Hey guys, a new chapter here and I hope you enjoy. A few people expressed concern for Remy, and mostly that he is the straight man to Jaune's idiot. That's not actually his place in the story, and he wasn't added because I "wanted" to add someone, but because I needed to. I was going to leave it at that, but added an excerpt at the bottom of this chapter if you want to know more. It's not necessary to read it and it tells you nothing that might be a spoiler, but explains his purpose for those who seemed confused. Many people liked him, more than those who disliked them, but I figured it couldn't hurt to explain just why.



It's not a rant, just a meta explanation for him. So people can see `why` I felt he had to be included.

P.s. Long chapter; usual will be 5k or so, I reckon...

Beta: College Fool

Cover Art: Kegi Springfield

Chapter 3 – A New Flock

"Thank you Cyril, and in recent news the unknown figure that attacked two huntresses in downtown Vale is considered on the loose and dangerous. Any citizens are warned not to approach but to contact the authorities immediately."

"Is that the guy you fought?" Yang asked.

Ruby hummed as she looked at the crooked picture on the screen. It wasn't an actual photo, since apparently the shopkeeper didn't have any CCTV. Instead, she and Miss Goodwitch had been asked to provide a description as best they could. It had been dark and she'd been in the middle of a fight, so she wasn't sure she'd gotten it down perfectly, but the image did have the white hair, red eyes and crazy veins - and that was pretty distinctive.

Enough so that the police officer taking down the details had looked at her like she was high on sugar and hallucinating. The scary huntress beside her had soon silenced their doubts, however. None of the terrifying things he'd done had been mentioned on the news report… she'd been asked to keep it to herself as well, just to avoid any panic among the population. As far as everyone was concerned, he was just a typical criminal, albeit a dangerous one.

Naturally she'd told her father, uncle and sister – but that didn't count, right?

"I wouldn't say fight," Ruby said. "I shot and attacked once or twice… but I never really got into danger and didn't even scratch him."

"I'm sure dad would disagree on the danger part," Yang growled at the screen, only for it to blink away and be replaced by an image of the scary-hunter-lady welcoming them to Beacon. "Still," her sister laughed, "You got to come to Beacon two years early, so I guess it paid off."

"Yeah, I guess."

"And now you're probably the youngest person to get into Beacon. My sister's so special, the bee's knees."

That was an unwelcome thought and sent butterflies straight to her stomach. "I'm not special," she quickly said, "and I don't want to be the bee's knees. I want to be a normal person with normal knees."

"Oh, it'll be fine," Yang wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a hug. "Don't stress about it. You'll do fine… and stop worrying about that guy too. You didn't stop him, but look at how tough he was. Like dad said, it was a victory that you got out in one piece, and you saved that old man."

She wasn't so sure herself, but she smiled for her big sister anyway – and somehow doing that helped her to feel better too. Yang was right. What did it matter if she'd technically not managed to beat that guy? He could summon Grimm – which was absolutely terrifying – and sure, he'd called her a villain, which was kinda weird. But still, it wasn't like she had been expected to do any better. She'd saved the shopkeeper's life, and who could tell what cruel Grimm ritual that monster wanted him for? And Ozpin had even recognized her awesomeness and invited her to Beacon.

"Yeah, you're right," Ruby nodded, a little more certain this time. "I can't wait to get to lessons and show people what I'm made of!"

"And to make friends, right?"

"Erk…" Oh Gods, she'd been so excited about Beacon that she'd totally forgotten! She didn't have any friends here and the ones she'd relied on to be there at Beacon with her were not stuck back at Signal. "Eh… heh heh, well I was thinking that with you and me…"

Yang frowned at her stutters, but luckily she was cut off before the situation could get any worse. Lucky was, of course, a relative term – since a blond guy rushed past them and towards a window, which he opened – only to spew vomit from the flying vehicle. Yang winced and backed away, while everyone around him found some reason to be elsewhere.

Well… at least it distracted Yang from the whole `force Ruby to make friends` thing.

Still, was it just her, or did that guy look a little familiar?

/-/

"I hate those things," Jaune groaned as he continued to hurl chunks of food into a conveniently placed trash can. Each time he thought it was over and tried to stand, his stomach would retch once more and have him bent double. But hey, at least he knew what they were called now. They were Bullheads, and as far as he was concerned they were the most telling evidence of humanity's evil.

"Can you stop that please?"

"You have no idea how bad this is," he groaned aloud.

"Actually, I live inside you. You have no idea how bad things are in here right now!"

Jaune's response was to lean forward, close his eyes, and remove every last ounce of breakfast from within his body. Fortunately, it seemed to be all that was left to vomit, for he heaved a few more times but eventually managed to get his body under control. "Welcome to Beacon," he whispered blearily.

Honestly, he was lucky to even be here. The shock and horror he'd felt last night came back to him, followed by a wave of humiliated shame as he buried his face into his hands and smothered a scream. He'd only gone and fought against the good guys, helping a criminal to not only escape – but get away with some stolen goods too. And now, in some stupid way, he was complicit in that crime as well. Could things have actually gone any worse?

He was just lucky the Roman guy had been able to change Beacon's lists to include Jaune's name. In fact, he was lucky the guy had been willing to at all.

"You realise he was getting rid of you, right? He just didn't want to deal with you any more than he had to."

"I know," Jaune sighed and staggered to his feet. "Still, it's better than nothing. We're here now… I just need to keep my cover and avoid drawing attention to myself. They're looking for a white-haired, red-eyed, Grimm-summoning person."

It was a bit of a setback, since all the things he'd done had been his best and strongest abilities, but it wasn't like he had intended to use all of them anyway. Summoning Grimm while he attended an academy for huntsman seemed like a poor idea, and he was only a little naïve – not stupid. The loss of his transformation was bad news, however, since part of him thought he could have explained that away.

