Today will be the day... I KILL MY BROTHER! Seriously, can't he just lay off with the rambling for a second!?
Okay, I think I owe you an explanation. My twin brother has "recently" started playing a RPG videogame called "Neverwinter Nights". It's a videogame with the rules of D&D [Dungeons&Dragons, a role-play game] 3.0, and thus far it's okay. But it's days he keeps rambling on and on about how he did this, and how the Balor Lord was so strong, and how the Drow Priestess shouldn't have her divine powers because her goddess left her, and how a Demilich is stronger than a lich, and how the golems this, and how the mad wizard that... ARGH! He talks every time we have our daily walk of 1.5 hours on the canal bank. These days we were tasked to take care of our little brother. Guess what? I took care of my little brother... he stood in the same room talking and talking and talking, with me having to split my attention between the two of them. Hell, this morning I went to the bathroom and he stood outside the bathroom door, while I was trying to defecate, rambling on and on about this game and asking me if I knew how strong an Archdevil of the Nine Hells is in terms of Challenge Rating and levels! ARGH!
I can take care of my little brother. He's a handful, but I can manage. But taking care of BOTH my brothers while trying not to murder the team that created Neverwinter Nights? Come on!
Anyway, onto the story. This is an important chapter, mind me. It's Jaune's awakening.
"Sir, could I have a word, please?"
Ozpin lowered his mug and looked at the woman. He knew what she was going to say, and he knew what she was going to do. Being teleported out of her home universe hadn't changed her too much, and she still was the woman he knew. But since he too hadn't changed, he wanted to hear her say it without helping her. "Of course, Glynda. And please, call me just Ozpin. I know I'm old but being called `sir` by my closest assistant reminds me of just how old I am."
He stood up and followed the blonde woman into a corner, the rest of the Watchers blissfully unaware of their movements.
Ironwood and Winter were playing chess against Qrow, who was showing off the skill he had gotten during years and years of seeing Ozpin play. With Jaune and Pyrrha gone, the five remaining girls of RBWY and -N-R were playing some card game. Actually, looking at them, Ozpin wasn't sure if they were all playing the same game, or even playing with the same cards, especially since Nora had a poker in her hand while Weiss held three trump cards in her own. Cardin, Sun, Neptune and Ren, instead, were playing Remnant: the Game, and the silent boy was completely dominating the other three with a bored look on his face.
Ozpin turned back to Glynda. "What is the matter?"
The stern professor glanced at the students before looking back at him. Her no-nonsense personality was one of the things he had always admired about her, because it allowed her to speak her mind even when most other people wouldn't have. "Sir, it regards the boy, Mr Arc."
Ozpin cocked an eyebrow and sipped his coffee. "What about him?" he asked, a noticeable edge in his voice.
Again, most people would've winced at the edge, but Goodwitch wasn't most people. "I'm beginning to see what you and Phoenix meant, what the students meant and what Mr Arc himself meant," she said. "But the point is that I am a strictly logical person, and as such I always follow reason."
"And what is reason telling you to do now?" inquired the elderly professor.
"Take time to think about it," was her immediate response. She raised a hand to stop him. "I trust you, Ozpin, and against my better judgement I trust Phoenix too. But this is going too fast. You want me to change my mind in a matter of an hour. Well, that is not possible. I am not that kind of person."
"Explain."
"Sir, with all due respect, I initially doubted your decision to allow Mr Arc into Beacon. Maybe I was being stubborn, maybe I wasn't. Point is that Phoenix lectured me just three viewings ago, and then you lectured me during the last viewing. And with all that's been happening in between… I haven't got the time to think about it." She shrugged helplessly. "How can I make up my mind about Mr Arc if I am not allowed the timeto think about it? My opinions are not based on nothing, Ozpin, and I need time to process the new information I have before coming up with new opinions. Mechanical, maybe, but efficient. That's how I survived doing my job up until now."
"So what you're asking is…" began the man.
"I'd like to wait this viewing out. You will inform me of its contents later. For a bit, I'd like to think about what you told me." She sighed. "And also what Phoenix told me."
Ozpin looked at her before nodding slowly. "I understand. Take your time." He glanced at the screen, that was starting up. "I'll sum everything that will happen up for you when you come back. I think Phoenix will be okay with letting you out for a few moments."
"Thank you, sir," replied the woman, turning and heading out of the door. As she exited, she almost bumped into Jaune and Pyrrha. Ducking her head low, something really out of character for the stern professor, she disappeared from sight.
Confused by her strange behaviour, the two merely sat down as the viewing began.
