3

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Chapter 3

Now I'd like to say that when we finally arrived at the room the newly christened team JNPR would be staying in for the next four years, that we sat down, introduced ourselves and got to know each other better.

In reality I crashed on the closest bed and proceeded to black out for a good eight hours or so.

I think Ren may have beaten me to the beds first though. He can be surprisingly quick for a guy that was clearly running on empty.

It was the best sleep I'd had in ages, probably because I was utterly exhausted from the fight with the Death Stalker in addition to my aura being unlocked and used for the first time.

That wasn't to say I didn't wake up at the crack of dawn in a panic rolling out of bed, arm reaching for my sword to fight off the monsters my mind had conjured.

Again.

Turning to see if I had woken up the others through my unruly wake up routine, I was thankful to see that the remaining members of team JNPR were still fast asleep.

Nora was fast asleep, letting out cute little snoring noises dressed in a predictably pink sleeping outfit, her arms holding a deathgrip around a stuffed plush…what the blazes was that thing supposed to be? Some kind of unholy plush chimera made from different pieces of other plush toys sown together? That was utterly ridiculous.

…

And something Nora probably thought was cute.

The kids back home were the same.

Ren on the other hand appeared to be doing his best impression of a log, sleeping with no movement, no sound and unless I was looking for it apparently no breathing. His clothes remained identical from yesterday, ruffled slightly from where he had thrown himself into bed.

Pyrrha was dressed in a crimson red nighty, the same colour from her hair, which released from its ponytail sat like a sheet of immobile flames across the bed. She had both hands wrapped around her pillow shivering from the cool wind coming in from the window, her blankets kicked to the floor during her sleep. It struck me how vulnerable Pyrrha looked as she slept, almost nothing ot the unflinching Amazonian warrior from yesterday seen in her now. I picked up the fallen blankets and draped them over her sleeping form, Pyrrha ceasing to tremble with the blankets now on.

I walked away from my teammates approaching the door. What now Jaune?

Unpack my things?

No, that could wake the others up.

Breakfast?

Kitchen doesn't open for a while yet.

I felt how light my pouch was and remembered that I'd used two of my shock tonics, one on Ren and later one on me.

New plan then.

Go out and find the herbs I'd need to make some more shock tonic.

Then maybe a shower.

I lifted up my jacket and sniffed before cringing away at the smell. Urgh.

Scratch that.

Definitely a shower.

And wash these clothes as well.

Lucky for me, I spotted the main ingredient yesterday afternoon

Now a shock tonic is one of the simplest, yet at the same time, most difficult to make of the tonics. The Old Bastard caring only for the sheer use value of the drink taught me how to make the tonic when I was eight, due to him being physically incapable of making it.

The ingredients are pretty simple, water, salt, sugar, paprika, the ingredient I refuse to think of let alone name and, the key ingredient, the nectar of a thunder lily.

I always thought that seemed pretty simple back then.

Then I learnt about the tricky part.

The nectar of the thunder lily can only be extracted from a living thunder lily. Within seconds of it being removed from the ground, a thunder lily will wither and die, the nectar being lost in the process.

Back then I thought, well that's simple. Why don't you just extract it from the lily directly Jaune?

The problem is what makes this tonic one of the most difficult tonics to make.

You see the thunder lily doesn't grow on the ground like any regular flower.

No, that would be too simple now wouldn't it.

You see it's a rather curious piece of flora due primarily to the fact that it won't flower unless it's a good thirty or so metres in the air, hanging from underneath another plant that it grows from symbiotically.

Which is why I was currently hanging upside down off a tree branch at the edge of the Emerald forest. I had both legs curled around the branch with both my hands otherwise occupied, my left hand holding the used vials tightly between my fingers, while my right hand gently extracted the thunder-lily nectar from the flower like milk from a cow's udders.

As the last drops of the lightly crackling liquid entered the last bottle I let go of the thunder lily and grabbed the cork I was holding between my teeth before capping the bottle. I pulled myself back up onto the branch, letting out a sigh of relief as the blood stopped rushing to my head.

I looked at the replenished bottles of shock tonic and shook them briefly, so as to ensure all the elements of the tonic had mixed properly. In no time at all they held the proper yellow complexion, the bright streak of yellow sparks lighting up the bottle from time to time. I swear no matter how many times I make it, I'm still struck by the beauty of the liquid flashing in that tiny vial, like a thunderstorm in a bottle.

I stood up on the tree branch, sliding the vials into my pouch before ensuring it was tightly shut once more, brushing aside the loose bark and leaves that had clung to my pants as I hung from the tree before making my way back down.

Now due to the fact I've had to climb up and down trees for the better part of ten years now, I'd like to think I hold a certain expertise when it comes to traversing through trees. At a glance I can judge if a branch can hold my weight if I were to stand on it, if it were to bend or even break from the strain.

I made the final jump to the ground, swinging forward off a branch I grabbed briefly with my hands before landing solidly on my feet, crouching slightly as I did so.

Okay then Jaune, you've got the shock tonic refilled, well done.

Now time to make your way back to Beacon, get your uniform out of your locker, wash your quite frankly foul smelling battle gear, and meet up with the others.

Wait, Jaune, Wait.

Idea.

Now is a perfect time to see what my aura does to my weapons. I know my shield can shine light from it…somehow. Alrighty then.

I pulled my sword from the sheath, and extended the sheath into my shield.

Okay Jaune, all you've got to do is channel your aura through your shield or your sword.

Simple.

Okay, then.

…

…

How the hell do I do that?

Uh, maybe like a spell?

"Light shield!" I said, thrusting my shield forward to unleash…absolutely nothing. Okay I may need a few pointers on how to use aura before I can even think of trying this again.

Figures.

Hey but then again if anything is worth doing, nine times out of ten, it's not easy.

Back to Beacon I go. A thought struck me and I picked up the pace as I made my way back.

I'm going to have to hurry if I want to have a shower without anyone seeing me. I have no intention of going through the song and dance that follows after someone sees me uncovered.

I closed my eyes as the hot water rained down from the shower head, letting the sound of the falling water wash away the grime and the thoughts running through my head.

This was just like back home. Whenever I finished training with the old man this is what I'd do, just go to the shower and stand under it and let the water beat down. Whenever I stood here under this torrent of water it was just me.

No Old Bastard.

No kids.

No Grimm.

No nightmares.

Just me.

After getting my ass handed to me in close combat by the old man as a kid, despite his handicap, I needed to find a way to cool myself down quietly and this was it.

That being said the water was usually only slightly above freezing back home.

Then I'd turn off the shower get out and face the world once more, fresh as a daisy. Only now at Beacon my after training ritual was changed slightly. To begin with I wasn't staying with the kids anymore, so I couldn't rely on the fact that they'd still be asleep as I snuck back to my room. In addition to that was the fact I wasn't sleeping alone anymore but rather with three other people, all members of the team that as of yesterday I was in charge of leading.

So I did what I do best.

I improvised.

That's why I had my new Beacon Academy uniform waiting for me outside on the bench, as my quite frankly nasty smelling gear was in dire need of a wash and had been thrown in the laundry. My sheathed sword alongside my battle belts were stored within my locker once more.

I shut off the water and grabbed the towel I had hanging over the door to the shower and towelled myself off quickly, my hair still damp from the shower even after the quick once over with the towel. Screw it, it'll dry off later anyway. Now then time to get dressed Jaune.

Okay let's see what we have here…

White shirt?

I picked up the crisp shirt and slid both arms through their respective sleeves, buttoning the shirt up, and making sure the collar did not pop up. And it's in my size thankfully.

Check.

Blue vest?

I slid the woollen vest over my shirt, the vest clinging to my torso snugly but not so tight so as to impede movement.

Check.

Boxers?

I threw on the fresh pair I had placed next to the rest of the clothes.

Check.

Black suit shirt and pants?

I pulled the plain black pants on, making sure my zip was done up and then slid my arms into the identically black blazer, it's edges and buttons a dull gold.

Check.

All don…wait no I've missed something. What have I missed?

Shirt, vest, blazer, pants, aha! Tie!

I looked down and saw my school issued crimson tie had tumbled loose from the pile of clothing when I placed it there before my shower, now resting on the floor of the academy's shower room. I picked it up and slid it underneath my shirt's collar.

How'd the Old Bastard teach me to tie it properly? Right, circle the other end of the tie once , push through the hole and pull tightly. I went through the motions with my tie to leave one of the shoddiest looking knots I'd ever seen on a tie. I shrugged and stuffed the end of my lacklustre tie down my vest, granting me some illusion of aptitude when it came to the tie.

I was just pulling my socks on when I heard a chime and a buzzing vibration could be felt on my chest. What the…something in my blazer? I reached inside my new jacket quickly discovering the inside pocket and pulled the shaking and chiming implement out.

It was a rectangular piece of metal, coloured a lifeless silver, with a golden diamond in the middle flashing at me. I extended my left hand away from my body, holding the strange object as far away as possible, before I reached out with my other hand and pressed the flashing diamond in the centre. I yelped as the rectangle jumped from my hand as it expanded, leaping forward to grasp it before it hit the ground.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha's voice emanated from the mechanical rectangle, "Jaune are you there?"

I flipped the tablet round towards me and was faced with Pyrrha staring at me through the screen. Pyrrha smiled at me. "Jaune! Good you found your Scroll."

