81Pre A/N: Semi-important A/N below about changes made to the story going forward, and a retcon.
Chapter 2
Beta: [Pending]
Cover: [N/A]
After Fox and Velvet had managed to pry Jaune off of Miss Goodwitch, the professor essentially ordered the upperclassmen to guide him towards the main central building.
Apparently, it was a sort of hub for the entirety of the student populace. There were a variety of other student essentials there, and it made sense seeing as it was the largest building on the island. The main cafeteria was in there too.
Yes, the main cafeteria, which meant Beacon had more than one cafeteria.
Awesome!
Once they did reach the central building, there was a receptionist there waiting for them, which surprised him because he didn't know that Beacon had receptionists. Then again, it was a very large island.
The receptionist had asked for a card, which admittedly sent him into a short panic because he didn't actually have one. Fox, after laughing to himself for a solid minute, jumped in and said that he had Jaune's card, which was just a blank ID.
Apparently, miss Goodwitch had given it to him while Jaune was still screaming out in joy.
He really did wish that Fox had told him about that card earlier. It might've saved him a panic attack.
After listening to the receptionist register his ID, which was apparently as easy as filling out a digital form and loading the data directly onto the card. It was really high-tech, as in they slotted the card into a panel and it came out with Jaune's credentials and everything!
Which wasn't that hard, seeing as he had enrolled online and all the data was likely on their server already. They just needed verification that he passed the examiner's test. Normally they'd need a professor's presence to confirm it, but just one mention of miss Goodwitch was all the receptionist needed.
While weird, it just meant that Jaune could head over to the dorms faster. Apparently, the male dormitories were split off based on year levels. One whole building for each, of which there were three, but they'd have to share rooms with someone different every year.
Jaune idly wondered who'd be his roommate. Hopefully, someone laid back, because he heard tales of college dorms becoming living nightmares because of one bad roommate.
It worried him, but the excitement of actually being in Beacon outweighed that.
"Are you paying attention, Jaune?" Velvet asked as she walked beside him.
Fox raised his fingers before his face and snapped them incessantly. "Don't go daydreaming on us now, freshy."
Jaune blinked and shook away his stupor.
Ah, he got distracted again. Whoops.
"Sorry, what were you guys saying?"
"So you were really daydreaming, huh?" Fox muttered. "Must've been nice to hug 'The Good Witch of Vale' and not get lynched, eh pal?"
… Jaune could hear some capitals in there somewhere.
"I was pretty happy. Hugging people when you're happy is normal, right?" Jaune tried to argue.
"Yeah, it's totally normal… with friends and family! Miss Goodwitch is literally anything else!" Fox berated, but it was a fruitless argument because Velvet started giggling. He then just rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "… Seriously, hugging Goodwitch of all people and walking away unscathed. I don't know if lady lucky loves you or something just as ridiculous."
"Fox, don't be mean to the first-year," Velvet berated. "I mean, I'm surprised too, but there's a first time for everything!"
"Is hugging a teacher really a big deal?" Jaune asked as he felt just a little out of his element. "Sure, miss Goodwitch's a teacher, but I mean, it was just a hug, right?"
The resulting stares he got from the two of them made him realize that very clearly.
"Uh… Jaune?" Velvet muttered. "You are aware of her… reputation, right?"
Jaune shook his head.
"You're kidding right?" Fox continued after. "The Good Witch of Vale. Not ringing any bells?"
Another shake of his head and Fox just sighed.
"I explained how to use a duel disk to him," Fox bemoaned. "This time, you do the talking Vel. I'm going to go on ahead."
"But, don't you want your duel disk back?" Jaune called out to him with his left arm raised.
"Again, rental. Just give it back to the faculty when you get your own, mine's already repaired!" He shouted back to them. "–And get your own duel disk! All duelists are expected to have a personal one!"
While Fox left, likely over to his dorm to get some shut-eye, Velvet gave him the kindest smile possible. It looked kind, but deep down Jaune felt like it was one that a teacher would give to their student, ironically.
"Miss Goodwitch is a highly respected professor here," Velvet explained as they walked towards his dorm. She was just guiding him there – opposite genders weren't allowed to enter each other's dorms – so she'd leave as soon as he knew where it was. "In her prime, she managed to win the world cup, thrice, in a row. That's something no other competitor could've done at the time."
Three times in a row!? "That's awesome!"
"Yeah, it is," Velvet muttered. "Until now, nobody has beaten that win streak. Keep in mind, it's been a whole decade since the Good Witch of Vale last competed. There are still some who think she can go further and win another world tour. Although, some choose to believe... otherwise. Newer cards mostly overshadow older ones, so her deck might not hold up today."
"Do you think so?" he asked, genuinely curious.
"A bit," Velvet admitted. "However, people upgrade their decks all the time. I'm sure her deck is up-to-date and capable of taking on the world. I've been a fan of her for as long as I can remember. There's no reason to not believe in her now."
"I can respect that," Jaune muttered with a smile worming its way onto his face. "With faculty like that, Beacon just keeps sounding better and better!"
"You might want to temper that excitement," she advised. "Beacon is the best duel academy in Vale, but that also means it's the hardest. You'll have to get stronger than the rest of the students if you want to make it here…. and survive the instructors."
"I'm pretty confident in my studying ability," Jaune briefly bragged.
If there was one thing he could take pride in, it was hitting the books. Being trapped studying in a family library for almost his entire life would do that to him. He wasn't lonely in the slightest, though. He had his sisters to keep him company.
"Studying…" Velvet trailed off. "… Yeah, that'll help. A bit."
Jaune felt a 'but' incoming.
"Beacon is a lot more practical-focused than other academies. You'll still have to get better at actually dueling," she reminded. "I saw how the Real-Solid Vision made you flinch. You made a misplay because of that, didn't you?"
He winced at the memory. "In my defense, I didn't know that modern dueling was done with these disks."
"That being said, I'm not sure how that misplay could've stopped miss Goodwitch if she chose to get serious, but that's another point entirely," Velvet muttered. "The point is, tour knowledge on cards is subpar. There's a whole world in dueling that you haven't even scratched the surface of. Being clueless isn't going to cut it here in Beacon."
What did she mean by chose to get serious? Was miss Goodwitch not serious in his examination–? Wait, an examination. It was just a test. It was practically a given that she'd hold back– if only to see what he could do.
Jaune thought harder on it and tried remembering the cards that Glynda had used before frowning somewhat. He realized that, with her opening hand, she could've created that Jester and King in one turn and utterly decimate him in his moment of weakness.