Jaune made his way to his History class with Weiss, Blake and Pyrrha. As they arrived, he noticed that Velvet was also in their class. He waved at her and she returned it with a shy smile as he sat in his usual spot. Not long after that, Dr. Oobleck showed up and started teaching, if you call zooming around the front of the room, talking a mile a minute and drinking coffee teaching. Jaune tried to follow along but it was just impossible. He gave up on trying to follow along with the lectures, which meant that he had to study twice as much as the normal student but he dealt with it. Halfway through the lecture Jaune got an idea and pulled out his scroll discreetly to message Ruby.
"Eheh, apparently Dr Oobleck hasn't changed one bit," chuckled Yang.
Jaune: Hey Ruby. You busy?
After a minute or so she responded.
Ruby: In class but what's up?
Jaune: Nothing much. Was just wondering if after dinner who'd wanna go to the library together to knock out some of our assignments before the weekend?
Another minute later she responded.
Ruby: Sure! Weiss would nag me anyways so two Nevermore, one bullet.
Jaune: Sweet!
After that Jaune tuned back into Oobleck's lecture to catch up on what he was talking about.
"Now! Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?" Several students raise their hands, Velvet included. "Dreadful! Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence! I mean, look at what happened to the White Fang! Now, which one of you young scallions can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the war?"
Weiss raised her hand, "The battle at Fort Castle!"
"Thus far it's gone more or less how it did in our universe," commented Weiss.
"You probably just jinxed it, you know?" Blake sighed. Seriously, everyone knew not to make those kind of comments.
"I certainly hope so, this is getting kinda boring, I want to see something different!" exclaimed Yang, basically jumping up and down in her seat.
"Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" Jaune raised his hand. "Mr. Arc! Finally contributing! Excellent! What is the answer?"
"Night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark. General Lagune was a moron and tried to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched and he got himself captured."
"Evidently you paid more attention in that universe than in this," scoffed Cardin.
"Hey, it wasn't my fault!" protested Jaune. "Pyrrha continued to mimic binoculars! Okay, I didn't know the answer, but Pyrrha didn't help, either!"
"You were kinda mimicking binoculars," Blake nodded toward the champion.
"Sorry, I'm not exactly used to miming," apologized the redhead.
"Exactly but I wouldn't have said it so bluntly Mr. Arc."
Jaune shrugged, "Sorry, Sir. I've always been known to speak with blunt honesty." Pyrrha was trying to hide a giggle and Blake had a small smirk. Jaune gave them a glance and a smile. But that faded at the next thing he heard.
"It was probably a lot easier to train animals than soldiers, anyhow." Jaune spun around to see Cardin with his usual smirk. That disappeared as he saw Jaune's angry look. They both stood up and looked like they'd start swinging.
"Ahahahahahahahaaahahaahhahah!" Cardin's loud and obnoxious laugh echoed in the room, and everyone focused on him. "Sorry, I just tried to picture Jauney Boy here trying to do the same! Ahahahaaahaah! He would get himself pummelled and he would need to be saved by one of the pussies he's so friends with! That's so funny! Ahahaahahahahhahhaah!"
Jaune wasn't the only one to clench their fists and repeat a mantra to themselves. 'Must not kill. Must not kill. He's just not worth the jail time.'
Ozpin had to hide his smirk behind a sip. 'If I were you, Mr Winchester, I would start apologizing. I have the inkling you will be in for a nasty surprise very soon.' Far from Salem and his day-to-day problems, the Headmaster sighed in contentment as he relaxed on his couch, enjoying life and especially enjoying seeing his students live their lives. It was like a soap opera.
"Mr. Winchester, Mr. Arc! Please take your seats. Both see me after class for additional readings." The two sat down and Oobleck went back to his lecture. Jaune was still irritated at the comment. He wanted nothing more than to break Cardin's face, just like he'd do if he was outside the Kingdoms. He clenched his fist on the table until he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Pyrrha giving him a sympathetic look, along with Blake surprisingly. He calmed down and smile at the two. After class the two stayed behind to get their extra readings and left. As they did Cardin shoved Jaune but he caught himself and spun around.
"Do we have a problem?!" Jaune was at his limit with this guy.
"I don't know, do we?!" Cardin got right into Jaune's face but he didn't back down. Compared to what Jaune has been through, he was nothing.
"Just say the word and I'll kick your ass like I've done twice now." Jaune said completely serious.
Cardin grabbed the front of his uniform, "You think you're better than me, Arc!?"
Jaune looked at his face dumbfounded and just shook his head slightly. He grabbed Cardin's hand and shoved it off him before he turned around and started walking away. "Get over yourself." Was all he said as he walked away from him. He was just done with Cardin and didn't want to keep this feud going. He missed the dark look in Cardin's eyes and him clenching his fists, this was not over.
