Coeur Al'Aran was the beta for the original Auburn and helped me immensely during a period when we were both just getting started. Cover Art drawn by confections101 and a link to it is on my profile page. Jefardi is the one who finally kicked my butt into gear to do something about this story I had almost given up on.
Auburn
Pride
"Good morning students of Lambent!"
Blake jolted up from her bed at the unexpected voice. On instinct she reached for Gambol Shroud and her body tensed for immediate combat. Only half-way through the action did she realize how silly that was. She was in a bed in her room in the middle of a secure tower. Alone. No one had snuck up on her in her sleep and she was in no danger. At least, she didn't think so. Her damn jumpiness from all those years of living with a criminal organization still lingered in her subconscious apparently.
No, she had to calm down and just think about what happened. That was the voice of Shirou Schnee, the headmaster of Lambent. He had addressed the entire student body. That meant he must have been coming through a speaker in her room. Just as she finished thinking this he continued. "I apologize for waking you up at this hour but I figured you would all want to hear this as soon as possible."
Speaking of, what time was it? It was impossible to tell in here with no windows. Blake grabbed her scroll and eyebrow quirked up when she saw it was just past one in the morning. He had better have a really good reason for interrupting their sleep.
"I am contacting you all from a place known as Razor Canyon. It is about five miles to the south-west of Lambent. I've actually gone ahead and pinged it on your scrolls for you. Don't lose that spot because I've also cut the signal to them with that message, and you won't be able to utilize some functions until I deem it appropriate."
Blake got to her feet and flicked the light to her room on as Shirou was talking. Once done, she glanced around for the speaker and found it located just above her sliding door. She didn't know why, but it was comforting to stare at the source of the voice.
"You're probably wondering why I am informing you of all of this." He had that right. "Well, this is the fun part. You're all going to enjoy this. About an hour ago, I took your leaders with me on a training excursion... only it's not really a training excursion. You see, I would guess hundreds of Grimm are about to come charging towards us any minute now. Your leaders... well, they're all going to die."
Blake's heart stopped for a second.
"Jaune."
She bolted for the door. She held her scroll up to it. It didn't move. She pulled at the handle but it remained wedged shut. She was trapped.
"That is, they'll all die if you don't come running to this location to change that. Before any of you go doing that, however, I want you to think about something." He wasn't exactly giving them a choice by locking them in their rooms. "Your leaders make up one fourth of the total student body. That's really not a large amount when you think about it. If you come running out here after them, I guarantee about half of you will die. That is double the amount of casualties as opposed to if you all just stayed put. Is it really worth risking two of you just to maybe save one person?"
Blake kicked her door in frustration and hissed loudly. She was ready to blow it open with Dust if she didn't get out in the next couple seconds. What kind of nonsense did he think he was spouting off? Blake would charge out there by herself if she had to. She wasn't leaving Jaune to die.
"Just some food for thought. Whether you stay behind or come out to die with them makes no difference to me. The choice is now yours." The speaker clicked off and the door slid open simultaneously. Blake stumbled out from the sudden lack of resistance but quickly regained her footing and slammed herself into Jaune's door immediately across the hall.
"Jaune! Jaune, open the door if you're in there!" She banged on it as hard as she could but she wasn't going to get any response and she knew it. He was gone.
That idiot! She had told him to see her before his mission. Did he forget or had he simply decided because it had been midnight to let her sleep? It didn't matter. Either way she was furious. She would give him an earful later. Right after she gut Shirou Schnee wide open.
"Jaune!" Ruby bolted out her door only a second later. She scurried up to Blake who only shook her head. The younger girl immediately looked around in panic as she tried to figure out what the next step to take was.
"Pyrrha!" Yang ran out of her room too. She punched her leader's door so hard it left a dent.
"Glorious Leader!" Nora cried right behind her. Ren silently exited his room but the worry was evident. Shouts, yells, and cried echoed further down the hall as every team from the other schools came to check for their leaders too.
"Would you all just stop with your yammering!" Weiss appeared from the room next to Blake's. Compared to the rest of them, she looked incredibly composed. She was already in her combat attire and was hooking Myrtenaster to her hip. "The faster you all quit floundering around like fish out of water and gear up, the faster we can save Pyrrha and that dunce."