Glynda must have realized that too.
And yet he passed…?
"That's why I'll study," he said once more. "Hard work never betrays anyone."
It wouldn't betray him.
She raised a brow but smiled. "That determination is commendable. I certainly hope it stays that way. By the way, this is your dorm, and where you'll be sleeping for the rest of the year."
Velvet gestured to a large building in front of them. It was like every other building he had seen on the island, made of what seemed to be steel, marble, and concrete. It was three stories high and surrounded by lush greenery. The gardeners on the island must be overworked, but he couldn't deny that the whole place looked great!
"I'll be seeing you tomorrow, Jaune," Velvet said as she bid farewell. "I hope you have a pleasant stay at Beacon."
Seeing one of his only friends walk away was disheartening, but with the building of strangers at his back, he sighed in anticipation. After all, strangers were just friends you haven't made yet. Hopefully, he'd be making a whole lot of them.
The door opened automatically, as expected, but what he didn't expect, was the man in a suit standing in front of him.
"Hi?" Jaune tried.
"Your late, on your first day," the stranger said. "I assume you were asleep when Headmaster Ozpin explained the curfew?"
"Actually, I was–"
"Forget it," he interrupted. "I'll overlook it this time, but only because it's your first day. Get going."
Jaune hastily nodded and walked around him. He was about to go up the stairs but stopped and turned around. "Excuse me, how do I know which room is mine?"
The man that Jaune now knew to be the dorm master, glared at him. "Seeing as all the other rooms are locked and your room can only be opened with your ID, take a guess."
Jaune gulped and nodded sheepishly, making his way upstairs as fast as he could. That guy was intense! He wasn't going to be missing curfew again anytime soon.
He should've gotten annoyed at the guy's attitude, but Jaune just couldn't. His stern attitude reminded him of his father, in the way that neither of them had an off switch for their eternal frown. Jaune could tell that the dorm master was just tired and needed some rest, no big deal.
What was a big deal, however, was walking down the corridor of the second floor and holding up his ID card at what he assumed were scanners. None of them reacted, so it would likely be a while before he learned which room was his–
One scanner lit up green, and the door slid open.
Oh, never mind.
Jaune was ready to take a jovial step in and make a good impression on his new roomie, but the barreling blob of orange and pink knocked him off his feet.
With the world literally upside down, Jaune realized he was slumped against the wall, looking up to an interesting combination of green and pink.
"Are you alright?" the green and pink thing asked. Jaune still couldn't tell what it was, seeing as his world was currently spinning. Maybe when the floor stopped being the ceiling, he'd know.
"Don't worry, Ren! I caught ourselves a burglar!"
"Nora, seeing as how his ID opened the door, I think he's my roommate."
"–but what if it was hacked!? I've seen the movies, it's possible!"
"And if it wasn't?"
Suddenly, orange enveloped his view. "Hey, burglar! Are you a burglar?"
Jaune blinked away the delirium and frowned.
"No."
"Damn, he's got me there," the girl, Nora, muttered.
The male, who Jaune assumed to be his roommate, sighed and helped Jaune up. He was wearing silky green pajamas with a pink floppy sleep cap. "Sorry for the inconvenience. My name is Lie Ren, and this is–"
"–Nora Valkyrie!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. She wore pink pajamas with bunny heads all over them.
Jaune hastily tried shushing her, but the ringing headache made it hard to do so. "Can you not shout? There are people here trying to sleep, aren't there?"
"The rooms come with a soundproof feature," Ren mentioned– or was it Lie? Nah, that Nora girl called him Ren so he must be Mistrali. "She's been at this volume for the past few hours. If nobody's complained about it by now, I doubt anyone will."
"Really!?" Jaune exclaimed. "Beacon had all the dorms soundproofed? Why?"
"Not my place to know. Although, I could think of a few reasons," Ren said with a shrug. "I assume you're my roommate. Nice to meet you."
Jaune held out a hand for him to shake. "Jaune Arc, I hope we get along roomie," he was going to say more, but there was an issue that needed to be addressed. "By the way, why is there a girl here?"
"She followed me," Ren said. "Nora got worried about what kind of person I'd be rooming with, so she wanted to get to know him better. Of course, when you didn't show up we thought there was an odd number of students. She was going to room with me if that was the case."
Jaune tilted his head. "But… this is the male dorm?"
He sighed. "I know."
"Rennie is bonding with his roomie!" She shouted again. "I need my camera– wait, I have a SCROLL!"
The subsequent flash caused Jaune to flinch, but Ren looked like he was used to it and didn't even react. How he envied him.
"She should probably leave, I saw the dorm manager downstairs, so we might get into trouble if she doesn't." Jaune advised, but then he paused. "… How is she going to get out?"
"Ah, that's a Second Year with hall-monitor duties. I believe, his name was Adam?" Ren muttered. "It's concerning, but that won't be a problem."
Just as Jaune was about to ask why that was concerning, but Nora popped into view and waved at them. "See ya later guys! Catch you in the morning, Ren!"
Then she took off sprinting, in the complete opposite direction of the stairs.
Then she jumped out the window at the end of the hallway.
They were on the second floor.
"Did she just…" Jaune muttered, wondering if he just witnessed suicide.
"There's a tree outside the window. She used it to climb in," Ren explained as if he was used to it. Then again, he probably was. "Come on, it's best we get some shuteye. We can get to know each other tomorrow."
Jaune nodded, no longer nursing his headache, and entered the room.
The door closed behind him and he was greeted with the sight of a bunk bed. Good choice, seeing as it'd leave the rest of the room free to be used, and there was a lot of free space to use. There were two study desks, two wardrobes, and a door leading to a bathroom. If it weren't for the bunk beds, it would've felt more like a hotel suite he went to when he was younger.
He could already see Ren using one of the study desks provided and set himself up by the window.
It was a shame he arrived late, he liked reading by the window.
"Did you already claim a bed?" Jaune asked.
"I took the bottom bunk," he replied. "Nora wouldn't stop jumping on the upper one so I had no choice. Your mattress might be a little less springy, though."
Jaune shrugged. A bed was a bed, the fact that it was a little less springy wasn't going to bother him. "That's fine, which wardrobe is yours?"
"The one by the bathroom door," he replied. Which means Jaune will have to use the one by the window. Thankfully, second floor. Nobody was going to peek, but nobody was going to peek into a boy's dorm anyway… he hoped.
