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P.S. This chapter might not be what you expected but the next one...well, I hope you read the next one because wow did everything go wild there.
My partner died first, the rest...well I got separated from the rest of my friends when I fell down to the Ever After." Jaune (or should he call himself Professor Arc now) answers stoically.
There. That should keep them off from asking too much. Nobody wants to be insensitive enough to keep asking questions after getting thrown in the face with loss.
It hurts that he had to do something like this but he had to remember that these aren't his friends. These are their younger versions. He had to create some distance between them even now if he doesn't want mixing it up. He should probably avoid addressing them by their first name then.
The moment Team RWBY entered, he could already see Weiss' mind turning the gears inside her head. Her eyes flicked back and forth between him and his younger self and Jaune had to do something to throw her off.
He...might have made a mistake bringing that up however with how they were all looking at him right now.
Pyrrha and Ruby gasped worriedly while the rest frowned like Weiss and Yang, did their best not to react like Blake and Ren, or even just had plain tears in their eyes like Nora, and himsel-
Wait, what?
Staring at his younger self, he could already see tears gathering at his eyes.
Was he really that emotional?
He can't remember with how long it has been since he was seventeen but it was obvious even with how the rest were reacting that he needed to change the subject. Before he could however, his younger self speaks hoarsely to everyone's surprise.
"When?"
One word but it was enough for him to realize something was very wrong. He locks eyes with his younger self only for his eyes to flick downward, he follows automatically and he sees his preemployment papers signed with...his signature. His own fucking signature that a seventeen year old Jaune Arc could recognize. Fuck!
Talk about a blunder. Here he was, found out by his younger self minutes after he just told Glynda he wouldn't involve them.
He locks eyes with his younger self again and wordless conversation passes between them. He sees his eyes start to wet and Jaune only has a few moments to change the topic before anyone notices the strange air between them.
Luckily, he just had the topic to distract them with. Hopefully his younger self doesn't call him out on it though.
Clearing his throat to gather his thoughts, he looks at the rest only to see them staring at the two Arcs curiously.
This is bad. He had to be delicate about this if he didn't want them knowing things so soon.
"Well...it's been years for me since I last saw any of them."
"Years?"
He smirks to himself as he hears Weiss pipe in curiously.
Hook, line, and sinker.
Weiss always was atentive to details like that. He knew he didn't look his real age and throwing something like that out there is sure to take much of their attention while lightening the heavy mood.
He waits for his younger self to say something but when nothing comes, he internally breathes a sigh of relief. He was in the clear, for now.
"Yup. Years. How old do you think I am?" He smiles at how his improvisation worked.
"You...don't look much older than us." Pyrrha answers slowly and he couldn't help but feel nostalgic as her green eyes scrutinized him.
"I would estimate you to be at your early twenties...Professor?" Weiss asks unsurely.
He looks at them flatly before answering his own question with a small smile.
"I am 40 years old."
"Bullshit!"
"Yang! Language!"
"No way are you 40 years old!" Yang ignores Ruby and crosses her arms while glaring at him.
He smiles at Yang amusedly at that. He knew she was smarting from the remarks he told her back in class so it warms his heart to see any other reaction than passive frowning or glaring from her.
"Trust me, Ms. Xiao Long, but I am. I wish I wasn't but I got stuck in a land of fairy tales alone for about two decades." He snorts depreciatingly before wincing to himself for bringing the mood back to a darker topic.
Luckily for him, Yang only snorts back and keeps the mood up.
"Yeah, no. You're a liar."
Jaune smiles to himself before raising an eyebrow at her.
"Excuse me. I am still your Professor, you know?" He reminds her casually, as thankful as he is for her uplifting spirit it's always good to remember the distance between them lest he fall to nostalgia.
Yang's reaction however blows any retort out of his mind.
"Yeah. My hot young professor that I was going to have a whirlwind of forbidden romance with! You are not a 40 year old man!"
"H-huh?!" He blurts out in surprise as his breath gets stuck on his throat.
"Yang?!" Ruby snaps with a horrified expression.
