27Disclaimer-dracohalo117 does not own RWBY. RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth, and is the creation of Monty Oum.
Notice: This story, along with just about any other story made by dracohalo117 will be AU, I will not be following canon. I will extract elements from canon, but I will not be doing a carbon copy rewrite of the canon storyline.
This is a one shot that kept bouncing around inside my head, inspired by a plot line that I see done often, but this particular twist on the concept I rarely see done. Jaune is a Faunus, but rather than wear his attributes proudly, he hides them, and his family was the one who taught him to do so. I may post another chapter to it if I feel inclined, but do not expect a chapter any time soon, this story is not a priority for me.
I want to thank Lord of Daemons and Leaf Ranger for their assistance in completing this one shot.
Enjoy the story everyone.
Note: The story has been adjusted in places to make it flow more fluidly.
The broken moon of Remnant, as it cast its light downward upon the world below, simultaneously illuminated the near empty halls of Beacon Academy. The day was done, and the night had begun to take its hold, as the students and staff of Beacon trudged towards their dormitories and chambers to ready for the new day when classes would once more commence after a long weekend.
Most of the staff had used this time to grade papers that had piled up throughout the week, while students used this opportunity in order to rest from the trials of the week, or in the cases of others, search for a missing student and friend.
Team RWBY had spent much of the long weekend searching for their wayward teammate, who had fled the Beacon grounds three days prior after an intense and heated argument with another member of the team.
However, the all-female team had not been alone on their search, the leader of team RWBY, Ruby Rose, had implored the leader of a fellow team, Jaune Arc, and his team JNPR to aid them in their search for their lost friend. After much begging, pleading, and the quivering eyes of the young team leader, Jaune had been forced to relent, as he cursed his weakness towards the dreaded 'puppy dog eyes' of his colleague and friend. Thankfully his team had not been opposed to it, if anything they had been eager to jump on the bandwagon to seek out their lost friend and comrade.
And so, the search for the Cat Faunus and former White Fang operative, Blake Belladonna had commenced.
The two teams had split up, each covering portions of the city of Vale, but after two days of searching they had begun to fear that their friend had fled the kingdom and given what they had learned the source of the argument was, they could not find fault in her had she done so. However, by some miracle, fate, or pure circumstance, Ruby and another addition to the search team, a young girl by the name Penny Polendina, had managed to find their friend Blake Belladonna, and a Faunus she had spent the weekend with, a Mistralian student from Haven Academy, Sun Wukong.
After a brief conflict with White Fang operatives, and notorious thug and gang leader Roman Torchwick they had reconciled with their teammate after she gave side of the story they had called in JNPR to let them know that all was well.
Which was why JNPR was presently trudging through the academy halls, disheveled and exhausted, even the bubbly and hyperactive Nora, known for her near limitless energy had barely made it up the stairs to their dorms.
The door to their dorm opened, and the four Hunters in Training quickly entered, and with what little energy they had left, changed into their sleepwear.
The door to the bathroom opened as Jaune stepped back into the room, wearing his light blue onesie, much to the amusement of his teammates, and marched towards his bed, before collapsing onto it.
Pyrrha Nikos glanced to her partner, and smiled that same gentle smile she had become known for, "Well, today was certainly eventful wouldn't you say?"
Jaune looked up from where he had fallen and chuckled, "Oh yes, very eventful indeed, I think we managed to search half of Vale's commercial district."
"Only a quarter actually." Lie Ren cut in as he laid on his bed, while Nora had jumped onto her own bed, laughing as Jaune fixed Ren with an incredulous look.
"Seriously, Vale is that big?" he shook his head in disbelief, "I don't think I will ever get used to the big city."
The crimson haired champion tilted her head, "How big was your home town Jaune?"
Jaune shrugged, "It wasn't all that impressive, about fifty buildings in the entire town." he stretched, "I mean, sure it is a larger settlement, but its got nothing on the size of the kingdoms."
Nora grinned from her bed, "Oh? Maybe we can visit it next break?"
Jaune stiffened at Nora's response, a nervous look passing over his features, "Y-yeah, maybe next break." the tone of his voice suggested otherwise.
Pyrrha frowned in concern, "Is something the matter Jaune?"
He glanced at Pyrrha, sighing softly, "No, not really, it's just, my village doesn't exactly like outsiders." he rolled over and looked up at the ceiling, "I mean, don't get me wrong, new residents are relatively welcome, but visitors and tourists tend to annoy the villagers, even if they are visiting family."
