The enemy surrounded my team, the Grimm ready
to strike but with a simple flick of Nix Conditor
They were encased in ice, and like that, they were no more
-Saint Nicholas of the North "The Book of Masters"
The next day in the morning
The scroll was sitting in front of him. He was ready for whatever might be inside. He began to read the scroll when something strange happened.
The drawing in the scroll starts to move to replicate the actions in the scroll. The more Jaune read, the more images appeared until he was surrounded by them, each showing different things from the scroll.
He couldn't stop. He just read more and more until he got to the end scroll. Closing the scroll Jaune is shocked and gasping for air at what he's just witnessed.
His mind was still racing with the information it had received, not knowing what to do. Jaune goes to the training room and picks up a training sword.
He then starts swinging the way he saw in the scroll, not perfectly, mind you. Jaune was excited for the first time since he started.
He knew what he was doing. Not just having a vague idea but knowing exactly how and what he was doing.
Jaune thought if this was what only one scroll had, then what if he had all the scrolls. Now more than ever, Jaune wanted the scrolls to learn from them.
'Okay, think about this logically. If only seeing the scroll once helped me learn a few things not properly, I will need to use the scroll more and then get the rest.' With these thoughts, Jaune had a plan.
Jaune returned to his room, grabbed the scroll, took a deep breath, cleared his mind, and opened it. And began to read, the images appeared once more. Instead of surrounding him and forcing the information into himself, it appeared in an orderly fashion learning everything he could handle before closing the scroll when he began to feel overwhelmed.
When the process stopped, the intense headache from the first time was gone, replaced with a feeling of completeness. This was it. This was the balance, the feeling of complete clarity, well, the spiritual aspect of the balance.
'Wait a minute, the day dad told me the books were okay, he took and read the scrolls, but I didn't see this process happen to him,' Jaune thought to himself, realizing the discrepancy.
'Maybe only certain scrolls do this, or only the person reading the scroll sees this,' Jaune theorized 'the only way to know is by getting more scrolls,' Jaune rationalized. He knew he needed to wait before trying to get a different scroll.
'Alright, in the meantime, practice makes perfect,' Jaune thought while heading back to the training room for more practice with his new knowledge.
When Jaune got to the training room for the first time, he noticed the many types of weapons they really had. More specifically, all the types of swords. The sword stances from the scroll were varied, but Jaune focused more on the arming swords grabbing one he thought would work best for him.
"You know if dad knew what you were doing, he'd be mad," Azur told him, standing at the doorway.
"What dad doesn't know won't hurt him," Jaune responded, getting ready for his practice stances.
"What makes you think I won't tell him," Azur asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Because I know you can be bought and that I have something you want, all you need to do is name your price," Jaune told her while performing his swings.
"When did you get so perceptive, dear brother? But you are correct. I want your limited edition alternate color Pumpkin Pete's plushie." Azur responded, 'heh, like hell actually do it,' she thought.
"Fine, let me finish, and I'll give it to you," Jaune accepted the terms while still doing the steps from the scrolls.
Azur stared at Jaune in shock 'is this how far you're willing to go to become a hero' she thought, remembering how much he loved the plushie.
"Good, I will wait for you in my room. "Do not return on our deal, Jaune," Azur said straightly.
"I won't Arcs' word," Jaune assured with a blank expression, continuing his practice.
"Very well, good day, brother," Azur responded before going to her room.
"You know I didn't think you'd go along with it," Saphron told him, having heard the interaction.
"Being a hero requires sacrifice," Jaune told her, continuing to practice the stances.
"Heh, if you still want to be a hero, I won't stop you, but I won't help you not telling dad about this whole interaction is a freebie, but it won't happen again," Saphron told him before walking away.
The knowledge that Saphron won't support his dream anymore hurt, but he accepted it and moved on. "Ninja never quit," Jaune told himself, remembering the words from "The Book of Masters."
After a few hours, Jaune was exhausted and put the sword away, went to his room, grabbed the plushie, and gave it to Azur, who had a surprised expression.
'Eh, it's probably nothing,' Jaune thought, going back to his room and grabbing some clothes before showering. Getting out of the shower, he went downstairs to grab some dinner.
"Jaune, we need to talk," Arturia Arc told her son with an imperceptible expression.
"A-alright," Jaune nervously responded 'did she find out I went to her room for the scroll' Jaune thought to himself. Sitting down and getting ready for anything.
"Jaune, I understand the dream you have of being a hero. I understand the dream you have of being a hero of being there to help others. But understand that not all heroes are remembered. Not all heroes achieve the things you've read about." Arturia told her son with a sorrowful expression.
'This is what she wanted to talk about,' Jaune thought.
"I understand that, and I've accepted that I haven't just read about the heroes that survive. I've read about what happens when heroes can't overcome the challenges in front of them." Jaune told her with a confident look in his eyes.
"Then why do you still try to become a hero if you know what happens to the ones that fail," she asked on the verge of tears. Images of her son falling in battle flashed in her mind.
"Because, like you said, I want to be someone others can count on. I want to be the person that others look up to. I want to help anyone and everyone." Jaune answered with a look of determination.
"Of course, you do your an Arc, after all, I will talk to your father, but I don't promise anything," Arturia tells Jaune, ruffling his hair.
Jaune was silent with shock and surprise. Was his mother going to help him? Was she going to convince his father to train him? He didn't know, but he wouldn't hold his breath and continue with his plan to steal the scrolls and learn from them. All he needed to do was continue to practice what he had and wait for another opportunity to get another scroll to become a hero.
"Alright, I understand, mom," Jaune accepted and replied to his mother's joy.
"Thank you, Jaune, that's all I ask for," Arturia responded, kissing his forehead. "Now run off. I have to clean up down here," she tells Jaune before cleaning up the dining room.
"Okay, Jaune says, walking off 'i could try to get a different scroll. No, this isn't enough time. I guess I'll try something tomorrow.' Jaune thought to himself, getting ready for bed.