Chapters a little late, ended up having to change a few things— but it's finally here, I hope you all enjoy it.

By the way, it seems as though some people aren't aware of this due to the chapter numbers being the same, but chapter 14's notice of a delay has since been removed and updated with the real chapter 14, just in case people didn't realize I deleted the last one and updated.

He wasn't a stranger to the feeling of being drowned. He knew what it felt like to be powerless, confused, and anxious. For the better part of his time at Beacon he spent every day worried about the next. Then Cardin happened… and that anxiety exploded and pushed him down a downward spiral, one that his friends managed to save him from. The last couple of weeks had been some of the best of his life, with the help of his team, his friends, and… her. He didn't think he'd ever have to deal with such a thing again, that feeling of… helplessness, of anxiety that threatened to swallow him whole. So when it happened again, when his heart leaped at his throat and his days were spent agonizing over his thoughts… he didn't know what to do.

He thought it was some sick joke at first, it had to be, right? Yet as time went on his thoughts turned to any alternatives, that it could've just been due to the high stress situation making her emotions act up. Yet she kept blocking him out, ignoring him, preventing him from even getting close. The one time he did get her alone she just stormed right past him.

He was left confused, anxious, and… sad. There really was no better word for it.

Ruby and Pyrrha knew something was up, it was obvious to them. Yet despite Cinder's harsh words he didn't want her to be hounded by two protective friends. He managed to pass it off as mission fatigue and cold feet from the near death situation, it managed to convince them enough, they were likely feeling the same thing after all.

He agonized over her words, over her eyes, over the ugly expression that had formed upon her beautiful features.

Something had happened, something that made the woman who trained him, who was honest in her harshness yet genuine in her encouragement, the woman who had kissed him, snap. He didn't know what it was, or how any of it was his fault.

Qrow's words had made him feel better about himself, but they hadn't actually given him much to do besides know that what he was feeling was normal. Sure, he knew that he should talk to her, but he had already tried that. Any and all attempts had been met with nothing but a brick wall.

He tried to train as much as he could in order to distract his thoughts, in order to keep him away from spending day in and day out pathetically thinking about the girl he had begun to fall for. Yet he could still hear her voice, whenever he made mistakes, whenever he screwed up the distance between himself and his foe, whenever he lowered his shield, or used too much or too little force, he would hear her chastise him within his mind in the place of his own voice. Her words were stern and sharp, yet they had recently begun to carry a hint of warmth within them.

Now all he could hear was the cold and bitter sharpness, with the feeling of rain crashing down upon his body.

He hadn't gone to their training area once since they returned to Beacon, the familiar sight might've been even worse for his psyche. Glynda luckily didn't care to ask why he was requesting a training room by himself, or maybe she was nice enough not to.

He knew he had to do something, and that if he didn't, it would ultimately result in regret later down the line.

It was what brought him to where he was now.

"Well, well… What's this?" A rather coquettish and smug voice drawled. "Vomit boy has come to me for romantic advice? I guess you do have a good head on your shoulders." The bombshell grinned playfully, all the while her lilac eyes watched he and Ruby with far too much amusement than he thought was necessary. He didn't really think this was nearly as entertaining as she thought it would be, but Yang just looked like she had won a lottery's worth of teasing material.

He had gone to Ruby and told her about his problem, and in turn the reaper suggested they talk to her sister. He wasn't completely certain if it was a good idea at first, but Ruby was adamant that her sister was good at this stuff. It made sense when he thought about it too, despite rarely being serious, he knew that the blonde maneuvered social situations with practiced ease.

The only issue was her teasing.

Ruby, to her credit, glared at her sister. Though the blonde bombshell seemed completely immune to its effects. Likely because it came off as more adorable than threatening. With a huff the petite reaper crossed her arms and raised her silver gaze towards him. "Go ahead, Jaune." She spoke, allowing her former frown to pull up into a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. If Yang can pull Blake out of her funk, then everyone else will be super easy."

