"The Tale Of Jaune Arc" : An ArKos fanfic! (AU)

The Tale Of Sadness (Pt.1)

"Yes, sadly. I was present at my sister's death." Jude said sadly, looking down at Ozpin's wooden desk that somehow have off a mechanical feel.

"Do you mind explaining? I know it is very hard to-" Ozpin began before Jude's sharp glare broke his speech in half.

"I am not a child, Ozpin. Therefore, please do not treat me like a child. I will tell you the story." Jude relied.

"Do tell."

---

I remember the night like it was only yesterday. Jaine said that she would come to meet me in my little humble home away from the large cities. The whole purpose was so that I could see Jaune once again. You see Ozpin, I hadn't seen Jaune or Jaine for the matter for several years. By now, Jaune was four. He was beginning to speak words clearly, but he still had the baby's tongue.

They were supposed to arrive in the early hours, but something delayed them. I soon began to worry. The sky had turned dark blue, a very horrid sign of night. Although my little abode was far from the cities, the forests surrounding them barely held any Grimm at all, much less spirit beasts that are able to match against Jaine.

But then the familiar cry cracked the sky and sent me running from my home and into the forests in the direction I had heard it from.

"Jaine! Where are you!?" I had shouted. Here in this dark and frightening forest, anything could have happened. She could have tripped and fallen into one of the many potholes lying in the ground. She could have fallen off a cliff, but that was barely plausible. The cliffs were far to the west, a great walk away from my home. That left one option. She was attacked. However, this was when my sister Jaine was at the peak of her strength. Her rank 107 prowess was not only for show, so what single beast could have put up such a fight? I got my answer as soon as I found her, bleeding on the forest floor. She was lying in an open plain, blood pouring from wounds so deep her bones could have been slashed. Lying around her were hundreds upon hundreds of Beowolves, all of their beastly bodies disappearing as they usually did once killed. The number of Beowolves that had gathered in this area was strangely.... Overwhelming. There had never been that many Grimm before, so how come now? The only answer?

The Grimm were getting smarter. They recognized Jaine as one of the strongest, and as such they attempted to eliminate her.

"Jaine!" I had shouted, running as swiftly as possible. A sudden movement to my left found that a Beowulf had survived my sister's onslaught. The Beowulf was missing its's legs, a clear sign of my sister's strikes ripping the legs from the body. However, the Beowulf was not after me. It was after the four-year old, lying on the ground unconscious twenty feet from his mother with multiple cuts. I was too far away to be of any actual use. The next few scenes I can be only remember in small fragments.

The half-dead Beowulf using its forearms to crawl over to the small baby.

Jaine trying desperately to launch herself at the beast, but to no avail as she found herself immediately back on the ground.

The beast roaring as it raised its claws and brought the weapons down.

Jaine crying as she realized there would be only one way to save baby Jaune: Spirit Assimilation.

And so Jaine fused successfully with the Beowulf, however..... She wasn't the same. She was far more aggressive, far more angry than before.

It became apparent that the Beowulf she had fused with was winning the battle for her soul. She knew it as well. She also knew that no one in the family would be able to kill her, as their bond was far too strong.

So she took her own life to save her family the trouble.

---

"That's....." Jude paused, catching her breath as she found that her tears were beginning to cloud her vision.

"That's how she died." Ozpin nodded slightly, a sad expression in his eyes and features.

"She took her own life, knowing that we, her family, could never kill her."

---

Jaune was supposed to be celebrating his victory over Cardin. He was supposed to be at a party with all of his friends, maybe even getting the nerve to ask Pyrrha to the upcoming school dance. He was supposed to be enjoying the rest of the night, but instead he sat alone sadly. No, poor reader, it wasn't that his friends had ditched him or that his friends weren't really his friends. Tonight was a night Jaune wished to spend time alone as his celebration. He even went as far as to ask his teammates to not bother him unless he was desperately needed. The sun was beginning to set now and the beautiful colors of the sunset only reminded him of how he used to watch the sun fall with his mother.

Speaking of his mother, exactly one week from now, his mother committed suicide. Although he never knew why, he knew that he was now motherless. Every year since his mother's tragic passing, depression would suddenly attack him. This happened whenever his mother's memorial was coming up, a date in which he did not take pride in.

Jaune curled himself up into a ball, wishing that he could escape the world and its problems. Tears streamed down his face as he struggled to hold down the sobs, as he once again, just like every year, he blamed himself for his mother's death.

"Maybe if I was nicer to Mom, she'd still be here."

"I should have made her pancakes when she asked me..... Even if I'd burn the house down."

"I shouldn't have yelled at her so much.... Maybe she'd still be alive if I hadn't been such a brat."

"Jaune?" A female voice asked. Being hat he was thinking about his mother, he suddenly looked around and blurted out a word he'd regret saying.

"Mom?" He asked blatantly.

"Jaune... It's me. Pyrrha?" Pyrrha said tentatively. Jaune's cheeks reddened in embarrassment.

"O-Oh.... I.... I'm sorry, Pyrrha." Jaune said, his voice breaking several times.

"You're crying." Pyrrha stated, taking a seats own next to him near the cliff. Jaune scoffed, then began wiping his tears. He couldn't allow Pyrrha to think he was weak.

"Tell me something I don't know." Jaune replied sarcastically. Jaune glanced at her, seeing that she was actually about to respond.

"Don't tell me. I was joking." Jaune quickly cut her off.

"Do you.... Perhaps want to talk about your problem?" Pyrrha asked gently. She'd been watching him for quite sometime now, something she was not used to doing. She'd hidden herself fro her earlier, concealing herself amongst the forest as she followed him to this exact cliff.

"My Mom's memorial is coming up. This happens every year, around this time. Where I get all sad and stuff, you know? I guess I'm just blaming myself for the fact that she's not here." Jaune said, depression again pulling at his heart and threatening to rip it violently out of his chest.

"Oh...." Pyrrha replied simply. "I'm sorry, Jaune. I never knew that you...."

"That I was like this? Yeah, tell me about it. I didn't know either until I was four." Pyrrha suddenly pulled him into an embrace, wrapping her arms around his head gently.

"Oh Jaune. I'm sorry that happened to you, but no one deserves to be alone." Pyrrha said, hugging him tightly.

"No deserves to be alone." Jaune whispered, hugging her back and crying into her shoulder.