After combat class Jaune followed a step behind Glynda Goodwitch as she led him out of the arena. Though she'd phrased it like a request it was clear she was only expecting one kind of answer, so he bid the rest of Team JNPR not to wait up for him. Following silently, he glanced briefly at the students roaming the halls before their next class. Some returned the looks and whispered at the sight at of one their peers being escorted by the school's infamous disciplinarian. Jaune rolled his eyes and pressed on. Finally, they arrived at an elevator that took them high above the school into a wide-open office with massive clockwork gears above and a wide half circle window looking out over the campus. Ozpin was already waiting for them at his desk.

"Good afternoon, Glynda, Jaune." The older man gestured for Jaune to sit in the empty seat across from him. Glynda took a spot beside Ozpin.

Jaune sighed. "Let's get this over with then."

"Indeed," Ozpin said, taking a sip from his steaming mug. "I'm told you have taken steps to catch up with your peers. Does that sound right?"

"Uh, yeah. That's the long and short of it." Jaune said, not bothering to ask how Ozpin knew.

"And what has that been like for you?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Fine, I guess?" Jaune took a breath before continuing. "I mean this whole homework thing is a huge pain. Sitting through lectures is extremely boring too. I didn't want to get kicked out though so when I found out Ruby was studying with her partner I asked to join. Now, it's slightly less of a pain."

"That is a rather blunt way of putting it." Ozpin said, mirth in his eyes. "Miss Rose put a more joyful spin on it."

Jaune sat up. "Ruby's been talking to you about me?"

Ozpin smiled. "You're not the only student I meet with on occasion. There are quite a few more with special circumstances I make a make a point of speaking with. All to ensure their time at Beacon is a comfortable one. Miss Rose is one such individual given she accepted my invitation to attend Beacon two years early as I'm sure you are aware."

"I guess that makes sense." Jaune relented though wasn't quite what to make of it. "What did Ruby say exactly?"

"That," Jaune leaned forward." …Is something I am not liberty to share." The younger man scowled in response. "Miss Rose was quite insistent I do not repeat what she told me. I daresay she said more than she was meaning to and was feeling embarrassed about it. You understand, I'm sure."

"That's that then." Jaune leaned back and folded his arms. Ozpin would never talk. He'd have to ask Ruby later just what she was telling people about him.

"I must say though your efforts to fill the gaps in your knowledge are quite admirable. I'll have you know your professors have been singing your praises lately given your marked improvement. I'd say congratulations are in order though I caution against becoming complacent."

It was odd to hear his professors were saying good things about him, it was odder still that Ozpin would join in. Jaune had obviously noticed he was getting better marks on his assignments, but that was only natural since he'd found someone to learn and review the material with. It didn't really warrant any kind of celebration. "I didn't really do anything but that's good. I guess. Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?"

"No actually it was not." Ozpin leaned back as Glynda stepped forward and spoke. "Your actions during the match today are matter of some concern."

Slowly, Jaune lowered himself back into his seat. "Yeah?"

"To cut to the heart of the matter, attacking Mr. Bronzewing after disarming him was unnecessary and dangerous."

He stared at Glynda. "…You can't be serious."

Ozpin leaned forward and steepled his fingers. "I'm afraid we are."

Jaune threw his hands up. "It was a fight! We're training to be Huntsman!"

"You are." Ozpin gave him. "However, you must also be mindful that these are your peers. Not your enemies. Battles have an element of unpredictability to them that we here at Beacon strive to reduce in order to help our students hone their abilities safely."

"To be clear." Glynda cut in. "You are not in trouble, but we do not want a repeat of today's events. Thankfully, Mr. Bronzewing suffered no lasting injury. We know you are accustomed to more…unforgiving scenarios, but all the more reason for you to exercise more restraint in the future." Glynda looked directly into Jaune's eyes, letting her words sink in.

Jaune stared back at her curiously. Her voice was firm of course, but she no longer looked tense and guarded like on the night of the police station. Her brow was furrowed, and her lips were set in a slight frown. If he didn't know any better, he'd say she was concerned for him. A far cry from the stern glare she leveled at him at the police station the night they met.

He wasn't sure what to make of their reasoning, but something else occurred to him in that moment. "What. So, I'm supposed to just pull my punches from now on. I'm here to learn too so what good is that gonna do me?"

Glynda shook her head. "If you're worried that my class won't be of any benefit to you then banish the thought now. Today was, after all, the first class of the semester. Once I've seen what you are all capable of, I will see to it you get the most out of your future matches."

It's not like he had much choice but to accept Glynda will do right by him, so he nodded and mulled over their words. Sparring matches were much more violent affairs back in the tribe especially between those who had aura. Doing homework and studying would be all the harder if students were constantly being admitted to the infirmary. It made sense he had to admit.

"You are no longer with the tribe, Jaune." Glynda's words jolted him out of his thoughts. He fixed the older woman with a tense stare. His heart was suddenly pounding and even he wasn't sure what the expression on his face looked like at that moment. "I can only imagine just how harsh your life has been up to now, but you may rest easy. No one here wishes you true harm. In turn, you do not have to harm anyone else. You are safe here, you have my word."

