White Knight Errant

by Andrew Joshua Talon

Here, Jaune Arc gave up a lot more to become a Hunter. A lot of time, a lot of trust, and a lot of blood. What happens when his past catches up with him? The next update will be posted on October 11th!

28. Bromance 3

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.

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Most of this chapter written by UnknownAnon.

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Cardin hadn't expected to visit the Old District on a Saturday, and was fairly surprised when he noticed Jaune had led him there. Passing by a few faunus children who were kicking and chasing a ball down the road, Cardin was glad he hadn't come down to Vale wearing anything that would've identified him as a member of the Winchester family. As the Old District generally had more Faunus residents than human residents, he was glad that he wasn't instantly recognizable to those milling around and walking down the streets.

"And here we are."

Jaune's announcement took Cardin's attention away from the street and he found himself staring at the restaurant the blonde Jaune had taken them to. Though upon inspection of the building design and the homely nature of it, it really appeared to be more of a diner than a restaurant. Privately owned too and not part of some chain either.

"C'mon. Let's head in." Jaune grinned, beckoning Cardin to follow after him as he pushed open the door.

"Just making sure, you're still going to-"

Cardin's question was interrupted by a sudden chorus shouting in front of him.

"Welcome to Just Right Bakery where everything is made just right!"

"Are you here to shop or are you eating in?"

Cardin blinked at the squeaky voices. Instead of a host or waiter welcoming them upon entry, the brunette found himself glancing down at two toddlers who beamed up at him. One was a little girl with blonde pigtails and overalls and the other was a brown haired haired boy who was wearing a shirt that looked like it was one size too big, but proudly displayed some heroic cartoon character on a bright red shirt. The little girl also had a pair of dog ears settled atop her head, giving away her nature as a faunus.

"...This place employs children?" Cardin asked aloud. I mean, knew plenty of stereotypes about poor faunus communities but he'd never actually seen-

"No, these are just the owner's kids." Jaune answered, interrupting Cardin's train of thought. "Must be a slow period if she's letting them play host."

"Oh, it's Jaune!" The blonde girl shouted happily, pointing up at his face. "Mama, Jaune came to visit!"

Turning in the direction of where the girl was facing, Cardin spotted a blonde woman who he immediately identified as the owner of the diner reclining in a large circle booth. The way she held herself reminded him about how his father and some of his associates presented themselves. Even though she wasn't wearing armor or fancy clothes, the look in her eyes and the confident aura she exuded almost made him feel a little intimidated.

And it was amazing that she could give off that impressed dressed in a baker's apron and smock while holding onto a small child who appeared to be nodding off on the woman's shoulder.

"Not just a visit, I hope." Goldie remarked, sliding out of the booth and getting to her feet, all while being careful not to jostle her youngest who stirred for a moment before the child adjusted her head to rest her chin on her mother's shoulder. "Customer or employee? Which one are you today?"

Goldie smirked as she eyed Cardin, who couldn't help but notice how defined the woman's arm muscles were which made him wonder if she was just a regular civilian or huntress-trained.

"Same question to your buddy here."

"Customers today." Jaune replied with a smile.

"Good! It's been a pretty slow Saturday so I was hoping that was the case." Goldie grinned. "'Sides, already got some extra help today so I was lookin' for some of the former and not the latter. Kids, show these boys to their table."

"Okay, mama!" The blonde girl chirped, grasping one of Jaune's hands with a smile and tugging him past the front desk. "This way please! Orso, get the menus!"

"'Kay!" The boy nodded and hefted up two menus, holding them out to Cardin with a gap-toothed smile. "Here you go!"

Cardin had an impulse to tell the kid it was proper to wait until they were seated before getting the menus, but seeing how the boy's mother and Jaune were eyeing him, Cardin swallowed the impulse and took the menus, nodding his thanks to the kid as he tucked the menus under his arm. He followed after Jaune as the little girl kept pulling the swordsman's arm. They wound up at a booth by next to a window that let them observe the street.

"This is where you're sitting!" The little girl announced proudly.

"Thanks, Ursula." Jaune smiled.

"Was I a good host?" Ursula asked.

"You were a great host."

"Good enough for a tip?"

Again, Cardin felt another impulse to point out that generally hosts didn't receive tips and that was something waiters got, but Jaune had already pulled open his wallet and handed the faunus girl some lien.

Ursula cheered and held up the money in celebration. "I'm rich now!"

"Make sure to share with your brother." Jaune advised the girl.

"Uh-huh!" Ursula smiled before turning to Goldie. "Mama, I'm going to the candy shop now!"

"Me too!" Orso added.

"Sure, sure." Goldie chuckled, pulling out some cash herself and handing it over to Orso. "Get something for Bera and Karu too."

Both children cheered their agreement before darting out the door. Seeing the two children leave, Cardin didn't hold back on voicing his thoughts this time.

"Should you really be letting them run around like that on their own?" Cardin asked.

"The candy shop is literally across the street. Those two don't need to be babysat just to hope and skip over there. Plus the old couple that runs the shop are friends of the family." Goldie informed him. "Besides, people 'round these parts know better than to mess with my kids."

And there was that dangerous confidence again that made Cardin wonder if there was more to the woman than just being a mother and cafe owner.

"Well, you boys can kick back. Someone will be out to take your orders soon." Goldie said before heading to the back of the diner and entering through a door to a different room.

"…So, how'd you find out about this place?" Cardin asked, deciding that it was probably best not to think two deeply about Goldie.

"Mrs. Zapatos, a friend of mine, showed me and my teammates this place during the semester break. She even hooked us up with some part-time jobs here and it was actually a lot of fun." Jaune smiled. "My team actually comes here quite a bit when we're out in Vale. Even if we don't dine in, this café has a bakery that sells cakes and pastries. We get them for takeout a lot. And sometimes on the weekends we lend some help, and Goldie always pays us for our time. Ren actually comes here the most out of all of us and even though Nora and I don't take shifts here very often, he helps out in the kitchen at least twice a week."

"That so…" Cardin muttered as he took a look around the place. It was a homely little café, and the leader of Team CRDL did like the atmosphere even if it wasn't the kind of place he would've normally chosen to eat at.

"Shame we're passed the time when we can order breakfast, but the menu's got some great sandwiches and fish dishes." Jaune continued. "Oh, and you should definitely get the porridge as an appetizer. It's amazing."

"Porridge? Really?" Cardin asked skeptically.

"Trust me. I wasn't a porridge guy either, but the way they make it here is good enough that it's practically a dessert given how good it tastes."

"…Well, since you're the one covering the check I guess I'll give it a shot."

"Good choice."

"Um… hello!"

Both aspiring huntsmen turned their heads as a new voice spoke up. Jaune smiled when he saw a little girl in a sky blue dress and shorts standing next to their table holding a notepad.

"Hey there, Bera." Jaune greeted the girl.

"Another kid?" Cardin thought, staring at the toddler as the brunette adjusted her glasses.

"Hi Jaune!" Bera returned Jaune's greeting with a smile before casting a shy look over at Cardin. "Um, who is this person?"

"This is Cardin. Say hi, Cardin."

"Uh, how's it going?" Cardin said, giving a small wave to the girl who smiled nervously back.

"I-I can get your drinks and stuff." Bera said, gesturing to her notepad. "Mama's letting me help since no one else is here. Mama's busy putting Karu to sleep, but I don't know where Ursula and Orso went…"

"They went to the candy store." Jaune answered, and he chuckled slightly at the affronted look on the toddler's face when she heard him say that. "They're going to bring back some candy for you."

"O-Oh! That's good then!" Bera smiled, looking appeased before gasping and taking out a pen. "Your drinks though?"

"Lemonade for me please." Jaune requested.

"I'll just have some water." Cardin said.

"Lemonade and water. Okay, I'll be back really quick!"

The girl jogged off and disappeared behind the counter and into the kitchen, leaving Jaune and Cardin the only two people in the café dining area.

Inside the kitchen, Bera walked up and tugged on the apron of the young man working at the stove.

"Ren, I got the drink orders!"

Ren wiped his hands on his apron before crouching down slightly to the girl, who held up her notepad to him. Smiling slightly at Bera's drawings that substituted for actually writing down the orders, Ren was familiar enough with her drawing skills that he was pretty confident in what the orders were.

"Lemonade and water?" Ren asked.

"Yeah!" Bera smiled. "It's for Jaune and his friend!"

"Jaune's here?" Ren asked, mildly surprised that his friend was the customer. "Who is the friend that's with him?"

"Um… Jaune said his name was Cardin!"

Ren's eyebrows went up. While he was aware that Jaune was spending the day with Cardin, he hadn't expected their paths to cross until the evening after they'd both returned to Beacon. Stepping over to the kitchen pass through the window, Ren confirmed with his own eyes that it was indeed Jaune and Cardin sitting at one of the booths next to the café windows.

