Yaa New Chapter! Managed to write this one out pretty fast! Almost got to 200k Views yaa! Read and Review if you can!
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"We so needed this," moaned Weiss as she was relaxing at a spa, with a masseur massaging her back. The other were also in a similar treatment.
"You said it," yawned Yang, "Especially since I'm much more... blessed than you." Yang gained a slight smirk upon Weiss's reaction
"Hey!" shouted Weiss, getting up to look at Yang, insulted at that comment, "I'm slender and petite!"
Yang merely got up, waiving the masseur away, before giving Weiss a full view of her body, "And I'm sexy and hot~"
Weiss huffed at that and looked away, blushing at Yang's body. She could only look down on her own and feel depressed. She had hoped she would grow up with a body like her sister, but it seemed like she wasn't going to be given that blessing. Still, she had a few more years to hope for it, as Winter told her that her body didn't mature until later in her academies. It was partly true, she really did look more graceful and beautiful during her time in the academy. The only difference was that Winter's body was a bit more 'blessed' before she went there.
"Don't worry Weiss!" cheered Ruby, "I'm sure Jaune doesn't care about it either!"
Weiss had to blush at that before looking at Ruby's body and frowned. Ruby's body was also quite petite like hers, but there was one major difference between their body. Ruby had bigger breasts than her, sending Weiss into a spiraling pit of despair. She stormed off to the hot bath, muttering that Ruby was Yang's half sister, so of course, she would beat her in that department.
"We're lucky the boys aren't here, otherwise they might faint," said none other than Pyrrha as she was currently relaxing on a water jet bed.
Team RWBY, Pyrrha, and Nora were at a spa that Weiss and Jaune had reserved a week after the Merlot incident. Thanks to Ozpin, they were able to get a good deal at the earliest convenience so they could relax. The owners also respected privacy and would not discriminate, so Blake had taken off her ribbon on her head that hid her ears. The boys were taken to another room to relax.
"I don't mind showing Jaune these babies," said Yang, cupping her breasts and hefting them up and down just to spite everyone here
"Yang!" shouted Ruby in embarrassment.
"Don't worry, little sis. Yours will be like mine soon. We're sisters! Although I'll always win," bragged Yang as she patted Ruby's head, to which Ruby's face began to steam from a mixture of anger, embarrassment and finally blushing.
The sisters soon got into a little fight, letting Pyrrha, Blake, and Nora chuckle or giggle at their antics. Blake was relaxing on a massage chair, just enjoying the vibrations. Pyrrha was ready to head to the hot tub with Nora. Nora wanted to go with Ren, but Pyrrha dragged her away, stating that it was a time for partners to talk. After all, she was her partner while Ren was Jaune's.
"Hey, Jaune. You should take a peek at the girls, get an early preview," suggested Othim as he had quite the toothy grin. Jaune promptly ignored his perverted antics again, taking this time to just relax into the bed with hot stones on his back, along with Ren.
"Feeling good?" Jaune asked. The reply was a slight grunt, followed by a small snore. Ren had fallen asleep from the treatment.
"I'll take that as a yes," chuckled Jaune before motioning the masseur to take the stones off them both. Jaune stood up to stretch for a bit before walking towards the hot tub in their room. As he sank in, he decided to talk with his dragons. It had been awhile since he had the time just to talk.
"Enjoying your time at Beacon?" asked Aryz.
"The second semester is already halfway done, and the tournament is coming soon. Are you ready?" asked Ryo-Wo.
'Yea,' thought back Jaune, 'And I'll enjoy pounding my half-brothers into the dirt.'
"Excellent!" approved Lung Wang following with a hearty laugh, "Show them what it means to try to steal your mates, and show your sperm donor what he failed to see."
"Have you decided on who to use the Dragon Marks on?" asked Alaerth, deciding to change the conversation.
'Some, but not a lot,' admitted Jaune, 'Lightning for Nora, that's a given. I might give Junior one, and I was debating on Sun. He's been a good friend, even though he has a slight crush on Blake. He's promised to do his best to look for somebody else. The only problem for him is that I don't know what to give him.'
