RWBY Through Worlds

28: Resistance Makes Me Stronger

"That's just great!" Ren seemed to be short tempered right now. "So even you can't find him. I thought you were here to protect him! What good are you?"

Shine stared at him blankly.

"Ren?" Jaune said.

Ren stormed outside.

Yang rolled her eyes. "I'll go try to find parts for the bike." she said, leaving.

"What happened?" Shine asked.

Jaune told her. Then he said. "Don't mind Ren, by the way...he said a lot of stuff earlier he didn't mean...he's just upset."

"I got that," Shine said. "Very unusual for him. He tends to bottle evnerythig up until he explodes. The trouble is then he no longer cares who he hurts when he does...are you all right?"

"Yeah, I ...I mean he's right, I faked my way into Beacon," Jaune said.

"When did he learn that?" Shine asked.

"I told them on the road," Jaune said. [At least I have to assume that.] "Pyrrha never told them...she wouldn't have."

"No, she wouldn't have," Shine said. "Pyrrha never thought it made a difference did she?"

"I'm not sure why she didn't think less of me for that," Jaune said. "But even now, she doesn't think less of me for the other stuff I've done that I regret." He sat down wearily. "I don't feel like I deserve that kind of leniency."

Shine sat down on the floor.

"Well, neither did I," she said. "None of us do, Jaune. But people who really matter will show it anyway. None of us are perfect. Pyrrha isn't either. Do you hold her mistakes against her?"

"No," Jaune said. "How could I?"

"Then how could she?" Shine said. "She loves you after all."

Silence.

"Too soon, I suppose," Shine said. "Even in a platonic sense, however...it would be true."

A pause.

"Has she...said anything about that?" Jaune asked. "I know she talks to you...this isn't a great time to ask, I mean, we should be focused on Oscar...but you can't take us to him."

"Not if I can't see him, I'm just as lost as you," Shine said. "But once the storm is over, I'll help you look for him. I can fight the grimm better than you...But yes, we'll have to wait. So if you want to talk about this, go ahead. I'm willing to listen."

"I guess...it's pretty stupid though," Jaune said.

"No, it's reasonable to wonder," Shine said.

"So you knew?"

"I knew all of it," Shine said.

Jaune shook his head. "You must think I'm pretty dumb, huh? For not knowing..."

"No...I suppose sometimes we don't know what we know," Shine said. "Feelings are funny like that. I didn't know I liked Wally until I tried to leave him. Felt like it ripped my heart out...I still would have, though, if he hadn't chased me down."

"Really?" Jaune said. "Why were you afraid?"

"I had it all in my head that this job wasn't something I could ask someone else to share," Shine said. "And that the distance between...our lives, was too much. I was wrong...funny, he didn't see it as a problem. In some ways, he's better than I deserve, too. Not one to let fear stop him."

"You don't seem that afraid," Jaune said.

"Because I'm not, much," Shine said. "Much like you, I stop fearing things once I have to deal with them...but anticipating it? I can still get scared. I try not to do that now."