So I know I said I'd have this uploaded earlier this week but some stuff came up. My bad. I probably won't be able to update until about next Friday (At least that's what day it'll be where I live).
Enjoy the story!
Jaune walked across the school grounds to the practice arena that he and Blake had decided would be their designated training area. Classes were over for the day and Jaune had bid his teammates a goodbye when he had dropped off his stuff in their dorm and changed into his armor.
"I'm off." He told them, opening the door to leave.
"Good luck." Pyrrha had told him with a wave.
"Have fun." Ren wished his leader, not even looking up from his homework.
Nora, who was lying upside down on her bed looked at Jaune before he closed the door. "If you don't live, can I take your bed and combine both of ours to make one big bed?" She asked with a little too much enthusiasm for Jaune's liking.
"No!" He had told her sternly before shutting the door.
Jaune sighed while he pushed open the door of the practice arena. Knowing Nora she had probably ignored his order as soon as his footsteps had receded down the hall. Jaune saw Blake just off to the side of the arena just as he half expected her to be, but he stopped for a second when he saw a familiar monkey tail.
"Sun?" He called the monkey Faunus' name in confusion.
Sun, who was sitting next to Blake, grinned when he saw Jaune. "There you are! Glad you showed up. Neptune would kill me if he knew I didn't ask you two days in a row." Truthfully he had no clue who Jaune was until yesterday. The blondie had completely gone unnoticed by Sun until he made sure to remember Jaune's name and face.
Jaune remembered Blake saying that Sun had something that he needed to talk to Jaune about when they had been in the cafeteria. And was it something about Neptune?
"Well, he's here." Blake said with some annoyance in her voice. "Ask away. We have to get started."
"Right!" Sun said while standing. "Neptune and I-" Blake cleared her throat as she sent a look at Sun. "Actually, just Neptune," Sun corrected himself while rubbing the back of his head. "And I totally agree, by the way! He was wondering if you and your team would come with us to the city when we ask Team RWBY."
Jaune tilted his head. "Soooo Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Sun, and Neptune. That's who you are hoping will be on this little trip to the city?"
"Yep!" Sun said with a cheesy grin. "Since we aren't from Vale we were hoping to have some fun hanging out. But we just haven't been able to yet because, well…" Sun trailed off as he snuck a look at Blake, who met his gaze with a raised eyebrow.
"I distinctly remember you saying that you didn't want to be around my Team in the city because stuff always explodes." Blake said with her usual sharp tongue.
"Yeah but…" Sun trailed off as he looked for a way out of his predicament. He seemed to find it because his face lit up. "Neptune was hoping that maybe Jaune and his Team could keep you girls from going too crazy."
"What is my Team?" Jaune asked, breaking into the conversation again with a fake exasperated tone. "Are we just Team RWBY's leash holders?"
"Hey!" Blake interjected, a bit of Weiss slipping into her voice.
Both boys ignored her though as they began to talk again.
"So is that a yes?" Sun asked Jaune, hope clear in his voice.
"Maybe." Jaune replied with a light smile. "In the end it's not up to just me. My Team may be the deciding factor in this decision. Have you asked the rest of Team RWBY?"
"No. Blake was going to ask if they wanted to go when she gets back to her dorm tonight."
Jaune nodded. "When are you guys planning this little trip?"
"How's tomorrow?" Sun asked. "Transportation to the city has been really strict the past few days. Y'know with the Breach and all. Neptune said that it may be easier to get there now since things have calmed down a bit."
"Ok." Jaune said with a shrug. "Sounds fun but I'll ask my Team first and give Blake a definite answer later."
"Cool!" Sun gave Jaune a thumbs up before waving to Blake. "See ya, Blake!"
Blake gave him what Jaune could only assume was an affectionate smile. It was hard to tell because the corners of her mouth barely twitched at all. As soon as Sun had left, Jaune turned to Blake.
"So what was the real reason my Team was invited, Blake?" Jaune felt flattered by the monkey boy's words but he had his doubts that his Team would be able to hold back Team RWBY if it went down. Take the food fight, for instance.
"It sounds like," Blake said while standing and grabbing Gambol Shroud. "Neptune and Sun are trying to get me and Weiss out on a date of some sort and it seems like they think we'd be more willing to accept if we had other friends around us."
"Are you?" Jaune asked, not being able to keep the question from leaving his mouth.
