalism she'd seen in Hunters and Soldiers she'd met in Altas.

Instead, she got what amounted to a strange circus. Xiao-Long seemed to think everything was some sort of comedy routine. Valkyrie and Lie were the perfect example of the jokester and the straight man, only their routines were complete violent fever dreams. Blake Belladonna had seemed normal, but she was just better at hiding it!

(Appropriate given she fought like some sort of ninja).

Rose was... Ugh. "Puppy" seemed a perfect appellation for her. A killer puppy-Goofy, annoying, almost endearing one moment, and then savage and bitey the next! Under her kind of/sort of leadership, they'd managed to take down a Nevermore with a freaking scythe!

It was as impressive as it was ridiculous.

Pyrrha Nikos had been her last hope. Such an incredible champion, a lauded and accomplished woman-She had to have been normal!

And yet... She was blushing and swooning over ARC!

She glared daggers at the back of his head. Remembering his mistreatment of her.

Weiss had never been... Put in her place like that! Not even by her father! Arc acted like some crude, barbaric lout, cussing and disrespecting her! Even smacking her upside the head like she was some misbehaving, lower class moppet!

The fact he also seemed to be competent, albeit rough around every edge, was even more infuriating!

The others, she might have been able to tolerate, but this jerk acted like she was some-some floozy one moment, and then was almost kind to her!

What was his game? What was..?

It came to her in a moment of perfect clarity.

She knew what he was! He was a classic bad boy! He looked like some sort of cheap, knock off knight in white shining armor, but she knew his game! He was a bad boy, gone down the wrong path, a delinquent in the making! A rough, savage fighter who knew how to use women and get what he wanted from them!

She'd read all about them in romance novels. Well... She was onto him. His insults and attentions on her were designed to lower her defenses and make her... Submit!

Well... Too bad, lout! Weiss Schnee was not some heroine in a bodice ripper who would succumb to the advances of a cruel, savage pirate! Or let herself get carried off by some gentleman thief!

SHE WAS ONTO HIM!


Ruby Rose had gotten into Beacon Academy two years early, made her first real friend (Who turned out to be a beloved childhood friend), and had led a team of Huntresses to take out a gigantic Grimm. She'd even delivered the finishing blow, right in front of said first real friend!

Oum, she must have looked so cool...

Before she threw up, anyway.

But even then, Jaune had been Jaune: Cleaned up her face, complimented her, and was now carrying her back to Beacon. Her. Not Pyrrha Nikos, not Weiss Schnee, not her big sister-Her!

Oh yes... Today could only get better with a plate of cookies... And maybe reading comics with her super best friend!

Her stomach lurched, and she nuzzled against Jaune's neck.

Okay... Maybe she'd wait on the cookies...


And we're still going!