Author's Note: So this is my first RWBY fic. Hopefully it goes well. I'm going to attempt to try and realistically develop relationships as well as really drive home character and plot development. So things like two people falling in love instantly in chapter 1 won't be happening. I am going to devote a fair amount of time in the first few chapters getting inside the character's heads, establishing relationships with one another that doesn't revolve around Jaune/Weiss, etc. That way there'll be a whole cast of characters to use instead of just our two main protagonists! So there will be a good amount of buildup before getting to the main plot. We'll see how it goes. Let me know.

Dear Winter,

I hope this letter finds you well, my dear sister. I am writing to inform you that I have arrived at Beacon Academy and completed my first day. It was not for the lack of trying on the part of others, however.

When I first set foot upon the campus I quite literally ran into the most infuriating girl who I later found out was named Ruby Rose. The fact that I was carrying a briefcase full of our company's dust and the dangers that such a volatile collision would produce did not seem to faze her. Her ignorance would soon cost me dearly when she sneezed, causing a minor explosion which ruined the clothing I was wearing. I was not even a full day into the first semester and the personification of disaster had already struck me.

Unfortunately I encountered the girl once again later in the day, where she was this time accompanied by her older sister. While the elder girl carried herself with a small amount of dignity and common sense, this minor detail was completely undermined by her sloppy, hodgepodge manner of dress. I suspect that failure and incompetence run in their family. If I never had to see either of the two again during my time at Beacon it would truly be a dream come true.

As for the matter of Beacon Academy itself, I must admit that I was quite surprised with what I saw. I knew from the research I had done on the school after my acceptance that it would be a conglomeration of students from all of the kingdoms in Remnant, however seeing the mixture of different races and cultures in person is something which has taken me aback. This is especially true for the Faunus, of which there are an abundance scurrying about the campus. The fact that the headmaster Professor Ozpin willingly lets these creatures attend his school does make a small part of me question my attendance here, which I am sure father would be most pleased with. Just between you and me, the presence of the Faunus here makes me believe that this would be the final straw for father, and that he would send for me to return home at once rather than continuing my education here.

Speaking of father, have you spoken to him in person since my departure? I admittedly did not interact with him at all since leaving, which I consider to be a boon rather than a misfortune. Luckily he had already left for work the morning of my flight which made it easy to not have to tell him goodbye. I do not think I would be able to stand another of his outbursts trying to convince me to stay in Atlas to pursue my studies rather than at Beacon. He had been persistent in this endeavor as of late. Not only have his anger issues been directed my attendance here, but at matters with the company in general. Circumstances at home have been different ever since you left home for your service in Atlas' military. You know how father can get when things go badly. Recently the White Fang has been making business very difficult for not just the Schnee Corporation, but by extension for father personally. The fact that you have not been home in the past few years has made all of the difference. I could not have escaped from our estate sooner.

At the moment it is actually rather late at night here at Beacon. I will be retiring to bed after completing this letter to you. I sincerely hope I will be able to fall asleep in a timely manner, however, as there is quite a bit of distracting chatter amongst the students in the large hall in which they have gathered all of the new attendees. I hope to be able to write to you again soon.

Yours truly,

Weiss

Weiss Schnee examined her work, blowing on the piece of paper where little bits of ink were still wet. It was truly marvelous as always. There were only a handful of things in the world which the girl felt encompassed her entire being. Wielding her rapier Myrtenaster was the first. It was simple yet complex. Vicious yet graceful. It required practice, patience and precision. Attacking with the blade was an art, there could never be any wasted movement or effort. Every strike was to connect with its intended target. To do otherwise was to leave yourself exposed to a counter-attack. And being exposed to harm was something that Weiss never allowed to happen. Not from anyone.

She continued to let her gaze wander across the words that had been written. The words there, the product of her carefully honed handwriting skill, were the second thing which she felt was an integral part of her. Small. Elegant. Perfect. The words on the paper looked as though they had been printed off of a computer rather than produced by the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company herself. Any variations in the size and shape of the letters were invisible to the naked eye. And if she were to make a wager, she would say that they would remain so under the careful scrutiny of a microscope as well. Not that she considered herself to be a gambling woman. There was too much to be left to chance when fate was taken out of her own hands. And control over herself; her words, her actions, her life itself, was never to be taken away from her.

