Disclaimer: The following is a nonprofit fanfiction of RWBY. RWBY belongs to Monty Oum(RIP) and Rooster Teeth. Any likeness to writings of others is not intentional. To help with improvements: Read and Review!
A/N: Hey guys! Jitterwhack here. I noticed I've been updating Those Days a lot more than NoL, so I made some chapters to upload. Those Days chapter 15 is still in the works. After binge watching the 12 episodes, I have an idea of how to write it and who to use for the cast. Problem is that with all the economics explained, I need to find a way to not make it just a copy paste of the characters themselves.
Anyways! On with the fic!
Things were going great with Jaune. After getting over the whole Reverse Hikaru Genji Plan, Blake felt she was a lot closer to Jaune just as a much as Pyrrha. Not only did they work out in the mornings together, but they also shared stories about each other and sometimes just exchanged opinions on shows and other literatures.
Today though, Jaune was currently taking a break after she and Pyrrha had made him do continuous squats. So here she was, alone in her dorm. Zwei, the little slobbering mutt, was locked in the restroom mysteriously after Blake had caught him rolling in her backpack. Weiss and Yang were off shopping, and Ruby was with the other leaders of JNPR, SSSN, and CFVY to get a clubroom of their own from Miss Goodwitch. Getting a rare opportunity like this, she took out her edited copy of Ninja's of Love and continued onto the next chapter.
Chapter 2: Royal Challenge
"Dodge!" Blake shouted before aiming an overhead swing with her sword toward Jaune.
With trained reflexes, Jaune had sidestepped the swing and swung with a side slash only to have his katana kicked out of his hands and five feet away from him him.
"Again?" Blake shouted frustrated. She sheathed her blade and went to pick up the practice katana before looking at the renegade prince. "This is the ninth time! How do you expect to guard Princess Ruby if you can't even use a katana properly?"
Blake had given Jaune a chance to prove his worth after they had a talk three days ago. After that, things were a bit okay between them once she saw he held no hate or racism to anyone. Noticing his lack of weaponry, Blake herself had acquired a simple katana for him to use. His riding crop was not as intimidating for someone who would be guarding the princess. Having him wear the clothing and using the weaponry of her country would have him stand out less.
Sadly, he was unaccustomed to the ways of her country's sword style. So Blake had decided to tutor him in the basics of the katas and other forms. But after many trials, even she was beginning to lose hope in him learning the swordplay.
"I'm sorry." Jaune mumbled while nursing his hand while picking up the katana.
"Sorry isn't going to keep Ruby safe." She said through gritted teeth.
"Blake!" Ruby scolded from the sidelines. She had made it known that she would always stick close to watch them train.
"I'm sorry Ruby." Blake huffed tiredly. "But it's almost like he isn't interested in learning at all."
"But he has the basics down." She argued calmly. "He hasn't completely mastered it, but even I can see he knows how to swing the blade properly."
"I hope I'm not interrupting your training." Emperor Ren said, walking into the courtyard. The three immediately bowed before him. Seeing Jaune holding a katana, Ren walked up to him in curiosity. "Jaune, what are you doing?"
"Practicing your county's sword style …my liege." Jaune said uncertain. Ren shook his head at his answer.
"You are wasting your time." He stated bluntly.
"Elder Brother!" Ruby gasped. This was the first she had ever heard him talk down to someone in such a way. Seeing that he was being misunderstood, Ren quickly corrected his statement.
"I don't mean it in a bad way!" He said slightly panicked. "I meant you already have a method of fighting. I've even seen it myself when you sparred with the other renegades. Learning another fighting style would be a waste when you should be refining what you already have."
"It was my idea to train him in our style, my liege." Blake said, still on her knees. "With Jaune as he is, he would attract more attention than the princess."
"With how he is now, I can rest easy that Ruby is being watched by him." Ren defended Jaune. "Remembering my time with him, I'd say he would be a match for you Blake."
"If you say so my liege." Blake said, looking down in shame. She may have said she would give Jaune a chance, but there was a part of her that didn't like being compared to him as an equal skill-wise.
"Onto the reason why I am here in the first place." The Emperor said, changing the subject. "We will be having guests arriving today. The two princesses of the Dust Empire to be exact."
"Yay! Weiss is coming to visit!" Ruby shouted in joy. She scrambled to her feet and held her brother in a hug. "Did they say what time they would be arriving?"
