The Games We Play

DISCLAIMER: This story is NOT MINE IN ANY WAY. That honor has gone to the beautiful bastard Ryuugi. This has been pulled from his Spacebattle publishment. Anyway on with the show...errr read.

Full Recovery

I knocked on the door, my grandmother standing just a few steps behind me. Though I dressed as casually as ever, she was wearing an expensive-looking business suit, as if she were planning to spend the day hammering out a contract with an associate.

Hell, given the circumstances, maybe that was exactly what she was planning on doing, listing the specifics of our coming stay in Mistral. It was a little odd to think about as any planning at this point was just a formality, as everything was already in place; the therapists had made their judgements, with or without outside influence, grandmother had arranged rooms back home, those who kept track of that type of thing had already been informed, and so on. Everything was already in place and we all knew it, but the moment I'd told her I was going to heal my mother today, Grandma had gotten dressed for legal warfare. She even had a briefcase in one hand and a series of notes prepared on the scroll at her side, presumably all to assist her in the demolishing of paperwork, red tape, and other such sundry beings.

And yet, despite the fact that she seemed prepared to commit assault by contract the moment Mom fulfilled at least half of the 'of sound mind and body' criteria, I didn't get that feel from her. I was pretty certain she'd have been fine with letting Mom stay in Mistral for as long as she needed with no strings attached.

But maybe Mom wasn't, I mused. Maybe she'd feel better about this if there seemed to be some very obvious strings to be wary of and if her mother came calling for her to sign her name in blood the moment she was physically capable of holding a pen again. If instead of kindness—or, as she might see it, pity or charity—this was business, with cold terms and conditions and obligations that she could argue over, wiggle through, and make her own peace with.

Yeah, that sounded about right—and it would give Mom the chance to try and manufacture her own silver lining from the storm clouds she'd been dealt. I wondered if Grandmother would show her some mercy and throw her a few bones, to subtly help her out.

…Probably not. Even when it came to taking care of each other, my family could be a bit dysfunctional.

"Come in," My mother's voice answered, sounding a touch hoarse. I wondered if she'd been drinking enough water; there was a machine there to assist her with it, but I could already tell she'd have preferred to do it herself. Hopefully, that wouldn't be an issue for much longer.

"Hi, Mom," I said with a smile as I pushed open the door. Glancing her over once, I called to Xihai and drew water through the tubes of a nearby container, forming a floating orb in front of her with a bendy straw of water. "Have you been doing okay?"

Mom stared at the sphere for a moment and did a good job covering however she felt about needing assistance just to drink. In turn, I pretended I didn't notice anyway and went to her side as she took a sip.

"Oh, you know," She answered, sounding a touch better now. "Just lying around. Been trying to get some exercise when I can—pushups, jogging, that type of thing. I've gotta hand it to myself; I think I'll have a real leg up on the competition next time the marathon rolls around."

I flashed a smile at the jokes, even if they were self-deprecating, because doing so was enough to make her crack a smile in turn.

"That's cool, I guess," I shrugged lightly. "But don't you think it's about time you got up? You can't stay in bed all day, Mom."

At that, she turned her head towards me, eyes widening even further as she glanced quickly towards her mother. She drew a slow breath and I heard her heartbeat quicken as understanding sank in.

"Jaune…" She whispered, swallowing. "Are…can you…?"

"Shh," I replied, putting a finger to my lips and then extending it to poke her lightly in the nose. As I did, I let my power surge, charging my new healing spell fully and releasing it. With the five second charge Quick Soul granted, I could boost the effect greatly in exchange for about five thousand MP—and with the amount of MP I had access to, I could cast it three times back to back.

So I did.

At once, light filled the room, shining brightly over the healed stumps of her arms and leg. The color was a bright, pure white—the color of my Aura—and existed as a trio of flat disks that slowly began to move. They slipped easily through the holes in my mother's hospital gown, down from her shoulders and thigh, and in the space they left behind was new, whole flesh. The growth of it almost seemed to be pushing the disks away, but at the ends of the reforming limbs were patches of flesh that glowed for a moment before dimming and becoming flesh, casting off sparks as they went.

It took most of a minute, but we watched as my mom healed. When it was done, my mom looked down at her hands in awe and seemed to have been struck speechless.

