Disarmed
The training room was mostly empty, which given the time of day, or night, was normal. The moon hung in the air, shinning down upon the academy of beacon at full force, it's brokenness still reflecting its radiance. The widows caught this light, and made it more focused, which caused a long stream of light to beam down upon the sole inhabitant of the room. This inhabitant was the one disturbing the tranquil silence that was usually present at this time, cutting through it with the swhing of metal on metal and the constant babbling of machines. The figure moved backwards, panting and sweating from the strenuous activity of swinging his white blade repeatedly; the light from the windows reflected of the shiny weapon, causing it to glow. His sweat ran down from the top of his forehead, where his golden blonde locks' hairline was, down around his bright blue eyes down to his baby-faced chin; dropping off his face and falling to the floor. The added fact that his own attire was not suited for this type of intense training was possibly the reason that he was sweating so badly, with a zipped up black hoodie and blue jeans that, the former of these two was covered up by a white chest plate, the added heat could've been making the training seem more intense than it actually was.
However, this was not the reason, as when the young blonde man went back to swinging his sword at the training robot – the sounds cutting through the silence changing once more – the ferocity in which he swung was bestial to say the least, swinging his blade downwards, switching directions mid swing as the robot moved out of the way. The robot moved out of range, causing the attacker to step forward with a growl, closing in and faking a sideward slash before cleaving downwards. The robot, rather easily, fell for the small trick and was struck cleanly on the shoulder with a resounding 'clang'. This clean hit caused the white lines continually going down its silver body to glow green, and it stood ram-rod straight with its arms at its side.
"Congratulations, Jaune Arc, you have passed the high-beginner level, would you like to move on to low-intermediate?" A pre-recorded message droned, the name near the begging was said in a higher-pitch teenage voice then the rest of the message, which was said in a smooth deep tone.
Jaune Arc, our resident blonde haired trainee, contemplated whether to move on or not. It was already late, and he was going to get an earful from Pyrrah, as well as the rest of his friends when he got back. Well, maybe not Ren or Blake, they would probably just say a few choice words and give him a reproachful look, which was worse. It reminded him of his mother and oldest sister, the memories of this one time he had tried to take cookies from the cookie jar, but had ended up dropping said cookie jar and smashing it against the floor, spilling all the contents and scaring him and his mother half to death, ran through his mind and caused a shiver to crawl up his spine. These thoughts were what pushed him to call out a "No." to the machine, deactivating it as he trudged over to the side of the arena, exhausted from the training session. He set Crocea mors's sword down by its shield, proceeding to pick up said shield and pressing the button near base, causing in to collapse into a sheath. Taking a second to marvel at the convenience, as he did every time, Jaune then proceeded to show a surprising amount of dexterity, as he flicked his blade up with his foot so that it balanced by its flat on his shoe, and then lifted it up so that he could put the sheath below it and let gravity slide it in.
This was a very awkward way to put a sword away, Jaune realised as he went to exit the training room and walk back to his dorm, but he had learned through trial and error. He was sure he would be able to put it away more efficiently in the future, even in the heat of battle if he had to. But for now, he was proud that he could do it like this with relatively little difficulty. Many would wonder why he didn't just leave the sheath attached to his belt, and simply make drawing it and sheathing it easier, what these people didn't understand was that Crocea Mors was also a shield, and even if it transformed, the weight was the same. Having something that heavy dragging you down while you fought was never a good idea, even Jaune, as new as he was, knew that. Then why didn't he just hold the shield as well, you ask? Well this detail pertained to something that happened to him recently, something that he would have to deal with for the rest of his life, something that he had been pouring hours and hours into in the training room to overcome, something that was made evident by the hoodie sleeve that was tied up into a knot on his right side.
Jaune Arc… Only had one arm.
Forever Fall – A month ago
The Ursa roared in the faces of Team CRDL and Jaune, causing the entire group to shout out in terror and attempt to run, Jaune was almost to the edge of the clearing when he heard an 'oof' that caused him to turn around in surprise. There, lying on the ground in the middle of the clearing, cradling his ankle was the leader of Team CRDL himself, Cardin Winchester. Jaune's eyes widened as he looked around, seeing that none of the leader's teammates were anywhere near. How did they run so fast? Whilst he asked himself this, he heard the Ursa roar again, and watched with gritted teeth as it started to stalk up to Cardin.
