"Aura is extraordinarily interesting. First uncovered alongside the discovery of dust, it has been studied extensively by the greatest minds of Remnant's history. At first, it was thought to be a force that coexisted with dust. It was believed that when dust was used, part of its power was siphoned off to feed the body. It was to be nothing more than a side effect of mankind's growing use of dust. This led to individuals attempting to infuse themselves with dust in hopes that this would power their aura. This was met with great, but pricy, success."
"It later became apparent that this process was not unique to humans, as the faunus began to discover and manipulate aura. Due to the prejudice between the two races, mankind thought that it was simply an elaborate trick with dust. It was only through two revolutionary discoveries that this was disproven."
"First, a young man who grew up in a small village co-existing with the faunus sought to discover the truth behind aura. Having seen faunus realize their own aura, he was convinced that they did in fact posses the now revered capabilities. He began to study the effects of dust on creatures other than the humans and faunus. He found that, in fact, dust reacted in a similar fashion around all creatures save the Grimm. This implied that all creatures possessed aura, something that shocked the world of his time but is now taken as a basic fact."
"Secondly, it was discovered soon afterward that dust in fact responded to the existence of aura, not the other way around. There was great controversy here, as some thought that because weapons and the sort could be augmented by dust that the dust must have some intrinsic properties and energy that changed the weapon. It was soon noted though that the dust in such weapons, or clothes as well, were inert until they came in contact with aura. So it was that it was discovered that dust is not the power that allowed mankind and the faunus to push themselves back from the brink of extinction, it in truth came from a fundamental part of their beings."
"Though the past of dust and aura is fascinating and a more in depth study of it, as found on pages three-forty-one through three-forty-seven, will reveal many telling tales about prejudice, discovery, adventure and the pursuit of fundamental truth, dust and aura still remains a great mystery and new discoveries are being made constantly. It is one such new discovery to which I would like to draw your attention. A huntsman, Will Rouge, was traveling with his wife outside of the kingdoms. They were explorers you see, and Rouge kept a very detailed journal. He recorded their travels and plights. His journal was found, though Rouge wasn't, and in it was the account of how his wife came to find her end. He saw the strike coming that would kill her, but was unable to do anything. As he watched, he knew what was going to happen. He described a phenomena where his aura, normally a golden hue, changed black as he watched."
"Many studies followed the discovery of the journal, and it was discovered that the aura could in fact change throughout an individual's lifespan. This was revolutionary, and I will take this opportunity to take a step into the theoretical. Aura originates from what has come to be known as the soul; a pool of energy from which semblances, aura and the ability to manipulate dust is drawn. Before this intriguing discovery, it appeared the soul's characteristics were intrinsically static, and only the amount of aura increased or decreased proportionally with physical characteristics. Children would grow up, and their aura's would become stronger, and those who trained to peak fitness would find their aura reserves expanded, though there were still natural factors that influenced how much could be gained."
"Now though, it has been observed that someone's aura, their very soul, can change throughout their life. For this to happen, the individuals themselves must undergo a fundamental change, but with this change comes an alteration to the aura. This suggests that the soul is linked to the individual's emotions, who they are as a person, and that someone who's life is shifted drastically will find that perhaps, their soul has changed as well."
Jaune sat in the tent that had been provided to him for the tournament, and raised his hand to look at it. It was shaking, badly. His stomach was churning, and every few minutes, his body would flush with adrenaline, sending a shot of panic through his entire system. Jaune tucked his arm back over his stomach, trying to alleviate some of the enormous pressure building there.
Jaune had never, in his entire life, been this nervous. Even when he kissed Pyrrha, which was arguable the most courageous thing he had done, it was just a few butterflies then it was over with. This was even worse than his first day at Beacon during initiation. Then, he hadn't known what being a huntsman would be like, so there was no real loss if he messed it up outrageously. Now though, Jaune was acutely aware of what he stood to lose. He knew that if he lost today it meant that he wouldn't ever return to Beacon. He knew he would never be filled with pride knowing that every day he was making a difference in the world as a huntsman, protecting the innocent and stopping the forces of Grimm.
