Disclaimer: I own nothing of RWBY
Graphite
By: Imyoshi
No matter how he held Excalibur—it forever felt right.
In truth, Jaune Arc acknowledged he never got quite used to summoning Excalibur.
The rush of power he felt upon calling the blade was heart pounding. Addictive, yet shrewd, like a drug. Whenever he did not have the sword gripped between his fingers, it felt like a fragment of his soul was missing until he summoned it back. It was all the more satisfying since Excalibur was his blade. His weapon. His creation.
Him.
Lowering his arm, the leader took pleasure in the way Pyrrha stared at Excalibur in what he described as shock. His grip on the Aura blade weakened, along with his tense posture. Common sense speculated that Nora's eyes were widening in childlike amazement with a soundless squeal. Ren most likely showed only the barest hint of emotion, brows possibly raised in fascination. He offered a small smile that slowly grew into something more. The sensations he felt from their speechless spectacle made that grin stretch with all that aimed directly at his partner, Excalibur pointed at the four-time champion in a way only Team JNPR's Fearless Leader could.
Confidence radiated throughout his body like a blazing fire. Ha! It was nice being the one causing the excitement rather than being the other way around. It got old being the surrogate who asked questions.
"Ren! Look!"
Nora leaned and pushed Ren as hard as possible from her hold on his neck, excitement too electrifying to quell. He reacted to none of her enthusiasm, able to withstand her emotional and physical reactions while acting as a tree for her to sloth on. The Lie only calmly grabbed her by the legs and pulled them forward, and she responded instinctively by wrapping her legs around his torso, hugging him firmly in unquenchable emotion. Her arms squeezed harder around his neck, and if he minded her body pressed intimately to his, soft skin to his and chest to back, he didn't react to it.
"So that's what an Excalibur looks like?" Nora wiggled and pointed at the shining blade in Jaune-Jaune's hand. "It's so bright, Ren, I want one!"
Ren blinked in mild awe. Nora was certainly right. Excalibur was bright, although, bright was a sharp understatement of the word. The Aura blade shined an unnatural luminosity in the forest clearing. He almost scoffed. It should be considered a crime for them to have never noticed their leader practicing with such a weapon. Pink eyes strained to look at it. Besides dazzling light, not much else could be said about Jaune's weapon appearance wise. He did note that it was longer than Crocea Mors and the hilt resembled the Arc's family crescent arcs, floating away from the long sword-shaped blade as an acting hilt guard. How it maintained that shape, he hadn't a clue.
Other than that, he couldn't point out any distinguishable features about Excalibur. No engravings. No contrasting colors. Nothing. Anything else that he might consider writing down was the blade's glaring properties of being condensed out of white Aura with a polar shine that could make the stars weep in envy. Everything else—function wise—remained a complete mystery.
"Well? That's something you don't see every day. It's different." Ren commented offhandedly, feeling Nora brushing her cheek against his. "I wonder if it has any special properties."
"Like shoot lasers?"
He had no inkling to correct her for such an imaginative idea. As far as he knew, it could shoot lasers. Not like she was listening to him anymore as she persistently swayed in place, using his body as a comfy, silent pillow. Her attention remained entirely focused on the gleaming weapon in their leader's hands. He could only imagine what kind of new picture Jaune was painting for Nora as their leader. Whatever headache-inducing trauma he conceived for the future couldn't possibly compare to what her limitless imagination could conjure up, and such a thought greatly troubled him.
Across from them, recovering her initial surprise, Pyrrha's eyes hardened again, gripping Miló above her neck to shield some of the brightness away from her partner's sword. She had questions. She had many questions, little things anyone would ask. Like how or why the luster hardly seemed to bother him. She alone had difficulty glaring at her leader's position, much less the supposed weapon gripped between his fingers. All the other little things she craved to ask were beyond her scope of understanding.
"You wanted me to prove to you I've gotten stronger, right? All the lying? All the secrets? You want to see if it was all worth it?" Tilting Excalibur in his hand, Jaune lowered the brightness of his sword, moving into a battle position Pyrrha had drilled into him. He felt his Aura awakening every part of his soul and expanding his muscles. "Then I'll prove it to you. I'll show you!"
His grip on Excalibur tightened.
Pyrrha frowned.
Knowing nothing about how his weapon worked, she lifted her shield to cover a generous portion of her upper body and held her sword near her midriff. Everything from this point onward was going to be a surprise for her, and she waited to see if he created any other unique weapons, perhaps a shield, but he didn't. Suspicions grew. Either he had little else to offer, or he was leading her into a false sense of security? Only one way to find out.
Jaune raised Excalibur, finally feeling every cell of his body receiving Aura, enhancing his reflexes to a heightened degree of control. Senses sharpened, and footwork bounced. His body radiated another show of light, but it burned out, and he tilted his blade.
"Let's go then."
Space!
A wave of pressurized Space hit Jaune Arc with enough force that almost made his knees buckle. Pyrrha's Space deserved a page of its own in his notebook. Unlike the others, hers was in a whole different league. It lacked the strength to compete with Yang's when the brawler actively used her Semblance to amp her power to limit-breaking proportions, nor did she outweigh Professor Goodwitch's fierce tenacity, but everyone else's paled in comparison on the base level, except perhaps their professors'. Her blood Aura, gooey and fluidly, yet fierce, moved calmly around her body that of a seasoned warrior. It clung to her body like a mutable metal, hardening and then softening in a mix between states of matter. Interesting. Her blood Aura resembled that of blood but acted like a metal.
Simply extraordinary.
Jaune grinned. He wished he could appreciate just how dominant his partner was, but she was already moving in for the first strike, lunging forward with a devastating charge, nothing like training on the rooftops. He barely reacted in time to intercept her blade, awkwardly angling his hand placement from the preemptive blow. His hand quivered. The force behind her strike was more than enough to push the Arc back, skidding him across the forest floor with a small trail of dirt following the soles of his shoes. He had to bury his feet into the earth to halt her momentum and hold her back. If his body trembled from the imposing force, he disregarded it.
Surprised with her tremendous strength, he grunted and pushed her blade back. He ignored her Space and was ready this time to intercept her second slash, then third, fourth, fifth, and so forth. It quickly became a game of dodge, parry, strike in close-quarter swordplay. Whenever she aimed for his shoulder, he lifted Excalibur from underneath to parry the sword. Any attack aimed for his torso he met with a down-angled tilt of the blade. Straight-forward stab got blocked by sliding his sword along the edge of hers. Everything she taught him, he used, but it became clear with how much she held back during training, and all this went on for a good minute until she got determined and bashed his chin with her shield and elbowed him in the ribs. Then she grabbed him by the arm and tossed him over her shoulder, throwing Akoúo̱ for a follow-up, only for him to regain his footing and flick away her shield back to his partner.
A quick rub of his jaw for damage was what she allowed for him, before speeding across the clearing to meet his weapon.
Blades crossed once more with the other trying to overpower the other. Emotions flared, and during the power struggle, he saw her shield coated in her bloody Aura, resembling what Ren had done to Ruby's weapon, but time was scarce, and he barely had any to study the oddity before Pyrrha was pushing him back with tremendous strength. The origins to her sudden might eluded him. One minute he was holding his own in the power struggle, and the next he was being pushed back almost effortlessly. Digging his feet into the ground changed little, and he struggled to push back.
Compared to training, the difference between that Pyrrha and this one was as noticeable as night and day.
Running on pure instinct, he covered his hand in Aura and grabbed her sword, holding and pushing it aside to create an opening for a quick strike. Green eyes swelled from the insane tactic, not realizing his Aura was compelling enough for such bold and bone-headed strategies, and she was forced to boost her shield to intercept his blade, hearing the unusual sound of Aura clashing with metal. Her grip on her sword tightened, but before she could maneuver for the counter, her shield began cracking in numerous areas, originating from the spot where Excalibur clashed. No warning was given—no time—and the Aura blade sliced cleanly through her shield. Toned reflexes allowed for her to dodge the sword, but not without a small cut to her cheek to remind her of the close encounter.
The move shocked him as well as she was given a modest opening to lunge back and inspect her broken Akoúo̱.
Eyes narrowed to match a tight-lipped frown.
A heating sensation extended from her cheek, but she ignored it to watch as Akoúo̱ fell from her arm protector, splitting in two from a perfectly clean cut. Like a knife going through butter. Evidence pointed to the small inclination of burn from where the slice had traveled through, a sharp indication of excessive heat. Her body thumped. Her heart followed. Just seeing her beloved shield destroyed brought uncomfortable emotions that made her chest hurt.
Akoúo̱ had been by her side since the beginning.
While Pyrrha mourned, Jaune seized the stalemate to study and learn. His mind raced. Excalibur had easily sliced right through his partner's shield, but that wasn't all he observed. Why did that happen? What caused Akoúo̱ to break? It was Excalibur, obviously, but that only begged more questions. Why hadn't Miló fallen victim to the same treatment? Excalibur and her blade clashed on several occasions, but nothing. Considering he easily destroyed that shield in a single swing, it only made him wonder more. It was all so new to the Arc since he never once practiced his Aura blade on anything but trees and Grimm. Color him intrigued.
