The chainsaw roared in a circle towards Jaune. He didn't have any time to duck out of the way.
He ripped his white sheathe from his side and expanded it into his shield.
The ivory steel spread out right in time to defend against the whirring teeth. His golden aura flashed around his arms straining against the weight of his assailant. The chainsaw shredded against his shield making him vibrate.
His eyes closed against the light show of sparks that danced between the warring steel. His aura got brighter as the chainsaw wielder pushed into him.
The masked man let out a guttural roar and pushed harder. Jaune couldn't grab his sword, which was stuck inside his shield, without losing his stance or getting his hand serrated off.
Suddenly the force pushing him receded. The sparks stopped and he pulled his shield down.
Blake grappled with the chainsaw wielder's neck with the ribbon of her weapon. The rope tightly strained around the bulky man's neck but his aura didn't flare up.
She stumbled the chainsaw wielder backward and jumped on top of his shoulders. She put one arm around his neck and stabbed Gambol Shroud into him. Gray metal sparked on a bright red aura.
Blake quickly stabbed the man several times. Red light lit up the room in intervals.
Jaune ran to the side of their adversary. Blood pumping through him, he activated the grav-dust making the sword pitch down from the sudden increase in mass.
But he easily held it aloft and swung at the man's thigh as if he was wielding his normal sword. His training paid off, he was stronger than ever before.
His sword ground against bright red aura adding to the red popping off of Blake's attacks. It sounded like metal shredding against metal.
Suddenly the man growled and jutted out his limbs. An aura-infused leg raced towards him at speeds impossible for its size. He managed to pull his shield up just in time to meet the meaty kick.
A torrential amount of force smashed his shield into his face. Aura flared around his face-saving it from breaking. The force slammed him into the wall.
His impact made a small dent next to the open hole from their assailant's initial strike. His aura flared on his back and he fell to the floor. But, with a groan, he slowly willed himself back up.
He cradled his skull while his vision refocused on the fight. The masked man stumbled around the room trying to reach Blake. She bobbed around his meaty hands and continued with her attacks.
With a grunt, the man dropped his chainsaw making a sizable clang on the ground. He used one hand to lure Blake to the other, which latched around her feet, and threw her at the wall.
She flew through the air like a heavy rock and, unlike her faunus heritage, didn't land on her feet. Instead, her shoulder hit the wall, next to his wall, with a sickening crack. Her purple midnight aura flared around her for a moment before she leaped back onto her feet.
She cradled her shoulder but winced at the motion. Favoring her undamaged shoulder, she took quick ragged breaths.
Jaune gripped his sword white knuckle deep warily eyeing the chainsaw wielder.
The man stood perfectly still, moving his gaze between them. Shouts and footsteps penetrated through the overseer window and the walls.
Blake moved her eyes towards his. Her flattened cat ears bumped against her headgear and motioned over at the hole in the wall right next to him.
Without another signal, she bounced off her feet and lunged straight at the wall.
He got his finger around the edge of the hole. A guttural roar sounded behind him and the sickening tear of metal filled the room. Out of the corner of his eye, a hulking black mass flew through the air towards the hole.
The black satellite machine, that once stood in the middle of the room, broke through and blocked their only source of escape.
He couldn't pull back his finger in time.
Aura flared over his gauntlet from the crush of the tower. His finger writhed as if it was being run over by a bullhead.
He screamed at the pain that ebbed through the protective era. He used his strength to rip apart his gauntlet freeing his finger. A part of the mass of metal fell to the ground from his motion.
His gauntlet was shredded in half; the other half gleamed in the crushed metal that filled the hole.
He turned back around and picked up his sword. Blake fought with the chainsaw wielder, who he now recognized as Banesaw, seemingly avoiding the metal tower when it was thrown.
With Banesaw's chainsaw in hand, they fought on even footing.
He ran over to her, jumping over a pile of sparking electrical wires where the communication tower once stood. Banesaw used his chainsaw to toss around Blake.
She tried to duck and weave out of the way but the chainsaw's reach always managed to grind against her. Banesaw snarled with each attack, aiming for her weak shoulder.
He was looking to kill.
Blake didn't doge for some attacks and instead tried to block with her blade. The chainsaw shredded into her weapon giving it nicks. It's teeth didn't snag like a normal chainsaw.
Was it a huntsman-level weapon?
Jaune ran up behind Banesaw and stabbed him with his still grav infused sword. He didn't react at the sudden attack but, instead, turned a small swing at Blake into a full swing around at him.
He ducked under the silver roar and noted the build of the chainsaw in that millisecond.
The tips of the army of tiny blades all glowed with a slight purple. Gravity Dust. The dust made the weapon sturdier. That's why it was able to keep up with their huntsman-grade weapons.
Taking note of all this, Jaune rolled forward underneath the man's legs. He used Banesaw's slight confusion to cut in a wide arc into the man's shins. The man finally let out a reaction: a pained grunt.
But he didn't falter and aimed his chainsaw down, like a sword, to sever him. He didn't give him that chance and activated the light dust in his shield, which was in his other hand.
The blue lining shot up, from the gold edges of his shield, and straight into the grav dust infused chainsaw blade. His assailant brought down their chainsaw at the same time.
Light and grav dust met in an explosive reaction.
He looked down, turning off his night vision and closing eyes, right when the mini-explosion occurred. It didn't hurt him but strong light flooded through his eyelids, blinding him.
