I usually respond to reviews through PM, but there's a lot more guest reviewers than I expected. I may not be able to do this every chapter, but I'll respond to those reviews here for now.

Rando: This is one of the few times I haven't put too much effort into the 'harem/polyship'. I should've given fair warning last chapter but just because a character is in the harem, doesn't mean they are safe from death. But besides the five confirmed characters (Pyrrha and Team RWBY), almost certain to join are Penny, Neo, Velvet, Coco, and the Malachite Twins. I understand you're concern about story bloat due to so many people, but I hope I can show you that balancing that many characters won't be an issue. Not every instance of the girls being on screen with Jaune will result in them throwing the fact that they're in a relationship with him in the readers face. (Note: In the beginning it may seem like that as people try to get comfortable with each other.)

Guest: Yeah, you and Otaku Cookie Jar pointed out Jaune being saved again. I can admit its a deus ex machina type of thing, but it's not as random as one might think. Also, Jaune would definitely get the message to push forward harder after almost getting killed. There would have been no injury in that situation. It was either life or death. And unfortunately, since this is Jaune already in Beacon, there would have been no real way for him to make progress without the help of others.

Anyway, I love hearing from everyone and I will respond to reviews whenever I can!

Dancing is an expression of change...

Chapter 2: Dance with the Wind

Ren was many things.

Quiet yet sociable. Stoic yet humorous. The God of pancakes according to Nora, and caretaker of Chaos to everyone that wasn't Nora.

However, at the top of his own list, right alongside compassionate; Ren was observant.

Having dealt with Nora's boundless energy, and sudden cases of lethargy, he believed himself very acute to the small changes in people. Particularly those he cared about.

Plus he was a light sleeper.

So it surprised him when Jaune suddenly snuck out of their dorm when he thought everyone was asleep.

Ren's immediate thought was to chase after his leader, but it was just such a night that Nora had fallen into a bought of depression just before bed. As such, she asked to sleep with him, which he of course obliged, and therefor found himself in the death grip of the orange haired Valkyrie.

He cursed his sudden lack of luck. Whatever Jaune was doing couldn't be good at almost 1a.m. But with him being trapped, he could do nothing but imagine Jaune getting further and further from Beacon.

'Is he running away?' Ren wondered. He had taken Crocea Mors. 'No...Jaune's not a coward. And things were just starting to get better. So why?'

The thoughts would rage in his mind for several hours. Was their leader abandoning them? As unlikely as it seemed, Ren had noticed Jaune's mood fall in the past few days.

But why?

After the Forever Fall incident, things seemed to get exponentially better for JNPR's team leader. He carried himself with more confidence and everyone between their own team and their sister team of RWBY clearly treated him with more respect.

'Maybe he wasn't happy with himself?' The stoic teen once again pondered, but couldn't find a logical reason for it.

Ren had to admit that his first impression of Jaune hadn't been favorable. Seeing the scrawny blonde before initiation, Ren had immediately painted him as someone that would fail and possibly die during the trial. When they met up at the relics, he assumed the boys survival had been the result of his partner, Pyrrha.

But then his perspective immediately started to change when Jaune saved Weiss from splatting on the ground. No, it wasn't a graceful save, but Ren had been put off when Weiss literally dismissed what the boy had done. Ren had actually been a little disgusted with the girl. Jaune literally threw himself under her to save her, and had succeeded at doing so. But she didn't even give him a thank you.

And to his shock, everyone else seemed to have simply dismissed the action too, even Nora. Saving a life, regardless of how graceless it was, was still saving a life.

His opinion of the boy continued to grow as they eventually had to fight the Deathstalker. Though Jaune didn't show any real combat skills, he showed his quick thinking and tactical mind under extreme duress. While simply calling out their names, he was able to convey what he wanted them to do. No need for planning or even explaining in detail. His commanding tone was all it took.

Ren knew he had been sorely mistaken about the boy. Even without Pyrrha, Jaune would've survived the forest. When pushed into a corner, he truly shined. It was what made Ren admire Jaune. Though he had never voiced any of this out loud, his actions towards Jaune showed great respect.

