Mithos here. Sorry this chapter took so long to come out, I just had a lot of trouble writing it (ended rewriting a lot of it). At least it's finally out and I finished it! I enjoyed writing the Weiss scene quite a lot, as always, tell me what you guys think.
Special thanks to Hakumein, Ordon, masterofbones for being beta readers. As always, your opinions/comments helped me a lot in writing this.
Without further ado, enjoy!
Thirteen year old Jaune wakes up screaming again from another nightmare. He clutches the only person to comfort him in the cabin, isolated from the rest of the world.
"I see their faces again, Master. They run at me, and I don't have to strength to push them away. They engulf me, and drown me in Grimm and bodies. Please, just kill me! I can't live like this! Every time I close my eyes, they come back." A soft sobbing noise fills the cabin.
His master squeezes him tighter, as if her embrace will protect him from the imaginary enemies in his mind. Her only comforts for the boy are her soft and gentle words and the physical warmth that lets him know he is not alone.
"It's okay. It's not your fault. I will protect you. I will shoulder your burdens." She wipes the tears from his eyes, and stares at him. Her silver eyes reflects an ocean of endless kindness and warms his terrified heart. "You have nothing to fear, so long as I am here."
She repeats those words while hugging him close, until he can once again fall asleep. Her only hope is the boy's dreams receive respite from his memories.
The three members of Team JNPR surround their sleeping leader. Jaune would normally be sleeping on the bed, but his team rolled him onto the floor in an attempt to wake him up. However, the blonde continues to lay there, cuddling his sword and snoring obliviously at the scene around him.
"You know, when I look at him look this, he doesn't seem like someone who killed a Deathstalker. His face is kind of... dopey looking." Nora pokes Jaune's cheeks, but this only causes him to turn around and remain sleeping.
Ren refrains from commenting, but Pyrrha looks away to prevent her face from showing her agreement.
"Let's return to the matter at hand. Rolling him off the bed didn't work. What's next on the list?" Pyrrha asks Ren.
He looks at the clipboard with the list of things they have attempted. "So far we've tried talking, shaking, shining a light, and rolling him off the bed. Nora, do you have any suggestions?"
"Hmmm..." Nora looks at Jaune's face closely. "For whatever reason, I feel like a smack on the head will do it. There's a spot on his head that looks awfully like a target." She raises her hand to try before Pyrrha stops her.
"Nora, I saw your strength yesterday. If you do that, you might send him to class with a concussion." Pyrrha sends a pleading look to Ren for help. "Do you have any less violent measures?"
Jaune turns and tosses at the word 'violent.' "I think he's having a nightmare," Ren observes, and glances at Nora with hesitation before continuing. "I believe shock will do the trick."
Nora's maniac grin appears before she pulls out a megaphone. This time, the two were too late to stop her as she screams into it. "WAKE UP SLEEPYHEAD!" The noise is loud enough to shake the entire room.
"GAH I'M UP I'M UP!" Jaune flails around before glancing around. Did I dream about Master again? "Why am I on the floor? And why is Nora holding a megaphone?"
Before Nora could answer with the megaphone again, Ren snatches it out of her hand and swiftly disassembles with practiced precision. He pockets the amplifier before answering. "We tried to wake you up. We got desperate."
Jaune mumbles, "Where is my childhood friend wakeup scene," before looking at the clock. "It's only eight fifty. Why am I up this early?"
"It's already eight fifty?!" Nora yells, voice loud enough to vibrate the glass near her. "We're going to be late for the first day of classes!"
Jaune suddenly remembers everything in the last few days. CLASSES. I HAVE CLASSES. I won't have to go through Master's Spartan training anymore! He recalls being forced to study for fear of her pressing the "Delete all saved data" button on his games.
He grabs his uniform and runs to the bathroom to change. After washing his face, he enters their room again to see everyone else ready to go.
We have five minutes to get to class. Well... desperate times call for desperate measures.
Grabbing his backpack, he looks out the window. Third floor. There's a tree that's sturdy enough to take my weight. "Let's go." Before anyone could remark about his behavior, he jumps out the window and grabs the nearest branch to slow his fall, before dropping again and rolling to a stop.
Ren and Pyrrha looks at him as if he suddenly hugged a Grimm. Nora, on the other hand, immediately follows after him, even taking a spin on the branch before landing with a "Whee!"
The two still in the room realize they were running out of time, before doing the same. As they land, they can see Team RWBY leaving the dormitory while giving them a look of surprise.
