New Chapter! Brought to you by the fact I finished my first fanfic FFX: With a Machina Twist
So far, I've gotten quite a bit of positive responses and some criticism. Thanks for the reviews, keeps me going. This next chapter takes place in Anima, where Mistral is! Guess who's in it! And for the names that I chose for some characters, read the A/N at the end of this chapter.
Jaune had finally gotten off the boat a week later and was traveling up towards Mistral. During his travels, his dragons kept making him train. Lung Wang started to get creative and had Jaune tie rocks on his body to serve as weights temporarily until he could buy some quality ones. He forced Jaune to keep up with his usual training and doubled it whenever he felt like it, which was often. Fafnir helped Jaune keep track of the land. The rest of the dragons tutored on whatever subject they had been teaching prior. Jaune stopped at many other villages, helping others in need in return for a place to sleep. He encountered a lot of Grimm on his travels, but the older species of Grimm were keen on staying away from him. Lung-Wang huffed, saying that the Grimm at their base instinct was avoiding him due to the fact they could feel the dragon king's aura around him while the younger ones didn't. The ones that did attack lost easily, as Jaune had been training to fight. Sometimes, Lung Wang and Ryo-Wo encouraged him to take on a few Grimm with just his hands, making sure he didn't forget about his CQC skills. They stopped by another ancient dragon nesting ground, where Jaune spent 4 months just training and meditating. Inside the cave, however, was a giant chunk of ores instead of jewels. Fenrir told him to keep them all, saying it would be useful. Jaune was thankful the bag lightened the load, as it was very heavy to get them all in.
A year had passed, and a 14-year-old Jaune Ryu-Long had finally arrived at Mistral. Eager to explore, he walked around, not knowing he was in the rich district. People watched him in disdain, and one of them walked up to Jaune, telling him he was in the wrong area. Naturally, Lung Wang roared and yelled at Jaune to teach this arrogant person a lesson. However, before he could do so, security came. After a few minutes of talking, they 'kindly' escorted Jaune out of the rich district and into one of the seedier places.
"Well, that wasn't nice," muttered Jaune. He was agreeing with Lung Wang that they should get revenge for such attitude, but Aryz reminded them they had other places to go and better things to do. Shelving revenge, for now, Jaune asked around about Weapons Works. Unfortunately, the first few people he met ignored him or tried to mug him. It wasn't hard for Jaune to show the appropriate response, walking away with bloody fists. The blood wasn't from him. Finally, a lady was nice enough to point him towards the right direction.
"Hello? Anyone here?" asked Jaune as he finally entered Weapons Works. The location was located at the edge of the poor side of town, right near a large stadium.
"What do you want, kid?" grunted a rather buff man with a beer belly. He was bald but had a red beard with a frown on his face. "You don't look like someone who has the Lien to afford my jobs. Scram!"
"I have a letter for you," said Jaune, holding out the envelope.
Eyeing it with caution, the man took it and opened it slowly, as if wary of a trap. Seeing there was nothing to harm him, he opened the letter and read through it. As he was reading through it, the frown slowly became a very small smile, but a smile none the less.
"So, says here Ghira's willing to cover the cost of a weapon you want to be built. Got anything in mind? Names Hephaestus, by the way," grunted the man as he introduced himself.
Jaune slightly grinned. He had been planning a specific design his whole life. Granted, with the sword that Fenrir insisted that he keep and learn how to use, it cut down some of his choices. However, he was planning to discard the sheath/shield that he had gotten. Fenrir had told him that those weren't special and that he was free to discard them after use. Jaune decided to keep it as a sheath for his sword as well as a backup, just in case. After months of planning with all seven dragons providing him with advice, he finally drew out his plans onto the Scroll tablet. Quickly opening it, he showed it to Hephaestus.
"Interesting," said Hephaestus, "That's not going to be easy. Since you do have Ghira's recommendation, I'll craft it. But first! You have to get me the materials. And none of the material can be cheap iron for this to work. I also refuse to work with such bad materials."
