Disclaimer : I do not own either RWBY or Dark Souls. They are properties of Messr Cockbites and Senor Hidetaka Miyazaki. I make no money off of this. Not even a single Penny. Or a Pyrrha. or a Priscilla.

Betas : Mr HHH1, ImYoshi

Previously, on From Embers to Dust

"Haven't gone hollow like these lot, have you? I would hate to put down such nice-looking kids." The man spoke with a loud, boisterous voice that would have been almost warm and soothing had they not seen the speaker commit such vicious brutality moments ago, "It's been a long time since anyone's visited me."

The man wiped off his bloody knuckles on his shirt and gestured almost pleasantly towards the cottage they had seen earlier. "Oh, where are my manners? Name's Taiyang Xiao Long, and I welcome you to my home, kids!"

~~oOOo~~

It had been an slightly stilted first-meeting to begin with. After all, what does one say to a person who greets so nonchalantly moments after brutally killing an enemy? A 'hello' seemed like as good a place as any to start, and so they did.

"Er...hello?" Pyrrha asked as she rubbed the back of her head, clearly feeling somewhat awkward. Jaune could sympathize with that, having never been a particularly social person either.

"Oh! You can talk! That's always promising." The tall man - Taiyang Xiao Long, as he called himself - spoke with an easy, natural grin that reminded Jaune a little of Yang. Given the similar features and personality, not to mention the same last name, he was probably Yang and Ruby's father. And if their father was here, then maybe Yang and Ruby were here, too. While they'd hurried here with the intention of helping to fight off the White Fang, it seemed Taiyang didn't have much trouble in that regard. With that issue dealt with, a reunion with some of their friends sounded really pleasant right now.

And, Jaune noted sourly, it gave him something to distract himself from the fact that he'd just killed someone.

"S-Sir, what happened here? Are you okay? Are Ruby and Yang okay?" Jaune asked, shaking himself out of his reverie and meeting Taiyang's querying gaze with an awkward smile. He held it there for a moment before hurriedly looking down at his feet, feeling slightly abashed, though he wasn't quite sure why.

"Ruby...Ruby….yes, Ruby and Yang." Taiyang muttered under his breath, rolling the words around somewhat, "ah yes...the last I saw them, they were okay...but it's been awhile since we last spoke. You know them?"

"Yes, Mr. Xiao Long. We were friends in Beacon Academy. Did they ever mention a Team Juniper-?"

"Ah, now I remember...the Arc boy, and the Pumpkin Pete girl." Taiyang interjected as he stretched his arm a little, probably working out the aches and kinks from his sore muscles after the fight.

Jaune breathed a sigh of relief when Taiyang seemed to recognize them. He didn't know what exactly was going on with the blonde man, but his odd behaviour and his obvious deadliness made him really nervous, owed in no small part to the fact that Jaune didn't want to be on the receiving end of one of those punches. He'd already seen what a good punch from Yang could do, and if her father's were anything like that...he winced at just the thought.

Though he had to admit, Pyrrha's expression on being called the 'Pumpkin Pete girl' was a hilarious mix of annoyed and abashed. Jaune found his gaze being drawn to the faint pink blush on her paling cheeks. On the other hand, he supposed it couldn't be helped, not when the alternative was looking at the bloodied bodies lying lifelessly on the ground. Still, Jaune found himself relaxing a little. Maybe he was going a little crazy, being so unconcerned, but it didn't feel like Yang's dad was going to fly into a frenzy on them. At least, he hoped not.

Taiyang waited for a moment before he spoke again, a somewhat conflicted look on his expression. "...I know you kids pretty well, actually. Ruby wrote often about you two." He shook his head. "She was pretty distraught after you died."

And just like that, that same awkwardness returned, worse this time.

How was he supposed to respond to something like that?

'Oh, I was pretty distraught too, being dead and all.' Yeah, right. Jaune Arc, everybody.

Though if he were being honest with himself, he still had trouble wrapping his head around the idea that he had died. Like, actually died.

The last thing he could even remember was fighting against the woman in red atop the broken Beacon Tower. The last thing he felt was a sudden flash of burning, excruciating pain.

And then, nothing.

Next thing he knew, Pyrrha's lips were on his and he couldn't breathe.

That, he noted dimly, was another thing that he needed to talk to Pyrrha about. It was not a conversation he was looking forward to, but even he knew that they needed to clear the air about it. The kiss before she went off to fight alone, and then the kiss that he woke up to...they had to mean something, didn't they?

While he remained lost in his thoughts, Pyrrha evidently took it upon herself to break the pregnant silence. Hesitantly, she asked "Er...about that. What is going on? We were dead, weren't we?" Taiyang offered a nod in response to that, causing her to swallow slightly, "Then where...what is this?"

"It's a long story." Taiyang said simply, sighing. "How about this? You kids follow me home. Get yourselves out of those rags and into some warm clothes and have a nice, hot meal. Then we can talk and I'll tell you what I know. That sound good?" he asked, giving them a small smile as he extended a hand.