Blake may have disliked Weiss, but in this case she made a good point. They weren't going to accomplish anything in their sleepwear. If she wanted to save Jaune and kill that crazy Headmaster, she needed to think quickly and rationally. Usually that was her specialty but it seemed whenever Jaune was brought into the equation she threw some of that out the window. Something she needed to work on.
Silently, she stalked back to her room as quick as her feet would take her. Ruby had already vanished in a flurry of petals. Yang returned to her own room mumbling curses the whole way while Nora skipped to hers. Ren, like Ruby, had already vanished into his. The other teams seemed to figure the same and everyone set about to gear up.
Blake immediately changed clothes and equipped Gambol Shroud to her back. She grabbed her scroll and tried to dial Jaune on the way out but it was no longer receiving any kind of reception. Dammit!
She stepped out of her room to see Ruby and Ren already prepared, along with numerous students from the other schools. It still wasn't nearly enough of them. Every second they wasted was a second Jaune might die.
"Belladonna, you need to calm down. I can feel your Aura seething from here." Weiss clicked her heels against the metal floor and Blake turned on the Heiress.
"You don't appear the least bit surprised by these turn of events. Did you know about this?" It wouldn't surprise her one bit if Weiss had a hand in this somehow.
"How dare you!" Weiss' shoulders hiked and she leaned forward as her face reddened. "I would never go along with such a barbaric test!"
"You don't seem very surprised by this outcome either." Yang reappeared from her room.
"That's because I know my uncle! This stupid game is exactly like something he would come up with. Now if you're all ready; let's go!" She turned around and stomped towards the elevator just as Nora re-emerged.
"This isn't exactly a game, Weiss." Ruby jogged up to her partner. "Jaune and Pyrrha really might die. Along with a lot of others." They stopped at the elevator and waited impatiently for it to arrive. While they waited, several other teams piled up behind them. It was going to get very cramped in that elevator very fast. Not a single person looked to want to stay behind.
"You all really don't get it." Weiss gave an exasperated sigh and turned to face them. "Life is one big game to my uncle. Especially when that life is on the line. I guarantee you he gave them several options too. He knows we're all going to come running to save them. He's planning on it."
"What does he plan to accomplish by doing this then?" Ren rubbed his chin as he considered Weiss' words. "Does he really plan to allow half of us to die?"
"He's certainly prepared for that outcome." Weiss nodded and Blake felt her hair bristle. What kind of shit had they gotten themselves involved with? "My guess is he gave them some kind of loophole. Some way out. He probably presented it as the least viable option but in actuality, that is the one he wants them to take the most. That's what he does."
"What kind of loophole stops hundreds of Grimm from swarming on you?" Yang asked the question that Blake knew Weiss had no way of answering. They simply didn't have enough information.
The elevator dinged just as the rest of the student's arrived. Weiss turned to it and was the first to stroll in, leaving her words hauntingly behind as she did.
"We're just going to have to find out when we get there."
"We need a plan. Like ASAP." Sun was the first one amongst the team of doomed hunters-in-training to say something. The sound of Grimm was getting louder and they could feel the ground start to shake as every second brought more and more of them stampeding closer.
"Shouldn't we just do what he said and defend ourselves until our teammates arrive?" Nebula didn't sound so sure about her own plan.
"No way! I say we get the Hell out of here!" Brawnz shouted and more voices joined in with his.
"And leave our teammates to come running to their deaths?" Arslan scowled. "We're supposed to be leaders!"
"It'll take them an hour to get here! We might already be dead before they show up!" Brawnz again.
"Perhaps we should try to find him? There is no way he could take all of us." Penny offered.
"I'm not going after that psycho! Who knows how many of us he'll split in half before we manage to subdue him!" Flynt rejected her immediately. "The second option is definitely the best!"
"What do you think, Jaune?" Sun suddenly asked but received no reply.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha prodded him with her finger.
"What's up?" He asked and looked at her before realizing everyone else was staring at him. "Oh. When you said Jaune you were referring to me? I thought you meant that other guy named... Jaune." Yeah okay. That sounded really stupid now that he said it out loud. "Why are we asking me again?"
