Umu. Mithos here with another chapter. I just got lazy and took awhile to get to this one... Hopefully everyone following is still reading. Leave a comment to reassure me?

As always, thanks to masterofbones and Ordon to reading through and giving their comments. Go check out Ordon's stuff!

Much like the first time Jaune came to the tower, a sense of trepidation sweeps over him as the elevator brings him closer to his confrontation with Ozpin. I arrived at my answer, but I feel like Ozpin wouldn't… no, he probably can't accept it. So I have to find a way to convince him. He recalls the emotions and conviction that caused him run off during the mission in the first place. That's right, I made my choice then as well. Given another chance... I would still have made the same choice.

A soft ding informs Jaune and Qrow that they have arrived at the top of the tower. The elevator door slides open, revealing Ozpin sitting behind his desk, with Glynda standing a few feet away next to him. The tie around his neck suddenly feels more constricting; as he struggles to adjust the knot, he notices his heartbeat pounding all the more intensely. The thoughts of all the possible punishments only quickens his pulse. Taking a deep breath, he attempts to suppress his hesitation and dread for the upcoming meeting.

Taking a look at their expressions, Jaune tries to glean any insight into their viewpoint. However, the two both hold their poker face, doing little to calm down the intense spiral of nauseating emotions swirling within him. As he reaches the front of the desk, which appears much larger compared to his previous visit, Glynda gestures for him to sit down. "Good afternoon, Jaune. How are your injuries?"

"I've recovered, thank you for your concern." Reflexively, he reaches for the scar over his shoulder before stopping himself and putting his hand down. "They weren't that bad, anyway. All's well that ends well, right?" Mustering his nonexistent performance skills, he endeavors to give his best smile in an attempt to convince them, taking the seat as Qrow leans against one of the pillars.

Ozpin looks over him briefly to affirm his statement. "That's reassuring to hear. This means we can immediately begin discussing the reason that you were called in. As you may have expected, we must discuss the aftermath of the mission."

The mention of the mission gives him a bit of a jump, but Jaune hurriedly readjusts himself in his seat before replying. "Lay it on me."

Glynda begins by handing him a stack of papers held in a file envelope. "This is the official report on what had occurred over the weekend. To summarize, the airship you returned on was attacked by a flock of Griffons, causing you to crash-land in the middle of Grimm territory. You were able to defend yourself until a rescue ship found you. The exact details are in the report. Memorize it."

He flips and skims through the pages, grimacing and gawking at the amount of detail and effort put into fabricating the story. Great, more memorization. "Wow, whoever put this report together must really love paperwork, huh?" Glynda raises an eyebrow at his retort ill-fitted in the serious mood of the room. Wait, there's a good chance she wrote this! "Err, I mean, I'll get right on to memorizing this, sir, ma'am!" He stuffs the folder in his bag before straightening his back, returning to a more serious posture.

"Good." Ozpin gives him a small nod of approval. "Now, to brief you about what had occurred while you were unconscious… Let's begin with what you are most concerned about: the status of the kidnapped children."

Jaune looks at Ozpin expectantly, becoming too conscious at the amount of sweat that has gathered on his palms. "Were they able to get out safely?"

"The White Fang group that escaped dropped them off at one of the nearly villages before releasing a SOS signal. A nearby patrol ship responded to the call and they have been returned safely to their homes."

The tension leaves his body as he feels the weight of the world dissolve off his shoulders; he slumps into the chair at the sound of the good news. The anxiety he felt a moment ago seems distant as he can not help but smile. I did it. I saved them. I was able to play the hero."I'm glad. Did you check up on them before they returned? They weren't hurt in any way, right?"

"The doctors performed a thorough check up. With the danger of being kidnapped and risk of nearly killed by Grimm, their physical and mental welfare can be considered healthy. In addition, the data we retrieved and the researcher's testimonies, excluding Rable's, verifies that no experimentation were done on them before things went awry." Ozpin gives him a faint smile. "Congratulations. You saved them."

Something about his smile is a bit unsettling. I can't pinpoint why that is, but it just seems a bit… unnatural? He tries his best to return the gesture. "Thanks. Did anything else happen? Like, finding the whereabouts of the White Fang survivors?" He pauses as he attempts to recall the remaining loose ties. "That's right, the undercover agent! I wasn't able to get in contact with her before I passed out."

