Jaune hadn't often thought about his own death, not in a realistic way at the very least. Which was surprising given the amount of times he had nearly died, or at the very least been maimed since his time attending Beacon. Mostly he attributed it to a positive attitude and healthy optimism about his life.

And now he couldn't get the images of his own brutal and bloody murder out of his mind.

Funny how things work isn't it?

After slipping out of the cafeteria Jaune had wandered the halls of Beacon trying to think of something, anything that he could do to avoid his future death. There had to be someone, hell anyone who would be willing to help him. Most of his circle of friends was out, because most of them seemed to be tripping over themselves to add an extra layer of dirt to his burial ground.

And then the sight of the last person he normally wanted to see got his attention. "Oh this is a bad idea, hey Cardin!"

Cardin turned around and sneered at Jaune. "What do you want?" after having nearly died he had done a bit of soul searching and realized that despite being a jerk at heart he didn't really have it in him to bully someone who had saved his ass. That being said the sight of Jaune still did a number of his patience.

"I am calling in the life debt you owe me." Jaune grabbed the other boys shoulders and shook him. "I need your help."

Cardin blinked for a moment, and then slowly turned his head from left to right to ensure that they weren't on camera and that this wasn't some form of elaborate prank. Finally he returned his gaze to Jaune and saw a look of pure desperation of his face and decided that he probably wasn't going to get pied in the face. "Fine, follow me."

Cardin lead the blonde over to a tree far away enough from the gaze of the other students that they would have some minor form of privacy before crossing his arms. "Okay, talk."

Jaune felt the floodgates open and he spilled the entire list of mad events that had occurred during the last few hours to his former bully, sparing no details. "Well...what do you think?"

For a few moments Cardin was without words, simply looking at Jaune as if he had grown a second head. "So...let me get this straight," he put a palm against his head to block a headache that he already felt building. "You sent out a note to a girl,"

"Yes."

"But you mass sent it to all of the girls on your phone contact list."

"By accident." Jaune added.

"By accident," Cardin parroted. "Which includes basically includes all of the top hotties of the school, girls that other guys would literally kill to spend time with."

"I mean...yes."

"And somehow your note worked so well that all of them want to drag you into a room and get your nerd germs all over them."

"Not inaccurate continue."

Cardin pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to contain the hellstorm brewing in his brain. "And now they all think you meant to send only them the note, and they all expect you to go to the dance with them and no one else."

"Don't forget the part about Ren wanting to murder me, I feel like that is an important part of the story."

"Right and Mr. If I Had to Choose a Guy wants to murder you too." Cardin took a deep breath and looked at Jaune. "And you came to me about this because?"

Jaune gave a helpless shrug. "I mean, mostly because you were the first one I saw that has no direct reason to beat me up right now."

Cardin felt his eye twitch. "Right, and the other reason?"

"Well I mean...you're a jerk so I figured maybe you might have done something similar, you know asking two girls out at the same time or something?"

"Wow...okay Jauney boy that one...that one actually kind of stung a bit," given his usual demeanor he could understand the assumption, but that didn't mean the idea that he was seen as 'that guy' didn't hurt. "But yeah I got nothing on this one, you're screwed."

Jaune deflated slightly and gave a dramatic sigh. "Yeah probably."

Cardin put a comforting hand on Jaune's shoulder. "Well think about it like this, all of the people on your messaging list are some of the best first years in the school right?"

"Yeah, but how does that help me?" Jaune questioned.

"Well. They will probably kill you so quickly that you won't even feel it right?" he added with a shrug.

Before Jaune could answer two very familiar voices came from behind him. "Well would you look who it is?" Sun asked as he walked to one side of Jaune, a gentle sway to his steps.

"Clever, using one of the girls as a shield," Ren approached on his opposite side, a slightly demented smile on his lips.

"Guys serious I can…" before Jaune could say anything else a rough hand grabbed his shoulder and shoved him back. Just before he could shout out something he saw that Cardin was now standing between him and the two guys.

"Go," Cardin ordered, crossing his arms in front of the two.

"Cardin…" Jaune felt tears well to his eyes as he looked toward the larger boy.

Cardin laughed slightly and shook his head. "Life debt right?"

Jaune gulped but gave a quick nod before sprinting toward the main building as fast as his legs could carry him.

Ren and Sun both looked to each other before raising an eyebrow toward Cardin. "You don't actually think you can stop us do you?" Ren asked.

For a moment there was silence before Cardin howled with laughter and shook his head. "Hell no, you think I'm crazy?" he stepped to the side and swept his arm in a 'there you go' manner. "All yours."

Sun blinked and looked at Cardin. "Why?"

"I got my reasons, now do you really want to discuss this or do you want to hunt him down before he disappears?"

The two looked at each other before giving a collective shrug and breaking into a sprint after their target.

Cardin couldn't help but smile to himself. Life debt or not watching Jaune suffer was one of the few true joys in his life, and he intended to watch this play out to its conclusion.

Blind panic is an interesting thing, in so much that it will always lead one to where the animal part of their brain would feel the most 'safe'. So it was no surprise when Jaune found himself on the rooftop where he and Pyrrha had trained so often, collapsing on the ground and drawing in breath to try and get himself back together.

Okay, I probably have time to th-

"Jaune?" Pyrrha leaned over him with a concerned look on her face.

$% #$ #$#

Brain, you just put a whole bunch of symbols instead of a curse.

Do you know what this fic is rated?

What?

Nevermind. Girl, deal with it.

"Pyrrha what are...you...doing here?" he asked, slowly picking himself off the ground.

