Author's Note: And here is the other chapter I promised as a Christmas present to you all. Happy holidays!

Resonance

I took aim, drew, and loosed. The bow's string sung by my ear as it was released and I felt the wind of its passing caress my cheek. The arrow swiftly soared to my target and struck just slightly to its left, a few inches shy of precision. It was the best start I had yet had on a new tree, but I knew that it was quite a lucky shot.

Advancement in my archery didn't seem to occur quickly. I had emptied the whole quiver and hadn't hit the original knot's center. A few of the arrows had even gone too far to the sides and passed the tree entirely. When I finally did hit my target, more luck than anything else, Shirou had me switch to a different one on a different tree. I didn't immediately hit that one either. After another quiver, I struck it, mostly luck again, and the process then repeated itself a dozen more times.

I had yet to hit the target on my first try, but, even so, I did improve. By the end of our session, my shots were much less spread out. Where before it would have taken a circle as tall as one of my sisters to hold all my arrows, now it would take one only a little under half that size to do the job.

"That's enough for today," Shirou surmised as he went forward to gather the arrows after I had emptied the quiver once again. He had done so every time before, but this time he took the arrows, the quiver, and the bow from my hand and, in less than a second, they were gone.

"So, how did I do?" I asked, both wanting to know how I compared to others and simultaneously fearing how short of them I may have fallen.

"You weren't bad," he commented while walking over to the most recent tree I had been using as target practice and placing his hand on it. The holes where my arrows had pierced it were gone a moment later and he walked back. "While you certainly have room to improve, you have had a better start than most of those your age that I practiced with. I would say that you have enough focus, determination, and perhaps talent to become proficient with the bow. While you aren't quite as able as I was, that is a rather high bar to clear."

"How good were you when you started out?" I inquired, a little curious.

He looked as if he was contemplating something for a moment before answering with a reassuring smile.

"I didn't make every shot I fired in my first year of school. I also missed the target's center. Once."

Before I could think on how ridiculous that statement was, Shirou grabbed La Pucelle from where I had planted- "Dropped."-it in the ground before our session began and handed it to me.

"The bow you have is in no way a match for your sword. We can begin the process of making one that is once you have become proficient enough with both weapons. We could purchase the materials we need from vendors or shops, but the value of a piece is often determined by the work put into it." He spoke with surety in his voice, as if such a thing was obvious. Perhaps he wasn't even speaking figuratively, for all I knew, magic might actually take something like that into account. "And you could use some practical experience. As such, we shall make a journey of it. I'll try to find records on mines that have been previously abandoned due to them being attacked by Grimm as well as other types of material deposits. We'll travel to them to get what we need."

"If the mines were overrun by Grimm, wouldn't there still be Grimm in them?" I interrupted, pointing out a potential flaw in the plan.

"I hope so. Plenty of experience with fighting in near total darkness while almost certainly outnumbered against foes with superior senses. When we gather the materials, I'll try to make it so we can go to a variety of locations so that you can gain experience with the different environments surrounding each of them."

Ah. In his mind, that wasn't a flaw at all. If anything, it was a highly appealing feature.

"That, I will try to have accomplished within only a few months. If there is still enough time remaining after, we can look for whatever elements are needed for crafting anything else to supplant you in combat: shields, armor, daggers, lances, a bike, whatever works."

Honestly, this whole trip sounded a little terrifying…but also like everything I had ever wanted.

"Thank you, Mr. Emiya." He reached up to scratch the side of his cheek as I heard a small sound in my head like someone had lightly coughed and I suppressed a small laugh.

'Thanks, Avenger. Thanks, Ruler.'

"I was just clearing my throat, but we do deserve your gratitude, what with us having to make sure you don't kill yourself doing something stupid. You're lucky you have us to watch your back."

"I think that we're also lucky to have him as a student. Wouldn't you agree?"

I heard some slightly begrudged grumbling before I focused back on the physical world.

"Sorry, but if there isn't anything else, then I should head out," I informed my teacher as I noticed the time on my scroll. Shirou gave a sympathetic nod and a wave before I grabbed my bag from where I had put it down earlier and set off on a run to Anthem proper.

"I'll see you later to start working on my Semblance!" I called back with a grin and I heard him give a distant goodbye of his own as I continued my sprint while thinking over our session. It had gone well, better than I expected even. It was…nice, having people who had faith in me and were willing to devote time to help me reach my goals. The three of them believed in me, I could-

"Hey, where are we going?"

'Oh, sorry, I guess I never told you. I'm headed off to school.'

