Jaune's Resolve

6 - Depth

Ruby's silver eyes immediately lit up when she spotted Jaune.

"Hey, Jaune! How's your morning?" she chirped, a friendly smile on her face.

Jaune blinked, still not fully awake. "Good... but I could've used, like, five more hours of sleep."

He let out a long exhale, slouching slightly for emphasis.

Ruby giggled. "Sounds like you do."

Weiss gave him a quick glance. "You look less like a walking bruise today. That's an improvement."

"Thanks?" Jaune replied, unsure if that was encouragement or just Weiss being Weiss.

"Seriously though," Yang said as she stepped beside Ruby, "heard about what went down in Forever Fall. That was a pretty gutsy move, Arc."

Jaune rubbed the back of his neck. "Just did what I had to."

"I've always wondered what happened between you and Cardin, he looked pretty bruised up more than you did when we came back. But fighting an Ursa Major for his caliber? Yeah—makes sense." Yang added, her face on a thoughtful expression.

Blake finally looked up from her book. "Most people don't run toward an Ursa."

Jaune met her eyes, then shrugged modestly. "Most people aren't trying to keep a classmate from getting shredded."

Pyrrha stepped up beside him, arms crossed with a faint smile. "He's underselling himself. Again."

Yang chuckled. "Humble. I like that."

Nora poked her head between the groups. "Jaune's basically a hero now. Ren and I agreed—we'll let him carry our bags if he gets too cocky."

"We didn't agree to that," Ren corrected calmly.

Ruby laughed, then fell into step beside Jaune as the hallway began to fill with students heading toward class. "Well, I'm glad you're okay. Seriously."

Jaune smiled at her—tired, but genuine. "Thanks, Ruby. That means a lot."

And for a moment, just as the two teams walked together down the hall, laughing and talking about the day ahead, it felt like Beacon wasn't just a school.

It felt like a home.

Classroom, Port's Class

"Good morning, future Huntsmen and Huntresses!" Professor Peter Port's booming voice echoed through the auditorium-style classroom. He slammed a heavy ruler against his palm for emphasis, startling a few sleepy students awake. "Ready to swing and learn?"

Team RWBY filed into the room with the ease of routine, making their way down the central stairs to the lower rows.

Ruby took her usual spot, humming under her breath, with Weiss sighing beside her, brushing imaginary lint off her desk.

Blake slipped into her seat silently, and

Yang leaned back with her arms behind her head, relaxed but alert.

Just behind them, Team JNPR arrived, climbing a few steps higher.

Jaune slid into his seat next to Pyrrha, rubbing one shoulder absently. It still ached a little, but the soreness from Forever Fall had mostly faded. He felt lighter now.

As Port launched into his usual theatrical lecture, Jaune opened his textbook without prompting, flipping to the chapter they were on.

"Ah yes!" Port's voice reverberated off the high ceilings. "Today, we discuss one of the more tricksy creatures of the Grimm variety—the Geist!"