Chapter 6 - CHAPTER V

CHANGING LOCATION

FEW MINUTES LATER

POV

"Holy crap. You mean you made that thing?" Jaune was in absolute awe (or terror, he had yet to decide) at the sight of a giant farming tool made to instead cut the heads off Grimm. The duo had walked for around, ten minutes and detouring off of the main path inside of the academy. Ruby slammed her weapon into the ground, making Jaune flinch back slightly at how large it was.

"Yeah! It's also a high impact sniper rifle." Ruby stated proudly.

Jaune could only compute so much, he was a mere human after all, "So it's a scythe… that's a gun."

"Yes."

"That's crazy…" Furthermore, the young blonde only knew of one other person to ever use something as stupidly dangerous as a scythe as a weapon. He secretly hoped she didn't have a cripplingly unhealthy addiction to any sort of substances because then that would be way too much of a coincidence. "…as in actually mad, are you mad?"

"What? Noooo…" She didn't sound all too convinced by herself. "Anyway, his name is Crescent Rose and he's super awesome! What's your weapon?"

Jaune contemplated telling his new friend more than she needed to know, ultimately going against the thought. You never know when you're going to need to get the jump on someone. Not that he planned to give Ruby a nasty surprise or anything, she seemed way too nice and kind-hearted and the way she lost herself talking about weapons was reminiscent of an old friend; he was sure they were going to get along just fine.

"Hm… I got this sword." Jaune unsheathed Crocea Mors from her home behind his forearm, pointedly not revealing her shield-half or mecha-shifting any of the tools on his crooked belt.

"That's… so cool!" Hold up, what did she just say? Ruby had already holstered Crescent Rose and burst into a coagulation of petals, appearing next to Jaune in less time than he had to blink. "It looks like the weight is perfectly balanced across the blade and the edge still seems razor-sharp despite it looking so old! It doesn't even have any sort of rust or blemish across the steel! Can I touch it?"

She could tell all of that from just looking at it? It was incredible, and also all true so Jaune had to wonder what she would reveal to him if she had to opportunity to hold it. "Go nuts, Ruby." He allowed, offering the hilt to her.

Ruby squealed in delight as she snatched the blade from his hands, running her fingers across the smooth metal. "It's so pretty… I swear, it's almost like it has a soul of its own!"

"Hah… wouldn't that be absolutely crazy, right?"

"Yeah, it not even my precious Crescent Rose has a soul of its own… unfortunately… that reminds me! What do you call it?"

"Her. Her name is Crocea Mors." Respectfully, Ruby handed back Crocea Mors and – swiftly sheathing her – Jaune nodded to her in thanks. "She's a family heirloom, used by my father and my father's father and his father before him. Somewhere along the line, it was used in the Great War to save loads of people."

"That explains it then, gotta love the vintage ones eh?" Ruby nudged Jaune's side with her elbow playfully.

"Yeah." The girl next to him smiled brightly and Jaune couldn't help but stare into those silver eyes of hers.

"W-what? Do I have something on my face?"

"It's just your eyes." He unconsciously leaned inwards a little bit, unaware of how Ruby tried to lean away with her feet still firmly planted on the floor. "They're… interesting." Jaune caught himself before he got any closer to the poor girl's face, spluttering with red adorning his face. "Gah! Sorry…"

Great job, Jaune. Fifteen minutes in and you're already looking like a massive creep!

"Naw, we're good…" Jaune couldn't help but disagree but thanked Ruby internally while simultaneously smashing his head against a metaphysical wall. "So… do you know where we're going?"

"No."

"I was following you!"

Surprised at his friend's bold words Jaune was offended, "How could you have followed me if I told you to lead the way?!" He gestured himself tipping an imaginary hat, linking back to his funny line earlier, "Remember?"

"I don't know!" Ruby waved her hands frantically. "W-w-w-where are we supposed to go? What if we're late!?"

Grabbing her by the hand, Jaune took off at speeds rivalling Ruby's semblance, "Less talk, more run!"

The awkward mood didn't last long, which Jaune was thankful for.

CHANGING LOCATION

SIX MONTHS AGO

POV

Twittering of birds woke him up. What a nightmare… Jaune wondered what he and Lyn would do today. Maybe they'd- "AHHHHH! OW!" His blond head of hair skyrocketed upwards, slamming into the forehead of someone else. Who wouldn't if the first thing they saw in the morning were two soul-piercing, bloodshot and crimson eyes?

"WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK, KID!?"

"WELL MAYBE DON'T PUT YOUR FACE RIGHT ABOVE MINE WHILE I'M SLEEPING! Wait... WHY THE HELL WAS YOUR FACE RIGHT ABOVE MINE WHILE I WAS SLEEPING?!"

"I-I don't know. Just wanted to, I guess." The head-butt target sounded genuinely confused, rubbing the spot where he was rightfully assaulted. "Why was I doing that…?

"I think I need an adult…"

"I am an adult."

"Who even are you?" They were in a forest, an undiscernible location to him, generic trees and various greenery around them. "Are we still in Mistral?"

"Just your friendly neighborhood Mr. Saivyorlife. You haven't thanked me yet, by the way."

"Why would I thank you for something I don't even remember?"

"You mean you don't remember the raging fires, broken buildings, hulking Grimm?"

"Yeah, of course I do, but it was just a… nightmare. Gods, you're telling me that all happened?!" Oh Gods, oh Gods; it was all real? So he did manage to kill that Grimm and save Pearl. He remembered massacring as many as he could in a broken rage at Lyn's... Lyn's death.

It made him want to throw up.

Sensing the teen's sudden grief, the man stood up from his position on the floor after receiving that painful knock on the head and his expression grew neutral. He made no attempt to comfort the weeping boy but instead commanded, "Come on, let's get moving."

Jaune was filled to the brim with unbridled rage, "What?! So after all of that - all that death - you decide to save me from my own demise and then just expect me to follow you? You should have just left me for dead. Probably would have been better if I died like the rest."

"Say that again." The figure stopped walking, refusing to turn around. His gruff voice was a gravelly blade that scraped across Jaune's ears. A moment or two of silence prompted him to speak once more, "…I said, say that again."

Unwilling to back down, Jaune held onto his guns. "I should have died along with the rest of them…" He spat.

Without hesitation, the man grabbed Jaune by the edges of his hoodie and violently slammed him into one of the many trees that he was near. The force of it alone made leaves fall from the branches above and Jaune's gut threatened to spill. "Don't you dare say that. I can't believe that you of all people would say that. I thought you wanted to be a huntsman!" Blood-red eyes bore deeply into sea-blue.

"H-how do you know-"

"And yet you sit down there on your ass and wish for death? How are you going to protect those who need protecting if you're lying dead in a ditch, huh?" He slammed Jaune into the bark of the tree again. "If you want to stop feeling the pain here," one of his hands removed their grip on his hood. His finger sharply pointed to his chest. "You need to get stronger here," his finger moved to the temple of his head. "And here," his hand gripped the side of the teen's arm - not helping Jaune's queasiness.

In a complete manner reversal, the fire in the man's eyes died and his overall grip loosened, lowering Jaune from the tree but still grabbing his hood tighter. "For people like you - for people like me… the death of others is a tool to make us stronger. So learn. And become strong. For your sake. And for the good of all the people on Remnant." His gaze slowly drifted to the flask beside his hip.

He scoffed, "Strength, huh…"

Jaune couldn't hold it in any longer.

The repeated shaking, prodding and brutal slamming had built up the sick feeling he had. All the way up to the point where he released the contents of his stomach all over the face of the man who - not just ten seconds ago - was screaming in his face about his childish whining. Streams of gut-chunks repeated splashed all over his beard, trailing down to his open dress-shirt and eventually piled up on the floor.

Covered in puke, the man opened his mouth to say something, "Ah-" which proved to be the worst mistake of his entire life.

Well second-worst at least, as just as Jaune thought it was all over, another jetstream of puke came pouring out of his mouth.

Guess where it ended up.

/-/

Flowing water was freezing on his face and hands as the blond cleaned himself up. Clad only in his boxers and that tacky red cape of his, his kidnapper was on his hands and knees shoving his face into the river, bubbles of air rising where he was. Hanging from a tree branch were the rest of his clothes, soaked but vomit-free.

Jaune had figured out Crocea Mors was missing, most likely back in the ruins of a town he never got the name of. Moreover, he didn't know where this strange man brought him or where he was in relation to the rest of the world so as it stood, he really had no choice but to follow him or get attacked by stray Grimm. He figured he may as well get to know the half-naked man in a cape if he was going to be stuck with him for a while.

