A/N (3/26/2022): Nothing much to say, really.
Some changes to some colors in previous chapters, which are noted at the top. Not really too important to your enjoyment.
Beta: The Path of a Writer
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
It was a foggy early morning. A chill accompanied the bare few rays of sunshine that peaked through the tiny gaps between the clash of traditional and modern buildings. Even at this hour, there were people already going about their busy daily lives.
Like, for example, an elderly man with blond hair, strolling down the street with a duffel bag over one shoulder.
Light wore his usual checkered shirt and shorts, hiding his well developed musculature with the look of a man in his retirement ready to go golfing. However, his expression did not look so carefree. His golden, almost white brows were furrowed in concentration, clearly contemplating a serious matter. It deepened his wrinkles, giving him an aged, wiser image. Sometimes, he grunted and shook his head, perhaps rejecting especially grievous ideas. His thoughts were clearly quite deep, such that any interruption would be met with annoyance.
"Hi, have you heard about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?"
His thoughts disrupted, Light turned to the speaker with an expression filled with fury. An expression that melted away quickly as the kid who had said the phrase recoiled in fright. "Apologies, youngling." He said, trying to put on a more grandfatherly look with his demeanor. "There are… important matters at hand."
The kid looked to be around ten year old, in the early elementary school age range.
"Ah, adult stuff? I get it. My parents are busy a lot and I know I shouldn't bother them unless it's something really important. I'm sorry."
Light snorted. "You have a way with words. There is no harm done. Then, I'll be on my way - "
"But," The boy added. "Even though they are busy, they always have time for God. Adult stuff can be really tiring for both the body… and the soul. Why not spend some time on your relationship with God?"
"...You really do have a way with words." It took him a moment to process the situation, before he started laughing out loud.
The kid looked confused at his reaction. "Ah, are you an a - a… laziest? Are you a laziest who doesn't believe in God?"
"Oh, I'm not an atheist. I believe that gods exist, alright." He said with amusement. "I don't think I am reaching a conclusion to my problem anytime soon. A change of pace is welcome." He knelt down so that he could talk to the child at the same level. "Though, you shouldn't talk to strangers like this. Where - "
"Bobby!"
Light looked up to see a concerned father rush down the stairs of the church. Though his clothing was neat, the man's complexion was quite pale.
"Hi, Dad!"
"I'm so sorry." The man took his son's arm and led him away from the elderly. "Please, pay no attention to what he said."
The god eyed the man's eyes. It was barely visible, but makeup was covering up the man's eye bags. That did little to cover up how bloodshot they were, and the slight stumble in the man's movements. "No, he was quite the sweetheart. He was just saying hello. What a fine, young man you have raised." Light smiled at the son. "Just be careful and listen to your parents, will you, youngling? Just know that… not everyone… has the best intentions. Nor would they all be as willing to listen as I."
The kid looked confused. "But it's really important stuff that people need to know!"
Light ruffled his hair with a laugh. There was much he wanted to say. "I supposed that if you truly believed in an all-good, all-powerful god with a grand plan for the universe and that those who do not follow in His light will have willingly forsaken themselves, then a good man would be the one to go spread the Good News." Light's gaze was hard. "Does a prophet not reveal to the people of the flood that shall destroy the village? Does the scientist not reveal his discoveries to the world? However, somewhere along the way, so many lose sight of their goals, and become enthralled by normalcy." He closes his eyes for a moment. "I'd like to imagine, it is always for the best."
There was a pause as the father was unsure what to say back, while the son was still trying to wrap his mind around what the old man had said.
"I haven't visited the local church yet. Why don't you show me inside?" Light interrupted.
"Can I?!" The son asks. Hesitantly, the father gave permission, and the two led the elderly man up the stairs and into the church.
Before stepping in, Light took a good look at the building. His gaze scoured over its storied arches and stained glass, before shaking his head to himself. It would be one arrogant god, if one inspected their own places of worship. Thankfully, it wasn't his own.
And so he entered behind the two.
Early morning mass had concluded and people were leaving for work. Some stayed in the pews, praying, others talked among themselves about earthly matters. Behind them was the statue of one of the three persons that shared in His one singular essence, but Light paid Him no heed.
He collapsed onto one knee.
"Are you fine?" "Old man!"