He couldn't lie though. After initiation, seeing how Jaune seemed to flounder at almost every other aspect of being a huntsman had disappointed him. But it was different than his initial thoughts. Instead of simply writing Jaune off, he wanted to help him just as he would if he were Nora.

Their whole team seemed to feel the same way, though Pyrrha took a particularly greater interest in her partners well being.

Jaune had begun making slow progress with all of them helping him. Ren helped him learn to meditate and also feel the flow of his aura. Ren prided himself on his own aura control. It was the best of all 8 members of both Team JNPR and RWBY, an art that many people neglected for reliance on their semblance and weapons. The only person who'd be able to compete with him in hand to hand would be Yang herself.

Nora helped Jaune with strength training, and the few months the team had been together, Jaune couldn't really be called scrawny anymore. Though only his team knew that.

Finally, Pyrrha had helped him with both his studies as well as his combat skill. While his grades definitely improved at a steady pace, the combat side of things had seemed to be slow going. It was clear Pyrrha was a patient and kind person, but he saw that even she was reaching her limit. Then when Jaune started avoiding them to be Cardin's lackey, those small feelings almost burgeoned into something akin to their first meeting.

Ren froze as he heard the sound of someone coming in through the window. He made no overt movement, but cast his gaze to Jaune. With a quick look at a clock, he saw that the boy had been gone for a little over 4 hours.

He watched as the blonde paused and looked around the room, seeming to observe each of his teammates. Ren pretended to be asleep before hearing Jaune disrobe and return to bed.

With his leader back, Ren relaxed completely. At the very least, Jaune hadn't run away. With that small win, Ren decided to go to sleep and talk to Jaune about it later.

Nora woke up quietly, like she did every day. Seeing Ren next to her, she smiled sadly. His arms and his warmth had helped stave off the nightmares that would plague her dreams every now and then. The memories of their broken past that she was remiss to relive in her waking moments.

The real reason she was bubbly and hyper.

However, in her Nora-like fashion, she pushed the thoughts away. The nightmares came and they went. She hated dwelling on them.

Looking over to the beds of her other two teammates, she saw Pyrrha wrapped up in her blankets like a burrito. A silent giggle escaped her, knowing it would take the jaws of life to pry Pyrrha from her make shift cocoon this early in the morning.

Next to her was Jaune…

Or, it should've been.

Nora's eyes widened and she moved across the room to get a good look at the empty bed that usually held their team leader.

Looking to the clock, she saw that it was five minutes to 6a.m.

Jaune usually got up closer to 7:30, an hour and a half before classes started generally. Nora knew this because she was the earliest riser of them all.

She woke up at 6 almost every day to get a morning work out in while most people were still either just waking up or simply sleeping in. Every now and then, she would get Jaune, Ren, or both of them to workout with her. But most of the time she would go out alone, just to have some quiet Nora time.

Many wouldn't believe that time actually existed.

With a shrug, she moved to dress herself in a pink sports bra and black jogging shorts that would make Yang jealous.

She wasn't worried. It was strange for Jaune to be up before her, but she figured he could've just gotten a head start on his own morning.

The thought made her smile as she exited the dorm.

Jaune had come a long way since the beginning of Beacon those few months ago. Not as far as he needed, but progress was progress in her eyes.

Her initial thoughts on the boy had been tall, handsome, and clueless. The way he peacocked around with his head in the clouds made her want to smack some sense into him. She had for sure expected him to be eaten by a grimm in the forest.

Luckily enough for him, though, he had gotten Pyrrha as a partner.

Then she saw some of his true colors. When he saved Weiss and how he took control when they had to fight the Deathstalker. It didn't change her view of him much, to be honest. But it made her respect him as more than just dead weight for her and Ren.

She started calling him 'Fearless Leader' more out of teasing than actually believing it. Don't get her wrong; she truly believed Jaune could be a good leader. Ozpin wouldn't have chosen him otherwise. But he was far from being capable of standing tall fearlessly. Part of her believed that if she said it enough, he would actually become fearless.

But talking could only do so much. So while Ren helped him with aura and meditation, Pyrrha helped him with refining his combat technique and studying, she decided to take tall, blonde, and scraggly, and turn him into tall, blonde, and panty dropper.

Just not her panties. Those belonged to Ren.

