Lie Ren's Captain

The quiet Autumn morning was broken by the clashing of metal and the breaths of two young men as they spared. Jaune Arc raided his shield in front of his body, ready to defend himself form any attack with his sword poised besides it ready to be strike in a moment's notice. Sweat pooled on his brow as he prepared himself mentally for the battle to continue.

His opponent, Lie Ren, landed gracefully on the ground, his own weapons facing his blond leader. He slid his right foot across the brownish grass until it was facing away from the two.

The two men narrowed their eyes at each other waiting for the other to make their next move. From off to the side three figures watched the stances of both of them with intense concentration. Suddenly Jaune surged forward, making sure to keep his shield between him and his opponent. Ren began firing his guns at the blond as he kept his position.

Once Jaune was close enough he rolled forward, hoping to get close enough to bring his blade into action. The role forced the green clad ninja to counter by jumping over the rolling blond, firing his two guns continuously as he did so. Be it by luck or stupid skill all the shots were blocked by the blond's shield as it rolled with him. As soon as the roll was complete Jaune twisted around his shield to block more shots before beginning to run forward with long strides. Ren landed before side stepping the charging blond again before using his built in blades on his automatic guns to try to hit his passing leader.

Jaune saw the blades and instinctively fell to his knees as he brought up the Crocea Mors above his head, deflecting the blows from striking him. The Blue eyed leader then rolled to the side as he brought his shield up to protect his core. Ren himself back flipped away from the shielded Knight and landed several feet away his guns aimed at the shielded blond.

They stayed like that for a few moments before Ren strafed to the side, his guns firing as his steps increased in speed. Jaune ducked behind his shield as the rounds started to fly past him. He saw a flash of green and turned just in time as more rounds pinged off his shield. After a few moments of running around the blond trying to score a hit, Ren planted his feet and propelled himself towards Jaune.

Jaune unaware of the now charging teammate, continued to hide behind his shield. Suddenly, to the shock of the blond, Ren catapulted over the shield his blades hitting the top of the slab of metal forcing the blond to let go as the shield was violently ripped from his grasp. The man of Arc rolled to his right and brought his blade up only to roll again as Ren jumped forward with his guns firing constantly.

Dirt exploded around the blond as he continued to duck and dodge away from the charging teen. After a few moments of this Jaune stopped his current roll halfway before pushing off with his legs back towards the raven haired male with his sword poised ready to slice at the charging teen.

Ren was taken back from Jaune's sudden change in direction and was forced to fall to his knees as his momentum carried him under the airborne blond barely missing the edge of the blade as it passed by his face. He slammed his blade into the ground causing him to turn back towards the blond before slamming his other blade into the ground forcing him to come to a stop in a crouch ready to jump forward.

At the same time Jaune landed and continued his roll until he poised his legs behind him as his hand left a claw mark in the grass, his sword arm pointed behind him with the blade facing forward to the green clad teen.

Time slowed to a crawl as Jaune kicked off the ground sending dirt and dead grass into the air. Meanwhile as the same time Ren used his arms and legs to propel himself forward. Together they matched step for step until they were in front of each other. Their blades met in a show of sparks as time sped back up. They continued to share strikes for several minutes, their fight moving though several locations until they returned to the clearing. All the while never gaining any strikes upon the other.

Though it all Ren held the advantaged as he used both of his blades compared to Jaune's single one. That advantage however was broken when Jaune's Crocea Mors fell in between the blade and handle part of one of Ren's weapons. The grin on Jaune's face as the gun was twisted out of Ren's grasp would have caused fangirls everywhere to be swooned onto his side. Ren, however countered by using his now freed hand to send several punches onto the armored knight's unarmored sections as he forced the blond to back pedal to avoid both the fist and blade of Lie Ren.

