"Kill me… please." Jaune whispered as he broke.
A veritable fountain of puke came spewing forth, exploding out and filling the puke bag with frightening speed.
'At least I'm not the only one suffering.' Jaune thought with grimm satisfaction as he saw his friends, teammates and other classmates huddled together on the other side of the bullhead. He couldn't really fault them, it smelled bad. But really, they were overdramatic.
"I know it smells bad, but aren't you being a little bit overly dramatic? What do you say Ren?" Jaune asked, elbowing his friend in the side.
Ren's head slumped to the side, the only thing keeping him from flopping down like a fish being his safety harness. Having long since pulled the expert trick of fainting, knowing that the smell could never harm him there.
Luckily for all of them, the bullhead touched down in one of Forever Fall's many clearings. With students almost trampling over one another in a desperate attempt to get out, even the pilot joining them outside. Greedily taking large gulps of clean, fresh air.
The last ones out of the bullhead were Jaune who carried a fainted Ren in a fireman carry, and Glynda who looked visibly ill. But also had too much professionalism to let it show or be hampered in any way. Simply powering trough instead.
"Now, I will not mince words. I want you to know that I'm disappointed in all of you. Expect Marigold, but her duties as a pilot are different than those of huntsmen. The rest of you? Know that there will come a time when you are surrounded by foulness but must push trough. When lives are on the line, petty things like a bad smell, uncomfortable things, tiredness and aches all must be pushed through so you can save as many lives as possible." Glynda calmly lectured. Professionally laying into her students. Making even Cardin and his team wince.
"And Jaune, there exists medicine for motion sickness. Go talk with the school nurse when we return back to Beacon. She will give you a receipt."
"Wait, really?"
"Yes, really." Glynda replied as she started reading of her scroll. "Everyone is present, good. Now you have all received a mail with your objective in it. Treat this as a mission and not as a fun school excursion. Dismissed."
At her words the excited students split up, running as fast they could. Fleeing from the death to all that was holy that Jaune had wrought upon them. Even Glynda, ever professional Glynda made sure to put some extra distance between herself and the bullhead.
Just because she was professional and had high professional standers, didn't that mean she had to expose herself to a smell that made even flowers wilt.
"I'm really sorry." Jaune profoundly apologies to his team. He wasn't the only one with motion sickness in the Arc household. Motion sickness being a curse all Arc's have been given. It really made their trips to Mistral something else. It also served as a great deterrent for Mistral's more unsavoury elements.
"There is nothing to apologise for Jaune-Jaune!" Nora exclaimed as she bounced, looking ready to heave Ren onto her shoulders and lift him along. Unfortunately for Nora, Ren was already awake and had jumped to his feet while the rest of the teams scattered.
"If anything, the only thing to apologise for is wiggling out from what you were to tell us some days ago." Ren replied calmly as the team made their way into the clearing. Having gotten their coordinates from the mail. "You are surprisingly skilful in wiggling out from uncomfortable situations."
"That's right! This is an intervention!" Nora grinned, jumping before Jaune and booping him on the nose with an outstretched hand. "We are not leaving this forest without you spilling what's troubling you. And if you were to wiggle out, we have the ultimate move to stop you."
With that she pulled out her scroll and typed in a familiar number, making Jaune go white as paper as he looked towards Nora pleadingly. Seeing no remorse in her eyes he looked to Pyrrha and Ren. Pyrrha looking guilty but firm in her decision, while Ren's eyes shone with concern and resolve.
"That's right Jaune-Jaune, if you don't spill, we're calling your parents." Nora threatened, finger on the call icon. "It didn't have had to come to this Jaune-Jaune. You could have just been a good boy and told us, then all of this could have been avoided."
"Why can't you tell us, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, sounding more hurt than accusatory. Tears welling up in her green eyes. "Are we scary? Are you scared of us?"
"No, It's not that." Jaune said, blue eyes flying wildly around as he was ready to bolt at any second.
"Then what is it Jaune." Ren demanded. Pink indifferent eyes boring into him as Jaune felt the fight escaping him. This had gone on long enough, they needed and deserved to know what was going on.
Ren had a hunch, and he wasn't liking it, but he needed answers. Things couldn't go on as they had. Especially not with how Jaune seemed capable of healing wounds that should have left him dead.
Jaune should be dead.
There was no if's, or's, or but's about it. He had lost an alarmingly large amount of blood in seconds. Ren remember seeing bone peek trough Pyrrha's fingers. Not to mention the tang stench of blood still hadn't left their dorm.
And he was healed in seconds. By drinking from that vial. A vial he couldn't touch. His fingers passing right through it like it had been a mirage. But Jaune could and did. For he would be dead otherwise.
