Pyrrha Nikos lay on her side in the infirmary, her eyes fixed on her leader. The blonde was in the next bed over, still unconscious. They had returned from Forever Fall in the early afternoon, with CRDL being isolated in another part of the infirmary; apparently, the teaching staff wanted to discuss the reasons behind their possession of dangerous creatures.
The medical staff had examined both Jaune and Pyrrha, then gauged their auras using scrolls. Ren told them all that had happened, with Weiss pitching in to explain the substance she'd concocted, and a lot of medical terms had been thrown around. The end result was that Jaune and Pyrrha would be spending the rest of the day in the infirmary, at minimum. Of course, that didn't mean anything if the blonde remained unconscious for that length of time...
Nora was currently occupying the seat beside Jaune's bed; Ren had volunteered to attend their Grimm Studies class, so the team wouldn't fall behind in note-taking or homework. He was due to return in about half an hour, when Nora would trade places with him and go to their combat class. The normally bouncing warrior was as subdued as Pyrrha had ever seen her; in fact, the only sign of the energy which she usually displayed was the rapid-fire clicking of knitting needles.
The day had brought a lot of things to light; among them, the discovery that Nora was fond of arts and crafts. At the moment, she was finishing the second 'Get Well Soon' themed piece of clothing of the day, an impressive feat considering she had only been doing it for about three hours...but then again, that could be rephrased as 'she had spent the last three hours focussing all her energy on doing nothing else'. And Nora Valkyrie's focussed energy was a terrifying thing, even when the end result was a new scarf.
That scarf was currently strung across the rails surrounding Jaune's bed, like a banner. Pyrrha hadn't mentioned it; there would have been no point. She would probably be looking for something else to do as well, if it weren't for her current condition...and the fact that she had more than enough on her mind.
First and foremost was a question: "Will he know?"
It had been pressing on her, and the repercussions of the various possibilities had been playing in her head since she'd been assured that her partner would be fine - and didn't that word take on a whole new meaning after this afternoon's soul searching. If Jaune was aware that she had seen into his mind, it raised a whole slew of possibilities; would he be upset? Angry? If he had somehow known what she was seeing, had he looked into her as well? What had he seen?
What did she want him to have seen? That was another thought raised by her experiences; she knew now that she wanted Jaune to see her in a certain way – she wanted him to like her, not just as a friend and combat partner, but as...something else. It had started weeks ago, when she first met him – her thoughts drifted back to that time, recollections swimming to the forefront of her thoughts.
Her youth had been spent in training, and by the time she was put in an environment with other people her age, they hadn't been potential friends – they had been competitors. Competitors which she had decimated, one after another, until her reputation raised her up, on to the pinnacle that she detested so much, but couldn't bear to give up. She had never been close to people; not even her parents, really.
She had come to Beacon in the belief that nothing would change; a belief which was only strengthened when Weiss Schnee had been the only person who approached her. The only person in their year whose reputation at least equalled her own, the heiress had tried to recruit Pyrrha Nikos, four time Mistral Champion to her team – and although it made perfectly logical sense, the fact that the only reason she was being approached was for her combat skills wasn't a pleasant one.
Of course, it was around that time that she had been introduced to the one and only Jaune Arc. At first, she was glad – he had saved her from conversing with Weiss. But he hadn't seemed like anything special; his physique was seemingly sub-par, he didn't demonstrate the mind-set of a warrior that she was so accustomed to, and he obviously had far more confidence than he had anything to back it up with.
Then most of her thoughts had been shocked out of her head as she underwent the most novel experience she'd had since the age of seven. He saw her at her most recognisable; in full battle dress, just as she was in most imagery, the figure which was known in every tournament circle from Mistral to Vacuo...and he hadn't shown the slightest sign of recognition. He had brushed off her presence as if she weren't even there.
That shock didn't last long though, as just moments later he was making her grin, as he tried to recruit Weiss Schnee to his team with nothing more than a silly grin and seemingly boundless confidence. In the space of ten seconds, he had managed to earn her gratitude, shock her more than any combatant in years and even entertain her. She had decided then and there that she wanted to know more about this young man.
