White Knight Errant
A RWBY fanfic by Andrew Joshua Talon
DISCLAIMER: This is a fan based work of prose. RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth and WB Animation. Please support the official release.
Cardin frowned as he looked at the combat rankings bulletin board posted on the outside of Professor Goodwitch's classroom. At the beginning of every week the large digital display was updated to show how all the students ranked up against each other, showing who was the strongest and who was the weakest. It was divided by student classification, since it wouldn't be fair to put freshmen students on the same board as those in their final year at Beacon. The top twenty for each year were boldly sitting atop each list of names, announcing to all who were considered the "elite" of each year. The top three of each year were denotated by digital crowns atop their names, with gold, silver and bronze crowns sitting on the names of first, second and third place respectively.
The Winchester youth was irked that he hadn't once made it to the top twenty during his time at Beacon so far.
For his own year, the top of the board was always completely static. Pyrrha was at the top of the leaderboard, followed by Yang Xiao-Long who was often in second place, and then freaking Jaune Arc who would sometimes trade his third place spot with the bombastic blonde. Cardin could recognize a few other names sitting in the top twenty. Coco, Nora, and Ruby… though a few of the visiting students had made their way onto the leaderboard too, with that monkey faunus Sun and that weird girl Penny making it to the top twenty.
After passing initiation, Cardin has assumed that his combat aptitudes would be the highlight of his first year at Beacon. Given he was one of the top students at his old prep school, he thought it had been a fair assumption to make. The first few weeks in Beacon had been a sobering wake up call, especially with Arc making him look like a fool in his first combat class and continued to dance around him whenever they were paired up in the arena to this day. He'd been a big fish in a small pond, and the combat rankings were a constant reminder of how much he had to improve.
"Hey! You made it into the top thirty!"
Glancing down at his girlfriend, who was bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet as she pointed to his name on the digital screen, Cardin followed her finger and found his name sitting next to the number twenty-nine just above Yatsuhashi.
…He still wasn't where he wanted to be on the board, but Cardin grinned at the accomplishment nonetheless. He'd been working hard to get out of the mid-thirties for the past few weeks, and it felt good to see his efforts bear fruit.
"Looks like beating Yatsuhashi the other day was what finally put you in the twenties!" Velvet smiled as she squeezed her boyfriend's arm.
And that had certainly been a hard fought battle. Velvet's teammate was an absolute tank and could swing around his sword like it weighed less than a twig, so Cardin had certainly worked for that particular win.
"Should you really be this happy that I beat your teammate?" Cardin asked in a teasing tone.
"I'm happy that my boyfriend is moving up in the world!" Velvet replied with a cheeky smile.
"Yeah?" Cardin turned back toward the screen. "Wish I could say the same about my girlfriend. You haven't even made the top fifty yet."
Velvet gasped when Cardin pointed to her own name which was displayed next to an sixty-seven.
"Wow, rude!" Velvet huffed, turning on her heel and marching away from him. "Fine, if you're gonna be like that then I'm not feeding you today!"
Cardin chuckled to himself as he followed after her, quickly hurrying his pace and wrapping an arm around her shoulder as he attempted to mollify her. After a few seconds the bunny girl stopped pouting and giggled into his side, and the duo continued to playfully banter as they headed to the cafeteria.
Indeed, Cardin might have been a bit dissatisfied with his combat ranking and test scores, but he was acing his love life. A surprise certainly, but a welcome one definitely.
If only he could've taken credit for it.
Entering the cafeteria with Velvet, Cardin couldn't help it as his eyes searched around and eventually landed on the one who was really responsible for his big win in the romance department.
Jaune Arc sat among his usual cadre of friends and associates. Team RWBY and Team JNPR were sharing a table as always, though they also appeared to have the company of a transfer team this time. It only took a second to realize it was Team SSSN as the third team, since there was only one guy in Beacon who absolutely refused to button up his shirt despite the school dress codes he was violating. Sun had the entire table's attention, and he appeared to be waving around a breadstick as he orated some story that Cardin couldn't hear that had most of the table laughing.
For a guy who'd been all up in his face during their first week at Beacon, and despite being a frequent opponent of his in Goodwitch's combat class, Cardin hadn't had an actual conversation with Arc since that Grimm attack during the Forever Fall trip. And even though the blonde had pissed off Cardin to no end in those early days and honestly still did annoy the hell out of him whenever he saw his face, Cardin's anger toward the other boy had cooled considerably over the months.
A big part of that was because of how much fun he was having with his girlfriend… who he had only hooked up with thanks to Jaune's lie, and he was constantly reminded of that whenever he saw the blonde's face.
It was really annoying. He liked being with Velvet. He had fun with her, she was understanding, she was a great cook, and she was pretty and sexy… he'd lucked out, no question. But knowing the fact that he'd only gotten with her was because of Jaune's manipulations was like having something constantly stuck in his teeth. It was a fact often forgotten, but when he did remember he got annoyed not only with Jaune, but with himself.
"Cardin?"
Velvet's voice snapped him out of his deprecating thoughts, though she'd followed his stare and was now looking in Jaune's direction too.
"Ah, sorry, were you saying something?" Cardin asked.
"Nothing super important. I'm guessing you're curious too though?"
"About what…?"
"Y'know, about what Jaune and all his friends got up to last week."
"R-Right, that." Cardin nodded, leaping on the excuse Velvet presented him.
"Appearing on the news and then a whole week of detention." Velvet mused aloud. "Those teams certainly got up to a lot, didn't they?"
That was an understatement. While their names had been kept out of the news and newspapers, everyone with a functioning brain at Beacon knew who the "Beacon students" who had thwarted the White Fang's operations were. RWBY and JNPR had the scuffs and bruises to show for it, and the week long detention Goodwitch had handed to the two team, plus half of Team SSSN, was plenty to confirm the identities of the students who'd gotten involved with blowing the whistle on the terrorists. No one was certain of the exact details of what went down other than those involved, and while Beacon's teachers had issued a stern warning to the rest of the student body about inquiring about the event, it hadn't done anything to quash the rumors circulating about RWBY and JNPR's joint adventure.
Plus in addition to the detentions, the teams had been confined to Beacon for the duration of their punishment. That pretty much announced to everyone that RWBY and JNPR were the ones that the news was referring to.
"You should hang out with him tomorrow."
"Huh?!" Cardin's head whipped down to his girlfriend as he gave her an incredulous look, which she responded to with an expression that was mildly puzzled.
"Yeah? I mean, you two are friends, aren't you?" Velvet asked, tapping a finger against her lips as she pondered the matter. "Thinking about it… I haven't seen you spending much time with him at all. I know you guys match together in Goodwitch's class, but it's not like you've actively hung out together outside the classroom. At least not from what I've seen. Usually you're either with your team or with me."
And there was a reason for that. It was because Cardin didn't have a genuine friendship with Arc, Velvet was just under the misconception that he and the blonde were friends because of Arc's lie when he had convinced Cardin that his attempt to bully Velvet near the beginning of the school year had been a bad attempt at flirting. As he was selling the lie, Arc had also given the impression that he was being a good friend and wingman for Cardin and trying to hook him up with the girl he had a crush on. Cardin, under duress at having his arm twisted, had rolled with it without much thought.
