A/N: So when I was writing this chapter, I eventually noticed I had already written over 17,000 words, and it felt a bit too heavy to compact it all in a single chapter. As a result, I've split this chapter into two parts, and this one is the first. I will post the second part this weekend.
Also, this is late, I know.
Kindred Ordeals
"Night."
Crack!
"Day."
Psshh.
"Night."
Crack!
"Day."
Pshhh.
"Night."
Crack!
"Day."
Pshhh.
"Uuuugh, this is so boring…" Jaune complained as he hovered his hand over the candle to extinguish the flame once again. "Night…"
Crack!
The flame went out.
"I want to go back to my teeaam." Jaune whined again in frustration, rubbing the wick of the candle between his finger. "Day…"
Psshhh.
A white flame sparked between his fingers, turning yellow as it caught on the wick.
Jaune was now able to channel his Aura in specific parts of his body, and restricting it to a tiny part made it unstable, which somehow sparked a white flame. So now Jaune could use his fingers like a lighter.
'It is likely due to the instability of your Aura, which makes it vibrate back and forth. The energy resulting from the friction creates heat.' Weiss had expertly theorized. 'To think you would be able to control such instability, that's impressive.' She had mused. 'The fact that it's white should mean it's extremely hot, but it does not seem to be that hot... So I'd say it is more likely due to the color of your Aura.'
'…Makes sense." Jaune had replied politely.
Regardless… This showed the level of control Jaune now had over his Aura. It was something he would have never been able to do before with his wild Aura spikes.
It had been two weeks since Jaune's semblance stopped being 'uncontrollable'.
During these two weeks, Miss Goodwitch had given him different exercises of Aura control, as well as tested his ability to hold his semblance back.
Lighting up and extinguishing a candle was one of these exercises, but there were many others.
For example, learning how to use his Aura without triggering his semblance. Simple Aura techniques, like running up a vertical wall by using Aura from his feet, were especially difficult to learn, since when he channeled his Aura into a surface, he would just… well, he would break it.
Other training plans included:
- Increasing the intensity of the protection field around his body to increase his defense;
- Breaking something into two clean pieces instead of completely shattering it apart;
- Regulating the flow of destruction when he channeled his semblance to the maximum through his entire body – though it was not nearly as powerful as it was before, it was still a force to be reckoned with;
- Holding a glass of water with a leaf floating on it, and breaking the leaf without shattering the glass (that one was extremely difficult, as Jaune could not touch the leaf itself and had to break it from a distance)
All of these had been impossible in the past. At first, Jaune had a lot of trouble with all this Aura training. That said, Jaune was slowly getting better. Sooner or later, he would get the hang of it.
Why? Because Jaune and Miss Goodwitch had figured out something about him.
Jaune was actually a genius of Aura control! A complete natural that learned Aura tricks faster than a full-fledged huntsman!
According to Miss Goodwitch, it was because Jaune had practiced meditation for his entire life, in order to hold back his semblance. Now that his semblance was no longer so chaotic, he could focus the control that he had tuned for years, on actual, useful techniques.
Jaune didn't care much for the reason. He was just glad that he had discovered something he was actually good at – it was a first for him, the useless, untalented Jaune. But no more! Now he finally had something to be proud of.
After finding out that Jaune possessed such a talent, Miss Goodwitch had naturally tried the next most obvious thing.
Dust wielding!
However, Dust was still far from Jaune's current realm of ability. Because, curiously, he could not avoid depleting the dust crystals he tried to use. No matter what, the Dust crystals were always losing their energy and turned transparent under his touch.
It was just like his ability to be immune against people's semblances: it was just too hard to control for now. So he couldn't switch it off.
This resulted in an extremely expensive training, as he wasted a lot of Dust crystals, without any improvement on his part. So they quickly abandoned this training, and it was decided that Jaune would not try learning to wield Dust until he was much, much better at controlling his Aura. Perhaps in the future, in a year or two, he would try again.
Though time passed, and all went well, Jaune sometimes wondered if his improvement wasn't too sudden. No matter how one might explain this, it seemed very weird and unnatural for his Aura to be so tamed, after so many years of wild, random spikes. Learning about Summer's death, ironically, had played an important part in this sudden improvement, but Jaune couldn't help but feel like he was missing something crucial.
Still, though, Jaune didn't think too much on it, since he was very happy with the results, but it still lingered in the back of his mind.
Recently, however, a more pressing thought had surfaced in his mind: the fact that during these two weeks, Jaune had stayed stuck isolated from his classmates.
Miss Goodwitch, the staff, and some other teachers like doctor Oobleck, professor Port, Miss Peach, Mr. Mulberry, or professor Greene. Those made up all the people he was allowed to see, and Jaune actively talked to a couple of them only, that was it. Of course, his team continued to visit him in secret, but still, Jaune was getting impatient!
Every other day, he was hearing from his teammates about what they were doing and what they were going to do, and every time, Jaune felt… left out of the group. He was thinking that the distance between them might start growing as time passed.
So, of course, he was getting sick of it! To the point that it was starting to affect his training.
"I'm getting mad…" Jaune groaned angrily.
Crack!
Frustrated, Jaune violently exploded the candle in his hands.
"I'm sick of this!" He snapped, his patience reaching its limits. "There is no reason for me to stay isolated anymore! I want to be free!"
"Oh my." A voice chuckled. "Are we interrupting something?"
Jaune looked up. "No, Coco." He flushed, "You're not interrupting anything. What's there to interrupt?" He asked, "Me playing with a candle?"
"Oooouuh, the rookie is getting mad." She chuckled as she walked up to him, along with one of her teammates. "You're so full of energy compared to before! I have to say, I like this version of you better!"
"You're full of energy," Jaune returned the compliment, as she seemed just as energetic.
"Patience is a virtue, Jaune." Yatsuhashi advised wisely next to her.
"You're right…" Jaune nodded reluctantly.
This guy… Just hearing his voice helped Jaune calm down. He was kinda like Ren, but with a deeper, serene voice.
