Chapter 6
Jaune woke up around four a.m. being trained by his Grandpa and experience while on the wilds you have to learn to rest the little possible but enough to have the energy needed for the day, he couldn't help but smile remembering the fun he had the day prior, just chatting and playing with his new friends that asked him to tell them a lot of the stories of his adventures, they to tell him about life at Beacon and their adventures
He sat on the bed and couldn't help but smile at the sight. At his right Pyrrha… or what he thought was Pyrrha, because all he could see was a cocoon of blankets just slightly moving with along with her breathing, at her right was… an empty bed and at the right of that bed was Ren sleeping like a corpse, literally hands on his stomach no movement, no sign of life. Jaune freaked out a little and was about to check him when a loud snore coming from somewhere below the empty bed made Ren frown on his sleep.
Jaune got up to find the source of that monstrous snore, and he almost laughed out loud when he saw Nora's head… only Nora's head popping out of under her bed "These guys are really something else". After his morning routine, he went to where Pyrrha said where the training rooms were "So this is the kind of technology Beacon has huh" To Jaune looking at the very sophisticated rooms with all the gadgets and even training bots was something otherworldly
"Training bots, whoa that's a lot of technology, should I? I mean Ozpin did say that I could use the installations" Jaune mused to himself while typing in the console "Please enter the arena to start the simulation"Jaune smirked and got into stance "Hopefully I can handle this bots without Umbra" a level eight bot entered the fray, armed with a baton "Starting combat simulation" With that command, the bot rushed at Jaune.
What happened after, could only be described as a severe overestimate of the resilience of the bots by Jaune. He dodged three baton strikes and delivered a powerful uppercut at the bot, which had its head removed and fell to the ground. Leaving Jaune in an uppercut pose with widened eyes
"I see you're an early riser too Mr. Arc" Jaune stood straight as a ruler when he heard the voice of the reason his new fetish developed
"I'm really sorry Miss Goodwitch, I just didn't expect, I couldn't imagine that-"Jaune excuses were interrupted by a small chuckle
"Don't worry about it Mr. Arc you're hardly the first one that destroyed a Training bot" she said while getting closer to Jaune and the headless bot on the ground "These Training bots serve for two reasons, the first is help improve the first years that are below in combat prowess, the second one is more for the upperclassmen and the more gifted students, these bots serve to teach control in the strength they use to attack their enemies. You're not accustomed to fighting fellow human right?"
"I mean I've had to do it but, the major part of my fighting experience is with Grimm, so rarely I have to control the strength behind my attacks" Looking at the beheaded bot Jaune imagined it being one of his new friends "Maybe I should not spar with Pyrrha and the rest after all"
"Don't worry about it too much Mr. Arc" Jaune interrupted her
"Please call me Jaune, Mr. Arc feel more formal than necessary" Miss Goodwitch smiled and nodded
"Well then Jaune, as I was saying don't worry about using your strength against your fellow peers, after all, they're trained to handle that kind of fight, these bots resemble more a low tier thug with their aura unlocked" Jaune smiled at that after all he really wanted to test himself against Pyrrha, Ruby and Weiss
"That's great I'll use the other devices here for a while then, I think I won't be using training bots again" He said a little sheepishly, while Miss Goodwitch nodded and went to leave the room
"By the way Jaune even that you're not a student here, you're welcome to take the classes while you stay here on Beacon, the other teachers have been informed that if you decided to they should allow you to take their classes" That sparked Jaune's interest "The whole student package I see"
"Thank you Miss Goodwitch I think I'll take your offer" She nodded at him and was about to leave the room when she stopped and looked behind her shoulder
"And Jaune you're not my student, as your report says, you're almost a full huntsman so please just call me Glynda" She said while smiling and then left the room after a few moments Jaune recovered his senses
"I think my heart stopped for a full thirty seconds, oh dear god, am I having a heart attack!? Is Miss Goodwitch the reason I would die?!" Jaune stood in the middle of the room trying and failing to start his supposed training moments later he just understood that he wouldn't be training today and that he needed a shower… an ice-cold shower.