Carefully folding the sheet of paper into three sections, she delicately placed it into an envelope which had already been prepared with the appropriates addresses written on its front. With a few tiny licks of her tongue she sealed the adhesive strip to the main body of the small parcel she intended to have mailed in the morning. Weiss loved to write letters. There was so much more of a personal touch in doing something with one's own hands, with something hand crafted or written, as opposed to a message sent via scroll or CCT. Even a video message using the latter in her mind lacked the proper touch. For one was painstakingly done with her own effort while the other was merely light and data being captured and transmitted from machine to machine. It simply would not do. Not when Winter was involved.

She missed Winter. It had not even been a full day at Beacon Academy and she already missed her older sister. Not that her elder sibling had been around all too often in recent months as it was. Being a specialist in the military of the Kingdom of Atlas meant that her work took her all around the world. And yet someone in the Schnee Dust Company's employ always managed to get her letters out to Winter in a timely manner. The rare instances which Winter had been home recently had all been on official business. General Ironwood and the rest of his senior staff in the Atlesian military worked closely in conjunction with Weiss and Winter's father. It was a fact that the Schnee patriarch loved to gloat about in his own subtle, passive-aggressive way. He would brag to all of those who would listen, and even those who he knew would not. Those he surrounded himself with, his yes-men and cronies, would bob their heads vigorously, jowls jiggling, as they nodded in approval hoping to gain his favor in either promotions, raises, or simply his patronage. Little did they realize that they were not the ones doing the manipulating.

A frown crossed the lips of the girl. In an instant she stopped it in its tracks and let a bright, wide smile plaster his alabaster-toned face. She was fortunate it was so dark in the room which she and so many others occupied.

Looking around her in the great hall of Beacon Academy, she saw that most people were already asleep, or at least attempting to do so. A ragtag collection of sleeping bags and blankets littered the floor's surface which contained all manner of aspiring students from all over the world. With the school making its home in Vale, most of the young men and women hailed from there. But much like herself she knew that there were others from the other three kingdoms. As well as Menagerie. The frown threatened to creep back onto her face before she held it back. She would not think about that place or its... things for now. Putting her focus back on places like her own home of Atlas, as well as Vacuo and Mistral, she wondered what sort of culture shocks they may experience in the coming days. How many would make it far enough for it to even matter? How would she fare herself?

There it was again. The doubt that insisted on rearing its ugly head at the worst possible times. The heiress needed a distraction. Pulling the band that held her long, white hair in a ponytail, she let it cascade down her shoulders before she began running her hands through it in search of tangles or clumps. Satisfied that there was nothing that would cause any surprise or pain, she took out a brush and began the task of straightening her beautiful tresses, as she did every night before bed. She had only gotten to work for approximately a minute before a commotion across the room forced her attention towards it.

Girls. Loud girls. Girls who did not understand the rules of a civilized society. Girls who had not been taught proper manners and etiquette as she herself had. Already twice today had Weiss encountered their lot. And both times one of the same girls had been involved. Dare she make it three for three?

Standing up and flattening any creases or wrinkles there may have been in her pale blue nightgown, Weiss moved toward the cause of the unwanted sound in the dim lighting. Around her boys and girls alike looked up to watch the girl who was unknowingly on the warpath.

As she approached there was no mistaking it. Red. Yellow. The two colors were beginning to make her subconsciously nauseous. Not even a day had gone by and these two girls had already ruined two of the three primary colors for her. If there was a third sister of theirs dressed in blue she did not know if she would be able to control herself. Weiss refused to hate the color of her own eyes.

"What is going on over here!" she said with no trace of her usual tact or manners. She held her arms out in front of her as they moved right and left, motioning to all of those around them. "Can you not see that people are trying to sleep? Initiation is tomorrow and some of us would like to be prepared!"

The girl in red, Ruby, was it? She seemed to shy away from the sudden confrontation. "I'm really sorry," she said softly, her tone what Weiss could only imagine the inner monologue of a chastised puppy would sound like when it was caught in the midst of destroying a pillow. "You're right, we should be quiet. People are trying to sleep."

Before she could reply, Weiss saw the larger of the two sisters, the yellow one... Yang? The one with blonde hair? Not that it mattered what her name was, but she stepped forward regardless. "What's your problem with my sister anyway? All she's ever tried to do was be nice to you and this is how you treat her?"