Jaune exchanged a quick look with Pyrrha, a nonverbal conversation starting and finishing in those short few seconds, before acceding to the man's generous offer and shaking his hand. And to be perfectly frank, what choice did they have?

Thankfully, Taiyang was a man of his word, and the walk to his home was quiet, broken only occasionally with small-talk. Attempts at humor, especially, though Jaune had to admit that the man's puns were somehow even worse than his daughter's. Still, his cheerfully pleasant demeanor soon soothed away any lingering unease they might have felt from before.

"I really need a wash now." Taiyang commented idly, ruefully flicking away some dried blood still stuck to his hands, "It's times like this that I wish I was in Mistral."

Jaune noticed Pyrrha perking up a little at the mention of her home country, a small smile playing on her lips as she asked her question. "Have you been to Mistral before, Mr. Xiao Long?"

"Just call me Tai, kiddo. I don't need to be reminded of my age by you calling me Mr. Xiao Long." he said earnestly, making a face at that. Without intending to, Jaune snorted in laughter, suddenly reminded of his father saying something similar on numerous occasions. 'Oh no, just call me Pierre. Mr. Arc was my father, and I'm too young to be called that.'

Lost in his train of thought, he almost lost track of what Mr. Xiao...what Mr Tai was saying.

"-I never did like going on missions to Vacuo, or even Atlas. Mistral, though?" He grinned a little. "It was just perfect. I went to one of the hot springs there, and the first thing I did when I got back home was hire a geologist to see if there were any good geothermal vents in Patch." Then he sighed slightly. "Unfortunately for me, there weren't any of those lying around, and the few we did find weren't safe or cheap enough to use."

"Hot springs were a luxury for me growing up as well." Pyrrha replied, nodding.

And in that moment, Jaune was struck by the sudden realization that there was so much that he still didn't know about Pyrrha. Where did she grow up? How was she as a kid? Was she always so skilled in battle, or was it something that was trained into her? Then again, for all their closeness and familial friendship, Team Juniper never really got around to discussing each other's pasts. Their first year at Beacon had been pretty densely packed as it was, and with so many things going on, they barely had any real time for themselves.

Sure, they occasionally found time to talk, a small tidbit being dropped here and there in idle conversation, but rarely anything substantial. It took weeks before he ever knew that Ren and Nora were both orphans, for example, or that Pyrrha loved pressing flowers into a notebook, and already had an extensive collection from all the flowers that she had collected while travelling abroad during tournaments.

"They were pretty common in Western Mistral, but travel was always expensive and my family only went outside of the city on special occasions like birthdays, or to celebrate an achievement." She elaborated. It went unspoken whose achievements were being celebrated.

"Travel was always expensive, especially for civilians. Even as a professional hunter, arranging for a bullhead or an airship was a chore." Tai shook his head. "It didn't help that the SDC used to own a lot of the airships and ground vehicles, and they weren't exactly opposed to leaving you in the lurch if an urgent delivery of Dust needed to be made." He grumbled, his brow furrowed and his mouth set in a thin line, disapproval clear in his bearing.

Jaune frowned. "Wait, what do you mean by 'used to'?" He asked, jumping in the conversation.

Tai grimaced, running his fingers through his wild blonde hair in a fretful gesture. "I'll tell you about it after washing up and eating dinner, but I'll tell you this: there's no Schnee Dust Company anymore," He sighed, weariness in it, "or, come to think of it, much of anything else, really."

The rest of the walk back to Tai's cottage passed in relative silence, none of them really knowing what to say anymore. Night had already begun to creep in as the day faded, the first stars already twinkling in the darkening skies. As if seeking to add to the gloom, a cold wind had stirred, chilling Jaune and Pyrrha to their bones. Sparingly dressed as they were, the harsh bite in the air affected them far more than it did Tai.

Seeing Pyrrha wrap her arms around herself, clutching at his jacket and trying to keep warm, Jaune fell in step beside her, taking all of a moment's pause before gently wrapping an arm around her shoulders. It startled her, he noticed, her body tensing up slightly at the touch. Thankfully, it lasted only for a moment, passing just as quickly as it came as the girl gave him a grateful smile. He returned it with a small smile of his own, drawing her in a little closer as they continued down the path.

Upon reaching the cozy-looking home, Tai patted through his numerous pockets and pouches until he found the key. As soon as he unlocked the door, they all hurried inside, more than a little relieved to be free of the frigid winds.

It was a pleasant, cheerful home, if a bit small. The first sight that greeted them was a tiny living room, a big couch and a couple of armchairs facing the fireplace. A staircase led them upstairs, the two of them finding a pair of bedrooms: Ruby's and Yang's, as the plaques and the girly decorations clearly proclaimed. A washroom was at the very end of the hallway, the door opened and the room vacant.

After only a moment's delay, Tai unlocked the door to Yang's room, which had been kept meticulously clean and tidy. It was a fairly normal room, decorated sparsely with only a few pictures and some faded posters of famous music bands. Much to his amusement, Jaune even spotted a tiny poster for 'The Grimm Sense', one of Spruce Willis' movies.