Jaune, Unable to counter without facing a fist or blade, threw a punch with his shield arm, causing the ninja to duck. Unfortunately, Ren's dodge left him open to attack from Jaune's sword that was still ready to find an opening. Jaune saw the opening and lunged forward with extreme accuracy hoping to do the same thing he had done with the other weapon. He scored on his mark and pushed his blade in-between the blade and handle of Ren's remaining gun. However, without the strength of both of hands to rip the bladed weapon out of Ren's own hand he only succeeded in bringing attention to the fact that his sword was now locked with Ren's gun without the assistance of an extra hand. Something that Ren now regarded as his chance to return the favor of leaving Jaune without his weapon. Ren gripped the barrel of his gun with his free and began to twist the sword arm of Jaune to the point that either he forgoes his grip on the sword or he risked having his arm snap from the pressure. To ensure he let go Ren jumped up and wrapped his legs around the blond, trapping his still recovering arm to his chest.

Jaune grunted as he fought to keep his sword in his grasp as he fell onto the ground with Ren keeping his arm in an armbar in an attempt to force him to let go of his blade. Unable to move his left arm due to it being pinned to his side, he was forced to think of another way out of this situation. His mind went into overdrive as he felt his arm begin to give way to the pressure. However, he refused to let go. Suddenly his eyes grew sharp with an idea. He closed them as he began to concentrate his aura to his right arm, forcing the muscles fibers to heal just as fast as they broke, giving him enough strength to begin to pull his arm out of the combined grip of both of Ren's hands.

Ren could only grunt in frustration as he felt his own hands start buckle under the push of Jaune's single arm as it began to overpower his own strength. He tried to repeat the tactic Jaune was using but without a large pool of Aura like Jaune, the ninja warrior soon found himself loosing.

Finally, after several minutes of fighting Ren felt his grip break from his gun as it went soaring into the sky before landing a few feet away. He was forced to disengage form keeping Jaune grounded when Jaune's sword embedded next to his head. Expertly he rolled away, trying to reach his gun so he could continue to fight. Unfortunately, before he was able to reach it, Jaune tackled him onto the ground. They rolled a few feet before coming to a stop with Jaune straddling the black haired teen holding his blade above his head ready to strike down. Ren found himself stuck. Any way he looked he was at the mercy of the blond who now held him at sword point. The eyes narrowed as he became aware just how good Jaune had become. Ren held the advantage in agility, speed, and range. But Jaune's strength, defensive tactics, large aura pool, and his unique way with his blade was something that he had not accounted for. He had lost this battle.

Ren let out a small chuckle as he lifted his hands up in a sign of surrender. "I concede defeat." He said simply his breaths quick and controlled. Jaune, in contrast, panted in a desperate attempt to suck in air for his screaming body. He let a smile creep onto his panting face as he stood up and lowed his hand to the grounded Ren. Ren gratefully accepted the hand offered and pulled himself up.

The two younger men stared at each other in respect until the sudden loud clapping of a certain ginger reminded the two that they had an audience.

"Whoohoo! Yeah! That was awesome." Nora Valkyrie yelled at the top of her lungs. Her arms waving two flags, each one displaying one of the two boys' faces. Jaune found it funny that his face was crossed out while Ren's was displayed in a star.

Next to her stood two grown men. Qrow and Taiyang each wore expressions unreadable by the two teens. Silently the blond one of the two reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag of money and placed it into the waiting hand of the dark haired one as his blank face grew into a triumphant smile.

The two boys gave each other a smile amused by the small act of bromance. Ren shook his head before moving to retrieve his weapons. Jaune did the same as he walked over to where his shield was embedded in the dirt. As he turned the shield back into sheath form to return his sword, Jaune looked over to where Ren now joined the three standing off to the side.

The blond smiled as Nora began to talk excitedly to her childhood friend. Most likely on how it cool he looked fighting. The two men, however, took turns whispering back and forth. He guessed on their overall performance and skill. Jaune looked down to the hilt of his sword. A few months ago he was hopeless with it. Now… How he was not as hopeless. It might not seem a big step for others but for him and his lack of combat training at actual schools…It was.

