Jaune Arc

Today was not a good day.

Well, hardly any day was good for Jaune, if one focused solely on his school life. His scores on the theory-based courses were average, and some like Tactics were even above that, but the real problem began with the more practice-based aspects of Beacon. Turns out joining an academy for Hunters and Huntresses without the proper preparation, like someone would get from Signal Academy or any other primary combat school, made the actual combat classes rather... difficult, to put it lightly.

It's not that he didn't put the effort in it. Jaune worked his but off day and night, trying to catch up to his classmates and friends. He sparred regularly with Pyrrha, and according to his team he was getting better every day.

However, the gap between them was too big. A month or two of training couldn't get close to years of experience and preparation. Hence his continuous defeats inside the training ring during professor Goodwitch's class. Said woman never stopped giving feedback, and drilling the fact that he needed to improve inside his head.

Jaune sighed dejectedly. "At this rate, I'll fail the combat exam, or worse; maybe I'll be left behind. I can't lose my team. And I don't want to be the class clown either."

He didn't even look where he was wandering off to. The blonde knight simply walked through Beacon's corridors, exiting the school building at one point as he made his way towards the gardens. His gaze was downcast, thoughts scattered to the wind by his mood.

Today he had suffered yet another defeat at the hands of his favorite bully; Cardin Winchester. By now, he was used to the insults, as well as the trashing he got during combat. It wasn't as serious as before the incident in Forever Fall, when he'd saves the guy from an Ursa. Still, Cardin was a prick; that wouldn't change any time soon.

As if to add to his concerns, Weiss had been particularly vindictive today, pointing out many of his flaws. The worst part of her critique was that he couldn't disagree with her. The other members of team RWBY had reacted in various ways; Ruby telling him not to give up, Yang encouraging his progress, and Blake ignoring the conversation altogether. Yet none of them could disprove Weiss' words either.

"Ugh, why is school so hard? In fact, why is life so hard?" Jaune grumbled to himself; the gardens were completely empty this time of day, and he was all alone. Good. He needed time to think. "I keep training and training, but it's like trying to keep a sinking ship afloat. I empty one bucket of water, while ten more litres keep pouring through a hole. Or something like that..."

The teen let out a deep sigh as he sat down next to a large, old oak tree. Its bark was worn and showed signs of its age. Despite that, however, it still stood strong. Leaves hung from its thick branches, and provided adequate shade for him to enjoy. It wasn't that hot really, but the coolness it provided was enjoyable all the same.

He didn't know what to do though. Pyrrha kept reassuring him that he was getting better. His skill with the sword was no longer as underdeveloped as when he'd started practicing, and foes like Beowolves weren't much of a challenge anymore. At least, not when it was one against maybe three or four. Large groups of Grimm were still an issue for someone like him.

He wasn't as fast as Ren or Blake. He wasn't as strong as Yang or Nora. He wasn't a good shooter like Pyrrha or Ruby. He didn't use Dust like Weiss. The only real advantages he had over any of his friends were his endurance and absurdly large aura reserves. Combine those two, and you had a literal tank, which worked with his armor and shield, as well as his preferred fighting style; stay on the defense and wait for the enemy to strike, block and then retaliate.

No, he needed something else. An edge over others. A way to make his worries disappear. He wanted--

"Ouch!"

Jaune rubbed the back of his head as some kind of object hit it. He hissed at the pang of pain; it stung somewhat, and he'd probably get a bump later today, but it wasn't as bad as receiving a noogie from Cardin. What was that anyway?

The team leader looked to the side, eyes narrowing in confusion. It was a... notebook of some sort? Jaune reached out and picked it up. The cover was a pitch-black, with the word 'reality' written in elegant white cursive as a title. All in all, it was that heavy, and looked to be something in between an actual book and a notebook you'd use to keep track of your schedule.

"Did someone drop it?" He wondered, though that seemed unlikely. There was no one here, and it fell out of the tree. "Someone must have put it there then. Maybe there's a name inside."

Upon turning the cover, he was met with a normal white page. There was no name though. Only a small text, written in the same cursive as the book's title.

"The book of reality. In order to use this book, one must write their name down below this page. It will then be the property of that person and only work for them, until they erase their name themselves. Anything that's written within this book will become reality. If one wants to undo your changes, simply erase what has been written. Make as many reality-altering decisions as you like; this book will never run out of pages, yet remain the same size it has always been. Accept the book, and become an agent of the Light and Dark."

Jaune stared at the book, not really knowing what to say or think. The first thing that came to mind was that someone was pulling some kind of elaborate prank on him. After all, there was no way in hell that an actual item like this existed. Impossible!

He was ready to throw it away, when he hesitated. Jaune couldn't find the energy to do so. This was just another way for life itself to mock him; he wasn't going to give it that satisfaction. Besides, at least it could serve as something to draw doodles on, right?

"Can't believe I'm actually doing this." He smiled wryly as he took a pen out of his pocket.

Having lost many during his life as a student, Jaune was more than prepared and always had a spare in his pocket. Ruby called him silly for it. Or, well, she did until they'd gone to class and the leader of team RWBY had forgotten hers. Afterwards she never made fun of him for it again.

Jaune wrote down his name like the instructions told him to, before continuing on to the next page. This time, he saw nothing but white paper that was devoid of words. The original owner had left the responsibility of filling it in to him.

Surprisingly enough, he didn't know what to write at first. Probably something menial. Jaune looked up at the tree, and figured he could choose it as a subject.

"The old oak tree in the gardens of Beacon has the best apples in all of Vale."

Jaune huffed in amusement as he jotted the sentence down. Perhaps his stomach was telling him to get some food. He hadn't really eaten anything after combat class, which was a mistake, since a spar usually left you with an empty stomach. Goodwitch really knew how to tire you out, and the exercises she'd made them do were--

"Ouch! Again?!" The teen growled, annoyed as yet another solid object landed on his skull.

It wasn't a book like last time though. Jaune's eyes widened to the size of saucers, not believing his eyes. Right in front of him was a big red apple. He carefully picked it up, his hand trembling as he did so. Something clicked inside his head, and Jaune slowly began to look up.

Hanging from those thick, old branches were numerous apples. The same ones that didn't have any fruits growing from them a mere minute ago!

"Then... That means... The book!" Jaune was reduced to a mumbling mess as he stared at both the apple and book in his hands. The boy's eyes darted between the two; left, right, left, right and so on until he picked one, throwing the apple away. "It's real! This thing really does change reality!"

It took several minutes for his mind, as well as his heart, to calm down. This book's power was the kind of stuff only a god could do, and he held in his own very two hands! Jaune looked around to see if anyone was watching, simply out of reflex.

A part of him was hesitant about using the relic. What if it had a terrible price that would have to be paid? Or what if he wrote something that would have everlasting consequences? However, that part was steadily silenced by Jaune's excitement.

This book of reality was the solution to all of his problems.