Ch. 73 An offered hand
Jaune woke up with a start. The dreams were getting especially bad now. In Beacon they were vague premonitions, in Atlas lessons from Ozma's history, but with the Relic of Knowledge literally sitting on the bedside table Jaune's dreams were especially vivid and confusing.
Jin was pushing the limits of the shackles imposed on her since the moment he first met her and having the Relic on him seemed to boost his understanding of concepts like Aura and Magic.
Unfortunately for Jaune that understanding came at the cost of peaceful sleep. The images and concepts he didn't understand filling his mind every night made him miss the dreams of Ozma's past.
Jaune sighed and closed his eyes again, nuzzling against the sleeping Ruby. Sleepless rest was the best he could get right now.
=O=O=O=
"Jaune?"
"Huh? Oh sorry, you were saying?"
It was lunchtime and Ruby pulled Jaune to have lunch together on a bench in the newly regrown courtyard.
"I was asking if you're alright…" Ruby repeated herself. "I know you haven't been sleeping well but… you're worse off than before."
"I… yeah, the Relic barely lets me sleep these days. I think I can take it for a while longer but once we figure out what to do with it, I'd like to move somewhere without any relics for a while…" Jaune sounded tired and defeated. "I've been thinking of going back home for a while. Patch might be too close to Vale's Relic unfortunately."
Ruby sat a little closer and leaned into him before replying.
"I'd love to go stay with your family, you know that. And I don't think Ren and Nora would mind too much either. Even Atlas can't object since we can just say we're working with Cobalt."
Jaune was too tired to even realise that may be an issue. He felt bad for forgetting about Ren and Nora coming with them and even if Atlas didn't technically have a say in what they did, it was good thinking on Ruby's part to think about what they would say about it.
"Right… anyway, any progress on Harbinger?" Jaune decided to change the topic.
Qrow had finally cracked last night and asked Ruby for help with the malfunctioning weapon.
"No, not really. Uncle Qrow was right, by all means the mechanism is completely fine. No damaged parts beyond some staining from the corrosive venom. I have no idea why it's failing."
"I may have an idea… and I have a feeling the idea came from the Relic so it's probably right… I kinda hate it, you know, figuring stuff out like this. There's no joy in being told the answer."
He yearned for the days of experimentation and prototyping they enjoyed in Beacon.
"I'll carry it today if you want." Ruby offered.
"Thanks, I hope it helps not having it on me. So about that idea…"
=O=O=O=
After talking about it with Ruby, Jaune was convinced that the idea was right. That meant that Jaune took it upon himself to take the offer to Qrow.
"You know Qrow, there is something interesting to be said about Aura disrupting poisons." Jaune opened the conversation by placing Harbinger on the table Qrow was having his lunch on. "I mean, Aura is literally the projection of your soul so what exactly can a poison do to make you unable to use it…" Jaune sat down opposite Qrow and continued. "I've… you could say I've looked into it… well most are actually closer to mental dampeners, but not Tyrian's… Oh no, the poison Tyrian injected you with is a part of his semblance. Qrow, it is unique in a sense. It eats away at your soul, fundamentally breaking your ability to use it. And Harbinger was steeped in it for weeks after you crushed Tyrian's tail in its gears. The part of your soul present in that metal is changed, fundamentally different from you, yet a part of you."
Qrow swallowed the rice he was chewing together with any complaints about being disturbed during lunch before answering.
"So what. It's broken anyway… Hell if what I felt for so long after being poisoned is what happened to Harbinger in some meta transcendental way then I'm not even surprised it's not working."
"You forget who you're talking to, Qrow. I'm a certified blacksmith and I know Ruby let you read her notes on what we did for Weiss, and our speculation on what happened with Lunatum Cor Rosae. I'm offering to do more than just fix your weapon. I want to try and reforge it like I did with Crescent Rose. Think about it, if the piece of your soul is broken then maybe we can use it to manage your semblance."
Qrow frowned and replied with an accusatory tone.
"Jaune, don't give me false hope. Not even Ozpin could…"
"I'M NOT OZPIN!"
