*Author's Note*
Hey. How's it going people? Been stressed out lately, and apparently I worked myself to exhaustion. I've been stuck on bed rest for a few days, unable to do much except sleep. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to get this arc out in the timely manner I promised. I was hoping you guys could get to read it ASAP, but again, I've been too busy to be able to finish it. Again, I apologize.
Anyhow, the savvier among you likely figured out that this arc will be about Jaune's birthday. There will be presents, cake, and fighting. What? Who said fighting? Certainly not me. Well, maybe a teensy bit...
Anyhow, I put the time I was given into this chapter, and the following ones, because I felt like you guys deserved a nice release. And as such, I decided to do two things special with this. You'll find out what in the Afterword.
Damn it, not this place again. This small, dark room. No walls, no ceiling. No light. Well, there was light. This little torch that shone brightly. Bright as the moon. But like the moon, it tends to dim.
The shadows appear. They loom over me, just looking down. My small body huddled close to the fore. But the fire fades. The shadows grow, and the fire fades. They stare down on me, wearing masks. Like the Grim, they wear masks. To hide themselves. To express themselves. I do not know why. Maybe that is why the Grim wear them? To confuse us? But they do not confuse me. They scare me.
They loom over me, the light fading. My tiny frame begins to tremble. It is becoming cold, and empty. The faces become more twisted. Sneering. Jeering. Mocking...
Pitying.
It hurt. It was cold. It was terrifying. I begin to cry. I cannot help these tears. I am a coward. I am yellow. I cannot help but fear these shadows that prey on me. The light is nearly gone. No. Please don't. I don't want it to be dark. I don't want to be cold. I don't want to be alone. I hide my eyes, afraid of what I'll see if I continue to watch their slow and steady advance.
But there's light still. It filters through my hands. The light should not be this strong. Taking my hands away from my eyes, I see the light has grown stronger. The shadows have shrunk. They have retreated. Their masks now wear expressions of displeasure and fear. They are recoiling from the light, and the figure inside.
The figure is a girl. Dark red hair. Black and red dress. Skin white as the winter snow in Vale. Eyes as silver as the family crest emblazoned upon the heirloom at his waist.
Wait, when did I grow up? When did I get these weapons? The girl, she picks up the torch. Wait, no. It is now a candle. She holds the candle before her lips. Lips red as roses. And she says something. Her mouth moves, but I have trouble picking up the words. And she blows out the candle.
I think she said, "Make a wish."
*GRRRRR*
"Whoa- what?!"
This is how Saturday began for Jaune. Woken up by Ruby's new Beowulf themed alarm clock. An alarm clock he'd bought her as a gift on their last date. Ruby's obsession with Beowolves was kinda creepy, considering she was a fifteen year old girl and they were bloodthirsty man hunters. But she thought they were cute. Go figure.
Checking the bunk right beside him, Jaune sis not see Ruby. She must have already left and forgot to take the alarm clock off of its 5 minute snooze cycle. Getting himself up, Jaune went over and turned the clock off. It was 8 in the morning. Ruby would have been gone for 2 hours by now, knowing her training schedule. Jaune, who normally didn't wake up this early on a weekend, decided it would be best to stay awake. Making himself busy, he set about preparing for the day.
He began by taking a long, hot shower. And by shower, I mean he stood under the hot water waiting for himself to wake up. He only succeeded when he accidently turned the knob for the cold water, causing him to nearly freeze his family jewels off. After warming himself up again, he got out and got dressed. Black hoodie, with a simple steel breastplate and shoulder guards. Blue jeans and sneakers. And to finish it off, Crocea Mors, his family's heirloom, around his waist. A simple sword and shield/sheathe combination.
Without much of a clear goal, Jaune decided he would lounge around for a bit. Going to the kitchen, he was about to grab a PopTart when he noticed the calendar. His birthday was on Sunday. Tomorrow. With all of the work piling up lately, and his training distracting him, Jaune had all but forgotten his birthday. It seems Ruby is the one who made the note, because Jaune was spelled with a heart replacing the 'u'. And below it, in Yang's handwriting, was a small side note. It said 'Remember, it's now considered rape.'
Wait, what?! Damn it Yang! Grabbing the nearest marker, Jaune hastily scribbled over Yang's provocative little note. It was just like her to leave such a message. After giving a quick prayer in hopes that Ruby hadn't read that, Jaune decided he'd had enough of the dorm and left.