The faunus of the room must be taking the explosion much worse with their enhanced senses. Hopefully, Blake closed her eyes.
The blast pushed him back slightly. He didn't lose his footing thanks to his light dust projection breaking into the ground and acting as a balance. The explosion should have destroyed the Banesaw's chainsaw.
The sounds of thumping feet and shouting grew louder. The other White Fang members would be right in the mix soon. They had to get rid of this guy and make a quick getaway.
Fading light allowed him to re-open his eyes. An instinct flared in his head and he rolled to the side. A chainsaw came down on his previous spot.
He jumped back to meet his adversary. Banesaw's white wrist guards were charred black. His hands pulsed with a steady glow of his bright red aura.
The chainsaw was slightly blackened and still roared perfectly fine. He could make out the slight sheen of grav dust still working on its teeth.
Even though the fight had lasted no more than a minute or so the man's aura should have been duller; duller colored aura indicated that someone's aura levels were lowering.
But his was still a bright neon red. His soul wasn't sapped of its energy yet.
Jaune's aura flashed all over his body, still bright gold. It looked like the man in front of him had similar aura pools to him. Maybe even greater.
He would still have a high amount of aura after taking in his and Blake's combined damage.
Speaking of Blake, she twisted on the ground behind their attacker clutching her eyes. She wasn't prepared for the explosion.
A wave of guilt washed over him at the sight of his downed ally. He rushed towards Banesaw with a roar. He switched his sword from its grav-dust function to its light-dust mode.
Purple light that emanated from his sword vanished, replaced with a bright bluish-white. The heat from the churning light made his skin shine with a slight wall of aura.
Banesaw ran towards him as well, dragging his chainsaw through the ground. A shower of sparks trailed behind it like a whip.
Right as they were in swinging distance from one another, Blake leaped up from her near comatose state and hooked her ribbon around Banesaw's neck.
She moved as if her senses were not assaulted a few seconds ago.
She dragged him back, making the man trip from his momentum, but he centered himself before he could fall. She stabbed into his neck, like before, but favored one shoulder.
This time the man knew better and dropped the chainsaw.
His hands snaked towards Blake.
But he forgot about Jaune.
Jaune, who had closed the distance when Blake leaped onto Banesaw, thrust his molten sword into Banesaw's gut. The man let out how bestial howl in the biggest display of emotion since the fight started.
His red aura exploded around his sword's thrusting point.
Hot light dust and aura mixed like bubbling steel. Jaune didn't stop at the man's howl and thrust his sword in deeper. A full coat of aura emerged and surrounded the top half of Banesaw's body.
Red aura swirled around the man's midsection like a lighting-filled cyclone. Jaune squinted through the light and continued to stab with as much force as possible.
Their assailant tried to move his arms but he couldn't move a finger. Blake continued her assault on his neck, dishing out even more damage.
His aura dulled darker and darker, Jaune was close to shattering it.
Right as he was about to deliver the final push, a sharp cold pain crashed into his ribs. He grunted ducking out of the way, bringing his sword with him on reflex.
The glass overseer wall, of the front of the office, shattered. Twinkling pieces of glass littered the ground and Banesaw's side. Through the now broken glass wall. he made out two crouched forms on the catwalk training guns at him.
The White Fang were here.
White-hot muzzle flashes peppered the window. He rolled to the desk right as the bullets flew in.
He got hit but his armor and aura were able to stave off the damage. Although the bullets still packed a meaty punch. He groaned at each impact.
A few bullets sprayed Blake, making her aura pop up. She hung onto Banesaw and kept on stabbing him. But, now that there wasn't a molten knife pressed against his chest, he grabbed Blake and aimed her towards the broken overseer window.
He threw Blake like she was a wet cat. At that exact moment, Jaune ran by Banesaw and leapt through the jagged remains of the window. His shin guards crumpled the pieces of glass with their weight and speed.
The shattering of glass mixed in with the shouts and stomping feet of the building. Particles of shining glass flew through the dark with him.
His jump was aura infused so he was able to easily catch Blake in his chest. She groaned at the impact of his pauldron on her unmoving shoulder.
They sailed a few feet forward.
He buried his head into Blake's flapping hair.
Right before they lost their forward momentum, he shouted into her head, "Rope!"
She was already one step ahead of him, pushing her head to meet his. She turned around and, using her good arm, with aura infusing it, she threw her weapon towards the metal catwalk.
Its chipped metal blade twirled through the air in its hook form. It spun, and spun, and spun until it hooked on to the railing of the catwalk. His body pitched up in sudden tension.
He gripped Blake tighter and she did the same.
Beneath them a pitch-black void awaited them.
Their momentum moved them forward with their previous speed, swinging them up into the air instead of down. He grabbed onto the rope helping lessen Blake's exertion.
Their bodies went up until they lost air.
His eyes went wide before he moved his shield, which he still held, to their side. He activated the grav repulsor. With a purple wave, they were shot up and over the catwalk.
It groaned ominously.
They were several feet above it and had nowhere else to go but down. On the catwalk, two Fang members registered they were above them and moved their guns up
He glanced at Blake before she let go of her rope kicking off of him towards one of the Fang. The air left his lungs but her kick pushed him towards the other Fang member.
He whipped around in the air and raised his shield up. Bullets pinged off of it uselessly.
He angled himself and, like a golden rocket, rammed into the Fang's with his shield. The man let out a loud shriek. Jaune's shield smashed into bone.