Light waved their concern away, only to realize his hands shook. For a split second, he disconnected the part of himself that was controlling the mortal puppet, before reestablishing the link. "No need to worry, when you are old, sometimes your body just decides to give up." He laughed, letting his odd mirth die down over time, and stood up.
Then, he sighed.
Then deeply bowed.
The father and the son stood in front of the bowing old man, further unsure at what they should do. The father considered calling a doctor, but it certainly could be an unnecessary inconvenience. The son wasn't sure if he should trust the old man's words. Both were confused by the gesture, but only the son voiced it. "Erm, we don't give thanks to God that way."
The father smacked him over the head.
Light rose from his bent over pose, smiling at the son. "Then that's fine, as I wasn't showing gratitude, nor was it directed to your Lord."
He then thanked them for showing him in.
Turning around to leave, he suddenly stopped and his sharp eyes darted aside. A vase on a table looked like it was wobbling. No, the entire table - the entire world was shaking. This was incomprehensible to Light, as this city wasn't located near a fissure. An earthquake of this magnitude would have been impossible, unless humanity had weaponized antimatter again.
That was when he noticed that nothing seemed to break, nor fall. The people all continued talking as if everything was normal, and the vase, though shaking wildly, stayed perfectly aligned with the table. This earthquake… was localized to only Light's senses.
"Ah…" He realized. "So it has happened. You know nothing of what you have done, Jaune."
He let out a sigh, yet the slightest of smiles was spreading across his face.
"Your call was answered. What was a mere trickle, will soon become a flood."
/-/
"Hey, Light, I did it!" Dark excitedly called as the door to their apartment opened. "It took a lot of my consciousness working simultaneously, but I found a patch to the scrambled code that RWBY:Online has been infected with - which shall now be referred to as The Glitch!"
"What an uninspired name. I see you've confirmed the disturbance comes from a single entity."
"...How 'bout naming it Mr. Glitch?"
Light took off his shoes but did not hang up his coat. "I don't think the 'mister' fits. Also, I will not violate copyright."
"I don't understand why any of that matters. Then, why not… the Golden Spook."
"The hell?"
"I guess it doesn't really matter what we name it, as it'll be gone soon anyways."
"It's staying."
Dark poked his head out from behind the sofa to look at Light directly. "What?"
"Throw away your patch, we don't need it anymore."
"Why?!"
"I've come to a new conclusion."
Dark sighed. "First it's 'Dark, work on this ASAP'. Then it's 'Dark, haha your work was for nothing'. Why do I listen to you again?"
"If you were busy with other tasks, then I would have done it myself."
"No, no! I was happy you'd count on me for once."
Light raised an eyebrow. "For once?" He shook his head. "No matter. I will be going back to work."
"Huh? You already picked up the thing you forgot?"
"I didn't forget anything."
"Then, why did you come home?"
"To tell you about my decision."
"You could have just sent me a text."
"...Right, phones have been reinvented. And Dark?"
"Yes?"
"From now on, you are barred from interfering with the game."
Dark flinched, dropping prone on the sofa. "Ah… Haha… you found out? Are you mad? You are mad, aren't you?"
"I'm sure you had your reasons, but from now on, I will cement non-interference as one of my rules. You must treat it as if it was reality."
"...Your game that runs on a TI-84? As reality?"
"I will admit it has evolved past being just a whim. It is more… an experiment now."
Dark planted a hand over his face. "...I can't stop you, can I? It's just…"
"Hm? Do you have an objection?"
"No, just lamenting that I have to return the game I borrowed from Jaune since I can't complete my side of the deal."
Light stared at the back of the sofa, before turning around and leaving.
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
Jaune dropped his face into the pages of the open textbook with a tired thump.
"Please, it's only been thirty minutes."
He mumbled something incomprehensible into the paper.
"If you drool on it, I swear I'm making you pay the library fees."
Mumble mumble.
Weiss and Jaune currently sat around a makeshift table made from the trunk of a thick tree. Each of them sat on logs. In order to block some of the sun, they had taken a tarp from Jaune's belongings and made a sort of tent. After Cardin's group's landing had destroyed a bunch of their outdoor furniture, they had to make do with what they had.
The time was after lunch.
