𝐈𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 (English)

Chapter 26

It was a frantic rush getting Jaune to the infirmary, and an even more frantic team that escorted him there. Ren held a cloth to his neck to stem the bleeding while Nora and Pyrrha carried him. Once there, he was dragged into a bed by the doctor, Tsune, and the cloth was peeled away so she could see his throat. His teammates hovered about in helpless worry as the faunus cleaned, dressed and stitched the cut in his throat closed. Her hands were bloody by the end of it, and Jaune felt positively awful.

"Will he—?" began Pyrrha.

"He'll live," said Tsune. "The wound looked a lot worse than it actually was. Plenty of blood, but his arteries and veins were fine. It's like someone surgically cut his skin open without actually slicing his throat. He might have been fine if you'd just left it, but it was good you brought him here just in case. How did this happen?"

"We don't know!" wailed Nora. "We were all asleep and then Pyrrha screamed and we woke up to Jaune covered in blood!"

"I woke up when he made a sound," said Pyrrha, wringing her hands together. "I don't know why, but he woke up so violently that I did as well. I thought he'd had a nightmare and made to say something, but then I noticed all the blood."

"The door was locked." Ren's voice was calm, though his face was not. It was strange to see him so worried, but then Jaune supposed the idea of someone sneaking in and killing one of your teammates was a frightening thing. "I had to unlock it on the way out, and there was no sign of anyone getting in."

"Could this have been self-inflicted?" asked Tsune.

Jaune made to protest that one but his throat hurt too much from the stiches. He let out an angry groan instead, which drew their attention. Slowly, he shook his head, then winced. That hurt too. He made an x-shape with his hands instead.

"I think that's a no," said Nora, smiling weakly. "And to be fair if Jauney wanted to take his own life with any degree of success then I don't think he'd do it in the middle of our dorm, in bed, in his pyjamas, and then wake everyone up."

"Without a knife, too," added Ren. "Unless he cut his throat open with his fingernails."

They shared a nervous and probably much-needed laugh, to which Jaune rolled his eyes and offered Ren his middle finger. It seemed to calm them down a little – the idea of his self-harm being too absurd to worry about. And it was. Jaune wouldn't say his life was perfect by any means, but it wasn't that bad either. Plus, he'd never do that to his teammates and his family. At least, he liked to think he wouldn't.

"Is it possible he caught his neck on something?" asked Pyrrha.

"It's possible," said Tsune, in a tone that seemed to suggest the possibility was a scientific one – in the same way that it was technically possible to survive a skydive without a parachute. "With little else to comment on, we'll have to assume that until Mr Arc is in a condition to talk to us. His aura is healthy, which is good news. The problems he had with it before don't seem to be related to this, and the fact it's actively working to prevent any further damage now is a good sign." The doctor sighed, and said, "I know this isn't going to be easy to accept, but the three of you should head back to your dorm to rest."

None of them moved.

"I tried," said Tsune, giving up after a single attempt. "You can stay here if you wish, but you'll need to stay quiet if any other patients come. You'll also be expected to attend lessons as normal. I'll file a report to the headmaster for him to see in a few hours. Mr Arc, please do not try to speak. You're not terribly injured, but those stitches in your neck could pull loose or tear if you strain them."

Jaune raised his hand, thumb up, and the doctor nodded back, moving into her back office to file a report. Ozpin would probably realise something had happened when he read it, and Jaune was sure he'd be having a more thorough meeting with him later. He might have to ask for a notepad and pen to write on.