Готовый перевод Комната Историй / The Room of the Stories: Глава 1

Act 1. Chapter 1

Some would say that trusting your seventh sense is wrong and can only make things worse. Jaune partially agreed with that statement. Many of his friends and family, though, would say the opposite, that Jaune is simply hypersensitive when it comes to premonition.

And no matter how much Jaune tried to deny it, the reality of the situation was really like that. Jeane was accustomed to sensing dangers and embarrassing moments from an early age; living in a family with eight women would turn any guy into a psychic. But for the sake of this non-existent seventh sense, Jeane had to go through a lot of horrible and embarrassing things.

And princess cosplay, just a fraction of what he had to go through. In fact, when he was a kid, he even liked it. His sisters and parents paid attention to him, though in those moments, he couldn't understand why they were smiling too wide and why they were getting nosebleeds. It wasn't until junior high that he finally realized that boys didn't wear dresses.

Jaune still remembered asking a high school student, who was only a little older than the blond boy himself. Why did only girls in the class wear dresses or skirts? And though the question had seemed strange, the boy had answered it.

The answer was too shocking for the then Jaune Ark.

That day, a little boy who genuinely loves dressing up in dresses learned about a community called crossdressing. People who like to dress in women's clothes and wear them in public or at home. And that dressing in women's clothes, which includes princess dresses, is not normal in society.

Jaune spent the whole day in shock and it was only when he went home that he woke up to the shocking news. And when he got home, he met his entire family and swore out loud that he would never wear women's clothes again for the sake of his sisters and mother, even if they begged him on their knees.

His manhood was mutilated... But, Jaune had acquired an amazing skill - and, no. It's not hypersensitivity. It's a rather down-to-earth thing. - an indifference to dresses. Those people who were at the Ball can attest to that.

And after Ball, thanks to the Cardinal, Jaune was honored with a “cool” nickname.

//Princcess.

Cardin didn't know, but that was what his sisters called him when they squabbled.

But we're getting off topic.

The seventh sense.

A non-existent sense that had saved Jaune many times in various situations, whether it was an embarrassing thing or a dangerous one. Though, ever since the young lad had discovered Aura, his hypersensitivity had diminished his desire to help his bearer.

The incident at the initiation, for instance. Or the moment when Jaune had opened the bathroom door while Ren was washing up. Luckily, the blond had been lucky, the towel hiding his dignity. But still, Nora, who'd heard about that incident, had asked him if he wanted to steal Ren, who was with her, but not together-together.

In short, he hadn't had this feeling very often since he'd arrived at Beacon Academy. But now... now, it was screaming that he should burn all the books, throw the ashes into the water, then pour them into the toilet bowl, and destroy the bowl and throw it into the Eternal Autumn Forest. In short, Jaune literally felt that the books would not only destroy his pride and courage, but would also make him cry bloody tears.

How was that possible? Jaune honestly didn't know. And when he talked to his team about his experiences and feelings, he really wasn't lying. He really wished he wasn't in the room. He didn't want to be at the Academy at all, to be fair. He could have gone home for a day or two, couldn't he? Wouldn't he?

But, no. He couldn't leave, even if he wanted to. And all because someone had locked him and thirteen other people in the same room, for... and what exactly were they locked up for? Jaune didn't know, and neither did the other thirteen people. Though, from the gleaming look in the Headmaster's eyes, he could guess what exactly they were locked up for. And it had nothing to do with the book in the Headmaster's hands. Yes. Exactly. No way!

"Dear students,” Ozpin finally interjected, causing everyone to stop talking and then to pay attention to him. He, still looking into Jon's eyes, smiled and held up the book for everyone to see. Like everyone else, the blond instinctively shifted his gaze as his seventh sense screamed to burn this very book. Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat. "It seems we have found a clue to further liberation."

"A hint?" the leader of the CNEM team spoke up. "Is the book not empty?"

"No, Ms. Fall, not at all,” Ozpin opened the book in the middle and everyone saw the lines of text. The headmaster closed the book before everyone could see the contents of the text. His smile seemed to only get wider as he looked around at all the students and their lack of understanding. "And this is not just a clue, this is our key to liberation."

Jaune could only remain silent as the headmaster slowly moved to the table, and then, without paying attention to anyone else, opened the book at the very beginning and, to the surprise of many, began to read aloud.

<…>Chapter One, - The director's voice was a little mocking, but still, curious notes could be heard in it - <…>To whomever it might concern…
When we think back on that day there is a certain disconnection, a peculiar pit that opens deep in our stomachs. The memories remain muted, the sensations dulled or lost altogether. All that remains are the ties that were made, the vaguest feelings of what was sacrificed – but also what was gained.

No one knew what was going on, but everyone began to listen to the very book the headmaster was reading.

<…>I was there, as was everyone else within Beacon, and yet each of us observed only the smallest part of the full story. A facsimile, if you will.

The moment the key word was uttered - Beacon students - everyone in the room felt a tremor throughout their bodies. Everyone had a multitude of thoughts, but all were united by one feeling. Interest.

Jaune, standing still, also felt interested. But, unlike the others, he was like a street cat waiting for a catch.

//“Beacon students...?” - A new shiver ran through the boy's body as he watched his headmaster unflinchingly. “I don't like it already.”

<…> They ought to. He was there, after all. Of all the people who fought in that dark time, - Ozpin was silent for a moment, looking at the text. But after a moment he continued in the same tone again. - His is perhaps the one which deserves to be told the most.

The smirk that appeared didn't bode well.

<…> The tale of Jaune Arc. A simple man who would achieve great things. Not through aspiration, nor greed. But through the harsh demands of necessity.

Ozpin put the book aside and then stared at the students. The smirk didn't leave his face until he began to speak.

"And so, students, would you like to read this book with me?" Ozpin looked at the dazed and shocked kids. Team RWBY and Team _NPR were staring at the book with their mouths hanging open while the gears were turning in their heads. Even Glinda, with her mouth slightly open, was silently looking at Ozpin. And only the CNEM team looked at Director Beacon with incomprehension.

Except that Ozpin himself was watching the only person in the room who was in question. Jaune Arc, the ordinary man who had been able to trick his way into Beacon without any training, was silent now, staring blankly at the book. And one thought slowly began to appear in his mind that could perfectly describe his situation.

[censored]

* * *

"We're locked up to read a book?" Mercury asked sarcastically, sitting back in his chair and watching the targets out of the corner of his eye. Just for a moment, the guy's gaze shifted to his partner, and words fell from his lips. "Excellent! We've been locked up by a crazed blond fan, what could be better? Neo?"

Neo could only shrug as her green eyes watched the blond man and his friends circle him from all sides. But after a moment, her gaze cleared and she turned to Mercury. The boy could only raise a second eyebrow as the petite girl quickly said something with signs.

"What? Stuck in a room with your worst enemy who could kill you? No? Stuck without ice cream? Closer? Hmm,” Mercury touched his chin, noticing his partner frowning her eyebrows as she watched the two of them. Suppressing a smirk, the guy continued. "Oh! Stuck in a room without Cinder in it? Well, that sounds like a good thing to me, not a bad thing."

Neo showed a few signs again.

"Ahhhh~,” Mercury smiled understandingly. "Yeah, you're right. Hey, Emy, what do you say?"

Emerald jerked as if electrocuted, then gave them a sizzling glare. Mercury and Neo looked at each other.

"Nah, Cinder's is better,” the boy said as Neo made a gesture of ‘so-so’. Emerald could put up with her stupid and awful partner for a long time, but putting up with two? Well, no, she wasn't going to settle for that. She guess if she had vented her anger on him like before with yelling... yeah, that would have been perfect. Except, yelling in a room with her intended targets and the professor and headmaster was nothing short of stupid.

Therefore, Emerald breathed in and out several times. Calm came to her again, only it quickly disappeared as soon as the girl saw Mercury and Neo repeating after her. The red eyes narrowed. It's enough. She's tired of it.

Standing up, Emerald moved proudly toward... two teams from Beacon: the JNPR and RWBY.

Mercury and Neo silently watched her action until she walked quite a distance away so that she could not hear them. The guy grinned and looked at his little partner, she also looked at him and stuck out her tongue slightly, changing her eyes to pink and white.

"You know, I didn’t understand anything from what you showed me,” Mercury couldn’t help but grin, remembering how Emerald looked at them. To such a statement, Neo only mirrored the guy’s grin while showing one good and fairly widespread sign. Mercury winced. Neo just wiggled her eyebrows, continuing to stick her finger in and out of the circle. "God, and I was talking about ice cream... I don’t even want to know who you were talking about!"

Mercury turned away and took out a scroll. At such an action, the little girl could only pout, returning her eyes to their original green color. Neo sighed, feeling boredom creeping in. They better start reading this book as soon as possible, otherwise Neo will soon attack the students with a spoon if everything remains the same.

