(Alright...I may have a little too many ideas for volume 3...Eh! Fuck it! I'll figure it out! I gotta say I'm happy get to write for you all some more.)
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3rd Person Pov

With a tremendously satisfied belch, the bowl of noodles that had recently been made victim of Y/n's staggering appetite was returned to the counter of the food stand he sat at, his face falling just beside the bowl with a bang on the countertop as he chose to wallow in the bliss his food brought him. Oh, also, he broke the counter, his face resting below the surface of said countertop, much to the stand owners disliking.

Looking on from his left, Ruby continued to work on her own bowl of noodles. She figured she should be concerned with her partners violent collision with the table, but couldn't quite help the entertained snickering that came out of her. Of course her Yang sitting to her left nearly spat put her food laughing, as poor Weiss was caught in between Yang and Ruby, desperately hoping she wouldn't be the recipient of some of Yang spit flying around from her laughter.

Choosing to at least contribute, Weiss decided why not try and address the boy.

Weiss: "Did you enjoy your food Y/n?"

His response was understandably muffled, but still very much audible.

Y/n: "Never in my life have I needed something so desperately and not known until I've received it..."

Finally lifting his face out of the counter, now coming down from his "food high", he looked to his right to witness that the ever quiet Blake had also already finished her own bowl of noodles. Which was stuffed with an honestly worrying amount of fish as well.

Said Faunus girl tried desperately to avoid the boys eyes as he squinted at her, her emberasment highlighted by the red tint dmglossing her cheeks.

Y/n: "Yknow, its moments like this that make me really disappointed in myself for not realizing you were a Faunas sooner. Seriously, what the fuck?"

Even further down the line, on Blake's right side, Ren leaned forward to look past said girl and speak, having just finished his food himself.

Ren: "Has she always eaten like this?"

Y/n: "Looking back on it, almost exclusively."

Moving past Nora sitting beside Ren, who was still violating her own food, Pyrrha chose her moment to throw in her two cents.

Pyrrha: "Are we sure its wise to have eaten before a fight?"

Slamming her aforementioned, and now finished bowl onto the counter, Nora bellowed forth one of her ever energetic responses, standing and flexing as if it would prove her point.

Nora: "Of course it is! It'll give us energy to bash the competition!!!"

And down at the end of the line of students, beside Pyrrha, Jaunes own head met the countertop, although, he was not at all in food heaven, finding himself overly stuffed.

Jaune: "I think I'm gonna puke..."

Nora: "Ooh! Aim it at the enemy!"

Ren: "Nora thats disgusting...! If you do feel the urge though..."

Weakly giving his team a thumbs up, Jaune belched out his words, desperately trying not to do the same with his lunch.

Jaune: "Got it..."

Y/n: "I mean, its not the worst idea ever..."

Swiftly smacking her partner on the back of the head, Ruby jumped into the conversation, putting forth probably the most relevant question asked so far.

Ruby: "So, you guys think your ready?"

Shooting to sit straight up in her seat, Nora responded in an almost manic tone, only continuing to devolve as her downward spiral of a response fell out of her.

Nora: "Of course! We've got a world-renowned fighter on our team, one's basically ninja, I can bench five of me, Jaune, we trained all year, our weapons are awesome, Glynda barely yells at us anymore, and uh... Jaune!"

Ren: "You gonna take that?"

Jaune: "She's not wrong"

Nora: "I'm kidding! He knows I'm kidding!Don't be so nervous! The worst that can happen is we lose, that is just a few more years of walking around school with everyone knowing we're failures, our friends will slowly abandon us to preserve their social status, we won't be able to show our faces in class, no one will sit with us in the cafeteria, Ren and I have no parents, we have no home left to go to, we'll be officially renamed Team Lose-iper!"

And so the holy trinity was achieved as Nora this time introduced her face to the counfertop, now seemingly in manic tears. Looking on as if this was something that happened everyday, Ren shrugged before facing team RWBY.

