"And again."
"RAAAAAAH!"
He slashed the air once more with such a force that it knocked the wind right out of him. Jaune panted as the video Pyrrha made instructed him to rest. It was the time for him to reflect on what could have been as Pyrrha told him about how he's growing stronger. He'd have enjoyed this moment…
Had the flapping of wings not interrupted him.
Jaune readied himself as he saw the black bird perch onto the branch.
"Go away." He growled. The bird didn't listen. Jaune just gripped onto his sword. "I said go away!" Jaune shouted as he cut the air with his sword, causing a ripple of wind to fly towards the branch and cut it down. The bird began to flap its wings and get off the branch, transforming into someone who wasn't Qrow.
Jaune could see what was clearly a woman with long black hair wearing a black and red kimono and… A White Fang mask. He just steadied his ground.
"Stay back! I'm not afraid to fight!" Jaune said.
"I'm not here to fight." She sighed and took off the mask. "I'm here to talk." Jaune could see her face and blinked.
"Yang?" Jaune asked as he saw the similarity with her red eyes and the bangs of black hair. She shook her head.
"No." She said.
"Then who are you?" Jaune said.
"Nobody. Just someone who happened to eavesdrop on a chat you had with my brother a while back." She said.
"… Qrow." Jaune said.
"You hate him for what happened to your friend, right?" She said.
"…" He kept silent.
"You don't have to answer. I could tell. He told you of his Semblance, correct?" She said.
"Bad luck, I know." Jaune said.
"Exactly." She then chuckled. "Tell me, is it funny how the person who brings bad luck to people decides to remain with the ones he loves, while the one who brings good luck decides to have nothing to do with them?" She said.
"No. I just find it sad." Jaune said.
"But it's got me thinking. I stay away from the people I love too… But for a different reason." She said.
"… What do you mean?" Jaune asked.
"Well, if crows are a sign of bad luck, then ravens could be considered good luck." She said. "And the problem with lucky charms is that people depend on them too much to rely on themselves." She said.
"Huh?" Jaune asked.
"I don't visit my family because if they realize I'm good luck, then they might just depend entirely on me. Look at your friends. They'd managed to be pretty strong without my presence." She said.
"… But we're not." Jaune said.
"Because you don't have me around to use as an excuse to be lazy. You have no one to save you, so you train to save yourselves. That, in my mind, is true strength." She said.
"So you'd just leave us to die if it means we'll be stronger?" Jaune glared. "You're just as bad as Ozpin." He muttered.
"… Maybe. I sometimes question the actions of my brother and his friends… Sometimes I despise them. But they're determined. And that's what makes them strong. Those who just rely on someone else to save them become weak in the process." She said.
"What are you trying to say?" Jaune asked.
"Just because you now have Qrow tailing you doesn't mean you can rely on him. You need to fight with as much effort as though he wasn't there." She said.
"… I'm already doing that." Jaune said.
"Good. I'm proud of you." She then paused a bit before speaking up. "She's right, you know. The girl in the video? You started off weak, but you're getting pretty strong." She said.
"… How did you know about that?" Jaune asked.
"… Let's just say I have my eye in the sky." She said. She smiled and patted Jaune on the back. "You managed to progress without relying on crutches. And that's the true meaning of being strong." That's when Jaune slapped her hand away.
"Pyrrha is not a crutch." He said.
"… She isn't. She's your friend. Your mentor. And because of her, you managed to get a jumpstart and become strong even when she's gone." She then frowned. "I want to be like that to my daughter. But…" She then chuckled. "She has so much of her dad in her, it's kinda sad. Too hung up on emotions to unlock her true potential. You'd think after the time I saved her, it'd give her motivation to be as strong as me. But you're not like that. You, out of the people I've seen in this journey of yours, are the strongest person I've seen. Not relying on lady luck to get to where you are now." She said.
"… Well, I would need lady luck just once…" He looked away. She then sighed.
"It can't be helped." Just then, the two heard the sound of a loud jet humming. Jaune looked around and saw a large airship with white tassels on its fins. Jaune could identify the snowflake on the tail end of the jet. He then looked to her.
"Why did you talk to me out of all people?" Jaune asked.
"… I felt like confessing my guilt to a complete stranger. She shrugged. Jaune stepped forward.
"Did you just talk to me so that your luck can rub off on me?" Jaune asked. The girl simply chuckled, then lifted one of her fingers.
"Just this once, okay, kid?" She asked. Jaune then glared at her.
"It better be. I'm getting kinda sick of you guys babying us all the time and thinking like we're pawns to you." Jaune then marched off to the hospital where Qrow was. Raven smiled, but then frowned.
How come a complete stranger was able to get her mentality born from her own Semblance, but not her own team?
