Month Six
Fluss, Saxum, Bagyo, Nicholas, Joules, and myself
Together we are The Elemental Alliance
We have protected Remnant from the shadows
When we started, we had different last names, but when
We became the Alliance. We all became Arc's
We became a Family
-Julius Arc "The Last Alliance"
The last month was lovely. After the park visit, Jaune decided to study dust weaving. Dust weaving was an ancient art. The process of dust weaving was very intricate. It required grinding the dust and merging it with the threads, and only certain parts of the clothes could have the dust because it was a defense-oriented technique. It required a person to focus their Aura on that part of their body to activate the dust.
That last part confused Jaune. His training weights used gravity dust to weigh them down, but if you needed Aura to activate it, then how did his weights work? He decided to study Aura and if it was possible to have it without someone else unlocking it.
The Arc Family Library
"Hmm," Jaune repeatedly said to himself, reading "Aura a History as Old as Remnant" yeah, he also thinks the title is long and a bit hard to say.
"Haven't seen you here in a while," John told his son coming in for some light reading.
"Oh, um, well, I just thought that I've been focusing too much on Spinjitzu that I forgot about Aura and Semblances," Jaune responds, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish smile.
"I was wondering when you were going to realize that a bit disappointing it took you half a year," John says.
"Hey! I was distracted, wanting to be like the Arcs in the books, and they don't mention Aura or semblances at all," Jaune rebutted with a pout.
"True, I've read some of the books, and I've never noticed any mentions of Aura or semblances. So may I ask what brought this newfound research on?" John finishes with a curious tone.
"Well, my jog at the park with Magenta and Olive last month got me thinking about my training weights because, according to the shop employee, they use gravity dust like dust weaving. But according to this, you need your Aura to use the dust, but I don't have my Aura unlocked," Jaune tells his father.
"Hmm, that does seem strange," John says, mulling over the new information.
"Hey, dad, is it possible to have your aura unlocked accidentally?" Jaune asks.
"It is, but it requires circumstances that you have not met yet," John told him, thinking back on Jaune's training.
"Alright, can you unlock my aura?" Jaune asks.
"No, that would count as helping, and I'm not allowed to help, remember? If you meet my expectations when your time finishes, then I will unlock your Aura, but not now," John tells him.
"Fine, I'm going to get heavier weights," Jaune says, heading out.
"Alright, I'll tell your mother to just be safe," John tells him.
At The Marketplace
"Where is it? Where is it?" Jaune said to himself, looking for the huntsman shop. 'No matter how many times I come here, I can remember where it is.'
"Hey, kiddo, what are you looking for?" A voice says behind Jaune.
"Ahh!" Jaune yelps. "Oh, it's just you, Mystake. Don't sneak up on me,"
"Hehe, no promises, so whatcha looking for?" Mystake asks, chuckling at Jaunes reaction.
"Uhg, I'm looking for the huntsman store," Jaune tells her.
"Which one? There's three in this market," Mystake tells him.
"Oh right, um, it's called 'Huntsman Huntress and Beyond' I don't remember where it is," Jaune responds.
"Oh, let me show you where it is," Mystake tells him.
The two walk around the marketplace, talking a bit about the stories in the books that Jaune showed her.
"Here we are. I'll accompany you inside," Mystake told him.
"Thanks, but I'm not going to take long," Jaune responds with a smile.
They entered the store. The store had weapons parts and prebuilt weapons on display, dust in various forms, and other necessaries for anybody wanting to become a Huntsman or a Huntress.
"Hmm, this place has a good supply," Mystake says, having seen many huntsman stores in her time.
"Yeah, and its prices are something I can afford," Jaune says, adding the cherry on top.
"Oh Jaune, do you need heavier training weights?" a random employee calls out Jaune, having become a regular in the past months.
"Yes, please,"
"Alright, I'm going to need your current weights to increase the dust usage," the employee responds. Jaune handed the weights over to the employee heading towards the back of the store.
"Hmm, and good customer service," Mystake compliments, having seen her fair share of terrible employees.
