Seeing Red
Chapter 3
The next day, Jaune stirred awake, blearily opening his eyes as a yawn escaped him. He stared up at the ceiling as the events of the past few days came flooding back to his mind.
What was he doing, taking in someone like Eve? He wasn't equipped to help someone like her heal, and that was before he took into account the fact that she had all but admitted to being a White Fang member. And yet, he wasn't sure what to do aside from carry on as he had been up to that point. He wasn't enough of a monster to turn away someone so grievously injured, no matter what she had done. And besides, her off-putting demeanor aside, she hadn't treated him too badly, certainly not badly enough that he felt compelled to kick her out.
Jaune shook those thoughts from his mind as he threw the covers off himself and stood up, then stretched out. Whatever the case was, they were stuck with each other for now, at least until she'd healed enough to be capable of striking out on her own. Up to that point, she was in his care, and he was going to have to do whatever he could to make sure she recovered properly.
And that meant, among other things, getting breakfast ready.
Jaune was far from an expert cook, but living with seven sisters had taught him enough that he was passable in the kitchen. And so, after a little time to get himself ready for the day ahead, he settled in front of the stove, the sound of sizzling bacon permeating the air around him.
Footsteps from behind him caught his attention, and Jaune turned, his eyes widening in surprise. Eve was standing there, exhaling sharply as she leaned against the frame of the door with shaking hands. Jaune immediately rushed over to her side and threw one of her arms around his shoulder, even as she tried to fight him off.
"Don't help me," Eve growled.
"Don't be stubborn," Jaune fired back. "You're still injured and should be in bed. If you're not going to stay put, the least you can do is let me help you to a chair."
"I can do it myself."
"I don't care if you can or not. You're under my care, and that means I'm going to help you whether you think you need it or not."
Eve snarled at him. "You are the single most frustrating human I have ever met."
"Thanks, I try."
Jaune guided her over to a nearby chair, and she pushed him away before collapsing into it, a sharp exhale and a wince escaping from her. She sat there for just a few seconds before Jaune slid a plate of bacon and eggs over to her. Eve cracked her one good eye open and stared at the plate, frowning as she did so.
"Eat up," Jaune said, settling in across from her with a plate of his own.
Eve rolled her one good eye, but then reluctantly picked up her fork and began to eat. Jaune, at least, was thankful that she knew better than to starve herself merely because she distrusted him.
"So," Jaune ventured. "How does it feel when you walk?"
"It hurts," Eve grumbled through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "How do you think it feels walking around with half a dozen bullets in your stomach?"
"Figured I'd ask. Wanted to see how you're recovering. I guess I have my answer."
"That you do." Eve finished eating, then looked around the kitchen, her brow furrowing. "This is your house?"
"No, it's just a rental," Jaune answered.
"Hm. I figured – it looks far too put-together to be something owned by a single young adult male."
"What makes you think I'm single?"
Eve just stared at him. Jaune let out a low sigh. "Alright, yeah, dumb question… But anyway, why do you care? Seems a bit strange that you would suddenly express interest in something like that when you haven't cared about it before."
Eve shrugged. "Perhaps I am just taking stock of the locations of the doors and windows."
"Any particular reason for that?"
"Do this job long enough and you'll start doing it, too."
"Is being a Huntsman really that dangerous, or does this have to do with your outside activities?"
"It's both," Eve said with a grunt. "Not that I'm admitting to anything, of course."
"Of course."
"Being a Huntsman is dangerous work. Like I said, you won't just be fighting Grimm – there are plenty of monsters in human skin out there who need to be dealt with, too. Cut through enough of them and people will begin to take notice of you, and not in a good way. You'll begin making a lot of enemies in due time." Eve turned back towards him, fixing him with a pointed stare. "This is something you should already be aware of, given your stated goal of becoming a Huntsman."
"I'm… more than a little out of my element," Jaune admitted.
"And why is that?"
"Let's just say that I got into Beacon through a very unorthodox method."
"Unorthodox how? You almost make it sounds as though it were illegal."
Jaune froze, which unfortunately didn't go unnoticed by Eve. A predatory smirk crossed her face. "My, how interesting. So you cheated your way in?"
Jaune's fists clenched, his knuckles turning white. "...I did what I had to do to make my dream come true," he said softly.
"How very selfish of you," Eve couldn't help but taunt. "Did you ever stop to think about how, by cheating your way into Beacon when you don't deserve to go, you stole a spot from someone else who did?"
"No."
"No, of course not." Eve shook her head. "Still, this is quite the admission. You understand how dangerous what you're doing is, yes? You could very well get yourself killed during initiation. Is your Aura even unlocked?"
