Jaune sighed as he stared at his scroll, comfortably rolled up in the blankets of his bed. He thought it might have been a good idea to check his grades in Combat Class, considering just how much he'd tried to improve. A couple of weeks of progress did wonders, he'd found out.
The problem wasn't Combat Class. Quite the opposite actually, considering that his near-failing grade had gotten up to an 80. No, the problem was that he was now starting to fall behind in both Grimm studies and world history.
The blond boy dragged a hand down his face as he groaned, not bothering to restrain himself in his vacant dorm. "Fix one problem, and two more show up." He said, rubbing his fingers as his brows furrowed. "You know, no, it's fine. We can… we can fix this. Just need a little time in the library and I'll be fine."
Huh, that was a first. Actually wanting to study and be in a library? If Ren was there to hear it, he'd have patted him on the back before going back to doing whatever it was he was doing.
A frown tugged at Jaune's lips as he tore away his blanket and bed sheets, standing up from his bed. You know, he thought. That sounded a lot better in my head. Then again, Ren's not exactly the touchy-feely kind of guy.
Getting quickly dressed and out of what was kept under his uniform and into something a little more casual, Jaune stepped out of his room, locked his door, and marched to the library. If he finally managed to get his Combat Class grades up only to flunk out because of general courses, Jaune was sure he'd suffer from a stroke.
The halls of Beacon were nearly just as vacant as his dorm room. Then again, he supposed he should be thankful for that. Maybe everyone on campus decided to go out for a night at the town for their Friday afternoon?
But once he got to the library, Jaune let out a sigh of relief. The tables that were typically populated with people were empty, both books and students being completely missing. Then again, with no people came no distractions, and that caveat alone saved Jaune any negative thoughts.
"Now then, if I were a book on history and Grimm, where would I be?" He asked, tapping his chin as he walked in the shadows of the gargantuan bookcases. Alright, there was science, anatomy, chemistry- yeah, no, he was getting colder. Turning back around, he went back along the case.
Walking along, he let his fingers trail over the leather spines of each book, the next one more colorful and eye-catching than the last. "Remnant: the history of war? Too specific. The excavations and applications of dust? Maybe later." He mumbled, rapidly clicking his teeth as he went through the titles. "...The Scientific Experiments of Thaddeus Krimson: Grimm and Gore?" That totally didn't sound eccentric.
Looking to his left, and then his right, Jaune found that no one was present to judge him if he did take the book. That, and with a title like that, there just wasn't a chance that he wasn't mildly curious. So he snatched the book without a second though. But he was still missing something for world history.
So he kept walking until another title caught his eyes. "The layman's guide to Remnant's history? Talk about convenient." He muttered, slipping the other book onto the first before stepping further down the lane. Once he stepped out, all he needed to do was find a table and get nose deep into a book.
But as he stepped around the corner, he found a sudden force knocking into his sharp corners jabbing into his side as he stumbled. "Watch where you're going you-" A shrill voice cried, but as Jaune turned to look, he found himself staring at a fair haired, icy blue eyed young lady. "Dunce? I mean, Jaune?"
Jaune's eyes shot wide as he rubbed his side, tucking his books under his arm. "I, uh, sorry. I didn't see-" He started, sighing for a moment before taking a breath. "Hey, Weiss. You know, we've really got to stop bumping into each other like this. Literally." He said, awkwardly chuckling as he scratched the back of his head.
Weiss hummed, a small smile turning up the corner of her lips. "It'd be preferable if we didn't, yes. Still, I can't say I'm unsurprised to find you in the library of all places." She started, her eyes flicking down to catch the books under his arm. "And I doubt you're here to take a nap again."
The taller boy smiled, patting the books as he brought them forward. "I figured I'd get a little studying in. I got grades up in Combat Class, but world history and Grimm anatomy? Yeah, not my finest hour." He explained, chuckling again.
Weiss tilted her head as she tried to catch the names of the books he was grabbing. "The Scientific Experiments of Thaddeus Krimson- hold on, you're reading that?" She asked, a brow rising high on her face as confusion took hold. "Why not start something more… your speed? Something like Grimm General?"
Jaune went to open his mouth, but nothing came out. "I… didn't know that was a thing." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "This was the only thing I could find on short notice." Then again, it wasn't like he was looking really hard, right?
