Disclaimer: I do not own Kill La Kill or RWBY both belong to their respective creators.
Bold: Kamui speaking
Bold: Kamui thinking
Hi: used for normal speech
'hi : used to convey thought
*Hey everyone, like I said twice before hand this chapter in the other older chapters of cloth and Scythe will be revised, till than I won't be doing any more chapters until I finished my revisions because these old chapter REALLY need a revision after re-reading them. (2018)
Enjoy
Chapter 2
Multicolored eyes stared into lilac eyes and sliver eyes.
The scene soon panned out showing Yang and Ruby sitting in their houses kitchen on one side and Jaune Arc, the sailor uniform, on the other side, both sides simply stared at each other. For those asking where the father of the two girls was at the moment he was currently on a week long hunter mission so was not currently available at the moment.
"So ... are we going to talk or are we just going to sit and do ... stuff?" asked Ruby as neither her sister nor Jaune wanted to make the first move.
...
"Well ... I should probably thank you Ruby for letting me stay in our house, as well as to you to Miss Yang, right?" thanked Jaune as he received a nod from the blonde bomber in response.
"Your welcome, and ... I guess I should thank you as well for helping me back out there ... even though you made Ruby wear what was borderlines stripper clothing" replied Yang as she growled at the end.
"Please don't remind me Yang" requested Ruby as her face began to blush up from the events of last night.
"Than I apologize, I did not know that you and Ruby would be so embarrassed by my combat form, it was not my attention to embarrass you Ruby" apologized Jaune.
"I-Its ok Jaune, I mean you kinda of saved me back at the cave back there in the cave and all" replied Ruby as Yang widen her eyes in surprised at her younger sisters statement.
"What happen!"demanded Yang as her eyes glowed a crimson red.
"Oh fudge, I forgot to tell Yang about the cave thing"thought Ruby in distress as she quickly began to explain to her older sister with what had happened yesterday minus a few certain parts that would only serve to skyrocket her anger. Slowly but surely crimson red eyes began calm down before reverting back to their natural lilac color as Yang brought her anger back in control.
"OK ..." began Yang as she took in another deep breath "... so your telling me that once the Grimm had forced you into the river you than woke up again in some kind of cave later on, there you found a grave which you accidentally spilled your blood over, which in turn awoke Jaune and began this whole mess ... am I missing anything else" spoke Yang as she crossed her arms.
"Umm, nope" replied Ruby.
...
"~sigh~ Your going to give me a heart attack at this rate ruby" spoke Yang as used her hands to rub her eyes. "Still, we can discuses more about that later, right now I want to know more about mister Lady Killer over here" said Yang as she pointed a finger to Jaune.
"What do you wish to know?" asked Jaune.
"Well, what do you know" asked Yang
For a few moments nobody spoke until Jaune took a breath and replied, "Well, my name is Jaune Arc, what I am is something called a kamui, what a kamui is ... I don't know nor remember … in fact, I barely remember anything beside the moment I tasted ruby's blood."
Both girls were surprised by the uniform's statement. "Nothing?, like nothing nothing" asked Ruby. Jaune merely gave a nod to her.
"I see … well I guess I'll asked the second question" spoke Ruby. "You said that form you took yesterday was your combat form right?"
"Yes" answered Jaune.
"Well ... could you have at least made it a bit less ... revealing" asked Ruby as the blush from before began to creep back up to her cheeks.
Jaune gave the young reaper a blink of confusion, "I'm sorry that you feel embarrassed by my combat form, but I don't know if I could've ... it was ... how do you say, instinct, yes, instinct in why I had taken that form" replied Jaune.
"O-Oh" replied Ruby.
...
"OK, why don't we move on onto a different topic" interjected Yang as she could feel the awkwardness beginning to form around the table. "So, you said something about blood if I remember correctly. Why did you wake up when Ruby spilled some blood on you" questioned Yang.
"That ... is a good question their Yang. Sadly, I don't really have an answer for that, only that when Ruby spilled her blood tasted very sweat and that I felt an incredible thirst inside of me that wanted more" explained Jaune, not seeing a blush on ruby's face increase as well as the tense look that formed on Yang's own.
"So you kind of vampire or something than?" pressed Yang.
"Vampire? What's that?" asked Jaune.
"OK, forget what I said ..." said Yang as she grabbed her sisters wrist from underneath the table "... I think me and my sister need some time to think on what you said, be back later" said Yang as she took her and Ruby away from Jaune and into the living room.
IN THE LIVING ROOM
"Jaune has to go Ruby" whispered Yang as the two pop down onto the sofa.
"What, why?" asked Ruby.
"I don't know about you sis but I wouldn't exactly feel comfortable with a living piece of clothing that sucks blood living under the same roof as us. Nor would I think Dad and Uncle Qrow would feel comfortable either." explained Yang.
"Still, he saved me and you from the Grimm, that has to count for something right?" argued Ruby.
"~sigh~ Don't get me wrong sis I'm grateful for that, honestly I am. But, what if somebody were to find Jaune before we can? I don't know about you sis but I don't exactly want to answer the types of questions that are going to pop if Jaune is caught." responded Yang.
"... Well, if it wasn't for Jaune I would be in a even worse condition after that Grimm used dust on me" said Ruby as she quickly slapped her hand on her mouth.
"... I'm sorry ... but, did you just say that Grimm used Dust!" demanded Yang as her eyes began to glow red.
"Oh uh, ummm, L-Look, I explain to it later but that isn't the main the point. What I'm trying to say is that Jaune is good person, sure he may have forced me wear something that would easily give dad a heart attack but it's thanks to Jaune that I got the power boost to not save myself but you as well Yang. Besides, it's just isn't right to abandon Jaune, especially since he doesn't even know who or what he even is." replied Ruby.