Blake sighed. "I don't know. Weiss might accept Neptune's invitation if it was just the two of them. The rest of us would probably seem like an annoyance to her."
Me especially. Jaune thought to himself bitterly.
"As for myself, well, let's just say I have a lot to take care of at the moment." Blake's eyes seemed to darken for a moment and she looked the way she had when she appeared sleep deprived not too long ago.
"So should I not ask my Team?" Jaune asked, feeling like she had subtly hinted that he was one of the things she "had to take care of".
"No." Blake said, turning to him. "You should ask them. I'm asking my Team after all. They may like to tag along if your Team does as well."
"Ok." Jaune said with a shrug while he drew his sword. "But I don't think my Team will be able to help much if you girls go out of control." He told her truthfully.
"Oh, I don't know." Blake said when she got into the center of the arena. She drew the blade of Gambol Shroud and pointed it at Jaune, who was still off to the side of the arena. "If you jumped in the way of a Beowolf while Ruby was charging at it, I'm pretty sure she'd stop."
"Really?" Jaune said with a hopeful look.
"Or she could be going too fast to stop." Blake finished her morbid thought.
Jaune paled at the idea of his own body being cut in half along with a Beowolf while Ruby sped by in a blur of petals. Jaune shook the thought and expanded his shield. He didn't take a step forward yet. He was on the edge of the arena and was mentally preparing himself before stepping forward.
Remember Jaune, you aren't her friend when you're training. She's your teacher. Jaune repeated that line to himself like a mantra six times before stepping into the arena and pointing his sword at Blake.
Jaune didn't waste anytime getting into the stance Blake had him in yesterday. She nodded in silent approval. This time Jaune didn't observe her carefully the way he had last time, instead he took one step forward and stabbed right at Blake's torso with his sword. She knocked it away with a flick of her wrist, not even phased by the attack. Jaune quickly took two steps back before raising his shield slightly to defend against a possible counter attack, making sure his shield wasn't too close to his face. Blake's expression was as neutral as ever as she still kept her blade pointed at Jaune.
Jaune gritted his teeth. Was she mocking him? He took two steps forward and stabbed at Blake again, choosing to aim for her right arm. With another flick of her wrist Blake sent Jaune's blade to the side. However this time she used her free arm to slightly push Jaune's shield out of the way so that she was past both his sword and shield. Jaune's eyes widened for an instant as he realized what had happened before he received a punch to the stomach.
Jaune fell to the ground clutching his stomach. He opened his eyes to see Blake already next to him, offering a hand. "That's no good, Jaune." She told him.
Jaune sat up and looked up at Blake who still had her hand held out to him. "What did I do?" He asked.
Blake ignored his question for a moment to grab his hand and pull him up in a surprising show of strength. "You let me get past both your sword and shield." She said, adopting her teacher tone. "Once I get past your killing range then you're pretty much dead." She explained to him.
"My killing what?" He asked.
"Killing range." She said again. Blake took his hand that held his sword and had him hold it straight out in front of him. "Hold your arm here." She commanded before backing off so that the point of Jaune's sword hovered just around her heart. "Now do you think you can kill me, Jaune?"
Jaune looked at her in sincere confusion. Why did he feel like she wasn't talking about fighting Grimm? He gulped before nodding.
"That's your killing range Jaune." She said, backing away some more. "Anything at the tip of your sword and along the blade is your killing range. But once someone gets past it then you're dead meat."
"So," Jaune began, his throat feeling rather dry at the deadly serious look in Blake's eyes. "Your 'killing range' is-"
"That's right." Blake said, unraveling a bit of the black ribbon she kept wrapped around her arms. "Anything that my ribbon can reach is my killing range. Depending on a person's weapon, they can have a long killing range or a close killing range." She looked back at Jaune, who looked rather nervous. She slowly walked forward in a relaxed manner. "Remember Jaune," She said, getting closer to him. "Never let me get past your killing range."
Jaune was about to nod before he saw a slight movement of her right arm. On instinct Jaune jumped back only to see Gambol Shroud's blade slicing where he had been only a second ago. She had gotten past his killing range! Even after she had told him not to, he had allowed her to do it anyway. It was his fault for letting his guard down! He had been looking too much at her eyes that were sharper and narrower than they usually were. It was as if they belonged to another person.
"Good job on dodging that, Jaune." She complimented him, her eyes still as dangerous as ever. "But you let me get inside your killing range!"