Back to the other half of Team JNPR, Nora leaned further on Ren, poking her partner's side multiple times.
"Ren?" Nora booped, drinking from her well of infinite knowledge once more. Joyous wonder danced in her eyes. "What happened to Pyrrha's shield? It just broke in two."
Ren blinked without making a sound. He studied the clean-cut from where his leader had brought down his sword. Straight with burn marks and quick to indicate either strength or skill, all things he never considered his friend to be. Judging by Pyrrha's reaction to Akoúo̱'s demise, neither had she.
"I'm not sure, Nora. I guess we'll have to keep watching to find out."
Aw! Nora drooped and pouted, thinking maybe she needed to get herself a new source of infinite knowledge because this one was busted. She then grinned and shivered, shaking Ren as well. Her nerves bunched up in excitement with her body threatening to burst. He remained listless to her abrupt change.
"Isn't Jaune-Jaune's sword so amazing? I want one! Do you think he'll make one for me?"
He answered her question with a quick, stoic boop to her nose, keenly focused on studying how Pyrrha's shield fell to his leader's blade. Never a dull moment for Team JNPR.
"Maybe."
More joyous shivering. More anticipation buildup. Nora squeezed his neck firmer and rambled. Blocking out her rambling on how amazing their Fearless Leader was, he noted the confusion that plagued Jaune, piecing together that their leader didn't seem to know what happened either. Whatever reaction occurred between Akoúo̱ and Excalibur had been an anomaly in the list of possibilities his leader conceived. Simply put, he was still learning all this, and whatever just happened was nothing short of an enigma to the Aura user.
Now that was an interesting afterthought.
Seeing his partner's sorrowful expression, the Arc loosened his grip on his blade and moved forward to comfort her. "Pyrrha, I—?"
"This fight isn't over!" Pyrrha yelled, raising Miló. Mourning Akoúo̱ would come later. Ending the fight now would tarnish the sacrifice her shield made. "Get ready, Jaune!"
"Great, just my luck." Jaune sighed at seeing his partner's stubbornness. Now he felt like a total jerk for breaking her shield. He didn't even mean to cut it—okay, maybe he did—but he certainly didn't think it would work! Miló held up just fine against Excalibur! Why not her shield? "Ready when you are."
Tightening his grip on Excalibur, he grabbed his blade with both hands and accepted her challenge. This time he moved first to attack. Her eyes narrowed at his advancement, and she jerked her body back for the possibility of Miló falling victim to Excalibur's cutting edge. She held her sword with both hands, prepared to push him back. Again their blades crossed, sparks flew between concentrated heat and high-grade metal, and fortunately, Miló held up against her partner's Aura blade. Although the energy behind his strike forced her to crouch, unprepared for his sudden newfound strength.
Where was this power during their nightly sparring sessions?
Jaune glared. Two-handed swordplay made a huge difference, and a greatsword like Excalibur required nothing less. His Aura flared, and her body trembled. Pushing her back, he swiftly freed one hand and attempted to seize her blade again, but she reacted differently this time. Space allowed him to see the process of her weapon getting covered in a thick layer of Aura, but not entirely accurate. No. Not Aura exactly, not like the fierce, bloody Aura that drenched her entire body, but a thin sheet of murky crimson that swiftly seeped into the metal, giving her unmeasured strength. Now there was no mistaking it, this time it was precisely like the time when Ren added some unknown component to Ruby's weapon, something that strikingly resembled Aura but wasn't entirely, and he saw the strange not-Aura power coating her blade in a transparent sheet of blood.
No question, her Semblance.
Ugh! Whatever her Semblance's power was it pushed back due to her newfound strength. Things turned worse when she flicked his blade away without effort, and he narrowly dodged a swipe aimed for his shoulder, having sidestepped out of the way by a hair's length. Her onslaught pursued with ruthless precision. Blades crossed for brief moments, and they tangled up in close-up swordplay with his Aura heightened senses picking up his slack, intercepting most of her strikes with sparks flying, but she still landed cuts here and there, however small as they might be. Her increase of speed forced him to move on the defensive.
Parry! Block! Strike! Miss! Repeat! He grunted and moved away, but she followed and allowed him no breathing room. Parry! Each block was met with gut-churning strikes but offered him the chance to study the strange energy. Her Semblance not only affected her sword but other parts of her outfit, like her corset armor and metal leggings. Depending on how she moved, what she did, or what he did, the raw energy glowed in retaliation and not in the way Aura radiated in response to an impulse. Block! Every single time the power reacted within any number of those areas, his partner proceeded to do some pretty incredible feats. Strike! Efforts that put her on a pedestal compared to the other Huntsmen-in-Training. Feats that dubbed her a champion for a reason. Miss! Achievements that he had a difficult time believing, even when Excalibur tackled them head-on.
Moving in insane speeds for one thing!
Which, now if he thought hard enough about it, all that metal she was wearing shouldn't be allowing her to bend and move the way she did. Armor got in the way. It pinched the skin and restricted movement. Weight carried risk, but none of that appeared to matter to her. She continued to fight with refinement on the battlefield, ignoring the substantial mass of metals, and moved in daunting speeds that only Ruby Rose beat her in. Jaune narrowed his eyes upon deflecting a powerful swing that made his arms tremble. Even if he wasn't the shiniest Dust shard in the pile, he knew the force behind her swings did not match up to the amount of Space she emitted. Nothing about this whole ordeal added up.
Aura flared when he went grabbed her forearm.
Things flipped when his strength failed to push her back. Aura enhanced muscles strengthened his already natural leaned body, but his grip on her arm was waning. Then he spared a glance down at her arm, where her shield once resided, and finally learned what his partner had been doing under his nose. Her Semblance was affecting her arm bracelet, but then it traveled downward and entered her metal armguard, but not her arm, and finally, he saw a vague connection. Humph! Between only reacting within certain parts of her body and its distinct color trait, it acted just like Ren's unknown Semblance.
Tilting his head, he clashed blades once more and glared when the energy entered Miló, instead of her arm, while her other forelimb with the metal arm-guard and bracelet on her shoulder experienced the same power. His piercing glare intensified as the substance traveled to her leggings and parts of her corset, firmly locking in place between the gold metalworking. Gah! She was then gaining immense footing versus his Aura body, quickly overpowering his Aura with the second stage or Aura he had yet to unlock, a Semblance that affected the various metals covering her body.
His mind clicked.
Ah! Okay! Now he finally got it. The puzzle pieces lastly fell into place. Now it all made sense. Her speed, reflexes, bending, inhumane strength that came and went as it pleased, all of it! Well, he frowned, this still might end up as a wild guess if nothing else, but confidence radiated from his body from his bold assumption. Maybe if this had been a little more than two months ago, where he never thought outside-the-box, he wouldn't have been able to deduce her secret so fluently. That, however, wasn't the case. All that Aura studying and notetaking created a healthy mind.
Knowledge was his ally and learning was his specialty.
Breaking their hold by sweeping part of her leg, he attempted to slash at her stomach, but she jumped back with the help from the same energy giving her a boost to her metal leggings and armor-plated corset, only strengthening his conclusion, and before she so much as went for the counterattack, he relaxed his stance and grinned in amazement.
"I didn't know you can control metal?"
Green turned to shock. Miló faltered in her grip and feet suddenly stopped running. The short recess provided a chance for the specks of dust in the air to descend with the stillness in the air creating a tense atmosphere. Pyrrha couldn't help but glare at his innocent smile. How? How did her partner figure out her Semblance? No one told him, she knew that much. Team RWBY and her team had sworn not to after the Cardin incident to protect his fragile confidence, yet he somehow figured it out during an intense fight? What irked her to no end was his apparent ability to figure it out on the first time she applied real combat with him. Not even countless spectators and adoring fans ever deduced her Semblance, but he did in a few short minutes of battle?
Pride wormed its way into her heart.
"That's amazing, Pyrrha!" Jaune laughed like they weren't just fighting a few moments ago. "Metal bending, huh? That's one useful Semblance. I see now how you won all those tournaments. The other fighters never stood a chance."
Finding her voice again, she stepped forward. "How did you figure it out?"
The leader blinked. Hearing her question, he glanced down at Excalibur and back at her and the Aura armor that protected her body. Her Aura refrained from covering her sword he noticed but ignored it. Not important. Now, how accurately should he answer that question? Too many variables to account for, secrets need to be revealed, and he preferably not go into a full-length explanation on how Aura control worked, at least not while in the midst of battle. That only left one viable option.
He shrugged.
"I'll tell you if you win." Jaune grinned, he knew he was acting arrogant, but after discovering her Semblance and slicing Akoúo̱ in two, the leader figured he deserved it.
Pyrrha, on the other hand, did not appreciate the answer as shock reverted to fierceness. She stretched her fingers over the mechanical lever on Miló and switched it over to long-range mode. Shift, aim, fire! The Arc rolled. He barely dodged a bullet trained for his arm, but she wasn't done with him yet and pointed a second round for where he landed. This time it struck his shoulder, and he used his blade to block the third.