And at this time, Emerald approached the two teams and heard the girl with orange hair scream again throughout the room.

"So you don't have a secret admirer?!"

"Oh, Nora,” said Jaune. "I don't have any secret admirer! I didn't even know there were books about me!"

"Jonny, Jonny,” Nora shook her head, then jabbed her finger at him. "You don't have to know! That's why the admirer is secret!"

Jaune sighed, noticing the dark-skinned girl out of the corner of his eye. Blinking, he smiled and stood up from his chair. Coughing, he held out his hand for a handshake.

"My name is Jaune Arc. Short, good-sounding, easy to pronounce, and girls like it,” Jaune winked, hoping inwardly that Nora would drop the secret admirer nonsense. Who would even want to date someone like him? Somewhere behind him, Pyrrha sneezed, but Jaune was focused on the new persona.

Emerald could only flap her eyes dazedly, digesting the blond man's words and the attention of the two teams. And after she realized what he'd said, she couldn't hold back a chuckle.

"Like it, you say?" Emerald asked with a smirk, shaking the blond man's hand.

Jaune blushed, but he didn't have time to answer when a red whirlwind burst into their midst.

"Hey, Emerald!" Ruby suddenly appeared beside her, smiling and exuding an aura of cheerfulness and positivity. "I said the same thing when Jaune said it to me! We are definitely best friends for thinking the same thing!"

Emerald didn't agree with that, but it was silly to say it out loud. So she just smiled and nodded to her “best friend”.

"Well, while it's nice to talk to you, there are some people who still don't know my name,” Emerald nodded toward the JNPR team. Her gaze traveled from the loud girl to the quiet guy with one pink strand. "My name is Emerald Sustrai, nice to meet you... argh!"

Emerald didn't have time to react to Nora's embrace, causing her to be pinned down by strong arms while the boisterous girl almost screamed words into her ears.

"О! It's also a pleasure to meet you! My name is Nora! And this is Renny, this is Johnny, this is Pyrrha! And we're all Team JNPR! You know the RWBY team, right? No? Yes? Why are you so pale? Do you need a hugs from Nora?"

"No!” Ruby shouted, rushing to her friend's aid. Meanwhile, Yang, Blake, and Weiss watched the buffoon silently. Yang wiped away a fake tear of joy.

"Eh, my little sister's growing up so fast,” Yang smiled at her pun. Weiss grinned, but her eyes were focused on the commotion Ruby and the new girl were in. "She had made her first friend..."

"Not the first, actually,” Weiss protested.

Yang raised an eyebrow, and afterward smirked a nasty and horrible grin.

"Оh? Is someone jealous?"

"No!” Weiss stared at the blonde in horror. "I meant Arc! Well, and me, I'm her partner, after all."

"Well, A Vomit-boy is a guy,” Yang shrugged, as if saying the most obvious thing in the world. Weiss couldn't understand her, except that her sense of self-respect prevented her from asking about it. Therefore, she could only nod in agreement. "And you... well, you're you."

Weiss coughed, and then stared at the blonde with shock and surprise.

"What does it mean?"

"Well, you're you,” Yang tried to reply, but it didn't work. Weiss only intensified the angry look with a dash of fury. Swallowing the lump in her throat, the blonde abruptly grabbed Blake's arm and spoke. "Blake, you say it!"

There was no answer.

Blinking, Yang and then Weiss, stared at their partner, who continued to stare at the closed door where Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch had gone. Blake was so focused on the door that she didn't even notice that Yang and Weiss started talking to each other and then stopped staring at the black-haired girl. No, the whole team knew about Blake's love of reading various books related in most cases to more adult content. But still...

Blake had never been out of touch with reality like this, not even when Weiss had brought a book about faunus equality to their dormitory, authored by White Fang, and she'd just opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water. But now, it was as if she'd lost touch with reality.

"Uh, Blake?" Yang walked over and tapped her hand lightly on her shoulder. Nothing happened. The blonde turned and gave the heiress a puzzled look, but the heiress just rolled her eyes and came closer to say the words.

"Who wants sushi?"

But Blake didn't react. Both of them now had a puzzled and nervous look on their faces. Turning back, Weiss wanted to call Ruby for help, but seeing the four girls hugging and shouting about eternal friendship, though it was mostly Nora. The other girls were just trying to get free. Weiss felt a sudden reluctance to call for her leader.

"Hey, Ice Queen!"

"Don't call me that,” Weiss replied automatically, turning to Yang. "What do you think is going on with Blake?"

"I don't know. Maybe she saw something in the book, or maybe she was just curious,” Yang said with a smile and a wink at Weiss. The heiress didn't even react to those words.

" Uh, I think, uh..."

"Guys, enough already,” both girls jumped up abruptly and turned to Blake, who was looking at them with a frown. "I was trying to hear what they were talking about, but because of you and..."

Blake glanced at Nora and the others.

"...Nora, I couldn't hear anything,” Blake continued disappointedly.

"Oh, right!" Yang slammed her fist into her palm, remembering her friend's hypersensitive hearing. Weiss, who was standing nearby, also nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry, can I help you?"

"No, it's not necessary anymore,” Blake shook her head, then nodded at the door. "They're coming out."

And as if waiting for this moment, the door opened and the headmaster and his subordinate came out. That is, it was Ozpin and Glinda. But Blake's focus was not on the men themselves, but on the book the headmaster was still holding. How she wanted to rip the book out now and read it, Yang had said right, Blake's feline curiosity kicked in. Definitely from her mom.

With a sharp shake of her head, Blake noticed Ms. Goodwitch stopping Nora from killing her while the headmaster sipped his coffee. And, to be honest, Blake simply didn't see the headmaster without his favorite mug of coffee.

"Ahem, and so,” Ozpin smilingly sat down in his seat, watching as the students followed suit. Only Glinda sat down only after all the students had taken their proper seats. "As promised, I have given you ten minutes to think. I am now waiting for your answer."

Ozpin interlaced his fingers and stared at the students through the lenses of his glasses.

"Would you like to read this book with me?"

"Excuse me,” Cinder raised her hand. All eyes stopped on her. "How exactly are we going to read the book with you? Are you going to read aloud the whole time? Or something else?"

"Good question,” the headmaster smiled. "I propose it this way. Each new chapter will be read by a different person. The reading sequence will be chosen clockwise. Starting with me,” Ozpin pointed to himself. "Then Glinda, then Mr. Arс, and so on. Did you get an answer to your question, Ms. Fall?"

"Yes, Headmaster,” Cinder nodded.

"And so, does anyone else want to ask a question?" The man glanced at Mercury, who raised his hand. "What did you want to hear from me, Mr. Black?"

"Can Neo not read a book?" Surprised looks stopped on the boy. The one simply said. “She's mute."

"Of course, she can just listen,” Ozpin only smiled, glancing at the small black-haired girl. Once again returning his attention back to everyone, he continued. "Does anyone else want to ask a question?"

No one said anything. Although many had their own questions, they were just embarrassed or afraid of what would happen when they asked the headmaster about it. Jaune was the one who was the most aggravated because he wanted to just leave to another room, saying he wouldn't read. But here was that damned curiosity....

Jaune sighed, feeling that he was in for a lot of ridicule from Yang and Weiss' love would become much harder to obtain than before. He could only sigh faintly at that.

"No one? Good,” Ozpin, smiling broadly, lifted his coffee mug and took a long sip of the fine coffee. He covered his eyes for a few moments, and when he opened them, he was already looking at his students with a slight grin. “Then it's time to get started.”

* * *

<…> The tale of Jaune Arc. A simple man who would achieve great things. Not through aspiration, nor greed. But through the harsh demands of necessity.

Jaune mentally sighed as several people threw glances at him. He already felt like running out of the room and into the bedroom.

<…> But I am getting ahead of myself. What you see before you is my attempt to make sense and order of the chaos that is my friend's journal.

"Notes?"- Pyrrha asked quietly, glancing at her partner. Jaune shrugged his shoulders, unaware of any notes. Instead, Jaune glanced thoughtfully at Ren, who was listening to the headmaster. // “Is Ren...?”

<…> As such, and where necessary, I have taken to enhancing the events with extracts from trusted sources. I have also added my own annotations in several places, either to expand on a situation Jaune saw fit to offer no detail to, or to offer a view of the wider picture. You will know these extracts as my own by the sight of my handwriting.- Ozpin smiled, understanding what the mysterious author of this book was talking about. - <…> I have also arranged it somewhat into something more befitting of a novelisation. I'm sure we can all deal without the regular accounts of Weiss Schnee's beauty and grace that litter the pages. And, on a personal note, if I see her and Jaune's name written within a love heart once more, I may snap.

"Oh,” Jaune paled as an aura of danger began to emanate from his left. The blond turned, swallowing a lump, and... he didn't see Weiss's angry look. All she did was wrinkle her nose and look away without paying attention. //“Then where's that aura coming from?” he thought, not noticing his partner's stare.