"I thought you weren't in a combat school. Wasn't that why you were training, in hopes of getting into a hunter academy?"

'I'm not in a combat school but that doesn't mean I can just skip out on my education. I go to a normal, civilian high school since I still need to learn the basics.'

"When does it start?"

'Bit under an hour from now, but I have to get there, shower, and change clothes. It's around three miles away so almost twenty minutes are spent just on the run.'

"And what of the classes?"

'Six: two electives, Science, Language, History, and Math.' I thought I felt something like an emotional shudder from them both but ignored it and moved on. 'Counting lunch that makes it around seven hours long.'

"And what did you take for your optional classes?"

'Study Hall and Music. The first helps me finish most of my work in school and the second…'

"What, did you wish to become a minstrel if your goal of becoming a huntsman fell through?"

I felt a little embarrassed as I exited the last of the woods to some minor farm.

'Not…exactly.'

"Oh?" There was way too much interest placed in that one syllable but I continued regardless.

'Well, you know all those tales about heroes singing battle songs, wooing princes and princesses, or playing an instrument around campfires or at celebrations?" I began, thinking back on all the fairytales and epics that I had heard as a child. "When I was younger, I sort of thought that being able to play an instrument may be something combat schools might look for in future students and I figured I could use all the help I could get so…'

I heard a snort of amusement and a far more subdued sound that probably came from Ruler. It was a little hard to tell the difference between them when they weren't speaking as I mainly used their tones and choice of words to guess who was talking. I was at least grateful they weren't outright laughing or saying how stupid I had been. I had done plenty of the latter when I had realized that no amount of musical ability would make up for my nonexistent combat skill. By then, I had already been in too long to give up and had found that I liked the guitar enough to continue, so something sort of positive came out of it.

"I suppose that could become useful for if we ever need to disguise ourselves as a wandering entertainer."

"There are certainly worse skills one could have, although I am unsure if such a disguise would stand out less or more."

"Bite me."

"Does it have any bearing on getting into the school you spoke of?" Ruler continued, easily ignoring her counterpart.

'Beacon? Not really. I think that they prefer an involved elective or two over nothing but it doesn't matter much. Grades are more important, but combat ability is what they're really looking for. Having actually gone to one of the combat prep schools would have been best, but, seeing as I haven't, I'll just have to make do.'

"Why did you not attend one if it would have been such an immense help to you?"

'It wasn't really an option,' I began while remembering all the reasons that had kept me in Anthem. 'For one, the academies are almost all relatively close to one of the four kingdoms, way too far for me to travel on foot, and Anthem's Bullhead pilot is an old friend of my parents. He's been ferrying them across Anima and even to Sanus and Solitas, two of Remnant's other continents, since before I was born. He would've known something suspicious was happening if I just showed up for a trip without having been told about it from them first. I've also looked up the preparatory school in Vale, and even though it doesn't require prior combat experience for first years they still prefer it.'

I would've sighed if I hadn't been running. As I was, however, I just picked up my pace a little as I passed some sparsely placed houses.

'Even ignoring both of those tiny details, say the academy accepted me and even arranged for pickup and transport, I would have only been fourteen at the time: a minor. I still would have needed my parents' permission to attend, and that is something neither of them would have given. So, I had to manage with just physical training.'

"Would any of those issues still apply to you now?"

'Not really, or at least not as much. The next village over has a working airship that is supposed to make frequent trips to Vale and there's a group of merchants that usually travels through here a few weeks before Beacon's initiation. I talked to several of them and they agreed to let me hitch a ride with them for a small fee. The trip shouldn't be too dangerous, but it's best to be careful.' A thought came to me of how my current situation changed things, and I smiled. 'Now that I have Aura, I could probably make the journey to the other village myself after a few months of proper training. As for my parents' approval, I won't even need it since I'll be seventeen by then.'

"What about tuition?"

'Beacon doesn't require any. They aren't going to charge their students for training to protect the kingdoms. Books, classes, room, and board are free to those who pass the entrance exams and they even give a weekly allowance for us to do with as we wish.'

"Makes sense. Based on what you've said, huntsman and huntresses seem to be purported as heroes by your society. I imagine it would be in the kingdoms' best interests to keep those studying to become hunters happy and content to maintain such an image," Avenger mused aloud.

'I think of it more as a reward for choosing to dedicate and risk one's life for the sake of humanity…'

"That seems like it would be quite nice."