"You look kind of like a flasher dressed like that." Okay, Jaune, not the best start. You really should have just asked for his name or something, not insulted him right off the bat. Though, to his credit, it is hard to like someone who's first impression was watching you while you slept and slamming you against a tree for sulking around like a baby.

He tore his head from the river and glared at the teen, who's legs were crossed on the bank, muttered something unintelligible and dove right back into the drink. He came back up and started walking over to the tree where his clothes were before sitting down and gesturing for Jaune to come over with a finger. No reason to to be incompliant, the teen made his way over and sat down on the opposite side of him.

"I, uh, didn't mean that flasher comment, by the way."

"Shut up, kid."

"Okay."

"I'm guessing you have a few questions, ask away." Was he for real? If he could ask anything he wanted, maybe he'd get a few answers about his situation.

"Who are you, really?"

The figure raised an eyebrow, "Don't ya it's a little rude to ask that without introducing yourself first? It's the least you can do after throwing up on me."

"That was your fault anyhow, if you didn't shake me around so much-"

A single finger came to his mouth to hush his words. "Do you want your answers?" As disconcerting as it was to have a half-naked man in a cape treat you like a little child, Jaune still nodded wearily. "Good. Now, why don't you introduce yourself."

"J-" His eldest sister's advice suddenly came in full force, echoing in his mind. Jaune found it fine to tell a cute girl and her aunt his real name but he thought that a man who essentially kidnapped him against his will who brought him into the middle of the forest was taking it a tad too far. "-Uwaaaaan."

"Juwaaaaan. Seriously?" Alright, he should have seen that coming. His alias was way too similar to his actual name in the first place. `Juwaaaaan` didn't know what universe that would have worked in.

Sighing in defeat, he conceded his real name, "It's Jaune. Jaune Arc." He admitted, not even bothering with his trademark line since, well, he just didn't swing that way. Not that there was anything wrong with being on that side of the fence, or anything.

The man on the other side of him scoffed.

"What?"

"Sorry. Just thought you were missing something there."

"How-?"

"You can call me… Vul." He said, cutting Jaune off.

Instantly, Jaune was skeptical. `Vul` sounded like some sort of edgy nickname someone would have over the C-Net. "That's not your real name, is it?"

Damn, that sounded cool.

"Wow," he whistled. "Look at you, not as dumb as you let on, are we? No, it's not my real name and I don't plan on telling you it either. A guy like me needs his privacy." Well, that seemed highly unfair for Jaune; he just revealed his identity and had still no leads on who this guy was.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Huh?"

"You've said it before. People like me. People like you. What does that mean?"

If `Vul` was surprised at the choice of question, he sure as hell didn't show it. His hipflask, halfway up to his mouth was placed back down on the grassy floor. "People like you and me… we're different from the average Joe. We were made to fight. Maybe once upon a time, for different things, but it doesn't change that fact that the minute that we were born, our purposes were decided by the sisters of Fate and Destiny. And it just so happens that your Destiny and my Destiny are intertwined like that. So lucky you, you're getting good ol' Vul here to show you the ropes."

It still didn't make much sense to Jaune. He wasn't made to fight; his father had barely taught him anything about the sword in the first place. Looking down toward the grass, Jaune pushed, "What do you know? About me? About Destiny and Fate and all this nonsense."

Vul moved his eyes from Jaune and nodded slowly, "A lot more than you think, kid. A lot more. I'd like to believe that one way or another, one year from now? You'd be attending Beacon with or without me in some far-away world."

Even if Jaune had once said that he'd go to Beacon himself, it was more blind hope than anything, "Yeah. Right."

"What else d'ya got for me, kid?"

"Are you a huntsman?"

"Psh. `Am I a huntsman`, of course I'm a damn huntsman. I got a sweet cape, a sweet weapon," He nodded to the large blade of steel lying next to his drying clothes, "and a sweet face."

"That cape's kinda tacky though…"

"Say that again."

"Wait, a tacky cape-"

"Must. Not. Murder. The child."

"-were you the one that saved me in an alleyway in that town?"

Red eyes rolled, as if searching for an answer. "There are a lot of alleyways in the world kid. And a whole lotta beat up gangs. Could you be more specific?"

"Uh… you rubbed a guy's face in dog crap?"

"Oh," Vul snapped his ringed fingers. "Yeah, I remember that one. Holy cramoly, that was you? Daaamn, kid, they really did a number on you."

"Thanks for that."

"No problem."

"No- I meant that sarcas- you know what, whatever. Why'd you do it, save me, I mean?"

Vul crossed his arms and closed his eyes, "Well, as a huntsman I think it's my job to protect the people. So if I see some random kid getting mugged in a dark alleyway, I think that's going to be one of many calls-to-action I'll take."

"I- that's a fair point, actually." An actually logical chain of reason. Jaune could safely admit he did not see that coming. Just as the teen opened his mouth to ask another one of his burning questions, he noticed the huntsman's joints popping quietly as he shuffled.

"Welp. This little game of twenty questions is going to have to get cut short." The gruff man stood, basically sliding into all of his clothes in a single, smooth and practiced motion.

It was almost as if he was experienced in the protocol of vomit-clothes.

He fixed the cuffs around the mid-ground of his forearms and holstered that menacing blade of his. "Let's go kid."

Jaune stood up and dusted the grass off of his jeans - this time following behind him, "Where are we going?"

Unbeknownst to the teen, the man who called himself `Vul` flashed a menacing grin.

"To train."

Panting breaths were the only thing coming out of Jaune's mouth as both he and Ruby managed to make their way into Beacon's Grand Hall with time to spare. `Grand` very masterfully described the space, the blond thought. Green banners displaying Beacon's very own insignia in white were hung around the walls. A mighty stage held only a singular microphone that showed no sign of recent use and speakers decorated the edges of the platform.

There were just so many people here, hundreds - no thousands - of times more than in his little frontier village in the outback of Mistral. People of so many cultures, dressed in so many colours, wielding so many weapons… it was overwhelming, to say the least. Jaune thought Ruby would go to town on the variety of weapons here; she seemed like the type.

Speaking of Ruby, "Jaune… you can, uh, let go of my hand now."

"Huh?" Jaune didn't seem to understand as to what she was exactly referring too, "What do you mean?" Turning his head to look at Ruby, he saw that she was as red as her namesake; face somewhat a mix between a frown and `having been caught with her hand in the cookie jar`.

Though it looked like Jaune was caught with the 'Ruby's hand in his own'.

"Oh, uh, whoops. Sorry." He managed to reason.

"It's alright, you still haven't let go of my hand, by the way. I'd appreciate if you did that."

His hand appeared to have developed a sudden polarity against Ruby's hand, ejecting itself from its previous position while both parties eventually resorted to not wanting to look at each other. If the first incident between them was quickly dissolved, here's to hoping this one would too - Jaune believed.

"Hey! Ruby! Over here!" A disembodied, and loud, voice made clear through the crowd. "I saved you a spot!"

Ruby rushed forward to try and peek over the mass of bodies, proving fruitless due to her vertical disadvantages. Seeing this, Jaune decided to give her a non-physical hand this time due to the advantageously vertical nature of his body. Peering where Ruby could not, he spotted a long-maned blonde waving her arm in the air. She could obviously see her target while said target couldn't say the same.

"She's over there," Jaune informed the struggling girl. "I can lead you over there if you want."

"That's my sister, Yang! You'll love her, she's super nice; don't worry. Lead the way, my good sir," Ruby bowed.

"With pleasure," he returned.

Jaune could get used to her ability to wave the mood like that.

CHANGE LOCATION

ONE MONTH LATER

POV

To become a Huntsman, when they had vehemently tried to stop him from doing so. He loved his family, he really did, but he hasn't given himself priority for far too long, always engrossed in taking care of his siblings as the only other man in their house.

be pissed at him, and Jaune knows that. After all, he can't exactly run from his family with his ancestors sword and shield to He had grown hearing the tales of glory of his ancestors and was enamored by it, and wanted to become just like them. However, his family wasn't of the same mind as they wanted him to not become a Huntsman. But he still held onto his dream and seeing that they won't listen to him, he ran away with Crocea Mors.

And right now hHis family will e is in a bullhead heading to Beacon academy, but he is trying to keep his breathing under control as he has air sickness, a seeming Arc family curse. He had taken some medicine for it and hoped that it would work.

As he was thinking that, he saw a blonde and black haired girl talking, his hearing is quite good so he heard them talking and realised that they are sisters. Though he was surprised by their differences in appearance. But then the screen in the bullhead changed to show a bespectacled blonde woman as she looked at the camera seriously.

"Good morning to you all. I am Glynda Goodwitch, the deputy headmistress of Beacon Academy." The woman introduced herself as he watched.