"You came up with that ingenious idea to take down a full-grown Deathstalker, man! Surely you have some kind of plan to get us outta this mess." Sun clapped him hard in the back and he almost stumbled forward.
"Right…" What had he gotten himself into? He had simply been trying to make sure people didn't die. He hadn't been trying to default himself to leader of the group. What the Hell did he know? Now he had to think of something quick. They were all looking at him expectantly. Just spit out the first thing that came to mind. They would realize he was incompetent and go back to figuring it out themselves. "So... the headmaster gave us three options. Who says we only have to pick one?" They all looked at him like he had grown another head. So far so good then. "Look, there's eight of us. There's no reason we can't split up and still survive this." Sure, splitting up was a horrible enough idea.
"He has a good point." Nebula suddenly started nodding, somehow grabbing something from his logic. "I think two of us should head out to meet the others that are coming to save us. It might not be much, but maybe we can even draw some of the Grimm away too." That sounded absolutely horrible. Who in their right mind would volunteer for that?
"What would be the point?" Arslan asked and before Jaune could do so much as shrug, Pyrrha cut in with her scroll held up.
"He said he cut off our teammate's scrolls. Ours are still receiving a connection though. We can still communicate amongst ourselves using the walkie function. Once that team finds the others, we can relay our situation and even coordinate a strategy with them. If we play it right we might even be able to pincer some of the Grimm between both groups. That must be what Jaune was aiming for."
"That makes sense." Arslan then nodded in agreement.
"Ingenious! How did you even realize that, Jaune?" Brawnz jostled him this time.
Uh... they were aware that they came up with that on their own, right?
"I'll go!" Sun stepped forward and volunteered himself for the role. "As a Faunus, I should be able to detect the others a little more readily. Nebula, you want to come with me? I'd trust a fellow resident of Vacuo to have my back." The purple-haired girl nodded in response and not even a moment later and the two of them were heading for the rock face.
Jaune stared after them as they scaled the canyon with an open mouth. They did not just actually do that, did they? No one was supposed to take his idea seriously.
"What about the rest of us, Jaune?" He turned back to them to see them even more hopeful than before. They were all seriously expecting him to come up with the rest.
"He already told us what to do." Pyrrha cut him off and answered in his place. "This canyon offers a lot of protection and we should be able to confuse the Grimm by moving amongst the vines and striking at them from the shadows. If what the headmaster said is true, then they are going to be running straight for him. Hopefully they'll be too distracted to be checking every little nook and cranny for us.
"Meanwhile, another small group goes after the Headmaster?" Flynt nodded to Jaune, as if he had some kind of newfound respect for him despite the fact that he had literally come up with none of this.
"We should probably just send our best couple fighters. No point in sending someone he is just going to kill right away. That will leave a team of four behind." Arslan finished explaining 'his' plan for him.
"I have already detected where his signal is coming from. I shall lead the two of us down there." Penny spoke and Jaune nodded. It made sense Penny would be one of the two to go. He didn't know how strong the others were but none of them likely held a candle to Pyrrha. She was undoubtedly the other.
"Who's going to direct us while the two of you are down there?" Brawnz asked, looking at him as if he was one of the two someone going down there on that suicide mission.
"I'll take charge up here." Pyrrha declared and stepped forward. Murmurs spread as the other leaders recognized her.
"Wait, what?" If Pyrrha was staying up here then who was going after Shirou Schnee with Penny?
"Come on, Jaune! Let us go and achieve victory!" Penny whooped and grabbed Jaune by the head, dragging him away.
"Wait, wait! Penny! Why am I going with you?" He didn't understand. How did things end up this way?
"Good luck Jaune!" Pyrrha called after him. Wait a second! It was supposed to be her! Not him!
"You ask the strangest questions, Jaune." Penny jumped to the next vine down and pulled him down with her. He barely managed to land properly behind her. "You said the two strongest should go after Mister Schnee." No, someone else said that. They just gave him credit for saying it. "You and I are clearly the two strongest."
"I'm afraid I don't follow." How was it possible that not just Penny but everyone up there thought he was stronger than Pyrrha Nikos? Thee Pyrrha Nikos, four time winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament!
