Professor Arc & Professor Arc II - RWBY

Tags : #Humor/Romance 

Author: Coeur Al'Aran 

Rating: T

Words: 582,340 & 561,047 

Synopsis: He didn't know the first thing about teaching, Hell, he didn't even know the first thing about fighting! A shame then, that his forged documents painted the picture of an accomplished and skilled warrior. Now he's trapped teaching students his own age how to be hunters, when he doesn't even know himself!

Link:

 - fanfiction.net/s/10898868/1/Professor-Arc 

 - fanfiction.net/s/13220830/1/Professor-Arc-II-Headmaster-Arc

Personal Review: 

"Another work by Coeur Al'Aran? Yes, I'm a fan! This fanfic focuses on Jaune Arc, who falsifies his credentials so well that he ends up being hired as a teacher. If I had to make a comparison, it would be like King from 'One Punch Man': both are physically weak and cowardly, but they have a big heart. They don't know how they got there, but now that they are, they must fake it as best as they can to meet everyone's expectations. If you enjoy characters in comedic and touching situations, this story is for you! Everyone, bow down to the biggest liar in Remnant! I heard he faced a million grims and seduced the combat professor! But of course, those are just exaggerated stories, right?"

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Chapter 1: 

Jaune Arc was in trouble.

Serious trouble, in fact. He was probably going to jail… or maybe worse... Fraud, deceit? Other allegations he didn't know the name of, but was sure existed? Once again Lady Luck had taken one good look at Jaune Arc, and thrown up all over him.

It had all seemed like such a fantastic idea at first too. Beacon Academy was the premier school for hunters, the best of the best went there, and those that graduated went on to be successful and famous hunters – and then became heroes.

He'd always wanted to become a hero, but like most children he'd whittled away his younger years dreaming and playing, only to find that he wasn't fit enough to enter Signal. And now, because he didn't have the training from signal – he wasn't skilled enough to enter Beacon. It was such an unfair conspiracy!

It wasn't that he wasn't intelligent, or hard-working. He was willing to train for hours if need be… the problem was that he had started too late in his life. Deciding he wanted to become a hunter at the age of twelve that had left around six months for him to train for the Signal entrance exams. Of course he hadn't been fit enough… even with a gruelling regime, what could be achieved in just six months!?

He hadn't given up though, he'd trained hard, studied even harder. But there was no real substitute for four years intense training at a combat school, and it showed. When it had come to the time to send his credentials in for the Beacon admission he hadn't even hesitated.

To cheat.

Oh he'd learned his lesson from Signal alright, better to seek forgiveness than ask permission, there was no way he would get into Beacon without a formal education in combat so he'd saved up some money and sought out the aid of a… well… a less than reputable individual, who was skilled in forgery. And Gods, it had been expensive too!

The documents were brilliant though, painting a believable and impressive history that was enough to make him stand out, but not too much. He'd even tested it at a Bank, and been able to open an account using it – so he knew it was good.

He could still remember the advice the guy had given him as well. Remember kid, the best lies have a grain of truth in them – but if you can't use the truth, just tell so many lies that they can only dig through the top layer. Hide lies under more lies.

He'd been so damn confident this would work…

Which was why his world had come crashing down when he had received a personal invitation for an interview with the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, Headmaster Ozpin.

I'm screwed. Of course he saw through it, and now he wants to ask why I did this before he arrests me.

In fact he was so sick with worry that he had unintentionally managed to survive the Bullhead trip to the Academy itself without vomiting. That might have also had something to do with the fact that he hadn't eaten in over sixteen hours as well…

Nervously he tugged at the collar of his hoodie and readjusted his armour. He wasn't sure why he had come armed to the teeth to this meeting, he certainly wouldn't be able to fight his way out of this. But the clothing did provide him some small level of confidence. He could at least look the part.

Confidence… that's all I can rely on right now. But Dad did always say that confidence can be all you need in some situations.

That advice was all he had to trust, as the door to the Bullhead slowly groaned open, revealing the tall spires of Beacon Academy to his eyes. It was beautiful… Everything he had imagined it to be when he had dreamed of attending when he was younger. He savoured the sight before letting out the sigh of the damned and walking purposefully down the ramp towards the blonde figure waiting for him.

