Thank you everyone for reading and keeping up with my story to this point. I'm going to keep this intro short. (I do not own RWBY)
Okay. Time for another chapter.
-Five years ago, a week after Blake's disappearance-
The displeasing jingle of the store bell rang, signaling that a customer had just left satisfied. "Sorry girl, that's not enough money," the short and plump shop owner spoke with a slight edge of disapproval.
"It was enough money for the last customer." The young black-haired girl narrowed her eyes at him, the customer before her bought the same exact dish that she planned to buy. But that didn't matter to the shopkeeper.
Her stomach grumbled in depravation. It had been days since she'd eaten. Normally, she would have just stuck to the woods, hunting for her own meals. But these parts were full of wandering Grimm, who either scared the wildlife away, or devoured them themselves. So now she was pushed to resort to this lousy man's service, and rely on the chance that he would sell to her.
He returned a glare and retorted gruffly, "I'm afraid I can't help you, or any of your kind…" The man was clearly putting emphasis on the word "kind", referring to the Faunus race. She retrieved her Lien cards and refused to hold this conversation any longer. Whatever she said was not going to persuade him.
Blake turned around and furrowed her eyebrows sadly as she left the small shop, located on the outskirts of town. She thought since this store was not as busy as most and it was smaller, that it would be safer from the racism directed to her kind. Sadly, she was wrong. It was as if nobody valued her except for… No. Don't think about him.
She took her time touring the dark streets of the desolate village. There was nothing better for the girl to do. After leaving her previous home, she travelled to a neighboring town in order to escape her problems. Whenever times grew tough she knew the only way to survive was to run, ditching the past, in order to guarantee her future.
The new home of the Faunus girl consisted of a tucked away hiding place in an alley. Her "bed" was simply a torn piece of cloth that did nothing to protect her from the cold. Over her bed was a tattered tarp strewn from the opposite sides of the alley. It barely served its purpose of providing a barrier from rain, or a shade from the sun on a hot day. Before settling there, she was careful enough to scope out the place, making sure that no one else came near.
She laid down to wrap herself in the insufficient blanket and shut her eyes tight. How did I lose my bow? It concealed my identity from the cruel and careless people who only want my kind gone… Her thoughts led her back to the blonde haired boy. Jaune… How could I just leave him like that? A single tear formed but she rubbed it away and restrained herself from having any more remorse over her departure. Grow up, you're all that you have now. She attempted to withhold her shivers. Tomorrow, I'm finding a new home. And bow.
-A year later, four from the present time-
Blake eyed a small boy curiously as he peered hungrily into a shop window. He was an adorable lion Faunus with a tail and floppy golden ears placed on his head, which had scruffy blonde hair. His clothes looked ragged and filthy. The place's windows were decorated with pictures of the diverse sweets currently on sale, portraying it as a bakery. She snuck up behind the boy and asked in a kind voice, "Are you hungry?"
He jumped in shock and turned to face the girl. This boy couldn't be any older than ten years old. He nodded eagerly and wondered why this girl was talking to him.
The newer black bow tied on her head cloaked her Faunus features and allowed her to be treated for who she was, not what she was.
"Come on then," a warm smile pulled at her lips and she offered a hand to the boy. As he took it she led him inside.
The air of the shop was rich and delightful, as soon as it reached the boy's nostrils his grin grew wider. "You can pick anything you'd like."
He was nearly overwhelmed by the immense variety of pastries, there were too many options for him process. He sped throughout the shop, inspecting every single type of dessert carefully. Blake felt compelled to play along and follow the boy as he rushed around. It proved to be difficult for her simply because of his unpredictable routes.
The Faunus settled on a gigantic fluffy and chocolatey doughnut that was plastered in frosting and sprinkles, the sheer size of it made his head look tiny in comparison. His eyes were wide and glossed over, he pressed his head against the glass barrier that separated him and the glorious delicacy. He began to jump and ecstatically point at in, signaling to the girl that he made up his mind.
She laughed softly at the excitable boy and the cashier came over. The man looked at the Faunus boy with critical eyes, "Sorry boy. No can do." The little lion was heartbroken.
How can people discriminate against children this young? "And why is that, sir?" A slight touch of irritation was evident in her words.
"Not gonna sell to a Faunus. Plain and simple." He crossed his arms.
"Well, you're selling it to me. So I would appreciate it if you'd let me purchase my food, unless you'd prefer to lose a paying customer." She was considerably intimidating for only being thirteen.
The sloppy looking and rather rude man grumbled a few incoherent words. Blake safely assumed that it was another racist remark. She tossed a couple Lien that she earned from helping Faunus on the counter, and then snatched the doughnut from the man to hand it to the boy. As they exited the store she shot one last disgusted glare at the man behind the counter.
"Thank you, ma'am!" By the time they stood outside, the little Faunus boy's face was already smeared with chocolate crumbs and sprinkles.
She scratched gently behind his lion ears, "No need to thank me," with a soft smile she added, "Now go on!"
He nodded and was off.
There has to be something I can do about this. Not for my personal benefit, but for the young ones, who are more vulnerable than I am.
-Two years later, two from the present-
Cold… So… cold… Blake leaned up against a tree shivering violently, wrapped in a thick black cloak. The sharp, freezing wind bit at her cheeks, burning them red. She pulled the cloak over her head to shield from the cold and snow.