Upon unpacking his bag, placing the folded clothes away, he realized his phone was there. His outdated phone as Fox reminded him, but he saw that Beacon would be giving rental SCROLLS to use, so his lien-store knockoff was likely going to be seeing less use. That Nora girl seemed to already have hers, so he'd need to talk to the receptionist again on where to get his.
Which reminded him…
"Do you mind if I use the bathroom? I have a call to make,"
"Go ahead," Ren said as he climbed into his bed. "I'll be sleeping first. Close the lights when you're done."
Jaune nodded and entered the bathroom. In a few seconds, he dialed a number. In a few more seconds, the recipient picked up.
"... Jaune."
"Hey dad," he greeted with a smile, even if he couldn't see it.
"Based on how you aren't home yet, you passed?"
"Yeah, I passed," he smiled. "I impressed the examiner enough. Classes likely start tomorrow. My roommate seems nice, a little laid back but nothing too weird, and he has a very boisterous friend."
"That's good. I suppose I'll break the news to the rest of the family," his father muttered. "It's a shame though, you would've done well as a Hard-Light Engineer."
Just like Saphron did, the firstborn of the family. She graduated from her college as a Valedictorian, the absolute creme of the crop, and went on to become one of the head engineers. She was the pride of the family, and Jaune heavily respected her for it.
He just felt that he wouldn't be able to compare.
"Saphron is still offering you an apprenticeship," his father reminded. "If Beacon doesn't work out, you can always take her up on it. A contingency, in case you don't do well."
As expected, his father had expected him to fail. That's why he tried preventing him from coming to Beacon in the first place. It wasn't malicious, Jaune could tell, but he just wanted the best for him. Jaune, while not as good as his sister, was up there. He was able to keep up with her whenever she went on with her techno-babble, but he doubted he had the skills to do what she could do.
Being a Hard-Light Engineer was still a viable career path, one he could probably take once his dueling career ran its course. The smart decision would've been to take that path and not one so needlessly risky like professional dueling.
However, he had been given one chance to prove himself. Jaune wasn't going to waste it.
Speaking of which…
"Dad, I just wanted you to know that I nearly failed if it weren't for some upperclassmen helping me out," Jaune relayed. "It wasn't cheating or anything, but I needed something called a duel disk to actually duel with."
"They lent you one, then?" His father was quick on the uptake, as usual, but he was frowning deeper than usual. "Does the school not provide a… 'duel disk' for you to use?"
"All duelists are expected to have their own duel disk," Jaune said, remembering what Fox mentioned before leaving. "I have a rental disk for now, but it isn't going to cut it for the rest of the year, or the years after that."
A deep rumble, which was his father sighing in contemplation, could be heard. In his opinion, it sounded like a crumbling mountain. It only got deeper as he aged. "Then, I suppose I'll have to purchase one. I'll talk to Saphron in the morning about it."
Jaune smiled. "Thanks, dad."
Just as he was about to say goodbye and get some shuteye, his father spoke.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry."
–and Jaune paused. "For what? You didn't really do anything worth apologizing for?"
"… Sometimes, I wonder how I got a son like you," he muttered. Again, Jaune didn't feel any malicious undertone, despite how it sounded. "It was my negligence that led to your near-failure. Had I known about this duel disk requirement, or of your apparent sea-sickness, I would've gotten you one and arranged for a taxi instead."
Jaune winced. Ah, his mother talked about this, the moments when his father would take the blame upon himself. "Dad, it's my fault too. I didn't think to look into it more. Don't beat yourself up over it."
"I nearly deprived you of the chance I promised you," he reminded. "A father should not be as callous as I have been–"
"Is dad beating himself up again!?" Jaune smiled as he heard the familiar voice. "Dad! Come on! Do I have to tell mom again?"
"Hey, Saph," Jaune called, hoping that she could hear him. "How's work?"
"Oh hey, Jaune! Congrats on passing," she congratulated. At this point, Jaune wondered if his father turned on the loudspeaker so they could both hear him. "Work's fine, I got a new intern named Terra Cotta. She seems a little withdrawn, but I'll break her outta that shell in no time! By the way, what're you guys talking about?"
"We were planning to buy Jaune a duel disk," his father explained. "As it turns out, it is a requirement. Fortunately, his upperclassmen aided him, otherwise, Jaune would be home by now."
"Yikes," Jaune couldn't see her expression, but he could tell she was wincing. "Don't worry Jaune, your big sister's got your back. A duel disk is just a Hard-Light projector that runs based on the data in duel monster cards. You guys don't need to waste a single lien, Saphron Arc is making your duel disk herself!"
Jaune widened his eyes. "Really? Isn't that going to get in the way of your work? I wouldn't want to impose."
"It's fine," she insisted. "All we're doing is running some tests in the lab. We can't continue for a month until some data is done processing. Let me tell you, Hard-Light requires a lot of computing power to read through. Spare time to work on this duel disk project is something I have in spades, little brother… but I'll probably need to place an order for a card reader."
Jaune, still wary of imposing, just sighed and smiled. "Thanks, Saph, you too Dad."
"I suppose I'll have it delivered as soon as your sister is done," his father muttered. "Until then, good luck in your studies. You've made it this far, I don't wish to see you back here so soon, even if there's still an apprenticeship waiting for you."
"I will. Goodbye, you guys," Jaune said as a hint of a yawn escaped his lips.
"Bye Jaune!"
"Farewell."
With that, he hung up the call. Half a minute later, he changed into his comfy blue onesie and climbed onto the top bunk, making extra sure not to disturb the peacefully sleeping Lie Ren. The guy looked like he needed it.
Laying on his bed, the young Arc could help the smile forming on his face. Here he was, in Beacon Duel Academy. After years of struggling, he was finally here. He wondered what his grandfather would've thought of that?
His mind was still running around in excitement over the day. It was like it was a dream, and he was afraid that, if he closed his eyes, it would all disappear, and he'd be back in their family library once more.
The unfamiliarity of the dorm room, the openly shining shattered moon, and the slow breathing of his roomie, it was all so surreal.
… If it was a dream, he didn't want it to end.
Jaune was out like a light moments later.
Waking up in Beacon was… an experience.
For once, he wasn't the first one awake. He usually was when it came to his family, to the point where it suddenly became his job to wake up everyone else. Seeing Lie Ren already up and changed into his uniform was surreal.
He didn't let it affect him too much, because Jaune had also changed into his uniform after a quick shower.
It was a black uniform with similar colored slacks. There was a red tie, which Jaune admittedly struggled to put on, paired with equally black shoes. The school emblem sat atop his breast pocket. Overall, it looked very formal, one fit for an esteemed academy such as Beacon.