"Right, so let's restart from paragraph three for Damascus' view on the soul." Weiss moved her finger to follow her words as she read. "'That is, not to say, that the soul is the transcendence of the self. If it was, then how is it that our physical changes affect our personality, our memories? Therefore, it is difficult to sanctify the soul as sacred, when it has nothing to do with us, as a person. Truthfully, it is but a power source. Yet we must still blind ourselves of this truth, in order to use it - "
Is this what ASMR is? It's kind of soothing listening to her voice. Jaune yawned.
"Take it seriously!"
He snapped into an upright sitting position. "Yup! I am, totally!"
"Do you want to learn how to use Aura Evocation or not?!"
"Not like this… I didn't think I would have to study my way to godhood. Damn it, isn't there a way that's more fun?"
"Maybe," Weiss harrumphed. "But if you want to learn it right, you need to learn it the Atlesian way."
"Ugh, there's got to be a cheat for this…"
"If there was a cheat that could accelerate your learning without any side effects, then it wouldn't be a cheat anymore, it would be the recommended way - "
"Open up! Aaaaahhhh…"
"What are you doing?!"
"Ah-m twying do homsume she nawedge…"
"Take that book away from your mouth, Jaune!"
Well, it was worth a try… He sadly did as she said.
"Jaune, you aren't going to get anywhere by procrastinating your learning!"
"Eurgh…"
"Plus," commented Pyrrha as she walked by the opening in the tent, sorting out some ammunition. "You don't know where that book has been."
Yang walked by, holding some construction supplies. "Doesn't Ruby always bring some of her comic books borrowed from the library to the bathroom?"
"What - No!" Ruby walked by, pulling a mortar on wheels. "That's a lie, don't listen to the liar!"
Jaune turned a little green. "No, you're right. Shouldn't one of you be questioning the eating part a little more though?"
"Who knows," One of Cardin's men walked by with a roll of barbed wire. "Might be your semblance."
"Semblances can't explain everything!" Ruby yelled back.
"Alright, what are you all…" Weiss stood up and took a look outside. She sighed. "Alright, fine, but can someone please explain to me… Why do we suddenly have a fort?!"
"Eh?"
"Hm?"
"Oh."
"Yeah, we've been building it for a while, Weiss."
"That's a rampart, alright."
"Think we have enough artillery?"
"Nora did always want a castle."
"That's your reaction?!" Weiss exclaimed.
Jaune stepped out, too, beside her.
What was previously just a number of tents had now become an improvised walled fortress. Wooden logs formed the walls, piled on the ground, while outside of that a layer of barbed wire restricted movement. In the center of the camp, lay a series of artillery guns.
"Like it?" Cardin stepped in, proud of himself. "Heh, something like this isn't much, but it's quite the power multiplier. With Lark here as air support, whoever attacks will have a bad time!"
"Why would we need such a thing?! We've killed the large force of Grimm that was here already!"
"Heh… That's clearly not the entire point of the exercise." Cardin tsked patronizingly, easily pissing Weiss off. "A buncha teenage huntsmen in a forest, far away from the general public, and barely any supervision?" He laughed. "There's only one result."
"Parties all night long?" Yang strolled back into the conversation, carrying a log on her shoulder.
Ruby poked her head from the mass of mortars she got from… somewhere. "Stay up past curfew?"
Jaune nodded to himself. A gathering of strong fit attractive people? It'll be like the Olympics. Nah, they're fucking.
"Oops, that's the wrong way." Yang spun around, swinging the log around and smacking her sister back into the mortar pile.
Cardin dodged underneath the log. "...What kind of huntsmen are you all thinking about? Clearly, it'll just be a bloodbath."
"A bloodbath?" Weiss repeated incredulously.
Cardin nodded to himself. "Heh, we used to use every chance the teacher gave us to hold matches. Grudges aren't good to keep deep in your heart. Better fight them out, than letting the feelings simmer and ruin your warrior spirit. Teacher out for a second, you bet some duo's wrestling on the ground."
"Right…" Weiss gave a glance at Jaune beside her, clearly saying something along the lines of 'you hearing this shit', but in a far more polite and uptight way. "Maybe at your school."
The redhead didn't say anything back, merely scoffing.
"Where did you get all that?" Asked Jaune. He walked over to where Ruby was, quite a bit curious at the military hardware.
"Got a few of these bad boys in an L-sized locker." Cardin moved over and put a hand on the thick metal barrel of one of them. "Dust-infused tungsten steel. Durable, won't lose you a fight even while battered and weathered. Will cost you, but I think you'd prefer keeping your life than your dime."
