Chương 677: 20
Chapter 20:
Jaune is in so much trouble, thought Ruby, as she stared at the section of scorched floor where his locker had been standing before. She remembered the lecture about rocket lockers, though she hadn't given it much thought, seeing as she kept her sword on her person at all times.
"That stupid dolt didn't think to call his locker to put his sword in it, did he?" asked Weiss incredulously, staring at the same spot. "Those things aren't so easy to put back as they are to call out."
"He wouldn't have bothered going out to do it, though," said Pyrrha.
"So...what happened?" wondered Ruby, turning her gaze up to the hole in the skylight.
"Well, assuming the worst happened, he ran into Cardin and his posse here," said Weiss plainly.
"And they did...what, exactly?" asked Pyrrha.
"Well, if they're feeling so vindictive, and bullies usually are, I'd imagine that they launched his locker so that he'd have to go running after his weapon and wind up being caught after curfew," said Weiss.
"That's almost a relief," said Ruby.
Then she heard Pyrrha gasp. "What is it?" she asked, whipping her head around to stare at the redhead.
"I remembered that we can use our scroll's app to check our teammates' condition," said Pyrrha, having already pulled out her scroll and done just that.
"Oh..." said Ruby, blinking. It was yet another thing she'd forgotten about. Hearing Professor Goodwitch's lecture about the application had made her worry. It seemed to be a bad idea to advise your students to consult mobile devices in the middle of pitched battle. At the very least, they should have the skill and training to monitor their own sense of their own Auras. With sufficient practice, it became possible to monitor the Auras of those in one's vicinity as well.
Still, she supposed that such an application might come in handy at times like this, even if it didn't tell them where Jaune was.
"Look!" said Pyrrha urgently, holding up her scroll. It showed portraits of the team's members, along with a colored bar representing their Aura's status.
Ruby immediately realized the reason for Pyrrha's anxiety when she saw that Jaune's Aura had dropped by almost half.
"W-well...I wouldn't be surprised if Cardinal roughed him up before they sent his weapon off," said Weiss frowning. "Though I'm surprised they would beat him that much, given how much Aura he has, and how many hits it must have taken to reduce it to that extent."
"Jaune can be quite determined," noted Pyrrha. "But that should have taken longer, and the perpetrators, in a situation like this, like to get things done quickly, so that they can avoid being caught."
Ruby swallowed, her head snapping to look at the scorched floor again.
"What are you thinking?" asked Weiss, noticing the change in her attention.
"I'm thinking that...maybe it wasn't Jaune's weapon that Cardinal sent off in that locker...or not just his weapon."
Pyrrha's eyes widened and she gasped, her hand going to her mouth. "You don't mean they..."
"That's what I think," said Ruby. "There's no way to tell where they sent him. We need to find him right away."
"But how?" asked Pyrrha. "He could be anywhere!"
"According to Goodwitch, an override is needed to send the locker off of school grounds...or it needs to be summoned directly by scroll," said Weiss. "So he probably hasn't been sent anywhere too dangerous."
"But he could still be hurt," said Ruby worriedly. "Those lockers aren't meant to carry people in them."
"I know that!" snapped Weiss. "Unfortunately, I think we're going to have to go to Professor Goodwitch about this. Beacon will have a system that monitors events like this. They'll be able to track the locker, and figure out where it's landed. Hopefully we'll find Jaune there, or somewhere on his way back."
"That will not be necessary, Ms. Schnee."
The three girls whirled around at the sound of the familiar voice as Glynda entered, a harried Jaune at her side. Poor Jaune definitely looked worse for wear, his skin smudged and dirty, his shirt and pants torn and battered. However, it seemed that whatever bruisers or other injuries he'd received as a consequence of his ill-conceived flight had been healed by his impressive reserves of Aura.
But that was the last thing on Ruby's mind as she hurled herself at Jaune, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly, Jaune yelping in surprise and rocking back with the impact, before reciprocating the gesture. For a second, silence fell as the two held each other.
Then Glynda coughed, calling their attention to her. Ruby and Jaune sprang apart, blushing slightly, though Ruby still held tightly to Jaune's hand.
"Normally, there would be severe consequences for being out after curfew," said Glynda, making the students tense. "However, upon review of the circumstances, I will overlook it this time."
Weiss sagged in relief, glad to have escaped a black mark on her record.
"I commend your concern for your teammate, and your willingness to look for him," added Glynda. Then her gaze settled on Ruby. Ruby could swear she saw a spark of amusement in those normally-stern eyes. "Ms. Rose...in the future, you should remember that there is an application on your scroll that allows you to monitor the position of your teammates, through their own scrolls, so long as they are in range. In the future, that might save you a great deal of trouble."
"Oh..." squeaked Ruby, her cheeks growing redder. She was having difficulty enough remembering just to carry the device on her regularly, still not used to having it, after spending so long doing without it.
"What happened, Jaune?" asked Pyrrha, approaching him worriedly.
"It would seem that Team Cardinal had some amusement at his expense," said Glynda, her tone icy.
"So they did launch you out in it," said Ruby, looking worriedly at Jaune.
"Yeah," breathed Jaune, sagging.
"He was quite lucky," said Glynda, adjusting her spectacles. "His locker almost landed in the Emerald Forest. In fact, it did end up there, when the cliff gave way as a consequence of its impact. Only Mr. Arc's decisive action saved himself from sharing a similar fate."
Ruby gasped and tightened her grip on Jaune's hand. Jaune smiled reassuringly at her and squeezed back. "Hey, I'm okay," he said softly.
Glynda nodded, a rare, amused smirk crossing her face. "It was quite an impressive escape...though it seems he still has some work to do on his landing strategy."
Jaune sighed, even as the girls tittered.
"In any case, it is time to return to your room for the night," said Glynda. "Seeing as Mr. Arc has not suffered any serious injury as a result of this incident, you will not be excused from class tomorrow."
"But what about Cardinal?" demanded Weiss. "After what they've done-"
"They will be dealt with, Ms. Schnee," said Glynda, her tone harsh, though it was clear that Weiss wasn't the object of her anger. "Of that, you can be assured. But they shall be dealt with by us. Rest assured that they will be severely regretting their antics soon enough."
"I doubt it," grumbled Ruby, even as she began to tug Jaune along the hallway back towards their room. "Bullies like that only ever regret getting caught."