Clapping her hands she gave Yang her signature puppy dog eye look "Please Yang, with you and me I sure we can persuade Dad and Uncle Qrow to let him stay, pleassse."
...
...
"~sigh~ ... Fine ... I guess we can let him stay, but, if he tries something funny than I'm kicking him out of here faster that you can blink." gave in Yang as she rubbed the back of head in defeat. "Oh, and Ruby, you and me are going to have that talk about the Grimm, later today, no lies" explained Yang as she left no room for argument.
"OK sis" replied Ruby, feeling a bit worried about their future talk tonight.
KITCHEN
"Alright, Jaune ..." began Yang as she sat back down on the kitchens seat, looking the kamui dead in the eye, " ... we will let you stay, but try anything funny and your out of here, fast."
"Oh ... I did not know that's what you were talking about" replied Jaune, "Still, thank you for letting me stay here longer."
Yang merely waved her hand before she continued. "There is a few things I want to ask though. One, you said that blood was what allowed you to wake up. Just how much blood do you need to stay awake or do need any more at all to be awake?"
"Well, I think that a little bit of blood would be enough for me to stay awake, just a few drops would suffice. However, when in combat form I will need much more than what I need to stay awake" explained Jaune.
"Hm ... do you need any specific persons blood or would any do" asked Yang.
"I do not know, I think other blood may work but I rather have Ruby's blood if that's ok with you" replied Jaune.
" Umm do you need any at the moment" asked Ruby.
"That, would be good at the moment. I won't lie, it has been a little woozy since the morning" answered Jaune.
"So what, do we need to prick my little sis's skin, would that be enough" asked Yang.
"No, just wearing me would be good, I can create needles that can acquire the blood, no scars at all" explained Jaune.
"Oh, well ... Um ..." began Ruby as she looked over to her sister who gave a raised eyebrow as a response " ... Just, don't look, ok."
Jaune gave a nod as Ruby grabbed him before going towards the bathroom. after a few minutes Ruby exited the bathroom now wearing Jaune as she sported another blush on her face.
"You feel anything Ruby" asked Yang as a small blush also clawed its way onto her own face.
"A-A few pricks" answered Ruby.
"You ok Ruby? Your blood pressure doesn't look so well" asked Jaune with concern evident in his voice.
"J-Just give me a few minutes this is just really wired ok" replied Ruby.
...
...
"So what now? Is their any more questions that need be answered" asked Jaune aloud.
"Well ... I guess we could go more into your combat form, I really didn't get a feel for your power back there when we were dealing with the Grimm. So maybe we can get a feel this time" answered Ruby.
"Mm, I guess we could, I won't lie, I'm also curious on the full extent of your own power Jaune" agreed Yang.
"Well if both of you are in agreement than I guess we can go with it" said Jaune.
"Great, so transform away Jaune" said Ruby.
...
...
"Um Jaune, why aren't you transforming?" asked Ruby as she waited for the kamui to do it's transforming thing.
"Well, um, Ruby, I kinda of need some blood to actually do that" answered Jaune.
"But you said that you could use you needles to to get the blood from, how can you not get any blood?" argued Ruby.
"Enough to keep me awake Ruby, the amount I need to actually transform is far more than what is needed to stay awake. Besides, my needles can only take so much blood at any single time and getting the blood requires concentration, which I doubt I can hold in real combat. The reason I was able to transform yesterday was because of the deep gashes on your body, which allowed to consume the amount of blood needed to transform." explained Jaune
"Oh ... than what are we suppose to do? I don't want to cut myself every time I want to transform" complained Ruby.
"Well ... I don't think you need to cut yourself every time Ruby ... I ... I think that there may be something that could help you Ruby, back where you first found me" replied Jaune, his eyes in deep thought as his 'eyebrows' were scrunched together.
"Oh? And what would that be?" asked Yang.
"... Something, just, trust me on this one Ruby/Yang, please" said Jaune.
"Mmm, well, it's not like we have much to lose ..." muttered Yang "... Sure, why not."
CAVE
"Yikes, this place is bigger than I imaged" spoke Yang aloud as she was surprised by the size of the cave, thinking that it would be a bit more smaller.
"So Jaune, what does this item look like anyway" asked Yang as she and Ruby slowly began to descend down into the cavern.
"We're looking for a box, it shouldn't be to big, the box itself is brown in color if you are asking" replied Jaune.
"Shouldn't be to hard, come on Ruby, let's find lady killers little box" said Yang as the two went towards the grave site. As the sister reached the grave site they began to search around the area as well beginning to do a little digging. It wasn't long till Yang heard the sound of her sister as she turned around to see her dusting off a box no longer than her forearm.
"Ha! This the one Jaune" asked Ruby as she held the box out triumphantly.
"It is, well don't wait for me Ruby, open it" replied Jaune as he too looked the box with his own excitement, wondering what could be in the box as well.
The three of them huddled around the box as Ruby flipped the locks, opening the box there laid on a small cushion ... a gantlet.
"Huh? A gantlet" asked Ruby with confusion evident in her eyes. Picking the the gantlet up she could see that whoever made this clearly putted in a great amount of effort judging by the complex design of the armor. While Ruby may have been a fan of weapons it didn't mean she was a slouch when it came to armor.
The gantlet itself was made of pure white metal with the edges colored in gold, with a small pin in the wrist area of the gantlet. A rather stunning array of gold/sliver was etched into the gantlet with various designs that depicted what seemed to be four people battling various foes.
"Whoa, it's so beautiful" commented Yang as she too was amazed the by the sheer design of the gantlet as well, whoever made clearly put there heart & soul into making it.
"So now what Jaune" asked Ruby.
...
"Simple, put on" answered Jaune.
"Is it safe? I don't want to get some kind of infection because of it. Probably should disinfect it first" replied Ruby.
"That wouldn't be bad idea, better safe than sorry" replied Jaune.