After that she said a little speech before the screen went back to the show it was showing. He didn't find it interesting and looked around him as he hoped that he would be able to keep the contents in his stomach, in his stomach.

The bullhead however didn't make it easier for him as it shook a few more times, causing his stomach to churn as he groaned. The door opened but he was already at his limits, after all, he doesn't use bullheads due to his weakness, though now he wishes that he had at least trained for it.

He felt bile rise to his mouth as his hand immediately flew to cover it as he ran out of the bullhead, but he heard a girl's cry of shock behind him as he emptied his stomach. After he was done, he wiped his mouth using a cloth and walked away, not wanting to face the girl, lest he get a punch to his face, it wasn't his fault that he was weak to flying.

After that he walked and was met with the sight of Beacon and his eyes flew wide when he saw how big the academy is. He knows that it is a very prestigious one, but even he was shocked at how big it is.

"By the Gods..." Jaune muttered with wide eyes as he looked at the large academy.

'I just hope that I will be able to enter.' Jaune thought to himself as he hoped for the best.

There was still initiation and he hoped that he would be able to do a good job at it. He doesn't want to fall short after doing all of these things to get in. But he can only hope.

He looked behind him and saw the two sisters from the bullhead and the younger one seems to be gushing about the various weapons, with the blonde having to reel her in. He chuckled slightly at that but was glad that they didn't hear him, though he blinked when he saw the blonde go away with some other kids.

But before he could do anything she disappeared in petals as his eyes widened as he stared slack jawed at it. He watched her go before he sighed and walked with his stuff as he hoped that it would be good.

*BOOOOM*

"Now what happened?" Jaune muttered in confusion as he blinked.

He went to the source of the noise and saw the same black haired girl being scolded by a white haired girl. He was immediately taken by the white haired girl as he took in her form, and he could say that she is beautiful.

"Wow." Jaune said in a whisper as he looked at her.

Though he couldn't hear what she was talking about, he could see from the suitcases that the black haired girl did something and the cracked floor and smoke belied what had happened. He watched as the white haired girl walked away with a man wheeling her suitcases. The other students dispersed after that, while the girl herself is all alone as she stood there helplessly.

"Can't have that." Jaune said to himself as he walked to her with a smile on his face.

The girl noticed him as he walked to her and stood a few feet away from her, he could see that she was nervous if her fidgeting body was anything to go by.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jaune asked her with a friendly smile.

"Uh yeah, I'm okay. My aura protected me from the explosion." The girl said shyly as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"That's good. My name is Jaune Arc, short sweet and rolls of the tongue, ladies love it." Jaune said as he introduced himself with a smile.

The girl giggled at his words as she became more relaxed as she looked at him.

"Do they now? Well, my name is Ruby Rose, and I am here to become a huntswoman like my mom." Ruby said with a smile on her face, her cheerfulness coming back.

"It's good to meet you Ruby. I also came here to become a Huntsman like my ancestors." Jaune said to her with a smile as he felt a camaraderie with her.

"I see. By the way, what is that weapon?" Ruby asked as she looked at Crocea Mors.

"Oh this? This is my Crocea Mors. It's a sword and a foldable shield." Jaune said as he showed his weapon to her.

"A sword and a shield huh. I think I will be able to upgrade it though." Ruby said as she looked at the weapon.

"Uh yeah, this is a family heirloom Ruby, and I don't want to change how it looks, otherwise my dad will definitely be angry at me." Jaune said to her as he tried to keep his composure.

"Oh well, this is my baby. Crescent Rose." Ruby said as she took out her weapon and showed it to him.

"A mechashift weapon huh." Jaune said as he looked at it.

"Yeah. I made her myself. She can be a scythe and a sniper gun as well. I love her." Ruby said as she rubbed her cheek on her weapon, getting a chuckle from Jaune.

'Though, it feels like she is younger than me.' Jaune thought to himself as he looked at her.

"Hey Ruby, how old are you exactly?" Jaune asked her as he was curious.

"Oh, I'm 15. Professor Ozpin decided to enroll me after seeing me fight." Ruby said to him with a bright smile on her face.

'She must be a prodigy.' Jaune thought to himself as he looked at her.

"Well, you must be really talented if you had managed to enroll here early." Jaune said with a smile on his face.

"Th-Thanks. Um are we friends?" Ruby said with an embarrassed face before she asked him.

Jaune hummed at that as he looked at her as he smiled in return.

"Yeah, we're friends." Jaune said to her with a smile, having no problems with it.

Ruby squealed at that as she jumped and shouted about having made a new friend as Jaune laughed good naturedly at her excitement, as he felt a smile grace his face as he looked at her.

'Looks like it won't be that bad after all.' Jaune thought to himself as he looked at her.

CHANGE LOCATION

POV

The two newly made friends went to hear the speech from the headmaster Ozpin as they saw many students in the auditorium as they were impressed and shocked by the people there.

"Wow, there are so many." Ruby said with wide eyes as she looked around.

"Well, this is Beacon after all." Jaune said as he looked around.

The two of them looked at the multitude of students in the place as they wondered what will happen.

"Hey sis! There you are." A girl's voice drew both of their attention.

"Yang." Ruby said with a smile when she heard that. Jaune looked at the yellow haired girl as he remembered about what happened at her bullhead as he hoped that she will be forgiving.

"Oh, I know you. You're the one who vomited on my shoes." Yang said as she looked at him.

"It wasn't intentional. The name's Jaune Arc." Jaune said a bit nervously as he looked at her.

"Well, vomit boy, my name is Yang Xiao Long. Ruby's big sister." Yang said as she smirked and looked at him.

"Um, could you not call me vomit boy?" Jaune asked with a sweatdrop when he heard her.

"No." Yang simply said as she looked at him.

"Hey, don't be mean to my friend Yang." Ruby said as she looked at her sister.

"Your friend?" Yang asked as she blinked and looked between the two.

"Yep! This is my friend Jaune. And Jaune, this is Yang, my big sister." Ruby said happily as she reintroduced them to each other.

Both blondes looked at each other but before they could say anything else the sound of a mic was heard as the students looked at the stage and saw Glynda standing with a silver haired man.

"Greetings to all, I am Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy." Ozpin said with a smile as he introduced himself.

"And standing beside me is the deputy headmistress of this academy, miss Glynda Goodwitch." Ozpin said as he introduced Glynda as well.

Glynda just nodded her head as she looked at the students gathered in the building. Jaune looked at the two of them and hummed to himself as he could feel an authoritative aura from the both of them.

'I just hope they haven't noticed.' Jaune thought to himself as he looked at the two of them.

As he thought that Ozpin started with his speech about how good the students are for managing to get into Beacon. After that he also told them about the initiation that will happen the next day and informed them that they have to spend the night in the auditorium for a day as they prepare the area in the Emerald Forest.

After that he gave a few more encouraging words before he stopped. After that Glynda talked through the microphone as she told them about keeping their mannerisms in check and not do anything that might cause trouble for others or disrupt the activities of the academy, and also explicitly told them to call her Miss Goodwitch. After she was done with her own speech, she moved as Ozpin talked again and wished the gathered students luck.

"Well, I guess that was a good speech." Jaune said as he looked at Ruby.

"Yeah." Ruby said with a smile on her face.

"Damn. Miss Goodwitch has a nice body." Yang said with a smirk on her face.

"Um, just be careful so that she won't hear you." Jaune said as he looked at her.

"Don't worry vomit boy. I'll be fine." Yang said as she waved his concerns away.

"You're not going to stop calling me by that are you?" Jaune asked in a tired tone when he heard her.

"Like I said, No." Yang said with a smile on her face.

"It's fine Jaune. Yang is always like this." Ruby said to him with a smile as she tried to show her support.

"That is not exactly a good thing Ruby." Jaune said with a chuckle as the blonde haired girl had already walked away.

"Yang is really excited." Ruby said as she saw her sister go around and talking to others. Both blondes looked at each other but before they could say anything else the sound of a mic was heard as the students looked at the stage and saw Glynda standing with a silver haired man.

"Greetings to all, I am Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy." Ozpin said with a smile as he introduced himself.

"And standing beside me is the deputy headmistress of this academy, miss Glynda Goodwitch." Ozpin said as he introduced Glynda as well.

Glynda just nodded her head as she looked at the students gathered in the building. Jaune looked at the two of them and hummed to himself as he could feel an authoritative aura from the both of them.

'I just hope they haven't noticed.' Jaune thought to himself as he looked at the two of them.

As he thought that Ozpin started with his speech about how good the students are for managing to get into Beacon. After that he also told them about the initiation that will happen the next day and informed them that they have to spend the night in the auditorium for a day as they prepare the area in the Emerald Forest.