Glynda shoots Qrow a glare as he responds with a not-so-innocent whistle. Slightly flustered, she adjusts her glasses before answering his question. "Unfortunately, we lost track of her and the other survivors as reinforcements arrived. As we did not found her corpse within the base, we can only assume she is among the surviving White Fang, simply waiting for an opportune chance to contact us."

"I see. So there's a good chance she's still alive. That's good." Jaune lets out a sigh of relief as he attempts to leave his seat. "Well then, if that's everything, I guess I should go back and-"

Glynda snaps her riding crop on the table while giving him a glare. "Remain in your seat. You still have something to answer to." With a meep escaping from his lips, he returns to his seat. With his eyes glue to the floor, dreading what's to come, he answers with a muffled whisper of 'yes ma'am.' "During the mission, after the safety of the researchers, capture of Doctor Rable, and retrieval of the research data were all completed, I gave out the command for extraction. I have confirmed with Qrow that he relayed the order, but you, Jaune Arc, openly disobeyed and therefore compromised the mission. Do you have any objections with this report so far?"

Jaune closes his eyes for a second as he tries to muster his courage, before looking straight back at Glynda. "I will admit that I didn't follow that order, but I don't believe that I compromised the mission. We had evidence to believe that my absence would not make it any more difficult to escape."

Ozpin takes a drink from his mug before replying with piercing eyes. "Though that may be true, that decision is something for us, those in command to make, not yours. If you had informed us, perhaps we might have reconsidered; nevertheless, that does little to diminish the fact that you failed to follow orders."

"I didn't think you would change your mind." Jaune retorts before Ozpin can continue. "With how Qrow gave out the order, it didn't seem like there was room for consideration. And, in that situation… I don't think I would have stopped no matter what my orders were."

Unfazed by his answer, Ozpin snaps back. "And if the same situation came up? Next time, would you be able to follow through?"

The boy answers without any hesitation. "I would not."

"I see…" Ozpin taps his cane, humming in consideration as Jaune sits there, waiting for his judgment. The seconds pass, each one heightening the tension, until it felt like it hung him by the neck, suffocating and smothering him. The unnatural clicks of the cogs and machines only further unsettles him.

Finally, Ozpin's cane pauses and he cocks his head as he scrutinizes him, as if evaluating Jaune's resoluteness. "If this was a normal military institution, you would be court martialed, and your punishment would be deliberated after more consideration. However, due to our confidential nature, I have arrived at another decision." In a slow and meticulous motion, he removes a singular piece of paper from his drawer, standing up and handing it over to Jaune. "Jaune Arc, as of now, you have been discharged from the 1019 position. Return all equipment within 48 hours. You are to never disclose the details of your work, the specifics and reprimands if broken being outlined in that notice of dismissal. With that, you are free to go." Ozpin returns to his seat, looking over his work scattered through the table as if Jaune were not there.

What? It takes him a few moments to process what Ozpin just told him. As the reality of the situation sinks in, something inside him snaps. "Wait, that's it? You're not even going to consider the success of the mission? I was able to save numerous lives, many of which were endangered with no fault of their own!" He looks over at both Glynda and Qrow for some support, but the two both remain silent, refusing to endorse his statement. Glynda remains steadfast under his gaze, but Qrow seems to shift restlessly as he continues. "You're all just going to ignore the fact that my decision did more good than harm?" The initial stinging shock from the coldness of their decision slowly fades into a fiery anger, his tone growing increasingly harsh as he speaks.

"Yes." The headmaster answers without looking away from his work. The finality of his tone seems to leave no room for debate.

"I refuse to accept that!" Jaune stomps over, slamming his fist on the desk in outrage. "Are you saying that I should have left them to die?"

Once again, Ozpin replies with absolute certainty. "Yes. If you truly wished to save them, you could have waited for reinforcements. You could have elicited the researcher's help, or even drawn away the Grimm, avoiding direct confrontation. However, you jumped in without considering your consequences or alternatives." He places his cup down, staring straight at the boy, facing the youth's outrage and conviction straight on. "You were too eager to play the hero. Instead of doing what we asked of you when you first accepted the position or accepting your limits, you jumped at the first opportunity at being a hero. In the end, you were only able to keep your life because the White Fang survivors felt indebted to you." His cane slams onto the floor with the weight of adjudication and authority. "I have no need for a martyr."