"Well, neither of them seems angry and I can't see any bruises or evidence that they've gotten into a fight." Ren thought as he observed them.

When Jaune had agreed to hang out with Cardin he had been anxious how smoothly their outing would go. Cardin had held a grudge against Jaune since their starting days at Beacon and Jaune wasn't particularly fond of Cardin after the boy's attempts to bully him, even if those attempts wound up at Cardin's expense. But he was pleased to see that his worries were unfounded.

Still, while they were eating in, it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on them and interpose himself between them if things got heated.

Hopefully there wouldn't be any sort of catalyst that would spark a fight or argument between the two team leader.

Ren blinked when he heard the ring of the diner door bell that announced someone new had entered the building.

"Hello? This place open?"

Peering out the kitchen hole, Ren was surprised to see who had entered the café.

"Hey… Jaune, is that you?" Sun Wukong laughed as his eyes fell on the other team leader's table. "Didn't expect to run into you! And who's the guy with you?"

Ren held a hand to his chin as he watched Sun approach Jaune's table with a jovial smile.

"Is this a good or bad thing?" Ren murmured quietly.

He felt a scowl from beneath his chest. He glanced over at Bera, who put her hands on her hips.

"Hey! Get back to work!"

"Ah, right away," he said quickly.

"Guess it runs in the family," Ren thought.

---

Life was full of coincidences. Jaune had accepted that fact after he'd first set out for Beacon and had experienced many, many bumps in the road along the way. He'd met quite a number of characters during his journey, and the odd tendency to make crazy connections had persisted even after getting accepted into a huntsman academy. The proof could be seen in his immediate friend group which consisted of his two childhood friends, the heiress of the most powerful company in the world, a former terrorist, a famous tournament fighter, and the two sole survivors of a fallen town.

That was why he was only mildly surprised that the monkey faunus he'd recently gotten to know had somehow wound up at the exact same diner that he and his not-friend had chosen to eat at. It was just one more coincidence in the chaotic whirlwind that his life appeared to be. Not that it was an unwelcome surprise. It was certainly better than if Iridescent or a member of the White Fang had suddenly waltzed in. He definitely preferred running into a buddy as opposed to having his day ruined by suddenly running into an enemy.

"Hey, Sun!" Jaune waved a greeting as his fellow blonde approached the table he and Cardin were sitting at. "Didn't expect to see you today either."

"Funny how small the world is sometimes," Sun grinned. "Was lookin' for a place to eat and totally chose this place at random, and found you! And this other guy sitting with you. Who're you again?"

"This is Cardin." Jaune answered, gesturing to the other boy as Sun gave Cardin a curious look. "We're hanging out today."

"Yeah? Having some guy time?" Sun chuckled, sliding into the booth and sitting next to Jaune without being prompted and held out a fist in Cardin's direction. "Don't think I've actually met you myself yet. Name's Sun, as you've just heard. Nice to meet ya dude!"

Cardin glanced at Sun's tail but seeing Jaune arch an eyebrow at him, the brunette let out a sigh and grudgingly tapped his own fist against Sun's. It wasn't like Cardin didn't recognize the guy. The monkey faunus had quickly earned a notable reputation for his distinct appearance and for his seeming inability to button up his shirt.

"…Yeah, I've seen you around. I'm Cardin, leader of Team CRDL." Cardin replied.

"Oh, a fellow leader, eh? Almost feels like a meeting of a guild or something with the three of us. All leaders of our own hunter teams." Sun smiled. "This would be the part where we either start bragging about our teams or talking crap about our teammates and the headaches we put up with."

"Speaking of teammates, where are yours?" Jaune asked curiously. "You by yourself today?"

"Yeah, just me." Sun confirmed with a nod. "Scar's dad convinced him to spend the day out with him, Sage is at the CCT chatting with his girlfriend, and I didn't feel like being Nep's wingman so he's back at Beacon scoping out transfers to see who he's got a chance with. He recently found out about that dance Beacon's hosting soon, so he's trying to get the jump on getting a date."

"And what are his chances looking like?"

"Better than I thought he'd have, but not as good as he hoped for himself." Sun chuckled. "So with it just being me, myself, and I for the day… I thought I'd explore Vale a bit. It's a big place, and I actually haven't taken a lot of time to look around yet. And it's nice being able to do it without chasing princesses or getting shot at by terrorists."

Both blondes laughed at that, though Cardin was left staring at them with a befuddled look on his face. He was out of the loop and couldn't share a laugh at whatever inside joke the other two team leaders shared.

"…Where did you transfer from?" Cardin asked, wanting to curb the irritation he felt toward the two blondes who had seemingly started ignoring him and also because he was legitimately curious.

"Haven." Sun answered. "I'm the leader of Team SSSN. If you haven't heard of us yet, you definitely will once the Vytal Tournament starts."

Cardin arched an eyebrow at that, eyes scanning Sun's features and taking note of his darker complexion. "So you're from Mistral? I would've guessed Vacuo."

"Well, you'd have guessed right. I am from there."

"You just said you're from Haven." Cardin pointed out.

"Yeah, as in I go to school there. I was born and raised in Vacuo and transferred to Haven when I got a scholarship to attend that school."

Cardin's other eyebrow rose at that. "That's… you know Vacuo has Shade Academy, right? Why would you go to Haven instead of staying at home? That doesn't make any sense to me."

"Hey, I'm not the only one who did it. Mistral's own 'Invincible Girl' flew over here to learn at Beacon instead of sticking around in the city she was born in." Sun said, tone slightly defensive. "Besides, I've lived in Vacuo all my life. The scholarship to Mistral was a good excuse to see what the rest of the world has to offer. Plus the independence and being out on my own had its own appeal. Not that I don't love my uncle and the rest of my family, but I can't stay under his wing forever. Gotta show that I can stand on my own, y'know?"

Jaune smiled at Sun's words. "I can relate to that."

"…I can too, honestly." Cardin thought, though he didn't say it out loud.

"Not only that, but nothing really happens in Vacuo. Seriously, it's just a big desert with cities and towns built around the oasis and water holes that dot around the region." Sun went on. "And y'know… it may be my home but it's not like I have a big sense of loyalty or pride about it. For my first decade of living I was an orphan on the streets. My loyalty is for other kids who rolled with me and my uncle Shon who took us all in. And to my friends I've made at Haven."

Sun elbowed Jaune with a grin.

"And my new friends made here in Vale."

"Nothing says male bonding like getting shot at together, right?" Jaune chuckled.

Sun barked his own laugh at that. "You know it, man!"

"…Does what you're talking about have anything to do with that news report last week and how you busted up a White Fang group that was hiding in the city?" Cardin asked.

Sure, everyone was pretty confident that Jaune and Sun's teams had been involved… but Cardin wanted to hear confirmation from the participants themselves if they were open to talking about it.

Sun blinked and turned to Jaune. "Oh, did he not know anything about what went down?"

"I have assumptions, and I've heard the rumors at school, but I don't know the actual story." Cardin answered before Jaune could give his own reply to Sun's question.

Jaune thought about deflecting the topic, but after thinking about it for a moment he decided that there wasn't any reason why he couldn't share the details of their fight with Iridescent and the White Fang. They'd already served detention for the stunt and the rumors at school were mostly accurate anyway. He wouldn't be sharing anything Cardin didn't already hear from all the gossip.

"Well, it's true. We fought some White Fang and chased off their leader." Jaune replied with a light shrug.

"You even fought a robot." Sun added, pointing at Jaune. "Piloted by some crazy chick who apparently thought trying to kill your teammates was the best way to get into your pants."

"Wait, what?" Cardin sputtered, turning to Jaune with wide eyes.

Jaune sighed. While he didn't mind talking about how they'd broken up the White Fang rally, he really didn't want to go into details of Iridescent's obsession with him. That was certainly one connection he wished that he could sever.

"Forget it, I don't want to talk about her." Jaune said firmly, shutting down any questions about that psycho woman. "We crashed a rally, beat up some terrorists, fought a mecha, blew up some buildings… it was a whole thing."

"Wild weekend." Sun agreed, nodding solemnly at Jaune's words.

Cardin just stared at the duo incredulously.

"…You two-"

"Drinks are here!"

Bera's announcement cut through the conversation like a sword and the trio turned to stare at the small faunus girl as she placed two glasses in front of Jaune and Cardin. The girl blinked when she noticed the new person sitting at the table.

"You weren't here before!" Bera accused as she jabbed a finger at Sun, lips turned down in a pout. "Get out!"

"Whoa, what?" Sun gasped, surprised that he was suddenly getting yelled at by a toddler and that she was demanding for him to leave. "What'd I do?"

"You're violating the rules! We can't serve you!" Bera said sternly.