After that he gave a few more encouraging words before he stopped. After that Glynda talked through the microphone as she told them about keeping their mannerisms in check and not do anything that might cause trouble for others or disrupt the activities of the academy, and also explicitly told them to call her Miss Goodwitch. After she was done with her own speech, she moved as Ozpin talked again and wished the gathered students luck.

"Well, I guess that was a good speech." Jaune said as he looked at Ruby.

"Yeah." Ruby said with a smile on her face.

"Damn. Miss Goodwitch has a nice body." Yang said with a smirk on her face.

"Um, just be careful so that she won't hear you." Jaune said as he looked at her.

"Don't worry vomit boy. I'll be fine." Yang said as she waved his concerns away.

"You're not going to stop calling me by that are you?" Jaune asked in a tired tone when he heard her.

"Like I said, No." Yang said with a smile on her face.

"It's fine Jaune. Yang is always like this." Ruby said to him with a smile as she tried to show her support.

"That is not exactly a good thing Ruby." Jaune said with a chuckle as the blonde haired girl had already walked away.

"Yang is really excited." Ruby said as she saw her sister go around and talking to others.

"Well, I guess I can understand why. Unfortunately, I'm not that good at talking to people." Jaune said as she sighed.

"Me too." Ruby said as she sighed as well.

The two looked at each other at that and chuckled. Then Ruby's eyes caught sight of a weapon as her eyes widened as she looked at it.

"Um, sorry, I need to take a look at that weapon." Ruby said to him as she looked at it and then dashed away using her semblance.

Jaune just shook his head at her behaviour, already understanding how much she likes weapons due to their conversation as he took out his scroll and searched for information on Aura.

"I would've really liked it if you had given me some lessons dad." Jaune muttered to himself as he read about it as he didn't know about it.

He read about it and sighed to himself before he left the building. He went to a secluded part of the academy and then started to do some exercises. He grunted a few times after he was done doing a 100 push ups, though his body was screaming at him. But he didn't stop and did squats, sit ups, jumping and other exercises as his body was hurting. He had trained in other exercises so his body was strong, not to mention the amount of times he has helped his sister's and around the house as well, which contributed to his strength as well. And since he had wanted to be like his ancestors he has trained his body as well which makes him much stronger than the average people, though he doesn't know that since he doesn't have his aura unlocked.

Which is why he is trying to get more familiar with his sword as he doesn't have any training for that due to his family's refusal to teach him. So he could only use some standard swings, but nothing too fancy, it also probably didn't help that he doesn't still have enough experience in using the sword and shield.

"I hope that I will be able to do good at the initiation." Jaune muttered to himself as he sighed to himself.

He then took out his scroll and read through some articles regarding Huntsmen, weapons, fighting styles and some philosophical videos to boost his own morale. It also helped give him more confidence and also some on aura and semblance.

"Can't believe that I didn't know about Aura and Semblance for so long." Jaune muttered to himself as he read about them.

'Will I be able to unlock my aura?' Jaune thought to himself as he looked at his right hand.

He clenched his right hand and thought about his aura activating, but it didn't which caused him to grumble as he sat on the ground and looked at Crocea Mors.

"Grandpa, I don't know how I will be able to do this. I hope you gave me your blessings." Jaune said as he looked at the sky and hoped that his ancestors would be watching.

He sat there and thought about what to do. Evidently, running away from home wasn't the best choice, but they weren't giving him another choice and if he wanted to complete his dream, then he has to do this. He wants to do this, even if it seems idiotic.

"I should research some sword styles to use." Jaune said to himself as he started to look through his scroll regarding that.

CHANGE LOCATION

POV

"So, how were all the weapons?" Jaune asked Ruby as it was time for them to sleep.

He had spent a better part of the time from after the speech and to the night at trying to improving himself and also doing exercises to strengthen his body. He knew that he needs to become much stronger to be a good hunter. He had only just learned about the various amounts of Grimm and he had a heart attack when he saw the more larger ones.

'I really need to get more training. But all of them have been training for years, and I'm just only starting now. I have my work cut out for me.' Jaune thought to himself as he looked at his friend.

"Yeah there were so many different weapons. But not all of them liked the questions I had asked. I also looked around and ate some cookies." Ruby said as she became a bit sad.

"Hey it's alright. It just shows how much you like weapons." Jaune said with a smile as he tried to comfort her.

"Thanks Jaune. What were you doing?" Ruby said with a smile as she asked curiously. "Nothing much really. Looking around and doing some exercise." Jaune said with a small laugh.

'I can't tell her that I only just learned about Aura and Semblance.' Jaune thought to himself as he smiled at her.

"I see. Well, I will be going to sleep now. We do have initiation tomorrow." Ruby said to him with a smile as he nodded to her.

And he was in complete aggreement with her, as around them the other students are also getting ready to sleep. So with that in mind, he also started to get ready to sleep as well, as he doesn't want to wake up the next day half asleep and botch the initiation.

"Then, Good night Ruby." Jaune said to her as he waved at her.

"Thanks Jaune. Good night to you too." Ruby said with a smile before she ran away.

Jaune chuckled at her enthusiasm as he started to get ready to sleep as well. While he was doing that, Ruby giggled as she also started to get ready to sleep with her sister beside her.

"So, how was your day sis?" Yang asked her sister with a smile.

"It was fine. I'm going to start getting ready to sleep. Oh I can't wait for initiation." Ruby said with a smile as Yang lightly laughed at that.

"Sure Ruby. You'll be fine." Yang said as she also started to get ready as well.

Ruby hummed as she changed into her pajama and got on with getting her sleeping bag ready as Yang smiled at her sister's enthusiasm as she also started to get ready as well. The blonde also looked at Jaune for a moment as he is also getting ready.

'Well, let's see if vomit boy can do anything tomorrow.' Yang thought to herself as she changed as well.

CHANGE LOCATION

POV

Jaune opened his eyes as he woke up the next day as he stopped the alarm on his scroll and yawned as he stretched his body and worked all the kinks as he felt some satisfying snap in his body as he rubbed his eyes and looked around. He saw that only a handful of the students were awake.

"I should get ready." Jaune muttered to himself as he stood up and looked around.

There were still a lot more students who were still sleeping at the auditorium. He also saw Ruby and her sister, both of them were sleeping. He looked at them for a few seconds before he got his sleeping bag and walked away. He then went through his morning routine as he got ready and went to get breakfast at the cafeteria as the initiation is after lunch. Jaune was thinking about the initiation as he ate so he didn't really notice his surroundings as he ate the food as he remembered the things he had learned yesterday.

'I wasn't able to awaken my aura.' Jaune thought to himself as he ate his food.

After that he looked at his scroll again as he went through some videos again as he wanted to be ready for the initiation as he spent some time alone in the cafeteria.

Then the announcement for the students to get ready for the initiation came as it caught Jaune's attention, as he looked up from his scroll and saw that many students were also eating and getting ready for the initiation.

"Alright Jaune, get Crocea Mors and don't screw this up." Jaune said to himself as he stood up and went to the locker room to get his things.

As he walked inside the locker room he saw two girls inside, and the both of them were talking, right in front of his locker.

'Great.' Jaune thought to himself as he looked at the two girls.

But he did a double take when he looked at the two girls, and his eyes widened when he saw how good looking the two girls are. He was also quite attracted to the white haired girl who talking with the red haired girl.

'Okay Jaune. Right now you have initiation, so just take the weapons and go.' Jaune thought to himself as he walked to them.

As he got closer to the two girls he was able to hear their conversation more clearly.

"So I was thinking that the two of us becoming a team would be very beneficial and logical." The white haired girl said to the girl in a respective tone.

"Hmm, I guess what you're saying is true." The red haired girl said in an even tone.

'Okay, it's best if I get my weapon quickly.' Jaune thought to himself as he walked to them.

"Excuse me." Jaune said as he stood in front of the two girls.

"What is it? Can't you see that we are having a conversation here?" The white haired girl asked as she looked at him with eyes of anger.

"Sorry sorry, I just wanted to get my weapons. This is my locker." Jaune said as he pointed at his locker.

"Oh, if that's the case then please go ahead." The red haired girl said as she moved back a bit.

"Thank you." Jaune said with a smile as he opened the locker and took his weapons out.

"So these are your weapons?" The red haired girl asked as she looked at them curiously.

"Yeah. They're pretty cool, right?" Jaune asked as he showed the sword and shield to the two girls.

'It looks like he doesn't recognise me.' The red haired girl thought to herself as she looked at him with a smile.

"Yes. They do look cool." The red haired girl said with a smile.

