Sooo... Hi.
I realize that it's been three months since I last posted this, and for that I'd like to apologize. Turns out it's much harder to write a story than it is to read one.
While I cannot promise a constant uploading schedule, I promise that I intend to finish this story.
The Legend of Zelda is the property of Nintendo. RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum.
IMPORTANT: I updated and extended the prologue chapter, so I recommend going through it again before reading this one.
Chapter 1 - Life at Patch
In a secluded spring, the usual sounds of nature were drowned out by the constant clashing of wooden sticks against each other. The blonde swordsman and the scarlet sniper stood three feet apart circling each other, never taking their eyes off of the other as they waited for an opening from their opponent while keeping themselves guarded. While there may have been a cacophony of noise moments before, there was now complete silence. It was as if everyone present, from the animals and insects to the red hood and golden maned spectators at the sides, to even the very presence of Mother Nature herself were waiting for the conclusion between the two duelists.
Growing desperate, the knight charged first and swung his blade downwards towards the sniper, meeting her in a bladelock. Having become a contest of strength, the knight knocked the sniper back, pushing her with enough force to make her lose her balance and fall with her back to the sand. Sensing his opportunity, the knight pointed his sword at her neck.
"Yield…"
"... I surrender."
Jaune released a sigh and lowered his weapon, instead replacing it with an extended hand towards his defeated opponent. Pyrrha smiled and took the offered hand, allowing herself to be lifted up. She made her way to the spectator side, where a grinning Ruby was already offering pointers she observed from the spar while an eager Yang got up to take her turn against the victor.
"Nice job Vomit Boy. I honestly thought P-Money had it in the bag, especially with that last stunt you pulled."
Jaune sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, knowing his desperate charge wasn't the best option in an actual fight. He responded to Yang, "I guess either I'm getting stronger or Pyrrha wasn't as aware today."
"I can think of one thing she must have been aware of." Yang's smile was going from eager for a spar to ready to tease mercilessly.
Jaune decided to change the subject both in an effort to distract Yang and to fight off the blush he knew was growing on his face. "You sure you can fight with that sword Goldilocks? I thought your thing was more pummeling with your gauntlets."
"Don't worry Jauney, I'm sure I can knock you around the sand with this stick. But if you wanted for me to get my hands all over you then you just had to ask."
"Alright then, just don't start tearing up after I've won."
"Oh, it's on Pumpkin Pete."
They both stood apart from each other and took their battle stances, prepared to spar. Yang was ready to beat the dork knight down with the fancy technique she learned from her Uncle Qrow, after being on the receiving end of it multiple times. Jaune was ready to defend his pride, knowing that if Yang won she wouldn't stop teasing him about it for the next few weeks.
Before both could finish their internal timers the gates of the spring were slammed open. That wasn't supposed to happen. The adults must've known they'd be sparring at the spring, and if it was an emergency then they would have made their presence known by calling out to them, same with the other kids. The gates were also locked from the inside, so whatever opened the gates must've been strong enough to break the locks.
Jaune instinctively turned towards the source of the commotion, only to be launched by an unknown force to land on his back. While the sand was enough to cushion his fall, the pain he felt in his chest from whatever knocked him back was enough to keep him down trying to recover. He knew Yang rushed whatever broke in due to both her shout of fury and the sound of her running stomps. At least he hoped those were hers. Knowing Ruby and Pyrrha, they were most likely ready to assist Yang and rushing their unknown assailant too. Jaune would be ready to join them once he got his senses checked and the pain became bearable.
Aaaarrgghh! What was that? Could it have been a Grimm? If so, is it the only one? I doubt it. If they make it to the village, Zwei should be able to alert everyone and Qrow and Tai Yang should be enough to deal with any stragglers. But what could have launched whatever hit me…. No, it can't have been a Grimm. The only type that can attack at range are wyverns and dragons, and neither of those would bother with breaking the doors since they can fly. Was it a bandit? Did I get hit by a flaming arrow? I hurt bad enough to have been hit by one, but I can't feel the shaft of an arrow, and I doubt an arrow can hit with that much force without actually killing me. A bandit with a Lynel bow? Could someone really be strong enough to pull that stri-
His internal analysis was brought to a halt by a scream, one he could only describe as anger so furious it made his blood freeze. What could have caused such fury? Did the scream come from one of his friends? Did it come from their enemy? He didn't know and it was driving him mad not knowing!
Another scream from the same voice, but instead of fury it was agony. He recognized the owner of the voice as Yang this time. He felt his heart sink. That scream could not be caused by a simple cut or punch on her person, but by a mortal wound instead. If Yang, the most resilient and enduring of them, had gone down, then this enemy was more than just a Grimm or a mere bandit.
While the pain was still in his chest, it felt bearable enough for him to stand and fight. Looking at the fight, or what was left of it, Jaune felt his knees buckle under his weight.
Ruby's body lay motionless on the ground, a puddle of blood pooling around her head. The only reason he could identify the body as hers was due to her red cloak, the hoodie soaked with her blood to the point that he couldn't differentiate whether or not the red was due to the hood's color or the scarlet of her blood. A sobbing Yang was over her body, with a trail of her own blood behind her and mixing with Ruby's puddle. The reason for it was at the end of her trail, where a severed hand remained motionless in the sand, with it still holding on to her sword.
A frantic Jaune rushed to their side. Lightly pushing Yang aside and whispering soothingly to her, he turned Ruby over. The blood came from her eyes, which were cut in the middle by something sharp. They were completely eviscerated, the silver of her eyes mixing with her blood and leaving a dead looking brownish color. Her mouth was formed into an 'o,' one of surprise over what she must've witnessed. Judging by the expression she left behind, she never saw what killed her coming.