Of course, when Weiss had tried to use not just her own, but also Pyrrha's reputation to drive him off, she'd been angry; what right did the shorter girl have to assume Pyrrha wanted the young man gone? What right did she have to act in a way which could ruin a friendship in the making? She'd been prepared to take out her frustrations on the heiress and damn the consequences...until her attempts failed. They failed so completely, so utterly, that Pyrrha's anger was completely forgotten.
She had listened in wonder as the blonde admitted to not knowing what Sanctum was; to not even recognising the Mistral Tournament. It was a lack of knowledge that she hadn't even thought possible, and it represented a blank slate for her to start with; someone who wouldn't have any sort of bias when it came to her. Then he'd been so excited when it was revealed that she had been on cereal boxes...he had been almost childlike, and it was all she had been able to do not to laugh. Even more childlike was how he'd immediately bounced back from the slump Weiss had managed to put him in, with just the lightest touch and kind words. He had been irrepressible, like a float which refused to sink. And his smile had been so warm and genuine...
It had been the single most enlivening experience she'd had in years, and she had walked away feeling like, for the first time in so long, there was hope for her.
The warrior sighed. Her feelings had, if anything, only grown since then. In the Emerald Forest, she hadn't even hesitated to take him on as her partner, feeling that he was the best fit for her. She hadn't realised that the emotional rollercoaster the day would become was yet to finish its ride. He had presented her with a strange dichotomy as soon as he found him; he had been skilled enough to get himself down from the tree, but he hadn't been skilled enough to land properly? That made sense when he admitted that he didn't have his aura to rely on – but it had raised questions all of its own. How had he been accepted into Beacon without an aura? How had he even expected to progress without one of a Huntsman's most basic tools?
It would have been so easy to simply not lend a hand; to let him be noticed by Beacon's staff, and removed from a life he might well be unprepared for...but she found that she couldn't. It was selfish, but she wanted to spend more time with the strange blonde. So she had performed the incantation, just as it had been done to her...and had been completely unprepared for it.
She had known to expect some emotional feedback for a moment, but when she did, it was overwhelming; the young man had felt like a yawning abyss, some great darkness that spoke to incredible suffering. Not only that, but instead of his power rising up from within him, it was as if it poured in from outside him, a powerful rush that was unlike anything she'd ever felt. The temporary exhaustion which came from unlocking another's aura had been exacerbated by the strange sensation and the darkness she'd been exposed to, and for a moment she felt that she might just break down.
But Jaune had taken the whole thing in stride, giving her a comforting hand and trying to look after her. When was the last time someone had done that, instead of assuming that Pyrrha Nikos could handle absolutely anything?
The rest of the day had been the same; time and again, Jaune had demonstrated skills above and beyond his peers, made calls that had all turned out for the best, even ones which she herself might not have. At the time, she hadn't even considered how he could possibly have known some of the things he did, as she was too swept up in following the trail he blazed so easily. Even when they were made part of a team with Ren and Nora, just as Jaune had predicted, she didn't think much of it. It had been a major oversight on her part, she now realised; the past three weeks had been full of times when Jaune had displayed oddly in-depth knowledge of Beacon, of his friends' habits and of the lessons they were taking. Had she really been so enamoured with him that she hadn't seen it?
A question which Ren would probably renounce as not being worth an answer, she thought. And she had to admit that she was enamoured now; perhaps it had been from as early on as their first meeting, but one way or another she had come to terms with being interested in him. I suppose this is my first crush, she mused, smiling at the thought. At least she could freely admit that she enjoyed his company more than normal now; after the previous night's confession, some part of her had been scrambling for reasons explaining away her pounding heart. Last night...
By all rights, she should have been dealing with the fallout from that discussion. After all, her partner had snuck out of the infirmary after injuring himself in a mental-breakdown induced demonstration of terrifying power, and then told them that he was a time traveller...yet the part of that night she dwelled on most were the feelings she'd had when she and Jaune had just been sitting on his bed, holding hands and talking.