The heiress hummed as she caught the other title, narrowing her eyes. "Layman's Guide to Remnant's History is fine, but I find it a little too vague regarding what we're studying." She said, tapping her foot against the floor as she brought a hand to her chin. "Hang on, I've got one of Marcus Bruno's historical journals in my study spot."
A small smile climbed Jaune's face, but he tried to wave her off. "Look, Weiss, that's nice of you to offer. But I think I can-"
She quickly cut him off by grabbing his wrist, leading him on as she stormed towards her table. "No, I don't think you can." She said, holding a stern look as she pulled him along, despite his trudging. "Not to say that you can't think for yourself, but it's clear that you have no clue what you're studying. Thankfully, I still have my syllabus from the start of the year, along with a list of sources."
Jaune blinked as he was dragged along, stammering as he spoke. "Look, Weiss, you don't have to-"
His words died on his tongue as she shot him an icy look. "You will let me help you." She said, her words carrying a hint of venom that he hadn't heard since he last openly hit on her. You know, he didn't miss it as much as he thought he would. "This would normally be something that you'd go to your team for, I know. But considering that you're the only one here, I take it that they're all busy?"
Jaune looked up at the roof for a moment, humming. Well, Ren and Nora were going out for a night on the town, and Pyrrha said that she wanted to catch up on training. So, technically yes, he was alone.
Besides, he thought. Pyrrha would help me study if I asked. She helps me with every… thing.
He felt an acidic taste rest on his tongue as that thought wriggled around in his brain, like a parasite feasting on its host. It wasn't really right of him to take from Pyrrha's precious free time just so that she could help him study, right? Even if she'd do it happily, it wasn't like she'd do it for anyone. She was only doing it because he needed it. Because he needed her help.
Maybe it was time that he let Pyrrha take her break?
With a sigh, Jaune slowly nodded. "Okay," he said, his tongue poking at the inside of his cheek. "I'll take whatever help I can get. So, yeah, thank you."
Weiss smirked, puffing out her chest as she stuck her head up at him. "You're most certainly welcome." She said, her voice full of pride. It was a little endearing, really. Kind of like when his little sisters would get really full of themselves. "Now then, let's get you studying before you lose your drive."
He didn't put up much of an argument as Weiss dragged him further, seating him next to her as she started cracking open books. "Now then," she started, pulling out her scroll to look at her syllabus. "Given what we're supposed to be going over in Grimm anatomy, we're going to work with that first. A few days ago, do you remember when Professor Port..?"
Jaune got lost in the actual process of studying, taking notes on a piece of paper that Weiss had torn from her notebook, nodding or shaking his head as he continued to scribble away. Maybe it was the fact that he was receiving tutoring from a friend? Or maybe it was the fact that this friend was someone that he was still battling his feelings over. Truth be told, he wasn't sure.
All the same, Jaune had filled the entire paper with notes regarding Grimm anatomy, front and back. Supposedly, they were supposed to be going over Deathstalkers and other various arachnid-like Grimm, so the information was pretty good to have ahead of time.
But every once and a while, Weiss would have to snap him back into focus, if only because she found him staring at for a little too long. Then again, she supposed that she couldn't expect everything to be perfect. At least he wasn't trying to court her while she was tutoring him, so there was that.
Weiss cleared her throat, watching as Jaune jumped as his eyes came back into focus. "Jaune, could you tell me about the main form of offense that the Screaming Widow has?" A trick question if there ever was one. Screaming Widows were an interesting kind of arachnid-Grimm, specifically because their offensive capabilities were so different.
Jaune hummed as his eyes squinted, staring at the table instead of his paper. Curious, but she let it slide. "Well, Screaming Widows are basically just big spiders with crazy venom. You'd think the venom is the main offense, right?" He asked, but before she could answer, he continued. "But it's not. The venom isn't what kills you, it's the web."
Weiss tried not to let too much expression show on her face, but she couldn't fight the growing smile for long. "Getting caught in a trap does tend to kill your chance of defending yourself, yes." She said, quietly chuckling to herself. "Glad to see you're still paying attention."
"Hard not to when it's-." He said, staring at Weiss as his mouth moved faster than his brain. "Sorry, I'm trying really hard here to stay focused on the studying part."
