A/N: Not much happening for this A/N guys. Sorry! Enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or My Hero Academia. They belong to Monty Oum, Kohei Horikoshi, and their respective publishing companies. Please support the official releases.
I do not own the cover image.
Chapter 52: Tales of the Lost
Sun had woken peacefully for the second day in a row. He'd honestly gotten used to the dreams, horrifying though they were. They served as a reminder whenever he felt as though there wasn't any real point in him being there, in Menagerie. To never forget how badly he had failed.
Still, he couldn't tell the others about them. They didn't need him whining about his own problems when they were clearly going through a lot of things themselves. Blake especially. She avoided the topic of Beacon and anything related to it as much as she could, for obvious reasons. She had been through a lot that night. As much as he wanted to break her out of that mindset by force, he was sensible enough to know that actually following through with this particular thought would be pretty stupid on his part. She needed time. They all did. Even if it caused him to become increasingly impatient, he could bear it.
He donned his iconic white shirt once again, his arms slipping through the sleeves as easily as wind passing through an open window. Without a second thought, his hands wrapped themselves around his signature weapons: Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, aka the gunchucks. With dexterous speed, he pulled them from their holsters and proceeded to twirl them around in a complicated flurry of blows that would do some major damage to anyone on the receiving end, even when he decided not to use the shotguns and give the blows an extra kick to them.
Then, seemingly mid-combo, he brought the two weapons together to form their staff, Ruyi Jingu Bang, and went through a few motions with that: upper backswing, around the back fan-twirl, spinning high strike, a quick jab, and finally a downward strike to knock them out cold for a week.
Had Sun not taken account for the size of the room he was staying in or hadn't had the safeties of his guns on for the entirety of that showcase, he probably would've wrecked the floor. Case in point, the fact that his staff was elevated barely a quarter-inch off of the ground. Speaking of, the stance he was in was proving to be rather tiring, and he slowly shifted out of it, split his staff into gunchucks once more, and holstered them just beneath the small of his back. A small comfort, but a welcome one.
Even though it had been nearly a month since they got to Menagerie, Sun still felt like an outsider. It wasn't a foreign feeling, but it was still unpleasant, though it was significantly less hostile than it was when he was still new to Mistral. He stayed inside training most days, only leaving the house to help Kali get groceries or occasionally walking through the edge of town in the hopes of finding some remnant of the old monkey temples he would be conducting a proper search for in the next few weeks or so.
As he went to the door, something seemed to stop him from leaving. When he finally gained the nerve to turn around, he saw his bag still open on the modestly sized bed, revealing a white, tattered piece of clothing that he kept as a memento-
No. Not right now. I need to focus, damnit.
With deft hands, Sun quickly buried the article of clothing in the bottom of the bag and pulled it closed as fast as his limbs would allow him. Not quite able to suppress the sigh that came to his lips, he turned once more to the door. This time, he didn't hesitate to leave.
A few minutes later, everyone had gathered around the main table to partake in breakfast, to which Sun happily obliged. He looked around and quickly noticed that everyone was lost in conversation in one form or another. Well, Blake was sitting beside him, eating silently as per usual, so there was that.
Additionally, he couldn't help but notice that once every few days or so, Ghira would break from his conversation, if he was engaging in one, to briefly glare at him for a split second. Not a hostile glare, more a 'keep your hands off my daughter' glare. It could be confused as a hostile one, but Sun had had enough glares directed at him to know the difference well. Sun understood why the man did it, what with her ex and all; he was assuming for the time being that Blake and Adam had been romantically involved in the past until someone told him otherwise, but it was still somewhat unnerving.
"So, that healing thing... isn't really healing?" he heard Bakugo ask the large man.
"Yes and no. It does grant some form of limited healing, but it's not truly a way of healing grievous wounds. When the damage gets too severe to heal within the power's means, it simply... holds you together. That's all it can do at that point," Ghira explained. "From what I've heard from Mitsuki, it's not a pleasant experience."
"I can attest to that," the blonde direwolf answered as he rubbed the large scar running over his chest absentmindedly.
Sun's attention was then drawn to Neo and Kali, the former of whom was in the process of teaching the latter sign language in order to communicate more effectively. Neo had typed out a series of sentences and given Kali the task of repeating them accurately with her hands. She would give a demonstration, and then go over it with the elder cat faunus until they got it right.
"So... like this?" Kali asked as she quickly formed various signs and motions with surprising dexterity, seemingly stopped mid-sentence by Neo as she corrected something that was wrong with her pronunciation. Or was it the presentation? Were those synonymous when it came to sign? Sun honestly didn't know and was a bit curious about the subject. A question for another time, he supposed.