While on her immense journey a blizzard had struck, she shouldn't have been surprised. She was aware of how close winter was, but her recent lack of rest and food lessened her judgement, distracting her from nature's signs. The girl couldn't remember the last time she had eaten, and there was no telling if she would ever again. This storm is never going to end…
She closed her eyes. Her slightly blued lips began to tremble from the cold. Her toes were numb, feeling like they would fall off at any moment. Her fingers were fairing better, but were not far from being completely numb.
A ferocious growl came from close behind her, she cursed her carelessness. I shouldn't have been so foolish and ignorant. I let my guard down and my mood must have attracted these beasts.
Blake dropped the cloak and wielded her blackened weapons, shifting them into sword from. She turned toward the enemies, two Ursa Minors, her fingers began to shake uncontrollably, not from fear, but from the cold.
She used her Semblance to blink toward the first, easily slicing through the flesh to decapitate it. She had not been slacking as the years passed. The ninja made sure to maintain a fit body, and sharp senses that rarely failed. Her skills improved exponentially, mostly to protect herself from the common unpleasant brutes and the occasional racist.
The second Ursa charged at her from behind, thanks to her extra pair of ears, her acute hearing was able to pick up the pounding of its heavy paws. With her Semblance again she blinked backwards into the air, flexibly performed a flip, then slashed into the Grimm's spine with both blades. It dropped, dead and defeated.
That wasn't too challenging. She felt a speck of pride over the small victory.
The corpses of the monsters disintegrated, dissipating into a gloomy shroud of darkness.
In the heat of the moment her body was able to expel some of the cold and replace it with heat. She grabbed her black cloak and made progress on her journey, refusing to take the risk of stopping again. When the storm settled and the snow cleared, her destination was set in sight.
Vale.
-Two years late, two months from the present-
The sounds of shouts and a struggle reached Blake's ears as she walked the lonely streets of nighttime Vale. "Hey!" She had been on her way back to her makeshift home when she heard them. They came from a shady looking warehouse. The shattered windows were roughly boarded but a faint light was visible from the interior of the building.
The Faunus girl approached one of the broken windows and glanced inside through a small slit. Two men with silver Grimm masks and hoods were circling around a woman. The woman was strapped to a chair in the middle of the dimly lit room. The seat appeared to be the only intact piece of furniture in the room, the rest seemed to be broken down into scraps of wood.
Blake narrowed her eyes when she spotted the White Fang emblem on the backs of their vests. With the image came a flood of memories. Memories which she had persistently tried to rid herself of. Her childhood, criminals, Adam… Jaune… Why can't I forget that idiot?! All he caused was trouble!
She clenched her fists in frustration at herself, contemplating on if she should play this discreetly as usual, or let her temper get the best of her and charge in. The girl decided it would be safer to handle this in her usual fashion.
Blake inspected the perimeter of the rundown building in an attempt to find an entrance instead of the front door. There were none.
On the rear of it she discovered a ladder, which led to the rooftop of the warehouse. After ascending to the top, she found a small window conveniently located above one of the goons, it was shattered already, so she would not have to worry about giving herself away too early. The fall was not too high, she could easily get the drop on one of them (literally), then use her Semblance to close the distance to her next enemy before finishing him. This plan offered the highest possibility of keeping the woman alive.
She descended through the skylight onto the first criminal's back, the force of the drop slammed him into the ground, leaving him unconscious. The other was quicker on his feet than she expected. Before she could use her Semblance, he was upon her, slashing rapidly with a blood red sword. Every blow he dealt, she blocked, but she was losing ground every hit. Unfortunately for the White Fang member, her expertise was stealth, being gifted in the art of disappearing in a mere moment.
She purposefully missed a block, allowing him to slash through her neck like it was made of nothing. Only a second was given to the man for a celebration until he realized that he had not won, the kill was an illusion. There was no time for him to react before a forceful hit was landed on the back of his head, knocking him out like his partner.
She smirked in triumph as she tied the criminals and released the woman. Blake picked one of their pockets and used one of their Scrolls to call the police. She simply escorted the woman out of the building through the front door.
The woman spoke after exiting, "Thank you so much, whoever you are."
"Why were you there?" The Faunus girl wasted no time in her interrogation, she crossed her arms in suspicion, looking directly into the woman's eyes.
"I was only walking home. Then the two approached me and demanded money, for no reason at all. When I refused, they threatened me. They said they would kill my family…" The woman looked traumatized, and she had a valid reason to be. She turned her back to her savior.
Blake nodded and spoke confidently, "They will not trouble you again. Trust me, I won't allow them."
The woman was relieved, "Thank you so much! But who are you?"
Her response was a gust of wind. Upon observing her surroundings, there were no other beings in sight. She began to believe that all of it had been some sort of hallucination, but that would not explain her kidnapping by the White Fang.
Blake was perched on a rooftop nearby, looking down at her like a guardian angel. So… The humans are racist toward Faunus, the White Fang retaliates with random acts of violence… There's nowhere safe from the corruption, discrimination, and injustices that occur. There has to be something I can do…
As she turned around, the answer to her predicament became clear, in the form of a great tower, a shining beacon that lit the darkness. Is this a sign to become a Huntress? She asked herself and at first was not pleased by the idea. Well if I have to start somewhere, I guess it will be Beacon Academy.
