Arc 2: Chapter 2: Broken People

"I don't see what the problem is. Take her on a date or something. Aaand… Levin!"

Jaune raised a Reflect as a white spear of lightning came down from the clear blue sky and struck. He felt the immediate searing heat, saw the sparks skitter against the shell like a billion bugs crawling across a windowpane, and with a quick exertion of muscle, he said in response, "Shatter!" The sound of breaking glass, sizzling lightning, the heat of lingering plasma in the air, and the cold splash of seawater lapped all around him. The shield broke apart, freeing him, and leaving little more than a bit of a burn on his chest plate.

From just a few paces away, Neptune brought his trident down, the prongs sparking with residual lightning. His eyes had been closed, and he had to take a breath like that one spell had taken some serious concentration. "Was that good?"

Jaune recalled his fight with Alter-Neptune. The sheer chaos of it. Mighty waves, booming thunder, raining lightning. Nature's rage personified. Aunt Peach had told him the power an Alter exudes was representative of a person's full power. Made sense really, since Jaune had barely survived it. Of course, overcoming one's Alter only made that power accessible, not intuitive. "Not as strong as your Alter's, but it's getting there. And no, I'm not asking her out because that's going too far."

Neptune came up to him with a raised eyebrow. "You have to get close to her, don't you? Can't get more intimate than a date, so why not?"

"For the same reason, I didn't do it to you. Too far." That and she'd probably say no. As he'd seen some guy trying to flirt with her once and she had given him no attention. Jaune wasn't self-assured enough to believe he'd have better chances. "Not like it even matters. I can't focus on Octavia now that my aunt's given us a new mark."

You really think something's up with Ruby?"

"You would know better than me."

"I mean, she's quiet. Obviously. But she was always in a good mood around all of us. Or it looked that way. I didn't see anything wrong."

"Some people are better at hiding their problems than others. What about her family situation?"

"I never asked." Neptune looked to the side. "I guess that's because I was dealing with my own shit. Not like I wouldn't have asked, just… Yang and Ruby never acted like anything was wrong. Certainly never told me if there was."

It was feeling a lot like it had when Jaune had first started investigating Neptune, with most people knowing nothing, and the very few either knowing very little or not willing to give any information away. Which, of course, left him having no idea where to start. The most obvious idea was to start with girls themselves, but Ruby and he had never had a genuine conversation between one another without someone else around. And asking Yang might not go over well if the topic was sensitive. That and she scared him a little.

"Who's close to Ruby? Any friends outside of you guys?" asked Jaune.

Neptune shook her head. "Loner, kind of like you. Only she's cute and nice."

"I'm cute."

"Sure, man. It's the only reason I hang out with you, after all. Anyway, she keeps to herself. The only person she talks to that I know of is Weiss."

"Well that's perfect. Get Weiss to tell us, or if she doesn't know anything, then she can find out for us."

"That… might not work. There was something that happened a while ago to Ruby's family. I asked Weiss about it but she wouldn't even tell me, her boyfriend."

"That's weird."

He shook his head. "Not really. It wasn't my business. Weiss has this thing about keeping the things shared between her and a friend between them without permission to tell otherwise. She never told anyone why we broke up, for example. I did."

Jaune threw one exasperated hand in the air. "Well good on Weiss for top-tier friendship. Meanwhile, on the latest episode of the Jaune and Neptune show, we're screwed. Guest starting, Ruby."

Neptune had a laugh at that. "You're overly dramatic, you know that? You and Blake would be instant friends if you talked."

"I don't want her to be my friend. I don't want friends at all."

Neptune put on a parody of hurt as he put one hand to his chest. "And yet you're with me here and now. Training and bonding together every day these past few weeks. I've eaten dinner at your house, stayed the night a few times. It hasn't even been a full month into this friendship and we're close as can be!"

"My fist and your face are about to become as close as can be."

Neptune gave his trident a twirl. "Here's your chance. Let's do some close combat. No magic. I think I've got your number now."

Jaune readied his shield and the two of them paced each other, boots splashing down in the shallow waters of Neptune's heart. Which was a weird statement to make, but they didn't have anywhere else to train, and with Neptune's heart in a calmer state, it was easy to use the shallows to learn their skills. "It's not magic, by the way."

Neptune snorted. "I summon freaking lightning bolts and giant waves. The hell do you mean it's not magic?"

