Writing this type of stuff is hard. But we need character interactions.
Settling In
The blow came from overhead, forcing Jaune to duck under the oversized weapon. An opening appeared on his opponent's right flank as he overextended. Jaune rammed his shield, powered by his robotic limb, into the side, causing a grunt of pain to escape from the combatant. The mace's pommel smashed into Jaunes temple as it came back, disorienting and blurring his vision. Fight through it. He begged his body, refusing to be put on the back foot. If he was going to lose, Jaune was going to make him work for it.
Crocea Mors ripped through the air as Jaune delivered another strike to the side. Aura flared and protected his opponent, mitigating most of the damage. Still fazed by the blow to the temple, he didn't notice the weapon head his way. A sickening crack echoes through the arena as the head of the mace contacted Jaune's torso. Pain and Aura flared, telling him that heavy damage was sustained. The explosion of dust that came with it propelled Jaune across the ring.
Get up. Jaune told himself, ignoring the agonizing ache from his body. The ground was solid as he climbed back to his feet. Labored breathing came from his lungs, as if they were set on fire. Something changed in his mind, objectives and strategies becoming clear. Hesitation reduces reaction time. Be decisive. Readying his sword and shield once more, Jaune charged in. The opponent was waiting for it, satisfied to take his time and recuperate.
As the distance became closer, his rival prepared to hit him with full force. Two hands gripped the maces haft, winding the weapon back. Too fast to dodge. He thought as the mace began its arc. Deflect and close distance. Embrace the pain. His shield met the mace mid arc, slowing the speed. The force still jarred the prosthetic and sending pain through his body, but he prepared for it. Jaune swung his sword down to score another hit but glanced off as an armored shoulder rammed into his chest. The wind was knocked out of him and his Aura flared again. It was low already, but this was near the breaking point.
Enemy closed distance. Sword ineffective at this range. A thought flashed through his mind. Jaune dropped his sword, grabbed his opponents short red hair, and proceeded to ram his forehead into his adversary's nose. Blood erupted from the impact as both fighter's Aura flared. A fist impacted Jaune's stomach, lancing more pain into the already wounded body. Don't retreat. Continue assault. Grunting under the impact and tasting blood, Jaune reared his head for another blow.
"Enough!" Glynda Goodwitch's voice echoed through the stadium. Both fighters paused at the command, the adrenaline high still active. Jaune released his hold as his opponent stepped back, holding the bridge of his nose. "The winner is Cardin Winchester." Scattered applause came from around the arena stands where students observed the fights. Aura levels were shown on a screen above the arena to keep track of how much each fighter had. Cardin's was barely in the yellow while Jaune's was completely empty.
"Mr. Winchester, I would recommend that you take every fight seriously. Your actions of prolonging the fight caused you unneeded damage. Be better." She lectured him. Cardin scoffed and walked off stage, held head high in order to stem the bleeding nose. "And you, Mr. Arc." Goodwitch turned to him. "Be mindful of your Aura usage. Another hit and you could've been seriously hurt, or even killed. Reckless actions will not help you against multiple opponents." She lectured on.
"Thank you." He said, picking up his sword and limping back to the stands. The clarity of battle started fading from him as he walked. Gods, this hurts. The prosthetic held up better than he thought, reaction time and feeling still there. It didn't appear to take any damage, but he'll check on that tonight. Team JBRW sat below to YPLN, their unofficial sister team. He received odd looks from them as he sat down in an open spot next to Ruby.
"That was… something." Weiss said after a moment. Jaune licked his teeth, tasting the iron of blood before spitting it out between his feet.
"Yeah, Vomit boy, that was pretty reckless." Yang piped up from her team.
"Only had a week training." He said, massaging his stomach. The blow from earlier still ached. He was also fighting in jeans and a grey t-shirt, which didn't help.
"A week? Then how did you get through initiation?" Pyrrha asked from beside Yang. She seemed strangely curious about it. Jaune just shrugged thinking back on it.
"Panic and things just become clearer when I fight." He said. "Actually, it sounds weird when I say it out loud."
"Maybe it's a semblance?" Ruby said from beside him.
"A what?"
"You don't know what a semblance is?" She asked, visibly shocked. The people around him wore similar expressions.
"No idea." He could her Weiss groan into her hands and sighs from the rest of the group as he said it. Yang rubbed her temples and Ruby seemed to be thinking about something.
