Died, Died, Again and Again Chapter 2: Why?, a rwby fanfic

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Beacon Academy. Please make sure you have all your personal belongings with you as you exit. I'd like to thank you for joining us on this short trip. Have a nice day!" The many speakers on the roof all echoed the same announcement.

And Jaune Arc froze, his body bent over a trash bin with his head over the opening. The world twisted and turned and he wished it would all stop. He screwed his eyes shut and covered his ears with his hands. "It's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real..." He repeated those three words as everyone else got off the aircraft, then he vomited to calm his upset stomach, a laugh almost emerged from his lips.

Why? Why? I gave up on my dream. Why did I die? Why? Why?

He had lived for months being afraid of death, and in an instant, he died. He was back at the beginning of his cursed journey. A flight attendant came to check up on him. He supposed that this was the third time for him, but the first time for her, he read her name tag as she asked if he was okay.

"Yeah, just motion sickness, and I think I'm not cut out to be a Huntsmen, thanks for asking Ms. Lazulum." Jaune still felt like vomiting, screaming, and crying, but a smile graced his face as he answered. He counted himself lucky that his death was painless.

The flight attendant smiled back, her blue hair bouncing as she nodded. "We have a few medicines on board that can help with that, and we'll be departing in an hour back to Vale, if you're sure about not getting off." She professionally informed him.

"I'm sure." Jaune knew he would die if he got off.

"Okay sir, I'll be back in a moment, and don't worry about it, a lot of people get cold feet."

He watched her leave, and when she was out of sight, he vomited into the trash bin as he questioned his reality once more.

Why did I die? Why did I die? Why did I die? Why did I die? Why did I die? Why did I die? Why did I die?

His brain ran in circles as the world continued to move forward.

After arriving in Vale, this time Jaune took all of his belongings with him as he left the aircraft, and he didn't wander aimlessly, but rather went straight to pawn off his things. He retraced his steps from his previous… attempt, he got a job in the same sushi restaurant that gave him a room to live in, this time he had prior experience and made fewer mistakes, he got the same legal address and focused on doing work that paid well and at places he trusted. Unlike last time, his fear of uncertain death was almost non-existent, because he had survived last time, but now he was afraid of his impending death. He didn't know why he had died.

This time, he paid more attention to the reported Dust robberies, and he learned that the White Fang was behind it. Then there was an incident at the sea-docks and the White Fang was there, too. Swallowing his fear, he watched Tukson's book shop from an alley a few buildings away. He observed more than a few Faunus entering the store and staying for hours. He recalled his boss's behavior a few days before his death. He was ready to leave. Jaune hadn't thought it odd, but with his hypothesis of Tukson talking about the White Fang. He realized why he had died.

It wasn't fate, just bad luck.

He had just gotten caught up in a matter completely unrelated to him. A shackle fell off his heart, and his mind cleared. He giggled in glee. He just had to avoid Tukson and he'll be fine, he'll live, he'll live. Then he realized that Tukson will die, but if he tried to intervene, his death might follow. Jaune apologized in his mind, but he wanted to live, to live, so he left the dirty alleyway and returned to his apartment. Then he slept soundly for the first time since he had restarted.

The weeks blurred together, and Jaune stopped paying attention as he focused on work. But when he saw the headlines of a murder in a bookstore with possible connections to the White Fang, he suddenly felt very afraid. He would flinch at any sound or sudden movement, expecting his death around every corner and behind every door.

The next day, Jaune heard that the General from Atlas arrived with several military aircrafts, but nothing had tried to kill him. The next day, he heard of an Atlesian Paladin rampaging on a highway, but he was nowhere near that area. Nine days passed and the fear of death finally dissipated. He was relieved and decided to go out for the day.

In an instant, everything turned wrong. A sudden explosion shook the ground and dropped Jaune to his knees. Fear and adrenaline coursed through his veins as he took in the sight of Grimm crawling out of a hole that suddenly appeared in the ground. As a mass panic ensued, he couldn't move. He had died three times, first from falling, second by a Beowolf, and third by the White Fang. He couldn't escape death. In his lapse of reason, he also couldn't escape the paw swipe from a bear-like Grimm.

In his adrenaline-hyped state, the sensations of his arm, ribs, and spine shattering ran up his nerves and the pain flared right before his heart and lungs were punctured by bone fragments. His limp body went smashing through a glass window before he crashed into a stone wall. It was probably because of his prior deaths that he didn't die from shock.

Jaune watched the distant hole as more Grimm emerged from it. Then his vision started to blur. He saw flashes of red, white, black, and yellow before everything faded away.

Then there was nothing.

And then Jaune Arc was looking down a trash bin. He could feel the vestiges of an upset stomach, of dizziness and nausea.

Again, I died again. If the first two times were a sign, and the third time was bad luck, then WHAT THE FUCK was the fourth time about!?

"Why!? Why!? Fucking why!?" Jaune shouted and banged his hands against the rim of the trash bin. A few people glanced at him, but he was too busy freaking out to notice.

