Roy raised his personalized rapier in the air and brought it down angrily on the skull of one of the holograms, the panting from effort and the burning in his throat had become much more present in him for a few minutes, even so, he was not going to stop.
The boy raised his gaze from the ground, his blue eyes filled with determination recognizing the rest of the bluish holograms with humanoid shapes, their somewhat elongated and expressionless bodies should have made the boy's stomach twist, his current state only allowed him to scream with rage.
Roy suddenly stood up, the holograms moved towards him in a somewhat exaggerated and grotesque way, bending their limbs and finally attacking the boy, Roy moved his rapier to the sides in an improvised spin, managing to hit his targets, the force of the spin made him flip over and hit the ground, forcing him to get up even if his body couldn't take it anymore.
It was depressing.
The boy's feet trembled as he stood again, panting in an attempt not to think about the pain his body was suffering from merely being conscious, a trio of holograms appeared around him, causing him to grip his rapier with almost non-existent strength.
They were too fast, was all Roy could think as the holograms moved at a speed that wasn't actually that fast but it was fast enough for him, hitting him in his weak points and stunning him, one of them grabbed him directly by his coat and simply threw him like a rag doll, slamming into the reinforced wall and falling to the ground silently.
"End of training" A synthetic voice spoke, Roy slowly looked up, meeting another hologram, this time, of Penny Polendina herself "Can you stand up? Roy Schnee?"
"Of course I can" Roy muttered with irritation clear in his voice, standing up and dragging himself to the exit hatch, he entered the room where various teachers from the Atlas Academy had been watching him, he couldn't quite recognize everyone, but he did recognize Velvet Scarlatina, Harriet Bree, Neptune Vasilias, and Neon Katt.
"You should have given up a few minutes ago" Harriet commented, dressed in a white uniform with blue details, loosely fitted and with the kingdom's symbol printed on her chest, her tough appearance had been maintained over the years and her iconic mohawk was practically intact "But you did well, boy, you just need a little more time"
"With the information, we can look for some supplements so that your stamina and aura can last longer" Velvet said absentmindedly, looking at her tablet at the information obtained thanks to the destroyed holograms "I'll send Jaune the list in a few hours, if you want you can check out the campus-"
"I don't need medicine, I'm not sick" Roy growled, clutching his chest tightly, Neptune grabbed his shoulder to steady him and prevent him from fainting "I just need to train more"
"Well, you should rethink your training" Neptune replied with a small laugh, receiving a disapproving look from the rest of the teachers "I didn't mean it that way, maybe you should do aura exercises or take power-ups from time to time, you know, you're Jaune's son and-"
"He's a walking aura tank, I know that" Roy pushed Neptune's hand off his shoulder, walking quickly towards the exit and retreating from the room, making an inhuman effort to ignore the comments made about him by the teachers of the Atlas academy.
He could already guess what they were about, how impressive it was that the son of Weiss and Jaune Schnee was not able to finish the morning exercise that the Atlas students take, that his aura was tiny compared to his father's, or that his endurance and ability to maneuver was pitiful if someone watched videos of Weiss when she was younger.
All those comments didn't put pressure on him, they just bothered him more and more.
"I have to go" A voice interrupted Roy's mental evaluation, as he turned around, he recognized his father's figure, his white armor with silver details was absent, replaced by a tight black shirt with a rabbit symbol in the center, his baggy pants and heavy boots gave him a different air than the White Knight, the most popular Huntsman in all of Atlas.
Jaune Schnee hadn't changed that much over the years, he got rid of his banana hairstyle since he got married and left his birth name behind, his blonde hair with white streaks was now perfectly straight, tied in a small ponytail that his wife tied every morning, his face was adorned with two waves of his hair, he was still capable of making single mothers in the kingdom cry.
"From the look on your face, I can tell you didn't do well" Jaune commented slowly, making sure not to upset his son "But you still made it past the first training?"
"Yeah" Roy muttered in response, his father's eyes lighting up, though he quickly dimmed them as he continued "But I got beat up in the second phase, I got tired too quickly"
"You're taking training from fourth-year students" Jaune looked to the side, feeling the gaze of the academy students on him and his son "You should slow down, maybe start with the training used in the entrance exam"
"I've been training for as long as I can remember, you and mom just think I'm made of glass or something" Roy shook his head, frowning at his father "You don't even train with me at full strength, mom just uses Beowolves on me, what the hell is wrong with you two?"
