AN: Looks like we've received relatively good reception so far. I'm glad those of you reading seem to be enjoying the story so far. This chapter's a bit shorter, because I ended where I felt was most appropriate. Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Responses for guest reviews and reviews with good questions I feel need answering are at the bottom.
Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, and I have no funny jokes to post here. Boo x 2.
The Knight's Rise II
"I admit I was wrong about Mr. Arc, Professor Ozpin."
At the top of Beacon's tallest tower was Headmaster Ozpin's office, large and mostly unadorned by personal effects, but not by any means bare or Spartan. There was a large window behind Ozpin's desk, allowing him to simply turn back to check on his school, and there were large turning gears all around, giving the impression of being inside a clock tower. They were inside the floor through clear reinforced glass, and even inside of his desk. The office spoke greatly of Professor Ozpin's peculiar and unique mind.
Professor Goodwitch was currently giving her daily report on the first-year students, which she did at the beginning of every year. "I had him and Mr. Cardin Winchester fight today, and while he is clumsy, clearly mostly self-trained, and somewhat lacking in confidence, he has surprisingly good instinct. His semblance is interesting as well." Goodwitch took a tablet scroll out of her pocket and replayed the fight for Ozpin, who simply hummed at the end.
"He has potential," Ozpin stated, taking a drink of his mug of coffee. "I'm glad you gave him a chance."
"Yes, well, he's going to need a good bit of training to catch up to the rest of his team, but Mr. Winchester is hardly the weakest of this year's recruits," Goodwitch told him, turning the scroll around and pausing at the moment Jaune had started to glow. "His semblance has a mental aspect to it as well. When I saw it, well, certain good memories of my old team came to my mind." Glynda's normally very serious face gained a small and nostalgic smile. "I can see why you made him a team leader as well. You were right, as always."
Ozpin chuckled softly. "Oh Glynda, I'm hardly always correct. I've made more mistakes than any man alive." Ozpin sipped his mug, eyes straying upwards. Glynda stayed silent, she had heard this line before, but she had never agreed with him on it. "I simply saw something inside of him, something like I saw in young Miss Rose, and even Mister Winchester as well. A certain, spark, if you will.
"Moving past that, it's not often I hear you speak of your old team. He must have made an impression on you, to make you reminisce about them," Professor Ozpin told her gently, a soft and slightly sorrowful smile on his face.
"Yes… Looking at his aura, it made me feel as though memories of them didn't hurt as much as they used to," Professor Goodwitch said softly. She quickly composed herself and started to change the subject. "Well, moving on from that and onto happier subjects, Peter tells me that Ms. Schnee came to him for advice earlier today. I believe she and her team might make up soon," Goodwitch announced happily. Ozpin nodded and sipped his mug, unsurprised.
"I had not expected their little feud to last for too long. Miss Schnee appears to me, to be quite different from her father, her mind much more open," Ozpin gave voice to his thoughts. "I had almost made her the leader of Team RWBY, truth be told, but I felt she wasn't quite ready for it. I'm sure she will grow more and more in the days to come."
"That's good. We need more people like them, for the things that are to come," Goodwitch whispered.
"I do not quite deny that, but they are still children, Glynda, with three years left before they graduate from this academy," Ozpin told her seriously. "Let's not think of such things right now. Hopefully, there is still plenty of time for them to enjoy their school years before the coming conflict unfolds. I and my other colleagues at Haven, Shade, and Atlas have been keeping in greater correspondence lately. Professor Lionheart at Haven has been especially receptive to me, so I hope we will be able to rally together before it all begins."
"Let us hope you're right, Ozpin."
-A wild line break appears!-
The first thing that Jaune felt when he awoke was soft sheets, even better than the ones they had been provided with for their dorm room. He was still in the clothes he had fought Cardin with, minus his armor and weapon. He was blinded by strong fluorescent lights as soon as he opened his eyes and had to take a moment to close them. Don't recognize this ceiling, was Jaune's only thought.
Taking a moment to feel his body for any injury, Jaune was pleasantly surprised to find it in good condition. He didn't feel more than a slight soreness in his muscles, but there wasn't even a bruise on his chest where Cardin had smashed him with his mace. That forcefield power was some really good stuff.
"Jaune, are you awake?" asked a familiar voice to his side. Jaune sat up and gave his partner Pyrrha a nod, took a look around and realized he was in what must be one of Beacon's infirmaries. The only people present were himself and his three team members, not even a nurse or doctor were around.
"Welcome back to the world of the living, Fearless Leader!" Nora welcomed him back cheerfully. "You've been out for a whole week you know?"
Jaune almost fell off the bed with alarm. "What?! Are you serious?!" An entire week?! Just what had he missed? Classes, homework… Had Weiss forgotten he existed after not seeing him for a whole week?!
