Always be with You (RWBY fanfic)

Chapter 1

Jaune woke up in a wild sweat. At his house, it was silent- his seven sisters and his family were all sleeping. Yet, Jaune wished for the laughter to come back. It had been a distraction for Jaune, to take his mind off of her..

Of course, he couldn't hide from her forever. Pyrrha had always been the type to seek him out if something was bothering him. Pyrrha had always asked him how he was, and in return, he had just ignored her obvious affection for him...

He wished he could've taken that back. He wished that he had never liked Weiss in the first place- but he couldn't blame this on Weiss. This was his fault- and no one else's. He was the one who had been blind to her, and he felt like an idiot.

Jaune stepped out of bed, slipping his armor on and grabbing his sword and shield. He took his scroll and quietly headed downstairs and outside.

"Hi, Jaune! If you're watching this video, that means you've mastered the video before. I hope you have, and aren't just cheating." Pyrrha smiled from his scroll, causing him to take a deep breath.

"Hey, Pyrrha." Jaune heard himself say. What am I doing? She's gone. I can't bring her back..

"Alright, to begin. Today we're going to focus on attacking, and dodging as well." Pyrrha's voice told him. "First, you're going to look at your stance. Is your foot slightly forward? How about your shield? Is it up? Make sure your grip is tight as well. Hopefully you've done these things without realizing it, but I needed to check."

Jaune sighed heavily as he checked his stance. "I'm.. Im good, Pyrrha." Jaune suddenly realized that he hadn't had any other contact with the other members of team JNPR. He silently wondered how they were doing.

"Okay. Now, pretend that there is a Grimm. Its a Beowolf. It's big, and your chances of winning isn't very high without any of your teammates, so you want to try to stall until your teammates get here. So.. On the count of three, I want you to roll once as fast as you can to the right. Stand up quickly once you finish. Ready? One, two.. Three!"

Jaune rolled, almost tipping over but catching his balance and standing. His subconscious put him back into the correct stance.

"Again, but this time, to the left!" Pyrrha instructed.

"Hrgh-" Jaune moved quicker this time, still staggering but not as much.

"One more time. Pick the direction- the Beowolf has its fist headed right in your direction!"

Jaune let out a cry before he rolled to the right, finally managing to stick his landing.

"Well? How was that? If you're still having trouble, rewind the video. But, I'm going to keep going." Pyrrha smiled through the camera. "Okay. So, when I say so, I want you to dodge away from the spot you were just in, and then attack right in front of that spot. Is that confusing? I'm sorry."

"It's not confusing. Don't apologize." Jaune mumbled under his breath, taking the correct stance.

"One.. Two.. Three!"

Jaune sidestepped the attack and then thrust his sword powerfully.

"Again!"

This time, Jaune rolled out of the way and then attacked the area.

"Two more."

Once finished, Jaune was out of breath. But he wasn't going to stop.

"Jaune, it's time to take a short break. I'm very proud of all the progress you made." Pyrrha smiled up at him, and he felt tears start to fall. Angrily, he brushed them away and fast forwarded the video to get to more.

"Break time is over. Now now, don't complain! Heheh!" Pyrrha chuckled. "Check your stance. Now I want you to just practice attacking, so we can make sure those are up to maximum strength."

Jaune closed his eyes, and then opened them again. "Ready, Pyrrha."

"One.. Two.. Three... Oh! Is your grip tight?" Pyrrha checked. "Your foot slightly forward.. Shield up!"

"I know, Pyrrha. I did those already." Jaune's voice cracked.

"Now that I cleared that up.. One, two, three!"

Jaune let out a shout as he swung with all his might. The trees hung over him, looking down on him- just like everything in the world.

Well, except for Pyrrha.

Pyrrha had always believed in him.. But she was gone now.

"No. She's right here." Jaune shook his head. He couldn't fool himself- he knew she was gone.

"Again!"

Jaune swung again, this attack even stronger than the last. His strength and resolve continued to grow as he swung.

"Alright, Jaune. I'm assuming that you're staying up late to do this. It's time to get some rest for today." Pyrrha told him. "Remember, Jaune. You're growing. You're so much farther than where you were before. I'm so proud."

"...Pyrrha.."

"..." Pyrrha hesitated, and looked like she was going to say something else. "Well, goodnight, Jaune. I'll see you tomorrow!"

Jaune sighed as he thought of her words. I'll see you tomorrow! He wished he could- for even a split second. He missed her- why didn't he just admit his feelings to her earlier?

Jaune paused the video and then rewinded it. "Sorry.. I need to get stronger. I know you're worried, but I can handle a little extra training." Jaune told himself, or, rather, in his head, Pyrrha.

"Hi, Jaune! If you're watching this video.."

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Jaune returned home from training exhausted and upset. He snuck back into his room quietly just as he had done every day since her death.

"...Pyrrha.. Come back." Jaune whispered.

He fell asleep from pure exhaustion-and maybe it was because of how tired he was, but he swore that he saw Pyrrha smiling down at him before he passed out.