Welcome back everyone! Sorry it's been so long. Life has been lifing. Especially my job haha. But hey I'm finally starting to get a hang of the whole work life balance thing. Had a great time writing this chapter, and thankfully got it edited pretty quick. Got to watch Elimination Chamber last night too and MAN it was peak. Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens will always be my favorite matchup, and I'm sure you'll see a lot of stuff like it reflected here. But anyway, enough of me yapping, you guys know I suck at opening A/Ns, so without further ado...
Let's get it started!
Beta: Wolfy
Art: Gyanguirus
Chapter 16 - Two Halves
The bustling rumble of the crowd just a few steps a way did wonders to distract Jaune from his thoughts.
He'd certainly needed it after the past few days. The car ride home following the opening ceremony and his frosty meeting with Ruby's friends had given him a lot to think about. Thoughts of Cardin, Ruby's sister, and Emerald lurking in the background had bounced around his head like racquetballs, never giving him a moment's peace. But thankfully, they had done a masterful job at distracting him from the task at hand.
He'd spent the weekend with Ruby in what was for once, not a training session. No, on Saturday rather than arriving in his gym gear he'd arrived toting a fresh box of pizza and enough junk food to take out even Nora. They'd earned it after the Friday they'd had. But despite his best efforts to drown his mind in video games and melted cheese, he couldn't stop reflecting on the highs and lows of the ceremony.
Cardin wasn't going to be his opponent yet. It was a fact that brought him a shameful amount of relief. As it stood, he wasn't ready for it. Cardin fought dirty, both inside and outside of the squared circle. A match with him invited not only the pressure of dealing with someone who'd never even been knocked down in striking exchanges, but also the emotional turmoil of their fathers' history.
As if I haven't screwed up my dad's legacy enough, he mused as he gazed down at his armband, idly picking at the Arc family crest stamped across it. He shook his head, now wasn't the time to dwell on legacy. If he did, he'd just be inviting misery. Besides, Cardin had his own opponents to deal with, and with any luck, maybe he'd go out in the first round. He wasn't a tag wrestler either after all.
I could only be so lucky.
What wasn't as easy to dismiss was the looming threat of Emerald and Mercury. Thankfully, they'd also drawn an X, meaning they were going to get interrupted by their own set of opponents before long. But if Ruby's fears proved correct, they'd most likely make it to the next round. Regardless, he needed more information.
And lastly, and by far the experience that had stuck around in his mind more than the others was meeting Yang Xiao Long, better known as Dragonheart. To tell you the truth, he had no idea what to make of it. He'd gone in there defensive, ready to jump at his partner's defense at the drop of a hat. Only to find…nothing close to what he'd been imagining. Yang looked skittish, and just as freaked out as Ruby often was. He inclined his head as he remembered just how downtrodden the tall blonde looked as he'd made his exit.
The whole thing was confusing. But he'd come to accept that most things with his partner were. She wean't
Speaking of which, a bump to the shoulder knocked him out of his reminiscing.
"Hey…you ready?" Ruby whispered from beside him, her brow creased with worry. Jaune shifted from foot to foot, the answer slipping from his lips as he stared at the curtain before him.
"Yeah." he said, in a voice far more confident than he felt. "At least the wait's finally over, right?"
Ruby nodded nervously. "Y-Yeah. I couldn't take another day of wondering who it's gonna be!" She said, her voice a high pitched whisper.
"Me either." Jaune replied, excitement bubbling up in his chest as he felt the rumble of the audience just a few steps away, their pre-show chants reverberating deep in his bones. He wasn't lying either, he really wasn't sure he could've made it through another day without knowing. It was as if they were standing in front of a massive slot machine, a single pull could decide their fate.
Whoever walked out of that curtain after them to interrupt them during their segment would decide everything.
"For the first time I'm actually happy about going first." Ruby remarked as she rocked back and forth on her heels.
"Same." He agreed. "I can't wait until they have the whole bracket ready. It should be out by tonight."
"That's right!" Ruby crowed. "It's gonna be so awesome! I can't wait. I mean, even outside of who our opponents are gonna be there's so many cool matchups and possibilities! I mean you could have Coco and Velvet vs Fox and Yatsuhasi in a civil war, the White Fang having a battle royale, heck we could even get some weird ones like Dew and Octavia versus Sun and Neptune!" Jaune shared her eagerness. If he wasn't in the tournament, he'd still be completely engrossed as a spectator.
It was really shaping up to be one for the ages.
It didn't really put his fears about their first matchup at ease though, but he found that wasn't the only emotion that threatened to overtake him. No, despite the fear there was something far greater that lingered just beneath. Excitement. Tenacity that burned so fierce and bright it felt like volts coursing through his veins. One look at Ruby's determined gaze was more than enough to convey that the feeling was mutual. Sure, whoever walked through that curtain could decide their fate, but the second they showed up, they'd lost their only advantage.
The element of surprise.
Despite his in ring skills, Jaune had always figured himself a bit of a tactician in the ring. Sure, maybe not as much as Ruby, but he'd worked his way out of a few jams. The second their opponents showed their faces, Jaune and Ruby could begin to plan, and between his knowledge of their competitors and her knowledge of all things wrestling, they were bound to cook up some kind of plan, even on short notice.
"Whatcha thinking about?" Ruby asked, shaking him from his thoughts. It was an innocent question, but one look at Ruby's furrowed brows had him smiling. Despite being on the biggest stage of her life, she still had it in her to be worried about him. Whether it was over their encounter with Cardin and Emerald from yesterday, or just normal concern he wasn't sure.
"How worried you look." He quipped as he bumped her shoulder with his. "If you're not careful your face might freeze that way." He joked, stifling a laugh as she rolled her eyes playfully.
"Real funny." She huffed, crossing her arms in such an adorable pout he knew he couldn't stop there.
"Hey I'm serious, just looking out for the team. We're going to need that determined face of yours in a few minutes after all." he explained nonchalantly, putting his hands up in surrender.
"Determined face?" She asked as he did his best impression of her, knitting his brow and trying to look like the mixture of a fierce warrior and a six month old puppy. It must've worked by the way Ruby was staring daggers at him.
"I do NOT look like that!" She protested as he descended into laughter. Her annoyed glare held for only a few seconds before her shoulders slumped as she let herself giggle. "Okay I totally look like that, but that's still not funny!"
"Hey it works, just wait till the crowd sees it. We're going to knock their socks off." Jaune remarked with a grin, slinging an arm over her shoulder. "But thanks for checking in. I really appreciate it."
"Of course." She replied softly, shifting from foot to foot as a group of sound techs passed by, reminding them of their exigent circumstances.
"You're ready, right?" Jaune said, switching the subject to the task at hand.
Ruby stiffened a bit in his embrace, a stern reminder that while she'd made a lot of progress, she still had a ways to go with her promos. This was a big day for her too, he realized as his eyes widened. Sure, she'd helped him out with their victory promo after their match with Yuma and Perry, but this was the first time she was going to be handed a mic with the sole intent of verbally smacking down their opponents.
"Y-Yeah." She breathed, giving him a half shrug.
"You're going to kill it, and if anything happens I'm right there to back you up." Jaune promised. "And you can bet on that."
Ruby looked at him, a warm smile etching its way across her face as she recognized his use of her last line from her first live promo. "Then let's do it."
She was right on cue, for just as he gave her a quick squeeze, the familiar sound of fingers snapping to his right shook him out of his excitement. Flynt Coal stood in the sound booth like always, leaning coolly against the room's wall.
