Hey everyone. Update time. Same as usual, leave a comment to know what you think and anything else you wanna say.

Quick note. The fight in this story is a mirror to Zoro vs Kuina but with a different outcome.

Now onto the chapter.

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The Blond Swordsman

Ch. 1

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It's a beautiful evening. The setting sun cast shadows across the scenery. The different insects start to come out to give their night time calls. Everyone begins to quiet down from the peaceful day.

Whack

"Ow!"

Everyone except for me…

My name is Jaune D. Arc. I'm 7 years old, and currently practicing with my sister, Marron, and my mother. With my mom being an accomplished Huntress, she decided it would be best to train her daughters to be like her.

In this world, the world of Remnant, there exists a form of energy called Aura. Everyone has Aura, from humans, to Faunus, to the different animals, and even the plants. The only difference between all these different life forms is that for some reason only women can unlock their Aura. No research has been able to show why this is the case, but some speculate that it may be because of the myth on how Aura came into being in the first place.

Back during the dawn of time on this world, there existed two sisters. One was a Goddess of Light, and the other a Goddess of Darkness. Supposedly they fought one another for years until they decided to leave this world behind. Before they left though they come together and created one last thing. The Human and Faunus races.

This final creation was a sign of their unity. But there was a threat to that unity. The Grimm. Spawned from the younger sister of Darkness, they were ravenous beasts that destroyed and devoured everything in sight. To give their new life a chance against these monsters they gave them the power of Aura. It acted as a defense mechanism from anything that harmed them and even allowed them to access a special power called a Semblance, a distinct ability each person with Aura had.

With no definite explanation as to why only women can use Aura many look to this as the main explanation. Because of the distinct difference in physical ability there was a gap between women and men. Men used to be much more subservient to women and did most household work. With the passing of time though, social norms changed and now men on average were equals. Though there were still cases where they would be discriminated against, it became an uncommon thing that many looked down on.

Getting back to the matter at hand though, I'm currently sparring with my fraternal twin sister. Even though I'm a boy I insisted with my mother to allow me to train with my other sisters. She was against it for a while, but after seeing me train by myself and deciding it would be best to just let me get it out of my system, she started to give me exercises to do.

Without the natural buff of having Aura the training she's given me would do little. So, I decided to do some secret training. Every morning I would get up early head down to the river a mile or so away from the house. There I would use large rocks to strengthen my body by carrying ones bigger then myself on my back, tying ropes around them and using trees as pully systems to do reps with them, even walk against the current with some strapped to my back.

Mother was surprised at my rapidly increasing physical capabilities. Even without Aura I could match those with it like my sister as far as physical capabilities go. Though they still beat me it was mostly an attest to their experience. The one I had the biggest rivalry though was Marron. As my twin, she seemed like the best to see where I stand against others. But even then, she was greater than my older sisters.

Mother said she had an unequaled talent that only comes around every few generations within the Arc family. My parents considered the two of us as a cut above the rest from their other siblings and saw our birth as an odd blessing.

This spar we're holding is our 2000 one. It's also my 2000 loss. "Gah!" I'm knocked back down again by the wooden practice sword my sister's wielding. None of them can use real weapons when they spar with me in fear that they may accidently kill me. Even with my two practice swords I can't do anything.

"And that's the match." My mother calls an end to our spar. She walks over to check on me and looks at my bruises. "Nothing broken, you'll be okay." With that she helps me up to my feet and takes my practice swords.

"Sweetie, I think it's best to stop now. You and your sister have been sparing for almost a year now and you haven't been able to get a single win. While I love your tenacity it's starting to become worrisome."

I try and brush of my mother's worries calmly. "It's fine mom. I'll get in a win the next time, you'll see. I just gotta up my training."

The tired mother sighs, exasperated by my thick headedness. "I just think it would be best if you tried something else. You have an unbelievable amount of strength and talent, especially for a boy. But you need to face the facts. You'll never be able to travel the world and fight like this against other trained Huntresses and Grimm. They'll tear you apart."

"I know that. It's why I need to get stronger! How else am I supposed to become the world's best swordsman if I can't even take a step outside of the village without fear of being mauled by a wild Grimm?" My pleas do little to sway her though.

"I'm sorry but this is the end. I can't allow you to keep letting yourself get beat up and lead to your death."

"But mo—"

"My word is final Jaune! This is the last time we're having this discussion." She raises he voice to try and push for her point. "Now go inside and get washed up. Dinner's going to be ready soon."

