*Cough* *Cough* *Cough* The sounds of coughing had made me felt relieved. Luckily, she didn't have too much water in her lungs. If I hesitated a little more, then her death would be my fault.
"Are... are you okay?" She coughed for a few more seconds before nodding her head for my confirmation.
"Th-Thank you for saving me."
"It was no problem…." We sat there, drenched in water, until someone had the guts to say something. I'm guessing that she's just shy. Because of this awkward situation, I couldn't think of anything to say.
So we continued to sit there…
"Hey,um…" We both said simultaneously. Talk about awkward…
"You first."
"I-I think you should go first."
"Ladies always go first."
"...Okay. Can… you explain why the sky had turned into a different color earlier? And why there was monsters attacking my village?" What did she mean by "a different color?" The sky was blue, and it was always blue. Plus, did she say that there were monsters attacking her village?
"Slow down a second. I haven't seen the sky turn into a different color at all. And what village are you-"
"N-No, I saw the sky turn into a red type of color! I... I was running away with… Mother? Father? Wh-Where are you!? You can't leave me alone!" I think that there was something wrong with her. I wasn't trying to be rude, but I seriously think that she's having some sort of trauma. Scooting close to her, I tried to put my hand on her shoulder to calm her down, but-
*Slap!*
"Get away from me! You killed Father and Mother!" She slapped my hand away the moment I touched her. Someone-no,something had called her parents in cold blood if she was acting this paranoid. And I don't think that this happened hours ago. This had been recent. But based on her explanation, it had been a monster that killed them. Then the question is:
Did the Grimm attack her village? If so, then when and where?
"C-Calm down. I'm not trying to hurt you." Realizing what she had done, she breathed in and out. Now that I realize it, her head… she was a faunus. And by the looks of it, she looked to be a raccoon of some sort. The ears and puffy tail, regardless of them being wet, it was a huge giveaway.
"I-I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it. I shouldn't have done something without your consent."
"...Okay." I smiled at her. While she looked around my age, she still had to face something that was out of her control. It would be better to not talk about this situation at this time. We were wet, and she is still shaken by her trauma.
"I… think we should get some place to stay at for now. We're not going to dry off in the sun's heat, you know." I tried to lighten the mood up a bit with a lame joke, but she didn't laugh. She looked at the ground in front of her…
With hollowed eyes...
"What's that on the ground?" Before leading her to a place to get warm, I noticed something that was wrapped in cloth on the ground.
"That's-!" Noticing the cloth on the ground, she quickly sprang to the floor to pick it up.
"...Sorry. It was the last thing my Father gave to me before he-"
"Hey, it's okay. It'll be better to talk inside a room with a cup of Hot Chocolate." She still didn't laugh at my corny jokes. I think I should just stop trying to be lame with the jokes.
"...Okay." And before we left again, I gave her my hoodie. Even if it was soaked in water, she needed to hide her…. "features."
"...What's this for?" She asked me as she looked at my hoodie.
"It's for your… "features."
"My… "features?"
"I-I'm not talking about your body! I-I'm talking about your ears and tail! You know, not that many people are fond of Faunus, so it'll be best to hide them until we get to a safe place."
"...Faunus? I'm a demi-human." Huh? What's a demi-human? Is that a term that comes from her village? Either way, I shouldn't bother her with anything else until we get cleaned.
As we walked down several streets, I couldn't help but notice the stares that were being drawn towards me. Do they know about my transcripts? Or are they just concerned that I'm drenched in water right now?
"Where are we going?" With my hoodie on, she asks me our next location.
"We're making a stop at an hotel."
"What's a hotel?"
"..." I'm guessing that she doesn't know about city things because she grew up in a village.
"It's a place where people can spend the day and night at, instead of an house."
"...Okay." I'm hoping that after talking with her, she could cheer up a bit. I know witnessing your parents die in front of you is traumatic, but-no, I should let her have all the time she needs.
As we continued to walk towards the hotel, I noticed that she was looking a bit drowsy. Yeah, we should probably pick up the pace. I don't want her passing out in the middle of the street on me. So what did I do? I stopped in front of her, and bent down a bit. She only looked at me strangely.
"...What are you doing?"
"I'm giving you a piggyback ride…"
"Y-You don't have to. I'm perfectly-"
"Hey, it's okay to rely on others a bit." She seemed uncertain for a bit, until she climbed onto my back. Lifting her up, I continued to walk towards the hotel.
"You doing alright?" Seeing the hotel as we got closer to it, I asked to see if she was holding up alright. She might get a cold if I don't get her something warm.
"I'm… alright." She sounded even more drowsy.
"Hey, if you want to take a nap, then go ahead. I'll wake you up when we get there."
"Are… you sure? I… don't…want to be a bother."
"If you think I'll be bothered by your drooling, then don't worry about it. A little drool won't harm me."
"...Thank you." With that said, she fell asleep on my back. I should be careful with how I walk from now on. I don't want to interrupt her sleep now.
"Hey, you can wake up now." Getting the room for two, I tried to wake her up as I carried her to the room.
"...H-Huh?"
"We're here. Did you enjoy your nap?" She nodded as she got off of my back. I didn't notice it, but her tail had been wrapped around my stomach the entire time. Her tail must be really fluffy for me to not notice that.
As we entered the room, she couldn't help but be amazed. It was like this was the first time she had ever visit a room that was this fancy. Well, judging by her reaction, this really was her first time.
