Chapter 9: PvP
The next morning, Jaune slowly got up and gently dropped to the floor with nary a creak from the mattress, remembering his likely still sleeping roommate below him. Looking behind him, he could see her peacefully sleeping face, breathing a bit loudly, but not on a level to be considered as snoring.
He quickly looked away to not feel like a creeper by watching her sleep, getting dressed in a pair of black shorts and a white muscle shirt. Feeling a bit better after rinsing out morning breath, he headed to the patio for some morning meditation.
The storm had broken overnight, but the sky remained overcast with a subtle threat of more rain. A gentle breeze passed through as Jaune inhaled the petrichor and sighed in content. The patio floor was pitched, so there were no puddles lingering from the night before.
As he sat in a dry spot, hands clasped on his lap in an open gesture, he pondered last night's void during his meditation; such an occurrence had last happened before awakening his semblance. Since the first Dream, Jaune's dreams were more vivid and therefore easier to remember after awakening, whether jovial or otherwise.
After about twenty minutes, cutting it a bit shorter than routine, Jaune stood up and his wrist brushed against the bell strapped to his waist, but it made no sound. He had brought it out with him to experiment and minimize any potential disturbances.
Lifting the ornate, silver bell to his face by the crown for closer inspection, he noted the oddity of nothing being inside to make the bell ring. Without the clapper, it appeared to be nothing more than an empty shell.
'He wouldn't have commissioned Dad to make this for no reason. Then again, it was his surname.' Jaune was puzzled as to why the previous owner carried around something non-functional. He channeled a minute amount of aura into the silver; the filigree began to faintly glow.
With a light flick of his wrist, a light tinkle as soft as a psalm echoed around him, as if it had come from a choir of bells surrounding him from both a long distance away and from inside his head.
"Interesting." was all he said as he walked back inside. Looking to the rooms of the likely slumbering teenagers, he thought of a new experiment.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Waking up in a new bed is a slightly disorienting experience until one remembers how they got there the night before and why. Blake remembered that she was in her dorm room in Beacon, and then lazily stretched her limbs to rid herself of any remaining lethargy. As she got up, she passed through an unexpected, thick, blonde curtain. Lightly spluttering, she brushed Yang's mane aside as she left her bed, surprisingly more comfortable than what she experienced in the past few months. Disrobing from her yukata, she quickly got dressed into her normal attire. Looking behind her, she could see that Yang was hanging precariously from the edge, with her right arm and leg hanging over the side.
Thinking back to their time together in the city, Blake admitted that it had been good, and that the foreseeable future had potentially good prospects. With that in mind, she attempted to roll Yang away from the edge without disturbing her.
She might have succeeded had there not have been a sudden jingling of a bell. Where and whatever the chiming came from, it stirred the girl in her grip to consciousness, as she rolled to go face up. Due to a bad cosmic coin toss, it was over the edge of the bed, leaving Blake the only thing between her and the floor. Unprepared for the sudden weight, Blake collapsed onto the floor with Yang landing on top of her.
With her body completely over her raven-haired partner, and now fully awake from the adrenaline rush of falling Yang propped her arms to lift her upper body enough to comfortably make eye contact with the girl below her, who seemed to be a mix of annoyed and embarrassed for some reason.
"Hello~, Blake. So why are we on the floor, and not in a bed? They feel a lot more comfortable, you know." Yang spoke with a chipper tone, feeling more awake than she usually was this early in the morning without coffee.
Beneath her, Blake grumbled, "You looked like you were going to fall off, so I was trying to move you."
"Ah, aren't you sweet?" Looking back up at their bunk beds, giving Blake a second sweep of her hair, "I think that you might have gone the wrong way though."
"I said trying. Not my fault you rolled into me after that bell started ringing."
Yang blinked twice. "So I didn't dream that?"
"It would seem that way, so could you please get off me? I don't feel like being on the floor anymore." Blake asked with a mildly annoyed tone, as most people would have already moved by that point.
"Okay." Yang rolled off and stretched her arms while lying on the area rug. She was mildly curious if Blake had slept with her bow on, not remembering her take it off last night. "I don't know why you're complaining, the floor doesn't feel too bad."
It wasn't the floor that was the problem, in Blake's mind; rather their, to an outside perspective, compromising position. With Yang directly lying on top of her, faces close together, other body parts pressed together, it sounded like something taken out of one of her books with heavier romantic tones both implicit and explicit. Blake had been especially sensitive to this, not accustomed to positive physical contact anymore, however accidental it may have been.
Yang had not seemed to notice or was unconcerned with their close proximity, as she was about to explain why as she stood up, but was interrupted by another bell chime, this time a bit louder in two two-beat measures. Instead she looked towards the door, and asked. "What's that ringing?"
Finally getting off the floor, her blonde roommate proposed, "I dunno, alarm clock maybe? Let's find out." Opening their bedroom door, they wandered to the lounge in search of the source of the chime.
"Gah, my eyes!" The shout came through the open door of the room next to them, much to the mirth of the shouter's older sister.
XXXX Ruby and Weiss's room XXXX
Ding ding. Ding ding.
An ethereal ringing to the tempo of a heartbeat compelled the two petite huntresses to arise with the sun. Weiss, in the lower bed, calmly got up without a hint of sluggishness, which garnered some interest for the heiress. For the past few years, she had never felt fully awake in the morning without a cup or two of the invigorating elixir known to most as coffee.
"GAH, my eyes!" A yell from above and behind alerted her that the room's other occupant had indeed awakened, but with a less grace as she was hiding her head under the covers.
Ruby's dream had been the loud and proud 'f-you!' to reality that only a dream could pull off. With her trusty scythe, she searched for the fabled Summit of Confections, the location bequeathed to her via a map by two unicorns, colored blue and pink like cotton candy. Before she could ask to ride one of them, they disappeared in a puff of multi-colored smoke, chanting in a duet of altos something about kidney pie. Upon discovering the secret entrance to the cave, she walked in without reservation, mouth watering and her body floating in the air at the imminent consumption of the largest chocolate chip cookie ever baked, hidden away at the heart of the mountain.
A few feet within the tunnel, the entrance sealed shut, leaving her in pitch black. Undeterred, she continued downwards. A small gleam of light sparked up in the distance, slowly glowing brighter, until a bell's chime, softer than a whisper, yet it reverberated like a bomb in the dim tunnel, causing a cave in and the last thing that she saw was a few mega-tons of confectionaries about to crush her.
Back in the waking world, the sun had broken over the horizon, and sunlight entered the room through the window with its red curtains tied in their open position, directly onto the top bunk and the face of Ruby still sleeping and on her quest. As a beam of sunlight radiated upon her face, her eyes involuntarily opened, only to stare directly into it.