"Your sister is a hazard to my health," Weiss countered. "Or have you already forgotten that she admitted to setting off a dust explosion earlier in the afternoon?"

Ruby waved her arms frantically. "It was an accident!"

"She said she was sorry like a million times!" Yang added.

"Actually I think it was only a few..."

Weiss reached out, shoving her palm near both of their faces to try and get them to stop talking. "I don't care! Just try to show some maturity and respect for your peers and we'll get along great. Okay?"

A look of hope gleamed in Ruby's silver eyes. "Does this mean we really can start fresh?"

Blinking a few times in utter silence, Weiss looked the red-clad girl squarely in her hopeful, naive eyes. "No."

Out of the corner of her eye, Weiss saw a girl sitting with a book pressed up against her raised knees. Clad in black with hair to match, the newcomer tried to make her presence known "Um, girls?" she asked quietly.

"You haven't even given her a chance," the blonde girl said, poking her finger out accusingly straight into Weiss' outstretched hand. "My sister is awesome. Maybe you'd find that out if you would stop being such a pain."

Weiss' eyes narrowed as she scoffed in disbelief. "Me? Me being a pain? Hello! Explosion? Actual pain for multiple parties here?"

"Girls..." the unknown girl said, trying once more to get their attention.

Yang like everyone else ignored her. That, or she simply could not hear the calm and collected voice of the girl sitting beneath them. "How many times are you going to bring that up before you let it go?"

"As many times as I need to get it through your heads that I just want you people out of sight and out of mind."

"People are staring..." Ruby said softly.

"Well maybe you should just go back over to wherever you're sleeping and you'll get your wish!" Yang said harshly.

"I'd love to if you and your sister would just be quiet!" Weiss replied with just as much fervor.

There wasn't another retort as the dark-haired girl blew out the candles that were there in order to supply light for her late night reading. Extinguishing one of the few remaining sources of light in the room, Weiss did not feel inclined to continue the conversation, arguing in the darkness like a fool. And by the sound of it neither did the two sisters.

Instead, she walked away in a huff, using her memories of where she had walked when the lighting was too poor to guide her back to her own sleeping area.

Finding it after a small journey through the veritable military camp of future warriors, Weiss guided herself down onto her knees and an arm before settling on her side. She pulled her blanked up to cover her body and rested her head down on the soft pillow awaiting it. Lying there for long, tense moments took several deep breaths before deciding that she was calm enough. Closing her eyes, all she could hear now were a handful of hushed whispers of people who thought they were being quiet and discreet enough to keep their midnight conversations private. She wondered how many people here were talking to friends or family they knew from before they arrived at Beacon. She wondered how many people here had made new friends on the first day, and that was who they were talking with now.

It did not matter. She tried to drown them out as her mind sang a song that only she could hear. At least this time.

What was he doing here?

Looking up to the statue in the center of Beacon Academy's courtyard, the boy could only sigh. It was a massive and dominating piece in front of the main building of the school, the area around it left open and unoccupied by any other architecture. It was likely by design to show the significance of those portrayed in the work of art. After all, one did not get a statue of themselves if they were not important.

Two figures stood atop a rock outcropping. They both wore hoods, and he could see that they were armed. The male wielded a sword, his weapon arm stretched up in triumph over the Beowolf depicted below. The other, a female, carried an axe. Their choice of weapons as well as style of armor showed that these people had lived long before the boy standing before them was even an idea in someone's mind. These heroes of old were ancient indeed. And he carried the male figure's blood in his veins.

Who was he again?

Jaune Arc could not remember. It was hard to keep track of so many details of so many deeds of so many heroes. His father. Grandfather. Great grandfather. The list went on and on. He had a legacy of greatness in both blood and name. It was the reason he was standing where he was right now. If nothing else he would continue the tradition. He had to. It was the only driving force in his life. To become the next in a long line of legendary warriors.

