Hello and welcome back to another chapter! I hope you enjoy it!
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Ruby's POV
"He couldn't come again?" I heard Weiss say from beside of me. We were currently in the library doing some homework for our classes. We actually set up a study session with Team JNPR but there was a problem.
"Nope, he's hanging out with his friends right now." Nora said with an aggravated sigh. I let out a sigh of my own, this has made the third time that Jaune had skipped out on us all. Whatever kind of dirt Cardin has on Jaune, I don't know, but it was starting to aggravate me.
"I don't get it. We're his team, if he has any kind of problems he should come to us. I'm sure that whatever he's hiding isn't that bad." Nora continued, her frustration becoming even more relevant.
She plumped down in a seat, and leaned back, exhaustion exuding from her form.
She looked at us with hope filled eyes, "Do you girls have any ideas. We are open to all suggestions at this point." She said.
We looked to one another before Blake spoke "Have you told him your concerns about your team? He is your leader, he should take your guys feelings and concerns quiet seriously." She said, throwing out the idea to the three of them.
Nora just shook her head, "We already tried that. It looked like it was having the most success but in the end it didn't work." She said, another sigh escaping her lips. "We told him that what he was doing wasn't healthy for him or for the team. We told him that we are willing to help if he just lets us, but... he turned it down." She continued her previous statement, the tiredness in her voice only becoming more pronounced.
We looked at each other with clear concern on our faces. Jaune is our friend, and what he is doing had a clear affect on us. It didn't affect our school work thankfully, but the same couldn't be said for Team JNPR. It has effected them in both school work and socially. Whatever Cardin has on Jaune, it must be pretty big for him to continue to do something like this.
A ring of Weiss's scroll interrupted the moment of temporary silence. She looked down to it, surprise spreading across her features. "It's already time?" I heard her mutter before looking to the three of us, an embarrassed smile on her face. "Looks like I'm going have to leave now, I completely forgot about training with Winter." She said in an just as embarrassed tone.
I smile, "It's ok Weiss. Will you still be able to come with us to the Emerald Forest?" I questioned her with a tilt of my head. She smiles down at me and nods, "Yeah I should be able to, meet you at 6:00 for dinner?" I nod at her question and she turns back towards her stuff.
Weiss started training with Winter about two weeks ago. When Winter first offered help train her, she at first was extremely reluctant to do so, saying that she didn't want to leave us out. We assured her that she wouldn't and had to basically beg her to go train. After all, Winter is an elite Huntress from Atlas, you would have to be pretty dumb to pass up an opportunity like that.
We were finally able to convince her when we said that we could push our training time back later into the day. Beacon highly recommended not going into the Emerald Forest after hours, but they didn't forbid it. We did had to sign a clause though that they weren't responsible for any kind of injuries that we sustained when they expressively told us not to.
"I'm going to be late." Weiss worriedly muttered under her breath while looking at her stuff. It would be a decent detour and would probably make her late. She's always been the kind of person who hates to keep people waiting.
Taking pity, I spoke up, "Weiss, you go on, I can take your stuff to our room." She looked over at me, a conflicted look spreading across her face. A small smile then spread across my mine, " Really, it's fine Weiss, I need to get something from the room anyway." I reassured her. She obviously wasn't happy that she was dropping her stuff on me, but a smile graced her face anyway.
"Thank you Ruby. You're too kind to me." She said, walking up and planting a kiss on my forehead. I blushed at the unexpected kiss, not expecting Weiss's soft lips to grace me. I smile up to her and just when she was about to leave, Blake spoke up, "Hey, were is my goodbye kiss?" She said, a clear teasing tone taking over her voice. "Yeah Weiss, where is my kiss as well." Yang called out it an equally teasing voice.
Weiss looked over to the two of them and rolled her eyes, "You two are insufferable sometimes, you know that?" She said to them with a smile, walking up and placing over exaggerated kisses on their heads.
"Yeah, but you know you love us." Yang answered, her teasing smile still present while wiping her head. Weiss again only rolled her eyes, "For some reason I do." She said before turning around and hurrying out the library.
