Hi everyone, welcome back! Sorry it's been almost a month again. I had it done early this month but ended up rewriting a lot of it. Like last chapter, as a reward for your incredible patience, it's another REALLY long chapter. A whole 8000 words. Let me know if this chapter length works for you guys. I'm excited for this one, and thanks again for all of your support and reviews, it really does make me wanna do this even more!
As always, let's get it started!
Beta: Wolfy
Cover Art: Gyanguirus
Chapter 4 - The Offer
The sound of the hinges of the men's locker room door squeaking sliced through Jaune's thoughts of Ruby's outburst like a hot knife through butter.
His head snapped up and blue eyes met pink as he made eye contact with a freshly showered and dressed Ren. Jaune gave him a proud smile and clapped his hand on his shoulder.
"You killed it out there Ren," he exclaimed, "What a match!"
Ren smiled and gave a polite nod back, standing a bit straighter despite the fatigue he must have been feeling. He wasn't sure how his friend could even see him, considering Ren's black hair was matted to his forehead, sliding over his eyes. What a match it was. Jaune had managed to catch the last few sequences before Ren and Nora trounced the competition in complete sync. It was shockingly apparent that the practice and repetition that they'd constantly talked about wasn't just lip service. Jaune found himself smiling at that fact. It was matches like these that reminded him why he loved watching tag team wrestling. It just seemed like so much fun.
"Thank you," Ren said as he bowed his head in appreciation, "I'm glad you managed to catch a bit of it."
"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't?" Jaune joked back.
"One that was too busy acquiescing to Nora's ridiculous demands." Ren said with a light chuckle, eyeing the small mountain of diabetes Jaune held in his right hand. "Thank you for getting those for her."
Jaune just laughed and shrugged. The two of them had always been there for him, getting a plate of snacks was the least he could do. He reached a hand into the pile and pulled out a shortbread biscuit. It was something he was sure Nora or Ruby wouldn't even consider remotely sugary enough to be a cookie, but they were Ren's favorite for that exact reason. His friend's eyes softened as he spied the treat.
"Thank you Jaune, I was quite hungry myself." he said, popping one of the cookies into his mouth.
"Anytime, man." Jaune replied. "You wanna go swing by the girl's locker room and see if Nora's done changing?" Ren gave him a nod and the two began walking towards the opposite side of the hall. They marched in silence, which he knew Ren didn't mind one bit. If anything, he preferred it. Jaune could imagine spending 99% of your time with Nora would lead to a lot of unnecessary conversation.
Unfortunately, the lack of a distraction led his mind back to the task at hand. Or tasks now, considering he'd just added one. The main priority of course was figuring out how to improve for his return match, but now he'd added a more personal one. Figuring out why Ruby wasn't on the VWC network.
He swore he'd figure it out, and an Arc never goes back on his word.
They made it about halfway to the women's locker room before he broke the silence. Sorry Ren, he thought as he went to speak.
"Do you know anyone named Ruby?" He blurted out.
Ren glanced at him from the corner of his eye, before his hand came up to stroke his chin in thought. After a few beats of silence, Ren gazed back at him.
"I can't say that I have, do they wrestle here?" He questioned. Jaune nodded back at him.
"Yeah, she's a new friend I met a few days ago. Really nice girl."
Ren raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "And you're looking for information on her, why?"
Jaune flushed at the comment. Now that he thought about it, he guessed it was a little weird to just randomly bring up some stranger. He gave Ren a half shrug.
"Can't a guy just want to learn a bit more about someone these days?" Jaune groaned, "She's really unique."
That was definitely a word for it. He'd only met Ruby twice, but each time left him with more and more questions. She was smart, funny, and charming in an awkward kind of way. One minute she'd be on a passionate rant about the art of wrestling and next minute she'd be having a mini breakdown. Then the minute after that she'd be flipping through the air with the grace of a gazelle.
Ren held his hands up defensively, a small smile playing on his face. "I'm not insinuating anything, Jaune, I'm just a bit intrigued." Jaune sent him a questioning look and Ren cleared his throat. "What I mean is that I started to get used to you spending our walks shooting down new training ideas, lamenting over your performance, or worrying about your future. It's nice to hear you're taking the time Ms. Goodwitch has given you to expand your social circle. It's important to take care of not only one's body, but their mind, too."
Jaune hummed in acknowledgement, trying not to flush in embarrassment at Ren's analysis of their usual conversations. I guess I really did turn into a worried mess these last couple weeks, he thought. Now that Ren mentioned it, Ruby was the first friend Jaune had made in a while. He smiled as he reminisced on their first conversation, specifically Ruby's goofy hand gestures as she pantomimed her techniques.
"You should have seen her in the ring, Ren." He chuckled, a hand coming up to rub the back of his head. "She's got to be one of the best wrestlers in our age class, easy."
Ren hummed and tilted his head as they continued to walk. "Then why haven't I ever heard of her?" He wondered aloud.
"That's what I can't figure out!" Jaune replied frustratedly, perhaps a bit louder than he should've considering the way Ren was now staring at him. He coughed awkwardly and continued. "What I mean is that I saw this girl backflip from the top rope and pin a guy twice her size." He felt a grin spread across his face as he visualized it. "I've seen the passion in her eyes when she talks about our industry. She seems like a star in the making."