"Rules, huh? What are you talking about…?" Sun asked, looking completely lost.

"Is it because he's a faunus?" Cardin asked, unable to keep the words from slipping from his mouth.

"Cardin!" Jaune glared at him.

"Dude!" Sun squawked indignantly.

Bera just looked confused. "What? Why wouldn't we serve him because he's a faunus? I'm a faunus and I eat here every day!"

"Er… I didn't mean that, exactly…" Cardin backpedaled. "It's just, when people get kicked out of restaurants it's usually because they don't serve-"

"It's because he's not wearing a shirt!" Bera proclaimed, standing firmly with her hands on her hips as she glared at Sun. "You're being inappropriate!"

The trio of students all blinked at Bera's words before the two humans at the table slowly turned to the monkey faunus sitting with them. Their eyes dipped down toward Sun's chiseled abs, which were on display as usual. Thinking about it, it was sort of odd that Sun's tendency to leave his shirt unbuttoned had become something that they'd all accepted at school. Even the teachers didn't raise a fuss about it despite Sun's continuous and blatant violation of the school dress code.

Suddenly being called out for it shouldn't have felt so strange.

"No shirt, no shoes, no service." Bera declared with finality.

"Is that all?" Sun laughed. He reached down and quickly buttoned up his shirt, turning and displaying his shirt covered chest to the girl. "There, now I'm wearing a shirt. Can I stay?"

"Hm…" Bera looked at him suspiciously for a moment before nodding. "I guess. Do you want a drink?"

"Sure! I'll take some fruit juice if you've got any."

"We do. I'll get you some." Bera nodded. "Just make sure you don't show your boobies anymore while you're here, 'kay?"

"Boobie-!?" Sun sputtered as the girl toddled off toward the kitchen, the girl's words and Sun's expressions earning laughs from both Jaune and Cardin. "These are pecs, kid! Guys have PECS!"

"Heh, kids can be pretty hilarious at that age." Jaune chuckled.

And the wild comment had the benefit of putting a period on their previous conversation.

"Tch, darn kid. Say, I forgot to ask this but you guys don't mind my being here, right?" Sun asked. "I'll pay for my own meal. Original reason I came in was to see about getting some grub anyway."

"Feel free. The extra company is nice, right Cardin?" Jaune said, giving Cardin a hard look.

"Uh, sure. Go ahead." Cardin replied, not wanting to make an issue of it. Plus hopefully it would help make Sun forget about his earlier comment.

He really didn't want that assumption he had made to get back to Velvet somehow.

"Sweet!" Sun grinned as he leaned back in his seat. "Y'know Jaune, you and I actually haven't had much one-on-one conversation yet. Or one-on-two since I've got Cardin to chat with now as well."

"It's true, we haven't." Jaune agreed.

"That's kinda weird after what we've been through this past week. And during the end of last semester too." Sun mused. "Like, we haven't really hung out together. Mostly it's been hanging out with all our teams. Team leaders that bleed together should have a more established friendship, don't you think?"

"I don't disagree." Jaune smiled, openly welcoming the opportunity to get to know Sun better.

"Right? So tell me your story. You too, Cardin. Let's get some bonding between team leaders going!"

"Fruit juice!" Bera announced before either Jaune or Cardin could speak on the subject.

"And I'll be taking your food orders." Ren followed up from where he stood next to Bera.

"Ren!" Jaune sat up in his seat when he saw his teammate. "I didn't know you were working here today!"

"I hadn't planned to, but Goldie sent me a text a few hours ago and said she was open to having me help out today since she had someone call out. I took her up on the offer."

"Huh. I wonder why Goldie didn't say anything to me about you being here…"

"Mama likes surprises!" Bera chirped.

"Well, consider me pleasantly surprised." Jaune chuckled, glancing toward the front door to the diner and almost expecting someone else they knew to suddenly walk in.

"Consider me just plain surprised." Sun said. "You got the rest of your team hiding somewhere in the back? Do you all work part-time here?"

"No, just me." Ren replied. "Jaune and Nora did work here during the semester break, but I'm the only one who stayed on as a regular part-timer."

"Do we get any discounts because your teammate works here?" Cardin asked.

"No discounts!" Bera proclaimed loudly.

"There you have it." Ren said as he pulled out a notepad and pen. "So then, what will you all be having today?"

"That's a good question." Sun said, glancing down at the menu on the table and then over to Jaune. "I'm guessing you're sort of a regular here, and you've got a teammate working here, so you'd know what the really good menu items are. Any suggestions?"

"Get the porridge as an appetizer. I know it doesn't sound appealing on paper, but trust me, they just get it right here in a way no other place does." Jaune said.

"Heh, that have anything to do with the name of the diner?"

"It does."

"Then I'll have some of that."

"Me too." Cardin said, acquiescing to the recommendation as well since Jaune had told him the same earlier.

"That's two porridges then." Ren nodded, writing the orders down. "Unless Jaune wants to make it three?"

"Jaune does indeed want to make it three." The blonde swordsman grinned.

"Noted." Ren chuckled. "How about your main dishes?"

"Another good question." Sun muttered. "It all sounds good, and the pictures on the menu make the signature dishes look really appetizing."

"The dishes with fish or steak are really good." Jaune said. "Also be sure to leave room for dessert. The cakes and pies baked here will ruin all other pies and cakes for you."

"You're really talking this place up." Sun grinned. "I'm tempted to just order the whole menu."

"So you're saying you have enough money to order one of each dish yet you can't be bothered to buy real clothes?" Cardin smirked.

"If it's a choice between food or clothes, I'd choose food every time." Sun returned with a grin. "I'd sell my clothes and walk around in the buff if it got me fed."

"Don't give me that mental image when we're about to eat." Cardin blanched.

"Y'know, my uncle gave me a pretty big stipend before I came here. Since visiting Vale for the Vytal tournament is practically a vacation for me, I've got a lot of spare change." Sun grinned at Jaune. "How about I handle the check for this one? You can get me back when we go out again in the future!"

"Thanks for the offer, but you don't have to do that."

"Nah, it's cool man! Don't worry about the price!"

"It's not that." Jaune replied sheepishly. "I just already promised to pay for both me and Cardin. Paying for me is one thing, but I can't ask you to pay for both of us."

"You can still do that. I'll pay for your part of the meal, but you can pay for Cardin's. Heck, I'll pay for Cardin's too."

"I can't ask you to do that." Jaune protested. "Just worry about paying for your own order. I'll just pay for the two of us like I was planning."

"You don't even need to buy anything. I was half serious about ordering one of everything. You can just mooch off of what I order."

"Sun, I really don't-"

"For the love of… I'll pay for the damn meal if it'll get you two to stop competing over who's gonna get the check so we can order already." Cardin snapped. "I'm starving and I want to eat."

"Well, there's a solution!" Sun grinned, pointing at Cardin. "I'll pay for Jaune's meal, he'll pay for Cardin's, and Cardin will pay for me!"

"That… makes no sense whatsoever." Cardin deadpanned.

"It totally does! It all evens out this way!"

"We may as well just pay for ourselves in that case."

"Nah, you'll always be inclined to order more if it's on someone else's dime."

"That's not true."

"So you're saying you weren't planning to order the most expensive items on the menu when you knew I was going to be paying for it?" Jaune asked, arching an eyebrow at Cardin.

Cardin faltered slightly at that. "I mean… I wanted to see how they cook the steak here."

"Don't order food just for the sake of ordering it. That's wasteful."

"Hey, there's no such thing as ordering too much when it can all be packed up and eaten later. I never let food go to waste." Sun smiled. "Anything you guys order but don't finish off, feel free to give to me. I'm like a walking, talking garbage disposal when it comes to leftovers."

"And what exactly is your workout plan that allows you to maintain your physique while apparently being a binge eater?"

"That is a secret I will take to my grave, good sir."

"Your orders?" Ren asked again.

"Let me take care of that, kid."

Ren blinked when the notepad was suddenly lifted out of his hands. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Goldie smiling behind him.

"I just put the little one down for his nap so I'm all freed up. Looks like it'll be slow for the rest of the day so unless we get a big rush, why don't you take the load off and hang out with your buddies here?"

"Is that okay? I can still work."

"You helped out plenty this morning. Just take the half-shift pay and enjoy some dinner with your friends."

"C'mon man. If your boss is giving you the go ahead, stick around and hang out!" Sun smiled.

"It'll be a real guys night with you joining us." Jaune added.

Cardin just shrugged, not caring either way.

After a moment of deliberation, Ren smiled and undid his apron, passing it to Bera and taking a seat at the table and picking up a menu.

"Still no employee discount?" Ren asked the diner owner.

"None whatsoever!" Goldie chirped. "But if you kids order enough food, I may throw in a few free appetizers or desserts!"

