20

Chapter 20 – Beacon Dormroom Massacre

It was satisfying, feeling her fist slam into Cardin's stomach.

Or was that his arm. It was difficult to tell…

Being in a body not your own was a bizarre experience. Somehow closer and more intimate than any other, yet incredibly distant at the same time. Blake was unconscious, unable to communicate or perceive what was going on. In that way he almost felt lonely.

And yet at that moment, within her… he was Blake. He was everything that made her… well, her.

And it hurt. She hurt. For all her little sarcastic quips and unflappable gestures, Blake's psyche was a torturous place, filled with anger, grief, and doubt… not to mention unrelenting guilt.

His Blake was a little ball of hurt.

He hated that.

From the muscles in his legs, which burned at the mere effort of standing upright. To that constant burning in her chest, a lingering pain that was more emotional than physical. Even her aura was low, depleted through goodness knew what… being Blake didn't allow him access to her memories, not in any definitive way, and even if it had he didn't think he would have dared look.

"You bitch," Cardin growled as he recovered from the earlier strike, his frame rising tall above her as he reached out with one hand. As tall as he was compared to her, it was nothing compared to how terrifying he'd seemed while trapped in the bear. Amber eyes narrowed.

How dare he try to touch her!?

"Don't even dare," he caught the hand by the wrist, twisting it even as his smaller frame slipped under the teen's arm – before using that leverage to catapult Cardin across the room. The large teen yelped as he slammed into his own armour, clattering among them with a sound like a Boarbatusk in a kitchen. "Don't you ever touch me again Winchester. Don't even think about it. You don't have the right."

"H-hey!" One of the bastard's teammates shouted, drawing forth a dagger and running forward. Jaune felt a small sigh escape her lips as he turned to regard the charging teen. Fast by anyone else's standards, even his own – when he'd still been alive.

But to Blake Belladonna?

What a joke…

Muscle memory kicked into action, instinctual knowledge flowing through his mind as he parried the strike with the side of Blake's forearm, catching the blade at just the right point to deflect it without being cut. Momentum carried the attacker the rest of the way, his face slamming into her elbow. His legs seemed to keep running, his lower body swinging beneath her comically as his nose impacted on hard bone.

He could kill them, he knew that. Blake knew how – a hundred little opportunities flashing before his eyes. It would be as easy as stamping once on his throat, not even his aura would protect him from her heel striking his windpipe. It would be an end to his racism, an end to the cruelty he would no doubt place on all faunus-kind.

It would be so easy…

"Rarghhh!" The remaining two attacked together, weapons swinging as he ducked backwards, using the downed boy's body as an obstacle to check their attack. Blake hadn't brought Gambol Shroud with her, but that hardly mattered – her body was as much a weapon as Crocea Mors had ever been.

Leaping forward Jaune leapt above the first strike, hands slamming down onto one teen's shoulders in order to vault herself up and above him. With an acrobatic twist in mid-air, that he'd never have been able to achieve in his own body, he slammed one foot into the attacker's face. The last one backed away nervously, hands in a guard position as he tried to make space between them.

Jaune wouldn't have it. Surging forwards – a quick duck beneath his panicked attack – and a solid backhand to the face sent the idiot reeling to the floor. As the dust settled he watched over Team CRDL, three of which were cradling their injuries, while their leader slowly crawled out from his damaged armour.

Jaune strode forward, heels clicking on the floor as she reached down to grasp him by the collar.

"W-wait, have you gone mad!?" Cardin managed to get out, even as she pulled her other hand back, ready to slam it down into his face. That was… until a flash of red caught her attention.

She was bleeding… no, Blake was bleeding. A tiny cut, on the back of her knuckles, only visible thanks to that hand being fisted in Cardin's collar, standing out against his white shirt. It was the same hand he'd used to backhand the other one away. It brought all the sensations of her body crashing back to him.

She still hurt… and yet, now she hurt more. Her hand burned, aura so low that it could no longer protect her skin. Her arms screamed in agony, unprepared for the acrobatic moves he'd used – they'd only just been able to support his weight vaulting over Dove. By attacking so recklessly he'd managed to cause more injury to Blake than her attackers had.

And for what?

They'd only attacked because he'd taken his anger out on Cardin. Bastards though they might be, they'd fought in self-defence. But Jaune knew why he'd gone so far…

It was all for revenge. He'd been angry at what they'd done to him, the fear that he might never see her again – that he might be trapped in the bear, alone, forever. It had been so easy to hurt them once he had Blake's body, so easy to get even with how strong she was. The heady power coursing through him as he felt life through a living body once more, the opportunity to take out his frustrations on people who couldn't do anything to stop him.

But it wasn't his body.

It wasn't his life.

He'd wasted his.

Was he going to waste hers, too?

"Don't ever approach me again," he said through her voice, a hint of world-weary exhaustion slipping into the tone. One of Cardin's eyes cracked open, his face turning to regard the faunus once more, now that it seemed she wasn't going to hit him. "I won't hurt you anymore, but in return you tell no one, and you leave me alone."

"O-of course, done." He accepted easily, clearly eager to do whatever she suggested so long as it meant she wouldn't do any more to him. The fear in his eyes should have pleased Jaune. But instead all he could think was that he'd caused her even more trouble.

"I'm sorry about your team," he said as he released him, stepping back. "I reacted badly."