"Excuse me?!" Weiss lurches back with a scandalized one.
"W-what?!" His own younger self looks at Yang with a gobsmacked expression.
The rest of them is a mixture of raised eyebrows, frowns, with Nora being the only one yelling support. "You go girl!" With Blake's bow twitching excitedly at that announcement.
He did not see that coming. Ooooohhhh he did not see that coming. Yang only smirks at his stupefied expression.
"Nah, I'm just messing with you."
He breathes a sigh of relief at that.
Not only is he 40 years old and too old for any of them, Yang also had that year long romantic tension with Blake.
"Or am I?"
Jaune gawked stupidly as Yang waggled her eyebrows at him before he gets it.
He laughs.
He laughs hysterically as he gets it. Everyone else just looks in shock at him at that but he knew. He knew Yang was just messing with him.
"Hey! I'm serious you know!"
He just giggles. Giggles! At Yang's red face. Trying a bit too hard there, Yang. But he can't help it, another bout of laughter slams into him the same time Yang slams her hands on his table.
"I-I'm sorry. HAHAHA. I can't stop. Stop it please." He laughs with tears in his eyes as he sees Yang go red in mock anger.
"Don't laugh at me! You're supposed to be the tough disciplinarian who would punish me and bend me ov-mmrph!" Yang snaps with convincing indignation before Ruby managed to clamp her hand on her sister's mouth and pull her away from him.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Yang doesn't know what she's saying! She was dropped as a baby! Please don't expel her! She's my only sis-" Ruby apologizes, words coming out of her mouth rapidly even as Yang mumbles through her hand.
"I-it's okay, Ruby" He manages to gasp out past his belly aching laughter.
"I-it is?!" Yang asks as she finally manages to pull down Ruby's hand.
"I can't take you, Ms. Xiao Long. You'd have me fired. As consolation though, the younger version is available." He jokes with obvious mirth in his voice as he points at his younger self.
He barks a laugh as he realizes that he just told the truth. He just labeled the younger Jaune Arc as his younger version right in front of them. Not that any of them realizes it as everyone else just stares incredulously at his younger self.
His younger self however glows red at the attention and Yang's previous words.
"Meh, not interested. I would rather have the upgrade." Yang snorts at young Jaune Arc before turning back to him with a salacious look.
Jaune chuckles at the sudden downward change in expression of his younger self before looking back at Yang.
"You might not believe it but younger Jaune is actually doing better than me when I was his age." He snorts at Yang to everyone's disbelief and he laughs out loud again at the prospect of dropping hints without anyone the wiser other than his younger self who looks uneasily at him.
He flashes him a grin and a wink before clearing his throat but Weiss interrupts him before he even manages to speak again.
"Him?! I'm sorry Professor but I have to agree with Yang. With all due respect, you are lying Professor Arc. You're the Rusted Knight and he's...he's...he's a fake!" Weiss shouts in disbelief before clearing her throat to attempt to speak respectfully but clearly failing at the incredulous notion he just proposed.
He keeps his smile while focusing his stare on her and he could see Weiss squirm under his gaze.
"On my word as an Arc, and an Arc does not break their word, I am older than I look and Jaune over there is already doing better than I was when I was 17." He answers firmly with a smile and he could see Weiss stiffen before glancing away and nodding slowly with a furrow on her brow.
She doesn't believe him but that's alright. The truth is already staring them in the face. After all...
"Tell me, do you know anyone else who can manage an Aura Slash a day after getting their Aura unlocked?" He smirks as everyone reels from his words.
The words slam right into them and everyone looks at his younger self in amazement. He chuckles at the bashful expression he sees in his younger face.
"I-but, he's untrained!"
He smiles at Weiss' reply before speaking once more.
"Show of hands, who here can materialize an Aura Slash efficiently?"
He knew for a fact that Blake could do it, she's his inspiration for the move after all, so it was no surprise she raised her hand. Ren was a master in Aura manipulation so he wasn't taken off guard when he raised his hand as well, though Jaune knew Ren preferred using the concept for Aura strikes through his palms than utilizing it how he does.
