A/N: Sorry for such a long wait! I've been dealing with a bunch of English essays and such, as well as preparing for college entrance exams and Advanced Placement tests. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it. Leave any comments you'd like to in the Review section, be they constructive criticism or praise... and enjoy!
The rest of the week went by rather smoothly for Jaune. The exercises with Rouge allowed him to regain most of the strength in his arm. He found a fondness for the therapy training, greatly contrasting what he had heard from other competitors in the tournaments.
Pyrrha continued to pester him to work out for the rest of the week, with Jaune always on the cycle and Pyrrha working out while he cycled. Over the week, she hadn't made much progress, but she seemed a lot more comfortable with lifting as it went on.
The day to get his sling off loomed nearer and nearer, and any pain Jaune felt whilst in therapy became almost non-existent. He began to be able to practice the external rotation, and was reaching full movement. Jaune was relishing the minutes that ticked by, ever closer until he could fight with Crocea Mors in his hand.
The last day of physical therapy arrived. Jaune walked into the room, and Rouge was in there with the nurse who had treated him in the first place. The nurse held a clipboard in her hands, with a pen, steadily taking notes.
The professor turned to the opening door and was there to greet Jaune. "Mr. Arc. Dr. Braun is here to judge the range of your mobility- to assure that we are good to let you off of the sling and to let you back into sparring classes. I trust you have been continuing to work yourself back to full strength?"
Jaune nodded. "I've been working in order to keep my strength up. I've been in the gym cycling, and I have been doing your exercises. I feel ready to show this."
Dr. Braun noted this, clutching the board tightly to her body. "This evaluation is meant to be a release form for now. I will expect you to follow me to the infirmary as a follow-up after this is done, but, if your exercises show that you have gained back most, if not all, movement in your arm, it should be a sign that I can release you from having to continue to wear it."
Jaune untied the sling and rolled off the gauze, and flexed his arm.
The Doctor took notes as Jaune followed exercises. Rotation, flexing, stretching… all called by Professor Rouge. He simply followed orders, wishing to show that he was ready to be able to free himself of the bondage that was the arm sling.
After a few minutes, the Doctor looked up and motioned for him to stop. "Good. Very good. I do believe that your arm has healed up, but I would like to do final check-ups at the infirmary as well this weekend. With any luck, you will be able to return to regular classes on Monday."
Professor Rouge brought her gaze to Jaune. She rubbed her hand behind her head, grasping at her ponytail, and grinned. "Well, Mr. Arc, it seems our time has come to a close. Come visit me anytime you wish, as long as you aren't dodging class to do so."
After the check-up at the gym, the infirmary check was very similar. The nurse prodded and poked at the area, and Jaune felt almost no pain at all from any but the most uncomfortable of gestures. She moved his arm in a number of directions, with the supposed objective of eliciting pain, but to no avail.
Jaune was promptly released from the infirmary, with the clearance to return to normal classes at the beginning of the next week. He knew that there were no fighting classes on Fridays. Instead, it became a sort of extra free period for everyone during the day. His first thought was to return to the gym, to do cardio and to get some light lifting done himself.
He returned to the dorm and put down his bag next to the school stuff, and unpacked all of the therapy materials: The gauze, the immobilizer, and the sling. Jaune planned to return these to the infirmary during the weekend, but he felt that he needed to wait in case anything flamed up. He then packed up the rest of his books needed for the two remaining classes that he had for the rest of the day: The History of Remnant with Professor Oobleck and Advanced Strategy with Professor Stonewall.
Jaune took a deep breath and stretched his back, eyeing the room. Everyone else had left their stuff in the room, and he seemed likely to join them. He ransacked the rest of his stuff that he set down for his scroll and pulled out a secondary bag. He placed a set of clothes to later change into as well as shoes into it, as well as his scroll, into the bag and set out to the gym.
After scanning his scroll, he walked through the hallway to the room he planned to workout in. However, whilst gazing through the windows that opened a view into the rooms that lined both sides of the hallway, Jaune noticed Ren within a compact room.
The other boy was doing movements that seemed to require a masterful control of the body. Each movement seemed to flow smoothly into each other: The first movement that Jaune noticed him doing was a straddled stance, with his right hand pressed out as an open palm facing towards a mirror and his other hand raised above his head, fingertips facing the mirror, but his arm bent. His legs were bent ever so slightly.
Within mere moments of holding this pose, Ren bounced up in the air. The young boy's body then began to pivot in the air, his back leg immediately straightening out and his lead leg, for just a moment, bending. It quickly snapped back to straight, with even its foot straightening out, as Ren seemed to connect with an invisible target.
The landing was equally as graceful. Ren seemed to float to the floor, his uniform seeming to flutter off of his body and his hair whisking in the air conditioning the room provided. Ren landed facing the window that Jaune was peering into, and seemed to be momentarily taken by surprise by his teammate. This surprise seemed to quickly melt from Ren's face, who subsequently beckoned him into the room.