What they had wasn't friendship, but mutual dislike.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Cardin!"
And now she was apologizing.
"I didn't mean to keep you from hanging out with your other guy friends!" Velvet said guiltily as her ears drooped. "I mean, I'm happy that you spend so much time with me but it's important to not ignore your friends just because you're in a relationship! I actually haven't gone out with Coco since the new semester started come to think of it. Looks like we both kinda messed up and neglected our other friendships, right?"
"Uh…" Cardin floundered.
"Well, not anymore!" Velvet declared, continuing the conversation without his input. "It's important for couples to spend time apart too! Don't worry about me and spend some time with Jaune!"
"I, er, but… weren't we going to go to the movies tomorrow? See the new Grimminator?"
"We can do that another day! It'll still be in theatres for another few weeks. Or heck, you can go see it with Jaune!" Velvet smiled, pulling him by the arm as she started walking over to Jaune's table.
"Velvet, wait…!"
He tried to stop her, but the faunus was already waving her arm enthusiastically as she called out a greeting to the other boy.
"Hi Jaune!"
The blonde turned in his seat and blinked in surprise when he found a smiling Velvet and a frantic looking Cardin standing behind him.
"Uh, hi…?" Jaune greeted, raising his hand in a small wave.
He was more than a little confused by this sudden event.
"So Cardin was wondering if you were free to hang out tomorrow?" Velvet asked for her boyfriend, not noticing his panicked expression. "I know you guys haven't had a chance to hang out in a long time, and that's probably my fault, but you can make up for lost time by heading out to the city tomorrow! You don't have any plans, do you?"
"Well, today's actually the last day serving detention with Goodwitch so I should be free." Jaune informed her. "I've kinda been on autopilot while serving my sentence with everyone else, so I haven't actually put a lot of time into my plans for the rest of the week."
"That's great! So then you're totally free to hang out tomorrow then." Velvet smiled.
"I mean, you're not wrong I guess…" Jaune said, glancing aside to his friends who were now peering over toward him and observing his current interaction with curious expressions. "Still, I don't know if Cardin wants to-"
"Yeah, let's hang out!" Cardin blurted.
"Huh?" Jaune looked to the other boy with a perplexed look.
"It's been a while since we've hung out, BUDDY." Cardin gave a strained smile as he emphasized the word. "I didn't mean to ignore a FRIEND, but I got a little carried away spending time with my girlfriend. What do you say, PAL? Could we please hang out tomorrow?"
Jaune stared at the duo, glancing from Velvet's beaming smile to Cardin's twitchy grin. He hadn't actually spoken with either of them since he'd flipped Cardin's bullying attempt on its head. Sure, he was aware that the two had entered a relationship not long after he pretended to wingman for Cardin, but his interactions with the Winchester heir just consisted of him beating him in Goodwitch's class and he actually hadn't even talked with Velvet at all period.
Still, he could sort of infer the situation from Velvet's optimism and Cardin's desperation, and while there was a bit of temptation to watch Winchester squirm, Jaune wasn't in the mood to be coy.
"…Yeah, sounds good. Let's hang tomorrow." Jaune replied, hoping his grin didn't look too tired or forced.
Cardin breathed a sigh of relief while Velvet clapped her hands excitedly.
"Great! I'll let you guys sort the details on your own later. I promise you can have him tomorrow. For now though, I'm exercising my girlfriend privileges to keep him for the rest of the day." Velvet smiled, grabbing her boyfriend's arm and resting her head on his shoulder.
"Y-Yeah. I'll uh, text you later BRO." Cardin added forcefully, not that Velvet seemed to notice.
Jaune chuckled at his expression. "Sure thing, man."
The blonde watched Cardin sigh as he was pulled away by his girlfriend, the faunus girl starting to talk about what lunch she'd made for the day. Once they disappeared in the crowd of students milling around the cafeteria, Jaune shrugged and turned back around to face his actual friends who had been watching the interaction.
"So, you're hanging out with Cardin tomorrow?" Yang asked curiously. "I didn't think the two of you were friends."
"Eeeeeeeh," Jaune made a so-so gesture with his hand. "Velvet seems to think we are, but this is just me being a nice guy and not rocking the boat with his bunny girlfriend."
"Right, didn't he try bullying the girl that was hanging off his arm during our first week of class?" Pyrrha asked as she thought back to when Jaune had interceded when Cardin had been pulling Velvet's ears.
"Whoa, he tried to what now?" Sun piped up. "How does he go from bullying a girl to dating her?"
"That's because Jaune helped!" Nora proclaimed.
"How's that?"
"Well, I sorta stopped Cardin before he could really get started with his bullying and spun it so he was trying to flirt with a girl he fancied but was doing a bad job of it." Jaune explained, grinning a little at the memory. "Convinced her that pulling her rabbit ears was his attempt at getting her to notice him and that he was crushing on her."
"And that worked?" Neptune asked incredulously, having seen Velvet and found himself super envious that Beacon apparently had a sexy bunny girl and Jaune had helped another guy hook up with her before he had a chance to shoot his shot.
"Somehow." Weiss grumbled, finding the memory less amusing than the rest of the table did.
"Apparently they're in a very happy relationship now." Blake commented. Out of everyone at the table, she was the one who paid the most attention to Beacon's gossip and there were plenty of girls swooning at how apparently gentlemanly Cardin was with Velvet and how cute their relationship was.
Blake herself had mixed feelings about how the couple came about and didn't have a high opinion of Winchester or his family, but the romantic in her couldn't help but coo at how sweetly Cardin and Velvet interacted and that somehow they were an extremely positive example of a human-faunus couple.
"So, you've got a man-date tomorrow with Cardin." Yang said. "How do you think that's gonna go?"
Jaune shrugged as he bit into a chicken nugget. "Guess we'll see."
"Try not to give Ms. Goodwitch a reason to give you more detention." Ren advised.
"I'm not gonna start anything," Jaune grinned. "Can't guarantee Cardin won't start something, but if anything does happen know that whatever response I give will be wholly justified."
"Be sure to share all the juicy details with us when you return!" Nora demanded.
"Still though, a date with Cardin," Yang smirked, and Jaune could tell from the quirk of her lips that she was in a teasing mood. The blonde girl turned to address Pyrrha. "Hope you're not feeling too neglected, P-Money."
Pyrrha blinked guilelessly at the comment. "Huh?"
"I mean, Jaune's going on a date with Cardin before he takes you out." Yang teased, causing the redhead's eyes to widen. "Just saying, you're falling a little behind there."
"I-I am not!" Pyrrha protested. "And it isn't an actual date! Besides, Cardin's dating Velvet! He isn't competition!"
"But what if he is though? What if dating Velvet was a front to get closer to Jaune and she used-"
"Yang, stop." Jaune interrupted, cutting off the head of the conversation before it could grow anymore. "Don't give Blake any more ideas."
Blake froze from where she was sitting. "What are you talking about? I wasn't-"
"Nora, grab her notebook."