Jaune's mouth was dry. "Y-yeah living with the nomads was…something. It's true it wasn't always a walk in the park but that was life, you know? The strong live and the weak die. I had to toughen up if we were gonna eke out any kind of living. You're right though that Anima wasn't anything like this place."

Glynda's expression never changed. "Of that I have no doubt. Well," she said, "I believe we have taken enough of your time. Do try and take this conversation to heart."

Jaune turned to Ozpin. His eyes shifted from Glynda to Jaune. "I've nothing further to add. You may go now."

"Right…" Jaune slowly stood up. "I'll remember. Sure." The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He could feel their eyes on him as he got up and walked away. Mercifully, the elevator began its descent mere seconds after the doors shut.

Ozpin waited until the elevator settled before speaking. "That was rather overt, Glynda."

She sighed. "I know. I simply found myself wanting to…reassure him. After the match he looked so conflicted, perhaps even remorseful. I was expecting him to throw himself at Mr. Bronzewing with everything he had, but he was surprisingly reserved up until the end. I was prepared to separate them by force if need be."

"Ah." Ozpin nodded as he took a brief stint down memory lane. "I see what you mean. During her tenure here Raven sent nearly all her sparring partners to the infirmary in the beginning."

"Qrow wasn't much better himself." Glynda added. "I feel…conflicted. He's certainly…course at times, but he's acclimating far faster than Raven ever did. Perhaps we should come forward with what we know. Jaune doesn't seem at all like his mother, not entirely in any case."

A moment of silence passed before Ozpin spoke. "We'll approach him again in time." He assured her. "However, I feel it is still too premature to make such a lofty decision without more information. Though, I admit it does seem as though has Raven kept him in the dark about her time here, but that only serves to raise more questions."

Glynda couldn't deny that. Still though, all this suspicion towards one of her students was beginning to weigh on her conscience.

:X:

Jaune walked quickly back to the dorm. He could vaguely hear his scroll beeping, but he paid it no mind. Doubtless it was Ruby asking if he could bring some snacks to their study session or to remind him to bring yesterday's notes. After that meeting, he wouldn't be able to focus on anything useful, so he'd skip studying tonight and apologize tomorrow morning at breakfast. In his mind he kept asking himself if Glynda somehow knew something.

Had he given too much away? She'd said he was no longer in the tribe which he'd divulged, but could she have learned the details somehow? In that moment, it was as though she'd read his thoughts. Could Glynda somehow read… he shook his head. It was a silly line of thinking. He'd learned about her semblance, and he'd seen it firsthand. It was just a coincidence she'd inadvertently voiced what he was thinking, there's no way she could read minds. They all thought he'd lived a quiet life out in the wilderness or rather as quiet as it could get outside the safety of a city. He was being paranoid.

The door to his dorm swung open without much fanfare. Inside though the rest of Team JNPR looked up as he made his appearance.

"Jaune!" Nora rushed over and took stock of him. "How'd your meeting with Professor Goodwitch go? You look a little pale, you're not in trouble, are you?"

"I'm fine I'm just…it's nothing. Also, no I'm not in trouble. Goodwitch and Ozpin just wanted to check in with me, I guess. See how I was settling in and all that." Jaune walked around her and sat down on his bed.

"Is that all?" Pyrrha asked. "She seemed rather bothered by something."

"I went a little overboard during my fight according to her. Goodwitch wanted to make sure that I knew things are different here. So, there's that." Jaune undid his tie and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt. "Anyway, what are you all doing here? You're usually all off doing your own thing."

"We wanted to make sure you were alright." Pyrrha smiled.

Nora hopped onto Ren's bed. "Yup, buuuuuut now that you're here we can clue you in."

"Okay…" Jaune said slowly.

The three of them shared a look with each other before Nora spoke. "Team JNPR's gonna hit the town this weekend and guess what? You're part of Team JNPR!" Nora laid back and crossed her arms behind her head. "Glad that's settled."

Jaune leaned back. "Oh, you guys can go ahead. I'm gonna stay at the school."

"Aw what!?" Nora shot up. "We haven't done anything as a team since initiation! Plus, you can't be happy about having to bury your nose in a book. That's all you ever do!"

Jaune couldn't help but smirk. "Maybe, but I don't have much choice. I'll never catch up if I slack off."

"It's just one day! Pyrrha, tell him!"

"M-me!?" The former champion went rigid as the focus suddenly shifted to her. "W-well a break every now is good for morale. While not as demanding as physical training, taking breaks can you help decompress so you can feel refreshed when next you do study. To that end won't you join us on our outing?"

Jaune scanned each of them in turn. Pyrrha looked hopeful, Ren's face was passive as usual, and Nora was grinning and wiggling her eyebrows something he couldn't help but snort at. It's true he'd been going nonstop once he figured out a game plan, but sticking to it has gotten him this far already and he still had a long way to go. "Sorry," he started, "But I can't afford to slow down. You guys go ahead."

