A/N: Hellooooo! BloodyCow, here! With another story to tell. This may not be my original plan (Which was fixing my first story), but here I am making another one. So, anyway, here's a Jaune-centric story. He's older here around 26 years old and graduated Beacon to become a huntsman. His fighting style was based on Dante from Devil May Cry - the latest installment in the Devil May Cry series. But he will be the same Jaune as in canon. His semblance will be the same as in canon (For those that haven't completely watched Volume 5 of RWBY may not really know that Jaune finally has a semblance; albeit, it's really vague on what it does.).

Story Tags: Adventure, Romance, Slight Humor, Family


Chapter 1

He was never one to go back on his words. Even if others try to break them, he wouldn't. Jaune Arc wouldn't do something as disgraceful as that. He made a promise and he wasn't going to break that. No, never again. Not after Atlas… Ugh, he was still having nightmares about that one.

It's been a long time since he walked through the streets of his once-thought-of home. The sun had long since set but people still walked about, dust-powered vehicles still on the roads and — get a load of this — food stalls! There were still food stalls on the streets of Vale. Damn, it's been a long time since he's ever had a good chow. Then again, living in the woods of a forgotten world would do that to you. Just a whiff of those delicious meals was enough to get his stomach rumbling.

Oh, he's definitely coming back here…

The air here was… stale, compared to the outside world. It's not something that he really was a fan of. A cacophony of sounds and noises came from the still busy market that he just walked past through made him want to escape from. But none of them were that important to warrant his attention.

But tonight, he really doesn't have business in Vale. No, he's purpose lies within that high tower that was visible even in downtown Vale. Once upon a time, he was a giddy little child hoping and wishing to become just like those in the stories his mother used to tell him. A hero — a huntsman. His father was a huntsman and a badass as well. But he was just too busy trying to keep the village they were in safe to ever get some training in with his son.

The village he used to live in was farther away from Vale so it needed a lot of huntsmen just to keep it safe. But that's a story for another time. For now, he had a promise to keep.

Still though, would the bullheads to Beacon even be running at this time of night? He doubted they would be. Beacon had a curfew to maintain and the students there would take full advantage of the bullheads if they were still running at this time.

So, it looks like he'll be hitting the sack for the night only problem was where.

The sound of glass shattering caught his attention. It seems there was a fight going on but between whom, he didn't know. A guy in a black suit with a fedora and red glasses was thrown out of a window of a shop. It wouldn't have been funny if the person that threw him wasn't a 14 to 15-year-old girl in a red hood and a black gothic dress with red frills.

Seriously, he was laughing his ass off. "Oh my god, that is funny as hell…" He said. Who knew that a pipsqueak of a teenager in a gothic outfit would be able to throw a grown-ass man through a window? Oh, definitely not him.

That was when the pipsqueak pulled out a giant gardening tool — in red too, might he add. Now, it was certainly going to be interesting.

The girl pulled off a number of acrobatic stunts that could put even acrobats to shame. Not to mention her cute little voice just keeps on starting to sound in the night along with scary gunshots of .50 caliber rounds being fired. There was something poetic about that.

Pipsqueak — yes, he'll be calling her that — was using the recoil of her weapon as another means to move about. It was something that he's never seen before.

Thankfully, Pipsqueak didn't get hurt and the mobsters were in a heap of pain and bruises. Good thing that the girl didn't really try to kill them. That would be a rude wake-up call so early in her career.

"You were worth every cent, truly you were…" The voice of one Roman Torchwick rang in the air, cane twirling on one hand. "Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening and as much as I'd love to stick around, I'm afraid this…" He lifted his cane and pointed it to Pipsqueak. "… is where we part ways."

Good thing that the girl has good reflexes. Before the projectile could reach her, she pointed her weapon downwards and flew up with the recoil. The explosion happened between her and the ground and damn, was that one hell of a blast though.

Jaune continued to watch as the girl dropped back down. But his eyes weren't on her; it was on Torchwick as the thief started to climb up a building. Pipsqueak followed afterwards and so did Jaune.