Reflexively, she yelped and covered herself in order to hide from the cruelties of daylight. 'Hmm, maybe I should make a blanket fort. That'll show that stupid sun what for!'
Outside of her sanctuary of covers, she could hear an irritated sigh close by, and the familiar melody of Yang laughing in the next room, likely overhearing her.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
As they all walked out in various states of dress, yet none indecent, Jaune rubbed his temples with his empty hand due to an unexpected twinge of a headache. After a few seconds, the pain dwindled to a level that he could more easily ignore ignore as he suppressed a yawn.
"GOOD MORNING MENAGERIE!" Jaune yelled boisterously, pleased that his experiment had borne fruit, with an unforeseen catch.
"Why are we up so early?" Yang complained, as she had been in the mood to sleep in their last day off before their life as students began. Sadly for those plans, any hints from her body of a desire for continued slumber at this time had vanished.
"I told you yesterday that I've got plans, and they start as soon as y'all get dressed for breaking some sweat." He answered with a self-satisfied voice.
Ruby and Weiss, dressed in pajamas unconducive for such activity, went back to their shared room with haste. The others, barring Ren, were wearing shirts and shorts that could double for exercise and sleep, which would work just fine for what Jaune had in mind.
"So did anyone else hear that bell a few minutes ago?" Weiss asked, coming out of her room dressed in a track suit, white with two thin red stripes on the sides, followed shortly by Ruby with a black tank top and red yoga pants.
"Yeah, that was me… was trying this thing out." Jaune held up his bell and shook it, with the silver remaining silent, as he was not channeling aura through it. He tossed it back on his desk. "Seems like it worked just fine. Anywho, time to get some blood pumping."
"So what are we doing today?" Pyrrha asked.
"We'll warm up with a few laps, and then some sparring. I've seen you all fight against Grimm, and now I want to see how you fare against other people."
"Laps, like around a track or something?" Ruby asked.
"Sure, let's go with that." Jaune prevaricated as they left the dormitories and he turned to the left.
"The gym's that way." Ren spoke up. As Jaune looked back to him, Ren was pointing in the opposite direction, towards a short, wide, rectangular building in the distance. If Jaune squinted, he could make out the sign that denoted it as the fitness center for students to improve their physiques.
"So it would seem, but I don't have any plans in there today. Perhaps some other time, but do try to keep up." Rather than explain, Jaune just smirked before dashing off at a pace unachievable to most civilians, around twenty miles per hour, but a good jogging pace for Hunters. He headed to the main courtyard, his companions staring at his retreating form.
"I accept your challenge. Vengeance for The Golden Cookie!" Ruby yelled, which seemed like nonsense to the rest of them, before sprinting after him, leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake and quickly catching up to him thanks to her semblance.
"Well, why are we just standing here like sloths? Onwards to Glory!" Nora shouted, audibly capitalizing 'glory' as she goaded the rest of them to rush after their team leaders.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
He hadn't meant around a puny little track and field that wouldn't have been out of place in a civilian school. No no, he had meant a few laps around the entire campus grounds. Jaune had momentarily slowed down at the entrance courtyard, running in place until they all caught up with him. Running along the river on the south side until the fork, they took a sharp left across the grassy plain until they turned west, traversing parallel to the river on the north side, until they came back to the courtyard.
But that was not the end. Carved into the cliff was a pathway that leads down to docks. There's also a freight elevator, but that was obviously out of the question for their purposes at this time. The path was a steady decline of about 20 degrees, cutting back the opposite direction every hundred meters or so. Straight up and down, the cliffs overlooking the City of Vale were about a quarter mile from the top to the beginning of the Abhainn River bisecting the city. With their crisscrossing route, it was closer to a mile. Going down to the edge of the docks, and then climbing up the way they came finished their first lap, coming to a total of five miles.
"One down!" Jaune called to the group, passing another team on their own course. "Let's turn on some music, courtesy of our DJ's."
Linking their scrolls, they simultaneously began playing their exercise playlist composed yesterday as they attached them to their arms via a strap to secure them, beginning with Blitzkrieg by Audiomachine.
"Well, that wasn't so bad." Blake commented, missing his smile of almost malicious glee, and not from the menagerie of metal and orchestral strings.
Blake came to regret saying that after the fourth lap, and wished she hadn't said a word after the seventh. While their own past training allowed them the ability to run approximately forty miles in two hours, few of them had actually done so all at once, leaving them in various states of fatigue, and almost could not complete Jaune's extra surprise.
He would jump into the south-side river and swim upstream for a mile. He gave no indication that they were obligated to join him, but their collective pride refused to ignore him. Thankfully, their scrolls were completely waterproof, and able to perform in the harshest of conditions.
While running, the extra weight from the water soaked into their clothes adding that little extra difficulty. By the time they reached the south side to jump in the water again, they had only just been completely dried off, any sweat notwithstanding.
That isn't to say that the rest of them weren't breathing heavily. Despite a semblance that resulted in boosts of speed, Ruby did not use it for extended periods of time, but instead for short bursts for optimal performance, being more built for short sprints instead of long distance.
"Well, I guess that's enough laps for today." Turning off their music, near the end of Crimson Bow and Arrow by Linked Horizon, they had heard the complete ensemble of their currently small playlist, but no one had any desire to complain due to its exceptional quality and its ability in mustering motivation.
"Enough? As in… you were… gonna do more?" Ren asked in between heavy panting, his own stamina falling short in complarison. In contrast, Jaune was barely breathing hard.
"Mhm." He answered as casually as discussing the weather. "Or at least enough until to get you at this stage of exertion. Would you kindly check your aura levels?"
Checking their scrolls, which had an individual link to their aura level, most of them had passed the 80 percent level. Some dipped lower than others, but they all were within fifteen percent of each other. The two exceptions were Yang and Nora, indicating that they had higher reserves than their companions.
"Hey, what about you. Not putting a brave face to hide how exhausted you are, are you? Look at you, you're soaked." Yang asked in an accusatory tone, but not unappreciative of the see-through qualities of his white shirt and how even tighter it clung to his frame.
"Eyes up here, Sunny. Ha, I bet that's the first time someone's told you that." Pulling out his scroll, already on the aura link app, he put on a smug face at their bewildered expressions, for it showed that his aura level was at full capacity. While he had expended about five percent with his experimental alarm clock, he had more than enough time to recover it over their little jaunt around campus.
"How…?" Pyrrha asked.