"We are doing that EVERY morning," Nora remarks, laughing giddily at that prospect. I've known her for two days and I can already tell she will go along with every one of my ideas.
Everyone else's faces display their objection. Yang speaks up as if speaking for everyone. "What is up with your team?" Both Ren and Pyrrha hum in agreement with their sister team at the observation.
"Pyrrha, how much more of class do we have?" Jaune complains while he plays with his pencil, rolling it left and right on top of his notebook.
Pyrrha looks at the clock. "We have only been in class for one minute. Do Grimm Studies not interest you?"
He shakes his head before slumping on the desk. "It's not that, it's the way Professor Port is talking. He's literally taking out all the fun of Grimm." He attempts to focus on the professor, but quickly becomes distracted. "I think his moustache is sentient. It moves as he talks. Maybe... it's the one talking." Jaune switches his gaze from the hypnotic moustache to glance at the rest of his team beside him.
Ren is taking efficient notes, writing down key points of the lecture. His handwriting is really neat for a guy. Nora has abandon the lecture completely, and starts drawing weapon designs to keep herself entertained. Why is there a pancake button? Pyrrha writes down everything being said, even the tangents Port is going on. That's... a bit much, isn't it?
Ren attempts to ignore the degrading sanity of his leader and responses calmly. "He is giving us information about Grimm, but it is scattered throughout the story. I believe this is also a lesson in observation."
"Well, if I 'observe' anymore, I will run out of observation energy." Jaune closes his eyes. "Wake me up when something interesting actually happens."
Pyrrha admonishes him. "We fight against the creatures of Grimm. I believe it is important to listen, even if the way it is delivered is difficult to digest."
With that, Jaune reaches into his backpack to find the book relevant to their topic. Game walkthroughs, nope. How to be Charming 101, nope. Ah, here it is! He pulls out a thick worn notebook with faded pages. The title reads Grimm in delicate cursive handwriting, without a mention of an author. He hands the book to Pyrrha.
"Almost everything you need to know about Grimm is in there. It's one of the few keepsakes Master left me, so be careful with it. Even if you don't memorize it like I did, it's a good reference material. Ren, can you make copies for everyone?"
Pyrrha flips through the thick notebook before handing it to Ren. "It's quite detailed. Did your master write it?"
Ren looks through the Table of Contents. "There's forty pages on Beowolves alone, with biome variants. I don't think even academic books are this detailed."
Before Jaune could answer, Port calls him out. "Jaune Arc, is my lesson that boring to you? Perhaps you would like to answer my question: What is the most dangerous thing about Beowolves?"
He could see Ruby staring at him, silently mouthing him the answer. Weiss and Blake looks as if evaluating him. Yang just gives a mischievous smile as she expects him to not know.
Sorry, but if it's Grimm, I know. The bracelet won't let me forget. "Sir, the most dangerous thing is the Beowolves' pack behavior. The pack will often coordinate their movements and attacks, even sending scouts. When the scout finds an enemy, it uses its howl alert others of his position and danger. Therefore, when facing a Beowolf, it is important to spot the rest of the group and kill it before it could alert the others." Jaune gives a smirk and his expression oozing smugness. "Is my answer adequate?"
Yang slumps her shoulders in disappointment, while Ruby gives a smile so sweet it gives him cavities. Seriously, that girl's cuteness can be weaponized. Weiss and Blake both appear shocked, as if they did not expect the goofy looking boy to answer so perfectly.
Professor Port raises an eyebrow at the boy's answer. Unable to find fault in Jaune's response, he reluctantly gives the boy a light warning. "Hmm. Yes, you covered the key points. However, there is still much to know about Grimm, so do not let your mind wander."
Jaune gives a quick aye before sitting back down. "Master did write that. As I said, she also made me memorize the whole thing, though without some reluctance on my end." Can't believe she really pressed the button. I lost months of game time. I cried for weeks.
Ren continues looking through the book, eyes beaming at the information he gleans. He uses his other hand to push away Nora's face, preventing her from snatching the book and damaging it. "What's the letters A, T, R on top of each page of Grimm?"
"Oh, that's their threat level. A means you can kill them alone, T means it would take a team, preferably several, and R is run upon contact. Most of the R's are on the Legendary Grimm." Which actually reminds me to test the skill I got from Scylla.
Pyrrha remembers the instructions Jaune gave during initiation. "I see, that's why you were aware about Nevermore's feathers and Deathstalker's armor. I'm glad our leader is so knowledgeable."
