Boredom.
So much of it.
In alarmingly great abundance.
He wished he could just close his eyes and then...
Be in bed, asleep.
Jaune Arc sat slumped in his seat, staring absently at the front of the classroom, where Professor Port was deep into yet another one of his famously long-winded tales. The older professor stood in front of the class, gesturing with exaggerated motions, his mustache practically twitching with excitement as he recounted some adventure from his past.
The room, warm from the mid morning sun filtering through the tall windows, had a hazy, almost dreamlike quality. The quiet hum of students half-listening, half-dozing, mixed with the steady rhythm of Port's booming voice created a background noise that Jaune easily tuned out. It wasn't that he didn't respect Port as a huntsman—far from it. The man had experience, for sure, but the way he told his stories, dripping with self-importance, made them feel more like fairy tales than lessons.
Besides, some of them often felt so far-fetched they could only be matched by Nora's crazy dreams that she insists were regular occurrences in her and Ren's day to day lives.
Jaune shifted slightly in his seat, trying to focus, but his mind wandered back to other things. Including his time here in Beacon, It still felt surreal sometimes, even after the last few months. He remembered his first day so vividly—the initiation, the nerves, the fear that he didn't belong. Well, that one was a little justified given his fake transcripts.
But that wasn't the point!
Even if he hadn't initially belonged. Even if he'd cheated to get into Beacon, lying about his qualifications. Things had changed, maybe he wasn't supposed to be here, leading a team, training to be a huntsman but he'd be damned if he'd give up now. Not after everything, not with so many people depending on him now.
Plus it would be a little pathetic to call it quits now, no such thing as cutting your losses when it came to doing the right thing.
Pyrrah, Nora, Ren, and team RWBY? They all believed in him, all trusted him. He made a face, remembering how Weiss had reacted after hearing the truth about his acceptance to Beacon. Okay, maybe not all of them... But winning Weiss over was still a work in progress, and that was an Arc's promise, dammit!
He glanced over at Pyrrha, seated next to him, her back straight, eyes alert. She was always so poised, so strong. Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl. His partner, his friend—his greatest teacher. She'd been the one to push him, to make him want to be better. Without her, he'd still be fumbling with his sword, barely able to block an attack, let alone lead anyone into battle. But Pyrrha had seen something in him, something not even he himself saw. She'd taken him under her wing, training him after hours, guiding him through techniques and strategies.
He wouldn't have been half the man he was now hadn't it been for her, she'd been the one looking out for him all this time and he honestly didn't know how he'd ever be able to repay her for all she'd done for him. Two months ago he could barely stand up right, now he could hold his own quite decently against some of their peers in combat class.
It wasn't much yet, but it was a far cry from when Cardin would just thrash him around the combat arena without breaking a sweat.
He wouldn't exactly say he wasn't the bumbling, awkward kid he'd been when he arrived at Beacon. But he had grown stronger, and more confident... for sure. If you think about it, his skills with Crocea Mors had improved, his movements more precise, his decisions in battle more calculated. He was better now, way better.
If you compare it to how he was before, things could only go up from this point forward!
"—and there I was, face-to-face with the great beast, its fangs gleaming like polished ivory! It had the strength of ten men, but I—oh, I was not to be deterred!" Port's voice echoed through the classroom, his arms spread wide as he pantomimed some heroic pose. The students around Jaune exchanged glances, most of them barely concealing their boredom.
"And of course," Port continued, his voice lowering slightly, "there are creatures of this world that prey not on the body, but on the mind itself, Apathy, Chill, Nightmare, all of them abominations in the face of nature, the worst of their kind. One must always be vigilant, as I was on that fateful day in the misty glades—" His words served as great background noise if nothing else,"—a vile Grimm which corrupts the minds of those it hunts and preys on their life force. Oh, it nearly had me, whispering its illusions to bring me despair—how utterly quaint. Such a creature would only starve in my presence, I saw through its tricks and sent it running with its tails between its legs. Indeed, it was no match for the glow of my confidence and fortitude!"
Jaune blinked, feeling like he had missed a few important details just then but quickly dismissed it.
