Cloud Strife is a character from Super Smash Brothers Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch and probably other things too. The comparisons between Jaune and Cloud are painfully obvious. So obvious, that this story is basically low hanging fruit.
This story picks up at the start of Volume 4 and continues on with Jaune unlocking a different semblance, called Limit Break. You won't need to know anything about Final Fantasy in general or VII in particular to read this story. It's more of an Alt!Power Fic than a crossover.
I think that's everything.
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"There you go, son." The horned smith heaved the heavy breastplate onto the counter between them. "It's gonna be heavier than you're used to, but you'll thank me the next time you go up against a set of claws." From the sound it made against the wood, Jaune believed him.
"I don't know what to say." Jaune rubbed the back of his head.
"Don't gotta say anything! Just put it on!" The smith turned towards the back and called over his shoulder. "I'll go get the rest."
"So...What are you waiting for?" Nora asked after only a moment had passed.
Jaune blinked down at her before nodding. "Oh! Uh… Right." Jaune walked up to the counter and took the chestplate he was wearing off. "Guess I was going to grow out of it eventually," he murmured as he set it on the counter.
He looked down. He'd traded his hoodie and jeans in for a blue cotton shirt that went up to his neck and a baggy set of black pants that went down to his boots. He still wore gloves but he'd gotten new grey ones.
"A sign of progress," Ren agreed.
Progress. It sounded good to him so he echoed it back. He strapped the new piece to his chest. It fit snuggly, no undue chafing at his joints was always nice. The new white with golden highlights looked good in contrast to his blue shirt. There was only one shoulder pauldron and Jaune immediately strapped it to his left hand side.
He slid the gauntlets over his his gloves. Jaune had found early on that no amount of lotion or baby powder could help with the constant rubbing of the thick plates over his dexterous and long fingers so he'd taken to wearing thick fingerless gloves and developing calloused sides on his fingers.
The gauntlets slid all the way up to his elbow. He stretched and flexed. They didn't impede any of the movements Pyrrha had taught him.
"And we can't have a huntsmen without his weapon." Jaune looked up as the man set the newly forged shield and sword on the table. Qrow, Ruby's uncle, had brought Miló and Akoúo̱ to him from the top of Beacon Tower when he'd found Ruby there.
Miló had been forged into Jaune's sword. It was longer now and broader to, but not so big that a limber Huntsman like Jaune felt uncomfortable with the length- at least at first glance. Akoúo̱ had been melted down and added to Jaune's shield. It was more angular now. The shield was still symmetrical but was divided into two parts. It started off square before it tapered down to two points. It was taller than before with the bronze of Akoúo̱ added to the bottom. It would cover Jaune better from ranged attacks. He'd found that without any range himself, enemies would pin him down and force him to cover himself. With a taller shield he would be able to cover more of himself, conserving aura.
"Made all the modifications you asked for." The shield and sword were linked together, forming a great cross shape. Jaune took them and strapped the shield to his left arm. It didn't compact like it used too, but the sword still fit into the shield to all for him to carry it on his arm if he needed too. Jaune drew the sword from the sheath with a soft whisper. "That was some fine metal you brought me. Accents the white nicely. Where'd you get it from?"
Jaune felt the new weight of the sword in his right hand. It felt uncomfortable but mostly because he was used to the old weight, not because he wasn't strong enough. Time would change his preferences as he re-taught himself muscle memory.
"From a friend." He answered as he stared at the golden accents on the sword. The pommel was a bit longer than one would expect, long enough so that Jaune could grip it comfortably in both hands.
He slid the sword into the shield until it clicked into place. Then he pulled the sword back and it drew from the still expanded shield, it pulled parts of the shield with it, until he'd drawn a six foot long broadsword. He brought the weapon around him and let his left hand rest below his right. Jaune wouldn't lie, it was pretty heavy, but practice would allow him to wield it, Ruby had assured him that her uncle used a broadsword like with one, and he was more wiry that Jaune was.
Jaune shook his head and strapped the entire contraption to his back. "No it doesn't, it just has the two forms." He would be able to pull the weapon from his back easily to draw it as either a bastard sword or the broadsword form. He would practice sliding the shield onto his arm from his back later. He'd need to learn how to use all the forms.