"I don't want you to think less of me." A whisper escaped Jaune as he looked scared. Almost collapsing as the words left him.
This wasn't how he had wanted the day to go. He had wanted to test out his semblance's limits and see what more he could and couldn't do. Having hoped that the blood 'incident' would have been forgotten by now.
He should have known better.
"What do you mean… Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, sounding almost afforded at the very thought.
"Yeah! We won't think less of you. We are just worried." Nora said, lacking her usual excitement as she looked at Jaune. "We care for you Jaune-Jaune, that's why we want to know. So we can help you."
"Ok… ok. I will talk, but not before we have collected all the sap. Give me some time to think about what to say. Mission first, you can grill me after that." Jaune relented, earning some nods from his teammates. "But you won't like what you hear."
With those words hanging over them, Team JNPR expertly started gathering the sap. Even if it was Jaune who did the most work. Having done this a couple of times before. After all, his hometown had some beautiful maple trees. And his mother always made the best pancakes with fresh homemade syrup.
Taking the last bottle from the tap, Jaune sat down on a stump. An ugly little thing that some bored Ursa must have thrown a huntsman trough, given how grainy it was. But it was good enough, and he really didn't want to stand as he talked about the dream. And after what happened to Nora when she tried waking him, he knew that he owed her the truth. No matter how much he hated it.
"Before we start. I want you to know that I'm doing this against my better judgment. And that I thought you knew… kinda?" Jaune said as he fiddled his thumbs. Looking over at his teammates he received some tentative nods.
"We have drawn some conclusions of our own, but hearing the truth of the matter from your mouth is better that blind guesses." Ren said calmly as he leaned on one of Forever Fall's tall trees. Having become the unofficial spokesperson. It wasn't that Nora or Pyrrha wasn't suited for it, but his semblance that simply made him the most suited for the task.
Given how close Jaune kept the matter to his chest, this could easily turn into a shouting match, the last thing they wanted. He did feel more than a little bit bad for pushing Jaune like this. But he also knew that Jaune would never talk about it if he wasn't pushed. Always coming up with an excuse or shifting their attention to something else.
Licking his lips nervously, Jaune took a deep breath before he began. "I… don't really know where to begin. But…it's a lot like a dream within a dream… if that makes sense. I have a 'core hub' in The Dream where Gehrman and the Doll resides. Gehrman being a crazy old man that gives surprisingly good advice, while he is also so far of his rockers that he came full circle, back to being somewhat sane. If that makes any sense? At least he acts as a guide, pointing me towards how to get better as a hunter, be it reading, fortifying my weapons and just being a gnarly, but helpful old man."
The silence hung heavily as green, pink and turquoise eyes looked at one another, nodding as they waited for Jaune to continue. "If Gehrman is a sort of guide to force me to be better. The Doll is a spiritual companion… listening… answering questions… and offering spiritual relief in the form of counsel and companionship."
"I'm not fucking the doll." Jaune said quickly, glaring at his teammates. Nora even had the decency to look ashamed and lowered her hand. "Now, does anyone else have any stupid questions? Or can I continue." Glaring at his teammates he signed, running his hands through his hair.
"Good… well the Doll is also in charge of 'blood echo infusion'. Basically… well I haven't come to it, but by 'Hunting' in Yharnam, where I 'wake up' from 'the dream', I can gather blood echoes that can be used as currency. They can also be used to 'infuse' strength into my body, so I can grow in strength faster than normal."
Did he smile a bit smugly at the lastly, yes, he did. Even if Jaune also couldn't help the pit of guilt that opened in his stomach. Because sometimes his strength never felt earned. It felt… too quick and cheap… almost. He knew it was just his low self-esteem biting into him, but he could go toe to toe with Cardin. The only thing stopping him from winning was that he wanted to win with skill and not tear into him like he was one of Yharnam's mad men. Initiation was little over a month ago, and he had already caught up with a good eleven years of combat schooling Carding went through.
He was improving with blazing speed. He knew his rapid improvement would slow down sooner rather than later, especially as how he needed more blood echoes to increase his attributes. But that was something he was ready to face eventually, after all, it is always easy to go from nothing to something. Going from good to better was hard. And only a handful of people could ever call themselves the 'Best' without empty boasting.
"Then there is Yharnam." Jaune said. Whispering the name as if it was the name of a long slumbering god that should best be forgotten by time. "And where to begin with that cesspit of blood and misery. Short version… it's full of mad men, werewolves, and other monstrosities. Trolls, carrion crows that can't fly, mad dogs that have torn my throat out one to many times, rats the size of grown men, rotted corpses that somehow make a mockery of life, not alive but also not dead. Not to mention that when I kill a single mad man, ten more takes his place. It never stops. Time is more of a guideline than a constant, its perpetual evening. Besides so far only a single thing I have killed have properly stayed dead, all others having a bad tendency to return like they weren't killed in the slightest."
