I COMPLETELY FORGOT I WAS WRITING THIS!
Chapter 3
"This is troubling." Ozpin set his mug of coffee down. "Very troubling."
Yang watched as both the headmaster and Glynda traded equally concerned glances before turning back to face the two blondes.
"It's been a while since we've had issues with the White Fang." Glynda spoke up, more towards Ozpin than anyone else. "If they're back and under new management, we could have some real problems under our belt."
"I'm well aware of the threat." He clasped his hands together and leaned forward on them, contemplating deeply before turning his gaze to Jaune. "Is there any way we can come into contact with Adam Taurus?"
"Are you mad!?" Glynda's eyes widened. "He's still a cr-"
Ozpin silenced her by lifting his hand, then he glanced back to the two, awaiting an answer. Yang looked over to Jaune as well, as all the weight seemed to be on him.
"There might be." He nodded. "I'll need time to figure it out."
"As much as I respect your time, this is a dire situation." He nodded. "Don't take too long to give me an answer."
"Yes, headmaster." He nodded briskly.
"That's all then, you may go." Ozpin dismissed them, leaning back in his chair with a frustrated expression.
Jaune and Yang stood in unison and nodded them off before heading back to the elevator. As the doors closed and they started moving back down, they let out an exasperated sigh.
"That went well." Yang buried her face into his palms.
"Tell me about it." Jaune leaned back against the wall of the small elevator, shutting his eyes.
"So, what's your plan with Adam?"
"Honestly?" Jaune took a breath. "He helped me out, but I'm not entirely sure I trust him yet. I'm gonna have to talk to him one on one before I let him anywhere near Beacon."
"I suppose that's fair." Yang nodded, crossing her arms as the elevator opened up with a ding.
Jaune's scroll began to buzz suddenly, and he pulled his scroll out to see the cause. She noticed his eyes widen slightly as he answered the call. He opened his mouth to speak then suddenly stopped, nodding along to whatever was being said by whoever was on the other end.
"I'll be there." He hung up the phone and shot Yang a serious glance.
"What's up?" She asked.
"It's Adam." He answered in frustration. "He's been attacked, says he's laying low at a motel in Vale."
"Do you trust he's being honest?"
"I don't know." He sighed. "But if he is, then he's hurt and likely needs my attention."
"Then let's get going, but grab your weapon." She nodded.
"Of course." He agreed.
Jaune held onto Yang's waist as they sped down the road to Vale, his hair blowing back behind him in the wind.
"Sorry for bringing you out like this again." He sighed.
"That's alright, it's important so why wouldn't I?" Though he couldn't quite see her face, he could tell she was smirking.
She reflexively used one arm to elbow him in the side teasingly before placing it back on the handles of her motorcycle. While normally this would've been pretty harmless, Jaune had to hold in every urge to scream out in pain.
"Ow! My ribs, Yang!" He shouted.
"Oh shit!" She pulled off to the side of the road. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?"
She flicked down the kickstand with her foot and hopped off, letting Jaune stand for a moment. He took a deep breath and clutched his ribs before nodding.
"I'm alright." He exhaled sharply, looking up to the sky as he shut his eyes.
"I wasn't thinking." She glanced away, swallowing heavily.
"It's okay, Yang." He shook it off and loosened himself up.
"Can I see it?" She asked softly, her eyes widening at shit eating grin that Jaune was giving her. "Your ribs, dumbass! I swear sometimes talking to you is like looking in a damn mirror."
Jaune chuckled, which did hurt his ribs, before lifting his shirt up to expose the heavily bruised flesh.
"It's not as bad as it was before, my aura is doing a pretty good job of healing it up."
"That's good... sorry again for hitting you." She hopped back on her bike and Jaune followed behind her, latching onto her waist once more. "Ready to move?"
"Yup." He nodded.
She revved the engine and flicked the kickstand back up before driving back onto the road and towards Vale once more. About a half an hour later, Yang pulled into the shady 'Motel 6' that Adam was supposedly staying at. She parked her bike and took her helmet off, setting it down on the handlebars before stepping off. Slowly, she followed Jaune up a flight up stairs to a door numbered fourteen, he knocked on it firmly and took both a deep breath and a step back. After just a few seconds the door opened up.
"This way." He motioned them. "Who's the girl?"
"A friend."