"It's so cool!" Ruby scrunched up her face at the weapon in her hands. Big silver eyes looking up at the weapon. It made Jaune smile he bit back a laugh.
"You helped design it," A chuckle escaped him despite his efforts. "You knew what it was going to look like."
Ruby snorted before she covered her face. Turning slightly red. Weiss would have reprimanded her for the sound if she were here. "Sure, on paper, it's another thing to meet face to uh- face." She stammered.
"Face to face huh," Jaune smirked.
"Shut up it's a sword."
"He cleans up alright," The smith smirked. "Don't you think? Say, you kids sure you wouldn't stick around? You've been good to this town."
They'd run a few patrols and hunts for the city to work out a deal to pay for Jaune's new weapon. They'd stuck around a few weeks killing Grimm for the small village and running the occasional odd job besides because, well-even a mech-shift weapon as simple as Jaune's new one wasn't easy to make.
Jaune regretted stalling his friends so long on what was essentially an errand but if they'd minded Jaune couldn't seem to notice. Ruby had been ecstatic to work on it with him, too, which put some of Jaune's anxiety to rest.
"Sorry, but we've got another mission-"
"-Make it to Haven Academy, no matter what!"
"We've heard the next village over has a working airship."
The smith frowned. "No way to know for sure. Scoll signals were bad enough out here when Beacon Tower was still up. Haven't heard from Shion village in a while."
"Well, there's only one way to find out!" Ruby waved her goodbye to the man and turned. Jaune and the others took as their cue to do the same and mirrored her. Saying goodbye to the village as well as the smith, they turned and left.
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Jaune had been quick to take the first shift. Ruby, Nora, and Ren changed and tucked into their sleeping bags. He watched the flames in their campfire die down to ashes. Cinder and sparks flicked into the air. He waited, watching the surrounding greenery of the woods, the moon was bright enough for him to easily see by.
There was nothing but the crackle of the fire and the distant sound of animals.
He'd waited patiently until he was sure his friends were asleep before he stood. He strapped on his armor and grabbed the weapon by the handle, pulling until he drew the broadsword. He rested it gently on his shoulder and he left the camp until he spotted a clearing. He'd be able to watch from here just fine.
He held the broadsword out in two hands. First he practiced his basic movements while holding the broadsword, attempting a few amateurish swings until he got a feel for the weight of it. He swept the blade across his body in a six foot wide arc. He brought the weapon back into neutral and swung it again.
He practiced two different cross slashes until his arms burned, sweat running down his brow as he tried to control the weapon. It's weight seemed to swing him as much as he swung it.
He rested against it and wiped his brow. He'd need a drink if he kept this up. He brought the broadsword around, the shield clicked into place around his arm and he drew the bastard sword out. He felt the new weight. It was light and easy to control compared to the broadsword form. The shield was easy to swing and large enough to hit something fairly hard with. He crouched down as though avoiding gun fire. He mimicked peaking around the shield and several wide jabs with the sword.
His arms still burned but he pushed on, determine to get a feel for the new weight. He refused to run into a fight without feeling out the weight and all its forms.
Pyrrha had taught him a few forms to run through. Wide brutal swings followed by quick diagonal cuts before defensive posturing and foot work. He mimed parrying with the tall shield before a thrust and two waist length sideways cuts with the sword.
Blocking with the shield was easy. Well easier than the small wrist movements required to block with his sword. Especially with the new weight, the last thing he wanted to do was commit to a block with any unnecessary movement. It was all in the wrists, small rotations that covered him just enough, or long enough for the shield to come around.
He panted for breath, taking a moment to wipe his forehead again. He really needed a drink. He turned back towards camp. His water jug was resting just in the clearing. He paced over to look at the camp. Ruby, Nora, and Ren were still in their beds.
Had he left it here or closer to his bed? He took a drink anyway and paced back to the clearing. He still had a lot of work to do to kill Cinder.
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Birds flew, bees stung, and it hadn't taken Ruby long to ask to examine the new and improved weapon. Ren was making breakfast over the campfire, eggs, cheese, beans and rice in a burrito. They were perfect. Jaune handed the weapon over to Ruby and took a bite, groaning at the taste.