"You should be aware of your condition" Jaune raised his voice a little more, somewhat more agitated by his son's tone of contempt "You're not like the rest, Roy, you get tired very quickly and a couple of hits put you on the ground. Your mother and I are simply teaching you what we knew before Beacon"
"Before Beacon?" Roy asked, a hoarse laugh coming from his throat "You cheated to get in, you didn't even have an aura before you entered and you would have died at initiation if you didn't get help!"
"Roy!" Jaune finally raised his voice, causing the students walking around to stop, the blonde groaned in defeat, feeling the contempt-filled gaze of his son "I'm sorry-"
"If you don't even want to train me, if I don't even inherit your damn aura, then there's no point in you being my father" Roy hissed with a totally new venom in his voice, without waiting for an answer he walked past his father and silently down the hallway until he reached the entrance of the academy, exiting and finding the family limo, he frowned and simply turned in the opposite direction, heading home himself.
The road was long and strange, the looks of the citizens on him were not overwhelming or anything like that, his head was too wrapped up in everything surrounding his current situation, he inherited from his mother the bad habit of overthinking things and evaluating every existing possibility that could have changed his current situation, unfortunately for him, he did not have that advantage.
Roy born much earlier than he was supposed to have been, 7 months had passed when Weiss felt that her baby could not wait any longer, the hours of childbirth were extremely tense while the baby's life was at risk, including Weiss's own, it was 30 agonizing hours for the Schnee family, Winter even flew to Atlas to be able to support her sister, even if she herself was pregnant.
The impact was enormous, Roy was stillborn and Weiss's panic had not helped at all, the doctors stated that it was almost a miracle that the newborn's heart started beating again after resuscitating him, the trauma suffered by Jaune and Weiss was not a mystery to the baby.
Roy grew up being overprotected, he got sick often and the visits to the hospital didn't hurt financially, but they did emotionally. Weiss feared that her son could die at any moment, Jaune had to convince her by force to go back to work, while they looked for a way to take care of the baby who seemed to want to die at inopportune moments.
Winter arrived as the couple's savior, Waylon had been born a few months after Roy, and both cousins became inseparable even as babies, they did absolutely everything together while growing up, Weiss and Jaune calmed down because the child's health began to improve, the doctors credited it to the passage of time and the child's very positive mood.
The years passed and they simply grew closer, training together whenever they could, Roy begged his parents to train him the same way Winter trained Waylon, but they refused, stating that they wanted to protect him from any serious injury.
At first he understood, but when his parents agreed to train him, something just wasn't right, they were too careful and didn't make any real effort to genuinely fight him, it was becoming more and more difficult for Roy to keep up with Waylon, who already knew the basics of multiple weapons, while Roy was just learning how to use his rapier.
Before he knew it, Waylon walked away, the argument they had was too much for both of them, Roy still remembers with pain how his cousin called him weak and useless, that he didn't need to be dragged into failure by him, and simply walked away, they haven't seen each other since that moment, and Roy has dedicated himself to holding a grudge against him ever since.
His main motivation is to surpass him at all costs.
Roy arrived at Schnee Manor after walking for hours, the limo wasn't there, so he assumed his father wasn't in the mood to return after their little argument, he was greeted by the multiple servants and butlers the family had, Roy greeted them respectfully, he didn't have the same confidence to simply yell at them, so acting normal was the best he could do.
Schnee Manor was one of the few things that were saved when Atlas fell, the mansion was practically left intact and abandoned in the middle of the ice, the only thing left in the same state was the Blood mansion, a family almost as powerful as the Schnee in Atlas, even for centuries.
Roy went up to his room, but not before looking at the portrait of his family, almost identical to the same painting that his grandfather Jacques had hung in the mansion, they were all there, Weiss was holding him, while Jaune was holding Waverly, his older sister.
He missed her so much.
Roy shook his head and continued on his way, reaching his room. When he opened the door, a girl with dull gray hair appeared, her kind and sweet eyes were silver, Roy smiled when he saw her.
Yaeko Hazuki, his personal maid.
Yaeko had practically been born in Schnee Manor and had been raised there all her life, being assigned to be Roy's friend due to his health condition in the past, their friendship had become practically unbreakable after so many years of being together, she was his best friend and nothing could change that, even if her role in the mansion was to be a servant.
"Master Roy" Yaeko bowed her head forward in respect, putting aside the bookshelf full of books she was cleaning "I see you've returned from your training"
"There's no need to be so formal when we're alone" Roy said, holding back his laughter. Yaeko sighed lightly, her cheeks turning a soft pink "…Is my mother home already?"