"Ah, but enough of that! Where was I? Ah yes, the great Sabertooth! It lunged at me with all its might, but you see, I was ready—"
Jaune glanced out the window. The courtyard outside was peaceful, students milling about in the afternoon light, the silhouette of the Beacon Tower standing tall in the distance. It was hard to believe that danger could be lurking just beyond the horizon, that Grimm were constantly at the borders, waiting for a chance to strike. But that was the reality they lived in.
He turned his gaze back to the classroom. Pyrrha looked on with unwavering focus towards Professor Port, though Jaune could tell she wasn't completely absorbed in the story. She had that look on her face—the one she always got when she was thinking about something more important than what was happening in the moment.
Kind of like him, if he had anything important to think about besides the latest issue of X-ray and vav or the combination to his locker that he always forgets.
As if sensing his gaze, Pyrrha glanced over at him, her emerald eyes soft with concern. She nudged him gently with her elbow, leaning in slightly. "Everything okay, Jaune?" she whispered.
Jaune blinked, startled out of his thoughts. "Huh? Yeah, I'm good, Just... thinking that's all." he whispered back, offering her a small smile.
She raised an eyebrow but didn't press him further. Instead, she gave him a reassuring smile and turned her attention back to the front of the class.
He sighed quietly, running a hand through his messy blonde hair. Beacon had changed him, no doubt about that. He wasn't the same bumbling idiot who had fumbled his way through initiation. But there were days, where he still felt out of his depth somewhat—like he was pretending to be something he wasn't.
The sound of Port's voice was tuned out completely as Jaune's mind continued to wander, wishing for the lesson to end already as he closed his eyes.
And of course, it did, but everything else ended with it.
Would you look at that, peace at last.
"Oooooh Jaune-Jaune! WAKEY WAKEY, SLEEPYHEAD!"
Nora's voice was loud enough to rattle the glass windows of the Grimm Studies classroom. She slammed her fist onto his desk for good measure, causing him to jolt upright.
"Wha—huh? I'm awake, I'm awake!"
He groggily mumbled, eyes snapping open as the classroom came into focus. Jaune with red imprints on his cheek, woke up disoriented, the sharp sound of Nora's voice reverberating in his ears looked around trying to make sense of everything.
"Sleeping through class again?" Ren teased lightly, shouldering his bag with effortless grace.
Jaune rubbed the back of his neck as he stretched, still trying to shake off the drowsiness, while Nora bounced in place. "I wasn't—" he started to protest but quickly realized the futility of arguing with Ren. "—Asleep for that long..."
Port had already dismissed the class, and his teammates were the last ones gathering their things, waiting on him.
The girl grinned like she'd won a prize, as if his confusion was the funniest thing she'd heard all day. "Only for the entire lecture," she teased, giving him a light punch on the arm. "You're lucky professor Pete didn't notice, or you woulda been in trouuuuble~!"
Jaune rubbed the back of his neck, frowning. "Lucky me..."
Pyrrha gave him a soft smile as she gathered her things. "It's been a long week, I'm sure you needed the rest."
"Alright! Enough standing around! It's lunch time and Mama's hungry!" Nora practically sang, bouncing on the balls of her feet, skipping toward the door. "And then—" She threw a few punches in the air. "Maybe break a few legs in combat class!"
"Nora, No running in the halls! Professor Goodwitch's warned your countless times." Ren spoke out behind her as he followed.
Jaune rose slowly, his mind still half-asleep, as Pyrrha approached with a concerned frown. "Are you alright, Jaune?" she asked, her voice soft, as the two of them began walking out together. "You've been out of it this morning."
"I'm fine," Jaune replied, though he knew he didn't sound convincing. His thoughts were still hazy from his unintended nap, "I guess you're right, It's been a long week."
"Well, lunch should help wake you up, we wouldn't want our precious leader to doze off mid-combat class now would we?" Pyrrha offered teasingly, trying to be optimistic as they trailed up the steps out of the classroom, their steps falling into rhythm as they made their way down the hall.
Jaune managed a weak laugh. "Ha ha, very funny Pyrrah."