XIAO-LONG HOUSEHOLD
After departing from the cave the three of them reached back home as the Ruby & Yang took a short lunch break before the young reaper began to disinfect the gantlet for any possible harmful bacteria. Once done the sisters headed out backyard and towards the training ring there father had made many years ago.
"So, now that we got that part done is there anything else we need to do" asked Yang, leaning back on a nearby tree trunk while looking at her sister who had just placed the gantlet on her arm.
"Yes ..." began Jaune "... I believe that you now need to pull the pin."
Looking at the pin with both nervousness and anticipation Ruby slowly brought her fingers around the pin. Exerting a bit of pressure she gently pulled on the pin as she felt something prick her wrist, almost as if multiple needles where impaled there, till she could no longer do it.
...
...
...
"Uh Jaune, is something suppose to happen? Because I don't feel any-" said Ruby before Jaune's eyes shrank and his body turned blood red.
Suddenly a large white spirit formed behind Ruby and then wrapped itself around the red hair huntress. Once it warped itself around Ruby multiple strings sprang from the body, tightly wrapping around the spirit extreme levels. Until finally the spirit dissolved itself now revealing Ruby now wearing the same skimpy armor form last night as well as featuring a surprised yet pained face.
"R-Ruby, you ok there?" asked Yang as she saw the pained look on her sisters face.
"O-Oh, nothing Yang, just not used to the power boost" lied Ruby. While the sudden power boost was a shock to her body the real pain came from Jaune as the fibers themselves felt like they were burning against her skin. The young reaper took a few moments to stabilize herself before she continued.
"Alright, if your ready rubes, we can get started on seeing just how far you can go with Jaune" said Yang.
"Yeah, I'm ready Yang, what's the first thing" replied Ruby as she straighten herself out.
"Well, the first thing is actually simple, I want you to concentrate all your strength and smash the ground, don't use any aura" explained Yang. Ruby gave a nod to her sister, taking a deep breath she raised a fist high as she could reached, clenching her fist as tightly as she could Ruby gave a small war cry before wrenching it downward and straight to the ground.
Suffice to say the results were ... shocking.
The ground beneath Ruby held against her enhanced strength for barely a moment before the surface underneath and around her shattered like glass. Dust scattered around the sisters as Yang herself was forced a bit backed the sheer force of the shock wave.
As the dust began to settle down Yang was barely able to close her gaping mouth as she saw the sheer destruction the single punch caused. A large crater, with the length of small playground but with depth that could fit a grown person halfway, was all that remained with Ruby looking just as if not more surprised by her own action.
"I-I-I, W-Wah" spoke Ruby, still trying to comprehend what she had just accomplished.
"You surprised?" asked Jaune.
"Surprised! I think I long left that place Jaune. I mean seriously, did you see what I just did, for Oum's sake I didn't even think I was THAT strong wearing you" exclaimed Ruby.
"Well, if your satisfied than I won't mind. So Yang, what the next task you need Ruby to do" replied Jaune as he turned his gaze towards the blonde brawler.
"Well, I was thinking that after we know just how strong who got Ruby we would than do a quick spare" answered Yang with a bit of uncertainly in her voice.
"What, too scared sis" teased Ruby.
"Pfft, Please Ruby, I'm just trying to be nice old sister to my dear little sister" replied back Yang "But, if you really want to I guess we can, just don't cry when it gets to much to handle."
Uncrossing her arms Yang brought her arms up as she motioned Ruby to come after her.
Jumping out of the crater Ruby got into her own stance, one that was taught by Qrow, as she readied herself against Yang.
The two siblings stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Each of them observed the other for the slightest twitch. Yang took the first shot, coiling her legs she launched herself straight towards Ruby, reeling in arm back before throwing it to Ruby.
Ruby twisted herself as she pushed her body to the side before Yang's fist collided. Ruby quickly made distanced between herself and Yang. Yang turned to face Ruby before she threw herself towards the red headed reaper, as she did Ruby brought her arms up to block the next attack. At the last second Yang leaped above her sister using the momentum she made, Ruby barely had time to react before Yang slammed her fist right to the face, causing her skid a few meters away.
"Umm Yang, how much did you put in that punch, because I ain't feeling anything" voiced Ruby, when Yang throws her punches they almost always hurt to some extent. Yet now she barely felt anything at all from the last punch, felt more like a strong gust of wind than anything else to the young reaper.
"Hm, so I guess we can add increased durability to the list" commented Yang as she motioned Ruby to come at her.
coiling her legs she charge straight towards Yang ... only for her to barrel straight into her and causing the two to tumble straight towards some nearby tree trunks.
"Argh, we really need to work on speed when your wearing Jaune, you barely were able to stop yourself Ruby" commented Yang as she untangled herself from her little sister.
"Oooh, Yeah, I agree with you there sis" agreed Ruby, the speed that she went was far more than she had previously expected, as it seems that Jaune combat form increased more than just her strength.
As the sisters finally untangled themselves they quickly got up as they dusted off their clothing.
"Normally I'll say we should continue but to see what else Jaune can do, but, judging what I've seen I think I have a good idea on Jaune's capabilities. Seems lady killer here increases the user natural abilities to practically superhuman levels, unless I'm missing anything else" explained Yang as she gave her analysis on Jaune.
"Mmm, maybe a few things but I think you've gotten most ..." said Jaune "... Oh, and Yang."
"Yea?" replied Yang.
"I think you got something on your shoulder" said Jaune.
"Hm? What do you me- " began Yang as she picked upped a piece of sunny blonde hair ... her sunny blonde hair.
...
"Oh no, Jaune, what have you done" whispered Ruby with fear evident in her voice. Ruby slowly backed away from her now eerily quiet sister, making as much distance as she could from Yang as possible. "What do you mean? All I said that there was a piece of hair on her shoulder, it was just a piece of hair" replied Jaune, ignoring the look of horror on Ruby's face.