"One thing I do not understand," Jaune suddenly spoke up, and turned to Cardin. "I can get you're a douchebag and so you pick on me because I'm weaker than you are. But why would you try to pick on someone who's far stronger than you are?"
"He was trying to become popular by beating the Swordsman," explained Yang, who knew a lot about popularity. "And he began picking on him after he realized he wouldn't fight back."
Jaune and all his friends were sitting down for dinner. He was in a lot better mood after the day had ended. He was drinking some water when Yang decided to throw a curve ball at him.
"So, we're extremely attractive women, Hero?" she said with a teasing smile with he hands under her chin.
"Is that gonna become my permanent nickname?" asked Jaune, raising an eyebrow.
"Nope," came from under his chin. He looked down and saw Ruby back on his lap, her face buried into his shirt as usual. She spoke without thinking. "That's the Swordsman's nickname. You're our Knightly Angel."
Then both teens processed those words, and promptly blushed of a shade of crimson that probably crossed into the infrared spectrum. Their Aura protected them from death by head blood convergence, or an overload of blood in the blood vessels placed in the head, especially the brains. Also known as brain trauma. That was what they got for not thinking before speaking. Their mothers had tried to teach them the holy art of keeping their mouths shut, but they never learned.
Smirking at the awkward pair, Yang laughed. "I like the sound of Knightly Angel. It'll stick."
"Still better than Vomit Boy," sighed Jaune.
"So I won't be able to call you Jaune-Jaune any more?" Nora pouted, but Ren placed a hand over her shoulder.
"Having a nickname does not prevent you from earning others, Nora," he explained. "So you can still call him whatever you want."
Jaune quickly turned away and did a spit take before looking back at her. "Are you trying to kill me, Yang?"
She shrugged with that same smile. "No, I like having you around. But you didn't answer my question." He was going to ignore her but all the girls at his table were staring at him besides Nora, who was braiding Ren's hair for whatever reason. Realizing he wasn't getting out of this he sighed before continuing.
"Well, yeah. You're all attractive in your own way and you all have your own type of beauty. I would think you'd all know this." He shrugged as the girls blushed a bit.
"Care to give us examples?" Yang continued with the same grin.
"Are you… trying to get him to call you beautiful?" asked Jaune. "I thought you got that enough times already, Yang."
"Not from honest people." She grimaced. "And often they are just perverts."
Jaune flushed slightly before scratching the back of his head, "I guess not." He thought for a second. "Well, Pyrrha here has very beautiful emerald green eyes and very lovely hair. I actually personally think it looks better when she has it down but her ponytail gives her, her own style. Plus, her fighting style is both beautiful and captivating. Making it amazing to watch." Pyrrha blushed and quickly looked away from her partner.
He moved on, "While Weiss has a type of refined beauty, like seeing a professional carve the most beautiful angel out of ice. I've also heard a few of your songs after you let it slip that you sing, and in my humble opinion, that is what an angel would sound like. On top of that is your scar, it draws attention to your crystal blue eyes that show the warmth hidden under your cold exterior." Weiss gently brought her hand up to her scar before her face flushed red as Ruby's hood before she looked down.
"Blake, well you have your own kind of mysterious beauty. Your amber eyes seem to peer directly into my soul and see who I really am. Your whole stoic demeanor just puts me at ease and seeing you read all the time shows how intellectual you are. And your bow accents your hair very well but I'd wager you'd look better without it." Blake hid behind her book trying to hide her own blush. All the girls were taken aback, Jaune always spoke with so much honesty that they all knew he truly felt this way towards them. But he was in no way hitting on them, it was nice to be complimented respectively and not like pieces of meat.
"And what about me?" Yang was getting impatient waiting for her turn.
"Well, Yang, you have a very beautiful laugh that just seems to brighten the room and makes me want to make you laugh as often as possible. Your lilac eyes are just as pretty and when they switch to that red, well they are somewhat scary but they show your feelings in the realest way. But I'd say your most outstanding feature is your hair. It's so bright and shines so beautifully in the light, also its very soft."
"Wow, he surely knows his way with words," chuckled Yang.
"Nah, as he said he's just being completely honest," replied Jaune. "Usually, poetry and bluntness do not go well together."
"Are you saying we're not beautiful?" snapped Weiss.
"Never said that!" Jaune atoned quickly. "I'm just saying that poetry weave gems of truth alongside cloths of words."
"You came up with that?" asked Blake, a little surprised by the sudden poeticness.
"Nope, stole it from one of my sisters," he grinned. "I know a little of poetry but she's the expert."
"I bet she's a cute, short girl with blonde hair and green eyes, sitting at a table and writing poem after poem," chuckled Neptune. "Some for love, some for nature and some just for poetry itself. Am I right?"