Reaching the dorm Jaune was received again with another curious sight, Pyrrha was still in her cocoon form just that this time she was sitting on his and he could see her head now, she was still with her eyes closed but she seemed somewhat away "That's kinda cute", on the other side of the room Nora was trying to preach Ren out of his bed while he was holding onto his bedframe
"You have to wake up Renny!" Jaune knew about Nora's strength he saw her swing a war hammer like it weighed five kilos so he had to give it to Ren, he was holding his bedframe like it was his lifeline
"Ten more minutes Nora!" Ren shouted… with his eyes closed
"No can do Renny you have to take a shower before Pyrrha you know you take more time than her in the bathroom with all the hair products you use" A snicker coming from their door made team NPR turn their heads just to see Jaune trying to muffle his laugh with his hand
"I'm sorry for barging in without knocking but I heard a ruckus and assumed you were awake sorry to… enter in a very team-like situation"
"Don't worry about it Jaune-Jaune this is a daily routine for team NPR you see while Pyrrha takes more time to wake up she gets ready in a few minutes, unlike Ren that takes way too much time with her hair care products"
"I do not" Ren mumbled while entering the bathroom dragging his feet
"I guess its good that I took a shower on the gym, I'll be waiting for you guys in the dining hall while you get ready"
"Okie Dokie Jaune-Jaune" was the cheerful answer from Nora and from Pyrrha all he got was mumbled words he couldn't understand.
An hour later after eating Breakfast both team NPR and RWBY were walking to the training rooms again
"I can't wait to spar against you Jaune!" The cheerful Ruby was jumping up and down. Jaune could admit that her excitement was contagious
"Yeah it will be great to train against huntsmen in training"
"Just remember to take it easy Jaune if you need to stop after one or two fights we understand even with your massive amount of aura fighting against other huntsmen in training can be really taxing," Pyrrha said with her bright smile and cheerfulness
"You look different from this morning Pyrrha" Jaune chuckled a bit at the red-faced Spartan
"Sorry you have to see us in that state Jaune, Ren and I are not morning people"
"Yeah I could see that, oh by the way Ren could you lend me some of your hair care products? Being on the road for months doesn't help with keeping good hair health" Ren's cheeks tinted a little red but he still nodded and got close to Jaune taking a strand of his long hair
"I see, I really think cutting it a little would help you a lot, and I have some products that can help to repair this kind of damage" Jaune didn't mind Ren touching his hair and nodded
"Yeah all I could use on the road was regular soap, while it kept my hair clean It didn't help with all the damage my hair received" Ren nodded sagely
"If you want I could cut your hair, I'm not the best at it but I have a lot of experience cutting my hair and Nora's"
"Oh man I would appreciate that a lot! I have been cutting my hair with a knife for the past three years every time I'm in a village I either forget or the barber is out!"
"Jaune you can't do that you have to take care of your hair better-"they both stopped talking when they noticed that the girls were standing a few meters back staring at them
"What just happened?" asked a very confused Weiss
"I told you their relationship is taking a direction I don't like!" Nora said while biting the end of Ruby's cape. Meanwhile, Ruby was trying and failing to free her cape from Nora's grasp and teeth
"What?" Ren and Jaune asked them
"Nothing, Nothing at all guys come on we are almost there," Yang said. Secretly hearing about the hair care techniques and products the boys were talking about.
When they reached the training rooms the three fighters decided in a fair match of rock, paper, scissors that Ruby would go first and then Pyrrha who was hoping he would keep enough fuel on his tank after fighting Ruby.
"Let's get ready then," Jaune said and went to the changing rooms to get his weapon and armor moments later the three combatants were ready to start
"Okay then Ruby, Jaune get to the arena" Pyrrha announced, becoming the referee of this match
"Ready to eat dust Jaune?" again Jaune couldn't stop the chuckle that got out of him after sensing the excitement in the little reaper
"Let's do it, Rubes"
"Are both combatants ready?" Pyrrha asked she received a nod from both the fighters "Then begin!"
Two blurs met at the center of the arena, both interlocking their weapons in a mighty swing, Jaune was surprised at the brute force Ruby had, for someone that small she had a lot of strength, they completed their swings to get some space and started clashing at high speed again.
For both teams watching Ruby fight was always a spectacle, most of her fights tended to end with her overwhelming her opponents with her speed, a few students could give her a good fight and less than those few could beat her, even for her teammates and friends she was always a monster to fight against.