The Fang's aura broke like straw and the gun crumpled into his chest. He fell onto the floor with a loud thud. The metal of the rusty old catwalk groaned again.
Jaune turned around ready to rush to the other side and help Blake. But she stood over the unconscious form of her adversary.
They ran to the middle and pushed their backs to one another. Fang members lined the glass walls of the hallways they snuck through to get into the main office, with members filling up empty spots by the second.
They were in strategic positions and aimed their guns through the glass observation walls.
A sizable group crowded around the entrances of the halls connected by the catwalk. Their guns buzzed with complex machinery and gleamed in sleekness.
All of this made them look like a highly organized military group than fanatical terrorists.
He backed further into Blake. At every angle, a gun followed their movements. his beating heartbeat filled his head.
Banesaw stood silently at the shattered window wall.
The man's clothes were ripped and tinged black from the explosion but he carried himself like someone who wasn't in a serious fight with two huntsman trainees.
His eyes glowed red in the darkness of the room.
Suddenly he revved his chainsaw and gutturally roared. He flashed his neon red aura throughout his entire body and jumped towards the catwalk.
Jaune dragged Blake to his side right as the chainsaw wielder crushed her previous spot. His impact created an explosion that moved both of them a few feet back. The catwalk buckled, echoing a horrifying rip.
Banesaw dusted himself off and took one step towards them.
His massive foot hit the ground. The catwalk shuddered furiously and its hinges shrieked.
It buckled once and collapsed.
Jaune wrapped around Blake. The ground beneath them gave way. A swarm of guns went off just as the catwalk collapsed. But Banesaw's giant figure blocked half of the bullets. The shots on their side pinged off of his still relatively high aura.
The chainsaw wielder tried to leap at them but fell with the catwalk. He would survive the fall with his massive aura pool. Jaune hoped he did as well.
Still holding onto Blake, he spun around the air so he was falling on his back. The black void sped by; the whistling wind sang into his muffled ears.
Rusty broken catwalk parts whirled around them like a patchwork shield. The smoke and debire provided stopped the firework of bullets from hitting them.
Above them, the active guns, from the still shooting White Fang, created a vivid golden light show that lit the dark factory like a mini-sun.
He willed all of his aura to the back of his body. He would need every last ounce to survive the fall. The glow from his back crept into the edge of his vision.
The descent must have lasted no more than a few seconds but to him, it went by in an eternity.
He crashed into the ground with a massive boom that overshadowed all other noises in the factory. He shouted in pain, it was as if mountains pierced his back. The color of his aura dulled heavily.
He clutched onto Blake who breathed heavily into him.
The last of the catwalk crashed down. A few parts bounced off of his shield.
The mess of debris created a billow of dust and soot that filled the floor. If the quiet was any indication the Fang couldn't pinpoint where they were even with their night vision.
He groaned at the flaring pain. His aura glowed around his back like a cloak. Blake shifted under his grasp, too weak to get out of his grip. He pulled her in and stood up shakily.
Their bodies shook as they steadied themselves. In the haze of the cloud of old dust, he saw a flash of red not too far away from them.
"We have to go, now!" he whispered with fervor to Blake.
She took a ragged breath before both of them headed to the nearest exit. They ran into the dust storeroom. They didn't have much time until the Fang came through the dust cloud.
They also didn't have time to examine any of the craters, probably chock-full of dust. Breaking down the door to the docking bay that was chained up, they right out into the dark factory pavement. Above them, the shattered moon provided light on the path.
Blake whipped her head around and spoke in a dry voice, "What you did back there was insane but thank you for saving my life."
He tiredly grinned at her, "Hey, it's no problem. You would have leaped out of a window for me as well."
They continued their dead run.
Behind them, the factory was a mess of sound. One loud roar, like that of a Beowolf, pierced through the noise.
At the chain-link fence around the factory, he helped Blake up before using aura to leap over it clean.
He ran towards their scouting building at first but Blake suddenly tugged on his arm leading him towards a random quiet street. He briskly walked right next to her.
They ran through a random array of streets until they reached an empty alleyway. He crashed onto the floor while Blake fell back against a wall. He took rasping breaths; his body was caked in sweat.
His aura still glowed behind his back, healing him.
He crawled over to Blake and heaved himself against her. Their bodies crashed into one another for support. Next to where he sat, an open doorway led to the dark depths of an abandoned building.
His heart shuddered in his chest and hers did as well.
The cool concrete soothed his aching body. His breathing slowed down with the recession of his adrenaline. Without the battle buffer, pain flared all over his body causing him to hiss.
But they couldn't rest long. They had to get back to Beacon and treat their wounds.
He got up and every single muscle, and even a few bones. protested the sudden movement. He stood with his back to the dark doorway.
Aura washed over his body trying to heal as much as it could. But it would take rest and a lot of time to fix Blakes shoulder with aura alone. They needed to get back to Beacon and let the resident healer patch them up.
Suddenly a creak sounded behind him. The adrenaline that had left his body shot through him once more; he instinctively drew his sword around in a wide-sweeping cut.
His blade cut into the stomach of a Fang member.
The man croaked. His aura shattered on the blade's initial strike and the blade cut a fine gash through his armor.
Jaune's mouth opened in both shock and horror. A drop of blood fell from the Fang's wound and in it, he saw the lifeless corpse of Neo staring at him.