"Weiss, aren't you going to say anything?" Yang said, forcing Ozpin to shut up. But the headmaster didn't mind, on the contrary, he listened to the conversation. "Are you really ready to accept Jonny's feelings?"

Jaune was suddenly listening to the conversation. So did a good half of the people in the room.

"Me? Ha!" Weiss snorted arrogantly and waved her hair so that some of it hit Yang's face. "Only after I die will I agree to date Arc!"

Jaune's heart dropped to the area around his feet. He sighed sadly, not paying much attention to Pyrrha's encouragement. Ms. Goodwitch stopped the girls who were about to go mayhem, coughing several times.

"Ozpin,” she nodded to the headmaster. The man smiled.

"Thank you, Glinda,” Ozpin coughed, and then continued reading. - <…> Ahem, I digress... What is contained here will no doubt shock many. There are certain expectations, certain legends which are associated to men. Ever must we remember that men are just that, as human and fallible as the rest of us – and prone to bouts of emotion. It is said however, that bravery is not in the act of feeling no fear, but in besting it. - Ozpin smiled as he read the last lines. - That's a good point, Mr. Ren.

Ren glanced at Ozpin as his mind began to wonder where the headmaster was going with this. The others blinked incomprehensibly.

<…> I bring you now the tale of Jaune Arc. The tale of a simple man thrust into difficult times. I bring you… The Beacon Civil War. - Cinder shuddered, and then began to listen even more strongly to the director’s speech. Ozpin fell silent for a moment. - <…> Authored: Lie Ren Chronicler and Companion

"What?!” Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Nora shrieked in unison. Nora turned to her partner, who was staring at the principal with widened eyes. "Ren! Why didn't you tell me you were a chronicler?! I thought we were friends!"

"Nora,” Ren sighed. "I'm not a chronicler. Yes, they made me a chronicler in the book, but in real life, I'm not good at describing history."

"But in the book, you're a chronicler!"

"Ah, yes, Nora, I'm a chronicler in the book,” Ren said, staring at the book with interest. The laziness and indifference to the book's plot vanished, and he listened with interest to the headmaster's next words.

At this time, Pyrrha was looking at Jaune's face.

"You're not surprised,” the champion said, taking in her partner's features.

"Well,” Jaune rubbed his top, Pyrrha couldn't tear herself away from the sight, ”it's just that Ren is the only male friend I have."

"Ah,” Pyrrha nodded, and then blushed, realizing that she had been staring at the blond for too long. "Right..."

"A civil war in Beacon? I wouldn't be surprised if Ms. Adele was involved,” Glinda shook her head. Ozpin remembered how, in first year, Ms. Adele had locked herself in the dormitory with her crew, who were closer to prisoners than allies, yelling about how the uniforms for studying were unfashionable and should be changed. Yes, it really was fun.

<…> Chapter 1 - The War Begins

Everyone began to listen to the headmaster.

<…> "War comes without warning. Without mercy. I hope you'll never have to face it, but if you do – a word of advice. All you need is a little confidence, that and- oh wait, I think your mother's calling me." - Ozpin smiled. - <…> Nicholas Arc

"Dad?” Jaune whispered in surprise. But his whisper was drowned out by Yang's laughter. And besides Yang, Pyrrha, Ruby, Nora, and Emerald were giggling. Mr. Arc's quote was too funny. Blushing, Jaune could only silently curse his own father.

Ozpin continued to the laughter of the boys.

<…>There's something you learn when you live in Beacon. Never let your guard down. It doesn't matter where you are. Classroom, auditorium – even the toilets. The moment you let your guard down, you open yourself up for an attack. - Man hummed - <…> The cafeteria was no different, and so it was Ren and I walked in with our heads held high and a certain wariness to our step. Whatever Gods there were out there must have smiled on us however, because for the first time in what felt like weeks, we weren't greeted by an impending food fight or whatever latest madness always seemed to engulf our teams. In fact, everything seemed unusually calm, with even Nora quietly chatting to Pyrrha.

Ren and Jaune tensed sharply. Nora had never eaten peacefully! Only to think back to that Thursday when she literally became the Pancake Queen with her Pancake Castle. Therefore, both guys began to wait for what might happen.

<…> Perhaps we were distracted that day, or hungry. Maybe we had just allowed the splendour of the day to claim us, for it was a rare moment when Ren and I could relax and spend some quality time together without something or someone making things complicated. As the only two men among six women, it was sometimes hard to experience that.

Pyrrha blushed, remembering several such moments. Luckily, no one paid attention to her, only Ren and Jaune exchanged understanding glances.

And the guy who sat on the opposite end could only sigh, feeling a strange connection between him and those two... maybe they weren't so different? Though... Mercury didn't know what to say to that sort of thing.

"Next is your note, Mr. Ren,” Ozpin glanced at the black-haired teenager. - <…> (Something I can personally attest to here. Jaune and I shared a special relationship, that of having no special relationship at all. In a team like ours, it was a rare – even joyous – thing to find someone who definitely didn't harbour any hidden feelings for you.)

"Ren,” Jaune stared at his friend. "I'm glad I have a friend like you."

Ren only smiled slightly, though he too was glad to hear such words. But at the same time, he was surprised at how similar the words in the book were to his real ones.

<…> Whatever the case, we sat down alongside our team when waved over, and opposite Team RWBY as usual. Our sister team in every regard, and one of the best first year teams in the school, we were all on close footing and spent most of the day together.

The JNPR and RWBY teams exchanged smiles.

<…> Our team were no slouches either, of course, but that wasn't something I could take any personal pride in. Ren and Nora were skilled, but it was Pyrrha who brought us out from ignominy, and carried me out as well. Our reputation preceded us – and was completely undeserved on my part. - Ozpin shook his head. "Don't say that, Mister Arc. You became a leader because of your leadership skills, and no matter what you say about yourself, you are a good leader."

"Oh,” Jaune blushed. "Thank you, sir."

Ozpin only smiled.

"He's right, Jaune,” Pyrrha whispered quietly to Jaune. He nodded, sighing heavily. What would the headmaster say if he knew he'd been tricked into going to Beacon?

<…> "Morning, Jaune," Ruby said, the ever-adorable and excited girl somehow managing to wash away all traces of sleep from me. She had that effect, and not for the first time, I wished I could have a Ruby Rose alarm clock. It couldn't have been less painful than the Nora Valkyrie version, which sometimes woke you up with shouting, other times by jumping on top of you.

"Thank you,” Ruby said shyly.

"Hey!" Nora’s cry was ignored by everyone. "Not fair, my way is better!"

<…> I nodded back to her.- Ozpin raised his tone slightly, causing everyone to stare at him with interest. And the next moment, the director spoke in a voice very similar to Jaune. - <…> "Morning, Ruby. Morning, Blake, Yang," I put on my best lady-killer smile and tried not to screw it up. - Ozpin fell silent again, although everyone could see his lips trembling. But instead of continuing, the director cleared his throat and, taking off his glasses, looked at Weiss with a wide smile, saying only two words. <…> "Snow Angel."

And without paying attention to anyone else, he put his glasses back on.

At this time, Weiss sat gray-haired and watched the headmaster of the Academy in horror. Slowly, she turned to Jaune, who was white as a sheet, and said only two words.

"You dead."

Ozpin put the book to the side and watched with a smile as Miss Schnee, summoning a few glyphs, found herself near Mr. Arc. He didn't even have time to react when a fist hit him in the stomach. And the real beating began. Ozpin was sure that Ms. Nikos would help his partner, but she continued to sit motionless and stare at the same point as if she couldn't see anything.

Startled, Ozpin shifted his gaze to the beating. Better the old familiar than the new frightening.

"Ozpin, please tell me why you did it!" Glinda finally raised her voice. The headmaster shrugged.

"Wasn't that funny?" Ozpin asked with a smile, seeing the edges of Glinda's lips twitch. "And don't tell me you didn't like it. It's not often I get to see you smile."

"Ahem, enough about me, we need to stop this mess,” Ozpin suddenly grabbed Glinda's hand and shook his head. "What?"

"Let's wait a little while,” Ozpin said with a smirk. "I'm a little tired of reading."

Glinda frowned.

"It's only been twenty minutes!"

"I know, I know,” Ozpin said with the same smirk.

* * *

"So, now that Miss Schnee and Mr. Arc are done figuring out their relationship,” Ozpin smiled as he saw Weiss blush, and it wasn't clear if it was from anger or embarrassment. "We can continue reading the book. So, where was I? Ah, yes. Snow Angel."

Weiss blushed again, feeling like that nickname would stick with her until she was released. And all this because of the bloody Arc!

<…> "Morning, Ruby. Morning, Blake, Yang," I put on my best lady-killer smile and tried not to screw it up. "Snow Angel." - This time, Ozpin said it in a normal tone. But some still remember the last time, which is why they couldn’t help but grin. Weiss felt a new flare of anger and anger, but as the heiress of the Schnee family, she should not give in to this impulse. Yes. At least in plain sight.