His hand fell to Crocea Mors at his hip, and his eyes traced down to it a second later. Well… this was a school, right? It wasn't like he was expected to be skilled at a place that taught you how to be skilled, was it?

"This is going to be a disaster," Remy groused.

Jaune couldn't bring himself to disagree.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, it looked like everyone had left him while he'd been sick on the floor. That seemed a little harsh… wasn't it common courtesy to go up and help someone if they were in trouble?

A rather large explosion sounded a short distance away, and after the din had receded, there seemed to be angry shouting too.

Well, at least he'd found where everyone had gone. With one final wipe to remove any traces of vomit from his chin, Jaune headed over towards where he'd heard the sound from. All he had to do was find the students he'd travelled with, and then follow them to wherever it was they were supposed to go. On the Bullhead, there had been a few people he'd overheard taking about an initiation of some kind. He wasn't sure what to think of that.

The trees gave way to grassy gardens and white, marble pathways. There wasn't a large group of people like he'd expected, but rather three other girls. One had black hair and a bow on her head. She looked pretty, but also unapproachable as she said something and walked away. The other caught his eye immediately, and an embarrassed flush made its way onto his cheeks. She was very pretty… she had white hair, almost as beautiful as his mother's – but her eyes were much paler and blue.

Fear took hold of him, however, when he saw the last one, who lay flat on the floor. He flinched back before he could stop himself. His hands pressed against bark as he hid behind a tree.

"Oh dear…" Remy sighed. "This doesn't look good."

That was one way of putting it! Jaune didn't dare move as he pushed his face against the cold bark and stared out at her. The same girl he'd fought against the other day, who he'd declared a villain and tried to stop. It was bad enough that he'd been wrong, worse that he'd tried to actually hurt an innocent girl… but that she was also here as well!?

What were the odds of that? Seriously, she looked too young to even attend somewhere like Beacon. Hadn't the newspaper said this was for seventeen year-olds? It would be best if he avoided her, and he stepped back and made to do just that.

The girl sighed and slumped onto her back. "What a way to start my first day at Beacon…" she mumbled. She sounded sad…

Jaune's fingers crinkled against the bark as he watched her. She looked upset and lonely, like she didn't belong. Her clothing continued that image, the tattered red cloak against white stone made her look out of place and alone.

"Jaune, what are you doing?" Remy asked worriedly, "We should leave. What if she recognises you? What if she gets you into trouble?"

"Don't you think she looks lonely?"

"Lone-? No… oh no. Jaune, no… No, no, no, no, no! You can't do this, please. Whatever your bleeding heart feels, kill it! Please, for the love of Salem, ignore it!"

She wasn't his enemy. He already felt terrible for having fought her. And hey, maybe this would be a chance to fix that. The mistake he had made was big, but it hadn't killed or injured anyone, so surely there was still a chance for him to make things better. He ignored Remy's frustrated howl and pushed his way out from the trees and slowly over to the girl.

Up close, she looked much smaller than he remembered. That gave him the courage he needed to stand beside her and extend a hand. "Hi there," he smiled, "You look like you could use some help."

The girl blinked and looked towards him.

Jaune's muscles locked into stone as he met those silver eyes. Flee, run, get away! Something visceral burned deep inside him as he felt an overpowering urge to either run or kill her instantly. Sweat beaded on his brow but he forced it away and kept his hand out. Inside him, Remy squirmed in agitation.

The girl laughed awkwardly and reached out to him. "Heh… um, yes please…" She patted her skirt down once she was back on her feet, but kept her eyes on the floor. She was so small and slight, with an outfit of purest crimson. "So uh… can we ignore the part where you found me lying on the floor like that?"

"Sure." Maybe they could also forget the part where he picked her up using a tentacle and threw her into a shelving unit. Then again, since she hadn't run away or attacked him, it looked like she didn't recognise him after all. Thank everything for that… I guess the physical differences are enough to throw suspicion off. I'll just need to act totally normal – and not use my heroic voice or poses.

It was a shame, since if he didn't act like a hero, how would anyone realise he was one? Still, he had to act perfectly normal.

"So…" the girl fidgeted slightly, "My name's Ruby, Ruby Rose."

"Jaune Arc," he shook her hand but flinched when her silver eyes met his. "Um… your eyes… are those normal?"

Ruby frowned as she let go of his hands and touched her own face. "They're normal," she whispered. "I've always had eyes like this. My mom did too." If anything, she looked a little defensive. "Is… is there something wrong with that?"

"Yes!"

"O-Of course not," he lied, "I just thought they… looked..." his words broke off as he looked into them. His mother had always warned him about people with eyes like that, but this girl didn't look deadly or dangerous. At least, she didn't look like she wanted to be either of those things to him. In fact, with how they were blinking - and how her face was steadily turning red as he stared at her, he dared say they looked "- pretty."

Ruby pulled her hood up over her head and looked away from him, but there was a small, almost shy, smile on her crimson face now. "So… uh…" she coughed awkwardly and fidgeted with her fingers, "Do you always walk up to random people lying on the floor to make friends?"

Jaune's eyes widened as he wondered what he was supposed to say. "No, of course not." He didn't normally do anything to random people, since there were no random people in the Grimmlands. "But, you know," he said, "It's just… my mother always says that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet."

"Really?"

He coughed and nodded, even as he felt a little guilty for the fib. His mom did say that, but it wasn't the full saying. `Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet or people you need to quickly capture and put in the torture chambers until you know them better` was the full quote. It also included an addendum about throwing them to the Beowolves afterwards, but he was fairly sure Ruby wouldn't have appreciated that.

