*looks out over the 400 plus subs* Well now…. *Picks up Jeager and Yeet's him into the crowd* BLAME HIM!

You lying piece of- *disappears in the crowd.*

I AM NOT SKIPPING ANYTHING I SWEAR, JUST BUILDING IT UP A LITTLE MORE

Chapter 10

Still bad at titles

BETA: ERENJEAGER17

CoverArt: KegiSpringfield

Ruby collapsed just outside of the training rings, taking relief in the cool grass and warm afternoon sun on her face. Her tired brain replaying the day in an attempt to ignore her aching muscles. She was glad that everyone had taken Jaune's little lesson seriously, but come on! Did he really have to tell Pyrrha to stop holding back so much?

Blarge.

Skipping Port's first class by sparing with Jaune had been great. Then they'd ran into Miss Goodwitch. THEN they had to go to one of the LATER lessons. Because nobody tried to skip classes in front of Miss Goodwitch.

It wasn't a bad lesson, at least not a boring one this time, but it was still a lecture.

And now they had a practical test for Grimm Studies. Bah.

Ruby rolled over and groaned into the grass. Yang was being weird too, having spent the last couple of Port's classes with her attention glued to the man. It was really, really weird. Ruby loved her sister, she really did, but sometimes Yang could be…. Well, Yang.

Also, their lessons with Jaune had been. Weird.

She wasn't sure what was really going on and that was bothering the heck out of her. Being the growing young woman that she was, Ruby was well aware that she wasn't the most social of people, but Jaune was her friend.

Maybe not at first, but now he had lots of friends. He had a girlfriend for pete's sake!

Ruby took a moment to consider how Weiss might react to being called that. Her eye would probably twitch before she huffed and said, "I believe we passed that childish relationship status long ago. We are engaged, thank you very much." To which Yang would probably make some innuendo about sex and make Weiss blush and stammer.

Ruby giggled a little to herself.

It'd just been that he'd been so… closed off to everyone. Especially at the start of last year. He'd been trying to get kicked out of school constantly, and been irritating and antagonistic towards everyone. At least when he wasn't saving their lives.

Oh, and he could really fight. That one didn't surprise her that much; she'd watched how he carried himself when they'd first met. And not in the way Yang would make that sound. His movements just… polished. His sword never once got in his way, never inconvenience him, and never looked like it was uncomfortable. She was pretty sure he was only uncomfortable when he didn't have it.

Ruby took a deep breath as her thoughts wandered around aimlessly. She should remembered that she was laying face down, it would have prevented her getting a mouthful grass.

"Gahck, flaack."

Ruby rolled over again, spitting out green bits as she came back to reality.

Ren was standing near her, one eyebrow raised as she pawed at her mouth.

"What?" She asked indignantly, once she had finished wiping her mouth.

"Nothing…?" Ren said, his calm composure giving away nothing.

Ruby pushed herself up into a sitting position, "Pyrrha and Nora done with their match?" She asked, looking around for the rest of her team.

"They are." Ren replied, handing her a bottle of water, "Pyrrha won, but Nora got some good hits in. I think they both took Jaune's advice seriously."

"That's good." Ruby nodded, "And thanks." She took the bottle and greedily guzzled it. "Ahh, that's better. So, you ready to go again?"

The quiet boy gave her a soft grin. "Are you ready to lose your weapon again?"

"Whaaaat. I never lose my precious baby."

Ren just raised an eyebrow again as he offered her a hand up, choosing to stay silent on that one. The two stepped back into the ring as Nora let out a tired whoop of support from the sidelines.

Even Nora's energy isn't enough to tank three rounds with Pyrrha. Ruby mused as she took up her position a few yards away from Ren. This time, she didn't deploy Crescent Rose right away, instead opting to keep her baby in its compact form for the moment.

They weren't using live rounds, due to them being outside and not wanting a stray round to break a window and anger Miss Goodwitch. It was a considerable handicap to both of them, given their weapons, but with her speed and reach she could blitz Ren before he could even get a hit in.

