Disclaimer: I own nothing of RWBY.
Alizarin
By: Imyoshi
Life was a beautiful lie.
It's ironic—funny really. Of all he things he'd lost, of everything he was stripped of, humor remained not one of them. Because Jaune wanted nothing more than to laugh at Ruby's skepticism and fear. Not smile. Not cry. Not wail. But laugh. He wanted to chuckle at her innocence. Laugh until his sides hurt, and then some.
The idea didn't bring him joy, no carnal delight, but a cruel sense of fulfillment. Comedy really did have a thin line between humor, pain, laughter, hurt, and tragedy. Jaune's just now seeing said line. And all it would take to muddle up the grains was an easy sweep of the proverbial sand. Gone! Just like that. And no one would be the wiser.
In the very end, he held it all in. Life's easy like that. Emotions no longer shackled his wrist together like a slave. He's a free man. Free to choose his own path. Free to believe in nothing.
Calming the Grimm down with a pat to the exoskeleton, Jaune sighed and waited for Ruby to act. Her emotions were like a lighthouse in the darkness of his mind. Of course he could feel her internal struggle. What sane person wouldn't react to this display? Everyone just had a different way of coping. Be it fight or flee was all up to them.
Even the Arc had no clue to Ruby's personal preference. So he waited. Waited for her to either attack or run. And with her Semblance and skill, either one of those options were viable.
Her emotions were too scattered for him to breakdown.
Ruby Rose's torn inside. Years of honed fighting instincts told her to push Jaune out of the way and unleash all Crescent Rose's Dust rounds upon the Death Stalker. Another prehistoric instinct silently told her to fire at both of them, to hell with the consequences. This was her life on the line. Fight and survive! And her internal struggle might as well been trying to hide a fire in the dark from Jaune and the Grimm.
Both of which slide their eyes toward her, Jaune's obscured due to his position. He's still waiting on her answer and the Death Stalker's growing restless under her furry of fear and anticipation. Plus, the scorpion might still be ticked for her pulling it's stinger off, and avoiding a fight seemed so much better than engaging in one.
"Well?" Patience definitely was a virtue.
She remained quiet, obviously confused and unable to properly cope. The whispers return to warn him, warn the Arc to control the situation before the control's lost to him. And he found no reason to fight back, wishing he could remain to enjoy her fear, but knowing fully well it could attract more unwanted attention and endanger his life. Not everything was reasonable.
He liked breathing.
Lightly patting the Death Stalker once more, he suddenly found the Grimm's tale lowered to his eye level and found part of its stinger torn off, hanging off to the side. Looked to him that Ruby might have also over exaggerated her part of the tale and gave him a golden ticket out of this mess. At least that's partially what the strange urges told him. Crazy as it sounded, and Jaune Arc knew it sounded completely ridiculous.
Reaching out toward the stinger, and resting his hand on the Death Stalker's skull to fight off Ruby's increase of dreaded emotions, Jaune lightly fixed the stinger back into place with help of the Grimm's blacken fur to tie it down and some not so useless sewing lessons her overprotective mother crammed into him. An understanding passed between the two when he's finished and he almost smiled, instead of choosing to hide back into the darkness of his hoodie.
Time would be required for the healing process to take place, but if the Death Stalker avoided confrontation, then eventually the wound would heal. That much the urges told him, dying down just long enough for Jaune to breathe again, even if Ruby's emotions were still scattered and causing him all sorts of headaches. He could almost cut the fear with Crocea Mors.
Letting go of the stinger, the Grimm gave Jaune one more look over, lacking emotion just like him, before growling deeply at Ruby and leaving back to find a new cave to settle in. And Jaune's not going to lie, he's really going to miss the creature. The bond he felt between him and it went deeper than and Ruby and his, that's for sure.
Stepping back, Jaune kept watch until the Grimm disappeared into the woods. He sighed emptily when it finally vanished from his line of sight. That feeling of hunger had slowly returned. The warmth from his boney neck was gone. And he's feeling lost and alone again.
Grabbing Crocea Mors, Jaune pulled the sword out of the dirt, throwing the blade over his shoulder. He never made it past that part since Ruby's appearing in front of him, arms up in the air, and disbelief hard to ignore. Like really, really hard to ignore.
"Jaune! How the heck did you do that?" Well, he's not alone at least.
But he's still very much lost. "Ask me again when I figure out."
"I'm serious!" she growled just like the Death Stalker, only more adorable and lacking both the fire and raw physical strength. Someone should take a picture. "No one's gonna believe that just happened."
Throwing in a grin, he peered toward where an array of emotions were centering on. "I don't even believe it."
Ruby kept shaking her arms wildly in the air, like that'd solve all of life's greatest problems. Rage was not a particular emotion he could amply enjoy. Not to a full extent where depression and sadness easily filled more of the void. Maybe he picked the wrong emotion to mirror. Grinning only seemed to be causing greater complications. So much for smiles fixing everything.
"Jaune!"
"Would you calm down?" No such luck, so he pointed toward the buildup of emotions. "C'mon, I'm sensing more people that way. Maybe we'll run into someone you know or something. How does that sound?"
She didn't move from her spot. Why did he honestly expect different? "No! I need answers! What were you doing back there? How did you make that Grimm go away? People don't just do that! Talking to a Grimm isn't exactly normal!"