The gym itself was rather simple and immaculate. Mirrors lined all three of the other walls. The smell of sweat and of dust perforated the living space, something that felt very familiar to the blond boy. Brightly colored belts hung slack above the mirrors on displays, with each having a singular knot on the very front that left the ends of it dangling off the sides as if a remembrance to someone past. These belts were hung in two rows, with the left side holding white; yellow; orange; blue; and purple belts, and the right side holding green; purple; red; brown; and black belts. A scroll with characters Jaune could not understand rolled down the wall between the two sets of belts. Punching bags swung from chains, and training dummies laid inert in the background. Above him, an industrial-sized fan was placed between the white fluorescent lights that adorned a plain, white ceiling.
"Oh, Jaune. I did not expect to see you this morning. I thought you were still doing therapy." Ren's response was rather expected by Jaune. Well, I did say I'd be out for the rest of the week. Whatever.
Jaune felt he could do nothing but shrug. "I got cleared to work out. So, I guess I just felt like I wanted to work out." He then noticed that Ren was still in his stance. "What have you been doing? It looks rather interesting. Were you practicing?"
A light smile crept across Ren's face. "It's martial arts. It's something I've practiced for years. This is a critical part of my fighting style, and it's fundamental to my life. "Come on, I could teach you some fundamentals."
Jaune placed his stuff next to Ren's and then walked towards the mat.
Ren, without even batting an eye, motioned Jaune to stop. "Shoes are off when you come onto the mat." Jaune complied, leaving the mat and taking off his shoes.
"Try again." Ren left his pose and faced Jaune as he moved towards the mat. As Jaune crossed the threshold onto the mat, Ren immediately left his stance and proceeded to bow to him. Um… Do I bow too? What do I do?
Jaune, unsure what to do afterward, stepped onto the red mats lining the floor of the gym. The plush feel of it surprised Jaune, as did how cold it felt. The air conditioning in the room had chilled the mat, and it was very uncomfortable to his feet. Jaune could not help but keep stepping in order to keep his feet from getting colder than they already were becoming.
Ren seemed to stifle a little bit of laughter. "It's always uncomfortable the first time you step onto the mat. I remember my first time, back when I was very young. It was difficult to even keep my balance in that stance, knowing that my feet slowly froze on those mats."
Jaune huffed. "At least you've warmed up."
Ren looked Jaune dead in the eye. "So, you want a good warm-up, eh?"
Jaune rolled his eyes. "Oh, sure, anything to warm me up. Let's get started before these cold feet make me reconsider."
The exercises that constituted a warm-up from Ren were relatively simple to Jaune. Deep stretches constituted the majority of them, but other staples, such as jumping jacks, prepared to ready Jaune for what was to come.
"So, just how long have you done this?" Jaune quipped while the two were engaged in a deep stretch on the floor. Both reached for each of their legs with each hand, the stretch creasing their bodies at the waist. Jaune was a lot less deep than Ren, with his arms only reaching around the ankle. Ren was folded in on himself, arms between his legs, hands reaching outstretched past his toes.
"Too long." Was the sole reply that came from Ren, who seemed very entranced in thought as he kept his stretch going.
The two, not long after this short exchange, let up from their stretches. Jaune cracked his neck, feeling much looser than he had been.
"I feel a lot looser. Do you think we're ready?" Jaune quipped. His feet had become used to the coldness of the mats. His body felt the warmth of his blood pumping. He felt ready to begin.
"Yeah." Ren seemed to look up towards the fan that gave the room a distinctive chill that permeated everywhere. "I remember when Nora tried doing this with me..." Jaune noticed that Ren seemed to be holding back laughter. "She didn't even stay still long enough to be taught anything."
Jaune began to laugh trying to think of Nora keeping still for any length of time.
Ren smiled. "I can probably guess what you're laughing about."
"Anyways, if you're going to deal with martial arts with me, we're going to need to get started. Follow what I say and do. Zenkutsu-dachi!"
With that, Jaune moved equal with Ren, and Ren dropped into a deep horse stance, with each foot perfectly in line with the other and his body dropped as if it was sitting in a chair, his legs spread out twice the length of his shoulders.
Jaune tried to follow, copying the technique of Ren. What he forgot to realize, however, was that he was nowhere near as flexible or experienced as the other boy. His stance was horribly imperfect; it looked more like a squat than a horse stance, with his lower back pooched far behind him in comparison to Ren, whose lower back stayed perfectly aligned with the rest. His knees were not bent as far as Ren's, and his back itself was slightly arched.
Ren jumped up out of his stance and studied Jaune's form. "Your lower back is too far out and the rest of your back is curved." The boy took Jaune's back and straightened it. He moved his arms up to Jaune's torso and smoothed out the curve. "It needs to be straight."
