Alright chapter 3! To be honest I finished this chapter like a day after I posted my last one. I figured I should wait a bit so I'm not throwing this all up at once.

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

Jaunes hand slammed down on the alarm clock he received from the General as a welcome gift. When it comes to Atlas he should have known he'd get a practical gift then a heartfelt one. Jaune pushed himself up and groaned when he saw what time it was. "4:30! Who in there right mind wakes up at 4:30"? He would have returned to sleep if he could but the sudden arrival of his new teacher told him there'd be no chance in hell. The fact that Winter entered his room without even asking or making a sound and held a trumpet in her hands was all he needed to know how that would have turned out.

Winter raised a brow in surprise, "I see that your already awake...that's good". Her change in tone and the sound of disappointment in her voice irked him some but he chose to ignore it. Jaune mentally thanked Ironwood for his benevolence and forethought in ruining Winters plan before climbing out of bed. When he got to his feet Winter cleared her throat and straightened her back. "Since your already awake you can start by organizing this room and brushing your teeth, then once you finish that head down to the cafeteria to pick up your breakfast. I'll meet you in the library at 6 sharp, don't be late".

Jaune couldn't help but think Winter was kinda like a force of nature onto herself sometimes because as soon as she finished giving her orders she turned on her heel and left the room. "I'm kinda glad I didn't have time to pack or she'd have gotten a good look at my onesie". He could just imagine the unimpressed and down right disdain look in her eye's, luckily though that wasn't the case. Jaune then slapped his face with both hands to snap himself out of his inner thoughts. It hurt like it was suppose to and suddenly he felt a little more awake then he did a few seconds ago.

"Only got 15 minutes to get this done, better get started". Atlas getting him to clean his room would have made his mom jealous if she knew and that brought a smile to his face. He tidied up the room quickly enough and set the bed perfectly enough to make it look like he was never there. After which he raced off to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. The toothbrush and change in outfit had already been provided the previous night for his use thanks to the General. The clothes being the Atlas Academy grey suit felt more like a reminder of what he was aiming for

Now minty fresh and ready to go, Jaune was about to exit the bathroom when his reflection caught his eye's in the mirror. "And after all that time I spent growing it out". Jaune ran a hand through what was left of his hair after Vines teammate got through with it.

/

Yesterday

"Again".

Jaune took a sharp breath in and his aura formed around himself. Vine nodded his head, "good, your getting faster at bringing up your aura but remember that in combat your opponent isn't going to wait for you to be ready. When it comes to Grimm they'll attack on site but when it's a enemy huntsmen they'll more then likely wait until your guard is down to attempt anything". Jaune nodded and dropped his aura. The advice was good and Vines instructions were easy to follow...at least when there wasn't a metal pointer smacking him around.

The young Arc did raise a brow though, "you said enemy huntsmen? I didn't know huntsmen or huntresses ever went bad".

Vines face darkened slightly. "I'm not surprised that you'd think that way. It is a common misconception that all who trained to become huntsmen and huntresses do so for the right reasons. Some do it for the excitement while others trained for power or money. There are actually very few who joined up in belief that they could truly save the world. I've even seen some people go through training for the soul purpose of fighting against other huntsmen and huntresses".

Jaune didn't know how to respond to that. He always believed that huntsmen and huntresses chose this life because they wanted to free the world from the grip of the Grimm. Then again if he really thought about it, his view of the world had been pretty immature. Huntsmen were technically still humans and yet they always were portrayed as perfect individuals. After hearing Vine confirm those reasonings though, it left room for doubt and made him feel a little suspicious of the governments who hid that fact from the people.

"But even still, why have haven't I ever heard about huntsmen going bad? Something like that would probably make headlines in the news or something...right"? Jaune asked.

"Have you ever heard of Roman Torchwick before"? Vine asked in return. Jaunes face scrunched as the most wanted thief in Vale came to mind, "who hasn't heard of him before"? The silence that hung in the air between the two gave time for the gears in Jaunes head to put the pieces together. "W-wait your saying he's actually one of those huntsmen who've gone bad?! Vine shook his hand in a so - so manner. "The man wasn't fully trained as a huntsmen but he did get the necessary amount of training to fight as one".

Jaune sighed in relief but it was short lived when Vine continued. "Roman got the training and we know a little about his background but tell me how much worse would it be if he was a graduate from one Academies"? Jaune cupped his chin and thought how the people would react to such news. "I'd say it would be pretty bad for whatever academy he graduated from because they gave him the training to do his crimes". Vine nodded in agreement, "and that would lead to a growth in negativity and an even bigger divide between the huntsmen and civilians".

