A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the long delay for the next chapter. I've been swamped with work so I didn't have time to write it. Anyways, if you enjoyed it, feel free to leave a review, constructive criticism is more than welcome :).
Light – Chapter 2
"You mean 'the' Julius Arc?" Jaune asked. He was baffled.
"The one and only," He smiled. Jaune couldn't believe his eyes. Standing before him, was the great hero who helped create a nation the likes of which had never even been dreamed of. He'd be lying if he said he didn't look intimidating. Julius stood a full foot over Jaune and was decked in armour, making Jaune look tiny.
"What…? How is this possible?" Jaune was confused.
"This is your mind, Jaune. Everything here is a part of you, including me… and all of the Arcs before you." Faces of people he'd never seen before began appearing all around him. There were so many, it all seemed surreal. He saw many different faces but each Arc had the same eyes, and the same hair; the defining characteristic of the Arc family. It finally ended when the face of the most recently deceased arc flashed in front of him; his grandfather.
"Why is this happening? What do you want from me?" Jaune took a step back. This was all too much to take in at once.
"It's happening right now, because your semblance was awoken. Your connection with us grew stronger until it became complete. It's a wonder it took this long to unlock, but given how you didn't unlock your aura until recently, I can understand why it took so long." Julius said.
"What…? What semblance?"
"Why yours, of course. And all of ours. This semblance is one of a kind, like all are, but this one is special. You're probably wondering what it is?" Jaune nodded. "To put it briefly, this semblance was the result of the first use of aura by mankind. The first person to ever use aura, was the first of our ancestors; Primum Arc. The aura in his body manifested in a unique way and became the basis for all future aura users. His semblance, was the only one that could be passed down to his offspring, and their offspring after that. It's hereditary." Jaune tried his best to take in as much as he could.
"So wait, what exactly is my semblance?" Jaune was curious. If it could be passed down, did that mean his dad had it as well? He never saw him use anything like aura before.
"Patience Jaune." Julius chuckled. "Your semblance provides a link to all the arcs that have come before you, allowing you to draw from our energy. The semblance itself is a manifestation of light, allowing your body to draw energy from it, and take on its properties."
"Wow, that's badass! What else can it do?" Jaune was excited.
Julius gave out a hearty laugh. "That is for you to learn for yourself. Your semblance is a part of you, and it will grow just as you do; with time. Gain knowledge and experience, and you will grow stronger than you or we could ever imagine. The only way to know how strong, is to keep testing your limits."
His face darkened. "However, Jaune you have to promise us something." Jaune nodded.
"Only use your semblance in a fight if you or those you are trying to protect are in immediate danger. You must never use it for personal gain. It's a semblance meant for creation, not destruction. Train with it, and use it as a tool for discovering yourself." He looked at Jaune. "We have sensed for a while now, that there will be great conflict within your world. It's your duty, as an Arc, to protect and uphold peace."
Jaune's eyes went downcast. "Then why me? I'm no good at fighting, I can barely even protect myself, so how am I supposed to protect the world? There's probably a million people out there better trained than me."
Julius guffawed. "You're probably right." Jaune's eyes became more downcast. Julius put his hands on Jaune's shoulders and gave him a reassuring squeeze. "But it's not about fighting Jaune. Anyone can learn to fight…" Jaune looked up at him. "But no one has a heart as pure and determined as yours, and that's worth more than any kind of training anyone can ever receive. Believe in yourself and you will accomplish wonders."
Jaune smiled and nodded, taking his words to heart. He was right. If Jaune wanted to improve then he had to believe in himself.
"Now wake up, you have people waiting for you in your world. Remember these lessons and remember them well." Julius faded away and everything turned black.
The last thing Jaune heard was Julius saying, "Remember, you're never alone."
Jaune slowly opened his eyes. He winced in pain, as his eyes adjusted to the bright light in the room. His head was throbbing in pain. 'Damn, this is worse than the aftermath of my training sessions with Pyrrha…' he thought about his partner.
Adrenaline shot through his body. 'Shit! Pyrrha!' He shot up out of bed, and looked at his surroundings. He was in a white room, he recognized the walls. It was Beacon's infirmary. There was IVs connected to his arm. He took them out.
