The Package

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Official Supporters:

The Impossible Muffin, Xager the Chaos King.

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Imperious

If you want to be on the Supporter list, PM one of us for details or join our private server for details. Hope you enjoy reading my stories, please leave me a comment to let me know if you did, or where I can improve. Link here, where able to be seen : https://discord.gg/2UZncAm

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Beta(s) :

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Everyone-

I am being kicked out of my home by my room-mates and former co-workers, and leaving the Walkers as well. As such, the support offered may not actually get to me.

Supporters, please DM me for details on how to continue your pledge once I have left. I will do my best to DM you in return and keep you up to date.

May affect story length and update frequency.

I am sorry. This was completely unforeseen, and I apologize for the inconvenience.

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"So…" Jaune smiled as they made their way through Beacon's dimly lit halls, his pack on his shoulder and his partner at his side. When his partner didn't say anything he cleared his throat and said, "So, uh, I think things went pretty well."

"Oh you do?"

"Yes?"

"Hmmm… And why is that?" The Mistralian asked, cocking her head to the side and raising a brow curiously at him. Smiling coyly all the while she asked, quietly so that the few people in the halls so late on a Sunday night wouldn't hear, "And why, pray tell, would you think that, Jaune?"

"I mean…" He shrugged, "You, uh, you didn't kill each other?"

"That isn't a very high standard…"

"Yeah, well, I'm starting pretty low rung with how I hoped things would go." He chuckled, casting a wary glance around him for anyone paying any attention to them. Finding none he joked, quietly, "I was half expecting the VPD to show up for tacos, if I'm, you know, being… Completely honest."

"Oh, ye of so little faith. How could you mistrust me so~?" He bumped his arm into hers and she let a bubble of mirth slip through her teasily, carefully curated smile. Shaking her head and bumping her arm into his in return. Her smile more natural, she answered more seriously, "I would say that… That all went as well as could be hoped for, I suppose."

"Yeah." Again, they hadn't tried to kill each other, or anything… "So?"

"So…?" She gave him a sidelong look, and shook her head in confusion, "So what, Jaune?"

"So… What are you going to do now?" He asked quietly, frowning ever so slightly in worry. "Everything went well, but… You're still you, you know?"

"What's that mean?" The woman asked, coming to a stop and turning to him with both her brows in her hairline.

"It means that you're a good person, Pyr." He smiled, laying a hand on her arm and urging her to continue on, before anyone started staring. As they walked, he went on, "And I know you want to do what you think is right. So, after meeting my friends, getting to know them… What's right, Pyr?"

"I… Think it's right not to say anything." She sighed after a while, shaking her head when he once more beamed a smile at her. Smiling in spite of herself, she sighed, "For now, I'll leave them be. I swear it formally. At least, so long as their crimes remain petty, I will not act against them, even if I also will not act for them. Or in their defence. I hope you understand…"

"I do, yeah." He'd have loved to have her on his side to do Roman's favor, but if he couldn't get that… Well, this was better than nothing. Or, well, better than something that was bad. "I'm just happy everyone's-"

"Jaune-"

"HERE'S NORA!" He heard just as something very dense slashed into him, great,. Muscled arms closing around him in a crushing, vicelike hug. Wheezing, he was lifted into the air off his feet by the bubbly berserker and then shaken gently, "Ohh, it's great to see you, Fearless Leader~! I missed you so much~!"

"Nora…" He gasped, "Ribs… Breaking… Spine… Crumpling…"

"I can't hear you over the sound of this hug!" Nora laughed, squeezing him one last, Aura crackling, time before she let him go. He hit the ground and stumbled forward, a Mistralian hand snapping out to catch him before he could fall. When he turned around, Nora was beaming, hands on her hips and head back, "See? Just fine!"

"I think you bruised a rib…"

"Only one?" She blinked, then cocked her head to the side, "Could'a sworn I heard two of 'em pop… Weird."

"New cafeteria lady." Ren sighed as he joined them, laying a hand on the bright, energetic brawler's shoulder and then sighing again. "She didn't know about the unofficial rule regarding Nora and anything with sugar or caffeine in it."

"Oh no…"

"I had an espresso!" The girl smiled, "It was good! Renny says I can't have any more, though…"

"Nora, you spent four hours trying to taste blue."

"Blue is a good color!" She defended breezily, waving a hand in front of her like she could fan away the very idea that trying to taste blue was silly. Moving on she asked, "So, what did you two young'uns get up to over the weekend~?"

"Young'uns?" Jaune murmured, "We're basically the same age…"

"I looked it up!" She laughed, "I am two months older than you!"

"That's not a lot…"

"It is enough!" The over-sugared woman argued loudly, pointing one finger right in Jaune's face. Beaming, she went on, "A few inches can determine life and death! Will the grenade kill the Grimm or only aggravate it? Will your shot hit, or land short? Are you old enough to see the new Spruce Willis movie?!"

"Nora, what's the point?"