Jaune remained silent at that. Eve's grin widened. "Well, I must say, you've certainly made yourself a lot more interesting with that little tidbit of information."
"Why are you doing this?" Jaune demanded. "I've done nothing but help you since you got here, and yet you're rubbing my face in this and treating me like a failure. What did I ever do to you? Or is this about me being a human still?"
"So quick to catch on."
Jaune glared at her. "I don't know how many times I have to say it, but I'm sorry for the way humanity has treated the Faunus. However, despite that, I am not responsible for any of it. I have never directly harmed a Faunus, or through inaction caused a Faunus to come to harm. I don't hate Faunus or anything like that. I don't even hate you, despite how intent you seem on trying to make that a reality."
"You still don't seem to understand," Eve said, her grin fading, replaced with a snarl. "This is a war, Jaune, and there are only two sides to it. You're either with us or against us, right or wrong, and the battle lines were drawn before you were even born."
"What's your endgame, then?" Jaune asked.
"What do you mean?"
"It's a simple question, Eve – when does the fighting stop? You make it sound like it will keep going until one side is completely wiped out. Is that truly what you want?"
Eve blinked, taken aback by his sudden question. "...I simply want what is best for my people-"
"That's not what I asked," Jaune pointed out. "By your own logic, this war of yours is only going to end in one of two ways – either all the Faunus are wiped out or all the humans are wiped out. That is the logical conclusion to your rhetoric. And in that case, why would any humans ever join you?"
"Because they wish to be allies to the cause-"
"What's the point of being an ally if you all so firmly believe all humans are bad from the get-go?" Jaune asked. "Answer me this – if I were to throw everything away and try to join the White Fang as a human ally, what would happen to me?"
Eve fell silent at that. Truthfully, she'd never considered that as a possibility. She'd heard of humans who'd expressed sympathy for the cause, but they'd all been turned away by the other White Fang members around them. To her knowledge, none had ever managed to successfully join.
For Jaune, however, her silence told him everything he needed to know.
"I would be killed, wouldn't I?" he asked.
"...Most likely," Eve reluctantly agreed.
"So, if joining you still means I'd be punished for the actions of others in my race, despite the fact that I've done nothing wrong… why would I ever join you? If you're saying that I'd just be killed anyway, there's no point in joining. If there's no path to redemption for me under your system, then why should I care in the first place?"
"Because it's the right thing to do."
"Is it?" Jaune asked. "You just admitted the endgame of the White Fang is my death. Why would I support that?"
Again, Eve fell silent. Jaune let out a sigh. "I don't mean to throw your philosophy back in your face or anything, I'm just asking questions."
"The same applies to you," Eve said. "Why would I ever ally with a human if all that awaits me is death, or slavery? History has proven that to be the endgame for us under humanity. It can happen again."
"It doesn't have to," Jaune insisted. "I think it's possible to make a better world, for everybody. We don't have to be at each other's throats like this – it doesn't have to be one race against the other. Personally, I think we have more in common than we do different."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, what separates you from me, aside from those horns on your head? Nothing, that's what. I don't see why I should waste my time worrying about you or any other Faunus when there are Grimm and actually evil people out there who need to be dealt with. I would hope that you would see the same thing. Why are we wasting time fighting each other like this when the true enemy is out there in the wild, waiting to kill us both?"
Eve stared at him for a moment, then shook her head. "...I suppose you have a point," she admitted.
"About what?"
"The true enemy… and the logical conclusion of my rhetoric, I suppose."
That last part hurt to say, for some reason. Part of her felt like it was a tacit admission that at some point, she'd gone wrong, even though she knew that wasn't the case. Jaune was speaking sense – if they carried on like this, it was indeed going to eventually end in one of their races completely eliminating the other – but that was no reason to stop fighting completely.
Perhaps a re-defining of her goals was in order, then. But that could wait until after she'd recovered.
Eve began to rise to her feet, wincing as she did so. Jaune stood up and rushed over to her side, and this time, she didn't push him away. He helped her to her feet and supported her as she tried to catch her breath. After a few seconds, she turned towards him.
"Take me outside," she demanded.
"Outside?" Jaune asked. "You need to rest-"
"I will rest after I have had a chance to get some fresh air," Eve countered. "Do it."
Jaune reluctantly nodded, then guided her over to the front door. He threw it open with one hand, then gently helped her outside onto the porch. Eve looked around, taking in the sights all around her. For the first time, she was able to see the small village she'd ended up in.