"Yeah." Jaune answers, tone lacking his usual confidence or previous certainty. Everyone gives him a strange look at the short answer from their normally talkative leader. Their gaze is heavy. They have hope that I will be a good leader from what I've shown, but I'm unsure of it myself.
"Let's get back to the lecture. I don't want to get in trouble again." It feels cowardly to avoid the topic, but I don't want to betray their hopes by letting them know about my insecurities.
Pyrrha opens her mouth, wanting to comfort the boy, but Jaune turns away from her, looking straight at the professor.
The rest of the lecture passes uneventfully until Professor Port finally stops his long-winded story for a question."A true Huntsmen must be honorable. A true Huntsmen must be dependable. A true Huntsmen must be strategic, well-educated, and wise. So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"
"I do sir!" Weiss' arm shoots up to nominate herself.
"She seems a bit too eager," Jaune comments, hoping to clear the awkward atmosphere from before.
"Mostly likely she wants to prove herself. The Schnee name is quite famous, after all," Pyrrha answers, as if speaking from experience.
"Right..." Glad Master's name isn't. 1091, on the other hand...
"Well then, let's find out. Step forward, and face your opponent." Port gestures to the cage next to him, rattling with the monster growling inside.
Weiss walks to the changing room to put on her combat uniform. Meanwhile, the entire class whispers among themselves about the upcoming fight.
"What is your opinion on the fight?" Pyrrha asks.
"Hmm..." From the Armored Knight fight, she should easily handle any singular Grimm. "I will be surprised if she even takes damage in the fight."
Pyrrha stops writing to focus her attention on him. "You seem confident in her abilities. Though she definitely showed skill during initiation, I do not believe it warrants that much certainty."
Jaune looks the ceiling, attempting to organize his thoughts before answering her. "I've seen her fight a more than at initiation. From what I did see, her fighting style is similar to mine, focusing on speed to read and dismantle the enemy. With both her glyphs and that fighting style, it would be difficult, if not possible, for her to be defeated by a singular Grimm." I want to talk about her weapon too, but that's the jist of it.
Pyrrha is visibly impressed by his answer. "Maybe we could discuss our fighting style as well, to improve as a team."
"Sure. I'll find time for it. Okay, the match is starting, let's see if I'm right."
Weiss walks out in her white combat dress and sword in hand, taking a standard fencing position. Port breaks the lock on the cage to reveal a Boarbatusk. Why would you have a Boarbatusk as the fight when you spent the entire lecture talking about Beowolves?!
The rest of Team RWBY gives their teammate a cheer, and Blake even waves a flag with their team name on it. How did she?! It's only been a day! Also, note to make my own. It'll be so fun to wave those around when Nora smashes everything around her. Maybe we can even make a victory flag...
The Boarbatusk charges Weiss, but she sidesteps while taking a slash at the Grimm. The blade bounces off the armor harmlessly as the creature turns around for another charge.
Ruby gives Weiss another cheer before she charges the beast. Weiss, what are you doing?
The Grimm wraps its tusk around her weapon before tossing it aside, and knocking her back. As she attempts to get up, the Grimm charges her, but she rolls out of the way and retrieves her weapon. The Grimm only has one attack pattern. She shouldn't be having this much trouble.
Ruby yells out an instruction, but this only seems to agitate Weiss. "Stop telling me what to do!"
Ruby loses her usual cheer and falls silent. Didn't this happen before initiation as well? What's her problem?
The creature curls into a ball, and rolls toward the combatant. Weiss responds by casting two glyphs, with one in front that blocks the attack. After the collision, the Boarbatusk falls on its back. Weiss jumps into her second glyph, accelerating and piercing through the beast's underbelly. Should have just done that at the start. She fought way better against the Armored Knight.
Port congratulates the girl's attempt. "Bravo. It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress in training." He gives instructions for homework before dismissing the class.
Weiss walks out of the room without even looking at her team. Who put the cucumber up her a-
"Jaune, you have a really angry expression. Is everything alright?" Pyrrha waves her hand in front of him to get his attention.
"Yeah, I'm fine. We have some time before the next class, right?" She nods. "I'm going to do something real quick, I'll catch up later."
Pyrrha gives a look of concern, but accepts his decision. Jaune walks out of the classroom and messages Ozpin on his scroll. As he hits the send button, he receives a message from Ruby. Being a leader is hard :(
Jaune hastily taps on his scroll for a reply. I know. Hang in there.
