Hello? Is there anyone there? Well, I guess there'd be no one considering I haven't updated since…July 27? Man, that's kick to self-esteem. Can't even update a story despite my health issues. Regardless, I'm sorry for the wait.
For those who don't know, or forgot, I was in an accident a few years back that fucked me up and led me to having heart problems and earning hospital visits. The visits have died down a bit, but then COVID had cause more so I've been in a hospital for some time.
That's in the past now so how about we get on with the story.
To Better (K)nights
҉¯`•.¸¸.•´¯Junior's Bar¯`•.¸¸.•´¯҉
The awkward silence that filled the club was practically suffocating as the three parties looked between one another. Said three parties took the time to shift their attention back and forth between each other before Pyre took the initiative and broke the silence.
"Well, it seems like you're busy right now." Pyre said casually, getting everyone to look at her as she wrapped an arm around Jaune's shoulder and gave a quick wave. "We'll come back at a later time."
"No!/Wait!" Pyre looked at the other two parties, seeing Ruby holding out her hand with Junior doing the same behind the counter. Everyone looked at Junior before he coughed into his hand and quickly fixed his posture, adjusting his tie in the process.
"It's fine." Junior said calmly before he looked at the Beacon students. "They were just leaving." Pyre didn't waste time and smiled as she walked up to the bar dragging Jaune along.
"If that's the case, we're going to need to have a talk." The Faunus said, casting a quick look at the Beacon students. "Some privacy would be nice."
"Well…we've been looking for Jaune." Ruby said, giving a small smile. "We wanted to talk…" Jaune froze that before a gentle push from Pyre made him look back and give a light glare.
"That's fine. We're going to be talking for a bit, so here…" Pyre said, dropping her shop's keys into Jaune's hand. "…I'll see you back at the shop." The blonde took a second to look at the keys before focusing on Pyre again, getting a wink and click of the tongue.
"Sure…" Jaune said, turning his attention to the group. "…let's go." No one moved to follow the blonde as he made his way to the doors. "Well?" Jaune asked, looking back at the group before he Blake begin walking towards him. It didn't take long for the others to follow her, picking up their pace to match the two.
"Hold it." Junior said, getting everyone to look at him. "I'm gonna need my payment." That caused everyone to look at one another in confusion. "This isn't how things normally go, but I found the person you were looking for princess." That made everyone focus on Weiss, who had let out a heavy sigh and rolled her eyes before she walked back to the bar and placed a small stack of Lien on the bar. Junior took a second to count the stack before nodding. "Pleasure doing business."
"You paid someone to look for Jaune?" Yang asked, getting Weiss to scoff.
"Of course not!" The heiress said, turning to the bar to look at Pyre. "I was looking for someone else." At that, everyone looked at the Faunus, who lifted a glass of whiskey to the teens.
"Come on." Jaune repeated, getting everyone to look at him as he exited to building.
҉¯`•.¸¸.•´¯Pyre's Shop¯`•.¸¸.•´¯҉
"You going to be okay?" Blake whispered, getting Jaune to rub the back of his head as listened the sounds the others grunting and yelping as well as the sound of punches and smacks connecting. The two were a few feet in front of the others, enough that they wouldn't be able to hear them if they whispered.
"Can't really say. I want to yell them, but I know I have nothing to really yell about." Jaune whispered back. "Part of me want to blow them off but another part wants me to hear them out."
"Anything I can do?" The Faunus asked, getting Jaune to shrug.
"Nothing's really coming to mind." The blonde replied, getting a nod from Blake. The walk back to Pyre's shop was tense and awkward as Jaune tried to ignore what was happening behind him, knowing full well that the others were interrogating Blake to some extent. Even when they had gotten back to the shop, and everyone got settled in different parts of the shop, there was nothing said between them.
"So…" Jaune finally said, getting everyone's attention. "…how are we going to do this?" The blonde aske as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. There was more silence that followed the question before Jaune let out a sigh and shook his head. "Don't all start talking at once…" Despite him saying that, the room still stayed silent, only briefly broken by the various shuffling from the group. After a few minutes of nothing being said, Yang let out an annoyed sigh of her own before she grabbed her head in frustration.