He ran towards the building. Pumping aura to his legs, Jaune jumped and propelled him upwards to the rooftop. It was all a practiced motion for him as he had done this countless of times already.

Landing softly on the concrete rooftop of the building, Jaune quickly hid behind a wall and intent on watching the outcome. Well, he truly didn't expect Torchwick to suddenly have a bullhead hovering overhead…

"End of the line, Red!" Torchwick shouted and showed a red crystal to Pipsqueak, throwing it to her by her feet. But Pipsqueak didn't even do anything about it. Roman took aim at the red dust crystal.

Jaune was just about to pull out his weapons to save Pipsqueak but another blonde saved her. The bullet impacted the crystal and created an explosion that rattled the building. He was worried for the redhead for a moment until he saw her safe behind a purple glyph and a beautiful blonde woman.

Behind those thin ovular glasses were bright green eyes. Wearing a white long-sleeved pleated top and a black high waist pencil skirt with black boots and heels, she looked on at Torchwick with a calculating gaze before huffing and waved her riding crop.

Dozens of purple rays were seeking out the bullhead, determined to bring it down. Just when the bullhead was brought down to a lower altitude, Glynda summoned forth a thunderstorm with the usage of dust and brought down a hail of ice on the bullhead. But before the bullhead could be brought down, another person showed up in the bullhead — a person in red and heels.

Seriously, what is it with women and fighting with heels? It's almost like it's a requirement for them to use it in combat…

The hands of the woman in red glowed with a bright orange color before being formed as fire. She shot her hand forward and fire burst out from her palms.

Glynda formed an energy shield with her manipulation of Aura and protected her and Pipsqueak from becoming well-done. But the woman doesn't seem to be finished as she raised her hand and the ground beneath Glynda glowed.

With a flip, Glynda managed to avoid the explosion. Narrowing her eyes, she focused her semblance on the scattered debris and formed a spear. Thrusting it forward, the spear soared in the air to skewer the winged-beast.

A burst of fire shot out to the spear but the woman only managed to slow it down before flying fast again. The bullhead tilted slightly and the spear only grazed the bullhead. Glynda's trying to hold on to those rocks before they were all disintegrated by a massive burst of aura.

Pipsqueak was doing what she could be with her gun but it wasn't even doing anything. Just when the bullhead was finally leaving, the ground below them glowed again and Jaune only had an instant to react to it. With a burst of speed, he shot forward, grabbing the Pipsqueak by her hood and Glynda by her waist.

With his eyes trained on the bullhead and still deep in thought, he barely noticed someone calling for him, "—aune?" He turned his attention to the other blonde on the building still in his arms. Deep blue met forest green.

"Hey, Glynda. Nice to see you, too." He said, showing her his signature smile. The nervous one. Instead of replying, she purposely shifted her glance to his arm and stared back into his eyes meaningfully.

Chuckling nervously, he let her go. Glynda straightened out her outfit before discerning the damage done to public property. He sighed as he stood up but noticed the extra weight on his other arm. "Umm, can you put me down now?" A nervous Pipsqueak voiced her thoughts. From up close, she was a really cute girl with a petite and very light body. Even her voice was squeaky too! He could only just snort at his inner joke.

"Sure thing, Pipsqueak." Now, that seemed to get a reaction from her.

"Hey! I am not a pipsqueak! I am not that small and I'm still growing!" Aww, now ain't that cute. He was struggling not just cooing and glomping the girl right then and there.

"I think that is enough from the both of you. Now, do tell me what exactly happened here?" And then, the tension was quickly back.

—O—

"It's been a long time, Jaune. Please have a seat." Glynda watched with steady eyes as Jaune Arc — the man who went missing a few years ago — sat in front of Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon and her boss, with a serious expression.

"Yeah, it has been… what? Two years?" He asked nonchalantly, but his body posture said otherwise.