It wasn't long before they crossed paths with Team RWBY, who were also headed to the cafeteria. Yang was at the forefront, grinning ear to ear like she had some exciting secret she could barely keep to herself.
"—All I'm saying is that I can't wait for tomorrow!" she said, her eyes glinting with anticipation. "Finally, a break from all these boring lectures! I need some action, or I'm gonna lose it! Emerald Forest expedition, baby! Grimm fights, fresh air—what more could you ask for?"
Ruby agreed excitedly. "Oh! Oh! That reminds me! I'm so excited to try out the upgrades on Crescent Rose, Tomorrow's the perfect chance!" Ruby added, her eyes practically sparkling at the thought as she practically skipped forward, her hands miming the motions of swinging her massive scythe. "I've been working on improving the recoil control. It should be a lot smoother in combat now!"
Weiss chimed in, a touch of her usual exasperation. "Don't forget we're also supposed to be learning out there, It's not just a field trip. The last thing we need now is to get ourselves into even more trouble before the semester's through."
"Pffft, yeah whatever, but we'll be learning through Grimm-smashing action! Which is way better than sitting in a classroom listening to Professor Peter snort drone on, eugh" Yang shot back, her grin widening as she continued. "Besides, you do need a break from being so uptight, Weiss. We missed out on all the fun back at the docks, so this should make up for it!"
The white haired girl frowned, including Blake to their side. "...Professor snor—? You mean snore? That's not even the correct tense or ver!—" Her face went completely neutral in resignation, realizing it was another one of her attempts at a "clever" pun. "You know what, never mind."
Yang smirked, shooting her an amused look. "Give up already? I understand, we can't afford to cause a scene and get into trouble now that we're on... thin Weiss."
"Yaaaaanng!" Ruby whined, while Blake shook her head disapprovingly.
Weiss rolled her eyes, but didn't offer a rebuttal.
Blake chimed in, shooting a glance in the sisters' direction. "Weiss is right, you two shouldn't be treating this as a getaway. The Grimm in that part of the forest are tougher, I'm sure you remember initiation." she remarked quietly, her bow twitching as she sensed a group behind them in the halls before narrowing her eyes in annoyance at Yang. "And I wouldn't exactly label that whole affair in the docks as "fun", I think the white fang working with Roman Torchwick warrants a lot more concern than that, Yang."
"Oh come on, ease up kitty cat, we've got this! The way I see it, this is the perfect chance for you to lay low and blow off some steam after all that heavy stuff." Yang explained placatingly as she draped an arm over Blake's shoulder. "Besides, between Ruby's upgrades, Weiss's lack of enthusiasm, and my fists, we're practically gonna give those Grimm genuine hell! And then, once the heat dies down, we'll be back in town kicking some serious ass like it's nobody's biz!"
Ruby was about to shout something about language when an orange blur shot forward between them.
"Hell yeah, tell her!" Nora shouted from behind, jumping between the startled team RWBY (minus Blake). "What are we talking about again?"
Yang quickly recovered as she grinned over her shoulder. "Yo, guys!" she called out, waving team JNPR over. "Ready for some grub?"
"Oh you know it!" Nora replied.
As they reached the cafeteria, the bustling atmosphere hit them. Students from other teams were already scattered around the tables, laughing and chattering between bites of food. Yang's eyes swept across the room as she grabbed a tray. "I hope they've got the spicy noodles today," she mused. Jaune trailed behind, still feeling a bit disconnected from the lively conversation around him. So much so that he didn't even hear Ruby calling his name.
"Jaune? Remnant to Jaune! Anyone there?"
"Huh?" Jaune snapped back to reality, blinking as Ruby waved a hand in front of his face.
"You with us?" Ruby asked, tilting her head slightly. "You looked kinda... zoned out."
Before Jaune could respond, Yang jumped in with a teasing grin. "Thinking of new ways to impress snow angel? Y'know... If you keep running on autopilot like that, you might hit a Weiss-berg." She winked.
Ruby, Blake, and Weiss let out a collective groan, as Jaune frowned. "Really, Yang?"