"You and I killed the strongest Grimm previously. May I add we did so effortlessly while the others struggled to so much as cause them any damage. Ergo we are the strongest pair amongst our peers." Penny stated this all matter-of-factly and Jaune's eye twitched.
What she said may have been true but it had been nothing more than dumb luck on his end. They probably would've figured something out even if he hadn't intervened. It was apparently too late to change their minds now.
As they descended into the darkness below he heard the sounds of fighting break out overhead. Whether he was ready for it or not, Shirou's true test had begun.
The deeper they descended, the less light they received from the moon and stars. He hadn't realized how bright it had appeared before until he had suddenly lost it. As it got too hard for him to even see his own hand in front of his face he pulled out his scroll and turned the flashlight on. A moment later Penny did the same.
"How far down do we have to go?" Now that he thought about it, how was it that Penny was tracking him anyways? She had said she had locked onto his signal but how exactly was she doing that? He could probably ask her but decided to just chalk it up to her Semblance or something similar. Really, he didn't even know why he still let things surprise him after everything he had been through.
"I believe he is on the canyon floor. We have to descend for a while yet." The vine they were currently walking on spiralled upwards and Penny tilted her gaze down in an attempt to find one that would lead them deeper. Jaune used his light to help her look and they finally located one about ten yards down. The vines were getting more and more scarce the further they descended it would seem.
"Hang on, Jaune." Penny's sword flew above them and buried themselves in a vine over their heads. He wrapped an arm around her waist and they stepped off together. The strings attached to her swords held them suspended in the air and began to unwind, lowering them deeper into the canyon. They touched down on the vine they had just seen earlier and continued to follow it. This one bent downwards at a steep angle and if Jaune had to guess would take them all the way to their destination.
"Do you have a strategy or anything for taking this guy on?" Jaune asked as he ambled carefully forward. He supposed they should be sprinting full force after this guy but he really didn't want to trip and fall off this thing. That would be kind of counterproductive.
"I am unaware of Mister Schnee's combat capabilities. I will analyze him first and begin an assault in earnest when I am more certain of his abilities." Penny continued to walk at a more natural pace ahead of him and she was beginning to put some distance between them.
"You don't really think we're capable of beating him, do you? I mean, I know this sounds bad since it was "my" idea but he's some kind of renowned swordsman. I don't like our odds." What other choice did they have though? A lot of people were going to die if he didn't hold up his end. That was a ton of pressure considering it was "his" plan they were running with. What if the survivors blamed and hated him? Before he thought about things like that, he had to make sure he was among the survivors of course.
"We do not have to defeat Mister Schnee. Our objective is to disable his scroll. I am confident in my abilities to achieve this task!" Penny flexed and Jaune felt a little of the tension leave his body. If she was this confident then maybe he should just trust in her? She was clearly incredibly strong. Maybe they actually had a chance. Still, if he didn't have to fight he wasn't going to. He would save that thought for when they confronted Shiro.
Finally, something that looked like ground came into sight. It was only until they got right up to it that Jaune realized it wasn't the floor of the canyon at all. It was hundreds of little white roots overlapping one another and forming a web that spanned across the entire visible surface. "What are these things?"
"They are the roots to the vines." Penny confirmed what he had thought just a moment ago.
"Is he still beneath these?" He didn't see a single way to proceed further down.
"He is." Penny flexed her fingers and her swords spun above them. They then burrowing into the roots, forming a small circle around the two of them.
He saw where this was going. "Penny! Please wai-" He never finished that sentence as her swords sawed the roots apart and cut a perfect circle around them open. The roots they were standing on fell away and they went with them.
Dammit, Penny! Jaune mentally screamed this as he was again clinging to her while they tumbled in the air. Fortunately for him, they didn't fall far this time before crashing onto the hard rock floor.
He groaned and stumbled to his feet, patting himself down. Thankfully his Aura was as large as it was. Still, he couldn't afford to waste it on stupid things like this. He needed every drop he could get.