Jaune didn't mean to yell, but the lack of proper sleep together with knowing more about Oz than probably any other mortal pushed him over the edge.
"Sorry…" Qrow replied cringing when he noticed people looking their way in wake of Jaune's outburst.
"No it's alright… Sorry, I understand. Look, this could be your lucky break. Plus there are steps we can take to make it work. There is power in names and symbology when doing stuff like this. You of all people should know better than most that there's more truth to superstition than most think."
Qrow nodded, after all he could use a small piece of Ozpin's magic to turn into a bird so… why couldn't this be real.
"So what do you propose then? Look I'm willing to give it a try, just… I need to know it works. Not just a false hope that will get me… or someone else killed."
That was the crux of the problem. A solution that didn't work would get someone killed.
"Then you'll like what I have in mind."
=O=O=O=
Ren was sitting in a lotus pose on one of Haven's balconies. It was one of his rare moments of peace and quiet while Nora went to work out with the other girls.
Ruby's inclusion in their workout sessions made Yang happier and that in turn made Pyrrha happier and so Nora was happy and content, surrounded by friends.
A soft sound of someone sitting down was heard, but Ren chose not to stir from his meditation. They sat there for a while in silence.
With Ren's senses in a heightened state he could almost feel the power and Aura of the person next to him. That was when the man spoke up.
"I wanted to thank you, mister Ren. It came to my attention that it was you who recommended my case to mister Arc and miss Rose."
The silence returned for a while as Ren thought about what to say. His meditation was entirely interrupted by the realisation that the headmaster was thanking him.
"You're welcome. I'm happy to offer a helping hand." he finally replied.
"I think I'll end up accepting the offer… not today, but eventually I think I'll run out of excuses."
"I think I know the feeling." Ren replied without thinking.
"Oh? Do you wish to share with an old man? Perhaps we can both get some insight and stop running sooner."
Ren stayed quiet for a while as he struggled to decide if he even wanted to voice the issue.
"I… well it's a… a relationship issue. I… We, my childhood friend and I… well, we've been together for a long time, since we were children and since I lost my parents… Nora, she helped pull me out from a very dark place then. I… we've grown up, and…"
"You're afraid you'll lose her." Verdant interrupted Ren's stumbling words.
Ren stopped. That was the core of it wasn't it. He was afraid that if he did nothing they would drift apart and he would lose her, he was afraid that if he took a step forward she would say no and he would lose her, he was afraid they would die before he came to a decision and he would lose her… or perhaps worse she could lose him.
"You're right. I am afraid."
"I've been where you are… would you care for my advice?"
Ren thought about it for a second, but as tempting it was to just take the advice and run with it, he wanted to make his own decision on this matter.
"I would like to learn what happened then."
"Oh but you already know the story, we wouldn't be talking now if you didn't hear it."
"That Grimm attack… when you lost your arm…"
Verdant nodded.
"I lost more than an arm. I lost my partner, my teammate, my best friend and the love of my life. Do you wish to hear my advice?"
After a moment of silence Ren decided.
"I believe I may not need to. Thank you. I'll stop running away."
As Ren stood up, bowed, and walked away Ichinojo continued his meditation in silence. The sun was starting to set by the time he got up.
He looked at his overgrown arm as he leaned on the bannister as the sun set in the distance.
"Maybe it's time I stopped running from your memory. I have students to teach and huntsmen to raise."
=O=O=O=
Nora was having a blast. So much has changed since Beacon but having RNJR back together made everything feel like nothing bad ever happened.
She was having fun competing with the girls at the gym and even though Yang nearly beat her weightlifting record that only made her push herself that much harder.
Ruby was trying her best too, but she was nowhere near the raw strength of Pyrrha, Nora and her sister. Still Ruby mentioned pushing herself so that she can keep up with Jaune.
The conversation inadvertently turned towards their relationship and Ruby tried to explain everything, how it started back at Beacon, how Jaune risked his life to recover Crescent Rose and how everything after just happened to fall into place.
