Ok so sounds like you guys really want Ruby to get some love from Jaune too. Hmm… Will I let that happen? I think I might.
Anyways, thanks a ton for the immense amount of support. I still am not too sure how this happened, but I'm loving writing for you guys, that being said, I plan on continuing this story for a loooong time. And now, let's get on to Initiation. (I don't own RWBY at all)
"Destiny? What do you mean?" Jaune was completely perplexed by the stranger accompanying him on the balcony.
There was a drawn out pause that made Jaune's curiosity peak. She looked up at him and stared into his blue eyes, not saying anything else. As their eyes adjusted to the dark and the moon was exposed from a cloud, the glistening light revealed the faces of the two teens to each other.
"Ok… Next question I guess... Could I at least know your name? It's only fair since you know mine now." His goofy smile helped to make her smile reappear.
"Pyrrha Nikos," she said. A spark of fear in her mind warned that he might recognize her as the champion spartan who won tournaments, the famous Untouchable Girl. Before her fret could burn out of control, his words extinguished it.
"Cool name! Not as short and sweet as mine though." Jaune's joking smirk caused the girl to giggle once again.
"If you say so, Jaune." The girl attempted to hide her excitement and bliss, it was few and far between to find someone that had never heard of her.
"Do you plan on staying up all night? You should rest, you wouldn't want to be too tired for Initiation tomorrow," He started to walk back to the ballroom in a small chuckle. "Heh, or else you might end up with a loser like me."
What if I'd like to be with a guy like you though? Pyrrha asked herself as she followed the blonde back inside.
Jaune passed by Weiss and Pyrrha as they spoke. He was frantically searching for his locker that he accidently placed his gear in the other day.
"So, Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual as yourself." Weiss asked, truly desiring to be on the champion's team.
The blonde boy perked up after finding his locker and was intrigued by the two's conversation. Now in the light, he was able to see Pyrrha in her full glory. Her flowing red hair reached about waist-length. She seemed to be taller than the rest of the girls that he had met there and was quite muscular.
The outfit that the redhead wore made her appear as a spartan-like fighter type. Her strapless top looked to be bronze sturdy metal, most of her outfit consisted of the material. On her arms she wore a pair of dark brown long sleeves, the left one was partially covered by a bronze brace. An extremely short, elastic, red miniskirt was worn on her toned legs and a long, ankle-length drapery hung from her waist, down to her bronze greaves and leather boots. The color of the drape resembled her hair. Secured on her back was a bronze shield and spear, the spear had red highlights marked in certain places, then on her right hip there was a shield and spear emblem, predictably, made of bronze.
The final accessories were a large bronze necklace and a matching circlet adorned atop her head. Decorated with tear-shaped emeralds hanging from chain loops on it.
Light green eyeshadow in the upper corner of her eyes accentuated her piercing, vivid-green eyes perfectly. The softness and care of her face was clear, making her look innocent and beautiful.
"Hmm, I'm not sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may." Pyrrha acted like her usual self, but hid her dislike for how the heiress ignorantly put her on a pedestal.
"Well… I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together!"
"Well that sounds grand!" The redhead wasn't against being on Weiss's team, she just had other people in mind…
"It looks like someone might have made a friend!" Jaune had snuck up behind Weiss and tousled her hair. "I'm so proud of you!"
"Jaune!" She whipped around, he could easily picture fumes of anger steaming from her ruffled hair. In a sour whine she yelled, "You're going to pay for that!"
"Hello again, Jaune." Pyrrha made him notice her as the disgruntled Schnee stomped off.
"Hey Pyrrha. You never told me you were so famous." He simply smiled, not trying to put much emphasis on it.
Her gaze dropped to the ground and she looked upset something, "My popularity is not something that I enjoy flaunting…"
"Well on the bright side, at least it helps with getting you teammates. I may be 'special' for whatever reason people think, but that doesn't hide the fact that I'm a lousy fighter. No one wants to be on my team…" His tone of dejection ripped the smile off his face.
"I would love to be on your team!" Pyrrha's ecstatic expression shocked the boy.
A new look of disbelief crossed his face, "Really?"
"Of course." She felt as if the humble boy was a lot more than what meets the eye.
An announcement called out for all of the first year students to meet at Beacon Cliff for their Initiation. Pyrrha said farewell to the boy, then walked through the door leading outside, not wanting to be a second late. An eager red blur followed her out shortly after. How is Ruby so fast?
Yang walked slowly over to him and asked, "Nervous, Lady Killer?"
He gulped, "Is it that obvious?"
"You'll be fine, and if not, you'll probably have backup close by."