Jaune was about to complain when Fenrir quickly reminded him of the ores he had and recommended a specific one for his plans. Jaune turned around, hiding his bag from Hephaestus's view before withdrawing the huge dull silver-looking ore he had.
"Will this do?" Jaune asked as he struggled to get it on the table with both hands. Finally, he gave up and just put it on the floor.
Hephaestus was wondering how Jaune even managed to hide such a huge chunk of ore from him, but when he saw it, he gasped.
"Kid. Where did you find such a huge ore with such purity?" gasped Hephaestus.
"Uhh I found it?" said Jaune. It was technically true. "Is it not good? I have others."
At this, Jaune took out another huge ore, this one with a brighter sheen with a touch of a blue tint on the silver-looking ore. At this, Hephaestus's mouth just dropped to the floor.
"Hello? Did I do something wrong?" asked Jaune. He waved his hands in front of Hephaestus before snapping his fingers to get his attention.
"Jaune, was it? You just brought me an Adamantine ore and a Mithril ore of the highest purity I have ever seen in a huge chunk," said Hephaestus.
Jaune looked a bit scared, but stood his ground, staring at Hephaestus. His dragons told him he had to look strong and have pride in his deeds. Soon, Hephaestus chuckled before it became a full-blown laughter.
"I'll take the job! I haven't worked with such materials at such purity and quantity! I'll probably only need the Adamantine for your design, along with a few other metals I can get easily. However, I have a friend who would be willing to craft you a Mithril shirt with that other ore. I will personally guarantee that all leftover ores will be returned to you," stated Hephaestus, "I'll stake my pride on that. I'll build you the best one you've ever had! And don't worry about those intricate designs. I'll have my other friend help me with that. But now that I noticed, how come you don't want to trade in that sword of yours?"
Jaune shrugged before drawing Crocea Mors out, "I don't know. I feel like this sword is special. Like it wasn't crafted by normal means." Obviously, Jaune didn't know that, only that Fenrir insisted he not throw that blade away.
"Aye, that's a nice sword. One of the finest blades I've ever seen," said Hephaestus, nodding his head as he inspected the sword, "Even my rival Muramasa would be hard to compete against that blade."
Then, he looked around and motioned Jaune to come closer before whispering, "Umm, sorry to ask you of this, Jaune. Even after finishing crafting that design of yours, you'll have some leftover Adamantine. I was hoping you could spare some for me to use. I want to make a shield for my niece."
At this, he started to blush before continuing, "She has such a talent of becoming a Huntress. However, I want to make sure she goes out with the best, and with your Adamantine, I can craft a nice shield for her. It would relieve my worries."
"Sure," said Jaune without a thought. Some of the dragons in his head scolded him for not even thinking this through, although they would have agreed with his decision. Still, they wanted Jaune to always think before leaping forward.
"Thank you, Jaune," said Hephaestus, giving him a quick hug before dragging the ores to his forge with a grin. He was going to have so much fun with this.
"Since this'll take awhile, and also for the fact I need you to come back just to make sure the design fits you, got a place you're living right now?" asked Hephaestus.
Jaune shook his head, making Hephaestus frown before coming with an idea, "Tell you what. Go to this address. It's my brother's address. Tell him Hephaestus sent you, and that I think you're a good kid. If he asks for a password, just say these lines, 'give them nothing, but take from them everything',"
"I don't-" started Jaune, but Hephaestus cut him off. "You're providing me valuable material for my niece. I think it's only fair I find you somewhere to live a little. I'd offer my place, but I live in this shop, and it's too messy. Plus, you'll get to meet the famous two-time champion of the Mistral Regional Champion! And she'll continue her streak, no doubt!"
Jaune sweat-dropped as he saw the blacksmith start spouting off about his precious niece. Sighing, he took the address and walked out the store. As he walked past the stadium, he could hear people fighting. However, he decided to ignore that, walking off to quickly introduce himself to whoever Hephaestus had sent him off to. Just as he left, two people came out. One was a boy with black hair with a strip of pink on a lock of his hair while the other was an orange-haired girl.