Oh, they were firing guns now?
Fine then!
Excalibur rose to protect his head and chest from any shells. He ignored everything else around him and held out his hand toward his partner. Just like yesterday, three sets of eyes bore witness to a sphere of Aura condensing in his palm, only this time fuller than before with stability. Then he assimilated it into his skin. A second breathed life to entertain Nora before he absorbed that one as well. What followed after was him recreating Shooting Star and aiming his hand directly at his guarded partner.
Tenseness evoked the scenery around them. No one moved or breathed for a brief moment with a passing wind acting as the only sound to grace their company.
"Ren?" Nora whispered. "What's happen—?"
"Soar, Shooting Star!"
The not together-together partners watched as a sphere of snowy white condensed between their leader's fingers before it soared directly at Pyrrha with a trail of white following. Too stunned to maneuver her feet, the Invincible Girl reacted hastily by extending her arm out to her broken Akoúo̱, right before the ball came in direct contact. Metal flew to shield her.
No point in hiding her Semblance's nature now.
Akoúo̱'s fragments connected in the nick of time and absorbed the impact of Shooting Star. Steel clashed against concentrated Aura! Metal fragments flew from a scraping vortex of heat. Then Pyrrha added Aura to her shield and Shooting Star exploded in a flash of white, blinding everyone around them. A blanket of heat resonated from the shine, and when it died down, every bit of Akoúo̱ had vanished. Every scrap of metal she regularly reached out for was missing—gone.
Nothing remained.
Her eyes opened slowly, and she only saw her hands held outward from when she summoned her fragmented shield. The air remained empty, devoid of metal. She bit her lip and peeked down. Nothing left to call Akoúo̱'s but scraps of metal here and there on the floor, burnt, charred, or destroyed, and the few viable pieces that remained had small wisps of heat edged at the end of the bent metal. How in the—her eyes flew toward her partner with his hand still aimed directly for her.
He wasn't firing his second round, merely standing there and staring at where her shield used to be. A strange look of curiosity marred his features with his frown thinning. He didn't act or appear scared, only interested in the recent development of his Aura findings.
Having witnessed his partner calling upon her shield didn't surprise him since he observed her use her Semblance to will the metal. No. It was what she did after that kept him from experiencing the pleasure of firing another shot of Shooting Star. Akoúo̱ had been holding up against his handgun remarkably well, from what he saw, until Pyrrha added Aura to boost her shield's properties. That was what kept him firing.
Adding Aura to her shield had entirely eradicated it. From what he saw, Shooting Star tore right through Akoúo̱ like nothing once Aura got spilled into the mix, turning metal to paper. Energy from her Semblance had kept Akoúo̱ partially safe due to it not being Aura-based, at least he assumed so, but the Arc trusted his gut on that one. Just like trees or Grimm, Aura cut those down to shreds. Now results revealed that his Aura blade cut through Aura itself. As groundbreaking and joyous as that was, the news didn't bold well for his stunned partner.
This fight was over.
"Pyrrha?" Jaune moved forward and willed away Excalibur. His critical theory threw all formality out the window, and he had no desire experimenting on his partner. "I think we should stop now."
The champion blinked.
"Why?" Pyrrha lowered her arms and held her weapon out, switching back to a blade. Her body contorted into a battle stance. "This fight's not over yet."
"I don't think it's a good idea. I mean, come on, look!" Jaune pointed at whatever remained Akoúo̱ and grew hysterical. "I caused that! I did that! Me! And it's all because of this!" A sphere of Aura breathed life on his palm. "This... did that."
Pyrrha didn't appear convinced. Her Space continued to rise, growing denser by the second, and he saw her blood Aura flaring. Emotions ran rampant. Maybe a different approach was in order? Part of him wondered if the champion's pride was wounded? He knew a thing or two about damaged self-esteem. Pride made people do crazy things and pushed harder than they could shove, that included aiming her greater heights.
"You asked how I figured out your Semblance, right?" Jaune rhetorically asked. He absorbed his Aura sphere and breathed. "I saw you using your Semblance on your armor. Not your skin, only your armor. At that point, it was easy to figure out."
Her Aura calmed down. "What?"
Spinning one hand lazily in the air, he half-shrugged with the other. "Sorry, I don't know how to explain it better than that. When I'm using my Aura, it just, sort of appears, like around you."
She pursed her lips. "That's not very helpful, Jaune."
He threw his hands up. "Give me a break! I'm still learning as I go along. It's crazy, I know! But I figured out your Semblance, didn't I? So it's not all that crazy!"
She couldn't deny that.
"I guess that makes sense." Pyrrha agreed, but then pushed that aside. "But what does that have to do with our fight?"
Her snowy Aura exploded in a flare. "Everything! You saw how Excalibur cut your shield in half, and then you saw how Shooting Star ruined the rest?" Pyrrha nodded slowly to those claims. "Well, I saw you using Aura on your shield before that happened, and after! Both times when you used Aura, your shield fell victim to my Aura." Jaune frowned. "It seems any Aura my Aura attacks come in contact with utterly destroys them in their path."
She inclined her stance and stared down at her remaining weapon. A sense of dread passed her nerves before looking back to her partner. "And you're sure about this?
"Well, no, I wouldn't mind testing that out—but it's not something I want to test on you!" Jaune hastily added, holding up his hands in surrender. "It's not that I don't want to fight! I just don't want to hurt you!"
His heart thumped. Even if his theory proved accurate, the Space Pyrrha emitted was still as strong as ever. Her Aura reserves remained high. Hardly any had been lost in the fight, and he had yet to land a clean strike on her. She held the upper hand, but after seeing the amount of damage his Aura abilities caused and what he guessed was individually generating them, fear made it impossible to move forward. The possible aftermath from a direct hit from his Aura weapons on his partner's body made his stomach queasy.
He would rather have her furious at him than have her painfully hurt.
She hesitated, glaring down at the charred remains of her shield. The champion examined the metal before carelessly kicking it away, feeling her mood growing considerably better. Almost! Her partner almost proved to her the fruits of his labor, but no, not yet.
Not yet.
Eagerness shot through her blood like adrenaline. She tilted Miló and held it to eye level with her brows drawn. So Aura was the key? Without it, things she could proceed just fine.
"So what you're saying, Jaune, is not to apply Aura to my weapons when fighting you?" Pyrrha twirled her blade and prepared herself. "Very well, let's continue."
"What?!" Jaune denied all that with his arms out. "No! That's not what I'm saying at all! I don't think it's a good idea! It's a bad idea, awful! We shouldn't fight!"
Frowning, she prepared a rebuttal when a sudden burning sensation surfaced from her cheek. Not knowing her adrenaline had simmered down, having hidden the pain; she gently touched the side of her cheek. The spot where he narrowly cut her had a speck of blood and that same hot burning feeling was back from earlier, and it stung.
Her thumb traced over the wound, and she found the heated sensation not going away. Mercifully the burning wasn't too intense, maybe like a four on the pain scale, but the feeling was annoying nonetheless. It wasn't until she noticed that the more droplets of blood she removed, the zero effect it had on stopping the bleeding. Now the panic began to set in.
"Why hasn't my Aura taken care of this small problem yet?" Pyrrha concentrated her Aura on that part of her face. Eyes narrowed to steel when she was unable to sense her Aura centering on the cut. Not one bit. "What's going on?"
Another finger rubbed the cut. Another failed attempt to stop the bleeding. Pyrrha's frown stretched the harder she messed with her cheek, and her partner watched her rub her skin incessantly. The furious rubbing made the moisture in his mouth turn dry. He formed a fist and leaned forward with his other hand stretched out.
"Pyrrha, are you okay?"
She stopped trying to solve the problem with her injury, remembering that it was, in fact, he who had cut her there with his Aura blade. Thoughts drifted toward his earlier Aura claim and how her shield fell upon his Aura abilities. Aura techniques—his Aura techniques—must have somehow screwed with her healing properties. Her hand moved away from her cheek to glare at the specks of warm blood saturated between her fingers in sheer fascination. The red liquid didn't scare her.
Blood never scared her.
"My wound isn't healing." Pyrrha said bluntly, quickly growing used to the burning.
"What?"
Her bloody hand clenched into a fist. A broken down healing factor, mixed with Aura weaponry? Humph! The discovery filled her with joy, but not entirely. She pointed at her fresh cut and showed him the blood on her fingers. "The wound on my cheek isn't healing where you cut me."
"I cut you there?"
"Yes, but barely. It's nothing more than a scratch." Pyrrha found the entire situation rather unique, interest peaked. What else could that Aura sword do? "So now anything cut by your blade doesn't heal? What else are you hiding from me?"
Stunned from hearing the new Aura claim, the Arc concentrated on his Aura to manage a better look at her bleeding Aura and note anything worth writing down. "As I said, I'm still learning this as I go along."
Further examination revealed her Aura appearing moderately fine with a viscous, bouncy and alive form, but he focused more on where she said he cut her. A higher degree of Aura control exposed a scratch line right where she had pointed at on her Aura. A small cut if anything, barely noticeable, but he could tell that none of her Aura reached that small incision, thus restricting her damaged skin from getting healed by her Aura. At least allegedly speaking. Like a chip or crack in a suit of armor, it was impossible to unsee once found.