Before Jaune could continue he suddenly felt, cold? As if a strong fridged winds had slammed into the kamui, a mixture of confusion and ... dread wormed its way into his body as he turned to the source. Yang didn't uttered a single word as she gripped the piece of hair tightly in her palm as her hand a began to shake.
"Just a piece of hair" lowly repeated Yang as her hair covered her eyes from the two. A great roar erupted from the blonde brawler as her hair became sheathed in fire and her eyes shifted to crimson red as she glared at Jaune with unbridled anger.
Thanks to Ruby's quick reflexes the two were able to dodge the incoming blonde missile. Not waiting for a moment Ruby quickly activated her semblance as she and Jaune ran away, leaving a pile of rose petals in their wake.
"What in Oum's name made her so mad" asked Jaune to himself as Ruby jumped off another tree branch.
"You made Yang lose some of her hair, she HATES it when someone ruins it or even insults it" explained Ruby as the young reaper looked side to side for any sign of her sister, not seeing anything she took a deep breath before sitting down on the branch she was on.
"She really gets that made over hair?!" asked Jaune with surprise evident in his voice.
"Yep, don't worry though, as long as we avoid Yang for a while she will cool back down" answered Ruby.
"I see ... still, over hair? That kinda sounds a little ... over the top" commented Jaune.
"Yeah, when you say it aloud it kinda does sound silly. But that's Yang for you, she ain't one that would care how others think of her" replied Ruby.
"Yeah, she definitely gives off that feeling ... hehe ... you know its odd" began Jaune. "About what odd?" asked Ruby. "Even though I've just meet your sister I feel like I know somebody who is similar to Yang, or at least a resembles a bit of your sister."
"But didn't you say you barely remember anything" commented Ruby.
"Your right, but I think Yang's outburst made me remember something ... no, someone from my past" explained Jaune.
"Really? Well that's good at least, still, was that all that you remembered" pressed Ruby with curiosity twinkling in her eyes.
"hmh ... I think, her name was ... Nora, I believe ... and there two others I can't remember their names but one was male while the other was female" answered Jaune.
"Nora huh" mused Ruby as relaxed herself against the tree trunk. "Well I hope you can remember more soon."
...
...
...
"~sigh~ I can really go for a cookie right now and maybe a storybook to go with it as well" sighed Ruby.
"You still read storybooks Ruby?" questioned Jaune.
"Hey, those stories are still good, it doesn't matter how old you are, as long as there they are still enjoyable than you should be able to read them to your hearts content with out care of your age" defended Ruby.
"Well, I guess you wouldn't be wrong than Ruby" surrendered Jaune. "So what is your favorite story than Ruby?"
"Well, if I had to choose than I would pick the knights of color there easily one of my most favorite stories to read about" answered Ruby.
"Knights of color ... please, tell me more about them" asked Jaune as eyes started to form a distant look to them.
"Well, the knights of color is a story of four knights that each are colored with a different color. These knights go on many adventures over the entire story before the story ends with them fighting the witch, sadly it's never revealed what ever happens to them after that" answered Ruby.
"I see, well anyway maybe we sh-" said Jaune before a familiar cry erupted near them.
"Ugh hold onto that Jaune, I think we need start running, again" advised Ruby as high tailed it out of there as fast as she could.
Eventually after roughly a half an hour of evading Yang the blonde brawler had finally calmed down to point of talking. After a brief talk between the sisters as well a stern warning from Yang to Jaune when dealing with her hair tensions died down and the sisters headed back to the house.
BACK AT THE XIAO-LONG HOUSEHOLD
"Well, now that we have an idea of Jaune's strength, let's call it a day and come back back to it tomorrow. Sounds good Ruby/Jaune?" spoke Yang as leaned back against the wooden chairs.
"Yeah, that will be fine" responded Ruby as she clutched her head.
"You ok there Ruby?" asked Yang with concern as she watched her sister become a bit woozy.
"Yeah I'm fine, just a little woozy from wearing Jaune for so long" answered Ruby.
"Sorry about that Ruby, being used in combat form for so long must drained you a lot" apologized Jaune.
"It's ok Jaune, I know you didn't mean to ..." forgave Ruby "... Why don't you and I get changed, I got some homework to finish up before Monday."
Jaune nodded in agreement as Ruby went back to her room and changed from Jaune into some more comfortable clothing. The rest of day was spent teaching Jaune about the modern world and all of the feat/inventions mankind has made. Eventually evening arrived as the cloud became a bright orange hue and sun had began dipping down and making way for the mom to come in. In the house Ruby and Yang could be seen sitting in Yang's room while Jaune was downstairs watching some random show on TV with rapt attention.
YANG'S ROOM
"So, I guess it's time then" asked Ruby aloud in a awkward manner.
"Like I said Ruby, I told you we will be discussing this today" replied Yang as she crossed her arms. "Well, don't leave me hanging Ruby. Tell me about how the Grimm, in Oum's name, used dust of all the things, the very thing that can only be used by those who have a SOUL mind you."
"Hehehe, Well ... when I was walking back from mom's grave I'd kinda of meet, well more like it found me, the Grimm. At first I was a little surprised by it so I kinda thought I could take care of it easily ... didn't go so well. So after a while into the battle the Grimm began acting oddly before it gave this huge roar and began transforming."
"So it went from this big to THIS big ..." emphasized Ruby as she used her arms to give context "... and when it did it got really buff with big red, which I think you may know by now that I think of it. But anyway, after it completed its transformation it ended up stabbing itself."
"At first I was really confused, like I thought a for a moment that the Grimm was a masochist or something but that's not the case, I'm starting to ramble on a bit now ... BACK to where I was, the Grimm ripped out a a green dust crystal, wind I think. Before I could make my next move the Grimm blasted me with dust, throwing me into a river and to Jaune" finished Ruby as she took a deep breath.