Taking a moment to carefully craft a foolproof plan to take on her slippery teammate, Ruby's mind wandered back to their earlier spar with Jaune. The way he just flowed out of her reach every time, like he knew where she was going to swing next. Sure, anyone who paid attention could work out her tells, but that would take years. At the least! And! He was almost as flexible as her, he literally jumped over my slash!

How does he move like that? I mean seriously, I've been training since I was eight! Her thoughts was paused when Ren called out, asking if she was ready.

She shook her head clean before responding, "I'm always ready. Are you?"

"I am."

Ruby shot forwards in the blink of an eye, only using a little of her semblance to boost herself. Ren sidestepped her frontal attack, moving away just enough to be past the reach of her scythe, just like he'd done in their first match. Ruby planted her lead foot, halting her momentum just as Ren did the same, confident this was his opening to get a few swipes in at her exposed back.

Ruby was ready this time.

She triggered Crescent Rose, the mecha shift gears springing to life in an instant, and unfurled her custom made weapon of mass destruction. The shaft, and more importantly, the bladed tip on the end lashed out, striking Ren in the chest.

Aura flared to prevent any permanent harm, but the unexpected strike still slid him back enough for Ruby to finish deploying her weapon and bring it around, placing the hooked blade behind her friend.

"I yield." Ren said quickly.

Ruby froze in her tracks, relaxing as Ren slowly stepped out of the carefully laid trap.

"Well done, Ruby." Pyrrha said from the sideline, "Excellent set up, baiting Ren into using the same tactic." The champion gave a soft clap. "The only thing I would advise is being very careful about when you use a move like that. Leaving yourself open to bait an opponent in like that only works once, and there's always the risk that they might be fast enough to avoid it, or strong enough to switch it back on you."

"Thanks Pyrrha, I'll try to remember that." Ruby cheered, a bit of pride in the chest.

Pyrrha was the best partner and teammate she could ever ask for; supportive, kind, always willing to help her when she needed it. And now, being a lot more involved in giving feedback and pointing out things with their fighting styles. Usually little tips, but very useful all the same.

She hadn't heard everything that Jaune had told Pyrrha, seeing as it had been in the middle of their spar, but it definitely had an effect.

"Ren, you had a valid plan, but you should have noticed that Ruby was using almost the exact same opening move. That should have raised a red flag." Pyrrha gently admonished, "Especially when you're fighting the same opponent repeatedly. While changes to their style should be taken into account, any things that stay the same should be as well."

Ren nodded, "I will take that into consideration in the future."

Pyrrha smiled at both of them before calling out for them to begin again.

Ruby shook her head clear and prepared for several more rounds against the green ninja of her team. Maybe afterwards, she could talk to Ren about what was on her mind.

"Ruby, why are we doing this again?"

"Hey, at least we're not under the sheets this time."

"Awe, but I like being under the sheets with you and Renny!"

….

"What?" Nora asked, throwing her arms wide as her friends stared at her. "It's fun! Playing detective is so much funner when you get to hide away and act like spies or something."

Ruby took a moment close her mouth and shake her head, looking to Ren for help. The dark haired man just sighed and shook his head, silently telling her to simply ignore the possibly/ possibly not innuendos from the hyper girl.

The three members of RnR, a sub team Ruby had founded last year, were sat on her bed back in their dorm room. A plate of cookies sat between them, half eaten, and a battered looking notebook rested between Ruby and Ren.

Despite the fact that is was already fairly late, Pyrrha had said she wanted to run down to the Recresition Desk and place an order for extra ammunition, and accepted Ruby's quick list of additional requests before heading off. It'd probably take at least a little while for her to return.

"Ok, Supreme Leader," Nora started off, "What missions do you have for us today?"

Ruby beamed at the nickname, "Well now, my co-cookie loving teammate, we are here to go back over this!" She said, holding up the notebook.

Nora leaned forwards and gave the open book a closer inspection, "Ohhh, I remember this! I love all the little rose doodles in it!"

It really was a shame they'd never had a chance to really implement anything. Then the Vital Festival had pushed it back even more, then the attack, then the recovery. Now they were here.

