Jaune is running. Where? Even he doesn't know. All he knows is that Pyrrha staring at him really, really creeped him out. But why?


Oh I don't know, maybe because she was the one of the five who all threatened your life literally the night before? Maybe that? Come the fuck on.


"Maybe they really are getting to me…"

He has to get them out of his head. But how? He certainly isn't going to the cafeteria anytime soon, that's for sure. Thankfully there aren't any classes left today, because Jaune would have been too caught up with all of the things that have gone on these past four days to care.

There is one thing he wants; for everything to just slow down. These past few days have been an absolute whirlwind of activity, something that would probably tire even the ball of boundless energy that is Nora Valkyrie.

"What better place to relax than the gardens? They have some nice benches there! Then I can relax…"

Jaune, with weapon, scroll, and wallet all in hand, takes a small stroll over there.

As he arrives to the garden, the scenery is breathtaking. Many types of trees and flowers line the area. The red roses combined with the many, many dandelions, sunflowers, and pure evergreen trees really make for a stunning view.

He sits down on a bench and takes it all in. All his worries melt away in the breeze as the natural world buries them deep, deep under the ground.

He lazes around, playing on his scroll for a while. This break was the best thing that has happened to him all week…

After around 30 minutes, a distinct VWOOOM! sound breaks through the tranquility. There's only one person who can make that sound.

He turns to the side, and, just barely close enough to see, the distinctive pink of Nora's hair comes into view. He watches it go inside the academy.

And where Nora goes, Ren is sure to follow. But he didn't see him back there…

"You know what? I'm gonna call him. See how that whole pancake monopoly thing went. It'll be a fun story, that's for sure."

He dials his number.

*beeeeeeeeep* *beeeeeeep* *beeeeeeeeep*

"Jaune?"

"Ren?

"Hey Jaune. How are things going?"

"Let's just say, not very good. How's yours? From the news stories I read you and Nora were sure having a good time!"

"Uh-huh… sure was a "good" time…"

"Where are you anyway?"

"Out at the grocery store looking for ingredients."

"Why?"

"The usual."

"Didn't you have the whole pancake monopoly thing going? You can't possibly need to bake more pancakes."

"I surrendered that monopoly to the Schnees. It was the only way to get Nora back down to Remnant."

"Did you really have to go through all that?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Too much to explain in a short conversation like this one."

"I'm sure. I'm going through a similar thing right now with Pyrrha."

"Speaking of her, how is she doing?"

Jaune was really hoping he wouldn't ask that. He quickly realized that he was the one who brought her up in the first place. Arghhh!

"uh…. She's… how do I put this… I'll just say 'problematic' for now."

The line is silent.

"Sorry for bringing her up and ruining your day, I swear I did-"

"It's ok. I'll call you later after I finish getting these ingredients. Goodbye Jaune."

"Bye."

He hangs up.


0/10 conversation. It's totally useless.


"Stupid! Why did you bring her into that! Now both of us are thinking about it."

Nothing he can do now though. He just looks back to the garden, trying to lose himself once again.

And it works… almost. But this time around, he notices a small patch of flowers that seem to have been crushed. It's a real shame, because these flowers were possibly the most vibrant out of them all, with a shimmering purple one leading them all. They looked really cared for too, they surely would have been t-taller than all the rest… Oh well.

Seeing this has got Jaune down in the dumps again. Lucky for him, nature comes in all forms. If one is not giving you energy, you can always change the scenery.

Jaune goes to the cliffside and sits on the edge. The sunset is approaching, being only around 30 minutes away. He has nothing to do for now, so he decides to just wait and watch the sun slowly trickle down.


Even though Jaune was at lunch not even an hour ago, the sun is already setting. Great timescale there. I'm not doing much better on this front with the remaster, it's just more hidden.


His eyes follow. He really needs this sleep after getting "interrupted" last night… Jaune falls into a peaceful slumber on the cliffside, the first proper sleep he has gotten since Forever Fall.

Meanwhile...

An invincible girl makes a sharp U-turn. Sharper than extra-sharp cheddar cheese. The guess was wrong! Jaune's room is down the way of the RWBY dorm.