A dreadful voice killed the moment of revelation she was experiencing.
"Oh Blake, I never expected you to turn so soft," the sly man's voice sent chills down her spine.
She wished none of this was real, just a sick nightmare that she would soon awaken from. As she turned around she admitted that this was real.
He had not changed at all from their last encounter. Same red hair, same mask, same loathing face that showed his despise for this world. His red sword was currently unsheathed, held by his side.
Adam smirked at her and chuckled, she hated every bit of it. "What's the matter, darling?" His mocked concern irritated her. "Cat got your tongue?"
"How did you find me?" Her attempt at sounding strong was unsuccessful. He could see right through her, sensing her fear.
"Do you not recall? I was the one who raised you, I know how you think, and where you will go. I can easily predict your next move… To run." The man approached her, but for every step he took forward, she took two backwards. "Is that all you know how to do, Blake? Run? I thought I taught you better than that." He looked at his sword for a brief moment, "Though I am glad to see you're not with that foolish knight anymore. I wrongly underestimated him, I should have been more aware of his potential considering his family's history."
She wondered what he meant by the last part, but the insults thrown at her hit a soft spot. Making her feel like she was nothing at all because of her tendency to flee when times were difficult. And the worst part: she was starting to believe him. He had instilled a doubt in her, causing her uncertainty of herself to bloom. Can I really change anything?
"Do you feel like a hero? For saving her?" His wicked grin spread wider.
She glanced over the edge to look down at the woman. She immediately clasped her hands over her mouth in utter horror. Her entire body shook in terror. The murderer, now right by her, whispered into her ear, "I decided to replicate the scene with Jaune's father, for old time's sake. What do you think of it?"
With every sadistic word uttered by him, she realized how much of a psychopath he had become. She was forced to break her stare at the scene when he grabbed her arms to spin her, so that she faced him. His warm breath floated down to her face, making her shiver. The level of uncomfortableness she was feeling continued to rise tremendously.
"Remember our plan, my love? The revolution? Do you not care for our kind?"
She stuttered, "I-I care for the Faunus, b-but this is not the right way…"
"What have you become? Has your love for me died out?" His tone was severe and he tightened his grip on her arms, crushing them.
She retained a small whimper, then narrowed her teary eyes, "I never loved you, Adam. You're a monster..."
He audibly growled, but before his abuse could proceed, she was out of his hands. Her Semblance assisted her in escaping his grasp. She dashed across the rooftops to avoid being captured and tortured any longer. The criminal was scared off by the nearing police siren, he could easily dispatch them, but now was not the time. Eventually… I will have my love…
-Present Day-
"Grow up, stop living in stupid fantasies!" She felt cold as ice, her heart as if made of stone. Before anyone was able to scold her for the outburst she left the scene, making her way to the new team rooms. Distinguishing her room from the rest was made simple by the labels on their doors. Apparently she was now part of Team RWBY. Yang and Ruby seemed nice. Possibly a bit too hyper for her liking, but nonetheless nice. On the other hand, Weiss was rich, irritable, and a Schnee. They were not going to get along well.
Once inside the room, she saw that their luggage was already delivered. She would have questioned it further if her mind was not already buzzing. She leaned her hands on the windowsill and closed her eyes. Was it necessary to be so cruel? He was so nice when we were younger…
She disciplined herself, "Get it together Blake! You have to do this." If you never met him, then you would never have had problems like these.
The door creaked when it opened, "Blake?" She recognized her partner's voice, "What was that all about?" Her tone was a mixture of confusion and concern, with an edge of anger underneath.
"It doesn't have anything to deal with you, so please stop worrying about it," her words trembled when spoken, a tear rolled down her cheek. Stop it! She wiped it away quickly, only to have it be replaced by another. All she wanted was to run and forget about these people and this ridiculous school.
"Jaune's a great guy, what could he possibly have done to deserve that?"
Blake's miserable mood only worsened, she regretted her outburst and felt guilty for crushing the boy's spirits. "Nothing…" She finally turned to confront the blonde.
Yang felt her burning rage smolder inside of her, her eyes reddened, but her hair had not yet burst into flames, "Then why did you hurt him!?" She clenched her fists and her roar caused the raven-haired girl to shrink back in her place. Jaune was the nicest person she had ever met, plus he saved her sister, she felt the need to defend him.
"I'm sorry…" Blake apologized meekly. She didn't have the will to argue, this was painful for her, just like it was for Jaune.
Yang's eyes reverted to their normal beautiful lilac color. She sat on the bed to the right of the room and patted a spot for Blake to sit. Calmly she asked, "Could you at least explain?" Ruby and Weiss could be heard outside as they neared the room, arguing, to no one's surprise.
The shy girl sat next to her partner while letting out a soft sigh, then began her tale, "It all started on a lonely, winding road, in the middle of nowhere… "
She was interrupted when the door opened to reveal Weiss and her partner. The first thing she did was narrow her eyes furiously and pointed a finger at Blake. "You! How dare you do that to Jaune?!" The heiress stomped over to her, shaking from the anger she was containing. "What do you have to say for yourself?!"
"I'm really sorry, I can explain," she spoke quietly and aimed her gaze at the floor.
The heiress sat on the bed opposite from Yang and Blake, Ruby took a seat by her. The redhead remained silent, waiting to hear the story. Weiss crossed her arms with an unpleased frown, waiting impatiently.