It was a woman of indiscernible age, with blonde hair and a stern expression that screamed disciplinarian. One arm was held at her side, pinning a number of books to her hip, while her other hand held what appeared to be a riding crop.

"I'm sorry, did I keep you waiting?" Jaune greeted in as calm a voice as he could, making sure to keep his eyes fixed on her green orbs as he held a single hand out in greeting. Internally his mind was screaming at him to run, but he stuck to the confident and self-assured persona his forged records suggested he had. Time to go down fighting!

The woman nodded back once, reaching forward to shake his hand briefly still keeping the crop in hand as she did so. She didn't smile at him, but her green eyes didn't show any anger either – which was probably a good sign.

"Indeed, thank you for coming Mr Arc. I am Glynda Goodwitch, Deputy Headmistress and a teacher here. I hope Professor Ozpin's summons was not too sudden."

"Of course not, I was happy to have a chance to see Beacon in person." Jaune replied easily as he offered the woman a smile. He had to resist the urge to let it die an ugly death when she stared back at him, simply quirking an eyebrow. "If you're to escort me to meet the Professor, will you let me help you with those books?"

"Oh. Yes, thank you Mr Arc." The woman accepted with a slightly surprised expression before she could hide it. Jaune took half of the books with a hidden grin, glad that his attempt to distract her had worked. Only a few books, but a gentleman was always polite with ladies, no matter their station. "If you will follow me, I will show you to Ozpin." She turned away from him as he quickly stepped in to walk beside her.

"Thank you Mrs Goodwitch."

"Miss, actually." She corrected as the two of them passed under a stone arch and into what looked to be a large round plaza with a fountain in the centre.

"Really? Oh, I mean - sorry!" Jaune apologised, making sure to add a little fake surprise to his voice. He wasn't surprised at all she wasn't married, since she looked too damn scary and unapproachable for most men. Even if he was closer to her age he didn't think he would have the stones to talk to her. "I didn't mean to assume."

"Don't worry about it Mr Arc." The woman urged with what actually looked to be the slightest beginnings of a smile on her face. Barely there for a moment before she mercilessly killed it. Still, it was a start.

Okay – okay, think Jaune. Disciplinarian, apparently strict and is a headmistress. So be polite, formal, flattering – but don't even think about flirting. She helps run a school for young adults, no doubt she gets way too much of that attention as it is…

It was definitely important to stay on the good side of anyone here.

"If I might ask, Miss Goodwitch? Do you know why Professor Ozpin wants to meet with me? I'm afraid he didn't explain very much when he called me."

And what a harrowing call it had been. Completely out of the blue, and he'd been too damn scared to ask many questions of the white haired man. He'd been able to only just get out that he would be able to make the appointment, and confirm the Bullhead arrival time. He'd then spent the next week in a panicked agony… and now here he was.

"I do know Mr Arc, but I'm not at liberty to tell you just yet. I believe Ozpin would like to meet with you first. I am sorry." No real expression on her face beyond the stern expression he was beginning to believe was standard for her, but the inflection she put on her apology suggested she was in fact a little sorry she could not tell him. At the very least it provided a little more confidence for him.

If this was to throw the evidence of his forgery in his face, then she certainly wouldn't be this polite with him – and definitely wouldn't apologise for keeping things secret from him. If she was as stern as her expression, dress and mannerisms suggested… and Jaune was very sure of his first impressions here. Then she would be furious if she knew he had forged his documents.

Did this mean they didn't know they were fake!?

Was he going to get away with this?

"Don't worry about it then." He laughed, waving off the issue as he tugged at his jeans. "I'm just worried that I'm a little under-dressed for the occasion."

"Not to worry Mr Arc, we understand that for a person of your calibre, you would come to such a meeting armed. It can be difficult to put hunting the Grimm aside, even for more experienced people."

His calibre… yeah. But at least his records had proven themselves it seems, if she honestly believed was some kind of hotshot hunter-in-training. That took a lot of the stress off his shoulders, especially if this was just some kind of acceptance interview, or maybe they interviewed all the students before deciding to accept them? Had he panicked over nothing?

