Author's Notes:
Got another chapter ahead done so lemme let this one loose on the world. Left you all with a cliff hanger, so let's start with some in media res, ey?
I don't want to say too much (like always) but Jaune's past is going to be a very influencing reason to how he is in present day. At first, I was hesitant doing exposition in a flashback format but I don't think I regret my choice. It leaves a lot to be questioned. What specifically, you'll have to find out. Oh, and next chapter will be an important one addressing a very controversial decision made a few chapters back so stay tuned!
And the titles for each of the chapters always have vague hints and links to other chapters depending on the contents. Nobody really cares, most likely, just thought I'd put that out there for anyone that actually does lmao.
In any case, hope you enjoy the chapter.
Man, these things just keep getting longer…
"Help me! Please!"
Another Beowolf practically impaled itself onto the weapons that Jaune called Crocea Mors' substitutes. It howled in agony, its breath smelling like decaying rot mixed with faint copper. With grit teeth, the boy powered past the shaking in his legs long ago – ripping his sword deeper into the chest of the beast. Eventually, it faded with a pathetic whimper, ash flaking from the corpse on the rusted steel of his blade and leaving Jaune with only the harsh breathes he let out in futile respite.
This was hell. Gods, it was hell.
Buildings were lit ablaze, wooden and stone structure alike blazing in a glorious inferno – so hot that it felt like the leather that he was wearing was about to melt. The streets were littered with debris, ash and… blood. It was black as coal and already beginning to flutter away in the wind, bringing Jaune slight relief. Though it didn't chance the fact that everything in his immediate sight was either destroyed or being destroyed.
Under the shattered moon in the night sky, what he could see wasn't the only thing he could sense. The smell of the alleyway prior seemed to leak into the main streets of the small village, faeces and urine circulated around the burning cold air with the undeniable scent of death looming over. Gods, there it was. That was what death smelt like. Jaune didn't, and would have never, thought in his life that death itself would have a recognisable smell but here he was. It was almost punching him in the face with its pungency.
A spike entered the back of his head. Not a physical one, but a mental one.
It was the exact same feeling when Vul decided to drop in on him with his scythe from gods know where, or when Vul chucked a rock at him from the other side of the damn forest. It was danger. Jaune knew that there was danger behind him. He resisted every urge to barrel out of the way with a spring of his legs, instead tearing the dented shield he donned upwards to where he felt the source to be.
Heavy paws slammed into the steel, making Jaune buckled before remembering to direct his Aura to his legs and arms. Next was his other hand, with the worn blade, that came through the Grimm's midsection in a single, clean, horizontal slice. Whatever it was, it reeled back in pain and Jaune wasted no time in bursting forward and shoving the sword straight into the jugular – killing it instantly.
While it faded into dust, the boy only just noticed that it was an Ursa he slew. He didn't even realise until it was already over. It was just so-
Again.
The cadaver of the freshly killed Ursa Minor still retained enough mass to act as a springboard for Jaune as he pulled his weapon free of the flesh and flipped forwards and over the other dangerous presence with great effort. He landed with a rough roll, pushing himself up from a knee, only to see that a Boarbatusk had rammed straight into the dusted corpse of the previous Grimm.
Like the creature of destruction it was, it wasted no time swiveling backwards and charging headfirst yet again at breakneck pace. `Don't be afraid to make losing your weapon a weapon in itself. You'd be surprised how effective it can be.` Jaune's arm found itself behind his body before launching itself forward, letting the round shield loose in the free air as its worn edges became a deadly advantage in its rotation.
Snorting angrily, the Boarbatusk kept a steady pace and attempted to bat it away with its tusks. Audibly, the boney structures snapped and the beast flinched before rolling into its side and tumbling the rest of the way towards Jaune pathetically. Timing and balls. With a precision two-handed stab, the rusty steel was buried into the Boarbatusk's soft underbelly – causing it to squeal in pain before dropping all tension.
Two hands laid on the pommel of the sword, two Grimm fading into the fierce winds that plagued the burning town, heavy breaths forcing their way in and out of Jaune's airway – the boy was left only to wonder what had just happened. Instinct, he would assume. An instinct that Vul had developed within him, inadvertently or not.
"Please, somebody, help!" But his work wasn't over yet.
Scrambling back to action, he scraped the straps of the shield on the floor and dashed over to the voice; his tight backpack refusing to move any further with each and every stride. There it was. Or perhaps, more accurately, there she was. The source of the voice.
A frail-looking woman, dirtied with black scorch marks on her shopkeeper attire. Her hair was short-ish, white and curly that made it seem as though there were balls of wool. Though, most-strikingly, from her hair came a pair of sheep's ears that were drooped and shivering at the black beast that stalked the woman against the wall. The Beowolf stalked the poor, helpless woman - fully intent in ripping her insides out with its jagged teeth.
Green skirt, white apron, wavy hair.
No. Not again. He promised himself, even if he couldn't keep that promise he made back then. An Arc never went back on their word…
Roaring with ferocity, Jaune forced Aura into his leg and tore the longsword straight through the flesh of the Beowolf, stood on its hind legs. From the chops to the knave, the sea of black fur parted with his dull grey blade – splattering blood all over the teen's face and body before uselessly turning to dust.
Seconds of silence, before the teen rose his face to meet the gaze of the floored woman. To his immediate surprise, she flinched backwards slightly. Jaune was taken aback, his features shifting to confusion. It took him a few seconds to realise why.
Mere seconds prior, his face was twisted and contorted into a vile snarl – bright sapphire eyes turning into pupils that housed the black sea. He looked like an animal, something worse than the Grimm that he ripped apart. The amount of effort it took to wipe that look away was tremendous and terrifying to Jaune.
"No, no, no – it's alright now. Don't worry, I'm here." He had to do what he could to calm her down. Jaune kneeled down slowly over the ashes of the Beowolf, putting his sword down carefully and raising his arms in a gesture of surrender. Approaching the sheep-faunus woman slowly, the boy continued, "Everything's going to be okay now, I promise." An Arc never went back on their word. At least, he hoped so.
"M-m-my son," the woman stuttered out, struggling to overcome her initial fear. "We got separated, h-he told me to run… I can't believe that I listened to him! What kind of mother am I?! My poor boy…" Tears spilled and she feebly attempted to wipe them clear. The sight broke his very heart, and Jaune felt a sudden need to properly comfort her.
What if that was his mother? What if Sapphire or Saffron told her to run, willing to sacrifice themselves for their mother's life. Jaune wouldn't blame them; he'd do the same in a heartbeat.
"Here, look at me." Jaune placed a hand on the fair-haired woman's aproned shoulder, letting her eyes stare over her palms as he intended to soothe her in every aspect he could. "I told you not to worry, didn't I? I'll get you your son back. I give you my word." Craning his head backwards, the blond made sure the coast was clear before instructing the woman on where to go. "Head through that street, take the first left and then go straight ahead. There won't be any Grimm. Find a group, stay with them and get to safety.
Well, he didn't know for sure, but it was the best he could offer as he came from that very direction, after all. "Understand?"
The woman nodded, before standing herself and taking wary darts of her head in every direction – ultimately going where the teen told her to. Doing much the same, the nervous shake in Jaune's legs didn't disappear as he retrieved his weapon. Gods, it was so hard to communicate so little information. And the promise he made…
Brown sweater, torn and bloodied. Wide smile, slashed and cut. Warm touch, cold as ice.