It was certainly nothing impressive, even compared to somewhere like Kuo Kuana. There were a few rows of simple one-story wooden houses, with the occasional two-story. A few small general stores lined the road ahead, along with some other simple amenities – a doctor's office, a bar, a barbershop… all things she'd expected to find in almost any small-scale yet permanent settlement.
Eve sat down on the top step of the house, wincing as she did so. Jaune stood next to her, looking around the village.
"Nice place, isn't it?" he asked. "Very homely."
"I've seen better," Eve grunted. "But, admittedly, it could be far worse than it is."
"It's familiar to me, you know. My home town looks almost exactly like this, just with a lot more kids running around, thanks to my parents." Eve gave him a sideways glance, and he added, "I've got seven sisters. Some of them have left home by now, but I've still got four under me who are living with my parents."
"And your parents?" Eve asked. "What do they think of you running off to cheat your way into Beacon?"
"Ah… that's a difficult question."
Eve couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. "They don't know?"
"...No," Jaune admitted. "I left a note when I ran off in the middle of the night a few weeks ago, but that's it. I think they've probably tried contacting me by now, but I've had my scroll turned off ever since I left home."
Eve stared straight ahead. Jaune's story reminded her of someone else who'd done something similar – run away from home to dedicate their life to something they believed in.
At least, that had been the case for awhile, until she'd changed somehow. Eve still wasn't sure exactly what had happened to change her, but there was no point dwelling on it now.
A thought crossed her mind, at that moment – she owed Jaune for saving her life and caring for her. He probably wouldn't agree, citing he was doing it out of the goodness of his heart, but Eve hated the knowledge that she'd left a debt unpaid. Luckily, she had a pretty good idea of how to repay him, one that would benefit them both – Jaune would get some training out of it, and her… well, even with his training, she doubted that he'd even make it through initiation alive.
"So you're by yourself, far from home, with no Aura and a basic weapon you probably don't even know how to use, while on your way to get yourself killed at Beacon," Eve surmised.
"I'm not alone," Jaune said. "I have you."
Eve rolled her one good eye again. "Yes, unfortunately. You have me."
"You don't have to sound so happy about it, you know."
"I am aware. But that's not the point. Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once."
Jaune leaned in, and Eve hesitated. What she was about to say and do felt wrong, even before she did them, but she pushed those feelings away as quickly as they'd come. Instead, she struggled to her feet, wincing as pain radiated out across her entire body; naturally, Jaune tried to help, but she pushed him away. Once she was on her feet, Eve descended the stairs and beckoned for him to follow after her. He did, and the two stood a few meters across from each other.
"Draw your sword," Eve commanded.
Jaune hesitated. "Eve-"
"Do it."
This time, he obliged, pulling his blade from its scabbard. Eve nodded at the sight of it.
"Give it a few swings."
Jaune seemed confused at her instructions, but did as he was told, swinging his sword a number of times. Eve carefully watched his form as he did so, a grimace crossing her face.
"You're terrible," she said bluntly.
Jaune let out a sigh. "Yeah, I know…"
"But not incapable of being salvaged," she added. "I can tell you've only ever swung that sword a few times in your entire life. That means you're about half a step away from being completely untrained. This is both a good thing and a bad thing – bad because you're completely untrained; good because it means you're still a blank slate, so you don't have any bad habits to unlearn. I can work with that."
Jaune perked up immediately at those words. "Are you saying you'll train me?"
"No," she answered immediately. "We don't have time for that. At most, I can give you some pointers on the very basics, along with some exercises to practice on your own time."
"Ah… okay, that's still fine by me. Thank you."
Eve nodded, then approached him. She looked him over, then took one hand and roughly shoved him. Jaune fell to the ground with a surprised yell. He rolled over onto his back, then glared up at her.
"What was that for?" he asked.
"You're off-balance," she surmised. "Makes you easy to knock down and makes your swings far less powerful than they otherwise would be."
Jaune pulled himself up off the ground, nodding along with her words. "Okay… so how do I fix that?"
"Assume your stance again," she said. "I will correct you."
Jaune took up his fighting stance. Eve circled around him, making small adjustments.
"Feet shoulder-width apart," she said. "Keep your strong-side foot a bit farther ahead than your support foot. Bend your knees – keep your center of gravity low to the ground; that will make you harder to knock down. Loosen your grip on your blade – it shouldn't be white-knuckled; you won't need that much pressure to cut through your target if the blade is properly sharpened."
Her gaze fell to the scabbard on his hip. "That's a shield, right?" Jaune nodded, and she said, "Draw that as well. Hold it in your off-hand."