Ren looked pensive as they began to approach the women's locker room door. "Those traits are ideal for a popular wrestler, yes. Perhaps there's something you're not seeing. You did mention you only met her a few days ago."
Jaune knew Ren was probably right. He'd always been good with people like that, a certain wisdom that Jaune couldn't say he himself had. Maybe he was being a bit gung-ho about all this.
"Yeah, maybe." He shrugged. "But I'm still curious. If there's something I'm not seeing, I guess I'll go find it then." He finished with a resolute nod as they finally made it to the women's changing rooms. Just as they went to sit on a nearby bench to wait, the door flew open hard enough it caused a loud BANG as it collided with the stadium's concrete wall. A small pink comet soon followed.
"HERE'S NORA!" The ginger Valkyrie cheered as she threw herself through the door frame, hands extended to the sky as if begging the world to bask in her presence. Jaune couldn't help but laugh at her theatrics. He then tilted his head as a question popped into mind.
"How did you know we were out here?" Jaune asked.
"I didn't!" She responded back with a bubbly grin. "I do that every time I go through a door."
Jaune slid his eyes over to Ren's to confirm, only to see him just nod his head in exhaustion as if it was common knowledge.
Classic Nora.
Jaune went to speak, but thought better of crossing a post-battle Nora, and elected to just hold out the plate of sweets he'd gotten for her instead. Not even stopping to say, "Thank you", the barbarian tore into the tower of pure diabetes like a grizzly bear ripping apart its unfortunate prey. Even though he'd seen her put a hurting on a meal before, watching her tear apart the confections always scared him, just a little bit. Once she was finished, she wrapped him up and in another bone shifting bearhug.
"Thank you Jauney!" She exclaimed through a burp as she frisbee tossed the plate into a nearby trash can.
"Anytime, Nora." He managed, groaning and rubbing his now sore muscles. As the trio began to walk away from the women's locker room, another thought popped into Jaune's mind. While Ren might not have known Ruby, maybe Nora might. After all, she was a girl, and the first time he'd met Ruby she was in ring gear. She must have used the locker room, right? Sure, he was grasping at straws, but it was still worth a shot.
Surprisingly enough, Ren beat him to the punch.
"Do you know a Ruby that works here, Nora?" His quiet friend inquired. Nora's eyes widened slightly, clearly taken aback by the question. Then they narrowed in faux suspicion.
"Why do you wanna know Renny?" She started, turning to Jaune dramatically, arm coming up to rub at her head in an exaggerated swoon. "Jaune, is my man possibly having eyes for other girls?!" Nora wailed, hands coming up to grip at his shirt.
Ren just rolled his eyes and Nora busted out laughing, trotting over to him and giving him a radiant smile. Ren scoffed and leaned down to briefly press his lips against hers. Jaune couldn't help but feel like a massive third wheel as he leaned away, only glancing back once he was sure the PDA was over.
"I was asking for Jaune." Ren said as he motioned over to him. "She's a new friend of his, I figured since you're a bit more…extroverted, you may know her." Nora looked at Jaune and shrugged.
"I dunno. What's she look like?"
"Well, she's about yay high," he said as a hand came up to about five feet, "Black and red hair, and every time I've seen her, she's dressed in black."
Nora's gloved hand came up to rub at her chin as if she was pondering the mysteries of the universe. "Gonna have to narrow it down." Jaune couldn't help but wonder how many girls Nora knew with black and red hair. He smacked his hand into his fist as he recalled the most striking detail of her appearance.
"She has silver eyes." He mentioned. Nora continued to ponder before her eyes went wide.
"CATERING GIRL!" she exclaimed in a triumphant yell. Jaune couldn't help but share her excitement.
"You know her?" He gasped.
"Yeah," Nora responded, "I met her once or twice when I was loading up on snacks. She never seemed to talk much though, even when I tried to give her a nice big friend hug!" Jaune winced. Even though he'd only known Ruby for a few days, if there was one thing he was certain of, it was that Ruby wasn't exactly amazing with social interaction, and dealing with Nora was chucking her right in the deep end.
"Can't imagine why." Jaune lied. "Do you remember anything about her? Anything she might've said?"
Nora blinked at him, before a teasing smile wormed its way across her face. "And why would you wanna know, Jauney? Does my fearless leader have a little crush?"
Jaune sighed as his palm came up to cover his face. "Ren already pulled this on me, Nora. I just want to get to know her a bit more."
Nora deflated, but only slightly. "I'm just saying Renny and I started out as friends."
"NORA!"
Nora recoiled from his shout with a giggle. "Okay, okay. The only thing I managed to get out of her was that she graduated from Signal, same class as Cardin."
Jaune's eyes widened. Ruby had graduated Signal? But she definitely looked younger than Cardin. Either she had an amazing skin care routine, or she skipped a few lines. He cursed under his breath. He didn't really know anyone from Signal, except for who Nora mentioned, and he'd rather talk to a pack of hyenas than ask Cardin anything. He shook his head. Questions for later.
"Why don't you just ask her?" Nora said, breaking his train of thought. He smiled sheepishly.
