Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY series.
Step Three
This would happen, sooner or later.
The hologram displayed her name. Her next opponent in the sparring match was him.
Jaune Arc vs Yang Xiao Long.
It was not that common for their names to appear together on that board. An occasion like this rarely occurred due to the massive number of huntsmen-in-training at Beacon. You don't really expect the system to pick randomly the same pair of names again in a couple of days.
Either way, Yang couldn't stop smiling. Not because of the circumstance, but the many golden opportunities during this match.
It was simple.
Step 1. Make an offer during the match.
Step 2. Be the winner, of course! This isn't difficult at all. Who are you kidding? This is Jaune Arc she's sparring with.
Step 3. Spending quality time with him using the offer.
Step 4. Get to know him better.
Step 5…..oh right! There was no step 5, not yet. Yang didn't even sure if she would be able to reach step 4 at all. Yeah, let's think about that later.
"Alright!"
She stood up and left the audience seats in excitement. Long blonde hair flipped over her shoulder as she cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders, telling her muscles to get ready for the match.
Wait a minute.
She halted her step at the top of the staircase that led to the stage below. Lilacs quickly dashed to the shrinking form of Jaune Arc. He never left his spot, his back lowered and pressed further into the furniture. Nora was saying something to him, and he shook his head violently as if denying the crazy idea she just suggested. Well, telling Vomit Boy to break Yang Xiao Long's leg was already a crazy thing to consider anyway. Bad joke, Nora.
"Jaune!"
He flinched at her call. Yang winked and pointed at their next destination, the sparring stage. Huh? He shook his head again? Now he covered his ears, rejecting words of encouragement from his teammates. What was going on with him today?
"Go Jaune, I know you can do it!" Aww! Her baby sis was cheering for him.
"Good luck." The little flag with JNPR labels waved up and down in Blake's hand. Surely Vomit Boy got enough motivation to break out from whatever that made him acting weird like that.
"Yes, there's nothing to worry. I expect you to last more than five minutes against our teammate."
Err. Hello, Weiss-cream. That was definitely not a way to encourage somebody, you know. But then again, Yang was in the top three best fighters of her peers. Saying Jaune won't last long in a battle with her was probably not that far from the true.
Jaune didn't budge, he literally wanted to stick to the seat. Not a shred of confidence in those sapphires. Maybe Jaune thought to himself that he stood no chance against her. The fact that she was about to wipe the floor with him couldn't be anymore embarrassing.
Yeah. Personally, Yang couldn't find a way to argue with that.
To be honest, she never thought much of his fighting ability. It was average at best. Still, she had zero doubt in his qualities as a friend and leader. He improved everyday thanks to Pyrrha's help. The sparring match today would do the same, to help Jaune get better as a fellow huntsman. And to give Yang chances to forge a more personal bond with him. This had been planned for a while. As he continued to hesitate, Yang made her way to his team. She stopped before him, smiling as lilacs fixed on wavering sapphires.
"Come on, Ms. Goodwitch is waiting." She extended her hand to him. "I'll go easy on you, Vomit Boy. We just need to show her you put up a good fight, no pressure."
"Ok." He replied softly and grabbed her hand. It was a bit shaking.
Those gorgeous sapphires filled with determination as they stepped on the stage. Looking good.
"Uh, Yang?"
"Yeah?"
"You can let go now."
Yang looked down at her hand, which still grabbed onto his. Whoops! His grip was so gentle she kinda forgot.
"Don't worry. I enjoyed it though. Let's do that again sometime." She teased, grinning from ear to ear.
"Sure." Jaune nodded.
Yup!…..w-wait, did he just agree with her?
Jaune went into his position, facing her. Sword and shield ready. The seriousness on his face contradicted to what happened just now.
"Here I come!" Yang bumped her fists together. She took a stance. "You ready?"
"Bring it on."
Aw yeah! She saw burning confidence in his eyes! That boosted up her excitement. Let see what he made of from those training sessions.
"Match begin!" Professor Goodwitch declared.
Yang shortened the distance upon the given signal. The gauntlets had yet to activate. Jaune raised the shield, bracing for the first strike.
Crash!
"Woah."
Yang felt that. Every fiber in her fist trembled a bit after the collision. The force of the impact recoiled back to her arm.