"So, that's my story Yang ... Yang ... umm, you ok there Yang" asked Ruby as she began to noticed just how quiet her sister had gotten and as well as how her hair was shadowing her eyes.
...
...
"So you saying you got lacerated and than thrown in a river you could have DROWN" roared Yang at the Yang as her eyes flared bright scarlet red.
"Wait wait wait, lacerated, the cuts weren't that bad Ya-" began Ruby before her sister stopped her.
"Bad! Don't you remember obsidian and that wind based sword he used, the one that was powered by wind dust crystals. I don't think I need to remind just how bad those 'cuts' were do I?"
Ruby gave a slight winced as she remembered how deep those slashed were in the training dummy, "Still, Jaune healed my from them, you don't need worry."
"You were extremely lucky to even find Jaune at all Ruby, what if you didn't huh? You could have drowned or bled out Ruby. Sweet Oum Ruby ... you could have died out there Ruby" ended Yang as she took a deep breath before wrapping her sister in her embrace.
"You were so lucky that Jaune or even anybody was there. You scared me death back there Ruby" whispered Yang.
...
"What about me?" asked Jaune.
"J-Jaune, what are you doing here" exclaimed Ruby with surprise in her voice.
"I heard my name" replied Jaune with confusion laced into his words, "Why, is there some kind of problem?"
"Uh no Jaune there wasn't, just some family matter talked about" explained Yang.
"Oh, ok, also Yang/Ruby can you help me out a bit" requested Jaune as he brought up Ruby's scroll "For some reason this thing won't let me put anything in anymore and I have no idea why?"
"That's because you can on put so many passwords before it locks out Jaune" explained Ruby.
"Ooohhh, that makes sense ... well I just leave this here and let go back to your family talk" said Jaune placing the scroll on Yang's bed before closing the door.
...
...
...
"Well this kinda of getting awkward now" spoke Yang.
"Yeah ... mind letting me go now Yang" asked Ruby.
Yang gave a nod as she released Ruby from her embrace. "Still ..." began Yang "... I don't want to go fighting those type of Grimm EVER, got it."
"What! No way, we have Jaune. Did you forget how I was able to kick the Grimm's butt so easily it was piece of cake" countered Ruby.
"Mmm ... only if you have Jaune on you or else you hightail it out of there, deal" adjusted Yang as she brought her hand out.
"Deal" replied Ruby, grabbing Yang's hand as the two shock with mutual understanding.
THE NEXT DAY
The next day was a Monday so both girls were preparing to go to school. Ruby choose to wear Jaune to school so she can show him signal academy as well other modern things. During school Ruby's friends were surprised by her new clothes and asked her where did she get it, Ruby lied saying it was a gift form a relative of hers lucky her friends accepted her explanation. During the rest of school Jaune was amazed by all the new sights as well as impressed by the level of advancement humanity had achieved.
After the last bell had rung signalling the end of the school day the two sisters parted there ways as Yang had opted to go hangout with her other friends while Ruby headed back home to continue practicing with Jaune.
"Ahh, nothing like being back home after a long hard day at school" said Ruby as she threw her book bag on top of the sofa and went into the kitchen to grab a drink.
"I don't think it was that hard Ruby, it looked pretty interesting to me" replied Jaune.
"Well maybe to you Jaune, but you were only there for a single day. Trust me, its gets boring rather quickly, speaking from experience here Jaune. Besides, we still have to practice with your combat form remember."
"True" replied Jaune.
The two headed back out to the clearing, used by both the sisters to keep their skills honed when not in school. Taking the gantlet out of her combat skirts many hidden pockets, she quickly slide the device on her hand before pulling the pin. In a display of fibers changing looks, color, and hardness, Jaune's form soon shifted into his signature combat form.
"I don't know if I can ever get used to that" muttered Ruby in her mind as a blush climbed up her checks again. Shoving those thoughts away Ruby focused on the main task on her mind.
The young reaper spent the rest of the evening training with Jaune as well as seeing if he had any hidden ability of some sorts. Unfortunately all the training and experimenting proved to be fruitless as Jaune seemed to have harbored no special ability of any sorts. However, Ruby did discovered the time limit she had with Jaune in his combat form before he would deform himself back to his base to avoid taking to much blood from the young reaper, currently the limit was 5 minutes.
"~pant~, ~pant~ Geez ... even with all that training we still haven't increased the time limit by even a second" complained Ruby as the golden rays of the evening sun shined upon her face as she laid on the cool grass beneath.
"Well, it's only been a few days Ruby, just give it some time and I'm sure you will increase it" said Jaune as he attempted to cheer Ruby up.
"I know it's been only three days but ... ~sigh~, I'm not even sure how to describe it Jaune" replied Ruby. "It feels like I'm so ... close, like it's practically in my reach yet no matter how much I try it feels like it slips right out of my hand before I can get a good grip on it Jaune."
"Is that what it fells like Ruby" questioned Jaune.
"Mmhm, and its really frustrating Jaune. ~sigh~ What even am I doing wrong, is there like some kind of special requirement that I don't know or something" complained Ruby.
...
"Ruby, I think I have an answer to your question Ruby" spoke Jaune after a moment.
"Really, what is it?" replied Ruby.
"Well, when you don me in my combat form you start to blush a lot, I understand that you are embarrassed in my combat form but I think that may be the problem. When I go into my combat form I to feel something similar to what you said earlier Ruby ... only for me it feels like something is pushing me away instead of slipping away" answered Jaune.
"What do you mean? Are saying that I'm pushing you away or something" questioned Ruby.
"Yes ... but not purposefully Ruby, look Ruby I'm sure with enough practice we can fix the problem easily so don't force yourself to do anything Ruby" answered Jaune as he gave a forced laughter, hoping to raise his partners spirits.