Jaune took it all in, feeling a little uncomfortable to be standing in his friend's room in her absence. It made him feel like an intruder, like he didn't belong here.

"So, Pyrrha...you can wash up in the bathroom ahead, and er, feel free to use any of Yang's outfits." Tai gestured to the wardrobe in the corner, "She has plenty and I'm sure she won't mind if you use a few, alright? If you need anything, just call for me. I'll be downstairs, showing Jaune here the other bathroom. Once you're done, join us in the kitchen, okay?"

Pyrrha just stared at him for a second, before nodding gratefully. "Thank you...Thank you so much, Mr. Tai…I don't know what to say…"

"You don't need to say anything. You're both friends of my daughters, and this is the least I can do, considering…" he began, only to shake his head and nod warmly at Pyrrha "Don't worry about it."

With that, Tai gently closed the door, presumably leaving Pyrrha to sort through Yang's clothes, and led Jaune back down the stairs. A narrow passageway led them to a washroom and the kitchen, and a little further ahead, to Tai's room.

"You know, you're actually about my size, Jaune," Tai said as he opened the door and let Jaune in, motioning for him to sit on a footstool while he began to rummage through his wardrobe. "A little on the narrow side in the shoulders, though, and there's not enough bulk to you, but I'm sure with some proper exercise you'll fill out more."

"I dunno, Mr. Tai, I've always been lanky." He protested the insinuation. He was NOT weak!

"And whose fault is that?" Before Jaune could open his mouth and launch into an explanation on his family genetics and how muscle definition always skipped generations in his family, Taiyang put a stop to it by declaring, "Yours. You aren't weedy like Qrow, you know? You need to eat better and lift some weights to put on some bulk." He shrugged. "Anyway, here, try this."

Jaune outstretched his hand, accepting a beige colored shirt and pants. Hurriedly, Jaune unzipped the uncomfortable White Fang armor and his ratty old buttoned up shirt soon followed suit. Wrinkling his nose in disgust at the rank odor exuding from the old clothes, he pulled on the shirt that Tai gave him, sighing happily as the soft, warm material slid over his skin.

"This is great, Mr. Tai! It's a bit loose on the chest and shoulders, but that's hardly a problem."

"Alright. That takes care of one thing." Tai replied, holding a fresh change of clothes for himself as well, along with a couple of towels. "Jaune, you don't mind if I wash up as well, right?" He threw a look at his currently reeking attire. "I'd rather not spend another minute in these blood-soaked clothes, truth be told."

"Oh! Of course not! You can use the shower first, actually!"

"No, don't worry about it. You look worse than I do and you need a shower as well." Tai said, gesturing an arm towards the washroom. I'll soak up the clothes to get the stains out as you shower, and then I can have a quick shower myself. That'll save some time."

"It's your home Mr Tai, whatever you think best. I don't mind either way. Growing up with seven sisters, I am used to sharing all the time"

"Seven?" Tai looked horrified as he looked at Jaune with an odd expression, a mix of respect and pity, "How did you even survive?"

"With great difficulty, Mr Tai. With great difficulty."

Tai shook his head, chuckling to himself. "Well, I'm glad that you are here now, Jaune. It's good to have another man about the house again. Qrow barely counts, and even he hasn't been around in a while." He said with a grin, happily punching Jaune's shoulder in a friendly gesture as he passed him by, heading for the washroom.

Jaune waited till Tai was out of eyeshot, before muttering a quiet 'Ow' and gingerly rubbing his aching shoulder with his other hand.

Those punches really did hurt.

~~oOOo~~

The Arcs weren't a particularly wealthy family, though they never really wanted for anything. All told, if Jaune had to describe their financial condition, he would call them pretty well-to-do. They had regular vacations, traveled as far as Mistral and even Atlas, put eight kids through school, and even paid for the higher studies of a few of Jaune's older sisters. Despite all that, the house they lived in forever seemed cramped.

It was certainly larger than Taiyang's homey little cottage, but it was no palatial mansion. Sharing was expected and space was always at a premium. When he was still young and small, Jaune was a favorite cuddle-partner of his older sisters, who would often have long, long arguments over who was sharing a bed with Jaune on any particular night. As Jaune grew up, however, he ended up either on the couch or with the roles reversed, the boy cuddling with one of his baby sisters.

More often than not, Jaune and his dad would end up cowering from the wrathful females rampaging about, looking for lipsticks or hairbrushes or even their favorite pair of sunglasses.

Which was probably why, Jaune mused, he didn't really have any hang-ups or problems with sharing the bathroom with Taiyang. It was just time-efficient.

That being said, Taiyang was not family, and though Jaune liked him from the little time they'd had spent together, they were still a long way from having an easy-going understanding.

Which is what made all the questions even more uncomfortable.

"So, Jaune, how did you first meet Ruby and Yang?" Taiyang asked idly as he rubbed and washed his hands under the running water.