"Then I'll be ordering five entrees." Cardin smirked. "I mean, it's all on your dollar, right Arc?"

"…Sun, your offer to pay for my meal suddenly got a lot more appealing."

"I'll bet. Though now we gotta figure out who Ren's gonna be paying for." Sun quipped, earning a round of chuckles from the others.

Twenty minutes later, Goldie and her daughter delivered a buffet of food to the trio's table. Sandwiches, salads, soups, steaks, fish, burgers, fries, chicken, bread, muffins, cakes, pies, and an assortment of other foods were arrayed on the table. The group of young men were digging into the feast and loving every minute of it.

"I'm expecting a generous tip from you boys after this." Goldie grinned as she dropped off the last dish. She ruffled her daughter's hair. "C'mon, sweetie. Let's head in the back and I'll help you bake those cupcakes you love. They taste even better when you make them yourself."

"Yay!" Bera cheered as she followed after her mother. "We can share them with daddy when he gets back!"

"You boys call me if you need anything!" Goldie called to her four customers, who all made grunts and noises acknowledging that they heard her but couldn't vocalize words since they were busy stuffing their faces. The mother and daughter duo disappeared into the kitchen, leaving the four aspiring hunters to enjoy their meal.

"So, Cardin, what do you think so far?" Jaune asked as he spread some butter on a dinner roll.

Biting into a piece of juicy sirloin steak, Cardin had to admit Jaune had chosen well. Everything was delicious and he definitely wanted to bring the rest of his team to the diner someday in the future.

"It's worth your every penny." Cardin replied.

Jaune chuckled. "Glad to hear it."

"Yeah, this place is really good. Definitely gonne be taking everything I don't finish back with me to eat later." Sun said from around a mouthful of burger. After swallowing, he glanced around at their group. "So, what made you guys choose the huntsman life?"

"Why ask that?" Cardin replied with his own question, arching an eyebrow at the faunus for the sudden question.

"Because I'm trying to start a conversation! And I think it's a pretty important question to ask all things considered." Sun said. "I mean, once we graduate it's gonna be our lives. Hunting Grimm and saving people in trouble. Protecting humanity. It's the one thing I know we all have in common even though I don't know much else about you guys. We all have the same career aspirations. So, I ask again, why do you guys want to become huntsmen?"

Jaune paused in his eating as he mulled over Sun's words. It was a simple enough question, but for him the answer was pretty complex. How much did he want to speak about the subject? While Sun was a friendly enough guy and Jaune liked to think that they got along well enough in spite of how little time they had spent together, was this really the place to vent about his motivations? Sure, he'd been open about his situation to his team, but to Sun and Cardin…?

"Whoa, no need to look so serious dude."

Jaune blinked at Sun's words. "Did I look serious?"

"You look like someone who ran over someone's pet and is trying to come up with a good way to explain it to the owner." Cardin muttered, also a little thrown by the solemn expression Jaune had been wearing before Sun had called him out on it.

"Hey, I was just curious, but if you've got personal reasons for wanting to become a huntsman don't feel obligated to answer just because I asked." Sun smiled disarmingly. "Sounds like you thought a lot deeper about it than some others I've asked. Nep just said he wanted chicks to like him when I asked him."

Jaune snorted a laugh. "Sounds like him."

"Not the best reason though." Ren commented.

"Eh, he can be a dweeb about women but I do know for all his talk he is genuine about wanting to become a hunter so he can protect people." Sun defended his partner with a chuckle. "Not gonna deny that impressing chicks is a good bonus of the profession though. Hunters and huntresses are like action heroes to regular people.

"But hunters and huntresses are really heroes. They fight monsters and save lives."

"True." Sun nodded before he shot Cardin a grin. "Though guess one of us here doesn't have to worry about the ladies."

"What do you mean by that?" Cardin asked cautiously.

"Dude, I know this is our first time actually talking, but I've seen your girlfriend." Sun said excitedly, grin widening as he leaned forward in his seat. "You're dating that rabbit faunus, right? I mean, I'm assuming you're dating since I've seen her hanging off your arm on campus. She's your girlfriend?"

"…Velvet's my girlfriend, yeah." Cardin nodded.

"Dude… DUDE! Respect." Sun said solemnly, his tone conveying both admiration and envy. "She's super cute and that you actually managed to pull a chick like that… you've got a literal bunny girl as a girlfriend! I feel compelled to shake your hand for winning the girlfriend jackpot."

Cardin couldn't help but smile and preen a little at that. He really had scored the romantic jackpot with Velvet.

"Yeah, Velvet's pretty awesome herself." Cardin said, happy to praise his girlfriend. Though Sun's words reminded him of Jaune's when they had talked at the fishing docks. "...But it wasn't all me."

Jaune blinked when Cardin sighed and glanced his way.

"Jaune created the opportunity for me." Cardin said, surprising Jaune that he was coming clean with that. "I'm no romantic expert. Me getting with Velvet was almost an accident if I'm being honest."

"A very happy accident, I'd say." Sun chuckled, nudging Jaune with his elbow. "The way of the wingman is strong with you if you got Cardin dating a real bunny girl. Think you could help me out sometime?"

"With Neptune?" Jaune asked.

"Nah man, help me with the ladies!" Sun exclaimed. "I put in the work, but I'm not getting any bites! And I go around practically shirtless to show off the goods! Practically free advertising and no one's shown any interest!

"So you're aware of it." Cardin drawled.

Jaune just laughed as Sun pointed to his abs.

"Hey, if you've got it, flaunt it. And while the ladies certainly aren't complaining, they aren't exactly flocking to me either." Sun groused.

"Is that why you wanted to be a huntsman?" Ren interjected, bringing the conversation back around to Sun's original question.

"I mean, I do hope I can find someone special at some point." Sun admitted before he sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Though as for why I wanted to become a huntsman… well, like I mentioned before, I grew up an orphan in Vacuo. Never knew my parents and no one was willing to look after a street rat. Or street monkey in my case, heh."

Leaning back in his seat, Sun stared up contemplatively at the ceiling.

"Don't remember much of my early life, to be honest. Least not any solid memories stuck with me. But I remember the experiences. Hunting for food. Sometimes stealing. Trying to find cool places to stay during the day and warm places to sleep at night. Fighting with other abandoned kids over scraps or running away from adults who wanted to lock up a thief. Homelessness is actually pretty bad in Vacuo. It's almost a community of itself in Vacuo, and after I'd survived for long enough I started getting a bit of a reputation. I was actually one of the older orphans running around the city, and before I knew it some other kids started to run with me. Kids who wanted to ride the coattails of a guy who played the street rat game the best. Those kids became my family, my siblings. Instead of stealing for myself, I started stealing for them. When I hit my tweens, adults wouldn't just wave away some dirty kid and were willing to put me up to odd jobs. They paid and helped with food costs. It was nice not having to steal all the time anymore, but that was still the best and quickest way to make money or get food." Sun chuckled as he reminisced. "Then one day I tried stealing from a huntsman. Not that I knew it at the time, being completely uneducated and all. Didn't know how dangerous my mark was."

"With how ominous that sounds, I'm guessing that trying to steal from him wasn't a pleasant experience." Cardin muttered.

"You'd think that, wouldn't you!" Sun laughed, surprising the other three boys. "But no, get this, after he catches me in the attempt and kicks me down, the next moment he starts dusting me off and starts lecturing me on how to steal better! Like he was less annoyed at me trying to pickpocket him and more annoyed that I was apparently doing a bad job at it according to him!"

Jaune, Ren and Cardin gave the monkey faunus all bizarre looks at that, which elicited more laughter from Sun.

"I know! But I'm young, and I actually prided myself on the reputation I'd gotten for being practically uncatchable, so I tried to steal from him again on another day. Same thing happens, he stops me and then starts lecturing me. This continues on for a few weeks before he finally takes me down for real, ties me up, and tells me he's gonna hand me off to the authorities… unless I can give him a good reason for doing what I'm doing."

"What did you say?" Ren asked.

"I told him the truth. Told him my story, told him about my siblings and how I was trying to provide for them. He asks to be taken to see them. I get aggressive, threatening him not to harm my brothers and sisters since I think he wants to turn them in too." Sun chuckled. "Couple days later my uncle Shon is signing papers to make him our official guardian and welcoming us into his home, providing a feast twenty times as big as the one we're enjoying now."

The other three aspiring huntsmen just stared at Sun incredulously, who just gave a big grin in response.

"And that's how my uncle Shon adopted me and the rest of the kids I ran with!"

"…I know you said I won the girlfriend jackpot, but I'd say you won the orphan jackpot." Cardin muttered.

"Don't I know it!" Sun laughed. "Uncle Shon actually had a pretty big hunter's rep in Vacuo. He helped run a guild for hunters with his old teammates!"

"He still do that?" Jaune asked.

