Pyrrha spun, bringing Miló around and under Jaune's guard. He leaned back, barely managing to deflect the blow with his shield and brought Crocea Mors down on his partner. She blocked his own blow with Akoúo̱. She took a step back and Jaune took the initiative. They came together, locking blades as they looked into each others eyes. Jaune grinned at her as they separated, continuing their dance. It continued on like this for several minutes. He was surprised that Pyrrha was still able to come at him in ways he couldn't predict. The variety her weapon offered her left him struggling to keep things even. Still, he was holding his own against the red haired warrior, though it wouldn't come easy. He laughed as he managed to stop another one of her feints, though she was punishing him for even that small distraction.
"Come on now, Pyrrha. You'll have to try better than that if you don't want me to notice!"
He brought Crocea Mors down in a mighty swing, and she deflected it with Akoúo̱ without batting an eye. She gave him the signal to stop, and he obliged. He laughed and took a few swings at nothing, still pumped full of adrenaline.
They were in a small gym, inside a practice ring. It was a place made especially for hunters. It had been two years since they had graduated Beacon, and they had all kept very close. He and Ren had joined the police force right out of school, and were already doing rather well. Nora and Pyrrha had become huntresses worthy of recognition. Pyrrha's leadership and precision mixed well with Nora's energy and destructive power. They were a formidable team, and had become rather famous in their own right. Ren and Nora were practicing their grappling in another ring, though things may have gotten a bit less than professional thanks to Nora. The old schoolmates were the last people in the building. It hadn't been easy to get that private time, but when you were old friends with the owner, staying a little after hours could be arranged from time to time.
Jaune smiled at Pyrrha, wiping the sweat off his brow. She returned his smile, but something was off. He raised an eyebrow, concerned. She looked away, breaking the short eye contact.
"Is everything alright?" Jaune asked, not knowing where this was going, but already starting to feel his chest tighten. Something was wrong, and even someone as dense as he was could tell.
"Jaune... do you notice anything different about me today?" she asked, putting her weapons away holding her palms up for him to see. "Look carefully."
Jaune frowned, but complied. He looked his partner over from head to toe, trying to pick out any little difference. Ren and Nora had noticed the lack of sound and had stopped their own practice. Looking at the scene before them though, they decided to give the two some privacy. Ren led the way towards the locker rooms, Nora following closely behind, only pausing to watch her two friends with a saddening face. It looked like today was the day after all.
Jaune hadn't noticed their retreat, instead focusing on his partner. It was pointless. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see anything too different. He had seen her every day for nearly six years, and she looked pretty much the same as she did every other day. Finally, he could only offer a weak smile.
"Your armor has been polished with a different product?"
It wasn't a good answer. It was barely even an answer, but it was all he could think of. She smiled, almost sadly and looked down, holding her hands even further towards him. He looked at her hands more closely, but before he could speak, she explained.
"I was...really hoping you would notice. I honestly thought a year would be enough time... "
"Pyrrha, what's wrong? What are you talking about?"
"You really can't tell?"
"Pyrrha, you're going to have to help me out here. I'm not seeing anything..."
"Jaune... did you know there's going to be a tournament in Mistral this time next year? It's a rare occasion, only one every four years. I've decided I'm going to compete."
To say that the blonde was confused would have been an understatement. He just couldn't see where this conversation was going. He was getting verbal whiplash trying to figure out what was going on.
"T-That's great. We can train together. It'll be just like old times," he added with a weak smile.
"One of the rules is that in order to compete, you have to have been a citizen of Mistral for at least a year."
Jaune was set back on his heels by that one. This sudden news had certainly caught him off guard, but he was nothing if not adaptable.
"So... you want us to move to Mistral?"
"No, Jaune. I want to move to Mistral. I want you to stay here."
"Well, I guess it will be hard, but I know how much these tournaments mean to you. I'm not going to lie, it'll be tough, but we can do this. I mean, we have our scrolls, and the dust net, we can handle a year apart...right?" he added nervously when she still avoided looking at him.
"We couldn't even handle a year together..." she replied quietly.
"What? What do you mean?" Jaune asked, trying to make sense of everything. He really didn't like where this was going.
"The ring, Jaune."
