Chapter 61: Ch. 61 The Night Continues On
Ruby is standing behind the punch table with a glass in her hand.
Jaune slides up next to Ruby, also with a glass in his hand. "I see you're hiding at the punch bowl too"
"Yep" Ruby pops the p in yep.
"To the socially awkward" Jaune moves his glass towards Ruby to clink them together.
Ruby giggles as she clinks her glass with Jaune.
"So who did you end up coming with?" Ruby asks as she sips from her glass.
Jaune looks at the dance floor and spots Dazz, Nyx, Neptune, and Sun. Mercury is also dancing with his teammate. It takes a second but Jaune remembers her name, it was Emerald. "I came with some of the guys…"
"Ohhh…" Ruby awkwardly rocks on her heels but nearly falls. She catches herself and stops messing around with her heels. "Why didn't you ask Ayaka?"
"I've been asked that a lot you know. And each time my answers feel more and more like excuses. But now my answer is that she already has a date to the dance. Some Daniel guy or something. She seemed pretty interested. I'm just a bit surprised. I figured it was someone we knew, but it was some second year…" Jaune sighs before putting in a smile. "But she seemed happy. Who am I to try and ruin her dance by trying to fix my own leadership problem"
"Jaune" Ruby puts her hand on his shoulder. "You aren't a bad leader. You've only been at Beacon a short while and you're still hanging in there with the rest of us. You may not be the perfect leader, but the truth is… nobody is. Not you, not me, not Sun, and neither is Alabast. We just do the best we can. And I don't know who this 'Daniel' person is, but Ayaka came here alone"
"Huh?" Jaune turns towards Ruby. "What do you mean? I saw Daniel introduce himself and ask her to the dance. I saw Ayaka's tails move like she's happy. It was like when Alabast is near you girls!"
Ruby takes her hand off his shoulder. "How close we're you to her? It must have been pretty close if you were able to hear their conversation right?"
"I was relatively close, down the hall and around a corner. I was within eavesdropping distance. But what does that have to do with anything?" Jaune doesn't see the correlation.
Ruby points at her nose. "Some Faunus have heightened senses. Like how almost all of them have night-vision. Alabast has a very strong nose compared to other Faunus, but so does Ayaka probably. Her semblance is all about scents after all"
"That's… a very dumbed down way to explain her semblance" Jaune remembers the hours he spent trying to understand it. "But so what? I don't see how her enhanced smelling is important to this"
"Silly Jaune" Ruby shakes her head. "How do animals in the wild track their prey without seeing them or their tracks?"
"Did you study a little too much for Professor Ooblecks class?" Jaune wonders why Ruby is being so cryptic.
"That's DOCTOR Oobleck! I didn't work that hard just to be called Professor"
A messy green haired teacher says as he takes some punch from the bowl with its ladle and pours it into his thermos. "And the predator tracks it's prey through various means. You said without sight? That could be because the prey has evolved to blend in with its surrounding or it's good at hiding. So that means the predator will need to use its other senses. Like listening to its surroundings or smelling for the prey. A good example is the snake, it can smell things with it's tongue. Such fascinating creatures!"
Ruby awkwardly smiles. "R-right…"
Jaune rubs the back of his head. "Thanks prof-" Jaune pauses and corrects himself. "Dr. Oobleck. Thank you"
"Anytime my boy. Anytime" Oobleck puts the lid on his thermos and slightly bows. "I'll be on my way now. Enjoy the rest of your night Mr. Ark, Ms. Rose" Oobleck doesn't wait for them to respond before dancing away and disappears into the crowd.
Jaune and Ruby are left speechless for a few seconds.
"So that was a thing" Jaune says.
Ruby blankly stares into the distance. "It most certainly and unfortunately was"
Jaune shakes his head. "Anyway, back to the point. What is the whole point? Are you saying that Ayaka liked the way Daniel smelled or sounded?"
"No you goofball" Ruby shakes her head and turns back to Jaune. "Ayaka spends a lot of time with you. It's likely she knows your scent quite well. Not in a creepy way or anything… if there is a non-creepy way. But what I'm trying to say is that Ayaka probably was able to catch your scent"
"Do I really smell that much?" Jaune smells his armpits.
"No…" Ruby looks the other way. "But you should probably not use the all in one shampoo, conditioner, and body wash"
Jaune instantly lowers his arms. "So I do smell!!"
"No! You smell fine!" Ruby waves her hands frantically. "I mean….! I don't notice it, and I doubt anyone else does, but it's like how Alabast has switched to separate shampoos, conditioner, and body wash! His hair smells much better now. And it's funny how his body smells different than his hair… Gosh! What are you making me say?!" Ruby crouches down in embarrassment.
"Alright! I get it! I don't smell bad but I don't particularly smell good, now please stand up before you fall over Ruby" Jaune gives her a hand. He's seen her struggle with her heels.