"Wow, she must be really friendly," Ruby said.

"Yeah… well, she uh… definitely likes to meet new people." He really had to change the subject before he said something wrong. "So, how about you?" he asked, "You look young. Are you really seventeen?"

She looked as young as his littlest sister.

"I'm fifteen," Ruby said, "I got into a fight with a dangerous criminal and the headmaster invited me to Beacon early."

Erk – talk about a poor choice of conversation. Jaune's arms locked up as he laughed and tried to keep his legs from shaking. "Oh wow," he said, "That's really amazing. You must be pretty strong."

"Ah, no… I'm not special in any way. I'm just a normal person."

"How convenient," he latched onto her words, "Me too. I'm a totally normal person as well."

"Y-Yeah," Ruby looked away and laughed. "Neither of us are the bee's knees."

Bee's what? Whatever, he didn't have the time to think on it. "No bee's knees here," he nodded, "Only the most normal of them. Say, you don't happen to know where we're supposed to be headed, do you?"

Ruby looked at him with wide, silver eyes.

"But I was following you…"

/-/

Eventually, the two of them managed to find their way to the main auditorium, though it was more by process of elimination than anything else. Along the way they'd talked about their weapons – his was perfectly normal, which he'd made sure to repeat a few times, just in case she started to think otherwise. Hers… well, he was already acquainted with it, but it was still impressive. It looked like they'd come in at the tail end of the headmaster's speech. Was that a bad thing? Would they be in trouble? Jaune wasn't sure, but since no one was telling them off, he figured it was okay.

"Hey, Ruby!" someone yelled out. The girl beside him turned to look around, and quickly spotted a blonde girl waving.

"Yang!" Ruby shouted, half-pleased and half-upset. She turned to Jaune with a wry smile. "That's my sister," she said, "She pretty much abandoned me earlier but I'd better go see what she wants. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Please no."

"I'd love to." Remy groaned but said nothing as the girl's face turned red and she ran away into the crowd. "She wasn't so bad," Jaune whispered to his faithful companion.

"You're joking, right? Jaune, she's one of those silver-eyed warriors your mom warned you about. Don't you remember her stories?"

"Of course I do. She doesn't seem as cruel as those people, though. She looked lonely… kind of like me."

"Oh for the love of… Jaune, please, you can't befriend every little thing you see."

"Why not?"

"B-Because you're meant to become a huntsman, remember? What if she recognised you?"

"Then wouldn't it have been better to find out straight away? Now I know she hasn't, so we're pretty much safe."

Remy couldn't argue with that, not that the fact stopped him grumbling. Ruby still made him feel a little awkward, not least of all because of the fact he felt guilty for attacking her – but also because those eyes really did frighten him. It wasn't just because of his mother's warnings, however. There was a part of him, deep inside, which instinctively wanted to back away.

But she'd been so nice! More than that, she was the first person he'd really spoken to – as in a proper conversation. That pretty blonde girl had been for directions and Roman was a bad person he'd accidentally helped. Ruby was the first real stranger he'd met and talked with, which meant by his mother's own logic, she was his first friend.

And taking that logic a little further, didn't that make her his best friend? It sort of had to. Well, apart from Mannie and Remy, of course – but they were different.

A commotion on one side of the room revealed various students filing into some side rooms. Those that left did so in their sleepwear, and he noticed that the ones waiting carried small bags with them. Judging by the various sleeping bags being arranged across the floor, they were supposed to spend the night there.

That was pretty cool. Jaune grinned in excitement as he lifted up his own bag and headed to join the back of the queue. He avoided the women's side, since from a mistake he'd made when he was younger, he knew better than to walk in on a girl getting changed. Big sis Cinder had demanded months of attentive service, massage and praise before she forgave him. Though come to think of it, that was probably because of how excited his mother had gotten when she found out, and for the resultant mood when Jaune explained that yes, it was an accident and no, there weren't any grandbabies on the way.

Salem was not a person used to being denied, and even less used to being unable, or unwilling, to crush or intimidate the person doing the denying. He could still remember her dazed expression, not to mention the way her mood flickered wildly over the next few days.

A few people mumbled and whispered between themselves as he stepped back out of the changing rooms. They didn't say anything to him, nor did they meet his eyes when he looked their way.

His brow furrowed as he looked down on himself. He was wearing his onesie, which wasn't anything unusual. What were they all acting so strange for?

"Jaune!" Ruby's voice cut across the crowd. She was stood beside the blonde girl, her sister, but this time she waved for him.

He waved back and wondered what she wanted.

"Uh… come over here!" Ruby called again. She looked a little flustered to be shouting out over the hall, but with nothing better to do, he shrugged and made his way over. "Hey," she whispered shyly when he was closer. "You looked a little… well… everyone was staring at you so I thought calling you over might help."

A strange, warm sensation settled in his stomach at those words, and it didn't feel like indigestion. He grinned and forced back that wary feeling at the sight of her eyes. It had already begun to fade, though the trepidation was still there. "Thanks Ruby," he said. "I'm not sure why everyone kept staring at me but you're right, it was starting to feel a little uncomfortable."

"That might have something to do with your pyjamas," Ruby's sister said.

Jaune blinked and looked down at himself. "It's my onesie," he said. "What's wrong with it? It's really comfortable."

Ruby fidgeted on the spot, "Um… it's… well…"

"I think it's the subject material," the blonde girl leaned on one leg and grinned. "Though personally, I think it looks pretty badass. Well… for a onesie."