He could only sigh as he thinks about their shared troubles.
I wish I can give her advice, but I honestly don't know myself. Hopefully Ozpin has some answers.
"What would you like to talk about, Jaune?" Ozpin gives the boy an inquisitive look, pondering what could distress the boy.
The two of them are in the teacher's lounge after Jaune requested to meet up. Ozpin sits with his freshly made coffee in front of him, facing the boy.
"Can I first get some coffee as well? I'm sure it will-"
"No." Ozpin gives him a clear look of disapproval.
"It's just one cup-"
"No. This is nonnegotiable."
Did he just pull his coffee closer to him?
Pushing coffee out of his mind, Jaune conveys out his worry. "Lately, I'm been thinking a lot about Master. She was responsible for my life for the last seven years, but now that she's gone, I have to be in charge now. Put that with three additional lives and my complete lack of experience, I have my doubts about being the team leader."
Ozpin takes a sip from his drink as he considers how to give out his advice. "Did you know what the first thing Xenith said to me after she took you in?"
Jaune shakes his head.
"After a week, she told me 'This kid's unsalvageable. Let me put a bullet in his head before I put one in mine."
Jaune's jaw drops. "Wait, Master said that? She hated giving up on anything, and to push her to that extent... Was I that difficult?" There's no way, right?
"To a certain degree. I believe it had to do with the fact she never had to care for another life so closely before. I will tell you the same thing I told her then: Give it time. What use is school if you have nothing to learn here?"
He's right. I'm guessing one of Ozpin's reasons for insisting I enroll is to see the what the world is like.
Jaune could only swallow his hesitation and nod. "I'm still scared, but it is true I have only tried this a day. Was there anything that helped Master when she had trouble?"
"Experience is useful, but so is knowing when to ask for help. Even Xenith did not inherit the position without assistance. You have a team, and it seems like destiny drew you to Team RWBY. They can support you when you are doubtful. And-" Ozpin's look pierces through him, reading the boy's desires and intentions. "You wish to make friends with whom you can relate to, correct?"
Jaune looks away from Ozpin's penetrating gaze. "Yeah. I thought that it wasn't a big deal to just talk with others, but I'm slowly realizing how fun it is." He recalls his precious memories before giving a conflicted smile. "It's also nice not being smacked in the head so often."
"Youth is a precious thing. You may one day and look back on this with fondness, and that will give you the strength to continue living. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Oh yeah, Ruby had the same problem. "Could you talk to Ruby about this as well? She seems to have her own doubts about it, and she seems to have troubles with her partner Weiss."
"You seem to be particularly protective of her. I remember you gave her special attention during initiation as well."
"Yeah. She's the first friend I made here, and she reminds me-" Jaune hesitates as he recalls the memory. "-reminds me of the children from Child's Box. I know she's not a life I can save to replace theirs, but I feel better when I help her out. Is that bad?" He looks down, guilty at that thought.
"Perhaps. I can say that no action is done purely on altruism. If your assistance to others reassures you, then feel free to do so."
Helping out others and asking for help, huh? Master always knew what I needed and never needed help. I never had the chance to really do either of those things.
"Thanks. I feel a lot better about my school life now."
"Good. Now, there is one thing I wish to inform you about before you leave. As I said before, I would assign you on simple missions to test your abilities. One would be coming up soon. I granted you access to the teacher's training room. Use it to prepare."
My first mission... Jaune palms grow sweaty from his nervousness and anticipation. I'll finally take on her job. "Is there anything special I should do?"
"No. You will be given additional equipment based on the mission. With that, you are dismissed."
The blonde leaves the lounge and sends a message to his team about his whereabouts. It's my team. Though the weight of those words did not leave, they no longer suffocate him.
"I still can't believe you can't answer a systems of equation question!" Nora's laugh reverberates through the cafeteria. "Didn't you answer that Grimm question perfectly?"
Jaune groans in frustration, playing with his dinner to hide his embarrassment. "I can't help it! Master always said, 'If you have time to do math, you have time to kill Grimm,' and kicked me out to hunt. How screwed am I, Ren?"
"You are behind three years worth of school academics. It will take you awhile to catch up," Ren answers, with his eyes glued to the Grimm book. "My condolences."
Jaune covers his face and groans in despair. "So I'm going to spend the rest of the year just catching up? What about my leisure time? I've still got another forty three routes to finish!"
