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"Hahaha, can't believe we got to be the lucky ones to go first on our team!" cheered Reese Chloris.
"Yea, yea, rub it in our face," pouted Nadir Shiko as he shook his head, his pink ponytail shaking with his head.
"I'm more interested in this Aura massage," hummed Bolin Hori, scratching his chin, "From what I've seen from reviews and hearsay so far, a lot of upcoming Huntresses and Huntsmen like it. It even has a warning that only people with active Aura can do it. I even saw the Vice-Headmistress Goodwitch even eagerly making an appointment before."
"Hmph, it's just a massage. How over-hyped could it be?" huffed Arslan Altan, "Aura can't be useful in massages."
"You're just jealous that you drew the short straw and have to wait two days later," teased Reese with a sing-song tone, "I remember you were quite eager to do it when you heard it was actually promoted by Pyrrha Nikos."
"Shut up," hissed Arslan with a small blush.
"Speaking of Nikos, I heard a strange rumor," piped Nadir, "Something about her annihilating all of team NDGO."
"Whoa, really?" asked Reese.
"Hmph, if it's true, then they probably deserved it," declared Arslan, "Those bitches were harassing other students from what I've heard. It wouldn't surprise me if they touched Pyrrha's nerve at some point without realizing it."
Reese rolled her eyes at this. Arslan was a closet fan when it came to Pyrrha Nikos, no matter how hard she denied it.
"Well, you'll just get to see how it works when Reese and I get it if you want to watch," shrugged Bolin, "Speaking of it, we're almost here."
Team ABRN all looked up to see Jaune's massage clinic, Elysium Oasis, was right in front of them.
"C'mon, let's go in already! My legs and butt are sore," complained Reese.
"Perhaps if you would stop trying to do all those tricks on your hoverboard that you know you're going to fail and land on your ass, then it wouldn't be so sore," scoffed Arslan.
"But that's the fun in doing those tricks!" huffed Reese, "Plus, gotta practice, otherwise what's the point of living if you don't try to expand out of your zone?"
"That's probably one of the few smart things you've said this year," laughed Nadir, "Anyways, I'm going to hit the arcade near here. I kind of don't want to sit there and watch you guys get a massage, especially since I'm not getting one today."
The other nodded in understanding. It would be pretty boring just to watch someone getting an Aura massage when they would be getting it days later.
"What about you, leader?" asked Bolin, "I'm sure there's something you can do here if you don't want to go to the arcade."
"I'll watch," replied Arslan, "I'm more curious about this Aura massage technique. I brought a book with me in case I get bored."
"Alright, I'm going to go then, and maybe pick up some chicks," whistled Nadir as he left.
"Idiot," sighed Arslan before turning to Reese and Bolin, "C'mon, let's go in. No use waiting."
The trio nodded and entered the building, two of them actually quite excited about it.
"Ahhh, this feels so good," moaned Reese as Jaune pressed down on her thighs, rotating his palms around the area, "So glad we decided to come to check this out."
Jaune didn't mind the compliments, but he was a bit amused and weirded at how attentive Arslan was looking at him. Every movement, every breath, was observed by Arslan. To be honest, it felt as if a lioness was watching his every moment as if stalking her prey.
Bolin was already knocked out, sleeping away at the moment, as Jaune did his massage first.
"Seems like your thighs are sorer than anything else," commented Jaune, "You do a lot of leg workouts?"
"Yep, I like doing tricks on my hoverboard," grinned Reese, only to moan when Jaune pressed down with his thumb.
"She also falls off her board a lot too," droned Arslan, causing Reese to shoot her a dirty look, "The only good thing is that I don't have to worry too much about it because she knows how to fall safely and not break her neck."
"That's….. nice," winced Jaune, not wanting to think further about that subject.
"Arslan, stop staring at him so much, you're making him nervous," laughed Reese, "He already had to endure your stares when he was doing Bolin."
"It's alright, I don't mind," lied Jaune, only for Arslan to sigh.
"No, my apologies," apologized Arslan, "I was just interested in your technique. It's rare to see someone using Aura for such uses. Especially for how long you've been doing it at that rate."
