A/N: Surprise.
[Then]
With exhaustion setting in, the shield in his left hand feels a hundred times heavier than it did at the beginning of this match. Adding to the fact that his Aura levels were now bordering the red zone, the young man was barely able to swing his sword in a way that would deal any sort of meaningful damage.
His opponent, on the other hand, seemed to be doing miles better than he currently was. With her aura levels above the halfway mark, the young woman stepped towards him with confidence.
A white glyph appeared behind the young woman before she jumped on it.
"Damn it. Not this again." Jaune muttered to himself, his opponent dashing towards him like a speeding bullet. Jaune was barely able to bring his shield up to parry the girl's attacks with a grunt that sent him stumbling back a few feet.
The boy knew that his opponent's onslaught wouldn't end there, however, as he wasn't able to react to her striking him in the back that sent him to a knee. The girl's relentless assault would have continued had the horn not blared at that exact moment to signify the ending of the match.
"The match is over." shouted the girl's butler, the referee and announcer for this impromptu match, "With Mr Arc's Aura levels now in the red, the winner of this bout is Miss Schnee."
The sound of heels tapping on the floor had Jaune looking up to see his opponent walking towards him, the girl looking as fresh as she did during the beginning of their match.
"Damn it." Jaune cursed to himself, the blonde slamming the ground in frustration.
"That was a good match, Arc." Weiss said as she extended her hand towards him. Not wanting to be a sore loser, Jaune graciously accepted the girl's offer as she helped him up.
"Yeah. Good match, Weiss. Tha-" that was all Jaune managed to say before something - or rather, someone - hugged the teenager from behind.
"Jauneeeeee! You did great! I'm so proud of you!" his mentor shouted, the boy's eardrums close to shattering from how loud the woman was.
"Y-you are…?" Jaune asked as Musashi finally released the boy from her hug, "B-but I lost…"
"Well, yeah. If we're being honest, I didn't expect you to win." Musashi said as Jaune looked downcast at the woman's words, "I mean, Weiss here has been training since she was twelve-"
"Ten, actually." Weiss said from the side.
"-Ten years old but you've only been doing it for less than a year. Of course she was going to win."
"This is… a great pep talk, Musashi…" Jaune said as the disappointment on his face grew.
"My point is, I totally expected you to last less than ten minutes against her but you know what happened instead?" Musashi asked, "You lasted over twenty minutes!"
"I-I did…?" Jaune asked, shocked at that particular revelation.
"Yeah! That's why I'm so proud of you!" Musashi said as he slapped the boy's back, "You might not see it now but you've definitely improved from that scrawny little kid I took under my wing months ago!"
"G-gee, thanks, Musashi." Jaune said, an embarrassed smile on his face as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Indeed. I, too, believe that Mr Arc did a more than adequate job of lasting that long against my sister." came the stern voice of Winter Schnee, the Atlesian Specialist stalking her way towards them with an impassive look on her face, "For that alone, I believe you deserve praise, Jaune."
"That's my personally trained student for you!" Musashi said, the woman putting Jaune in a headlock before giving him a noogie.
"Which brings me to you, Weiss." Winter said as she turned her attention to the young Heiress.
"Y-yes, sister?" Weiss asked, the girl standing a lot straighter than she did a few moments ago.
"I must say, Weiss, that your performance today was less than exemplary." Winter said, a look of disappointment forming in the girl's eyes even as she hid it behind an impassive face, "As you've said yourself, you have been training since you were ten years old. You should have been able to end the battle quicker than that but instead, you seemed content to needlessly drag it along with pointless displays of your semblance and wasted movements. All that served to do was decrease your aura reserves while further exhausting your own stamina."
"I apologize for my poor performance, sister." Weiss said with a bow, "I promise to do better next time."
"That said, you have improved by leaps and bounds since the last time I saw you." Winter said, nodding at Weiss's hopeful look, "Keep that up, Weiss, and you're sure to be a first class Huntress in no time."
"Yes, sister! I will!" Weiss said with an enthusiastic nod.
"Ah, come on, Winter!" Musashi said as she wrapped an arm around the Specialist's shoulders, "I think she did an amazing job of kicking my apprentice's ass! Don't be so hard on her!"
"Regardless of her performance," Winter said as she pushed Musashi's arm off of her shoulders before extending an open hand towards the woman, "I believe we made a wager on the outcome of this battle, correct?"
"Kuh! I was hoping you'd forget about that." Musashi said, the displaced Samurai glaring at the Specialist before rounding on Jaune, "Jaune, you owe me a round of drinks for this!"
"W-what? But I didn't tell you to bet on this match!" Jaune protested.
"Doesn't matter. I'm the mentor here so what I say goes." Musashi said as she and Winter left their students behind.
