Chapter 26

Opening the temporary locker which I was designated from the school, I breathe out a sigh as I stare at the cold and empty piece of metal used for storage. It was large, large enough to fit Cardin inside. No wonder the bully was able to shove the blond inside his own locker during the Jaundice arc.

Closing the locker, I look behind to see both Ruby and Yang storing their own weapons inside their own lockers – with much difficulty on Ruby’s part. Yang was busy laughing her ass off while she looked at her younger sister who was looking more and more like a kicked puppy.

“Do we have to?” Ruby whined, arms refusing to let go of Crescent Rose.

“Hey, you heard what Deputy Headmistress Goodwitch said. All weapons inside the lockers.” Ruby pouted some more. Reaching my hand over, I ruffled her hair with a smile on my face.

“Jaaaaack! Not my hair again!” She swiped my hand away with exaggerated movements, her pout growing even more, all the while Yang looked at the spectacle, her laughter still unceasing. “You already know how much I hate you doing that…”

“Then stop being a child. Put your weapon inside the cold, metal cage, where the warmth of its owner will never be felt.” A sly grin floated up my face as Ruby continued to look more and more heartbroken, her arms even more taut than earlier. Tears began pooling in the corner of her eyes and Yang laughed even harder.

“Jaaaack! Why would you say that!?” Ruby hid Crescent Rose behind her. “Oh, I’m sorry baby, he didn’t mean that. Jack was just being a meanie.”

I snickered at the attempt to console an inanimate object. Seeing Ruby like this was just tons of fun. Sure, this may be categorized as bullying, but in my defense, Yang was doing it, Ruby does it to me sometimes, and I just wanted payback. These half-sisters are a menace to society, let me tell you that.

“Why? It’s true. The locker is cold. It’s made of metal. And you can’t touch Crescent Rose while it’s inside there.” I flashed a grin and Ruby looked closer and closer to crying. Probably having enough of it, Yang butted in, though she still snickered every now and then.

“Okay, that’s enough. Jack, I know how much you like teasing my ‘lil sis, but any more than that and Rubes is gonna cry a waterfall, and you know we can’t have that in the locker room, where the others are watching.” She waved her arms around, my eyes catching sight of the other onlookers either with amused grins or confused observations. “Plus, you making yourself look like an ass again.” Yang glared at the onlookers and they all averted their gaze, going back to what they were doing prior.

“Ah, shit. My bad.” I rubbed the back of my head, heat crawling up my cheeks as I realized I let myself go again. Looking back at Ruby, who looked like a kicked puppy, I approached with an apologetic smile. “Yo, Rubes. Sorry about that, just got carried away with the whole… teasing you bit.”

She turned around with a pout, eyes still watery but now a shaky grin was floating up her face. Her arms were no longer holding Crescent Rose tightly, instead, what I found was a jar with the label ‘SWEAR’ right at the front of it.

“You swore.” Ruby’s eyes had a glint in them. “Pay up.”

“... You little minx.” I chuckled as I fished out a card of Lien from my pocket. “Fine, take it.”

The card rattled inside the glass jar and Ruby immediately hid it inside her locker, followed by Crescent Rose – which she did in great difficulty. When she was done, she was pulled to the side by Yang, head locked in her arms as the blond’s knuckles came down on top of her head as it grinded against it.

“Ow! Yang! Stop! That hurts!” Ruby growled like a little lion, oblivious to Yang’s amused smirk.

“Hey, Jack isn’t the only one allowed to tease you.” I let out a chuckle as I observed the two sisters bicker amongst each other. Leaving them alone for the moment, because God knows that Ruby needed her sister now more than ever, I left the locker room, only to run face to face with a ginger with a wide smile.

“Hi! You’re the loudmouth from the airship!” Nora motherfucking Valkyrie didn’t care for personal space, her face so close to mine, our lips could nearly touch each other. That wasn’t what took my attention, however. What did were the manic eyes that looked like she was currently high on crack. “I’m Nora! Nora Valkyrie! What’s your name?”

Fuck, did Ren give her sugar?

“E-er… Jack. Jack Alano. Could you… move up a bit? Personal space and all?” Nora blinked and I swore I could see the gears in her head turn when looking into those aqua pearls that functioned as the doorway to the soul.

“Oops! Sorry.” The ginger retreated from my personal space, allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief without having another person judge the stink of my breath – not that it was stinky, it’s just a metaphor, okay? “Keep on forgetting about personal space and whatnot, you know?”

She knocked on her head twice for good measure, showing just how goofy she was to interact with in person. I swear, how the hell did Ren survive with her for the most of his life? I’d probably go insane just taking care of her.

“Yeah… Anyway, can I help you? You did call me a loudmouth, but I think you’re even more of a loudmouth than me.” I raised an eyebrow as Nora ooh’d at the accusation.