Weiss then tried to ignore the weird rhythmic tapping she felt against her chest, along with the equally strange heat in her cheek. "...Let's just keep our focus here before you say something embarrassing again." She said, keeping her eyes focused on the book in front of her. "And I do hope this all wasn't just you using this as an opportunity to try and flirt with me again."
Jaune only sighed, letting his head rest against the cool table's surface. "My mouth moves faster than my brain sometimes." He offered. "So… about arachnids?"
"Right!" Weiss snapped, clearing her throat again.
She ended up passing him another sheet of paper to keep his note-taking going, but they'd eventually run out of topics to cover. Turns out that the number of arachnid-Grimm were in relatively short supply. There were Death Stalkers, Screaming Widows, and then the worst, Blood Harvesters. Basically just really big ticks.
Yeah, ticks alone already made Jaune uncomfortable as it was. Big ticks existing just made him more uncomfortable. But either way, there just tended to be a lot of variations of said three arachnid-Grimm.
They then moved on to world history, but it was pretty much the same old song and dance as history always had. Group A wanted something that Group B wanted, Group C thought of a way to profit from the growing argument, and Group D maintained isolation until otherwise forced to. Come to think of it, that was just the dynamic of the Great War.
Mantle wanted Valean territory, Mistral wanted to war profiteer, and Vacuo only joined Vale once they were invaded by Mantlese forces for their dust reserves. After a brief desert campaign, the Vacuan-Vale Concordant launched an attack on Mistrali waters to prevent war supplies from reaching Mantle, dragging Mistral into the war.
History was weird like that.
But before Jaune could get much further into his world history notes, the sound of a scroll repeatedly chiming filled his ear. He quickly fished his scroll from his pocket, but he'd gotten no new notifications.
Weiss let out a sigh as she grabbed her scroll from her dress-pocket, flicking it open before shutting off her alarm. "Looks like that's going to be all for today." She said, flicking her scroll shut before stacking the many books she had together. "I hope this helped in some kind of way."
Jaune awkwardly laughed, stuffing his scroll into his pocket as he stood from his seat. "Believe it or not, it really did. At least, I think it did?" He said, curling a brow as he stared at the ceiling. "But, uh, could I convince you to join me for this some time in the future? I feel like this could be a good chance for me to catch up, and I can pay you back however you want."
Weiss gave the blond boy an unimpressed look, a single brow rising on her face. "And you won't use that time to try and hit on me?" She asked.
Jaune brought a single hand up, holding his other hand over his heart. "Hey, Arc's honor. I promise I'll try to stay focused on the studying side of things." He said, smiling widely as he stared down at her.
Weiss kept her eyes on the boy for a beat, letting her eyes run up and down his figure. Even if she wasn't exactly close with him, Weiss knew that promises weren't something he took lightly. Then again, he did give off some semi-flirtatious comment earlier, but he also seemed genuinely apologetic for it.
Weiss sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "Help me get these books back into their proper place." She said, standing up and grabbing the stack of eight books she had brought with her. Here she was trying to get ahead, and she spent her whole time helping someone else's team leader get ahead. "I'll send you a text later regarding our schedule for studying. If it conflicts with your own schedule, we can work that out afterwards."
She watched as Jaune blinked, only to smile as he took half the stack of books from her hands. "I really appreciate it." He said, laughing as she walked past him. It was hard for her to suppress her own smile, if only because his laugh was so infectious.
But even so, Weiss carried on, carefully putting the books back where she found them, and considering the help that she had in the way of Jaune's height, it was much easier than when she first grabbed them. After that, there wasn't much else than to go their own separate ways.
Weiss followed the halls to head back to her dorm, and Jaune went to the cafeteria to get some dinner. Once he was finally out of sight, Weiss let out a deep breath, her shoulders slumping forward.
"When did that dunce get so much more… competent?" It was the only word she could use to describe him. Maybe it was just her, but she found his presence more tolerable, his voice less like nails on a chalkboard and more like a campfire.
But even so, what good did that do him if he failed off of just his grades in Grimm anatomy and world history?
It was a good thing that she'd run into him then. Not that she cared if he succeeded or failed, but any chance to use her knowledge was always worth taking up. Besides, Jaune needed it, right?