"Y'all done with your little pep talk yet?" Flynt quipped as he pointed towards the back. "Because if I don't get this started in the next few minutes I think Goodwitch might kill me." Jaune followed his finger to the main booth to see Glynda giving him a pointed glance. He chuckled, a hand came up to rub the back of his head sheepishly.
"Sorry, sorry." He said as Ruby giggled at his misfortune at being called out. "We're ready when you are."
"You got it." Flynt said as he turned back to his console, fingers flying over the keys of his keyboard, a hand coming up to give them the classic three, two, one. It wasn't long before the familiar tune of the Crimson Crusaders' theme song began to blast through the massive stadium speakers, the initial hook of the song so loud he could feel the concrete beneath him rumbling. But that wasn't what got his attention, no it was the explosion of noise that came from the crowd just a few steps away. He found it impossible to suppress his smile. Sure, they'd been a bit lukewarm the first time they'd heard the song, but now that they knew who it was tied with, they made sure to let him know just what they thought of him.
As the song approached its first crescendo, he charged through the curtain with reckless abandon, throwing his signature fist pump as hard as he could, nearly throwing his shoulder out as he timed it perfectly with the beat drop. The crowd only roared louder once he appeared. From there he went through a similar motion as last time, pumping up the crowd as he raced around the ramp, feeding off their energy.
Just as he went to greet the other side, he found himself nearly crashing into Ruby, who was in the middle of her own pose. He cursed under his breath, managing to slip by her at the last second. We need to practice this stuff more, he chided himself as they managed to get back on track. Despite their excitement, he could tell they were a bit out of sync. Ruby was still a bit stiff, a contrast to just how loose and wild he found himself. But they were bound to grow out of that eventually.
They eventually made it to the ring, Jaune having taken a few seconds to pause at the top of the steps, throwing his arms towards the crowd in his classic pump up. Ruby did her best to keep up, and finally the two weaved through the ropes, entering the squared circle much to the joy of the VWC's vast audience. Jaune crossed the ring quickly, stooping through the top and middle robes to accept the two microphones offered by none other than Peter Port before returning to Ruby's side, standing right in the middle of the canvas. He scanned the arena around them, the stands packed to the prim with fans, their multicolored shirts casting a myriad of colors throughout the bleachers.
They seem to like the song, he observed as he took it all in, watching the audience as they bobbed and danced, forming almost a wave of people. It was growing on him too, the punky underdog track setting the perfect backdrop for their makeshift team. Eventually, the last few notes tapered off, leaving only the rumbling of the fans to fill the dead air.
It was time.
Keep it simple, Jaune, play the greatest hits and wait for your opponents to interrupt you, he reminded himself. It was simple enough, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to rile up the crowd.
He let the crowd fester a bit more, playing on their impatience and anticipation before he ripped the mic to his lips. "WHAT'S UP VALE!?" He roared as the crowd surged to match his energy, the home crowd cheering for one of their own.
"God I love that." He laughed as he stepped forward. "It's been a while since I've had a chance to talk to you guys like this, right?" He recalled as he paced back and forth, settling on leaning on one of the ring ropes facing the bulk of the audience.
"How long's it been since we got to have a good old fashioned conversation, just us?" he wondered aloud. "Now that I think about it, I think the last time was right before my break, when I told you all I was leaving, right?"
The crowd rumbled their agreement, and Jauen took it as a green light to continue. "Feels like time just flew by. Time makes things fuzzy, but there's something that stands out from that promo all the way back then. I seem to recall a certain promise I made to you all." He said, trailing off as the crowd murmured amongst themselves.
"What do you think, Ruby?" He said, gazing over at her. She stiffened, no doubt feeling the thousands of pairs of eyes that had fallen on her. "You remember what I promised them?"
Her nerves faded as a wide smile split her face, sending him a nod. "You know it! You…you wanna tell them?"
The suspense was palpable now, the audience getting restless as he could practically feel them leaning forward in their seats.
"You best believe I'm going to tell them!" Jaune quipped back as he returned his attention to the crowd. "I made you all a promise, and in case you forgot, I'm happy to jog your memory."
The crowd was antsy now, hanging on his every word, just how he liked it. He let out a chuckle, taking a deep breath before he yanked the microphone back to his lips. "I promised every single one of you that when I got back I will be a VYTAL CHAMPION!"
The crowd popped, roaring their approval as applause rained down on the duo. "And like I always say an Arc never goes back on their word. So it's about time I start making good on that promise, right?"
The crowd thundered around them, but his ear quickly picked up something unique among the cacophony of sounds that filled the stadium. It started small, but got louder, and louder, until it was unmistakable.
"KEEP YOUR PROMISE!" followed up by five claps. "KEEP YOUR PROMISE!" A quick look at Ruby almost had him breaking character. She looked starstruck.
"I hear you!" Jaune laughed as he rubbed the back of his head. "And you best believe I'm going to. And in order for that to happen, we have to take that first leap. Right Ruby?" he assured them as he motioned towards Ruby to step towards the center of the ring. He made sure to help her get centered so the hard camera that encompassed the ring would have her smack dab in the middle.
"Y-Yeah!" She began shakily, but to his elation she recovered quickly, her head held high to meet the camera. "Jaune's promise is mine too, and I'm going to make sure we keep it! That first step to winning the gold is beating whoever the VWC puts in front of us."
"That's right!" Jaune roared back, turning towards the ramp. "So whoever's in the back, ready to get out here and throw down, stop making us wait. Stop making these people wait! And get out here…NOW!" he finished as he surged forward, beckoning frantically towards the ramp, inviting whoever had the nerve to show up as the crowd rallied around him, ready to see just who the Crimson Crusaders were taking on.
For a few beats, there was nothing.
Then, the stadium once again came to life.
The arena, previously illuminated with the harsh white glare of a high powered lighting system was now bathed in a brilliant golden hue, with yellow spotlights dancing across the stands like streaks of sunlight. But that wasn't what prompted the crowd to erupt, their roars of delight so loud Jaune wouldn't be surprised if it could be heard halfway across the city. No, it was the first few beats of a familiar pop song. A song that wouldn't have been out of place at one of those old disco roller rinks his mother and father took him to when he was younger.
The audience began to bellow along to the chorus, raucous "WOAH OH-OH-OAHS!" cascading down from the stands, raining down onto the ring as their voices matched up to the music. Ruby's eyes narrowed, alarm written across her face. It was clear she didn't recognize who was coming out.
But fortunately he did.
And the revelation had him grinning ear to ear.
Ruby blinked at him, confusion scrawled across her face as he turned his attention towards the ramp, smirking as he shook his head.
A hand came up to cup his face, palming it as he pondered just what he'd done to deserve this fate.
Just what had he done to deserve Sun Wukong as his first opponent?
The man in question finally swept past the curtain, strutting down the stage until was right at the base of the ramp. Even from across the arena Jaune could see the shit-eating grin that his rival turned dear friend wore, leaving no doubt that Sun was just as happy with this matchup as he was. The monkey boy wore a black button down short sleeved shirt, but in true Sun fashion it was left open, revealing his abs to his many admirers. They went well with his tuxedo shorts, a choice Jaune had always criticized. Neptune flanked him, his neon blue hair a stark contrast to Sun's blonde, he wore a smirk of his own as he walked alongside his partner with the swagger of two guys who knew that even though they were surrounded by thousands, they were the coolest ones in the room.
They took their time getting there, stopping frequently to sign merchandise or hand out high fives. As someone who was a recipient of many, Jaune knew better than anyone that a Sun Wukong high five was worth its weight in gold. He rolled his eyes at their antics, letting out a laugh as he turned on heel back, heading back towards Ruby.