"Jaune… When did you unlock your Aura?" The reaper asked. It took a moment for him to think about it.
"About two weeks ago. Why?" Ruby took a deep breath.
"Okay. This explains a lot." She muttered. A hand gripped Jaune's shoulder, and he didn't need to turn around to see who it was.
"Yes, Snow Angel?" he said. The pressure increased after he said those words.
"Jaune, my dear team leader, I believe you have extra lessons for the foreseeable future." Sweet gods almighty, that voice was terrifying. It was so sweet; he could taste death. Ruby's reaction was different.
"Yes! You have so much to learn! Oh, this is gonna be great." She was giddy at the prospect of teaching Jaune. That was a red flag if he ever seen one. "So, Semblances are like your superpower. Everyone's is different. I can burst in petals and go really fast." Ruby demonstrated by straight up dematerializing and zipping around the stands. Rose petals followed her deconstructed form as she came back beside him. "Weiss can use glyphs to do different stuff. Blake can make clones of herself, and Yang can punch really hard."
It took a moment for that to sink in. Now that Jaune thought about it, it was weird how they all did different things that broke reality sometimes. "Huh. That makes more sense. I just thought you guys used Dust." Ruby tilted her head. It would have been adorable if she wasn't looking at him like an idiot.
"No silly. I mean, it helps and augments it, but we don't need dust to use our semblances."
"So, what's mine then?" Jaune asked.
"Don't know. Everyone's manifests in different ways. I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner or later." Ruby patted his arm. "Until then, we're gonna train you till you're the bestest leader ever!"
"Hey! What about me?" questioned Yang from the row above them. Ruby waved a dismissive hand.
"Jaune needs the help. He's like a baby deer learning to walk, it's so cute." Why thank you for that, Ruby. You just stole whatever pride I had left. A sigh escaped him as he leaned back and hit someone's legs, but he didn't care. Ruby and Weiss were now talking about putting him in a training regimen, while Blake continued to read her book. He looked up to see Ren's pink eyes staring back at him.
"Hey, dude." Jaune started. He never actually interacted with the guy.
"Hey."
"Your team any better? I wanna switch." Ren looked over to see Yang and Nora chatting excitedly about the night in Vale tomorrow while Pyrrha was busy writing down something on a notepad. The words 'shopping', 'drinks', and 'how' were common.
"I might take you up on that offer."
Vale was a sprawling city. Few buildings over three stories and the populace were out and about on Saturday. This morning, Weiss and Ruby enacted their training plan or Get Jaune Super Strong regimen. Jaune felt like death warmed over with all the aches and pains from yesterday added on. At least they're helping. Though he did wonder if they were secretly trying to kill him through exhaustion. Hell, even Yang joined to add to his suffering.
Rude awakening aside, Jaune was able to contact Qrow on his Beacon issued scroll. It took him nine tries of calling to finally get through. The bastard thought he was reaching out to extend the warranty on his motorcycle. He didn't even own one. A few choice words later, he was able to meet up with him near the city square. In all honesty, Hunters and Huntresses stood out like sore thumbs.
"There he is! A Huntsman in training!" Qrow yelled as Jaune approached him. Embarrassment didn't come easy to Jaune anymore. Blame his family for that.
"Good to see you too, Qrow. How's the wife and kids?" The man motioned him to follow as they made their way toward the mall.
"Oh, you know. She's still getting on my case about proposing, but I just don't have the time. Being Vale's strongest Huntsman is a busy job."
"Mhm. And the kids?" Qrow gave an exasperated sigh that would make his dad proud.
"Absolute menaces. One of them trashed a club. Just waltzed in, interrogated the bartender and proceeded to destroy the place. And the other one keeps running into thugs and thrashing them too."
"Sounds like a lot of responsibility." Jaune said, idly wonder how his parents ever kept eight children in line. Then he remembered when his mom became furious at Saphron for sneaking a girl over and not telling her. Things made more sense now.
"So, what happened to the old get up?" Qrow asked. Right now, Jaune was wearing his last pair of jeans and green long-sleeved shirt.
"It got shredded in imitation. I had a bit of a crash landing."
"Ozpin launched kids off the cliff again?"