All this info was pretty stressful and that seemed to appear on Jaunes face because Vine took notice and clapped his hands together once very loudly. "You've done good work for today but I think it's time we called it here. Your going to need your rest if your planning to survive Winter tomorrow. I'll have you know that most of the recruits she's had the privilege of training haven't exactly lasted more then a few hours before quitting".

Jaune didn't argue with that notion since Vine new the woman better then he.

Vine whipped out his scroll and typed something away before looking to his young student. "I will be showing you to your room but first we'll be making a detour to get you ready for tomorrow". Jaune raised a brow, "what kind of detour"? The detour Vine talked about led them to a tall woman's room where he was quickly ushered inside by said woman.

"So this is the kid"? The tall woman asked. Vine nodded, "he'll be training under Winter tomorrow so I was hoping you'd spruce him up a bit. You know as well as I that specialist Schnee is a stickler for perfection". The tall woman let out a loud laugh, "oh trust me I know". Jaunes mind whirled, he was about to get spruced up and he didn't even know the woman's name. "Um, it's nice to meet you, I'm Jaune" he quickly introduced himself before thing could get awkward when the woman tried to do whatever she was planning to with him.

The tall woman smiled warmly and patted his shoulders, "good to meet you to kid, oh and it's Elm Ederne". Jaune didn't even get a chance to respond or even as what she was going to do to him because the next thing he knew he had suddenly been dragged off his feet and pushed into a chair. Elm didn't take requests on her work so before Jaune could protest once he saw the large woman pull out some clippers, the woman sliced and managed his hair from start to finish without a word. The end results weren't so bad but getting an unapproved hair cut left a bad taste in his mouth.

/

Present

Warriors wolf tail. He always thought he'd look good with one and the proof was in the pudding. Jaune admired his hair cut, the shaved sides of his head that left only the top portions long, trimmed evenly and tied back into a short ponytail. No homo but he'd date himself if he was a woman. All jokes aside the blonde left the bathroom, threw on the Atlas academy uniform he'd been given and ran to the cafeteria following the mini map on the scroll like an rpg hero on his first ever mission.

Arriving at the cafeteria he collected his already waiting breakfast and scarfed it down without hesitation. It being Atlas, he expected bad tasting but extremely healthy food and unsurprisingly that's what it turned out to be. He didn't know it was possible to screw up scrambled eggs but after being given flavorless yellow mush that's when he learned it was possible. Eating the morning gruel as quickly as possible Jaune put the tray away and left the cafeteria, eager to put distance between him and the memory of the slop he just ate.

Following the mini map once more he found his way to the library just two minutes before his scheduled time of meeting. Waiting for him inside the rather large room was Winter with a book in hand and a stack of other books on a table nearby. "Your late" she called when she looked up from the page she was reading. Jaune looked at the time on his scroll and saw that it was exactly 6. "What are you talking about? It's 6 on the dot" he said . Apparently that was the wrong thing to say because Winter closed her book with a loud thump and crossed the space between them narrowed eye's.

She stopped in front of him and pointed the edge of her book at his nose in a threatening manner. "Being on the dot as you say does not mean you are set up and ready to learn. Being five minutes before the time you should be here allows you to have your notebook open and ready to write when the lessons starts. Now take this to heart and make sure I never have to repeat myself again. Being five minutes early is being on time, anything after is wasting yours and more importantly my time. Do I make myself clear"?

Jaune gulped and nodded in fear. Winter's eyes went from just being narrowed to a glare, "I asked if I made myself clear, such a question is meant to be dignified with a response". Realizing that was his cue Jaune responded, "I understand". When Winter raised a brow in expectation, Jaune finished up with a "ma'am" for respect.

Jaunes response seemed to have done the trick because Winter lowered the book and wore a more calmed expression. "Jaune, know that I'm not trying to be difficult because I want to be but because these three to four months are going to require more from you then anyone who's come before. Realistically It'd be impossible for anyone to become strong enough to survive the huntsmen life with this amount of time". The look in her eye's conveyed her worry but was quickly masked by her resolve, "but I will give all that I can if you can do the same".

Here was a woman who knew the odds and despite them, promised to do all that she could for him regardless. Jaune stood a little taller, "if you can do that for me then I promise to do all I can to live up to your expectations". Winter saw the determination in his eye's and smiled for the first time that day before turning away. "If your truly certain then get to your seat so we can begin our lesson on the Faunus Rights Revolution". Jaune nodded and moved past his teacher to take a seat at the table where all the books were. On the top of the Large stack was a brand new unopened notebook waiting just for him.

