Jaune awoke rather quickly. His arm still gave a dull ache, but he could feel the healing process begin to take shape. Jaune's whole body felt overall heavy with sleep, but a few stretches took away most of that. Jaune reached up to rub his eyes, the only thing that still remained asleep, knocking the sleep out of them, but realized only one arm would raise. This damned thing.
He wiped both eyes with his good hand. "This is what I get for saving everyone…" His muttering went unnoticed; Ren was holding a coffee cup in his hand and Nora was still asleep, but Pyrrha was missing.
Jaune saw this as an opportunity. He grasped his running clothes in his hand and made a break for the door.
"Stop." It seems Ren is a lot more… perceptive to my goals. "You will not be sneaking off to run. You are ordered to take it easy."
Jaune turned around. "What makes you think I'm going to run? You haven't seen my casual clothing before."
Jaune noticed that Ren wasn't wearing his normal attire. His black pants seemed similar, but they were a lot looser and indicative of something more like pajama pants, but they really were not. He also wore a light white t-shirt tucked into the band of the pants.
Ren quickly retorted. "I was awake for your conversation last night, Jaune." That simple reply shut Jaune up, but it raised more questions.
"So? Pyrrha seemed to be fine with it." Jaune shrugged.
Ren's eyes narrowed. "Jaune, I think Pyrrha said that in order to get you off her back about not letting you go." He walked towards Jaune. "I have other things you can do to exercise."
Jaune sighed. "Like what?"
"You'll see, later. Now, get yourself washed up." Ren pushed him out the door and lightly closed it behind him.
Jaune walked a few paces, but then realized he forgot something. He turned back to the door and slammed his fist on it a few times. "I forgot my scroll!"
Jaune was still rubbing his head after getting out of the shower. The one who opened the door was not Ren, but Nora… who smacked him upside the head for interrupting her rest.
"She can really punch…" He shook his throbbing head, left hand still grazing through wet hair, trying to assuage the pain. "Really didn't need that this morning." Dressed in black running shorts that reached just shy of the bend of the knee with a white stripe running down the sides and a grey t-shirt of Signal Academy, he walked back with his pajamas folded up in his hands. He wore this usually when running, or after a shower when he needed something on other than his sleepwear.
Upon opening the door, he was greeted by a smiling Nora. "Good morning!" Her smile was a bit off-putting… what happened to the demon that roared at me and almost broke my neck smacking me?
"Good morning…" He shakily responded. He looked at the clock. 6:17 AM. When do classes start again? 8?
Pyrrha looked up towards Jaune. She seemed to have been fiddling with her scroll. "Oh, morning Jaune!"
Jaune calmly waved at her, a small, smug smile never ceasing from his lips. "Mornin', captain." He turns to Ren, that grin still not fading. "So, Ren, what do you have in store for us?"
Ren waves it off. "Now, nothing. Later, I have much in store for you all."
A knock is heard at the door. Jaune moved towards it with a hint of confusion before Pyrrha quickly answered it.
"Yes?" Her voice moved towards the face of one Mrs. Goodwitch. Jaune noticed that everyone, except Ren, had a look of relative shock on their face.
"Mr. Arc, the infirmary has informed me that they gave you a note." Her face held its relative calm as she tapped buttons on her scroll. "I have personally come to retrieve it. It is a necessity that I know that students are not partaking in combat classes whilst injured. You will have an alternative assignment with other injured students until at which case you are cleared by the infirmary to join the rest of the students. I recommend that you bring a light change of clothing to these sessions."
Jaune was dumbfounded. He had no intention of missing any of these classes. "Professor Goodwitch, perhaps I could spectate the fights during this week. I would really wish to see the other students in action.
Glynda seemed to muse over the option that Jaune provided for but a brief moment. "No. I believe that it is not in a student's best interests to simply sit idle in these classes. You will get your alternative assignment through your scroll. Good day, Team Persian."
And, with that, the door swung shut behind her.
Jaune's mouth hung open. He could not think of any response to this situation, other than shaking his head to make sure that was real.
Nora came over and pushed his mouth back up in its hinges. "Turn that frown upside down!" Jaune could only shake his head.
Pyrrha was the next to come to him. She got up close to him, to keep it private. "It's only for a couple of days, Jaune. I don't quite know how you are yet, but I think I am starting to get a clear picture. You'll be fine. You won't deteriorate. Heck, you'll deteriorate more if you keep overworking yourself."
Jaune shook his head. He was a tad angry at everything; the injury, Goodwitch, and the damned classes. But, he didn't feel right to get angry at his team. We can let it out later. Perhaps this alternative assignment will be alright.
He pulled up his scroll, the mail inbox having a Beacon-assigned email at the very top.
The message gave him the name and location of the Professor he was to report to- Professor Rouge, in the room adjacent to the Sparring Theatre- and a separate message as well: "Report to the Infirmary tomorrow before Grimm Studies with Professor Port. He has been informed that you will be missing a good portion of his class, so he will send you notes on the subject matter of the day."
