Chapter 2 – One for the Ages

Team Job meets and greets one another for real in the looming shadow of their upcoming first mission.

Huntresses were truly kind people.

Huntsmen too, probably, but Jaune didn't exactly have much experience with huntsmen, and the one huntress he'd spent more than a few hours with certainly had to be the kindest soul in the world. After all, who else would look out for someone overnight just because they'd both suffered the same ignominious firing from Beacon?

Well, we didn't really get fired as much as we were just…turned down. But still, it was really nice of her to take care of me when I was trapped in my own head.

It was morning, and he'd woken up in a somewhat dingy motel in a messy two-person bed. The girl who'd presumably taken him here – he didn't remember a lot from yesterday – was in the room's chair, the one that motels always had at the corner of the room.

He wasn't normally such a braindead wuss. It was just…when Ozpin handed him that paper, it had been the summation of all of his fears. He'd dreamed of that moment, or rather experienced nightmares of it, for so long, but he'd never seriously expected them to see through his little deception. Jaune had invested so much of himself into becoming a huntsman, and to have that dream ripped away from him merely because…because…well, he'd just fallen apart. It had felt impossible to speak, to move, to breathe.

Yesterday was a bit of a blur beyond that point. Ozpin's words of wisdom were lost to him entirely, and he didn't really remember how he'd left Beacon, but he did recall the girl prodding him for…something about them working together because they'd both gotten the boot together? It was a nice consideration of her. Yeah, she'd been asking about work or something, and he'd told her he needed a moment, and then he'd just zoned out again.

And now here he was, sleeping in a real bed in the city of Vale. The place wasn't exactly luxury, but it was probably a good choice economically for two kids who were on a budget, so he had to agree with her choice to bring them here.

At the moment, she was still asleep in the chair. Jaune quietly pulled himself out of bed to sit at the edge and look at her.

The girl was a catgirl? Oh!

Somehow, he hadn't remembered that. Before Ozpin had handed him that form, he'd been in his right mind and had seen her very clearly, and those ears…were they new?

Of course not, you idiot. Faunus don't just grow their ears. You were probably so stupid that you didn't even notice them. Or…wait, she was wearing a hat or something, right? A scarf? Something like that was on the girl's head.

She, the girl, her…he really needed to stop thinking of her like that and start calling her by her name when he thought of her.

Her name.

Right.

It was…

Jaune mentally reviewed the previous day. He was certain she'd said her name at some point. What were all the names he remembered? Ruby Rose, then Professor Goodwitch, then Jaune Arc…

She'd said her name and asked for his, but the memory just wasn't coming up. It was a mental Error 404, name not found.

Darn it. I really hope it won't be awkward when I ask.

It was then that Jaune noticed the suitcase on the ground next to the Faunus girl. On top of it was a manila envelope.

Her application form would have her name on it. If I peeked quickly, I could save us both the embarrassment…

He also noticed the pristine sword at her hip.

There's also zero chance she wouldn't wake up riiiiiiiiiiight at the moment when I was looking through her private files. That sword's gotta be as sharp as Crocea Mors, and I rather like being a man.

He'd just play it cool until she said her name, then. It wasn't like she was going to wake up and ask him what her name was the second she did.

On that note, I'd better wake her up.

"Hey, uh…"

Crap.

"Hey, you. Um…it's…it's morning."

He considered jostling her gently but decided against it. This woman had shown him great kindness, and he didn't want to repay it by being the creep who touched her when she was sleeping.

"Um, I think it's time to wake up, Ms. Huntress."

She shifted in her sleep, then her eyes shot opened. For a moment, with those amber orbs darting back and forth within a cat-eared head, Jaune felt a bit like a prey animal being hunted by a big cat, but the feeling dissolved away into nothing when the recognition set in.

"Ah, Jaune. How'd you sleep?"

"Great. Fine. Th-Thanks for asking. How about you?"

She stretched out her back and rose from the chair. Jaune winced upon seeing that it had no padding or cushions on any part.

And she took it so that I could have the bed. What a generous woman…

"I slept okay. Caught up on some reading before bed." She gestured to the case with the envelope on it using her whole head. Then, something in her expression shifted, and she turned to stare at the suitcase with her full attention.

"I didn't touch it!" Jaune hurriedly spat out, fearful of the consequences for an action he'd only ever considered. "I swear!"

The girl immediately reached down and grabbed her manila envelope. Reaching inside, she took out another smaller white envelope, this one about the size of a standard letter sent in the mail. Upon seeing it, she let out a long, relieved sigh.

"Good. Um…what were you saying, Jaune?"

Jaune swallowed. "N-Nothing. Hey, you were saying something about work yesterday, right?" He bashfully rubbed the back of his neck and let out a little laugh. "Sorry about all that, by the way. Just…well, you were there, and you know how it felt."

She nodded. "I do. And I was able to reserve a mission for the two of us. Grimm culling in Lemuria Settlement – it's a typical gig, your average woodland Grimm and their senior forms. You don't need to worry about the details, I took care of them all."