Ruby popped out from the pile again, eyes sparkling. "Can these use the multiple-payload ordinances?"
"You bet the Winchesters' are at the cutting edge, girl. What, want a… personal demonstration?" Cardin grinned.
Huh, Winchester, Cardin Winchester. Guess they make stuff like this?
"Yes plea - " Ruby was halfway through accepting before realizing what the boy's tone could mean. "Erm…"
"What do you say? I can show you a real good time."
Jaune stepped up. "Hey, I'll take the personal demonstration." He grinned. Think he'll let me use one of these? That'd be sick! "I know nothing about them, never used one before."
"Ha! Now that's a man who gets it!" Cardin patted his back, not missing a beat.
"I'm more curious about the reasons for bringing mortars at all." Ren softly spoke up, approaching with a set of sewing tools, having been fixing the tents that could be saved. "It's certainly not part of the usual huntsmen equipment."
"And there's a man that doesn't. Let me tell you, there hasn't been a situation in which high-explosives weren't the answer."
"He's not wrong!" Called Yang as she returned, her hands empty this time.
"We don't need another Nora." Ren mumbled underneath his breath.
Weiss put a hand on her hips. "Yes, but need I remind you that high-explosives are exactly what got you into this situation?"
He waved it off. "Extenuating circumstances."
"Right…"
"Could have certainly helped us against all those Grimm from before." Jaune commented. "Rather than rely on having the right semblance. We could have gotten all those relics without as much work."
Weiss shot him a glare.
Huh?
"Did you complete the initiation already? What a coincidence, so have we!" Cardin grinned. "Looks like it's free time for us both till tomorrow evening, then. Jaune, right? Let's find us some Grimm and let the fun begin."
Weiss cut in. "Actually, why don't you go find Pyrrha, Jaune? It seems that I can't give you all the help you need, so why not ask a champion like Pyrrha Nikos? That should take precedence."
"Ah!" Jaune nodded. That's a good point, it's probably a better idea to make sure I can use Aura consistently first. "Yeah, sorry Cardin, I'll take up your offer sometime else."
He shrugged. "Your loss."
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
Weiss reentered the makeshift tent and started sorting all the open books. Ruby came in behind her, giving a short hello that she answered in turn. Glancing at the fifteen year old, Weiss noticed that she seemed a bit awkward. She didn't give it too much thought, focused on her work.
You can't do that, Weiss. She told herself. Especially when you hate it being done to you..
At the corner of her eye, she saw Ruby fidget. Sighing, she turned to her. "How about you come help me out, if you are idle?"
"Ah! Sure!"
Cardin walked by, looking inside the tent. Seeing Ruby helping Weiss, he left.
Weiss shook her head, giving Ruby a look. "You deal with it."
"Yeah…" Ruby pouted. "I don't want to deal with it though." She moved another book into the container that Weiss had used to store them. "How is Jaune? Were you able to help him?"
"No. He barely knew anything about Aura, even less than the average person. He's quite lucky Beacon is so generous with newsparks."
Ruby puffed up her cheeks in thought. Clearly, she wanted to say something, but then a train of thought seemed to stop her. Weiss raised an eyebrow.
"...So, how is Vale?" Ruby finally said.
"Hmph." Whatever Weiss expected, it wasn't small talk. "It's fine, too warm for my tastes."
"Then, h - how about… the people? Ha… Ah?"
"You are far too transparent, Ruby."
Ruby blinked innocently.
Weiss sighed. She lifted a number of thin paperback books and thumped them on the table in order to align them, before neatly placing them into the container. "I suppose you are thinking of the unspoken rule that the first pair we meet will be in the same team? Yes, though with how they are changing up things this year, that could change too. In the case that everything does proceed as expected and we're on the same team, well, I already said I'm fine with you as a teammate."
Ruby cheered.
Weiss rolled her eyes. I'll admit it, but I had thought that her presence was due to the corruption of the staff. Maybe the rumors about the fast-tracked examinee who had died a number of years ago in Beacon was just that, then. This is Vale after all, not Atlas, where information is not as carefully controlled.
Ruby was not the inexperienced child that I had presumed. In fact, I can see why she was put straight into post-secondary. Appearances are deceiving.
Weiss hummed. …Just like how that Winchester might be more than he appears. It would be hypocritical if I judged him by his family.
"Hey Weiss, what do you think about Crimson Rose?" Ruby suddenly spoke up.