The subject material? Jaune lifted his arm up and studied the black fabric. It was thick and warm, even if it was just made of cotton and some other synthetic fibre. He reached up to scratch the back of his head, only to pause when he felt the plastic there. Idly, he pushed the Beowolf head back. The hood slipped down his back. The huge, Grimm-like claws on the ends of his mittens were great at getting that itch. "I don't get it," he shrugged, "It's just my pyjamas.

"Some people get wound up easily," the blonde said, "Especially when you're basically in the most realistic Beowolf costume I've ever seen. Anyway, the name's Yang Xiao-Long. I'm Ruby's sister."

"I know," Jaune said. "We met before."

"We did?" She blinked twice as she looked him up and down, while Ruby whispered her sister's name in mortification. "Oh~" Yang grinned, "I remember now. You were the guy asking for directions to Beacon yesterday."

"Nice to see you again," he smiled. "Thanks for your help, by the way."

"Hey, no problem. Nice to see y-" She opened her mouth to say more, only for it to click shut as her eyes widened. "Wait a minute," she whispered, "Yesterday you didn't even know where Beacon was, let alone how to enroll. You mean to tell me you actually got in, even when you sent your application a day before initiation!?"

"Well…uh… yeah." he shrugged.

She studied him carefully, suddenly serious. "Damn," she whispered, "You must be a lot tougher than you look if you managed that. Are you some kind of prodigy huntsman who lives out in the wilds?"

That wasn't quite as incorrect a statement as she no doubt thought it was. Either way, there was no way he was going to be able to keep that kind of impression with his sword skills, so he made sure to shake his head and smile. "Nope… I'm just a normal guy."

"Who convinced the headmaster to take him in, even though the deadline for applications was months ago."

"That's me. Besides, didn't Ruby say she got in yesterday too?"

Yang looked to her younger sister, while Jaune smirked and congratulated himself on a brilliant ruse. There was no way she could get the wrong impression now, especially since he wasn't even the only one to get in on sudden notice.

"I guess you're like my little sis then," she grinned, "More normal knees?"

There was that strange saying again. Maybe it was some kind of Valean proverb? "I have normal knees," he confirmed and hoped that was the correct response. "I… uh… I like your knees?"

Honestly, his sisters normally like it when he complimented their hair, eyes or clothing – but to each their own. If the people of Vale liked to be complimented on their kneecaps, then he needed to try and fit in.

"Oh really?" she laughed and struck a pose that accentuated her figure, "I guess I can't blame you for looking, lover boy. Hey Rubes, did I tell you how he came up to me and started flirting with me while I was eating?"

Ruby eeped and pressed her hands to her cheeks at that titbit.

"I was just asking her for directions," Jaune said.

"But what was it you said?" Yang teased. "Oh yeah, you called me pretty and said it was little wonder all the guys were interested in me, right?"

"Well yeah," he said, "You are very beautiful."

The blonde's cheeks darkened for a second but she managed to keep her smile light and breezy. "Sheesh," she said, "You're going to cause some damage if you keep talking like that. Just so you know, though. I'm not going to be so forgiving if you try and take advantage of my little sister."

"Yang!"

"I wouldn't do that," he said.

"Oh?" Yang appeared behind her sister and pinched the smaller girl's cheeks between her fingers. Ruby squirmed and kicked angrily, but didn't seem to be in any pain. He'd have made a move to help her, but to be honest the move was reminiscent of what his sisters did to him – all the time. "Are you saying my little sister isn't just the cutest thing ever? Doesn't she have pretty eyes?" The last bit was added in a teasing tone that made Ruby's cheeks flush crimson, but Jaune wasn't sure what she meant by it.

Cute? Jaune looked towards his first and best friend and hummed as he considered it. She had a small face, round and soft with wide eyes and rosy lips. Her face was quickly going red too, though whether that was from his stares or Yang's pinching, he didn't know. "She is very cute," he said with a nod, however.

Ruby started to stammer.

"Oooooh," Yang leaned on her sister, arms over her shoulders and smiled at Jaune. "Cute, eh? See something you like?"

"Well, yeah, obviously."

Ruby's eyes were wide as she stared at him, open-mouthed.

Was she okay? He just said he saw something he liked. He liked Ruby, even if she had silver eyes. She seemed like a good kind of person.

"W-Well," Yang coughed, "Okay… that's… wow. I knew you were blunt, but okay. Just so you know, I'm going to be keeping an eye on you now. I mean, you've pretty much said you want to get to know my sister a little closer-"

"I do."

"Eh-eh-eh-eh-eh," Ruby tried to speak but seemed unable to.

"Whoah, whoah," Yang waved a hand between them, "Not so damn fast, buddy! Teasing is all well and good but I'm thinking I need to draw a line here before you try and sleep with my sister or something."

"That's a shame," Jaune sighed. "I really would have liked to sleep with Ruby."

The only sound he could hear was Ruby's frantic breathing, though he half-thought he could hear a few people nearby not breathing at all.

"I wouldn't have minded sleeping with you either," he idly said to Yang.

Her jaw fell open.

"After all, I've never been to a real sleepover before."

Ruby slumped to the ground as Yang let go of her, "Sleepover," the little girl mumbled, "Right, of course… he just meant a sleepover." She let out a long breath as her shoulders seemed to relax at last.

Her reaction to his words seemed odd, but not quite as odd as Yang's. The blonde girl looked at him for a moment, her face red and mouth open, before she snorted. That turned into a chuckle, which soon erupted into wild laughter as she held her stomach and bent over. All around, people looked towards the small group.

"Oh my god," she howled, "You had me. You actually had me - Yang Xiao-Long! That was amazing, sleepover, oh gods…" she staggered forward to wrap an arm around his shoulder. Her eyes peered into his as she grinned. "You, I like," she said. "That was so good."