The leader's breath hitched as his eyes widened in excitement.
Fascinating!
So much to learn about Aura, so many possibilities.
His hand reached out to grab his Aura notebook, only to remember he left it back in their dorm room. Gasp! The forgetful leader scoffed under his breath when the weight of his partner's words finally hit. Erasure of healing ability and decimation of Aura? Yeah, okay, hurt feelings aside, this fight had to stop five minutes ago.
"Okay... now I really don't want to fight you anymore."
She was having none of that. "This fight still isn't over yet. Prepare yourself, Jaune."
"Can't we call it a draw?"
"No."
Unbelievable.
Ha-ha. Uh! Just his luck. Stubbornness, a quality of a four-time champion. Hiding his face in his hands, he breathed tiredly through his palms and threw his head back in frustration. A hand ran through his blond locks, a frown followed. All of this was seriously getting old fast. His father always said a woman scorned was practically an unstoppable force, but he never took the old man's advice seriously until now. Besides his confidence lessons, those mattered.
"I don't even get why you're still mad! Haven't I proved I'm strong enough yet? Isn't this all enough?" Jaune's Aura flared wildly, lacking control. "What more do you want?"
Plenty.
She channeled her Aura to every bit of her body but her blade and concentrated on her Semblance to bind to her leggings for a mad sprint. None of it fazed him. He saw through it. His fingers twitched from the fluctuating Aura, and a glare followed. Space robbed her of the chance of a preemptive strike, not as long as he kept his Aura concentration high enough.
"No, you haven't yet." Pyrrha prepared to strike. "Not yet."
"Then when?!"
Emotions continued to escalate. Budding confusion ran rampant, and their looping argument blinded them to the hidden danger lurking behind their teammates. No one noticed an Ursa Major sneaking up behind Ren and Nora until the daunting shadow illuminated over them. It was Ren's hair raising gasp that attracted everyone's split attention and forced the arguing pair to turn and see the Grimm about to swipe its claws on the unprepared duo. Too bad the Grimm never got to finish as a sphere of Aura pierced its chest, flew out the other side, and out toward the setting sky. The Ursa Major barely had time to acknowledge the burning pain in its abdomen before it fell over and died. Its deteriorating ash rotted the mood, and three sets of eyes turned toward their Fearless Leader with his hand raised in the air.
Enough with the bears.
"How about now?" Jaune demanded, creating another sphere for everyone to see. The Grimm's surprise presence hadn't withered the fire in his eyes. "Am I strong enough now? Do I need to kill more Grimm? Because I will! Trust me there's plenty around here. I know."
Pyrrha's grip on Miló weakened and her concentration dulled. Unable to peel her eyes away from the dying Ursa Major, she felt her mouth dry. Only a few months ago he struggled killing one Ursa Major, requiring every once of skill and willpower he harbored. Now he didn't even spare the dying beast a glimpse as it withered away in its final moments. No passing glance, no resentment or feeling, nothing.
A drastic change from Jaune Arc of yesterday and today, but was it enough to satisfy her?
Grip!
She dashed forward and twirled Miló in an increasing spin. "No."
Snowy Aura flared, and Jaune summoned Excalibur. He saw her attack coming from a mile away and parried her circular swipe toward his chest with an upward bent of his sword. Her teeth clicked. She swiftly changed the trajectory of her swing for a diagonal slope. He switched his grip. Metal clashed with Aura, and the leader breathed a breath of relief from noting the absence of Aura in her blade. From this up close he confirmed that her Aura was, in fact, not reaching that spot on her cheek, something to add to his Aura notebook after this pointless brawl.
For now, he needed to fight!
Swords slipped past one another and separated. Both attempted to seize the opening. She moved faster by slipping her hand back to create room for a downward maneuver meant to stab his forearm. He strived to deflect her slash by aiming for her leg, only to be met with air as she evaded to the side and pressed her foot firmly on Excalibur's tip. Miló then cut cleanly across his shoulder, spilling blood, and the leader willed away his blade to separate himself from her intimate circle. Everyone paused to stare at his harsh injury before Aura fixed the wound in seconds. Then his hand brushed against the wet linen with a sigh. As amazing as that was; now he was going to need a new hoodie or a patch job. Small cuts were easy fixes, but this was not.
Willing Excalibur to life, he thrust forward with the intent to hit any part of her metal armor. She pushed her sword up to slide against his, twisting the blade in her hand to travel up his weapon's length for a countermeasure. Miló progressed upward, leaving a trail of sparks, toward his fingers where Excalibur's hilt kept her from reaching any closer. The close angle made it difficult to maneuver with such pressure keeping his arms locked in place. He couldn't properly bend his sword.
The Arc retaliated by reaching for her wrist in the deadlock and edge Excalibur toward the base of her neck. He only got as far as grabbing her wrist before her arm wearing the metal bracelet, and armguard, went on the offensive, landing a sharp, intense jab to his stomach—face—stomach again—and then a sweep kick to throw him off his balance and hard on the floor.
Aura enhanced reflexes saved his bacon when he recovered quickly enough to push Excalibur up on time to meet her weapon. Muscles strained underneath the force with the earth denting underneath his body. The impact rattled bones. Using every ounce of willpower he had, he managed to push her blade back before rolling to the side to avoid a barrage of quick succession strikes, using his Aura blade as a staff to stand on while catching his breath. The sword dug effortlessly into the gravel with his added weight, burning. A pained gasp escaped him.
His body was starting to get sore all over.
Fighting Pyrrha was majorly different compared to fighting a Grimm. She blocked his slashes, parried his blows, fought back in a headstrong manner with a body to match, exploited openings, left few of her own, and made incredible counterattacks. Everything nightly sparring session was but dialed up to eleven.
Huff!
He almost felt completely outmatched—Excalibur burned—almost!
...
"Hey, Ren?"
"Yes, Nora?" Ren answered, never drawing his eyes away from the fight. "What is it?"
Nora hummed stubbornly with her cheeks puffed and eyes squinted. Her chin rested above his head while her hold on his neck increased, undoubtedly from the lack of understanding and natural stubbornness. His hair tickled her chin, and she held back an adorable puff of air.
"How come Jaune-Jaune's so strong now?"
This time he shared a glance with his childhood friend. "What do you mean?"
Tilting her head, she pointed lazily at the fighting duo, leaning ever closer to point out each incriminating detail she meant. "Well... I don't get it. Our leader's never been this strong before. Just last week he got his butt kicked in training with Pyrrha, but now he's all fast and strong and stuff. It doesn't make any sense."
Ren paused. A fair question. No one just improved this much in such a short period of time. So he watched with narrowed eyes. He watched as Jaune received a nasty kick to the side, but then impaled his Aura sword into the ground to stop the momentum from flying him across the battlefield. Excalibur burned brightly in the soil, and then his leader pulled his weapon free and connected the blade against Pyrrha's to block. A similar tactic he used to fight Grimm barehanded, except with a sword or Aura, not a cloak covering his skin.
"It's his Aura."
"Hmm... you're losing me, Ren."
A soft chuckle passed his lips. Nora lacked the foresight to see it, many people did. Not many relied on their Aura as an offensive ability, merely something to treat wounds and mitigate blows. Jaune, however, pushed the breaking limits of Aura and turned it into a devastating weapon. To prove a point, the Lie pointed at his leader's blade, mildly impressed at him holding his own against Pyrrha and her fierce tenacity. It was as if their leader became a whole other person when wielding Excalibur.
That was no coincidence.
"Do you recall the time I fought against that King Taijitu during initiation?" Feeling the nod from her head, he continued. "Well, it's the same concept for Jaune. His Aura is making him much faster and stronger than he normally is, almost enough to match Pyrrha head-on in a fight."
She pondered acutely over his words, shaking her noggin a minute later. "Nope! That makes no sense! No one's Aura, not even yours, silly, should make someone go from zero to hero so fast. Not to say Jaune's not strong, because he's our Fearless Leader, but he still needs to train, doesn't he?"
"Of course he still needs to train. Remember, he practices with Pyrrha on most nights." Ren watched Jaune quickly sidestep back from a sudden roundhouse kick from Pyrrha. The wind hit his face from this distance. "But you must also see that Jaune's Aura control is something we've never witnessed before. I've never read or encountered someone creating a weapon of Aura before, and I know you haven't."
"And that makes him stronger?"
Seeing Jaune overpower Pyrrha between a two-handed clash of blades, he calmly relaxed. "Yes. I can't say I understand what level of Aura control is required to create Aura weapons, but I can safely assume that our leader's control over his Aura far outranks ours. A heightened Aura control enhances reflexes, improves muscle strength, growth, and footwork."
His body stilled. Everything he mentioned was all a baseless assumption at best. Not to say he didn't believe its merit, being an Aura user himself, but in the grand scheme of things, his current Aura knowledge lacked crucial details. Good grasps on the concepts of Aura helped, and clearly, his leader benefited greatly from his discoveries, but everything had consequences.