“Ohhhh… How’d you know?” Nora’s grin reached the corner of her ears. Kind of creepy looking, but hey, it’s a Nora classic. Can’t be Nora if she isn’t the least bit insane, now can she?

“Let’s just say that I have… some experience with personalities like yours.” Said experience being from that of the Nora in the show. Don’t know how that translates to real life, but if she’s anything like her show counterpart, then I needed to be prepared for the unhingedness that was Nora Valkyrie. “Also, I saw you with someone back in the airship.” No, I didn’t. I just knew that she never separated from Ren because she was a clingy girl. “Where is he?”

“Oh, you mean Ren?” Nora pointed a finger behind me. Turning around, I saw Ren looking at me with an expressionless face, effectively spooking me like I was in a haunted house.

“Holy shi- When’d you get there?” I clutched my chest, my heart beating so fast it could probably make tracks along the entirety of Beacon.

“Since Nora greeted you.” Ren just shrugged his shoulders, the pink highlight of his hair catching my attention. “Lie Ren, but please call me Ren. Nice to meet you, Jack.”

“Okay…” I put my hand forward, Ren looking at it funny for a moment before he clasped it with his own. Giving a firm shake, both of us looked in each other’s eyes, mine giving him condolences and his giving me grateful acceptance.

I pity the man for what he has to do to placate Nora. Hell, giving her the wrong food could probably spell the apocalypse. She might be an even greater danger than Salem ever would be if she was fed sugar 24/7.

Jokes aside, Lie Ren really had my sympathies. Letting go of his hand, both of us nodded, all the while Nora stared at us curiously.

“Huh? What happened? Is it something only boys could understand? Can I join? Or is it only for the boys?” Nora butted in with the subtlety of a Goliath.

“Nora, please. You’re making Jack uncomfortable. Remember, personal space?” Ren gave Nora a look, causing the ginger to blink.

“Ah, oops. Sorry again.” Nora backed off whistling. “By the way, Rennie? Where’s my pancakes?”

“... I think you better go, Jack.” Ren’s face all but pleaded me to leave. Leaning closer, he whispered into my ear. “You do not want to see her with pancakes.”

“... Noted.” Nodding absentmindedly, I left the two to their own devices. Once I was a few paces away from them, I looked back, only to see Ren nearly suffocating to death with Nora hugging the ever-living hell out of him. With how Aura worked and since most of the fandom agreed that Nora was physically the strongest out of the two teams, yeah, gotta say I did not envy Ren right now.

With that fiasco behind – and my safety from Nora assured – I had nothing but free time today… What the hell am I supposed to do now?

“Uh, hey… Jack, right?” A masculine-yet-not voice called me from behind. Turning around, I saw Jaune looking at me with an uneasy smile. “So, uhh… Wanna hang out?”

“... Eh, sure. Got nothing to do anyway.” I shrugged and hung an arm around the blond. “So, Jaune, right?”

[][][]

Half an hour later and both Jaune and I were strolling around the entire academy with a slow and steady gait.

“So, you ever read comics?” Jaune asked with an embarrassed smile. “Childish, I know, what with us preparing to be Huntsmen…”

“Hey, there will be no kink-bashing when I’m around.” I wiggled my eyebrows and the blond blushed.

“Not those kinds of comics!” Jaune palmed his face with his two hands, his white skin flushed like a ripe tomato. “A-Anyway, you read them?”

“... Bruh, here’s a simple hint. What kind of non-respecting male would not read comics?” I looked at Jaune like he had grown a second head. “If you wanna talk shop, then just lemme know. Just need to make sure that I know the content first.”

“O-oh… I thought… Nevermind.” Jaune scratched the back of head, a bit embarrassed. “It’s just… Back in Ansel, nobody read comics, just me, and some of my sisters. Otherwise, they’re just normal, old people.”

“Well, that’s the thing. Comics are catered to the younger audience, of course the old people aren’t gonna get into it, unless it fits their tastes.” I shrugged and let the naive blond let reality sink in.

“Oh… That… that actually makes perfect sense.” Jaune hummed as he cupped his chin with his hand. He then muttered something to himself that I wasn’t able to hear. Waving a hand in front of his face, he didn’t respond, so when he bumped into something and stumbled back with a yelp, I couldn’t help but snigger to myself.

“Ow… What the…” Jaune rubbed at his face, eyes closed. Looking at the thing, or person he bumped into, a smile floated up my face.

“Hey Velvet. Where’s Coco?” The bunny girl Faunus straightened her posture upon seeing me, a faint smile floating up her face.

“She’s back in the dorms resting her eyes.” Velvet’s rabbit ears twitched, my eyes looking directly at them. “Erm… Should you help your friend here?”