"Nora!" Ren scolded her harshly, but she just stuck her tongue out at him. "You've only been out for an hour, Jaune. People don't just fall unconscious for an entire week."
Jaune felt his eyes get moist with relief. "Nora, please try and not give a guy a heart attack as soon as he gets up. And Pyrrha, stop laughing!" Pyrrha was shaking with laughter, eyes full of mirth.
"I'm sorry!" she apologized, in a certain tone of voice that Jaune was starting to suspect meant she wasn't actually sorry at all. He narrowed his eyes at her, but she only shook harder, to his dismay. "Come now, Jaune, you'd get brain damage if you were unconscious for so long! This isn't a movie," she tried to explain to him, a giggle escaping from her mouth. His face turned a little red, but he only looked away with a huff.
Soon his entire team was laughing. It really wasn't so funny, but Jaune couldn't help but join in with them after a second. He had to admit, he hadn't known that, he must watch more action movies than he thought. Soon they had laughed their fill and the room fell into a comfortable silence.
"You guys are all jerks," Jaune chuckled. "So, what happened anyway? I remember that I won at least, but what happened after that? At least it was the last class of the day, too," He took a moment to remember the end of the fight, blasting Cardin off and Cardin's aura falling to zero and suddenly felt worried. "Cardin's aura was completely spent wasn't it? Is he okay? I don't see him here," Jaune said, looking around.
"Cardin's fine," Pyrrha assured him. "His armor was dented and he wasn't very happy, but he didn't fall unconscious like you, he was just dazed. Aura, even when spent to zero, typically prevents things like that, unless you're caught unawares or receive a truly debilitating blow. The nurse said you were unconscious due to stress from overuse of your semblance."
Ren nodded beside her, fighting off Nora's hands trying to poke at him in revenge for ruining her joke. "Yeah, your semblance evolved a little in your fight with Cardin, from what I remember of how you fought against the Deathstalker in initiation. It's not unusual to become exhausted from that."
"Yeah, you should've seen yourself, Jaune!" Nora happily continued. "You started that warm and fuzzy glow again, and then you blasted off like you had rockets in your feet! Cardin was all like 'Noooooo!' and you were all like 'I will defeat you, evil doer!' and then-"
"That's enough of that, Nora," Ren tried to pacify her. Nora stuck her tongue out at him again and resumed her attempted revenge.
Jaune laughed at her cheerfulness. Nora really was one of a kind. "Semblances can evolve?" he asked, thinking hard about any differences he had felt earlier to his battle in initiation.
Nodding, Pyrrha started to explain. "Yes. Semblances can be trained to be stronger for starters, like a muscle. The more you use it, the more it grows. And like in your fight with Cardin, sometimes you may discover new aspects of it, or new ways to use it."
Jaune nodded and grew curious. "You sure know a lot about this kind of thing, Pyrrha. You unlocked my aura, too, just what is your semblance?"
Pyrrha winked at him and let her lips just tilt upwards. "Now that would be telling. You'll see soon enough, I'm sure." Jaune pouted and tried to prod her into telling him to no avail. Nora joined in, too, equally curious, and soon everyone was messing around and laughing together.
"Oh good, you guys are still here."
Turning his head, the new voice had come from a blonde male in nurse scrubs with a large tablet scroll in his hands. "Sorry I wasn't here when you woke up, I was telling Glynda, Professor Goodwitch that is, how you're doing. Which is fine, by the way." The nurse looked down at his scroll.
"Your armor is being fixed up in the armory, should be done before your next class with Goodwitch. It took a nice beating in your fight, had a bunch of wide gashes too, from initiation I guess," the nurse continued, scrolling down. "Oh, that's free by the way," the nurse assured him, seeing Jaune's eyes widen and his mouth open. "Things like fixing up your armor and providing parts for your weapons, standard rounds of ammunition, mission supplies, that's all provided by Beacon at no cost. There's a reason why we're the best in the Kingdom of Vale!" the nurse winked at him.
"Oh, that's cool. Really generous, too, since tuition and everything's free as well," Jaune thought out loud, throwing the blonde a questioning glance. The rest of his team seemed curious as well.
"Well yeah, this is a combat school, one of the four best in the world. Huntsmen are the defenders of mankind after all, so the Vale council provides as much funds as the school needs," the nurse stated matter-of-factly. "Anyway, you're not injured or anything, so you're free to go whenever you want. You can check when your armor'll be done over in the armory, and your weapon should be in your dorm. Try not to get in here too often, huh?" the nurse waved and left them be.
"Well, I suppose we should get back to our dorm then, our homework's waiting," said Pyrrha, holding a hand out for Jaune to get up.
"Damn it, I almost forgot about that."
