A few minutes after he was left alone, at least in the physical sense, Adam had finished feeding their body as Jaune was still occupied with his thoughts on Blake and then they heard an announcement echo from the many speakers in the ceiling. And so that was how he found himself walking down a dirt path in a forest. 'What kind of initiation takes place on a cliff?' Jaune wondered as he made his way to where an older student had kindly directed him.
"How should I know?" Although Adam still remained emotionally distant, right now Jaune could feel that he was currently relaxed.
'Why didn't we tell Blake what happened to you? You said you've known her for a long time, so doesn't she deserve to know what happened? That you died?' Jaune risked the small amount of ground he had gained with Adam, this question had been sitting in the back of his mind for a while now.
"…It won't matter." There was something concealed deep within his tone. "When our deal is done and I pass on, nothing else would matter." Adam's calm voice didn't match with how restrained his emotions had felt to Jaune. "Don't bother her with anything, got it?"
'…Fine, if you say so.' After he relented, the sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling in the wind made a certain scene flash through his mind. 'So… how'd you die?' Jaune asked the other soul inside his body.
Adam kept quiet for a while and flashes of darkness, fire and pain reached Jaune. "I rather not talk about it yet."
A few seconds passed in, what Jaune considered to be, awkward silence. The path he was following didn't have a clear lane, only a loose line of hard dirt that was clearly different from the surrounding lush grass led him. And as he went deeper into the woods, where grass had begun sprouting on his path. 'Are we lost?' He wondered.
However, before he could get an answer from Adam, Jaune spotted someone else walking in the woods. Quickly he hopped over bushes and ducked under branches as he swapped paths and began to run up to the person he spotted. Perhaps it was the sounds of the rapidly crunching leaves or snapping twigs, additionally Jaune had not made an overt attempt to make his presence known, either way he shouldn't have been surprised when an iron mace swung past the tip of his nose.
For a moment all Jaune could hear was the sounds of steel violently displacing wind and the rustling of leaves being tossed around by the wind pressure. "Idiot!" Adam screamed after he forced their body to fall backwards before their head could be smashed. "What were you thinking?"
"Oh, it's you." The steel mace didn't make another attempt at harming him, instead it rested upon the shoulder of the boy Jaune had met earlier. "What was that? Trying to get some revenge or something?" For the second time today, he stared down at the fallen boy, this time he didn't appear uninterested.
Jaune was frozen, his mind hadn't caught up to reality. "Sorry about that." His mouth spoke. "I'm an idiot from a backwater town safe from any threats, but even I should have known not to sneak up on someone trained to fight." An excuse fled his mouth, his tone clearly laced with venom directed at himself. Adam wasn't entirely comfortable with having to make an excuse that implied he was referring to himself like that, so he focused his anger inwards as he spoke.
The brown haired boy in armor chuckled, his face taking on something resembling pleasure at forcing someone to lower their own worth in front of him. "It's no problem, I can clearly tell you aren't the sharpest around, and it's not like you could've even scratched me, so I'll let it slide for now." His chest puffed up and his lips curled up in a grin.
Adam forced more anger, and now hatred, back down and towards Jaune. The way this boy spoke as if he was naturally superior was infuriating, but considering how Jaune appeared with absolutely zero signs of any training, Adam understood where someone could see just how naturally inferior Jaune was.
"…Sorry." Jaune mumbled, his mind was finally back on track and he had understood what Adam was talking about.
"It's fine." The boy shrugged and rolled his eyes. "So let's go already." He added as he held out his hand to the fallen boy.
Although confused Jaune reached up, his hand was almost crushed by the grip he was met with and his body was jerked up and off the ground. "Ah!" He exclaimed as his toes dangled off the ground.
"Oops! Sorry." The boy released his hold and dropped him. "Guess I just don't know my own strength that well." His voice was entirely unconvincing.
Adam had ensured they didn't collapse down to the ground as he corrected Jaune's legs, and his anger was boiling inside their mind.
"I-It's okay." Jaune mumbled as he held his bruised hand and let his Aura heal it, as he looked up from his healing injury, he was met with a blank stare.
The boy didn't have an expression as he stared at the fading bruise. Unblinking eyes, eyebrows completely flat, lips frozen in a straight line, not even the slightest muscle of his face twitched. Seconds of absolute silence passed before he blinked. "Winchester, Cardin Winchester." He smiled as he pointed a thumb at the bird emblem on his armor. "Let's go already!" He cheerfully said as he patted Jaune on the back and pushed him forward as he walked.