Ren: "So yeah, I guess we're feeling pretty good."

Y/n: "Listen, I love Nora like a sister, I really do, but even you have to admit she's got some screws loose right?"

Ren: "Undoubtedly. Don't worry, once its out of her system shell be good for a few weeks."

Pyrrha: "Oh hush. If anything, we should be looking forward to a fight with actual guidelines, and not, well...murderers..."

Yang: "Yeah, don't sweat it, we've all faced way worse before."

As of to highlight the unorthodox amount of action they've seen in their first year at Beacon, Blake slowly began listing off her fingers.

Blake: "Lets see, Grimm invasion, violent extremists, a destructive sociopath..."

Y/n: "Don't forget about the unhinged terrorists piloting stolen military walkers."

Ruby: "And that's while we're still in training! Oh, imagine what it would be like to graduate!"

Y/n: "The apocalypse..?"

Weiss: "Maybe then I'll be able to pay for a meal..."

Suddwnly appearing behind her, Y/n lifted an unwilling Weiss into the air with a sudden bear hug, much to the entertainment of the two sisters she was between.

Y/n: "Dont worry Weiss, I don't have any money either!"

Weiss: "Wha-?! Put me down right now!"

Y/n: "Never!"

Weiss: "I will freeze you in your sleep!"

Finally setting the infuriated and thrashing Schnee on her feet, Y/n dusted off his hands to a job well done.

Y/n: "Nah, you love me and you know it."

As of ot intended to prevent the felony Weiss seemed ready to commit, the fairgrounds PA system crackled to life as the familiar voice of Professor Peter Port rang through the fairgrounds and arena far above, accompanied still by Doctor Oobleck as well.

Port: "Would team JNPR please report to the battlegrounds immediately!"

Oobleck: "Yes, as they were scheduled to SEVERAL MINUTES AGO!!!"

With the rest of the group rising from their seats, the two teams stood opposite eachother, Nora still in her self induced depression, and Jaune still struggling with his stomach.

Pyrrha: "Well, looks like this is it."

Y/n: "Give em hell."

Ruby: "Good luck!"

With their parting words said, team JNPR turned to catch one of the combatants shuttles to the massive coliseum above, while team RWBY found a different transport for spectators, quickly ascending through the air and arriving in the stands above the arena. And lucky them...

Front row seats...

Y/n Pov

Honestly, I was excited for this match. It had been a good while since I got to see all of team JNPR fighting other students. Most of the time in combat class, it was solo fights, usually with Pyrrha. It was no mystery why either, she fought like it was a dance everytime. It was mesmerizing.

Then again, this team BRNZ (Bronze) didnt seem like it would go down easy. They had a strange lineup. Actually, strange was an understatement, the only weapon they had that I could recognize belonged to the girl of the group. She had some sort of high power rifle. I think??? It seemed to have a caliber more fitting of an assault weapon. A DMR maybe?

(I know there's a good few gun nuts like me who read this, but just for those who aren't, a DMR is whats known as a Designated Marksman Rifle. They're essentially rifles that can perform as both assault and marksman weapons. Alright enough gun gushing from me.)

Either way, it was the only weapon I recognized, and I seemed to be pretty spot on. The moment the buzzer rang, she made a b-line for the trees on her teams side of the arena, quickly disappearing into them.

Of course, I knew she was in those trees, but it didn't help me one bit when she shot whatever that gun was...

Maybe it was fate, bad luck, or maybe there really is a God, and he was just making another cruel joke. But that sound her rifle made...sounded exactly like the first time I watched a gun go off in a stadium.

Suddenly I just couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. All I could do was grip the armrests of my seat as hard as I could, my hands and eyes the only parts of my body responding to any commands at the moment. I didnt even see anything different either. The two teams kept on fighting it out like they should, nobody was dying, there was no blood, nobody was screaming...