Scroll? Wait I guess that's what this tablet-y thing is called. "Yeah, uh, Pyrrha what do we use the scroll for?" I asked as I pulled on the dress shoes that were provided alongside the uniform.

Pyrrha shook her head slightly still smiling. "The Scrolls act as a way for us to communicate with each other within Beacon as well as act as the key to our rooms in the dorm."

Wait so, I needed this thing to unlock the door to our room? I was suddenly extremely glad I hadn't attempted to re-enter our room. That would have been…embarrassing to say the least of it.

Pyrrha continued on. "Anyway, we grabbed some food from the dining hall and bought it back to our room for some privacy. Will you be joining us?" She asked awaiting my answer. In the background I could see Nora bouncing up and down on the beds in her school uniform while Ren slowly ate an apple.

I shook my head as an attempt to get the last of the water clinging to it as I made my way out. "I'm on my way there. See you soon." I said before closing the Scroll shut again, closing together with a click. Back into my pocket you go mister scroll.

I rounded the last corner to the dorms and bumped into someone who was rounding the same corner from the other direction, my scroll flying free of my hand. My eyes tracked the tablet as it sailed through the air before my right hand flashed out, grasping the tablet firmly and slotting it into my inside jacket pocket.

I turned to the person I'd bumped into, a rather tall fellow with burn orange hair his indigo eyes giving me a glare. "Sorry about that…" I said my brain wracking as it tried to remember his name. Come on I heard this yesterday. Think, think. Car! Car…something. "Carmen?" I ventured questioningly.

Not Carmen scoffed and pushed past me roughly, my body swaying slightly from the bump but little much else. "Watch it, dweeb." He grunted walking off.

Well. He was certainly a…charming fellow. In the same way a ball of fire is a good moisturizer.

Anyway, forget about him time to get back to the room and conduct the first meeting of team JNPR.

I reached my door and pulled out my scroll to wave over the lock. As I did I heard a piercing whistle through the door across from ours and the unmistakable sound of someone falling out of bed. "GOOD MORNING TEAM RWBY!" I heard Ruby shout excitedly.

Glad I'm not dealing with that. The lock to my door flashed green and the door opened to reveal my fully dressed teammates sitting between two beds eating.

Okay Pyrrha and Ren were sitting Nora was bouncing around the room like the kids on a sugar rush.

As I stepped into the room something dived through the window in a blur of motion and attacked me in a whirl of brown feathers and claws.

As I waved my hands in an attempt to shy off my avian foe, I felt two steely claws grasping my scalp as two intelligent grey eyes stared down at me.

I raised my hands in surrender, chuckling slightly before I patted the brown owl on the crown of its head. "Good to see you Spot."

Spot pressed his head against my hand, enjoying the sensation before looking forward and letting out a loud cry.

I looked forward and saw the rest of my team looking at me bewildered. Right I suppose that was rather random.

"Uh everyone, this is Spot." I started pointing at the large brown owl situated on the top of my head, who was no doubt preening under all the attention, the diva. "Spot, meet my team."

Spot issued a loud bark in greeting before flapping off my shoulder landing in front of me. It was then I noticed the letter attached to Spot's leg. I undid the letter and placed it in my pocket nodding to Spot in thanks. Spot barked once more and then was off in a blur of feathers, disappearing outside again in an instant.

There was silence for a moment in the wake of Spot's exit.

"Well," Ren said dryly throwing his apple core into the bin, "You don't see that everyday."

At that Nora exploded into movement, her blue eyes sparkling as she spun me around the room. "Jaune! What was that? Why is it called Spot? Since when did you have an Owl-Ninja?"

I broke free from Nora's grip and sat down on the bed next to Pyrrha, my head spinning slightly from my impromptu whirl with my hammer wielding teammate.

"I must admit Jaune, I do feel some curiosity to what occurred just now." Pyrrha stated in that regal tone of hers as she eyed me.

I just reached forward and grabbed an apple off the plate in front of me, before biting into it with a crunch.

"That was Spot, the pet of an…acquaintance back home." I said running a hand through my hair in an attempt to tidy it up from where Spot had messed it. "I knew him most of my life and when I was younger always got into fights with him over trying to keep him out of my hair. Looks like he bought a letter from home."

Nora oohed at that before pushing me grinning. "Go on then open it! I want to see what it has to say about Jaune!"

I froze at that and began waving my arms. "No, no that is not a good ide…"

As I was waving my arms around Nora snatched the letter from my hands and ripped it open before beginning to read it aloud.

"Dear Useless Blond Idiot" Nora said loudly putting on a rather shocking accent of some kind as she did so.

I twitched. Even in a letter he still won't call me by my name. That Old Bastard!

"Just sending you this letter to keep you updated about the situation back here." Nora continued on reading aloud, smile still shining brightly, "I would ask about how you are doing but I am sure you have no doubt got yourself into a handful trouble already. Here's hoping you don't try and take it on alone this this time, you damn fool."

I sweat dropped at that laughing nervously as my teammates stared at me curiously. Oh come on it wasn't that bad. Went to the Emerald Forest, Met up with my new team…got in a grudge match with a Nevermore and a Death Stalker. I hung my head, groaning.

Damn it.

"The repairs are proceeding as per their schedule and the kids are having a grand time pestering whatever Hunter is on protection detail about you. I do wonder why the children think a hunter would know about a fool such as you but I digress."

My eyebrow twitched dangerously again. Oh you better be praying I've forgotten about this when I get back you Old Bastard or I am going to kick your ass.

Or I'll set the kids on him.

That sounds much worse.

I like it.

"The kids miss you foolish boy, though God only knows why that is. Little monsters still won't go to sleep each night unless I read them a story. I blame you for this."

I chuckled at that closing my eyes. Well what do you know? The kids still ask for a bed time story. Glad to hear there all right then .

"I've been feeding them every night and they can't get enough of my secret recipe. There always full after one bowl."

I froze at that before shuddering. Suddenly the true reason for the kids wanting me back had become apparent. I too had been subjected to the Old Bastard's secret recipe and it is the singular reason that I dedicated every spare moment to learning how to cook. I felt my stomach churn as it remembered the atrocities that the old man had subjected it to. Those poor souls.

"Spot's been going stir crazy without his favourite scratching post so I sent him over to say hello as well. Regardless we're all doing fine here so you just focus on your studies and try and become less of a fool instead of more of one."

Twitch. Oh he is so far beyond asking for it. This is practically painting a target on his chest for my personal use.

"Always remember rule No. 1," Nora stopped then a quizzical look on her face as she tried to read the last part. "What does that say?"

I gently retrieved the letter from Nora's thieving hands and glanced at it before chuckling. "That's the Old Bastard's signature. I swear he just scratches away at random with a pen each time."

I folded the letter up and placed it within my bag beside my bed. "Okay team, I'm sure that you all have questions but I'll just be unpacking the rest of my stuff as I do so.

Pyrrha leaned towards me. "Jaune, who are the kids that the letter refers to? Are they your siblings?"

I turned to face the rest of my team shrugging slightly. "I guess you could say that." I said trying to fix my utterly atrocious tie. "We were all raised in the same orphanage together. And since I was so much older than everyone else, I helped take care of them alongside the old man." A thought struck me then and I quickly clarified, "The Old man isn't my father by the way, he just runs the orphanage."

"How much older were you?" Nora asked, still bouncing energetically on her toes slightly.

I thought about that, "Uh, Let's see...Kira is the oldest after me and she's twelve so about six years give or take. There wasn't anyone else in the village my age so I just trained with the Old Man and whichever one of his old colleagues would drop by."

"What's rule number one?" Ren asked, sounding curious as he went to take another bite out of his apple.

"Nobody's perfect." I said as I slotted my few battered books into the bookshelf. "The old man's personal motto. I've had the thing beaten into me from day one of his training. There's no such thing as a perfect Hunter or a perfect Grimm. Everything has a weak spot. The trick is finding it."

Pyrrha let out an 'Ah' at that before questioning me again, "So this 'Old Man' is the one who trained you?"

I nodded at that. "Yeah. Hate to admit it but he's the finest marksman I've ever seen. Never seen him miss a target." I said, grumbling slightly.

That fact had become readily apparent to me after I lost at darts to him for what seemed like the millionth time.

When he was about four times as far away from the dartboard then me and not even focusing on the game.

I turned to the rest of my stuff, bundled within the bag and decided it was just fine within it shoving it under my bed. I cracked my shoulder and sat down on the bed again. "Okay first day of classes, what's the schedule say we have?" I asked still stretching.

Pyrrha consulted her schedule. "It appears we have Grimm Studies at Nine, followed by General History at…"

Suddenly a voice, Weiss' I noted shrieked loudly "It's Eight fifty-five you dunce!" Before the sound of her shoes sprinting away was heard.

I went to the door and poked my head out the door, the remaining members of Team RWBY doing the same. I spotted Nora, Pyrrha and Ren in the corner of my eye also watching Weiss run off.

"Uh…T-To class!" Ruby cried stuttering slightly before running off after Weiss, Blake and Yang following after her.

Wait, Crap.

As that realisation hit me, I loosened my grip on the door, before running after them my teammates following after me. "Class starts in five minutes, leg it." I cried out, sprinting as well as I could in this new uniform and a pair of shoes which were clearly not made for the purpose of running in mind.