Jaune looked down at her hands more closely and found something was off. She wasn't wearing the ring. He had given it to her on the day of their graduation. It had been his promise. He had told her that all he wanted to do was to make her happy and protect her. The ring was a symbol of what they had. They hadn't been engaged or anything, but it was something he had poured his heart into. When she had put it on, he had been the happiest man on Remnant. The small flash of dust infused gold glimmering on her finger had been like a permanent sign of his happiness. As he looked for the familiar gleam, he could only wonder... when had she stopped wearing it? How hadn't he noticed it?
"Wha... When did you..."
Pyrrha couldn't look him in the eye. It wasn't that she was ashamed or anything like that, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. This was going to be hard enough without looking into those blue pools that had ensnared her so early on.
"It's been a year. I took it off a year ago. I thought that if you noticed, we could talk things out. But you never did."
Jaune tried to recover from the shock, to say something, ANYTHING to break the silence. Had it really been a year? Not just that, just how many other things had he missed? How many other signs had she tossed his way? If the ring was a last resort, just how long had this been going on? How long had she been suffering in silence? She made it sound like...
"Did you know? Ren noticed on the first day. No, I guess you would have noticed if he had told you..."
That knocked Jaune out of his thoughts. Ren had noticed? It honestly didn't surprise him. Ren had always been better at making observations. Still, it didn't stop the hurt that coursed through him at the realization.
"Don't be mad at him. I asked him not to say anything."
Jaune didn't want to think about it. To think about the fact that for the past year... his friend had stood by and watched things unfold. Jaune had been the best man at Ren and Nora's wedding. They had become partners. Ren was his best friend besides Pyrrha. Even if Ren was quiet most of the time, they had become so close over the years... and Ren had watched everything fall apart around the blonde without so much as a frown. How could he... but Jaune shook his head. Ren wasn't important right now. THe only person that mattered was standing right in front of him.
"But... why? Why not just tell me something was wrong?"
"Jaune, do you remember when we gratuated Beacon? When you gave me the ring? Do you remember what you said?"
There was a long pause as Jaune struggled to speak. His mouth had gone dry.
"I...I said I wanted to make you happy, no matter what."
"Yes... and for a while, you did. I was the happiest woman on Remnant. But things changed. You stopped looking at me the way you used to. The ring you were so proud of when you gave it me me disappeared from your vision...and so did I."
"Pyrrha, that's ridiculous. I would never-"
"When you entered Beacon, you were so full of energy. So full of life. You had a dream. You wanted to become a hero, just like your father. And I watched as you worked night and day to accomplish that dream. You did, and I was so proud of you. You became a hunter, you bacame a hero, you were everything you could have ever wanted to be, we were together, and couldn't be happier. Then we graduated and you found yourself with everything you had ever wanted. What could you do then? What would you work for? You didn't have an answer. You latched onto Ren's dream, and lost sight of everything else."
"That...that's not true... we.. I.."
"Jaune, when was the last time we went out? Just enjoyed each others company?"
"Just last week, remember, we-"
"No, not as a team. I mean when was the last time WE went out? Just us two. When was the last time we tried to do something together without anyone forcing us into it?"
Jaune opened his mouth and shut it again, no sound coming out. When WAS the last time they had gone out by themselves? To do ANYTHING? He struggled to think of something, anything that would help him, but nothing came, only silence. He looked at Pyrrha and knew that she was right. Worse than that, she looked back at him, and she understood that he had realized it too. It had been months since they had so much as gone to dinner. Jaune tried to say something, but Pyrrha placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Jaune...let's...let's not make this harder than it has to be. I don't hold anything against you. I know you tried your best, and so did I. But think about it. We were kids, both of us on our first love. It was beautiful, it was passionate, but in the end, we both know how these things work out. I don't want to end up fighting with you. I don't want to hate you, and I don't want you to hate me. But if we stay the way we are now, that's what we'll end up doing. Let's just keep it a beautiful memory rather than a painful reality, okay?"
"Pyrrha.. please don't"
She shushed him with a finger against his lips. Her other hand pressed against the armor on his chest. He looked at her pleadingly, but she only smiled at him sadly. She wiped a single tear out of her eye and stepped back.
"Goodbye Jaune. I hope things go well with work. Let's keep in touch...okay?"
