Chapter 3: Social Links

Beta: ZH_Steven

Jaune rolled out of the way—and right in time too.

The Beowulf's giant claw ripped up cobbles where it struck, but otherwise proved harmless. The nerves kicked in, muscles tensed, the distance between him and the beast vanished in a flash. Didn't even take that hard of a swing, really— the grimm's teeth were skittering across the ground like tossed dice.

Damn, that felt pretty cool.

"On your right!" Peach called.

Jaune spun around, in a way that he hoped was graceful, but since he'd stumbled rather than twirled, there was little chance of that. Still, the second Beowulf was left wide open after it swung, but Jaune didn't press an attack, just waited for it to come for him again. And it did, as these species of Grimm would.

Clang, shockwaves rattled his bones as Jaune took the beast's claw with his shield. For just a moment, he felt he might buckle. Not this time. Jaune planted his foot down, pushed back, now it was the Grimm that struggled to hold against him. Even if it was bigger, bulkier, and scarier, Jaune's strength was too much for it. No longer the frail little vase he'd been more than a week ago.

Now, he could show that beast what it felt like to be hit by itself. A pulse of energy, a ricochet of kinetic force, bright as a flash, sent the monster carting off like a puppet lobbed like a football. Neat ability—reflecting damage back on his enemies, provided he was strong enough to do so. It was otherwise pretty difficult to kill monsters with a shield.

Jaune backed off as a third came in, this one more aggressive, pushing him to block and step back. He backed into something, was forced to roll away, but getting back up, he couldn't defend himself from the fourth Beowulf that barreled right into him. Skidding on the ground, Jaune snapped his breath tight, then hurried to stand as the monsters came at him.

Jaune raised his shield, felt something burst through his palms as the beast crashed into him. Something swam through his bones, made his body burn hot for a moment as the shock disappated. Right, he'd forgotten he could do that. Whatever it was. Scrambling toward the monster, he bashed it across the skull, then again, and again, left it motionless on the ground.

Something barreled into him from behind, and Jaune smacked into the nearest wall, felt his nose crack before he hit the ground. There, an Ursa lumbered toward him, roaring madly. Jaune rolled over to avoid its swipe, then a second time as he scrambled to his feet, just barely enough time to backpedal from the advancing fury.

Shit, He found himself in these situations a lot. Being completely unsure how to kill the Grimm outside of bashing them. Sure, he had his light powers, but there wasn't much of a way for him to use them outside of flashes and repelling force. Jaune stumbled in his approach, and the Ursa caught him on the charge, lifted him right off his feet, and sent him tumbling away. Jaune could taste the dirt. And forget tanking its attacks, he wasn't strong enough for that… yet.

"Stay focused, Jaune!"

Trying, Jaune hurried back to his feet, but Ursa was surprisingly quick. Lunging again and again, jaws snapping, spit flying, and for the life of him Jaune had a hard time keeping up. He wasn't fast like his aunt, not even close—he often had to take punishment rather than avoid it. His weapon lacked the range to aid him in that.

Damn it.

Jaune took a gamble and swung his shield with both arms, probably just barely enough to bat the monster's claw aside, but it opened the gates wide enough. He unleashed a flash of light, the beast lost its balance, then Jaune leapt at it, hoping his weight would be enough to bring it down.

He learned otherwise.

The Grimm bore down on him. Warm, hairy, smothering, and immune to Jaune's weight. Light burst into his vision, silenced everything for a moment, then a choking weight was on him, a giant paw pressed on his chestplate. Breath came in hitches, Jaune had no freedom to swing—most he could do was snarl in the face of rotten breath. His ears rang as the creature roared in his face, Jaune desperately trying to pull away. The Ursa opened it's black hole of a jaw, and brought it down on him.

Before stopping.

Like a machine with its power run out, the creature came to a sudden halt, frozen in time. Then it was rolling off him, Aunt Peach had kicked it over, and, having forgotten she was even around, found himself relieved. That was almost his ass. Well, face, to be more accurate. He hawked and gasped as his muscles relaxed, laying flat like he was enjoying a nice summer day at the park. It was certainly warm here in his aunt's heart, but nice? Far from it. "I… had him." he finally managed to get out.