We sat in relative silence for a moment until I clapped my hands on my thighs and picked myself up. Doing a little stretch, I headed over to Weiss's stuff, "You guys can go ahead and start, I shouldn't take to long." They all nodded my way and opened their textbooks.
I left to the sounds of them discussing what they should study first. I rounded the corner and made my to our room. When I made it to the hallway our room was in, I was surprised to of spotted the man of the hour himself, "Jaune? What are you doing here?" I called out to him. He jumped at my words, clearly not expecting me whatsoever.
He turned around and the agitation that was in his eyes softened when he saw me, looking almost relieved. "Ruby? I was just getting something from our room is all." He said, before a look of realization spread across his face and along with it, any sense of relief.
"Well, I got to go. Hope to see you soon Ruby." He said after a brief bout of silence, speedily turning around.
Frustration wells up inside me, this has gotten out of hand, now he won't even have a conversation with me. I got to get to the bottom of this. "Jaune, what's wrong?" I called out to him. He stopped for a moment before he spoke, not turning towards me, I noted. "Nothing is wrong Ruby, I'm fine." His voice was slightly more agitated than moments before, something is wrong.
"Don't lie to me Jaune, we all know something is wrong. All you have to do is just tell us what..."
"I said I'm fine Ruby! This is just a temporary thing. I'll be back soon, I promise." He interrupted, now turning towards me. My irritation wells up even more at his words, he said that the last time, and time before that. It was obvious that Cardin wasn't going to let him go.
"You said that the last time Jaune, and time before that as well. I know you know that Cardin isn't going to let you go. Your team is worried about you Jaune, if you don't want to explain it to our team than that's fine, we don't deserve, or have earned, an explanation from you anyway. But your team has. Whatever is wrong, it can't be that big that they would see you any differently." I told him, trying to get him to at least speak to his team. It was silent for a moment, but I could see that I was losing him, so I tried one final approach.
"If you don't want to talk about it with your team, then maybe mention it to a teacher, or maybe your family. But just talk about Jaune, don't bottle this up." I said to him, a little bit of pleading making it into my voice.
Jaune still looked conflicted, he is having a war with himself inside his head, debating on wether to talk about or not. I can only hope that he makes the right decision.
He turns around and walks down the hall, not speaking a single word. Thinking of one more thing off the top of my head, I called out to him, "My sisters and I are going to the Emerald Forest to train after dinner. You and your team are welcome to come if you want to." He didn't turn around or give any kind of notation that he heard me, he only continued to walk down the hallway.
Once he rounded it and was out of sight, I released a sigh that I didn't even know that I was holding, and opened up our door. After gently placing Weiss's stuff down on her bed, I retrieved what I needed and headed back down towards the library. All I could do now, was hope and pray that Jaune makes the right decision.
Jaune's POV
I walked down the hallway with my thoughts weighing heavily on me, with Ruby's words echoing loudly in my head. I know that I'm hurting my team, and I hate myself for it, but I know I can do this. That I can handle myself.
I don't want to drag them into a mess that I created all on my own. It was my own fault that I lied to get here and I'm paying for the consequences of that decision now. Ruby is more than likely right, that my team wouldn't see me any differently. Hell, I told Pyrrha and she hasn't thought any less of me, she even offered to train me. But, like the idiot I am, I turned down her kind gesture, just like I know I won't tell Nora and Ren my secret. The only reason I told Pyrrha is because I needed to vent all the pent up stress out, but after the clarity and euphoria settled to the way side, my heart and soul felt like they were gripped in a vice. Like my world could shatter at any moment now that I told her.
I know I'm being stupid, the proof that they wouldn't think any less of me was already there, but there was still that small part that said otherwise. And that small part petrified me. That if I told them, they would look down on me like I'm the worst thing to ever exist. I know it's stupid, in fact, it's bat-shit insane that they would think of me like that. They aren't like that, they aren't those kinds of people. I knew this, but even if it didn't terrify me as much as it did, and I was willing to tell and share it with them, then the other reason why is all enough. Because as much as I'm afraid of their reactions, I'm even more terrified of my families upon seeing me coming home.