"If I may suggest," started Fafnir, "Let Sun have my Dragon's Mark. From what he told us, his Semblance is creating actual clones of himself, but he admits it does drain him. Having him with my mark might help stabilize his clones, using less of his Aura to create it. He could potentially create better clones of himself. Not to mention the old lores of the monkey legend. His name is the same thing."
'Uh, what?' asked Jaune.
"It's not important," replied Fafnir, waving it off, "But I'd recommend that Sun should be given the Earth Dragon's Mark."
'I'll think about it,' said Jaune, 'That means fire, water, and wind is left. Fire would probably go well with Junior since he is quite passionate in helping me.'
"What about the Malachite twins?" asked Andusk, "Their fighting style might fit with it. Both have proven to be quite flexible and agile in fighting, something that matches those elements a bit."
'I want Ren to be alive, thank you,' deadpanned Jaune, causing the dragons to chuckle in agreement.
"We can think about those two marks later, I suppose," announced Lung Wang, "There is still much more training to be done. You are able to link up with 5 of us simultaneously comfortably, 6 if you strain yourself. You must be able to link up with all of us at once. And finally, you are ready to take the first step of summoning."
'Wait, you mean like Weiss can?' asked Jaune.
"Similar," replied Ryo-Wo, "We didn't tell you earlier because you weren't ready. In order to summon, you have to use both Aura and a small bit amount of your blood to summon a dragon to Remnant. They can be used to aid you. However, summoning can cost a lot of your Aura, and not all the dragons will listen to you. You have to prove that you are worthy and strong enough. We can't have you reliant on your summons. We'll give you the information on how to summon, but it'll be up to you to decide when to summon."
Jaune nodded before leaning back and sinking slowly into the tub. Ren was still asleep. He couldn't help but feel unease, not knowing if he would be strong enough to summon dragons.
Merlot was intrigued to the place where he had been brought to. The landscape was filled with dark colors, and Grimm could be seen everywhere. Here, he would never have to worry about a shortage of Grimm at all. There were even species he had never seen or heard before! When Merlot met Salem, his first thought was that this lady was a Grimm that evolved to look like a human. He was so tempted to perform experiments on her. He didn't ask, as he didn't want to offend her.
Salem, herself, was more interested in the footage that Merlot provided. She dismissed him, assigning a room for him and promising him a lab, materials, and specimens to experiment on.
"So, Ozpin. You've managed to recruit some sort of devil. But I wonder if you know that yourself," murmured Salem, looking at Jaune and his red scaled wings. She gently touched the screen, outlining Jaune's figure. "He could be just one of many. And who knows what legend he comes from. I can't tell from the photo alone. However, the other students I recognize. They are from Beacon, and two of them are ones Cinder have marked as potential threats."
"Hmm. I guess she's not too blind after all," scoffed Watts, "But for her to miss this one? Such an amateurish mistake."
"Do not be so quick to judge, doctor. He may have been hiding this power from everyone. But for what reason? Fear? An edge against the enemy? Arrogance? Or is it something else?' Salem.
She dismissed the other students, deeming them as a lower threat level than Jaune, Ren, and Pyrrha, and quickly sent the video to Cinder. She trusted Cinder was right about her judgment. It was unfortunate for her that Merlot's camera was unable to capture Ruby's face clearly, for if she did, she would have had seen her silver eyes, and how they seemed to be glowing a little.
"Hmm... So the 'Goddess of Victory' has polarity as her semblance," murmured Cinder as she looked at the video Salem had sent her. Emerald and Mercury were with her at her room, Mercury doing push-ups while Emerald sat on his back. Mercury couldn't deny that he enjoyed the soft bumps on his back, but continued his exercise. Of course, if Cinder would join in, he would really enjoy the feeling of her rump on his back. Although she might burn him to a crisp afterward, it probably wasn't worth it.
"So that's the secret to her victory," said Emerald, filing her nails while checking her weapons, "She must use it to make slight adjustments on her opponent's weapon. Not enough to broadcast her powers, but enough to make her seem untouchable."
"And since most weapons, today have some sort of metal," grunted Mercury, "She can manipulate almost everyone's weapons."
"So in reality, she also takes fate into her own hands," thought Cinder carefully, "A good thing we have her on our list. However, I think one more addition may be needed."