"Aura should not and must not be a crutch." Looking pointedly at Yang as he took off his shirt to wring out excess water, "For your info, Sunny, I'm soaked because I didn't spare the effort to soul-dry myself off. Why do you think clothes that are made for Hunters are so expensive? One part of that is that they're friction resistant, even when wet."
"They are? How does that work?" Nora asked.
"Don't know, don't really care." Jaune answered bluntly, not really caring about how the evasion of the laws of physics made life a bit more convenient, just that it did.
Being particularly reliant on that trait, Ruby nodded her head. "Yep, it's why I don't get friction burn after five seconds of super speed."
"Indeed. Don't worry, now that you all know, it'll be easier from now on." Jaune reasoned with some positive encouragement, finding no amusement in crushing their spirits.
"Wait, we're doing this again?" Ruby asked dejectedly, whom had finally caught her breath.
'Well, perhaps a little fun.' "It's not like we're the only ones. We passed three other teams, likely older, doing the same thing. Besides, it builds character, and speaking of character, who wants breakfast? My treat." He asked cheerfully.
"How do those relate?" Weiss asked.
"An excellent question!" Jaune exclaimed with clapped hands and a bright smile, but remained silent on a more concrete answer as they entered their suite. "Perhaps you can mull it over while I make some breakfast burritos."
Jaune headed to the kitchen and pulled out enough eggs and chorizo sausage to make two full-sized wraps for everyone. Enough to give energy and satiate, but not to completely fill.
'Wouldn't want them stuffed and sluggish for the main event.' he connived as he turned on the news channel on his scroll to listen to while he worked, cutting into the middle of last night's speech from Brasa Sands, the pontiff of the Temple of Oum, protesting against the division of the masses and cruelty in all its forms, advocating camaraderie, unity and clemency.
"… For there is far more that brings us together than what some would have you believe divides us. We need a more even handed role in this moral crisis." Reading between the lines, the man was preaching equality in a similar vein as the White Fang in its early, more pacifistic form, without ever saying Faunus, implying that all are equal. It seemed like a good sentiment for the pontiff to have, and certainly far better than the other side of their coin.
"Want some help, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, not wanting him to feel like he had to do it himself. He casually waved her off without looking back as he preheated two pans on the stove.
"I'm good here, thanks, but you can set the table if you want." He went back to humming as he cracked the eggs.
As she went to get the plates, she was stopped by a call from Ren. "It's fine, I got this since I'm ready to go."
"Very well, Ren. Thank you." She left to the rooms, where she saw Ruby leaning against her door with crossed arms and a dull gaze aimed at the ceiling.
Curious, Pyrrha went over to her instead. "What are you doing?"
Her first response was a sigh. "Waiting. Weiss doesn't feel comfortable changing in front of anyone else."
Tilting her head with a confused gaze, "But didn't that already happen before we left?"
"That's what I said, but I guess that it's not the same, because…" Before she could elaborate, the door opened, and with Ruby leaning against it, she fell backwards, flailing her arms as she attempted to regain her balance to no avail.
"I barely noticed in our previous haste, but I prefer a certain level of privacy." Weiss stated, dressed back in her combat dress and bolero jacket, as she stepped outside for Ruby to change.
"It's not like I was gonna stare, you know." Ruby commented off-handedly before gently closing the door. "But if it what makes you comfortable, I'll live with it."
"That is much appreciated, thank you." Weiss spoke through the door, before turning back to Pyrrha. "I don't know how you'll handle it, Pyrrha."
"What do you mean?" She asked, unclear as to what issue that she'll have to deal with.
"What do I… Your living situation?" Weiss stated, as if the answer was completely obvious.
"What about it?" As Pyrrha didn't see her point, apparently an explanation was required.
"Not it… him."
"What does that… oh! No need to worry, I'm quite used to it. Most locker rooms I've used are co-ed." Pyrrha explained as she walked past Weiss to her own room, leaving the door ajar to facilitate the continuation of their conversation, as she was interested in their differences in culture. "Back in Sanctum, it was casually passed over without any real issues. Besides, I trust Jaune to not be a perv."
"Thank you for the vote in confidence. I can assure you that I will be a gentleman." Jaune interjected.
"Well, that is certainly not the case in Chronos. Everyone had private dressing rooms, and there were some here as well. Seems as though I am not the first with such views."
Finishing putting on her circlet and a light amount of green eye shadow that matched her eyes, Pyrrha stepped out in her armor.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Well, I guess that rules out a quick shower." Yang huffed as she went to her room to change, along with Blake, as she wanted to cleanse her mane of the multiple soakings of river water, which after having dried, left anything that might have been in the water behind, making her cringe at the slight gross factor. "I don't even want to know how dirty that river was."
"It couldn't have been that bad. I could see the bottom pretty easily." Blake reasoned as she changing into a new, identical outfit, with the two having their backs to each other as a mutual respect to modesty.
"Eugh, I think I felt a fish swim through it. So, you decent before I turn around, or do I get a free show?"
"Really?" Blake said with a blank tone as she passed into her partner's view to sit on the bed and put on her shoes.
"What? I asked. Come on, I'm hungry." They went back to the dining table, passing Weiss talking with Pyrrha about how the Mistralian was now roomies with a guy, likely something about how improper it was and blah blah, yadda yadda.
Blake went to the bathroom to privately clean her ears, as both pairs had been uncomfortably waterlogged, and to dry her ribbon as the dampness added another layer of irritation. At least synthetic silk air-dries rapidly.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
After they finished eating, Jaune asked Ren, "Okay since you've known all of the rules so far, as you have claimed, what are they for sparring?" It's reasonable to assume that a school that teaches you how to fight would have rules about fighting.
"Several, but I'll cut to the more important parts. Any fighting outside of a spar or training is prohibited, with severe consequences if weapons are involved. Any sparring with weapons must be within a combat class arena under supervision from an on-duty staff member, or in the other specialized training arenas. Any and all spars end when an aura level hits the red or on a judgment call from the supervisor."
"Pfft, lame!" Nora disputed.
"I know." Jaune agreed with Nora, pointing to the outside roof. "We even have that patio. What a waste." Shaking his lowered head in mock depression as Pyrrha, slowly becoming accustomed to his dramatics patted a consoling hand on his shoulder. "There, there."
"Any loopholes?" His mood uplifted without even needing a hat to drop.
"Well, if you get written permission, we could use it for only unarmed combat, so long as no major property damage or severe injuries occur."
"Well, there you go." Yang assuaged Jaune. "Then we won't have to walk across campus for me to kick your ass."
"Oh, you wish! Ren, is there someone on duty right now?"
Picking up his scroll, "Let me check… Professor Goodwitch should be there soon."
