Arkos Week Day Two-Aura: Pretty in Pink
"Nora! On your left! Ren, take the Taijitu! Pyrrha, Arkos! Use the ruins for cover as we move! There's no telling if that Nevermore will come back!"
The team rushed to obey his commands as Jaune got in position next to Pyrrha, the two forming an impassable shield wall to funnel the approaching Ursa Majors into a choke point, trapping them in the small space between two of ruined houses, and between their defense and Magnhild.
The Ursa Major did not survive the encounter.
With the biggest threats ended, with Ren stabbing the Taijitu with an aura enhanced knife courtesy of its own fang, JNPR continued making a strategic retreat to the evacuation point, where a team of older students was supposed to reinforce them.
They just had to get there first.
Pyrrha used her semblance to tear away the wall of a chain link fence, chucking it behind her in an effort to slow down the pursuing pack of Beowolves. They had 100 meters to go before they reached their exit.
Suddenly, between one stride and the next, Pyrrha's aura begins to flag, her extended use of her semblance during their fighting retreat finally catching up with her. Luckily, her partner was there, hefting his great sword in one hand, and using his other to prop her up as she stumbled. She wasn't the only one suffering.
Nora was carrying Ren in a sort of modified fireman's carry, as he laid down suppressing fire over her shoulder with Storm Flower
. "I got you, partner! Lean on me! Not much farther now!" Jaune shouted over the roars and growls of their pursuers.
"Thank you, Jaune! Be sure to conserve your aura! We don't know how many enemies are ahead!"
The blonde winked, doing his best to keep pace with the redhead as they approached the outskirts of the ruined town, "Hey, I've got lots of aura, remember? I can spare some to help you! Maybe mine can help charge yours back up."
"Jaune, I don't think…" She didn't get a chance to say anymore, as a sudden warmth flooded her system, and a bright pink glow invaded her vision.
She glanced down to see that Jaune's hand was on her shoulder, as his aura pumped steadily into her. She was beginning to feel wonder, pride, attraction…?
Pyrrha blushed hotly as the warmth increased.
The aches and pains of the last few hours melted away, leaving a pleasant tingle that was lost to a startling realization. These feelings were not her own.
They were coming from… "Jaune!"
Pyrrha's cry alerted Ren and Nora, who stopped so that Ren could provide more accurate cover fire as Pyhhra stowed her weapons to carry her unconscious partner over her shoulder.
Once he was secured, the trio resumed their frantic dash towards their exit. They were passing the last two buildings when one of the Alpha Beowolves displayed an unusual amount of intelligence, jumping from the back of a boarbatusk to gain altitude and distance.
The enterprising Alpha tackled Pyrrha, just as a lucky shot from Ren took it through the eye, dissolving it. The momentum was still enough to knock Pyrrha off her feet, though, causing her to stumble, and drop Jaune. The Grimm horde gained on them, the distance shrinking rapidly, when Pyrrha's soul responded to her panic.
Her recharged aura flared a bright red, her semblance activated, coating the two small stores they were passing entirely in black. They did not remain standing long, as suddenly every piece of metal from screws and bolts to rebar came flying out of the buildings in a destructive dervish of death.
The pursuing Grimm began to dissolve en masse, giving JNPR the breathing room they needed to put more distance between them and their pursuers.
As they cleared the outskirts of the town at a dead run, they were greeted with the high pitched whine of a Bullhead's engines, followed by the unmistakable sound of a Coco Adel's signature weapon firing a full clip into the last of the Grimm pursuing them.
When the airship landed, the upperclassman greeted the exhausted team with her signature smirk, and wink…
Jaune awoke slowly to the sound of light snoring.
He opened his eyes to stare blearily at the ceiling of his dorm. He turned his head to discover the source of the sound that woke him up. His partner had her head resting on his stomach, a bit of drool leaking out onto his hoodie as she softly snored away.
It was honestly rather adorable, and he would be happy to let her continue. Unfortunately, nature was calling.
Jaune did his best to try wiggling out from under his partner, grabbing his pillow, and gently sliding it under her head, just as the Delaware Brown movies had taught him. The blonde used every ounce of the stealth skills gained from being the youngest sibling in a house with seven older sisters to make his way to the bathroom undiscovered.