"It's heavy, " Ruby murmured. "At least heavier than it was before." It was true. It weighed as much as Crocea Mors had before with the shield, plus Miló and Akoúo̱ and Pyrrha's circlet. "Do you remember how to take apart and clean the mechanisms? I don't remember everything about it." Ruby admitted the last bit almost sheepishly. Like she was ashamed of having forgotten.
He smiled and swallowed.
"They're simple enough for me to understand so I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out again." She hit his arm with the back of her hand but was still smiling. "I'll show you later tonight, when we make camp again." He took another bite of burrito.
"We could also practice too, if you want." She offered.
He'd seen her fight and they'd occasionally sparred for Ms. Goodwitch at Beacon. She'd always tried to take it easy on him, she'd always won, though, super easily. She was faster than a sixteen year-old had any right to be and swung her giant scythe around like it was nothing. She hit so hard so casually.
Her power allowed her to cross any distance easily or escape to regroup at her leisure. She could totally control the pace of battle, at least against him. She was a menace.
Jaune nodded through chews of his burrito. She could teach him a lot. He'd be a fool to pass it up. He'd done that with Pyrrha before but he'd learned from his mistakes.
"It's like some kind of fusion of swords now." Nora looked the weapon over with Ruby who was pantomiming swings with the broadsword. "A fusion sword."
He finished his food and set about helping Ren pack up. Leaving the girls to chat while they cleaned up.
Jaune rolled up his sleeping back and packed it into his pack. Ruby handed him his sword and he strapped it to his back. He through his pack over it. He wouldn't be able to draw the broadsword easily, but the bastard sword was easy to grab and the shield could be slipped onto his arm quickly or he could take the bastard sword in both hands.
Ruby walked with the map out in front of her, stretched between both hands. "So the next town is… Uh-huh! Uh-huh…" She gave up. "We're lost."
"We're not lost. The next town is Shion. My family used to visit all the time."
"Oh, yeah! Don't you have, like, four sisters."
"I have a few of those, yeah." Jaune did his best to evade.
"Seven," Ren helpfully pointed out with a subtle smirk. Thank you, Ren. You traitor. Ruby giggled.
"Y'know, that actually explains a lot."
Jaune frowned down at Nora. "Wait, what do you mean-"
"So, what did you guys do there?"
Jaune left the smirking Ren and Nora behind to step up next to Ruby. "Oh! All sorts of stuff!" He took the side of the map in one armored hand. "Over here is a great hiking trail, and over here is where we went camping all the time! I got my own tent because I was special."
Ruby grinned up at him.
"Also, so my sisters would stop braiding my hair." He finished the confession self deprecatingly.
"Didn't like the look?"
"Yeah, they just kept doing pigtails, but personally I think I'm more of a 'Warrior's Wolf Tail' kind of guy."
"Isn't that just a ponytail?"
"I stand by what I said."
"Uh, guys?" Nora intruded.
"What-"
"Huh?"
Jaune and Ruby looked up from the map. Jaune doubted they'd be able to rent an airship from Shion.
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The fate of Shion village seemed to weigh on Jaune's mind that night. He knew he wasn't the only one, Ren had been so… emotional. It wasn't like him but Ren had never pushed Jaune about anything, even when he'd been in the right to after initiation, so Jaune couldn't bear to bother him before he was ready.
Ruby wouldn't be deterred from working with him on his new-ish weapon, however, besides, he wanted to move a little anyway. "Ruby and I will take the first shift tonight." He told Ren. "We'll be training a little too, but we'll try and keep it down."
Jaune set another log on the campfire. There was a flare of sparks and the fire snapped a few times at him. Nora was already turned away from the dim light in her sleeping bag.
"Don't go too far." Ren reminded gently, but that was all the other boy had to say on the matter.
Ruby had found a clearing she liked as they'd set up camp and he followed her there now from the campsite. He hadn't bothered to take his armor off. He needed to get used to it and he'd do it by wearing it sixteen hours a day.
"You'll probably need a whole new fighting style, I mean-have you ever practiced with a broadsword." She chatted as they walked.
