Lancaster

Knight in Boxers

Ruby saw her again.

It had been getting more and more infrequent as time went on and had stopped altogether when she had enrolled at Beacon. It was when she was younger that she couldn't stop seeing her. Every time she looked out the window, or down the street, or into the forest, or numerous other places; she would see her.

Her mother.

It was never a very clear image. Just the back of her white cloak that would be billowing lightly in the wind. Ruby would always chase after it, always trying to catch it. Even as a child she realized how fruitless this was. Her mother was dead. Nothing would ever bring her back. Yet, whenever she saw... whatever it was, she would drop everything and pursue it anyways. Sometimes she even ran out in the middle of class at Signal.

She just thought one day that maybe if she caught it she would get the answers she wanted. Why had her mother left her? Why did she have to die? She had needed her so badly and she was gone. Why?

Ruby knew why.

Her mother was a Huntress. That was all there was to it. Ruby couldn't accept that. She refused to accept that. Huntresses were supposed to be unstoppable heroines that battled the ever-growing darkness. They shouldn't be allowed to die.

It had left a gaping hole in her life that she thought she would never recover from. That was likely why she saw her... her ghost. Yang tried her best to fill the void and it worked a little. Ruby loved her sister, but she could never be a replacement for her mother. Nothing ever could.

Now that she was no longer at Beacon, but on the road to Mistral with Jaune, Ren, and Nora, she was reminded somewhat of that hopelessness again. Unable to sleep, she grabbed her red cloak and boots before storming out of the tent she shared with the three of them. It was kind of chilly outside in just her pyjamas so she wrapped her cloak around herself and slipped her boots on.

She spent several minutes in silence just looking up at the myriad of stars that shone far brighter out here than they ever could in the city of Vale. The shattered moon hung brilliantly just on the other side of the mountain and the only reason she even knew it was there were some of it fragments poking out around its side. Her gaze lingered at the peak of said mountain for several moments before trailing its way to the bottom. Just as it reached the path before her she caught sight of something white.

Needless to say, that had been her mother's cloak. More accurately it was a figment of her imagination that thought it was seeing her mother's cloak. Regardless of what it was, she did what she always did when she saw it: she gave chase.

She couldn't be sure how long it was that she ran after it. Every time it seemed like she was getting close it would vanish, only to reappear an irritating distance away. It was always far enough that she had to actively exert herself to climb the rocky slope in an effort to keep up but close enough that she couldn't justify giving up.

It would have been smarter for her to just give up. She knew that. Yet for the same reason as all the times before, she couldn't. She had to know. She had to know why. Even though it was childish. And so she gave chase.

Finally, the mountain leveled out for a distance but now that it was only flat land ahead of her for several hundred feet her mother had disappeared. She let out a defeated sigh. It always ended this way. After spending so much time chasing her the trail would just run cold... and Ruby would be no closer to getting her answers. Answers to questions she already knew anyways.

A small breeze caused her to shiver and she was reminded that aside from her cloak, she was still only in pyjamas. They weren't exactly the warmest of attire she had. She turned around and realized she had climbed higher than expected. The tent where her team was staying wasn't even visible anymore and the base of the mountain looked impossibly far beneath her. She had quite the trek ahead of her if she was going to make it back and still manage to get any sleep tonight.

She sighed once again and ran her hand through her red-tinted hair. There was nothing to it but to get started. Just as she took her first step on her long journey, the sight of something moving out of the corner of her eye forced her to stop. She turned her head just in time to see something lunge at her. Long, white claws were only a second away from lopping her head clean off.

Her semblance kicked in and with a loud hum and a trail of roses she dodged backwards a dozen feet. She skid to a stop as the Grimm landed where she had just been standing a second ago.

To say Ruby didn't like the looks of what she was facing would be an understatement. The Grimm was something most Hunters knew as a Cackler. It was a coyote Grimm that dwelled on rocky terrain, usually living in caves and tunnels. This one was tall. Too tall. She was barely half-way up its torso when it stood at full height.

Emaciated was the only way to describe its body. Its lanky legs and arms looked as brittle as twigs and it was all held together by a torso with ribs that were practically protruding from its jet-black fur that was littered with gray dots. Its coyote-like face was tilted sideways as it smiled at her, razor-sharp teeth completely barred as it gave a hungry grin while drooling all over itself. Its red eyes glowed hauntingly in the night air. Finally, and most terrifying, were the claws that hung off its grotesque paws. Metre long white spikes hung off of its ten fingers.

She reached for Crescent Rose before realizing that she hadn't brought it with her. Of course she hadn't. She didn't intend to go running halfway up a mountain chasing a ghost. It had all just happened. Now she was cornered up here, pitted against a creature of Grimm without her weapon. She had no way of fighting without it, which really left her only one option; she had to run.