-A wild line break appears!-
The next week passed much more smoothly than their first day, and soon it was already the weekend. Professor Goodwitch had not made Jaune fight again, going through the rest of the class to see everyone fight at least once, which was lucky for him as his armor would not be fully repaired until that very day. The rest of his classes, however…
Jaune let his head fall onto his notebook and groaned. He and his team were at their dorm on a calm Saturday noon, but had unanimously decided to finish their work before going out to enjoy their weekend. There was nothing wrong with that really, but Jaune had never had such challenging schoolwork before. Being from a small village beyond the Kingdom of Vale, the education standards must have been lower than that expected of people from inside the Kingdom.
Or maybe he was just dumb. Jaune wasn't sure which would be better.
"Everything alright, Jaune?" Ren queried from his bed, looking up from his own notebook. Pyrrha looked up as well, almost finished with her own work. Nora was trying to sneakily take a nap.
"Yeah, everything's fine, it's just, I'm not used to all this bookwork you know?" Jaune waved his hand above his head.
Ren nodded sympathetically. "That's right, you worked and such back at home and didn't have much time for studying."
"Well, how about a bit of a break?" Pyrrha suggested, closing her things. "It's already noon in any case, we would have headed up to lunch soon. We've all been working hard; we could use it."
Everyone vocally agreed and started to put their things away, Nora especially letting out a large groan of exhaustion as soon as Ren shook her awake. "Aren't I usually the one doing the sleeping?" he asked her wrily. Nora just grinned at him unashamedly.
"You know, my armor should be just about done by now," Jaune recalled, looking for a note in one of his folders. "Yeah, says noon today. I should get over to the armory and pick it up."
"Oh, I'll join you," Pyrrha perked up. "I've been meaning to go check it out, and to grab some parts to do maintenance on Milo, too."
"Alright, sounds like a plan," Jaune said, looking towards Ren and Nora. "You guys want to join us?"
"No, I think Nora and I will head to lunch first. We'll save you some seats," Ren nodded at Nora, who was groaning and holding her stomach pitifully at him. Jaune laughed into his hand and nodded back.
"Alright, we shouldn't be too long. Off we go, Pyrrha."
"The armory is this way, Jaune," Pyrrha giggled, pointing him the opposite direction he had started walking. Jaune's face turned red.
"I knew that," Jaune grumbled, trying to ignore Pyrrha's teasing.
Beacon's armory was large, like the rest of its facilities, with a variety of workshops for students to work on their weapons themselves. It was necessary, as many huntsmen weapons were complex and built by their wielders. There were no windows, as there was a risk of them being blown out by misfired weapons or accidents, but the ceiling was a dome made of reinforced glass that shined light down on the room and gave a nice view of some of the flying birds Beacon was home to.
There were a few workers who walked around checking to make sure no one was doing something they shouldn't, and a couple of people at a counter across from the entrance that Pyrrha and Jaune walked in through. Before they could grab someone and ask where to go however, a familiar voice called out to them.
"Oh my god, Jaune and Pyrrha, over here, over here!" yelled Ruby Rose, her beloved scythe opened to its insides on a table in front of her. People near her that weren't working on anything delicate shot her annoyed glances that made her blush deeply and bow several times to apologize. Trying not to laugh, they walked over, giving their own small apologies to the people near them.
"Hi, Jaune, hi Pyrrha," Ruby greeted them, her voice now down to a whisper.
"I don't think you need to whisper like that Ruby," Jaune told her. "Just, probably try not to yell like that again." Ruby nodded embarrassedly.
"Anyway, I guess it figures you'd be here, I remember how you showed me Crescent Rose our first day," Jaune said, hand coming up to grab his chin.
Ruby nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I'm kinda a weapon nut. Wherever you can find things like that, I'll be there!"
"Maybe we should exchange tips sometime then," Pyrrha suggested. "I built my weapons myself as well, we may have insights to give each other."
"That would be amazing!" Ruby gushed, though careful to keep her voice at a reasonable level. "I've wanted to check out that Milo of yours since I first saw it, three different weapon shifts and it's so small and compact! I must know what kind of things you've done to it."
"It's great you guys are getting a long so well, but we really should get a move on if we want to meet Ren and Nora for lunch, Pyrrha," Jaune cut them off before they could get lost in their own world. Ruby perked up a bit.
"Oh yeah, what are you two here for anyway?" Ruby asked. They explained about the armor and maintenance parts and she nodded.
"Oh yeah, you'll want those guys over there," Ruby informed them, pointing at the counter. "The woman is one of the blacksmiths here and probably has your armor, Jaune, and the guy is the one for parts and things, Pyrrha."
"Alright, sounds good, thanks, Ruby," Jaune said, looking towards the counter. "By the way, would you and your team want to join us for lunch once we're done? Unless you're busy, of course."