Jaune stumbled as Adam released his control over his legs, he quickly picked up his pace to not fall over. "Uh, okay." He said still mostly confused. "A-Arc, Jaune Arc." He mumbled out.
Cardin took a second before he spoke again. "Say Jaune boy, what's your family like?" He suddenly asked.
"Um, uh, nice, I guess."
A low chuckle, and then Cardin rephrased his questions. "I meant in the big picture, as in your lineage and its current standing."
"Fine, I guess, my, uh great-great-grandfather used to be the knight of some big family but during the Great War the lord failed to manage their land and the citizens rebelled and then fled when Grimm attacked. So when he returned he became something like a leader to those who remained."
"And now?"
"Oh, uh, well with Vale expanding and advancing most of the citizens eventually moved to the capital, there's about eighty people, split between twenty-four families left."
Another chuckle. "Fates a funny thing, the Great War was where my great grandfather proved his true worth, he was given land and a title in return for his accomplishments. Someday I'll be in charge, I'll be responsible for the lives and wellbeing of upwards of two thousand people, and when that time comes, I'll want people I can trust around me." Cardin finished by removing his hand from Jaune's back and placed it on his shoulder. "Stick with me, I can already tell just what you're worth, and with a little help from yours truly, I can help restore your family to where they belong."
Jaune didn't quite know what to make of what he assumed to be an offer. "Uh, sure, I guess." He blinked as his brain worked to comprehend what was happening. "…so, friends?" He asked with a puzzled tone.
This time Cardin didn't chuckle, he laughed heartily. "Yeah, sure, friends." And he extended a hand again.
Hesitantly, Jaune reached out, this time he was given a firm but cordial handshake.
"And some advice from a friend." Cardin started as he ended the handshake. "Throw away that stupid thing you were wearing in the morning."
Jaune rolled his eyes. "C'mon, you too?" He groaned exasperated. "I happen to like how it feels on my skin, and what's so wrong with the bunny? It's practically the same principle as that crest on your armor."
"Hah! Nice one! But I'll have you know this stupid bird is the rose-breasted grosbeak, and although it has a long and stupid story behind it, it's still a thousand times more impressive than a silly cereal mascot." Cardin laughed as he waved a hand in the air dismissively.
"Whatever! it's not like pajamas are supposed to be flaunted in the first place, they're for sleeping in!"
Adam remained completely silent as the conversation devolved into petty and meaningless arguing. It did concern him who Jaune befriended or was used by, in a few days Jaune's life would be over.
In just a few moments, Jaune and Cardin joined the rest of the students at the top of a cliff. He was guided on to a iron slab by the Glynda Goodwitch, he gave a little wave to the girl standing next to him, Ruby, and the girl next to her, Yang. Ruby smiled in response and Yang winked back.
Next to Yang was Cardin, who was currently focused on what Headmaster Ozpin was saying. Next to him were the pair he had met during breakfast, and further down was Schnee, who appeared to be glaring at him for some reason. The last person in the line up was Blake Belladonna, she was a little too far for Jaune to make out her expression.
Done distracting himself from his fear of heights, he turned his attention to Ozpin. "-the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
'What?!' As Jaune questioned reality, he heard Ruby vocalize his thoughts, she sounded just as shocked as he did. It was somewhat a relief to him, it meant his confusion wasn't because he hadn't been properly prepared.
"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."
'We got this right!? You'll help me right!?' Panic began to grab a hold of Jaune's mind, he had seen enough to know just how dangerous being a Huntsmen was, enough to know that before a single day ago he knew a lost nothing of how the real world operated in regards to Huntsmen. A question began to circulate in his mind. 'You're real, right? Not just a figment of my imaginations right? All that stuff you said about Aura is true, right?'
"Calm down!" Adam shouted, the more Jaune panicked the harder it was for him to focus on his own thoughts. "Deep breaths!" He advised.
Jaune laughed nervously and then gulped loudly before taking a deep breath in, and just as he was about to exhale, he felt a violent force that shot him to the sky.
"Ahh!-" A scream was cut short, a wild and panicked expression snapped to one of stern calmness as a red shimmered over his body. "AhhHhah!" The scream echoed in his skull as Jaune continued to panic.