She paused the video before turning her scroll to them, showing Jaune with his red scaled wings flying about. Mercury and Emerald widened their eyes in surprise as the video continued to play and showed Jaune shooting out fire from his mouth. Cinder was especially impressed to see another person be actually able to manipulate Dust in its raw form without the use of technology. Although eating it was new to her. Perhaps she could try it sometime, under controlled circumstances.
"Think he's in league with the angels and devils we've been hearing about?" asked Emerald.
"Could be. However, instead of a threat, perhaps he could be of great use to us," smiled Cinder.
"How so?" asked Mercury.
"He has power. Instead of taking it away from him, we might be able to use his powers to further our goals. If we can convince him to our side, it will be a great boon," explained Cinder, "I'll have our little friend try to find out more about him. There has to be something that we can use or find. Plus, it's easy to see the angels are not friends of Grimm. These devils, however, might be."
Cinder looked to the window, looking at the shattered moon, "If it comes to other methods, then we can always use blackmail... or seduction."
At this, she giggled a bit, "I'm sure that I can offer him more than his teammates ever could. And if needed, your Semblance, Emerald, could always be useful."
Emerald felt a little disgusted at the thought of using her Semblance as a way to fulfill some man's imagination, but swallowed it, "Yes ma'am."
"Hey, does that mean you can give old people wet daydreams and have them keel over in shock and die of happiness, with a bloody nose and a boner?" joked Mercury. Emerald responded by slapping his head, which promptly made him fall down into the ground.
Ozpin was going over some of Merlot's notes and was deeply concerned. Ironwood had taken Merlot's notes on robotics when Weiss mentioned how they seemed stronger than the latest batch of Atlesian Knights and sent them over to the Atlas technological department to see what they could learn and improve upon.
"Merlot, what were you thinking?" sighed Ozpin as he reminisced about who he thought was his old friend.
He knew that man was too stubborn and smart to commit suicide at his island. Which begged the question, where was he now? Ozpin leaned back into his seat as he swiveled his chair to look at the window. He knew it was merely a matter of time before Salem found him and brought him into her circle. Time was running out, and they needed to make a final decision on who to give Amber's remaining power to.
They couldn't heal her, as she needed the remaining half of her powers to make a full recovery. They tried to find some sort of substitute, but her body rejected it. All they could do was prolong her life as long as they could. It was thanks to Ironwood for that technology, and the ability to transfer the remaining power within Amber to somebody worthy. It wasn't perfected, but it was better than the assailant getting all that power. Especially since Qrow had told them that the assailant was most likely part of Salem's faction.
He already had one candidate in mind, but he didn't want to make the choice so soon. Heck, he didn't want to bring children into the war, not if he could avoid it. But there was little time, now. They would have to bring the candidate in and see if she would agree before the Vytal Festival Tournament was over. They also didn't know when the enemy would strike.
"I hope you're ready, Pyrrha Nikos. And I hope your family and team will forgive me for making you choose," murmured Ozpin.
A few weeks passed, and team JNPR and RWBY were getting back into their schedule now. They attended class and trained with each other whenever they had time. SSSN, NDGO, and even CRDL would join them sometimes. The upper division classmen like DSCO and CFVY, for example, didn't hang out with them too often, but they made time every now and then. The other missions they attended was nowhere as chaotic as before.
One day, there was an announcement to have all teams interested in attending the Vytal Festival Tournament to meet up in the auditorium. Soon, almost everyone still at Beacon and not on a mission was called to the auditorium.
"Welcome, everyone," said Glynda, "Today is the day that the teams who will be participating the Vytal Festival Tournament will be announced. Each school has already reviewed the latest batch of missions you have gone, and have made a decision based on past performances, whether it be at your school or at Beacon. Please look at the screen to see if your team has been chosen. Please remain if your team is listed on the list. If not, have a nice day, and try again next time or cheer for the ones that have made it."
The screen behind her flashed, and four columns with team names showed up. Each column belonged to a specific Academy to make searching easier. Each Academy had about 10-14 teams listed on it.
As students eagerly scanned the list, there were some cheers, some laughter, and some sobs. Those who didn't make it was disappointed, but promised to cheer their school on to show their spirit.
"Alright! Team RWBY is on the list!" cheered Ruby. She gave high fives to her teammates, who replied to the gesture with enthusiasm.