That couldn't be right, she knew; she should definitely have been freaking out, or disbelieving – and she certainly wasn't happy with his decision. But nor did it induce the kind of negativity she believed was expected in this situation. He's a tortured soul; after all, just because he can't say it out loud doesn't mean you can't understand what must have happened. It was simple, after all. Jaune had come back to stop a major plot; he had told them as much himself. His breakdown made much more sense in context – he had gone on and on about failure, listing JNPR and RWBY, even the school itself.
You know what it means. You know what he experienced. And you also know that Jaune isn't the kind of person to cope with that, certainly not without some incredible support. That seemed to sum up her reasons for not holding Jaune's secrecy against him; she understood him and his situation, and it was all together harder to hate someone when she could sympathise with them. Still, what she could blame him for was ending up like this. What kind of idiot decided to just walk out of an infirmary, even understanding that they couldn't gauge the full extent of their own injuries? Presumably someone smarter than the three idiots who then did absolutely nothing about it.
Pyrrha had to admit she had a point.
Her musings were interrupted by the infirmary door being pushed open. Lie Ren entered, his steps completely silent on the linoleum as he approached his partner and leader. Nora was examining the pink woolen hat in her lap, which had Jaune's crest adorning it. "It looks great, Nora." Ren told her, carefully taking it from her hands and lifting the blonde's head just enough to slip it underneath. Nora herself stood and stretched, having not moved from her chair in hours.
"Look after him, Renny." Pyrrha heard her say; there was none of the usual fizz in her voice, and the wrongness that was a quiet Nora Valkyrie ate at her.
The hammer-wielding warrior was almost out of the door to the infirmary when she abruptly stopped reaching for the door handle, and instead moved back out of its opening arc. Moments later, the door was pushed inward, and Glynda Goodwitch strode into the room. She moved straight over to where Ren had been seated, but was now back on his feet, Nora hot on her heels.
The professor's eyes swept over the blonde's unconscious form, then the monitors beside him, and then finally Jaune's team mates. Pyrrha met her gaze evenly, but she had no idea what the older woman was thinking. She felt sure that they were about to find out however, as with a gesture, the door shut and locked itself. She then felt the bed beneath her lift slightly, moving over so that it was within conversational reach of the room's other occupants. Once JNPR were suitably gathered, Goodwitch looked over them all once more, cleared her throat, and began to speak.
"I am here at the moment without Ozpin's knowledge, which means that this conversation needs to be short – if I'm gone too long, the school falls apart around him, and he'll notice I'm missing." This clear, she walked forward slightly so that she stood in the middle of a loose square. "After his altercation in the dining hall several weeks ago, I decided to look into Mr Arc; he demonstrated considerable strength, and little compunction about using it. The reasons for his doing so were, in the eyes of the academy, justified – but a Huntsman with limited inhibitions is a dangerous thing, and I wanted to be sure of his nature before he got any further into the school." She most definitely had the group's attention now. There was something about the blonde they all knew, and whatever it was, she presumed that it wasn't meant to spread beyond these four.
"I discovered quickly that the transcripts with which he applied to the school were faked; as it happens, they were done by a forger who Ozpin pays to inform him of anyone looking to get fake transcripts or Beacon-related documents. It helps root out people who might damage the academy. However, considering Arc's display of skill during initiation, and the fact that his heart appeared to be in the right place, I decided to put my faith in Ozpin knowing what he was doing."
He actually said that he used fake transcripts the other night, didn't he? Pyrrha thought, remembering that something along those lines had been part of Jaune's explanation.
Glynda noted that none of them seemed surprised at this news. They already knew – that must mean they either found out, or he told them of his own accord. One way or another, none of it left their confidence – they've formed some strong bonds for a team only a month old. But their interest hasn't waned; there's something more.
The professor continued, "But just the same, I decided to keep an eye on him – and by extension, his team – just in case. So I discovered that you, Mr Ren, purchased supplies in Vale which would be suitable for, say, repairing a damaged bathroom wall?"
The martial artist's face and eyes betrayed nothing...and that in itself was enough for Glynda. He was wearing his poker face, so she must be getting close. "So I had a look around your rooms when you were in class. You did an admirable job of repairing the damage, but I was able to just about outline the damage inflicted. Fist-shaped indents in walls tend to pique my curiosity, so I advanced my surveillance of you to include reviewing the security footage from your training sessions."
Absolutely nothing from Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie seemed to be shifting ever closer to a fight-or-flight response, and Pyrrha Nikos was subtly testing her muscles almost individually, to gauge her combat readiness. Whatever's going on with this team, it's important enough to have three perfectly good students on the verge of attacking a professor and seasoned Huntress. Interesting.
"And so, this morning I was reviewing the latest footage, and I witnessed something I would normally say was completely impossible. Not only does Mr Arc display a seemingly instantaneous mastery of his aura, on par only with disciples of Mr Ren's discipline, but he then proceeds to have an outburst which ends in his aura expanding by orders of magnitude. I have to admit, I wondered why I hadn't heard about a student dying overnight...but a few words from Ms Nikos lay him completely to rest - he apparently dispels most of his aura, and then he simply curls up and sleeps, allowing the three of you to carry him out of there, I assume to the infirmary."
Nora's hand was flexing as if she were holding Magnhild. Pyrrha's eyes were fixed on an empty bed frame close to the professor that she could probably make use of if the woman was distracted. Ren was a perfectly calm, perfectly tranquil example of a man contemplating a big red button. If I trigger these three, the results are going to be bad, no matter how easy I go on them – they're devoted to this. They won't stop unless I put them down somehow. I should tread carefully.
"So, I wanted to talk with him about it, and you three as well. But imagine my surprise when I hear that not only has Mr Arc apparently left the infirmary, he has joined today's field trip – and it doesn't even end there; he's collapsed in Forever Fall, his aura levels almost completely depleted and seemingly on the verge of death. A reaction that doesn't fit with any documented case, and one which was solved by Ms Nikos apparently sustaining him using her own aura – which is also completely undocumented. So, I am here now to ask what the hell is going on, because a situation this bizarre should be understood before I decide whether or not I need to involve Ozpin."
The three studied their professor for a few moments longer, each of them thinking more or less along the same lines. There's a chance that this won't hurt us – that is preferable to trying to fight her. But if she does something that endangers Jaune, consequences be damned.
Nora slowly stopped her flexing hand, even as Pyrrha allowed herself to settle back down. Emotions started to filter back into Ren's face, even as he retrieved two more chairs from a nearby pile and set them down for Nora and Goodwitch. "We can't tell you everything. Some parts we don't know, some parts we don't have the right to tell you – that's Jaune's decision. We can, however, give you the basics."
The professor, now able to read him, looked into his eyes. Unyielding conviction was all she could find there, and she didn't have to see the others to know they were mirroring the look. "Okay, the basics will do for now." The blonde settled down in the seat, which was, she noticed, the furthest away from Jaune, placing the other three between them.
"Jaune has a...condition," began Ren, "which is, as far as know, completely unique to him. His soul doesn't produce aura naturally; as a substitute, he naturally pulls in a flow of aura from the environment, and his soul uses it up to remain functional." Barely a sentence in, and already Glynda was being forced to reorganise what she considered 'possible'.
"That flow of aura is linked to Jaune's mental and emotional state; as he gets upset, or if his survival instincts kick in, it increases, and his aura capacity increases right along side it." So that's what happened in the training room. "Last night, I brought up a part of Jaune's life which should have remained private, and as a result I forced him in to a mental corner. Since both the triggers for his ability were activated simultaneously, he drew more aura than his soul could handle, and he sustained metaphysical injuries."
"And those injuries were what caused his collapse on the trip?" cut in the professor.
"Yes; the current theory is that Jaune managed to damage his ability to draw new aura into himself, alongside preventing its manifestation and use in combat. His soul was left with a finite supply of aura, and it was consumed over time, causing more and more obvious physical symptoms which eventually became too serious for Jaune to deal with." That seemed to mark the end of what Ren was willing to say, as far as the professor could tell.
"I see. That is certainly a unique condition – I haven't heard of anything like this before, even in all my years of teaching and active Huntress duty. It's a double-edged power, though I do not doubt you understand that. Certainly the time you have spent enlightening Mr Arc about the use of his aura takes on a whole different meaning now. Indeed, I believe that with time, you will be able to teach him to control this ability. However, before my decision is made, I need to know something else – how is Jaune's mental state?" She knew the boy was smart enough to read between the lines here – she was really asking If I decide to let you handle this, is he going to end up like this again?
The martial artist met her eyes steadily, but then turned to look at his red-haired team mate. "Pyrrha, you're better qualified for this bit." The professor turned to regard the warrior as she nodded. Interesting. Ms Nikos was able to bring Arc out of his meltdown with nothing more than words and a touch. She shared her aura with him, in some manner which they refuse to discuss. And now she is the authority on Arc's mental state. It didn't take a genius to connect all the dots there, but Glynda also knew from the look on Pyrrha's face that she was giving an assessment, not a heartfelt attempt at making her partner seem stable.
"Jaune isn't in a good place right now. For reasons which will remain between him and us, he is suffering from some serious mental stress and a lot of repressed emotion. However, the worst of it is behind him now, and what remains we are more than capable of working out over time. He has a goal and he has us, and between those he'll get through this." There was no doubt in her voice, and a glance out the corner of her eye informed her that Lie Ren agreed. The bonds in this team were incredibly well-established; forged transcripts and self-destructive power notwithstanding, Jaune Arc was doing an excellent job as a leader.
So, Ren triggered some kind of breakdown in Arc over past events which he has talked about with his team mates, but they believe I cannot be trusted with. They then moved past that, probably when Arc snuck out of the infirmary, and now his team are willing to defend him even from me, while being determined to get him through it. She sighed to herself. Some things never change, I guess.
The professor rose, Ren and his partner doing so simultaneously. "Alright, I get the gist of it. For now, I'll put my faith in the four of you and let you solve this in-house. But if there are repeat performances like this, I will send him away from Beacon for his own good." Pyrrha's bed returned itself to where she had first been, while the door unlocked with a click. The professor strode away toward it, but she paused just before she left. "Take good care of him, and learn from this. Always look out for your own." With her parting words, she left, the door swinging closed behind her.
Team JNPR sat and lay in silence for a moment, just processing all that had occurred. Pyrrha spoke first. "So...did Beacon's strictest professor just let us get away with this? And with something approaching her blessing, at that?"
"It seems that way." replied Ren, who had retaken his seat.
"I'm not sure if I should be incredibly disturbed or incredibly relieved..." muttered the red-haired warrior, getting a grunt from Ren as he apparently shared the sentiment.
"Well, maybe she has a thing for Jauney." suggested Nora, and both Ren and Pyrrha immediately fixed her with glares that just bounced straight off. "I'm just making a suggestion~! See you later!" Nora left the infirmary moments later, although her aim appeared to have been achieved – her team mates were too busy scrubbing their minds' eyes with the mental equivalent of bleach to truly be gloomy anymore.
Unconscious on his pillow, Jaune Arc's head turned slightly, and as the pink hat came more into contact with him, one might have seen the smallest ghost of a smile pass over his face.
Author's Note
That's twice in a row I've finished a chapter at one o' clock in the morning. This is both unsustainable and pretty silly...but I suppose that accounts for most things in my life. So, I wrote an entire chapter of a Jaune fanfic where the protagonist is out cold...I'm not sure how you guys will feel about that, but I felt the need to set out how Pyrrha's dealing with all this, as well as the Goodwitch / Beacon faculty situation. Does it seem a bit OoC for her to let them get away with it? Perhaps a little, but I'm sure she has her reasons...
I hope you enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any comments or criticism, please leave a review and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!