"Princess Weiss is currently standing in front of you." A new voice said through the courtyard. Looking to the source of the statement, Ruby and the rest saw a white-haired girl a few years older than Ruby standing at the entrance. Said girl was dressed in a white dress that cascaded down to her ankles. On her head was a tiara that was also a veil that cascaded to her shoulders. "I hope my entrance wasn't too rude."
"Weiss!" Ruby shouted in joy while running up to her. Getting close, she held the visiting princess in a tight hug. "It's so good to see you. Did you miss me? Did you?"
"…Nope." The white princess had a fake frown before it broke into a chuckle and returning the hug. "Ok! Yes! I've been looking forward to seeing you!"
"Those two know each other?" Jaune whispered to Blake as the two princesses chatted.
"Yes." She answered. "When the gates were opened, Ruby had followed Ren to one of the meetings in the Dust Empire a year ago. Things were rocky at first, but the two quickly became friends."
"Is that who I think it is?" Weiss gasped while clambering up to them with Ruby in tow.
Jaune was panicking, thinking that the Dust princess had recognized him. Standing straight, he was prepared for his cover to be blown, but was confused when Weiss passed him to walk up to Blake.
"Blake!" She said while grasping her hands, shocking her. "I see you are still Ruby's personal guard."
"…I'm happy you remember me Princess Weiss." Blake bowed with a small blush.
"And who is this?" Weiss said looking over to Jaune who was still standing a few inches close to Blake. She immediately grew a mischievous smirk looking at the two, before sharing that look with Ruby who caught on. "Did you get married over the time I haven't seen you? Ruby, how could you not write to me about this?"
"This is all new to me too Weiss." Ruby played along. "Jaune is new here, but the way Blake has been kicking him around, I'm sure to believe that the two were secretly married."
"I know what you two are doing." Blake said through a heavy blush and narrowed eyes. "And I will not feed this …this joke you two are doing to rile me up."
"I guess it was futile." Weiss sighed. She turned back to Jaune. "But really? Who are you?"
"I'm…" Jaune hesitated.
"His name is Jaune Arc." Ruby supplied, seeing his nervousness.
"…Oh." Weiss said simply. Her cheerful mood quickly changed to uncertainty. "Um …It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." Jaune said in a sad tone. "…I'm going to head off and scout the area."
Not waiting for a reply, he quickly ran out of the courtyard.
"Weiss?" Ruby called to her fellow princess in concern. "Do you know who he is?"
"I don't just know him Ruby." Weiss said in a sad tone. "I know of all the things he has done."
"What?" Ruby whispered in worry. She hoped her friend was not one of those that looked to her new guard in hate.
"Don't misunderstand!" She said quickly looking over to the three in the room. "I don't judge him by what his people have done. …But I know exactly of what he did to gain the title known by all royals on the Human side as The Renegade Prince."
"What did he do?" Blake asked; her curiosity peaked.
"He-" Weiss started.
"PRINCESS SCHNEE!" Ren shouted. The three women looked to him in surprise, remembering he was still in the room. His face held a stern look but his eyes held some sadness. "I don't think Jaune would appreciate having more people knowing what he has done to gain such a title without his consent."
"My apologies Emperor." Weiss bowed, used to the custom. "And you are right. It is his story to tell."
At the castle entrance
Jaune was overseeing the Dust Empire's guards entering the gates on one of the roofs. A festival was being prepared for the Emperor's safe return along with the gift the Human Council had given as a sign of trust. He was happy he fought for the faunus. It was nice to see an equality he didn't see growing up. Putting a hand into his shirt pocket, he fondled a pendant given to him by someone he considered special while he was still the prince of Arcadia. While remembering her, he was pulled out of it hearing a commotion down below.
"Watch it!" Shouted one of the Dust soldiers while pushing one of the castle guards down. He was heavily armored and muscular. Strapped to his side was a mace that looked even heavier. "Filthy faunus!"
"Lieutenant!" One of his subordinates whispered. "I'm sure neither of the princesses would approve of the way you are acting."
"But they won't know, will they?" The lieutenant said with a sneer, looking over his subordinate and the faunus he pushed down. "Now get out of my sight."
Before Jaune could follow the lieutenant around, Blake had appeared beside him to inform him that Ruby was calling for him. Turning back to the officer, Jaune remembered the man's face for future reference.
