beep beep
Ruby shifted in her bed. Why did Ozpin have to message her now? He always seemed to wake her up right when she was experiencing the best part of her dreams. But it was no use trying to go back to sleep now. The damage had been done, and sleep would not return to her. Accepting her defeat, Ruby sat up and stretched. She pulled her scroll out from underneath her pillow and checked. Yep, six o clock, and she had one message. It was from Ozpin and it was titled, 'For Ruby and Jaune'.
The short scythe-wielder silently climbed off her bed and onto the floor, before making her way to the door. Luckily, no one stirred or woke as she shut the door behind her. Ruby questioned herself on whether or not she should knock on the JNPR door, as she didn't want to wake up the whole dorm. Oh well. Hesitantly, she knocked on the door.
A minute went by, and no one answered. So, she tried again. This time, the door was answered almost immediately. A very tired looking Jaune, with disheveled blonde hair and fuzzy footie pajamas, opened the door.
"Good morning Jaune." Ruby said cheerfully. The male team leader looked down at her with half open eyes.
"No, not good morning." Jaune said, his voice a bit hoarse as if he'd used it a lot in the last twelve hours. "It is not anywhere near a good morning." He told her. Ruby was taken slightly aback by his tone.
"Jeez, what happened to you?" She asked with a slightly worried voice. Jaune rubbed his face in a futile to attempt to wipe away the grogginess that he felt.
"Was up kinda late studying for the Faunas rights test." He explained to her. Ruby nodded in understanding. "So, what's up?" She pulled out her scroll and opened the message. Jaune stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him.
"Got a message from Ozpin." She told him as she pressed play.
"Good morning Mr. Arc, and Ms. Rose. I have sent you this message to inform you that Mr. Ren and Ms. Valkyrie will be looking after Sho today. I know we agreed that Sho would have individual care takers but I hope you are willing to make an exception in this case. Again, they will not have any homework from classes that they missed, and all the information will be available on the Dustnet. Well, have a good day."
After a few seconds of silence, Ruby spoke.
"I'm glad that Ozpin is letting Ren and Nora look after Sho together." She said, sounding a bit relieved. "If it had been just Ren, Nora would've sulked around through all of her classes. And if it had been just Nora," Ruby shuttered at the thought. "Poor little Sho would've have lasted that long." Jaune nodded in agreement, and Ruby looked over at him. "Well, go get dressed." She told him.
"What, why?" He asked.
"Because we can't go get breakfast for everyone in our pajamas." She said as if it was obvious. Seeing Jaune's confused expression, she elaborated. "Since we're already up, and it'd be pointless to go back to sleep, we might as well go grab breakfast again. Now, go get dressed." Without giving him time to argue, Ruby pushed Jaune back into his dorm room and closed the door.
After that, she quietly snuck back into her dorm room and got dressed in her school uniform. She went into the bathroom, cleaned up a little bit, and she was ready for the day. It took her about fifteen minutes or so before she headed for the door, then stopped. Last time she had done this, Yang had gotten pissed at her. This time, she would leave a note. Ruby quickly grabbed a piece a paper and scribbled, 'WENT TO GET BREAKFAST - RUBY', on the front of it. After placing it in plain sight, on top of Blake's bookshelf, she hurried out of the dorm.
Ruby found Jaune waiting for her in front of his dorm door. He was all dressed up and ready to go. "Took you long enough." He teased. Ruby scoffed.
"Please I wasn't even gone twenty minutes." She said as she began to walk towards the cafeteria, leaving Jaune to follow.
"I was still finished three minutes before you were." He said as he hurried to catch up with her.
"It's weird that you counted the minutes, Jaune."
"Well, I was bored. Can't blame me for that."
"Whatever."
The trip to the cafeteria was uneventful. The team leaders decided to get waffles, bagels and a large bowel of fruit for everyone, including Tao, to share. Worrying about Yang getting pissed at them again, they hurried to get back to the RWBY dorm.
When they arrived, Ruby pushed open the door, hiding behind the bag of food as if it were a shield. "We went to go get breakfast, please don't kill us!" She whispered loudly. When no one yelled at her, she lowered the bag-shield, only to see Yang bend down so that her face right in front of hers. Out of surprise, and slight fear, Ruby gave a small yelp and jumped backwards, which made her bump into Juane. But Yang didn't appear to be mad at her, in fact, she was smiling.
"Good morning little sister." The blonde said cheerfully as she stood up straight. She then glanced at Jaune before adding, "You too, Jaune."
"You're not mad?" June asked curiously.
Yang shook her head no and held up a piece of paper in front of him. "Course not! Ruby left a note so I knew where she was. Plus, you guys got breakfast, why would I be mad about that? Anyw- Wait." Yang stopped her rambling and grabbed Jaune by the shirt, pulling him close until his face was a few inches away from hers. Her eyes were narrowed at him suspiciously, and he let out a whimper of fear. "Should I be mad at you?" She pushed him up against the door, the sound of Jaune's armor hitting the wood made a 'thunk' sound. "Did you do something to Ruby that I should be angry about?" Jaune was so scared he couldn't even answer.
