Chapter Text
As time passed, Jaune’s test scores began to slowly but steadily rise. It was gradual at first, but he was beginning to stop repeating mistakes. A fact that when he pointed it out to Ms. Goodwitch, she only smiled smugly at him and congratulated him on his progress.
Jaune began to realize that despite the somewhat cold persona Ms. Goodwitch could present to the class, she did care about all them and would tailor her teaching methods to them as required in order to ensure they could all learn under her tutelage. As the days passed, his body even began to adjust to the slightly longer hours with increased mental strain, and he found himself a little less exhausted each time he made it back to his room. He was starting to feel like he might actually be able to pull it off and earn his place in the school, one he had earned through deceit and fraud.
His test scores begin to rise to a steady 70%, but when he plateaued Jaune was forced to face the fact he was currently stuck dealing with two problems still. The first one was that while he was learning from his mistakes and (mostly) avoiding repeating the same mistakes, he was still struggling when it came to new material. He wasn’t doing much better at retaining it, and if he didn’t fix it, he would be perpetually stuck playing catch up. He had a feeling that despite the goodwill he was earning from his teachers, if his progress plateaued their patience would run out and he would be facing expulsion before too long regardless.
The problem was even more obvious, but arguably even more frustrating for him. His combat prowess was still lacking, and regardless of who Glynda would match him up with in sparring, he would inevitably always end up losing despite having a larger reservoir of aura compared to pretty much all of the other students in his class. Not to mention some of the other students seemed to resent the fact that he was clearly getting a little extra attention from the teacher, and seemed all too eager to take out their frustration on him during sparring. If only they knew the actual reason that Ms. Goodwtich had taken an interest in him. They wouldn’t be quite as jealous.
He decided of the two problems, the first one would be the easier one for him to tackle first. Originally he had approached his team to help him study, but the results hadn’t been the best. He loved Ren like a brother, but he was a bit too monotone of a study partner for him and he found himself nodding off more than once. Nora was a bit too energetic to be a good teacher. He already often studied together with Pyrrha, but they would often end up just chatting or having fun, and she was too willing to let his bad habits win out and end study sessions early or let him get distracted.
He needed some kind of change if he was going to be able to pull his grades up, and even if he didn’t know the answer yet, he had to keep trying. That was why he found himself in the beacon library one day after he finished being teacher’s aide for the day. Walking in with a yawn and a dishearteningly heavy bag of books, he glanced around. The place was rather empty, and considering the hour he wasn’t too surprised. Most students either work right after classes, or late at night to rush to get the homework done before the deadline the next day. Not in the prime of their evening and their rare time off.
Most of the people he didn’t recognize, but a long white ponytail caught his attention. Weiss Schnee was in one corner of the library with a couple of books neatly spread out around her. She was taking notes from a book rather diligently, and it was clear her perfect scores were not from some innate gift, but rather hours of consistent and grueling work. He also couldn’t help but feel that the sight was a bit lonely.
Taking a gamble, he moved towards her before he could talk himself out of it. She didn’t even look up when he approached and he stood next to her for a moment before he cleared his throat. “Excuse me, Weiss?”
Weiss just jumped slightly, turning to look at him with surprise before he coughed gently and composed herself into her perfect mask again. “Hello, Jaune. Did you need something?”
“I saw you were studying here and it was impressive and I can see why you get great scores and everything, not that I doubted it in the first place but it was cool to see either way.” He was starting to ramble again, great.
Weiss just looked at him with a raised eyebrow and Jaune clamped his mouth shut. Taking a deep breath, he tried again.
“I was wondering if I could study next to you? I promise not to disturb you.”
Weiss stared at him for a moment, before she slowly nodded. “That’s fine. I’m glad to see you are taking your studies seriously, unlike some certain huntresses I know.” She let out a huff, clearly thinking about the sisters deep in a video game tournament in their room at the moment.
Jaune let out a weak laugh. “Thank you. It’s not exactly like I have a ton of choices in the matter at the moment.” He explained as he sat down and started to pull out his own books to study. Weiss had given him a curious look, clearly sensing there was more to his words but chose not to pry. Out of either respect or a lack of interest, he wasn’t sure but found himself grateful regardless. He had already made a fool of himself in front of her once, he didn’t want to do it again.
For the next hour they continued to study quietly side by side. Weiss was making progress, filling up page after page of notes while he found himself struggling to understand the impact of nevermore on the local ecosystem, and how the culling of the grimm was necessary, but also required careful consideration to ensure the local wildlife could stay in balance.