"You didn't doubt me, did you?" I asked her, resting my chin in the palm of a hand. "I told you I'd heal you."

"I know," She sounded breathless. "I…and I knew you would, it's just…I…thank you, Jaune. These are…."

She shook her head and blinked quickly, before seeming to remember that she had hands and lifting them to touch her face. For a minute, she just seemed lost in the fact that she could do such a thing—to touch things, hold them, and use her hands.

"Something you take for granted until it's gone?" I tried to finish for her, drawing her back to the conversation.

"Yeah," She nodded quickly as she clenched her hands into tight fists and rolled her shoulders. "Exactly."

"Well, they're not gone anymore," I told her, lay a hand on hers. "How do they feel? Is everything alright?"

"They feel…" She paused, tilting her head to the side as she struggled to find the words she was looking for. "Different. Not bad or anything, but…."

"New?" I suggested, looking the new limbs over quickly to make sure they were okay and spotting the changes quickly.

She nodded slowly once and then again with more confidence.

"Yeah, that's a good way to describe it," She mused. "They feel new."

"Your own Aura can heal you pretty well," I considered. "But while it tries to restore you, your body's limits mean it can't always do so perfectly—that's why people can get scars and such. Sometimes, small signs of damage remain and if there's enough of it, it can add up over time. I guess what you're feeling now is that going away."

"It feels nice," She assured me. "But odd. Especially with my legs; one's old, one's new. It's strange, is all."

"We could always cut off the other leg and have Jaune regrow it," Grandmother suggested from her seat by the wall, her tone deliberately distracted. She had her briefcase open on her lap and was quickly flipping through it, making a show of organizing files that were already perfectly arranged. "At this point, it wouldn't be that big of a deal."

Mom's smile became somewhat strained—though whether at the suggestion or the reminder of her mother's existence, I wasn't sure.

"I'll take it under consideration," She said, dropping a hand to the bed and shifting. Realizing at once what she was about to do, I rose to assist her, curling my fingers around her own and placing a hand at her back.

"Need a hand?" I asked, smiling.

"Haha," She answered tonelessly. "That was pathetic. If you're not gonna try, don't even bother."

I shrugged, expression unchanging as I helped her out of the bed.

"It seemed like an easy shot," I defended. "And I was the one who regrew the damn things; I think that gives me a free pass or something."

"Pretty sure that's not how that works, Jaune," She shook her head as she settled her feet on the ground, breathing carefully as she stood at her full height as if expecting to topple over any second.

"Then what was the point?" I asked myself.

"Helping your poor mother," She reminded.

"Ah," I said as if suddenly remembering and placed a hand on her shoulder. "But really…I'm glad to see you up."

"Me, too," She smiled. "I take it you'll be going to heal the others, now?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Onyx, Ren, and a few patients I missed on my first run through. But I can stay a minute if you need me to."

"Go," She chuckled, looking lively for the first time since, you know, losing most of her limbs. "We can talk later."

"Yes," Grandmother said, tapping a stack of papers against the bottom of her briefcase to smooth the pile. "Your mother and I have several matters to discuss now, after all. I assume you've had time to prepare, Isabelle?"

A touch of cold but comfortable-seeming steel slid into my mother's shoulders as she looked at Grandma—and it was something that had been missing from them over the last week.

"Naturally, Mother," She replied with the slight tilt of her head. "Shall we make arrangements, then?"

I rose and left them silently, allowing them to play this game of theirs in peace as I moved on to my next visit. In the silence of the mostly empty hospital—a result of my frequent visits this last week—I heard them both easily. Nora was laughing loudly, her honest exuberance uplifting in its own right. Despite a week in a hospital room, Ren's mood seemed bright enough and his heart beat steadily, a fact that made me smile. Whatever happened, it seemed those two would be okay—and I decided to go along with the good mood and see if I couldn't help improve it even more.

"Hey, Ren," I all but shouted as I reached his room, throwing the door open and striding quickly towards his bed. Without a moment's hesitation, I slapped my hand against his, already upraised to reach for something on his bedside table. "Give me five!"

Ren blinked once at the sudden act and then again as the stump of his other hand began to glow brightly. Instantly, both his and Nora's gazes swerved to the limb in question, widening as they saw what happened. The room was completely silent as his hand and fingers returned and even afterwards, they couldn't tear their gazes away from it.