"Fascinating." Penny mumbled and Jaune finally bothered to take in his surroundings. Fascinating… was right. They were now in the deepest level of the canyon and by all means it should have been pitch-black down here. This was not the case at all. Hanging from the roots that formed a ceiling above them were little bulbs that were glowing with natural yellow light.
"What are these things?" He asked in awe as he stared up at them.
His spine shivered in fear when a voice that wasn't Penny's responded. "They're filled with naturally phosphorus Dust that reacts to Aura nearby it. Just by getting close to them they light up." Shirou Schnee stood a small ways away on what looked like a small island with only a small pathway connecting it. Surrounding the island was nothing but darkness that descended too far down for Jaune to see.
"Miss Nikos!" Penny held up her scroll and utilized the walkie feature. "We have located the enemy and are about to engage him in combat. What is your status? Over."
After several moments of silence, Pyrrha's voice crackled over both their scrolls. "We're doing fine so far. The amount of Grimm reaching the canyon is manageable so far. Over." At least no one had died yet.
Penny nodded at Pyrrha's response. "Mister Wukong? Status? Over."
"Busy running! Can't talk!" His voice crackled over almost immediately. He sounded ragged and out of breath. There must have been a lot of Grimm after them. "Do we really have to say 'over'?"
"Alright! Let us do this Jaune!" Penny completely ignored Sun's question and purposefully strolled over to Shirou.
"Penny, wait!" Jaune ran around in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder. He leaned in close to her ear so he could speak without Shirou overhearing. "Let me talk to him first. Maybe I can convince him to stop this without having to fight."
Penny tilted her head and he could swear he heard the gears inside whirl as she processed his request. "I predict that you have a less than one percent chance of being able to change his mind."
"But there is a chance." Jaune patted her shoulder and she nodded. "Then let me try."
"I would like to state that I am against this idea, but I shall give you the benefit of the doubt. That is what best friends do, after all." Penny finally relented and Jaune surprised them both by giving her a quick hug.
"Thanks. Just leave him to me." He turned back to Shirou who had yet to move from his spot and hadn't said anything since making himself known.
Jaune approached him. Every step echoed across the canyon and struck like thunder in his ears. The otherwise silence was unsettling. He didn't know what Penny used to calculate her statistic but he really couldn't afford to dwell on his abysmal odds. Besides, he had no doubt that if he tried to actually fight this guy, the chances of him dying were one hundred percent. He would rather take his chances with conversation first.
He came up to the walkway that would lead him to Shirou's island. The land they were standing on cut away for the length of the canyon and formed a steep cliff that disappeared into nothing. The walkway was barely wide enough for him to get across and he felt a sense of vertigo take over as he glared at it.
With a deep breath he started across and once he reached the halfway point, Shirou finally spoke again. "If you come any farther I will assume you are prepared for combat." Jaune stopped hard and looked away from his feet and up into Shirou's eyes. They were squinted closed as always and he couldn't read any expression in them. His voice had been cold but his mouth was curled in that same creepy grin he always had. His katana was unsheathed and held in his left hand, pointed directly downwards.
"I must admit, I knew it would be you that would come to face me." Shirou said. Jaune narrowed his eyes. Why was it this guy seemed to think he knew him so well? If he knew anything about him he would know that he had actually tried to get out of this. "You and I are pretty similar, Mister Arc. I can tell just by looking at you." That was a disconcerting thought.
"You look like you disagree." His face must have given him away again. "That's alright. You might not understand it yet, but one day you will. Well, if I don't kill you right here that is. I confess, I'm a little disappointed that I was right. You should turn around while you have the chance."
Finally, Jaune saw an opportunity to talk. "If you don't want to kill me then let's end this whole game right here. Just shut that damn Grimm whistle off and let's all fly back to Lambent. No one here has to die."
"Now why would I do that? That would defeat the whole purpose of this game." Shirou raised his right arm up and Jaune saw his scroll still attached to it like a watch.
"What is the purpose of this game then?" He had no way of convincing Shirou to back off if he didn't know what he was even testing them on.
"Are you sure you have time to just stand around and ask me all these questions? Every second you waste is another second someone up there really might die." Jaune didn't respond back and just glared at him as he waited for his answer. Shirou sighed. "You young Huntsmen-in-training don't understand anything. You all get so cocky and think you're ready to take on the world. You don't know what it's like to have your pride ripped out from your very core and watch helplessly as you lose control of the situation."