"Yup! Gotta keep you on your toes, I'm on a roll!" Yang laughed, clapping him on the back before she went serious in the face. "Seriously though, you haven't been all all there today. Cardin isn't bullying you again is he?"
Nora gasped, "Why didn't you say so, Jaune? I'll go snap him in half right now!" Or at least she tried, if it wasn't for Ren holding her by the collar of her school uniform while balancing his own tray with the other hand. "You've seemed distracted since class," He said softly, taking a seat as he let go of the redhead. "You can talk to us if something's bothering you."
Weiss rolled her eyes as she sat down across from them, setting her tray down. "Could you all please stop babying him," she said dismissively. "He's not a child, he can handle himself, for the most part."
Jaune sighed, glancing around the table at his friends' concerned faces. He managed a crooked smile, as he attempted to lighten the mood. "Wow, you guys really have that little faith in me, huh?" he said with a dry chuckle. "I zone out for two seconds, and the first assumption is I'm getting bullied again? That's... encouraging." His smile faltered for a second before he forced it back, a touch tighter now.
Yang tilted her head, eyebrows raised in amusement. "Well, you do have a bit of a track record."
"Yeah, but still," Jaune shrugged, trying to keep it casual, though there was an edge to his voice. "I'd like to think I've moved up from 'Cardin's favorite punching bag' to... I don't know, maybe 'guy who can eat lunch without a rescue team on standby.' Progress, right?"
Pyrrah frowned, clearly not picking up on the humor. "But you would tell us if someone was messing with you, right?"
Jaune's smile wavered, but he quickly covered it up with another forced laugh. "Pyrrah, if someone's messing with me, I'll send up a flare. You'll know. Or, you know, I'll probably just trip over my own feet and it'll solve itself."
Ren's eyes narrowed, studying Jaune as he spoke, but he didn't say anything.
"Anyway," Jaune continued, waving a hand like it was nothing, "I promise, guys. I'm not getting shoved in rocket lockers again or anything. Just thinking. Hard to believe, I know."
The reality was that he spent the previous night reading comics late into the morning, but admitting that was a little embarrassing.
There was a strained pause before Ruby laughed, breaking the tension. "Thinking's a good sign, right? Means your brain's still working."
"Barely," Jaune quipped, though his eyes flickered down for a moment, before he met Ruby's gaze again and the two chuckled at each other. That did manage to ease up his team's concerns, as they all smiled at the duo.
"Besides, I'm well past the point of trying to shoulder everything on my own, learned that the hard way. I got my team now. Isn't that right, guys?" Jaune smiled at the members of team JNPR who nodded in agreement.
"Indeed." Pyrrah smiled back.
"That's right! Team JNPR on top baby! Just you all wait, when the Vytal festival rolls around, we're gonna dominate every other team in the competition," Nora cheered, as Ren nodded, before pointing at team RWBY. "Including you girlies too."
"Cute, she's still day dreaming even now." Yang smirked, as sparks flew between their eyes.
Weiss opened her mouth to argue, but Jaune leaned forward, a playful grin tugging at his lips, eager to shift the conversation. "But you know, Weiss, you're right on one thing. I'm not a kid. I can handle myself, especially when it comes to grabbing dinner after classes sometime. Just you and me snow angel, what do you say?"
Weiss didn't even bother looking up from her tray as she averted her gaze with disinterest. "No."
Jaune blinked, quickly losing steam. The table fell silent again, Ruby quickly ducking her head, pretending to be deeply interested in her drink. "Uh, I mean, we could go somewhere nice. I heard there's this great new restaurant in Vale—"
"No."
His smile faltered, but he pressed on. "You don't even know what I was going to say!"
Weiss finally looked up at him, unimpressed. "I don't need to. The answer is still no."
"Oh, come on, Weiss, I was just—"
She shot him an icy glare, and that stopped him dead in his tracks. He awkwardly cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. "Right. Got it, no big deal you're busy and all haha, yeah..."
Blake turned to Nora, getting the table's attention. "Your team is already off to a bad start, I like our chances at the tournament better."