Pyrrha's frown seemed to grow at this, "That seems unfair."
"Not entirely." Pyrrha and Jaune turned their attention towards Ren, "In our home town, Nora and I would often see tourists and passerby's cause trouble for the town and leave a mess in their wake, not caring since they didn't live there." he stretched as he tried to get comfortable, "It isn't entirely unfair that settlements outside the kingdoms wouldn't be too keen on outsiders if they didn't care about where they were currently, guest right or no."
Pyrrha sighed in response, "I suppose you have a point, even still…" she looked at Jaune, "I think we'd all like to meet your family at some point Jaune, as I am sure our own families would like to meet you."
Jaune smiled at her, "Yeah, maybe…" his statement was broken with a yawn, "…it's too late to discuss this, let's get some sleep and then talk about it in the morning, okay?"
Pyrrha felt a yawn escape her lips in response. A giggle echoed throughout the room in turn, "Yes, I think that is a good idea." she stretched and sat down on her bed, the covers already half pulled away, and after a swift motion of her legs, she threw her covers back over her body, and turned off her nightstand light, "Good night Jaune."
"Good night Pyrrha."
Nora had snuggled underneath her blankets, and was grinning, "Good night Renny."
Ren sighed as he placed a bag of seeds over his eyes, "Good night Nora."
Nora giggled and turned to Pyrrha, "Good night Pyrrha."
"Good night Nora."
Nora sat up and waved at Jaune, "Good night Jaune."
"Good night Nora."
Pyrrha sat up and smiled at Ren, "Good night Ren."
"Sigh…good night Pyrrha."
Jaune sat up from his bed and waved at Ren, "Good night Ren."
"Go to sleep!"
The other three occupants of the room shot back under their covers as the Green themed huntsman snapped up to a sitting position, sending the bag of seeds on his face across the room, bursting and sending the seeds flying across the room.
Jaune poked his head from underneath the covers and pointed at the wall, "I am not cleaning-"
"Yes you are Jaune." Ren uttered with a deadpan tone as he reached into his nightstand and pulled out another bag of seeds and placed it on his face, before crossing his arms across his chest.
Jaune sighed as he curled back underneath the covers, bumping his head against the headboard as he curled underneath his covers, and as his eyes slowly closed for the night he felt the full weight of the day's events fall down upon him, along with the sensation that he had forgotten something.
Oh well, if it was important he surely would have remembered it.
With that thought, his consciousness gave way to sleep, as he joined his teammates in torpor.
The sound of a door closing following the sound of four boisterous and jovial voices outside team JNPR's room caused the slumbering form of Jaune Arc to jerk as he was suddenly roused from his sleep by the sudden and surprisingly loud voices outside their dorm.
Jaune blinked away the sleep as he stared at the door, 'Are they back?' team JNPR had managed to catch the evening Bullhead back to Beacon, however team RWBY had been unable to make it in time, so they had been forced to wait until the midnight Bullhead arrived for them to return.
A groan escaped his lips as he felt a throbbing sensation at the forefront of his skull, and he unconsciously reached up to his forehead as if to try and suppress the pain somehow by massaging his throbbing forehead-
His eyes snapped open, wide as he felt his forehead, a glint of realization shimmered in his pupils as his hand lingered on his forehead.
'Damn it!' he knew he had forgotten something, had thought it unimportant, but how in the name of the gods did he forget this?
Throwing the covers off of his body, he slid off of his bed and got onto his knees, reaching underneath his bed as he pulled out a single black bag, and quickly unzipped it, frantically looking in the bag as he tried to remain as quiet as possible.
As he felt the tips of his fingers touch a rough surface and a rounded case, he grasped onto them both and then ran to the bathroom in the teams dorm bedroom, closing the door as quickly and quietly as he could. Turning on the light, he looked at himself in the mirror as he placed the object on the sink while he reached up to his forehead and pushed aside the scraggly mop of hair that covered his forehead.
Revealing the discolored nubs growing out of his forehead, which were stained with a skin colored cream that he had applied the week before.
He stared at the nubs in the mirror, and cursed under his breath as he realized how much he had allowed them to grow as he looked down at what he had pulled out of his bag.
One was a case of skin cream, of a similar tone to his own skin color, the other was a metallic file that still had traces of when he last had to file down the nubs.