On hearing the sudden question, Jaune froze up a little, caught in the middle of removing his shirt. Taking a fortifying breath, Jaune pulled his frayed shirt off his body as he replied, "Er, we shared the same Bullhead while going to Beacon. And I...well, I vomited all over hers and Yang's shoes."

Taiyang snorted in barely suppressed laughter on hearing that "Why did you vomit, though? Were my little girls that scary?" His face darkened almost theatrically. "Or maybe you found them ugly?"

Jaune grinned wryly at that, "There is no good way for me to answer that Mr Tai. Actually, I just have a really bad case of motion sickness, and they were unlucky enough to be caught in the middle of one of those." He laughed at that, the memory coming back to him. He could've sworn for the life of him that he'd never seen anyone run as fast as Ruby did the moment the bullhead's doors opened. "Luckily for me, Ruby still befriended me after we got off from the bullhead…and then we lost our way to the Initiation Hall…" he concluded lamely.

Tai broke into cheerful laughter at that, the sound of his mirth echoing in the otherwise silent home.

"Oh, that brings back so many memories. Why, one time, my whole team got into a drinking contest. I was young and brash back then and always up for a challenge. Qrow and….Raven..Raven...both of them were very competitive, and once I showed up with smuggled in bottles of cheap rum, they didn't back down. We went through so much alcohol that night, that by next morning we were all feeling pretty sick. Qrow was sleeping it off in the back bench, and Professor Ozpin noticed him snoring away. So he walked up beside him and rapped that cane of his and went," He drew himself up a bit, trying to look as stuffy as possible. "'A-hem! Mr Branwen! What is the best way to kill a charging Boarbatusk?'"

Intrigued, Jaune stopped in the middle of changing out of his clothes to ask, "Then what happened?"

Taiyang grinned exuberantly, his cerulean eyes glittering with hidden mischief as he turned to face Jaune, "What happened was, Qrow then opened his mouth to answer and promptly barfed all over Professor Ozpin's morning cocoa!" The man laughed, his guffaws mixing in with his words. "He was in detention for months after that. Ozpin really did love his cocoa."

Jaune's smile faded a little as he recalled the last time he had seen Professor Ozpin. His recollection of that fateful night was less of a recollection and more of a jumbled mess, but he could still hear the tone of desperation and fear in his Headmaster's voice when he yelled at them to leave, staying behind to buy them time against the woman in red.

Since she'd survived to fight against Pyrrha and him later on, that could only that she'd killed Ozpin, as well. Jaune wasn't sure which was worse: that their Headmaster had sacrificed himself for them, or that they'd gone and gotten themselves killed, anyways.

Taiyang seemed to correctly interpret Jaune's thoughts, as when Jaune looked up, he saw the man smiling understandingly at him. "You know, kiddo, you're not alone in this. I've seen the way that redhead looks at you. She's not going anywhere." He walked over and rested his hand on Jaune's shoulder. "Don't feel so down on yourself, okay?"

"Yeah...Yeah." Jaune drew in a deep, shuddering breath, steadying himself. "You're right, Mr Tai...but still, how do you get past it? How do you stop feeling like a failure? Feeling like anything you do, anything you accomplish… that it just doesn't matter in the long run?"

Taiyang stayed quiet for a moment, as if considering how to even begin approaching a question like that. Jaune could only look at him expectantly, waiting for an answer with bated breath.

"You don't. It's a cruel world we live in, Jaune. Death lurks in every corner and even a single mistake can be your undoing. The Grimm never stop and now, the world just doesn't seem to change at all." He chuckled, but it seemed forced. "Yeah...this world is about the closest thing to hell that you can get and all of us are knee-deep in the sludge of despair. But," he smiled slightly. "some of us are still looking up to the stars."

Jaune's brow furrowed in confusion. "So, what you're saying is, I should keep hoping, no matter what?"

Taiyang shook his head. "No. What I am saying is, you find a reason to not despair. Hope can be dangerous, but it's despair that's the real killer." His expression tightened. "I faced my fear. I let it wash over and pass through me. I saw where that fear went." His hand went to his chest. "and I realized that it came from within my heart and returned into myself. Once I knew where to look, I confronted that fear until only I remained."

Jaune pondered that for awhile. For the longest time, all he'd ever really known was fear. Fear that he was a failure. Fear that he was in way over his head. Hell, even just fear for his life in general. He could fake courage all he wanted, but he wasn't a hero like Pyrrha. He wasn't brave, wasn't strong, wasn't even that smart, really.

He was just...Jaune.

"If you don't mind me asking, what do you fear, Mr Tai?"

Taiyang sighed at that, his palm moving unconsciously and reaching up to clasp his own shoulder, before he answered in barely a whisper, "What do I fear? I don't fear anything, not anymore. I used to fear losing my girls, used to fear that they would get hurt or maybe worse. I don't fear that anymore, because I have already accepted the fact that I'm never going to see my daughters again."

For a long moment, they stood there, each of them lost in their own thoughts before Tai looked away, slightly coughing to break the silence.