"Yeah, but that's because I've been coming here for a few months," Jaune tells her.
"Makes sense id treat my regulars better than the average nobody,"
"You haven't been doing that to me, have you?"
"Jaune, I have enjoyed your company since the first time you stopped by,"
"Oh, um, thanks," Jaune responds, a bit embarrassed.
"Here we are, four filled training weights. The gravity dust should be fifty pounds each when active. That's 40 Lien, but with your frequent customer discount, it's 32 Lien. Will that be all?" the employee asks, handing the weights back.
"Yes, thank you," Jaune responds, handing the man the money.
"You're welcome, and we hope to see you again," the employee says with a smile waving Jaune off.
'Wow, I can already feel their weight increase,' Jaune thought.
"Hey, Mystake, do you know if it's possible to activate dust weaving without having your aura unlocked?" Jaune asks, knowing that Mystake has learned many things in her life.
'That my young Arc would be the elemental radiation activating the dust in place of aura, but can't tell you that just yet,' Mystake thought.
"Hm, I'm not sure I've ever heard of such a thing," Mystake responds, hiding the truth.
"Oh, alright," Jaune responded, a bit disappointed.
"Hey, cheer up. How bout I treat you to some tea," Mystake tells him, trying to cheer him up.
"Alright, you think I should try to unlock my aura?" Jaune asks, wanting to study Aura more.
'If you did that, your elemental powers would be harder to master,' Mystake thought, wanting to teach Jaune, but that would look suspicious to the rest of his family.
"Hmm, I think you should try to work on your training beforehand," Mystake tells him.
"You think?" Jaune presses further on their way to Mystake's tea shop.
"Trust me, Jaune, I would never lie to you," Mystake assures him.
"Alright," Jaune concedes.
"Don't worry. I found some 'Enertea' in the back. You could have some for your training," Mystake tells him cheering him up.
"Thanks, Mystake," Jaune responds with a genuine smile.
The two walked back to Mystake's tea shop and shared a cup of tea before Jaune headed back home to continue training. He finished the scroll that Mystake recommended. It helped further his understanding of how to be balanced.
Later That Month
"We! Did! It!" Olive Shouted in uncontrollable excitement.
"Finally! after six months, the training course has finished," Jaune cheered.
"Yes, this is truly a monumental accomplishment we should celebrate accordingly. I suggest a pizza party," Azur says, having a not-so-secret love of the Valean cuisine.
"I second that notion," Olive said with a smile.
"And I third it, but who's gonna pay for it?" Jaune asks.
"I'll pay if you let me use the course," A voice called out behind the three.
They all turn around to be met with the face of their purple-loving sister Magenta.
"Really! Magenta?" Jaune asks, a bit excited not to have to pay for everything again.
"Yep, now what kind of pizza are we getting," Magenta confirms.
"Pepperoni!" Jaune and Azur said together. Azur is quieter than Jaune.
"Meat lovers!" Olive says.
"I'll get a medium pepperoni and medium meat lover. Jaune and Azur, you can share pepperoni and Olive, and I can share meat lovers. Sounds good," Magenta tells them.
Magenta and Olive asked to train with Jaune tomorrow, and he agreed. They start to eat and joke about how Jaune is going to leave the two in the dust during the training tomorrow.
The Next Morning
Jaune got up, skimmed the scroll again to refresh the information, and prepared for a complete workout today. He went downstairs and had breakfast with Magenta and Olive, and they all went outside.
"Alright, the training course is finally complete. For the past six months, I've been using it but not to its true potential, but now we get to see the course work how it was meant to," Jaune tells the two as he walks to the beginning of the course.
"What do you mean?" Magenta asks, having never seen the course's original blueprints.
"Expect the unexpected," Jaune tells her as he moves a piece and reveals a button. Pressing the button, the course activates and begins to move, revealing the mechanical abilities of the course.
The beginning of the course had training poles, ones that go up and down and ones that have wood sticking out of them and spin. In the middle of this part, there is a piece that spins and has two punching bags attached to it. The middle has multiple training dummies that move, some that have weapons and some that don't. Nearing the end of the course, the obstacles are more sporadic and can come from any direction.