"Are we on the list?" asked Nora, trying to find their name.
"Yep, right there," pointed Pyrrha. Nora whooped before hugging Pyrrha, almost breaking ribs.
Out of Beacon, the most notable ones beside them were CFVY, CRDL, BLUE, and PRPL. However, Jaune noticed something.
"How come there are not that many 4th year teams?" asked Jaune. Surely students with 4 years of training would be on the list.
"It's because of the missions lately," came a voice all of em were familiar with, turning around it was revealed to be Coco of CFVY, "Grimm activity has been acting up lately, so most of the schools are having their 4th year students and even 3rd year students outside the Kingdom, helping as many people as they can. Of course, it's optional to do so, but most feel like it's their duty to help then to fight in a tournament for people to watch."
"Aurelian doesn't feel that way for certain," said Nebula, walking up to them, "Just saw his team's name on there with BYDD. How BYDD got in, I'll never know. Probably had his daddy bribe some people into it."
"Nebula! You know Shade Academy wouldn't do that! Especially with our headmistress and our culture. How we welcome mostly the strong," lectured Dew.
"Yea, you're right. Still, don't see how they made it in," said Nebula.
"Perhaps we can kick them out during the final decisions," suggested Gwen.
"Or hope they make it in so Ren can kick his ass in public," grinned Octavia as she latched onto Ren's arm. Not to be outdone, Nora latched his other arm.
"Sup!" said Sun as he joined their group, "My team's on the list. No surprise there. I know you guys have to be on there too."
"Good to see your still kicking," smiled Jaune as he gave him a fist bump.
"How droll. I see the plebeians have gathered," rang a voice.
They all turned while rolling their eyes to see team ARLN and BYDD, standing across from them.
"Hello Aurelian," said Pyrrha with a fake smile. It was only polite to greet someone.
"Pyrrha, a pleasure to see you," smiled Aurelian, "Tell me, have I convinced you to leave your pathetic team yet? Surely with you by my side, we'll be the most powerful couple in Remnant. Just come with me to Shade. I'm sure the Headmistress will allow you in on my team."
"Whoa, stealing someone's girl? Not cool, dude," said Neptune.
"Wow, you're desperate with that attitude, aren't you?" said Sun. He shook his head at what could've been him if he had tried to steal Blake from Jaune.
"Silence you fool and filthy Faunus," spat Aurelian.
Sage stepped forward, looking him dead in the eye, pounding his fist together while Scarlet held back Neptune and Sun from jumping him. Nobody insulted his leader and got away with it easily. CRDL seemed to have his back. Cardin, especially. His family was not in the best terms with the Arc family. DSCO were trying their hardest not to go over and beat Aurelian to a literal pulp, considering the racist comment Aurelian pulled, although it was clearly written on their faces towards how upset they were.
"That's enough," said Jaune, stopping them from a fight. He tilted his head, leading them away from ARLN and BYDD. "No point in fighting here."
"Running, you coward?" asked Boyd loudly trying to get Jaune to react.
Jaune stopped before looking him dead in the eye before replying, "Is your job devoted to spreading ignorance?"
Boyd sputtered out while the others laughed.
"Is that any way to speak to your brother? And you clearly show no respect for your older brother," mocked Aurelian, the word brother seeped with venom from how he spoke them. Everyone froze as they turned around to him in shock.
"What?" asked Cardin.
"Allow me to reintroduce myself," said Aurelian, "I am Aurelian Arc, Jaune's older half-brother. His true name is Jaune Arc, although it should be Jaune No-name. Making up a last name to make yourself seem like someone, how childish. You were, are, and always will be just a pitiful fool who doesn't know his place."
"You may be related to me by blood, but we are not brothers," glared Jaune, "No more than the fact Vlad Arc is just someone who played a part in birth. As for my place, it's right here, at Beacon."
"As if we would want to be even seen related to you," scoffed Aurelian, "Father has been informed that you are here. It was quite a surprise to him that you were still alive after he sealed your Aura. Boyd sent him a photo of your team, as he wanted more information about you. Imagine our surprise that our weak brother was here, actually daring to glare at me. He's quite determined to correct that mistake. I expect you to be gone from Beacon within the week, and probably disappear from this world. Nobody will miss you. Your proper position in this world is underneath the ground, buried so nobody can find you."