Coming to a sprint with a single stride, Jaune scanned the alleyways and streets frantically searching for anybody resembling something of a sheep faunus. Grimm of all kinds stalked the shadows that stemmed from the warmth of the bright fires that engulfed around. They were much too busy trying to create as much a ruckus as possible to notice him, though. He used the fact to his advantage, not worrying too much about the thuds of his boots as he ran.
But if he were to listen closely above the sound of his boots, faint gunshots would have rebounded from the dimly lit stars above.
Suddenly, Jaune had his eyes snap in front of him; the path turning to a crossroad and a singular figure nervously stood in the middle – quivering and uncertain. It looked like a boy, not too much older with him, with snow-white cotton balls for hair that were splotched with dirt and soot. All with a pair of sheep ears drooping weakly at the side of his head. The boy was only a few hundred metres from his mother, it would only take a shout to gain his attention.
And, of course, before Jaune could even call out to him, a multitude of growls and snarls drowned out any sort of sound he was planning to make. Instead, the boy settled with whispering angrily as opposed to attempting to make himself known to the faunus a hundred or so metres away.
"God damn it…" Jaune readied himself with his sword and shield, saying a much ruder string of curses in his head as his target was right in front of him. All that stood in his way was a wall of black matter that wanted him dead. Grimm readied in a blurry line were beginning to notice his presence.
Like he expected, the first Grimm to pounce for blood was a Beowolf – which was quickly disposed of with a sidestep and slash. The blood turned to dust as fast as it sprayed out and the corpse crumpled onto the charred cobble path below. The other Grimm in pack – an assortment of the more common Ursa and Beowolves – seemed to reel back slightly, but were ultimately undeterred.
Another curse slipped out of Jaune's dry lips; the hot smoke of the blazing buildings was getting to him, "Shit…" If this keeps up, he thought, I'm not going to be able to break through… The amount of Grimm was too vast, making Jaune question if he could even take on that many if he was pushed to.
"Hey, what are you doing? Get off of me! Help!" A boyish voice screamed in obvious distress.
"Shut the hell up! Just stop struggling, damn it!" The second voice was oddly familiar and distinct but tinged with frustration and anger. But whatever it was, they didn't sound very nice.
It looked as though Jaune had no other choice but to break past the horde before him if he wanted to make sure he could keep his promise. Though he practically knew that it was impossible to fight them all off, that most definitely wasn't his only option in this situation. No single problem had a set path to get to the solution.
No time to think anymore. Another Ursa decided to charge forward, and instead of move out of the way, Jaune decided that this was his best shot at getting past the horde. Rushing forward, the Ursa was too late to raise itself onto hind legs or swipe as the teen was already propelled skyward – above the beast – before his boot slammed down onto the Grimm, Aura shining on his leg.
Yes! Jaune's mind was racing, he'd guess due to the adrenaline but the fear was an aspect too. Flying past the assortment of Grimm below him, one or two Beowolves seemed to have a similar idea to him – pouncing without consent onto Ursa and larger beasts to launch themselves up to take a chunk out of him.
Seeing the inevitability of collision, Jaune knew he had to do something. Fast. Even with his brain on overdrive, it was working against him; think wasn't exactly fight or flight, and his adrenaline certainly wasn't helping him out.
Memories of countless beatings taken from the blunt side of a heavy steel scythe rose up in his adrenaline-fueled body. Words like `Dodge!` and `Move!` were essentially burnt into his cerebral cortex and forcing his extremities into place. How was he supposed to get out of the way? How was he supposed to move? His mind raced faster, cogs starting to spark.
Think, Jaune, think! Ever closer, there was only a second left to react. That was when it hit him.
He didn't need to get out of the way. He just needed to get rid of the problem.
Fingers wrapped like a vice around the blade in his right hand, Jaune was almost supernaturally drawn to what he knew he had to do.
There!
Descending, Jaune's foot once more landed onto the head of a stray and unfortunate Ursa before pushing himself off at an angle – starting to rotate; ever increasing in speed. With a ferocious yell of his own, the rusty blade in his palm swept through the feral creature with effort in a mid-air spinning slice, creating a rain of dissipating crimson-black.
He couldn't ready himself in time for the second one. Its teeth sank into his arm – or what would have been his arm if the edge of his shield didn't catch the Beowolf's maw.
Jaune couldn't lose any momentum if he wanted any chance of making it past the rest of the wall. Gritting his teeth and praying to any deity willing to listen, he slashed at his other arm with his blade. It passed just under, catching the leather straps that fastened the contraption onto his arm. Nothing more was needed as Jaune turned around to let the shield slide off due to the direction of motion – and with its departure, the threat of the Beowolf left also.
Once. His leather-clad back slammed into the mixture of dirt and cobble. Twice. It was his front this time. He shut his eyes tightly, grit his teeth tighter and gripped the hilt of his sword tightest. Jaune hit the ground for the third time, finally skidding and rolling instead of being punted upwards. Truthfully, it hurt a lot more than bouncing but the only thing he could feel more than the pain was relief.
Jaune came to a halt, grunting and pushing off of the ground weakly. He had done it. He had made it past that impossible amount of Grimm. All there was left to do was save that boy.
"Don't fucking move."
Blond locks were draped in front of his vision but were useless in hiding the fact of the matter. His bright, sapphire orbs widened – pupils trembling – as he looked down into the black spiraling barrel of a handgun. Jaune wanted to flinch backwards, doing so only to be screeched at once again.
"I said don't fucking move, human!"
"O-okay. Okay." Staying as he was on his hands and knees, the frightened teen made to tilt his head upwards just a little to get a better view. Doing so, he saw what he feared he would. No, he wasn't afraid of getting shot; he had Aura left.
He was afraid of who else could. Eyes flickered to the cotton-haired boy in the arms of the brown-haired faunus, whose head was locked in the crux of the man's forearm.
"Just let him go." Jaune said, looking to the hostage. The person he was asked to save. "You don't have to do this."
The faunus scoffed. Or spat. It didn't really matter. "Didn't have to do this? Are you kidding?" He paused, as if to take in the scenery of burning chaos around him like it was a midsummer evening. "All of this is necessary!"
Something inside Jaune snapped at the man's tone, so spiteful and arrogant. Hints of desperation coated with insanity and laced in radicalism. It overcame his fear. It made him shout, "What are you talking about?! All of this death - houses razed to the ground, burnt, and families torn! Are you saying it's all needed?"
Passion and intensity flooded his voice. Eyes even more so. Though despite it, the brown-haired faunus looked at him in almost genuine confusion, shaking his head slowly. The word came out easily.
"Yes."
He was stunned. So stunned that he forgot how to speak for an instant. He had no comeback, no answer, no words to convey how wrong this all was. Because what was the point? This terrorist had thrown redemption away and Jaune didn't need more time to figure that out.
Slowly, his eyes were drawn back to the hand holding the gun, trailing the hand down to arm – from the arm to the elbow. It was a purple-brown, looking distantly disfigured but still functional.
"It's you…" Jaune whispered faintly.
Somehow the man heard, before chuckling with an ugly growl. "You finally realised, huh, kid? Fucking humans. Can't even remember the people they break the arms of."
Shaking his head, tears pricked at the teens eyes. Sadly, they couldn't relieve themselves from the sides of his orbs, the liquid feeling like it evaporated the instant it left. Was this his fault? Jaune lowered his head, shielding his face from vision and slapping his hands – one of which still holding his sword – to the ground.
He didn't care if he was being held at gunpoint. Jaune begged. "Please… just let him go… You're White Fang, aren't you? Why are you killing your own kind?"