"Are... you sure?" Kali asked with genuine confusion, to which the split haired girl simply nodded, though Sun did notice the look of a devilish trickster in her eyes. He knew it well, since he donned a similar expression whenever he was about to perform a prank of some sort. As if on cue-
"Neo, quit misinforming her with those innuendos," the blonde direwolf said without missing a beat, not even bothering to turn around as Neo snapped towards him with a defiant look, furious that he had ruined her joke.
"I thought something was off about this sentence," Kali said with a smile. "You nearly got me. Well played!"
That gave Neo a bit of surprise. Kali, noticing the girl's confusion, further explained, "I was quite a trickster myself when I was your age. I've long since grown out of that, but I do look back on those days rather fondly. Especially when I got to tease Ghira for hours on end," she said with a mirrored, devilish smile.
Ghira flinched in reaction to that. "Damnit, why does everyone have to get on my case about being so squeamish? I got better! Eventually! Besides, it's not as though your never-ending bouts of innuendos helped the process!"
"Aw, but seeing you squirm was so cute!" Kali retorted with the same wide smile. "Besides, it's not as though you didn't get back at me."
"It was a long time coming, but I finally got my revenge," Ghira said with a firm nod and pride in his voice. "It was the best decision I ever made."
"Wait, what exactly-" Bakugo asked before Kali answered the question he barely voiced.
"He eventually worked up the nerve to ask me out on a proper date after we both became curious enough. Fast forward two and a half years, and we were happily married with Blake on the way," Kali recalled fondly. "The best revenge ever served. Quite lovely at that."
Sun's smile slipped a bit as they continued conversing like that. How long had it honestly been since he'd done something like that? Pulled a prank or made some dumb joke that everyone would groan at? The others were going to catch on eventually, he knew that, but... he wasn't ready to talk. Not yet. Keeping up the charade that he was alright was getting harder by the day, but he could bear with it. He had to-
"Sun?" he heard Blake ask. He tried to maintain his mask as best he could around the raven-haired girl, his smile filling out to what it usually was once again as he turned to her. There was concern in her eyes, that much was obvious, and it honestly felt like a stab in the gut every time he had to lie to everyone who held that same look. Blake and Kali were where it came from most often, and he'd recently seen Bakugo and even Neo give him a similar once over a few times. Surprisingly, the look had even come from Ghira, though only once, when Sun had been quiet for far too long and the man had become accustomed to him going on and on about something, anything, or nothing at all, just to fill the quiet. He'd stopped doing that entirely two days ago.
Still, he held fast, and gave his normal response with a cheeky tone. "That's me."
"Are you... alright? You've been pretty quiet recently," Blake stated. "Which is weird, because you're usually never quiet."
Okay, now she was starting to feel that something was actually wrong and not just a string of off days. Still, he didn't let it sway him, and gave the classic explanation, "I've been pretty tired lately. Guess I should probably hit the sack early tonight. Might do me some good!"
It was crap, but it was honestly all he had at the moment.
"... as long as you're sure."
He knew that she didn't believe him. Sure, maybe he could act down for a day or two and it wouldn't be too out of the ordinary; he always used managed to bounce back from bad days relatively quickly, but he knew it wouldn't keep up for much longer. Not with so many eyes turning to him.
"I'm sure! Welp," Sun said as he rose from the table, picking his dishes up and saying, "I'm heading into the market for a few hours. You guys want anything?"
"We're almost out of salmon. Could you get some if it's available?" Kali asked. "I've got the Lien to pay you back for it, don't worry."
"Okay. Anything else?"
"We're gonna need a new training dummy pretty soon. Other than that, I think we're good," Bakugo said.
"Alright. I'm off!" Sun said as he sped into the kitchen to deposit his dishes before hopping through a window and taking his 'special route' to the marketplace. He couldn't help but notice, however, that Blake's eyes had been staring at his back the entire time. Like she might never see him again. Which was ridiculous. He wasn't going anywhere dangerous.
For the moment, at least.
(two hours later, the Kuo Kuana Marketplace, Sun's POV)
After a long while of aimless wandering, and a few short minutes of actual shopping, Sun managed to get the two things he had been requested to get; the salmon hanging from a bag in his left hand and the wooden training dummy slung over his right shoulder. As usual, he hadn't found any actual clues as to the location of the temple he was looking for, but it never hurt to cover all of your bases.
As Sun walked back, however, something glinted for a brief moment in the sunlight, catching his eye as he turned to the offending object. The blonde's annoyance quickly turned to shock, however, as he recognized the make of the blade that had caught his attention. It had a long, gray-black handle and a bronze chain hanging from its pommel. The blade of the sword itself was long, wide and dense in mass, with a shining gray finish and a bronze streak running down the middle. Near the base of the blade were Roman numerals, matching the tattoos he'd often seen around Sage's neck, reading as 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.