Jaune threw the first swing, Neptune reacted quickly enough and plunged his trident forward, forcing Jaune to backtrack to keep from being run through. He was getting better at using the range of that thing. "It's called a semblance," said Jaune.

"Alright. My semblance is magic."

Neptune charged this time and came with two quick stabs. Jaune dodged one, then swept the second away with his free hand by the shaft. Neptune followed that momentum and spun around, coming from the other side with a wide cut, killing only air as Jaune leaped back.

"How's your dad, by the way?" Neptune said as they resumed circling each other.

"My dad?"

"Yeah. Brought up upstate. Left you with your aunt. You don't mention him much."

"Didn't know I had to."

"You know that's not what I mean. Come on, spill. You talk to him since you started here?"

Briefly. His dad hadn't stayed on the phone very long because his sisters wanted to talk to him. When they did talk, he'd mostly asked how Jaune was doing, if he'd made friends and such. Before going into why this was necessary and how he was doing it for him and blah-dee-freaking-blah. The usual I love yous and whatnot. Jaune had even teared up a little.

Jaune went at Neptune hard this time, catching him by surprise, and tracking his back step. He feinted left, saw Neptune go right, then jerked toward him, slightly upsetting his balance. It didn't matter though, as he scored a heavy shield punch across his face, hard enough to plant him on the seafloor. Neptune was getting better at taking his hits though, for he rolled away, abandoning his trident on the ground. He sprang back up a distance away, the trident vanished in a surge of bubbles, then reappeared in his hand.

Damn it, why did I hesitate? I can't do that in a real fight. To make up for the lost opportunity, Jaune broke the distance, heard his own footfalls pattering with a quick tap, tap, tap. Three strides and he was at Neptune again. It was a dance from thereon. Feet shuffling forward and back, sidestepping and spinning, ducking and jumping. Movements neither of them could even dream of doing in the real world. Neptune cut right, and Jaune jumped fully over it, spinning mid-flight, and upon landing, parrying Neptune's stab. Bash, bash, both of which his teammate dodged, only for Jaune to dart right up and score a punch in his gut, drove a boot in his shin to kneel him, then pinning him to the ground.

"You're done," said Jaune.

Neptune huffed. "You think?"

He dropped through the water like it had been a portal to the unknown, suddenly completely gone from the world as if he'd never existed. Jaune heard the splash, but by then, Neptune had already booted him in the head, sent him tumbling away, over and over. He tended to forget that Neptune was not physically weak by any means, and that he was already a fantastic swimmer. So his ability to maneuver in an environment like this was not to be taken lightly. As if Neptune had realized this himself just now, he was gone by the time Jaune got up, the ocean completely undisturbed. A long moment of silence stretched on. Then Jaune had to jump away as the trident came shooting out of the water like a javelin, or a harpoon in this particular setting. Jaune nearly smirked at the thought that Neptune had just thrown away his weapon, before he had to dodge again, as a second one came at him from beneath the water. Smart jerk. That was the game for a while, Jaune watching the water and trying to pick out where Neptune was. Or at least where his weapon came from. Dodging, dodging, taking a shallow hit, dodging again, all while he kept his shield up.

Neptune must have gotten impatient though, for Jaune felt hands grab his ankles, and with but a moment suck in a breath, he was dragged into the water. Familiar territory, this. But he'd had practice by now.

Neptune had swum backward almost twenty strides in an instant, floating in the water as naturally as a fish. Down here, he had control, he could be the aggressor, and knew it well. He came at Jaune with his trident extended, like a narwhal that had seen its prey and now rushed in for the kill. While Jaune couldn't claim to have planned this scenario, he knew right away that he had Neptune right where he wanted him. Neptune's trident barely pierced through the hollow shell of aura he wrapped around himself, the prongs scraping his chest plate. Before Neptune could swim away, Jaune conjured another, the larger barrier around the both of them, a great casing of mirror-brightness. Neptune must have had a guess of what was coming next. Jaune pumped his chest out, and the shallow casing of aura around him exploded in a flurry of ethereal glass, the force sending his partner spiraling backward through the water, crashing through the outer shell, leaving streaks of bubbles in his wake. Jaune used that chance to resurface.