The shield didn't move an inch. Jaune remained sturdy like a wall. Her punch had no effect against his defense. His strength improved a lot. Yang threw another punch, putting more weight into it. It pushed the shield back, only a little. Crocea Mors cocked back, preparing a vertical slash. But that gave her the opening she needed. Yang circled around, albeit with slow tempo. She had an advantage over speed, but Yang didn't want to rely on such thing, especially in this match. She wanted to provide Jaune an opportunity to detect her next attacks.
A left hook coming for his side. Jaune parried that move just in time as he shifted his body. Sharp blade hit Ember Celica, cutting off its trajectory. Not bad!
Yang increased her speed, launching a barrage of quick jabs. With a yelp, Jaune backed away. Clumsy footing made him wide open. Right hand holding Crocea Mors swung at her, she dodged out of the way. His arm raised too high to retract in time. A counter was impossible. Her heel spun, Yang delivered a roundhouse kick. Sapphires immediately closed shut, she noticed. Jaune let go of Crocea Mors and quickly pulled up his defense. The impact echoed as her shoe met his shield.
It happened again. Never thought she would feel that numbing sensation once more. The amount of strength she put into the kick recoiled back like a shockwave. And it barely affected him. Both Aura bars on the hologram were still green. But big mistake Jaune. Without the sword, he couldn't be on the offensive. Yang saw the chance to go in. His face, chest, stomach and leg was in her range.
Not saying a word, Jaune launched forward with the shield. Yang startled, she instinctively guarded herself from the sudden move. Gold Aura flared up by a single bash from his shield, blowing her back a short distance.
Right, the shield can be used as a weapon. Clever Jaune, she didn't see that coming.
"Guess what."
"?"
Yang smirked at his confused gaze.
"You're doing good." Lilacs flashed red, golden hair glowed, burning. "So I say we take this up a notch!"
Losing this sparring match was inevitable for Jaune, but even if that was the fact, he achieved something others couldn't do. One hit. It only took a single hit from him to fully charge up her Semblance. Jaune Arc was that strong.
The atmosphere heated up, fierce bloody red eyes shone with his reflection. She smiled and took a step back. One foot firmly placed on the ground, creating the momentum for her next attack.
Yang wanted to congratulate him for his improvement. This was her way.
By the way, he looked pale. Like, really pale.
"Hope you're ready to get burned." Ember Celica unleashed its deadliest form. Shotgun shells revealed. Red color stood out so much in that intense aura. She winked. "A tiny bit."
"Err. I don't think I want that, Yang."
Jaune quickly picked up his weapon and retreated to the furthest side of the stage. Oddly enough, he sheathed back the sword, as if giving up on the offensive. His feet was only inches away from the edge.
"Come on. It'll be fine." She said that, and he already hid behind the shield, like a puppy overwhelmed by the presence of a dragon. "I'll treat you to something good after this. What do you say?"
He raised his eyebrows. His shield lowered. Sapphires gleamed with determination. Oh Yang liked that look. She got his interest. Yup, one could hardly deny such generous offer from the most upbeat, fabulous girl in Beacon. Step one, checked. Time to release the build up power of her Semblance. Completing step two would be a piece of cake. Just aim for the shield, knock him off the stage and end this fight on a good note.
Yang wasted no time. Gauntlets shot the ground behind her, propelling herself high in the air. Right arm pulled back, fist formed for the last punch.
"Thank you for accepting my offer!" Yang screamed inwardly.
But Jaune had a different idea. Shield collapsed into scabbard form. His arm raised up.
"I forfeit!"
"Huh?"
Yang's jaw dropped. She heard something outrageous just now. Her posture broke, momentum lost in the shocking realization that something just fell apart. But Yang couldn't stop midair, not with the recoil Ember Celica made. She was about to crash into him. A purple glyph appeared, held her and descended slowly until her feet touched the floor.
"The match is over." Professor Goodwitch announced as she deactivated her Semblance.
Groan!
Yang wanted to facepalm. She found no joy or relief in the professor's help. Dust dang it! Jaune already spread his arms, he knew she was having trouble with the landing strategy on a short notice. He was willing to catch her, you see! And she could have gave him a big hug in return! Now he just stood there in awkward and her chance went up in smoke! Why, Ms. Goodwitch!? Why couldn't she let that cliché moment happen!?
"Since Mr. Arc has renounced the fight, the winner is Miss Xiao Long."
Step two, checked. Now onto step thre…...WAIT A MINUTE! Jaune gave up!? What!?
Those cruel words finally clicked in her head.
"W-Wait! You can't stop the match like that. He can still fight!"
"She's right! It hasn't even been three minutes yet!"
