CHAPTER 5: TRAINING LIKE IT'S COOL

Remnant

City of Vale

November 10th,

80 Years After the Great War

Normally, Jaune did no training on Sunday and if he did, he never did more than a light workout or some mild sparring with Pyrrha. He certainly hadn't been planning on any sort of training today, but there was a reason he was making an exception this time around and it was all because of him.

As the weakest freshman at Beacon Academy, the leader of Team JNPR was now constantly seeking new ways to improve himself. Whatever he could take he would embrace with open arms because as far as he was concerned, getting to the level of his peers took priority. He had already wasted more than enough time being a lone wolf. While Pyrrha had certainly been improving his technique and his finesse by leaps and bounds, he wanted to explore more avenues of combative evolution.

He remembered that Penny claimed to be able to fight and while he felt slightly dubious about that claim, he couldn't deny that he was curious to see if she was telling the truth. If he was being honest, her appearance didn't give off the impression that she was a fighter of any kind, much less a huntress in training. That being said, the first handshake they had ever exchanged indicated that she had some strength behind those limbs. Perhaps that was the reason he was willing to consider her as a training partner.

With nothing to do on Sunday, Jaune decided to see if his orange-haired companion would be willing to help him out. In hindsight, it seemed rude of him to think that she didn't have anything going on today. Usually, Sunday was reserved for relaxation or other private matters. For him to just casually ask her if he was willing and able to help him with his problem was a bit presumptuous, at least in his eyes. Surprisingly enough, she wasn't the least bit put off by his request to train. In fact, she was ecstatic about the prospect because apparently, any time spent with him was valuable to her, she said.

For the knight, that made him feel less guilty about having her come out today. He wondered if Penny was doing this out of a sense of obligation. She could've had plans of her own, but those thoughts were dashed when he saw her smile. For all of his concerns about today's circumstances, he couldn't possibly deny that charming expression. Instead, he dedicated his efforts to making sure that they both gained something from this experience.

Thankfully, finding a place to do some training wasn't all that hard. Since most people seemed to favor being indoors, there were plenty of open places to training with the local park. In favor of not being overly serious about this effort, Jaune opted not to bring his weapons or wear any armor. It would simply be a hand-to-hand training exercise because apparently, the girl with green eyes was good at that.

So here they were warming up before getting down to the business at hand, or at least he was. She merely waited for him to get ready. Both of them were dressed appropriately for a workout.

"Are you sure that you don't want to warm up?" Jaune asked her. "It's actually really good for you, especially if you're working your body physically."

"I assure you that it is alright." Penny nodded. "I am not likely to experience any negative side effects after this spar."

"Alright." Jaune decided to trust in her, continuing to warm up. "So, I don't know anything about unarmed combat, so you're going to have to lead me through this. How do you start?"

"A solid physical foundation and a thorough understanding of the fundamentals is critical." Penny explained. "Without both, it will be more difficult to advance."

"Got it." Jaune listened carefully while finishing up. "What do we start with today?"

"In order for me to properly assess the full extent of your strengths, we will need to test your physical capacity." Penny said. "I will need to work you to exhaustion."

"Okay." Jaune straightened his posture and turned to her. "What's that look like?"

"Well, in the spirit of my home, the Kingdom of Atlas, I believe a fitness test is in orders." Penny proudly declared. "We call it the Combat Fitness Test. There is one condition: aura is not permitted."

"Right." Jaune nodded. "I almost never use aura for any of my training."

"That is a good thing." Penny praised him. "Having a stronger physical baseline will improve your overall combat effectiveness."

"Yeah, so where do we start?" Jaune faced her. "This sounds like a multi-event thing?"

"We will begin with a two-mile run." Penny declared energetically. "Follow my lead and we should cover that distance exactly. I will also be timing us. A minimum passing score is twenty-one minutes."

While the leader of Team JNPR was locked in, he was mentally reeling. Running had always been one of his weakest points when it came to training. Anything related to cardiovascular endurance was hard for him. When it came to other physical stuff like calisthenics and the likes, he was fairly good at those. Regardless, he squared himself away and prepared to run. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Once they began the run, it was clear to Jaune that his current partner was far superior to him. She moved at exactly the same speed that he did, slightly ahead of him and she didn't look to be out of breath or otherwise exhausted while he was starting to breath out of his mouth heavily when they were barely at the one-mile mark. What he wouldn't give to have even a fraction of awesome genes that would let him run forever without so much as breaking a sweat. That, and she had a good running form.

Alas, he pushed through and kept going.