"Holy shit!" Magenta exclaims, "How did you manage to make this in our backyard?!"
"While I'm not allowed to ask dad for help, mom was free to help as much as she wanted, and when three of her youngest kids ask her for help, there is no way she can resist," Jaune exclaims, raising a finger to the sky standing in front of the course.
*Clap Clap Clap*
"Great speech. I give it a 4 out of 5," Olive says.
"Thanks. I've been practicing for the last six months," Jaune says sheepishly.
"I have to admit I would never have expected this," Magenta says, seeing the entire encounter.
"Yeah, well, I've done a lot of things in the past year that most would've never expected, like tea became my favorite drink," Jaune says, scratching the back of his head.
"Well, on that note, how bout you show Magenta how it works," Olive suggests.
"Good idea. Magentas have never seen it, so observe," Jaune says.
He takes a deep breath, stretches, and lines up at the entrance of the course. He begins and can doge the spinning poles and goes around the ones that go up and down. He finishes but is only able to block and dodge a few of the dummies in the middle. During this, he gets distracted and is knocked out of the course by one of the punching bags.
"Jaune!" Magenta and Olive call out, rushing towards the spot he landed.
"Ow," Jaune says he would be more hurt, but he's been doing this for a while. He's used to it by now.
"Are you ok," Magenta asks worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm good. Nothing a little tea won't fix," Jaune says, getting up.
"Tea?!" Magenta exclaims, not getting the connection.
"Yeah, that was my first reaction, too, but apparently, Jaune has this tea that helps heal wounds faster. It's called," Olive pauses to groan. "Healtea," she finishes with an annoyed expression.
"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Magenta says with a deadpan expression.
"Hey, it works," Jaune says, standing up perfectly fine with a teapot and an empty cup.
"How?!" Magenta says, staring at Jaune in shock.
"My reaction was the same; I just chalked it up to magic tea," Olive says, having been desensitized to the weirdness of Jaunes tea.
"Ok, well, now that you've seen the course, I recommend you stay in the first section," Jaune told Magenta.
"What, why?" Magenta asks, annoyed.
"I've been practicing in an incomplete version for the last six months, and I only managed to get to the halfway point," Jaune told her, explaining his reasoning.
"... that makes sense," Magenta conceded, pouting that she has to listen to her younger brother.
"Well, I've been practicing the course too but not as much as Jaune, so I'll probably join you in the first section," Olive tells Magenta with a sheepish smile.
"Well, now that that's decided, let's get started!" Jaune cheers as they all get excited and use the course for the rest of the day. When they got knocked out of the course or injured, they would use the 'Healtea' and start again.
For the remainder of that month, Jaune focused on achieving balance and maintaining it while practicing in the course; he also had his two sisters to help motivate him and help him if he needed it.
The three would get along more and would become a small group, with Magenta thinking about training to become a tournament fighter. While Olive is thinking about becoming a Huntress like their dad and what Jaune wants to be.
Month Seven
"SO let me get this straight. You want me to unlock your Aura and transfer you into a combat school so you can become a tournament fighter?" John asks arms folded, looking down at his daughter.
"Yes," Magenta responded in a confident tone.
"What brought this on, if I may ask?" John asks with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, I was already considering becoming a valean tournament fighter when I graduated, so this will help me become that faster," Magenta reasons.
"Because this seems to have come from out of the blue, are you sure there haven't been any other reasons you want to do this," John asks, knowing his daughter's training with Jaune.
"Nope," Magenta responds with a smile.
"I will discuss this with your mother. We will decide after that," John says, walking away. 'How many of my children will choose the path to an early grave,' he thinks, saddened by the thought of his children dying.
Later That Night
"So you said you wanted to talk to me about something?" Arturia asks. John told her that he needed to talk to her after dinner.
"It's about one of the girls," John tells her.
"Oh, is it Lapis or Lazuli," Arturia asks, knowing how often those two get into trouble.