"Meh, I'm sure all you Huntresses and Huntsmen can easily last longer than I can do this," shrugged Jaune, causing Arslan to raise her eyebrow.
From what she could tell, the amount and rate he was pouring into his hand far surpassed many students and even active Huntsmen and Huntresses, approaching the professors of the various Academies. What was even more frightening was that his reserves could still grow even further.
'Not to mention his control. By constantly doing this every day, he improves his control over his Aura as well as his reserves,' thought Arslan. She had been ready to voice her thoughts out, only to get a glare from Reese, telling her to zip it and let her enjoy her massage.
Sighing, Arslan obliged, finally picking up her book to read. Though her eyes always kept tracking Jaune's own hands as he began to press down on Reese's waist and glutes. She began to formulate a new training plan in her mind, one that would benefit her team.
'Speaking of team, what's Nadir now?' questioned Arslan.
At another location
"Ladies," winked Nadir at a group of civilians composed of girls from a local liberal arts college, whom all giggled at his response.
"Nice, not bad," complimented Neptune, patting his shoulder.
Nadir had found his fellow classmates of Haven Academy and was currently with team SSSN at the arcade and bar. Currently, he and Neptune were hitting on the ladies, Sun and Sage were hitting on the arcade games, and Scarlet was hitting on some darts against some other people.
"Hey, you already got someone to the Beacon dance that's supposed to be coming up?" asked Nadir, "If not, maybe one of these ladies will want to come with us. Be a good time to show off some dance moves."
"Err, no, haven't really thought about it," replied Neptune, looking away to avoid giving a guilty face.
"Really? Thought that white-haired chick was digging on you?" asked Nadir.
"Eh, that's up in the air," replied Neptune, not wanting to tell him exactly why he didn't want to go to the dance with a girl. If he did, he was expected to dance, and then it would be revealed that he had no idea how to dance, which in turn, would hurt his 'cool' credibility.
So in short, he was avoiding the question for as long as possible. If Weiss did pop the question….. he'd figure out what to do from there.
Back at the clinic
'Eh whatever he's doing, it's probably something stupid. I'll just double team training and ride his ass,' shrugged Arslan.
Soon enough, Jaune was done with the massage. Arslan was kind enough to let Reese sleep for half an hour before kicking her and Bolin out of bed.
"Damn that felt soo good!" stretched Reese after bullying Bolin to pay for her share, "You should totally keep that appointment for Wednesday. You'd be stupid to cancel it."
"I plan to," replied Arslan, "I want to study this technique more in-depth, and maybe learn from it."
"You were always about learning anything with Aura," nodded Bolin, "Even supplementary skills like this. Well, if you can give even a half of a good massage as that guy, then it'd be well worth it."
"Now let's go pick up Nadir and see what the idiot's up to now," ordered Arslan, the two nodding in agreement.
Next day
"It's been a while since you've last visited me on my day off," smiled Jaune as he swung Crocea Mors as Pyrrha instructed.
"It feels like it's been weeks since I've come here," agreed Pyrrha, relaxing on the rooftop with Jaune, enjoying the air and the scenery.
Pyrrha had come to really view Jaune's roof as her little Oasis from the pedestal people lifted her up on. Sitting there enjoying a cookie that Jaune had baked, Pyrrha watched Jaune go through the moves before deciding on the next step.
"Let's spar a little," smiled Pyrrha as she magnetically summoned her weapons from the side.
"Spar?" gulped Jaune, "I don't think I'm good enough for that yet."
"Don't worry, I'll go easy," assured Pyrrha, "Not to mention, this'll be easier and faster to get you on track. You've got the basics down, now it's time to put it into practice."
Seeing Pyrra not only insisting on it but actually willing to help him even further, Jaune couldn't help push down his fear and pride and accept.
"Alright, let's get you into a proper fighting position," instructed Pyrrha, "We'll go with a basic stance first. Shield up, grip your sword, and put your front foot forward."
Jaune quickly complied, slightly sweating in nervousness.
"Alright Jaune. Now attack me with everything you got. Begin!" ordered Pyrrha.
Jaune nodded and began with a thrust towards Pyrrha, who easily parried it with Milo, her xiphos.