"Okay, this is getting us nowhere!" The brawler said, getting everyone to look at her as she raised her arms. "Someone, say something, anything! All this silence is getting on my nerves!"
"Then why don't you say something Xiao Long?" Weiss asked, crossing her arms.
"Because I'm not the one who was looking for Vomit Boy here!" Yang said, motioning to her fellow blonde, "I don't have to say anything to him."
"Guys-" Jaune started before he was cut off.
"Then why did you bother following us around?" Nora asked, "You could've just done what Weiss did and ignored us!"
"Because I wanted to be there for Ruby!" Yang said, getting up from her seat.
"Is that the only excuse you can come up with!?" Nora shouted back, "Ruby's fifteen! She's attending Beacon Academy! As a team leader no less! What else does she need to be to prove that she can look after herself!?"
"Nora, please-" Ren started, only to flinch when Nora grabbed his outstretched arm.
"Don't, Ren. Just don't." Nora said softly, letting her words, and Ren's arm, hang in the air before she spoke. "You're not here for Jaune like me and Ruby, none of you are." That caught everyone's attention, getting them to look at Nora in surprise. "Ever since the news about his transcripts was blurted out, none of you even talked to him."
"That's because-" Weiss started before Ruby cut her off.
"Because what Weiss? Because Jaune faked his was into Beacon?" The reaper asked, her sudden anger and attitude catching everyone off guard. "Is that even a good reason for you to treat him like he's nothing?"
"No. I…" Weiss started before she fell silent, and Yang jumped in.
"Ruby! This is different! Jaune's could've gotten someone killed!" The blonde said, getting between her sister and Weiss. "All of us have some kind of training so we can at least fight back against Grimm."
"Isn't that why we're at Beacon? To train? To get stronger? To learn how to help!" Ruby said, "None of us can compare to the professors. And I know they weren't that strong when they started Beacon."
"But they knew how to fight before entering Beacon." Yang countered. "They knew what they needed to train. They didn't selfishly put others in danger."
"Then how are you any different? Why did you start a fight in that bar?" Ruby asked, her breathing getting heavier. "I think it was about finding your mother, right? You talk about hurting people for selfish reasons…how many people of that Junior guy did you send to the hospital?" The reaper asked, staring Yang dead in the eyes before the blonde looked away. Unfortunately, that didn't stop Ruby from continuing her rant. "Don't get me started on-"
"Enough…" Jaune calm voice cut through Ruby's rant so clearly that everyone immediately looked at him. When the group looked at the blonde's face, they couldn't help but freeze and take in a sharp breath of air. "…Ruby, sit down." The blonde said, getting the reaper to react immediately and take her seat.
"Jaune-" Pyrrha started before she shut her mouth and stiffen up when Jaune turned his focus on her.
"Now, let's start over. And if you start fighting again…leave." Jaune said, slowly letting his eyes drift over the group. "Got it?" the blonde asked, getting everyone to nod slightly before he closed his eyes and nodded to himself. As he did, everyone began breathing heavily with Weiss and Pyrrha placing a hand on their chest to calm their breathing.
"W-what…" Weiss started, getting Jaune to look at her with one opened eye. "…what was that?"
"What was what?" The blonde asked.
"What the hell was that feeling just now?" Yang asked, pointing at the blonde before flinching and lowering her arm when Jaune looked at her.
"It was almost like…" Pyrrha breathed out, her voice dying. Fortunately, Blake seemed to pick up on what Pyrrha was trying to say and voiced it.
"It was the same feeling when we met your mother." The Faunus said, getting Jaune to widen his eyes a bit. Everyone seemed to flinch and back away from Jaune at Blake's words, each of them remembering their encounter with the woman. "It wasn't exactly like being in front of her again. With her…" Blake started before trailing off, the words needed to explain not coming to mind.
"…it was more, intense, than what you were doing." Ren jumped in, "With her, it felt like we were choking on our own breath. That one word would cause us to fall over dead. With you, it felt like being scolded as a child."