Ozpin, on the other hand, continued:

<…> To this day, I have no idea why I kept saying that. I knew she hated the name - I wasn't that oblivious. It was just that the word rolled off the tongue, often without any time for my brain to process the hated moniker and kill it.

Jaune hid behind his hands, feeling that his double from the book was simply digging his grave. And it had nothing to do with Yang's grin or Mercury's grin. Yes, it definitely did.

<…> The beautiful Weiss Schnee growled something back, a mixture of bile and lemon juice that warned me I wasn't on the right track and was in fact liable to receive a rapier to the throat.

Weiss took a few breaths, hoping she wasn't blushing again. \\“Damn Arc! He's embarrassing me right in front of the headmaster!

<…> At least in that regard, normality reigned. I laughed awkwardly and waved it off, seeking refuge in Yang's face instead. She grinned but seemed more willing to watch the impending slaughter than intervene on my behalf. - Yang smirked in reality as she gave Jaune a peace sign. - <…> I didn't even bother looking to Blake. She'd have been nose deep in another book. In all the time I'd known her, she had never bothered to reply or speak to me. From anyone else, I might have taken that as a sign they hated me, but it was different with her. She never meant anything by it. It was just how she was.

"Oh, Blakey, why are you so indifferent to Jaunie?" Yang asked Blake with a grin. Her bow twitched, but there was no answer. "Hmm."

<…> "Good morning as well, Jaune~" Pyrrha interrupted. My partner always had a smile for me, and a greeting, too – which was a little odd since we'd woken up in the same room and already exchanged greetings. Come to think of it, we'd only been apart for fifteen minutes tops. - Ozpin smiled.

<…> "Uh, morning," I said. "Again…"

<…> Yang and Ruby sniggered. They often did that, and especially when Pyrrha would get embarrassed and look away. I'd asked Ruby once or twice, but she'd link her hands behind her back and smile. "I can't tell you," she'd always say. Some friends, huh? None of them would ever tell me.

Ruby and Yang giggled as if in a book, causing Pyrrha to blush. Jaune only smiled at his partner. He already knew that the problem was in his heart. Except that his gesture made everyone freeze and then open their mouths in a daze. Well, that only applied to RWBY and _NPR.

"What?” Jaune looked at them incomprehensibly.

" Y-you know?!" Ruby whispered, staring at her friend as if he had grown two heads.

"Of course,” Jaune nodded nonchalantly. Pyrrha turned sharply pale, then red, and in the end, she even turned green. She has a heart problem."

There was silence.

"What?” Yang spoke up.

"Well, I don't know the diagnosis yet, but I've decided that as soon as we leave these rooms, I'm taking Pyrrha to the nurse. Do you mind, Pyrrha?" Jaune looked at his friend with concern. She looked at him silently and with her mouth open. Then she laughed so loudly that Nora's laughter was childish in comparison.

"It brings back memories,” Ozpin said with a smile, glancing at Glinda. She raised an eyebrow, not sure what the headmaster was talking about. At that, the man only smirked. "Have you forgotten? STRQ team"

"Ah,” Glinda nodded, remembering how one drunk chased after a rose who couldn't understand his feelings until the prom. And afterward... She sighed sadly. "Yes, it brings back memories..."

The two adults only looked at the picture before their eyes with sad smiles. While in their hearts, they hoped that the same fate would not be given to this team.

"Arc... I mean, Jaune really doesn't know about Nikos' feelings?" Emerald quietly asked Ruby, who was sitting to her right. Ruby nodded. "Wow... it's obvious! Didn't you tell him?"

"Why?" Ruby asked with a smile. Emerald blinked and stared at the two boys. Ruby also turned around for a good look as Pyrrha laughed heartily. "Pyrrha wants to show her feelings herself. And probably thinks she's just a friend to Jaune for now. You know, sometimes I think it's just a friend that she's missing. She's not mentally mature enough for a big relationship."

"Wow,” Emerald smirked. "But still, it would be interesting to see Jaune's face when he found out about Nikos's feelings."

" Yeah,” Ruby said with the same grin.

"Ahem!" Glinda coughed and silence finally fell again, though the smiles still lingered on many faces.

"Thank you, Glinda,” Ozpin nodded to his deputy. - You speak next, Mr. Ren. - The teen nodded, paying more attention to his words. - <- > (Because we really shouldn't have to, Jaune...)

Ozpin paused for a moment, saying without words that Ren hadn't written anything else.

<…> It didn't matter at that moment. With it being breakfast, and with classes ahead, there wasn't the time to try and penetrate the impenetrable mystery that was my partner. Instead, I picked up my knife and fork and dug into the fried eggs and toast arrayed on the plate before me. Greasy, unhealthy, and with several rashers of bacon on the side, it was the only way I liked to start the day. Pointedly, I did not like to start the day with an announcement from Ozpin over the PA systems arrayed about the school – which was precisely what I got, and what should have been yet another sign that the day was about to get so much worse.

All the students stared at Ozpin, who smiled, viewing the next words with only his eyes. Afterward, he coughed a little and started to speak.

<…> "Greetings Beacon and transfer students," Ozpin began. "While I do hate to interrupt your busy mornings, there is a school-wide announcement that needs to be made, and I must ask you all to listen carefully. The Vytal Festival is approaching, an event which gives many of you the chance to test yourselves, to earn glory a chance to meet new people. This event, while competitive in nature, is of great political importance to Remnant. Not only does it promote peace and co-operation between our great nations, it also showcases the skillsets and training available within Beacon. Our future intake of students, the very future generations that protect Vale from the Grimm… the quality of what we receive very much rests in your hands. This is, as much as it may not have seemed it, a very deep responsibility."

Everyone listened to the headmaster's speech, especially the CNEM team. In fact, Cinder listened to it more than her team.

<…> It was all very flowery, and no doubt of great importance. I felt I could be forgiven for only paying half-attention, however. When it came to competing in the tournament, my inclusion was almost certainly going to be a non-factor. I'd run forward like a good little meat shield, while everyone else focused on winning – and then I'd bow out for the other rounds and let Pyrrha storm her way to what was probably victory number seven hundred and something. Some might have called that lazy, but I'd never really been one for competitions. Probably because I'd never been good enough to win anything.

"Jaune,” Pyrrha said with sudden firmness. The blond man looked at her in surprise. "I refuse to participate in the Festival."

Jaune turned pale.

"W-what?"

"And I give you my place,” Pyrrha continued with a smile. Under the widened gaze of her friend, the champion continued. "I don’t accept refusal, you must show yourself at the Festival on my behalf."

"B-but Pyrrha! I'll lose and tarnish your name!"

"Then win,” Pyrrha smiled looking into Jaune’s blue eyes. She took her friend's hand. "I believe in you. You are no longer the same person who entered Beacon with minimal strength. You have become a Leader and a Hunter. I believe that you will win."

"P-Pyrrha..."

"What?" Pyrrha held her breath.

"My hand... I have almost no Aura left..."

"Oh!" She blushed like a tomato and pulled her hand away. "Sorry!"

“Nothing like that,” Jaune sighed quietly. Except that wasn't the case. //“Is Pyrrha ready to disgrace her name for my sake? She's a really good friend."

Both teens turned their attention back to Ozpin.

<…> "It is with the Vytal Festival in mind that your teachers and I have devised an exciting new training scenario for you all." Ozpin continued. - Ozpin in the real world smirked. <…> "Attendance is mandatory, as this training might very well save your lives against the Grimm further down the line. What's more, all lessons will be cancelled for the duration of it. All homework is also postponed."

All the students and Glinda held their breath.

<…> Now that was something I could get behind. I wasn't the only one in the cafeteria to cheer, and my voice was quickly overwhelmed by louder students, most noticeably Yang and Nora. There was a small part of me that wasn't quite so sure, however. It began as a tingling in my leg. One that made me tap my foot nervously against the ground as a sense of wrongness came over me. At the time, I thought nothing of it, but I'd soon come to regret the moment I missed that sign.

Jaune felt the same as his double in the book. But, unlike him, the other Jaune will have to face this in reality. The blonde hoped so. But looking at the headman, who was grinning, Jaune felt a trembling throughout his body.

The next is your note, Mister Ren,” Ozpin said. - <…> (A regret that I shared. Jaune's sense for danger would prove useful many times in his career, but I can't help but wish he'd discovered it fifteen minutes earlier.)

Ozpin fell silent, and then raised his glasses slightly and looked at the students with a wicked grin.

<…> "As of right now all flights from Beacon have been suspended, and the only flights to Beacon will be to bring supplies into the school. The boundaries for this training exercise will also be the entire school itself up to the border of the Emerald Forest, the Cliffs or the Beacon Docks. Any attempts to travel beyond this area will result in you being brought back to the school and placed in detention until the exercise is complete. You will then also suffer extended punishment after the initiative is complete."