He is surprised however when Pyrrha nervously speaks up.
"I could but I find the effort to be too inefficient for my fighting style."
Jaune didn't know that. In hindsight, he should have expected something like that. Pyrrha was a champion. She must have experimented on and learned numerous fighting styles during her tournament career but Jaune didn't know that.
That strikes him more than it should have because what else did he not know about his partner before she died? A lot of things, he imagines.
Before tears could gather in his eyes, he hears Yang speak to get everyone's attention.
"Meh, don't really need it. I'm partial to punching instead of slashing." She shrugs and pumps her fists before continuing by ruffling Ruby's hair. "Rubes, however...well my little sister's a genius."
Jaune really really has to thank her. Such a simple sentence but its enough for everyone not to pay too much attention to him blinking back tears in an instant.
"Yanggggg. You know I can't do it too much because of my Aura reserves." Ruby blushes embarrassedly as everyone turns to stare at her.
Jaune knew for a fact Weiss preferred to rely on Dust and her Semblance so it was no surprise that she did not raise her hand and kept gawking at all of them.
In summary, the ones who knew how to do it were Jaune, Blake, Ren, Pyrrha, and Ruby. There were some surprising people included but his point was made.
He nods at all of them before speaking.
"Now think about how long you trained to get there and consider that Jaune only got his Aura unlocked yesterday. Add to that, his own leadership skills led to his team being the closest one to beating me today and you can probably see where I am going with this."
He chuckles as he sees Weiss try to stammer back a reply as everyone turns to look in amazement at his younger self.
If young Jaune Arc wasn't trained and can still manage an advance Aura Technique then not only does he have a large pool of Aura, but he's also a prodigy.
It must have been galling for this younger version of his Weiss to imagine clumsy Jaune Arc as someone prodigious.
Jaune knows the truth though. He was not a prodigy. It was just that through quick flashes of memories and muscle memory, his younger self was absorbing all his skills and training.
He clears his throat to gather their attention once he sees young Jaune squirm in embarrassment.
"With that said, this is what I wanted to talk with Team JNPR about in the first place before Team RWBY tried to eavesdrop."
Team RWBY at least looks contrite at that with Ruby even going so far to use her puppy dog eyes on him to forgive them. He smiles indulgently at them. If there ever was a group of people he would trust regarding his team then it would be Team RWBY.
"Jaune Arc might have passed Initiation and gotten to Beacon but he still needs training and fighting experience. Can I trust all of you to help him along with it?" He asks, glancing at his younger self before looking at all of them.
He could see the moment Weiss' eyes sharpen even as Ruby moves to enthusiastically accept his request. But despite that, it is Yang who manages to let out her words first.
"Sorry, Teach, but it sounds like a lot of work for nothing. What's in it for us?"
"Yang?!" Ruby shouts in abject betrayal but Weiss waves her off.
"No, Ruby. Your sister is right. We have no obligation to teach another team's leader. With all due respect Professor Arc, why can't you teach him?"
"Weiss?!" Ruby then turns to her partner with a hurt look in her eyes that manages to even make Weiss flinch.
"It's okay, Ms. Rose. Their concerns are valid but let me answer those questions. One, if I train him by himself or even together with Team JNPR then it could be seen as favoritism. Two, If I train you together-"
"Sold! Say no more!" Yang interrupts excitedly with both Ruby and surprisingly Blake squealing together.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! The Rusted Knight's going to train us!"
"I know Ruby, I know! I can't believe it!"
Even Weiss nods slowly in acceptance with a satisfied smile on her face.
He laughs at their enthusiasm. It was all bullshit, of course. He could've trained Team JNPR by themselves and damn what others would have said.
But again, if there ever was a group of people he would trust with his team then it would be Team RWBY. Seems fair he should train them as well. This just makes it easier to find a reason to train them and wow wasn't that an incredible notion to think about.
Him? Jaune Arc? Training his peers who were always way ahead of him? If someone said that to him before then he would've laughed that person out of the room.
