Good evening everyone…well it's evening where I am at the time I'm writing this. Anyway, I have to say that response the first chapter was warming. Now I am going to explain myself a bit but first, why don't you read this chapter?
To Be A Father
When Jaune opened his eyes, was surprised to see a cloudless sky and bright sun greeting him. Sitting upright in an instant, Jaune immediately looked around in fear when he remembered what happened. However, instead of the Emerald forest, surrounded by a group of White Fang members, Jaune found himself on a deserted beach with the water gently lapping at his feet.
"Where…where am I?" The blonde asked as he got to his feet. "I was in the Emerald Forest, so I know this place is a dream."
"I have to say, you're rather calm about this." A voice said getting Jaune to shrug.
"Well, I've had weirder dreams…" The blonde said before his voice trailed off. "…who said that?" the blonde said turning around quickly. To his surprise, he was greeted the sight of the woman from before. "Gah!" Was all Jaune before he fell back and landed on his butt, all the while pointing at the woman. "Y-y-you're that woman! The one who was shot!" Jaune said, growing white as the woman smiled and nodded.
"You'd be correct." The woman said, scaring Jaune ever present smile. With her face not hidden by the shade and a hood, the blonde saw that the woman was a snake Faunus, parts of her skin replaced with scales that had a bright blueish-green color to it.
"How are you alive? In fact, where are we?" Jaune said, looking around in hopes of seeing something that would tell him where he was. "Oh my god…I'm dead aren't I!? Those White Fang guys shot me!" Jaune said, his breathing getting heavy as he clutched his heart. Before he could begin to truly hyperventilate, the woman walked up to him and gave him a hard slap before holding up a finger.
"First off, my name is Verdigris*." The woman said, annoyance clear in her voice. "Second, I'm not alive, merely projecting myself with your aura, which I have to admit…you have a lot of." Verdigris said before lifting a third finger. "Lastly, you're not dead, just unconscious." The woman said before she knelt down next to Jaune. "We're just in your subconscious, a place where we can talk for while your body rests up." Jaune didn't say anything and simply nodded.
"Verdigris?" Jaune asked, getting a nod, "Then why did those White Fang members call you Mamushi?"
"Well I'm a Pit Viper Faunus, and it was a nickname. At first it was an insult for my scales back in my home village, but I turned into praise in the White Fang."
"So, how are you here? I mean I saw you get shot." Jaune said, making a gun with his hand. "You died in my arms!"
"Well I'm here thanks to my semblance." Verdigris said, getting Jaune to tilt his head. Verdigris simply chuckled at Jaune reaction before she looked out into the sea. "My semblance is…powerful to say the least. I never really came up with a name for it, but it was world changing." The Faunus said before she sat down. "Whenever I lock lips with someone, I can use our aura to trigger certain effects. Like how I killed that Faunus in the forest." At that, Jaune widened his eyes in fear while Verdigris waved her hand dismissively. "Relax, I didn't do the same to you."
"So what did you do?" Jaune asked, getting the woman to shrug.
"I planted a small part of myself in your subconscious." Hearing that, Jaune forced himself keep his jaw from dropping. "Look, when I locked lips with you…I wanted my spirit to live on, to use your aura to keep going…if only for a little bit longer."
"So what…you linked your soul to my aura?" Jaune asked, getting Verdigris to shrug.
"In a way, but it's more like I left an imprint of myself on you…something that can pass on what I wanted before it fades." Verdigris said, getting Jaune to stare at her. "If you couldn't tell, I'm not exactly in my twilight years. There were a few things I was hoping to do before I died; for one, it was to watch my daughter grow up while another was to pass on my fighting style."
"Oh…well, I'm sorry you died." Jaune said getting Verdigris to lift her hand and wave it dismissively.
"Don't beat yourself up too much kid, I would've been killed somehow anyway. The White Fang don't necessarily tolerate deserters; hell my girl didn't like that I was a deserter." At that, Jaune raised an eyebrow while Verdigris smiled. "What? Is it wrong for two women to fall in love?"