I sprinted forward, Ren easily keeping pace with me as we came up to the fountain of the Huntsman, Huntress and Beowolf at the front of the school. In the corner of my eye I saw Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch as we ran past it.

Professor Goodwitch to a look at her watch before tsking at us while Ozpin simply took another swig of his coffee from his perpetually present mug, giving the slightest of nods as we ran past.

Okay so we're in lecture room 203, so that's second floor room three.

I calculated the distance we had left to cover and the time until class started.

Plenty of time.

After making sure that my uniform wasn't too dishevelled after my impromptu sprint I walked into the Grimm Studies classroom waiting for the Professor to walk in when my jaw dropped as I found a familiar face standing at the front of the room.

"Peter?" I said incredulously, not expecting this in the slightest.

Peter laughed uproariously, his silver moustache bouncing lively as he looked at me. "Jaune my boy! Good to see you again! Excellent show with that Death Stalker in the Emerald Forest, but then again after my teachings what could you expect? Oh and it's Professor Port in the classroom Jaune, my boy."

I laughed nervously at that, my mind flashing back to the quite frankly traumatizing first lesson I'd ever had with Peter Port.

'Time to test your instincts' he'd said moments before he set a caged beowolf on me.

I was ten at the time.

Granted I killed the thing after running around screaming for a while but that was certainly not how I had planned out my first weapon wielding encounter with the Grimm.

I grabbed a seat behind one of the desks in the second row, making sure not to sit too close to Professor Port. I looked at the whiteboards in front of the class, each one fit to bursting with an detailed illustration of a Grimm with various notes written around them.

The Professor's Blunderaxe was mounted above the boards and wait…no it is. I grinned. He even had the statue of himself the Old Bastard and I gave to him as a joke for his birthday last year at the front of the class. I honestly thought he'd just chuck it in the closet but he actually had the thing here! That was…surprisingly gratifying.

On the walls there were various mounted faux Grimm heads as well as some maps of various parts of Vale. The more Grimm infested parts to be precise.

I sighed and placed a piece of paper on the desk, twirling a pencil around my fingers in my right hand.

I've never really had classes per se like this. Not on the learning end anyway. I helped the kids out with their homework from time to time but generally I learnt out in the open with the much more practical aspects, fighting Grimm, learning how to make basic medicinal aids out of the environment and applying them ect. Plus the Old Bastard's 'teaching' method.

Wait looks like he's going to start talking now that everyone's here. I wonder if he's going to give the same speech he gave to me.

"Monsters. De-mons. Prowlers of the night. Yes the creatures of Grimm have many names but I merely refer to them as prey." Professor Port began letting off a huzzah at the end.

I banged my head on the table in front of me.

Oh dear lord it's the exact same speech. And it's even more boring than last time because I know it already.

And it was pretty damn boring to begin with.

The abject silence coming from my fellow classmates seemed to support my thoughts.

Professor Port hesitated for a second before continuing on unflinching in the face of our lack of response. "And you shall to upon graduating from this prestigious academy. Now as I was saying, Vale as well as the other three kingdoms are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces. And that's where we come in."

Where the hell did his mouth go? It's like I'm ten all over again. I was convinced back then that his moustache talked and he didn't have a mouth.

Least until I shaved it off in the night.

The next morning's training was particularly brutal due to my attack upon Peter's paragon of manliness as he'd taken to calling it in his lamentations. I still bore a few of the scars from that 'sparring match'.

"Huntsman, Huntresses," At this Port winked at Yang sitting in the front row. I raised a hand to my forehead and used it to support my head. It seems nothing has changed on that front. "Individuals who have sworn to protect those who can not protect themselves. From what you ask? Why the very world!" He finished raising a fist.

There was silence for a moment before one solitary student near the back of the room let out an 'eeyap' and raised his own fist. The rest of the room stared at this boy before he seemingly realised what he had said and sat back down silent.

Port continued on. "That is what you are training to become but first a story."

Wait.

No.

No No NO!

"A tale of a young and handsome man…"

Oh please anything, ANYTHING else if it means I don't have to listen about…

"Me!" Port finished his round belly bouncing slightly as he moved.

Ah, damn it.

This was torture right here.

The tale of how Peter Port captured a Beowolf alive and bought it back home, take forty seven.

As Port proceeded to lose himself as he regaled of his tale of bravery and cabbages I took to looking around the room.

Let's see now. Pyrrha's listening intently. I don't know how she is but she is. Ren is copying down the notes of the whiteboards doing an impressive job of the illustrations. While Nora…appears to be playing noughts and crosses. With herself. And somehow losing.

Back away Jaune, that way lies madness.

The other students appeared to be slipping into a small coma from the sound of Peter's rambling speech.

I looked down at the front to see Ruby showing her fellow teammates a scribble of some kind that left them laughing quietly save Weiss, and also drew the attention of Professor Port who cleared his throat loudly silencing the girls.

Oh looks like were coming to the end of the story. "In the end the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated, as a hero. The moral of the story. A true huntsman must be honourable. A true huntsman must be dependable. A true huntsman must be strategic, well educated and wise. "

I looked down at team RWBY and cringed. It looked like Weiss was about to explode and try to kill everything in the room as she watched Ruby mess around. Wait…no Ruby don't pick your nose in class. Uh oh. Weiss is literally physically shaking now from rage.

I slid down in my seat slightly and propped my book in front of me as an impromptu shield. Do not what to be hit with the backlash from what comes next.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" Port finished.

Peter your timing is as impeccable as always. I do believe you've just prevented a murder from taking place in your classroom on the first day of classes.

Weiss' hand short up. "I do sir." Weiss said firmly, her teeth still grit together in frustration.

Watch out Weiss, Port doesn't believe in taking it or baby steps. Rather Port's teaching method is a rather extreme method of the sink or swim method, except instead of pushing you into the water, he pushed me off a cliff.

…

I stopped at that shuddering slightly. I can't say that his method for curing my fear of heights didn't work, but it probably traumatised me more than my original fear ever did.

Port raised a silver eyebrow at Weiss' answer. "Well then…let's find out." With that the professor gestured to the steel cage behind him. "Step forward and face your opponent.

The shadowed Grimm within the cage snarled loudly and rammed the cage door, which shook slightly but held strong.

That does not sound like a Beowolf or an Ursa.

Weiss stood before the class wearing her white battle outfit once more, her Dust Rapier at the ready held before her.

Professor Port stood by the cage, his weapon no longer mounted above the board but grasped firmly behind his back.

I looked at Weiss' teammates as they supported Weiss.

Yang pumped a fist into the air cheering. "Go Weiss!"

"Fight Well!" Blake called out waving a little flag emblazoned with the name of their team.

Where in Vale did she get that? The team literally did not exist until yesterday.

"Yeah represent team RWBY!" Ruby cheered sticking her hands in the air.

Weiss turned at that frowning at her youngest teammate. "Ruby! I'm trying to Focus." She scolded before turning back to Professor Port.

Ruby calmed down, her voice much more subdued than before. "Oh…sorry."

Professor Port spoke up, silencing any further conversation. "All right, let the match…" He hefted his axe up high, "begin!" With that he slammed his weapon into the lock and the cage door fell forward.

Within stood the snarling and grunting form of a Boarbatusk, it's ivory tusks swaying with every movement, it's four orange eyes centering on Weiss with wicked intentions in mind. It's heavily armoured form charged forward at a surprising pace bearing down on Weiss.

Weiss gracefully dodged out of the way slashing the Grimm as she did so only for her rapier to fail to leave so much as a scratch on the thick armour of the Boarbatusk.

Weiss' weapon doesn't have the brute force capabilities to bash her way through the armour, so she can't attack like that. She's going to have to go for an unarmoured section.

The Boarbatusk circled around and came to a stop, snarling at her as she stood with her weapon drawn back at the ready.

Professor Port suddenly spoke up, talking to Weiss. "Haha! Wasn't expecting that were you?"

Ruby still hadn't looked away from her dust using teammate, enthralled by the battle. "Hang in there Weiss!" She said encouragingly.

Suddenly Weiss blurred forward her dust rapier extended in a thrust to pierce through one of the Boarbatusk's eyes.

I shook my head. Boarbatusks regularly fight against each other and are extremely capable of defending or deflecting attacks aiming for their face. The Boarbatusk proceeded to do one better as it charged forward at caught Weiss' rapier between its tusks, utterly halting her movement as well as her attack as she struggled to hold on to her weapon.

"Bold new approach." Professor Port commentated from the side, still unmoving. "I like it!"

Ruby was still chanting out support. "Come on Weiss, show it who's boss."

Ruby's heart was in the right place but distracting your teammate in the middle of a fight with a Grimm is never a good idea. Oh look and Weiss has taken her eye off the Boarbatusk to answer Ruby. This won't end well.

The monster ruthlessly exploited the lowered guard of Weiss, disarming her with a flourish as it tossed the rapier behind it. Weiss dodged the first swing of its tusks, but was smacked back by the second

"Ooh-hoo, Now what will you do without your weapon?" Port asked not intervening. I know Port may seem cruel here but in fact it's the complete opposite. If you can't handle fighting a Grimm in a controlled environment such as this, well as controlled as you can get while fighting a Grimm anyway, then you're going to need all the practice you can get.

Uh-oh, incoming monster.