But here he is, looking at the bright-eyed, carefree eyes of his friends, no trauma nor grief in their eyes.
"We can talk about the details later. For now, decide upon yourselves how to train with each other. Who knows, you might even like working with each other. In the meantime...you have questions?" He smirks to himself, another change for the better.
The last time he lived this life, Team JNPR and Team RWBY might have been friends but they solved issues apart from each other instead of together up until the Fall. This time though, he means to make them bond more so as not to let RWBY carry most of the burden if they do end up in trouble.
Not that Jaune was going to let it get that far. In the best case, they'd be wonderful friends without having to go through trauma and suffering together. At worst, they'd still have together.
As he sees all of them clamor to ask him questions however, he chuckles before turning towards the more enthusiastic of the bunch. Team RWBY.
He looks at Ruby and she immediately excitedly lets out her question.
"What's it like being the Rusted Knight?!"
Welp, he should have expected something like that but as Jaune's memories takes him back to how, why, and what he went through, there could only be one answer.
"Traumatizing, next!"
He shouts back without hesitation and equal energy as he remembers how and why he even was in the Ever After in the first place.
"What?!" Ruby squawks as she recoils from his answer but Jaune was already looking at Weiss who does not waste any time.
"Where did you get Gravity Dust and how do you know about it?!"
His heart skips a beat even as his mind races overtime. To turn her away from the truth however, Jaune had to sprinkle his answer with just a little bit of truth.
"Beacon, next!"
"Impossible!" Weiss' mouth blurts out and her eyes widen once she realizes what she just said. "Forgive me, Professor. I just find it hard to believe." She apologizes with a small blush.
Not a lie though, Glynda did give him a refill of Dust for his equipment. He shrugs at Weiss and turns to look at Blake only for everyone to be surprised by what she does next.
"Can I have your autograph?!" She shouts excitedly as she leaps to the front of his table while holding a notebook.
Weird but he would take it if it means that she wouldn't try to dig deeper for the truth.
"I...uhm...sure. If that's what you want." He says shakily himself as he leans back to absently sign the notebook.
"Thank you!" She exclaims, holding the notebook to her chest tightly even as everyone turns to her in surprise.
That's when Yang pulls back her partner to take her place and lean into his table.
"Right! Moving on from Blake's surprising personality! Time for my question! Are you single?!"
The air suddenly changed in intensity and he could even see his younger self focus at him at that.
"Yup." He answers instantly, popping the P before continuing once he sees Yang's disbelieving look. "Who would I even date after literally coming out of a tear in reality yesterday?"
"Dozens, I know for a fact that a lot of women thirst about you to the point that they've written fanfiction about it." Yang retorts instantly.
He hears Blake squeak at that in embarrassment and Jaune could already see her blushing as his eyes turns toward her. Fanfiction, Blake? Really? Maybe it isn't so surprising considering she was a bookworm.
"Yang!" Ruby chides embarrassedly as she swats Yang's shoulder.
"Come on, Rubes. Don't tell me you never imagined the Rusted Knight sweeping you off your feet? I know for a fact that you imagined going on adventures with him and riding off into the sunset on top of his-
"JACKALOPE!" Ruby interrupts with wide eyes turning towards him with a blush as she wrangles Yang to stop her from yapping.
He chuckles as his mind turns to his years-long companion.
"Juniper, yes. The last thing I saw of her was she was trampling the Curious Cat, but that's a story for another time. Now let's get to Team JNPR." He explains with a smile before he turns toward his younger self.
His younger self who already knew the real identity of the Rusted Knight. His younger self who was still grappling with the reality of being face to face with his own older version. There's probably a lot of things running through his mind. Like questions he would like to ask, explanations he would like to have. One things for sure though, he did not expect the question thrown at him.
"I have a lot of questions on my mind but there's one thing I have to ask..."
"What is it?"
"Did you get a girlfriend?! Who, when, and how?!"
There was a moment of peace inside his office after his younger self asks his questions. That moment of peace does not last long before chaos ensues.