"No, it's Magenta,"
"Oh, what happened?" Arturia asks to know that while it wasn't uncommon, Magenta still got in trouble from time to time.
"It's nothing bad it's just that this morning she came and asked to transfer to a combat school to become a tournament fighter in Vale," John explains.
"Oh… um, that's… um, wow, that's a strange thing to ask," Arturia responds, not knowing what to say.
"Yes, I know, which is why I told her that I'd talk to you to make the decision," John tells her.
"Huh, well, that's not something we can decide in a day," Arturia says, knowing that none of her daughters were particularly girly and that Magenta and Olive could be considered tomboys.
"I know, which is why I still don't know what to do about Jaune, and now Magenta is in this situation," John responds.
"What does Jaune have anything to do with this?" Arturia asks.
*Huff* "You were right. It's only been seven months, and he's already far surpassed what I ever expected, and now I still don't know what I'll do after the year is up," John says, looking defeated.
"I don't know how to respond to that, but I think we need some time to rest and think about this with a clear head, ok," Arturia tells him, placing a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
"I suppose you're right," John responds, getting ready for bed. "Good night, dear,"
"Goodnight," Arturia responds, rolling onto her side and allowing sleep to take her.
The Next Day
"So, what do you think dad will say about you wanting to be a tournament fighter?" Jaune asks, munching on some cereal.
"Yeah, I don't want him to freak out when I tell him I want to be a huntress," Olive says, pouring the milk into her bowl of cereal.
"He said he'd talk to mom, so I'm expecting a response in about a week," Magenta says, unsure what to expect.
"Well, do you guys still want to train?" Jaune asks, finishing his cereal.
"Jaune, I'm still sore, maybe after lunch," Magenta responds.
"Yeah, maybe after lunch, Jaune. I don't know how you can do this every day," Olive responds, swallowing her cereal.
"It helps if you drink some 'Enertea' and 'Healtea,'" Jaune tells them, taking a sip of tea from his cup.
'Where'd that cup come from!?' the two sisters unknowingly think in unison.
"Well, I'm going to go train in the course. Call me for lunch," Jaune tells them, heading to the backyard.
"His recovery time is impressive even for an Arc," A voice says behind the two sisters.
The two turn around, "Hey, dad," Olive says, greeting her father.
"Sup, old man," Magenta says, waving at her father.
"Hmm, aren't you girls up early," John replies with a yawn.
"Dad, it's already eight in the morning," Olive tells him.
"Huh … I guess I slept in well. I didn't have anything to do today, so I'm good," John responds, getting the coffee machine ready.
"Yeah, Jaune recovers from things pretty fast, but that's mostly the magic tea helping," Olive says, responding to her dad's first statement.
"Magic tea?" John asks with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, magic tea. I've seen a few and even had some," Magenta confirms.
"Yup, there's 'Claratea,' 'Prodoctivitea,' 'Healtea,' 'Enertae,' and 'Focutivitea,' most of them sound stupid but work," Olive tells him, trying to remember all of the teas that Jaune has.
"Well, that's interesting. Where did Jaune get these teas?" John asks, a bit baffled at the list given.
"He got them from the tea store lady. I've never been there, so if you want the name go, ask Jaune," Magenta tells him, getting ready to start her day.
"Later, when he isn't training, wouldn't want him to get distracted," John says, drinking some coffee.
"So, did you think about my request?" Magenta asks with a cheeky smile.
"I did, and your mother and I are still thinking about it," John told her.
"Ok, let me know when I can get a response," Magenta responds.
"Well, I'm gonna go read one of those books that Jaunes is always reading," Olive says, going to Jaune's room.
"Oh yeah, he said some were good hold up, Olive, I want to read one too," Magenta says, following behind Olive.
"Heh, to be young again," John says with a smile.
'Two of my children want to be fighters, one for the sake of battle and one for the future of Remnant, and I don't know what I'm going to do,' John thinks to himself, staring at his reflection in the cup. Unaware of a bird staring at him from the window.
'The young Arc is growing closer to finding the key. I wonder when the time comes will he be able to unlock his True Potential?' the bird thinks to itself before flying off.