He sighed, running a hand through unkempt, shaggy blonde hair. He had not had much time to prepare for initiation this morning. Oversleeping was the worst. The only things he had been able to do before rushing out of the main hall of the school was slip on some new clothes and grab a quick meal. It was the natural and correct choice, in his mind. A budding warrior needed his protein. And as his mother had said, breakfast was the most important meal of the deal. Jaune hoped the deodorant he slapped on haphazardly would suffice to mask any stench that may have been emanating from him. He hoped that in the end that it would not matter, and that the sweat and grime he accumulated during initiation would make his lack of shower a moot point.

Where was he going again?

Lockers. That was right. He had to go to the locker room to recover his sword and shield before initiation began. Despite placing his items in said locker the day before, he had already forgotten its location. And if there had been an announcement in the morning to remind such forgetful people of its location, he had unfortunately missed that. Either while he still slept, or he had simply not been paying attention in a rush to shovel his breakfast down his throat. In any case he still did not know. Taking his attention off of the statue and looking around the courtyard in hope that a solution would magically manifest, he saw a face that he recognized. Maybe she would know.

Clad in a jacket and skirt so pale a shade of blue that it looked white in places, the girl certainly carried herself with a sense of dignity and purpose. Taking a few steps toward the white-haired young woman, he hoped that she would be... kinder than she had sounded yesterday. While he had only briefly overheard the conversation between her and his newest friend Ruby, she had not sounded like she was in the best of moods. Which was understandable. It was the first day in a brand new place surrounded by unfamiliar people. Tensions were bound to run high. Tempers would naturally flare. They were teenagers after all. Hormone-driven teenagers in a school where he noticed that everyone seemed to be unusually good looking. He wondered why exactly that was. Had he just hit the jackpot when it came to the female student population?

As he grew closer Jaune could not help but feel a growing discomfort in his stomach. Don't throw up. Don't throw up. Do not. Throw up. He tried to will his body to obey the silent commands in his mind. Yesterday had just been a minor accident. Sure, he had vomited all over that pretty blonde's shoes. But as he had told Ruby, motion sickness was a very real issue that was not to be underestimated. It was misunderstood as well! It was not nerves. Simply the motion of the aircraft in midflight. Humans were not designed to fly. Most people took for granted that they could just hop onboard an airship or bullhead with no negative side effects. They just did not understand his pain.

He was closing in now. Doubt was beginning to settle in over him. Like every other girl here the pale-skinned student was beautiful. And not just in a "wow that chick is hot" kind of way. But more as in a "are you a fairy tale princess?" manner. He wondered if his younger sisters could be fooled into believing the girl really was royalty. He smiled at the thought of his family. But now was not the time to be nostalgic. He had a mission. To find the lockers. And if he happened to talk to a cute girl in the process then all the better. And, if by some chance, the cute girl happened to be charmed by his words and they became friends... well that was all just icing on the cake. Jaune Arc was an eternal optimist when it came to matters of the heart.

After all, the girl in question had already noticed him. She had referred to him as blonde. And tall. Both of which were true. Also something about scraggly. He ran his hand through his hair again. His appearance this morning would certainly not help her opinion of him in that regard.

"She's not exactly wrong..." he said softly to himself.

Confidence. Confidence was all he needed. It was one of the things that his father had taught him which had actually stuck. It was all he needed for this situation. Do not be afraid of rejection and failure. Be persistent. Women liked to feel that they were desired. That they were someone's first and only choice.

Wait. When had this become about sweet talking the girl? Wasn't he supposed to be asking for directions? Well, he could always kill two Nevermores with one stone...

He stepped close to her, speaking as he did so. "Hi there. Would you happen to know where the locker rooms are? Maybe we could look for them together, snow angel?"

The girl turned, her eyes boring holes into him as she stared him down. He noticed a pale scar running down the left side of her face, from her forehead to slightly below her eye. Even with the imperfection she was still the epitome of beauty and grace.

The hard edge in her voice matched the expression on her face. "Excuse me? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

Even though her neck was craned up to look into his own eyes, the girl before him still managed to be intimidating. At six feet and one inch Jaune stood over most other guys his age. Or even older. It was one of the few things in his life that no one could take away from him. Barring a creature of Grimm tearing off his legs, that was. The girl in white-blue by comparison he estimated was nearly a foot shorter than he was. And she was wearing heels! The difference could be even greater for all he knew. Despite her cold demeanor Jaune suddenly felt a lot better about his chances. Women liked tall men, after all. Tall men with confidence. And persistence! He was covering all of his bases. Surely there was no way she could stay angry at him. He could imagine how the conversation might play out in his mind.