"Who?" He looked confused and she shook her head with a sly smile.
"We've got your back now, were all friends. But I'm not too sure about Weiss yet... Even if Ruby is two years younger, she will fight for any friend in need." She laughed softly and added, "Come on, we better not be too late."
As the two walked out to the cliff side, they noticed that the headmaster and Glynda were already speaking to the students that were lined up on platforms.
The blondes hastened their pace and stepped onto their platform, Yang was located on Ruby's left, Jaune on Ruby's right.
The boy listened closely to the speech, but had already missed the part about them being launched off the cliff. Ok, make eye contact with a partner, find the relic… Wait then what? He spotted his fellow first years being launched off high into the air and his eyes shot open.
"Uhh… S-sir? What exactly is going on?" His panic-stricken voice humored the headmaster, but the older man showed none of it.
"Initiation, young man." His statement sounded matter-of-fact like.
And with that, Jaune was sent flying off through the sunny blue sky, his nausea hitting him like a truck. His face was painted green and his stomach plummeted horribly. As he neared the ground he scrunched his eyes shut, knowing the inevitable contact would kill him.
Suddenly, he felt something snag the hood of his sweatshirt, hurling him into a hard and solid surface.
When his eyes shot open, he immediately shut them. He had been pinned high up in a tree by a bronze spear. It looks like this is the end. I'll be stuck here for forever; I'll probably be gobbled up by a Nevermore. Goodbye cruel world…
Then a familiar while kind voice broke his internal moping, "Jaune? Are you injured?" The voice of the girl seemed to contain certain concern for him.
His eyes opened and immediately made contact with the redhead spartan, Pyrrha, from earlier.
"Y-yeah! Just a bit shaken up I guess." He was thrilled to have a skilled warrior by his side, but felt a sense of pity. The possibility of him being a great burden to her was pinned in his thoughts. "Kinda stuck in a tree currently."
The knight began to pry the spear out of the wood in an effort to be released. "Jaune…"
The girl's warning was too late, by the time she spoke, the boy had wrenched the metal from its place. Now he was falling quickly, with no hope of anything lessening the impact. It had to be almost a sixty-foot fall.
When his body connected with the hard turf, the air was expelled from his body. Her spear landed shortly after him, sinking into the dirt closely to his right, cutting through the fabric of the side of his hoodie.
Pyrrha covered her mouth and widened her eyes in horror while the white Aura around him flashed weakly. This was a warning that his energy reserves were dangerously low. What have I done?! I almost killed him!
Jaune started to pick himself up slowly but he collapsed. His chest burned and felt like it was going to burst. He slowly began to breathe again and attempted to calm himself. That was a huge mistake… He thought.
Pyrrha ran over to him and slowly assisted the knight in picking himself up. "I'm sorry!" Her voice sounded truly hurt and full of regret.
It took a while for him to reply and when he spoke his chest burned worse. "It's ok, without you I would have died from the initial fall." His voice was hoarse and weak, "Thanks to my sizable Aura reserves, I'm still alive." His words were cut off and he added in a smaller voice, "Barely."
The girl was too ashamed to speak. She retrieved her spear and put her arm under his and across his back to help him walk.
"I should be back to normal soon." As they walked in a random direction, the spartan could feel his Aura regenerating rapidly, helping to ease her distress.
She made her way through the woods silently and quickly, not being spotted by any Grimm. As she went along, her keen ears picked up voices coming from ahead of her. She scaled a tree after confirming that it had enough cover to keep herself concealed. Two beings stood below her, only thirty feet away.
The first one she inspected was a redhead with a shield and spear on her back. The second…
No… Why is he here? Her eyes sprang wide as the familiar clumsy blonde walked with the help of the redhead. At first she was not sure if it was him, but her worst fears came true as the emblem on his sheath revealed itself to her.
"Jaune…" Was all the raven-haired girl uttered quietly before the view of the two became obscured by branches. She ran off in the opposite direction from her childhood friend, determined to not confront him. It was obvious to her that she must not form feelings for the boy once again, or else she would suffer like she had as a child.
Eventually the sounds of explosions and a yelling girl caused her ears to perk up and pursue where the noises came from.
Jaune was now able to walk on his own, not needing the help of his new partner. She had not said a word since the accident. He felt bad for her, all she wanted to do was help.
"You know Pyrrha, you saved my life back there."
He received no response, her blank stare aimed at the ground.
"And I'm extremely thankful and owe you one…"
Nothing.
"And I'm even more thankful to have you as my partner."
