Beta-Readers: Operator Blake (Ideas), Trance Sephiroth (Grammar)
Chapter 9: Fight Club
Beacon Academy
Afternoon
Yang sat on the edge of her bed trying to fix Ember Celica's firing mechanism. Until she fixed them, both her gauntlets weren't going to be anything more than useless weight. The explosive dust had done more than simply mess up a few parts. Some of them were warped beyond recognition. She might very well have to buy new ones.
She was mad about that. She was mad about how combat class went in general. It wasn't like her to lose. In fact, she hadn't lost a single fight except to Pyrrha, but that was a different story. The spartan was the best of the best and losing to her was understandable. Losing to Jaune, one of the worst warriors in her class?
Not cool. At all.
Yang supposed that she should be fortunate that it was just a stalemate and not a loss. So technically, her reputation wasn't ruined, just a bit bruised. Still, she couldn't help but feel sore at the loss. She never took losing lightly, especially since it was against someone she knew that she could've beaten easily.
She gasped softly as a sudden pain shook her from her thoughts. Yang frowned in annoyance at the two parts that had pinched her ring finger. She checked to make sure that there was no bleeding before resuming her work.
If the blonde brawler had to choose what she wanted to be doing at that moment, it would certainly have nothing to do with staying in Team RWBY's dorm. Her aura was recovering quickly, and any injuries that she'd sustained were, for the most part, gone. She wanted to be with her team, and get away from her thoughts of Jaune. Unfortunately, fixing Ember Celica took precedence.
As she continued tinkering with her gauntlets, her thoughts began to drift, seemingly picking up where they'd left off.
The match wasn't a loss for her. Professor Goodwitch had declared it a draw, but from her standpoint, she felt that she'd lost the match. If the fight had continued, Jaune would've been the victor, and that was the most important thing to the blonde girl.
In her mind, she had lost.
A few pieces of Ember Celica fell to the ground with a clank. Yang growled at this inconvenience before setting out to find each and every one. She really hated it when she lost parts like this.
Once she had all the parts lying in front of her, she began to realize just how much effort this would take to get fixed. The actual gun mechanisms would require new hammers and she needed to clean out the gauntlet in general. Dust residue had gotten the entire weapon messy, partly from the dust bullets fired and the rest from the explosions sustained during the fight.
She noted she could also do some cleaning to the insides. It was a good habit to clean each part anyway. The gauntlets could be in worse condition, but this wasn't exactly something she could fix in fifteen minutes.
Grumbling at the work she would have to do, she grabbed her scroll and began to compare prices for the parts that she needed. She was careful to make sure that the site selling the parts wasn't a fraud site. Uncle Qrow had recommended certain brands depending on the part that she needed. Her dad too had his recommendations. Maybe she could send some messages and ask if they might be able to procure premium parts.
Uncle Qrow. She hadn't thought about him in a while. The last she remembered, he was on a mission somewhere for Ozpin. He never said where he was going until after it was done, and that was if he even cared to explain where he'd been.
She was so engrossed in what she was doing that the sound of the door opening didn't register to her at all. It was only when she heard footsteps that she looked up to see Weiss entering with Ruby in tow. Blake brought up the rear, casting her one of those looks.
"So what's the damage, sis?" Ruby hopped onto her own top bunk and faced Yang? "Bad? Horrible? Okay?"
"It's not good. Still, I can salvage a few things." Yang grabbed a nearby box to place all the parts in. "But it looks like it's time for me to go parts shopping."
"Are you feeling okay?" Blake stood between the two bunks, hands on her hips. "Jaune did quite the number on you."
"Don't remind me." Yang's feet hit the ground. "I should've won that fight easy. I mean, it's Jaune. How was that even fair?"
"Yang, c'mon. Jaune's our friend. Be a little more supportive than that." Ruby poked a finger at Yang.
"I don't think that's the issue, Ruby." Weiss shifted her weight from her right foot to her left foot. "I think the issue is that she didn't win."
"Neither did Jaune." Ruby made a pouty frown. "Is there a problem with Jaune getting better?"
Nobody chose to answer Ruby's question. Yang had resorted to looking at the ground with murderous intent. Weiss looked like she was trying to think of something to say without making things worse. Blake stared out the window, thinking about something else.
"Hello? Ruby to Team RWBY here!" The red-clad girl began to wave her arms around. "Is anyone home?"