He froze and didn't notice the other Fang member aiming a gun behind their fallen adversary.
Luckily, Blake shot up from her ground post and threw the butt end of Gambol Shroud at the gunman. Her blade broke their aura instantly and they crumpled to the floor.
The sound of shattering aura broke him out of his trance. He quickly realized what he had done and dropped to the floor.
He put his finger on the throat of the Fang member he cut and let out a sigh of relief when a pulse throbbed against his finger. Pulling up the man's torn shirt, he analyzed the cut.
It was a shallow, more papercut than sword slash. He was low energy from the factory fight resulting in a weak slash. He was oddly okay with his lapse in skill.
He stood up and pulled off his headgear. His head was sweat-stricken and matted like noodles. Blake pulled her headgear off as well and was in a similar state to him.
He picked up the body and carried it over to the front of the alleyway, dumping it there. He did the same for the other grunt.
Both he and Blake checked their helmets. The grunts had pig red bumps on their forehead. These were the perimeter they had first knocked out.
He babbled to Blake, "These were the perimeter we first ran into. That's why their aura shattered so quickly. They woke up and came after us right now."
Blake interjected, "Jaun-"
He cut her off, "But how did they follow us all the way here? Did they spot my aura still glowing around my back? Was it by rando-"
Blake sternly shouted as loud as she could without attracting attention, "Jaune!"
He froze in place. She briskly walked towards him and pulled him into a tight one-armed hug.
"Are you alright?" she whispered into his ear.
He took a deep breath and thought about the drop of blood. About Neo's lifeless body reflecting in it, her lifeless eyes staring back at him.
He sighed, "I honestly don't know. I don't feel as bad as after the dock fight but I froze when I cut into him. I thought I killed him."
"But you didn't," she added forcefully.
He chuckled, "I know, I didn't kill him. I was just reminded of Neo and well… some unpleasant feelings bubbled back up. Let's just head home."
Blake sunk into around his neck for support. He half walked/half carried her out of the alleyway.
About halfway towards Beacon, they ditched their black sneaking outfits and all of their other gear through the window of an abandoned building.
Blake limped and he groaned with every single step.
She couldn't even lift her injured shoulder. Their gold and purple auras flashed around their bodies.
They left the edge of the dead abandoned district and entered the lively Vale a few blocks away. The bustle of the city quickly swallowed them in, no one batted an eye at Blake's limp or the way he winced with each step.
He spotted and guided Blake towards a tucked-away food stall.
She protested with little energy, "Jaune we need to make the call to Qrow. The Fang are probably already packed up."
"We can do that after we eat and get some energy," he responded matter of factly.
She opened her mouth to argue but her growling stomach interrupted her. She smiled sheepishly.
He helped her over to a nearby bench and went back to the stall. He came back with three wraps in his arms.
Blake's eyes widened comically and sparkled at the fish wrap he handed her. She scarfed it down and he handed another one.
Blake savored her warp this time. He slowly ate his as well. It melted into his mouth and a bit of energy rolled back into him. Even though it was street food it tasted like the best thing he had eaten in weeks. A small part of his head attributed this to the fact that he had not eaten for hours and that he had spent his sleeping hours fighting.
But he ignored that voice and simply enjoyed the meal.
His wrap disappeared but he still wasn't satiated. Right as he got up to head back to the stall, Blake presented half of her wrap to him. He put his hand up to turn down her offer but she pressed the wrap into his mouth before he could complain.
It tasted delightful and he ate it in one bite. Judging by Blake's tepid smile, she was happy at his reaction.
He leaned back on the bench, taking a deep breath. Their bodies leaned on one another. It was for support because their bodies were tired, rather than any conscious decision on their part.
It was so late that they were in the next day.
Even though it was pitch dark there were a healthy number of people that rushed on by. None of them spared him a second glance, to focused on their own lives.
He needed to focus back on his own.
With a sigh, he turned to Blake who was not in her spot. He whipped his head around, momentarily worried, but calmed when she walked back from the food cart with some drinks in her hand.
Why would she suddenly run on him? They were partners now who needed one another to carry the burden of future knowledge. Of course, she wouldn't just leave him. He was being paranoid.
He took a deep breath, the battle did a number on him.
She sat back down and handed him a cold drink. He gulped it down greedily. His throat cooled and his voice came back to him.
Putting it down with a sigh, he put his battle face back on and turned to her.
She raised a brow drinking loudly from her bottle's straw.
"You alright?" she asked, sipping the last of her drink and putting it down.
'"I'm feeling better but I hurt like hell. Do you have Ruby's phone?" he asked.
She nodded and flicked out the red glossed scroll. He caught it and opened it up. He quickly set up the privacy measures before dialing Qrow.
The call didn't immediately go through. The phone rang for a connection.
He suddenly spoke up, "Don't you think that Ruby would have noticed that her phone's been gone for so long?"
Blake shrugged, "She most likely has but she probably chalked it up to misplacing it. Yang's been teasing her about her losing things since she was a kid so she thinks that she misplaced it. As long as she 'finds' it in the morning we should be fine."
The scroll chimed indicating that the call went through.
Qrow's gruff but strained voice answered the line, "Hey Rubes, it's not like you to call so late. What's up?"
"Not Ruby. Tungsten," Jaune responded with his voice heavily modified.
Qrow sighed expectantly, "I figured. Do you have any new leads or do you just want to talk to your favorite huntsman operative?"