For a few seconds, his mind started to wander. To the green-haired, dark-skinned hardass who'd basically volunteered to be the quiet man of Team SSSN. The one who cared for nothing but a good fight and a nice nap. The one who, after a few months, eventually became the backbone of their entire team. And the one who'd managed to get him out of many a sticky situation simply by being calm and reserved. The one who-
"Hey! Kid!"
Sun's reverie was suddenly broken when the owner of a weapons stall managed to get his attention, then asking him, "You gonna buy anything?"
"Erm... no, just... browsing," Sun said in an attempt to cover up his sudden embarrassment.
The vendor simply chuckled, scratching her right ear as she reassured him, "'s alright. Everyone's usually at least a little interested in weaponry. Though I'm guessing you don't need a new one, eh?"
Sun gave a nod, though he was somewhat unnerved that this woman was able to discern that he had a weapon on him to begin with. However, that brought up another question that he never really had time to ask any of the Belladonnas.
"If Kuo Kuana's at peace, why are you selling weapons?"
"Need some way to make a living. Besides, these things aren't for fighting humanoids. They're mostly for hunting, of both varieties. There haven't been any real hunters in this town for quite some time, so we had to find some way to defend ourselves. Doesn't mean we just hand out weapons, though. Especially guns. You've usually gotta either be with the militia or the volunteer corps to get weapons without too much of a fuss around here. And they usually don't let you join either of those if you're part of the Fang in any capacity," the vendor explained causally.
"I'm not with either of those groups," Sun said. Hell, I've never even heard of them until now. Guess that's my own fault though. Haven't exactly made learning about this Kuo Kuana itself a priority.
The woman then leaned forward, her fingers lacing themselves together as she propped herself on her elbows, showing a few callouses and a couple of scars along her arms. "And yet you have both the caution and markings of a trained warrior. I know the look of a real hunter when I see one. Used to be one myself."
"Really?" Sun asked, genuinely surprised.
"Yeah. It was a hell of a ride, for a time," she conferred.
"But... I'm not a full hunter. I'm not even out of training," the blonde tried to explain.
"And yet, the way you carry yourself speak far louder than any words that come from your lips," the woman said with a slight smile.
"... why'd you stop?"
The woman sighed as she reached for a wooden crutch, propping it under her right elbow as she raised herself to Sun's height. That same leg looked to be very injured, to the point that Sun wouldn't have been surprised if she said she had nerve damage. "As I said, it was a hell of a time... while it lasted, anyway. But some stuff doesn't heal entirely. Whether on the outside or the inside. And in the end... you're gonna carry that weight."
Sun could do nothing but give a solemn nod to that. He knew that sentiment well.
The silence went on for a few more seconds before the woman snapped herself out of her depressed lull and instead got back to the topic at hand. "So? Are you interested in anything? Swords perhaps? Saw you eyeing one of 'em a couple minutes ago."
"Erm... yeah, I kinda was, actually," Sun answered, though somewhat reluctantly.
"It was this one, yeah?" the woman said as she made her way over to the sword that looked hauntingly like Sage's. "The design used to be pretty popular back in the day, but now that everyone's been getting more and more into mecha-shift weapons it's basically just a 'bland tool.' Personally, I like classic weapons because they don't have any chance of jamming or potentially breaking beyond repair because of a single missed detail in cleaning them. So... interested?"
Sun had to admit, while he could definitely see that this was a sales pitch, it nonetheless felt genuine, especially seeing as the closest things she had to mecha-shift weaponry was a pair of revolvers with blades on the bottom parts of the guns and some notches to suggest extending handles for close combat.
That and...
"How much is it?" he asked.
"For you? Hundred fifty Lien, if you've got it," the woman said, lifting the massive sword with a single hand and offering it to him. Sun was only minorly surprised by this, and put the payment onto her stand as he shifted his other purchases to make room for the blade.
"Pleasure doing business with ya!" the woman said as Sun continued to make his way home, waving a short goodbye to the woman with a new weapon in hand.
Honestly, while it was a very good weapon, and Sun was absolutely going to give it the best care be possibly could, he also wasn't entirely sure whether or not he was really going to fight with it. Sure, he knew how to use blades well enough, but he was nowhere near the level of mastery that had been displayed by Izuku, Shoto, Pyrrha, and especially Sage. Maybe he was just in the midst of nostalgia and seeing his friend's old weapon, even a lookalike of it, had stirred enough fond memories within him that he decided to follow through with that purchase. Or maybe he simply felt like having a backup weapon.
Those thoughts were soon pushed from his mind when he heard a small crash in an alleyway just next to him, the hearing a brief and hastily hushed chastisement from someone else as he slowed his pace for a single moment, then pretending to simply walk past with no fuss. At least, that's what they thought he did. Instead, he leaned against one of the walls just on the edge of the alleyway, thankful for once that Menagerie was so crowded. With so many other footsteps around, it was likely they thought he simply moved along with the crowd.
