Author's Note: And here's the fifth chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer and Warning still apply from the first chapter.

Chapter 5: Charmed Life

Pyrrha Nikos had a strict code of ethics. As a role-model to many future Huntsmen and Huntresses, she was bound by moral obligation to make sure she was a proper one to whom people of all walks of life could look up to. She was diligent in all aspects of her life, be it homework, training, or even simple chores she'd once performed around her family home. She tried to always look on the bright side, even when things looked their darkest. Above all, she tried to respect other peoples' privacy, even when nobody seemed to do the same in return.

Therefore, she found herself in a dilemma when Nora asked her (re: dragged her along by the arm) to help the ginger-haired girl spy on their male teammates. Of course, Nora hadn't called it spying, but what else could one call hiding in some bushes and trying not to be seen while snooping around?

She, Ren, Nora, and Jaune had been a team for just over half a month, and in that time the two boys would regularly disappear in the evenings, returning hours later looking sweaty and disheveled. Pyrrha was fine with it; they were probably just doing some extra training or whatever it was that guy stuff involved. However, Nora wasn't as easily satisfied.

Apparently, she and Ren had been together ("But not, y'know, together-together!") since their village had been attacked by Grimm years ago, and had relied upon one another ever since. When Ren suddenly started going places without her, she naturally began to worry.

Nora had tried many arguments on Pyrrha in order to cajole her into aiding in the espionage, but they had all failed until the hammer-wielder had landed on, "What if they're going out to pick up chicks?"

That had been a bit of a wake-up call. When they had first met, Jaune hadn't even known that Pyrrha was famous and only recognized her through that cereal endorsement her manager had insisted upon. Her interest in him increased further during Initiation, and as she learned more things about the blonde sword-and-board fighter the more Pyrrha realized she was crushing hard.

It wasn't a fact she had taken lightly, either. As soon as she had come to that startling epiphany, Pyrrha had gone to the Dust-Net for answers on how to handle such a mess. He was her partner, for goodness' sake! They would be on the same team for four years, and if she made it awkward then who knew what would happen to Team JNPR? The fact that they shared a dorm, a restroom, and most classes also didn't help. She'd once heard that absence made the heart grow fonder, but surely close proximity would have a more pronounced effect.

When Nora had made the supposition that Ren and Jaune were going out nightly to flirt (and God knew what else!) with women, Pyrrha finally came to terms with the fact that she wanted Jaune, badly enough that she would do whatever it took to get him, and hang the consequences. Well, she wasn't going to go around breaking laws any time soon, but bending her own morals a bit wouldn't hurt.

So Pyrrha Nikos, advocate of privacy and personal space, found herself stalking two of her teammates while the third slunk about next to her.

She was actually a little surprised at how competent Nora was when it came to stealth, but when she voiced that sentiment Nora just giggled and said, "How else are you supposed to sneak into a syrup factory and steal a ten-gallon drum of maple?"

Well, she had a point...

Eventually, Ren and Jaune stopped in the middle of a copse of trees on the far edges of Beacon's grounds. The two boys unslung the backpacks they'd been carrying and pulled out a few lanterns, hanging them around the clearing for light. Pyrrha and Nora found a nice raspberry bush which was thankfully thorn-free that offered a good view of the glen while maintaining a nice obscuring effect that would hide them should either of their quarry turn in that direction.

"Okay, ready?" Ren asked once all the lanterns were hung, and Jaune nodded with his jaw set in a determined line.

"Yeah," he said firmly, falling into a loose, basic martial arts stance while Ren slid into his own more fluidly.

Then Ren moved, swinging a palm toward Jaune's gut. Jaune quickly raised his knee and took the hit there, then grabbed Ren's wrist and pulled him into a bear hug before flipping them both up into an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. They both grunted as the air left them, but Ren was quick to kick Jaune off of him with both legs and sprung to his feet in a single motion.