Gripping Crocea Mors tightly, Jaune's mind was going at a mile a minute, trying to decided what to do. Could he get help? No, the Ursa was getting closer by the minute and if the rest of his tormenters hadn't come back yet then he doubted that he would be able to get help in time. Jaune wasn't just battling with his mind, he was also battling with his morality. Would it be so bad if Cardin disappeared? Jaune wasn't the only one he picked on, and he would bet all the Faunus at the academy would be happy to see him gone. Jaune shook his head to dismiss these horrible thoughts from his mind, and as he did so he heard Cardin scream out "Help me, please!"
Jaune mad a snap decision, leaping from his place at the edge of the clearing, he dived into the path of the Grimm's claws, holding his shield up high and digging his feet into the soft earth below. The massive claws of the Ursa bounced off the crescent moon shield with a clang, causing Jaune's feet to slide back towards Cardin slightly, who was on the ground with wide eyes behind him. Before Jaune could react, a second blow that he didn't see coming, because of the presence of his shield blocking his vision, crashed against his defence. This one caused half of Crocea Mors to fly out of his grip and fly to the other side of the green clearing. Jaune's body twisted the side as a result of the force behind the blow, and on instinct he used this momentum to swing his sword arm forward as the bear Grimm did the same, slicing it straight in its bone white face. With a roar, Jaune brought his arm down, causing Crocea Mors to slice through the Ursa like butter.
When Jaune's sword hit the dirt, the two halves of the bear fell to either side of him, already dissolving into black wispy smoke. He panted for a few seconds, realising what he had just done, who he had just saved, when he heard a voice behind him.
"D-dude…" Cardin stuttered, causing Jaune to turn around on reflex, "Y-your arm…" Cardin's face was a pale white, which caused Jaune to blink, staring at his sword arm first, before trailing to the other side to look at his other-
Jaune's eyes went wide and his pupils dilated, his mind stopped to recognise what he was seeing. On his right side was not his right arm, but just a bloody stump cut clean through and covered by tattered clothing. Numbly, Jaune's eyes trailed the clearing, looking for something he'd never thought he'd lose, before his eyes locked onto it. His arm, laying on the ground, severed at the forearm.
The last thing he remembered was someone calling his name before he blacked out.
He could remember that day better than any other, even better than Cardin. Jaune woke up a few hours later in the school infirmary, thankfully skipping the fly back. It was the only good thing about the situation. He remembered taking a while to adjust to the grogginess the painkillers they gave him caused, until his aura kicked in. Once that was done, he spent a good hour just staring at his stump, as if he was trying to will his arm to grow back, sadly that was not possible, though he never got to see, because his friends burst into the room afterwards. Pyrrah was at the head, naturally, and she looked at him with the most heartbroken look he had ever seen on a person, it made his chest hurt ten times harder than his arm ever did, though thankfully that view was covered up as Nora jumped into the way by shoving his head into her chest in a Death Hug - patent pending.
After Nora was pried from the healing boy by Ren, not before he made absolutely sure Jaune was not dying himself though, Team RWBY decided to speak up. Ruby was all adorable tears and sniffles, which made him want to scoop her up and pet her head, telling her that he was fine. Yang was making all the jokes she could to ease the tension, like "I've gotta hand it to ya, that was impressive" and "on the other hand that was kind of dumb" which earned her a few pinches from both Ruby and Blake. He didn't mind though, it was good to have someone not treat him like he was going to break down at any moment. Speaking of Blake, she was a lot more vocal than usual, praising him of his defence of Cardin, which was surprising given her distaste for him. As well as promising that she would stop by later to drop some books off to make his stay in the infirmary little less boring, which he appreciated.
Weiss… Weiss was a bit difficult, he could remember the way she looked at him, the way she berated him for his foolish act "Winchester is a hunter in training too," She had said "he shouldn't have needed you, someone far below his skill level, to save him." He could see that she was angry, angry and concerned, but hiding it behind barbs and condescending tones, it was what had made him like her as more than a friend. Weiss was a genuinely nice person, and she cared about her friends a lot, sometimes even too much if the way she spoke to them was any indication, but Jaune knew better, he knew behind that ice queen exterior was a heart of gold, and he loved that about her.