She looked like a few thousands pounds had been lifted from her shoulders as she leveled him with a smirk of her own.
"What's got you so cheery?" He asked as he bumped her with his shoulder. She shrugged.
"I think we got pretty lucky."
"Why's that?" He replied as she fixed him with a knowing gaze.
"Because I think we just punched our ticket to the second round." she beamed.
He wasn't sure if it was the bluntness of it, or just how sure Ruby sounded when she said it, but a laugh bubbled from his lips. "You think so?"
Ruby raised her hands in mock surrender. "I don't wanna be mean but…let's just say this was one of the teams I was hoping for."
"Better not tell Sun that." He guffawed. "Wait, nevermind. You absolutely should. I'd love to see his reaction." He finished as she stifled her giggles with a hand.
Sun and Neptune had reached the ring now, Neptune sliding through the ropes as Sun stood on the ring apron, facing away from them towards the audience. Then he wrapped his arms over the top rope and backflipped into the ring, evoking a few cheers from the crowd before he spun around. He leaned back, relaxing against the ropes as the last few notes of the Beach Boys' song faded away.
Jaune stepped forward, Ruby squaring up beside him as the four faced off in the ring. Sun was the first to move, stepping forward. The audience murmured in alarm as Sun closed the distance quickly, striding towards Jaune. Jaune thought about moving, but decided against it, eager to see just what his friend was getting at.
Then Sun pulled him into a tight bear hug. The audience cheered as waves of hands went up. It was pretty rare for friends to face off in the ring, and while a good rivalry was fantastic, it was always a treat to see a matchup that didn't have any bad blood behind it. Considering who else was in the tournament, it might just be the only time this happened.
"Told you you'd be back better than ever." Sun whispered into his ear as he squeezed Jaune one more time before letting him go. He stepped back towards his partner as he lifted his own microphone to his face, gazing out into the sea of people.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, especially ladies." He began with a sarcastic grin. "The Beach Boys are BACK on Vale soil. Make some freaking NOISE!"
The crowd was happy to oblige, chanting and clapping until Sun held his hand up to silence them."Now I'm sure you're all wondering what that was about ,right? I mean, you guys know me. I'm more of a punching people guy than I am hugging 'em."
The crowd laughed at his observation, Sun smiling along as he turned his attention back to Jaune.
"But that's because the guy across the ring from me here is real special." He said as he thumped his fist against his heart, pointing directly at Jaune. "My ol' pal Jaune Arc."
The audience cheered at the mention of his name, which did wonders for his confidence. He raised an eyebrow at Sun, wondering just where he was going with this. Regardless, he felt he'd at least reciprocate the kind greeting.
"Good to see you too, man." Jaune said as he nodded at Sun. "I gotta be honest, it feels weird standing across the ring from you like this.
Sun shrugged. "Makes sense, may come as a shock to you guys." He began as he gazed back into the crowd. "But ol' Jaune and I have been fighting since we first became wrestlers. So this is a nice little trip down memory lane. To be honest I was over the moon to hear we'd be facing off against you guys. I mean, what a match for the first round, and you all best believe we're going to put on a hell of a show!"
The mention of the upcoming match had the crowd voicing their approval. They'd had time to see plenty of Sun matches, and Jaune knew better than anyone that a match with Sun was bound to be a banger.
"But, that being said." Sun began, slicing through Jaune's praise. "You know we didn't come here, we didn't cross oceans just to put on a show. We're here to get our hands raised at the end of the day. So Jaune, I love you, you're my bro. But I'm going to have to big bro you here."
"Straight up older sibling in here." Neptune emphasized from beside Sun.
The crowd let out an OOOOOH as Sun's fighting words hung in the air. The man himself fixed him with a glare. His wink undercut his stern expression though, the message clear.
It was time to build the fight.
Jaune let the words settle for a moment before he spoke. "You sound awful confident man. What's got you so sure of yourself?"
"I'm always confident." Sun huffed. "I mean, have you looked at me? If you looked like this, you'd be confident too." He teased as Jaune suppressed a laugh at his friend's antics. A few wolf whistles rang through the crowd as Sun showed off his abs. "But to answer your question, I've got plenty of reason to be. After all, I was the guy to send you packing on your break after all. Remember that? Our lil sparring match?"
He then turned to the audience. "I stacked up Jaune Arc with a pin for one…two…three!" The crowd murmured their disapproval. To both their and Sun's surprise, Jaune threw his head back and laughed, his body wracked with mirth.
"You're kidding, right?" Jaune said as Sun inclined his head. "That's your evidence on why you think you're gonna beat us on Saturday?"
"I mean it's a pretty good reason." Neptune pointed out. But Jaune elected to just look at Ruby, who was wearing her own grin, finding just as much humor in it as he did.
"I'd say so too." Sun agreed. "So I wanna know what's so funny about that bro."
Jaune was happy to let him know. "Well, yeah, you did beat me. But Sun, that was months ago. I've changed so much. I've grown so much in these past few months. My training hit the next level, my conditioning has improved tenfold, my sparring's gotten more intense, and I have the best damn trainer in the whole VWC." He remarked as he swept his hand towards Ruby.
"But even before that, right when I was ready to go on my break. I still took you to the limit, pal. You barely pulled a rabbit out of a hat with that one." Jaune observed as Sun's lips twitched, dragging down into a frown but he was in no mood for stopping anytime soon.
"So if I nearly beat you back then, who's to say I'm not just going to run through you this time?" Jaune asserted, verbally throwing down the gauntlet as the audience roared behind him. Sure, Sun had probably improved as well, but Jaune's training with Ruby had been nothing short of career-altering.
It was Sun's turn to laugh, and Jauen could see clear as day the tenacity in his eyes. At his heart Sun was a competitor, a real student of the game. So it was no wonder he was already getting excited. "Big talk, brother. But I'd love to hear just what's got you thinking that? Delusion aside of course."
The audience snickered at the quip. Jaune went to rebut, but Ruby beat him to the punch.
"I don't wanna be mean, but I've seen you both train before." she eeped out from beside Jaune.
"And?" Sun retorted, his eyebrow raised.
"Well…" Ruby began as she pressed the tips of her fingers together. "Unless you're a lot better than last time you two fought, we might just be in for an early night."
Now, the line itself wasn't anything groundbreaking, but it was just how innocently and neutrally Ruby said it that had Sun's eyebrows shooting up in surprise. Unlike Sun, the audience found it hilarious as once again they let out a chorus of OOOOHs. Jaune himself fought not to let out a few chuckles of his own.
Sun went to say something but Neptune stepped in to rescue him. "And who are you again?"
Ruby flinched. "R-Ruby."
"Didn't answer the question." Neptune huffed. "Because I still don't know who you are, kid. And I definitely don't know what the heck you think you're capable of that warrants that kind of attitude around here."
Jaune was happy to jump in. "You'll find out real soon, trust me. The second you step in the ring with her, you'll know." He finished as he watched Ruby's chest swelled up with pride at the comment.
"Now that interests me." Sun replied, leaning forward to get a closer look at Ruby, who shifted under his gaze. "Neptune's got a point. We don't know what you can do, Ruby. I don't know about everyone else here, but I for one wanna find out."
"What, you didn't get enough from the Yuma match?" Jaune replied.
Sun shrugged. "Jaune. Buddy. I love you, but let's not pretend that beating up a washed up White Fang member and dude who had no business being in there was some big achievement." He said simply as the audience boomed behind him. "Truth of the matter is we're gonna push you two. We're gonna test you two. And if you end up crumbling under the pressure, it'll be too bad. I don't want to end the Jaune Arc Comeback Tour, but I will if I have to. I'd hate to make that whole "Arc never goes back on his word" thing a lie too, but hey, you'll live."