Behind them, Glynda sighed. "Maybe so," she admitted. "But I will work very hard to impress upon them that such behavior is unacceptable. If they cannot learn that lesson themselves, then they have no future here."
"All right," said Ruby with a relieved sigh. "Come on," she said, towing Jaune behind her, as Weiss and Pyrrha brought up the rear.
They managed to reach their room without incident, which, considering the end to their day, felt like more of an accomplishment than it should have been. From there, the girls graciously let Jaune have the first turn, taking a shower and changing into his pajamas after his ordeal, before taking the bathroom to change back into their own pajamas.
From there, they turned out the lights and climbed into their beds, yawning tiredly. In the darkness, Weiss and Pyrrha quickly dropped off to sleep. Jaune, still a bit rattled by the whole affair, remained awake, staring at the ceiling. After a few minutes, he realized he wasn't the only one.
"Ruby?" he asked, blinking and turning to look at the bed next to his, where Ruby was indeed awake, her silver eyes gleaming in the moonlight that streamed in through the window as she started at him.
After a moment's hesitation, Ruby responded by pulling back her covers, the soft whispering of her sheets sounding strangely loud in the otherwise silent room. Sitting up, she set her feet carefully on the floor, then stood and padded across the small gap between her and Jaune's beds. Her movements were slow and deliberate. With each step she took, Jaune felt his heartbeat grow and he swallowed nervously, moving to sit up in his own bed.
Ruby sat down on the edge of his bed, and stared at him silently for a moment.
"Ruby?" he whispered again. Then his eyes caught something. The moonlight coming in through the window reflected off something on her cheeks, giving them a faint shine. Reaching up, he carefully brushed a thumb over one of her cheeks, the digit coming away with some moisture clinging to it. Then he heard the faint sniffling underlying Ruby's breathing.
Abruptly, Ruby surged at him and threw her arms around his shoulders again. Reflexively, Jaune's own arms wrapped around her waist, gently tugging her up so that she was almost lying on top of him. Jaune let one hand run up her back, gently trailing his fingers up her spine before brushing them through her hair. "Shh…it's okay," he whispered gently into her ear.
"I was scared," said Ruby, a slight whimper in her voice. "I don't know what I'd have done, if anything had happened to you."
"You don't need to worry so much," said Jaune softly. "I'm not that important."
"Yes you are," said Ruby, pulling back so she could look him in the eyes. "You're the first friend I made here, my best friend. You're the most important person to me, here."
Jaune felt a surge of giddiness rise though him. In spite of himself, he found himself sniffling as well. "Thank you," he said. "But it's over. I'm all right."
"But…but what if something like this happens again?" asked Ruby. "Cardinal isn't going to give up, just because Goodwitch gives them a scolding."
"We'll take it as it comes," said Jaune, pulling Ruby in again so that she could rest her head against his shoulder. "I'm your partner, and I'm not going anywhere. Besides, I'm getting a lot stronger than I thought I would." His smile widened. "It's actually thanks to what you taught me that I got through tonight."
That made Ruby jolt with surprise and she pulled back to look at him questioningly. Jaune chuckled at the curious look in her eyes. "Not tonight," he said. "I'll tell you tomorrow."
"Okay," said Ruby, finally smiling again. "I'm so glad you're all right, Jaune."
"So am I," said Jaune earnestly.
Ruby hesitated for a second, her eyes darting one way, then another, before she abruptly leaned in, her lips brushing ever so lightly against Jaune's cheek.
"Good night," she whispered, before returning to her own bed and sliding beneath the covers.
For a moment, Jaune found he couldn't move, merely sitting there, hand resting on his cheek, unable to comprehend what took place. Finally, he breathed out, the word exiting in a soft, nearly silent, exhale. "Whoa…!"
Dove knew this was going to happen. Somehow, he'd always known it would come to this. Surprisingly, it seemed that he was the only member of his team who'd expected what he'd seen as the inevitable fallout of their evening antics with Jaune.
Even so, Dove couldn't keep from flinching along with the others, as Glynda's riding crop slapped the surface of her desk.
"The four of you don't seem to fully understand the potential outcome of what you did last night," said Glynda, her eyes narrowed in a glare as she paced around them.
"Psh...It was just a little prank," Cardin muttered under his breath.
Why can't he keep his mouth shut? wondered Dove.
"Oh," said Glynda, rounding on Cardin. "Perhaps you should be aware of just how much your 'little prank' cost."
"Cost?" Russel gulped.
"A standard Beacon rocket-locker costs fifty-seven-thousand lien," said Glynda firmly. "Mr. Arc's is now at the bottom of a cliff, in the Emerald Forest, where he might have ended up himself, if not for his quick thinking. Given the state it is probably in now, we'll be lucky if we can manage to salvage any of it." Her eyes narrowed. "And because you bear direct responsibility for this, you four will be covering that cost, along with the penalty for the misuse of school property. Had Mr. Arc been injured, or his weapon damaged, as a result of your 'little prank', you'd be responsible for those costs as well.
The boys went pale.
Glynda stepped back and adjusted her spectacles. "The four of you shall have your stipends docked, until the cost of the locker and the associated penalty are covered. On top of that, you are all suspended for a week."
"That stupid rat," growled Sky. "If he hadn't tattled on us..."
"Two weeks, Mr. Lark," said Glynda, her eyes narrowing.
Cardin smacked Sky in the back of the head, while Russel punched him in the ribs very un-gently. Dove merely buried his face in his hands.
"Do not blame Mr. Arc for your own misdeeds, just because you happened to be caught," snarled Glynda. "You and you alone are responsible for your actions. Mr. Arc was right to report you, and I gave him no alternative. The fact of the matter is that your attitudes and conduct are grotesquely irresponsible, and completely unbecoming of those who seek to become Huntsmen, particularly those who wish to represent this institution. Believe me, you have rightfully earned every lien and minute of your punishment. If you cannot improve your behavior, I suspect your time here will be very short indeed."
"Unbecoming..." Cardin growled.
"Comment, Mr. Winchester?" asked Glynda, her eyes going to him.
Cardin opened his mouth, only to yelp when Dove elbowed him sharply. "Just keep your mouth shut for a change," he snarled into Cardin's ear before addressing Glynda. "Don't mind him. He's just thinking about what you said."