"Kill?" Pyrrha asked horrified while Ren and Nora shared a glance. Knowing full well where Jaune was going. Life on the road taught tough lessons, that violence being the answer surprisingly often being one of those lessons. Bandits don't care for age, gender or unlocked aura. They weren't proud of what they had done, but it was either that, die, or a fate worse than death. They had made their choices, and they had to live with theirs.
"Yes, kill. It's either killing them before they can kill me or dying." Jaune said, absentmindedly scratching his neck. "I won't sugarcoat it, I hate doing it, no matter how talented I apparently am. But it's either killing them, or dying, and I'm not willing to lose more memories than necessary."
"Excuse me?" Ren asked. Blinking while looking incredulity at Jaune. Not sure if his ears were playing tricks.
"Oh… fuck… I didn't say?" Jaune cringed. "Well… when I die in the dream… I pay a memory as tithe to revive."
The silence was telling as Jaune cringed at the looks his teammates sent him. "Opps?"
"I don't think that is a semblance Jaune." Pyrrha said quietly. Worried green eyes boring into her crush. "Semblances don't 'take' from their users, no matter what. Some semblances might be simple, others might be complicated and require extensive training. But never will a semblance take anything else than 'aura' as activation cost."
"Well, that's not good." Jaune replied as he laned back, taking in the sky as his mind went a thousand and one miles an hour. "But it does answer some of my questions… while giving me a thousand more."
A heavy silence descended over the little clearing they found themselves in. Neither Ren nor Pyrrha really knowing what to say. They knew Jaune was far from as ok he presented himself as. He had a bad habit of staring of into space when he thought none was looking, religiously polishing his sword when he cleaned it five minutes ago, not to mention how he acted like a nervous wreck sometimes.
Yet he had never let them down either. He was improving at tremendous pace, he asked for help, made sure no one felt excluded and did his best to become a leader they could be proud of.
"You really are Fearless leader, huh." Nora asked sweetly. Chuckling weakly Jaune smiled, not a full smile, not a false smile, but a soft little smile that somehow made them feel like everything was going to be better. "I guess I am, huh?"
"Sooo… what kind of death hurt the most?"
"Nora!" Ren shouted scandalised. Even Pyrrha sent their teammate a scandalised look. There were just some things you didn't ask. What none of them had expected was for Jaune to let out a carefree laugh. "Never change Nora… never change." He wheezed out between laughs.
"But if you are really curious… then I'm not above sharing." Jaune smiled, even if his shoulders were still shacking with laugher. "Dying in itself is… peaceful. Freeing in a way. No more worries, no more burdens, complete and utter freedom. It's the thing that happens before dying that hurts, but it also depend heavily on how you die. I mean… you don't even feel a bullet through the head, just sudden darkness. Having a werewolf tear you in two is a lot like breaking a leg, you don't feel much, and you are dead before the pain even registers. The worst deaths are those who are long."
"Take burning alive on the stake for instance. Most, if not all civilians are dead by suffocation before the fire reaches them. Not us. We have aura. And even when not actively in use, it keeps our lungs healthy." Taking a shuddering breath, Jaune forced the memories away. He had been cocky and had taken on a large group of mad hunters thinking he could take them. He couldn't.
And he was burned alive on the stake for his hubris.
Scratching his neck Jaune sighed and stood up. "That should be enough to give you a picture at least." Idly stretching he walked around the clearing, kicking his legs and fidgeting. Already regretting having cracked as he felt his teammates looks of pity upon his backs.
He didn't need their pity. Didn't want it either.
Looking back to his teammates, he didn't know how to feel. Annoyance, frustration, some anger at their pity, and a sea of clashing and conflicting emotions. He liked to think he was aware of his emotions, but with how overwhelmed he felt right now he knew that he had just deluded himself to think that. It just was all so much, and he simply didn't know what to feel.
"Jaune!" He heard Nora shout, ears picking up something hurling through the air towards him. Crocea Mors flew out, shattering the glass jar and making crimson sap explode outward. And for a moment he was back in Yharnam. Crocea Mos coated in blood of the men he had slain, the howls of grimm in the distance changed for the roaring of beasts, and his clothes stained so red that he never would be able to wash the blood away. The full moon seemed to bleed red as he saw a group of mad men coming scrambling out from the alley. Carrying some boxes and blood vials on them.