"Not so much anymore. He's actually sort of like a politician. Though maybe diplomat is the more appropriate word." Sun mused.

"So then… you want to become a huntsman to honor your uncle?" Ren guessed.

"Sort of." Sun smiled. "I'd say the primary reason I want to become a huntsman isn't so much that I want to honor my uncle, but I want to be like him. Big guy like that, with the money and influence to change the lives of a bunch of orphan kids and give them a better one. I want to try and be to someone what my uncle was to me back then. Someone who has the power and influence to lift the less fortunate out of the dirt and help them reach higher than they would've been able to otherwise. Plus, gotta set an example for my siblings. If I succeed at becoming a huntsman, I think that'll show that they can become anything they want to even if we all started on the streets."

"…I think that's a very noble reason for becoming a huntsman." Ren said after a moment.

"Yeah?" Sun gave a sheepish grin as he scratched the back of his head. "I don't think it's that noble. It's just me trying to give back a little for winning at life when I really didn't expect to."

"I can empathize with that." Ren said softly. "I also grew up an orphan. Though I wasn't always. My parents died when my village was destroyed in a Grimm attack."

"Oh man, I'm so sorry." Sun winced. "No other family to take you in?"

"My extended family all lived in the village. Only two people came out of that attack alive. Myself and Nora." Ren murmured. "And only because I awakened to the perfect semblance that helped us survive."

"What is your semblance?" Cardin asked.

"I can nullify emotions." Ren said. "Positive or negative, I can completely mute my or someone else's emotions so long as I'm touching them. It allows me to be practically invisible to Grimm."

"Whoa… that's… I can see a lot of people wanting a semblance like yours." Sun said.

"Yes. Some huntsmen responding to the attack arrived to find us in the ruins of the village and took us in. Delivered us both to an orphanage in Mistral where we grew up until we came of age." Ren said. "I actually hadn't planned to become a huntsman myself. It was Nora who suddenly decided that we should try and become hunters one day and I just went along with it."

"So you want to become a hunter because your friend wanted to?" Sun asked.

"It's not as though I had any other prospects. Plus, if I train and grow strong, I can protect Nora." Ren said, wringing his fingers tightly as he thought of the girl. "Nora is… very precious to me. I intend to follow her on whatever path she chooses so long as she lets me. It's a selfish desire I'll admit, but it is a profession that does let me do a little good. It allows me to feel like I'm paying back for the good fortune that allowed the two of us to survive in the first place."

"Nora is a very lucky girl to have you." Jaune smiled, placing a hand on Ren's shoulder. "Have you ever told her this?"

"She knows."

"Alright. And have you gotten a little more honest with her yet?"

"That's… taking a little bit more time." Ren sighed.

"You know how she feels. And you feel-"

"I don't want to get into that here, please." Ren said softly, causing Jaune to withdraw and let out a sigh.

"If you say so. Just know that I'm here if you ever want to talk about it."

"Noted. Though I'm hesitant to discuss relationship troubles with you given the chaotic state of your own love life."

Jaune sputtered at that. "Hey! We're not talking about that either!"

"I've been meaning to ask, who are you dating anyway?" Sun questioned, giving Jaune a curious look. "The Invincible Girl seems really into you, but I also heard you went on a date with that blonde bombshell Yang."

"And Ruby kissed him a while back." Ren smirked, earning an indignant squawk from Jaune.

"Dude, I told you that in confidence!"

"Arc… you've got three girls pinning after you?" Cardin mumbled, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Four." Ren corrected.

"Who's the fourth?" Sun asked before the answer came to him on its own. "Oh, wait, are you counting the crazy chick he fought in the mech?"

"None! I'm not dating any of them!" Jaune exclaimed before taking a deep breath and forcing his nerves to calm. "We're just… courting each other…? Seeing where things go? Look, my love life is not the topic of the conversation here!"

"Man, no wonder Nep was grumbling about you when you've got game like this." Sun grinned before holding up his hand to stall Jaune's protest before the other blonde could voice it. "But I'll drop it. So, Ren and I have shared our hunter origin stories. Who wants to go next?"

Jaune and Cardin stared at each other. Sun and Ren had shared their stories, and now it was down to the two of them.

Jaune had already been well aware of Ren's history, but he hadn't known about Sun's. He was actually quite surprised that the monkey faunus had been so open with them. He and Ren were still only acquaintances through Blake and Cardin was just a stranger. Yet he'd told them all his life story without hesitation. It was also surprising that Ren had reciprocated, especially with Cardin present. Jaune didn't think he'd be so willing to share the story of how he and Nora had survived Kuroyuri's fall, but he had.

The swordsman's eyes slowly moved from Cardin to Sun, then back to the young man who had tried to antagonize him during his early days at Beacon. He still had yet to find out the exact reason why Cardin had attempted to bully him, but Jaune had never really hated Cardin in spite of the other team leader's animosity toward him. It was completely one-sided on Cardin's part. Thinking a little more about it, Jaune didn't even really think he disliked Cardin all that much. Just the schoolyard antics had annoyed him. It was immature and not worth reacting to.

No, when Jaune thought about who he really hated, that feeling was reserved solely for those specific individuals he'd encountered during his journey to Beacon. Those who had tried to kill him, went out of their way to hurt innocent people living their lives, or stepped on others trying to achieve their goals.

Jaune didn't look back on any of those experiences with any kind of fondness, but they did open his eyes to the world at large. And in spite of it all, those harrowing experiences had helped cement and crystallize his motivation for becoming a huntsman.

And… there was no reason not to be up front about that. Not when Sun and Ren had been so open and honest themselves.

"…I grew up with a pretty blessed life all things considered." Jaune began, leaning back in his seat. "I can gripe and complain about my family, but they were good to me. And it's more than what most have. Way more. My dad was an accomplished huntsman, my mom is probably one of the most accomplished doctors in Remnant, and all my older siblings have found success in their respective fields. Saphron's married and has a kid, Aqua's an accomplished field medic and treasure hunter with her own party of adventurers, Verdy and Coral are going to get their doctorates soon, Lilac's going to marry her fiancé next year and practically runs the family farm, Orchid helps keep everything at Arc-En-Ciel organized and Tangerine runs her own business… and she's only two years older than me. Every single one of my family members is amazing…"

Jaune shook his head.

"Maybe it's weird to feel inadequate about that, but I was always intimidated by their successes. As I got older and saw each of them accomplishing whatever they set out to do, I felt pressured to do the same. Mom had a roadmap for me to do just that. She wanted me to inherit her skills and become a doctor like her. Got me the best tutors, made sure I was given all the tools needed to succeed, encouraged me as often as she could, set me up for my own successes." Jaune sighed, and shook his head frustratedly. "But none of it felt like my own. Becoming a doctor wasn't a bad thing. I mean, it wasn't completely unappealing to me. But… I didn't want to do what my mom and some of my sisters did. I grew up with my dad telling stories about our ancestors, about how the Arc family is a family that raises heroes. I always wanted to feel like that. Like a hero."

Jaune took a deep breath.

"Like my dad was. He was a hero."

"So… your dad…" Sun prompted, noticing the tense Jaune was using when referring to his parent.

"He died."

"Oh man…" Sun grimaced.

"Happened years ago. Died protecting some Beacon students who were on a training mission. Held off hordes of Grimm while protecting those kids he'd been watching over and held the line until help arrived. None of the students died."

Jaune rubbed his eyes as he remembered the first time he'd read the autopsy report for his father, once he'd been old enough and had been permitted access to the Arc-En-Ciel hospital records. Nicholas Arc had the very definition of a heroic death. The state his body had been in once it had been recovered and the survival of all sixteen of the students he'd been tasked with watching was a testament to that story.

He had died a hero.

"I admire him. To me he's the type of hero that I want to be. That strength, that purpose. I wanted to follow in his footsteps." Jaune smiled softly. "Mom… really didn't like that. She didn't want me to end up like dad. I mean, I got where she was coming from, and that she loves and was worried about me… but I wasn't gonna let her fear for me dictate how I lived my life. I didn't want to patch people up at a hospital or write reports on someone who was dead before they even got to the hospital. I wanted to stop the monsters before they killed or hurt anyone. Just like my dad did. So, when I was supposed to go to medical school, I took Crocea Mors and headed out to Beacon on foot. Couldn't use my credit cards or get my cash from the bank and tip mom off to where I was really going. Only one other person knew about my plans, and that's only because I convinced her to pay for my train ticket. So I left Radian with my weapon and some clothes and started my journey. Took me six months to get to Beacon."

"Six months…?" Cardin asked. "Wait, wait… Radian? That's not too far from Beacon. If you went on foot it should have taken you two months at most. And that's assuming you didn't use any public transport like a train or bus at any point during your travels. How the hell did a two month journey take you six?"