He turned to the rest of them, "You can thank me for getting rid of the scum anytime. People like him deserve to be put out so their dirty genes don't pollute the pool. Only those worthy like myself and Pyrrha deserve to pass on greatness."
If Aurelian was expecting praise and thanks, and perhaps girls hanging on his side desperate for his blessings, he got something alright. He heard a gun cock and opened his eyes to see Coco's Gatling gun pointed right in his face, the barrel already spinning in motion. Though that wasn't the only spinning he was hearing, looking above he could see a dark red globe spinning at high speeds, Dandy stood behind him looking down, his yellow eyes glaring down at him, a finger ready to press a button on his cane, most likely the detachment button. Like Scarlet, Onyx and Coral were holding back Soul, who at this moment was thrashing around trying to get out of their grip, his weapon in its sword form, his semblance activated from pure anger as his eyes glowed with fury.
"I think we've had enough of your attitude," said Coco coolly.
"Ah second that, you best leave before ah give this floor ah new paint job." Stated Dandy as he really wanted to drop this ball on him. Aurelian knew he couldn't though because killing a student of an academy will lead to serious consequences, especially if they are harmed when not in the arena.
"Fine," smirked Aurelian, not even scared by both Coco's and Dandy's supposed bluff "Just don't expect the loser to be here any longer. As he was an Arc, Vlad has every right to recall him home. To hide the shame. To block out his existence, a mistake into the world. And nobody will deny father the right. Not your mother, not those bitches you call sisters, and certainly not Goodwitch."
"You'll find he has no right to do that," piped a voice from behind him. They turned around to see Cinder with her team, team CMSN (Crimson). Emerald and Mercury was there next to her. Their last team member, Noire, wasn't there.
"When a student enters a Huntsmen Academy, they are considered to be adults. And since Jaune Ryu-Long was recognized by Ozpin himself to attend the academy, well, your father's request will most likely be denied," explained Cinder, "And I doubt your father is capable of changing Ozpin's mind." A small smirk forming on her face.
Aurelian looked like he swallowed a lemon before huffing and walking away, muttering curses. His team and BYDD quickly followed him.
"Emerald!" shouted Ruby.
"Hey there Ruby!" smiled Emerald as she conversed with team RWBY. Mercury inserted himself to talking with team CRDL.
"Thanks for that," said Jaune.
"No worries," said Cinder, raising her hand. At first, Jaune thought it was a handshake when he noticed the back of her hand was positioned upwards. Recognizing it as the old way of when a gentleman greeted a woman, he took it before kissing the back of her hand. Pyrrha and Dew slightly bristled at this, but held their anger back for now.
"I don't believe we've met in person," began Jaune, letting go of her hand, "Just merely heard about you from Mercury and Emerald."
Mercury and Emerald would show up from time to time to talk with RWBY and JNPR while they were at the library, and even eat lunch with them.
"I tend to be busy," said Cinder, "Although I was interested in meeting the famous team leader of Pyrrha Nikos. Perhaps we could get dinner together, as one leader to another?" At this, she secretly made a few seductive gestures, causing Pyrrha and Dew to be nearing eruption point.
"Say... tomorrow?" continued Cinder, ignoring the two girls.
"Sure. Though perhaps after the Festival. Gotta prepare for the tournament with my team," said Jaune.
"Mmm, a pity. If you can't find time, I suppose I can't fault you. But we must meet up sometime," Cinder said seductively before lifting her finger, gently tracing Jaune's jaws, "In private."
At that, Cinder left, calling Mercury and Emerald back to her side.
"So, how are the friends?" asked Mercury to Emerald when they were out of earshot range.
"Hate them," grumbled Emerald, "They're just so... stupid. I would think the dark one would be more realistic, but she's only just barely."
"Meh. I had an ok time with CRDL. Not much to talk about, though. Usual cannon fodder talk," Merc replied
"Relax," their leader began, "There's only a month left before we have to deal with that. I must say, though, my conversation with Jaune was... enlightening. I can tell that he cares deeply for his team. And that there are two girls that are dying for his attention. One of them happens to be Pyrrha Nikos."
"You don't say," said Mercury.