He looked around some more. 'No sign of a doctor or nurse…' he thought. 'I can probably sneak out and find Pyrrha.' He quickly got out of bed and ran out of his room, ignoring the increasing pain in his head. He could take some medicine for it later, right now he had to find Pyrrha and make sure she was okay.
He turned the corner and ran down the hallway. He saw someone walking down the hallway towards him. He sped up when he noticed the person had red hair. He quickly ran up to the person and relief washed over him. He found her.
When the two reached each other, they did nothing but stare for a while. Jaune finally broke the silence. "Good, you're safe…" Exhaustion took over his body and he began to fall forward. Luckily for him, she caught him before he hit the ground.
He passed out in Pyrrha's arms.
Jaune opened his eyes for the second time that day. He looked up to his partner at his bedside. She looked surprised when she saw him move. To him she looked… anxious? Jaune had never seen Pyrrha this riled up before. It was clear she was worrying about him.
He sat up in the bed. "Yo," he said. He was still exhausted for some reason and his voice came out a lot weaker than anticipated.
To his surprise, Pyrrha brought him into a really tight hug. "Pyrrha?" he asked. He heard her mumble something in his chest. "What was that?"
"I was scared you were never going to wake up!" She said louder. Pyrrha was shaking. He tried to calm her down by gently rubbing soothing circles into her back. He'd never seen her this… vulnerable before. It was offputting.
"What? What do you mean? How long have I been out?" It seemed like he was in that world for only a few minutes.
She leaned back and looked at him. "Jaune… you've been unconscious for a week." His mouth went agape.
"A whole week!? It only felt like I was in there for a few minutes, 10 at most!" How could he possibly have been gone a whole week?
"In where, Jaune?" Pyrrha gave him a confused look.
"I'll tell you later, for now we should probably see if I can leave."
Pyrrha nodded and separated from her leader. He took a longer than intended look at her and noticed her eyes were red and puffy. 'Had she been crying?' He thought. He'd try to make her feel better later.
They both got up; the doctor had informed Pyrrha earlier that if he were to wake up again, she should take him to the front desk to get discharged. He had ran tests after he passed out the second time and concluded that it was merely fatigue that caused him to faint and that he should be perfectly healthy.
Pyrrha held onto him as he took his first few steps. He gave her an amused look. "I can walk on my own Pyrrha," he said. She quickly let go and mumbled an apology, her face downcast. However, Jaune quickly grabbed her hand and intertwined his fingers in hers. "But my balance seems to be a bit off, I might need a helping 'hand'." He smiled like a moron at his pun, a light blush staining his cheeks.
She giggled a little and blushed as well, though her face was a lot darker than his. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and nodded. They began walking towards the main area.
After a few steps, the initial rush of holding hands died down. It felt nice, slowly walking with his partner. It would be nice if things could always be this peaceful, though he remembered the warning from Julius. He knew that if he wanted to protect this world, he'd have to start being more extreme with his training. 'At least now I have a semblance that can help me.'
Jaune stopped walking. Pyrrha was tugged back as she accidently kept walking. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
Jaune shook his head. "Pyrrha… do you know about my semblance?" He found it quite difficult to maintain eye contact with her.
"I know that it activated while I was unconscious. Everyone else told me." She paused for a few moments. "They also told me how powerful you became… how you defeated the enemy in the blink of an eye… How you weren't in control of yourself."
"What do you mean 'I wasn't in control'?" he asked.
"You couldn't differentiate between friend and foe while you were like… well that. You almost attacked Weiss."
"I… did?" Now he was really skeptical. If he were to use his semblance without learning how to control it, then he would end up hurting people. But the only way to learn how to control it is to use it. It was paradoxical. He couldn't look in her direction, he was too ashamed.
"Jaune, look here." Pyrrha grabbed the sides of his face and turned his head towards her. "No one blames you for what happened. I'm even grateful that it happened… You saved my life, and there's no way I could ever repay you."
"Well actually, that would make us even." Jaune finally got the courage to look into her eyes. 'Her beautiful green eyes…' "Since you started training me, I think now we're even." He smiled warmly at her.
She beamed at his smile and chuckled. "I guess so…" She took a closer look at his face. Something seemed… off. 'His eyes… they're pink…?' She leaned in closer.