"You can definitely try." Ruby retorted with a grin, her silver eyes glinting like blades. "But don't be surprised when it's not as easy as you think."
"She's got a point." Jaune shrugged. "We might just leave your career in a worse spot than that stupid junior detectives gimmick did."
It was like a bomb went off in the arena. Laughter rained down from the nosebleeds as Jaune finally scored a death blow. Sun's cheeks went bright red. Jaune had been saving that one for years, waiting patiently for the day they'd have a promo battle together. It was a tough one, Sun and Neptune had debuted in the VWC a few months after him, and for whatever reason Sun had thought it was a good idea to debut as "Junior detectives". They came in with aviator sunglasses, dopey little police uniforms, and even fake mustaches. The audience hated it, and it was scrapped after only a few months. Perfect ammunition.
"Oh, not COOL dude." Sun scoffed, rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. It only got worse when Jaune heard what sounded like crackling from beside him. Ruby fought desperately to hide her giggling, but failed, eventually descending into full blown laughter.
"Oh my gosh I remember that gimmick! It was so bad!" She guffawed as Neptune stared daggers at them.
"It was totally cool! You guys just have no taste."
"Sure we don't." Jaune shrugged. "Guess the thousands of people who panned it don't either. But enough games, we'll be bringing the fight Saturday, rest assured."
"I'm counting on it." Sun cheered. "We're gonna give the people a match they'll remember for sure!"
"That we will." Jaune agreed. "And I for one can't wait. It'll be an honor, man. But it's going to end with the Crimson Crusaders as the winners."
"Eh…" Sun started, "I'm still not sold."
"And why's that?"
"Because sure, Jaune Arc is a great fighter, and if my gut is right Ruby Rose is too. But together?" Sun said, shrugged at the two of them. "I'm not sure the Crimson Crusaders are gonna be all that good. I mean, it was like two one-on-ones back there. You're in the tag division now, and it's not just gonna be a bunch of people randomly clumped together. You're facing teams now bro. It's a whole different ball game. Neptune and I are gonna school you."
Jauen went to say something but paused. Sun was right, wasn't he? Sure, he and Ruby had planned to address that particular issue with the team, but they were still strong on their own. Besides, they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.
"We'll be ready for you. That's a promise." Ruby said, bringing him back to the present.
"Looking forward to it!" Sun chirped back, always one to get the last word. "But for now, enjoy yourselves. We'll see you real soon! Vale you've been great!" He finished, jerking a thumb at Neptune as the two exited the ring.
Once they'd made it back up the ramp, Jaune motioned at Ruby to follow. The two bid their goodbyes to the audience, the matchup set in stone. They quickly crossed the threshold, walking through the back as they made their exit. Jaune felt warmth bubble up in his chest as Glynda nodded at them as they walked past, a sign they'd done a solid job. THe two split up, but only briefly as he and Ruby went to their separate locker rooms. As Jaune stripped himself out of his gear, he couldn't help but dwell on Sun's words. He wasn't wrong about them still needing to iron out a few things when it came to teaming up, but at the same time, he and Ruby already had such an ironclad trust, things would sort themselves out.
He met up with his partner a few minutes later, resisting the urge to jump scare her. He actually managed to this time, electing instead to lightly jab her on the shoulder. She jumped a bit before fixing him with a look he couldn't quite decipher.
"What's up?"
Ruby shifted her weight from foot to foot. "How…how do you think I did out there?" she mumbled.
He'd been expecting it of course, which made it all the more satisfying to be able to tell her just how incredible he thought she was out there. "Ruby, that was fantastic!"
Watching her eyes glow with pride filled him with joy. After all, it wasn't too long ago that they'd carved out weeks upon weeks of practice and training to take Ruby from barely even being able to string a promo together to speaking in front of what had to be a few thousand people.
"You mean it!?" Ruby gushed.
"I mean it. I mean, you killed it. You even had Sun shook for a minute there!" he guffawed, recalling her comment about it being an early night.
Ruby stiffened. "I know! That wasn't too mean right?"
Jaune shook his head. "Sun gives as good as he gets, he got me pretty bad early on too."
"You know I do!" A familiar voice called from behind them. Jaune couldn't help but grin as he turned to face Sun with Neptune in tow, freshly changed. "That was awesome, dude! You two really brought the fire."
"We had to, we're going up against you after all." Jaune said, offering his hand to Sun, who quickly dragged him in for a handshake. "I meant what I said out there, that it was going to be an honor taking you on."
"Right back at you man." Sun said with a sincere smile. "And looks like I was right, about the next time I was in the ring with you."
Jaune inclined his head. "Drawing a blank here, what did you tell me?"
Sun brought him in for a hug. "That the next time I saw you, I'd be meeting the badass new Jaune Arc."
Jaune rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Sun always knew what to say. The guy lived up to his name, bringing warmth wherever he went. "Thanks, man. I really appreciate it."
"No worries bro, you're the one who did the work after all." Sun shrugged. "I can't wait for our match, it's gonna be electrifying."
"Me either." Jaune agreed, watching as Sun shifted his gaze to Ruby.
"And I expect you to walk the walk if you're gonna talk the talk like that." he said, throwing a wink her way.
Ruby held her head high. "You'll see."
"Well, see you guys then. You better train hard, we're shooting for five stars." Sun assured them as they left, leaving Jaune with just Ruby.
"He's right! We should get in the gym ASAP." she exclaimed. He sent her a nod.
"Absolutely. Normal time tomorrow?"
"You bet!" she confirmed as the two headed out, ready to take the next step in the wild tournament they'd found themselves in.
/
The PC was as wonderful as it ever was, and as Jaune relaxed against the stiff ropes of the ring they'd decided to use, he was happy to be back. The place was no longer one of pain and stagnation. Over the months he'd been here day and night training with Ruby, it truly had lived up to its reputation as a forge for building new talent, and honing what was already there.
This particular session was bound to be exciting. Because not only would he be adding a few new moves to his arsenal to prepare for their first round bout, but they'd also be tapping into tag team dynamics. Ruby had sworn up and down that they had to learn, and she hadn't steered him wrong yet.
Speaking of Ruby, she looked just as optimistic as he felt as he watched her run the ropes like she'd done it a million times. Well, knowing her, she probably had. She was dressed in her classic black sweats, her crimson headphones discarded nearby.
"Hey! No slacking mister! Move those feet!" Ruby exclaimed from beside him as she passed him, running into the nearest rope and bouncing off. He obliged, jumping right back into the workout. They ran the ropes for a few more minutes, before eventually coming to a stop in the middle of the ring.
"So," Jaune began, knowing the drill by now. "How do you wanna start?"
Ruby's hand came to stroke her chin. "Well, I was thinking first we'd talk general strategy, I've barely been able to sleep since we had our promo! I've been thinking non stop about how we'll be taking the fight to Sun and Neptune, so I think I have some awesome ideas! Then after that we'll try some new moves for you and then after that we can do a whole class on tag teaming 101 then we'll grab smoothies and–"
"One at a time, Ruby." Jaune chided as she paused, taking a second to giggle sheepishly.
"Sorry, yeah you know me when it comes to training I just get off the rails and–"
"I sure do, that's one thing I admire about you." Jaune replied. "But I'm ready to start whenever you are!"