"…Lots and lots of effort." Jaune chuckled. "Mom never wanted me to become a huntsman, and I think some kind of higher power must've agreed with her because I went through some shit. That train I took at the beginning was supposed to cut my journey down by a month. Would've made it to Beacon in approximately three weeks. But the train was attacked by a Nevermore and crashed. Though I made sure that the train crashed INTO the Nevermore."

"…You're joking." Sun gaped.

"Dead serious." Jaune chuckled. "Look up the Nevermore attack on the Sarine Train Station sometime. I experienced that. Had to go on foot to the next town and when I arrived there I was captured by that crazy woman Iridescent and forced to fight in her underground fight club. Got myself a crash course in how hunter's fight. And I was taught to fight by…"

Jaune trailed off and swallowed a lump in his throat. Thinking about what had happened still hurt, even if the wound wasn't as raw anymore.

"…Managed to get free and escape. Ran into a small White Fang cell trying to attack a miner settlement by drawing Grimm to it, but I fended off the Grimm. Helped a guy find his kidnapped friend by some warrior who was off his rocker. Ran into some gangsters, not that I knew they were gangsters at the time, and sent them packing. Accidentally blew up a bunker, but I'm pretty sure whoever owned it was a criminal. Fought some more White Fang guys. Fought off the gangsters who returned for payback. Fought some ninjas… that were also cyborgs. Helped some Atlus soldiers fight off some terrorists. Saved a village from a group of Beringel Grimm. Helped out some faunus who were getting attacked… in between more fights with Grimm, mercenaries, and getting kidnapped at least two more times… but then I ran into my uncle Qrow and he finally got me to Beacon. So here I am."

"…You talked with me about your journey to Beacon before," Ren muttered. "But I had no idea that you went through so much."

"Yeah man. I kinda wanna call bullshit, but you don't strike me as a guy who tells tall tales for kicks." Sun frowned.

"It definitely wasn't what I expected would happen to me after I left Radian. Still, if there was one benefit to it all it's that I got in lots of training. Got experienced and skilled enough to match up with people who actually went to prep schools."

"A trial by fire." Ren stated.

"That's one way of putting it." Jaune said dryly. "Other than the many, many opportunities to train myself, I'd like to think that I helped the people I ran into along the way. Sure, I think dad would've handled things a lot better if he'd been there instead of me… or I bet any one of you would've made less of a mess than I seemed to at once, but I'm not if not tenacious. I'm going to accomplish my dream. I want to become a huntsman not just to make my dad proud, but so that I can feel proud of myself. So I can feel like I actually made a difference in someone's life. To say that I managed to accomplish something for myself. That's why I want to be a huntsman."

"…Sheesh, looks like we all went through some crazy shit." Sun whistled.

"And we all finally found each other." Ren said with a small smile, earning some light chuckles from the two blondes.

"What about you, Cardin?" Jaune asked, turning his head toward the last of their group. "What's your story?"

Cardin didn't respond to the question immediately. Instead he tapped his finger against the tap top, a deep frown on his face as he stared off to the side. His expression slowly became stormier, and Jaune began to wonder what parts of their stories had seemingly angered Team CRDL's leader.

Though Cardin didn't make an angry outburst. Instead he gave an explosive sigh and banged his fist on the table, causing their plates to jump before he slumped in his seat.

"Dammit… just… dammit…" Cardin hissed.

"Cardin?"

"What am I supposed to say to any of that?" Cardin asked aloud, rubbing his face tiredly. "Compared to you guys, what have I got to be upset about?"

"Er, we weren't trying to make you upset." Sun said.

"No, you guys didn't… I was just annoyed at myself." Cardin grumbled. "I came to Beacon with a certain mindset that looking back, I'm not particularly proud of. I had things sorted into little organized boxes in my mind, but things didn't line up at all the way I thought. Hell, I think I see now why Arc laughed in my face the first time I tried messing with him. Hard to take what I tried to do seriously when you've apparently had guys trying to kill you."

"Uh…" Jaune's eyes were wide as he listened to Cardin vent. He hadn't expected his story would cause Cardin to pinpoint why he had reacted the way he didn't during that day at the beginning of their first semester.

"And just… I mean, dating Velvet has helped and all, but listening to Sun is… it made me realize that I can't just default to disliking faunus just because of the White Fang. Not when there are humans that would cage up folks and make them fight for kicks."

"Wait, you dislike faunus? But… you're dating one." Sun pointed out, looking very confused by Cardin's words.

"Plus Ren losing his family… you losing your dad… I know I can be an insensitive ass, but I do have empathy enough to feel sorry for what you guys went through. Hell, it's happened to me. My grandfather… he fought in the Great War and the Faunus Revolution. He died to faunus assassins. My uncles got killed fighting faunus in a war. And my mom lost pretty much her whole family to faunus extremists when their house got attacked when she was younger."

"Whoa…" Sun whispered. His eyes were wide as he listened to Cardin vent. Jaune and Ren's eyes were just as wide, both feeling as shocked as Sun to hear what Cardin's family had gone through. "That's… I mean, you hear about how extreme the conflict between humans and faunus can get, but damn dude…"

"I have heard people whisper about how the Winchester's are an old family, and one with a lot of bad blood with the faunus race." Ren murmured. "Truthfully, the rumors paint your family in a very poor light. Still, you shouldn't have had to suffer that."

"Yeah… that's a hell of a bomb to drop." Jaune muttered. He had assumed this whole time that Cardin's early animosity toward the faunus was because of bigoted ignorance, but it sounded like he had legitimate reasons to dislike faunus.

"My grandfather, my dad, my uncles… they were all some of the best huntsmen around. But they made the enemies, and their enemies remembered them. Dad really cracked down on the faunus laws when he joined the Vale council. As a kid, I grew up on stories about how the faunus saw anyone in my family as an enemy and my parents drilled into my head that I needed to show strength at all times. I was happy to go along with it, since I wasn't gonna look like a coward or hide away when my parents were standing proud even when they were being antagonized."

Cardin heaved another sigh.

"I've done my best to live up to what I thought was the ideal image of a Winchester. And that meant not backing down and standing up to those who'd wronged us. For the longest time, I directed that aggression toward the faunus. But… recently I've realized that instead of holding a grudge, it's better to move past it instead. My grandfather and uncles died a long time ago, and… not every faunus should be held responsible for the actions of a handful of extremists and radicals."

It wasn't like he was the only one who seemed to be changing his mindset. His dad was starting to make reforms and trying to garner support from both human and faunus parties. His mom frequented many faunus owned storefronts, and favored a particular tailor that Cardin had seen her having lunch with at the house a time or two. And Argentia had given him stern looks whenever he'd made an offhand racist comment ever since she returned from the front. Before, she'd have been adding her own anti-faunus comments when watching the news or hearing about what the White Fang had been getting up to. Now she just frowned or growled whenever Cardin said something negative about faunus that weren't related to the White Fang.

Cardin had thought his family was going soft, but maybe they were just letting baseless resentments and hangups fade. Other than some people who disliked his family shout insults at him from time to time, Cardin actually couldn't think of a time where he himself had been directly harassed for something he had done.

…Plus he was dating a faunus now, thanks to Arc. He couldn't play around as the schoolyard bully or belittle faunus just because they happened to share the same space as him. And Velvet wasn't responsible for any of the tragedy his family went through. Neither were any of the other faunus students at Beacon or his faunus neighbors.

It was time to focus less on holding grudges and focus on more important things.

"I became a huntsman because I want to support my family. Support Vale. The Winchester family has always been a pillar in Vale, and I want to contribute to it the same way all members of my family have." Cardin said. "I want to become a huntsman so I can protect any human or faunus who lives in Vale. Continue the legacy of my family and help it heal from the hit our reputation took after the faunus wars."

"…Well, I'd say you're certainly doing your part with promoting faunus-human relations with your girlfriend." Sun joked.

Cardin huffed a laugh at Sun's words. "Yeah, can't say I've done much else. I'm… not really at where I expected to be. I'm not as far along as I would've liked. I've taken it out on people who didn't deserve it."

Cardin looked Jaune in the eyes.

"Sorry about trying to give you a hard time before." Cardin said sincerely.

"…Don't worry about it." Jaune smiled.

"You were right earlier. The only enemy we have are the Grimm. I'm done wasting time trying to step on the toes of other people I'll be fighting alongside." Cardin sighed. "Now I'll just focus on improving… and trying to figure out how to tell my parents I'm dating a faunus."

"Would they have a problem with that?" Ren asked.

"Winchesters have an image to maintain. And we're… not really seen as pro-faunus. I mean, my dad doesn't give the impression he's against them but… I can't be sure. Plus I can't imagine what my sister would say about it. Or my mom, ugh… especially when she tried introducing me to girls she thought I'd like."

"Wait, your mom tried to wingman for you?" Sun grinned.