"Nah. She's as tall as I am, pretty I'll give her that, with short black hair and green eyes," replied the Arc son. "She likes to come up with poems and songs while she slaughters Grimm in the most agonizing way she can come up with."
"That's… nice…" said Yang, remembering Jaune's tales of what ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends had to endure by the vengeful hands of the Arc family. "Y-You know P-Money, good luck with meeting the parents."
"I'll need it," responded the paling redhead.
"Oh, come on!" exclaimed the boy. "Most of you grin or even outright laughs in combat, what's wrong with Stella coming up with a couple of poems?"
Yang was taken back slightly, "How do you know what my hair feels like?"
"Yang, you slept on top of me and my hand moved to your back when we slept. I felt it then, remember?"
She blushed slightly but continued, "I don't let anyone touch my hair. You're lucky I didn't pummel you."
Jaune bowed slightly, "Than I'm honored you didn't and gave me that honor, Sun Fire." He smiled at her.
"Honestly, Spitfire would be a better fit for you," snorted Jaune.
"Spitfire?" asked Nora.
"A type of jet fighter," explained Ironwood. "An extremely powerful type."
"Aww, already giving me a pet name, Jauney?" smirked Yang, much to the other blond's embarrassment. "You're so nic-" She interrupted herself when she felt more than one dark presences flare up. She wisely chose not to finish the word.
Jaune, instead, was trying to turn himself into stone out of embarrassment. Why couldn't Yang stop with her teasing? Or at least why couldn't he stop being so easily embarrassed? He knew she didn't mean anything by it! So why did he get embarrassed!?
She blushed a bit more but before anyway could say anything, Nora came into the conversation. "See? That's our Jaune, he's always been like this! That's why Amber fell for him!" Her eyes widened and she quickly put her hand on her mouth. Ren's eyes widened and everyone turned to Jaune who had his head down. He slowly got up after a minute or so, and his hair hid his eyes.
"I'll see you guys later." He started making his way back to the door.
"I'm sorry." That was all Nora said. Jaune just raised his hand and waved, 'It's alright' is what that meant. As he left Nora looked down, "I'm a big dummy."
Ren gently patted her on the back, "He knows you didn't mean anything by it, Nora. He's just hurting." She nodded but didn't look up.
"Aaand you ruined what was becoming my favourite moment so far," sighed Sun, getting stares from everyone. "How many times do I have to say this: I Am A Sucker For Sweet Scenes!"
"He's partially right though, it was a very nice moment," agreed Pyrrha, and Nora shrank.
"Nora, it wasn't your fault, you didn't mean any harm," Ren comforted her.
"Doesn't change the fact I ruined his imminent engagement with all of RWBY and Pyrrha!" she pouted even as six other students looked on the verge of steaming from their ears in embarrassment. "And don't deny it, you were all this close to jumping Jaune!"
'He's my first friend, I got dibs,' Ruby thought into his shirt.
Jaune walked around Beacon trying to calm himself and clear his head. He knew she didn't mean anything by it, it just hurt. Amber was Ren and Nora's friend but they never brought her up because Jaune was hurting so much. He hated that because they had to be silent about their closest friend besides the three of them. He wished he'd be able to move on but he just couldn't. Not yet.
Ozpin found himself smirking as he eyed the embarrassed students. 'Not yet, Swordsman? Take it from someone who has experience in the matter: with the horde of women you're charming, you're gonna be ready very soon. For your own sake.'
After a while, Jaune went to grab his things before heading to the library to meet Ruby, that was if she was still going to be there. As he was making his way through the library looking for her, he went around a corner and he bumped into someone. The someone almost fell but he caught them, "I'm so sorry. Blake?" Yup, there was Blake. Stopped halfway to the floor by Jaune's arms wrapped around her waist. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Jaune helped her to stand. "I'm sorry again."
"It's fine, Jaune. But what are you doing here?" she asked politely.
"Well, me and Ruby were supposed to meet up to knock out some of our assignments. Also, I was gonna see how she was handling her role as leader so far." Jaune added sheepishly.
"That's very considerate of you, Jaune. Mind if I ask you something I've been curious about though?"
"I don't see why not."
"Why do you care for Faunus so much and why do you fight for them so passionately?"
"Ohohohoh!" exclaimed Nora. "The kitty is studying her next meal!"
"Nora, that's enough," sighed Ren.
'Well, Ms Valkyrie is not completely wrong,' noted Ironwood.
Jaune stopped for a second to think carefully, he wanted to answer but didn't want to give all the details, "Well, as I said before, someone Ren, Nora and I knew was a Faunus and we saw her go through a lot. But she never fought back due to the fact that it would just cause more problems in the long run. So I swore that if I could help any Faunus, I would. If they couldn't fight, I'd do it for them. This is the burden that I swore to carry. It's the least I could do, considering…" Jaune looked away at that point.