Ruby takes his hand and stands up with some assistance. "Stupid lady stilts…"
"So why didn't Ayaka go with Daniel?" Jaune asks immediately.
"Right" Ruby looks around the dance floor. "She was waiting for that one person to ask her. And Daniel wasn't it. And if Daniel wasn't the reason why her tails were moving around happily, then who else was there that she could have smelled?"
"Who else? As far as I know I was the… only… other… one… there…" Jaune slowly realizes that he didn't read the room right at the time. "Oh…"
"Yep" Ruby pops the p as she looks around the room. "I think you and Ayaka need to have a talk" Ruby pats Jaune's back. "Tonight"
Jaune facepalms. "Yeah"
"Well no use standing here" Ruby gives Jaune a slight push. "Ayaka left for the party early, so she should be here somewhere. Go find her"
Jaune catches himself after Ruby's nudge. "How am I supposed to spot Ayaka in this big crowd?"
Ruby rolls her eyes and shrugs. "I don't know. Look for the girl with purple hair, a purple dress, and 3 purple fox tails"
Jaune slumps his shoulders. "I already know she should stand out. I'm a asking because I haven't seen her"
"Oh, if she isn't on this floor you should check the second floor and balcony" Ruby points up at the floor above.
"Thanks Ruby" Jaune walks away and heads towards the stairs.
Ruby just happily waves him off as she takes a sip from her cup.
——————
Alabast finishes dancing with Weiss as the song ends and transitions into the next one.
Weiss brushes her bangs out of her eyes. "Who gets to dance with you next?"
Alabast glances around the ballroom. "I plan on dragging Ru-"
The song 'Shine' that is composed by Jeff Williams begins to get louder and louder.
"Ren!" Nora shouts. "This... Is... Happening!"
Ren watches Nora run towards the side and then towards Alabast. "Wait, what 'is happening'?"
Nora finds and grabs Pyrrha from the side of the dance floor towards Alabast. Nora grabs Alabast's wrist and smiles widely. "It's happening!!!!"
Weiss folds her arms. "What's happening?"
Alabast looks at the eccentric orange haired girl. "Wha-?"
Nora doesn't wait to answer any questions and drags the two people to the center of the dance floor.
Ren catches up with Nora and gives her a weird look. "What are you up to?"
Nora lets Alabast and Pyrrha go. "Just face that way…!" She points in a direction. "And lets dance!"
The dance floor partially clears and gives the team some room to dance. From left to right it is Nora, Alabast, Pyrrha, and Ren. Nora and Ren are slightly behind Alabst and Pyrrha.
The song ends it's build up and the lyrics start as team ANVL begins their spontaneous, synchronized, elaborate, choreographed dance.
"Baby~, it's time to make up your mind
I think that tonight is when our stars align
Honey~, it's time to leave the doubt behind
Take my hand 'cause you and I are gonna shine"
After their small synchronized dance is finished they slip to the side of the dance circle to let another team or group of people to have a go.
Nora waves her arms through the air. "Oh my STARS that was Amazing!!!!" She turns to Alabast. "I can't believe that you are so flexible! Or that your tail didn't knock anyone out!"
"Why me? What about Ren knowing how to dance?" Alabast deflects her question.
Nora grins. "Who do you think taught him how to dance?"
Pyrrha can't hold back her laughter. "I'm sorry"
——————
Jaune searched the second floor but couldn't find Ayaka there. But he did see team ANVL tear up the dance floor. It was a pretty good view from up above.
"Alright Jaune, use that Arc charisma. Ayaka is just like any other girl" Jaune makes his way out to the balcony.
He instantly spits the beautiful figure of Ayaka. Her three fluffy foxtails get slightly moved around by the breeze. Her hair and sparkly dress stand out against the dark night sky.
Jaune pauses mid stride for a second as he sees Ayaka in her dress. But he composes himself and steps out onto the balcony.
Ayaka's tails flick. "Hello Jaune"
"Oh, er…" Jaune hadn't even been able to say hello yet when he is reminded that Ayaka can apparently smell him from a distance. "Hello Ayaka. Enjoying the dance? I haven't seen you in there yet tonight"
Ayaka doesn't turn around and continues to lean on the railing while she looks out over the campus. "I'm afraid I just arrived a little while ago, and I can't say it hasn't been fun, I'm just not used to these big party events"
"Yeah, I'm not a big fan of these either" Jaune rubs the back of his head and walks up to the spot next to Ayaka and leaves some room between them. "But I thought you left to come here early?"
Ayaka glances at him from the corner of her eye. "Who told you? Was it Pyrrha? Or Alabast?"
"No, it was actually Ruby. And she also told me that you came here alone, is that really true?" Jaune bluntly asks.
