Sorry about the wait but I am seriously running out of ideas for the different types of training to put Jaune through. I've decided that this chapter will be the last of that and we'll have a time skip to the end of his training so we can get to the real meat of the story. I'm sure the rest of you want to get past this too.
Spent all night finishing this one up because during the day I overheat too quickly and can't come up with anything at all. Hope you enjoy.
It had been a whole week since the weapons testing incident and Jaune was totally happy that Winter held off and having him train with her sister. Obviously she wasn't trying to have him reduce Weiss to ashes with a single stroke of his blade. Not that he would intentionally but luckily with the limiter the aura slashes had been reduced significantly for the betterment of everyone. As long as he didn't use his semblance on Crocea Mors to pump up the power the damage would be kept to a minimum.
"Again" Winter ordered.
Jaune raised Crocea Mors and slashed diagonally to the left and released an aura slash before following up with a diagonal aura slash to right. The attack created a x-shape of aura that smashed into a prototype paladin's giant metal shield. Normally the giant metal mech would never sport a shield like that but do to the type of training Jaune was performing they needed to make adjustments so they wouldn't damage so many spare knights.
Winter kept her eye's firmly on her scroll as the meter of force the paladin received was tallied. With a single aura slash the the amount of force the paladin received always created the same amount which meant the limiter was doing it's job. "Load and repeat" Winter ordered and Jaune began again. Two more slashes and the tally was registered on her scroll. Just as with the single aura slash the cross slash produced a stronger force but it never changed beyond what they already first recorded.
Winter smiled at the results and looked over to her student, "okay Jaune that's enough". The blonde let out a breath and sheathed his sword. The whole week had been dedicated to practicing with his new weapon so there wouldn't be any accidents in his training going forward. "So how's it looking" Jaune asked as he approached his teacher. Winter nodded with a smile, "it's better then expected and it seems the limiter is maintaining a constant controlled release of exactly the same amount of aura each time. With these results we can finally move on to joint training with my sister. She's been very eager to train under me and wasn't enthusiastic when we had to postpone".
Jaune let out a sigh and nodded miserably knowing his teacher was playing the guilt card because he cut into their sister bonding time.
"Good then we'll begin tomorrow once Weiss get's here" Winter said as she turned away and started walking back to the exit of the weapons testing area.
He couldn't exactly say he was enthusiastic about the whole thing but this is what he got for being the good guy he supposed...or bad guy maybe? Jaune shook his head and pushed the question to the back of his mind before following after his teacher to the exit. With a few quick words they gave their goodbye's and went their separate ways. He to his next class and Winter to wherever she was going to next. As he march his way to his next class each footstep he took filled him with more dread then the last.
The reason for that was because it was nothing but straight up hand to hand martial arts until he was unconscious or until his opponent was too tired to continue. Harriet Bree was a special kind of evil in his book for that because she obviously didn't want to help him in the first place but took immense pleasure in kicking the crap out of him when given the chance. Jaune didn't think she would have done much in the beginning if it wasn't for the fact that it took her nearly an hour to knock him down for good.
He must have hurt her pride at the time because every time they met in the practice room after that she'd just tell him to get ready before giving him the thrashing of his life. Somewhere within those couple of days Jaunes own competitiveness kicked in and he tried has hard as he could to keep going for even longer just to spite the Ace operative. It definitely got the results he expected because all of a sudden the long hour of hand to hand kept extending until after a few days where the unthinkable happened.
Just yesterday in fact he'd managed to squeeze out a victory because he outlasted her and continued to stand despite the beating he took. Jaune could never forget the look on her face as she gasped for air on one knee while glaring up at him. That moment would have been a hundred times better if he could have punched her when she was exhausted like that. Unfortunately it was never meant to be because he was using what little of his strength that remained within him to continue standing, and if necessary to dodge as best he could if she got any ideas. She didn't though. Harriet didn't take it very well because she stood up on shaky legs and spat out furiously that the session was over and for him to hurry up and get cleaned because he was stinking up the place.
What was funny about the situation was that if she had waited for just a few more minutes before leaving then she'd have seen him fall on his back. Aura had shattered on impact and his consciousness faded soon after leaving him passed out on the floor. His class after that one had been skipped because frankly he couldn't wake up quick enough to even attend it if he wished. Winter herself had hunted him down that day, saw his condition and ordered a few soldiers to drag him back to his room and stick him in the cold shower.