Ruby nodded enthusiastically. "Sure, sounds like a date! I mean, no, not a date, but I mean, like the expression date!" Ruby agreed and then rapidly corrected herself, looking panicked. Before Jaune could say a word she continued, looking red and making Pyrrha beside him shake. "I mean, it's not like I wouldn't go on a date with you, you're a cool guy and all Jaune, but a relationship, I mean we just met a week ago and my sister would kill you and if things go badly we have years left at Beacon and you're a really good friend-"
"That's enough, Ruby, we understand!" laughed Pyrrha, eyes filled with mirth. Jaune was just looking confused and scratching his head, but grinned when Ruby looked and nodded affirmatively.
"Right, of course you understand, I mean… Yeah. I'll just, you know, text my team and tell them to join us. Just leave me be," she told them, hiding her face. Pyrrha was still shaking with laughter when they walked away and assured Jaune that Ruby was fine when he looked to her.
"She just got confused for a second I'm sure," Pyrrha reassured him, turning him away when he made like he was thinking to go back and check on Ruby. Jaune was still confused but agreed.
The woman Jaune went to was looking through a large desktop scroll, typing rapidly so that he could barely see her fingers move. Her black hair was pulled into a messy bun, and she was clothed in a rather unflattering dirty blue jumpsuit. She looked up at his approach and grunted a greeting at him. Unperturbed, he gave her the note the nurse at the infirmary had given him a week prior and explained what he was there to pick.
"Ah, that thing?" she finally talked, giving him a look that made him shift uncomfortably. "Got a bit of a surprise for ya," she told him, and went off through a door to the back of the counter. Jaune gulped and hoped it was a good surprise.
When the woman came back, she was holding a piece of armor that was familiar but not his armor. She placed it on the counter and waited, making Jaune blink and look back and forth between her and the armor twice. Seeing her looking at him expectantly, he hesitantly grabbed and inspected the armor.
The first thing he noticed was that it was heavier, but that not by any means was it heavy armor. That was probably due in part to how the chest piece came down to his lower abdomen now, and looked as though it would cover every part of his chest, abdomen and sides. The shoulder pauldrons had gotten an extra plate each, and now covered more of his shoulders, almost connecting to his chest piece.
"Well try it on," the woman told him impatiently. Having many questions but being waved at impatiently, Jaune quietly acquiesced. The armor fit him snuggly, better than before in fact. There was enough room for him to twist and turn comfortably, and his arms retained their full range of motion despite his pauldrons almost reaching his chest piece, not once scraping against each other. The extra weight was distributed against his body evenly and didn't feel at all like it would slow him down.
The woman examined him thoroughly, making Jaune feel slightly self-conscious, and nodded in satisfaction. "Your old armor was kinda crap," she told him bluntly, making him lean back in surprise. "I melted it down and added some better metal, reforged it into the same shape and shit as before, but better, as you can see." She waved at the armor he had put on.
"I mean," Jaune began uncertainly. "It was kind of all I could afford. My family isn't the wealthiest or anything, and…" he trailed off as the woman nodded, face set in sympathy.
"Yeah, that's not surprising, I've met tons of brats with the same kinda issue as you," she told him. "But Beacon takes care of its own, ya hear? We can't really make an entire set of good armor for you, but we can at least do this much."
"Wow," Jaune said, looking down at his new armor in greater appreciation. "That's, thank you so much. I don't know what to say, Miss…"
"Oh damn, where are my manners," she slapped her forehead. "I'm Luna, Luna Blackford, one of Beacon's blacksmiths. Nice to meetcha!" she introduced herself, holding his hand out for him to shake.
"Jaune Arc," he introduced himself in return, grabbing her hand and having to hold in a gasp. Her grip was incredibly strong. "Nice to meet you, too," he managed, resisting the urge to rub his hand.
"Ready to go, Jaune?" came Pyrrha's voice. She seemed as though she was finished, and had a small wrapped package in her hands.
"Wow, what happened to your armor?" Pyrrha asked, fingers reaching out to feel his reforged armor.
"Oh, um, L-Luna here, she reforged it for me, yeah. Lots of damage, and it wasn't the best from the start you know?" Jaune stammered out, cheeks turning a faint shade of red.
"Well it seems to me as though she did a good job. This is much better than your old armor," Pyrrha said, retracting her hand and making Jaune let out a faint sound of relief.
Don't think she noticed, Jaune thought in relief. Come on, she didn't even really grab you, just your armor. Let's not do anything that awkward again.
"W-Well, anyway, just give me a sec to say thanks aga- Aaaand she's back to work," Jaune cut himself off. Luna was already back to rapidly typing on her desktop scroll. Shrugging, he gave her one more whispered thanks, to which she only give a split-second wave of farewell, and they went to grab Ruby and head off to lunch.