"Those who stand idly by and watch, those who sit on the sidelines, those who are complacent; they all deserve the same. If you aren't with the cause, you're against it – no matter the race. I'm doing the Fang a justice by getting rid of the weaklings who can't even stand with us!"
A second of silence.
Click!
Jaune upreared his head in a flash.
The gun was no longer pointed at him. Instead, the barrel was bearing down the brains of the sheep faunus who gave all resistance up at the mere possibility of getting them blown out - bullet lodged into the chamber.
"I'm doing what's right." Slightest amounts of tension were visible on his finger. "For the glory of the White Fang!"
Jaune's legs exploded forward.
The barrel exploded faster.
"…and it was at that point that I realised…" Professor Port took a breath. His voice took an edge of remorse as he looked away from the class. "Perhaps I wasn't the great huntsman I made myself out to be."
...
"Well." Yang whispered behind them, chin in her palm and wide-eyed for effect. "That was depressing."
Jaune was in a similar position, one hand holding his chin – the other the blasted tie. He couldn't do much but agree. For their professor to introduce his class to Beacon Academy in such a way… well, it certainly was a way to do it. A small part of him related to the man's story, faint memories of the past lingering in the air.
Humming thoughtfully, Jaune replied without thinking, "Yep."
Next to him, Ruby shuffled nervously. Turning slightly, he could see the girl rubbing her hands between her legs in a fidgety fashion, eyes conflicted and closed mouth quivering. Jaune widened his eyes at the sight. I'm feeling a sense of déjà vu coming on. Remembering her outburst at pre-Initiation, he began to understand what was going on.
The story hadn't been a very pleasant one, to say the least. A quick look to the remaining portion of the class, many people seemed to share the sentiment. It was a tale of old, filled with themes that the illusioned youth may have never thought of. Smart, Jaune thought. Better to expose them to what they would be working towards than to let them dream in naïveté. His eyes looked back to his friend.
But was it the right thing to do?
"Hey," Jaune whispered. "You alright, Ruby?"
Flinching, she seemed to have snapped out of something – drawing the attention of Weiss as she answered. "H-huh? Oh, yeah, no worries. Heh heh…"
Quite surprisingly, it was Weiss who picked up the conversation. "Ruby," she said sternly – almost caringly. "I… I think I understand how you might feel about something… something like this and I want you to know that I feel the same." At first, she wasn't looking directly at her partner, instead staring off into the distance but, soon enough, she turned, pale-blue eyes filled with a warmth that felt almost foreign to Jaune.
"Things like this can happen, that unfortunately a fact of the world that we live in. But," Weiss continued firmly, just before Ruby had the chance to speak up, "that's why we are here, isn't it? To learn. To be better. So much so that perhaps, one day, we may become good enough to stop all of these atrocities once for all."
Ruby smiled softly, eyes slowly welling with the smallest of tears. "Weiss…" Promptly, she sniffed and wiped a sleeve across her face. "No, Weiss. We will. We will stop things like this from happening. We will be the best that the world has ever seen." Her head swiveled back to Jaune, tilting and smiling a brighter way this time. "As a team."
He would be lying if he said he didn't find her smile infectious. "Right. As a team." Even if it seemed as though all hope for the world was lost, there would be people like Ruby – Jaune guessed. Those who always had hope – no, those who always brought hope with them. Even if it was false hope, it was what the people would need. The people needed someone like Ruby.
But someone like me…
Turning around to meet Blake, Jaune thought he may as well have actually included the entire team in this shindig if their own team was leader encouraging it. "As a team, right, Blake…?"
The raven-haired girl was flat on her forehead, book stood up on the desk to shield her sleeping form from sight of their professor. I guess the story had more of an effect on some rather than others.
Ruby giggled freely, while Weiss looked much more distressed – ultimately settling for a disapproving shake of the head, sighing, "Unbelievable…"
"I'd say," Jaune added, turning back to face Weiss. "Who would have thought that after Ruby's Grand Sleepover Speech would be succeeded by a heartfelt declaration from you, Weiss?" At his remark, the caped girl sat next to him had red creep onto her face in embarrassment at the memory.
"Why are you giving it a name…?"
Weiss harrumphed, "And what exactly is that supposed to mean, Arc?" When all she would receive in response was a slight shrug and a nervous smile, she would put her nose up and crossed her arms in a Weiss-like fashion. "Hmph."
Behind them, Nora chattered away freely – Ren forcing her to keep a quiet volume – while Pyrrha and Yang had a quiet conversation about their professor's tale, one seemingly more concerned about it than the other. Both teams continued chattering, many other students gathering the courage to discuss the events relayed to them. Because even if it was truthful or not, it didn't change the fact that the story had messages to unfold and meanings to uncover.
As Ruby and Weiss started a discussion of their own (and by that, Jaune meant that the smaller girl was desperately trying to avoid interacting anymore with her partner by craning her head as far away as possible), Jaune looked to the tie balled up in his own hand, the one he couldn't get around his neck. Maybe all he had to do was try harder. But then, how much harder did he have to try? Unfurling the maroon fabric, he began to wrap it under his collar.
There was only one way to find out.
"Alright, class, settle down." Professor Port's voice cut through the students' quite massively with impressive experience. "I foresaw the effect that such a story may have had on you young ones, and such – I have prepared a surprise for all of you! Something to lift all of your spirits."
The chatter that the man had once worked to die down had slowly began to rise back in volume. Letting it happen, Professor Port leant against the desk behind him in a pleased fashion, and let the excitement build.
"A surprise!?" To no-one's surprise, Ruby was the easiest to influence with the mere prospect of one - all of the doubt from earlier swept from her attitude. She leant closer to Weiss, who had just escaped her partner's clingy conversation habits and was not looking too pleased with their return. "What do you think it could be, Weiss?"
Eager to satisfy the silver-eyed girl's thirst for an answer, Weiss responded haphazardly, "Oh, I don't know, maybe some extra homework? That would be a surprise for sure."
Ruby looked disgusted and recoiled. "Homework? But it's the first day of school… they wouldn't be that mean." She looked into the distance for a second before coming to a query. "Right?"
"It was a joke, Ruby," Weiss sighed. "A joke."
Seconds passed before metallic eyes widened and brown brows raised. The cape-clad girl leapt onto her partner in something that could have been described as a hug if the receiver didn't seem so repulsed at the idea. "I knew you cared! You made your first joke with me!"
"Get off of me, Ruby! I swear, this will be the last time I even attempt the niceties with you!"
"We're basically best friends now!"
/-/
Somewhere on the row behind them, Yang was snickering – looking somewhat a mix between being amused and pleased with herself as she leant on her palm. She was happy that Ruby was fitting in better than she expected. Her gaze drew itself onto the boy to the right of her little sister, hard at work in trying to wrap the tie around his neck correctly.
Maybe I was too harsh on him.
She was just scared. It didn't excuse her behaviour but she was scared. Scared of many things. Many of those things revolved around Ruby. While the blonde would hold off on her prejudice for now, she couldn't help but dislike those eyes of his. Even with his back to her, their distant and hazy gloss was something that told her to watch out. To be careful. It was familiar, in some creepy sense.
"Yang?"
"Hm?" Yang rose her head from its perch on her gloved hand. Laying the same arm on the desk flat, she turned slightly to meet her partner. "'Sup, Pyrrha?"
Pyrrha smiled sweetly and politely. It seemed to be something true to her nature to default to politeness, at least it seemed that way to Yang. "You just look like you were spacing out. Are you alright?"
