Chapter 56

Oscar grunted in exertion as Ruby's fist collided with his arms. He grinned widely after the successful evasion and ducked in a panic as her leg sailed over his head. He threw back an uppercut, missing narrowly, and Ruby managed to block his follow-up punches. She threw back, her fist passing clean over his head, and wiggled her arms comically as she attempted to regain her balance. Jaye shook his head hopelessly, slapping his palm into his face. Kamina patted the boy on the shoulder, and even the twins exchanged doubtful glances.

'Man, Oz wasn't kidding. Oscar's picking up on this stuff fast.' Jaune said, crossing his arms, and Nora smiled at him. Jaye raised an eyebrow.

'He's a quick leaner, which is a good thing. I'm just wondering how Ruby seems to be so bad at this.' He said, tapping his foot on the dusty ground. 'Even if she spent all her time learning how to swing that scythe around, she shouldn't be this bad at hand to hand. It's like they're moving in slow motion!'

Oscar yelled as his fist sailed between the red-clad girl's hands, knocking her head around. He raised his hands to the growling girl.

'Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!' He twittered, and ate dust as Ruby retaliated with twice the force. The group flinched as Oscar lay flat on the ground, defeated, and Ruby danced her victory with a smug smile.

'Yes I did it!' She squealed, and Jaye rolled his eyes at the over-enthusiastic girl.

'And that, dear friends, highlights the fundamental difference in their characters.' He said, waving absently at the two. He rolled his eyes at the girl who was still dancing on the spot, raising an eyebrow as Oscar/Ozpin slowly got to his feet.

'Not bad Miss Rose.' He said, stretching out his neck. Jaye smirked at the girl as he realized who was in control now, and Ruby inched nervously away from the now possessed boy. 'But Oscar doesn't have the years of training you do. Or I do.'

'Oh, she bout to get hit.' Jaye stated, touching his fingers to his chin.

The ensuing fight ended rather unspectacularly, and Jaye was rather amused by the entire situation. He started forwards as Oscar fell to his knees.

'How is this so exhausting?' The boy panted, and Ruby placed her hand on his back.

'Your body isn't used to this kind of training.' Ren's eyes remained closed as he began speaking, body still locked in a meditative stance. 'Not to mention generating a defensive Aura on your own. It takes intense concentration at first, but in time it will become second nature, allowing you to deflect attacks and gradually heal your wounds.' He finally opened his eyes, letting his fists relax on his knees. 'After that, you can begin focusing on your Semblance, whatever that may be.'

'Semblance?' Oscar staggered to his feet, a look of intrigue plastered across his face, and Nora zipped up beside him in a flash.

'You know, like your very own superpower!' She said, raising a hand in the air. 'Everybody's got one. It's just a matter of finding it, and mastering it.' She pointed at the red-hooded girl. 'Ruby moves super-fast, electricity makes me stronger, Ren can mask emotions and Jaune –can uhh umm…'

The girl rubbed her head nervously, and Ruby cut into the conversation.

'Jaune's like you!' She grabbed Oscar by the hand, leading him over to the taller blond. 'He hasn't found his Semblance yet, but we all know he will.' She smiled at the boy. 'And you will too. We just have to try and help each other get stronger.'

Oscar smiled. 'Cool.'

'A common philosophy is that a warrior's Semblance is a part of who they are.' Ren said. 'Some say your personality and character can define your Semblance, while others claim that it is the other way around. Of course, there are still many who don't see a connection at all.'

'It's hard to know when you know sometimes.' Nora paced over to the boy, smiling reassuringly. 'Ren's Semblance was unlocked from intense stress.'

'And mine kicked in during training one day.' Ruby said.

Oscar gestured at Nora. 'What about you?'

'Oh, struck by lightning, didn't die. Crazy Thursday.' Nora said, and Jaye shook his head at the girl.

'Don't lie to us. We all know you stuck a fork in a power socket.' Jaye said, and Nora gave him a "you might be right" look. Jaune heaved a sigh.

'I don't know what's wrong with me. I train, I meditate, but –!' Oscar's eyes glowed a bright yellow, and he placed his arms behind his back.

'Don't worry Mr Arc.' Ozpin/Oscar said. 'Your journey is far from over. And the same might be said for all of you.' He turned to the group. 'Unlocking your Semblance isn't the end; it can still grow and evolve.' He raised an eyebrow. 'Providing you're willing to put in the work, who knows what could happen?'

Jaye folded his arms. 'It's different for everyone. My Semblance hasn't changed at all since I was a child; I just got better at using and adapting it. I was powerful from the start, but that wasn't exactly a good thing.'