Jaune wanted to vomit due to the gory display, but knew he had to keep it together. He had to everyone back to village in one piece, lest they lose more than what they've already lost. He had to make sure that both Yang and Pyr-
… Wait, where's Pyrrha?
While he was checking Ruby for signs of life, Pyrrha was trying to hold off their assailant with little success. When Jaune turned to their direction, it was to witness Pyrrha on her knees in front of a dark figure. It was as if the figure was nothing but an empty space. A tall and menacing looking figure holding a blade that looked as black and lifeless as the figure itself. Jaune, however, only had eyes for Pyrrha's condition. She had cuts all over her arms, face, and legs, with her legs having suffered some deep lacerations that caused them to buckle under her weight and the stress of the battle. The cuts, while not grave, were enough to have blood pouring out of them. All this, combined with her exhaustion from her earlier spar, was enough to weaken her and lose her fight against this new enemy.
Jaune ran at them as fast as his legs and the sand allowed him to, screaming Pyrrha's name and gaining the attention of both Pyrrha and her attacker. Pyrrha had a look of terror, one that Jaune realized he hadn't seen and didn't like seeing on her face. Her assailant had no discernable facial features, yet he had no trouble realizing it didn't see him as a threat.
This is bad. It is either too arrogant or confident enough in its skills to not be bothered by me. It's most likely confident since it took on three hunters in training without too much trouble. I can't engage it and win, but I can't leave Pyrrha to die. What do I do?
Before Jaune could charge at the figure, it raised its arm in his direction without giving as much as a glance. What looked like a ball of light materialized from its palm and shot at him. It was too wide for him to dodge it, and if he did then it would most likely hit Yang behind him. He braced himself for the impact, feeling the heat off of the projectile burn his skin for the second time as he tried not to pass out from the pain. It hit him in the chest, not launching him but still stopping him in his tracks, giving the figure enough time to swing its blade towards Pyrrha's neck.
"NOO!"
Jaune shot up, the dizziness from so sudden an action taking effect on his head. Letting it pass, Jaune looked around and noticed he was back home. The closeness to the roof and the window to outside let him know he was on the floor for his bed. Getting up and looking over the edge he saw that everything was in its place, from the sturdy ladder leading to his makeshift room to the area that served as his kitchen and the opening in the ground that served as the basement. Outside the window Jaune noticed it was still dark, the moon in the distance revealing there were a few hours left until sunrise.
A nightmare…? I haven't had nightmares ever since Ansel fell, and none have felt that… real.
He couldn't get those images out of his head. Ruby's face mutilated, Yang over her while missing an arm, and Pyrrha about to be executed while he was powerless to do anything.
No. They're all safe at their homes. That never happened. And even if it were, I wouldn't be caught off guard like that! I'm not losing them!
He was growing agitated. Telling himself that it was all a dream that meant nothing surprisingly worked in slowing his heart rate. He still had at least an hour before he needed to get up for the day, so he decided to put this nightmare behind him and try to go back to sleep. Key word, try.
As it turns out, it wouldn't be so easy for him to forget about said nightmare.
In a secluded spring, the usual sounds of nature were drowned out by the constant clashing of wooden sticks against each other. The blonde swordsman and the scarlet sniper stood three feet apart circling each other, never taking their eyes off of the other as they waited for an opening from their opponent while keeping themselves guarded.
Or at least, Jaune kept trying to convince himself that was what he was doing, but his mind was on other things. Thoughts of his nightmare kept him up for what was left of the night, and he was not able to sleep a wink. Although he didn't feel tired, his mind was yearning for a break after constant thoughts involving the lacerated bodies of his friends. The fact that the spar he promised Pyrrha in the morning was proving to show
Despite how hard he tried to hide it, Pyrrha could read him like an open book. She could tell by his face and the strength in his strikes that he was distracted.
"I think we should end it now. We've been sparring for more than an hour and you look like you could use some rest, Jaune."
Jaune's head shot up in surprise at her statement. "What? But I'm not tired. I can still go for a few more spars."
"No, you can't. I left two openings for you to disarm me and you never capitalized on them. Your strikes were sloppy and and you never attempted to parry me." Pyrrha had grown a small glare to accentuate how serious she was, which was immediately softened with her next words. "Is something bothering you Jaune? You know you can tell me anything and I'll never think any less of you for it."
The only person that Jaune trusted unconditionally without a doubt besides Saphron was Pyrrha. Confiding the details about his nightmare to her would've sounded like a tempting offer had she not been one of the victims in it. Maybe he could take her advice and talk about it to either Saphron, Summer, Qrow, or Pietro….
Or maybe not. While he loved Saphron with all his heart he knew she would excessively worry over his health and go full big sister on him. No matter how old or strong he got, he would always be her baby brother in her eyes, especially after all they went through. Summer would also overreact, and considering Ruby's condition in his dream… Yeah, he'd rather not make her worry about something like this, especially with the new baby coming. Qrow would be a better pick since he's had his own share of nightmares dealt with, but he could react the same way as Summer since Ruby is his daughter too. In the end, Pietro would be the best pick.
Jaune sighed and said, "Nah, I'm fine Pyr. I guess I'm just a little tired. It took Yang and me longer to get the goats back in than I would've liked, even with Milo's help."
He could tell that she wasn't convinced due to the way her eyes narrowed and her mouth formed into a tight line.
"Really Pyr, I'm fine."
In the end, she just sighed and said, "Alright Jaune, I believe you. I have to go and prepare Milo. It is almost time for me to start my patrol."
"You know, I'm not that tired. I could go with you and it'd be sa-."
"No Jaune." Pyrrha said a little more forcefully than she intended. Realizing this, she sighed and continued, "I'm sorry. You don't need to come with me Jaune. I've been doing these patrols ever since I mastered riding Milo, and I can take care of myself against a few Grimm. You, on the other hand, should go rest. I know you have a free day, so focus on getting rested, alright?"
