NF15/16

Fingers scrabbled against his chest and neck, the fool trying to push him off with weak blows. Nails scratched against his chin but he ignored it, trusting his aura to prevent the damage. There was no way he was letting go, not until those eyes were misted over for good. The struggles became weaker, the fists that struck him becoming weak slaps. A hand tried to push his face away, first his chin, then his cheek – before it finally grabbed the cigar in his mouth. Roman growled as it was pulled away, but he ignored it in favour of finishing this once and for all. The cigar was crushed in the blonde's fist, the ember there among the ashes.

Green eyes widened as the fool slammed it down into the dust that surrounded them.

He didn't hear anything.

There had to have been an explosion because he was no longer atop his foe, but rather flat on his back struggling to breathe. His body screamed in agony, his clothes smouldered and burned – he could even feel the heat from it. But there had been no sound, or perhaps he hadn't been able to hear it. A familiar scent appeared beside him, a worried face coming into his vision as mismatched eyes stared down at him.

"Neo," he greeted casually – or at least he tried. In truth it came out more crooked than he was. The girl's face, normally so teasing, was creased with concern. "You catch the number of the Bullhead that hit me?"

She rolled her eyes while placing an arm behind him, helping the thief to sit up. His vision swam but he could just about make out what had happened. His cigar had ignited the dust spilled on the ground, making a flame big enough to hit the container behind them, making it explode outwards. His aura had protected him from most of the damage, at least the critical damage. He would still need a few day's to recover from the minor wounds, not to mention the exhaustion. The only upside was the charred figure back in that direction, who lay face-down on the ground, not moving.

—NF15

[...]

"Mr Arc's injuries are numerous and varied. From the report I received about what transpired, it seems that most of these were received from exposure to extreme heat, concussive force and impact with various objects. His aura has already stepped in to both minimise and start repairing the damage, and along with my own treatment he has been recovering well, particularly while unconscious. In terms of specific damage, we were looking at a dislocated shoulder, dislocated elbow, four broken ribs, two fractured, extensive abrasions to upper and lower back, presumably from contact with hard granite. There are burns across a good fifty per cent of his body, though those are healing well and should not leave any scarring, but internal bruising from the blasts was extensive. Muscle damage is fairly easy to deal with, though I would imagine every muscle in his body is badly stressed to some degree."

Weiss' eyes were wide, and she was hardly alone in that. Blake seemed to be shaking slightly, while Yang's hands were clenched into fists. Ruby was leaning on Pyrrha for support, who had an arm around her shoulders in return. Of Ren and Nora, the only sigh was how silent they were, and how sharp Nora's eyes had become.

"Other complications and damage ranges from lacerations where weapons struck, to internal complications caused by the dust explosions. I would expect him to be dizzy still for a day or two, while his breathing will remain difficult until his windpipe fully recovers."

"His breathing?" Weiss snapped, taking a step forward as she looked more closely at him. It was hard to see, least of all because of the bandages – but more because he made no sign of it. But his chest rose a little quicker than it would have normally, and there was a faint rasp to his breath.

"Torchwick tried to strangle him," Blake whispered, though in the silence she might as well have screamed it. "He held Jaune down and tried to crush his windpipe with his weapon. I… I…" She didn't finish and instead looked away.

"That shouldn't leave any complications," Kitsune said, "Though the intense heat likely damaged the lining of his lungs somewhat, particularly with the explosion happening so close." Beneath him, if Weiss remembered Blake's story. Jaune had literally ignited the dust that he was being strangled in, in a move that could have killed him.

Weiss' nails bit into her palm. Her entire arm shook.

"Jaune…" Ruby whispered.

"Meh, it's fine," he rolled his eyes and laughed. "I can't even feel it."

The doctor shrugged. "With all the damage to your skin, I'm surprised you can feel anything."

—NF16