For a split second, her partner seemed more like her sister. Their concern was pretty similar, in a sense. Closing her eyes briefly, Yang re-opened them and let no signs of concern dance in their lilac stage. "Man, Pyrrha, what are you worried about?" Flashing the redhead a toothy grin, Yang made a show of having an energy to her. "I'm A-OK, Pyr, so chillax – `kay?"
The taller girl gave her a weird, sustained look with a tilted head before answering. "Well, when you put it like that, I guess you're fine… I think."
Staring at each other blankly, all it took was a single blink from both parties.
They both began to laugh it off; Pyrrha's politeness and Yang's carefreeness seemed to give them things to bounce off of. If Yang had learnt anything about her new partner, it would be that she got comedy. Unlike some.
No, it was more unlike most.
Pyrrha continued along another path, taking advantage of the entire classroom's conversation to create one of her own. "So, what do you think Professor Port's 'surprise' is going to be?" Good question. There was an almost infinite number of things the man could show them. It was hard to narrow it down.
"I dunno… what about you?"
"I was thinking something along the lines of a long-lost relic that he had encountered along his travels and is willing to share with us to reveal its secrets," Pyrrha said with a completely straight face.
"…That was a joke, right?" Yang squeezed out dryly.
Emerald orbs widened and looked to the side and back in a fraction of the second before the girl replied very slowly. "…Yes."
"Well." It was probably better to change to subject and spare the poor girl from any embarrassment. Yang would save that for Ruby. "Maybe he wants to give us a live demonstration of some cool huntsman tricks." A pretty boring answer but a likely one at the same time.
Though, it was enough to satisfy their team leader, who nodded thoughtfully. Pyrrha hummed in acknowledgement until her expression suddenly twisted as Yang was gripped by the arm and shook with such vigour she felt the blood vessels in it getting tied up. It wasn't only that, the yellow-maned girl finally noticed, but her entire body was rocking back and forth – giving her a sense of nausea she would have much preferred not having.
"Guys, guys, look!" Nora, the girl currently making her feel like she was about to lose an arm, pointed obviously to an object at the side of the room. It was covered in a deep crimson cloth and about as tall as their professor.
Yang would have liked to get a better look, but the ginger's unrelenting assault was making it hard.
She made sure to communicate that best she could. "Nora… would love to see… what you're talking about… but you mind… letting go?" After her desperate plea for reprieve, the smaller girl came to a halt abruptly, much to her surprise.
"Come on, Nora, that's enough." None other than Lie Ren came to her rescue, easing his friend with a simple pull of the shoulder. He gave Yang an invisible smile and a silent apology through the slightest of eye contact, to which she thought she reciprocated but wasn't too sure because of how the room was spinning every which way to Sunday.
Truly, he was an unsung hero of Remnant.
"Is that a box of some sort?" Pyrrha observed idly, leaning past her partner to get a view of the object that had her ginger-haired teammate so engrossed.
"It sure seems like it," Yang replied woozily. Again, she wasn't really sure, but the object was a vague red silhouette of a square, so… "Totally a box." She tried cradling her forehead to quell the vibrations rattling within her head. It was unsuccessful.
"And, if I'm seeing this right, is it moving?"
Yang's hazed vision seemingly cleared in an instant. Her cradling came to stop as she started to ponder the words uttered by the leader of Team PYRN. Cranking her head towards the cloth-draped mystery box, she leant forward to observe closely. Similarly, both Nora, Pyrrha, and – surprisingly – Ren did much the same.
Sure enough, the cloth seemed to pulsate and convulse very slightly – giving the impression of a beating heart.
"What the f-"
/-/
"You think he's going to show us some sort of cool huntsman trick?"
"No."
"Maybe it's going to be a super awesome huntsman weapon that was custom made with all sorts of the newest mods and attachments!"
"I highly doubt that a professor at Beacon would be so frivolous with their money."
"What if he's going to show us his ultra-rare collection of claws, tusks and fangs from evolved Grimm?"
"No- what?" Weiss took a second to comprehend what was just said before snapping her head to the girl next to her. "That doesn't even make sense. Grimm fade to dust on death. You know that, don't you?"
Very aptly, Ruby paid no heed to her partner's very logical assessment. Instead, her eyes sparkled silver with exhilaration. "What if he's going to give us cookies and cream?!"
"Are you even trying anymore?"
Twisting on the bench, her cape whipped around with her, intent on asking her other new friend for his own thoughts on the subject. "What about you, Jaune?" To her surprise, Ruby's question went unanswered. The blond boy next to her was still attempting to get the tie properly fixed around his neck. He would wind it around under the collar, fold it and insert it between itself, realise he did it wrong and then reset. Over and over again, he repeated – though interestingly, Jaune seemed quite distant.
In the sense that he wasn't really sat next to her right now.
Sure he was there and very much alive. Just thinking, is how Ruby would have described him. Focussed on a singular point of the wooden desk in front of him, Jaune's face was flat and eyebrows were very slightly furrowed – radiating a feeling of faraway intensity.
"Jaune?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah – no." He answered with every response you could have to anything. Despite his vocal acknowledgement, his gloved hands were like clockwork; mechanical. Unable to complete their role but trying to nonetheless.
"But I didn't even ask a question…" At her second attempt to get Jaune's attention, she was well received. Slowly but surely, his pale cerulean eyes made their way over to meet her own. His hands had also stopped mindlessly trying to properly affix his neck tie – suspended in the position them were moments before he responded.
"Sorry," he said apologetically, looking disorientated. "I think I must have dozed off or something…"
It sorta seemed like more than that… Ruby thought, but refused to put the words on her tongue. Instead, she settled for a light prod to his side. "Is everything okay, Jaune?" Her tone was filled with as much curiosity as it was worry, and the girl hoped that it wouldn't come across as such. "You were just staring at the desk."
Putting forth a bigger smile, Jaune tilted his head slightly. "Don't worry about me, Ruby. I can look after myself."
She felt the muscles in her face reject the decision. Ruby returned the smile brightly. "All right, then!" Almost instantly, the smile dimmed as she adopted a softer tone – not quite meeting the eyes of the boy next to her. If he didn't want to tell her, that was fine and everything. It was his choice after all. Even so, part of her ached to know because that was just the kind of person she was. Nosy and annoying, some may say but caring is how Yang once put it.
Despite it, she would respect his decision and tried her best to leave it be as she admitted shyly to her teammate, "It's kind of embarrassing to say, but I'm glad that we got to be friends and I want you to know that I'm here if you wanna talk about stuff." Gosh, this really was embarrassing. Ruby felt dots of heat rise to her skin underneath her collar and cloak as she continued, "I might not be able to say a lot of big words like Weiss but I think that just talking makes things a whole lot better…"
Silence drifted between them as Ruby trailed off, sneaking glances in the direction of Jaune to see his response.
"…or not, you know. That's fine too."
Jaune's hands fell onto the desk as he started to laugh. It was the sort of laugh that was genuine, like what Yang would sound like after she made Ruby do something stupid. Like what her dad or Uncle Qrow would sound like when she would misunderstand something. It sounded goofy and full. Honest.
It didn't stop the embarrassment from doubling though.
"W-what? Why are you laughing?"
"You were this close to making yourself sound really cool," he explained between breaths, slowly regaining his composure. "But you just had to muck it up, didn't you? God, you're such a dork!"