"Jaune and I go further back than the incident on the train. Actually, I was his first friend," Weiss turned away jealously after hearing this. "On the day we met I had to save him from a pack of Grimm, and immediately after that, he saved me from the same monsters." Her lips barely rose in a reminiscent smile. " Later on, when I was being bullied, he came to save me. There was no way he could beat them, but that stupidly sweet knight didn't care. When he spots someone in danger there's nothing that can sway him from stepping in."
The three listeners nodded to show their silent agreement. They were already familiar with this careless, yet heroic side of the knight. "We stuck together through thick and thin. Every moment we spent apart from each other I worried for him. Then..." Her mood darkened when she thought of Adam. "My insane mentor returned." She glossed over the details about who he truly was. It was asking much of Blake to open up this way, and she was fine with revealing some of her past, but she would not discuss the White Fang. "He was the one who coordinated our first mission. He was the savage who almost killed you..." Her apologetic gaze locked with Weiss's. The heiress broke eye contact and stared at the floor blankly.
"After Jaune lost his father I ran. I just couldn't..." Blake trailed off and was too choked up to continue. She shut her eyes and worked to call herself down. Yang placed a hand on her shoulder to console her.
A couple of minutes passed in silence before she was able to recover.
"I traveled aimlessly. One place to another. Nobody offered help, I was on my own again. No caring boy to keep me company." Ruby looked at her sympathetically, saddened by the girl's tale. "I needed a new life and wanted to help people, so I decided to become a Huntress." The partial lie hid her experiences as a Faunus and the White Fang.
Blake took a deep breath. Relieved not only to be done, but to also take some of the weight off of her shoulders. The other girls waited for her to go on, but no more words came from her.
Ruby was the first to pipe up softly, "He hasn't changed..." The raven-haired girl looked at the red reaper with curiosity. "He's still that same goofy heroic knight. I could have died if he hadn't rescued me." The redhead looked down at her hands and Blake thought back to Initiation.
"All of those years without you, we stuck together." Weiss spoke up, causing Blake to shift her gaze to her. "I'm still not certain if it was me pushing him along or the other way around. Even though we were unable to spend all of our time together in person, we stayed in contact." Weiss's pale cheeks turned pink, to everyone's surprise, as she remembered the times he held her.
Blake turned to Yang when she felt a gentle squeeze on her shoulder. "I'm not too close to my fellow blonde, but I don't have to know everything about him to tell that he's an amazing guy. He's a hero in my eyes, not because of something he did for me, but because of what he did to save Ruby's life."
Ruby rushed over to her sister and tackled her onto the bed in a hug. "Aww I love you too, sis!" Yang smiled at her words and ruffled the little girl's hair.
She sat up and looked at her partner with an encouraging smile, "Go talk to him, Blakey. He'll understand." Yang gave her a wink and then moved on to peeling Ruby off of her.
Blake looked back to Weiss who only nodded in approval. She gave a sigh and stood up, mentally preparing herself.
-During Team RWBY's meeting-
The knight stood at the edge of Beacon's cliff, the bird's chirping from earlier now asleep for the night, the diverse flowers all shaded darkly, the small pond's veil of shadow making the fish invisible in the black of night. The pale moonlight shined down on Jaune, not offering its usual comforting sensation to him. He felt as if someone simply ripped his heart and dreams out and stomped them into the dirt. That someone being his first friend.
He crooked his neck to spot his reflection in the pool, lit by the moon's rays. He felt drained of energy, which was strange considering the amount of rest he had over the two weeks.
A tear rolled down his cheek and tumbled into the water, causing a ripple that scattered his form in the water.
"Maybe she's right dad. I was an idiot for thinking I could save everyone, there's no way that I could ever possibly do that," his broken-hearted voice spoke to no one, hoping wherever his father was that he could hear him, "I couldn't save you…" His words were choked up and he clenched his eyes shut, "This isn't my destiny." The boy's shoulders slumped in self-pity and defeat.
He picked up voices coming from behind him, one owned an accent like the violet eyed girl, "Come on, I saw him go this way."
Two girls burst through the dense growth of trees, he had no reaction to their entrance.
"This the guy?" This second voice was far different from the first, it was deeper and feminine. She spoke in a cool tone, possibly in an effort to act as if she didn't care, yet she did. Of course, Jaune paid no attention to any of those deeper details.
The other girl nodded after inspecting the boy. She could clearly see him in the dark due to her Faunus abilities.
"Hey, Jaune? Right?" Asked the one who lacked an accent.
He turned to face them.
"Are you ok?" The girl with an accent sounded sweet and gentle, in a way it reminded him of how Pyrrha spoke to him.
"I don't think so… I'm not sure what's happening to me," he sounded worried as he opened his eyes to look at his hands.
The two of them approached him and the accented one spoke, "You should take a seat then."
He didn't need to be told twice. He trudged over to a tree and plummeted to the ground, leaning up against a tree, and looked up at the two girls. One wore a short and brown, long-sleeved jacket with a black undershirt. A sort of case hung from her hip and surprisingly, she had two long bunny ears atop her head. He could not precisely determine her hair or eye color due to the darkness.