Oh...but I could hear the screaming. I could still hear that girls rifle too. I could hear shots that weren't being fired, landing in concrete that wasn't there. Bullets that weren't real tearing through bodies that didn't exist. All around me I could hear it, feel it, the noise, the blood, in my ears, nose, eyes, in my heart. In my mind.

And then, as soon as it started, it all just...stopped. My hearing returned to normal, I could move again, albeit barely and I could breathe. A couple things were different though.

Y/n: "Why am I on the floor?"

I was, as previously mentioned, lying on my back on the floor in front of my seat. Looking around me, I was met with the concerned faces of the familiar, yet clearly worried faces of my team, plus two. Professors/Doctor Port and Oobleck.

Port: "We were hoping you could tell us that young man."

Y/n: "Professor? Doc? When did you get here?"

Pushing up his glasses after removing his hand that I didn't notice was checking my pulse, the good Doctor was characteristically fast in a reply.

Ooblecl: "Shortly after the match ended, you collapsed from your seat, convulsing violently, unresponsive and seemingly not breathing. The announcers booth isn't far, once the match was concluded, we rushed down here to check on you. Although, if it weren't for your teammate Ms. Belladonna, I don't think you would be here talking to us right now."

Well, that was a lot to take in. Looks like I had a heart attack, or a seizure or something. Taking my time to get some deep breaths, and muttering some reassurance to Ruby, who had a practical death grip on my left hand, I looked over to Blake, who was knelt just beside me. My voice felt kind of...distant. Hard to use but I got the words out nonetheless.

Y/n: "Thats twice you save my skin now Blake. I owe you one hell of a Christmas present..."

Blake: "Well, I know you'd do the same for me. And apparently I'm the only one of us that knows CPR."

I tried to sit up, but that was a no go. The moment I lifted my head even an inch, the world threatened to turn upside down, and I nearly threw up. Weiss quickly put that notion out of my head when she slid my jacket, which I guess was removed at some point, under my head and having me rest it on that.

Weiss: "Don't even think about it, you're in no condition to move around."

A weak laugh escaped as I had at least enough strength to squeeze Ruby's hand just a bit tighter.

Y/n: "Hehe...see that Rosebud? Told you she loves me..."

Yang: "Seriously dude? You almost just died!"

Y/n: "Not my first rodeo, also, oooow. Please don't yell...like tambourines in my brain..."

Port: "Regardless, she's right young man. Please just remain still. A medical team is on its way now. In the meantime just try and keep your eyes open. Find something to focus on, we'll have you out of here soon, in a proper bed."

Ruby: "Here. I was gonna wait until we got back to the dorm, but have this."

Removing something from her pocket, she placed whatever it was in my hand, closing it in a fist around whatever it was. I would've looked, but my strength was fading with every second, and a couldn't speak. So I did the next best thing, I held my fist closed, holding whatever her gift was, and kept my eyes on her, all the way until the medical team arrived, put me on a stretcher, and carried me off to Oum knows where. I wouldn't know. The moment I lost sight of Ruby, I couldn't keep my eyes open.

3rd Person Pov

It would take nearly twelve hours before team RWBY was notified of Y/n's whereabouts. Mostly because of how surprisingly serious his condition was. They would find themselves walking a floor of Beacons massive tower that they had never been to, mostly because none of them had ever actually been to Beacons infirmary before.

The word infirmary itself was an understatement anyway, it was more of an on campus hospital than anything, that in total took up six floors halfway up the tower. The base of the tower even had a separate, emergency express elevator that allowed for quick transport of patients in critical condition. It wasn't everyday you saw its flashing emergency lights ascend the side of the tower.

However, team RWBY found themselves a full floor above the sixth floor of the hospital, lead there by none other than their headmaster, Ozpin himself. In fact, the only way to access this floor seemed to be from a tucked away stairwell on the top floor of the hospital, seeing as the elevator never stopped on this floor.