Jaune breathed heavily. He had actually felt her blade brush the threads of his hoodie when he had jumped back. She really could have hurt him!
"Don't let it happen again!" She shouted, dashing toward him and giving him no time to speak or think.
Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren stopped at the statue at the front of the school. They were all wearing running clothes and were all sweating to varying degrees. Ren was hunched forward, using his knees as support while Nora had her hands on her back and was stretching backwards while taking huge breaths.
"Good job, you two." Pyrrha complimented them after she took a drink from a water bottle she had. "I think we can get a few more laps in before Jaune is done training with Blake."
"Remind me again…" Ren said, holding up a hand. "Why are we running laps around the school?"
"Because we need to build more endurance!" Pyrrha said with her usual upbeat tone. She seemed to be only slightly winded after running ten laps around the school. "And stand up straight, Ren! It's easier for you to draw in more breath if you're standing properly."
Ren groaned as he stood up straight. He seriously hated it when Pyrrha went "Mom Mode" on Nora, Jaune, and himself sometimes. Seriously, she was only a teenager. Did she really need maternal instincts this early in her life? Oh well. She wouldn't be Pyrrha if she was any different so he couldn't complain much.
Nora snatched the water bottle from Pyrrha and took a big gulp. "Ahh." She wiped her mouth before speaking. "So what else do you have planned, O mighty champion?" Nora said with a sarcastic tone. "I'm getting tired of running. Let's go smash some stuff already!"
"I actually agree with Nora on this one, Pyrrha." Ren gave his opinion while grabbing the water bottle before finishing it off. "It's a bit difficult for Nora and I to change our fighting styles this late in our lives. I'm good at ending fights quickly and Nora ends fights by overpowering her opponent."
"But we're talking about fighting White Fang here, not Grimm." Pyrrha said. "We all said that if Jaune wants to survive a fight with the White Fang then he needs to change. Are you saying that we shouldn't be doing the same?"
They both shared a guilty glance before turning to Pyrrha. "What do you want us to do then?" Nora asked.
Pyrrha took a deep breath. She was glad these two could be reasoned with. "Ren, your endurance needs the most work. If a fight gets dragged out then you get sloppy. That could be dangerous. Nora, you… nevermind. I'll tell you later." Pyrrha promised her friend.
Nora gave Pyrrha a strange look before smirking. "While we're standing around her, I bet Jaune is training to leave us in the dust. C'mon, Ren! One more lap! You can do it!"
Ren groaned as both girls pushed him along the perimeter of Beacon on one last lap. He hoped Jaune had it better than he did.
Jaune jumped out of the way as Gambol Shroud fell toward him. The blade of the weapon embedding itself in the ground where he had been. Jaune thanked the stars that he had been able to dodge that strike. Blake gradually began to fight more and more aggressively as their spar continued. However, Jaune knew that she was nowhere close to going all out. He hadn't even been able to get in close for an attack in the past few minutes! He was just dodging for all he was worth and Blake was really testing his limits. Each dodge felt a bit more sluggish, every breath hurt his lungs, his arms had gone numb, and his sweat had begun to drip into his eyes. And he was surprised to find that he was actually finding the fight a bit enjoyable.
Sure Blake was holding back and just using the ribbon and blade of Gambol Shroud to keep him at bay, but this gave the illusion that she was scared of engaging him in a test of blades. In a way it was really exciting when you convinced yourself that another fighter was afraid of you. But he knew that she could shatter that illusion at any moment. Like now!
Blake snatched Gambol Shroud from the air and charged forward at Jaune again. Jaune was ready and raised his shield. He felt three thuds against his shield as Blake jumped in the air and rapidly kicked at his shield three times. When she landed, Blake took the blade of Gambol Shroud and struck his shield, causing sparks to fly from the clash. Jaune pushed against Blake to put some distance between them. Blake stumbled back, surprised by the shove that she had not seen Jaune use yet.
Jaune saw her momentary loss of balance and quickly stepped forward and delivered a horizontal slash. Jaune's jaw dropped when Blake's upper body bent backward in an impressive show of balance and flexibility. Her knees were bent as her entire upper body dodged the blade and her feet were planted on the ground with no sign of slipping. It was incredible! She didn't even need to use her hands to keep herself from hitting the ground. Just as Jaune's blade passed over where she was, Blake planted a hand on the ground and spun her body, using her legs to kick Crocea Mors out of Jaune's hand.