Jaune saw red as he remembered this street, it was here he had his first proper killing spree. He might have coated every street and alley in Central Yharnam red with blood. But this street was special since it led down to Iosefka's clinic. Lokking up he spotted a thick tower of smoke rising in the distance. Gripping Crocea Mors until his knuckles turned white, he stepped forward. Anger coursing through his veins at the audacity of this group of soon to be dead men. He had no problems if they came after him. But attacking and raiding a clinic that only wanted to help was far, far over the line.
Stepping forward he exploded forward, crimson mist exploding around him as he teleported to the nearest mad man. Crocea Mors hacking into him, collapsing the mad man as he broke down, coughing and harking madly. But Jaune paid him no mind, drawing Mortem Ignis and delivering a quicksilver bullet to the back of his head. The sound of shattering glass echoing loudly in the otherwise empty street as the man collapsed.
Once again exploding into crimson fog he hacked at another mad man who brough up a halberd of all things. Crocea Mors tore through the steel, making the man look on dumbfounded as he delivered a shar pistol slap to his victim. Knocking out spittle but seeing no sign of blood or teeth. 'Of course these mad men would be different. There is no way they would dare raid the clinic otherwise.' Purely on instincts, he ducked when he felt the hair on his neck stand. Dodging away from another mad man that came flying at him with a pair of curved shorts words.
"Ja-u-ne!" the wind whispered.
Crocea Mors tore a large gash at his back, again no blood flowed even if his assailant stumbled forward and crashed into a nearby house. Giving him a shot in the back for good measure he sidestepped the last assailant and delivered him a quicksilver bullet of his own into his back. Delivering a crushing stomp to the side of his knee for good measure. Making the sound of shattered glass ring again as a guttural scream tore through the silent streets of Yharnam.
Blue eyes locked onto the last mad man who had the audacity to throw down his shattered weapon and take of running. Crimson mist enveloped him as he flashed to his side, delivering a brutal cleave to his stomach. 'Pyrrha would hate me now. No grace, no technique, just pure overwhelming violence.'
Beacon had taught him that people fought differently, Ruby with speed, Yang with ferocity and guts, Nora with overwhelming power, and Pyrrha fought with almost inhuman grace and technique.
If Beacon had taught him that people fought differently, then Yharnam had taught him his way of fighting and helped him refine it. Sure, the fighting style he developed and learned was useful, and it was also something he was proud of. As he had never thought himself able to create such a graceful style. Not to mention how even Miss. Goodwitch had praised him on its development. Unfortunately, when the chips were down, and his back was against the wall.
Only pure violence remained. Primal violence that ripped and tore through everything that dared stand in front of him. He liked to think himself above the beasts, that he was better, incapable of such brutal violence.
He was wrong. He was best at it.
"JAUNE!" He heard a familiar voice scream. Turning around the streets of Yharnam faded to nothing. Replaced with towering trees with crimson canopies. The blood on his clothes was replaced with crimson sap. The mad men turned into Team Cardinal, all laying beaten and broken at his feet. Dove screamed and cradled his leg, his leg hanging limply from his knee. Sky's halberd laid scattered at his feet while the man lied face down in the dirt. Russel was knocked out cold, kissing a tree, and so were Cardin.
Fortunately none were dead. Hurt yes, broken as well, but they would live to see another day.
"Jaune… what was that?" Nora asked in barely a whisper. Looking horrified, but worst of all, frightened. Unconsciously stepping back when he stepped forward. Seeing his friend and teammate seemingly terrified of him, hurt more than being buried alive.
"I'll get you for this Arc." He heard Cardin spit. Looking down he saw the bully get up on shaking leg's reaching towards Executioner. Laying the tip of Crocea Mors on the back of his hand, blue and indigo eyes glared into each other. "Do it." Jaune whispered as Crocea Mors glid towards Cardings neck. Pressing into tender flesh and drawing a single drop of blood.
Tsking and batting away the blade, Carding stood upon shaking legs. Grabbing his hammer and bending down to lift Dove. Sky leaping to help the wounded man as well. With one last glare and a kick to Russel to wake him up, the team of four began huddling towards the bullhead.
"Ren. Grab the jar's. We are escorting them back to the bullhead." Jaune ordered as he went over to Cardin and Dove. For as much as he detested them, he wasn't going to let them huddle trough a grimm infested forest with broken auras and a wounded team member. Taking Sky's place as the man had clearly no idea what to do. His team seemed a bit reluctant, but they all nodded and did as they were told.
"What the fuck was that Arc?" Cardin asked, not one for liking the tense silence. Glaring over Dove at Jaune.
"I could ask you the same Cardin. Rapier Wasps isn't native to Forever Fall, or Vale in general. Not to mention your objective was on the opposite side of the forest. Don't try to play innocent with me." Jaune lightly threatened. Glaring over at Cardin, who's eyes spat fury.