"Dodge Weiss!" I called out as the Grimm stampeded towards her fallen form. Weiss raised her head upon hearing my waring and her eyes widened at the rapidly approaching Boarbatusk before throwing herself to her right rolling up to her feet and sliding to her weapon. The Grimm charged past her trapped by its own momentum and collided with the solid desk separating the floor from the first row sending it rolling to the side and revealing it's unarmoured belly. Professor Port casually sidestepped the beast as it scrabbled to get back on its feet.

It appears Ruby noticed that little fact as well as she called out advice to her teammate. "Weiss, go for its belly. There's no armour undernea…"

Weiss turned her rapier swinging as she cut Ruby off snapping at her. "Stop telling me what to do!" She exploded at her team leader.

I raised an eyebrow at that. Quite the temper on that one.

Suddenly the Boarbatusk jumped into the air before curling into a ball, spinning rapidly like a giant armadillo of destruction before rocketing away at Weiss with the intent to flatten her.

How is she going to get out of this one?

Weiss in the face of this oncoming assault, activated a dust spell a solid shield coming into existence in front of her as another platform came into existence in the air behind her. The Boarbatusk slammed into this shield, before falling back with a squeal it's fleshy stomach exposed.

Weiss back flipped onto the platform before using it to augment her leap forward, piercing through the boar deeply with her thrust, skidding across the ground from the force of it. Weiss fell to all fours breathing heavily as the Boarbatusk let out a final squeal before the life faded from its body.

"Bravo, Bravo." Professor Port called swinging an arm in that congratulatory manner of his. "It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress in training."

Weiss picked herself up off the ground before sheathing her blade with a flourish, the dead Grimm still smoking slightly.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today." Professor Port finished throwing his Musket-Axe back into its cradle with a well-practiced lob. "Be sure to cover the assigned readings. And stay vigilant. Class dismissed."

Weiss turned and without acknowledging her teammates stormed out of the room.

I sighed watching as Ruby got up and ran after her. "Someone's not happy."

As I made my way back to our next class, waving at Bake and Yang as I passed them the others drew level with me and Ren asked a question. "How is it that you already know Professor Port?" he asked one hand tugging idly at his collar.

"Before the Old man ran the orphanage he use to work alongside Peter as a Huntsman." I began thinking back to the random visits he did, always with a tale of derring do and adventure. Occasionally the same tale as last time, not that he ever believed me if I told him so. "Peter popped round to visit from time to time and gave me a few tips."

Nora 'Oohed' at this before jumping in front of us walking backwards as she addressed me. "What kind of tips?"

I sighed at that feeling old scars flair up in remembrance of his old teachings. "They weren't so much lessons but rather he'd bring a Grimm for me to fight and throw me at it." I admitted scratching the back of my head.

Pyrrha's emerald eyes narrowed at that. "That sounds rather…barbaric."

"No not at all." I said loudly defending him. "Peter's methods may seem slightly inhumane, but he has one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen. The kids adore him. He just doesn't hold back when it comes to training."

Pyrrha nodded mulling over my answer as we entered our next class room grabbing a bench in the second row.

I started to look around the place. The classroom was a mess to to it politely, sheets of paper strewn in a seemingly haphazard manner on and around the desk, several opened books and multiple thermos which I presumed held coffee due to the collection of empty coffee cups that were also on the desk.

Behind the desk sat an enormous map of our world, with a massive amount of clippings and sheets pinned over various areas of the map. In addition to this there was lines of red string spread across the map like the web of a spider, connecting one area and the clipping attached to it to another.

I suppose it's an illustration of events that were connected to others on the map? It would make sense for history.

There was a green blur that zoomed into the class as we took our seats. It rushed past the board, leaving words written on the whiteboard in an instant.

Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck

Military and General History

The blur halted at the front of the room revealing a man who looked to be in his mid-to-late twenties. He had dark green hair swept behind him, clear round glasses that revealed brown eyes that did not cease moving. His clothing was dishevelled a great contrast to that of Professor Port's, a half tucked white shirt, the collar still popped up with a dull yellow tie hanging loosely about his neck, along with dark green hair that matched his hair as well as two different sets of shoes on each foot.

He held a cup of coffee in his hand and sipped at it swiftly every now and then as he waited for us to quite down.

As I saw the last few students enter the classroom I was shocked to hear a blur of words at an utterly blistering pace spill forth from his mouth as he zipped about the room.

I managed to pick up a few choice words here and there, "Welcome", "World History" "Adamant!" and "Indeed".

It's one of my favourite subjects, and the teacher obviously loves his work.

This'll be fun.

The four of us walked down the corridor leading to our dorm room, classes for the day finished, now laden with a large amount of homework and expectations of readings to be completed for the next class.

It is certainly a great contrast to the training I went through back home.

Except for Peter's classes. They were pretty much identical.

Today was a 'theory' day which meant we took notes and listened to lectures on the Grimm along with the rest of the world from our teachers. As well as wearing these blasted uniforms.

I pulled at my tie as I held my books with my other hand, loosening the stranglehold it had around my neck. I cannot believe that people willing wear these things.

As we entered our dorm room I turned to the others and breathed in deeply before asking the question that had been burning in my mind, "Uh guys I kinda need your help."

The others stopped what they were doing and turned towards me, even Nora stopped jumping up and down. What is it Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, her green eyes inquisitive.

I went to answer before stopping remembering that Ren and Nora had no way of knowing that I hadn't been able to use aura until yesterday, so I turned to explain it to them as I placed my books on my bed. "Okay so first off, until yesterday I had no idea what aura was."

Nora gasped shocked while Ren started at me. Oh come on guys its not like everyone already had control over their aura before they came here, right?

….

Right?

Apparently not.

Pyrrha added onto to my admission, "I awakened his aura yesterday in the Emerald forest."

Nora gasped again while Ren began speaking his tone dumbstruck, "That's insane. Everyone usually has their aura awakened at the beginning of their training.

Okay then apparently this aura thing is not only important it's a standard if not integral part of the regular training to be a Huntsman or huntress. And despite this my training never so much as mentioned it…Peter quite obviously knew what aura was back then, by that logic so did the old bastard so then…Ah screw it I'll ask Peter later.

"So anyway," I said moving away from my wandering thoughts. "I was wondering how do I actively use my aura?"

"We can't tell you." Nora said bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

What? "I'm sorry?" I asked incredulously as I looked at Nora's smiling face.

Pyrrha stepped forward. "Nora isn't saying that we can't tell you out of some kind of law or rule, Jaune." Pyrrha said placating, running a hand through her ponytail as she did so. "Rather it is because we would have no idea what your trigger would be."

Huh. "I take it this…trigger is what allows me to use my aura? What is it exactly?" I asked

Ren stepped in at this answering my question. "The trigger is the switch within oneself that one uses to actively draw upon ones aura. However just as everyone has different auras so to does everyone have different triggers. My trigger differs greatly from Nora's for example."

At this Nora interrupted. "Yeah! Like mine's a hammer being struck by lightning while Ren's is a pink flower blooming."

I stopped at that and looked at Ren raising an eyebrow inquisitively, the slightest of smirks tugging at my lips.

Ren scowled flushing slightly. "Shut up Nora." He grumbled crossing his arms.

Pyrrha continued on. "The trigger is an image that our soul brings forth once our aura has synchronised with our body after its unlocked. It's usually something that's important or connected to the person."

"From my soul…" I muttered quietly.

What would my trigger be?

The sword?

The shield?

From my training?

Or…from before…

Wait Pyrrha's still talking.

"Due to the fact that your Aura was unlocked so late," Pyrrha said gesturing with her right hand as she did so, "as well as your abnormally large amount of aura it may be a bit longer than normal for your trigger to form."

I nodded at that. Well that makes some sort of sense. But something still troubled me.

"How will I know when it's formed?" I asked struggling to think of how I would know such a thing.

Ren answered smiling at me with a hint of laughter in his eyes. "Trust me, you'll know."

Okay it appears Ren may not have appreciated me laughing at his feminine trigger. I have to admit I am still fighting off the urge to snicker at that.

I only hope that my own trigger is not too embarrassing.

The Old Bastard would never let it go.

Pyrrha pulled out her scroll and motioned for me to do the same. I opened the Scroll and saw that it had a different image within it then last time.

Now it showed a mugshot of my face in the center with a green bar underneath along with three smaller mugshots depicting the faces of my teammates.

"Our scroll's show the approximate aura levels of ourselves and our teammates." Pyrrha said tapping on her scroll as she did so.

I whistled at that trying to examine my own. Well that was certainly nifty.

Ren started talking, "In addition to ones aura activating some people gain Semblances, special abilities beyond the usual ones granted by Aura."

At this Nora added on "Yeah, Like Ruby's makes her really fast and Weiss lets her make Glyphs!"

Huh. So there's something beyond aura then. My mind flashed back to the fight with the Night Stalker, the blast of light that had erupted from my shield. Did I do that? Or was it my shield channelling my aura?

Wait there's something else I have to ask them.

"Also there's one other thing I need your help with although this is mostly for Pyrrha." I said as I turned towards her.

Pyrrha seemed a bit shocked at this before asking , "What do you require my help with Jaune."

I hesitated for a moment before continuing on. "Please teach me how to use a shield."

Pyrrha blinked at that. "You don't know how to use it?" She asked questioningly.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I didn't even know the sheath could turn into a sword until about a week ago." I admitted flexing my left hand. "Until then I'd only ever used a sword and the old man had never used a shield before so my knowledge in using it in battle is pretty much entirely just me winging it."