Ruby gasps, Blake writes something in her notebook, Nora looks on eagerly, and even Ren stares intently at him. The rest however, lets their opinion be known. All of them aimed at his younger self whose eyes bore into his own before resolutely replying to his friends without even looking at them.
"Jaune, I don't think that's something you should ask a professor." Pyrrha frowns doubtfully.
"Arc Family matters." Jaune replies instantly to which Pyrrha slowly nods.
"Arc! What do you think you are asking?!" Weiss snaps angrily.
"Asking the right questions." Jaune retorts to which Weiss gawks at.
"Hey! That's what I asked!" Yang pipes up indignantly.
"Details." And Jaune responds to which Yang just shrugs casually, it will still get her the same answers after all.
With all doubts, questions, and complaints resolved smoothly, everyone turns back to look at him. He gulps as he feels the pressure intensify with their expectations.
Expectations...that he fears he cannot meet because he does not know...He does not know how to tell his younger self that he never did get a girlfriend.
He could only stammer and look away as he tries to think of an answer.
"I...uhm...I don't think I should say."
In the end, he settles for deflecting with a blush. A deflection that fails when his younger self pushes through.
"It's either this or you answer why you travelled through time."
"""WHAT?!"""
He cringes as everyone shouts with a shocked voice. Yet the sound of palm slapping flesh takes their attention.
"Of course! It should have been obvious! How else could the Rusted Knight be here when the story of The Girl Who Fell Through The World is centuries old!" Weiss remarks as she pulls her hand down from her forehead to pinch the bridge of her nose.
"That's great and all but what's it gonna be, Professor? Girlfriend or Time Travel?" Yang asks and Jaune...well, Jaune buckles.
He looks towards his younger self pleadingly for a bit before sighing in resignation. Girlfriend or Time Travel? Which would be easier to explain? No matter what he chooses, it's going to be hard. He just has to pick the option that would be more bearable. With that thought in mind, he settles with an answer.
"I...well, I've...never had a girlfriend..." Jaune answers embarrassedly, wincing at the crushed look his younger self gives him.
"Are you serious?!"
Sharing he never had a girlfriend was a lot easier to explain than time Time Travel considering they might get involved in his big war with Salem and Cinder if he went that route.
"I didn't have time, okay? I had a lot of stuff going on, not to mention the lack of options in the Ever After." He answers embarrasedly to his younger self's increasing despair.
Sorry Young Jaune, you do not become a lady killer.
"Does that mean your a virgi-"
"Nora! You cannot just ask that!"
He blushes away even as Ren slaps his hand over Nora's mouth. He needs to thank Ren for this. No need to smash his ego anymore than that. In fact, he could already see Young Jaune kneeling in defeat.
"Next!" He shouts, skipping Nora's question before turning to Pyrrha.
He...well, he is ashamed to say that his heart skipped a beat when they lock eyes. Considering their previous topic however, it was just natural.
"Your question...Pyrrha?"
He cringes, he should have said Ms. Nikos but looking at her green eyes boring into him, there was only one name he could say...Pyrrha. Pyrrha who only raises an eyebrow at him before speaking her question.
"Your eyes...They glowed earlier during the match and then..." She speaks hesitantly before trailing it off once she looks away from him.
He clears his throat. At least this is a lot easier to answer compared to the previous questions.
"Right...My eyes...That's actually a recent addition. I didn't even notice until Ozpin pointed it out to me."
"What is it then?" Pyrrha asks curiously to which he answers casually with one word.
"Magic."
"""MAGIC?!"""
He rolls his eyes as everyone incredulously shouts.
"What else could it be? You saw me walk out of a tear in reality yesterday. You should know by now that magic does exist considering the Brother Gods are also real."
"...That's right. That would be my question, then. What are the Brother Gods?" Ren inquires thoughtfully as everyone still struggles to comprehend the information he just laid out to them.
Thinking carefully about Ren's question, he puts his elbows on the table and rests his chin on his hands. This...This was not something he could share just by himself. Still...he did promise to answer their questions.