Crocea Mors flew from Jaune's grasp and he grabbed his hand as a sharp pain ran through it. It felt like he had closed a door on his hand. He looked in front of him to see Blake on her feet again, not a single hair out of place, as she pointed Gambol Shroud at Jaune. They looked at each other for a moment before Blake let out a single breath and lowered her weapon.
"Better." She said simply. "You kept me from getting past your killing range and you were smart enough to stay out of mine until the end." Strangely enough, Jaune felt a sense of pride growing in him as he heard Blake's assessment of their latest battle. "As for when you tried to attack me when I lost my balance…"
Jaune's pride faded a bit. "Sorry!" He said raising his hands in an apologetic gesture. "It was in the heat of the moment and I just did it without thinking! I'm-"
"Jaune!" Blake raised her voice slightly to cut him off. Jaune's mouth snapped closed and he lowered his head. "That was a good move."
"Say what now?" Jaune raised his head with a baffled expression.
"That was good." Blake made sure to slow down and enunciate her words for him. "When we fight do that more often."
"B-but Pyrrha said that wasn't very sportsmanlike." Jaune said, reminding Blake of a naive child.
Blake rolled her eyes as she responded to Jaune. "Pyrrha is teaching you how to fight tournament style matches. I'm teaching you how to fight Grimm and how to defend yourself. Do you want another incident like the one with Cardin?"
Jaune's eyes darkened as he recalled the bullying he experienced at Cardin's hands. "Ok. So take the advantage more, right?"
"Exactly." Blake nodded, pleased that he was catching on and glad that he didn't realize what else this training was meant to do.
"So want to have one more round?" Jaune asked, his eyes flicking over to his sword.
Blake brought her Scroll out. "Tch. It's gotten kinda late." She told Jaune, showing him the time on her scroll. "I think we have time for one last round. You seem to have gotten the idea of what killing range means in a fight. All that's left is some practice for you to really remember it."
Jaune walked over and picked up Crocea Mors. He turned and faced Blake again, ready to try and beat her and fail again.
Jaune was honestly stumped. He didn't know what he should do in order to win. Blake was too fast for him to even get close to. If he wanted to stand any chance at beating her in a sparring match he needed to surprise her in some way. But how? She seemed like she had a plan for almost anything he could do. So maybe he should try something she thought he would never do...then maybe he could find a way to beat her.
He advanced toward her and gave a few quick slashes with his sword, all of which were parried by Blake and her ridiculous speed. She planted her foot on his shield and pushed with all of her might so that Jaune stumbled back and tripped over his own feet. Falling to the ground, Jaune saw Blake starting to whip Gambol Shroud around her using the black ribbon around her arm. He quickly stood again as she began to advance forward, her blade catching the light of the room which gave Jaune a rough idea of where her weapon was in the air as it disappeared in a blur of speed. He couldn't see her weapon that was dancing in the air around them without taking his eyes off of her, which would be a big mistake.
This was simply a repeat of their last round where he hadn't been able to get in close for a hit. He was being held at bay by Gambol Shroud again.
Jaune summoned his courage. What he was about to do was completely crazy! But maybe she wouldn't expect him to do it. Taking a breath, Jaune yelled and charged at Blake with his shield up, ready to block Gambol Shroud should it get too close. He ran forward, feeling the wind from her weapon whip around his face. Blake flicked her wrist and Jaune felt Gambol Shroud hit his shield with a CLANG.
I've got her! Jaune cheered in his mind as he closed the gap between the two. He had finally gotten past her killing range! Jaune was about to stab at Blake's right arm that held Gambol Shroud but her left hand, faster than a viper, grabbed her ribbon from the air and ducked, causing Jaune's blade to sail over her. She knocked it away with a hand and jumped above Jaune before planting her hands on Jaune's shoulders. She seemed to use his shoulders as a way to spin above his body before she jumped off. Jaune whirled around, slashing behind him and hoping that he had been right about where she landed. His blade met only air when his swipe had gotten to where he thought she was.
There was a slight tug on Jaune's neck that caused him to look up. Above him he saw Blake perched on a light fixture above him, with her ribbon wrapped around the fixture and the other end of her ribbon leading down. Jaune followed the ribbon with his eyes to see that it led to his neck that was tightly wrapped with the cursed black ribbon. If she jumped down from the light fixture then Blake could leave him hanging...literally.