Pyrrha let out an 'ah' at this. "That does explain a lot." She admitted most likely thinking about how I had handled my shield. "But why do you want to know how to use a shield? You can obviously use a sword with expertise so why the interest in the shield?"

I went to answer her before closing my mouth, my left hand closing into a fist so tight the veins were beginning to show. Memories flashed in my mind of that night.

The blood.

The screams.

The dead.

I shook my head lightly forcibly unclenching my fist. "A sword is made for the sole purpose of killing others." I started crossing my fingers together and holding them in front of me. It was a pose I'd often seen the old Bastard do and I had gradually started doing it myself as the years went on. "All I can do with a sword is cut down my foes. I can't protect people with a sword." I said my eyes unfocused.

I couldn't save them with a sword.

Only avenge them.

And that didn't seem like much of a trade in my mind.

I flinched as something touched my hand, drawing me away from my thoughts. It was Pyrrha, one of her hands on top of mine as she looked at me, worry evident on her face. "Jaune, are you okay?" She asked.

Dang it.

I gently removed her hand from my own. "I'm fine." I reassured her, forcing a smile on my face.

Pyrrha seemed utterly unconvinced.

No surprises there.

It didn't convince me and I was doing it. I always was rather horrible when it came to lying.

Jaune Arc fallback strategy number two!

Change the Subject!

"SO!" I said loudly, "Will you please help me practice how to use a shield." I asked turning to Ren and Nora as well.

Even if Nora and Ren don't use a shield they have two very different fighting styles from Pyrrha or myself and would force me to use my shield in different ways.

Pyrrha beamed at me. "Of course." She said a smile on her lips.

Ren shrugged slightly. "No problem."

Nora however gave me the evil eye and moved over towards me, before putting her face right in front of mine. "What's in it for me?" She asked suspiciously, her eyes still sparkling.

"Uhh," My mind scrambled trying to think of something, "I'll…"

Suddenly I saw Ren write something down on a piece of paper before he held it up pointing towards it.

I read the note aloud. "I'll make you blueberry pancakes?" I said my tone slightly questioning as I turned towards Ren.

Pancakes? That's your strategy?

Suddenly I felt Nora's arm encircle me and squeeze lifting me off the ground, a loud cracking sound echoing my back as she did so.

Oh my GOD! That STINGS! That really does!

"Deal, Pancake buddy!" Nora cried out happily as she swung me around in circles before releasing me. I stumbled slightly before collapsing into bed.

Ow.

Note to self: Nora's a hugger.

Avoid at all costs.

Ren sauntered on over to me as Nora ran round the room making airplane noises, asking a question. "Do you even know how to make blueberry pancakes?" He asked quietly.

I bought myself back up. "Worry not Ren, you are looking at Jaune Arc, Chef Extraordinaire!" I said striking a pose.

Nora cheered wildly while Pyrrha let out a giggle at our antics. Ren snickered before answering, "I'll believe it when I see it."

My eyes narrowed at this. Lie Ren has thrown down the gauntlet in challenge. Am I going to throw it back at him? No of course not that would be ridiculous.

I'm going to do exactly what the Old Bastard would expect me to do.

I'm going to pick up that gauntlet, put it on and proceed to knock out my opponent with a punch of sheer beautiful pancake-y goodness!

When I woke up the next day, after realizing I was at Beacon and not within my blasted recurring nightmare, again, after getting dressed in my newly washed gear, I made my way to the kitchen so as to prepare my Jaune Arc secret recipe of 'Blueberry Pancake Awesome Deliciousness'.

…

I was eleven when I made the name and the other kids loved it so it stuck, despite my attempts to change it when I was older and realised how utterly ridiculous the name was.

I arrived in the kitchen slightly in awe at the fancy, high-tech equipment. This was leagues above the kitchen I used back home.

But the method doesn't change, Just need my ingredients and the tools to make them into pancakes.

I pulled a frying pan that was clinging to the wall magnetically by the grip, spinning it in my hand as I checked it.

Looks fine.

I ran some water on the pan to ensure that it was clean before placing it on the stove and turning it on. Best to get it all warmed up now so when the ingredients have been made into the batter I can just pour it right in.

Okay let's see here… I opened up the massive pantry and began searching for the necessary ingredients, moving to the fridge as well when neccesary. Good thing everything was so organised or I'd never be able to find anything in here.

Eggs, Self-raising flour, caster sugar, buttermilk, water, bicarb soda and olive oil for the pan.

And the blueberries of course.

Sort of an essential part of 'Blueberry Pancakes' after all.

Wait how many pancakes am I making again?

Enough for me, Pyrrha, Ren and…Nora.

I thought back to the first day I had met Nora and Ren as well as the mountain of pancakes that she had inhaled back then.

I immediately went back to the pantry and the fridge and got more ingredients.

Best to overshoot in this case.

If such a thing is possible.

I poured the olive oil onto the frying pan so as to prevent the pancakes from sticking to it and then stopped.

Wait, still missing something.

Aha!

I smacked myself on the forehead reproachingly.

Bowl and whisk, Jaune how could you forget that?

Right then let's get cooking

I measured out the necessary amount of sugar, bicarb soda and flour into the bowl, before I held it with my left hand, using the whisk to combine it together with my right. Next I added the Buttermilk, and cracked the eggs on the side of the bowl before adding the yolk and egg whites.

Wait where's the bin?

I placed the bowl down next to the stove carefully before turning around, looking for the bin, my hands holding the broken eggshells.

Bingo.

I walked over to the bin and stepped on the lever on front of it, causing its lid to flip up and dropped the eggshells inside.

I picked up the whisk again and briskly moved it around the bowl combining the buttermilk, the yolk and the egg whites together with the rest of the ingredients. I then picked up the bag of blueberries and slowly dropped them into the mix, taking care to spread them out evenly. Then I took the whisk again and gently ran it through the mix so as to ensure that the blueberries would be embedded within the mix.

Okay, now before I put it in the Pan I need two things. Firstly a spatula, so I can flip the pancakes and take them out of the pan when there done. I looked up to see a spatula attached to the wall as well on a magnetic strip. I removed it and placed it next to the stove. And finally, I need a plate that I can stack the pancakes on.

As I poured the first lot of blueberry pancake mix into the frying pan, a thought struck me. I need to tell the others that the pancakes will be ready.

I pulled my scroll out of my jeans back pocket with my left hand, the right hand wielding the spatula, before placing it on the bench and opening it.

I tapped the icon with Pyrrha's face on it and waited. Seconds later Pyrrha appeared on the screen, a tired Ren pushing his hair out of his eyes and Nora bouncing about in the background.

"Good Morning Jaune." Pyrrha greeted smiling, "How are you doing?"

I grinned back. "I'm fine. I'd suggest making your way to the dining hall because the pancakes will be ready soon."

At that Nora let out a happy 'Squee' and proceeded to bounce around at an even faster pace while Ren attempted to block out the noise with a pillow. Uh, whoops. Sorry Ren.

I ended the call and shut my scroll once more returning it to my pocket absently, as I flipped the pancake to its other side to cook.

The pancakes will be cooked in no time at all.

I walked to the dining area, Plate with pancakes held in my right hand with practiced ease, plates for everyone in my left and the maple syrup on top of them.

As I approached the dining area with my bounty I quickly found that the table had a few extra people seated. Ruby and her team sat across from my team, watching me walk towards them.

I arrived at the table and looked at team RWBY with a grin. "Now what are you four doing here?" I asked fighting back laughter.

Yang spoke up, "We heard Nora going on about you making pancakes and well, I want pancakes." Yang said grinning.

Weiss then spoke up, gazing at the pancakes as if she couldn't believe I had made them. "Then Ruby dragged the rest of us here, saying it would be a good team bonding exercise."

Well it looks like Weiss and Ruby have sorted out their problem, that's good. I turned to Ruby to see her gazing at the pancakes with sparkles in her eyes a small line of drool dripping out of her mouth. Wow she really wants pancakes.

Blake put down the book she was reading and looked at me. "I do rather enjoy blueberries so I thought I should give it a try."

I rolled my eyes at this before placing the pancakes down, passing out the plates I had for my team as team RWBY had thankfully already had their own out.

As the others quickly grabbed pancakes from the plate I grabbed my own and drizzled some maple syrup onto it.

I took cut a small slice and then bought it to my mouth. I smiled as the taste hit me. Just right.

I heard Ren speak up. "These are…really good." He said his hands quickly getting the next slice ready to eat.

Nora bounded beside me still eating the pancake as she muffled "These are AMAZING!" at me through her food. It was either that or "This is day bling."

Weiss spoke up a smile on her face hands shaking in front of her, "These are delicious! Did you cook these from scratch?"

I nodded taking another bite out of my pancake as I did so. Oh that hit the spot.

Ruby and Yang appeared to be in a world of their own, utterly at bliss as they devoured the pancakes at speed that rivalled Nora.

Blake looked at me, a slight blush visible on her face as she did so. "This food is incredible Jaune" She praised smiling at me.

Pyrrha clapped me on the shoulder. "This is indeed a fine meal Jaune!" Pyrrha said motioning towards the food with her fork.

I felt my cheeks begin to heat up at all the praise my fellow classmates were heaping on me. I mean it wasn't that impressive I just cooked breakfast. I did it all the time back home.