He sighed as he remembered the face of his former partner who was the main push for his sudden increase in skill. Her warm smile and soft green eyes forever burned into his memories. It was sad that all he had left of her were her teachings, memories, and a Golden head piece. With his scroll unable to activate because of the towers being down he even unable to look upon the hundreds of photos that were stored in it. His eyes traveled to where his two teammates now stood talking with Qrow throwing in some insights here and there in his own unique way. Taiyang stood off to the side and listened, opting to stay silent rather than talk. Not that Jaune could blame him. If his own sisters were in trouble and he had to take care of their friends he would probably feel the same way as him.

He only hoped that the loss of Pyrrha was something that he and his team could come to grips with. While he would acknowledge the fact that they were not broken, it didn't excuse the fact they were hurting. Sometimes during his turn as night watch he would hear Nora softly sob to herself in the tent that she slept in alone. Ren tried to convince Qrow to allow him to share the tent with her but Taiyang outright refused. Speaking of Ren.

Jaune's gaze fell upon the green ninja. While Ren was their resident quiet one in their team. The past few weeks has left him more so. He would still answer questions and discuss battle plans as well as help Jaune himself deal with the sudden bouts of depression caused by Pyrrha's death. But it was like he was on auto pilot. Something was wrong. He didn't know what but he knew his teammate well enough to know that Ren was just as hurt as the rest of them.

The blond's lips etched into a thin line before he walked over to the four. "-ora Jaune won fair and square. He didn't cheat."

Jaune tilted his head as he neared the conversation between the ever stoic Ren and super hyper Nora. The former seeming to be losing ground in the sanity department and fast.

"Upupup! The Ren I know took down a giant tow headed snake! There is no way a Jaune could win against you!-" She turned to her leader. "No offence."

Jaune shrugged. "Eh. Your right. In a real fight, his agility and speed mixed with his semblance would crush me before I could even pull my sword out."

The ginger opened her mouth to say something but was stopped by Ren spoke. "Exactly. This was a sparring match. No semblance's allowed. Nora." He said pointedly.

Nora just folded her arms and huffed before turning away from her two teammates. Ren let his rare frustrated side out with a groan before face palming his face. The blond tilted his head at the two before he saw Ren regain his perfect posture. Jaune couldn't help but watch curiously as the ninja strolled up next to his partner. She turned as to ask what he was doing when he looked into her eyes and said as simple word. "Boop." The word was accompanied by him poking her nose. Her eyes went wide as did Jaune's. She fought her smile but was undone by Ren's indifferent face continuing to look the same while his eyes gleamed with a challenge or hope. A huge smile grew upon her lips before she wrapped an arm around Ren's and reached over to grab Jaune's hand who let out a girlish scream as she then ran towards the makeshift camp near the edge of the tree line next to the house.

The two older hunters, who had until this time observed the three, watched them leave before looking at each other. The blank faces gave nothing away before they both nodded before beginning to work on their tasks of making sure the homestead was ready for winter.

Back at the makeshift camp Nora released her two captives, sending Jaune face first into the cold ground, before jumping into her tent. The blond pushed himself off the ground before looking at his male teammate. Ren's clothes were still swaying in the breeze left over by Nora's sudden acceleration and deceleration. His face remained the same while his eyes slowly lost their spark that was only moments ago bright.

Jaune stepped up to the green clad ninja. "What's she doing?" He asked as he watched her tent shake.

"Nora is getting her favorite pancake toppings for tonight." He said in his monotone voice.

"Your making pancakes?" Jaune asked.

A slight pinkish hue spread on the ninja's cheeks. "Apparently Yes." At Jaune's questioning gaze Ren explained. "When we were younger we developed a code word that we would use to let the other know that one is ready to talk about something important… It usually happened as we ate our favorite food… Now Nora uses it mostly to let me know she's hungry."

"So that's why she has a shirt that says Boop on it…" Jaune thought out loud.

Ren let out of a small chuckle. "Yeah…"

Jaune felt the atmosphere change. "I take it you wanted to talk and not eat?"

Ren's posture didn't change as he said, "I would like to talk to her but… I fear of making her upset. She is really emotional."