The eerie creaking of the light fixture was the only thing that could be heard for several seconds before Blake unwrapped her ribbon from the light fixture so that he wouldn't be strangled and jumped down silently.
"I guess this is your win." Jaune muttered, clearly unhappy that his plan hadn't worked.
"Mmm hmm." Blake replied while walking up to him to unwrap her ribbon from around his neck. "I did win. But that was a stupid idea." She told him, fixing him with a glare. "I saw four times where I could have cut your legs and made you lose when you charged at me." Blake finished unwrapping her ribbon from his neck and began wrapping it around her arms. "It was a dumb idea on your part. One that could have gotten you killed if we were fighting for real."
Jaune winced at her brutal destruction of his idea that seemed brilliant at the time. "What was I supposed to do? I thought that you wouldn't be expecting something like that." He whined.
Blake sighed in resignation as she dropped her glare. "I wasn't expecting it. That's how dumb it was." Jaune hung his head again. It seemed like he had grown quite adept at that motion. "But if it had been somebody other than me, you might have won."
Jaune looked up, expecting to see her smirk that he had seen on her a few times, only to see her face looking as blank as it had been when they fought. Jaune had a feeling that was the closest he was going to get to praise from her during this training session.
"Let's take a break. There's one more thing I want to do before we leave for the night."
Jaune practically collapsed on the floor when she said that. He was not used to all of the running and dodging he had done today. Blake chose to sit across from him, looking like she had just done a light workout in comparison to what Jaune felt like was a marathon.
"Blake, can I ask you a question?" He breathed out, feeling thankful that the AC in the arena was on.
"You just did." She said with her usual curt tone of voice. Jaune just looked at her blankly, not amused at all by her terrible attempt at humor. "But I suppose if you need to then you can ask me another one." She said with a ghost of a smirk this time.
"Well I was wondering why you don't mind my Team tagging along with your Team on the trip to the city. I mean, you said earlier that Sun and Neptune want to ask you and Weiss on a date. Aren't a whole bunch of friends coming with you guys the antithesis of a date?"
"Oh, Neptune would probably enjoy having more people tag along and Sun will certainly try again. I'm sure of it." Blake replied with an amused tone.
"Are you trying to avoid Sun or something?" He asked before berating himself. He shouldn't poke his nose in her business.
"No. He and I are going to see a movie sometime but this outing to the city and that are two different things." She told him, not appearing offended at all. Blake had agreed to Sun's invitation last night through a text message. "Jaune, contrary to what you may think, I have begun to enjoy things other than reading while I've been here at Beacon."
"Although you still keep Ninjas of Love hidden under your pillow…" Jaune said with a deadpan expression and monotone voice.
Blake's eyes widened. "H-how did you k-know about that?" She demanded to know.
"Ruby told me I could borrow a textbook from her one day so she left your dorm room unlocked. I went in but it wasn't where she told me it was. I began looking around and I saw a corner of a book sticking out from under your pillow. I thought that was the textbook I was looking for. Joke was on me." He recounted the events that led to him finding Blake's novel.
Blake's hand stealthily slid down next to her so that she could grab Gambol Shroud. No witnesses! Her instincts cried.
"So is it any good?" Jaune asked.
"What?" Blake froze at the question, her hand just barely touching her weapon.
"Ninjas of Love...is it...well...any good?" Jaune managed to ask while he fidgeted and looked down.
Blake raised her eyebrows a bit. "Jaune, are you...trying to make small talk?"
Jaune smiled shakily. "Am I that transparent?" He asked.
"No. Just reminds me a lot of Ruby." Blake explained seeing the parallel between the two leaders. They were both a bit socially awkward and had never been given a position of leadership until getting to Beacon. It didn't help that Beacon was rather prestigious and their every choice was being judged behind the scenes. However the responsibility seemed to be a good thing for both of them because it forced the two to mature more quickly than they would otherwise.
"That bad, huh?"
"I really don't think you of all people should be judging another's social skills. Remember the guitar playing?"
Jaune turned pale and buried his head in his hands. "I'll never live that down, huh?"
Blake chuckled through her nose. "It's your own fault for not considering the consequences." She told him while remembering Jaune's failed attempt to serenade Weiss.