"Indeed. Just imagine taking her power and her love life away from her," shivered Cinder with sadistic glee, "Plus, it doesn't help that Jaune seems to be a fine specimen."
"You know, I don't think I've seen her before," piped up Sun, "They're Haven students, like us."
"Sun, you ditched class so many times, and ran off to see Beacon before anyone of us was supposed to go, it's no surprise you didn't see them," said Neptune.
"Like, I think they're two years above us," said Scarlet.
"Soo," started Cardin, "You're an Arc?" He asked crossing his arms
"Ex-Arc," replied Jaune with a tsk, "That man banished me from the family. I have no desire to call myself an Arc."
"Whatever," said Cardin, "My family isn't in good terms with the Arcs. If the Arcs are your enemy, then you're my ally. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
"That's actually deep," began Ren, "When did you start reading old scriptures?"
"Since Oobleck made us read historical stories as part of my team's detention," admitted Cardin.
"It was horrifying when he would make us take quizzes while Port would talk about his stories," shuddered Russel.
"If we failed, we had to do it again with Port talking about another story," cringed Sky.
They couldn't talk anymore as Glynda started her announcements again, telling them where each Academy would meet to finalize who would be the four teams that represented an Academy.
"Jaune?" spoke Lung Wang in his mind.
'I know,' Jaune mentally replied, 'That Cinder girl isn't normal. I can feel something is wrong.'
"Her power reeks of corruption, but there is something about it that seems familiar," said Andusk, "Something of the old legends of humans, with a hint of dragon. I can't seem to place it."
'Got it. I'll be careful of her,' thought Jaune.
The teams that were chosen by each Academy split off into different classrooms so they could discuss or arrange fights among themselves. As they split off, Sun quickly excused himself to go to the bathroom. As he got nearer, he saw Gwen. Gwen saw him too, looking around to see if anybody was close before quickly dashing to hug him.
"We don't have much time," whispered Gwen as she quickly kissed him.
"Just wanted to see you and wish you luck," whispered Sun, "Although I doubt you'll need it. I know your team will make it in. However, don't expect me or my team to go easy."
"I could say the same," smirked Gwen.
As they were about to come closer for another kiss, Jaune walked in on them. He had just come from the bathroom. He stared at them for a bit. They stared at him back for a bit. It was pretty much a stare off at this point until Jaune broke the silence
"Sooo….You guys are dating?" asked Jaune in surprise.
"Shhh!" They both hushed getting close to Jaunes face, "We're keeping it a secret for now."
"Fine, "But you have to tell me how you two wound up dating."
They confessed that they had met up after the Dance, and hit it off there. During the beach trip, they had snuck away from Nebula for a bit to make out. Sun admitted that her personality was similar to Blake and yet so different. Both had the whole dark colors working out for them, to which Sun said that it attracted him. The fact that Gwen didn't mind dating a Faunus clinched it for Sun. For Gwen, Sun was a bright sun in her dark colors. His carefree but caring attitude was something she could appreciate. Not to mention those nice abs was all hers now.
"Awesome," Jaune was happy Sun had found someone, "Though you do plan on telling your teams, right?"
They both scratched their head in embarrassment, unable to decide what or when to tell them. Seeing as they were out of time, the trio separated to head back to discuss with who was representing.
For Beacon, team CFVY, RWBY, and JNPR were chosen almost automatically. All of Beacon had heard about RWBY and JNPR crazy adventures and thought they would do well. Not to mention Pyrrha Nikos was on one of the team. CFVY was rated to be the number one team in the second year. The last few spots were to be fought over a small tournament.
For Atlas, FNKI, CPPR, and BLCK were voted in. The last spot was fought over using logistics, past data, and sound arguments. For some reason, one of them involved a dance off. Team DSCO had originally been voted in considering they were the top 2nd-year team with FNKI following right after, but they decided to decline, stating they had something better planned for the festival, that would represent Atlas.
For Shade, ARLN and NDGO were given a pass. ARLN because they were last years champions while NDGO showed great promise. Boyd almost whined when he learned his team would be fighting over the team spots in a grand battle royale, with each team choosing one person to represent them. The last 6 members out of 13 still standing would be granted the spot.
For Haven, CRMN, SSSN, and ABRN were given a pass. The rest was put up for discussion. Sun was getting bored, wishing to go out soon and perhaps sneak a date in with Gwen. Jaune could cover for them.