Worse though, he knew he wouldn't see his friends ever again. His first day at Beacon, he had met Ruby, and despite her being so skilled she had been moved up two years and him being so clumsy that he had to fake his entrance transcripts, the two had become friends. They had bonded over their mutual social awkwardness. Her sister, Yang, incessantly teased Jaune, but he had found that over the year he had been able to give back some of that punishment, and he did really enjoy joking around with the blonde. Ren, the other male member of his team, had become like a brother to him. Though the dark haired teen didn't talk much, the two had still developed a strong bond as brothers in arms. Alongside them was Nora, and Jaune didn't think he knew anyone who was as energetic, optimistic and faithful as the orange haired girl. Once he got over his crush on Weiss, he found the heiress to be relatively open, and they had become friends, though Jaune had never felt a very special bond with her. He was in a similar situation with Blake, the faunus preferring to be secluded and read than to talk, but the conversations he had with her were always pleasant and revealing. Despite her shy nature, Blake had a very deep understanding of people, and some of the comments she had made in passing had helped Jaune realize that it wasn't Weiss he had a crush one, but Pyrrha.
Pyrrha. She was the worst part of it all. As she crossed his mind, Jaune's felt his stomach lurch, and he dove out of his chair towards the sink in the room. He heaved hard, vomiting into the smooth white porcelain. He felt the last contents of his stomach pass through his mouth, then coughed and spluttered. He spat, trying to rid his mouth of the acidic bile that had just passed through it. He ran the tap, letting it wash what had once upon a time been his lunch down the drain. Jaune scooped his hands together, filling them with water and sipped at it. When his mouth was full, he swished the water around before spitting it back into the sink. He repeated the process a few times, cleansing his mouth before he drank a bit of the water to clear his throat.
When he was done being sick, Jaune looked at himself in the mirror. He saw a gaunt man with disheveled blond hair swept over his brow. If he hadn't known it was his own reflection, he could have sworn that he was looking at a terminal patient. The tap was still running, so Jaune cupped his hands under the water again and splashed his face. There was just too much riding on this tournament. It wasn't just about him either, not anymore. He couldn't leave his team behind without a leader. He knew his friends would miss him. He also couldn't bear the thought of leaving Pyrrha behind.
She hadn't really ever gotten to know anyone before Beacon. Sure, she had plenty of fans and more media coverage than just about anyone her age, but there was a profound difference between attention and friendship. Pyrrha had plenty of attention, but no one had ever really seen her as Pyrrha Nikos, the kind, funny, caring beautiful girl like Jaune did, but rather as a nameless upcoming star who was good at fighting. Jaune wasn't as oblivious as everyone thought. She had actually made some friends, and he knew that he had been a big part of that, she had even told him as much. Jaune didn't want to lose his chance at being a hero, but it was harder for him to stomach the thought of ripping himself away from Pyrrha, and what that might do to her. It made him utterly distraught.
Jaune shut his eyes tightly, fighting down another dry heave. The episode passed, and Jaune was glad there was nothing left in his stomach to come up. He took another drink and gripped the edge of the sink tightly, doing his best to clear his mind. Despite his best efforts, one thought pervaded his mind.
Why Cardin?
Why did it have to be Jaune's greatest torment? Since the start of the year, Cardin had been tormenting him with pranks and even physical bullying. He had forced Jaune to do his bidding before the forest of Forever Fall where Jaune had thought he had vanquished his own personal demon. But like some sort of parasite, Cardin had returned. All the torment that
Jaune sighed, then stood tall, looking at himself in the mirror. Despite his still churning stomach and ice-white face, he tried to look confident and powerful. He walked back to where his sword and shield were tucked away and picked them up. His legs were wobbly, but nonetheless Jaune walked out of his tent with his head held high, grinning at the crowd as he walked into the glass arena to find Cardin already waiting for him.
Clang.
Pyrrha parried the strike that flew towards her face, than ducked under the sweep from her opponent's other khopesh. While she was down low, Pyrrha kicked into her opponent's knee, then vaulted backwards, doing a handspring before coming back up a few paces away. Her opponent stumbled back a step, and Pyrrha allowed her a moment to recover. The other girl brandished two wickedly sharp khopesh's, swords that came out of the hilt straight before curving out in a semi circle like a sickle. The weapons were designed to hook onto an opponent's weapon and disarm them, and her opponent was obviously well versed in that style of combat. Pyrrha had been careful not to let the girl get close to Milos, but it had forced her to be slightly more defensive than usual.
Her opponent smiled cockily at her despite the fact that it was Pyrrha who had gotten off the first real blow. She wore a sturdy helmet made of translucent green glass plated over what appeared to be bronze. It was inlaid with swirls of gold, and the helmet covered the girl's cheeks, forehead and nose. Her chest piece was also made of the green glass, starting just under the girl's clavicle and hugging her curves tightly before it narrowed down to only cover the center portion of the girl's obviously defined abdomen. A few bands of tight green leather stretched around her midsection, connecting the front and back of the armor. The girl's arms were bare to minimize the weight of the armor, and her legs were only covered by a knee length skirt made of long, thin plates of glass that resembled blades of grass. It was enough to stop any incoming sword blows, but one wouldn't have thought so by looking at it. The girl wore high heeled leather boots similar to Pyrrha's, but green in hue rather than the traditional tan color of leather.