…

Someday…

Regardless, Jaune worked out really well. And to her absolute surprise, under the atrocious hoodie and baggy clothing he wore, Jaune was NOT scrawny.

After a little thought, it made sense. The boy didn't have aura before coming to Beacon, and although he didn't wield it proficiently, he could still use Crocea Mors. The sword and shield combo was by no means light.

He wasn't bulky or anything. A tall, lean, blonde with above average tone. Hell, Jaune had abs before they had even started working out together.

The girl stretched a bit as she stood on the 400 meter track deep on Beacons ground. Not many people used it, so it was great for some alone time every now and then. The quiet morning helped relax her and gave her time to get all of her negative thoughts out of the way for the day. That way she could be the same excitable Nora that everyone had come to know and love.

As she started to jog her mile for a warm up, her mind drifted back to her team leader.

After the Forever Fall incident, Nora's opinion of Jaune had sky rocketed again. It had already been gradually growing, especially with the effort he put in to catching up to them all. The problem was that he wasn't catching up in the place that mattered the most.

They were huntsman and huntress. The defenders of humanity against the dark tide of the grimm. If Jaune couldn't fight, he would die. Oum forbid it happened when his team wasn't there to back him up, or he was protecting civilians or something.

But the fight against the Ursa Major had been like a milestone for them all. He was definitely improving. There was still hope.

From that point, the 'Fearless Leader' title was becoming more of a reality.

She finished her warmup and prepared to do a few sprints. Though she knew she wasn't nearly the fastest of their team or sister team, she wanted to have a decent balance of strength and agility. Just because she had physical strength didn't mean she was crazy enough to want to take hard hits all the time.

Finishing up a few 100 meter dashes and 200 meter sprints, she toweled off and headed towards the weight room.

That's where she found her Fearless Leader.

She saw him in the large room by himself. At first he was simply meditating. Part of her wanted to go in and startle him, but seeing him taking initiative on improving himself made her hold back.

Instead she was prepared to enter and do her own workout and head back to the room with him. But instead, she watched as the boy stood from his meditation and moved with a grace she didn't know he had into a hand stand. The boy began to walk around the room on his hands swiftly, moving over benches and discarded weights with practiced ease.

Then he swung his legs around and clipped a medicine ball before seeming to break dance with the ball bouncing off of his kicks and never touching the ground.

The Valkyrie's eyes widened and for a moment she thought she was dreaming. The boy continued to do windmills and flares until coming to a stop in a one handed hand stand, the medicine ball balanced on one of his outstretched legs.

She shook her head and came back to reality, bursting through the door and rushing to Jaune.

The boy didn't seem startled, but she saw him tense a little as he flipped back to his feet, catching the medicine ball in one hand.

For the first time, she noticed Jaune was just wearing a black tank top and black shorts that fell to just above his knees. For some reason, she could've swore that he looked more...manly?

"What the hell was that Fearless Leader?" She exclaimed, probably a bit more accusingly than she intended.

The sheepish smile that adorned his face made her relax just a little. "I've been practicing some new moves on my own. Wanted to surprise the team, but I guess the cat's out of the bag. Would you mind keeping it a secret a little longer, Nora? Please?"

Jaune tossed the medicine ball back towards a wall. Nora couldn't help but feel like he was carrying himself with more confidence. Even the way he spoke wasn't nearly as meek or even sarcastic as he usually was.

"That was really cool, Jaune-Jaune!" She said, finally relaxing completely. There was no way for her to know if Jaune was telling the truth or not, but why would he lie? Like she had noted earlier, he was taking his self-improvement more seriously. "You should teach me how to do that sometime."

His eyes lit up and the big smile on his face made her smile too. "You really want to?" He asked excitedly.

"Yeah! Break dancing looks awesome! Didn't know you knew how to dance at all though."

"It's my biggest passion, right alongside being a huntsman. But go ahead and get your workout in. I'm actually going to go take a long shower. See you at breakfast!"

With a wave, the taller teen left the girl to her self. When he was gone, Nora walked over to the medicine ball. Her eyes once again widened when she saw that it was a specially made 200 pound ball.

Pyrrha woke up later than the others usually.