Normal? What did she know about normal? Normal up and died a mile back. They're in abnormal land. What was even normal? Did anyone really know? Still, she's waiting, and Ruby's emotions speak of a rather impatient girl. Must be anxiety problems? Didn't matter. He could play psychoanalysis with Ruby's lack of confidence later. Now he needed to calm her down and get her off his back.
Frowning with a tight lip, Jaune thought of what to say next. He needed a lie, or so the whispers told him. Something to keep Ruby's mouth shut and pacify her troublesome curiosity. His constant hunger wasn't making it any easier to solve. Quite the opposite in fact. And the urges refuse to relieve him of his gluttony.
Bastards.
Reading her emotions, Jaune blinked in inspiration. Emotions! That's it. Now he knew what to say his partner. A simple lie about his fake Semblance should quell her doubts and instill trust into him. Even the dark whispers agree with him, hiding his hunger so he could focus on the lie and nothing else.
Trying to appear awkward, Jaune laughed with a timid smile, even going so far as to rub his neck to really sell it. "Fine... but just hear me out. I know this might sound weird, but you remember how my Semblance was to feel emotions?" He waited for no nod. "Well, I kinda of, sort of, made the Grimm less hostile. I'm not sure how it works, but I managed to do it. Weird, huh?"
The pause was a beat too long for his nerves. However, based on the way her emotions began to settle, he figured he won her over. Even more so when happiness became the dominant feeling. Then she's jumping up and down in joy, and, well, it's too scripted from there.
"That's so amazing! I told ya that your Semblance would come in handy." She said no such thing. She's more of a liar than he was. "But to make Grimm be all nice and junk! Imagine how helpful that can be? That's like having a cheat code, but for life!"
Cheat code? What was this? An action role-playing game? Ruby seriously needed to lay off the video games. Those things would rot a person's mind from the inside out. And he preferred to have a partner with some brain cells.
Acting modest, Jaune's laughter got weaker. "That's one way of putting it. But I wouldn't go as far as to call it a cheat code. Maybe like a power-up, if anything."
"Can you do it again?" It's an honest question that deserved an honest answer.
But Jaune's anything but honest. "It was kind of a fluke. I'm not even sure how I did it the first time."
"Then you'll just have to practice some more!"
Her optimism's loud and appreciated, but ill-placed. And yet he still must smile for her. "Maybe later, but let's go already. I sense a few emotions that way. Maybe we'll run into other people?"
His smile hurt. He must be trying too hard since Ruby's feeling conflicted by it. Dummy kept forgetting about his ability to read emotions. What's the point of hiding her feelings around him? Then again, she probably thought he couldn't sense her doubts right now.
Fair enough.
Too bad he couldn't read her mind, that'd be something. Because her conflicting emotions would make for an interesting read. He wondered what's running through that adorable head of hers.
Ruby had a nervous habit of chewing on her lip when she's flustered.
At the idea of running into someone she might know, she stopped her flailing to think about her older sister. She would like nothing more than to run into Yang and console to her. First her mishap with Weiss weighed heavily in her heart, and then there's Jaune, her newest partner in crime. She's not a hundred percent sure if it's her or not, but every time she saw that smile of his, her trained instincts just screamed out fake!
Shivers would traveled down her spine just from the sight of it. And not in the good way like a cold glass of milk and warm cookies. But in a bad way like whenever her dad caught her with her hand in the cookie jar. Which only confused her to no ends since she met Jaune before, and at the time she felt comfortable around him. Yet, her training refused to back down. The feeling in her gut didn't settle, even when Jaune sheathed away his sword.
Weaponless or not, his smile could break glass.
Then again, it could all just be in her head. Maybe he's just nervous? Yea! That had to be it. He's just a nervous silly buddy. Totally made sense!
"Are we going or not?" Jaune asked, smile gone and voice tone flat. "They're getting farther away."
Maybe she was the one who needed to lie down a bit?
Breathing in quickly, Ruby suddenly zoomed to Jaune, hiding her concern behind a more natural smile. "Okay!" She's jabbing a finger to his chest, barely missing the rate of his irregular heart. "But we're not done with this! We're going to train and make your Semblance like a million times better! Then we're going to become the bestest partners in Beacon, right?"
"Still not a word."
"Right?!" she affirmed with thicker resolve.
Jaune sighed. "Yeah, yeah, bestest partners at Beacon. Gotcha! Don't worry, I'm on it."
She pouted, getting a sense of anger in her thoughts. Jaune felt it before it came. He still couldn't dodge her poke of doom. Poor, poor shoulder. "How does your Semblance work, anyways? Do emotions have a taste or something? And how did you make it work on that Grimm?"
Her bestest partner thought about it, casting an off glance. "I don't really know how to explain it. I can just tell which emotions you're stirring up underneath all that pep—sometimes!" Jaune added quickly. "It comes and goes. I guess it comes with the power. And the Grimm thing? Forget about me trying to explain how that works, because I'm still trying to work out the kinks myself." He could tell she's not happy. "I'm telling you the truth, Rubes." Honestly, he was. Couldn't she tell he's just as lost as she was? Even more so than her. "Something just drove me to help that poor Grimm out. Not everything needs to be solved by violence."
Conflicted, she put away Crescent Rose. She had the audacity to put her tiny hands on her hips. "You're Semblance doesn't make much sense to me. It's just so... just so weird!"