Ruby clenched her fists, Jaune paled, Pyrrha became focused, Ren felt his Semblance calm him down, Yang grinned, Blake narrowed her eyes, Weiss chuckled, Nora smiled, Neo blinked rapidly, Cinder listened, Mercury yawned and Emerald looked at the headmaster sheepishly.

<…> That got a few murmurs out of the people in the hall. So, there was to be no escaping this training of theirs. That was understandable. The bigger question in my mind, and the thing which made me nervous, was the suggestion that the training was going to be so bad we would want to run.

Ozpin continued to grin, although his voice had changed to one he was speaking on behalf of Ren.

<…> (And if only we'd known at the time, we might have given it a go anyway.)

Jaune paled even more when he heard Book Ren's words. What kind of training was this if Ren even said that?!

<…> "The student body will be divided into teams," the headmaster went on, - Still, it was strange when Ozpin voiced himself.- <…> "and we will be assuming a `War Games` scenario spanning the entire Academy. Rules and regulations have already been sent to your scrolls, but key facts are that Beacon has now been divided into zones with key capture points. Whichever team controls the most capture points at the end of seven days will be victorious. The winners will receive an automatic pass on Combat Class Coursework for this semester," excited conversation broke out, "But they will also receive a stipend of 2,500 lien per person, with which to decorate their dorms."

<…> I shared a quick look with Ren at that, pink eyes meeting my own as he cocked his head. The pass on coursework already sounded great to me but two-and-a-half thousand lien per person? That was incredible! An extra ten thousand to decorate our room would mean a lot. It would be enough for a hot tub, not that we had the room. Even so, game systems, comfier beds – a couch? I wasn't the only one thinking such selfish thoughts, because I could hear Team RWBY discussing exactly what they should buy once they won.

Just like in the book, Teams RWBY, JNPR and CNEM also started discussing it, although not as loudly and without any effort. Although, they all momentarily became jealous of their book versions because of the prize. Cinder's team was a little less envious; they had plenty of money.

<…> If our team was assigned with theirs, then the whole thing would have been over in second. Even so, I couldn't help but cross my fingers under the table and share a grin with our secret weapon. Pyrrha smiled back, a confident and competitive gleam appearing in her eye. With her Semblance, not to mention her general skill and ability, I was beyond confident that we could win. Pyrrha could trounce whole teams, and did so on occasion. With Nora long for the ride, we were looking a shoe in for victory. I rubbed my hands together and imagining what I'd spend it on.

Jaune sensed something was wrong. Something was wrong. If everything were so simple, then no one would want to read this book... but here it was about his achievements and merits... wait a minute. The blonde turned pale, staring at his friend in horror. If his thoughts lead in the right direction, then Pyrrha...

He listened to the headmaster's words again, instantly losing all that desire to be in the place of the book version of himself.

<…> "Miss Goodwitch has asked me to remind you that force should be kept to levels expressed in her class, and nothing more. The infirmary will be open to teams of both sides, and Miss" Ozpin paused for a moment at the unfamiliar name. But then he continued. <…> "Tsune has assured me she will be happy to respond with force to any who try and bring the war games into her domain. There will be… repercussions for teams who flaunt or seek to break the rules. I would list what those are, but I believe it might be best left to your – and Miss Goodwitch's – imagination. Further details of objectives, rules and victory conditions have been sent to each of your scrolls. We wish you well and encourage everyone to fight towards the rewards offered. Even to those who lose, the valuable experience on offer might well save your lives in the future."

Glinda lifted the corners of her lips slightly, feeling respect for the other Goodwitch from the book.

<…> Ozpin was silent for a while - Ozpin fell silent in reality, as if parodying himself from the book. -<…> "We have thought long and hard about the teams, and believe the following to be a balanced and suitable solution. It should also make identifying allies and enemies easier, and offer unparalleled opportunities for transfer students to interact and form bonds with domestic students."

<…> We all waited impatiently. Why the reasons had to be explained, I didn't know, but the sooner we found out which side we were on, the better. If our team was against Team RWBY, then it would be best to attack first. I swallowed and looked around the cafeteria, suddenly aware of just how tense everyone was. It's fine, I told myself. I have Pyrrha and Nora on my team. What can go wrong?

And now the moment has come. Almost all the students moved a little closer to the book, quickly wanting to hear Ozpin's words. Jaune, even paler, moved back. //“Please, not what I was thinking!”

Ozpin, like some kind of actor, hesitated to answer. He looked up and saw tense and expectant looks. A slight smile appeared on his face.

<…> "The teams will be boys versus girls," Ozpin said. - Ozpin placed the book on the table with a smile as he watched his students' reactions.

The first one to react was Jaune. But his reaction was expected. He laughed hysterically. The second who gave his reaction was Ren, he turned pale and moved slightly away from the girls. Mercury reacted along with Emerald, but unlike her laughter, he sharply cursed to himself, realizing what would happen to him if this happened in reality.

The girls reacted in the same way as Emerald. Some laughed, some giggled, and some cried... Nora stared sadly at Ren.

"We're not a team anymore,” Nora sighed sadly. "I'm sorry, Ren, but I promise I'll make it gentler!"

"N-Nora! Wait! We're still a team, it's in the book we're on opposite sides,” the boy said quickly, and his words had an effect. Nora abruptly stopped crying as if the tears weren't there at all, instead, a smile appeared on her face, and after a moment, Ren's bones began to crack. "Uh-oh..."

At this time, Pyrrha watched her leader.

"Uh, Jaune? Are you okay?" she asked anxiously.

"Yes,” Jaune said through a weak laugh. "I'm just glad I'm not in my double's shoes."

"Oh, I see,” Pyrrha said calmly. And as if waiting for this moment, she giggled softly. "That would be fun."

Jaune paled slightly, realizing that there were at most three of them in the room against nine. \\"No way! That's what Ren said right! Better to be punished than to fight."

"Okay, we’ve had a laugh and that’s enough,” Ozpin said, opening the book. - <…> What…?
"The War Games will begin immediately." WHAT!?

This made almost all the girls laugh again, especially it was funny because of Ozpin changing his voice on purpose. This was especially evident in the moments when someone was talking.

<…> There was an odd moment of quiet, and looking back on it now, I could recognise it as that strange period of calm before the storm. In my head, I'd always thought that a symbolic thing, but the truth was just that it took our minds a few seconds to process the bombshell that Ozpin had just dropped on us. - Ozpin smiled flattered, as if they were talking about him.<…> Though the smarter students were quick to act. Namely, Sun Wukong threw himself out of the cafeteria window and fled for his life.

Hearing the latter, everyone laughed again, and this time, the boys joined in as well. Although Emerald, Mercury, and Neo didn't know about this Wukong, it was still quite funny. Even Glinda and Cinder smirked a little.

<…> All hell broke loose a second later. I was still shocked, but Ren moved with admirable haste and flipped the table we were dining at up on its side. He placed one foot against it and kicked it directly at the biggest threat in the room. Pyrrha had a moment to widen her eyes, before Yang stood up and punched the entire thing into sawdust.

The boys' laughter stopped.

<…> That was fine. It gave us the time necessary for my brain to kick in, and for both Ren and I to do the only thing we could do. - Ozpin was silent for a moment. <…> Run.

<…> "Don't look back!" Ren gasped, ducking low as a plate nearly took his head off. "Whatever you do, Jaune, don't look back!"

<…> "Do you think they're chasing us?"

Ozpin fell silent, and then looked thoughtfully at Nora. Taking a sip of coffee, he cleared his throat and said in Nora’s voice:

<…> "Oh, Renny!" - it was so similar that most of the students widened their eyes. Ren, on the other hand, turned pale, as did Jaune.<…> Nora howled. Her call was followed by several agonised, and more importantly masculine, screams behind us.

<…> "I think it's safe to say yes to that one," he said.

<…> To this day, I have no idea how he managed to sound calm about that, especially since it sounded like a Goliath was hunting us down. I had to chalk it down to extreme mental discipline, or perhaps some otherworldly training regime. Well, either that or he'd just become inured to Nora's madness.

The next one is Ren's note," Ozpin said before continuing. - <…> (Definitely the latter…)

Ren grinned weakly. He was one hundred percent sure that the Semblance was involved. He'd seen a lot of Nora's craziness, but to be on the opposite side of her friend... that would be beyond imagination.

<…> Up ahead and all around us, the battle raged. Ozpin couldn't have chosen a worse time for this, what with it being the lunch hour, and we'd ended up with a brawl the likes of which I'd never seen before. - Ozpin smiled flattered again. - <…> Probably the only saving grace was the fact that most of the students were unarmed, but it was amazing what impromptu weapons a huntsman could find if they really tried. I watched a man be bludgeoned from behind with a chair, while another lashed out at his female teammate with a baguette in one hand and a spoon in the other. She caught the spoon in the teeth of a fork, and then twisted it to the side to disarm him. The two began to wrestle on the floor, rolling back and forth as each tried to drive the fork down and claim victory. Simply put, it was madness!