"That reminds me. Cardin, what is it you actually have against Jaune?" Ren asked diplomatically, doing his best to deescalate the situation before they could come to blows again. Given the state of Team CRDL, with a broken weapon, a broken leg, and two shattered auras, their chance of winnings seemed slim. But they weren't zero, they were never zero. Another lesson Ren had learned on the road.
"None of your business." Cardin spat out as they stepped into the clearing where the bullhead rested. It was empty expect for Miss. Goodwitch who stood and frowned while looked on her scroll. Looking up she looked thunderous as she marched over to them.
"Merigold. Call for a medical evac asap. We have a badly broken leg, and the faster we get him to Beacon the better." Glynda bellowed, not looking back as Merigold leapt to fulfil her orders. "What happened. And don't try lying. I have been monitoring all team activity, and Team CRDL have never sat foot next to their objective marker. You have one chance to tell me what happened. Spare no details."
"I did it." Jaune said, stepping forward and letting go of Dove as Merigold came sprinting over with a first aid kit. "They had snuck up on my team with a nest of rapier wasps. Throwing the sap at me to get them to attack."
"That is all well and good, Mr. Arc. But it doesn't explain why their aura's are shattered, a knee was broken, and why Mister Lark is now bereft of his weapon." Glynda calmly said as she glared bloody murder over them. Riding crop in hand.
"Fearless leader did it." Nora said, coming to the rescue. "We were talking about his semblance, when out of nowhere a jar came flying towards it. His sword coming out like *Slinkg* cutting the jar in two but coating him in sap. Then he exploded in a mist of crimson and with a *WHOS* he was beside Cardin and his team. Beating the fear of gods into them."
"It was a fucking fluke. A fluke! There is no way we wouldn't have lost to Arc if he hadn't gotten the jump on us." Cardin shoot back. Gnashing his teeth as he glared over at Nora.
"No way! You went down after two hits! Crumbled like a sack of potatoes!" Nora stated matter-of-factly. Smug grin on her face as she recreated the scene with her arms, adding extra sound effects for extra measure.
"I will put you in the ground!" Cardin roared, reaching for Executioner as he stepped towards Nora. Ren and Pyrrha already stepping to her side weapon in hand.
"You will certainly not Mr. Winchester." Glynda ordered calmly as purple shone around everyone as she flashed her semblance threateningly. "You and your team will be heading to Beacon when the medical bullhead arrives. And so will Team Juniper, there is no reason to have you standing around twiddling your thumbs when you finished so quickly. I see there is bad blood between you, but if you were to come to blows in the bullhead, I will have you all suspended. There is a time and place to settle grudges, and a medical bullhead is not one of them. Is that understood?"
"Is, that, understood?" Glynda asked one more time, when she got no answers.
"Yes Ms. Goodwitch." The two teams droned on together. Making her nod. "Yes Mr. Arc?"
"Is it possible to walk back to Beacon? I rather want to clear my head." Jaune said, lowering his hand as he cringed slightly as he felt his teammates eyes drill into his back.
"That is acceptable. However you need to be back before curfew. And so help me if I hear you get up to something stupid." Glynda nodded. They weren't too far from Vale proper, and Forever Fall was one of those locations around the kingdom that saw regular culling.
"Thank you." Jaune said, brough up his scroll to check the way before heading towards beacon.
###
"Soooo, what happened?" Yang asked as she leaned towards Pyrrha. Curiosity sparkling in her lilac eyes as she smelled some grade A gossip. "We heard Dove broke his leg and needed a med evac, not to mention we didn't see you on the flight back. Vomit boy is nowhere to be seen as well. Sooo, what happened?"
"That is none of your business Xiao-Long." Weiss whisper shouted as she looked over to her teammate.
"That is nothing you have to care about." Ren replied calmly, answering for Pyrrha who was giving a brittle smile as he ate. "Something happened between our team and team Cardinal, they were sent home in a medical evac and Jaune decided to walk back to Beacon."
"Aww, come on! Don't leave a girl hanging, give me the deets. I need to know." Yang whined as she leaned over her food and over to Ren. But all of Team JNPR were as silent as the grave. Content with eating their food and sending each other glances. Even Nora, ever talkative Nora was silent. Content with scooping her food into her stomach without a care in the world.
"Give it up Yang, it's none of our business." Ruby said as she sipped her glass of milk. Not at all minding the glare her sister sent her. "They clearly want to keep what happened under wraps, or at least private. I mean, not even Cardin and his team as said anything after you pestered them."
"Grow up Xiao-Long. Are you the older sister, or aren't you?" Weiss shot back, tired of her teammates immature act. Even Ruby, the literal fifteen-year-old wasn't as immature as Xiao-Long was now.
