Epilogue
The next day
Jaune had just finished the last class for the day and was ready to go for a peaceful stroll around campus. After a long and stressful weekend, he had no desire to think about chess, but did not mind the praise from his peers regarding the tournament. Jaune initially thought about going straight to his room to change out of uniform, but decided to enjoy the outside weather, when suddenly, a girl in red approached from behind.
"Hey Jaune!" Ruby called out, unintentionally startling the boy. "I wanted to say congrats once again for yesterday."
"Hey Ruby! Wow, you sure took me by surprise." Jaune chuckled.
"You don't look busy, so I take it you're not heading to the dorm. What's on your mind?" Ruby asked.
"Oh nothing, just trying to unwind myself from the tournament. You're welcome to join me for a walk." The white knight offered.
"Of course! Walks are fun every now and then!" Ruby said cheerfully. During their casual walk, Jaune gave the silver-eyed girl some constructive feedback on her last round game against Blake.
"You had the right idea in mind, but if you had taken back with the knight instead of the queen, you could've given two of Blake's pieces a ton of harassment." Jaune critiqued. "Knights are often overlooked because of their short range, but they have the most deadly fork out of all the pieces."
"Yeah, I gotta work on exchanges. It's so hard having to calculate all these variations." Ruby admitted.
"Hey Ruby… wanna know a secret?" Jaune asked politely.
"Um, sure. If you really don't mind sharing it." Ruby curiously replied.
"You're a much stronger player than I was at your age." Ruby's eyes widened in shock, but she also sensed that Jaune was being very genuine with the compliment.
"Thanks." Ruby smiled as they held hands and walked. They felt a gentle breeze, which signified a big future for Team RWBY and JNPR.
Four months later, the Vytal Festival had taken place, which was then sabotaged by Cinder's faction and the creatures of Grimm. Even though the dorm had become nothing but rubble and debris, Jaune had still managed to retrieve and preserve the trophy and certificate, despite minor damages. The loss of Ozpin and Pyrrha, whom were undeniably his greatest mentors and close friends, gave Jaune the incentive to better himself as a huntsman and as a person. The noble hero promised to return to playing chess competitively, so that he could legitimately earn the grandmaster title. As much as he wanted it, Jaune knew that chess would have to wait because of the bigger tasks at hand: doing everything he could to help Ruby Rose in her journey to Mistral, and discovering his semblance. It was the least he could do to honor Pyrrha, and also make a difference to those around him.
Before Pyrrha's death, Jaune recalled a powerful quote which he shared with his dear best friend.
"Nothing is so healing as the human touch." (Robert James Fischer, 1943 – 2008)