"I want to pick up where we left off," Ruby said, opening the book up to the page Ren had once written. The neatly penned words stood in distinction to her own scribbled writing. "So to catch back up, and with everything we've seen and learned after our last meeting…. What do we do?"

Ren pondered for a moment, rubbing his chin, "Ruby, you have to understand that sometimes it's best not to push people." The soft spoken teen said, "We all know that Jaune is a very reserved individual, and someone who holds his feelings very closely."

"I know. That's why I'm here, with you guys." Ruby replied, a sad smile pulling at her face, "I just feel like I need to do something. He's still hurting."

Nora reached over and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "Renny's just being cautious, he doesn't like to just run in without a plan. That's why he's the best."

Ruby smiled, "So, let see where we left off." She ran her finger down the list of traits and qualities that the three of them written down so long ago.

"So we know that something changed after his mom was attacked," She led off with, remembering the conversations at the little party she and Yang had put together… right before the attack.

"It's possible that he saw coming to Beacon as abandoning his family." Ren noted, "Though I don't know why the Headmaster was so adamant about having him in the first place."

"I think Jauney might be some kind of super duper master huntsman or something." Nora said, "I mean, he barely trains, but he's super strong and smart. Not many people are able to put Pyrrha on the back foot like he does. Even I can't do that!"

Ruby bit her lip, Nora's words were worrying similar to her own. So that meant she wasn't the only one who saw it. And it meant she wasn't crazy and seeing things.

"That is a very good point." Ren nodded, "His… skills and style sometimes feel, familiar."

She fell quiet.

"What are you guys talking about?"

EEP! Silver eyes flashed wide as Ruby spun around on the bed. It was a shame she was sitting on the edge, as her sudden movement shifted her balance over the edge.

THUMP!

Ruby groaned as she looked at her upside down partner standing in the doorway. "Hey Pyrrha? You're back early."

"I am." Her partner nodded, stepping over to offer her a hand up, "Are you ok?"

"Eh, eh, haha." Ruby's head was still spinning slightly as she accepted the hand. "We were just… Talking. Yea, talking about… things."

Ren gave a small sigh from the bed, "I don't suppose you'd like to join us, Pyrrha?"

The redhead raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Maybe? I don't mean to intrude."

Nora patted the spot next to her as Ruby sat down, making room for her partner. Pyrrha took her spot, glancing down at the notebook still open on the bed. She reached out and picked it up, it took a moment for her to skim over the contents, and confusion quickly replaced her curiosity.

"You three are having meetings about Jaune?" She asked, glancing around to the others.

Ruby nodded, "Yea, I had this plan last year to try and figure out what was wrong with him… I got Ren and Nora in on it because they'd met him once before."

"Why didn't you ask me? I could have helped." Pyrrha asked, not hurt, but curious again.

Ruby grimaced a little, "I didn't want to make you do something you didn't want to do. I know you didn't like Jaune that much when we first teamed up."

Pyrrha smiled gently, reaching over to nudge her shoulder, "Has anyone told you that you are incredibly selfless?"

"Ren has a couple times." Ruby said, blushing slightly. It wasn't her fault she wanted everyone to be happy.

Nora cackled a little, "Now everyone is in this together! Go Team RRNN!"

Pyrrha giggled a little, "Ok, so what are we talking about?"

"Inconsistencies in Jaune's attitude and abilities." Ren summarized, earning a nod from the others.

"Well, that's certainly a broad subject." Pyrrha deadpanned, her head tilting a little to the side. "What are you hoping to accomplish by doing all this?"

Ruby placed her hands together in her lap, "Same thing I said at the party last year. I just want to understand what happened…. Try and help him be happy."

Pyrrha smiled at her again, "Well, ok. What can I do to help?"

Ruby felt a burst of emotion run through her. Without a doubt, she had the single best team ever! "Well, right now I was thinking about how he fights and stuff. I mean, you're the only one I've seen beat him in a spar. Jaune even beat Uncle Qrow!"

A thoughtful look crossed the Champion's face, "You know, I think that if he actually put all his effort in, I wouldn't stand a chance against him. Not now, especially. He almost beat me last year."