Weiss blanked for a moment as she kept walking, her brows furrowing shortly after. "...Why do I care?" She asked, confusion taking hold of her face. "It's not like he and I are friends, or particularly close. That, and he's been a near-constant annoyance since I came to this prestigious academy." Her caring at all was simply irrational.
Then a stray thought hit her.
He'd stopped trying to court her. At least, he stopped being obvious about it. Did that mean that he gave up?
Weiss shook her head, frowning. "No," she started, bringing a hand to her chin. "If he did, then he would have accidentally flirted with me earlier. If it even was an accident." She said. It was always easier to leave a little wiggle room for doubt. "Then there's only one believable reason."
He was backing off. Not forever, because Weiss doubted that was in his character. But why give her distance? Or was it that he didn't want her to hate him?
As Weiss lost herself in her own thoughts, she nearly managed to step past her own dorm room, her foot hovering forward before planting it by the door. She shook her head, sighing. "I don't get it." She mumbled.
Swiping her scroll over the lock on her door, Weiss twisted the knob and pulled the door open, quietly stepping through before closing it behind her. Okay, she thought. All I have to do now is get a brief shower and go to bed before my thoughts get any more messy.
But as she made her way to her bed, Weiss watched as a heap of blonde hair hung over the top bunk across from her, Yang staring down at her, though with her head hanging upside down.
"What's up, Weiss-cream?" Yang asked, shooting her a familiar smirk. "Have fun boring yourself out of your mind at the library?"
Weiss felt an eye twitch, but as she went to open her mouth, she failed to find the words. "It was… interesting, believe it or not." She said, brushing off her dress before taking a seat on her bed. "Though I didn't get to do much of my own studying."
Yang shot her a smug smile as she wiggled her brows. "Ooh, an afternoon rendezvous with a special someone? I didn't think princesses could be so dirty." Yang joked, laughing to herself as she watched Weiss' face contort.
"Ugh, hardly." She said, crossing her arms as she looked away. "No, I actually ran into a certain dunce at the library. The same dunce, I recall, that you're helping train."
Yang felt a cold pang in her stomach, like someone had just jammed a frozen dagger into her. But she smiled through it, laughing it off. "Champ? In a library?" She asked, curling a brow. "Yeah, nice try, Ice Queen. It's going to take a lot more than that for me to believe you."
Weiss glared at her blonde teammate, standing up from her bed. "But it's true! He said he managed to get his grades up in combat class-" The smug smile that Yang shot her made a vein throb in her forehead. "But he also said that he was starting to fall behind in world history and Grimm studies." Oh, not so smug now, huh?
Yang awkwardly laughed, sitting up before swinging her legs over the side of her bunk. "Well, Professors Port and Oobleck are-"
"Doctor." Weiss interrupted, only quickly facepalm. "Sorry, he says it so much that it's just a Pavlovian response."
Deadpanning, Yang continued. "Anyway, they're both kinda hard to follow, you know?" She asked, shrugging her shoulders. "But it sounds like Champ thought to put his nose to the grindstone."
Weiss smirked, sitting back on her bed as she stuck her nose up at her teammate. "It certainly helps that I offered to help him study for our upcoming unit." She said, puffing out her chest as she watched all expression from Yang's face. "What? Are you afraid that I'm going to steal your sparring partner?"
Yang blinked at that, bringing a hand to her chin as she hummed. Was she? Well, Jaune was a lot of fun to hang out with, and training someone was more fun than she figured it'd be. Plus, the feeling of accomplishment she felt when she watched him succeed was like every hit of adrenaline she'd ever gotten times twelve.
Before Yang could answer, Weiss' brows furrowed. "Oh, you're actually worried about that?" She asked.
Yang brought up her hands, shaking her head profusely. "No! I'm just surprised that you'd offer to help him, that's all." She lied through her teeth, giving her the best smile she could. "I figured the whole flirting thing would've put you off."
Sighing, Weiss' shoulders slumped forward. "I thought so too, but he managed to keep things professional between us. If that continues, then I have no complaints in keeping our arrangement." She said, her professional aura clashing with the fact that she'd flopped onto her pillow, kicking off her boots. "Now, before I end up falling asleep, I wanted to talk to you about his schedule."
Yang curled a brow, leaning forward as she clasped her hands together. "Wouldn't that be something that you'd talk to him about?" She asked, tilting her head.