She looked up at him curiously. He had a silly grin that she couldn't ignore. She smiled lightly and he patted her shoulder and added, "I think I'm going to like this partnership. We go well together." His kind words had unintentionally caused her face to redden slightly. He knew that she cared about his safety and it was a mystery to him on why.
"Wait come back!" A squeaky girl's voice yelled.
Shortly after the shout, the two partners spotted Weiss hurriedly walking away from Ruby, who was chasing after the heiress. Weiss walked up to Jaune and had a jealous pout as she noticed who his partner was.
"Could we please trade?" She practically begged him.
He chuckled and smiled knowingly at his friend, "Weiss, come on. I know that she's younger than the rest of us, but Ruby is here for a reason. Ozpin would not have allowed her into Beacon early if he hadn't seen potential in her."
"But— "
Jaune cut her off before she could complain anymore, "She's not that bad. She's pretty funny actually." Ruby had caught up to the other three. "Now, let's make our way to wherever the forest temple is."
The four eventually reached the temple and were surprised to see Yang and her partner there, already choosing their relics. Her partner shied away from the group, trying to avoid the attention of a certain blonde knight.
Jaune was to oblivious to notice who that partner happened to be, and he was focused on the mission mainly. It didn't help that they all were distracted by a booming explosion.
An Ursa emerged from the forest edge and collapsed to reveal an orange haired girl who apparently was riding it.
A winded and stressed black haired boy came out shortly after. "Nora, don't ever do that again…" He sounded worried and struggled to speak between loud breaths.
The other six had stared, absolutely stunned as the wild girl apparently named Nora ran over to grab her own relic.
The sharp cracks of trees being crushed and splintered drew the attention of the young Huntsmen back to the forest edge. A Death Stalker suddenly burst through and began charging at them. An excited glint in Ruby's eyes hinted at what she was about to do.
The redhead shot toward the Grimm with unreal speed, a scythe in hand.
"Ruby!" Yang was too slow to stop her. The girl attempted to slice through the form of the beast, but was easily knocked back. Her chances of defeating a Grimm of this size were slim to none.
The little reaper began to run away, not paying any attention to the Nevermore approaching from above. With a flutter of its wings, a volley of large sharp feathers hurled themselves at the girl, snagging her red cloak and tacking it to the ground.
The cloak was too durable for her to rip away, she was stuck, waiting for the Death Stalker to viciously rip her apart. Though before any of that could occur, a streak of white showed an heiress gliding to Ruby's aid, saving her from the clutches of the monster.
The two shaken girls returned as fast as possible, Yang greeted Ruby with a sisterly hug and yelled, "I'm so glad you're ok!"
Weiss nodded and said, "There's no point in wasting time, our objective is right in front of us."
Ruby supported her partner saying, "She's right. Our mission is to grab a relic and return to the Cliffs. There's no point in fighting these things."
Jaune smiled, "Now that's an idea I'm fine with."
Jaune and Ruby ran over to collect a relic, he grabbed a white rook, she chose a white knight. Neither of them had chosen their specific pieces for a particular reason. As they acquired them, the two smiled at each other.
There was no time to sit idly by, they had to get moving. "Time we left." The black haired boy spoke calmly and clearly.
All of the teens made their way to the crumbling bridge they had to cross in order to escape the woods. All except for Yang and her partner.
Yang was smiling proudly at her little sister when her partner asked, "What is it?"
"Nothing…" She was overjoyed for her sister; her dreams were finally coming true. Then the two were on their way to catch up with the others.
Once they all reached the bridge, the first to cross were Ruby, Weiss, Yang and her partner. Before the four others could cross, the Nevermore from earlier crashed straight into the bridge, causing a portion of it to collapse, cutting the other four off.
To make matters worse, the Death Stalker had broken free of its icy prison and now was presented in front of them. Ready to strike.
"Let's go!" Jaune yelled as their four rushed toward it, weapons at the ready. The first strike by the monster was planned to hit Pyrrha, but she easily deflected it with her shield and countered with a slash. As it went in for another attack on her, Jaune came to her aid and knocked the claw back, surprising the spartan with his substantial strength. With the window Jaune opened for her, Pyrrha was able to avoid the creature and attack its face.
Somehow, the black haired ninja had made his way up onto the tail of the Death Stalker and peppered it with his green bullets. Nora launched grenades at the claws whenever they attempted to harm her allies.
Pyrrha lancing her spear into the Grimm's eye caused it to forcefully fling the ninja off of its tail, smashing him into a wall. Nora yelled, "Ren!" As soon as he slid down the wall and slumped on the ground.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune hoped that his partner had noticed the stinger about to fall off.
"Done!" She hurled the round shield at the stinger and severed it, making it fail into the head of the beast. For some strange reason, the shield revolved back around, right back to Pyrrha's hand, but Jaune had no time to ponder it.