There was even a custom deck holder that he could put anywhere on his body, but he kept it by his side. The Arc Wyrms were sitting comfortably in it, which was frankly better than the back pocket he kept them in before.
He heard Ren mutter something about how the deck holder repairs the cards if they had some light wear and tear, a Belladonna Corp invention apparently.
When they left the dorm to their classes, Jaune realized he had no idea where their classes would be. Upon asking Ren, he said that it was fine to just follow him. Apparently, it was explained in the orientation that he missed.
All first-year students would have to enter every classroom based on the rotation given to them. Then, they'd pick which Summoning course they'd focus on the most. That must be what Velvet and Fox were talking about. They were both a part of the 'Pendulum' course. There were four others, but Jaune didn't know what they were, so he'd have to pay attention.
Although, from what he fought against in the entrance exam, probably Synchro and Xyz, but that still left two more.
For a while, it seemed like they were following a sparse river of students, but they all split up and went different ways. Jaune, believing in what Ren said, followed him towards a particularly red building. As in, the top of the building was red while the rest was a familiar mix of steel, marble, and concrete.
There weren't many turns to make and corridors to go down, but Jaune could see a few open rooms and a few that were 'occupied'. Asking Ren, he said those were practice rooms, where students would face off against artificial intelligence in duels.
It made for great practice, as there were multiple different styles and decks you could set the AI to follow, but nothing really beats facing off against another duelist. Or, at least that's what Ren said. Jaune would be using these rooms a lot, he could just feel it.
They were nearly at their designated room, but just then, a familiar face made itself known.
"RENNIE~!"
Jaune, learning from his mistakes, moved to the side and allowed the bulldozer to topple his roommate. He should've felt bad, but he would rather not be nursing another headache so soon.
"Good morning, Nora," he greeted as unfazed as ever, but he was smiling so that was good.
Nora Valkyrie, Ren's friend, wore the female version of the uniform. It lacked the black slacks as it was replaced with a red checkered skirt. Nora wasn't wearing leggings, but some female students around them were. Must be based on preference. Did that mean he could unbutton his uniform?
"Come on! Meet my roomie!" Nora said as she dragged him by his wrist– "You too, not-burglar!" –him and Jaune by their wrists, he mentally corrected.
They were dragged across the hallway, but thanks to that, they found themselves in their designated room.
In short, the room looked great! In not-so-short, there were slowly rising rows of desks and a big podium at the front where the professor would give his lecture, like a standard college lecture hall.
But the main difference between them was that the desks looked like they were made of glass, tempered glass, atop some sort of wood. There was also a slot under each desk, but it was too big for their IDs. It was very peculiar, but perhaps the professor will explain it when he arrives.
After being dragged to the back of the room, they found a red-headed girl giving Nora a pleasant smile. "Welcome back, Nora. You worried me when you took off running."
"She often does that," Ren admitted after Nora let go of them, but she was still giving his arm a death grip. "I suppose you are Nora's roommate? Lie Ren, a pleasure to meet you."
The woman shook his hand, the one not being caught in a death grip, and smiled. "Pleased to meet you. That name is familiar, to a degree. My name is Pyrrha Nikos."
Jaune would've introduced himself, but from how Ren's eye glint in intrigue, he held himself from doing so. "Pyrrha Nikos? The reigning champion of the Mistrali Amateur Circuit?"
Pyrrha held a smile but it kinda looked strained to Jaune. "Yes, that is me. I see my reputation proceeds me if those in Vale know of me."
"Since Nora and I were originally from Mistral, it would be odd not to know of you," he replied. "Although, it would be interesting to duel each other sometime. Since we are both fellow students."
"Rennie…" Nora muttered. "Are you bullying my roomie? I taught you better than that!"
"That was bullying?" Jaune muttered. "That looked like he was just introducing himself, though?"
"I'm sorry, where are my manners," Pyrrha suddenly said as she faced him. "May I know your name?"
Jaune blinked and coughed to himself. "Well, the name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue– and the ladies love it."
She raised a brow. "Do they?"
"Why does everyone react that way…?" He muttered to himself. He'd really need to talk to his dad about this, he should've last night but more pressing matters took priority. "Probably? It's something my dad said. Mom says the same thing."
God, it felt awkward talking about his parents. Look for something else to talk about, Jaune. Anything at all.
"So, Mistrali Circuit, what's that?" He asked desperately. At the raised brows he was receiving he added– "I was raised in a small town called Ansel. News doesn't really travel there."
"Only the biggest gathering of amateur Mistrali duelist, ever!" Nora cried out to him. "Pyr-Pyr is the best! There's nobody better, other than Ren of course!"
"Nora, I don't think I could compete with her. My deck is wildly unsuited to fighting hers," Ren reminded as he sighed in irritation. However, it faded once a small smile took its place. "Besides, our specialty isn't in singles."
Nora's own vicious grin resembled him.
Pyrrha widened her eyes in surprise. "Ah, so that's where I've heard your names before. Valkyrie and Lie, the Champions of the Mistral's amateur tag duel circuit."
"In that, we could be comparable," Ren added. "An odd twist of fate that led you to be Nora's roommate. I hope we get along in the future,"
Pyrrha nodded, a little less strained with her smile, but still ever so slightly so.
Jaune, at that moment in a flash of brilliant inspiration, coughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, those were titles, earned from things."
"Did we overwhelm you?" Pyrrha asked with concern.
"No, it's just… I'm gonna need to wrap my head around this," Jaune admitted.
His roommate was a tag duel champion, whatever that was, while Pyrrha was a champion, period. Was everyone in Beacon as good as them? In this group, where exactly did he stack up? Not very high up, he imagined. At the very bottom, he realized.
On the bright side, his books often said good company led to better self-growth. Maybe they could help him out now and then?
"Right, I'm over it," Jaune declared. "Nice to meet you Pyrrha. I hope we get along."
After all, strangers were just friends you haven't met yet. He intended to make as many friends as possible. Plus, these guys seemed like great people.
A loud bang suddenly shocked the entire room.
Jaune turned to the source, but all he saw was a man leaning against the lecture podium as if trying to stand while nursing a headache. He rummaged through his pockets to pull out a flask and took a deep swig.
Was that… Alcohol?
"Alright kiddies!" His voice echoed out. It was coarse, rough, and dry despite the liquid he consumed. "Sit wherever you like, I really don't care. Just make sure you can see me from wherever you are."
It was a sudden order. Not many students knew how to take it.