-A wild line break appears!-
"The lunch here really is varied," Jaune thought aloud, finishing up his plate of a Mistralean dish that Pyrrha had recommended to him. The lunchroom wasn't as packed as it normally was, most likely due to it being the weekend. Older students especially were probably out in Vale proper.
"Yeah, the grub here is pretty good for a school. Signal had decent food, too, but nothing like this," Yang said, turning her head from a conversation she was having with Pyrrha.
"Did you like the food I recommended, Jaune? It's very common where I'm from," Pyrrha asked, smiling.
"Yeah, it was pretty good, really different from the kind of stuff we eat back home," Jaune told her. A few people over Weiss sighed and finished her own meal, the same that Jaune had eaten. A thoughtful expression came over his face for a moment, before he put on his best flirty smile and turned to her. "Do you happen to like Mistralean food, Weiss? Maybe tomorrow we can go check one out in Vale?"
"No thanks, Arc, maybe next time," Weiss said, not so much as turning. Nora started to 'Oooh,' and Pyrrha glared fiercely at Weiss when Jaune slumped down in his seat.
"Damn, rejected!" yelled Yang. "You're a real heartbreaker, huh, Weiss-cream?"
Ruby and Nora both snorted and looked away, whistling, when Weiss turned her eyes to them. "And who said I had given you permission to call me that Xiao Long?" Weiss demanded.
"Oh, I dunno," Yang grinned. "But don't you think you were just a little cold? Jaune's heart isn't made out of Weiss you know."
Ruby and Nora burst out laughing while Weiss groaned and decided to just ignore her. Pyrrha giggled a little but decided to try and change the subject when Jaune didn't perk up. "Anyway, Jaune," Pyrrha started. "You were having trouble with your work earlier, right? Why don't we try studying together some time? They say that two minds work better than one."
"Oh, a study group? That sounds like a marvelous idea, Pyrrha!" Weiss said excitedly, her attention completely caught. Ruby gagged near her, but Weiss ignored her with all the expertise of someone who had been living with her for an entire week.
"Um, I wasn't particularly referring to a large study group, Weiss, I was thinking-"
"Ruby here actually skipped doing her homework this morning and wandered off to the armory to play with her scythe. Can you believe it?" Weiss continued, oblivious to Pyrrha. "She promised me earlier this week that she would try harder, then skips off as soon as the weekend starts!"
"She's kinda got you there sis," Yang snickered. Ruby shot her an extremely betrayed look.
"Um, again, I was kind of intending for it to be only me and-"
"It's not a bad idea really," Ren talked for the first time during their lunch break. "Nora has plenty of intelligence, but has a hard time focusing. With the both of our times working together, I bet she would need to focus."
"Ren!" Nora was shocked.
"It's decided then!" Weiss clapped her hands together. Ruby groaned and slapped her face down on the table. Yang patted her on the back sympathetically, and Blake continued to read, showing no objections. Pyrrha slumped down next to Jaune, defeated, while Nora had a look of horror on her face.
-A wild line break appears!-
"We've now gone through the entire class, and I have made a note of all of your skill levels. Up to this point, I have been confirming what I saw during your initiation, but today, we will begin slightly randomized matches with opponents fitting your abilities."
Jaune was nervous, but determined. I've already proven myself a couple of times, and I even have new, stronger armor. This is just a spar; I can do this.
Professor Goodwitch had told the class to come in armor rather than uniform today, and everyone there was sitting and waiting in anticipation. The professor slowly looked at all of their faces and decided. "Lie Ren and… Jaune Arc. Please come down to the stage."
Starting, the two looked at each other in surprise, but Ren smiled a little and nodded at Jaune while they both went walked down. "Let's fight well, Jaune."
What luck! Jaune thought, while he patted Ren on the back in confirmation. Ren's strong, but I think I can take him, and I know he isn't going to be trying to really hurt me like Cardin.
"Are you both ready?" Professor Goodwitch asked, moving off the arena. Both of them nodded, faces now drawn tighter. Up in the stands Nora was cheering, a flag with Ren's name on it waving in her hand, while Pyrrha looked indecisive on who she should be supporting.
"Then, in one, two, three, fight!"
Ren immediately shot the side and started circling Jaune, Stormflower shooting and leaving him with no time to react. Jaune yelped and took a few hits before he was able to fumble his shield up to protect his face, but his new armor protected him without getting a scratch.
Feeling a little more confident, Jaune got his shield up and charged towards Ren, who stopped firing and twirled out of the way, kicking his shield up on the way. Eyes wide, body wide open and trying to move backwards, Ren continued his motion and swept his feet out from under him. Jaune landed with a grunt and was barely able to move out of the way as Stormflower left a wide scratch on the floor that would have surely hurt a lot.