With nothing left to be said she heads inside to get ready to turn in for the night. I fall to my butt again and look up at the evening sky. The sound of footsteps on grass comes from my right. I look to see Marron looking down on me with a worried expression.

"Are you okay?" Despite just kicking my butt, she shows her usual concern for me. Whenever we're sparring she enters this odd battle mode and becomes wholly focused on dealing with her opponents. Outside of fights however she does a complete 180 and becomes a smothering mess on everyone.

"I'm fine. Nothing new here." Deciding it would be best to head inside and not get yelled at, I get back up and walk inside with her. Before I walk up the stairs I stop and turn to my twin. "Tonight, around 11, meet me at the river in the back. I have something I wanna talk about."

All she does is give me a questioning look before agreeing. With nothing left to be said I head up to the bathroom to wash up. Half an hour later everyone gathers around the dinner table to eat. Each of my sisters talk among themselves as they each eat.

Argente, the oldest, talks with mom about recent events in the world of Huntresses. Dore, the 2nd oldest, is getting a scolding from dad for partying to much at a friend's house and causing trouble. Verte, the youngest after me, scarfs down any scrap near her before anyone else gets a chance to. Violette, the third youngest, helps the toddler twins, Noire and Blanche, eat their food.

Silently I eat my meal as I focus about the event later tonight. What I have in mind will require me to be totally concentrated to achieve my goal. It's a stretch to think I'll be able to achieve, but I need to do it to get anywhere.

After the meal is over everyone begins to head off to bed. A few hours pass until I'm sure everyone's gone to sleep. Silently I slip out from my room and make my way to the armory. Inside we keep different armaments from past Arc's and our practice swords. Not just wooden ones, but real steel blades.

I grab three swords and make my way out the door. Suddenly I stop before leaving and look at the sword sitting in a display in the center of the room. Wado Ichimoji. The ancient blade that's been passed down through the family for generations. It's been within the family longer than anyone can remember. Legend says that it was made by a great blacksmith in the past along with 20 other swords.

It, along with the sword used by one of my ancestors, Crocea Mors, are two of the greatest treasures within our family. Wado Ichimoji has been in the family longer, but rarely used. Only the greatest of our warriors were chosen to wield it. Maybe a handful of women have wielded it, but none within the past few generations.

Looking at the clock, I notice it's getting late. Hurrying along to the meeting place I head to the river. It's getting close to the meeting time. The minutes pass while I wait. I start to get worried that Marron won't show up.

Before long, a rustling sound can be heard from the nearby shrubbery. Marron walks out from the overgrowth and makes her way over to me. "I'm here. What'd you wanna talk about?" My response is throwing her one of the swords. She catches it no problem and looks over the weapon. "What's this for?"

Grabbing the other two I brought for myself I walk a small distance away from her and get into a stance. "What do you think's for? We're gonna spar with them."

My sudden invitation to a duel catches her off guard. "With real swords!? Jaune, you don't have Aura! If we duel with these you could get seriously hurt, or even killed!"

Nothing she says deters me from my challenge. "I know. That's why I'm doing this. With wooden swords I feel no real challenge. If we use real blades I can use the danger to push myself even further."

"Even so—"

"Marron!" I cut her off from attempting to argue. "… After tonight, I won't have another chance like this. Mom won't allow any of you to spar with me again if I can't prove that I can fight with the rest of you."

Marron continues to look at the sword and myself hesitantly. "I don't know, Jaune. I'm still not sure."

"Please, Marron." I plea for her to give me this chance. "I need this. If I can't practice swordsmanship I'll have nothing."

Moments pass as she ponders my request. Silence fills the air for so long that it becomes deafening. A small bead of sweat drips down the side of my face. The anticipation starts to get to me. If she rejects me, then that's it. There'll be nothing left for me to do.

"Alright." … Her response catches me off guard at first. It takes me a moment to even process what she's said.

"What… did you just say…?"

She unsheathes the sword from its hilt and gets into her own stance. "I said I accept your challenge. I duel you."

I stare at her dumbfounded for a moment before a vicious grin grows on my face. "Alright then! Lets' get started. You better not hold back."

"Of course not." The caring and cheerful Marron leaves, and in her place, enters the stern and battle-ready warrior.

We stand across from each other in the grassy field next to the river. It's dead quiet as we stare each other down. Even the animals and insects nearby quiet down as we prepare. Suddenly a slow breeze blows through the feels causing the grass to sway with it. As soon as the breeze ends we leap at each other.

