Golly gee, it seems like I don't own RWBY! Goodie for me!
"Sometimes, you need to quite the mediocore things to experience the amazing." -Unknown
BETA: TheChaiGuy
With mild amusement, he watched as the door creaked with protest, just barely keeping hold onto its hinges - what with Yang's strength and all, he was surprised the door even held up at all. The thoughts were quickly shook out of him, roughly; as he himself was almost toppled over by the sheer amount of force Yang put into one, bear-crushing hug. He was half sure that anyone without aura would be sporting minor to major bruises right about now.
Thing is, aura didn't help him recieve air, which was becoming quite a troubling thing to do when you had someone clinging to your neck, unwilling to let go. He struggled to even reach his hand in the air, opting to tap her shoulder once or twice, conveying the message.
Thankfully, she got it, lossening her grip, but not releasing him altogether. He did return the hug, however. It would've been rude not to - at least, in his mind it was rude, he was too socially awkward to understand the rules of society.
He didn't understand something; why was she this ecstatic in the first place? In his mind, he saw only two logical answers in the matter. Either he had been passed out for a bit too long, or they were just that good of friends - but he was leaning to the former, they had only known each other for about a week or so, after all.
Wait a minute...
"Yang?" asked slowly, a slight hint of fear present in his voice.
He heard her make a slight noise in the back of her throat, but otherwise, she said nothing. Jaune took this as a sign to continue his inquiry.
"H-how long have I been out?"
She pulled back slowly, hands still on his shoulders, looking him in the eyes with warmth, compassion, and an emotion Jaune couldn't quite put his finger on - though he decided to let it go for now, it shouldn't have been too much of a concern.
Especially when there was a larger problem as of now.
"About...two days, give or take." she informed.
He stared, looking her over, just to confirm her statement for himself - and after seeing no hint of deception whatsoever, he promptly shouted.
"What!? Two days!? What about initiation!? The fight!? Did I lose!? Do I have to-!?" he started to ramble off a list of thing that could have potentially gone out of his favor in the past two days, during his unconscious state; abruptly silenced, however, by a new voice joining in the fray.
"Relax. Initiation was postponed by Headmaster Ozpin until you woke up." the voice assured.
His eyes narrowed, confusion etched upon his face, before slowly turning his head towards where the voice originated. His stare caused Weiss to back up uncomfortably, in fears that she might have said something wrong - she couldn't fathom what, but it was still a possibility.
"W-Weiss?" he questioned, tilting his head.
She awkwardly looked to the side, "Er, yes. That's me...Why?"
He said nothing, giving the snow-white girl a once-over, as if to make sure that she was actually there in the first place - lest he embarrass himself by talking to hallucinations.
"You're...here..." he said, mostly to himself, again trying to confirm the statement that processed through his head.
"Yes...again, why?" she asked, confused.
'I should be asking her that' he thought to himself.
"Why?" he repeated what she said, using her own question against her.
Weiss raised an eyebrow, "What? It's only natural that I come and visit a fri-an acquaintance when he or she is injured."
Jaune's eyes widened, before he setlled back down, growing a content smile, "Oh. Well, in any case, thanks Weiss."
He didn't see her reaction further, but if he did, he would've seen the light pink dust across her cheeks - she didn't know why, she didn't know how, she had never even felt this emotion before. It was like talking with Winter, it made her feel warm inside. But with Jaune...it was different.
Though, Yang didn't seem to be particularly happy about what she did, because it seemed she was right. Weiss was crushing on Jaune; and some part of her, some part of her that liked to tease her internally, was saying her Jaune.
And, scarily enough, she almost didn't deny that.
"Jaune!" Ruby squeaked, jumping up and encircling her arms at his waist, like Yang had did only moments before.
He smiled softly, rustling her hair, "Hey Rubes! Did'ja miss me?""
She mumbled something into the fabric of his shirt, but couldn't quite catch it, so asked, "Hm? What was that?"
"Nothing!" she replied quickly, face growing as red as her namesake, holding onto him tighter. Thankfully, it wasn't around the neck, so he could breathe...to a certain extent, at least - breathing without someone clutching your stomach would be more preferable, honestly.
"Okay then." he relented, literally feeling how uncomfortable she was getting, and deciding to let the matter drop, if only to relieve her from whatever inner turnoil she was having. Trust him, Jaune knew what it was like to feel that, and it sucked.
You were, essentially, fighting yourself - pretending it was two states of your mind clashing, two that just didn't intertwine well. When in all honesty, you were just trying to make your mind up on something. It could be small, or it could be large - like deciding to let their feelings open to one's crush.