"Nora!" Jaune called for the orange haired girl. It was as if everyone was able to read his mind to foretell their next move in the masterplan.
"You've got it!" Her yell was in a cheery voice, almost too chipper for the entire situation. She leapt off Pyrrha's shield and soared from it, high into the air, then plummeted down to nail the stinger deeper into the Death Stalker's skull. During the entirety of this time her beaming face only grew wider. After she hammered it in she jumped onto land and the beast collapsed along with the remaining ruins of the bridge.
Immediately following the brilliant display of teamwork, the four regrouped in hopes to witness an even greater one. But it appeared that the other four teens had already dispatched their foe.
Ruby stood atop the cliff, staring at something up there with her. It looked as if she was petrified in fear. Something wrong is going on up there…
Jaune's mind raced and quickly pieced together a plan to reach the top. "Pyrrha, get ready for me to boost off your shield, Nora, you're going to launch me off of it." He looked to where Weiss was at and called out to her, "Weiss, I'm gonna need some of your Glyphs!"
Pyrrha positioned herself at the edge of the broken bridge, reluctant to go along with her partner's plans. She tilted her shield toward Jaune and he began to sprint toward it, Nora was directly behind him, hammer at the ready.
When Jaune's feet made contact with the shield, he perfectly timed his jump with the impact of Nora's hammer on the surface. The combination successfully launched the knight through the air, projected in an arc to the cliff.
The momentum he had ran out, he was so close, yet it was not enough.
Thankfully, Weiss was able to form an intricate snowflake shaped platform for him to land on. The girl formed multiple platforms for him to reach his destination and by the time he reached it, she was ready to collapse, her Aura was drained.
Jaune's hands clung to the edge of the cliff and it took all of his strength to pull himself up. Ruby looked completely frozen, her face paled in horror.
It was then that he realized what had caused her fearful state. A King Taijitu was slithering and coiling right in front of her, and by the looks of it, this was not the first encounter it has had with a human. If the snake had been younger, it would not have been a problem for the little girl. But this one appeared to be wizened and more aware due to its long life and past experiences, he could tell because of the long, protruding spikes that were now retracting back into the scaly skin it wore. Only aged types of this Grimm grew those on their spines. Each spike on the creature contained a toxin, capable of killing an ordinary person, or severely injuring a being protected by Aura. Since the spikes were retracting, it meant they had recently been used, and were in preparation for another round.
"Ruby! You have to move!" The redhead had no response to his words, she looked sickly and weak. One of her tiny hands clung to her right shoulder desperately.
Jaune sprinted at her and lightly shoved her out of the way, attempting to distract the two-headed snake from the girl. He took out Crocea Mors and bashed it against his shield in a loud taunt. "Come on! I bet I'm tastier!" Was all his fearing mind could manifest. The last thing that Ruby remembered before passing out was the white knight protecting her.
The first to try and snap at Jaune was the white head. He instinctively rolled out of the way and had barely any time to react as the black head snapped on his shield arm. It tried to close its mouth on the shield, but no amount of force was able to crush the strange material. The special shield was lodged in the serpent's mouth securely, propping it open. One of the sharp fangs inside began to push into his arm, the brunt of the pain was absorbed by his drained Aura.
Jaune retrieved his arm from the mouth, deciding to leave the shield inside, and spun around to have the white head bash sharply into his chest, sending him forcefully backwards into the ground.
He felt like his chest had been shattered, he couldn't get up. His body ached after the long day, his Aura was wilting away, and he was exhausted. But the desire to protect his friend urged him to rise again.
He wielded Crocea Mors and charged valiantly at the white headed portion of the King Taijitu, the other segment of it was still attempting to gnaw through the indestructible shield. The head jabbed at Jaune but he succeeded in leaping over and landing on top as it thrashed about, straining to eject the passenger from his spot.
Jaune was clinging to the serpent for his life, his opportunity arose when the thrashing ceased momentarily. He raised his glowing white sword with both hands and sank it deeply into the Grimm's skull. It seared right through the evil flesh. A sigh of relief was released by the boy as the creature's body went limp.
Now the next one…
Unfortunately for the blonde, the remaining enemy learned how to spit the lodged shield from its mouth. It slithered toward the knight as he charged right back at it. At the last second before contact he slid by the left side of the snake and sliced its side wide open. It had dropped limply, Jaune assumed the entire King Taijitu was done for. He didn't observe that the Grimm did not faded into dust like they usually did after death…
The white knight was a glowing blur as he ran over to Ruby's side. It was growing dark outside, making his dazzlingly bright Aura stand out. A sort of beacon formed around him, this all seemed too familiar for the boy.