The other girl, in Jaune's opinion, seemed extremely fashionable for some reason. She wore a mocha shirt with a dark brown corset. Her belt was surrounded by lined bullets; the buckle was a shiny gold crosshair. Her pants were dark brown and she wore tall high-heeled leather boots with buckles. She appeared to wear some kind of hat and… Wait, sunglasses? At night?
Jaune was completely guessing on the colors, he was not going to worry greatly over the matter.
"Do you wanna go to the nurse?" Asked the smooth one.
He groaned in objection, "I'd rather not, I was just in there for weeks."
"Oh, are you the reason the ceremony was postponed for the first years?" The Faunus asked quietly.
"Yeah…" He wasn't particular thrilled from being the reason it was delayed. "Why are you guys here? Are you first years too?"
"I'm Coco, that's Velvet," the fashionable one stated and pointed to her friend, "Were second year students. Oz sent us to find you because we are more 'responsible' than other first years." She chuckled to herself as she air quoted the word "responsible".
"We should really get you back to your new team's dorm," Velvet added while Coco assisted him in standing.
The two upperclassmen led him through the giant school, thankfully they were more familiar with the layout of the place. The halls were all empty. I guess everyone has turned in for the night.
The three reached Jaune's hallway and slowly neared his team's room. He looked at the team who owned the room across from his and groaned nervously. It belonged to Team RWBY, which consisted of Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang. Blake…
Hushed voices came from that room, while yells and howls came from his own.
"Thanks for the help guys," Jaune placed his hand on the knob and smiled at the older students.
"No problem, maybe we'll see you around," Coco replied and Velvet only waved timidly as they walked off.
He took a deep breath and wished that his team would be a bit quieter, he still felt horrible in every way possible.
When he opened the door, he was greeted by the sight of Nora bouncing on a bed, singing in a high pitched voice, while slapping Ren with pillows. Jaune was surprised that the boy just accepted the beating. He wasn't aware of the history the two best friends had together.
Pyrrha was sitting on her bed wearing a nightgown that ended slightly above her knees, the color of it matched her hair. She looked concerned until he entered the room. She tried her very best to subdue her worried tone but failed, "Jaune, are you ok?"
Nora dropped her pillow and Ren sat up. Both of them wondered silently what he would do so they listened attentively.
"Yeah its nothing," he flashed a poor convincing smile to them, which only Nora could not see through. "Don't let me stop your fun."
"Yes! Our leader is fun Ren!" Nora immediately resumed punishing the innocent boy with the pillow, distracting him from Jaune.
The knight slowly walked over to his bed, located between the wall and Pyrrha's. He began to remove his armor and sweatshirt, then peeled his undershirt off lastly. It didn't cross his mind that there were girls in the room too. Pyrrha's eyes flicked across his features, he was much more fit than she originally thought. She had to admit, she was more than slightly impressed. Her blush was flourishing across her cheeks, then halted and faded when two irregularities were brought to her attention.
Her beautiful eyes widened when she discovered two glowing white marks. One a small slice on his midsection, the other appeared to be from his right shoulder being pierced. They only illuminated for a brief moment, looking like dimmed beacons of light, before fading back into his normal smooth skin. He disappeared into the bathroom for a shower and returned shortly, dressed in a clean white shirt and pair of sweatpants.
Not in the onesie mood, he thought to himself. The scene that greeted him differed completely from the previous.
Nora was surprisingly asleep, he thought it was impossible bubbly girl to rest. Her booming snores could be heard from all the way across the room. The bed to her right held a softly sleeping Ren, any day spent with Nora was long and terribly exhausting.
Jaune sat on his bed facing toward Pyrrha, who remained in her same place. Her sympathetic green eyes met his saddened blue ones. "You should get some sleep, I bet you've had a long day." He gave her a half-hearted smile.
"I bet yours was longer," She frowned and added, "How do you feel?" He's probably hurt…
"Hurt, broken, drained, lonely," he dropped his eyes to his hands and stared blankly. "For some reason, after that whole…" He paused to determine the correct word, but quickly gave up and continued, "Thing, my Aura levels have been strange and unstable."
"Jaune, you're never alone. You have a team now." She flashed a soothing smile at him and replied to his latter statement, "You should sleep, maybe that will help you recover." She shoved the thoughts of his scars to the back of her mind and laid in bed, covering herself snuggly in blankets.
Jaune laid on his bed for hours. He knew that sleep wouldn't improve his state, the problem was more complicated than that. He was having difficulties sleeping, most likely because of his reunion with Blake. The boy turned to his left side to look at his partner who was sound asleep. She looked so gentle and at peace, it brought a warm smile to his face.
I just need some alone time, to figure some of this stuff out.
He slipped out of bed and carefully snuck toward the door, one wrong step could cause him to trip, then that would result in his team waking up. Once he reached his door he let out a sigh of relief. He left the room, closed the door silently, and began his walk down the hall.
Eventually his feet led him to a staircase which he climbed upward. He climbed to the highest level possible and found himself on top of the dorm building. The drafty breeze blew through his hair as he walked to sit by the edge. He was sure to not get too close, or else he might risk the chance of getting sick.
The night began to quiet down, leaving his surroundings in a strange silence. Despite the lack of noise, his ears were unable to pick up the mute patters of a certain ninja.
She whispered to him, "Come on, it isn't too scary. Sit with me." The offer's purpose was to set him at ease, but it backfired.