"Really?" Jaune asked skeptically, blinking in surprise when everyone nodded in agreement. "And you said you met my mom?" Jaune asked, getting a hesitant nod from everyone. "When?"
"I-in Ozpin's office. The day Blake was expelled." Ruby said, the fear in her voice immediately cluing Jaune in.
"And she was mad…wasn't she?" The blonde asked.
"If you call that 'mad', then I don't want to know what 'pissed off' is." Yang said before being elbowed by Weiss. Jaune raised an eyebrow in confusion before Ren explained.
"We were called to Ozpin's office yesterday in order to find out who would be replacing you and Blake on our teams." The ninja started, getting Jaune to nod. "According to the headmaster, you left a few things in your room, but they weren't there when the headmaster saw your video." Jaune nodded again, remembering the video he made the night he left Beacon. "That's when your parents entered…"
"…and I'm guessing they wanted to know where I was?" The blonde asked, getting a round of nods from the group. "That doesn't explain why you said it was like being in front of my mother again."
"She…she acted like Yang, when she's throwing a tantrum, and wanted answers." Ruby said, gripping the end of her skirt. "Professor Ozpin didn't answer immediately her and the two of them just stared at one another. After a few minutes, we started to feel like we were going to choke on our own breath. It got worse when Ozpin tried to drink out of his coffee mug…"
"No doubt that if your father hadn't mentioned us being in the office, we'd have been knocked out." Pyrrha said finished, doing her best to look calm. Jaune hummed at the explanation and closed his eyes again before nodding to himself. The others exchanged looks with one another before focusing on Jaune, who kept his eyes closed and kept nodding his head.
"My mom once told me how hard her life had been before she met my dad, that she'd do anything, and everything, to protect our family." Jaune said, getting everyone to jump at his voice before looking at him in confusion. "I was too young to fully understand why…but remembering it now, it makes more sense." The blonde said, giving a small smile that made the others ease up. "She might not have looked like it, but she's the most caring person you've met."
"What does-" Weiss started before Jaune cut in.
"My mom lost her parents when she was young. The orphanage she was put into was destroyed in a Grimm attack and she was the only survivor. She traveled Anima with a few others that were killed by bandits. She joined up with them to make living before they tricked her into losing everything. Then she met my dad…" There was nothing but silence at Jaune's words before he let out a sad chuckle. "…and when my oldest sister was born…"
"So, her attitude…" Yang started before Jaune nodded.
"I guess she was tired of having people taken from her." The blonde said before hanging his head. "And here's her only son, a failure who ran away from home to chase a selfish dream." The silence seemed to settle before Jaune let out a deep breath and shook his head. "Anyway, let's get back on topic. I don't think you're here to listen to my sob story."
"Actually…" Ruby started, getting Jaune to look at her, "…that's kind of the point." The reaper said, giving a small smile. "We…well, Nora and I at least," The Reaper took a second to look at the others before looking back at Jaune. "we wanted to ask you why you came to Beacon." Jaune raised an eyebrow in confusion before looking at everyone else. Aside from Blake, who seem equally confused and surprised, and Weiss, who he knew wasn't with them at the time, the others were focusing on other things around the room.
"I'm surprised Pyrrha didn't tell you." Jaune said, looking at his former partner, causing everyone else to look at her. "I did spill my guts out to you that one night. I don't think that's something you'd forget so easily."
"It wasn't my place to say…" Pyrrha mumbled out. Understanding what she was really saying, Jaune just shrugged before voicing Pyrrha's real thoughts.
"You thought that they'd think you were lying, especially Nora and Ruby, since you didn't stand up for me back at Beacon." Pyrrha nodded in agreement. "Well, I did tell you to leave me alone, can't exactly fault you for listening to me."
"-But still…" Jaune held up a hand to make Pyrrha stop.
"Look, it happened, alright?" The blonde asked, shaking his head when Pyrrha hung hers, focusing on the others. "Anyway, the reason isn't too complicated. It's like I said, I was chasing a selfish dream. I just wanted to be a warrior, a hero, just like my father, my grandfather and his father before him." Jaune said, giving another gentle smile. "I didn't want to be a damsel in distress. I wanted to learn how to protect others like so many adults back home did. To be looked up to and inspire someone else."