So he did. Pushing away his nerves, the blond went on to explain just about everything. From what their relationship was like, to the mission, and finally how the mission ended. Yang didn't say anything as he spoke, merely making minor facial expressions as the tale went on, along with grinning when he shyly spoke about the kiss.

"Wow." She mused once he concluded. "I mean… are you sure you aren't dating a clone of Blake? Minus the kitty appendages?"

"Yang!" Ruby reprimanded. "I told you to take this seriously!"

Seeming to sense that the joke had been done in poor taste, the golden haired girl stood from her bed and waved her arms defensively in front of her. "Wow, hey, I promised I'd be serious didn't I?" She smiled disarmingly, though sighed at her sister's unwavering glare. "Okay okay… so you said this Cinder girl is pretty intense right? Took awhile for her to start liking you?"

He nodded his head in affirmation. "Yeah, exactly. She would talk to me normally and even seemed… playful, but it didn't seem real you know? It seemed like she was just… acting like that. Like that wasn't really her. Over time she became… meaner, I guess? But honestly? I… kind of liked it."

The sisters both looked at him like he had grown a second head, or more accurately; admitted to being a masochist.

"Not because I liked that she was mean!" He quickly added. "It's just that she felt more real. Before that I could tell that there was something always on her mind that she kept to herself, but as time went on it was like every emotion on her face was perfectly clear. And over time she, well… mellowed out."

Yang hummed in understanding, it seemed as though maybe it had been a good idea to ask for her advice. For all her teasing she did seem pretty socially adept. He just wondered how Ruby ended up as socially awkward as she was despite having a sister like Yang around.

"I guess that makes sense." Yang concluded. "One thing I'm not getting though… she admitted that she hated you after she first met you, right?"

"Uh… well, yeah." He nodded, though truthfully he tried not to think about that too much, even if he was glad for her honesty. "But what's that got to do with anything?"

"Well. If she really didn't like you after you guys met…" She paused to briefly run a hand through her wild blonde mane. "Why offer to train you at all?"

It was a good question, one he had anxiously mulled over himself. "Maybe she just felt indebted to me for saving her? Hated that she needed to be saved and… well she just wanted to return the favour?"

Yang, and even Ruby, didn't seem to be entirely convinced, though she eventually nodded her head in acceptance. "Well… alright. Not like it matters all that much anyway."

He watched as she sat back upon the bed, lilac eyes downcast in thought and she pursed her lips.

"You like her, right?"

The question made him feel a wave of unease, it wasn't something he wanted to admit— even if they both knew the truth. It was as though admitting it out loud was enough to make it real, but he knew he couldn't lie. It wouldn't help anyone.

"I do."

"Does she know?"

He paused for a moment, uncertainty worming its way within him. Did she? Well, he didn't really know. Heck he wasn't even really sure if she liked him. Sure she… may have kissed him twice, but both times ended with her in some emotional outburst.

"I don't really know, she never asked. I never told her because I didn't want to risk losing her as a friend."

Yang nodded, while Ruby sent him a sympathetic look. Though it only made him feel worse about himself, as though this was a doomed cause. He knew he still had to try though. His father had always said to be persistent with what he wanted to achieve and accomplish, and while this wasn't exactly something he could 'win', Cinder was important to him, and figuring out what he had done wrong in order to win his friend back… well, it was important to him.

"She's a tough one." Yang finally said. "If you approach her and try to talk normally she's just gonna spin you around. Plus she can probably just avoid you normally… At least with Blake I had the benefit of being her partner. You don't have that here."

With each passing point Yang made, he felt dread and disappointment descend on him more and more. That was just it then? He was supposed to give up and… accept that this was how things were?

Seeming to notice his crestfallen expression, the blonde quickly interjected. "-But! There is something you can do. It's just… heh, a little risky. You sure you're up for it?"

"I'll do anything." He declared firmly, meeting Yang's gaze with his own. Risks were meant to be taken, he would've never gotten into this school otherwise, or met any of his friends.

"Now that's what I like to hear!" Yang beamed, a toothy smile spreading across her admittedly pretty face. He was so used to seeing her grin with either devioussmugness or a playful smirk. The rather genuine expression she formed

was one he liked.