"Uhh… Pyrrha what are you doing?" Jaune became more nervous the closer she got to his face. She was still holding his cheeks.
"Jaune, your eyes changed colour…" She took out her scroll and turned on the front facing camera and gave it to him. He took the scroll and looked at the screen.
"Holy crap you're right! They're dark pink." He looked at her again. She was fixated on his face. Oum, how he thought she was beautiful. Easily a contender for the perfect person. His eyes changed colour again, to a much lighter, pale pink.
"Jaune they changed colour again." She stared in wonderment at his eyes. 'Is this due to his semblance?' she thought. She was so focused at his eyes that she didn't notice she was leaning closer and closer towards his face. Her face was only a few inches from his until she finally realized how close she was to him.
Neither of them said anything until Pyrrha closed her eyes and started leaning forward. She got ever closer to his lips. Jaune could feel her breath on his lips. He leaned forward aiming to close the gap.
"JAUNEY!" Their kiss was cut short as they were knocked down by their rambunctious teammate. "You're up! It's been no fun without you. I mean, not that Ren and Pyrrha aren't fun, you know what I mean."
"It's… It's good to see you too Nora," Jaune breathed out as he was crushed. Pyrrha giggled at the two. 'Maybe some other time,' she thought.
A hand was reached out to him. "It's good to see you Jaune." Jaune smiled up at Ren.
"Thanks Ren, it's good to see you guys." Jaune took his hand and stood up. His stomach grumbled. "I think being passed out for a week has gotten me really hungry. Wanna go get something to eat?" He smiled. Everyone smiled back and nodded and they headed towards the front desk to sign out.
The paperwork didn't take too long, as Pyrrha had previously filled out all the boring stuff while he was in his week-long coma. He signed the last sheet and sighed. He could finally go get some food.
When Jaune stepped outside, he felt weird. Everything he saw was more vibrant, more… analog. He could almost feel the light hitting his eyes, almost as if his sight became a super sense. He felt much more energized than he was back inside the building. It was really sunny outside. 'Is my Semblance causing this?' he thought. He would have to test it out later.
The walk to the cafeteria was anything but boring. Nora wouldn't stop rambling on about how cool he was during the mission, or about what he had missed while he was unconscious. Eventually though, they got to the cafeteria.
The moment they entered the cafeteria, it became silent. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the 4 teens as they walked in. Even upper years were whispering amongst themselves. "Uhh, am I a ghost or something…?" Jaune whispered to his team.
"Word got out of what happened… and rumours spread fast around here." Pyrrha gave a glance to Nora whom of which, put a finger on her mouth symbolling Pyrrha to not go any deeper. This didn't go unnoticed by Jaune, however he didn't really mind, it was bound to get out eventually.
"Let's just get our food and go sit down. I think I see Ruby and her team." Jaune smiled. They all got their trays and went up to team RWBY.
"Hey guys!" Jaune sat down next to Weiss. Pyrrha sat beside him.
"Jaune! You're awake!" Ruby yelled. Everyone was immediately over him asking questions about his recovery. He noticed they still treated him the same even after the 'incident'. He smiled and chatted as they ate their food.
The cafeteria went back to normal as the rowdiest group in beacon ate lunch together.
"Hey cut it out!" Jaune heard the ever familiar accent that velvet had. He looked over and saw Cardin and his lackeys picking on the poor girl; pulling and tugging her ears. Jaune understood why Velvet never fought back… she didn't want to stoop to their level and resort to violence to end her problems.
Jaune noticed the scowl on Pyrrha's face as she observed Cardin. Jaune sighed. If he was going to help protect the world, he had to start somewhere. He got up and started walking over to Cardin. Pyrrha was surprised to see her partner taking action. Usually he'd just get upset and try not to get involved.
"Hey Cardin! Leave her alone man," he said as he walked up to the group. "I thought I told you to not mess with my friends." He stepped in between him and Velvet.
"Mind your own business Arc. I've never even seen you talk to 'it' before, so there's no way you're friends." Cardin wouldn't back down now, he was too prideful.
Jaune turned towards Velvet. "Hi, I'm Jaune Arc, nice to meet you." He extended his hand out. "V-Velvet." She gingerly shook it. He turned back to Cardin.