Blake wasn't quick enough to slap her hands over her little black notebook before Nora swiped it from her. The orangette leaped off her seat and circled the table as Blake jumped to chase after her, though with Nora keeping the table between herself and Blake, the cat faunus was having difficulty retrieving her book from Nora's hands.
"Aha! Caught you red handed!" Nora shouted as she scrutinized the page. "Filthy kitty! How dare you write such things about our fearless leader!"
"I-I wasn't! Look at the names! They're not-!"
"Juan and Hardin." Nora announced to the table.
"Gee, I wonder who those names could possibly refer to?" Jaune asked dryly.
Blake didn't respond, only quickening her pace as she continued to chase Nora around the table. Yang and the entirety of Team SSSN laughed at their antics, while Ren and Weiss both shook their heads. Nudging Pyrrha, Jaune gave her a reassuring smile.
"Hey, don't worry, I didn't forget. I remember our date. I mean, if you're still interested in-"
"Yes!" Pyrrha beamed at him. "I am very, VERY interested."
"...Good to know." Jaune nodded, backing away slightly at the intense look the redhead was giving him. He turned to his other side. "And I haven't forgotten you either, Ruby."
The little reaper didn't seem to register his words, pushing around the food on her plate with a blank look on her face.
"Ruby?" Jaune tried again, poking a finger into her side which caused her to jolt in place.
"Ah!" Ruby startled for a moment before she turned to Jaune. "J-Jaune? Sorry, did you say something?"
Jaune frowned for a moment before pulling up a smile. "I did, but it wasn't anything important. You doing okay? You've been a little quiet today."
"Um, yeah, I'm good! Just a little lost in thought. Sorry!" Ruby smiled back before taking a look around. "Why's Blake chasing Nora around the table?"
Jaune sighed a little to himself. Detention after class, hanging out with Cardin tomorrow, going on a date with Pyrrha sometime later in the week, and then going out with Ruby sometime in the near or distant future...
But he'd been getting more than a little concerned with how out of it Ruby had been lately. Yang had noticed to if the look she was giving him from across the table was any indication. It was something that would need to be addressed at some point.
"One thing at a time." Jaune advised himself internally.
For now, he had to think about what do while hanging out with Cardin tomorrow. Hopefully they could make it through the day without strangling each other.
The sun had almost dipped completely behind the horizon by time JNPR was let out of the classroom.
"Aaaaaaand DONE!" Nora announced, stretching her arms over her head as she took a deep breath and tasted freedom. "No more staying after class and wasting the day away! We can be real people again!"
"And just before the weekend too." Pyrrha smiled, swept up in the orange-haired girl's energy.
They'd lost their last weekend as part of the fallout of their battle against the White Fang and Jaune's insane admirer, so the team was especially excited to make up for all the free time that their week long detention had sapped up. Sun, Neptune and the entirety of Team RWBY felt much the same, though those six had been slightly luckier in that they were able to serve their final detention a little earlier in the day than JNPR had.
Everyone else had at least been able to enjoy their evening, as evidenced by a few cheeky texts Yang had sent Jaune while his team sat through their detention. There had been pictures attached to the texts showing RWBY and SSSN having a fighting game tournament in Team RWBY's room.
Pulling his scroll out of his pocket, Jaune checked the latest text message in the chain and snorted at the image.
It showed Sun and Scarlet seemingly in a fight, with the monkey faunus's hands clasped around the redhead's throat while Scarlet himself had pushed his fingers up Sun's nose. Sage was playing with a controller in one hand while texting on his scroll with another while Blake had a controller in her hands and was looking like she was trying to have the least amount of fun possible. Weiss, holding her own controller, was shouting at her morose teammate while Neptune hid behind the Schnee heiress and edged away from Sun and Scarlet's fight. Yang was in the foreground of the shot and flashed a peace sign as she held her scroll out in front of her, smiling as she captured the chaos behind her.
Only the single sentence "Wish you were here!" followed by a heart emoji accompanied the picture.
"Looks like we have a party to crash!"
Jaune turned his head to see Nora peering over his shoulder and staring down at his phone.
"I'd rather get something to eat than crowd into team RWBY's dorm room." Ren opined.
"But Ren! We must go forth and conquer! You must assert your dominance as the King of Games!" Nora said, latching onto the stoic young man's front. "And I, as your queen, will be there to cheer you on!"
Ren sighed before his lips quirked up a bit. "What if her majesty would like some breakfast for dinner instead?"
He had barely finished the sentence before his childhood friend lifted him in the air and started carrying him down the hallway.
"Away, my king! To the kitchens!" Nora shouted. "Come, my vassals! A feast of fluffy cakes and syrup awaits!"
"Someone's in a good mood." Pyrrha laughed as she watched Nora and Ren disappear down the hallway. "And is it just me, or has Nora gotten a lot more physically affectionate with Ren recently?"
"Nora's always been a hands-on kind of girl." Jaune commented. Ever since befriending the girl, he'd probably gotten more attack hugs and surprise cuddles from her than the entirety of his family. And Isabel Arc had raised some of the best huggers in Remnant.
Tanya being the one exception. She was more likely to smack someone upside the head or kick them in the shins before she ever voluntarily gave someone a hug.
"Yes, but nowadays she's always clinging to him. She probably would've spent our detentions sitting in his lap if Professor Goodwitch hadn't yelled at her." Pyrrha smiled. "I wonder if things have progressed a little for them after the moment they had during our raid on the White Fang last week?"
Jaune chewed on his tongue as he thought about that. He remembered Blake and Yang mentioning something about Ren and Nora sharing a kiss during that time. He hadn't been around at the time as he'd been dealing with Iridescent so he was lacking context, but other than Nora being a little more overly affectionate with Ren than usual he hadn't noticed any major shifts in the duo's dynamic.
Then again, it wasn't like he was an expert on romance in spite of the fact he amazingly had several girls voice their interest in him. Maybe Ren and Nora had gotten a relationship upgrade and were actually "together-together" now?
Though speaking of girls with an interest in him…
"Pyrrha? Remember what we discussed about personal space?"
The redhead flushed at his words, but didn't ease up on the hold her arms had around her partner's waist.
"I-I was just thinking that if Ren and Nora were getting more physical then maybe it would be okay to try-"
Pyrrha made a whining noise as Jaune pressed two fingers against her forehead and pushed her away. "We'll save our own touchy-feely moments for when we have our date later, okay?"
"I'm holding you to that!"
"…I probably should have worded that better." Jaune lamented in his head.
Pyrrha's clinginess aside, he was genuinely looking forward to the date. He just had to plan it, though luckily the week of detentions had given him plenty of time to ruminate over it, among other things.
"So, are we joining Ren and Nora for breakfast-dinner or are we going to team RWBY's room?" Pyrrha asked.
"Ren's pancakes or a fighting game tournament ragefest. Which sounds more appealing to you?"
Pyrrha beamed. "To the kitchens it is then!"
"Indeed we do." Jaune grinned back, but stopped short after he made to head down the hall toward the kitchens. "Actually, could you go on ahead of me? I'm gonna take a quick walk to get my body moving. Sitting in a chair for the past few hours has made my body all stiff."
"Oh, I could come with you! We can make it a light workout before our meal!"