She runs back through the hallway, catching the eyes of many classmates as she goes. But just as fast as she enters, she leaves, merely a shiny blur to any onlookers.

Going down the right hallway this time, she approaches the only team of importance down this way; CFVY. But a piercing yell catches her ears and she skids to a stop.

Curious, she listens in to what follows.

"WHY ARE YOU HELPING HIM?!"

"He is a nice person. I promise you that he is skilled."

"IN WHAT?!"

"He has very good cooking skills. He made me an excellent meal a few nights ago."

"THAT IS WHAT YOU WERE DOING?!"

"He fell out of the sky. I could not sit by and let him be."

"YOU SHOULD HAVE!"

"Coco please don-"

"VELVET! YOU HEARD ABOUT ALL THE THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED BECAUSE OF HIM!"

"Yatsu couldn-"

The voice suddenly gets muffled before falling silent. After some silence, a set of footsteps are heard. They gradually get louder and louder.

Oh shit, gotta run!

Pyrrha runs away in a blur, trying to refocus her mind on the ultimate prize. She looks back. Yatsuhashi is now outside the door, briskly walking away from the room. What happened to get him mad of all people? Sure must not have been good.

She continues on, looking at various doors trying to find the one. No luck on the first three. No luck here either, that's a janitor's closet. Another set is on the other side. The first door opens and..!

Empty.

The second door is the same. The third door, however, does contain something.

The room is mostly empty, save for a couple of decorations and a simple bed. This doesn't look like a place Jaune would be. But what else could it be? There's no single huntsmen or huntresses needing a room right now…

She steps inside and looks around some more. On the second pass, a piece of paper catches her eye. She looks it over.

"A cake recipe? Really?"

It does look interesting though. Maybe she should try it?

More looking. She opens the closet, and surprise, surprise, a Pumpkin Pete hoodie stands front and center. No doubt about it now. But where is he?

Coming out of the closet, she checks around for his scroll, or anything that could explain where he is. A drawer gets opened along the way and inside it is… another note? How odd…

She reads this one.

Things begin to click. Like finding the final puzzle piece of a glorious scenery puzzle, the big picture finally begins to be seen.

Yatsuhashi helping him too? That's what all the yelling was about…

And that's why he was so happy! Oum dammit!

The dark vortex that had been relatively sidelined up until now makes another attempt to overthrow its master.


And here is the moment where I decided on something special. I'll explain more in the intermission coming up after this chapter.


Luckily, it fails. Pyrrha continues to look around for any evidence of Jaune. All the drawers are combed through, all the closets are searched. She even looks under the bed. But nothing pops up. With no evidence of Jaune and nowhere else to look, she decides to go back to her dorm, sad and dejected.

The walk is slow. Going back to the dorm empty-handed is a depressing feeling. And running into Weiss on the way back doesn't help.

"How did the scare go?"

"He wasn't there."

"You couldn't find him? With the blond hair and everything? He sticks out like a sore thumb!"

"Nope. I found his dorm but he wasn't in there."

"That's disappointing. I know for certain he'll be in class tomorrow. How about a collaboration of sorts?"

"Sounds good. But why?"

"Think about it. If there's one thing that shakes Jaune more than anything in the world, it's his bad social skills. Especially with women. We are his two biggest failures in that department by a wide margin. If we combine together to expose his awkwardness to everyone, there's no way he won't buckle."

Pyrrha thinks about it. But not for long. Really it does make sense. All it will take is a bit of a nudge… right? And a double team will make things easier for everyone!

"Alright, I'm in. But what do you suggest we do?"

Weiss leans close in and whispers the plan. (A/N: haha no spoilers suck it)

A smile breaks out on both of their faces.

"I love it!"

"It will be grand. See you tomorrow!"

"See you!"

Both of them leave to their dorms with happy moods. Pyrrha is genuinely happy, with no mood problems, for the first time since this whole thing started. Will tomorrow continue the mood?

(A/N: You may notice something that I haven't done before happening in this chapter. You may not believe it, but I am slowing this rollercoaster down. ONLY A LITTLE BIT! But it is slower.)