"Careful!" Weiss called to her. "You'll dent our door." Jaune mentally yelled at Weiss for being more concerned about the door than him.
"Yang why don't you eat before you kill Jaune." Blake suggested blankly from her bed. She was sitting on the edge of the mattress, reading a book and watching Sho sleep. "But if you do kill him, do it quietly so that you don't wake Sho up."
'Thanks for the support, Blake!' Jaune thought as he panicked. 'Ruby, help me!
But Jaune realized that Ruby had taken the bag of food he dropped and carried it over to the other two members of her team. The three teammates quickly made themselves each a plate of food and were now watching the spectacle unfold in front of them.
'Ruby you traitor!'
Yang pushed the blonde boy a bit harder against the door and he tried to sputter out an answer. Why did she seem so mad at him? And why was he so afraid? After all, he hadn't done anything wrong.
"W-we were just getting b-breakfast." He told her with as level a tone as he could manage. Yang stared at him for a few more moments before her usual smile spread across her lips. She released him, and he slowly slid down the door until he was sitting down on the floor.
"Ok, Jauney boy." Yang said cheerfully before skipping over to get herself a plate of food.
Jaune sat there for a while until he saw someone offer him a hand. It was Ruby, with an amused smile on her face. "Sorry about that, Yang gets moody when she's hungry." She explained. The blonde boy stared at her hand.
"You know, I could've used your help." He said in a pouty tone. Ruby rolled her eyes at him.
"Oh come on, I knew yang wouldn't really kill you." She told him, her hand still out reached. After Jaune grumbled something that was inaudible, he accepted Ruby's hand. When he was standing, the short girl hurried back to her breakfast. Jaune reached to get himself a plate of food, but Ruby lightly slapped his hand away.
"Go tell the rest of team JNPR that its time for breakfast." She instructed him. With a sigh, Jaune obeyed and walked across the hall to his teams's dorm. He knocked and, after a few short seconds, it was answered by Pyrrha.
"Oh, there you are Jaune." She she said happily. She was dressed in her usual armor, and Jaune could see Ren and Nora both dressed in the room behind her.
"Morning Pyrrha." He greeted. "Breakfast is in the RWBY dorm, if you guys are hungr-" He didn't get to finish because Nora pushed past Pyrrha and was now inches away from his face. Why did this keep happening?
"Are there pancakes?!" She asked, her voice laced with a tone of desperation. Jaune gulped.
"Um... No. But-"
"Why aren't there any pancakes?!" Nora cut him off again.
"Well, we had pancakes yesterday so I..." Jaune realized that the orange haired hammer wielder was inching closer to him every passing second. "Ren, help." The blonde knight whimpered.
A hand appeared from behind Nora and landed softly on the girls shoulder. "I'm sure Jaune and Ruby got a good breakfast. Why don't we go eat?" Suggested Ren in his usual gentle voice. Nora thought for a moment, then happily nodded and skipped over to the RWBY dorm. Ren sighed before glancing to Jaune and Pyrrha. Without another word, they followed Nora.
At breakfast, it was announced that Ren and Nora would be the ones to take care of Sho and Tao. As soon as Ruby had said Nora's name, the hammer wielder was taken in the hall, where she squealed with happiness. When she had calmed down, Ren brought her back and said that he would keep a close eye on both of them.
"Are you sure this is a good idea Ruby?" Blake questioned as they prepared to leave for classes. Team JNPR was on the left side of the room, throwing away dirty paper plates in the trash can. "Even with Ren here, we're leaving Sho in the care Nora!" Needless to say, the Faunus girl was worried about what would happen while she was gone.
"It wasn't my decision, Blake." The young leader replied. "Ozpin's the one with control over our schedules. Besides, look how happy Nora is!"
Blake looked over at Nora, the sight didn't comfort her. The hammer wielder was twirling a plastic knife between her fingers, grinning widely as she did so. At one point, the knife flew from her fingers and embedded itself in the wall. A plastic knife. "Whoopsie!" She giggled. As Weiss yelled at her for putting a crack in the dry wall, Blake looked back at Ruby.
"I'm now even more against letting her looking after Sho." She dead panned.
"Everything will be fine Blake!" Ruby assured her. "Why are you so worked up about it, anyway?"
"Must be the mama cat complex." Weiss chimed in with a smirk. She'd finished scolding Nora and decided to tease her Faunus friend a bit before they went off to class. Blake gave Weiss a harsh stare, to which the heiress pretended not to see.
Blake looked back over at Sho, who was in her bed and currently being checked on by Yang. "Don't worry, you'll have fun with Ren and Nora." The blonde girl assured the young boy. She had kneeled down so that he could see her face. Sho was barely awake, but listened to her words. "Now go back to sleep ok?" He nodded and closed his eyes, falling asleep in seconds. Yang stood up and walked back to where her team and team JNPR had gathered at the door. "He's sleeping." She announced quietly.