"Ren! Ren! We should totally go see sloths. Ooh, maybe get some pancakes. And then, then, we can, like..." said the orange-haired girl.
"Of course, Nora," replied Ren, already getting ready for whatever Nora was planning. He never had the heart to refuse any of her requests unless they were extremely dangerous. Suddenly, he felt an energy he thought he would have never felt. An energy that his deceased parents had told him to always look for. Ren looked around but noticed the energy was gone. Shrugging his shoulder, he walked with Nora, letting her talk excitedly about, well anything.
Soon, Jaune was walking through another rich neighborhood. The people here seemed... nicer, but many still had the same arrogant attitude as before. Still, Jaune decided to walk a bit faster just in case. As he turned another corner, he bumped into someone with long red hair.
Pyrrha Nikos sighed as she was walking back home after doing her job as a model for a cereal company called Pumpkin Pete's. She enjoyed being with her family, her job as a cereal poster girl, and her fights, but she felt lonely. At Sanctum, she had no real friends. Just fans who were always trying to admire her or use her for their own popularity. After winning the tournament two times, she was placed on a pedestal by her peers, where she stood alone. Any potential friends she had before the tournament were driven away by jealousy or awe. She had already made up her mind to head to an academy for Huntsmen and Huntresses far away from Mistral. Sure, she would miss her family, but she wanted a fresh start. Somewhere where nobody really knew her fame. Somewhere where she could make friends. She was so caught up in thinking that she didn't notice a someone turning a corner and bumped into him.
"I'm sorry," said Pyrrha quickly. She slightly closed her eye, as if prepared to receive a gibbering fan apologizing or asking for an autograph.
"It's my fault," was the reply. Slightly opening her eyes, she saw a handsome blonde boy with amazing blue eyes. She could see that this person trained based on his muscles. Which she was admiring heavily.
"Excuse me but..." began the boy. Pyrrha internally winced, ready to answer that she was, indeed, Pyrrha Nikos.
"Do you know where this address is? I was sent by my friend, who's a blacksmith, to this place," finished the boy. Pyrrha slightly widened her eyes. Did this boy not know who she was, or what she had done. Or did he know and just not care? Quickly, she took a look at the address and was surprised to see her home address as well as her uncle's signature.
"You met my uncle Hephaestus?" asked Pyrrha.
"Yea. I have made an order for an item, and he told me to stay at this place for the while. Wait, your uncle?" asked the boy.
Pyrrha nodded before replying, "Yea. Come, I'll show you the way. I was heading home anyway."
As they were walking, Pyrrha was taking note of the boy. He seemed strong, confident, and, if her uncle was actually sending him to live with her family for awhile, special. She couldn't help but slightly blush at this boy. She felt attracted to him. Perhaps it was the fact that he didn't act like all her other peers at Sanctum. But where was he from? And would he react the same way as everyone once he knew who she was? She had never seen him before at Sanctum or any other combat school around Mistral. Yet from his muscle tone, he had been training to fight, to become a Huntsmen.
Meanwhile, Jaune was also admiring the girl. Her lithe yet strong body showed she was a fighter. Her long red hair the flowed with the wind, enhancing her beauty. Her armor showed skin, attracting her beauty. And though the girl seemed to be his age, she was already starting to develop into her womanhood. Her green eyes, with a hint of green eye-shadow, attracted more beauty to her face.
"Hahaha. Already hitting puberty?" laughed Othim, "Can't wait to see you plow this girl."
"Othim!" chided Aryz, "That was uncalled for. Jaune just hit puberty. It's not entirely his fault for noticing her body."
"She seems strong. She would make a good mate for you," said Lung Wang.
"Not you too!" said Alaerth, "Although I do admit, she would do fine."
Jaune decided to ignore his dragons talking in his head for now. Finally, they reached a modest house with a dojo besides it.
"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" shouted Pyrrha. Nobody answered.
