Weiss's Guard
The small slashes and scars and dark bruises that adorned Jaune Arc's body caused him extreme discomfort as he tried to get some sleep. He rolled over to his side and watched the slow rise and fall of Ruby's chest as she slept. Hoping to himself that he could follow her peaceful rather to find his own sleep.
He closed his eyes, frustrated, before pulling off his covers. His jaw tightened in pain as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He looked down at his chest and arms and sighed. Both of his arms and the right side of his chest were wrapped in bandages that restricted his movement heavily. He began to regret forgoing pain meds thinking that his injures were nothing compared to some of the more… severe ones. His eyes traveled to where Yang lay asleep in a medical induced coma.
He, however, would have made the same choice again if he had to. Slowly he applied more weight to his legs until he was standing. Cautiously, he took a small step forward. He smiled as he took another. Confident that he could walk on his own he made his way down the aisle containing the other students injured during the attack.
Once he made his way to the entrance he quietly stepped out, not wanting to disrupt the sleeping injured. He shivered as the cool night air blew past him. The holes in his pants did little to protect his pants like the bandages on his arms and chest. At least that was something. He looked around towards the other non-injured students as they slept in small groups. Most of them still had small wrappings and slings over injuries that weren't life threatening or severe enough to warrant the medical tent. But as Jaune looked over the sleeping forms he couldn't help but remember stories his parents told of his ancestors and the horrors of war.
He shook his head as he walked to the clearing offering a clear view of the burning city. His eyes traveled over to where the massive grim was frozen in place. Rumor has it that it was Ruby who did it. He chucked softly. Only she could pull something like that out of her hood. He thought to himself. He spotted a box and went to sit down. However, the sudden and unexpected gasp made him fall onto his rear with a painful sounding thump.
He twisted his head to look into the eyes of a certain white haired member of team RWBY. "Weiss? W-what are you doing here?" he whisper-stuttered.
She, folded her arms and frowned at him. Even though the darkness proved to be a hindrance to her ability to see she knew that voice anywhere "I was here first. What are you doing out of bed?" She whispered back accusingly, looking in his direction.
"I couldn't get any sleep." He said. At her pointed look he elaborated. "My arms and chest were killing me." He gave her a sheepish look before asking his own question again. "Why are you out here?"
She rolled her eyes before speaking. "My father is coming to get me."
His brow furrowed in confusion. "W-what?" came his intelligent reply.
She uncrossed her arms and pulled her legs up to her chest. "General Ironwood told me a few hours ago that my dad is coming to get me…"
He sat there in silence as what she said began to register. When it did click the only thing that he could say was an intelligent, "Oh."
She folded her arms around her chest as to hide herself. "Jaune, I- I tried to tell him to let me stay but my dad he's-"
The blond put his hand on her shoulder interrupting her. "I get it. If I had any way to contact them, my mom and dad would probably be demanding that I return too." He gave a humorless laugh. "Good thing too. Otherwise I might have to ignore them. That's something I never done before…" He gave her a smile. "Anything you want me to tell Yang or Ruby when they wake up?"
Weiss stared at the blond boy, her emotions on the brink of falling apart. "Y-you mean you're staying? A-after everything that happened? After Pyrrha- "she stopped talking when she pressed her hands to her lips. "Jaune, I- "
He gave her a broken smile. "It's all right Weiss… it hurts, but I know what she would have wanted us to do. I had a long talk with Ruby's uncle about a lot of things… It'll be rough but we'll manage."
She was about to ask what he was talking about when two soldiers came around the corner. The one closer stopped and turned around behind him. "Found her sir!" he called out. Moments later several other soldiers all came into the small clearing followed by General Ironwood. "Ah, there you are. Your father was starting to worry if you were hurt."
Weiss stood up before bowing her head. "I'm Sorry for keeping you waiting General… I was just saying goodbye to a… friend."
The general took note of Jaune's presence and smiled. "Ah, Mr. Arc. Good to see you up… How are your wounds treating you?"
The teen smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I- uh. actually sir. They kind of kept me awake… so I went for some fresh air."
The General smiled at the boy. "Understandable considering the circumstances behind them. And believe me when I tell you I understand. Heck I remember my first trip to the field hospital. Every two hours I was up and about wanting to stretch and get out of those God forsaken wrappings …" He made a fist with his robotic hand. "Even so Mr. Arc. While I can understand your problem you do need your rest. It is not every day that someone of your background impresses me. But even then we all have our limits."
Weiss held up her hand. "Wait… What did he do?" she asked confusion etched on her face.
The two soldiers next to Jaune shared a look, before looking down at her. "You're kidding." one stated.
She folded her arms and gave them a stern look. The General intervened with a rare proud smile. "Did you hear about the rumors floating about some man in armor leading my soldiers during the attack?"
The heiress nodded her head. The general's lips moved into a knowing smile, before holding his palm out to Jaune.
Weiss looked at the General with a confused expression before realization took hold. "W-wait… what?"
Ironwood stepped up next to Jaune, before speaking, "This young man managed to do what most experienced officers only dream about." His smile grew as he placed a hand on the youths unwrapped shoulder. "He rallied my scattered men into a defensive line stretching across two miles, allowing civilians to evacuate to the secure sections of the city."
Weiss looked at the blond with a shocked expression. Her mind going blank as she tried to picture Jaune being a leader during something like that. "How…?" Was all she asked.