"Typically, yes," Weiss started, her head moving from side to side. "But considering the fact that you're his trainer, it'd be easier for me to work it out with you first and then run it by him." Besides, it took less time to do it like this. Better to cut out the game of Radio before it even happened.
After a moment, Yang nodded. "Alright, what have you got in mind?"
Weiss fished out her scroll and started to tap at the screen. "Well, what days do you two train together?" She asked, pulling up her notes on her scroll.
Yang shrugged, suppressing a yawn as she ran a hand through her long locks. "It's pretty much every other day, you know?" She said, quietly chuckling to herself. "One day for training, and then a day of rest."
She watched as Weiss nodded, humming as she continued to tap at her scroll. "I think we're going to have to come to a compromise regarding that sort of thing. You're okay with that, right?" Weiss asked, looking up from her scroll to shoot her a curled brow.
A second ticked by before Yang sighed. "Alternating days, then?" She asked.
Weiss smiled, rolling her eyes as she filled out her notes. "I'll get Mondays and Wednesdays, you get Tuesdays and Thursdays, and we'll alternate Fridays." She said, filling out her schedule. "I think it's fair that he gets to keep his weekends for himself. Everyone needs a break from time to time."
"Even you?" Yang asked, tilting her head as she shot the heiress a smirk.
Weiss scoffed, holding her head up high. "That's what I have our team for." She said, continuing to tap at her scroll. "Alright, I think I've got everything drafted up. Just to ask again, but you're sure you're okay with this?"
Yang nodded, though she wasn't happy with it. "So long as Champ's cool with it, I'm fine." She said, shrugging again.
With that, Weiss copied the notes before switching over to her texts.
After a long day of studying, along with a little too much time in the library, Jaune finally felt the comfort of the warmth of his bed. It didn't take glancing out the window of his dorm room to know that it was well into the evening at this point, and his team still wasn't back to the dorm. A part of him wanted to text and check in, but they were all their own people.
"I don't need to hover over them." He said, staring up at the window as his hands rested behind his head. "They don't need me. It's fine." Ren and Nora were still out on the town, and Pyrrha was probably still catching up on her training. Him checking in was just an excuse to intrude.
So, Jaune quietly lied in his bed, blankly staring up at the roof. You know, he figured he'd be happier coming to Beacon. Not to say that he was sad, because he wasn't. But still, he felt like being that much closer to his dream should have felt… euphoric, right? Like he was actually doing something with himself.
Well, he thought. It's not like I don't have fun here, right? I mean, training's more fun than I thought it'd be.
The act of constantly getting exercise and not feeling fatigued afterwards was a new feeling that Jaune was still getting accustomed to. But every time he pushed himself that much further, carried himself that little bit farther, it sent him over the broken moon. Like his progress was getting that much more tangible.
As a smile started to creep onto his face, he felt his scroll chime in his pocket. Quickly patting at his pants, Jaune pulled out his scroll, reading his notifications. A message from Pyrrha?
Curling a brow, Jaune tapped at the notification.
Hello, the message read. I just finished with my training for the day, and I realized that we haven't trained your swordsmanship for a while. Do you want to meet me on the roof?
Jaune didn't waste any time jumping out of bed, getting dressed, and quickly shooting her a message. He'd meet her there in 15 minutes.
After getting dressed in something a little lighter - a pair of shorts and a blank t-shirt - Jaune rushed for the locker room, running through the Beacon halls before punching in his locker's code. Snatching his sword and shield before slamming the door shut, all Jaune had left was to run back to the dorm complex and climb a few flights of stairs.
It was the perfect cardio.
So he ran, holding his sword by its sheath as he rushed back across Beacon's campus. Bursting through the dorm complex's doors, Jaune rushed for the stairs, never slowing down as he clambered up the stairs only for another set to be before him. It wasn't until he went up at least eight sets of stairs that he was finally at the top.
And just as he reached for the door, only then did he stop to catch his breath. His heart was racing, loudly thumping against his chest as sweat tickled at the back of his neck. It took a couple of deep breaths before Jaune opened the door. He'd waited enough.
Pushing open the door, Jaune was quickly hit with the evening breeze, the fractured moon bearing down on him like a worried mother. It silently hovered there, watching but never acting.