The first strike comes from me as I try and use the sword in my right hand to swing at her horizontally from my left to my right. She blocks the attack easily and moves in to attack my open right. I turn my body and use my left blade to block it. The attack reverberates through me straight to my core.

Jumping back, I attempt to gain some distance. We stare each other down again before we both charge in to recommence our battle. Attack, parry, block, attack, parry, block. We continue to exchange strikes over and over again. Minutes pass as neither one of us can gain any ground.

Stepping away from one another we remain in our stances. I'm hacking and gasping for air while all she's doing is sweating a little. Even trying the best I can this is all I can do. "These real swords, they feel heavier, don't they? Even with all the training you've accomplished this is all you can do."

It's like she can read my mind. My frustration boils over at the insult. "Shut up! Stop talking and fight me!"

She uses my agitated state to her advantage and closes the distance between us in the blink of an eye. She's already on me before I can get my guard raised properly. My two swords go sailing overhead, and I along with them. Marron brings her sword down to stab into me as I hit the ground. I close my eyes and wait for the piercing pain to take me. Only to feel nothing.

I open my eyes and look to my left to see the sword embedded in the ground. She stairs down in victory, sweat dripping from her face and a smirk across her lips. "I suppose this makes it my 2001st victory."

Getting off me she wipes the sweat from her face. Something begins to sting my eyes. For a second I think that some of her seat fell into them, only to realize that it's my own tears. Soon I begin to ball like a cry baby. I bring my hands up to block Marron from seeing me like this humiliating appearance.

"Damn it… Why…? After everything I still can't beat you." The tears don't show any sign of stopping as I lay in defeat.

I don't know the look on her face, but I'm sure Marron's sad to see me like this. "What are you crying for, Jaune? I should be the one who should be frustrated right now." The tears slow down to a crawl. Pulling my hands away from my face I see that a stray tear falls from her check.

"As a boy, you have the choice to do whatever you like. But as a girl of the Arc family, I'm expected to follow in our family's legacy and become a Huntress. With my incredible talent, you could say that there's more pressure on me to do so than Argente or Dore."

She looks up towards the broken moon hanging over head, the shadows fall over her eyes blocking me from seeing them. "You always say that you'll become the world's best swordsmen. I'm sure you could easily accomplish it with your strength in time. I'm actually jealous that you're allowed to chase after your dream like you are, when I'm pressured to continue following the path of a Huntress."

A few more tears fall from her eyes to the grassy field. Her unarmed hand balls into a fist. "I wish I was born a man. At least that way I could chose to become a warrior if I wanted."

The frustration returns, but this time it wasn't solely aimed at myself. "You can't just do that! You can't say something like that after you just beat me! You're my goal, something I'm striving for!"

She's crying more now. What was once a few stray tears is now a steady stream. "Jaune…"

"Saying that you don't even wanna become a Huntress in the first place! All you're doing is insulting all my hard these past few years! It's not fair for you to just throw that in my face by saying that you were forced to do this!"

Her tears finally stop. She stares at me with a look of surprise. "If you don't wanna be a Huntress then tell them! Tell them that it's not what you wanna do! But don't you stand there and say that you beat me when you don't even wanna try!"

I'm outta breath again from all the yelling. We continue to look into each other's eyes for what seems like hours. Eventually she gives a small smile. "Alright. I'll tell them, tomorrow."

I share in her smile and walk over towards my two fallen swords. "Good. For now, let's head back home. If we wait any longer someone may start to notice we're gone."

With our business concluded, we return to the house. The broken moon shines its light upon us as it hangs directly overhead. We say good night one last time before going back to bed.

Not knowing what tomorrow would bring.

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The weight of rocks I have thrown over the tree starts to make my muscles ache. This is probably my 1000th rep on each arm. Add in the dumbbell I have in my mouth to strengthen my neck and this whole exercise probably looks like torture for a child.

Last night made me see that I'm still too weak. Two swords won't be enough to surpass Marron. If that's the case, then I'll just have to use three. It seems crazy, but so is a male trying to beat a female with Aura.

Footsteps approach me from behind, crushing leaf's as they get closer. I halt my exercise and turn to see Dore approaching me at great speed. "Watts op Dore?" Trying to talk with the weight in my mouth makes it hard, but I'm sure she heard me.

"Jaune!" She comes to a screeching halt. She must've been running around for a while now because she's out of breath. "Something—something happened at the house!"

I take the weight out of my mouth at the seriousness situation. "What do ya mean!? What happened at the house!?" The faces of my family flash through my mind.