Jaune looked back at Coco who was humming a tune happily under her breath. "...Er… You sure seem to have fun today, Coco." He commented, causing her to giggle.
"Why, yes. Not everyone can be gloomy twenty-four seven like you!"
"H-hey! I've been getting better." Jaune protested. "I think…"
"You have?" She raised an eyebrow at him, and turned to her teammate, "Yatsu, has he been getting better?"
"I suppose he is very different from when we first met," Yatsu grunted, causing Jaune to smile.
"See, see?" He nodded to Coco, who simply hummed, a grin remaining on her face. "So what's the big deal?" Jaune asked curiously. "Did something good happen for you to smile like that?"
"Huhuhu…" Coco laughed again. What was it that made her so happy? "You see…"
"She's unlocked her semblance," Yatsu revealed.
"Hey!" Coco protested, glaring at her teammate.
"That's… great." Jaune commented. "What is it?"
"It's hype!" She replied.
"Um, okay… but what is it?"
"It's hype!" Coco repeated, "As in, I literally named it hype!"
"It's... hype?" Jaune blinked.
"She can enhance dust," Yatsu explained in her place.
"Hey!" Coco exclaimed, slapping his shoulder. The man didn't flinch. "Why are you spoiling the surprise!"
"What's that good for?" Jaune asked Yatsu.
"Nothing." He shrugged, with a smile on the corner of his mouth.
"…If giving every bullet in Gianduja enough power to cut a deathstalker in two is nothing, then yeah, it's nothing." Coco groaned, upset.
"Gian-what?" Jaune blinked.
"My Gatling gun." Coco specified.
"I can do that, too," Yatsu replied. "With Fulcrum."
"With what?" Jaune blinked.
"With Fulcrum, my sword," Yatsu grunted, tapping the handle of the sword resting on his back.
"Yes, yes. But you're just not as cool, my poor Yatsu." Coco replied. "Big swords are overrated. It's not even a gun."
"Um, I dunno, cutting a deathstalker in two doesn't seem that hard." Jaune shrugged, thinking of how easily he would be able to do it.
Though Jaune did lose in raw power, killing a deathstalker should still be very easy, much like killing a Beowolf.
"But can you do it with bullets?" Coco asked.
"…No," Jaune admitted.
Though he was currently working on being able to break things from a distance without touching the target, he was stuck at a range of twenty to thirty centimeters max, and the power was greatly diminished as the distance increased.
"Thought so! I can do it at a distance, unlike you two." Coco smirked and crossed her arms. "Plus, enhancing dust will prove useful to fuel Anisedora."
"Anise-what?" Jaune blinked.
"Velvet's weapon." Coco explained, "It uses hard-light dust, and it's very expensive, so being able to enhance it will be convenient for her."
"Oh man, all these names sound so cool." Jaune sighed dreamily, longing for a cool weapon with a cool name. "I want a weapon, too… and then I can give it an awesome name!"
Yatsu hummed, before suggesting: "You might not have a weapon yet, but you can always name your semblance instead. It does not have a name yet, correct?"
Jaune widened his eyes at him. "No, it doesn't. Great idea!" He grinned, "I'll name it… uh…"
" 'Crush' ?" Yatsu suggested.
"No…"
" 'Chaos' !" Coco said.
"Er… That would have been fitting before, but now my semblance is all in order," Jaune replied, scratching his head.
" 'Blast'." Coco tried again.
" 'Rift'." Yatsu said.
"That's better," Jaune nodded to Yatsu.
"Oh? Then, how about… 'Fracture'?" Coco suggested.
"Fracture…" Jaune repeated, the word stirring something inside him.
Fracture.
Fracture…
Fracture…
"Fracture…?" A man repeated, narrowing his eyes.
"Fracture." A child nodded, staring at his hands in fascination. "The ability to break things unconditionally, such is the nature of this power. It is unstoppable."
The man scowled in disgust. "You are-"
"What do you think?" Coco's voice snapped Jaune back to reality.
"Huh?" Jaune blinked in confusion, his head hurting.
What was that?
"The name. 'Fracture'." Coco insisted, snapping her fingers in front of his face. "Yay or nay?"
"Fracture…" Jaune mused, "Yes, this has to be it." He nodded.
Fracture. Though simple, the word resonated strongly in his mind. Jaune had probably forgotten he had used such a name in the past to describe his semblance.
It had to be the one.
"Better than 'hype'," Yatsu commented.
"Oh yeah? What's the name of your semblance, huh?" Coco challenged him.
"…" Yatsu was silent for a moment. "It's simple and self-explanatory:" He groaned, "'Memory Wipe' ."
"Lame," Coco commented. "Should have called it 'void maker' or 'mind rot' or something like that."
"You can wipe memories?" Jaune gaped at Yatsuhashi.
"Indeed." Yatsu nodded, "I unlocked it at eight years old when I accidentally made my father forget that he had already given me my allowance."
This made Coco and Jaune shut up immediately.
"Whenever I tried to tell someone about my semblance, they would forget." Yatsuhashi continued, "So it was a secret for some time. I trained with this semblance, and learned a lot."
He paused.
"Hey, Yatsu…" Coco hesitated, "You don't have to-"
"No." He cut her and shook his head. "I think Jaune can use my experience." He declared, staring at Jaune, who didn't shift.
Jaune knew how hard it was to talk about such things, so he was respectfully waiting to hear the rest without interrupting Yatsuhashi.
"One day, I got jealous of my newborn sister," Yatsu continued, looking up at the sky, "That day, I also happened to not want to do my chores. So I made my mother forget about the chores. But she ended up forgetting she had a second child…"
"…"
"…"
A stunned silence followed, with Jaune knowing all too well how Yatsu felt, and Coco standing at his side in quiet support.
"If I make someone forget a day, it takes a day for them to remember." Yatsuhashi explained, "If I make someone forget a week, it takes them a week… The same time, basically. So eventually, my mother remembered, and I had to tell her and the rest of my family about my semblance…"
"…" Jaune closed his eyes in anticipation, knowing what was coming.