Now she was having an equal, fighting at the same speed, moving with the same reflexes, they were appearing and disappearing all over the arena, gunshots and arcs of elemental powers crashed against the energy shield that separated the seats from the arena.
"He is fighting her at her speed game," said a baffled Yang "Just how much he improved in these years" In her mind, she remembered Jaune being on the middle of the pack, not the worst nor the best, this Jaune was way more powerful than she would ever imagine.
"Yeah but Ruby isn't using her top speed, you know how fast she can be if necessary" even after saying that Weiss should admit that he was very impressed with the skills Jaune was showing
"Neither is Jaune" three heads turned to see the one that said that
"What are you talking about Ren?" The most silent teammate on team Ruby asked
"We have seen Jaune fight at high speed when he saved us from the Deathstalker, he was moving faster than he is doing it right now" after that statement the three girls turned to see the fight again just to realize Ren said the truth, both of them were moving faster.
Ruby and Jaune weren't giving the other one any chance to rest, and to Ruby that meant that she needed to wrap things up as soon as possible, her semblance burned her aura quickly and she felt her aura dipping more and more when they upped their speed.
She closed the gap between them and used her momentum to use a spinning attack, Jaune barely dodged that. He rolled and send to her direction a volley of icicles "I really need to ask him to let me check his swords and all its functions!" She moved again getting a good space between them she was about to start firing her riffle when something completely unexpected happened.
A massive black sword was going in her direction "He threw his sword! What kind of disrespect for a weapon! What is he-" Ruby rolled to the side losing her footing a little, that mistake cost her dearly. She tried to shoot her rifle to use the recoil, but it was no use as a powerful punch hit her right in the middle of her chest. Throwing her out of the ring and making her crash against the energy field
"The match is over, Jaune wins by ring out and depletion of aura" Pyrrha announced while looking at the screen with their aura levels, Ruby was exactly at 15% that just scratching the red, while Jaune was at a comfortable 77%
"Ruby are you okay?!" Jaune appeared at her side in a moment "I'm so sorry I shouldn't have punched you that hard!"
"Someone took the license of the Nora that hit me?" he shook her head to clarify her dazzled mind "Ugh don't worry about it Jaune I'm tougher than I look," she said while looking straight to the wall
"I'm over here Ruby" he chuckled "Here let me help you" Jaune taking her on his arms was not what Ruby expected, as a little cry left her mouth while Jaune seated her on a bench outside the arena
"Thanks, Jaune" Ruby said embarrassed
"Don't worry about it I'm just glad that you're okay" he scratched the back of his head "Thank goodness Glynda was right about huntsmen being more resistant, I got a little carried away in that fight"
"Yeah I'm good just a little dazzled, by the way" he turned at him with a fearsome glare on her silver eyes "You can't go around throwing your weapon at your opponents like that!"
"I know it was a bit too much but I couldn't think-"Jaune reasoning was interrupted
"How can you disrespect your weapon like that? Throwing him around like he didn't matter!"
"Wait, he?" Ruby's cheeks became red "I can't believe I let my weapon craziness flow around someone I just met!"
"I mean, he could be a he, I don't know when I saw your sword-" she stopped talking when Jaune got closer to her and he covered his mouth to whisper
"You know I always thought that Umbra was a girl" Her eyes widened when he stood up and send her a toothy smile "I should go back to the arena Pyrrha is waiting"
"Yeah you should do that I'll stay here" he nodded and left to the arena. "You know I could totally see Umbra being a girl" She thought to herself, never moving her eyes from Jaunes back.
"Is Ruby okay? She took a hard punch" Pyrrha wasn't that concerned, she knew how tough Ruby was but that strike had a lot of strength behind it.
"She'll be fine thankfully. She is just a little dazzled, I used more strength than I meant to" Pyrrha smiled at him when he scratched the back of his head
"That's good" Pyrrha frowned a little "Please don't hold back with me, fight with everything you had like you did with Ruby" Jaune looked at her a little puzzled but nodded
"Okay then I won't hold anything but be prepared" Weiss appeared in the ring taking the referee position
"Are both combatants Ready?" Again she received two nods "Let's start!"