Ruby stifled a laugh from her seat, and Yang smirked, clearly enjoying the show. "Ouch. Tough break, VB. Guess you'll have to 'cool it' with the flirting."
Jaune placed his face in his hands. "This is never gonna stop is it?"
"Never!"
Jaune sighed dramatically, leaning back in his chair in defeat. "Can't a guy catch a break?"
Pyrrha offered him a sympathetic smile and gave him a soft pat on the back, though there was a flicker of something else behind her eyes—something that vanished as quickly as it appeared. "It was a good try, Jaune, not many would be brave enough." she said, her voice gentle. "Maybe next time."
He grimaced in return, "You always know the right words..."
Weiss took offense to that, "Please do not encourage him, Pyrrah."
Nora, sensing the slight dip in mood, pounded her fists on the table, nearly sending her tray flying. "Who cares about stupid dates, Jaune! We've got way more important stuff to look forward to—like slaying Grimm tomorrow! Now that's fun! Way better than any boring dinner plans!"
She beamed at him, but then her gaze shifted ever so slightly toward Ren. "I mean… some dates aren't necessarily stupid, and dinners don't have to always be boring..." she added, her voice suddenly softer, before quickly snapping back to her usual volume. "But still! Grimm! We're gonna be knee-deep in monster guts by this time tomorrow!"
Jaune chuckled, "You know what, Nora? You're right. Slicing up Grimm is way more my speed… I think."
Ruby perked up, "Speaking of speed—wait 'til you see what I did with Crescent Rose!" she chimed in, her silver eyes sparkling. "I made some tweaks to the recoil system, and it's gonna be so much faster!"
Weiss, leaning on one hand, raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Let's just hope it doesn't explode again," she said dryly, recalling a recent training incident.
Ruby's face turned a bit red, and she waved her hands defensively. "That wasn't my fault! That was a squib! I fixed it!"
Blake commented with an amused hum. "You do have a tendency to explode a lot now that I think about it."
Ruby turned toward her, eyes wide and betrayed. "That was one time! It was an accident—an accident! And if you really wanna think about it, it was more so—" she insisted, before pointing at Weiss only to freeze as she saw the heiress's icy gaze. "—My fault for being dumb and stupid in the general area..." She deflated and backed down sullenly.
Yang chuckled at her sister, before turning to her other two teammates. "Look at you two, you've been on the same page a lot ever since the docks." she commented with a raised brow, grinning as Weiss and Blake avoided her gaze.
"You're imagining things, Xiao Long." "No clue what you're on about."
Jaune chuckled to himself at that before he began poking at his food unenthusiastically, "I think weapon malfunctions will be the least of our worries..."
"Just trust your training and everything will be fine, Jaune." Pyrrha's voice pulled him back again, her tone softer this time. "We've got your back."
"Yeah… thanks, Pyrrha."
Yang smirked. "Don't worry, we'll make sure you don't end up as Grimm food. At least… not right away."
The group's erupted in laughter, Jaune gave her a mock indignant glare before he joined in as well, eventually the conversation shifted as Nora entered another one of her dream episodes. An overwhelmed Jaune and Pyrrah listened to her, as Ren intervened from time to time to divert some of the pressure. Yang and Ruby continued to talk about their weapons, with Blake chiming in every now and then. Weiss, ever the perfectionist, began going over her notes for the upcoming classes.
Lunch was soon over, and they all stood up and left the cafeteria for their next class.
Jaune's breath burned in his chest, muscles taut as he glared across the arena at Russel Thrush.
The soft buzz of the overhead lights casting long shadows across the gleaming floor and the faint hum of the crowd seemed to blur into the background. His heartbeat thudded in his ears as he tightened his grip around Crocea Mors, his shield raised just enough to obscure the dagger-wielding threat before him.
Russel bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, his daggers twirling in his hands like vipers preparing to strike. "You ready to end this, Arc?" His voice dripped with arrogance, his body a coil of energy waiting to spring. "This'll be quick. Try not to cry when you lose."