"All this time, she's been the one making most of the physical advances, while you've just been accepting it, right?"

He nodded his head. It wasn't like he didn't want to, he just… didn't really have the confidence to go through with it, and every time he wanted to ask her about the kiss a sense of… unease would overtake him.

"Try being the one to initiate it this time around, you've just been trying to talk to her right? Don't be too pushy but… I guess open up about everything the best you can, make sense? Let her know where you're coming from, lay your cards down."

That sounded… a little scary, opening up about how he felt towards someone as intense as Cinder didn't fill him with confidence.

Though at this point, he'd take anything to get her back, even as a friend. "You really think it'll work?"

This time, Ruby was the one to speak. "She cares about you, Jaune." Ruby reassured with a comforting tone.

"...and… If that doesn't work? If she doesn't want to hear me out even then?"

The blonde bombshell offered him a small smile, it was a reassuring one. "You know your girl the best, just do what you think is right."

Hearing her refer to Cinder as 'his girl' was enough to slather a crimson blush across his cheeks, even still he did manage a rather shaky nod. A nod that made Yang's smile broaden dangerously.

"Now go do my proud, Lady-killer."

/-/

She panted with heavy, uneven breaths. Sweat seemed to drag and descend thickly across her features from the continuous movement of her body. Training equipment was left discarded in piles of ash and dust, littered across the entirety of the training area where she had left them. Excess energy seemed to cling within her body, frustration, angst, annoyance. It all hummed beneath her flesh like a steaming kettle.

She had been kept awake by nightmares, something she hadn't had in years. She did not know why they had suddenly appeared, or why they had struck her as viciously as they did.

The Madame's voice seemed to bleed into Salem's, which bled into Watts, which bled into her own deepest thoughts. She could feel their eyes burning into her, their voices calling out to her, degrading her very being and letting her know the uselessness that was everything she had ever done. The dreams had begun a few days ago and had since stubbornly clung to her subconscious, unrelenting in their pursuit.

Doubt wormed its way within her, yet it was burned within her core. With the power of the maiden still coursing through her veins, the hunger to absorb the rest of its power remained within her, still burning, still begging to be realized. Even though the degree that it burned had somehow lessened… the isolation she had recently established made the emptiness within her feel more realized. It was like an aching hole within her stomach, before she liked the feeling, she enjoyed the drive that it lit within her, it reminded her of why she was doing this, why she wanted that power. Yet that emotion had since been replaced with another.

Dread.

Doubts of what she would do became dread of what came after, she attempted to rectify it by reminding herself of why she wanted this power. To decide for herself who she was, to forge her own identity and role, to not need to fear others, to not starve, to not feel the need to run.

Doubt had been created within her.

She knew how it started, it was the warmth that began to develop within her, and how she felt once that warmth was willfully taken away. No longer did she receive smiles which put the sun to shame, or sheepish laughs, or even the gaze of one who had unshakable, unwavering resolute trust.

The fact that it had been removed, the fact that she reacted so adversely when it was…

It burned hotter than the hunger for the maiden. It filled her whole.

Doubting if she could entirely go through with her plan caused her to truly look at what would happen after. Salem would not let her kill Watts or Tyrian, they were too important for her. Yet Salem would also not let her walk away freely.

The thought caused an altogether different line of thinking, one which haunted her.

Had the shackles which chained her not been removed, but instead been traded for another master?

Anger burned within her, she refused to keep running, she decided that night that she would never run again.

'No, Cinder. You'll never stop running.'

Tick-Tock. Tick-Tock.

The ground beneath her smoked and *burned* as miniature explosions rippled across the ground and destroyed the training dummies around her, setting them aflame as the booming noises echoed with her screams of frustration and anger.

She collapsed onto her knees, hands slamming against the floor as ragged breaths escaped her body at uneven rates.

She could not go back, the only way now was forward. The power of the maiden was within her grasp. She would not, and could not let it slip through her fingers. With it nothing would be able to control her, to look down upon her as a mere rat.

