A/N: Hello again! Back on track with chapter 6. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 6

Maten Village – Jaune

Jaune rose out of his bed with a hazy mind. As he remembered some of the events of last night, he bit his lip nervously. What right did he have to get angry at someone who only helped them so far? He sighed and began to get dressed, readying himself for the upcoming day. He heard a knock at the door, and took a quick look at Ren, who was still asleep. He opened the door quietly, not wanting to disturb his friend's rest.

"Hey Jaune, come look!" Ruby said with a giggle, pointing towards the lobby, seemingly forgetful of last night's event.

He followed her to the lobby and came upon the innkeeper, who held her finger to her lips in a "shhh" gesture. He followed their eyes to the fireplace, where he saw the pair of Elway and Yugiri.

Sleeping together under a blanket on the floor.

They slept on their sides, faces close and hands intertwined, with smiles on their faces. Jaune and Ruby laughed at the sight of Elway so comfortable, which caused the pair to stir in their sleep. Elway's eyes shot open first, confused until he looked up and saw Jaune and Ruby grinning at them. Ruby began to pull out her scroll to take a picture.

"Uh… hello." Elway greeted meekly, which caused Jaune and Ruby to grin at them even wider. Yugiri mumbled something nonsensical in her sleep, and instead of awakening, opted to grab onto Elway's waist in a hug. Elway blushed at this and panicked, trying to rouse her out of her sleep.

"Y-Yugiri, wake up." Elway shook her shoulder lightly. "Yugiri!" Jaune and Ruby began to laugh uncontrollably, now causing Yugiri to open her eyes. She instantly realized what she was doing with a reddened face, and let go quickly, putting her hands on her lap, kneeling on the floor now.

"Good morning, Ruby, Jaune." The woman said politely, as if nothing happened.

Elway just groaned and put his blushing face in his hand.

Maten Village – Elway

"First off, please let me apologize. I was insensitive to your situation." Elway began, once everyone gathered in the lobby, awake.

"No, I should be sorry. I got angry too quickly about the whole thing, when I should be calmer about this. You did nothing wrong." Jaune retorted indignantly.

"I overstepped my bounds." Elway said matter-of-factly.

"You saved us and you're still looking after us. There shouldn't be bounds like that." Jaune countered.

"But she was important to you! I didn't mean to open old wounds."

"I'm not the only one who's lost anything, you ha-"

"Stopstopstop!" Ruby exclaimed, tired of the back-and-forth. Ren pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, and Nora groaned, placing her face on the table. Yugiri just smiled and shook her head before interjecting.

"Elway, don't feel responsible for the nuances of the Echo. And Jaune, you had the right to your anger. Elway should have known better than to bring up an example of his power like that." Yugiri flicked Elway's forehead softly, to which he let out a quiet "ow."

"Just agree that you both are sorry, then we'll be ooooooookay!" Ruby said confidently.

Jaune sighed and relaxed his tense shoulders, and looked Elway in the eyes.

"I'm sorry." Jaune said simply, and Elway chuckled.

"I apologize as well." Elway shook Jaune's hand firmly, and the two grinned at each other, previous tension gone.

Maten Village – Elway

The village chief had told them the bandits terrorizing Mistral were said to be nearby, and they should be careful. They were last spotted at an abandoned bridge to the west. He had warned them that the bandits were targeting those with strong weapons, but Elway felt a familiar sense of annoyance from that statement. That reminded him of someone.

"We'll be going then. Thanks for the stay at the inn, and the supplies!" Ruby waved with a bag of provisions on her back.

The group began to walk west, and Jaune jogged up to Elway, who was talking with Yugiri.

"Elway, I wanted to ask you something." Jaune said seriously.

"Of course, what is it?" Elway asked.

"I got interrupted, but I wanted to say… you've lost a lot, haven't you? You, and Yugiri." Jaune began nervously.

Elway stayed silent, and Yugiri answered for him.

"Yes. Elway especially. He's lost many friends already." She put her hand on Jaune's shoulder. "That's why he knows how you feel. About her." Yugiri looked to Elway.