"See, friends." Jaune stared Cardin down.
"Out of the way Jauney-boy." Cardin was getting tired of this.
"Why don't you make me?" Jaune looked at him, his eyes had turned red.
"OOOOOOOOOOO" Yang yelled from across the cafeteria, and was immediately shut up by Blake.
'Jaune Arc, please report to headmaster Ozpin's office.' The announcement was repeated again.
"You're lucky this time, Arc." Cardin and his group shoved past him and left the cafeteria.
He sighed and turned to Velvet. "You alright?" he asked. She nodded.
"You know, you didn't have to get mixed up in this." She couldn't keep her eyes off the ground.
"I have a habit of helping friends out." He smiled at her. She looked up at him and curled her lips upwards. To Velvet, he seemed genuinely interested in being her friend; not something she encountered too often, aside from her own team and team RWBY.
"Anyways, I gotta go, I'll see you around." Jaune waved goodbye and walked back towards his other friends.
"Wow Vomit Boy, I didn't know you had it in you," Yang teased and gave him a firm pat on the back.
"When are you going to stop calling me that?" He sighed. "I wonder what Ozpin wants."
"It's probably because he found out you woke up, and he might want to debrief you about… your semblance." Weiss spoke up. There was hesitation in her voice when she mentioned his semblance. She was still a little uneasy. But honestly, so was everyone else.
"Aww crap, I wanted to get some training in and get caught up in school. I'm behind an entire week! I hope he doesn't take too long." He ranted to himself.
"I'll catch up with you guys later." He started walking towards the exit.
"Wait a minute Jaune, I'll come with you!" Pyrrha called out and caught up to him. He smiled. "I actually wanted to talk to you as well."
"Sure thing, what's on your mind?" Jaune was always up for a conversation with his friends. No matter what he was going through, he would always put his friends before himself. A pure heart indeed.
"It's about your semblance… I want to see it." Pyrrha gave him those eyes. Those eyes that told him that she was going to fight tooth and nail until she came out victorious. She'd used them on him before, but for petty things like a back massage after a long day of training, or a sweet treat while they were in town. They were childlike in essence, but also very determined.
He sighed, "Pyrrha, what if I go out of control like that again?" He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to control it, and even worse, hurt her. "I don't want to risk hurting you."
They walked through the exit doors. "Jaune, trust me, I won't get hurt, and besides, you won't be able to hone your skills unless you use it." He still looked uneasy. She put a firm, yet comforting hand on his shoulder. "Jaune, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."
"But I don't even know how I would go about activating it…" Pyrrha squeezed his shoulder gently.
"Don't worry about it, we'll cross that bridge together, as partners." She smiled at him. His eyes turned into a faint red as he smiled back and nodded. Pyrrha couldn't get enough of his eyes, they were so pretty, no matter what colour they changed to. She found herself staring at him longer than intended as he cleared his throat to get her attention.
"Okay Jaune, I'll head back to the others. I'll see you for training, okay?" He nodded and she gave him one last squeeze on his shoulder before turning to leave.
"Wait, Pyrrha." Pyrrha hummed and turned around, to see Jaune fidgeting slightly.
"I just… I just wanted to say thank you… for everything that you've done for me. I don't think I'd be the person that I am today without your help. And I just wanted to let you know how gratefu-"
Pyrrha put a finger on his lips. "You don't need to thank me Jaune, I'm your partner; and as your partner, it's my responsibility to help you when need me, and I know I can count on you to do the same for me."
"I know that… but-"
Pyrrha leaned in and gave him a small, chaste kiss on his cheek. "Don't worry about it, really." She gave him a small wink, blush ever present on her face.
Jaune blushed heavily and nodded, his eyes had turned sky blue. "Right… Thanks again."
"I told you, it's no problem. Now get going, we still have to train today." Pyrrha turned him around and gave him a gentle push.
He waved one final goodbye and walked towards Ozpin's tower.
A/N: There you have it. I've also been using a colour chart for the different colours of Jaune's eyes (it'll be explained later in the story). If you're curious you can google 'eagle spirit ministry colour chart'. Anyways, thanks a bunch for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Leave a review to tell me how I did and if you have the time, tell me what I can improve on. Thank you all, and have a good day :).