Where would she go? Should she head back to the tent? What if the Cackler kept pace with her and she wasn't able to wake the others up in time? It was possible she could lead this thing over there just for it to kill them while they were defenseless. She wasn't able to bear the thought of them dying, especially because of her mistake.

A loud grating noise permeated through the silent air, jarring her from her thoughts and forcing her gaze towards the claws that the Cackler was now dragging meticulously across the ground. Her eyes widened in fear and her breath became short. If she didn't think of something fast, she was going to die.

"GYAHAHAHA!" She flinched backwards as the Cackler belched out a manic laugh that echoed across the whole mountain side. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest as it threatened to burst right out and she unconsciously tried to backpedal away from the horrendous noise. In her unfocused haste, she stumbled over her own feet and fell backwards onto her butt.

The moment she hit the ground the Cackler vanished into thin air and reappeared just a few feet away from her, its claws raised high in the air as it prepared to slice her into pieces.

Time slowed down as Ruby's silver eyes widened in fear. This was how it was going to end? She was going to die all because she had run after her mother again without her weapon? Just a scared, lost child sitting on the ground? It was so far removed from how she had ever envisioned her death to be it was disgusting. At this very moment, she hated herself for her stupidity.

Why couldn't she have just let it go? Why did she chase that ghost when she knew it wouldn't provide her any answers? Why was she so weak without her weapon? Why did the Grimm kill people to begin with? Why? Just why?

That was the only thought running through her head as she stared at the descending claws of the Cackler. Just behind it, she could have sworn she saw a white cloak billowing in the wind, almost as if her mother was waiting for her to join her in the afterlife.

She didn't want to die, but maybe at least with death she would finally be able to see her mother again? Maybe she could finally get the answers she had always been looking for. She supposed she was about to find out, not like she had much choice.

She slid her eyes closed and just waited for the deathblow to come... only to instead hear a loud clang as the Cackler's claws struck something metal. Her eyes shot back open and the first thing she noticed directly in front of her face was a pair of plaid-blue boxers.

She blushed despite the severity of her situation and looked down to see a pair of converse sneakers without any socks... sneakers that she recognized as belonging to one of her companions. "Jaune?" Her voice cracked in disbelief and silver eyes shot back up and past the boxers to see the blonde knight also wearing a white t-shirt and wielding Crocea Mors. It was his shield that had blocked the Cackler's slash and now he stood firmly above her, not giving any ground to the horrifying creature in front of them.

He held his sword up wordlessly and swung it forward but the Cackler vanished in a blur and landed a couple steps away from him, causing him to only strike air. For just a split second he turned and Ruby's silver eyes locked with his blue ones. His gaze only lingered long enough to make sure she wasn't injured and to give her a small but reassuring smile. Then he turned back to the Cackler and charged forward.

"GYAHAHAHA!" Once more the Cackler let out the terrifying laugh that gave the Grimm its name before it fazed out of existence. It was only half-a-second later before it reappeared to his left and swung at his legs with long claws. Jaune skipped to the side and lifted his leg just barely over the Cackler's swing before landing on the ground and kicking himself forward.

His sword swung down vertically at the Cackler. The claws on its left hand swiped forward to intercept the strike. Another loud clang echoed down the mountain and sparks flew from the contact point. His sword and its claws bounced backwards. The Cackler pinched its right-hand claws together to form a thick spear and thrust forward but Jaune's shield blocked the jab. A gust of wind from the force blew Ruby's hair back.

The laughing of the Cackler stopped. It vanished again and this time materialized behind Jaune. Before she could shout out a warning to him, he ducked under its swipe and pivot while swinging his sword. More sparks and a loud clang as the sword and claws crossed ways.

Ruby could only watch with wide eyes, completely frozen solid by this change of events. She had fully expected to be killed not even thirty seconds ago, but now, not only was she still alive, but Jaune was fighting off the very thing that had threatened to kill her with combat prowess she didn't even know he was capable of.

Pyrrha had apparently trained him quite intensely if he was able to fight so evenly with a Grimm that was not only taller and had longer reach than him, but was also considerably faster. Even though Jaune was by all means outclassed, the look of pure determination in his eyes as he fought to defend her... it reminded her all over again about why she liked him to begin with.

Jaune wasn't particularly strong, skilled or suave. He was awkward and bumbling. That never stopped him from trying his hardest and that was something she respected and found admirable...

However, right now he was more than all that. He was reliable. When she needed him most he had appeared and was fighting for her sake. At least, that was how it appeared to her. Deep down she knew he would have done this for anyone, even if it had been Cardin sitting here on his butt and not her.

"GYAHAHAHA!" The Cackler let out yet another fit of giggles as it pinched both sets of claws together, forming two powerful spears and thrust them forward simultaneously. Jaune once more raised his shield but the force of the blow caused his legs to buckle and he collapsed down to one knee.