Jaune cut right to the chase, "There is a White Fang base in an old factory in one of the abandoned districts of Vale, I've already texted you the specific area."
"Already one step ahead of you, I'm heading down there to investigate reports of an explosion down there right now. Let me guess, you caused that boom?"
So that's why he sounded like he was running. Next to Jaune, Blake rested her head right against the phone listening to the conversation.
"That doesn't matter. What does matter is that there are crates full of dust and weapons being stored there. Also, the Fang there all have aura and are unusually organized. Bring a large force with you."
"Aura? The Fang doesn't have an aura, they're just common grunts," Qrow responded disbelievingly.
Jaune's forehead let out a small bit of sweat. If Qrow and the police underestimated the Fang things would go south.
"Look, I saw what I saw. They have aura, powerful guns, and more tactical sense than before. You need to take them seriously or you'll be putting all of Vale in jeopardy. But you also have to hurry, the Fang are probably scrubbing the whole place down."
He waited with bated breath for Qrow's response.
Finally, the mature huntsman hummed, " I'll trust you Tungsten, your Roman information was true so I'll call for some good backup. I'll talk to you when we bust the base."
With a gruff grunt, Qrow ended the call. Jaune slumped back into his seat and let out a sigh of relief. Blake squeezed his shoulder, steadying him.
"Let's head back to Beacon. My shoulder is killing me," she whispered.
He nodded and put the girl's arm around his neck. They walked as quickly as they could to the airship docks.
The rented Airship dock landed with an unnerving thump.
The normal Beacon airships only ran for a certain amount of time and didn't service students so late at night. If a student didn't catch one back to Beacon they were expected to either ruff it out in the city, make the trek through the Emerald forest from, or they could rent an airship.
He and Blake chose the third option. But they weren't exactly swimming in cash so they had to choose the cheapest ship.
Jaune clung onto Blake and she clung onto him as they exited the rickety aircraft. They both shook with relief at the solid ground.
During the flight his airsickness almost made a serious comeback but he pushed it back down in fear of destroying his friendship with Blake.
The cool air of Beacon greeted them with the rustle of trees. The pilot of the aircraft, a crazy old man with fogged over goggles that Jaune swore hid his blindness, waved them goodbye before flying off.
Jaune spoke in pure amazement, "I can't believe that thing didn't explode ."
Blake leaned fully into him, giving up all pretenses of trying to walk by herself.
She spoke with a tired yawn, "It doesn't matter, let's just go to the infirmary."
They walked, more accurately he carried Blake while all his muscles protested his sudden chivalry, to the still open main building. Using an elevator they arrived at the infirmity floor.
Walking up to the infirmary door, they passed underneath the lit red cross sign and into the reception office.
Even though it was deep into the night, Beacon staffed the infirmary. People could come back from missions at any time of the day and might need treatment.
The room was brightly lit but devoid of life so they moved through the patient doorway.
They hobbled into a dark room with the usual bleachy smell of a hospital. Green teal walls complemented a white tiled floor. On one side of the room, a line of closed green curtains parted the wall into sections.
The sections were rectangular and long, leaving space inside for beds and even visitors to sit in. A few shadowy figures rested on the beds inside of the green curtains. Trays and medical equipment were neatly arranged near the sections.
On the ceiling, advanced movable machines buzzed in non-use. The wall opposite the row of curtains was lined with turned-off holo-comps, posters for medical concepts, and more advanced equipment.
Only one holo-light was lit, acting as the main source of light in the room. In front of it, leaning on a chair, a fox -faunus leaned on a chair, reading a book.
Her hair was bright orange tipped with black. On her head, a pair of fox faunus ears, which were also orange and tipped in back, drooped down onto her forehead. Behind the woman, a bushy orange black-tipped faunus tail swished absentmindedly.
She was the first faunus he had seen who had two animal traits.
She wore a tight-fitting doctor's coat and beneath that a tight black nurse's outfit with pads all throughout it. The entire outfit looked like medical huntsman gear.
To him, she was beautiful but that isn't saying much when most of the women in Beacon were drop-dead gorgeous.
Her book was oddly titled and if Blake's radiating blush was any indication it was a raunchy one.
The faunus woman's ears twitched at their approach. She put down her book with a sigh and slowly spun around in her chair.
Her face was young and she could have easily passed as a bit older than them but the wrinkles in her fox ears indicated she was well into her life.
He looked back at her with a sheepish grin. Blake looked away from her.
The woman roamed their bodies and her eyes widened. She jumped up from her chair and hurried over to them.
She took out a scroll from her pocket and scanned it over Blake's shoulder.
"What happened?" She asked worriedly.
"Well we-" Jaune stumbled for an excuse but she quickly waved him over.
"Never mind, bring her over to a bed," she swiftly said in a professional demeanor.
He nodded and briskly carried off Blake to the green curtains, pushing through one that didn't have a shape inside of it.
There was a plush medical bed inside of it with equipment around the bed frame attached to it.
He deposited Blake onto the bed as gently as he could. Even so, she let out a painful groan at her shoulder touching the bed. The fox faunus women walked through the curtains wearing gloves.
She quickly passed by him without a word and sat on a stool next to the bed. She hummed inspecting Blake with her scroll and a variety of tools. He stood there fidgeting.
Blake looked at him with dead tired eyes.