"We're still here, Ruby." Blake turned back to the conversation at present. "Just… Jaune's performance caught us all by surprise."
"Yeah…" Ruby seemed to drift off herself. "It was certainly… impressive."
"Of course you would think so." Yang's words were tainted with poison. "Always the staunch supporter of Jaune Arc."
"Can't I see my friends fight a good fight?" Ruby rounded on Yang. "Since when has this mattered to you so much?"
Ruby and Yang both glared at each other. Weiss and Blake cast glances at both sisters, unsure as to what would happen next. This was the first time in living memory that the two of them had witnessed a disagreement between the sisters. It seemed at times that the two sisters had an unorthodox but perfect relationship. No arguments, no raised voices, no obvious signs of disagreement. But then again, both the heiress and the Faunus knew both Ruby and Yang for a little more than half a year.
And they both should've known that no relationship is ever perfect, even between sisters with a very tight bond. Personal experience taught them that much.
"Look, can we just not talk about it?" Yang sighed in defeat. "I just… you guys know how I hate losing. Even if I didn't lose, it was pretty close. Might as well been a loss."
Ruby didn't look ready to drop the conversation.
"Let this one go, Ruby." This time, it was Blake that interrupted. "It's not worth it. I'm sure things will smooth over with time."
"...fine." Ruby just waved a hand in dismissal. "I give up."
(X)(X)(X)(X)
Pyrrha had immediately gone to JNPR's dorm room to check up on Jaune. His injuries had healed remarkably quickly. It shouldn't have been surprising given his aura levels, but as always when any harm came to her partner and team leader, the spartan was always concerned. Ren and Nora had returned to combat class, saying that Jaune was fine. Pyrrha still wasn't convinced; she needed to see that Jaune was fine with her own eyes.
So when she saw the room was completely empty and Jaune's bed looked untouched, her first reaction was to panic. Then she noticed a green note on her own bed, and knowing that she never left things on her bed randomly, she picked it up.
It was a message from Jaune.
I'm on the roof training.
Pyrrha placed the note back on her bed before grabbing Miló and Akoúo̱ and heading out. She was sure that the moment she got there, he would be asking her to train. It was like Jaune to constantly find ways to get better because he was trying to condense years of training into months. It wasn't ideal by any stretch, but the redhead still admired him for that.
A minute of climbing the stairs of the dorm building led her to the top. She opened the door to see Jaune slashing and swinging, dodging an unseen foe, then using his shield as a weapon. Contrary to what she normally saw from the blonde knight, he wasn't just using the standard sword maneuvers that she'd taught him. He was incorporating grappling techniques, hand-to-hand surprise attacks, things he'd never used before, but things that Yang most definitely used. It was quite mesmerizing to see him in a battle trance like this; Pyrrha felt a smile on her face.
When he finally stopped in a final stance, she approached, and he took notice of her for the first time since she'd stepped foot on the roof.
"How do I look?" Jaune's question was devoid of anything resembling arrogance or cockiness. Just a simple question. "Good?"
"It's different from what I've taught you." Pyrrha didn't care to mention the Yang parts. She didn't want to think about Yang at this point. "But I can see you're making good use of your technique."
"Yeah…" Jaune seemed to catch onto what Pyrrha hadn't said. "So, do you want to train with me?"
Pyrrha expected this question, but she needed to know one thing first. "Jaune, are you okay? You seem like something's bothering you."
"It's nothing. Really." Jaune placed Crocea Mors on his left hip. "I'd rather not talk about it if it's all the same to you."
"Is this about Yang?" Pyrrha stepped closer. Only a short distance separated them. "Did she do something?"
He attempted to guard what he was feeling, but Pyrrha saw instantly that he was trying to hide hurt and somberness. No anger, though, which was as unsurprising as it was impressive. How Jaune could be this tolerant of any action or words against him truly did make her wonder how he did it.
"Can we not talk about it?" Jaune's voice pleaded with her to drop the subject. "I just need something to take my mind off of her, for now at least."
"Okay. I understand." She didn't really understand the problem, just that there was one. "I've been meaning to get back to training with you anyway."
"Sorry about that. I've been kinda caught up with all of this Yang business that I've been neglecting you guys."
"It's okay, Jaune. We all get sidetracked at one time or another."
"Guess so." He nodded his head in agreement. "So can we just do a mock-battle?"