"Gone again," sighed Pyrrha. Her father was a combat teacher at Sanctum and also a Huntsmen, while her mother was a business woman who was an ex-Huntress. They were usually busy, leaving her by herself. She loved them, and they loved her, but they were just so busy. Luckily, her uncle would come by to keep her company, but he was also busy with his forge.
"Well, they're not here," said Pyrrha, "Come on in, though. You can wait here... I never got your name, did I?"
"Jaune Ryu-Long," said Jaune as he stuck out his hand, "Nice to meet you."
"Pyrrha Nikos," Pyrrha warmly greeted back, "You can sit on the couch and wait. I'm going to my room to shower and change up."
Jaune nodded as he sat down on a couch and opened his Scroll for a bit. After 30 minutes, Pyrrha came out wearing civilian clothing.
She went to the refrigerator, grabbing something to drink before offering Jaune some, who accepted. Soon, they started to talk with one another about their hobbies, their likes, anything they could talk about. They were both so engrossed talking with one another and even playing games with each other that Pyrrha never noticed the time fly by, nor did she notice her mother and father returning home.
"Pyrrha, who is this?" asked the mother, making both teenagers jump in surprise.
"Mom! Dad! I'm sorry!" said Pyrrha, "This is Jaune Ryu-Long."
"Pleasure to meet you," said the mother with long dark-brown hair, showing that Pyrrha had inherited her hair color from his father, "I am Golga Nikos, and this is my husband Leonidas Nikos. What brings you to our place?"
Golga and Leonidas were already analyzing Jaune as he stood up to greet them. Was this boy trying to seduce their daughter? Use her for his own benefits? Well, they would show him the way out if that was the case. Especially Leonidas.
"Hephaestus sent me to ask if I could live here. Not for that long, I promise," said Jaune as he passed the letter to Leonidas. He scanned it and saw it was true. However, if it was truly his brother who sent him, then there should one more thing.
"Anything else he says?" asked Leonidas lightly.
"Yea. Something about a password. Give them nothing, but take from them everything," replied Jaune. That cinched it for Leonidas. His brother really did send him here.
"Welcome! I'm surprised my brother Hephaestus sent you here," said Leonidas, "He never does that for any clients. You must be a special one."
Jaune shyly scratched his head in embarrassment.
Soon, the Nikos family got to know Jaune better for the next few days. Even Hephaestus, who barely left his forge, came over to visit. For them, it was like having another family member. However, any subject about Jaune's family was always driven off. Leonidas noticed that Jaune would always wake up at 6:00 to go training. Impressed, he took Jaune into a store to show him a few equipment, advising him what some of them did. Since Jaune was going to be on the move, he bought himself a few strap on weights, much to Lung Wang's approval.
One day, Leonidas took his family into the dojo with Jaune. In the dojo was where the Nikos family would always train any techniques they wanted to test out.
"Jaune. I want you to fight Pyrrha to see how strong you are," requested Leonidas, "Depending on how well you do, I might approve of you with my daughter." The adults giggled with a joking tone at that part.
"Dad!" blushed Pyrrha, Even so, she drew out her weapons. It was a xiphos that could easily change into a javelin or rifle and a shield. Its name was Milo and Akouo. She had wanted to fight Jaune at least once.
"Sure," replied Jaune. His new design wasn't done yet, but he could still fight with his sword. Leaving his sheath at his belt, he drew out Crocea Mors, drawing an eyebrow raise out of the Nikos family. Very few people used such old weapons to fight now. Time had shown that the ability to fight with a weapon that was versatile was the best.
"Fight!" announced Hephaestus, who decided to act as the judge for this fight.
Pyrrha was planning to slowly get used to her opponent's move, using her usual strategy. It came to no surprise to her when Jaune charged in. She had dealt with opponent's like that before. Jaune came with an overhead chop, which Pyrrha parried easily with her shield to her left, forcing Jaune to also go left. With her right hand, she tried to stab him with Milo at his stomach. She was surprised to see Jaune in the air with a sickle kick towards her head. She ducked under it before spinning, using her shield to bash Jaune. He blocked it with his sword but was sent flying back a little before landing. When Pyrrha had parried Jaune, instead of trying to regain balance, he jumped, predicting the stab to his stomach.