"No, she was just meddling and trying to help me 'make connections' as she put it." Cardin sighed. "Vale doesn't have the rich elite like Atlas, but Vale used to be a monarchy way back when. Mom's from a family with ties to nobility and she's connected with a lot of people who like to play up the noble image. She actually asked if I would be open to a marriage interview once!"

"People still do that?"

"Apparently some do!" Cardin said, throwing up his hands. "Though personally I'd rather have my mom not involved in my love life at all!"

"…Overbearing mom, huh?" Jaune drawled. "Never fun."

"Tell me about it."

"Completely unwilling to see your point of view. Just goes ahead and does her thing and acts offended when you don't follow along." Jaune grumbled.

"Speaking to me like I disappointed her in some way just for having an opinion." Cardin groused.

"Plus being compared to my sisters. They were happy following her plans and advice, so why do I have to be so difficult and not do the same as them?"

"Always talking her up and using her as an example of what to do. Dad does it too. And Argentia just smiles and looks smug. I love her but sometimes I just want to strangle her for being the most annoying older sibling on the planet."

"I don't have enough hands to strangle all my sisters. Though if I complain about any of them mom just gets angry at me saying they're successful so I can't throw stones. I can be successful too even if I go a different route!"

"And just because I don't get there instantly doesn't mean I'm not trying!" Cardin growled. "Just give it time and ease up on me!"

"Let me breathe! Can't you just let me try and stand on my own?" Jaune seethed. "Seriously mom?! Is a little trust too much to ask for?!"

"Exactly! Like have a little faith!"

"Right?!"

"Right?!"

Jaune and Cardin with both standing up in their seats now, clenched fists resting on the table. The duo stared at each other for several moments before Jaune's lips twitched at the same moment Cardin's eyes crinkled. A second later, the two team leaders were laughing as they settled back into their seats.

"…I don't get it. Did they say something funny?" Sun asked, looking very confused as he watched Jaune and Cardin laugh together.

Ren, however, saw what Sun didn't. He saw two individuals who'd been butting heads come to a mutual understanding and establish camaraderie over an aspect of their lives they had taken issue with. The laughter Jaune and Cardin shared was the equivalent of two men shaking hands and making peace with one another, and Ren smiled as he watched the duo.

"So, got any stories about how your sister tortured you growing up?" Jaune grinned.

"I have so, so many stories, and I'm open to share." Cardin grinned back. "But damn, you got seven of them? I'm only just beginning to register the horror of that fact."

"Girl power is scary power."

"Don't I know it. Still, I think Argentia's got 'em all beat."

"That a challenge?"

"We need a whiteboard to keep score."

"Oh, are we gonna start complaining about siblings? Because I'm totally up for that!" Sun cut in. "I mean, I love the kids, but being everyone's older brother can be an absolute nightmare."

"Please, you're welcome to share." Jaune laughed.

"Shame Ren doesn't have any sibling stories to share." Cardin chuckled.

"…True, I didn't grow up with siblings." Ren smiled. "But I did grow up with a Nora. And I assert that those experiences eclipse all of yours."

"Guess we'll see about that." Jaune grinned. "So, who wants to go first?"

Being friends with the owner of the diner meant that the four aspiring huntsmen got to stick around well past closing time. Only after Goldie's husband returned and the clock had shifted past midnight was when the group was finally kicked out, arms full of take-home bags of leftover food that would be eaten as snacks or substitutes for future mealtimes.

Jaune, Ren, Sun and Cardin were chatting and laughing as they walked through the streets of Vale, continued to do so on the bullhead ride back to Beacon, and bid each other good night with smiles on their faces when they all separated upon reaching the student dorms.

As Jaune and Ren both quietly crept back into Team JNPR's room so as not to rouse their slumbering partners, both boys agreed that it had been a day well spent.

In the morning, Jaune found himself sitting with his team at their usual table in Beacon's cafeteria. Team RWBY was sitting with them as usual, as was Team SSSN which was quickly becoming a regular addition to their mealtimes at school.

Jaune's eyes narrowed at Nora as she gripped his cheeks and checked over his face.

"Nora, please, let me eat my breakfast in peace." Jaune groused.

"Just making sure that you really came out of your man-date with Cardin without any bruises." Nora said cheerily as she moved his head around.

"Y'know, I'm the one who's always beating him in combat class." Jaune replied, swatting her away but jerked down when Nora suddenly seized his hands instead. "If anyone would have bruises, it'd be him."

"You're right! Instead of your face, I should be checking your knuckles for bruises." Nora grinned as she played with his fingers. "Haven't seen Cardin yet today. You give him any good shiners?"

"I already told you we got along just fine during our hang out. There were no shiners for anyone." Jaune sighed, pulling his hands away from the orange haired girl. "No punches got thrown and our relationship isn't any worse than it was before. In fact, t's even better than it was before, I'd say."

"I can attest to that." Ren interjected before Nora could say something else. "Things did seem a little tense between them at first, but by the end of the day I'd say that they successfully buried the hatchet."

"That's actually surprising to hear." Pyrrha commented. "Given how antagonistic Cardin was toward you when we first started at Beacon, I didn't think he'd be willing to come to an understanding with you."

Jaune chuckled at his partner's words. "Well, it wasn't just him. We both realized how stupid the thing going on between us was so we're getting along now."

"Established a tolerance for one another?" Pyrrha asked.

"I think it went a little further than that." Ren said, a small smile playing on his lips as he looked at something behind Jaune.

Noticing where Ren's eyes were staring past him, Jaune turned his head and grinned at the group approaching their table.

"Hey." Cardin grinned, nodding his head to Jaune in greeting. The leader of Team CRDL would've waved, but his left arm was holding his tray of food and the other was being gripped onto by Velvet, who smiled and waved her own greeting. Following behind the happy couple were the remaining members of their respective teams. "Mind if we sit with you?"

While Team RWBY looked surprised at the request, and Nora and Pyrrha gave Jaune anxious looks, Jaune and Ren exchanged a smile and beckoned the teams over.

"Not at all." Jaune grinned, sliding over and gesturing to the open seat next to him.

Cardin smiled and took it, with Velvet taking a seat on his other side. "Thanks man."

"No problem."

Pyrrha and Nora both smiled at the exchange, both happy and relieved that the animosity between Jaune and Cardin had actually disappeared. Meanwhile, Team RWBY were thrown off by the cordial interaction between the two boys, and one of them gave voice to it.

"Since when were you two all buddy-buddy?" Yang asked.

"What're you talking about?" Cardin smirked, throwing an arm over Jaune's shoulder. "We've always been buddies, haven't we Jaune?"

"Sure have." Jaune chuckled. "Only someone was just a little butthurt that he kept getting beaten by me in combat class."

Instead of getting angry at the comment, Cardin just snorted a laugh at Jaune's comment. "Yeah, yeah, keep talking. You may be winning in combat class, but I'm winning where it really matters."

Cardin punctuated his statement by pulling Velvet closer and hugging her against his side, causing the rabbit faunus to giggle delightedly at her boyfriend's affection.

"Not gonna lie, winning like Cardin sounds more appealing than winning in combat class." Sun called from where he sat a few seats down.

"See? Monkey man gets it."

Blake bristled at Cardin's way of referring to Sun. "Hey, you can't-"

"See Nep, this is what real game looks like." Sun said, shooting finger guns at Cardin who returned the gesture, much to Blake's shock. "Take notes!"

"Hey, I'm doing just fine on the romantic front!" Neptune griped.

"And how many numbers did you get yesterday?" Scarlet asked.

"…More than you!"

"I wasn't getting any numbers."

"Because you can't!"

"Hey, girl in the beret." Scarlet called down the table. "What's your name?"

"Coco, leader of Team CFVY." Coco replied with a smirk.

"Cool. Can I have your number?"

Reaching into her handbag, Coco pulled out a pen and wrote digits on a napkin before handing it over to Russel. "Mohawk, pass that on to the redheaded pirate."

Russel did so, handing the napkin over to Scarlet who displayed it to a gaping Neptune.

"One nothing." Scarlet grinned. "You need to step up your game."

A round of laughter from around the table, and even though he was the butt of the joke Neptune rolled his eyes and laughed along with everyone else. Soon, the five teams were all chatting and laughing together as they ate breakfast.

Jaune gave a contented sigh as he soaked in the camaraderie. Even though his journey to get to Beacon had left its marks on him, having friends to laugh together was the best kind of balm for those spiritual wounds he'd incurred.

It really was true about laughter being good for the soul.

---

Ozpin watched as Arjun prepared tea across his desk. The Pandu prince was meticulous and focused during the entire process, as though he was doing brain surgery. Every step, every measurement, it was all done with machine like precision, or perhaps a dancer executing a perfect choreography.