"It's… It's Marron!" …Marron … What happened to Marron…? "She was working with some Dust in the training hall when an accident occurred. The mixture ended up exploding in her face. The Dust must've been bad!"

I don't take the time to hear what happened. I break into a dead sprint to the house. Dore tries to call out to me, but I ignore her and head on. Soon the house comes into view past the tree line.

The training hall looks like it was just on fire. Seems Dore was telling the truth. Heading inside I run into the kitchen to find dad with the younger children. "Dad!"

Dad's holding the others when he looks up at me. "Jaune! You're okay."

"Ya, I am. What happened here?"

He looks to the twin infants in his arms crying and tries to get them to calm down. "Marron was using some Dust in the training hall when it exploded. Your mother and Argente took her to the hospital in Vale. They should be getting there soon. They called a Bullhead from the village to take them."

I go into a cold sweat at the conformation of the accident. "Marron! I Marron okay!?"

Dore soon enters the kitchen. "She's in bad shape. Your mother doesn't think she'll die, but it's not looking good. We'll be joining them soon, but for now we'll have to wait." I'm starting to shake. This entire situation is horrible. And all I can do is sit here and do nothing!

I feel a hand on my shoulder. Dore's looking at me with a serious expression. "You heard him. All we can do right now is wait for the news. I'm sure we can join them when things calm down some. Until them, the best we can do is hope for her to be okay."

Hearing it makes sense, but it doesn't make it feel any better. Violette walks over to me and pulls on my pant leg. "It's okay big brother. Big sis Marron's really tough, I'm sure she'll be okay."

Her words seem to sooth my frustration some. Reaching down I pick her up. "Your big brother must look pretty pathetic to need you to make him feel better, huh?"

This cause her to laugh, bringing some piece of happiness to this situation. "Nope! I know you really care for big sis Marron, so I bet you're worried the most."

I give the courage's young girl a kiss on the forehead before setting her back down. Dad joins us and gives me a reassuring smile. "Why don't we all head to the living room for now? We could all use some rest."

Agreeing with the patriarch's words we head to the next room and settle in until we hear from the others.

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8 hours pass until we hear any news of Marron's condition. She's stable with now, but that's all we've been told. The Bullhead that dropped them off is sent back to take us to Vale. Dad tried to ask Dore to say behind to watch the younger girls, but was quickly shot down.

Giving in he allowed everyone to come along to see how Marron's doing. The ride there was quiet and uneventful. Everyone was too concerned to say anything. It takes little more than an hour to arrive.

Vale comes into view. It's night now and the cityscape is lit up in a wondrous display of lights. The hospital sits near the center of the city with a helipad on top. Immediately after we land we head to the reception desk to find out what rooms Marron's in.

"Alright, we don't wanna crowd her, so for now Jaune and I will go see her. When we get back the rest of you can see her." Before he can even finish I rush off to her room. With the directions I got from the nurse it shouldn't take long. "Jaune wait! Don't go off on your own, you'll get lost!"

How am I gonna get lost? The directions were simple. If I follow them it shouldn't be hard to find.

Half an hour later

Where in the world is this stupid room! I followed the nurse's directions exactly. She must've not known what she was talking about because I can't find it. I even tried asking some others for the way to the room and it still didn't work. These people must have a horrible sense of direction.

Now I'm just running around the halls trying to find out where everyone is. Continuing through the halls I turn a corner and run into something. Falling backwards I catch myself before crash. "Ow. Geez."

Looking to see what I hit, I notice a tall, gray haired woman standing in front of me. I find it odd that her hair's gray considering she looks about the same age as my mother. She dusts off her light green vest before turning to me. "Are you alright, young man?" She shows some concern for my well-being.

"I'm fine." I brush off the concern as I get my bearings back. "I'm sorry for running into you. I'm in a rush to find the room my sister's in. I tried following the directions the nurse gave me, but they must've been wrong. It's been half an hour, but I can't seem to find it anywhere."

A coy smile spreads across her face. "I see. Well it just so happens that I'm here to visit a friend of mine's daughter who was injured. I was heading to their room now, but I suppose I can help you find your sister first. What's her name? I'll need to know so I can help."

That cheers me up a little. Having someone to help me look will make this a lot easier. "Sure! Her names Marron D. Arc. I'm her brother Jaune D. Arc."

The unknown woman's eyes widen slightly before she lets out a small chuckle. "I see. Then perhaps this is destiny at work. I just so happen to be looking for someone with the same name."