"No, it's just…that kind of relationship doesn't produce a child…or at least I don't think it does." Jaune said, getting Verdigris to laugh.
"If it were with someone besides me, you'd be right." The woman said before she tapped her lips. "But my Semblance lets me surpass even those boundaries. Just one tender loving kiss and you're off to the races." At that, Jaune grew red while Verdigris burst out laughing again. "Anyway, it looks like our time together is getting short. So how about we strike a deal?"
"A deal?" Jaune asked, getting a nod.
"You take care of and raise my daughter," Verdigris said as she raised her hand. "And I'll pass my knowledge on to you. Everything I know, whether it's about Faunus, about the White Fang or how I fought…it will all go to you." The Faunus said, getting Jaune to tilt his head again.
"How are you going to do that?" Jaune asked, getting the Faunus to smile.
"There's a beauty of being here in your subconscious." The Faunus said with a smile. "Before I completely fade away, I'll integrate my own memories into yours. Over time, you'll have dreams about experiences I've faced in my life." At that, Jaune blinked before he started to reach for Verdigris' hand. Just as he was about to grab it, the woman pulled her hand away, getting Jaune to raise an eyebrow. "Just be clear, it might not be an easy transition. If I do this…there's a chance my memories and experiences may override yours…and you won't be the same."
Hearing that, Jaune looked at his hand as it slowly began to lower. Verdigris nodded at Jaune's response but widened her eyes when she felt Jaune reach out grab her hand.
"My dad always told me that a hero doesn't become one if they're not willing to take risks." Jaune said with a smile. "Plus, I was always taught to help those in need, and it's not like I haven't raise an Faunus kid before." At that, Verdigris raised an eyebrow before laughing.
"Well then boy, we have a deal. Take care of my Vermillion and you'll get the memories, experience and training of a former highly ranked White Fang member." Verdigris said, getting a nod from Jaune. "Well, I guess there's just one thing left to do…" Verdigris said, getting Jaune raise an eyebrow.
"Wha-" Without warning, the Faunus quickly grabbed Jaune's shirt with her free hand before proceeding to shove Jaune into the water. After a few seconds of struggling, Jaune's body stopped before disappearing from the beach.
"Huh…figured he'd put up more of a fight." Verdigris said before shrugging. "Oh well, better get started…" The Faunus said before she also disappeared.
-Beacon Infirmary-
If there was one thing Glynda Goodwitch was known for, it was her strict teachings and no excuse policy. And if the blonde disciplinarian was proud of anything, it was her reputation of being a stern woman who always pushed her students. That said, it didn't mean that she was completely heartless, in fact she cared for her students, too much on occasion. Sure, it was a rare sight, but Glynda Goodwitch had shown affection to her students.
Which is why she was currently sitting next to a comatose Jaune Arc with a book in her hands. It had been three days since she received call from him that let her know he was in the Emerald Forest. When she had finally managed to track the Arc down, the blonde woman felt her heart stop at the sight of Jaune being in a hostage situation. Fortunately, her fear quickly turned to anger which caused her to amplify her semblance and capture everyone in the area.
"Glynda, I think it'd be best that you got some rest." A voice said, getting the blonde to look up and see Oobleck and Port walking up to her. "The medical staff have assured us that Mr. Arc and the child will be fine. Port and I can look after the two of them."
"Yes, I suppose you are correct Bart." Goodwitch said as she snapped her book close and let out a sigh. As soon as she did that, the three professors turned their attention to Jaune when they heard him let out a groan. Getting to her feet, Goodwitch raised an eyebrow when she saw Jaune begin to move before his body acted as if it was under water, coiling in on itself before the younger blonde immediately shot up and took in a large breath of air.
"Peter! Alert the head nurse!" Goodwitch ordered as she and Oobleck rushed to Jaune's side and helped the blonde sit up properly.
"Easy there Mr. Arc. Take a moment, calm yourself; you're safe." The doctor said and he and Goodwitch kept their hold on Jaune. His breathes were short, heavy and sharp while his eyes darted around and tried to process what was happening. Before Oobleck could add more to his words of encouragement, Goodwitch placed a hand on Jaune's head and began to hum a soft tone. To the good doctor's surprise, Jaune seemed to calm down immediately, his breaths evening out as he slowly laid back on his bed.