Finding her fire, Ruby shot back with bite behind her voice. As much bite as she could muster. "Says you!" Not a lot, apparently. "You're carrying your sword around like some sort of Mistrali cartoon protagonist! Who do you think you are?"
Jaune bit his lip, trying to stop himself – as futile an attempt it was. "That's quite a bit coming from little Miss Red Hood, you probably sleep with that thing on, don't you?" he said, pointing a finger weakly to her precious cloak hood.
Standing up and slamming her hands onto the wooden desk, she probably woke up Blake who was sleeping quite peacefully not a minute earlier. But honestly, that wasn't important right now. She had to clear something up! "I am not little! I drink milk and my dad says I'm still growing!" Shooting a finger to Weiss, the girl was taken aback and flinched at the gesture. "Even Weiss is smaller than me!"
"What the- hey!" She would understand, Ruby knew. This was justice!
"Just because the pot called the kettle black doesn't mean they both can't boil water."
"That one doesn't even make sense!" Her breath was ragged and face wild. Only then did she glance back and forth, getting the scariest sense of a past experience not yet half a week old. Dropping back down in a swirl of rose petals, Ruby let out a deep sigh of relief. She had to thank the overall commotion pervading the class. Jaune began to snigger once again. Pouting, she whined, "No fair."
Shrugging, Jaune slouched slightly, losing his earlier rigidness. The tie he was trying so desperately to get around his neck lying freely on his shoulders. He let out a breath of his own, eyelids drooping and a small smile coming onto his face. Without looking directly at her, he whispered, "Thanks, Ruby."
Ruby looked at him strangely at first, but decided to simply nod. "That's why I'm here, right? I'm your friend, after all!" She felt as though she was able to lay eyes on a realer side of her new friend – one different from the constant smiles and reassurances. Jaune inhaled sharply and muttered something underneath his breath, lips conveying a message drowned out by the rest of the room.
"What was that-?"
"Hohoho!" The jolly voice of Professor Port already began to smother the volume of his students. "Alright, class, I think I've given you enough time to talk about what your professor has in store for all of you."
A quick look back to Jaune revealed he was working on his tie once more. What was different however, was a look of an authentic concentration on his features. Eyes fixated on the fabric. Hands working like the inside of a clock. It was a vastly dissimilar sight to his ventures earlier. Though, Ruby would be lying if she were to say he looked close to actually being able to it.
Wishing him luck, her attention was brought back to their professor, who had made his way to one side of the room with his hands behind his back. "I've heard some of your guesses, and some of them were… let's say scarily accurate. Grimly accurate." Students around the room mumbled confusedly, but Professor Port only chuckled to himself and shook his head in a self-satisfied manner. "Alright, children, I present to you all your surprise!"
He gripped something akin to a table cloth that was covered a box-like object and pulled it off with all of the energy of a showman. "Hah! Feast your eyes!" The crimson cloth fluttered away, and murmurs grew for what felt like the fifth time today as Professor Port unveiled to them the quite literal beast hidden underneath the thin fabric.
"That's a Grimm," Ruby deduced – uncaring for how obvious it was. "But…"
Weiss finished her thought off absentmindedly. "Not just any Grimm. It's an Emportusk – the equivalent to Alpha Beowolves or Ursa Majors to their respective species," she explained. "It possesses tusks that are over a dozen times stronger than their counterparts and an extra horn on their head. And if that wasn't enough, their entire body is essentially encased in armour, making it hard to score any significant damage even if you were to hit in the first place." Flipping her ponytail over her shoulder, the smaller girl finished, "You don't often see them in the forests of Vale, being more native to the mountainous regions due to the rough terrain."
True to her explanation, the evolved Boarbatusk was indeed covered in an ivory shell, leaving only the slightest hints of black for where the joints would be located. It was like a walking tank if that talk could break out into a sprint. It sure was scary-looking, mostly due to the fact that she had never seen one before.
"…Well, I was close enough, right?" Ruby added. She did suggest Grimm parts as the surprise earlier.
Her partner gave her another incredulous look. "Just be quiet, Ruby."
Behind them, Yang whispered as if she was enlightened. "Oh my god, I get it. Grimly." She slapped a hand to her forehead, the leather against skin creating a soft plap. She turned to Nora and Pyrrha, as if seeking confirmation. "That's hilarious."
"Behold! One of the rarest," the professor leant in for effect – wiggling his bushy eyebrows to emphasise, "and more destructive, creatures of Grimm that haunt Remnant – the Emportusk! I've managed to bring one in for you all to witness and observe for your first Grimm Studies lecture due to their mostly reclusive nature, and one of you lucky boys and girls will be chosen to fight it." Ruby's smile faltered slightly. "So? Who's up for the challenge to prove their worth as an aspiring huntsman, eh?"
Any sound that was once being made was strangled by the throat and merciless choked the life out of, making Ruby cringe at how everyone was so against the idea.
But it wasn't like they were in any real danger anyway, as there was a licensed huntsman on standby, and within Beacon Academy itself – probably only five minutes away from the nurse's office. She contemplated standing up to swipe the chance that everyone seemed to foolishly be throwing away but as her hands twitched to push herself up – the girl began to feel the dozens of pairs of eyes watching her.
That was when she realised. They weren't scared of the Grimm. They were scared of each other. Of looking like an idiot in front of one another. Of failing in front of the entire class. It surely wasn't easy to go up against an evolved Grimm by yourself and if you were to succeed, you would be praised and admired.
But if you failed?
Mocked. Looked down upon. At least that's what she thought would probably happen. Ruby was sure that Yang, Jaune and the rest of RASB and PYRN would do their best to console each other if they were to go up and flop – but the mere prospect of losing everything, let alone on the first day of school and dooming the rest of your high school reputation? It scared them. It scared her.
And she hated that it did. It was so dumb, she knew it was.
The energy in her hands faded, and the resolve she had built had crumbled. A sour grimace came across her lips, partly disgusted at herself. Ruby wanted to put herself out there. Tell everyone that she was here – here to be the best huntress Remnant had ever seen and save countless lives. To put on display her passion and skills, her baby Crescent Rose and prove – not only to everyone watching, but herself too – that she was good enough.
Memories of the embarrassment at pre-Initiation invaded her head, the worries of if people would remember accompanying them and the reluctance of her body to move.
She hated all of it.
It doesn't matter what they think, Ruby. Just show them all what you can do!
Shuffling to her left ceased her turmoil. Weiss uncrossed her arms, propped them onto the desk and began to rise slowly. Did she just not care? Was she that confident? In a way, a feeling of jealously rose along with her partner's figure. Looks like, Jaune was right. Ruby really was a shy, awkward and dorky girl who may have liked weapons just a little too much, and was sort of insecure about her height. But it looked as though Weiss rose above all of the fears that everyone else in the class had.
People never did give any credit to how high school worked.
Hormones made people weird. Teenagers were weird. And despite being two years younger than anyone here, Ruby was just as bad as each and every one of them in that department. People didn't want to stand out. Those who did wanted to stand out the most. Some entertained the philosophy of taking second over first. Others aimed for the top at all costs necessary. Some people didn't know how to stick up for themselves. Some people were jerks.
And here Ruby was. Flat on her butt and scared to kill a Grimm at a huntsman academy. Falling into these dumb labels and stereotypes that came with school life, she felt… ashamed. Wondering how it ended up like this. Not even Yang – her boisterous, overconfident and outgoing older sister – made any sort of effort to showcase her ability to the rest. A quick glance revealed her half-cringing at the atmosphere, proving Ruby's ownself not to be the only one feeling that way.