"J-just go, please," Cardin remained on his knees, eyes refusing to meet hers as he shook. "I won't tell anyone, just… take that damned toy and leave my team alone."

Jaune nodded, stepping past the downed man as he retrieved his body from the mantelpiece.

Ow…

That was the first thought to pass through her mind as she woke. If time was supposed to heal all wounds, then clearly she hadn't spent long enough asleep – because her entire body was still screaming at her. The last thing she remembered was… going to get Jaune back.

Had she passed out en route?

"If you don't wake up, I'm going to start poking you a little lower. Don't worry. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

Jaune?

Amber eyes snapped open, body lurching forward as she tried to stand up. Her legs failed, and she realised a second later she was sat against a wall. Something was disturbed by her sudden movements though, tumbling off her chest with a yelp.

"Aww shit, you woke up."

"Jaune?" He was there, small and furry with black button eyes. He stood unsteadily on his stubby feet, brushing at his legs as though to remove dust from them. "Jaune!" She didn't even think what it might have looked like. What it might have sounded like, had anyone been around. Instead she grabbed him in her arms and dragged his little body against her. Relief escaped her in great big breaths as her frame rocked back and forth.

He was okay, he was safe… he was… rubbing his head between her breasts and making sounds like a boat engine.

"Whyyyyyy!?" He cried dramatically as he hit the opposite wall, with a low oomph. She rolled her eyes as his body bounced back, catching the dazed bear in one hand. "I thought we were having a moment…"

"We were," she sighed, "and then you killed it. Somehow when you went missing I forgot all the reasons I should have left you missing." An empty threat, she knew it just as much as he probably did. But sarcasm was easier than the strange amount of joy she felt at having him back. There'd always been relief when Adam returned from a mission safe, but it had never been like this. "Next time I'll let Cardin keep you."

A frown drew over her features as a distant memory came back to her. Walking into Cardin's room, demanding he return Jaune, and then… nothing.

"What happened? How did I get you back?"

Why couldn't she remember it?

"You went in, threatened him and he gave me up," Jaune shrugged his little shoulders, "I think he was bored of the whole game. Then you were on your way back to the dorm when you sat down to rest, and fell asleep."

"That was all?" Cardin had just… given him up, like that?

"Oh wait," he cried, one furry hand slamming into the other as he suddenly recalled some important piece of knowledge. "You also said you wanted my help in the shower, because you're too hurt to rub yourself down."

"I'm sure I did," she groaned as she stood up, lifting him onto her shoulder. "I've suddenly recovered my strength though, so no."

"Aw…" She rolled her eyes as she waited for him to get a good position on her shoulder, draping himself over her blazer as though he were nothing more than a stuffed toy. There might be a few raised eyes, but at least no one would see him moving around.

"I'm sorry I got caught," he broke the silence as she continued back to the RWBY dorm, "I messed up."

"It's not your fault," she shook her head, "I let you put yourself in danger, without ever doing anything in return. That's not how partners work." She'd forgotten how to be a proper partner, ever since Adam. Partners didn't let one side do all the work - shoulder all the risk, while they went about having a normal day.

Jaune had been captured, yes. But it was because she hadn't been a lookout for him.

"No more late night library trips. We'll do research together."

"Sounds good…" they carried on for a few more minutes, the silence between them growing comfortable. "Thanks Blake… for coming back for me. I didn't want to become a chew toy."

"I won't let you become a chew toy," she laughed softly as she placed her scroll against the entry pad to their dorm. "And no problem, partners don't leave each other behind."

She didn't have a chance to push the door open. For a brief second after the electronic noise sounded her entry it was wrenched open.

"Blake!" Her other partner cried, two arms as solid as steel bands latching onto and dragging her inside. "Where the hell have you been, I left you for like thirty minutes! Oh God you've got the bear back… do we need to run? Are there four corpses that need hiding!?"

"Y-Yang," Blake tried to speak, but for the world spinning as the blonde shook her. Over the frantic girl's shoulder she could just make out Weiss and Ruby, who seemed to be discussing something else. Ruby had something in her hands too… and was that, movement?

It looked like she was struggling with something.

"There's no bodies, Yang," she managed to get out, escaping the girl's grip as she pulled Jaune from her shoulder and held him out. "I was able to be perfectly diplomatic and get him back."

"W-wait, no – quit it!" Ruby's voice sounded over the din, but Blake kept her eyes locked to lilac ones. Yang could be such a mother hen, which she supposed made sense considering Ruby. It wasn't one of those things you could ignore either… Yang had to be carefully disarmed, lest she go off.

"That's all well and good, but you're still injured. No idea what you were thinking letting yourself get knocked around by that creep."

"Wait, what? Blake, what does she mean?" Uh-oh, she didn't need protective blond version two to start harping at her as well. She needed a distraction.

"So uh… what's Ruby got?"

"No! I said no, Yang help!" Said girl cried out, a moment before something seemed to escape her grasp entirely. Yellow eyes widened as she saw a ball of grey fur rush towards her, some ancient enmity sparking to life as she let out a high-pitched yelp and leapt back onto her bed, quickly scaling the side to hide on Yang's bunk.

Her eyes widened as she saw the flash of yellow, Jaune's form falling from where she'd stood before.

"Zwei, no!" Ruby yelled in panic, right as the dog latched onto the falling figure. "I don't want Blake to tear my throat out!"

"Oh come on...!"