"It's getting late and we better not keep your girlfriend waiting.." he said, a faint smile forcing it's way on his lips on seeing Jaune sputter denials, "...you should finish your shower. I'll take a quick one after you."

With that, Taiyang turned his back on Jaune and went to the corner of the washroom, undressing along the way before carefully soaking his and Jaune's bloodstained clothes in a tubful of water, gently stirring in a little pinch of fire dust that caused the water to heat up and begin to bubble.

Interesting as that was, what really held Jaune's attention were the dark tattoos standing out starkly on Tai's upper shoulder. Written out in an elegant script were just a few words : Ruby. Yang. Summer. Raven. Qrow.

Jaune suddenly felt abashed at intruding, and worse still for asking that question, but there was nothing to be done about it except to respect Taiyang's silence. It was not his place to ask any further.

~~oOOo~~

The warm shower was refreshing and washed away a lot of the aches and kinks from Jaune's sore muscles, and it felt good to be clean again. He did wince a little on seeing the copious amounts of dust, blood and grime that covered the shower stall, but it left him feeling considerably lighter and far more civilized, so that was a win either way.

Dressed in a fresh change of clothes, Jaune walked out into the living room and sat down on an armchair opposite Pyrrha, who was already dressed and sipping on a glass of water.

Jaune blinked once, unused to seeing Pyrrha dressed so casually. Even in their shared dorms, Pyrrha dressed rather conservatively, choosing to wear long, flowing gowns for nightwear, and comfortable slacks and t-shirts for gymwear.

While Pyrrha was more modest in her choices of casual clothes, Yang was anything but.

Though, for her part, Pyrrha looked fairly relaxed as she sat on the armchair, dressed only in a rather revealing red tank top that was emblazoned with the logo of some famous music group he didn't recognize, and a pair of blue cotton shorts. Her hair, which still seemed damp from the shower, was pulled back in a loose ponytail and held in place with an orange scrunchie that clashed horribly with the natural red of her hair. She had discarded her bronze gorget, as well as her bracelet, leaving her looking strangely different from what he was used to.

Jaune guessed that he was just too accustomed to seeing her dressed in her usual ensemble, the sudden change to that being entirely unexpected. Though, he allowed himself to admit, that didn't mean that it was unwelcome. In truth, the new look, while certainly different, suited her a lot.

"Hey…" he started, trying to get her attention. "you okay?"

Pyrrha didn't answer, didn't even turn her head. It was as if he hadn't even said a word. Like she was off in her own world where he didn't exist.

Jaune winced. It seemed like such a lame thing to say, but as was a running trend, he was once again at a loss of words. It was difficult to comprehend the immensity of what had happened, and the pain and grief bubbled just below the surface, but whenever he tried putting it into words, he just failed.

He supposed that he should feel more anger, or perhaps he should have questioned Taiyang more...but if he was being honest, he was afraid. He was afraid of the answers, and was perfectly content to just let things lie and pretend that all was fine in the world. Even when practically everything about it just screamed that it wasn't.

Perhaps it wasn't the healthiest way to go about it, but he couldn't change how he felt. However, Jaune Arc never was one to repeat the same mistake and clearly remembered Pyrrha's lessons on trusting his team and letting them in with whatever troubled him.

Again, he opened his mouth, but not a sound came out.

Instead, all he could do was swear mentally. He really really wanted to talk this out with Pyrrha, if he could only find the words!

"Oh! Oh..Jaune, I'm sorry I didn't notice you.." She said, turning to look at him. "I was just...thinking."

This time, at least, Jaune had an answer. "It's fine...I...er...I've been thinking a lot too."

Pyrrha's eyes softened on hearing his admission and she leaned forward, setting the glass down. "Jaune...before you say anything, I want to tell you that what happened on the road here was an had no way of knowing what was going to happen. If you hadn't taken action, either of us could have been injured or even killed...again." She said softly, her breath hitching towards the end. "So, thank you, Jaune, and I'm really sorry that I couldn't do more…"

He shook his head. "Pyrrha, it's not your fault, and you're right, it was an accident. I'm not proud of what happened, but I'm not going to regret it forever. You know why?"

Pyrrha held his gaze, as if looking to see what was in his heart. Evidently, whatever she saw there met with her approval, because she nodded slightly before smiling and asking, "Why, Jaune?"

"It's because you were in danger." Jaune admitted, the tips of his ears turning pink. "You've always been my friend, my mentor and, on more than one occasion, even my savior. I owe you a lot, and I don't think I can ever repay that."

"Jaune, you don't owe me anything." Pyrrha interrupted, the barest hint of a frown on her expression, "You gave me your friendship, your trust. You never asked for favors from me, never expected help in exchange for company. Spending time with you was unconditional and relaxing in a way that I had rarely felt before." Her expression shifted to a soft smile. "You don't know how much that meant to me, and still does."