As I finished my own musings Ruby and Yang finished their pancake with a loud 'Ah' of contentment and turned towards me.

"Your making these again tomorrow, aren't you fellow Blond?" Yang asked, her tone still holding that slightly teasing nature it always did.

Ruby's eyes lit up a this possibility. "Oh please do! These pancakes are so amazing like oh my god they're so good!"

I shrugged. "I don't know " I said hesitantly, "This was kind of going to be a one off thing…" I turned back to the others and cringed back in the face of one of the most heart-rendingly adorable puppy dog eyes staring back at me from Ruby's silver eyes.

I turned to the others only to find my defences fracture even further under the assault of pleading looks and puupy dog eyes the others gave me. Ren simply rolled his eyes and gave me a 'what can you do' shrug.

I sighed.

"Fine, but only once a week." I said firmly watching the girls break out in celebration. "I do need to do training you know."

But even as I said it I was fighting to keep a smile from erupting in my face as the others dug into the pancakes. This was fun, and I had friends my own age. Never saw that one coming.

Here's hoping the rest of the year moved on just as smoothly.

I caught the blow on my shield and was flung back from the force of it, losing my grip on the ground and rolling backwards.

I looked up to see Nora standing there with Magnhild in its war hammer form now resting on her shoulder.

"Not like that Jaune." Pyrrha called out to me, giving advice from the sideline. "Against an opponent that can overpower you as easily as Nora it's best to deflect the blow with your shield rather than block."

"Or just not get hit in the first place." Ren called out, moving through stances of his martial art.

I shook my arm, trying to shake off the buzzing sensation that was rising up it after being hit by the hammer and turned back to Nora.

"Again." I said, bracing myself for the next assault.

It was weeks from that first day of classes and Pyrrha was now teaching me how to deal with opponents that were stronger than myself with the shield.

Between the first day and the weeks that had past I had learnt many things about my teammates.

Like the fact that Pyrrha actually is descended from a long and venerated line of great huntresses, each one taking up their own personal shield, which Pyrrha called Akoúo̱ as well as their own build of the family weapon, the javelin-sword-rifle hybrid that was called Miló.

Or the fact that Ren was a master at unarmed combat, and could kick my ass just as readily without his guns as he could with them. Ren was teaching Pyrrha and I some basic techniques for unarmed fighting, while Nora had already been learning for Ren for quite some time now.

Nora I learned had been Ren's best friend through school, and was the only one that stuck by him when he was ostracised for being the 'perfect' student. In addition to this Nora's father was one of the greatest blacksmiths in all of the world, and Nora had a fair share of her old man's talent herself having built the monstrosity of destruction that was her war hammer Magnhild entirely by herself.

As for me well…my trigger still hadn't formed yet, annoyingly. But I was loving the classes that Beacon was putting forward.

In classes we had primarily only had theory, but there were still the occasional sparring sessions every now and then that kept the rust from forming.

And that was without including the training like this I went through with my teammates.

I'd been practicing against Ren until recently, a challenge I appreciated as Ren was not only much faster than me but wielded two weapons at once, much like the two claws of an incoming Grim.

My training against Nora however was not going as well.

The foes I had face up to now for the grand majority used their claws or fangs as weapons that were easily deflected by my sword or shield, as well as strong but very slow moving crushing attacks that I could easily move out of the way of.

Nora was the unholy mix of the best attributes of both without the weaknesses. Bone crushing strength in addition to dangerously swift speed. She could swing her hammer with the speed of a bolt of lightning and when it hit you the impact was pretty similar to a bolt of lightning as well. Then if by some miracle I did survive the impact with the war hammer, I was utterly owned by the secondary blast that erupted from the head of the weapon that Nora could use at will.

If I had my sword I could probably do something. But that would have defeated the point of the exercise.

So to ensure that I didn't use my sword it was resting in the hands of Pyrrha who was acting as my impromptu shield coach.

I watched Nora approach the grin on her face one of pure joy within this impromptu battle. I eyed the hammer twirling about her arms before suddenly it accelerated, Nora having pulled the trigger and sent it on a direct course to me.

I raised my shield to defend again against the weapon rocketing towards my right side but the instant it touched my shield I knew I'd misjudged it. The impact sent me sailing off my feet, a loud pop sounding as pain rocketed down my arm, skidding across the ground on my back before coming to a stop with a groan.

Ow.

By all that is, that girl knows how to hit.

I felt my tender right shoulder with my left hand and fought back a hiss of pain. Oh yeah. That is most definitely a dislocated shoulder. Been a while since I did that. Though it was a toss up between falling from the tree and hitting hit by Nora again. Probably the tree. I could avoid the tree. Nora's attacks on the other hand, not so much.

"Sorry Jaune." Nora called out clearly having been able to tell what had happened when she hit me.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out concerned rushing towards me, "Are you okay?"

I sat up still cradling the injured shoulder. "I'm fine." I reassured her attempting to smile, "I just dislocated it."

Pyrrha did not seem to take this as a good thing. "We need to get you to the medbay immediately, I'll support you so…"

As Pyrrha was saying this Ren simply walked up to me, grabbed my right arm and snapped it back into place.

A whoosh of air escaped through my clenched teeth. I knew it was coming, but damn that hurt!

I rotated my arm slowly, making sure it was properly located once more as I examined it.

Suddenly I felt two hands grab my face firmly and turn it forwards. I gulped. Pyrrha's gaze was pinning me, under the full weight of her 'What-did-you-do-Jaune" look that I had steadily got more and more accustomed to as the weeks went on.

I mean so what if my personal training schedule can be deemed as an act of torture, I mean it worked didn't it? Not that I would ever say this to Pyrrha. Although my interactions with females over the age of twelve was limited before my arrival at Beacon I still learnt several integral rules when it came to dealing with them.

The first rule was one that the Old Bastard had sat me down and told me himself, in a deadly serious manner, with a great deal of expletives and examples of personal experience. I summed it up as this. Women can become utterly blood-freezing-ly terrifying if you do something they perceive as wrong.

Ren shrugged. "He dislocated it last week against me, and it popped back in just fine." He said matter of factly.

Pyrrha's death glare turned on Ren at that moment sending him recoiling backwards in fear. Lucky, he can move, I'm still stuck in this death grip on my face. Pyrrha turned towards me, a scowl on her face. "You are not to do that again. If you dislocate it, you are to go to the infirmary. Are we clear?" Pyrrha said her voice as sharp and as unyielding as her weapon.

At this I fell back to the strategy that the old Bastard had taught me to deal in situations like this. Agree with everything they say without hesitation. "Crystal." I gasped, her grip on my skull becoming more than a tad painful.

At that a smile reappeared on Pyrrha's face, leaving no trace of the terrifying monster that had stood in her place only seconds ago. "Wonderful." Then she released her hands from my head and walked out of the room with Nora, conversing amiably as she did so.

Ren walked over to me his face still pale, and pulled me up with a grunt. "That was…" Ren stopped as if searching for the right term.

"A terror of heart stopping proportions?" I suggested, as I stopped rotating my arm, happy with its movement.

Ren snickered. "That does seem to fit aptly." Ren remarked as we both walked out of our impromptu training hall and to our first class of the day.

…

What was that again?

Right, our first duelling class with Professor Goodwitch.

At the start of the lesson Professor Goodwitch had chosen myself as well as not-Carmen who I had later found was called Cardin Winchester to demonstrate the duelling arena.

It was a truly impressive set up, the lights in the room sending everywhere but the arena into complete darkness, making it seem as if only Cardin and me were the only people in the room.

Cardin's already tall form was even more imposing with his heavy armour strapped on, coloured a dull silver-grey with a faded gold on the edges. Upon his chest plate there was a bird with its wings outstretched coloured the same as his armour's edges. Beneath the armour he wore a black shirt with a red trim, the collar poking out over his armour and black pants with an identical colour as well as a maroon belt.

His weapon was certainly nothing to scoff at either, a beast of a mace that Cardin could hold with ease in one hand. It was a vicious looking thing, the striking end looking like a dozen or so metal pincers coming together. I also noticed a red gem set within the mace itself, probably a conduit for his aura.

I heard the cheers and cries of the other students die away as I drew my sword and slipped on my shield.

Okay then Cardin, let's see how you do.

Cardin moved in swiftly, his arm drawn back to deliver a crushing blow with his mace. Favouring the overwhelming offense then Cardin? A bold strategy, certainly.

I moved my shield in the path of the incoming blows, deflecting those I could and blocking those I couldn't.

I was immensely glad I had been training against Nora. Cardin's strength was nothing to scoff at, but it lacked that utterly pants-wetting speed that Nora could achieve with Magnhild. I was used to attempting to block a much faster target with my shield so I could deal with Cardin's flurry of attacks.

The look that showed on Cardin's face showed his frustration in failing to strike me, and his blows became more haphazard, his anger making his blows stronger, but also sloppier.

Bingo.

As the next strike came down I slapped it aside with my shield before lashing out with my sword in an arching swing.

Cardin reacted quickly leaning backwards as my sword approached and avoided the lion's share of the attack but still suffered a minor slice to the cheek. He wasn't harmed of course the ever present aura protecting him.

I let out a small grin. This wasn't half bad.

At this Cardin's last straw snapped and he let out a roar of anger, grasping the mace with both hands and swinging it at my right side.

I raised my sword to defend against the blow when my shoulder flared up and my sword faltered. My shoulder hadn't healed from this morning's training!