After collecting a restless team RWBY from their dorm at 3 in the morning, Ozpin had been silent the entire trip, save for now as they walked the silent halls of the private floor, not a soul to be found.

Ozpin: "I would like to apologize. It was nobodies intent to make you all wait so long, but the situation was more serious than we thought. If he had arrived even a few minutes later than he did, I worry Mr. L/n would have died in treatment."

Ruby: "But he is okay now, right?"

For a moment Ozpin was silent again. It was unusual for Beacons headmaster to hesitate in any sort of response. He always seemed to have some immediate response, no matter the subject. Not this time however.

Ozpin: "Y/n is...in a delicate state, would be the best way to put it."

Yang: "Look Professor, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I think all of us would much rather you just spit out whats up with Y/n rather than dance around it."

Glancing behind him for a moment, he was met with impatient, annoyed and at the same time worried stares from the four students he had been leading down the dead halls. It was clear none of them had slept, and considering how early in the morning it was, it was safe to assume their patience was thin. Even Blake, the quiet collected one, seemed pretty fed up with being talked in circles.

They wanted awnsers.

Suddenly, he halted their march, stopping in front of one of the only doors they had seen on this level.

Ozpin: "Allow me to show you."

Grasping the doorknob and pulling the door open, he entered the room, swiftly followed by team RWBY.

The room inside seemed almost like a hotel room. It was clean, neat, tidy and lacked any decoration whatsoever. The walls were a slightly dark brown, meaning the only contrast between them and the identically colored carpet was the white baseboard. To the right of the door was a long desk that ran nearly the full length of the wall, yet it didn't hold much.

Closest to the door, a wired phone sat on the desks surface, giving no clues as to who the line actually connected too. On the center of the long desk rested a large, flat-screen television, currently off, while not far past that, a desk lamp sat in front of a simple rolling chair, seeming to act as a mini work station. On the far wall, a large glass sliding door sat, peering out over Beacon Academy, with a small terrace resting just outside the doors crystal clear frame.

On the left side of the room, a small, twin sized bed rested against the plain wall, however the view of most of the bed, as well as who was occupying it was blocked by a tall, brown haired man of average build in nurses fatigues. Seeming to hear the door open, the man turned halfway to face the rooms new visitors, revealing the clipboard and pen in his hands, as well as the rest of the bed.

In a patients gown, resting under the heavy comforter of the small bed lay Y/n himself, seemingly asleep. On the far side of the bed an IV stand held several bags of clear liquid, one of which sat nearly empty as it silently fed into the shadowed boys forearm via the IV itself. Standing just beside the IV stand was what seemed to be an EKG monitor, silently registering the hunter-in-trainings heart rate via a patch on the pulse of his left hand.

Ozpin: "David, may we have a moment?"

The nurse, now appropriately named David, silently nodded as he placed his clipboard down on the nightstand next to the bed. Speaking with a strong yet smooth and hushed voice as he moved around the bed over to the IV stand.

David: "Sure, im just about done here. Let me just switch his IV."

Ozpin: "Of course."

Easily switching the empty bag for a full one, David discarded the empty bag into a trash can just beside the medical equipment. Having done his job he moved to stand before the group of visitors, he spoke slightly louder, having moved away from the bed. Having moved closer to them, it was easy to see David himself wasn't in great shape, the heavy bags under his emerald green eyes serving as telltale signs that things had been busy, and he hadn't slept.

David: "He's stable now. Just try not to make to much noise. He's been in and out all day, he just fell asleep not too long ago."

Ozpin: "Thank you again David. Go and get some rest."

Taking his leave with a nod, David swiftly yet calmly exited the room, the door closing behind him with a silent click.

Now that they had the room mostly to themselves, the conscious member of team RWBY silent surrounded the bed, observing their sleeping friend in utter silence. Deciding it would be a potential health risk to wait for them to ask, Ozpin began.