Blake was looking at him and absorbed his words. She was stunned that a human could care for Faunus in way like this. It gave her hope and made her happy. Truly happy. She smiled, "That's very honorable of you."
Jaune looked at her and smiled sheepishly, "Thanks, Blake. So, why are you here? Reading?"
She nodded, "Yup, I wanted to read in peace without Yang or Weiss bothering me." Her eyes widened a bit and started to frantically look for something. "Oh no, where is it?"
Jaune looked down and by his feet was a book. He leaned over to pick it up and read the title, "Ninjas of Love." He opened it to the bookmarked page and started reading.
Blake stared in horror. There was nothing she could do, Jaune was reading where she left off and it was at one of the more heated parts. She couldn't play it off in anyway. She didn't want anyone to find out about her preference to reading but it was too late. He'd look down on he for it, she just knew it. She closed her eyes and waited for it.
And boy if she got it. "Pooooooooooorn!" shouted Yang.
"Erotic literature," she moaned miserably.
"Sure," scoffed Weiss. "That is pure filth."
"Come on, Blake," smiled Nora. "Even if you read smut you're still our friend!"
"One of the best parts of the book."
"Wait, what?"
"You read that book?" asked Yang.
"Yes I did," sighed Jaune. "Frankly I read it because a friend of mine asked me to, and after the first book I began reading the series because of the plot."
"You read porn?" repeated Cardin, a smirk on his face. "Figures. Pervert."
"The title `Ninjas of Love` is just a mistranslation of the original title `Ninjas d'Amour`, with Amour being the kingdom the main characters live in. So the title literally means the ninjas of the kingdom Amour." He sighed. "My friend wrote it in our dialect so it had to be translated first."
Wait, why did he have the feeling he had just said something he shouldn't have?
"The author is your friend?" a voice purred in his ear. He froze as Blake seemed to materialize just beside him, her body pressed against his back. "What do you want in exchange of the next book's premium edition?"
Blake blinked, "W-what?"
Jaune gestured to the book in his hand, "You've gotten to one of the best parts of the book. The two characters are finally able to express their love for each other. Its romantic." He smiled.
Blake's mind started to catch up. "Wait, you've read it before?"
Jaune nodded, "Yeah. I picked it up a while ago on accident and loved it. Although, Nora teased me mercilessly about it." He chuckled slightly before sighing. "I never finished it though. Forgot it when I came to Beacon." He handed Blake her book and she accepted it, bringing it close to her chest.
"Oh, you mean I teased you?" Nora smirked as she prepared herself for the merciless teasing. She was stopped when a book dropped onto everyone's lap, each with a note.
"This is Ninjas of Love Book 1, no `heated` moments. Read and be educated. Signed, Blake Belladonna. Yes, I asked for this instead of food and it appeared."
"What?" Most in the room just threw the books aside. Secretly, a few kept it. Secretly, those few were Sun (but just for the romance), Neptune, and all the eight students of RWBY and JNPR. But it's a secret. SECRET!
"Can you not tell anyone about this? Please?" she looked at him practically begging.
"Sure. No problem."
"Really?"
"Yeah. What's a favor between friends?"
Blake took a second before she smiled, "Thank you."
"Although, could I ask you for a favor in return?"
"I guess so. What is it?"
Jaune sheepishly scratched his head, "Um, could I borrow it when you're done? It's been bugging me not to know how it ends."
Blake thought for a second, "I don't see why not. Just promise to take care of it."
"Absolutely!" Jaune smiled. "Well, I better find Ruby. See you later, Blake." As they were walking away Jaune didn't see the smile on Blake's face. Jaune looked around for Ruby and eventually found her at a table already starting her work. Jaune grinned at sat next to her. She turned to him with a smile.
"Hey, Jaune. Wasn't sure you'd show up."
"I'd never blow you off, especially since this was my idea. Besides, I have some extra readings to do for Oobleck." He said slightly annoyed.
"Ouch. What happened?"
Jaune sighed, "Cardin said something racist and got under my skin. If not for Oobleck being there, we probably would've started fighting."
"And Cardin would've gotten his ass handed to him," completed Yang.
"Hey!"
"Ms Xiao Long is right, Mr Winchester," commented Ironwood. "Our Jaune Arc might be a criminal faker but the one we're watching is a skilled fighter."
"James, I think you're going too far by calling him a criminal," stated Ozpin, already tired of having to tell off his own colleagues. "He passed initiation. For all that matters, Ms Rose wouldn't have been accepted into Beacon with her transcripts, either. While her fighting skills are on par with Beacon's standards, her academic grades were… questionable."