"I would, but I'm not sure she wants to talk to me right now. I kinda brought up something I shouldn't have." He replied.
"You can always text." Nora shot back. Jaune went to agree, before he felt his face go pale.
Ren gave him a deadpan expression. "You didn't get her number, did you?"
Jaune's fists balled into his hair in frustration. Man, how many times can I blow it today, he thought with a sigh. "No, no I did not."
Nora gave him a reassuring grin. "I'm sure you'll run into her somewhere around here, Jaune. Maybe try getting some catering next time you're here, might help bulk up those arms." Her teasing smile fell, and for a moment, she almost looked ashen.
"There will be a next time soon, right Jaune?" she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Jaune gave her a quick hug. "Of course I'll still come to shows, even if I'm not on TV. Can't miss the chance to watch my favorite duo tear up the tag scene." Nora's toothy grin came back in full force.
A quick cough sent Jaune glancing back at Ren. "As much as we'd love to stay and chat, Jaune, I need to get Nora home. We can't afford missing out on a full eight hours of sleep."
"But I'm not tired!" Nora groaned as Jaune chuckled.
"No problem, man. I was just about to visit Ms. Goodwitch anyway, have a great night."
Ren and Nora reciprocated the goodbye as the two began to walk towards the exits.
/
Jaune felt as if he'd walked into a warzone as he stepped through the threshold to Glynda's office with a quick knock on the open door. Her desk, usually so neat and tidy, was a wreck, with papers strewn all across the table's face. To the right was a massive cork board, with several different pictures and names that he recognized as wrestlers that worked for the company. In the eye of the maelstrom was Glynda herself. She was usually so well put together, but much like the state of her office, she looked haggard, nursing a red colored cocktail in her right hand.
"Hi Ms. Goodwitch," he started tentatively, "Busy night?"
Glynda snorted as she spun her chair to face him. "Busy doesn't even begin to describe tonight's events, Mr. Arc." she mused, taking another sip of her drink.
"I can tell." He replied, his eyes glancing at the corkboard. "What are you working on?"
Glynda sighed. "Ms. Nikos won her debut match with flying colors. As a result, every manager on our payroll is desperate for a chance to book their client in a match with her. Worst of all, her own father."
Jaune looked back at her. "Why is it so much worse than usual? I don't think I've ever seen you like this." Glynda's head fell back with a laugh.
"Mr. Arc, do you remember when you first signed with this company? The opponents you faced?" she asked, leaning forward to look at him.
He touched a finger to his chin. He remembered facing Brawnz Ni in his debut, then Roy Stallion, eventually ending up with his first big win against Russell Thrush. That victory had been huge for his career. Russell wasn't on the level of someone like Sun, or even himself now, but Russell's mother was a two-time intercontinental champion. Jaune had managed to land his finisher on him, sending Russell sprawling on the mat before he got the three count. He felt a warm feeling in his chest at the memory. That was the first time he'd truly earned the crowd's respect. Glynda interrupted his reminiscing.
"From the look on your face, I believe that's a yes." She said with a small smile. "But you have to understand, that wasn't just random chance. As the lead matchmaker of the organization, I helped find opponents for you that not only would test your skill and abilities, but also push you further and further as you developed." She explained.
"When someone comes into this business and they display potential, we work on creating a roadmap for their career." she continued, "We give them bigger challenges and even bigger names for them to start creating a legacy on, until they either become a champion or they fall along the way."
Even though she didn't mean to insinuate it, Jaune couldn't help but frown. In fact, he felt a little shocked at the revelation. That was exactly what had happened to him, wasn't it? Each opportunity Glynda and Ozpin had given him was meant to see if he could capitalize on the momentum of his father's name, and he'd done it, until Cardin stopped him dead in his tracks. Jaune had failed the process, and the roadmap Glynda made for him, didn't he?
"That's what you're doing for Pyrrha then," he started, managing to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "You're planning her career. You're going to feed her larger names and challenges until she either becomes the company's next face, or she ends up like me."
Glynda's eyes widened briefly, before they softened. "Jaune, where you are in your career right now is nothing to be ashamed of. You may not have managed to climb the ranks like some expected you to, but nobody became champion without getting through adversity. Your promo tonight did well to remind us all why we haven't given up on you." Her look of concern morphed into a coy smile.
"After all, the tale of a rising star is always exhilarating, but there is nothing more compelling than a comeback story." She finished. Glynda really was like the aunt he'd never had, always there to pick him up when he was down.
Jaune couldn't help but nod confidently at her, smiling at the way her words had squashed his doubts. Now that he thought about it, this was the first time in a while he'd had them. He hadn't really fallen into the same self-loathing he had when Glynda first broke the news about wanting him to take a break. He wondered why. It wasn't like he was doing anything differently. He'd hung out with Ren and Nora, he'd went to the gym with Sun, and he'd met–
"Ruby!" He exclaimed out loud, recalling the reason he'd come to Glynda's office in the first place. The woman in question's eyes widened at the sudden outburst and Jaune flushed.
Glynda looked confused. "Excuse me, Mr. Arc?"
"Sorry!" He coughed trying to play off his little outburst, "I just remembered what I wanted to talk to you about."
