Author's note: Wow I didn't think my story would this many views in just a day, that's pretty crazy. Anyway as always constructive criticism is greatly appreciated and hope you enjoy the story.
Jaune awoke in the dimly lit quartersthat served as his temporary room. While consciousness quickly arose he gave his undivided attention to every one of his senses. Nausea was present which told him they were still in the air on an accused airship. He couldn't smell anything irregular with the exception of a musty stench emanating from the ship's engines. But then he heard it. A very faint but audible ticking "tick tick tick" .
Jaune instantly leapt out of his bed beelining straight to the door all the while keeping his senses acute for any irregularities. Just as he approached the door he heard a small pop signaling the trap had activated. However to jaunes delight he had escaped it! He then bellowed a triumph cry as he exited to the door. "WOO HOO, I JAUNE ARC HAVE CONQUE-"
His celebration was cut short as a plank of wood came plummeting down from the top of the doorway. "Ow ow ow".
Jaune slightly grimaced at the pain despite his attempts to resist. He knew he had failed yet another test. In reality this had been part of his training for the past week while they flew towards Menagerie. Jaune took a moment to recall the brutal procedures he was to endure on a day to day basis.
Flash Back
Jaune and his mentor were sitting at a table as they began their journey out of vale. Jaunes mentor broke the silence as he began to explain jaunes first week of training. "Jaune we will begin your training by working on your perception. From this point forward you will examine every one of your senses at all times, by doing this you will gain incredible insight into the world. Once you have assessed your surroundings then you will put every ounce of information through a grinder of cold hard examination."
Jaune looked at his teacher and spoke all the while not realizing the true difficulty of the task he was just presented: "Alright sounds easy enough… BAM i'm doing it right now".
Jaunes mentor looked at him again his cold expression remaining unchanged as he slowly slipped off a glove: "Jaune look at my hand, what do you see".
Jaune still completely oblivious to the task set before him answered casually: "Well I see a hand, and it's kinda white I guess. Oh yea and it's also pretty big".
Jaune sat with a proud smile on his face happy with the incredible amount of information he had gleaned. However reality soon came crashing down as his mentor released another chilling lecture: "Jaune do not act like a fool, you have missed incredible amounts of information that could very well save your life".
Jaunes smile faded while the formidable man that sat in front of him dissected everything about his own hands. "Look at my hands with the utmost care. Notice the ragged skin, the tense muscles, the callouses on my right hand. All of these clues can tell you a great deal about me. Ragged skin implies extensive climbing. the calluses on my right hand hand clue you in on my dominant sword hand. Tense muscles imply stress and alertness. If you have enough skill you can dissect someone's entire fighting style just by looking at their hands. Think on this and act on it. Also be aware that others can gain information about you this way as well so take the utmost care to hide every detail. This means your face, your hands, and even your feet."
Jaune was completely amazed. Man this guy knew what he was talking about. But then something occurred to him, he was supposed to hide everything? Even his face! "Wait mentor how am I supposed to hide everything and what's this business about no faces, you're not even wearing a mask!"
The wise man responded with a lecture as always: "You will hide your body with clothes and gloves as I do. As for your face we will not wear masks so as not to arouse suspicion, to do so would be foolish. To hide your face you must become a blank canvas, expressionless like me. Begin by wiping that shocked expresion off your face."
End Flashback
Jaune continued down the hall rubbing his slightly swollen head. He slowly approached the magnificent room where he had been training, A huge dome shaped chamber with stained windows in the ceiling that allowed glimmering light to pass through. He observed the intricate designs engraved on the windows and the glorious rays of sunshine which basked the stone floor in brilliant gold light. As he walked into the main chambre of the airship he made sure to return his face to it's now regular expression; a completely neutral face which concealed all information.
Jaunes mentor soon entered the chamber as well, ready to continue their most brutal session of training. Jaune saw that as his mentor approached he carried that damn bucket that he was so fond of, a slight sloshing sound could be heard as the water swayed inside it. The bucket was thrown down, it landed with a slight clunk. "Begin".
