Residuum
Blood 1.4
ii
Jaune stumbled a bit as he headed for the door, his eyes not having quite adjusted to the darkness yet. His teammates were still asleep, probably still knackered after the impromptu party that had been thrown. Yang and Nora had grabbed all sorts of snacks and drinks and everyone had gone to sleep on full stomachs.
There were still a few hours before their first class for the day started, Grimm studies with Professor Port, and Jaune was curious to see what it would be like. The blond knew quite a lot about Grimm from his time in the Wilds, even though he hadn't quite known what they were.
Stepping into the common room, Jaune headed straight for the bathroom, intent on showering and preparing for the day. If there was one thing that Jaune never really knew he had taken for granted, it was a shower. That and toilet paper.
After he had freshened up ten minutes later, Jaune decided to perhaps see if there was anything he could do to prepare for the upcoming classes. His education with Qrow had not included anything that would be covered in Beacon, apart from perhaps combat.
Deciding to not turn the lights on in case it disturbed anyone, Jaune took a seat on the couch, switching on the lamp. He then noticed yellow eyes staring into his own.
"Holy fu-mmph!"
Blake covered his mouth with her hand, putting one finger to her own mouth in a shushing gesture.
"Don't want to wake up anyone else," Blake said, "I'm not sure I can deal with both Ruby and Nora this early in the morning."
"Right," Jaune said once the girl had removed her hand, "You surprised me. How long have you been sitting there?"
"I was having some trouble sleeping," she said, "Too much late-night candy. I woke up while you were in the shower."
Jaune fell silent at that. Despite her general reticence, she did seem like the indulgent type with how much fish she had eaten at dinner and the snacks she had devoured during their late-night celebration.
"So, I've been meaning to ask," she said, "How is it that you killed that Deathstalker?"
"Oh yeah, that," Jaune said, "Well, Yang and Ruby's uncle did train me for a bit. He's a really good Huntsman. One of the best, I think. Those Grimm have a soft underbelly, like a-"
"Like a Boarbatusk," Blake finished, "I wasn't aware of that."
"Maybe it's something we'll learn in our first class of the day," he said, wondering what a Boarbatusk was. He began to shift a bit when the girl stared at him for a moment, not having the slightest clue what she was thinking.
"How did you know?" she asked quietly.
"I've seen a few here and there," Jaune replied with only the slightest hesitance, not wanting to tell her that he'd actually fought them before as well. Blake didn't seem to want to continue this line of questioning much to the blond's relief.
"So what are you doing up so early?" she asked, bringing her legs up, hugging her knees as she kneeled back on the couch.
"This is when I usually get up, I'm afraid," he replied, "I'm a light sleeper."
"I am as well," she replied, "Though I'm not so sure I can get by with as little sleep as you do. I think I can probably get another hour of sleep if I'm lucky."
She rose silently and headed back to her room. Before she left, Jaune saw her pause, looking back at him.
"I… uh, I'm looking forward to being friends with you, Jaune," she said. There was very little lighting in the room, but Jaune could just barely make out a smile on her face.
"Uh, yeah, me too," he said, sounding clearly surprised. As she disappeared, Jaune just sat there in bewilderment wondering what had just happened. Blake had come off as quite standoffish in the short time he knew her, but she seemed quite interested in him. Certainly he had never expected her to reach out to him like she did.
After digesting the conversation he just had for a few minutes, Jaune grabbed a history book from the nearby table and tried to read. It was a lesson in futility as he knew next to nothing about how to read. His inability to read wasn't an issue that came up with him and Qrow and the man hadn't bothered to teach him or even inquire about it. Deep inside he knew it really wasn't his fault, but it was just another source of embarrassment that he did not want to see the light of day.
Slowly, Jaune made his way through the book, trying his best to understand what he was reading. He was glad that the book had some illustrations on different topics. So absorbed he was that he almost didn't notice Pyrrha enter the room.
"Good morning, Jaune! I didn't see you in your bed, so I assumed you were up. Have you been awake long?" she said, giving the blond her customary smile. The girl was dressed in clothes as red as her hair, an oddly similar type of flowy attire to Blake in fact.
"Morning. Yeah, a few hours now," Jaune replied, making the girl blink in surprise.