"I'd prefer to go solo for this walk and NOT turn it into a workout, if you don't mind." Jaune requested with a soft smile. "I just wanna take a few minutes to unwind by myself."
"But… oh, alright." Pyrrha sighed before giving a small pout. "Just don't keep us waiting for too long!"
"I'll do my best," Jaune smiled. "Tell Ren and Nora I'll be there soon."
"You'd better, or Nora won't leave any pancakes for you." Pyrrha smiled back before she turned and headed down the hall toward the kitchens.
Jaune watched his partner go with a smile, staring after her until she disappeared around the corner. Turning down the opposite way, Jaune trudged through the hallway before exiting through a door that led to Beacon's courtyards.
The air outside was a little brisk since the sun was setting and Jaune could feel the chill through his uniform, but it wasn't a bad feeling. Plus his attention was less on the cool evening air and more on the array of red, orange, yellow, blue and indigo colors that the sky and clouds were dyed in as the sun was setting. The scenery helped Jaune feel even more at ease as he trekked though the concrete paths and garden arches. Eventually, the aspiring huntsman found a bench and sat down on it, heaving a relaxed sigh as he leaned back in his seat.
"What a week." Jaune mumbled to himself. Though as he said that he was thinking less about the string of detentions he and his friends had served and more on the events that had earned them those detentions in the first place.
Getting tangled up with the White Fang and thwarting their activities was something he hadn't expected after finally getting into Beacon. Even more surprising than that was seeing Iridescent again and finding out that she was working with the terrorist group.
"Well, given the kind of person she is it isn't too surprising that she'd work with terrorists." Jaune mused quietly.
It was more that he hadn't given much thought about her after he'd finally arrived at Beacon. He hadn't given much thought to any of his previous misadventures and various run-ins he'd had throughout his journey to get to the academy. Not that he wanted to as that six month period was probably the most stressful and trying period of his life. Plus thinking of Iridescent in particular always brought up memories of Gato and Jaune didn't want to deal with that.
Yet, thinking about Gato now, the pain of losing his mentor wasn't as sharp as it used to be. Nor was Iridescent as haunting to think about as she used to be. Ever since that battle and the crazy woman's defeat, Jaune felt like a knot in his soul had come undone. That moment where he'd had to chose between ending Iridescent or saving Pyrrha and then choosing the latter option… since then, Jaune hadn't felt the griping determination to avenge Gato like before. He still definitely wanted Iridescent to pay, and Jaune didn't have any doubt in his mind that she'd pop up again in the future given that no body was found and that there hadn't been any news reports about her being arrested, but it felt less like a personal grudge he was holding onto and more of a sense that he'd take her down because it was the right thing to do and it would prevent others from being put through what he and Gato had.
Whether it was turning her into the police or ending her life… though Jaune didn't have the burning desire for the latter option anymore.
Having had a week to process the battle, Jaune thought that maybe he felt this way because he was moving past his guilt over Gato's death somewhat. Either that, or it was because he felt like for the first time in a while he'd managed to do something right when he decided to save Pyrrha over satisfying his personal grudge.
And it had been a team effort. Together, they'd all managed to take down Iridescent and the White Fang that day. Sure neither problem was solved just yet. Jaune knew in his gut that Iridescent was skulking around somewhere and the White Fang were still at large, but they'd messed up their plans and every one of his friends had come out safely. He hadn't lost anyone.
For Jaune, that was an overwhelming victory. And he'd saved a life. The life of a friend. Pyrrha hadn't become another Gato. He'd managed to protect her and everyone else. And they did a great job at protecting him too.
"…It feels like I've actually made some progress toward accomplishing my dream." Jaune murmured as he stared down at his hands.
He felt, just a little bit, like the hero he aspired to be.
"Just like Gato…" Jaune whispered. "And just like dad…"
The blonde closed his eyes.
"I wonder, Dad… what you'd think of me being here in Beacon?" Jaune muttered to himself. "Would you have sided with mom and pushed me to become a doctor, or would you have supported me and maybe convinced her to let me follow my dreams?"
Jaune clenched his hands into fists.
"I wonder… if you'd be proud of me?"
"Nick was always proud of you, Jaune."
The blonde jolted in his seat and his head shot up to find a man standing a few feet away him. The sun had also completely set and it was more night than day, but there was still enough light for Jaune to make out the man's features. The man had a dark complexion with a neatly trimmed beard, with wavy, raven black locks of hair swept up and out of the way exposing his handsome face. He wore a robe that was a blend of blue and white colors and designed in a way that didn't look native to Vale. The man's face and clothes in general made him look more like he belonged in Mistral or Vacuo. His eyes were red and studied him as intensely as a hawk would a mouse
Jaune recognized him instantly.
"U-Uncle Arjun?!" Jaune gaped as he stood to his feet, wondering if he wasn't seeing things. "I-Is it really you?"
The man smiled softly. "It has been some time, hasn't it?"
"I-I'll say! It's been years! Actual years!" Jaune exclaimed, still shocked that his godfather had suddenly shown up out of nowhere after so long. "Last time I saw you was… damn, I don't think my age was in the double digits!"
"Indeed. It truly… has been a long time since we've last spoken." Arjun nodded, stepping forward and placing his hands on his godson's shoulders. "You've grown so much. I see so much of Nick in you now. More than I would have thought."
"…I think that was probably the last time I saw you come to think of it," Jaune said quietly. "At the funeral. And then after that when…"
Jaune trailed off, grimacing as he thought about what his uncle and godfather had suffered through. Losing his teammate and then losing his wife... His dear Aunt Saia...
"We are all destined to suffer through loss at some point. It is one of the inevitabilities of life." Arjun said. "I shared my grief with your family. Yet, when I grieved for her… I wanted to keep it to myself. It was selfish of me, but I couldn't help but hoard my feelings to myself. It was part of why I stepped away. I am ashamed of that, that I wasn't there for you, your sisters, or you mother."
The man heaved a sigh, and Jaune winced at how his godfather seemed to age a decade as he did.
"Even with two gone, there was still one left. And Isabel had all of you to take care of. For my last remaining teammate, and for all of you, I should have been stronger." Arjun sighed before he gazed at Jaune. The older man's eyes were suddenly swirling pools of amber, almost as if flames had been lit up behind his irises. "It gladdens me to see how strong you've become. Such strength I see in you further highlights my own shortcomings."
It had been a long time since Jaune had seen his uncle's semblance, but seeing the fire in the man's eyes brought back warm memories as well as vindication that through his aura sight Arjun had just gone and confirmed his growth as a huntsman.
"H-Hey, c'mon. As a kid there were a handful of times I wished you'd been around, but when my sisters explained everything to me and… well, know I don't blame you for anything, okay?" Jaune smiled. "It's just so good to see you after all this time! Er, speaking of that… why ARE you here anyway?"
"Like many others, I'm here attending the Vytal Festival." Arjun answered, taking his hands off of his godson's shoulders and folding them behind his back. "While I've been neglectful toward your family, and I am sorry for that, I have not been idle during our time apart. Myself and my associates will be providing security for this festival. I just finished finalizing a deal with Ozpin regarding that."
"So you'll be sticking around for a while?"
"I will."