'Jaye's gotten hypothermia far too many times for comfort. Almost lost an arm once too.' Kamina cut in. 'For him, it was all about training his body to be able to handle his Semblance rather than training his Semblance. It was dangerous for him from the start, so take caution when using your Semblance, especially when you don't know what it's capable of.'

'On the other hand, Kamina only used to be able to teleport once a minute.' Jaye said, patting the fox boy on the shoulder. 'After a lot of training, he can now teleport every couple of seconds.'

'I can teleport three times in a row before I need a cool down, and my cool down time is around ten seconds.' Kamina said. 'Think of it like a charge system with three uses by default. It takes three seconds to regain a charge, but if I use all three it takes me ten seconds before I can teleport again. So, I can essentially pop three times every ten seconds, or once every three seconds. Otherwise I'm good to go whenever as long as I have three seconds to recharge a use.'

'The distance and versatility increased as well.' Jaye explained. 'He used to be only able to teleport without obstruction, meaning he'd have to teleport to a railing if it was in the way. Now he can pop past anything as long as he can see through it.'

'It's a little unpredictable with translucent objects though. It wasn't easy; it just takes time.' Kamina grinned, and Ruby smiled at the fox boy. The smile dropped off the fox boy's face. 'Even then I'm not invincible.'

'Effectively to keep a solid "no-risk" baseline in combat, Mina usually only teleports once every three seconds.' Jaye explained, folding his arms. 'That way he keeps one charge available as a backup without risking the ten second "no-teleport" penalty.'

'It's pretty easy to get shot in three seconds.' Kamina grimaced. 'I still have to keep an eye glued to my surroundings in a fight in case I need to expend my second charge, and I need at least one spot in the back of my mind to leap to if I have to use my third charge; somewhere where I can hide out for ten seconds.'

'Otherwise, being a sitting duck for even a few seconds can get you killed. Especially if you're fighting multiple enemies.' Jaye said. 'One of the biggest pitfalls people have is being too reliant on their semblances. What happens if you run out of aura?'

'Combat is all about resource management.' Kamina elaborated, leaning against the wall and counting off on his fingers. 'Aura, ammo, dust, stamina et cetera, all of those play a massive part in combat. Sure, I can teleport every three seconds, sounds amazing right? Well teleporting takes aura to do, so I have to make sure I don't run out.'

'Meaning teleporting takes away from his shield.' Jaye cut in. 'Plus, the more tired he gets, the shorter the distance and speed at which he vanishes. Doesn't sound quite so simple anymore huh?'

'Same for whenever Jaye uses his ice; a lot of the time he just uses dust instead to conserve his aura.' Kamina pushed himself off the wall, stretching out his arms. 'What we're getting at is that there's plenty of factors to combat and strength, so don't obsess over your Semblance.' He glanced at the raven-haired boy. 'If we did well…we'd have gotten killed a long time ago.'

Ruby beamed across the group.

'And that's living proof!' She beamed. 'So let's get back to it!'

'Speaking of getting to it, I think we should let the kids here see a real fight. Kamina, you good?' Jaye said, grinning at the fox boy. Kamina wiggled his ears.

'You bet.'

Later

'Why do I feel like I'm dying-?' Ruby wheezed, clutching at her ribs where Jaye had punched her. He laughed at her as she rolled around on the mats, groaning in gibberish, and stalked quietly over to where his swords lay against the wall. He brushed his fingers against the purple handles for a moment, clipping them back to his belt.

'Probably because you are.' Kamina said, swishing his ears at the girl. 'Jaye hasn't exactly been known for his restraint.'

'Then what has he been known for?'

'Murder, mostly.'

'Shut it you.' Jaye huffed, brushing the small beads of sweat away from his face. 'I'm known for many wonderful things, thank you very little.'

'Yeah, like murder.'

Jaye shot the fox boy a glare as he walked past, patting Ruby on the head as she trudged her way back to the others. He gestured towards her scythe with a hand, and the girl raised her eyebrows at the raven-haired boy.

'I can?' She asked, scratching her head, and Jaye nodded, unsheathing his Katana. His eyes rested on the violet inscribed on the blade collar and he sighed, tearing his eyes away and back to the girl.

'Another facet of combat is to NOT lose your weapon.' He withdrew his Wakizashi with a flourish. 'Your job is going to be to keep possession of your scythe, while my job will be to remove it from your grasp as many times as I can.'

'Easy peasy!' She grinned, spinning the blade in her hand. 'I'm unstoppable with my baby!'

Jaye darted towards the girl in a flash, raising his blades to strike. A sound of terror escaped the girl's mouth as she raised the scythe to block his blow, and Jaye dropped his hands without warning. Spinning on the spot, he kicked the scythe out of her hands in a smooth motion, letting his foot fall gracefully back to the floor as he raised an eyebrow at the girl. Ruby made a pouty face at him.