The faunus woman murmured out loud, "A broken shoulder blade and some more fractured bone around that. Your entire body is also prepared with aura bruising. Whatever you kids got yourselves into, it must have been pretty dangerous. But I can treat this."
She pinched Blake's shoulder making the usually quiet girl bark out in pain.
Humming to herself she addressed both of them, "You'll have to take off your shirt for me to get a better read- she looked up at him with a serious expression- I'll have to ask you to head outside or to take a bed if you have any injuries."
He breathed a sigh of relief and exited the curtains into the next empty bed. He took off his armor and sweater, laying them in a pile, before getting on the bed. The soft mattress melted into his aching back. His head sunk into the comfortable pillow and he let out a deep yawn.
The comfiness of the bed combined with the quiet hum of the machines made him more tired. But he needed to stay awake for Blake's condition. He would only let himself sleep after she was treated.
He started up at the ceiling, thinking about the night's events and what he was going to tell the doctor. From time to time, he turned over to Blake's curtains.
The two faunus women conversed in hushed voices. Blake lay on the frame of the bed while the faunus doctor prodded her.
He lost track of how long the woman treated Blake. Right as he was about to fall into the clutches of sleep, the woman entered his section through Blake's curtains.
She sat down in the chair next to his bed with a scroll tablet in her hands. Its soft blue glow highlighted her dark brown eyes.
He frowned and opened his mouth to speak but she interjected him, "Your partner is safe and sound. I've given her some aura boosters and used my semblance. She'll be perfectly fine in the morning and ready to get into more trouble."
She said the last part with a chuckle.
The black silhouette of Blake's body lay still on her bed. Her chest rose up and down slowly.
"Oh my, I haven't introduced myself, I'm , Beacon's head doctor. Now let's see what's wrong with you," Tsune said, compacting her tablet down to a scroll form.
She pressed a button on the scroll and a blue ghostly light shot out of it. The light moved over his entire body several times before shutting off.
A ping sounded from her scroll.
She read her scroll and hummed, "Minor aura bruising in the front."
He grunted, "Most of the damage is on my back."
She nodded and gestured for him to pull his shirt up. He complied and took it off, placing it on top of his discarded armor. He turned over so he lay on his side. His back protested from the sudden loss of soft cushion.
She scooted her stool nearer and let out an audible hiss.
Slowly brushing her gloved hand over his back, she remarked, "What happened? Did you fall off a building back first?"
He let out a startled chuckle which he tried to make sound natural instead of painfully nervous.
He asked, straining to look back, "Is it that bad?"
Her gloved fingers slowly rubbed his back making him wince. A tidal wave of smoldering pain traveled over him.
"It looks like you painted your entire back blue and purple. I think it's just one big giant bruise," she responded.
She suddenly stopped rubbing and stabbed him in the back with a sharp nailed finger. It was as if a molten knife pressed into his back.
He painfully yelped which he quickly muffled with his hands, not wanting to wake up Blake or any of the other sleeping patients.
He tried to turn around but she stabbed into him again making him straighten out as more pain rolled off of him. He took a deep shuddering breath before she pulled her finger away.
Flipping around, he scrambled away from the insane doctor. His entire body flared against the sudden movement, but he went through the pain and pushed himself as far into the frame as possible.
The bed sheets crumpled. His chest rose rapidly.
She giggled maniacally into her hand. He looked at her with a shocked, baffled expression. She laughed like she witnessed the funniest thing in the world.
Letting out a small sigh and wiping an imaginary tear she refocused on him.
Pure amusement filled her eyes.
He spoke with exasperation, "What was that for!?"
"It's to make sure that you don't jump off any more buildings," she responded casually.
His entire body sagged and he whispered, "I didn't even jump off a building."
She feigned hearing his retort, "Did you say something? It doesn't matter, turn back around so that I can treat you."
Nodding gruffly, he presented his back to her. He rested his chin on his pillow and took a calming breath. He hoped the sadistic doctor would actually heal him.
Her hands, now lathered in cream, rubbed his back, cooling it instantly. He contently sighed at the subsiding pain.
He melted into the bed, much more accepting of her treatment.
She chuckled, "Don't get too excited, I do this for everyone."
He blushed into the pillow causing her to chuckle. She finished lathering the cream and pulled her hands away.
Suddenly a light pink glow flooded in through his closed eyes. He lifted up his head but she used one finger to push him back down.
She spoke with a tiny bit of strain in her voice, "Don't worry, I'm just using my semblance."
He hummed into the pillow before propping his head up, "What does it do?"
"It allows me to control all of the tissues inside of a person if I touch them. Pretty handy for patching people. It was pretty handy out in the field against human opponents when I was a huntress but I retired and now use it to heal people. Life has a strange way of coming back around like that."
He shuddered just thinking about what gruesome attacks she could have done using her semblance. But right now, her semblance was a godsend. Most of the pain had receded being replaced by a cool nice sensation.
She continued on, "Now that you're talking about semblances, what's yours?"
He paused and sighed solemnly, "I haven't unlocked mine yet."
She patted his back in consolement, "Don't worry about it. Either your soul hasn't been exposed to something traumatic enough or you just don't have a semblance. Although that doesn't matter, you can still be a great huntsman without one."
Her words eased a deep fear inside of him. One of his goals for stopping the future videos from coming true, and just in general, was to find his semblance.
But he wouldn't mope around if he didn't have one. He would get stronger with or without the superpower.