Dad and I had a pretty big fight before I left for Beacon. I've always wanted to become a Hunter, to serve the people of Remnant and be a hero, but dad disagreed. He said that our family's fighting days were over, that we've done more than several lifetimes worth of duty to Remnant and that it was time for the Arc family to retire from fighting and settle down.
It's the reason why he never sent me to a Combat School, always saying that it was time to lay back and relax. But I didn't listen, and applied to Beacon anyway. It was mainly just to spite him if I was being honest with myself, that I wouldn't let my fate be decided by him. I love my dad, I really do, but I wasn't going to let him tell me what to do.
I was fully prepared for Beacon to find that my transcripts were forged and nothing but a lie. I would of probably sulked for a bit before picking myself back up and instead join the military. Sure, it wasn't as flashy as a Hunter, but I would still be protecting the world, doing my ancestors and my childhood self proud. I was fully prepared for that. So it came to an immense shock that I was accepted.
I had to re-read the letter three times before having one of my sisters read it to confirm it. I was in that much shock.
After confirming that I wasn't dreaming, I was absolutely ecstatic. My dream would actually come true, I would be a hero, just like the stories I heard growing up. When dad finally got home and saw the letter himself, he nearly had a heart attack.
I vividly remember him looking at me with distraught horror, like the world just came crashing down. He begged and begged me to not go, to stay at home and enjoy the rest my ancestors gave their lives for. But I refused. The shouting match we had lasted for hours, with neither of us giving up.
I went to bed absolutely exhausted that night, I would have to had leave the next morning to make it in time for Beacon. I barely got any rest.
But the most damning thing of all, and why I would do damn near anything to keep my secret from getting out, is the words I said to him, and by extension, the rest of my family, before I left.
'I won't return until I'm a Hunter.' As soon as those words left my mouth, I felt immediate regret for saying them, but it was to late, the damage was done. Dad didn't even look surprised anymore, he just had a dead look in his eyes, instead he just gave a short 'ok' before handing me our family heirloom and turning away from me. He didn't say a single word, and even though I wanted to at that moment, to say at least sorry for that, nothing came out. Instead, I turned around and didn't look back, slowly regretting my decision more day by day.
I made a promise with myself that day, one that I've came to regret but have to follow through. I wouldn't be able to face him, my mother, or any of my sisters if I gave up now. There possible reactions of seeing me coming home a failure terrified me to my core. I was to far deep into this to turn back and go home.
"Ah, Jaune, right on time." The insufferable voice of my tormentor called out to me. I didn't even know I walked this far. I looked to him and his cronies, malevolent smirks crossing their faces. "I just have one last thing for you to do and then your free, I'm serious this time, all that is needed is for you to do, is follow us in Forever Fall tomorrow and do one little thing after we collect our sap." Cardin said in a malicious tone of voice.
I had a bad feeling about this. "What is it?" I questioned him, keeping it short. His smile only grew, "I'll tell you in the forest itself." He said, throwing an arm around me, and started to walk. All I could do was internally sigh and just hope and pray that he'll let me tomorrow.
Ruby's POV
"He isn't going to come." Pyrrha said worldly from beside of me. All of us, Team JNPR and my sisters included, were standing at the edge of the cliffs of the Emerald Forest. After our study session we went to the cafeteria to have dinner. We met up with Weiss, but Jaune never arrived.
We waited and waited for him in the line but he never showed up. Thinking he might for some reason already be at the cliffs, we came here, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen. Nora was currently calling him on his scroll but he wasn't picking up. The look of frustration, anger, and hints of sadness was not a great thing to look at. Nora is always upbeat, never letting things get to her and always staying on the bright side. So to see her like this was heartbreaking.
Nora let out a long, drawn out sigh, before a look of resolve spread across her face. She then turned to our team and spoke, "I'm sorry, but it looks like I won't be training with you guys today." She said in a sad tone of voice. My already bummed mood lowered when she said that, this was supposed to be a fun time with all of us, to unwind and get some great practice in before going too Forever Fall tomorrow. I really thought Jaune was going to come, but it seems I was wrong. My anger at Cardin only increased, I swear I can't wait to get my hands on him.
