"Holy shit!" Jaune screamed the moment he saw the pack of deathstalkers. "Why are they even here?"
"Beacon Academy houses live creatures of grimm for training, courtesy of Professor Peter," a computerized voice answered.
"Then get me the hell out of here," he yelled back.
"If we do that, we risk the creatures escaping this enclosure and harming other students," the computerized voice spoke again.
Jaune backed up nervously, regretting his brash decision, but it was too late. The doors were locked, only to open when the enemies have been cleared. Steeling his nerves, he quickly unhooked the leash holding Ash back, and took a defensive pose. The cub growled and took his position, crouched low to the ground, baring his teeth. On his mark, Jaune charged the pack of oversized scorpions, his companion right behind him.
Jaune was tossed around, beaten several times, and took several claws to the face. His scroll was making a high pitched beeping, indicating his weakening aura. Ash was jumping about, dodging attacks, trying to stay alive. Jaune could barely stand, his aura was weakening by the second, the deathstalker in front of him raised its claw ready to strike. "I guess this is it," he said out loud. As the attack came down, he closed his eyes to accept his fate.
"Hey, where's Jaune?" Ren asked nonchalantly as his teammates joined him in the dorm room, "He's usually working on homework or training with you, Pyrrha."
"I don't know, I waited for about an hour before coming down here," Pyrrha shrugged.
"I don't know, but I heard some crazy guy's in one of the rooms at the training hall with the difficulty at ten deathstalkers! Apparently he's been in there all afternoon," Nora said before taking one of Ren's Pocky.
"You don't think…" Ren trailed off. A moment passed before the trio guessed who was in the training hall.
"Jaune!" they screamed in unison before rushing out of the room.
Jaune threw his sword at the deathstalker that almost took Ash by surprise, impaling its eye. The snow leopard bounced off the grimm in front of him, perfectly landing on the hilt of Crocea Mors, driving it deeper into the beast. Meanwhile Jaune blocked a claw, while another pair jabbed at the shield of aura at his back. Bashing his shield downward onto the deathstalker's head, distracting it, Ash jumped to grab the stinger using the momentum to twist it off with a satisfying crunch. Retrieving his sword, Jaune slid under the next enemy, thrusting the blade into the beast's underside.
He fought for dear life, every movement, every swing of his blade, every block, they seemed to come naturally. He didn't know if it was fear or instinct, it could have been both, Jaune didn't question it one bit. After the last enemy had fallen, he let his legs buckle and he fell to the ground. Jaune's nervous chuckle turned into a hysterical laughter, "I'm alive? Sweet mother of God, I'm still alive!"
On the other side of the entrance, his teammates and friends were trying their best to break down the door to free their friend. After all the abuse the door took, the smoke cleared to reveal that the door was still standing. "This is hopeless, we need to get Ozpin," Yang threw her hands up in frustration.
"Ruby, use your speed to get him," Pyrrha desperately ordered the young leader, "I don't want to bury our leader before our first mission."
"Got it," Ruby complied, getting ready to launch herself, "ow."
Before she had the chance to start running, the door opened up to allow a golden object to come flying at Ruby's head. The rest of the group peered inside to see a black corpse disintegrating and Jaune hooking the metal leash back onto Ash's harness. The group of teenagers stared in disbelief as he hung his weapon from his belt and walked out of the room with the snow leopard cub leading the way.
Pyrrha was the first to express her relief, pulling Jaune into a death grip of a hug, "Jaune don't ever make us worry like that again."
"You could have died, you idiot," Weiss scowled, then proceeded to pick up the leopard cub, "and you could have gotten this cutie killed."
"Anyway, you just took on a pack of deathstalkers," Ruby noted, "how did you survive?"
"Pyrrha's training really paid off," Jaune lied, wanting to keep his semblance a secret, "besides, I had Ash with me. Have you seen a snow leopard fight?!"
Pyrrha seemed suspicious of what he claimed. Sure his swordplay had improved over the last few months, but there's no way he could have survived that long against an ursa alone, much less a pack of deathstalker. She noticed his aura had been depleted, close to death. 'He must have figured out how to use aura,' she thought, 'it would make sense, since he's still standing.'
Just as he was about to take another step, Jaune's vision went black and he collapsed, falling forward onto his face. "Don't worry, he's still alive," Professor Ozpin walked down from the observatory deck, "he seems exhausted, you should probably take him back his bed."
Ozpin continued to sip his coffee as he watched the rest of team JNPR carry them off. He couldn't help but be impressed by his growth in combat skill the young leader had just underwent. He held a slight smile, turning away from the remaining group to walk in the direction of his office. "Ozpin, you were watching, weren't you?" the headmaster paused mid-stride.
"Yes, Miss Belladonna, I was," he calmly answered, "it is my job to oversee the growth of my students."
"Then can you tell us how he survived?" Ruby interjected, "Even team JNPR had trouble with the first grimm that they fought. How was he able to take down a pack of deathstalkers?
"He's a very interesting one," he paused to take another sip, "but I believe it's not my place to tell you. Your friend should be the one to tell you."