"The Brother Gods...well, they still created Humanity as far as I know it but the Humanity they created were capable of using magic."
Besides...it's not like they could do anything if he gives vague answers like that. However, Ren sharpens his eyes at his answer.
"Does that mean you are one of the original Humanity created if you could use magic?"
"Nope." He says, popping the P like how Ruby used to do it with him. "I'm one of you guys. Like I said, the thing with the eyes is just a recent addition. Probably from my journey back to Remnant." He remarks to his entertainment as he blatantly states the truth to their face.
"Back to Remnant?! Does that mean you are originally from Remnant?!" Nora asks excitedly once Ren's hand wasn't covering her mouth. Considering he didn't answer her previous question, he could answer this at least.
"Yes, Ms. Valkyrie-" He moves to answer but Nora interrupts him.
"Nora." She looks at him with those resolute eyes and wide manic grin that Jaune could do nothing but relent.
"...Fine, yes, Nora. I am originally from Remnant." He confirms with a nod.
Nothing new, everyone already knew that with him being an Arc. Nora however wasn't done.
"I wasn't finished. What's your relationship to Jaune-Jaune, then? You even have the same name!"
Ahhh, so that's her true question then. Luckily for him, he just has the answer.
"That...would be an Arc secret. It's something I need to discuss with Jaune considering we are going to need to craft my identity. Plus...the introduction to the Arc Family." He smiles conspiratorially, causing his younger self to gulp in nervousness.
"Oh, I know! I know! He could be your father's, brother's, nephew's, cousin's, former roommate!" Nora pipes up to everyone's bewildered stare.
"That makes absolutely no sense." Weiss interjects to which Ren only shrugs.
"It's Nora."
Jaune only laughs, immune to the chaos of Nora considering his own experiences with her added to the insanity he went through in the Ever After.
"Of course, Nora. We'll definitely let you know what we decide with. I just need to speak with my possible father's, brother's, nephew's, cousin's, former roommate in privacy. Now shoo, out with all of you." He winks at his younger self, shooing the rest out of his office.
They make a token effort of resistance with Yang even going so far as to wink coyly at him. He waves his hand good-naturedly at that before shouting.
"No eavesdropping, okay?! If you do, I'd give you detention with Professor Port."
He grins as they suddenly squawk in alarm, rushing away from the office as his door slams shout.
Slam!
Finally alone with his younger self in the privacy of his own office, he could look himself in the eyes without any pretense.
"Let's do this again shall we? The name's Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls of the tongue but I guess you can call me Professor or just Arc. What do you want to know?" He smiles wryly.
They race through the halls of Beacon and into the privacy of their own dorm. Instead of going their separate ways however, Team RWBY pulls the remaining members of Team JNPR into their room.
Slam!
"Okay! Did anyone else think something was strange with what just happened?! I mean it was cool, but it was also strange." Ruby Rose rambles hysterically as she closes the door behind herself.
She receives nods and affirmatives from all of them as they all think about the main subject of their thoughts. The Rusted Knight was their new professor. The Rusted Knight has the same name as her first friend in Beacon. The Rusted Knight looked so similar to Jaune except for the hair. That Rusted Knight was certainly acting strange.
Weiss was the first one to put her thoughts into words.
"Yes...some of his remarks and answers...do not add up. Like teams and partners. I didn't know they operated so similar to Huntsmen back in Alyx's time."
"Don't forget the Dust. Plus, he also has the mechashift sword." Ruby adds absently, thinking about the Rusted Knight's equipment throughout his confrontations.
"Right, though I feel like some of it fits. Like being trap in the Ever After for years. He...felt like a socially awkward guy that was isolated for a long time. Like he doesn't remember how to read the room." Yang says thoughtfully to which Ruby suddenly remembers something.
"Yang! Did you really have to flirt with him?!" She shouts as she looks at Yang chidingly.
"Woah, chill out sis. I know you think he's cool and all but I was only doing it to lighten the mood. The guy kept bringing the mood down."