He'd definitely woken up after that.
Just outside his destination the blonde took a deep breath as the door slid open for him. Harriet threw two punches in quick succession before performing a spin kick that sliced through the air. "Don't just stand there slack jawed like that, get ready cause I'm going to work you twice as hard then yesterday". The Ace Operative looked like she had warmed herself up considerably for the moment they would meet again, which meant another world of hurt for him. A few feet away and laying on the ground were a pair of mitts, the same mitts he'd been using throughout the week for her class.
Jaune walked over and picked them off the floor but didn't put them on just yet. "Hey do you mind if I ask you something"? He asked unsure if the Ace Operative would even answer.
Harriet didn't look like she was going to attack him so that was a good thing. Instead his supposed teacher placed her hand on her hips and nodded once to let him know he could. Jaune cleared his throat real quick while using the time to collect himself because he honestly thought the woman was a meat head and would have refused to speak. "I know we've been kinda going at it for the past week but care to tell me what exactly all this fighting is supposed to accomplish? I mean I get the reason for hand to hand combat practice in case I lose my weapon but do we really have to take it so far every time we do this? Besides it's not like your giving me proper instructions anyways".
"Tch, cheeky little bastard aren't you. Anyways I thought it about time you asked me something. I mean what kind of meat head goes a whole week of training without knowing what the trainings for"?
Jaune didn't know how he felt being called that when he felt it suited his so called teacher so much better. "Yeah well I'm asking now" he answered in kind. Harriet used her semblance and raced off to the side before returning with a folder, "read this and tell me what you think" she said as she handed him the folder. A little confused at first Jaune took the folder and opened it up to look at it's contents. Everything within was about him from what he excelled at to what his weaknesses were. His daily activities were also written down so as to better understand how the tests and accumulated training fatigue was effecting him. "I don't know if I should be impressed or freaked out that you all have been watching me without me knowing" he admitted.
Harriet pulled the folder out of Jaune's hands and pulled out a sheet from within and held it out for him. Written on the sheet was an assessment report of Jaune's growth over the passed few weeks he'd been with them. Upon closer inspection the chart indicated that his level of growth far exceeded the goal everyone had set for him. Winter, Ironwood and the Ace Ops would definitely know best because they've trained others before, so why was he growing more than they believed he could?
"During your training with the others they pushed you to the limit of your abilities to get a sense of how much you can handle. Safe to say during this time your semblance wasn't active so you were taught at a level that most kids would be taught when they first start in life. From there everyone had a grasp of your limitations and could work around it accordingly to help you, but that was up until your soul realized your body couldn't keep up with the strain. Most huntsmen and huntresses are taught when their young so their body could get used to the strength they develop and how it grows as they get older. You on the other hand got it shoved into you and barely had time to get a grasp of what was already at your disposal".
Harriet reached over and took the sheet of paper from him before continuing. "Because of that and your need to stream your aura into your muscles to keep going your semblance awakened without you or anyone else knowing. It doesn't matter if it was luck or not your semblance allowed you to overcome your limits by providing you with virtually an unlimited amount of aura. With you constantly feeding that aura into your muscles you not only healed your broken fibers faster than even a fully trained huntsmen could but provided yourself with enough aura to continue with your other duties while doing so. Muscle fibers break all the time when training to be a huntsmen but heal quickly thanks to aura which make muscles so much stronger then normal. But your semblance heals you to an absurd degree".
Harriet chuckled happily, "all of this came together rather well and only got better when you were pushed even harder then normal. It's made you excel at everything you've been trained in so far and each time they thought you reached your limit you kept going even further beyond. If I'm being honest here your growth in just a weeks time is beyond scary".
Jaune looked up to the ceiling and couldn't help but feel extremely happy to hear that his determination to get better actually paid off. More than anything he was grateful for such a powerful semblance because it literally took care of most of his problems and helped keep him good shape. If it were any other semblance he was almost certain no amount of determination would have been enough to keep up with all the training they were putting him through. Aura training aside the combat courses would have left him in tatters if he even had any aura left for such a thing.
