Fusilier

Jaune Talks to the Hand

  Donnie sat on the roof. Above him stretched the sky. It's endless void filled a multitude of bright stars surrounding a shattered moon. In front of him lay the broken down pieces of his rifle, and to his left sat an open jar gun oil.
  He picked up a piece of the weapon and lovingly rubbed the insides of the barrel with a rag. Upon finishing the piece in his hand he picked up the action. Polishing the bolt and chamber with care before wiping down the outside wood. He was starting on the stock when the door leading back to the dorms creaked open.
  His head jerked up, hand reaching for the bayonet beside him. The blade seemed to sing as it was pulled from its sheathe.
  Donnie relaxed when Pyrrah and Jaune emerged from the doorway. "Evening," Donnie greeted from beside them. They both jumped from surprise, hands going to their weapons. The soldier laughed and went back to cleaning the rifle. By the time they had recovered he was reassembling the rifle.
  "W-What are you doing up here Donnie?" Jaune asked while looking at the partially assembled gun. "Oh just some simple maintenance. And you?"
  Pyrrah spoke up,"I have been training Jaune up here for the past few nights. This is where we train. Why are you doing maintenance up here?"
  Donnie set the now clean rifle to the side and began to disassemble his revolver. "Well I would do it in my dorm but this requires gun oil which my ever so glorious team hates the smell of. So I do it up here." After a few moments he looked at Jaune and Pyrrah. "Well don't let me interrupt your training."
  A few minutes later Jaune slumped next to Donnie out of breath. "We need to work on your stamina Jaune. You can't win any fight if your tired before it's even begun!" Pyrrah exclaimed as she stood over Jaune. Glare on her face.
  Donnie, who had finished with his revolver, was busy sharpening the blade of his axe when he looked at Jaune. "I could help you with that."
  They both looked at him. "And how...would you do that?" Jaune asked between breaths. Donnie held up the axe to the sky, inspecting its condition in the moonlight. "I could utilize some of my basic training for ya. Just meet me in the morning at 5:30 in the courtyard. And be certain to wear your armor."
  Jaune was about to protest about the time when Donnie stood and shushed him. When he was quiet Donnie moved through the door and down to his dorm. Humming all the way.
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  The next morning Jaune trudged wearily into the cool morning air. He could see Donnie standing at the edge of the courtyard, wearing his full uniform. At his feet sat his now full pack.
  When he reached Donnie, Jaune could noticed his face was completely serious.
  "Put on the pack." Donnie ordered as Jaune stopped and stood in front of him. He slid on the pack, straining under the weight of it.
"What... do you have... in this thing!?"
"I filled it with rocks earlier. Now follow me."
Donnie moved forward waiting for Jaune to fall in beside him. Once he did Donnie started to jog, motioning for him to follow. After ten minutes Donnie looked back to see Jaune standing on the side of the path panting.
He walked to Jaune, disappointment clear on his face. When he reached Jaune he waited until Jaune stood up straight. When he did Donnie brought his fist around in an uppercut. The sound of flesh hitting flesh was loud in the silence.
Jaune dropped to the ground. "What was that for?!" He shouted while rubbing his jaw. Within in instant Donnie was in his face.
"You think this is a fucking game Jaune!?!"
He yanked Jaune up from the ground and shoved him forward. "I did some math Jaune! The weight of what I put in that pack is about the same as the weight of your sword and shield! You can't go ten minutes while jogging with it! Fucking pitiful!" He kicked Jaune into motion. Jaune got the message and started running.
  A half hour later they stopped back in the courtyard. Jaune nearly panting from the run. He flinched a small bit when Donnie moved to him and slid off the pack, emptying its contents onto the ground.
  When Jaune next faced Donnie he seemed a bit sheepish. "Sorry... about punching you and all that I said. It's just that my drill sergeant was like that and it certainly helped." Jaune waved his hand dismissively while panting. The soldier nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright now. Go and grab a shower we'll continue with another session tomorrow."
  He interrupted Jaune again while he was moving back to the dorms. "And don't forget to bring your sword and shield. The rocks got me pack all dirty." Jaune simply groaned and shuffled into the dorm building.
  A few hours later teams RWBY and JNPR once again sat in the dining hall. "Jaune, what uh happened to your face?" Ruby asked from across the table. The blonde rubbed his bruised jaw and pointed to Donnie who was chewing on a potato. "What did you do to him dude?" Yang asked from his side. After a few seconds when he didn't reply Yang asked again.
  "Donnie!... Donnie!... Donnie!"
  "Huh?"
  Donnie looked at her, eyebrow raised. "What are you, deaf!?" Yang shouted at him. He shook his head and pointed at his ear. "All the shooting back home. Messed up me hearing somethin' fierce, and sometimes when it's quiet my ears start ringing," they nodded. "So you have tinnitus?" Pyrrha asked from across the table. The young soldier shrugged, not sure what tinnitus was at the time.
"But that still didn't answer the question." Blake insisted from down the table. Donnie nodded, "I punched him." The prompt answer shocked everyone.
"Why did you punch him!?" Pyrrha practically shouted at the soldier. He shrugged, "I filled my pack with enough stones to equal the weight of his sword and shield. We commenced to jogging around the school and after ten minutes he could not continue. I told you I was going to use some of my training for this. His performance was unacceptable. So, I gave him some incentive." 
  Everyone at the table except for Jaune sat in complete awe of how simply he had waved off injuring his friend. Before anyone could respond they heard someone yelp in pain. Donnie spun around, hand gripping the bayonet hanging at his waist.
  "P-Please stop Cardin!"
  Donnie saw Cardin standing over a frightened bunny faunas. Him and the rest of his team were yanking on her ears. Donnie sighed and stood up, bayonet drawn from its sheathe.
  As Cardin went to tug on the faunas' ears he was stopped when he felt an arm wrap around his shoulder and the cold steel of a blade at his throat.
  "Hey buddy. Whatcha doing over here?" A voice said in his ear, it was laced with venom.
  "Just ah h-having some fun man."
  Cardin attempted to motion for his team to help. When Donnie noticed them reaching for their weapons he increased the pressure of the blade. Drawing a bit of blood from his neck.
  "Call your boys off Cardin."
  The bully seemed to have regained some of his confidence. "Or what Donnie? What'll happen?"
  The soldier released a dark chuckle. "Or I'll slit your throat where you stand. Don't test me boy." Cardin stiffened at the response. "A-Alright. Back off guys."
  Donnie smiled and shoved Cardin forward. The bully composed himself and walked quickly to the exit, his team close behind. When the soldier saw them leave he slid the knife back into its home and moved over to the faunas girl. "You okay?" The girl blushed from embarrassment. "Y-Yes I am. I-I'm Velvet by t-the way." He smiled and held out his hand for her to shake. While their hands shook he introduced himself. "And I'm Donnie McManus resident Fusilier. At your service."
  When they finished Donnie went back to his lunch while Velvet went to find her team. When he sat down they all stared at him wide eyed. "Why did you do that!" Weiss shouted angrily at him. Donnie glared back, "And what did you expect me to do princess? Stand by and let someone get hurt?" They glared at each other locked in a tense staring contest. Eventually Weiss groaned and relented, scowl still present. While Donnie's face brightened.
"Grumble all you want, won't change a thing." He looked at the watch around his wrist, the tarnished metal in need of cleaning. "Ah, and we need to get to our next class."
He dumped his tray and shot out of the door.