No. That was not the point, Weiss!
"Yes, I'm sure he can continue. However, he has made his decision, Miss Xiao Long." The professor explained. "Because his sparring partner today was you, Mr. Arc is fully aware of the disadvantages he had at the very beginning. Giving up may have been an appropriate choice based on the gap in experience. As I have said before, the purpose of these fight is not just about the test of your abilities, but also how one can define the situation and proceed with rightful judgment."
"But….but…..!"
But step three! Her step three! What about step three!? This was not the kind of winning scenario she wanted! Her offer would mean nothing if Jaune volunteered to step out, duh! Not giving up, Yang ran up to him. He squeaked a bit as she grabbed his hoodie.
"Hey, you can still keep up, right?"
"S-Sorry Yang." He looked away, avoiding her gaze. "I'm sure we both know the outcome."
"No! Look at me, Vomit Boy! Don't leave me hanging like this!" She shook him. "You're really strong, I can tell. Give yourself another chance to prove this!"
Give her another chance to initiate step three, please!
"Maybe next time!" Jaune retorted. He tried to break out of her grip. Oh no! She won't let him run away so easily!
"Who knows when next time comes!" She kept her hold on him. "Come on! You gotta take responsibility for my pent up energy!"
"You mean your Semblance! Just turn it off!"
"Take out your shield and let me punch it then! Just let me do it once and I'll make it up to you!"
"Yang! The match is over!" Ruby shouted. Her face had gone red thanks to the embarrassing shenanigan. "Stop being so clingy to my best friend and let him go!"
"I hear you, sis! Loud and clear but I want a second chance with Vomit Boy!"
That didn't sound right but who cared! She was losing her chances here! Everything was about to go back to square one!
"I can reorganize this sparring match again in the next session if you would prefer." The professor said.
"Yes! I'll take that!" Just what she needed.
"I forfeit!"
His instant respond shocked her.
"What do you mean!? It's not even started yet! You said some other time, there we have it!" Burning red eyes that had yet to shift back to lilac color glared at him. He refused to make eye contact. That worried her more. "Do you have a problem with me or something?"
"No, it's not like that Yang! It's just….this whole thing makes me nervous!"
The bell rang.
"….what?"
Her attention lost to his words. While she was confused, he successfully slipped away. It took her a couple seconds to realize Jaune had disappeared from her sight.
"Well, that happened." Nora commented as she left with the gang.
Urgh!
Yang wanted to scream in all the frustration. This whole development was a mess. Her Semblance was still active. Her hair flared with flame. All this built up power within her desperately wanted to get out.
Having no choice, Yang raced to the training ground. She needed to knock those bots around real quick to put out this fire Jaune ignited.
Wait, that didn't sound right again.
Her head was clear. No more the adrenaline rush of emotion, no more Semblance. She released all that absorbed energy to the bots, the number ended up somewhere around thirty. Things were back to normal, yet something invisible kept on weighing her down. A sense of guilt, maybe. Yeah, that was probably it, or else why would she kept thinking back to the match this morning.
She sat on her bunk bed, staring intensely at the pillow that caressed her head every night. Yang let herself fell toward it. A small thud echoed in team RWBY's dorm room. She breathed deeply and gripped it, hoping the soft cushion could soothe this irritation in her heart. Dust, might as well scream into it to lighten the feeling.
"This sucks." Yang muttered softly.
"I couldn't agree more." Her partner, sitting on the bed below, said with disdain on her face. "Can you believe this? This book is outright a plagiarism of Ninja of Love! Why are they even publishing something like this?"
Sorry to hear that, Blakey. But she wasn't talking about the book.
"Yang." A head popped up at the edge. It was her baby sis. "Are you okay?"
"Hm." Yang nodded slowly.
"It's that a yes or no?"
Yang wasn't sure. She felt perfectly healthy, and somewhat dispirited. Um yeah, so was that a yes or a no on her part?
"I don't know, Ruby. I'm just…...feeling a bit down, I guess."
Ruby hopped on the bed. A pleasant scent from the cape tickled her nose, Yang took a whiff.
"Smell nice." She smiled. "Is this the one Mom gave you last week?"
"Yup!" Her baby sis popped the p. This stuff never got old. "She said it's one hundred percent homemade rose petal powder. Those were from Dad's garden. I can enjoy this wonderful smell all day!"
"Uh huh." Yang dropped the smile. She buried her face into the pillow again, releasing a deep sigh.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Yang turned her head at Ruby's question.