Wow! What're the odds. "You're looking for someone named Marron D. Arc too! I didn't think someone had the same name as my sister. Maybe they're placed next to each other."

She gives me a slightly dumbfounded look before laughing again. "May be. Why don't we go see?"

"Okay!" I follow the mysterious woman down the hall. In about a minute or so we come to a room. The digital name plate on it says that Marron D. Arc is in this room. "I wonder if this one's my sister or the one that has your friend's daughter in it?"

"Who knows? I suppose we'll have to open it to find out."

Opening the door I peer inside to see who's inside. A woman's sitting in a chair near a hospital bed. Inside the bed a young girl looks to be resting with different monitors surrounding her. The woman turns to look at me.

"Jaune? Is that you?"

Now that I get a better look the woman's my mother. "Mom! I found you!" Running over to her I jump up to hug her. "I've been looking for you guys everywhere." If this is the room mom's in then that must mean… "Marron!"

I receive a quick smack to the back of my head from my mother. "Inside voice Jaune. She's resting right now."

"Ow. Sorry mom." Rubbing the back of my head I turn to the lady who I met along the way. "Oh ya, mom. This lady helped me find this place."

The gray haired women steps forward and introduces herself. "Hello, Isabelle. It's good to see you, though I wish it was under better circumstances."

"I'm surprised to see you here, Olivia. I thought you would be busy with Beacon right now." Huh? Does mom know this person? It takes me a moment to realize that the person she was here to see… was my own sister.

…. I'm an idiot. Not that I'd let anyone else know that.

The two women continue with their conversation while I come to terms with my own stupidity. "I would be, but I left Glynda in charge of the work for tonight. A friend of mine's daughter was just in an accident after all. It would be rude of me to not come and visit."

"I suppose that's your way of saying that you felt like it was too much work to stay and left Glynda to do it all?" My mother gives her a sly smirk as the woman, now named Olivia, looks her dead in the eyes.

"You can't prove that."

The two continue to stare at one another for a few moments before sharing a short laugh. "I would love to get caught up, but I believe I should leave you with your family for now." With a nod my mother says goodbye to Olivia.

Since the two are done talking I figure it's best to finally ask some questions. "Who was that mom?"

She looks back to me and picks me up to set me in her lap. "That was Olivia Pine. She's the Headmistress at Beacon Academy. The school Huntresses in training go to."

"I see. That explains why she knows you." I turn my attention to Marron now. Looking her over she has bandages wrapped around most of her body. Her face seems to have a few cuts too, but nothing horrible. Her Aura must've saved her.

"Mom… Is Marron gonna be okay?"

The grip she has on me tightens slightly before she answers. "… She's gonna live. And those cuts aren't too bad."

A sigh of relief escapes me. At least she isn't in any life threatening danger. "That's good. Now all we gotta do is wait for her to get better so we can go home." The expression on my mom's face darkens slightly.

"Jaune… The accident really hurt her. She's going to live, but…. I'm afraid she won't be able to walk ever again."

"… What?"

The matriarch of the Arc family takes a deep breath. "The damage to her spine is very serious. There's no way she'll be able to use her legs again. Her life as a Huntress is over."

The news is rather… unsettling. I stand up and walk to the side of Marron's bed and take her hand. "Is there no way she can walk again? Doesn't Atlas have some robo-legs they can give her?"

"Atlas does have the technology for it, but it isn't a matter of not being able to make her walk again." The puzzled expression on my face doesn't go unnoticed by her. "After she got out of surgery she told me something. She said that there was no need for her to get new legs. Because she didn't want to be a Huntress anymore."

"I see…" I already knew that, but I didn't expect it this soon. Maybe after a couple of weeks, but not the next day.

"You already knew, didn't you?"

"Guh!" The question catches me off guard. I might've showed to much acceptance at the news and caused myself to be suspicious. "Y-ya." I can't even look her in the eye.

"Ha…" She lets out a sigh, probably exhausted from the whole day. "I suppose I can't hold you accountable for this. Nor can I say the same for Marron. No, this entire situation is my own fault." Now mom's standing next to me, placing her hand with mine over Marron's. "I shouldn't have forced her to do this. Maybe if I had asked her what she wanted to do she wouldn't be so tormented."

Now even mom's crying. A few stray tears here and there, but not much. She's always been the strong woman of our family. For her to allow herself to be seen crying is a big deal. "It's not your fault mom. You know how she is. Whenever she's in trouble she tends to keep it to herself."