"Jaune…" Ruby started before Jaune waved his hand dismissively.
"Then I came to Beacon…" The blonde continued. "…and during the initiation test, I saw all of you fight, putting your all in a fight for your life while I did nothing. I saw Ren weaken a Deathstalker's stinger, Pyrrha use only her shield to cut it off before Nora smashed it into a gorge." Jaune said, waving his arms around to gesture said actions. "All I did was point out the obvious. Imagine how I felt when you girls took down that Nevermore." Jaune said, looking to Ruby and her team. "I got tired of being a lovable goof who would be taken out first while my…classmates…were off fighting for their lives. I got it into my mind that if I couldn't do it on my own…what good was I?" The silence in the room returned with a depressed atmosphere as everyone processed Jaune's words. "I'm pretty sure none of you actually understand how I feel."
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"To feel so…so, powerless despite how much you grew." Jaune said, raising up one hand. "To see the end result of your dreams right in front of you…" The blonde curled his hand into a fist, "…but being able to actually reach it?" He took a second to look at the others. "It stings honestly. I knew I was getting stronger each day I stayed at Beacon…then I remembered that all of you were as well. No matter how much I trained at Beacon was nothing compared how much each of you trained before Beacon."
"Arc…" Weiss started…her face tightening as she tried to find something to say.
"How simple of a goal is wanting to be a 'someone looked up to' compared wanting to changing the White Fang? Or to wanting to travel the world? Or even wanting to do your duty as a person of influence?" Jaune asked. Yang, Weiss and Blake all looked away from Jaune before he shrugged. "All I needed to do it just get anyone to say that they want to be like me in some way. I couldn't do that before coming to Beacon…and I certainly couldn't do it after coming…"
"That doesn't you failed." Ruby reasoned.
"Yeah. I bet that without Beacon you could inspire tons of people!" Nora added, getting Jaune to smile bitterly.
"Can you really say that to someone who's killed?" Jaune said, immediately killing the reassuring mood Ruby and Nora tried raising. "I'm sure all you know about Torchwick's death. And the fact that I'm the one who pulled the trigger." The blonde said as he looked at his hand. "In the heat of the moment, it felt natural, but looking back at it now, I realized I could've done something else. Can I really be considered a hero when the first natural instinct I had was to kill someone?"
"Jaune…" The blonde looked at Ruby and sigh when he saw her stiffen up again.
"Tell me, Ruby, what would you have done? Would you even think of killing him? Or just arresting him?" Jaune asked, getting no response. "I think I know the answer…"
"But Ruby-" Weiss started, jumping when Jaune cut her off.
"-is not the same as me and that's my point!" Jaune said as he pointed to everyone. "How many of you would've gone for the kill first? I always thought that when it came to stopping the bad guy, I would take the most peaceful option." The blonde continued before he pulled his hand back and curled up a bit. "In every story I was ever told, the hero does his best to save everyone, even the bad guy. Because they believed that there was good in everyone, but me? My instinct was to kill a man who lost the fight, to end a life instead of believing there was something he could do to change."
No one said a thing as they looked at Jaune, his body shaking as he held in his sobs. Any personal feelings towards the blonde were immediately washed away at his explanation and replaced by a heavy guilt.
"What kind hero would I become if I stayed at Beacon?" Jaune's words, echoed throughout the store, getting no response.
"You'd be a hero that no one else would be able to match." Everyone jumped at the new voice and looked towards the door's entrance to see Pyre, a knowing smirk on her face as she stepped inside and closed the door.
Man, that took a lot out of me. I know this chapter is all over the place but it's hard to write something when your body's tired constantly and you only get a laptop like once a week to work on things.
I'll finally be getting out of this medical hell in a week and hopefully I'll be able to write a bit more. Unfortunately, I made that promise before and look what happened. So, instead I'll just say that I'll do my best and keep this story running, or rather gimping, along.
Until next time, See ya.