"Ok all done," Tsune proclaimed, turning off the purple glow allowing the darkness to recede back in.
He flexed his back, it moved seamlessly like it hadn't crashed into the ground from a sizable height. He smiled and flipped over facing Tsune.
The fox-faunus doctor got out of the chair and walked over to the green curtains.
She whispered, "Have a good sleep. You'll feel perfect in the morning."
He responded with a thumbs up. She left the section and he lolled into a deep sleep devoid of dreams or nightmares.
The sounds of chirping birds and snoring woke him up.
He opened his eyes and was greeted by strong sunlight. He scooted away from the light, sitting back up on the bed frame. Above the bed, an open window let in a sunny day.
He didn't even notice the window when he came in.
His back didn't flare up nor did any of the other myriad aches from last night. Twisting around and flexing his back, it was as if he never got into a fight in the first place.
He smiled and flexed his body. All of his muscles were full of energy.
That doctor was borderline maniacal but she did know her stuff.
A weight on his arms and stomach caught his attention. He looked down to Pyrrha snoring lightly on top of his stomach. Her arms entangled his own.
Did she notice he didn't come back to the dorms and come to investigate? What was he even going to tell her?
He hoped she didn't stay up all night worrying about him. She was just the sort of person who would put her own health first for him or any one of his teammates.
He squeezed her arm lightly intending to just get some contact with his partner, but she woke up with a jump. Her eyes opened wide before they softened meeting his gaze.
She didn't have bags under her eyes and her hair was neat. She looked like she woke up an hour or so ago. He let out a sigh of relief that she didn't harm herself for him.
She wore the school uniform with its red bow and her golden headband.
He groaned internally. Today was a school day.
Well, it wasn't like he could fight the Fang all the time. He needed to learn how to be a huntsman as well so he would welcome the distraction.
Pyrrha moved her hair to the side and quickly combed it with her hands even though it was perfect. Her soft eyes turned piercing and a frown creased her brow.
She opened her mouth to speak but, at that moment, Tsune walked through the curtains.
The fox faunus spoke with cheer interrupting Pyrrha, "Ah it seems you're awake. How are you feeling ?"
He coolly ignored Pyrrha's questioning gaze and spoke directly to Tsune, "I'm feeling perfect. It's almost as if I never got injured in the first place, thank you."
Tsune smiled, "Well it's my job to make you better and I believe I'm pretty good at it."
He scrunched his brow and asked, "How did you know my name? I never told it to you."
"You didn't need to tell me," she said, holding up his scroll which had its student I.D on it.
He understood straightening up on the bed, "So… Can I leave now?"
She shook her head and took out her scroll tablet, "Not yet . While you and are both perfectly healed, I do need to file some paperwork for both of you. I have most of the information but Beacon policy requires me to know how you got injured in the first place. Normally I would just have your huntsman mission info but you and weren't on a mission. So…"
"You want to know what happened?" he finished.
She nodded. Pyrrha stared at him with both curiosity and worry etched on her face.
He would need to come up with a half-truth, to come off as believable as possible. But he wanted to tell Pyrrha the entire truth; he even wanted to show her the videos.
He and Blake were severely underprepared for their enemies in the factory. They would need more allies and what better ally than the invincible girl? Pyrrha was clever and would easily blend into their brand of work. He also wouldn't mind rebuilding the trust he had lost with her.
He took a deep breath gathering his story and looked between the two women.
Scratching the back of his head to come off as aloof/harmless, he said, "Blake and I were in Vale having a night out when we spotted two White Fang grunts coming from that abandoned industrial district. They saw us and we wore our huntsman clothes, because we just had a training session right before we left, so they scrambled back into the district. We chased and caught up to them, but we severely underestimated them. They had aura and huntsman-grade weapons. We were thrashed around. But we managed to defeat them and come back to Vale."
Tsune typed on her tablet a mile a minute before she looked up with a quizzical expression, "Why didn't you call the Vale police after the fight? You would have gotten much faster medical attention."
He responded back with slight anger playing up the act, "I just fought off some terrorists and my friend had brothers knows what done to her shoulder, I wasnt really in the right state of mind to think rationally."
She put her arms up in defense before going back typing. Pyrrha's mouth hung open in shock. He tried to communicate a sense of patience to her.
"It looks like I have everything I need. Although I do need to call the headmaster and tell him about this. Its no good that any of our students get into a rumble with a terrorist group."
He gulped in fear. Ozpin could not get suspicious of him or Blake.
She looked up from her tablet and let out a slight chuckle, "Don't worry, you aren't in trouble. Students fight criminals all the time and we have to report it to the city. It's just a procedure."
She patted his arms before getting up. He put on a fake smile but he dropped it once she left.
Her figure stood where the holo-comps were. The ring of a scroll filled the quiet room soon followed by hushed voices.
She was relaying to Ozpin.
Pyrrha suddenly spoke up, "Jaune what ar-"
He stopped her by placing a finger on her lips. He looked in her eyes urging caution before he let go of his finger. Placing a hand on her's, he squeezed it reassuringly.
She opened her mouth to speak once more but he pulled her stool closer so she was squashed against the bed. He didn't want any of the faunus of the room hearing.
He leaned in and whispered, "Pyr as my partner and someone who knows about my transcripts you deserve to know the truth. But I can't tell you anything right now. After classes finish today, I will. You just have to hold on till then, I know I haven't been very trusting of you but can you trust me for just a little bit?"