"I see," said Glynda. "Mr. Bronzewing, you seem at least marginally more mature than your companions. I hope that you can help them to learn how to appropriately moderate their behavior."
"Yes, Ma'am," said Dove, running his hand through his hair with a sigh.
"Good,' said Glynda with a frown. "You are dismissed. Remember that I will be keeping a close eye on you in the future. Punishments for future indiscretions will be more severe, and expulsion is not off the table, if this continues for long enough."
"Yes, Ma'am," said Dove, speaking quickly before any of his teammates could open their mouths. "Come on, guys, let's get out of here."
Dove shepherded his teammates from the room, doing his best to keep them from protesting as they went. When the door to Glynda's office closed behind them, Dove sagged a little in relief.
"What the hell?" demanded Cardin, rounding on him. "Just whose side are you on, huh?"
"At this point, the side of keeping us in Beacon, unless you want to talk yourself into getting expelled in our first punishment meeting," Dove growled back. "You're the idiot who needs help keeping his damn mouth shut."
"That bat was siding with Arc," protested Russel.
"And you, sure as hell, weren't gonna change her mind," Dove snapped back. "And if you keep harping about it right in front of her door, you're practically inviting another week of suspension, so I suggest you morons stop complaining about this until we get back to our room."
That got their attention and their mouths snapped shut, though they continued to glare at Dove.
Don't get mad at me because I'm apparently the only one on this team with more than two brain cells to rub together, Dove thought to himself, glaring back at them.
They walked along the halls until everyone, except Dove, was satisfied that they were far enough away from Glynda's office to talk.
"I still can't believe that she took Arc's side in this," grumbled Cardin.
"Well, it's not like he took that locker out for a joyride," Dove muttered back.
"Hey, you didn't protest at the time," Cardin growled back.
"I told you, if you got him killed, we'd get expelled," Dove retorted.
"How was I supposed to know it would land on the cliffs?" protested Cardin.
"You didn't know where it was going to land and you didn't care," Dove replied. "You said so yourself. The cliffs are still part of school grounds. He went there because you didn't care, and just input a code at random."
"Ha! Just imagine if he'd fallen down the cliffs though," said Russel with a chuckle. "That would've been something to see."
What are you, a sociopath? wondered Dove, growling under his breath. "You mean, wouldn't it have been something to see if his broken body ended up on the floor of the Emerald Forest for a passing Grimm to savage?"
"Uh...well..." Russel looked down, actually seeming bothered by the notion.
Okay...maybe there's hope for him after all, thought Dove.
"It would have served him right," said Sky.
Well...hope for Russel...for Sky, maybe not so much.
"Geez man, I know we don't like Arc, but that's harsh," said Russel, giving Sky a worried look.
"I don't care," said Sky. "That bastard snitched on us, and made us look like idiots in the process."
You are idiots, Dove thought, wisely keeping said thought to himself. "What is this, elementary school? Are you really gonna go on about him folding after being grilled by Goodwitch? You think he was gonna pay those costs and fines when it wasn't remotely his fault that he was out there."
"If he had any spine, yeah," said Sky. "And it was his fault."
"He certainly didn't shove himself in that locker," Dove retorted.
"We wouldn't have done that if he wasn't getting full of himself," said Cardin. "He's a pathetic coward, who can't do anything except turtle behind his shield. A waste of space like that doesn't belong at Beacon. We were doing him a favor, showing him that he isn't wanted here. He certainly doesn't belong on a team with three of the best and hottest women to grace our school, which he keeps flaunting in front of everybody's face."
God! Spare me from macho posturing, thought Dove, turning his gaze upwards plaintively.
"Well, it's obvious that Team Raspberry are all Ozpin and Goodwitch's little darlings," snarled Sky.
"Hey, Ruby Rose is the real deal for sure," said Cardin with a smug smile. "She's also quite the looker, when you get her out from under that cloak."
"Nikos and Schnee are pretty easy on the eyes too," added Russel, licking his lips.
Oh God! We are not talking like this, thought Dove, holding back an annoyed growl.
"If we can just get Arc out of the way, I'll bet we can have ourselves a good time," added Cardin with a grin.
Not freaking likely, thought Dove. From what he could see, the girls, especially Ruby and Pyrrha, liked Jaune plenty well, and were perfectly happy with their arrangement. They would not be thanking Cardinal for disrupting it anytime soon, assuming Cardin could follow through with his grandiose, ill-defined scheme.
"For now, we'll keep our heads down and stay quiet," said Cardin, prompting a silent sigh of relief from Dove. "Goodwitch'll move on to other things eventually. Once that happens, we can figure out how to deal with Arc. In the meantime, we can keep an eye and ear out for that secret of his that's so important."
For the love of God... thought Dove impatiently. Glynda had told him to try and rein them in, but he doubted he could manage that on his own. It was three-on-one here. Dove couldn't even begin to see how he could do anything. Cardin was dead-set on driving their team straight off a cliff. Sky and Russel were egging him on...and Dove was powerless to stop them.
Ruby had offered to give Jaune the morning off, after last night's ordeal. But Jaune had swiftly informed her that he would keep working. A night's rest had allowed his Aura to finish helping him recover, while his Aura itself recharged. He woke up the next morning, feeling a bit sleepy, a consequence of going to bed later than usual, but fine otherwise. So he doggedly got up and joined Ruby, Pyrrha, and Weiss for the morning workout. If anything, he worked even harder than he had before, pushing himself even more intensely.
Despite being the target of Team CRDL, and Jaune was certain that Glynda's punishment had done nothing to actually dissuade them from continuing to target him, Jaune actually felt somewhat self-satisfied. Though they talked as though he were some kind of weakling, Jaune got the impression that Cardin and his cronies actually felt threatened by him, for all that he wasn't that much of a threat at the moment. He'd won his match against Cardin through dumb luck, mostly. But he'd only managed to last until that stroke of luck because of all the work his friends had put into building him up beforehand. And that was only part-way through his first week of training. If he kept going...he might actually become a genuine threat in the ring.