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" He walked at a fast pace towards the door, before a call from Blake stopped him. "Dressed like that?"
He just recalled that since he had cooked breakfast, he was still dressed in his running clothes.
He stopped, looked down, and scratched the back of his head "Oops, my bad. Be back in a jiffy."
Luckily for him, dressing up only took about two minutes. One would think that training to dress quickly would be superfluous, but it beat reacting to an unexpected Grimm attacking your camp while wearing only a pair of boxers. However, that's a story for another time.
"Close the door, for the love of God!" Weiss yelled, for in his haste he forgot to close his door, giving those who did not quickly turn away another exhibition as he stripped down to his boxers, and was about to drop those to the floor as well, but he stopped as he turned his head to the open threshold.
"Or don't, I don't mind!" Yang added with a sultry look, Weiss giving her a mild glare for her lack of propriety.
Heading to the door, he closed the door with a raised eyebrow and a closing remark. "Probably should buy me dinner first. I'm not that easy."
Pyrrha remained silent, as she just realized that she was a roommate with someone of the opposite gender who appeared to forgo or lack any and all modesty, or at least did not put it high on his list of concerns. "Oh dear."
"I'll go reserve us a spot, I'll call when I get it." Walking at a brisk pace, he went to the backdoor out to the patio, before diving off the five-story building like he was going for a swim.
"Did he just swan dive five stories onto concrete?" Blake asked, staring blankly as Nora and Pyrrha rushed to look over the edge. Right below them was a tree, which he had used to break his fall.
"Well, he didn't go splat, so that's a plus." Nora commented.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Rushing to the arena with a giddy expression, something that would look off putting if he had passed anyone on his route, he practically skidded to a stop about five yards away from Goodwitch as she was putting away her scroll after unlocking the arena door, holding a stack of papers in the crook of her left arm, with her riding crop holstered at her hip. "Is there something I can help you with, Mister Arc?" she asked stoically.
Taking a deep breath, "Yes, indeed. Can I reserve the arena for an hour? I want to do some sparring with my team and team RWBY."
"There is no need for evasion. All of the staff is aware or your unorthodox circumstances." Pushing up her glasses by the wire bridge, she opened the door, gesturing him to enter, paying no mind that he had weapons on his person instead of storing them in his personal locker. It was only optional, albeit more popular to do so. Most of the staff carried there weapons everywhere, so why shouldn't students so long as they were responsible about it?
"I know, but I just wanted to err on the side of caution for Ozpin's request. Walls have ears as the saying goes. So is that a yes?"
"It's Headmaster or Professor Ozpin, but yes. You and yours have until 10h30, as it has been reserved by a second year team, so take note that your upperclassmen will have seniority in scheduling." They walked in darkness for a brief moment before the lights came on, illuminating the hallway.
Jaune shrugged, but wasn't too disappointed. He expected others to have the desire to train today, especially when others might be occupied elsewhere. Hell, he suspected the only reason it wasn't booked now was because this was around the time people went to Temple.
"Why do you desire a full hour? Most only schedule half that on average, plenty of time for a few bouts." She asked with a mild hint of intrigue at the young man walking beside her, his facial features hidden by the brim of his hat due to their slight height difference from her heels clacking on the tile floor.
"Well, there are twice as many of us. Individual spars, paired spars, practicing team tactics, everything is doubled. I don't intend to let anyone's skills to stagnate or decline because of poor planning on my part."
The deputy looked at Jaune with an appraising gaze with a hint of approval. "I am pleased with your initiative, though to correct you, team tactics may be practiced in the simulation room. Most new students wait until after my first class to utilize this arena… Very well, you are booked until the next team arrives."
She shifted her gaze, and saw that he was alone. "Speaking of which, where is the rest of your group?"
"I asked them to wait, in case there were any issues or delays. All right, I can make do with just an hour today. This is only intended to familiarize ourselves with each other combat-wise."
Passing by a set of stairs, the pair entered the arena room, a plain round room and floor, surrounded by a high wall in front of a raised gallery. Most of the lighting came from four stage lights at each cardinal point, pointing inwards to the center. He pulled out his scroll to text the group, "We're booked until 10h30 with Goodwitch."
"On our way!" Ruby replied, using a smiley face emoji as an 'O'.
Jaune snapped his fingers, remembering something that he wanted to ask. "Oh, that reminds me. Professor, may we get written permission to spar outside the arena? Unarmed combat, of course." He added that last part as a placating gesture due to the beginning of a stern glance forming from the instructor. "We have that open space just sitting there, and it would be a shame to let it go to waste."
Thinking for a moment, she nodded. "I suppose I can acquiesce."
"Thanks, ma'am. I have another question, if you don't mind. Why only three?" Jaune asked, looking around the empty room, excluding the two of them.
"Could you elaborate?" She asked in response, not expecting a cryptic question.
"I mean, why just three arenas? There doesn't seem to be enough time in the day for every team to schedule enough time to properly train. Our year alone has at least… eight teams not counting mine. That doesn't even include the other three years above us."
"It's not as problematic as you would expect. Most prefer to use the training rooms nearby to enhance teamwork; otherwise your logistics conundrum would be on point. As for the rest of your year, it is admittedly a larger than average year-" A beeping from her scroll interrupted her.
"Perhaps another time, Mister Arc. It would seem that your squad has arrived."
"Thanks, I'm just going to get the rest of my stuff." Jaune headed towards the door opposite from where they came from, heading towards the locker room.
"Do you not have enough weapons?" Goodwitch asked impassively, glancing at each weapon on his person, already more than most in their career.
"What can I say? I like to be prepared." He commented without looking back as he walked off to retrieve his locker, while she remained for the arrival of the other seven.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Making haste to the building hosting the arena, the seven slowed from a jog to a fast paced walk as they entered and strolled down the hallway.
"So what do you think he's got planned?" Nora asked, skipping due to her excitement, weaving through the group. "Maybe a battle royale free-for-all! That would be amazing~!"
They flooded into the room and respectfully greeted Goodwitch before wondering where their herald was.
"He's in the locker room, and should be arriving shortly." She gestured with a stately motion of her head to the other hallway leaving the arena, before walking to the side and effortlessly jumping up the eight-foot wall, sitting down in an observational booth, shuffling through a stack of papers as she sat down.
"Why would he need to go there?" Ruby asked.
"For a dramatic entrance!" Jaune exclaimed enthusiastically as the doors burst open, with his locker hovering in the air and parking against the wall as he approached the center of the arena.
"Welcome, ladies and gentleman, to our first training spar-a-palooza!" He added with the liveliness of a game show host.
"Don't be so dramatic." Blake deadpanned at his theatrics.