"But did you really have to keep doing it?" She pouts at her sister but she is surprised when Yang suddenly looks away with a red tint to her cheeks. "Yang? Yang?!"
"He laughed at me, okay?!" Yang answers with a blush, swinging her arms exasperatedly even as she continues. "Like, I flirted with him and he just...laughed at me. I never had a guy do that...I just...wanted another reaction from him." She finishes embarrassedly, causing everyone to gawk at her.
"So...you do like him?" Ruby tilts her head quizzically at her sister.
"I don't know, okay. I guess he's okay but I don't like him as much as Blake seem to do." Yang waves to Blake he immediately squeaks and holds her notebook close to her face.
"He's the Rusted Knight!' Blake shouts embarrassedly as if it answers everything.
Though, perhaps Ruby could understand where she's coming from. Heck, she could even see Weiss nod in understanding.
Admiration. Blake Belladonna was a fan. So was Weiss, it seems. And so was Ruby.
She always admired the Rusted Knight. As fairytale character, he was always dedicated to protecting Alyx, even going so far to drink a poison for her so she could get home. Some people might think its dark but he was literally a knight in rusty armor who kept saving the day until the end.
Ruby is self-aware enough to know that Yang was right, she used to imagine having happy endings with the Rusted Knight. Now that she's met him however, it seems there's more to the man than just being the Rusted Knight.
What's it like being the Rusted Knight?
Traumatizing.
She shook her head before turning towards the other side of the room. "What do you think guys?"
"I think we should wait for Jaune. You might have noticed or not but...he reacted strangely from time to time to the Professor's words." Pyrrha replies after a moment to which Ruby jolts.
Considering he was the only one getting to talk to the Rusted Knight one-on-one, they really should wait for him to get a better explanation for their new professor's weirdness.
She could only wonder however what kind of topic they were talking about.
"Let's do this again shall we? The name's Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls of the tongue but I guess you can call me Professor or just Arc. What do you want to know?"
"Are you really a virgin?"
There were a lot of things Jaune could have asked his future self but this was probably one of the most important. And wow, wasn't that a doozy? He is literally talking to his future self. Consider his mind blown. Not as mind blown however as his future self it seems, though he doubts that.
Still, his older self almost chokes on his own spit and has to hit his chest just so he could gasp for air again.
"Are you really starting with that?!"
"Hey! It's a valid concern, you know?!" He snaps back.
"Couldn't you have started with deciding with what to call me first?" His older self only rolls his eyes at him but he does bring up a good point.
It is going to get confusing quick if he has to keep referring to him as his older self. Better to just decide on what to call him. With the choices given to him though, it was easy.
"Fine, you're Arc now." He answers because even now he has a hard time seeing himself as a Professor of Beacon much less the Rusted Knight. "Now answer the question."
"...Fine. Yes, I'm a virgin. Happy?" Arc groans before pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
"No! Why would I be happy?! I'll be a virgin till I'm 40?!" Jaune answers back despairingly.
"Hey! Give me some slack! I didn't exactly have an option in the Ever After and even before I fell, we were too busy trying to save the world for stuff like that!" Arc retorts instantly, standing from his seat to wave his arms angrily.
Jaune however, latches onto a phrase from what he just said. Saving the world. He was busy saving the world which means...
"...Really? It's going to be that bad?"
He could see Arc flinch at that, confirming his suspicions. If the safety of the world ever depended on Jaune then it means shit has hit the fan. Arc then shakes his head however before speaking in a hoarse voice.
"...No, no. It was bad for me but I won't let it be that bad to you."
Jaune might not be the sharpest sword in the armory but even he could see how Arc paled as he remembers memories of future past.
"...What happened?" Jaune asks in concern, brows furrowing in nervousness.
"A lot. A lot happened." Arc answers in a way that makes Jaune believe that this person standing in front of him is really older than he looks. Approximately 40 years old, suffering through countless losses with the first of them being...Pyrrha.
"...Pyrrha...how did she die? Was it a mission?" Jaune gulps, imagining just how could someone so strong fall while he survives.