A few minutes later
"How do I look, you two?" Ruby asked her two guards. She was wearing a dark red kimono with a black and silver sash wrapped around her. The design itself had some black and white rose petals on the bottom. Jaune clapped for her with a smile while Blake fixed a few stray hairs in front of her face.
"You look wonderful Ruby." Weiss said behind her. Walking up to them, they saw she was wearing a whitish blue kimono with a simple red sash wrapped around her. Giving a twirl, she asked her friend on her appearance.
"It looks great on you!" Ruby gushed while grasping the Dust princess's hands. Looking over to her two guards, she saw they also approved of her appearance.
"Princess?" Jaune called out to Weiss.
"Yes?" Both Ruby and Weiss said at the same time. Both turned to each other before turning back to Jaune.
"…Weiss." He clarified. After getting an 'oh' from both of them he continued. "I'd like to know where your personal guard is."
"My guard is currently with Emperor Ren and my older sister." Weiss said, playing with a bell on her sash. "She's the captain of the Dust Empire's royal guards, so she still needs to uphold her duties as such."
"That's amazing." He said impressed. He was also happy her personal guard wasn't the lieutenant he saw earlier.
"She's also quite famous." She started to brag. "She was a member of The Paragons and was nicknamed The Red Goddess."
"Oh great." Jaune muttered while massaging his temples.
"Is there something wrong Jaune?" Ruby asked, noticing his ire.
"Let's just say that Renegades and Paragons have a not so clean history during the wartime." He chuckled nervously.
"You don't have to worry!" Weiss said quickly while holding her hands out, knowing of the Renegades. "I've personally talked with her. She was on the Human side, so I'm sure there will be no frictions."
By this point Jaune was at a mix of chuckling and crying at the same time.
"Jaune …was on the Renegade side that fought for the faunus." Ruby said uncomfortably to her royal friend.
"Well…" Weiss tried to think of something to amend things. "…Maybe she's over the group history?"
"We'll see." He muttered nervously before changing his mood to something happier. "But back to how you two look, I'd give a castle for a dance with both of you."
"Well… you know… I already have a castle… hehe… thank you!" Ruby gushed at the compliment with a small blush.
"Just a castle?" Weiss teased with a raised eyebrow.
As the three joked around, Blake watched with a small smile on her face. That feeling of danger she felt around Jaune was still there. But unlike how intese it felt on the first day, it was now just a small ember. Maybe it is true that he is equal to her skill-wise, but the more rational part of her was happy he was on her side. The dreams though were another thing. Remembering one a few days ago caused a small blush to form on her face.
"Blake!" Weiss clapped her friends in front of the cat faunus's face. Ruby had covered her bat ears to avoid the sharp sound it made.
"Huh? What?" Blake muttered, getting out of her daydream.
"I asked if you planned on changing into a kimono soon." Weiss repeated with hands on her hips.
"I'm …not going to be wearing one." She answered with a blush. "Besides, I'm supposed to be guarding you two."
"But we have both the Dust soldiers and the castle's royal guards watching the whole area." Ruby argued. "Please?"
"…Fine." Blake gave in to her princess's silver eyes. "But only if Jaune has to dress up too."
"We sent him off to change while you were daydreaming." Weiss pointed to the door said blonde had left from. "Speaking of: What were you daydreaming about?"
"Nothing!" Blake quickly denied. Seeing the two friends sharing a look, she quickly walked out before they could push for more. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
Ten minutes later
"Kind of disappointing." Ruby said with a pout looking at Blake's attire. She was wearing a simple black and white hakama with her hair tied in a ponytail.
"Indeed." Weiss said, rubbing her chin with a smirk. "You'll have a hard time wooing Jaune tonight."
"We're not like that!" Blake denied with a blush.
"If you say so." Weiss waved off. Hearing someone clear his throat behind them, all three girls turned around to see Jaune wearing the same thing as Blake. "…And your chances just went up higher."
An hour later
At the Festival
Blake was having a fun time. True to what Ruby said, the elite royal guards were stationed in every corner of the festival. While watching over the two princesses, they had run into Emperor Ren and Lady Winter who invited them to join them. The two were seated drinking at a stall surrounded by ten guards each who were specially trained for their safety. Weiss's guard was said to be roaming the area.
