Author Notes:
So far Dragonslayer is leading the poll. Dunno when I am going to stop the poll, Probably around the time I start this AU's version of Vytal festival or fall of beacon arc :p
KNS-1989: Appreciate the breakdown. Hope you enjoy the story so far and that you'll enjoy the romance if I get around to writing it
Essiter: Don't think I have ADHD(Even if I do own all the symptoms and my family has commented on it) but that is hella relatable. I've been distracted for the past month with so much and I believe that you will get the stories you want to write out
(Jaune)
"Jaune Arc. Are you ready?" Glynda Goodwitch, The combat instructor, asked as Jaune took a deep breath as he examined his opponent, A bigger man with a flanged polemace with the flanges pointed to the sky as he waited for the match to begin. Jaune released his breath as he replied confidently, "Yes"
"Cardin Winchester? Are you ready" She asked his opponent who stared him down. Jaune hasn't even drawn his own weapon as he waited for the match to begin. Winchester didn't waste another moment as he confirmed. "Yes"
"Good. Touches results in one points. More points if the hit is severe. Ring-out results in five and penalty adds ten to the your opponents score. You may begin" Their instructor explained before moving out of the way of the two fighters. Winchester wasted no time in rushing towards his opponent while said opponent stood still
With the signal given, Jaune quickly waited till Cardin was close enough before unlocking the latch with the push of his thumb and bring his Claymore forward and effectively cutting off Cardin's charging route as the taller man scowled but stopped before the blade could hit him and instead brought his Mace down
Jaune watched Cardin's motion carefully as he reversed his grip into the proper grip before stabbing forward at his opponent, His blade being swiftly blocked by the shaft of Cardin's polemace and quickly shifted off balance as Jaune's eyes widened slightly before he quickly brought his forward leg back and instead swung down and blocking Cardin's path again
"Stop being defensive Jauney-boy" Cardin taunted as he tried to make Jaune flinch but Jaune stayed silent, His sword staying at his hips and his blade facing towards the side. Neither side made a move until Cardin switched his grip and had the mace behind him again before spreading his arms wide open. The mace touching the floor
"COME ON! HIT ME" Cardin roared as the crowd became frenzied. His show of power making people cheer for Cardin as Jaune took this moment to swing towards the larger man. But moving surprisingly quick for a man of his stature, Cardin brought his mace forwards in a reverse grip and managed to catch Jaune in the temple while Jaune managed to stab deeply into his side. A quick shout from Glynda stopped the match as the two returned to their positions with pained grimaces on their face
"Five point for Cardin Winchester. Three Points for Jaune Arc. Assume positions and... BEGIN"
The crowd was now buzzing with excitement with the first blood drawn. Real blood hasn't been shed but it might as well have been with the amount of whispering and talking in the audience. Jaune's eyes widened as he quickly duck under a swing from the side before stabbing forward again and catching Cardin in the chest. causing him to grab his chest and glaring heatedly at Jaune
"Lucky hit" Cardin wheezed out as he leaned onto his mace. The weapon's flange digging into the floor while it's owner tried to catch his breath and Glynda took note of this. "Three points to Jaune Arc. Assume positions and Begin"
Jaune took a few breathes, He couldn't afford to be distracted. Jaune quickly blocked out all distractions and focused on his opponent alone. He ignored the sound of his breathing. the blood pounding in his ears or the drumbeats in his chest. His eyes zoned in on one thing and one thing alone
This time, Jaune took the offensive and rushed forward with his blade behind him. Cardin's grin behind his mask widened as he finally brought his mace down towards Jaune who quickly sidestepped the blow that hit the ground with an resounding boom. Jaune brought his sword down from an overhead slash but was countered by a kick to his lead foot causing him to tumble to the ground just as Cardin got ready for another blow with his mace
Jaune thinking quickly and instead brought his foot up to kick the inside of Cardin's thigh, He prayed to god that this would be enough to ensure that the blow would veer off-course and his head would stayed intact. His answer came in the form of an incredibly painful blow into the stomach that could be felt through his armor and padding with so much force that Jaune had trouble keeping his breakfast in
"Stop. Five points to Cardin Winchester, Assume position and begin"
"COME ON JAUNE"
"COME ON FEARLESS LEADER"
"BEAT THE SCRAWNY BOY'S ASS"
"COME ON BOSS, I GOT 30 LIENS RIDING ON THIS"
The two faced each other as their team and random people in the crowd shouted their support. Adrenaline was rushing through his body and body was screaming at him to do something but Jaune patiently waited. Cardin had longer reach than him so he will have to make Cardin come to him. He has one shot at this and he can't screw up
"What scared?" Cardin taunted as he lowered himself closer to the ground with the mace pointed beside him and Jaune allowed the tip of his sword to point towards the floor and smiled behind his own sparring mask, "No. Just thinking of what to get with my team after I beat you. I think ice cream sounds good"
The first taunt that Jaune threw out was shaky and probably wasn't that effective but to the crowd that was drunk on the hype, it was enough. As they started cheering and taunting Cardin almost instantly while Cardin's features twisted into a snarl
"Big talk for a little boy" Cardin taunted again but didn't move yet Jaune could already see the agitation and he decided to push down his fears and start taunting back while adrenaline still dulled the fear, In his most confident voice and most hurtful threat he could possibly utter. Jaune readied himself for what came next
"I bet you heard that before huh. In the bedroom the most I'd bet"