Ruby frowned, but it was Ren who spoke up, "What do you mean? With your semblance, I can't think of anyone capable of beating you in a one on one spar. Even a professional Huntsman would have problems getting past your defenses."

It was a testament to how comfortable Pyrrha had become with them, that them inferring she was almost untouchable in a fight didn't elicit the knee jerk denial she usually threw up. That made Ruby feel good too. "That may be true, but that's against people who either don't really know or understand my semblance. Jaune… Jaune knows exactly how it works, somehow."

Ruby didn't miss the complicated expression that crossed the taller girls face, "He also knows my fighting style." She said, thinking of how Jaune had danced through her attacks.

"Jaune does seem to have a rather specific knowledge of all of our techniques." Ren mused, "He was able to counter every one of my offensive moves when he spared with me. He did the same with all of us, really."

"I know, and that's what bothers me." Pyrrha nodded, her brows drawing down, "That and…"

Ruby waited for her to continue, but when five seconds turned into fifteen seconds, she spoke up. "'That and…' what else?"

Pyrrha took a deep breath and let it out. "He sometimes uses my moves and techniques." She said, "I mean, uses them exactly like I do. The way he uses his shield for attacks as much as defense…" She shook her head, "I've seen him use moves that are signature of my fighting style."

"Maybe his semblance is the ability to copy moves?" Nora asked, and as silly as it sounded, Ruby couldn't help but think that might be the case.

Pyrrha look down at her hands, "I… maybe. I don't know. It's just that when he and I sparred today, it's like he was familiar with everything I was going to do. Not in some…" Pyrrha bit her lip, "It almost feels like its muscle memory for him. Like he's sparred against me for years and can just… go through the motions. It felt like I was sparring with one of my trainers again, someone who was able to read my tells perfectly."

Ruby stared down at her hands, as strange as it sounded, what her partner had just said seemed to encapsulate a lot of things perfectly. Jaune just felt, familiar for some reason. For all the times he was trying to drive them away or make them angry at him, there had been an undertone that they were familiar to him. He knew which buttons to push to say the least.

"What did he tell you when you sparred against him today?" Ren asked, breaking the silence that had overtaken the four, "Other than what he said about my control over aura, and about helping you guys, he pointed out several things about my style that I need to hem up."

Pyrrha made a face, "He said I need to be more aggressive. That letting my opponent have a chance was foolish, and that by holding myself back, I risked losing more than just a fight. That's on top of telling me to start being more involved with everyone else's training."

"He suggested I take another weapon," Nora added, "And said I tend to over commit with my attacks and am locked into it once I start." The bubbly bomber huffed a little, "It's not like the Grimm are all that hard to pin down."

"Jaune wasn't talking about fighting Grimm." Ruby cut in glumly, picking at the blanket.

There really was no way to argue that, if the fact that no one said otherwise was any indication. Nora made a face, Ren simply nodded, and Pyrrha looked distraught.

"Much of my style," Pyrrha said, rubbing one arm as she looked at the notebook, "My combos and techniques revolve around disarming and incapacitating my opponents. It still translates to fighting Grimm, but it's more for fighting people…"

"Jaune… Jaune is used to fighting people." Ruby said softly, "He's used to… killing."

Ren and Pyrrha simultaneously reached out and gently touched her shoulders. She shook her head, her voice a little strained. "Jaune is only two years older than me, he's your guys age, but he just acts like he's so much older. Like he's the only one who can protect everyone. Like it's his job to keep us safe. It's not fair."

It was something she'd tried to push out of her mind for a while now, but the more she tried, the more she thought about it. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense - the worse it made sense - and caused a pit to open in her stomach.

Ren took a deep breath, "Jaune always fights those who threaten his friends, even when it involves getting his hands dirty. I… I can understand that." Nora placed a hand on his knee and just smiled at him, earning a honest smile back.

Ruby knew everything could be justified. Almost all of his actions, at least the ones where someone died, were either in self defense, or in protecting others. It was just troubling, that he wasn't affected by it at all. At least not openly. She honestly didn't think it bothered him at all.