"You got him, Ren, get him, get him!" Nora cheered from the stands. Pyrrha was looking slightly worried and leaned forward. Jaune had no time to look up and see this however, rolling away from Ren.
Not good, not good! Jaune tried to get up but gasped and let himself fall downwards as a green blade swept where his head had just been. Unlike Cardin, Ren showed no mercy simply because his opponent was on the ground. Jaune swept his shield against the small green gunblades and tried to follow up with a wide arc of his long blade, but Ren simply flipped backwards, his guns firing mid-jump on Jaune's unprotected face.
"What are you, an acrobat?!" Jaune gasped out, face burning with pain, finally managing to get up and circling Ren cautiously. Ren shrugged, no emotion on his face, and came charging forward once more. Slightly more ready this time, Jaune managed to swing his sword a few times, but Ren proved remarkably agile, dodging every strike and placing several glancing scratches on Jaune's unprotected arms.
Finally, Jaune grew frustrated and kicked Ren in the stomach as he dodged under another of his sword swipes. Ren tumbled back, but immediately regained his footing, arms crossed and ready for a counter-attack that did not come as Jaune's breath started to come out in gasps. This would be a really good time for my semblance to activate! Jaune thought desperately, trying to remember what had triggered it in his last two big fights, but started to feel horror as he realized that he had no idea.
Ren gave him no time to stop and think, jumping above him and shooting at his head in a mid-air spin. Jaune was able to get his shield up in time and spun to slash at Ren when he landed, but Ren ducked the moment he landed, head going down and sword just missing his face as he grabbed Jaune's arm and used his own momentum against him, slamming him on the ground behind him. Rolling out of the way, Jaune's breath left him and he choked as Stormflower hit him in the back of his neck.
Vision swimming, Ren slammed his head down with his foot and ended the match as a sharp bell whistled.
"That's enough you two," Professor Goodwitch ordered. Ren nodded and offered his hand down at Jaune, who whimpered a little as he got up, rubbing his head. Looking up at the screen, his heart fell, as Ren still had the majority of his aura left. I barely got a hit on him…
"The winner is Lie Ren. Mr. Lie, good work. The only advice I have for you is to be aware of every part of your opponent, not just his weapon; you would have avoided any hits at all had you not ignored Mr. Arc's legs," Professor Goodwitch advised, receiving a nod. She let Ren go back up to the stands and then looked at Jaune for a moment, making him squirm and wince a bit, his body sore.
"Mr. Arc, I hope you've gotten much out of this fight. You're strong, but you lack discipline, and your skill shows further need of heavy training. You did not take advantage of your opponent's situational awareness until near the end of the fight, I hope that will not happen again." The professor clearly had a lot more advice to offer Jaune than Ren, and Jaune felt his face redden in embarrassment as Cardin snickered loudly up in the stands. Professor Goodwitch ignored Cardin and continued. "And, while I do not recommend overly relying on your semblance, you failed to use it at all during this fight. Semblance is a strong weapon Mr. Arc, possibly one of the strongest in any huntsmen's arsenal that has one. Use it, do not underestimate your opponent next time. I expect much improvement in your next fight if you take my words to heed, Mr. Arc. Up you go."
Jaune nodded, face red, and felt as if he were running when he went up the stairs as fast as he could. Ren nodded at him sympathetically, but Jaune smiled at him in return, not blaming him.
"That was fantastic, Renny! You just didn't let up, you went 'Bang, bang, bang!' and Jaune went all 'Aargh!' You totally kicked his-" Nora suddenly cut herself off and shuffled her feet guiltily as she saw Jaune approach. He just laghed and patted her on the shoulder.
"Don't feel bad, Nora, you're totally right. Ren really kicked my butt," Jaune told her, feeling sore and a little upset, but not at either of them. "Good fight, Ren, no hard feelings." Jaune held his hand up for Ren to shake, which he did firmly and happily.
"The next fight will be between Russel Thrush and…"
"Don't worry, Jaune, you did fine. Why didn't you use your semblance though?" Pyrrha asked him, squeezing his shoulder as he sat down, the both of them watching as one of Cardin's teammates and another student neither of them were familiar with.
"Well, to be honest, I have no clue how to use it," Jaune shrugged, looking a little embarrassed. Pyrrha looked a little surprised at his words, and Ren turned as well.
"That's interesting, semblances are usually instinctual," Ren piped in. Nora was ignoring the three of them, attention completely caught by the start of the next fight. Pyrrha nodded in agreement.
"Yes, I remember having no trouble with my own. It got stronger and evolved a little through training, of course, but I never had any trouble activating it…" Pyrrha agreed, slightly troubled for Jaune now. Jaune's face fell.