"Now hold on Nora, just because Jaune isn't here doesn't mean that you don't have to train." Ren said from beside her, trying to convince her to stay. Nora looked at Ren and just smiled, "No, I better go find Jaune and make sure he's ok, he might of stood us up before but he's never not answered his scroll." She said to him, pocketing her scroll before turning to the four of us and giving a small bow, "Sorry for wasting your guy's time." She said before turning around and walking back towards Beacon proper.
Pyrrha looked at Nora with a complicated look before turning to us and gave a sorry smile. She then to turned and followed after Nora to assist in finding Jaune with Ren following soon after. We were alone.
It was silent for a moment before Yang spoke, "Well, this sucks." She said, stretching out her arms and turning towards the cliffs.
"That it does. I swear, I half the mind to go straighten out Jaune myself. I understand he is dealing with something but it is severely hampering his team." Weiss called out, taking out her weapon and doing a few practice swings. She was clearly frustrated with the Jaune situation, but she was trying, and failing, not to let it get to her.
Blake sighed from beside me, "I agree with you, but Jaune is more than likely thinking that he can figure this out by himself. He strikes me as the kind of person that doesn't want to drag people into situations that he thinks he created for himself, no matter how self destructing it may be." She said, taking out Gambol Shroud and doing a few test swings herself.
Weiss rolled her eyes, "Is that what your psychology books say." She said in a mocking tone of voice she didn't mean to. She seemed to realize it to if the guilty look she had was anything to go by. She was about to apologize, but Blake just held her hand up and smiled, already forgiving Weiss even though she felt she didn't have to.
"As a matter of fact, yes, they do." She said, looking out over the Forest below. Ever since that one time that group of kids bullied me, Blake took a keen interest in Psychology. She said the reason being was, "Why would anyone want to bully someone as cute as Ruby?" Even years later, the memory still makes me blush, more now than ever.
A temporary bout of silence fell over us before Yang spoke again, "So, how are we doing this? Solo, duos, or all four of us?" She questioned, turning towards me for an answer.
I shrug my shoulders, not really caring what we do, but as team leader I guess I should give out some orders. "I say we should pair up. Formations Enabler and Monochrome, sound good?" I question them and they just nod my way. I smile there way and head towards the cliff, smiling about our pair names. They were actually something I came up with out of boredom one day, and the others seemed to like it, so we just went with it.
"Alright, it's 7:00 right now, so how about we meet up here in two hours and switch partners?" I say to them and they nod again. With a nod of my own, I drop down the face cliff, soon followed by the rest. Yang and I went left while the other two went right.
We casually strolled for a few minutes, taking in the beauty the late afternoon sun cast down on the forest. Fireflies were lighting up the clearing a little bit, giving the place a nice atmosphere.
I looked over to Yang, who was looking all about, trying to find any kind of Grimm to engage. Her eyes drift to me, and once locked, her neutral face gained a smile. I only smiled back, enjoying the time with my oldest sister.
She opened her mouth and spoke, a tad bit of sadness coating her voice, "It's a shame that Team JNPR couldn't be here. I would of loved to train with them." She said, losing a bit of her smile. My smile drops a little to at the mention of our friends, all I could think about was the trouble they were going through and how useless I felt for not being able to help them. Isn't this why I wanted to join Beacon in the first place? To help people? Now that there is actually people who need help, my friends at that, and I can't do or think of anything to help, I felt like I already failed.
Yang sighed, her smile completely gone, "Ruby, if you for some reason face a problem like Jaune is right now, or just have any kind of concerns in general, then don't be afraid to ask any of us for help. We will always be here for you Ruby, remember that." She said in the most sincere and serious voice she could muster.
I look down at my feet for a moment before looking back to her. I guess I should take her up on the offer now. With a sigh, I spoke, "Do you mind to talk right now then?" I asked her a little shyly, feeling a little embarrassed for some reason. Yang apparently didn't expect that, but she quickly wiped the surprise off her face and smiled warmly at me.
Walking over to a tree, she sat down and gestured for me to sit between her legs. Doing as asked, I sat in the spot she indicated, leaning my body back against her. The way her big, soft breasts pressed into my back was extremely comforting. She placed her arms around me and pulled me closer, her face now resting on my shoulder.