Pyrrha was grinning. This was going to be a good fight.
Ten minutes later, both fighters were sweating. Jaune had shown that his fighting style was very flexible, mixing in kicks and punches with his swordsmanship. Pyrrha proved to be worth of the title "Invincible Girl" as she continued to parry, block, and counterattack. Grapples were met with counter grapples. Pyrrha showed that she had not slouched in unarmed CQC either. Each of the dragons in Jaune's head was impressed. Lung Wang grumbled about upping Jaune's training again as well as hoping to find someone to unlock his Aura. So much more could be done if that dam so-called father didn't seal it. Aura could have easily healed Jaune if he injured himself. Instead, he had to wait patiently if he did injure himself, speeding it up with any outside sources.
Pyrrha was also impressed. Some of her combos that she did was aimed at forcing an opening against her opponent, but here was a boy who was able to dodge it, block it, or even attack her right in middle of her combo, forcing her back. Even trying to surprise him with sudden extending spear thrusts didn't work.
The rest of the Nikos family was observing keenly. They had never seen someone to actually match Pyrrha in a match so much. Sure, there were a few times when she had "trouble" with her opponent. But Pyrrha's semblance, polarity, gave her a huge advantage over almost everyone. She never showed it outright, letting people think that they themselves had messed up.
However, Pyrrha had tried to do that to Jaune's sword but almost found herself at the end of a slash that she couldn't move. She quickly dodged out of the way, unwilling to try that again. Jaune had streamed a bit of Aura into the sword. That was the extent of any Aura he could use at all, thanks to the seal. Pyrrha tried to manipulate the sheath, but Jaune wasn't letting her concentrate long enough to hinder his movement. In the end, Jaune actually used the sheath as a projectile to distract her. Pyrrha didn't try to use the thrown sheath against him as she became focused on blocking his attacks. They were very fast and powerful strikes.
Both were getting tired but both were enjoying the fight. Pyrrha had never had someone her age challenge her so much, and Jaune was just enjoying fighting a strong opponent. Pyrrha switched to her rifle to gain some ground. Jaune deflected the shots before charging in. Pyrrha threw her shield towards his head which responded by sliding under it on his knees before jumping back to his feet and running towards her. Pyrrha met the charge, running towards him. They both slashed, locking each other's blade against each other with two-handed strikes. The shield bounced around the room, flying right towards Jaune from behind.
As the shield got closer, Jaune was looking into Pyrrha's eyes. They were so green, so clear with life and happiness. Something she hadn't had for quite a while. Then, he noticed the clunking noise and a whirling sound. Jaune knew the shield was flying straight for the back of his head based on instinct. Without turning, he let go of his left hand on the sword and raised it towards the shield. His hands were positioned in a position that instead of trying to catch it like a normal human being, fingers open, they were adjusted. His second and third finger were together while his fourth and pinky were together. There was a gap in between his third and fourth finger as well as the usual gap on the thumb. It formed like a dragon's claw, which was what it was called. Jaune stopped the shield with his left hand before using the momentum and swinging it right towards Pyrrha's face. Surprised, she reacted immediately by releasing her right hand to raise it up towards her shield and halting its path with her semblance. She wasn't confident enough that she could stop it with her bare hands and strength.
The Nikos family was surprised to see Pyrrha show her semblance so easily. Then again, it had been forced.