Jaune knelt beside the injured girl and spotted a torn spot on her top, located on her right shoulder. Blood was slowly trickling from it and Jaune was unable to tell if the girl was breathing, but he sensed her remaining Aura and that was a good sign. Her face was deathly pale as the blonde ran his glowing hand over her shoulder and extracted a thorn injected there by the snake. He applied pressure to the wound and his pure white Aura poured into her and surrounded her body. "Don't worry Ruby, you'll be fine…" His whisper was meant to soothe him more than her, "She'll be ok… Please don't fail me now..." He encouraged his powers and hoped that by some miracle they would succeed in healing her.
His Aura had been drained to the last percent when he felt a searing pain shoot through his side and a large thorn prick his skin. The triumphant hiss reached his ears from beside him.
A pyre of uncontrollable white light exploded into the sky, and in the blink of an eye, it vanished into the young night. The poisoned and defeated boy collapsed beside his friend and allowed the darkness of what he assumed was death, swallow him.
"Was it worth it?" Jaune knew this voice well by now, it was his evil tormentor.
"What?"
"You gave your life for her…" An irritating laugh came from the amber eyed woman.
"I-I'm dead?"
Her disturbing cackle grew louder as his broken face began to show. "No child, but lives will be taken, who will it be Jaune?" His mind began to race; he didn't understand why this was happening to him." You, or them?"
Jaune noticed the violet eyed girl appear beside the mysterious woman. She was slightly shorter than the knight and looked as old as him. Her blonde hair flowed down to her waist and her skin was slightly tanned. For some odd reason, her face was full of shame, a frown that confused the boy.
"What do you mean?"
Once again one of his friends blinked into existence before him.
The spartan was on her knees and looked helpless, her gaze directed toward a shadow figure in front of her who held a glass bow with a drawn arrow.
He knew whatever he did would not help.
"Do you believe in destiny?" The weak words were uttered from Pyrrha immediately before an arrow pierced her chest, causing her head to limply slant downward. The words regarding destiny burnt inside of his mind, he would never forget them.
"NO!" His insides began to burn, tears welled in his eyes, his heart felt as if it ceased all together. Jaune's body glowed with his signature, ethereal white glow. He was not sure why his connection to the redhead was strong enough to trigger this form.
A shadow hand then pressed to the side of the girl's head, incinerating her entire body, leaving behind her bronze circlet. Her ashes were scattered in the wind; all the boy could do was attempt to catch the ashes in an effort to mend her, but he miserably failed.
Jaune fell to his knees in defeat and clung to the headdress, holding it preciously while shaking. He whimpered in pain, "Pyrrha…"
"Impressive..." The amber eyed villain smiled at her success in evoking his power. "I look forward to our next meeting…"
The blonde knight was woken but unable to open his eyes. He heard agitated yelling all around him but could not distinguish their origin or what they said. It felt as if someone was carrying him in a rush. He was unable to move any limb and shortly fell back asleep.
Once he woke again it seemed more calm. All he heard were multiple hushed whispers and an annoying beeping coming from his side. The abilities to move and open his eyes were still unavailable to him. This time, he could feel a soft padding underneath him, calling him back to his slumber.
Jaune was called back to consciousness and wondered if his eyes would open. The injured blonde felt a hand on his, it was warm with a tight grip. Then he realized that there was another being with him, on his other side was a soft body that had an arm resting on his chest. He groaned gently and gave a slight squeeze to the hand holding his.
"J-Jaune?" The heiress's soft voice squeaked.
He felt the girl lying beside him shift in bed. When his eyes opened he stared into those caring winter eyes that he had known for so long. It was obvious that she had been crying, this being shown by the tear-soaked spot on his chest and her dampened face.
The hand holding his began to tighten, calling him to turn his head to the other side in search of who it was. He was surprised to see that the hand belonged to the blonde, Yang.
She had also been crying. Her eyes stared into his with a look of true concern. "I-I should go now… I just wanted to make sure you were fine." Her voice sounded much more fragile than her usual. It was abnormal to see the usually upbeat girl in such a gloomy mood. The girl began to stand and turned away from them.
"Oh no you're not. You sat here the whole time with me, it's obvious that your reason for staying is deeper than what you say." His icy friend's tone was accusatory but not as sharp as usual. Weiss had mercy for the other girl due to the recent events involving her sister.
Yang exhaled deeply as another tear pattered slowly down her face. She couldn't resist turning around and rushing to the boy to hug him along with Weiss. The two girls were crushing the air out of his frail body.