"Thanks for the food." Pyrrha said quickly, grabbing her plate and hurrying from the table. Ren and Nora hot on her heels. "Aww, and I wanted to ask if they wanted to join us in Vale tomorrow." Ruby pouted as she saw their sister team hurry from them as if on fire.
"Don't kid yourself Ruby, tomorrow is all about scoping out the competition. With Pyrrha on their team they are going to be our toughest obstacle, especially with how much a prodigy Arc has shown himself to be." Weiss idly commented, freezing as she felt all her teammates look at her. Even Blake had managed to tear her eyes away from her smut.
"What? I'm saying it as I'm seeing it. Jaune is almost another person now compared to Initiation. With how fast he has progressed until now he will be a monster in the Vytal festival if he continues at this pace." Weiss said scandalised as she looked at her teammates.
"Pffff, vomit boy, a monster?" Yang asked incredulity, sure she knew he hit hard. But it was Jaune, vomit boy. "Jaune still have left and right written on his shoes. Dude's still eating his dinosaur chicken nuggets and sleeps in a blue onesie. Are we talking about the same person here?"
"Are you so arrogant that you can't see how quickly he is progressing?" Weiss asked, having to blink as she looked at Team RWBY's blonde brawler. She was far to proper to call Yang an air headed bimbo, but how could she be so wilfully ignorant? Looking over to Blake, she just received a half-hearted shrug in response as she went back to reading.
Even other teams around them were idly nodding at her. Understanding what she was getting at, that her teammates were so oblivious to the potential Arc held was mindboggling. Turning to Ruby she saw her partner grinning impishly. Clearly knowing something she didn't. Looking eyes Ruby grinned even more, eyes practically screaming 'I know something you don't'.
"That was exhausting." Ren whispered when they got back to the safety of their own dorm. "How do you deal with it?" He couldn't help but ask Pyrrha as he collapse into bed.
"Smile and wave, mostly." Pyrrha said gently as she sat down on her chair, frowning as the familiar tang of blood tickled her nose. The smell seemingly intent on staying, never leaving no matter how much they cleaned. "Know what to say, know what questions to answer and which to keep silent about. And that's about it, the rest is just practice. But I never thought what I learned about handling paparazzi and journalists would be relevant when dealing with classmates."
Jaune and Ruby were friends. Team WBY and NPR were good acquaintances. They knew about each other and had no problem with hanging out. But it was also a clear emotional divide between the two teams. In time, Pyrrha wouldn't mind being friends with them, but not right now. Weiss were still a bit too caught up in her name and fame, while she tried, Yang was just too much. She was friendly and outgoing, but also had a bad habit of speaking without thinking. Accidentally saying hurtful things or bringing up things she was cursed to know about. 'Yes, she did know that a good part of her fanbase masturbated to her. Both genders. Did she want to know. No. But thank you for bringing it up when she had almost succeeded in forgetting it.'
Lastly, Blake was Blake, far too caught up in her dollar store smut to care about the world around her.
"I love this team." Pyrrha absentmindedly said as she leaned back, content. For in team JNPR she could be just Pyrrha. No invincible girl, no celebrity, no one of importance but Pyrrha.
"SQUEEE!" Nora squeaked loudly, teleporting to her side like they had seen Jaune do earlier and wrapped her into a tight hug. "Love you to Pyr. You are like the sister me and Renny always wanted but never had." Looking over her shoulder she glared at Ren, who sighed and made his way over. Dragged into a crushing group hug.
"Love you to Nora. And you to Ren." Pyrrha said sweetly as she basked in a warmth she had never experiences outside her family before. Her fame and strength having completely isolated her at Sanctum, being terrified that history would repeat itself at Beacon. Especially with how quick to pounce Weiss had been when learning about her name.
Thankfully a blonde dofus had stumbled upon them with a smile and tried in vain to introduce himself to Weiss.
Jaune might be selectively smart, sleep in a blue onesie that was a fashion crime (that had thankfully been rendered unwearable due to his blood fountain episode.), eat dinosaur nuggets, but he also had a heart of literal gold. Overflowing with kindness and warmth in abundance, always willing to listen or help. She knew how shaken he had been by being made leader, but he had stepped up, asked for help, and did his best to make himself someone they could look be proud of.
And he had succeeded.
He had made Team JNPR a family. From two orphans who had only had one another, a champion fighter that was billboard famous, and a well-meaning blonde, he had made them a dysfunctional but loving family. Returning to the dorm felt like returning home. Everyone felt safe, no one felt ignored neither were their meanings something that went ignored.
"Now… what to do with Jaune." Ren sighed as he sat on his bed.
"We are not replacing fearless leader." Nora said calmly. Voice full of resolve and quiet menace, should anyone bring up the idea.