So Jaune found himself driven to improve as much as he could, and work as hard as he could. Though he wouldn't admit as much out loud, the fact that he could still perfectly remember the sensation of Ruby's lips on his cheek might have been a motivating factor as well. The giddy feeling the memory kindled within him was only compounded by her reaction, when he gave them a detailed recount of what had happened the previous night, especially with regards to how he'd escaped sharing the fate of his locker.
"Incredible!" gasped Ruby. "You actually worked that out on your own?"
"So it was an actual thing," said Jaune.
Ruby nodded excitedly, before pausing to dig into her oatmeal, which she'd liberally mixed with sliced strawberries. "It's called Flow. It's a more advanced application of Temper. I was gonna teach you about it after I got you up through Suppression."
"So Flow is shifting your Aura around your body?" asked Weiss, looking at Ruby attentively.
"Uh huh," said Ruby, holding up her hand, the red light of her Aura gathering around it and intensifying. "Students tend to learn a basic, bare bones, version of it in Combat School, especially when it comes to channeling their Aura through their weapons. But Flow, when combined with Temper and Projection, is way more effective than what they'd teach you in Combat School."
"It almost sounds like Jaune used a form of Projection as well though," noted Pyrrha.
"Yeah," said Ruby. "It's not quite, since he built up his Aura in his feet, then let it explode out. But it's pretty good for something he's never done before."
"Thanks," said Jaune, sheepishly running his hand through his hair.
"Don't let it go to your head, Arc," said Weiss tartly, before taking a bite out of her apple.
"Aw, come on Snow Angel," pleaded Jaune. "Just let me have this for once."
"Overconfidence is forbidden," said Weiss dismissively, taking another bite, while Ruby and Pyrrha tittered. "And, if you call me by that nickname again, this school will have its own ice sculpture."
"Yes, Ma'am," said Jaune flinching and straightening.
"In any case, this is pretty exciting," said Ruby, beginning to bounce in her seat.
"Is his development that remarkable?" asked Pyrrha.
"Uh huh," said Ruby. "That's sort of how I discovered Shukuchi, my speed technique."
"You mean you worked that one out for yourself?" asked Weiss.
"Sort of," said Ruby. "We ended up in this settlement that was being attacked by bandits. I wound up fighting one of them and I sorta worked it out. Sasame-nee taught me more about how it worked afterwards."
"Amazing!" breathed Pyrrha.
"It's not really that impressive," said Ruby, blushing and fidgeting. "It wasn't really your typical fight, and I only managed it 'cause I caught the bandit by surprise." She sighed. "I'd also already been taught and was practicing all three basic exercises, along with Flow, so I had a lot more grounding in the basics than Jaune did."
"Why do you talk down about yourself like that?" asked Jaune.
Ruby smiled sidelong at him. "Overconfidence is forbidden," she said cheekily, making Weiss, of all people, giggle.
"In any case, I would definitely like to hear more about this," said Pyrrha. "More to the point, I get the feeling you have quite a few stories from your experiences. Hopefully we'll be able to hear more about them as well."
"I guess," said Ruby. "It feels a lot like bragging through."
"Even so, I imagine there's a lot we could learn," said Pyrrha. "Telling us your experiences, and what you gained from them, could help us grow from your lessons by proxy."
"I suppose," said Ruby, perking up at the notion.
"Well, it will have to wait until later," said Weiss decisively. "We do have class in a few minutes, after all."
"That's true," agreed Ruby with a sigh.
They finished their meals and got up. As they made their way down the hall to their class, Jaune tapped Ruby's shoulder. "Are you going to teach us the next exercise tonight?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," admitted Ruby. "I think you're all doing well. But I want to be sure. You shouldn't move on to Suppression until you've got Temper down. You're doing well, but you can't keep it up constantly yet." She looked away. "I don't want to rush it."
"You want us to get into that feeling of controlling our Auras, keeping keeping them around our bodies," guessed Jaune.
"Uh huh," agreed Ruby, nodding vigorously. "More than that, it needs to be as natural as breathing and walking, something you can do and maintain without even thinking about it. That's how you learn to control your Aura naturally enough to really execute Flow."
"Okay," said Jaune. He had to admit that what he'd managed the previous night had made him eager to rush ahead. But maybe he was a little too eager.
"Overconfidence is forbidden," Weiss had told him. Jaune reflected that she was probably right. Ruby might not have experience as a teacher, but there was no question she knew more about Aura, and fighting in general, than he probably ever would. If that was the case, it was best to listen to her, and do as she said. Besides, it's certainly worked well for me so far.
That afternoon, during their after-lunch free period, Pyrrha dialed up Jaune's technique-training, picking up both the pace and power of her attacks as she forced him to defend. However, Jaune was allowed to counterattack this time, striking past his shield with one of the attacks she'd taught him, if he thought he spied an opening. However, in spite of his best efforts, it took nearly everything he had to keep Pyrrha's attacks at bay, the pace of her repetitive strikes unreal. He had to focus all his senses on reading the arc of her sword, and shifting his shield to compensate and deflect. The few times he tried to counterattack, it proved a no-go, his own blows bouncing off her shield. Two out of his four attempts left him open to a counterattack in turn.
Still, it wasn't a terrible experience. Jaune was sweating and panting by the time they were done, silently praying that Glynda didn't call on him during Combat Class. Fortunately, she didn't, though she did call on Ruby and Weiss for matches of their own. Both Ruby and Weiss won their matches handily.
Their day ended without incident. With CRDL currently on suspension, and Glynda, and probably other members of the faculty, watching them like hawks, things were a lot quieter, though Jaune still couldn't quite shrug off a lingering sense of threat hanging around him, along with the feeling that he'd forgotten something important.
The next day, the girls worked him even harder in the morning and free period, taking advantage of the fact that there was no Combat Class that day. Jaune wound up sweating and gasping for breath, nearly falling asleep during the afternoon class. Fortunately, by the time their last class of the day had ended, his Aura had helped him recover enough to concentrate on his homework.
The day after that, Jaune wound up being called upon during Combat Class. Glynda assigned him to fight Blake. Ruby advised Jaune to focus on his defense and Temper again, but told him he was free to counterattack if he saw an opening.