Pyrrha pats him on the back in an attempt to raise his spirits. "I'm sure you're making it worse than it is. Besides, you have your team here to help you out."
Like Ozpin said, knowing when to ask for help, huh? I suppose I can start relying on my team.
Jaune's turns toward Pyrrha with a face the epitome of relief. "Thanks. Looks like I'll be relying on you."
Pyrrha gives a smile in return. "That's what teammates are for, Jaune."
Jaune stuffs in his mouth his remaining dinner. "Unfortunately, I have something to do tonight. Ozpin's orders."
Nora yells out in response. "OZPIN? WHY WOULD OZPIN GIVE YOU AN ORDER DIRECTLY?" The two stay muted, but their face betrays their curiosity.
How much should I share with them? They're my team, and I'm sure stuff like this will happen quite often. So...half-truths?
Jaune puts a finger up to his lips in a hush gesture. "Keep this a secret, but he's been my guardian ever since Master passed away. I help him with some stuff to earn my keep. He's also the reason I got enrolled in Beacon."
"Ozpin's your guardian? Doesn't that mean you can get us expelled if you don't like us? Do you have to follow his every command like a puppet? Oh God school life is RUINED." Nora slouches on to the table and starts hyperventilating.
Jaune laughs at Nora's exaggerated behavior. "It's not like that. He's a guardian in name only, so don't worry."
After answering, Jaune picks up his tray and begins to leave. However, Pyrrha pulls on his sleeve to get his attention. "Jaune, you disappeared on us quite a few times already. During initiation, you left me with the Deathstalker, and after class as well. I understand you have your reasons, but remember that we are your team. You don't have to do everything alone."
I didn't expect her to be so open about this. This is what it feels like to be a team, huh? "Thanks Pyr. I'll definitely ask for your help when I need it." Jaune walks away from the table.
Pyrrha's face glows red by the boy's sudden nickname. Nora is keen to notice this, and immediately begins teasing the redhead. "Looks like someone has a ~crush~."
"What! Of course not!" However, her face and words clash and she grows redder. "I was just surprised he used a nickname so easily. I believe nicknames are used for close friendships."
"Righttttt." Nora answers, her face not accepting that excuse. "That also explains why you were looking at his face so closely this morning. And you even chose him as your partner."
"I was simply worry about the wellbeing of my partner after a fierce battle. Please do not misunderstand." Pyrrha continues to deny her accusations, but Nora has already stopped listening.
"Okay, Pyr, whatever you say." Nora returns to her dinner with a mischievous look on her face.
Ren continues eating his dinner quietly, hoping that whatever Nora does, he would not get blamed for it. Meanwhile, the oblivious one walks toward the teacher's training room, unaware of Nora's incoming shenanigans.
Jaune unlocks the room on his door to see everyone else has already fallen asleep. Well, that's to be expected, it's already twelve. Wait, is Ren sleeping with the Grimm book I gave him? Guess he really liked it.
Jaune walks over to his suitcase to find his Semblance Notebook. Taking out the only notebook with a lock, he inputs the password and flips to an empty page to catalogue his results.
Legendary Series: Reinforcement creates a black nylon-like material on part of the body. Its cost is twenty percent corruption, which is the secondest highest cost of my skills. The material absorbs kinetic impact extremely well, taking up to 150 GPa before it starts breaking apart. However, in exchange for its strength, it causes a headache from continuous usage. Perhaps the Legendary Series exchanges high cost and power for a potential side effect. More research is needed.
He closes his notebook and locks it. I should probably make a copy to send to Ozpin. After putting it into his backpack, he jumps onto his bed to finally rest for the day.
My first day of school. It's different from what I imagined, but it's fun in its own way. He closes his eyes, smiling at the casual conversations with his team. The joy along with the anticipation of the upcoming missions keeps him awake.
Been awhile since I've had trouble falling asleep. Might as well take a walk and look at the moon again.
When he picks up his scroll, he could see another message from Ruby. Thanks :)
Jaune takes a moment to think about what the thanks was for. Ozpin, you told her I asked you to talk to her. Well, it's not too bad, but I had hope he would be discrete about it. He fires a short reply. Np.
Putting the scroll in his pocket, he walks toward the door. Opening it, he could see Weiss leaving her room while whistling a happy tune.
That's right, Team RWBY's room is opposite ours. You can't tell me this is a coincidence, Ozpin.
"Well, somebody's in a good mood." Jaune says in a playful manner. "Got over what happened in class?"
Weiss stops humming and turns around fast enough to leave afterimages. "Jaune, what are you doing here?"
"Uhh, this is my room? I'm leaving to take a walk since I can't sleep. What about you?"
"I was about to do the same."
"Oh, then let's go together! I have something I want to show you." Before Weiss could object, he grabs her hand and starts leading her away from the room. After they start walking up the staircase, he turns around to see her whispering something about 'holding hands.'
Opening the door to the roof with a creak, he lets go of her hand. Tilting his head up, the shattered moon enters his vision and fills him with a calm that only this scenery could.
Skipping over to the edge of the roof, he sits down and lies down to see the entire night sky open up to him. He could see Weiss still standing next to the door, hesitating to come in.
"What are you doing? The scenery is great from where I'm at. Come enjoy it with me."
"Are you sure we're allowed to be up here?" Weiss looks around for any observers. "I doubt the teachers would condone such a dangerous behavior, especially past our curfew."
"Man, you are a stickler for rules. Don't worry, if anyone catches us, just tell them I forced you into it. It's technically the truth." He gestures a spot next to him for her to sit.
She walks over and takes a seat slightly away from him. Ouch. It hurts to just be rejected like that. But I guess we aren't all that close.
"How did you know the rooftop was open?" Weiss asks, curious about how the boy found this view.
"I didn't. When I came back from initiation, I just thought this place would be a great place to look at the night sky. If I brought you here and the door was locked, I probably would have broken it just to not embarrass myself."
"That's reckless. You shouldn't do that."
"Mmm, it's not the first time I've been reckless in front of you. As least I won't make a fool of myself."
Unable to find continue that conversation, the two sit in silence as they look at the sky. Finally, Jaune brought up what he wanted to discuss.
"So did you and Ruby make up?"
Weiss turns to face him with a bewildered expression. "Was it that obvious?"
"Absolutely. Considering how you acted towards her at initiation and today in class, your humming gave it away. Cute song, by the way. Very princess-like."
Ruby sending the message also helped.
Weiss' eyes look down as a frown appear on her face. "Why do you call me that? You called me princess the first time we met, at initiation, and now as well. I would prefer if you just called me Weiss."
Jaune turns to her with the most deadpan expression he can give. "Weiss, we met in a castle, where you sang about how lonely you were, surrounded by what equates to royalty, while you fought a knight. If 'princess' isn't an acceptable nickname, I don't know what is." But...I guess that isn't the real reason, huh?
Before she could object to the nickname, Jaune continues. "But I guess the real reason is because it was just embarrassing to call out your name. Your song captivated me. Your fight with the knight awed me. The way your song opened up your heart enamored me. So I call you princess because it's embarrassing to call you Weiss, since it sounds like we're closer friends than we are. It's like when you're in elementary school, and you tease the girl you like because you don't know how to interact with them." Well, I don't know how much of that is true, but that's how it was in the dating sims.
As he finishes spouting his last words, panic set in. A conversation is a two-way street and I have just been talking for the last minute! He slowly turns around, ready to see an angry Weiss. Instead, her face is completely red, poking her fingers together, and eyes darting from the ground to his face quickly.
Uhhh… I was expecting to get a punch in the face for that, but I guess she's not used to brutal honesty? Noted.
After a few awkward seconds, she stands up and brushes off the dust on her skirt. She points a finger towards him. "Hmf. Well, I never got to thank you for helping me. Therefore, as thanks, I will allow you to be my friend and call me Weiss. Understood? It's not like I want to be your friend or anything!"
"We can be friends?" Jaune turns toward her with a smile bright enough to outshine the moon. "I'm a bit of an idiot, but I'm happy to be friends with you, Weiss."
Turning her head and throwing her ponytail back, she starts walking away to hide her equally shining smile. As she approaches the door, she hears one last comment from him.
"Oh, I forgot to mention, but that scar looks really good on you. It's reminds me of a rugged type of beauty."
Weiss turns around to see the boy sitting on the edge of the roof, shining as bright as the moon above him. With sword by his side, he looks like a knight on a castle's night watch, protecting those behind him.
"To blow away my insecurities and help me when I need it… If I'm a princess, then you're a prince." Weiss mutters.
"Hm? What was that, Weiss?"
"I said good night, Jaune. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Right, see you tomorrow." He gives her a wave goodbye as she walks back into the building.
Man, I am so glad I didn't tell her I could see up her skirt at the end there. He continues to gaze at the moon, unknowing the effects his words had.