Over his past two attempts, he had lived for a total of about ten months, and yet in the end, he was back here like nothing had happened.

Jaune calmed down when security came to him, and then he spent the ride back to Vale in silence. After arriving, he grabbed his things and went off in search of an aircraft to take him home. He took a detour through an alleyway because the earliest passenger ride would be leaving soon.

And a couple of seconds later, he was bleeding out on the ground, struggling to hold his intestines inside his body. He stared at the man who had sliced him open. He was an elderly man who looked like a strong breeze would knock him over, and he was digging through Jaune's things while humming a tune. He recalled the way the man had begged for money before he pulled out a dagger. He tried to grab the old man, but he only got air, and then his guts were sliced apart. He fell to the ground and the man completely ignored him.

His vision started to fade again, and he knew death was near. "Why?" Weakly escaped his lips.

Why did I die this time? Was it because I was trying to run away? Was it because I didn't give the man money? Was it because I didn't save Tukson? Was it because I wasn't going to stop the Grimm that invaded the busy square? Was it bad luck? Was it because I got into Beacon on false records? Was it because I didn't praise the right Gods? Why? Why?

"Don't worry about it, kid." The old man answered the question that wasn't meant for him. "Just die knowing these things happen sometimes, whether it was destiny or chance, it already happened, so pass on without any regrets, please." He said as he dug through Jaune's pockets. "I don't want you to haunt me or something." He muttered under his breath.

Then there was nothing.

And Jaune Arc was looking down a trash bin again. He could feel the vestiges of an upset stomach, of dizziness and nausea, again.

It wasn't destiny that killed me. If it was, then I would have died tomorrow morning during every attempt, but I can survive for months, and then a few days after that. And if it is my destiny to die, then I can delay it by avoiding the cause of death next time.

Jaune was currently feeling numb.

If I die, I'll restart and survive. It really doesn't matter the reason why I keep dying.

He unconsciously got off the aircraft, and when he realized that, his mind raced.

I'll die here, and if I couldn't restart, then that would be the end, but I can retry everything that would lead to my death. If I become a Huntsmen, then I could defeat Grimm, defend myself from the White Fang and even elderly muggers.

The sounds of fire bursting, ice crackling, and lighting zapping were mixed together to form a loud explosion, and he felt a weird combination of feelings. It had just occurred to him that he didn't know how Initiation had turned out. He was suddenly depressed when he thought that the one friend he had made could've died, and yet if a young girl like that could survive it, why hadn't he? Jaune didn't know which outcome he preferred, he would hope she was unharmed, but it stung at his heart to recognize his faults.

He didn't even know if it was possible to land safely, even with his… it would just be repeated suicide, first order of business for him was learning how to survive the launch and the fall.

The next morning, he stood on the iron platform that had sent him to his first death, and although fear was banging against his skull, screaming at him to run and run and run as far away as possible, he kept himself occupied by thinking of his landing strategy. He had used the internet in the library to search up how to survive being launched, but he couldn't comprehend the talk about velocity, mass, and trajectory, so he instead looked up how to survive a fall, and the results were better.

While going through the mental list of tasks he needed to do, the voice of Headmaster Ozpin finally registered with Jaune. "—pposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path," he paused briefly and looked over the students, "or you will die."

Jaune very suddenly remembered the first time he had stood here. He had laughed nervously and had to swallow his fears. He had tried to clarify what a landing strategy was, only to discover the hard way that he had to bring his own.

The low and heavy sounds of gears turning, followed by the sound of a thick spring extending, and the hard thud of iron coming to a sudden stop, reached his ears and made his heart drop. A white figure was soaring into the sky. Turning his head over to the rest of the students, he saw that Weiss was missing, but what he couldn't understand was that no one else seemed panicked. In fact, they were all prepared to be launched.

In quick succession, they were all flung into the sky, leaving Jaune as the last one standing. And then it felt like everything was going to come crashing down. His nerves had finally chipped away at the crazy notion of trying to survive this impossible task, but before he could express his desire to leave, the world fell out from beneath his feet.

Harsh wind tore against his face and forced his body to flip and turn wildly, and he knew he would die.

The sun was bright, he absently observed as he was trapped in a sea of pale blue, then gravity realized it had lost him, and quickly yanked him back down. For some reason, he felt like the world was too bright and loud, and he wanted to cry and smile. The sudden sounds of gunfire knocked him back into his body.

Focus.

He told himself as he fought against the wind and spread out his body; he tried to use the strategy he read about, but in the second before would land, he realized two things. One: in a sea of trees, there was no safe place to land. Two: he should've just found a parachute.

Jaune had hoped that closing his eyes would at least lessen the emotional impact of colliding headfirst into a tree, but he still felt his skull shatter, followed by a sensation he couldn't even begin to describe because his brain was in the process of being turned to a gooey mush.

Then there was nothing.