'Yeah, JEWL always made it sound really cool. The hard part is getting in. There's a practical exam that Beacon offers to students that didn't go to a preparatory academy and I can probably pass the academic portion without too much trouble but it's the combat portion that would destroy me.'

"That would utterly destroy you now."

'Yeah, thanks for the "utterly", Avenger. I really needed that.'

"The 'now' is what's important, Jaune. The exam is not now, it is in almost a year."

"Indeed. When it arrives, it is you who shall be dealing the destruction. You shall decimate it as thoroughly as we did the Duke of Bedford. I doubt the Grimm can read and it would be impractical to write them a letter, but make sure to deliver a quip suitably witty and dramatic before and after you kill them."

'I guess I could try…Oh, oh! How about "The Arc knight has seized the victory! It was foolish of the Grimm to charge so recklessly to their deaths!"'

"…We have an entire year to make improvements."

"We'll need the entire year."

'You don't like it? I thought it was pretty good. I mean, I guess I could use "doom" instead of "death" but improving it beyond that might be difficult.'

I heard chuckling in my head and I couldn't help but smile, even if the laughter was directed a little at me. The buildings had become more tightly packed and I could see the school up ahead.

'You guys won't have any problems sitting through class with me, will you?'

"Actually, I am looking forward to it. I have never had to attend school before and, while I cannot speak for Avenger, I think it may be a pleasant experience."

"Yes, the…friends we will meet and the interactions we have will be rather interesting. I am quite eager."

"…That was a suspicious way to phrase that."

"The important thing is that we're all in agreement!"

'Right!' I acknowledged, happy that everyone was on board.

I walked out of school at the end of the day, while I waved goodbye to a few friends and classmates. I turned away from the building and began my run back to the area where Shirou and I trained.

'I think that went pretty well! Didn't speak to you guys out loud, conversations were normal, and I didn't accidentally break anything with my Aura. How did the two of you like it?' I asked after several minutes.

"It was certainly acceptable. I have no complaints regarding the faculty and all of the subjects, excluding math, weren't too bad."

"…"

'And what about you, Avenger?'

"…"

'Avenger? Is something wrong?'

I heard her breathe in and out in a slow and deliberate manner like she was trying to calm herself before she spoke.

"Jaune, I am disappointed in you."

'Huh? Why? What did I do?'

"It is not what you did, but rather what you have not already done!"

"…oh no." The amount of dread in Ruler's voice was very concerning but Avenger went on regardless.

"Your grades were good, you seemed to get along with plenty of people and you talked to us whenever you had the chance, as you should."

"This is what you were taking about earlier, wasn't it?"

"But there is one aspect of your school life that is absolutely unacceptable!"

"Please don't, he will never be able to look at us the same if you do!"

'What is it?' I couldn't help but ask in a strange mix of curiosity and fear.

"You. Did not have. A h-"

"HIGH SCHOOL DEBUT!" Ruler loudly interrupted in a panicked voice, cutting off whatever it was Avenger was saying.

"What? No, a-"

"A high school debut is the transference of a student from middle to high school!" She continued, rushing past whatever it was her counterpart was saying. "As they are going to be meeting an entirely new social group, a lot of whom would have no knowledge of the student as they were before their first day, they are free to remake themselves in whatever image they desire, leaving behind any embarrassing accidents or awkward habits as they transition to a new area. It is a perfect time to make a good first impression and have yourself be seen in whatever manner you desire! Perhaps Avenger was looking forward to the three of us all meeting new people together!"

'Um, I'm already in my last year of high school? I mean, I guess we'll be meeting new people at Beacon, but that's more of a college.'

"College debut, then. Moving to a school like Beacon would be a perfect opportunity for such a thing! It would be an optimal time for new beginnings and the start of new relationships! Don't you agree, Avenger?"

I heard a small hum in my mind and I could tell she was considering something very deeply. "Perhaps you are right. He isn't ready yet. If we wait until Beacon, then I have a year to change that."

'…What are you talking about, Avenger?'

"I was just thinking about the many, many friends that I will be able to help you make."

'Okay. Why was that so embarrassing, Ruler?'

"I…um…"

"Perhaps, she didn't want you to feel like we were trying to push our customs onto you? Such a thing would be quite rude of us."

'Oh. I don't know if Remnant has the same term, but I guess that's sort of a thing here, too. I remember a few people acting and dressing a bit differently after they got to high school.' Something still felt a little off. Maybe… 'Are you sure that's-?'

"Duck!"