Harriet clapped her hands together to regain his attention. "Sorry for going off track there for a second but back to your original question of what this is for it should be fairly obvious by now. Defense. Your aura and semblance are strong but if all your doing is taking hits then your not going to get very far in this line of work. That's why I've been coming at you with all I've got, semblance and all. With my speed you've barely got time to use your semblance and yet within a week's time you've not only figured out how to outlast me but do so in limiting your own injuries in the process. I don't know about you but that's damn near impressive if you ask me".
Jaune couldn't help but laugh at that. "I guess you can thank Vines earlier lessons for that after all there's only so many times you can take a hit before you start to learn to avoid it". Harriet threw her head back and let out a hearty laugh that he didn't quite expect. "Are you serious" she said in disbelief "Vine is mister peace and zen, and your telling me he's the one that decided to go with the head first approach"? Jaune shrugged his shoulders with a smile, "yeah well I guess it's kinda my style since it's worked best for me back then and even now".
Harriet nodded in agreement before lowering her stance. "Then if that's the case then shouldn't we hurry up and get to this"?
Jaune slipped on his mittens and took his own stance. "I suppose so" he agreed. After staring each other down for a second the two started their intense training once more.
/
The next day came quicker than expected and she couldn't have been happier about that. One feminine leg crossed over the other and a white hair women stared out the window of her families private transport. Weiss Schnee tapped her finger on the arm rest anxiously because she was finally about to receive personal training from her big sister. Of course there was to be another joining them but whoever it was didn't matter all that much in her opinion. It was still going to be her learning from her more experience sister at the end of the day anyway. Although she tried to believe that as best she could there was still a part of her that was annoyed that someone would dare to intrude on what should have been a personal moment between sister's.
The aircraft came into landing and Weiss pushed those aggravating thoughts to the side as she stepped off and on to the landing pad. Waiting for her arrival was Winter and a few soldiers which she guessed one of which would be the person who'd be training alongside her. She took note of each of their faces but none ever made eye contact. The stern visage of military men and woman trained for years to act and move a certain way only made it clear that her earlier assessment was possibly off.
"Winter" Weiss said with a small curtsy when her sister drew near "thank you for making time for me, I know you must be very busy with your work in the military". Winter bowed her head slightly in response to Weiss's gesture. "Indeed I am busy" she answered firmly when the tiniest of smiles appeared on her face "but not so busy that I can't help my own sister when in need". Emotional displays of affection were frowned upon because the Schnee family were held to a higher standard then most. Instead of making a scene - especially in front of her sisters subordinates - Weiss merely blushed lightly with a tiny smile much like her sisters breaking through the stoic mask she normally had on in public.
Winter made a half turn and held her left arm to the side to let her Weiss know to walk with her. As the two Schnee sisters walked through the various hall's of Atlas academy Weiss had to ask about the other who would be training with them and if he were amongst the soldiers she'd brought. Winter shook her head at the question, "Jaune is already in the training room doing some last minute prep work so we don't have any unforseen complications". Even with the week long practices on his aura control, Winter wanted to make sure absolutely nothing would happened when her sister was involved. To be on the safe side of things she had ordered Jaune to do a few practice shot's until her sister arrived just to be safe. Call it paranoia but it helped to keep her from calling the whole thing off.
Weiss didn't know what to make of the whole situation but knew if this person was so dedicated to their training then she'd give them the benefit of the doubt. After all how bad could someone be if they understood the importance of the work huntsmen and huntress's do? The moment they reached the training room, Winter turned to the soldiers she brought with her to act as her sisters guards and gave them orders to make sure no one entered without her permission. While her sister handled the soldiers, Weiss pushed on through the door to the training room and saw the third person who'd be joining them.
"Haa"! Jaune swung his sword and launch a white aura slash that cut through several 3D cubes. Cutting through them was easy but it was making sure that he didn't do damage to the walls that was the hard part. It meant having complete control of the aura being placed within his sword and controlling the force he released with each strike. The door sliding open caught his attention and Jaune froze mid-swing and lowered his sword to see who had interrupted his practice.
Weiss stepped in and met his gaze for a brief moment before making her way over to him. She knew next to nothing about this guy but at least he wasn't checking her out like some kind of old lech. Taking in his appearance he seemed like a respectable young man so maybe this wouldn't be as bad as she had originally feared when she first heard the news about training with someone her own age. Weiss bowed her head slightly when she reach the man she'd be training with. "I offer you my greetings, I am specialist Winter Schnee's younger sister-".
"Weiss Schnee right" Jaune interrupted.