Pyrrha face fell and even Nora's smile faltered before her grin returned with a vengeance. "Ren," she said. "Hit him with our secret weapon."

Jaune's eyes slid over to Ren and raised an eyebrow. The dark-haired boy met his gaze coolly before speaking. "Team RWBY will be joining us as well. In fact, Ruby and Nora came up with the idea together."

Something in his expression surely betrayed him at that moment, an opening that Nora capitalized on. "That's right! Ruby and I have a whoooole day of lined up for us. You wouldn't to stick around here while the rest of us are off having fun, right? Besides you need this! Going full throttle for too long makes people act…nutty."

"So, this day is more for you, then?" Jaune fired back.

"It's for all of us! Don't make me beg!" Nora's bottom lip began to tremble and her went wide and glassy.

The sudden tears in her eyes caught him off guard even if they were expertly faked. "W-well, uh…"

Ren coughed. "You're laying it on a little thick."

Nora wiped her eyes as her easy grin returned, the prior sadness vanishing. "Sooooo?" Just then Nora's scroll beeped and she spared it a quick glance before a wicked gleam formed in her eyes. "You might wanna check your scroll there, Jauney."

He swallowed and did just that. Waiting for him were a few messages from Ruby.

'hey jaune! sorry but we're gonna cancel the study sesh tonight'

'my brain is poached and I NEED some RnR'

'sooooooo you wanna come to Vale with me and my team this weekend?'

'nora, ren, and pyrrha are already on board so lemme know!'

Jaune spared a glance upward and looked straight into Nora's smug face. He took a long slow breath before answering. "I…"

:X:

"Woohoooo!" Nora whooped and hollered as Team JNPR made their way to the bullheads for their weekend outing into Vale. It was well past noon though with plenty of sunlight left to burn. Thrums of students with similar plans stared as she waltzed past some and nearly barreled through others.

"Nora!" Ren called out. "Try and watch where you're going!" He hurried up to catch up with her and hopefully reign in her if by some miracle he could.

Pyrrha laughed. "She's always so full of energy."

"Sometimes a bit too much energy, you know?" Jaune sighed yet a small smile graced his features as he followed along.

Up ahead Nora bumped into another student who easily towered over her and had short dark with and wore a green robe similar to what Jaune himself wore. The difference being his robe was missing its left sleeve and would have exposed part of his chest as well if he wasn't wearing a black sleeveless shirt underneath. Jaune recognized him vaguely as one the second years, but not much else beyond that. "I better go help." Jaune nodded and Pyrrha quickly dashed off to try and diffuse the situation.

Looking past them Jaune could easily point out the color-coded outfits of Team RWBY already waiting for them. In the blink of an eye a red blur shot forward stopping him in his tracks. "Speaking of too much energy."

Ruby grinned at him as a bevy of rose petals fluttered about in her wake. "Hi!"

"Hi, Ruby." Jaune greeted, returning the grin. "Excited?"

"Yuh-huh! I've never gone into town with such a big group before!"

"Oh, yeah? Honestly, I didn't think you'd enjoy something like this. You always complain about how you never have enough time read comics like you used to. Or saying how much you miss lying in bed all day. I would have put money on you lounging about on a free weekend instead of going out."

Ruby's face immediately reddened. "Who doesn't like spending the whole day in bed!? Everyone's done it at least once! I'm not lazy, I just know what I like!" Jaune chuckled to himself which only fueled Ruby's mock rage. "I'm not!"

Jaune waved her off still grinning. "I believe you, Ruby. You're very strong. The fact that you're here is proof that you've put in the effort and then some."

"Yeah, well thank you! And don't you forget it!" Ruby yelled up Jaune full of indignation but being so much shorter than only served to make him laugh harder. "Anyway! Yeah, this sort of thing is more Yang's style, but Nora talked me into it. Yang's been saying I need to get out more, but going out dancing at a night club sounds awful! Then Nora suggested our teams go out together and that did sound fun."

Jaune furrowed his brow. "A night club? What's that?"

Ruby stopped short. "You don't know what a night club is? It's like a place where people go to dance and drink and listen to music."

He shook his head. "We didn't have anything like that in the forests of Anima. It doesn't sound awful though."

"It is!" She insisted. "People bump into you all the time and the music is so loud it gives you a headache! Plus, people try to talk to you or get you to dance and then you sit in corner to hide but security comes up asking if you're lost. Then they ask you to leave because you're too young to be there, but you have to find your sister cause she snuck out and you have to get back before dad comes home cause you weren't supposed to out so late!"

Jaune held his put a hand on her shoulder to get her to take a breath. "Okay… Putting aside the stuff about your dad and sister. You don't like talking to people?"

Ruby's boundless energy faltered. "Not really."

"You're talking to me though."

"With you and everyone else it's different! I don't have to try to get to get to the words to come out. I can never figure out what to say when total strangers try and start a conversation with me. It makes me nervous, and they get weirded and leave.

Jaune shook his head with a smile on his face. "You're the weird one, Ruby."