The previous question was struck from my mind by something solid impacting my face. It smelled of wood polish and leather, a scent I recognized immediately from yesterday's sparring session. The almost instinctual feeling of fear that accompanied it didn't hurt either.

I completed a full spin from the force of the blow before stopping myself and observing my opponent. The practice sword from yesterday was now a spear with a cushioned tip that had just struck the side of my jaw. That was as far as my observations got before he stepped forward and lunged for my chest.

I slipped my backpack off my left shoulder and manifested La Pucelle in my right hand. I momentarily panicked when I found myself with blade in one hand and bag in the other, so I improvised and threw the bag at Shirou's face.

It was as effective as could be expected and didn't slow him down at all as he moved his spear tip up to deflect the bag before slamming it into the side of my sword. I braced myself against him and pushed, trying to get some space to move. Space I was given as I was suddenly pushing against nothing at all as he flipped his spear and jammed the butt of it into my hands before twisting it in such a way that I instinctively opened my fingers, allowing my weapon to slip away.

Disarmed as I was, Shirou lunged with his staff for another stab, this one directed at the center of my chest. My hands wouldn't be enough to stop the blow, and, even if they were, if this was an actual battle with real weaponry, then all that becoming accustomed to blocking a blade with my bare hands would get me was grievously injured. I needed my sword, I needed-

…!

I thought 'shift' twice and pushed up, catching his spear with La Pucelle's cross guard, my fingers firmly wrapped around its handle once more.

"Watch your footing!"

Most of my weight was on my backfoot from when I tried to retreat from his thrusts to gain distance and, before I could correct it, Shirou swept my right leg out from under me. I caught myself on one knee but his weapon was already at my throat.

"Not bad," the spear-user appraised after a moment as he extended his hand to help me up. "Good improvisation with your backpack, that might have worked on a Grimm or a less skilled opponent, but you need to continue being mindful of your base. It was good of you to remember to spiritualize La Pucelle, the blade is an extension of you: body, mind, and soul." He continued while I took his hand and he pulled me up. "It cannot be separated from you any more than the sky can be split from the earth. As for additional critique…" He stepped back and thrust his spear to the side. "Polearms have a longer reach than an average blade and as such excel at midrange combat."

"So, the best thing to do is to get in close?" I guessed, seeing the problem with trying to retreat when I had a shorter weapon.

"The best thing to do is to take them out from long range with either a bullet or an arrow, but, in lieu of those options, getting in close works too. If you can deal damage to your opponent and they can't deal damage to you, you win. The reverse is also true."

"Got it. Should we keep going?" I asked, preparing my stance, feet set apart and my blade between us in a ready position.

"No, that was just to assess your reactions. I thought that it would be prudent to see what you remembered from our previous training session and that you wouldn't be expecting a surprise attack today which made it the perfect day for a surprise attack. Right now, like I said earlier, you're going to be trying to gain control of your Semblance." His spear disappeared in sparks of light as he once more took up a teaching pose while I relaxed my stance, ready to begin mastering my ability. I focused as intently as I could on his words as this was something I had been looking forward to all day: Shirou explaining how to control my glowy-hand thing…I would find a better name for it later.

"Now I only know what I am going to tell you from what your father told your sisters. I can only say what he said and can't really specify more than I already am." I nodded to show that I understood. I would have the same instruction my sisters had and that would be enough. I would make it enough. "Now, some of the advice is unneeded since you've already used your Semblance twice before, albeit unwillingly, so now you just need to gain conscious control of it, so here goes.

"That feeling you felt before, you need to recognize it, understand it, and accept it. These are the first steps to gaining insight into the matters of one's soul and the sooner we know your Semblance, the sooner we can account for it in future sessions. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. Do whatever you feel would be best to enter the mindset you had earlier. I will be over here if you need me." With his instruction finished, Shirou walked over to the shade of a nearby tree and sat down.

That was it? Honestly, I had been expecting something a little more elaborate than that.

I dispelled my blade, found my own shade, and sat beneath it while trying to become as relaxed as possible. I took several slow, deep breaths, and my pulse that had risen due to the run and the sudden spar began to slow. I tried to remember the circumstances of when my Semblance had manifested before just as I had been doing on the way to and during school. A vague idea had begun to form. There was something there, conditions that both situations had in common that I don't think anyone else could see.

"Any thoughts on where to start?"

'I…I think so.'

"Really?"

'Yeah. There's this thing my dad says that sort of helped me with the idea. I mean, he meant it for picking up girls, but I think it works here too.' That was not the best way to explain myself. I started over.