Weiss eyed the machine on her back. "An over-engineered weapon that had been tinkered with far too long." She replied honestly.
Ruby dropped the books she was holding. "Whaaat?!"
"Mecha-shift is an unconventional Valerian idea that's poisoning the huntsmen regiments with inefficiency. It's better to be strong at your niche, than trying to succeed at two very different engagement ranges."
The younger girl seemed to fume, her cheeks puffed out, this time in anger.
"Thought you would agree. Haven't there been upgrades that you couldn't slot in because it would either interfere with the scythe configuration or the sniper configuration? Doesn't maintenance become difficult, especially in sandier places?"
"That's it, you're going down, Weiss!"
"Hmph, do your worst."
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
Jaune found Pyrrha in the same clearing he and Ruby had chosen to experiment in. It was quite the convenient area, after all, being close enough to the camp to be in walking distance and also just far enough and obscured such that it gave some privacy.
She seemed to be in the middle of training, doing a number of one-hand push ups.
I think Weiss mentioned that Pyrrha had great pride in her strength… Or something like that? It was an offhand comment a few days ago, so his memory was a bit foggy. Her musculature certainly doesn't look the part, so that must mean she's really good with strength Aura!
He sat down on one of the tree trunks on the side, ready to wait till she was done with her set. Her weapons, a spear and a shield, were placed beside it, leaning against the wood.
Pyrrha momentarily glanced up to see who had come. "Hello Jaune, did you need something?" She said with a perfectly even voice, still doing her push ups.
"Yeah, just wondering if you had some tips for using offensive Aura correctly."
"Hm…" She considered things as she switched to the other arm. "There are a number of exercises that my tutors had me do when I was young. I can teach them to you, if you like."
"Really? That'd be great!" Honestly, I would be far happier with something to do rather than sit with books all day. Jaune turned his upper body to face the camp, where Weiss was. Nerdddd! He thought jokingly.
"Just a second, please let me finish this…"
It didn't take long. Once she was done, she stood up. The dirt and leaves that would have stuck to her greaves fell right off.
"Sorry for the wait. Let me remember… I believe the first one is leaf tearing."
"Leaf tearing? Not leaf cutting?"
Pyrrha picked up a stray leaf from the ground. "Yeah, just like this." She held it in between two fingers and with a flick, ripped the leaf in two. "It's good for learning how to use Aura to enhance your strength."
Jaune did the same, still sitting.
It was surprisingly difficult. Human fingers had great ease moving the direction that facilitated gripping things, but side-to-side was a whole different matter. Doing this exercise was kind of like trying to grasp an eggshell that had fallen into the liquid yolk, futile and frustrating.
At least getting the eggshell out is possible. Jaune stared at the leaf pinched in between his index and middle finger. Oh, I got an idea. He tried doing it a different way. "I got it!"
Pyrrha breathed out through her nose to express mild amusement. "There's no point in rubbing it until it ripped apart laterally. You're supposed to use Aura to do it with just a short flick."
"Right, but how?"
"It is certainly hard to describe…"
"Ah, like explaining how to ride a bike?"
"Yes. It's more about intuition, than a number of concrete steps. Your Aura will not move until you put enough conviction behind your movements."
"I'm staring at this leaf and cursing it with all my might and it's not budging." Fuck you, leaf. I hope you and your leaf parents go and die.
It ripped.
"Pyrrha, I think I did it!"
"No, that was by rubbing again."
"Whaaaat." He groaned. "Alright, can you show it again?"
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
This is certainly not how I'd thought my time at Beacon would go, thought Pyrrha. There's a lot of peace and quiet compared to my time at Mistral's schools, and even though I was paired with some like Weiss Schnee who knows me, I can't say I have any complaints yet. I've met a number of good people like Ruby and Jaune, who don't treat me any differently. Maybe we can become better friends, through our time here together.
"Why don't I demonstrate the movement by physically moving your fingers?" She offered Jaune. Maybe I should think about taking a teaching specialization. It's kind of fun.
"Sure, here." He offered his hand.
She picked up another leaf and put her fingers around his.
…Huh? Pyrrha noticed it quickly. Strangely, his fingers had a sort of delicate softness to them. That's odd. She pressed a few times gently. Oh, this is most likely because huntsmen have been practicing with weapons since we were young. A newspark like him hasn't had the time for both his Aura to settle and for his skin to grow callused. No, wait… There's an area here on the fingertips that's harder than the rest. I wonder what caused it?