At first it was because she had finally found a place where she wouldn't be scolded for sleeping in. Their first weekend after the initiation, she had slept in until well past noon.

As sweet as the girl was too, she threatened bodily harm to anyone who attempted to remove her from her snug cocoon of happiness in the morning.

Being the 'Invincible Girl' didn't leave her with much time to just simply exist. Now being in Beacon, the days were generally filled with trying to reach her purpose of being a huntress.

Well, it should've been.

Jaune Arc was currently her purpose. Her friend turned partner with a heart of gold, shining silver spirit, and just a tad too much clumsiness.

Thinking of her partner made her smile. Fluttering her eyes open, she slowly began to unravel her self made cloth burrito, blossoming into the beautiful Pyrrha Nikos with a small case of bed hair.

Her long crimson hair pooled around her, tantalizingly molding over all of her curves and covering one of her jade eyes from view.

Her gaze found the bed next to her and she was only minutely surprised to see Jaune not there.

'Must be working out with Nora, or…'

She listened closely and heard the shower going. With Nora not in her own bed and Ren still sleeping away, she figured Jaune was just up for an early soak.

The myrmidon chuckled at Ren snoring a bit. The boy slept in almost as late as herself sometimes, but she figured it was just his lack of energy after dealing with Nora all day.

The thoughts of all of her teammates gave Pyrrha her morning energy better than any cup of coffee ever could. They were her new family. Ones she would cherish for the rest of her life.

Moving around the room to prepare her own things for the day, she gazed at a picture that had been taken a few weeks back of her own team and Team RWBY. 'Even more family.' She thought as she gazed at the smiling faces of their sister team. Her eyes lingered mostly on Ruby and Jaune, the two at the center of the picture with Ruby jumping up and hugging the tall handsome blonde around the neck.

'Two shining lights in a dark world…' Pyrrha thought solemnly.

Jaune was such a change from everything she thought she knew of the world. A breath of fresh air after years of combat training, sponsorship deals, and fake smiles and thorny roses.

When he had passed her and Weiss before initiation, she hadn't paid him much mind besides thinking he was really cute. She had already been doing her best to ignore Weiss for the most part, while still looking interested in the drivel the girl had been spouting. Watching tall, blonde, and admittedly handsome approach them had seemed like the only way out of the situation.

She was surprised that he focused in on Weiss alone. When she tried to interject, he essentially ignored her and pushed her away. She was slightly offended, but immediately wondered if he didn't recognize her.

When Weiss went on to explain to him who she was, she paid close attention to him. Knowing her from Pumpkin Petes was the most adorable thing she had ever heard. But it also meant he was someone who truly didn't see her for anything other than her…

Well, he didn't really see her at all if the attention he had given Weiss was anything to go by. But that didn't really matter to her.

When Weiss asked her to help, she happily threw her spear to pin him to a wall away from them, only because she wanted to get his attention off of Weiss. She did apologize though, she wasn't an animal.

It may have been a little overboard to hyper focus in on Jaune at that time, but unlike Weiss, he was someone who didn't put her on a pedestal. It was on a whim that she decided to try and get close to him. And what better way than becoming partners during the initiation!

She could easily tell that Jaune was no fighter. His false bravado in front of her and Weiss had simply been amusing, nothing more. But it was what endeared him to her almost immediately. When she saw him flailing about during their landing strategy, she took her chance.

Everything after that proved to her that she had made the right choice.

Mostly.

He was far weaker than she anticipated, but still walked with confidence mostly. When they went into the Deathstalker cave, she was so shy to refute the confidence of who was shaping up to be her first real friend that she lost some of her own reasoning.

Jaune was treating her like just another person, something that she hadn't experienced since she was about 10 years old. Her fondness of him was just to hold on to that normality while in the forest. Something she hoped with all her heart wasn't fleeting.

It was only after their fight with the Deathstalker that she looked at the boy past him treating her like normal. She felt a little ashamed that she had locked on to him when she hadn't even really asked him anything about himself. Hell, she had even unlocked his aura for him! Something that could be seen as fairly intimate in some nations.

But that didn't matter. Once their time in Beacon was in full throttle, she slowly but surely fell into the normality that she had so craved.

