RECAP OF CHAPTER 15: Jaune tried to kill himself by stabbing himself in the chest, while no one was ablt to stop them the first time he tentativly stabbed his chest. Ruby had arrived just in time to stop him from doing himself in.
Ruby suffered a wound on her right forearm from her efforts though, and after Jaune's Mother and Ozpin arrived home to discover the results of Jaune's attempt on his life, Ruby was quickly removed from the scene by Ozpin and Ruby's father.
The Chapter ended on a hopeful note, as Mina and Jaune made a pact to help Jaune grow past his issues related to Pyrrha's dead, and in his mother's words "Kick out that demon living in him"
It was the following morning. For Jaune it was a morning that he was inches away from never waking up for. He took a longer than normal shower, applied a fresh bandage to the freshly closed wound he inflicted on himself the night before.
"Should I be really be going to school today?" Jaune found himself thinking to himself as he half heatedly combed the hot mess he called his hair. After combing his hair into submission and getting dressed he and his mother sat down for a good breakfast.
As he ate eggs and toast he listened to his mothers instructions. He figured that one can't stab themselves in the chest and not end up on a tight leash afterwards. His mother detailed her intent to drive him to school under further notice. He would be required to then under supervision return directly home unless he was with a trusted friend of his, and only if they checked in with her or Ozpin first.
Jaune nodded in understanding of his instructions, he was not blind to the emphasis his mother put on "with a trusted friend" part. He actually wondered if any of his friends would trust him after yesterday.
Jaune's later arrival at school brought on a fresh wave of anxiety over the situation he created for himself. He had no idea how far the news of his attempt had spread. Although no one seemed to look at him any different than normal, it was difficult to tell if that was actually the case or not.
He wavered on the idea of going towards his usual seat when he noticed Yang standing outside waiting for him.
Jaune tentatively waived at Yang as she walked over as to him in a rage. His instincts was to raise his arms and defend himself but those instincts were suppressed as Yang grabbed him by his shirt collar.
"You have some fucking nerve showing up today Arc!" Yang shouted in his face as Jaune was forced onto his back foot, he waved off behind them as he knew his mother was nearby and likely read to spring on Yang if he needed her to.
Jaune's face remained neutral as she scowled at him "I'm going to make this clear, stay the fuck away from my sister, and the rest of my friends. You clear?"
Jaune hand signed out a quick [They know your doing this?] Which caught him and elbow right in his injury. his vision blurred as pain shot out from his chest through out his body.
"I know what's best for my sister! You hurt her, I hurt you!" she shouted at him before he pushed her off of him and grabbed his chest in pain.
[Fine, you say your speaking for them, than to hell with them. I don't need fair weather friends like that. But I'm not taking your word for it you psycho bitch!] Jaune signed back the fight in him started to return.
Yang walked over and clocked him in the side of his head.. Jaune's head snapped to the side as he wondered just where the fuck was anyone to stop this. "Do us a favor and fucking jump off a bridge or something!"
Jaune was taken back by what she said "Oh this makes sense now, she probably just saw Ruby was hurt and heard bits from her dad and decided I attacked Ruby. Well might as well get a cheep shot in if i'm going to burn a bridge with this bitch this morning"
[Great Idea, I'll take you up on it. Let your sister know I said that as well.] He signed before shoving past her into the school.
Nearby Mina was standing with a clenched fist wanting Desperately to clean the Branwen girls clock. But she choose to trust that her son knows what he's doing.
Jaune walked into the school, not even sparing a glance at the table as his chest felt like it was on fire "Small price to pay for what I did I guess" It didn't take him long to get waved over by Principal Ozpin.
Jaune did as he was asked, he wouldn't want to make things worse between him and his mother after all. He wrote out a note and gave it to the principal 'You need something?'