"Uh, Pyrrha?"
Ah! "Sorry!" She quickly let go, before hesitating and re-placing her hands on his. "So, this is how the movement goes…"
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
Jaune stared at the reputation increases on his HUD, deeply creeped out.
"...And if you keep practicing and trying different ways of channeling your Aura, you should be able to learn it soon enough."
"Right…" He lowered his gaze to stare at her, suspiciously, as she let go. She was wearing a polite smile, but Jaune hadn't forgotten the names of her reputation ranks or her reaction to him forgetting her name. Unless there was something wrong with my hands? He inspected them and didn't find anything out of the ordinary.
[Relationships]: Gained opinion trait with Pyrrha Nikos: Hands.
Hands?! What the hell does that mean?!
Jaune coughed. "By the way, how long did it take you to master this exercise?"
"A few years."
Oh fuck!
It must have shown on his face, as Pyrrha added on to her answer. "I had started quite young, and it was along with everything else. You'll have an easier time."
I don't know about that, with great instructions like 'zoom boom wham', 'just use conviction', and a goddamn full essay from Weiss, I don't think I'm finishing this anytime soon.
"Don't worry Jaune, take your time. It's not like we'll get into a life threatening situation right in the first year!" She joked.
You stupid, Pyrrha?! That's exactly what you don't say, in like, any kind of media where there's teenagers learning to fight! You are tempting fate! First year is always absolutely bonkers! Alright, if something bad happens to Ruby, it's 100% going to be because you said that!
"What about the battle we were just in?" Jaune pointed out, throwing up his arms. "Doesn't that count as life threatening?!"
"I'm sure the teachers were watching. You have nothing to fear. Worse comes to worse, we could have dropped down the cliff."
Jaune's right eye gained a severe twitching disorder, forcing him to spin around to hide his exasperation. Why do they have so much faith in their teachers? Aw, fuck this. "You said this was for strength." He said, having taken back control of his facial expression. "Is there one for speed and one for… enhancement?" All he did was parrot what he had seen in the skills menu. He wasn't too sure what 'enhancement' meant, since wasn't there already 'strength enhancement' and 'speed enhancement'?"
"Yes, there are. Both just variations of the leaf tearing exercise. For speed, you want to drop the leaf and cut it from the top with your finger using the same hand that dropped it. For enhancement, usually the hardest of the three, you need to embed your Aura into the leaf and prevent your Aura strength from ripping it apart. Let me demonstrate." She did so.
Jaune nodded, now understanding the skills better. Well, nothing I can do except getting started. With how she did it, it looked pretty easy. He put a hand on his chin. Maybe I couldn't do it just because I've only tried two or three times. She did say that she did it when she was younger, so maybe at my age, I'll be able to get it faster?
Heh. He smirked to himself. With Jaune Arc on the case, I'll be able to get it in two minutes tops.
Two hours later, he didn't get any of the three exercises and gave up.
/-/
As Pyrrha and Jaune came back to the camp, they heard fighting behind the barricades.
"Rusel!" Jaune called the teenager with the light green mohawk. "What's going on?" The barricades weren't high at all, reaching barely shoulder height. Therefore, Cardin's friend who had seemingly been assigned guard duty was easily seen.
Though that might be also because he was slumped over the logs.
"Wait, Cardin couldn't have been right, could he?" Jaune realized. However, from the outside, nothing at this angle about the camp seemed to have been disturbed. Pyrrha vaulted over, landing deftly on her feet, while Jaune followed behind climbing the logs and then sliding down.
"Take this!" Ruby yelled.
Weiss yelped.
Cardin roared in laughter.
Jaune and Pyrrha took a sigh of relief, as both were near enough to hear the video game music.
An arm grabbed Jaune's sleeve. "Don't challenge her…" Rusel lifted up his head, showing Jaune his hollow eyes. "You are not worthy… Save yourself - Ack." He started coughing, before falling limp.
"Rusel?!" Jaune called dramatically. "No, Rusel!" He dropped to his knees. "I have not known you long, friend, but I shall avenge thee!"
"Please… come closer…"
"What is it? Save your breath!"
"My name is Ruh - so not Ruh - sell you dipshit."
Jaune smacked a fist into an open palm. "Ah, that's right!"