"It frightened them." Yatsu declared, confirming Jaune's thoughts, "My parents and my grandfather were scared of my semblance.
"An invisible rift appeared between me and my family." He continued.
I understand. I know how you feel.
"…Since then, I have trained and mastered it. I only use it for combat to erase a second or two of my opponent's short-term memories, to disorient them." Yatsu finished.
"…Why are you telling me this?" Jaune asked.
"Because I like you." The man answered.
"Wh-wha?" Jaune widened his eyes. "E-er, don't get me wrong, I-I have nothing against the lgbtq community! B-but I'm heterosexual for the time being, s-so…!" Jaune babbled in embarrassment.
Coco slapped his shoulder. "He's straight too, so calm down." She paused for a moment, before realizing, "…And wait, what the hell do you mean, 'for the time being'?"
"E-er…" He hesitated, only for Yatsuhashi to save Jaune from explaining himself.
"When I heard about what happened to you, I empathized with you, Jaune." The man explained, ignoring Jaune's stutters. "I too was seen as a danger because of my semblance. I too experienced isolation from it. I understand how frustrating it can be. And sometimes, it may be necessary to find the strength to break free by yourself." He acknowledged, "However, just know this: if you stop causing accidents with your semblance for a long time, as I did, people will eventually warm up to you. And start trusting you."
"…" Jaune frowned as he listened silently.
"I have managed to regain my family's trust. I am sure the headmaster will come to trust you eventually, too. Give it some time, and continue to work hard." Yatsu declared firmly. "You have my support, Jaune."
"Thanks…For sharing that story." Jaune nodded to the man. "You're right, I went through the same thing as you, several times." Jaune admitted, "But I have already found people trusting me… My team! That's I why I want to go back to them. You know?"
"A fair assessment." Yatsuhashi nodded solemnly.
"And, uh... You have my support, too, Yatsu." Jaune added awkwardly. "So, if you need me for something from me... just ask."
"It is much appreciated," Yatsu simply replied.
The two of them looked at each other with newfound respect.
"Ooouh~ Is that the beginning of one of those so-called 'bromance'?" Coco asked with a teasing grin.
"…You sure are lively today," Jaune sighed.
"Coco just unlocked her semblance, so she's feeling high-spirited." Yatsu nodded, "We must be patient with her."
"You're not denying it~!" Coco giggled and blushed as she looked at the two of them.
"…What are you thinking about right now?" Jaune asked, narrowing his eyes.
"It's Coco. She's probably having perverted thoughts." Yatsu stated.
"Oh? What do you mean by that?" Coco stepped forward.
"You know very well what I mean," Yatsu replied, unimpressed. "Just the other day you were sighing about how you miss 'the cute Miss Goodwitch'."
"Ew, Miss Goodwitch?" Jaune scrunched up his nose at the idea, suddenly losing a lot of respect for Coco.
"Isn't she though?" Coco replied defensively. "With the glasses and the way she gets upset so easily..."
"She's...! She's too old for you!" Jaune protested, disgusted at the idea.
"It's useless, Jaune." Yatsuhashi sighed, "Coco is well known in the school for flirting with literally everyone."
"Not everyone, who do you think I am!" She protested, crossing her arms. "Just a few select ones. The really pretty ones. Or the ones that have funny reactions and get easily embarrassed." Coco shrugged. "And it's all in good fun."
"E-er, but... Isn't everyone pretty in this school?" Jaune asked.
"Oh my..." Coco chuckled into her mouth as she looked at him. "You think everyone is pretty here? You must be pretty horny...!"
"N-no, um, I mean..." Jaune flushed, "In this school, I haven't seen a single girl that isn't beautiful..."
"Oh my~" Coco lowered her sunglasses, "So you think I'm beautiful?"
"Er... Um... J-just like everyone else." Jaune specified, trying to de-escalate the situation.
"Like everyone else?" Coco pouted, disappointed, "Come on, look at my outfit," She waved to herself, "You can't tell me I'm not the symbol of coolness and elegance."
"I have no fashion sense." Jaune replied, shrugging.
"Blasphemy. Everyone has a fashion sense, you just don't know it yet." She slapped his shoulder once again, "We'll have to educate you on that later. Your current style is really too pitiful. Right, Yatsu?"
"I don't see the issue," Yatsu replied. "It's a breath of fresh air compared to you."
"But we can't leave this poor little rookie wearing the same hoodie all year..." Coco mused, observing Jaune's clothes, preoccupied. "You need new clothes!"
"Not like it matters. I'm stuck here, remember?" Jaune reminded her.
"Damn. You're right." Coco sighed, having apparently forgotten that fact. "Are you sure you can't do anything about it?"
"What do you mean?" Jaune frowned.
"Well, have you tried simply asking the headmaster for your release, for example?" Coco suggested.
Jaune caressed his chin. "Er… You think I can go request my release myself... instead of just waiting for it to happen?"
"Probably, yeah." Coco nodded. "Why not? It doesn't hurt to try!"
"I doubt it would be that simple." Yatsu frowned. "At the very least, it would take a lot of convincing. If you're going to do this, Jaune, you will need to choose your words very wisely."
"Right…" Jaune nodded pensively. "Choose my words wisely…"
What could Jaune do to prepare for something like requesting his release?
Jaune hummed pensively, not really having any good ideas.
"Maybe I could ask Weiss…?" Jaune mused.
The heiress of the SDC had to know a couple of things about such matters. After all, Weiss had received a formation to business and negotiation, which was why she had been upset that Ruby had been chosen as a leader and not Weiss, who had received private lessons. So she would probably know what to say and how to handle the situation.
"She does seem experienced in the matter," Coco nodded approvingly. "Not to mention her reputation."
"Huh?" Jaune tilted his head to the side, "Her reputation?"
"You know. The fact that she came to Beacon instead of Atlas, for example. Have you tried listening to one of her songs?" Coco asked, "Her remixes are fire."
"Er… Is that so?" Jaune tilted his head to the side, unsure.