"That's… that's great!" Jaune beamed, elated that Arjun wasn't going to disappear again after showing back up. "Oh man, we gotta find time to catch up later! There's so much I want to talk with you about!"
"And there is much I'd like to discuss with you as well." Arjun smiled. "I've heard a little bit about your exploits from the Headmaster. He has his eye on you."
"Ah… after all the trouble we've gotten up to lately, that doesn't surprise me." Jaune chuckled before he noticed that the sun had completely set. "Oh, shoot… hey, uncle, I'm really sorry, but I got to cut our reunion short. I've gotta be somewhere."
"Of course. We'll talk later. We have time." Arjun nodded. "It is good to see you, Jaune."
"And it's great to see you!" Jaune smiled, stepping around his uncle and heading in the direction of the cafeteria. "I'll be sure to-"
Jaune was interrupted by the sound of his scroll going off. It wasn't hard to guess who it was. Fishing his scroll out of his pocket, Jaune hit the answer button as he held it up to his ear.
"Hey, Pyrrha, sorry I lost track of time but I'll be there in-"
"Bzzt! Wrong!"
Jaune blinked. "Yang?"
"Duh! Do I really sound like P-Money over the phone?"
"No, not even close. I just wasn't expecting a call from you. What's up?"
"Your detention should be finished by now, right? Did you not get my invitations? We're hosting a fighting game tournament in our room! We're doing doubles now and Blake is a crappy partner! I need you to tap in!"
Jaune heard a bang and a series of expletives from someone in the background.
"Also, Sun is a very angry gamer as it turns out. And Scarlet might be even worse at playing than Blake. Anyway, point is we need some competent gamers! When are you guys coming over?"
"Ah… actually, I'm gonna have to pass on the tournament. I'm actually going to be eating with my team right now. I mean, if you're still playing by the time we're done I don't mind joining but-"
"Ah, nah, it's cool. You should spend your time after detention the way you want to!" Yang replied, not sounding bothered by the turndown. "Although… where are you right now?"
"Around the courtyards. Why?"
"Well… if you're already outside, could you do me a favor?"
"Depends on the favor."
"Could you maybe see if you can find Ruby for me?"
"Ruby's not with you?" Jaune asked, a little surprised by that.
Come to think of it, she hadn't been in the latest picture Yang had sent him. Scrolling through the pictures Yang had sent over, Jaune noticed that Ruby had been present in the beginning but the last four pictures didn't show her present within the group. When had she disappeared?
"No… she's been gone for almost an hour now. I saw her leave earlier and I assumed she was just going to get a snack from the vending machine earlier but she hasn't come back yet. Could you go look for her and send her back please?"
"I'll look for her." Jaune replied, earning a sigh of relief from Yang over the line. "Did she leave her cloak in your room?"
"Lemme check… nope, not seeing it so she's probably wearing it like usual."
"Least that'll make her easier to find. Not many other girls where a bright red cloak around here." Jaune smiled.
"Thanks for doing me a solid, stud. Return my sister to me and I'll give you a proper reward~!"
Jaune grinned at that. "Well, that's enough incentive for me. I'll deliver a Ruby unto you in the near future."
"You're the best! Thanks again!"
"No problem."
Jaune hung up and pocketed the scroll, cracking his neck before taking a look around. "Now, where should I start looking…?"
"You're looking for a young woman wearing a red hood?"
Jaune whirled around to face his uncle when Arjun voice that question.
"I overheard." Arjun answered before Jaune could ask how he knew. "As I was walking around, before I spotted you I did happen to spy someone in a red hood sitting at the cliffs that overlook the Emerald Forest. Perhaps she's still there."
"Seriously?" Jaune asked, wondering why Ruby would be there of all places. Still, it saved him the trouble of running around Beacon trying to find her without a lead. "Thanks for letting me know! We'll talk again soon, Uncle!"
With that, Jaune took off in the direction of the cliffs. Arjun watched him go, his eyes glowing in the night as he watched his godson powerwalk away.
"…You've already got scars on your soul. Evidence of your hardships, but also your growth. And they've been healed. Your soul doesn't bleed, godson." Arjun intoned. "Because you are blessed with companions who will help bandage your wounds. Hold them close, for they will be a balm to whatever harsh experiences you endure. Be there for them as much as they are there for you."
Arjun closed his eyes and he thought back to those he'd lost.
"Yes, take care and cherish those you love. Because life without them is a truly empty thing."
A portal swirled into the space behind the huntsman.
"Do not worry. I'll do my part as well." Arjun whispered. "There is… much that needs to be done. And much that I need to make up for."
He stepped into the portal, and was gone.
All that remained in the courtyard were the rustling leaves on the trees and bushes and the night breeze swept through the area.
The trek to the cliffs actually made him a little nostalgic, bringing to mind his reunion with his childhood friends and quickly getting acquainted with everyone of his friends and how they'd all first fought together in the Emerald Forest. Jaune didn't let himself get swept down memory lane though. His primary focus was on finding Ruby. Luckily he didn't have to look very hard, since he managed to find the girl the instant he found the cliffs.
The little reaper was sitting at the edge of the cliff face. From the angle he stood, Jaune saw that she wasn't daggling her feet off the side, but thankfully had chosen to sit on the grass several feet away from edge. That meant he didn't have worry about accidentally startling her off the cliff as he approached. Jaune's shoes crunched on the dirt and grass, announcing his presence to Ruby from the way her shoulders jolted briefly before she turned her head toward him.
Jaune raised his hand in greeting and shot his friend a smile. "Hey there! Come here often?"
The girl tilted her cutely and blinked in slight befuddlement. "Jaune…?"
"Who else would I be?" Jaune asked as he stepped up next to her. "Mind if I sit?"
"Uh, sure?" Ruby nodded, still looking a little lost as she watched Jaune plop down next to her. "What are you doing here?"
"That should be my question." Jaune replied. "All alone out here this late at night while there's apparently a gaming competition being hosted back in your room. Passing that up doesn't seem like a very 'Ruby' thing to do."
"Ah… haha… yeah, I guess it doesn't." Ruby gave a small laugh at his words before turning back to face the direction of the forest.
Jaune frowned at the melancholy look on the girl's face. Her current expression wasn't very "Ruby" either. Even as she gazed out over the treetops of Emerald Forest, it didn't really look like Ruby's attention was on the tries. Plus she was ignoring the much more amazing sight of the starry night sky and Remnant's shattered moon overhead.
"…To be honest, I haven't been feeling very 'Ruby' lately…" Ruby murmured.
"Well, after a week of detention I think we're all a little drained." Jaune said.
"It's not just that. I mean, that's part of it, but it's also…" Ruby trailed off before pulling her legs up to her chest and hiding her face against her knees.
Now Jaune was getting concerned. "Hey, Ruby, you know you can talk to me if something's eating at you, right?"
Ruby didn't reply to his words immediately, but Jaune didn't let her lack of response deter him. He scooted closer to his friend, placing one hand on her back and rubbing in a circular motion which he hoped was comforting. They stayed like that for a little while, with Jaune rubbing Ruby's back while she herself continued to hide her face.
Eventually, Jaune felt Ruby give a big sigh and she pulled her face away from her knees.