Ruby slumped before Jaune tapped her shoulder. "Hey, come on you're much better now. Not the best but way better than many. Weiss might've been brutal with her methods but you can't deny her tutelage got you up to par with everyone else."
"Not up to you… I'm still appalled by the fact you of all people are one of the best in class," grumbled Cardin.
Nora laughed nervously. "Oh well, after his gaffe in History of Remnant, Ren and Pyrrha decided to coach him…" Everyone looked at Jaune, who in turn had turned empty-eyed. Nora nervously laughed again. "Let's just say that by the end of the week he was among the best in class… in all academic classes."
"The horrors…"
Suddenly, Cardin felt pity for the poor knight. If the two's tutelage had been enough to make Nora nervous, then it must've been inhuman.
Ruby looked at him concerned, "That's not good, Jaune."
"I know, I know. I'm done with the whole situation anyways. Not worth the time and energy."
Ruby smiled, "Good."
The two sat together talking and working with each other. If one had a problem with their assignment, the other usually had the answer. They talked about how their classes were going, how their teams were and how being a leader was treating them. Overall, they had a good night. They were almost done with everything when Jaune looked over to her and saw her nodding off. Made sense, they were working for about 3 hours now. Jaune started packing everything up and stood beside Ruby before gently shaking her. "Hey, Ruby. Let's call it a night."
She looked up at him sleepily and nodded slowly. It was adorable. Jaune was waiting for her to get up when instead she raised her arms slightly and sleepily said, "Can you carry me?" That just added even more cuteness on top of it and he crumbled.
"Really, Ruby, I think you could tame Grimm with your cuteness," sighed Jaune, shaking his head. "Fortunately Yang and I are immune to your adorableness or there would be no one to keep an eye on you."
"You think I'm cute?" shyly asked the girl.
Jaune blinked before laughing. "Ruby, don't tell this to my sisters but you're by far the cutest girl I've ever seen. Not just your looks but your personality too!" he exclaimed before stopping abruptly. "Wait, did you mean cute but not beautiful? I didn't mean to say you aren't beautiful, you are! I mean, your eyes are the prettiest I've ever seen, your hair is really nice and all in all you I'm pretty sure that if it weren't for Yang's overprotectiveness you'd be giving her a run for her money!"
A `polite` cough made him realize that he was being watched by most of the other occupants of the room, Yang included. A pretty pissed off Yang, even if it seemed like she wasn't pissed just at him… maybe Ruby had done something to earn her ire? Well, he'd be damned if he knew what was going on.
Meanwhile Ruby… her train of thoughts was pretty easy to guess. 'Ohmygosh, he called me cute and beautiful! It's just like in the books Yang reads me! What should I do? Should I compliment him back? Yang said that's the way to go… or maybe should I just kiss him already? Nononono, I can't do that!'
"Ruby, are you okay?" Jaune asked worriedly. "You've been staring at my chestplate for a while now."
"I think you're handsome too!" she blurted out, blushing beet red.
"W-What? I haven't quite heard-"
"I think you're handsome too," she repeated fidgeting nervously. It didn't help she was still sitting on his lap -but damn if he was comfortable, she could get used to it-, and she kept taking glances at him before looking away again. "Your eyes are really nice, your hair looks like gold and your personality is truly the one of a knight. Plus you're really well-built, not massive but really fit. I-I'm just returning the favour," she quickly added, her face impossibly red. She groaned. "Forget I said anything, I'm so awkward."
Unbeknownst to everyone, a never-used synapsis in Jaune's brain finally woke up, stretched and yawned. Taking in the info from its sister synapsis, Jeyin (yep, even his synapsis' names start with a J) finally did its job and called for an alert, waking up several other synapsis and putting them to work. Finally, after two seconds of hard processing, a thought flashed across Jaune's mind. 'Ruby has a crush on me.' Then the synapsis all cheered at the well done work.
'Ruby has a crush on me…' he repeated in his mind. 'Yang is gonna kill me!"
"Has anyone else heard a ding?" asked Nora, only getting shrugs in response. "Like when in movies someone just realizes something they've been missing all along? No? Aww…"
He sighed and kneeled down in front of her with his back to her, "Sure. Get on." She leant against his back and gently wrapped her arms around his neck. He gently held her legs and when she was secure, he stood up and started making their way to the dorms. Jaune was sure Ruby fell back asleep until halfway to the dorms he felt her giggling.
"What's so funny?" he asked turning his head to see her.
"Just glad I got you to carry me." She smirked.
"Wait a minute…"
"Wait a minute, you tricked me?" he said flabbergasted.
"Maybe." Was her only response with her tongue sticking out playfully.
"You played me!" exclaimed Jaune, outraged… but not so much. The girl merely shrugged with a small smile on her still blushing face.