Jaune cheered internally and smiled back. She liked him. That was good! Normal people made normal friends, so if he did that then he'd be normal too. Besides, from what he'd seen so far, she was a pretty friendly person. "I like you too," he said back, just because it felt like the right thing to say.

"Still though, that wit… you're more dangerous than you look."

His earlier cheer turned to panic in an instant. Dangerous was bad, dangerous was something that might remind Ruby of what she'd seen in the dust shop. "I-I'm not dangerous," he said as he slipped out from under Yang's arm. "I'm just a normal guy. Oh – uh, wow, look at that wall! I'm going to go check it out. I'll see you both later, okay? Goodnight. Bye!"

The last thing he saw before he fled was Yang's confused expression as she turned to her sister. The smaller girl shrugged back, but by that time he was already stood face-to-face with a wall. There was a girl sat beside it, with black hair, a bow and a book. She regarded him with a wary and suspicious expression. Oh come on, she thought he was acting weird too? He'd hadn't even said anything to her!

"Hey," he went with, just because it sounded innocuous enough.

She didn't look impressed. "Hey..."

"This is a really nice wall," he said conversationally. "I can see why you chose to sit by it."

She blinked golden eyes towards him. "Sure…" she said, in a soft voice. "It's… a very nice wall."

Oh gods, what was he talking about? He wanted to take that `nice wall` and bang his head against it until he fell unconscious and forget the night had ever happened. "Please ignore me," he sighed, "I'm just a normal person having a normal breakdown."

"O...kay..."

"The name's Jaune."

"Blake..." She regarded him over the top of her book, and despite his friendly introduction she still looked less than enamored with his presence. "That's an... interesting costume."

And apparently Yang had been right about his pyjamas. "It's just a onesie."

"It has claws."

"They're good for scratching itches." He proved the point by reaching behind him to scratch an itch on his back.

"..."

"It's a joke from my family," he lied, "Seriously, it's just a set of pyjamas and there's nothing unusual about them. I mean, I'm as normal as you. It's not like you've got some dark, dangerous secret or something that you're trying to hide just because you're hiding away from everyone over here, right?"

"R-Right." she said, and for some reason her eyes almost looked a little fearful. "A dangerous criminal? Of course not. I'm just a normal hu- I mean, a normal girl."

Dangerous criminal? He didn't remember saying that. And strange stutter too. Maybe that was why she was hiding over here? Oh well- he wouldn't judge.

"Exactly," he nodded instead. "Same here." She looked at him- a bit below his face- and he realized his mistake. "Well, not a girl, but normal. Normal knees at least. Like yours. Has anyone complimented your knees before?"

The silence that opened up between them felt awkward, especially as Blake looked away from him and down at her creamy, white, and smooth legs on full display, and when someone as socially incompetent as he could see that, then it was probably bad enough to grow tentacles and smother someone. He coughed, and the sound of it seemed to attract the eyes of other people.

"Um... no?" she eventually said, with golden eyes and an expression that reminded him a bit of Big Sis when he'd done something that completely baffled her, like give her a wreath made of flowers. Maybe that gave him the confidence to go on. Or at least remember what Ruby and Yang taught him about the people of Vale.

"Well, they should have. Very normal. Very nice. Good thing to rest over hear against this wall rather than stand against it all night. They might lose their charm if you did, you know? Goodnight, Blake."

"Good...night, I guess?"

Why did I mention the wall again!? Arghhh!

Fitting in was hard.

And as he left, he could feel her golden eyes boring into his spine.

/-/

Pyrrha wasn't sure what she expected when she'd decided to come to Beacon, but there had certainly been a lot she'd hoped for. Against all odds, she had hoped to have a new start where people wouldn't recognise her name. Vale was distant enough from Mistral and the culture that she figured she might be able to make some normal friends; meet people who could see her for who she was and not what she represented.

"And I was thinking that the two of us might make a wonderful team," Weiss Schnee said. "With your skill and experience, not to mention my resources and talent, we could take Beacon by storm. What do you think?"

Whatever it was she'd desired, whatever new experience Pyrrha had been in search of, this… this was not what she'd hoped for. A familiar, polite smile slipped across her features before she could stop it and the ingrained responses she'd been taught by her agent came to mind, "That sounds grand," she said.

The heiress smiled and began to laugh, somehow not having sensed the hesitation in her voice.

A sigh escaped Pyrrha as she looked for some escape, but it seemed like no one dared approach them. A few met her eyes, but they looked away and began to whisper to their friends. The stares and the pointing came back in force… it was nothing she wasn't used to.

She just hated it. The only saving grace was that they didn't yet know how teams were going to be formed. Whatever method Beacon used, she could make sure she didn't end up on Weiss Schnee's team. It wasn't anything personal. She just wanted to make a new friend, and that meant someone who wasn't as famous as she.

The white-haired girl made to say something else, only to fall over as someone bumped into her. The figure, tall and with blond hair, seemed to be counting out loud when he walked into the girl. "Oh, I'm sorry!" he gasped and held a hand out.

Weiss slapped it aside as she pushed herself up. "Mind where you're going, you moron!" she snapped and dusted her skirt down.

"I didn't mean to," the young man said.

Pyrrha took a second to inspect him. He had messy blond hair and blue eyes, and the way he mumbled and rubbed the back of his head suggested he wasn't a very confident person. Then again, that might have been because of the evil look on Weiss' face. Lesser people would have quailed beneath it.

"That doesn't excuse you," Weiss said, "You should watch where you're going and not cause trouble for your betters."

"My betters?" he blinked and looked at each of them. "My mom says no one is my better."

"My mom says," Weiss parroted. "Do you have any idea who I am!?"

