Light, or was he not?
He moved as if gravity applied to anyone but him.
Powerful, or was he not?
Even if he didn't engage a lot, when he did, his punches thudded with clear intent.
Graceful, or was he not?
He seemed more so a performer than a fighter, as if he was on stage and just showed off his moves.
Confident, or was he not?
Anxiety or doubt of any form seemed alien to him. As if he could not be tainted by it or the other. As if completely immune to anything but utmost faith in himself. As if he wasn't the Jaune Arc she knew;
He leaped forward and countered his opponents right hook with a thrilling uppercut. The guy managed to stay upright, but the sharp hook which came after sent him spiraling down to the canvas. His mouthpiece bounced off the floor twice, stopped, and showed a bloody tooth stuck in it.
No, Yang Xiao Long knew for a fact the guy who just fearlessly countered that hook was not the Jaune Arc she knew. The looks matched, sure, but the aura was anything but similar.
"This will do for today." The main couch of the gym signaled and Jaune helped his opponent up.
"Thanks for the training." Jaune said to both the couch and his sparring partner in a tone which definitely was his. Thereafter, he turned to go and just as he was halfway through the ropes, he froze.
"Sup, Blondey." She greeted him casually.
"…"
"Didn't know you were a boxer, and a kick-ass one at that."
"Y-yea, I mean, I do know a thing or two. You know, the basic stuff."
Now that's the Jaune Arc I know, alright. She smirked and gave him a knowing look.
"I'd say you know a tad bit more than just the basics. That counter at the end was just sick, and surely above average."
Jaune blushed and averted his gaze for a second.
"Well, I, I dunno, maybe you're right." He uttered unsurely.
She slapped him across the shoulder. "Hell yea, I'm right." She snickered.
Jaune chuckled as well, and his frame was visibly more relaxed than before.
"Thanks…"
"Hmm? For what?"
"For…well, calling me a kick-ass boxer and such. I appreciate it, you know."
Yang smiled. "Sure, Vomit boy."
Oh, well. He smiled wryly. "So much for praising me."
She smirked, didn't say anything back and strode past him.
"Alright, can't allow you to put on a better show than I could, now can I?" She turned her head and winked at him.
"Good luck." He offered kindly.
She suddenly stopped. "Luck is for the weak, blondey, and I'm definitely not among them." She said in a tone which he could not recognize, nor pinpoint. Still, he decided to snicker and then bent over to change his footwear.
"Kick some butt then." He quietly mumbled under the nose and went outside. There, he bided his time by the door and patiently waited.
*Thud, thud, thud, thud.*
Even from here, he could hear the sound of her punches hitting the mitts.
"Yea, someone like you definitely doesn't need luck." He meekly smiled and decided to go.
…
Just the way I like it. Jaune pleasantly thought to himself as he chugged down another mouthful of apple juice. Cool, but not too much and the taste was just right up his alley. If only it tasted a tad bit cheap. Then again, it was. Jaune though and gulped down some more. Putting the half-finished bottle aside, team leader allowed himself to stretch out his legs even further, and balanced most of his weight on the arms as he tilted his upper body back. Closing his eyes, he completely relaxed and enjoyed the breeze gently whipping his face.
This is nice. He mused.
The central park of Vale maybe wasn't grandiose or anything special at all, but the sheer fact the city had one to begin with was still a nice touch. Just a pleasant, little thing for him to enjoy. A place where he could enjoy a moment of solitude(even if it wasn't deserted at all times) and be alone with his thoughts. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but most of the time neutral.
"Blondey?" He suddenly heard a familiar voice. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see Yang standing there in front of him.
"Wha-" He cut himself short, his eyes dilating even more. "What happened?" He asked surprised as one of her eyes was swollen shut, black bruise encircling it.
She thought for a moment, but then answered with a grin.
"Let's just say 'I met someone who not only can take a punch, but deliver one too' happened."
Jaune remained dumbfounded for a few more seconds, but eventually came back to his senses. "Wow, never thought I'd see a day where you'd be walking around with a busted face."
She simply shrugged. "Life would be boring otherwise."
"Huh?"
"Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love to steamroll my opponents, but it's a nice change of pace to fight someone who is actually a challenge every once in a while."
Jaune wasn't sure what to say right away, and didn't until he lazily looked up the night sky.
"Makes sense, I guess."
Yang didn't say a word as well, but instead sat beside him.
"So…what are you doing here, anyway?"
"Nothing, really," He said indifferently.
"That nothing which would be?" She pressed on.
Jaune contemplated. "Thinking, I guess." Although this particular night, he didn't even do that a whole lot.
"Did something good came out of it?" She asked.
He paused, then his grimace turned questioning. "Why you ask?"
"Just cause." She adopted a similar pose to his, her gaze, just like his, pointed to the starless night sky. "Although, because I think you have a bad habit of overcomplicating things. Overthinking them." She said, not sparing him a glance and nor did he. Somehow, even if such words suited her well enough, hearing them at this very moment just seemed odd, peculiar.
Not wrong, though.
"Maybe you're right," He said. "Then again, I'm a team leader so shouldn't I be doing a lot of thinking? Even overthinking?"