"Great!" Ruby beamed, her smile radiant as she sat down cross legged, motioning at him to join her. "I think it might actually be pretty straight forward. I know before I was trying to do a good promo but I really do mean it when I say that you might be better than Sun now. I don't know for sure since I don't know his training but you did really well against him the first time!"
Jaune nodded, appreciating the compliment. It had been a long time since that spar with Sun. His biggest weakness back then was his cardio, which let him down pretty early on, forcing him to try stuff he usually didn't. There was another thing he struggled with however.
"His semblance." Jaune said, the thought popping into his head. "How do we deal with his semblance? Because I don't know if you remember but he got me pretty good with that one."
Ruby inclined her head. "Good point. I don't know. I mean, maybe if I had some footage or something I could figure out a strategy, but usually I don't think up my plans for stuff like that until I take them on, you know?"
"I could find some matches for us to review." Jaune offered. Looking at the tape always helped him prepare for an opponent. It was also one of the first training exercises he and Ruby did.
"Sounds good!" She agreed. "As for Neptune I haven't seen him fight yet so we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. But Jaune, I feel good about this one. I think you're going to surprise Sun with how good you've gotten. I mean, you're so different from how you used to be."
"I still struggled with Yuma," Jaune admitted, feeling a bit down about his performance there. Ruby shook her head.
"I wouldn't judge that performance too harshly. We were both rusty, and his wings really evened the playing field. You were kicking his butt until then."
He appreciated the feedback. "So, as for the new moves. What were you thinking?"
Ruby blinked. "I was kinda gonna turn it over to you. I was thinking we'd try out some moves you think might help in this fight and I can help out where I can."
The gears began to turn in Jaune's head as he pondered what he'd need for the fight with Sun. Sun was a brawler like him, and delighted when a fight got ugly, but Sun wasn't too wild with it. No, he was actually pretty dang precise, using a more kickboxing focused skill set.
"Kicks!" Jaune said, slapping a fist into his palm. "I need a good way to counter kicks. Sun's stance matches up with mine, which means that right body kick of his always finds a way through my guard. It's like getting hit in the stomach with a bat.
Ruby winced at the description. "Well, I don't know too many grapples or moves to go off of trying to block a kick, but what you could do is catch it. From there you have a ton of different moves to go from there." She said, gesturing wildly with her hands. "But you gotta be careful because if you try to catch it and miss it it'll probably land.
With a clear goal in mind, they got right to work. Ruby helped him drill kick counters, throwing her own short leg at his abdomen as many times as it took for him to catch them consistently. From there they focused on a few key follow ups. The first was spinning it around. After a particularly fast kick Jauen managed to latch onto Ruby's ankle, then he used his strength to sling her leg to the side, causing her to spin with the momentum. From there he surged forward, wrapping her up in an atlesian suplex. Jaune found other ones too, one he particularly liked was catching the kick then sweeping Ruby's back leg, sending her crashing to the mat. Sun wasn't too great on the ground, and Jaune would never pass up the chance for some good old ground and pound.
"What's next?" Ruby said as Jaune leaned down, giving her a helping hand up as he hauled her to her feet. Thankfully, Jaune had an answer.
"Sun does some of his best work in the corner." He noted as he recalled the nasty bodyshots Sun had laid into him over the course of their many spars. "He always finds a way to get me in there, and he just whales on me."
From there they continued to drill, Ruby helping him try and find ways to scramble out of the corner. Unfortunately, he found himself hitting a wall. Outside of just circling out, he struggled to put space between him and Ruby as she made to pressure him towards the corner, and more often than not, he found himself trapped there. It happened with Yuma too. When he expressed his frustration she looked to the ceiling, bouncing her leg as she tried to think of a solution.
Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long. For just as quickly as she'd begun to think she gave him an excited grin. "Exploder suplex!"
Jaune cocked an eyebrow. "Huh?" He'd never heard of an exploder. Sure, he'd seen plenty of suplexes. Northern lights, fisherman's, superplex, etc. But he wasn't too familiar with exploders.
"You could just go for an exploder suplex!" Ruby repeated, excitedly stomping towards the corner. "Get over here, I'll show you." Jaune followed, excitement bubbling up as he eagerly awaited the technique.
Ruby put herself in the corner. "Alright, now come at me." Jaune gave her a questioning look, but he did anyway. He surged forward, landing a few hits on her as she put up her guard.
"Is that all you got? I think Weiss hits harder!"
Ok. Not cool. He decided as he wound up for an overhand right. It was just what Ruby was waiting for. The moment he leaned back to load up on the shot she rushed forward, her left hand found itself planted on the back of his right thigh, while her right hand went high, looping around his head. From there, she sprung backward, throwing her weight back as she flipped him over her, sending him crashing straight into the ring post. He landed in a heap at the base of the corner, eyes wide with alarm.
The move was dangerous! It was punishing, and painful, and it was…downright amazing. Not only did it provide a reversal out of the corner, but if he did it right he could even throw Sun into the corner, heck he'd be throwing him right into the ring post.
"Where the heck did you learn to do that?"
Ruby flushed, looking away awkwardly. "It's not one of mine. That's one of Yang's moves. Most of the moves I hooked you up with were hers."
Jauen found himself surprisingly unsurprised. He'd only met Yang once, but she was built like a brawler with wide shoulders and hard eyes. He couldn't help but wonder what other kinds of moves she knew if the basic ones were like this. But the subject of Yang wasn't a welcome one right now from the way Ruby looked away, and Jaune was happy to bring them back on track.
"Sun's got no chance of seeing this one coming, thanks Ruby."
From there they practiced a few more drills, and to Jaune's delight, he even added a few more moves to his set. Poor Sun, he's got no idea, he mused as they took turns in the ring. Ruby was no slouch either, she practiced her flips, bouncing off the ropes with reckless abandon. No matter how many times he'd seen it, it never failed to amaze him. Needless to say the ring rust was coming off, and that was turning Ruby into a legitimate threat for anyone they went up against.
Finally after about an hour of trying out different drills and moves, they finally took a break, the two of them lying side by side in the ring.
"I know the canvas is gross, but I'm just too tired to move." Ruby said, dragging in deep breaths. Jaune went to reply, but it came out as a gurgle as he tried to roll over. They laid there like that for what must've been five or ten minutes. Once he'd caught his breath he hauled himself up into a seated position.
"So…what's next?" he began as Ruby did the same. She fixed him with a strange look, her gaze tentative as she debated what to say. "Ruby?"
She let out a quiet eep before she turned to face him. "I was thinking we could try doing team stuff like I said before. Things like callouts, hot tags, and team moves." Jaune gave her a thumbs up, not quite sure why she was worried to express that.
"Sure, let's do it." He said as he made it to his feet. They started out with callouts, code words and phrases that were designed to help him know just what was happening. There were ones like "Incoming!" or "He's diving at you!", and even ones like "Boot to the face, go for it!". They were pretty free form, and while he wasn't entirely convinced callouts were just yelling at your teammate, he still bore it. They'd roped in another guy from the PC to help out. Jaune would spar with him and Ruby would do her best to call out what was happening to make sure Jaune stayed in the loop. It sounded easy on paper.
But for some reason it wasn't.
No, the success they'd been having that day was gone. He found himself distracted by her commands more than assisted. It wasn't her fault, but he struggled to act accordingly. When she said incoming he didn't know where from, or what kind of attack. They tried to get more specific, and that helped, but sometimes he found himself overwhelmed, torn between his own interpretation of the situation and Ruby's. Sometimes Ruby would tell him to tag out but he felt fine. Other times he tagged out too early for them to be effective.