"I do, I'll be blunt, I'm going to need you to head straight to your classes today unless your going to be with friends." Ozpin said "I don't mean that as a punishment, just out of concern"
Jaune nodded and understood the sentiment, even if he hated being doted on like a broken doll or a kicked puppy. He wrote out a quick 'I'll be in class then, I'm apparently no longer welcome in my normal circles'
"Hmm, do you need me to intervene?" Ozpin asked Jaune directly
Jaune didn't feel like it was worth it, that he was worth it at that exact moment. 'I don't think so, either frayed nerves will calm down in a few days or they can go fuck themselves. But that's in their court.'
"Still seeing Ruby's reaction towards you yesterday, I find it hard to believe she would turn her back on you." Ozpin said directly. "I also don't think now is a great time for you to isolate yourself from your circle. You may be stubborn but no one man is an island."
Jaune looked off to the side as he realized he couldn't really dispute that he wrote a note as his facade cracked 'I honestly can't bring myself to look her in the face right now, she was the absolute last person I wanted to hurt...'
Ozpin seemed to know what he was saying "I think I understand you clearly." Ozpin nodded at him to go ahead and head off to class.
As Jaune walked off to class he didn't see the three sets of eyes staring at him. Ruby looked at Blake and Yang
"What the hell gives, he didn't come over?" Weiss said with a look of annoyance "He could have said hello..."
Ruby leaned on her hand looking dejected, Blake rubbed Ruby's back "Well Yang is not here maybe she said something?"
'Ruby are you going to tell us what actually happened? You went to run his bag to him yesterday and your dad had to pick you up with a bloody gash on your arm.' Weiss asked Ruby on a note pad that was laying on the table.
Ruby wrote out a note on the notepad, her other arm still to sore to seriously sign out with 'I tried to explain to Yang what happened but she didn't want to hear it.'
"Okay i'm back" Yang say down looking smug.
"Back from what exactly." Blake asked
"Telling that son of a bitch to not come to our table anymore." Yang said while signing for her sister's benefit without hesitation "I don't care who he is, he hurts my sister he gets told to fuck off."
Ruby slammed her uninjured hand into the table and stared daggers at Yang. Yang was taken back by this
[Are you for real right now?] Ruby hand signed at her with a look of pure anger on her face
[Ruby slow down! your signing too fast.] Yang signed back
Ruby in a slower more methodical series of hand gestures asked directly [What in the fuck did you say to him?]
[I told the shithead to go jump off a bridge. He sliced your arm open! You don't need that kind of bullshit from anyone.] Yang signed not finding herself on the defensive.
Ruby's face in rare form turned to a fury that she rarely allowed anyone to see. It just wasn't her nature. she fought back tears of rage as she looked her sister in the face and signed [This is why I tried to tell you what the fuck actually happened, you might of just ruined everything you fucking bitch!]
Yang was not used to that kind of language from her sister and was taken back [Whoa, what the hell, I know you had a crush on him, but I don't see the big deal!]
"Yang, back off, your only making her angrier." Weiss tried to calmly advise.
"She's my damn sister, I have to look out for her because her fucking mother wont!" Yang said to Weiss.
Ruby slapped her sister across the face [I am not fucking five years old anymore, I haven't needed anyone to look out for me since I started junior high!] she holds up her bandaged arm and pointed at it, and hand signed slow enough that even the novices at the table could get the gist of it [I got this keeping Jaune from killing himself last night!]
Yang's eyes widened with Blake and Weiss. Yang stammered out a quick "W-Wait, your being a bit dramatic don't you think" forgetting to sign, when she remember he signed it back to her sister
[He had the fucking knife to his chest, he had blood on his shirt already and he looked like his soul left his fucking body when I saw him. you tell me if that's me being dramatic!] Ruby signed back.
Yang went silent wearing a look of pure shock as she slumped back into her seat, Ruby just stood up and walked off to her class.
Yang felt a crisis brewing in her mind as she just looked at the others and muttered "I... I was just trying to protect her"
Blake put a hand on her shoulder "Look, just go find Jaune at some point today and apologize to him okay?"