"From what little the doctors managed to get out of him, it seemed he reacted negatively to the shooting while observing the fight. It seems to have triggered a large chunk of trauma that remained in his subconcious."

Weiss: "So in short, what you mean is-"

Ozpin: "He began reliving his final moments."

...

Ruby: "I should have been more careful...if I just talked to him, he wouldn't have had to-"

Ozpin: "Nobody is to blame for this Mrs. Rose. If anything its a failure of my own for not considering the severity of his condition. He has made substantial improvements, but he bears wounds that can take decades to heal."

...

"The...whatever it was he was feeling, it seems that it was too much for his mind and body to handle. He suffered a near complete shutdown of most of his bodily functions. He is stable now, but we won't know the full severity of the damage done until he wakes up. He doesn't seem to be in comatose however, so with any luck, he should be awake hopefully soon."

...

"I'm sorry there isn't more I can do right now...you four are welcome in here at any time. I'll leave you be."

...

*click*

Nearly an hour passed with nothing said. As far as any of the four girls were concerned, nothing needed to be said. They all had the right to have their own thoughts on the matter. Nothing needed to be said.

Eye contact was all it took. In a frightening moment of telepath like understanding, they all thought the same thing. With the four of them nodding to eachother, Yang and Blake took their leave. But much to Ruby's surprise, Weiss hadn't.

Collecting herself momentarily, Weiss stood beside her team leader, who had pulled the chair from across the room to sit next to the bed. She placed a reassuring hand on the Rose's shoulder.

Weiss: "Go with them. It won't do you any good to sit here and wallow over him. And he wouldn't want you too."

Ruby: "But-!"

Cutting her off by gently squeezing Ruby's shoulder, Weiss didnt allow any excuses.

Weiss: "Ruby. Go. I'll watch him for now. Besides, you know I'm right."

Gently helping Ruby to her feet, Weiss gave an even rarer display of affection, shortly embracing Ruby, as if to say everything would be fine. After a few moments they separated, nodding to eachother once more before Ruby dashed out the room to catch up with her teammates.

Sighing to herself, Weiss tentatively looked over the two pieces of medical equipment Y/n was connected to, wanting to be sure the exhausted David hadn't left anything astray. Realizing everything was in order, she sat in the chair, looking to the boys empty face, speaking as if he was looking right back at her. She gently held the pendant he had give her those weeks ago.

Weiss: "You've got some nerve giving us all such a scare you know. If I was sure you'd feel it, I'd slap you. For now though, I suppose I should just thank our lucky stars you're alright..."

Spotting something gleaming over his shady skin from the light of the bedside table, her fingers found a small silver chain around his neck, connected to something tucked under his patients gown. Pulling on the chain to reveal the mystery jewelry, she instantly recognized the pendant on his neck. After all, Ruby had pestered her endlessly to help the girl find a jewler who could make it. She observed with a small amount of pride that the one she recommended did his job perfectly, the bright silver frame perfectly lining the Onyx symbol.

Sighing again, she released the piece of jewelry, allowing it to rest over his chest once more, deciding to sit comfortably in her chair. It would be a while before one of her teammates traded places with her.

Weiss: "I don't know whats going on in that head of yours Y/n, but I know you feel it too. That didn't just happen out of nowhere..."

'Something isn't right...'

Beacon Guest Dormitories

Cinder: "Well done Emerald, that should keep him out of our hair for the rest of the tournament."

Emerald: "Thank you, Cinder."

Mercury: "Shame you couldn't just kill the kid. Word is he's recovering up in the tower."

Cinder: "Now now Mercury, we can't risk them delaying the tournament. Everything has to stay on schedule...and so far..."

"Everything's going just, as, planned."

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(Honestly, im not sure what kind of reactions I'll get out of this nearly 4000 word bomb drop chapter. I doubt anyone was expecting it at least! Nonetheless, as long as everyone enjoyed, its worth it. Things are just getting started.)

(Until Next Time.)