"Ok, then lets go to class!" Ruby cheered, which made Blake and Yang cover her mouth.
"Try and be a bit quieter, sis!" Yang whispered, releasing her sister as Blake did the same.
Everyone filed out of the room, except for Ren and Nora. Blake was still very reluctant to leave, so she ended up having to be dragged out by Yang. Before leaving, Ruby turned back to the two members of team JNPR. "Nora, remember to be gentle with him." She pleaded. "And Ren, make sure she doesn't break Sho."
Nora saluted. "Yes ma'am!"
Ren nodded. "Understood."
With that, Ruby ran out the door to catch up with her friends.
While Sho and Tao slept, Nora struggled to keep quiet, and Ren struggled to keep her quiet. Nora was just so excited to play with him, she could hardly contain herself. She already had a list of things they were all going to do. They would play games, and watch TV, and cook pancakes at the student kitchen, and-
"Nora," Ren's voice interrupted her thoughts. She hadn't even realized that she'd been jumping up and down. "He's waking up." Suppressing a squeal of excitement, she hurried over towards Sho, only to be stopped when Ren stepped in front of her. Nora looked up at her friend questioningly.
"Remember, Sho's only five years old." The long haired boy told her. "He's just now waking up, so he's probably hungry and still tired. Don't be surprised if he doesn't want to play right away." He paused, watching as his childhood friend forced herself to calm down a little.
"Ok." Nora told him with her best calm voice. To demonstrate how well she could control herself, she walked almost normally to the side of Blake's bed and sat on the floor. Ren, nodding with approval, followed and did the same.
Sho slowly opened his eyes, and was met with two smiling faces. He recognized both of them, Ren and Nora. Ren's smile was small and gentle. But Nora's smile was wide with excitement. It got him excited too. He sat up, and Tao hurried to sit in his lap. "Good morning." Sho told them with a yawn.
Ren opened his mouth to respond, but his quiet voice was drowned out by Nora's loud one. "Good morning Sho and Tao!" She yelled, startling Tao and making him jump. "We are going to have so much fun today!" As she began rambling, she ran around the room. "But first you have to eat and get dressed. Not that eating and getting dressed isn't fun, but its nowhere near as much fun as we'll have later!" Nora hung upside down on Yang's bed as she continued. "What kind of games do you like to play? Are you into sports? Card games? How about video games?"
"NORA!" Ren yelled, causing the girl to fall on the floor.
"Yes Ren?" She asked as if nothing had happen. He opened his mouth to tell her to calm down, but he was cut off by the sounds of boyish giggles. Ren and Nora looked over to see Sho laughing.
"You guys are silly." He told them happily. The two team members looked at each other, before grinning and joining the small boy in his laughter.
For the next few hours, the three played various games. They had moved to the JNPR dorm, as Ren had said he wasn't very comfortable spending the day in an all girls dorm room. They found that Sho was particularly good at playing games that needed hand eye coordination, he even beat Ren at a few video games.
Ren was sitting down on his bed, petting Tao gently, when he noticed it was time for lunch. Sho and Nora were sprawled out on the floor, coloring pictures of everything they could think of. Colorful pictures, crayons and blank pieces of paper were strewn across the carpet.
"Ok, time for lunch." He announced and stood up. The red panda quickly jumped and latched onto his back. Nora and Sho pushed themselves up as well, and Nora began rambling on what they would do when they got back. The walk to the cafeteria was full of laughter, coming from Nora and Sho. The only sound that Ren supplied was silence.
When they arrived at the lunchroom, they all walked to the table occupied by team JNPR and RWBY. Blake was very relieved to see that Sho and Tao were still alive and apparently unharmed. Seeing Blake, Tao quickly jumped off of Ren's back and onto the Faunus's shoulder.
After Ren, Nora and Sho got their food and sat at their normal spots, conversation began. "So, do anything dangerous yet?" Yang questioned as she took a bite out if a taco.
"Of course not." Ren answered.
"We had a lotta fun!" Nora interjected. She began to list out all if the activities and everyone listened attentively. Even Blake listened, though she pretended to concentrate on her book.
When lunch was over, everyone said their good byes and parted ways. Ren, Nora, Sho and Tao all headed back up to the JNPR dorm. For the next hour, they continued doing what they had before; Nora and Sho colored a multitude of pictures and Ren watched and pet the red panda.
It was quiet, when suddenly a thought hit Ren like a slap in the face. His eyes drifted to the bookshelf at the end of the room, on top of it was a piece of paper. The long haired teen popped up, surprising all the other room's occupants, and ran over, grabbing the paper with a sense of despair.
"What's wrong, Ren?" Nora asked with concern in her voice. She put down her crayon and sat with her legs crossed. Sho also put down his crayon and sat next to Nora. Ren looked over at the two, then back at the paper.