"I guess so. It's a good thing I gave it away. Now I don't have to be reminded of it every morning when I wake up." Jaune's face became distorted in disgust as he remembered his own embarrassing actions. "I really was insane, wasn't I?"
"Well what you did is pretty much the definition of insanity." Jaune's expressions were rather amusing to Blake.
"Says the girl who got chased by a giant mech with her boyfriend." Jaune shot back. He had heard the story from Yang and could only thank the stars that he hadn't been present.
"Are you talking about me and Sun?" Blake surprised herself by how loud her voice seemed to become.
"Who else would I be talking about?"
Blake shook her hands in front of her in denial. "No no no. I think you've got it wrong. Sun and I aren't-"
"But I thought you said you guys are going on a date sometime."
"We are but it's not like that!" Blake didn't know why she seemed to defensive about this particular topic. "We're just friends!"
"Blake…." Jaune's eyes narrowed and, for what seemed like the first time to Blake, he actually looked like a Leader. "You aren't leading Sun on, are you?"
Blake felt like she had backed herself up into a corner. "No. It's just…" Blake sighed. "I just have a lot on my mind right now."
Jaune raised an eyebrow suspiciously. He seemed nothing like the clumsy swordsman he normally was.
Seriously, Blake wondered to herself. What is with these people in positions of leadership like Ruby, Jaune, and Ozpin whose personalities do a total one eighty sometimes?
"Ok." Jaune relented, smiling normally. "I just wanted to make sure. As long as you take him seriously when you have less on your mind, then I guess I can't say much, huh?"
Blake stood up. Never did she believe that she would actually be admonished by Jaune Arc. She offered him her hand, which he accepted, and hauled him to his feet.
"Anyway before we leave I want to show you something." Blake told him.
"Ok. Lead the way, Teach." Jaune gestured for her to lead him.
Jaune followed Blake to a room that was in the back of the practice arena. It smelled like sweat and the ground seemed to just be a solid block of concrete.
"We have a weight room?" Jaune asked, looking at all of the equipment, unsure of what many of the machines were meant to strengthen.
"Yep." Blake confirmed for him. "I want you to find time to come here as much as you can and workout by yourself."
"Seems simple enough." He said. "But seriously why does it smell like my older sister's closet in here?" Jaune had been breathing through his mouth the whole time and even that felt disgusting. "Did something die in here?"
Blake craned her head and looked past all of the different weight machines. "Yeah, probably." She said, amused by his squeamish expression. "C'mon. Let's go before the smell seeps into our clothes."
Jaune rushed out of the room faster than Blake could even blink. She sighed in mild frustration. Now if only he could be that fast in the middle of a fight.
"Spill it, Pyrrha." Nora stood over her friend's bed with her hands on her hips. "You said we'd talk later. It's later." Nora was no fool. Pyrrha had avoided pointing out Nora's weakness in fights because Ren was around. Ren was in the shower now since the girls had claimed the shower first so there was no chance of him overhearing them talk. Jaune hadn't returned from training with Blake either. Now was the perfect time.
Pyrrha sighed. In reality this wasn't a talk she wanted to have with Nora. But it seemed to be one they would have to have anyway if their Team was to improve. "Nora," Pyrrha began, choosing her words carefully so she didn't upset her friend. "When it comes to fights I think that you get distracted too easily by-"
"No way." Nora interrupted, flexing her muscles. "I never get distracted in a fight! I've got so much concentration that you can just call me 'orange juice'." Nora waited for Pyrrha to laugh at the joke. But none came.
"Like I was saying," Pyrrha continued. "You get too distracted by Ren." Pyrrha finished her sentence, with no small amount of discomfort in her voice.
Nora's smile faded. "What do you mean?" She asked with a small hitch in her voice.
Pyrrha patted the spot on her bed in front of Nora to indicate that she should sit down, which Nora reluctantly did.
"During Initiation when we were fighting the Deathstalker, do you remember that fight?" Pyrrha asked.
Nora nodded. It was the first time that Team JNPR fought together. Nora never thought she'd be able to work so well with people, aside from Ren, before that fight. All of their moves seemed to be perfectly coordinated.
"Well when Ren got flung of of the Deathstalker's tail, you got distracted. Sure it was only for a moment but the fact remains that because Ren got hurt, you seemed to lose focus on the fight."
Nora scowled. "But we're partners. We're supposed to look after each other."