The words strike at Jaune's resolve, causing him to step back, slightly overwhelmed. He racks his brain for an answer. It's true. They told me from the very beginning that I had to follow their orders, and I accepted that, even though I wasn't confident that I could. But this still feels… wrong. "I accept that the reasoning for my action may have been flawed. But, ultimately, the result was good. Doesn't that have some merit?"

"You may believe what you did was good, but from my viewpoint, I can say you did something entirely unnecessary." Ozpin stands up from his seat to meet his gaze. "What good did you do, in saving the White Fang, fundamentally terrorists that we are fighting against? What good did you do by protecting the spy, who would have accepted her death if it meant her intelligence got to us? What good did you do, in saving the children, when their deaths could have been used to fuel the anti-White Fang sentiment? From my perspective, Jaune, when you disobeyed that order, you risked your life… for absolutely no gain."

"That's bullshit!" Jaune advances forward, only vaguely considering the paper crumbling in his fist as he balls it up in anger. Blinded by rage, he stomps forward but is stopped as someone grabs him from behind. Turning around, he sees Qrow shaking his head as he restrains him. Anger unabated, Jaune turns back to the implacable figure before him, enmity overflowing in his voice. "That… that you expect any Huntsman… no, any person to accept that argument! All lives have value! I was given the chance to save them. Even if it was miniscule, improbable, I would still take that chance!"

A few seconds pass before Ozpin begins speaking again. "That's quite a naive resolution." He returns to his seat, tapping the table in contemplation. "Let's say I buy into your argument, that the end result justifies your decision. At the time, were you assured that this would be the result? Can you ensure this happens next time? What of the one after?" With a voice as cold and calculating as a machine, he asks, "can you say, with confidence, that your judgment is better than mine?"

"I…" His words trail off, wanting to answer with an egregious lie. I can't. Of course I can't. Master may be able to, but I'm not at that level. And I'm definitely not that presumptuous.

His head slumps forward downcast as his body goes limp; as his anger and motivation vanishes, the last reserves of his energy disappears and he finds it impossible to return with a rebuttal."I can't." He gives a quiet whisper of his admission of defeat.

Ozpin gives him a nod. "Then I believe the discussion is closed."

Qrow releases Jaune from his grip. Frozen in hesitation, Jaune finds it impossible to turn around and walk away, accepting his judgment. If I walk away now, I will be giving up my chance to follow in Master's footsteps. Maybe that choice is better, to just be a normal Huntsman, without all this consideration. Maybe I'll be happier, walking the beaten path, alongside the countless others.

But, right now...

That is not what I want! Maybe I'll regret this choice. But seeing how much more involved, how much more I can do, I don't want to let this go! From the moment I met her, the moment I found out she died, and the moment up till now: I knew that there was one thing I wanted more than anything else! And so... I'll change.

"You're right. I admit that I'm not ready." Jaune takes a deep breath. With a stern expression, he endeavors to articulate his resolution. "Right now, I can't confidently say that my actions will always lead to a better outcome. I can't see the choices and solutions that will satisfy everyone. But that doesn't mean I can't become that person!"

He puts his hand over his chest. "I pledge that I will become that someone. I'll train and develop myself, so that one day I will be assured that my decisions will always be the correct one. Until then, I will follow the orders you give me." With his arms at his side, he gives a deep bow. "Please give me one more chance!"

Unable to see the adult's expressions, Jaune endures the smothering silence as he waits for an answer. Trying to distract himself from the discomfort, he focuses at the square tiles on the floor long enough to almost believe they have turned into circles. Finally, a dry voice breaks him out of this daze. "Well, Glynda, what is your opinion?"

With a sigh, the headmistress approaches him and answers exasperatedly. "Lift your head up, Jaune." Obeying, he looks up to see Glynda's face much too close to him. "I suppose the boy deserves another chance. Not to mention, he seems quite adamant about preserving his job."

Looking down, he is reminded of the crumpled piece of paper in his hand. Scratching his head sheepishly, he returns with a simple, heartfelt smile. "Thanks, Glynda."

"And yours, Qrow?"

