Chapter: 1

Observations

A RWBY Fanfiction

By: Delvakiir

Jaune Arc panted with exhaustion; his blond hair stuck to his face with sweat. A cold wind blew across the rooftop swaddling him in its chilling touch. He let out a long breath of air sending steam billowing around his haggard features. Jaune wasn't going to last much longer and he knew it. The tip of his sword kissed the ground as he lost the strength to wield it in his numbing fingers. His shield as well seemed to increase in weight for every drop of sweat on his brow. However, despite his exhaustion tonight was the longest he'd ever lasted in a sparring match against Pyrrha, but he was beginning to tire, and quickly. Gritting his teeth he willed more energy into his aching limbs and attempted to tighten his defensive stance. But his sparring partner had been watching his movements carefully and didn't miss the brief hole in his defense. Lunging forward with her weapon she aimed for the gap between his sword and shield. Jaune managed to pivot to the right just in time, knocking Pyrrha's blow aside with his shield leaving her wide open.

Jaune mustered the last of his energy, sidestepping to the right he brought his sword down in an overhead strike attempting to take advantage of Pyrrha's sudden lapse in defense. Still in the midst of regaining her balance she had no chance of evasion. A triumphant grin spread across Jaune's face as he followed through with his swing. But Pyrrha didn't evade. In an instant she snapped her own shield above her head, harmlessly glancing Jaune's sword out of the way. Jaune's eyes widened, his sword kicking up a stream of sparks as his blade swept across Pyrrha's shield. Jaune knew Pyrrha was fast, but this was ridiculous. Could she have been holding back that much!? Almost as if she were answering his question Pyrrha swept with her leg taking Jaune clean off his feet and onto his back.

Jaune landed hard on the cold rooftop, blasting the wind from his lungs sending his sword and shield clattering to the ground beside him. He rushed to sit up and bring his weapons to bear but was stopped by Pyrrha's foot thudding firmly into his chest forcing him back down to the ground.

Pyrrha stood over Jaune, the glint in her eye boring into him with an unmatched intensity. Standing against the backdrop of the night sky, cold wind blowing through her beautiful, long, crimson hair he couldn't help but equate her to the warrior goddesses in the stories of old.

"Do you yield?" Pyrrha asked pointedly.

Jaune held his determined gaze for a moment longer before sliding away into a grin, "I almost had you that time."

Pyrrha removed her foot from Jaune's chest. Taking a step back she took a long measuring look at her leader. She watched as Jaune wiped off a bit of blood from a bit lip as he struggled to sit up, still wheezing for breath. Pyrrha couldn't help but smile as she looked down at him. Their nightly training had begun to show results. As the weeks went by his skills had improved bit by bit. His body was becoming more lean and strong and the way he'd begun to carry himself with more balance and grace hadn't escaped her keen eyes.

"Almost, but not quite," said Pyrrha with a smile, offering her hand out to Jaune.

Jaune accepted the helping hand as she pulled him to his feet. Pausing to dust himself off he slowly bent down to pick up his weapons. Jaune moved sluggishly, and Pyrrha was about to reprimand him for his lack of endurance. Then she caught sight of Jaune's forlorn expression. Her features softened as she realized his sluggishness wasn't due to weariness, but disappointment at losing yet again.

Pyrrha bent down to look him in the eye, "You've made excellent progress since we've started doing these sessions, you know?" she added cheerfully.

"You really think so?" said Jaune, his expression brightening somewhat.

Pyrrha smiled, in many ways Jaune was just like a kid. His emotions could fly to the opposite end of the spectrum at any given moment. Others might consider it a weakness, but it was what made Jaune, Jaune. Pyrrha didn't want him any other way. His freeness with his emotions made him approachable. It was why despite his lacking in many areas that he was a good leader. He was endearing and kind and could talk to just about anyone. Even if he needed the occasional boost to his confidence Pyrrha just took that as being able to rely on others.

"I do," she reassured him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Jaune's smile nearly reached his ears and seemed to light up the dark rooftop. Pyrrha, as well as the rest of Team JNPR, enjoyed seeing that smile. She promised herself she'd do everything in her power to make sure that it would never disappear. But that meant she had to get her new leader up to par quick or else he really would get gobbled up by a Beowolf. Pyrrha looked into Jaune's crystal blue eyes and saw a number of things: fear, yearning, trepidation. But beyond that there was something there hadn't been before- determination. She could see it burning deep in his eyes. She watched it begin overpower all of the negativity that seemed to encompass Jaune, if only a little.

"At least he's making progress," she thought to herself with a smile.

It occurred to her that she'd been staring into his eyes for far too long. Turning her head sharply to the side she broke his gaze. She felt her ears grow warm, and it took her a few seconds to coordinate her thoughts before she could sputter a response, "Y-You've got the makings of a great huntsman inside you, Jaune. I-I just know it." She said with a shaky voice. Jaune paused for a moment seeming at a loss for words. After a moment he returned the smile earnestly. "Thank you, Pyrrha. I never would have gotten this far without your help."

"Oh, I wouldn't go that far!" said Pyrrha, feeling her blood begin to creep from her ears into her cheeks.

Jaune looked puzzled, "Pyrrha, you ok? Your face is all red."

Pyrrha's head jerked down, "It's just the cold air. Come on, we should get back before Ren and Nora start to wonder where we are!" Taking a quick step passed him she opened the door to leave.