"Yes, but that wasn't the worst part." Jaune confirmed as they made their way to the sprawling building of Vale's central mall. "Riding a Nevermore into a cliff kind tore everything to pieces."
"Did you at least kill it?"
"Nope, my teammate did. I was unconscious at the time. But hey, it worked out."
"Yeah, all it cost you was an arm and a leg." Qrow elbowed his side. "Eh? Eh?"
"Too soon, dude." Jaune was not amused.
"You gotta laugh at it at some point. It's only a matter of time." Qrow said as they pushed through the crowds to a huntsman-oriented clothing store. Durable material was always in high demand.
"Why would I want to?" Jaune asked, confused by the statement.
"It helps us cope with the past and the present. Making fun of something and joking about it makes you feel a little bit better. It's good morale for those you protect and those that stand beside you. Humor is one of the best tools we have." Qrow paused for a moment before continuing. "But some things are still sacred."
Getting new clothes was more trouble than it was worth. And that was mostly do to Qrow trying to convince him to get a cloak. The refusals didn't deter him at all, but hey, he was buying. So Qrow went ahead and did it anyway. Jaune couldn't refuse unless he wanted to look like an ungrateful asshole. Tempting idea.
"It's blue?" Jaune asked, examining the tough fabric.
"Yeah, blue just seemed right, ya know?" Qrow answered as they left the mall.
"Whatever you say. Thanks again, I was not looking forward to wearing the damned onesie again tonight. Revenge will be sweet." He promised to whoever was listening. New sleepwear and Hunter gear made him feel a little better. Jaune picked out a grey hooded jacket and fingerless gloves. Dark blue jeans that Qrow swore would hold up to anything and brown combat boots with a steel toe. He also convinced him to get a utility belt for his sword and whatever else he would need.
"No problem. Believe it or not I actually don't spend all that much. Mostly just alcohol and food."
"Then where do you stay?"
"Oh, Ozpin has this safe house here in Vale where I crash at." Qrow confirmed as they walked through the bustling streets. "Place is nice enough. How are you like Beacon?"
"It's not what I expected." Jaune said, mentally replaying the last few days. "I was made leader and I'm rooming with three girls. I also got beat yesterday in the ring. That sucked. And now my team is putting me through a training regimen on top of yours." He groaned. Life sucked right now as he saw it.
"Ha! That's good. If you keep up the work, you'll catch up in no time. And stop being dramatic." Qrow swiped the back of his head. "You don't know how good you have it. I swear, teenagers will complain about every little thing."
"You would too if you dealt with the nagging." Jaune retorted.
"Ha. I think it would be a nice change of pace."
"Whatever." Jaune was going to head back to Beacon and drop his stuff off. Weiss was studying for upcoming papers that weren't assigned yet, and Ruby was off at the forge doing something or other with her weapon. Blake was probably somewhere quiet reading, and he didn't blame her. Maybe he could get them all together and do some team building like videogames or movies.
"Whatchya doin' after this?" Qrow asked as they headed to the bullheads.
"Probably back to Beacon and try to round up my team. Like herding stray cats."
"Hmm. That sounds like a good plan. You wanna grab a drink before you head out? I got a mission and I need one last taste of civilization." Qrow said. Jaune hadn't drank much alcohol before and Yang did say her team were going out drinking later today. So, it couldn't be that bad, right?
"Sure, why not? What's the worst that could happen?"
Music reverberated through the club. Yang and the rest of Team Upsilon set out on a night to party. She was dressed in a leather jacket, black tank top, and some nice fitting skinny jeans. Always dress to turn heads. Pyrrha came in more modest with a pair of jeans and a red long-sleeved T-shirt. It surprised Yang to see her without all the armor and bronze, but she looked quite normal. Nora was dressed in jeans as well with a pink lowcut t-shirt. Maybe Yang was imagining things, but she thought the outfit was more for Ren than anyone else.
The only male in the group wore a black hoodie and cargo pants, which came as a shock to Yang. But hey, street clothes were to help relax or show off. Yang was able to get them into The Club after showing her teammates (celebrity included) and promising to only drink and be merry. She could feel the guards keeping an especially close eye on her but couldn't bring herself to care. They grabbed a booth near the wall, outside of the mass of bodies that were currently on the dancefloor. The atmosphere was great, the music was loud, and the smell of sweat and alcohol was in the air.
Perfect.