"Pyrrha…" Jaune intoned gently, touched by her heartfelt words. He thought he knew how much she meant to him, but it never occurred to him just how much he meant to her. "Wow...I had no idea...but you know, I didn't just do it because I felt I owed you, but well...since the dance, you've come to mean a lot to me."

On seeing her mouth fall open slightly in a look of surprise, he held out a palm, "No..wait, let me finish before I lose my nerve." he insisted before soldiering on, "At first, I didn't have anyone who would believe in me. My own family was skeptical of my wish to be a huntsman. I could never understand that. It wasn't a big wish, wasn't something impossible, but no one ever thought I could do it."

After a moment's pause, he continued, "I tried to come to Beacon, I failed. Then I cheated my way in...but I didn't really belong in there." He gave a small laugh, mostly directed at himself. "I was just some sheltered kid who didn't even have his aura unlocked! I was sure I was gonna die during initiation, but you saved me. Not only that, you even unlocked my aura, trusted my lead and followed my harebrained idea that somehow succeeded. You were my hero that day, Pyrrha. When Ozpin named me the Team Leader, I felt unworthy, that you should be the one getting it...you had carried us through, after all." He said with a self deprecating grin before continuing.

"I was going to talk to you about it, but you were so happy! You just looked so...proud when I was made team leader! I don't know how to best say it, but I guess I wanted you to feel that proud every time, you know? Even though I let you, and Ren and Nora down during Cardin's bullying...but you never lost faith in me. No matter what, you always believed in me."

Before he could continue, he found himself interrupted by the banging of pots and the clatter of metal on wood coming from the kitchen. They both almost jolted out of their seats at the sudden noise, and for a moment, Jaune felt that he was back in the forest once more, being attacked by that White Fang woman. That only lasted for a second, before he realized that they were safe inside Ruby's home, and it was evident that Taiyang was out from his shower and was probably cooking a meal.

Their jumpiness on even the slightest sound would have been almost comical if it wasn't so pitiful.

Getting his racing heart under control, Jaune sat back down on his armchair heavily, disappointed that, yet again, they were interrupted. He was about to say something before he noticed Pyrrha still standing, a pensive expression on her face. Within seconds, she squared her shoulders and set her chin up in a determined expression. He had seen that demeanour so many times, usually before her turn in combat class or while facing down Grimm.

Before he could wonder what had caused her to look so determined right now, she stepped forward and sat down beside him on the armchair. Not stopping there, she took his hand in hers and rested her head on his shoulder, in a silent gesture of care and support.

For what seemed like minutes they remained thus, not even moving a muscle before Pyrrha shifted slightly to look up at him.

"Jaune…" she said, "... you are a good man. Maybe you have made mistakes, but so have we all."

"Even you?"

"Even me." She confirmed, before she smiled wanly at him, "Don't go and put me on a pedestal now, Jaune. I've had enough of pedestals." She said with a shudder, "I'm just someone who was lucky enough to be blessed with talent and skill. I did hone it, of course, but so have you. If you could see yourself from the beginning of the semester to now, you would be shocked to see how much you have improved. I have never met anyone with your motivation and desire to improve, and I am not just saying that. I mean it."

"I...thank you...you have said that before too, you know?"

Pyrrha laughed. "I have, and I will say it again and again till you accept it."

Their conversation fell silent after that. The warmth and the care that the two shared was just too comforting, and both were reluctant to say something and dispel the moment. So they remained quiet, lost in their thoughts. For his part, Jaune was happy to know that Pyrrha didn't think any less of him for what he'd accidentally done. Then again, why would she? Being a huntsman meant making tough decisions and putting one's life on the line.

He remembered the old adage that his grandfather would repeat to him when he was just a wide-eyed kid, full of energy and reluctant to sit still for even a moment. His grandfather would say 'A huntsman is the first into battle and the last to leave. Being a huntsman is a promise: A promise to protect others.' and he was completely right. Of course, no one had ever said that it would be easy.

At least he wasn't alone. He couldn't even imagine how tough it would be if he didn't have Pyrrha to draw strength from. Her quiet determination was a pillar of invaluable support to him, and he would do anything to make her proud of him. If nothing else, he owed her that much, despite her insistence that he owed her nothing.

Pyrrha. His thoughts kept circling back to her and her soft, warm presence by his side, her head resting on his shoulder and offering him her pleasant companionship.

He cared for her so much, and it confused him.

He could admit to himself that he was attracted to her. She was beautiful, smart,talented, but at the same time, delightfully quirky and, in many ways, as socially inept as he was. She cared for him, beyond just friendship. Her bright smile when he asked her to the prom, and those kisses...they hinted at as much, but it would be nice to have some confirmation.

He had already made a fool of himself once by confusing Weiss' sarcastic mockery to be an expression of actual interest. While he was sure that he wasn't mistaken this time around, he still didn't know how to bring it up.

Protectively, he reached out slowly and wrapped an arm around Pyrrha's bare shoulders, only for her to coo softly and snuggle into his side.

Wait.

Snuggle?

"Pyrrha...did- did you just snuggle?" he asked, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"N-No! You must be mistaken! I did not!" she exclaimed insistently, though her reddening cheeks belied her statement.