Gritting his teeth, Jaune tried to move the shield forward, finding it unable to move. He noticed a black glow on the shield and Pyrrha's hand with the same glow. Letting go of the shield, he tried to punch her instead. Pyrrha let go of the shield and caught the fist. Still, in a deadlock, Jaune used a low kick. Not expecting an attack from there, Pyrrha slightly faltered, allowing Jaune to gain the upper hand. He pushed his blade down, forcing Pyrrha to kneel slightly. Pyrrha raised her head and used headbutt onto Jaune's nose. Wincing in pain while the other felt like she had bashed her head into a wall, they both jumped back to regain their wits. Jaune quickly stomped the ground, making the sheath flip up in the air before catching it with his left hand. He then reversed the handling of his blade, using a reverse grip. Pyrrha didn't bother hiding her semblance anymore and recalled her shield back to her. Upon grabbing Akouo, she noticed that there were indents at where Jaune had grabbed.
"Amazing," said Leonidas, "I didn't think there would be anyone in her age group who could fight my daughter like this. Heck, even Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training are weaker than them."
"Indeed," boomed Hephaestus, liking his new job more and more by the minute. With the new design, he wasn't sure his niece could win if Jaune had it, although he was confident she would find a way.
Golga, however, was observing something closely. Jaune had a bloody nose from Pyrrha's attack. However, the injury seemed to stay there instead of letting Aura do it's work and healing him. Actually, the Aura shouldn't have even let him have a bloody nose. The more she observed, the more she became convinced and horrified about the truth. Jaune was fighting Pyrrha without any Aura protecting him! If Jaune landed a 'fatal strike', Pyrrha's aura would protect her. Granted she would be injured, but at least not fatal. Jaune didn't have such a luxury.
"We have to stop this fight!" urged Golga. Both Leonidas and Hephaestus looked at her in befuddlement. "Jaune's fighting without Aura! The bloody nose proves that!"
Horrified, Hephaestus tried to call for a halt. However, both fighters were too far absorbed in their battle to hear it. They both charged for one last attack. Pyrrha stabbed her blade at Jaune. The butt of her weapon exploded, shooting the xiphos into a javelin as she proceeded with her thrust. Its increased speed would surprise many. Jaune, however, had other plans. It was time to try to put one of the Hiten Misurugi techniques to the test.
As they had gotten closer, Jaune suddenly sheathed his blade into the sheath at a high speed, allowing a huge noise to be heard. As he sheathed it, though, he swung his sheath in his left hand right past Pyrrha's ear, blasting right through. At the end of their strikes, they stood still. Suddenly, Jaune's left arm suddenly spurt out blood. A deep gash from his wrist all the way to his elbow on the back of his forearm spurt out blood. Jaune slightly wobbled and fell to the ground on his knees.
"Jaune? Jaune!" shouted Pyrrha as she realized that her attack had struck flesh. She tried to move when her world suddenly wobbled. Unable to stand, she collapsed onto her knees and hands, trying to figure out what was wrong. She felt blood dripping from her left ear. Aura could black and heal exterior injuries, but internal injuries were much harder to recover from Aura. She almost threw up due to the fact her world was still spinning before her eyes. She tried to stand up, but could only stumble in surprise.
"The dragon's howl has reached deep," muttered Jaune as he grasped his wound with his hand.
"I declare this a draw!" shouted Hephaestus before quickly rushing over to Jaune to bind his wounds. Leonidas and Golga quickly rushed over to their daughter, trying to help her and find out what Jaune did. Leonidas had a vague idea, but Golga had nothing. Soon, both fighters found themselves leaning on a couch, resting.
"That was stupid, Jaune," scolded Golga, "You should have told us you hadn't unlocked your Aura, otherwise Leonidas would have never asked for you to spar with Pyrrha! You could have been accidentally killed! "
Pyrrha's eyes opened wide at that. She had been fighting someone who was only using his physical strength and technique only? It made sense how her attack managed to get through, but when she thought about it, she thought it was strange how Jaune was able to still stream a bit of Aura into the sword. She voiced this thought, surprising everyone before turning to Jaune for answers.
"Umm... Can we not discuss my past? It's a bit... painful," asked Jaune weakly.
"Never the less, you should have had said something, kid," grunted Hephaestus, "I thought you already had your Aura unlocked for you when you asked for that new item."
"Jaune," said Pyrrha, putting her hand on his, "Please. Tell us a little. It doesn't have to be everything. Why do you not have your aura unlocked? We won't judge you. I promise I'll always be there for you."