"You idiot! What part of quiet don't you understand?!" one of the figures whisper-yelled, a female if the depth of her voice was any indicator.
"I'm sorry, this place just has a lot of random crap lying around," the other responded with a masculine voice.
"I... I know. Sorry about that outburst. Why the hell did they make this our meeting spot again?" the girl responded.
"Because this is one of the only places that isn't patrolled regularly," said another female, who he presumed had just entered the alleyway.
Sun now had another complaint about the crowd abundance: you could barely hear anything. An advantage for them, but a real problem for him. Seriously, he was straining his hearing just to keep up with who was who. Still, their conversation continued.
"Were either of you followed?" the recent addition asked the other two.
"No mam," the guy responded. "Had a brief false alarm, but nothing to write home about."
"Good. Masks?"
"Ready and accounted for," the first girl said, some ruffling of clothes inferring that she was the one who'd brought these... masks...
As silently as he could, Sun shifted what he was carrying out of his grasp as quietly as he could as they continued discoursing information, pulling out his Scroll in order to capture what little of this seemingly shady group of people looked like. If it was an honest misunderstanding, he wouldn't hesitate to delete the photos immediately, but he had a feeling he wouldn't have to. They were being way too secretive to simply be discussing generic festival masks.
With only the briefest of check to ensure his flash wasn't on, Sun peeked the device around the corner and aimed it for one of the people who was ensuring that their mask fit. As soon as he was done with that, he ensured that he got pictures of the other two who were either pocketing their masks from view or trying to discreetly hide it behind their body, in case anything unexpected happened. It was also around this time that the one who'd foolishly put his mask on realized his mistake and quickly pocketed it. They then exchanged their farewells and silently left the alleyway without a trace.
There was no doubt now. These were White Fang members. With masks that had been illegal on Menagerie ever since Ghira had taken over as Chieftan. At least, that's what he'd learned from Kali and Blake. Their masks were two typical Fang masks; serpentine in nature with red detailing and two mid-sized slits on each eye. However, the third was confusing in its details. While it was largely the same, it was also thinner in material, as though it was meant to be used by someone in a more stealth related profession than straight up brawls. The red detailing was additionally different, with a darker shade of crimson instead of the bold, borderline neon red, and the patterns flowing in more eloquent patterns than the typical mask, and the grey horns near the top of where the left and right temple would be with the mask on only cemented that he'd just intercepted something he wasn't supposed to. This was probably a higher-ranking member of some sort, maybe a platoon leader at the least. Either way...
I've gotta get this to Blake. Now!
Unfortunately, the crowds happened to disagree with him, as the already thick crowd had gotten even thicker. He didn't want to use his normal route for fear of the Fang seeing him and tailing him back to the Belladonnas, even if the house was massive. And so, with a determined gait to his step, he began to wade through the massive crowd of people with all the speed he could muster. He hoped it was enough to get him back in time.
(meanwhile, just outside Athens, Jaune's POV)
It was official. Athens was simply stunning. Even though they were only at the city gates, he could plainly see just how much Mistral's love for nature truly meant to them. Vines and plant life grew freely within the entranceway: a few trees planted symmetrically across from each other, vines that seemed to have grown at just the right angle to look as pleasing as possible, and the sheer variety of fruits, vegetables, and flowers gave the place a distinct yet varied color palette that simply hadn't been matched by the other places he'd visited.
He remembered from a time when Pyrrha had spoken freely of her home that Athens had been built on the largest marble mine in all of Remnant, and that to this day scholars thought they had still only scratched the surface of that resource. From how abundant it was within the city proper's architecture, that sentiment was quite accurate. There was marble in basically everything. Houses, buildings large and small, almost every walkway had it in some shape or form, and even a few wide walker's roads were made of it. Stone and wood were abundant within the city as well, making up a few of the primary supports of the structures, and, if the hotel they'd be staying in was anything to go by, made up most of the floors as well. For a practical but still pleasing aesthetic.
And now... he was here. Walking through the city that Pyrrha had once called home. They were all going to visit this place, once the Vytal Tournament had ended. JNPR would stay together through rain and shine, just like they'd promised so many months ago. Best friends forever. His... only friends.
And now, here I am, wandering aimlessly, talking to myself.
You're not entirely alone, master Jaune.
That's... not what I meant, Lance. I know you're here and all, but... you're technically a part of me.
True. But I'm here nonetheless.
… thanks for the sentiment.
Lancelot knew what he really meant by 'alone.' He should've brought Ren and Nora with him. They'd have made for excellent company as they walked the streets. Nora would bounce around on her heels, excited by everything in sight, while Ren simply sighed and did the best he could to keep her under relative control. He'd smile at their antics and trail behind them, to ensure that Nora didn't leave too much chaos in her wake. And then Pyrrha-
Before his thought could continue and his still complicated thoughts resurface, he received a call on his scroll. He briefly sighed before picking it up, finding Shoto on the other end of the line.