"Sometimes there's a bit more to them though," a new voice chirped in from the seats above them. Yang had overheard and turned her head from the fight below, uninterested.
"Oh," Jaune said eagerly. "How do you mean?"
"Well take mine for example, you've seen it, right? My hair catches on fire, my eyes get red and all?" Yang said, jumping a seat down next to Pyrrha. Ruby turned down, wondering what was going on, her attention having been caught by the fight like Nora, though she had been more interested in the fighters' weapons.
"Whatcha guys talking about?" asked Ruby, jumping down beside Jaune, red cape fluttering.
"Yang was about to tell us about her semblance. You see…" Pyrrha explained to Ruby how Jaune didn't know how to activate his semblance. Ruby let out an 'oh' and nodded, now interested.
"Yeah, my semblance is a combination of speed and momentum control and it was pretty instinctual, but I remember Yang having trouble figuring hers out," Ruby explained, her expression turned up and trying to remember.
"It activated basically every fight, see, but I had no idea how it worked or anything," Yang continued. "Eventually I had this one fight where it just didn't activate at all, and I got so angry my hair caught on fire. I found out its activation had to do with how angry I got, and how much damage I received."
"The more punishment she gets, the harder she dishes it out, in her own words," Ruby finished for Yang. Jaune nodded thoughtfully, but their explanation still brought nothing to mind.
"Is there something you thought about in particular when you've had your semblance activate?" Pyrrha asked, trying to think of something herself, mind turning over their fight initiation and what she had seen in his fight with Cardin. Jaune shook his head and sighed in defeat.
"Don't worry about it too much Vomit Boy, it took me a few fights to finally figure it out, and you've only had your semblance for a bit more than a week, right?" Yang told him, voice teasing. Jaune huffed at the nickname, but nodded.
"I know, I know, it's just, I didn't put up too much of a fight today, did I?" Jaune said, shoulders slumped.
"Eh, I think you did okay, considering how differently Ren and you fight," Yang said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Yes, Jaune, I think if you had fought someone else that isn't as agile as me you would have done better," Ren agreed, rubbing his stomach where Jaune had kicked him. "You kicked me in the stomach once and I can still feel it, you're quite physically capable."
"You just gotta get used to fast guys like me and Ren," Ruby chirped in, turning her head away as the fight ended. "You know, you're more of a tank, you just gotta train a bit more and you'll be able to deal eventually."
"The winner is Russel Thrush. Mr. Thrush…"
Jaune looked unconvinced, but nodded anyway, turning down as Professor Goodwitch gave her advice to Russel and his opponent. Pyrrha considered something for a moment and then clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention.
"Jaune, this is the last class of the day, why don't you join me afterwards? I think I have something to show you," Pyrrha said, looking at him expectantly. Curious, Jaune nodded in agreement and they decided to go as soon as the class ended and they left their things in their dorm.
"The next fight is Nora Valkyrie and Blake Belladonna…"
-A wild line break appears!-
"It's a really nice view up here."
Jaune and Pyrrha had gone out to a roof above the first-year dorms. It had a very nice view of the grounds, and Jaune looked out interestedly, noting some of Beacon's towers, and a certain statue he had found earlier that week out in the distance.
"It is, isn't it?" Pyrrha joined him by his side, watching the other students moving around, class over for the day. They looked small from so high up, Jaune thought.
"I found it yesterday morning while I was looking for a quiet place to train where no one could bother me," Pyrrha explained, turning towards him. Jaune hummed and did the same.
"Oh yeah, you're super famous or something, right? I keep on forgetting," Jaune laughed, making Pyrrha smile at him fondly.
"Yes, it's quite bothersome for so many people to come and watch me train. You'd think they would spend their time more productively," Pyrrha huffed, making Jaune laugh more.
"I think it's natural to go and follow after a super star, Ms. Pumpking Pete's cover girl," Jaune teased her, making her puff her cheeks out like a child. "Still can't believe I didn't recognize you from that, I love Pumpkin Pete."
"That was years ago now, Jaune, Pumpkin Pete sponsors a new athlete every year remember?" Pyrrha explained. "Naturally I'd look quite different today from back then."
"Still, I even have the box with your face on it in my room back home you know. I kinda collect them," Jaune confessed, scratching the back of his head. Pyrrha giggled, amused but unsurprised.
"It's the kind of thing I imagine you'd do, considering your unfortunate choice of sleepwear," Pyrrha shuddered a little. She and the rest of JNPR still hadn't managed to convince Jaune to choose alternative pajamas.
"Hey now, Pumpkin Pete is awesome, and my mother made those for me you know!" Jaune argued, only succeeding in making Pyrrha laugh at him. Jaune was the one to huff this time, looking away.