Jaune watched his partner step through the threshold of the door to the stairwell and disappear out of sight. He chuckled to himself, and not for the first time, counted himself lucky to have a friend like Pyrrha by his side.

"Alright, I'm coming," said Jaune, following behind her with a smile. The two teammates left the roof, leaving no trace of their presence there. Nobody knew of their secret training sessions, and that's how it would stay. It was their time to grow closer as friends and comrades who were part of the same team. He valued his time with Pyrrha. She was always willing to help him no matter what. She was making him strong, making it so that he could follow his dream, and he would never forget that. One day, when he was strong enough, he would pay Pyrrha back for all she'd done. But he had to get stronger to do that, and the first step would be beating his partner. He closed the door behind him, resolving that the next time they fought…he would win.

If the two students had been more observant they might have noticed they were being watched, but alas they were too wrapped up in their own affairs to notice the dark silhouette against the backdrop of the broken moon. A smile crept across the figures as he looked down from his perch upon one of Beacon Academy's many spires. He looked down at the dim rooftop and pondered as his coat billowed in the increasing breeze. He tapped his boot heels together and breathed in the chilled autumn air, pondering over what the two students had said to one another after their parlay had ended. Their sweet words told of a strong bond between the two of them.

His nose crinkled as he sneered. Affection was a sweet poison, drink too much and you'd end up dead, and it was clear the girl was drinking her fill. It was unfortunate that teenagers had a stubborn habit of getting in their own way. He doubted her companion knew anything at all of her true feelings. Though he didn't know how. He'd only been observing them a few weeks and even he could see it plain as day. Ah, the troubles of youth. His ears perked up as he caught himself thinking that and couldn't contain a chuckle. He shook his head sending his pitch black mane swinging wildly about. He sounded like an old codger. He wasn't that much older than they, but perhaps a fair bit more jaded.

He remembered how the boy had moved this time. It was clear he had improved somewhat since he had first began observing them. His vivid green eyes had followed their every move, and he had to admit that the girl was training him well. She might even do well as an instructor someday. He remembered back a few weeks ago when he'd first discovered them. It had been a night much like this one and he had been sitting in the exact same spot. At first he had paid no heed to them, content to simply let them go about their business and gaze at the moon. That is until he had heard a certain bit of information that was just too good to pass up.

The boy, Jaune Arc, had lied his way into Beacon! The wind suddenly picked up blowing a small whirlwind of leaves past his smiling face. That had captured his interest fully. His first thought had been to go straight to Professor Ozpin just to see the look on his face when he realized he'd let this slip by. Maybe it would even give him the edge he needed against the old huntsman. Plus the added entertainment of seeing the boy drug off to face criminal charges for forging documents, of course.

Picturing it all had brought a smile to his face, and as the imagery filled his mind once more the wind seemed to blow just a little more fiercely. It was as if the night itself was sharing in his revelry and was growing more excited with each passing moment. The blowing wind sent a few locks of his hair into his eyes. He pushed she rogue strands aside and laughed. The wind always seemed to pick up with him around. It was as if it were carrying people's secrets straight into his ears.

The thought made his tail begin to wag back and forth and swish to and fro of its own accord. He reached back and firmly grasped it putting a stop the annoying habit. It made him feel just a little too much like a dog given a treat; the thought made his skin crawl.

The figure sighed and smoothed out his tail. As much as he'd have liked to go through with his first impulse he'd ultimately decided against going to Ozpin, "One does not pick fruit from a tree until it has ripened," he thought to himself with a smile as he ran a hand through his tail's black fur.

He'd always liked being one step ahead of everyone else. It gave him cards to play, an ace in the hole if he needed it, and as far as he was concerned there were never too many aces in the deck. Besides, these two had been his only entertainment as of late. Without them maintaining his interest he would have nothing to occupy his time. Other than be lectured by Ozpin and his devilish assistant Goodwitch about his avoiding the assignments they gave him.

The sudden thought of work jolted him back to reality, "Speaking of which, I have a meeting to get to," he said, reminding himself aloud. He turned his gaze to the moon and noted its position in the twinkling night sky. Judging by its position it was around eleven o'clock. The figures smiled, the night was still young; he had time.

He found his attention being brought back to the moon and as he stared at it he couldn't help but feel a profound sense of sadness. It was truly a thing of beauty, horrible beauty of something once complete but now terribly scarred. Yet from the broken chunks of the moon stubbornly caught in its infinite grasp it gave the sense of it striving to be whole once more. What he would give to see it once when it was full.

He stood there a long while in a daze, mesmerized as he often was by the glorious sight. Feeling his eyes glaze over he sat back down, against his better judgment, and laid back on the spires domed roof. He was overwhelmed by a blissful calm as he watched the dark clouds of the night sky list lazily past the pale light of the moon engraving them with a bright silver lining. He didn't know how long he sat there lost in a trance but when he eventually pulled himself back to the present he felt his face tighten into a grimace when he saw how high the moon had risen.

He let out a long sigh, half in annoyance and half in resignation. He supposed he shouldn't dawdle any longer. After all, he had an important meeting to get to. Which he apparently was going to be late for. Turning, he rolled off the roof and sailed down into the blackness below. For any human, such an act in the pitch black of night would be considered suicidal. But for a Faunus like himself with his night vision it was child's play. He landed lightly on the balls of his feet on a stone ledge far below. Gripping its edge he swung down to ground level and started off at a leisurely pace towards his destination. He didn't bother to hurry. After all he was already late so there was no real reason to rush.

His associates could wait a while longer...