Jaune audibly groaned. He had heard about physical therapy from others he had worked with, and fought against, in the past… and it was universally regarded as boring. At least I only have to do it for a couple of days. That's better than some.
He looked towards the clock above the door. "Guys, it may be time to get some breakfast."
Class with Professor Port had been relatively boring. Jaune kept his notes up, but keeping up with that man's droning was rather difficult. His partner, Pyrrha, seemed like she could not get enough of that man's lecturing, but Jaune couldn't get out of there fast enough.
Jaune began walking with his team over to their next class. He knew he would have to split up eventually, but he savored every moment thinking that he was actually going to the fighting class.
"Guys, seriously. I wonder how much of that was actually relevant to the class at all? I mean, really, half of that man's words were just crazy talk." Nora turned around and looked towards the rest of her teammates, walking backward. She straightens herself up and begins to speak with a gruff sort of voice. She curls a finger under her nose to imitate his mustache and squints. "You know, the first time I ever caught a Beowolf…"
Jaune couldn't help but give a light chuckle, hiding it under his fist. Coming from Ms. Crazy herself...
Pyrrha giggled slightly, but then dropped it rather quickly. "He wasn't that bad. I rather enjoyed his lesson. The man has a lot to say."
Jaune was still snickering. "Yeah, a lot of hot air." She actually thought that it was enjoyable? Seriously?
Ren sighed. "Jaune, you'll need to take his class seriously."
Jaune shook his head. "Ren, I took notes. I'll be fine."
They reached the Sparring Theatre. Jaune could see into the room from the open door.
The walls of the room were painted in a variety of muted browns, greens, and greys. Long, thick black curtains hung from behind the battleground. The ground itself seemed to be made of a dark oak, contained within a metal backing that glowed from various parts with a light blue hue. This backing lined around the edges of the room and even crept up the wall in areas.
The benches were lined on the other end from the battleground. These were of a cold grey, seeming to be made of metal. They rose tens of feet high above the ground, creating a shadow that loomed towards the arena.
Jaune sighed. Not today. He did not carry his weapon with him, nor did he bother to bring his armor with him. He wore little but his Beacon uniform: A black cotton suit, lined with a gold cotton trim and gold buttons; a blue vest worn underneath; a pressed white dress shirt; and a red necktie. He carried the clothes that he would wear for the therapy in the same small bag that also held his books along with the roll of gauze that would be used to immobilize his arm when the time comes.
Jaune took his leave from his teammates, who all went into the arena to get ready to spar each other.
He walked down to the next door on the left of the Theatre. The room was immaculate but smelled like a locker room. It was empty, except for a strange woman sitting in a chair, writing in a solid black notebook with a plethora of sticky notes poking out from between the pages. Her fiery red hair was kept up in a ponytail, and her skin was a soft tan. She seemed to be dressed in Gym clothing: a plain black t-shirt and red gym shorts as well as blue running shoes.
Her chair swiveled around. The woman who stood before him had bright green eyes, a plethora of freckles dotting her small nose, and a sympathetic smile. "Welcome, Jaune. I am Professor Rouge. I'm the Physical Training coach of Beacon Academy. I trust that you have been laying off exercise?"
Jaune smiled and lied through his teeth. "Yeah, I have."
The Professor eyed his face and his arm. "Good. Because you need to do specific exercises in order to strengthen your arm again. But, first, we will need to see if your arm is ready. It should be, but we mustn't take risks." Her Vacuoan accent was apparent as she spoke; it was one that he had heard many times in the battlefield. Many of the top fighters were Vacuoan.
Jaune reached for the sling and untied it. A sense of weight returned to the dislocated arm, which surprised him. He expected pain, and so winced, but simply felt a bit of discomfort.
The Professor only seemed to giggle at Jaune's display. He turned to her and scowled. "Is there something funny about this, Professor?"
Professor Rouge only stood up from her chair. She towered over Jaune. She moved towards Jaune. "Not anything I haven't seen time and time again, Mr. Arc." The professor grasped Jaune's arm. "Let me unravel these bandages carefully." The gauze took time to unravel, and Jaune felt a great deal of discomfort in taking it off. "I have worked with people whose injuries were not unlike yours, Mr. Arc. I have some exercises I would like you to do with your arm."
The professor moved towards the wall and stood with her back directly on it. "Mr. Arc, if you would join me here." Jaune complied, not seeing much else to do otherwise.
"So, what is this exercise?" Jaune positioned himself on the wall in the same manner of that the Professor was using.
"It is called isometric extensions. Just keep your arms straight and push into the wall for 5 seconds, Mr. Arc. Then repeat that around ten times." Jaune did so, wincing from a light bit of pain but feeling a sort of relief wash over him as it began to subside. Each time he did it, the pain lessened a bit more, and he felt a lot more comfortable. After around five of them, Jaune's pain level had noticeably decreased. This feels a lot better.
The Professor smiled. "Feeling a bit better?"
Jaune's voice held a tinge of exasperation. "Yeah, very much so." He was surprised at the effectiveness of a simple exercise.