"... Allright Pyrrha. I'll take it easy today."
Smiling, Pyrrha went to hug Jaune, which he immediately returned. Afterwards, she left with a goodbye wave to find Milo, while Jaune was left pondering on the sand.
He sighed. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to say that. Now she's mad at me… Why am I letting myself be bothered by a stupid dream? It's most likely nothing. I'll just tell her next time I see her.
His mental rambling was cut short when he heard his name being called. Turning towards the source, he found Adrian standing by the gate.
"Uncle Jaune!"
Jaune smiled, "Hey Adrian, how's my favorite nephew doing?" He said while going over to ruffle his hair.
Adrian squirmed out of his reach, "But I'm your only nephew."
"You're still my favorite."
Adrain's face grew a wide smile at that, "I heard noises coming from the spring and I thought you would be here training." At his next words Adrian's smile seemed to dim a little, "But I got here and you were just sitting there."
Jaune chuckled. He knew Adrian would drop anything if it meant seeing his uncle in action, whether it be training or spars. Jaune would often get requests from Adrien to see his training, which would often be decided by either Saphron or Terra. "Sorry kiddo, you've missed my spar for today."
Adrian's face grew sad, until it suddenly lit up. "Oh! There was something else I had to tell you!" Adrian put on a serious face, as if this was a very important mission for him. Jaune suppressed a chuckle and urge to ruffle his nephew's hair from how adorable he was. "Big sis Ruby asked me to find and tell you she has a gift for you."
Jaune's eyes narrowed in confusion, before they widened. "The fishing rod. She must've finished it by now." He went to exit the spring, Adrian following his footsteps. Once they were both out, Jaune went to lock the gates. Together, both uncle and nephew headed to the Rose Branwen household.
They both arrived to find Ruby dangling a piece of roasted cuckoo over an excited Zwei.
"Come on, boy! Come on, boy! Get the cuckoo! Get the cuckoo! Ba-Ba-Ba-BAWK!"
Zwei would angrily bark and jump to snatch the piece of poultry, but a grinning Ruby would just raise her hand and continue to make cuckoo noises. Jaune subconsciously looked around while stifling his cackles, knowing that if Yang caught sight of this she would be teasing Ruby endlessly.
While Jaune may have tried to be subtle, Adrian was either ignorant or impatient since he walked over to her. "Big sis Ruby!"
"AAHHH!" A surprised Ruby dropped the food, which Zwei immediately gobbled up. With his treat earned and eaten, Zwei made his escape and ran off. Upon realizing she had an audience, Ruby's face grew red enough to match with her hood. "A-Adrian! You g-got back h-here e-earlier than I-I thought! A-and J-Jaune, h-hey... Y-you didn't b-by any chance s-see t-that, r-right?"
He did in fact see her, and he knew that she knew he saw her. Despite how known Ruby Rose was to perform such antics, it was rare to catch her in the act since she took care of making sure no one was around. Jaune could use this to tease her endlessly, but he liked to believe himself more of a gentleman. Besides, if anyone deserved to be teased mercilessly, it was definitely Yang. So, with a grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye, he turned towards Ruby and said, "See what?"
Ruby breathed a great sigh of relief. "Ok then. Don't worry Jaune, there wasn't anything to see… Oh! The fishing rod! You're here for it, aren't you?"
"Well, Adrian told me that you had a little gift for me, so I'm guessing the fishing rod you promised me is said gift."
Ruby clapped her hands together, "Right. Meet me over at the dock besides Dr. Pietro's house. I'll meet you there after I get it from my shop."
Jaune always wondered whether or not Ruby had an unnatural power that had to do with speed. She always had a tendency to run anywhere she went, no matter the distance being too small or too large. She liked to describe how running always felt so liberating to her; from the wind rushing to her face to her cape flowing right behind her, a red trail attached to her back acting as a beacon to anyone witnessing her freedom run. Jaune watched her rush back to her shop, and was it him or was she going so fast as to leave rose petals in her trail?
… Nope, those were real rose petals. It seems that, in her haste, Ruby unknowingly cut through and stepped over Summer's garden. The tulips and lilies were spared, as well as a few of the poppies growing along the borders. The roses, however, were crushed under the weight of Ruby's steps… Looks like Summer is going to have a fit over a ruined garden. Again. Hurricane Ruby has once again sweeped over the Rose District of New Gardenia, likely not for the last time.
Hoping to remove himself from the scene of the crime, a rushing Jaune took hold of a curious Adrian ready to inspect the pretty flowers and together hurried towards the dock where Ruby would be meeting them.
Seconds later, Ruby seemed to have materialized right beside them, cloak and boots free of petals and a fishing rod in her hands.
Or at least she claimed it was a fishing rod. In her hands was a thick stick about two feet tall. It was painted a dark yellow color combined with a few white lines. The ends on the stick were covered with small metal casings that were also painted white, forming a circle on either side. A metal knob was placed on the side of the stick with string wrapped around it and an edge on the outer end of the knob so the string wouldn't fall off. While the stick's design looked great and the painting looked nice, Jaune did not think he could use it as an effective fishing rod. Maybe a club or a hammer if he attached a heavy block to one end, but not a fishing rod.
That was, until Ruby pulled a small switch hidden besides the knob and flicked the switch to the side. In her hands she now held pole that seemed to have tripled in size from the smaller stick she had before. The width of the pole grew smaller as it went up, the differences in sizes being made evident by small white metal casings being placed on the borders of each sized stick. Looking at it closely, Jaune saw each casing had a small hole, with all holes forming a straight line.
Jaune's impression of the rod was evident on his face, something that Ruby took notice of. She wordlessly grabbed the end of the string and passed it through the holes in the metal bracelets, answering Jaune's question on what its purposes were. Once the string was fully extended to the side of the rod, Ruby brought out a small hook that was attached to the bottom end and tied it to the end of the string. Satisfied with her work, she handed the rod to a still awestruck Jaune.
"So, what'ya think? Did I make a good fishing rod?"
"I was thinking you'd just find a deku stick and attach a string with bait on it. Maybe have Yang help you with it."
"Hey! You won that bet fair and square, and I make good on my promises. If my part meant I had to build you a fishing rod, then I was going to build you the best fishing rod ever!" Ruby pouted while saying that, slightly offended Jaune would think she'd be petty enough half-ass a promised fishing rod. So what if a bent feather caused her arrow to miss? Even she, best sniper in all of Patch, can miss her shots every now and then.
Jaune gave the rod to a curious Adrian and raised his hands in surrender, "Alright Rubes, I'm sorry for doubting you and your amazing fishing rod making skills." He said with a grin on his face.
Ruby's response was to shove him, "Idiot," she said with a grin on her face as well. She grabbed his hand, "Don't just stand there! Let's go test you're new fishing rod!" She then turned to Adrian. "Adrian, help me drag your uncle to the fishing dock."
Turning his attention away from the rod and towards the two teenagers, Adrian smiled and said, "Ok Big Sis Ruby!"
Both his nephew and his friend held his hands with pincer like grips, so Jaune allowed himself to be dragged over to the dock. Not that he minded that much.
Upon reaching the dock, the group of three found a growling Zwei looking towards the water, where a few ripples could be seen forming.
Ruby broke her hold on Jaune once she saw the growling pooch, "Zwei, what are you doing here?"
The dog looked up upon hearing his owner. Adrian gave Jaune the fishing rod and went to join Ruby so he could pet the dog. Meanwhile, Jaune looked over the water and found the reason as to why Zwei was growling.
"Hey look! There's a school of fish coming over."
"Do fish have to go to school too?"
"No Adrian, that's just the name given to a group of fish."
"Then this is the perfect time to test my new creation. Go on Jaune, catch a fish!"
Jaune turned to Ruby with a frown, "But how can I catch any fish without any b-OOF..." Jaune didn't get to finish his sentence due to Ruby shoving a jar at him. Looking at it more closely, he realized it was filled with bee larvae, ideal bait for the fish idly swimming nearby.
"Where were you hi-... You know what, it doesn't matter." It seemed Ruby was excited enough for both her and him.
I guess she's really proud of the new toy she made. Jaune turned his new fishing rod over, inspecting all its details. From the small holes actually being shaped like triangles to the metal bracelets being arc shaped, Ruby went above and beyond with her part of the bet.
"Alright then." Jaune grabbed a larvae from the jar and then closed it. Taking a seat at the edge of the dock, he placed the jar at his side and reeled the rod back, launching it forward until the line gained some distance. Ruby moves the jar back and took a seat beside Jaune, while a curious Adrian stood behind him.
Jaune felt resistance coming from the line and immediately reeled it in. In his mind he could already picture it, a giant bass of roughly eighteen inches and five pounds being dragged from the end of the line. He would haul it from the water and everyone would marvel at his glorious catch.
With high hopes, Jaune gave one final pull and was rewarded with the sound of a splash, signaling that his catch had broken to the surface. What would it be? Would it be a greengill? Despite their numerous quantities they are quite hard to catch due to their speed. Or maybe a reekfish, whose smell was so strong most fishers would release them just to get rid of the smell. Or maybe even a tuna. His mouth was salivating at just the thought of having caught one. With an excited gleam in his eyes, Jaune gave a good look at his catch, only for the light to dim from his eyes.
"... Uncle Jaune, that isn't a fish."
At the end of the line he found an old boot. The hole made by the hook was growing, signaling that seams on the boot were ready to be torn apart. The boot's brown had lost its color, an effect of its stay underwater for who knows how thread holding the boot together around the hook finally gave in and the boot unceremoniously dropped onto the wood of the dock, splashing water around it.
Unbeknownst to Jaune, Ruby's eyes had narrowed in recognition at seeing the piece of footwear. Picking it up and looking at its sole, she found that its color was a faded blackish purple color instead of a darker brown similar to the rest of the boot.
"These are some of the boots that Uncle Tai asked me to mix with gravity dust."
Jaune turned to her with both curiosity and confusion, "Why would Tai need boots mixed with gravity dust?"
"It's actually just something I created. He asked me if I could make a heavy pair of boots, but instead I cut the soles off of a pair and weaved gravity dust on them. I ended up making boots that could stick themselves to the closest surface. Uncle Tai was so happy with them that he asked me if I could make more of them. He bought a box full of gravity dust for me to use too."
Ruby put a hand underneath her chin, her face pondering. "But he never told me what exactly he wanted those boots for. He just said that they would be put to good use." She pointed towards the wet boot in her hand, "This boot is most likely one of the ones that didn't work, though I wonder how it ended up here. Uncle Tai isn't the type of person to throw trash at the river…"
Jaune put a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure it just got lost, or maybe one of the animals grabbed and dropped it by the stream."
Deciding to forget about it, Ruby dropped the boot besides the larvae jar with the intention properly disposing of it. Jaune grabbed another larvae from the jar and prepared himself for round two of fishing.
Upon reeling the line a little closer Jaune was met once again with resistance. He was once again filled with excitement over a possible fish. Maybe his first catch was just an unlucky case that all fishers dealt with eventually. Maybe this time he would catch a real fish.
Reeling the line fully back in, Jaune was presented with something that was definitely not a fish. It was a wooden block shaped in the form of a 't.' It felt heavy on his hand, and the end he was holding seemed to fit in his hand, while the other end had a wide hole that ran parallel to the block it was on.
"Oh! Zwei's fetching stick!"
Jaune turned to Ruby in confusion, "You broke the blade off of a sword so you could use it as a fetching stick for Zwei?"
Ruby's face turned red in embarrassment and she rambled through her next words. "I-I-I-I didn't do it on purpose!"
Jaune couldn't help but chuckle at how cute Ruby looked, something that she noticed and pouted upon. This only made Jaune laugh harder, which embarrassed Ruby even more. She ended up covering her head with her hood and trying to close the open hole, to which the only visible part of her face was her mouth and her chin. Adrian tried to poke her face to get her to react, which resulted in her swatting her hand at him and saying "Jaune, quit it."
Adrian grew a mischievous smirk and replied with "Uncle Jaune, stop bothering Big Sis Ruby!"
That two-faced little… Yang will have hell to pay for teaching him that, either from me or from Terra if she finds out.
Eventually, Adrian stopped poking her and Ruby removed her hood while she still had a bit of red on her cheeks. "Just so you know, the blade broke from a bad swing and a lack of maintenance… from me." When she didn't hear anymore chuckles from either of the boys she continued, "I didn't want to go through the trouble of replacing the blade so instead I decided to use as a new toy for Zwei."
Jaune managed to hide his grin before responding, "I'm guessing he didn't like it too much if he left it at the river."
Ruby's pout was back in full force, this time accompanied with her crossing her arms and looking away from him.
Deciding he's teased her enough for today, Jaune grabbed a third larvae from the jar and proceeded to cast his line once again.
It seemed this time he wouldn't catch anything immediately after casting the line, because a full ten minutes had passed and nothing was biting.
In the time that passed Ruby's pout lessened and her face was no longer red. Both she and Adrian had taken a seat at the edge of the dock with Jaune in the middle of them. They had been greeted by a worried Oscar asking if they knew where Yang was, as well as a curious Penny and Pietro.
While the silence between them wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, Ruby couldn't help but feel anxiousness over waiting for Jaune to catch a fish. She really needed to do something or else she would die of boredom.
Why is this so hard? Come on Ruby, think! You've known Jaune since forever. Thinking about something to talk about should be as easy as eating fresh cookies with milk, or cleaning and oiling a sword! Oh Why did I have to be the one who gets nervous over what to say?! Why couldn't I have the ability to talk about anything all day like Yang?!... On second thought, let Yang keep that to herself. She does tend to get herself in trouble with what she says. Ruby's face grew pensive as she pondered over what to say. I doubt Jaune would enjoy talking about his favorite type of cookies, and as much as he loves weapons I'll just end up doing most of the talking with that topic. I could ask him when he's going to marry Pyrrha for teasing me earlier. Ruby's face grew a nefarious smile, until it dimmed down when a realization got to her, No, he'd just find a way to turn it back on me. Better not risk it… Wait, I've got it!
"So, I heard from dad that you're taking a job on delivering one of my swords to Mantle."
Jaune's eyes widened upon hearing her, only to be replaced by a wide grin that he did his best to conceal from her. Ruby didn't notice, but Adrian did and was turning his full attention to him in order to hear what he would tell her about his delivery mission.
"At this point, I wouldn't be surprised to hear the whole village knowing about it. I'm guessing you overheard Qrow talking about it."
"I don't think I'd have been able to ignore it even if I wanted to. Mom was mad at Dad over what she referred to as 'guilt tripping poor Jaune into doing YOUR work.'" Ruby even went as far as to imitating her mother's voice, which, unsurprisingly, was spot on.
"Jaune chuckled, "Summer got mad at him when he asked me all of a sudden to do the job for him. Considering how ready she was scolding him I'm not surprised."
Seeing how there wouldn't be any fish bites soon, Jaune held the pole between his legs and rested on the dock, the wood feeling warm to his back while he used his hands as a resting place for his head. Adrian mimicked his pose and laid back, scooting closer to his uncle. Ruby followed along, but instead of mimicking then she rested her weight on her right arm and elbow and turned to face her two companions.
After getting comfortable Jaune continued, "I'm still glad he offered me the job, and that he trusts me enough for something this important." His smile grew dim and his eyes seemed to see something only visible to him. "After Ansel it was just Saphron and me. With Saph holding herself from sobbing and a rage filled me ready to throw myself at the Grimm, there's no way we would've survived a night by ourselves."
Adrian grew worried over his uncle, noticing his somber tone. He tried to offer comfort by holding his hand. Jaune's only reaction was to lightly squeeze his nephew's hand. Whether or not he was aware of doing it Adrian wasn't sure.
"But then they showed up."
Jaune's eyes seemed to shine after saying that, while his smile grew wider.
"Qrow and Summer found us and offered us shelter at their village, and ever since then we've been here. And when they found out we had nowhere else to go they went out of their way to make sure we felt welcomed. Summer went above and beyond in looking after us; from making sure we stayed for dinner to constantly visiting and checking up on us. Qrow spent his free time teaching us both how to defend ourselves against Grimm, and went even further when I asked him to teach me to fight like him."
Jaune felt his eyes water over the love and admiration he felt for the two people he saw as parents. He tried to wipe his eyes and pass it off as him scratching his face, hoping the other two wouldn't notice.
"I'm just really grateful for everything. Thanks to them I lived and learned how to fight and protect those I love."
So I don't lose anyone else.
Ruby and Adrian did notice the tear wiping, which became evident when they both hugged him from either side.
The three stayed like that for a while as if they were ostracized from the rest of the world. At the moment, the only thing that mattered was making sure Jaune knew he wasn't alone, that everyone he loves are safe and happy.
"We're here for you, Jaune. Mom, Dad, Uncle Tai, Yang, Pyrrha, everyone cares about you, and we're all ok."
"Yeah, Big Sis is right. We are all here and we're not leaving you, ever!"
Jaune couldn't help it, he grabbed them both and hugged them as tightly as he could.
"Gguhhhh- Jaune, you're squishing me..!"
"It's your fault for saying those things and making me need to hug you."
"Let go of me you sappy dork."
"It takes one to know, Cookie Face."
"Why don't you say that to my face Pumpkin Pete?"
Jaune smile became predatory, "Oh, so we're going there Lousy Shot?"
"Scraggly Knight."
"Chipmunk Voice."
"Inferior Blond."
During all the name calling Jaune never noticed Adrian slip away from his hold, or the string from the reel being extended, or the rod breaking free from his leg's hold, or Adrian trying yet failing to grab onto the rod before it went over the edge.
*SPLASH*
That broke their concentration on their taunting. Jaune let go of Ruby and, looking around, neither Adrian nor the fishing rod could be seen.
Jaune felt his nerves acting up on him. How could he have lost sight of Adrian like this?
"Adrian?... Adrian?!"
*SPLASH*
Looking over, he saw a hand reaching from below the docks. A small hand. A hand that would definitely belong to a child.
"Adrian!"
Wasting no time, Jaune took a hold of the hand and pulled it back up to the dock. A drenched Adrian broke free from the water, coughing up water and breathing in as much air as he can.
"Why would you jump to the water like that Adrian? You know you can't swim!"
In response, Adrian showed what he had. A wet fishing rod was in his hand. There was no visible damage on it. The line was fully reeled up, with the hook being near the top of the rod. And attached to the hook was a green fish about half a foot long in length, a greengill.
"... I caught a fish?"
"Uncle Jaune, I'm fine."
"I'd rather you get changed Adrian, you don't want to catch a cold."
"But Uncle Jaune, it's the middle of the day. And the sun feels hot."
"Better to be safe than sorry Adrian, especially when it comes to your mothers."
Having decided they all had enough excitement from the fishing rod for today, Jaune took it from Adrian and put it on its travel form. He decided to let the fish go, since the heart attack he got from Adrian's dive threw away all thoughts on cooking fish. He decided to take Adrian back home so he could get a new change of clothes.
As for where Ruby went, well…
"RUBY ROSE!"
"eep!"
It seems Ruby's acts of terrorism against the city of New Gardenia did not go unnoticed by the city's founder and mayor, Summer Rose, and now Ruby has to do community service in order to repair the damages she caused.
Taking Adrian home turned out to be as much of an ordeal for Jaune as it was for Ruby being under the wrath of her mother. One look at their son and both mothers took their reactions to the extreme. Saphron was on her knees asking Adrian if he was alright and if he was hurt anywhere, to the point that Adrian felt smothered by her attention. Terra, meanwhile, was glaring at Jaune into answering just what happened, therefore leading to Jaune explaining the episode involving the fishing rod.
Why do the women in my life have to have such terrifying glares?
Once Terra calmed down (and apologized for glaring) and Saphron took Adrian to change to dry clothes Jaune took his leave. With nothing else to do and the sun still scorching he decided to head home and try to take a nap. If he didn't take Pyrrha's advice to rest for a while she'd be mad at him, and the last thing he needed was to be under someone else's glare.
Passing by the Rose-Branwen household he saw a blank faced Ruby and a smiling Summer (why did that smile send shivers running down his spine?) tending to the trampled garden. As it turned out, most of the roses were salvageable while the poppies needed to be replaced, meaning they wouldn't take long. Qrow was standing at the side, watching his wife and daughter work while he held onto an eager Zwei wanting to help, and by 'help' he meant roll around on the garden and disrupt any work.
Qrow saw him walking past and called him over, "Hey Sunshine."
Jaune turned to his mentor, "Hey old man."
Qrow smirked, "Heard from Ruby that you, your nephew and her were by the dock testing out your new toy. I'm guessing you didn't know how to use it properly since you didn't catch any fish."
Jaune smiles and narrowed his eyes, already thinking on his response. "As a matter of fact I did catch a fish. A greengill about half a foot long, but I was feeling generous and let it go."
Qrow's smirk seemed to grow double in size, "Don't you mean Adrian caught a fish and then let it go?"
Jaune's smile lost its edge, knowing he got caught. Looking over towards Ruby only had him notice she was trying a little too hard I'm not looking at his direction.
Jaune sighed and turned again to Qrow, "Yeah, Adrian got the fish only after he ended up diving after the fishing rod over dock."
Qrow put a hand on his shoulder, his smile softening. "Don't worry too much Jaune. The kid's strong, and he'll make a better huntsman than either of us once he gets through his training."
"Especially if he manages to fish better than you already."
Jaune's response was to remove himself from his mentor's hold, mostly resembling a child and causing Qrow to laugh.
"Hehe… Either way, I wanted to ask you if you'd be ready to start the delivery job tomorrow morning. Tai gave me a heads up on it being tomorrow, as well as agreeing for you to do it instead of me."
Jaune could feel his heartbeat accelerate with excitement, "Of course I can!"
Despite being aware of his excitement over it, Qrow was still surprised at Jaune's eagerness over what he saw as a 'simple job.' "Jaune, you don't need to drop your plans for tomorrow to go through with this. I'm sure we can delay it a few more da-"
"Qrow, it's fine. I have a free day tomorrow and I'm sure Yang can manage the goats without me for a few days. I just have to ask Pyrrha if I can borrow Milo for a few days, and I'm sure she'll be ok with it."
"Alright Jaune, I trust you to be ready."
With that, Qrow went back to his original post after saying goodbye to Jaune.
"Later Sunshine."
"See ya, old man."
Jaune made his way back home, all thoughts of resting or the wrath of a certain redhead having left his mind.
As much as he tried to sleep, he could not catch a wink. How could he? By tomorrow morning he would be traveling to Mantle to deliver an important package to the royal family of Remnant. He would get the chance to travel somewhere new and explore to his heart's content. He always heard about so many interesting places, from Oscar babbling about that one store where you can find anything, to Ruby gushing over what she heard to be the best shooting gallery in Remnant, and even just sightseeing the Castle of Remnant.
After what felt like an hour (which was actually twenty minutes) Jaune decided to do some maintenance on his weapons.
That was how Jaune spent the next hour and a half. He sat outside at the foot of his tree on a small tree stump that Ruby saw fit to decorate with unused metal bolts painted white and yellow, as well as a ring of daisies surrounding it that were left unused from Summer's garden.
After cleaning and wiping his blade of any excess oils and sharpening it, as well as changing the string of his bow and making sure to discard any soon to break arrows from his quiver, Jaune equipped a wooden training sword and started dueling with an imaginary opponent.
A slash here, a stab there, a parry followed by another slash. A basic two horizontal slash combo followed by his favorite sword strike, the spin attack, which mostly consists of him spinning in a full circle while holding his sword out, effectively hitting anything within the radius of the arc formed by the length of his sword.
He decided to add dodging to his training after a while of striking and stabbing. A side jump to his left was immediately followed by a roll in the same direction as soon as his feet touched the ground, which he then repeated to his right. Returning to his original position, he started jumping backwards and following his jumps with backflips. Deciding to be a little adventurous he decided to try and unsheathe his sword while mid-backflip.
The first time resulted in him landing on his feet with the sword still half-sheathed. It looked as if he landed and then decided to draw his weapon. The second time it looked as if he successfully unsheathed his weapon. Unfortunately, he still held his sword behind his back, which made his attempt look sloppy. His third attempt, however, would be unforgettable.
"Uncle Jaune?" "Jaune, what are you doing?"
He was so surprised that he landed on his left foot instead of both. And to make matters worse, he lost his balance and ended up landing on his stomach with the wooden sword at his side.
Having recovered and looking at the source of the voices, he found a dry Adrian and a slightly tired Ruby at the passage between his home and the rest of Patch. How long they were there and how much they witnessed were questions that would remain unanswered for the rest of time.
"... How long have you two been standing there?"
Ruby shrugged, "Ever since you started back flipping. I was actually waiting for you to start setting up targets to shoot with arrows so I could offer pointers."
Adrian looked sheepish with his response, "I thought you looked cool Uncle."
Jaune couldn't help but blush realizing they'd witnessed his spectacular failure in back flipping.
Oh crap! What if they lied and actually saw everything from the beginning? How could I have missed it all? What if Ruby uses this as blackmail and gets one step closer to becoming Yang? What if Adrian is being too polite and actually lost all respect he had for me?
Noticing that he was too busy pondering on whatever was on his mind, Ruby walked over to him so she could help him get up and break him from his distraction.
By the time Jaune got up his face lost the color of his blush and he managed to calm down and become coherent.
He turned to Ruby, "So, I'm guessing you're done replanting the roses you trampled over."
Ruby sighed, "Turns out mom was angry before that due to having lost the wooden cradle Uncle Qrow and I made for the new baby. She said she left it outside for a second and when she went to look for it, she couldn't find it anymore. She's been upset ever since, and when she found out I trampled over the garden I guess she lost it."
Jaune nodded and turned to his nephew, "What about you Adrian? Do your moms know you're here?"
Adrian smiled, "Yes uncle, I saw Big Sis Ruby going to your house, so I asked mom if I could go with her."
"So he caught up with me and here we are. Either way, if you're done sword training then how about we try target practice? I brought one of the slingshots from the store and I need a distraction from mom's anger."
Jaune looked at the mentioned slingshot, and saw a small toy attached to the belt around her waist.
He raised an eyebrow in question, "You're telling me that you can actually aim and shoot with that thing? There's no way that you can compete with an actual bow."
Ruby crosses her arms and turned to him, "Jaune, are you doubting my skill with these things? I bet you I can shoot more targets with this baby than you can with your bow."
Jaune grinned and started rubbing his index finger and thumb on his chin, "The last time you said something like that I got a new fishing rod. What makes you think this time it'll be any different?"
Ruby just smiled in a way that made it seem she knew something he didn't, "Oh, I just know Jaune."
A horse's neigh interrupted them, along with the sounds of horse clops. Turning towards the path to the bridge across Vale they saw a tired Pyrrha and Milo returning from their patrol.
"Hey Pyrrha!" "Big Sis Pyrrha!" "Pyr, you're back!"
Ruby, Adrian, and Pyrrha all greeted her. She smiled at them and replied, "Hello again."
Jaune took notice over Pyrrha's exhaustion, "How did your patrol go Pyr? You took longer than usual today."
He let worry spread across his face as a thought entered his mind, "You didn't run into more than you could handle, right?"
Pyrrha shook her head at him and smiled, "Oh, nothing too bad Jaune. I ran into a mob of creeps for the first few minutes of it. Milo stayed calm in the time it took me to shoot them all, so we spent more time galloping around the woods."
She started playing with her hair as she said her next words, "I guess I didn't realize how much time had passed."
Jaune nodded, relieved that she just spent more time with Milo instead of Grimm.
"So, what were you three doing before I arrived?"
Ruby suddenly had stars in her eyes as she remembered the whooping she needed to give him after insinuating that he was better than her at shooting targets.
"Jaune here doesn't believe that I can shoot as good with this slingshot as I can with a bow, so we decided on a little competition so I can prove him wrong."
Jaune turned to Ruby with his hands resting at his waist, "Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself Rubes? We haven't even set up our wagers."
"Are you that eager to lose Jaune?"
"... Alright then, go set up the targets. You know where they are, right?"
Ruby nodded and eagerly set off to Jaune's home to find them, with an excited Adrian following after her. While they both climbed the ladder, Pyrrha inched her way closer to Jaune while Milo lounged nearby.
"I don't think I've seen her often being that confident."
Jaune shrugged, "She more likely gets like this whenever there's a competition involving shooting targets or if it's anything to do with her creations."
Pyrrha hummed and nodded, "It's either that or she spends too much time with Yang."
Jaune nodded, and they were both followed by a minute of silence. These times would usually be comfortable moments between the two, but instead both were feeling anxious for different reasons. Jaune couldn't think of a way to broach the topic of his delivery without making it seem as if he only needed Milo, while Pyrrha was wracking her mind on how to give Jaune that gift she'd been working on without making it seem too romantic that it could backfire on her and make things awkward between the two.
"Jaune, I" "Pyrrha…"
Both paused before giggling over having talked at the same time.
"You go first."
Jaune rubbed his head while he thought about his next words, "Qrow asked me to deliver a sword for him to the royal family. I'd be setting off tomorrow for Atlas and I was wondering if Milo would go with me."
"Oh…"
Jaune looked over to her and noticed her eyes seemed to be shinier than usual. She had a smile, but, was it just him or did her smile not seem to reach her eyes?
"Wow, Jaune that's… that's grand."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she let it out, she put on a wider smile than the one she had before, one that Jaune thought looked a little too forced.
"I'm glad for you Jaune. You've always wanted to leave Patch and visit all of Remnant. I'm sure Milo wouldn't mind having you as his rider for the next week, he trusts you just as much as he trusts me."
Jaune smiled. He's all set for his trip and there was nothing left for him to worry about until tomorrow. Yet, despite all that he couldn't help but feel something was off. Or rather, someone was off.
"What was it you wanted to tell me Pyr?"
"Well, I wanted to-"
"Oh my Goddesses! I found it!"
Both the blond and the redhead turned in surprise towards the base of Jaune's treehouse. Ruby was to the side of the tree, eyes closed and an overstretched grin on her face while she held a wooden cradle over her head. The base of the cradle was wood with leaf designs carved around the sides of it. A hood that looked suspiciously like one of Summer's was attached to one end of the cradle, most likely meant to provide shade to the baby's head.
Ruby was still holding the cradle over her head as if it held the answers to all of Remnant's mysteries. If anything, she looked like one of those adventurers of legend who'd venture through the most dangerous of dungeons and find the rarest of treasures. Change her red cape for a green tunic and her hood for a pointed hat and she would fit in with them. Also, was he imagining it or was she humming a four note jingle to the cradle?
"Oooohhhh! I'm so happy I found you! Now mom can't be angry at me for stepping on her flowers!" Ruby cooed- Cooed- at the cradle, as if it was her own baby.
Both Jaune and Pyrrha sweat dropped at what they and many others had unofficially called a 'nuts and dolt' case, where Ruby either got tunnel vision in regards to a new weapon or gadget she encountered or she felt pride that border lined into obsession. One time Qrow bought a new sword from a weird, yet eccentric old man and decided to go show it off. The blade's curved design meant to be used as both a sword and scythe quickly enamoured Ruby to the newly named 'Harbinger.' When Qrow went to retrieve his new sword Ruby growled like a feral wolf and hugged the blade closer to her. As if that wasn't enough, Ruby proved she was Summer's daughter and formed the harshest of glares at her father. It took her mother distracting her with cookies to pry her away from the sword.
Just as Jaune was about to ask what Ruby meant a red blur swooped in past her. It happened so fast that the next thing Jaune knew he was looking at a confused Ruby grabbing at empty air.
"Wha-... Whe-..." Ruby looked at Jaune and Pyrrha, who were just as confused as her. She looked to Adrien, who just shrugged his shoulders and looked at her with an apologetic gaze, "Where's the cradle?!"
"EEK!"
As one, everyone looked to the road leading out of the village and to the forest. Standing there was a monkey, holding the cradle that was just as big as its body. Despite the cradle's size, the monkey had no trouble holding the cradle over its head while jumping from foot to foot, as if it were clapping. Despite how unusual the sight was, what really drew eyes upon the monkey was the scarlet fur covering the monkey from head to foot.
Jaune was too busy processing what he was seeing, and he was pretty sure Pyrrha must've been going through the same thing, maybe doing a better job than him. Adrien would most likely grow curious over the monkey. Meanwhile, Ruby…
"Hey! Give me back that cradle!"
Ruby would apparently not care about the fact that a red monkey showed up, only that it stole the cradle and she would have to get it back one way or another.
Just typical Ruby, rushing into action.
Her outburst scared the monkey, leading to it running away while still holding the cradle.
"No, you dumb monkey! Grrr… GET BACK HERE!"
Ruby gave chase after it, trying to aim at it with her slingshot but fearing any damage the cradle would suffer from being dropped. Adrian followed after her, both due to curiosity over the monkey and a want of helping his big sis Ruby.
Seeing his nephew running after Ruby like that broke Jaune out of his stupor.
"I'm going after them."
"You're not going alone."
Looking over to Pyrrha, he realized she was checking her gear and making sure it was in top shape, meaning she decided to go after them in case they ran into trouble.
"Are you sure Pyr? You just got back from a patrol."
"I'm fine Jaune. Both Milo and I still have energy." She said while climbing on to Milo and extending a hand to Jaune.
Jaune smiled and took her hand, climbing on top of Milo right behind her.
"Alright then."
They both smiled at each other and nodded.
"Let's go."