"You did!" he teased, just glad for the opportunity to distract himself, to delay the painfully awkward conversation with Taiyang that he knew loomed ever closer.

"Hush, Jaune! So what if I am?" She asked challengingly, grinning despite herself. Jaune was delighted to see her so, the silliness taking away some of the darkness that clouded her eyes, making her smile just a little brighter, just a little more genuine.

"Well...I dunno...continue, I guess?" he replied with a sheepish grin, looking down towards Pyrrha before deciding to just speak his mind "I really don't want to get up and finally face what's been going on." Every ounce of exhaustion he felt poured out of him in a heavy sigh. "Why can't we just leave it all behind,go back to how things were? I never thought I'd say this, but I miss classes, I miss exams. Those sucked, but they were normal...not whatever this is."

"I feel the same, Jaune. But we do need to know what's going on. Ignorance isn't always bliss."

"Yeah, you're right, of course. Pyrrha, can you promise me something?" Jaune asked, looking serious as he took her hand in between his.

"I promise, Jaune...but what?"

"Never leave me alone again, okay? Once was enough." He said quietly, gently squeezing her palm once in a comforting gesture, before standing up from the armchair. "Coming? I'm gonna go and see if Mr. Tai needs any help."

"I..er...you go on ahead, I'll be there soon." she said distractedly as he turned to leave, "and Jaune?"

"Yeah, Pyrrha?"

"I won't. I promise...and I'm sorry."

Jaune merely nodded as he smiled softly, acknowledging the promise given as he left the room leaving a thoughtful Pyrrha behind.

~~oOOo~~

Dinner had been a fairly uneventful affair. Taiyang had cooked up a meatless soup of beans and vegetables, along with a pastry of some sort, filled with spinach and onions. It tasted well enough, but Pyrrha seemed to enjoy it a lot, her pensive look replaced with a cheerful smile as she tucked into the food.

They didn't talk much during the simple meal, with Jaune and Pyrrha muttering in-between bites about how delicious the food was. Jaune hadn't realized how hungry he was till he began eating, and it was all of a few moments before he found himself ravenously devouring it all down. Before he knew it, the dishes were empty and Taiyang had begun clearing away the plates. The two tried to get up and help him out, but they were stopped by an dismissive gesture from Tai.

Soon after, the dishes were put away and Taiyang sat back in the chair with a sigh, before leaning forward and steepling his fingers, looking over the two and affixing them with his piercing gaze.

"So, I guess you two have questions. Before you ask, though, let me tell you what I know, okay?"

"Of course, Mr Tai, please go ahead." Pyrrha answered, Jaune opting to e remain quiet, paying careful attention. All thoughts of mirth and the previous good humor were forgotten.

"First, have you noticed that you have been a bit more...ah...emotional?" He asked, seemingly out of the blue.

Jaune thought back to his seemingly random bursts of emotion, as well as certain detachment from the goings on too. Now that he thought about it, it was rather odd the way he didn't ask more questions, and the way he got carried away by every situation that he found himself in. From bantering with Tai, to teasing Pyrrha...it was strange, to say the least.

"Yes, that's been happening a lot. Do you know why?"

"It's because you died." He said bluntly, "Death has a way of washing away all memories." He held up a hand before either of them could even think to assail him with questions. "Now, I don't know what's the reason that this is happening, but it is. Those who die, don't remain dead for long...and eventually come back to life. At that point, emotions are erratic and all over the place , making a man a slave to his own instincts."

"That sounded like the Waters of Lethe!" Pyrrha exclaimed, eyes widened in recognition.

"Lethe? What's that? I've never heard of it." Taiyang spoke with a frown, a look of guarded interest on his face.

"Er...it's just an old legend that my mother used to tell me…" she spoke, a little uncomfortable at being the center of attention, especially with Tai's intense gaze boring down at her, "She used to tell about the heroes of old, and about the afterlife. About how the Underworld, where all souls go after death, was surrounded by five rivers. One of those rivers was Lethe... the river of forgetfulness. It's said that before being reborn, all souls had to drink from the waters of Lethe, which would wash away their identity and memories, leaving them a blank slate for their rebirth."

"Interesting." Taiyang commented after the story was complete. Jaune wanted to hear more, but he knew it wasn't the right time for that. But he secretly resolved to ask her about it later. Where did she even learn all those stories? How many stories did she know?

"I don't know how much of that legend is true, because I certainly don't remember the time while I am dead...but you are right, that's similar to what does happen. It gets worse, because eventually, after enough deaths, all that remains is a creature stripped of all his sense of self, driven only by rage and pain. That is what I call as a Hollow."

"A Hollow? So, those White Fangs?" Pyrrha spoke up, comprehending and drawing quick connections as the tale unfolded.

"Yeah, all of them are Hollows. They are scarcely better than the Grimm at this point. They are not alive, nor are they dead. Just mindless beasts, that's all they are."

Dead.

They were already dead.