Oh wow, you're really tall! I like that in a man.

Why yes. Yes I am, snow angel. May I escort you to the locker room, m'lady?

Yes, please. I would be delighted.

Never mind the fact that he did not even know where the lockers were. It was his fantasy. And no one could ever take that away from him. Just like his legs. Except for the Grimm part. But not even the Grimm could take away his thoughts!

Jaune smirked, continuing to play the suave man that he envisioned himself to be. "Of course I do," he said with confidence. These initial words seemed to put a look of smug satisfaction on the girl's face. "The most beautiful girl in all of Remnant," he replied to her question. Inside he beamed with pride.

Nailed it!

The expression on her face changed in an instant from pleased to absolutely glowering. "My name is Weiss Schnee." Her icy blue eyes matched her tone when she spoke her name.

"And mine is Jaune Arc," he replied coolly as he prepared his usual spiel. "Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it. Do you?"

"Schnee," she repeated, ignoring his own introduction as insignificant. "As in the Schnee Dust Company." Jaune looked at her with a blank expression on his face. "As in the largest producer and distributor of dust in the four kingdoms of Remnant."

"Oh," he said, still not quite knowing what to make of it all. "Okay."

Weiss sighed, closing her eyes and grinding her teeth for a split second before looking back up at him. "You have a weapon right?"

"Yes."

"And your weapon uses dust. Who do you think supplies that dust?"

"It doesn't use dust," he corrected her.

Her eyes narrowed at him in response even before she could verbally reply. "What?"

The girl's response had been one of genuine confusion. Was she just not familiar with weapons that did not use dust? Was his sword really that uncommon compared to the weapons of his peers? This conversation was beginning to cause a slight sensation of déjà vu. The one with Ruby the other day had ended well enough, with the small red-clad girl saying that his sword was cool, and that people these days simply did not appreciate the classics. Jaune doubted that Weiss would be quite as accepting of his old weapon.

"I have... I have a sword. And a shield. They don't use dust. Why would they?"

Placing her hands on her hips, Weiss looked him up and down. "And where is this primitive, degenerate weapon of yours?"

He ignored the shot she had taken at his family heirloom. "Well you see, that's why I'm looking for the locker room. To get it. For initiation."

"How do you not remember where our lockers are? We stored our gear inside them yesterday. Are you just some special kind of dolt?"

Again, she was not wrong. "Well, you see..." was all he could manage before she took control of the conversation again.

Weiss pulled her scroll from her pocket before her eyes widened. "Oh my goodness, the time!" she exclaimed. "I've wasted enough of my morning talking to you already. If I'm late for initiation I will never forgive you... you... whatever your name is!"

"It's Jaune. Jaune Ar-"

"I don't care what your name is!" she interrupted. "I have to go, please don't waste my time with any more of your buffoonery."

Buffoonery? Was that even a word?

Jaune watched as Weiss stormed away from him, the high heels of her white boots making a loud clacking noise on the concrete as she walked. Her pale skirt swayed as she moved which only further drew his attention to the lower portion of her body. How did she fight like that? Or even move for that matter? She fit the vision of a dancer or other kind of performer more than an aspiring huntress.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Jaune made the decision to follow her. She clearly knew where she was going. And considering she was his only lead he decided to take the gamble that she would lead him to the locker rooms where his sword Crocea Morswas currently housed.

Keeping a little distance between them as he followed, Jaune could not help but feel disappointed at how that had turned out. What made her so different from Ruby? When he had met the younger girl the day before she had been kind, friendly, and admittedly a little bit dorky. In many ways very much like himself. Perhaps that was why she had been so easy to get along with. It had been his first experience in meeting a stranger here at Beacon, so naturally he assumed every other meeting afterward would be more of the same. Of course these heroes in the making would be friendly. That was why they wanted to be heroes after all. To save the day. To help the helpless. To defend the people of Remnant and ask for nothing in return. At least until he had been properly introduced to Weiss Schnee.