"If you wish." She took up position opposite him. "Should I hold back?"
"Actually," he said, "Mind if you hold nothing back?"
"Jaune, are you sure?"
"Pyrrha, please? For me? I'll tell you to stop if I can't take it."
"... as you say."
With at least several meters of distance between them, they took up stances, Pyrrha holding her shield in front of her with her blade held with the tip at the ground. Jaune held his own shield in the same way Pyrrha did, but his blade was held with a backhand, the blade pointed forward parallel with his shield arm. This was without a doubt an aggressive stance, something that Jaune almost never used.
"A different stance." Pyrrha felt the need to voice the obvious, to see if he would answer her.
"An experiment. I don't know. It looks… cool?" Jaune was unsure of what to say, but at the same time, he wasn't timid in response.
"No, I get it. It's… fine." She didn't really know what else to say. "A change of pace is always welcome."
He nodded.
She nodded.
Then their eyes tightened in concentration.
Then the sound of fast-approaching footsteps.
A clash of blades.
A blade against a shield.
Wind around them.
Moments of silence.
And eavesdroppers nearby.
A floor below.
"There they go again." Cardin didn't need to see the two of them to know what they were doing. "And this time, Jaune might actually be putting up a fight."
"Well, he did almost beat Yang in a fight." Russell was nearby. "And you know what a terror she is."
"So we're admiring Arc now?" Sky looked disgusted. "How low we've fallen."
"Still angry about last night?" Dove jabbed his teammate.
"Doesn't it bother you guys? I mean, he's a wimp, and he's got Yang."
"A wimp wouldn't be able to get Yang in the red." Cardin looked extremely serious as he faced his team.
Nobody could debate that fact. And even if Jaune might still be a relatively easy target, there was still the ambiguity of his relationship with the Y of RWBY. All four of the boys had seen the two blondes last night. It was… insulting in a way.
But Cardin knew better than to interfere with Jaune Arc's life.
(X)(X)(X)(X)
Three days later…
The week seemed to fly by fast. For Ruby, this was a much-welcomed thing. She wished that more weeks could go by this fast. Two days of break time were coming up soon.
The leader of Team RWBY might've looked forward to it more if not for one glaring thing.
Yang, since her fight with Jaune, had reverted back to her old self, and that might've been just fine if it wasn't for the fact that whenever Jaune entered the room, she made extra effort to pretend that he wasn't there. She acknowledged Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora, but not Jaune. Whenever he tried to get her attention, she excused herself swiftly. That hadn't stopped the goofball from still attempting to communicate, but she still didn't heed him in any way.
RWBY noticed.
JNPR noticed.
For the life of her, Ruby didn't know why Yang felt so strongly about this. It was one fight for goodness sake. One fight that shouldn't have mattered. Jaune was their friend, so what did it matter if she didn't win?
Oh yeah. Right. Yang and losing? Two things that didn't go well together.
In any case, she didn't place blame on either of them, but that still didn't solve the issue. Somehow or another, they needed to fix this.
Or rather Ruby wanted to fix this.
Ruby tipped her milk carton to her lips and took a long sip before setting it back down onto the tray. Yang sat between herself and Blake. Yang was content on making fun of Blake's choice of reading while the black-haired girl ignored her partner. Blake was half-talking, half-reading. She couldn't possibly be paying full attention to either.
Jaune was directly across from the scythe-wielder. He was trying to stop Nora from eating so many pancakes at once. Pyrrha was on his other side, smiling at her team leader's actions, and all the while casting him those doe eyes.
Again.
No, no, no. Why was Ruby drifting off? Jaune and Pyrrha were fine for now. It was Jaune and Yang that weren't fine. Even though the leader of RWBY had left Yang to stew in her own anger, it had only come out of short-lived frustration. Now with her head clear, she knew that she needed to do something.
And she would do it with or without Yang or Jaune's approval.
First thing first, she had to come up with a way to talk to Yang. Then she'd have to talk to her about the problem. Easy as pie, though cookies tasted better.
"Ruby Rose." Weiss's scolding tone pierced her thoughts. "Clean your mouth. You look absolutely ridiculous."
"What?" Ruby frowned at the heiress. "Did I make a mess?"
"Milk moustache." Weiss shook her head mildly. "It's unbecoming of you as team leader. You need to-"
"Make a better impression." Ruby felt a slight mocking tone creep up on her. "I get it. Have it your way, princess."