Ayaka brings her right hand to her left and looks up at the moon. "Yeah, I came here alone. I was stupid for getting my hopes up"
Jaune rests his elbows on the railing and looks down at the ground below. "You aren't stupid. The person who didn't ask you to this dance is the stupid one. He's the biggest idiot out there…" He pauses. "Why didn't you accept Daniel's invite?"
Ayaka looks at Jaune with a curious gaze. "How do you- Were you really there last night?"
"Yeah, I couldn't get ahold of you via scroll for…reasons. So I searched for you the old fashioned way. It took a while but I eventually found you. It's just that when I psyched myself up enough, you were already talking with that Daniel guy. At the time I saw you and your tails, it looked like you were enjoying your conversation with him. When he said he wanted to know you better and you didn't deny him I left. I figured he was the one you were waiting for" Jaune goes over the events of the previous night.
"I-" Ayaka immediately responds but Jaune cuts her off.
"Is it true that you are able to smell me?" Jaune immediately stands up and turns towards Ayaka. "I-I mean, like, Uhm. Without seeing me, can you smell me? Or did you like tag me with a fragrance that only you can smell? Oh Gods I'm not making this any better" Jaune blushes and covers his face with both hands.
Ayaka's shoulders stiffen a little. "I can. But sometimes I think it's just my mind playing tricks on me, I guess that wasn't the case last night"
"Do I smell bad?" Jaune peeks through his fingers while he crouches down.
Ayaka gives him a small smile as her shoulders relax a little bit. "It isn't bad. Most of the other Human males don't smell good, but you're different. And I can't smell you from too far away. But if I were to 'tag you with a fragrance' I could smell you from farther away"
Jaune covers his face for a second before standing up and fixing his collar. "I know I haven't been the… 'best' leader-"
"You are doing quite well thou-" Ayaka immediately responds but Jaune interrupts her.
Jaune holds his palm out facing Ayaka to get her to stop. "I haven't been the best leader, or a good friend lately. I tried getting advice from some different people, and they told me to tell you the truth. And I've been struggling to do that a bit. I've also been struggling with my feelings, and seeing you with Daniel… I think I realized what those feelings were"
"Jaune?" Ayaka takes a step back and her eyes widen.
"But!" Jaune turns towards the fox Faunus. "I ask that you wait just a little while longer! There is something I need to go take care of right now. So please go and enjoy the dance! And…" Jaune rubs the back of his neck and looks to the side over the balcony. "…can you wait for me?"
Ayaka walks towards the doors leading back to the dance and talks over her shoulder. "I've waited this long, what's a few more minutes? Just don't make me wait too long, Jaune Arc"
Jaune watches as Ayaka leaves his sight. He clenches his fists and smiles. It didn't go the way he expected to, but that was a much better answer than he could have ever asked for. He shakes his head and then quickly makes his way out of the building to do that one last thing.
——————
Yang is on the second floor overlooking the dance floor by herself.
Ruby wearily walks up next to Yang as she tries not to fall or get knocked over by an accidental bump which she is prone to. And once Ruby gets next to Yang she leans on the guard rail for some additional support.
"You know? I think we really needed this" Yang says to her little sister without looking at the small girl dressed in red.
Yang looks at the floor below them and sees Alabast and Weiss talking as the song starts to end. Penny is also dancing, alone, next to 2 Atlas guards. Nora and Ren are also dancing together.
"Yeah, and you did a good job planning it too!" Ruby smiles and closes her eyes as she compliments her sister's hard work.
"Aw, thanks!" Yang reaches out and brings Ruby into a crushing one-armed side hug while Ruby flails and tries to get free. "It wasn't all me, though. Weiss did a lot too"
Ruby stops struggling and looks down at Weiss who seems to be really enjoying the night. It's rare to see the Ice Queen smile after all. She also sees Ayaka walking down the stairs to the first floor… without a Jaune next to her. Then Ruby watches as Nora goes and snatches Pyrrha and Alabast.
Both sisters inquisitively watch as Ren catches up with the other three in the center of a clearing on the dance floor.
"What are they…?" Ruby can't hear what team ANVL is saying but she does see Nora point in a direction.
"I think they're gonna-" Yang smirks.
Then the sisters watch as as team ANVL dance in unison. And after they dance they split up, Ren and Nora go back to dancing and Alabast splits off with Pyrrha.
"Well that was a thing" Ruby says with sparkles in her eyes.
Yang nods. "It certainly was" Then she rolls her eyes and hangs her head as she sighs. "And tomorrow it's right back to work"
"I'm sure we can handle whatever gets thrown at us" Ruby confidently and enthusiastically affirms.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Quade_The_Unknown
Quade_The_Unknown 2,782 words
Things got a little complicated when I was jumping between scenes and dialogue.
I tried to have it make sequential sense by explaining what was going on around them, did it work? Or should I blatantly say it when I use the line breaker: ——————
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