Back on track though...
"Why would they stop initiation for two days just for me?" he asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow with a disbelieving expression.
They could see where he was coming from - Yang and Ruby especially. During their time with him, they noticed that Jaune constantly belittled himself in the face of greater people or foes, so much so that he would call himself pathetic. Yang and Ruby didn't like it, they hated it; if there was one thing they could change about Jaune Arc, it would be his self-deprecation.
So it made sense he would think he was little, and didn't deserve to be waited on during such a big event.
"That, Mister Arc, is a question you will not have the answer to until the event is finished." a voice cut in, walking through the door with his cane in hand. His glasses gleamed oddly with the light, clashing with his normal look - but it still made him look mysterious. It probably just came with the name.
"Oh yeah, when is the event anyhow?" he asked no one in particular.
"Mister Arc, you're feeling better, are you not?" Ozpin questioned cryptically.
He furrowed his eyebrows, shushing any attempts of denial from the three girls close to him, "Yeah, fine actually. I don't really feel anything bad, and my aura should be replenished."
Ozpin smirked, "Then you will be pleased to know that Initiation starts in 30 minutes, and you must be ready to go."
Wait...
"What!?" he shouted, Ruby and Yang shared his sentiment, shouting it with him in tandem - and while Weiss was the more reserved and polite of the four, you could see the confusion evident on her face.
"They didn't even announce that on the PA!" Yang reasoned.
"First years, please make your way to the Emerald Forest launch pads in 30 minutes. Initiation will soon begin." the PA announced.
Yang stared at the speaker box with hatred - dramatic hatred, honestly. It wasn't that big of a deal, but they still had about a hundred arguements they could use to back them up in saying this was illogical.
But...Jaune, being the...Jaune he was, reluctantly agreed, plopping his feet on the ground and taking a few test steps. He limped over to his sword and clothes - but it gradually became lesser and lesser, to the point where it could be considered a normal walk again.
"Alright, just-actually, do they have a shower near here?" he asked.
Ozpin nodded, "Yes, it's quite close, just make a right at the end of the hallway, and then a left. They should be at the sides - both men and women respectively.
He nodded back, "Thanks headmaster."
He started trudging off towards the bathrooms, but was stopped by a sudden comment from Yang, "Hey...Jaune? Do you need help getting over there?"
He pondered that for a moment, before ultimately shaking his head, "I don't need help, but I would enjoy the company."
Yang's mood brightened, and she jumped off of the bed, rushing to get in step with her fellow blonde, while waving to Ruby and an irritated Schnee heiress - though Weiss herself didn't exactly know why she was mad, neither did Ruby and Jaune. But Yang...she had a pretty good idea.
And it involved a certain blonde knight she may or may not have been taking a liking to.
He walked - uncomfortably within the contents of his hospital gown, walking out in the open with this thing made him embarrassed. It was one of the reasons he asked someone to walk with him in the first place - it would be less embarrassing this way. Not that he didn't enjoy the company, he quite loved to be hanging out with his friends.
It's just that...he couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
A comfortable silence reigned between the two blondes, Jaune hummed a catchy tune, and Yang started to whistle it - it was one of her favorite songs, after all. They looked at eachother and grinned, making the whole trip a challenge to hum and whistle the whole song in tandem. It was actually quite fun - it sounded boring when you thought about it, but when you actually did it, it was quite enjoyable.
Especially if you got the whole song right.
They arrived at the mens stall in a few minutes, looking over the door. "Well, I'll be quick. Grab a quick apple or something - preferably some water too. And meet you at the initiation grounds."
Yang hesitated, before nodding, clearly noticing he was in a condition to walk around and do things on his own, despite being hospitalized for two days.
He waved, and she waved back.
He stepped into the bathroom and put his clothes next to the bench, with his sword laid out on top of it all. He turned the shower on and stripped of his hospital gown, scurrying to the shower and getting to just the right temperature. He sighed, this was one of the reasons he lived.
He loved showers.
After the particularly refreshing task, he quickly changed into his normal attire and grabbed Imitatio, sliding it into it's sheath, hearing the audible click. He walked off to the mess hall, greeted with the sight of a few people, hastily eating their meals while checking the clock.
He shrugged to himself, grabbing an apple and a bottle of water, chugging it down in five seconds. He threw away the empty bottle, taking a good bite from his preferred food. It may have not been much, but it would be enough - he wasn't exactly hungry, far from it. He had pills for that - why he didn't have pills for motion sickness but pills for headaches, he had no clue. And he had a feeling he would be able to get through initiation on nothing but an apple.