Letting out a groan he thumped his head on his book and wanted to quit again. It just wasn’t making any sense. It was at this point that if he was studying with Pyrrha she would take pity on him and they would leave to either get some physical training in or they would grab some sweets to appease her sweet tooth that she failed miserably at hiding. She was as much of a sugar fiend as Ruby was but was more in denial about it.
Weiss cleared her throat again and he lifted his head, once again meeting an unimpressed and slightly annoyed expression at his dramatics. “Sorry.” He mumbled and started to try and tackle the problems again. Ecology of Grimm was going to be the death of him.
“How do you study so well?” He blurted out before his brain could properly debate the practicality of interrupting Weiss’s study to ask her a question. They had been getting along better recently, but that was mostly due to the fact he had stopped asking her out and realized when he stopped trying to impress her, she actually showed more interest in being his friend.
“Practice.” Weiss said simply, but did put down her pencil and shift her attention towards him, a willingness to continue the conversation. “You seem to be… struggling a bit. Did you not develop good habits at your previous school?”
Jaune flinched at her words but tried to school his expression. “Not exactly. Studying never came naturally to me. I’ve… managed to get by, but that needs to change now.” He confessed with a sigh, running a hand through his hair.
Weiss slowly nodded. “It’s never too late to improve yourself.” She said with a hint of approval. “Some of my teammates could learn from your dedication.”
Internally Jaune doubted they could learn much from someone who cheated his way into the school.
“They aren’t here with you?”
Weiss let out an annoyed sigh, angrily sipping tea from a thermos. For once, her frustration wasn’t actually directed towards him. “No. Ruby refuses to study once her homework is done, I’ve given up hope on Yang, and Blake does not like her reading time being interrupted, so she only joins me during test times. At least she doesn’t usually require the crash courses the sisters do.” He said with a huff. After another deep breath, she seemed to regain her composure as she turned the question back on him.
“Where’s your team?”
Jaune smiled nervously. “Similar story. Nora doesn’t like sitting still for long study sessions, and learns best from Ren anyway. Ren is a little too… calming to study near.” Sleep-inducing felt rude to say out loud. “Pyrrha is a great study partner but she’s a little too kind.”
Weiss nodded. “I can see that. She is a little too soft on others.” She thought for a moment. “Follow me.” She said, suddenly packing up her things and standing up. Jaune was confused, but quickly listened and shoved the rest of his things into his bag as he quickly followed her towards one end of the library. It wasn’t until she opened up one of the doors leading to the study rooms off the main room that he understood her goal.
She stopped him at the door with a hand on his chest. “I’m warning you now, I will not be as kind as Pyrrha. If I’m going to help you study, I’m going to do it properly and if you start to slack off I’m leaving.” She warned in a strict tone, though not exactly as cold as it used to be.
“Yes, of course!” He said after a moment.
She stared him in the eyes for a moment, appraising him before she nodded and moved into the room and set her stuff up.
Jaune quickly followed her in and started to set up his own books again, trying not to dwell on how ominous the sound of the door clicking shut sounded to him. To his surprise, beyond just pulling out her notes, she moved over to the whiteboard on the wall and grabbed one of the markers, starting to write a couple of notes on it. She was in full-on teacher mode.
He quickly tried to mark down what she was writing, but he couldn’t help but ask. “Why did you agree in the first place? Not that I’m not super grateful.” He clarified, and went back to copying what she wrote down before she got mad at him.
“It’s simple. Teaching others is one of the best ways to both ensure you understand the material and cement it into memory.” That was fair, he had heard that before and helping younger sisters with their basic schoolwork had definitely left him more sure of the fundamentals. “Also because it’s clear you’re trying to bring up your grades. Excellence is a skill developed through practice, no one is born with it.” The way she said the phrase made it sound like something she had heard many times in her life before. “Also… excellence loses its shine when it’s obtained alone.” Her voice was softer with the last part, and Jaune couldn’t even begin to guess at what pain caused those clear wounds in her voice.
She cleared her throat and snapped out of whatever train of thought she had been on. “But that’s enough about me. I’m going to quiz you to see what subjects we need to go over.”
The quiz did not go well, and as he watched her expression grow from concern, to frustration, to disbelief it wasn’t exactly pleasent. He honestly expected her to throw in the towel at that point, but it only seemed to make her more determined as she started from the basics again, and Jaune would learn the true meaning of mental anguish.