Jaune looked down. He honestly didn't remember how or why he suddenly took charge. The last thing he knew he felt was when his connection with Pyrrha was severed as she was killed. "Pyrrha…" was all he whispered.
The two soldiers shared a look knowing that tone of voice Jaune spoke in. Ironwood's face turned grim as he remembered that he was one of the reasons why the young warrior was no longer with them. His grip tightened on the blond's shoulder as said blond gave the heiress a sad smile. Jaune continued, "Soo… Yeah. I guess I'll see you around Weiss… Don't worry about Yang and Ruby. I'll be with them." With that he stood and turned.
She was surprised when Ironwood allowed the young man to pass him without any resistance. She was even more so when the other soldiers stood at attention as he passed.
Weiss turned to the General her cheeks stained with dried tears. He turned to look at her and bowed his head in understanding. "As a leader one of the headrest things we must endure is when we fail at our one job." He said as he stood straighter and turned to look upon the still burning City of Vale. "Our one job is to return those under our command to those who love them. Mr. Arc is not the most capable of fighters but when it comes down to leadership capabilities… Well you heard the rumors."
The heiress looked down before asking, "Why can't I stay General?"
The older man sighed before turning his head towards the young girl. "I wish that was in my power to allow but your father is very, very, persistent about wanting you home… I will do what I can to ensure the safety of my men and those who fall under my protection. And that Miss Schnee includes you."
She nodded her head before stepping closer. The soldiers standing guard took up positions around the two as the started their journey to where the bullhead was waiting to take them to where the last remaining air ship under the General's control sat in dry dock.
As the group passed the medical tent Weiss looked over to find Jaune sitting next to the two remaining members of his team as they slept. She sniffed before looking at Ironwood. "S-sir?"
He looked down at the small teen. "Yes Miss Schnee?" He replied.
"W-what will happen now?" She asked in a whisper. Her inner fear coming out despite her best efforts to keep it hidden.
Ironwood let loose another sigh as he boarded the Bullhead. "I don't know… I really don't know." At that her shoulders sagged low. He knew he needed to lift her spirits but he was known for his discipline not his care for children.
Thankfully, his plight was answered when one of soldiers spoke up, "Well. Whatever happens sir. The people who did this will regret messing with Atlas. We don't take kindly to people hurting our brothers!" This was followed by the other soldiers raising their guns in agreement with a shout.
General Ironwood looked down at the young Heiress and gave her a small reassuring smile. "You heard the men Miss Schnee… As soon as things settle down I'll see what I can do for your friends."
The smaller girl nodded her head and with a sad reply said, "Thank you General."
With that the door to the outside world was closed as the Bullhead took off. Leaving the refugee camp in a stunning display of military might.
Jaune, however, could only see the ship act as a lifeboat taking whatever was valuable back to safety. After watching the Bullhead vanish from view he turned his attention to his two sleeping teammates as they used each other as pillows. Next to their sides, should they need them, were their weapons. He smiled as the two rested, before looking on top of another crate. There, waiting to be put into use was his armor, weapons and new clothes ready to be called upon should he need them. His smile broke as his gaze fell upon the golden piece of metal that laid on top of the pile. Pyrrha. He closed his eyes in concentration just as the morning sun hit the golden head piece making it shine.
Slowly the blond knight looked up, his eyes blazing with is aura. Then suddenly, ever so slightly, his eyes sheened with a golden light so quickly most would have missed it before they returned to their natural baby blue.
Gently he arose from his sitting position, before unwrapping his bandages across his chest. Once he was done he began to unwrap his arms, repeating the process like he did with his chest. After he was done he flexed his newly freed muscles before dressing. With a sigh he sheathed his sword and stepped in front of his two sleeping teammates. "Ahem!" He called out. Instantly Nora was up causing Ren to fall onto his, still sore, side.
She around frantically before settling her eyes on her fearless leader. "Jaune!?" she exclaimed shocked that he was standing in his armor instead of resting in the medical tent.
Ren quietly stood before giving his leader a raised eyebrow.
He smiled as he said, "Let's get ready to move you two. Their moving Yang and Ruby today."
And like that the two remaining members of JNPR nodded their heads and gathered their weapons. Nora taking Ruby's scythe as Ren grabbed Yang's reaming gauntlet.
"So, you three were serious about coming."
At the sudden voice the three turned to find Yang and Ruby's uncle standing in front of them. Jaune stepped forward before saying, "I won't leave my friends."
"Heh" Qrow chuckled. "I have a bird waiting at platform B-12… Let's go."
Without another word spoken the four, plus a medical staff rolling two unconscious sisters began their trek to the landing pad. All of them preparing themselves for what was to come.
Author's notes
Well, here is another short one shot. I decided that I shall do one for each of the members of Team's RWBY and JNPR minis Blake... Why? Well considering the good feedback I got from the first one I thought to myself. 'Hey People like Jaune as much as I do! lets work it for all it's worth.' just kidding. i really just like the attention. hehehe. Now before I forget: RWBY and all related content belong to Rooster Teeth. I own nothing. This includes any and all past present or future works that I may create. Now onto the pathetic part. Please please please review. Every review adds to my ego, even the ones that are degrading and I need my ego. Also, it helps me with writing, grammar and story structure so feel free to lay into my writing. Thank you for your time.