"Hey, if you're going to do something, you might as well look good while overdoing it." Jaune rebutted.
"How long were you waiting to do that?" Ren asked suspiciously, finding his timing far too convenient.
"All righty, let's get this show on the road." With a clap of his hands, Ren's question was completely ignored. "We'll all do short, ninety second spars one on one against our partners, and then we'll each do spars with partner pairs. With a bit of time in between each match, and some extra prep time for the partner matches, that should be enough for the day. Any questions?"
"You seem rather organized about this." Weiss spoke in approval, holding organizational skills in high regard due to her background in business affairs and loathed having her time wasted.
"That wasn't a question, but I had some time to think during our morning jog. We won't do it like this every time, or it would get rather stale." At that, Yang really wanted to yell out 'Phrasing!' but restrained herself due to the stern presence of Prof. Goodwitch putting a damper on the impulse.
Unaware of his fellow blonde's internal dilemma, he continued to talk. "It should be a good idea to be familiar with your partner's fighting style, and what better way than to see it first hand? Well, enough chat, and ladies first. The order will be Ruby and Weiss, Blake and Yang, Ren and Nora, and then Pyrrha and I. We'll do an in-depth review after we're done here." He jumped up the sides directly to the peanut gallery section.
After Yang and Nora jumped up in a similar fashion, with Blake, Ren, and Pyrrha taking the nearby stairs, Goodwitch spoke up as they reconvened in the front row of the bleachers. "For future notice, please use the stairs if you would be so kind, especially in the future for my class. Contestants, begin on the signal in thirty seconds."
Feeling mildly abashed, the jumpers nodded and quickly refocused their attentions to the first combatants, Ren puling out his scroll to record their spar.
Through the speaker system in the room, Goodwitch announced, "Each spar will be on a ninety second timer. Begin!"
In an instant, the slightly awkward girl was replaced by one of confidence, feeling more comfortable fighting than making small talk. She was the first to take the offensive, a sweeping slash that Weiss flipped over before stepping in for a lunging thrust. The scythe wielder evaded by discharging a round to dash to the side before firing again to counter attack.
For the observers, it felt like they were watching a game of tag where both combatants were 'it'. Either girl would attack, and the other would evade it using her own unique repertoire. Ruby would use the recoil of her rifle or a dash enhanced by her semblance, which to Jaune looked exactly like Quickening, only with rose petals instead of smoke. Weiss would use her slightly superior flexibility and glyph-enhanced to perform similar bursts of speed.
One of Ruby's shots, missing Weiss in midair by a hair, propelled towards the bleachers, only to be stopped by a previously invisible barrier above the partition, leaving light blue ripples in its wake; a safety measure for such occurrences and one of the prominent reasons behind such restrictions on armed combat.
"Ugh, watching two agility types fight is so boring. All they're doing is dodging. Oops, sorry Ren." Nora complained, uninterested in the nuances of their positioning tactics. As if that was a signal, there was a change of pace when Weiss attempted to block full force, her rapier clashing against the rifle shaft of Crescent Rose.
It was a critical error in judgment, with Ruby's strength and the momentum of the massive weapon caused her knees to buckle. Seeing her opponent's stance compromised, Ruby lowered the angle of blade with a hint of smug on her face, the blades screeching against one another from the friction. She pulled the trigger, hooking the heiress behind her knees and flipping her into the air, now vulnerable to the reaper vaulting over her weapon planted in the ground to drop kick her with both feet.
Weiss bounced off the ground twice, and recovering on the third. With little time left, she used a previously unseen glyph that showed the image of clockwork imagery speeding up. She charged to retaliate with a speed greater than before, evidently hastened by the glyph. Three of her standard white snowflake platform glyphs formed a triangle around Ruby, whom was now on the defensive, spinning Crescent Rose in a red and black blur to deflect from all sides. A few grazing hits still went through before Ruby activated her semblance to escape the 'kill-zone' but she bounced off one of the platforms.
BZZT! With the buzzer sounding before Weiss could exploit an opening, the match ended with Ruby's victory. Weiss's haste glyph, and the other three platform/walls, had been too costly in energy, and rewarded too little gain to earn a win. Though it had been close, with a margin of five points in aura shield percentage, and they both were still in the green.
"Good fight Weiss, you almost had me there at the end." She complimented her partner, no longer her opponent, with a smile. Both could easily continue fighting, which was why their spar had been so short.
Though slightly disappointed in her own performance, Weiss was not petty enough to hold it against her. Though she was younger, Ruby had clearly shown she had earned her place here. "Thank you. You were quite skilled yourself." It only encouraged her to work harder and refine her abilities.
Both of them turned to their clapping audience, and gave polite curtsies like actresses on a stage, though Weiss's was more fluid in its execution due to practice.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Woo! Way to go Rubes!" Yang congratulated her sister as they met half way, grabbing her into a tight, but thankfully brief hug before she went down for her own match. "Now let's keep the family winning streak going."
Blake did not respond to the taunt and just kept walking along. "Not one for trash talk, are you?" Yang asked.
"Not really; I prefer action over baseless banter." Blake replied calmly, unsheathing Gambol Shroud as they entered the arena.
"Ooh~, catty." That got a barely visible twitch under her bow, but Yang did not notice as she decompressed her gauntlets, covering her forearms in yellow-painted metal.
"Begin!" Yang threw the first punch, literally, sending an explosive round that was easily dodged. Deciding to try and keep the brawler at a distance, Blake opened fire with the pistol component, which was blocked by the blonde crossing her armored limbs. Employing a tactic similar to her younger sibling, Yang shot with both arms behind her, using the recoil to launch herself forward and make contact with a left hook. It would have connected, had Blake not used a clone to take the hit as she jumped up and backflipped, the sword now a chain-, or rather a ribbon-sickle arcing below her to make contact, trailing across her chest.
Blake was like a ghost, unable to be hit due to her superior agility, even without the healthy assistance of her clones. However, whatever hits she managed to dish out did little to nothing to her more durable opponent who was becoming more adept at blocking as time went on. Up in the stands, some preliminary predictions of the battle were being made. Ruby kept faith in her sister, because while Blake could likely land more hits, all Yang needed was to connect once or twice.
"Get over here!" Whether by luck or otherwise, Yang managed to catch the ribbon, wrap it around her forearm, and gave it a harsh tug. Blake was caught off guard and brought in for a solid one-two combo on the abdomen and face, unenhanced by ammunition..
BZZT! Yang held out a hand to help Blake up in a show of camaraderie, which was accepted as Yang asked, "You're a slippery one, aren't you?"
"I find it best to not get hit in the first place." She argued, shaking her head to clear the small ringing in her ears, not feeling bad in the least that she lost.