"Good. Keep going," instructed Pyrrha with a smile on her face. Despite Jaune's attack being easily blocked, she could see the basics ingrained in each move, a steady foundation within it. Her best instructor, Li Long, had her practice the basics before anything else, and she remembered this quote from him every time.
"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times."
Those words from her instructor drove deep into her before he died of cerebral edema. All other instructors she had were nice, but none were as dedicated as he was, all trying to teach Pyrrha some flashy techniques to up their own standings. If she was to give a blunt and honest interview to whom she viewed as her true master, it would be him. And now, she was passing this on to Jaune.
Soon, Pyrrha ended it by bashing her shield forward. Jaune was able to react quickly enough to bring his own shield up to block, but the momentum forced him to lose his balance. Before Jaune could do anything else, the tip of Milo was already pointed at his adam's apple.
"Not bad for your first time. Keep your center a bit lower, and let's try again," smiled Pyrrha as she withdrew Milo.
Jaune sighed as he got back up once more in position, lowering his center of gravity as instructed before.
"Owww," groaned Jaune after failing on his butt for the umpteenth time.
"Not bad for your first time sparring," smiled Pyrrha as she extended her hand to Jaune.
"Well, I feel like I need a massage now," replied Jaune as he grabbed her hand, letting her pull him back up to his feet, "Now I get why you all get tense muscles so fast even after I'm done massaging you all."
"Your Aura massages do make a difference," argued Pyrrha, "I've never felt so relaxed after one. It makes all the tension that's been held bleed away, compared to other massages I've had."
"That's good to hear, but now I need one, and I can't really do it on myself," sighed Jaune, tapping his back with his fist.
"Maybe I can help out?" offered Pyrrha.
"Na, it's fine. I'll just get Elen to help knock out some of these kinks," waived off Jaune. After all, a good massage wasn't someone just pressing down on muscles in hopes that it would help release tension. There was an art to it.
"What about a shoulder massage? I can at least do that," said Pyrrha almost insistently, "I've studied human anatomy intensively for my fights."
Jaune hummed before sitting down, letting her try it out. Pyrrha smiled as she walked over, putting her hands on his shoulders while using her thumb to scope out his muscles. She considered using Aura like Jaune did, but opted to not use it yet. Plus, she had something else she wanted to ask.
"So Jaune, are you busy Saturday night?" asked Pyrrha.
"No after-work Aura massage," nodded Jaune, "I'm still surprised that I'm booked for Aura massages throughout the month, thanks to the influx of students. Still, I'm surprised how booked I am, though I'm not sure why. Also unsure why my Saturday appointment is very spotty. You'd think more people would want the Saturday appointment."
"It's because of the Beacon Dance," answered Pyrrha as she pressed down on a point she was sure was a pressure point, "It's sort of a get-together to get to know all the other students in a party setting."
"Mmm, sounds nice," grunted Jaune, "A bit lower."
Pyrrha bit her lips before she decided to ask, "The dance is sort of a private setting, meant for students mostly. It is, however, open to invite. Would you want to-"
Before Pyrrha could finish her sentence, a figure suddenly appeared on the roof. Upon landing, the two were able to see it was Arslan.
A few minutes before
After a grueling training session, Arslan decided to head over to Elysium Oasis despite the fact it would be closed that day. She had some questions she wanted to ask Jaune in regards to the Aura massage. Upon arriving, Arslan considered how to ask when she heard the sound of metal clashing against each other before falling silent. Worried about the noise, she quickly scaled up the building to investigate. Using her rope hidden in her sleeves, Arslan shot it up, hooking onto a pole before pulling herself up.
In a few short seconds, Arslan landed on the ceiling, carefully looking around in time to see Pyrrha and Jaune looking at her in surprise.
'Isn't that Pyrrha Nikos!? What is she doing here?' gasped Arslan.
"Aren't you Arslan who just visited yesterday with your team? What are you doing here?" asked Jaune in surprise.
"Ah. I just heard some noise up here and wanted to investigate," coughed Arslan.
"Arslan? Arslan Altan? I've heard about you," hummed Pyrrha, "Some of the students were calling you the 'Golden Lion' of Haven Academy."