Limits existed.
She glimpsed down at her slothful friend, still very much confused. "But don't you think it'd be hard to make a sword out of Aura and fight against someone with it while trying to concentrate?"
Nudging Nora to glance up, they saw Jaune forming an Aura sphere to counter Pyrrha's weapon switching to long-range. Shooting Star soared and impacted the dirt beneath her feet to create debris and dust in the air. She had no choice but to shield her eyes from the earthy explosion. Their leader took full advantage of the situation and charged forward, summoning Excalibur in the blink of an eye.
"I don't think Jaune has a problem with his Aura control."
Nora pressed her weight to Ren's back, unsatisfied with his answer. Pyrrha intercepted Jaune's blade at the last minute, using one hand to grip the edge of her sword to hold back the striking momentum of his attack. Her soles dug into the dirt. Somewhere a cracking of bedrock was heard.
"Still seems kinda unfair."
He recalled yesterday's adventure at Vale. "No... he has issues. The loading docks from yesterday showed a weakness. Our leader was suffering from Aura exhaustion. He could barely move."
"So? Whenever your Aura hits zero, you only get lazier."
"Well, I'm assuming that Aura exhaustion for Jaune is more serious of a problem." Ren countered, secretly enjoying her confusion. "If I'm going out on a limb here, I'm guessing his body need Aura more than ours. It most likely creates problems for him when he's low on Aura, and on that level of control there must be some serious drawbacks."
"Oh?" A sad tone captured her voice, so he seized her hand to cheer her up. It worked. "I still think his Aura sword is the coolest thing ever! Only second to my Magnhild of course!"
Ren gripped Nora's hand tighter. "Of course."
...
Tremble!
Pyrrha gritted her teeth. The unrelenting angle between their blades made it troublesome to break free with the metal digging into her palms. Using her Semblance in a fight never bothered her before, but she had limits. Things only got worse with him not wearing armor or any metal for that matter. Changing up her tactic, she used her Polarity to increase her strength and bring his sword down into the dirt, opening up a hole in his defense. He had no time to react and got pelted with a Semblance enhanced kick thrown directly for his chest. The high-impact force sent him tumbling across the forest floor and through a tree, throwing off his concentration to maintain Excalibur and compelling the Arc to use more of his Aura to steady himself. When he finally found his footing, he rubbed where her kick had landed, wincing from the pressure and aches.
Ouch!
That was one hell of an enhanced kick. Not to mention he was exhausted with his heart racing against his eardrums. What a useful Semblance to have when wearing metal, and knowing how it worked hardly made it weak. Even if he figured it out, she still destroyed him with said Semblance.
"Knowing your enemy is the key to victory?" Jaune mumbled. "Whoever said that obviously never fought Pyrrha Nikos."
Space!
He gasped, head snapping up, barely having time to ease the soreness as he was forced to resummon Excalibur to meet his partner's sword thrust from the side. Another clash of opposing forces met, except this time the skewed brightness that came from summoning the Aura blade blinded her. He took advantage of the stumble and went in for the counter.
Logic overpowered instinct.
By sidestepping to her right side where her Semblance had nothing to anchor on to, he willed away Excalibur, only to resummon the sword when Pyrrha's blade went straight through the air where Excalibur once resided, taking her body down with her. His hand reached out from underneath, preparing to grab her by the neck and thus win the match by technicality, but no one had anticipated for her body to move away before he could capture her.
Even by Huntsmen standards, she shouldn't have been able to move that fast with her body still trapped in free-fall from a sudden loss of force acting against her. Things didn't add up. That was until he spotted her neck piece and golden crown drenched in her Semblance. Amazing! For a split-second, he was glad he wasn't wearing any metal or Pyrrha would have been controlling the fight from the start.
Then Destiny fell into her lap.
Polarity upright her body, and she leaned back and threw a well-timed fist at his exposed face, following up with a quick knee to his stomach, finishing off with a powerful uppercut straight to his jaw from her arm wearing her metal accessories. The magnitude of the force sent him flying through the air, barely allowing him to regain his wits and land poorly on the floor. He sat up immediately, but the damage stung.
He glared at his partner while rubbing his jaw from the boosted blow. Seriously! That was like the third time she aimed for his jaw. Watch out, Yang, Pyrrha could give her a run for her money when it came to fist fighting. Just another quality of the four-time champion. Thank Oum his Aura most likely absorbed the collision from most of those hits, but the downside outweighed the pros. He felt every one of those blows. Each one left a sizable shock to his body.
Maybe he should practice some of that?
Arg! Shaking his head, he charged at her, carefully observing which part of her metallic clothing was covered in her Semblance, and collided his sword with hers. A power struggle between her Semblance boosted power, and his Aura enhanced muscles took way. Muscles strained from the prolonged fight. Aura levels drained. Miló and Excalibur locked in place for a battle over dominating wills. Just like her full-of-surprises partner, the brightness of the Aura blade diminished on her, but it wasn't any less headache inducing to glare at from such a close range.
He flexed his hand back and formed an Aura sphere. The plan was simple, load Shooting Star, point his handgun directly at her chest to ensure victory, and end this fight. Point-blank range aimed at the heart would force her to give up considering how dangerous this technique could be to her. However, sheer instinct overcame her senses from seeing him create an Aura sphere, and she impulsively concentrated on her Aura to shield her body.
Blood shaped Aura flared before him. Time slowed down as he witnessed her Aura slowly travel up Miló, toward where their blade's edges met. Aura mixed with metal, and the second her Aura reached the point, Excalibur severed her sword in two, slashing right through her Aura covered armor as if nothing but air hung between the two distracted partners.
A distressed look seized her face. Her feet trembled, and she stepped back from the attack. Looking down, she saw a clean cut right across the lower region of her stomach, all the way past her lower chest. The corset armor, her battle gear, protected in Aura stood no chance against Excalibur's cutting edge. Blood Aura offered no resistance. It cut through with ease.
Fortunately, only a minimal portion of his blade reached her skin but opposed to the cut on her cheek, the wound neglected to heal. White-hot burning sensations raged from the injury. No Fire Dust shard compared. She gritted her teeth to numb the pain and prevent the groans from escaping her lips.
A losing battle.
Fighting away the agony, she heard in the distant background part of her sword landing on the forest floor. Huh? So her partner was right? His blade did cut through anything Aura.
Pyrrha scoffed. Her hand raised to stare at the corner where Excalibur sliced through Miló. How unfair. To have a blade with the ability to cut through Aura like butter. Who would have thought? She smirked foolheartedly. The cut was clean, left by a sizzling burn mark on the piece of metal, and resembled nothing like she had ever seen before. Every seasoned Huntsmen and Huntsmen-in-Training in Remnant coated their weapons in Aura, and her leader possessed weapons that put all those to shame. Not to forget it was always within arm's reach. Sure, it had drawbacks like always needing a consistent Aura source, but still. A weapon hidden within the soul? How convenient in every sense of the word.
She was green-eyed jealous.
She only unlocked his Aura three months, maybe four, during initiation, but he already progressed so far in such a small amount of time. In all aspects, it was not fair. Such power and development in such a small window of time, granted, she still held back somewhat in this battle, but this Jaune Arc overshadowed the Jaune Arc she sparred with on rooftops. This one fought back.
Hard.
His attacks were swift. Strength fierce. Reflexes impressive. Skill developed. All things she desired from training, and a complete one-eighty to what she was used to, and it made her think, wonder what was in store for their leader. How far could Aura take him still? How much longer until he hit his limit? Aura? Did the strange energy even have limits? Only one way to find out!
Flipping what remained of Miló; Pyrrha held her weapon above her shoulder, ready for Jaune's next attack.
Her attacker didn't have quite the same reaction. "No! This fight's over! Come on, Pyrrha." Jaune begged, noticing her Space's steady decline. "Enough is enough! We need to patch up your wound before it becomes a problem."
She ignored him, ignored the blinding pain, and even ignored her dropping Aura reserves. She needed this. "This fight's not over yet, Jaune. You haven't yet proven to me that you're strong enough."
"Strong enough for what?!" Jaune willed Excalibur away. No more. No more fighting! "I still don't know what you mean!"
Disregarding the question, she lunged forward, using the aid of her Semblance to increase her velocity. Jaune bit his lip. An internal struggle raged inside his soul as he struggled to move. He wasn't backing down, but he wasn't summoning Excalibur either. A predicament. Excalibur was out, and so, too, was Shooting Star. Both might damage her too much, but his time was running thin. Fist forming, his heart skipped a beat—the unnamed Aura sphere! Might be his only technique and chance left, but he was at a crossroads. He hadn't a clue to what might happen if he hit her with that sphere, more so with her body cloaked in Aura.
Tch!
He freed his fist and moved. No more time left—not with Pyrrha only a foot away—and he thrust his palm forward with an Aura sphere condensing in the center, meeting the brunt of her weapon head-on. Like a fiery explosion of Dust, the Aura collided with the metal in a blinding collision, and he noticed her lack of Aura pushed into her weapon. Huh? She suppressed her instinct to add Aura to her blade.
