Hi, guys, it's AnimeFan299110 with the latest chapter of Love Heals All Wounds! Sorry it took longer to publish this one, but with everything that's been happening in the world and with my personal life, I've been lacking some of that writing juice. But I mean, it's not like it's been forever since I wrote a chapter, right?
Last updated: 2/18/2020
...Wow...just...wow.
So, as per usual, I do not own RWBY, its characters, or its locations. They are all owned by Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth. Now...here is the newest chapter of Love Heals All Wounds!
"Morning." Tai said as he saw Jaune eating his breakfast, to which the younger blonde responded with a nod. It had been a few days since the knight had handed in his sword and shield for upgrades. When asked how it felt to not have his weapon with him, Jaune admitted that it felt weird at first. However, he said that the upgrades would be worth it in the end. "What's your game plan for today?" Tai asked.
"Well," Jaune said, contemplating his duties, "I was going to go into town to pick up groceries and a few odds and ends. But besides that, nothing else."
"Great." Tai said. "When you get back and have lunch, we'll do some training."
"Training?" Jaune asked in confusion. "But…but I don't have Crocea Mors. How can I train without a weapon?"
"Who said it was going to be weapons training?" Tai asked with a glint in his eyes and a grin on his face as he headed upstairs.
Jaune was confused; what kind of training did Tai have in mind that didn't involve using weapons? He glanced over at Zwei, hoping he might have an idea. Sadly, though, the dog only mimicked Jaune by tilting his head to the side. 'Guess I'll find out sooner or later.' Jaune thought as he brought his empty bowl over to the sink.
A few hours later, after getting groceries and equipment and having a hearty lunch, Jaune made his way outside to find Tai with a bag full of stuff. "So, what are we going to do in terms of training?" He asked.
"Well, before we do anything, there's something I want you to do." Tai then walked casually to Jaune and stood still. "Hit me."
"W…What?" Jaune asked, the words still sinking in.
"Hit me." Tai repeated firmly.
"O…Okay." Jaune said, a little unsure of where Tai was going with this. He got into a feeble fighting stance before taking a swing. Tai, however, smacked his attack away.
"Hit me."
Jaune nodded; it was a rather weak effort he had pulled. He tried again, this time with more force. But once again, Tai deflected his fist by smacking it away.
"C'mon," Tai said in a mocking tone, "I said hit me, not tickle me!"
"RAAAH!" Jaune cried as he put more strength into his next attack. However, Tai dodged it before grabbing Jaune's arm and flipping him over. The blonde knight's back connected the ground with a "THUD!". "Ow." Jaune uttered, his back a little sore from the hard dirt.
"I get that you're skilled with a sword," Tai said as he stood over Jaune, "but what happens when you don't it on you to back you up? How will you continue to fight if you don't have your weapon?"
Jaune contemplated about what he said; Tai had posed a very good question. Sure, Jaune had had his private training lessons from Pyrrha back at Beacon, but he wasn't very skilled in other aspects of fighting. His parents were always overprotective of him and wouldn't let him join any extra-curricular or after activities where he could get hurt. It wasn't that they were bad parents, they saw Jaune as their only son and wanted him to be safe. Movement next to him caused Jaune to turn and see Tai hold out his hand, which he accepted as he was pulled up.
"It's always good to know a secondary form of combat, should the situation ever come up." Tai said, "Which is why I'm going to teach you hand-to-hand combat for the time that you're here."
"You're going to teach me hand-to-hand combat?" Jaune asked, looking over at the older blonde. Sure, Tai could flip him over and was part of Team STRQ, but he didn't look like the kind of guy who was skilled in that area of fighting.
"Of course." Tai said with a smirk as he casually walked over to the nearest tree. "Besides being part of the best team that ever came out of Beacon, I'm also the one who taught Yang everything she knows." And with a powerful punch, he struck the tree, causing it to crack down the middle and fall to the ground. "So…do you think I'm qualified?" He asked, chuckling at the look of utter shock on the younger blonde's face, who could only nod in understanding.
"Excellent." Tai said, "Now, why don't you show me your combat pose."
"O-Okay." Jaune said nervously. He shuffled his legs so that he looked like he was squatting and held up his fist close to his face, with his fingers facing inwards.
Tai raised an eyebrow before sweeping Jaune's legs, causing the younger blonde to fall flat on his backside. "First of all, rookie mistake." He said, pulling Jaune up. "First, place your dominant leg forward and your foot sticking straight out. Then, stick your other leg out behind you and turn your foot at 90°. This will give you proper footing and a firm grip on the ground, so you don't fall over easily."
Jaune did as he was told. "Like this?" He asked.
"Perfect." Tai said. "Now hold up your fists with your fingers facing each other. That way, you look like you're ready to fight instead of looking like you're asking someone to put up their dukes."
Jaune chuckled sheepishly, remembering his feeble attempt at a fighting stance. He then held up his fists the way Tai instructed him to. "How's this?" He asked.