He grabbed onto the handle of the file and brought it up to the first nub, and began to press against it, slowly and methodically filing the growth.
He winced, gritting his teeth as he filed down the nub, he could already tell this was taking much longer than anticipated after only a few seconds of filing.
The search for Blake, the scouting of Vale, he had completely forgotten to do this earlier, and now he would have to work even harder to get rid of the growth in question.
He pressed the file against the growth with greater force in an attempt to finish the job faster, however, the sudden application of greater force caused the file to slip from his grip and scratch his forehead.
"Gah!" he slapped a hand over his mouth, nervously looking at the bathroom door as he prayed that his teammates had not heard him.
His peripheral vision caught sight of himself in the mirror, and his nervousness grew as he realized he had just made his job more difficult than before.
He had caused a small, but still noticeable slice in his forehead, and a steady stream of blood was flowing from the open wound, which had already begun to drip onto the bathroom mat.
The cut would be easy enough to fix, especially since he had aura, but the mat would have to go.
Reaching for a roll of paper towels they kept in the bathroom, he turned away from the door and after tearing off a handful of towels he began to dab at the cut-
"Oh my gods, Jaune!"
The blonde snapped around to stare at the source of the noise, and found Nora Valkyrie staring at him with shock from the open doorway.
'Damn.'
The sleeping ginger rolled over in her sleep, as her mouth was hit with a sudden dryness, and an intense desire to drink. She slowly sat up in her bed, her orange hair sticking up every which way as she turned towards the fridge in the dorm.
She got out from her bed and swiftly went up to the fridge to look inside, hoping for a bottle of water or some juice. A grimace of disappointment twisted her features as instead she found assortments of energy drinks, soda, and protein shakes.
She groaned as she realized that if she had any of that, she would be awake all night and as much as she might have liked to stay up they had class in the morning, so that was a no go.
Her gaze turned to the bathroom, and she tilted her head. She could just turn on the faucet and drink from there.
With her decision in mind she stood up and began to walk towards the bathroom.
"Gah!"
Nora froze mid step as she heard a cry of pain from inside the bathroom, and she realized that the bathroom light was on, the light shimmering from underneath the door.
Nora had sprung forward, grabbing onto the doorknob and turning it, pushing the door open as she looked inside.
She saw Jaune standing in front of the mirror, an unknown metallic instrument on the sink, a gash on his forehead, and a steady stream of blood flowing from that cut.
"Oh my gods, Jaune!" she yelled as Jaune turned to her, as she took a good look at the cut on his forehead.
Jaune stared at Nora, who was continuing to do the same to him, her eyes of shock shifting to those of concern as she shot over to him, and grabbed his arms, "Jaune, what were you thinking?!" she yelled, a hint of anger in her voice as she looked over him, and began to pull up his sleeves, seeing nothing she looked at his face, her concern being mixed with confusion.
"Nora what's going-Jaune?!" Jaune's gaze shifted from Nora to the doorway, where he saw Pyrrha standing there, with Ren following close behind as they both gawked at him, the same looks of concern as on Nora's face also marring theirs.
Jaune was about to speak, when he felt his bangs get pushed aside as Nora began to look at his wound, only for her to suddenly freeze, staring at his forehead, a perplexed expression taking form.
As Pyrrha and Ren's expressions shifted to the same looks of confusion, he felt a cold pit in his stomach as he realized why they were staring.
They could see his Faunus attributes.
Jaune was currently seated on his bed, while Ren tended to the cut on his forehead, silently staring at the floor as Ren cleaned the wound and applied an adhesive to stem any blood flow, Aura would close the wound up, but Ren felt it prudent to ensure the cut remained closed while his aura closed it.
It would not be the first time that one with Aura neglected their health because of their reliance on it.
Finally, Ren stepped away from Jaune, and joined Pyrrha and Nora who were seated on the bed across from him as they processed what they had just discovered.
The four were silent, waiting for somebody, anybody, to break the taciturn nature of their dorms current atmosphere.
"So…" three of the four members of JNPR turned to the one who had spoken, and found the magenta colored eyes of Lie Ren looking at Jaune with a questioning gaze, "…you are a Faunus?"
Pyrrha and Nora looked at Jaune, who had returned to looking at the floor, a slow nod of affirmation, "Yes."
The three were silent, waiting for Jaune to continue, to say anything else. After a minute of simply staring he still remained silent.