"Ah," Glynda murmured, folding her hands. "I had a feeling you didn't just stop by to chat, go ahead then Jaune."
Jaune rubbed his head sheepishly. "Well, it's about this girl I met a few days ago, Ruby. She was the girl that hit me on the way out of your office on Monday."
Glynda's content expression dropped, taken over by something akin to annoyance, or perhaps exhaustion? "Oh…Ms. Rose." She drawled as she clicked away at her keyboard, bringing up Ruby's headshot on her computer monitor.
Rose? That must be her last name. The name sounded really familiar, but Jaune couldn't quite place it. Maybe he was just a bit too tired from the day. "That's her," he confirmed.
"What are you asking, Mr. Arc?" Glynda intoned.
"Well, I've been getting to know her, and she seems like a nice person." He started carefully, sensing the tension that had begun to fill the room. "She told me she doesn't get to be on television, and I was wondering why. I've seen her train Ms. Goodwitch. She's a better fighter than me, and she's more knowledgeable. Why give me a whole promo segment tonight over someone like her?"
Glynda let out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Jaune, I'm frankly a bit tired of you selling yourself short as a wrestler," she began, her tone becoming more and more exasperated. "While I refuse to divulge information about other wrestlers' status on television because I deem it to be confidential, I'll tell you this. You are far more well-rounded than Ms. Rose than you realize, and while you do have obvious shortcomings, you possess a certain spark that Ms. Rose simply doesn't."
Jaune blinked. It was a lot to take in. On one hand, he felt a bit flattered that Glynda was going to bat for him, but at the same time, he felt frustrated. What spark? What was Ms. Goodwitch talking about? She said he was more well-rounded, but Ruby seemed to be on par with him in passion, drive, and while a little rough around the edges, she was still an interesting person to talk to.
"What do you mean?" He pressed. Glynda only rubbed her temples, letting out an exasperated sigh that he could feel in his bones.
"Jaune, I've had a long night, and I have matches to make. I'd be happy to pick this matter up with you another time, trivial as it may be."
It was clear she wasn't going to give him something to go off of. Jaune tried not to let his disappointment show, only nodding at Glynda and wishing her a good night, before heading out the door.
/
The performance center was incredible as always, but for the first time in a while, Jaune didn't dwell on its wonder.
The weekend had passed, and while he'd enjoyed his fair share of sleeping in, he was fired up to get back to work. The morning hadn't gone the way he'd wanted it though. With Sun having left the kingdom last week, Jaune had run into a new issue. Finding a partner or a group to train with. He'd already figured out that training by himself wasn't exactly conducive to improving. He'd always worked much better with someone to bounce off of, challenge him, or in some cases beat him senselessly. Unfortunately, plan A was a bust. He'd texted Ren early that morning to see if he wanted to get some training in (as well as some time away from Nora.). Sadly, his brother in arms declined, citing a need to practice promos with Nora for a segment they had on the show later that night.
May as well keep pumping the guns, Jaune thought flippantly as he headed towards the iron squat racks in the strength training section of the gym. He got a decent workout in, making sure to hit his chest, shoulders, and legs. Throughout his time there, he couldn't stop himself from looking around at the rings that dotted the PC. Ruby was here the same time last week. Maybe she just doesn't work out on Mondays? He pondered, losing hope as he got back to his set.
Thankfully, through divine intervention or just plain luck, he didn't lose it for long.
He was about thirty minutes into his training when Ruby Rose walked through the front doors of the PC. Jaune set down his dumbbells beside him and made to get up. Maybe I'll ask if she wants to grab smoothies from the Protein Bar before she gets started, he mused, racking his brain for some easy way to break the ice. But before he could even take a step in her direction, he watched her make a beeline for the furthest corner of the gym.
His eyes followed her as she made her way to the furthest ring, tucked in the back right corner of the gym. Jaune recognized it as the same one she'd sparred with her last opponent in when he first watched her wrestle.
As he climbed the steel steps, he thought about what to say. By the time he'd gotten there, Ruby had already thrown her bag in the corner and was fiddling with a pair of red wireless headphones. He climbed onto the ring apron and carefully walked across it to the point where Ruby was an arm's reach away through the ropes. To hell with it, he thought as he reached out to tap her on the shoulder.
Clearly, he hadn't learned anything from the last time he'd tried that when he first met her, because Ruby stumbled back and spun like a maniac to face him, surprise scrawled all over her face. Her hands flew up as she flailed, sending her headphones careering through the air with the elegance of a bull in a dust shop, her eyes like cracked mirrors shimmering in distress.
Here we go again, Jaune sighed to himself. His apprehension evaporated however, replaced with glee as the startled look in her silver orbs softened with recognition, skin drawing taut as smile lines deepened. What he'd worried would be an accusatory glance not unlike the first time he'd startled her was traded in for a glowing smile.
It was then immediately replaced with a downright adorable pout.
"How do you keep sneaking up on me like that!" Ruby yelled.
Jaune tried to hold in a laugh as he looked at her, the girl looking far less like a graceful wrestler and more like a startled cat. "Sorry, I don't actively try to do it, you just have the awareness of a rock."