"Two and a half, actually." The white-haired man with glasses leaned forward and placed his elbows on his desk. "How have you been?" This was one of Ozpin's ways of alleviating a tense atmosphere whenever there ever was one in his office.

"I'm fine and you don't need to worry about anything. I've been fine for the last two and a half years and I'm fine now." There was a certain edge in his voice — one that she was familiar with. It translated to 'I don't want to talk about it'.

"But certainly, there has to be some worry if we have you coming back to the grid." Ozpin said leaning back to his chair. "Did you know that you're family has reported you missing for the last few years?" Glynda knew about that one. She was the one who filed the report for the Arcs after all.

"Why don't we just cut the bullshit, Oz, and get down to business? I didn't come here to play catch up with you." Specifically, Ozpin. Apparently, she was an exception to that since he has been trying to talk to her for the past hour in the police station with Ms. Rose. Of course, she didn't give him the benefit of that.

The room was silent for a moment before Ozpin took a sip from his cup. "Then, let us get down to it." Adopting a serious expression compare to his previous one, Glynda had to suppress a flinch when Ozpin's eyes sharpened. Though, Jaune seemed unfazed with the sudden change in tone. "What brings you back to Vale, Mr. Arc?"

"A promise and a letter." Jaune said. "That's all I've come for here. I was planning on going here tomorrow but something happened on the way but you and Glynda showed up. So, why would I wait another night to get this thing done?"

The look on Ozpin's face didn't last long when he kept staring at Jaune's face. She knew it too. It was hard to keep being angry with such a person. But Ozpin's was a different matter — it was one of confusion.

"A promise and a letter? Did it say who it's for?" There was a slight gleam on his Ozpin's face, telling her that it was nothing more than a good-mannered gesture. "After all, you are a person who easily forgets such an important task such as this, Jaune."

Glynda let loose a small smile when Jaune rolled his eyes and reached down into his pocket. "A letter that is addressed to you and only you." He pulled out a slightly crumpled letter with dried red marks on one corner of the letter. "I haven't read that if you're going to ask. He told me that it's an important one regarding the Maidens."

At the mention of the Maidens, Glynda was sure that things would get serious from there. "Who gave this to you?" Ozpin asked without looking at Jaune but still eyed the letter.

"A friend… Someone who was willing enough to share some info on their whereabouts and their identifications. He… worked for the other side before defecting…" Ozpin's and her eyes widened.

It was her time to interject. "You mean to tell us that the person who gave this letter has defected from Salem's faction!?" She might've voiced it a little louder but it was a very serious matter that even Ozpin would no doubt handle it personally. "Where is he now?"

Jaune held a smile — one filled with sadness and regret. She could only guess what happened. "He's no longer here with us…" It would only take an idiot to figure that one out. Nevertheless, Ozpin was unfazed by the news but continued.

"If he truly defected from Salem's faction, then we can say for certain that there might be some merit in believing that this letter has a little bit of truth in it." He said still eyeing the letter with a scrutinizing gaze. Opening it slowly, Ozpin reached down to touch the paper within and pulled it out.

After a tense minute of reading, Ozpin finally finished it with a breath that he seemed to be holding.

Glynda and Jaune spared the headmaster an expectant stare as Ozpin looked on at his former students. "Well, this certainly changes things."

"What does it say?" Jaune asked.

"Nothing that we already know but some of these things were certainly helpful details." Ozpin answered, putting down the letter on his desk. "The Spring Maiden is in Anima; while the Winter Maiden is in Solitas. The Summer Maiden is still in the process of being searched ever since Summer Rose was killed in action." There was a moment of silence in the room in respect for a deceased huntress — one of the best that they ever had. "Then, finally, the Fall Maiden — which currently resides here in Beacon."

"In which, the Fall Maiden coincides with the promise that I made with him." Jaune abruptly spoke, grabbing both of their attention. "The truth is the person who gave the letter and the promise I made was a relative to Amber."

Surprise and confusion was all that Glynda could read on Ozpin's face. "What do you mean, Jaune?" She asked for them both.