Yeah, a few people still treated her like some type of mythical creature walking among them, but her own team, as well as Team RWBY had simply treated her like a friend. Though she could tell it was pretty hard for Weiss.

That normality gave way to the insight that Jaune...needed work. And as his partner, she needed to be the one to give it to him!

Thankfully he wasn't a lost cause in any subject, soaking up what her and the others had to teach him like second nature.

But his combat skills…

She didn't understand what the problem was. He was improving, thankfully, but at such a slow rate that she was worried about his future even if she were by his side the whole time.

They were already at the end of their first semester and Jaune had yet to give anyone a run for their money in combat class.

Pyrrha threw herself at it like it was a challenge too. Jaune was her partner. But not only that, she knew for a fact that he had more potential than any of them there. He had no formal training at all before Beacon, which she attributed to his slow combat growth. But he understood the basics faster than most. Even if she had to help him against the Ursa Major, he had tackled it head on with his own will. He had almost won single-handedly.

So what was holding him back still?

She was teaching him everything she knew. Training him with a lighter hand than she had been honestly, but still pushing him to his limits.

It had made their relationship stagnate a little, to be honest. He was her best friend, undoubtedly so, but he was also like a child to her. Someone that needed guidance more so than others.

And she would not give up on him.

After killing the Ursa Major, she knew he was making more progress than ever.

Plus, she may have started to develop a small crush on him after he stood up to the Ursa Major just to save his tormentor Cardin.

That was the type of attitude she could get behind in a man.

The sound of the bathroom door opening snapped her from her reverie. She looked up, prepared to greet Jaune. Her brain and body froze, her entire being burning as crimson as her hair.

The blonde slowly exited the bathroom while using a towel to dry his hair. He was still a little wet, some of the droplets falling over his bare chest.

Pyrrha's eyes drunk in every inch of skin. She watched as the droplet of water went down his chest, over his forming 6 pack abs and then down to his bare manhood…

"J-J-JAUNE!" Pyrrha squeaked, unable to say any more as she pointed a finger at him. She tried to avert her gaze, but like a magnet it kept drifting back to him.

Jaune paused and looked at his partner, before slowly starting to realize what had happened. He looked down at himself, a small blush painting his own cheeks. However, he just shrugged and wrapped the towel around his waist.

"Sorry about that." He called nonchalantly.

"No, I'm sorry!" Pyrrha quickly called. Her blush was still prominent on her face, but she was able to look at her partner. She couldn't lie. Even without showing his mighty arc, he was still something great to look at.

Jaune moved back to his side of the room and grabbed some clothes. Pyrrha didn't know what to say after such a scene. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest and she had to admit that she was a little more than a bit aroused at the sight. To her disappointment, Jaune just got dressed like nothing had happened.

"Showers all yours Pyr!"

"Jaune, are you okay?" She asked, finally catching up with herself.

"Yeah...why wouldn't I be?"

She didn't have an answer for that. Besides his nonchalant attitude towards flashing his partner, Pyrrha felt as if something was...off with Jaune.

"I'm sorry…" Pyrrha gave her default response, slightly wincing at herself. She had been trying to stop apologizing so much…

"No worries. You should get in quick though. Nora's probably on her way back from the weight room already."

"R-right…" Pyrrha was used to Jaune pretending to be confident. She was used to him actually being a bit more confident for a few days after the Ursa incident. However, this was something else entirely…

Without so much as a clue as to why she felt that things were different, she simply entered the bathroom.

Jaune watched Pyrrha disappear into the bathroom and let his small smile fade a bit.

'I need to be careful…'

Nora had already caught him showing a little of his new skills and then he had accidentally flashed his partner.

'How could a single month change me so much? Even if it's mostly for the better.' He thought, sitting down on his bed and immediately taking a meditative pose.

A single hour turned into a month.

Something that should not have been even remotely possible. Yet…

Previous Night…

Jaune sat with his back against a tree, an astonished and broken look on his face.

Izanami stood a few feet in front of him, her gaze cast aside as she couldn't look him in the eye. The moon had returned to normal, but the world around them now glowed with a golden tint.

Magic was real…

Creatures worse than the grimm lurked in the world…

Even a so called Queen of Grimm existed, yet she wasn't the worst of the worlds worries.