Ruby gasped. "I do not! Take it back!" she replied as she scrambled to go scoop up the headphones that were now sitting on the ring canvas. As she turned back to face him, he could tell the pout was on the verge of giving way to another classic Ruby grin. "I have the awareness of a super cool wrestler, thank you very much." She huffed.
Jaune raised his hands in surrender. "You right Ruby, you're a super cool wrestler that would never allow herself to be snuck up on by a lumbering oaf like me."
"That's what I thought." Ruby replied contentedly with a quiet "hmph." She only managed to keep up the haughty act for another moment before she let out a quiet "snrk..." before she began to giggle uncontrollably, the lovely sound transforming into a full blown laugh.
"Lumbering oaf!" She crowed as she held her sides. "How the heck did you come up with that?"
Jaune couldn't help but reciprocate her infectious laugh as he joined in, running a hand through his hair. "It's what my oldest sister calls me whenever I annoy her." Ruby nodded as her giggling fit seemed to subside.
"So, what are you here for? I've seen you here twice now. Do you come here every day? I do, this place is like my second home." Ruby started jovially as she waved her hands around in sporadic gestures. "Well, this place and catering." She said with a small sulk before she was right back to it, getting faster and faster. "But I prefer this place WAY more. It's like we're weapons, and this place is a forge to build us into wrestlers. It's got everything and—am I talking too much?" She finished as she cut herself off with a gulp.
If Jaune was the type of person to be deterred by Ruby's excited style of speech, he would've been gone after the first five minutes of meeting her. If anything, he found it endearing that she wanted to know more about him, considering he'd jumped through a few self-imposed hoops to try and find out more about her.
"General training mostly, and I go Monday through Thursday." He began, making sure to start with answering her questions. He felt a wistful smile spread across his lips. "I know, right? I've always loved this place. What are you working on?"
Reassured, Ruby gave him a confident nod. "I was just about to start warming up, then I might break out the mats and practice some of my moveset."
Jaune hesitated for a moment, but pushed down the anxiety and just went for it. "Did you maybe wanna, I don't know, train together? My friend couldn't make it and I like having someone else to work with."
Ruby blinked, pausing for a moment to stare at him. "D-Do you mean it?" She asked, her voice laced with excitement, but also barely concealed worry. Jaune put it to bed fast.
"Definitely." He replied.
"I don't know," Ruby began, "I'm usually on my own when I'm here. I don't really do too well with people when I train." Jaune quirked an eyebrow. The way she said it made it seem like it wasn't by choice. Come to think of it, now that she was here he could ask her more about that, as well as her TV dilemma. But taking another look at her face, and how he'd put his foot in his mouth in conversations like this in the past, he figured he'd save it for later.
"Why not give it a try? We can always go for separate workouts if you find you aren't enjoying it."
"No!" Ruby exclaimed, coughing when she realized she'd said it a bit too loud. "I mean no, I'm totally fine with that, let's do it, warm up, let's go!" Jaune just chuckled as she gave him an awkward yet excited smile.
Jaune let himself relax in the corner of the ring as Ruby ran the ropes to warm up. He watched her fling her back into each set of cables and bounce off, getting accustomed to the flex and feel of the cords, as well as getting a bit of a cardio workout in. He found himself marveling at her speed, and the way her little body managed to gather a surprising amount of force as she bounced off. Eventually, she came to a quick stop, stretching her arms and legs before she turned to him with a look not unlike a puppy when its owner utters the word "walk."
"So, what do you wanna do first?" She asked, rocking back and forth on her heels.
Jaune shrugged. "To be honest, I don't really know."
Ruby looked at him with confusion. "You don't know? What do you need to work on? That's how I always approach my sessions."
Jaune felt his ears go red as he rubbed his head. "That's the thing. I don't really know what to improve on. I know I need to get stronger so I can win more matches, but I don't actually know what I need to do specifically."
His explanation didn't seem to do much in easing Ruby's surprise. "Nobody's told you? What about the guy you were training with last week? You guys had a whole spar!"
Jaune gaped at her. "You saw that? I thought you were having your own match."
Ruby giggled. "We started after that, Jaune. Your fight wasn't too long after all." She realized how that sounded and quickly added. "You did well though! That guy seemed tough."
Jaune rolled his eyes with a defeated smile. "It's fine. It was a pretty fun fight." He mused as his hand went up to stroke at his chin. "But it didn't help in the grand scheme of things. I even asked him after the match what I did wrong, and he couldn't answer me."
Ruby snorted. "Well that's obvious. Your stance was too flatfooted, you didn't look like you had any kind of plan, your offense was predictable, you got tired REALLY fast, you lost control on the ground which let him get up and activate his semblance and–." She cut off, passionate grin falling from her face like the blade of a guillotine, a look of horror spreading over her features as she realized what she was saying.
Jaune blinked.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to–" Ruby tried as she flailed her hands, eventually settling on balling them in her hair and groaning to herself. She looked positively mortified as she slapped a hand to her forehead, the other tentatively reaching out towards him.
