A/N: I have a million excuses for how long this took. Which one would you like to hear? This chapter is also short (I'm sorry!), but don't worry; the real meat of the story is coming up in chapter four.

X

Jaune stood in front of the headmaster's office after the dismissal bell and gave the door a firm knock. When he heard a voice say 'Come in', he let himself inside and shut the door behind him. Ozpin's office was as simple as always; the only decorations he displayed were a set of clocks on his bookshelf and a small cactus that sat on his desk. Whenever anyone asked about the cactus, he would simply smile and say 'there is so much that people can learn from cacti', refusing to detail just what there was to be learned from a desert plant. Jaune held up a stack of stapled papers. "I'm turning this in for Professor Peach's class, sir."

Ozpin simply nodded. "Of course, Mr. Arc. Just set it on the desk and I'll make sure she receives it when she returns."

"Thank you," he answered as he set his essay down. "I have to ask, sir: do you ever get tired of handling her classwork when she goes out of town?"

A wry smile was his answer. "I must confess that I never expected to be doing it as often as I do in recent years, but both she and I were aware that she would be needed at any number of locations before I employed her, so I'm afraid that I must deal with the circumstances as they are. Professor Peach is well regarded in the scientific community, as you well know by now."

"Sounds like it's tough for both of you." Jaune couldn't hold in his chuckles. "Well, thank you again, Professor.

He turned to dismiss himself, but Ozpin called out, "Please hold, Mr. Arc. I was actually hoping we could talk for a moment."

"...I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"I assure you that all is well. Please, have a seat." Ozpin gestured to the chair opposite his own and Jaune obeyed, curious about what could be on his mind. The older man paused to make sure that Jaune was ready to talk. "How are your classes faring this year, Mr. Arc?"

"Honestly? Better than I expected." It was true, too. He'd managed to sustain a C average across the board, with Biology being his best class at a high B. Math still gave him a hard time every now and then, but he had a great tutor in Crystal. "I've been able to balance schoolwork and my job fairly well."

"That's good to hear. I was concerned that working as many days as you do would interfere with your coursework, so I'm pleased that fate has been avoided." Ozpin's voice remained neutral, and when Jaune quietly nodded instead of responding he decided to continue. "I believe I've told all of the students that the number one thing I hope to avoid in my school is wasting any student's potential, wherever their skills may point them."

'Ah,' thought Jaune. 'I know where this is going.'

"Mr. Arc, are you sure that you won't return to the music program? I would be than happy to convince the dean of the Mistral College of Performing Arts to give you a full scholarship, or any university of your choice for that matter. You're more than skilled enough for it, and Nicholas often told me of how much you loved performing."

"Huh," responded Jaune a bit lamely. "I forgot that you were friends with my dad."

"Indeed." Ozpin's face finally softened as he looked at him. "Mr. A-"

He stopped himself with a sigh. "Jaune, all your father ever wanted was for you to be happy doing what you loved. While I respect your will to support your family, I feel obligated to say that you should strive for more than working minimum-wage jobs. Heaven knows that you deserve to."

Jaune gave a sigh to match the headmaster's. "I appreciate your concern, sir, but I'm doing what needs to be done for my family. If I rejoined the music program, I'd have to attend all of the after school practices and events, which would take time out of my job. And the MCPA is a great school, but it's also on another continent, so... Sorry."

That final word killed any chance of continuing the conversation. Ozpin gave a simple nod that Jaune knew was his dismissal, so he bowed his head and left, leaving the headmaster alone with his thoughts. When Glynda Goodwitch entered a few minutes later to meet with him, she found her employer staring at a picture frame he was holding in his hands. She cleared her throat to grab his attention. "Should I come back in a few minutes?"

"No, we can talk now." He set the picture down at just such an angle that Glynda could make out three men in it: Ozpin himself, his drunken friend Qrow, and an unknown blonde man. "What's on your mind, Glynda?"

"Just making sure you've submitted the documents for all of the students set to take AP courses next semester. You dilly-dallied with the summer submissions, and look how much effort that took to correct."