Oh boy, this is going to hurt.

Jaune Arc, Grand Master of the art of the understatement.

The mace thundered into me, the air whooshing out of my lungs from the impact and sending me skidding backwards.

That was a hell of a swing from Cardin.

"Come on." Cardin roared, "Get up you son of a bitch!"

Did he…

Oh he did not…

I heard what sounded like Professer Goodwitch reprimand Cardin for his language while the crowd gave their own response to Cardin's insult.

I however honestly didn't care about that.

The smile was gone from my face, like a lit candle in the face of an oncoming blizzard. My eyes narrowed.

Cardin has said something utterly unforgivable to me.

I unstrapped my left arm from my shield, letting the shield fall to the floor with a loud metallic clang.

Duel? Who cares about the stupid duel?

My left hand joined my right in grasping the grip of my sword with white knuckles shaking from the force of my anger.

All I want to do is make Cardin bleed.

I leapt forward with a roar both hands unleashing a gargantuan blow against a shocked Cardin, who just bought up his mace to block in time, clearly on the backfoot.

Well, tough luck on that front Cardin, there's no way I'm done yet.

I continued swinging my blade back and forth furiously with all the strength I could muster, trying to wipe that smug look of his face with three feet of steel. Cardin retreated, awkwardly blocking each of my rage filled blows. I landed small knicks here and there but no real contact.

Time for the finisher.

I swung my sword left one more time and drew the blade back further, getting ready to put all my momentum into this next strike. Into one of my few original sword techniques. One I couldn't have done with the shield.

"Jaune Arc Sword Style Number One:" I growled out, my right arm swinging across with tremendous speed with another blow aiming for Cardin's face, Cardin raising his mace to block…

Nothing.

My right hand was on my right side at the end of the swing, extended outright and also empty handed.

The sword finished its brief descent through the air and was grasped firmly in my left hand.

Dodge this asshole.

My left arm swung forward utilizing the momentum I had already built up with my right arm and slammed the edge of the blade into Cardin's stomach, causing him to curl around it, gasping for air that seemingly wouldn't come as he fell to his knees. "False Moon." I intoned, my eyes gazing down, burning from the force of my wrath that sought to consume me.

Time to make this lesson abundantly clear to Cardin.

I bent down and spoke quietly but firmly into the ear of my breathless opponent. "If I ever hear you refer to my mother like than again, Cardin, we are going to have a problem." Then I stood up and walked back to pick up my shield, leaving my wheezing opponent behind me.

A buzzer sounded and the lights flashed back on revealing the rest of the room.

"That's enough." Goodwitch said firmly walking forward, her eyes seemingly daring us to continue our little duel and incite her ire before turning to the other students. Cardin got up slowly, using his mace as an impromptu support. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply before exhaling loudly forcing myself to let go of the anger that was bubbling inside me. It would do no good here now.

The audience looked rather stunned at my sudden switch from the combat before turning to focus on Professor Goodwitch.

I turned to the two projections of myself and Cardin above the stage, and our respective aura levels below.

Cardin's was clearly in the red while mine was just under half way. Wow that must have been some hit he got me with. It couldn't have just been him, that thing was a force similar to one of Nora's boosted strikes. Maybe the gemstone in the mace was some kind of kinetic amplifier? I dunno.

Goodwitch finished walking forward and began speaking in a lecturing tone, "Students, as you can see Mr Winchester's aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament style duel, this would indicate that Cardin is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match."

I looked out into the crown and saw Pyrrha staring back at me in shock, most likely utterly unprepared for my little…outburst.

I've really got to work on that.

And explaining this to the others…that's not going to be fun.

How bout I just don't explain it.

Good plan Jaune!

Utterly unfeasible but still, a good plan.

Wait looks like Goodwitch is saying something important.

"Remember everyone, The Vytal festival is only a few months away. It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing." Goodwitch said smartly, her purple cloak waving slightly on an unseen wind.

I saw the others next to Pyrrha acting excitedly in response to this news, Yang unleashing some quick punches, Weiss shaking her hands excitedly with a smile, Ruby tapping her feet wriggling about with a look of joy and Pyrrha…still looking at me with concern in her eyes.

Damn it.

"Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale." Goodwitch finished her eyes flicking to me quickly before returning to the others.

With that the bell rang signalling the end of class and I made my way out of the class swiftly, not stopping as I say Pyrrha, Ruby, Yang and Weiss wave at me.

I need a shower, stat. My anger's still bubbling away under this thin veneer of calm.

I returned from my quick blast under an ice cold shower had served its purpose in chilling my anger, grabbing a meal and sitting down next to team RWBY and JNPR as if nothing had happened.

Denial, ahoy!

Looks like Nora's telling team RWBY about her recurring dream. "So, there we were, in the middle of the night." Nora began her eyes scanning team RWBY as she told the tale.

Ren interrupted, "It was day." He said dryly.

Blake appeared to be reading two books at once while Yang was enthralled by Nora's story. Weiss was filing her nails and Ruby was…looking at me concerningly. A quick peek in the corner of my eye said that Pyrrha was giving me the same look.

I focused my attention on my meal and began methodically eating my meal.

Because there was nothing for me to talk about.

At all.

"We were surrounded by Ursi." Nora continued dramatically.

"They were Beowolves." Ren added again, swirling his coffee.

Suddenly Nora sttod up, stating loudly, "Dozens of them!"

"Two of 'em"

"But they were no match. And in the end Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs."

Ren sighed loudly. "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now." He informed team RWBY, gesturing with his right hand and balancing his mug on his left.

However my plan for being left alone fell apart as Pyrrha was no longer content to merely watch me.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asked, worry evident in her face.

"Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" I said curtly and got back to eating my meal.

My answer had drawn the attention of everyone else in the group.

Damn it.

At this Ruby replied hesitantly, "It's just that you seem a little…not okay." She said playing with her hands.

I forced a smile onto my face. 'Guys you're worrying over nothing, seriously." I grinned with a smile that no doubt looked more like a grimace then a beam of joy.

Suddenly I heard loud laughter in my ears, the tone familiar. I turned to the source of it to see team CRDL terrorizing a young brown haired rabbit faunus who was trying to have lunch, Sky Lark mockingly making ears with his hands above his head while Cardin laughed loudly.

I felt my right hand clench into a fist unwillingly.

Suddenly Pyrrha's voice interrupted my train of thought. "Jaune, what was that when you were fighting Cardin? I've never seen you like that before."

"It was nothing." I said firmly, turning to face the others again.

"It sure didn't like nothing." Ruby remarked suspiciously.

I frowned slightly at this. "It. Was. Nothing." I reaffirmed my anger starting to rise again.

I felt Pyrrha's hand on my arm. "Jaune you know if you ever need help, you can just ask." She said earnestly her eyes locked onto mine.

Then Nora jumped up again. "Ooh! We'll break his legs!" She said excitingly striking a battle pose.

I put a hand to the bridge of my nose, breathing in deeply before I snapped at one of my friends. "For the last time I am telling you, it was…" My eyes narrowed as I caught site of a scene in my peripheral vision. "Hold that thought."

I stood up from the table and made my way towards it. Cardin was grabbing onto the girl's long rabbit ears that extended from the top of her ears, causing her quite a lot of pain from the looks of it as the rest of his team laughed at the spectacle. My mind flashed to little Kira back home and my hands clenched into fists again.

Time for one of the Old Bastard's classics.

I walked over to Cardin and stopped in front of him examining his expression with faux confusion. "There's something on your face!" I exclaimed loudly. Cardin scowled at being interrupted in the middle of his fun and turned towards me, "What are yo…"

My left hook crashed into his cheek, sending him spinning to the floor. "It was PAIN." I finished before turning away.

I went to see if the faunus girl was alright to see she had already run off. Well at leash she's okay

"JAUNE ARC!" A voice called out loudly, as heels clicked ominously as they approached.

Ah, dang it.

It appears Professor Goodwitch walked by just in time to see me land a punch on Cardin.

"Apologize to Mr. Winchester at once." She demanded, hands on her hips as she stared at me through her glasses.

Now on one hand I could apologize for resorting to violence, and probably walk away with a warning.

On the other hand this is practically a gift wrapped set up, in front of a large crowd of people. The Old Bastard would crucify me if I did not ruthless exploit such an opppurtunity.

So I did.

I place both hands in front of me and grasped them together and put on my best repentant look. "I'm truly sorry you were born retarded Cardin."

The look on Cardin's face and the laughter that erupted around me, solidified my thought as Goodwitch proceeded to assign me detention.

Totally worth it.

I sat down in our next class, once again dressed in the Beacon Academy Uniform, ignoring the whispers that were being said around me, taking a seat away from Pyrrha and the others so as to avoid talking about what I had tried to avoid earlier. Or hitting Cardin.

I'd do that later. In private.

Dr Oobleck glided around the room in blurs of motion, reappearing in different positions at will, taking sips of his coffee as he continued on with his lecture.

Over the last few weeks I'd gradually gotten used to his fast paced talking and was able to make what he said out now. Mostly.

"Listen, yes progress for the Faunus rights revolution more popularly known as the Faunus War, humankind was quite quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in the Menagerie." Dr Oobleck stated blurring in front of the map in the front to point it out the small island with the pointer in his left hand, before dashing off again taking another sip of his coffee in his right hand.

"Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events. Why the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day." He said stopping to take another sip of coffee allowing us students to rest our necks from following him around the room.

"Now. Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated against because of your faunus heritage?" Dr Oobleck asked the class.

A few hands raised around the room including the brown haired rabbit faunus that Cardin had been tormenting earlier. I found myself gritting my teeth slightly at this reality.

Dr Oobleck apparently agreed with me, "Dreadful, simply dreadful. Remember students it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence." He admonished taking another sip of his coffee before continuing on waving his pointer. "I mean, I mean just look at what happened to White Fang. Now which one of you young scholars can tell me, what many theorists believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war?"

Weiss raised her hand quickly with Dr Oobleck acknowledging her with a quick, "Yes?" Weiss spoke confidently, "The battle at Fort Castle."

I found myself shaking my head at the name. Fort Castle? Someone willing chose to call it that? Could've been worse though I guess. Before it was a fort it was Castle Castle.

"Precisely." Dr Oobleck praised with a wave of his pointer before continuing on. "And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over general Lagoon's forces?"

Dr Oobleck looked around the room before focusing on someone sitting behind me. "Cardin, perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject." He fired rapidly.

"Well," Cardin began, "I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier."

Dr Oobleck looked about as impressed with his response as I did, shaking his head before I heard Pyrrha's voice cut in. "You're not the most open minded of individuals are you Cardin?" She asked sardonically.

Ooh, give me my sword and five minutes alone with him and he'll be the most open minded person there is.

"What, you got a problem?" Cardin challenged back at her, raising his arms.

"No," Pyrrha said turning back to face Dr Oobleck, "I have the answer, its night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark." Pyrrha stated while Cardin grumbled.

That was true enough. The amount of times I'd had the kids try to sneak to the cookie jar after lights out with utter ease had forced me to develop my own vision in the dark to escort them back to bed. Little rascals.

Blake continued picking up where Pyrrha left off, "General Lagoon was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched and the general was captured." Blake stated with Dr Oobleck nodding along at her summary.

Blake then turned towards Cardin a hint of a smile on her lips before continuing on. "Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure." She finished her yellow eyes narrowing at Cardin.

Ooh, burn.

Cardin growled and went to stand up. Dr Oobleck spoke firmly to him "Mr Winchester, please take your seat. You will be joining me after class for additional readings."

Cardin grunted and sat down, fuming. Sucks to be you, Cardin.

And with that the class continued on unabated until the bell signalling the end of class sounded.

I saw the bunny faunus go to dash off so I hurdled my desk, running off after her, "Hey, wait up." I called out.

The girl turned her eyes slightly fearful, before seein git was me. "W-what do you want?" She said shyly eyes looking down.

I reached into my pouch and pulled out my small tub of salve before placing it in her hands. "Here." I said, "Put the salve on where it hurts and it will ease the pain." I said calmly before stepping away going to walk back to my dorm room.

"Wait!" I heard her call quietly behind me.

I turned around to see her holding the salve in her hands, a small smile on her face. "Thank you." She said, bowing slightly. "I'm Velvet." She said introducing herself.

"Jaune." I replied taking her hand and kissing it lightly on the back.

Velvet flushed a bright red, stammering slightly.

I turned waving a hand as I walked away, "It was nice meeting you Velvet." I called back as I moved further from Velvet.

"Nice to meet you to Jaune!" I heard her reply quietly as I turned the corner.

I walked back passed the classroom only for Pyrrha to stop me, her hand grabbing my arm tightly. "Jaune, please wait. What's been with you today?" she asked beseechingly

I bought a finger up asking for silence. "Let's get back to the dorm room. I'll explain everything there." I said tiredly. "We may as well wait for everyone else to arrive as well."

The two teams were sitting down in Team JNPR's dorm room, Blake examining my small collection of books avidly from her seat, while they waited for me to speak.

I sighed before walking over to the bookcase and pulling out my battered old copy of 'The Protector', before flipping to the back and removing what I had stored within it.

"I've already told my team, but uh, I spent the last decade or so growing up in an orphanage." I said quietly, the girls of team RWBY looking at me with shock before another emotion set in. I handed the photo in my hand to Ren. "This is it."

The others crowded around the picture, trying to look at it.

I'd gotten that picture taken about a week before the gate fell and the old bastard gave it to me as I was leaving for Beacon.

It had me balancing haphazardly on one leg, the kids climbing all over my body, with Spot having claimed his place on the top of my head, his claws firmly entwined with my hair. Andy was hanging upside down off my left arm, while Kira's head popped up behind my right shoulder, her little tiger ears in mid swivel as the camera went off, her brown eyes sparkling happily.

The other kids were having a ball too, in the still frame of me in falling, mid tackle beneath an avalanche of kids. The old man could be seen in the background laughing his head off, his grey beard as spotless as always, as he rolled down the ramp at the front of the orphanage.

"They're all faunus." Blake noted looking at the children in the picture.

I nodded before I started talking "I live in one of the small Faunus colonies, the old man's wife was a faunus and used to run the orphanage, but she passed away when I was little."

I was shocked by the discrimination against Faunus the first time I had left the village. I couldn't believe people would treat each other like that.

Nora examined the photo before eyeing the old bastard in the photo. "Jaune, is this the man who sent you the letter a while ago?"

I nodded, chuckling slightly. "Yep, that's the Old Bastard in all his glory." I said smiling fondly.

Ruby frowned at me. "Why do you call him that? It doesn't seem very nice." Ruby said reproachingly.

Well I can see how she could think that.

I waved my hands explaining. "No, you see to the old man it's kind of like a title for him." I took on my closest approximation of his voice. "I'm not a old bastard, laddie, I'm the Old Bastard." I said in his utterly unmistakable voice before continuing on. "I helped him out around the orphanage because well…"

I didn't really have to say why I needed to help the old man, that much was obvious from the photo. He sat within a steel wheelchair, his lower half hidden beneath a blanket he'd put on due to the cold that day.

"He used to be a huntsman back in the day." I informed the others "But he was injured on the job."

Yang took her own glance at the photo before glancing back at me. "Was he the one who trained you?" She asked her eyes inquisitive.

Uhh…

"You freaking shot me you Old BASTARD!"

"Think of it as an incentive to move faster laddie. Now get moving or the next one will hit something painful!"

"Wargh!"

I shuddered. "One could say that."

Weiss asked me her own question from observing the photo, "There wasn't anyone your age there?"

"Ah, no." I agreed with her before pointing to the orange and brown streaked hair of Kira. "Kira there is the oldest after me and she just hit twelve."

I retrieved the photo and carefully stored it back within the book.

Then Ren spoke up, "Is the sword and shield his?" he inquired obviously trying to perceive the old man wielding them.

"Oh god no." I said shaking my head, "The old man's a gun user. Never used a shield in his life but knows the basics about using a sword."

The others mulled this over and I sighed internally.

Good, the others were focusing entirely on this.

Now hopefully they wouldn't say anything else about before and move o…

"What happened this morning against Cardin?" Pyrrha asked shattering my hope that I wouldn't have to talk about it. "I've never seen you so…"

I interrupted her, speaking firmly. "I really don't want to talk about this."

Pyrrha didn't stop pushing however. "Jaune, please we just want to he…"

"PYRRHA!" I snapped loudly turning towards her swiftly.

Pyrrha flinched and drew back, obviously not expecting my outburst.

I breathed in deeply in exhaled, fighting to stay calm.

They don't mean any harm Jaune, they just want to help.

Well this is one particular subject I do not want to discuss.

Ever.

"Please." I said finally, my tone pleading, begging Pyrrha to agree. "Just…please let me have this."

Pyrrha halted at my tone before nodding hesitantly.

I sighed in relief. "Thank you." I said earnestly.

The room was getting to be a tad too close for me, I needed some space.

"I'm going for a walk." I said before quickly making my way to the door and shutting it behind me, dashing around the corner as I heard the door open once more.

I sat down on the cold cement of the roof, with a sigh before resting on my back looking up at the stars.

That was one thing that didn't change here at Beacon.

The stars are the same no matter where you look at them from.

I brushed a hand through my hair absently as I thought back to the question Pyrrha had asked me.

I really didn't want to answer that question. Because it would have led to me admitting something aloud that I never wanted to do.

I stared up at the moon, feeling the cool night air woosh over me.

A simple fact that had tormented me for the majority of my life.

My mother, who I knew loved me with everything she had, whose lessons still echoed with me…

…

Whose screams haunted me…

…

I can't remember her face.

I know I had a mother, but whenever I tried to remember what she looked like my mind only revealed darkness.

I didn't know what my father looked like but I can't recall ever seeing him before as he died when I was born.

But I had been with my mother, lived beside her for years.

Why couldn't I remember what she looked like?

AN:

Well here we go, chapter 3 done and dusted.

16,335 words later.

Just to help you put an image to the Old Bastard, imagine the form and voice of an old Sean Connery. The instant I wrote it down his voice was the one that sounded in my head.

The next chapter might take a while, due to a combination of assignments, upcoming exams and me wanting to let RWBY play out a bit longer so I can mix my ideas with the actual canon storyline.

Don't worry though it won't follow all of Canon, I've already got quite a few elements in play that will come to fruition later.

Please review and tell me what you thought of the chapter.

Also if anyone is interested in being a beta for this story PM me.

Cheers,

The Inner Hollow