"Yea... well!" Jaune lowered his hood, allowing the bone fragments to shine bright in the sunlight. "Join the club, Crater Face. I'm the president and the name's Jaune Arc."
...
Finding the influx of emotions wasn't too hard. Like following a trail of passionate breadcrumbs, eventually there's an end to sight. For Jaune and Ruby, that end happened to be an ancient podium housing chess pieces, which also attracted both Ruby's sister and some girl whose feelings stayed relatively hidden both on the outside and inside.
Jaune could tell he's going to like and despise her.
"Yang!"
Ruby's off to tackle her sister in a hug he's all too familiar with, leaving Jaune alone with the raven haired girl. They're awkward in their silence, holding back the choice to speak first. It's interesting for the Arc since her emotions began to surface more with each passing second. They're cautious and reserved, not trusting him in the slightest. The whispers grumble in appreciation, but they burn in hunger as well. It's getting rather difficult for Jaune to focus his mind on other things outside of satisfying a taste he didn't have the right word to describe, and a partner like Ruby. Both of which take too much time to balance. And now he had his whispers telling him to either make this girl an ally, or to keep her at arm's length.
Sadly, he'd never been one to reject people.
"So..." he said offhandedly, grabbing a Knight chess piece from off the podium. He twirled it around his fingers, hoping to look cool. "Come here often?"
She's unimpressed by his spinning skills. Her voice just oozed like a flat-line. "If by often, you mean never? Then yes. This is the place where I come to get away from it all."
He enjoyed her company already. "Jaune Arc at your service. And you are?"
Her eyes glared into his darken soul. "Blake Belladonna."
She moved past him to choose the Rook chess piece, keeping her emotionless mask and emotions tightly controlled. Her glare held neither bite nor sentiment, but contained a well-mannered temper. Jaune could already tell he's going to like her based on the empty sensation that overcame him and her quick, witty remark.
Throwing her a grin, Jaune bumped her shoulder in an act of foolery. "Blake, huh? That's a nice name. It rolls off the tongue! It's zesty and mysterious." Even she couldn't hide the small bout of contentment bubbling up inside her. Those emotions were left bare for the Arc to sense. "So? How are things?"
"Fine." Blake glared over to the side, unable to hide her annoyance. "I can see your partner's just as over energetic as mine." She pointed over to the two passionate sisters, placing the Rook away for safe keeping, baring the tiniest of feeling. "This is going to be fun."
Her sarcasm made the cold whispers chuckle humorlessly, fascinated by her dry wit and mismatched emotions. Like him—to a very small extent—she's dead inside. Somewhere down along the lines, Blake here must've buried part of her soul and left it behind. Unlike him, she didn't need to fake her acute curiosity when it came to him hiding part of his face beneath his hood.
Yet, she didn't ask about it and Jaune had no intention in telling. All of his new found urges demand he remain hidden for his own benefit. Not theirs, but his. Already telling Ruby had pushed the limit to a near breaking point and the outcome had already landed the Arc in hot water with the Death Stalker problem. Not to mention the black hole in his stomach was growing larger by the second.
He's ravenous.
Forcing a smile, Jaune looked out toward the edge of the woods where another pair of emotions was creeping up on them. "You're telling me. I just want to finish this and relax. Oh, and those two are sisters by the way. I met them during our first day here, and yes, I know they can be a bit... tiresome. So I can't wait to get out of here and sleep some."
Blake actually released more of her curiosity. "You don't want to stay and fight some more?" Traces of anger rise out of her. "My partner does. Yang wants to bash a few skulls. I wouldn't mind such an activity, but only if we're forced to. I don't enjoy looking for trouble."
"Nah! We just need to complete the mission and get out of here. There's no point in staying. And... uh?" A new eerie feeling overcame him at the direction of the new emotions, cutting the conversation dangerously short. "Would you please excuse me? There's something heading our way."
Pointing toward the woods, a Major Ursa thrashed out a moment later, destroying poor, defenseless trees in a last act of defiance before falling to the forces of gravity. Everyone's interest was captured by the stunt, more especially when a newcomer and her partner walk out from behind, one out-of-breath and the other riding the tired bear monstrosity to the point of exhaustion.
Unable to hear what they're talking about, Jaune focused solely on approaching the downed Grimm. The moment he caught its appearance, his attention had been centered on it and on it alone. Just like the Death Stalker, his boney structure warmed to the sight of such a monster and his appetite momentarily derailed. However, he's pulled away from his target when a bouncing girl jumped off the Grimm's back and right in front of him. Arms up in the air, her pearly white smile confused him.
This was normally part he where he smiled.
Except he's too broken from the onslaught of happy-go-lucky emotions beating down on him. If Jaune thought Ruby's emotions were heavy, then this girl's feelings were as dense as a star. She's full of playful, excited, energetic feelings. Jaune would say she's overloaded with feeling, to the point he's slightly suffocating under the emotion. The guy, on the other hand, was more loose and controlled, like Blake, but Jaune could sense heavy amounts of frustration and sleepiness lurking underneath that tired expression of his. Hell! He didn't even need to read his emotions to get that much. Just looking at the guy screamed polar opposite.
She slid into his personal space, smile nauseously bright. "Have we met? I don't think we've met! Hiya! I'm Nora Valkyrie! Oh! You're wearing a hood? I like it! It makes you look mysterious!" She's shaking his hand up and down like a machine. "So what's your name?"