The girl took Jaune completely by surprise, at her first word he leapt into the air scared. He turned, not expecting to see his old friend here, giving him a hopeful smile. He allowed her to take his hand and guide him to the edge. Even though he was reluctant to, he sat on the edge and hung his feet off as she had done.
Jaune could not urge himself to look at her, it only worsened the wounds in his heart. But he also refused to look down to the ground, so he looked at his hands.
"Look," She began, "I'm so sorry for everything that happened, you didn't deserve any of that." Her tone was apologetic, not uncaring like it used to be when they were younger.
His deep blue eyes welled with tears, he turned his head away in order to hide his emotions.
"Jaune," her tone was weak and hurt, "I need you to look at me, so that I know you're listening. Please…" The last word cracked in desperation.
He turned to face her with tears ready to spring from his eyes, as he locked onto her amber orbs, the first drop flowed.
Blake wiped the tear away softly," I missed you, Jaune." The words were barely audible but full of truth. "The whole time I was gone, I tried to forget all my memories of you, I tried to isolate myself from everyone so I would never be hurt in that way again. I didn't understand why it was impossible to forget you… But now I do, its bec—"
Jaune interrupted his friend to embrace her, holding her tightly and savoring the warmth that radiated from her. She buried her face in his neck, refusing to cry. She loved feeling his body, this was the closest she's been to him in ages. And it was the perfect moment to her for finally being together again.
"I missed you too Blake."
She pulled back enough in order to speak, "A-aren't you mad? For me leaving?"
"All that matters now is that you're here now." His smile told her that he meant every word.
The girl embraced him even tighter than before. How can he be so forgiving?
"How'd you even know I was up here?"
"I didn't, I was just going for a stroll," her lie was not fooling the boy.
"I'm more observant than I used to be, but not by much. It doesn't take a genius to see through that lie, and that's good because I'm far from being a genius."
She took a deep breath and pulled away to look at his face. He tilted his head to the side. He had matured into a defined and handsome young man; he wasn't the scrawny boy she used to love. Love? Did you really feel that way? She shook the question out of her head and replied, "I told my team about our past together from my point of view. Ruby and Yang were surprised to know that I was involved in the whole train incident," her eyes narrowed at the boy, "Why did you not tell them of me? You didn't even tell Weiss about how we first became friends." Her gaze softened and she looked hurt from that fact.
"I'm sorry, I just refused to talk about that stuff in detail. It was all too painful to remember," he looked away in shame.
Blake paused for a considerably long moment and finally nodded understandingly. Then continued, "They began to tell of how you've effected their lives already. You and Weiss stuck together for years, motivating each other to keep moving forward. You risked your life to save Ruby's, earning great respect from Yang in the process…"
She looked away from him and shifted her gaze to the school grounds below, "They convinced me to come and attempt to resolve our issues, it wasn't difficult following your loud steps."
Jaune's cheeks were blushing a deep shade of red, he thought that she couldn't see, but her night vision pierced the darkness and illuminated his features. "You're an amazing guy, with a huge heart, Jaune." Her admiring smile began to fade for two reasons. She wanted to confess her strange feelings for him, but she was too afraid. Secondly, she felt guilty for not standing by his side while he was fatally injured from Initiation. "I was too full of my restrained anger to see what you were going through, and what you had to go through in the past."
The knight put a finger to her lips to silence her woeful speech, "Blake, I forgive you." His Aura brightened strongly, providing a brief but brilliant shine. He had failed to notice that during this touching moment his energy was recharging.
"What just happened?"
"I have no clue. Lately my Aura has been all weird when I'm with friends," he scratched the back of his head with an expression of puzzlement. "When you yelled at me and I was upset, it was all unstable. Now that were together and friends again, it seems fine," the boy shrugged and brushed it off.
"You should rest, maybe you just haven't recovered from Initiation yet," her concern for him was clear, but she also tried to be stern.
He was not enthused by the suggestion that everyone seemed to be giving him, "But Bla— "
"Jaune, it's for the best." He still wasn't persuaded by her caring voice, not until her face turned to one of pleading, "Please."
He groaned and broke for her, giving her a goofy smile, "You're lucky I can't deny that face, Blakey."
"Must you call me that?" They stood and she took the hand that he offered to her.
"It's my one request of you, Blakey." His hand was warm and soft, his goofy smile continued to beam.
The two walked silently back to their dorm rooms in the dark of the night. I guess I can handle the name. She smiled, content with how the whole scene played out. I might have missed that stupid smile of his too… A pink blush spread across her cheeks while her thoughts about the boy began to spiral.
When they had arrived to their dorms, they separated. Blake was able to drift off easily, but the knight had not been so fortunate. A familiar hazy feeling rolled over him as he laid in bed. Oh no… It was too late; he was unable to stop himself from being swallowed into yet another nightmare.
"Oh you missed her, Jaune?" Her sinister chuckle made the hairs on his neck prickle up. "That is just too cute, too bad you'll only lose her again…"
Jaune glared at the amber-eyed figure, "What are you talking about?"
"All good things must come to an end, they eventually crumble and wither away, as will the friends that you hold so dearly," her antagonizing was clearly just an attempt to get him to react, but he held his anger down.
"Why me?" His weak voice managed to sound out.
She smiled the same smile that made his blood boil, "We have been watching you, noting your finest moments. You could be a valuable asset to our cause."
"I never will be! You could just be afraid of me!" He clenched his fists and she ignored the second part of his statement.