"Hey!"

"Hang on." Jaune put his hands up. "I just mean that you can charge down a Deathstalker fifty times your size fearlessly, but talking with someone you don't know makes you nervous? That's kind of backwards don't you think?"

Ruby groaned. "That's different! Ugh, you sound like Yang." He laughed again as she fidgeted place with nervous energy. Soon enough the two teams were standing before a waiting bullhead.

"Good evening, Team JNPR." Weiss came forward and bowed her head with a slight curtsy.

Yang snorted. "No need to be so stiff Weiss-cream. Yo!" she said, waving.

Weiss scoffed but held her tongue as the two teams exchanged pleasantries before boarding the bullhead.

"What happened with that guy from earlier?" Jaune asked Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren.

Nora cracked her knuckles. "Ha! I took care of him."

"We apologized and he forgave us." Pyrrha explained. "He was really rather kind and understanding." Jaune accepted the explanation while Ren steered Nora away to discuss appropriate behavior. A moment later Jaune excused himself to found a relatively quiet spot away as the bullhead took off. Pyrrha looked as if she was about to say something before thinking better of it and stayed silent.

Not even five minutes went by before Ruby couldn't take it anymore as the excitement from before returned and she saddled up next to Jaune. "What should we do first!? Ahhh, I can't take it! Wait, did you guys have lunch already!? How about dinner later then!? Wait! If we're gonna have dinner, then we should probably make reservations first! Oh, but I don't know of any restaurants. Yang's been in Vale a few times before maybe I should ask her?" Ruby was practically vibrating in place as she listed off all the things they could get up to in the city.

The whole time Jaune had his eyes closed and his head bowed in deep concentration. "Let's talk about it when we land."

Beside him, Ruby saw the way he swallowed thickly and how his brow was furrowed. "Uh, you okay, Jaune?"

"Fine." Just then the bullhead hit a bit of turbulence and Jaune's hand shot out to the wall to steady himself. He sucked a breath in through his nose and pressed his lips into a thin line. "Hurgh. Maybe I'm not fine."

A thought came to Ruby. "Do you get air sick, Jaune?" Her voice was quiet and her eyes were wide and disbelieving.

He took another deep breath before answering. "Y-yeah turns out I do. I can usually hold it together, but the pilot today isn't really making it easy."

"Wow. I never thought someone like you would have trouble flying."

"Someone like me?" Jaune asked.

"Uh, never mind." Ruby quickly clammed up and the bullhead lurched once more, and she watched as Jaune's face began to slowly turn shades of green before her very eyes. Another thought came to Ruby and she reached up and began to rub his back between his shoulder blades. "There, there. How's this? Does that help?"

The taller boy sighed. "No…yes." He admitted reluctantly, trying to put on a brave face but failing miserably. Ruby rolled her eyes without any heat. The bullhead shifted suddenly, and she grabbed his arm with her free hand to steady herself, now suddenly much closer.

"Sorry." she said, her voice a touch quieter.

"Don't worry about it."

"SO!" Yang suddenly appeared next to them causing her younger sister to jump back in surprise. "I was thinking when we touch down, we could hit up some of the shops and maybe pick up some new outfits? I haven't been clubbing in forever and if we all go pick up some new threads, then we could all go dancing together sometime! What do you guys think?"

"Personally—"

It was Jaune's turn to jump. "Pyrrha!?"

"I wouldn't mind picking out some new clothes." She continued, not missing a beat. "I don't know much about fashion admittedly so I'd appreciate it if you could come with me and help pick something out, Jaune."

"Not exactly a fashion expert, Pyrrha." Jaune muttered as he tried to keep his breakfast down. At long last the bullhead landed and the two teams reconvened in the streets of Vale.

"Woof! You don't look so hot, Jauney." Nora pointed out.

"I'm fine. I just gotta walk for a bit and wait for my stomach to settle."

Yang went ahead of everyone turned to face them hands on her hips. "Aaaalright! So, shopping?"

"Lead the way!" Nora answered. From then on, the two teams took to browsing Vale's various shops. Barely an hour had gone by until the trouble began, however. Jaune and the rest of Team RWBY had been waiting outside while Nora dragged Pyrrha and Ren into a shop selling sweets when it started. At first, a couple out on a date passed by who then rushed in to ask for a photo once they saw Pyrrha. Then, it spread to another passerby and then another and from there it began to spiral. Before they knew it a mob had formed.

Scrolls flashed and the street became congested with countless people vying for Pyrrha's attention. The crowd quickly swarmed around Jaune with barely a gap in between everyone. One guy bumped into Ruby who nearly toppled to the ground before Jaune reached out and effortlessly pulled her to her feet before leading her out of the crowd.

"Hey! Quit shoving you little- ow!" Yang voice was heard from somewhere within the horde of people.

"I don't see them anywhere! What about you?" Ruby shouted over the noise.