A few days later, Jaune decided to go training alone in the arena while everyone was discussing who would be going into the tournament, testing out his sword skill against 6 droids at once. However, lately, he hadn't been feeling confident and his moves seemed sluggish to him. He merely shrugged and thought it might've been nervousness. He defeated them with ease and was almost ready to call it a day when he bumped into Ozpin.
"Hello Professor Ozpin," greeted Jaune, "What brings you to the training area so late?"
"Just stretching my legs after all this paperwork for the Vytal Festival," groaned Ozpin, "It's the same every two years for any headmaster hosting the tournament. So much paperwork to go through. Thank Oum I only have to do it once every 8 years."
Jaune nodded in sympathy before getting ready to leave when Ozpin stopped him.
"You know, I haven't had time to train myself lately. Want to help me break off my rust?"
Jaune's eyes opened wide hearing Ozpin's proposal before nodding his head, getting back into the arena. After all, it wasn't often you got to spar with the Headmaster of an established Academy. Out of all the Headmasters of the four schools, rumor had it, Ozpin was the strongest of them all. Jaune was eager to prove himself.
As the two got into position, Jaune wondered how close he was to Ozpin. He asked Ozpin for a few minutes to wipe off the sweat from earlier and grab a quick drink, to which Ozpin complied. He quickly used full link with Fafnir before getting into position.
"So, are you ready? Have you fully prepared your Semblance?" asked Ozpin, surprising Jaune.
"You made good excuses, but I could tell you were using it to buy some time to prepare. I imagine you can use your Semblance on the go, but to fully tap into it, you need some time to prepare."
Jaune nodded, a bit stunned at such an astute observation.
"Be careful," warned Lung Wang, "This man is powerful and observant. Two things that make anyone dangerous."
Jaune nodded and lifted Dragonscales up in a defensive position, ready for any surprise. The timer counted down from 5, and when it hit 0, the match started. Jaune slowly moved forward, coming into Ozpin's range. He felt like he was close enough to attack and attempted to slash when his senses screamed at him to dodge. He leaned back just to see Ozpin's cane graze by him with a thrust. He jumped back, extremely nervous.
"Jaune, you should-" started Aryz, but Lung Wang and Ryo-Wo stopped her.
'Thanks, Aryz, but I want to do this on my own,' thought Jaune, 'I can't rely on all of your advice all the time. Can't be too dependent on you guys. I need this to grow up.'
"Well spoken," spoke Ryo-Wo proudly, "But I suggest you dodge now."
Jaune's eyes widened at that statement, cursing before dodging a sideways slash from Ozpin. He rolled away from Ozpin before getting up and blocking another slash with his shield. Ozpin quickly thrust a few times into the shield before smacking it up, breaking through his defense. Jaune panicked and stomped the ground, causing a pillar to rise in between them. Ozpin stepped back to avoid it while Jaune quickly got ready again.
"Don't get distracted now, I'd feel bad if you were out for the count so soon," grinned Ozpin as he continued his barrage of attacks.
Jaune continued blocking them with his shield before sending a counter slash just for Ozpin to block it with his bare hands. Jaune was surprised, but saw a green glow around his hands, noticing a barrier. Ozpin had mastery over his Aura to make a barrier from wherever he wanted. This didn't deter Jaune as he sent a backflip kick towards Ozpin, forcing them to break before pointing his shield at him, switching to hand cannon mode and firing. Ozpin smacked all the bullets down before charging forward once again. Jaune roared, stomping the ground and kicking in the air, sending several stone plates flying, only for Ozpin to jump on them and use them as platforms before cleaving his cane down for an overhead strike. Jaune leaped up into the air to meet him with a roar and a swing.
A few minutes later, Jaune was on the floor, breathing heavily while Ozpin merely dusted off any dust on his clothes.
"Not bad for a first year I must say, it's no wonder why you got Qrow's and Leonidas's recommendation. I can see why they would do so."
"You're... crazy...strong...," panted Jaune. He hadn't been able to land a clean hit at all.
"Well, I am the headmaster," his headmaster smugly stated, "Otherwise, I'd be out of a job."