He gasped for air as he emerged, crawling up, then springing onto his feet. No time to orient himself. Neptune surfaced right behind, coughing, heaving, and clearly drained. No better chance than now. Jaune came up, battered his weakened stab, then grabbed him by the collar and yanked him out of the water. Neptune tried to fight back, but Jaune lifted him over his head with a great inhale, then let out a roar as he slammed him on the ground. That got him a most telling utterance of pain, and Neptune lied there, arching his back, trying to find the means to stand again.

"Done?" Jaune asked.

Neptune attempted to struggle, but Jaune pressed his forearm to his neck. Not too roughly, but not gently either. He remembered doing it to some kid in sixth grade once, picking on a five-year-old. He remembered being sent to the principal's office for it too. Most of all, he remembered that bully kid never showed up again.

Of course, that kid wasn't Neptune, so Jaune tried to remember that. Neptune nodded and Jaun let him go, helped him up, and flinched when his teammate shook out his wet hair. "You cheated," he said.

Jaune raised his hands up in mock defense. "I used my semblance. Not magic."

Neptune gave him a slow, slow applause. "Fun-ny. You're a comedian now?"

"Always was."

Neptune burst into laughter again, and it was that strange moment where he couldn't join in. Sometimes, he felt bad for not laughing. Afraid people would think him being rude, afraid of even being afraid of something so insignificant. It wasn't as if he couldn't laugh. It just wasn't as easy as it used to be when he was little. It didn't feel natural coming from him.

It was clear then that they both needed a break, and for while they sat there in silence, listening to their own breaths go from strained to steady, to the ocean waves hiss and beat, a distant thumping like Neptune's heart was far below, pumping blood through him. Made Jaune consider a lot of questions he'd never thought of before, but wasn't sure his brain could handle the metaphysicality of it all. Then he felt Neptune tap his arm, "Say, I have a question for you, if you don't mind?"

"I won't stop you," Jaune said.

"When you were, you know, inside me…"

"Did you have to say it like that?"

Neptune palmed his face. "When you were in here… what was it like? I mean, what stuff did you see?"

"This big museum. Kinda high collar, cuz all these people were flocking in to see the exhibits. The exhibits were parts of your life. Childhood, family, and all that."

"What did it show you?"

"More than I planned on knowing."

"Sorry, if you saw anything you didn't like. I've had thoughts and times when… Well, let's just say I look back and I wasn't proud. Especially with some of my past girlfriends. Like Cara."

"It's fine."

"No, it's not." Neptune looked at Jaune not with anger, but resolution, like he'd taken considerable time to think on the matter. "I apologized to them, just felt like it was the right thing to do." he rubbed his cheek. "Some went better than others. But I just don't want you to think that I wanted to be that kind of person. I'm not making excuses. Just—"

"I get it. Really."

"You do?"

"No. I just wanted you to shut up. Look, I'm not the judging type. Too much energy wasted. Besides, I'm far from being a saint."

Neptune gave a weak smile, and they let another stretch of silence pass. The sound of the hissing ocean passed by before he finally said, "So, have you ever been inside yourself? I mean, your own heart?"

Jaune shook his head. "Why?"

"I mean if I figured out I could dive into some alternate dimension world and learn magic—"

"Semblances."

" —and fight monsters. I'd be trying to find out what my heart world looks like."

Jaune shrugged. "I guess I'm just built different."

"You aren't curious? Have you never tried?"

There were times when he wondered, but more often it never progressed any further than that. What could even be in his heart? Nothing interesting, nothing valuable, most likely it'd be a complete waste of time. Besides, his heart hardly needed saving. Or maybe it did. Why else would he be sent to Aunt Peach? "No, and I don't plan on trying anytime soon. Why so curious all of sudden? You never asked before."

"Couldn't be sure if you'd tell me in the beginning. That freaking wall of yours."

"Sturdy, huh?"

"It's taking time, but the guys and I are chipping away. Soon, you'll be skipping through the halls, blowing kisses, and slapping asses, and saying you love us. I promise."

"If that day comes, hit me with a bus."

Neptune nudged him with a laugh. Jaune, confused by the gesture, wondered what he was supposed to respond with. That is until he decided to nudge him back a little harder, nearly making him pitch over. Neptune didn't let it end there though, and returned the gesture. Then him again. Then Neptune again.

"Magic," said Neptune.

"Semblance," said Jaune. And he felt what might have been the attempt of a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

Mystery - Well, you might not be friends with them, but they are friends with you.