After the movements, Jaune felt a great deal more strain on his body. "How do you do this?" He finally spoke, each word straining his muscles ever so slightly.
"A lot of practice." Huh. Seems like the tables are turned. I know how Pyrrha felt now. Jaune continued to hold the stance, his legs beginning to shake after a short amount of time before Ren finally spoke again.
"Now, shift your right leg forward." Ren moved his right leg back towards his body, but then immediately shifted it forward. As he did so, he pulled his arms into his sides, with each fist turned upside down, as if in preparation to strike whoever came near. He kept it bent and kept moving forward until his stance had each foot perfectly parallel, with the right leg placed out about a foot past his body. The feet were shoulder-width apart, and, as he finished stepping forward, he threw out his right hand into a punch.
Jaune followed each of Ren's movements as they kept pressing on. Left foot shift, horse stance, punch… turn, right foot shift, punch… Jaune could really feel it whenever he threw a punch with his right arm. It's like… the arm is shaking with each punch... This continued until the two were facing each other, with a few feet separating the two.
Ren smiled. He then stood out of a stance and judged Jaune's stance. "You're getting better already." The black-haired boy put his hand up into his chin with an inquisitive look, as if pondering what to do next. "Now, Jaune, throw all of your power into your right arm into a punch. I would like to look at how you throw your punches."
Jaune gave a puzzled look to Ren. "Are you serious? What about my punches could be of interest?"
Ren's eyes narrowed. "In this Dojo, I am the Sensei, or teacher. Here, you are the Sempai, or senior student. You are to do as I say. Now, throw a punch."
Jaune huffed and did what he was told. He threw a hard punch, with his fist already clenched, his thumb instinctively tucking into his palm, and a small twist coming out before the final connection. Jaune clenched his teeth, throwing the greatest amount of power he could muster into the singular punch. His arm shook a great deal after the punch, and Jaune felt a need to clutch it.
Ren shook his head, his arms crossed over each other, before walking towards Jaune. "There are a few issues with your punch. One, it is not structured correctly. Your thumb should not be tucked into your palm. You could seriously damage it if you punched hard enough. Hold it like you would be clenching a bench press bar, but instead, your fingers are tucked into your palm and your thumb is resting over the tips." He shows the correct technique, balling his fist into the same manner he described. Jaune followed suit, finding an interest in the prescribed technique.
"Secondly," Ren continued, "You mustn't start with your fist already clenched. It is better to clench at the last second before you punch. A clenched fist does help make your punches hit harder, but, if you clench it for too long, it can inhibit blood and aura flow."
Jaune was a bit curious as to why it was necessary. "Ren, what's the point in this? I don't think I'll ever need it. I fight with swords."
Ren just calmly replied to his question. "The time will come when you won't have your sword. And, perhaps, you might find a time where the empty hand is necessary. Perhaps an opponent may not be affected by swords as much as you think." The boy simply paced around Jaune, his right hand tucked behind his back and his left pointed up in the air. "Karate, the empty hand, is something I would like to encourage to anyone who is willing to learn."
Jaune stepped out of his stance, only to have Ren scowl for a moment at him. "I never said you were allowed to leave the stance."
Jaune could only laugh. "Alright, alright, Ren. I'll humor you." He got back into the stance he had held for so long, which almost felt comfortable at this point.
Ren kept a straight face. "Now, strike with the left, with the technique I showed you." His arms had returned to being folded across his chest, but the face that Ren now showed had a small amount of satisfaction resting upon it.
Jaune threw another punch with his left hand, consciously following the technique. His fist not clenching until the last possible moment, his thumb resting over his fingers, his fingers rolled in as if clutching the bench press bar… each movement beginning to impress itself into his mind. After throwing the punch, Jaune felt a great deal more at ease.
Ren nodded satisfactorily when Jaune looked over towards him. "Good. Again." Was all that came from the Sensei.
One punch, another, and another. Ren kept repeating "Again", which began to annoy Jaune. However, he kept punching.
Jaune grew more and more annoyed as he kept going. He felt that he was perfecting the punch with each throw, but the simple phrase that Ren kept repeating made sure he kept going with the blows.
Finally, Jaune reeled his right arm back after Ren said "Again". I better make this count… I want to stop this. The sweat rested on his furrowed brow, lifted up in utter annoyance.
"Ha!" Jaune screamed as he threw the punch. A perfect twist, perfect clench, and perfect delivery.
Ren simply nodded. He did not say the dreaded word that Jaune expected. Jaune let out a breath of frustration and got out of his stance.
"You did well." Ren simply spoke.
Jaune could only think of how his arms and legs tingled. "Dammit… That was tough." He quickly shook off his arms and stepped awkwardly in order to loosen out his legs again. "You are a cruel man, Ren."