By the time he had slunk back into his dorm that night, Pyrrha's smile fell when she saw his state. “Jaune? Are you okay?”
“Did you know Nevermores tend to follow around packs of Ursa? Relying on them to draw out prey in more advantageous situations before they strike.”
Pyrrha’s brow furrowed. “Yes, I believe that’s going to be on our next test.”
Jaune just nodded. “Studying isn’t fun.” Was all he said before he slunk into the bathroom to take a shower. Once he had finally emerged, Pyrrha greeted him with a snack bar and a movie being projected from their scroll to watch together and Jaune once again realized how much he loved his team.
~~~
Slowly but surely, Jaune’s grades began to rise between his reviews after grading a test, and his study sessions with Weiss. When the others found out about them, Ruby apologized for her teammates behavior and he wondered just how bad Weiss had scared her teammates in the past with her study sessions.
After a couple weeks, he realized he wanted to make it up to her somehow, and tried to think back to his sisters. Getting an idea, he had woken up early one day and decided to sneak off into the kitchen. By the time his team and their sister team had woken up, he had managed to finish his task. He met them on the way to their first classes, and handed Weiss a small little tub. At first she had looked a little apprehensive when she accepted it, suspecting some sort of date request or ulterior motive no doubt. Once again Jaune felt a flush of shame at how bad he had acted in the past. Even if he had just been in his own head about his own faults, he had clearly ignored how uncomfortable he had made her.
Her expression changed though when she opened it up and the smell hit her. Her eyes widened slightly and Ruby manifested over her shoulder, almost tackling her.
“Cookies?!” The reaper practically shouted, starting to reach for one before the lid snapped shut. Yang then dragged her sister away by her hood.
“What is this for?” Weiss asked, still a bit wary.
“Just thanks. I know you’ve put a lot of effort in helping me study lately. Growing up with 7 sisters has taught me most people appreciate sweets.” He said with a shrug. They were also the reason he had become so adept at baking, a lot of bribes and apology pastries had been made over the years. Plus it was easy enough to bake in bulk, meaning their large family would still have enough to share. “If you don’t like them though…” He trailed off, realizing he hadn’t exactly seen Weiss eat too many sweets before.
Weiss shook her head, a tiny smile on her face. “I appreciate them. Thank you, Jaune.” She said with a small smile as she held the box gently.
Jaune wouldn’t know this, but Weiss appreciated the gesture. Most of the gifts she had received had been in either an attempt to woo her, or to curry favor with her family. Usually some expensive token or status symbol, as if that would impress her. A simple handmade gift like this meant a lot to her, especially since he didn’t ruin it with some sort of proposal afterwards.
Ruby was giving Jaune a look of utter betrayal. “You can bake? And you give them to Weiss first?” She wailed, looking like he had just broken Crescent Rose.
Weiss couldn’t help the smug smile that crept on her face as she turned her nose up slightly. “Perhaps if you were more diligent you could have ended up with some treats as well.” She said, enjoying the despairing look Ruby was giving her.
“Can I have one?”
“We’re going to be late, we should go.” Weiss said, storing the box in her bag and heading off, ignoring her partner and leading them towards her class.
Pyrrha was staring a bit longingly at the bag while Nora was similarly berating him for hiding his gifts from her. Blake had sidled up to Weiss while Yang had hung back to comfort her sister.
“You have a mean streak, you know?” Blake commented, despite the slight smirk on her face.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Weiss commented with a flip of her hair, failing to school the smile on her face. The cold, isolated days spent alone studying in atlas or wooing off suitors felt like a distant nightmare as she walked to her classes with her friends.
~~
While his grades continued to stabilize, much to Glynda’s approval, and their study sessions had occasionally had guests when their desire for treats would outweigh their fear of Weiss in teacher mode, his performance in combat courses were not improving at all.
It was easier to learn knowledge he was missing than it was to train his body to make up for years of experience he was lacking. No matter how many training sessions he tried to fit in, he was barely moving the needle. After Dove had beaten him again , Jaune had stormed out of the arena. It was his own fault again, and he knew if he didn’t find a way to fix things, Glynda was going to have to talk to him again.
His friends tried to cheer him up again, but the jeering taunts from CRDL pierced into his heart and left him feeling low. He wasn’t even surprised at this point, just tired of losing over and over again. But no amount of frustration would just suddenly make him stronger.