"Ah, here we are. Professor Ozpin is awaiting us inside." Two large doors opened slowly as the woman walked into the room, letting Jaune follow behind her as he admired the decor. From the view through the huge windows he would tell this was the central spire of the academy, apparently the Headmaster's personal office.

Apart from a large desk and a few bookcases, the room was rather bare. He had honestly imagined something more from a man as powerful, and no doubt wealth, as the headmaster of Beacon. But perhaps this was just to create an image, the man's personal quarters could be lavish.

"Greetings Mr Arc." The man stood behind the desk commented, dressed in an immaculate green suit, and sipping on a large mug of some hot beverage. Even if Jaune had not recognised him as the man who had called him recently, he would have known Ozpin by his fame and distinctive white hair. Swallowing his nervousness, Jaune strode towards the desk and held his hand out over the polished wood, his blue eyes staring into brown. A hysterical part of Jaune's mind commented that Ozpin's hair seemed quite similar in design to his own.

"A pleasure headmaster." He kept his hand steady, waiting as the man seemed to take a long sip of his drink, before putting it down and grasping Jaune's hand in a firm shake. Glynda stepped forwards to take the books Jaune was carrying from him, as he sat down across from the headmaster. The woman then walked around the desk to stand beside, but slightly behind, the headmaster. Jaune waited for them to speak, not saying anything as the man took another long drink of what Jaune could now identify as coffee.

"Well then Mr Arc, thank you for coming to this meeting." Jaune nodded but didn't say anything. This man was definitely far above himself in terms of experience and knowledge, and Jaune knew about dealing with people like that, if you didn't know the correct response – then stay quiet.

"I received your application for entrance as a student of Beacon Academy, and have had some time to look over your records." Once more he paused here as he fished out some pieces of paper from a drawer in his desk, taking another long drink. Jaune schooled his expression into a calm facade, despite the frantic hammering of his heart in his chest.

"Quite the glowing recommendations you come with Mr Arc. Trained for four years at the Vacuo Academy for Gifted Youths, before staying on to begin your formal Hunter Education. You would be 20 years old now, correct?"

"That's right." Jaune lied, trusting the forged documents with all his heart. It had been an important move to have him listed as three years older than he was so that he could fit in. The various hunter academies kept in close contact, so it would be clearly obvious if he claimed to be from one and they checked the records against their database… All except for one school… since it had been destroyed by the Grimm three years ago.

"I've heard of many survivors of the attack there… most did not continue their career as Hunters." The Vacuo Academy for the Gifted had been a famous school, and one of the only schools that could train hunters from their first entry at 13, right through to their graduation at 21. It had been attacked and destroyed by the Grimm three years ago though, and most of the records had been lost with it. The fraudster had made sure to explain that to Jaune, along with the importance of sticking with the story.

"I can understand why. It took me over two years to recover from that. I am hoping you will not let my age work against me in this regard." That had been one of his man concerns, that they would refuse him because his records now said he was 20, above the usual starting age.

"Of course not Mr Arc." The man replied back with a small smile. "Three years is not so much time in the grand scheme of things, and it would be a shame to see such talent wasted. My concern is quite the opposite in fact Mr Arc." At this he pushed across some of the papers to Jaune, showing him statistics he had long since memorised.

Valedictorian, skilled fighter, excellent tactical skills and a strong grasp of theory. A team leader with unparalleled empathy for his team, able to motivate people to work as cohesive groups, even in the worst of situations. His records even claimed he had a few missions under his belt. Some taken during his time in Vacuo, others during the three year break afterwards.

He couldn't claim he'd just sat around for three years, so his records painted a picture of a man who had done his best to evacuate the other students, and fought to protect them. He'd also done some freelance work for villages that could not afford a hunter, or who needed help immediately.

All falsified.

"If I may be frank Mr Arc." The man spoke, as a grin formed on his features. Meanwhile Jaune's spirits fell in sudden terror. "I think you're too qualified to be a student here."

Huh!?

"You have the skills and credentials to be a hunter right now, so might I ask why you wish to be a student once more?"

Oh Gods, he hadn't expected this… that they might reject him for being too good. Or that they might think it's too suspicious for such a skilled man to want to lower himself to the level of a student.