"Really madness,” Jaune whispered as a shiver ran down his spine. Neo, sitting on the opposite end, on the other hand, smiled widely with all thirty-two teeth. Oh~, she was definitely going to like this.

<…> And worse, it was a madness that was soon to get a lot worse for me. As Ren and I sprinted towards the exit, we saw several figures doing the same – and a nightmarish vision of purest evil appeared before it, blocking off any escape. - Ozpin hesitated for a moment before looking at Jaune and Ren with obvious sympathy. - <…> "Not today, boys," Coco Adel cried, handbag at her side. "Momma needs a walk-in wardrobe, and Ozpin is paying!"

Glynda sighed heavily as Jaune and Ren mentally worried about their counterparts.

<…> "Wait," Ren whispered. "Isn't her handbag her-"

<…> "Her weapon," I finished miserably, right as Coco activated the absurdly sized mini-gun. There was another moment of shock and horror as everyone realised what was about to happen. We had aura, sure, but that didn't mean it wouldn't sting like a bitch. Plus, there went the exit.

Neo smiled. Wide and merciless. She already liked this Adele. And if she starts shooting too... Neo licked her lips.

<…> "If you're packing between your legs, then get down and surrender!"

<…> Y-You heard her..." Velvet said nervously, striding up to stand next to her partner. She wrung her hands together and lowered her head. "I think it would be best if you just surrendered. We don't want to hurt anyone..."

Neo felt disappointed. Will they really surrender?

<…> Her words were as gentle and soft-spoken as ever, yet she held Yatsuhashi's sword and there was no sign of the giant man. - Neo blinked. Her smile returned. - <…> I had to assume no news was bad news in that regard, and reminded myself that despite her kind nature, she was still a huntress - not to mention a year or more above us.

<…> "Do we surrender?" I asked. It might have sounded cowardly, but these were just war games. They wouldn't kill us, and it would surely be better than actually trying to fight back against them. "We could just give up now."

Jaune and Ren exchanged glances. This idea turned out to be not so bad...

Ozpin continued smirking.

<…> Ren opened his mouth to reply, but a voice cut us off. "And I'll have Renny and Jauney as prisoners," Nora giggled. "And I'll pet them, and love them, and dress them up in all kinds of frilly clothes."

Ren twitched at the same time, looking offended at his partner. She just smiled apologetically at her friend. Jaune just blinked. Surprisingly, there was nothing like that here.

<…> "F-Frilly clothes…?" Pyrrha's voice was hoarse. "Can… Can we take pictures?"

Abruptly, Jaune stopped thinking about it, and then stared at Pyrrha with a feeling of betrayal. The champion silently looked at one point, remembering the past words of her partner and the current Nora.

//Photos... bunny suit... photos...

<…> Ren and I shared a quick look. - Ozpin smirked. - <…> "Death?" I suggested. "Or escape," Ren agreed. We dashed to the side at the moment Coco opened fire, and quickly ducked behind some overturned tables for cover. - Neo smirked. <…> "We need to get out and into the corridors. We can lose them if we cut through some classrooms."

<…>That means getting out of here first," I said, jumping over a pair of people wrestling on the ground. "The front doors out. We could try and get out the staff areas, maybe the kitchens." Stopping for a moment, the director took a sip of coffee from his mug. - <…> Ren shook his head and pointed to the area the servers and staff usually worked from. Usually, those were open and had people behind them, but there was now solid steel shutters pulled down in front of them. I hadn't noticed that earlier, but they probably pulled them down the moment Ozpin's message began. They'd have known about this in advance, after all.

<…> "How had we not noticed that?" - Ozpin stopped. "Nothing surprising, Mister Arc. When you live a monotonous life, you often miss changes in it when they appear. For example, just yesterday we changed the tables to new ones."

"Yes?" the students asked in one voice. They didn't even notice it.

"Yes,” Ozpin nodded, returning to the book. - <…> "Well I'm out of ideas," I said, somewhat hysterically. In my defence, we did have Nora, Pyrrha, Yang and everyone else chasing us. Most teams were fairly even when it came to the split between boys and girls, as was ours, but Team RWBY had kind of thrown a spanner in the works, except that said spanner was the strongest spanner in Beacon. "Ren, we need to get out of here. You can't let Weiss capture me. She'll kill me!"

Weiss smiled sweetly. Seeing that smile, Jaune suddenly wanted to run out of the room.

<…> "I'm sure she wouldn't."

<…> "I called her `Snow Angel`!"

Weiss's smile widened. She already liked the idea of ​​such a test.

<…> Ren paused and opened his mouth, then cringed. "Okay, good point. Windows?"

<…> I nodded. "Windows."

<…> "We need a distraction." Ren poked his head out over the tables, but was quickly pushed back down as Coco's fire raked by. "I doubt we can move if she has us pinned, though I'd rather take my chances running through a hail of bullets than let Nora capture me."

"Ren, don't worry! I won't let you get hurt! We'll have fun and eat lots of pancakes!" Ren was not particularly happy at this prospect. Especially considering that he will be the one cooking the pancakes. He shivered.

<…> I winced at the thought, and then winced again when bullets bounced off the back of the table. It was thick wood, and reinforced with metal, but it wouldn't last.

<…> "I'll see what I can do to get her fire off us." - Ozpin took a sip of coffe. <…> Ren looked my way. "You have a plan?"

<…> "You have a plan?" - many students were still surprised at how well Ozpin mimicked the students' voices. - <…> "In a manner of speaking." I pushed a little to the side and raised my voice. "We need to rush her all at once. She can't take us all out if we work together!"

Jaune shook his head sharply. This plan won't work. He knew how strong Coco was, and together with Velvet, they were truly a lethal duo.

<…> "Are you mad?" someone cried. There was no time for this. "Listen to me! I know this is dangerous, and I know she's terrifying, but it's just one person and she can't keep us pinned down if we work together. Remember teamwork, remember what a difference it can make!"

<…> Several men nearby nodded in my direction. Hidden behind tables, chairs, or just huddled in the middle of the cafeteria. Wherever they were, their eyes gained just that little but of conviction. Well, that or desperation. "It might hurt," I continued. "Some of us won't make it, and some of us will take blows – but we have aura, and she can only shoot in one direction! So charge, men! CHARGE!"

Pyrrha felt happiness and joy for this behavior of her leader. It was truly meant for this place. Ozpin smirked as he read the next words.

<…> "RARGHHH!" "YAHHH!"

Neo grinned, imagining the sight of a stream of bullets flying at you, and you using your friends as a shield, how the blood pours from their bodies right on you and at your feet... Oh yes, this picture is to her liking.

<…> As one, the frightened and pinned men moved, hurtling themselves over furniture and rushing towards the doors. There was no bravery to it, just a desperate need to escape while they could – but that was fine. It would be enough. I grabbed Ren's arm and dragged him with me.

<…> "We're not charging with them?" - Ozpin took another sip of his coffee.- <…> "Hell no!" Those guys were going to be a nice distraction, but I didn't hold much hope of them making it through, and I wasn't going to get shot trying to help them. I realised a second later what that might have sounded like to Ren and tried to explain myself. "If we go with them, we'll just draw the others after us. If we want to give them the best chance possible to escape, we need to split the strongest of the girls in two."

Everyone stared at Ozpin and then at Jaune, who was blushing with embarrassment and a bit of guilt.

"And Jonny turns out to be a bloodthirsty guy,” Yang grinned.

"He not bloodthirsty,” Blake shook her head. "He simply chose the best option for himself."

"Call it what you want, it doesn’t change anything,” Yang waved her hand.

<…> It was complete nonsense, of course. My thoughts were purely selfish, but I doubt anyone could blame me for that. I'd have time to feel guilty about those guys later, but so long as I was alive and free to feel that guilt, I was sure I'd be able to get over it.

Jaune didn't know what to feel. Sympathy for their double or anger because their thoughts are being read to all people. He simply continued to listen to the headmaster in silence.

<…> "I understand," Ren said. He really didn't. He was an honourable and good guy like that - not like me.

Ren wasn't. He would also leave those guys if it saved him from Nora and endless pancakes. Feeling guilty is better than endless suffering and cooking. That's exactly what he thought, which is why book Jaune's thoughts were all too idealistic about him. He is the same person as him.

Ozpin was silent for a moment before speaking in Ruby's rougher voice with a grin.

<…> "I see them," Ruby cried. "Over there!"

"Ruby!" Jaune stared at the blushing Ruby with a feeling of betrayal.

"It's not my fault! Don't you understand, two and a half thousand lien is enough for a lot of comics and games!"