She crossed her arms. "Don't challenge an Ursa in strength unless you know you can win. You'll have to get better at evading, Jaune. You can't just tackle every Grimm head-on."

"The hell—"

"Language."

Jaune sighed. "The heck am I supposed to do with only a shield?"

Peach shrugged her hands. "I couldn't tell you. Hey, I had to learn to fight with a scalpel."

"I will never believe that's just a scalpel," Jaune said. It was more like an invisible sword, shearing Grimm in half with such enviable ease. Was it a property of her weapon? Her semblance? Fuck if he knew.

"You've got your semblance, don't you? Use it more."

Only he didn't know what exactly his semblance was. And what little applications he'd come up with for it weren't very strong. Stun flashes for… stunning enemies with flashes of light. And reflecting the force of enemy attacks with his shield. Some attacks, anyway.

"But you're getting better. You learn quickly."

"I don't feel like I am…"

"Quicker than I was, trust me on that." Peach smoothed out her skirt and sat in a chair that hadn't been there before. She really could create anything she wanted here. "But you'll want to get used to beating Grimm soon. The Grimm aren't that smart and don't often think ahead—they're predictableThey don't differ much across different hearts. But Fighting an Alter will be completely different. There's very little universal constants I can teach you about that."

"What's an Alter?" Jaune asked, pushing himself to sit up. Now looking up at her like a toddler at storytime.

His aunt crossed her leg. "A person's inner self. You could say it's the cognition of themselves that exists deep within the core of the heart," She gestured to herself and him. "If we were to meet our Alters, they'd look just like we do now. Have access to the same abilities we do—just more powerful. A general rule of thumb is that we are at our most powerful in our own hearts—though I couldn't be sure by how much. So any Alter you come across will be a much greater challenge than the Grimm."

That wasn't terrifying at all. And yet some part of him tingled pleasantly at the idea. "Have you met yours?"

Peach nodded. "I've seen it before and… well lets just say that it's an experience. Don't worry, it's not necessary to meet your own Alter. It's probably better overall that you stay out of that rabbit hole. The things you see in your own heart can be hard to face," She swallowed then. "Very hard."

One thing Jaune retained from being taught young is how to read the room. Backtrack when things got too personal. Last thing he wanted to do was dredge up his aunt's bad memories. "So what's the hardest Alter you've fought?"

God damn it, her face soured instantly. "That… well, I can't really say. But she was a tough one. Powerful. Too powerful."

Too powerful? But then she had said that there wasn't much consistency in regards to Alters. There was no telling how strong they could be. That tingle again. "So am I trying to kill the Alter?"

His aunt shook her head. "Killing is not what we want. The Alter must be defeated, yes, but with the purpose of making it admit defeat before despair consumes it. Remember that we are trying to help, not destroy a part of their soul. Understand?"

Jaune nodded, but his curiosity got the better of him. "What happens if you do kill an Alter?"

"It… causes a mental shutdown. The person becomes a vegetable essentially, losing complete coherency and the ability to function normally."

"So they go insane?"

"No, insanity is being in a compromised state of mind. A mental shutdown is the total lack of one. You lose the awareness that you exist."

"Oh…" That was terrifying. Did it mean that the victim lost the ability to perceive themselves? To think? What was that like? He wanted to know and yet he didn't ever want to know. If there was a fate worse than death, then that was it. "That's uh… bad."

Peach chuckled. "Yes, absolutely."

"Have you seen it happen before?"

"I have, yes. Its the last thing you want to see, trust me." She stood and brushed off her skirt. "But so long as you fight to save rather than to hurt, then it's not something you need to worry much about. Anyway, it's almost your bedtime."

"Do you have to say it like that?" By now he was used to the weightlessness and falling. The landing though, that's when things got messy.

He landed on his back, slumping into the couch. The living room. "Wait, didn't we dive from the kitchen? How'd we end up in the living room?"

Peach was sitting in a chair across from him. "Where you are in the heart world can affect where you reappear when you emerge. Though it's generally somewhere close to the key."

Jaune waited on her to explain, but she stared at him blankly. "Well, what's a key?"

Peach shook her wrist, the broken watch clacking. "An object that serves as a door to someone's heart. Usually something personal. For me, it's the watch, and anyone who knows how to dive can use it to enter my heart. Everyone has, or will develop one."