Unfortunately, Blake was no Cardin Winchester. Unlike Cardin, whose fighting style relied heavily on power and brute force, Blake was swift and precise...and evasive, as Jaune soon found to his detriment, his first attempt at a counterattack appearing to sink into her body, before it dissolved into intangible shadow, and Blake's blades found their marks on his back. Just keeping her in sight and keeping up with her movements was a difficult task, made all the harder by her Shadow Semblance, which not only left decoys that managed to fool him almost every time, but accelerated her own movement, so that she could flank him easily. Needless to say, Jaune did not manage to run out the clock that time.
Still, Glynda didn't seem all that disappointed, when she gave her usual after-battle assessment, appearing impressed with his ability to defend as well as he had. Nor did she criticize him for taking the chance to counterattack. In fact, it was Blake who received the most pointed criticism, a reminder that relying too heavily on her Semblance could make her predictable. Blake appeared to take the criticism in stride. All told, she seemed a good sport, though she barely gave Jaune a second glance, once the match was over.
The rest of the week was fairly routine, going by the routine they'd already established. Pushed by his teammates, Jaune worked as hard as he possibly could, doing everything in his power to get better. Ruby and Pyrrha were always encouraging, praising him for his determination, while Weiss contributed in her own way, by continuing to remind him not to get full of himself, and that he couldn't stop trying his best, when Ruby and Pyrrha were working so hard to help him get better.
When Saturday came around, they spent it on a full-day workout this time, rather than going down to the Emerald Forest. Ruby explained that it would be a good idea to take advantage of the recovery power Jaune's enormous Aura afforded him to help him push his physical development as much as possible. Once he did that, learning and practicing techniques would come even more easily to him, not to mention that it would help him hold up better in actual fights.
Straightforward workouts weren't exactly Jaune's cup of tea, but he muddled through all the same. It would be nice to be able to hold his shield and sword for extended periods, without his arms feeling like lead afterwards.
When Sunday came around, they decided to find their own ways to spend the day this time, Weiss claiming that she desperately needed some time to herself, and heading into Vale just after breakfast. Ruby opted to visit the library, looking for some casual reading to entertain herself, while Pyrrha headed to the CCT center in Beacon Tower to call home and talk to her family.
Jaune initially decided to relax in their room for a while, hanging out and playing games on their projector. However, he planned on heading into Vale as well, a little later, in order to visit the local comic shop and pick up the latest issue of X-Ray and Vav. He'd decided to hold off, because he didn't want Weiss to think he was following or stalking her, or something to that end.
It came as a surprise then, when someone knocked hard on his door. Jaune grunted, tensing a little, wondering if CRDL had clued in to the fact he was by himself again. However, he figured it was unlikely, given that even they wouldn't be so stupid as to try something while they were still in the midst of serving their suspension for what they'd already done to him.
With that comforting thought in mind, Jaune went over and opened the door. When he did, he immediately regretted his action, seeing the familiar long mane of blonde hair, full figure, and sunny smile of Yang Xiao Long. Hers was a smile that promised many unpleasant things for him.
Dammit! I forgot about her! Jaune swallowed hard. He'd been so wrapped up in his recent conflict with CRDL that he'd forgotten Yang had cornered him on the first evening of school and read him the Overprotective Big Sister Riot Act. If the too-large smile on her face was anything to go by, Yang clearly didn't think that Jaune was minding his boundaries well enough.
"Hi, Jaune," she said cheerily, her hand immediately going to brace the door, so that he couldn't slam it closed in her face in a panic...which he'd been seriously tempted to do. "I see you're on your own today. Need some company?"
"No, not really!" said Jaune, taking a nervous step back. "But Ruby should be back any moment, so I'm all set for company." Truth be told, he didn't know when Ruby was coming back. She might have been just going to check out a book, or she might have decided to lounge in the library itself for her reading. However, maybe the prospect of facing her hostile little sister might get Yang to back off.
He should have known better than to think he'd be that lucky.
"Aww, that's nice," said Yang. "It just so happens that I scheduled a block in the sparring ring today. But my partner ditched me." Yang checked her scroll. "Oh, it looks like she ran into Ruby in the library, and the two of them are hanging out. I'm proud my little sister is getting so good at making friends."
"Th-that's nice," said Jaune, the string of hope rapidly slipping through his grip. He could already see what Yang had in mind for him. "Uh..well...I hope you find a sparring partner."
"Oh, but I have," said Yang, her smile, somehow, widening even further. Now she stepped into the room. "You see, a certain someone has been a naughty boy, despite my warnings. And now he owes me some time to work out my...frustrations."
Jaune gulped. "Yeah, well...I'm really not feeling up to it right now. Maybe next time-URK!"
Jaune's voice was cut off by a strangled gurgle as Yang gripped the fabric of his T-shirt and lifted him off the ground. "Listen here, Arc!" she snarled. "You're gonna step into the ring with me, or I'm beating your ass, right here in your own dorm. No one's gonna be coming for a while, so I'll have all the time in the world. But, if you come with me to the sparring ring, you'll only have to deal with an hour. And you'll have your weapon with you. So…maybe…you'll have a chance to fight back. So...what's it gonna be?"
"I'll take the ring," croaked Jaune, figuring he didn't have much of a choice.
"Good," said Yang, dropping him. "Get suited up and get your gear and meet me there. If you try to ditch me, it's gonna make what I was gonna put you through look like a walk in the park, got it?"
"Crystal clear," said Jaune.
"Great!" cheered Yang, beaming. "Don't keep me waiting now."
Jaune would have liked to drag his feet getting ready, but he figured that would only make Yang angrier. So he tried to hustle and get his things together as quickly as possible. Ironically, the fact that Beacon had yet to replace his locker had proved to be something of a blessing in that regard, as it meant that he had to keep Crocea Mors in the room with him. So it was only the work of a few minutes to get ready and set out. He reached the sparring ring to find Yang waiting for him.
"Ready for your punishment, Arc?" she asked, smacking the gauntlets that covered her forearms together.
"Nope," said Jaune earnestly. "I don't think I deserve it either."
"What you think doesn't matter, pal," growled Yang. "I warned you not to put your hands on my sister."
"She's always hugged me first," Jaune pointed out.
"I don't care," snarled Yang.
Jaune felt a frustrated growl rise in his throat, his irritation beginning to override his fear. I'm beginning to get why Ruby doesn't want to deal with her. Instead, he forced himself to stay calm, deploying his shield and taking up his sword. He took his usual defensive stance.