Looking around the roof, he found its surface empty. Jaune blinked, smiling to himself. "Hey, look at that, I'm here first." He said, quietly laughing as he stepped towards the edge of the roof, taking his seat as he let his legs hang over the edge.
He set his sword to his side, blankly staring up at the moon. Jaune never really thought about it as a kid, but some nights he wondered what could have possibly cracked the moon in half. Could it have been some kind of colossal monster had broken the moon in half? Or maybe it was a semblance that ran too wild and the moon was collateral?
Or maybe the moon wasn't a moon, but an egg, the stars around were actually just some super-Grimm.
Jaune snorted, smiling to himself as he rolled his eyes. "Yeah right, that sounds stupid." He mumbled, leaning back as he rested on his hands. "If any of those things happened, we'd know about it. I mean, if some kind of super-Grimm had cracked the moon, it'd be hard for people to not talk about it."
The sound of the door to the roof creaking open forced Jaune to look over his shoulder, watching as Pyrrha walked through with Miló and Akoúo̱ in her hands. "Jaune?" She asked, her emerald eyes widening as she stared at him.
In response, Jaune only raised a hand, swinging his legs back onto the roof. "Hey," he started, shooting her a smile. "Am I early or something?"
Pyrrha blinked, her mouth opening but failing to move. "You're five minutes earlier than you said you'd be." She said, walking towards him before taking a seat next to him. "Do you need a moment to catch your breath before we start?"
He felt a heat spread across his chest, the kind of heat that came from doing a little too much in too little time. But even so, he took another deep breath, running the back of his hand along his forehead. "No, I think I'm all warmed up now." Jaune said, his smile falling as he pushed himself to his feet, dusting off his shorts. "I ran the whole way to the locker room and up the stairs, so I'm good to go."
Pyrrha's brows furrowed, but she did her best to shoot him a smile. "If you say so," she started, pushing herself from her seated position. "Well, I was thinking about us going over a couple more of your fundamentals before doing a couple of spars today. Would that be alright with you?"
Jaune tried to smile, but he couldn't get it to work. He'd normally be so okay with that, but… he wanted more. "Actually, I was wondering something." He said, grabbing Crocea Mors and keeping it at his side. "Would you be okay if we could just skip to the sparring tonight? I want to see how I shape up after a couple months."
Pyrrha's smile shook for a moment, her brows shooting up as an awkward chuckle left her lips. "I don't think that's such a good-"
Jaune was quick to plant a hand on her shoulder, a determined look on his face. "Pyrrha," he started, feeling her jump against his hand. "It would mean a lot to me if we could. I just… I need to know."
A moment passed, then a second, and finally a third as Pyrrha sighed, a frown taking too her face. "I'm not sure what there is to know, but if that's what you want." She said, her voice losing its previous energy. "Just tell me something before we start, won't you?"
Jaune nodded, stepping past her as he made his way to the center of the roof, Pyrrha following him. "Whatever you want to know." He said, turning around to face her as he deployed his shield, tearing the sword from the top of it.
Pyrrha nodded, twirling Miló in her right hand before holding forward her shield. "You're not treating me as someone to just beat, are you?"
Jaune's expression softened as he shook his head. "I wouldn't do that to you," he started, gripping his sword tightly as he held his shield forward. "You know that, right?"
Pyrrha didn't answer, instead closing her eyes for a brief moment. When they opened, she shot forward, the tip of her sword sailing towards the top of his shield. With the little time he had, Jaune raised his shield forward at an incline.
What followed was the rapid clash of steel, Pyrrha's xiphos whittling away at Jaune's defense. Each slash was followed by the shortest feint, quickly changing direction. But Jaune's sword arm wasn't useless, tracking and deflecting the changing blows as he circled around her, trying to slip into her stance.
But after every deflect, it felt like Pyrrha only ever got closer, a series of thrusts, slashes, and feints forcing Jaune on the backfoot. So, he did the only thing he could think to do.
If defense was failing, then it was time to get aggressive.
As Pyrrha's xiphos struck against his shield, Jaune crushed through the slash, slamming his shield against hers and knocking her back a step. With the little opening he had, he launched a short series of slashes, each slash accentuated by a step to follow it.