"I… need the qualification." Jaune tried as he slumped in his seat. "Skills aside, a lot of doors are closed to a person who has not graduated from a school for hunters. I want to prove to myself, and others, that I deserve to be a hunter."

"A worthy goal indeed, and I would never consider denying a hunter his dues. But here in Beacon we assign students into teams of four. You must understand Mr Arc, that someone of your ability would overshadow his team and might lead to them not developing into proud hunters as they should…"

Jaune couldn't help but feel a small thrill of panic shoot through him, not out of fear that he would be rejected. In fact the man had as clear as said he would help Jaune get into Beacon… but what if he was assigned to no team, and instead left on his own!? That would be a disaster! He didn't have the skills to survive as a one man team and would be publically humiliated and ridiculed in front of the entire student body… If he didn't just die first.

"If I might ask, and I do not wish to bring back difficult memories. But how did you cope with the grief of losing people in Vacuo?"

"It's difficult." Jaune hedged, delaying so he could think of a story to tell, while the two teachers waited patiently. "My team was killed and there was nothing I could do to prevent it. Beyond that, many of our friends and colleagues were dying as well."

The two adults seemed sympathetic as he paused to think of more excuses. He couldn't afford to paint himself as a traumatised youth, or they might ask him to undertake counselling. At the same time to suggest he was just over it would come across as incredibly convenient.

"Those of us who survived banded together though. People are stronger together and we helped each other when we felt down. I'd had two years to come to terms with what happened and I want to move on, if you'll let me."

Put the onus for the decision in their hands, use guilt! Underhanded though it might be, he'd come too far to back out now, this was all or nothing.

"Wise words indeed. What do you think Glynda?" The Headmaster asked as he leaned back in his seat with a wide smile on his face. Jaune turned to look at the woman who had escorted him here, noticing the sad look on her face which she quickly hid.

"I think I agree with your decision Headmaster. Mr Arc will be good for the students here."

He was in!? He'd done it?

"I think we'll be happy to welcome you to Beacon Academy Mr Arc." Professor Ozpin congratulated, pushing a sheet of paper and pen across to Jaune, which he picked up to inspect.

"A contract for employment?" He blurted out with some confusion, as he flicked through the various pages, seeing nothing but huge amounts of text and regulations.

"You're too qualified to be a student here Mr Arc, but you have just what we need for a Support Teacher at Beacon Academy." Jaune barely heard the man, his eyes flicking over the front page. A teacher, him!? Oh Gods, this was a disaster. Forget forging his way as a student, this was about ten times worse. He was going to be forging his way into employment!

And he didn't know enough about being a hunter! He could barely fight, Good Gods, his students would be able to beat him up! He was going to be roughed up by his own students… in front of everyone!

"I have no experience teaching…" He couldn't help but stammer out, only for his new hope to be crushed as the blonde deputy stepped forwards.

"I will be helping you with that Mr Arc." She replied as she nodded to him. "You will have your own classes, but we will do some training a few days before the term starts, and you can sit in on some of my lessons as well. You will be up to standard for this, don't worry."

Oh that wasn't his worry at all. His worry was more along the lines of humiliation, followed by an inquiry – maybe finished up with a lengthy jail term.

"Your responsibilities would be helping other teachers with their workload, monitoring some lessons. Perhaps in some advanced cases shadowing teams on missions as well. You might have your own classes in a few months, but they would be irregular subjects."

"Can you give me an example of what subjects you might be thinking?" Jaune asked, half to give him more time to think up excuses, but also so that he could get some bloody studying in on whatever subjects those were!

"I have long wanted to offer a course for those who have experienced loss or difficult missions. Perhaps on coping in stressful situations, or simply camping. They would be optional courses, and you wouldn't be required to grade or offer exams."

Okay that didn't sound so bad… if they weren't graded then arguably there was no way to prove he couldn't do the job, was there?

He wanted to refuse. To explain that he had applied as a student and wanted to become one, be a part of a team… but that wasn't what Jaune Arc, survivor of Vacuo, would do… he was a leader, a man with standards and confidence, who had survived where others had died. Anything else could reveal him as a fraudster.

"I suppose I don't really have a choice do I?" Jaune joked to the two, while internally his mind screamed in agonised pain.

"Welcome to Beacon, Professor Arc."

Fuck my life.