"Stupid Musashi…" Jaune grumbled to himself, the blonde sheathing his weapons before turning to Weiss, "So Weiss, I heard you were planning to attend Beacon."
"I am." Weiss said as the two of them trailed after their mentors.
"Not Atlas?" Jaune asked. "You know, since it's closer to home and all that."
"No. I chose Beacon over Atlas for… personal reasons." Weiss said with a frown.
"Ah, okay. Well hey, I'm planning to go to Beacon, too." Jaune said, "And who knows, maybe we'll be on the same team together."
"Perhaps. Although it's a foregone conclusion that I will be the team leader." Weiss said.
"You sound pretty sure of yourself. Who knows? Maybe I'll surprise you and Musashi and become the leader of the team." Jaune said as the two teens locked eyes.
"Hmph. Good luck with that, Arc."
[~]
"Weiss! Hey, Weiss!" Jaune shouted, the boy jogging over to the young Heiress with a bright smile on his face and his arms held wide.
"Stop." Weiss said as she held her arm out in front of her, "Arc, what's my number one rule?"
"Uh… don't call you 'Snow Angel'?" Jaune asked, his arms dropping back to his side.
"Correct. What's my number two rule?" Weiss asked.
"No hugs?"
"No hugs." Weiss said with a nod.
"Same old Weiss." Jaune said with a chuckle, "I was actually looking for you yesterday. Where were you?"
"Well, I definitely was not in the school infirmary." Weiss said as she quirked an eyebrow at the blonde.
"Heh… You saw that, huh?" Jaune asked with an embarrassed smile.
"Arc, I'm pretty sure all the first years know who you are right now." Weiss said. Jaune was about to retort before a girl with orange hair came barreling from out of nowhere as she placed an arm around Weiss's shoulder.
"Hey, Weiss! Is this guy bothering you? You can tell me if he is!" the girl shouted before shaking a fist at Jaune, "Unless you want me to break your legs, you better mind your own business, buddy!"
"Nora, it's fine and no, he's not bothering me." Weiss said as she shook the girl's arms off of her.
"Yeah, what gives?" Yang asked as the girl sauntered up to their little gathering, "You trying to replace me already, Jaune?"
"Weiss, this is my partner, Yang." Jaune said as he pointed to the girl in question.
"Charmed." Weiss said as she looked Yang up and down.
"This is Weiss, a friend of mine."
"More of an acquaintance, really." Weiss said before pointing at Nora, "And this is my partner, Nora Valkyrie."
"Yeah, you heard that right. I'm her partner, Jauney!" Nora said, the girl walking up to Jaune before stabbing a finger on his chest, "So if you've got a problem with her then you've got a problem with me!"
"Nora, I just said he wasn't-" Weiss started to say before throwing her hands up in defeat, "You know what? I'm too exhausted to care. If anyone needs me, don't."
"Oh, Weiss, before you go, there was something I needed to tell you." Jaune said.
"Yes, Arc? What is it?" Weiss asked, turning around to face the blonde.
"Oh, what was it… what was it…" Jaune mumbled to himself before snapping a finger at Weiss, "Oh, that's right! I'm the leader of my team!"
Fists clenched tight, the girl trembled with fury before turning to face her partner.
"On second thought, Nora, if you ever get the chance to break this dunce's legs, I will fully support your decision." Weiss said before leaving the area in a huff.
"Ha ha! Yes! Finally! An excuse to break someone's legs!" Nora shouted, the girl glaring at Jaune before sliding a finger across her neck, "You better watch yourself, blondie, before you wreck yourself. Or more specifically, before I wreck you."
Her piece said, Nora left the auditorium behind before the rest of Jaune's team joined him and Yang.
"You'll have to forgive Nora." Ren said, "She's easily excitable and making any friends besides me is a new experience for her."
"Seems like it." Jaune said before looking down at his legs, "Should I worry about her trying to break my legs for real?"
Ren, in response, simply stared Jaune in the eyes before turning his attention to Blake and Yang.
"Well then, shall we head to our dorms?" Ren asked, "I, for one, am exhausted and wouldn't mind a comfortable bed to sleep in for the night."
[~]
As the sound of the alarm blared beside her, Yang let out a tired groan before taking her pillow and trying her best to smother herself.
"Ugh… Not now… Mama needs her sleep…" Yang said into the pillow. Reaching a hand out, it took the blonde several tried before she finally found the alarm clocked and promptly smashed the snooze button.
"You know, they say snoozing the alarm is bad for you." said the familiar voice of her partner. Lifting up her pillow, Yang saw that Jaune was already wide awake. Wearing a white t-shirt, black shorts, and reeking of sweat, Yang could instantly tell the boy had just come back from working out.