So much information had been dropped on him, and Izanami had been right. He had way more questions than answers.

People didn't use aura properly anymore?

She was an ancient Faunus?

There was a war brewing in the shadows of the war that was already in the shadows?

None of it made sense, yet Jaune found himself believing everything she was telling him. Mainly because she had proved the magic part.

"I know it's a lot, Jaune, but that's why I'm here. There are things that need to be set up for the world, and truthfully, I believe you're as close to what I need as I can get.."

"You said that...but why me? You saw what happened. I was almost killed by three simple Beowulf. Why not someone like Yang or Pyrrha? What could I possibly have to offer other than dancing?"

Izanami gave a wry smile. "That's just it. It may be a small part of it, but dancing has great significance to what people need to learn. Plus, you're aura was only recently unlocked. You're soul hasn't been tainted with the lies of this world yet because of it. And you've already given me the small amount of taint you had accumulated."

The small woman took ginger steps towards him before settling onto her knees right in front of him, somewhat between his legs. It was fairly intimate, but Jaune was too confused to think much of it at the moment. Even as the woman placed her hands on his knees.

"Explaining all of this isn't my strong suit, Jaune. Instead, open yourself to me once more and allow me to show you."

She was asking him to completely trust her, something that even she knew would be hard to do between two strangers. However, they had already formed a bond in many ways. His expunging of his tainted soul down to the dance they had performed together.

The blonde teen could only sigh. Despite the absurdity of all that he had heard so far, Izanami hadn't given him a reason to doubt her. "What can I do?"

The small smile on her face was filled with both sadness and happiness. It was a flash of emotions that Jaune almost missed.

"I'm using an ability right now to slow the world to a crawl. I cast magic to the moon to do so, spreading it over the entire planet. It's something I can only do once a year, and it last for one month. Afterward, about an hour will have passed otherwise."

She stood and gently took his hands, guiding him to his feet as well.

"Within this overlayed realm, we won't need to eat, sleep, or rest at all."

"This sounds like cheating."

The woman shook her head. "This is something most people should be capable of in this world, at least to a small degree. Being able to manipulate reality is what magic and aura is all about. A trained huntsman who is decent with aura control and magic should be able to slow time to a crawl within a twenty meter radius for at least ten minutes. Eventually, they would be able to create a pocket space connected to their soul, such as this."

"Again, this sounds like cheating."

"The enemies of this world won't play fair Jaune. Even the Queen of the Grimm has more power than most people will ever see in their life, plus she has access to rudimentary magic."

Jaune frowned again. The Queen of the Grimm. Izanami hadn't given him much of a description, but knowing that there was someone or something out there actually controlling the grimm almost made him fall into despair.

Seeing his mood fall, Izanami stepped forward and placed a hand on his cheek, making him look into her eyes. "This is why I'm here Jaune. But to be able to gain the knowledge and power to fight against not just the Queen of Grimm, but the other forces of darkness, you have to let go of despair. Resolve yourself."

He nodded. Besides despair, he felt righteous fury. The grimm had a head, and he wanted to be the one to sever it.

"For posterity's sake, let's assume that I understand any of what you said. What now?"

The woman sighed. She knew she wasn't the best at explaining things, but it was also because things were so intricately woven, there was no way of explaining anything without something else not making sense.

"Let's start with teaching you magic." She began. With a flick of her wrist, what looked to be a fan appeared in her hand. However, there were several blades connecting the inner pieces of the fan, giving it an elegant yet deadly look. "Just as aura is natural, so is magic. However, magic is a combination of the aura within your soul and the aura of the planet itself. You use your own aura to manipulate the aura of the planet around you."

"The planet has aura? Does that mean the planet has a soul?"

She nodded. "What you would call spirits exist in all things of the planet. The wind, water, fire, and the ground itself. They are souls that don't have a conscious. Sometimes they can congregate and form a conscience, but it's rare. Usually they simply destabilize each other, which is how natural disasters occur."

With a flick of the fan, Izanami made a small tornado form before seeming to perform a flowing dance to allow the tornado to spin around them. With a flourish, she snapped the fan closed and the tornado dispersed in a flash.

