One word. Woah. I seriously didn't expect so many people to be interested in what I wrote. It was a spur of a moment thing, a nice idea. Like many other things I did, I expected it to be nothing more but a single shot of a chapter and then abandonded. Now, however, I shall continue this. My dream is to write a book, after all. So why not practice here?
Seeing as English is not my first language, I welcome any kind of criticism! Except the ones that just hate on this without giving me a reason.
Also, thank you for the three reviews! This is adressed to two of them:
I'm afraid there won't be any harem in this story seeing as I'm not eactly a fan of them. There will, however be a pairing or two. Who, you may ask? Well, you'll just have to wait and see :3
Additionally, I borrowed the name of Jaune's home village, Ansel, from a very famous RWBY fanfiction author: Coeur al'Aran! Well, at least I think he created the name...
"Speech"
Thoughts/Dreams
Flashback...of sorts
Prisoner of Life
Strike after strike, with mad laughter befitting of a monster, I slash at her, tearing her flesh and igniting her screams of terror. With every blow I deal, my satisfaction grows, my pleasure almost growing to unbelievable measures. This is a nice life. I can't believe I would even think about throwing it away!
With another grin on my face, I advance towards the heiress, blood pooling under her feet. She's breathing still. Good. Dead humans are not as fun as the ones who are still able to scream. Kyehehehe...
But alas, all fun must come to an end someday. Say goodbye, Snow Angel.
"NO!"
With a scream, Jaune fell from his bed.
That dream again? Come on, it's been three years...
The blonde sighed, shaking his head. When was this dream going to stop haunting him? He never injured the girl back then, let alone murder her. So why was this dream always coming back?
Feeling a sudden pain, Jaune grabbed his left arm, only to retract it as if he'd been singed.
"Not again..." He sighed, observing the curious black mist emerging from the appendage, black veins embracing it like a giant spider. Claws on what had been and probably still was his hand. An unbelievable sight.
Yet there's no denying the truth.
Jaune calmed his emotions and let his thoughts rest. Soon he could feel the blackened skin return to his skin in a cloud of smoke until there was nothing left but his own flesh. Jaune clenched his fist several times until he was satisfied.
You better stay there, monster.
If one took a single look at him, they'd think there was nothing out of place. At least that's what he hoped.
A normal life, that's all he wished for. His luck couldn't have been worse.
"Tch."
Hold your emotions, Jaune.
He hated having to tell himself that. Every day, every hour, every time he felt even the slightest bit upset. He hated it, he hated it with every fiber of his being. With a yell, he punched the wall closest to him. No blood. How disappointing. While it was an admirable effort of his father to unlock his aura, that man's hopes had been dashed immediately. The manifestation of his soul, his forcefield, pure soul energy, pure light...it didn't manage to rid him of the Grimm. It was pointless. All it did was rid him of the satisfaction of hurting himself.
Jaune's eye twitched as he stared at himself in the mirror. Dull blue eyes glared at him like he was the source of all his problems.
Well, none of this is my fucking fault! Grimm...Geist...Why did you choose me, huh?! Why me?! You shouldn't even have survived!
No answer. Jaune let out a deep growl. After basically tearing his shirt from his body, he ripped his bandages open.
Answer me, monster!
The bone plate right above his heart didn't answer, its single yellow eye glowing as if nothing bothered it. Jaune gulped when he saw the mask-like head it slowly traveling upwards.
Not again. Calm your emotions, Jaune. Breathe in...breathe out...
Soon enough, the Grimm's face stopped and moved back to its original place right above his heart, resuming its glowing.
That was close. The smoke could have come out any second.
The adrenaline gone, Jaune felt himself drawn to his bed again. Sighing, he checked himself in the mirror again. He couldn't even gather any more energy to be mad at the Geist. As long as he didn't have any more dreams concerning murder, he should be fine, right? Please, Gods, just let him rest.
The day had already begun judging from the sun shining its light into the interior of his room. He didn't care. All he wanted was sleep. So he closed his curtains to block out the unyielding spring sunlight, reapplied the bandage before dressing himself and went to bed, not before marking another day in his calendar, however.
Days of my house arrest: 1027
His life really was a prison.
A peaceful slumber was a rarity for him. So it came to no surprise that another dream tormented his rest.
I am running away, trying to escape through a narrow passage. It's dark. So dark I can't even see anything. It's coming closer. It has no footsteps but I can feel it. The dread it emanates. The destruction it oh so yearns for. I look behind me. There it is, floating at a pace that should be slow, yet unyieldingly fast at the same time. It reaches out, but it's too far behind.
