Future Story -- Untitled (Faunus School Poll Winner)

So as the title says, this is the idea that won the poll for which story would appear after Stranded is finished. I've begun working on the first chapter, though it isn't complete.

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Long ago, the world was engulfed in war.

Human kingdoms did battle with faunus tribes in a conflict that spanned decades, resulting in countless deaths and lost land conceded to the creatures of Grimm. It spanned all continents, all people, faunus rising up in unison, fighting for their rights, their freedom. It was a war that they ultimately won.

It was later called the Faunus Rights Revolution.

In reality, it was less of a victory and more of a truce. The fighting had lasted so long and had been so bloody that neither side wished to continue. The loss of life had crippled both species and the Grimm had capitalized. So soon after that conflict ended, another erupted; one of survival, human and faunus battling for their right to call Remnant their home. The Grimm were relentless, tireless and just when the kingdoms of men were on the verge of collapse, heroes emerged.

Human and faunus alike, they fought against the tide of darkness. United in a common cause, their differences no longer mattered. Fighting side by side, they inspired their people to take up arms once more but this time not against each other. Together, humanity and faunus-kind beat back the Grimm and achieved true equality for the first time in history.

Barriers fell, and human and faunus came together as one. From the ashes of the old world, a new one emerged – one of unity, of compassion. It wasn’t long until cities were rebuilt but now humans and faunus lived side-be-side, as friends – and more.

It was unintended but in the end, this spelled the end for humanity.

Decades passed, then centuries. The two species intermingled, bonds forged in the fiery crucible of battle carrying forward far into the future. Relationships developed and children were born of two races, two peoples – but there was a problem.

The faunus gene was dominant.

It was a slow process. A human and faunus child could only be a faunus, just as a faunus and faunus child. Due to the war against each other and then against the Grimm, the population was in decline. Where once humanity outnumbered faunus, their numbers were now similar – almost one to one. As the years passed and humans and faunus mingled more and more, the number of faunus babies doubled, tripled, until… that was all there were.

Humanity was bred to extinction.

Almost.

There stood a select few families whose genes bucked the trend. Humans who married and bred with faunus, but produced human children. They were few and far between, a drop in the bucket – but they ensured that in the current era, there still existed humans. Their numbers were low but they existed, the last children of a once great people.

Jaune Arc was one such child, the Arc’s one such family.

His parents did not support his decision to become a Huntsman. A dangerous profession, one that primarily dealt with Grimm. But he would not be denied, not after growing up on stories of his great-grandfather following a similar path. It was rare for humans to become Huntsmen, they were so few in number these days. A single death was devastating to their population, a population that numbered in the low thousands in a world of millions. Entire families had been wiped out in the past, reducing their already small number even further.

But this is what he wanted more than anything, and despite their reservations, they would not hold him back when it was so clearly his greatest desire. They paid for his schooling, for tutelage. They purchased the best armor that money could buy. When it came to his weapon, however – he would only carry his grandfather’s sword.

It would once again taste the flesh of Grimm.

Beacon was everything he ever dreamed it would be and more. Jaune truly felt like he could make a difference here, though it had been a daunting prospect at first. Out of the hundreds of pupils attending, he was one of only three humans. The oldest son of the Winchester family was present, and a girl by the name of Cinder Fall in the third year – a surprise, for her true parentage was unknown. Another lost family.

Jaune didn’t know much about her but he knew all about Cardin. He was a rude, arrogant asshole behind the scenes with radical views about the faunus, views he wouldn’t dare voice publicly. For whatever reason, the large boy thought he had a kindred spirit in Jaune because they were both human and liked to run his mouth, though that couldn’t be further from the truth.

He had no problem with faunus. His mother was faunus! Why would he ever? Not only that, many of his ancestors were faunus as well! It was impossible for any of the human families to not have faunus ancestry in their line but that didn’t seem to matter to Cardin.

He wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool around.

But that didn’t matter right now.

Today was a special day.

The dining hall was humming as Jaune arrived, the chatter within hitting in like a physical blow as he pulled open the doors. Even a couple months in, curious eyes still followed him where ever he went. It wasn’t a surprise. Many faunus had never even seen a human before, let alone met one. His presence among them, just like Cinder and Cardin was an anomaly. They drew attention everywhere they went.

They were remnants of a past long forgotten by most.

“Jaune~!” an enthusiastic voice called out, a hand waving through the air happily. “Jaune, over here~!”

Jaune returned the gesture, smiling. Making his way through the raucous crowd, he slipped into a free seat. Food had already been set down on the table, his favorite serving of cheesy scrambled eggs and bacon with a side of toast having been prepared just for him.

His team were the best.

“Morning~!” Nora beamed at him, bouncing up and down in her chair. Jaune tried not to stare as a certain part of her anatomy bounced vigorously, her top struggling to contain her. She was what was commonly referred to as a short stack; small in stature but large in other areas. A pair of short, slightly curved horns protruded from her short ginger hair on either side of her head. Her turquoise eyes glittered with excitement. “I fetched you breakfast!”