"Now," she began, "tell your big sister all your woes and worries. We got all the time in the world Ruby, so take your time." My heart clenched at her kind and soft words. Gaining my breath and thoughts, I began speaking, "It's just... that I feel like I've already failed somehow." She didn't speak up, letting me explain why I felt so.
"I wanted to be a Huntress to help people in need, to make a difference in people's lives. You know this, I've told you, Blake and Weiss it a million times, but I think I've failed that already. This situation with Jaune and his team has left me thinking and pondering, they need help, but I can't do nothing to help. Jaune won't ask for help and his team is paying for it. Sure, I talked to him in the hallway and tried to convince him otherwise, but it didn't work." I finish, taking in a deep breath.
After a moment of silence, Yang spoke, "You know what I think?" She asked in a calm tone of voice, "I think you haven't failed Ruby, not even close." I turned to her, our noses almost touching, a small blush started to creep up on my face at our closeness as I continued to stare into her purple eyes.
"You said yourself that you spoke to Jaune, that you tried to get through to him. Sure, he didn't show up, but you tried, and that's all that can be asked of you." I was about to speak up, but I held my breath, instead letting Yang continue. "Ruby, you wanting to help people in need is great, but you should know that even though you may do your best to help someone, you still may fail sometimes. Because no matter how much you want and are willing to help, if that person doesn't want it, then there is nothing you can do. So don't put yourself down over this Jaune situation, he'll ask for help when he is ready and then that golden heart of yours can really shine. You've done what you can at the moment Ruby, you offered to help him, and that's more than enough. You have no idea how proud Blake, Weiss and I are of you at the moment." She said, eyes full of pride and admiration.
I am willing to admit that my heart stopped beating for a second and that I did start tearing up a bit. My blush burned hotter, but all I could do I was smile and lay back into her embrace. I needed that; I'm so glad I have such an amazing sister.
Our little bonding time was interrupted by the howl of a Beowulf. We lazily look over to where we heard it and saw a lone one, with almost no bone armor to speak of. It must be very young to have almost no armor.
It charges at us, intent on ripping us to shreds. It may of even succeeded if I didn't take out Crescent Rose and blow a fist sized hole straight through its head.
"Can't you see we're having a moment right now." I bitterly mumbled, mad at the fact our little cuddle time was interrupted. Yang only giggled and pulled me even closer, "Ah, you're just to cute sometimes Ruby!" She said, a free hand of hers rubbing my head.
I was slightly embarrassed and annoyed that she was messing up my hair, but I just resigned myself to let her do it. She deserved it.
We sat there for a few more minutes until another group of howls broke us up. Seeing that there were more of them in this group and that they actually had some kind of armor, I sighed in contempt and reluctantly left Yang's comforting embrace.
We both stood up and put our backs to each other, ready to unleash carnage on the Grimm around us. Before we charged, I asked Yang a final question, "Yang," she turned her head back at my voice, "when did you get so wise?" I asked her in a more teasing than anything tone of voice. Yang only smirked at my question and replied back in the same tone, "That's a secret only big sisters know." She said before turning back. I only lightly smiled at her answer and prepared myself for the slaughter to come.
Well here it is! The next chapter! Kind of short, I know, but next should be a decent amount longer, so look forward to that!
This chapter could of gone better, that's for sure, but it could of gone a lot worse if I went with my original idea!
Also, yes I can see that I'm making Jaune a little ooc, but there is a method to my madness, I assure you. Next chapter is going to be very pivotal and it will MASSIVELY impact the story. I have a lot to think about, so please, shoot your thoughts my way, I love to hear them.
If you liked or disliked this chapter, then please let me know. Maybe you thought this was the best thing since sliced bread, or the worst thing since the Disney Star Wars sequel trilogy. If you have any kind of suggestions that may help me improve my writing and this story then please, let me know. It only helps.
Also, another idea I commandeered from Sisterhood, ship names when they are paired with one another! I thought that was amazing and decided to use it, so probably expect more of that.
Well, that is all I can think of, again, please, send any kind of comment my way, I love to hear them. So until next time, and have an amazing day!