Just the idea of having to go so far rankled her. She'd never hold it against him, not even once, but it was a line she never thought she'd be able to cross.

Ren spoke up again, "It's not fair. I don't know if it ever will be fair. People get hurt, either from the Grimm or from other people, but that's why we're here, isn't it? To help stop the suffering."

Ruby smiled a little, it was why she wanted to be a huntress. The dream of being able to protect others from harm, to be strong enough that she could save lives. Like Jaune did.

Then again, he'd been trying to run away from it all. To get kicked out of school and go back to his family. Ruby shuttered at the thought of what might have happened to them all if he'd succeeded. Blake would have died at the docks, the Breach would have been ten times worse, and the Attack…. She refused to think any more on it. It hurt to much.

It doesn't matter. He was there when we needed him. Ruby shook her head again. That was all in the past. It didn't matter now, what did matter was the future, and what they were doing now.

"We talked about him having PTSD, or something similar," She said, more to fill in Pyrrha, "We can't figure out what happened, but his nightmares, seeing us being killed, I know he's scared of losing us. Even though he only really met us last year."

Pyrrha gave her a shoulder bump, "I'm sure Jaune will tell us when the time is right, I know he's getting better even now. I've seen him out for early morning runs, and he has gotten a lot stronger physically. So that means he's been eating more."

"That's true. Maybe, maybe now that the attack is over, and everyone is safe, he'll start to relax a little more." Ruby said, latching onto the little piece of hope. "In the meantime, I still want to involve him and everyone else in fun things. I know we have a movie lined up for this weekend, but I was hoping we could do more on a day to day basis too."

"We could do more sparing with each other! That's always fun." Nora suggested.

Ren shrugged, showing he didn't really care either way.

Pyrrha smiled down gently at her, pulling her in for a sideways hug, "We can do that. Maybe some card games or something during free periods. We'll all do what we can to help, gods forbid you'll do it on your own if we don't."

"Awweee." Ruby giggled as she returned the hug and Nora - not wanting anyone to be left out - grabbed Ren in a bone crushing hug. Best. Team. Ever.

A knock on the door caused everyone to jump a little. Ruby simply received shrugs from everyone on the bed, so no one was expecting anyone. The red digits on the alarm clock said it was way past bedtime. 10:45 to be exact.

Ruby rolled her eyes and slid off the bed, traipsing across to the door and throwing it open.

Yang was standing in the doorway.

Ruby's cheer died in an instant. Her normally loud and pun addicted sister looked like she'd been run through the ringer. She was dressed in her pajamas, but her hair was in disarray and she had tears building in her eyes. She latched onto Ruby before she could get anything out, pulling her into a desperate hug.

"Yang! What's going on? Are you ok? Talk to me?!" Yang didn't answer, she just held her their and took deep, shuddering breaths.

Ruby could just see past Yangs hair, into JWBY's room. Everyone looked, scared. Blake was sitting on the bed, eyes wide and ears pinned back. Weiss was standing next to a chair near the center of the room, pain and sympathy plain on her face.

And Jaune… Jaune sat shirtless on the chair, his scar dotted back to them as he refused to turn to face them.

*Sitting in a bomb shelter at an undisclosed location*

THE NEXT CHAPTER IS COMING OUT THIS CHRISTMAS! I SWEAR (barring natural disasters) SO DON'T CRUCIFY ME YET!

Well, there's that. This was completely Jeager's idea, I swear, I just happened to agree with it. It felt like I was really just bumrushing the story and cutting out other people and what they were dealing with. So, I tried for this.

*Climbs out of the crowd.*

Yeah, I'll take full responsibility for this. It took a while cause of life stuff and cause we both had to take a hard look at this part of the story. Seriously, I think these two chapters have been looked at WAY MORE times than any others. It's gonna be a blast though.

Get ready. :D

Yup. Really can't catch a break recently. ALTHOUGH, Because this is kinda an interlude chapter, I already have Chapter 11 99% written, and that WILL be finished and uploaded for Christmas! Yay! Right?

Right?

Hello?

*Shoves Jim into crowd* YOUR TURN!

You- *Stares at the mob* I-I have cover art now?