Ren bit his lower lip, as if he wanted to say something but was unable to.
Pyrrha looked at Ren, and then turned her attention back to Jaune, "Did you ever intend to tell us?"
Jaune continued to stare at the floor, answering softly, "No."
Nora shifted uncomfortably in her seat, a smile, however forced, came to her lips, "So, horns huh?" she said with an awkward crack in her voice.
Jaune glanced back up at her, his expression showing so little emotion they couldn't even tell what it was, "Antlers." he whispered quietly, still looking down, afraid to meet their eyes, an act which did not go unnoticed by them.
Nora pursed her lips, coughing as she cleared her throat, "S-so, you're a deer Faunus?"
Jaune briefly looked up at Nora before turning his gaze back down, a sigh escaping his lips, "Yes." his hand subconsciously reaching up to scratch the back of his head, "A Red Deer Faunus to be accurate."
Ren tilted his head slightly, "But, you're blond."
Jaune's gaze tilted towards Ren, "Not my Faunus traits." he said with a flat tone to his voice, as if this topic had come up before.
Pyrrha chose this moment to cut in, "Is this the first time you've…" she gestured towards the file they had found in the bathroom, "…filed them yourself?"
Jaune shook his head in response, "No, I have done it myself for years."
Pyrrha frowned, and the narrowing of her eyes showed a certain level of disbelief, "Then why did you cut yourself?" she pointed at the gash on his forehead.
He reached up to his forehead, pressing on the bandage, and let out a breath of exasperation, "I let them grow too much, they've never gotten this long before."
Ren cut in, "Have you ever tried cutting them?"
Jaune blinked and looked down, "Once or twice."
Pyrrha and Nora shared a look, as Ren brought a hand to his chin in contemplation, "What do you do with the leftovers? Do you sell them to a sporting goods place or-" Ren cut off his statement as he realized what he was saying…
And when he saw the intense and displeased look Jaune was shooting him.
Nora and Pyrrha were giving him similar looks, though Jaune looked particularly upset. Ren looked down in response and mumbled out an apology.
Jaune stared at him with that look for a few moments longer, before he responded, "To answer your question, I throw them away."
Ren bit his lip and nodded, as he continued to look down, ashamed to look back up at his teammate, who he had just asked such insensitive questions.
"Jaune…" The aforementioned blond turned his head to look at his partner, who was staring back at him with a look that almost seemed hurt, "Did you keep this a secret from us because you thought we'd think less of you because of what you are?"
Jaune's gaze snapped towards Pyrrha, his eyes wide as he sputtered, "N-No, Gods no, I never thought that." he said rapidly, looking between her, Ren and Nora.
"Then, d-did you not trust us to keep it a secret?" Pyrrha asked, the hurt look on her face becoming more pronounced.
Jaune suddenly stood up from his bed, "No, by the Nine, no, I never even considered that, I trust you all unconditionally-"
"Then why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you ever intend to tell us?" Pyrrha had stood up, and was looking into Jaune's eyes, her hands having reached forward and grabbed his shoulders as she looked at him with desperation, "Why?" the hurt tone of her voice made Jaune wince as he looked at her, and saw that Ren and Nora had similar looks of discomfort.
Jaune looked away from them, his hands grasping onto his onesie, "It…it's just what I have always done, I've always done this. Filed down my antlers, hid that I was a Faunus, ever since I was a kid I did this." he slowly sat back down on the bed, Pyrrha's hands still clutching his shoulders, though her grip had loosened.
"But why?" Jaune turned his gaze towards Nora, whose gaze had become questioning as she looked at him.
Jaune shrugged, "My parents thought it was the best course of action, there weren't any other Faunus in the settlement besides me, and they thought it would be best not to ruffle any feathers."
"That's it?" Jaune turned his gaze to Ren, who looked to be annoyed, if not angry, "Your parents, which by your own words are human, thought you should hide what you are because it would 'ruffle feathers'? Sorry to be blunt Jaune, but it sounds more like they were ashamed that they had a Faunus child."
Jaune's expression twisted into one of shock before it suddenly exploded into one of rage as he stood up, throwing Pyrrha's arms off of him, "That is not true! My parents loved me, they were just looking out for me!" his voice echoed, the rage in his tone being clear, though Ren did not relent.
"How were they looking out for you by making you hide what you are?" Ren stood up, intensely staring at Jaune, who glared back in response.