"Now, Weiss," Pyrrha warned as she stepped forward to stop a fight breaking out, "I'm sure his mother meant that everyone is equal, and she would be right."

"I'm fairly sure that's not what she meant…" he mumbled.

"Either way," Pyrrha pushed on, "There's no need for anger here, is there? We're all going to be huntresses and huntsmen together, after all."

Weiss glared, and for a moment it looked like she might refute that claim, but eventually she sighed and let it go. "I suppose so," she said, "Well then, I suppose you will apologise for knocking me over…?"

"I'm sorry," he said, "My name's Jaune Arc and I was looking for my locker… I was sure I didn't put my stuff in one so far away from the main room. Um…" he fidgeted for a moment as he looked at Weiss. She, in turn, crossed her arms and glared back.

"Is there any reason you're staring at me like a buffoon?"

"I was just wondering…" his cheeks went red and he glanced away. Oh my, was he going to ask the heiress out on a date after just meeting her? "Are you called Weiss Arc, by any chance?"

Pyrrha almost fell over from the shock of such a question, but even then, her response was better than Weiss'.

The girl's pale eyes were wide, while her mouth had fallen open. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"It's just that your hair is really pretty and white, and my mom's hair looks the same… except she's a little paler than you and her eyes are different. But even so, I've never seen someone with hair so similar to what my family has."

"I-I am not Weiss Arc!" she snapped. "Now will I ever be! My name is Weiss Schnee." She waited for some response, but the blond teen only blinked and stared at her. "Of the Schnee Dust Corporation!"

"Oh."

Pyrrha watched as Weiss nodded proudly, but it was the following words that shattered that smug smile.

"So you're just a normal girl, then?"

"N-Normal," Weiss' eyes were wide and her hands held before her. It honestly looked like she'd suffered the most devastating blow. "I am not normal," she hissed, "I am Weiss Schnee - A Schnee is anything but ordinary!"

"A Schnee...?"

"You… have no idea what that is, do you? Surely you know of the SDC. What the Schnee Dust Corporation is!?"

He poked his chin with a single finger and smiled.

"Is it a dust shop in Vale?"

Pyrrha struggled to contain her laughter as she watched the proud heiress tear the poor boy a new one. She wanted to help, but the look on Weiss' face had been too much for her. She wiped a tear away from her eye as the rant came to an end. Jaune, as strange as he was, looked like he'd suffered whiplash and didn't know which way to look.

"And that is why we're one of the largest dust manufacturers in the four Kingdoms," Weiss snarled as she finished her diatribe. "We are not a mere `dust shop in Vale`, nor are we normal. Understood?"

"I-I understand… I'm new to Vale so I didn't kno-"

"That's no excuse! We're the SDC, every Kingdom knows about us!"

Pyrrha personally thought the way he blushed and looked away was quite cute, but that sentiment turned to ash when Weiss turned to point towards her. Oh dear, now came her own introduction.

"Well surely you know of Pyrrha Nikos, at least?" Weiss asked.

She fought back a grimace and waved at him. "Hello," she greeted and hoped – against all odds – that he'd somehow not know her. Or that even if he did, he would be polite and not treat her like she existed on some kind of pedestal. It wasn't much... she just wanted someone to be polite about it, to not bring it up at every point.

"Pyrrha…?"

"You have to know her," Weiss sighed, "Everyone knows her."

"Well of course I know her."

Pyrrha sighed and tried to hide her disappointment. Of course... what had she expected?

"I mean, who doesn't? Everyone knows her so I totally know her too. You'd have to be some complete weirdo to not know her, right? Ha, don't know her, sheesh. What do you take me for?"

Pyrrha blinked and tilted her head to the side as he went on. A small spark of something like hope came to life as she watched him stammer and go on. Despite herself, she started to giggle – and had to hide it as Weiss looked her way. Could it be? Did she dare actually hope?

He started to sweat and wasn't meeting their eyes. His hands fidgeted, and when they weren't, he had one buried in his golden hair. He looked left, then right and then up towards the ceiling as he stammered and blustered about how he totally knew who Pyrrha Nikos was.

Weiss seemed less enamoured with the display. "I don't believe this," she said. "I cannot believe the people at this school… You have no idea, do you?"

"I do!" he protested. His brows furrowed together as he took a deep breath. "She's in that movie everyone's watching."

She couldn't help it. In one fell motion Pyrrha's control broke and she bent double as she joyfully laughed.

"You idiot," Weiss roared.

"I meant she's a famous writer."

She kept on laughing.

"Singer?"

"Rargh!" Weiss threw her hands into the air. "Forget it. Clearly, you live in some backwater hole in the middle of nowher-"

"It's really more of a tower."

"Are you…?" Weiss shook her head, "Do you think you're being funny? Is this some attempt at riling me up?"

"Of course not!"

"I don't have to stand here and listen to this. Pyrrha, I shall see you in initiation, but I won't stay here and be insulted like this." She stormed away before anyone could respond, not that Pyrrha could have as she wiped her eyes.

"I didn't mean to insult her…"

She recovered as best she could, though there was no keeping away the wide smile she wore. "I'm sure it's fine, Jaune," she said. "The two of you simply got off to a bad start."

He sighed and scratched his head. He might have also mumbled something about `messing up again` but she didn't fully catch it. "So," he said as he turned to her, "Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm Pyrrha," she said and waved, "Hello."

Jaune blinked but smiled and waved back. The action was so casual, so easy and simple that she made her decision almost immediately. "I'm Jaune," he repeated, even if he didn't need to. "I'm not anyone special or dangerous though, I'm just a normal guy."

It was music to her ears.

Though... did he mumble something about her knees? She shook it off and smiled.

"Me too. I'm just a normal, ordinary girl."