"The point is obvious, Fearless Leader!" Nora smiled widely, exuding a kind of confidence he honestly kind of envied. He'd come a long way since starting Beacon, under Pyrrha and Neo's influence, but Nora was… Well, Nora. "Don't you see it, Jauney? My Fearless Leader can't be missing it!"

"Yeah, well, sorry to disappoint." He shrugged, "I don't see the point…"

"Small differences make big changes!" Nora explained impatiently, "A few months is small, but it makes a big difference!"

"Nora, you don't even actually know your birthday." Ren chided her gently, ignoring her plaintive whine of 'Reeeeen' and stepping by her, grabbing an arm to drag them along. Quietly, he went on, "And besides, a few months isn't enough of a difference anyway, so you shouldn't rub it in."

"But-"

"Argue, and you won't get pancakes for breakfast tomorrow." Ren warned her thinly, turning a challenging look on the young woman until she balked, pouted and nodded. Smiling, he pulled her in for a one-armed hug and then nudged her on, ahead of them. "If you go on, then you can get the first shower."

"Oh!" She bounced ahead, calling back, "That's a good idea~!"

Cheering, she shot away, bounding around and past other students and even teachers who shouted after her for running in the hall. No one tried to actually stop her, though. There wasn't much point, after all, and he wouldn't be surprised if everyone on the staff had been warned about Nora being caffeinated and told to just ignore it for the most part. Unless, presumably, she did something actually bad.

Which, luckily, it seemed she hadn't.

He did not want to serve detentions with Goodwitch for 'leadership exercises' again.

"So," Ren started, falling in on his other side as they made their way to the dorm, "did you two have a good weekend?"

"I thought it went wonderfully." Pyrrha's smile was honest as she launched into a story about Roman's delicious tacos, and most of the story - the bits not specific to Roman, at least - of how he'd learned to be such a good cook. "I suppose it makes sense that wanderers, even of a, well, less honorable persuasion, would value highly the skills needed to prepare a good meal on the road."

"It's how I learned." Ren murmured with a shrug, sighing when Pyrrha gave him a curious look. She grimaced and he waved her off, smiling, "It's fine, Pyrrah, it's just… Not really something I like remembering."

"If you don't wish to talk about it…"

"Yeah." Jaune added quietly, more than a little sympathetic to the man's plight even if he was sure he was projecting a little bit. "You're allowed to, you know, keep some secrets. If you don't want other people to know, I mean. We won't push you."

"It's fine." Ren shrugged, explaining in brief, "We were orphaned when we were kids. A bandit group took us in, trained us a little bit, taught me how to cook when they realized I wasn't as brawny and headstrong as Nora was. Is. We left before they took either of us out on raids, though, so… No need to be worried about that."

"We wouldn't be in any event." Pyrrha assured him quietly, though Jaune had a feeling she was speaking as much to him as to Ren. "All of us have things in our past we wish left behind us. You have your time wandering, I have my looming prestige and Jaune… Well, Jaune."

"Gee, thanks, Pyr." He groused jokingly, shoving his elbow into her ribs and rolling his eyes as she deftly slipped away. Shaking his head he sighed as they stepped around a corner into the junction between the student dorms and the academy proper, where lessons were held. Slowing to a stop he sighed and grimaced, "Right, just about forgot…"

"Forgot what?"

"Remember that assignment we were supposed to turn in on Friday, for Oobleck?" Pyrrha nodded and he frowned and laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "I, uh, might have forgotten to actually do the turning in part of that."

"Jaune…"

"I know, I know." He sighed, waving his partner off while Ren watched, unamused in the extreme. "Just… Go on without me, okay? Doctor Oobleck always leaves his office open, so… I'll just pop by and drop it off, no trouble."

"Do you want me to come with?" Pyrrha asked, one brow raised in worry and with a sort of bemused and resigned kind of amusement that played across her lips, "I certainly won't mind if you do."

"Nah, nah, it's fine." He waved her off, smiling as he turned to leave. "Just gotta drop it off and head back here. It's not like I'm going to run into any Grimm on the way or anything. Go on ahead, get unpacked, I'll be there in like, fifteen minutes."

"If you're sure…"

"Yeah, I'm sure, it's no biggie." He nodded, smiling confidently and taking another step to leave. Tossing them a faux salute he smiled, "Shoot me a message and I'll hit up the cafeteria for some pizzas, too, if you all want."

His partner hummed at his words and he had the very distinct impression she suspected him of something. Which… Was kind of fair, since he was doing something other than turning in his homework, even if he was being honest about needing to at all. It was just a convenient excuse to do what he really needed to do right now. He was sure Pyrrha wouldn't appreciate it, though.

What he needed to do, and why, or the technicality that meant he wasn't actually lying.

After a moment, though, she simply smiled and nodded, "Pizza sounds grand. I'll speak to Nora and send a list along, if you aren't returned before we can reign her in."