"What if it meant saving a friend?"
He was silenced and realized he had been placed in a scene from a past dream. Except now the burning classroom was almost completely engulfed in flames.
Blake appeared out of nothing, holding a limp and shadowy figure, one of its arms detached and laid beside his friend. A growing puddle of blood seeped into her clothing, covering her stomach from a recent stab wound. Her face was completely pale, yet full of defiance.
"Why must you hurt me, Blake?" The words were in a low and raspy tone, one that Jaune vividly remembered. They came from a tall shadow, one hand resting on a sheathed sword hanging from his side.
"You love her, don't you Jaune?" The woman with him teased, "For how long?" While she spoke, he witnessed the figure slice cleanly through Blake's neck, decapitating her.
His hands unclenched and all thoughts in his mind ceased. He felt his body heat up, the sound of his blood rushing filled his ears. His heart beats seemed to slow, along with time, "N-no…" His whisper shuddered quietly.
Then the wretched scene, including the woman, vanished. Leaving him in this plain of darkness. His Aura glowed blindingly bright, but he knew in this dream realm he was powerless to alter the course of events.
"Savor what you love, while you still can, Jaune." He expected the dream to end, but an accented girl kept it alive.
He turned to greet who spoke, and saw the violet eyes girl. Her frown matched his. "Who are you?! Why are you doing this?!" He was outraged from the losses he was forced to repeatedly watch, every one of them succeeded in beating him down.
The girl shrank in her place, tears were ready to flow from her eyes, "I-I'm not the enemy, w-we're less different than you m-may think..." With those words the dream ended.
Both teams had a moderately eventful morning of classes, so Jaune had almost no time to collect his thoughts after the nightmare. Team RWBY spent it unpacking and decorating their new room. Team JNPR spent theirs sleeping in, one of them suffering from a seemingly inescapable dream. Neither knew of the classes that had been planned for the day, they thought that since last night was the late celebration, they would get the next day off.
Jaune woke up immediately after his dream finished and heard Ruby's piercing shout, it was something about classes. So his first instinct was to quickly rouse the rest of his team from their rest, and hurry to prepare for the day. After all of the action, they made it to their own classes. Only managing to be slightly late.
Jaune was now sitting through Grimm Studies with the whole of Team RWBY. His own team was currently in a different class from his own. The teacher of this class was Professor Port. From what Jaune could gather, he was a blunt and narcissistic teacher, who enjoyed reminiscing on his past triumphs over the creatures of Grimm. This was apparent because for the past half hour he had already told four of these exaggerated tales.
He chose a seat located between Yang and Weiss. Ruby sat to the left of Weiss, and Blake was on the right of Yang. He felt sort of closed in by all of them and was slightly uncomfortable, except he had no time to worry about pretty girls. At the moment he was pondering his most recent dream. It helped him to tune out the boastful professor's stories.
Who is that violet-eyed girl? She's a student here because I ran into her the other day, but why does she keep showing up? She has to have something to do with the dreams I've been having, her and that mystery woman. Is the amber-eyed woman even real? He frowned and recalled how his friends were targeted through the dreams, all of them except for Ruby…
He snapped out of his thoughts when Weiss stood for some reason and approached the front of class. Apparently she was going to perform a demonstration of killing a Boarbatusk to exhibit her skills as a training Huntress. The one to fill him in on this info was Yang.
She made the fight seem not difficult in the slightest, using her perfectly timed Glyphs to gain advantages against the beast. Her and Ruby were yelling at each other throughout the entire fight, causing Jaune to cover his face in aggravation. I wish they would just get along with each other…
After claiming victory and receiving praise from the plump teacher, the heiress stomped out of class immaturely. Ruby followed shortly behind her.
Once the class ended, Jaune left the room with Blake and Yang. On his way out he noticed Ruby speaking to Ozpin. He separated from his friends in pursuit of the heiress, who he found on an outside balcony, not far from the classroom.
The wintery beauty leaned on the railing and stared off into the distance, as if deep in thought. The warm orange sunset beamed down on her, brightening her face with the light rays. Her shoulders were slumped in disappointment with herself. "I just don't understand…"
"Understand what?" Jaune asked neutrally. He was now standing close by her side and set his gaze on the sunset, not staring directly into the sun.
Weiss looked up at him and briefly wondered why he was there, then she was reminded of how much he cared for her feelings. Her tone was full of jealousy, "Why was Ruby made team leader? I'm significantly more qualified than she is, she isn't capable of handling the responsibilities that come with being leader."
"Am I any more capable than her?"
"Y—," she began in protest, but Jaune immediately interjected.
"No, I'm most likely not. We're all only first year students. Plus, she's two years younger, and Ozpin let her into Beacon and made her leader. If anything, that proves she is far more capable than most." He defended Ruby and looked down to meet her eyes, "Please, just give her a chance." His expression was hopeful, and he left the girl to reflect on what he said.
"Nora?"
"Yes, Ren?"
"We can have pancakes for dinner, but only if you come finish your homework first." Jaune and Pyrrha were unable to hold back a small laugh at the boy's strife.
For the past hour, Nora had been launching paper airplanes from the window, aiming them at other students. Most of them failed to meet their mark. "But Ren, we must protect the kingdom from the pillagers! Or else the king and queen will be killed!" One of her planes hit a student in the chest, causing the girl to throw her arms in an ecstatic cheer, "Direct hit, Sir Ren!"
