Chapter 8
A/N: We are almost caught up to where I stopped writing (Chapter 11) and I may or may not be starting a job soon so releases will be a bit of a challenge BUT I WILL PERSIST! Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy this one!
James woke up to his scroll beeping and flashing a light in his face. James quickly opened the scroll to see what had happened. A message… From Yang. The message read: 'Party with Team RWBY and JNPR, Team JPN invited. Again thank you. I promise it will be a Pun-derful Night! – Yang' James face palmed at the terrible pun at the end of the message. "Who was it?" James had not realized that Noriko was awake already. "Yang. They're having a party and wants us to come." James replied flatly. "I don't know if I'm going to go. Paige was sure sneezing a lot in her sleep, she may be sick; she was also hotter than usual." "Don't make assumptions. Lets wait until she wakes up." James replied.
It took the better part of an hour for Paige to wake up. "Morning…. Achoo! Morning guys." Paige sniffled getting out of bed. "See?" Noriko pointed out. "Allergies?" James shrugged. Noriko walked into the washroom and opened the medical cabinet and retrieved a thermometer then cleaned it. Paige still groggy sneezed a couple of times before Noriko got back. "Here, Open your mouth for me." Paige did as she was told. "A fever of 103. See? I told you she was sick." James rolled his eyes at Noriko. "Guys, I'm fine. Achoo! Just a little head cold, just need to get up and… Achoo! Up and moving." James got over trying to get the two to go seeing the state that Paige was in. "No. You need to stay in bed today. Sleep will do you the most good."
James went over to his desk and pulled out a few things. James picked up Paige's cup filled it with hot water and added a herbal tea bag into it. "What are you doing with my cup? What are you putting in it?" "Not to worry, mother showed me this, it was quite incredible when I had a cold." James placed the cup next to Paige's (and now also Noriko's) bed. "Its peppermint tea, I also mixed a few spices to it, I call it 'A taste of winter'. Careful, it's still a bit hot." Paige picked up the mug and just held it, trying to smell the sweet aroma despite the stuffy nose. "I'm going to go pick up breakfast, any requests?" "Bacon!" Paige yelled with excitement then started to rub her temples from the headache she just gave herself. James cracked a wide smile. "What about you? You need to eat something too." "Just some eggs will be fine." Noriko replied. "Alright, I'll be back later.
James casually walked to the cafeteria meeting Ruby on his way. "Mornin' Ruby." James said with a smile. "Ah, hi James." "Going to the cafeteria?" "Yeah. I suppose you are too?" "Yep! Paige is sick, so I'm going to bring some food back to those two." "Those two?" Ruby questioned. "Oh right! You haven't heard yet!" James looked around to make sure no one was listing. "Not entirely sure I'm supposed to tell you but, Noriko and Paige are dating now, and Noriko is super protective of Paige." Ruby nodded her head. "Well that's cute. I think they make a good couple." "Right?" James agreed.
The two made small talk until they reached the cafeteria. "I'm going to go eat with my sister, see you later James!" Ruby said hurrying off to go sit with Yang. Yang saw the two walk in together. Yang winked at James, which he replied with crossed arms and an extreme face of disapproval while shaking his head. Yang laughed at this of course.
James finished his plate of eggs and pancakes rather quickly; James walked back to the line and picked up Noriko and Paige's breakfast. James also ordered a small helping of bacon, which he placed in a small paper bag with a note saying: 'Just don't tell Noriko about this. –James' James started his trip back to the room.
James arrived back at the room and opened the door as quietly as he could. What he saw almost made him laugh. James tried to hold the laugh in as best he could at the sight of Paige being held by a sleeping Noriko. Paige was squirming trying to find away out of the death grip that Noriko called snuggling. Paige looked up from where she was and mouthed to James: 'Help me!' A large quiet laugh came from James as he set the platter of food on the bedside table and handed Paige the paper bag. James held his index finger to his lips to signal not to make sure he got his point across about the bacon situation. "I'm going to go ahead and go to the Team RWBY dorm, make sure to tell Noriko when she wakes up." James whispered to Paige who just nodded her head for confirmation.
James walked out the door to get to the RWBY dorm, where his night of 'fun' would start. Noriko woke up and released Paige from the death grip. "Noriko?" "Yes?" Noriko answered groggily. "Why do you always want to keep me under close guard?" "Because I love you more than anyone on this planet. I refuse to let you slip through my fingers…" Noriko drifted off. "Did something happen before?" Noriko let out a sigh. "A year before I came here to Beacon, I had another girlfriend. We went everywhere together, did everything together. One day she went home early because she had a job interview the next morning. I had offered to walk her back, but she declined, she said she would be okay…." Tears started to form in Noriko's eyes. A tear slipped down Noriko's face. "…She… She… ah… was hit by a dust delivery truck. The doctors told me she… had died before she even hit the ground." Noriko looked away from Paige a face full of regret and a few tears. "I-I… I should have gone with her anyway." Tears were now rapidly falling, some hitting the bed sheets under her. Paige embraced Noriko, Paige pulling in Noriko tight. "I will never leave your side. I promise you, I'll be here, for better or for worse." Paige whispered.
James and the two Teams met in Vale and decided where to go. "I know a really nice club we could go to!" Yang suggested… Loudly. "Well, if we're going to get shot at, no thank you. If you don't mind, I would like to spend the night without bullets whizzing past my head." Ren spoke up. James found this odd, Ren didn't seem the one to talk much; every man is entitled to his opinions though. "Don't worry! While Junior does own this club, he doesn't over see it!" Yang gestured her hands to get her point across. This was going to be an interesting night.