"Do you… know what my key is?"

A pregnant pause. "I don't. Though certainly not for lack of trying."

Jaune blinked at her. "Wait, you…"

"I'm sorry if that makes you feel uncomfortable. But yes, I did try to find the key to your heart. It was my first option actually." Peach clasped her hands, one pink nail tapping her knuckle. "Never dive into the hearts of family. The org—that's a personal rule of mine. It can change your perspective on people forever, so it's best not to strain your relationships by learning things you shouldn't. But with you, I…" She closed her eyes and took a breath, "I just really wanted to help you. I'm surprised you didn't piece this together yourself."

Thinking about it now, Jaune wasn't sure why he hadn't either. He was here for help, after all. Why wouldn't Aunt Peach enter his heart to try and, well, fix him? The fact that she hadn't found his key, though. How? Wouldn't she know what to look for? How could she find so many other people's keys, but not her nephew's? "Is that the reason I'm here now?"

"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. The first few nights, I searched through your things and nothing worked. I'd say I'm sorry for that, but I'm not. Sorry."

Jaune scratched his head. Was there even a point to being angry? What did he even have to hide? A lot, at least according to his dad. "I'm not mad, just… I guess that's just what you had to do. Does my dad know about this stuff?"

"No, it's best that he stays ignorant," She gave him a look and Jaune obediently lowered his head. She came over and kissed his cheek, "Bed. We'll train some more on the weekend."

Jaune watched her go off to her own room as he sat there thinking. In order to reach a person's heart, you had to access their key. From there you found the Alter, defeated it… then what? Give them a pep talk? Octavia, you like, shouldn't hurt yourself and stuff. Straightforward, but kinda simple, wasn't it? Then another problem: How in the world did you find out what a person's key was? Would he sense it if he was near? Or did you just have to hope for the best?

Alters, keys, mental shutdowns, saving instead of killing, even where you dived from had strange rules. It was a lot to take in. Felt like too much. It made him wonder how his aunt had done it for all this time. And if he could even measure up to that.

No way to know but to see it through until he saw some results.

Jaune ate his lunch in silence. Which, nowadays, consisted of him ignoring it entirely as he scribbled in his notebook.

"What's the first thing you need in order to save someone?"

"Uh, someone to save?"

Funny thing though, it wasn't like the cartoons or comics where there just happened to be crimes going on when they were patrolling. Even in a confined space like Beacon, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone "in trouble". It was like the universe was playing some twisted game with him—serving up Octavia on a silver platter when he was least able to help her. And since then, nothing.

Sure, Octavia was still around. But only in one of his classes and lunch, both of which had her preoccupied with her own friend groups. Maybe nothing was stopping him from going up and just talking to her, but about what? What did they even have in common? It certainly wasn't because he was afraid to embarrass himself. Definitely not. What, me? Following you? No, no Octavia, that was my cousin Juan from Vacuo.

She had no after-school clubs, her friends were not types he could get close to and she was pretty standoffish to most people anyway—especially boys, for obvious reasons. Really, the first day he'd followed her to the bathroom was the closest he'd ever gotten to her and my god that sounded creepy as hell.

Yeah, he was probably going to have to save her heart another time.

"Observe everything—the social norms, behaviors, and landscape of your environment. Learn to navigate that web and use it to your advantage. Most high schools seem the same, but there are smaller differences that are important to take notice of. Who is popular? Who is unpopular and why? What activities are the most lauded? What do the teachers do? What students do they focus on? And keep notes. You'll need them."

So that's what he'd started doing. Jaune flipped his tiny notebook to the next page—Nine out of four hundred. More than enough for the entire year. The last few days had been impressively uneventful, and today would likely be no different. Still, best to do his observations now.

He'd gotten used to the cafeteria enough to know where he stood in it. No one wanted the broken table in the corner so he had all the space there to observe the rest of the students. And he took a different route to the table every day to familiarize himself with who sat where and with whom. People tended to make friends with those who were similar to them, but here in Beacon, there was tons of overlap.