Jaune nodded in agreement. "I haven't but a sword is a sword." What's so hard to understand about swish-swish-stab? "I'll be able to figure it out."
"I know some of my uncle's moves." Ruby continued. "Would they help?"
He shrugged. "Ruby, I'm bad enough that they literally couldn't make me worse."
She looked like she wanted to hit him for that, but couldn't because she was about to hit him anyway. "A lot of his moves are horizontal, it's hard to swing a sword that big upwards. The ground get in the way. His most powerful attacks are usually ones that come downwards, though, using gravity." He watched her spin away from him into the clearing.
He grimaced. If he swing the broadsword down he'd need to lift it up again, seemed obvious but the thing was heavy now, he'd need to do it as little as possible to conserve energy.
He stepped opposite her and drew the broadsword from his back.
Ruby's scythe extended and she reversed her grip on it, holding the weapon behind her back. Jaune didn't think for one second it was an opening. He couldn't cross the distance between them before she would move. Still, he knew if she were willing to spend ammunition on a sparring match, he would be the one forced to approach. In the spirit of that, he charged at her anyway.
He committed to an attack with Crocea Mors, swinging from his shoulder down at her. She danced out of the way, her footwork was tight and fast. She was able to stay just out of his range, dipping in to slice across his breastplate with her scythe before he could bring his weapon around again.
She rolled the scythe around her body vertically in a wide arc and Jaune stepped back. She stepped with him, staying inside where he would feel comfortable with the sword.
He lashed out his foot in a clumsy kick which missed. Ruby caught the leg he was left on with her scythe and pulled him off his feet. He landed awkwardly flat on his back.
"Sorry Jaune." She smiled down at him sheepishly.
Jaune got to his feet shaking his head. "I'll get over it. I'm not afraid of looking like an idiot." He leveled the broadsword at her. He still had plenty of aura for her to beat out of him.
He nodded at her to let her know he was ready.
She rushed him and he immediately retreated, lashing out with Crocea Mors into the space he had just occupied. It collided with Crescent Rose's barrel with a heavy metallic clank. The weight was enough to stop Ruby's momentum and she squealed adorably as she strained against it. She retreated spinning Corcrea Mors behind her, before she reversed spinning towards him in whirlwind of red and steel.
He raised Crocea Mors and blocked the blade of Ruby's scythe with a grunt. He turned his wrists to block her next attack when she came around the other side. She hit him three times anyway, despite his attempts to defend. Her blade swept across his stomach, glancing off his armor. He threw out Crocea Mors to try and gain some space but she simply stepped back then back in and hit him hard in the side of the head with the back of Crescent Rose.
He stumbled back but she was all over him sweeping her blade at him and chipping away at his aura. He grunted lowering Crocea Mors to defend once again. He blocked then thrust his blade out and swung it upward, Ruby easily dodged the thrust but wasn't ready for him to continue his assault. She jumped, elegantly dodging the attack with her semblance.
She flowed to his right like water before she zipped to the left and attacked, throwing him off balance, her scythe was a spinning blade of death that sunk deep into his aura, shredding away chunks of it. He stepped back like he was going to retreat but he whipped the blade out, he clipped Ruby and she rolled with the attack to the ground.
The sword made meaty noise when it hit her and he immediately regretted how hard he had swung it. They were just training and it wasn't like she was out here swinging to hurt him. He winced slightly. She looked a little winded. He shouldn't just be throwing out haymakers at her.
Duh, Jaune, what a way to say thank you.
Her body shimmered with soft red light as she recovered, getting to her feet. He let her rise, in a real fight he'd be all over her; he wasn't above hitting someone while they were down, afterall, the world had no problems doing it to him, but this was just training.
"Are you alright." He asked, his eyes roved her body, looking for any sign of injury. Her hand rose from where he had hit her and she nodded.
"I'm fine. That hurt, though, you've gotten stronger."
"It's the new sword, it's heavier," Jaune dismissed. "It's easy to hit things hard with a giant sheet of metal."
"Well, I'm sure that's true, too."
Jaune continued to look her over. Her hit and run fighting style being re-evaluated. Why? Why did she bother retreating when she was so strong? It wasn't just a fighting style preference. He was beginning to suspect that she needed to. She needed to dodge rather than block and she couldn't afford to tank hits like he could.