Jaune moved again like a blur trying to take Pyrrha by surprise. He was the one surprised when his sword just met air and a shield hit him on the back, he stumbled but rolled and send a slash of wind in her direction, she dodged it with a grace he didn't know a human could possess and retaliate with three well-placed shots on his body
He saw her fight before against Grimm and he thought he had a good grasp on how she fights, she was graceful and agile but this was completely different.
He attacked again more cautious this time, she met him with her now javelin and started trading swings. Now trading wasn't the exact word for what they were doing it was more like she either dodged or blocked his strikes meanwhile Jaune took them like a champ.
"She fights in a completely different level than Ruby, is almost as if I am fighting Grandpa. I guess it's time to up this fight a good notch!" Jaune semblance activated and all his stats went up
Jaune disappeared of her sight and by pure instinct, Pyrrha blocked his sword with Akuo, she felt her feet digging on the arena, he disappeared again and she saw a slash of fire coming at her, she rolled and started shooting. She saw Jaune took those shoots but he didn't seem to mind because he disappeared again.
"Now this is a fight give me everything you have Jaune!" Jaune appeared in front of her and again she blocked the strike but this time it pushed her a few meters back "He hits like a truck! My arm is getting numb" Jaune rushed at her and was about to deliver a devastating two-handed swing, she rolled to try to dodge it but she knew that that swing was unavoidable... unless.
Her semblance appeared and his sword plunged onto the ground, he seemed confused on how he could have miss that hit and she was just happy that someone was making her put her all in a fight
"It's been a lot since I have to use my semblance, this is the best!" Jaune got out of his stupor and re-started the attack but with the use of her semblance the fight was balanced again.
They both either dodged or blocked, both of them were taking hits even with her semblance she couldn't avoid everything Jaune threw at her. But she was getting more hits in than Jaune "Time to end this!" She used her semblance more evidently this time to push Jaune's sword out of the way then Spartan kicked him with a semblance augmented steel boot
Jaune flew a good meter back almost out of the ring. He had to use his sword to stop the momentum after that kick, she was about to throw her javelin at him to end the fight but stopped when he saw the smile on Jaune face, he seemed to be enjoying the fight as much at her "Wait weren't his eyes deep blue?"
Jaune was enjoying this fight more than he believed he would. It didn't matter he was losing he was enjoying this a lot. He restarted the attack with a powerful punch against her shield she flew back and aimed her rifle at him.
He took the hits head-on and delivered a mighty swing that she blocked with her javelin. Jaune had to admit it. She was way more powerful than he is and definitely a better fighter, for every hit he connected he received six from her. If it wasn't for both his stupidly massive aura reserves and his handy semblance that boosted all his stats, he was sure she would have wiped the floor with him in a matter of minutes.
Attack after attack Jaune could see that Pyrrha was getting more winded. It seemed that he finally regained his footing and composure because he wasn't missing his attacks quite as much. Maybe he had a chance after all.
Jaune launched himself at her just to be received with a shield bash to the face "I think she broke my nose!" he was getting really sick of that shield of hers. He took the rim of the shield and was about to attempt to rip the shield from her arm when he froze.
In the reflection of the shield he could see himself battered and bruised but what paralyzed him was his almost flaming green eyes "WHAT THE FUCK WHEN DID THE CURSE ACTIVATED!"
Jaune leaped back out of the ring and put his back against the wall. He was looking down and hyperventilating trying to feel if the curse was getting out of control. No, it wasn't getting worse. It was going back to the cage "Just what the hell happened"
"Jaune are you okay, what happened?" he looked up to see Pyrrha she was as bruised and hurt as he was, inspecting her he saw her shield arm limping at her side. He had hurt her. His loss of control hurt her.
"I'm so sorry Pyrrha" he whispered then turned and ran out of the arena
"Jaune wait" she attempted to follow him but her legs didn't move "What happened?" she said
Meanwhile on the steps outside the arena both teams were silent and completely stunned, they just witnessed a fight that couldn't have been real. Jaune not only matched Pyrrha on the arena at the end of the fight he overpowered her by a great margin.
In the screen of the arena two aura meters displayed the result of the battle that just occurred, Pyrrha was at 17% while Jaune was at 13%. The invincible Girl has prevailed but the fight proved that she could bleed, that she could be defeated.