Athletes stuck with athletes. Dancers stuck with dancers. But it was more like coincidental acquaintanceship than adhering to some invisible social order. There was no, at least from what he could see, clear way to determine who was what and why. Much different than how it was in his school where nerds looked like nerds and jocks looked like jocks. He missed the honesty of that. Here in Beacon, anybody could be anything. The walls stank of secrets.

Naturally, this forced his hunts to get more specific.

Sage Ayana being one—prominent football player. Tall, strong, popular with the girls, your standard jock. Currently dating Dew Gayl, who was part of the singing club. They looked happy, Sage holding her close to him as he talked to his teammates, but there were rumors going around about them. Juicy and probably false. But nothing that quite screamed, "I need my heart to be rescued."

Yang Xiao Long was another well-known person, for many reasons. Though from where Jaune could see her, she seemed alright. Hung out with the same group usually, though he didn't recall their names. The only one he did know of was her younger sister Ruby, who'd started this year. In a way that worked to her sister's advantage since freshman were generally shark feed. So if your sister was the shark everyone was wary of, she probably got a less awkward start.

You either heard good or bad things about Yang. She's a slut who banged the entire football team, or she was a skilled fighter and the best on the martial arts team. Could be both, she seemed adventurous enough. But rumors could barely be trusted so Jaune tried not to indulge much in them—not without knowing more.

"Ours is the long game. Don't expect to simply swoop in and save the day. It can take weeks and even months to find a mark, study them, and even find their key. Targets all need to be approached uniquely since it takes an intricate understanding to get close enough to discover what their key is. Don't try to rush it. Just stay attentive."

Made sense, even if it was frustrating. As much as he wanted to do something now, he'd already pushed his luck when he'd first arrived. Hadn't taken long for people to stop whispering about him, which was good since it let him be a shadow on the wall. Someone no one would ever notice was watching.

Nothing unusual, Jaune wrote as his first line. Wasn't much else to put beyond that, so he put the notebook in his bag.

"Hey," Neptune greeted, sliding into a seat across from him. This had become normal too—Sun and Neptune sitting with him. But Sun was off talking with Yang's group, and sometimes Neptune did too, but never for long. Which was odd since it seemed like he knew them pretty well, but what the hell did he know? Here though, Neptune kept to himself, ate and checked his phone most of the time and that was it. Always seemed too tired to have a conversation. And he'd probably never know how much Jaune appreciated that.

And that's how it went, Jaune minded his own business, and Neptune did his. Might've been the most beautiful kind of quiet ever, if someone hadn't shown up to ruin it.

"You look tired," said a girl as she approached the table. She had to be talking to Neptune, and she was one of the girls from Yang's table. Uh… Weiss Schnee, that was it.

Good god, the Mantlese were pale. If Jaune thought he was a ghost before, he considered himself tan now. The girl's white hair struck out the most, snow-kissed to oblivion, and she had a sharp look to her that left an edge of anger as if she were permanently in a state of upset. Was it because her heart was in vicious turmoil, begging to be saved? Probably not. She just seemed like she had that look of being a complete and total bitch and that, unfortunately, he couldn't save her from. That and she was actually known for being a complete and total bitch.

Neptune looked at her for a moment, twisting a fork in his spaghetti. "I'm good."

The girl nodded toward her table. "You can come sit with us, you know."

"I'm having a good time hanging out with Jaune, but thanks."

Brick-hard, ice-cold, those were the kinds of eyes that Jaune ended up meeting and they might have been terrifying to most people. He couldn't say it didn't give him a bit of a chill, but he kept to his own business as always and hoped her attention would go right back to Neptune. Oh how you universe loved to rod him. "You're the new student, correct? The one that assaulted Winchester?"

Technically not incorrect. Sheesh, she made it sound worse than it actually was. "Yeah." Jaune said.

"People are saying you bit him."

Jaune snapped his teeth together behind his lips. Wondered if she heard it. Wondered if he wanted her to hear it. "I might have."

"That won't lead to a very good reputation, especially as a new student. Hardly smart to solve your problems by swinging your fists."

"No one cares about a good reputation," Jaune looked her up and down, particularly at her skinny arms. Perfectly manicured hands that had doubtless never struck anyone beyond a slap. Privilege at its purest. "Punch your way through a paper bag without hurting yourself and I'll take your advice."