"Well, we do train here you know." she replied in a slightly awkward tone.

"Oh, yeah I guess it wouldn't be weird for you to be here huh?"

For what felt like an eternity there was silence between the two, like a gorge between them that neither were willing to cross first. Finally Jaune decided to speak, "Listen Pyrrha I…"

"I got your message." Pyrrha blurted out, almost at the same time.

Jaune felt the same clawing sense of dread that he normally did upon hearing those words today, and per the usual he couldn't bring himself to just say what needed to be said. "Oh." he replied in a quiet tone.

Once again silence, broken once more by Pyrrha. "Did I ever tell you about my childhood?"

Jaune's brain quickly ran through the last few months, scanning through all the near death flashbacks he had been having since he had hit the 'send' button and shook his head. "I don't think you ever brought it up."

She gave a sad smile at that and wrapped her arms around herself. "No, I suppose I wouldn't have. You see growing up I was a bit of...well I suppose you would call me a prodigy by most standards."

"I can believe that," Jaune replied with a soft smile. It made sense, Pyrrha had to have been born amazing, there was no other explanation for just how crazy awesome she was.

But despite meaning it as a compliment it only made the sad smile all the worse. "I always excelled at everything I tried, no matter the subject I always managed to pull ahead of it, master it, and advance further than anyone else my age."

"That's...good right?" Jaune asked, feeling as if there was a large 'but' he was missing here.

She looked down for a moment, her fist clenched. "Of course! I mean… it should have been. Hearing the cheers and calls of those who believed in me and wanted to see me succeed, they were more than some get, and I am thankful..but…"

Jaune reached out a put a hand against her arm, trying to reach out some small amount of comfort. "But?"

"But that is it. I advanced far ahead of everyone, so far ahead that those behind me simply saw me as a speck on the horizon. People who approached me did so and spoke of my skills, or my beauty, or simply because I had the name 'Pyrrha Nikos'."

"That sounds...kind of lonely." Jaune admitted.

"Extremely so. My life is blessed with many wonderful things, but…" she looked away. "Your note scares me Jaune."

"It...scares you?" out of all of the responses he had gotten from the message that was one he hadn't really expected. "Why?"

Pyrrha turned her head, a slight blush dusting her cheeks. "Because the words were sweet, and lovely to read but...I am just…" frustration painted her features as she tried to find the right words.

"You worry that I won't see you as who you actually are if I start to idolize you." despite not being the sharpest tool in the shed Jaune could still figure something like that out.

Pyrrha didn't reply but for a small nod and a look towards her feet.

Some part of Jaune's brain screamed that this was the time to tell her, the time to open his dumb mouth and explain the entire stupid situation to her.

That part was promptly kicked into the abyss as Jaune stepped forward and pressted his forehead against Pyrrha's. "You are the girl who can kick my butt so hard that I see stars, the girl who can give Nora a run for her money in an eating contest. The only girl in the world who can had a snore that kind of sounds like a badger if it had a cold," he gave her a warm smile. "You might be 'Pyrrha Nikos' to the world, but to me you are just Pyrrha."

Maybe it was the smile, or the words, but all at once the anxiety she had been holding since she had read that message faded away, and in a moment of pure reactive energy she leaned forward and pressed her lips against Jaune's, putting every ounce of passion she could behind the small act.

Needless to say Jaune was floored by the event, his entire body freezing at the sheer power of the kiss. It wasn't experienced like Coco, or soft like Ruby, or even as searching as Weiss. No this kiss had a certain level of ferocity behind it, almost like a claim being placed.

When it ended Jaune couldn't only blink and let out odd sounds that could almost be described as words, mouth hung open just a bit as closing it felt near impossible to the boy.

Pyrrha giggled a bit and rested her forehead against Jaune. "And you will always be my Jaune Arc," she slowly stepped away and gave a small smile. "So I guess I will see you at the dance. I promised to help set up but…" she bit her lip and looked away. "I suppose we can continue this...later."

Jaune just dumbly nodded as life began to return to his brain once more. With that done Pyrrha walked off through the door.

"Man that was really sweet, don't you think Ren?" From the shadows Sun stepped out onto the roof.

"Quite so, almost romantic." Ren stepped from the other side, blocking the doorway and as such, Jaune's only path of escape.

Jaune's brain sprung back to life at the signs of danger, and he slowly began to walk backwards away from the two.

"Lot of kissing going on around here, don't you think?" Sun asked in a casual tone.

"Indeed, through I think maybe one or two too many." Ren began to crack his knuckles as he approached.

Both boys had murder in their eyes and Jaune had already run out of roof to continue his escape.

"Any last words Jaune?" Sun asked.

"Aim for the bushes?" Jaune replied, looking down and then to them.

"Wait wh-"

Jaune quickly turned and leapt from the rooftop, aiming for one of the larger bushes at the bottom of the building. "Well either my aura protects me and I have a head start, or this breaks my neck and I have other things to worry about." he blinked as he watched the ground coming closer. "On second thought this may have been a bad idea." he closed his eyes and awaited the inevitable hit.

But it never came, instead a sudden pressure hit him from the side and he found himself stationary, if still off the ground. When his eyes opened Jaune found himself facing confused face and bright blonde hair.

"Hey there handsome, fall round here often?" Yang gave a grin to Jaune.

This day just keeps going doesn't it?

No real excuses for this one. It's been a long time since I felt able to write anything, mostly due to rl stuff like being broke and trying to find a muse past my constant anxiety about stuff. But at the very least I hope the comedy of this chapter brings a smile to a few people.

No promises on the timeline for the next chapter, but hopefully at a time.