...
...
...
"Gezz, I didn't know I was pushing you away Jaune" softly spoke Ruby.
"Huh? Ruby, it isn't your fault" said Jaune.
"No Jaune, I'm your friend and first rule of being a good friend is not pushing you away. Besides, it isn't right, the first rule of being a hero is that you never turn someway away when they are in need" spoke Ruby with conviction.
To the young Rose the knowledge that she was pushing away Jaune was a great shock to her. To willingly push away someone who was in need spat on the the very ideas she followed to heart. After all, evil only triumphs if the hero does nothing about it.
"As your friend it's my job to help you out when your in pinch. So from now on I'm going to work with you until I no longer feel embarrass wearing you anymore" declared with strong conviction evident in her eyes.
"Whoa hold on their a moment R-" began Jaune before Ruby interrupted him.
"Nope" interrupted Ruby with an emphasis on the "p".
"I'm sorry?" asked Jaune.
"You heard what I said Jaune. I'm not going to sit around and not help you out Jaune, so till than my answer is a nope" calmly answered Ruby.
...
"Well ... if that is your answer than I really can't seem to stop you ... and, thanks ... for being my friend" spoke Jaune as the last few words were whispered so only himself could hear them.
Ruby gave a cheerful nod as she placed the gauntlet on her hand once again and pulled the pin.
A FEW DAYS LATER
"What to do Yang, What do you do" worriedly mused Yang as she paced around Patch's local air docks as she waited for her father and uncle Qrow to arrive back from their mission from Vale. They had left a week ago and today were now coming back, Yang had opted herself to go get them while Ruby was working with Jaune. Which in turn lead back to her main concern.
How she would explain to dad and uncle Qrow about the piece of living clothing currently under their roof without giving dad a heart attack.
"Alright, maybe we can hide Jaune from dad, we could say Ruby bought him because he was on sale ... no that won't work. Since when did Ruby care about clothes that much, besides, unless this was some kind bundle with a weapon of some sort no way dad will believe that nor uncle qrow for that matter."
"Hm, maybe we can say I bought him instead ... no, I would never buy something like that. Still, even if we did hide Jaune who could say dad may accidentally find out. Okay, so if we did have to show dad and uncle Qrow Jaune we should probably start with how he saved Ruby/me, that will definitely give us some time to think our next plan" mused Yang before a familiar voice called her.
"Yang" called out Taiyang Xaio-long, Ruby and Yang's father.
"Hey firecracker" said Qrow as he gave his niece a half a wave.
"Hey, dad, Uncle Qrow, what are you two doing here so early, I thought we ride still had a few minutes left" asked Yang as droplets of sweat started to form.
"Well lucky for us thanks to combination of clear skies, no nearby Grimm, and a clear space, our bullhead was able to land earlier than expected" cheerfully answered Taiyang as he gave his daughter a big hug.
"Daaaddd, stop it, there's people here and your embarrassing me" complained Yang as she struggled to escape her father's grip.
"Oh how you wound me Yang, what happen to my little princess who used to love her father" asked Taiyang as he dramatically clutched his heart as somebody had stabbed it.
"Daaaddd" began Yang.
"Oh all right sweetie, still, where is Ruby anyway? I thought she would be with you Yang" asked Taiyang.
"Oh she's back home, she has some work she needed to finish" answered Yang.
Taiyang gave a nod of understanding as the three of them headed into the family car where Taiyang and Qrow placed their luggage in the back seats as Taiyang started the car engine. It wasn't long till the three were driving down dirt road back home as the evening sun illuminated the car's interior.
"So dad, how was your mission with uncle Qrow" asked Yang.
"Shitty" curtly replied Qrow as he took a swig from his flask.
"Qrow, language" chided Taiyang.
"What, you know I'm right. We spent nearly the entire week chasing around the entire forest before finding that damm nevermore nest which in turn said residents were there .them" argued Qrow.
"Yikes, looks like we two had a pretty rough weekend" commented Yang.
"Ignore your grumpy uncle Yang, he's just exaggerating" replied Taiyang. "Besides, enough about our little adventure, how did your week go Yang any interesting happen while we were gone?"
"Hm, ughh nothing much really dad, besides buying some new clothes nothing much" calmly replied Yang.
The rest of the trip itself was meet with relative silence thereafter as Taiyang focused on driving the car. For Qrow on the other hand he mostly stayed focused on his flask as well as thinking what drink he should make we they get back home ... if Tai hadn't thrown the drinks out ... again. Still the dusty old hunter observed his niece with the edges of his vision and saw that she looked worried about something.
"Heh firecracker, you seem a bit stressed there, you ok?" asked Qrow as looked at niece with some hidden concern.
"Huh, Oh heh I guess school work must be putting some stress on me" lied Yang.
"Uh hu" replied Qrow as he focused his attention back to the road. It was no mystery for the branwen that his niece was lying to him, put he did dared not push for the reasoning behind it for sometimes it was better not to ask.
Eventually the car came up to house driveway before coming to a stop moments later. The three of them exited the car as Taiyang did a few stretches as he inhaled the fresh air of nature.
"Ahh, nothing like being back home after a long week of working" said Taiyang.
"Whatever Tai, ~sigh~ let's get our stuff and go-" said Qrow before the the sound of an explosion sprang from behind the house.
"What was that!" exclaimed Taiyang as he and Qrow shared a quick look before heading to back with Yang following after them, muttering something under her breath.
As the three quickly reached the backyard there shocked by what they saw. littering the area were craters of various sizes. In the middle of this mess was none other than Ruby Rose who seemed to be wearing a sailor uniform of some sorts while clutching onto a double sided blade as if it was a crutch.
"~pant~ ~pant~ ~pant~ O-One more time Jaune" wheezed out Ruby as she shakily balanced herself.
