RWBY: The Resonant Rōnin (Discontinued)

Chapter 7: Forever Fall

"A tree begins with a seed."

Pyrrha P.O.V.

In my dorm, I sadly look out the window as Ren loads StormFlower and Nora is jumping on her bed.

"How come Jaune gets home so late?" Ren looks down sadly.

"He's become rather scarce since he started fraternizing with Cardin."

"That's weird... Doesn't he know we have a field trip tomorrow? We need our rest!"

She twirls in midair so her back hits the covers. I sigh and huff.

"I'm sure our leader knows exactly what he's doing."

Nora and Ren exchange glances.

Jaune P.O.V.

I peek through the crack in the door of my team's dorm and see Nora exchange glances with Ren and shrug.

"Mmmm... I guess so."

I hang my head and close the door.

"Hey Jaune!" I get startled and turn around to see Ruby in her pajamas with Y/N by her, and she giggles at my reaction as Y/N chuckles. "Long time no see! Did you lock yourself out again?"

"Oh, uh, nope!" I raise my scroll, attempting to laugh. "Got it!"

"So! Where have you been lately?"

"I, uh..."

I try to come up with something, but just sigh and lower my head.

"I messed up. I did something I shouldn't have, and now Cardin has me on a leash, and Pyrrha won't even talk to me, and..." I breathe heavy and sigh. "I'm starting to think coming to this school was a bad idea." I press my back to my team's door and slide down to the floor. "I'm a failure."

"Nope!"

"'Nope?'"

"Nope! You're a leader now Jaune. You're not allowed to be a failure."

"But... what if I'm a failure at being a leader?"

"Nope!"

Y/N looks at me in sympathy and places his hands behind his back

"A failure as a leader is a failure of a team. You have to take initiative and improve."

I laugh as Ruby joins me on the floor.

"You know, you're not the easiest people to talk to about this kind of stuff."

"Nope!" I lean into the door some more. "Jaune, maybe you were a failure when you were a kid... and you might've even been a failure the first day we met! But you can't be one now. You know why?"

"Uhhh, because...?"

"Because it's not just about you anymore. You've got a team now Jaune. We both do! And if we fail, then we'll just be bringing them down with us." She gets up and places her hands on her hips as she speaks, "We have to put our teammates first and ourselves second. Your team deserves a great leader, Jaune. And I think that can be you." She walks over to her door and opens it as I watch her wave, slightly inspired now. "Have a good night Jaune!"

Ruby goes inside and Y/N looks to me.

"Jaune. You've not just made it to Beacon, but you've made it alive. That should be enough to convince you that you're capable and can become the best you're able."

Y/N looks to meet back up with Ruby and her team, then decides to walk by me. With new energy, I push myself off the ground and face the door, ready to turn the knob and face my team. But my Scroll beeps and I pull it off of my side to open it, seeing Cardin's contact relaying a message.