For just a moment, Ruby feared the worst. Then Jaune pushed his shield down and the Cacklers claws slid around either side of him and stumbled forward. As it fell into him he jumped upwards and delivered a powerful slash that cleaved straight through its torso.

Its laughing ceased. He lunged past it, spraying its blood in every direction as his sword finished its swing. Only a second later and it collapsed to the ground, dead.

Jaune continued to stare forward, not even looking back at his fallen foe. He just stood there in silence and Ruby couldn't pull her eyes away from him. His blonde hair swirled lightly in the wind and the stern glare in his ordinarily light-blue eyes reflected brightly off the fragmented moonlight. He looked just like the noble knights she had read about in her fairy tales growing up... just in boxers.

Finally, the image was shattered as he gave a massive heave and let out a gasp of breath as if he only just remembered how to breathe. "Holy crap! I thought I was really going to die!" Even as he said this he was sheathing Crocea Mors and retracting his shield. He turned to Ruby and gave her a bright smile but she could only continue to stare at him with wide eyes and a slack jaw.

When she didn't say anything his own smile twisted in concern and he ambled over to her before sitting on the ground right next to her. "What were you thinking? Running up here without your weapon? You could've died."

Ruby blushed at his sudden proximity and pulled her cloak up to hide her reddening face. Even though she was lucky to be alive she couldn't help but be embarrassed at having been caught off-guard like that. "I'm sorry. It's stupid."

"You're telling me." Jaune agreed immediately, his voice scolding but concerned. "You're smarter than that Ruby. What happened?"

For a minute, Ruby hesitated in answering his question. She had never told anyone before about the illusion she saw from time to time, not even Yang. Yet, she found she couldn't lie to Jaune, especially not after he had risked his life to save her because of it. "I thought... I saw my mother." She mumbled quietly.

It was several seconds before Jaune just gave an understanding grunt and averted his eyes. He must have known how hard it was for her to talk about her mother so he didn't press the topic any further than that. Instead, he sat there in silence and just provided her with his company.

She wasn't sure how long it was that they sat there before she finally had the courage to glance at him curiously. He was just silently gazing up at the stars. She turned to look at them with him and unconsciously brought her head to rest against his shoulder. Her heart-rate slowed as she just enjoyed the simple pleasure of stargazing with him. It was hard to believe now that she had almost just died, that's how calm and peaceful she felt sitting by him.

"How did you know I needed help?" She asked after they sat like that for awhile.

"I heard you leave the tent and came out to see what was wrong. I thought maybe you had a nightmare or something." Jaune drummed his fingers against the hilt of his sword as he talked. "I thought maybe I could help you. Instead, you took off running without Crescent Rose. So I put on some shoes and grabbed Crocea Mors before I came running after you. I would've been here sooner but you're just so fast."

Ruby gave a small nod, her hair splaying over his shoulder as she did and she rested her cheek a little more deeply into his arm. "What happened to the bunny onesie?"

"Ah." Jaune gave a small chuckle. "Nora 'accidentally' set it on fire. Ren bought me these boxers and shirt as an apology. I think they were in on it together if I'm being honest. None of them seemed fond of it." Ruby couldn't help but giggle in response and he broke out in a big smile. "You have a really cute laugh, you know that?"

Dang, just as her blush was finally starting to go away he had to go and say that, bringing it back and brighter than before. Fortunately for her, it was dark out. "T-thanks." She didn't know what else to say.

"Seriously, Ruby." Jaune said as he reached his other hand over and jostled her hair gently. "If there is ever anything I can do to help you smile more, let me know. I'll gladly help you out." She knew he was only saying that to try and brighten her up. She knew that... and yet she couldn't help but let a little bit of hope worm its way into her heart.

"There is... one thing you could do for me." She lifted her head off his shoulder and tilted her face so she was looking up at him.

"Anything." Jaune turned to meet her gaze as he smiled down at her.

Before Ruby was even aware of what she was doing she leaned her face forward and planted a quick kiss on his lips.

When she pulled away a blush matching the density of her own painted across his face. "That's... it?"

"That's it." She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled her face into his chest. She could hear his heartbeat getting rapidly faster and let out another giggle.

When she opened her eyes, she saw in the distance the billowing of a white cloak... and for the first time didn't have the slightest urge to go running after it. She would rather just sit here with him and look at the stars. He may not have been the knight in shining armor she read about in her fairy tales, but he was more than enough for her.

Her knight in boxers.

END

AN: That ending sounded quite a bit more romantic in my head, but it really does look kind of silly now that I'm reading it myself. Oh well, I thought it was a kind of cute idea. Lancaster in general is just adorkable.

The idea for the Cackler actually originated in this story but I wound up using it in Auburn first.