"The entire brotherhood was under the impression that Amber is the sole survivor of her family ever since the fire incident in Anima. That isn't exactly the case." He said, releasing a sigh and leaning back into his chair. "Amber is still young, like 19 to 21 young. Ever since my and Qrow's intervention on her attack, she's now on her way to recovery to full strength."

"Wait! You were there when Qrow saved Amber?" Glynda literally shouted out, but she didn't care. She was too shocked to care anyway.

"Yeah, I was. And if I hadn't been there, Amber would probably still be in a lot worse condition than she is in now." Running a hand through his golden locks, he started to rub his neck. "Anyway, after that, we parted ways even though Amber was still unconscious and James was on his way. It was there in Anima that I stumbled upon him — Amber's father." They were shocked once more. Amber's father was the person that gave them this letter.

Now, it was only like adding 2 and 2 to finally get the obvious answer. "Her father was helping them capture his own daughter?" The question made her stomach twist in disgust and terror. What kind of parent would do such a thing to their own daughter?

"No, he didn't even know who the Fall Maiden was until the one who tried to capture her returned empty handed. He didn't tell me who were in Salem's group but he did tell me that once he knew who the Fall Maiden really is, he defected. But not without incurring her wrath. Amber's father received a fatal wound but managed to escape into Anima." Jaune huffed as if impressed. "The bastard had to track me down all the way into Mistral while injured, can you believe that?"

"One can do impossible feats if one is desperate enough." Ozpin said, recalling a few memories from his quote.

Jaune nodded in understanding, "Well, anyway, he found me and it was only a matter of few hours before he finally dies of poison from his wounds." Jaune grimaced. "It was something else — that wound. It was almost acidic and poisonous at the same time. Even the doctors couldn't do anything. Their tools kept on melting — the poison finally reaching its most dangerous effectiveness. He said that the wound was manageable at first until the poison gradually became potent enough to kill him."

Another moment of silence was unknowingly made by the only three people in the room. "What promise did you make with him, Jaune? If you don't mind me asking that is…"

"It's fine, Oz. It was only a matter of time before it was going to be told." A single brow was raised in surprise. Jaune looked him in the eye and said, "He told me to protect his daughter from Salem. To protect the Maidens from her. And that if she were to acquire their powers and collect the relics, then humanity is as good as dead."

A pin needle could've been heard being dropped if it weren't for the gears on top of them clicking every once in a while. The father of one of the Maidens made Jaune Arc promise to protect his daughter and the other Maidens so as not to make Salem succeed in her conquest to destroy all of humanity.

A promise from an Arc was always kept. And if Jaune would be here to protect Amber — the one who is the most vulnerable of the Maidens — Glynda would get to see him on a daily basis.

She doesn't have a — gods forbid — crush on Jaune. It's just that her history with Jaune was a little complicated. She was older that him by at least 7 years — Jaune being 26 and her being 33. Glynda didn't have that many friends in her life and suitors? Lesser. But Jaune was one of the few that she can consider a true friend. There might be others; but Ozpin was her boss. Peter and Bart were her colleagues. Qrow was a fellow brotherhood member and a drunkard. And James, well, he was James.

Even if Jaune was previously her student for when she just started teaching when she was 24, their relationship was a rather odd one. It started off as a student-teacher one. After his graduation, they became good friends as they kept seeing each other often — Jaune being a recently added member of the brotherhood then.

And after all those years of being friends and constantly being together every once in a while, they became somewhat close friends. It's been a long time ever since they had a proper conversation.

"That brings me to another question… are you going to stay here in Beacon?" If Jaune was surprised by Ozpin's bluntness, he hid it well under a passive face. "While Amber is on her way to recovery, she still hasn't fully recovered enough to regain consciousness. If you want to protect her, the best way for that to happen is to stay here in Beacon…"

There was a reason why Ozpin was asking this of him. Again, there was some story there — one too personal for Jaune to say. But that didn't mean that Glynda and Ozpin didn't know what happened.

"I… I don't know if I can, Oz. Th-there's too many reminders here of my team…" Jaune went to Beacon when he turned 17. Of course, that didn't mean he endured 4 years of lectures and combat classes alone. No, he has a team — had a team.

It was supposed to be a simple escort mission in Atlas. They were supposed to escort a High Value Target — a faunus with a high position in the White Fang — to a maximum security prison. But they were ambushed along the way and that was when everything went wrong.

Dozens of other White Fang members with weapons of their own and another hunter-level member attacked their convoy and managed to kill the soldiers and a few huntsmen. His team suffered greatly with the loss of their two members — one of them being Jaune's lover. The leader — Jaune —ordered a full retreat of the forces guarding the convict but none of the soldiers followed.

So, they were forced into fighting a losing battle. When reinforcements arrived, it was to witness the genocide that occurred. Only a handful of soldiers and huntsmen were left alive with the HVT on the loose. Jaune and his other teammate had to live through hell with the memories of their dying teammates still fresh in their minds.

Jaune's teammate managed to move on from his tragic past while his team leader still couldn't grasp the fact that he had lost two teammates — two friends in the line of duty. Huntsmen were supposed to live with the idea that someday, they will die. But the grief was too much for Jaune to handle and that was why Jaune left and fell completely off the grid.

His parents and sisters were worried for their son and eldest sibling when the news of his sudden disappearance had reached them. His father understood greatly and just told his family not to worry about Jaune.

After 2 and a half years, he finally makes an appearance. A much different one that before. Even after his stay in Beacon, he was still using Crocea Mors — the Arc Family Heirloom. Before his disappearance, he gave back the heirloom to his father saying that it has served him well.

But now, he was using… something different. In the two pistol holsters attached to his thighs were two high-caliber desert eagles with opposing colors to each other — one was black; the other, white. And on his back was a single-edge four-foot bladed sword placed on a weapons rack. It looked heavy just from looking at it.

Finally after a tense minute, Jaune sighed. "If I agree to stay here in Beacon, what would I be doing?"

Ozpin let himself reveal a small smile, "Well, we can't have you just lying around all day in a room with nothing to do. So, I will have you work for me as a teacher."

The roller coaster of emotions doesn't seem to have any breaks at the moment for one Glynda Goodwitch.

—O—

A teacher? Was that all that Ozpin could think of? It may actually be a good idea at first. But Jaune wasn't about to teach something ridiculous subject to some snobby, arrogant brats.

"I know what you're thinking, Jaune. But trust me when I say, it's not all that bad. Take Glynda for example." Both men looked at her and then back to each other. Somehow, he managed to pull off the most deadpan stare that he could muster. "Well, I'm sure you can teach something valuable for the students."

"The answer is no, Ozpin. I will not teach here and that's final." He stood up from his chair and smoothed out his clothes before turning to pick up his sword. The elevator doors opened a moment after pushing the button and retrieving his weapon.

Before he could get out, Ozpin called out. "Your sister applied here yesterday." Jaune didn't say anything. Instead, he chose to look over his shoulder and eyed Ozpin.

"Which one?"

"Joan Arc — the fourth child of Isabella and Jeremiah Arc. You're third younger sister. She gave us her transcripts and took on a few bots." Ozpin said with a neutral gaze.

"I take it she passed?" Jaune asked.

"Yes, we did. She was trained by her father and uses the weapon, Crocea Mors." Jaune didn't say anything else. Attaching his sword to his back, he pressed another button and the doors closed. With a sigh, Jaune walked back to the Ozpin's desk.

"Fine, then. Where do I sign?"


A/N: There are probably a few Older and Professor Jaune stories out there and let me just say that this story was inspired by theirs. I was just so excited of the idea of an older Jaune in canon timeline with the many possibilities out there that I started to write one on my own. But I realized too late that the introduction of this chapter seems a little like the one that I used to read.

Anyway, I hope you guys liked and enjoyed it. BloodyCow, out!