"It's the essay I did for my Remant History class." He said, unable to look away from his assignment.
"Ooh! Isn't that the class that you had to pass five tests to get into?" Nora asked, unaware of her friends panic.
"Yes." He answered. "And I was supposed to turn this in today."
"Well, don't worry about it." Nora stated happily. "Ozpin said that we don't have to worry about any homework today since we're looking after Sho and Tao!" Ren shook his head.
"The professor in that class is really strict. I can't take the chance of her counting this paper late. It will drop my grade." His eyes flew to the clock above the door. "There's ten minutes left in the class, I think I can still make it if I hurry." He headed for the door, clutching the paper before stopping and looking behind him. Three pairs of eyes stared right back. Ren knew he wouldn't make it if he took all of them. But he couldn't leave Nora alone with Sho either...
As if she could read his mind, Nora spoke up. "Hurry up and go turn in your paper!" She told him with a smile.
"Nora I can't-"
"Sure you can! But if you don't go now, you won't make it!" Ren looked at her doubtfully. The orange haired girl ushered him towards the door. "Go on! We'll be fine." Ren looked at her one last time before sighing.
"Ok." He said finally as he opened the door. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes." He really doubted that this was a good idea. But he couldn't let this essay be counted late. After taking one last look, Ren ran down the hall.
He didn't have time to wait for the elevator, so he flew down the stairs. The class was on the bottom floor, just his luck. He'd already used up about two minutes running, and it took him another minute to reach the bottom of the stairs. Ren barreled through the stairwell door and continued on his trek, he was almost there.
Ren wasn't as worried about the paper as he was about the fact that he'd left Nora alone with Sho and Tao. He should've just stayed there and turned the paper in late. His grade would've dropped, but at least he'd know Sho was safe.
Finally Ren made it to the Remnant History classroom and knocked frantically on the door. He'd made it there in eight minutes, that's eight minutes that Nora was alone with Sho. After what seemed like decades, the professor finally opened the door. The professor was younger than most of the others. She was a young woman who graduated from Beacon herself not even two years ago. She looked at him through aqua blue eyes and pushed away a lock of intruding blue hair that matched them in color.
"Professor Landrum!" Ren panted, trying to catch his breath.
"Ah, Mr Ren." Landrum said in monotone. "If you're here to join us for class, I'm afraid you're a bit late." Ren quickly tried to compose himself.
"I had a prior engagement, didn't the headmaster alert you?" He asked in his most professional manner.
"Mmm, yes. I know all about your team and team RWBY's situation." The last word held a hint of amusement. "But, of course, you didn't let that get in the way of your school work, did you?"
"Of course not." He said quickly and handed her his essay. Professor Landrum took a quick look behind her before looking back at Ren.
"One minute to spare. Cutting it kind of close there, aren't you?" She asked as she looked over the essay. The rest of her students had already begun packing up their things.
"Yes, and I'm very sorry about that. But I have to go now!" With that, he took off.
Professor Landrum sighed as she watched him go. Yes, she knew about the two team's situation. If only they knew as much as she did. They definitely would treat it with more seriousness. Oh well. If Ozpin didn't tell them, he must've had good reasons. She turned around and closed the door before addressing her class once more. "Why are you all packed? We still have thirty seconds of class left."
Once again, Ren was running. Running as fast as he could, ignoring the odd looks he received from other students. He kept trying to reassure himself that everything would be ok, that he would get back to the JNPR dorm and he would find Nora and Sho still coloring, with Tao watching. But he still didn't have much hope. When Ren finally arrived at the dorm, he threw open the door. The sight that awaited him was not a welcoming one.
The room was a mess. All of the bed sheets were strewn around the room, as were the books, the crayons were all either broken in half or completely destroyed, and there was a large hole surrounding what used to be a window. But, the most worrying thing was the absence of Nora, Sho and Tao.
For a few moments, Ren was silent. He was taking in the utter shock, and mentally cursing himself for leaving Nora alone. But then he snapped into action. The hole was facing the Emerald Forest, so that's where he would look first. Ren jumped out of the hole, using his aura to slow his decent to the ground, and began running towards the forest. But he wasn't very fast as he'd already used up most of his stamina. As he ran, he tried calling Nora on her scroll. She didn't answer.
Fifteen minutes earlier, in the JNPR dorm
"I hope Ren doesn't get a bad grade on his paper." Sho said when the boy had left. Nora waved off Sho's concern.
"Don't worry." She told him with a smile. "Ren never gets bad grades." Sho went to go grab a crayon, but Nora picked him up and spun around. Sho let out a joy filled laugh as he flew through the air.
"Nora why are we spinning?" He asked, a smile still plastered on his face. The orange haired girl set him down on Jaune's bed.
"Because, we are going to go exploring!" She told him excitedly. Sho looked at her with a puzzled expression. Tao hurriedly jumped into the young boys lap.