"Say Jaune," Ruby started quietly. "What do you think of your time at Beacon so far?"
"Huh?" Jaune blinked, a little thrown by the question. "I mean… it's been great for me. I'm finally getting to work on becoming a hero like my dad. I got to see you and Yang again, plus I got to meet Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, and all of our other friends. I couldn't be happier to be in Beacon."
Wearing a concerned frown, Jaune leaned forward a little to try and get a better look at Ruby's face and gauge her mood.
"I mean… aren't you happy to be here too?"
Ruby was quiet for a few seconds before she answered.
"I'm happy about all that stuff too. Seeing you again, meeting all of our friends, training to be a Huntress… it's just… well…"
Beacon's youngest student bit her lip and seemed to struggle with herself before speaking up again.
"It… It just feels like I haven't done a lot of Hunter related stuff lately." Ruby hissed quietly.
"What?"
"I just… well, you know how I got into Beacon, right?" Ruby asked. "How I foiled Torchwick's robbery at a dust store in Vale's downtown? Chasing him off is what got me noticed by the Headmaster."
"I'm aware." Jaune said, nodding slowly. "It's actually pretty impressive that-"
"But then a little after actually getting into Beacon and being placed on a team, we're all fighting terrorists at a dock with some nasty lizard faunus trying to attack us. Or eat us."
"Right, that. But we all came out of it okay, plus Blake and Weiss managed to-"
"And then one of the first things we do when our new semester starts is to try and bust another White Fang operation, only this one has even more terrorists and some crazy girl piloting a mecha who wants you to marry her."
Jaune grimaced at that. He'd had the whole week to process the event, and while there were still a couple embers of guilt burning in his stomach about getting everyone involved in that debacle, he was in a much better headspace now. Pyrrha was all healed up, all his friends were safe, and Blake had agreed to ease off on her White Fang vendetta. The shared mission between their teams now was to train and focus on their studies so that they could graduate and officially become huntsman in a few years.
Sure, criminals were still lurking around in the shadows… but with Atlas flying in, the new security initiatives Vale was pushing forth, and now knowing that his godfather was present in the city, Jaune felt even more confident that the criminal element would be taken care of without his or Ruby's teams needing to stick their noses into things again.
Still, Jaune wasn't sure he was following along with Ruby's train of thought.
"What are you saying, Ruby?"
"It's just… we're trying to become hunters, right? Hunters fight Grimm." Ruby mumbled. "So… why have we been fighting people?"
Ruby's words gave Jaune pause. Before he could respond though, the girl continued speaking.
"Heck, even back in Forever Fall there was that sniper that shot at me. And then I almost got mauled by those Grimm. If you hadn't saved me…"
"Hey, where's all this coming from?" Jaune asked, his voice heavy with concern.
For the past week he'd noticed Ruby had been out of sorts. Yang had too, and both of them had worried about the attitude shift Ruby had displayed. While Jaune was glad that the little reaper was opening up to him, it shook his nerves a little to hear Ruby sound so downtrodden.
"Geez, I wonder if this how everyone else felt when I was getting lost inside my own head." Jaune thought.
It definitely wasn't fun being on the other side of it.
"It's just weird. I just feel like I've fought more people than Grimm since I started at Beacon." Ruby muttered. "A-And that doesn't feel right! Hunters and huntresses are heroes who fight against Grimm! We've fought terrorists a-and I know we did a good thing, several good things, I-I just…"
Ruby turned toward Jaune with glistening eyes.
"Jaune, I-I didn't become a huntress to hurt people. We shouldn't be fighting people! It should just be Grimm… right…?"
The blonde stared at his childhood friend for several moments after she voiced that question. He chewed over her words and what type of questions she was asking. They were familiar ones. They were questions he'd asked himself several times during his journey to Beacon after he'd ran away from home.
It was why Jaune knew that it wasn't just the concept of fighting other human beings that had Ruby feeling so lost.
"Ruby, you know you can trust me, right? That you can tell me anything?" Jaune asked.
The girl held his gaze for a moment before she gave a slow nod.
"So tell me… what did you see that has you so shaken up?" Jaune asked. "Or should I be asking, what did you do?"
"I-It wasn't me!" Ruby stammered, hands shooting out and fisting into the front of Jaune's hoodie as she clung to him. "T-The White Fang, t-they were the ones who were…!"
"Ruby, did you…"
"No!" Ruby shook her head. "It was someone else! The White Fang, they were shooting at me, but then someone else shot them and they all fell down! And then I…"
Jaune gasped when the dark around them was suddenly illuminated. Jaune stared in amazement as Ruby's eyes glowed a brilliant silver in the night.
"Your eyes…"
"Ah…!"
Ruby tried to recoil away but before she could Jaune pulled her to his chest and embraced her. His friend stilled in his arms and relaxed after a moment.
"…This is what I wanted to tell you about before." Ruby mumbled into Jaune's chest. "My eyes… my mom had them too. They're supposed to be special and make it so I can fight against Grimm better than anyone else."
"…They wouldn't also happen to fire lasers, would they?" Jaune asked cheekily, smiling when he felt Ruby snort a laugh into his shirt.
"I wish." Ruby giggled before she fell silent. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around Jaune's waist. "Actually, I don't know much about them myself. My dad told me some stuff, and my mom had some old journals but… I'm kinda fumbling in the dark when it comes to these special eye powers I apparently have. And… last week when we fought the White Fang, when I saw those White Fang members die… I found out something about my eyes."
"…What was it?"
"…I saw them die." Ruby whispered. "And I don't mean I just saw them fall on the ground and stop breathing when they were shot. I-I mean I saw their souls leaving their body. I-I don't know how to describe what it felt like when I saw it, but is was like something got cut out of the space they were standing it. Like someone suddenly opened up a pitfall where their souls were and it all just drained away. It made my skin crawl and I got so scared…"
Ruby trembled in his arms.
"I want to be a hero like my mom. I want to protect people. But seeing the life drain away from someone else is… I mean, rationally, I know I'm not gonna be able to save anyone. B-But if every time someone dies I see that again…?"
Ruby let out a shuddering breath.
"S-Sorry, I know I'm not making much sense and that what I'm saying is-"
"No, I understand completely."
Ruby pulled away and gazed up at Jaune, expression curious and desperate.
"You do...?"
Jaune sighed and held Ruby tighter. "Ruby, I... kinda got into this a little with Yang, and I know you said she told you, but... I'm in the same boat. Combine my time here in Beacon with the six months it took for me to travel to Vale... I've had to fight way more people than I have Grimm. Honestly, my kill count for people is probably higher than my Grimm kill count."
Ruby bit her lip.
"When I was in Iridescent's arena, the people I fought weren't all criminals. I'm sure some of them were in the same situation as me, but because I didn't want to die, I fought them. Sure, I didn't go for the killing blow or anything delibrate. Not always. But I hurt them, and put them in bad positions for future fights. Plus what happend with Gato..."
Jaune closed his eyes as he thought about his mentor.
"Like those White Fang guys you saw die, even if you weren't the one who pulled the trigger, you still feel responsible, don't you?"
With her mouth falling open slightly, Ruby gave a frantic nod.