All that work was undone once he started running water to wash his hands, and flushed the toilet, though. His gentlemanly reflexes demanded nothing less.
Jaune winced when he exited the bathroom, and saw Pyrrha rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The redhead gave an excited squeal of surprise, launching herself over the bed and into Jaune's personal space.
"Jaune! I was so worried! Are you alright? How are you feeling? Can i get-"
He silenced her with a smile, and a gently placed finger on her lips, unthinkingly. They both blushed. "I-I'm fine, Pyrrha. Not sure what happened, though. I remember feeding you some of my aura. There was a bright pink light, and then…that's it."
"You passed out really suddenly, Jaune. I carried you, but we got attacked by an Alpha Beowolf. It made me stumble just as we reached the edge of the town. I panicked, and my semblance manifested. It tore the metal out of two nearby buildings, and hurled it at the Grimm, buying us enough time to escape."
"Whoa! I didn't know your semblance was that powerful! That's awesome!"
"That's just it, Jaune. It isn't. Not normally. I think our aura's interacted somehow. Mixed, and amplified mine. There was something else as well."
"Something else?" "I felt…your emotions when our auras linked."
"Wait…seriously? That's a thing? I mean…I know that you used your aura to unlock mine…"
"Yes, and I think that when you…reciprocated, mixing your aura with mine, it created a sort of link. Ren believes that that is what the pink light was, our mixing auras."
"Heh, leave it to our resident aura expert. Wait, does that mean you felt all of my emotions during the fight?"
Pyrrha blushed intensely, acutely aware of the fact that their very souls had intertwined, an act far more intimate than anything most couples could ever hope to achieve. "Well, I did feel your…attraction at one point."
Now it was Jaune's turn to blush, "Crap! Look Pyrrha, I'm sorry, okay? I promise not to be weird about it, and I won't bug you for dates or anything! It's just, you're my best friend, and really beautiful, and…"
"No, Jaune, it's okay! Really!"
"It is?"
"Yes. I've actually been attracted to you for…quite some time."
"Wow. Just…wow. Are you sure?"
Pyrrha rolled her eyes before closing the distance between then, wrapping her arms around her partner's neck, and kissing him with all the passion she could muster.
It was quite a lot.
Jaune was pretty passionate himself, once they figured out all the logistics. They were clumsy, and awkward, but for them, it was perfect.
They broke apart reluctantly once the need for air became too great. "You know, it's gonna be way harder to focus during training, now."
Pyrrha snorted a laugh, punching his shoulder playfully. She was pleased when Jaune didn't fall.
"So, Semblance! Do you think it has to do with this link, or boosting your aura?"
Pyrrha's eyes were alight with the fervor of training and the potential discovery of a new technique. "Possibly. Are you sure you're recovered enough to train?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Because you have just discovered a new technique. You know what this means, yes?"
Jaune grinned, "Training."
One Week Later
Blake's ears twitched as she sat with a book in the dorm common room with her team plus Nora.
Ruby was doing gun maintenance, Weiss was watching a soap opera on her scroll, and Nora and Yang were currently engaged in an arm wrestling match.
"Jaune and Pyrrha are training on the roof again." Blake noted with a turn of a page.
"How can you tell? Aren't the dorms supposed to be soundproof?" Ruby asked curiously.
"I have really good hearing, and Pyrrha has no concept of an inside voice. Even if they are technically outside." Blake replied with a deadpan tone.
"Oh that's nothing! Jauney's just giving Pyrrha aural stimulation!" Nora casually declared with barely a grunt of effort as her struggle against Yang suddenly ceased.
She looked around to notice that all of RWBY was staring at her, faces flushed and eyes wide in disbelief.
"WAIT! You're telling me that Vomit Boy is…" Yang began.
Weiss abandoned her scroll to reach over and quickly place her hands over Ruby's ears in a by now empty attempt to preserve her innocence. "You're telling us that Pyrrha and that uncouth annoyance are…are…"
"Reenacting page 127 of Ninjas of Love: Pearl Paradise?" Blake completed for her.
"What?! NO! He's just using his aura to boost hers, and heal their training injuries. It's just their souls merging together in an act of intense intimacy and trust on a level more profound than booping! Really, get your minds out of the gutter, guys!" Nora declared with a giggle.
END