He cheek moved as she stuck her tongue in it, perhaps biting down to keep from saying anything else. Likely he'd just made a new enemy, but that was alright with him. They were easier to manage than friends. "Sun's been saying you're tired often lately," Weiss turned back to Neptune.

"Been playing a lot of games. I stay up too late." That was a quick response. Too quick.

"You never played them that often."

"There are a lotta things I never did before that I do more of now." Neptune raised an eyebrow at her. "A guy can't pick up a new hobby?"

"I imagine you'd need one, after leaving the swim team."

More silence between them, and Jaune felt like the third party. Well, he was, but did they need to make him feel like that at his own table?

"Things change," Neptune said.

Weiss was unconvinced. "Do I… have reason to be concerned? I just think this behavior is strange. You liked swimming."

"You're right, I did like it. Once. It's over with now. I don't enjoy it as much as I thought I did, okay?"

The girl's eyes lowered, and Jaune wondered if he simply imagined the sound of glass breaking or that was Weiss's heart dropping into her stomach. "But you loved to do it. You always talked about it. To the point that it got on my nerves. Why quit now of all times?"

"It's none of your business," Neptune didn't even spare the decency to look at her as she said it. "So drop it."

Weiss's eye twitched, and Jaune noticed there was a scar there. Pretty bad one too. Odd, considering how prim she looked otherwise. A girl like her no doubt had the makeup to hide it and yet there it was on full display. "I'm not even allowed to care anymore? I can't even talk to you?"

"What's there to talk about? I don't need you lecturing me, Weiss. I need you to leave me alone." There wasn't always a moment where the conversation was clearly over. Even more rarely was there one where every involved party recognized this moment. This time, even the air fell to a disturbing quiet as Weiss's narrow eyes softened considerably. Did she at least deserve it? Neptune was sounding incredibly harsh.

Weiss lingered for a moment, opened her mouth to say something, then snapped her mouth shut and walked off. Neptune watched her go through the corner of his eyes, and what seemed like vitriol before was replaced with something Jaune could recognize in anyone. Shame. Guilt. Was this that penultimate moment where he realized the error of his ways, called out to Weiss and apologized, restoring whatever tenuous relationship they might have once had? No, it wasn't. Neptune didn't even attempt to call out to her or apologize—perhaps the spaghetti was that interesting.

Or he was afraid. That was more likely.

Jaune would have said it was none of his business, but that didn't exactly apply anymore. If nothing else, he could check to make sure Neptune was alright. At best it was nothing. "What was—"

"Whats up, dudes?"

A tray smacked down on the table, spooking Neptune upright and Sun plopped down next to him. Like flipping a switch, Neptune was alive with conversation. Sure, there was never a lull in silence with Sun around, but now they both went back and forth like they'd been around each other the whole time. It almost made the quiet side of Neptune seem fake. Or rather, unusual. Did Jaune even know what Neptune was like normally?

What happened with the swim team? Weiss said he used to love it but now he clearly didn't anymore. Fine, he supposed. But Neptune sounded like he hated it now, not had just gotten bored.

Why?

"Let's take a break," Aunt Peach said as they resurfaced into the real world, "How was school?"

Fucking semblance. He felt drained, sapped of nutrients, sucked dry of life giving energy. Jaune flopped onto the couch, fingers trailing the carpet as the air conditioning made his sweat run cold under his damp shirt. His muscles ached, his teeth stung, and he recalled how it had gotten that way when he took a Beowolf's backhand. In there, he'd hardly registered it. Now he felt like his jaw might fall off.

"Fine," Jaune answered. Certainly wasn't as frustrating as trying to figure out other ways to use his semblance. It clearly had something to do with controlling light. Not from outside sources, as much as he'd tried. It took it and moulded it into a slightly more tangible form, though he couldn't say for sure how. "I just kind of watch what's going on. Listen to the rumors. Someone doing this, who is cheating on who. It's pretty boring."

Aunt Peach sat across from him, slumped in her chair like she was about ready to melt into jelly. Even she looked winded, sweaty, and Jaune wondered if it was solely because of the training or if being in her heart took energy out of her. He hadn't thought about the fact that she was doing all this for him, on top of maintaining her job too. "High school for me wasn't too different. Funny how so much changes and yet stays the same."

"Did you used to do this stuff way back then?"