"Exploring?" He repeated as a question. Nora nodded in response. "Where are we gonna explore? The school?" She shook her head.
"Nope!" Nora said and skipped over to the window. She pointed to the glass. "We're gonna explore there!" The window gave view to the Emerald Forest. The large expanse of trees looked ominous and mysterious from afar, but it was framed by the afternoon sun and looked almost beautiful. It's eye catching view hid the fact that the forest held hoards of Grimm. It was a wolf in sheep's clothing. But, Sho didn't know that.
"Wow! Really?" The young boy jumped up and down with excitement, causing Tao to fall on the bed, before scrambling to jump on the boys shoulder. Nora nodded once more and Sho ran towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Nora asked with a confused tone, still standing next to the window. Sho looked back at her, Tao still clinging to his back.
"You said we were going to go to the forest. Remember?"
"Yeah, but we're not going down the stairs, that would be to long and boring." The orange haired girl said with a smile. She left her spot at the window and walked to herbed, bending down and rummaging under it. After a few moments, she stood up holding a giant silver cylinder thing. Sho was still confused but now he was also curious of what she was holding. "Sho and Tao, I'd like you to meet my good friend, Magnhild!" The boy walked closer to Nora to inspect the silver device. Suddenly, she pushed something on it and it turned into a giant silver hammer.
"Woah!" Sho fell back on his rear from surprise. Tao quickly climbed from his back to Sho's shoulder. "That's so cool!"
Nora jumped on top of the bookshelf, then stood on top of the hammer side of Magnhild. "Ok, Sho, grab Tao and hop up here." She instructed.
"Ok." He nodded. "Come 'ere Tao." He said and the red panda crawled over his shoulder and into his arms. Sho then climbed on top of the book case, as Nora had said to do.
Nora picked him up and held him with one hand, with the other she grasped the handle of Magnhild. In Sho's arms, Tao began squirming. "Tao doesn't think this is safe." Sho said as he struggled to keep the red panda still. Nora put her hand on her chin as she thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers.
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot!" She exclaimed before pushing open the window. "There! Now we won't break through the glass." Nora stated proudly. Sho nodded, as if this would make whatever they were about to do a whole lot safer. Then again, Sho still had no idea what they were doing. "Ok, hold Tao tight!" She told him as she tightened her grip around him. Sho nodded and did as he was told. He saw Nora aim and then...
She fired.
The hammer flew forward, the propulsion from the shot shooting them through the air, but leaving everything in the room a mess. Nora took another shot to get some more distance, and the aura bullet hit the wall just above the open window, causing a small explosion and leaving a giant hole where the window once was. But neither of them noticed as they soared through the sky.
Nora was not the least bit worried, and cheered loudly as they neared the forest. Sho was screaming, his screams were a mix of fear and excitement. Tao was chattering loudly, full of fear.
They flew past the forest's edge and beyond before they started to descend. Nora held Sho a bit tighter before hopping off Magnhild's head and, still holding onto its handle, pointed it towards the ground. She then fired, only once, to slow them down and used her aura to slow the rest of their descent. When they landed, Nora landed on her rear, one arm tightly wrapped around Sho (who was holding Tao) and the other used to hold Magnhild.
After a few moments of silence, aside from the heavy breathing caused by adrenaline, Nora looked at Sho with a wide smile. "How much fun was that?" She asked, apparently unfazed by what'd just happened.
Sho was silent for a moment as he held the trembling red panda. "...that was scary and awesome at the same time!" He exclaimed, matching Nora's excited smile. The orange haired girl was delighted to here that he was having fun and returned Magnhild to its canon form before returning it to its holster on her back.
"Now, lets go exploring!" She yelled as she popped up off the ground. Sho stood up as well, but fell back down, not expecting the shakiness in his legs. Nora looked down at him worriedly, and Tao stared up at his friend with concern. "Hey, Sho are you ok?" She asked. Maybe it had been a bad idea to let a five year old boy travel by giant hammer.
He nodded. "Yea. I'll be fine. My legs just felt like jelly." He told her as he stood up. "But I'm ok now! I wanna explore!" She regained her smile and nodded. Tao quickly climbed onto Sho's back.
"Ok! Time to explore!"
For the next two hours, Nora, Sho and Tao explored all over emerald forest. Nora taught the young boy everything that she thought was important to know while exploring. She taught him how to find food, what berries tasted good and which ones made your tongue turn purple. She taught him how to climb trees, so that you could scout good spots to explore. And lastly, she taught him different kinds of animal and Grimm calls. They both had a lot of fun, so it startled Nora when she turned her scroll on and it showed she had multiple missed calls from Ren. "Whoops. Guess I shoulda kept my scroll on." She mused. "Hey Sho lets take a break over here while I call Ren back." With a nod, Sho walked over and sat against a tree, forcing Tao to climb off his back and into his arms. While the red panda and the boy sat, Nora dialed Ren's number.