"She stays out here." He shook his head
"You cool with that?" He looked back to Yang with a lifted eyebrow.
"Yeah, I'll just wait by the door."
"Alright." He tapped her shoulder and turned to face the faunus.
He entered and Adam shut the door before sitting down on his motel bed.
"You said you were attacked?"
"More White Fang." He growled through his teeth. "They're stronger than they were before. More annoying."
He slid his jacket off followed by his shirt and tossed it aside, revealing numerous gash wounds across his entire torso.
"Oh..." Jaune gasped.
Adam was stronger than he looked and he already looked strong. All those cuts and gashes must've hurt like hell.
"So?" He asked impatiently.
"I'm gonna have to touch them if you want me to heal them."
"Just do what you have to." He grimaced.
It was pretty clear that Adam did not like being touched, but neither really had a choice in the matter. Jaune placed his hands on his back. He shut his eyes and let his aura flow freely.
Longing. Regret. Anger.
Connecting with someone's aura was a more personal experience than most realized. Whenever Jaune did so, he could feel their emotions, their pain, their happiness... He often felt those things to be a private matter, however, he needed to make sure there were no signs of animosity towards him or his friends.
Jaune opened his eyes slowly, pulling his hands away as his aura returned to him.
"Is that all?" Adam asked.
"That's all..." He nodded and stood up. "Actually, there's something I need to ask of you."
"Ask away."
"I spoke to the headmaster at Beacon about the White Fang, he asked to speak to you personally."
"That old geyser?" He scowled. "Absolutely not."
"I don't think he'd be trying to reach out to you if it wasn't urgent." Jaune tried to reason.
"Fine." He stood up and slid his shirt and jacket back on. "Thank you for your help, I know you don't trust me. That's fine, but you're going to have to."
"Just don't give me reason to question your motives and we'll be fine." He shrugged loosely.
"I always want more adventure and then when it comes I just want it to end." Yang downed a shot of whiskey, wincing at its strong flavour. "How do you drink this stuff?"
"Same way I drink anything else." He shrugged. "First, I put the cup to my lips, then I pour the liq-"
"Shut up." She rolled her eyes playfully.
"Dealing with the White Fang is hardly an adventure." He addressed her first topic.
"You can say that again." Despite her clear distaste for the drink, Yang poured another shot of whiskey and downed it. "I wonder what Ozpin's gonna do with Adam."
"None of our business." Jaune shrugged, finishing his cup of whiskey.
"Fair enough." She sighed. "I still wanna know... Wanna go on a walk?" She changed the subject.
"Why not." He stood up slowly.
She followed him out the dorm, down two flights of stairs, and then outside. It was a darker day, the light from the sun obscured by storm clouds that rolled in overhead. While staring up at the sky, her mind began to race, filling with thoughts both somewhat pleasant and not. She sat down on a bench out in the courtyard and buried her face in her palms.
"Are you alright?" He asked softly, reaching out to touch her shoulder.
"I know I say this a lot, but thank you." She smiled weakly. "Last year, when I had no one to turn to, you offered yourself. Now, with everything going on, just... Thanks for putting up with me."
"You're my friend, Yang." He shook his head. "I'd be a bad one if I did anything less."
She chuckled solemnly and kicked back her last shot of whiskey before sliding the bottle to Jaune.
"All yours." She loosened up, crossing her arms with a sigh.
"Not really feeling the drinks right now." He pushed it back. "I'm already stressed about the White Fang, no need to make it worse."
"Ah." She shrugged and poured herself another shot. "More for me."
"Maybe you should slow down too." He grabbed the bottle from the table. "Last thing I want to do is drag you to bed."
"Oh?" She gave him a teasing smirk.
"Oh shut it." He rolled his eyes. "You know what I meant."
She snickered softly and leaned forward, giving him a genuine smile, one void of the normal demeanor she carries after making an indecent joke or half-assed pun.
"I should get back to my dorm. Don't want my team getting the wrong idea." She made to stand.
"Night then, Yang." He waved her off.
"Night." She nodded briskly.
Short chapter to get back into the groove of this story. I hope it's decent, expect the next one to be longer. I admittedly forgot I was writing this, sorry to those who have been waiting for it to update.
FUTURE ME SPEAKING: So kinda embarrassing, I accidentally left out a sentence and it messed with the flooow, it's fixed now. I hope no one noticed.