Besides, he looked at it a different way, he'd get to eat to his hearts content when he was done.
With that notion firmly implanted within his mind, he made quick work of his apple, throwing the treat away when he finished. He spotted a few of the people that had watched his fight, eating at various spots along the tables.
He checked the time, about ten minutes left; he didn't see Ruby, Yang, or Weiss anywhere in sight, so he figured they heeded his directions and headed straight for the 'launch pads'.
He still didn't get why they were called launch pads though, surely they wouldn't just throw them into the air without a concern whatsoever. Right?
Right?
He should've known not to test his luck by now - but alas, it just never came to him that he would forever be with bad luck, and there would be no way to get out of it. He sighed, looking over the launch pads; actual launch pads.
'Is this even safe?' he asked himself.
He didn't know the answer to that, and from the looks of it, it looked like he was the only one that even asked the question - even if it was to himself. The students around him looked determined, and unfazed by the fact that they were about to be launched in mid-air. Though, he shouldn't have been surprised.
Always expect the unexpected.
He should really listen to kids shows more often then not.
"That being said," oh wait, Ozpin was talking? "the first person you make eye contact with is going to be your partner for the rest or your four years."
Huh...seems like a logical-
Wait what!?
It seemed as though Ruby was in the same wavelength as him - shouting out his previous thoughts not only milliseconds later. But he could understand where she was coming from, it seemed illogical - their partners were essentially picked at random. How would that work well for anybody?
No one could've guessed this outcome.
"Hah! I told you!" a bubbly voice bragged to the person next to her.
On second thought, maybe they could.
He shook his head, but listened intently as the headmaster explained their objective; grab a relic, fight the grimm, and return to the cliffs. It seemed simple, but he doubted it actually was - there were probably a few bigger grimm that would be harder to fight along the way.
"Now, take your positions." the headmaster directed.
They obliged, each setting into their own, respective fighting stance. Jaune unsheathed Imitatio, closing his eyes and getting back with the general feel of the flow of energy it created within him. He mulled over how exactly he wa going to get down without potentially breaking all of his bones.
'Explosion would be the only choice.' he decided.
He heard the first student get launched into the air, air wooshed around the rest as the launch pad sprung up. The student was sent flying, and used their weapons to gently slow their fall.
One by one, more people were launched into the air, and more people made the landing look like a piece of cake - he duly noted Ruby gave him a reassuring thumbs up, which he returned with a thankful smile. Though, he didn't know if he could actually stick the landing himself.
He could only hope.
It was almost his turn, he could feel the anxiety threatening to rip through his calm persona, and he hastily pushed it back down to a manageable level - he didn't know how he was able to do it, maybe it was the rush of finally being able to fight the grimm. In anycase, he would be ready.
It was one person until he was the one launched into the air, waiting for the inevitable rush he would feel as he flew. He duly noted shouting out the sword's form, until he thought against it - he could just say it slightly softer, after all.
"Explosion." he muttered to himself, letting the sword change forms within the palms of his hands.
"Mister Arc." Ozpin called out, looking towards the blonde boy with an undefinitive expression. Jaune looked back, confusion etched clearly onto his features, "Good luck."
"Thanks." he said, mentally shrugging - the headmaster was always cryptic, it wasn't exactly a surprise that he was doing just that right now.
He was sent into the air, feeling the strong breeze impacting his face roughly, before becoming a more manageable feeling of the rush of air. With a growl, he slashed down, eliciting an explosion to happen near his feet, launching him a few more feet into the air. He figured that since this thing worked off aura, he could just put less aura into it, and the explosion would be less dangerous.
He repeated this process - feeling a bit of his aura drain each time - until he landed onto the ground with a thud. With a sigh, he stood up, surveying his surroundings with a critical eye, gripping the hilt of Imitatio tighter. He didn't remember seeing anyone land particularly close to him, ao he trudged off into the direction that the Headmaster directed them to go.
North.
Though, as a low growl sounded out, he twisted to the source of the noise, and met the faces of two Ursi - staring him down menacingly like he was their prey. He watched the first Ursa charge at him, aiming a paw strike towards his head - anticipating this, he deftly blocked it with the side of his sword, cutting through skin as he did so. He spun on his heel, grunting as he let out a slash to its chest, pouring his aura into the strike. It created an arc of orange energy, exploding on impact, sending him back a few feet. One down.