"I find it more satisfying to take their hardest hit, get back up, and laugh while hitting them harder." It was exactly what her semblance allowed her to do. Minus the laughing, that was all her. 'Then again, so is my semb… and I'm thinking about this too hard.'
"Finally, it's my turn now! Come on, Ren you slowpoke, let's show them how it's done!" Nora had wasted no time, and was already down at the stage, waiting for her own partner slash opponent.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
This match had a much different feel than the previous two. As far as Jaune and the rest knew, this half of JNPR were already familiar with each other, and as such knew each other's fighting style almost as well as their own. Though an uneducated assumption was to think that a hammer would be slow, that was not the case as the Valkyrie swung it around like a child's toy with her impressive physical strength.
Ren did not make such a mistake and employed a similar tactics as Blake, striking small blows just after a missed attack, never staying in one place for long. But Nora expected it, and used the shaft to block before flowing into her next attack.
"Why isn't he using his guns?" Ruby asked. He could strike her at range, or even when she blocked the blades of Stormflower.
"I believe that he's preventing an escalation. If he uses firearms, then so will she. It's also why he stays rather close, otherwise she might do so anyway." Pyrrha spoke aloud her theory of the situation, giving credence to her experience in tournament-style combat.
"Grenades and SMG rounds are definitely not in the same weight class of rogue-class DPS." Jaune added, supplementing her explanation and speaking up for the first time since the string of quick matches began. Up until now, he stayed silent and was completely focused on the fights, extrapolating as much data as he could before the partner matches. Thorough force of habit, Pyrrha did the same to a lesser extent, whilst the others were a mix of viewing entertainment and studying potential opponents. Plus, they were on the same team, and they needed to know how their other half fought. The familiarity they held was a goal for Jaune and Pyrrha to strive towards.
But the reason Pyrrha's attention was lesser because she kept giving Jaune awkward, nervous glances, as she had been since they had regrouped. With only seconds remaining, Ren fired a short staccato of bullets during an infrequent clash of metal into her gut, scoring the only hit of the match.
The buzzer sounded before Nora could retaliate, much to her dismay. "Oh come on, that's not fair. This is payback for all those time I won, isn't it?"
Ren said nothing, and gave no indication that he felt satisfaction. "I believe that we are now tied. Come on, we get to watch Pyrrha fight." Unlike Jaune, they had watched two of Pyrrha's tournament matches, and Nora couldn't wait to see her in action in person, putting the loss out of her mind.
"Hey!" Jaune protested his lack of inclusion.
"… and Jaune as well." He amended without missing a beat.
"You're damn right!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Despite Jaune's enthusiasm, he and his partner had yet to complete the short walk for their match. Instead, Pyrrha had, once out of sight and earshot, called for him to stop.
"Is there something you need, Pyrrha?" Jaune hadn't noticed her glances at first, but with their increasing frequency, even he couldn't ignore it entirely. Still, he appeared jubilant, encouraging her to go through with her inquiry.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" She asked in concern. "I mean, with your…" All the same, she didn't quite know how to politely put it into words, but her hesitation was familiar to Jaune.
"Your concern is touching, but hardly necessary." His smile dimmed, but was still there. "What weapon would you like me to use?"
"I'm sorry?" She was confused by his out of the blue question. He politely repeated his question verbatim.
"It's not about your weapon, Jaune. It's about the very real chance of me causing you serious injury!"
His polite façade crumbled, and he turned to go to the arena without another word. As he entered, only his voice remained civil, but his hat hid his bitter expression well. "Professor Goodwitch, might I request increasing the time of our bout to four minutes?"
With an eyebrow raised at the unexpected change in plans, "Might I ask why?"
"I'm afraid that I need to prove a point." Knowing precisely what that point was, as she had read his file and viewed the important bit of his interaction with Miss Nikos via the unnoticed stairway camera, she nodded and began to adjust the timer accordingly. "It'll be a minute; the timer function is experiencing a minor technical difficulty."
"Jaune, I'm-" For the first time since they had met, he interrupted Pyrrha, the brim of his hat raising just enough that the stormy expression in his eyes was clear. "Which weapon? I'm trying to be nice, so let's not make a scene." He spoke in a whisper just loud enough for only her to hear.
Not responding for a moment, Pyrrha then understood that he would be unyielding on this matter. Whether because of stubborn pride or something else, she did not know. "The spear."
"Ah, an excellent choice!" He sounded cheerful, but only two in the building knew it to be a falsehood. "We have all the time in the world later to try others, and combinations as well. Ah, the possibilities." Grabbing his spear from the locker, he extended it to its full length with a harsh stabbing motion. The blade was similar to hers in appearing to be a sword, but it was more in the style of a longsword, smoothly tapering to a center-point, while hers was a xiphos design.
No more words were spoken, as he gave her a Hunter's salute. Pyrrha had been looking forward to this spar. Unfortunately, she had not had a proper one for quite some time. After her third tournament victory, no one in Sanctum would willingly step up, and those who were drafted either forfeited quickly or were demoralized, which only made things worse in bolstering her reputation as 'Untouchable' or 'Invincible'.
However, Jaune didn't appear to care about any of that. The thought gave her a sad smile. She had some concern about injuring him, but she was confident that her partner would be able to hold his own. She replied to his gesture with a two-beat of spear on shield, a traditional gesture of combat readiness for warriors of Mistral.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Whilst the subtle strife between the two occurred, up in the peanut gallery that suffered a dearth of peanuts, the other six completely missed the tension between the two soon to be fighting. "So, Ruby, who do you think… Ruby?" Yang asked, but her younger sister didn't appear to hear her because that was when Jaune pulled out his spear, as he let Pyrrha select which weapon he would use for their bout, making her go starry eyed and shiver with delight, hanging off the wall to get as close a look as possible.
"No Ruby, you are far too young to start playing with his spear."
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I asked." Ruby appeared to be ignorant of the entendre of her reply, but her wide-eyed sister certainly was not. "It's a very cool design."
Blake asked, "Why? It's just a spear? Jaune's weapons are pretty straightforward, from what we've seen." far more so than was the norm. These days, almost everything used to fight Grimm was also a gun in some capacity.
"Just a…? Nope, I'm not telling you. You'll just have to watch." She answered in a faux miffed tone, turning her head away with a dramatic humph. Internally, she resisted telling them despite her statement, keeping a strong will to maintain her expression until the match started. That didn't stop her from slipping admiring glances, though.
"Tell us what?" Nora turned to Yang for an explanation.
