Took a bit but we're finally properly in beacon, Thank you all for continuing to read!
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Chapter 16
"Well done Ruby." Glynda called out after a loud buzzer signaled an end to the match, then she turned to the fallen student. "Cardin, when an opponent is faster you have to focus on where they will be, not where they are." She instructed before turning back to the rest of the students watching just outside the sparring area. "The same goes for grimm. Most enemies have trouble changing trajectory mid-dash, use it to your advantage."
It was only the second day of school but Glynda was pleased the majority of her students showed potential, some more than others but that was besides the point. She tapped at her scroll to see who hadn't had a chance to spar yet, there was still a few by the looks of it but they were still making good time all things considered.
Glynda noted that Pyrrha was one of the students who hadn't fought yet and thought for a moment how a tournament Champion could be fairly tested. she could be matched against a full team to even things out, but hadn't Qrow said Jaune was becoming a force to reckon with? There was only one way to find out for certain.
"Jaune, Pyrrha? Could you two get your weapons and come up next?" She asked while making a few adjustments to her scroll. She would need to manual set Jaune's aura level during the fight since the boy had none, an easy trick that also worked to balance out his seemingly infinite stamina.
Glynda expected students to suspect something but most would hopefully come to the conclusion of a strange semblance. That was only if Jaune could hide his more grimm aspects.
"Ma'am?" A student drew her attention from her scroll.
"Yes Weiss?" Jaune and Pyrrha had already left to get their weapons when Weiss spoke up. "Is it really fair to put someone against a regional champion one on one?" it was a fair question, none of the other students had ever heard of Jaune and most would have seen Pyrrha fight on TV.
"We shall soon see Miss Schnee, but I believe Mr Arc will be fine." Or rather she believe anyone who had spent two years training with Qrow and Ozpin must be used to fighting skilled opponents. Jaune and Pyrrha came back into the room shortly after and made their way onto the large sparring "ring".
"Good luck Jaune!" Ruby called out supportively. "Yea try not to get your butt kicked too hard, you'll make us look bad!" Yang yelled out with a teasing smirk.
despite how loud Jaune's team was they were quiet compared to the orange haired girl on Pyrrha's team yelling "You got this Pyrrha! Break his legs!"
\-/
Jaune had never been in a fight quite like this before and it both excited and terrified him. He had trained with Qrow to fight more like a "human" many times but that was just that, training. This fight was different. This time they fought not only to learn, but to win.
Would you like my help? Whitback asked, Jaune had come a long way on his own but they were still far better when they fought together. "Let me try alone first." He replied quietly, he had trained hard and wanted to see just how he compared to other first years without Whitback's help.
Jaune planted his feet firmly, raised his shield and prepared his sword at his side. The large screen that displayed the aura levels switched to a timer and counted down from five. Pyrrha stepped into her own stance and Jaune noted just how confident and comfortable she looked with a small smile playing on her lips.
The timer hit zero and Pyrrha took off like a bullet, smashing into Jaune's shield in an attempt to knock it out of the way. He was surprised at the amount of force she mustered but it wasn't enough to open his defense and he easily blocked the follow up strike causing her to retreat momentarily.
Looks like she's already figured out she can't overpower us. Whitback commented just as her short sword extended into something more akin to a spear. She leapt at Jaune with a flurry of attacks that he struggled to keep in front of his shield, relying on his armor to block a stab or two. She wasn't as fast or strong as Qrow but the gap wasn't nearly as wide as he was hoping it'd be.
You've lost ten percent of your "aura" already. Are you sure you don't want my help? Jaune wouldn't give in that easily, pushing forward with his shield and connecting with Pyrrha's shield. With another hard push he sent her flying backwards before rushing forward like a freight train and sending forth a devastating swipe of his own.
His blade slammed and grinded across the surface of Pyrrha's shield as she redirected it rather than taking the full force. Jaune didn't try and stop his body's momentum, spinning around and smacking her shield aside with his own. She leaned backwards to dodge his follow up attack and followed through into a backflip, delivering a swift kick to his chin.
They continued going back and forth for awhile longer, Pyrrha using her superior agility and skill to her advantage while Jaune used his immense strength and speed to keep up. Your meter hit fifty percent Jaune, she's still at seventy five. You're losing, let me help. Jaune struggled to dodge a slash to his face with his attention on Whitback.