Schnee. The name did ring a familiar bell, though he admittedly was not interested much in the world of politics, finance and industry. If the girl had told him that her father created the X-Ray & Vav comic books that he was infatuated with then that would have been an entirely different story. A teenage boy had to have priorities after all. Present him with something he was familiar with and he could shock you with his knowledge and dedication. But dust... dust was something he was very unfamiliar with. As he had told the girl, Crocea Mors did not use dust. Nor did the shield-sheath which completed it. It was a practical weapon with very few moving parts. That made it reliable. Sturdy. And always ready for action. At least those were things he told himself to make him feel better when he encountered people who had fancier and more sophisticated weapons than him. People like Ruby.

So lost in his thoughts had Jaune been that he barely had time to stop before he came crashing face to face with the girl he was following.

Weiss stood facing him with her hands on her hips and an all too familiar scowl on her lips. "Are you stalking me now? I thought I told you not to waste my time."

The accusation caught him off balance. "W-what? Stalking? No, no. I was just, I was just following you because I thought you knew where you were going."

"So you were following me," she said knowingly. "I knew it. Tell a guy you're rich and he'll never stop trying to get on your good side. Well I'm sorry, but I'm all too familiar with your breed of scoundrel who merely seeks to take advantage of my family name."

Jaune's eyes narrowed in confusion from the continued bombardment of allegations. "Rich? Take advantage of your name? What are you talking about?"

Weiss inhaled sharply, her fingers unconsciously balling up to form tight fists. "Schnee. Dust. Company. What part of that did you not understand the first time? I am the heiress to the company. My name commands respect across all of the kingdoms of Remnant. And anytime a lowly... rogue like you hears it you begin to salivate thinking of all of the potential riches that could be yours if you were to court me."

But why would he even need to... it did not matter, he decided. Clearly the pale-skinned girl had already come to a conclusion and nothing he could say would change that. He was beginning to become frustrated however at the charges that she was laying on him. To accuse him of wanting to take advantage of her, or any other girl for that matter, was just plain wrong. Whatever her reasons for doing so were no longer important. He just wanted to be done with this conversation. Clearly trying to befriend Weiss Schnee had been a mistake.

"Look, I'm seriously just trying to find my way around," he said truthfully. "And then after that I want to go to initiation. So if you wanna help me out that'd be great. But if not then you don't have to worry about me. I'm not stalking you. I'm not interested in your name. I just want to find my locker." He hoped she would believe his confession this time.

But her response left him unsure of what she believed at this point. "Whatever," she huffed as she turned away and walked off once more.

Déjà vu all over again. For the second time in the span of a few minutes Jaune was left standing alone watching an angry heiress stomp off after giving him a piece of her mind. However this time he had at least been left in a slightly better position. Standing outside of a building off to the side of the main complex where he had spent the night, Jaune saw a multitude of students flowing in and out. The ones coming out were carrying a variety of weaponry and armor. It was as good of a bet as any that this was the place he was looking for. He would have thanked Weiss for her help if he was not sure that she would snap at him again for speaking to her.

Digging a small piece of paper out of his pocket, Jaune unfolded it to find three numbers written down. 636. That was his locker number. That was his goal. Go there, retrieve his sword, shield and armor, and then head out to begin his initiation challenge. Whatever that was. But surely for first year students on their first true day at Beacon, it would not be too difficult. Right?

When he stepped inside he noted how plain and dull the rooms looked when compared to the ornate and complex architecture of the outside. Plain light grey walls and floors made of stone were the primary features of the room, with the occasional window or blue tapestry hung on a wall to break the monotony. Metal lockers lined every wall with around three feet of space between each. And in front of them long wooden benches stood to aid those changing in and out of their battle gear.

To his surprise there were both males and females changing in the room. He could not help but wonder who thought that had been a good idea. Teenagers would be hard-pressed to control wandering eyes when it came to the massive number of attractive members of their opposite sex changing in front of them.

Shaking the thought from his head, Jaune continued searching for his target. "Okay. Locker 636. Why would I put my stuff in such a high number? Why not something simple like four? Four is so nice and easy! A nice little one syllable word. But no, I had to put it in the triple digits!"

Looking around he saw the numbers. Locker 242. Locker 262. Wait, where had the twenty numbers in between them gone? Were they naturally out of order? Was there any kind of order to them period? Did they just get up and move around at night when no one was watching? This whole setup was just madness!