"Thanks. Oh, by the way, my name is Jaune Arc, short, sweet and roles off the tongue. Ladies love it." Jaune said with a smile out of habit.

"Really?" The red haired girl said as she giggled at his words. Jaune just chuckled at her words as he looked at the red haired girl, while the white haired girl was glaring at him.

"What kind of talk is that!? Do you even know who you're talking to!?" The white haired girl shouted at him in anger.

"Um..." Jaune looked at the white haired girl and then at the red haired girl in confusion at her words.

He looked at the girl with a searching look while said girl was also looking at him with a small smile on her face, though it was a tight smile if one were to truly focus on her face.

"Ah I remember now. You were on the cover for the cereal for pumpkin pete." Jaune said as he snapped his fingers at that.

"Right. I did do that." The red haired girl said with a bright smile at hearing his words.

"Well, I'm glad to meet someone famous like you." Jaune said as he smiled at her.

Behind him the white haired girl was looking at him with a scandalized look on her face as she opened and closed her mouth at that before she got her bearings.

"Are you serious right now!?" The white haired girl shouted in shock surprising the two.

"Wh-What's wrong?" Jaune asked a bit surprised.

"What's wrong? What's wrong!? This is Pyrrha Nikos, five time champion of Mistral and the goddess of the arena. She is a celebrity and you only recognise her from a cereal!? Were you living under a rock you dolt!?" The white haired girl shouted as she glared at him.

To her, Pyrrha Nikos is a very special person. Not only is she very powerful fighter, but also a celebrity who has made a name for herself and is very well known that people from all four kingdoms know of her.

And now she is seeing a boy who is going to attend Beacon Academy talk to her as if she is just another girl that he meets instead of the amazing person she is. She can't believe her eyes and ears, but the truth in front to her is another matter.

"Wait really?" Jaune said in shock and surprise when he heard that as he looked at the red haired girl.

"Yes. That is true. My name is Pyrrha Nikos. It's nice to meet you Jaune." Pyrrha said as she smiled at him while introducing herself.

"Oh uh, hello miss Pyrrha." Jaune said as he grew nervous around her after learning who she is.

"Whatever, you got your weapons didn't you. So let me talk to her." The white haired girl said to him as she got in between them while doing a shooing gesture to him.

"R-Right. And you are?" Jaune asked as he looked at her.

"I'm Weiss Schnee, the heir of the Schnee Dust Company. The one who is responsible for Dust being available to all of us. You can't seriously not know me!" The girl said as she looked at him with a baffled face.

"Uhh..." Jaune just rubbed the back of his head as it gave her the answer.

"Are you serious right now!?" Weiss shouted in shock as she looked at him with an incredulous face.

"Uh, sorry?" Jaune said in an apologetic tone as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You you you..." Weiss said in shock as she looked at the guy in front of her.

"Uh, well, it's nice to meet you and I will be going now." Jaune said as he realised that he should go now.

"Oh well, it's nice to meet you too." Pyrrha said in a bit of a hurry as she waved at him.

Jaune waved back before he left the room as Pyrrha and Weiss watched him leave with two completely different thoughts in their minds. 'He really doesn't know me.' Pyrrha thought to herself as she watched him leave.

'What kind of a guy is he!?' Weiss thought to herself as she looked at where he had left the room.

As the two were thinking that Jaune was making his way to the area of the initiation as he made sure to secure his shield and held his sword in his hand as he swung it a few times.

'I have to make sure that I don't screw this up. And also keep up with the news.' Jaune thought to himself as he winced a bit as he remembered what had happened in the locker room.

"I really botched that. I have to make sure that I don't ruin the initiation." Jaune said to himself as he sheathed his sword and walked towards the area of the initiation.

He walked towards the place the initiation is supposed to be as he saw many students there as he gulped to himself as he walked there. He spotted Ruby and Yang in the crowd of students but he didn't walk to them as he wanted to keep a calm mind.

"Alright Jaune, you can do this. You trained for this." Jaune muttered to himself as he wanted to psych himself up.

Jaune looked at the students around him and then at his weapons as he patted them to reassure himself as he looked ahead with a small smile on his face.

CHANGE LOCATION

POV

Jaune waited with the other students for sometime before the headmaster and Glynda appeared. Ozpin welcomed them all to Beacon and said his congratulations for all of them.

"As you all know, Beacon is a an academy where we train Huntsman and Huntresses, and with this initiation we will decide and important part of your school lives. Your teams." Ozpin said with a smile as he looked at all the students.

The students all looked at him in surprise and then at each other when they heard that before they all looked back at him.

"A team is an integral part of any Huntsman team as it allows you to create bonds of trust and friendship with each other, and also learn the importance of cooperation between each other and how different people can work together to solve problems and crisis." Ozpin calmly said as he looked at the crowd.

He looked at Ruby in the crowd and also a brief glance at Jaune as well before he coughed into his fist.

"When the initiation begins you will be sent to the Emerald Forest where you will have to get to the ruins and then pick up the relics placed in there. When you are sent there, the first person you meet with in the forest with be your partner for the rest of the school year." Ozpin said with a smile as his words caused the students to become more surprised.

'Wh-What!? The first person I see! Oh I have to be closer to Yang.' Ruby thought to herself in alarm when she heard that.

'If I can meet with Pyrrha first.' Weiss thought to herself as she thought about the champion. Oh boy.' Yang thought to herself in surprise at his words.

'Well, I just hope that I will be able to get a good partner.' Jaune thought to himself as he gulped.

'This might be my chance to get a friend.' Pyrrha thought to herself as she smiled faintly.

Ozpin gazed at the students and saw their reactions as he kept his smile on his face. He glanced at Glynda and gave her a nod as she nodded back and looked at her scroll.

"Now I hope that all of you will be fine. The Emerald Forest does posses Grimm after all. As for how you will be sent there, well you will be sent flying using the launchpads you are standing on." Ozpin said with a smile on his face.

"Launchpads? What laun-" Jaune started in confusion before he looked down.

He wasn't the only one as the students also looked down and saw that were standing on metal surfaces as their eyes widened in slow realisation. At the same time Ozpin got the scroll that Glynda was using as he smiled at them as the students looked at him in surprise.

"Good luck to you all." Ozpin said with a smile before he pressed the screen.

Then next second all the students in front of him were launched into the air as they all shouted or screamed in shock, surprise, fear, and a rare few were excited as they sailed through the air with varying expressions as Ozpin and Glynda watched them with the former drinking more of his hot chocolate.

"*Slurps* Ahh. I love my job." Ozpin said with a smile on his face as he watched them go.

Glynda meanwhile just sighed as she shook her head at the actions of the headmaster.

"Another batch, the same thing." Glynda said as she crossed her arms under her chest as she watched the students.

Her focus however was on Jaune as she watched him flying through the air, something which was noticed by Ozpin as he looked at her.

"Is there a problem?" Ozpin asked her with a knowing smile.

"You know exactly why headmaster." Glynda said with a sigh as he just smiled and went back to his cup of chocolate before he focused on the holographic screen that he made to watch the students.

At the same time all the students who were there for the initiation were flying through the air. But they soon started to use their weapons or semblances to adjust their fall.

Those like Ruby used their semblance while people like Yang used their weapons to adjust their course. While there were also exceptions like Jaune who didn't have any means to stop his descent.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" Jaune screamed in fear as he was sent flying through the air.

'Oh god oh god oh god!' Jaune screamed in his mind as he fell as he watched the forest coming closer and closer to him.

He darted his eyes around in fear before he heard a strange sound from behind him as he turned around in the air and his eyes widened when he saw a spear coming towards him.

His pupils became small as he focused on the weapon before he saw it reach him as he turned his head to the right as possible as the weapon hit his hoodie and pulled him along with it.

"Aaaahhhh!" Jaune shouted in fear as the sudden change in trajectory as he was pulled by the spear.

A few seconds later the spear hit a tree, with Jaune hanging on the tree with the spear which is stuck to his hoodie as he dangled there with a dumb look on his face.

"What just happened?" Jaune asked himself in a whisper as he gasped a bit in shock at the events that happened in such a short time.

He had come for the initiation, and then he was launched into the air by the headmaster along with the other students and then he was attacked by a spear and is now dangling on a tree, without any way to get down.

'This was not how I imagined it to go.' Jaune thought to himself as he hanged there. As he hanged there for a few more moments he heard the sound of footsteps which caught his attention as he looked in the direction, hoping that it is someone who will help him.

"P-Pyrrha?" Jaune said in surprise when he saw that the source of the footsteps was the champion.

"Hey Jaune, sorry about the spear. I thought you didn't know how to get down so I threw it at you." Pyrrha said to him with an apologetic tone.