"You keep thinking if you hadn't been there, or if you'd done something different, or been a little stronger, a little smarter, maybe no one would've had to die. But life isn't like our comic books. When we heroes defeat the 'villains', they don't always get up and swear vengeance and run off with only a few bruises and scrapes. The results are a lot more final than that. Even after I escaped, there were... others that I had to take out because it was either me or them. I could tell you all about how the people I fought were evil, or that they deserved what I did to them, or that I was just defending myself... but it didn't stop me from feeling guilty about it."
"I don't feel guilty about killing Grimm." Ruby told him. "B-But people...!"
Jaune nodded. "I know. It's hard, watching people die."
And he had six months to get used to it. Ruby was going dealing with witnessing death firsthand. Deaths she'd been involved in... even if she wasn't directly responsible for them. And she apparently saw it in a unique way that he or anyone else couldn't fathom.
But he could help her through it.
"I don't know what you think of yourself after you saw those guys die, but you... can't hold yourself responsible for every death you might see in the future. It... took me a while to understand that myself, and I only recently convinced myself to let go a little... but you don't deserve that weight on your soul, Ruby."
"...But what if things stay like this?" Ruby asked. "What if we have to fight people again? I keep thinking that if Yang, or Weiss, or Blake, o-or you, and if... if I need to save you, and the only way to do that is to-"
"I've made those decisions too. And making those decisions doesn't make you a bad person, Ruby. It doesn't make you any less of a hero." Jaune assured her. "Certainly not in my eyes."
Jaune rubbed her back.
"Do you think I'm a bad person for the things I've done? For the lives I've taken?"
"No. Never once."
The instant answer made Jaune smile.
"You have no idea how much of a relief that is to hear from you. And I believe you. So can you believe me?"
"I... I do..."
"And... if we ever have to burden ourselves with a hard choice, we can carry that weight together. Promise." Jaune said soothingly. "I'll always be here to support you, Ruby. Just like Yang will. And your team. And my team. And anyone else who wants to be heroes with us. We'll be there for each other to make it easier."
"Mhm..."
"You're gonna be a hero one day, Ruby. Don't worry about the big picture or what we might have to fight in the future. Just... prioritize. It's something I've been trying to get used to, and I think I'm getting the hang of it. I'm kinda measuring my success on how happy the rest of you are and whether or not I can keep you all safe. But the recent fight with Iridescent and the White Fang showed me I can't do it alone. I'm much more successful together with all of you than trying to go solo. I know you feel guilty about those White Fang guys, but I also want you to know you saved me back then. You can be happy about that, right?"
"Yeah..."
"So, um..." Jaune waffled as he and Ruby clung to each other. "I... hope that made you feel a little better?"
Hearing Ruby giggle in response had Jaune giving another relieved sigh.
"Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better now." Ruby smiled, leaning away from Jaune as the glow from her eyes faded. "Honestly, knowing you're going be with me makes me feel a lot better."
"Feeling's mutual." Jaune smiled. "I'd probably be much more of mess if you weren't here in Beacon with me. That's the truth."
"Yeah? Are you happiest about me being here compared to everyone else?" Ruby asked. "Even more than Yang? Or Pyrrha?"
"Those are questions I don't have to answer." Jaune replied, poking the girl's cheek playfully. "Though speaking of your sister, I promised I'd deliver a Ruby to her. She was worried when you left and didn't come back."
"Oh... so she asked you to look for me?" Ruby mumbled, looking sheepish. "I, um... can't we stay together a little longer? I don't feel like playing video games right now."
Jaune opened his mouth to reply but paused when he felt buzzing in his pocket. Fishing out his scroll and seeing a text from Pyrrha, an idea suddenly popped into his head.
"Well, if you don't want to go back to your dorm just yet, I've got another destination in mind."
"Order up!" Nora smiled and slammed the plate down in front of Team RWBY's leader.
Ruby leaned back and warily eyed the large stack of pancakes that towered in front of her.
"Um, where do I start?" Ruby asked.
"From the middle works best I've found!" Nora grinned. "And if you can't finish everything, I'll take the leftovers!"
"We've also got bacon, eggs, milk and orange juice." Ren said as he finished the spread.
"And there are also waffles if you want and alternative to pancakes." Pyrrha added.
"HEATHEN!" Nora shouted at her fellow redhead.
"They're practically the same thing. Same ingredients, the only different is that one is a circle shape while the other-"
"BLASPHEMER!"
Sitting next to Ruby, Jaune smiled happily when he saw Ruby giggle at his team's antics. He knew that not all of Ruby's worries and fears had been alievated, and there would probably be more discussions about her feelings and about her issues with her eyes in the future, but he was prepared to help her out with them.
Like Ruby, he was learning that the path to become a huntsman had divorced quite a bit from his original idealized image of the profession. But that was fine. Even if there were a few missteps here and there in the coming days, they could make up for it together.
And like he had mentioned earlier, Jaune had managed to find a pretty good measuring stick to track his success.
Grinning, Jaune flicked out his scroll.
"Hey, Ruby, scoot closer for a sec."
Yang threw her hands up as her characters was given another KO.
"Seriously Blake, could you be any worse at this game?"
"I told you I don't like fighting games." The cat faunus protested. She held her controller up in the air. "Please, someone, take this from me."
"Hey, Weiss, why don't we partner up from another round together?" Neptune offered.
"I would, but my thumbs hurt from the controls." Weiss frowned, staring at her red thumbs.
"That's what you get for button mashing." Yang shrugged.
"The controls are confusing!"
"Let's make it a Team SSSN fight this time!" Sun interjected. "Me and Nep versus Sage and Scar!"
"I'm down." Scarlet said.
"Sounds good to me." Sage nodded.
"Just don't text your girlfriend while you're playing this time." Neptune told Sage.
"I don't see how it's a problem seeing as I can still beat you both with one hand. It's two handicaps in your favor."
"What's the other handicap?"
"He's got Scarlet as his second player." Sun snarled as he glared at the redhead.
"Hey, I'm not that bad!"
"YOU THREW THE BOMB AT ME FIVE TIMES! WE WERE ON THE SAME TEAM!"
"It was an accident!"
"FACE THE PEOPLE YOU WANT TO THROW THE ITEMS AT! IT ISN'T HIGH CONCEPT DUMBASS! IT IS VERY SIMPLE!"
Yang rolled her eyes as Team SSSN got into it, but her eyebrows went up when she saw her scroll light up. Taking it out and unlocking it, she saw that Jaune had texted her. Opening up her messages Yang smiled at what she saw.
Sitting at a cafeteria table, Ren was balancing several breakfast plates in his hands while wearing a pink frilly apron. Pyrrha seemingly contrusting a face on a plate of waffles with bacon, eggs and blueberries while Nora was practically inhaling a pile of pancakes.
And in the foreground, Jaune and her sister were cheek to cheek and beaming at the camera.
Attached to the image was a message from Jaune that said "Wish you were here!" with a bacon and pancake emoji following it.
Seeing how happy her sister looked, Yang decided that she'd have to find a way to thank Jaune sometime.
It was so nice having someone else to help watch out for her little sister.