"Nora, if you fail to complete your homework, then I'll be forced to make one of my smoothies, full of essential nutrients," he said in a more upbeat tone, almost sounding excited.
"I will never drink that wretched poison ever again!" She finally conceded and ran to sit with Ren at her desk after almost an hour of dispute.
Pyrrha was struggling with holding back her amusement, Jaune had just recovered from doubling over due to his laughter. After both of them settled down, Jaune asked, "So does that mean I'm king?"
"I believe so, your majesty," she giggled softly at the title, "But who is the queen?"
He reddened a little and smiled, "Well I guess you would be my queen, Pyrrha."
She attempted to hide her deep red blush from the boy by turning away, but he managed to catch a glance, "My queen, why deny me the honor of seeing your lovely face?" His joke was spoken with a boyish grin.
Pyrrha's face was as red as her hair, I'm going to get revenge on him for this… She decided to play along with him, "For no reason, my king." The spartan turned to look at the knight and his face was equally as red as hers.
The pair of new royals broke out into another bout of uncontrollable laughter, stopping when their teammate spoke.
"Would you two like to accompany us to the cafeteria?"
"We're getting pancakes!" Nora was bouncing slightly while tugging Ren's hand, pulling him closer and closer to the door.
Pyrrha looked to Jaune in interest, waiting to hear his answer before providing hers.
"Nah, I still have some work to do and I already ate."
Pyrrha racked her brain in search of a valid excuse, "And I'm…" Come on think… "Going to help him!" It was clear to the other two what she was doing, Ren raising an eyebrow and Nora beaming knowingly. This whole internal conversation completely flew over Jaune's head.
"Sweet, thanks Pyrrha," Jaune was smiling at his generous partner while heading over to his desk.
Ren nodded to Pyrrha before exiting and Nora hopped along after him. The redhead let loose a breath of relief that gave way to a smile, she was overjoyed to finally have some alone time with her partner.
In minutes the two were finished, mostly because of Pyrrha's vast knowledge. Jaune was not dumb by any means, he just was not on the same level as her. He slammed his book shut and spoke, "Strong, caring, funny, and smart. I picked an amazing partner," he laughed a little and smiled gratefully.
Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, "If I'm not mistaken, I recall pinning you to a tree and coming to help you…" She tapped her chin three times and looked up with a contemplating face.
"I don't have a clue what you're talking about!" His reply was desperate and he scratched the back of his head.
The girl sat on Jaune's bed, her smile had been wiped from her face, replaced by a curious frown. The images of Jaune's scars from the previous night were brought back to mind. Her partner sat by her side and was concerned by her strange mood, "What's wrong? Did I say something?"
She shook her head no, "Where did you get those glowing marks?"
"W-what marks?" His nervousness was poorly masked; this wasn't a topic that he enjoyed discussing.
"Your right shoulder and stomach, those don't appear to be common scars." She paused and hoped that he would explain, "They glowed white."
To start off, he explained the story of his childhood, except this time he involved Blake when he previously had not. He fumbled clumsily with his hands and occasionally fidgeted in his place. "The only times I've harnessed my Semblance, were to save another's life. Even then, I wasn't in complete control of it. My Aura sort of just… Followed its instincts to protect others in need." The knight's voice was hushed and calmer than his norm, "I discovered the scar on my shoulder after saving Ruby, the other was from the incident with Weiss. They randomly glow, sometimes brighter than other times, but usually when I'm fighting for a life. I can tell because those areas heat up more when they grow brighter. I think they have something to do with my Semblance…"
He allowed her to soak up some of the information then finished, "I guess they serve as a kind of bond to the ones I saved, reminding me of my purpose."
There was a long moment of silence before Pyrrha asked softly, "What do you believe is your purpose?"
He cracked a partial smile and turned to look into her piercing green eyes, "To help and protect people, to save them when they need it." He placed his left hand on her right shoulder, "And of course, that applies to you, my queen."
Then there it was, his silly smile that he always had. She began to think of how cute it was when he did it. Her near pale cheeks felt tiny prickles of heat, letting her know that they were turning pink from his words.
She started out shakily, then stabilized "I-I would do the same for you, Jaune," she smiled kindly. A new sensation came over her, like an emptiness that she had always known, now actually stood a chance of being filled.
Jaune… You mean more to all of us than you may think.
Pyrrha decided to not let this situation get too awkward so she changed the conversation, "Are you excited for the field trip to Forever Fall? Ms. Goodwitch said we must go there to collect resources for Professor Peach a week from today on Wednesday." The spartan seemed rather excited, "The leaves are beautifully colored…" She stroked her red hair and Jaune connected the pieces for once in his life, she liked the color red. A lot.
"F-field trip? F-forever Fall?" The horrible memories of the forest returned to him.
"Yes, Tuesday we have combat practice, then the day after that is the trip. How have you not heard of this?"
He shrugged nervously, "I-I don't know, it must have just gone in one ear and out the other." He gulped and was already not looking forward to the upcoming events.
There's Chapter Four. Thank you for reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing the story, I still can't believe how much you guys are enjoying it so far. Just want to say it means a lot to me.
Another thank you to my friend JMK2 for helping me with ideas for the story and revising the chapter.
Next chapter is on the way.