Weiss followed up Blake's words "Yeah this is fixable, he probably already knows that you didn't know what your were saying. He's not the type of person that would blow you off without at least giving you a chance to explain yourself.
Yang folded her arms around herself feeling suddenly insecure "I have to fix it, I have to."
"Jesus Yang your sister's pissed at you, she didn't disown you or anything" Weiss said reaching out for Yang's hand only to have it brushed away
"You don't get it, you all know the type of person her mom is. Dad's not around her often enough, so it's like she doesn't have a family that cares about her. That's why I have to fix this. Otherwise... Otherwise..." Yang said as she started to panic
Blake took her hand and squeezed it "Okay, Look, breathe with me okay?" as she looked in Yang's eyes "Take long deep breathes, clear your mind and count to ten with me okay?"
Blake and Yang took a couple minutes doing Blake's breathing exercise until Yang put a hand on Blake's shoulder "Okay... Okay i'm good."
"You may be okay. But your not good" Weiss said to Yang "That didn't sound healthy just now Yang"
"It's fine, whatever." Yang stood up just as he bell started to ring. "I'll find Jaune later and apologize okay?"
Jaune spent the day traveling directly from class to class. He was given a tight restriction for traveling around the school. The few times he went to the restroom a teacher would just happen to be in the area to make sure he wasn't attempting anything. He was even required to take his meal break in the school's office.
Say what you will about Ozpin, but he clearly had an overprotective streak going. Jaune made a mental note to ask about it some time.
It was the end of the day and Jaune was making his way downstairs to a waiting ride directly home. Since he was apparently banished from his circle of friends by Yang, he didn't have much else to do.
"Honestly, it's not like I'm planing on anything... not after what happened to Ruby. God dammit why did it have to be her anyways!" Jaune said as he held a hand to his head as his guilt complex flared up.
Jaune's thought were interrupted when he head someone call his name. He turned and saw the face of a frantic looking Yang.
[Decided to wait till I was near the stairs to give me a good push?] Jaune sighed with a look of anger on his face.
"I... Okay I was out of line this morning but I need to talk to you." Yang said looking off to the side.
Jaune folded his arms [Well hurry up, I'm pretty sure if I'm not downstairs soon your dad is going to come looking for me.]
Yang rubbed her neck and fought back a wave of anxiety "Okay here goes, I fucked up... All I knew was my sister went to your house to drop your bag off, and came back covered in blood with her arm bandaged up..."
Yang folded her arms across her chest as she kept speaking "I get it, it wasn't rational of me to think you would have intentionally hurt her... You need to understand where I'm coming from here Jaune. I'd die for her if I needed to. Did you know that I didn't even know she existed till second grade? I spent the first seven years of my life not knowing I had a sister because my Mom hates my Dad so much."
Jaune just rested his hands on his hips glaring at her. Yang kept going "Hell I didn't even get along with her at first. I just knew that she was the reason my mom and dad didn't live with each other. I thought it was bullshit that she got to have a mom and a dad, my dad, when I only got my mom!"
Yang rubbed some tears out of her eyes. "I treated her like shit, I knew she was deaf, I knew it wasn't her fault her mom was a bitch, but I still bullied her. She never tried to fight back, she just accepted it as normal that a family member of hers hated her." She turned to Jaune and sobbed out "How fucked up is that, to think it's normal for your own family to hate you at seven years old?"
Yang paced around as Jaune stood there passively, Yang started to look more uncomfortable. "Once I learned that her mother barely tolerated her existence, that she only had dad trying to care for her I realized what I was doing to her. Her mother only used her like a tool to get my dad. I was punishing her for being born for fucks sake..." Yang looked at Jaune with watering eyes "So I turned it around, I decided, if her own mother didn't love her, then I would, I'd be the best big sister I could be, she deserved so much more than she has in life, and I'm damn near giving her mine in penance for what I did you her as a kid."
Jaune finally saw that he had a chance to say something. [Well, that''s great and all, I'm glad you and Ruby are so tight now] Jaune started to turn to leave [The problem is, I don't care.] and went down stairs leaving the emotionally compromised Yang alone with her thoughts.
When Ruby saw Yang at her front door she saw her sisters tears first, then she felt herself get tightly hugged second. Yang shook against her sisters shoulders and she felt the vibrations of her sister speaking to her. She could tell her sister was saying something but it seems Yang forgot that she couldn't hear anything for a minute.
Ruby know that's not a great sign, she only forgets when she's really upset about something...
Ruby pushed her off and signed at her sobbing sister [Yang... Come one what's wrong?]
Yang shakily tried to sign out, Ruby had to look intensely at her sisters hands to be able to tell what she was saying [I tried... I really tried to make things right Sis, I failed you. I'm sorry I know you hate me now.] Yang collapsed to her knees and sobbed in a way that worried the hell out Ruby.
Ruby got on her knees next to her sister and cupped her cheeks to get her to look at you, holding Yang's face up she signed out at her. [I don't hate you Yang, I'm mad at you, but I will never hate you okay?]
Yang eyes were wide at Ruby's signing Ruby kept going [I didn't lie that I haven't needed you to keep me safe since Junior high, But that doesn't mean I don't love you, your my sister, I only have one of them!]
Yang broke down sobbing signing out a frantic [I'm so sorry I ruined everything with Jaune!]
[It's true that I love him... But if I had to choose between losing him and losing you, I'll choose losing him any day of the week.] Ruby signed back.
She watching Yang's body language change to being less tense and more defeated [I should have been able to fix this, I fucked it all up Ruby.]
Ruby snapped in front of Yang's face, the vibration of her finger tips the only way she knew she made a noise, she signed to her sister when she looked at her [Yang I couldn't bring myself to hate you in the second grade, what makes you think I'm going to hate you in the ninth?]
Yang signed back [Nothing I guess...]
Ruby hugged her sister and signed again [Honestly Yang. I love you, but... You also scare the shit out of me sometimes with how obsessed you get over me.] Ruby rubbed her neck [Honestly, I don't like the idea of you living your life for me, not when you got a boyfriend and everything now.]
Yang shook a bit [Ruby I... You don't need me anymore?]
[I need my sister, I need you as my friend.] Ruby smiled and poked her sister [I don't need a babysitter anymore]
It became Ruby's turn to hesitate [Honestly... until now I wasn't sure how to bring this up.. but maybe we need to get you talking to someone who can help you out, hell help us both out. If I learned anything from Jaune, it's how dangerous it can be for us to be so codependent on each other.]
Yang nodded and signed to Ruby [Yeah... Yeah your right... Maybe I can arrange a few talks with the school councilor, god only knows our circle has overworked the poor woman.]
[Ms Fall is going to be just fine, she's actually one of the most understanding people at our school, she's done wonders for Blake already.] Ruby signed back
Yang smiled at her sister [Yeah. I mean hell were stronger together anyways right?] Yang held her hand out for a fist bumper
Ruby returned the fist bump [Stronger together, as sisters!]
Ruby and Yang would spend the rest of the day together playing video games. The bonds of sisterhood now stronger than they ever were before.
Eyup...
So for the first time in a while, we just had a bit of a "Feel okay" Chapter. Yeah I know were starting a new conflict that's going to threaten to divide up the circle. But only time will tell if this means the fellowship fractures, or if it can reform stronger.
I don't have much to say this chapter, it's been a real whirlwind of a couple days, I did want to directly address the one comment on the last chapter, or part of it. Darshan expressed concerns of Jaune not trying to rationalize the reasons he deserved to die. It's a valid concern, and it's a case where I have to let it slide a bit so I don't have a 6 month time skip in story till he's out of a mental ward. I'd like to think that he learned pretty quickly how bad of an idea it was to try and off himself though when he was applying a bandage to Ruby's arm after she literally took a knife for him.
That said, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I'll see you all next time.