Yang's eyes narrowed, and she took her own stance. Jaune could see the tension in every line of her body, a clear indicator that she had no intention of holding back. Worse still, he got the impression that, while she was sure in her superiority, she wasn't nearly as prone to overconfidence as Cardin was. He was in for a pretty serious pounding.
Then Yang exploded into motion. She leaned forward, kicking off the ground, lunging at him. In the same movement, she punched out behind herself, discharging the guns built into her gauntlets, and using the recoil to launch herself at him like a rocket. Jaune yelped and braced himself as she came in, fist coming around to punch him.
Except...he could see it coming. Even before Yang had begun swinging her arm around, Jaune knew which direction the punch was going to be coming from. He knew it from the angle of her body as she shifted to put her weight behind the blow. As her arm actually raised up, he could see which way it was coming from, the angle of her strike. His arm began moving automatically in response, the days of training with Pyrrha, and practicing exactly this sort of skill, prompting him to move without even needing to think about it. His shield rose up, and he caught Yang's punch on its angled surface, subtly shifting it so that her gauntlet skidded off it with a clang, the punch redirected. The sound of the discharge of its guns reached his ear, and the fiery bolt struck the floor near his feet.
Yang immediately followed up with a blow from her opposite arm, the second blow coming so quickly that Jaune barely had time to maneuver his shield back into position, managing to deflect that one as well. For the next few seconds, they stood in close proximity to one another, as Yang unloaded punch after punch at him, and Jaune did his best to keep up with her movements and redirect her shots away from himself.
Hearing the click of one of Yang's gauntlet clips running empty, Jaune saw his chance, and shifted his shield after catching her last punch, deflecting it so that it skidded off to his side and left Yang directly in front of him, her attacking arm extended out. Apparently, she'd been so consumed with the thought of offense, it hadn't occurred to her to defend, so she was left wide open as Jaune lunged past his shield, slashing down at her with his sword.
He heard Yang grunt in surprise and pain as the edge of his blade bit into her Aura, the blow sending her skidding back slightly. She lifted her gaze and her eyes met his. Jaune gulped as he saw that her fiery anger hadn't abated in the slightest. Instead, it appeared he'd stoked it even further by not going down in the first exchange. Now she was even more furious than before, and he was already feeling more than a little worn down by taking her fierce attacks. Pumping her arms, Yang's gauntlets expelled the spent shells, and she pulled two more clips from her belt and tossed them into the air. Swinging in a motion that had clearly been practiced until she'd honed it to perfection, Yang met each clip with an arm, causing it to automatically snap into place on her gauntlet.
When Yang came in again, she changed up her approach. At first, it seemed that she was winding up for another punch. However, just as she was about to come into reach, she jumped, going into a spin. The arm she'd raised punched down, firing a shot, the recoil of which increased the speed of her spin, allowing her to bring her foot around in an axe-kick aimed at Jaune's head.
This time, Jaune was caught off-guard. He'd been too late in realizing what she was up to, making it impossible for him to properly deflect her blow, so he simply put his shield between him and Yang's foot, feeling his entire body reverberate with the force of her kick. She used the rebound of his defense to bounce off his shield and leap over his head to come down behind him.
Jaune was already turning to meet her when Yang touched down. However, he'd only begun practicing that kind of footwork with Pyrrha, so his response was sluggish. He barely had time to put his shield up as Yang's fist came back around. Again, there was no time to shift and deflect. He ended up tanking her punch head-on. The force of the blow sent him skidding back across the floor. Yang had aimed high, so Jaune found himself struggling to maintain his balance, grateful for the basic stance that Pyrrha had taught him, to keep himself from being knocked over completely.
Undaunted by his managing to hold up, Yang charged him again, swinging rapidly. Jaune once again did his best to keep up with her movements, wryly reflecting that, as terrifying as this was, at least he was getting good practice against an opponent not interested in holding back her speed to match his pace. Biding his time, Jaune waited until his ears once again picked up the telltale clicks of Yang's gauntlets emptying their ammo.
This time, he bulled forward with his shield. The movement wasn't one he'd been taught or practiced, but it seemed like a natural idea. Throwing his weight behind the move, Jaune managed to knock Yang back, staggering her and knocking her off-balance. Stepping past his shield, Jaune shouted, leading with a diagonal slash downwards, cutting across Yang's front. He followed through with a backhanded side-swing slashing across her abdomen. Drawing back, Jaune lunged forward with a thrust, completing the sequence of three attacks Pyrrha had taught him, striking Yang right in the center of her chest, and blowing her off her feet. Had her Aura not been protecting her, she would have been impaled.
Yang landed hard on her back, bouncing, then riding out the bounce to come back to her feet. When she came up, the look she flashed Jaune made his mouth go dry. Her fury was only compounded by the fact that he wasn't just folding, but fighting back as well. She reloaded her weapons. Then she charged in again. As she did, her body began to glow, her Aura seeming to expand, wreathing her in a nimbus of flame. Her hair lightened in color, becoming a wave of gold streaming in her wake, almost as though it had been transfigured into tongues of flame. The roar Yang let out as she closed in shook the arena, echoing like thunder.
Jaune braced himself, but it wasn't nearly enough. Yang's next punch came in, a haymaker that he could read easily. Raising his shield, he shifted to deflect...only for it to be nearly wrenched off his arm anyway, the force behind even that glancing impact being enough to almost completely knock the shield aside. Yang followed up with another hooking blow from her opposite fist. Jaune desperately moved his shield back into place, but wasn't quick enough to manage that and deflect the next strike. The force of Yang's punch blew him off his feet.
Jaune was sent flying, and landed on his back, skidding to a stop. Unlike Yang, he wasn't trained well enough to ride his momentum and roll back to his feet. But he knew full well that staying on his back wasn't an option.
"A human opponent might be willing to let you get back up, if they aren't being completely pragmatic," Ruby had told him once, "but a Grimm will never pass up an opportunity to catch you while you're vulnerable. If you wind up on the ground, you need to get up as fast as you can."
It seemed that Yang was going to take after the Grimm in this fight, though she probably wouldn't appreciate the comparison. He heard the discharge of Yang's gauntlets and saw her soar up into the air, fist raised as she descended like a meteor. It seemed that Yang, like Nora, loved a good descending strike. Desperately, Jaune pushed himself off, and managed to roll out of the way as Yang's fist slammed down where he'd been lying a second earlier.