"Yeah." He smiled, waving as she turned to leave with a curious looking Ren beside her. Under his breath he murmured, "Well, that was a bit of a thing…"

With the sun nearly gone from the sky, the hallways that spider-webbed between the lecture halls, practice arenas and study halls were mostly empty. A few students trailed by, coming from study sessions or detentions, and a couple of teachers wandered by as well. No one paid him any mind, though. He was just another student in the bunch, presumed to be doing whatever it was that he was supposed to be doing. And, of course, nothing but what he was supposed to be doing.

Just like Roman had taught him…

Slipping into Oobleck's classroom he found it empty, quiet, but well-lit. The doctor was well known to allow students free access to his classroom over weekends, for an additional study hall or to use the resources he kept there. And, of course, so students could turn in late projects if they needed to. Doctor Oobleck didn't encourage that, of course, but he'd always made it clear that if a student fell behind and worked to catch up, he would allow it.

And Jaune honestly felt kind of bad for using it to smuggle in a message from Roman. Even if he was sure it was for a very, very good reason.

Setting his bag on the floor he knelt and fished out his assignment and, shooting a wary look to the door, the package. The first he simply laid on the desk with a note explaining that he'd just forgotten to turn it in. It would dock him a few points, but he was sure he'd survive, and his honesty there would distract from the second thing he was doing. Taking the package, he set it on his assignment, right over the note he'd written.

Normally, he'd be worried about that getting him caught, but… "No one would think I'm dumb enough to out myself like that. Which makes it perfect."

Leaving it there he tugged his pack back on and turned to leave, slipping out the door with as calm an expression as he could manage. Resisting the urge to look around like he'd done anything wrong - Which he hadn't! - he turned to head back the way he'd come.

"Mister Arc." Ozpin smiled, standing by the door and leaning on his cane between them. Smiling pleasantly, he asked, "Turning in something?"

"Y-Yeah." He blinked and cleared his throat, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck. "I forgot to turn in an assignment on Friday, before I went into town. But, uh, Doctor Oobleck doesn't mind late turn-ins, so… Just popped in. Left him a note explaining that it was late, and that I forgot."

"Oh?" The Headmaster smiled the same way Pyrrha sometimes did. Diplomatic, manicured and, ultimately, fake. Still, Jaune didn't say anything as he went on, "Very good of you, owning up to your mistake even though you know it will hurt you. The signs of a good, upstanding young man."

"Thanks, Sir." He smiled and then, to cover his tracks, added, "I left it with a package that was on his desk holding it down."

"Oh?" Ozpin blinked, one brow raising, "He has a package?"

"Yeah." Jaune nodded, heart hammering in his chest even as he kept his face flat and neutral. As naturally as could be, he said, "I saw it sitting there and figured it could hold it down. A paper-weight, so it doesn't blow away. I, uh, didn't want it to get late and not count towards my grade."

"Yes, I imagine having something like that held against you would be very troublesome indeed." Ozpin nodded, stepping by him and reaching for the door. Pushing it open he smiled, "I'll get both to him personally for you."

"Really?"

"Of course." Ozpin nodded, "I'm on my way to a meeting with him, after all. And your package sounds important."

"Y-Yeah." He nodded, knowing Ozpin had to mean that his package was the homework. Pointing out again that the box wasn't from him would only make it look like he was worried about it. Thankfully, his Scroll chose that moment to chime and he tugged it out, flicking it open and sighing dramatically, "Nora wants pizza… I hope the cafeteria has enough, I don't feel like dealing with her if they don't."

"Let them know I said to make a few if they're low." ozpin said seriously, turning a grave look on him and adding, "Mister Blue can make them himself if needs be. He's the one that saw fit to caffeinate her after all, so he can be the one that has to deal with the fallout of his mistakes."

"Makes sense." It was his fault, after all, even if it sounded like it had been an honest, simple mistake. Regardless, he turned to leave and waved a goodbye, "Goodnight, Headmaster. Take care!"

"You too, Mister Arc." Ozpin smiled, "Enjoy your evening."

Jaune had to fight the urge to speed up as he walked away, the feeling of a pair of eyes on his back the whole way. Ozpin couldn't know about his involvement with the package, though. Or where it had come from, for that matter. Or else surely he'd have said something about it.

Right?

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Guardian Artemis :

As AMAZING as that would be, I feel like Neo's style in this, where she's publicly Wanted, would be a bit too obvious for ol' Ozpin to miss.

Mister Cuddlesworth :

Glad you like it!

Elderfire :

Neo.exe is probably going to crash a lot when and if she does.

Dr Killinger :

At least in this version of canon, Pyrrha was less 'in love' and more 'had a crush' on Jaune. So, her reaction is a bit more muted. Further, Jaune was honest and up front about it with her, and she is the type to respect honesty and forthrightness.

Red Demon Eye :

Lol, glad you enjoyed the chapter.

Azrael Saint :

Nor did I! It was more fun than I imagined.

Nine Yetis :

Thank for cookie!