Strangely enough, he managed to complete the two miles much faster than he expected. He anticipated a time barely on the passing side. To his surprise, he had managed eighteen minutes despite his collapse to the ground, flat on his back, breathing heavily. Penny allowed him to rest for a little bit before they moved on.

Next up was a hand-release push up, something that Jaune had never really done before. If he was to do push ups, he would have done so the traditional way. If anything, his initial impression of a hand-release pushup was that it was going to be easy. Then he did them and as he progressed, it got harder and harder. He made a mental note never to underestimate anything that looked easy on the surface.

Once he was done with those, his arms all but gave out on him and he relished in the rest time. Penny reminded him that the rest periods were segmented in a way that afforded him adequate recovery time. Frankly, all he cared about was that he was getting a chance to recover at all.

Next up was a leg tuck, essentially suspending oneself from a bar and tucking the legs to the elbows. Again, easy in concept, hard in execution. Fortunately, Jaune was able to get through this one relatively quickly. To make up for a lack of a pullup bar, they substituted with a sturdy tree branch.

Instead of his back being the focus, now he was working heavily on his abdominal muscles. The burn was real here. Although brief, he managed eleven.

The rest of the exercises passed in somewhat of a blur. Starting off in a workout was always the toughest part, but once the ball was rolling, it was just a matter of keeping up that momentum because when all was said and done, there would be a good feeling to all of this.

Jaune could feel his shirt soaking with sweat and he could feel himself taking so many breaths. He really was working himself to the bone just trying to do this. Apparently, he still had a long way to go physically speaking, even if he was much better than he was when he first got to Beacon Academy.

His pride was somewhat damaged by the fact that when Penny did all of this stuff, she was breezing through it all, but then again, she probably wasn't a fraud unlike him. She actually appeared extremely competent. Again, what he wouldn't give for some genes that could help him get an edge.

There was also the fact that as her friend, Jaune didn't want to disappoint her. He really was worrying about her perception of him. Maybe this stemmed from his more selfish desire to make himself look as good as possible. He could reason that he was just trying to make friendship look awesome to Penny, but there was always that selfish desire in him.

He shook his head. One thing at a time. He just needed to get through this Combat Fitness Test and then he could worry more about the particulars of his friendship with Penny.


RWBY - - - RWBY


Penny knew that as a synthetic, she was capable of surpassing the limits that humans and faunus would be unable to even touch. To be the savior of the world, she had to be stronger than everyone else. Her occupation demanded as much.

With that said, she was always continually impressed by the limits and boundaries that huntsmen and huntresses constantly pushed. No doubt that at this time, there were warriors on Remnant who were her superior in combat. In fact, there could be an argument made that even with her intended purpose being to be the ultimate weapon for Mankind, there might just be a person strong enough to surpass her no matter what she did.

When put into this perspective, even she had her limits.

Penny pondered on these thoughts as she observed Jaune go through the test she had given him. In actuality, this was not something she had come up with on her own. She was merely copying the Atlesian Army's Combat Fitness Test. This was a standard that all soldiers serving had to pass in order to be qualified to serve. As her blonde friend was rapidly learning, all of the exercises were easy by themselves, but when done over a long period of time, they became exponentially more difficult.

But the leader of Team JNPR was showing amazing mental endurance by persisting through these challenges despite not performing the exercises properly, but she had a feeling that with a little more time, he would perfect them. Her initial evaluation of his physical condition was pretty spot-on. He was above average.

In the interest of staying engaged with Jaune, the ginger-haired girl did the exact same workout as he did, predictably with much better results. She noticed a glum appearance every time she outperformed him, but he never said a word about it. She didn't like the idea that he wasn't telling her about something that was hurting him, but she wouldn't force him to speak unless his life was at risk.

And so they continued with the exercise until they reached the end of the test and the boy stopped to take his final rest. He sat down on a nearby park bench, hunched over and breathing heavily. Despite his exhaustion, nothing appeared wrong with him physically speaking. After two minutes, she offered him a towel to dry off the sweat that had accumulated on his body. He accepted the gesture.

Penny watched his every move like she needed to do so. Even though he wasn't doing anything extraordinary, she regarded him with the same smile and the same attitude. He was her friend and she believed that it was important for friends to notice many details about him, big or small. This would show that she cared about him, that she was willing enough to take note of these things even when she wasn't necessarily obligated to do so.

The subject of her observation took no notice of her intense probing, only leveling out his breathing and drying himself out.

"That was a lot harder than I thought." Jaune finally said. "So, how'd I do? Good? Bad? Okay?"