Jaune scanned the crowd and easily picked out a shock of white. "Stay here!" he told her before he began forcing his way through. He was tall, broad, and easily stronger than anyone he was likely to find in a crowd of civilians. Before long he grasped Weiss' shoulder who spun around ready to shake him off before she recognized him. "Come on!" he told her.

He guided her in front of him so he could keep an eye on her should they start to become separated. As small as she was it would be all too easy for her to get trampled with so many people crammed together. A stranger suddenly cut in front of him before Jaune reached out and pushed him back in the direction he came from. A few moments later he and Weiss broke free from the mob.

Ruby rejoined them on the opposite street though even that was quickly fill up with more people. "Are you okay, Weiss?"

"Well, aside from the fact that my hair is a mess, I was mobbed by sweaty fanatics, and someone elbowed me in the face twice! I am well. Thank you for asking." Weiss began the arduous task of smoothing her hair out before she paused and turned to Jaune. "Thank you for getting me out of there. It is much appreciated."

The taller boy caught her eye before nodding. "Don't mention it."

"Eeeee! My two BFFs are getting along!" Ruby squealed.

"Don't get ahead of yourself!" Weiss chided while Jaune managed a quick smile. Ruby was about to retort when her scroll rang. She quickly accepted the call once she saw who was on the other end.

"Pyrrha! Are you okay!?" shouted the younger girl.

"I'm fine. How are the rest of you?" In the background of the video call Ruby could out make the forms of Nora and Ren trying to form a perimeter around their teammate.

"You take one more step and I'll break your legs!" shouted Nora loud enough for the scroll to pick up.

"I'm here with Jaune and Weiss. Yang is somewhere in the crowd still, but I don't see Blake anywhere!"

Before Pyrrha could answer a yellow blur landed in heap in front of Ren. He quickly swooped in and collected Yang who shot to her feet. "Alright! Whoever pulled my hair is so dead! Which one of you was it!?" she roared. When her cries went ignored, she slammed her fists together as her hair suddenly caught fire. "Not gonna step forward, huh? That's fine. I'll just knock some sense into every single one of you!"

"Yang, no!" Ren shouted. "They don't have aura, you could seriously hurt them!"

"Yeah? Well, I seriously want to!" Despite her words Yang held back and settled for shoving people back into the crowd whenever they managed to breach shop's doorway.

Pyrrha turned back to the video call. "This isn't going to calm down anytime soon! I'm so sorry!"

"It's not your fault, Pyrrha. We'll wait for guys out here!" Ruby answered.

"Hey!" Jaune, Weiss, and Ruby looked up as someone from the crowd broke free and glowered at Jaune. "Who the hell do you think you pushing me around, blondie?"

Weiss groaned. "You cannot be serious. Just what do you think you were doing a second ago? Patting people on the back?"

The stranger ignored her words and marched straight to Jaune who matched him step for step. "Jaune, don't!" they heard Ruby yell.

"Don't what? What's happening!?" Pyrrha shouted into the scroll.

The stranger cocked his fist back and threw a wild punch at Jaune who easily ducked underneath the blow and deftly maneuvered behind him. The other man stumbled forward and Jaune grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled. The stranger fell onto his back where Jaune quickly grabbed the front of his shirt in his fist and the waist of his jeans before hurling him back into the crowd with all his might. A handful of people were bowled over but ended up leaning on each other at odd angles rather than falling to ground.

"Well." Weiss said. "You certainly think on your feet."

Jaune flashed her a brief smile as he rejoined them. "We should probably get of here."

"But what about the others?" Ruby asked.

"They'll be fine. They're holed up in the shop and I don't see civilians overpowering them anytime soon." Sirens began wailing in the distance. "There's also that."

Ruby turned back to the scroll. "Are you guys gonna be ok?"

"Yes, we'll be fine." Pyrrha answered. "The rest of you try and salvage this outing as best you can. See you soon!" Pyrrha flashed a smile as the call ended.

"Where do we go from here," Ruby asked.

"I have a suggestion." Weiss chimed in. "Since we're already in the city why not do a quick supply run?"

Jaune quirked his head while Ruby nodded. "Well, we're not far from our usual spot so we might as well. At least something good will come out of this whole mess."

"What supplies are you buying?" Jaune asked, confused.

Weiss ran a hand through her hair, "Dust of course." With that she began leading them away from all the chaos.

Since most of the people on the streets were flocking to Pyrrha there weren't any crowds to maneuver around and their trip to the dust shop was quick and painless though still several blocks away. Once inside there was an array of different types of dust lining the walls in various forms. From powder and crystals to fire and ice and everything in between. Jaune took to idly browsing the selections seeing as he had nothing else to do after Weiss and Ruby began to storm the place.

Ice. Fire. Wind. Earth. Plenty of it to go around and plenty useless to him. Rouge had been the one with talent for dust weaving. Raven had tried to teach him but decided he was hopeless at it fairly quickly. Instead, she opted to focus on more traditional sword techniques for him to learn. Moving on, he ended up in a section that sold dust rounds of various calibers. Another thing he had no use for. Raven didn't care much for guns and that was the whole explanation he received when he asked her about it.