"N-No worries." Ruby stammered. "We can try hot tags instead." Hot tags were knocking an opponent away and rushing to make a tag, critical if Jaune was in trouble. Unfortunately, there was even less success. He consistently struggled, his biggest mistake was constantly forgetting to tag out, often unintentionally turning the fight into another one on one. He just got too far in the zone. They didn't even make it to team attacks before frustration finally overwhelmed him.
They just weren't clicking.
"I don't get it!" He barked as he let himself fall, his butt catching on one of the ropes as he took his makeshift seat. Ruby went to join him but paused, thinking better of it. "Why is this so hard?"
Ruby gave him a brittle smile. "It's okay Jaune, this stuff is hard. I mean, you've never had to worry about this kind of stuff before."
She was right, but that wasn't helping. Not being ready as an excuse wasn't exactly going to do anything against Sun and Neptune. He and Ruby had always been close, and they'd always brought the best out of each other in their training. He wasn't sure why this was different. They only had a few days. He cursed under his breath. It's not fair that the first round match is only three days away, he thought bitterly. It was a tight turnaround. Thankfully they'd get full weeks between matches from the second round onward.
If they made it that far.
Ruby must've sensed he was spiraling. "H-Hey, I know it's hard right now but we still have time. We can improve, and we'll be ready for them when the time comes."
He knew she was doing her best to cheer him up, but the advice almost felt grating. It wasn't advice at all. He needed help.
"Ruby, that's really great, but that's not what I need to hear right now." He snapped, regretting his tone the second he said it. She flinched, letting her eyes drift shut as she let out a sigh.
"Sorry," He said quickly. "That was out of line. I'm just…worried, Ruby."
"It's okay." She replied. "You didn't mean it like that."
"Yeah, that doesn't make it right though." He said as he let his cheek rest on his palm. "I'm worried we aren't going to be ready. I'm afraid I might drag us down. Sun was right. He and Neptune are a team. They fight together. They know how to do these things. Sure, we might be better than them most individually, but they've had months to practice together."
For what felt like the tenth time that day, Ruby held her tongue. Jaune didn't even know why. Instead, she asked him if he wanted to run the drills again. They worked for a few more tries until finally he couldn't take it anymore.
"I think we should call it here." He said, defeat hanging over his head like a black cloud.
"We can still practice. You're this close, Jaune I know it!" Ruby protested, "It's going to kick in at any time." Jaune barely managed to avoid rolling his eyes. Ruby kept insisting there was this thing, some kind of switch that would flip and then would make everything make sense.
Whatever it was, it was taking its sweet time.
"Sorry Ruby, I just can't keep going." He said, which was true. His body was heavy, the two of them having been training for almost three hours. "We can try again tomorrow."
"We only have a few more days." Ruby insisted. "I know if we keep trying we can figure this out."
Despite his best efforts, he wasn't too optimistic.
/
To his dismay, he was proven right. The next few days weren't much better. Sure, his individual skills were improving, and their spars were airtight, but he just couldn't seem to get the hang of tag teaming. Finally, unable to take the failure anymore, he suggested they just approach the Sun match like they did the Yuma match. Ruby reluctantly agreed, heavy emphasis on the "reluctantly" there.
But she caved, and while he knew it might not be the best option, it was the only one they had. He tried to ignore that fact as he laid in bed. He'd done all the training he could, and with only twenty-four hours until the first round of matches, he knew he'd done all he could to prepare. Any more training would be too much.
That being said, he didn't feel satisfied. Sure, he'd tried his best to prepare, but the repeated failure of the past few days haunted him. He softly scooped his scroll from his bedspread, looking for any notifications. There were a few from Ruby.
Ruby: Sleep well! It's a big day tomorrow. Weiss is making me waffles in the morning, I hope you'll have a good breakfast too!
Ruby: Hope you're ok.
Ruby: Sorry about this week.
He rubbed his eyes, warmth rising up in his chest at the messages. She really was a fantastic friend. He typed up a quick reply before sending it over. Ruby had been the only thing getting him through the week, and he was going to fight like hell tomorrow to make sure he lived up to her hopes.
He rubbed his eyes, trying not to think about it. Thankfully, he had the entire internet at his disposal to distract him. Sure, should he be trying to sleep right now? Absolutely, but the way tonight was going, he wasn't sure just how well he'd be able to accomplish that. He thumbed the chirp app and began to browse, snickering at the odd meme or post. Unfortunately, just like the other good things that had happened this week, his good time was short lived.
On account of the interview that had popped up on his feed.
Cardin Winchester Speaks on the Competition.
Jaune nearly did a double take. Neon Katt was interviewing Cardin. She was the VWC's golden girl, the queen of the highlight reel, a weekly show where fans voted on their favorite moments of the week. What the heck was Cardin doing one-on-one with her? He knew he shouldn't. He knew it was only going to make things worse, but that didn't stop him as his thumb tapped on the play icon in the corner of the screen.
It was a pretty standard interview. Neon ran him through the list of teams, and Cardin made his pigheaded comments on each one. He rolled his eyes as Cardin made a few crass comments about the Malachites, then he got to Ren and Nora. Try as he might, Jaune was unable to stop himself as he gripped his phone tighter, knuckles turning white as he listened to Cardin rant on about just how "useless" his best friends were. Finally, after what felt like forever, he and Ruby popped up on the screen. He went to pause the video, his last chance to close the app before he heard something he knew he wasn't going to like. But he listened anyway.
"God, where do I start with this team?" Cardin began, an ugly sneer etched across his face. "First off, Rose isn't worth my time, so if you want to ask me about her you're wasting your breath. As for Arc? If you thought flower boy and Valkyrie were out of place, this guy's next level. Jaune Arc has no business being here. And by here, I don't mean his match with monkey boy. I don't mean this tournament, either. Jaune Arc has no business being in the VWC, and I think you're all going to see that when he drowns in the first round." Cardin declared, his lips quirking up in a smile.
"But hey, I hope I'm wrong. If he makes it past Sun, he'll be in the next round facing me. And Jauney boy, buddy, if you're watching this, count your days. Count them well, cherish them. Because if you end up across from the ring with me, I'm going to put you on a break that lasts a lot longer than a few months."
Before he knew it, he'd chucked his phone across the room. There was no point in watching any further. Cardin was right about one thing, if he and Ruby made it past Sun, and Cardin beat his opponents, they'd be facing off in round two.
He laid back, his hands coming up to cup his face, trying desperately not to think about that matchup. Heck, he had to stop thinking about tomorrow's matchup. He needed to get out of his room. It was like a damn echo chamber for doubt. He lurched off his bed, scooping up his discarded scroll. He swiped up on it, looking for his contacts. There had to be someone, right? He was in the mood for social activity, and he'd be damned if he was just going to waste away inside with nothing but his thoughts. He eliminated Ruby pretty quick. Sure, hanging with her was pretty close to his favorite thing in the world, but right now it wouldn't do either of them any good. Sun was off the table too for obvious reasons. He scrolled past a familiar contact name, pausing for a second as the word "DAD" stared back at him. He snickered, he wasn't that desperate. Nora was out too, she tended to amplify emotions, so either she'd be too hyper or feed into his fears.
Finally, he found himself gazing down at one familiar name.
Lie Ren.
I wonder if he's going through the same thing, Jaune mused. Well, maybe not the same thing, but maybe nerves about the tournament? Regardless, he didn't think anything could beat spending the evening with one of his closest friends, and promptly tapped the green call button.
He lifted the scroll to his ear as he waited, hoping Ren would pick up. Thankfully, his faith was rewarded as he heard the familiar dry voice of his friend.
"Jaune?"