Was that why…?

"Er...Mr. Tai...so, they don't have aura anymore, yeah?" Jaune asked, the pieces finally clicking together in his mind, but he wanted confirmation anyway.

"Oh? Yeah, no, no they don't." Tai replied affirmatively, adopting a look of mild surprise at Jaune's quick deduction. "Aura is something that only those with souls have. Technically speaking, we're not alive either...but we still have our sanity, we still think...we still have capacity for love." He said meaningfully.

"Mr Tai, then what makes us truly different from these...Hollows…? Why do we still have our auras, and they don't? " Pyrrha asked, her brow furrowed as she struggled to make sense of what she was hearing.

"The sense of self, I think. I can't be too sure, but from what I've seen, you need to retain your sanity. As I told Jaune before, despair is the real killer. The constant hopelessness, the pain of death, the rage and grief of a life without meaning...it eats away at you. You give in to your despair and you begin to go hollow."

"This is all too much to take in…" Pyrrha said, exchanging a furtive glance with Jaune, who agreed wholeheartedly with her. "How do you know all this?"

Tai sighed, running his fingers through his hair in a long-suffering gesture.

"You know, I lost count of time long ago. I don't remember the time I saw Ruby...or Qrow..or anyone at all, for that matter. But I do remember the day when everything changed."

"W-what happened?" Pyrrha inquired.

"After the two of you died, Ruby...well, she didn't take it well at all. She was lost in grief and she blamed herself for it. It took a lot of time for her to recover from that blow, but even when she did, she wasn't the same. She smiled less, talked even less and she desperately hung on to the few friends that she had left. Then she set out, set out to find answers, to find your murderer...maybe even to avenge you both. In the early days, she used to write back often...that slowed down after a while, and soon stopped entirely."

Taiyang looked haggard and downcast as he looked at them, yet through them, lost in his own memories.

"I don't know the full extent of everything that Ruby did, but I do know that she was important...and by extension, I became a person of interest too. Those White Fangs, they didn't come here out of some misguided attempt at strong arming. They were here on a simple mission: to kill or capture me...most likely to get at Ruby through me. But, heh, they found that this old man could still put up a fight."

He grinned at that, though under the shadows cast by the Dust-fueled lights, it looked more like a grimace.

"They came at me in droves, but I fought them off. At first, I fought to incapacitate, to injure, put them out of the fight, you know? But they were relentless. Eventually, I began fighting to maim and to kill, but they were seemingly endless. The fields ran red with blood, but slowly, I began to lose the ground. I knew it was only a matter of time before I would have been overwhelmed. That is when it happened."

"W-What happened?" Pyrrha asked in a hushed whisper, her eyes wide in shock as this terrifying tale unfolded. Jaune put away the mentions of Ruby as questions to be asked later, another drop in the massive pile that already existed, one that seemed to grow bigger with every moment.

It was strange, Jaune reflected. For all his reluctance in facing the reality, he found himself engrossed and enthralled by the story, bubbling with questions that he wanted to ask, to know more.

The answers were so close! And they beckoned oh-so sweetly.

Taiyang licked his lips, and leaned forward as he spoke quietly.

"That is when the sky shattered."

A/N: And that's a wrap.

I return! With a glossary of the unfamiliar words and themes used. But before we get to that, time for some acknowledgements and recommendations.

The cover art was drawn by Nliast, on Tumblr. Go check her artwork out, and support her. She's awesome. Nliast . tumblr. com

Recommended Fics :

1. For those we are yet to lose, by AFiddlingSnail. I've been enjoying the hell out of this one. Hoping for an update soon.

2. The Spirit's Wedding, by Solvdrage. An Arkos fic, a really interesting premise that I want to see more of.

Glossary of Terms:-

1. Waters of Lethe: This is taken from the Greek Underworld Myths. Hades was said to be encircled with five rivers : Styx, Cocytus, Phlegethon, Lethe and Acheron. Each had it's own importance and duty, but Lethe, as the river of forgetfulness, was where the memories of life were wiped clean. Heroes who achieved Elysium, were welcomed to try and achieve Elysium three times in all, by drinking in from Lethe, and being reborn again in a new attempt. Those who achieved Elysium thrice, were sent to the Isles of the Blest, where the best of the best lived.

2. Spanakopita and Fasoulada: The food that Taiyang cooked. Both are traditional greek dishes, with Fasoulada being cooked as an offering to the God Apollo in the festival of Pyanopsia in ancient times. Since Pyrrha has greek themes and motifs, she recognized and was delighted by these dishes.

3. Hollows and Despair: This is a dark souls mechanic. In the game, Hollows are created when humans either die enough times to lose their humanity and sanity...or when they give in to despair and hopelessness and go mad. In the game, hollowing and deaths wipe away memories, and is a gameplay mechanic to remove Souls, the currency of the game, upon each death. In the story, however, losing memories and going hollow is a figurative as well as literal death, as there is no coming back from being Hollow.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll be back soon with the third installment of this series.

Do read and Review.