"They never 'made me' do anything? Yes they showed me how to file down my antlers, yes it hurt but-"
"What?!" Nora shot up to a standing position, her eyes burning with fury and concern, "Filing down your antlers hurts and you still do it?!" Nora looked him over, or more accurately at his onesie, "Did they do anything else to you for your own good?" she pointed at his onesie, "Do you really wear that and your hoodie cause it is comfortable, or to hide what they to do you?" Nora at this point was shaking in anger, her eyes blistering with fury as the very thought seemed to bring her to a boiling point.
Jaune was taken aback by her statement, "No, of course not! They did not abuse me, ever!" he yelled angrily, staring at Nora with fury almost matching hers.
Nora frowned, "Let's find out then, pin him!" she yelled as she jumped at him, and surprisingly, Ren did so as well, grabbing both of his arms and pinning him to the bed. Nora turned to Pyrrha and snapped, "Get it off of him, now."
Pyrrha needed no further orders as she began to grab Jaune's onesie and pull at the zipper.
Jaune thrashed against Nora and Ren's grip, "Hey, damn it guys let me go!"
Pyrrha had begun to pull on the zipper, as Nora and Ren flipped Jaune over as she began to unzip the onesie.
'CRASH'
Pyrrha suddenly stopped as they heard their dorm room door being broken down, as she turned in a fighting stance to see who had suddenly intruded.
Standing in the broken doorway, all in their sleepwear, were the members of team RWBY, standing atop the broken door, which had a fist shaped mark in it, likely from one of Yang's punches, if her outstretched fist was evidence to come to that conclusion.
Ren and Nora stared at team RWBY as Jaune tried to remove their hold on him, causing the zipper in his onesie to fall further.
As this happened, team RWBY was staring at the scene before them in various states of shock and a small measure of disgust, "What the hell?!" Weiss yelled as she pointed at the scene before them, "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" she screamed with a tone that promised pain and torment if they failed to provide a suitable answer.
Confusion contorted the expressions of the two females and dark haired male of team JNPR, until they saw the looks on their sister teams faces and examined the scene they had walked in on.
Realization came to them as Pyrrha waved her arms, "No, no, it isn't what it looks like, it's just-"
"Uh, girls-"
Pyrrha's words were cut off as Yang turned to Ruby, her eyes focusing on her sister as she saw Ruby pointing towards the group, and Yang followed her sisters gaze and where she was pointing, seeing Jaune with his onesie undone, a tail sticking out from-
Wait, tail?!
Yang and Ruby's gaze was joined by Weiss and Blake, who were staring at the puff of fur and vertebrae sticking out of the base of Jaune's spine.
"Uhm…" Blake spoke up, "What is going on here?" she looked at the team as Jaune was released from Ren and Nora's hold, as he quickly zipped back up his onesie, and turned towards them, and they noticed the nubs on his forehead.
"Oh I'll tell you what's going on." Nora spoke up, walking over to RWBY, "I woke up in the middle of the night to get something to drink, and I find Jaune bleeding in the bathroom, where I make the discovery, that our leader is a Faunus."
Blake's eyes widened at this as she looked at Jaune, only for him to look away from her.
Similar looks of shock were found on Yang, Ruby, and Weiss' faces as the orange haired grenadier continued to talk, angrily.
"Instead of being able to hide his Faunus traits under a bow or hat though, he had to file them with this!" she holds up the file for team RWBY to see.
Weiss looked at the file and back at Jaune, who seemed to be trying to hide inside of his onesie.
"But, how didn't I notice?" They all turned to Blake, who was confused, if the expression on her face was anything to go by.
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, curiosity showing on her features.
Blake turned to Weiss, "Hiding my ears doesn't dampen my other senses, I should have been able to smell that he was a Faunus, but I haven't…smelt…" a look of realization appeared on Blake's face as she turned to Jaune, "…anything."
They all turned towards her in confusion, "What do you mean-"
"Jaune, what type of shampoo do you use?" Blake asked, a tone that stated clearly she was not backing down from this.
Jaune blinked and looked at the bag sticking out of the foot of his bed. He leaned down and rummaged through the bag, until he pulled his hand out, along with a clear bottle of a rust colored fluid, "This, but I don't see-" Blake snatched the bottle from his hands as Blake looked it over, her eyes widening, a look of familiarity on her features.