"You're the boss-man." Qrow shrugs as he looks at the young man. "Though, I can say that any lesser Huntsman would have died in the same spot. Be kind of a waste if we kicked him out now, right?"

Peering over at Ozpin, Jaune tries to do his best at a puppy-face, using Ruby's as a reference. However, the headmaster's deadpan expression remains steadfast. I feel like he just needs one last push… "I'll go to any social gatherings you don't want to go to?"

"With that offer and the majority's opinion, I suppose I have no choice but to give you a second chance." Not able to turn around to see Qrow or Glynda's expression, he can only infer they were amused with both his offer and how immediate Ozpin answers, as Qrow gives a strangled laugh trying not to choke on his drink and the clattering of a pen dropping to the floor following after. "It is fair to say that I cannot place the same evaluation of a Huntsman-in-training as a veteran operative. If nothing else, the mission objectives were completed." Pulling open another drawer, Ozpin takes out another piece of paper and hands it over to Jaune. "However, I would prefer if you studied under someone's tutelage…"

Crossing her arms over her chest, Glynda gives Jaune a stern look. "Qrow and I will be in charge of your instruction. And I will be strict, do you understand?"

Having been accepted, even the usual frightening expression of Glynda's and Qrow's reluctant response of "Oh, come on!" does little to ruin Jaune's good mood. "Yes, ma'am!"

"If Glynda is willing to take you under her wing, then l have no more objections."

As Jaune lets out a sigh of relief, he takes the opportunity to read the piece of paper, titled 'How to Write Post-Mission Reports,' authored by Glynda. Wait, the paperwork comment was just a passing thought. I wonder if Ozpin and Glynda do mostly just sit in their offices and-

"I'm sure your team is probably more than eager to reunite with you." Qrow gives him on a pat on the shoulder. "So why don't you run along and let the grownups talk for a bit?"

Glancing at Ozpin, he gives a slight nod of confirmation. Jaune mouths silently 'thank you,' to Glynda and Qrow before speed walking toward the elevator. As the doors close, he can not help but think Well, that went better than expected.

"So, did you have to rile him up?" Qrow addresses to Ozpin as soon as the elevator doors close. "I know you're just testing him, but the kid's emotional as all hell." A slight pause. "Wouldn't surprise me if he did something stupid and roundabout to try and make up for it."

"I wanted a test of his character, but most importantly, his resolve. Thankfully, he passed." Ozpin returns to his seat and begins to type on his terminal. "I had done the same when Xenith first arrived. I'm pleasantly surprised that this time, I get to keep my table intact. I've grown rather attached to this desk, and would hate for it to suffer a similar fate."

"Still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth." Qrow takes a drink from his flask. "Well, slightly more than usual. So was all the stuff about kicking him out just bull?"

"No. If he had not defended himself, the dismissal would have stood." For a second, Ozpin looks off to the distance. Qrow has known him long enough to know he is reminiscing in a distant memory; these brief moments of vulnerability are only shown to his two close confidants, and the small windows that show Ozpin to be anything less of the cold calculating machine the public make him out to be. "I don't need operatives who will blindly follow orders without analyzing the circumstances. The claim 'I was only following orders' has been used too often as a defense for atrocities and tragedies. Perhaps if there were more willing to act on their conscience, the Faunus War would not have occurred, and our relationship with them not as strained."

"Well, there's nothing good about blatantly disobeying orders either." Glynda lets out a sigh. "I suppose it's my job to teach him the balance between the two."

"Hey, I'm still right here!" Qrow lets out a cry of objection. "Since you took it so easy on him, I still have a lot of work with all the mental kinks he has."

Glynda shoots him a rather dubious look at his claim. "Speaking from purely a professional standpoint, I hardly think you're the person to give counselling here."

"Well, unfortunately, the kid's terrified of you, and Ozpin already took the role of the bad cop, so…" Qrow looks around, giving a feigned look of surprise as he points to himself. "Look who's left over! Besides-" He returns to a more solemn expression as he rubs temple, attempting to suppress an oncoming headache. "I've seen him in action, and that gives me the most insight into him so far."

"You could simply share your insight. I still believe I am more qualified to give him that counselling."

"Yeah. And I think you'll agree with me." Qrow ruffles his hair with an annoyed expression. "There's a lot of things, but the biggest issue is that, even if he knows the right thing to do, he still goes and acts on his emotions. It's like he never went through the development to properly handle his more intense emotions." He pauses for a second as he considers how to best phrase the next problem. "The other thing is… when we arrived, I expected him to freak out about the corpses, like any rookie would. But he accepted it so dispassionately. So I assumed he had received some kind of training to get into that state of mind. Of course, I found out I was dead wrong, and the moment he found out about someone's life being in danger, even the enemy, that's when he lost it. Ozpin, you already know this, but he recklessly throws himself into situations, like he doesn't value his own life all that much." He takes a lengthy chug of his drink. "He's a big ball of contradiction."

Ozpin nods in agreement. "I have been reading more of Xenith's reports, and those observations have all been noted. I would prefer if he was more stable, but…" Glynda responds with a modest nod of agreement, and Qrow gives a wry chuckle. "Every 1019 has been trouble."

Directly his gaze towards Glynda, Qrow continues. "What he needs right now isn't an authority figure telling him what's right or wrong, or even what to do. He just needs someone to talk to and work out his discrepancies."

With much reluctance, Glynda nods in confirmation. "Of course, you still have your own responsibilities." She lowers her gaze at Qrow, not-so-subtly hiding her indignation towards him. "I am still expecting a full report from you."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get that to you. Since I'll be transferring here anyway, you'll have plenty of time to nag me about that."

"Transferring?" Glynda gives him a look of disbelief. "I understand you are to train him, but-"

"It's not just that." Taking a seat, Qrow tosses a memory disk onto Ozpin's table. "Now that the base is vacated, I went back with a finer comb to see if we missed anything. Considering it was originally a supply depot, most of the information's useless. The only thing that's notable is that they're moving a lot of Dust around. And I mean an actual metric fuckton."

"We have known for awhile that the White Fang has been targeting Dust shipments, but we have been pursuing these raiders aggressively for a while now." She scoffs at him. "I see no reason why this is distressing."

"Yeah, if they were just stealing for profit. But there's two problems with this." Qrow points at the disk. "First of all, they're moving the Dust like they're intending to use it all. Now, I'm not exactly the best at math, but I know when there's too many zeros for a bake sale. Second-" His finger draws a circle lazily. "It's all been moving all around Vale, in an organized fashion. We've all known the White Fang has never been monolith, and this makes it even stranger. If something big is happening in Vale-" his feet taps on the ground as he points downwards. "I have to be here."

"Very well." Ignoring Glynda's look of silent protest, Ozpin nods in agreement. "Considering you will be working with Glynda in Jaune's education, I will assign you as Glynda's assistant."

"Got it." Qrow flashes her a smile. "Always knew I'd end up being stuck with a kid. Just didn't think it would be with you."

"Didn't you raise your nieces-"

"Yup. Speaking of which, I guess I should go tell them the good news." He gets up and begins walking towards the elevator. "Even if I won't be using it much, I still expect you to assign me a half-decent room."

"I'll… see what I can do." She starts tapping on her own scroll. "Until then, return to Signal and inform them of your transfer."

"Mmm." As Qrow steps into the elevator, he pauses with some slight hesitation, before turning around looking slightly embarrassed. "Ozpin, I know you probably have a lot on your plate, but… Please try and help keep the damned kid from killing himself. I've seen too many like him die meaninglessly. It'd be nice to keep this one… Damn, I must be really drunk to be saying this…" He mashes the button on the elevator, trying to hasten its decent.

Ozpin's lips curl up in amusement and Glynda gives away a small, choked sound beside him. However, unable to properly answer that request, the elevator doors close without Ozpin's reply, leaving behind only a pragmatic silence.

"One, two, three, four-" Unable to suppress his giddiness, Jaune hops and skips his way back to the dorm, all the while reading the folder. A few curious students give him a strange look as he does so, but their gazes do little to dampen his euphoria.

Reaching the front of his room, he pauses for a second as he takes out his scroll. It's about 5:30 right now, so I'm just in time to grab dinner with my team. I haven't seen them in awhile, so I should really make an entrance when I get back. Something like…

Swiping the scroll on the lock, he turns the knob as he tries his best to be suave. "Death has once again-" Before he can finish one-liner, he is hit with a two hundred pound speeding bullet; the momentum carries the two masses tumbling out into the hallway, slamming into the door opposite their room. As the door swings open, he tilts his head upward to reveal Blake looking down on the two. With her eyes containing nothing but scorn, she closes the door as if accepting this as 'normal' for him.

The girl above him decides to give him a forceful squeeze; he was unsure if the resounding crack after was a hallucination or not. However, he is convinced he should not give her another chance to confirm which it was. "Nora, off! I don't really care about my reputation anymore, but I don't want to be a frequent visitor to the ER."

Nora releases him and cheerfully skips backwards, giving a smile and reply that lacks remorse of any degree. "Welcome back, Jaune! So, are you all better now? Didja get a few badass war scars to show off for it? I always thought the scars over the eyes were pretty cool."

Wiping the dust off his clothes, he stands back up. "I'm fine, thanks. And no, I didn't get any scars from the mission." Wait, did she tackle me without even checking if I was okay?!"Is everyone else inside? I'll explain it then."

"Yups!"

Following behind her, he reenters the room. This time, he can see Pyrrha sitting on her bed and Ren at his desk. Well, I lost the chance to look cool, so… "I'm back."

"Welcome back." Ren greets him stoically, with only a small nod of acknowledgement. Without another word, he walks over the kitchen and starts boiling some water, tossing some strange greenery in there. Oh. Oh no.

Pyrrha returns with a troubled smile. "We're glad you're back. How are you feeling?"

"A bit sore, but nothing a good night's sleep won't be able to fix." He takes a quick look around the room. It looks different from when I last saw it. Like… a lot more organized? I guess I am generally the one that makes the room a mess, so that would make sense. "Did I miss anything while I was gone?"

For a brief second, Pyrrha looks away as if she feels guilty about something, but it was so swift that he thought he imagined it. "Not much. You have a few lessons and assignments to catch up on, but the teachers all gave extensions after hearing about your injuries." She hesitates, as if unsure to ask or not; letting out a sigh, she decides to brave the waters anyway. "So, what happened?"

"I'll explain in detail over dinner. The basic jist of it is that the airship I was in crashed, and I fought off a boatload of Grimm before the rescue party got to me." Looking at expressions on his teammates, he realizes no one buys his story. "Well, it's the truth." He begins walking over to his closet to grab a change of clothes, realizing how much sweat and body odor has clung to them.

"I'm not the type to say this," Nora speaks out. "Wait. I totally am! I totally called it! When you said you were leaving on Ozpin's mission, I absolutely positively knew you would run into some kind of trouble. Yes, you are totally the type of person to enter a building and leave it in ruins." Crossing her arms over her chest, she closes her eyes and nods confidently. "Mmm. Mmm. I wouldn't be surprised if the windows you pass by on our way to the cafeteria catches on fire. Yuppers, we are one of the few! We are the precursors to destruction and ruin!"

Reaching the front of his closet, Jaune turns around to give her a look of incredulity. "Nora, it doesn't count if you're the one causing that destruction. In my case, I'm not the… cause…" His words trail off as he loses his confidence in his statement. Wait… am I? As he turns back around to open his closet, he catches the guilty expression on Pyrrha's face again. Huh, so I didn't imagine it. What happened while I was gone? He reaches out on the hangers for one of his t-shirts, but just stops when he realizes what is in its place. "Pyr?"

"Yes, Jaune?"

"Where did all my t-shirts go?"

"Ah… about that…"

Nora interjects energetically. "Yang took them!"

"Damn it, Yang!" Wait, I didn't mean to say that out loud! "Haaa… that girl really doesn't have a sense of privacy. I feel kinda bad about the girls she's sharing a room with." He shuffles through the hangers, looking for any of his t-shirts, to no avail. "So, why did she do that?"

"When she was looking through your stuff, she said it was a waste that all you wore was those t-shirts, jeans, and hoodies all the time, when you have all those nice clothes. So she took them all." Nora looks at him as he pulls out one of the collared button-up shirts. "She's not wrong, ya know."

"She looked through my stuff?" He glances at the bottom of the closet to see that his suitcase remains unlocked. Letting out a sigh of both exasperation and relief, he grabs a random pair of slacks as he walks toward the bathroom. "Well, at least now I know what she apologized for. And how she got dirt on the rest of team RWBY."

"You're not… angry?" Pyrrha asks, insecurity hanging in her voice.

"Of course not. It's not like you guys encouraged her or anything, right?" With his answer, Pyrrha relaxes, her expression softening up. Was that what she was worried about? "Well, I would still like to know exactly what happened, but, no, I'm not angry. Besides, I know about how persistent Yang can be." And her own forceful way of showing concern. "You guys probably couldn't have stopped her even if you tried."

"I didn't try," Nora answers, once again, without a visage of guilt.

"I should be angry at you, but at this point, I feel like it's par for the course." He steps into the bathroom. "We can talk about it more during dinner."

"Aye aye, boss-man!" She gives him the most unconvincing salute ever.

Looking in the mirror, he clumsily fumbled through the unfamiliar clothes, finding it difficult to aligning the buttons correctly, Once he dons on the shirt and trousers, he notices the distinct different feeling of wearing loose clothing as opposed to fitted clothing. He contemplates taking a shower and putting on some cologne to match his attire, but ultimately decides against it. Wouldn't want to keep them waiting for too long. The formality and tightness of clothes annoy him, but after doing a twirl in front of the mirror, he does admire how good they look on him and he pushes that out of his mind. Remind me to drop by and thank Melanie and Miltia. These clothes are really well coordinated. Seeing how nice his clothes look, he decides to to put on the tie from his uniform to match his attire.

Stepping out, he sees the rest of his team waiting for him, giving him a strange look. "Does it look that weird on me?"

"Well, if you want the truth-" Pyrrha puts her hand over Nora's mouth, stopping her from saying anymore. "Mrgul Rly."

"It looks fine, Jaune." Seeing that Nora got the message, Pyrrha lets her hand go from her face. "Your tie is just slightly loose. Let me fix that."

"Thanks." He stands still as she adjusts the tie for him. "You know, I've always thought nice clothes like these should be saved for a special occasion. For more of the shock and awe moment. Maybe I should just ask Yang-"

"N-no!" Pyrrha gives him a smile to reassure him. "It looks good on you. You should get some practice to… be more comfortable, when you do need to dress formally."

"Hmm…" I guess she's right. I did promise I would go to parties for Ozpin. Guessing the dress code won't fly with a t-shirt and jeans. "Okay, I'll take your word for it."

"Is your little honeymoon routine over? I'm starving!" Nora runs out of the room without waiting for an answer.

"Right." As he steps away and begins walking towards the door, Ren stops in front of him, with a glass cup in hand. Instead of a bubbling liquid like from before, the cup this time holds a viscous drink. The color is a mixture of purple and green, with some unidentifiable particles slowly drifting around.

"Drink." Ren puts the cup in his hand.

Looking at the questionable liquor, Jaune tries his hardest to hide his revulsion. Gotta find an excuse. "Nora already left, shouldn't we-"

"Drink."

"Maybe… after dinner?" He tries to sidestep past Ren, but gets intercepted.

"Drink." Ren holds his stoic expression, still not taking no for an answer.

"Umm… are you angry? I know I said that-"

"We talked about this. As your teammates, we have to ensure your wellbeing. And you need medicine when you get injured." His eyes narrow at him. "You got hurt. Now. Drink."

He's totally angry! He's totally holding a grudge over how much I injure myself. "Ugh… if it makes you feel better…" Taking the glass, he empties it over his mouth. Instead of saying that he drank it, it is more accurate to say the solid and liquid mixture reluctantly obeyed the law of gravity, sliding down his gullet with the speed of a paint drying. Despite being the drink being warm, it leaves a cold biting afterburn in his throat. "Disgusting."

"We have a proverb that, good medicine tastes bitter."

"It… wasn't bitter." Just imagining the drink again makes Jaune feel a bit queasy.

"Which is why it is just a proverb." Ren walks out the door. "Of course, if you wish to test the-"

"No thank you!" He follows behind Pyrrha leaving the room. "I'll try and take better care of myself." Turning around, he takes one more look at the room before turning off the lights. Despite all that has happened, it's so nice how everything still feels so.. comfortable on my return. Sure, I've only been here a few weeks, but I really felt like I've come home. Spontaneous Nora, worrywart Pyrrha, and stoic Ren. He closes the door with a soft smile on his face. Yeah, we're going to be just fine.