It's in front of me, reaching out. This is it. I'm dead. It stares me in the face, coming closer and closer. I can hear its rattling breath, like frozen chains struggling to break free. Its singular blue eye stares at me. My blue eye. It has my eye. It comes ever closer...
"Jaune."
Jaune woke with a start, hearing the fist softly knocking on his door. His heart was beating rapidly, threatening to jump out of his chest. He was breathing heavily, sweat running down his face.
Sheesh, that was a new one.
"Jauwey?" A small voice said from the other side of the door. "Can't sleep."
But isn't it almost twelve already?
The boy in question sighed. Rouge, (Pure, innocent Rouge) was still too young to realize how much of a danger he was. She'd always come to him whenever she was upset, though he was never able to understand why. Maybe it's something to do with little kids. He'd read enough horror stories to know that innocent children always get drawn into some sort of nightmare tale. He never let her into his room.
"Go away, Rouge."
"Nu."
Such a stubborn child.
As soon as he heard the kid knock on his door even harder (to the rhythm of the Pumpkin Pete jingle no less), Jaune found his resolve crumbling. He was lonely. He never ever saw his family and was afraid that he was going to forget how they looked like in a moment's time. Maybe he should just let her in. Just this once. After all, what's the worst that could happen? She just wanted to talk, that's all.
But wait, the door's locked. Oh well.
"So, why can't you sleep?" Jaune asked the little girl sat on his lap. Somehow she had managed to snatch the key from wherever it was hidden and slid it underneath the doorframe. Jaune wasn't sure whether to be concerned or proud of such a little trickster.
He was wildly uncomfortable with such a precious and fragile thing so close to him. One wrong move and-
Calm down. Right.
"What's wrong, sis?" Jaune asked the girl bouncing up and down. She just grinned and remained silent, making him frown.
"Uh..."
"Want to see you," she said, poking his nose with a finger. Jaune's frown grew. See him? Why? He vocalized his question.
"You are not around. Never," she whispered, looking down and pouting. Jaune's heart ached, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"I can't, Rouge. Father forbid- doesn't allow me to go outside."
"Why?"
There it is. The dreaded question.
"I'm not a good person," he said slowly, making sure Rouge understood. "I'm dangerous and I've done bad things. You wouldn't be able to understand, but I've done things you can't imagine. Sometimes I feel like I don't even deserve to be alive at all. After all, what good am I to society? All I do is take, take, take. I wanted to be a huntsman, but which academy would even take me? Sure, nobody knows about my secret, but I've never trained before, I'm useless. Not only that-"
It was only after Rouge shook his head with both her hands that he realized that he was blabbering.
Not like she'd understand anyway.
"Huntsman. What's a huntsman?" The blonde girl asked, testing the word. Her sparkling blue eyes looked at him, expecting an answer.
"They're uh...heroes. They protect Remnant from dangers like the Grimm. Big, black monsters?"
To emphasize the point, Jaune let out a weak roar. Rouge giggled and hid under his blankets.
Sighing, Jaune pat the lump.
You're lucky to be this innocent.
"Rouge? Rouge?" A voice called from somewhere. Jaune recognized the gruff voice immediately.
"Come now, sis. Hurry on back to your father," Jaune whispered, ripping the blanket away from her. She whined and pouted, but that was not what he needed right now. If Father found out...
"Fine."
Relieved, he watched his sister trot out of his room, carefully closing it behind her. She even locked it with the key again. How considerate.
He was alone again. At least nothing had happened while she was here.
I'm too weak.
The last time he had seen a friendly face was...no, now wasn't the time to think about it. Still, even the mere thought of her...
It wasn't coming, but Jaune would have welcomed the black cloud of annihilation, were it to appear at this exact moment. He wanted a distraction, an excuse to calm down. He needed an excuse to calm down. An excuse to rid his mind of horrid memories that just keep on resurfacing, over and over and over!
He just wanted a break from all this. One time, after that incident in Vale, he attempted to do the unthinkable after returning to Ansel, but that didn't go so well. The Geist just showed its ugly head and terrorized the village instead. Why it even survived an attack on a place surely filled with huntsmen was still beyond him. After that, his prison life began. Even though Jaune was certain the Geist could escape easily, but damn him if he let that happen!
Why are you so complicated, Grimm? Why can't you be just like your mindless brethren and die easily?
There was the possibility Jaune would die as well, but...
I'm willing to take the risk.