Pyrrha placed a hand on Nora's shoulder. "I know, and I'm not saying that you shouldn't. It's good that you worry about Ren. But Nora what would happen if we were in a fight with intelligent people and not an instinct driven Grimm?"
Nora's expression turned a bit sad. "I know that. You don't have to tell me. Pyrrha. But if Jaune got hurt in a fight wouldn't you react the same?"
"Of course I would." Pyrrha said with no hesitation.
"Then-"
"But I'd try not to let it distract me since he'd probably get mad at me for not helping you and Ren out before worrying about him." Pyrrha finished.
Nora bit her lip. Nobody liked having their weak points pointed out to them. Nora looked up when she felt Pyrrha's other hand on her shoulder. "Looks like we've both got our hands full with our partners, huh?"
Nora nodded. Honestly those two boys would probably give their partners grey hair before their time at Beacon was over. "Let's make a deal!" Nora said, surprising Pyrrha.
"A deal?"
"Mmm hmm. When we get into a fight, I'll watch after Jauney with you and you'll watch after Ren with me. That way we won't have to worry as much since we'll both be watching them." Nora offered her proposal, trying to keep her normally chipper expression in place.
Pyrrha smiled. Nora really was trying to improve in her own way. Looks like entrusting Ren's safety to another was only one way she was doing it. "Deal." Pyrrha responded with her usual conviction.
The two girls hooked pinkies just as their partners burst through the two doors of their dorm and caused them to jump apart. Ren emerged from the bathroom, dressed for bed and with a towel on his head, while Jaune came in through the entrance with dust on his clothes and sweaty strands of hair clinging to his forehead.
"Ugggh." Jaune groaned as he approached his bed like a zombie. "It's only when I get back to our room that my fatigue really hits me."
"Usually I would sympathize with you," Ren said, walking to his bed in the same manner. "But today I don't want to hear you complain."
Those were the only words traded between the two males before they collapsed on their beds at the same time.
Nora leaned in close to Jaune and took a whiff of his hoodie. "Eww, Jaune!" She cried, holding her nose. "You smell awful. You can't go to sleep all sweaty like that. Go get in the shower!" Nora was tolerant of almost anything but the boys skipping showers was not on her list of things she could tolerate. It was one of her quirks that people didn't often expect from her.
"Five more minutes." He responded weakly.
Nora glared at him as seriously as her face would allow, which didn't seem to bother Jaune. Finally she sighed. "Fine. I'm going to go get a snack. I'll be back in five minutes and if you aren't in the shower by the time I get back, I'm electrocuting you with a toaster in the bathtub."
Nora slipped on some slippers she owned and closed the door behind her when she left the room.
Jaune scoffed. "She wouldn't." He had complete confidence that Nora wouldn't actually murder him for not showering.
Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren all heard Nora practically break Team RWBY's door off of its hinges when she burst in uninvited. "Hey, friendos!" She greeted them. "You wouldn't happen to have a toaster in here by any chance, would you?"
"Oh, she would." Ren assured Jaune.
"Better hurry, Jaune." Pyrrha warned him as Jaune attempted to take off his shoes while stumbling to the bathroom.
I still have to ask them if they want to go to the city tomorrow. Jaune reminded himself. He'd make sure to do it when he got out of the shower. That is if Nora didn't change her mind and throw a toaster over the shower curtain anyway.
So there you go! Obviously Jaune isn't gonna beat Blake after one or two training sessions but he is still trying. I'm not a fan of making Jaune super OP so I'll try to keep his growth a bit more realistic. Now I tried to have Jaune and Blake open up a bit more to each other since I have found that you can sometimes become closer to someone after discussing friends that you both know. It's not like their gonna be all over each other right off the bat. That sort of stuff takes time and even then I don't believe that sort of relationship would fit with either of their personalities.
Just so you know, that part where Jaune brings up Ninjas of Love to Blake originally was totally different and I'm glad I changed it to what it is now since what I had at first didn't seem like something the two of them would discuss. There is also some stuff going on with Sun at the moment that will come into play later.
What else? Hope you liked that little scene where Nora and Pyrrha were talking. Honestly those two girls are like monsters compared to their partners in the series so it makes sense that they'd constantly worry and look after each other's partners.
The next chapter will center around the trip to the city with Sun and Neptune and I'll also use it as a chance to introduce a character who will be a real driving force behind the story (Maybe I'll introduce two). I'll also try to include an omake for those of you that enjoy those!
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the story!