"Heiress." Weiss didn't like to correct things many times over.
"Same thing." Ruby grabbed her napkin and wiped all around. "Better?"
"Much." Weiss sighed. "So I see you're not the only one noticing."
"Noticing what?" Ruby asked.
"Really, Ruby? You have to ask me? You were staring at them."
Ruby wasn't sure if she should be surprised or not at Weiss's attention on the two blondes. It was so unlike the white-haired girl to care about these sort of things. Then again, Weiss was still a perfectionist, and as one, she was keen to watch details. Maybe she did notice and didn't care. Yeah, that sounded right.
"I... didn't think you cared." Ruby smiled nervously.
"I DO care. This is Yang, our teammate. Your sister." Weiss made a face. "Of course this matters to me."
"Oh yeah." Weiss had a sister. Duh, of course she could relate. "Sorry, Weiss."
"Don't be sorry. Just help them somehow. Jaune may be a lunkhead, but at least he's a good-natured lunkhead. And Yang needs to cool down a bit. It's just one fight."
"That's just about what I was thinking about saying to Yang." Ruby looked to her friends. "Let's hope it's enough."
With nothing else to say, the two partners finished up their food along with the rest of their teammates. The two teams cleared out of the cafeteria at the same time. Jaune and Ruby did a farewell on behalf of their teams. As they did so, Jaune's eyes flickered to the members of Team RWBY. He remained radiant for several seconds. Then Ruby saw a brief look of strain cross his face. He covered it up quickly and led his team away.
Ruby motioned for her team to follow her back to their dorm. As she did this, she saw Yang cast Jaune a pained look, but his back was turned, so he couldn't see the brawler's face.
Hmm. This was an opportunity. Things look better than I realized. With just the right push, I can get one of them to get the conversation started.
For now, it was time to get some rest and relaxation in. It was the weekend and they all intended to squeeze every moment of fun they could out of their two days of freedom. Weiss wished to scout around the transfer students. Blake had a new book that Ren gave to her. Yang probably wanted to head down to Vale and have some fun. Ruby was satisfied with helping Yang fix Ember Celica, as well as trying to get her friends back together.
Wait a minute. That came out wrong.
Get them on talking terms.
Now THAT was the right thing to say.
(X)(X)(X)(X)
Late afternoon...
"Annnnnnnnnnnd… DONE!" Ruby leaped down to the floor from her bunk. "She's fixed. Good as new."
"Thanks, Ruby." Yang pulled her younger sister in for a hug. "Have I ever told you that I love you? I have, haven't I? Well, I'll just say it again."
"I love you too." Ruby said, almost mockingly.
"See?! Was that so hard?" Yang crushed Ruby into a bear hug. "So cuddly."
"Yang." Ruby felt air get forced out of her lungs. "Stop."
"You're no fun." The elder sister mock-pouted. "C'mon, where's the sisterly love?"
"Yang." Ruby finally freed herself. "We… need to talk."
"About?"
"What's up with you and Jaune?"
"Man, you are no fun."
"I'm being serious." Ruby crossed her arms. "Letting this go was a mistake. So I won't until this thing between you is resolved."
"What, so I owe Jaune something now? I'm not his girlfriend. I don't have to do a damn thing. Matter of fact, I don't have to talk to him period."
"Are you so sore over that fight? One fight? Out of how many?"
"I LOST. To Jaune." Yang looked at the ground. "In any case that looks bad."
"You tied with Jaune." Ruby raised her hands in exasperation. "You didn't lose."
"Same thing to me. And the whole class saw it. I'm a total loser now."
"What? No, you're not a loser. You're my sister, the kickass fighter."
"Ruby! Language."
"Don't change the subject. We're talking about you and Jaune."
How fortunate that their partners weren't here to see this, much less anyone else. If looks could kill, both of them could destroy entire worlds. Yang felt herself losing control of herself. Her eyes shifted from lilac to red. Ruby's eyes even seemed a bit brighter.
"Yang, I know you. You've never cared about something like this. You've never cared about fights like this."
The blonde could be paying attention or she could just as well be blowing Ruby off. Regardless, Ruby didn't feel discouraged even if she wasn't paying attention.
"So what's the real problem?"
Yang snorted. "My problem? I'm listening to it right now."