Jaune took a moment to think about that, laying there in his bed, staring up at his ceiling, at the dried paint bubbles jutting out of it as if they might give him a sound response. They didn't, of course. Dried paint bubbles tended to not have much in the way of advice. But then, fighting monsters in an alternative universe inside people's hearts was a more outlandish concept than was reasonable. Who knew what was possible anymore? He texted his response to Mystery and sent it.

Jaune - I don't fight them on it. Too much effort. Besides, none of them know me like you.

Mystery - They, at least, know what you look like.

Mystery made him smile. Usually. Ninety percent of the time, in fact. She was the light in the darkness, or some poetic crap like that. When she brought this up, however, that brought on something altogether different than a smile.

Jaune - Don't do that. You said you don't want to share stuff like our addresses and pictures. Or even our real names. Jaune didn't mention the fact that he would have suggested that anyway, even if she hadn't. She'd just made getting that agreement easier on him.

Mystery - That was back then. Now you're like, my true love or something.

Jaune - I'm preening.

Mystery - Be nice if I could see it. But you're right, I said what I said.

Mystery - Doesn't mean I like it, though.

Jaune - You know I'd want to see you too.

Mystery - Then what's the problem?

How to put it? I don't know if you are really the beautiful, lovely, amazing girl I made up in my head, or some creepy old guy looking for love in the wrong age range. I don't know if you aren't some super elaborate internet bot created to test desperate young men into false relationships. I have no idea if you are even real. But worse! If you are this beautiful, lovely, amazing girl, then why would you want me? No girl has ever called me handsome, or even given me a second glance. I'm weird, I don't have much muscle, I forget to brush my teeth sometimes. If you saw me, you would be disgusted. You would block me and never want to think about me ever again. That is why you can never see my face, why you can never know who I am. I'll just be a disappointment. That was what Jaune thought, but of course, could never say. He was happy enough that a girl liked his personality and humor enough to keep talking to him. He had no delusions that their relationship could be anything more. Still, that wasn't something he could tell her, could he?

Jaune - Maybe one day, okay? When we're closer, I guess.

Mystery - I literally told you about a period accident I had last week. What's closer than that?

Jaune - Closer.

Mystery - Okay, I like hardcore bondage roleplaying. Gimp suit is my favorite.

There was that smile he felt so often with her. Always felt so right. This was the rare time throughout the day that he felt genuinely happy, even if some part of him criticized this pathetic need to be validated by a total stranger to feel a sense of self-worth. It made him wonder what would happen if he ever lost Mystery. Would he ever feel happiness again? Was she the only thing in this world keeping him from. Well, ending it all? It wasn't the first time Jaune considered those questions, and as with every time previous, he shook his head so he didn't need to think on it any further.

Mystery - But seriously, you mean it?

Jaune - Yeah.

Mystery - No lie?

Jaune - No lie.

Mystery - Alright, I'll wait then. But not forever.

So long as it wasn't tonight, then Jaune could worry about it later. He turned off his light, turned on his TV, the video he'd paused resuming where it the console had automatically cut off, Beach Waves for Deep Sleep. No idea why, but he'd started to sleep better to the sounds of nature. Rain, and especially the waves. It reminded him of something—Neptune's heart, for one, but something else too. Though he couldn't be sure what. With that, he turned over and yanked his blanket over himself before messaging his only true friend one more time for the night.

Jaune - We'll talk about it later. Good night.

Mystery - Good night.

Jaune placed his phone down and settled in, only for five minutes later to get one more message.

Mystery - I love you.

What? Jaune blinked at the message, wondered if he might need glasses, but knew damn well his vision was clear. Just three little words, perhaps nothing to freak out about. He was used to her being flirty and dirty-minded, to jokes and jabs, but not something like this. What did he do? He sat up and clutched his phone in both hands like it was the raft keeping him afloat in the middle of the ocean. What did he say? What could he say? He could say he didn't feel that same way, but that wasn't necessarily true, and how could he let her down after she'd just poured her heart out to him? Accept it then. Only what did that mean? Yes, I understand and accept your feelings, though I see you as only a friend. No, no, that would break her heart. She'd never talk to him again.

Say, "I love you" back?