"You know how to use a shield?" Jaune asked, surprised.
"The very basics," Eve answered. "Draw it."
He did as she commanded, pulling his shield and holding it in his other hand. Eve looked him up and down, then nodded.
"The shield protects your center," she said. "It's not a substitute for not getting hit in the first place, so don't rely on it to save you all the time. It's more important to stay agile and light on your feet. The shield is only there for when the hit is inevitable – better to let it be absorbed by the shield than by your Aura."
"Makes sense," Jaune agreed.
"Take a few practice swings," Eve told him.
Jaune nodded along with her words, then did as she said, swinging his sword around. Eve watched him, taking careful note of his stance as he did so.
"Better," she said. "Don't overextend or put too much power into your attacks. The sword is not a blunt weapon – you don't need to bash your opponent to death in order to inflict some damage to them, provided the blade is sharp enough. Let gravity do most of the work for you, so you don't tire yourself out so easily."
Eve circled around him, a hand at her chin as she continued to take note of how he was standing. "Show me some footwork," she said.
"Footwork?" Jaune asked.
"Try moving the way you would in a fight. Act like there's an opponent in front of you. I want to see how you react to being in danger."
"Uh, alright."
Jaune started to move, shuffling his feet. Eve took note of how he stayed huddled behind his shield the entire time, nodding approvingly.
"Not bad," she said gruffly. "You need to be a bit lighter on your feet, but your stance is much better – your center of gravity is lower, you're leaning forward slightly, and you're braced behind your shield for an incoming strike."
"Is that last one good?" Jaune asked. "I mean, since you said I should avoid getting hit in the first place."
"Only if getting hit isn't an inevitability," Eve specified. "When you're squared-off against an opponent like this, the hit will come at some point, and you will need to be prepared for it. That's where having a shield can be useful – it prevents your Aura from absorbing the blow."
"I see," Jaune said with a nod. "And when I get hit, which part of the shield do I want it to strike?"
"It doesn't really matter. Some of the sword-and-shield experts out there will tell you one part is better than the other, but in a fight, you won't have time to make the adjustment. At that point, anything that hits your shield instead of you is a small victory for you. Make sense?"
"Yeah, I get it," Jaune said. "Thank you."
Eve nodded. Jaune reminded her of some of the recruits she'd trained in the past – they were all so young and eager to leap into danger, ready to take the fight directly to the enemy without realizing just how dangerous that could be for them. It was her job to both humble them and make sure that they didn't immediately get themselves killed by rushing in mindlessly or doing something equally stupid. If nothing else, Jaune had proven to be a decent student based off this one lesson – he was more open to learning from her than most of the recruits she'd been tasked with training in the past.
That wouldn't be enough to save him during Beacon's initiation if he didn't have his Aura unlocked, but that wasn't her problem.
Pain suddenly lanced through her body, and Eve doubled over, gasping for breath. Jaune was at her side in an instant, one hand resting on her shoulder.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"I'm fine…" Eve insisted. "Just… exerted myself a bit too much."
Jaune frowned. "Let's get you inside and back into bed."
Eve snarled at him, then moved to push him away. "I can do it myself."
Jaune caught her hand, then gently lowered it down to her side. "You don't have to," he said. "Let me help you. I don't want you hurting yourself any further."
Eve went to argue, but Jaune wasn't hearing it at that point. He left his sword and shield on the ground, then scooped her up into a bridal carry before she could protest. Eve blinked, surprised, but her surprise soon turned to silent fuming as he carried her back inside the house.
Of all the people to have ended up with, of course she had to get the one with a heart so golden that it was downright infuriating.
Special thanks to Ickbard for his help with this chapter, as always!
Speaking of which, I have another story out called Auras and Alibis which the two of us are collaborating on. I don't usually do collabs, but Ickbard approached me and wanted to do this one, and I figured I owed him at least that much since he's helped me so much and hasn't really asked for anything in return, so I said yes. Of course, it helps that it's a great idea and a fun story to work on. If you're in the mood for a superhero RWBY AU with some Knightfall, go check that one out, I think you'll like it.
Anyway, I'll keep this AN brief, since I'm busy today. I have one more announcement: FFN is currently very broken and this story is basically popping in and out of existence on this site. Because of that, I have decided to cross-post this story on AO3, along with a few others. You can find it by searching my name, ObsequiumMinaris, on that site. I'm going to do my best to update concurrently on both those sites, just in case one of them goes down, the story will still be accessible.
Past that, I've got nothing else. Hope you all enjoyed, and I'll see you next time!
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