But with every strike, Pyrrha batted it away or simply let it slip by, her sword glancing by him in exchange. The only thing that kept him from getting hit was his shield crashing into her, pushing her back for just a step.
In the clash came a pause as Pyrrha began to step around him, her guard staying up. "You've gotten more confident," she started, peering at him from over her round shield. "Not quite as much flinching as there used to be either."
Jaune took deep breaths as he circled with her, narrowing his eyes as he stared back. "There's just not enough time for it anymore." He shot back, hiding his sword behind his heater shield. "I've done more than enough flinching to know when it'll make me lose."
Curling a brow, Pyrrha lunged forward, her shield leading the way as she crashed into him. But Jaune didn't budge, his feet firmly planted as he pushed her back. Her xiphos sailed towards him from different angles at a time, barely having enough time to get his shield in place, but his sword remained carefully hidden.
And as Pyrrha stepped forward for a lunge, Jaune's sword came out from hiding, sailing over the top of his shield and closing in on her face. The only thing that kept her from getting hit was the dark hue around the blade, sending it slightly off course.
Jumping back and creating a few paces of space, Pyrrha let out a breath. "Clever." She said, letting her guard drop for a moment as she watched Jaune do the same. "I didn't think you'd be quick enough to make something like that work."
Jaune shrugged, smiling as he brought his shield back up, tapping it with the flat of his sword. "It's a work in progress, but it's a good start." He said, laughing as he gestured towards her. "Now come on, we haven't got all night."
Against her better judgment, Pyrrha smiled back as she brought back up her guard, watching as Jaune quickly closed the distance. A series of slashes and bashes crashed against her shield, having to duck beneath a slash or two to make sure she kept her hair in good condition. But every time that she tried to raise her sword for a counterattack, Jaune only slashed again, forcing her onto the defense.
With every block, Pyrrha let out a breath, having little to no time to take another breath as she blocked another strike. But as Jaune brought his sword high for another slash, Pyrrha lashed out her left arm, a round shield slamming against his nose.
Before he knew it, he felt the tip of her sword crack against his aura, sending him back a pair of steps.
Smiling, Pyrrha brought Miló back to rest on her hip, setting her shield on the floor as she laughed. "It sounds like it's my win for tonight." She said, her emerald eyes shimmering. "Your defense has improved, and your aggression is playing to your strengths. But like I brought up earlier, your fundamentals could use work."
Jaune let his arms fall to his side, sighing. "Dammit," he mumbled, sheathing his sword as his shield retracted. "Well, Vale wasn't built in a day."
Pyrrha only laughed again, bringing her hands to her hips. "I don't think beating me in a friendly spar is comparable to the founding of a city, Jaune." She said, trying to fit the cold pit that threatened to engulf her stomach.
His mouth opened, but words failed to leave it. Instead, Jaune tilted his head to the side. "I guess that's fair, yeah." He said, taking the collapsed shield off of his hand, holding it against his side. "Either way, how'd I do?"
The redheaded Mistrali hummed, bringing a hand to her chin as she stared up at the starry sky. "Better than I thought you'd do, honestly." She said, only for her eyes to widen. "Ah, not to say that I thought you'd do badly! It's just that your progress is a little… surprising!"
Jaune snickered, smiling to himself as he crossed his arms. "Well, I did say that I'd be that real champion that you talked about, didn't I?" He asked, smiling wider as he watched Pyrrha's cheek become dusted in red. "I've gotta work hard if I'm going to hit those kinds of expectations now."
Pyrrha ran a hand through her ponytail as she awkwardly laughed. "Well, I wouldn't exactly call them expectations. I'm just hoping you have the same kind of success as I have, that's all." She shot back, her hands never ceasing in stroking her hair. "I didn't think you'd remember me saying that."
The smile on Jaune's face fell, shrugging his shoulders as he took a seat on the cold floor. "It meant a lot to me. It still does, actually." He said, blankly staring up at the sky. "It feels really nice, you know? To have people who believe in me." To have people that he couldn't afford to disappoint.
He heard the sound of her heels clacking against the floor as she walked over to him, taking a seat at his side. "You know," she started, a slim hand resting on his shoulder. "You don't have to be the strongest in combat. Combat strength isn't everything, especially not for our team."