“I see that,” he said warmly. “Thank you. You’re the best.”

Nora Valkyrie – cow faunus. Member of Team JNPR.

And miraculously, his girlfriend.

Yeah, he was still trying to figure out how this happened. Nora was a force of nature and Jaune had been swept up in her infectious energy and general love of life. He hadn’t been able to say no when she confessed, not that he wanted to. And it wasn’t just because she was – uh, blessed with certain endowments.

That was just a bonus.

He genuinely thought the world of her. Jaune had only been at Beacon for a couple of months now but he couldn’t see his life without Nora in it. She was such a caring soul, filled with compassion. They might have only been teammates for such a short time and in a relationship even shorter, but Jaune knew that Nora would side by his side no matter the cause.

He really was a lucky guy. The luckiest.

But being with Nora was only one half of why he was so lucky. The other? Well…

“Eat up,” a soft voice said. “If you require more food, let me know.”

Li Ren – goat faunus. Also a member of Team JNPR, and Nora’s partner.

And miraculously, his girlfriend.

Yeah, that’s right. He didn’t just have one girlfriend. He had two.

If Nora was day, then Li was night. Taller than Nora by a couple of inches, she was slender and quiet; stoic. Long black hair fell down her back in a shimmering, glossy curtain of silk, containing a single streak of vibrant, neon pink. Attractive magenta eyes watched him carefully from within a sharp, angular face, guarded, her pale complexion stark against her dark hair. Like Nora, Li had a pair of horns though they were longer, angled back, their surface ribbed.

There was no doubting her beauty.

And he was dating her. Crazy, right?

Nora and Li were a package deal. Where one went, the other followed. So when Nora confessed to him, it was only natural that Li joined her childhood friend and partner in their relationship. At least, according to Nora that was the natural thing to do. Jaune didn’t think that was how things usually worked but who was he to complain? It wasn’t like he was opposed to such a thing, he just hadn’t been expecting it.

Faunus had different views about relationships, after all. It wasn’t unusual for men or women to date multiple partners, though it wasn’t super common either. It all depended on the individuals involved. But Jaune had heard of families that had more than one mother or father.

The Arc’s were much more traditional.

“Yeah, eat up,” Nora beamed. “You’re going to need your strength, mister.”

He was – because today was a special day, after all.

They were going on a date.

As lucky as he felt, dating two girls was hard work. He couldn’t slack off. It meant double the attention, double the effort. Li might appear reserved, stoic, even emotionless at times – but there was a hidden side to that girl that only a few had seen. Nora went without saying; she liked to be pampered, and Jaune was willing to indulge her.

He didn’t want them to ever regret their decision to date him.

Their final teammate arrived shortly after. She was impossible to miss, passing through the crowed dining hall with grace, a tray of food balanced perfectly in hand. Vibrant crimson hair pulled back in a high ponytail swished behind her as she walked, mirrored by a long, fluffy, white tipped blood red tail. Perched atop her head were a pair of upright, triangular ears that Jaune knew from experience were impossibly soft. Emerald green eyes glittered like gems as they peered around before landing on them, a beautiful, white smile blinding them with its radiance.

Pyrrha Nikos – fox faunus, or vixen. Member of Team JNPR, and Jaune’s partner.

Not his girlfriend. Not even he was that lucky.

Though he was lucky to have her as his partner. Four Time Mistral Regional Champion, the top student in their year and dubbed the Invincible Girl due to her undefeated streak of battles spanning back her entire career. This was the person he got to train with everyday, pushing him to his limits and beyond.

It was no surprise that Jaune already felt stronger than ever with Pyrrha constantly pushing him to be the best he could be.

She slipped in across from them, her eyes darting from Nora to Li before settling on him.

“Morning,” she greeted happily.

“Morning,” Jaune returned.

“Morning, P~!” Nora practically shouted.

Li dipped her head. “Good morning.”

This was his team; his friends.

Jaune began eating, savoring the delicious eggs and crispy bacon. Buttering his toast, he combined them all together and took a hearty bite, making a sound of approval in his throat as he swallowed. The food at Beacon really was the best.

“Will you three be out all day?” Pyrrha asked as she carefully sliced her apple into bite sized pieces.

“Yup~!” Nora managed after swallowing her mouthful of oats. “We’re going to go shopping and visit the musiem because Li wants to look at some artwork and then probably hit up the arcade because I need to beat Ruby’s high score,” Nora said that last part darkly, scowling. “I don’t know how she keeps doing it! And then there is this cute cafe we read about in Vale Weekly that I want to visit, and Li is excited to try their strawberry shortcake. Oh, oh – and then we can go down to the beach front and walk along the sand for a bit and then maybe catch a movie afterwards?”

Jaune blinked rapidly as Nora continued to fire off suggestions, her hands running out of fingers as she counted them off.

Pyrrha giggled. “That sounds like a lot of fun.”