"I heard from Weiss you have a Renegade as a guard." Winter said to Ren with a small tint of pink to her cheeks while eyeing Jaune. "And a very dangerous one too."
Ren chuckled at her statement and Jaune's blush at the compliment. "While I was away, I learned many things about him. The stories of his actions, and the man himself are two very different things. And I have to say …me having a Renegade is no different from your Paragon captain."
"Semantics." She waved off. "She was actually recruited after that tragedy with the White Fang."
"…" Ren stayed quiet. The subject of that incident was tragic to both of them. Ren had lost Fox, one of his childhood friends that he truly cared for. And Winter and Weiss had lost their father. "I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your fault." Winter said somnberly.
"But he was one of my men!" He argued with a few tears, the alcohol loosening his inhibitions. This was the second time Ruby had seen her brother cry. The first was when their father had passed away. "If I hadn't opened the gates in the first place-"
"If you hadn't opened your gates, me and my sister would never have become good friends with you and yours." Winter cut him off and looking to Ruby and Weiss. "What happened was a tragedy not by you, but by a selfish man acting on his accord. I blame Adam for the attack, not you."
"Onto more joyful news," Winter said, changing the subject while gaining a small blush. Weiss knew what was coming and hid her face behind her hands. "If you have a Renegade here, then the leader should be around too. Correct?"
"Yes?" The bat faunus said, unsure where she was going with this. Winter took another gulp from her cup before continuing.
"Is he here right now?" She asked a little too sweetly. Ren and Ruby now understood what was happening. The elder princess had feelings for her savior. Ruby was silently cheering for her, whilst Jaune was holding back his laughter once his leader got wind of this information.
"I'm sorry to say, but Qrow and the rest of his men are off searching for Adam as we speak. Jaune was left here to be a guard to Ruby as agreed by the two of us." Ren explained. Getting a nudge from Ruby and seeing her pleading eyes, he saw Winter was now looking downtrodden. "I can't say where he is for his safety, but I'm sure you may see him before you leave."
"That's good to know." She said in a sad tone sipping her drink.
"I don't know if this may help." Jaune piped in. "But Mas-. Qrow doesn't have anyone in his life besides his men and me at the moment."
"I see." The elder princess said with a calculative grin. "I find that information …very helpful young man. Now why don't you and the others run along now while the emperor and I talk business."
Getting dragged away by both Weiss and Ruby, Blake and Jaune were taken to a number of stalls that had games with many prizes. They still hadn't run into Weiss's guard, but that was fine by Jaune. The last they needed was a possibility of two old foes meeting in a joyful area.
After a few hours, the group was attracted to a growing crowd cheering in the center of the festival.
"What's going on?" Weiss asked one of the locals.
"Princess Weiss!" The local bowed, recognizing her. "There is a match between your Lieutenant and one of the local fighters."
As people made way for the two princesses and their guards, Jaune saw the same lieutenant fighting a deer faunus. And by the looks of things, the deer faunus was losing judging by how swollen his face was.
Seeing the princess, the lieutenant made quick work of the deer faunus by knocking him down with a smash. As the human referee counted to ten, the bulky fighter had walked over to the four of them.
"Impressed princess?" He asked, flexing one arm.
"Hardly." Weiss said coldly with a steely gaze. This was the first Jaune had heard her talk so coldly. "What do you think you are doing?"
"I'm simply showing this back water country the strength of the real world." He said with a smarmy smirk. Seeing Ruby, he spat at her feet. "See that little bat? That's the power of the winning side. If you feel like giving your country some power, follow me to my quarters after this."
"How dare you!" Blake made to charge the lieutenant but was stopped by Jaune holding her shoulders. "Jaune! Let. Me. Go!"
"No." Weiss said infuriated by the whole event. "Let me speak first."
Taking a deep breath, she turned to her officer. "Lieutenant Winchester. I am not happy at all by what you are doing. From the moment we have arrived, you have been nothing but a nuisance. I thought a simple slap on the wrist would do you good, but then you go and say such things to a close friend of mine, WHO SO HAPPENS TO BE THE PRINCESS OF THIS COUNTRY! My sister and I love and respect this country and its people. And I had hoped the company I keep around me would learn the same. You are a prime example of what I abhor the most!"
"You tell him princess!" Shouted a local who heard the lieutenant's words to their princess. Weiss gave the local a sparing glance in gratitude.