'Of course she has a crush on me, how could I have not noticed? Was I really that dense?'
"Hmmmm. And why shouldn't I drop you?"
"Because you're not that mean."
Jaune turned his head back to look where he was going, "You're just lucky you're so light." She giggled more at that. Jaune walked for a bit longer before he spoke again. "Since I'm carrying you and you tricked me, I say that you owe me an answer to a question."
"That sounds fair." she said still very amused.
Jaune took a minute to figure out how to phrase it. "What's up with you and Yang? You've been a little annoyed with her lately." Ruby was quiet. Jaune thought she wasn't going to answer, so he decided not to push. Until he felt her bury her face into his back and mumbled something. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
Ruby turned her head slightly, "I'm not annoyed. I'm worried." Before he could ask she continued. "You were my first friend here, Jaune, I'm worried you're going to replace me with Yang. She's cooler, older, prettier and you gave her a nickname. Why wouldn't you want her to replace me?"
"Ruby…" He swallowed. Talking to her without knowing of her crush had been a lot easier. "Yang's not gonna replace you. You're both my friends. Heck, without any offence to Yang, but frankly we've hung out far more than I and Yang have."
"Yang and I," corrected Weiss.
"But she…"
"No buts, you're two different people, none of you is replaceable." Jaune gave her a look he usually reserved for misbehaving sisters. "And this is final. Plus, she's not cooler or prettier than you, she's just pretty in a different way. And the nickname thing was just something thrown in the bunch to make number."
"Wow, you really know how to handle this, don't you?" asked Sun.
"I have seven sisters and uncountable cousins. My sisters were always worried I'd take to hang out with my cousins more than with them." He snorted a laugh. "And they made up the most ridiculous excuses too."
"But I'd still like a nickname," murmured Ruby.
"Well then, wanna get a nickname? I have to warn you, it'll stick no matter what," said Jaune.
"As long as it's not Crater Face…" grumbled the girl. "I think it's fine."
"If you say so…" He thought hard for a second, and promptly came back blank. The others could hear the gears whirring in his mind.
"Little Flower?" offered Blake.
"I don't want to use the obvious flower nickname," he snorted. "That's too easy… what about… Gemshine?"
There was a beat of silence before everyone but Ruby, Pyrrha and Jaune exploded into laughters, the latter instead frowning unamused. "Seriously, Vomi- sorry, Knightly Angel, is this all you can do?"
He pouted. "Hey, I think it fits her. First her name is the one of a gem, plus a gem is something precious, a ruby especially so, and she surely is precious to me and to all of us. The ruby is also related to passion and protection, two things I can easily relate to Ruby." He took a second for the other part of the nickname. "Shine because Ruby is like a ray of sunshine in a world of darkness, with her innocence and, I'll admit it, naivety. She wants to make Remnant a better world and we all know that all forms of life needs the sunshine to survive."
The laughters had stopped, except for the ones of a certain bully. Now a very awkward silence hung on the room.
Ozpin decided to help out his new favourite students. At first it was Ruby his favourite, since he thought that watching her fumble through her time in Beacon would've been both funny and touching. But then Jaune had walked into the picture, and the spot had been taken in a heartbeat. "You certainly show that your sister is not the only one with a knack for poetry, Mr Arc. Your words were well-chosen, and I for one certainly approve of the nickname. As always, good job, Mr Arc."
"I… er…"
Jaune was shocked. "Ruby." He sighed before continuing. "You're a fool." He felt he jump up slightly. "Yang might be that but you're my first friend I made besides Ren and Nora. No matter what happens or who I meet, that'll never change." He turned to her and smiled. "That's another reason why you're precious to me."
Ruby stared at him for a second before she had a massive smile. "Thanks, Jaune, I needed to hear that."
He patted her head before turning his head again, "Anytime."
They were quiet for a bit before Ruby spoke up again. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Do you even need to ask?"
He could feel her fingers fiddling with each other by his neck before she started speaking nervously, "You were saying how the others were beautiful. Well, umm, do you see me like that?"
"Yes. Sometimes I see you and you just look adorable and I know you know you are." He smirked before he continued. "Your hair is also beautiful, the red and black frames your face very well. Also, your still two years younger but there is no doubt that in no time you'll give Yang a run for her money. But, most of all are your eyes. Their silver color is beautiful and almost hypnotic. They clearly show all the happiness and hope you hold inside you. So, yes Ruby, you're beautiful." He turned to look at her and saw she was staring wide eyed at him with her face as red as her hood. He turned back around so she could get her senses back. They were almost to their rooms when she spoke again.
"Jaune?"
"Yes, Ruby?" He turned his head and felt her lips press against his cheek. She quickly buried her face back into his back before she held him a little tighter with a content smile and a small blush. He blushed slightly but than he smiled. She didn't say anything and neither did he. They just enjoyed the time they had with each other before they'd have to call it a night.