"Hey man!" He said, forcing some cheer into his voice. "How's it going?"
"I am well." Ren said after a brief pause. "Is everything alright?"
"Y-Yeah," He assured him. "I was just wondering since the first few matches are tomorrow if you wanted to maybe grab a drink or something. Just felt like seeing my brother, you know?" he said, waiting anxiously for Ren's response. After a few beats, he spoke.
"I'd love to. The usual establishment?"
"Yeah, sounds perfect. See you there in ten." He said, hearing an affirmative grunt from Ren as the call ended.
/
Jaune let out a sigh of relief as he pushed through the heavy wooden doors of The Jade Dragon, his nostrils instantly filled with the enthralling scent of aged tea leaves. The tea house was as it ever was, exuding nothing but warmth and serenity. The place was bathed in a soft yellow light, illuminated by paper lanterns that hung from the ceiling, their ornate designs depicting flowers and flowing rivers. The walls were lined with old worn boxes, each containing its own tea.
He made his way through the maze or circular wooden tables, finally coming to a stop at the corner. Ren was already waiting for him, securing the spot they always did, the furthest table from the entrance. Ren liked it that way, and Jaune could see why. The Jade Dragon was a rare find in Vale, a place that emulated mistralian culture in such a way wasn't found just anywhere. Jaune waved towards his friend, who seemed rather engrossed in his eta. He was rewarded with a classic warm half smile from Ren, who motioned at him to sit.
"Good evening, Jaune."
"Hey Ren," Jaune began as he yanked out one of the stools that circled the table. "Thanks for coming out, man.
"Of course." the quiet man replied, "It's been too long since I've gotten a chance to spend time with you one on one like this."
Jaune inclined his head. Ren was right, it had been a while since and his brother had spent some quality time together. It had to have been months. "Makes sense, you guys started training early for the tournament. Wasn't too much time back then." He chuckled as Ren nodded.
"That does seem like the case. I made sure to get us started early. You know Nora. She's extremely powerful and quite committed, but keeping her consistently focused and motivated can be…"
"Pretty dang hard." Jaune surmised bluntly. "Hard to sustain unless you start way early." Ren gave him a curt nod.
"Precisely." he replied, a hand coming up to motion at a cup to Jaune's right.
"I got you golden ember chai, this time. It's the least Mistralian tasting tea here from my experience. I know you aren't exactly the biggest fan of our cuisine."
Jaune flushed. "It's not that I hate it, it's just…"
"Too flavorful?" Ren prompted, an amused expression on his face.
"Yeah, that." Jaune agreed with a chuckle. Ren knew him so well.
"Let's give it a try, then." Jaune murmured as he lifted the cup to his lips, letting the amber liquid run across his taste buds. His eyes widened. "Wow, that's really good! What is that? Cinnamon?"
"Correct." Ren said with a small smile. "Well scouted."
"I had a good teacher." Jaune quipped. He'd been coming to the Jade Dragon with Ren ever since they'd made it to Vale after signing with the VWC. He'd put him through the paces on the best kind of tea. Mistral was the best, Vale and Vacuo were decent, and Atlas was the worst. No surprise there, he mused. Jaune had never been to Atlas, but he'd known them for not exactly being the most flavorful. Tea or people.
"You flatter me." Ren offered as the two were content to sip their tea, dining on the occasional cookie. After a few minutes of quietly enjoying each other's company, Jaune broke the silence.
"How are you, man?" He began as he set the ornate cup down. "I mean how are you really?"
"I'm…I'm well, Jaune." Ren started as he dabbed at his lips with a napkin. "A bit…frazzled, but that's to be expected."
"Makes sense." Jaune concurred. "I mean, no pressure, for either of us, but we're stepping into the biggest matches of our careers tomorrow."
"Exactly." Ren agreed. "Nora's been bouncing off the walls."
"I can imagine." Jaune replied, snickering at the imagery. "But I'm not talking about her right now man, I know how much this means to you, and I wanted to make sure you're in a good state of mind for it."
Ren paused, before giving him an appreciative look. "Thank you, Jaune. It means a lot. I am alright, but to tell you the truth, I find myself a bit worried."
"Lay it on me, man."
Ren stiffened, but only for a moment before his shoulders relaxed. "I just don't know how Nora and myself will stack up against our competitors. It's not that I doubt our skills. No, I think Nora and I more than adequately prepared for this event, it's just that…I'm not sure…that fear of the unknown perhaps."
"Makes perfect sense to me." Jaune shrugged. "I mean, we're young for the VWC, and this is your first big event. You guys are going from having a match per week on the show to possibly main eventing PPVs and finishing out match nights. It's a big step. That fear is totally okay, man."
Ren let his eyes drift shut. "Was…was it like this for you when you first debuted? I recall you main evented the show early on in your career."
"Yeah," Jaune mused, thinking back to those simpler times. "I was terrified. But there's a key difference between me back then and you now. Ren, I've seen how hard you've worked. I've seen the effort you and Nora have put into this. Not only are you going to crush it, but you deserve to be here, and you'll finally have a chance to show the whole world that."
It felt good to say that, to make up for what he'd lacked when Cardin had called their places in the VWC into question. One look at Ren showed it was worth it. His pink eyes had a bit more shine to them than usual. "I truly am grateful to have you as a friend, Jaune. Thank you for the kind words."
"Hey, I'm just speaking the truth." Jaune shrugged back. "You guys are up against Arslan and Reese, right?" He was pretty sure he was correct. In fact, the whole first round was finally done. There were sixteen, but the ones he was looking forward to the most were Ren and Nora's match, Roman and Neo vs the Malachites, and Coco and Velvet versus Emerald and Mercury. He winced. Well, he wasn't exactly excited for that last one, but if it meant Ruby's adversary was going out in round one, he'd tune in for sure.
"Correct." Ren replied as he took a sip from his freshly refilled cup. "It's a favorable matchup, I'm aware. But for some reason I just can't shake the nerves."
"It's natural, man. Don't worry about it. Just know once that bell rings you'll be right at home, killing it like you always do." Jaune assured him. Arslan was a powerhouse, and Reese was tricky. But Nora was even stronger, and Ren had quite a few sneaky maneuvers under his belt. He was sure they'd be fine.
"Right." Ren said, a determined glint in his eyes, it softened as he gazed back at Jaune. "But that's enough about me. How are you, Jaune? These past few months have been…tumultuous to say the least. How have your preparations been going?"
"You're telling me." He joked back. The past few months had been crazy for lack of a better word. "I'm doing alright man. Things are going well with Ruby, we're ready for tomorrow, same as you." Sure, that last part wasn't really the case, but the last thing he wanted was to put all that on Ren.
"Not to bring down the mood, but I suspect that isn't quite true." Ren replied coolly as he helped himself to another cookie.
"Huh?" Jaune spluttered as Ren fixed him with a pointed glance.
"As much as I do love our time together, I could tell from the moment you walked in that you had something on your mind." Ren offered simply. "You've helped me put my fears at ease tonight, let me see if I can do the same for you."
Jaune flushed, but now that he thought about it. Ren might be able to help. "Okay…things aren't great right now. Well, that's not totally true. Ruby and I keep getting better. I mean, Ren I've added moves to my skill set these past few weeks that I don't see anyone else in the VWC using. My cardio is finally decent, my aura is tanky, and my striking is getting better by the day."
"Then what's the problem?" Ren inquired, leaning forward slightly.