"Great," Tai said, "Now hold that position for two hours."
"Sure," Jaune said, "That shouldn't be a pro- TWO HOURS?!"
"Yep." Tai said, smirking, "You need to have that stance memorized in your head. I want it to be second nature for you to get into that stance once we train."
"Wait," Jaune exclaimed, watching Tai walk past him, "where are you going?"
"Inside." Tai said simply. "I haven't had breakfast yet and there's some news I'd like to watch. I should be out by the time you're done. Oh," he paused before turning around, "and if you let your arms down or move your legs, you'll have to start all over again." And with that, he walked into the house.
Jaune couldn't believe what he had just heard; holding a position for two hours without moving his arms or his legs? Even Pyrrha wasn't that cruel in her training tactics. He sighed; Tai did prove a valid point. If he wanted to learn hand-to-hand combat, he'd have to memorize this pose by heart. So, he stood in that position, mentally focused on the task at hand.
30 minutes in, his upper arms started to burn from the strain of staying in position. He shook off the pain and continued staying still.
An hour in, his fists followed suit. Once again, he shrugged it off.
At an hour and a half, his legs started to go numb. It was at this point that Jaune started to worry. If his legs locked and he fell over, he would have to start all over again. He knew he couldn't go through an extra two hours of this. So, he remained where he was. 'At least it can't get any worse.' He thought. That's when the inner-right side of his nose started to itch. 'Me and my big mouth.' He thought.
Thirty minutes later…
"And you're good!"
Hearing Tai call out the words he had been longing to hear, Jaune dropped his stance and collapsed on the ground, relieved that he could take a break. Finally, free to move his arms, he scratched the inner-right side of his nose like crazy. And boy, did it feel good.
"Sorry about that." Tai said with a chuckle. "I guess I should have started out small with you."
"No worries." Jaune said through deep breathes. "I've had some intense training with Pyrrha. I've just been a little out of practice."
Tai nodded. "Well from now on, you're required to hold that stance for an hour-and-a-half every day, just so it's engrained into your head." He then waited a bit for Jaune to get feeling back into his arms and legs before helping him up. He then helped him work on his jabs, crosses, uppercuts and all the basic punches. After an hour, the two stopped for a break.
"Next," Tai said as he reached into the bag and tossed Jaune a pair of small combat gloves before putting on punching mitts, "we're going to work on your combos. I'm going to call one out and you have to complete it as fast as you can."
"Got it." Jaune said as he got into position.
"Left-right-left."
Jaune followed the command, the gloves making a "whap" noise with each contact.
"Right-right-left."
'Whap-whap-whap'
"Right-left-uppercut."
Jaune managed to pull it off, though Tai allowed him to pause a bit for the uppercut. He figured it was time to speed it up a bit.
"Right-left-left-right-left-right!"
Jaune hit both mitts but messed up at the third 'left'. Tai's free mitt smacked Jaune upside the head. "Every time you miss a direction or a combo, I'm going to smack you. Your only options are to take the brunt of the blow or dodge it."
Jaune nodded; he would have to pay attention to his surroundings and the commands Tai was giving him.
"Let's try again," the older blonde said as he brought his mitts up. "Right-left-left-right-left-right!"
'Whap-whap-whap-whap-whap-whap!'
"Very good." Tai said. "Now right-right-left-left-right-left!"
"Whap-whap-whap-whap-whap-whap!'
SMACK!
Jaune stared in bewilderment as Tai had just smacked him with his punching mitt. "I know what you're thinking," Tai said, "you did the sequence correctly. However, your opponent isn't going to wait for you to make a mistake. They will come at you no matter what. You must be aware of what they will do at all times. Now, let's continue."
They continued for the rest of the afternoon. Jaune took the brunt of the smacks that Tai dealt out. Soon, however, he started mixing in ducks and dodges along with his punches. Tai was impressed at how quickly he caught on.
At around 3pm, Jaune's arms started to burn and his face gleamed with sweat. "Alright, I think we'll it a day." Tai said, taking his punching mitts off. "Why don't you head in and shower while I put this stuff away and fix dinner?"
Jaune nodded; he was starting to sweat bullets. He trudged into the house and up the stairs, longing for the feel of gentle water raining down on him.
"Holy crap! You look like you ran a marathon!"
Jaune turned to see Yang at her bedroom door frame. She had changed from her pajamas to a pair of brown pants, an orange t-shirt that showed off her midriff, and a dark grey jacket with her emblem on the left sleeve. The right sleeve had been tied into a knot since there was no arm to put it through.
'At least she's wearing something different.' He thought before clearing his throat and said, "Yeah, your dad was training me in hand-to-hand combat. He said I should always have a second form of fighting."
"Did he crack a tree down the middle to prove his abilities?" Yang asked with a smirk. She laughed when the other blonde paled and nodded. "Yeah, he did that when he started training me. I also take it he made you stand still for three hours?"
"More like two."
"Wow, guess he's getting soft."
