A/N: Howdy guys! This is my SECOND one-shot, very similar to my last one. A friend of mine, an actual major in the English Arts, told me to do this as an exercise after reading one of my stories. Supposedly, it's to improve my work by relying less on dialogue. Anyway, I'm also here to tell you that I am still active! I am in the process of writing a second chapter for my GundamxRWBY fic, as well as chapter 7 for The Odd One. Also, there is another fanfic coming out! So perhaps you may look forward to that. Anyways, here we go!
Beacon:
It was sunny outside, the green grass of Beacon's lawn flowing as a gentle breeze passed by. From the window of his dorm, Jaune watched the white clouds as they crept across the azure blue sky. He saw a flock of birds fly above him, in V-formation.
Apparently, it was rare to see that in this day and age.
Pyrrha sat quietly in the chair in front of the shared desk. She watched as Jaune silently observed nature, in a chair he had pulled up alongside the window. She was worried, if she were being honest. He's been like this for the past two hours. Ren and Nora had gone down to the Cafeteria to get some food for Jaune, seeing as he had skipped out on Lunch.
Pyrrha nearly let out a shout of relief when Jaune spoke, though the words themselves startled her.
"Hey Pyrrha," he called, his voice somber and slow, "what is it like to grieve for something?" He asked.
Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at his question. "What do you mean?"
Jaune paused, and for a moment, Pyrrha was worried that he would go back to remain silent. Thankfully, that didn't happen.
"Like... what does grief feel like?"
Pyrrha was so close to calling the nurse, but she wanted to find out why Jaune's been acting like this. So, she decided to answer.
"Well... I think it's... anger, denial, and sadness, all bottled up into one emotion. Why... why do you ask?"
Jaune paused again. Pyrrha saw something drip from Jaune's chin. It was clear, like water.
"It's just, I don't know what grief feels like. And I want to know if what I'm feeling right now is grief." He replied, his voice remaining even, and his tone unchanged. Pyrrha was sent into full alert.
"Wh-Why would you be feeling grief?" She prodded cautiously.
He sighed. A hint of tiredness and sadness could be detected from the sound. It made her flinch. It was unusual for Jaune to be this way. Normally, he would try to be happy despite the situation. But that wasn't him, right now. This Jaune seemed... broken. Not shattered, to the point of no recovery, but torn between something. Like whether or not something was good or bad.
Pyrrha saw his head tilt upwards towards the clouds. "Is it normal for someone not to feel grief...?" He murmured, ignoring his partners question.
At this point, Pyrrha had stood up from the desk chair and crouched beside Jaune. She gently lay a hand on Jaune's thigh.
"Jaune? What's wrong?" She asked. When he didn't answer, Pyrrha moved her hand from his thigh to his chin, gently facing his head towards her. There were tears in his eyes, which looked so empty compared to what Pyrrha was used to.
She frowned when Jaune still didn't answer. "You can tell me anything, Jaune. What's the matter?" She pressured softly, her thumb caressing his cheek. He shook his head, and a look of disapproval came upon Pyrrha's features as she guessed what he was going to say next.
"It's nothing Pyrrha." He mumbled. He gently pulled her hand away from his face as he tried to stand up, but he soon found another hand holding him down.
"Jaune, it's clearly not "nothing" if you're crying. So tell me what's wrong." She asked again. She went over to the desk chair and wheeled towards Jaune until it was right beside him. She sat down next to him and gently took his hand into hers.
He scratched the side of his nose and wiped away another tear. "I'm just... thinking about my family, that's all."
A half-lie.
Pyrrha wasn't satisfied. "Did something happen?" She asked.
Jaune shook his head and stood up, regardless of the hand that tried to pull him back down.
"I'm gonna go... take a walk. Get some air." Jaune stated as he strode out of the room, his shoulders slightly slumped forward.
With Jaune:
As Jaune left the door, he heard a small sigh, barely audible. He ignored it and continued his stroll. He had no clear destination in mind. He just wanted to walk.
He roamed Beacon's halls for what seemed like hours. All the while, he stared straight ahead, moving at a steady pace. He didn't notice the multiple pairs of eyes that watched him from afar, behind one of Beacon's many trees.
The owners of said eyes were, of course, Jaune's friends, team RWBY and (J)NPR. They watched as Jaune took a left, for the umpteenth time since he left his dorm room twenty minutes ago.
"Where's he going?" Ruby asked.
She received shrugs as a reply from her friends. Suddenly, Jaune stopped at the edge of docks. Mere feet separating him from the long drop to Vale City.
Slowly, he began walking towards the cliff. Everyone's eyes widened as he did so, and they kept into action as they began to sprint towards him, about 30 yards
away. Ruby didn't use her semblance, in fear of knocking both of them off of the edge. Just as they approached Jaune, they skidded to a stop when they realzied Jaune merely sat at the edge, his feet dangling above cliff side as he hummed a tune.
