A dying Arc's wish.

16: Truths Revealed

Beacon Cliffside:

It was the night before the Beacon Dance and Jaune was training with Mercury on a brightly lit night. Jaune worked on extending his reach while counterbalancing his shifting weight.

Mercury: "Good!" He said firing off a few rounds at Jaune who was spinning midair to dodge. "Keep your legs loose, and your momentum going!" Mercury then rushed at Jaune with a roundhouse followed by several swinging kicks.

Jaune: Although he was getting faster, Jaune still couldn't match Mercury's speed. Whenever Jaune couldn't dodge a kick, he countered it with a kick of his own encased in his golden aura. What followed next was a series of flying sparks and flashes of gold as the two struck each other blow for blow. Jaune went in for an axe kick only to have both his legs cramp up allowing Mercury to easily counter. Jaune fell backwards as he held his legs in pain.

Mercury: "Jaune?" He asked walking up to him and offering a hand up. "You good man?"

Jaune: "Yeah, just a bit winded." he said taking Mercury's hand. "Thanks."

Mercury: "Let's take a break for now, don't want your legs to give out now."

Jaune: "That sounds good actually." He said before taking a breath in to relax his muscles. "Weird, can't remember the last time I cramped up this badly. Glad I'm not bleeding like before though."

Mercury: "You might want to see a doctor about that." He replied as they both made their way to the ledge for a seat.

Jaune: "Trust me... I have..." He said looking up at the destroyed moon. "And every one of them said there's nothing they can do."

Mercury: "'Every one of them'? Damn Jaune, what DO you have?"

Jaune: "I shouldn't say." He replied placing a hand over his mask. "Besides, it's my problem to deal with."

Mercury: "Okay, but now I'm really curious... Are you dying or something?"

Jaune: "No... well... hmm..." Jaune hesitated on answering, he didn't want to be seen as delicate or weak towards anyone. "I... I-I'd rather not talk about it."

Mercury: Originally, he was just trying to make some easy cash while also scoring some info on the other students. Now with Jaune showing off his semblance and spending some time training together, Mercury wanted to know what was holding him back so much. "Tell ya what Jaunie, if you give me the deets on what's going on with you and why you wear that dumb little mask..." He said flicking the side of Jaune's mask.

Jaune: "Hey!" He responded while looking back at him.

Mercury: "Then I promise not to judge or ridicule you, heck I'll even give you the next lesson for free." Jaune thought for a moment before looking back at him. "Come on buddy, what do you say?"

Jaune: He let out a big sigh before he took off his mask and held it in his hand. "Aura rot." He answered. "I have Aura rot, and it's getting worse."

Mercury: "No." He said in slight disbelief. "Really? You? Uh-uh."

Jaune: "Ever since I was five, I've been diagnosed with an above average aura output. And with that output came the worst luck a child could have. My lungs were prone to ruptures, and I struggled a lot with my breathing. I was always put on the sidelines, excluded from physical activities, declared a social outcast... etc." Jaune's voice grew weaker and weaker as he spoke. The weight of these memories reminded him of the depression that came with his condition as he continued to reminisce.

Mercury: "Do you know how long you have?"

Jaune: "If I'm lucky... about another ten years. But at the current pace I'm going at, probably half as long."