Before Jaune could answer, the other one's standing behind her, tone exhausted and flat. "Nora."
"Yes, Ren?" Jaune almost raised a brow from the unrivaled love he felt coming from Nora.
It's the worst tasting emotion of them all.
"Maybe you should stop shaking his hand so hard, you might dislocate it." Jaune could tell he's going to like Ren's common sense. The whispers agreed with him. So when Nora stopped shaking his hand so hard, Ren only nodded for his benefit. "Sorry about that. Nora can get rather energetic when meeting new people."
Tell him about it. "That's no problem."
"See Ren!" Nora argued, unable to hide her love from Jaune's senses. "He's fine, fuddy-duddy! You worry over nothing! He's—he's? Uh? What's your name again?"
Fighting the urge to spit the taste of love out of his mouth, Jaune fake-smiled for their benefit. "I'm Jaune Arc!" His smile must've looked bad because Nora's a little apprehensive around him now, but Ren's full of understanding and acceptance. "So... friends?"
Whelp, that won Nora back.
She's crushing them both in a three person hug. "Awesome! Look Ren, more friends! Oh! This is Ren by the way! And you know who I am!" How could he not? "So how's it going? Killed any good Grimm yet?"
Jaune paused, replaying her words once over. Good Grimm? That's an oxymoron if he'd ever heard one. Obviously she meant if he's killed any powerful Grimm, but just hearing the words made him stop for the briefest of seconds. But she's in luck, he could be truthful with his claim.
Jaune scratched his face, mixing in an innocent smile. "Nope... just lucky, I guess."
Nora frowned, pouting like a child. "More like unlucky! How are you supposed to let your wild side out if there's no Grimm to kill? You must be going mad!"
"No." Jaune said. "I'm pretty sane."
"Sane?!" She zoomed up to him, invading his personal bubble with one eye closed. Nora leaned up to Jaune. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Before he's forced to confront the enigma, the guy named Ren pulled her away from him, sighing with a practice ease. "Nora, let me handle this." Ren extended a hand out for Jaune to shake. The Arc accepted the bait. "It's a pleasure to meet you. How's hunting for the Relics going?"
If Jaune thought Blake was reserved, then Ren's a steel trap. For the life of him, he couldn't get a good reading on his emotions. Either the Lie's emotionless, or his mind's impenetrable to his emotion sensing abilities? Almost like he controlled a power to hide from him in plain sight. But such things sound improbable.
Still, his whispers urged him to not rule it out. If that's even remotely feasible, then Ren could become a likely threat in the future. A threat to what, however, was up in the air. Yet it didn't matter, Jaune just knew he didn't like being unable to sense Ren's emotions, it left a bitter taste in his mouth that's really hard to swallow. But for now he'd play his part, acting out the whisper's orders to remain normal, even if acting out the right emotion would rely more on personal experience if anything.
"The Relics?" Jaune answered, throwing a thumb back over his shoulder. "You'll find them over—?"
Nora ran past Jaune, spinning him in place for Ren to catch. "Relics!"
"There..." Jaune lamely finished, still held up by Ren. He looked up to Ren's piercing pink eyes. "Is she always like that?"
"More or less."
He accepted the answer with some grace, leaving Ren's hold without embarrassment. That emotion's dead. "Ah. I guess I'll have to get used to that."
The paradox smiled, timid and reserved. "I wish you all the luck. Now, if you would excuse me, I need to go catch up with Nora. It was nice meeting you, Jaune. Perhaps our paths will cross again."
"I already sealed my Fate when I offered to be friends." Ren said nothing and ran off to catch up to Nora. Jaune just smiled and waved, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and approach the downed Grimm. "Just smile and wave, Jaune. Just smile and wave."
Laughing for the sake of laughing, Jaune stopped the moment Nora swiped her Relic, dancing like lunatic she was. He used that moment to break away, using her distraction and random emotions to his advantage. A quick peek over his shoulder revealed that Ruby's still busy bonding with her sister, effectively forgetting he even existed for the time being.
Perfect.
Not waiting on anyone to comment, Jaune moved forward while the other Huntsmen-in-Training distracted themselves. Deep instincts command him to stand before the fallen Grimm, reach out like before. The difference between then and now was Ruby's busy talking nonsense with a deviant and emotional blond. And like before, a kinship of sorts was established when he stood before it. Jaune even almost lowered his hood to greet the beast. Then, the kinship turned to nothing. Absolutely nothing.
A hunger like no other beckoned at his sense of humanity from out of the shadows.
Ignoring everyone behind him, except for the inescapable Nora and her grand entrance, Jaune kneeled down to level with the dying Grimm and lowered his hood. He stabbed Crocea Mors into the dirt, finding the beast's impending death alluring and intoxicating to a sick height of perversion. Blood ran faster between his muscles, and the unnatural beating of his heart rang loudly in his ears. Then the dark urges return, stronger than ever. Whispering words of encouragement between all things dark and deceitfully deviant, almost arduous on his fragile mind.
Demanding he reach out and consume the monster. Literally, the whispers told Jaune Arc to devour the Grimm's power, to inhale the fragments so the power's naught wasted into useless dust.
A laughable and insane idea, almost to the point he got up and left. But, as the Grimm turned to ash, he'd stealthily drawn toward the sight and reached into the dark void before logic and reason pull him back to sanity. And the monster's ashes hovered close to Jaune's palm before shooting forward toward his boney appendages in a speed he's given no time to react.