"Excuse me, why is such a ruffian like yourself at the professor's podium?" A posh voice called out to him. "If Beacon is lax enough to allow drunkards into the room, I don't think that it sets a good precedence."
"Words, that's a lot of words," the apparent drunkard muttered. He was fixing a microphone strapped to his chest, so that was probably how they all heard him. There were somewhat weak speakers at every desk, with volume sliders too, surprisingly. It must be for those who were hard of hearing. "Damn, there's more than one of her. Alright, Ice Princess, you can either listen or not. Frankly, I don't care. I'm paid to teach those who want to listen to me, not those who don't."
The 'Ice Princess' looked affronted. She had literal snow-white hair hang by the side of her face, yet it did nothing to hide how beautiful she looked. Very beautiful, and even the narrowing of her eyes didn't detract from it.
"And who are you to teach the students of Beacon?"
It was then that a new voice took hold.
"Qrow Branwen, a retired speed duelist," the new voice explained. "He won several tournaments before ultimately leaving for some unknown reason."
Snow white frowned and fixed her glare to the interloper. "Belladonna."
The newest person, Belladonna, was a faunus like Velvet. This marked the second one that Jaune had ever seen. Still a wondrous sight, but marred by the admittedly tense situation.
Belladonna returned the glare. "Schnee."
"Branwen."
The haggard man, now assumed to be the professor of this class, interrupted as they appeared between them. "If we're done introducing each other, let's get this show on the road. You have a few more course introductions to go through, this one non-withstanding."
Professor Branwen stood on the podium, kicked something on his way up, and suddenly there was a table rising from the floor.
It looked… state-of-the-art. It was a duel table, one that he had heard of only described by his late grandfather, but from how he explained it, it was merely a concept. This looked much more fleshed out than that.
Such a pristine device was reduced to a mere seat for their apparent Professor.
"Morning. I'd say good morning, but Ice princess ruined it for me so that's all you're getting this fine Monday," he said, ignoring the indignant cry he got back. "My name, as kitkat over there already explained–" yet another indignant cry. "–is Qrow Branwen. Call me Professor Qrow, or just Qrow. Never Professor Branwen, and if you do, I'll throttle you. I'm also a former speed duelist, specializing in Synchro Summoning. Which, I might add, is the focus of this course."
Synchro, just like that Jester he faced yesterday.
He shoved his hand into his pocket. For a second there Jaune thought that he was going for his flask again, but he grabbed a laser pointer instead. It had a few buttons, one of which he pressed.
Suddenly, the whiteboard behind him flickered and displayed an image. It was of several rings of light.
"None of you are seated yet, but meh," he added with a shrug. It caused all of the standing students to move to free seats. A few were already seated, like Ren and Pyrrha. "Now, since my handsome mug is the first thing you brats are seeing, it means that I'm explaining how these fancy desks work for you all."
His laser pointer activated and pointed to the screen, which changed its image to a blueprint of one of the many desks in the classroom.
"This slot here is where you put your deck," he said. "The deck holsters we provided you are not optional, they're mandatory. This serves as a form of attendance because a duelist without their deck is an idiot. As of currently, you are all late because you didn't slot it in as soon as you arrived. Fortunately, I'm not a dick, so I'll edit the records later and have you all present today."
Jaune did as instructed and removed his deck holster. Once he slotted it in, the table suddenly lit up. On it, was a perfect reflection of the image Professor Branwen was showing in the front.
"For those with shitty eyes, you can look down and follow the lecture from there. You could look at me, but we both know which one is less of a hassle," he quipped. "If you ever lose those deck holsters, go to the receptionist and she'll hook you up with a new one. However, you'll be fined a couple of thousand lien. Those things aren't cheap."
"Then why bother using these at all?" A new voice called out. "Sounds like a waste of time to me."
Qrow took out a scroll and looked at it. "Cardin Winchester, seat number 4a. You see, the reason we use these fancy doohickeys is that it saves the professors a metric ton of work. The school runs on a database, one that is tightly looked after by several of Beacon's best Hard-Light Engineers, most of which were alumni. Everything you do on this island can be traced back to this database. Where you use your IDs, where you duel, and which classes you attended. The whole shebang. All teachers like me gotta do is grade tests and give lectures."
The professor coughed once more and took a swig of his flask. Still needed to know if that was alcohol or not. "The reason, mister Winchester, is that it's just more efficient for the school. We run a huge ass island, we need to automate where we can. You think all this cool shit grows on trees?"
Cardin grumbled and simply nodded.
"Great, where was I?" Qrow muttered to himself. "Right, course introductions. We got through the cool shit, right?"
Seeing nobody talk or raise a hand, the man continued.
"Just in case, though. These desks aren't fragile, but if you break them, you pay for them. Just like everything cool in the academy. Even those ID cards you guys have, and that's a bigger deal. That card gives you access around the campus, meaning the entirety of the island. If you lose it, and some chuckle-fuck finds it, we could be looking at a whole lot of damage and thefts just waiting to happen."
Jaune heard an audible gulp at that. Ah, it came from him.
"Yeah, exactly. Don't leave the island with your ID either," the professor continued. "Beacon is a technological marvel, and unsavory elements will be wanting a piece of the pie. Don't worry, though. The ID has a tracker so even if you somehow manage to lose it, we can find it for you. But you still pay the fine, capiche?"
At the round of nods, he got he sighed and took a swig.
Unsavory elements? Did that mean criminals? He was carrying something that criminals– with a capital C– would want? He just signed up to this school to learn how to duel in a card game! Not whatever this was!
… But it was too late to back out now. Far, far, too late.
"Good, that should cover most of what I needed to explain," he said. "Anything extra, ask the other professors. I'm too sober to deal with that," –it was alcohol wasn't it?! "Again, reiterating. I'm Qrow Branwen, retired speed duelist specializing in Synchros. This course focuses on the best and worst parts of Synchro summoning, the weaknesses, strengths, and overall history. Not world history though, that's Oobleck's schtick…"
Qrow coughed to clear his throat.
"In case some of you are wondering, what's Synchro summoning? Well, I'd first ask how the hell did you manage to get into this school without knowing that," he said with a snort. It caused a couple of students to chuckle along, but Jaune just felt himself die a little inside. He was lucky he managed to see miss Goodwitch Synchro summon, otherwise he'd be left out of the loop. Sometimes, he hated his home-schooling. "But I'm contractually obligated to explain during this first lesson."
The screen behind him flashed into a playing field.