It should have been obvious to the audience and Cardin just how scared Jaune was with how much his voice was trembling and how shaky it was for Jaune to get the sentence out but they did not care. They were here for the action and the banter and finally they were receiving both. Cardin could not let that insult to his manhood, The both of them, to slide as he charged forward with a furious roar. All pretense of being brave was dropped as Jaune's instinct took over and brought the point of his blade up and-
"STOP. Winchester wins by points." Glynda shouted as the mace stopped inches from Jaune's skull and Jaune's blade stopped centimeters from Cardin's throat. The two blinked before sighing in relief and placing their weapons back onto the rack and taking off the sparring equipment
"Fuck sake that was too close" Jaune groaned to himself. He was not a stranger to the end of Cardin's mace. he knew firsthand just how terrifying that man's strength is and he wouldn't hesitate to admit that Cardin could be the strongest in Beacon in terms of physical strength despite the rivalry between them
"You got better Arc, Better but not good enough" Cardin said as he made his way down the stairs beside the blonde leader as Jaune groaned, His arms shaking as he propped the blade onto his shoulder and return his own farewell, "Yeah Yeah, Good fight Cardin"
"That was good Jaune, You almost got him" Pyrrha said patting his back as he collapsed into his seat, groaning in pain. It was only after a bit of maneuvering that Jaune replied, "Sure don't feel like it"
"That concludes today's lesson. We will be conducting RRA combat next lesson so be sure to fine-tune and put in any request needed before tomorrow's lesson" Glynda announced before dismissing the class
"So... Ice cream?" Nora asked the team with excitement as Ren and Pyrrha stared at their orange-hair comrade with varying expression while Jaune laughed despite of his abs' protest and soreness. Although Cardin had tenderized his stomach. Ice cream sounded like a great idea
"Leave it to Nora to focus on something involving food"
"hey... Renny that's not nice"
"It's Nora. What did you expect? I don't think my stomach can handle ice cream"
"Jaune... you said we could get ice cream"
"Ice cream isn't exactly healthy"
"IS EVERYONE AGAINST ME ON THIS TEAM?"
(Jaune)
"One two"
A jab and a cross
"One, One, Two"
Two jabs and a cross
"One two, duck, three"
Jab, cross, duck and left hook
"One, Left slip, Five"
Jab, shift left, hook to the body
"Good job, Your hits are getting stronger and faster" The blonde bombshell commented as she slipped back into her stance. The mats in her hand ready as Jaune exhaled, waiting for the next set of combo. He was still relatively new to boxing but with the way Yang's eyes were dancing with joy. Jaune was sure he was improving fast
"What's next? More combination training?" Jaune asked, His hands still up as Yang brought the mats down and rest it on her hips. Her movement allowing Jaune to relax and mimic her stance although his condition was much more ragged than hers
"How about some weights? Put some muscle on those skinny arms of yours?" Yang teased as she started to take off her mats and Jaune did the same with his gloves to reveal bruised knuckles. Wincing at the sight, Jaune went to touch them only for another hand to latch onto his wrist, He turn to look at Yang in surprise, "What?"
"Don't touch it. That will make it worse" Yang said softly as she brought out a small tin from her back pocket and tossed it to him, He caught the small tin with a surprise before opening it up to reveal some salve as he stared at it for a while, earning a snort from Yang
"Put it on your bruises big boy, I'm sure you can do it"
Rolling his eyes, Jaune rubbed some salve onto the bruises. Not expecting the sharp sting and burn that quickly followed caused him to suck air through his teeth as he heard Yang try to smother her laughter. Ignoring the sting on his knuckles and pride, he instead turned to pocket the salve
"What is the salve?" Jaune asked, tryin to ignore the heat creeping up his neck and cheek as he turned to look at the fellow blonde who smiled at him and winked "Secret recipe. We only share that recipe within the family"
"With in the family?" Jaune's eyebrow rose as Yang nodded before he turned back to the salve and saw that the swelling has gone down slightly. He smiled slightly before standing up and shaking his hands to try to dry out the salve quicker, although he was pretty sure that's not how that worked
"What's with everybody and their secret medications? Ren has the anxiety pill and you have the salve... Maybe I should ask my parents for the air sickness medicine" Jaune joked as Yang nodded affirmatively. Jaune waited for Yang to crack a joke or two with him but with each second passing and the duo staring at each other. The less Jaune felt like it was a joke and more that he had accidently stumbled upon common knowledge between Pilots
"wait... your family doesn't have any hand-me-downs? No medicine or recipe or passing trade?" Yang asked curiously, Her head tilted to the side as she stared up at the taller blond who simply coughed and looked away.
"Anyways... What's next?" Jaune asked, eager to change the topic. Sure he had seen his father doing some stuff that never really made any sense when he got back from mission but he always brushed that off as his dad being... well, his dad. Jaune had no idea that it could have been something useful, Thankfully Yang didn't dig in too much as she hummed before a smile creeped onto her face
"Why don't we do some stamina training? If you do well enough... Well maybe then you can get that secret recipe of mine" Yang whispered seductively as Jaune's face flushed a deep red. His mouth agape as he stared wide-eyed at his fellow blonde who laughed at his expression before socking him in the shoulder as she stood up. But before she left, Yang turned to give him a beautiful smile
"Just kidding~"
You know you wish she weren't Jaune
Shut up Jaune
2,268 words, Had a lot more planned but hit both writers block and realized it wouldn't fit into the plot (surprisingly there is a plot)
Things are probably bound to be more exciting in the next chapter... Maybe, My other story is being put on hold because the OG Author did say something about an ending and I'm trying to find out more. I'll continue posting there either when I get a response or when I feel I need to give this story a break
But until next time!