"I heard that!" Tai called from the kitchen, causing Yang to snicker and Jaune to chuckle sheepishly.
"Anyway," Jaune said, "I'm gonna jump in the shower. Your dad's prepping dinner."
"Cool," Yang said as she passed by him, "see you when you get out."
Jaune nodded and headed into the shower. As he took off his clothes and stepped in, he set the water to cold and hiss as the water hit his hot skin. It felt like heaven feeling the water dull the heat and pain from his body. He had forgotten how hard training could be. Sure, he had Pyrrha's video, but nothing could ever beat the real thing. After a few minutes, he turned the knob to hot and began cleaning up.
Ten minutes later, he stepped out of the shower and put on dry, clean clothes. He then walked downstairs to find Yang watching the news with Zwei resting his head on her lap. Jaune leaned down and ruffled the dog's side, to which Zwei wagged his tail in enjoyment.
The young blonde's eyes fell on a stack of books that he had never noticed before. The spine was decorated with roses and vines and the book itself was a tan color. He pulled it off the shelf and saw the title to be "Memories" in black, cursive letters.
"What's that you got there?" Yang asked.
"Not sure." Jaune said, turning around, "It's some book that says 'Memories'."
"It's probably one of our photo albums." Tai said, walking in from the kitchen. "Open it up and let's see."
Jaune sat down and opened the book. The first few photos featured Tai, Yang, and what appeared to be Summer doing various activities, like fashioning Yang's hair into pigtails, Tai flexing his muscles in a silly pose, and the three of them enjoying a BBQ with Qrow. Soon, the photos included a certain red-haired baby. The rest of them showed events like Ruby's first birthday party, Tai watching TV on the couch while Summer, Yang, and Ruby were snuggled against him, and Ruby looking in awe at her first cookie.
Halfway through the book, Jaune stopped and his eyes widened. "Oh my Brothers…" He mumbled in shock.
"What? What is it?" Yang asked perplexingly.
"What is this?!" Jaune exclaimed as he pulled out the photo and started laughing.
Yang looked and her face turned red. The photo showed what appeared to be a three-year-old Yang and a one-year-old Ruby posing for the camera. But it was what they were wearing that caused her embarrassment. Ruby was wearing a Beowolf hooded onesie with fake claws and a tail, while Yang was wearing a hooded tiger onesie with claws and a tail as well. Both had their mouths open in anger as if they were roaring at the camera.
"D-Dad!" Yang stuttered. "What the hell?! I thought I told you to get rid of that photo!"
"I know," Tai said with a chuckle, "but you and Ruby were so adorable in that photo."
"Jaune," Yang said, ignoring her dad, "give me that photo."
"I don't know, Yang," Jaune said slyly as he looked over the photo with intrigue, "This is too perfect of a photo to not hand over. Maybe I should scan it to my phone and keep it just in case I need a good laugh."
"No!" Yang exclaimed. She lunged forward and tried to snatch it, but Jaune held it at arm's length, making it difficult for her to reach it. For two minutes, the two struggled to either hold onto the photo or take it away.
"Okay, okay." Jaune said once he caught his breath. "Here." He handed the photo back to Yang, who snatched it and stuffed it into her sweatpants pocket.
"Tell anyone about that photo and you'll pay." Yang said, a slight bit of venom in her voice.
"Sure thing…Tiger Girl." Jaune replied, smirking at the fact that Yang's cheeks reddened once again. Before she could respond, however, the timer on the oven went off, indicating dinner was ready.
As Tai and Yang went into the kitchen, Jaune placed the book back. As he walked toward the kitchen, his eyes caught a single picture frame propped up on the TV stand. Picking it up, he smiled as he saw Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Blake all smiling at the camera. Ruby was giving the peace sign while Weiss had a hand on Ruby's right shoulder. Yang had her fist pumped into the arm and was winking at the camera. Blake had her arms crossed and was giving the smallest of smiles. On the upper left side of the photo were the words "New friends!" with a heart at the end.
'Simpler times.' Jaune thought as he looked at the photo. His smile faded with concern and sadness. 'I hope the others are okay,' he added, 'especially Nora, Ren, and Ruby.'
"Jaune!" Tai's voice called out from the kitchen. "You coming? The food's going cold."
"Coming." Jaune replied as he put the photo down and headed to the kitchen.
And that marks the end of another chapter of Love Heals All Wounds. Once again, I am so sorry that you guys had to wait for over a year for me to publish a new chapter. I promise I will try to release more chapters in a more timely manner.
As to Jaune's hope that Ruby, Ren, and Nora are okay, well...the next chapter will feature them! That's right, for a few side-chapters, I will be chronicling Team RNR's adventures through Anima as they make their way to Mistral and Haven Academy. Hopefully, the next chapter will come out sooner since it will focus on their battle with the Geist Grimm.
Anyway, if you like this chapter, please like and comment. And if you like this story, don't forget to subscribe for more updates.
Until next time, this is AnimeFan299110, encouraging you all to go out with a Yang!