"That is so," Coco confirmed, and grabbed his scroll. "You can just ask her."
"All right…" Jaune nodded, unsure.
"What do you listen to, anyway?" Coco asked as she was downloading one of Weiss' songs on his device.
Nothing.
"Er… I'm not really into music…" Jaune looked away, uncomfortable. "My scrolls never lasted long anyway."
It was simple reasoning. Music stirs up emotions within the soul. Happiness, rage, adrenaline, or the urge to start dancing. All of those had been dangerous in the past, because of his wild semblance. Music led to emotions, and intense emotions led to instability, which led to breaking things on accident.
Now, that was no longer the case, though, so he could probably start trying to listen to some songs.
"That's a shame," Yatsu remarked. "Music is a moral law. It warms the hearts of men. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life… and to everything."
"Er…" Jaune hesitated, not sure how to reply to that. "S-sure!"
It was hard to keep up with Yatsuhashi sometimes.
"Deep, Yatsu, very deep," Coco commented as she gave his scroll back to Jaune along with some earphones. "I'll lend this to you for now." She stepped back, "Now, we can't stay too long, so… Good luck with your release, rookie. I'll be back for my earphones."
"Good luck, Jaune," Yatsu nodded along.
"Bye Yatsu! Bye, Coco!" Jaune smiled as he waved at them.
…
Jaune put on the earphones and played the song as he watched Coco and Yatsuhashi walk away.
…
…
Mirror, mirror, can you tell me, who's the loneliest of all?
…
He listened to the lyrics. So that was what Coco had meant?
Yatsuhashi first, now Weiss.
Jaune was not the only one to go through these hardships. Far from it. People around him had esperienced similar ordeals.
Complaining so much, he might have actually come across as a whiny little kid.
Yeah...I need to stop complaining and keep moving forward.
Later.
"Miss Goodwitch is late today…" Jaune hummed to himself.
He had finished his lunch and had listened to Weiss' song on loop for thirty minutes.
And he loved it. In fact, one might say that he was slowly becoming a fan!
Ah, Yatsuhashi was right, it was really true that music could touch the soul. Jaune didn't know why, but the sense of sadness and sorrow he had gotten from her voice was making him empathize with her.
Now he wanted to listen to her other songs too!
"Mirror, mirror, what's behind you~" Jaune hummed to himself. The song was stuck in his head now.
"Jaune Arc?" A voice called.
"Hm?" Jaune blinked and looked up from his seat.
A blonde man with blue eyes was standing in front of him, sipping a drink. He was wearing brown cargo pants, black shoes, and a brown leather vest over a tan dress shirt.
"Um, that's me, yes…" Jaune answered, putting his scroll and earphones away and pausing the music.
"Hmm…" The man leaned forward, looking him up and down as he caressed his chin. "You're skinnier than I thought."
Jaune perked up, "Ah, you know me, sir?"
"Only by reputation." The teacher nodded, "I'm the new professor that is replacing Miss Goodwitch for her combat classes."
"Oh! Nice to meet you, professor…" Jaune drawled on, expecting the teacher to give him his last name.
He did not.
"It is my pleasure!"
Instead, the man simply sat down next to him. "So, Jaune. I heard you got isolated from your classmates." He smiled at him, "Not too hard for you?"
"N-no, not all…"Jaune shook his head, wondering what this teacher wanted, "I understood the necessity of it… at the time."
"That's good." He nodded approvingly, "Still, it must be lonely for you. You don't miss your teammates too much?"
Not really, since I see them every other day. Jaune thought. He couldn't exactly reveal that though.
"Yeah, I miss them… I want to go back to class as soon as possible." Jaune admitted, "I don't want to let down my partner, who must be getting lonely. Everyone has their own partner to rely on, except her, so it must be hard for her… I hope she's okay."
"Hmm…"
The professor hummed and took a sip of his drink.
"Yes… Your... partner... Ruby Rose." He said, looking away at the sky. "I've… heard about her."
"Ah, yes." Jaune smiled, "She is our team's trusted leader."
"…And yet, she's only fifteen years old…" The teacher remarked. "Honestly, I don't make the decisions here at Beacon, but… I've noticed that she seems rather ill-suited for the role." He sighed in disapproval, "She seems like she's trying hard, but one of her teammates got isolated in such a way… Yet she's carrying on without a care in the world? I don't buy it at all. It just looks like she's desperately trying to hide her weaknesses."
…What was this ignorant man saying about Ruby? Was he badmouthing her?
Jaune was starting to dislike this teacher.
"…I won't let you say that." He groaned.
"…Oh?" The teacher raised an eyebrow at him.
"Ruby is an admirable student, a fifteen-year-old genius befitting of the title of leader," Jaune stated coldly. "With all due respect, professor, your criticism is completely baseless."
"…Admirable?" The teacher boringly looked to the side and took another sip of his drink. "She's still an immature little girl… I can see how it might seem that way from an outsider's perspective, though."
"An outsider? I am no outsider! I am her partner." Jaune replied vehemently. "She's always helping me. We've been training together, before I got isolated. She has solved many problems within our team… I know her much better than you do!"
"Ooh…?" He stared at Jaune with an amused grin. He caressed his chin again, seemingly very amused. "Hmm… Hohoo…" He chuckled, narrowing his eyes, "I see how it is now… Well then, it seems I've been a bit rude."
"…?" Jaune stared at the man, confused, wondering what he was thinking.
The teacher gave him a knowing smile, "…In that case, Mr. Arc. Could you tell me yourself, what kind of person Ruby Rose is?"
"Huh…?" Jaune blinked.
The teacher leaned back, resting his arms on the back of the bench. "If you manage to convince me, I will retract my earlier statement, and admit that Ruby Rose does indeed deserve to be where she is."
"…" Jaune looked down, thinking of how best to describe Ruby. This was one of a teacher of Beacon, it was best for Ruby if that teacher had a good opinion of her.
"…Okay then." Jaune took a deep breath, preparing himself.
He started with the obvious. "Ruby is the best at exterminating Grimm."
"That's probably all she's got going for her." The teacher replied.