"Again, I never meant to reopen old wounds. I just wanted you to know. Failure is unavoidable. But failure is what moves us to try again." Elway looked at Jaune, dark red eyes flowing with compassion. "For those we have lost."

"How do you keep trying, all the time? Ruby, too." Jaune gazed at Ruby enviously. He desired her strength to keep going, after he had lost a dear friend. Ruby had lost even more than he did, and yet she smiled radiantly. Jaune couldn't help but admire the younger girl.

"It is hard to put into words…" Elway looked down, mentally listing reasons he couldn't give up.

Hydaelyn needed him.

Eorzea needed him.

The Scions needed him.

He couldn't bear to lose anymore.

All of these made Elway think harder, until he was interrupted by Yugiri nudging him.

"If not your words, then how about his?" She looked a bit somber, and Elway instantly knew who she was referring to.

"Ah. A friend of mine, who protected me at the cost of his life…" Elway smiled at his memory. Jaune looked down, aware that he had brought up a painful discussion. Haurchefant was always by Elway's side in Ishgard, never failing to cheer him and Alphinaud up. Without Haurchefant, Elway didn't know where he'd be. And his words rang clear in Elway's mind.

Elway smiled brightly at Jaune, and recounted his mantra.

"Haurchefant said…

A knight lives to serve. To protect. To sacrifice. There is no greater calling." Elway said without missing a beat.

"But… I'm no knight. I don't think I am, anyways." Jaune said self-depreciatingly.

"The specifics matter not, Jaune." Elway responded. "What matters is that you understand that to serve and protect those you love should be able to keep you going. With a smile."

"Really? Is it that simple?" Jaune asked, with a bit of doubt in his voice.

"For me, and maybe for Ruby as well. You should fight for people. Not for causes, or countries." Elway said confidently.

"Well… how are you so strong about this? You seem happy to sacrifice yourself." Jaune stated, still a bit confused.

"Sacrifice is what makes heroes. And," Elway smiled again at Jaune, showing a cheerful grin.

"A smile better suits a hero."

That statement brought clarity to Jaune's mind. It made sense. He called himself a "Warrior of Light" last night. In his world, that must have meant that Elway really was…

A hero.

Jaune kept this to himself for now, and nodded at Elway, grinning back.

"Okay. I think I understand. Thanks, Elway, Yugiri!" Jaune caught up with the rest of Team RNJR, smiling brightly at Ruby. She was the one who Jaune thought looked the most like a hero, after all. Ruby smiled back just as brightly, punching him lightly on the arm.

"Well said, Elway. Haurchefant would be proud." Yugiri said to Elway happily.

"I would hope so." Elway smiled to the sky, feeling a little mellow remembering all of his memories of Haurchefant. They were interrupted, when Ruby signaled Elway and Yugiri to come over and see something.

"Guys, we found something!" Ruby called out.

Near Mistral – Ruby

While she kept a somewhat positive face on, Ruby recognized what they had found. But something about this situation, only she knew.

It was a wounded man. Ren and Nora had already rushed to help him, and treat his wounds. So far, they seemed nonfatal. Slash marks, most likely from a sword. The only reason Ruby didn't find herself immediately worried, and passionate as she typically was, is because she recognized the man's clothing style. It was familiar. And he had a mask. Jaune put a hand on her shoulder.

"Something wrong, Ruby?" Jaune asked, concerned.

"Nothing. We should help." Ruby stated, uncharacteristically sternly. Jaune just nodded and went to the man's side.

She recognized the man's mask that lay by his side. A mask bearing a huge resemblance to Grimm. That meant this was her bandit tribe.

Raven Branwen.

Ruby gritted her teeth.

Chapter 6 – A smile better suits a hero

A/N: Oh boy, cliffhangers. Hope you enjoyed! Next update may be "Side Story 2: The case of Yugiri," so expect that soon-ish. Thanks for reading!

To yiggdrasill, funny that you brought that up, I planned in advance to reference Haurchefant here. I think we all felt depressed when he died, he was such a great character. Thanks for the review!

And please leave some feedback with reviews, I'd love to hear more.