"What's this?" She pointed at the television that was on the wall.
"That's a TV. It shows what you want to watch on the screen. Here, I'll show you." Grabbing the remote, I turned on the TV.
"Wow!" Looking at the TV, she was easily pleased. I was glad that it showed a cartoon instead of anything else. This could be her first time watching TV so I think it would be best for her to continue to watch it.
"Hey, I'll go take a bath, so don't go anywhere else okay?" She didn't respond as she continued to watch the cartoon. She must really like it. Well, if it takes her mind away from everything, then I'm happy.
Turning on the hot water, I let it sit there until the bathtub was close to full. After taking my clothes off, I set them away. Since the walk was long, my clothes seemed to be close to being dried. It was wet at some places, but I guess it's better than nothing. Turning off the hot water, I stepped into the bath.
So much has happened from these past months and I think I really needed this bath. I could just soothe into the water and let my thoughts wander away.
Just let my thoughts wander away…
Drip
Drop
Drip
Drop
'Why are you all wasting your time with him!? He's not fit to be a huntsman, so just let him leave already!'
Drip
Drop
'Jaune, I think it'll be best if you… stop trying to be a huntsman. Please, listen to your partner…'
Drip
Drop
Drip
Drop
'Sorry Vomit Boy, maybe looking for another career for something you're good would be best…'
Drip
Drop
Drip
Drop
Drip
Drip Drop Drip Drop Drip Drop Drip Drop Drip Drop Drip Drop Drip Drop Drip Drop Give Up Drip Drop Drip Drop Drip Drop
'Jaune… please, just give up…'
*Crash!*
"Ruby!" I came from out of the water in a hurry. I heard a crash from outside of the room, and quickly wrapped a towel around my waist.
"What happened!" Coming from out of the bathroom, I went to see what had caused the random noise. And what I had been presented with was…
The TV was sliced in half…
And the person who did it… was the girl….
Who was holding a glowing sword in her shaking hands.
"Hey, are you alright!?" I didn't want to provoke her, in which it would only cause her to become more violent against me. So slowly, I walked a bit towards her.
"I-I saw the monster...!" She saw… the monster?
"You saw… the monster? Wait, what monster?"
"I-I pressed a button and it changed into the monster!" I see. So she must've changed the channel to something that showed Grimm being involved. I couldn't blame her though. I should've been more careful with what she should watch.
"It's okay. Just… take it easy."
"...Okay." She looked down at the ground with sadness. I really feel bad for her now. Especially when her ears and tail are being all droopy.
"Go ahead and take a bath right now. The water should still be hot, so enjoy it. After that, dry off and put on my pants and hoodie. Their a bit more dried than your clothes so using mine would be better." I probably sound… "weird" as I'm forcing a girl to where my clothes, but it would be better than wearing nothing else but a towel. She nodded and left to go into the bathroom.
After a few minutes had passed, I was awaited with the girl, whore nothing else but my hoodie and pants. Well, at least they cover all of her "areas." Looking at her face, she was a bit red on the cheeks. Well, it will be a bit awkward for a girl to talk to a guy who was wearing nothing but a bath towel.
"So, I think we should talk now."
"...About me, right?" I nodded my head.
"So, what's your name?"
"It's… Raphtalia." Raphtalia, huh? It sounds weird, but I shouldn't be thinking like this. A name is a name after all.
" Hello Raphtalia, my name is Jaune. Jaune Arc. You said you came from a village. What village are you from, and how close is it to Vale?" She cocked her head to the side. What a weird motion, but I guess I could say that she was simply confused.
"Vale? I never heard of Vale before. And I come from Rurorona Village. A village where demi-humans live at peace." Okay, so there's two things I learned from her.
One, she doesn't know what Vale is, so I'm guessing that her parents haven't told her anything about this place. But that wouldn't make sense. Everyone should know what Vale is. It's a place that shouldn't be hard to notice.
And two, I don't know where her village was. And she also said that demi-humans lived there. So do all kinds of Faunus live there?
"So, demi-humans. Is that a term that you say in your village?" She simply shook her head.
"Demi-humans are humans that have bestial features. For me, I'm part Tanuki. While we have these bestial traits, regular humans don't really appreciate our existence." Her ears drooped again. So the term wasn't different from Faunus then. For now, I'll let it go.
"...And you said that the sky… was a different color. Why was that?"
"I… I don't know either. While I was running away with my… parents from the three headed monster, I noticed that the sky was red." A three headed Grimm! I've never seen that before, so is it some kind of new breed that we haven't heard of!?
"I see. Okay, I think that's enough for today. Raphtalia, I think it would be better to get some rest for now. While it's still a bit in the morning, I think we should just take the day off by taking it easy." I didn't ask about her sword since it would only cause her to get more uncomfortable. That was her parent's last gift so I think I should let it be for now.
"O-Okay." After that being said, she went to the bed to lay down. She's really having a hard time, so it would be best to not bother her for now.
Wait, why was there only one bed!? I thought I asked for a room for…
Ah, great. Now we have to share the bed now. Well, I might just wait until our clothes dry off so we could go shop for more tomorrow. For now, I should just wait for tomorrow to come.
Time to sit back, relax, and enjoy some television. Picking up the remote, I clicked the power button to turn it on. To my suprise, electricity came out of the sliced TV.
I have to pay for that, don't I?