Just what was she even doing? Ruby started to question if she could even do it.
"Oh, gods. I can do it… I can do it." Tearing her silver eyes away from a spot on the brown desk she was preoccupied with, Ruby looked to the source of the voice. None other than Jaune was staring at his torso in star-struck awe. Disbelief coated his rising tone. And boy, was it rising. "I can do it!" He began laughing. Ruby started to look at him with her own disbelief; oh no, he started laughing.
Her eyes trailed downwards to see a tie. Not perfect or very neat, but completed and proper. Was he really this emotional about something so… small? And Ruby couldn't help but feel the second-hand embarrassment on her friend's part. What are you doing, Jaune?
"I knew I could do it… I can do it! Yes! Haha!"
Now everyone was staring at her bench, specifically at Jaune, but Ruby couldn't help but sink into her seat a little – eyes barely coming up above the desk. They flickered to Jaune's face, wide in disbelief… and were those tears in his eyes?
Jaune was crying! The mere fact had Ruby more confused than a Zwei with a vitamin pill in front of him!
A phantom of a sob came over his laugh. "I knew I could…-"
"Well then, young one!" Professor Port's voice boomed. "It certainly is nice to see the new generation so passionate, but do refrain from crying – will you?"
Jaune froze. He dabbed his sleeve against his eye before meeting the stares of those around him. All of the stares from those around him. From Ruby's cringing to Weiss' very obvious frustration. Nora's look of glee to Ren's quiet sorrow. All the way to Pyrrha's forced smile and Yang's bemused look, making an `OK` symbol with her free hand.
Whether it was sarcastic or not, Ruby appreciated that she at least made the effort.
Even Blake was now awake, dreary golden eyes – half-closed - looking around the room with no clue as to the current situation.
Doing the best he could, the center of attention replied to everyone's silent question. "…What?"
/-/
Pulling up his combat trousers and fastening the multiple belts, the clicking and clacking of the metal hid his cursing. Not very well, mind you, but they tried.
"Stupid bloody… dumb fucking…" As stated, not very well.
He overcame the godforsaken trial set out by whatever sinister gods decided that fabric around your breathing tube was the definition of looking smart. Damn it, he was so overjoyed at the fact that he started crying. And just when he thought things were starting to look up, he just had to open his mouth – didn't he?
Shooting the dirtiest daggers towards the limp maroon material hanging loosely from within his locker, Jaune slipped into his hoodie and tightened the pads of leather that were the extent of his protective gear. Just as he finally got it on, of course Fate and Destiny would have it so he no longer needed to wear it.
Another curse with a look of unreasonable fury slipped out from his lips.
Pulling on one of the belts on his arm bracers, the blond stared into his locker while inattentively fixing up the one opposite. An Emportusk, huh? Definitely one of the rarer types of Grimm. Sure, he had fought one or two or a couple dozen before – if only because Vul was a sadistic bastard who made sure he got the `full package` when it came to Grimm.
And he could tell you, it was not a pretty ending. For whom, it depended, but the things hit like trucks and sped like bullets. Not to mention getting past their armour was a huge pain in the ass. One final pulls of the worn leather proved the fit of his left bracer to be tight and properly secure.
Jaune sighed and shut his locker, leaving within his cursed uniform. His eyes tracked to the weapon laying comfortably on the steel door of the locker adjacent. One final check of the equipment on his belts and the holsters to his sides told him there was only a final piece to the puzzle. A piece that belonged in the empty slot of his arm bracer.
He looked to the countless canisters on his belts. Though using them was less than likely, it never hurt to be prepared.
The cold steel of Crocea Mors pierced even his leather glove as the material created a satisfying click upon being inserted into its place. He had just replenished the two purple dust vials connected to his weapon and his arm, so if push came to shove those were always an option. Jaune's mind ushered against the thought, however, as revealing your hand (whether to your classmates or your enemies) wasn't always the best idea.
Crocea Mors created a melancholy sheen as the blade scraped out of the sheathe. Twisting the surface back and forth, he admired the make and colour once again – something he did out of habit these days – before he put it through back into the well-kept scabbard.
It came back with a smooth chink. Jaune hardened his gaze. He was ready.
It went through with disgusting ease. Jaune widened his eyes.
What the hell did he just do?
Bent knees, arms thrusted forward, and sword pushed even further – the boy trembled. His face was past the shoulder of the faunus he had rammed his weapon through. Right palm lying flat on the pommel of the worn tool, he pushed it deeper – not know what else to do.
"I knew you could do it…" His target threw up a stream of scarlet liquid that trailed the side of his mouth, dropping the gun he held – still smoking at the barrel as it clattered onto the cobble. "I knew… you could…"
That was Jaune's wake up call.
It came back with the wet ripping of flesh, the jagged edges of the rusty blade making the removal of the weapon take much more visceral effort than when inserted. Finally, the sword was made its way out of the cage of blood and flesh it was forcibly pushed into – releasing an unholy amount of crimson splatter in its wake. Fucking hell.
Staining his blade, staining his hoodie, staining his soul; Jaune's boots stepped a few paces forward and stood up straight despite his body's plea to give in. With a thick meaty sound, the corpse of a brown-haired, brown-tailed, red-covered faunus hit the floor of the blazing village around them. Blood began to pool and coalesce like a growing plague.
Then, the second corpse slammed onto ground. This one was younger, smaller. Just as bloody. A single bullet hole that gouged out both sides of his head. White hair was sullied both black from dirt and soot, and red from…
The third body fell.
Giving into his very being's wishes, Jaune collapsed onto his knees, the damning evidence of his deed weakly falling onto the stone under him. Face falling into his hands, the boy opened his mouth – tears streaking out of his eyes.
And he screamed.
He screamed. So loud. So guttural. So raw. Raw emotion pouring out. Every emotion leaking. Rage, sorrow, disbelief, fear, frustration. Hate. Not again. Not again. Tattered brown cloth, stained in red. Pleas for help, promises made – promises broken. "An Arc never goes back on their word, son. Remember that."
Bullshit.
Vocal chords threatened to snap, the fire started to ensnare him in their smoky grasp. Bright, ominous eyes of red started to snap in his direction. Howls and roars accompanying the rising temperature. Jaune couldn't take it. He had lost someone once before, but here? Here he had the chance. He could have saved someone – finally – but trust him to fuck it all up.
What could he have done differently? Everything, probably. That's what he told himself. It was all his fault. Puffy sapphire eyes, glazed over by the thick smoke, peered through the fingers – liquid trailing down the skin. What about the boy's mother? The one he promised? He gave her his word that her son would come home safe. Part of him wasn't all too surprised, though. It wasn't the first time that he had lied to someone straight to their face.
Brown hair, green skirt, pleading eyes.
Empty words.
Through the pain, through the suffering – Jaune had to make a decision. His body creaked backwards, seeing a black contraption cluttered carelessly on the floor and soaked in seeping red. Jaune knew that there was a choice as his arm extended to reach for the gun, forsaking one murder weapon for another.
Pale fingers ignored the feeling of the warm blood on the grip, instead settling on the trigger. Bringing it to head-level, the choice was right in front of him. His trigger finger was itching, twitching, convulsing. All he had to do…
Was pull the trigger.
The double door leading into the lecture theatre certainly was much louder than when he had opened it the first time. Perhaps it was due to the sudden engulfing silence at his entrance making the screech of the hinges the only sound present in the room was part of it, but-
No. That was the reason for it. Jaune knew there was no real point in trying to tell himself otherwise.