"So it's going to be like this, is it?" Ruby took a few steps forward. "Fine, then I'll do this the hard way."
With a hard yank, the younger sister grabbed her elder sister's head and forced her eye-to-eye. Yang didn't fight back and Ruby knew she wouldn't. Yang could never find it in herself to hit Ruby.
"Now talk to me. And no more of this 'Because it's Jaune and he's a loser' crap. Cut that out. The real reason. Now."
Yang glared, her right eye twitching violently. Ruby didn't back down. The only way to get Yang to talk was to be firm with her. That was also assuming that Ruby's own intuition was correct, and that was a work in progress in many cases.
Silence.
Glares.
More silence.
More glares.
Crimson red eyes.
Dark silver eyes.
Lilac eyes now.
"...Jaune and I… we're… having a problem."
"Which is?"
Yang shook herself from Ruby's grasp. "Our line of communication is… unclear. A bit scattered if I do say so myself. We're better friends, sure, but yet… I feel we're missing out on what it means to be a friend."
"And what is that?"
"That's exactly it, Rubes. I don't know the problem. At least not fully. Right now, it's just small talk and maybe some cheerful joking at the other's expense, but I'm not exactly sure what sort of friend he wants me to be and I'm not sure what kind of friend I want him to be either."
"I'm sorta getting the problem, but not really." Ruby scratched her head. "Don't you just, you know, talk about that together?"
"Maybe if it were any other situation, I would. Right now though…" Yang looked at their door. "I can't be sure what's going through his head after that fight we had."
"It wasn't like you guys were fighting with malicious intent." Ruby replied, still confused. "Were you?"
"Maybe not that badly," Yang agreed, "But we certainly weren't on happy terms either. That night we worked together on the paper Oobleck assigned us, we kinda got into a conversation that may or may not have changed our relationship."
"How so?"
"I'm still working that out in my head, so it's not much use telling you about it, Ruby. The point is… I'm not sure if I'm ready to talk to him. I'm not sure he's ready to talk to me either."
"One of you has gotta do it sometime." Ruby said it like it was the only thing to do. "Just go and speak plainly to him."
"What? Just like that?" Yang looked skeptical. "But what if he-"
"No buts here, Yang Xiao Long." Ruby put on her serious face once again. "You will talk to him and you will get this straightened out. The last thing we need is tension between our teams."
"Why me?" Yang pointed to herself. "Why do I have to start it?"
"Because you're the socializer, not Jaune." Ruby almost chuckled. "Do you really think Jaune's the kind of person to make the first move?"
"Point… taken." Yang stood up, a resigned face adorning her. "Fine. I'll get this over with."
"Don't sound like it's a death sentence." Ruby lightened her expression. "It's Jaune. He's very understanding."
"I dunno." Yang moved to the door. "Everyone's got a breaking point. Even Jaune."
"You're not going to get your friendship back by sitting and hoping. Better to have tried and failed than to sit and wonder the 'what ifs'."
"Since when did you become smart, kid?" Yang flashed a true smile.
"Comes with being a leader." Ruby waved her off. "Now get out there."
"Thanks for the pep talk, Ruby." Yang opened the door. "I needed it."
(X)(X)(X)(X)
"Maybe I should just give up." Jaune laid his head against the wall as he sat on his bed. "She hasn't spoken a single word to me for three days."
"This is unbecoming of you, Jaune." Ren sat next to him. "I've never known you to give up like this."
"Yeah well, I've grown up a bit." There was a bit of bite in the blond boy's tone. "I mean, I chased Weiss for the entirety of last semester, and made myself look stupid in the process."
"It's often when we're stupid that we actually learn something important." Ren gazed at his team leader. "You learn more when you mess up than when you're always perfect."
"That's the silver lining for that story." Jaune placed a hand on his forehead. "But that still doesn't fix the problem right now."
"So what's the problem then?" Ren placed his hands in his lap. "I can't be of much help if I don't know what's going on."
The two boys hadn't been in their dorms for long. They'd just gotten back after spending time with their partners training. Jaune was insistent that they train together at least several times a week if nothing else. He was trying more and more to nail down their strengths and weaknesses.
And these past few days had been spent busying himself, spending time with the team on and off the combat floor. It was a good thing that he was doing this. For one thing, Nora was quite satisfied with the pancakes that Jaune had promised. For another, Pyrrha seemed to be in brighter spirits. Ren himself was just glad everything was okay with the team.