"Nope. I learned about all of this from a professor of mine in college—that was my first playground. Me and a couple of others, though I haven't talked to any of them in years."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "Just grew apart. It's easy to think in the moment that, with the friends that you have, that they'll last forever. Sometimes they do. But not always. I used to have a lot of 'friends'," and she used air quotes, "in school. But afterward, I only kept in contact with two or three, made more friends in college, kept in contact with a few of them, moved on to my career, where I made the ones that were more likely to be permanent. It sounds fickle, but it kind of is."

Jaune worked his jaw. "Almost makes it sound pointless."

"It kind of is. You won't know which ones will last forever, so you have to enjoy the time with the friends you do have. The time you give your friends is what nurtures your relationship. Like tending to a flower, love and friendship takes effort and care."

Like checking on a friend who used to love swimming but has quit the team, who is apparently more tired than normal as told by his best friend. It made Jaune regret being so hostile with Weiss initially. "I guess I never thought about it like that."

"Most people don't, it's sort of… something we do naturally. Like how you're less likely to call someone you don't really care about. The way you act toward someone is indicative of how important your relationship to that person is, wouldn't you say?"

Jaune rubbed his head. "Yeah, I guess I just didn't think it could sound that… simple."

"It's the furthest thing from simple, but I understand what you're saying."

They sat in silence, and it was one where Jaune didn't find himself thinking too much. He still wasn't entirely used to living with Peach, but he'd be lying if he didn't at least admit that he liked her. "I did hear something about the swim team today."

"Oh? I know the first match of the year is coming up next month, but I haven't heard anything else so far."

"Do you know a kid named Neptune Vasilias?"

"Blue-haired pretty boy?"

Jaune grinned. "That's the one."

"I'd see his father at the swim meets. Went to every single one last year and the year before. But I only ever saw it in passing. I do know that his parents aren't together. They divorced three years ago. Just before Neptune started at Beacon."

Jaune did figure divorces could be harsh on a child. Separation from any family member could be rough. Maybe that's what Weiss was concerned about? Maybe that's what Neptune was angry about? Then again, could a wound like that persist for three years? Perhaps if his parents didn't split on happy terms. More than likely he was in the middle of it, powerless to do anything but watch.

"Is Neptune your friend?" Peach asked, sort of sounding hopeful.

"No, I just see him around sometimes." Jaune said, "he was arguing with this girl and she mentioned the swim team. Now that I think about it, Cardin mentioned it too. Something about last summer."

"Sounds like you've got a mystery on your hands then. Gonna do a little investigating?"

Did it warrant that? Jaune hadn't thought about it hard enough. "It's probably nothing though, right? Maybe he just decided to quit the team. He did say he got bored of it."

"No harm, no foul then. You either find out there's more to the story or it's nothing that's a big deal. And hey, the swim club's a good after school activity, maybe it's right up your alley. I'll come watch you too."

"I'm not joining the swim club."

"But you'd look so cute in those little booty shorts… "

"Not. Joining."

She sighed. "I guess that's asking too much. At least you have to socialize, so I'll have to settle for that. Anyway, Neptune sounds like a fine first mark. What's your plan?"

Jaune would have liked to get to Octavia as early as possible, but there were no windows with her. As long he continued to see her in Port's class, at least he'd know she'd be alright for now. Neptune was far closer, he had a pre-established relationship with him, and multiple people knew him. The information was everywhere, just waiting for Jaune to get his hands on it.

Either Weiss's concerns were just her overthinking the situation…

Or Neptune was hiding something.

I always find semblances tricky to explore. Since they're supposed to be unique, it usually means if you're going to have a character go through the process of discovering theirs, it needs to happen organically and steadily. Its one of those things I just don't like writing about since, to me, its kinda boring.

And I hope the rules I detailed in this chapter make sense, lore dumping is my most hated part of the writing process and doing it organically is a nightmare.

Seems like Jaune will have to stop being a No Friends Nancy if he wants to save people's hearts. I find that an interesting conundrum. Someone who likes to help people, but refuses friendship. It forces Jaune to compromise his own needs for the needs of others—which I feel is the essence of his character. So I'm excited to explore that in future chapters.

Not much else to say beyond that. So see you in the next one.

ISA