Why not? She was the only person besides his family that he really cared about. She'd been his support for so long, and stuck with him through his hardest days. He came to her when he was happy and upset and hurt and everything else. He had to love her. It only made sense. And just as Jaune had managed to muster up some strength and typed a single word, she messaged him again.

Mystery - Sorry. That was for my mom.

Jaune blinked, then utterly and completely relaxed, or deflated more like. It was some strange combination of pure relief and crushing disappointment, as if he'd expected this moment, wished for it, and dreaded it all at once. Of course, it was a mistake. I love you? Who would ever say that to him besides his family? Certainly not Mystery. Like she'd said, they didn't even know how each other looked. How could they ever really love each other? Jaune pursed his lips and let out a breath through his nose, fighting off the wet behind his eyes. There was no point in being hurt. It wasn't a big deal. Tomorrow, things would go back to normal. To joking and flirting fun. It wasn't a big —

Jaune flinched at a light, but unmistakable rapping at his door. The glass sliding door that led out into the empty backyard. He swallowed. No one he knew would be coming around this late. At least no one he could think of. And that got his blood churning. He could ignore it, but it was a glass door and could be broken into if the visitor really wanted. The rapping came again, and Jaune didn't want to rush upstairs in case the person saw him with the curtains only half-closed. Slowly, carefully, he crept to his closet and pulled out his metal baseball bat. Then, he crept over to the window, swallowed hard, and yanked the curtains back.

She stood rather patiently outside the door, arms folded, long coat tightly fitting her form. Once she saw him, she tilted her head sideways, dark hair falling over one shoulder. She gave him a lipstick-less smirk, and raised one dark eyebrow, her amber eyes almost glowing.

"Cinder?" Jaune thought to open the door right away, but paused. Sure, he knew her, but she was a threat to him and his aunt, especially with their rocky history. Cinder had not said much when Oobleck had subtly threatened to have them killed if they stepped out of line. Jaune made sure to watch her as he slid the door open a crack. "What are you doing here?"

"Seizing an opportunity to speak with you, naturally. Would you let me in? I feel this is not the most comfortable way to have a conversation."

"How do I know… Oobleck didn't send you to kill me?"

She grinned even wider, quite as if he'd caught her red-handed. "It wouldn't be done by my hand, I assure you. The Whispers are much more careful than that."

"Whispers?"

"The men who keep talk of our business out of the public eye, by any means the council deems necessary. I could tell you more, if you let me in."

Jaune contemplated it for a moment, then slid the door fully open. Oddly, Cinder didn't step through immediately. "What?" he asked.

"You didn't say I could enter."

"I opened the door. Isn't that enough?"

"Not for me. I'm a vampire, you see. If I step in without express permission, I might just crumble into dust."

"You like making my life hard, don't you?"

She smirked again, a little wider. "What can I say? You are fascinating under pressure."

Jaune sighed and strode back into his room. "You can come in."

He didn't hear her footsteps as she stepped in. Perhaps that was on account of the carpet, but also because the way she moved was like that of a snake. Sliding in without a sound, looking around with curiosity as if each bauble in his room had piqued her interest. He half-expected her to do that weird tongue thing. Finally, her eyes settled on him, and he suddenly was very aware that he was in his boxers… and nothing else. She slipped off her jacket, smooth as butter, threw it flopping onto the couch as though this was her room, and he was the shameful pervert who'd snuck in.

"You're filling out." Cinder said, sizing him up with her eyes. "The training must be going well."

"Er, yeah." God damn it, why hadn't he put on any clothes? He could put some on now, but then he'd be admitting that he was self-conscious and scared of her. Which of course he was, and she probably knew it, but he could never admit to it! Stick it out then? Wrong terminology. If by the mercy of some evil god, he popped a boner right now, he really would have to kill himself. "You look good too, I guess."

"Looks have their advantages. Just not as much as muscle does. Sometimes I wish I was born a boy, so lifting things isn't such a trial."

"Probably wouldn't be as pretty though."

She shrugged one shoulder and somehow made it look appealing. "Women are loved for how they look and men are loved for what they can do. One you can control, the other… well, you simply have to be fortunate." She let out a faint huff. "I'd rather have the latter."

Jaune rather disagreed. If he could be loved just for existing, that would make life so much easier. But then again, who knew? Cinder had lived the experience more than he had so it couldn't be all sunshine. Jaune sat down on his bed, pulled the blanket across his legs in some vain attempt to preserve what remained of his dignity. "Not that I don't like waxing on about sexism and all that, but what did you want to talk about? Why this late?"