"Klein's funeral isn't over yet" Yaeko said, a hint of sadness now adorning her melodious voice "She'll be back soon, anyway"
Klein Sieben was the most loyal and important servant to the Schnee family for decades, since he was hired by Jacques Schnee too many years ago he was in charge of raising the family's children in a certain way, even being their guardian in Vacuo when Atlas fell, to the family's misfortune, Klein died due to his advanced age.
Winter, Weiss and Whitley all attended the funeral, including Roy's sister Waverly, who suddenly stopped a mission to say goodbye to the man she considered her grandfather.
The only ones who didn't go were Roy himself and Waylon Branwen.
Weiss was angry with her son for his decision to stay in the city to try his luck with the academy training, even so they did not discuss the subject much, the boy could bitterly remember the disappointment that was so present in his mother's eyes.
"Maybe she'll scold me when he gets back" Roy lay down on his wide, perfectly made bed, Yaeko frowned at the sight of her ruined work once again, still, she lay down next to the blue-eyed boy, watching him closely "And she would have plenty of reasons to do so, I failed again"
"I know you will make it" Yaeko said softly, leaning her hand down to stroke Roy's hair, the boy's sad and complicated expression sparked curiosity in the silver-eyed girl's spirit, who couldn't help but ask "Did something happen?"
"I argued with my dad, I basically complained about him not pushing me to become stronger" Roy said calmly, feeling Yaeko's caresses on his head "I think maybe I was too harsh"
Yaeko sighed, removing her hand from Roy's hair "If I may give my opinion, I think you've been missing the point for years because of your parents' actions"
"What do you mean?" Roy asked, turning his head to look her straight in the eyes.
"I mean, they've been trying to protect you from the world for years, even if your dream is to be a Huntsman, you're more fragile than the rest, what do you think they'd feel if you died from a simple accident?" She asked, Roy looked away thoughtfully, giving Yaeko the chance to continue "It's normal for you to feel remorse, because deep down you feel grateful for everything they've given you, sometimes we say things in the heat of the moment, things we don't really mean, we just need to ask for forgiveness from time to time"
"You're the best psychologist I've ever had" Roy smiled sweetly, receiving a punch on the shoulder from Yaeko, both teenagers heard the sound of a vehicle stopping in a somewhat muffled manner, Yaeko quickly stood up, fixing her uniform and resuming her task, whistling shamelessly, Roy looked at her gratefully one last time, before getting off.
…
Jaune Schnee looked carefully and nostalgically at the many photos and paintings that adorned the mansion's living room, his own family had shared moments that they immortalized in images, and the occasional video, from time to time he would stay for hours reliving memories, although after his son's argument, he decided to see it more as a reflection of how much he had grown.
"Hey" Roy suddenly appeared behind his father, looking at the photo Jaune was staring at "That was my first day of kindergarten, right?"
"You were scared that we would leave you alone" Jaune replied, caressing the picture gently with his thumb "You were so small…and yet you seemed to want to challenge the world even with your condition"
Roy bit his lip, feeling his stomach churn "I'm sorry about how I said that earlier, dad, It was really rude of me and I didn't mean it, you're a great father and you're just trying to protect me"
Jaune nodded, grabbing his son by the shoulder and leading him to the couch, both of them sitting in silence for a few seconds, while the man thought about how to put his thoughts into words.
"I entered Beacon being a failure to my father" Jaune began to speak, looking at the ground with bitter nostalgia "Being an Arc was harder than I thought, my aura hadn't appeared and I was very clumsy with the sword, so, to prove that I was worth enough, I stole Crocea Mors and forged some papers, I arrived at Beacon a few days later, without knowing anything about anything"
Jaune finally looked up, facing his son "There was this girl, Pyrrha Nikos, she noticed my incompetence and lack of qualities, and yet she trusted me and saw potential that no one had seen, she unlocked my aura, taught me how to fight, and listened to all my stupid ideas for team attacks…she had a crush on me, I didn't feel the same way that strongly, I was more busy chasing your mother around with a guitar I found on sale"
Roy laughed lightly, while Jaune continued "You were right about one thing, I was a nobody before I entered Beacon, but now I am a somebody thanks to all the people who have supported me, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Oscar, your mother, even yourself and your sister give me the strength to continue…and I know that when you enter Beacon, you will find people who will give you that strength that you do not have on your own"
Roy nodded, finally understanding his father's situation in the past and feeling a little worse for how he had treated him a few hours ago, Jaune read his son's mind perfectly, and without thinking much, he surrounded his shoulders with his arms, drawing him into a soft and warm hug.
Roy closed his eyes gently, feeling the remorse leave his body, now being replaced by a warm and pleasant feeling of protection.
One that he wanted others to feel.