Despite her confident smile, Pyrrha's opponent was breathing somewhat heavily. She was trying to mask it, but Pyrrha could see the accentuated rise and fall of the girl's chest. Pyrrha herself stood calm and composed, not out of breath in the slightest. The engagement so far had only lasted a minute or so, and Pyrrha was used to much longer combats. Her opponent, though obviously highly skilled, was tiring fast. Before her opponent got too much time to recover, Pyrrha whipped her shield arm back and flung Akuo at the green-clad huntress in training. The girl responded easily, bringing one khopesh up in front of her, deflecting the shield, but Pyrrha was already in motion. She caught Akuo on its descent, slashing aggressively at her opponent's midsection. The second khopesh came down to counter, and Pyrrha saw her adversary's other shoulder tense as she raised her blade and brought it down towards Pyrrha's neck. Pyrrha weaved under the strike, bringing her shield up to counter the blow she knew would be following up. There was a sharp rap on her shield, confirming her suspicions, but Pyrrha kept moving. She dipped her shield to catch the blade's curve as it was deflected to the side. She dug her heel into the ground and pushed hard against the blade that was still attached to her shield. She relinquished the grip on Akuo, giving it a slight push with her semblance.
Foolishly keeping a hold of her weapon, Pyrrha's opponent was twisted around so her back was exposed to Pyrrha. Pyrrha slashed forward quickly with Milos, bringing the sword down hard into her opponent's back, sending her stumbling forward. The green-clad athlete rolled away from Pyrrha, but she dashed after her adversary. The girl was on her knees, but Pyrrha could see the tension in the other's girl's back. Rather than kicking out at her opponent's back, as her opponent obviously expected, Pyrrha planted her foot right in front of the girl's back and flipped over her, twisting in the air so she landed facing her adversary, her toe stamping down on Akuo's edge, flipping the shield into the air. The green warrior began to raise her head in surprise, but Pyrrha's foot caught her under the chin before she could even realize what was happening.
The girl's head snapped back, and Pyrrha caught her shield again. Before the other athlete had a chance to recover, Pyrrha smashed into her with Akuo. The move drove the girl to her feet, but this was by Pyrrha's design. The higher someone was, the further they had to fall. As the other girl rose up, Pyrrha dropped low and swept her opponent's legs out from under her, landing her on her back. Pyrrha lowered her sword to her adversary's throat, making it clear that the match was over. A match could be called if a participant's aura dropped into the red zone, or if an obvious victory could be declared. She preferred the latter, making for shorter matches, and Pyrrha had left no question as to who the winner was.
There was a loud gong that sounded somewhere behind her, and Pyrrha lowered her blade. She offered her hand to the other huntress in training, but her hand was knocked away. Pyrrha stepped away quickly. She was not unused to this sort of behavior. For some reason, those she beat often rejected her offers of aid afterward.
"Well done," Pyrrha said nonetheless, smiling in a friendly manner. The other girl didn't offer her so much as the courtesy of a nod, refusing even to look at Pyrrha.
Knowing the other girl was not likely to be very open to conversation right now, Pyrrha backed off, allowing her to sulk as Glynda Goodwitch walked into the stadium. With a few swipes of her scroll, the stadium turned a deep scarlet glow. The arena was just one of many that had been set up around Vale for the tournament, and was made of dust reinforced crystalline glass. It was about thirty strides from side to side, more than enough room for all contestants, and beyond that were raked bleachers. Pyrrha's match had brought in a large crowd, but she knew not all the stadiums were full fight now.
Pyrrha was used to the routine. She would win, then reporters and fans would come ask her more questions than she could possibly answer, and after a few minutes, they would disperse. This time was different though. While she answered questions and comments, she didn't feel the same melancholy that she usually did. This time it wasn't a grim reminder of how separate she was from everyone else. Perhaps she had become separated from those that surrounded her now, but there were others for her now. Others that would always be there for her, and Pyrrha felt genuinely happy for that.
Apparently her opponent had been one of the top prospects from Vaccuo, but had been unfortunate enough to draw Pyrrha in the first round. Her match was supposed to be one of the most highly skilled matches of the round, but Pyrrha had been able to dispatch her opponent in only a few minutes. The crowd was cheering currently, but the sound just washed off Pyrrha. She was so used to it by now that she only barely managed to smile and wave at everyone.