"You were above average." Penny reported. "However brief your time at Beacon Academy, I believe this is what has helped you reach where you are now."

"I was hoping for better, but I'll take what I can get." Jaune quietly used his right hand to try and rearrange his hair. "But man, you're not even winded."

"I have been training for quite some time." Penny opted for an answer that hopefully sounded convincing. "I simply have more experience than you do."

"Yeah, you've got a point there." Jaune agreed with her. "Well, I hope that things get better from here."

"I believe that you will become far greater by the time the Vyal Festival comes around." Penny encouraged him. "I have nothing but faith in your abilities."

Jaune laughed momentarily. "Thanks."

One thing that the synthetic noticed about him was that he was content to talk about a lot of things, do a lot of things, but aside from the first time that they met, he appeared unable or unwilling to talk about what he felt inside. Then again, male biology and societal expectations might also be part of the reason. There was also a sense of pride added into that mix. Regardless, she wished he would open up more.

But that meant she needed to be more inviting and that was where she stumbled a bit. By her own nature, Penny knew every single thing there was to know about the military. Combat, strategies, tactics, classified information, a lot of things. Unfortunately, there was nothing in her programming that told her how to be a better friend. Therefore, she was having to make up her own line of reasoning with what she had.

Naturally, Penny's programming led her right back to her function as a weapon of mass destruction. That was what she knew best and that was what she could impart onto Jaune. It helped that his eagerness to learn as well as his requirements for Beacon Academy coincided with her intended function. She had worried that their atypical outing would leave much to be desired in his eyes, but the blonde had asked her first. That made this all the more easier for her.

The question was how long could she keep doing this with him. As much as she enjoyed spending time with him, training with him might be a bit much in terms of her obligations to the military. While she had not disclosed any sensitive information knowingly and willingly, she did have some concerns that her teaching him might bring trouble down upon herself and her father by extension. She could muster up the strength to deal with any sort of punishment, but Pietro Polendina was another story. She loved the man and she did not wish any harm to befall upon him. He had already given so much just to give her life.

But that was simply the nature of things. In the military, the mission always mattered more than anything else. Civilians might not understand that reality, but that was the universal reality for all service members of any armed force. It was not something that everyone relished, but it was respected and followed. This life wasn't for everyone; there was a reason why a vast majority of the world were non-combatants.

"Jaune, I have an unusual question for you." Penny wondered if maybe her friend could help her understand her fears. "Would you please listen?"

"Of course. Anytime." Jaune gave her his full attention. "Ask away."

"This is a strictly hypothetical question, mind you." Penny started off. "Imagine that you are in a combat situation that demands you make a choice. Say your team was at risk of losing their lives, but you also had a critical mission to complete that affects hundreds, maybe thousands of lives. What would you choose?"

"What would I do in a situation like that?" Jaune's eyes widened and he took a deep breath in and out. "Honestly, I've never thought about if I'll ever be in a situation like that, but maybe I should. I mean, I'm trying to become a huntsman."

Freelance huntsmen and huntresses were fortunate enough to be able to determine their own fates. Although they were licensed by the governments of the four kingdoms, they got to choose their jobs and all the risks and rewards that came with those jobs. The outcomes of each mission were determined solely by their preparations, their morals, and their overall skill in combat. Higher powers had much less of an influence.

"I ask because I may be expected to make a difficult choice in the future during my time with the Atlas Military." Penny explained her reason for asking the question. "I thought that obtaining another opinion on the matter could assist me."

"Ah, I get it." Jaune regarded her. "Well, it's a tough choice, that's for sure, but if I had to make a choice between my team and the mission, I would say my team."

Penny had her answer, but she needed more. "Why?"

"I don't know all that much about saving lives or saving the world, but I do know what my team is capable of." Jaune stared at the distant outline of Beacon Academy. "Being able to manage them is the most important job that I have. If I can't even take care of them, how can I expect to decide the fate of a hundred or a thousand strangers?"

"Then… you would choose your friends over everyone else?" Penny tried to clarify his words.

"I wouldn't word it like that." Jaune shook his head. "It's more like… I first need to make sure that Team JNPR is in working order. Once I know that my team can do their jobs, then I can focus on saving lives."

When he phrased it like that, she could make sense of his meaning.

Personal responsibility needed to be addressed first before helping others.


RWBY - - - RWBY


After a break of ten minutes, Jaune felt ready to take on a new challenge. To be more specific, he wanted to see what Penny was capable of in combat. Being as impatient as he was, he requested a spar from her.