"Not to be a worrywart, but where are you? Ren and Nora are kinda worried, and we actually had to stop Ruby from going after you and getting lost herself," the de facto leader of their group asked.
"I've just... been walking. And thinking to myself," Jaune answered. He knew this was a bit of a step back after the talk they'd had the other night, and he really did appreciate Shoto's words of encouragement, but he still felt confused by the whole thing.
"Okay. But could you give us some kind of location when you can? We'd prefer to know that you're safe," Shoto said.
"Yeah, once I find out where I am. Hopefully, that'll be pretty soon. Any sign of Qrow?" Jaune asked back, their feathery haired guardian having disappeared the night previous, with the promise that he would be watching over them from afar. Something to do with his semblance. And his name bringing bad luck.
"No. Seems like he was being serious about his semblance," Shoto responded.
"Yeah. I mean, I can only imagine how I'd cope if I... caused..."
"... Jaune? You okay?"
.
..
…
"... I think I just found out where I am," the blonde knight said as he stared upwards in awe. It was... a beautiful... yet still melancholic sight.
"Where?"
"The statue. You can find me at the statue."
A brief rustling of various papers filled the phone before Shoto asked for specification. "Which one?"
"You'll know the one."
And with that, Jaune took only a brief moment more before he hung up. He... he had to face this. End it. Once and for all.
The surrounding hedges, carved into the various bodies of fading Grimm of all shapes and sizes made what laid in the center out to be quite a skilled warrior, with weaker Grimm on the edges while the sizes got bigger, and the danger grew deeper. And there, within the center of all of it, was her statue. Made with incredible detail of the purest bronze, her javelin raised skywards in defiance, her shield bound tightly to her other arm as a faint but present smile was spread across her lips.
Pyrrha...
At the base of the podium that held her statue, there was a placard. One of brilliant red steel, her symbol made just below the words themselves. It read, In honor of Pyrrha Nikos, one of the many who fought valiantly at Beacon. Sic Parvus Magnum.
It took all of Jaune's willpower not to immediately burst into tears. It wasn't how he would've chosen to depict her, but it was also very accurate. She was always the first on the front lines. The shield at their flank. The shoulder to lean on. He never knew how much they had truly relied on her. Not until she wasn't there anymore.
Nonetheless... the statue...
"It's quite a sight."
Jaune was taken from his thoughts when he heard those words, turning to his left to find a woman standing beside him with a bouquet of red flowers in her arms, wearing square-rimmed glasses over large, vivid emerald eyes with chin-length crimson hair. Was she...?
"... yeah," Jaune replied, simply. There was no need to ask. He knew who she was. Why else would she bother speaking to him at all?
"There's another in Sanctum, much like this one. They may be different, but they're both true to who she was. I remember the day she told everyone she was going to Beacon instead of Sanctum. They were crushed, but understood why all the same. What few friends she had at the time didn't want to say goodbye, but... it was where she wanted to be. I'm..." she took a moment to wipe a pair of tears that fell from her eyes. "I'm just happy that she got to meet such amazing people."
Jaune could feel her gaze upon him, understanding the true meaning to her statement. Drying a few silent tears of his own, he turned to her, and found mutual grief for her daughter, for his friend, in her eyes. And in that moment, his will began to slip.
"I'm not amazing," he told her. "I always wanted to be the hero I never was. The one I'm still not. To be the one that other people could look to when they needed help. Not the damsel in distress that I had been for most of my life. But I tried to do it alone because I was too damn stubborn to accept help. Even when I needed it. It was... one of my many, many misconceptions of how Remnant really worked. But Pyrrha... she helped me. Trained me. Gave me a different point of view. She saved me. Not from Grimm. Not from bandits. She saved me from myself. I don't think I would've ever been able to repay her for that.
"... I wish she were here, in my place. She was what the world needed. Not another screwup like me."
"But she is here. In a way," the woman said, placing the bouquet on the statue's platform. "They say the dead often live on in those they leave behind." She turned to face him, a faint but present smile on her lips.
"She's here with you," she said as she pointed to where his heart would be.
"And she's here with me," she continued, placing a tender hand over her own.
"And I know that... she'd want everyone she left behind... to keep moving forward. Even if it's hard."
There was silence between them for a few moments. Only the quiet of the fading afternoon and the whisper on the lips of the wind. Resolved to what would come next, he removed a bag from his shoulder. The very reason that they had all unanimously decided to come to Athens in the first place. Even if for just a short while, unable to truly learn about the home of their fallen friend.
"I know Pyrrha never had the chance to graduate. To go out into the world and make her mark. But for the time I knew her... she was, and always had been a hunter," Jaune said as he presented it to her.