The match had been relatively easy, and Pyrrha liked that it meant her next few rounds would likely not be much more difficult. It wouldn't be until she was in the final eight participants or so that Pyrrha would see a significant challenge. She just hoped Jaune was doing as well as she was.
Jaune was not having fun. When he was a kid, he was always told that it was about having fun, participating and working as hard as he could. Maybe that was true when he was a kid, but it definitely wasn't true now. It wasn't about participating when there was a guy that had about eighty pounds on you swinging a ridiculously large mace at your head, and you have to dive away before your skull gets caved in. Fear coursed through Jaune as he saw that mace rise high over Cardin's head, and dove to the side, rolling excessively, putting as much distance between him and Cardin as possible.
Jaune came up, brandishing his shield in front of him as though it might do something. He doubted it would. He tried to think about Pyrrha's checklist, but his mind blanked as Cardin grinned and rushed him. Jaune was trying to stay composed, but the fear was gripping his mind tightly. Every time he would move to flow into one of the combinations that Pyrrha had taught him, he tensed up and stumbled. Cardin towered over him and raised that massive mace once again. Jaune saw the crystal of dust at the top glow as Cardin swung at him, and he brought his shield up to block.
The blow landed and Jaune felt himself launched off the ground. He flew through the air before landing hard on his back. The air rushed out of his lungs and Jaune coughed as he tried to stand back up. He rolled to his knees, keeping his eye on Cardin, who was taking his time.
And why shouldn't he? Jaune thought to himself. This match was a massacre. Jaune had been struggling to just defend himself. He hadn't even tried to land a swing yet, and had already gotten hit a few times. He tried clearing his mind, but every time that he started to dip back into his stance and get into the flow of combat, he would think of Pyrrha, and what losing her would be like and he suddenly couldn't move.
He mentally reprimanded himself, knowing that he was just making it worse. He needed to stop thinking about anything beside the fight. He had just blocked a swing from a mace, wielded by Cardin. He should be dodging those, and at worst deflecting them. He wasn't thinking clearly, and at this rate, he was going to lose. He was going to lose, and then have to leave Beacon, leave his friends, leave Pyrrha...
Jaune shook his head, trying to dislodge the thoughts clinging to him like cobwebs. He needed to slow down, think clearly, then act. He needed to remember what Pyrrha had taught him. Cardin was walking towards him slowly, giving Jaune plenty of time. The blond looked at his larger opponent, thinking hard about how to go about making his next move. Cardin was big and very strong, but he was slow. Slower than Jaune, and he needed to take advantage of that.
When Cardin was a few paces away, Jaune lunged to the left and feigned a swing, but dodged back to the right and stabbed at Cardin's collar bone. The strike landed, hitting the sweet spot between the shoulder guard and the plate of armor covering the upper arm. The blow would have been devastating, but Cardin's aura absorbed the energy of the swing. Jaune saw Cardin's mace coming towards him, and ducked under it. He came back up, but realized that Cardin was already making another move. Even as the mace passed over his head, Jaune saw Cardin's knee driving up towards his face.
The world flashed white, and Jaune staggered back in pain. He clutched at his face, but made sure to keep Cardin in the corner of his vision. The world returned to normal hues, and Cardin paced back and forth. He was just toying with Jaune at this point. They both knew who was going to win the match, and Jaune's stomach started to sink in despair. He had to fight though, he had to try at least. He owed Pyrrha at least that much, and he had never wanted something more than to stay at Beacon and be with her. He wiped his nose along the back of his hand and sniffed, trying to stymie the flow of blood. It worked well enough, so Jaune retook his stance.
Cardin approached again and this time Jaune allowed him to come all the way in. Cardin came in with a quick flurry of blows, small jabs and thrusts that didn't require him moving the main mass of his weapon. It seemed he had taken note of Goodwitch's advice on speed during class. Jaune parried right, then brought his shield up to the left, ducked under another blow and came up with a slash across Cardin's chest plate. His hopes jumped as the blade skittered across the heavy golden eagle embroidered on Cardin's chest. As Pyrrha had taught him, one blow leads to another.