Pyrrha looked on with a bit of awkwardness.
"Come on, Pyrrha, let's see if they have a spot for us!"
The tournament was taking place in Jaune's large family tent. Since the day was still bright enough, they couldn't see the flash of colors from the tv inside. Entering from the tent flap, they saw a game console with two controllers setup in the middle.
"Hey, joining the party?" Yang asked, leaning against one of the tent poles, a whiteboard further away from her on the far left side. "Food's outside in the tarp tent. If you want to join the tournament though, you might have to wait. We're in the semi-finals. Getting excited. Wooo, beat Weiss up, Ruby!"
"As if I'll let her!"
Jaune hummed. "Did I give you guys permission to use my tent?"
"Well, yeah, duh. You forgot?" Yang showed him her scroll.
[Yang Xiao Long][1:02 PM]: Yo Jaune can I use one of your things?
[Jaune Arc][1:05 PM]: Sure.
[Jaune Arc][1:41 PM]: Wait, use what?
Jaune pointed at his last message.
"Oh, didn't see that. Oops?"
"Eh, I guess it's fine… What else am I going to do with this family sized tent."
"Shoot!" Weiss muttered. Her character missed a leap, slipping off the stage.
"Yesss!" Ruby cheered.
"Don't think this means anything, Ruby!"
"It means I'm the champion!"
"Not until you beat me." Spoke up another of Cardin's friends. This was the one who had soup poured over him. Jaune was pretty sure his name was Dove. "You're good, but I'm the strongest at my school."
Oh you poor sweet summer child. Jaune felt a moment of pity.
They were playing a sort of fighting game reminiscent of Smash. In fact, it looked exactly like Smash, except all the characters were different. There was a moment of pause as Weiss handed her controller over to Dove and they chose a new stage for the match.
"Who's the one Ruby is playing as?" Jaune asked Pyrrha.
"I don't usually play these games, but I believe that it's Valeria, the First Huntress."
"Huh…" Jaune swore there was something odd about the depiction of her, as Ruby commanded her character to grab ahold of the claymore with both arms and smacked it over Dove's jumpsuit-wearing character. "What about that?"
"Oh, that's Mario, the First Plumber."
"That's fucking stupid."
Pyrrha tilted her head, not sure why he was so annoyed.
"Hm?" As Weiss walked past Jaune to leave, he saw her make a gesture for him to follow. "I'll be right back, save me a spot, Yang!"
"Will do!"
Weiss and Jaune walked towards the food tent.
"How did it go with Pyrrha?" She whispered.
"It went fine! Didn't get too far with me being a newspark and all, but - "
She glared at him.
"What?" Hasn't she been glaring at me for no reason lately? Why are you whispering, anyways?
"Hey Jaune! Grab us some chips, will you?" Cardin yelled from the entryway of the tent.
"Sure!" These guys brought chips to fighting school. Isn't this just a college dorm?
Weiss shook her head. "...That's acceptable." It didn't sound like it was acceptable.
"...You don't want me to bring chips?"
"No, you dolt." She sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "Well, if you ever change your mind about the Atlesian method, then feel free to contact me."
"Will do!" What a nice girl, if not a bit puzzling, checking on me to make sure I'm progressing. "Oh, by the way, is there something special about…" Jaune scratched his head. "...A huntsman's hands?"
"What?" In that one word, Weiss somehow voiced all of his questions.
"Nevermind, Pyrrha was just doing some weird stuff, don't mind it. Thanks again for your help, by the way, I do appreciate it."
"...Hmph." She left, going back.
Yes, thank you, Sasuke. He snorted to himself.
It didn't take long for him to find a new unopened party-sized bag of chips and return to the tent. Unzipping the flap, he was suddenly face-to-face with Cardin.
"You have a minute, Jaune?"
"Uh, sure?" He blinked.
Cardin dragged him away from the tent again, chips still in Jaune's arms.
Jaune's gaze met with Yang's quizzical look. I don't know why I'm so popular today either, he mouthed back.
Yang nodded and walked to the whiteboard, scribbling something.
No, it's not about the tournament!
Unlike Weiss, Cardin led him all the way to the log barricades, this side without Russel. Without a word, he motioned Jaune to follow him over.
Jaune paused, before deciding to might as well. Perhaps this is a quest.
Shortly afterwards, they arrived back in that exact damn clearing.