'You two said that you believe in me, that you think I can get into Beacon, can become a huntsman and then a hero, someone who can make a real, positive difference in the world. Mr. Emiya said the same. Both last night and this morning, I was either told or shown how much faith each of you has in me.'

I lifted my hands so that they were directly in my line of sight. They had already shone twice and, before our hour was up, they would do so again.

"Yes, I see what you mean," Ruler began. "Do you think that our belief is the trigger for your Semblance, or perhaps the feeling of being believed in that us having faith in you produces?"

"It would fit, wouldn't it?" Avenger enquired, as if thinking to herself. "Faith and belief were a core part of our legend. It was faith that led us to the battlefield and eventually to the Throne. Some even went so far as to say that humility, chastity, and faith were all the Maid was. Who knows what we would have been without our belief in God?"

The last part was delivered with a hint of amusement as if she was holding back laughter at something that only she found funny, but I shook my head in disagreement.

'I don't think that you two believing in me is it, not exactly,' I corrected while I tried to get my thoughts in order. 'I…I had been trying to become a hunter-trying to get myself to the point where I could become a hunter for a long time before I met you two, years even, and, although I kept at it, I eventually stopped believing it was possible. I would have continued, of course, doing everything in my power to make my dream a reality but never actually having any real hope that it would happen. I still tried my best, worked as hard as I could for hours every day, but I wasn't anything like Jasper, Emerald, Whitney, and Layla were when they were my age.'

I began to feel a little saddened at the memory of my sisters but this wasn't the time for that. I forcefully shook it off and forged on.

'In the beginning, after their deaths, it was different. I believed that my efforts would get me to Beacon. I had faith in myself, and that was something I lost when nothing I did got me any closer to my goals.'

I closed my eyes and thought of how I had been then, trying so hard while fully confident that everything would work out in the end. That confidence that I had forgotten with time, I tried to grasp hold of it once again.

'This isn't some dream I'll wake up from. You believed in me last night. When you did, I thought to myself that if you believed in me-if even you believed in me…' I hesitated for a moment. I could feel something, a thrumming in the center of my mind that hadn't been there before, an expectant energy that was waiting, wanting, to be released. 'Then there is no reason in all of Remnant-' My eyes snapped open and the feeling I had felt twice before rushed forth. 'That I can't believe in myself!'

My Aura flowed through me and my soul illuminated our surroundings in a white light. A bright smile found its way onto my lips at the sight of my success.

'It wasn't that you had faith in me,' I said to the two heroes in my head that had gone silent. 'It's that you gave me the courage to have faith in myself.'

Ending Notes:

I feel like that last bit could use some explaining as to why, with belief in oneself as the trigger, Jaune's Semblance wouldn't have already been discovered in canon and why we've only seen it manifest itself on one occasion in the show: I think that instance was perhaps the proudest moment Jaune has had on screen.

Throughout all of RWBY proper, Jaune, in his mind at least, has had nothing to take personal pride in. He had to cheat his way into Beacon where everyone else got in legitimately, his weapons were simple "hand-me-downs" where everyone else's were complex, high quality, and custom made, he had no combat experience and was constantly surrounded by people capable of superhuman feats, and, to top it all off, he was blackmailed by Cardin to do CRDL's grunt work the one time he revealed his secret.

Then, when he was exhausted from having to gather Rapier Wasps, and get sap for four other people while having an allergic reaction, he was told to douse his partner in sap to cause the wasps to attack her. If he didn't, he believed he would be sent home in disgrace and that his dream of becoming a huntsman would be lost forever.

Instead, he doused his tormentor in the sap, refused to betray his teammates, and finally told Cardin off. He was exhausted, beaten, and nearly sick when his Semblance activated in a flash of light, but he didn't betray himself or his friends, and I think that was the first time in-series that Jaune held a good amount of positive belief in himself.

In volume two, he's training under Pyrrha to improve himself, but I imagine he never felt too self-assured from repeatedly being beaten while sparring; he was immediately trounced the one time we saw him display any confidence during practice. In volume three, his description given by Nora while highlighting each of JNPR's members' strong suits is "Jaune!", the group exercises he had discussed with his team were entirely forgotten by them (on international television, no less), and he was pretty much emotionally destroyed due to the finale, something he is obviously still dealing with in the following volume(s).

Here, Jaune isn't a fake surrounded by superhumans, nor has he gone through canon's trauma conga line, and he is given a lot of moral support, so his Semblance is discovered much more easily. Hooray for moral support!

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