With her power, and after she acquired the fall maiden, spring would follow, as would winter, and as would summer.

She could not be stopped, would not.

"Hey, Cinder…"

She froze. She recognized his voice the moment she registered it within her ears. She could tell he was nervous, uncertain, perhaps even afraid. She turned her head to meet his gaze, burning amber on vivid sapphire.

His face matched his voice, as did the rest of him. She could recognize all his tells, right hand anxiously gripping the hilt of his sword, while he seemed to hover at the doorway anxiously, left hand running up the back of his neck.

It annoyed her that she knew this perfectly.

The irony was not lost on her, months ago she was the one who had hunted him down looking for answers, and now he was doing the same.

Despite the uncertain energy which he displayed, she could tell that he wasn't entirely struck with uncertainty. His cobalt eyes were crafted into sharpened pieces of ice, resolute, determined. The same look he had when he battled Cardin, the same look he had before they parted ways before the battle within Lungree.

Annoyance would boil within her, why couldn't he leave her be? Why did he need to be so persistent and unwilling to turn away?

Infatuation? That could be it, it was standard, familiar. Emerald worshiped the ground she walked on, Emerald wished for her to see her as valuable. Emerald was obedient because she had saved her, because she wished to receive something in turn- be it validation or something else.

Jaune didn't seem to have that.

She stood and turned away, ignoring his every plea, blocking out the words that came from his lips.

He did things without expecting anything in return.

She didn't wish to discover how far his affections went.

Or how far her own went.

"Cinder, wait!" He called, quickly running towards her before halting a few feet away, blocking the exit with his frame. "Please just…just let me talk to you. Tell me what's wrong, that's all I ask of you."

She scoffed, he wouldn't understand, couldn't. This wasn't a childish situation between a bully and a teenager, it was something far beyond him, any of them.

"Get out of my way, Jaune." Her voice was sharp, clearly displaying her lack of patience. Coupled with her glare- it was usually enough to make Roman submit with his tail between his legs.

Jaune squared his shoulders and remained.

"Jaune," She spat once more, frustration burning hotter the longer he kept her here. "Move or be moved. The choice is yours."

The threat seemed to weather him down, she couldn't describe the emotions that would linger within her at the sight of his pained expression, or the way he looked at her with longing. He shook his head, almost as though to clear up a fog, before those sapphire orbs focused on hers once more. "I just want a second with you, just… give me a moment, please?"

When she didn't respond, he stepped forward and continued. A soft expression graced him. "I… I don't know what happened, at the village. I don't..I-I don't know what I did to make you snap, to make you run off.. and the question about why… Why, why? It's been playing in my head on a loop." He paused to give out a quiet, nervous laugh. It was humourless and dry, almost self-deprecating. "I care about you Cinder. More… much more than I thought I did, and… I know somethings going on, I know that there's more to this than just you getting mad about something, more than just something I did, and I want to help you. You're… hurt. When I was suffering because of Cardin and I didn't let my team in, when I just… sat there in pain, it hurt them, and it hurt me. I want to help you like they tried to help me, I want to help you like you helped me." He took a step towards her, and a voice within her head commanded her to step a step away from him.

She didn't.

"You helped me more than you could ever imagine, I've noticed how you've been different. So now.. I just, I want to ask you to let me in, let me help, because I can promise you; I'll never give up on you." He tried to give her his best smile, it came off brittle and weak. "I was an idiot to let you go once, twice, but I won't let that happen again."

Her mind was blank.

The words which danced across her mind became faint and incomprehensible. Like faint wisps of smoke after chaotic flames.

She should have known that he would do this again, that he would be different, act different. He had been surprising her since before they had even met, and he had continued along every step of the way.

She bit deep into her tongue, enough to feel the pressure applied against her aura. She couldn't shake the hesitation that clouded her better judgment, the voice within her head that told her to take his hand and follow him. He took a step forward and took her hand in his, fingers strong and warm- almost soft. His hand was larger than hers, and despite the fact that she was impossibly stronger than he- she felt… more secure than she normally did.

She wanted to melt into his touch.