Cardin, visibly flustered that he had been struck, backed off a step and brought his mace down in a heavy arc. Jaune skipped to the side and brought his sword down in a quick swing, hitting Cardin in the shoulder again. Growling in frustration, Cardin punched forward with his left arm. Jaune easily deflected the blow with his shield and thrust his blade into Cardin's side. The blade didn't penetrate skin, stopped by the large teen's aura, but Jaune knew it couldn't be comfortable. He brought his sword back out, quickly circling to rap the top of Cardin's arm. The larger competitor's arm buckled, and Jaune stepped in to kick at Cardin's knee. He raised his leg to curb stomp it, but even as his leg started to move, he saw the mace swinging down like the pendulum of a clock in front of Cardin. Jaune tried to pull his leg back, stop his momentum but-
Pain ripped through Jaune's leg as he felt cold metal connect with it. His leg was thrown away from Cardin, and his body followed, twirling through the air like a rotor. He hit the ground and bounced, his arm, freshly reinserted in its socket, popping out again briefly. Jaune yelled in pain, his head throbbing with agony. He forced himself to roll over onto his stomach, then used his good arm to get into a kneeling position. Jaune's entire body felt drained, and he simply didn't have the energy to support himself. He collapsed back into a sitting position as Cardin strode towards him. Cardin came to a stop a foot from him and grinned.
"Guess this is the end of the line Jaune-y boy."
He raised his mace, the crystal glowing again, and Jaune knew it was over. He knew he wouldn't see Beacon again, he wouldn't laugh alongside Ruby and Yang, he wouldn't get to experience Nora's antics, he would lose a brother in Ren, and he would never see the beautiful redhead he had come to love. Every rational part of his brain insisted that he roll over and concede the match. Every nerve in his body told him that it was over, to surrender and cut his losses. There was no point in getting hurt alongside losing everything.
But all the frustrations he had felt since he had come to Beacon welled up within Jaune. All of his failures, all the times he had tried and been so close but hadn't succeeded. He thought of all the nights spent on the roof training for a moment like this, and despite all that effort he had invested he couldn't do anything. The world seemed to slow down as Jaune watched that mace descending towards him. He thought about how often he had heard snickers in the cafeteria and how many snide comments had been made at the practice duels in Goodwitch's class. Mostly though, he thought about Pyrrha. It felt like the entire world had been dropped on Jaune as he realized he was going to leave her. No matter how bad it got, she had believed in him, and he had failed her.
It was pointless and utterly futile, but Jaune had to try. No matter how much pain it would cause him, he couldn't give in without fighting with everything he had. He had lost his sword somewhere, and his left arm was useless so Jaune reached across his body with his arm. His arm. Of all things, Jaune was pitting his arm against the momentum of a weapon that was designed to crush bones. Jaune threw the entire weight of his body into the motion, but he knew it wouldn't help at all. The cold steel and Jaune's hand approached one another, and a clear picture formed in Jaune's mind. It was the image of Pyrrha laughing, the night before everything had happened, when they were finishing a project together. Jaune felt his heart swell, and energy coursed through his body.
Suddenly there was a corona of energy surrounding Jaune's arm, and the mace hit it, and it went ricocheting away from the two contestants. Jaune had managed to summon his aura a few times before, once in Forever Fall and a couple times on top of Beacon with Pyrrha, and every time it presented itself the same way. It was always brilliant, bright white light, but this time it wasn't. It was different. There was a barely noticeable streak of scarlet red that ran through the white light, swirling over Jaune's arm and around his body.
Jaune heard Cardin cry out as the world sped up again. His aura died as quickly as it had come, but it had knocked Cardin off balance. He was shocked at what had just happened, but he wasn't going to waste the opportunity. Jaune saw his sword just behind Cardin and lunged for it. He scooped it up and brought it around in a circle, smacking into Cardin's back. He heard another grunt from the towering leader of team CRDL, and then Jaune kicked his knees out from the back. Cardin fell to his knees, and Jaune walked up behind him and wrapped his arm around Cardin's neck, pulling him backwards. Once the other huntsman in training was leaning back, Jaune brought the blade of his sword to rest against Cardin's adam's apple, allowing the cold steel to brush against the larger man's skin.
Around Jaune, the arena began to glow a faint gold color before increasing in intensity. The small crowd that had gathered clapped politely, but for Jaune it may as well have been a packed stadium or completely empty. He wouldn't have cared one way or another. He had done it. He had beaten Cardin, the source of so much pain in his life. He wasn't going to leave Beacon and Pyrrha, not quite yet anyhow.
And suddenly the world was full of possibilities again.
First round over, and things are looking good for Jaune! Of course, given the nature of tournaments, the competition only gets harder from here on out... It was fun to get back into the action of writing a few actions scenes, and of course the little fluffy bit with the aura. It felt like a different style than I usually write, but hey, I'm still exploring stylistic options! Let me know what you thought. And this post is relatively close to my last one, so that's a plus as well! I'm anticipating three more chapters, then maybe an epilog if there's anything that needs wrapping up. As always, thoughts, comments, suggestions and constructive criticisms are always welcome. Hope you're enjoying the read!
-Unjax