With that, she took her leave. Jaune stood in place for a few moments, the reality of what had just happened sinking in. His mind was trying to get him to move, speak, twitch, do ANYTHING but stand there like a statue. He couldn't let things end. Not like this. This was a mistake, he just knew it. All he had to do was go chase her, and she would listen to reason. They were team Arkos, they had been together for years, they couldn't end like this. There was no way this made any sense. He couldn't imagine a future without her. He just had to move. He had to tell her... no... no ... no no no no no no NO NONONONONONONONONONO
"PYRRHA!"
He finally managed to move, to speak, to act. He turned around to face the retreating back of his partner. She stopped, but she wouldn't turn to look at him. She didn't say a word, waiting for him to say something.
"Please... don't do this. We can work through this. I'm sorry. I missed all of the important signs. I know how hard it must have been, how hard you must have tried. I'm sorry for not noticing when you stopped smiling... but this can't be the end. Please, don't do something we'll both regret. I can't see a life without you. I don't WANT to see a life without you. Please... I love you."
Pyrrha stood there for a while, neither leaving or turning towards him. That filled him with hope. Even if she wouldn't look at him yet, she wasn't leaving, she was willing to listen, to talk. He smiled weakly, butbefore he could say anything, she turned her head so that he could see just a bit of the emerald eyes that had so entranced him all those years ago.
"I'm going home Jaune. You should too." With that, she turned and headed towards the locker room doors.
"W-wait, Pyrrha, I-"
He tried to walk forward, to talk to her, to try and convince her, but no matter how he moved his legs, he didn't move. It wasn't that he was frozen. Far from it. He was struggling with all his might, but he wasn't moving forward. He looked down and saw a familiar black arura surrounding. his chestpiece. The understanding brought a sense of panic, and he desperately tried to remove the metal. He had to do something before she disappeared through those doors and from his life. Just as he finally removed the last clasp and the armor fell off him but he heard the door close. He looked up and she was gone. He took a few steps out of the ring, but stopped. She was gone, and there hadn't been a single thing he could have done to stop it.
He stood there for a while, not moving, not thinking, just staring at the floor. It was over. He had trained to fight every battle possible, but when it came down to the important things, there hadn't even been a battle to fight. It was just...done. He wasn't sure how long he had been there when he heard the doors open again. He looked up, his face filled with hope, only to have that expression turn to despair. It wasn't Pyrrha. It was Ren. Jaune looked at him for a few moments, and without anything else to pin his hopes on, or anything else to say, he could only do one thing: Get angry.
"I'm sorry, Jaune. I know this must be hard on you."
"You... you knew. You didn't knew but you didn't say anything. How could you?"
"She asked me not to. She had hoped you would notice on yo-"
"Get in the ring."
"What?"
"Get in the ring."
"Jaune, I'm not so sure that that's such a good ide-"
"GET IN THE RING!"
Ren looked at his partner and former leader. The anger, the rage was evident, but there was more to it. There was a deep hurt underneath it all. The blonde wasn't even looking at him. He was looking through him, at something else. Something Ren couldn't see. Still, the stioc hunter entered the ring.
As soon as the barrier was up, Jaune punched him. He hadn't even drawn his sword or pulled out his shield. The blonde just kept striking his partner. Ren stood there and let Jaune hit him, his aura absorbing most of the blows. This went on for a few minutes, Jaune seemed to only get more frustrated as time went on. Eventually he began punctuating each strike with a word.
"You. Bastard. Why. Won't. You. DODGE!?"
"Because I deserve it."
That statement, given calmly and without a hint of doubt, gave Jaune pause. Ren was staring at him with a sadness that almost matched his own. Jaune and Pyrrha wouldn't be the only ones affected by this whole situation. When it came down to it, their whole group would change. They would never be able to just hang out like that again. They would have to try their best to avoid stepping on anyone's toes. Try to be fair to both. Try to be understanding to both of them. Things had gotten harder on all of them. All Ren and Nora could do for now was watch their friends suffer. Jaune lowered his fists, still glaring at his partner.
"No."
"No?" Ren asked with a confused expression.
"You...you don't deserve this. I know you. You probably tried to drop as many hints as you could. You probably held up neon signs that told me to look out. I'm just too much of an idiot to have seen them."
"Jaune..."
"You don't deserve this. And I don't need a punching bag. I need to fight. I need a fight I can understand. One where I can at least see what it is I'm supposed to be up against. Please...just fight back. Or at least dodge, damn you!"