"Guys…" His strained, raspy voice struggled with that first word.
"Sorry!" They both simultaneously whined in embarrassment as they loosened their grasp, though they still held onto him.
His attempt at a chuckle resulted in a wheeze. "What happened?" He could sense that his Aura levels were still low.
Weiss was the first to explain softly, being mindful of Jaune's predicament, "Once we were all able to scale the cliff, we saw that you had defeated half of a King Taijitu, the other was barely alive."
Yang continued, "Just as we got there one of those toxic barb things shot into you, causing a huge beam of light to shoot out of you." Weiss had explained Jaune's mysterious abilities and how he saved her while the boy slept.
"Before we were able to assist in any way, Glynda arrived and finished the Grimm off. She commanded us to carry you and Ruby back to the school…" His old friend's voice quieted down at the conclusion. "I thought you were dead…" She buried her face in his chest to hide her returning spring of tears, clinging to his hoodie as if trying to tear it off. He soothingly stroked her frosty hair in order to calm her. It made sense that she was greatly disturbed, he was the lonely girl's first true friend, and he had saved her life.
"You almost died to save Ruby," Yang had a tone of unending gratitude. Jaune spotted tears welling in her eyes, a single glistening drop flowed down her cheek and he wiped it away.
"And I'd do it again in a heartbeat." He sounded stronger and his face of pain turned into a small goofy grin. "You're my friends, and I'll always protect you no matter what."
Yang's heart burned with a warm, delightful, yet unidentifiable feeling. Those words meant the world to her. He had a good and pure heart, one that was big enough to sacrifice everything, just to save her sister. She would never forget the white knight's dumb, yet heroic act.
Jaune never imagined of being in a position like this before. He was lying in bed with two amazing girls holding onto him. He loved being able to show his friends how much they meant to him.
Yang suddenly broke his thought process and locked eyes with him, speaking carefully, "Thank you, Jaune."
He nodded then smiled humbly in reply. Then the boy wondered, "How long was I out?" His head tilted in curiosity and he continued to stroke Weiss's hair.
"Um… Two weeks…" Yang was unsure of how the knight would take this information. She knelt to his left side while Weiss laid to his right.
His eyes widened and he frantically asked, "Did I miss the sorting of teams?! Who am I with?! Who are you guys wi—" The alarmed blonde was silenced by her finger over his lips.
"Don't sweat it Jauney, Oz postponed the whole ceremony until you were able to attend. We've just been rooming with our partners for the time being." These words pacified him and he stared at Yang's finger that remained on his lips.
The blonde beauty poked his nose lightly and added, "Come on Weiss, it's getting late, and Jaune still has one last visitor. Plus, I want to sleep in a bed instead of a chair."
"Must we leave so soon? What if he needs us?" Weiss lifted her head and stared into Jaune's eyes with a pout. He replied by petting her head, surprisingly she didn't scold him for it like she usually did.
"He'll be fine, trust me, he's stronger than he says." Yang shot an admiring look at the boy.
Weiss rose and kissed his cheek softly, lingering longer than she did in the past. Then she followed the blonde with a whimper as they left Jaune in silent thought of who the visitor could be. Maybe Pyrrha, it would make sense for my partner to visit me.
This conjecture flew out of the window as a blur of red zoomed through the empty medical wing and leapt onto Jaune's bed.
"Jaune!" The red reaper clung to him with all of her strength. "Are you ok?!" Her squeaky voice was cute and he gasped for air.
"Rubes… Air…" His plead facilitated in her loosening her grip. She was surprisingly strong for her size. He raised a hand to ruffle her hair in a tease. "Enough about me, I'm tired of me, are you ok?"
A nod started her off, "Yeah, all thanks to you." She said in a strangely tranquil voice. "Whatever you did, it cleansed the poison out of me. I woke up and was laying in my normal bed, completely healthy." Ruby shrugged and her face showed gratitude to her valiant savior.
"I'm just happy you're alright." His sincere smiled beamed and he pulled her shoulder closer to him. "If you would have gotten seriously injured or worse…" The previous smile was whisked away by seriousness, "I wouldn't be able to live with myself."
"Well I'm fine, trust me Jaune!" Her calming smile did well at reassuring the worried boy.
"How did the stinger break your Aura?"
She knelt and looked disappointed, "I took a couple hard hits from the Death Stalker, then I used up almost all my energy climbing the cliff... By the time it attacked, I was already vulnerable for it." The girl's face seemed to regain some of its happiness, "But I promise to not get in another situation and force you to sacrifice your life for me ever again in my whole entire life!" Her words were jumbled and spoken without any pauses.