A couple hours later, Jaune and Ruby stood in front of the latter's dorm room. There were no muffled noises or raging shouts coming from behind the door, as a text from Yang half an hour earlier had informed them that their gaming tournament had ended and SSSN had left to let everyone wind down for bed and properly prep for the weekend.
Jaune was gratified when Ruby stood in front of him, leaning against the door with a large smile on her face. It was a great improvement from her somber attitude at the cliffs, and Jaune was glad he was able to put that smile on her face with the help of Ren's cooking and the antics of his whole team.
"I really needed tonight." Ruby told Jaune with a smile. "So thanks for talking with me. And for feeding me."
"A rose should be kept watered and well fed." Jaune joked.
"Funny." Ruby giggled, sticking her tongue out at her friend. "So… any big plans for the weekend?"
"Well, I got a man-date with Cardin tomorrow in case you forgot. So that'll be fun."
"Wow. You sound so enthusiastic."
"I'm trying to convince myself it won't blow up in my face and no one will come back to Beacon with black eyes or broken limbs." Jaune shrugged. "What about you?"
"I… I'm just going to relax. That's something that I don't think I've done enough of lately." Ruby said firmly. "And I don't mean just staying in my room and being alone with my thoughts. I want to do things that make me happy! I wanna goof around with Yang, maybe do some shopping with Weiss, and read some books with Blake."
"Hey, you stay away from Blake's books. They'll only corrupt you."
"Too late! I'm already halfway corrupted!"
"Damn. Mark my words, that cat is gonna pay for this." Jaune promised, clenching his fist like a cartoon character declaring vengeance which earned more giggles from Ruby.
"Other than that, maybe indulge in my hobbies a little. Did you know I haven't been to the forgery once since the semester started! That simply cannot stand! Ignoring my precious baby and not giving her proper maintenance… I can't become a neglectful mother, Jaune!"
Rolling his eyes at Ruby's attitude and how she referred to her prized weapon, Jaune dropped the joking tone and gave Ruby a stern look. "So, about this silver eye stuff… you gonna tell anyone else?"
"...I will. Soon. For now can… can we keep it an us thing please?"
"If that's what you want, I promise not to bring it up unless you do." Jaune assured. "Just promise me that you will tell Yang and the others soon. You and I can't figure this thing out just on our own. Eight heads are way better than just our two."
"I know, I know. I just… wanna process a little more and get my thoughts in order before I tell everyone about my special powers or what me having these eyes might mean." Ruby murmured. "Heck, I'm here in Beacon this early not because I chased off Torchwick but only because the Headmaster knows about my special eye powers."
"Nah, you're definitely here because you're a kickass huntress." Jaune grinned. "Don't go doubting yourself now, not when we're already this far into things."
"Yeah, yeah… you're right. I shouldn't be so negative. I'm already in the top fifty in combat classes! And that's out of hundreds of students!"
"Exactly." Jaune nodded with a smile. "You're well on your way to becoming an amazing huntress."
"Both of us are." Ruby affirmed. "Don't forget you're pretty amazing yourself. I know you doubt yourself plenty and get mopey sometimes, but don't let those bad thoughts win!"
"I know, I know." Jaune sighed, feeling a little called out but that couldn't be helped. "I feel like I'm getting better, thanks to you all. But if I relapse, don't hold it against me, okay?"
"...Yeah. I think I get where you're coming from a little more now. I knew being a huntress wasn't all roses and sunshine, but I think I only really registered that fact last week when I saw those men die." Ruby said softly.
"Ruby, hey-"
"Ah, but, I'm not worrying about it as much anymore! Or at least I'm trying not to." Ruby stammered, waving her arms and giving a reassuring smile to Jaune. "Bad things happen and that's… just part of life. That doesn't mean I always have to focus entirely on the bad parts. Not when there's so much good parts in my life!"
"Now there's the always-positive Ruby I know and love." Jaune grinned playfully, his words earning a blush from Ruby.
"Ahaha… well, not always positive. It's hard being positive ALL the time, so if I feel sad I'm gonna mope. Just if I do, can you maybe try doing something like what you did tonight?"
"Hey, remember what I said before? I'm always here for you if you need me, Ruby."
"Yeah, I know. But I like hearing you say it." Ruby smiled before she ducked her head. "And… y'know, to help keep myself thinking positive thoughts and not dwell so much on the negative, I'm…. gonna start being a little more proactive about my happiness."
Jaune tilted his head curiously at those words. "What do you mean by that."
Shyly toeing the carpet with one foot, Ruby peered up at Jaune with a red face.
"Well… kinda like this?"
There was a burst of rose petals, as there always was when Ruby triggered her semblance, and Jaune's eyes widened when suddenly Ruby was leaning against him on her tiptoes and staring directly into his eyes.
Jaune stared back into her silvery orbs for a second before the girl closed her eyes and then closed the distance. Jaune felt something soft press against his lips for a half a second before the sensation was gone, and was left blinking guilelessly down at Ruby who was displaying red cheeks and a beatific smile toward him.
"Hehehe!" Ruby beamed, and gave Jaune a wink. "Ruby Rose is gonna keep doing her best! You better watch out!"
Having said that, there was another burst of rose petals and a second later Ruby was gone and the sound of her door slamming shut was echoing in his ears.
Jaune was left standing in the hallway, expression completely nonplussed as he tried to register what Ruby had just pulled. Slowly, one hand came up to touch his lips. After a moment, his hand rose to cover his face in embarrassment.
"...That girl is dangerous." Jaune mumbled, feeling how warm his face was with his hand.
Not only that, but it looked like it wasn't just the big sister who could leave him breathless and make his heart race.
Ever since reuniting with Ruby at Beacon and she had announced her infatuation with him, Jaune had sort of written her off. Unlike Yang and Pyrrha who were quite aggressive in expression their feelings for him, when it came to Ruby it was easy to look at her own overtures toward him and just see it as a childish crush. One that she'd grow out of when she found someone else better and more put together to crush on. Jaune had thought that he'd had the girl sister-zoned.
That was no longer the case. That kiss, brief as it was, had conveyed more to him than all of Ruby's hugs, playful gestures or teasing comments had combined.
Ruby really did have feelings for him.
And Jaune had suddenly realized that Ruby Rose was a when.
"Geez, when did that happen?" Jaune wondered aloud.
Well, best not to dwell on that revelation for the time being. For now, he needed to get some sleep and get ready for his man-date tomorrow. Hopefully some time later he could put more effort into sorting out his increasingly tangled up love life.
Heck, maybe Cardin could give him some tips. Despite it all, he was somehow in a very stable relationship with his faunus girlfriend if the rumors were to be believed. Jaune could certainly use the romantic advice.
Great job by UnknownAnon! He's letting me rest while I get my muse back in order.
Arjun Sarkara is of course named for and inspired by Arjun from the Mahabharata, as well as his incarnation from Fate/Stay Night. More of his history will be coming forth in the following chapters.
Sun and Scarlet's relationship is a tribute to that of their voice actors, Michael and Gavin, who were the Play Pals on Rooster Teeth.
This arc will be giving us all a breather after the drama of the last few. So more comedy will be up next! Thank you for your support and please comment!