"Good." Her voice remained instructional. "Thankfully, our auras tend to greatly supplement healing, but they don't always assist in putting certain things back together. Tendons seem to be one of these; they've always been documented as slower to heal. Thankfully you didn't snap any of them, or you'd be out of commission for a while. This is only the first exercise, though, but I think you'll be back to fighting in a little under a week."
Jaune continued to learn new exercises from Professor Rouge. Some that he was able to do, like the extensions, but others, like one the Professor called 'external rotation', were, by her order, restricted until Jaune showed that his arm can deal with the stress it could bring.
After about an hour, Jaune was put back into the sling. His arm felt very loose, but also a lot more relaxed than it had before the therapy.
"If you wish to exercise, I think you'll be fine to do some indoor cycling starting tomorrow. Just don't use your right arm, for obvious reasons. Don't lift weights until the nurses and I give you the green light. Otherwise, you're good to go. Keep doing the exercises, and I'll see you in two days."
Jaune bid the professor farewell. Despite all of the negative opinions he had heard over the therapy, it was rather interesting with the Professor.
The next morning, he was woken up by Pyrrha, who seemed rather chipper.
Groggily, Jaune looked up at her. She was already dressed in workout clothing, her long, red hair already in a ponytail. She looks almost cute in that outfit… He looked out the window as well, to gauge an approximate time. The sun had already begun to peek from below the horizon, and the first pink streaks of day pierced the darkness of night.
"Mornin, beautiful." It's too early to not be anything but snarky.
"Please, don't do that." Pyrrha's eyes narrowed, but Jaune did notice a light blush on her cheeks. "Are you… capable of working out? Sorry for not asking."
Jaune smiled. "I got some things I can do. It's fine." Jaune swung his legs off the edge of the bed. "Why did you ask me in the first place, though? Me, the injured one."
Pyrrha gave a sheepish smile. "I… would rather have somebody else working out with me. For motivation."
Jaune laughed. "That's all? Seriously?"
Pyrrha punched his arm. "It's not funny!"
Jaune shook his head. "It's not funny. It's hilarious." He slipped off his shirt and quickly applied deodorant. "We could wake everyone else up to join us."
Pyrrha grabbed onto Jaune's good arm before he could do anything. "Ren has told me not to wake him or Nora up."
Jaune shrugged. "Alrighty then…" He didn't wish to question his leader, but something seemed off. "Ready to go?"
Pyrrha picked up a bag from off of her bed. "Ready!"
Jaune rested on the cycle, feeling the rush of a runner's high wash over him as he finished another set of fifteen minutes cycling. He took a small sip from his bottle of water and looked over to Pyrrha.
The girl had been in a plank for a while now. Her body was shaking; she seemed close to collapse.
He looked at the clock. Four minutes and thirty seconds. "Just thirty more seconds!" He kept his gaze on Pyrrha, as her knees began to buckle ever so slightly and her arms bend and straighten.
The seconds ticked by. Ten. To Five. To One. "And… stop!" All of Pyrrha's limbs quickly fell from under her, and Jaune smiled. Oh, how many times I was her. She had asked him to watch over her movements, and give her motivation when she looked like she needed it.
Pyrrha got up, panting. "Now… Jaune, I'd like… to inform you about some things."
Jaune raised an eyebrow. "What are you thinking about?"
Pyrrha sighed. "I felt like you needed to get in the know about some things that Goodwitch told us in the first class. Once you're healed, you will need to find a sparring buddy. She urged us to practice outside of class."
Jaune nodded. She didn't need to really bring me here just to tell me this. He grasped his water bottle and then stood up. "Alright. And… why did you bring me to the gym?"
Pyrrha eyed the racks of weights. "I need someone to spot me while I lift."
Jaune began laughing. "Me? Seriously? The one-armed guy to help you spot with weights?"
Pyrrha's lips puffed out and let out an audible hmmph. "You were the best I could find on such short notice…"
Jaune continued to chuckle, and cracked his left arm a bit, stretching it across his chest and over his sling. "Alright. You know, you're supposed to spot with two hands. But I think one will do."
Jaune realized that her weights were very easy for him to lift with one arm. He guided her through the exercises he planned to show her for the day: squats, bench pressing, and incline pressing.
She seemed to struggle, but he tried his best to help her reach a good amount of sets for lifting.
"Oww, so sore…" Was the main complaint Pyrrha had after the session.
Jaune gave a sympathetic smile. "Everyone always hurts after the first time. It's just a constant of weight training."
As they walked back to the dorm, Jaune stopped her from moving towards the dorm. "The sooner we eat, the better our bodies will process everything."
Pyrrha seemed to take a second to comprehend what he said but then nodded her head. "Alright! That sounds like a great idea."
A/N: I know this chapter is a little short, but I think that it worked as a bit of a shorter chapter as is. As usual, any criticism or praise you would like to give is gladly accepted.
Betas: Hermit, ThemyThink/Jonathir
-C. Exodia