Lack of emotions prevented him from feeling fear—the whispers play a part as well—and all the ashes were absorbed into his body with no one noticing. An absence of confusion pacified his reasoning. Then the Grimm's gone and a loud thump vibrated strongly in Jaune's chest, numbing everyone around him and everything else except for the hollow sensation dwelling deep in his chest.
That feeling seemed to have grown stronger.
Hiding back in the confines of his hood, Jaune pulled Crocea Mors out from the dirt, oddly curious to what might've happened. Light twist and turns of the blade reveal nothing done to the boney limb on his neck, yet, the cut from before had disappeared. A dark shade of coal encased his iris for the shyest of seconds before its gone, leaving no trace behind.
Power.
That sole word popped randomly, clear as day and not indistinguishable compared to most of the dark murmurs. It's a constant, never-ending serenade, informing Jaune of something he couldn't fully grasp the meaning to. Then the reason behind the undertones become clear as he took an experimental swing of his sword, finding the action underhandedly different.
Much sharper, plus with some bits of new strength, and his swing had a greater force behind it. His grip proved to be tighter, and the blade no longer felt as heavy in his hand nor did the shield.
"I'm stronger?" That seemed to be the answer because the whispers retreat back to the recesses of his mind, temporarily halting their ominous humming. "This is... different. But I think I like it. No, I definitely like it."
Happiness and panic steal away his attention—it's a cornucopia of emotions—and Jaune had to forget about his discovery for another time and sigh with absolute distaste. Apparently, a group of people couldn't stay composed for two seconds. Partially he blamed himself, more out of common etiquette so he's not left out of the group and to cover all his bases. But really, the Arc should've expected nothing less from people that were supposed to be his peers.
He turned around to be met with Ruby, who's running all over the place. Mostly she's pointing at the giant bird in the sky, a flying Grimm. The running was amusing—her panic was delicious—and she slid up to him the moment they made eye contact.
"Jaune! Quick! Get ready! There's a Nevermore flying over our heads!"
He did nothing, basking in the panic and adrenaline of masked fear. Nothing could ever compare to the sensation of feeding off their misery, yet, that muted hunger in his soul was only partially filled. Despair's good and all, but he needed a stronger feeling to nourish off of and close that emptiness inside his irregular heart. Even Ruby's innocent panic only filled so much.
Eventually reaching a limit to satisfy his endless fill, common sense and basic instinct to survive kicked in. With a quick sheathing of his sword, Jaune nodded and he promptly turned around toward Beacon Academy, grasping tightly onto the knight chess piece.
Ruby's instantly in front of him on his second step. "Uh... excuse me? Where are you going?"
He pointed toward Beacon, giving her an expression akin to a glare for her foolish heroic emotions. "To Beacon. We're done here. We got our piece. Mission complete."
"But what about the giant Grimm in the sky?"
He placed his sword and shield onto his back, uncaring. "What about it? It's not bothering us. It's bothering them, yes, but that's because I can see from right here that Weiss is holding onto its claw. Obviously, Pyrrha and Weiss must've done something to anger it." The glare became real. "Like someone I know. Plus, why do you care? I thought you hated stupid Weiss."
Guilt didn't work on him, not anymore, but Ruby's an emotional sponge. "I know, but they might need our help to fight it!"
The whispers return from their slumber, enforcing their host to make the girl listen to reason. No point in risking the safety of their lives for other people's imprudence. Believe him, Jaune's trying. Perhaps he could work off a different angle, play the emotional strings attached to Ruby's line of thinking when he brought up Weiss's name. Nothing like pesky guilt was around to hold him back.
"If you want to go help the person who ditched you, go right ahead. I'm completing the mission. Try not to hurt yourself." A few steps later and the emotional waves hit him like a punch to the gut. Desire settled deep in his partner's soul, tearing her apart in all possible directions. Maybe some unruly manipulation was in order. "Look, if Weiss thinks she's too good to be your partner, then let her risk her life. You gave her a chance and she literally walked away from it. Imagine what would've happened if a horde of Grimm came out of nowhere after that? Weiss didn't even care for your safety, so why bother?"
There. Powerful points have been made, plus some added suppressed trauma never hurt to sweeten the tooth decay.
"Don't you care what might happen to them?"
Honestly, he would rather watch paint dry. A terrible, cynical thought, one that made stomachs churn and people gasp randomly, but also one that held a greater meaning in the long run. Emotions clouded the judgment. Clouded judgment led to disastrous outcomes such as a mission failure, or worse, death.
So in layman's terms. "I care what happens to you. You're my partner, Ruby. I don't want you risking your life when you don't have to. Especially for someone who's only treated you like dirt from the moment you met her and had no problem turning their back on you. Why help someone who won't a finger to help you?"
He could tell she's not totally convinced. "What about Pyrrha?"
Fake grin. "I seem to recall she's won some fancy tournament four times in a row. She'd be fine. It's Ice Queen who might need some help. But that's not our problem. Besides, they have everyone else backing them up. Blake said Yang's been itching for a fight. Why take that away from her? They don't need us."
Ruby squirmed under his impeccable knowledge. "I don't know... it sounds wrong."