Ren smirked. "What do you think I do to myself on a normal basis? I'm the one doing all of those moves you watched."
Jaune could only shrug. They moved to a water cooler outside and filled up small paper cups with cool, refreshing water. Clutching his bag in one arm and the cup of water in the other, Jaune notions the two to the door. He thanked whatever loomed above for the high he felt; it had always been one of his favorite things.
While walking to the door, Jaune had a thought suddenly come to mind. "Hey, Ren, I know this is a free period and such, but where does Nora go when she's not around you?"
Ren held the door for Jaune and himself to exist. When passing by the trashcan directly outside, both crushed up their paper cups and tossed them in the bin. "It's best not to question what our teammates are doing."
Teammates? I only pondered about Nora… Jaune got a little suspicious on Ren's wording, but he decided to pay it no mind.
Back at the dorm, Jaune and Ren returned to find Nora passed out on her bed, the sunlight bathing her entirely from the open window. Pyrrha's stuff rested on her bed, but she was nowhere to be found.
Ren paid no mind to Nora passed out and simply slipped off his shoes. Jaune was left confused over the manner of the sleeping girl in the bright of the day.
"You said not to question?" Jaune was puzzled. Was there anything to really be… secretive about, Ren?
"I did," Ren said nothing more before taking out a set of clothes and walking into the team's bathroom. The door shutting concluded their conversation, and Jaune was resigned to collapse on his bed.
The shutting door in question woke up the sleeping giant, who Jaune feared would lay waste to him, the only other person in the room.
Nora's long yawn increased the light bit of terror that Jaune felt, but Jaune felt it best to just stay on the bed, resting a little from the workout that Ren put him through.
"Oh, hey, Jaune! When's lunch?" The sleepy yawn broke quickly to a cheerful outburst. The girl, who had not even ten seconds prior been asleep, was already out of bed. Nora… eluded Jaune. What is she even? Between passing out within milliseconds a few days back… and all else that she had been...
Jaune decided to take Ren's advice, which lorded over him in his head. "I… don't think it's for another half an hour or so…" He had gotten so grooved into his pillow that speaking became a difficult task.
"Alright…" The girl's quick reaction, the resignation in her voice, surprised even the now-laidback Jaune. But, she seemed to bounce back up pretty quickly. "Soooo….. Where's Ren?"
Jaune pointed at the bathroom. "In the shower."
Nora walked over to the door and pulled on it. "Shoot. It's locked."
Jaune sat up and gawked at the brazenness of his teammate. "Nora! Don't walk in on a man while he's showering."
Nora burst out laughing. "I've known Ren for longer than anyone else here, Jaune. Don't worry. It's nothing I haven't seen before."
Jaune nervously laughed. "I think Ren would want his privacy, though. Plus, I think they frown upon ladies walking in on men showering. I think he's a man who desires his personal space."
Nora let go of the door handle and pouted. She sat down on her bed, arms crossed, that frustrated face continuing to grace Jaune's presence. "He's used to me not giving him that. Never was a big deal."
Jaune could only smirk. "You're a piece of work, you know that right?"
Nora gave a thumbs up, that pout immediately turning into a wide grin. "Yep!" Immediately after her grin, her stomach began to deeply rumble. She clutched it. "Are we going to get food anytime soon?"
Jaune swung his legs over the bed and shrugged. "I think I'd like to wait to go get lunch as a team. Besides, it's not time yet. There's still…" I gaze at the clock. 10:45 am. "There's still another half an hour. It's still basically time for breakfast for some." There was that one guy… meh, I think that was just time zones…
"I'm hungry now, though…" Nora's moan was followed by the door opening. Ren was already fully dressed in his normal attire: The ornate, dark-green tailcoat that Jaune had become accustomed to, the white pants, and sandals. What was different, though, was that more of Ren's hair than usual was held up in the ponytail.
As he stepped out, Ren gave his arms a few deep stretches and gave a deep breath of relief. He then looked over to see that Nora was wide awake. "You're up."
"Yep!" Was the only response Nora gave.
Ren shook his head. "Alright." Such a simple response said so much. Jaune could only stare with a sort of incredulity at the pair. They... work out a little too well…
Jaune's concentration was broken by the door opening. A determined, deeply sweating Pyrrha walked through the door and collapsed on her bed in a similar manner to that of her partner. Her face was in her pillow, beads of sweat dripping from her red-tinged face.
"Hey Pyrrha." Jaune's words seemed unheeded for a moment by the girl who lay not far from him until a thumbs up and a muffled expression that Jaune believed was "Hey" were her response.
An awkward silence succeeded the exchange for the next few moments. Nobody seemed willing or able to respond to the events that just transpired… until Nora's stomach rumbled again.
"When can we go get lunch?"
Jaune put his head in his hand and sighed. This is going to be an interesting year…
A/N: ThemyThink/Jonathir, Hermit
