Chapter 6

First Encounter

Way to make a first impression Jaune. You truly are the king of the socially awkward.

Jaune thought to himself as he donned his simple armor. But the moment he gripped the scabbard of Crocea Mors and clipped it to his belt, he knew that such thoughts must be pushed aside. He closed the metallic locker and inputted his password for it to be secured as his pack was left within it. As he walked towards the only door, he glanced around him for the redhead that he had shamefully encountered earlier.

Good, the last thing I need now is another shameful act.

With his mind now tuned to his regular morning drills, he marched confidently towards the training arena. He no longer felt the need to creep through the halls as the headmaster himself had no doubt known his presence from the start. He produced his scroll from one of his pockets and looked at the time.

4:37, still have a couple of good hours before everyone wakes up.

The blonde started to jog then dashed towards the arena. His footfalls echoed through the concrete slab of a floor as he passed the various rooms. After a few minutes of a good run, he eventually reached the arena and was pleased to see that it was unlocked and fully operational. As he entered, a lone staff sat in the control booth overlooking the circular platform. The man who wore a long-sleeved shirt with the crest of Beacon Academy and dark blue pants waved at him and signal for him to enter the stage. Jaune nodded and watched as the staff member disappeared deeper into the booth.

"Looks like Ozpin has told the staff huh?" He mumbled to himself as the stage was lit with overhead lights.

"Hey kid, the headmaster told me you would arrive but I have yet to set up all the necessary target bots since it's still quite early." The staff's voice boomed through the speaker.

"So…uhhh…I guess just stick to some drills while I rush these guys." He continued.

"Thanks but I won't need any target bots so don't rush it. There might be some malfunction later on and most likely you'll get in trouble." Jaune raised his voice so that the operator could hear him.

"Alright kiddo, suit yourself. If you need any help just callout, the place has some microphones connected to my station so I can hear you quite fairly."

"Thanks." Jaune answered back as silence enveloped him once more, save for the hum of the nearby electronics.

The Arc unsheathed Crocea Mors and extended the scabbard to its shield form. He instinctively fell into his standard combat stance, left foot forward with the shield facing front while his right was positioned backward as his sword hand was readied to slash. He crouched and widened his base to provide better stability. Once satisfied that he had accomplished the much needed parameters, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply. A few seconds of preparation then his eyes flew open, his rich blue eyes full of determination as he began his drills.

He started with his defense drills as he ducked, rolled, block and parried the attacks of an imagined opponent. Next was his offense drill where he thrusted, slashed, bashed and utilized the use of both his arms and feet against the unseen enemy. Jaune continued to his drills until his scroll beeped, announcing that it was time to proceed to the next phase of his daily routine. Wiping the sweat off his face with the sleeves of his hoodie, the blonde took a moment to recompose himself.

He smiled to himself as fond memories were brought up due to his activity.

"Alright Jaune, you better ready yourself." His oldest sister declared as she hefted a rather scary looking war hammer.

Jaune gulped as he looked at Jade's weapon of choice. Instantly, he imagined himself being thrown out into the sky like in the cartoon shows he used to watch.

"Oh don't be scared Jauney boy, we won't kill you." The second oldest sister, Scarlet reassured him.

But the eight year old heir was not convinced due to the resounding giggle that followed her statement and the presence of her weapon in its double-barreled shotgun configuration. He glanced towards the third and fourth oldest sisters that were also lined up beside his other two siblings. A predatory grin was plastered on their faces as they held their chosen arms. Marigold, the third oldest held her halberd while Cerise, his fourth oldest sister had her claymore at the ready.

'Oum, I pray to thee to save this lamb from harm.' He silently started his prayer as he faced the grinning features of all four sisters.

"Alright, everyone ready!?" The voice of his father, Jonathan bellowed at the two opposing sides.

'Have mercy upon thy soul.' He continued as his knees buckled.

The other side had four, experienced huntresses in training who wielded merciless weapons while the other had an eight year old Jaune Arc who was merely armed with a small reinforced buckler for protection and a simple short sword.

"Remember girls, don't kill our little Jaune okay?" The Arc patriarch reminded the four blonde maidens.

'And in return, I-wait…kill?! Don't kill me what!?' Jaune's prayer was interrupted by his father's reminder.

"Yes dad!" Jaune winced at the rather enthusiastic reply of his sisters.

"Begin!'