She wasn't weak. She could certainly hand him his ass, at least, but that didn't make her not vulnerable, fragile, even. Especially when she was being hit by a hundred pound sword.
She slashed upwards and he barely raised his sword in time. He grunted against the pressure she put him under. Seriously, how was she this strong? He was older than her and bigger than her but he still needed to grit his teeth and hold on.
"How am I doing so far," he managed.
He decided he would give her a moment to catch her breath, if she needed it. It looked like he had knocked the wind out of her, even through her Aura.
"You need to move more, you stand too still." It was familiar advice, it brought him back to rooftop training sessions with another redhead. He changed tracks, not wanting to think about Pyrrha right now.
Thinking about Pyrrha only made him want to train, train until he was strong enough to kill Cinder. It was fucking bullshit that Cinder got to walk around while Jaune didn't even get to bury Pyrrha. He shook his head, thoughts of revenge clearing. He had a long ways to go until he could hold candle to the woman who killed his partner.
Besides he was training now, he couldn't be more training than he currently was.
"Well it's hard to keep up with you in terms of movement." He deflected but he nodded all the same. Standing rooted like a tree would only serve to cost him precious aura. Plus now he had two sources telling him to get his ass in gear and move around the battlefield. Not that he'd ever ignored Pyrrha's advice but sometimes lessons took a while to stick.
He slashed two wide arcs at Ruby and she ducked under one and casually deflected the other. The large sword wasn't cutting it for him right now, but the point was to train with the new form. His movements were telegraphed with the broadsword, much more so than with the bastard sword. Plus the shield would allow him to defend himself from her wild slashes, but the point of training right now was to learn how to use the new length to his advantage not necessarily use the best weapon for the situation.
She hit him twice with Crescent Rose before he felt the blade swing around him. He could only watch as Ruby pulled the blade towards her and through his aura.
His chest flashed with soft golden light and his aura began to wink out. Ruby seemed to realize that he'd had enough and stepped back, removing the scythe from around him. He rubbed his side where she had slashed him. Even through the protection granted by his soul it was enough to sting.
He sat down with a tired plop, breathing hard and trying to recover his strength.
Ruby set down next to him, she pulled her skirt down over her tights as she sat.
"Was it really okay to re-forge Pyrrha's weapons like that?"
Jaune understood the sentiment immediately but this felt right.
"Her sword was in pieces and it would only have served as a reminder that she wasn't actually invincible," he began. It wasn't like he hadn't thought about it. "And I'm sure that she would be fine with me using her shield to defend myself, too." He was pretty sure about that. "Plus there's going to be something satisfying about killing Cinder with a weapon reinforced with the one she broke." He chuckled lightly at the thought.
"Well, I guess it's okay, then." She struggled to find something to say after that. "I'm sure you're right."
They sat quietly together in the forest lit by moonlight. It wasn't a full moon, like the night before, but still plenty bright.
"Jaune…" She trailed off.
"Yeah?" He answered anyway, ignoring her hesitation.
"About Pyrrha…" She pressed on.
"What about her?" Jaune frowned down at Ruby. He could talk about her, with Ruby of all people, at least. He didn't particularly want to, but he would.
He realized his fingers were brushing his lips. The rough material of his gauntlets were nothing like Pyrrha's lips. So soft, he remembered the way she'd kissed him before she left, desperately but with a certain finality. She'd known she was sending her valedictions to him at the time.
He'd known too.
"She was a really good friend."
"The best." He agreed readily. He wasn't sure where she was going with this. Ruby slipped into silence, looking up at him with big silver eyes. He looked away, he couldn't bear to look right at her, she was too bright to look at. "She was the best."
"But she wouldn't want you fighting Cinder."
"Well of course not." Hell, the last thing she'd done was push him into a locker and not give him the choice of dying with her. Which he wasn't bitter about at all. "But that doesn't change how I feel. So I'm still going to."
"Jaune…"
"Hey look." He pulled his sword over to where they sat. "You wanted to see how the mechanism works, right?" Anything for a change in subject, literally anything. It was weak but Ruby seemed to understand.