She whispered, "Jaune…"
She looked away from him and at the window. Staring at it for a while she turned around meeting his gaze.
Her emerald eyes shined straight into his soul and he so badly wanted to tell her everything.
But he held off his aching heart.
She nodded reluctantly and pushed her stool away from him, letting go of his hand. He winced at the sudden loss of contact but sagged back in relief. It looked like things were going to work out.
Abruptly, the green curtains to his section opened and Tsune walked in. Two other figures followed behind her. She sat back down on the chair while the other two figures stood in front of his bed.
He warily met the eyes of Ozpin and Qrow.
His heart hammered in his chest but he kept cool. Scrunching up the bedsheets in a slower than needed motion, he willed his sweating and shaking hands to calm.
Ozpin spoke to Pyrrha with a pleasant voice, "Good morning , classes are going to start soon. Why don't you head along? I need to have a quick word with ."
Pyrrha looked back at Jaune for just a moment before standing up. She said goodbyes to all three of the adults and left. Ozpin went around the bed and sat on the stool Pyrrha sat on.
He leaned his cane against the frame of the bed, agonizingly slow. At that moment, Jaune wondered if the old headmaster knew about his transcripts.
He had brought the fake documents with his saved up allowance, which wasn't much. There must have been times before where people tried to get into Beacon with higher quality fakes and they got caught.
Did the headmaster let him in intentionally?
He pushed these thoughts to the back of his head. He needed to focus on getting rid of the tense air that suddenly filled the room.
An idea sparked into his head.
He spoke with nonchalant curiosity to Qrow, "Are you Ruby's dad?"
The hard eyes of the middle aged man softened and he let out a chuckle. The other two adults in the room also laughed.
"No, I'm her uncle. You must be Jaune, if Ruby's letters are accurate. Im Qrow, huntsman, and an errand boy to that old wizard over there" he responded pointing to Ozpin.
Jaune nodded, internally relieved that the tension was defused.
Ozpin spoke up, "Now that introductions are out of the way, Mr. Arc, can you tell me more about this scuffle you had with the Fang."
Jaune nodded and retold the story he told Tsune, although he added the fact they went after the Fang because it was a hunters duty to protect the people both against Grimm and other threats.
Ozpin didn't say a word during his entire retelling, simply peering into his eyes.
He finished with a dry throat and leaned back into the bed. Tsune passed him a glass of water which he gladly accepted.
Ozpin hummed for a moment before getting up. He and Qrow exited the curtains and spoke outside in whispers.
Jaune drank the water slowly trying to hide his nervousness. He hoped that they brought his half truth.
Ozpin and Qrow re-entered.
Qrow crossed his arms, "You were lucky their kid. Those Fang members were running from a major bust."
Ozpin nodded, "Yes, it was also not your fault that you got severely injured by them. The White Fang are usually weak guerilla fighters; they should not have been so strong."
"But next time you find terrorists, call the cops. Your huntsmen and your main goal is to fight the Grimm, leave the cirminals and terrorists for Vale," Qrow interjected.
They both nodded before leaving. Tsune bid them farewell before she went over to him and inspected him one more time.
He asked her, "Did Ozpin go to Blake?"
She looked up from her scroll, "Oh, is still asleep. We had a very interesting conversation before she hit the hay yesterday though, a very sharp woman."
She scanned over him some more before getting up and heading to the green curtains.
"You can head back to your dorm. There's still some time left before class starts so you can take a shower and change into your uniform. I think woke up and is waiting outside."
She left the section leaving him in total privacy. He got off the bed and picked up all of his gear. He exited through the curtains and gave a quick wave to Tsune.
He went through the reception area and into the halls of Beacon.
Blake leaned against a wall. He rushed over, making her cat ears perk. She wore her battle outfit from the day before. She stood tall, like someone who had only gotten into an ounce of conflict..
They didn't say a word and instead jogged to the dorm building, passing by students already in their uniforms. In the corner of his eye, he noted her twisting her shoulder around with ease.
Right as they were in front of their dorms, he turned to Blake and grabbed her hand.
He spoke urgently, "Follow my lead after classes finish."
She nodded and he entered his dorm. It was empty, his teammates must have gone to breakfast.
He went into the bathroom and quickly did as Tsune suggested coming out in his uniform.
He left the room and headed to classes.
Combat class ended with the buzz of the bell. He shot up from his bleacher seat and took Pyrrha's hand in his.
Before she could even say anything, he walked out of the gym with her stumbling behind him before she matched his pace. He spotted Blake trailing behind them and motioned for her to get closer.
She complied and slid right next to Pyrrha.
The trio briskly walked to the library. Pyrrha looked between him and Blake but didn't say anything.
She held his hand loosely.
He tried not to crumble under her questioning gaze.
They reached the library and entered it. He shuffled Pyrrha to his and Blakes spot, sitting her down between him and Blake.
Pyrrha grasped his hand and spoke with strain, "Jaune, why are we in the library? Weren't you going to tell me the truth?"
He put a hand on her shoulder, "All in due time Pyr."
Taking out his scroll he set it down in front of her. He plugged in his yellow headphones and pushed them into Pyrrha's ear. He went over the downloaded future videos and hit play.
He sat back in his seat as the videos played and Pyrrha's eyes went wide.
AN:
Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review or comment, it's greatly appreciated!
Also I hope you guys had a good holiday!