"That cereal really isn't too good for you, you know. You should try mixing it up a little bit, maybe tomorrow you can have an omelette and some fruit?" Pyrrha suggested, continuing a small argument they had started earlier that week. Jaune rolled his eyes exasperatedly.
"I told you, Pyrrha, Pumpkin Pete is a part of a very nutritional breakfast. I eat other stuff with it too, remember? I had toast and orange juice with it yesterday!" Jaune defended his favorite breakfast fervently. Pyrrha shook her head disappointedly.
"We'll work on it," Pyrrha promised, looking determined, Jaune sighed but didn't give in.
"Anyway, leaving that behind, why'd we come up here anyway? This all you had to show me? Cuz,it's cool and all, but…" Jaune asked, looking out towards the grounds and spotting Cardin and his team pushing each other around. He really didn't seem like such a jerk when he was on his own with them. Jaune wondered why he couldn't always be like that.
"I know you felt upset you didn't fight as hard as you could have against Ren," Pyrrha started, and Jaune's expression started to darken a bit, turning towards her and catching on. "You're not a bad fighter, Jaune, but I thought that maybe we could train together here after class, where no one can bother us?"
"You think I need help? That I'm too weak to improve on my own?" Jaune asked, taking a step back, his face angry now.
"W-What? No! No, that's not what I meant!" Pyrrha said desperately, trying to get closer, but Jaune turned his back on her.
"But you just said it!" Jaune yelled, voice filled with emotion. Pyrrha hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder and was relieved when he didn't throw her hand off.
"You're not weak, Jaune," Pyrrha said softly, squeezing her hand. "You were essential in initiation, and you beat Cardin all on your own as well."
Jaune said nothing and remained silent, but his hand went up to squeeze Pyrrha's, and she smiled a little in relief. "Everyone needs a little help now and then, Jaune; there's no shame in it. I believe in you."
Pyrrha gasped as Jaune turned towards her, tears in his eyes. "You know you're the first person to ever tell me they believed in me?"
"What, no, that can't be," Pyrrha said, leading Jaune to sit down. Jaune looked up, spying birds flying and singing their little songs. "What about your parents? Surely they believe in you."
Jaune chuckled a little. "Do you know what they told me when I left home, Pyrrha? They told me it was okay if I came back home. To not worry if it was too much for me."
Pyrrha gasped and held a hand out to cover her mouth. "I can't believe that they would…"
Nodding bitterly, Jaune turned to look at the birds again. He somewhat envied how carefree they seemed at that moment. "Well you don't need to worry about that any longer, Jaune," Pyrrha told him firmly. Surprised, Jaune turned to look at her, and realized for the first time just how green her eyes were.
"Our entire team believes in you; I believe in you. Even if your parents don't, you can trust in that." Pyrrha squeezed his hand.
"Your eyes are beautiful," Jaune suddenly blurted out, making Pyrrha's entire face suddenly turn a deep shade of red.
"W-Where did that come from?" Pyrrha stuttered, wondering if there was a hole she could hide in for feeling so embarrassed. "Weren't we just talking about you?"
Jaune laughed a little, his mood lightening up. "I'm glad you're my partner, Pyrrha." He squeezed her hand softly. Pyrrha's face was still flushed, but she felt extremely happy and squeezed back.
"I'm glad, too, Jaune," Pyrrha told him honestly and happily. "So, will you train together with me after all, or will you…" Pyrrha trailed off, looking at him bashfully.
"Yeah. I think I'd like that, Pyrrha," Jaune told her, leaning back. Pleased, Pyrrha leaned back with him, and the two stayed there at the rooftop until they had to meet up with their friends for dinner.
-Knight's Rise II: End-
AN: Special thanks to ZenithTempest for his good advice last chapter.
I hope things aren't moving too fast with Pyrrha and Jaune. This is just what I felt happening in the moment, and I tried to think of something less sappy or romantic, but they really do have some nice chemistry. With a couple of wins under his belt and a bit more confidence, Jaune recognized Pyrrha as the lovely partner she is, something he wouldn't in canon for a while longer. Don't go thinking this one scene means they're boyfriend and girlfriend now, that's not how it works. They had a special moment, but they're not together, and Jaune still isn't really interested in her romantically.
Anyway, as you can see, things are going differently. Some things are happening earlier than before, some people are getting slightly expanded backgrounds. Expect things to continue to get more and more different. This is just the start.
Now, a couple of people reviewed as guests, so here are some responses. Other than that, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, I hope to get the next one out soon. Cheers.
Review Responses:
Guest I: Jaune's semblance isn't a gamer semblance, if that's what you're asking.
Guest II: I'm glad you liked the first chapter, and I hope this one put your mind at ease as to Jaune relying and winning everything through use of his semblance.