"Well …So what?" He said as if it didn't matter. "All these people are weaklings and here we are pandering to their needs? They lost the war. Surrendered like the animals that they are! Arcadia had it right the whole time befo-"
SLAP!
Whatever Winchester was about to say was halted by Jaune slapping him hard with his riding crop. Recovering from the slap, the officer looked to his assaulter with a smirk.
"You shouldn't have done that." He snarled, rubbing the cheek Jaune slapped. "Assaulting an officer? That's a life time in jail."
"He did no such thing." Weiss stated coldly with arms crossed. "He simply challenged you to a match. Isn't that right, Jaune?"
"Very." He replied equally cold. Blake and Ruby both shivered at his tone. To Blake, it was the same tone he used in her dreams. To Ruby, this was the first time she had seen her friend this angry. "I challenge you to a match in this very ring. Do you accept?"
"I accept." Winchester said with a cruel grin. "And when you lose, I'll have you watch me have my way with all these weaklings."
After a few minutes, Jaune was stripped of his clothing and was now wearing tattered shorts with his fists and feet wrapped. He was currently sitting at a corner of the ring, waiting for the bell sound.
"Do you even know how to fight with your fists?" Ruby asked him in concern. Looking at her, his gazed softened before patting her on the head.
"It was the first thing I was taught." Jaune answered, never taking his eyes off Winchester. Blake had that feeling again. The feeling that she was looking at a dangerous beast. Only it wasn't her the best was hunting, but the man it was caged with. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't want this."
"Good evening everybody!" Weiss shouted in the center of the ring. The crowd instantly paid close attention as she announced the fight. "I, Princess Weiss would like to present to you the match of a lifetime: A fight between two highly trained men. In the red corner, trained from the Dust Empire: Lieutenant Cardin Winchester!"
Cardin goaded his subordinates to cheer for him. Getting a roaring cheer from them, he raised both fists in the air and posed for the crowd.
"And in the blue corner, representing this country, and trained by the Renegades: Jaune Arc!"
The only ones to clap for him were Ruby, Weiss, and Blake. The rest of the faunus didn't know who he was, but they were skeptical of a human representing them. Cardin was laughing at the sight of him not getting much support from the people he was representing.
"Are both fighters ready?" Weiss shouted. Getting a nod between the two, she got out of the ring, and the bell rung.
The two were instantly in the center of the ring. Cardin was throwing blows that the crowd could feel while Jaune simply dodged everything. A few had hit his shoulders and lower abdomen, but he was still moving at a quick pace.
"Come on Jaune!" Ruby shouted from his corner. "Throw a punch! Kick him!"
"Go on the offensive Arc!" Blake shouted next to her. She was still infuriated by the officer's words. To make things worse, she could tell a few of the locals were now looking at the two princesses from the Dust Empire in a bad light.
After a swing had gotten him straight in the chest, Jaune stopped moving and opened his guard to show his chest and face. The crowd cheering for Cardin cheered louder thinking the match would soon be over. Taking the opening, Cardin reared back his fist for a heavy blow.
"IDIOT! HE BAITED YOU!" Shouted a red-haired woman in Cardin's corner over the cheers.
Hearing the warning, Cardin was too late in stopping as he felt an onslaught of haymakers pierce his body. Closing to guard himself, he felt the onslaught continue to sting his arms. Getting irritated, he swings with a back hand to stop the onslaught but felt more of the blows hitting his face and causing quick swelling.
"Blake." Ruby whispered, never taking her eyes off the fight. "Jaune is just jabbing him with one arm, right?"
"It might look like that Ruby, but its much more." She replied, counting the number of swings Jaune was throwing. "They may be jabs, but from the looks of things, Cardin is feeling a heavy amount of haymakers hammering into him."
"Amazing." Ruby whispered in awe. The crowd grew quiet seeing the tables turned.
"DON'T STEP BACK!" The red haired woman shouted.
But Cardin did step back and found himself pushed into a corner. The blows Jaune threw were to put him in that very spot. Cardin was now cornered like a mouse.
Throwing a kick to gain some distance, Cardin felt his legs heavy. He heard the woman at his corner yell at him once more. Before he knew what happened, Jaune had disappeared from his line of sight and saw a bright light before flying out of the ring unconscious.
The bell rang as the faunus cheered and the Dust soldiers shouted in defeat. Jaune had gone into the ring to win, but had also completely humiliated the officer.