"About what?"
"About Jaune."
Yang froze. Silvers blinked at the reaction.
"Err, I don't think my brain want to process what happened, Ruby." After a pause, she groaned and finally asked. "Do you guys think I went overboard this morning?"
"Yup."
"Yes."
"Pretty much."
Ouch!
"At this point, I should say that your improvised plan falls apart. Well, it's obvious that you were too aggressive." Weiss spoke up, appearing up close. She used the chair to reach the height of the bunk bed. "I say a little more…...hm, a little more self-restraint and less assertive would have been ideal. Otherwise, you wouldn't be all over the place like this."
"Thanks for the input, ice cream."
"Gasp! Excuse me, you can't even use a bad pun on my name?"
"Wow." Blake joined the conversation. "That's what you concern about?"
"Yang, is it that bad?"
"Ruby, you've seen it. He literally gave up before she could do anything." Weiss said. "The plan didn't work. Yang needs a different approach, and by that I mean she should talk to him about it. Explain things, let him know how she feels."
"Weiss, that's no different from telling me to straight up confess to him again! Last time I did, he thought it was a frank and laughed it off!"
"To be honest, Yang. You literally admitted to him right then and there that you were pulling frank. You reap what you sow."
"I panicked, okay! Everything was perfect, but my nervous got the better of me. I thought I'm ready but I'm not!" Yang let out another sigh. "After this, he's going to get the wrong idea about me."
"I don't think so, Yang. Look at this." Ruby reassured as she placed her scroll on the bed sheet. Yang perked up to see the content of the chat. "Jaune's worried about you. He asked me if you are feeling okay today."
"He did?"
"Yup. He cares about you, so nothing really changes."
Hearing that brightened her expression a bit. She sat up, stared at the received message on her little sister's scroll. Jaune never saw her in a different light despite her crazy antic this morning.
"Okay." Yang rubbed her head, somewhat relieved. "What am I gonna do now?"
"Nervous?" Blake noticed.
"Can't say I'm not."
"How about you set up the mood by flirting with him next time? That's more of your style."
"Blake, I tried. I thought that would work but it didn't. He reacted differently from what I normally expect. That throws me off my guard, I don't know what to do next."
"I guess your experience went down the drain with a guy like him, huh."
"Well, I mean…...Jaune getting flustered or attracted to me was the plan. But things went backward, he just smiled. The worst part is I didn't know why he smiled instead of getting shy or deadpanned like you! At least I still know what a cat wants when I flirt with her."
"You just have to say that, huh?"
"You bet! I learned a lot from teasing you, Blake. It's fun watching your reaction. Remember that time when I threw the yarn ball at you?"
"Yeah, I threw it right back at you."
"Not after you tinkered around with it!" Yang chuckled heartily before she dropped it again. "Wow, I'm not having much fun like usual."
Black bow popped in her view, sharpened ambers fixed on lilacs.
"Guess what, Yang. I'm not amused too. So how about I knock on team JNPR's door and ask Jaune to come see you?"
Uh-oh. Blake didn't like the joke.
"Don't do that."
"Let's do that!"
What!? Ruby! You were supposed to agree with your big sis!
Swoosh!
Yang blew the petal stuck on her bang. She didn't even have the time to say anything as Ruby got there in a matter of second.
Knock Knock!
"Hey Jaune, are you in there?" And she already did it.
No don't! Yang wasn't mentally prepared! She jumped off the bed, grabbed Ruby and pulled her back inside their dorm room.
Swoosh!
Another group of petals whirled in the air, her baby sis slipped away from Yang's grasp and sat on the bunk bed.
Click!
And Ruby just pressed call on the scroll!
"Ruby NO!"
"Ruby YES!" Said Weiss.
In addition, Blake gave a thump up.
For a while, Yang stood frozen, hugging her head. Never before did her baby sis holds so much power against her.
Once the call ended, she finally remembered to pick her jaw on the floor.
Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
"Good luck, Yang!" Ruby cheered with a knowing smile on her face.
Then the door shut behind Yang, leaving her alone in the hallway. Well, not for long. The other team's door just opened. Jaune stepped out and met her gaze.
Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
Dust! Heart, don't beat so fast right now or she will get nervous! She was the Yang, the smooth talker, adventure seeker and everybody's favorite Sunshine! Forget about what happened and just speak to him naturally like she always did.
"Wh-Wel-What's up?" Dang it! She messed up!