And she'd just found her partner. Now all that was left was to make it happen.

/-/

"You shall make your way to the ruins in the center of the forest and collect for yourselves a relic," the headmaster said as he faced them. "En route, you will be expected to deal with any threat that would impede your path."

Yang felt nervous energy shoot through her as she steeled her mind and body. She almost hoped some Grimm did get in her way, just so she could show them what she was made of. Her eyes trailed towards the left, where she could see Ruby stood on one of the platforms. The plan had been to let Ruby make some friends of her own, but now that push came to shove, Yang wasn't sure if she was willing to trust her little sister's safety to some random stranger.

There was always Jaune... but she wasn't sure there, either. He was funny, witty and... a little odd, but she'd seen the way Ruby flushed and fidgeted before him. She'd also dealt with Ruby subtly trying to ask what it meant when a guy complimented your eyes or kept staring at you, and what she was supposed to do if she thought a guy liked her.

Hypothetically, of course. In that Ruby had a friend who knew a friend who maybe thought someone might like her, and desperately needed advice only Yang could give.

Ignoring the fact Ruby literally had no other friends at Beacon...

Yeah, she'd caught onto that one soon enough. He seemed like a good guy, but this was not what yang had expected upon coming to Beacon. Right, mind made up - I'm finding Rubes, if only to act as her chaperone for the next four years.

"As for the matter of partners, this is an important decision which will affect the next four years of your life – and perhaps beyond."

Exactly, which was why she was putting so much thought into Ruby's. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with her sister having an admirer... and besides, it wasn't like Jaune was some psychopathic, half-Grimm, baby-killing monster, right?

"With that in mind, the first person you make eye contact with will become your partner."

"WHAT!?" It was Ruby, of course, who looked like she'd been told cookies had gone extinct.

Yang caught her eye and made a show of drawing out some sunglasses, which earned a nervous laugh from her little sister but nothing more. Okay, plan updated - now she had to try and land by her sister too. That shouldn't be too hard.

The headmaster turned back to the stern, blonde woman at his side. She nodded to some instruction unheard by the masses and pushed a button.

There was a mighty thud as one of the plates propelled its passenger into the air. Yang's eyes traced him, for it was Jaune himself who had been launched. She watched as he flipped and spiraled through the air, in a series of maneuvers that looked like it would have made anyone else sick. Nice moves, she thought with a smirk.

She watched as he reached the top of his arc and began his descent.

She watched as a black shape burst from the canopy of the Emerald Forest… as great, black wings beat the air and deadly talons reached up to snatch Ruby's newest friend out of the sky.

She watched as the Nevermore let out a great and angry `caw`, before it dove and vanished into the trees once more - its doomed prey in hand…

Ruby whimpered from beside her.

The silence that engulfed the cliff side was deafening. Yang's wide eyes remained locked on the terrible tableau, and she doubted there was a single person who could say otherwise. Jaune... but they'd just been talking the day before. He'd been... she just couldn't believe it.

The headmaster watched too. The esteemed and respected figure who ruled Beacon Academy stood with his back to them, face unreadable. Beside him, his deputy was much the same – albeit her shoulders were stiffened and her mouth hung open.

Ozpin took a long sip of coffee, and then – when that didn't seem to be enough – took another three sips in quick succession. He turned to them, face utterly calm and lacking any emotion.

"So," he said, "Who wants to go next?"

/-/

Roman Torchwick leaned back on his couch and thrust his legs atop the table before it. The scroll held before him continued to ring, and it took far longer than it normally did for the woman on the other end to answer. "Roman," she said the very second she appeared, "I hope you have a good reason for wasting my time. I am dealing with something of an emergency."

What a bitch. Roman forced down his almost immediate sneer in favour of a charismatic smile. "Well you did tell me to call you if anything happened, Cindy. I seem to recall you said I'd be in deep trouble if I didn't give you a status report this week."

Cinder Fall blinked, and against all odds it seemed like she'd forgotten entirely. "I see," she said, "I have been… busy with affairs on my end. You may provide your report, but make it quick."

Busy with things on her end? He was curious, but not just about that. Cinder was the kind of woman who never forgot something she said. She was too cautious for that, too clever. For her to forget that she'd ordered him to report in…? Well, that was very unlike her.

"The operation is coming along okay," he said with a small nod towards Neo who sat nearby. "There was a small incident the other night at a dust store, but it was nothing serious."

"You were seen?"

"There's not a person in Vale doesn't think this is my fault anyway, so I don't think it's a big deal. Either way, I managed to get out alive and with enough dust to make the trip worthwhile. I really could have used you though; it got a bit hairy come the end."

Cinder huffed, clearly unimpressed, "And yet you are still in one piece. Whatever it was, I'm sure it wasn't worth my time."

"Oh?" he rolled a cigar between his teeth and smiled, "Well then, you won't care that I got challenged by Glynda Goodwitch herself, then?" He didn't mention the little girl, because really – what self-respecting criminal mentioned that they'd been stopped by a child?

"Beacon got involved?" Cinder's eyes widened, "You don't appear to be calling me from a cell."

"Oh Cindy, you're a regular comedian. Actually, you'd be damn well gathering your dust yourself if it wasn't for someone giving me a hand. They were able to ward off the huntress while we escaped."

He still shuddered a little when he remembered that, and even with his reputation, he wasn't afraid to admit his fear. Those crimson veins, the white skin and inhuman eyes the colour of spilled blood. The thought of blood brought back what he'd done, and Roman flinched. He hid his fear well, however. As he always had.

"Someone helped you?" Cinder asked. "They must have been quite powerful, perhaps even valuable to our cause. Are you able to put me in contact with them?"