"It's our tag team stuff. Callouts, tag moves, heck I can't even remember to tag her in most of the time. We've been trying for days and it's just not working out. It's like we just can't click. Whether it's deciding on a song, bumping into each other during our entrances, or even picking a titantron." He expressed, wringing his hands in frustration. "It's not her fault, she's doing really well and she's been helping out but nothing she says is actually helpful stuff. It's like she's solely trying to motivate me. There's no real feedback there, which is crazy because Ruby's given me the best feedback and criticism I've ever received."
Ren was silent for a few beats, then to Jaune's surprise, he let out a low chuckle.
"Care to share with the class?" Jaune quipped, a bit taken aback by the reaction."
"My apologies, Jaune. I didn't mean to laugh." Ren explained calmly. "It's just that I've been waiting for this from you for a while, and lo and behold it's finally come."
Jaune cocked an eyebrow. "How so?"
Ren leaned forward in his seat. "Jaune, do you recall my reaction when you informed us you were entering the tag team tournament."
He did. I mean, how could he not? Ren had acted downright distant there. "Yeah, I remember. Kind of looking for an explanation on that, too."
It was Ren's turn to raise his eyebrow. "And what would you like to know?"
"I wanna know why you seemed kind of frosty about it. Like you were upset I was in the tournament." Jaune confessed. "I don't want to make any assumptions, but it was pretty clear you weren't happy about it. You even suggested it might've been because I was scared of Pyrrha."
Ren put his hands up as if to ward away that thought. "That was not my intention whatsoever, and I apologize if it came off that way, Jaune. I had no ill intent, rather, when I heard the news, I was elated that you'd be a part of the tournament. But in that same breath, I was afraid."
Jaune's eyes widened. Afraid? He hadn't been expecting that. Heck, he thought Ren had been annoyed at him making his way into the tournament all this time. "Afraid of what?" He prompted as Ren looked him in the eye.
"I wasn't afraid of you joining the tournament, or battling you and Ruby if that's what you're thinking." He explained, putting Jaune's worries at ease. "Rather I was afraid for you. A fear that I still feel. One that worries that you won't last long in this division."
Jaune flinched. What the hell did he mean by that?
"Allow me to explain." Ren said, sensing his frustration. "I'm not doubting your abilities, or that when it comes to in ring ability you'd be able to survive in the tag team division. No, my worries are founded on my understanding of you as a person. To keep it short, I know who you are, Jaune. You fight for yourself, and only yourself."
"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Jaune demanded in a tone a bit more curt than he wanted. But when he'd asked Ren to hang out with him, he certainly wasn't expecting to have his character put on trial. And what exactly was Ren suggesting by telling him he only fights for himself. "Are you seriously accusing me of being selfish?"
"Don't misunderstand." Ren cut in, silencing him. "I don't believe you are wholly selfish. In fact, you stand for many things, Jaune. All of them admirable. Things I've seen you do for years now. You fight for what you want to protect. You fight to thrill the fans, to earn their love and dedication. You fight to inspire them, and give them someone to root for, someone they can relate to. You fight to inspire Ruby as well, to protect her from her past."
Jaune leaned back, his temper subdued as he found himself far more interested in just where Ren was going with this.
"You fight to win world championship gold." Ren noted. "To bring a belt back to the Arc family. To continue fighting for your father's legacy no matter how much pain it causes you."
Ouch. Well, he wasn't exactly wrong there.
"Now, you do those things for you, but they also are meant to help others." Ren pointed out. "But I'm not talking about any of that. I'm talking about when you're in that ring. When you're in the heat of the fight, you fight for yourself, Jaune. You strike with the intent of knocking your opponent to the mat and following them down. You plan your assault around your moveset, and what best suits you in order to keep your momentum going. You set up your own follow ups, and try to position your opponent in a place that you can land your signature or finisher. You fight to survive in that ring. You fight to win."
"What's wrong with that?" Jaune replied simply. I mean, those sounded exclusively beneficial. They were exactly what he should be doing. They were in a fight after all. Ren listened, then spoke.
"Jaune, what do you think tag partner is?"
Jaune thought about it, racking his brain for a few moments before he voiced his thoughts. "Someone who helps you find what you're missing. They round all your bases when you have gaps. When things get rough, I'm a bit more relaxed knowing there's something there with me to watch my back and help me get out of a jam." He said, his thoughts drifting to Ruby, and just how well she'd done at each of those things.
"You're half right." Ren offered. "But being in a tag team is so much more than that. A tag partner is an extension of one's self. Your partner doesn't come to your rescue, they are your rescue. They are your backup plan. They're a part of you. Just as much offense as defense."
"Isn't that what I just said?" Jaune replied, utterly baffled.
"Your issue is that you view yourself and Ruby as two individuals, combined into a pair." Ren mused. "Your issues as a tag team are not one of talent or skill. Though there is a lot in the ring you still have to learn. But rather it's mentality, Jaune. In order to not only survive but thrive in this division, you have to have complete and total trust in your partner."
"But I do!" Jaune protested. "Ruby and I are close. She's my best friend, you too of course." He quickly followed up as Ren chuckled. "We have that trust, she knows it and I know it."
"You do, I've seen it." Ren agreed. "You two have bonded remarkably quickly, but that's outside the ring. Within the squared circle I've seen a disjointed duo, one too afraid to change their behavior, the other too worried about voicing their own opinions."
Jaune couldn't help but latch onto the last part. "Do you think Ruby might be holding back her feedback from me on purpose?"
Ren inclined his head. "You mentioned she has a bit of a troubled past. I saw her at the ceremony. Perhaps she's afraid of damaging your bond, or criticizing you as a part of her team."
That made sense. He didn't know much about Emerald, but he was pretty damn sure she probably didn't take Ruby's input too well. Regardless, while everything Ren was saying made sense, it served only to frustrate him further.
"How the heck am I supposed to figure this out, and with only a few more hours until our match?" he said, defeat no doubt scrawled across his face.
Ren simply laid a hand on his shoulder. "I have faith that you will, even if you don't right now."
"How?"
"Because you've already done it before." Ren observed. "There was a moment in your match with Yuma that you put complete and total trust in your partner, you threw away your preconceived notions and let things flow. You were rewarded well. I'd ask you to try and emulate that again."
'And something tells me you aren't going to just tell me." Jaune huffed. Ren gave him an apologetic shrug.
"It's a revelation you'll have to have on your own. That being said, I can point you in the right direction. Think back to how you managed to overcome Yuma's wings. From there, it should become obvious."
They chatted back and forth for a few more minutes, before Ren stood. "Thank you for this, Jaune. I needed some time out. Good luck tomorrow, I know you're going to do incredible things in this division, I'd just implore you to have an open mind."
With that, he paid the tab, and the two went their separate ways, eager for what tomorrow would bring.
Man this chapter really surprised me. I'm not going to lie, when I first wrote it, I saw it as a transitional one, a bridge between the opening ceremony and our upcoming matchup. However, it evolved into so much more. If you guys have enjoyed my works so far, I'm sure you've noticed I love foreshadowing and buildup. There's a ton here, and all stuff that I hope to circle back to in due time. It's also been a while since we've had ol Ren and Jaune one on one. I've always envisioned a brotherly relationship between the two, and I hope it shows here.
As for the next chapter, it's going to be The Crimson Crusaders versus The Beach Boys in a match that will no doubt bring the house down! I hope you're excited as I am. As always I can't tell you all enough just how much I love reading your reviews, seeing your favorites, etc. It always brings me the motivation to keep going. I have another project in the works as well, might be a while for it to start coming out but Wolfy and I are in the planning stages.
But hey, that's all from me! Always a pleasure you guys, until the next one!
-Curb
Moves:
Corner Exploder Suplex - Sami Zayn