Looking up from his piece of paper he heard a familiar female voice. Weiss was currently chatting with another girl, a redhead who was a great deal taller than the heiress. Nearly as tall as himself, if he had to guess. Clad in bronze armor and carrying a short sword and round shield, she looked to be the epitome of a warrior. He would not have been surprised to find out that she was already seasoned in battle and well beyond her appearance when it came to training. Her neat ponytail only further exemplified her aura of athletic prowess in a way that Weiss' own could not match.

"Not going to deal with that again," Jaune decided as he turned on his heel in a complete 180 and spun to walk in the opposite direction. But not before catching the lingering eyes of the unfamiliar redhead. He gave her a friendly smile, being slightly embarrassed of being caught looking at her. Or had she been caught looking at him? He did not know, only seeing that she returned his smile with a warm one of her own.

After a few more twists and turns he was delighted to find more familiar sights. Ruby, clad once more in her black skirt and red hooded cloak was standing next to an open locker, hugging her scythe-sniper rifle Crescent Rose close to her chest. The taller blonde girl she had been with the other day was also there. It was then that a sudden realization hit him.

Oh no. That's the girl he had puked on. He panicked, not knowing if he should approach them. But his decision was quickly made for him.

"Jaune!"

He looked up to see Ruby waving. Having been caught there was nothing he could do but go over there and see if the blonde young woman remembered him as well.

He smiled as he neared the two girls. "Hey, Ruby," he said warmly, just happy to find someone who would not yell at him and accuse him of being a creepy stalker. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing. Just finally happy to be able to show Professor Ozpin what we're both made of," she said as she caressed her weapon lovingly.

"I get the feeling that you're not talking about you and your friend when you say 'we're'," he said nodding to Crescent Rose.

"Heh, nope," she said as she began swaying her torso left and right, as if she were attempting to rock a baby to sleep. It made strange sense with her weapon being her baby and all. "Oh and this is my older sister Yang," she said looking toward the blonde girl.

Yang looked to be a good half foot taller than her younger sibling, and far more developed in physical appearance too. And unlike her sister the blonde liked to show her good looks off, dressed in short, skin tight black shorts with a yellow shirt and brown jacket that left her midriff and a good amount of cleavage exposed.

"Hey, you're the guy who threw up on me," she said with a knowing grin as she held out her hand. He took up the offer to shake her hand, and instantly regretted the decision as she squeezed down on his flesh with the force of a vice grip. Was this some sort of vengeance? "Nice to meet you. Like Ruby here said, my name's Yang."

He winced through the pain as he opened his mouth to reply. "I'm Jaune," he said with a pained smile. "Jaune Arc." He did not think he could say his usual line through gritted teeth. So he did not even bother attempting.

"Yeah, but I'm just going to call you vomit boy. I think that's easier to remember."

Jaune flexed his fingers trying to restart the blood circulation once his arm was back down at his side. "I'm really sorry about that. It's a whole thing with motion sickness. I can't control the whole puking thing."

"Aw it's okay," she cooed. "Life's too short to stress about things like a little vomit. Especially when we'll be getting Grimm blood and guts all over us! So what's a little human stuff on my shoe compared to that?"

"I guess when you put it like that..."

"Exactly! And I heard from Ruby about how you helped her out yesterday," she said before grabbing her younger sister in an affectionate headlock to pull her closer, eliciting a soft squeak from her dark-haired sibling. "She doesn't really know anyone here, being two years younger than us and all. So even though she'll never admit it she was super grateful that you stopped to make sure she was okay."

"Yang!" she whined, a small hint of redness coming to her cheeks in embarrassment.

"Oh hush, you," Yang said lovingly as she released Ruby from her grip. "See, I told you that if you got away from me you'd make a friend. And you did. A very tall, blonde, pukey friend. But a friend nonetheless!"

Ruby huffed out a breath indignantly. "Well for your information I already had a tall blonde friend in the form of an older sister," she said knowingly. "But I suppose this one is an upgrade considering you slapped another adjective onto his description."

Jaune nervously scratched the back of his neck. "Is pukey really an upgrade?"

"It is after a night of shots at the club," Yang said shamelessly. Her lilac colored eyes glinted with mischief as she spoke. "When you're not feeling too good just take a trip to the toilet and throw that shit up!" She almost sounded excited, if he was reading between the lines correctly. "You'll feel so much better afterward, and then you can get back to drinking. That's a pro life tip, vomit boy. Free of charge. This time."