"There's so many people! How do they all fit? Are they part sardine?" Nora yelled to no one in particular. "Ren! We should go dance!"
"No dancing until we've gotten our drinks!" Yang yelled over the rhythm.
"I don't know what to get!"
"Me neither! Do they have wine?" Pyrrha asked from beside her. This might be harder than she thought. Using the table as a stand, Yang waived down a waiter.
"Please don't stand on the table…" He said as he came up to the group.
"Sure thing if you get us a round of strawberry sunrise." Yang ordered.
"Can I get malt whiskey instead?" Ren interrupted from beside Nora. The waiter wrote it down on a pad then left. Yang was staring at the man, confused.
"You drink hard liquor?" She asked.
"Yeah? Is that strange?" He replied.
"No just didn't expect it."
"Why were you holding out on me Renny!? I could've gotten you that as a Birthday gift last year!" Nora piped up.
"Nora, you were sixteen. You couldn't have bought it." Ren said.
"I would've found a way!"
"Why whiskey though?" Pyrrha asked. Ren sighed and sat back into the leathery cushions.
"My dad would drink it after a good hunt from the village. He'd share some with me ever time. Reminds me a bit of home." That made more sense in Yang's mind. Never would've pegged him for a hard drinker. The waiter came back with their order, placing the respective drinks to their owners.
"Oooh. It has an umbrella!" Nora said as she sipped her drink from a straw. Delight appeared on her face as she drank it. Ren beside her looked content with his drink as well. Pyrrha seemed to be pleasantly surprised as well. Hell yeah. Yang thought as she sipped her own. Can't go wrong with a Strawberry Sunrise. "Ren, let me try some of yours!"
Ren looked skeptical. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah! Gimme!" Nora took the glass and took a large gulp of the liquor. Her face instantly winced, and Yang could see a tear in her eye. After a few seconds, she was able to swallow the alcohol. Labored breathing and a few coughs came from her after the ordeal.
"So how was it?" Yang asked, far too amused.
"It burns! How do you drink this!?" Nora turned to Ren.
"You sip it." He said, taking the glass away from her. "And savor it." And Ren did just that.
"No fair." Pyrrha giggled next to her, and Yang felt the same. She could already tell this was going to be a good team.
"I'll go get us some food. Pyrrha, you're in charge" Yang said getting up from her spot. A thumbs up from the darker redhead confirmed the message. They hadn't eaten much that day because of all the shopping and walking they did. At least she got herself some new combat boots and Pyrrha some actual clothes. All she had was the school uniforms and her armor. Seriously girl, you need help.
People were crowded in the establishment, and it wasn't any better at the bar. A few guys tried to cop a feel of her ass, but a swift knuckle to the groin of anyone handsy put a stop to that. She muscled her way through the throng of people to the bar countertop. The barmen were busy with the horde in front of them, making getting an order in difficult. Why couldn't I just find a waiter?
"No shit?"
"No shit. There I was, half buzzed and ready to be a good uncle. I traveled for days to get back there after I found out. His last wife was bad, and this just made it worst. When I get there, what do I see? The man near comatose drunk and my nieces gone, just gone." Yang picked up the conversation a little way down the bar. The voice sounded vaguely familiar.
"Oh shit. They're okay, right?" That voice did too.
"Of course they are! I wouldn't be tellin' you otherwise. So, I wake his drunk ass up by throwing him through the window. He starts yelling, then I start yelling. Punches were thrown and mothers were insulted. After we sobered up, we went to look for them, he went north, and I went south. Eagle eye view and everything." Why does this sound familiar? She waived down an available bartender and put in an order for appetizers.
"Sounds like a mess."
"Oh, it was. Fall came thankfully, getting rid of a lot of foliage. After hours of searching, guess what I see? My niece pulling her sister in a fucking wagon!" Yang stopped her order mid-sentence. No fucking way.
"Excuse me." She said to the barman. Irritation crossed his face before finding the next person who needed an order. Following the voice of the storyteller, Yang found a very strange sight. Her uncle Qrow was telling Jaune the story of how she and Ruby almost died. Both were drinking and if she could tell by the odd sway from both of them, they've been here a while. "Well, what do we have here?" Yang interrupted the conversation.
"Shhh. He's getting to the best part." Jaune shushed her, then did a double take. "Yang!" He said jumping out of his chair and giving her a hug. "What are you doing here? It's, like, five in the afternoon."
