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Chapter 23 - CH 23

"You are a melee fighter who relies on strength and physical fitness," Glynda explained. She pinched Yang's bicep, and made a point of how the skin did not depress much. "You have higher muscle mass than any of your teammates. Miss Rose is effectively reliant on her scythe, so unless she was to attack Mr Arc out of hand, or crash into him via her Semblance, she would likely be unable to injure him. Miss Schnee and Belladonna are the same, though not quite as frail. They could hurt him, yes. But that would need to do so intentionally. You, on the other hand, are stronger than the average person by far. Even an accident on your end can prove dangerous."

Yang swallowed and shrank in on herself, or she would have if Miss Goodwitch hadn't gripped her arm a little tighter and prevented it.

"That is not something to feel ashamed of. Accidents happen, and they were almost always more likely to happen to you. That is a disadvantage you have had to live with, and one which has now taught you a valuable lesson. That it hasn't until now is a sign of how well you have adapted up to this point. Remember it, and feel grateful for the fact you learned it now where no one was overly harmed." The woman rose, gesturing for Yang to do the same. "Come, let us go and meet with Mr Arc."

Meet him? The mere thought was enough to make her stomach twist, but at the same time she knew it couldn't be put off forever. She nodded woodenly and followed after Glynda, through the door and out into the corridor, then further down and back to the waiting room. To her surprise, Jaune was already there, and was surrounded by Ruby.

How that was possible was mostly due to her Semblance and the fact she was rapidly circling him, checking every angle for injuries as she rattled off questions not even Oobleck would have been able to keep up with.

"Give him some space!" Weiss snapped, catching Ruby by the hood as she made to streak by again. The younger girl came to a screeching halt. "If you keep up like that, you'll make him dizzy. I'm glad to see you're okay, Jaune." The latter was directed to him. "Are you in pain?"

"N-No…" He looked a little dazed, probably from trying to keep up with Ruby. "I have painkillers, so I'm okay. Where-" His eyes caught hers across the waiting room and his words trailed off. Yang shrank back, but was prevented from fleeing by Miss Goodwitch, who pushed her forward with one hand.

She came to a nervous stop in front of him. "H-Hey, Jaune."

He smiled a weak smile. "Hello, Yang."

Her words clogged in her throat. He didn't look upset, and for some reason it was she who was afraid to meet his eyes. She focused lower instead, which proved a mistake as her eyes settled on the blue cloth that made up his sling. His arm was concealed by it, but she could still hear the sound of it cracking. Could feel it coming apart like dry twig in her hand. She shivered.

Blake coughed meaningfully.

"I'm sorry for what happened," Yang gasped, eyes closed. "I didn't mean to and it was wrong, but… but I understand if you can't forgive me. I was out of line and shouldn't have been so rough. I'm sorry."

"It's fine-"

"It's not fine!" she snapped, and for the first time looked up to glare at him. "It's not fine, and I wish everyone would stop acting like it is!"

"Yang…"

"Quiet, Ruby." She pushed her little sister away and squared up to the civilian in front of her. "I broke your arm! I ignored everything you tried to say and forced you to do what I wanted. I thought I knew better, and because of that, I've gone and crippled you. How is any of that okay? How is that not a big deal? Why aren't you angry with me!?"

Jaune stared at her in surprise, and Yang let Weiss and Miss Goodwitch pull her away, even if she continued to stare at him. Why? How? It didn't make sense. Huntresses helped people against Grimm and criminals, both of which sought to hurt the innocent civilians of Vale. Where she now stood in that equation was obvious.

"It's dislocated, not broken."

"Same difference!"

"Ah, I guess." He laughed nervously and made to scratch his head, only to wince as his arm didn't move. When Ruby looked like she might rush over to help – maybe even to scratch his head for him – he stepped back and out of the way. His eyes returned to Yang's a second later. "Look, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to be angry at you," he said. "Annoyed, I'll admit, but that's more at me for not explaining things better. I mean, maybe I'm a little mad, but not to the level you're suggesting."

"Why not?" Yang practically begged. "I attacked you."

"You grabbed my hand and tried to pull me to one side," Jaune pointed out. "My sisters do that all the time. Hell, anyone could do that."

"Not everyone could pull your arm out of its socket."

"No, but I could have tripped and done it to myself just as easily. Or I could have been accepted into Beacon and died when the initiation thing happened." He shrugged with his good shoulder. "There are way worse things that can happen just as easily. I think I'd be upset if you meant it. I'd probably be afraid of you, too," he admitted. "I mean, you are all much stronger than me, so I know you could probably all kill me if you wanted to. There wouldn't be anything I could do about it if you did."

She wasn't the only one to look uncomfortable at that. In fact, Miss Goodwitch was the only one who not showing some kind of distress. Ruby had her eyes on the floor, while Weiss had hers closed and Blake looked positively agonised.

"But the thing is, anyone could do that if they wanted to badly enough. Any of my customers could bring a knife or a gun and kill me, but it's not like I can spend the rest of my life being paranoid about it." He grinned lopsidedly. "If you ever punched me, I would. I think I'd probably ban you from the diner. But for accidentally doing this when you didn't mean to? When you didn't even think it was a possibility that could happen?" Jaune sighed. "I don't think I could do that if I tried. Kids accidentally break their best friend's arm in primary school. It doesn't mean one has to go to prison or live a life of eternal shame."

No, but she wasn't a kid, and this wasn't a playground. She should have known better.

"How long do you have to stay like that?" Ruby asked, filling the uncomfortable silence that had settled between them. Ruby looked worried still, but better than she had when she first arrived. There hadn't been any accusations, but Yang had seen the fear. Ruby had been terrified she'd gone and accidentally killed her friend.

"Two or three days for the sling to come off, and two or three months until everything is healed."

"What's going to happen to the diner?"

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