She just nodded and listened while he went over the weapon with her. Jaune could tell that she remembered how the mechanism worked part of the way through his explanation, she'd helped design it, afterall. She just needed the refresher, but that was it.
She let him explain anyway, though.
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Jaune's dreams were haunted by glimmering amber eyes. In his nightmares he died over and over again, Cinder immolated him, like she'd done to Pyrrha, her eyes full of a malicious humor. He slipped in and out of consciousness as she murdered him, waking up sweating in his sleeping bag and hoping it was time to get up.
Each time he hoped the sun would be up so he could get a move on and every time he opened his eyes it was still dark.
He tossed and turned, leaving his sleeping bag a mess as he tried to find some rest. Eventually he gave up, lying awake in his bag waiting for the sun to come up.
He groaned and rose. Ren was up watching over them, Jaune met his friend's eyes and nodded his good morning. Jaune strapped his armor to his body, being sure to make as little noise as possible so he wouldn't disturb Ruby and Nora.
"Couldn't sleep?" Ren asked politely. Ren shuffled through his own bag, withdrawing a pan and a spatula.
Jaune shook his head. "I slept enough, it was time to get up, anyways." Jaune glanced at the burned out fire. "Need a hand cooking breakfast?"
"Please," Ren accepted easily.
Jaune set about restarting the fire. He stood to gather some tinder and wood, he stacked the wood up and set it alight. Ren handed him the pan and Jaune oiled the surface. He cracked half a dozen eggs into it and began stirring and grabbed a spatula to scramble them in the pan. The fire was low enough to be hot but not hot enough to burn the eggs.
The smell began to waft out over the camp and Nora turned towards the fire, breathing deeply. Ruby rose, stretching and yawning in her sleeping bag. Luckily Ruby and Nora seemed content to sleep in decent clothes, it would have been awkward looking for the privacy to change every single day. Still Ren and Jaune turned their backs to the girls, just in case.
Ren handed Jaune four plates and Jaune piled on the eggs. Ren poured out bowls of cereal and arranged them, for everyone.
"You didn't see any Grimm last night? Not a single one?"
Ren shook his head. "No, you?"
"None. It's actually fairly concerning." Jaune frowned. "I honestly expected there to be more Grimm, we've hardly seen any at all."
"Or it's good fortune. We shouldn't knock it."
Maybe Jaune was just being pessimistic but he didn't like the situation.
"You cook Jaune?" Ruby sat down next to him.
"I mean… I scrambled eggs." Jaune approached. "I'm not exactly Jorgon Ramsey."
"Jaune can cook just fine." Ren, why are you like this. "He's done it before back at Beacon."
"I suppose with seven sisters you'd learn a thing or too." She trailed off teasingly.
"Look, these things happen. I also know how to braid hair or put it into ponytails." Ruby smirked. "Seven. Ruby. Seven of them. I never had a chance."
"Good morning!" Nora joined them. "Thank you Renny." She took her breakfast from Ren who handed it to her. "So where are we headed off to today?"
"I'll check the map."
Jaune stood up only for Ruby to hit him across the chest with a tube of paper. "Right here."
Jaune accepted the map from her and unrolled it. His eyes raked the sheet for a moment. "Looks like Higanbana is next." He met Ren's eyes. "If it's there at all."
"Of course it will be there." Ruby's optimism was always welcome to Jaune, even if he didn't share it himself.
"Higanbana is fairly large. It even has a popular inn." Ren handed Ruby her food. She thanked him and dropped down around the fire. The air was chilly but not cold, still being close to the fire was more comfortable than sitting away from it. The heat radiated onto Jaune and warmed his legs while he chewed. "Its well protected."
Jaune nodded along, so the village was probably still there and full of people.
"Beds," Nora whispered like a prayer between bites of egg. "Sweet sweet beds."
"Showers, maybe?" Ruby wondered.
"Let's hope." Jaune missed being clean. They were sweaty from walking everyday and Jaune had trained pretty hard since he'd gotten Crocea Mors upgraded. He stunk, he knew. "We might reach it by sunset if we pack up soon enough." One more day on the road wouldn't be the worst thing, though.