Jaune clenched his teeth. Russel had every reason to be confident—he was fast, agile, and could dance around opponents with ease when they didn't happen to be Pyrrah Nikos or Yang Xiao Long. But Jaune wasn't here to lose, and he wasn't about to be deterred by small time smack talk. His eyes locked on Russel's daggers, his mind racing to track every twitch and shift in the boy's movements.
Suddenly, Russel burst forward in a blur of speed. Jaune barely had time to react before the first strike came crashing against his shield. The force rattled his bones, sending a numbing shockwave up his arm. Jaune grunted, bracing himself as Russel twisted mid-air, flipping over him with ridiculous agility. Before Jaune could fully turn, the next slash whistled toward his exposed flank.
Pain flared as one of Russel's daggers grazed his arm, his aura flickering. Jaune staggered, gritting his teeth against the sharp sting. "Damn it..." His breath hitched, but he managed to bring his sword up just in time to block the next strike. Russel moved like water, slithering around Jaune's defenses, his daggers flashing like fangs in the low light.
The audience murmured in awe, watching the high-speed assault unfold. Jaune caught snippets of cheers from Ruby and Nora, but they felt distant, like echoes in a tunnel. He couldn't afford distractions—not now.
Russel feigned a strike to Jaune's left, then slipped to the right, aiming a vicious blow toward his ribs. Jaune barely managed to twist his shield into place, the impact jarring his entire body. He could feel his stamina draining, his muscles aching from the constant barrage.
Pyrrha had drilled the importance of patience into him, over and over. Russel's attacks, flashy as they were, had a rhythm. Every spin, every leap—it all followed a pattern, and while he wasn't as fast or agile as Thrush, he knew one thing for certain.
He just had to break it.
Russel lunged again, his daggers a silver blur, but Jaune had already taken a half-step back, letting the blade slice the air where his chest had been a moment before. He didn't counter immediately, holding back as he studied the way Russel moved—the tilt of his shoulders, the shift in his hips before each strike. Jaune's mind pieced together the openings. They were there, small but exploitable.
As Russel flipped over him once more, Jaune saw his chance. He raised his shield just in time, catching the edge of Russel's dagger mid-descent. The impact reverberated through his shield, and he used the momentum to shove Russel back, hard. The smaller fighter stumbled, his balance momentarily thrown off.
Without missing a beat, Jaune pivoted and slammed the edge of his shield into Russel's side, sending him crashing to the ground with a gasp. The crowd erupted into a mixture of cheers and gasps as Russel rolled to his feet. Something in the back of Jaune's mind told him it was partly due to the fact he wasn't the one down on the floor clutching himself in pain yet.
Russel darted forward again, his movements faster, more desperate now. His daggers whirled in vicious arcs, each one aimed to slice through Jaune's defenses. But Jaune wasn't going to let him regain control. Instead of trying to match Russel's speed, he focused on economy—small, precise movements, blocking only what he had to, waiting for the moment Russel overextended.
The tension in the arena was palpable as the back-and-forth exchange intensified. Jaune could feel his muscles screaming with every block, the shield rattling in his grip as Russel's relentless strikes continued to rain down. Jaune's eyes widened, momentarily losing grip of his shield as it fell from his hand and bounced away.
Still, it wasn't the end of the world. With each pass, Jaune saw it—Russel's impatience growing, his footwork becoming sloppy. Losing the shield had instilled a false sense of confidence in the boy, and the next part came to Jaune easily.
There. He saw his opening.
As Russel lunged for his side, Jaune twisted his body, letting the blade pass harmlessly by. In the same motion, he swung Crocea Mors with all his might, the blade crashing against one of Russel's daggers with a sharp, metallic ring. The force of the impact sent the dagger spiraling out of Russel's hand, clattering to the floor several feet away.
Russel's eyes went wide in shock, his confidence shattered. Jaune charged, catching Russel squarely in the jaw with his fist. The blow sent him stumbling backward, and Jaune followed it up with a powerful diagonal slash across his chest, the force knocking him to the ground. His aura flickered, as he scrambled to his feet, one dagger left in his grip.