"Ruby, please you need to take a break, I don't know if your body can take another shot for today" advised Jaune with concern flowing out of his voice.
"D-Did that piece of clothes just talked ... your seeing the same thing right Qrow" whispered Taiyang as he was still to surprised to move. Qrow himself merely nodded in agreement.
"Please Jaune, one more try Jaune ... I can feel it Jaune, one more is all I need" pleaded Ruby as her hand went over to the pin and clutched it tightly.
"~sigh~ ... fine, one more and only ONE more" answered Jaune after a moment of thinking.
Ruby gave a nod of appreciation as she gripped the pin, she took a deep before slowly pulling the pin. "Remember Ruby, don't be embarrassed every time you do you push Jaune away from you, you push a person who in need away from ... your pushing a friend away from you"
As the pin came to halt the life fibers that made Jaune exploded as the wrapped around the young reaper once again. As the fibers covered her body a faint presences in the back of her head. A week ago the young reaper would have never even felt it must interact with it. When she had first finally felt Jaune's presence she sub-consciously pushed him away, his presence simply felt too alien for her. But, as the days went by as the two practiced every day to every moment they could Jaune's presence became less and less alien for her.
Now she could feel Jaune's presence arching outwards as branched towards her body yet before it so much as made contact it halted to a complete stop. This was were Ruby had to come, to see if all the blood and sweat she sacrificed were vain or not. Reaching her metamorphic hand outward she brought up to the nearby branches of Jaune's presence before slowly coming to stop, till her fingertips just barely touched with the branches.
The branch wrapped around the finger as it spread across her entire body. She could feel a part of mind screaming at her to stop this, to push it all away but she did not.
"No more me, no more pushing away, no more pushing others in need, no more pushing friends away" resolved Ruby as Jaune's presence completely encased her.
As the transformation finally came to an end the whole word could now see Jaune's combat form at 100% full power.
While being similar to the original form they were a few differences. The wing shaped crest on her chest became larger and more pronounced. Her skirt was littered with small blades at the ends and on her head were two horns on the front of her head.
Before anyone could mutter a single sound Ruby leaped onto the air, reaching to point she could see the forest surrounding her home. Clutching onto Jaune's blade tightly Ruby took a deep breath before she gave a war cry. Both the grill behind her and the backside of the crest exploded with a jet of fire as they propelled the young reaper straight back down to the ground. Ruby raised the blade high on top of her head before swinging it downward and right at the ground.
Steel smashed into the ground, the ground held together for barely a moment before it erupted into a storm of debris and dust. Taiyang, Qrow, and Yang were forced to cover their eyes as the sheer force from the impact pushed them back by a bit. It took a while but eventually the three of them were finally able to open their eyes as the dust had finally settled. What they saw next utterly surprised them, where Ruby slammed the sword into the area around it had turned into a crater a size of a pool and in the middle of the crater was Ruby who looked like she was struggling to hold something back.
"~pant~ Look Jaune ~pant~ finally did it ~pant~ told you I would do it" Whispered Ruby barely able to contain her own pride.
"Yeah ... you did it Ruby ... you actually did ... thank you, friend" replied Jaune who himself was surprised that his own partner was actually able to do it, in a week no less.
"Like I said, your my friend and friends help each other out" said Ruby was she raised herself up. As she did she noticed something on the edge of her vision.
"Oh hey Dad your back alre- ... uh dad? You ok there?" asked Ruby as she turned to greet her dad who was currently like he was about to faint as well as suffer a heart attack at any moment at the same time. Qrow on the other hand was currently covering his eyes with his hand while muttering something under his breath. Yang ... well both her hands where covering her face.
"Um you guys ok there? You guys looked like you just saw something ... embarrassing ... oh! ... ooohhhh" spoke Ruby as the gears in her head began to turn and her vision turned downward to Jaune who still in his combat form.
"Eheheh, boy what a story I got for this" said Ruby as she gave an awkward chuckle
LATER IN THE LIVING ROOM
"So let me get this straight, almost a week ago Ruby was walking back from summer's grave, on the way Ruby so happened to accidentally encountered some kind of humanoid Grimm which almost killed both Ruby as well as greatly wound Yang. Only for later find this ... Jaune, who saved Ruby and helped her kill the beast by making her wear ... that thing. And what we saw just minutes ago was Ruby trying to ... become one with Jaune ... am I missing anything else" went over Taiyang as recapped the story his daughters just gave him.
The two girls gave a negative nod to his question.
"You know, under normal circumstances I would call this some kind of overblown joke or even a crazy story of some sort. Unfortunately, said proof is literally sitting right in front of me, and worst of all I'm still sober to top it off" spoke Qrow, taking a heavy chug from his flask.
"Well Tai, what do you think of this entire mess" asked Qrow
...
...
Taiyang stood up from his seat before going straight to the kamui, he knelled down until he was face to face with kamui as his eyes stared deep in the kamui's own, watching for any sort of lie.
"Jaune ... you saved both my daughters life, especially my youngest. For that I owe you my thanks" spoke Taiyang.
"I understand you have a ... bond with my youngest daughter so I want know ... if my daughter is every in danger, how far will you go to protect her" questioned Taiyang.
"Sir, Ruby was the first person to find me after a long time, while there was a bit of tension in the beginning she proved herself to be both a reliable partner and a good friend. So to answer your question, I would protect her in a heartbeat" answered Jaune.
Taiyang searched deeply into his eyes, looking for even the slightest hint of lying. What he found was nothing more than pure conviction in both his eyes and words.
"I see, well ... welcome to the family Jaune" replied Taiyang as grin appeared on his face as the tension in air subsided while both Ruby and Yang released their breath in relief.