"I had to catch you alone, and my job often keeps me through the day. Forgive me if I'm intruding on your privacy, but it is important."

Jaune shifted. "Okay. Then, shoot."

She clasped her finely manicured hands together. "I wish to teach you how to Overshadow."

"Huh? Like, what you did in Neptune's heart?"

"The very same. I saw great potential in you during your fight against the Alter. It was quite the sight, especially since someone with so early a start should not be able to face an Alter by himself." That smile slipped a bit on one side. "To be honest, I'm a little envious. There hasn't been a pupil with this much potential since… well, me. I'd like to see how talented my junior actually is."

"Thanks for the compliment… I guess. But, I have to say no."

She seemed to flinch back just a little. As if she'd had this whole play scripted and he'd said the wrong line. "You have to?"

"My aunt has u—me, following some strict training sets. Just getting used to my semblance before we look for my first mark. Er, official one. After the Neptune stuff, I don't want to break her trust again." That and the whole getting killed if they screwed up again.

"Are you certain? There are better methods to amass strength, quicker methods. I can bring out your full potential. More than my old master can, anyway."

"I believe you." Jaune straightened his back and tried to look as immovable as possible. Though Cinder could probably breathe on him and it might knock him over. "But it's my aunt. I won't hurt her and I won't disobey her. I'm in a tough enough spot as it is, and I don't want her getting in trouble because of me."

Cinder's smile shifted into pursing her lips to the side, like she was looking at an elaborate puzzle and trying to work it out. "Well, I can certainly respect that. You are not easily swayed, Jaune."

Jaune had no idea what to say to that. Thanks? I'm sorry to disappoint you?

"So, has Master Peach dived into your heart yet? Or do you even know if she has?"

Jaune was about ready to say no, but then stopped himself. Saying yes or no could give up information that he might not know could be used against him. Why was she even asking? Why did she want to know about his heart? The shield of caution came up and she suddenly fit that snake analogy for more reasons than one. "That's none of your business."

"No, it is not. But, I can say that Peach tried to help me too."

"She dived into your heart?"

"The first person ever to, actually."

A pregnant pause. "What happened?"

"She failed, putting it simply. But I'm hardly the only one. My old master has a history of botched operations, failed clientele, and utter failures. Some get better. Most, well, they don't get better."

"Then, why is she allowed to operate on her own? Wouldn't your organization have stopped her?"

"Connections to the Superior, of course. The pockets she's touched in the organization are deep, and Peach knows the ways in those dark corners. More than me, even." Cinder tilted her head to the side as she folded her arms. "She is trying to help you, yes?"

Jaune frowned. "Maybe."

"There's no point in lying. She does not take on clients she cannot help. And you are her nephew—the organization has strict rules about Hunters diving into the hearts of family. Though, Master Peach was never very good at following rules. She's like you, in that way."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, don't trust her."

Jaune hadn't noticed his heart was pounding, and it took him a moment to swallow as he tried to get out what he wanted to say steadily. "She's my aunt. I can trust her more than you, at least."

She raised her chin. "Is that so? I am a stranger, I have no reason to lie to you. Your feelings don't matter to me." Cinder pointed a finger up at the ceiling. "But Master Peach? Your loving, doting aunt? There is no one in the world with more reason to lie to you than one's own family. At the mercy of love, many things can be deemed a worthy sacrifices. A parent who loves her child will do anything to protect them. Even lie."

Jaune couldn't find much to argue with on that front. And it made him think about a lot of things, a lot of situations with his family, where he wondered if he'd really heard the truth or not. Had his Dad sent him here because he needed help, or because he didn't want to deal with his broken son anymore? Was Aunt Peach doing this out of love? Or was Dad paying her to do it? Ridiculous thoughts, but Cinder made it all seem possible somehow. With just how confidently she said it. Like she knew a truth that the world itself had not yet realized.

He watched her snatch up her coat, slide it back on, and saunter back to the door, stopping short just to glance back at him with one piercing golden eye. "I'm curious, Jaune. When it comes to one's suffering, is it better to remember it? Or to have never known it even existed?"

Jaune meant to ask her what that meant, but she'd already slipped out of the door, out into the night, and disappeared.

Thanks for reading and see you in the next one.