“He’s here to be a Huntsman, if he can’t handle standing up on his own, then he shouldn't be here in the first place.” My eyes refocused on Jaune, the blond stiffening at the subtle accusation. Don’t get me wrong, Jaune was a great character, but what if he wasn’t? What if he didn’t have that tactical mind and the resolve to continue even when the chips were down?

What he did was stupid. He’s lucky that Ozpin saw potential in him, otherwise he would’ve been rejected. Then there was the worst case scenario, Jaune gets to take the test then dies to a Beowulf. If that wasn’t the worst case scenario, I don’t know what is.

There is one problem, however. Will the initiation follow canon? With Jaune being paired up with Pyrrha, thus saving his life, or will my existence cause him to die because of the butterfly effect?

If that was the case, should I unlock his aura now? Maybe find a safe place before doing it so the others won’t see a student trying to become a Huntsman without aura? It would be hella awkward if the other students found out, plus, it would mean that Jaune wasn’t trained.

If he were to be the Jaune that I know of in canon, with one of the most busted Semblances, he needed to attend Beacon. Plus, canon is already fucked anyway, what with Roman and Neo behind bars – unless they manage to escape with the help of Salem’s golden girl, Cinder.

“Oh, I see.” Velvet eyed the blond, Jaune trembling slightly at the older girl’s gaze. “I think I should be going now… Coco’s waiting for me back at the dorm… So… See you later…?”

“Yep. Expect me to be a shoe in.” I grinned, Jaune beside me looking at me with pursed lips. His ass was still on the ground, though, something to correct. “By the way, Jaune, the ground comfortable for you yet?”

It took a long moment before he realized that he was still sitting on his ass. In an instant, he jumped up, body as stiff as a rod.

“Next time, pay attention to your surroundings.” I said to Jaune and waved Velvet goodbye. Seeing her walk past us with a cute little smile, my day grew brighter. Now then, time to address the elephant in the room. “Jaune, come with me for a moment.”

“Wh-what? Why?” Probably sensing the change in my demeanor, Jaune grew visibly uncomfortable.

“It’s important. You don’t want to die during the initiation, do you?” My eyes grew sharp as I stared at him like a hawk. “Like, seriously, fake transcripts with no prior training, what in the Brother’s name are you thinking?” I whispered that part as low as possible, to make sure that possible eavesdroppers may not hear him.

The effect was instantaneous, his skin paling as fast as paper burning.

“I d-don’t know what you’re talking about?” Jaune’s chuckles were fucking obvious as all hell. Seeing that I wasn’t letting up, he squeaked, actually squeaked, and brought me to a desolate place in the area. “How do you know about that?”

“Me and Headmaster Ozpin have a bit of a friendship.” I clutched him closer to me, my voice barely a whisper. “And I know some information about those that piqued his interests. One of them was you.”

“O-Oh… Shit… Did… did they really know?”

“Yep, from the start.” I nodded and Jaune looked like he had bitten a sour lemon. “The thing I don’t understand, however, is why Ozpin would allow you to take the exam… From what he said, you have your Aura still locked.”

“... My what now?” And now I had to make a face.

“... Seriously? Did you really not do some research before applying here?” Jaune scratched the back of his head and I knew he was serious. “Holy shit. You… Okay, that’s it. You stay still. I haven’t done this yet, but I know the gist of how to do it…”

Like how Ozpin did it with me, he let his Aura slow into mine, basically bearing his very old soul to me. And as Ozpin did to me, I did to Jaune. Bearing my very own soul to this naive, blond boy in hopes of not having him die a tragic death, I stimulated his own soul with mine.

Jaune gasped while sweat pooled beneath my brows. Grunting, I let our souls embrace and drag his soul out in the open. One thing I didn’t take into account is the fact that Jaune had ridiculous Aura levels, causing me to drop to a knee when all was said and done.

“Woah… This… This is Aura…?” Jaune marveled as he saw thin, translucent barrier protecting him, its white color gleaming off his skin. “I feel… I feel great… Like I’ve been sleep-deprived this whole time! Jack! I… Woah! Are you okay!?”

“I’m fine…” I waved him off, my breaths coming in short gasps. “Just… Just need to rest… I didn’t think it would be this exhausting…” And embarrassing, but better not tell that to Jaune. Sorry, Pyrrha, but you will not be able to unlock your future crush’s Aura… That is if he becomes your crush in the first place.

“You need some help?”

“Very…”

Welp, I’d say this was a productive day. And since I’m feeling like shit, might as well claim my stakes on the good spots in the Grand Hall. Ain’t no way I’m letting anybody get a nice, dark spot where the sun won’t shine on my eyes when I wake up. God, I hate it every time that happens.