It seems that's enough to get a laugh out of her. "Ha ha. You're right. She's stubborn when it comes to things like this. I suppose it's something the two of you share."

"Like you're one to talk. If anything we get it from you."

We share a laugh together this time. It's good to know that we can make it through this. As a family at least.

"Mmmmm. Mm."

We're pulled from our conversation as Marron begins to wake up. Slowly, she opens her eyes. It takes her a moment to adjust to the darkness of the room, but soon she looks at the two of us.

"M-mom… Ja-Jaune…? Is that you…?"

"Marron!" I pull her hand close to me. "You're awake. Are you feeling alright?"

Weakly she nods with a faint smile. "Ya… I'm okay…" Her voice sounds dry. She probably hasn't had any water yet. Slowly, I help her up and give her the nearby up the nurse probably left.

She takes slow, long sips of the delicious H2O. She gets about halfway through the cup before signaling for me to stop. "Thank you." I help her lay back down and set the cup back on the table. "How are the others? Everyone okay?"

Mom speaks up from beside me, taking my place and Marron's hand. "They're okay. They're in the waiting room right now. We don't wanna crowd you so I'll call them in a few at time."

"That's fine." Nodding at mom, she turns to look at me, then back to mom. "Mom, can you leave the room for a second. I need to talk to Jaune."

For a moment I thought mom would argue, but she nods in compliance. Silently, she leaves the room and the two of us alone. As mom closes the door the two of us look at one another. Neither one of us say a word for a couple of seconds.

"So, what'd ya wanna talk about?"

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Even after exhaling she still has her eyes close. "I'm sure mom told you that I won't be able to walk anymore. And that I told her I don't wanna continue my Huntress training anymore."

"She did…" I rub the back of my head as I start to feel awkward. "I'm gonna be honest, I didn't expect you to tell her this soon."

"Considering what happened it seemed like the best time." Her comforting smile easies me some from my awkward feeling. "But that's not what I wanted to talk about."

Her expression turns serious again as we get back to what she wanted to ask me. "A little over a week ago mom brought me into the armory. She said she had something she wanted to give to me. When I got there she brought me over to the display case for Wado Ichimoji. She said the sword would be passed on to me. That I was worthy of wielding it."

This might be one of the most shocking things I've heard today. For mom to pass of the family's greatest sword is a huge thing to hear. Not even mom herself was deemed worthy of wielding the sword, and she's one of the top 10 Huntresses in the world.

"At the time I wasn't too happy about it. But after today I think it might've been for the best. The sword is still technically mine to wield, and that also means I can do with it as I please." That makes sense. Even though she can't wield the sword as a warrior anymore it's still hers and mom can't say anything about it now.

"Which is why I'm passing the sword onto you."

… What?

"Ma-Marron? I'm s-sorry, but can you repeat that?"

"I said, I'm passing the sword onto you. I've already talked to mom about it after I came out of surgery, so she's already complied with this."

I shoot out of my chair so fast that it falls to the ground with a loud thud. "B-b-bu-but you can't do that! I'm a male! The sword may be yours, but to pass it onto someone like me is unheard of! No one in the history of our family has ever done something like this before!"

She reaches out and takes my hand again to try and calm me. "I know that it's unheard of, but so are the things you've done Jaune. You've been training with us for less time than I have, and yet you've already caught up to us. The fact that you're a boy says all the more on how strong you are."

No words leave me. There's nothing I can say. I'm too stunned by the entire event to even give a retort. Marron pull me closer towards her, forcing me to pull my chair back up so I can sit closer.

"Jaune, you said you wanted to become the greatest swordsman in the world, right?" My words are still failing me, so I simply nod. "Then I believe the best swordsman in the world needs the best sword in the world. The two of you would make a great pair together, I'm sure of it."

"Marron…." My eyes start to water some. It seems Marron's in the same state as she starts to cry with me.

"And as you go on to become the greatest swordsman, I'll be right there with you every step of the way."

The grip I have on her hand tightens. She pulls me in closer and brings her other arm around to pull me into a hug. I bring my arms around her to hug her back, careful not to squeeze to hard and hurt her.

"I promise you, that no matter what stands in my way I'll keep getting stronger and stronger. Until the day when I can yell out to the world that I'm the greatest swordsman in the world. And when they look at me they'll see me wielding the sword that you gave to me."

"I'm sure you will."

This was it. The start of my journey to become the greatest swordsman in the world, and the beginning of a series of events that will change the world forever.