A frown tugged at his lips, his eyes trailing down towards the concrete ground. "I know that, I do. But I can't help but want to be this way." He said, his brows furrowing as he felt frustration tingle at the back of his brain. "Maybe I'm being selfish in having you help me so much. But I… I want to be a little selfish."
Pyrrha smiled as she brought an arm around his shoulders, resting her head against him. "And that's okay," she said, quietly laughing. "But it's not something you need to do. Wanting it is fine, but don't feel pressured to chase it if you're okay with where you wind up." There was nothing worse than destroying expectations and then being told to match your personal best. Pyrrha knew more than enough about that.
After a moment, Jaune smiled, bringing a hand to rest on Pyrrha's. "I'll try to keep that in mind." He said.
Jaune wasn't sure how long they stayed there, silently sitting as they stared up at the sky. But he knew that it would end soon as the sound of Pyrrha's scroll chiming filled his ears.
As she fished out her scroll, Pyrrha sighed. "It sounds like we're going to have to end our session early tonight." She said, apologetically smiling to her leader as she stood from her seat. "We might not have courses tomorrow, but that doesn't excuse a bad sleep schedule."
Smiling up at her, Jaune nodded before turning back to look up at the sky. "I'll be down in a minute," he started, leaning backwards as he used his hands as supports. "I'm just going to catch my breath for a while. I'll see you back at the dorm, okay?"
Nodding, Pyrrha turned for the door. "Well, if that's what you want." She said, pulling open the door and standing in the door frame. "And, um, I'm proud of your progress. I just thought someone should say it."
Before he could respond, Jaune heard the sound of the door clicking shut behind her. A wide smile tugged at his lips, a laugh soon following. "Talk about me being lucky, right?" He asked as he stared up at the broken moon. "I'm being trained by two of my friends, and I'm studying with the girl I like. If this keeps going on, people are going to say some weird things."
Then a thought came to mind.
Jaune quickly stood to his feet and walked to the edge of the roof, looking over it to stare down at an open window. A tall, short-haired brunette boy leaned against his window, staring up at him with a smirk.
"Evening, Cardin." He said, staring down at him. "Still haven't learned to stop eavesdropping on people?"
Cardin only scoffed, rolling his eyes as he stared up at him from his window. "Maybe if you made it less easy." Cardin snipped back, smirking wider. "Sounds like you've got the Invincible Girl impressed with you. Good stuff."
Jaune only shrugged, laughing to himself. "Thanks, I guess?" He wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that. "Pyr's great like that."
Cardin nodded, humming to himself as he brought a hand to his chin. "So, weird question, right?" He started, curling a brow all the while. "And let me know if I go too far. But… the word around the locker room is that you and Xiao Long have been sucking face. What's with that?"
The blond boy blinked as he looked over the edge of the roof, once, then twice, then finally thrice. Once he was done, a boisterous laugh left him, his chest and shoulders shaking violently. "Oh, you've gotta be joking, right?" He asked, his laughter cutting back in. "Me, with Yang? I mean, we train together, and she's super cool, but I don't think she sees me like that."
Cardin didn't seem convinced, given how his brows furrowed. "I dunno, there are some guys that say that they see you two heading into Vale every couple of days, only to come back super late." He shot back, crossing his arms together.
"What, like you don't do that with your team?" Jaune asked, curling a brow of his own. "Besides, friends do friend stuff like that." He said, holding his arms out at his sides. "Oh, and uh, sorry about how the match ended earlier. Probably not the most graceful way to-"
"Ah, shut up." Cardin interrupted, glaring up at him. "You won fairly, don't go apologizing for it. Going to wound my honor with stuff like that."
Jaune tilted his head to the side, a crease forming between his brow. "Honor..?"
"Oh wow," Cardin said, his voice monotonously droning. "It's getting really late. I should be getting to bed now." He said, closing his window shut before twisting the lock.
The blond boy snickered, smiling to himself. "Yeah, I should probably do that too." He mumbled.
With that, Jaune made his way for the door.
Alright, that's that. I haven't got a whole lot to say for today, on account of my horrendous deprivation of sleep, so I'll make this quick.
Thanks for reading the chapter. It'd be kinda neat if you followed, favorited, or whatever you felt like doing, just so long as you did it of your own accord.
With that said and done, I'm going to bed. Ciao, y buenas noches.
discord: /7ksPCNs3ZM