"Jaune, I hate to break it to you, but it's nine." She said, shattering the boy's perception.
"Damnit, Qrow! You said we would only be here for a little bit!" He yelled at the man. Qrow just shrugged in response.
"Meh, time's relative here." And took another swig. "How ya doin', firecracker?" He asked, changing the subject. "Aren't you a little young to be here?" Yang scoffed at her uncle.
"I could say the same thing for Vomit boy here." She pointed to where Jaune was currently using her as a support. At least he wasn't feeling her up. That was a quick way to end up in the hospital. "And my team and I are binding through liquor and good times." Qrow gave a hum of acknowledgement.
"You know Yang?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah kid. This is my niece."
"You don't look anything alike. I could believe you and Ruby." He pointed to the other blonde. "But not her." Qrow burst out laughing at the statement. Yang followed as well.
"Ruby isn't related to him, Jaune. I am by blood." She said. Jaune just looked more confused.
"Your family doesn't make sense. I need another drink." Jaune reached for the bar and attempted to waive down a bartender.
"Why don't you introduce me to your team, Firecracker. I would love to meet them." The drunkard said. Before Yang could refuse, Jaune grabbed her wrist and started pulling her towards a random direction. This is gonna be a long night.
Ruby was worried that Jaune hadn't come back yet. It was almost midnight now and there was no word from him. Weiss was pissed that he was gone for most of the day while Blake wasn't worried at all. He's a big boy. He'll be fine. What's the worst that can happen in Vale? Though she did agree, anxiety still wormed its way into her thoughts. Polishing Crescent Rose can only go on for so long before it became tedious.
Furious scribbling came from Weiss at her desk along with a few choice mutters. Both her and Ruby tried calling Jaune's scroll, but would only ring and go to voice mail. Blake was lounging on her bed reading her book as usual. The image was reminiscent of a lazy cat. As luck would have it, they didn't have to wait much longer. A knock came from their dorm door. "Special delivery!" came Yang's slurred voice. Oh, this can't be anything good. Weiss was already at the door undoing the lock.
They were greeted with the sight of Jaune and Yang holding each other up. Behind them, they could see Ren and Pyrrha carrying Nora into their dorm room. 'Whhheeeeee! Letsh do dat again!' came from the shorter redhead. Weiss, Ruby, and even Blake was staring at the display. "Thish bastard." Yang said poking Jaune's side. "Wash out drinking with Uncle Qrow! Can you believe it? He didn't even invite me!" Yang hiccupped at the end.
"I didn't know we'd be drinking! Yoursh the one who came to ush. More rum!" he declared, falling forward and bringing Yang down with him. "Ow." That earned a set of giggles from Yang. Ruby could feel the twitch in Weiss's eye. Sensing an imminent rant, Ruby started picking up Jaune. "Ruby! Weissh! Blake! When did you get here?" Oh, sweet cookies.
"We are in our dorm while you went out drinking, you absolute dolt!" Weiss started ranting. "Do you know what time it is? Do you?" Jaune Looked up at her from Ruby's side.
"Time to get a watch." He said with absolute certainty. Yang started laughing on the floor, while Ruby and Blake snickered. "You okay Shnow Angel? You look a little red. Like Ruby red. Ruby's always red." He mumbled looking at her. She could smell the alcohol on his breath. It would've been hard to keep a straight face if most of her family didn't regularly drink. It was one of the reasons she stayed away from liquor. Am I destined to be an alcoholic? That train of thought was interrupted by sound of Yang being dragged away by Pyrrha and Ren.
"We'll just take care of her now." Pyrrha said as they made their way across the hall.
"Later Jauney boy! We should do this again!" Yang yelled in the cramped hallway before their door closed.
"She's fun. We should go drinking together! It'll be awesome." Jaune said from beside her. A glare from Weiss didn't affect his enthusiasm. Nor the eyeroll from Blake.
"Come on, let's get you to bed." Ruby said, trudging her way to his bed before throwing him onto it.
"Home, shweet home." He said before promptly passing out. He was still in his street clothes but didn't seem to mind.
"All in favor of no drinking this semester, say I." Weiss declared. The only hand that wasn't raised was Jaune's.
Trying to be more regular with the updates. Life likes to make fools of us all. Until next time.