Jaune didn't even notice, in truth, his mind was moving a mile a minute as he racked his brain over the details of his sparring match with Sun. He had just rushed into locking up with Sun the second the bell rang, didn't he? Even though on some level he knew Sun was physically stronger than him. He tried to reason with himself. He'd gone toe to toe with Sun because he'd done so in the past right? But looking back on it, Sun was getting the better of the exchanges. Sure, Jaune had landed a great haymaker and a slam, but Sun had chopped him down with body kicks and knees that drove the wind from him. She was spot on about his cardio too. Jaune was used to fighting like it was a sprint. Go hard, go heavy, and get them out of there. It was what worked in the past.
And yet, he could remember himself dragging breath after breath, even resorting to pulling Sun to the ground in a working hold in a desperate attempt to slow down their manic pace, even knowing that ground control wasn't his forte. As for her point on planning, he'd had a basic plan, but it crumbled into pure instinct the second Sun used his semblance. "Try to hit him to break his concentration." wasn't exactly foolproof. The answer was right in front of him.
"You're right." He breathed, voice slightly shaking.
"Eh?" Ruby eeped as he began to speak.
"You're spot on, Ruby." He said, any negative feelings towards her somewhat brutally honest criticism evaporating immediately. She'd figured it out, long before he could've. His heart thumped in his ears. He finally had a jumping off point. Something material to improve on. Without thinking, he surged forward and wrapped his arms around Ruby in a quick hug.
"Thank you!" He exclaimed before freezing at the awkward position he was in, looking down at Ruby's face, which had gone white. He quickly released her and backed up. "Sorry! I was just excited." For once, Ruby didn't seem flustered with the praise or the contact. Rather, she just looked dumbfounded.
"You're thanking me?' She asked weakly.
"Why wouldn't I?" Jaune replied. "I've been trying to figure out how to improve for days now, weeks even."
Ruby's eyes flicked away from him, before returning, uncertainty in her eyes, mixed with something else, something more complicated. "Most people don't really like when I say stuff like that. They don't usually stick around after I give them any kind of advice."
Jaune snorted. "You think getting honest feedback would be a reason I'd just drop you?"
Ruby just rubbed the back of her head and sighed. "People have done it before. Like that guy you saw me spar against last week. I'm 18 and 5"4. Not many people like losing to me, and they like it a lot less when I try to give them advice."
Jaune found that ridiculous. Sure, on some level he wouldn't exactly enjoy getting beaten by someone younger and smaller than him, but that would just prove that he needed to better himself. What the hell was the point in training if you weren't willing to be challenged, to lose, to understand there are others stronger than you? How could he become champion one day if he wasn't willing to learn from his mistakes? Ruby's voice shook him out of his thoughts.
"But you're different," Ruby began as she regarded him as if she was seeing him in a new light. Then she flushed. "Thanks for not leaving, I guess."
Jaune lightly punched her shoulder. "You're not getting rid of me that easily." he joked. His mind drifted back to her words as one particular observation she'd made confused him.
"What did you mean by me having a flatfooted stance?" he inquired.
Now that the conversation had shifted back to wrestling, Ruby's confidence seemed to have returned in the way that she leaned forward intently. "I mean that you were leaving yourself open to getting hit. You traded blows a lot with your friend."
"Sun." Jaune cut in.
"Sun" she amended. "From what I saw, it looked like you could really take a punch."
Jaune couldn't help but preen a little at the praise. Ruby was quick to shut him down with a deadpan expression.
"That's not always a good thing, Jaune. I'd rather not get hit at all." she shrugged.
"But that's how I was taught." Jaune protested, hands sweeping out in front of him. "I was told to anchor my feet on the mat so I don't risk getting picked up and dropped on my head."
Ruby nodded observantly as he went on. "Ever since I started training, I've had people tell me I had a lot of aura. My training was tailored to using that as an advantage and tanking hits. I don't really think my stance is something I really need to change."
Ruby gave him a toothy grin. "Your aura's huge for sure! I couldn't believe even after your spar your aura was still solidly in the green." She glanced upwards as she let out a quiet "hmm" as she seemed to ponder what to say next. Then she smacked her fist into her palm.
"I've got it!" She exclaimed. "Why don't I show you what I mean?"
Jaune raised an eyebrow. "How?
Ruby giggled. "We're in a ring, Jaune. I'll show you a game my family used to play with me. First one to land a hit on their opponent wins. We go for five rounds. Striking only, no semblances, no running. We can only stay in the center."
Jaune grinned. "Let's do it."
The two met in the center of the ring as Jaune fell into his battle stance, planting his lead leg in front, and anchoring himself with his right. His eyes narrowed as Ruby fell into hers.
"GO!" Ruby yelled and they were off. Jaune threw a quick check hook towards Ruby's head, pivoting his rear leg and stepping forward with his lead. His fist whistled through the air as it caught nothing. Jaune's eyes widened as Ruby sprung back with catlike reflexes, landing on her toes and leaping forward as she slammed her shin into his upper thigh.
What just happened? He thought to himself in alarm as Ruby stood back at full height, relaxed.
"That's one to zero." She smiled.
Jaune nodded, refusing to let their first round get in his head. Ruby had great speed, but it wasn't like she was unnaturally fast, and while she landed a good hit on his leg, the muscle wasn't aching or anything. Jaune felt a little relieved. Maybe the gap between himself and her wasn't as enormously wide as he first feared, he thought as he got himself back in his stance.