"Is this...?" she asked in shock, her hands slowly reaching out to grasp the straps. While the true weight of what laid within was surprisingly light, despite its great strength, the emotional weight that accompanied it was heavy.
Jaune simply nodded. "She deserved to come home."
With that, the woman clutched the bag full of armor close to her chest, burying her face into it as she let silent tears flow freely. They were a mixture of joy and sadness. Sorrow for the daughter that would never truly come home, but happiness in the fact that she had something more to remember her by.
"Thank you, Jaune. Thank you," the woman said.
And with that, she left.
"Jaune!" he heard Nora call to him. "There you are! Why..."
The lack of explosive energy coming from her lips in the form of words told him of the shock she had at seeing her statue. Ren wasn't far behind, the two taking spots to his left and right to look upon the visage of their fallen friend.
"... I'm sorry. I've been... an awful leader. And a worse friend. And I-"
"Jaune," Ren said firmly, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder. "This needs to stop."
"We... heard you a bit once Qrow had finished explaining the rest to us. You're not being fair to yourself. You're our friend, and we love you. You're not the only one grieving. So please... talk to us, okay? Even if it's only for a little while," Nora said with a tender heart.
Jaune, with tears in his eyes, hugged his two teammates with all his strength. Oum, what did he ever do to deserve friends like these? After a moment of shock, the two hugged him back, taking this as an answer to Nora's question. It wouldn't be easy. Losing someone that close never was. But now... at least he realized he wasn't as alone as though once thought.
Turning back to her statue after their long embrace, Jaune smiled at the bronze depiction, a few fond memories of their time together floating through the sea of his mind. Though his feelings were murky, and likely always would be, they were fond nonetheless.
"C'mon. We should get back to the hotel, plan out our route," Ren said as Nora quickly skipped behind him, though they waited for Jaune at the entrance to the garden.
"... thank you," he said, though he was unsure if she heard it. Hopefully, if some kind of afterlife existed, she was listening.
(several minutes later, a hotel in Athens, Jaune's POV)
Jaune honestly wasn't surprised about the air option. They were probably going to be under 'urgent hunter business only' protocol for another month or two. What had caught him off guard was the fact that the primary entrance to the Frost Mountains had been blocked off by a massive Avalanche. While on other mountain passes this wouldn't necessarily be a problem, every other entrance had either been long since overrun by Grimm or were so inhospitable that setting up an outpost was tantamount to a death sentence.
And thus, they had reached their current decision. Their only path was through the Yuri Trail.
"We shouldn't go through there," Ren said. His objection was understandable. He and Nora had been survivors of the Yuri Massacre, and going back there would reopen old wounds that he might not be ready to face again.
"Ren... I get why you don't want to. We all do. But we really don't have a choice," Ruby said. As it turned out, when the voice of reason suddenly turns to a state of unreason, it suddenly becomes very hard to reach a bipartisan solution.
"We can trek through the forests and go around it," Ren argued.
"Then we'll just be going into uncharted territory. We'd be easy prey for wandering Grimm," Shoto said. He had a point too. With Qrow now guarding against Tyrian, he might not be able to be as thorough as he usually was.
"Then-"
"Ren. It's alright," Nora said, placing a firm hand on his arm. "We... we both knew we were going to have to go back there eventually. Not in this way, or at this time, but eventually. I know we're ready."
The honesty in her statement caught him off guard. Finally, the magenta-eyed boy turned to his leader, and Jaune gave him a firm nod. "I've made the mistake of not opening up to you guys. And I'm not about to let you make the same one. Whatever happens there, I'm with you."
"... I... thank you," Ren said as he clutched Nora's hand tightly, in a definitely more than friends kind of way. Seriously, if those two didn't talk about the sparks flying between them by Mistral, he was going to sit them down and make them talk, damnit!
But, that was for another place, and another time.
"Alright. The Yuri Trail it is."
(meanwhile, the Belladonna household, Bakugo's POV)
The night was a clear one. Not a single cloud, large, small, or otherwise, to be seen in the sky. The air was soothingly cool, a fact that the daytime simply could not compete with. Stars littered the sky like dust crystals often would within caves.
And, of course, the half-pint known to the world as Neo was proudly resting her head on his shoulder. He'd never admit it, but having her there was something of a comfort. At least he wasn't alone when he came up here. It had also given him the time to learn sign language in spades, with Neo giving him several innuendo statements as jokes that she would fall over laughing to due to his obliviousness. Eventually, though, she got serious about teaching him sign, and now he was fairly decent at sign language. Not entirely fluent, but enough for basic conversation.
"See any constellations?" Bakugo asked.
Neo then turned to him in confusion and signed, "I never really bothered to learn. Why?"
"Just a question. Figured I'd ask," Bakugo said. "I only know a couple. The Compass Points and Leo."
