Cuts of RWBY

A RWBY Fic Collection by AndrewJTalon

DISCLAIMER: This is a fan based work of prose. RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth and ViZ. Please support the official release.

In honor of Blake's birthday, she gets a chapter where she and Jaune were childhood friends. Enjoy.

Jaune peered at the locker, struggling with the jammed door. He had just arrived at Beacon and was already struggling with his rocket locker.

"Geez... This locker is really freaking…"

He caught sight of a pale girl with black hair and a bow on her head walking to another rocket locker. It took him a moment to place her. He had seen her a few times around Beacon campus, but the way she walked, the way she moved…

It clicked in his mind in a second.

"Wait a minute... Blake?!"

The cat Faunus in disguise turned around and blinked in surprise. Her eyes then widened in recognition.

"... Jaune?!"

"BLAKE! It is you!" Jaune exclaimed, wrapping her in a joyful hug, his laughter echoing in the locker room. "It's been so long! I missed you!"

Blake blushed, slightly taken aback by the sudden affection.

"Oh, uh... Um... Y-Yeah... It's been a while, huh? How... How are you?"

"I'm great! Made it to Beacon! How about you? You're also a Huntress, huh? Or, uh, gonna become one?" Jaune asked, still beaming. Blake managed a small smile back, though she remained stiff in his arms.

"Sure am... I didn't think your parents would let you train?" Blake responded, her curiosity piqued.

Jaune's eyes suddenly darted to the side.

"Oh, uh... I mean, I wore 'em down," Jaune admitted with a less than convincing smile.

Blake raised an eyebrow. She then hummed as she looked him up and down. He had certainly filled out. However…

"You did get your Aura unlocked though, right?" Blake asked, probing further.

Jaune hesitated.

"... Surrre... Sure did!"

Blake gave him a knowing look.

"... Jaune. Your Aura isn't unlocked, is it?"

"Ummm... Maybe?" Jaune confessed.

With a sigh, Blake continued, "... Do you even know how to use your sword?"

"Of course! The pointy end goes in the Grimm," Jaune said with a nervous chuckle.

Despite everything, Blake couldn't help but laugh.

"You're still so hopeless... Still. I guess I can't really speak." She placed her hand on his chest, unlocking his Aura with a gentle touch.

"For it is in deliverance that we achieve change. Through this, we become a paragon of justice to share with all. Infinite in truth and unbound by the past, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, redeem thee…"

She could feel the surge of power radiate back through her. Her entire body seemed to warm up, and she shivered.

Memories long thought gone filled her mind. Her mother had been suffering from a rare illness between protests. The only doctor who could treat it was down in Radian. It had been a long trip and there was the fear that they wouldn't treat her. Her father had said there was nothing to worry about… Yet the whole time, he had been stone faced.

They managed to make it to Radian. She still remembered the city walls, the mountains, and the beautiful forests. They'd entered the town, guided by the white castle gleaming in the sunlight. That was the hospital.

They came to the hospital. They waited in the lobby, Blake holding her mother's hand. Eventually, a kind looking blonde woman in a green dress and white labcoat came. She smiled and told her that her mother would be fine, before she led them away.

Blake was shown to a courtyard to stay in. And there… Was a little boy her age. Blond, wearing a red shirt and blue shorts. He was playing with some toys, and had some books in a bag nearby. There was a fountain gurgling happily nearby.

"This is my son," the kind woman said, "Jaune? This is Blake. Her mother is getting treated. I want you two to play together, okay?"

Jaune smiled.

"Okay Mama!"

"Be good," Isabel said.

"Be good," Dad had told her. They had left. Jaune then walked up and took her hand.

"Do you like books?" Jaune had asked.

Blake blinked, her ears twitching.

"I do…"

So he'd pulled out some books and they'd read them together. They were all fairytales, and tales of adventures. Jaune smiled happily as they read together, but it was hard to relax.

"What's wrong?" Jaune asked.

"... Will my mama be okay?" Blake had asked.

Jaune nodded eagerly.

"My Mama is the best doctor ever! She'll be fine, I promise!"

"You do?" Blake had asked. Jaune nodded again.

"Yeah! We're Arcs, and Arcs never go back on their word!"

He was right. Her mother had recovered, though it had taken a few weeks of rest. They'd stayed at the Arc Farmhouse. That summer, Blake had gotten to play for the first time she could remember. It had seemed like the fight for Faunus Rights was far away. Some kind of dream.

Jaune… He was the first friend she'd ever had at her age. Leaving him… She had cried so hard. He had cried even harder. He'd drawn her "the best picture ever" and given her a book and…

She took his hand now, and smiled warmly up at him.

"There. Just stick with me. We'll do all right, I promise," she said.

Jaune smiled back, and her heart beat a little faster.

"Thanks Blake. Where did you go off to, anyway? One day… You just stopped sending letters. Your parents kept calling, hoping you'd show up at our farm. I... I really missed you," Jaune said, his voice softening with sincerity.

"And I... I missed you," Blake sighed, her expression… She looked away.

She had run off to join the White Fang. She had abandoned everything she had known to fight humans directly. She had left… Everything behind. Including his gifts.

Including him.

"It's... Complicated. I'll... I'll tell you when I'm ready. Can you... Can you be patient with me please?"

Blake almost couldn't bare to look up at him. She didn't know how she could even begin. Where she could even start…

She felt him hug her. She looked up in surprise. He smiled warmly.

"It's okay. Whenever you want to… I'll listen. I promise. We're gonna get married, remember?" Jaune reminded her, his tone light but earnest.

Blake gave an exasperated chuckle, "You proposed when we were six."

"And?" Jaune asked with a teasing smile. "An Arc-"

"Always keeps his word," Blake sighed, "Same old Jaune..." But her chuckle suggested she wasn't entirely displeased by the reminder. She pulled away, still holding his hand.

"Let's go!"

Jaune smiled and nodded.

"Ready when you are."

She had been told by Ozpin that she was safe from the White Fang here. That they couldn't get to her.

She wanted to believe it. She wanted to think she didn't have to run anymore.

She might have to leave Jaune behind. If Adam knew she was close to a human, if he even suspected…

No, Blake thought to herself as they made their way out to the Initiation, He… He won't find me. He won't take him away from me…

She had to hope. She had to believe.

She had to.