Being as early as it was, some places still weren't open. The supermarket, mall, and arcade being among them. But Jaune had another plan in mind. He was going to head over to the combat hall and get some more training in with the throwing knife pistols. His aim had improved nicely with the pistols. He was able to hit a bull's-eye maybe three or four times out of every 12 shots he made. As for the throwing knife portion, his aim with that had become outstanding. His physical strength, which despite his frame was rather impressive, coupled with his Aura had allowed him to make strong accurate throws. That, and the training he received when he was younger, made him capable enough to hit the target from the greatest allowed distance, with a bull's-eye none the less, each time. Jaune figured he would look into buying a set of these for himself. But he would deal with that later.
Reaching the hall, Jaune went over to his usual target, 11-7. He did not know why, but he liked this target. He always used it, and the wear showed. Picking three of the knives from the arsenal, Jaune got into a stance. Taking his weapon off and setting it down, Jaune proceeded to lay waste to the target. 10 meters? Easy. 20? Not a problem. 50? Bull's-eye. Jaune was on fire today. His throws were perfectly accurate, and his drawing and throwing speed was outstanding. As he practiced though, Jaune began to feel that he could still do better.
Really Grim aren't stationary. Sure these fly fast, and the gun part allows for some options, but a moving Beowulf is still rather quick. How would I account for this?
Thinking on the problem at hand, Jaune's throw fell short of the intended target by a good 3 meters. Realizing midflight that it wouldn't strike, Jaune had begun to move for the blade when something caught his attention. When the barrel/handle of the pistol-knife had struck the ground, the impact had caused the old and worn out gun to fire, propelling the knife up and into the target, embedding itself on the outermost ring on the bottom of the target.
With this, Jaune began to think. After he'd formulated his theory, Jaune had gathered his knives, and several others from the arsenal, and went to the 'live' training room. The room, which used dust animated drones, allowed one to simulate fighting against any type of Grim. Indeed, the budget for this room must be huge, but he had heard that the Schnee Dust Corporation helped fund Beacon, so it kinda made sense. Anyhow, setting up what he wanted, Jaune took his place. His sword and shield again at his belt, along with 9 of the throwing knives. The enemy, just appearing from the floor, was an Ursa drone. Jaune chose this one hoping that the slow speed would allow him to practice better than on a fast moving target, for now.
Moving his arm to the knives at his belt, Jaune got into a stance. From the floor, various pillars and small plateaus were being raised, simulating obstacles. As the drone came to life, Jaune charged. Left hand at the knives on his belt, Jaune jumped onto a platform and jumped over the drone. Landing behind it, Jaune tried out what he'd thought of. Taking one of the knives out, Jaune launched it, not at the drone who's constitution matched an actual Ursa down to wear it was most vulnerable, but at the pillar beside it. As Jaune had expected, the faulty trigger portion again felt shock from the impact of the knife, and caused the barrel to fire. The direction in which it flew sent the blade straight into the drone's side.
Hearing it roar out on mock pain, Jaune congratulated himself. It wasn't that accurate; he had aimed for the neck originally. But what he got out of it was the knowledge that it was possible to ricochet the knives using force and the weapon's own recoil from the firing. As he practiced away at this new technique on the drone, throwing and retrieving his weapons of choice, Jaune did not notice the two people watching him. One, a rabbit eared Faunus with wide eyes and a soft heart for him. The other, a dark, red haired girl watching him with pride evident on her face, and an expression so tender it could melt the coldest person's heart. Though neither was aware of the other, and each had their own intentions.
*Afterword*
Hey guys. So I promised you this would be a special thing, huh? Well, you may or may not have noticed, but I released two new stories along with this chapter. That's right, a triple release!
The first story, "The Reaper and the Valkyrie", is my take on what would have happened had Ruby teamed up with the other crazy, strong, and energetic red head, Nora. Both have similarities in fighting style and personalities, so I think it would have been interesting to see how they'd have gotten along outside of just their teams hanging out (and I wanted to give Ren a break, poor guy.)
The other is "Down the Rabbit Hole." I'm trying my hand at a different pairing this time, Ren and Velvet. I plan to have some tension with Nora, and another girl who shall not be named here, as the two fight Velvet (futilely) for Ren's affection. Meanwhile, Ren will try and maintain his stoic attitude in face of this new feeling!
Shout out to Shiranai Atsune, and Theeubernoob for helping me come up with the ideas. Two interesting authors, great friends, and enthusiastic supporters of Love is a Knight-mare. Thanks you two! You're awesome!