While Jaune rolled into a crouch to asses Ren, Pyrrha shot Nora an exasperated glare. "I told you they were just training," she hissed.

"Oh, I know," Nora bobbed her head with a smile. "I just wanted to see what you'd do if I told you Jaune was hitting on other women."

Nora was lucky they were supposed to be incognito, otherwise Pyrrha would have leapt up and attempted to strangle the bubbly girl.

Before she could give into the temptation, the meaty sound of a fist connecting with a body echoed through the clearing and she turned to find Jaune on the floor.

"You okay?" his dark-haired teammate asked, offering a hand to help him up. It was hard to catch the concern in Ren's voice, but Pyrrha thought she was starting to pick up on the subtleties of Ren's voice and body language, though he didn't make it easy.

"Yeah, just got distracted by..." he trailed off, looking back and spotting the same red splotch in the darkness. At first, Pyrrha thought he might have been deep in thought, but as she looked closer she realized that Jaune was staring directly at their bush. Frowning, he hesitantly called out, "Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha's heart stopped beating for at least three seconds before it stuttered back up. Glancing up, she realized that the top of her ponytail was extremely visible over the bush's brambles. Well, she supposed she couldn't hide anymore. Time to face the music, she thought miserably.

"Hello again," she said, voice full of embarrassment and an awkward smile stretching her lips uncomfortably. It disappeared momentarily as she glared down at Nora (who was grinning mischievously) before reaching out and pulling her up as well.

"Hey, guys!" she chirped, cheerful as ever as she bounced over the bush toward them. "Guess what? Me and Pyrrha were spying on you!"

"N-no we weren't!" Pyrrha denied instantly, waving her hands in front of her as if to rebuff the accusation. "Nora tricked me!"

"How?" Ren asked, sounding baffled, and Pyrrha's embarrassment grew further.

"I don't think that's really relev—"

"I told her that you guys were gonna pick up chicks and she got all jealous and possessive," Nora spoke over her protest with a sunny smile.

Ren's eyebrows rose even as Jaune's furrowed in thought. Nora had just handed Jaune the keys to unlocking Pyrrha's hidden infatuation, and he was about to figure it out! Panic and anticipation warred within her, and she almost missed Jaune speaking.

"Pyrrha, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked, gesturing for her to follow. Nodding numbly, she trailed after him until they were out of ear-shot of their teammates. "Pyrrha, I get that sometimes you don't get to choose who you love," he began gently, and Pyrrha's heart plummeted down past the soles of her feet. Was he about to reject her feelings?

"...but despite how much she denies it, Nora likes Ren, too, and she does have a better claim than you," Jaune continued, wincing awkwardly as he did so. Wait...did he think that she like Ren?

Fighting the urge to slap her forehead out of sheer exasperation, Pyrrha held up a hand to interrupt him. "I don't like Ren," she began bluntly, then backpedaled quickly. "I mean, he's nice and all, but I don't like him the way Nora likes him."

"Oh," Jaune heaved a sigh of relief. "Well, that's great then!"

"Really?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah, of course," Jaune laughed. "I was worried that a love-triangle within the team would tear us apart, and I can't have that happen when I'm in charge. I don't want to fail you guys like that."

Again, Pyrrha parried her natural instinct to make her frustration known via application of her hand to her face. Why did she have to fall for such an endearingly oblivious guy like Jaune? She couldn't even really be mad with him because he had their best interests at heart even when he thought he had gotten caught in a love triangle.

"Let's head back to the others," he suggested, and she agreed readily. When they got back to the clearing, Nora was hanging from a branch while Ren sat quietly at the base of the same tree.

"So, why didn't you boys tell us what you were doing out here?" Nora asked when they sat down beside Ren.

"Jaune asked if I would spar with him in order to stay sharp," Ren said with a shrug. "But when I realized how terrible his fighting style was I took it upon myself to train him."

