In the short days that followed, the recording of Jaune's spar with the headmaster had begun to circulate online, revealing Jeanne to the any huntsman and huntress with a scroll. Some say that it was just a show and that Jeanne was simply another huntress. Others say that Jaune would have an unfair advantage if he had more time in training.
For Jaune, however, it was an experience. He was used to being behind his peers and it was no surprise that the headmaster would be leagues above them all. His training with Pyrrha had intensified with added swings, shield strikes and even kicks and punches as well. At times, Jeanne would be his sparring partner as well, giving Jaune some experience in dealing with other opponents.
While that was happening, Jeanne had become a bit of a celebrity among the student body, being able to match with the headmaster was no small feat. Jaune slumped in his seat. It would have been nice if he had some recognition there too.
"We'll get there soon, Master," Jeanne comforted.
"Yeah, don't worry, Jaune," said Yang. "You just need to finish your training arc, that's all." She grinned.
Jaune and Jeanne stared at Yang.
"Eh, eh? Guys?" she prodded. Shrugging instead, Yang said, "your lost, that was awesome."
Suddenly, there was a tap on Jaune's shoulder. When he turned, he was met with a pair of shades and a beret.
"Hey kid," said she. "Name's Coco. So is this the knight in shining armor that saved a certain bunny-eared friend of mine? Heard you and your twin-sister got into a fight with the old man upstairs, too."
"Oh, Jeanne is not—" Jaune tried to reply but was stopped by Jeanne. Her eyes were sparkling. It was as though she was pleading with her Master. Jaune couldn't bring himself to deny that, not entirely anyway. "More of an older sister really." Jeanne looked even happier at the sound of that.
Coco looked amused. "Yeah well, I just came by to give you all my thanks on behalf of Bun-bun. Knowing her, she's probably too shy to even come by herself."
"Oh, it's nothing really." Jaune scratched the back of his head, a little color on his cheeks. "I didn't exactly you do much, you know?"
"Do much he says," Coco said to no one. "Yeah, all you did was somehow make that Winchester fellow change his ways and even make amends with Bun-bun."
As if to demonstrate her point, Coco pointed in the direction where Cardin and Velvet were. Cardin was aiding Velvet with some camera equipment it would seem look. Although Velvet had a face that looked apologetic.
"She doesn't seem like she wants to make Winchester carry these things," Weiss commented.
"Bun-bun is just shy," Coco defended.
"You're the one who made him do that as an apology weren't you?"
"Nope, Bun-bun is just shy. That's my story and I'm sticking to it."
"Right," Jaune intervened. "So is that it? You just came by to give us thanks?"
"Sort-off," Coco said. "The other is your twin—sorry—older sister over here."
A happy Jeanne d'Arc bounced up. She wasn't like Nora in that she was physically bouncy, but the enthusiasm was clearly there. "Jeanne d'Arc," said she joyously.
The usual introductions had come, with Jeanne explaining again about her being Jaune's semblance as his Servant. It was things that JNPR and RWBY had already learned before.
As Coco and Jeanne continued their conversation, Jaune slumped a little in his seat. He really was behind his peers there is no doubt about that. Jeanne was an excellent fighter, at least definitely someone with experience at least. Although he had gotten more out of the training with Pyrrha and Jeanne every night, now including parries, slashes and shield bashes, he still had long ways to go.
Still, it was a discouraging knowing that everyone's interest in you came from your semblance. Jaune couldn't hate Jeanne, she was like an older sister to him now, judging by the absolute joy she had at being called that. Jaune looked down at his hands, he curled them into fists. With a breath, he let it go. None of that matters yet. If it were like the stories, Jaune was still a young squire, albeit one that is too old but it's there.
Then, Jeanne sat back down. Whatever conversation they had was finished.
"Master?" asked she, noticing the expression on his face. "Is something wrong?"
Jaune shook his head. "Just that I have a long way to go."
Pyrrha held his hand. "It's okay Jaune, I'll—we will be here for you."
"RWBY-JNPR training session, let's go!" Ruby suddenly suggested. "For the Vytal Festival, let's do it."
"That's actually a good idea," agreed Weiss. "Maybe I could work on my Glyphs while we're at it."
Blake's only response was raising her fist in unison with the rest of her team. Her eyes never left her book once.