Then he saw Yang, and things just seemed to go sour. Jaune had a poor poker face. Sure, he tried to be good at it, but he still wasn't. Ren could see that look of sadness and longing in his eyes. Whatever his relationship with Yang was, it was disheartening to see that the two of them weren't talking to each other.
"Ren… how do you and Nora make it work?" Jaune made eye contact. "Two starkly contrasting personalities and you make it seem like it was meant to be."
"We've been at it since we were kids." Ren made a small laugh. "It's not something we came up with one day. I imagine that you and Yang are discovering differences?"
"Not verbally." Jaune glanced at Crocea Mors leaning on the edge of his bed. "We haven't said our differences, but they're becoming more apparent through this friendship we've forged."
"I understand." Ren spoke. "So was it an argument? Something else?"
"More like it's… an uncertainty. Something we both don't understand."
Jaune's momentary lapse didn't escape the notice of Ren. There was something going on that the knight didn't wish to divulge right now. That was the missing link that Ren needed to know in order to suggest a complete solution. Otherwise he was just reaching out blindly in the dark. If Jaune wouldn't give him answers, he'd have to do just that.
"So what have you two been doing for the past few days?" Ren recalled that Team JNPR hadn't asked much about his new friendship.
"The night we went out together…" Jaune closed his eyes. "She took me to a bar. We got some drinks, danced a bit, forgot the time, crashed at my family's apartment. Since then… it's been a mix of simple small talk and a bit of deep conversation here and there."
It was a truthful response, but it also sounded just like any relationship given enough time. No, there was something else. Ren was sure of it now.
"Jaune… what aren't you telling me?"
Jaune now covered his face with both his hands, letting out a groan. Yes, he was hiding something, and if Ren had to guess, it was something that was important. What could the two of them have in common that they would not reveal to their friends? If Jaune wasn't spilling the beans, then it was most likely the case that Yang was keeping a tighter lid on her mouth.
"I can't." Jaune sat up. "I don't think it's the right time. Frankly, I don't even know if it even matters as much as I think it does."
"That what matters?" Ren leaned a bit closer.
"Ren, I love you like a brother, but I don't know how I can explain it to you. I'm having a hard time trying to explain it to myself."
Ren opened his mouth to try a different method of coaxing the information from Jaune. Then he thought of something better. This was new and uncharted territory for Jaune. It would seem that even so, Jaune intended to see this one through himself. Or rather, he intended to see this through with Yang. Maybe this was something that the green-clad boy couldn't help with even if he tried.
And Jaune wasn't lying when he said he couldn't explain it himself.
"Well what can you tell me then, Jaune? Or what do you want to tell me?"
"Nothing, but there is one thing I could use your help with." Jaune got up and began to pace. "I've been noticing that Pyrrha's been a bit more… edgy lately. Is that just me?"
No, it definitely wasn't him. Both Ren and Nora had seen it. How could they not see it? When an ignorant Jaune was being friendly with Yang, regardless of the nature of the relationship, Pyrrha always didn't like it.
"Don't worry about Pyrrha." Ren assured Jaune. "She's just worried that this thing between you and Yang's going to cause problems for both teams."
"I promise that they won't." Jaune's eyes narrowed. "I can handle my responsibilities and relationships just fine."
"I'll tell her that." Ren affirmed. "So where are you headed now?"
"For some air." Jaune answered. "Maybe a good jog is in order. I just need some time think about what I can and want to do."
"I'll be here if you need me." Ren offered.
"Thanks for listening Ren."
"Anytime, Jaune."
(X)(X)(X)(X)
They both opened and closed their doors at the same time. Then they both came face-to-face with each other.
Really close. Mere inches were all that stood between them.
They didn't breathe for a moment as she wasn't expecting to face him this very moment while he didn't expect to face her at all today.
"Um… hi." Jaune managed to say weakly.
"Hey." Yang looked just as bashful as he did.
"Wait, you're talking to me now?" Jaune looked interested. "What did I do wrong?"
"What? No, you didn't do anything wrong, Jaune." Yang quickly responded. "I've been…"
"Maybe we should talk about this somewhere private?" He suggested.
"Yes, that would be nice." She nodded for him to lead.
Since it was still daytime outside, and students were out and about, they settled for the cliff that overlooked the Emerald Forest. Both took a seat at the edge. Yang dangled her legs while Jaune crossed his.