"Afraid the guy's not around anymore," he shrugged, "I didn't want to press the issue and make him stay."

Cinder sighed and massages her brow with one hand. "Someone strong enough to face a professor of Beacon could have been invaluable to our plans, Roman. Why on Remnant would you have simply let them go?"

Roman scowled as he flicked his legs forward and sat up. "Because I couldn't keep him here even if I'd wanted to," he said. "You don't get this one, Cindy. He wasn't just strong in the usual high-aura, crazy weapon, kind of way. This guy was a monster. I work with men. I'm not going to go around trying to manipulate someone like this, just to have them turn around and tear my head off in response."

Not when the kid clearly didn't want to be on his side, either. Sure, he could probably run the idiot along for a little bit… but that was the thing about strong idiots. It was a damn sight quicker for someone to wise up than it was for them to gain immense power. One moment you thought you had them under control, the next you'd been removed and replaced. He hadn't gotten so far in life by taking risks like that.

"Roman, Roman," Cinder shook her head, "You truly have no ambition. Never mind. I'm sure the matter won't come up. Regardless, should you ever see him again – do try and extend a hand of friendship."

Roman felt a pang of fear, but supressed it with practiced ease. "Sure," he sighed, "Here's to hoping the bastard doesn't summon some Grimm to eat me when I do."

"Summon Grimm...?"

"Ha, the kid just cut his hand open and threw some blood out," Roman ranted, "Then poof – instant Beowolves, right in the middle of the damned city! Not to mention crazy-ass tentacles and the ability to throw fire, so yeah – you'll forgive me if I'm less than willing to stick my neck out to find him again. I was lucky he didn't eviscerate me when he realised how I'd tricked him."

He hadn't even dared to sic Neo on him, such was the danger presented. If Neo had tried and failed, then the kid could have likely killed them both.

"Wait, wait, wait," Cinder's eyes were wide as she pushed her face against the screen. "This person… did they have blonde hair and blue eyes, perhaps around seventeen years or so?"

"When they weren't white and red, yeah," Roman wiped his brow at the recollection of that transformation. The guy had looked so innocent afterwards… that so terrifying a monster could hide in plain sight like that. "It doesn't matter anyway," he said, "The guy wanted to get into Beacon, and since I knew better than to do anything to piss him off I changed some records to get him in. If some Grimm-human monster wants to make the hunter's job easier by walking right up to them, then more power to him."

Cinder was silent for the longest time, and it was the fact that she hadn't interrupted his rant with some caustic comment that made him pay attention. The woman's yellow eyes were wide, her face white and mouth open. There was a clatter as the scroll slipped from her nerveless fingers. The screen flashed up, down and then up again – before it crashed against something and went black. Roman blinked and turned to Neo.

The ice-cream eating girl shrugged.

Eh, it probably wasn't anything important.

We're all totally normal! While I was writing this it almost became an eye-opening moment when I noticed that quite a few characters are chasing after normality in one way or another.

I just wanted to acknowledge some people here who are worried that the entire story will be idiot Jaune bumbling his way through the plot. I hear and understand your concern, because even to me, that would be boring. All I'll say is worry not. Yes, he's made mistakes - but he is absolutely new to all of this and is struggling to learn. He will learn too, but it's going to take time and experience for him to do so. He will be growing, and these early "idiot" mistakes will fade as he quickly picks up what is what. (Probably still make some mistakes, but they'll be subtle).

And hey, if you think some of these things he's said are bad, you should have seen me on my first proper date. You cannot even DESCRIBE the level of idiocy I showed.

Remy - Explanation

Remy isn't here as the straight man to Jaune (since he's just as unfamiliar with the world as Jaune). He is included as a way to pass on Grimm-related or past-related information to the reader without me having to use continuous and exhaustive flashbacks that would kill the pacing. He also provides a way for Jaune's concerns and risks to be explained with a single line of dialogue, where Jaune would require a monologue or to start randomly telling his secret to everyone.

For example; Jaune isn't going to explain to himself how it is that he can do Grimm things (since he already knows, so why would he?), and if no one is explaining these things, then the reader won't ever know either. In most stories Jaune could reveal it by explaining it to another character (e.g. with Pyrrha's "My Semblance is polarity" etc...), but his obvious need to keep this secret prevents that. He can't tell someone else, and he wouldn't tell himself ("Hey me, did you know I...") So it could go on for 60,000 words, never being explained. Unless... you have a long flashback where Jaune learns it from Salem - which works, but cuts into the pacing, because we're here to read the `now` and not the distant past.

E.G. In this chapter Remy brings up Roman "getting rid" of Jaune - which meant I could save Roman's comment until the end, and didn't have to have a big monologue section where Jaune thinks back on it. Or to have the chapter start with Roman, then time skip to the bullhead, then go back to Roman at the end. Remy also explains some silver eyes lore, and how Salem taught them about it. This saves Jaune from having to, and again removed the need for a monologue or flashback.



The above example is a small one, but nothing compared to some of the future things that are planned, which would require flashback after flashback after flashback. He helps the story flow, and does so even further in the future.

I wanted to include this as an explanation, not an excuse. Remy is here and he stays because I made the decision that he was necessary, but it doesn't hurt for me to show why - in a non-spoiler manner. If you want an "in-universe" explanation as well, then there's the option of why Salem `wouldn't` give him a parasite. It comes with a raft of benefits to his survival and safety. There's no reason why she would not want her son to have that, along with the benefit of an advisor and second opinion, etc...



Some people seemed really bothered over his perceived "straight man" to Jaune's "idiot", so I wanted to explain. He was added due to necessity, not because I have a parasite fetish of believe that RWBY (of all things) needs yet more characters.

Next Chapter: 5th February

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur