Ok, sorry for the month long hiatus out of nowhere (yet again) but on the bright side, I used that time to figure out the rest of this story! So ill be getting a new chapter out everyday until it finishes! There's going to be about 25 more chapters, or 85 in total, depending on how many epilogues I add.

Ps I promise I'll stop milking the pyrrha angst after this.

Jaune looked at his sword, adorned with golden memories and engraved tributes, and wondered where it went wrong.

Maybe it was too late for these kinds of thoughts, given the stars that were out twinkling above him, and his sleeping teammates only a few yards away. Sweat poured down his face, the video still looping on the ground nearby.

That video.

Jaune sighed, resisting the urge to chuck his sword at his scroll. Instead, he managed to walk over and shut off the scroll. He collapsed on the ground right afterwards, sweat mingling with fresh tears.

Her voice still rang in his mind at odd times, little bits of encouragement or advice that Jaune clung to.

Her voice was all that was left, really. Because sure, now his sword and shield looked a little fancier, but it wasn't her. It wasn't anywhere near her beauty. Nothing would be.

Apparently that was the point, according to his father. That you're not supposed to forget someone after they're gone, just accept things for as they were.

That was a lot like giving up though; and Jaune didn't think he's ready to give up just yet.

She's still here with every step they take towards Haven. With every slash of his sword in battle or in training. With every bat on the back or encouraging praise Jaune gave out- half the time naturally, the other half trying to make up for the words that were missing. She was there, in everything but flesh.

Jaune ran a hand over his face, his gloves wiping over his eyes to pick up some of the tears. He looked back up at the sky, the stars taunting him as thin clouds drift among them. He unbuckled his shield, letting it fall to the ground. There went a tiny bit of weight off his back.

He sheathed his sword, it took him a couple of times, with him only half looking at his weapons, but eventually it made it in.

He looked back to where a tip of Ruby's sleeping bag stuck out, mostly hidden behind the bushes, and felt some more of the tenderness in his shoulders fade.

He wasn't alone in this. He never would be. Yet here he was anyways.

He couldn't help himself, with the extra training. He knew the others did it too, Ruby almost twice as much as Jaune- it was hard to not notice the sound of scythe cutting into wood and grunts of exertion as limbs punched and kicked at imaginary opponents. They were kind enough to ignore the obvious soreness of his muscles, as he was with theirs.

Maybe they should have been like this from the start. Had this drive, this fire to win, to survive. Jaune had thought he did, but the past few months had proved how very wrong he was. But if he had, if he had trained more, fought more, done more-

Then maybe he wouldnt be relying on a video.

Jaune set a hand on the ground, pushing himself up. He grabbed his shield and scroll. He still had a few hours of watch left before it was Nora's turn. He may as well get some more practice in.

Because if anything, he would train as much as it took to ensure he didn't lose anybody else.