Thank Monty for small miracles.
Aura versus metal, metal against Aura! Blazing heat scorched the metal of Miló, trying to rip and shred away the alloy with a torrent of incomprehensible energy. Muscles strained to overpower the other. Partners yelled. Moments later the sphere condensed in his hand, imploding almost before a surge of captured power burst and trapped them in an orb of white-inducing light, and within that light, he felt his Aura rage all around them, focused directly on Pyrrha's blade.
Boom!
Nora ducked her head behind Ren's back to avoid the assortment of dust traveling in the air from the tremendous blast. Ren merely used his Aura to protect his eyes from the oncoming dust, only marginally narrowing his field of vision. Within the dome of white, he saw his leader's Aura sphere break through Pyrrha's weapon, inching closer to her frozen body, but then the speeding dust became too much for him to handle.
Grabbing Nora, he lunged to the other side of the boulder they sat on, waiting for the smoke to clear with his body shielding her from any debris. Nora, during the intense struggle, temporarily huddled up close to Ren, no longer finding the fight any fun. She only wanted her two friends to stop and make up!
The explosion eventually settled down, and Nora was the first to poke her head above the rock, trying her darn hardest to peer into the small crater across from them. Her fingers scratched the boulder when a tiny rock bounced on the top of her head. Ren was too busy rubbing dust out of his eyes to notice.
"Do you think they're okay, Ren?"
"If they aren't... I'm not the one who's going to tell Professor Goodwitch."
She turned her attention to him, blinking once. "Did you just make a joke?"
"... We should go check on them." Ren poked Nora on the cheek when she tried to stop him.
They only moved about three steps from the rock when they spotted a figure standing in the smoky crater, barely able to stand on their own two feet.
...
Ugh!
Opening his eyes, the first thing Jaune saw from his temporary blackout was Pyrrha standing over him with the broken remains of Miló, pointed directly at his face. Small burn marks from the Aura explosion littered her body, more prominent on her outstretched arm with pinkish skin. The Arc blinked. Her Space was lower, most of her bloody Aura suffered damage, and her body trembled from the aftermath of the blast with quivering shoulders and imbalanced feet, but she still stood over his defeated form with Miló's burnt edges hovering over his neck, not Excalibur over hers.
Victory belonged to his partner.
Pyrrha coughed. The heat within this crater burned her skin and made her throat dry. She lifted what remained of her weapon, smiling weakly at the charcoal remains of Miló, unable to stop the shaking of her hand. Even without any Aura added to her blade, it still broke? How disappointing.
"So you're not a liar?" Dropping the remains of Miló, she began to lose some consciousness but managed to keep her wits intact. "That's... good. I'm glad."
She moved beside him and fell flat on her bottom, remaining awake, smiling even at her defeated partner. Posture was weak, and every once in a while her pupils dilated, but she managed to hold it together. The burns on her skin helped, something to preoccupy her. Like that burning sensation that came from each burn mark on her body—the ones on her hands—that made it somewhat difficult to pass out from exhaustion. So she inspected her delicate skin and winced upon poking a sensitive spot. Without her adrenaline, it was hard not to notice, but easy to ignore if she tried, like a sunburn. Plus her Aura did little to stop the constant pain.
Like a sunburn.
Meanwhile, Jaune sat up, busy with injuries of his own. Most of them were scratches and bruises, some deep and others painful to the touch, damage caused all by his partner, but he lacked burns. Not to say he wasn't sore, because he was, all over his body. He felt his Aura reserves dripping to the low side. Excalibur didn't drain Aura which helped immensely compared to the ever consuming Shooting Star, unnamed Aura ball technique, and physical confrontation of Pyrrha's fist and his face. By all means, he wasn't entirely drained like yesterday—something he wished to avoid like the plague—but he was downright exhausted, and his body ached all over.
It took a long time before he managed to get his breathing under control. He felt his remaining Aura slowly but steadily repairing the damage done to his body. If he wasn't guessing, he might have possibly cracked a rib from the shock of the explosion, but compared to his partner, he was the one worse off. She wasn't tired exactly, only more concerned with the burn marks on her hand. Not a problem he could relate with since his Aura didn't scorch his skin.
The leader sighed. Staring at a cloudless sky with a dipping sun was nice, but he had to stand up. Grunting, he pressed his hands into the dirt and struggled to move with his muscles protesting between each joint that bent or turned, but he had to get up or risk waiting for his Aura to run dry repairing all the damage done to his body, but when it became apparent that wasn't going to happen, he stopped. No point in fighting the impossible. Better to wait until his Aura healed him just enough than have Nora and Ren carry him back to the dorm. Once was enough!
As soon as his muscles stopped stabbing him with twisted knives and switched it up to Nora's syrup-free fork, he couldn't jump up fast enough, willing his Aura to stop treatment before he hit zero. Now with that out of the way, he turned to his sitting partner with a rare glare and couldn't wait to hear her reasoning for this fight.
He breathed, blowing a stray strand of hair away from his nose. Mindlessly he rubbed away specks of dust from his arms and legs. "Fine, you win. You mind telling me what this was all about now? I'd appreciate it."
Meeting his glare, she joined him with her working adrenaline blocking out the burns. Even stranger, she smiled softly at her clueless leader. "Sure."
Her open tone threw him in a loop, but her sudden smile unnerved him entirely. He wasn't expecting her to switch shifts so suddenly and beam at him after the battle they just fought. No. He also hadn't anticipated her to stand up so readily. She was made of some tough stuff—four-time Mistral Regional Tournament champion stuff.
"I will admit that I was angry that you lied to me—to all of us." Pyrrha silenced him with a finger to his lips. "But I was also mad and hurt that you couldn't trust us enough to show us your improvement. I was really worried about your safety for the Vytal Tournament since you've made no progress in training. Do you know how much I worried? How worthless I felt for not being able to train you to your fullest potential? I didn't want to see you get hurt, or worse!" Pyrrha hiccuped with her voice breaking a little and his anger withering. "But then I learn that this entire time you've always had this strength hidden. And at first, I felt happy... overjoyed even. But then I felt betrayed. Did you even need me? Or was I just a burden for—?!"
Before she could finish, he grabbed and pulled her into a Nora-level hug with his face buried into her shoulder and arms holding her close. "I'm sorry, Pyrrha. I didn't know you were worrying this much. I'm sorry."
She slowly returned the hug, laughing into his muddied hoodie. Pyrrha adopted one of those eyes-closed smiles with her words partially mumbled between the threads of his clothing. "It's alright. I'm just glad that you have indeed gotten stronger. I don't have to worry anymore."
"And cutting your shield in half didn't prove that?"
She shook her head. "You were just as surprised as I was. If you had known, then it would've been different."
"You know I could've seriously hurt you back there with my sword not letting your Aura heal you and junk." Jaune remembered, confused at her persistence to continue on fighting. "What was all that about back there?"
She was grateful he couldn't see the blush hidden in his shoulder. "I will admit it was stubborn pride that pushed me, but!" Pyrrha added, this time looking him squarely in the eyes. "I also admit that it's my responsibility as your partner, and friend, to make sure you were ready for the tournament."
He forcefully had to break the hug and ruin the moment. "Other than the lying, was there any other reason you were mad?"
She looked away. "Yes, there's another."
"What else—?"
"Fearless Leader!" A speeding Nora tackled him from behind and glomped onto his back, now using him as a temporary tree like Ren. Tiny arms wrapped snugly around his neck, choking the life out of him with affection. Cosmic payback achieved. Poor Jaune could barely support her weight with his sore muscles. "What was that cool explosion thing you just did?"
Ren came to the rescue and pried the excited Nora off his back with the help of Aura. He offered him a silent thanks and then plucked Nora off Ren's hand, held her up, and checked for damages to his now sore neck. Pyrrha hid her amusement behind her burned palm with a teasing grin, and the leader finally realized why Ren rarely spoke, and if he did, with a low voice, if the soreness in his neck, and Nora's rambunctiousness, were any at all connected.
Signs pointed to yes.
Troubling thoughts aside, he coughed, already planning more revenge ideas for the trickster of the team. She neither cared or sensed trouble, fidgeting in his grip and using his hand as a swing of sorts by hovering back and forth in delight. The pearly whites of her not-so-innocent smile fooled no one.
"So... what was that awesome explosion?!"
His lips thinned, eyes following.
Releasing her—which did nothing in stopping her from invading his bubble—he formed an adequate Aura ball in his palm, letting her soak in the sheer awesomeness of a simple Aura technique. Lucky for her this didn't dip to low in his reserves, barely. Any more, maybe two, and they would have a repeat of yesterday.
"That was my Aura ball crashing into something." Jaune explained, moving away from his team to strike the rock that Ren and Nora had sat on, and the stone exploded into a million pieces of rubble, which, sadly enough, he could count. "See?"
"I know that, silly!" Nora waved and moved to get a closer look at another Aura sphere he formed, except this one was smaller. "I mean what's its name, what do you call that attack?"
He blinked and tilted his head absently at the sphere. "I don't have a name for it."