"What…?" Ren breathed, surprise coloring the sound of his voice. "How did you…?"

And since his attention was on said limb and not upon, say, me, he was caught completely unprepared by what I did next.

"Now drop and give me twenty!" I ordered as I literally rolled him out of bed. With his friendship with Nora, I figured he was probably used to it.

"Gah," Ren grunted as he caught himself with both hands and rose enough to look at me. "I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to treat hospital patients like this."

I sniffed disdainfully.

"I'm the miracle worker here," I stated. "I do what I want."

"Ren," Nora breathed, going to her friend's side at once. She took his new hand in her own, helping him up quickly. Even when he stood, his other hand on the bed to support him after a week of bedrest, she held his hand between her own, as if worried it would fly off and disappear if she let it go.

Ren allowed it without complaint for a minute before gently laying his other hand over hers. Immediately, Nora let go and stepped back, eyes intent on his fingers as he flexed and stretched them. He tested the range of motion, flexibility, and steadiness of his new hand as calmly as a soldier inspecting their weapon, making sure it was in order. I could tell from the furrow of his eyebrows that he'd noticed the same newness as my mother had, but it seemed to mean less to him than it had to her, most likely due to the simple fact that he was far younger than her and had taken less damage over that shorter lifetime.

"All good?" I asked.

"Yes," He replied simply, rolling his wrist several times. He paused for a moment, gaze tracking to Nora, and then tilted his head before nodding with something almost like resignation. "Thanks for the hand, Jaune."

Nora's face promptly split into a massive grin and in a moment she was hugging him tightly enough that I checked to make sure he wasn't going to need any replacement ribs to go with that hand. Despite the fact that Nora was significantly shorter than him, I had to step back as she swung him around in a wide circle, lifting his feet completely off the ground.

"Yes!" She shouted, stopping quickly enough that I added whiplash to the list of injuries Ren was suffering on his way out of the hospital. "You're okay?"

"I'm fine," He assured her calmly, not at all off put by the fact that Nora had needed to force him to his knees to look him eye to eye. "I'll need at most another week to make a full recovery and most of that will just be getting used to the new hand."

"Mhm," I hummed in agreement, quirking an eyebrow as they turned my way, as if only now realizing I was still here. "I already checked it over and there's nothing wrong with it—that's kind of the issue, really. It's brand new and in perfect condition while your other hand is showing some wear and tear from a few years of use. Still, it shouldn't be an issue once you get used to it—but if it is, just get in touch with me and I 'll see what I can do."

About halfway through that sentence, I was forced to lift my arms as Nora collided with me and wrapped her arms around my chest. On anyone else, it might have been a bone-crushing hug—but my bones were made of sterner stuff than most, even without getting into my Adamant skin, so I bore the hug with grace. I even kept talking over the stream of thank yous that poured from Nora's mouth as she squeezed me hard, patting her on the back as I did.

"Will do," Ren nodded, talking the matter as seriously as it deserved to be. I honestly didn't think it would make much of a difference for Ren once he'd had a few days to get accustomed to it, but if it did…if it threw him even slightly out of sync, it might be enough to put his life in danger one day. "Will you be sticking around, then?"

I shook my head.

"No," I said. "I'll actually be leaving Vale before too long; my mom and I will be moving in with my grandmother for a while. I'll leave you a way to contact me, though, just in case."

"I see," Ren replied, expression contemplative as he nodded again, more slowly this time. After a moment, however, he extended his new hand towards me. "Then I should thank you now. For everything."

I chuckled but took his hand in my own and shook it once.

"You don't need to talk like we'll never see each other again," I told him. "I'll be heading to Mistral, but not permanently. Once my mom's okay and we have everything in order, I'll come back."

"That's good news," He smiled. "With any luck, maybe we'll see each other again."

At last, Nora let go of me and bounced a step away.

"There's no need to bring luck into this, Ren," She shook her head, beaming. "We're friends so we will see each other again. Right?"

"Right," I nodded firmly. "I take it you two have decided where you're going as well, then?"

"Headmaster Ozpin came by to speak to us a few more times," Ren smiled slightly. "With everything that happened to the village, we weren't sure, but he said there wouldn't be any problems enrolling at his school. Since we'd intended to do so even before all this, he said he'd pull some strings once we were healed."