"Thinking about acquiring a firearm?" Weiss voice shook him from his thoughts. He turned to find her looking at him inquisitively.

Jaune shrugged. "Not really. My techniques rely exclusively on a blade. I've fired a gun maybe six or seven times in my whole life. It would just be wasted on me anyway."

"You really don't use dust at all?" Weiss brow furrowed brow as disbelief crept into her voice.

"No." he sighed. "I really don't. Not unless you count me charging my scroll or heating my food."

"I can't believe you. Listen, my name is Weiss Schnee. I'm—"

"We've met."

Weiss glared. "Let me finish! My family owns the Schnee Dust Company. The world's foremost supplier of dust known across the entirety of Remnant. Ring any bells?"

"…"

"The SDC? The white hair? Our logo? None of it is familiar at all!?" Weiss pointed to the snowflake design emblazoned at the base of all the dispensaries and flagged the look of recognition on Jaune's face immediately.

"Actually, yeah. The name SDC does sound vaguely familiar. I've seen that logo too."

Weiss threw her hands up. "FINALLY!"

"It was stamped on nearly all the crates that carried dust."

Weiss paused. "Crates? What? The SDC doesn't sell whole crates to the everyday consumer."

"Oh. Well, we received them as a reward. Not whole crates, obviously." Jaune said quickly. "I don't know if Ruby told you, but I used to live on Anima in the wilderness with my tribe. Whenever we would find villages, we'd stay a while and repel Grimm. They'd break a few crates open and offer us dust and food as a reward."

"I see, I do recall Ruby mentioning such things." In truth Weiss only vaguely remembered Ruby spouting off some facts about Jaune, but in all honesty she only ever listened with half an ear. Jaune didn't need to know that though. "Still. Arguably one of the most useful and coveted resources in the world and you choose not to partake?

Jaune shook his head in the affirmative.

"Fine then. I take it the wilds of Anima is where you learned to fight?"

"That's right." He said, nodding. "Our leader taught me her style of fighting. Even my sword is modeled after hers.

Weiss nodded approvingly. "She's from Mistral I take it? Did she also choose to forgo dust? Is that why don't use it yourself?"

"I don't know if she was from Mistral or not. Also, no she could use dust just fine. Why do you ask?"

"I see." She took a moment to digest his words before snapping to attention. "Hang on if she could use dust then why didn't she teach you!?"

Jaune could only shrug.

The heiress touched the tips of her fingers to her temple. "Never mind. Curved blades and armor like the type you wear most commonly originate from Mistral. Even your clothing is of similar trend to what they wear over there."

"Huh." Jaune looked down at his clothes. He'd worn some variation of this his whole life as did the others in the tribe, but it never occurred to him think more deeply on it. "This was just the norm for me, but good to know. There wasn't a lot of time for fashion out in the frontier so we took what we could get."

"I imagine not." The conversation fell into a lull after that. Around them Ruby flitted from here to there taking in all of what the store had to offer. She only stopped when she noticed the magazine rack tucked away in the corner and quickly buried her nose into the latest publications on weapons. "I have another question, if you don't mind my asking."

Jaune looked up from the dust crystal he was examining. "Shoot."

"Why didn't you seek to learn? You clearly have the drive, I've seen it firsthand in our studies." Weiss stared into his eyes as if she could gleam the answer from his mind.

"I thought we were done with that. My teacher said I was hopeless at it. We focused on martial fighting instead."

"Perhaps your teacher wasn't very good with dust themselves and didn't think she could teach it?" Weiss offered.

"No. That's not it." Jaune shook his head. "She has an eye for this sort of thing. She could weave dust as easily as breathing. I was just no good, and it was better for a resource like that to go to someone who could actually do something with it."

A slight frown marred Weiss as his words sunk in. "Perhaps…I could teach you some of what I know? I know all too well the challenges one is faced with when weaving dust and I like to think I've overcome them with flying colors. I've been around dust from birth after all."

Jaune eyed her warily. "Where is this coming from?"

"Don't read into it." Weiss idly looked over her nails as she spoke. "I'm simply returning the favor for delivering me from those miscreants earlier. I won't allow it to cut into our study sessions, but if you can find the time, I'd gladly sit down with you and together we'll see if you're truly as hopeless as you claim."

"Jaune's short sword uses dust so you already having a good starting point!" Both Jaune and Weiss both flinched as Ruby appeared next to them.

"How do you know that?" Jaune shot her a quizzical look.

"I, uh, noticed it straight away when you showed it me the first time." Ruby smiled shyly. "Weapons are kinda my thing."

Weiss frowned. "If you don't use dust then why procure a weapon that does?"

Ruby's face fell. "It wasn't mine to begin with. It used to belong to my sister." Jaune answered.

"You have a sister?" Weiss eyes widened. "I had no idea. Where is she then? Won't she be missing it? Weiss saw how Ruby seemed to shrink even smaller and her frowned deepened.

Jaune took a deep breath. "She's dead."

Weiss flailed for the right words. "O-Oh! I-I'm…so sorry. I didn't—I mean…"

"You didn't know. Forget it."