Weiss pushed down her annoyance at being cut off and nodded politely.
"I figured as much before you gave your greetings, seeing as you look so much like your sister it wasn't hard to make the connection".
The sudden annoyance she felt quickly changed to unparallel joy. Of all the people she'd met within the upper crust society of Atlas none have ever compared her to the one person she's looked up to her whole life. Winter was everything she wanted to be in life. Strong, graceful, intelligent, beautiful, the list went on and on but to even have a fraction of beauty close to her sister's... well she figured she could forgive the blonde for his earlier blunder. "Seeing as you know about me would you be so kind as to introduce yourself as well"?
It was only fair he thought as he placed his left hand over Crocea Mors and his right over his heart. With a small bow Jaune gave what he thought was a very old fashioned greeting to the heiress, one a knight or noble would most likely give to someone of higher rank. "Forgive my rudeness miss Schnee it was never my intention to withhold my name from you... please call me Jaune Arc". He stood tall once more and took note of the way Weiss watched him. If he wasn't mistaken it looked like she was in some ways at a loss for words. To get things moving quickly from his introduction Jaune came up with a solution to this dilemma by asking a simple question, "I wonder what's keeping Winter"?
Seeing the blonde portray himself as a gentleman was unexpected to say the least but when she thought back to how he cut her off earlier...well she didn't know what to make of him. Seeing the question Jaune had laid out, Weiss answered with her own thought, "your right, surely Winter has taken care of her soldiers outside already...I wonder what may be keeping her"? As Weiss finished saying what she thought the door opened and Winter walked in with her hands locked behind her back with an exhausted expression on her face. "I apologize for the delay but it seems some of my soldiers need detailed instructions to watch the door" she said with a roll of the eye's. Weiss smothered a laugh that threatened to escape by covering her mouth with her left hand.
"With how straight forward you are I'm surprised there was even a need for a question".
Weiss froze and looked over to the blonde by her side like he'd just set himself on fire. Was he crazy! He had to be if he was willing to make fun of her sister like that. Weiss looked over to her Winter and expected nothing more then disdain aimed at the young man, but instead got a wry smile that graced her features. "Your right, I think maybe they could use a little more instruction on how to better think for themselves without a commanding officer around" Winter commented after a moment. She then made a mental note to have that done in her spare time.
Winter stepped into the middle of the training field and turned their way and waited for them to join. Both Weiss and Jaune soon followed after and stood side by side in front of the specialist like two soldiers at attention. "Right then we've wasted plenty of time with chatter when we should be focusing on more important things" Winter said firmly. "You both are aiming to enter the academies this up coming year and the one thing you should know is that first years will be forming teams of four that you'll room with for the duration of your time in the academy".
"Keep in mind that teams don't always last throughout all four years. The reason why is because the nature of the profession you've chosen and the dangers that you'll face will no doubt increase as the years go on. For that reason we'll be working on the most fundamental part about being on a team. Can either of you tell me what that is"?
"Teamwork" Weiss answered quickly.
Winter nodded, happy with the answer her younger sister gave. "Most people your age have already at least slain a Grimm or two in training and that alone gives huntsmen in training an inflated ego because the think they know it all. That arrogance always leads to injury and at worst...death for one or more of their teammates".
Winter pulled out her saber and pointed it at the two of them, "The two of you will not suffer such because we'll nip it in the bud now by having you both work together to defeat a superior opponent. Me". Weiss swallowed the lump forming in her throat and crushed her fear with her determination to win. Of all the things that she expected to do in preparation for her trip to take Beacons entrance exam, this was the last thing she thought she'd ever do. Winter eyed the two and smiled when they both drew their weapons. "We have less then Four months and in that time you'll have but one goal...to defeat me with your combined strength". She met each of their determined gazes with one her own. "Is that understood"?
Jaune and Weiss didn't know a thing about each other but would now have no choice but to rely on one another for the next three months if they wanted to have a chance against their teacher. Although different they both answered the same. "We understand".
Winter charged at them and their less then Four month training began in earnest with Jaune and Weiss having only one goal.
To come out the winners in the end.
And so we got Weiss in the story now. I understand that running into the RWBY girls has been done in almost every story out there but it is RWBY at the end of the day. They were going to play a part in this story because their characters are under Ozpin's faction. Don't worry though cause I've got a part that I need them to play in the future. It's gonna be fun.