Each of his steps was tracked. Laser-like focus on his movements. The very way he stood seemed to be judged by his peers. It reminded Jaune of his time in middle school, having to present a project to the rest of the class. At most, such times were only a year and a half behind him – yet it felt like so much longer. But with how he was feeling right now? Jaune came to the conclusion that he, in fact, did not miss them.
"Ah, there you are, my boy," Professor Port said jovially, placed quite calmly next to the caged (yet still very much dangerous) Grimm. "I was starting to wonder if you ran off, hoho!"
Like he would. Do that and be labelled a coward for the rest of Beacon? One, he would never live it down and all the sympathetic looks from his team – gods forbid how Yang would react – would make it ten times worse. Two, being labelled as something would draw more eyes onto him, making life much more of a hassle in general. If everyone was going to slap a sticker onto him, Jaune would rather it be a more respectable brand.
"No, sir. I wouldn't dream of it."
Laughing from the belly, Professor Port nodded. "I like your spirit. Jaune, was it?" At his own firm nod, the greying man continued. "This is your last chance to back out, Jaune. Are you sure that all of your spirit isn't for show?"
The question made him think. He liked to think not. Everything he had been through and done, had cultivated a side of him that would have otherwise never seen the day. Twisting his head to the side to lay eyes on his team and PYRN, he could see that they all had a myriad of emotions on their faces. Weiss seemed annoyed, more so than usual. Blake was finally awake, too, and Ruby looked somewhere in-between a proud mother and a nervous wreck.
PYRN looked generally well-wishing. The long-haired blonde was giving a toothy grin. Was it support or amusement at his plight. Well, at least she cared enough.
Closing his eyes for the briefest of moments, he could sense the Aura within the room. Tense, strained, anticipating. The feeling, despite the length he experienced it for, was electric – making his nerves burn with excitement of all things. Sapphire orbs revealed themselves once more, casted into steel.
"Sorry, sir," he said confidently, "but I think I gave my answer a while ago."
"Then let the simulated massacre…" Professor Port ripped from the wall adjacent a mounted battle axe, raising it over head one-handed over the lock of the cage. "Begin!"
/-/
Ruby scooted up next to Weiss, much closer than what she found comfortable.
"You think he's going to be alright?" She asked, wearily eyeballing the Emportusk stalking outside of the cage in a manner that just seemed unnatural. At the very least, she expected the Grimm to come out tusks blazing – eyes on the prize and hooves trampling. Instead, the Devil came sauntering with animalistic pride.
"Arc?" Weiss replied, not even really needing to ask but doing so anyway. Keeping her pale blue pupils on the display, she mumbled back, "I would have thought you to have much more faith in him."
"What? No, I do!" Suddenly, the girl felt the need to defend herself. "I'm just-"
"Worried?" Tearing a single eye away to meet Ruby's own, Weiss explained, "Believe me, it's not hard to tell." Slouching slightly, Ruby backed away but her partner expanded on her worries, sucked into the presentation being held. "I can't say for sure until I see more but, for now, they seem to be sizing each other up. The Grimm and Arc alike."
Metallic eyes proved the observation true. The Emportusk inched closer, moving more akin to a Beowolf than a Boarbatusk, luminescent eyes of bloody scarlet flashing dangerously. Jaune, however, was still. The most he was doing was bending his knees into a lower stance, placing his left arm in a position to draw his sword and having his free hand float above securely.
"There." Weiss whispered.
Exploding outwards with unforeseeable speeds, the Emportusk began to push off its bone-covered legs left and right, creating something of a zig-zag pattern as it charged. It was so fast that all that even Ruby could see was a blur of white trailed by red. Her Semblance didn't magically allow her to adapt to the speeds she, or other people, could reach – but after using it for years and years, the girl liked to think she had developed the ability to track all sorts of speeds.
Not this one, apparently.
But Jaune! If even she couldn't see the raging storm, how would Jaune fare? Lurching over the desk, Ruby leant in wanting to yell a warning at the top of her lungs. She was too late.
Jaune had already gotten out of the way.
A simple movement of the body, leaning into one direction and down. He didn't try to draw sword on his left forearm; instead, the teen simply pivoted on the boot with the most weight, turning to get a visual against his opponent. The Emportusk skidded to a halt, ripping up wooden floorboards and turned back to look in what Ruby could only describe as disbelief. Maybe she was projecting her own feelings onto the armour-clad beast but a quick look to Weiss revealed to her that she was in a similar state of mind.
Raising its tusks and singular horn high, the Emportusk seemed to look down on Jaune – despite the boy being taller – before letting out a slow stream of steal from an opening of the bone armour in the face. In contrast, the blond boy simply flattened his mouth into an ever-thinner line, yet to draw his weapon that Ruby had thoroughly observed the day they had met.
Again, no warning. The Grimm burst forward, mixing up the pattern of its charge. From a straight charge to a zig-zag. Would it charge straight or at an angle this time? The answer was shown to her before Ruby even had the chance to figure it out. Scratch that, she didn't even know what the answer was.
Though Jaune apparently did, getting out of the way again.
That by itself was puzzling. However, what confused the silver-eyed girl much more was the fact that Jaune hadn't yet drawn his weapon. He held that same stance, still as a leaf on a dry, summer day – hand hovering over the hilt of that brilliant blade and knees bent low, sideways-on.
Repeating like some twisted clockwork, the cycle repeated. Vanishing charge. Dodge. Charge. Move. Pivot. Charge. No retaliation. Just movement.
She had to ask. "How is he able to see those attacks?" Ruby had faith in Jaune but she never would have guessed his forte laid within speed. It was kind of amazing.
Mouth covered by her palm, Weiss crossed arms brought forth her analysis. "How indeed… Reaction time? But if even Ruby has a hard time…" The fingers drummed on the skin of her cheek. "If it can't be reaction…" Icy eyes widened. "Prediction."
"Prediction?"
"But that's insane. How could he predict movements he probably can't even see?"
From her other side, a certain raven-haired girl freshly awoken added her own voice to the mix. Amber orbs still fixed on the fight, it didn't inhibit her from talking at all. "They say experience is the best teacher. Next to pain, that is."
Weiss nodded slowly – reluctantly. "Still. The amount of Emportusk he would have to have fought. Factoring in their scarcity…"
"…It would be near impossible." Finishing off the sentence of the snow-haired girl, Ruby's head whipped back and forth between their exchange, halfway lost. "It would still bring up the question of why Jaune is seldom moving. He's barely shifted from his starting position."
Ruby knew that much to be true. As Jaune repeatedly moved, it was never with too much of a jump or dash – just leaning, pivots, and ducks. The odd roll was few and far between. Whereas she would use her Semblance to get completely out of the way of danger, she couldn't imagine what Jaune was feeling: how the serrated tusks of the Emportusk was barely scraping the peachy surface of the boy's skin. Aura or not, that would freak the hejeebus out of her.
"He's minimising movement to conserve energy. He doesn't want to get tired." Weiss removed the hand from her mouth, words forming onto her lips. "He's stalling."
Blake narrowed her eyes. "But-"
"For what?"
"For what?"
The two girls looked at each other, surprised, to which the taller one would break off in haste – getting back to the action.
Stalling? Why would Jaune want to stall? What could he have been waiting for? The thought churned her mind, coming to a Grimm- grim (Gah – get out of her head, Yang!) conclusion. Maybe it wasn't the fact that her friend was waiting for something. Maybe it was that he couldn't do something. Was he scared? Just as she was?