"Good," he said after finally soaking in what she said, then looked up to the clock, it was getting late, "You should head back to your dorm, or else your sister will kill me." He looked actually afraid of that possibility.
The redhead groaned in irritation, "But why can't we have a sleepover!?" Her cute pout was almost enough to convince him, but he remained strong.
"Ruby…" He used his best stern voice and tousled her hair again. "Please?"
She nodded and conceded, he was not going to permit her stay the night with him.
With a light peck on his cheek, the young girl was on her way.
A nurse that looked the age of Glynda came into view, her eyes were aqua and she had curled black hair that reached midway down her back. "Your friends care a lot about you. The blonde and white haired girls refused to leave your side. The only reason they were excused from class is due to their effect on you..." She paused and seemed greatly interested, "It seems that those two being in such a close proximity with you boosted the regeneration of your Aura." The nurse seemed confused by the anomaly, but Jaune not as much. He still had other matters on his mind, it warmed his heart hearing how much his friends cared for him.
"The other four were here after classes until it was time for bed, when they left, the blonde slept in the chair, and the girl with winter hair insisted that she slept by your side."
An affectionate smile played on his face, then it dawned on him. Wait… Blonde and white, that makes three including me. The other four, that makes seven. Who was the eighth member with them during Initiation? And why hadn't he or she come with the rest?
The nurse interrupted his thoughts, "Your Aura levels have been rising from the critical state you were in. That Grimm did a number on you, thankfully you're strong. I advise you to not try anything reckless like this again, and to rest for the next couple of days. You are permitted to go to classes but no combat practice!" She had a hardened and stern look that showed him she was serious.
He nodded in reply.
"Tomorrow you are free to go, now get some rest." She began to leave the added, "Oh, and try to stay close to people you have a positive emotional connection with, like Blondie and the Schnee. Doing that might help the recovery." Another nod from him sufficed as a response.
Well Jaune, I'd say this was overall a good day. He smiled proudly to himself and then the overpowering drowsiness came over him. Umm… Two weeks actually. He mentally corrected.
Jaune had just exited the medical wing early in the morning and was headed back to his room where his partner was at. It would help if I asked where it was… He thought as he wandered the halls aimlessly.
When he turned a corner he collided with someone and they both fell on their backs clumsily. He recomposed himself quickly and offered a hand to the girl. She accepted it and spoke in a wonderful accent, "I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."
Their eyes met and both widened in shock at the realization. Her glimmering violet orbs made his mind clouded, just like the ones in his dream. She resembled the exact same blonde girl from the nightmare. He held his head and groaned.
She immediately ceased her effects on him. "I must go now." Her unease was apparent as she sped off.
"Wait!" The boy yelled as he tried to tail after the mysterious student. He once again stumbled into someone and fell over.
"Jaune!" He recognized the exuberant voice, it was Nora.
"Are you feeling better?" Ren asked in his composed tone.
Jaune stood up and scratched the back of his head, attempting to decipher what all just occurred. "Yeah I'm fine. Just have to take it easy for a while."
"Oh! You're probably looking for your room! Come on!" The energetic orange haired girl yanked him along, leading him to a room at the end of a hall on the left side. Before Jaune could thank her, the two partners had disappeared. Why are they awake this early?
"Well… That was a thing." He huffed a great breath and opened the door that seemingly belonged to his duo. All thoughts of the violet eyed girl were pushed to the back of his mind.
The room darkened from a lack of light. It looked to be simple, four beds, four desks to work at, and short dressers for their clothing, no decorations were shown. These are probably meant for teams once they are organized.
His bed in the temporary room was to the far left, he could tell because Crocea Mors laid on it, gleaming slightly despite the dark of the room. He made his way over to the dresser beside his bed and was surprised to see that his spare outfits were already neatly folded inside.
A creak came from behind him in the room. He turned to investigate and made out the form of Pyrrha sitting in the bed next to his, her back leaning against the headboard. Had she been there the whole time?
"Pyrrha?" The taken aback boy walked over to her and sat against the headboard beside the distressed girl. His warm body made the slightest bit of contact with hers, his arm resting next to hers, sending lovely tingles down her spine. "Are you ok?"
The spartan was already dressed in her daily attire, staring at her knees as she hugged them to her chest. "I've almost lost you twice already..." A frown tugged at her lips, she was disappointed in herself for not assisting him earlier.
"I might not be good at fighting, but I excel at avoiding death!" His joke caused the redhead to giggle softly, she pulled up a hand to stiffle it. Why does he think little of himself? He is obviously an exceptional fighter.