As Jaune slowly stood up, Ozpin helped him over to some seats, and they both sat down. They looked at the arena, which was honestly now a huge mess. One of the signs was creaking, hanging off by a nail before it fell off and crashed onto the floor.
"Best not to tell Glynda we were the ones who did this," gulped Ozpin, "It's a good thing I disabled the cameras. Definitely don't want us to get in trouble like DSCO did now do we?" It was there that he gave a small smile to Jaune.
Jaune nodded in reply. The two of them sat together for a bit, Jaune taking sips of his water while Ozpin held his mug in front of him. Finally, Ozpin spoke up.
"You've felt like you recently hit a wall, haven't you?"
Jaune was surprised at this accusation that he nodded, unable to reply.
"I suppose it's natural, given your state. You've never had a real master or tutor to help you. Instead, you traveled around Remnant, learning how to fight in the wild. I'm sure you've picked up some advice here and there, but now you're looking at a wall you don't know how to go through. I could feel it during our clashes. To be honest, I'd thought you'd hit it sooner with the lack of tutor."
Jaune looked at the professor in interest, wondering just where he was going with this. The headmaster placed his mug to the side after taking a quick sip of his drink.
"You've developed your strong points, and anyone around your strength or weaker poses little to no problem to you at all. However, once you're facing someone who has the experience that surpasses yours, you find yourself in a little trouble, like me. It doesn't matter if I was weaker or slower, you have trouble with any veterans. My advice to you is to stop training for just a bit, take a step back, and look around you."
Jaune looked confused, so Ozpin continued talking, "Your sword style. It's very powerful, but I can feel unease in your strikes. It seems to have come recently, am I right to assume that?" Jaune nodded in reply. Not knowing if he was strong enough to summon and combine the fact his heritage had been just revealed forcefully to his friends did shock him a bit. Even if they were ok with it, he was still afraid.
"Luckily, it's still early. From someone who has dabbled in swordplay a little and fought with and against sword users, these type of emotions can pile up, and cause your sword to waver. This can cause your sword itself to feel dull."
"Damn, this man is sharp," complemented Lung Wang. The others nodded in reply. They had also felt Jaune hitting a wall, but instead of guiding him, they had wanted him to seek others for advice. To let him grow socially, making connections to others.
"So instead of charging forward and trying to break that wall, just take a few step backs. Look around you. The way of the sword is not determined by brute strength, just like many other weapons. What originally may seem slow and feeble may be something hidden from plain sight. I believe deep within some of those paths..."
A piece of paper seemed to drop down from the sky. Perhaps somebody's homework they left in the bleachers. The arena fans were turned on to get some fresh air in and blew the paper towards them. Ozpin had his eyes closed when he lifted his hand up, sticking two fingers out only. As the paper passed by them, he merely seemed to have touched the paper, tracing it upwards.
"There is something powerful inside."
The paper split into two just as he finished. Jaune could only stare in amazement at what just happened. Ozpin stood up, putting his hand forward.
"Come. We should get out of here for the day. Don't want to be caught now, do we?"
Jaune nodded once more, and together, they left the arena. They almost made it out when they heard the tapping of someone's foot. They both slowly turned around, and to their horror seen Glynda Goodwitch standing there, looking quite annoyed.
"Glynda," Ozpin began seeming quite nervously, "Jaune and I was merely taking a walk. Would you care to join us? Somewhere far away from the arena?"
"Of course, headmaster," Glynda began, stepping closer and closer to them, "Just as soon as you help me with the arena. Just because you disabled the cameras doesn't mean I know it wasn't you who just trashed an arena that I just fixed. The same goes for you Mr. Ryu-Long. You two are going to help me or there will be consequences, only far worse than what I normally give out."
The two men gulped in fear as they slowly walked back into the arena with Goodwitch. No man nor woman shall escape Goodwitch's wrath, no matter how hard they try, they shall feel her fury.
So close to tournament time! Jaune's heritage is revealed! Vlad Arc now knows of his existence! What will happen! Next chapter will be up as soon as I can do it!
Be honest, who expected me to pair Sun and Gwen up? As for the reasons why I did this pairing, I thought it was appropriate. Gwen and Blake have some color similarities and personality similarities in this fanfic.
Also, anyone care to guess where the Ozpin scene was inspired from?