"I... thanks?" was all he could manage.

"See, look. Now that we've bonded over our mutual tales of vomiting we can put all of that awkwardness behind us and be buds!"

She was taking it surprisingly well. Most girls would have been instantly repulsed by what had happened the prior day aboard the airship that had been taking the trio to Beacon. But Yang had apparently not cared much at all. Sure, she had made clear her intention to tease him about it, as Ruby had already done the day before. But all in all he considered this to be a good thing. Friendly teasing was something that could only be done amongst... friends. It was in the description after all. So this was now two friends he had made in two days. And both of them were cute girls! If this pace kept up pretty soon he would have more friends than he would know what to do with.

But then again he had also made one enemy in the form of Weiss. A fork in the road now lay in front of with two paths to choose from. Down one he could turn his back on the girl, making a decision to try and not interact with her anymore for both their sakes. Then maybe someday, maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow, the girl could forgive him for his... non-existent crimes against her. However, the other path was one of active forgiveness. Do everything in his power to show the girl he was sorry and try to befriend her. And potentially more! She was cute after all. Just like Ruby and Yang were. So many cute girls...

In what was quickly becoming a habit Jaune shook his head clear of the thoughts. Clearly this place and its aura of active, stressful teenage hormones was getting to him.

"You okay there, vomit boy?" the blonde girl spoke up, noticing what must have looked like pain on his face as he shook his head.

He let a goofy grin take over his features as he looked back at her. "Yeah. Just thinking about stuff. Speaking of stuff, do you have any idea where locker 636 is?"

"Uh... maybe that way?" she said pointing over her shoulder. "I dunno. I just kinda memorized where my locker was more than the numbers. They aren't in order anyway so there was no point in remembering it."

"Yeah. I noticed," he deadpanned.

"Don't worry, you'll find it eventually," Ruby said warmly. "But we should be heading out to the cliffs. Initiation is starting soon and there's no way I'm going to be late for it."

"Any idea what we'll be doing?"

Ruby shook her head. "Nope. But I bet it's going to be super awesome!"

"And super crazy," Yang added. "I bet it's something involving killing Grimm. After all, what good are you to the school if you can't take down a few measly Grimm during initiation?"

Jaune swallowed hard and nodded. Yes. What good would he be indeed?

"So yeah, maybe we'll see you out there," Ruby said excitedly. "And maybe we'll end up on the same team! It'll be you and me and Yang and it'll be great!" Her youthful optimism brought smiles to the faces of both blondes.

"We'll see," her sister said with a soft smirk. "Anyway, catch ya later Ja- vomit boy!"

The two girls walked off towards the exit and presumably to the cliffs. At least now he knew where the initiation would be taking place. Score another victory for Jaune. Two friends and knowing where to go! Such simple things in life could bring him happiness.

It took several more minutes, and either by sheer persistence or dumb luck Jaune did eventually find the locker containing his gear. Strapping the white armor plates over his blue jeans and black hoodie, he did not look the part of a huntsman. Or anyone intimidating for that matter. But he did not care. All that mattered was what was on the inside. The question was, what did he have on the inside?

Strapping his folded shield-turned-sheath to his belt, Jaune slid Crocea Mors in its resting place and took a deep breath. This was it. The first step on his road to greatness. Either that, or an early grave.

He stepped outside and headed to the cliffs where his destiny awaited.

Author's Note: So the letter Weiss wrote at the beginning of the chapter serves two purposes. First it will be a common, connecting theme between the chapters. Sort of gives it a regular flow and some insight into her mind. And secondly, more importantly, it serves as exposition. I'm sure none of you want to read the events and dialogue which took place in the show. If you did want to see that stuff, you'd just go and watch the show. So I won't be repeating the things that happened in Volume 1 scene by scene. That'd be boring. Rather I'll just mention them in passing while characters speak or think about them, giving their own insight to what had happened.

Of course if I decide to change things up from the way it happened in canon, I'll go ahead and write it with those changes. But I guess what I'm trying to say is that a lot of the stuff you're already familiar with will happen "in between" the scenes and chapters I write. If that makes sense.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Let me know. I read the reviews and I care about what readers think.