"He even threw in free housing," Nora chirped, which didn't fully conceal the uncertainty she felt about that. She was thankful for the offer, even glad for it, but I suppose it just hammered in that she had nowhere else to go. No house, no place to call home, not even a family except for Ren.

But maybe having each other was enough. I'd hope so.

For my part, however, I covered and put aside any suspicions or reservations I might have had concerning Ozpin, refusing to let it put a damper on my good mood today. For the time being, it was a problem I had no real way of doing anything about without exposing a lot of people to a lot of risk, so I would keep my paranoia to myself.

"Oh?" I asked aloud, illusory face smiling.

Ren tilted his head towards his friend, the gesture somehow carrying a confirmation.

"I wasn't clear on the specifics," He said. "But it seems there was already something in place for…people like Nora and I, kids with the training required but who lacked…."

Ren paused and frowned, seeming to search for the proper word.

"So it's like a scholarship fund?" I put forth to save him the trouble, getting the general idea.

"Yes," Ren said, sitting up slightly and all but snapping his fingers. "Exactly like that."

I nodded, not having known about such a thing but not surprised by its existence, either. I'm sure there were a fair number of Hunter kids who had been left abruptly orphaned and suddenly had a whole new set of things to worry about that went beyond training to kill Grimm. The kingdom made arrangements to aid the children of fallen Hunters for that very reason—but at the same time, it wasn't hard to imagine a few families falling on hard times. Having a system in place that allowed those children to go to places like Signal or Beacon anyway made plenty of sense, both from the perspective of supporting the families of those who'd died keeping the kingdom safe and the somewhat more cynical perspective that noted that the honor, prestige, and money involved with being a Hunter would all but ensure those children followed in their family's footsteps.

It made me wonder if Keppel and Carmine's children would receive offers like that someday. I'd stayed away from them thus far at Ozpin's request, giving them time and space to breathe without the fresh wounds I might have opened, to say nothing of the dangers if they learned the truth of my actions. I wasn't entirely sure what story had been woven about their parent's deaths, but I was sure it was heroic, daring, and awe-inspiring, however much of a lie it may have been. I part of me was nauseated by the idea that they'd grow up never being told the truth—but another part reminded me that in a world ruled by the Grimm, beautiful lies were worth more than painful truths.

Knowing that, however, I had to wonder how many lies I'd been fed in my life—and what I might have been told about my parents, had I not come into my powers all those months ago.

"That's good, then," I clapped my hands brightly, shrugging the thoughts off. "Everything's in order, then?"

"Not quite," Ren admitted. "He said there will be a few tests and other conditions, to ensure the process was fair. Professor Ozpin said he didn't control the selection process—"

Bullshit, I thought.

"And there might be other applicants," He shook his head and rested his hands on the bed. "But even so—"

"We'll get in!" Nora stated, sounding certain of that fact. "Ren's practically a genius and I'm, well, I'm me! There's nothing to worry about!"

"Well that's good," I smiled. "I think you're right, though. I've seen you both in action and you should have no trouble getting into Beacon."

"See?" Nora told Ren. "I told you so!"

"You did," Ren allowed before looking at me again. "Will you be going to Haven, then?"

"Maybe, maybe not," I replied, shrugging slightly. "I don't have much interest going to school right now, but a friend told me a few things that have made me think about it recently. I guess I'll figure it out when I get to Mistral."

I paused for a moment, considering something.

"Although," I slowly mused, lining things up in my head. "Talking about it reminds me. All the big Hunter academies always meet at the Vytal Festival later in the year, along with everything else that happens around that time. To be honest, I usually just stay home and watch it on TV like a normal person, but my sister's going to start teaching at Haven this year. I hadn't thought to talk to her about it, but a lot of the teachers always go with the students to keep everything in order. If she goes this year, maybe I'll tag along. If I do, maybe we'll see each other around."

"Would you be allowed to come along?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow, to which I simply shrugged.

"Sure," I said, chuckling a bit at the question. "Whether as a healer, my sister's plus one, or just because my grandmother said so, it should be fine—and if not, I have other ways to travel. But we'll see what happens, yeah? I've found life to be pretty full of surprises, but we'll see how things play out."