"And that is the match everyone!" Weiss called out, getting back into the ring. "Your victor, and champion for the faunus tonight: Jaune Arc!"
This time, only a few faunus had cheered and clapped. Ruby and Blake had climbed up the ring to congratulate him personally. Looking to his downed opponent, they saw the same woman coaching him throwing water over him.
"Wake up!" She shouted in a commanding tone. Getting no response she ordered a soldier to bring him to the infirmary.
"Who is that woman?" Jaune muttered to no one.
"Pyrrha!" Weiss called the woman over. Hearing her name, said woman walked towards them. "Guys, I'd like to introduce to you my personal guard and friend, Pyrrha Nikos."
"Ooh!" Ruby awed at the sight of her. "So this is the captain of your guards and former Paragon."
"Good evening." Pyrrha bowed to them. "As Princess Weiss has said, I am Pyrrha Nikos. It is an honor to be in your presence Princess Ruby and company."
"The honor is ours." Ruby bowed in practice. Blake had bowed as well. Looking over to Jaune, the two saw him clutching his chest where Cardin had struck him. "Are you okay Jaune?"
"I'm fine Princess." He muttered through strained words. "The man got me while I was moving forward."
"That was a very impressive fight," Pyrrha complimented. "Renegade Prince."
The four looked to her with wide eyes.
"You know who he is too?" Weiss said surprised.
"Of course princess." Pyrrha said, never taking her eyes off him. "During the wartime, I saw glances of him on the battlefield. My superiors in Paragon were furious each time we didn't capture him and his leader."
"And you're not angry about it anymore, right?" Ruby asked hopeful.
"Not anymore." She said, walking up close to him and placing a hand on his chest. "But I'm still interested in knowing the man who has alluded me for all these years."
Jaune flinched at the pressure Pyrrha was putting on his chest. This was noticed by all of them. Pyrrha hummed putting a bit more pressure.
"From the feel of things, I'd say he was able to land a very damaging blow on you." She summarized. "Nothing is broken, but I can bet that it's very painful for you just to stand straight, isn't it?"
Not waiting for a reply, she had a few men put him on a stretcher to bring him to a tent where the wounded were treated. Weiss and Ruby followed with Blake lagging a few feet behind. She didn't know why, but she didn't like the sight of Pyrrha placing her hands on Jaune like that.
Entering the tent, she saw Pyrrha rubbing a salve where Jaune was hurt. He was protesting he could do it himself, but she pressed forward to let her help him.
"I hope you heal soon." She said with a sweet smile. "After seeing you fight my soon to be ex subordinate, I'd like to have a match against you before we leave. I'd like to see whether I could have you use all your limbs instead of just one arm against me."
"Are you sure you're not bitter from our wartime?" Jaue groaned as she massaged the salve into his chest. Pyrrha tracing a circle over it made Blake feel annoyed for some reason.
"After chasing you and your leader for so long, I'd like to know what it would have been like to do battle against you." She said in a sultry manner.
"I think I will take care of the rest from here." Blake said, making her presence known and walking up to them. She didn't notice the smirk growing on the two princesses' faces.
"Oh, hello." Pyrrha greeted, looking away from the blonde renegade. "You were with Princess Ruby and Weiss. I'm sorry, but I didn't quite catch your name."
"Blake." She said curtly. To the others, it sounded more like a growl. Looking over to Jaune, she saw he was looking at her with a raised brow. "What?"
"I'm starting to think you're not so good with meeting new people." He said slightly concerned. Scoffing at his words, she sat herself next to him and inspected his bruises.
"Why didn't you let me fight him?" She asked after a half a minute. Pyrrha had stopped applying salve, and the two princesses stayed quiet to hear his answer.
"I didn't want you to." He said looking at the ceiling.
"You didn't want me to?" She said in an angry tone, standing up. "My role is to protect Ruby, and that …that scum deserved any wrath I would bring upon him!"
"And what would that do?" He argued looking at her. "If you didn't notice, every faunus was close to attacking him too! And what would that say about Weiss before she could speak for herself? At least with me fighting, there wouldn't be any rumors or talks about this country and the Dust Empire having an incident."
"What?" She breathed out in disbelief.
"I don't want another war Blake!" He cried. Despite his arms being bruised, they could see he was tensing up and shaking.