"She was made leader by Ozpin himself," Jaune added.
"There were only four candidates per team." He rolled his eyes, "The sample is too small, it doesn't say much."
"U-um… She has beautiful silver eyes."
"Her parents must have good genes." He shrugged. "It's not like her silver eyes are something that she earned for herself."
What a weird way to phrase it… Jaune frowned.
"She's… Er… She can build awesome weapons!"
"Yet she's useless without her scythe." The teacher pointed out, "She cannot fight with her own hands. In combat class, she always loses, and never manages to damage her opponent's Aura by a single percent. Never."
Jaune protested, "But she's always eager to learn-"
"Wrong." The teacher instantly cut him, "She could learn hand-to-hand combat to improve herself, yet she refuses to do so, consistently ever since she was young."
"H-how would you know that?"
"I am a teacher at Signal, the school that Miss Rose attended before coming to Beacon." The teacher said, "Should I also mention her average grades?"
"Aaargh!" Jaune groaned frustratingly, "I don't care! The point is! Ruby is a wonderful person! Why don't you get that?" He glared at the teacher, frustrated.
"Hahahah… I like this guy's reaction." The teacher laughed, as if talking to himself.
He took another sip of his drink as Jaune slowly calmed down.
"Even I know that much about her… That won't be enough to convince me. That was all common knowledge." The teacher stated and looked back at Jaune, "Instead… I want to hear the perspective of someone close to her. Why don't you tell me what kind of person she is, to you?"
"What kind of person… she is to me…?" Jaune repeated.
"…Yes."
"…"
"…"
There was a short silence before Jaune eventually spoke up.
"Ruby was my first friend. I didn't believe it at first, because I assumed that… I would be a burden. I used to think that I could have no friends because of my semblance."
"…" The teacher stayed quiet, listening to him. Just like Jaune did with Yatsuhashi.
"But she didn't mind, she accepted me and the bundle of problems that came with me. Now, at the time, I would have accepted anyone as a friend, even someone with a rotten personality. So I expected her to reveal something bad about herself, some kind of… flaw in her character. Some kind of ulterior motive, maybe. Because only a person like that would want to be my friend."
"I was waiting for the act to drop when I injured Cardin's body." Jaune mused, "That's what I was thinking…"
He paused and looked up at the sky.
"I waited a long time… But you know, professor, no matter how long I looked, I could not find a single bad thing about her. So eventually, I had to accept that someone like her genuinely wanted to become my friend. And then, I started to notice, that the other people that I thought were putting up a facade, actually wanted to be my friend, too.
"It was a huge wake-up call.
"I grew ready to accept more and more unexpected friends, even from higher years and other teams, and now I believe it is no longer out of reach for me to… to go out… and…" Jaune waved his hand,"…and make friends with some random person that I would randomly meet on the street, on my own volition.
"Not only that…" Jaune continued, "Even though she seems so cheery, Ruby is actually having it tough. She has her own personal struggles too. Some of her struggles are similar to mine… We share the same grief, for example. Yet, despite that, she always smiles and is always cheerful. I think that is an immense strength. My perspective was changed because of her."
"So I'm grateful to her, and I would like to give my thanks to the parents that raised her…" He finished, thinking of Summer Rose.
"Ooooh~?" The teacher smiled with all his teeth, like a Beowolf who had just devoured a particularly tasty human.
"A-ah, sorry…" Jaune apologized, realizing he might have said a little too much, "Th-that was a bit of a boring story, wasn't it."
"Not at all, it was very interesting~" The teacher replied with a wide grin.
"E-even I'm surprised…" Jaune blushed embarrassingly, "I would have never opened up like this in the past, you know."
"Well, you volunteered that information all on your own." The teacher chuckled and leaned back in satisfaction, "Looks like she has affected you more than you think. You are becoming less and less timid."
"Y-yeah…" Jaune nodded hesitantly.
I wonder about that…
"Hmm. Well, anyway." The teacher looked back up to the sky. "I see now that Miss Rose is quite beloved." he finally admitted.
"She is!" Jaune grinned enthusiastically.
"…Hm, hmm." The teacher continued to nod along with him, "Indeed, allow me to apologize. I should not have spoken so harshly about her." He smiled, "I hereby retract my earlier statements!"
"Hahaha… I'm just glad you understand, professor!" Jaune grinned widely as he scratched his hair, very pleased that he had managed to convince him. Preach Ruby's awesomeness!
"Then… will you let me ask one last question?" The teacher asked, maintaining his gaze to the sky.
"Of course, sir, of course!" Jaune smiled pleasantly, now completely warmed up to the teacher, "What is it?"
The teacher gave him a sidelong glance, "Would you say that Ruby Rose is… let's say… the object of your affections?"
"…Wh-wha-?!" Jaune gasped, blushing. "Wh-why would you ask a student such a question?!"
"Hmm… I just… I just really need to know..." The teacher insisted, leaning forward, "If you had to choose, would you say you like her or hate her?" He was almost towering over him now, "Do you think you'd want to date her eventually?"
"…E-enough already…!" Jaune shook his head, and turned away from him to hide his discomfort. "T-to begin with, there's no way I would say something so embarrassing…!"
The teacher leaned back and smirked victoriously. "Don't you think that response itself reveals how you feel?"
"Wh-what-what is WRONG with you?!"
Shouting like that, Jaune jumped on his feet and took his distances, blushing and walking away rapidly as the man behind him was letting out a loud laugh.
Jaune shook his head in embarrassment as he stopped after gaining some distance and leaned back against a wall, out of sight.
…What is wrong with me, actually? Why did I start blurting out so much about myself?
I wonder why… I feel less wary when I'm talking to this teacher somehow, he has that familiar feel about him. So I ended up saying some weird things.
Yeah… for some reason, he has a trustworthy air about him, that made me trust him. Just like Ruby.
Not to mention, that blonde hair and those blue eyes looked just like Jaune… He could have easily mistaken him for his biological father if he had announced himself as such.
Hm?
Jaune paused in his thoughts.