He turned to face the other Ursa, charging at it, his sword above his head. He aimed to cleave the Ursa in two.
Though, he would have, if not for the fact that it dropped dead when he got into slashing radius. He raised en eyebrow, watching as the Ursa fell to the ground in a smoking pile of limbs.
The person who did this, however, was someone he recognized that had watched his fight. With black wavy hair, and a katana sheathed at her back. A ribbon encircled her wrist - most likely somehow connected to her katana - with a black bow, sitting atop her head.
"Erm," he started somewhat lamely, "Hi?"
Ozpin and Glynda looked over the Emerald Forest, with the latter looking like she was holding back a question she oh so dearly wanted to ask.
"Glynda." he spoke, "What do you want to ask?"
She stiffened, before relaxing - she was standing next to one of the strongest huntsman in the entirety of Remnant, and she wasn't exactly being subtle in her movements.
"I just don't understand why you're so interested in that Arc boy. He may have a peculiar weapon, but you've probably seen a fair share of those in your time." she said, looking at Ozpin with a questioning expression.
Ozpin held back a sigh, he should've known this topic would come up sooner or later, but was trying to avoid it for the time being. Though, he couldn't avoid it now.
"Are you familiar with what the Arc's did during the great war?" he asked.
Glynda shook her head - history wasn't what she particularly excelled at, she did talk to Oobleck occasionally, but she could never understand his speeches about history as well as one might think.
He was just too fast.
"Well...the story goes like this..."
BN: Cliffhanger on a cliff!
AN:I feel like such a tease.
Anyways, not much is revealed this chapter - and Jaune is partnered up with Blake. Does that mean there will be later feelings between the two?
I dunno...
The ending was a bit rushed, I wrote about 2,500 words in...I don't know how many minutes. And it had taken me 3 days just to write the first 500 words.
Yes, I suck that much at writing hospital scenes. I don't honestly know why, it's just a problem with me - I look at an interaction between one character and another, and I feel like it needs to be more professional. But when I make it 'more professional', I end up writing dialogue that the character would never say...ever.
But I got through! So I'm happy with that.
Anyways, on another note, thank you TheChaiGuy for beta'ing this chapter! I really appreciate it, honestly, I do!
On...something somewhat related, I feel the need to point out that some fics don't get the recognition they deserve, and I feel like I don't deserve what huge support I get on this fic. So I shall take it upon myself to make sure said fics get the views they deserve! If shoutouts even help at all...
One of the friends I made on this sight - Lamenaza - has written a few chapters into his somewhat new fic called Collapse, and you should give it a read if you're a fan of a villainous Jaune. The first and second chapters might be a bit...iffy, but from what I've heard on his profile, he's starting to rewrite the entire story - better grammar and all.
I'll take it upon myself to do this every chapter...so yeah.
On another note, thank you all for 310 follows and 237 favorites! It means so much to me that the people that like this story have already surpassed the 300 mark in follows - and it's still pretty unbelievable for me. And also, thank you to all that review, and all that just read the story in general, whether you like it or not!
So, I got this point across during chapter four of one of my other stories, but I feel the need to put it here - I forgot to put it in A Grimm Fate, like the dumb kid I am, but that's moot.
MeteoriteCreature's death.
I didn't know him personally, heck, I could just be described as a regular reader of his fic 'Love Traingle' - which, in all honesty, I was. Some people may have heard the heartbreaking news, but if you didn't...well...how should I put this...
He's gone, not here anymore...he's dead.
He went through a rough life, that's what I was able to pick up on from that message they were able to get across from his fics, from r*** to death throughout his life, the world just seemed to be out to get it for some inexplicable reason. His death...I can only hope that it took him to see his loved ones again.
I admire him for his ability to persevere, with outside help, of course. But it was him who was able to make the decision to do what he did.
I don't know him well...I practically don't know him at all...but I feel like I needed to get this across to you guys.
He was a great writer, and from what the message his friends gave, he was also a very great man. To those close to him, I'm sorry to you guys. But I'm guessing you don't want my half-assed version of an apology, especially since just saying that can seem so insincere sometimes, so I'll shut up in that regard.
All I can say is, rest in peace. Hopefully you've been taken to be with the one you loved.
Man...I'm not good at this stuff.
And yes, I know that this was exactly what I said in Heroes and Villains, but again, the point needs to be gotten across that Meteorite Creature was a great writer, and someone who was able to persevere through his life - all the way 'till the end...
Love it? Hate it? Leave a review! Or don't, your choice really.
Cya!
[IWEYC used teleport!]