Jaune wanted to protest, but suddenly couldn't. Honestly, he would also agree to such a situation, only it wasn’t the crazy Nora who was following him. He shivered, but said nothing more.

<…> "Damn it, Ruby!" I howled. "I thought we were friends!"

A new sip of coffee.

<…> "I'm sorry Jaune," she called back. Her voice sounded closer, a lot closer. I turned back in time to see her hurtling across the cafeteria at Semblance-induced speeds. She didn't have her scythe, which was equal parts luck and miracle, but that didn't mean much when all she had to do was delay us. Yang was close behind, and she was as armed as she ever was.

Jaune saw Yang smirk, looking first at Ren and then at him.

<…> "Ruby at six O'clock," I hissed. "I can't shake her!"

<…> "We can't outrun her," Ren panted."We have to get rid of her," I agreed, looking around for anything that might help me. The last time we'd had a fight in the cafeteria, I'd been next to useless, but that wasn't to say I hadn't paid attention. I was better prepared now, and also filled with enough fear that my mind was working at a thousand thoughts per second. Even while running, I scanned the tables for something that might help, and my eyes lit up as I spied a bowl of cookies. "Perfect," I hissed, snatching it as we ran by. "I'll use this to distract her."

Ruby blinked. And then she stared at her friend with disappointment. Even for cookies, she will never betray her friends. And if she actually does this in the book, Ruby is disappointed with her doppelganger.

<…> "Perfect," I hissed, snatching it as we ran by. "I'll use this to distract her."

<…>"Do you think it will work?" Ren asked. - Ruby now looked at Ren with disappointment. Could they really think about this? - <…> Whether I thought it would or not wasn't important, but we had to do something. With a quick shrug, I turned and tossed the cookies behind me, directly into Ruby's path. She batted them aside with her hands, and even managed to look vaguely offended.

Ruby smiled sharply, feeling much better. And she couldn’t help but grin at the next words.

<…> "Jaune, I'm not an idiot," she said. "I may like cookies, but it's not like I'll chase after one if it's thrown at me."

"Here!" Ruby pointed her finger at the two guys. "I would never do that!"

"“Wow, I thought you’d do it,” Weiss whispered a little embarrassedly. Ruby turned sharply to her partner and looked at her with her mouth open. "Oh, did I say that out loud?"

Ozpin just smiled once again.

<…> Well, that was me out of ideas. Maybe it had been a long shot in the first place, but Ruby's love of treats was the only thing I knew. I tossed the bowl behind me and tried to run faster, only to be surprised by the sound of a high-pitched yelp as Ruby's foot stood on the bowl I'd so carelessly discarded. All her weight settled down on it, and then went in a completely different direction as the metal thing slid to the side. She cried out and skidded across the ground, her own momentum working against her. There was a might crash as she hit a bunch of recovering guys like a bowling ball.

Ruby blinked, turning back to her book, oblivious to Weiss's words. The young girl could only open her mouth to listen to the headmaster's words. Jaune only blinked. Afterward, he glowed with a smile on his face, as if this was his plan.

<…> I cheered and flashed Ren a thumbs up. "Distraction successful!" - Ozpin chuckled. - <…> "Good job!" Ren praised.

"I-it was an accident!!!"

"Are you sure?" Jaune asked with a smirk, which threw Ruby into a stupor. Then his indignant gaze settled on his giggling sister. Ruby felt betrayed. Sitting up abruptly, Ruby looked at her new friend painfully. Emerald, tried to contain her laughter, but the corners of her lips were still turned upward. Even so, she managed to pat Ruby on the shoulder.

“Thank you,” Ruby said sadly, returning to silence.

Ozpin continued reading:

<…> I didn't have the heart to correct him. I focused on the windows instead, out only real hope of escape. They were tall and solid things, but we had aura, and I had my armour. As a means to help him, and also selfishly to get out first, I sprinted ahead of Ren, determined to throw myself and smash the glass with my larger aura reserves while he took up the rear and got through without harm. With a mighty yell, I pushed off the ground and sailed through the air. - Ozpin fell silent for a moment, leaving everyone wondering what happened next. And only after receiving a weak blow from Glinda, he continued. - <…> I didn't expect to freeze in mid-air.

<…> To be fair, I don't think Ren expected me to either, for he crashed into my back and bounced back to the floor with a grunt. My new-found powers of levitation hadn't come at a good time, and it took me a second to recognise the sensation and where it was from. During that time, my legs kicked uselessly, struggling for purchase. It wasn't me that had been lifted into the air, however.
It was my armour.

Jaune froze, and then turned pale and looked at his partner. Pyrrha also looked at her leader. An embarrassing smile was the answer to the look of pure horror.

“Oh,” whispered everyone who knew about Pyrrha’s Semblance. Cinder suppressed a grin, realizing that the information about the Semblance of Nikos was correct. //“Magnetism, then, huh”

<...> "Oh no..." - the way Ozpin said it, it really sounded like he was scared. But he was silent. Slowly, all eyes focused on him. Ozpin held the mug and looked into it as the book lay on the table. Glinda was the first to sense something was wrong, looked inside, and then turned away to the side. Ozpin cried out to the surprised looks of the students and quickly began to speak in a raised tone. "I need to go get my coffee for a few minutes, will you wait okay?"

And, not yielding to Ruby's speed, he disappeared through the kitchen door. Glinda sighed and then frowned when she heard the first chuckles. The laughter stopped. The next one who stood up unexpectedly turned out to be Mercury, and to the surprised glances, he just shrugged his shoulders...

And then he went to the bathroom. Glinda just sighed heavily as five people stood behind Mr. Black at once.

* * *

They sat in their seats again, there were some differences from last time in some things. For example, Ozpin had a full mug of coffee and the students looked more refreshed. In a word, everyone was glad for the little respite.

"So where did I stop? The Director took a long sip of coffee and found the right place. He grinned. - <...> "Oh no..."

<…> "Oh yes," Pyrrha echoed. Against my will, I found myself rotated in mid-air so that I faced my partner. The normally sweet and kind Pyrrha Nikos was smiling, but it didn't quite convey the same feeling of gentle affection it usually did. "You need to be careful, Jaune. You might hurt yourself if you jumped through the window. We can't have that. I can't have that…"

Pyrrha blushed as most eyes fell on her. Even Jaune looked at her in fear. She swallowed the lump in her throat and stared meaningfully at the shuddering headmaster.

"I continue," <…>"Y-Yeah," I said, chuckling awkwardly. "Well maybe you could open the window and push me through it instead? That would be nice."

<…>"I could do that, but I won't. I wouldn't normally do this, but it's part of the war games, so I have no choice. Don't worry, though. Ozpin said we could take prisoners, a-a-and you can m-maybe be m-my prisoner." - Ozpin felt his body tremble. - <…> Pyrrha's cheeks grew progressively darker as she spoke, and her hands were wringing together. "I-I'll look after you. I'll be able to keep you safe and sound." Her eyes widened. "I c-can even feed you. You'll n-need to be restrained, but… but…"

Everyone in the room glanced at the champion, making her look like a tomato. How she wanted to hide in the bathroom now...

<…> She shuddered. "Uh, Pyrrha… you okay?" I tried to wriggle out of her grip, but there was nothing actually holding me, just the armour that was strapped to me. "This is kind of uncomfortable. Can you let me down?"

<…> "D-Don't worry Jaune," Pyrrha yelled, far louder than was really necessary. "I'll make sure you're nice and comfortable, and I'll visit you all the time. If you need someone to confide in, you can lean on me as much as you want."

<…> Yeah, that sounded nice and everything, but Yang and Weiss were getting closer, and I kind of didn't want them to get their hands on me. I worked my hands over my armour, unlatching it as best I could. For crying out loud, why were the straps in such stupid places? - Ozpin nodded. "You quickly figured out what to do in such a situation, this is commendable."

Jaune could only nod, not knowing if he could do this in the real world. Having Yang and Weiss running towards you made him very nervous, and he wasn't sure if he could come to his senses or not.

The champion herself was glad that they left her with their stares.

<…> "What are you doing, Ren?" Pyrrha asked, eyes narrowed as she watched her teammate take hold of my legs. "I'm not so cruel that I wouldn't let you escape if you wanted. Nora is after you, and she… well, she's Nora."

"Hey!" Nora exclaimed, causing Ren and Pyrrha to flinch. "Traitor! I thought we were friends!"

"“We’re friends,” Pyrrha said nervously.

"Then why are you letting Ren escape?!"

"Um... I don't know! The book version of me did it!" Pyrrha quickly justified herself and moved away from Nora. But even so, Pyrrha was able to see the grateful look of the black-haired guy. She felt even worse, because she knew that she would have done this in reality. And with Nora muttering, Ozpin continued to read aloud.