"Ugh… Didn't take you for a morning person…" Yang said, the blonde rolling to the other side of the bed and turning her back to Jaune.
"I wasn't always. My stupid teacher always made me get up at four in the morning. Told me it was to cultivate discipline and a good habit." Jaune said.
"You've been up since four?!" Yang asked, a look of horror on her face as she turned around to face the boy, "Are you crazy?!"
"Five, actually. I'm not that crazy." Jaune said, the blonde laughing as he waved off Yang's concern.
"That's still crazy, Jaune. Sane people get up at half past six." Yang argued, "And then they proceed to lie in bed for another thirty minutes before getting up."
"Would the two of you please be quiet?!" Blake asked from the other side of the room, bags under the girl's eyes as she glared at the blonde duo, "Some of us are trying to get some sleep."
"It's already seven o'clock. Class is in ninety minutes." Jaune said as he headed for the shower, "Unless you guys want to be hungry for our first class, then I think it's best if we got up now."
Yang let out a long stretched out groan, the blonde unable to find any fault in her partner's logic as the boy entered the shower. The sound of running water came a few seconds later before Yang finally sat up.
"Is it too late to get myself expelled from this place?" Yang asked as she and Blake shared a laugh. Looking at the fourth member of Team JYBR - who was currently still sleeping like a baby - Yang asked, "Should we wake him up?"
"Not until I've had a shower." Blake said.
[~]
"So tell me, Team Leader, what's our first class for the day?" Yang asked as she and her team left the cafeteria behind before strolling through the halls of Beacon Academy.
"Let's see here…" Jaune said as he took out his scroll, "Our first class is Grimm Studies… with a Professor Port."
"Grimm Studies, huh?" Yang asked with a disappointed frown, "That sounds boring. I mean, what else do you need to know besides the fact that you need to kill them."
"I believe this class will be the most important one during our time here at Beacon." Ren said, "Different Grimm have different behaviors, after all."
"Ren's right. King Taijitus don't really travel in packs unlike Beowolves or even Ursa." Jaune added, "And there are some Grimm out there that can actually possess some rocks."
"Sounds like you're an expert on all things Grimm already." Yang said, "Faced a lot of them, have you?"
"I've faced my fair share but I wouldn't call myself an expert." Jaune said, chuckling to himself.
"Well hey, if this class has a test, I'm definitely copying your answers." Yang said.
"That's nice of you to think I'm smart enough to copy from." Jaune said, the two partners sharing a laugh, "Besides, I have a feeling this class is going to be pretty fun."
[~]
"Still think this class is pretty fun, Jaune?" Blake asked, a sly smile on the girl's face as the bell rang to signify the end of class.
"Shut up, Blake." Jaune said, the boy stifling a yawn as most of the class began to file out of the the room, "Gods, that was the longest two hours of my life. I hope the next class is less of a sleeping pill than this one."
"The next class we have is History with Doctor Oobleck." Ren said, earning a tired groan from his team leader, "So unless you're a history nerd, I doubt it'll be anything but a snoozefest."
"Well, at least we still have an hour until class starts. Yang, you got any ideas to-" Jaune started to ask before stopping himself, "Yang? Something wrong?"
"It's that damn Weiss. What's her problem, anyway?!" Yang asked, a mean look in her eyes as Team JYBR left the classroom behind, "She didn't need to scream at Ruby like that."
"Ah, yeah… From the brief time I've known her, Weiss can be very…" Jaune said, his sentence trailing off as he tried to find the best word to describe the young heiress.
"Anti-social? Arrogant? Stuck up? Mean? Unfriendly?" Blake said.
"Thank you, Blake, but no. The word I was going for was 'bad at making friends'."
"That's four words." Ren commented.
"You know what, I'm gonna look for her and giver her a piece of my mind." Yang said.
"Yang, wait! Before you do that, let me talk to her." Jaune said, standing in front of his partner, "I'll try and get her to… relax a bit."
"Fine." Yang grumbled to herself before Jaune left his team behind in search of the girl in question. It took the blonde nearly fifteen minutes of wandering Beacon's hallways before finally find Weiss in front of the stairs leading to the roof of the building.
"Weiss!" Jaune called out, gaining the girl's attention as Weiss turned around before letting out a sigh.
"What do you want, Arc?" Weiss asked.
"Not even a good morning, huh?" Jaune asked with a chuckle.
"If there's nothing else, I actually have better things to do right now." Weiss said, the girl taking the first step towards the roof before Jaune called out to her once more.
"Are you really that angry about not being made team leader?" Jaune asked as Weiss halted in her advance, "Ruby was only trying to help you back there. You know that, right?"
"She was being a distraction." Weiss said, turning around to glare at the blonde.
"There's a lot of things that could distract you during a fight with Grimm out there." Jaune said, "Your team leader trying to help you by giving you advice isn't one of them."