"Whitback hush…!" Jaune hissed under his breath while giving a swipe of his own only to miss and get a shield bashed against his face. forty five percent. Please Jaune, Let me show what we're capable of. Whitback sounded almost desperate, reminding Jaune he wasn't the only one who trained for the past two years.
Jaune almost wanted to apologise for stopping Whitback from fighting but with Pyrrha closing the distance for another barrage he instead whispered "Whitback protect me.". Whitback wasted no time in picking up the slack as their minds melded together.
They lunged forward suddenly with their shield in front of them like a battering ram, surprising Pyrrha who raised her shield up with preternatural speed just in time to catch the heavy blow. The concussive force alone was enough to damage her Aura and knock her back a few feet but they were more curious how she moved so quickly and withstood such a powerful blow.
Whitback noted how a dim black glow formed around her shield when she moved it but Jaune refocused their attention on the current task. They tried to push past her defense forcefully but her weapon kept extending and pushing his attacks off course.
The two forms of her weapon gave her an advantage at both close and longer ranges, the short sword moving much quicker and the spear reaching much further than they could. Jaune's longsword was a reliable weapon but it was working against them now, so they abandoned it without a second thought.
They weren't nearly as well practiced in hand-to-hand combat but the sudden change in style threw Pyrrha off and gave them just the opening they were hoping for. They delivered a powerful uppercut followed by a roundhouse kick before Pyrrha could raise her shield, sending her flying across the room while her aura fell to critical levels from the brutal attack.
Jaune hesitated for a second, had he gone too far and used too much strength? The sudden spear that smacked into his chest told him of how wrong he was. Before they could go any further however a loud buzzer sounded.
"That's enough!" Glynda's voice stopped either student from attacking. "Very well done you two, the victory goes to Pyrrha." Jaune looked at the screen, seeing his Aura just under twenty five percent while Pyrrha's sat around thirty percent.
Less than five percent… This feels... Much worse than losing to Qrow.
\-/
"Pyrrha. That. Was. Awesome!" Nora exclaimed happily while team NNBL (Nebula) made their way down the halls for lunch. "You were moving so fast that masked guy could barely keep up!"
"Nora's right, you judged his strength and worked at his weakness the whole time." Ren agreed with a nod. Pyrrha nodded and thanked them but her thoughts kept returning to Jaune's fighting style, and how it suddenly changed mid-fight. Almost like he had been holding back.
"I smell pancakes!" Nora called out suddenly before rushing off towards the cafeteria while dragging Ren behind her, a resigned look on his face. Pyrrha chuckled and went to chase after the odd pair but stopped when she noticed her partner trailing behind, too deep in thought to notice her team's antics.
"Is everything alright Blake?" The black haired girl had been nice to Pyrrha and thankfully didn't fawn over her like some of her fans/classmates did. She wanted to return the kindness she was shown.
"Hmm? Yea sorry, just thinking about… Nothing important." Blake tried to shrug it off but Pyrrha didn't believe her. People didn't think that hard about something that wasn't bothering them but what could she say?
"If you're sure." Even if she didn't believe Blake, Pyrrha didn't want to push her to talk about something if she didn't want to. Pyrrha turned to continue after Nora but Blake stopped her just as she did.
"Did you notice anything strange when fighting Jaune?" Pyrrha wasn't sure what Blake meant exactly, semblances made fighting most people rather strange and unique. "Well he was a lot stronger than I expected, he must have some kind of strength semblance and I've never seen armor and weapons quite like his." She scratched her head, trying to think of anything else that stood out.
"He might also be religious, or superstitious. During the fight he asked for protection from something or someone he called "Whitback"." She had never heard of anything called "Whitback" before but the way Jaune said it made her think it was something akin to a guardian angel. "Why do you ask?"
"Like I said, it isn't really important… Just thought I recognized his voice is all."
\-/
Later that night, as everyone began winding down to sleep, Blake found herself unable to relax and close her eyes. Her thoughts kept spinning around as old, painful memories she had hoped to leave behind started to resurface. The Jaune in her class was the same one that she had damned to burn so many years ago, she was certain of it.
The guilt she thought was finally fading came flooding back the moment she heard his voice, but that's why she was at Beacon! To have a chance to make things right. Yet the guilt persisted and kept her mind running in circles.
"Guess I'll get some air…" She mumbled to herself before quietly dressing and making her way outside. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, she tried to shake the anxious feeling in her chest and calm her thoughts enough to sleep.
While wandering around the school grounds a familiar white cloak caught her attention. "What are you doing out so late…?" She wondered out loud and silently started following Jaune as he made his way away from the school, towards the Emerald forest.