Wait, but that teacher. He never did give me his name…?
Eh? He has blonde hair and blue eyes, just like me... Could it be that… this man is actually…?
He widened his eyes, his heart skipping a beat.
Impossible! But...That would explain why he is so interested in me…
There's no other explanation…! It makes sense!
…No way! He is my... father?
Jaune started deluding himself with such thoughts! Sadly, having no decent father figure for his entire life, the boy was naturally starving for familial love...
Scenes of common family routine were already popping in his head, like going out to enjoy a movie, sharing a meal…
'Ohoho, sorry I wasn't there for you, Jaune, I was held back because of really important reason… Will you accept me back into your life…my son?'
My Son?
My Son. My Son. My Son.
The word echoed in Jaune's head, making him drool at the mere idea. That word sounded so good! If that stuff really happened, he would die of happiness!
And then… And then!
'Ohoho, I forgot to mention, but you have seven sisters… all blondes!'
'S-seven?!'
'…There they are! I'm sure you'll get on!'
'Nice to meet you, little brother!'
'Aaaah, I always dreamed of having a big bro!'
Jaune watched the sky as he was imagining all kind of unlikely scenarios to happen. Holy crap, this would be so great!
However, he quickly shook his head and clapped his cheeks.
Get composed, Jaune.
That teacher really did manage to get under his skin. But let's be real, now, there was no way that this dreamlike scenario could happen.
Especially seven sisters. Seven! Who even had so many siblings? That was just way too many! Simply having one sibling or two sounded way better, didn't it?
...
"Come on… Let me see him!"
Jaune suddenly heard Ruby's voice out of nowhere, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"You do know you're not supposed to be here, right?" The teacher's voice replied.
"…?"
Jaune quickly walked back to the teacher, wondering what was going on.
"Oh, come on!" Ruby's voice replied, "There is no danger to be around him anymore! So it's fine!"
Ruby had appeared out of nowhere and was now bothering the teacher.
"Pleeeaaaaase~…"
"Okay, okay." The teacher was laughing as Ruby was giving him puppy eyes. "I'll make an exception for today. I think it's about time he sees his friends, the poor kid. As for future visits, I'll talk to Glynda and Ozpin about it. How about that?"
"Yay~!" Ruby cheered happily.
Huh? Why did these two seem so close?
Jaune walked over to them, feeling more and more uncomfortable as he watched them. It was like watching a father and his... No, surely not...
"R-ruby…" Jaune called hesitantly, "D-do you personally know this teacher?"
"A-ah! Jaune!" Ruby gasped, and quickly stepped away from the teacher. "Er…Um… He's my father."
"I'm Papa Xiao-Long, nice to meet you~" The blonde man waved at him.
"Eh?" Jaune widened his eyes. "P-papa… Papa Xiao-Long?"
This guy was… Ruby and Yang's…? Dad? And Summer's husband?
And the conversation they just had… Oh no.
Jaune started trembling as he remembered their talk, his cheeks turning red, while Ruby also groaned in embarrassment.
"Ohoho!" Mr. Xiao Long grinned widely. "Earlier, you said you wanted to give your thanks to Ruby's parents, right?" He continued and walked over to him, smirking.
"U-um?" Ruby blinked, staring at the two apprehensively.
"Well, there I am." Her dad raised his arms, as if offering himself to Jaune. "Whenever you're ready, son!"
Son… Jaune flushed at the word, a warm feeling spreading in his chest. How could a single word be so powerful?
"W-wait…" He articulated slowly, "Y-you mean to tell me, that this whole time… y-you were just... teasing me?"
"Of course!" The man grinned.
Jaune gaped at him.
…A troll! Ruby's dad was a giant troll!
"Ahaha…" Jaune turned away, humiliated that he had revealed so much about himself to such a man. He glanced at his partner. "R-ruby… what a wonderful, playful dad you have…" He praised with a dead voice.
"Y-yeah..." Ruby nodded awkwardly.
…
Meanwhile, in Ruby's head…
Damn you, old geezer! What did you do to Jaune?! She thought in panic, wondering what kind of unnecessary things her dad had told her partner.
All the while Jaune was in a daze, without any idea of what to do in this kind of situation.
As for Taiyang Xiao-Long, he just finished his drink and sighed in satisfaction, fully enjoying his position as a teacher of Beacon.
With Taiyang.
"Aaaah, life is good." He nodded to himself and turned to the two blushing teens.
So… this is the kid Summer was visiting, huh.
Summer had mentioned Jaune to him a few times in the past, of course.
He seemed to have turned out okay. It seemed like he had grown into a kind boy, despite Summer's death.
Given his background, it was a miracle that he has turned out like this. That was good… Yeah… Summer would be glad.
And judging by the little story he had just told him... It would be interesting if this guy meets Qrow.
"Well then, Ruby, since you're here," Taiyang smiled at his daughter, "You might as well help out."
"Help out?" She tilted her head to the side.
"Glynda has tasked me with teaching this kid," He poked said teen on his forehead, which made him snap back to reality. "The basics of hand to hand combat."
"Oh," Jaune blinked.
"And you, my dear daughter," He poked Ruby's forehead, "Are going to help."
"What! Uuuugh, nooo, not hand-to-hand combat…" She crossed her arms, scrunching up her nose in annoyance. "I don't want to… It's laaaame."
…As expected of Ruby. As stubborn as ever, that girl just refused to learn the basics.
Oh, well. Taiyang sighed to himself. Some things never change. At least I tried.
"...So you're leaving already, Ruby?" Jaune asked her.
"A-ah," Ruby winced under his gaze, "Um…"
"I thought it would have been fun to learn the basics and train together…" Jaune sighed in disappointment.
"…Er…" Ruby's shoulders sagged.
"It would have been a nice change," Jaune mumbled quietly.
"Gaaaah! Fine, fine," Ruby waved her arms, "I'm staying!"
"Really?" Jaune's face illuminated. "Great!"
Taiyang gaped at their interaction.