Memories struck her like a bolt of lightning and an eruption of dust. Of a stiff binding collar around her neck, of a starving stomach, hollow cheeks and frail hands. A strong hand on her head, the lifeless eyes of the man who had once tried to help her, and the pale angry eyes of the Madame burning into crimson red with black sclera. She could see golden hair matted with blood, and once beautiful sapphire eyes now lifeless.

A voice within her mind told her to ignore her mind, to listen to all the words which Jaune uttered.

She burned that voice into ash and stomped it out.

She stepped out of his reach and pulled her hand away, the reaction was… immediate. The crestfallen look which graced his hopeful eyes, and the look of determination which remained.

"I am not weak." She spat before he could speak. "To need help- to require it. It is for those who cannot fight for themselves, those who cannot live without the aid of others, who run away due to weakness, who live on their knees and die on their knees. Who run and follow like sheep."

Not waiting to hear him speak up, she walked straight through him, shoulders meeting as he stumped to the side, she didn't turn to look at him, and instead kept her gaze focused on the exit.

"What does that make you then? If you run away from me?"

She paused.

/-/

This was a bad idea.

Scratch that, this was a really bad idea. Why did he ever listen to Yang? Sure, maybe she didn't tell him outright to insult her, but every other approach hasn't worked, and she was right about one thing, he knew her well, better than most. The best way to get through to Cinder was to stoke the flames.

"What?" A venomous voice hissed, he could've sworn her words caught on fire at the heat they were breathed out. "-Did you say?"

He gulped down the hesitation which wormed its way within him, or the apology that hung at his tongue. He felt bad for what he said, yet he couldn't back away, not now. "Y-you heard me." He managed. "You always run away, you always act like you can face your problems b-but… you run away every time!"

As the words came out, genuine frustration and emotion seemed to leak into his words. He remembered her running off after the dance, the mission, her words after. She seemed unwilling to let him in, and always left him in an ambiguous situation that he didn't know how to get out of. If this continued, he wasn't sure what would happen to her.

Cinder stepped forward with eyes bathed in heat, he could've sworn that every step she took was heralded by roaring flames. He's made her angry before, yet this was the first time it had been somewhat on purpose.

"You don't know what you're talking about." She spat out, unsheathing the daggers at her hips. "I'll give you but one chance to mind your tongue, Jaune."

He wanted to, he really did, but he couldn't accept that. Not when this was the one time she actually gave him a chance. It didn't matter if it was in anger, he could tell that she was drowning, drowning in the path she was taking, in isolation.

If he needed to break a few rules to save her, then so be it.

Jaune gripped the handle of his blade, it was warm to the touch, worn, and had finally become familiar. It was the weapon he had battled her with countless times, and hopefully the weapon that he would train with her dozens of times more. He deployed Crocea Mors, slid his left foot forward and held out his blade.

"Show me what true strength is then, and don't run away this time."

She would not run into the night this time, he wouldn't let her keep running.

Never again.

The large clock which hung far onto the wall, slowly ticked towards midnight.

Next chapter is Jaune V Cinder, the big climax to what I've been building towards. I had a few commenters claim that I set things up last chapter only for me not to deliver the punchline. That's because I don't advocate for setting up a plot point before immediately solving it- it's quite a large thing that needs to be solved, and one that needs its proper respect given. Building up to the climax rather then having it occur in the chapter immediately after would ruin the weight that was given in my opinion.

I'll be working hard on developing the next chapter, it may be the best one if I manage to do things properly. I'll be trying my absolute best to give you all a worthy finish.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, we receive a little look at the golden dragon, more of Jaunes and cinders thoughts, and the knight taking a gamble to get her back, something he may not do. Jaune has already been a character that surprises me though, he always seemed like the type of "good/golden boy" type of guy, knight and all. Yet he was the first to suggest stealing an atlas ship, was fine with cheating to get into beacon, and managed to find it within himself to make the hard choice within V8, along with being incredibly jaded throughout V4-6.

Regardless I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, tell me what you liked, disliked, or if there's anything in particular you're excited about.

That's all folks.