She thought about approaching him but had no idea what she would say, so she continued to follow him until he stopped right at the edge of the forest. Turning around suddenly Blake struggled to slip behind a nearby tree and remain out of sight.
"I know you're there. Why are you following me? Who are you?" He spoke clearly without sounding particularly surprised or angry but Blake still felt her heart skip a beat. Coming out of her hiding spot, Blake wished she could gage his reaction but his mask covered anything overt.
"Blake…?" He sounded confused but he clearly recognized her. Blake wasn't sure what to say, did she want to apologise? or ask what he was doing at Beacon? "I... didn't expect to see you here."
"I-" She wasn't sure what she wanted to say, she felt guilty and wanted to ask for forgiveness but what right did she have? Even if she hadn't personally killed his family she still failed to stop it before running away and abandoning him.
"Why didn't you kill me?" He cocked his head at her abrupt question. "Two years ago, you had the chance, and every right, to get revenge but you let me go. You spared the person that left you to die." She still remembered how Jaune glared at her, with the eyes of a monster, crying like a lost child.
"I… You helped me see what was really happening." Jaune spoke after a short pause to gather his thoughts. "Killing only caused others the same pain I felt. It doesn't fix anything, doesn't bring about any peace and doesn't bring anyone back."
"It only causes more pain."
Blake wasn't sure how to respond, how had she helped him see that? Did that mean he forgave her, or just didn't want to kill her? "That's… a pretty good reason." She relented.
"But wait. What are you doing going at the emerald forest so late?" Jaune shrugged and scratched the back of his head with an awkward chuckle. "Well after that fight with Pyrrha… let's just say I need some practice." He sounded almost disappointed in himself.
"Well if you went all out, I doubt Pyrrha could dodge all those tendrils." Blake still remembered trying to fight him and how those tendrils attacked out of nowhere. "Which reminds me, why are you hiding your abilities? Is the council continuing to hide you from the public?"
"The council?" Again Jaune cocked his head to the side, showing his confusion. "I don't know anything about a council, Ja-" he stopped suddenly and tried to backtrack. "I mean I was told to keep my scarier powers secret to avoid accidentally starting a panic."
Blake raised a curious eyebrow, he wasn't an experiment of the councils? She wanted to ask further but he clearly wasn't supposed to talk about it. "That makes sense, I guess a lot of people would judge you purely because you look like grimm." She already got the answers she wanted, she wouldn't push for more.
"I'm going to go try sleeping again, good luck with your training." She excused herself and turned to start walking away. "Thanks, and Blake?" She stopped and he spoke as softly as his harsh voice would allow.
"You don't need to feel so guilty, we all make mistakes. And we all deserve a second chance. Try to let go of that negativity."
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Not much to say about this chapter, I'm still a bit unsure if I'm doing things right but I hope I continued the story properly! More suspicion growing, more clues spread for someone to find and something of a conclusion for our lovely cat faunus, though of course she will still have issues with the white fang! Last time i was a little off and forgot to add the chapter up top and my normal goodbyes! Shameful display I know and I apologies. I wish you all a good day/morning/evening/night and everything in between.
Sm0keyPanda you're probably right! to his teammates eyes Jaune stays awake the latest but is up the earliest, doesn't eat much (Though i suppose he could very easily fake that(then again his mask would make that hard)) plus he draws attention to himself pretty often. If you're not busy, let me know the things you believe will get Jaune caught! you'd very likely give me inspiration! As always I thank you for your review and support!
Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh a good foundation is the bases for all good works! ship wise I'm glad to hear you agree, I may do other relationships just because i believe we as humans have a tendency to require someone to rely on *exceptions to every rule* but it depends how things grow! As for the flying he did technically "fly" for already on a bunch of makeshift wings Whitback threw together, though that was more falling with(out) style. Either way it gives me a bit of a clearer image on what might happen later on, especially with a certain massive dragon. I hope you're doing okay! Death is not so kind a legacy to leave behind. I hope to hear from you again soon! keep your head up!
Jaune Brando lol I feel like I'm missing out on a reference But I always appreciate a review! Thank ya kindly!
Specter343 Blake is here! hope I made worked things out properly and didn't make Blake too non-canon. I think Cinder would put up one hell of a fight, her flames being useful but its hard to say how effective they would be. I shall think on it! Hope you continue to enjoy the story, Thank you for the review!