Jaune was trying not to show it but those words had cut him a little more deeply than even he wanted to admit. "Why give us options then?"
"It was just another way to simulate control. Control that you don't really have. Stay and fight? Run away? Confront me? They're all hopeless. You will all realize that as the night goes on. Those of you that survive will, anyways. When dawn comes around, your spirits will be broken. Only once that has happened can I truly begin moulding you into the strongest band of Huntsmen this world has ever seen." Ozpin had been right! This place was twisted beyond what Jaune could have possibly imagined. He felt anger boil in his stomach and his teeth grit together so hard he could hear them.
"You are already different, Jaune. That is why I am going to give you this offer." Shirou extended a hand towards him, fingers uncurled as if looking for a simple handshake. "If you come over here, I will offer you my protection. You don't have to fight and you don't have to die. Just stand here and watch."
Jaune's mouth went dry and his shoulders slacked as all the anger vanished from his body only to be replaced by confusion. "Why?" It was the only word he was capable of asking.
"Because I can tell just by looking at you. You have no pride." That… it wasn't entirely true. Jaune had some pride. He was proud of his ancestors. He was proud to carry on their family name… oh, who was he kidding? That was their pride. None of that was truly his own. His pride had been ripped from him long ago. Just like Shirou had said.
"So what do you say, Jaune?" Shirou had yet to retract his hand and Jaune stared at it uncertainly. He couldn't abandon his friends and teammates. It wasn't even an option he was willing to consider. If they were as similar as he claimed to be, why then did he assume Jaune would take it? There was without a doubt something fundamentally different about them.
"Weiss told me a little about you growing up." Jaune started talking slowly, meticulously even, as he tried to form the thoughts while his mouth was moving. "If you think I'm as similar to you as you claim, why don't you prove it?"
"Hmm... you want to know about my childhood? Why not. If you want to talk, then let's talk." Shirou's hand fell to his side and fingers drummed idly against his sheathed katana. "If little Weiss told you some things then it must have gone something like me being adopted when my brother married in?" Jaune nodded. "What if I told you that was a lie?"
"...What?"
"My niece didn't lie to you, of course. She told you what she believes is the truth. Here's the real heart of the matter, however. My true father was Nicholas Schnee. I'm only related to Weiss' father by marriage to my half-sister. I am the bastard child that could never be officially recognized as a legitimate successor. My mother was an archaeologist working for my father. She had been born and raised in Mistral, but moved to Atlas after my birth. Father sent her a small sum of money every month. Money that was supposedly enough to pay for the place and raise me by herself. We were supposed to live without a care in the world.
"He never came and checked for himself. Not once did he come to visit." Jaune figured Shirou was talking about something rather bitter but you never would have guessed it just listening to the tone of his voice. He was talking as if they were all fond memories. "It was a really bad neighborhood, you see. When I was only a toddler, a local gang somehow caught word that money was being sent to our address. They came and ousted us, ripped us from our home. We were forced out onto the streets. Mother wrote many letters to father but I only found out later that he never received a single one. He had no idea what was happening to us.
"Mother started working multiple jobs to make ends meet. It was rough for her but she always worked her hardest. Winters in Atlas are brutal and one year she fell gravely ill. I was only six years old but I set out to find work in her place regardless. You can probably imagine how hard it is for a child to find a legitimate means to earn money. By chance, I stumbled across a very specialized establishment. One where they pitted children to beat one another for betting and their own twisted amusement. The pay was decent, especially if you were unique like me. Apparently the adults there got off on watching a little half-Mistrali boy get his teeth kicked in by kids sometimes six years older.
"Summer came around and mother hadn't gotten any better. If anything it seemed like she was getting worse. I used my money to pay for medication and even managed to find a doctor that would look at her. Turns out, she had caught some kind of disease for which there was no known cure. I was too young to learn the name of it and never bothered looking it up. He gave her a year to live at best. I was seven when we received this news. I couldn't accept it. I started going to the fights more often.