"Right…" Weiss cleared her throat and clasped her hands in front of her.

The mood suddenly turned somber. "I'm gonna go get some extra rounds for Yang then I'll be good to check out, okay?" Ruby walked off after Jaune nodded in her direction.

"Ahem. The offer stands if you still wish to take me up on it?" Weiss looked everywhere but at him.

Jaune took a moment to think. If anyone could show him a thing or two about how to use dust, then Weiss, who grew up with it her whole, might. Worst case scenario he burns a few lien on some dust he can give away and he wastes an afternoon. From what he'd seen most Huntsman used dust to some degree and a huntsman is what he aimed to become "Sure. I'll make some time."

Weiss nodded. "Wonderful. Well first let's start with what you know. Go collect the same type and form of dust your, um, sister used. Afterwards meet me at the counter."

"Understood." It took no time at all to find the ice and fire dust given they seemed to be the most popular types the store carried. He hit a snag though and after searching twice to be sure he linked up with Weiss.

"Finished, then?" She looked over the small containers. "Hmm. Fire and ice in powdered form I see. The same as my own weapon. Do you have everything you need?"

Jaune shook his head "No actually. I found the green dust, but it's all wind. I couldn't find the plant dust anywhere."

Weiss faces scrunched up in confusion. "Your sister fought with planttype dust?"

"Is that weird?" he asked.

"Extremely. The common elemental types of fire, ice, wind, and earth used are straight forward with obvious and versatile applications. Plant type dust is used in agriculture with it being utilized largely in Atlas greenhouses. This way the city can grow produce independent of the surface. When used in such a manner there isn't a need to weave it in intricate fashion but control the intensity and point its effects in the right direction. Weaving plant type dust is notoriously difficult and using it in combat is frankly unheard of!"

"Is that right?" A slow smile spread across Jaune's face. "Rouge was always the talented one. To hear that no one else would think to attempt the abilities she's mastered just drives home how amazing she is." His face fell. "Was, I mean."

Weiss watched as his eyes lit up with a gleam she'd never seen before it was dashed soon after. "You really admired her, huh?"

"I did. I was supposed to be the older brother, but I was the one who looked up to her. She had all the skill after all." Jaune smiled in spite of it all.

"That didn't…irk you? Weiss eyed him carefully.

Jaune shook his head. "Of course not. Watching her grow and advance filled me with pride. I do wish I could have shared her talent though if only to keep her out of the spotlight.

"What do you mean?"

"My mother was…strict." Jaune frowned. "She had high expectations that we struggled to meet. For Rouge it was worse. She wasn't a fighter. In fact, she hated it and that was something my mother had an issue with especially because Rouge was special. She thought Rouge would drag us down and make us weak, so I worked to be strong enough for the both of us."

Weiss swallowed thickly. "I see. My…father has a similar mindset in regards to how I choose to live my life. Erm, we don't have to discuss this any further. For now, let's stick with fire and ice and go from there."

Jaune took a breath. "Agreed."

From there the trio took turns to make their purchases with Weiss being the last in line. While she waited, she thought about her conversation with Jaune. She would be first to admit she didn't know much about him beyond the fact he was friends with her partner. If they were going to spend even more time together with her teaching him about dust then maybe she should make an effort to learn. Finding out he had a sister had been a surprise as well and the fact that she apparently fought with plant type dust was even more shocking.

Still, it was odd what he'd said about the dust crates. Villages, especially new ones, needed to hold on to all the resources they could if they stood a chance of growing. To offer dust as a reward seemed a bit foolish no matter what service Jaune and his tribe could have provided. To hear they'd even gone as far as to offer plant type dust strained belief. Such a resource was invaluable for a growing village's food stores and yet they'd given some of that up too. All this added to the growing mystery of 'Just Jaune' and one she found herself wanting to unravel more and more.

Soon enough the three of them found themselves outside the dust shop with Jaune being the proud new owner of two color coded dust vials. There were still a few hours of daylight left, but with their group so drastically reduced they weren't sure what to do next.

"I can try calling Pyrrha again?" Ruby offered. "Maybe the mob's cleared out by now?"

"As good an idea as any." Jaune said.

Ruby's scroll rang for a few moments before Pyrrha's face appeared on the screen. "Hello, everyone! Are you alright?"

"We're fine. How are the rest of you?"

"As good as can be I suppose. It took the police some time to disperse the crowd but once they did we were escorted to the police station."

"You're not in trouble are you!?" Ruby shouted.

"No, but the officers in charge strongly recommend I return to the school for the time being." Pyrrha smiled sadly. "Ren, Nora, and Yang are with me and are fine as well. The officers are offering to escort us back to avoid any more mobs from breaking out. I get the sense they are somewhat cross with me."

"You didn't do anything wrong though!" Ruby looked up to Jaune and Weiss who nodded their agreement.

"I know, but I still feel awful for adding to their plate. They're just doing their jobs after all." Pyrrha looked up as she was addressed by an officer though was too garbled for Ruby to hear what they were saying clearly. "It sounds like our escorts are ready, so we'll be heading back to school now.