"However ..." began Taiyang as he turned his attention to his daughters, more importantly to Ruby "... I understand that Jaune may give you a rather massive power boost I don't want you to use him in public. Also, if you ever see another humanoid Grimm like what you told me, I don't want you to go fight them even if you have Jaune with you, leave it to the adults you two don't put yourself in danger, understand" ordered Taiyang, leaving no room to argue.
Both girls nodded in agreement.
"Good, now why you two head up to bed while me Qrow talk over with what you just explained" asked Taiyang.
IN RUBY'S BEDROOM
"This is not fair, I mean come on, me and Yang fought the Grimm surly we can help out" complained Ruby to Jaune as she was preparing to go to sleep.
"Ruby, I think your dad is just worry about your safety I mean you both almost died to that Grimm so I think it's fair to say he was quite scared for yours and your sister's safety" commented Jaune.
"~sigh~, I know but still we have experience fighting that Grimm and we have you as well so if another humanoid Grimm comes along we teach it a lesson or two" replied Ruby as did some karate moves to emphasis what she said.
Jaune simply shook his head "Ruby even thou what you said is true but I believe it will be wise to immediately focus on becoming stronger, once you become an official huntress than we can start to investigate the mysterious Grimm, but for right now it would be wise to leave it to the adults and focus on becoming a huntress" answered Jaune.
The red headed huntress merely gave a groan but nonetheless agreed to what Jaune recommend.
"Yeah yeah I know, but still I really wish we could help out thou … ~yawn~ … well, I guess will talk about it more tomorrow good night Jaune" said Ruby as she soon fell asleep form all the training she had done with Jaune.
The sailor uniform gave a small chuckle before giving the young reaper a good night before he himself went to sleep.
BEACON ACADEMY
"Yes … ah Qrow, go to see you old friend" replied an unknown yet cherry voice voice.
"Save your friendly banter for Jimmy Ozpin" responded Qrow.
"If you say so, but into more important matters how did your mission go Qrow did we gain anything" asked Ozpin.
"Maybe, had to clean up the mess the Grimm left but I think we finally have found something about these 'life fibers' Ozpin" answered Qrow.
"Let's hope so Qrow, the last thing we need is another edge for Salem" said Ozpin.
"Actually Ozpin, I think we may have a problem on that front looks like Salem has been doing some experimenting" warned Qrow.
Qrow than started to explain about the mysterious Grimm and its ability to use dust as well as Jaune and his abilities.
"I see, thank you for bring this to me Qrow … ~sigh~ … it seems that I'll be taking Ironwoods offer after all" said Ozpin.
"I don't like it either Oz but were going to need his help if there are more Grimm like this" commented Qrow.
"It seems so … Qrow I don't want to take you away from your nieces but can you come over to my office tomorrow" said Ozpin.
"Yeah I can do that but Ruby won't be happy, but sure, I can do it, anyway night Ozpin" said Qrow as he turned off his scroll.
Ozpin merely gave a sigh before turn his head to Glynda.
"Glynda prepare a secure communication line with Ironwood tell him I'll accept his offer on some conditions" ordered Ozpin calmly
"Of course Ozpin" replied Glynda before she left to prepare the call to Ironwood.
"~sigh~ seems things are going faster than I thought, to think Salem will pull out those grimm, she must be getting desperate for the fragments ... looks like it's time to open the vault" grimly thought Ozpin as he peered out towards the city of vale afar in his personal office.
THE NEXT DAY
The sound of sizzling bacon soon became the dominant sound as the scene started to pan out to reveal Taiyang cooking come beacon while his daughters soon came down ready for breakfast.
"Morning Girls, how are you two, oh just want to tell you Qrow had to leave early he be back later tonight" said Taiyang.
The sisters only gave a nod of acknowledgement still to groggy to say anything else. A few moments later Jaune hopped down to the kitchen giving the Xiao-long family a greeting.
"Morning everyone" greeted Jaune before he sat on kitchen counter.
"So Ruby when do want to continue training" asked Jaune, before Ruby could answer the door bell immediately rung.
"I'll get it" said Taiyang as went to towards the door.
"Yes" said Taiyang as he opened the door revealing a mail man holding a rather large box in his arms.
"Hello sir, umm this wouldn't be the Xiao-long household sir" asked the delivery man.
"Yes this is the Xiao-long household, what is it?" answered Taiyang.
"Oh good, I have a packaged for a miss Yang Xiao-long, if you can sign here and here pleased" Said the mail man.
After signing the board the mail man handed over the large package to Taiyang before giving a goodbye and began to leave.
"Hey Yang, did you buy anything while I was gone?" asked Taiyang as he brought the box over to the kitchen.
"Besides food not really, why?" responded Yang as the box was brought into the kitchen.
"Well someone had sent this to you Yang and it didn't say who" replied Taiyang.
"Why don't I open it in the living room for you two" offered Jaune.
"Hmm ... alright if you say" said Taiyang as he handed over the box to Jaune, Jaune than took the box to the living. For a few minutes there was no sound coming from the living besides the sound of the box being opened a while ago. Ruby, feeling worried for her friend went to see how he was before she saw the state of Jaune.
Jaune seemed to be frozen in place with eyes wide open and his mouth opened in shock.
"Jaune … what's wrong" asked ruby as went over to her friend's side.
Jaune did not reply for a few moments before uttering a single word
…
…
…
Nora
Jesus Christ! This took way longer than I had anticipated, I had to literary writing the entire chapter bottom up ... was lot more shitty than I had realized. Though not the best thing it is certainly an improvement to old version.
But enough about me ranting about my own problems, I should probably tell you guys my plans for now.
1. Minor EDITING on the other chapters, shouldn'y take to long
2. Get another chapter of An old Power
3. Another chapter of Cloth & Scythe
4. Surprise suprise, Another Chapter ... what shocking reveal (insert sarcasm) for A daughters story and probably the last chapter before the big meat comes in
5. ... a surprise ... a spectacular surprise
6. Finally, a one-shot
