Jaune and Pyrrha did not immediately return to their dorms. Instead, they can be found out on the roof where they usually train. There was no training this time. They really shouldn't be training as one of them still needs to participate in the finals tournament which should begin by tomorrow. They were sitting by the edge of the roof, looking at nothing in particular as they sought to make sense of everything that had just happened.
It was Jaune who broke the silence by saying, "assuming this works, then we have nothing to worry about, right?"
"That's assuming it works at all," Pyrrha replied. "If it doesn't then…"
They might be gone forever. The professors explained that the transfer process runs the risk of losing someone. Aura itself was the soul made manifest and so by transferring aura, one is transferring the soul to another individual. Everything that makes someone who they are may be rewritten, depending on who would stay after the whole thing that is.
"And we have to keep it a secret," Jaune said. "We can't even let the others know about this yet."
It is not that they don't trust them. It is due to the explicit instructions of their professors that they have to keep it a secret. The two of them were unsure on what to do.
Jeanne, on the other hand, had her own thoughts. Her being a candidate must have been with that in mind. Her existence is bound to her Master's aura. Assuming it works, then it only means that the rules can be bent around a little. That idea must have definitely been thrown there. Perhaps it is because she is a mere Servant that such a thing was appealing. There is less risk if it was her instead of Pyrrha. However, such a thing may not even possible since it's Jaune's soul and not Jeanne's.
Jaune fell back, letting the afternoon sun heat up more of his face. They didn't eat lunch yet. They hadn't had the appetite for it. Thankfully, there was no one else there. Most were either enjoying the festival or just lounging out in the cities. The transfer students had mostly used this opportunity to sightsee. Those that are in Beacon spent their time recovering from their matches resting in their dorms.
"Argh!" Jaune suddenly stood up. "What do we do? What do we decide? We're not ready for this sort of thing and we can't just say no or they'll just find someone else."
That much was true. With what they know now, could they ever return to the things that once were. While they did choose to become huntsmen and huntresses to better the world, this was certainly not what they had in mind. The fate of Remnant was at stake here and if they say no here, they're putting someone else in danger. That is something that doesn't sit well with Jaune. Pyrrha doesn't feel right with that as well.
Jeanne stayed dematerialized for the most part. She needed her time to think as well.
"If it goes well," she can remember the words of General Ironwood. "Then perhaps your materialization can be indefinite."
If. If it goes well. There is no doubt in her mind that if Jeanne were to become this Fall Maiden then the strain on Jaune's aura would be lifted. He can fight for longer periods of time without her having to worry about taking too much of it by simply existing. On the other hand, if this Amber ends up overwriting her then what would happen to Jaune? Would this Amber take her place instead? Or would Jaune himself be overwritten as it is his soul to begin with? If the rules say that only a woman can have those powers, would that mean that only Jeanne can have access to it or would Jaune somehow be able to bypass it because of her? All this if one were to consider if it would even work out at all.
Their thoughts were interrupted as Ren and Nora had found them. "There you are!" Nora exclaimed. "Man, that meeting with the headmaster must have been really something. We haven't seen you guys since. We're not in trouble are we?"
There was a weak laugh that came from both Jaune and Pyrrha. "No, we're not," Jaune replied. His eyes then went to Pyrrha, asking for backup.
"It wasn't much. We just felt like just lounging around afterwards." It was the best that Pyrrha could come up with.
Nora's eyes narrowed and her grin grew wide. "Just the two of you? Wait. Jeanne would be there too, third-wheeling like that. Darn it!"
"What?" Jaune asked. Jeanne rolled her eyes.
"Nothing." Nora waved it off. "Yang and Weiss won their matches. Come on! Let's go celebrate! Team JNPR vs Team RWBY, who will be the superior team? Personally, I'm for the home team. What do you think, Ren?"
"Technically, we're both the home team," said Ren. "Since we're both from Beacon and all."
"Bah. Details."
Jaune and Pyrrha did join with them. Perhaps a distraction is what's needed for them both. Thankfully, they were away from any trees as the falling leaves reminded them of the earlier meeting with the headmaster. Instead, they were once again sampling the different booths that were available. There was one that served BBQ which they decided to try out. The sight of the raw meat being cooked out underneath the sun made all of their mouths water.
"See?" said Nora. "Now you're feeling better."
"What's the matter?" Yang asked. "Too nervous about the finals, Pyr? You are the one going through to the finals, right?"
Pyrrha nodded. "Yes. I suppose I am a little nervous."
Jaune tried to come to her rescue. "Well, you guys saw what happened in that doubles round, right? Everybody is probably itching to be the one to bring down the Invincible Girl."
"Yeah, that's true." Yang agreed. "I mean I know I am. No hard feelings, though right?"
"No. no," Pyrrha replied. "It's just I have a team now. Wouldn't want to let you guys down, you know?"
"Aww, Pyrrha." Nora hugged her. "We're always be proud of you no matter what happens, right Ren?"
"Of course." Ren nodded. "The Vytal tournament is but a means to test our mettle. The true fight happens after we graduate."
Teams RWBY and JNPR continued to eat. Afterwards, there were a few games that they played. It was mostly Ruby and Yang that played the games. Jaune was barely keeping up on that end for reasons that only Jeanne and Pyrrha could understand. Not that it made much difference as Yang was really good at these games with Ruby following behind.
There were also a few stalls dedicated to selling books and comics. Almost all of them came from new authors and artists, choosing to put their name out in place like these. There were also some who already had a name to themselves. At least, judging from how Blake talked about them, that seems to be the case.
Jaune certainly tried a few but none seemed to have grabbed his attention. To be fair, he was more interested in the superhero genre and there weren't any of them here. If anything, most of them were of the adult variety which caused Yang to pull Ruby away.
"Well," Jaune said. "That explains why they are a bit more out of the way than the other stalls."
They made another stop, this time for some drinks. The sun had begun to set and what better way to end it than with a nice and cool drink. It was a soda machine and they each had a can.
"To a successful Vytal Festival," Yang said, raising her can. "Let's end it with a Yang!"
Everybody cringed at that attempt at a pun. Still, soda cans clinked as they all drank. Feeling refreshed, the two teams had decided that it was enough for the day. It was best that they get ready for the single matches tomorrow.
As Jaune and Pyrrha laid in their beds, they were the last to fall asleep. The day had been a good distraction for them. But now that there wasn't anything left for them to do, their thoughts once again lingered on that of the Fall Maiden.
"Hey Jeanne," Jaune whispered. "What do you think we should do?"
"We still have until the end of the Vytal Festival," she replied. "Let's sleep on it for now. It is too big of a decision to be making it with less than a day."
"Yeah," Jaune said. "I guess you're right. I did say I wanted to be a hero and I guess this is one way to be one."
"You could say that, yes"
"Goodnight, Jeanne."
"Goodnight, Jaune."
AN: Finals round, let's go