Jaune shuddered at the 'fond' memory. For some reason, he couldn't remember the more 'happy' memories during his training without reminiscing on his dreadful and painful first spar. He exhaled sharply as he purged the traumatizing experience out of his head. But as he did, he faced one problem, he had none to actually test his skills upon. He slightly kicked himself for coming so early but he knew that his body clock and years of being waken up at such a time would beg to differ.

Should I use it? But the guy in the booth might see it.

As the blonde contemplated whether or not he should use his semblance or not, he failed to notice the same redhead that he had encountered earlier, creep up behind him.

"Need some help?" Jaune whirled at the sudden high pitched voice.

He was about to raise his shield in defense when he realized who it was.

"Oh…it's you." The blonde clutched his heart through his chest plate.

"You gave me quite the scare." He said to the green eyed girl and gave a low chuckle.

He watched as she smiled at him warmly as she shifted her weight. The gears in his mind began to turn ever so slowly as he began to remember the familiar face. Her red fiery hair was ponytailed to waist-length and was curled slightly into a loose ringlet. Her bronze and red attire or rather, armor reminded him of the ancient warriors' way before the knights themselves, minus the miniskirt. He noticed the round bronze shield behind her along with a spear.

"So do you mind sparring with me for a bit?" Her eyebrows quirked at him and his thoughts were once again pushed to the sidelines.

"Sure, why not?" He said as he fell onto his basic stance.

He watched with interest as she too donned the circular shield and spear and fell into the same stance as he. He noted that the spear seemed to be a bit longer than his Crocea Mors and proceeded to circle her cautiously. She followed in suit and soon they were locked in some sort of slow dance as shields and blades were held. She took the initiative as she dashed towards him and slammed her spear onto his shield.

Testing the waters huh?

Jaune replied with a slash from his sword which clanged onto her shield. He backed up a bit as his opponent launch a flurry of attacks. Some he was able to block with his shield, others parried with his Crocea Mors while most were dodged thanks to his footwork. But despite his efforts, some of her attacks did penetrate his defenses and managed to land a hit on him.

She's good.

He thought as he slashed and forced her to jump back. Jaune rushed towards her and bashed her with his shield only to be met with a spear to his side. Both visibly flinched at the sudden contact but the otherwise fatal hits were dulled by their aura. Regaining his bearings, he rushed once more, his shield leading the way. The redhead met him head on as she stabbed onto the approaching knight.

As he saw the movement, he sidestepped to the left, barely missing the tip of her blade. Unable to return her spear fast enough, the green eyed spartan found her face to face with the blue eyed knight. His sword pointed to her abdomen. Jaune noticed the bronze shield hanging by the side of his head as she attempted to hit his head. The two smiled at each other as they both knew the outcome.

"And it's a tie folks! What a stunning finish for our exhibition match between the Knight and the Spartan! Let's give a mighty round of applause for the two contenders." Both looked up to the control booth as feigned crown noises filled the arena.

Jaune sheathed Crocea Mors and began to unconsciously rub the back of his head.

"You really just have to ruin the fun huh?" The question was directed towards the unseen man in the control room.

"Ruin the fun? You mean to say is that I made it more fun. And by the way, Professor Ozpin is watching you guys so say hi to the camera." The staff's cheery voice sounded throughout the room.

Jaune ignored him or rather, failed to hear him and his revelation as his scroll vibrated in his pocket.

"Hey, you're a skilled fighter and…by any chance can I invite you to join my team? Not that I'm forcing you or implying that I'll be chosen as a team leader, but…uhhh…"Jaune stammered through his thoughts but was silenced by the warm smile that the girl had for him.

Again, his scroll vibrated once more which prompted him to retrieve it from his pockets. As he flipped through the messages, his body stiffened. He scowled at the message at hand.

"Thanks for the spar but I gotta bounce." Jaune told his current partner as another issue took hold of his mind.

"You're welcome. Take care of yourself Jaune." She replied.

He heard her calm yet confident voice as he turned towards the door. Drenched in sweat as he jogged towards the locker rooms, he silently contemplated on the why he was being summoned by the headmaster. A chill ran up his spine as the thought of expulsion raced through him. He quickly entered the locker rooms and stored his armor and sword into his locker. Taking a fresh change of clothes, he stepped moved towards the shower room, wishing that a good hot bath could melt away his fears. As he stepped into the small stall, a stray thought pierced through his troubled mind.

Wait, I didn't tell her my name did I?

Damn forgot the part about the names being connected to colors. Had to rethink the whole family name for a bit.