"Team leader? That little girl?" Weiss asked with a scoff, "I have no idea what the Headmaster was thinking when he made that decision but it was clearly the wrong one."
"You've only just spent a day with her, haven't you?" Jaune asked, "Why not give her a chance to prove herself?"
"I've seen enough. She didn't even try to pay attention to the lecture Professor Port was giving!" Weiss shouted, the girl turning her back to Jaune.
"Seems a bit harsh, don't you think?" Jaune asked, "I mean, what would have happened if your instructors - or Winter, for that matter - thought you weren't good enough just because you didn't impress them during your first day of training."
"That's… that's different." Weiss said as she turned around to face Jaune once more.
"Yeah? How so?" Jaune asked with a confident smile.
"W-well, Ruby is… she's too young to be here, anyway. She never even finished combat school." Weiss argued.
"True but it was Professor Ozpin - literally the Headmaster of Beacon - who invited her here in the first place." Jaune said, "I'm pretty sure he's been at this for a while now so maybe he knows what he's doing?"
Weiss stayed silent at the blonde's words, the girl slowly walking down the stairs as Jaune patted her on the back.
"Just give her a chance. Who knows, she might just surprise all of us one day." Jaune said.
"I don't remember you being this… confident when last we met." Weiss said.
"Blame Musashi for that." Jaune said, "That crazy lady can be an insanely good teacher at times. Emphasis on the insane part."
[~]
When Weiss returned to her dorm shortly after her talk with Jaune, it was to find the rest of her team huddled around a desk. Ruby was currently in the middle of a study session while Pyrrha and Nora were busy trying to give the young girl some study tips.
"-and if you still don't know the answer by then, just flip a coin." Nora said, "That's what I always do and it's gotten me out of trouble so far."
"Nora, this problem isn't multiple choice. You can't just flip a coin and-" Pyrrha then noticed Weiss standing at the door and staring at the three of them. "Oh, hello, Weiss."
"Weiss, you're back! Where were you?!" Nora asked. Ruby, meanwhile, looked over her shoulder at Weiss only to immediately look away when the both of them made eye contact.
"I've been… thinking, mostly." Weiss said, "Ruby, can I… talk to you outside? Alone?"
"Oh, yeah… Sure… Okay…" Ruby said, a nervous look in the girl's eyes before the two teammates stepped outside their dorm.
"So, um… what did you want to… talk about, Weiss?" Ruby asked, the girl looking at her feet while tugging at the hem of her skirt.
"I just wanted to apologize for how I acted today." Weiss said, the heiress bowing her head, an act that surprised the young team leader, "I can see that I was being… a bit judgmental and also incredibly unfair in how I treated you. You may not be the best team leader there is right now but… that doesn't mean you won't be a good team leader in the future."
"Y-you mean it, Weiss?" Ruby asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.
"I do. And to help with that, I'm going to do my best to be the best teammate in history and help you make Team RNVW the best team Beacon's ever produced." Weiss said.
"Y-you are? Thank you, Weiss!" Ruby squealed, the young girl going in for a hug only for Weiss to stop her in her tracks.
"No. No hugs." Weiss said only to relent a moment later upon seeing the dejected look on Ruby's face. Sighing, the young heiress pulled her hand back, "Fine. One hug."
"Yay!" Ruby shouted before wrapping her arms around her teammate.
"You guys are hugging and you didn't invite me?!" Nora shouted, the door to their dorm opening with a slam before wrapping the two girls in a bear hug, "So, since we're all friends again, how about we celebrate?!"
"What do you have in mind, Nora?" Pyrrha asked.
"We could have pancakes. I know a guy who makes amazing pancakes!" Nora said, excitement with a hint of madness in the girl's eyes.
"Sure but history class is starting soon. Maybe we could have pancakes for dinner?" Ruby suggested.
"I can live with that." Nora said before she started banging on the dorm opposite of theirs, "Ren! We're having pancakes tonight for dinner! Get everything ready because Mama's hungry!"
[Chapter END]
A/N: So, 112 days since the last chapter was published. Sorry about that. Ran into a particularly thick wall of writer's block mixed with just a tiny hint of zero inspiration.
Anyway, I really loved writing this chapter. While I was thinking of continuing this series, I realized that in the previous few chapters, Jaune and Weiss didn't interact once so I thought to myself, why not make them friends/acquaintances (Unless, of course, they did in which case this chapter is a bust and needs to be deleted right away)? And that's how we got this chapter. I hope y'all enjoy that creative choice.
As for next chapter, I'm planning to have the first combat class. Here's hoping it doesn't take me another 100 days or so to write Chapter 13.
As always, faves, follows, and reviews are always appreciated.
NoXIV signing off.