Jaune hated this however he had long moved past questioning his mentors techniques over the past week. slowly jaune placed his head into the bucket completely submerged in ice cold water. He stayed their for a solid four minutes, all the while his lungs were a scorching fury of pain. As he soon neared his limits and edged on unconsciousness he slowly lifted his head up and took in a few precious life saving gulps of air. To anyone watching it would seem that Jaune was a complete madman who was willingly drowning himself as some sort of sick execution. However Jaune understood full well what he was doing, it was rapidly racing through his head right at the moment to help quell the insanity that was brewing inside him. His mentor spoke with his ice cold voice: "Explain".
Jaune rose to his feet, slightly off balance and began to coldly speak the lines that were now thoroughly burrowed into his brain: "Pain is not a punishment, it is an instrument of change that compels us to grow stronger. While others grimace in pain we rejoice in it, for we know that it makes us stronger. When I feel pain it drives me forward because I know that pain is the embodiment of my bodies demands. While the ignorant see pain as a command to stop, we see pain as an overwhelming command to overcome the obstacles that stand in our way. A force that demands we move forward. I am not controlled by pain. Even in the depths of my despair I remain logical, efficient, strong. Our lives are pain. Our lives are a slow journey that moves in only one direction: Forward".
Jaune stood there still bearing an expressionless face. On the inside however he was pleased by his ever improving performance. On his first attempt he had collapsed on the floor completely out of his mind and unable to think, however now even in the worst depths of his torment he simply accepted the pain. After he had stopped trying to resist it and just accepted the torment his mind had remained clear and his body remained calm and ready.
His mentor spoke a single word that Jaune already knew was coming: "Repeat".
For the next hour Jaune was put through the grinder, he was even given tasks to complete while underwater to prove that he still had clarity in even the most difficult of circumstances. After his mentor was satisfied with Jaunes performance they launched into an equally difficult exercise. For the next four hours Jaune was commanded to use the full extent of his senses. He was forced to read facial expressions, body language, fighting techniques, anything that he may encounter that could help him glean information. After the fourth hour his mentor raised a hand and began to speak: "You have done well this week, already you are far stronger than before. Now go and rest, we arrive in Menagerie tomorrow their we will begin your training in earnest. Be prepared as this is the homeland of the faunus, and they will not take kindly to us".
Jaune sat their for a moment panting as he listened to his mentor's words. he then began his internal dialogue completely ignoring the comment about the faunus: "Holy crap a break! Woo hoo! it's been six days since my last break this is going to be great!".
Despite his internal delight Jaune remained neutral as his mentor had commanded and responded plainly: "Thank you mentor, I will go now".
Jaune dragged himself to his room and layed in his bed, completely exhausted. He began to mutter to himself after an hour out of sheer boredom:"Well I guess i'm not going to just sit here for ten hours I need something to do".
Out of the corner of his eye Jaune spotted one of the few possessions that he had brought with him, it was his guitar. When he saw it Jaune had a revelation, and a tear began to fall onto his cheek. That guitar was really the only thing he had left from his past life. He was incognito so it wasn't like he could call his friends or family. There was no way he could bring any video games with him on this kind of journey. Hell he wasn't even allowed to smile in front of others. Jaune cried a deep sob full of sorrow. But then he remembered his training and instantly gripped himself, he then stood and went to the mirror and stared at his own blank expressionless face. Then he began to speak his morbid monologue yet again: "Pain is not a punishment, it is an instrument of change that compels us to grow stronger. While others grimace in pain we rejoice in it, for we know that it makes us stronger. When I feel pain it drives me forward because I know that pain is the embodiment of my bodies demands. While the ignorant see pain as a command to stop, we see pain as an overwhelming command to overcome the obstacles that stand in our way. A force that demands we move forward. I am not controlled by pain. Even in the depths of my despair I remain logical, efficient, strong. Our lives are pain. Our lives are a slow journey that moves in only one direction: Forward"
Jaune continued looking in the mirror and began to speak again: "I am doing the right thing. I cant be a failure any more. I must be strong, I must be able to protect what I stand for. I am becoming stronger. I will be strong. I will be. I will be."
As Jaune began muttering off the last lines of self assurance he then made his way over to the guitar and began to play. Perhaps he was holding on to the last scrap of a normal life that he had, or perhaps he was simply passing the time. One thing was sure however, Jaune Arc was changing. This left a chilling question, what exactly was Jaune Arc turning into.