"Ohhhh, yeah." Jaune nodded up and down slowly. "Yeah, it's all coming back to me. I asked if we needed a license, but you said that we didn't because…of something. And you said we get paid, right?"

Her smile became a little bit flatter for a second, but it went back to normal after a moment. Jaune immediately felt a hot pang of shame over sounding so greedy.

"Yes," she said. "We will get paid. And no, we don't need a license to take the jobs. Licenses are just…they're more like advertisements. If you have one, people know you trained at an academy or as an apprentice and they expect a certain degree of quality, but they changed the rule saying you need one strictly."

Jaune shot her a quick thumbs up. "Sounds good. And, uh, what was the type of Grimm? Woodlands?"

The girl blinked at him a few times. "W-Woodlands? Oh, no, it's woodland Grimm, as in Grimm of the…the, uh, woodlands. Usual stuff like Beowolves and Ursai."

"And…seniors? Senior forms?" Jaune didn't like the look on her face when he kept asking questions, so he tried to smile disarmingly. "Sorry, I'm still out of it from yesterday a bit."

"It's not a problem, Jaune." She shot him her own disarming smile, and he felt a lot safer knowing that he hadn't offended this actual huntress with his own lack of knowledge. "I just mean that there'll be Alpha Beos and both Minors and Majors."

Okay. That explains absolutely nothing at all. Alpha Beos…I guess that's an abbreviation of Beowolf? So then the Minors and Majors are the other ones, the Orzos? I thought that was a type of pasta, though.

Asking any more questions about Grimm would clearly expose him as a fraud, though, and he didn't want that. Right now, his only chance of survival in the big city was teaming up with this girl and learning how to be a huntsman from her, as he certainly wasn't going to be doing so under Beacon's many professors. It was kind of embarrassing to think about, apprenticing under someone his own age, but fraudsters couldn't be choosers.

And I refuse to give up on my dream. I will become a hero huntsman and start saving people like the Arcs from those books.

I will not go back to Dad with my tail tucked between my legs. I won't, no matter what.

"Great." The girl reached down and opened up her suitcase, then placed her two envelopes inside of it. "If you're up for it, I'd say we can pick up some breakfast on the way and then go over to the rental bullhead shipyard. They usually give preference to people on the waitlist when they show up in person, and it's better than sitting around here."

"Why are you taking your bags?" he asked, looking down as she lifted up her case. "Can't you leave them here?"

She shook her head. "Places like this, you don't wanna leave any valuables unattended. I can stow it in a locker at the bullhead place. You don't have any luggage, do you?"

"No," Jaune admitted. "Aside from Crocea Mors, and it's something I imagine I'll need on the mission."

"Crocea Mors," she repeated. "A good name for a fine blade. It's the kind of name of a weapon wielded by a hero that people trust – I like it. I think we're gonna do really well together, Jaune."

Feeling himself starting to blush at the praise, Jaune turned his head away. "Me too…"

Crap! I still don't know her name!

"Blake Belladonna," she said. When he looked at her in surprise, she just gave him that same peaceable smile. "It's okay. You were really out of it yesterday."

"Blake," Jaune said with a smile. "Oh, right, like in Team Job!"

Blake's smile faltered. "Team what now?"

"Team Job! It's our team name! You made it up yesterday. I only just remembered it."

"Oh, right! Team Job, for Jaune and Blake." The smile came back in full. "Team Job's first mission. This is gonna be one for the ages, my friend."

As they sat together on a bench in the lobby of the shipyard and waited for a bullhead to be made available, Jaune and Blake spoke to one another. They'd technically met yesterday, but this morning had felt like a real greeting between the two of them, and this downtime was a great opportunity for them to get to know one another.

"I think we should both agree to not pry about each other's, you know, application forms," Blake had said first. "I don't know about you, but I think that I'm not really happy with Beacon for how they treated us, and I don't want that negative energy to be where the two of us start."

Jaune was more than happy to not have this pro-huntress digging into his complete lack of experience, and he vigorously agreed to make sure she knew it. "That's a great idea, Blake. Like, just because we didn't…just because they didn't…I mean, the world always needs more huntsmen and huntresses, not less, right? I can't believe that they don't want to train us into heroes."

Blake nodded. "Exactly."

"I mean, how hard can killing the Grimm really be? Just aim the gun and pop 'em in the head, or stick 'em with your sword. Easy as a chicken dumpling."

The cat ears bobbed up and down again in agreement.

"What I really don't get is why those professors have to make it so difficult for normal people…uh, n-non-students, I mean, the folks who didn't go to primary combat schools…for those kinds of people to be hunters. Like, why not just train everyone? All you need is two hands to pick up a weapon, right?"

Blake just shrugged. "Probably 'cause aura attracts Grimm, but you're not wrong. After all, it's not like the city walls aren't perpetually swarmed by monsters braying for blood. I doubt it could get any worse if they just unlocked everyone like you're saying."