His minds thinks the worst possibilities for him. Pyrrha dying because of him making a mistake. Of him being too weak that he couldn't help her. No wonder Arc was so hard on him during Combat Class. If he was in his shoes he'd probably beating himself up too. Arc's answer however blows all of his thoughts away.
"Murder."
"...What?" Jaune asks with a pale face, his heart beating fast even as he feels his blood freeze.
"She was murdered."
Jaune could literally see Arc's eyes turn blank as he relives through his memories. His hands clenching tightly in anger before he manages to take control of himself and focus on Jaune again.
"It wasn't Grimm?" Jaune asks numbly, cold sweat breaking out on his back at the prospect of Pyrrha dying to a person instead of the Grimm. Who could do such heinous thing to someone so good?
Arc moves to answer before shaking his head at the last moment.
"No, it was...is...none of your business."
"WHAT?!" Jaune shouts even as his hand clenches in anger as he looks at Arc.
"Calm down-"
"What do you mean it's none of my business?!" Jaune immediately interrupts. Calm down?! CALM DOWN?! Someone wants to kill Pyrrha and he wants him to calm down?!
"This is bigger than you think, Jaune."
Jaune goes red in anger at that even as he begins to plead desperately.
"Then tell me. This is already going to happen isn't it? So it wouldn't matter if you tell me or not but it would definitely be better if you do."
"The Gods are literally involved."
Fuck the Gods.
"I don't care about the Gods. I only want to know this. Who kills Pyrrha and why?" He says gravely, staring down his older self.
He could see Arc stiffen at his resolve before shaking his head and answering slowly.
"Don't worry about it."
Jaune slams his hands on the office table between them in anger. Don't worry about it?! DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT?! Is this guy really his future self?!
"She's my partner! Why wouldn't I worry about it?!" He growls but The Rusted Knight meets him head on. Staring at Jaune resolutely before giving his own answer.
"Because I'm not going to let it happen. I travelled through time for a reason and this is that reason. So that there could be a life out there where all of you can live happily."
Jaune reels back at that as his anger dissipates.
"But what about you?" He asks softly, noting the absence of his older self in that plan.
The Rusted Knight shrugs before smiling forlornly at him.
"Don't know yet but you're the ones that matter. Besides, I'm already living through you. If you want to think about me then live well."
Jaune clenches his hand at that. He could understand it but it's...just not fair. His older self should have a life of his own beyond Jaune. Despite his grievance however, he could see the Rusted Knight smile in acceptance.
Let it not be said however that Jaune won't try to give his older self a better life. He doesn't know how he'll do it yet but he will. On his word as an Arc.
For now though, he speaks softly, not willing to break this strange air of acceptance between the two of them.
"Okay...Okay...What now?"
Arc's smirk however, gives him a bad laughing.
"Now? Now we call our parents."
Shit. Called it. There goes the acceptance.
Steps echo through the dark as a figure stands behind a door. The doorknob turns and light streams into the dark room yet it is not enough to illuminate everything. The room is dark and the only thing the figure could see are furniture inside it.
"Glynda? Are you here?" The Rusted Knight calls out, carrying a stack of paper after having a draining conversation with his younger self.
Try as he might though, he could see nothing inside other than darkness and his shadow on the floor. Stepping cautiously inside, the lights suddenly flash and Jaune hears a loud bang.
He throws a punch towards the first thing he sees without hesitation.
"Su-urk!" The figure who leaps from his side chokes on its spit even as multiple other voices cry out.
"""SURPRISE!"""
Confetti and flying stacks of paper rain down around him and Jaune looks wide-eyed at the gathered people in front of him. The world pauses as Jaune takes in who they are.
The faculty of Beacon looks on horrified at his direction. Slowly turning towards the figure he just punched, he sees...Professor Port clutching his neck in agony.
"JAUNE!" Glynda shouts in either anger or mortification but Jaune is too busy watching Professor Port struggle on the ground.
"I"M SORRY!"
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! Next chapter is going to have a lot of surprises.