Cardin sat down on the wooden log that Jaune had used as a bench before. He patted the seat beside him. Jaune sat there.
"You're a newspark, Jaune?"
"Yeah." Jaune quickly admitted, seeing no harm in doing so.
Cardin grinned. "Damn, don't think I'd ever find anyone like me!"
It took a moment for it to register for Jaune. "Oh damn, you too?!"
"Yeah! Six years ago for me! How 'bout you?"
That was not what I expected. "A few - " Wait no. "Within the year." No lie was in that statement of his.
"Oh shit, Jaune. Less than a year and in Beacon? Ah, you with the other stream, right?"
"Yeah…" Jaune tried to remember things he had learned from Weiss. "Don't know why they put us with you guys, you are clearly far more capable warriors."
"Ha! That we are Jauney boy. We're not like them up-and-coming fashion models, we're the real deal." Cardin replied, twisting Jaune's words a bit.
That is certainly a boast, but he and his friends are one of the few who are actually wearing armor and brought heavy guns with them… Technically, I guess Pyrrha is wearing armor on her most important sections… Jaune frowned. Her shins?
The redhead leaned back, letting himself fall off the log and onto his back with a thump, uncaring of the minimal Aura damage. "Shit, I didn't think I'd meet with anyone else that's like me. We're damn fish out of water, aren't we?"
"Yeah…"
"Did you think you were ever going to be a huntsman?"
Jaune snorted. "As if." Childhood dreams be dreams of a stupider me. "They've always seemed so far away. I guess being even able to get a glimpse of this life… is quite the gift."
"Yeah. Child soldiers sanctioned by the state? That's a thing that I'd never think I would be part of, for sure. Super powers, though? You damn right I dreamt of it."
Jaune only hummed, not giving a reply.
"You know what it was like for me, Jaune? It was so confusing. One day I was going to take up the family business, the next I was supposed to lay my life down for humanity. I mean like - " Cardin started laughing. "That's crazy, man! I can't do that shit!"
Now that Cardin puts it like that… It does sound crazy. I wonder why Jaune, the character, decided to go all the way here and put his life on the line. Did he have a tragic backstory or something? Doesn't seem like it, as I had messaged back his family like normal… His eyes widened for a second, as he suddenly realized he might have made a mistake. I, no, I have enough shit to deal with, I don't want to deal with that too. Light bringing up to me an existential question, the quest with Ruby… not to mention rent… Or the real life Ruby… fuckkk… Oh fuck. The more Jaune thought about it, the more alike his situation and Cardin's were. While he wasn't as shocked about being thrown in the huntsmen life due to, well, it being a video game to him, the parallels with his experiences with the gods could count in its stead.
"Yeah." Jaune finally agreed. "It's bullshit. It's really unfair, isn't it?" As he said it, it felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. Odd, as it wasn't like his problems had been resolved.
"Jaune. You have no idea how great it is to finally admit it. Russel, Dove, and Sky are old friends, but this life is all they've known. When I suddenly crossed between our worlds and into theirs, they treated it as if it's just how it is. They have no idea of our struggles trying to understand this alien world. It has been hard, hasn't it?"
Jaune just sat there, staring at the sky. Ruby was fun to talk to, but she had no idea about the reality of his situation. All the time, he had to lie to her in order to keep her safe from Light. But with Cardin, though all he could say was half-truths, it felt like he could finally open up just a little bit more.
"...It's been so hard." The moment he started talking he felt like he couldn't stop. "I - I was so lost at first. I didn't know what I should do. I didn't know what my future would hold anymore. It's like your whole world was turned upside down. Situations that I never thought I'd have to navigate, fears I never thought I'd have… It's… It's…" He looked down onto his lap, losing the words that could describe his feelings.
Cardin climbed back up onto the log, patting his back. "Can't imagine what it has been for you, suddenly having to fight these monsters. I've had years to get used to it. You were a civilian barely a year ago."
"...Thanks, Cardin."
"Heh. We're newsparks. There ain't many of us." The redhead grinned. "We gotta stick together, right, Jaune?"
/-A Requiem for a Gamer-/
A/N (3/25/2022): I think that's a lot from my version of Cardin. Any thoughts from you guys? I love reviews in general.
And before you ask, no Cardin x Jaune romance. I'm not Path of a Writer.
Next Chapter: April 24th, 2022