He had replied that Cardin would've died, that he would've been defenceless otherwise and he had needed him to step in, that someone's life, no matter who's it was, was precious, and that if given a second chance, he would do it all again. Weiss had gone completely silent after that, mouth slightly open. The whole room had gone silent. And before anyone could say anything else, the nurse had come in and ushered everyone out, saying that crowding him was not good for his injury. Pyrrah looked like she was going to refuse, but one look at him shaking his head and giving her a small smile, as if to say 'it's okay', had caused her to bite her lip.
After everyone had said goodbye, the room was decidedly emptier, and more quiet, giving more time for Jaune's brain to remember what had happened. His remaining hand clutched the white bedsheets of the hospital bed as he had some realisations. Would he have to quit Beacon? He was already useless with two arms, let alone one. All the progress he had made was now gone, just as he was starting to feel more adequate, comfier with himself, this happened. If there was ever a chance of him not being a failure, it was gone now.
Just as Jaune's mind entered this spiral of self-deprecation, a knock came from the door. Snapping up, Jaune stared at it for a minute or two, before another one sounded out. Confusedly, Jaune called for them to come in, as the nurse was currently occupied. Of all the people he had expected to see enter, Cardin Winchester was not one of them, and if he was then he was the last person on that list of people.
Jaune had been so surprised that he hadn't noticed Cardin sit down, he also almost missed the beginning of his sentence.
"Uh, hey," Cardin greeted somewhat awkwardly "Um, I-I guess I'm not exactly the first person you probably want to see right now, but uh, but I had to come and get this off my chest." Cardin took a deep breath, and then let it out. "I'm sorry." Cardin whispered, sounding so contrasting to the usual cocky and loud person Jaune was so used to, "I'm so goddamn sorry that I can't really explain it to myself, let alone you. I was about to die out there, I literally saw my life flash before my eyes, and even I have to admit after seeing it played out, I was kind of a dick." At this Jaune raised an eyebrow.
"Kind of?" Jaune repeated back almost automatically.
"Ok, I was a massive dick, happy?" Jaune nodded at this, a smirk on his face, "Anyway, as I said, I was about to die, and then suddenly, from outta nowhere, this guy I've given the most shit out of anyone I've ever know comes to the rescue, not only do you defend me, your bully, but you also kill the thing, and get you goddamn arm cut off!" Cardin's look get more intense by the second. "And I'm thinking 'how', 'why' and all this other confusing shit, but then I realised after you got carted away, your friends after you," Cardin looked Jaune in the eyes, "You're a hero." Cardin says with finality.
Jaune's eyes widened when he said this, repeating the words again and again in his head like a broken record. 'Hero'. 'Hero'. 'Hero'. Him? A hero? Suddenly his mind goes back to his childhood, when his mother used to read him stories of knights and dragons and princesses. He had always wanted to be one, a Hero.
"I know it sounds kinda childish," Cardin continued on, oblivious to the whirlwind of thoughts going on in the blonde's head "but what else could you be? A hero doesn't care who he saves, just that he saves them, a hero forgives no matter what is done to 'em" Cardin let out a sigh as he stood up. "You saved me when you had no reason to, when you had every reason to leave me to die, if that isn't a hero, I don't know what is." With this, he made his way to the exit, opening the door but stopping briefly beforehand and turning around, "And… Thank you." Cardin said sincerely, taking his leave, and leaving Jaune to his thoughts.
Present
Jaune Arc, Huntsman in training, self-proclaimed lady's man, and one armed warrior - thanks Yang - was walking through the gardens of Beacon in the early morning, the broken moon was out fully as it shone down at the populace of the planet, and he was heading back to his team's dorm room after a heavy training session. He slowed his walk to a standstill as he took his time to observe the moon and take in the atmosphere.
Him, a hero? Not yet. But will a lot of time and effort, he could be. His team and team RWBY believed in him, and he was starting to believe in himself. So what if he had one arm? That would just mean he had to try harder.
"I was already trying hard to catch up." He said to himself, "What's a little more effort?" as he said this, he made his way back to his friends, looking forward to a future of hard work
END
Author's note
Wow this was a lot of effort, how do you authors do this all the time, with continuous plots and everything. You guys are seriously impressive, anyway, I was thinking of writing something for a while and finally got around to it, and I think it turned out pretty good for a first fic, anyway, any feedback is appreciated, even criticism! So, say what you like, I'll see you guys later!
Your author, Zakku