To her friends was an announcement that they could reach her, that the impossible pinnacle of the chain could be reached, to Pyrrha meant something different, she found an equal, someone that could rival her and even surpass her. She was more than happy and she thought Jaune would be too, but the fear in her eyes told her differently, she hoped she could help him.
Without knowing it Jaune changed the way both teams thought the world worked, he gave them a new goal, a motive to exceed their limits. Without knowing or wanting it, Jaune gave Remnant the ones that would be its best defenders.
Jaune wanted to flee, run back to the wilds and never go back, he knew he should have never come to the city, that it was like daring his already bad luck to make things go wrong.
He wanted to teleport out of the school but his body finally was running out of adrenaline and the fatigue and pain from his previous matches were starting to tax him. He turned and entered the first door he saw, on the other side of the door was one of Beacon's many balconies.
"Fresh air, yeah I need to take a breath before leaving" he let himself drop on the floor "Everything was going so well, of course, I had to lose control, of course, I had to hurt Pyrrha" he lamented slamming his fist on the ground "Just how in heavens name the curse activated by itself!"
"Jaune?" his eyes widened hearing the sweet voice of Pyrrha "What happened?" he felt her kneel beside him
"I'm sorry Pyrrha. I lost control and hurt you. I was having an amazing time and let myself lose the control of it" He knew he wasn't making any sense to Pyrrha and that he should shut up before telling her anything about the curse but he was tired and his emotions were all over the place, he was talking more than he should.
"You lost control of it? what are you talking about Jaune"
"Nothing Pyrrha just don't mind me I just need to put my head in order" Pyrrha frowned but understood he wouldn't just go and tell her all his worries, after all, they just meet a day ago
"It's okay Jaune and don't worry about it, we're huntsmen in training. We're trained to get hurt" Jaune wanted to argue but he knew if he tried he'll end up saying things he shouldn't talk about
"I'm sorry. I should have stopped myself before things went out of hand" Pyrrha's hand on his shoulder made him look at her eyes
"Jaune we're all capable of hurting people, that's why we train with our friends, teammate, and fellow peers"
"But not all of you have a curse that made you one of the most dangerous beings on the planet," Jaune thought, Pyrrha felt she needed to say something else
"Did you know that my semblance is polarity?" Jaune's eyes widened "Yeah that's why you missed your attacks but that's not where I was going. Jaune if I wanted I could hurt someone really bad with only my semblance just imagine it"
Jaune thought about it a little and understood what she meant. Instead of just redirecting an attack she could easily stab you with your weapon, or crush you with your armor
"We all have the capacity to hurting someone Jaune. Imagine a slash of Ruby's scythe with low or no aura, Weiss could literally put you on a block of ice until you suffocate don't make me even talk about what Nora could do with her hammer" Now Jaune still wanted to leave Beacon but for a set of new completely different reasons "But is our training and experience that made us control that kind of situations"
"Thank you, Pyrrha, and I'm sorry for losing my cool and worrying you it's just that I'm not supposed to lose control I've been training for years to control it" Pyrrha quirked her eyebrow but decided to not ask about what "it" he was referring
"Don't worry Jaune and if it makes you feel better that was the best fight I've had in years" She extended her hand to Jaune. Her smile and the exhaustion disarmed him
"Me too Pyrrha I had a lot of fun" he said while taking her hand "And thank you for your words. I know we just met so you didn't have to come and help, so I really appreciate it"
"As you said we just met but I like to think we're good friends already… unless you don't want to I understand if it's too soon!" even if she was better making friendships after meeting NPR and Team RWBY her inexperience still made her doubt
"Pyrrha after coming here to cheer me up, I would be an idiot to not want to have you in my life" her cheeks reddened "Why does he have to say it like that"
"Well Jaune we should head back or the other will be worried" He nodded and followed to the door
"All is going to be fine everything is under control" Those were his thoughts but, in the back of his mind he could feel the curse more than he normally did, the power was pulsating like it was making him remember that it was there and he shouldn't let himself forget it for even a second.
A/N
The ending was really difficult to me, that kind of situation is hard and with Jaune trying to not reveal anything. Yep more difficult I hope I could make any sense of it