"Y-You threw it? W-Wow, that was a strong throw." Jaune said in surprise and disbelief when he heard that as he looked at the spear.

'It carried me through the air and it stabbed into a tree deep enough to keep me hanging here. She is very strong.' Jaune thought to himself as he looked at the spear and then at the girl.

"So, can you get off or do you need my help?" Pyrrha asked him with a smile on her face.

"Uh, wait just a moment." Jaune said as he grabbed onto the spear.

Then he pulled and managed to get it off of the trunk as he was freed, and he also felt weightless as he realised what he had just done.

'That was great Jaune. Just great.' Jaune thought to himself as he felt himself being pulled by gravity.

"Aaaahhhh!" Jaune cried out as he fell down as he held the spear.

But he didn't have to worry as Pyrrha was already ready to catch him as she raises her arms and caught him in them as she held him in a princess carry.

Jaune, who also felt the arms slowly opened his eyes and blinked as he saw the girl smiling down at him. It was then that he realised how she is holding him as he blushed.

"Um, thanks." Jaune said as he took a few seconds to get a hold of his mind.

"No problem." Pyrrha said to him as she placed him on the ground.

"Oh, and here you go." Jaune said as he gave her the spear back.

"Thank you. So, since we have met each other first, I guess we're partners." Pyrrha said to him with a smile.

"Oh, uh, I guess we are, huh." Jaune said as he smiled nervously after realising that fact.

"Well, let me introduce myself. My name is Pyrrha Nikos. I hope we have a good school year as partners." Pyrrha said as she held her hand towards him.

"Oh uh. My name is Jaune Arc and I would be very happy to have you as my partner." Jaune said as he held her hand and shook it.

Pyrrha's smile widened when he said that as she nodded to him. Then she looked at him for a few more seconds as he grew a bit nervous at that.

"Jaune, do you not have your aura unlocked?" Pyrrha asked him as she looked at him curiously.

"Y-Yeah. I don't." Jaune said as he winced at being found out so quickly.

"Well, do you want me to unlock it?" Pyrrha asked him with a smile.

"You can do that?" Jaune asked in surprise at hearing that as he looked at her.

"Yes, I have enough control to be able to do that." Pyrrha said to him with a smile on her face.

"Th-Then please do it. I wasn't able to unlock it." Jaune said to her as he felt embarrassed.

"It's fine Jaune. Now, just stay still." Pyrrha said to him as she placed her hand on his chest plate.

Jaune became a bit nervous when she did that, and then his eyes widened when she was covered in her red aura. Then they stood there for a few seconds before he felt a sensation inside of him before his entire body was covered in his yellow aura as it glowed as he looked at himself in surprise.

'This is my aura?' Jaune thought to himself in wonder as he looked at the energy covering him.

Pyrrha at the same time opened her eyes and smiled at him as she removed her hand from him as her aura stopped and his also stopped as well as Jaune looked at himself.

"Congratulations Jaune. Your aura has been unlocked." Pyrrha said to him with a smile.

"Th-Thank you Pyrrha. I really owe you for that." Jaune said to her with a grateful smile on his face.

"It's fine. So, shall we go? We do need to get to the ruins after all." Pyrrha said to him with a smile on her face.

"Yeah. We don't want to left behind." Jaune said to her with a smile and a nod. "Great. Then let's go." Pyrrha said as she walked forward while getting her weapons ready.

"Right behind you." Jaune said as he also got ready with his weapon.

'I am partners with Pyrrha. Wow, didn't think that would happen.' Jaune thought to himself as he walked with her.

'He really doesn't treat me differently.' Pyrrha thought to herself as she smiled while walking with him.

And so, the newly formed partners ventures into the depths of the emerald forest as they were watched by Ozpin and Glynda as the former has a smile on his face.

'Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc, an intriguing combination.' Ozpin thought to himself as he watched the large screen.

CHANGE LOCATION

POV

"Do you have any experience in fighting in forests, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked him as they walked side by side.

"Not really." Jaune said as he chuckled a bit.

'Aside from scouring the forest near my home from time to time. But that doesn't count as fighting anyway.' Jaune thought to himself as he walked with her.

"Thanks for unlocking my aura, Pyrrha. I really appreciate that." Jaune said to her with a smile.

"It's not a problem for me Jaune. I'm just happy to help. But still, I hope you do remember what I told you a few moments ago." Pyrrha said as she looked at him.

After she had unlocked his aura and the two started to make their way through the forest, Pyrrha gave him an explanation regarding aura so that he would know more about it.

"Yeah I know. Still, it will take some time for me to get used to that." Jaune said sheepishly as he walked beside her.

"I understand. It feels pretty different when you first have your aura unlocked after all. But you don't have to worry too much. Every Huntsman goes through the same thing when they have their aura's unlocked after all." Pyrrha said with a smile as he nodded in response.

"Thanks Pyrrha. Still though, I never expected the initiation to be starting like this." Jaune said as he shuddered when he remembered the launching pads.

"That is true. I have never seen an initiation like that for sure. Beacon is pretty unique and it does allow students to meet randomly so it gives us an opportunity to team up with different people as well." Pyrrha said as she kept her eyes and ears peeled.

"Yeah. Could've at least warned us about that though." Jaune said as he also keep an eye on his surroundings.

Pyrrha hummed in response to it as she also agreed to his words as she knew that something like that would be jarring for anyone, but she knew that the life of a Huntsman is pretty chaotic and unpredictable, it comes with the job after all.

The two were now silent as they made their way through the forest, they could hear some distant gunshots and other attacks and sometimes the roars of some Grimm which would cause Jaune to freeze misstep as he would look in the direction, hoping that said Grimm isn't coming towards them.

"You coming Jaune?" Pyrrha asked as she looked at him a bit ahead of him.

"Yeah coming." Jaune said as he caught up with her and the two started walking again.

'Gosh, I hope I will be able to do this. I also have to improve myself as well. I just hope that all those things I read on the net would help. But I guess working around the house did give me a good amount of stamina as well.' Jaune thought to himself as he walked with her. They kept on walking and soon they reached the entrance of a cave which caught their attention. They looked at it for a few seconds and saw a few drawings before they looked at each other.

"Is that a temple?" Jaune asked as he pointed at the cave drawings.

"Maybe. Headmaster Ozpin did say that it would be in some ruins. I think it wouldn't hurt to take a look." Pyrrha said to him as she looked at the cave.

"Alright then. Hopefully this is the one." Jaune said as he walked inside, followed closely by Pyrrha.

Jaune and Pyrrha walked inside and saw more drawings on the walls as they looked at each other. They went deeper and deeper until they stopped when they saw red light in the darkness.

"Do you think that's the relic?" Jaune asked as he looked at the glowing object.

"Maybe." Pyrrha said as she lowered her weapons a bit.

"Let me check." Jaune said as he went and grabbed the thing.

But then he felt a pull as he let go of the thing in surprise as the two watched the thing rise up, showing it to be the glowing stinger of a Death Stalker.

"Pyrrha, I think we should run." Jaune said as he was both nervous and scared.

"Got it." Pyrrha said as she turned around and ran.

Jaune did the same as he ran after her as well as he heard the Grimm running towards them as he managed to keep up with her. Pyrrha also took notice of it, but she could see that he would be lagging behind soon enough.

"Come on Jaune. I can see the entrance." Pyrrha said as she pointed to it.

"I see it too!" Jaune said as he risked a look back and saw the Grimm running towards them.

'Yikes!' Jaune thought to himself in fright as he increased his speed.

The partners ran and managed to run out the cave as Pyrrha turned around and Jaune did the same. But their eyes widened when a giant Death Stalker came out of the cave and shrieked at them.

"I thought Death Stalkers were smaller than that." Jaune said as he gulped at the sight.

"It looks way older than that. I think it's probably an Elder Death Stalker." Pyrrha said as she also became nervous at the sight.

"So we run?" Jaune asked as he looked at her for a second.

"I think it's a good idea. I've never fought an elder Grimm before." Pyrrha said as she nodded to him.

"Good, then let's go!" Jaune said as he jumped back and ran as he saw the Death Stalker running towards them.

"Coming!" Pyrrha said as she also turned around and ran with her partner.

The Grimm, at seeing its prey running from it, let out another shriek before it started chasing them as well. Jaune and Pyrrha weaved through the trees and shrubbery, trying to lose it, but it persistently followed them.

"It's still following us?" Jaune asked in surprise.

"Well, our colours make us stick out like a sore thumb." Pyrrha said as the two grouped up again and ran.

"Great. Let's try to get to the ruins and try to get the help of any other students." Jaune said as she nodded to his plan.