"This is your playfield, and these–" he says as he held up two cards. Their frames were white instead of beige or yellow like regular monsters. Unfortunately, Jaune couldn't make out any of the card text. They looked like birdmen, though. "–are Synchro monsters. You summon these bad boys by using at least one Tuner monster and one non-Tuner monster. Their levels have to add up to the level of the Synchro monster you want to summon. This bad boy is level seven. So you need a level three tuner and a level four non-tuner, or whatever kind of combination of levels as long as they add up to seven."
Jaune nodded internally and took out a notebook to take notes, which was all you could really do with a notebook. He was reminded of the Crazily Crazy Jester that miss Goodwitch used.
This was just one of many summoning methods. Going by the number of introductory classes they had today, there were four more. How exciting!
"Now, I'm going to ask you this once, if you're interested in taking a course under me to learn Synchro summoning, sign up with your scroll online. Once you pick a course, we'll be teaching you it for a whole day– namely Monday. Then, come Friday, an aptitude test, just to see if what we taught sunk in. Which means you'll need to review from Monday to Friday if you want to internalize the knowledge, weekly."
Jaune heard several students groan, and some acted like their dog just died, but he didn't see the problem. It was just studying, how hard could it be?
"The course selection opens up at six pm, by the way. Just so you have time to think it through and try to prevent recency bias. Key word being try…" he muttered afterward. Then he muttered something about dumb blondes. "At least I know that at least two of you want to be in here, isn't that right, nieces?"
At receiving no response, he turned on his laser pointer. It was directed to a hooded figure, hunching over her desk like she had a stomach ache. The blond next to her shoved her elbow in an attempt to get her to look up.
"Psst, Rubes. Uncle Qrow's looking at you."
"Stop! I don't want them to know we're related!"
"Kinda late for that, sis," the blond next to her muttered.
This 'Rubes' looked at her supposed sister, then at the class, and groaned in her seat. "I hate you drunkle Qrow."
'Drunkle' Qrow laughed and took another swig before turning to the class. "I also run the speed dueling elective. You can take that as one of your subjects too, and it'll last two years because Beacon doesn't want to release a speed duelist who crashes and burns like an idiot. I already know one of you here is enrolling in it… other niece."
"You know it, old man!" shouted the blonde once more.
"Cheeky little… Without further ado, get your asses over to the next class," Qrow shouted. Jaune widened his eyes and looked to his phone, noticing the time already. He also noted that the current time was being shown on the high-tech table too. Nice. "Ice Queen isn't as lenient as I am as it comes to late-comers. I'll save yourself the trouble and dismiss you all early. Get going."
As Qrow left the classroom, the students followed, some of them were more eager than others.
Jaune was left waiting for Ren to get up, but that seemed hard. Nora was still latching onto him. Eventually, he got up and they met with Pyrrha once more.
"That was… certainly something," Pyrrha muttered. "The faculty in Beacon is very interesting."
"So this isn't how a teacher normally acts?" Jaune asked. At the questioning looks that he got, again, he sighed. "Home-schooled, nearly my whole life." Nearly, because Beacon counted as a part of his life.
"No, they don't act like this. Compared to the teachers at Sanctum, professor Branwen was very crude," Pyrrha admitted. Then, after a short second of realization, she turned to Jaune. "Sanctum is Mistral's preparatory dueling school. The school that most aspiring duelists in Mistral go to before they go to Haven, which is Mistral's equivalent of Beacon."
"Thanks for the explanation, Pyrrha," Jaune thanked. Being home-schooled for so long left him… a little more than clueless about how things worked, outside of his own town, of course, but social norms there probably weren't the norms over here.
"Crude is one way to put it," Ren said. "However, his credentials as an educator can't be put to question. I have heard that he's one of the best there is," then, after a short second, he frowned. "… I believe he used to tag duel as well. Odd that he didn't add that to his introduction."
"So? Prof's just weird!" Nora decided. "Maybe the other four are just as weird?"
Ren snorted ever so slightly. "Considering what your deck is, he'll be your professor."
"I know!" Nora lamented, spinning in place as she did before suddenly stopping dead in place. "Do you think he'll let me eat in class?"
"From how it seemed he couldn't care less, probably. But I wouldn't risk it," Jaune said tentatively. "Come on, we should hurry up. We wouldn't want to be late to the next introduction."
"A wise decision," Pyrrha commented.
"Are you taking charge, not-burglar!?" Nora said as she suddenly let go of Ren and grab onto the collar of Jaune's shirt. Although, Jaune wasn't surprised she did by now. "Are you going to be our fearless leader!?"
Jaune blinked.
"Since I'm very much afraid, no?"
"Hmm… I'm watching you, not-burglar!"
"Not-burglar?" Pyrrha muttered.
Ren sighed as he explained. "Nora thought that Jaune was a burglar when he entered our dorm."
Pyrrha nodded as if it explained everything, which it did.
As overwhelmingly high-class these guys were, being tournament winners whereas he was as average as they came, Jaune couldn't help but feel his choice of company was pretty nice.
When Jaune followed his new companions out of the building, which he learned was called the Synchro building because of the course, he couldn't help feeling just a little bit left out.
Nora was talking to Ren, or rather badgering, about something while he nodded along. He was probably pretending to listen, but when asked about it, he replied as if he had been listening. So either he made great guesses, or he was just used to Nora.
By this point, Jaune believed the latter.
"By the way," Jaune asked, feeling the silence as they walked slowly getting to him. "What's tag dueling? I heard you guys mention it, but I'm a little left out of the loop."
"It's only the best dueling mode, ever!" Nora shouted, suddenly leaving Ren's side to wrap her arms around Jaune's neck. It was painful but bearable. Some of his sisters had done worse. "Imagine regular dueling, but two more people! And you share life points, graveyard, the banish zone– it's like you and your partner are soul mates!"
"Close, but not exactly," Ren continued off for her, even though she glared at him for doing so. "You forgot about the turn order, Nora. First, it is player one's turn, then his opponent, then player one's partner, and finally his opponent's partner. This pattern repeats until a victor is decided."
Nora just brushed him off with a snort. "Silly, everyone knows that!"
"They do?" Jaune muttered as he felt a drop of sweat slip down his neck.
"Not everyone," Pyrrha, bless her soul, admitted. "But every duelist knows the basics of other dueling styles. I heard Action duels were more physically taxing than others, then there were the Speed duels that professor Qrow spoke of."
"What's that?" Jaune asked again once he felt safe.