Admittedly, he should have made this request at a different time. He knew nothing about what she could do and he had already drained a lot of his own energy doing her test, but his ambitious side demanded that challenge himself more. He reasoned to himself that the only way to get better was to keep pushing the limits. As long as he was injured seriously, anything at all was fair game so long as he got better.

The ginger-haired girl showed some initial reluctance to stress his body out too much, but after some persistence and some persuasion, he got her to agree. There were conditions, however. The spar would only last five minutes and aura wasn't allowed to be used aside from its passive ability to absorb damage. The time limit in particular was kind of a letdown, but he was the one asking her, so he respected her conditions.

When they got into position, Jaune immediately began to assess his opponent. In addition to the classes that he took with his team at Beacon Academy, he had to go through additional leadership courses as well as training. One thing that was emphasized heavily in leadership was to always be mindful of everything going on around him. Details mattered and depending on what he paid attention to, it could mean the difference between an excellent outcome or a horrible outcome. It all came down to his ability to figure out what mattered the most and what was just noise.

Immediately the Leader of Team JNPR took note of her stance. It looked like she knew something about unarmed combat. While it wasn't a style that Yang would favor, it certainly did have the markings of a more advanced technique. Being a close quarters combatant himself, he was especially aware of the smaller details like how her feet were placed, what side she favored, where her hands were, and how her body was positioned relative to the rest of her. If she was a high-level fighter, he was never going to beat her. The best that he could hope for was a stalemate.

Jaune also could see that Penny was analyzing him as well. Her eyes trained on him, looking him up and down until she was satisfied. Then she faced him and looked him square in the eye. He regarded her with a carefully controlled expression. He wasn't sure what conclusions she had drawn of his capabilities, but better to maintain control rather than show anything that might give away his internal workings.

He was the first to make a move. He began with a more cautious and probing approach. Although he was not an unarmed combatant, he did know a thing or two about grappling. Whenever he saw Yang fight, he took note of some techniques that he found to be useful and cool, but until right now, he had never actually used any of them in a spar or live combat. The fact that he could even remember and implement them was kind of amazing.

His first fist was a right hook, which she dodged with ease. When he sensed that she was moving to his left, he immediately backed off when she sent a kick meant for his abdomen. He miscalculated his retreat and lost his footing, falling to the ground. She immediately followed up by kneeling down to punch him. He grabbed her bawled hand, wrestling with her for maybe two seconds before tearing her away from himself.

Jaune got back up and regained some distance between himself and Penny. That brief encounter was enough for him to get an idea about what to expect next. Making the first move didn't work in his favor, but he knew now not to be so hasty in his attacks. She was likely to capitalize on his inexperience in this arena.

Her recovery time was quick and she moved to attack him. She began with a series of jabs, which he blocked using his arms, trying to keep as few exposed spots away from her as possible. His defenses didn't last for long as he neglected to watch what her legs were doing and she delivered a roundhouse kick, of all things, to his side. That was enough to stagger him and he had no time to react as she delivered another punch, this one connecting.

Aura was a great tool, but that didn't change the fact that the impact hurt like hell and he fell onto his side. The pain was temporary and he instinctively rolled to his right. The one rule of combat was to always remain mobile even in a disadvantageous position. Staying in one place for an extended period of time was a death sentence. Jaune could see out of the corner of his eyes as her foot came down to try and hit him. Rising to his feet, he went in.

Penny narrowly avoided his next strike and casually stuck at the back of his head as he sailed by her. He was able to save himself from falling again, but the distraction was enough for her to tackle him to the ground. His attempts at trying to wrestle free from her grasp were stopped before they could even begin. Each of his limbs were pinned firmly to the ground. For a girl of her size, being this strong was unusual. It was like her grip was made of steel. She might even be comparable to Yang in that regard.

As much as he wished that he could fight back, there was no point. He was way out of his league and it wasn't even two minutes into their spar. His pride was feeling more than a little wounded, but what else was new?

"I yield." Jaune's muffled voice sounded.

"I have won!" Penny seemed happy with her victory.

"I'm glad that you're excited." Jaune tilted his head so that he could speak more clearly. "Man, the ground does not taste good."

He spit out a blade of grass that had gotten into his mouth. As much as he loved the ground that he walked on, he didn't love it enough to get down on his knees and kiss it. Yes, he preferred the earth as compared to the sky, but not like this.

"I'm sorry, Jaune." Penny noticed him below. "I was merely trying to make sure that you were subdued."

"I'm not THAT strong, Penny." Jaune commented from his embarrassing position below. "Look, watch."