"See, everything's going to be fine." Ruby gave him a meaningful look but if there was any hidden context Jaune missed it.
"You know, we've had some ups and downs but things really could be a lot worse." Ruby smiled approvingly at him.
"Speaking of worse, did any of you see any Grimm?" Nora wondered.
Jaune shook his head. "Ren and I were just talking about it. We really haven't seen any."
It was raining when they arrived at Higanbana, Jaune was thankful they'd made it or they'd be sleeping in the rain.
"Maybe we should buy a tent." He wondered absently as they approached the inn. "We might not always get this lucky."
"It's not a bad idea." Ren agreed.
"I'll see if I can't find one tonight while we're in town." Jaune did not fancy sleeping in the rain if they ever got caught out again.
They stepped up to the host in the inn. He was a dark skinned man in mostly red.
"We need four beds please, preferably one room," Ruby lead.
"We have two beds per room." The host returned, he sounded apologetically.
"Two rooms then, next to each other if you can, please."
The man nodded and set about looking at what he had available. He leafed through under the counter looking for their room keys.
"We'll be rooming together, then, Jaune." Ren and him had made the same assumption. The girls could probably use the space from them, or at least from him.
Jaune snapped a finger gun at Ren. Nora grinned at the two of them. "What if I want to room with Jaune?"
"Really, you're going to lie right to my face." Jaune looked down at her. She giggled, her hand coming up to her face.
"Well if you put it like that…"
Ruby handed a key to each of them and told them their room number. "I'm going to take the hottest shower." She was soaking wet from the rain, they all were. Staying indoors, getting clean and warm seemed like an exceptional idea.
Ren opened the door in front of Jaune with his key. Jaune thanked him and stepped inside. He set his stuff down. Ruby and Nora entered the room just across the hall. Disappearing inside and closing the door, but not before Jaune watched Nora flop down on one of the beds. She let out a very satisfied groan as she did, then the door shut.
Jaune knew Ren couldn't care less about who got which bed so he just set his stuff next to the first one. "Yo, I'll take this one." He got his pillow out and set it on the bed.
Ren merely nodded. "I'll take first shower, then." Ren was very hygienically minded, being filthy probably bothered him more than it bothered Jaune. Ren grabbed his own soap from his bag and entered the bathroom. He also took all of their plates, pots, and pans into the bathroom with him. Ren liked his things to be clean, not that Jaune would disparage that, but he'd probably be waiting for a while.
Jaune looked around the room and realized he had literally nothing to do. He didn't exactly want to get into or onto his bed while he was still gross. He wasn't an animal like Nora (she ate food in bed.) He stepped out of the room into the hall.
Ruby was closing the door to her and Nora's room behind her and Jaune could hear a shower going from both directions.
"Hey." He greeted.
"You too?" She asked.
"Oh absolutely," He nodded. "You up to anything?"
"No, I've got nothing."
"Let's grab food for everyone and see if we can buy a tent somewhere."
"At the same time?"She teased a laugh in her voice. He could tell she liked the idea, though. Her teeth flashed at him in a wide smile and she crossed her arms across her chest.
"I dunno." Jaune continued. "If we find some outdoor-supply and restaurant store-hybrid we'll be right on track."
"We'll have to make sure it's big enough for four people, though."
"Who says I'm inviting you and Nora; Ren and I are roomies now, maybe I wanna keep it that way."
She snorted as she laughed, unapologetically. "Well if we don't find this super incredible store that you're thinking off, uh-what was your plan B."
Jaune gestured to the hallway and she started walking down it in front of him. With Crocea Mors on his back he couldn't walk beside her in the hallway. Doors were a bit of a challenge for him already with the pommel sticking out over his shoulder. So far he managed by taking something like a forty-five degree angle and stepping in right shoulder first.
Ruby walked with her hands behind her waist. She kept glancing back at him, as though to make sure he was still behind her. When they were first at Beacon what she was doing now would have been called adorable. Now it was something else- in the neighborhood of adorable, though.
Jaune looked away from her tights and brightly colored skirt and to the very blank undecorated walls.
Still they made for what were very clearly huntsmen as they walked through the hotel. Neither were in any particular hurry.
"I was thinking we'd find a restaurant that was still open and supply store."
"Just pick something up?"
"I know what Ren likes and Nora will eat anything."
They walked in down to the host again.
"Hey," Jaune got the man's attention with a wave. "If you were going to only spend a day here, where would you have to eat at before you left?"
The host's eyes moved from angled from down at Ruby to up at Jaune and he grinned at Jaune. He gave them directions and they were off jogging, through the rain. They quickly moved from one side of the street to other, trying to stay under the cover of buildings.
They stepped inside the restaurant, first, somehow they'd unanimously agreed that food was the priority, somehow or another. The place served asian food and they'd both ordered a meal with chicken and a lot of rice, like 'could I get an extra box of rice, please?' Jaune ordered a bowl of noodles for Ren and a lot of stir fried beef for Nora.
"Are we going to eat here."
"I thought we should just take it and bring it back."
"Ugh, we should have gotten the tent first, now we have to walk around and smell it." Ruby looked down at her box of food. "It smells so good."
They both carried their bags under their arms. It was nice being in a decent sized city again, no reason to keep an eye out and they were able to just relax. At least Jaune felt so.
It was raining harder than ever. Jaune glanced up at the dark sky, then gazed back down the street in the direction of the inn, going past it to where the host had pointed out where they could buy a tent. "Doesn't look like its stopping."
"Oh I don't mind the rain. We've gotta protect the food, though." Ruby stepped out and spun in the rain, her joy was contagious and Jaune smiled along with her. She stuck out her tongue to taste the rain and Jaune slicked his wet hair back.
She looked at him and laughed. "You look ridiculous with your hair spiking up like that."
She bounced through a puddle, not minding getting wet since they had a warm place to get back to. He was sure she would be in his camp if she didn't have a place to dry her outfit.
They stepped inside the shop to the sound of bells caused by their entry. "Howdy." The man behind the counter greeted. He rested his arms on the wood. "What can I help you two with?"
"We need a tent." Ruby stepped up to the counter. It was chest heigh for her so it only came up to Jaune's sides.
The man nodded. He was amber skinned and in dark green. His brown eyes flicked upwards once. "Sure, a-uh-two person tent?" He stepped out at into the store from behind the counter before shooting a questioning look back.
"Four," Ruby. "Corrected."
"We'd kind of like it to have a rain flap too." Jaune pointed his thumb out the window to where it was still raining.
"Alright, here we are." The man rang them up and Jaune handed over his lien.
"Thank you, sir."
"Hey, anything to help some huntsmen." He waved them out the door back into the rain.
They jogged back up to the inn. Nora had found her way into Ren and Jaune's room and was setting on Jaune's bed, her hair still damp.
"Where were you two."
Ruby held up a bag to Nora as an offering of peace. "Food."
"Out-standing."
"Lets see," Jaune opened the first box peering inside. "This one is yours Ren." He handed the box of food to the martial artist. The boy peering inside and giving a slight node.
"That makes this one Nora's." Ruby handed Nora her food, too.
"Of course you guys can switch if you want," Jaune added. Jaune crossed his legs and sat on the floor before tucking in.
Without so much as looking over to see what Nora got, Ren replied. "Up to you, Nora." He took a bite full of noodles, anyway.
"Don't worry about it Ren. This is perfect! So," Nora eyes glinted. "What did you two get up to?"
"You mean besides getting you food?" Jaune wondered. "We picked up a tent, no more sleeping in the rain."
Nora and Ruby gave a cheer for that, Ren just gave an approving nod and a soft smile.
They ate companionably until Ruby finished and left to take her shower. Nora departed from Ren and Jaune's room before Jaune had the opportunity to get clean himself. He let the warm water run over his aching muscles. He scrubbed at his face to remove the grime and sweat.
When he exited, Ren was already in bed. Jaune dimmed the lights and joined him in his own bed.
Jaune laid awake in bed for hours before sleep took him. He usually trained until he was physically and mentally exhausted, his body ached for movement and stress now when he didn't get it.
So he remained awake, listening to the sound of Ren sleeping, familiar after their stay together in Beacon but it was no comfort without their partners. Like something was missing. A puzzle piece without which Jaune would remain forever hole-hearted.
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-WG