That left Nora doing something she rarely did at the gym. She did intense cardio. Sure she did some running to keep in shape every now and then but this was different. She set the speed on the treadmill and just ran, thinking.
What was she really doing this for? Sure she loved the competition and the rush of working out and getting stronger, but what made her push herself this far?
The answer was painfully obvious, but she kept ignoring it and coming up with any other explanation she could. To become a Huntress, to save people, to kill Grimm, to get money…
Then as her mind eventually ran out of excuses she could think of nothing else than him.
She didn't know how long she's been running and she didn't even notice she started using up her Aura just to keep going. She didn't notice the fifty percent Aura warning from her scroll in her pocket and she didn't notice the thirty percent warning either.
Ruby's scroll went off warning her of Nora's Aura reaching fifteen percent but before she could make her way to the treadmills the gym door opened and Ren walked in.
When he reached Nora she didn't stop running, just turning her head to him for a few seconds before looking straight ahead again.
"Nora, I think it's time we talked… Can we go outside? Find somewhere private?"
Nora stumbled and the magnetic safety pinned to her shirt pulled off the treadmill. The machine came to an emergency stop.
Nora stopped running.
They both did.
Ruby watched them both leave and only after the doors closed behind them and she knew they were out of earshot did she squeal in delight before explaining what just happened to Yang and Pyrrha.
"Oh my god it's happening! Yes! It's finally happening!"
"Ruby, what's happening?" Yang asked with some confusion evident.
"I think Ren's going to confess!"
"Like… marriage?" asked Pyrrha.
"Oh, uh… I'm not sure actually, they haven't really been dating all this time soooo…"
They both nodded before Yang came to a realisation.
"So that's why huh, I thought you were strangely open about your relationship." Yang put an arm over Ruby's shoulders. "You're a good friend and a good leader Ruby… Won't stop me from teasing you about Jaune though." Yang grinned.
=O=O=O=
As Ren led Nora through the gardens and courtyards panic set in.
His very being was screaming at him to use his semblance, to stomp down the panic and fear. But he didn't.
Eventually they walked over to the dorms, drawing some eyes to themselves by merit of the tense atmosphere alone.
As they entered team RNJR's dorm room Nora took the initiative to lock the door behind them.
"So… talk?"
Ren was gripped by fear by those words. The moment has come and suddenly he didn't know what to say.
"I… Nora…"
"Yes?"
"Nora… I'm afraid…"
"Ren?"
"I'm afraid to be alone. I'm afraid that if I do nothing I'll lose you. I'm afraid that…" he took a deep breath and took a step closer "...and I'm just as afraid of leaving you all alone."
Nora was panicked.
She didn't doubt that this was it, the next step in their relationship. But was she ready for the next step?
His words finally seeped in. Afraid of leaving her alone? Was he planning to go somewhere? No, he was afraid of dying. Of dying first, of leaving her alone.
And in that moment Nora realised she too was afraid. Afraid he would leave her like that, or perhaps worse, afraid she would be the one to go first.
She hugged him tightly. Not the bone crushing hug she was known for, but a loving embrace.
"I'm afraid too…"
"Nora Valkyrie, will you spend the rest of our lives with me? Will you be my girlfriend?"
"yes" she replied in a small voice.
"thank you, you're the most important person in my life" he replied with equal softness.
Ruby and Jaune didn't return to their dorm that night. And that night, behind those closed doors, was filled with a lot of tears and affection.
=O=O=O=
Author's note:
Hey, the tags do say it's a Ren and Nora fic too, even if it didn't seem like it much recently.
As for Qrow, well it's a difficult situation. Qrow is sort of a tragic character in that a lot of the bad stuff in his life is caused by his semblance to a degree. I think he deserves a redemption and a chance to be happy. We'll see how that pans out though.
And don't worry I haven't forgotten about Sun and Blake returning the next chapter will feature them a lot.
But hey if you want to support me you can do so on P a treon . com (slash) OlympianScribe
Anyway I hope you enjoyed and are looking forward to the next chapter: Ch. 74 Return to monkey