Jaune was amazed. If he hadn't known better, he would've just thought it was a semblance. But just seeing her perform such a feat also gave him another epiphany.

"You...danced with the wind."

The beaming smile on her face and the happy twitching of her ears and tails made his heart skip a beat.

"Yes! That's why I said dancing was important! Dance is the not only the easiest way, but best way to use elemental magic! In this case, I gathered the wind and essentially connected with it, like a dance partner. The movement of the wind is free, and as such a dance that is loose and free can help you understand it more!"

Her quick words would've been lost on anyone else, but Jaune was able to understand it. "But, how do I connect to it? How am I supposed to feel the spirit of the wind, or whatever I'm supposed to do?"

"That's where I come in! You said Lie Ren has been teaching you how to feel the flow of your own aura through meditation correct?" He nodded. "Then I can teach you how to feel the aura of the world around us in the same way!"

Jaune frowned. "It can't be that simple."

The woman shrugged. "Maybe not for those who don't know what they're looking for. Honestly, there have been people who have felt the spirits, but since they don't understand what it is, the feeling simply passes them by. But I can show you what to feel for, Jaune. Magic should become just as natural as breathing for you."

He hoped she was right. Though he had his doubts, he was more excited than anything to learn magic.

"Come." She beckoned him to sit in front of her again. He took his meditative position and she mirrored it. "Deep breaths as usual. Then perform your meditation how Lie Ren has taught you."

He did as told and was easily within his own mind, as he had done many times before. The world around him dulled and his breathing became amplified in his ears. Then he felt the flow of his aura, just as Ren had taught him. A massive ocean within himself that Pyrrha had told him was far beyond what many older huntsman had.

"A magnificent amount of aura, which makes this both easier and harder." He heard Izanami's voice echo within his mind.

That's when he felt it. Her own aura had connected to his. He didn't know it was hers, per-say, but that it wasn't his own. Especially because the feel of her aura was like feeling a boat smoothly sail atop his own ocean.

"You truly were the right choice, Jaune. You have enough aura to make gods envious. Because of that, control will need to be our focus, instead of output. Now, feel my aura Jaune. Follow it."

The feel of her aura skimming over his was like a warm touch sliding across his skin. It sent a shiver down his spine. He began to follow the flow of her aura, noticing how easy it was to match his own to hers.

"Our auras can naturally dance with each other, as we did together." She echoed with mirth. "Keep going."

He did so.

Soon enough, he didn't feel her aura skimming over his. Instead, he felt his own aura guiding hers. The boat that was her aura simply sat atop his ocean, letting the waves take it every which way.

"You are a leader. It is natural for others to follow. Be it human, faunus, or even nature itself. Now, open yourself. Reach further, and feel the winds flow."

Before he could ponder how to do so, he felt a breeze within his mind. It was startling for a moment, but her own aura seemed to prevent his from becoming turbulent.

He calmed immediately and once more felt the breeze. Not just as one though. He could feel hundreds upon thousands of small specks of aura graze his own. But they didn't push into his ocean. Instead, they seemed to flow around him and the boat that was Izanami's aura.

"Do no try to catch them. Feel their flow, Jaune. Move with them. Then lead them."

His initial thought had been to catch them, but her words stopped him. Instead, he felt the ocean of his aura began to rise. The specks of aura continued their flow, unimpeded by his own. A particularly strong graze gave him the sense he needed to flow with the aura.

It was like freedom itself. He could feel his aura not only within him, but outside of him then. It swirled around him, Izanami's boat somehow dancing alongside him. They swirled and dipped, rose and curved. It felt as if he were flying, the ground beneath him no longer there.

"Now lead them…"

It had already happened. The feel of flowing with the wind soon became him flying in his own paths. The specks of wind no longer grazed him. They swirled alongside him, following him as he soared within the ethereal blackness. Izanami's aura was still there at every step, almost intertwined with his own.

"Now open your eyes." Her voice wasn't an echo. She spoke directly to him.

The blonde did as told once more, his eyes slowly opening to the golden tint of the world. However, he felt it before he could see it.

His entire body was surrounded by a gently breeze, his hair fluttering lightly as the whirlwind covered him.

"Congratulations Jaune. You've just used magic!"