"You should at times." She admitted. "But I meant it differently."
"How?"
"I think you tend to overcomplicate things regarding yourself. You also probably judge yourself to the extreme."
"…"
"You do, right?"
"…"
Yang paused for a moment as well.
Jaune reached his hand to his face, rubbed his eyes and took a shaky, then a steady breath.
"I do."
"You shouldn't."
"I know."
"No you don't."
"But-"
"You don't," She said more sternly. "If you would, you wouldn't do that."
"I wonder." He actually argued back, although his tone was calm. "I think there are times when you can't change things, even if you know the reasons behind them."
Yang thought for a moment, and then said, "And you're sure your situation is like that?"
"…I think so, at times. But maybe it's not, know knows."
"Well," Yang crossed her legs. "I think it's not."
His lips turned to a meek smile, both of them sat in silence, their gazes still pointed to the unimpressive night sky. Their expressions similar, but not exact.
'I think it's not.' He thought of her words, and immediately wanted to dig into himself and search for the reasons which proved her wrong, but suddenly saw something. Almost as if it popped out of nowhere. Then again, maybe it did.
"See that tiny star?"
"Yea."
"That's the reason why I always overanalyze myself, always overcomplicate things which are somehow connected with me." He spoke in full seriousness, but then chuckled and decided to explain further so she'd get his drift. "I mean, that's about as much faith I have in myself to do the right thing or do the thing right," He truthfully opened up to her, but thereafter wondered why? Not like he disliked her or anything, but to call her a close friend…
They were so different, after all.
"You see that tiny star?" Yang asked.
"Yea," Jaune said as he noticed another one popping up close to the first one.
"Now there are two of them," She calmly observed.
"I can count, thanks."
They both chuckled.
"That means there's double the faith you had in yourself first."
"And yet it's still so little."
"Don't forget that other people have faith in you as well; Like me."
"Why?" He asked skeptically, a wry chuckle almost escaping his lips.
Yang smiled, and Jaune could swear he heard the motion itself of her lips curving upwards or at least felt the fondness which came with it.
"When I was little, my dad used to tell me, 'You're a masterpiece. Remember, whenever you do something you thought of as impossible, you simply allow the light which is already within you to shine and affect the people and the very world itself.'"
Jaune narrowed his eyes sullenly. "But I'm-"
"Weak, full of doubt and at times just down right pathetic?"
"…Yea."
Yang finally decided to look at him. Jaune turned his head as well, as if sensing the moment.
"And yet, you're a masterpiece as well," She said soothingly, with a smile.
He opened his lips, then closed them, reopened them, then closed again. No matter his ability to deny something so ridiculous right on the spot, he couldn't utter a word.
"Of course you are very flawed." She continued. "But that doesn't mean there's no light within you. Or at least I'm sure of it." She grinned and pinched his cheek. Thereafter, she placed her hand down on his shoulder and gently squeezed it. "Maybe it's about time you allowed that light to shine through more so than ever before?"
"I…" He started warily, then pursed his lips and looked down on his feet. "…Can I, even..?"
She shrugged. "Give it an honest try. Who knows, you just might end up surprising yourself." She retuned her hand back.
Jaune gazed at Yang for a few more moments, then showed a little, slightly courageous smile and turned back to the night sky.
"You know, I really like those two, tiny stars."
Yang turned to look at them. "Me too."
"I'll try," He said, but then chuckled. "I'll probably fail miserably, but why not give it a try, right?"
"There you go, blondey!" She exclaimed with a smile.
"Also, well…like…" He started shyly, not sure how to finish. "Maybe you could like, I don't know-"
He suddenly felt how she rested her head against his shoulder.
"Sure, I can be there for you."
"…Why, though?"
"And why do you want me to?" She simply asked back, their eyes locking together.
"Because…because you're-"
"I'm not." She cut him short and then turned back to the two, tiny stars.
Jaune didn't feel like saying anything after that, and so they sat in silence. Eventually, Yang even somehow managed to fall asleep, and since he didn't want to disturb her, he continued to just sit there. Her face though. He noted how it looked really…
Jaune hugged her, and turning his eyes to the night sky noticed how the two, tiny stars looked to be slightly closer to each other. Then again, maybe it was just his imagination.
Authors note-Sup, everyone!
First of all, I would like to say that this little piece of writing is...well, I guess it's almost like a spin-off chapter from my finished(yet unfinished) story-My fists are weapons, but weapons to protect. I have wanted for quite some time to write something between Jaune and Yang, and well, this is what came of it.
So...yea, I wrote this and...well, here it is. I dunno, maybe I could actually create a short story with those two? Maybe, it's hard to tell. I mean I do want to, but I'm not sure if I would be dedicated enough to finish it. Anyway, if you'll leave a review(which I would really appreciate)let me know if you would like to see an actual story with Jaune and Yang. This little chapter is quite a good showcase of what to expect if I were to write something grander. Also, it, perhaps, could my own, special way to finish the still lingering story-My fists are weapons, but weapons to protect. I don't know.
Anyway, if you liked the story then favs and reviews would be much appreciated, and until the next time-
Have a nice one;)