Arslan coughed in embarrassment before replying, "Yes, well it's nowhere as impressive as 'The Invincible Girl'. I heard a rumor that you took on team NDGO by yourself and annihilated them to the fact that they had to bring one of the members to the nurse after the spar."
Pyrrha blushed at the exaggeration of her fight against Octavia. She didn't fight all of team NDGO, though it was true that she might have given Octavia a concussion.
"Was there anything else you needed?" asked Jaune, "I appreciate your concern upon hearing noise on my building, but if that was all, then I'm alright."
"Ah, no I actually had some questions about your Aura massage," blushed Arslan, scratching the back of her head, "Like, how much Aura do you use?"
Jaune tilted his head in confusion at that question before considering it, "A bit? I never really thought about that. Just enough so my Aura is visible on my hands, really."
'Just as I thought! It wasn't a semblance, it was really a lot of Aura being poured into those hands,' gulped Arslan as Jaune continued on.
"Lately, I've been feeling less and less tired after doing them though! I might be able to increase the frequency of the Aura massages again," grinned Jaune before his stomach began to rumble.
Almost as one, two other stomachs began to rumble in response, causing the trio to look at each other before chuckling at their predicament.
"I got some rice already cooked, and some braised chicken with chicken soup simmering in the pot. Pyrrha, do you have time to eat dinner with me? I made extra," offered Jaune, "Arslan, since you're here already, you can come too."
"Of course," smiled Pyrrha as she eagerly followed Jaune towards the staircase.
"Ah, no, it's fine. I can't linger too long, I promised my team I'd eat with them at this new restaurant that Reese has been wanting to go," waived off Arslan, "Thank you for the invitation, though."
With that, Arslan hopped off the roof, not intending to disrupt the two any longer. It might have been her imagination, but she felt Pyrrha was glaring at her when he invited her along for dinner. Still, anything to avoid the humiliation team NDGO suffered was always a point in her book.
"So what did you want to ask of me earlier?" asked Jaune as he placed the dishes down in front of Pyrrha before taking a seat.
"Oh. I… ummm I…. It's nothing important," mumbled Pyrrha in the end, having lost her courage.
'Jaune will most likely be busy on Saturday anyways. It's not fair to just drag him out of his business to attend a dance with me. Plus, the dance isn't mandatory, so I can just skip it in the end,' thought Pyrrha as she scooped up some rice and chicken. She soon began to forget as she enjoyed the vivid flavors that Jaune had cooked up.
Next Day.
"Damn, if I knew this felt this good, I would've fought more to get in earlier!" groaned Nadir as Jaune pressed down on his shoulder blades, "Ouch, tender there!"
"Warned you," replied Bolin, looking up from his book, "But still, I am impressed. Seeing it and feeling it are certainly two different things. Looks like our leader really enjoyed it, too."
The boys looked over to see Arslan asleep on the massage bed.
"Yea, she was really tense yesterday for some reason," hummed Nadir, "Wonder why?"
"I think she really pushed herself in her workout yesterday," hummed Bolin, "I remember after dinner, she was hitting the gym hard."
"That would explain all those tense muscles I felt when I was massaging her," murmured Jaune. It had taken him a little more effort to really work out those kinks.
"Still, if she's back to peak form after hitting the gym that hard, it'll be worth it," hummed Bolin, looking over at Jaune, "Any sort of limit on this massage?"
"Not that I know of?" shrugged Jaune, "Nobody has complained about it, though nobody has really done it in a continuous streak."
"Something to think about," piped Nadir before squeaking out as Jaune used his palm to press down on another muscle, "Damn, didn't even know I had one there!"
Meanwhile, in the front, Clementine hummed as she checked tomorrow's schedule for any discrepancies.
"A lot of those Academy students always keep requesting for Jaune. He's really popular with them," hummed Clementine as she spun her pen in her fingers, "Let's just confirm some of these, shall we?"
Hovering her keyboard over one of Jaune's Aura massage appointments for Friday, the name revealed itself to be Emerald Sustrasi.
Muhahaha! Look who's coming in next!