"Oh, Ruby's quite the genius when it comes to weapons. She can determine almost everything about a weapon's functions, hidden or otherwise, just by looking at it." Bragging about the awesomeness of family members always brings a good, warm feeling.
If Yang's claim rang true, Weiss would be a bit envious of such a knowledge base and an uncanny attention to detail, though the proper term might have been savant. It would also give another argument for her to be here at a younger age. As to its veracity, time would tell.
"Man, I wished we had some popcorn." Nora commented, prompting Ren to pull out popcorn flavored granola bars from his sleeves and hand it to her. "Thank you!" She chirped with a beaming smile as she devoured with gusto. He had developed the habit of keeping a few snacks on his person at all times for his hyperactive companion.
"Anyone else?" He politely offered several more for the rest of them to be met with gentle refusals by everyone except Ruby and Yang.
To clarify Nora's excitement, this would be prime time level of entertainment. They had a four-time champion participating in an exhibition match.
"Five lien on Jaune, within ten points." Yang said out of the blue, breaking the lapse of dialogue filled with Nora's chewing and humming. "Any takers?"
"No thank you." Weiss politely declined. "Gambling is an immoral practice."
"Uh huh. Sure you're not the tiniest bit miffed about, oh I don't know, your interesting conversations before Initiation?" Yang asked temptingly.
"…"
"…"
"Five on Pyrrha, twenty points." Weiss capitulated bitterly with an ice-cold stare, causing Yang to crow, much to the heiress's vexation. "Ho hoh, someone's feeling vindictive today."
"I don't see what you're so happy about. She is a champion for a reason, you know. While he is good, she is better."
"Who're you trying to convince, me or you?"
With the ice broken, others placed their bets, and whoever was closest to the actual result would win the pot. Ruby chose a virtual tie, or within three points. Blake also chose Pyrrha, but with a ten point margin.
"Shh, it's about to start." Nora shushed them. She held the recording scroll to 'take notes' for later review. The arena also had that function, but she didn't know that yet.
Blake noticed that something between the two was off. She had additional training through experience concerning body language, and Jaune's was in dissonance with his voice. He appeared relaxed, but in actuality was barely restraining hostility. She might have missed it if she hadn't seen it before, but she felt a troublesome pang of déja vu.
Combined with Pyrrha's apparent reluctance, instead of the confident battle maiden that she usually was before a fight, and a concerned tone before Jaune interrupted her, it was painting a picture. 'Pyrrha must have talked about something and it upset him for some reason… oh no.'
"We have a problem." Blake said, figuring out why Pyrrha seemed nervous.
"It's too late to change your bets, we've got like five seconds." Yang rebutted, completely misinterpreting said problem.
"That's not what I-" But it was too late for Blake, or anyone else, to do anything but watch.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
To no one's surprise, Jaune struck first. Quickly stepping in as Goodwitch sounded the call, he thrust his spear and was just as swiftly parried by her shield. Following the momentum, his right hand slid towards his left as he struck with the pommel.
She attacked in response, holding her javelin around the center. Making contact, the blade slid down the shaft before bouncing off the metal band serving as a guard; before she attempted to roundhouse kick his ribs. It was blocked with his knee at her shins, Jaune planting his leg back on the floor as swiftly as he raised the opposite for a kick, connecting with her shield.
Skidding back a bit, Pyrrha spun as she crouched, javelin spinning in an extended slash to his left shin. In response, Jaune jabbed the pommel into the ground with a heavy thud in front of him at a forty-five degree angle, diverting Miló away.
To those who've seen Pyrrha fight, which was everyone excluding Jaune, she seemed off her game. She was much more defensive, and hesitated for the smallest bit enough to broadcast tells before attacking, and even came very close to being hit. However, as their first bout proceeded, she seemed to smooth over her movements, gradually ramping up in intensity as though testing her opponent, another thing she had never done to their knowledge; always giving her all every match.
"Warm up is over." Jaune said out of nowhere after stepping back out of range. "Care to dance a while longer? I'm afraid we'll have to make our own music, but I have it on good authority that it'll be rather intense." Jaune's calm tone sounded borderline absurd with how disconnected it was with his body and situation. Pyrrha strangely seemed to relax a bit.
"That sounds lovely." Unbeknownst to the audience and her opponent, that close hit was when she tried to use her semblance, but it shockingly had resisted her efforts completely, and her curiosity drove her to find out why.
True to his claim, from an objective point of view they truly were dancing. Their footwork and maneuvering seemed almost choreographed with how fluidly they played off each other in close quarters. Every attack, whether thrust, slash, kick, or something else was dodged, parried, or blocked efficiently while flowing into the next. Pyrrha held a natural grace like she was born to battle, whilst Jaune moved with a methodical efficiency, never wasting an ounce of energy or moving an inch more than necessary, two approaches to the same end.
Clangs and gongs of clashing metals were a clamor of scarlet and silver against crimson and bronze. The muzzled bangs of Pyrrha's rifle, pinging off of Jaune's spear, along with their grunts of exertion and a choir of displaced air. They were a duet composing the cacophony of battle. It was almost as glorious to witness, as it was to experience.
"Here's a thought." Yang remarked with a whisper to her partner half way through the match, just loud enough for the others to hear with their close proximity. This comment was both directed at the spectacle, with that same sentiment being shared with those around her, and by an epiphany. "We have to fight those two together." A sudden jolt of dread of impending defeat compelled them the further scrutinize their 'dance' with a renewed intensity to find any hint of a weakness.
It appeared that Pyrrha had the advantage with her weapon's capability and her skill in smoothly transitioning between all three modes, as well as a shield in her off-hand. That is not to say that Jaune wasn't giving back everything he received. His spear was a blur of sanguine silver, but more often than not he was on the back foot.
Pyrrha felt it once more; that spark of enjoyment that came with a riveting fight. She slowly succumbed to the temptation to truly fight and give it her all; she couldn't help herself. Believing that her semblance would be of little use, she abstained from it until she knew why it hadn't worked before. But suddenly, she crashed from her nascent battle high with a grisly reminder of why she had been so hesitant in the first place.
New sounds had been introduced in their orchestra; sliced flesh and the cringing screech of metal grazing against tooth. A backhanded upward slash slipped through his defense, carving a deep crimson gash from an inch below the left corner of his lip at a diagonal to his left cheekbone for three inches. A chunk of his jaw could have been cleaved away, but a laceration was all he received.
The wind whistling behind Miló brushed Jaune's hat off his head and sent it into the air. Unexpectedly, this seemed to distract Jaune more than his injury as his eyes flickered to the airborne headgear, bringing his face into the light. However, Pyrrha did not use this lapse in his attention to shield bash him in the chest.