Holy crap. This kid easily succeeded where Yang and I have failed for years, and all he had to do was acting disappointed for two seconds?
"Y-yeah…" Ruby nodded reluctantly. "I guess I can help."
"Ah, you don't have to force yourself." Jaune shook his head, "It's fine if you don't like it."
"Nah, don't worry about it! I guess I had to learn this sooner or later." Ruby nodded awkwardly as if she had actually ever considered the idea in the past. "I was thinking it was about time to do this anyway…! Since I lost Crescent Rose! Hahaha!" She laughed nervously.
"…What are you talking about?" Taiyang asked his daughter, deadpan. "You've always hated this… No way you've ever considered doing this, ever."
"…Shut up, dad." Ruby hissed at him quietly away from Jaune.
"…Okay then." He raised his hands, amused.
Scary…
Later.
"All right. First, I'll assess your current level." Taiyang declared, "You'll have a spar against each other. No semblances allowed."
"Yes, sir!" Jaune nodded enthusiastically, while Ruby barely held back a resigned sigh.
He seems awfully happy for such a simple lesson… Taiyang noted as he watched the kid try to invent a semblance of a fighting stance. His form was terrible and full of openings, of course.
"Whenever you're ready," Taiyang waved at them, checking his scroll.
Ruby Rose: 100%
Jaune Arc 98.47%
He probably lost some of his Aura during his training. Taiyang mused.
"…"
"…"
"…" Taiyang looked up at the two. "What are you waiting for? Fight!"
The two of them were standing there, facing each other awkwardly.
"R-right…!" Ruby nodded.
She was the first to attack.
"Aaataaa!" She shouted as she jumped towards Jaune and threw her fist forward.
As he was too slow to react, it solidly impacted his face, and Jaune was sent flying and slid on the ground for several meters.
"A-aouch…!" Jaune winced.
"I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Ruby asked worriedly and ran over to him.
At that moment, Jaune straightened up and welcomed her with a punch in her stomach.
"Oof!"
But Ruby had the reflex to jump back to cushion the impact of his blow.
"Ah! I'm sorry!" Jaune widened his eyes in worry. "Are you okay?"
"Aaaataaa!" Ruby shouted as she kicked him in the face, sending him flying once again. "E-er… Sorry!" She added afterward.
"…"
Taiyang's eye twitched as he watched them… exchange courtesies for a while.
This is such an awkward fight...
Slowly, they both started to get used to fighting with punches and kicks, and the spar turned into a full-blown fight.
"…"
Jaune was getting beat up pretty badly.
Even though Ruby was by far the worst student of the class at hand-to-hand combat, she was still beating Jaune in strength and speed.
As the spar continued, it became increasingly clear to Taiyang that Jaune had absolutely no talent in hand to hand combat. The punches or kicks he tried to throw around were extremely easy for Ruby to dodge or block, and made him lose his balance. He even fell on the ground multiple times without Ruby touching him. His sense of balance was all wrong… but that in itself could be easily corrected.
However, it wasn't just hand-to-hand combat. This boy was just not meant to be a fighter, ever. Even when it looked like he would land a good punch, he was flinching back, as if afraid to hurt Ruby. This would weaken the impact of his blows so much that Ruby was hardly losing any Aura.
Of course, Taiyang knew that this was most likely due to the remnants of the trauma the kid had suffered from his destructive semblance through his life. He was still too scared of breaking people's bones. It was probably going to take some time before Jaune would be able to punch people without any fear of sending his opponent to the hospital.
As the two continued to fight, what was happening was pretty clear.
A one-sided beat up. Ruby even started to slow down and hold back, worrying for Jaune's health.
And yet… After a good thirty minutes of him getting beaten up, they were still fighting.
Hm? That's weird. Taiyang frowned. Should he not have been defeated already...?
The professor glanced at the screen of his scroll.
Jaune Arc: 88.32%
"…" Taiyang stared at the screen of his scroll, stunned.
What in the world… He lost only 10% of his Aura? That's it?!
A gargantuan reserve of Aura! As expected of the boy who had exploded a giant crater in the middle of the Emerald Forest. Such power required large amounts of energy.
… Still, though, the fight kept going, and after an hour passed…
"Jaune!" Ruby gasped and dashed towards him as he wasn't moving anymore. "Oh no…"
"Eh? What's with him?" Taiyang blinked confusedly.
"It's probably his anemia…" Ruby explained, checking his pulse. His skin was terrifyingly white. "He pushed himself too hard…! I knew this was a bad idea."
He… fainted? Oh boy… Taiyang sighed in his mind. This dude is gonna need a lot of work if he really wants to become a fighter.
He glanced at his scroll again.
Jaune Arc: 81.33%
Ruby Rose: 99.12%
His Aura had tanked so many blows… compared to Ruby who had only received a couple of hits, Jaune had gotten punched and kicked hundreds of times.
Basically, he made for a perfect punching bag.
If he can improve his stamina and his dexterity, he will become insanely strong. Taiyang mused, He doesn't even need to train his strength since his semblance already deals more damage than his fists, or any weapon, ever will.
"Well, let's lie him on the bench, and let him rest for a while." Taiyang decided, grabbing his body and lifting him up. "Look carefully, Ruby. This is how you handle someone who fainted. With this boy on your team, I'm sure it'll be helpful to you. You're a team leader, so take responsibility and listen!"
"Yes!" Ruby nodded seriously, watching him.
"You want to put him into the 'recovery position'." Taiyang began as he lied the boy's body on the bench. "Bend the knees, and just kind of roll him over. On his side." He explained as he did it himself. "That way if he has any fluids or if he's vomiting, everything can roll out of his mouth and he won't choke on it."
"Okay…" Ruby nodded, observing his movements attentively.
"If you have access to any kind of cold compresses, or ice, or cool clothes, you want to use them," Taiyang continued. "Put it on his forehead and behind his neck. When he wakes up, keep him down for a little bit, and then slowly get him up. You do it little by little, there's no race, okay? You just slowly help him up."
"Yes." Ruby continued to nod.