"Jaune, this isn't shampoo, this is a chemical that was used during the Faunus rights movement, Faunus would use it to cover their trail so that the dogs and Faunus collaborators couldn't track Faunus slaves running from their owners or the internment camps. It eliminates all odors on anybody who uses it, and if you inhale it, it nullifies Faunus senses." Blake looked at him, "Who told you to use this?"
Jaune looked at her with shock and confusion, "My…my family told me to use it, ever since I was a kid." he looked at them all, "It's just an odor blocker, I mean, everybody starts to smell bad, what is so wrong with it. Sure they were a bit insistent, made me promise to use it, but come on, it's just so I don't smell bad is all." he shrugged, "I don't get why it is such a big deal guys." Jaune turned to look at them, but immediately began to feel uncomfortable at the looks they were giving him.
If only he knew what they were thinking.
As the evidence began to pile up, the only conclusion they could come to, was not a pleasant one. The picture that was being painted wasn't just that Jaune's status as a Faunus wasn't just being hidden from humans, but from Faunus as well.
The silence became uncomfortable, as Jaune sat down on his bed, and bit his lip, turning towards Nora, "Look, it's late, why don't we talk about this tomorrow?" he held out his hand, "Can I please have my file back?"
Nora was broken from her stare at his question as she looked at the file still in her grip, "Oh, you mean this file?" she brought the file up and grabbed it with both hands.
'SNAP' before she used pure brute strength to snap it in half.
"Nora sto-" Ren grabbed Jaune's shoulder and forced him back into a sitting position as he watched as Nora snap the pieces of his file in half a second time, before giving them to Ruby.
"Turn those into bullet casings or something, anything but what it used to be." Ruby nodded as she pocketed the pieces, as they looked at Jaune.
Nora turns towards the bottle of chemical in Blake's hands, and grabs it, before walking over to Jaune's bag and lifting it up, emptying out on the bed, revealing several more bottles in the bag, which Nora quickly began to gather up, "We are throwing all of these away, and tomorrow we are going into Vale to get you a new wardrobe."
Jaune's eyes widened, "Nora don't be unreasonable-"
Nora's gaze turned to him, and the fire in her eyes seemed to burn with the intensity of a broken fire dust crystal, "Nothing you have is suitable to protect you, or suitable for your Faunus traits, that is going to change."
Jaune frowned in response, "I wear what's comfortable."
At this, Ren snapped, "You still need proper protection, and there are plenty of stores that sell Faunus friendly armor."
Jaune looked up at Ren with a heavier frown than before, "That isn't necessary-"
"Damn it Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted as she stood in front of him, "You are risking your life, it is more than simply necessary Jaune."
Jaune flinched at Pyrrha's tone, but he did not relent, "I don't get why you are all making such a big deal out of this." he gestured towards Blake, "She is hiding her Faunus traits as well, why can't I?"
Blake's gaze hardened as she stepped forward, her teeth grinding together as she bellowed at him, "The way I hide my Faunus traits doesn't involve self-mutilation Jaune, or discarding proper combat wear to avoid discomfort. I understand wanting to hide your Faunus attributes, but your desire and right to hide who you are ends when you start physically harming yourself to do it!"
Jaune moved to retort, only for Ren to cut him off, "Your family may not have abused you physically, but by teaching you to mutilate and damage yourself like this, put yourself at risk like this, they certainly mentally abused you."
Jaune's gaze snapped to Ren, and he snarled in anger, "Don't you dare assume what you know nothing about Ren!" he clenched his jaw, his hands curling into fists as he was visibly shaking, "Sure my sisters teased me over my Faunus traits, sometimes they'd put grass or leaves in my food…"
Blake's eyes widened as her hands shot to her mouth, a low gasp escaping her lips, which did not go unnoticed by the others.
"…but my family did not-"
"Jaune, do you have any idea how racist your sisters actions were?!" Blake erupted in fury, staring at him with bewildered eyes, as if she couldn't comprehend what she was seeing or hearing, as if the sheer obliviousness of Jaune was baffling to her.
Jaune had turned to look at her with a cross look, "What is so racist about-"
Blake did not let him finish, "Jaune, just because our kind have animal-like attributes doesn't mean we are animals." she crossed her arms and looked down, "While some Faunus have food preferences like how I like Tuna since I am a cat Faunus, and how a monkey Faunus might like Banana's…" she looked at him with a steely gaze, "…but what your sisters did? Grass and Leaves in your food, that is past teasing and borders on racism, if not crossing right over into it, especially if they did that because you are a deer Faunus."