Jaune tilted his head at her and smiled at her warmly, the way she laughed like that was cute, I could get used to that.
"Just promise me that next time you try to play hero, you let me know. That way I can devise a safer plan." He nodded in agreement.
"Come on, I'll show you around." The spartan took his hand with an grin and began to lead him along. She was eager to finally spend some time with her partner.
"And this is my favorite spot." Pyrrha stated as she looked around, taking in the scene. They were at a different portion of the academy's cliffs. This one had trees near it, providing a cool shade from the hot sun. There were flowers hugging the edge and birds fluttering between nests. In the center of this flower patch was a small pond, this served as a home for minor fish. Jaune could tell why she enjoyed this place.
"How'd you find this place?" He began to walk to the flowers.
"Just wandering around, I was rather lonely without my partner, so I had time to explore." She looked at the ground, still not over the entire incident. How could he risk so much for someone else?
The boy plucked a deep red rose and admired its beauty. He concealed it behind his back, out of her view, and walked slowly to the redhead. A scheming smile told her that something was going on.
"Jaune?" Her voice was nervous due to her suspicions.
The knight extended his arm out, presenting the flower to her. His smile had turned humble and appreciative, "I truly am sorry, accept this as a token of my gratitude, dear Pyrrha." After the words his signature goofy smile appeared and he was blushing a hue similar to the rose's.
The beautiful girl found his clumsy and shy nature cute. She accepted the flower and reddened at the blonde's kind gesture. "Thank you Jaune." She had no clue how to react, never before had a boy treated her this way.
"No problem partner," He tilted his head and admired her, he was extremely lucky to have her as a partner.
"Teams will be selected soon. It would be wise to not be late for that." Pyrrha flashed a smile up at him that he returned immediately.
"Ok, but you're leading the way. I have no clue where the auditorium is!"
The four students approached the stage as the headmaster called out, "Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie." They lined up on the stage and Ozpin continued, "The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you shall work together as Team JNPR. Led by… Jaune Arc!"
The last words left the blonde boy utterly astounded. "Huh? L-led by?" He stammered.
"Congratulations, young man."
Pyrrha delivered a congratulatory punch to his shoulder that knocked him over. She immediately helped him up and apologized as the crowd laughed.
The white haired headmaster proceeded to the last team, "And finally: Blake Belladonna…" The rest of his words were a blur to Jaune as his heart skipped a beat. He stared at the raven-haired girl before him. She had grown into a beautiful young woman and wore her exact outfit from the past, same bow and all. Her blank stare was locked on the knight.
The blonde boy approach her slowly on stage, he was still in shock from the unexpected reunion with his first friend. "B-Blake?" Weiss recognized the girl as soon as Jaune had, yet she held her place silently.
Her expression remained cool, like she wasn't fazed at all. "What do you want?" She sounded unexcited to be with him again.
Jaune felt his heart begin to crack and he could hear his blood rushing in his ears. "D-do you remember me?" His voice trembled and all attention was focused on the two.
"Yes. And I wish I didn't." Her voice was ice cold. She had isolated herself from all people, refusing to get attached or to trust anyone since the incident. Commitment only meant pain in the end and she never wanted to have a repeat of her past.
The room was entirely silent, even Ozpin narrowed his eyes at the two, curious of what had happened between the teens.
"But Bla— "
"I don't care about you anymore Jaune, the past is the past." His pain was unbearable, tears welled in his eyes but he refused to let them flow. She clenched her fists and ended with an outburst of pent-up anger that she could repress no longer, "Grow up, stop living in stupid fantasies!" She left the stage in a brisk walk, leaving behind a greatly confused and awestruck audience. Such a joyful moment had turned dark rather quickly.
The knight closed his eyes and wished that he had never survived through Initiation.
"Jaune?" His partner's innocent and sympathetic voice rang out from behind him. Her hand rested on his shoulder to show him she would support him.
Releasing anger on Jaune like that was something nobody should ever do, it was completely wretched considering the loyalty and compassion he showed to others.
Jaune felt it once more. The emptiness and sadness returned to him, the same feeling from when his father was murdered and Blake left him. He began to swiftly walk from the scene, then broke out into a sprint, causing the four girls who cared most about him to call out for him. He didn't care if he got in trouble, his only desire was to get away.
Well that was one way to have Initiation. Let me know how you guys felt about that chapter in a review, or ask me any questions you have. Or just tell me what you like/dislike if you feel like it! :D I thank you all for your favorites, follows and reviews, they push me to keep on writing the story.
I must hand some credit to JMK2 for giving me suggestions and ideas, I'm incredibly thankful for all the help and motivation he's given me.
Chapter 4 on the way.