...beeeeep...beeeeep...beee- "NORA!"
The loudness of Ren's voice made the girl jump, but she didn't lose her cheerful demeanor. "Hi Ren! Sorry I missed your calls, my scroll was turned off." She apologized, unaware of the trouble she was in.
"Nora, where are you?!" He sounded frantic and out of breath.
"I'm in the emerald forest. Are you ok?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Just a little winded. I've been looking for you for the past two hours. I couldn't track you because your scroll wasn't turned on. The dorm's a mess Nora, I thought something bad happened."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. Are you mad?" She asked in her 'I'm-super-duper-sorry-I'll-never-do-it-again' voice. There was a moment of silence, and then she heard him sigh.
"No, I'm not mad." He said, filling Nora with a sense of relief. "But stay where you are, keep your scroll on and I'll pinpoint your location. Nora, do not let Sho out of your sight-"
Ren was cut off by a howl. "Nora..." Sho's voice faltered and cracked. She turned around and her eyes widened slightly, as did her smile. A group of at least forty beowolves stood before them, drooling with blood lust in their eyes.
"Nora, what was-"
"Sorry Ren! Gotta go play with the puppies!" With that she hung up, pulled out Magnhild as a canon and jumped in front of Sho. "Stay behind me and keep hold of Tao!" Nora told him, though she still smiled. She was very excited to about a chance to fight some Grimm, perhaps to excited. Sho nodded, not planing to go against her words.
One of the beowolves, a medium sized one with extremely large teeth, jumped forward first, it's claws extended. But it didn't seem to be going for Nora, it seemed to be after Sho. It was quickly destroyed with a shot from Magnhild. But the first beowolf was apparently only a distraction, while Nora was focused on protecting Sho, ten more jumped from every angle. She switched Magnhild to its hammer form and swatted them away like flys, but they just kept coming. And Sho was wide open.
Three of the beowolves began to slowly creep towards him. Sho, though young, was observant enough to see he oncoming threat. He knew that Nora told him to stay near her, but he was so scared. He was filled with adrenaline and couldn't make a well thought through decision. So he ran. With Tao clinging to his back, Sho ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction, ignoring Nora who was calling out his name.
Sho was fast for such a small boy, but he was also five years old. There was no way he could outrun beowolves. The creatures of Grimm seemed to know his, because they began toying with him. Two of them flanked him on either side, and one stayed running behind him, nipping at his heels if he got to slow. Sho felt like a bull being herded, or a piece of meat being played with by a predator. Occasionally, the beowolves would let Sho get a little bit ahead, giving him false hope that he'd been allowed to live. But as soon as he began slowing down they would be there again, nipping at his heels and barking with laughter.
He'd been running for seven minutes straight, feeding off nothing but adrenaline, when Sho felt his fuel running low. He would be out of energy soon. The beowolves that followed saw this, and slowed their pace, once again letting Sho get ahead. But now the boy knew their game. When they had given him a bit of distance, he used up what little energy he had left in a sudden burst of speed. Speed that a young boy like him should not possess. But it only lasted for eight seconds, and then he collapsed on his stomach. Tao jumped off his back and began licking his face, trying to urge the boy to continue on.
Sho tried to push himself up, but his arms felt like jelly. "Tao, I can't get up!" He told the animal, panic clear in his voice as he gasped for air. His lungs burned from the lack of oxygen, sweat drenched his body, his black hair was a mess and tears streamed down his face.
A howl sounded from not to far away, and Sho began to hyperventilate. "Tao what do I do?!" He asked in desperation. The red panda looked around, then seemed to spot something. He bit Sho's shirt and pulled him to the right, attempting to get the boy to crawl in that direction. Sho understood this, and crawled to followed Tao. The red panda led him to a giant tree a few feet away. Beneath the large tree roots was a large nook that was hidden relatively well. Sho climbed into the nook, after thanking Tao multiple times, and tried to slow his breathing. He had to lay flat on his stomach but he had enough room to move his arms and legs around a little. Tao climbed in next to him. Then, they waited.
Minutes crawled by slowly, and after what seemed like decades, the three beowolves came into view. Sho held his breath as they began to search the area for him. His scent was all over the ground, but he was unaware of this. One of the Grimm started to get pretty close to his hiding spot, and Sho trembled with fear. Then, as if it was a sudden impulse decision, all three of the Beowolves lunged towards his hiding place. Sho screamed out of surprise and the beowolves grinned evilly, their eyes glued to their prey. They began digging and Sho began crying, knowing that his fate was certain.
Close your eyes, Sho.
A voice spoke out of no where. It was masculine and calm, like it was trying to assure him everything was going to be ok. With no other options, Sho shut his eyes. As soon as he closed his eyes, he heard the beowolves whimper. There were gunshots and what sounded to be a sword cutting through something, then there was silence.