Jaune actually saw the shockwave ripple out from the point of impact, the floor shattering from the force of Yang's blow. The shockwave passed under him, and Jaune found himself blown into the air again. He got lucky though, as it actually knocked him up in such a way that his feet ended up under him. He managed to land in a standing position and quickly got his shield into place again, as Yang rose up from her crouch and turned to face him. However, Jaune found his fear quickly compounded as he saw the shift in the color of her eyes, which had turned from their normal lilac color to a deep, luminous crimson that made his stomach roil.
I'm so screwed, thought Jaune as Yang charged in. There was no deflection. He caught her blow full on with his shield, which sent him sliding back across the floor. Jaune yelped in surprise and pain as his back slammed into the safety barrier. Seeing Yang closing in again, Jaune knew he was in trouble. Deflecting her raw power was mostly impossible. Instead, he decided to use his position to the best advantage he could, bracing his back against the safety barrier and keeping his shield braced to intercept her every attack full-on.
Yang hammered him mercilessly, the explosive force of her shots appearing to have also been increased by the strange surge of power she unleashed, which Jaune assumed to be her Semblance. He tried to keep his shield up and, for the most part, succeeded. Yang's every blow pressed him hard against the safety barrier, but already being braced against it spared him from much of the impact.
Then a hooking punch came in from the side. To his dismay, Jaune realized that this wasn't like the direct swings from earlier. It was deliberately targeting the rim of his shield, now that he was holding it stationary. With that incredible power behind it, Yang's punch struck the shield and sent it, and Jaune's arm, out to the side, nearly pulling Jaune's shoulder from its socket in the process. Now he was wide open, and Yang went to town.
Jaune doubled over as a powerful fist slammed into his stomach, below his chestplate. Then the right side of his head exploded in pain as it was snapped to the left. His entire vision filled with orange and gold fire. Worse still, the hits kept coming, Yang pummeling him without mercy. Unable to get his shield back into position, Jaune put his all into maintaining his Temper, knowing it was the only thing keeping him from being absolutely shattered by Yang's attacks.
Unfortunately, despite his large reserves of Aura, Jaune realized that Yang was rapidly burning them away. Temper held up better than a basic Aura-defense, but Yang's raw power was putting a huge dent in it with each strike. Cardin's heaviest mace swings didn't even pack half as much raw power as each punch Yang unloaded into him.
Finally, Jaune felt his Temper faltering, not because he was losing control, but because his Aura was almost out. He was down to his last reserves. Just as he was sure that Yang was about to break through, she abruptly stopped. A buzzer echoing through the room was the reason why. Apparently Jaune had reached the critical zone. His legs wobbled and he began to fall forward.
But he was stopped when Yang's hand closed around his neck, lifting him up and pushing him back up against the barrier again. For a moment, Jaune's vision was too wobbly for him to even make out the girl keeping him upright. Finally, his eyes cleared up and he saw Yang. The glow had faded from her body, her hair returning to its normal shade. However, her eyes were still that fierce red.
"I'm only going to say this one more time," she snarled. "Stay away from my sister."
Is she kidding me? Jaune lamented silently. We live in the same room, for crying out loud!
"If I catch you touching her again, I'm not going to stop next time," she continued. "I'll keep going until I break your Aura, then I'll break you. This is your second warning. Three strikes and you're out."
Dammit! What does she think she's doing here? wondered Jaune. Does she actually think that Ruby would want this?
"Now, you're going to nod your head and agree with me," said Yang.
Jaune's impulse was to do exactly that. Yang terrified him far more than the entirety of Team CRDL, or even a large pack of Grimm, did. He didn't understand that incredible power she'd unleashed, but the last thing he wanted was to be on the receiving end of a beating like that again.
But another part, deeper inside him rebelled. It wasn't fair at all. He hadn't done anything wrong. Yang was incensed, apparently by the fact that Ruby sometimes hugged him and he hugged her back. Hell! She probably didn't care if he did or didn't hug Ruby back, it was the physical contact alone that was enough to set her off. There was no way Jaune was about to let her push him around because she was upset that Ruby wasn't talking to her.
Jaune did what his teammates told him because he knew full well that they had his best interests at heart, that they were working to help him become stronger, and become the Huntsman he wanted to be. Yang was apparently just jealous that she didn't get to hug Ruby the way Jaune did, jealous that Ruby had become so close to him, while she was pushed away. She was acting out that jealousy by playing up the protective big-sister role, and going all out on punishing him for exaggerated infractions. Jaune would be damned if he let her push him around for that.
If she breaks me, she'll get in serious trouble with the teachers, thought Jaune. He knew that, by the standards of his personal machismo (what little he had), that was a pretty lame defense. But he'd take what vindication he could, if it came to that.
"Do it!" snapped Yang, her patience strained by Jaune's pause.
"Forget...it," Jaune croaked back, finding that, between the beating he'd taken and Yang's hand around his throat, his voice wasn't exactly in the best shape. Just trying to speak gave his windpipe a painful, scratchy sensation.
"What?" growled Yang, her grip tightening slightly, albeit at the sides of his neck, so that she wasn't strangling him...yet.
"I'm not...going along with your demands," Jaune hissed. "I'm not going to keep away from Ruby...because you threaten me. I don't give in to bullies."
"I'm gonna rip your head off," growled Yang, her Aura beginning to shine.
"You think Ruby's ever gonna patch things up with you...if you do that?" asked Jaune. "Do anything like...that...and she'll never forgive you. She wouldn't...want this."
"I don't care what she wants," said Yang. "As long as I can keep her safe, that's all that matters."
Despite the state he was in, Jaune couldn't quite hold back a dark chuckle at Yang's words.
"Something funny?" she asked, her eyes narrowing, her free hand coming up as a fist.
"It's just..." Jaune coughed, his neck jolting painfully against Yang's grip around it. Despite his situation, he found himself smirking. "And you wonder why she ran away."
"Oh! That does it!" snapped Yang, her fist cocking back to swing at his head.
Pushed her too far, Jaune thought, feeling resigned to his fate. Well...I stood my ground. At least I can take that to my grave. Sorry, Ruby.
Abruptly, the resistance at his back, the barrier Yang was holding him up against, vanished. Of course, that didn't exactly do him much good.