"I mean, everyone and their grandparents know about the Compass Points, but why Leo?"
"I can relate to the badass who keeps trying," Bakugo semi-bragged. He wasn't lying, though. Every time he took a loss, he took it hard. Some would say too hard, but he had his pride, damnit. It meant a lot to him. Even if he was slowly learning how to view losses in a different light. It still sucked to lose.
"That does sound very you," Neo said before something near the pathway to the household caught her eye. "Hey, Sun's back!"
Sure enough, there he was, after a fairly long time of shopping. The blonde monkey faunus had what had been requested of him, in addition to another purchase that was currently being carried by his right hand. A massive greatsword that Bakugo knew he would have trouble wielding; it simply looked that dense in weight.
But the look of determination on his face was not accompanied by a smile. This one was of pure, raw focus, something that Bakugo had never seen from Sun in any capacity before. It honestly kinda freaked him out. Judging by how Neo's once excited smile turned to a thin line of concern, she had noticed this as well.
Without a second more of hesitation, Bakugo leapt from the rooftop and landed with surprising grace as Sun continued to approach. He heard Neo follow him down with far less noise as he approached the blonde monkey faunus, asking, "Where the hell-"
"No time. Where's Blake? And Ghira?"
"Talking in his study. Why-"
"I saw the White Fang," Sun continued as he walked through the house with all the speed his legs would grant him, setting down his purchases in the entrance before picking up speed once again.
"Look, I'm not exactly comfortable with having them here either, especially after-"
"They had masks. Actual, combat-ready masks."
That gave Bakugo more than enough reason to shut up. Sun would never claim something this outlandish based on a mere hunch. Sure, he was a joker, but something like this? Never.
(meanwhile, Ghira's study, Blake's POV)
Blake tried and failed to resist the sigh of content that came to her lips as she returned the firm yet gentle embrace of her father. For so long she had doubted her place here, felt as though she had done too much damage for her parents to truly be this welcoming. She had never been so happy to be proven wrong.
And yet, the face of a certain blonde boy came to her mind, and a question that had been burning in the back of her head came to the forefront.
"... hey, dad?"
"What is it?" her father asked as they shifted out of the embrace, letting her take up a space beside him on the sofa so that they could have more of a conversation. With a brief moment to take a breath and prepare herself, she asked her question.
"You... don't seem to like Sun that much. And I don't know why," Blake said. "I know he's not exactly the easiest person to get along with, but he does mean well."
Ghira sat back, crossing his arms instinctually as he sighed. "I don't hate the boy. In fact, his type are so few that seeing him simply be who he is can often be a refreshing sight. I know that's not a ringing endorsement, considering I'm naturally stone-faced, but... I don't hate him.
"But I do fear for him. He reminds me of... of Adam. Before everything else that happened. Before humans... I do not condone killing, but the day that happened was one of the few times I ever came close to breaking my code; the anger was so potent. I can see that he wishes to speak of something, but he hides it away behind a fake smile and hollow laughter. I want to help him, but every time I come close to making the decision... I can't help but think back to that time. I... failed. I couldn't set Adam on the right path, and I fear the same fate may be in store for Sun."
"Then help him," Blake said. "I know I'm not the best with this kind of stuff, but Sun isn't Adam. They may be similar, but they're nowhere near the same person."
A rapid knock then came at their door, breaking the conversation as Ghira excused himself and went to answer it. At the entrance to the study was Sun himself, with Bakugo and Neo at his back. Given the urgency with which he'd managed to get there, and the outright serious look on his face, it was likely something serious.
"What's wrong?" Ghira asked as he let them into the study.
"The Fang is here. And I'm not talking about the Albains, I saw combat-ready Fang members. With masks," Sun said as he pulled out his scroll. "I know they're not the best resolution, but I managed to get a few pictures of the people I saw. They didn't see me, so they don't know about these."
Ghira took the scroll from Sun and slowly went through the photos one by one, his face growing more and more serious as he went through them. Then, his eyes went wide as he looked at the photo of their seeming leader, the one with the thin, horned mask.
"... dad?" Blake asked as she went to see what he was looking at, only for her own eyes to widen...
Ilia...
Ghira sighed as he closed the scroll, giving it back to Sun. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. You did well. I'll meet with Corsac and Fennec in a few day's time, and I'll ask what they know of the matter. They have usually been some of the only voices of reason within the Fang these days. I can't order a full-on search until something immediately threatening happens; it would cause too much of a panic otherwise, and assumptions will be made.
"But I can assure you that not being aggressive is not the same as being unwilling to defend ourselves. Now, go get some rest. You look quite tired," Ghira said. Surprisingly, Sun had been silent for the entire explanation, which only further caused Blake's concern to grow. Sun was quite the optimist and one of the most outspoken people she knew after... after Yang. This kind of quiet felt unnatural coming from him.