After listening quietly, the group found that the tune was slow, yet indifferent, as if it had too many emotions in one. It did not sound happy, nor sad. Not angry, nor pleasing.
Their eyes widened as Jaune's aura began to flare, before seven orbs separated themselves from it. The orbs began to rotate around him, though Jaune looked as if he didn't notice them.
The orbs then began to stretch into ovals, before stopping completely and touching the ground. They each flashed once, and with each flash, out stepped a person. Each person looked like a variation of Jaune, though they all wore the exact same attire, had the same hair. The difference, was within their eyes. One had eyes of stormy grey. Another, of a dark crimson. There was one that had eyes of emerald green, and another that had fiery orange. There was also a Jaune that had eyes of a vibrant yellow, and also one that had eyes of a navy blue. Then, the last Jaune, had eyes of obsidian black. Each of them had different colored eyes, yet they all possessed the same thousand-yard stare.
Even as the seven Jaune variations approached the original, taking steps in sync, Jaune did not pay attention. The seven Jaune's then sat down at the edge of the cliff, next to the original. They too, began to hum. All of them the same song, yet with a different tone. Some of them sounded happy, while others sounded sad. All of them were full of expression, emotion flooding the ears of Jaune's friends as the humming got louder, as if they were humming right next to them.
Suddenly, the seven Jaune's began to glow, before they merged back into the original Jaune, only his voice being heard. It was the same, indifferent song that they heard in the beginning. Slowly, the song came to an end, and Jaune's aura began to die down.
"What... What was that?" Weiss asked.
Blake's amber eyes narrowed at Jaune's still unmoving form. Cautiously, they all approached him. Suddenly, one of the orbs of light from before appeared in front of them. It stretched into an oval and flashed again, this time, out stepped a Jaune with irises that were not unlike a rainbow.
"I... Would not recommend talking with Jaune... or... myself... right now." The rainbow eyed Jaune said.
"Why not Rainbow Jauney?" Nora asked with a smile as she shoved her face in front of his, observing his multicolored irises. The Jaune clone, however, stood unfazed by the close proximity.
"Jaune is in a state of emotional turmoil right now. As for me, I am Jaune's collective personalities, given form by his aura and torn state of mind. After all, this is his first time suffering from loss." Jaune R. explained.
Everyone was immediately put on alert when Rainbow Jaune said "loss."
Ren spoke up next. "Loss? As in... death?"
Jaune R. nodded. "If the memories Jaune has provided me with are anything to go by, you are as smart as you seem Ren." He said and gave a small smile.
"He just needs some time is all. Trust me, he'll be back to normal soon. In the mean time, I must go back and sort out this mess. Right now, I am having what you would call a head ache. So until then-"
"Wait!" Before Jaune R. could leave, he was stopped by Yang.
"Who exactly did he lose?" She asked, a look of understanding upon her face.
A sharp intake of breath sounded from the Jaune clone. "I... well... Just... see for yourselves." Jaune R. went over to the original and plucked his scroll from his hoodie pocket.
He expanded it into its tablet form and gave it to Jaune's friends.
What was on the screen was an article about an attack.
Tragic News! Attack on Famous Arc Family Household!
At 12:00PM on April of xxxx, there was an attack upon the Arc Family household, famous for its long lineage of successful heroes. Some occupants of the nearby village speculate that the culprits of the attack were the White Fang, despite the fact that the Arc family is known for its strong support of Faunas rights. Police have yet to divulge any further information regarding the case.
What we do know, is that the family was attacked via bombing. Remnants of an automated car with traces of what appear to be explosives were found within the wreckage of the house. There was no license plate upon the car, and no fingerprints of DNA traces have been found as of late.
It was reported that there were no known survivors, meaning that the only remaining member of the Arc family would be the only male child, Jaune Arc, whose whereabouts are unknown. Once again, some occupants of the nearby village think that the young man was kidnapped by the White Fang before the bombing, while others say that he is spending his time at Beacon as a Huntsman-in-training.
If you have any information regarding the location of Mister Arc, please inform the authorities immediately.
Beacon Docks:
Pyrrha dropped the scroll in her hands and immediately went to Jaune's side. She hugged from behind, though he did not respond. Slowly, every one of Jaune's friends crowded around Jaune, and joined in for a group hug. They finally received a response, in the form of a strangled sob. His chest shook as he cried, his arms on his knees as he buried his face into his hands.
All his friends could do was offer their support, each of them attempting to sooth him with gentle words of comfort.
Jaune R. watched from afar, smiling at the scene.
"I certainly made great friends, didn't I, me?" He asked, chuckling as he shoved his hands in his pockets, before fading away into specks of light.
A/N: And that's a wrap! Hopefully I did good, despite it being on the short side? Anywho, expect a chapter for The Odd One soon, and perhaps one for my Gundam00xRWBY fic?
Until then, IU13, out!