"STOP!"
A hand, extending out from a loose, green sleeve, reached in from the edge of Jaune's vision, a shimmering, magenta barrier appearing between its open palm and Yang's incoming fist, stopping it fast. Another hand reached past it, slipping in under the protective cover of the gauntlet, grabbing Yang's wrist, thumb jamming hard into the joint, prompting Yang to cry out and release Jaune, who dropped to the floor, his entire body feeling limp.
Jaune's savior released Yang's wrist, and stepped in before repositioning his hand and striking straight ahead, slamming his open palm into Yang's stomach. There was another flash of purple, and Yang was blown back across the ring, landing on her back and skidding to a stop, either thrown too off-balance by the attack, or too weary from her own exertions, to ride her momentum back up into a standing position again.
Jaune looked up, finding himself staring at the back of a green tailcoat and a head of long, black hair tied into a tail. It was a familiar back.
"Hey, Ren," he said weakly.
Ren looked back over his shoulder and nodded silently at Jaune, before turning to face Yang, keeping him firmly between the two of them. "This has gone far enough," he declared. "You're stopping here, Yang."
"Get out of my way, Ren," hissed Yang, getting to her feet, her eyes flickering between red and lilac. Jaune noticed her posture was slumped. He wondered if that was because of Ren's blow, or if Yang was just that spent from their fight.
That didn't seem likely. He hadn't gotten that many hits on her, four in total, if he remembered correctly.
"No," said Ren firmly. "I don't care how justified you think you are, I won't let a member of my team do this to a friend."
"Shut up!" snapped Yang. "Just because you're my leader doesn't mean you get to just tell me what to do all the time! I'm doing this for Ruby!"
"Is that so?" asked Ren, reaching into his pocket and producing his scroll. "So then...you don't mind if I call her, and let her know what you're doing."
Yang's eyes stopped flickering red and her skin paled. Her arms went limp, dangling by her side.
"The fact that you don't want her to find out means you know what you're doing is wrong," said Ren simply. "Your demands are unreasonable, and you have no right to dictate Jaune's actions in that way, much less punish him for them."
"I'm Ruby's sister!" Yang shouted, her tone desperate. "It's my job-"
"No, it isn't," said Ren sharply, cutting her off. "It's not your place right now, especially not if Ruby doesn't want you to. She's made it perfectly clear that she does not want your protection. You have to accept that, if you ever want any hope of making amends with her. Follow through on your threats, and I can guarantee that she will never forgive you."
That appeared to take the last of the wind from Yang's sails, and she fell to her knees.
"Don't harass Jaune again," said Ren firmly. "If you do, Ruby will know...and I'll let her tell you what she thinks."
Yang fell forward, holding herself up with her hands, staring at the floor, tears dripping incessantly from her eyes.
Ren sighed and turned to Jaune. "Can you stand?" he asked.
"Uh..." Jaune struggled, trying to get to his feet. But his limbs shook, and he could barely manage to push himself up from a prone position.
Ren knelt by him and hooked Jaune's arm over his shoulder and lifted him up. "You're spent," he said. "It's not surprising. I'm impressed you lasted as well as you did."
"Thanks," said Jaune, as Ren helped him out of the sparring room.
"You shouldn't be thanking me, and I need to apologize," said Ren with a sigh. "I shouldn't have let things go that far. If I'd just done my job as leader properly, this might not have happened."
"It's not your fault," said Jaune. "I get the feeling that Yang isn't the listening type, when she's angry."
"Yet, I should have better control over my team," said Ren. He smiled at Jaune. "But that was quite the spectacle to watch."
"There for the whole thing?" asked Jaune.
"For most of it," confirmed Ren. "Your defense is coming along nicely, considering how little training you've had."
Jaune's stomach lurched, and his heart shuddered. "Y-you noticed, huh?"
Ren sighed and hung his head. "Seriously...don't admit it so easily. Not everyone will handle it as well as me."
"Duly noted," said Jaune, imagining just how furious Yang would be if she'd learned he'd lied about his transcripts, on top of everything else she apparently hated him for.
"You've been working hard," Ren noted.
"Yeah, Pyrrha and Ruby have been helping a lot," said Jaune.
"It shows," said Ren. "Not many people, even those who had prior training, could stand up to Yang's Semblance like that."
"So that was her Semblance," Jaune muttered.
"It allows her to absorb power from attacks," said Ren. "She stores it up inside of her, so that she can release it in an explosive burst of power."
"Explosive is the right word for it," said Jaune.
Ren chuckled. Then he sighed. "Listen, you have every right to be upset with Yang for what she did. But...could you bring yourself to forgive her, just this once?"
A slight bubble of anger rose up inside of Jaune. "Why should I?" he muttered.
"She's very upset," said Ren.
"I couldn't tell," deadpanned Jaune.
Ren sighed again. "She desperately wants to connect with her sister, but Ruby refuses to engage with her as much as possible. But then she sees you, often fulfilling the role she wants to be in herself."
"What, an older sibling?" asked Jaune with a frown. "If anything, Ruby takes care of me, more than the other way around."
"But you do support her emotionally," said Ren. "You encourage her through your faith in her strength and abilities. Yang wants to do that, but finds herself kept at a distance. She has difficulty dealing with her anger and frustration at that. The last thing she wants is to be angry at Ruby, so she uses the person she sees as having supplanted her as her chosen outlet."
"Which is me," said Jaune.
"Yes," said Ren with yet another sigh. "If Ruby was willing to meet her halfway, or at least talk to her, this might not be such a problem. But I'm not going to make Ruby do anything she doesn't want to do. So...just this time, let it go please. I'll try to keep Yang in line. If she does it again, I'll tell Ruby myself."
"Okay," said Jaune.
"Thank you," said Ren. "We're here."
They'd arrived at the door to RASP's room. Jaune managed to enter the room on his own. Staggering over, he collapsed on his bed, exhausted, feeling like he needed a nap. Granted, he should probably strip out of his armor and take a shower, get himself cleaned up before Ruby and the others got back, lest they wonder what he was up to.
Once again, a perfectly good day off was disrupted by someone with a grudge against him. I wonder if I'm ever gonna have a truly relaxing Sunday, Jaune wondered with a tired sigh of his own.
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