But still, the blonde monkey faunus nodded as he pocketed his scroll and left the room without another word.
"... be honest with me. How long have you suspected he's been holding something back?" Ghira asked everyone.
"Since the ship. I was asking about his team, and before he got to answer he kinda lost a lot of his energy. Then the Leviathan attacked, so I didn't get the chance to bring it up to him again," Bakugo said.
"I... Oum, I fucked up," Blake whispered to herself as she slapped her forehead repeatedly in self-loathing. "Stupid, stupid, dense idiot. Couldn't even see your friend was in pain-"
A hand suddenly stopped her from continuing that course of action. And it wasn't Bakugo's, or her father's. It was Neo, who gently set her hand at her side as she made some basic signs that roughly translated: "You don't need to know what's going through everyone's head all the time. That's unrealistic. Help him the best you can. As his friend. It's never too late to lend a hand, got it?"
Blake, momentarily caught off guard by this kind of sentiment from the girl who had once tried to kill her, shook her head and steadied herself. Regardless of their history, she was still right in that matter.
"Don't think this means I've forgiven you," Blake said. "You've still got a very long road ahead of you for that."
"Wouldn't dare to think otherwise," Neo signed back with her signature smirk, her illusionary horns shimmering ever so slightly in the light, enough to be noticed by someone who was actually looking.
And then, the silence was broken by the sound of fighting breaking out just outside the Belladonna home. It seemed as though the immediate threat had arrived far sooner than anyone had hoped. Without a moment more to waste, they rushed out into the night. Where the sounds of battle would greet them.
A/N: And that's a wrap for this one! Sorry if it isn't as polished as the others are. I had work training for about a week, and I didn't have a whole lot of time to actually write in that timeframe. I'll be sure to make the next one as good as I can! And now:
Review Responses:
Thunder Dragon: Indeed they are, even if they haven't quite figured out how to express those feelings yet.
Kaiser Dragon: Yes, yes it is.
Odin's Eye: Yeah. If it were possible, I would've made the chapter longer, but I think it was long enough as it was.
KongKing94: I always thought that Jaune would be confused as to his feelings for Pyrrha after everything that happened, and that thought experiment led me to that interaction with Lancelot.
Uruk-Hai: Well, it was only a few days ago, and she could glean from context that it was clearly eating at him and that he felt terrible for not telling her sooner. I think that Yang can be a lot more understanding then people give her credit for, even if her anger can override that side of her personality at times.
Enku: Indeed, though it may be a while before they have the time to get it. I'm personally not a fan of 'I'm the only person who can help you' romances because that requires a lot of assumptions to be made about both people.
While Izuku and Yang will be there for one another and help where they can, they also know that they're not trained psychiatrists, and even if they were, they don't have the professional distance required for this kind of thing since they're best friends and have a lot of sexual and emotional tension between them.
That shouldn't diminish their feelings though, because they are very real and will likely come to fruition by or shortly before the end of the fourth Volume.
King Ceasar Jr: Yeah. It's actually quite the weight. And yes, it will come. Slowly but surely. This is Bakugo we're talking about, after all.
Leviathan's Heir: He's come clean as much as he can. Now, time to tell the others. And Bakugo, once he catches up to them.
And now, this.
Disclaimer: I do not own the original joke this was derived from. It belongs to PurpleEyesWTF. Please support the official parody.
Omake: I'm at Dust (Non-Canon)
Shoto sighed as all the options they seemingly had at the start crumbled away. The avalanche had blocked off their mountain route, and the airships were still in emergency mode. Time to let Jaune know. It didn't take long for him to pick up.
"Hello?"
"Hey, what's up?"
"I need your help to break some news to Ren. Could you come over here?"
"I can't. I'm buying more clothes."
"Alright, well then hurry up and get over here."
"I can't find them."
"... what do you mean you can't find them."
"I can't find them, there's only Dust."
"... what do you mean there's only Dust?"
"I mean there's only Dust."
"Well then get out of the Dust aisle!"
"Alright! You don't have to shout at me!"
…
"... there's more Dust!"
"What do you mean there's more Dust?!"
"I mean there's just more Dust!"
"Go into the next aisle!"
...
"There's still Dust!"
"Where are you right now?!"
"I'm at Dust!"
"What do you mean you're at Dust?!"
"I mean I'm at Dust!"
"WHAT STORE ARE YOU IN?!"
"I'M AT THE DUST SHOP!"
"WHY ARE YOU BUYING CLOTHES AT A DUST SHOP?!"
"FUCK YOU!"
Eventually, Jaune managed to find his way back from the Dust shop with clothes in hand. Somehow. Shoto didn't bother to ask why a Dust shop would sell clothes- wait, it was Schnee branded clothing. Nevermind.
Hope you all enjoyed that!
Next Chapter: Jun 28th
Seeya in the next one!