Jaune's attention refocused on her, maintaining eye contact as she flinched at the sight of his bleeding face. That seemed to be a trigger as his mood blackened and took advantage where she did not. Drawing his dagger from his back, he sliced across her throat before kicking her away and re-sheathing Yharnam, the 'blood' looking like a necklace by contrast on her skin.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
The mood had been stifled. With the exception of the sole Faunus, they had been too excited to see Pyrrha and their new leader fight to remember the little fact that the Arc male scion did not have an aura shield to, well, shield him. The scars that littered his body came to the forefront of their minds with every drop of blood that landed on the floor. The revelation was so intense in that moment that the fact that Pyrrha had been recorded as being hit in a match for the first time in over two years seemed negligible.
Yang leaned over to her partner. "Um, about that problem you were talking about…' She trailed off.
"Yes." Blake didn't know what else to say, but she kept looking at Jaune. Not at the facial furrow, but at the rest of his face; his furled brow, narrowed lips, and eyes gleaming with rage at his partner, who had by now recovered and stood still in a purely defensive stance, staring at him with self-realized horror and a tinge of pity.
"You were doing sso well." He spoke wistfully with the smallest of lisps due to the closing wound, but the words were still chilling, like when Weiss insulted his family on their second conversation. With no warning, he renewed his assault.
The third stanza carried a newer frenzy to it. Jaune kept attacking, but Pyrrha only defended, once more off her game, but now with a clear and valid reason to the others. As it continued, his disposition looked worse and worse, and was borderline snarling as he savagely beat against her defenses. "Come on. Come on! Come ON! Fight back, damn it! Don't give me that fucking look of pity. I will NOT. HAVE IT!"
His hands and half of his forearm became coated in a thick, red aura before he grabbed her shield 'bare' handed and gave a harsh tug to leave an opening for his spear, the dark rippling in the metal now a brighter, more malevolent red. On instinct, she pushed forward to shield bash him against his chest, pushing him back for a brief moment.
Oddly, though still with a menacing look, he now had a ghost of a smile. Pyrrha then noticed that as he had yelled at her, he no longer had a lisp. A glance revealed that his wound had healed, leaving only a scar to show that it had been there, his cheek bulging as his tongue slid beneath it and over his teeth. "Better."
It finally clicked for the Spartan what point he had talked about and was trying to prove. Not that he could fight, but that his lack of an aura shield was not a crippling handicap. He could heal much faster with aura than she had thought possible, doing so little lasting damage long term that he might as well be shielded.
Seeing that she finally got it, his smile grew and overtook his dissipating black mood. "Now, shall we begin?" His tone was still neutral, but carried the faintest trace of eagerness.
But as the current reason for Jaune's bad mood, she knew she had to apologize in a more meaningful way that a simple 'I'm sorry', and that meant taking the fight as seriously as he clearly wanted her too. So rather than answer with words, she threw her shield like a discus as her way of saying 'yes', but he did not attempt to dodge.
Instead of a thunk and squish of metal against flesh and bone, his spear head shifted forwards and down with a metallic clink, revealing a second form of a halberd, with a gun barrel now visible, the trigger also popping out a third of the way down the pole from the blade. Between the barrel and the blade now was a caught shield, but not for long. He twisted to throw the shield like a Frisbee with admittedly less grace than its owner to the wall near his locker, embedding it into the stone.
When she didn't even give it a glance, he understood the intent behind the action. She would no longer be defending, and nothing could have made him happier at that moment. Proving him wrong, he smiled with even more glee as she leapt forwards, now armed with her own smile. "Apology accepted."
With only a minute to go, they wasted no time and their orchestra was back in full force. Taking a page from Jaune's book, she went full-on offense. In that last minute, the two were locked in combat once more, but now Pyrrha was slightly disadvantaged. Her shield was an integral part of her fighting style, and though she threw it from time to time for style points, she had never been completely disarmed of it before thanks to predicting where it would rebound and subtle applications of her semblance to recall it.
Plus, Jaune still had two at his disposal. He shortened the spear shaft by a third to improve ease of use in one hand, now looking more like a bladed scepter. He held his knife in a reverse grip ideal for parrying.
Seeing a miniscule hesitation to defending from her left side, as if attempting to raise her shield only to forget its absence, he lunged to exploit it.
As sought to profit from her error, he realized too late that it was a feint as he left his own left unguarded against the slash that grazed just above his waist. He tossed his spear straight up into the air. In the brief moment that she tracked the unexpected motion, he grabbed her arm with his right before it followed through from her last attack, took out his dagger once more and brought it down. Without her aura, she would have lost her hand. As it stood, it harshly impacted against her wrist before dragging the edge over her wrist, making a matching 'bracelet' to her 'necklace', before shoulder checking her back.
BZZT!
With the match now over, Jaune laughed joyously as adrenaline coursed through his veins. "Ah hah hah ha!"
"Indeed." Pyrrha seemed flushed, and was breathing the slightest bit harder than before. "That was… exhilarating."
They went to retrieve what they had disarmed from the other. Whilst Pyrrha went for Jaune's hat, he went for her shield. After returning the items to their rightful owners, they clasped each others left forearm in a warrior's handshake heartily before turning to the screen, and saw it was her victory by six points. Though he didn't have a 'shield' for it to measure like the others, it still recorded the amount of damage he received and adjusted accordingly, going back up when he recovered.
This spar also made one thing clear. Any notions of treating him differently because of his alternative circumstances would be met with extreme prejudice.
Turning to their audience, their applause seemed like a mixed bag of passionate from a good show and halting from Jaune's emotional outburst. Knowing he would have a talk with them about it later, Jaune put it aside for now as he and Pyrrha bowed, tension once palpable now 'peacefully' dissolved into understanding.
After the clapping died down, money was begrudgingly exchanged to Blake, who took the pot with grace as she had not expected, nor cared at this point to win. She had a small smile, but with her aloof personality, it may as well have been like she had caught a canary.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Chapter End
For those who think the fully stocked kitchen is a bit outrageous, lest we forget, the food fight episode included turkeys, watermelon, and various other foods, including a fucking swordfish. I think that it's safe to assume that the food budget for Beacon is not an issue.
I watched every fight scene in the first season, multiple times, with each character to get a good feel for their current (at this point in time) fighting style.
For Jaune being able to counter bullets; if Cardin, portrayed in canon as average in skill, could do it with a mace during Team CRDL's fight against Pyrrha, then it's reasonable to say that most, if not all, of Hunters can do so as well. Perhaps that sixth sense Pyrrha mentioned in the exposition of aura she gave to Jaune comes into play, along with the enhanced reflexes necessary for the feat.