"Had trouble sleeping?" she asked, glancing at the book in his hand, "You didn't really have too much to eat last night."
Somehow knowing this was going to be a recurring issue, the blond repressed a sigh at the question.
"I'm an early riser," he said, "A really early riser, you could say."
"I see," she said, a laugh in her voice, "Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to quickly freshen up. It's nice to see you revising though, it's always good to be prepared for the day."
Jaune didn't tell her that he had only gotten through about five pages and had barely been able to read most of the words in the book. As Pyrrha closed the door to the bathroom behind her, it seemed that the rest of team RWBY had awakened if the shrill whistle and all the yelling was to be believed.
"Come ooooon Team RWBY!"
Ruby marched out with three sleepy teammates behind her, flicking on the lights in the room. Jaune spotted them still in their sleepwear, some of them yawning and sleepily rubbing their eyes.
"Morning Jaune!" Ruby called out, marching over to the bathroom.
"Morning. Pyrrha's in there by the way," he said, causing her to deflate.
"Aw, Ruby why'd you wake me up so early if Pyrrha's in there?" Yang half-sobbed, collapsing face first onto the couch, her butt sticking up over the armrest.
"But… we have to get an early start to the day!" Ruby said, "We still have to unpack and decorate!"
"It was your suggestion that kept us up all night, you dunce," Weiss reprimanded her, but Ruby just waved her hand, not giving Weiss's words any credence.
"What about Ren and Nora? Shouldn't you go wake them up, Jaune?" Ruby asked. Jaune shook his head.
"If there's such a long line to the bathroom then I think a little extra sleep wouldn't hurt them," Jaune replied.
"Now that's what I call a leader," Yang said, her voice muffled by the couch.
"I wonder if we can petition to join JNPR?" Blake asked with a smirk, joining in on the ribbing. Ruby's cheeks puffed out as she glared at her team. Weiss rolled her eyes at the slowly reddening girl.
"Really, you're going to hold your breath?" she asked, raising a delicate eyebrow, "Are you a little girl?"
Ruby didn't relent and nobody on her team bothered stopping her. Yang seemed to have fallen asleep in what Jaune couldn't assume was a comfortable position but judging by the look he could see as she turned her face, she seemed to enjoy it.
"Don't tell me we have to wait for you as well," Weiss said, looking at Jaune with her arms crossed. Jaune shook his head in the negative.
"I've been up for a bit now, so it's all yours after Pyrrha's out," he told her, sparing her a glance before watching as Ruby let out deep gasping breaths, unable to hold it in any longer.
"Learned your lesson, Rubes?" Yang called out, obviously not as asleep as she seemed.
"You're all traitors," Ruby said, pouting. The door to the bathroom opened, revealing a freshly showered and dressed Pyrrha, who blinked at the suddenly full room. Ruby's form blurred as she disappeared from her spot, appearing at the door as soon as Pyrrha was out of the way. Weiss was the first to react.
"Hey!"
Ruby stuck her tongue out at her partner before going in and shutting the door behind her.
"I swear, she's such a child," Weiss said, pushing Yang over and sitting at the edge with closed eyes. Yang whined in displeasure, rolling over and ending up nearly half onto Jaune much to his discomfort. The girl didn't seem to notice or care, as she seemed more interested in the warmth from his body.
The boy just let out a forlorn sigh as Pyrrha sat on the armrest beside him, gently taking the book he had been reading and looking through it curiously. Somehow, he just knew they were going to be late.
Notes: Some bonding between Jaune and Blake. Obviously, Blake has some significance in this story. In the team, she's the only person apart from Jaune that's also from the Wilds, and she's also led a violent past with the White Fang.
One thing to address as well. In regards to 'plot-holes', this story is planned quite meticulously. While I can't say I'm infallible and can't make mistakes, a lot of things that might seem like plot-holes are probably anything but. This story very much involves looking for hints and reading between the lines. It's not written from the perspective of an omniscient narrator, it's written from the perspective of the characters themselves, so not everything must be taken at its word. Some of these 'holes' or 'mistakes' might actually be something I put in on purpose because it could have relevance in the future.
Cheers, and leave a review!
knuckz