"Go!" Ruby crowed once again the two dashed in.
The next two rounds were more of the same. Jaune would attack, and Ruby would score small hits on the outside of his guard that he couldn't quite react to in time. He tried baiting her into attacking in the third round with a few stray jabs, but she threw out a feint and he went for it, allowing her to catch him once again. Once he'd committed to a move, he just couldn't course correct.
It was frustrating to say the least.
"You figure it out yet?" Ruby asked, with a look so pure he could tell she wanted him to figure out whatever this lesson was so bad. By now he'd gotten the idea. Her movements made his stance feel clunky and slow. It boggled his mind. Everyone he knew used this type of stance. In their world, the threat of a takedown was dangerous enough that his coaches had encouraged him to stay as heavy as possible on his feet. Even Ren, who he considered as the now second most graceful wrestler he knew, used this stance. He just happened to have trained his speed and agility far more than most. While Ruby was faster than him, he could tell it wasn't just pure speed. Sure, that was a big factor, but he'd fought speedsters before.
He decided to take a breath and really try to analyze Ruby's stance as the fourth round began. This time, he refused to attack, electing instead to wait and watch. His eyes narrowed. It looked so similar to his, but now that he was focusing, there were a few key differences. Her feet were closer together than his were and her arms were more to her sides. But the most striking trait was something he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed. Ruby was rapidly moving up and down. His eyes flicked down to her red sneakers.
She's bouncing on the balls of her feet! He realized, eyes widening. Just like that, it clicked. He'd heard of people utilizing this posture, but it had gone out of style around ten years ago. Ruby was perfectly demonstrating the positives. In a striking match, her body was constantly moving and tensed, allowing her to spring off of the front of her foot in any direction she wanted. Even when she'd rush in for a leg kick or a jab, when he went to counter she'd just stomp and fling herself backwards to dart out of harm's way. However, that was in a striking match. If this was a normal match and he managed to get a hold of one of her legs, she'd have no chance of getting out, even disregarding their size difference.
To heck with it, he thought as he moved his foot position, shifting his weight onto the balls of his feet and began to bounce. He was rewarded with a wild smile from Ruby.
"Go!" She echoed for what felt like the thousandth time. The stance was tricky, Jaune found as he attempted to blast forward with an overhand right. Ruby weaved out of the way and threw an uppercut. Jaune slammed the ball of his foot into the canvas and threw himself back, avoiding her hit. As he righted himself he felt her small fist bury itself into his ribs as he flinched.
"You dodged my hit!" Ruby crowed with pride as she stepped back. "You figured it out."
"You still ended up tagging me." He groaned as he sat down.
"That's not important." She replied. "You gave my pose a try and it worked!" she said, pumping a fist in the air. She paused and giggled a bit. "Well kinda."
"I get what you were trying to do though." He began. "In my fight with Sun, he kept beating me hand to hand. Heck, most of his grapples came from setting me up by kicking me." He realized. Ruby nodded.
"I figured since you have so much aura, you could afford to take a slam or two if it meant you could win more striking exchanges." She offered. "You're going to have to practice a lot more with it if you want to get better. That is if you want to use it." She ended sheepishly.
Jaune gave her a grin. "I'd definitely want to try it out a bit more."
"Just let me know when, I can check your form for you," Ruby started, "You picked it up really fast! Whenever I tried to show someone it just didn't really click for them y'know?"
"I can imagine." Jaune smiled, thinking back to how he himself protested against changing up what worked for him. For the first time in a while, he felt good after a session. It was a small step of course, but it felt like he was starting to make material progress. Adopting Ruby's stance could end up being a dud, but now he had options, a chance to try something new.
"You're really something, Ruby. You know that?" He said, the words slipping from his mouth. Ruby flushed and looked away.
"Oh my god this is just rich" A voice called out that sliced through Jaune's good mood like a freshly sharpened knife through hot butter. His eyes drifted shut as he tried to head off the frustration that began to bubble to the surface within him as he turned to face the source of the sound.
"I never thought I'd see Job Arc hanging out with Ruby Rose of all people." Cardin Winchester laughed as he gazed in from outside the ropes. He was in black workout sweats, along with his usual group of cronies. It only came as a slight surprise to him that Cardin knew Ruby. Nora did mention they were in the same class.
"But I won't lie," Cardin began, "I didn't mind watching you get your ass kicked by a little girl." He guffawed, the rest of his posse joining in. His smirk evaporated as he jerked a thumb behind him. "Out of the ring. Me and Dove need it."
"Come on Cardin," Jaune groaned, knowing better than to try and talk back, "There are plenty of rings around here, can't you just pick one of them? I can see two empty ones. Ruby had this one first." He finished as he gestured to two rings on the far side of the wall.
Cardin sneered up at him. "Nah, I'm pretty sure I want this one. Dove and I are entering the tag tournament, and we need all the damn time we need." He gave Jaune a quizzical stare steeped with malice. "What do you even need it for anyway? "It's not like you'll be needing one anytime soon. Why don't you just go home, sit on your ass for a few months, and come back and lose your return like we all know you will."