He pulled it off the top and opened to the first paper, making sure to pick up one of the pencils laying on the table for his use. When it appeared he was ready, Winter began her lecture by opening up the book she had in hand to the chapter she had been reading up on before his arrival. "We'll start by going over what the revolution was all about and push on to the more defining moments that you should have learned from an early training school". She waited for his agreement before starting her lesson.

/

By the end of his lessons in history, math and several other subjects, Jaune was ready to get to the more practical lessons if only to keep himself awake. Winter was an excellent teacher but studying was always his weakest point, especially when he started getting drowsy. Winters solution to his problem was not as painful as he imagined it would be when he told her of his sleepiness. Her solution in fact was just a cup full of the blackest and meanest looking coffee you could ever lay your eye's on. Just the taste alone had his tongue shriveling in response.

Jaune put his books together neatly and took hold of his notebook. "Your next class is with Ace operative Vine, correct"? Winter asked before he could leave. Jaune looked back at his teacher, "yeah, for aura manipulation and practical applications of dust. Oh but first I'm going to get lunch before that". Winter nodded in thought before pulling out her scroll. "Let's trade contact info" she said, catching Jaune by surprise. "We Schnee's excel in the use of dust, more so than anyone so if you have any questions or wish to know more feel free to ask me and I'll get back to you when I can" Winter finished.

Any thoughts that could have stemmed from miscommunication were quickly cut off and Jaune felt himself calm down a little. He really needed to stop jumping to conclusions and start taking things seriously. Jaune pulled his personal scroll out of his pocket and held it up so the trading of info could begin. Winter's face popped up in his contacts and he put the scroll into rest mode shortly after. "Thank you Winter I really appreciate all the help you've given me so far".

"It's what I've been assigned to do so there's no need to thank me". Winter walked him out of the library and turned in the opposite direction from where he was going. "I'll see you for combat class later Jaune, be prepared" she warned before walking away. Jaune let out a sigh, seriously that woman could be more intimidating then even the General sometimes. Jaune skimmed throw his notebook really quickly and chuckled when he closed it. Even if Winter was as cold as ice sometimes the amount she cared for those under her charge was evident in the effort she put in.

Going back to the cafeteria should have been a welcome relief because "yay food" but then he remembered breakfast and that "yay food" lost it's joy. Lunch wasn't as bad as breakfast but not by much since it was plain oatmeal with an apple on the side along orange juice to drink. What he wouldn't give for a sandwich right now. Jaune pushed himself to finish the food quickly and left the room to go to his next class. As he walked to the track field where he last trained with Vine he thought about how dreadful his dinner was probably going to be.

So lost in thought he didn't even see the other person walking his way until the last second. Their shoulder bumped and the two looked back at each other. "I'm so sorry" Jaune started but the other person just chuckled. "Hey man no worries, I wasn't paying attention either so we're cool". The man look Jaune up and down with a raised brow, "you know I haven't seen you around before you new or something". Jaune rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "that obvious huh"?

"Yeah since I'm pretty sure you have no idea who I am". The man was right, Jaune didn't have a clue who he was but judging from his looks there was probably a story there. "You got me there" Jaune admitted and held out a hand "but maybe you could tell me". The man shook his hand with a smile, "Flynt Coal, leader of team FNKI, the hottest team Alas ever had the pleasure of making". Jaune inwardly rolled his eye's, "Jaune Arc, looking forward to becoming a student of Atlas Academy this up coming year".

Flynt crossed his arm's and leaned back on his right foot, "Aaaahh, new blood huh? That's cool, if you ever need some tips or tricks on surviving this place feel free to ask. We upperclassmen know what it's like getting started here and it isn't always easy". If this was what all the upperclassmen were like then Jaune had a feeling Atlas Academy wasn't going to be as difficult to manage as he thought. Assuming he made it in first. Jaune looked down at his scroll for the time. "Sorry I can't stay and talk more, I've got someplace I need to be".

Flynt waved off the apology, "it's fine, I've gotta get going too anyways but it was good meeting you Jaune. Let's meet again when the new year starts and I'll introduce you to my team and vice versa". Jaune agreed and took off for his next class while Flynt went off to do his own business.

/

When Jaune arrived at the track field there were two people waiting for him. The first was Vine but the other was a man about his height with what looked like a cute dog tail that was swaying back and forth. The other man reached down and grabbed his tail, stilling it before looking up to meet his eye's. Vine stepped forward , "I'm glad your here Jaune, now we can get started with todays lessons". The other man made a show of coughing loudly to let them know he was still there and waiting to be introduced.