Ren nodded solemnly, only adding "Just don't blame me if you get hurt."
"It's too late for that."
Ren winced, but said nothing. Jaune came at him again. There wasn't any form to it, he just swung in a wide arc. It was anger, it was frustration, it was sadness, it was futility. It was all of the things Jaune was trying to hard to keep down, but Jaune was a swordsman. He couldn't even hope in his wildest dreams to beat Ren in a fistfight. They both knew it, but he came at him anyway. Out of respect, Ren blocked the first one. He dodged the second. Jaune spent half a second wondering where Ren had gone before a blinding pain erupted in his chest.
The fight was short, but brutal. Jaune woke up a little while later, immediately knowing that he was going to be sore for quite a while. He could already see the bruises forming, his aura all but depleted. He was lying on his back in the middle of the ring. Ren was sitting besides him meditating, sporting a few bruises of his own. Jaune covered his eyes with his forearm, blocking out the light and the view of what he had done to his best friend.
"Dammit," was all he could say through gritted teeth. Ren remained calm, allowing Jaune his moment in peace.
"...Ren?"
"Yes, Jaune?"
"Was she right? Did I lose sight of my dream?"
"No."
Surprised by the quick answer, Jaune looked over at his partner, a question already on his lips. "You seem pretty certain."
"Jaune, for as long as I've known you, you've only cared about two things. Helping your friends and protecting people. It's why you chose to be a hunter, it's why Ozpin chose you. It's why you keep trying so hard. When you heard what I was doing, you saw a chance to do both at once. You never lost sight of your dream. You just saw another way to accomplish it."
"What about-"
"Jaune, you've always had a narrow focus. When you don't expect something to be there, you don't see it, no matter how hard it stares you in the face. You didn't expect Pyrrha to like you all those years ago, so you never noticed her affection. And now, you never expected there to be these problems, so you never saw the signs. Your eye to detail is one of your greatest strengths, but your tendancy to focus too hard is one of your greatest weaknesses. Unless I told you directly... there probably wouldn't have been a chance for you to realize what was going on."
There was a long silence as Jaune digested the words. Neither of them moved. Ren's breath was calming.
"Have you and Nora had problems?"
"I can't think of a couple that hasn't, Jaune."
Jaune was silent for a few moments. He had hoped Ren would say no. That they were perfect. That things never got rough. He knew, of course, that that was impossible, but some part of him still wanted it. Still wanted for that dream of happily ever after to exist somewhere, even if it wasn't with him.
"How do you do it, Ren?"
"Do what?"
"How do you keep so in control? You've always been the rational one. How do you stop yourself from freaking out, from lashing out, from... How do you keep yourself from..." He wanted to say ' being like me,' but he stopped himself. He was already wallowing enough. He was sure Ren wouldn't want to hear that on top of it.
"I can show you, if you'd like."
"...Yeah, I think I'd like that," Jaune said, trying to regain control of his eyes.
"Calm mind, serene heart."
"That some kind of mantra?"
"In a sense. Every journey starts with envisioning the goal, after all."
After another long silence, Jaune finally spoke up.
"...Ren?"
"Yes, Jaune?"
"I'm sorry."
"I know. Don't worry about it. If you can't knock them around a little, what are partners for?"
.
.
.
.
.
.
Breath in.
Breath out.
Breath in.
Breath out.
Calm Mind.
Serene Heart.
Let your mind be as fluid as the river.
Let your mind be as tranquil as the morning dew.
"...ne"
Temper the fire.
"...aune"
Calm Mind
"Jaune"
Serene Heart
"JAUNE."
Jaune opened his eyes to see that Ren was standing above him in his apartment with a not so pleased look on his face. Ren came in unannounced all the time, so him showing up before Jaune had a chance to finish his morning meditation didn't really bother Jaune. What did disturb him was his partner's expression.
"Jaune, I'm glad you're following my instructions, but meditations are a time to clear your mind, not relive old memories."
"...That obvious?"
"You've never been able to hide your emotions very well."
"Well, that's what the whole point of this is, isn't?"
Ren couldn't help but sigh at his partner's ability to both completely grasp and completely miss a point. He offered a hand out to help his partner, which Jaune gladly accepted.
"You ready?"
"Yeah, we've got work to do."