Jaune flinched at the jab at his forced break and looked away. His eyes drifted to Ruby and subsequently widened. Ruby looked furious, silver eyes sharp like chips of ice as she spoke.
"Why don't you leave him alone you big jerk!" She gritted out, stomping forward to lean over the ring ropes and scowling down at Cardin. "But if you want this ring, you can come in and try and take it."
Cardin just snorted at her challenge. "You will never share a ring with me, Rose. I don't fight for free, but if you want to go, you're welcome to challenge me tonight on the show."
Ruby's glare faltered as Cardin began to laugh. "Oh wait, I think we both know that isn't happening. Why don't you try again when you don't have the charisma of a cardboard cutout."
Huh? Jaune thought as he glanced over at Ruby, whose fists were clenched tightly. "What's that supposed to mean?" Jaune shot back.
"You don't know?" Cardin fake gasped. "Red here can't talk her way out of a paper bag. You and me? We're different. When we speak, people listen. We bring the crowd in. Shit, even when we lose, they still care. But Rose here's a few pages short of the full playbook." He snarked.
Jaune looked back at Ruby. Her eyes were now scrunched tightly shut, dragging in deep breaths. They briefly opened and met his gaze, a complicated look in those silvery orbs. There was one emotion he did manage to parse out though.
Shame.
Without warning, Ruby rushed past him, yanking her bag from the corner and flinging her headphones over her ears in one swift motion. She leapt over the top rope and exited the ring, running towards the PC's entrance. Jaune glared daggers down at Cardin as he quickly ducked between the ropes and vacated the canvas. He wouldn't let her run off again.
His mind raced as ran to follow her. That's what she was missing, wasn't it? That's what Glynda meant by her not being well-rounded. But she was fine when they were talking. Maybe he didn't have the full picture. Jaune pushed those thoughts aside as he made his way through the heavy glass doors of the performance center. He found Ruby sitting on a nearby bench, face in her hands.
"Ruby, about what happened back there," he started.
"He's right." Ruby breathed, her quivering voice barely above a whisper. "I don't have it."
Jaune thought about interrupting, but it was clear Ruby wasn't finished.
"I can't cut promos, Jaune! I'm not like you! I get up there in front of the crowd and I freeze. It's like the world stops moving and my heart starts beating too fast and I start to sweat and I forget what I'm going to say and–"
Jaune put a hand on her shoulder as she began to spiral, trying to anchor her as she took quick shallow breaths, speaking faster and faster. "I train my butt off every day but what's the point if I'm never going to be able to use it!? Ms. Goodwitch keeps saying I'm not ready. I've failed the main roster tryout twice now, and if I mess up again, I won't get another chance. Jaune, this is my dream!"
"Main roster tryout?" Jaune inquired softly.
Ruby wiped her eyes. "It's like a big test where they see if you're ready to be on TV. When they get to the promo test, I just can't do it. I tried to get better but if I fail again, I'll be stuck in catering for the rest of my career." She murmured miserably, turning back to him with a bitter smile.
"I guess I'm not a super cool wrestler after all, huh?"
Jaune felt a painful feeling in his chest as he looked at her crestfallen expression. His heart hurt for his friend. It boggled his mind how someone so kind and fun could suffer in a way that put her dreams at risk.
"Hey, don't get down on yourself," He chided, "Having trouble with promos doesn't mean you're a bad wrestler. It just means you have something to work on." His eyes widened just a bit. "It means you're just like me." He finished.
Ruby managed a weak chuckle. "We'll be losers together."
Jaune offered a small smile. Now that he mentioned it, he and Ruby were more alike than he'd thought. When he first watched her in the ring he was sure there was an ocean of a difference between their abilities. But just like he had his shortcomings, Ruby had hers, and from the way she talked, it seemed like she'd really tried to overcome them. His eyebrows drew down as he replayed their session in his head. They'd been having a great time until Cardin had come along. Ruby was a surprisingly good teacher, and while he only got to mess with her unique stance for a little while, he had a feeling it might be something he'd want to practice more.
Jaune's heart skipped a beat.
Was this it?
Was this the piece he was missing? It had to be. How had he not realized it? Ruby might just be the answer. His heart began to beat faster. This was the change he needed to make. In only thirty minutes she'd shown him a technique that could fundamentally change how he wrestled. Who knows what else she might know how to do? He could just feel it in his bones.
"Maybe we don't have to be." Jaune whispered.
"Hm?" Ruby hummed, perking up a bit as she caught Jaune's gaze.
"We don't have to be losers!" he exclaimed with excitement. "We can help each other."
Ruby looked taken aback, but he could tell from how she was eagerly listening that a small part of her was intrigued. He took that as a green light to continue.
"You help me become a better wrestler, and I'll help you with your promos for your tryout."
Ruby's eyes widened as her face went white. Then, her brows scrunched down in a way that Jaune could almost see the gears turning in her head. After a few moments of silence, Ruby's eyes met his, tenacity like two chromatic flames dancing in her eyes.
"Deal."
LET'S GO! The Underdogs are now a team! I had so much fun writing this chapter. Originally it was only gonna be like 4k-5k words, but I just love writing these two together. As always, thanks for reading, and let me know what you all thought of this chapter.
Have a great weekend!
- Curbizzle