So that was the end of that conversation, then. Jaune had no idea what aura was, but the fact that it was apparently a reason why normal people (like him) weren't supposed to be hunters meant it was no longer a safe topic of discussion.

Casually shifting the conversation, Jaune moved to a much safer talking point. "Are you from Vale?"

Blake flinched, noticeably. "What makes you ask?"

"Oh, just curious. You don't have to tell me if it's personal. I'm from Ansel – it's a larger village, relatively speaking, but it's also a bit out of the way on the map. I think that two major rails pass by it, but you need to take the trains for a few days if you want to get there."

"Huh. That's neat, I guess. I'm from…south of Mistral."

"Southern Mistral?"

For some reason, Blake looked away, unable to meet Jaune's eyes. "From an island on the south coast of Mistral."

"Anywhere near Menagerie?" Jaune asked.

That got her attention back. Blake's neck moved so fast one might have thought her in danger of breaking it. "You know about Menagerie?"

"Well, sure. It's a huge place. As big as Patch, and ten times as populated. I mean, I live in Remnant. I know it's geography as much as anyone."

"But…But…But…I've met Faunus who've never heard of Menagerie."

Jaune didn't really know what to say to that. He was aware that education tended to be lower quality when you looked at predominantly Faunus schools, solely in terms of budget and resources provided, but he saw no way of bringing up that topic without sounding like a racist, so he just shrugged. There was no reason to needlessly fall out of grace with his Faunus benefactor over being mistaken as insulting her entire species' education.

His own education was a good one. Jaune wasn't stupid – he actually had nearly straight A grades, except for art class. The only problem was that he'd learned after the fact that huntsmen had different education systems from normies. Apparently, you had to go to a special thing called a primary combat school in order to become one, and that fact wasn't really well advertised.

It's not fair. I spent my whole life thinking that if I put in the work, studied hard, and did well in high school, I'd get to go to Beacon, but then I found out that I was in the wrong school entirely? And I only found out when I graduated? I mean, I had no other choice but to be a fraud. It just wasn't fair, you know?

If anything, it was the huntsmen at fault for his fall from grace here. They didn't tell regular people how and when to start the process, which made the entire career start to sound like some insular community where you had to know someone to get it. One of the few facts about huntsmen that he did know was that kids of existing huntsmen tended to make up 70% of the primary combat school population.

I wonder if something similar happened to Blake. Could she not get into a school? Is it because she's a Faunus?

It didn't matter in the end, as he couldn't ask. She'd explicitly requested they leave that part of their backstories alone, so he would respect her wishes. He certainly wanted his own privacy on that matter, after all.

Their conversation had sort of lulled, and Jaune couldn't really remember the last thing they'd been talking about – where they were from or something?

Maybe if he talked shop, it would be good? Actually, come to think of it, they probably needed to.

"Hey, so, how're we gonna do this?" Jaune asked. Blake didn't seem prepared to answer his vague question, so he clarified. "I mean, what is our plan for finding and killing the Grimm? We're both young, and we've never worked together before, so how are we gonna divvy up work? Do we split up or do we fight together? What's your weapon, and how does it work? This just feels like stuff we should know about one another…right?"

"I was just thinking I could…"

Blake paused and bit her lips. She was basically the brains of the operation, so Jaune figured he would give her as much time as she needed. As their resident real hunter, she was the one who actually knew how missions like this were supposed to go.

"I'll…how about we see how it goes?" she offered unsurely.

See…how it goes? That doesn't really sound great…but maybe normal hunters operate this way? That doesn't explain why she sounds so unconvinced herself.

"I always get the best measure of a fellow hunter when I see them in the field," Blake explained, some confidence returning to her voice as she elaborated. "I mean, I can't really determine how best to team up. It's not like I can just say 'I'm an agile fighter' or something. That could mean a million different things."

"Yeah. Yeah, okay." Blake started nodding, and Jaune joined along with her. "We'll see how it goes."

Ultimately, Blake was right about them being called earlier if they waited at the airship place. Jaune had no idea if the waits were usually long to get a private bullhead rented to take them to a place needing a hunter, but he imagined that a fifty-minute wait had to be pretty short.

She really knows her stuff.

Before they left, they did end up showing off their weapons to one another, since that was something that they could just explain without a Beosa in front of them or whatever the Grimm was called.

It was kinda embarrassing, to be able to offer nothing to their partnership except a sword that was made redundant by Blake's own sword. And her sword was also a cleaver and a gun and a ribbon and a hookshot and a…gods, it was so much!

Stupid family heirlooms…stupid hunters…

Jaune bit his tongue as penance for that though. His opinion of hunters, especially those like Ozpin who kept the job to those within the club, was lowering with every day he spent among them, but Blake – she was an angel. His guardian angel, in fact. Honestly, Jaune was beginning to wonder if she'd been sent by a divine being to look after him.

I'm just lucky to have a pro-huntress watching my back. I don't wanna say I'm glad she got kicked out, but…

Coming Soon: Human Shield

It's time for Jaune Arc to pull his weight.