"Card games on motorcycles," Ren explained. "It probably shouldn't exist due to health and safety concerns, but it is surprisingly entertaining to watch. It has its own unique mechanic called speed counters, and the one who goes first each turn depends on who makes a turn first, not by a coin flip or rock-paper-scissors."
"Which is why, tag duels are better!" Nora suddenly said. "Rock-paper-scissors are the best part!"
"This is the building for the next course, right?" Pyrrha asked to be sure. They were slowly but surely approaching a building with a purple entrance archway. It was different from the Synchro building, but not by very much. It was just the archway's color that differed.
Cool. He wondered what sort of Summoning course this building taught?
"Must be Fusions next," Ren mused. "How much you do want to bet that the interior is the same with the Synchro building?"
"I'd bet zero because that's a fool's bet," Jaune chuckled.
They went inside, followed the same directions as before, and found the classroom. This time, they took their seats and plugged their decks into the desk. Instead of the third row of the Synchro course, the four of them had decided to seat themselves at the fourth row, a bit higher up the room.
A few seconds later, a woman stepped into the room.
In complete contrast to the previous teacher, this one held herself with an air of nobility. She eyed the room, frowned at looking at a few of them, and came to a halt in front of the podium.
"Welcome class. I see the buffoon hasn't screwed up the desk explanations," she greeted, instantly lambasting her co-worker. "My name, is Winter Schnee. This is the Fusion course, as some of you have no doubt gathered. In this course, I will be teaching you everything there is to know about this summoning method, including the strengths and weaknesses. Now, any questions before I get started on basic explanations?"
A hand raised up, which belonged to the blonde hair girl from before. "Yeah, why are you calling my uncle a buffoon?"
"Uncle…?" She muttered before turning her head to the new student. Her eyes widened for but a second before acting as if it never happened. "I see you are related to him, seat number 2c. It is purely a professional distaste. I cannot condone his teaching conduct, but I will admit he has taught talented individuals throughout his career. Whether that was through their own merit or his, remains to be seen."
"Eh, I can get behind that."
"Any other questions? Yes, Belladonna, what is it?"
"Why is a Schnee teaching here at Beacon?" she asked. Jaune hid a wince, as he recognized that as a slight on the teacher. Even he wasn't that dense.
"Are you insinuating that she isn't qualified!?" The white-haired girl from before– hang on, she looked like the teacher! Are they related too?
"Calm yourself, seat number 1a," Winter chastised. "Seat number 4e, Belladonna. Your question has merit. No doubt more than a fair number of you are wondering why a Schnee, someone who is more likely to be teaching in Atlas academy, here at Beacon?"
At the few nods she was getting, she continued. "Consider it a joint exchange with Beacon and Atlas academy. The short answer is that your previous fusion instructor had to swap his field of focus to accommodate a new integrated course. This change was made last year and is too late to revoke. The headmasters of Beacon and Atlas are friendly with one another, and thus, decided that a trusted faculty member shall take his place, namely I. In addition, Fusion Summoning is more heavily used in Atlas academy, as such, having someone from there teach here is simply more efficient."
"Is there no qualified Fusion Specialist among the Valeans?" Belladonna challenged once more. "Surely someone of your stature would prefer teaching like-minded individuals in Atlas?"
Winter's neutral expression tightened but begrudgingly nodded. "Another question with merit. It is true I would prefer being with my brethren, teaching here in Beacon has it's own merits. I hope that answer satisfies you."
At the sigh and nod she received, it probably didn't. Jaune watched as the two Schnee's eyed each other for just a second before going back to the lecture at hand.
That was just… weird. The reasons that the teacher gave weren't wrong, per se, but it felt like a cop-out. Almost as if it was one of his mystery novels that kept the reasons secret. What was he even thinking? This was real life. Not like those novels at all.
"Onto Fusion Summoning basics," Winter called to ensure she had their attention. "As most of you no doubt know, Fusion Summoning is done by having two monsters combine and create a new monster. The methods in doing so are varied, but the most common way is with a spell card. Namely…"
The screen behind her shifted to a rotating swirl of orange and blue.
"This card, Polymerization. It is the first card that allowed Fusion Summoning, but many more cards in the future have taken its place in decks with their own requirements and restrictions, much more suited to the decks they prefer working in. An example would be this card."
An image of a welder using a focused blowtorch to weld machinery was shown.
"Power Bond. Unlike Polymerization, Power Bond is restricted to summoning Machine Fusion monsters. Although, it also gives it a boost in power, doubling the attack of whatever is summoned. This, in turn, gives Machine decks the ability to slay an opponent in just one turn, should the opponent be reckless."
Oh, that was pretty cool. That means that– One turn!?
You can win against someone in one turn!?
"That being said, it destroys whatever it summons and inflicts damage to the owner equal to the attack as a result. A high-risk, high-reward card," she continued to explain, even when Jaune was still wrapping his mind around winning in one turn. "I trust this is enough to display how versatile Fusion Summoning can be with these fusion cards? Any questions? Yes, seat number 4a, mister Lie."
"It's Ren, ma'am," Ren corrected.
"Of course, my apologies. Your inquiry?"
"When you say that Fusion Summoning is the most versatile, is that your opinion or clear fact?"
"Astute of you," she noted. "Some may argue it is an opinion, but I am of firm mind that it is simply fact. While Synchro and Xyz Summoning require monsters on the field, in most cases, Fusion Summoning can happen from anywhere, given that the fusion card permits it. For example–"
She clicked on her laser pointer, revealing a swirl of endless colors, but the two huge primarily red and blue streaks were the most noticeable, alongside the gemstones on it.
"–Brilliant Fusion. This is for the Gem-knight archetype of cards, and upon activation, allows them to Fusion Summon any Gem-knight fusion monster using monsters from their deck," she emphasized. "I trust you know that summoning an Extra Deck monster using monsters from the deck is a very useful function. Due to how present-day dueling works, no duelists can use this card, other than Gem-Knight duelists. Even then, they are restricted to merely one copy."
Jaune blinked.
Wait, cards were restricted?
"Another example, is a card that some of you have seen in the examination yesterday," Winter continued. "Normally Normal Fusion, which allows you to Fusion Summon using only Normally Normal monsters on the field, or from the GY by shuffling them back into your deck. This capability to recycle resources makes it a balanced and consistent deck… despite how lackluster and utterly generic it is. However, that was why those cards were made, so I will not disparage them further."
… miss Goodwitch could have Fusion Summoned in the examination. If he thought he would have lost before, he knew that he would have definitely lost if she drew that card.