At last, Arjun finished the cup and held it out to Ozpin. He set it down on a saucer in front of the headmaster, before pulling back to sit on his chair. Ozpin picked up the tea and sniffed it. The earthy aroma brought back some fond memories for the immortal wizard, and the warmth and taste did even more.

"Mm," he said, after finishing his sip, "As good as ever, Arjun."

"The Vytallians claim to have created the ultimate tea culture," Arjun sniffed, sipping his own cup with all the majesty of an ex-monarch, "as do the Mistralians... But Pandu did it first, and best."

"I must agree," Ozpin said with a nod, "Though... There seems to be a hint of poppy seeds?"

"This blend is from Tulku, near the Parashu Mountains," Arjun stated calmly, "The opiate level is minimal."

The headmaster raised an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't want to set a bad example for the students," Ozpin said. Arjun chuckled.

"There are far worse ways to do that," he stated, taking another sip. Ozpin studied the younger man intently.

"We have rarely socialized, you know," Ozpin said. Arjun nodded.

"I am aware. But! Since my daughter and godson are at your school, I decided to end my hermitage and take a more active interest in things. Besides."

He fixed Ozpin with a stare.

"Things are far worse than you would ever let on," he stated flatly.

Ozpin stared back, listening to the ticking of the clockworks in his office.

"They may be," he allowed, "They may not be. I can't reveal more to you until you agree to formally join me. You know this."

Arjun snorted, finishing his cup and pouring himself another.

"Allegiance means nothing if you keep people like Lionheart around," he sneered.

Ozpin managed not to outwardly wince even though the accusation caused him pain.

"The overthrow of the Kauravas was not feasible at that time," Ozpin said carefully, "You and your team had to retreat. The reinforcements were not there-"

"Reinforcements Lionheart promised and failed to deliver," Arjun snorted, "He had all the advantages in the world and he still proved himself a coward. One would think he did it deliberately."

Yes... That day. Finding out that some of the Kauravas were Grimm Cultists had pushed Ozpin into action. The sheer potential of Team AARN, with Isabel, Nick, Saia and Arjun, had further spurred him on. If Arjun could have reclaimed the kingdom that was his birthright... He would have been a very strong ally indeed, however mercurial he could be at times.

Lionheart had promised to work with the local resistance, had promised some Mistralian officials had realized installing the Kauravas over Arjun's family had been a mistake. Pandu had become torn by infighting and was costing Mistral far too much to keep under heel. Putting the Sarkaras back on the throne was both pragmatic and moral-A rarity in politics.

It had all seemed so perfect... And it had all failed so miserably.

"Lionheart is overly cautious, I will agree," Ozpin said gently, "But if he could not get the reinforcements in time, that was that. You and your team survived-"

Arjun set his tea cup down on the desk loudly. His voice, however, remained level.

"Not all of us did."

The office was again filled with the ticking of the clock. Ozpin released a slow sigh from his nostrils.

"I am sorry about your wife," Ozpin said quietly, "Loss is something you think you will get used to, but... You never do."

Arjun stared intently at him, before slowly nodding.

"Yes," he said quietly. Silence reigned for a bit longer, before Arjun broke it.

"Has Taiyang told his daughter about the Silver Eyes yet?"

Ozpin stared back.

"I don't know for sure, but I believe so," he agreed.

"Good. I will train her," Arjun stated.

Ozpin finished his tea before he responded.

"I'm not sure that's wise-"

"She's the friend of my godson," Arjun stated, "And according to legend, my family received our Semblance from a Silver Eyed Warrior. Do you have any better options?"

"I had thought to train her myself," Ozpin said slowly, "As I did Summer-"

The Pandavan's eyes narrowed.

"How did that turn out?"

Silence fell again, harsh and hard. Ozpin sucked in a deep breath.

"Change... Is not easy for me," he admitted. "Yet in recent years, I've found I have needed to be more... Flexible. I will not forbid it if she agrees. However, you cannot tell her anything of Salem. Not yet. It's too much for her."

Arjun snorted.

"She's seen people die, Ozpin. What is the truth of who hunts her going to do?"

"A great deal of harm, Arjun," Ozpin said quietly, "Please. It must be revealed properly. When she's ready to handle it. It took Summer years to get to where she was."

Arjun remained silent, giving away nothing even to Ozpin's great wisdom. The ticking of the clockworks seemed so loud in that tense moment.

Finally, the exiled prince slowly nodded.

"Agreed," he said, "I'll even throw in an additional favor."

He poured Ozpin another cup of tea. It was a small gesture, but from Arjun, it meant a lot. Ozpin took the tea and sipped it.

"Mm? What will that be?"

Arjun smiled savagely.

"I'll try to keep Isabel from folding you in half and leaving you like that."

Ozpin coughed. After all, Isabel had only thrown a bus into his office while drunk. She hadn't even been mad, just wanted to prove she could do it.

Facing her actual ire... Even knowing he was immortal did nothing to make him feel calmer.

"Yes, well... That would be appreciated," he managed.

---

Isabel's anger was something Qrow knew all too well. He'd seen it at Beacon Academy as a stupid teenager with no idea about the civilized world, he'd seen it in the field, he'd seen it in private.

Somehow, all of those moments paled next to the cold, dead fury burning in her eyes as she stared at the smoking starboard engine of her Bullhead, on the side of the road near Forstford, Vale Province.

"You know," Qrow coughed, "Even though the engines still run on Dust, a bird in the turbine is still no... Uh..."

Isabel's glare felt like an Atlasian laser cannon. He very silently focused on the stones near his boots. Who knew? They might be gold or silver, something interesting.

"A bird strike. A. Fucking. Birdstrike," Isabel seethed. She glared at him. "Friend of yours?!"

"Hey now, it's not like that!" Qrow yelped, holding his arms up as he backed away. "I would never do that!"

"Are you sure?" Isabel seethed. "Are you absolutely sure your boss didn't order you to keep us from getting to him?!"

"Come on, Isabel, he's not that scared of you!" Qrow insisted, "And besides: I'm not the bad guy here!"

"You're working for him!"

"I didn't lie about the important stuff-"

"My son isn't important?!"

"I didn't say that-!"

A Grimm roar interrupted his further denials. Both Hunters looked over at the forest. The trees parted and a giant Ursa Major stormed in. Its bone spikes were long, its armor thick, and its eyes glowed with power. Clearly, it was a very old specimen: What it was doing this close to a human settlement was academic: Larger and more powerful Grimm had been gathering for weeks, after all.

This was still a welcome distraction from the very angry Isabel. They'd fight it, they'd kill it, she'd get some aggression out and then they could hopefully-

Isabel stormed past him. Her Aura surged in power, a mixture of green and white. The Ursa Major swung its claws at her. Qrow moved to intercept, but Isabel reached out and caught the massive bear-like Grimm's forearm in her grip. She grunted and pulled back... And lifted the Ursa Major right up into the air.

Qrow swore the thing's eyes went wide as Isabel swung it like a sack of old laundry onto the road. The impact went off like a bomb, and the pavement shattered. The Ursa Major roared in shock as Isabel yanked... And then screamed as she tore its forearm right off.

Hefting it up like a club, Isabel stalked up to the chest of the Ursa Major and proceeded to beat the living shit out of it. Qrow actually winced at every blow, the impacts as loud as gunshots as she pummeled the beast.

She then leaped off the Ursa Major, kicked it over, and shoved the claw right up its-

"RAWWWRRRRGGHHHH!"

Well. That was new. Feeling almost sorry for a Grimm.

Isabel at last grabbed the Ursa Major's head with both hands, and with a loud, angry grunt, tore its head in two. The Grimm's body collapsed and dissolved into a fine, black mist. Qrow could have sworn it almost looked relieved just before it died.

Isabel breathed hard, catching her breath. She whipped out her Scroll and made a call.

"Yes, Remnant Airship Assistance Association...? Bird strike. Road outside of Forstford. Yes, the radio beacon is online..."

Her eyebrows twitched.

"Two days?!"

She sucked in a deep breath and went stone cold calm.

"Fine. It's secured. I'll send the unlock code when you arrive. Goodbye."

She turned off the Scroll and scowled at Qrow.

"We're a few days walk from Vale, we're not sitting around here," she stated angrily. "Let's move."

"Er," Qrow began, "Are you sure you don't want to wait-?"

"Yes."

"All right then," Qrow coughed, going into the Bullhead to get his luggage.

Well, Qrow thought to himself, Maybe if she kills enough Grimm she'll go easy on Ozpin.

It was a faint, probably foolish hope, but hey, it was all he had.

---

Notes:

Sorry for the delay. Both UnknownAnon and myself have pretty terrible jobs that suck and leech the life away from us. But! We delivered.

Next chapter will be posted on October 11th! And is the start of a new Arc! With the introduction of a fan favorite villain...