{FIRST PERSON POV}
{JAUNE'S POV}
It took us a while to start trying to get back home, considering we needed to wait a bit for Mordred's Aura to regenerate, and for me to clean and dry my shirt as best as I could after washing the vomit off it.
"Are you sure you're okay, Mordred?" I asked her because I was genuinely worried about her. I always made sure to stop any of our previous training matches before she could break her Aura.
I don't think I had ever broken my Aura before. Well, I guess I did break my Aura when I first awakened it... it didn't feel good at all.
Even when I was training my Reinforcement and experimenting with it, I always stopped just before I could break my Aura.
Whenever I'm on the verge of breaking my Aura, I get a little tingle in my chest. I asked Mordred about it once, and she said that, yeah, she feels it too, but sometimes it's too faint for her to notice and she misses it-just like when she broke her Aura when she tried to show me her Aura control.
"Yeah, I'm good... just shut up and walk.." She gave me a look that basically threatened she'd punch my face if I asked her one more time.
Well, I guess I can't fault her for that. I did ask her about how she was feeling a few times... well, closer to a dozen times, but hey, I'm a worried little brother.
"Okay... but we really should get back home faster, though. We're gonna be late to dinner... and we'll probably make Mom worry, considering that we never come home this late." I let out a sigh and hooked an arm under her knees and back. I was practically princess-carrying her.
She started to squirm like a worm in my hold. "Hey! Put me down, dumbass! I ain't no fucking girl you can carry!" She squirmed even harder, but that only made me tighten my hold on her.
"Mordred! We need to go home fast! We don't want them to be suspicious of us, considering that we planned on my getaway in two months!" I gave her my most convincing look to make her understand. "Please, Mordred... for me... please..."
She looked into my eyes for a few seconds before she sighed and stopped squirming. "Okay..... now shut the fuck up and just walk."
I smiled at her. "Walk? Who's talking about walking?" I then put my low-level Reinforcement on my thighs and legs.
"Wha-"
"Hold on tight."
Without waiting for her to react to my words, I jumped onto a tree and started to jump from tree to tree.
"Hold on! Let me down! Let me down, you bastard!" She wrapped her arms around my neck and started screaming. "AAAAAHHHHHHH!"
I started to laugh. "What's wrong, Mordred!? Can't handle a little speed!?"
"This isn't speed, you dumbass! You're fucking jumping like a monkey!" She held onto my neck even harder. "Don't let me go! And if I'm sick, I'm going to vomit on you again!"
My eye twitched because she brought up vomit. My shirt was still wet because I had to wash it at the waterfall. I guess it's fine now, considering her shirt was also a little wet because I was carrying her.
"Please don't vomit again....." Her answer to my request was a laugh.
...Why did I put up with her in the first place? Oh yeah... because I love her...
I put her down on the ground after rushing through the forest by jumping from tree to tree for twenty minutes straight. By the look of how dark it was, it was probably close to 8 p.m. now.
I turned what would have been an hour and 20 minutes of jogging time into twenty minutes. That's what I call time-saving efficiency, but I don't think Mordred agreed with it, considering... well... look at her.
I started to pat her back. "Let it all out, Mordred... let it all out..."
"Bwueeeeeeghhhhhhhh." She continued to vomit into our trash bin in our front yard.
"C'mon... we're here now. Look at the bright side... at least you can eat more, considering your stomach is empty!" I tried to cheer her up, which, silly me, I should have known better than to do, because she punched my face. It didn't do much, because my Aura activated on its own.
"Can you stop hitting me, please? I don't want the others to accidentally find out that I have Aura because you punched me." I continued to pat her back because I honestly also felt bad for her.
All she did to answer me was give me the middle finger while she wiped her mouth by grabbing the bottom of my shirt and using it as a towel.
"Hey! That's my shi-"
"Fuck off... responsibility is a bitch."
Well... I guess I am kind of responsible for this, considering I was the one who made her vomit... but that still didn't change the fact that it was still my shirt she was using.
"What!? Got a problem!?" She didn't give me a chance to answer because she just walked straight to the door and left me behind in the front yard.
...Guess I need to put on a new shirt.
I then got inside the house and saw her walking straight into the dining room. I stopped by the stairs and raised an eyebrow because the house was strangely quiet. Hopefully it's nothing bad.
When I entered my room, I hummed as I went to my closet and opened it. ".....This'll do." I smirked and grabbed my Pumpkin Pete's hoodie that I won by collecting forty cereal box tops and mailing them in.
I heard Pumpkin Pete's tried to use Huntsmen to promote their brand, but they got rejected. Hopefully they get a Huntsman to promote their cereal in the future. I wish them the best of luck because they're my favorite cereal brand.
I took off my shirt and put on a plain white shirt I grabbed because it was the closest one to me, then I put the hoodie over it.
"What would Mordred say again? Oh yeah, I look fresh!" I gave the mirror on my closet a finger gun and a smile.
"Name's Arc... Jaune Arc. Short... sweet... rolls off the tongue... ladies love it." I tried to do my Spruce Willis impersonation from that Vale spy movie that Mordred dragged me to watch in the theater the other day. If she heard me now, she'd laugh her head off.
I shook my head with a laugh before I left my room.
I started humming to the tune of one of Mordred's favorite songs. I think it was called A Little Piece of Hell. I forgot the exact title, but the animation was unique, to say the least.. zombies romance...
When I reached the dining room, I stopped at the entrance and tilted my head because the feeling was wrong.
Everyone was quiet... even Mordred and Noir were quiet.
Something was wrong.
What was happening? Did something bad happen? Stupid Jaune... obviously something bad happened.
I sat down at my usual seat, which was right next to Mordred.
When I sat down, I started looking at the others to try and see what was actually happening.
Jeanne was eating quietly, but not without her gentle presence. It was like she was trying to hide.
Saphron, for once, wasn't reading a book or doing something next to her. She was just eating.
Mom was feeding Olivia, but her mouth was in a tight line, like she was trying to act as if everything was normal but wasn't confident enough to talk without stuttering.
Noir was sitting quietly next to Blancheur without her usual energetic self, the one that would bounce in her seat because she couldn't stay still. Blancheur was much quieter too, much more quiet than usual.
The most shocking sight, and also the most likely cause for this whole situation, was Dad.
His eyes were red and puffy.
Did he cry?
What happened?
I turned to Mordred, and she looked back at me with the same confused expression I knew was on my face.
My eyes widened as I thought of what could make Dad cry.
No.
No.
Artoria... did something happen to her? Did she get hurt?!
I looked at Mom and opened my mouth. "Mom... did something happen to Artoria!? Is she hurt!?"
My question even got Mordred to flinch as she looked at Mom with worry.
Mom's eyes widened before she shook her head. "No.... nothing happened to Artoria. She is just fine."
If nothing happened to her, then what was the problem?
What the hell did we just miss?
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