Ozpin refrained from rolling his eyes. Glynda Goodwitch was his second-in-command on top of being the primary math instructor for Beacon. She was good at her job, especially since part of her job was, apparently, keeping him in check. "Rest assured, I've done everything I need to. I won't make the same mistake twice."

"Really now?" She raised an eyebrow at him and Ozpin forced himself to not look away. After a few moments of a good ol' fashioned 'Vacuo staredown', Glynda raised her notepad and scribbled something onto it. "Very well, I'll go work on grading some tests. Was there anything you needed of me before I board myself up in my office?"

"As a matter of fact, I do have a question for you. What are your impressions of Jaune Arc?"

"Jaune Arc?" Glynda looked at the ceiling as she registered what she knew of him. "A pleasant boy, if nothing else. He occasionally slips in his grades for my course, but I can tell that it's not from a lack of effort. Why, is something the matter with him?"

"Not at all," responded Ozpin with a wave of his hand. "Simply regretting the... lack of attention I've paid him over the last few years. I knew his father before his passing and feel that I might've done more to help him and his family."

Glynda felt her eyes travel to the picture frame on the headmaster's desk once more. Upon closer examination, the blonde man in it bore some resemblance to Jaune Arc. "I see. Are you giving me special instructions, or...?"

"No, keep treating Mr. Arc the same as all of the other students. Thank you." Glynda nodded and excused herself from the office. With a sigh, Ozpin put the picture back into its home in his desk and began typing into his computer. While Jaune Arc was a prominent focus point at that moment, he had his responsibilities as headmaster to take care of.

Such as making sure those AP forms were taken care of.

--

Traffic was light that Wednesday evening, making Jaune's trip through town relatively painless. He had to work soon, but there was something he absolutely had to do before it got dark that day. As he drove his passenger began to blow air out of her nose rather violently, leading him to glance over at her and smirk. "Complaining about the smell again, Olive?"

"You know how much I hate that pine-scented ornament, Jaune." His little sister crossed her arms with a huff. The color of her hair and eyes matched his own perfectly, though she kept her hair in a shoulder-length ponytail instead of the short bobs their other sisters preferred. If it weren't for the almost two years separating their births, people would swear that she and Jaune were twins. Her tirade continued, "You know what I noticed? When I'm not in the truck, you never have that thing out. Are you trying to poison my nose?"

"What can I say? It always makes for interesting conversation when you're here, so I can't help but break it out for you." A fist met with his shoulder playfully. They had one of those sibling relationships where they teased each other over anything they could without any venom in their thoughts. Jaune responded to the punch by rubbing her head, which Olive allowed with a grumble. She was sweet when she wanted to be, promise.

Making it to their destination, Jaune found a spot to park and shut off the truck. Retrieving an item from behind his seat, he and Olive opened a nearby gate and went through it. As they walked on the designated cobblestone path, they stayed quiet and observed the many small tablets and stone memorials they passed by, counting the number of rows they crossed until they reached their goal. Not that they actually needed to count, mind you; they had the path burned into their memory, the same way that all of the Arc family did.

Eventually, they came upon a single plaque that lay flat on the ground. The words, etched in gold print, were simple.

Nicholas Miles Arc

A Father. A Hero.

'The only way for evil to win is for good men to do nothing.'

Beneath those words was the emblem of the Vale Police Department. It was symbol to respect for most people, but Jaune couldn't help feeling angry at the sight of it. What had they done when his dad died? 'Sorry to hear that your husband and father of eight kids died protecting innocent civilians. We'll cover the funeral, no worries. Oh, you want to receive his pension and insurance like you're supposed to? No can do! I guess he should've died on-duty rather than off-duty!'

His mom had long since abandoned her righteous indignation in favor of moving forward. Jaune had focused on his work, too, but to him the Council of Vale's attitude still felt like salt in the wound. Why did him being in uniform matter when he still died doing his job?

Olive approached the grave first, setting a few flowers down and kneeling on the grass in front of it. Jaune deliberately hung back and tuned her out when she began speaking; what Olive had to say was between her and their father. A few minutes later, once the one-sided conversation was finished, she stood up from her spot and wiped the grass off her jeans. As she walked past him, much more reserved than she typically was, she said, "I'll be in the truck, Jaune."