But for now, he was nothing more than a prisoner, both in his life and his room. The walls were not made of stone, but even the warm maroon color of the tapestry was merely a tiny light in the dark. The windows were locked to only open enough to let air in, but not enough for him to sneak out. The window panes were shatterproof, not that he'd attempt that. All he had was a bed, a bookshelf and, what bothered him the most, a toilet that they built to keep accidents from happening. It must've cost a good lien to build, which didn't help his guilt at all.
Cursing himself, Jaune staggered to his bookshelf, all thoughts of sleep and rest gone. There were only a few books, most of them fairy tales bought when he was still little. Back when he wasn't as dangerous.
Come to think of it, when did the Grimm enter my body in the first place?
He had no answer to that question. All he knew that it just appeared one day. Mindlessly grumbling to himself, Jaune picked a random book.
"The Beowerewolf"
That book had been a constant in his tiny collection, a reminder of his curse, and yet a tiny spark of hope. If the boy in the story could be cured, could he? Jaune knew that his parents used to be looking for a cure all the time, consulting historians, doctors, experts in the field of Grimm. None came up with an answer, only saying that his mere existence was an enigma by itself. Geists, the only known Grimm to be able to possess inanimate objects, shouldn't have been able to survive within him. The human soul was pure light, a Grimm pure destruction. It should have been eaten up immediately.
Instead, it survived to haunt his body. And that stroke of luck made him furious.
"Raaaaaagh!"
Anger coursing through him, he punched the Grimm's face under his shirt. It did nothing except send a jolt of pain through his heart, that was it. No reaction from the monster itself. It was probably just glowing from under his shirt, waiting for its chance to break free yet again.
"Jaune...?"
The soft voice of Saphron coming from the other side of the door broke the blonde out of his thoughts. He returned the book immediately.
"Yes? What is it?" He asked. Nobody ever came here, well except Rouge just now, but that was already pretty uncommon. For somebody, his oldest sister, to come here...something must be up.
"I just...wanted to say goodbye. I'm moving away," she whispered. Jaune could've sworn he heard sorrow in her voice. That, and the relief he was already expecting.
His world shattered.
"So...you finally got sick of me, huh? I guess that's to be expected. I was foolish to hope," Jaune said while growling, finding sick satisfaction in hearing her gasp.
What's wrong with me?
"No, that's not it! You know I love you, we love you!"
"Funny way of showing it. It's been-," Jaune took a look at his calender. "Exactly 1027 days since I've been stuck here, never to see the light of day. If that's love, I don't think I ever want to experience it."
Silence. Jaune narrowed his eyes, not caring if Geist felt something. Of course she had nothing else to say. He was sick and tired of hearing her lies. At least the other Arcs were honest. Saphron hid her disdain of him underneath a layer of-
"I'm getting married."
Wait what?
"E-excuse me?" Jaune stuttered. "When did- What- Eh?"
He could hear her sigh from the other side of the door.
"This summer. That's...that's all."
All he could hear afterward were her choking on tears and running off. Jaune couldn't think. He couldn't say anything. He felt...nothing. Nothing whatsoever. Falling to the floor, only one thought ran through his mind.
"I never even got the chance to threaten the guy that if he ever hurt my sister..."
With a sigh, he let the despair run free. He could've sworn he heard a laugh of victory. Not from outside, but from within him.
What happened? Where am I?
When Jaune woke up, he was lying on the floor. No, not floor, the ground. Fresh green spring grass tickled his undersides as they swayed in the wind. Jaune groaned and pushed himself up. It looked like he was close to a forest, the one close to Ansel hopefully. It had a name, but his mind was too much of an utter chaotic mess to remember.
"Gods...what now?" He groaned, letting his eyes adjust to the view of the hills. Flowers adorned the place, ranging from white to yellow. Somewhat far away, he could see their house.
At this moment he noticed something on top of him, almost shining in the sunlight.
"YAH!?" Jaune screamed and scurried away. A monster, an animal?! Breathing heavily, he inspected the object, finally recognizing it after his mind had cleared. There was no doubt about the white blade (no, sheath) and the handle wrapped in blue. It had seen better times, that much was certain. Maybe it was because Jaune had only seen it from afar, but he always imagined the blade to be much more ornate, shiny and elegant. As it looked right now -he unsheathed the sword and activated the shield- It looked no more different than any ordinary sword. Still, it was worth a lot, both in the sentimental and the historical sense. Crocea Mors...
Why is it here with me though?
Not many possibilities sprung into the boy's mind. Did the Geist possess the sword and run off with it, thinking it a threat? Had he tried to do the unthinkable yet again, only to fail and have Geist emerge? No, that couldn't be it, actually. His memory loss was right after Saphron left.