Pyrrha had noticed that as well; during Combat Class earlier that day, Jaune had faced off against that Winchester fellow and while her partner had emerged victorious, it had been pure luck rather than skill which had won him the day. She had thought it strange that a Beacon first-year would be so ill-prepared for combat, but didn't want to seem rude.

Naturally, Nora was the one to broach the subject. "So, Jaune, how come you suck at fighting?" she asked with all the subtlety and tact of her weapon of choice.

Jaune froze up like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming train. "Uh...well you see...the thing about that is..." His sapphire gaze darted between the three of them frantically before he slumped, almost folding in on himself. "Guys, there's something I've got to tell you."

Jaune took a deep breath, looking at each of his teammates. Ren was passive, but his eyes were intent and focused. Pyrrha's face showed nothing but concern and support, which only made Jaune feel worse. Nora, of course, was simply curious.

He had hoped that after a week or so of Ren training him up a little that he could pass off his deficiencies when it came to combat as merely weak points in his education. But it became more and more apparent that the disparity in their skill wasn't going to be fixed any time soon. Jaune's childhood had been filled with stories of heroes fighting monsters, and while he'd always dreamed of wielding his family's blade dauntlessly against the forces of evil, they had always been just that: a boy's fantasies.

He'd never seriously wanted to become a Huntsman until only a month ago, and that was pretty much out of necessity rather than a life-long goal.

"I don't belong here," he said at last. Before they could interrupt, he pushed forward. "I used forged transcripts to get into Beacon, and I barely managed to get through Initiation in one piece. I don't know why I was made your leader, but...I don't deserve it. I don't even deserve to be in the same room as you."

"What are you talking about?" Nora's voice was skeptical. "You helped Yang and Weiss beat that Deathstalker and killed the Nevermore by yourself. If that doesn't qualify you to be a Huntsman, then I don't know what does."

Jaune stared at her in shock, but Nora offered him a guileless smile. "Just because you didn't go to a prep school or get enough training doesn't mean you don't have what it takes."

"She's right," Pyrrha said firmly, reaching out and gripping his shoulder comfortingly. "You've got the most important thing necessary to become a great Huntsman: your desire to help others."

He felt like he should close his mouth, but he couldn't for the life of him get his jaw to work properly.

"Not to mention you've got quite a mind for some pretty unorthodox tactics," Ren pointed out. "I've been surprised by some of your moves before, and that's not something to be taken lightly. Even Nora has a tough time pulling that off."

The support his friends were showing him was overwhelming to Jaune. Growing up, his family had been the only ones to show any sort of faith in him in the small village where they lived. To everyone else he was merely the screw-up, the only Arc in living memory destined to fail at life.

When he set his sights for Beacon, it had been with the soul-crushing knowledge that he wouldn't have any of that encouragement. Now, though, with his team firmly behind him...it made him want to cry to be honest.

"You guys..." he choked out, closing his eyes to avoid embarrassing himself further. "Thanks."

He was surprised when a pair of arms encircled him and squeezed gently. "We'll always be here for you, Jaune," Pyrrha said, her voice muffled against his sweater.

"Heck yeah, we will!" Nora cheered, grabbing both of them around the waist and lifting them over her head in a crushing hug effortlessly. Ren simply gave a fortifying smile, but that was enough from his quiet brother-in-arms.

After a while, Nora let them go and Pyrrha peeled herself off of him. "So we're all gonna be doing this from now on, right?" Nora said pointedly, and Jaune nodded quickly.

"Sure," he agreed easily. "With all three of you helping me I can't help but get better." He checked his scroll, then frowned. "But for now, we should probably get back to the dorms before curfew. It's almost twelve."

As they took down the lanterns and stowed them in the packs, Nora asked one last question.

"Hey, so Jauney. How come you decided to go to Beacon if you'd never been trained to fight before?"

A wound across his heart which had slowly begun to scab over tore open anew, and Jaune flinched at the dull ache in his chest. "I-I'd rather not talk about that just yet," he hedged evasively, avoiding his team's eyes. "Maybe some other time..."