Sho waited another minute before opening his eyes, and his mouth dropped open at what laid before him. All three beowolves were on the ground, each missing at least one limb and all of them were dead. "Woah..." Was all he could say. "Tao, what happ-... Tao?" As he took a quick look around, Sho notice that his animal friend was no longer in the small hole with them. "Tao?!" He climbed out of the hole, still not able to stand, and spotted the red panda standing next to one of the bodies. "Tao!" Sho called again. This time the animal looked over at Sho. He looked very tired, but brightened up when he saw his human companion. He hurried over the boy and lightly pushed his forehead against Sho's. "Yea, I'm ok." He said with a smile as he pushed himself to sit up. Tao climbed into his lap and the boy began to pet him.
Sho looked over the three dead Grimm. "Did you see what happened?" Sho asked. Tao began chattering and squeaking, sounding like someone had just hit him. "Slow down. I can't understand you when you talk that fast." He told him. As soon as he finished his sentence, another beowolf jumped out from behind a bush, aiming straight at him. "Ahh!" Sho pulled Tao close, despite the animals struggle and closed his eyes, preparing for the worst.
"Hiiiiiiiya!" The loud battle cry was accompanied by the sound of flesh against metal. Sho opened his eyes and saw Nora standing over another dead beowolf, holding Magnhild in hammer form. She turned around, and when she saw him she bent down and threw her arms around the boy.
"I was so worried about you!" She yelled as she hugged him tightly. "I saw you had run off and I tried to follow you, but the puppies just kept coming! I told you to stay near me, why did you run? Sho I'm so happy that you're ok I-"
"Nora... Can't... Breath." Sho muttered speaking for both himself and for Tao.
"Oh, right!" She said and released him. Now that she'd calmed down, Nora noticed the other three beowolves on the ground. "What happened? Did you do this?" She asked. She didnt give him time to answer before she spoke again. "Are you ok?" She began looking him over, poking at his arms and legs and checking his head for bruises. Sho giggled as she poked at his stomach.
"I'm ok, Nora." He told her with a reassuring smile. "But I don't know what happened to the monsters. I was hiding, I closed my eyes, and when I opened them they were all dead."
"Maybe you hopped them with your mind!" Nora exclaimed, suddenly awestruck. "That would be so cool!"
"Nora! Sho!" Another voice called out to them. It was accompanied by Ren, who emerged from a grouping of trees. "There you are!"
"Hey Ren." Nora and Sho greeted him simultaneously. Ren took one look at Sho; the way his face was damp from sweat and tears, and he looked at the dead beowolves around them. "What happened? Did anyone get hurt?"
They both explained their stories, and it left Ren a bit perplexed. "You closed your eyes, and when you opened them they were dead?" He asked to make sure he understood correctly. When Sho nodded, Ren scratched his head. "Interesting. But that's not important right now. We need to get back to the dorm."
"Ok." Sho said and attempted to stand. But his legs were still tired and he fell back down. Tao hurried to his side.
"Sho, what's wrong, can you walk?" Ren asked a bit frantically as he and Nora both went to his side as well.
"Yeah, I'll be ok. But I don't think I can walk." He told them, a bit embarrassed.
"Here. Climb on my back and I'll carry you." Ren told him. Sho nodded and did as he was instructed. Tao climbed up on Nora's shoulder. With a slight grunt, Ren stood up straight. "We need to take Sho to the infirmary to make sure he's ok." Ren said, ignoring Sho when he claimed to be fine. "Oh, Nora, will you call Pyrrha and tell her that everything's ok?" He asked as they began walking towards the school.
"You told them all what happened?" She asked him. He nodded.
"Yeah, they got pretty worried when they heard the explosion coming from the dorms."
"Does professor Ozpin know?"
"I told him that it was a weapon malfunction. He said he would send someone to fix the giant hole in the wall."
"What hole?"
"The hole that you made when you used Magnhild as a mode of transportation."
"Oh... Whoops."
After arriving at the school, Nora and Ren took Sho to the infirmary. By then classes were almost over so Ren texted everyone and told them where they were. While Ren did that, Nora carried Sho and Tao as she followed a nurse when that had called them over. She took them into a room that looked very similar to a patient room at a hospital. She told them to wait and that she would be right back. Nora sat Sho down on the hospital type bed, and Tao jumped off her shoulder to sit next to the boy.
"Hey, Sho." Nora said softly as she stood on front of him. Surprisingly, she wasn't wearing her usual smile.
"What's wrong, Nora?" He asked.
"I'm really sorry about what happened today. I should've waited for Ren to get back before we went exploring. If he had been there, you wouldn't have gotten chased by those beowolves and we wouldn't be in the infirmary." Her voice sounded timid, as if she was picking and choosing her words with extreme caution. She was looking down at the white linoleum floor, and Sho could've sworn he saw a tear rolling down her cheek. She was very un-Nora. "I should've thought it all through before I took you into the forest. I was just so excited that I go to play with you that I got a little reckless. But when you disappeared in the forest I was so worried and I realized how senseless I had been. So, again," She raised her head to look up at him. "I'm sorry."