"Oh alright." Ruby hung her head. "I guess we'll meet you back at the dorms then."

"I'm sorry this didn't turn out like you hoped, Ruby." Pyrrha apologized.

"It's okay I don't blame you at all."

Weiss saw how downcast Ruby. "I know. Why don't we bring back dinner for everyone? I had planned on capping off our evening with a delectable meal for us all once our shopping was over, but now seems a good a time as any. I did some research online and found a restaurant with favorable reviews we can order from."

"Hey yeah!" Ruby smiled and turned to the scroll. "What do you guy about an early dinner! We can hang out and eat in one of our dorms!"

"That sounds wonderful!" Pyrrha turned and asked the others their thoughts. "Everyone else is in agreement!"

"Excellent." Weiss took out her own scroll. "I shall call ahead and have our meals ready for us."

"Shouldn't we look at the menu or something?" Ruby asked.

"Not at all. This restaurant has a set menu with multiple courses guaranteed to satisfy any and all palates."

"Right…" Ruby looked to Jaune who shrugged. He'd never been to a restaurant before so he didn't have much to add.

Weiss took a few steps away to call the restaurant but returned soon after with a frown marring her face. "It would appear that this particular restaurant does not cater to those not dining on the premises. It would seem that we are out of options for dinner."

"Oh. Well, what about burgers and fries?" Ruby offered. "I know a really good chain that does takeout. Yang and I have been there before so I can have her text me their orders. Pyrrha?"

The former champion turned back to her friends and Ruby clearly heard Nora cheer and began to chant burger time repeatedly. "No arguments here." Pyrrha said with a smile.

"Burgers…and fries?" Weiss said the words slowly as if speaking a foreign language.

"You've never heard of burgers or fries?" Ruby asked.

"Of course I have!"

"I haven't." Said Jaune. "I'll eat whatever though. I'm not picky."

"Yes, well, I've heard of people partaking of such things though I myself never had the opportunity."

"What!?" Ruby reared back as if struck. "Alright new plan! Commence operation: Burger Time! Our mission: get our hands on the crispiest, fries and juiciest, burgers we can! No friends of mine will suffer the injustice of never having eaten a burger for as long I breathe! Are you with me!?"

"Control yourself!" Weiss leaned back at Ruby's sudden outburst.

"No! Say you're with me!"

"I'm in." Weiss, Jaune and Ruby all jumped as Blake suddenly appeared next to them.

Weiss immediately rounded on her after recovering. "And where have you been exactly?"

"Keeping an eye on you guys from the rooftops. That mob was full of weirdos and I didn't want to get caught up in the middle of all that." Blake explained.

"The whole time?"

"Well, I might have visited a bookstore or two while you guys were buying dust." Blake admitted. Weiss narrowed her eyes and hummed.

"Anyway. We're going burgers tonight, right?" Blake turned back to her team leader.

Ruby snapped to attention. "That's right!"

"Fine then." Weiss crossed her arms. "However, I will be calling ahead and I will be taking care of all the expenses. Fetching dinner was my idea after all. Have Yang text me everyone's orders."

Ruby looked on in awe. "Really? Thank you, Weiss!" The younger reached out to wrap her partner in a hug who deftly backed away and took shelter behind Jaune.

"Just have your sister text me!"

:X:

By the time the four of them had made it back to Beacon the sun was well on its way to setting. Given that a large portion of Team Rwby's dorm was freed up thanks to the bunk beds they'd cobbled together the eight of them decided to have their dinner in there. Jaune sat on the floor and watched as everyone took apart the paper wrapping their burgers came with. Nora had asked for a massive triple cheeseburger and a large fry and drink to boot. She'd emptied the fries onto the wrapper and was emptying ketchup pack after ketchup packet on the small mountain before she began to devour it.

"Is it supposed to be dripping?" Weiss asked from a spot beside Jaune on the floor. The two of them had yet to dig in though the heiress had worked up the nerve to grasp sandwich in her hands.

"Oh yeah. The greasier the better." Yang said, taking a sip of her drink.

"You can shay dat again!" Ruby replied, her face currently stuffed.

Weiss wrinkled her nose. "Don't talk with your mouth full!"

Ruby swallowed and washed down her food with a sip from the cookie milkshake she'd ordered. "Sorry! You should eat it before it gets cold though."

Jaune picked up his own burger and watched as a deluge of ketchup fell out the other end. It didn't look like anything special, just a greasy sandwich in his eyes, but food was food. "Cheers?" He held out his burger to Weiss who contemplated the move before finally bumping his sandwich with hers. In unison they took a bite as the juice spilled over their chins and their eyes widened. Before long they'd left no trace of the burgers.

A/N: Back again! Sorry for the wait, but work has been rough these past couple weeks. There's still more to come though and I hope you stick around! Thank you to all those who've favorited, followed, and left a review. Knowing you're enjoying the story really gets me pumped to keep going. Till next time!