"I'm sorry." She said, sitting back down after a few minutes. "You were right. Looking back on it, I was about to attack before Weiss could speak for herself. To you and Weiss, I apologize."
"And I apologize too." Pyrrha said, bowing to Blake. "It was a subordinate of mine that was causing trouble to begin with. For his actions, I apologize and will have you know he will be punished severely."
After Jaune was wrapped up, the four of them plus Pyrrha had walked out of the tent to continue their fun. They had to move slowly though so Jaune could keep up with them. And again, Blake felt a slight annoyance and a tightening in her chest seeing Pyrrha help Jaune keep up with them. She had stayed a few feet closer the two while still keeping an eye on Ruby and Weiss as they went to play at each stall.
"Where did you learn those techniques?" The captain asked while having one of Jaune's arms slung over her shoulder.
"It was part of my training when I was still a prince." He said reminiscing. "I started in hand to hand when I was twelve. The rest, I picked up as I grew up."
"Do you miss it?" Pyrrha asked in a whisper. "Arcadia, I mean."
"No." He said truthfully. "But I do miss a few of the people I knew. Not everyone was what Arcadia was painted as. …How about you? Where are you from?"
"I'm from Remillia." She shared with a proud smile. "The Paragons recruited me after seeing me in combat. And my very first mission was to capture you and your leader."
He laughed at that, before flinching in pain. "Ow. Sorry. I guess you never got any more missions considering we were never captured?"
"On the contrary." She boasted. "I had many more missions. Capturing you two was an open mission given to all Paragons."
"It's not open anymore, right?" He asked hopeful.
"Don't worry. We've disbanded." She chuckled. "There was no place for our group in this time. Most of them joined the Hunters while others went on with their lives and settled down."
"And you didn't choose any of the two?" He said with a smirk and raised brow.
"Being a Hunter didn't sound like it was for me. And I feel I have more reasons to fight than I do to settle. So when the Dust Empire recruited me to be their captain and personal guard to Weiss, I took it. I had a friend I could be with everyday and a place I felt I belong." She said, grabbing his hand when she felt it slipping. "…And you? Why do you continue to be a renegade?"
"…" Jaune was silent while thinking of a reason. "I don't know. I guess it's because I don't have anywhere else I feel I belong to."
"Well Jaune Arc: Renegade Prince." Pyrrha said in a professional business like tone. "If you truly believe that, then I as captain say you will always have a place to belong in my unit if you wish to stop being a renegade."
"Thank you Pyrrha." He said grateful. Looking towards Ruby, he saw she was busy trying to capture a small fish with Weiss in one of the stalls. "Strange. Where is Blake?"
Blake was currently hiding two stalls away from them. She still couldn't understand why seeing the two humans chatting and being friendly with one another made her feel angry and annoyed. She would not admit so easily that what she felt was jealousy. There was nothing to be jealous of.
Shaking her head, she looked over to the stall where she last saw Ruby only to see she wasn't there, along with Weiss. Quickly looking to see where she last saw Jaune and Pyrrha, she noticed that she had lost sight of them too. Panicking, she moved through the crowd of people hoping to catch a glimpse of them.
After searching many stalls, she held no luck. As she started hyperventilating, she felt the whole crowd spinning around her, as it got noisier. Her eyes were starting to sting and her body was starting to break out on a cold sweat. As she felt like she was falling, a hand rested on her shoulder.
"Blake!" Jaune shouted, shaking her out of her panic. Turning to him, she saw that the others were right behind him. "Where were you? We've been trying to find you for fifteen minutes. We're all heading back to the castle."
"Sorry." She squeaked out before grasping his hand. Still holding it, she walked over to Ruby and placed her other hand on her shoulder. "Let's go back."
As they walked back to the castle, Weiss was the only one to notice that Blake was still holding Jaune's hand the whole way back. Gaining a small smile, she had Pyrrha stay in front while she stayed near her friend. None noticed the figures following them in the shadows.
"I'm back!" Ruby shouted, entering the room. "I'm just here to grab a pillow for my new clubroom."
"Welcome back princess." Blake said casually before clapping a hand over her mouth in shock of what she called her leader.
"…Oookaaaaay?" Ruby said awkwardly slow. "Nice to see you too …shnookums. By the way, where's Zwei?"
Ruby and Weiss scolded Blake after finding him in the restroom.
End Chapter 2
A/N: Hello readers!