"What?!" Nora once again invaded his bubble, gripping his hand with the Aura ball with such curiosity that it put cats to shame. "How could you not have a name for something so amazing! It's wrong! You should be ashamed!"
"Hey! I couldn't think of one, okay? It's not as easy as it sounds."
Pouting her lips in concentration, she stared at him and then down at the glowing sphere in his hand. She invariably twisted her head to get a different look at a traditional ball—not the most controversial method—acting like there was some hidden clue to her dumb leader had missed. The Arc glanced over to Ren for an act of guidance, but he was busy overlooking his partner's injuries with a tiny first aid kit, so he was stuck allowing Nora to do what Nora's did. Which included studying a perfect sphere for faulty imperfections and—wait a minute! Where did he get a first aid kit? Nora then attempted to poke the orb, but he slapped her hand away. Right, never mind, a dumb question.
A minute passed before she shook his palm. "Can I name it?"
"You want to... name it?"
Turquoise gems gleamed like diamonds. "Yeah! Please!"
A mouth opened to answer, then shut closed. Hn? He thought about it, doing all he could to ignore her carnivorous smile. Glancing down at the unnamed Aura ball, he frowned. Calling it the unnamed Aura attack was becoming quite the mouthful, anyway, and Nora's imagination ran rampant compared to his. It wasn't like he had a list of names rolling off his tongue, so why the hell not?
"Fine." Jaune agreed but glared, knowing her too well. "But if it's stupid, I'm not keeping it."
"You got it!" Nora saluted with that grin far from innocent. Silly Jaune, names were easy. "Now shut up and let me think! Hmm?" She hummed thoughtfully with her tongue out, eyes too shiny to be anything but good. "Well, first, when you and Pyrrha crashed, your Aura ball grew small and then... Burst! Like, like, like a supernova!
"Supernova?"
"Yeah!" Nora agreed with herself. "Call it that! Call it Supernova!"
The Arc paused and looked down at the floating ball of Aura. Some resemblance of a supernova was there. It was bright like one and did explode or burst as Nora so eloquently put it. At least he safely assumed that was what a supernova looked and did. He hardly paid any attention when Doctor Oobleck went over stars and junk. Not his strong suit, unlike Nora supposedly. Still, weird interests aside, it beat the unnamed Aura ball attack any day.
"Burst... Supernova?" Jaune grinned at the name and slowly absorbed the sphere. "Sounds good to me."
"Awesome!" Nora cheered by throwing up her hands. She attempted another poke of Supernova, but he quickly willed it away. "Awww!"
"Sorry, Nora." Jaune's grin grew, revenge was his. "Can't let you touch that. You saw what it did to Pyrrha and me in that... burst. It's not something you wanna mess with."
Nora pouted with full cheeks. Before she could complain about how unfair their Fearless Leader was being, Ren strolled over, looking Jaune once over for injury. Pyrrha followed with her side patched up, hand bandaged, aloe applied to burnt skin, and a sloth band-aid over the cut on her cheek. She put pressure more on one leg than the other, wincing between steps, but she smiled in a moderately light manner. Well, he assumed so, since he knew next to nothing the scope of damage of getting caught by Supernova's explosion could be. Such oddities he needed to learn and catalog. Another time, for now, he was focused on something else than his partner's impressive resolve.
Did Ren always carry around medical supplies? The first aid he believed since he half-expected band-aids for cuts and bruises, being Nora's childhood friend and all, but not the aloe for sunburns or bandages for wounds, and why wasn't Pyrrha surprised? Did she already know? How come no one told him anything? A Fearless Leader such as himself should know this!
"Speaking of the explosion, I'm surprised it didn't do more damage to you." Ren calmly pulled at the fabric of his hoodie, checking for any damage. Hardly any. "As far as I can tell, there's no burn marks anywhere on you."
The Aura user shrugged, smiling lazily. "My Aura doesn't hurt me, believe me, I've tried. Look!" Holding out his arm, he demonstrated by forming Excalibur and tried to cut his arm—tried being the keyword. The sword merely collided with his skin, bounced off, unable to cut his flesh. He even attempted to saw off his hand. Nothing worked. "See? Nothing. Totally safe—well, for me anyway."
Ren accepted the answer, but something still bugged him. "So why haven't you just added Aura to Crocea Mors if you're so much better with Aura than without it?"
An honest question deserved an honest shrug. "Tried that too, but can't. Darn sword rejects Aura. I wish I knew why, but I don't. I've tried a few times and nope! Nothing."
"Ah! Who cares about why Jaune's sword can't take Aura? Boring!" Nora fussed, hugging Ren from behind. He cared but doubted his opinion mattered anymore. "Our leader's got his shiny sword to fight with and that wonderful gun! Oh! Oh! And Supernova! It's all smooth sailing from here on out."
Ren blinked. "Supernova?"
"I let Nora name my Aura ball attack."
"... Ah."
"Exactly!" Nora seized Jaune's hand and growled. "Now make another one!"
Ren's lips tugged upward as Nora pulled Jaune's arm in an attempt to force him to create another Supernova. Never a dull moment. He briefly offered Pyrrha's injuries a casual glare before looking past her where the broken remains Miló and Akoúo̱ rested. Dark thoughts haunted the man, but his leader had his hands full entertaining their ball of sugar, so the job of rationally was left to him.
"While we're on the topic of weapons?" Ren pointed to Pyrrha. "What are you going to do about yours?"
The struggling pair ended their little fight to watch Pyrrha look back at where the remains of her weapons laid. A sense of guilt struck the leader in the heart. Destroying Akoúo̱ and Miló was an unfortunate accident. Excalibur, Shooting Star, and Supernova have taught him the importance of one's weapon. Weapons defined a person. All of them were precious to someone. He hated to think what would his life be like without Excalibur by his side.
"I don't know." Pyrrha hated the sight of what was most likely the graveyard for Miló and Akoúo̱. An invincible girl's shoulders slumped. "I'll think of something."
A moment of silence stilled the air, but Nora grabbed her by the arm and began dragging her butt out of Emerald Forest. "Hey, cheer up! Of course, you'll think of something! And Ren and I can help you build a new design."
"What about Jaune?"
"Eh? He could watch!"
The Arc almost took offense to that if, and only if, Nora wasn't right, but she was right. Eh? His mouth tasted chalky. Excalibur and the rest of his arsenal were all Aura based, nothing mechanical about them. Sure he had Crocea Mors, but a sword was simple in design. A stick with a sharp end and handle. He couldn't be of any help to his partner when it came to exact weaponry. Machinery, momentum, physics, design, and science mumbo-jumbo eluded him. Besides, the sun was setting. The time to head back to their dorm was now before any Grimm showed up due to the raw emotion around them.
The fact that only an Ursa Major showed up honestly surprised him. More would have made sense considering the ordeal. Battlefield plus angry partner and worried teammates equaled negativity, yet only one tried to attack them. A pity. He enjoyed shooting Grimm through the stomach with Shooting Star.
Scratching the side of his face, he grinned indolently, following right behind them. Ren hovered next to his fellow male, calm as ever. A few steps went with Nora gushing over some explosive-type of mechanic to add to Pyrrha's new weapon before he peeked over his shoulder to where his partner's armaments rusted. Hn? Something hardly made sense to him, Jaune only knew one of person who made sense of mad.
"Hey, Ren? Something's been bugging me."
"And that would be?"
"It's weird. I guess... I don't know." Jaune rambled and waved his hand in circles. "Shouldn't Pyrrha be a little mad since I destroyed her weapons? I mean, I did kind of hurt her in that fight, a lot. And she's taking all this surprisingly well considering she's supposed to be some champion. I know Weiss would be angry as heck if this happened to her."
Ren said nothing and concentrated on the question. Serious thought-process went into this issue. He reflected the moment to watch Pyrrha fail at calming down Nora. A pointless endeavor, but she still smiled and laugh alongside his childhood friend, burns easy to ignore with her bandaged appearance showing a softer side of the Invincible Girl.
"It's probably nice to lose for a change."
"But she won that fight?"
A sideways glance, a hand rested on a shoulder. "Pyrrha's always been in control. And although that might sound like an ideal experience, it can become quite taxing on someone over time. Maybe it's nice to lose and not be in control for once?"
"That doesn't really make much sense." Jaune deadpanned.
Ren poked him on the shoulder. "Then let me ask you this, Fearless Leader. Having all that power hidden from us; were you happy? Or did it consume you to the point that it hurt to lie to us? So I ask you again, were you happy?"
"Those..." Jaune faltered. Denying that claim didn't sound right. "Are two different things."
"They may be different, but they both still revolve around the same idea. Power." Ren smoothly countered, resting his hands in his pockets. "What's the point of having all the power in the world, if you have no one to share it with, Jaune? Being invincible separates you from others, traps you in a sea of loneliness. Losing for her must've made her feel normal again."
Looking away, the leader stared up into the drifting sky with the wind blowing between their feet. A setting sun shined off their hair, and blue eyes shared a kinship with pink. Not all of what Ren said made sense to him, but he understood the context of it all.