Sho was silent for a few moments, before he smiled, leaned forward and gave Nora a hug. She was surprised, but gladly returned the gesture. "I know you didn't mean for any of this to happen." He told her softly. "I had an awesome time, Nora. We played games and we got to go exploring!" He pulled away so that she could look at him. "Don't be sorry." Sho reached forward with his hand and wiped away the tear on Nora's cheek. She smiled and once again hugged him. Only this time it was much tighter.
Ren opened the door to the room the nurse had told him to go to, and he smiled at what he saw. Nora was tightly hugging Sho, and she seemed happy. Wait. Sho's face was turning blue.
"Nora!" He called, ran over and separated her from the boy. Sho gasped for oxygen when she finally released him. "How many times do I have to tell you, people need to breath."
"I always forget that." She says, her cheery mood returning to her.
It was then that the nurse appeared and asked what had happened. After Ren and Nora explained, the nurse checked his heart rate and temperature then asked how he was feeling.
"I feel really tired, and my legs still feel a little shaky." He told her. The nurse nodded and scribbled something down on her clipboard.
"I think you just overworked yourself a bit." She told him with a smile before looking at Nora and Ren. "He's probably exhausted. Get him to eat an apple and make sure he drinks lots of water. Then get him straight to bed; he needs to rest for at least the rest of the day." They both nodded.
"We will do that right away. Thank you." Ren told her. The nurse nodded before opening the door. But she was almost trampled as team RWBY and the rest of team JNPR piled in the room.
"Is Sho ok?" Ruby asked the very startled nurse. The woman quickly nodded, repeated what she'd told Ren then hurried out of the room. Blake was already standing in front of Sho, looking him over.
"Nothing's broken, right?" She asked him. Sho shook his head.
"No. I'm ok, just tired." He told her. Blake nodded, then turned around to face Nora. Her eyes were borrowed and her expression was deadly.
"You were supposed to be looking after him." Her tone was colder than ice and it made everyone else in the room cringe.
"I know," Nora began. "But-"
"No!" Blake interrupted her. "Don't try to defend your actions. Sho could have been injured by those beowolves!" Everyone was silent, their eyes locked on the Faunus and Nora.
"He was my responsibility too." Ren stepped up next to Nora. His voice was calm and level, but it had a subtle edge to it. "I am the one who left them alone in the first place, so I am as much at fault as she is." He paused for a moment before narrowing his eyes at Blake and adding. "I am going to ask you that please lower your voice. There is no reason to be hostile. Sho is safe."
But the Faunus was not about to let this go. "You two, were responsible for a child." She said evenly. "That means that you do not leave them alone and you do not take them to a forest full of Grimm." Her eyes were like daggers as she looked to Nora. "Those beowolves could have killed him." When the hammer wielder looked away, Blake raised her voice. "He could've died!"
"Blake..." The Faunus paused when the small boy spoke up. He was still sitting on the hospital type bed, and Tao was sitting in his lap. His voice was soft, yet it seemed to halt Blake's anger. "Don't be mad. They didn't mean it."
For what seemed like years, no one spoke. The tension was so thick you could've cut it with a knife. Blake moved, but she didn't speak. She simply picked up Sho like he were a toddler, and walked out the door. As they left the room, Sho looked over his shoulder and waved goodbye to Ren and Nora.
Then they were gone, leaving everyone else in silence.
Ozpin sat at his desk, looking over the footage from the emerald forest on his scroll. He was specifically watching the scene of Sho and the three beowolves.
"If only you would tell me what happened..." He spoke to the scroll. "Why are you here? Where is you you're father?" He was talking to himself again. Ozpin was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in." He announced with a tired voice. The door opened to reveal young professor Landrum. "Oh, there you are Ms. Landrum." He greeted, not looking away from the holographic scroll.
"I am no longer a student here." She snorted. "I am a professor, please address me as such." She walked over and joined him in watching the scroll.
"Have your contacts responded?" He asked after silence had stretched over them.
"No." She responded quickly. "But I don't understand why Tao won't-"
"Tao has always had his own ways of dealing with a crises." Ozpin cut her off. "We will give him space and monitor his moves. For now, it's all we can do."
(This took longer than it should have. But then again, it is a LOT longer than the previous chapter. These chapters are going to start taking longer just because I have a problem with writing short chapters.
Originally, I was going to make it Weiss's turn. But then I decided that I wanted to let someone from team JNPR have a turn. I decided to do Ren and Nora together because that's the way the world works.
What did you guys think of the drama at the end of the chapter? I doubt Blake will be getting along with Nora any time soon. But Ren didn't seem to happy with Blake either... Hmm...
Next chapter it will be Weiss's turn. I have a bunch of stuff planned! Please keep the reviews coming, I love the support. Thank you all so much! Every time I get a review it motivates me to keep the writing!
See you guys next time!)