The crowd (Mainly Nora, Ruby and now Yang and Pyrrah.) roared with excitement, watching the shift in momentum as Jaune advanced on Russel, cutting him down bit by bit as the green-haired boy struggled to defend himself against the onslaught. Jaune could see the panic in his eyes now, the uncertainty that hadn't been there before, his movements all rushed, his confidence all but drained.
The vibrant orange glow of his aura meter was close to dimming to a dangerous red.
Jaune pressed the advantage, he did a combat roll to avoid a panicked swipe before he slashed Russel's knee from behind, forcing him down on one leg. With one final calculated strike, he caught the remaining dagger on his sword and wrenched it away, sending it clattering to the side as well. He grabbed the immobilized Russel's hand and held him in place as he struck him in the side of the head with the pommel of Crocea Mors before finishing him off with a swift kick to the chest, which sent him sprawling to the ground.
Russel lay there groaning in agony, gasping for air, his aura finally reaching the red.
The rest of the lights turned on with a loud buzz.
"Match over!" Professor Goodwitch's voice cut through the air, her eyes appraising both fighters. "Winner, Jaune Arc."
The arena fell silent for a beat, then erupted in applause. Normally, that would only be reserved for Pyrrah systematically dismantling her opponents, but now the pleasure was all his. Jaune stood over Russel, chest heaving, sweat dripping down his face, it felt good to be the one standing victorious for a change, and the audience clearly agreed.
Jaune lowered his sword, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths, the rush of victory slowly sinking in. "Well fought, both of you," she began, her tone measured but firm. "However, there are several areas where improvement is needed."
She turned first to Russel, who had finally managed to sit up. "Mr. Thrush, your agility and acrobatics are impressive but they can only take you so far if you rely too heavily on your speed to overwhelm your opponent. You need to develop more versatility in your attacks—predictability can be exploited, as we saw today."
Russel groaned, his face flushed with both exhaustion and embarrassment. The screen above displayed their current Aura meters, Russel was at 13% while Jaune was at 40%.
Goodwitch turned her attention to Jaune. "Mr. Arc, you've shown remarkable improvement these last few weeks. You adapted well to Russel's tactics and used his own momentum against him. However, your movements are still too rigid at times. You must learn to be more fluid between defense and offense. Don't let yourself be boxed into one role or your opponents will chip away at you bit by bit and dismantle your defense."
"And," Goodwitch added, her tone softer, "you've been consistent with your wins recently. Keep this up, and you may surprise yourself."
A small smile tugged at Jaune's lips. "Thank you, Professor."
With the fight concluded, the two students collected their weapons and made their way back as Goodwitch called for another pair to enter, some murmuring in surprise about Jaune's victory, while others congratulated him as he passed.
"Way to go, Jaune! That was awesome!" Ruby's voice was the first to reach him, filled with excitement, her wide grin nearly splitting her face with Blake next to her giving him two thumbs up.
Nora, who had been bouncing on her toes with excitement, suddenly rushed forward and grabbed Jaune in a bone-crushing hug. "You did it again, fearless leader!" she squealed, practically lifting him off the ground. "You're on a winning streak! It was so cool watching you knock that guy around! You were like 'whoosh' and then he was all 'oof' and let's not forget that brutal kick to wrap it all up!"
Jaune gasped for air as Nora finally released him, her energy infectious even as his ribs screamed in protest. He chuckled despite the pain. "Yeah… thanks, Nora."
"That was a solid performance," Ren added calmly, standing beside Nora with a nod of approval. "You've made a lot of progress, Jaune. It's good to see your hard work paying off."
"Gee Ren, I don't know if I would say that myself," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I kinda got beat up pretty bad there the first half."
"Aw, don't sell yourself short," Yang chimed in, striding up next to Ruby with her usual swagger. Her blonde hair shimmered in the light as she gave Jaune a playful punch on the arm—just hard enough to sting. "You've been consistently getting to the end of all your fights with half your aura intact! You're on a roll, VB."
"Thanks… I guess?"
Yang grinned wider, leaning in. "I gotta say, you need to work on that offense dude. Seriously, he had you spinning in circles. Though, who knows, soon enough maybe you'll be ready to face someone way tougher—Like me."