"How do you know so much? What's your secret?" Jaune waited for an answer equivalent to the mystery of the observable universe.
He received nothing close to that.
Ren's feet stopped following Nora. Those pink eyes glared intently at the blue ones. "You try living with Nora your whole life with her constant questioning and not have the answers." A miserable sigh slipped on by, and he rubbed his neck tenderly. "Trust me, Jaune. You want to have the answers or else the questions never stop." Jaune nodded numbly to Ren's sudden outburst. His feet started moving again. "Now it's my turn to ask a question. Why aren't you mad at Pyrrha for lying about your progress in training? These few months have been nothing but stressful for both of you."
Jaune grinned and caught up to the retreating Lie. An easy answer. "Meh, I'm not big on the whole holding grudges thing. Besides, she never stopped training me, even after learning I wasn't improving. She never gave up on me. How can I stay mad at a person like that?"
Ren broke down the answer. He cast a glance toward an impatient Nora who pulled a resistant Pyrrha to their room. The familiar scene demanded a soft smile. Even after all the years of irregular morning wake-up calls, excessive pancake runs, overexcited banter, and elusive dream tales that came with being Nora Valkyrie's childhood friend, the Lie had never once looked back or repented any of his choices.
Nothing in the world was worth more than Nora's company.
Answering his question with harmonious silence, the remaining trip back to the dorm was almost entirely Nora filled until Pyrrha abruptly stopped and pointed at her partner with a look of determination only matched by the smoldering craters in her eyes.
Great, this couldn't be good.
"Next time we fight, Jaune, I'll know what to expect." Pyrrha's fist burned in anticipation. "Be ready."
Her leader wasn't as enthusiastic. "Great."
...
The sun was halfway down the horizon by the time they entered their dorm, illuminating the room in a soft glow of orange. Jaune hadn't noticed his most of his wounds healing, but Ren had. Scratch marks, bruises, and gashes all gone!
Strange.
Nora being Nora jumped first into the room and plopped right down onto Ren's neatly made bed. Jumping once for good measure, she crumpled the sheets and sprawled all over the mattress. None of them reacted, not even the clean Ren, but her enthusiasm was far from clenched.
"So! You said you could see Aura? How does that work?"
Jaune sat on his bed with a raised brow. The dirt from his skin came off with a few wipes before staring up at the ceiling and fighting the irrational urge to count dust particles. "Eh, I don't really know. When I'm using my Aura, I can just see anyone else using their Aura. That's how it works."
Nora leaned over the edge of Ren's bed, grin growing. "Really? What does mine look like, here, I'll use my Aura!"
He stopped counting the floating specks and concentrated on his dimming Aura levels to view Nora's Aura. Nothing from her Aura shape changed since the last time he saw it. Still the same turquoise, bubbly Aura he saw yesterday, and her Space was mighty as ever, only less intense.
"Yours is a mix of green and blue and is very bubbly. Ren's is pink and very calm while Pyrrha's is reddish and very fierce." Jaune added. "I can even see when someone is using their Semblances, like what Ren did to Ruby's weapon—which I have yet to figure out how you did that by the way."
Ren sat beside Nora. "I thought you said you could see Semblances?"
The leader went back to staring at the ceiling. "I can see them, but I'm still stuck figuring them out. Like I did with Pyrrha, but you could save me a lot of trouble and tell me right now, Ren?"
Silence.
"Nope."
Then it shattered.
"... I hate you sometimes you know that?"
Casually overlooking their fussy leader, Ren fell back onto his bed with Nora falling beside him. Another tug of his lips, one that only Nora saw, lightened his mood and Jaune scoffed at her devilish giggle. Why couldn't Monty give him a break?
He yawned with the bed dipping. His eyes slide over to see Pyrrha watching him from the corner of his bed. Another yawned emerged, and he sat up. "What's up, Pyrrha."
Her lips impossibly thinned. The burning sensations from her partner's Aura abilities had finally dissipated, but she felt the cut hiding beneath the band-aid. Her mouth opened, then closed just as fast. The process happened a few more times before finally finding the semi-perfect words.
"So... you don't use your ancestor's sword anymore?"
"Not really." Jaune cast his sights underneath the darkness of his bed, leaned down, and pulled out Crocea Mors. "Only when we're sparring or in Professor Goodwitch's class. I don't think that's going to be a problem anymore. Other than combat class, I don't use this my family's blade anymore. It doesn't feel right in my hands, so I've kind of stopped using it."
He handed the sword to his partner to hold, and her impassiveness turned into a frown upon touching the forgotten metal. Cold, dense, and opposite to Excalibur in every way, but a distinct piece of craftsmanship, and to be pushed underneath—ugh! The eeriness left a bitter taste in his mouth, and he wasn't sure what that meant, but then she gripped the sword with shaky fingers and depressing words. A heart turned to stone.
Her grimace grew as she looked up at him. "So you've abandoned your sword?"
The way she said it caught him off-guard. So dull, so direct, so simple. It almost churned the contents in his stomach for discarding Crocea Mors, but he had already given this decision much thought in the previous months, so it only stung a bit. Excalibur and all the Aura burning dutifully in his body only reinforced his belief.
"I never abandoned my sword... it was just never mine, to begin with." Jaune said with absolute. No going back. "Crocea Mors belonged to my great-great-grandfather, not me. It deserves to be in the hands of someone who could wield it to its fullest potential, but that's not me."
Fullest potential? Her fingers tightened around the dusty steel, feeling a kinship and sympathy for the forgotten sword. His answer made sense, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Craftsmanship of this quality deserved to be wielded, not discarded. Her partner must have thought so too with his nose pinching. Probably hated himself for saying such a thing. She could tell that the coldness of his tone struck a knife in his heart.
Good to know it wasn't an easy decision.
Rubbing his forehead with a finger, he calmly observed the way Pyrrha gripped Crocea Mors with tender care. She cherished the blade in a way he never could. It seemed to fit perfectly in her skilled hands. She would at the very least know how to blend her style of fighting and mesh it well with the sword.
Actually?
Now that he thought it over, even if Crocea Mors was dense and rejected Aura, she had the solution to both those problems. A Semblance that controlled metal should have little trouble making it weigh as light as a feather. Adding Aura to the blade wouldn't be an issue with her need to bend her Semblance into the alloy. Crocea Mors already didn't need any extra durability since the weapon was built to last.
His eyes flickered to the way she scratched the handle. Yes, he had an idea, a crazy and out-of-the-box idea, but one that might help his current weaponless partner.
"You know... if you want, you can use Crocea Mors as long as you need it." Jaune absently offered while not knowing the weight of his words. "If you're okay with that?"
Her head turned so fast that it amazed him that none of her hair whipped him across the face. The feeble eyes she shot at him hit each nerve without trying, like she had the worst decision on deciding whether or not to be happy, sad, mad, or all of the above.
"Are you sure, Jaune?"
Grinning, he reached down and pulled out the shield from under the bed as well. "Sure! Here! It even comes with a shield. All you're missing now is a gun."
Pyrrha's tongue kept her from talking, so Ren filled the void. "Our semester's about to end soon. Vacation's just around the corner. With that free time, you could use Jaune's sword until the semester's over and then build yourself a new weapon during the break."
"And your new weapon can be even better than your last one! Nora added, shaking Ren. "Maybe this time you could add a flamethrower or something that shoots out lightning? How about grenades? You can't go wrong with grenades?"
"Nora? Wouldn't a flamethrower or grenade launcher be a bit too much?"
Nora poked his nose. "Pssh, Ren! That's nowhere near enough! Weiss' pointy weapon uses more stuff than that." Pausing, he calmly booped Nora on the nose, unable to fault her logic. "Hey! No fair!"
A booping war raged between the two with Ren expertly dodging all attempts. Nora, however, fell victim to an onslaught of them and left Pyrrha alone to stare down at the historic blade in her hands. She found herself able to breathe once more. She was no longer weaponless. Crocea Mors, a gift from their leader, shined for her. The budding smile was impossible to fend off.
"Very well." Pyrrha accepted, clutching the sword firmer. "That sounds wonderful. I'll do it. Thank you, Jaune."
"Yeah! Go team us! We're so going to kick butt in the Vytal Tournament! Your new weapon is going to bring everyone down to their knees! Oh? And we have Jaune, too." Nora jumped on Ren's bed and pumped her fist into the air. "No one's going to know what hit them!"
Jaune awkwardly laughed at the mention of the Vytal Tournament, having been reminded of a crucial fact. "Actually, guys, speaking of the Vytal Tournament, there's something I have to tell you."
"And what would that be?" Ren asked.
The leader of Team JNPR stood up and handed the shield to his partner. He rubbed his neck and couldn't stop the heavy emotions from weighing him down. Ha! Guess the team meeting he wanted was happening after all. Only issue was how to bring up the problem without starting a panic. The beginning would probably be the best, no beating around the bush.
Not anymore.
"Before I went to Vale yesterday..." Jaune looked out the window, toward the setting sun from across Beacon's courtyard. "I had this meeting with Headmaster Ozpin."
Author Notes: Rewritten.