"Hey, Yang. Err, you're feeling okay?"
"Yep Yep! Never b-better!"
"Okay." He nodded. "Glad to hear that."
"…"
"…"
Oh, the awkward silence. She wanted to say something but her mind was blank.
"So….." Jaune started, rubbing his neck. "About the offer back then…"
"?"
"I know that I didn't really follow to the end of our sparring match. I…..well." His words dragged a bit long before he finally shook his head and came forward. "Frankly, I was nervous. I mean, I'm a learning huntman-in-training but I'm still nowhere near the average level of combat skill. I can defend myself against Cardin's team now but me trying my hardest to hold myself together against one of the best fighters in our year is too much for me to handle."
Yang nodded. Totally understandable.
"And I don't really want to be on the receiving end of your fist either. It's…..nevermind."
Huh? What was he about to say?
"Anyway, I'm sorry, Yang. The sparring match was supposed to help me improve more, to let me know where I'm standing with the rest of our peers. And I backed out. That was rude of me for giving up in the middle of the match."
"Jaune." Yang spoke up. holding him by the shoulders. "You're not giving yourself enough credit. You actually did great back there."
"How can you tell?" His head hung down.
Ah. Vomit Boy's infamous low self-estem side decided to show up again. No worry, Yang Xiao Long got one or two cool things about him today to blow away that gloomy attitude.
"Because so far you're the only one capable of charging my Semblance to the max in a single hit. If anything that's a big milestone, Jaune. You're strong, you really earned your place here."
"For real?"
"Yup!" She popped the p. "For real. You want proof? You got me. Hit me up, I burn then you get a sunshine!"
"Pfft!" He chuckled.
Yesh! He laughed at that one! That wasn't really a joke but he still laughed! There we go. Score one for Yang!
"So, um. About the offer….."
"Uh huh?"
Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
Slowly, her heartbeats rose. Yang stood listening, her lip pressed together in fullest anticipation. He was thinking about the offer. It's about time! The long awaiting moment of Jaune pulling the card that will fulfill the step three of her plan.
"I guess it's invalid now considering I didn't follow through with our match."
"...…."
Ba-du…
Ouch! Her heart just sank!
Why did he have to think of it like that!? No! Don't stop there, Vomit Boy! Keep pushing, just a little bit more! Yang wished she could give him words of encouraging to take another step. But Dust dang it! The freaking irony! Her mind went blank after hearing that, she was just as much of an awkward dork when it comes to stuff like this! Things were going so well!
"Yang, will you give me a chance to make it up to you?" Jaune suddenly said.
"W-Wait, what?" Yang was confused.
"Even though you told me that I did great, it's still rude of me to deny your help just because I'm not confident enough."
Does that means this is her second chance to continue step three?
"If you don't mind, of course….or….or we can just let things stay-"
Oh no, that golden opportunity is not going to slip away from her!
"NOPE! I don't mind! Not at all, I totally don't mind! I'll take that chance, Jaune!"
"O-Okay! Thanks, Yang!" That startled him a bit.
"Right, when do we start?" She asked.
"Whenever you have free time."
"I'm free now."
Actually, she still got one session with Professor Port's lecture. Meh, skipping one class is no big deal. Blake's notebook got her back.
"Great! What do you say we head to downtown?"
It was decided that Bumblebee will take them there.
"Actually, I have an idea. Let's go to the dance club." Yang suggested.
"Dance club?"
"Yeah, I want to confirm something, Jaune." She smirked. "I wanna see who's better in dancing. I saw what you did back in the ball. You better not hold back and show me the groove."
"Sure." He shared the same expression. "That's one of the things I can guarantee you will not be disappointed. But do you think you can keep up?"
Lilacs glittered like stars.
"Oh? Oh! Is that a challenge? You're on, Vomit Boy! It's a date!"
All bumped up, she grabbed his hand and led the way. Much to Yang's surprise, Jaune responded in kind as he gently squeezed back her touch and didn't let go.
Yang loved it. She loved this feeling. She wanted to turn back and look at his reaction but that would expose her reddened face. Well, no need to rush cause she will get plenty of that chances from now on.
A "Congrats!" reached her ears. Yang knew her team and the rest of JNPR were listening to the conversation the whole time, all snickering and quietly beaming smiles.
After this, she would thank them. Now, onward to the date.
Step three. Checked!
/
Author's Note: This short story was actually the original draft of "Why Can't I Do It!?"
Thank you for reading. Take care!