At this, Jaune felt his will start to weaken. Looking at Pyrrha's face made it even worse, as he could see concern and care from her face. Golga hugged him, whispering in his ears it was all right, that he was in safe hands now. Finally, unable to resist, Jaune confessed to some of his life. How his father hated him, stating he would never be a proper Huntsmen. How his treatment towards him was before banishing him when he was only ten. However, he refused to give a name.
Leonidas was calm on the surface, but inside, he was growing angrier by the minute. It took all his willpower not to grab his spear and shield and hunt the so-called father down. The women had tears in their eyes while Hephaestus looked angry. Leonidas then felt he could at least do one thing right.
"Jaune. Come here," he said softly. Jaune obeyed, and felt the man's calloused hand on his face, in the same position as his mother had done before reciting the lines.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."
Leonidas started to glow red, showing his aura. However, Jaune's body flickered a little before it stopped glowing. Leonidas opened his eyes, completely confused.
"This should have worked," said Leonidas.
"Umm, my father did the same thing as you did, except rougher, and recited a different line before banishing me out of the family," confessed Jaune.
Hephaestus, Pyrrha, and Golga looked confused, but Leonidas' face was completely murderous. Pure unadulterated fury could be seen escaping from his entire body.
"Jaune. What did your father recite?" asked Leonidas darkly.
"For it is in passing that you understand your failures. Through this, you become a paragon of dishonor and condemnation for all to see. Finite at distance and bound to death, I bind your soul, and under my foot, forsake thee." said Jaune with a dull voice, "That's when all I felt was pain. Before I knew it, I was out in the cold with only a few things."
"Dad? I've never heard those lines before," said Pyrrha.
"And no child should," said Leonidas darkly, "Those lines along with the same gesture forcibly seals the person's Aura within his body. The only way to release it is if the same person releases it. It should only be done to criminals with life sentences. To do such a thing to a child is inhumane."
"Aye, and considering in order to become a Huntsmen, you need Aura. I'm afraid young Jaune here will never be allowed into Huntsmen academies. It's a requisite upon attending. If they find out he doesn't have it, he'll be expelled, no matter how good his grades or skills are," said Hephaestus. "Jaune can only get his aura back from his dad, but if he's how Jaune's described him, there's no way he's getting it back."
Golga was in tears, "How could a man do that to his child? Where was your mother, Jaune?"
Jaune shook his head as he explained that his mother and seven sisters tried their best, but their family was run under patriarchal rule, so his father always had the last word, no matter what.
As Leonidas, Golga, and Hephaestus put their head together to think of a way to help Jaune, Pyrrha approached Jaune, putting her right hand on his cheek, her eyes brimming with tears.
"I'm so sorry," said Pyrrha as she softly touched the wound she had inflicted with her left hand, "I should have known when I bashed my head on your nose. You were bleeding right in front of me."
"Pyrrha, it's okay. I went into this spar knowing the consequences," said Jaune softly as he put his hands on each of her hand.
"Is it impossible for anyone to unlock except for your father?" asked Pyrrha.
Jaune shrugged, "Don't know. Your father just tried it, and it didn't work. I can feel it slightly coming undone as time passes, but it's going to take a long time before I get rid of this lock. I can only stream a little bit of my Aura into my weapon."
"Then let me try," said Pyrrha fiercely. Before Jaune could reply, Pyrrha titled her head so her forehead was touching his before closing her eyes. Her left hand was still on his cheek.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."
All three adults looked at the two teenagers and sighed. Pyrrha could be stubborn sometimes. Before Leonidas could say anything, there was a bright flash of light. Pyrrha was glowing red with her aura, just like her father. However, the similarities ended there. Jaune's body was pulsating with aura! The aura around arranged itself like a dragon. The adults had to cover their eyes, and missed the fact that some of Jaune's Aura seeped into Pyrrha.
Inside Jaune's mind, all the dragons roared in unison.