Adam didn't dedicate a single bit of attention to him, his entire focus was elsewhere. He closed his eyes and the world around him faded away, in his mind a burning mass of red flames deep inside his soul expanded and eclipsed his body. Slowly he felt where and how the wind was pushing against his body, he snapped his eyes open and righted his previously wildly spinning body.
As the flames eclipsed his body and absorbed the thermal and kinetic energy from the gasses in wind that was pressuring his body, his descent slowed down. Although gas itself had plenty of energy, it was also that hardest for his flames to consume and that was true even in his best shape. When he used the ability formed by his soul, he naturally consumed energy to use it, but at this rate even though he absorbed energy he was operating at a loss. He couldn't absorb more than he consumed.
As he approached the forest ground, falling only slightly slower than otherwise, his hands gripped an unfamiliar hilt, and his invisible flames eclipsed the outline of the sword. He angled his feet before they collided with the dirt, his body flared red at the impact as a wave of invisible flames washed over his body. His feet left behind two deep trails as he skidded to a halt.
The mass of invisible flames eventually calmed down and Adam was pleasantly surprised. 'I guess I underestimated your body.' He admitted and sheathed his new sword.
"…Wat?" Jaune, who had gone from panicked to amazed, responded.
Adam decided that there was no point in concealing it. 'My Semblance is called Moonslice, it allows me to store and release energy. Everything naturally has a limit of what could be stored inside, if I went over that limit they break, as a measure to ensure I was always safe I've invested in a sword far stronger than any other, of course that does come with its own faults but nothing I didn't make up for.'
"Wait what?"
'Naturally the energy I store is first absorbed into my body, and then I transfer it into the medium, so I was concerned your body would be unable to hold the energy from impact, I was prepared to sacrifice your sword if needed. That is because the more familiar I am with an object the better I can effectively store energy within its natural gaps, the risk of me shattering this sword was high.'
"Huh, oh, uh." Jaune stumbled over himself as he tried to wrap his head around what he just learned.
"Relax, Jaune. We've got this." Adam spoke as a smile slipped over his lips. Deep in the corners of his mind, far from where Jaune could intrude, he was counting on the divulgence of his abilities would lead Jaune to trust him even more. The longer Adam was piloting his new body the more familiar he got with it and the easier it was to find the gaps within Jaune's soul.
Aura was a common energy used to empower people and attacks, he had absorbed more than his fair share of attacks coated with it, but he had never thought of absorbing it directly from the source.
"There's nothing to worry about." Adam reassured Jaune. 'Let me handle this, let this be your first practical lesson. Learn from my movements.'
"O-okay, you've got this. I'll just sit back and watch." Jaune could feel confidence and a sense of joy from Adam.
The sound of rushing wind, crunching leaves and snapping twigs came from behind his body, and in an instant Adam had drawn his sword and slashed backwards. A smooth slice for Jaune, but sluggish to Adam but even then he didn't expect it to miss.
A red blur ducked beneath the slash and smashed into his body, toppling him over. The impact forced out all the air from his lungs and displaced the sensation between his soul and body, his middle finger was now controlling the thumb of Jaune's body. He didn't panic, Jaune did though which only made it harder to realign everything. It might have been lucky he was unable to skewer or punch the figure that collided with him, because when he was able to see through his eyes once more, he saw silver eyes.
Silver eyes blinked away their apparent confusion. "Oh hey, Jaune!" Ruby Rose exclaimed from her position of practically straddling his fallen body. She kicked off the ground like her legs were springs and stood over him. "Need a hand?" She asked with a smile as she held out her hand for him. "Partner?" She finished with a wide smile.
Although Adam was unimpressed with his current capabilities, and the fact that if this girl was an enemy he could've easily been killed by her, Jaune felt unbelievably relaxed to meet and relieved that his partner was a familiar face.
Hello, and thanks for reading! And a big thank you to everyone for continuing to read my fic.
I'm feeling a lot better but I did find it a tad bit difficult to get back into writing for my stories.
Ah, Cardin, what a nice friend he will be. I'm claiming the bird on his armor is rose-breasted grosbeak because it's related to the cardinals family of birds, and normal cardinals didn't seem important enough for a family crest. Whereas the bird I've selected is also know as the "cut-throat" because the red on its front looks like fresh blood. Also I thought it would be funny if Cardin was included with Adam and Ruby for their rose imagery.