In an attempt to show his training partner just how much room he had for improvement, the intent was to try and get himself up off the ground, only to struggle and then fall right back to the ground. That was what he had imagined would happen when he tried to lift himself up. What happened instead was that he found himself getting into a ready position for a pushup with Penny now relying on his entire body for support.

"You are strong enough to carry me on your back, Jaune!" Penny cheered him on. "You are not weak!"

"Okay, this is weird." Jaune struggled to keep himself straight. "I didn't know that I could do this."

And apparently, he couldn't do it for very long. Due to his physical exhaustion, his arms and legs couldn't support himself and the ginger above him. However, because his left arm gave out before his right arm, he rolled to his side mid-air, then landed on his back. The air in his lungs was knocked out upon impact. Then he felt his chest supporting weight and that hurt too. Now he was doubly winded.

"Ow." Jaune weakly uttered.

Penny gasped. "I am so sorry, Jaune!"

"No, it's fine." Jaune gathered his breath. "I'm just a little out of it."

It wasn't until he opened his eyes did he realize what had happened. Now that he was facing upward, she was now straddling him. One arm and one leg were on either side of him and if there was a vertical axis, their heads would be level with each other.

The first reaction that seemed expected was embarrassment. This position wasn't exactly appropriate for the park. It made them look like they were a couple or that they were about to do something really hot and steamy. Those were the thoughts that initially invaded the blond boy's mind, but not for long.

Looking up into Penny's eyes, he could see very clearly and very resolutely. They were very green and very clear, but he couldn't help seeing something else within those orbs that captured his fancy. Likewise, the girl regarded Jaune carefully, never breaking eye contact. It was like a staring contest except neither of them saw it like that.

But there was something to this, something much more.

That much he did know.


RWBY - - - RWBY


Penny had seen Jaune's blue eyes before, but being so close to him, she could see them even better, in more crisp detail. She had once heard from her father that a person's eyes told a story about them. Supposedly, the eyes were a gateway into the reality of who a person was. The synthetic wasn't sure she understood completely, but she did know one thing at that moment.

His sapphire blue eyes were the most stunning shade of blue that she had ever had the privilege of witnessing. Although the emotions she felt weren't the same as a human or faunus felt them, she felt strangely calmed by them yet also energized at the same time. They provided assurance, but they had determination within them.

Maybe her own interpretation of him was wrong, but she didn't think Jaune was the type to lie about anything be it who he was or what he did. His profile indicated as much as did her interactions with him. He was earnest and he was caring.

Penny leaned in closer to inspect him. She felt compelled to look at him closer, to see him in greater detail.

"Look at that." A nearby voice, female, spoke with laughter. "Right out in public."

"Kids these days." Another female voice spoke. "They have no shame."

Once the reality of their position came back to them, they both became very conscious of each other. Blushes adorned their faces as the girl suddenly stood up and took two steps back, followed by the boy quickly leaping to his feet.

"So yeah… good match." Jaune turned his head to the right.

"Yes!" Penny's pitch went up. "I enjoyed our time together."

It was awkward for a moment, but she didn't know what else to say to him. Such close physical contact was something reserved for those that were romantically involved, or so her knowledge told her, but there was also the matter of how the two people involved chose to interpret the physical interaction.

"In all seriousness, thanks." She could see Jaune out of the corner of her eyes as he smiled somewhat stiffly. "I really appreciate what you did for me today."

"N-no, it was my pleasure." Penny said. "I did this because I wanted to help you."

"Then I'll thank you again." Jaune laughed. "You're a really good friend."

"T-thank you." Penny nodded. "You are as well."

She didn't know much about friendships. She didn't know much about her friend. She didn't know much about anything that was going on right now. She would willingly admit that much, but for all of the things that she didn't know, that was just one more way that she could discover new things about all of them.

And if each new discovery came with it such joy, then she wanted to keep learning and experiencing.


I will admit that writing a story purely about fluff is much harder than I realized. I've learned from my story One-Night Brand that introducing drama can either make or break a story and admittedly, I handled it poorly in many ways. Hence, I will do keep this story consistently about the feel-good theme.

It's also about trying to create a meaningful but also realistic relationship between Jaune and Penny. The chemistry that they have will determine the outcome of their relationship and everything else that follows. If I don't do them justice, then this entire story won't even have meaning.

On a side note, because I will be leaving for Basic Training for the US Army in August, expect two more chapters to be released within the next two months.

Thoughts? Feedback and reviews are appreciated.

Thanks for reading.