"I never meant that. More like what now. We know what is troubling him. How do we help him? How can we help him." Ren said, looking at his friends. Open for ideas for he honestly had none.
What Jaune had shared with them was not what he had expected, but he wouldn't say he was surprised. It also answered surprisingly many questions. Unfortunately it also led way to a whole heap of other questions. The simplest being, How to help Jaune.
"I… I don't know." Pyrrha whispered quietly. She had never really had any friends, so she had never learned the more intricate parts of friendship. Sure she could fight hordes of grimm, but gods forbid she had to try and help someone trough their troubles. She was completely out of her element. And she loved it. "I never had proper friend before."
"A team's night out." Nora said, nodding to herself. "We never properly got out and had a proper team bonding experience. Sure we hang around each other every day, but why not go out drinking or clubbing? Anything really. Just spending an evening down in Vale together, aimlessly wandering around and seeing where our feet take us."
"That… that sounds grand." Pyrrha smiled sweetly. Eyes already beaming in anticipation.
"I'm in." Ren replied quickly. While not one for the entire clubbing scene, he would never say no to the chance to dance.
"Oh Renny, maybe you can teach fearless leader some moves." Nora giggled as Ren hummed along.
"Hmm, I think I remember Jaune telling me that he has learned to dance." Pyrrha said quietly. Seeing the passion that suddenly came bursting from the usually quiet and reserved Ren, she cringed slightly. Wondering what sort of monster she had unleashed. "Noting overly modern, but he can dance the waltz."
"I know. On the school dance we are all going break into a synchronised dance." Ren said as if he had just had an epiphany. It wasn't a question, as much as it was something that was going to happen, everything else be dammed.
"Now let's not get hasty here." Pyrrha said, trying to quell what mad scheme that was brewing in Ren's head. Knowing full well that she had two left feet when it came to dancing.
"Let's not get what?" Jaune asked, stumbling into the dorm room. Dressed in a fancy three-piece suit and wearing a top hat with a cross sword emblem sewed into the rim. Crocea Mors hang on his waist and his pistol was holstered under his coat, looming menacingly. He carried two paper bags which he sat down on his bed after carefully leaving his weapons on his desk.
Grabbing one of the paper bags he headed into the bathroom. In less than five minutes he was done and stumbled out in a new onside. This one seemingly a larger afront to fashion than his previous one. The same deep blue as his eyes filled with clouds and waves patterns. He wasn't wearing just a onesie but a full painting.
"Uhggughhgh." Jaune groaned like an eighty-year-old man when he collapsed into his bed. "Regret… so much regret…"
"If you regret so much, why did you walk all the way back? How many kilometres was it? A good 100?" Ren asked teasingly.
"Har har. No, just about 41 km. I walked a marathon." Jaune groaned into his pillow. "And I wouldn't have walked it if I had known that. I'm so going to feel this tomorrow."
"Then why did you walk?" Nora asked carefully, never having thought Jaune would ever be capable of such violence as he showed in the forest. Sure they were huntsmen-in-training, and fighting was what they did best. But what Jaune did wasn't fighting. It was violence, pure and simple.
"Because I would have put Cardin and his team six feet under." Jaune answered coldly as he groaned and sat up. Leaning back at the wall as he idly stretched out some kinks in his back. "Because for a moment I wasn't in forever fall. I was back in Yharnam with one of the 'good' locations burning."
"What was that suit Jaune?" Pyrrha asked. Forcefully switching the subject. Far too emotionally drained and overwhelmed of the day. Not to mention it wasn't every day the kindest person you knew said with absolute certainty that they would kill someone.
"That? Well that is my hunter attire from the dream. It's what I use when scouring the streets of Yharnam. I didn't know how much I had missed it since switching back. It's comfortable and stylish. Not to mention the badge, a trophy from my first proper hunt." Jaune said with pride as a sat up and looked for his notebook. "Wait a bit, I want to try something."
Grabbing his old worn notebook he flipped it open to a page and concentrated. "Tsk, didn't work." He sighed as he absentmindedly threw the notebook over to his desk.
"What did you try?" Pyrrha asked curiously. Finding her interest piqued as she looked over at Jaune. "Well… I wanted to see if I could 'conjure' a visual representation of the Cleric Beast. He first proper 'beast' I had hunted. And it should be possible, I'm just not arcanely inclined enough. But if you want to know I should be able to do so in a week or two."
"Knowing what you are facing would help put our mind at rest." Nora said quietly. "We worry, Fearless Leader. You should have been dead. We only want what's best for you. So please talk to us."