"Every day I got kicked around until I couldn't move. Every day I came home to mother with broken bones and new bruises. Every morning, mother would remind me of my heritage and to take pride in my heritage. Every evening I would have that pride stomped out of my body as I fought just to make enough money to keep us both breathing.
"This continued until I was ten years old. The winter had been bad that year. Finally, the illness claimed my mother's life and I was left completely alone in the world.
"I was just wandered the streets for days after until I collapsed from the cold and the exhaustion. I didn't see the point to anything anymore. If the outcome had already been inevitable why had I worked so hard to prevent it? I simply didn't know what else to do. So I resolved myself to die there on the street, with snow piling up on top of my body.
"What a kick in the teeth it was that father's car happened to be passing down that street. They brought me to his manor and father became aware of everything. The men that ran and participated in the illegal child fights that had supported me for years were arrested. The gang that had evicted my mother and me were dismantled brutally. Father made all this happen with only a couple calls. He then promised me that he would take care of me. He wept and wept as he apologized for everything I had gone through. He told me that I would never have a want in the world. He would make sure of it.
"Do you know what I did when he told me this?" Jaune shook his head. "I laughed! I laughed and laughed for days." He spread his arms out and his grin stretched across his whole face. Jaune almost averted his eyes out of instinct. "What a feeling that was! I didn't know something like laughter could feel so great. How ironic the whole thing was. I got beat every day to try and create a better life for myself and my mother when if I simply would have just let her die from the beginning, father would have come running to pull me out of that Hell. I would've killed her myself if I had realized that."
He would've… kill his own mother? Jaune's stomach churned at the thought. There was no way. That was just so wrong. Shirou said something so twisted and unnatural with that same bright smile as always. The whole time he had been telling the story, he had been looking up at one of the luminescent bulbs. It would appear he was done now as he looked back at them.
"Not long after, my sister married and Father fabricated the story that I was related to her betrothed by blood, giving him a 'legitimized' reason to adopt me. And so there you are. Does that answer all your burning questions about me?" Shirou once again extended his hand towards Jaune. "If it does, I would like your answer."
Jaune stood in silence for a few moments as he took in everything Shirou had just told him. Finally, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. "Oh man, that's a load off my mind." Shirou raised an eyebrow at him and Jaune grinned back in response. "I was really afraid that after I heard what you had to say, I would realize that we really are alike. Now, I can tell you beyond a shadow of doubt though that you and I are nothing alike. There's no way in Hell I'm the same as a bastard who was glad his mother died."
Shirou's hand lowered back down to his side and his usual smile twisted into a confused frown. Only for that grin to return and be even more creepy than before. "Okay then, I have another offer for you. This one may be more to your liking." He paused, likely just for dramatic effect alone. "Come over here and allow me to kill you. Just stand still and I'll stab you in the heart. If you do that, I'll end this whole game right now. Everyone else gets to go back to Lambent for a good night's rest."
Was he... being serious? Jaune could never really tell with this guy. If he really meant that offer than wasn't that something he should definitely take? He just got done saying he didn't want to fight if he didn't have to. His resolve would look really half-assed if he backed away now.
At the same time, just handing his life over wasn't exactly how he had planned to go either. He had always pictured it as some heroic last stand while his teammates fled for their lives. It would be a spur of the moment decision, one he made as he realized there was no way for them all to escape unless someone sacrificed himself. He would hesitantly step forward for that role. The others would cry and thank him as they fled. It all sounded really poetic in his head.
It was kind of the opposite of what Shirou suggested. He was just supposed to stand there and let himself get stabbed? That sounded… really lame. Did the way it happened really matter? If the outcome was half or more of his teammates being spared than it went without saying that he should do this. Although, he had also pictured himself being much older when this happened. He wanted to marry a beautiful woman, have children, teach them what it meant to be an Arc. If he gave himself up here, he would never be able to experience any of that.
If he didn't give himself up here... as many as seven others might never get to experience any of that happiness either. How could he possibly weigh his life against seven others? Their lives undoubtedly held way more value than his own. Even if he looked at them individually they would all contribute far more to society as Huntsmen than a sham like he would.
He had to do this. Yet at the same time he was too scared of death to do it.