Jaune placed a hand on Ren's shoulder. "Ren, you're like the brother I never had." Ren just raised his eyebrow amusingly. "You helped me with everything that I came to you. But as your leader I know I can't do the same for you. So… talk to Nora. She needs it just as much as you do."

"And is this coming from the leader side of you or is that from the part that feels the same?" Ren asked slowly, his voice calm and clear.

Jaune, paused as his fists clenched and relaxed. He nodded. "Both of them. Pyrrha was my partner. And all of our friend." He looked at the green ninja in the eyes. "I failed her Ren. I'm not going to fail anyone else. Ruby and Yang need us to be strong. But first I need you and Nora to be strong so I can keep you two safe… Please. Talk to her. She needs her best friend just as much as you do."

Ren let his façade brake as he looked down. "What about you?" he asked quietly.

"Me? Well…" What about him. Jaune understood his limits and weaknesses more than anyone. But one thing he learned from his sisters was that he had a strong heart that could take a lot of hardship. He wanted nothing more to go back in time to save Pyrrha and see his family again, but he had two other members of his family here that needed him now. And he'll be damned before he abandons them. "… I'll get better knowing that you two are alright." 'And Yang and Ruby.' He continued in his head.

That seemed to satisfy the ninja. "Jaune… thanks." He said as he walked over to the shaking tent. He paused a moment before stepping inside. After a moment the shaking stopped. Jaune turned away and walked off to where his and Ren's tent was. They needed time to talk and he was going to grant it to them. With that thought he pulled up a log and sat down and rested his head on it.

After a twenty minutes Ren and Nora, who both looked like they just ran a marathon joined him on either side of him. The blond hunter smiled warmly before closing his eyes. Unaware to the three huntsman and huntress in training, four leaves fell in front of the them. Resting there until a small gust of wind carried the top one away leaving the three others on the dying grass.

However, the calm scene was broken when a loud scream came from the house. Instantly the three were up their weapons in hand and at the ready. The leaves were rustled before taking off into the air. "Yang!" came the shout of the two older men as they dropped what they were doing and sprinted to the house. The front door was kicked open by Taiyang before the door knob was even turned. The two of them vanished into the house as the three teens realized what was happening. Yang was awake.

Jaune turned to the two members of his team. "Nora, take the north side of the trees. Keep an eye out for any grimm." Nora cringed when another yell filtered out of the house, but she gave a hesitant nod before running to her task. "Ren, take the south west. I'll take this side." Ren gave a grim nod, before running off. After a few steps he turned and watched as his leader prepared to face off against any threat. The green clad ninja nodded in acceptance before taking on his own task.

Inside the two men did their best to comfort the hysterical Yang, who up until a few minutes ago was peacefully asleep blissfully unaware of just how much has changed.

Unbeknownst to all, three leaves flew in through the open door before gliding their way to another room where a young girl slept. The leaves landed at the base of her bed before coming to a rest. The young girl stirred in her sleep as the effects of what ever happened continued to wear off. From the view of her window one could see the tent flap of Ren's and Jaune's tent fly open reviling a golden headpiece of a warrior fallen in defense of those she cared about. The fourth leaf came down from somewhere above and gently landed next to the piece of gold. Gently the tent flap closed trapping the leaf inside.

Author's Note: Well that was a fun one to write. What did you think?

To me, Lie Ren always felt to be the more emotionally balanced of the four, but coming form someone who uses silence as a way to cope with emotional overextension... Even the most secure ones need to be reminded that they are not alone. For me the rest of Team JN_R are each other's anchors. Jaune for Nora, Nora for Ren and Ren for Jaune. But as a guy I know that all men have this mental block. We don't like burdening our friends or loved ones. Ren did not wish to have an emotionally draining talk with his childhood friend because he knew how much she was hurting... Jaune just gave him a small shove and the rational side of our favorite ninja took over.

Something that I believe makes a good leader is the ability to push his troops to become the best that they can be and to make sure that they use their own ways of coping to deal with the trouble of war. That's why I'm excited for the next one.

Like always: Read and Review. Thanks for reading.