Then that made them similar, making Ruby feel a little better about herself about her reluctance to fight earlier. But, wait – there was still a reason that he was down there and she was still up here. Granted, the reason stemmed from a misunderstanding, though he could have very easily just denied and explained it. Instead, Jaune chose to bear the burden even she – the team leader – didn't want to. Because of her pettiness.
She had to do something, she knew. There was a choice to be made here. The determination that had slithered away not half an hour earlier rose up once more. Placing her hands onto the brown desk in front of her, Ruby's cape fluttered as she began to push herself upwards – rose petals slowly fluttering behind her.
Facing her out of curiosity, Weiss reacted to the shuffling of her partner. Orbs of ice widened, somewhat desperate. "Wait, Ruby, what are you doing?" This was her chance. This is what she had to do. If Jaune couldn't do anything right now, then as team leader – no, as his friend – this was the best she could do.
"Ruby, I swear on everything light and dark, don't do something you'll regret-!"
Even if her partner didn't agree with it. Ruby sucked air into her lungs.
/-/
Jaune would be the first to admit; this was all a mixture of luck and experience.
He'd wager a good few thousand lien on it heavily being the former, though the constant training he had been subjected to was as eccentric as it was effective.
Emportusk were found just as commonly in the Mistrali peaks as the Valean ones. And his trips to the mountain ranges of Mistral very rarely ended up with less than a broken bone. Couple that with the fact it was to the north, closer to Atlas than the mountains of Vale?
Not a pleasant time, that was for sure.
Though, it did help his footwork. Grimm normally would react the same as other members of their species, even the more evolved types. If you knew how one will attack (and boy, howdy, did Jaune know how these things attacked) you could choose the movement that would result in the least likely chance of it skewering you like some sort of kebab. So chance was involved, yes. Like choosing from a multiple-choice question.
Then again, the difference here was that one wrong answer on a test would normally result in a detention. On the battlefield, one wrong move would normally result in death. That, he knew all too well.
Another attack went blazing past his shoulder, rattling the canisters that were clipped onto his belt. Yet to draw Crocea Mors, Jaune span on the sole of his foot to keep his eyes on his opponent – as he was always taught to. A bead of sweat trailed down the side of his head. He doubted it was the first one. People were probably wondering why he was taking this drawing stance but not actually following through with it.
He couldn't.
Well, more accurately, he didn't want to. Jaune was scared, not of failing – far from it. There was more chance of Yang accepting a date invitation from him than there was of him getting knocked out cold by an Emportusk. No, he was scared of showing everyone what he could do.
Openings were presented to him within the chinks of the ivory armour, black and inviting – though he doubted it was to those around him. Chinks that had been presented to him months before time and time again, their presence beaten into his brain.
That was half the reason he didn't take them.
Doing so would make people question him. Question what he could do. Question how. Jaune didn't want people to question him. It was dumb, he understood, but to make himself stand out was dangerous. He still wasn't ready.
Letting out a powerful puff of steam, the Emportusk seemed to be on its last nerve, patience worn thin. Jaune's hand twitched. He could quick draw and end it all during the next attack but doing so would destroy the cover he was wanting to build. But if he didn't he might actually take some real damage and be labelled incompetent. The correct decision was obvious, yet so hard to make. He couldn't do it.
"You can do it, Jaune!" A voice shrieked.
Jaune pulled his head to the side, showing Ruby – hands on the desk and pushing herself up onto it with a knee – fist held high and voice raised higher. "Don't worry about anything, you got this! I know you do! So go get 'em!"
To say everyone was staring at her would have earnt him the title of Corporal Crystal Clear. Hell, the Grimm probably sent a confused glare Ruby's antics. However, she kept screaming encouragement – face getting redder than her own cape. She really had a knack for this sort of thing, didn't she?
For embarrassing herself like the massive dork she is or pushing people forward? Part of his brain asked.
He thought about the answer. Internally, the only appropriate response seemed to be: Yeah. Yeah, she does. And despite how idiotic of a response that sounded, it just summed up this entire situation. The embarrassment, the fears of faliure his god damn tie being the reason for this shitty situation - it was all just so…
Non-sensical and stupid.
Facing the Emportusk head-on, Jaune's fire kindled. After a display like that, it would have been rude not to put on a show. Screw the cover. Screw questions. His job was to kill the Grimm, right? Then kill the Grimm he shall.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Jaune taunted the evolved Boarbatusk, voice tinged with mock. "Don't tell me an almighty creature of destruction like yourself is afraid after some loud noises from a small source?" he taunted, ignoring the offended 'Hey!' from the crowd.
While it was still mostly unknown if Grimm understood human speech, they reacted enough times to cusses to make it seem so. Hence, the pseudo-monologue wasn't to waste in Jaune's eyes. The devil now came roaring. Charging. Straight at Jaune, with no fancy zig-zags or swerves. Those insults weren't for nothing, you know.
Spinning into a ball of bone and spikes, the Grimm slammed into the wooden floor and ricocheted upward slightly, now aimed straight at Jaune's head.
No longer the statue he was before, the teen stepped forward and bounced into a sprint. Crocea Mors' sheathe span 180° at Jaune's Aura flow – his soul willing the direction. Hilt facing his shoulder, the tipped edge of the shield was placed over and past his fist ready to force its way into wherever it needed thanks to the magnetic holster fitted into his arm bracer. The speed built up resulted in a slide; Jaune slipping under the speeding Grimm and – spinning around – he inserted the point of the shield into an opening in the bone structure with a strong thrust of the arm.
The grey of his arm bracer and weapon engulfed itself in a faint, shimmering light before it exploded backwards in a force opposite to the rapid spinning motion of the beast as Jaune pushed the makeshift battering ram with a Semblance enhanced punch. The energies of the two forces cancelled each other out and the Emportusk unravelled itself and was left suspended in mid-air, plates of bone shattered and coming apart from the once impeccable formation of armour.
Jaune's right hand twitched, not for his sword but instead for the handle of a device on his leg holster.
Gun morphing in front of the eyes of everyone present, the black and yellow-painted weapon shifted from its holster state as Jaune delivered a brutal forehand whip of the gun butt – furthered by his push upward and onto his feet after the slide. The attack sent the Emportusk flying high, unable to alter its trajectory.
An easy target.
Jaune's left hand reached into a small clip-case on one of his many belts and threw up a single clip taped at the bottom with red and brown. Fire and earth – dust, of course. A single swipe of the gun in a backhanded swing ate the clip with ease before the weapon snapped back in place to take the iron-sighted shot. If these people wanted a show…
Well, this is good enough.
Jaune pulled the trigger.
Ending Notes:
If it wasn't clear enough, I'm a sucker for Rule of Cool. If you were to ask me, I would say that Jaune doing something like this would be completely realistic. Then again, possibly because I have his backstory planned out pre-Beacon. I like to think I take inspiration from JoJo's Bizzare Adventure and stupidly action-packed media that attempt to explain why people do certain things, which may or may not also come through in my writing.
You ever notice a difference between how Jaune seems to speak to others and how Jaune seems to think and act by himself? A little POV thing that some of you might have picked up on. Hope I got some of those character interactions properly written, though. Some of them are doozies.
Also tried to tighten transitions between the flashbacks and how they both thematically and linguistically link to the current timeframe. Opinions? You tell me. Reviews are down there and my inbox is open. Some of you may also have issues with how fast Jaune seems to progress in his year before Beacon.
:thinking: lol
As always…
Thank you for reading this chapter!