Jaune grit his teeth and snarled, "It was just some harmless teasing damn it!"
Jaune!" the rooms occupants flinched as Pyrrha finally shouted from her position, and stared at him with a hard look. "You were mutilating yourself to hide your Faunus heritage, you were using a chemical which hid your scent and dampened your own senses to hide your Faunus heritage, and it was your family that convinced you and made you promise to keep doing it. Even if your sisters were just 'teasing you' the fact of the matter is that your own family was making you hurt yourself to hide what you are!" Pyrrha was shaking from anger, as a slow stream of tears was trailing down from her eyes.
Jaune winced as he saw this as he reached out towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Pyrrha please I-"
"Jaune, you're ignoring what's right in front of you, and you don't even realize it." Pyrrha's voice cracked as she leaned forward, her arms snaking around Jaune as she pulled him against her, as she began to sob into his shoulder.
The rooms other occupants stared at the scene with a mixture of emotions, Blake was looking at Jaune with a hard gaze, as Weiss stared at him with contemplation, an unsure look on her face, but that quickly was replaced with one that could only be described as determined. Nora still looked livid, but her expression had softened and Ren looked more exhausted than ever. Yang and Ruby watched with an expression of concern as they looked at him and Pyrrha.
After a minute of Pyrrha crying into his shoulder, she slowly pulled away from him, and took in a deep breath, her eyes snapping open to reveal her emerald green eyes were now bloodshot.
Which made the hard gaze she gave him all the more terrifying.
"Jaune…" the blond gave Pyrrha his undivided attention as she said his name, "…this is what is going to happen; you are not hiding your Faunus heritage anymore, you will wear it proudly and be proud of it." Pyrrha took a deep breath, "If anybody causes you problems because of that, we…" she spoke with a sharp edge to her tone as Nora and Ren stood by her side, "…will deal with them."
"Count us in too." Pyrrha turned to regard Yang who had spoken up, "Anybody messes with vomit-boy because he has antlers and a tail is gonna enjoy a Long beating." she said with a grin, even as her teammates groaned in response.
Weiss coughed into her hand as she spoke up, "Yang's awful pun aside." Yang stuck her tongue out in response at the heiress, "You can rest assured that I will do my part as well. Any ruffian or narrow minded hooligan causes you undue stress because of your race will deal with me…" she turned to mumble under her breath, "…and maybe Myrtenaster."
Blake smiled at Weiss' proclamation, "Same here, in fact." she reached up and grabbed the edge of her bow string, and undid the bow, revealing her Cat ears for all to see, "Maybe it's time I do the same."
"Nobody hurts my first friend at Beacon!" Ruby roared from behind her teammates, holding Crescent Rose in scythe form as she grinned with promises of pain shimmering behind her eyes.
Weiss stared at Ruby incredulously, "How did you even get that-"
"Weiss…" Weiss turned to Yang who looked tired as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, "…don't ask, please."
The scene before them was observed by team JNPR, who all turned to look at Jaune, as team RWBY did the same.
The blond Faunus looked at them nervously, confusedly, and unsure.
He looked down away from them as he sat back down on his bed, his hand reaching up to his forehead as he pressed his palms against it, the nubs of his growing antlers slipping between his fingers.
A whirlwind of emotions swirled about inside of him, he didn't think his family was hurting him, but how could he just reject the solidarity and support of his team, even if he thought they were wrong, and…what if they were right?
The very idea of his family being ashamed of what he was, it seemed profane to even consider such a thought.
But what other explanation was there? Ignorance on his families part? A desire to do what was best for him to the point they saw nothing wrong with what they had him do?
A heavy sigh escaped his lips, those were thoughts for another day, right now however, he had his team and friends to answer to.
He looked back up at them with a frown on his features, "Okay, we'll do it your way."
A look of relief passed over their features as Yang stepped forward, "First thing we gotta do lady-killer, is get you some new duds." she looked over his onesie, "Preferably ones we pick out for you, okay?"
Blake nodded at Yang, "That's a good start, and I know of a few shops that sell Faunus friendly clothing, we can go tomorrow after classes." she looked back at Jaune, "You'll have to put up with your current clothes until then unfortunately."