<…> "While that offer is very tempting, I'm afraid you have something I need." - Ozpin took a sip of his coffee and then smirked, changing his intonation.- <…> "Ren…" I whispered. I couldn't believe my best friend's loyalty, that he would dare stand up to Pyrrha Nikos like this, and for no other reason than to save me from whatever terrible fate awaited me. At that very moment, I could not have respected him more. He was a true friend, a brother in arms.

Jaune looked at Ren with the most touching and admiring look. And the book version was right. Ren became the brother Jaune never had. Ren himself could only smile weakly, feeling like a villain who stole candy from a child. He roughly understood why book Ren said these words...

Ozpin smirked, proving Ren right.

<…> (Reading this now, I can't help but feel a little ashamed that my thoughts at the time were simply that Jaune's leadership was the only thing keeping me out of Nora's clutches. I didn't fancy my chances going it alone out there.)

There was silence.

"Well, at least it's honest,” Ren tried to smile at his friend. Jaune stared at him silently, and then turned away, hiding unshed tears. He had lost his brother... but even so.

"Yes, you're right,” Jaune said quietly, glancing at Ren with a smile. "But fair..."

Ozpin returned to reading.

<…> "I'm sorry Ren," Pyrrha said. "While we're teammates and I do respect you, right now there is one thing that divides us. I am a woman, and you are a man." - Ozpin was silent for a moment. - <…> Her eyes narrowed. "No matter how feminine you might appear."

Ren's eye twitched as everyone stared at him.

"What are you talking about?! Ren is the manliest of manly kinds of men!" Nora exclaimed, jumping up in her chair. Many of the men's lips twitched in a semblance of a grin. Ren sighed heavily and covered his face with his hands.

"Miss Valkyrie, would you please sit down?" Glinda asked calmly. It was as if Nora had been replaced, she quickly shut up and sat down like a goody-goody. Ignoring the surprised and admiring looks, Glinda nodded to Ozpin. "Go on."

"Aga, khm... - <…> Ren's brow twitched. "Was the last part entirely necessary?"

"Yes, Pyrrha, do you have to?" The boy asked quietly, looking at the blushing Pyrrha.

"I'm sorry,” was all the champion managed to say.

<…> "I'm just getting in the mood." Pyrrha giggled. "Don't worry, we'll win this war games thing pretty quickly, so you two won't have to be prisoners for long."

" Huh, you wouldn't know it by the book,” Mercury grinned, glancing at Emerald. "Could the Great Jaune Arc really have lived that long?"

"Shut up,” Emerald hissed, listening to the story again.

<…> While I had no doubt as to that, it didn't stop the fact it would only take ten seconds for Weiss and Yang to make my life a living hell. It would be painful, unending, and no doubt incredibly humiliating. Comparatively, if I could escape and get to the Emerald Forest, I could take my chances among the Grimm – who would be far kinder.

Jaune tried to ignore the glares from the two girls. He didn't want to show them that this would actually be a better solution than captivity. Meanwhile, Ozpin continued to read.

<…> "Get ready," Ren whispered to me, voice low. He raised it to address Pyrrha. "I do apologise, Pyrrha. Unfortunately, the two of us have an appointment elsewhere. We'll see you later, maybe once this war is over."

<…> Pyrrha's eyes widened, sensing something wrong. She pulled one arm back, and the armour on my chest tugged quickly in her direction. At the exact same time, I finally managed to undo the final clasp. With the sudden force exerted on it, not to mention Ren pulling me the other way by my legs, the breastplate slipped over my shoulders and away. Suddenly a lot lighter than it had been before, it shot for her face. Pyrrha had only the time to yelp before it clotheslined her.

The real Pyrrha winced as if she had been hit by an iron plate. Clearing his throat, Jaune spoke quietly.

"Sorry."

"It was nothing,” Pyrrha sighed. "It was my own fault for being distracted by the conversation. I should have grabbed you and Ren right away...” Pyrrha saw Jaune's frightened look. "I mean, I-I mean, I shouldn't have used my Semblance so much! Ahahaha..."

At this time, Nora who was sitting with a look of, 'I am the Queen' looked at Pyrrha with a smile.

"You deserve it! If you were a friend, you'd already have Jaune and I'd have Ren!"

Both boys turned pale. Pyrrha bowed her head thoughtfully and then sighed.

"You're right…"

"Hmm,” Ozpin drew attention to himself again. Although he had fun watching the team and their showdown, there was still very little left to read. "Let's continue." - <…> I, on the other hand, had plenty of time to experience the sweet embrace of gravity. I tried to get my feet underneath me, but realised at the last second that Ren still had hold of them. With a startled cry, I face planted the hard, tiled floor.

Jaune winced.

<…> "Ow…"

<…> "Throw me!" I hissed.

"It is commendable, Mr. Arc, that you are worried about your comrade,” Glinda nodded in approval. Jaune himself could only stare at the book in disbelief. Ozpin cleared his throat, causing Glynda to stare at him. "Glinda, you didn’t listen a little. Hm." <…> "What?"

<…> "The window – throw me! There's no time to explain."

There was silence. Ozpin took a sip of his coffee and continued reading.

<…> Ren looked down at me, to the window, and then down at my feet, which he still had hold of. It wasn't my best plan for sure, and Ren probably wasn't sure what the point of it was in the first place. Did I intend to use my body to break the glass so that he could follow me unharmed? Did I intend to shock our pursuers into pausing long enough for us to escape? In truth, my plan was simply that I was laid flat on the ground and I didn't want to be. If that meant being launched out of the window, then so be it. I just wanted to be somewhere the girls weren't.

"Ha...ha?" Jaune laughed weakly, trying to pretend that the book version of him was joking. Nothing succeeded.

<…> "THROW ME, DAMN IT!" - Everyone jumped when Ozpin suddenly screamed. At their stunned and frightened glances, the director only shrugged his shoulders and again buried his face in the book. - <…> My world shifted as Ren kept hold of my feet and swung back. Centrifugal force lifted me off the ground, and I had a moment of weightlessness, followed abruptly by panic as I suddenly had a very good view of the window. When Ren let go, that view got even better – though not in a way I particularly liked.

"Oh! Let's make this our secret move?!" Nora exclaimed, looking at her team. All three shuddered and shouted in one voice:

"No!"

Nora sat down in her seat resentfully.

"You always refuse my ideas..."

J_PR shuddered sharply when they remembered the day when Nora proposed the idea of ​​​​using water balloons instead of bombs... And although the idea was just childish, but her desire to show how cool the plan was, brought the whole team to an interesting adventure in Vale. This was according to Nora's standards, but in reality they stumbled upon the mafia, barely managed to escape from mutated animals, saved a restaurant from a bomb explosion and in the end still got water balloons... And conveniently forgot to pick them up while returning back to Beacon. In short, that day was too long for three teenagers.

"Let's talk about this later, okay, Nora?" Ren touched Nora, making her calm down. Once again, Nora smiled cheerfully, but remained silent, allowing Ozpin to continue the story. He nodded.

<…> My aura flared, protecting me from the damage as Ren launched me through the window like some kind of surface to air dust missile. My arch was impressive, covering several metres or more, before I fell back to the floor and impacted the soft grass outside. I spat out some of it, only to choke a moment later as my friend grabbed my collar and dragged me onto my feet.
"It worked," Ren said, hopping through the smashed window. "What now?"

"Like what?" Jaune looked at Ren. "Run!"

Ozpin smirked.

<…> I had no idea what he wanted my advice. I thought our relationship was clear; he was the calm and intelligent guy. Me? I was just the guy out of my depth who blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Run!"

Ren looked away, embarrassed, not wanting to see the guys' looks.

<…> He looked startled.

<…> "Run!" - Ozpin shook his head while Ren blushed slightly and didn't want to meet his friends' eyes. - <…> "They're outside," Yang shouted. "Damn it, let's hunt them down," Weiss growled. "I want Arc's head on a pike!"

The real Yang grinned and sat back, finally hearing how she appeared in history. Weiss blushed slightly when the headmaster said her line from the book. And Jaune... he just turned pale and stared at the book with sympathy, internally feeling sorry for his double.

<…> "Running," Ren whispered, dragging me to my feet and then following my orders to the letter. I followed my companion, even as my heart pounded in my chest, and my breath came out in harsh pants. I looked back to the carnage that had overtaken the cafeteria. Shadows fought within, and windows were smashed as tables and chairs flew. People fled as well, but those that did were few and far between, and almost all male. Even as we passed away out of sight, and far out of hearing, the noise did not go away.

<…> In fact, it was all around us.

<…> Beacon was at war… a civil war, and there was not a place on campus that would be spared. We would live as fugitives and refugees, constantly afraid that we might round the corner and run into a pair of breasts.

<…> The Beacon Civil War had begun… and we were not prepared.

"Well," Ozpin closed the book and smiled looking at the students. "This is the end of the first chapter. You can laugh."

The next moment, the room erupted with laughter from the students.

* * *

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http://notabenoid.org/book/87121/572793

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