"Then… what do you say about ending the day with a bang?" Jaune asked with a little smile. Getting some raised eyebrows and curious looks at his words. "There is this thing… called Blood Rites in the dream, a sort of magic thing that I have learned. And after watching you and Ren play olbaid, I got this idea of creating my own blood rite." Jaune said with a teasing smile as he hurried over to his bell and summoned a beautiful sacrificial dagger.
Looking over at his team, all looked more than a little curios about what he was about to do. With that he sat down at the floor and quickly cut his palm before drawing a ritual circle. As far as ritual circles came it was the most basic of basic, a large core circle with a triangle in the middle, and where the triangle and circle overlapped, he drew three other circles.
"This rite is heavily inspired by the Horadric Cube, but I haven't properly tested it. Just an idea that have been floating around." Jaune said as his team sat with him on the floor. "As far as I know nothing could happen, something could explode, or if it works then it should transmute something to something else."
"So… to get this straight. You might or might not have the power to recreate the Horadric Cube. And it is a 'rite' you have never tested before." Ren said matter-of-factly, getting a nod from Jaune. Sighing and looking at Nora who had literal stars in her eyes he leaned back against his bed. "Sure, why start being sensible now. But if this goes to hell, and we die. I want you to know that I think this is a stupid idea."
"Don't be a party pooper Renny. It's going to be fine~" Nora sing-songed as she filled the three circles with candy rings.
"Welp, here goes nothing." Jaune shrugged as he cut his finger and activated the blood rite. The magic circle flashed crimson for a second, and then in the blink of an eye a candy necklace lied in the centre of the triangle.
With unmatched speed Nora grabbed it and gave it a tentative lick. Eyes shining as she broke of a piece for herself and sent the rest around. "This… this is good." Ren couldn't help but explain as he tasted it. Getting a quiet hum from Pyrrha as she smiled.
"That's good, because I'm not doing that again for the foreseeable future. Just a simple rite like this cost me about half my accumulated blood echoes." Jaune frowned, tasting the candy and finding it delicious. Even if increasing his attributes would have tasted even better. One was food for the body, the other was nutrients for the soul. The two couldn't be more different if they tried.
"You said you could bring your attire over, right? Is there a possibility that you could bring other things over?" Ren asked curiously. On one hand he was more than a little jealous at the seemingly power Jaune's semblance, for they had no other name to call it, had. On the other he had seen how the mental torment ate at Jaune. He was not about to test if he was more mentally resilient.
"Yeah, I think so? I wanted to use today to experiment more with my semblance. But then that happened. Not to mention Cardin as his goons being idiots." Jaune sighed. "But, eh, was worth it. You are worth it, and it was bound to boil over one day or another."
With that Jaune got up and crawled into bed. Out as a light before his head hit the pillow. Missing the soft smiles, full of love and compassion his friends sent him.
"You are worth it as well, Fearless Leader." Nora whispered with a soft smile. It was good to be cared for. Sure she knew Ren cared deeply for her, but they had been together for so long that, not to mention they had been forced to really on one another to survive. They had tried, really tried to make friends, but everyone they befriended either wanted to split them up or wanted to trick them. While they knew Beacon had teams of four, they hadn't had any large expectations. Instead planning to simply go with the flow and see what team they landed in.
Then Jaune and Pyrrha had come into their lives and suddenly it wasn't just the two of them against the world anymore. She would never say she had been alone when she and Ren was on the road. But they never had a proper place to call home.
And a home team JNPR had become.
She would protect this little slice of heaven with her life.
Looking over at her Fearless Leader, her face fell as Jaune began sleep talking.
"Beast's all over the shop… you'll be one of them sooner or later…"
Suppressing a shiver she looked over to Ren and Pyrrha, who looked just as of put as her. "I wasn't the only one who heard that right?" She asked carefully. Not wanting to wake Jaune, again.
"We can ask him tomorrow morning, but we are going out tomorrow. Gods knows he could use it." Ren said with finality.
####
Note: You know, it's surprisingly easy giving Jaune a dozen of mundane skills. Sure he sucks at weapons and all fighting related stuff, but hey he is also the only one with a 'normal' upbringing. So mundane, non-fighting skills like, deescalating, cleaning, cooking, all that just fits right in. Can he tap a maple tree? He can now.
Note: I was planning to gloss over talking about Bloodborne, as most who reads properly have some sort of understanding of by it now, or have played the game in detail. But it would also feel cheap to do. But hey, at least its good practice for heavier scenes later.
Note: Hardest part about the chapter have been what to do with Cardin. Something was going to happen, but how to write it was harder than expected. I had four drafts, but settled on this as this felt the best. And remember folks, PTSD is a real thing, people might experience it differently and react differently. But it's very much real and like all mental illnesses should be treated carefully.
Note: Read olbaid in reverse.