Jaune shook his head, but he couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. It was a lighthearted jab, but coming from Yang, it felt more like a badge of honor than an insult.
"You did great, Jaune." Pyrrha's voice was softer, but filled with pride, her eyes shining warmly. "You kept your composure, and you adapted to his movements. That's exactly what we've been working on." She placed a hand on his shoulder, her touch light but steady. "I'm proud of you."
The genuine warmth in her words made Jaune's chest tighten. Pyrrha had spent so much time training him, and seeing that smile on her face made the bruises and cuts worth it.
"I couldn't have done it without you, partner." Jaune's cheeks flushed slightly from the compliments, but before he could respond, a familiar, cooler voice cut through the chatter.
"I suppose even a broken clock is right twice a day."
Weiss.
The white-haired heiress approached, her arms crossed and her expression as icy as ever. She gave Jaune a curt glance, her eyebrow raised in that ever-dismissive way she had. "Not bad, Arc. Though, honestly, I'm surprised you managed to win at all, which seems to be a recurring trend these last couple of weeks."
Jaune blinked, unsure if it was an insult or backhanded praise. Maybe it was both. With Weiss, it was always hard to tell.
"Uh, thanks?" He scratched the back of his head, trying to gauge her tone.
Weiss rolled her eyes. "You still need to work on your form. That shield of yours is practically begging to be knocked out of your hand if you don't grip it properly, which it did."
"Well, I'll make sure to do that next time, then." Jaune tried to hold back a grin. Weiss's cold remarks might've stung at first, but he'd learned to hear the subtle hints of approval in her words. Even if it was wrapped in layers of frost, she was acknowledging his effort.
"See?" Yang nudged him with her elbow again, winking. "Weiss is basically giving you a gold star. That's practically a standing ovation coming from her!"
Weiss shot Yang a sharp glare. "I do not hand out gold stars. This is simply constructive criticism."
Yang smirked. "Right. And if Jaune keeps this up, maybe you'll even start rooting for him."
Weiss huffed, turning her head away. "Don't be ridiculous."
Pyrrha giggled softly at the exchange, while Ruby simply grinned, bouncing on her heels. "You're doing great, Jaune! Maybe one day you'll even catch up to me!" she teased playfully, flashing him a wink. "Keep this up, and you might actually be able to handle yourself in the Emerald Forest tomorrow."
"You don't randomly explode, so I think you're already halfway there Jaune." Blake smirked, as Yang patted him on the back hard enough to nearly knock him forward while Ruby spluttered in the background.
And with that, they all took their seats and watched over the next matches. Jaune let out a long breath, feeling the tension of the fight finally start to leave his body. If every day at Beacon was spent like this from now, he'd be the happiest Huntsman alive.
For however long Huntsmen usually lived for, anyway.
Chapter end.
New story for the Kreisler, the AOT stories streak is finally broken!
Some of you who follow my other works know I've been meaning to make a RWBY story for a while now, and while this one in particular isn't the one I had in mind at the time it's definitely one of many that will be coming out soon. (See? I can write about other characters other than Floch Forster hihihi) Anyway, the rest are still WIPs since they're quite long, but this one will be about half the length of my longest story "Seeking the devil", and possibly the first story to have weekly updates (let's only hope this holds true.)
So yeah, you might have figured by the dialogue and the narration but this story takes place between the last episode of Volume 1 and the first of Volume 2. Normally, there wouldn't be a lot of character development to work with but I did have this idea of, what if a Grimm creature literally brought out the worst in everybody and they had to sort through all of their issues together (or alone) early on during beacon and come out better for it.
The first chapter while sweet and positive on the surface is but an introduction, the story will focus on some heavy and serious concepts, and will often enter the disturbing territory as it progresses, the rating should be indicative of that alone. Jaune is obviously the default choice to center around given that he's going to play an important role (along with Ren at times) but he won't hog the spotlight as you'll see in the coming chapters.
Of course, valid criticisms are greatly appreciated for me to improve any inaccuracies or otherwise.
With that said, that'll be all, thanks for reading and until next chapter.