"Right." Pyrrha said as she also liked the plan.

'Hmm, it looks like he knows how to plan well.' Pyrrha thought to herself as they ran through the forest.

In the meantime, in the air, one Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee were hanging onto a Nevermore as Weiss was berating the younger girl for putting them in such a position.

"Come on, it was a great plan." Ruby said as she hanged there.

"And how do you plan on getting off safely?" Weiss asked in a sarcastic tone towards the girl.

"We... We jump! Yeah, if we let go we can fall back into the forest, and our aura will protect us." Ruby said as she smiled at the plan she made.

"No. It's not a good... don't just let go like that!" Weiss said before she shouted at seeing the girl let go of the Nevermore before she could object to the plan.

"Whooo!" Ruby shouted as she laughed a bit at the feeling of falling.

But then she heard the sound of something being hit and the sound of screaming as she blinked and looked to her left. Coming face to face with Jaune as she only had a moment to process what she saw before he collided with her and hit a tree.

The both of them then fell on the ground as they groaned as Jaune sat up and looked down, and his eyes widened when he saw that he was on top of Ruby. Said girl also opened her eyes and saw him as she froze at the sight.

"Ru-Ruby. Sorry, I didn't mean to fall like that." Jaune said as he quickly got off of her.

"N-No problem Jaune. It was just an accident." Ruby said as she was also embarrassed about it.

'I could've used my semblance to dodge him.' Ruby thought to herself as she kicked herself in her mind for not thinking that.

"But wait, how are you still falling from the air?" Jaune asked as he was a bit confused.

"I was hanging onto a Nevermore." Ruby said as she felt a bit embarrassed about it.

"Oh." Jaune simply said as he didn't know how he should react to that.

"Yeah. But how did you get, you know, thrown into the air like that?" Ruby asked as she wanted to shift the attention, but she was also curious about what happened to him.

"I was hit by a Grimm and sent flying. Thankfully my aura protected me." Jaune said to her as he rubbed his left arm.

"Huh. Guess our situation aren't that different after all." Ruby said as she giggled at the fact that they were both in the air due to Grimm.

"You're... right about that." Jaune said as he also chuckled at the thought.

While this was going on, Yang was watching this all with her newly formed partner Blake, with the black haired girl just raising an eyebrow at the interaction, while the blonde haired girl just had an amused smirk on her face.

"That is one way for her to meet him I guess." Yang said as she blinked at the two.

'Since it was an accident, I won't beat him up.' Yang thought to herself as she watched the two.

"You know them?" Blake asked her with a stoic face.

Yang opened her mouth to answer that, only for her to stop as the two of them noticed a Ursa stumbling into the clearing before it feel down. On its back is a ginger haired girl who has an energetic smile on her face.

"Yahoo! That was great!" The ginger haired girl shouted with a bright smile on her face.

As she said that, a boy also appeared from behind her, though he seemed to be pretty exhausted as he took some moments to take some breaths of air.

"Ohh, are those the relics!" The ginger haired girl said excitedly as she ran to the ruins and grabbed a white rook piece.

She held the piece in her hand and raised it excitedly.

"I'm the queen of the castle! I'm the queen of the castle!" Nora shouted happily in delight.

"Nora! Come back here!" The boy called out to her with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Coming Ren!" Nora said as she grabbed another piece identical to hers and bolted towards him as Yang and Blake just watched.

But even before they could process that, Pyrrha rushed out of the trees in the forest, followed closely by the Death Stalker as it shrieked at its prey and the new ones it had found. And Yang, who was growing frustrated with all the sudden developments let out a shout of anger.

"Oh come on! We just got here after coming through the forest!" Yang shouted in frustration.

She can take one event, but two more, with her usually short temper. It was bound to exceed what she can endure after all as she glared at the sky. But then her focus was pulled by Weiss who was shouting from her place, drawing the attention of the gathered group.

"Wait, is she hanging on that Nevermore?" Yang said as she blinked in surprise, her earlier anger and frustration gone for a moment.

But she wasn't the only one who thought that as they were also surprised by seeing the girl hanging to the Grimm.

"Damn it. I really don't want to do this, but this seems to be the only way." Weiss said as she let go of the Grimm and felt herself plummet to the ground.

"Uh oh, she's falling." Ruby said in worry at seeing her partner fall.

"I think I can catch her." Jaune said as he ran to the place she was falling on.

He watched her as he neared her as he raised his hands and caught her. Though her was pulled down from the force of the fall and gravity, he managed to right himself and stand straight with her in her arms. He looked at the girl as she blinked in surprise as he smiled at her.

"Hey Weiss. Didn't expect to see you like this." Jaune said to her with a smile on his face.

Weiss blinked again when she heard that before she fixed him with a flat stare.

"Arc." Weiss said in a flat tone which caused him to flinch a bit at the tone.

"Yeah?" Jaune said a bit nervously at hearing the tone.

"Put me down." Weiss said to him flatly.

"Right." Jaune said as he placed her on the ground.

Weiss corrected her clothes as she was about to address the blonde boy, but that was stopped when Pyrrha crash landed on the ground after being through in the air by the Death Stalker, drawing the attention of all of them to the presence of the Grimm.

"Great, now that we're all here, we can die together." Yang said as her eyes flashed red for a second.

"Well, I don't plan on dying anytime soon." Jaune said as he grabbed a pair of white rooks and tossed on to Pyrrha.

The red head caught the piece easily as she jumped back with her weapons at the ready as she looked at the Grimm. The rest of the group also watched it cautiously as the Death Stalker raised its stinger dangerously and shrieked at them as they all narrowed their eyes in either focus or nervousness, or excitement in the case of the ginger head.

'Well, I think this is a bit too fast.' Jaune thought to himself as he looked at the Grimm.

CHANGE LOCATION

POV

The gathered group of 8 Huntsmen in training looked at the Deathstalker as they felt nervous at the sight of the large and older Grimm. But Blake looked up and Jaune did the same as they saw the Nevermore that Weiss had hung onto a few moments ago coming towards them.

"Oh no, the Nevermore is coming here!" Jaune shouted in distress when he saw it.

The rest also looked up and saw it as their eyes widened at the sight as they grew more nervous. Fighting one elder Grimm was a hard thing, but fighting a Nevermore on top of that? They'll be attacked both from the ground and air which is a precarious situation all things considered.

"Ruby! Shoot it!" Jaune said to the girl as he looked at her.

"O-On it!" Ruby said as she made her weapon transform into sniper mode as she took aim.

"The Deathstalker is attacking!" Ren said as the Grimm screeched.

All of them immediately jumped away as the Deathstalker rushed towards them, causing Ruby to not be able to shoot the flying Grimm. But Yang jumped right back and shot her shotgun shell on the Deathstalker's face, while Weiss used her ice dust on the Nevermore's face, causing the bird to cry out and fly away to attack again.

"Got you!" Pyrrha shouted as she rushed the Grimm and she shield bashed one of its left legs.

The Grimm screeched when it felt the attack, but then Nora jumped over it with her hammer raised and a bright smile on her face. Then she slammed it on its face causing it to shriek again.

"The stinger! We have to take out the stinger! Feathers!" Jaune shouted before he saw the attack of the Nevermore and jumped out.

The feathers of the Nevermore lodged into the ground as the group was forced to take cover as it sent a barrage of feathers at them. Since it was too erratic of an attack, all of them ran to the ruins and took shelter.

"We can't stay like this!" Weiss shouted in frustration at the situation.

'First the initiation being like this and now pinned down by two Grimm!?' Weiss thought to herself as she groaned silently at her situation.

"We can't take both of them together." Blake said as she held her weapons in hand.

"Well we have to do something fast!" Yang said as she is also getting frustrated at the situation.

"We can't take on both of them at the same time." Ren said calmly.

"Then we don't. There are eight of us, we can fight against one as a group of four." Jaune said as he flinched at the sound of the feathers hitting.

"But how are we going to fight them? We need to come up with a plan." Pyrrha said as she had shifted her spear to rifle form.

"Um, Ruby, Weiss, Yang and her partner can take the Nevermore since almost all of you can use ranged weapons. While me, Pyrrha, and you guys can take the Deathstalker." Jaune said as he looked at Ren and Nora and then back as the barrage of feathers stopped.

"That sounds like a good plan." Ren said with a nod at that.

"If Renny is fine with it then me too." Nora said with a smile.

"Great. Then let's do it fast before the Nevermore starts it attack again." Yang said as she jumped out of her hiding spot.

"Right after you Yang!" Ruby shouted as she shifted her weapon to sniper form and took aim at the Nevermore as it hovered in the air.