His eye roll was too powerful to stop. "I thought you wanted to be the bestest partners that Beacon's ever seen? Beating the record would make us look the best. And honestly, if they need help to take care of one Grimm, when it's six versus one, then they don't deserve to be here."
Even if bestest wasn't a word, it still had one hell of an impact on Ruby. "Promise me then. Promise we we'll be the bestest partners ever."
Jaune blinked. A promise? He didn't expect such a request, but if it'd get them out of here. "Fine. I promise on the name of the Arc that we'll become the bestest partners in Beacon. You have my word."
Her struggled died slowly, both a positive and a negative for the Arc. On one hand, he much rather survive this day and not lose his partner and first friend, even if the thought of Ruby dying by his feet did nothing for his conscious, he still needed her alive. And on the other, feeling Ruby fight her emotions internally did delicious things for his monstrous appetite hiding deep inside. So it's a win-win.
Finally she accepted his inescapable logic. "Fine."
He almost wanted to smirk, almost. Instead, Jaune settled on strengthening his fake grin, feeling her struggle still very much alive, only repressed. "Good! Now! Off to Beacon—!"
She's in his face before he could blink. "But next time we help people because that's what heroes do! This is just a onetime deal! Got it? I just really want to beat Weiss and show her I'm not useless!"
Jaune grinned, enjoying Ruby's jealously and wrath. It's not as prominent as sadness or grief, but it tasted good nonetheless. Even the whisper enjoyed the sensation, but he's on a strict schedule.
Raising his hands up, the smile faltered beneath her adorable fury. "Fine, fine. Next time, I promise. Gosh, what's with you and the promises. You're really tying my hands together here."
Happiness bubbles back up from the abyss of her soul and Jaune's practically crushed underneath the onslaught both figuratively and literally as she pulled him by the back of his hood toward Beacon. Fighting went on in the background, feathers crash down onto the earth and a blitzkrieg decimated the land, but Jaune's mind was more focused on the dark whispers clouding his thoughts than anything else.
...
Turned out arriving at Beacon an hour into the initiation was a new record. Most peopled tended to get themselves into trouble and lost while setting out on the missions. Falling prey to pity distractions and needing to fill their desire of empty heroism to appear impressive and fill the thing they call their egos and dreams.
Idiotic fools.
Every second Jaune's starting to see his lack of emotions a positive thing. Minus the fact he couldn't be happy for breaking the past record or this irrational hunger that threatened to forever follow him. Also feeling everyone else's emotions were starting to put a light strain on him. A weak strain, but both his mind and the urges tell him overtime the sensation would become unbearable until he got a release.
A release from what or how to achieve this, the whispers fail to reveal.
At least he could tell Professor Goodwitch was impressed when both he and Ruby arrived back at Beacon in record time. Apparently, she always wanted a student who stuck to the mission and did everything by the book. Ozpin's a different story entirely. He may have been able to hide his disappointment from Ruby, but not him. Jaune sensed it. He sensed it as clear as day. But did it matter to him?
Not at all.
Feeding off Ruby's concern for her sister, Jaune sat patiently back in the lounge, watching the little reaper pace back and forth on the nice carpet. He wanted to roll his eyes at her silliness. Didn't she trust her sister and the five others to take on one bird? Couldn't she be a little bit more optimistic? And that's coming from an apathetic guy.
Getting his fill of negative emotions, he sensed more people approaching and looked over his shoulder to see all said five people returning from their brawl, all dirty and covered in scratches. A few limped from their spots. And Ruby still hadn't notice their arrival yet, too concerned for their safety.
Jaune needed a new word for irony.
Finding the scene too interesting to interrupt, Jaune propped his head onto his wrist, allowing the urges to numb out the mix variety of emotions littering the air. Shadowed eyes peer deeply as Yang sneaked up behind her sister, grabbing the miserable girl in a tight, loving headlock. And his partner flailed like a waterless fish from the preemptive strike.
"Gah!"
Snickering followed right after. "There you are! Where'd you head off to earlier, Rubes? You missed all the action! Blakey here thought of a totally awesome plan to sabotage the Grimm's wings and we destroyed the Grimm when it crashed! You should've been there!"
Sensing the various mixed relief and embarrassment Yang was causing for Ruby, plus all the other emotions clouding up the room, Jaune practically missed the conflicted feelings directed at him from behind his shoulder. He's only distracted when she overshadowed him.
"Hello..." Pyrrha slowly said, tapping him on the shoulder. "Have we met?"
Fascinating, simply fascinating. "First Ruby and now you. Does having my hood up really make me look that different, Pyrrha?"
Lowering his hood for his messy hair to pop out, but not enough for the bone-plating to be plainly obvious, Jaune grinned falsely at the pumpkin girl, eyes dead and dull, missing the once bright shine they once had before hiding back in the shadows.
Strangely, she's at a loss for words, tremendously caught off-guard. Nothing he didn't expect. Did he care? Nope would be the correct answer. Should he care? Yes would also be the correct answer. Under normal circumstances, he shouldn't be grinning like a total fool to her after she ditched him. But Jaune Arc couldn't find it in him to care and her heavily laced guilt was very much welcomed. Odd, yet welcomed.
Instantly, she's gripping him by the forearm, breaking apart the peaceful setup he once had, panicky and damn near hysterical to a fault. Shaking seemed to be a common occurrence because she's relentless at it, never ending or tiring until Jaune grabbed her by the wrist, weirdly interested in the turnabout of emotions she's displaying for him to see and feel.