'That wasn't fair, I wasn't ready!' She exclaimed, crossing her arms at the raven-haired boy.

'And you think your opponents are going to give you fair warning before they attack?' He asked, and Ruby promptly ignored him. Jaye raised his eyebrow even higher, and she stalked over to her weapon to retrieve it. She raised it into a fighting stance, and he spun his Katana in his hand.

'Ready?' He asked, and she spun her blade in response. He dashed towards her, taking the exact same path as before, striking down with his blades in an identical fashion. She once more raised her scythe to block the blows, and he redirected his blades and spun into a spinning back kick once more. The scythe, naturally, flew out of her hands, and Jaye kicked the girl to the ground for good measure. He raised his eyebrow at her once again, reaching heights that no eyebrow had ever reached before, and Ruby turned her attention to her feet.

That Evening

Jaye dropped across his bed, dragging the towel out from under his shoulders and chucking it at a nearby chair. He swore as it promptly missed the chair back, falling unimpressively to the floor.

'That was a crappy throw.' A feminine voice rang out from the doorway, and Jaye rolled his eyes at the faunus girl now leaning against his doorframe. He grumbled as he got back up to his feet, retrieving the towel and laying it neatly over the wooden back. Artemis raised an eyebrow at him.

'Not going to invite me in?' She asked, and Jaye stared pointedly at her.

'You're already halfway inside the room; I'm pretty sure you've invited yourself in at this point.' He pointed out, and Artemis pushed herself off the doorframe. She stalked into the room, promptly dropping across the bed and sighing contentedly. Now with nowhere to lie down, and Jaye leaned against the chair unhappily, glaring at the cat girl as she purred on the sheets. He raised an eyebrow as she curled up on his sheets. 'Are you actually here for a reason or are you just planning on taking my bed?'

'Why not both?'

'Because it's my bed.'

'Is your name on it?'

'What are you, a kid?'

'I was until you killed my mom.'

'…Are we really doing this? I thought we talked about it.'

'That's the problem. We haven't.' Artemis sat up on the sheets, crossing her legs and staring at the boy. Jaye stared back, raising his eyebrow once more. 'Are you holding up okay?'

Jaye heaved a sigh, running a hand down his bare chest. He touched his scars gently, his face a mask of deep thought. He raised his eyebrow even higher. 'Since when did you care about me?'

'I've always cared about you. Ever since I was eleven.' Artemis said, rolling her eyes. 'Hurry up and answer the question, I don't have time for your stalling.'

Jaye glanced at his feet, wiggling his toes quietly for a moment. He stared blankly at the wall, and the faunus girl's eyes went between him and the terrible wallpaper.

'No.' He said, sighing once more. 'No, I'm not.'

'Well if you're staring at that terrible wallpaper, there's no way you're right in the head.'

Jaye paced back to his bed, shooing the girl away and sitting down. She curled up on his pillow, staring up at him with wide eyes that screamed innocence, and Jaye made a face of disgust at her.

'Stop that.'

'Stop what?'

'That thing.'

'What thing?'

'That thing you're doing, where you look like you actually care about what I have to say. It's creepy.'

'That means it's working. I'm going to keep doing it.'

Jaye raised his eyebrow even higher, and Artemis wondered silently to herself if he was going to set a new record for the greatest distance an eyebrow had ever reached within the confines of a face. She cleared her throat, leaning on her elbow nonchalantly.

'I'm waiting.' She said, and Jaye turned his eyes to the floor. He stared sullenly at the carpeting, skidding his foot over the surface. He scratched his head vigorously, making a sound of extreme annoyance.

'What is it with women and trying to get me to spill my guts out?' He swore at the floor. 'Literally every woman in my life has tried to get me to do it, both literally and or emotionally.'

'Am I the first one to try for both?'

'Don't you get precious with me.'

'I'm already precious, look at me.' Artemis swished her tail between her legs, pouting coyly at the boy. Jaye scoffed at her, and she bit her tail sultrily. 'You've got a beautiful girl in your bed waiting for you. Why are you keeping her waiting?'

'Precocious brat. Come back in five years.' He hissed, turning his gaze back to the floor. 'No, I'm not okay. Not in the slightest.'

'She meant a lot to you, didn't she?'

'More than you can imagine.' Jaye sighed, the look of suffering making its way back to his face. 'She was…everything. Everything I never knew I needed until I had her. And now she's gone.' He wiped his nose quietly. 'You know, a lot of people say you don't know a good thing till it's gone. But I knew exactly how much she was worth; I didn't have to lose her to find out. It was hard to choose to leave her, but nothing could have prepared me for losing her.' He choked a little on his words. 'I miss her.'