Seeing that Jaune had calmed down, Goodwitch stopped her humming, shooting a look to Oobleck that said 'You mention any of this and you die.'; Oobleck wisely choose to nod in agreement.
"Where…" Jaune said, his crack voice catching the two professors' attention. Faster than Ruby using her semblance, Oobleck grabbed a glass of water before he helped Jaune take a drink. "…where am I?" Jaune said after Oobleck removed the cup.
"In Beacon's infirmary, I had Professor Oobleck and Professor Port bring you and the child here." Goodwitch said calmly. To both professor's surprise, Jaune sat up again with wide eyes.
"Where's Vermillion!?" The blonde said, looking around in a panic. The two professors shared a look with one another before Oobleck rested a hand on Jaune's shoulder.
"Mr. Arc, would you perhaps be talking about that child that was with you?" The doctor asked, getting Jaune to nod. "Then fret not my boy, the nurses here are looking after her. From what they could gather, aside from being a bit shaken, she is in good health." Hearing that, Jaune let out a sigh of relief.
"Mr. Arc," Hearing that, Jaune stiffened up again before he turned to Goodwitch and saw her staring at him with her trademark look. "If you would be so kind as to let us know why we found you in a hostage situation with the White Fang?"
"Well, I never expected to be in one." Jaune said, getting the two professors to raise an eyebrow. "I mainly went out there to test myself against a few Grimm. With the CCT down for maintenance, I felt like it would be an effective way to test how much I've grown. I mean, Beacon is practically empty except for a few students so I couldn't ask any of them for help." At that, the two professors nodded. "Well, I managed to find a small pack of Grimm-"
"A small pack?" Oobleck asked getting Jaune to shrug.
"Just four of them." The blonde answered, getting a nod. "Anyway, I managed to kill them but also attracted an Ursa." At that, Goodwitch raised another eyebrow. "I won't lie, it caught me off guard but I managed to take it down."
"When was it that you found the child?" Goodwitch asked, getting Jaune to look at her.
"I was getting to that, you see I took some time to rest." Jaune said, leaning back to rest when Oobleck raised the top end of his bed. "I don't know how long I took but once I got up and started to head back to Beacon, a woman ran out from the trees with a sword and her baby."
"I assume that grave marker is where she is buried?" Goodwitch asked, getting Jaune to nod. "What happened?"
"Well, some White Fang members followed her and told me to step aside." Jaune said, "I couldn't just let them kill a woman and her child so I stood up to them. When they attacked, the woman helped me fight back and killed all three of them." Jaune said, looking at his hands despite knowing that he wasn't the one who dealt the final blow. "When I thought we were alone, a gunshot rang out. After that, I saw the woman bleeding out." The two professors nodded when they heard Jaune's voice crack a bit.
"It's alright Mr. Arc, we can figure what happened from there." Goodwitch said, getting Jaune to nod. "However, there is something else we must discuss," Goodwitch said, causing Jaune to look up again. "What are you planning to do with that child?"
As you can already tell, I've started from scratch and I intend to work from there. Now many of you might be asking where this story is heading. I'll tell you this now, it's still going to be the same just…different. What I mean is that I'm going to rewrite what I've already done but also do it differently.
I'm still going to try and build relationships with the others, but this time I've already picked a pairing so it's mainly just to set everyone in relation to Jaune and Vermillion (Yes, sadly it's not Yuki anymore). I've also changed how Jaune's going to be taught a different fighting style (which is admittedly pushing things) but he's still going to be learning from the Soul Calibur Universe.
And guys remember, if you have any, ANY questions about the story…PM me; the most I'm getting are complaints, rants and hate mail. Until next time, see ya!
*A bright bluish-green encrustation or patina formed on copper or brass by atmospheric oxidation, consisting of basic copper carbonate.
P.S. Vermilion isn't a snake Faunus (Watch 'World of Remnant: Faunus' for explanation).