Jaune held back a nervous gulp. He thought the line of being rejected from Beacon was thin, but it was far thinner than he thought.
"Even Pendulum Summoning, a highly committing method of summoning that yields a surplus of easy and maintainable resources, cannot compare to the number of locations a Fusion specialist will be able to fusion summon from," she surmised. "However, I will admit that Pendulum Summoning, despite being fairly recent, is a strong contender. Is that a sufficient explanation for my reasoning, Lie Ren?"
His roommate nodded, but had a small smirk for some reason. Odd, because Jaune didn't think he'd be the type to.
"I trust Fusion Summoning has been aptly explained to you all," Winter Schnee seemed to conclude. "Registry, as my… coworker, has no doubt explained begins as six pm. I look forward to teaching my fair share of you. You are dismissed."
Just as the students were ready to leave, Winter paused as she was about to turn off her collar mic.
"A word of warning for the next instructor," she decided to go with. "She is… not who I would declare a good teacher, yet she has produced undeniable results. Do not speak out of turn in her class. I would reprimand you. She will humiliate you. Good day."
As Winter left the room, the other white-haired Schnee got up to follow, likely to talk to her or something. Probably a family matter that Jaune had no right getting into.
"That was much more of what I expected from a class," Ren nodded to himself. "It is a shame that I won't be partaking of this course. She seems like the agreeable sort, if a bit prideful."
"Quite true," Pyrrha agreed. "However, her word of warning though… It does not bode well. Would Beacon really hire someone who would really humiliate their students?"
"Maybe…?" Jaune hazarded a guess. "A few upperclassmen I met said that Beacon was pretty hard. Maybe this is what they meant?"
"She better not be mean to Renny," Nora muttered with a pout. "I won't know what I'd do if she was!"
"If she's not the Pendulum instructor, I will be fine, Nora," he sighed.
"So you are a Pendulum duelist?" Pyrrha noted. "I'm impressed. Not many would want to enroll in a course that only recently started."
"How recent are we talking about?" Jaune prodded.
"A year," Ren answered as Nora tried talking to him about pancakes. "I do miss my old deck, but I see the use that Pendulums have and how strong they are. I know that they will be a force to be reckoned with."
Ah, so that was why he was smirking when miss Schnee praised it. Did his roommate have a little cheeky side?
But if the Pendulum course was only a year old… did that mean Fox and Velvet were the first Beacon students to enroll in it? That was cool! Being the first out of everyone in Beacon… Sort of mind-boggling, isn't it?
"I noticed you were confused about cards being restricted, Jaune," Ren commented. Shit, was his roommate omniscient or something? "I suppose that it's not widely discussed in a small town, correct?"
Jaune nodded with a sigh. He actually wasn't sure how much knowledge of the game was in Ansel, as he had rarely left the house. He supposed that it was his fault that he didn't try look up all of these things.
"Nowadays, cards are only usable if they're within your archetype. Miss Winter explained how Gem-Knight duelists are allowed to use Brilliant Fusion? That is an example. It'll take too long to go over it, but the general public prefers seeing a relatively pure deck, as opposed to a combination of different archetypes. The restrictions reflect this. Nowadays, the only place where differing archetypes can work in tandem, are in–"
"–Tag duels!" Nora interjected. "That's why they're the best kind of duel!"
"That, and relay duels," Ren added. "They are like regular duels, but when someone loses, a new player tags in and continues the duel with their own deck, but the field and graveyard remain consistent."
"Looks like I'll be doing quite a bit of studying then," Jaune noted. That was fine. He was good at that. "I take it that not many people like that restriction?"
"Yes, they don't," Pyrrha admitted. "However, this was done to ensure there wouldn't be any one-sided duels made by having the perfect combination of archetypes. I'm sure you can find a list of them online, examples of fields that are mostly unbeatable without running common cards like handtraps."
Jaune blinked. "I think… I'll slowly learn this one. There seems to be a lot I didn't know about the restrictions."
"You just have to know the current ban list," Ren replied before adding something more. "–and any future ones. It's usually a seasonal highlight for duelists."
"Got it. Thanks, you guys."
"Who cares!? Let's just get to the next class and get it over with! I don't know about you, but my Nora senses are tingling, and I don't like it when they tingle!"
Jaune laughed inwardly.
Come on, the instructor couldn't be that bad, right?
A/N: Notice, I've decided to retcon Velvet and Fox being in the Fusion course and placed them in the Pendulum course. Reason? As it turns out, there aren't many fusion monsters that fit my agenda, as shocking as it sounds. (Seriously, where are all the fiery fusion monsters? It feels like there are only a few of them that work)
Also, fuck this chapter. It didn't even cover half of what I wanted. But you'll get another chapter next month. Do you know why?
Because I've written literally 17k words, as I type this out, and I was only 70% done with it. There were still two more scenes before I even considered ending the chapter, but I decided my sanity was worth more than this fic, so I stopped and split the chapter in half. The other two instructors will be shown next chapter.
Alright, so reasons for deck choices.
Originally, I gave Qrow the pendulum role because I wanted him to still maintain the role of being Ruby's original tutor, like he originally taught her how to use her scythe in canon. However, I ran into the problem of what deck to give him. I wanted Blackwings, which meant he'd have to teach Synchro. Thus, he's a Synchro duelist now, along with Ruby with her roses.
This meant Winter was Fusion, and so was Weiss because she'd want to follow her sister's dueling style, much like how canon Weiss imitates Winter's fighting style either consciously or subconsciously.
Also, that means Taiyang shifts from Fusion to Pendulum, hence the retcon. Notice how I didn't mention Xyz because the instructor for that is set in stone and you can't change my mind.
Most of the feedback was to tone down on the custom cards, so I decided to listen, a bit. Each main cast member gets their own unique signature card(s) to fit with a real card deck, and there's a thematic reason to that, which I won't go into detail with. Custom cards are mostly why I decided to write this series. However, using purely custom cards does bring up the point of it being too out of control. I'd literally need another fic to be an index for all those cards.
For now, these are the decks I decided for each character, based on very loose reasoning, now that I decided to forgo full custom card decks. Jaune will be the only one with that, mostly because of plot reasons.
(Look, it's complicated to choose decks for each character when I have preferences. They're subject to change because a lot of cards can come and go in a year, and let's be honest it'll be a year before this is updated or something)
… Man, things were much easier back when I decided to just make cards up on the fly.
Also, since a few characters here resemble TheMaster444's deck choices for his own RWBY x Yugioh fic, I'll just say that there aren't many cards to choose from that fit these characters, unfortunately.