Artemis pulled her tail away from her lips, getting up off Jaye's pillow and scooting over to the edge of the bed. She stared at the floor sullenly, mimicking his position.

'When I was eleven, someone killed my parents.' She started, and Jaye shot her a "don't make me kill you too" glare. 'He was kind of an asshole; I mean he killed my parents and took my whole life with him. But he was also kind, caring, and a wonderful person who'd made some very bad mistakes in his life. How I feel about him is…difficult, but I don't think I hate him. Not anymore.'

'Gee thanks. Nice to know someone cares.'

Artemis cleared her throat loudly. 'We haven't really had the chance to talk like this, but I'm glad we're doing this now. I haven't forgiven you for my parents, not really, but like we said we understand that you weren't the ones to pull the trigger, even if you were the guns that did it. The Faction is what we're after, and they've taken very precious people from us.' She placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. 'That's what binds our weird little band of people together, for better or for worse, and I can safely say that you're the reason we'll have a fighting chance when the time comes.'

'Don't forget little red and the others. They're valuable people to me too, and as unpolished as they are, they can hold their own in a fight.' Jaye said, and Artemis finally smiled.

'And that's exactly it. You were always someone we demonized in our memories; you were the monster that killed out parents. But now…I can see you're human just like the rest of us.' The faunus girl sighed, swishing her tail listlessly as she leaned back on the bed. 'We've all lost so much, and while I don't think we're going to get around to actually forgiving you any time soon, I think we just need some time.' Artemis got up from the bed. 'But I'm glad we're together like this, regardless of how it happened. I think I understand you a little better now.'

'Thanks for that.' Jaye said, running a hand through his hair and getting up from the bed, smiling at the girl. 'I uh, hope we'll get along in the future.'

'I doubt it.' She laughed, wrapping her arms around the boy. Jaye hugged her back gently, and she pulled away from him abruptly. She stalked over to the door, pulling it shut behind her. She paused right before it closed, peering back in through the gap.

'Good night.' Jaye said, and she gave him a small, but difficult smile.

'Good night.' She whispered, closing the gap. She heard the click of the latch, and let her head fall to the door face. She screwed her eyes shut, tears welling in the corners, and she pressed her hands together in prayer.

'Mom, dad, I'm trying to forgive him, I really am.' She whispered under her breath, sniffing quietly. 'I'm doing my best without you, but it's so hard-! Please tell me you're proud of me-!'

Jaye rolled over on the bed, pretending her couldn't hear the gentle sobs coming from the other side of the door. He pulled out his scroll, pulling up a photo album from long ago. A flash of purple hair appeared on the screen, and he felt the tears roll down his face as Indigo's face appeared on its surface.

Wrapped in a beautiful pearly white dress, Indigo smiled at the camera, arms looped through his own as he stood beside her. Dressed up in a suit and tie, with waxed hair for the first and only time in his life, the two stood in the middle of an exquisite garden. It was the place of their first real date, where he'd taken her after their biggest assassination and rise to fame in the Faction. Indigo didn't usually let photos be taken of her in public; it was essential to maintain her secrecy as an information specialist, but she'd let it slide this one time. Her hair flowed around her shoulders like an ocean, the purple violet brooch pinned daintily to her bosom, and she was beautiful beyond measure. Jaye flipped through the album again, coming across the numerous photos taken in private. He paused with a start on one of them, the memory flooding back to him.

Indigo smiled at him through the screen, a mug in her hands, grinning broadly at the lens with the sun at her back, and Jaye ran a finger down the screen. He'd taken that after the first night they'd spent together in their apartment, candidly snapping the photo as he came out from the bedroom. Indigo had laughed at him, asking why he'd chosen such a terrible time to take a photo of her. Her hair in a mess, dressed in nothing but one of his old T-shirts and a random pair of shorts, she'd complained that it was the ugliest photo she'd ever been in. He'd told her that she looked beautiful in anything.

He'd never found her more beautiful than she had been right there.

Jaye closed his eyes, listening quietly to the sobs coming from the other end of the door, feeling the stabbing pain in his chest grow stronger and stronger with every tear. He could do nothing but live with this pain, and he drew in a sharp breath as he curled up under the blankets. He listened to the sobs quietly, the sting growing ever bigger, and he told himself it would go away in time. Everything was going to be all right. Everyone was going to be all right. He was going to be all right.

Chapter 56 done. I'm doing a lot of heavy emotional scenes now, so I hope this doesn't get to dreary for you guys. Lemme know if you need me to lighten up, cuz season 5 isn't exactly sunshine and rainbows.