There were no more questions, and once they'd cleaned up after themselves, Team JNPR trooped back up to the school and off to bed.

None of them noticed the shock of green hair in the bushes on the other side of the glade.

The next day, Jaune found himself wandering the halls whistling a jaunty tune. Last night, despite ending on a bit of a sour note, had left him feeling more refreshed than he had in weeks. He had an absolutely incredible team who were not only okay with him faking his way into Beacon, but believed in him enough to stand by him and show him the ropes as well. He had his health, great friends, and a century-old sword that could still hold an edge like nobody's business, he was eating a damn good cookie from the batch Ruby had baked for them, and best of all, he had a free period.

Of course, he could have been using this hour of down-time to exercise or something productive, but his mother had always espoused the merits of enjoying one's self. "All work and no play makes Jaune a dull boy," he mumbled to himself around a mouthful of chocolate chip.

He nearly choked on the sweet treat when a hand reached out from around a corner and grabbed him by the hood. Jaune's head slammed into the hard stone wall, and it took his eyes a moment to focus on his assailant.

"Oh, hey Cardin and team!" he said when he recognized the (slightly-blurry) figures. "You guys have a free period too?"

Cardin looked nonplussed for a moment before his lips melted into a smirk. "Yeah, we sure do, Jauney-boy," he agreed. "You know, I heard a terrible rumor about you from a little birdie yesterday."

Jaune rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Is it that one about my footie pajamas? For the last time, it was a gift from my mom."

"Not that one," Cardin's smirk widened as his teammates snickered darkly. Jaune frowned slightly. "This one's about you and some falsified documents."

Jaune's belly did a somersault, like he'd just missed a step on a huge flight of stairs. "Wh-what?"

"Yeah, apparently, someone thinks you might have faked your way into this illustrious academy," continued Cardin conversationally. "Of course, I'd never believe my ol' pal Jauney-boy would ever do something like that, but you know how rumors are." The malicious grin on his face did nothing to assuage Jaune's growing anxiety.

"Wh-what do you want?" he asked, defeated.

"Oh, nothing spectacular," Cardin chuckled. "All you gotta do is exactly what I tell you. I say 'Jump' and you say...?"

"How high," Jaune sighed glumly. Maybe his friends were right in thinking that Cardin had it out for him. That nasty part of him, which had been dormant since that heart-to-heart with his team the night before, roared back to life and railed against the cage the black-mailing jerk had placed him in.

But there was nothing he could do. If he went to the teachers, he'd just get expelled. He didn't want to drag his team even further into this than they already were. What if they got expelled simply because of their association with him? The only option that didn't involve himself or his friends getting royally screwed-over was to do as Cardin said.

"Great," Cardin sneered victoriously. "I think we understand each other perfectly, Jauney-boy! You can start by doing the history essay Oobleck assigned us earlier. Here's the topics we chose." Jaune took the paper with numb fingers. "We're gonna need those before the field trip to Forever Fall, so don't dally!"

Jaune watched Team CRDL for a long moment as they sauntered away, then groaned and began trudging toward the library. Well, there was no use crying over spilled milk. Rolling up his mental sleeves, Jaune took a look at the paper and wracked his mind for any bit of information that would be useful.

After-Action Report: If you're wondering how Cardin knew about the fake transcripts thing, that green haired person in the bushes was Russel Thrush. Cardin wanted to know what was going on with Jaune and had his sneakiest teammate go after them.

So yeah.

Not much else to say about this chapter. Next chapter we'll figure out what the heck is up with Jaune and his wrathful feelings.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story so far. You guys just make me grin stupidly at my phone whenever I get an e-mail from FF.N, and though people have given me weird looks for that, I simply can't bring myself to care what they think.

However, I do care what you all think, so if you've got any questions or comments regarding the story, feel free to drop a PM or a review and I'll do my best to get back to you ASAP. I hope you've enjoyed reading, and I wish you all a great day!