"Finally! About time we got rid of this seal," said Othim.
"Now we can finally have Jaune learn our true power," roared Andusk.
"That Vlad Arc better watch out for us," growled Fafnir. Ryo-Wo roared in agreement.
"Now I can really push Jaune to his limits!" laughed Lung Wang.
"Interesting how Pyrrha's the one who was the key," said Alaerth.
"Indeed. We should definitely have Pyrrha as one of his mates," mused Aryz.
Soon, the glow started to fade away, but everyone could see that Jaune had Aura streaming all over his body. For Jaune, it felt like a missing piece of him had returned. To finally complete his body.
"You have a lot of Aura," panted Pyrrha. She didn't know that unlocking someone's Aura could be tiring. Then again, looking at Jaune, it was obvious he had massive reserves. The gash on his arm was already starting to heal based on the glow beneath the bandages. Jaune took it off in amazement as his skin started to heal, leaving no mark after it was done.
"Pyrrha, honey? Did you just somehow unlock Jaune's Aura when Leonidas couldn't?" asked Golga. Both teenagers just shrugged.
"And do you know the significance of doing that with someone of your age and not related to you?" continued Golga. They both shook their head.
Hephaestus started to laugh out loudly while Leonidas could only facepalm.
"If it's between a parent and child, it means nothing, just a way to unlock aura within the family. When a non-parental adult does it to a child, it also doesn't carry as much significance. It could be interpreted as someone taking on an apprentice in name, like how Leonidas would have done to Jaune. Of course, Jaune doesn't have to accept it, but it's an offer done after unlocking his aura. However, when a male and female of similar age does the ritual, in some cultures, it constitutes as... marriage."
Both teenager's face became flushed and couldn't bear to look at each other. Hephaestus was just laughing even louder now.
Finally, Jaune spoke up, "I didn't know that otherwise, I wouldn't have let Pyrrha do that. However, I am willing to take responsibility for this."
Pyrrha's face turned even brighter red while Hephaestus just couldn't breathe anymore.
"No, no, no! You misunderstood me," said Golga hastily, "I just wanted you two to know about this, just in case you decided to help someone unlock their aura. I didn't want misunderstandings to happen."
Jaune tried to sink into his hoodie in embarrassment while Pyrrha put her face to a pillow. Inside her mind, though, she really didn't mind if she was married to Jaune.
After that embarrassment, Jaune was a little more open to the Nikos family. Sometimes, he made trips to Hephaestus just to help him out or watch. Pyrrha would be latched on his side almost every second she had time. She was lucky she was on break at Sanctum, otherwise, she would spend her time at school hoping it would end faster. They would spend their time walking, talking, or even training with each other. Jaune even allowed Hephaestus to take Crocea Mors and the sheath. Hephaestus promised to make a better hilt than the one that was on it, something Jaune was grateful for. The sheath was taken to another friend of Hephaestus, promising to professionally paint it all black instead of the giant smear on the middle. Soon, but too fast for Pyrrha, Jaune's new item was done.
Read and Review! I purposely kept saying item because I don't want to reveal so easily what it is. If someone can guess it, I'll be amazed and might put the next chapter earlier than planned. And yes, I already do have the item thought of, how it works, and the name.
Hope the fight description was done well enough. Tell me what I can improve on it! Yes, Jaune's aura was still binded during the spar, but I did say that he was able to access a bit of it, enough to stream into his sword but not enough to provide protection like most others.
As for the names, keep in mind that the adults don't have to follow the color name. For instance, we have Ozpin, Glynda, Peter, Qrow, etc. None of those really relate to a color scheme name. The Colors War in canon was during their time when they were young or something like that. It was only in Ruby's generation that the majority of the people started to have their names as colors. I will follow the same rule if and when I have to make up some minor characters on the side.
Also hoped you liked the name choices for Pyrrha's parents and uncle. Though it would be appropriate, considering Pyrrha's like a Spartan, so why not have the famous King of Spartans and his wife as her parents, and a famous blacksmith with the same background.