He simply nodded and let her go, taking that moment to set his own bouquet by the plaque. The wind picked up for a moment, swirling the Autumn leaves around him. "Hey, dad. Long time no see. Remember how I told you last time that I was working at Vermilion's new restaurant? That's going pretty well for her. It turns out that culinary school really can work wonders for people."

Jaune let out a chuckle. "All of us kids keep thinking back to when she was first shoving food down our throats as 'experiments'. Like night and day, I swear. She loves it, though, and I've gotta say that she's a good boss. Maybe one day she'll make it a chain. That'd be pretty awesome..."

The wind finally settled, leaving Jaune as the only thing around making noise. "This weekend I've got, uh... well, it's more or less a date. I've been talking to this girl online for a while and she suggested that we meet up. Cardin's betting that it's really a guy, though. I took that bet; it might be the easiest forty lien I ever make. Even if he's right, gods forbid since he'll never let me live it down, it'll be great to meet them in person as friends. And if I'm right and it's a girl, well, that would just be great."

"Dad, I... I've missed you these last four years. They say it gets easier with time, but that's a load of bull. I still hear mom crying when she thinks no one else is home. Still, we're taking it day by day. Life goes on, and there are still mouthes to feed. I can't believe you managed eight kids on a sergeant's salary." He reached down to wipe the sand and cut grass from the plaque, letting the silence drag on for a minute. Comfortable that his father must've heard him so far, Jaune bowed his head to finish the monologue. "Next year I'll be eighteen, so I'll bring you some cigarettes. The brand you actually liked, of course. Oh, and the others will be here over the weekend; Olive and I just wanted to get it done a few days early. Goodbye, dad. It's been good to talk."

Another breeze was the only response Jaune got, but that was just fine with him. As far as he was concerned, the wind meant his message had gotten through. He jogged back to the truck, where a subdued Olive waited for him to drive her home.

A few hours later...

"Thanks again for giving me your Saturday shift, man." Cardin and Jaune were sitting in break room, both off of the clock and getting ready to go home. Cardin continued speaking, even as he removed his apron and put on a light jacket. "Boss lady almost never lets me work the floor, so getting the chance to do it on the busiest day of the week? Good stuff."

"Don't worry about it, I just figured you of all people would get tired of working as a line chef all the time. I'm gonna be here anyways, just as a customer instead of a worker." Jaune shrugged his shoulders at Cardin's earnest thanks. The two of them hadn't always had a cordial friendship; back in freshmen year, Cardin had actually been his personal bully. That'd gone on for a few months until Jaune eventually lost his cool and swung back at his aggressor. Most of the spectators had expected 'Jauney boy' to be a pushover, but he actually managed to keep the fight relatively even until the teachers showed up.

They both got a two weeks of detention for the public stunt, naturally. Jaune could never figure out why, but Cardin had honestly settled down after getting his face hit a few good times.

Maybe he gave him a concussion on top of the bruises? Who knows.

Cardin leaned forward and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "I know you and I have that bet going on about your little friend, but I've gotta ask for a favor, man."

"Oh?" Jaune played along and closed the distance in the same way. "And what's that, Cardin?"

"If it does turn out to be a hot chick, can you slide me her number?"

Jaune grinned. "Not a chance."

Cardin gave him a light shove as they walked out together. The chat continued until they reached the parking lot, where they said their farewells and drove off into the night. Cardin's words reminded Jaune once more of the tense meeting-to-be, giving him a slight case of the jitters. When he got home, Jaune made sure to check his app's messages.Crystal had sent him a 'good night' message that he happily replied to before turning over and getting to his guitar once more. Saturday was gonna be a good day, he could just feel it.

X

Famous last words, am I right?

This was the final 'introductory' chapter, I assure you. I hope you enjoyed this little bit, but I need to get working on 'Charismatic Gamer'. If anybody has song suggestions for Pyrrha and Ren to ask Jaune to sing in said story, please PM me. My delaying that decision is now causing me physical harm.