"That was just sooo cute!" exclaimed Sun, even as everyone continued to stare at the blond knight, who could only fidget awkwardly.
Suddenly, though, another blonde shot up from her seat.
"Jaune, it's time to spar a little," exclaimed Yang, both saving him from the embarrassment and condemning him. Her eyes were just a little red… "You said after you did your armour thing with Pyrrha so come on!"
Without waiting for anyone to react, she pushed Ruby off Jaune and grabbed his arm before bolting out of the room. A blushing but annoyed Ruby landed on the floor again as all the stares turned to her.
Safe outside the room, Yang turned to Jaune like a giant T-Rex turning to a little wolf puppy. Sure, both species were classified as hunters, but hell if the T-Rex wasn't more intimidating. And the two humans were both training to become Hunters, but hell if Yang wasn't evidently scarier.
"So, Jaune…" she began lightly. "Do you have a crush on my little sister?"
Jaune choked and stumbled at the same time, almost successfully face-planting into the floor, and was promptly saved by Yang. Although maybe face-planting wouldn't have been such a bad idea, since the alternative was answering Yang's question. "Ehm… No! Of course not, why would you even think-"
"Jaune, you're rambling," noted Yang, her now red eyes deadpanning at him.
"I'm not lyin… I mean rambling!" He coughed, both embarrassed and scared. "Er… W-Why would I l-like Ruby? I-I mean, she's a good friend b-but-"
"I'm not gonna get angry," sighed Yang, her eyes finally turning back to lilac. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him. "If you like her, it's fine. As long as you don't try to take advantage of her, I'm not gonna get angry. You might not be the best Huntsman around but you're still a guy with the heart in the right place. Qrow might very well murder you outright but I am protective of Ruby not in the `kill any guy near her` way. In the `make sure she's happy` way."
Jaune's blush didn't go away, but he found himself smiling softly at her, clearing seeing the love Yang had for her sister. "I knew you were a good older sister," he told her before sighing and looking at the floor. "So… I frankly am not completely sure. I mean, Ruby's a great friend and…"
"Are you friendzoning her?" asked Yang.
"That's not what I meant," Jaune hurried to say. "No, the fact she's a friend is good. She's very nice, can't say she's not pretty, and caring and all. I'm sure she'd be a perfect girlfriend, even if she has a flaw or two like anyone." He stopped for a second before sighing again, this time more deeply. "Can't say the same for me."
"That you wouldn't make for a good girlfriend?" teased Yang.
"You know what I mean," he grumbled, shooting her a dirty look. "She's amazing and I'm just… well, me. I know I'm not the worst candidate ever but… how am I even supposed to think I'd ever be good enough for her?"
Yang stared at him for a second before sighing. Really, she felt like his older sister too, sometimes. "Okay, cut the crap. First off there's no such thing as `good enough` in love. You can be a piece of shit and still be liked. There's only if the other likes you or not, and this goes for guys as well as girls," she said. "But more importantly, I'm tired of hearing you put yourself down like that. From what Pyrrha told us you're learning very quickly thus showing you have talent. Plus your strategy skills are good as well. Frankly you're not half bad in the looks department, plus you're a caring individual. Cheer up, you don't need to be a god to ask a girl out. So, should I expect you two to be a couple soon enough?"
Jaune bit his lip as he thought about her words, and about her question. Finally, he sighed. "Thanks for the encouragement, Yang. Never thought I'd get a morale boost from you of all people… even if now that I think of it I should've seen it coming." He chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. "I… I'll think about it. I'm not too sure how I should handle it, but… I think I will ask her out. Or, well… confess to her since there are not really places where we could go on a date. So… yes, I think so."
Yang smiled. "Well then, Knight, get your butt in the arena and get ready, because we're gonna spar!" she exclaimed, pushing him through the door of the changing room. "I'll be right behind you, and no I'm not going to tell Ruby."
A second later, though, her smile fell. "Well, to quote myself, things just got complicated."
Haha! Is Jaune really going to ask Ruby out? Or is he going to realize what he feels for her is just friendship?
Well, if you know me you'll know I never back down from writing Lancaster.
Anyway, I know this'll probably be sudden but I'm trying. Goodwitch will stop being the bitch I portrayed her as, but it'll take her a chapter or two away from the group to think about it. Tell me if you think what I did is too forced.
And finally... everyone cheer Jaune's newly awoken synapsis! He's finally starting to get over his denseness! It took him a girl sitting on his lap for... what? Five viewings already?... and telling him he's a really nice person and is handsome too to catch on, but he's finally done it! A round of applauses for our dork Knight!
Until next time,
Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh