Dark Rose
Chapter 10: Recovery
"Ugh, my head.." Jett groaned. His eyes slowly opened, and he saw Eccon sitting in a chair next to him, dozing off. Jett looked around, and saw that he was back on his bed in Team JEMM's dorm. "Well, look who decided to wake up." a voice said to the right. Jett craned his neck and saw Miranda sitting on her bed, watching over Jett. "You been watching me the whole time, Princess?" he asked, laughing slightly. "You should stop; the whole school will be talking. Miranda the Stalker." He let out a hearty laugh, before an intense pain wracked him from the inside, causing him to grip his side tightly. "Ugh, why do I hurt so much?" he whinned. "Probably because of that beating you got from that guy the other day, Hero." Miranda answered, getting up. "And stop calling me Princess." "Okay, Princess." Jett retorted, with a wink. She rolled her eyes, and smiled slightly. Miranda walked over to Eccon, and slapped his shoulder, waking him up. "Oww! What was that for?" he asked, shooting her a dirty look. "You can stop "keeping watch", Bambi: he's awake." she answered, crossing her arms. Eccon looked up, and saw Jett staring back at him with a confused look.
"Jett! You're awake!" he exclaimed, jumping up to hug an injured Jett. "Stop! You'll crack my healing ribs.." Jett grimmaced. "Oh! Sorry, forgot." Eccon said sheepishly, letting Jett go. He scratched his head. "So, how long have I been out?" Jett asked, looking at the two of them. "2 hours? 3?" "4 days, actually." Miranda answered. "WHAT? HOW? WHY?" She pointed at his head. "You took more of a beating up there than you thought. Surprised you aren't dead, actually." Miranda remarked. Eccon took a seat again. "So, what happened?" he asked. "You don't know already?" Eccon shook his head. "Ozpin didn't tell you anything?" Jett asked. "He didn't tell us anything, mate." Jett sighed. "Well, it started when Ruby and I got back to Beacon..." "...And that's what happened." Jett explained. Miranda put a finger each one of her temples. "Just thinking about this is giving me a headache." "So, you fought against someone who had the same Semblance as you, and figured out through a repressed memory that you might be related to him?" Eccon repeated. "Did I miss something?" Jett groaned, sitting himself upright. "Yeah, probably. Hell if I know what it is, though." The door to the dorm opened, and revealed a disheveled Matilda holding a stack of homework and a peppy Ruby with a plate of cookies and milk.
"Jett! You're awake, brother!" Matilda exclaimed, flinging her arms around Jett and hugging him tight. *Crack* One of Jett's ribs popped beneath his shirt, and he sucked in air through his teeth sharply. She let go abruptly. "Dammit, Matilda..." he mumbled. "I'm sorry!" she quickly apologized. "It's a good thing Nurse Ruby is here! I'll fix you right up!" Ruby exclaimed, trying to look heroic. "I really don't think a plate of cookies and milk will help me, Ruby.." he said, holding his side. "These are for later. Besides, your rib just popped out of place. My dad taught me a bunch of first aid when I was younger!" Ruby explained. "Let me see, please." Jett reluctantly lifted up his shirt for her to look for the dislocated rib. She stopped slightly, and flushed red. "Problem?" Eccon asked, raising an eyebrow. Ruby shook her head, and pulled her hood down. She spotted the popped rib sticking slightly out of his side. Using her hands, she pressed on one side of the rib intensely, causing Jett to grit his teeth in pain. *Pop* The rib went smoothly into the break along the frame.
Ruby moved her hands to other side, and the center of his chest to pop the other side in. She made the mistake of looking up, and caught Jett's gaze. "Uhh..." she stuttered. Jett heard a sigh to the side. "Come on, and get it over with, lovebirds." Miranda said, exasperated. The two flushed red. Ruby dipped her head, and focused on the rib. She pushed it back into place abruptly, making Jett cry out in pain. He gingerly touched the offending rib, feeling his Aura filling in the cracks that separated the bones from each other. "Your rib probably couldn't heal while you were unconcious because it wasn't set right." Ruby explained, pulling his shirt back down. She lowered her hood, and sat on the bed next to Jett, placing her hand over top of his.
"So, this is all the homework that you missed from the rest of the week." Matilda spoke up, handing Jett a folder full of papers. He reluctantly grabbed it. He opened it, and flipped through several pages. "This isn't really that much for homework?" he pointed out. Matilda smiled. "I was able to talk the professors into letting you off a bit easy." she explained. "Goodwitch wouldn't budge, though. She wants you to do some Grimm hunting tomorrow while she repairs the courtyard that, *Ahem*, you and Yang destroyed." Jett gulped. "By myself?" Matilda shook her head. "I volunteered our team to do it.." she said, adding the last part in a whisper when she caught Miranda's reaction to the news. "What!? Why us!?" Miranda yelled, anger flashing in her eyes. "Why are we being punished!?" Jett sighed, and looked at Matilda. "She's right: it was just me and Yang. We should be the ones to do it." Jett stated. Matilda shook her head. "Already done." she said, putting her hands in the air in a defeated gesture.
Jett squeezed Ruby's hand, and gingerly got to his feet. He wobbled a bit, but he could walk. "Would you guys mind giving me and Matilda the room?" He asked the group. Miranda, still fuming from Matilda's earlier statement, was the first to leave the room. Eccon left after, trying to calm an angry Miranda. Ruby patted his hand, and got up to leave, closing the door behind her. Jett braced his fists against his hips. "What's this about, Jett?" Matilda asked, innocently. He looked her in the eye. "Since it's too late to change it, I'll live with the decision that was made with Goodwitch." Jett started. "However, I will not accept that you went behind my back, and made a decision that involved the team as a whole, without talking to me first."
"You weren't awake, though.." Matilda muttered. "That doesn't matter, Matilda. I'm the leader of team JEMM. Things that involve all of us like this, you have to pass by me first. No excuses." he said, coldly. "I can't have someone that undermines me, especially in a combat situation." Matilda looked like she was close to tears. "I just wanted us all to train together as a team..." she whispered, a single tear slipping off her nose. Jett hobbled closer to Matilda, and hugged her, catching the girl by surprise. "And that's fine. But don't do something like this again, okay?" "Okay..." she sniffed, wiping the tears that started collecting in her eyes. He let go, and hobbled back over to the bed "I'll...I'll let you get some sleep, Jett." Matilda said, quietly. She headed for the door, stopping as she opened it. She looked back, but said nothing and walked out the door.