"And then you have him sit for a while until he's feeling better. If he starts to faint again, you just roll him right back, nice and easy."
"All right."
"Now if he continues to faint, something weird is going on, so you want to call for help. But oftentimes, whatever is going on will resolve itself after you have the person down and they've recovered. Anemia is like that. If they don't recover…"
"If they don't recover, I have to perform CPR?" Ruby asked.
"…"
"…"
Taiyang turned to stare at his daughter, whose cheeks had turned slightly pink.
"…No, you get your scroll and call for help first." He answered after a lengthy pause, "CPR is necessary only if they stop breathing. Understood? No CPR."
"R-right…!" Ruby flushed. "Of course."
"…I'm gonna get some ice. You two stay here in the shade. I'll be right back."
"Okay!" She nodded.
Taiyang sighed to himself as he walked away.
Right. She's at that age, now, huh…
...
Maybe it's best if Jaune stays isolated after all...
With Yang.
Yang bit her lip nervously as she was watching Ruby giving Jaune a lap pillow on a bench.
It was the first time they had talked in three weeks, yet they seemed so close already. Closer than ever.
Yang had thought that Jaune getting isolated from their class would be enough to keep Ruby safe from another big explosion, but now… their own dad was allowing Ruby to see him? Wasn't that a breach of the rules?
"Yang," Her father's voice sighed behind her, making her freeze momentarily. "Should you not be in the infirmary?"
Yang glanced down at her arm encased in plaster. "I couldn't stay with Cardin." She said, "And my arm should heal rapidly now, I can attend lessons once again."
"…That's good, but... what are you doing here?" He asked, "It's not very classy to spy like this on your sister…"
"…I'm worried for her, dad," Yang replied.
"There is nothing to fear." He stated.
"What about his semblance?" Yang pointed out. "I don't have anything against Jaune himself. But… His semblance is making him dangerous. Why should Ruby have to pay the price of being his friend?"
"Hmm…" Dad mused along with her. "People don't need a reason to be someone's friend, Yang. Plus, Jaune seems to have gained control over his semblance, so it should be safe on that front."
"…How could you be so sure about that?" Yang argued. "Ruby… She..."
"…has made her own choice by herself." He replied.
"…" Yang stayed quiet. "Why are you saying this? Are you not worried? You're our dad, you're supposed to... to protect us…"
Yang's voice died in her throat, not finishing her sentence.
"…"
Her father remained silent for a moment, watching Ruby taking care of her partner.
"He reminds me of Qrow, you know." Her father eventually spoke up.
"Uncle Qrow?" Yang blinked. "Him?"
"Yes." He nodded.
Yang looked back at Jaune. "I don't see any resemblance…"
"You wouldn't," Her father nodded, "Since you haven't heard the little story he has told me just before. It was very interesting to hear. But... they went through similar ordeals."
"…"
"Yang…" He hesitated, before declaring, "We've never told you before, but Qrow's semblance is harmful to the people around him."
"Wh-what?" Yang gasped, widening her eyes.
"Qrow spreads bad luck wherever he goes." Her father revealed. "That is his semblance. Misfortune happens to the people around him. Which is why he chooses to somewhat keep his distances with us."
"…!"
Yang's heart sunk in her chest as she pictured Qrow's grinning face waving goodbye at her and Ruby.
So that was why?
"Yang, are you saying that Ruby shouldn't hang around Qrow, either?" Dad asked.
"N-no…!" Yang exclaimed, "Of course not!"
"Of course not." Her father repeated, nodding along. "It's obvious, isn't it."
"…" Yang looked down, suddenly feeling ashamed.
"…"
"…"
"…I'm not saying I don't feel my blood boiling when I see my daughter get so close to him." Her father continued, which made Yang smile, "But… When I see him, I feel like I don't want to make things hard for him… To me, this dude just really needs a break."
"A break…" Yang repeated, chuckling at the irony.
"…I wasn't even trying to make a pun." He sighed.
"It's in our blood, dad. You can't escape it."
"Dammit."
They shared a laugh together, and then quieted down. A moment of silence passed as they looked at Ruby and Jaune.
Jaune had now opened his eyes and was chatting with her, his head still resting on her lap. Ruby seemed relieved as she was talking to him.
He gave her earphones and made her listen to something on his scroll, and they shared a laugh together for some reason.
"..."
Through Yang's eyes, she replaced Jaune's image with uncle Qrow. A young, seventeen years old uncle Qrow resting on mom's lap... on Summer's lap.
Had there been a time when her uncle had been as carefree as this? Was that what her father was referring to?
…Thinking about it, now it made sense why Qrow had been drinking so much.
It made Yang's heart squeeze painfully. She just wanted to hug her uncle as tight as possible when he came back from his mission.
"…"
Yang then imagined Jaune, twenty years older, with a flask of alcohol in his hands and spending most of his time in bars or on missions, away from people, just like Qrow.
That vision... did not seem that unlikely to happen...
However, Yang realized that she did not want such a vision to happen.
Were all cursed people really condemned to turn out like this?
Both Jaune... and uncle Qrow...?
...
Are the two of them going to end up... the same?
...
...
...
...
...
Yang's eyes turned red.
NO!
NO, they are not!
If Jaune can overcome it, then uncle Qrow can, too!
Jaune WILL succeed...! So that he can one day inspire uncle Qrow!
He will give a new meaning to Qrow's life, and prove to him that there is still hope in this world for the cursed people!
...
That day, a fire lit up within Yang's soul, as she finally decided to accept Jaune as Ruby's partner, and even support him and his goals.
A/N: Thanks for reading.
Note: What I wrote about Coco and Yatsuhashi is not original. It's actually canon. It is taken from the official novel 'After The Fall', which talks about what team CVFY is doing in Vacuo after the fall of Beacon. This novel was released quite recently. When I read about Yatsuhashi's backstory, it was a godsend for this fic. I just had to talk about it in this chapter, since it is titled 'Kindred Ordeals'.
Next Chapter: this Sunday
Edit: delayed to Monday or Tuesday because I'm a potato.