By then, classes had been a bit more relaxed. One thing that was of note was that not even Jeanne could survive Professor Port's lessons. At first, Jeanne thought that there was something of value there. In the end though, she too would follow suit with the rest of the student body. It was only in this class that she didn't mind that her Master was falling asleep. She herself was falling asleep too; it was an experience, hearing sleeping noises in your head.
For training, teams RWBY and JNPR did so at the Emerald Forest. They were just close enough to Beacon Academy that they have no fear for Grimm. The training halls were often full and so they opted to be here instead.
For Jaune, that came in the form of sword forms with Pyrrha. As they did so, Jaune felt something was off with Pyrrha. He looked at her hard and long but he couldn't figure out what exactly had changed. Pyrrha was tapping with her foot more often, looking as though she was adjusting to something she had recently worn. Jaune couldn't figure it out though, he was never the kind of person to just stare at people's feet.
"You noticed?" Pyrrha smiled, a pinkish-red painted her cheeks. "I decided to take Jeanne's advice and get some protection for my heels. Trying to get a little used to it."
"Oh," Jaune replied. While odd, having additional protection is good anyway.
RWBY and JNPR would spar with one another. It was one-on-one. With Jaune, that came with the fellow blonde from RWBY.
"If you're going to be fighting without Jeanne, Jaune," said Yang. "And wasn't that a twist on the tongue—anyway, you'll need to improve yourself as a fighter." She then took up her combat stance. "You ready, vomit boy?"
Jaune nodded. "Jeanne, you don't mind being a referee for this one? I don't think it would be too demanding on my aura that way."
"Of course, Master." She looked comfortable in that role, overseeing a fight between two combatants.
Yang, in contrast to Pyrrha, was a much harsher teacher. If Pyrrha taught Jaune by showing him what he could do, Yang would just punish Jaune if he made a mistake. She let him be creative, though. Having only a sword and shield meant that he had to come in close. From there, he had to engage with an opponent who was more accustomed to fighting at melee.
Noticing the heavy use of the sword, Yang disarmed Jaune. In so doing, she forced him without his weapon and pushed him to the defense. Whenever he would try to grab his sword, Yang would simply fire in that direction.
The intent there was clear enough. A shield was as much as a weapon as a sword. Although it was not with the same purpose as a sword, the shield can be used as well. Realizing this, Jaune made use of his shield more often here. Deflecting Yang punches and strikes bashing her with it like he was an amateur boxer.
One new thing that Jaune tried was holding both sword and shield in one hand. It was a mistake as it left him exposed on one side. Obviously, he wasn't trained in hand-to-hand combat and wouldn't be able to out-punch Yang Xiao Long.
Another was collapsing his shield. By collapsing it, Jaune had much more of himself exposed. But doing so meant that he could grab his opponents if he ever came close. It didn't do well here but that was the point of training. Jaune could test out some techniques while they were still in school. Better here than in the field where lives are at stake.
While Yang was the physical side of things, it could be said that Ren handled the aura. With meditation techniques, the only boys in the group practiced means of making aura usage more efficient. While it was possible to raise one's aura reserves, it has been preferred by huntsmen and huntresses to simply be efficient with them.
The last came from Nora. Much to Ren's horror, Jaune had actually decided to give Nora's regimen a try. He regretted it soon after; they all did.
As Jaune lay there on the ground, unable to move a muscle, he looked for any help. Not even Jeanne was any help there. She tried though.
"Master, master." She nudged the blonde boy fruitlessly. His aura levels were fine, all focused on healing whatever wear and tear on his muscles. Turning towards Nora, Jeanne asked, "how are you human?"
"What this?" Nora gestured her, as she called it, thunder thighs. "You think we could save the world without thunder thighs?"
All Jeanne got from that was that she should be thankful for being a Servant. Nervously, she lied, "Master's aura reserves are low. Probably best that I do not burden him further." She then dematerialized soon after.
"Aww," said Nora. "And we just finished the warm-up. Would have made you bench Magnihild. 765 reps, that's child's play."
That was how passing students and teachers had found them. Nora Valkyrie standing alone as though she was the sole survivor of some battle. Their weapons were scattered across the grass.
"Alright ladies! I'm a lax teacher but that's enough rest, the real workout starts now!"
They swore never to do that regiment again.
AN: Shorter one this time, I was planning of actually including the Vytal Festival introduction (in terms of following RWBY canon, I'm referring to the events of the Vol. 1 finale) but I think that it should be it's own chapter.
Also saw this Youtube video about Jaune vs Yang. Some of you may notice that here with that spar with Yang.