He feasted on her anxiety.
"You're supposed to be dead! I saw you die!" A strong urge overcame Jaune, raising his eyebrow up on force of habit. That explained the heavy guilt and light trickles of tears building up in her eyes. "... You shouldn't be here. I saw you die."
Standing up, he couldn't help but ask. "What? What do you mean you saw me die? I'm standing right here, very much alive."
True be told, he's not too sure if he's alive or stuck in a place in-between. The urges certainly remained mute when he brought it up. Almost like if they had no clue as well. A little disheartening to consider, but what's done was done.
Pyrrha couldn't control herself, she's hysterical. "It's exactly what I mean! I. Saw. You. Die." Her emotions wither away, leaving a husk behind. "When that Beowolf tore apart your throat, I saw the life drain away from your eyes."
Jaune raised his brow slightly up. So a Beowolf did attack his neck? It wasn't some illusion his mind compensated for? Mystery solved! And she's right. He did die. Just not in the way she's thinking. More of an inner self type of death, his emotions took the fall over him. A trade he had no say in.
Still, this meant Pyrrha hadn't ditched him and just wandered aimlessly after watching her partner succumb to Death's embrace, most likely in search of a new partner. This meant he couldn't fault her. Not like he was, but now it's definitely an option he could erase. Besides, he might've done something completely different, but the roles were more or less the same.
Waving his hand, he forced his teeth to show. "Well, obviously that's not true. I'm standing right here! Right in front of you! Totally fine, see?"
She's not entirely convinced by his words. He didn't need to sense her emotions to know that. Couldn't say that he blamed her. He would be on edge too if something like this occurred to him in the span of less than half a day. And before he knew it, she's reaching out to touch his neck and test the limits of reality, boundaries completely gone.
Pushing her hand away before she could reach, Jaune changed from happy to sympathetic on a dime. Appealing to both his dark whispers to keep her away and to a troubled friend. "I'm fine, Pyrrha. Trust me. I'm fine. My Aura must've healed me just on time! You're right, this stuff does work."
The contentment Pyrrha felt could rival the sun.
It's too overly sweet and nauseating for his taste, Jaune wished nothing more for her bouts of shame to condense and fill the air again. Luck's not on his side, and he's stuck being in a room filled with teenagers positively chipper to a fault, him excluded.
"I'm so happy..." Pyrrha sighed, looking at him with renewed hope. She moved an experimental step closer, eyes brighter. "Maybe we can still be—?"
Like a ball of jealous fury, Ruby's instantly between them, pushing them apart while pressing and wrapping her arms around Jaune's arm. "Back off! You had your chance! You left him and now he's my partner now! Tough luck!"
Pyrrha peered to Jaune for anything. She's met with a lost shrug. "She's right."
Bitterly torn inside, the whispers feast on the purest form of remorse thus far while partaking in Ruby's jealously. Jaune's hero pride tried to wipe away the sensation, fighting his dark whispers every step of the way. A valiant effort that paid off in the saddest of ways, robbing away his meal, and leaving him with nothing but an inescapable hollow feeling inside the center of his chest that wanted more.
But how long could the Arc pride fight back a losing battle?
The bright light dulled immensely from Pyrrha's eyes. "I didn't mean to abandon you..."
"I know you didn't mean too." He truly did. Her emotions practically spelled out remorse and shame. Not even a clueless person could miss those signs. "I'm not mad, but it is too late. I'm sorry."
He didn't care.
Another emotionally impossible task he couldn't accomplish.
Sensing her before she could so much as grab him, Jaune prepared himself for Yang's approached. She's like a star, emotions bright and impossible to miss, and before long Yang's adding her own greedy hug to Jaune's other arm, missing the cast of his shadow to reflect on Ruby's puffed and blood stained cheeks. Her ample breasts were pressed tightly on his forearm for an effort on her part, that much the Arc knew by the way she's playing off her emotions. Seduction with sufficient loads of mockery made the gesture harmless but not any less enjoyable.
Hormones were thy enemy.
"A little possessive, aren't we, Ruby?" Waves of depression and insecurity wash over Jaune, deceptively; Ruby had a few abandonment issues it would seem. Yang grinned up at him, standing to full height, yet not letting go his trapped hand. "Jaune, was it? So you're Ruby's partner?"
Pressing her body snuggly was hard to miss and Ruby's drenching him in buckets of anxiety. She's fishing for a reaction. Safe to say, Yang Xiao Long was going to be sorely disappointed. Reactions were a fool's game. Only a weaker man would fold.
Jaune Arc's not sure whether he craved to be a weaker man.
Pulling away and freeing his arm, Jaune fixed Yang a steady glare, lacking in bite that still found a way to get the message across. Playing around in the acts of desire and ridicule would leave her nothing but a flawless defeat in her wake. Even if the dark whispers did commend her for her courageous, yet fruitless endeavor.
"Yup!" he answered, feeling Ruby's relax her hold on his arm. "We're going to make everyone else here eat our dust! Right, Ruby?!"
Passion overcame his partner, draining away all her negative emotions. "Right! Just watch! Beacon's bestest partners right here!"
Jaune unquestionably wasn't ready for Yang's mood to change erogenous at the second he denied her pseudo advances. She's not the only one who could fake emotions, thank you very much. But this was different. All the mockery vanished, leaving an interesting predator like gleam in the blonde's lavender eyes. Like a Leo stalking its prey.