Jaune waved it off, "That's fine-" his eyes widened in realization, "Wait, how am I gonna pay for a new wardrobe? I don't exactly have a steady job or a hidden stash of cash."
Similar looks of realization passed over their features, and for a moment they all looked at one another.
"Not to worry." they turned towards the white themed huntress who spoke up, "I will cover it for you." her eyes narrowed as she held up a finger, "But only this time, so I suggest we find a wardrobe that will last you a while, understood?"
Jaune eeped and nodded his head, wondering how Weiss' narrowed eyes could be so terrifying.
She grinned in response, "Good." she clapped her hands together, "Now that that is out of the way, I think it is about time we return to our quarters." she glanced back at her teammates as she headed out the doorway, the others following behind, each casting a last look back at team JNPR.
The dorms rightful occupants were now the only ones left in the room, still lingering where they had been before.
Jaune sighed as he looked down at the ground, as Pyrrha placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's alright Jaune, it will be a big step in a new direction, but you'll have us by your side the whole way."
Nora grinned as she returned to her bubbly cheerful self, "Yep, and anybody who tries to separate us will get broken legs!" she began to chuckle ominously, as Ren sighed in response, casting a smile over towards Jaune.
Jaune couldn't help but smile back, before his eyes turned towards the teams doorway.
Along with the broken door on the floor.
"I am not cleaning that up." Jaune said with finality.
Ren chuckled, "Oh yes you-"
"Shut up Ren." Jaune stated flatly, causing Ren to deflate, Nora to chuckle, and Pyrrha to sigh as she looked down at Jaune.
A frown found its way onto her features, and yet, a light twitch to her lips formed into a smile. True, it hurt that Jaune had hidden this from them, but he was at least trying to open up in some way.
The journey ahead would be difficult, but he wouldn't go forth alone.
He had the heiress of the SDC, a former White Fang operative, a prodigious scythe wielder, a vigilant blond brawler, a serene combatant and a hammer wielding grenadier with no regard for collateral damage on his side.
A smile came to her lips as Jaune turned to look at her, a smile coming to his own as well.
He also had her, through thick and thin, he had her, Pyrrha Nikos, four time Mistral Champion and Valedictorian of Sanctum on his side.
As Jaune looked away, and she saw the scraping on his antler nubs, she frownedd as she thought on the family that instilled this mindset into him.
She stood by what she said, she wanted to meet them, if no no other reason than to give them a piece of her mind.
Similar desires were held by Ren and Nora, and she could see it in their eyes as they watched over their leader...their friend.
An: I hope you enjoyed this story, and I hope the humor wasn't too hit or miss.
Okay, this is a One shot, and admittedly, was not my best work, but I hope that you enjoyed reading this nonetheless.
The basis of this idea was that Jaune hid his Faunus attributes, but I tried not to give a clear reason why his family did that. Were they ashamed of him, did they hate him, was it some misguided act of love they used as an explanation to why they did what they did.
If anybody wishes to take this concept and try their hand at a continuation, feel free to do so, and please let me know so I can check it out. I may post another chapter if I feel inclined to, but don't be waiting for updates, this story is not a priority for me.
Recommendations: Here are stories I personally recommend…I have followed these stories for a while, and I feel they deserve more recognition for the amount of work the authors put into each of them.
-The Heroes And The Queen-Robot Overlord
-Journey: Path of the Hero-The White Wulf
-Naruto's Butterfly-gadman85
-InFamous Salvation-JAYSEN
-A Simple Mission-Leaf Ranger
-The Heat-wildstraydog
-The Warmth of Winter-RareNyte
-Squire-Dakaath
-Arc-Angel-KtyouVsWriting
-Legacy-Greatcow
-RWBY: The Grimm Warrior-CaptainPrice
-Blake's Mistake-wildstraydog
-RWBY: Destiny of Remnant-ultraguy7x
-How I Made You Meet Mom-PhantomGalaxy13
-Altered Fate-KorKor11
I surely will recall more stories that I feel deserve more recognition for the work their authors put in them, but for now, please check out these stories, they are a fantastic read, and deserve more attention than they are getting.
An: I have posted a challenge on my profile for anybody who wishes to take it up, 'Bearer of the Legendary Sword'. If you do take it up, please send me a PM when the story is posted so that I can post the link on my profile for viewers to see.
Please show your support...read, write, review, follow, PM, or if you absolutely must, flame with LEGITIMATE reasons.