The day was mostly sunny with only a few clouds dotted here and there. The Emerald Forest still looked beautiful even if there were Grimm lurking down there. Green for as far as the eye could see. Oh, it would be nice if the scenery was the only thing they came here for. Alas it was not so.
"So why didn't you talk to me if I didn't do anything wrong?" He sounded hurt and that made her heart sink lower.
"Well, you remember that fight in Goodwitch's class?" She blew a strand of hair out of her face.
"How could I not?" He felt his gloved hands press against the rocks of the cliff as he leaned his weight against his arms. "That was the most intense fight I've had in, well, maybe ever."
"Me too." Yang agreed. "But there was more. I felt like… like I knew how to fight you and beat you-"
"As if it were as natural as breathing?" Jaune seemed to concluded her thought. "The feeling that we've fought before and know how to respond to each other?"
"Yeah, exactly like that." She laughed out loud as another thought entered her mind. "Jeez, we almost sound like one of those cliché stories about two people who know each other inside and out. Romantic stories like to use that as a convenient way to make people fall in love."
"And yet we're talking about it." He put his hands in his lap. "Does that make it better or worse?"
"Dunno." Yang did a shrug. "It's not like this is a story. This is real life. Right here. Right now. I'm not letting a book tell me how to live life."
"Hmm." Jaune felt his eyes linger on her.
"What?" Yang stared at him. "You don't believe me?"
"Well, all stories have a bit of truth, even the most outlandish ones. They had to start from somewhere, after all."
"Yeah, I guess so. But they're just stories."
"I guess so."
Their eyes were locked onto each other. They both gave each other timid smiles. Yeah, it was just a story. No way did it relate to them like this. Absolutely no way.
They both turned away from each other abruptly. Yang felt herself playing with a few strands of hair. Jaune fidgeted with his gloved hands.
What the hell is wrong with you? Yang bit her tongue. It was just a simple comment.
Well… that went… horribly wrong. Jaune felt a surge of alarm. I didn't mean it like that.
The silence was distressing, but the two of them were more preoccupied with their internal thoughts than with each other's presence. So now they sat there, looking off into the distance, into their laps, into the Emerald Forest, anyplace other than the person that was right beside them.
They both shifted unknowingly, and in doing so, their hands brushed together. This caused them both to jump slightly as they turned to see how close they had shifted to each other. Both of them then looked to each other.
Then back to their closeness.
Then back to each other.
"Monty Oum, what's wrong with us?" Yang made a disgusted sound.
"I don't know." Jaune voiced. "I really don't know."
"I wish you had an answer." Yang felt her frustration again. "It would be good to have one right about now."
"Oh, if only." Jaune's voice sounded regretful.
Yang found him staring at the edge of the cliff. He didn't have an answer. She didn't have an answer.
But it wasn't his words that moved her to do something. It was his tone; he sounded like he wanted an answer for more than himself, and Yang could take three guesses as to who he wanted it for.
So it was with a renewed sense of understanding that she moved to grab his hand with hers and to squeeze it tightly. He looked afraid.
"Your team wanted answers." She conveyed what she thought to be true. "So did mine."
"Yes." One word.
"And neither of us have one."
"Yes."
"Well, at least we're not alone in our ignorance."
"...at least there's that..."
They were without a doubt unclear about a great number of things. They were two teenagers with friend problems. They were two teenagers who were having sex with each other and yet not in a relationship. They were two teenagers who didn't want to face their friends with this friendship of theirs.
Neither Jaune nor Yang spoke anymore. They didn't have anything worth talking about nor did they feel like trying to make up for the awkward silence that filled the space between them. So they turned away from each other again.
Only their hands remained joined. Tightly so.
Neither commented on it, and yet they were both fully aware of it.
Two weeks and six days. Cut the uploading time in half. It feels good. I was worried about how long this was going to take, but I found it in me to get it done.
I don't have much to say. If you payed attention, then you should see what this chapter does for the story.
So what did you guys think? Good? Bad? Meh? Reviews are most appreciated. The numbers for this story are astonishing to me. Simply astonishing. Thanks to all readers!
Thanks to Operator Blake and Trance Sephiroth for working on this chapter. Their feedback has helped to give this story a more refined feel and complete feel.
I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter, and remember:
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work."
Aristotle
Peace!