She sucker punched him in the arm that didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. "Oh, I can't wait to see how you two turn out, especially you, Jaune."
Yang's giving him another experimental hit before running off to torment some other poor unsuspecting soul, not even allowing the Arc a chance to rebuttal. "That makes two of us."
"What was that, Jaune?" Ruby asked, finally releasing her hold.
Grinning for her benefit, he waved off her concern. "Nothing, Ruby, nothing. Why don't we get some snacks? I'm starving!" In more ways than one.
"Okay!" and she'd already forgotten everything that'd happened. "Can we have cookies?!" She asked like he's given a choice. Jaune felt her stubborn resolve iron herself up, leaving no chance for a no. No chance whatsoever.
"I don't see why not?"
Before Ruby could push him excitingly toward Beacon's kitchen, someone tapped him on the shoulder, stealing away their attention. Oh, right? Pyrrha's still here?
Did he always used to smile this much. It's exhausting the hell out of him. "Oh! Sorry, Pyrrha! Kind of got lost in the shuffle there!"
Before she's able to speak, Fate had other devious plans.
Attention all students! The Team Ceremonies are about to begin! Please come to the school's auditorium immediately!
They all look up, having mixed reactions to the dreaded intercom. All of which amused Jaune in a heartless sort of way. Crushing defeat and melancholy affect the air and he ate it up, against the better, heroic part of his soul saying otherwise.
Saddened, Pyrrha sighed and smiled sadly at the knight. "Perhaps we can talk at a later time?"
Ruby frowned internally, he festered off it. Her jealousy's delicious and he wanted more. "I'd like that. Maybe after the team ceremony?"
...
The auditorium's overly loud and obnoxious and filled to the brim with excitement.
Jaune Arc loathed it all.
He hated the happiness. The joy. He hated it all. The positivity churned his stomach in a bad way. Everything about it made him sick. Not even his partner's anxiousness could make up for all of it. She's just a drop in the ocean of feeling. Honestly, he's only able to sense her because he's anchoring himself to her shyness in order to prevent the headache from murdering him.
His shield's slowly rusting away.
"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark." Ozpin announced to the entire stadium. "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as... Team CRDL." Applause sounded at every direction. "Led by, Cardin Winchester."
Team CRDL walked off stage, and Ozpin stared down the podium at the next group of students but remained hesitant. Jaune momentarily raised a brow at his very well hidden emotion behind those glasses of his, studying the man in-depth.
"Blake Belladonna. Pyrrha Nikos. Weiss Schnee. And Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white Rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team BWLN. Led by Blake Belladonna."
Disappointed and anger radiated off Weiss Schnee like a nuclear sub. Pyrrha Nikos couldn't tell whether to be happy or sad. Yang's giving her partner a celebratory wink and Blake's utterly confused on to why she'd been chosen as the team leader of such a mismatched group.
Jaune's not gonna lie, he's something close to dissatisfied for not getting Blake on his team. Another emotionless person could really be the help he needed. A friend who could understand his pain to a level of degree.
Such a shame.
"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Nora Valkyrie. Ruby Rose. The four of you retrieved the white Knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team ALRN. Led by..." Well, this is an interesting turn of events. The Headmasters seemed tangled on whom to choose to be a team leader. Like his plans hadn't gone exactly as he had hoped. "By Jaune Arc."
Ruby's quickly by his side, saying something along the lines of bestest partners—he's still not sure whether or not that's a word—and imitated Yang by throwing her own weaker punch to his shoulder. The other two of his teammates were busy in their own little world, laughs and all. Perfect for the Arc, Nora's far too happy and Ren's a loose end he couldn't tie.
Not only that, but just the idea of being team leader's throwing him in a rather abnormal loop, and he's not the only one. Even the Headmaster's not too supportive of his choice, struggling internally between a fine line of pride and prejudice. Not ironic, just weird. Plainly weird. Judging by the way he looked over to his partner, Jaune couldn't figure out why Ozpin didn't just choose her right off the bat? It seemed like he wanted her above him, after all?
And just between him and the whispers, he didn't want to be team leader because he didn't care whether or not his team lived or die. Cold? Yes, very. But very, very true nonetheless. So if Ozpin suddenly decided that Ruby was a better fit, then all the more power to them both.
Sadly, Jaune doubted it'd be that easy. Minus the anxiety he felt from his partner, she's also releasing relief. Apparently, Ruby Rose did not want to be leader. That could prove to be a fork in his path.
Claps all around, Ozpin looked up to the roster of names. "Looks like things are shaping up to be... an interesting year."
He heard the words, but they all sound like gibberish to him. Even the dark whispers have quieted down due to the onslaught of emotions attacking from every conceivable angle imaginable. Shunning away the expected mood he's supposed to be acting out because it's simply too overwhelming to process. This only gave him time to think about his current status quo.
By all accounts, life should be overwhelming perfect.
Jaune Arc should be happy, scared, confused, and proud even. Any feeling should honestly overcome him in his moment of triumph and perseverance.
He felt absolutely nothing drowning in the sea of emotions.
Author Notes: Edited 1/9/2018
Word count increase: From 5000 to 9000
Blake Belladonna – BWLN (Bold)
Jaune Arc - ALRN (Alizarin)