Immediately, sorrow stung his eyes. With a sigh, he wiped the angry tears away, very glad that not many Grimm patrolled the edge of Ansel here in Mistral.
But what's the reason then? What's your reason, monster?
"ROOOOOOOOOAR!"
...what did he just say about being glad no Grimm patrolled the area? Forget it.
With almost an unholy screech, Jaune ducked to dodge the incoming Ursa swipe, crawling away as fast as he could.
"Now's not the time!" He yelled at the Grimm, only to receive another growl in response. The mighty beast stood on its hind legs and let out another powerful roar. Its fangs were probably sharp enough to pierce his skin even through his aura. At least it had no spikes, meaning it wasn't a Major. Still, its look was murderous and definitely aimed at him.
Alright, time to run.
And run he did, but not before picking up the family sword from where it laid. But, seeing as he wasn't exactly the luckiest person in the world...
He tripped. Hard. He fell on his nose. Hard.
He could feel the Ursa's warm breath on his back, the monster probably ready to devour him. Why didn't he do it? He was probably thinking about whether or not he was tasty, but it was inevitable. This was it. He's gonna die a villain, a monster. He had always wanted to be a hero, but that dream was about to be dissolved into nothing but hot air. People have dreams, but to dwell on them...
NO!
With sudden fire rushing through his veins, Jaune crawled away from the Grimm's maw, scowling. The Ursa seemed confused.
I'm not going to die!
Sword in hand, he held his shield in front of him, sword at his side in a stance he had often seen his father hold.
I will be a hero!
Why he had that sudden burst of energy, he didn't know. But all that mattered here was that he was not going down without a fight. Call it the Arc pride, call it foolishness, call it a strange suicide instinct. He was going to fight.
"Die, monster," was all that left Jaune's mouth, before he charged with a roar.
His first strike hit the Grimm's boney face, doing little but annoy the beast. The monster roared and swiped at Jaune's side, making him wince. Thankfully, his aura was there to protect him, but it didn't reduce the pain he felt. Jaune struck again, aiming at an unprotected area of black flesh.
He missed. Cursing, Jaune steeled himself, raising the shield so that the deadly claws only scratched its surface instead of his own skin.
The Creatures of Grimm are dangerous, but mindless. With enough strategy you can defeat any of them. An Ursa is a classic example. They're one of the more common ones and not very dangerous to your professional huntsman. They usually attack in packs though. Got that Jaune? Good. I suggest beheading an Ursa to defeat it. Aim for its neck!
Jaune blinked at the sudden lecture that popped into his mind. He never went to any combat schools, so why-
He didn't have time to think as the nightmare bear basically slapped him and sent him soaring through the air. Groaning, Jaune landed on his back. He got up almost immediately.
Wait, the sword. Crocea Mors! Where is it?!
Without any weapon, all Jaune could do was run around in circles. The Grimm followed him, now on all fours, making it a much faster threat. Cursing, Jaune picked up pace, huffing and puffing.
Where the hell is- There!
The sword landed in a bush near the forest, the shield not too far behind. Pushing himself even further, he finally managed to grab the hilt of the weapon, but had no time to get the shield.
The Ursa slammed into his back, knocking him against a tree further away. Black spots appeared in his vision, and he felt pain all over. Groaning, Jaune tried to climb up, but a headache formed all too quickly. At least Crocea Mors was still in his hand, clutched tight.
It seemed the sudden collision had disoriented the Grimm as well, but it recovered far too quickly. Definitely pissed, the bear stomped towards him. Still on the floor, Jaune tried his best to get up, failing.
Jaune, try your best!
Stop those memories! They didn't help his headache in the least. Additionally, they made him angry for some reason. Very, very angry.
The beast advanced even further, readying itself to pounce. It jumped into the air, ready to deal the killing blow.
Jaune, what are you-? No...NO!
A scream resonated and cut through the air. Blade in hand, Jaune slashed a diagonal line through the air, aimed directly at the monster's neck. The head came clean off, like a knife through butter. It vanished into nothingness.
The body it belonged to staggered for a few seconds until it eventually fell, evaporating as well.
Jaune was breathing heavily, black smoke obscuring his vision, but that soon cleared.
I did it. I defeated a Grimm.
Softly landing in the grass, the sword fell from his grasp. He should have felt victorious. Instead, he felt nothing but exhaustion.
You did it, Jaune! Good job training today! Don't tell Dad though, okay?
A soft smile bloomed on his face, followed by a single tear. He could never escape his prison of life, could he? No matter what he did, no matter what memories he held, even the happy ones, all of them were stained by Geist.
"Thank you, Zinnia. I'm sorry, sis."