Vine took a deep breath and link his hands behind his back. "Before we begin allow me to introduce the newest member of the Ace Ops Marrow Amin". The faunus stepped forward and gave a salute, "good to meet you Juan, looking forward to seeing how good you are".

"It's Jaune" the blonde corrected. Marrow shrugged his shoulders in a manner that said he didn't really care too much about the mistake and that only aggravated Jaune more. Vine cut into their little dispute before it could begin, "Marrow is actually here to help me with todays training in aura manipulation. If you recall I told you yesterday that Grimm and enemy huntsmen won't wait for you to get ready. So for todays training we'll be focusing on how quickly you can bring up your aura and lower it under fire from these" Vine motioned to two boxes full of rubber balls that laid behind them.

"So in other words this is dodge ball but I'm to shield myself with my aura before I get hit"?

Vine let a small smile grace his features, "glad to see your quick on the up take". Any questions were quickly forgotten because Marrow rushed over to the box and grabbed as many rubber balls as he could carry before starting to throw them with reckless abandon. Jaune reacted the best he could by jumping, dodging and even trying to use his aura to protect himself as best he could. It by all means wasn't easy at all since he'd just gotten the hang of drawing out his aura yesterday. This was like learning to run before you could walk.

That being said there was only so many times you could get struck in the head with a rubber ball before you started to learn. Jaune's aura flared up to protect him from the punishing strikes of the rubber ball that were assaulting him. At one time Jaune even caught one of Marrow's and tossed it back as hard as he could but the dog faunus caught it easily using his own aura to block the ball. The clear mastery that Marrow an Vine showed whenever he tried to strike back only made it much more obvious why he needed to work harder to catch up.

They were all at a level that he could've only dreamed about before today. Jaunes smack a ball into the air using his aura to shield the arm he used. Gritting his teeth the young Arc gave it his all because what was the point of all the aura he had if he couldn't use it correctly. They would stop when all the balls ran out to collect them before continuing again. Time flew by before they knew it and by the end even Vine was out of breath.

"Damn" Marrow cursed "just how long can he keep this up"? Vine chuckled, "with his level of aura he could go on defending himself from those rubber balls for days". Jaune was on his knee's gasping for breath but never once broke eye contact in case they started up again. Vine clapped his hands together to gather their attention. "You've done good work today Jaune, take a few minutes to catch your breath while we put away the balls. Once we're done I'll dismiss you so you can report over to Winter in the training room".

Jaune nodded and rolled over on his back while the two teachers roamed around the track field collecting the balls. His day was going by so fast that he hardly realized that the day was already becoming night. "I feel at this rate I might become a workaholic". The grass beside him crunched and when Jaune looked it was to see Marrow laying upside down staring up at the sky. "Juan you know talkin to yourself is a sign that you could be going insane right"? Jaune didn't have it in him to complain about the faunus getting his name wrong again. Instead of complaining Jaune chuckled, "only if I start answering myself" he answered.

The two broke into a tired laughter until Vine appeared above them. He looked down at the two of them, "I hope you rested enough Jaune because Winter is going to be more demanding then I was today". Jaune forced himself into a sitting position and stretched his arms. "It doesn't matter if I'm well rested or not, I promised Winter I'd give it my all just like she is". Vine sighed, "I don't know if that's admirable or just plain reckless". Marrow chuckled from his position on the floor, "what are you talking about Vine? It's definitely the reckless one".

Jaune pushed himself onto his feet and pulled out his scroll to check the time. "Well I guess I'm gonna find out one way or another". He looked to Vine, "better get going, don't want to be late for combat class". With a quick good bye to his two teachers Jaune ran off for his next class.

Marrow watched the blonde as he ran off before turning to Vine. "That kid is doomed" He said confidently. Vine looked to his colleague with a brow raised, "if you think that after what we've gone through today then it appears you have just as much to learn as Jaune".

Ah, Marrow the tsundere. Just a little look into the daily life that Jaunes going to go through for now until he reaches the date of the exam. To the Flynt Coal fans reading, I haven't forgotten about him. The leader of team FNKI will return in time along with Neon Katt so don't worry. The other two members of their team aren't all that important because let's be honest, we don't know squat about them. Sorry Kobalt and Ivori. I even had to look up their names because that's how well I know them.

On a side note I'm sorry for losing it there over that news about RWBY. Really hoping that's not true but it's not really my decision to make. Personally Jaune in canon has the more interesting story then team RWBY. I mean he's gotta deal with the fact he killed Penny, broke his sword and more then likely has to get through to Neo so she doesn't get killed by Ruby's gang. Oh and he's gotta tell Ruby what he did to keep the power of the maiden from Cinder. That's a lot on one guys shoulders if you ask me.