Once they were dismissed from the class, Jaune had rushed out of it, frustrated and needing space. Thankfully he didn’t have to help any teachers that day, because he didn’t want to be in this attitude around them. He had found a way onto the rooftop above the study rooms, and for a while he just sat up there, people-watching the courtyard. All the students there had worked their ass off to get in, and here he was, with a spot he didn’t earn by cheating his way into the school.
He couldn’t help the darker thoughts from creeping in. He was being stupid. He should just drop out here, Ozpin could find a replacement for his spot on the team. What if his inexperience ended up with one of them getting hurt? He cared too much about all of his friends to let his stupid pride get them hurt. But he also couldn’t bear to see the look of betrayal they’d have if they found out about his lie. That he didn’t deserve to be there with them. That he struggled in classes because he was a fraud.
They looked out for him so much, and here he was, still disappointing them.
“Jaune?” Pyrrha’s voice called out, making him look over his shoulder.
“Pyrrha?”
“I finally found you.” She said with a huff. “This campus really is too big.” She muttered, clearly attempting to break the tension. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. Just… frustrated.” He said with a sigh after a moment.
“I understand.” Pyrrha said, sitting next to him.
“Do you?” Jaune snapped, despite himself.
“What?” Pyrrha leaned away from him slightly.
“Do you know what it’s like to lose every match for months ? To hear people let out a sigh of relief when they are matched up with you because it’s an easy victory for them? To know your best isn’t good enough?” He let out all of his frustrations out, before his eyes widened as he saw Pyrrha’s hurt expression.
“I- I don’t.”
Jaune dropped his head into his hands. “I’m sorry Pyrrha. I- you didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry, I’m frustrated but you have only been looking out for me. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
Pyrrha was quiet for a moment. “You’re right. I’ve been lucky to be blessed with talent and opportunity my whole life. I’m probably the last person you want to hear from right now.” She moved to get up but Jaune reached over and grabbed her hand.
“That’s not true Pyrrha. You’re never the last person I want to hear from. I’m just jealous I guess. I’ve seen how hard you work, and I just wish it would pay off for me like it does for you.”
Pyrrha settled down next to him again. She was quiet for a moment. “I’m jealous of you too.”
“What?” Jaune asked, looking surprised. “Of what?” He asked incredulously.
“I may have been blessed with talent and opportunities but it’s been… lonely. Hearing your stories of your hometown, your adventures with your sisters. Even how easily you connect with team RWBY and the others. You have a way of connecting with people that I can’t hope to match.” She said honestly. “I’m always just the champion to everyone. The Invincible Girl.” She said, bitterly.
Jaune looked at her, really noticing the lonely air around her she always had. He had been so wrapped up in his problems, he hadn’t realized he had been spending less time with his partner and teammates as well lately. He remembered Glynda’s suggestion about how he was lucky to have good friends, and as usual she was right.
“Though, you are bad at taking hints sometimes. Weiss seems happier lately.” Pyrrha said with a jab making Jaune wince.
“Ugh, you’re not wrong.” He said with a groan. “I was acting like the very guys my sisters hated.” He shook his head, shame creeping up on his cheeks. “I’m lucky she’s forgiven me.”
Pyrrha just hummed slightly. “It was pretty hard to watch.” She let out another laugh at the groan that escaped him. While she felt a bit bad, he really had been obnoxious to the heiress for too long, and deserved the occasional jab. She was at least pretty sure he took the lesson to heart by now.
Jaune just let out another sigh. “I guess we all have problems.”
“Yeah.” Pyrrha agreed gently.
“They would be lucky to know you though. I hope others will get to see the wonderful friend that Ren and Nora and I have met.” Jaune added after a moment. “You could retire right now, and I’d still be the luckiest guy to be your friend even if you never picked up a sword again.”
Pyrrha looked at him, mouth open slightly before she flushed and looked away. “Bad at taking hints…” She mumbled again, fiddling with her ponytail.
“Let me help you.” Pyrrha said once she controlled the color of her cheeks again.
“What?” Jaune asked, confused.
“I’m lucky to have some talent in combat, and if you are concerned about your performance, perhaps I might be the right person to help.”
Jaune felt a flare up of shame and wanted to reject her. That he had to do it himself, not rely on her, but Glynda’s warning flashed in his mind. That he wasn’t alone, and couldn’t afford to be stubborn.
“I… I don’t want to take your time.” He muttered.