"Tick tock tick tock, Mister Arc. What is your answer?" Shirou's voice was taunting and full of mirth, like he already knew there was no way Jaune could ever willingly make that decision.
"No way!" Penny grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled backwards, harshly reminding him that he wasn't alone here.
"Penny." Jaune took a big breath and tried to keep his voice as steady as possible. He had to appear strong. He couldn't let her know how terrified he was. There was no way he was just going to hand over his life like that, but he didn't want her to think that decision was born out of fear. It had to be a decision he proclaimed with confidence.
"I will not accept it!" Penny appeared to mistake his intent, somehow thinking he was actually considering handing himself over. "No one up there would agree with this plan. You are the one inspiring everyone right now. If you die, they will lose hope." She was surely exaggerating, but that was aside the point. He had to tell her she got it wrong.
"An interesting proposition. Want to test it?" Shirou didn't give him the chance, as if he had been waiting for that very response. Without elaborating any further, the headmaster lifted his scroll. "Attention all leaders. Mister Arc and myself have come to terms to end this game." Wait, that was not true. Jaune hadn't agreed to anything!
"All he has to do is allow me to kill him. If he does, you all get to go back to bed. I just figured I would get a consensus from the rest of you. If even one person agrees, then this whole thing can end right now. If not, the game will continue at your own peril. So what do you say?" That was it!? Only one person had to say they wanted him dead and they could all leave? Those were pretty low parameters dammit!
His scroll crackled to life as someone turned on their mic. Here it came, almost immediately. Someone was about to choose him to die. Someone must have realized now how hopeless their situation was and now the moment was upon him.
Fear gripped his heart and caused his breath to hitch. How was he supposed to tell them that he was not prepared for this? They were thinking they could get out of this if they sacrificed him. Would they revolt against him and drag him up to be stabbed? Suddenly, Shirou's first option didn't sound like such a bad offer now that he considered the people he was bargaining for were going to betray him.
"Are you fucking retarded?!" Sun's voice screamed into the scroll so loud it caused Jaune to jump. "There's no way in Hell anyone is going to say that they want Jaune to die for us! We're training to become Huntsmen dammit! We would all rather die fighting than allow someone to sacrifice himself for us!"
"Sun is right!" Pyrrha's voice crackled in immediately after. "Don't even think about handing yourself over to him, Jaune! We all need you!"
"Just kick his ass, Jaune!" Brawnz yelled.
"Don't give yourself up for us, man! We can hold out until you win!" Flynt was next.
"We believe in you, Jaune!" Then Nebula.
"You're the leader of team Auburn. Just like I am. Don't sully the name of that team by getting killed like that." Finally it was Arslan.
He couldn't believe it. They all truly believed he had a chance? His hands clenched. He was such an idiot, thinking they were going to sell him out to die. They were all Hunters-in-training too, just like Sun said. Everyone here wanted a resolution where none of them died. That was what they were aiming for.
Shirou started to chuckle and Jaune lifted his gaze to look back up at him. "You have a lot to learn about people with Pride. They don't realize how hopeless their situation is yet like you do. Once the bodies start to drop, they'll change their tune. Though, my offer will no longer be on the table when that happens."
Letting out a long sigh, the blond pulled out his sword and expanded his shield. If it came to this he had no choice but to fight. They were all depending on him. He had no right not to give anything less than his all now. "Sorry Penny. I really thought this was the best way."
"It is okay, Jaune!" Penny patted him on the back. "This is why we have friends. To help keep us on the right track." Yeah, he supposed she was right. He was really lucky to have so many people that he could call friends now.
"It would appear the time for chatting is done." Shirou raised his katana and pointed it directly at Jaune and Penny. "If you are prepared to die, than come."
They did just that. Although he had never been prepared to die.
Chapter End
AN: The majority of Shirou's back-story was inspired by the two chapters in the Berserk manga that covered Serpico's past. I know many people compare Shirou to Archer from Fate/Stay night and I think his appearance and name mostly have something to do with that. To be honest, when I created Shirou I was actually mixing parts of Kotomine Kirei (also from Fate) and again, Serpico.
Next time, things begin to look dire as Jaune and Penny try to find a way around the gap in skill between themselves and Shirou.