She aimed directly at its eye as she made sure that her aim was correct and pulled the trigger. The bullet shot from the rifle and hit its mark in the left eye with utmost precision.

'Uncle Qrow did say to go for the eye.' Ruby thought to herself as she smiled at the shot.

The attack to the eye was followed by an icicle hitting it as the Grimm cried out in pain. Weiss immediately changed the dust cartridge and shot a fireball at it and it hit true, as the big bird started to fall down due to the loss of balance.

"Now Yang!" Ruby said as she shifted her weapon to scythe form.

"On it!" Yang shouted happily as she used her aura and jumped to the out of balance Nevermore.

Because Ruby had shot it's left eye, it wasn't truly able to see Yang and was hit straight on its face as Yang laughed jovially. Blake herself also attacked with her weapons as she peppered it with bullets.

On the other side, the same moment that Ruby had went to shoot the Nevermore, Nora had jumped from her spot and sent a grenade which hit the Deathstalker on its face and exploded as it screeched as Ren shot it with his guns. Pyrrha also joined in as she also shot some of her own as well.

'Wow.' Jaune thought as he saw them.

But his eyes narrowed in nervousness as he saw the Grimm still okay, as it screeched at them, now very angry at the attacks it was dealt.

"Looks like it didn't do much. It's body is sturdy." Pyrrha said as she shifted her weapon into spear form.

"Then we have to keep on hitting it. We have to take care of its stinger first." Jaune said as he twirled his sword in his hand.

"Well, let's do it fast." Ren said seriously as he looked at the Grimm.

"Alright, ginger hair, hit it with your hammer and take its attention. Green, Pyrrha, use your weapons to take care of the stinger. I'll try to distract it." Jaune said as he got ready.

"Got it!" Nora said happily, after all she was just told to bash the head of the Grimm.

"Understood." Ren said as he found the action logical.

"Got it." Pyrrha said with a smile at the plan.

"Great. Let's go." Jaune said as he ran.

Nora jumped into action as she raised her hammer and activated a electric dust that Ren had given her to use as she absorbed the electricity and power herself up as a manic grin appeared on her face.

"Take this!" Nora shouted as she slammed the hammer on its head.

The Grimm had its head slammed on the ground due to the force. Ren and Pyrrha didn't waste their time as he used his grappling hook and pulled the stinger down, Pyrrha jumped and with a roar slashed with her Milo in it's Xiphos form and managed to slice off the stinger.

Jaune also used this opportunity as he charged his aura and ran and slammed shield first into one of the right legs of the Deathstalker. And to his delight, the blow was strong enough to to bend it's leg in the sword direction.

Of course, the removal of its stinger and the bending of one of its legs caused the Grimm to screech loudly, not to mention the blow that Nora had given it as well.

"Great, now let's..." Jaune started as he jumped a bit back to analyse.

"Watch out!" Ruby's shout was heard behind him.

Jaune looked back and his eyes widened when he saw the Nevermore coming towards him. He took a few seconds to process it, but teb moment he did, he immediately dived to the ground as it sailed right over him. He immediately rolled on the ground and got up as he looked at the flying Grimm and then at the one his group was fighting.

His face became creatfallen when he saw Nora being launched into the air by the Deathstalker, but Ren managed to grab her as said girl laughed as they anded safely.

'Wait a minute, wasn't there that place...' Jaune thought to himself as he remembered a high cliff.

Immediately a simple idea came to his mind, it was pretty simple but it appealed to him as he looked at Ruby and her group.

"Hey Ruby, do you remember that cliff?" Jaune asked the younger girl.

"The one that is really high?" Ruby asked as she looked at him curiously.

"Yeah, I think we can take care of the Grimm there. We don't have the experience needed to defeat them. The Deathstalker has become more violent." Jaune said as he looked at the Grimm which is attacking Pyrrha with its pincers more violently.

"Okay. Guys! Let's go to that high cliff? We can take care of them there." Ruby said to her group with a smile.

"What kind of plan is that?" Weiss asked as she looked at her partner.

"Well if Ruby says it's a good plan, then it is a good plan." Yang said with a smile as she believed her sister.

"Well, let's go quickly, the Nevermore will be coming soon." Blake said as she looked at said Grimm.

"Great. Pyrrha, you two guys as well. Let's go! I have a plan." Jaune said to his group as they nodded to him.

"Then let's go!" Nora shouted happily as she was ready.

"Let's go." Jaune said as he ran around the Grimm.

The two groups also ran as they ran away from the Deathstalker as it screeched and started to chase them, but due to Jaune smashing one of its legs, it's pace was slower. They also used the trees to make it so that the Nevermore wouldn't be able to attack them.

"What kind of plan is this?" Weiss asked as she followed Ruby.

"Just trust me!" Ruby said as she ran beside Jaune as Weiss grumbled.

The group of eight managed to reached the cliff and climbed there and they saw both Grimm coming towards them.

"Alright, let's take care of them. Ruby, can your team take care of the Nevermore while we deal with the Deathstalker?" Jaune asked his friend with a smile.

"Sure. We can take care of it, easy peasy." Ruby said confidently.

Ruby then drew the attention of the Nevermore and her group followed her while Jaune and his own group looked at the Deathstalker which was snapping its pincers as it came towards them.

"Uh, are you guys ready?" Jaune asked them a bit nervously.

"You got it!" Nora said happily as she ran to the Grimm.

"Well, you have a good plan." Ren said as he got ready.

"Let's go." Pyrrha said as she got ready.

"We are high enough and the Deathstalker can't fly, if we can sent it down, we win!" Jaune shouted as he ran with them.

"Then let's go!" Nora shouted happily at the plan.

Nora and Pyrrha went first as they hit the Deathstalker's pincers down as Ren jumped and shot it's eyes and managed to take out a few of them as it screeched from pain. Jaune let out a breath he was holding as he covered his body in aura, as he was getting familiar with it.

'Let's do this Jaune. You finally have the chance you wanted.' Jaune thought to himself as he psyched himself up.

He had taken the time to get a feel his aura and get used to it. The time he was hit by the Deathstalker and surviving caused him to feel a familiarity with it, and he also took some breaths as he got ready.

Jaune ran to the Deathstalker as he reached it and due to Nora and Pyrrha taking care of the pincers he managed to reach its face as Ren watched with wide eyes as Jaune plunged his sword right through its mouth.

The Deathstalker screeched in pain as it pulled its head back at the attack of the human.

Jaune managed to keep his hands on the sword and pulled it out and then smashed the bottom part of the shield on it with force as it staggered back.

"Now!" Jaune shouted as he pulled his right leg back and gave a powerful kick which caused it to be thrown up a bit.

'Ow! My leg!' Jaune cried in his mind as his leg hurt.

"Yeah!" Nora shouted happily as she slammed her hammer on its underside.

"Good job Jaune!" Pyrrha said as she used her shield to push it to the edge.

Ren also appeared as he rammed into the Grimm as well. While he isn't one who uses strength, the aura gives him the additional boost.

'It is not enough.' Jaune thought as he saw that the Grimm is trying to keep itself on the ground.

"One more." Jaune said as he ran and gathered his aura in his legs and jumped towards it.

He landed on it's head as the eyes of the three widened before he pushed it with his aura infused legs which sent it over the edge and plummeting down the cliff.

But as a consequence of using a large amount of aura because of his inexperience with it, he was sent flying at great speeds as he crashed into the Nevermore, knocking it out of the sky and towards Ruby and her group.

"Woah!" Ruby said in surprise.

"Attack!" Yang shouted as they all used their ranged weapons.

Jaune only had a second to look at the Nevermore before he was flung back due to the explosion caused by the ice dust and the shots.

'What am I? A ragdoll!?' Jaune screamed in his mind since this is the fourth time he has been flung into the air.

He turned around in the air as he spotted the Deathstalker over the cliff as it was greatly wounded but still alive as his eyes widened.

"Grenada!" Jaune shouted completely on autopilot.

"Here!" Nora threw the grenade to him enthusiastically.

Jaune managed to grab it as he looked at it and then threw it at the Grimm before he fell on the ground as he groaned out. It was followed by the sound of an explosion as the screech of the Deathstalker was heard as it disappeared, alongside the Nevermore which had also disappeared.

Jaune blinked his eyes groggily as he lay on the ground as Pyrrha, Nora and Ren came to his side and looked at him.

"Jaune." Pyrrha called out to him with a smile.

"Did we win?" Jaune asked them as he was feeling a bit tired.

"Yes." Pyrrha said with a smile.

"Oh. Great." Jaune said as the adrenaline finally stopped as he went limp and he lay on the ground.

'What just happened?' Jaune thought to himself in confusion as he let out a sigh.

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TO BE CONTINUED