“Teaching is the best way to polish your own skills.”
Jaune couldn’t help but laugh.
“Did I say something funny?”
Jaune shook his head. “Weiss pretty much said the same thing before her hell lessons. I hope yours won't be as bad.”
Pyrrha stayed silent.
“Pyrrha?”
“I won’t exactly promise that…”
Jaune just let out a groan, which only made Pyrrha laugh more.
“Is that a yes?”
Jaune slowly nodded. “I’m not exactly in a position to say no. I’m lucky for the offer in the first place.”
Pyrrha grinned and stood up, offering him a hand.
He took it and stood up as well.
“What kind of training did you have before? I’ll have to come up with a plan, and working off your fundamentals is probably the best bet.”
Jaune froze, looking away.
“Jaune?”
“I… just whatever you think would be best would work.”
“Jaune, I promise it’s no trouble, I just want to help. What worked best for you before?”
Jaune stayed quiet, his hands clenching at his side as shame filled him again.
“Jaune?”
“Nothing!” He snapped again, seeing her surprised expression. “I have no fundamentals. I didn’t go to combat school, I’ve been learning everything as I go. You’re the only reason I survived initiation in the first place!”
Pyrrha’s brow furrowed. “Then did you test in?”
“I lied.” Jaune said, feeling like a weight was being lifted off his chest with the confession, and bracing himself for the hatred he knew he would see in her eyes. “I got my hands on fake transcripts, and I lied my way in.”
Pyrrha was speechless as she processed what he was saying. Then the dots seemed to connect in her head. “Glynda…”
“Yeah. She found out. That’s why she called me into her office that day. She was going to turn me in, kick me out. But she decided to give me another chance, one I don’t deserve. I don’t deserve to be here with you, with everyone. “
Pyrrha was quiet for a moment. “Why didn’t you attend any combat school?”
Jaune ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. “I was sick. As a kid I could barely run around outside for an hour without ending up sick. By the time I got older and a bit healthier, my parents were too scared of a relapse and I was already in normal schooling.”
“Then how…?”
“I got in touch with… some people. They got me a fake transcript. My parents think I’m attending the support school here, to help out huntsmen without being one. They have no reason to think I could get into Beacon after all.”
Pyrrha frowned. Jaune waited for the shaming, maybe the yelling.
“I just have one question.” She finally said after what felt like an eternity.
“What is it?” Jaune asked, preparing for the worst.
“How’s your health?”
Jaune was pulled up short by the question. He was trying to look for some other meaning, but he just saw concern lacing Pyrrha’s gaze as she seemed to look at him in a new light.
“I’m uh… fine. I’ve been healthy for a couple years now. I think Aura might have helped too now that my body can handle it. As long as I eat and rest properly, I should be fine.”
Pyrrha still seemed concerned but slowly nodded. “Make sure you tell me if something changes.”
“I will.” Jaune promised.
Pyrrha was quiet for a bit longer, lost in thought.
“I’m sorry for lying.” Jaune said once the guilt was too much for him to stay quiet for any longer.
“Don’t do it again.” Pyrrha warned.
“That’s it?” Jaune asked, fully expecting her to abandon him.
She shrugged. “You lied about getting in, but all those hours you’ve spent working, the blood sweat and tears haven’t been lies. You’re still my friend right?”
“Of course.”
Pyrrha smirked. “Then beyond that, all that is left to do is move forward.” She hummed. “We’ll have to start training more regularly.” She mused.
Jaune just stared at her dumbfounded. “You’re still going to help me?”
“Of course, you’re our leader.”
“Are you going to tell the others?”
Pyrrha frowned as she thought for a moment. “I won’t, but I think you should at some point. I don’t think they’ll care that much though.”
Jaune doubted that, but maybe she was right. He doubted Nora and Ren would care much, but he was less sure about team RWBY’s reaction.
“Thank you, Pyrrha. I didn’t want to lie to you, I had hoped to just earn my place.”
“It sounds like Glynda was going to give you the same chance too. We’ll just have to make sure you pass her tests.” Then her smile grew a bit wider and Jaune had an ominous feeling. “That means we’re going to need to train you hard.”
Jaune laughed nervously. “I’ll do my best.”
Pyrrha hummed happily. “But first that means we need more data.”
“Data?”
Pyrrha’s smile was too innocent for the horror she was about to speak. “That means I need to watch you fight more carefully. We’ll get the others to spar against you. It’s time for group training.”