A Semblance of Emotion 003 (Patreon)

Despite any nerves and excitement he felt, Jaune slept like a log. Waking up bright and early, full of energy and ready to confront his destiny, he showered and got dressed in his combat gear the first chance he got. Thankfully, he didn’t forget his locker number like he feared he would but when he returned from the showers, two girls were blocking the way. Why they picked his locker to have their conversation in front of was anyone’s guess but he needed to stow away his backpack and retrieve his weapon, meaning that he needed to get them to either move or give way.

Unfortunately, one of the girls was Weiss Schnee.

He had learned that apparently she was a pretty big deal, the heiress of some company or some such but that wasn’t really the problem. The problem was that she was absolutely gorgeous – and that she had a bit of a temper to match. Jaune had watched her argue with Ruby and Yang for nearly half an hour over the most trivial of things, and as much as he wished to capture the attention of such a beautiful young woman, he could really do without that type of smoke.

The girl she was speaking with was, if possible, just as stunning. Crimson red hair pulled back in an attractive, simple ponytail contrasted sharply with Weiss’ own snow white hair tied to the side in a very unique sidetail. Where Weiss was short and petite, this girl was tall and broad of shoulder, a powerful build that resembled that of an athlete. Emerald green eyes popped like gems containing clear warmth, a counter to the chips of icy blue diamonds that Weiss wielded like a scalpel. They couldn’t be any different, and yet they both stole his breath when he spotted them side-by-side.

All the girls here really were models, it was insane.

And he had to speak to them. Not just speak to them, he amended quickly, but ask them to move aside.

Just his luck.

Taking a deep breath, he set his shoulders and approached. They were both dressed in what he assumed to be their combat attire, their weapons already by their sides. He spotted a shield on the crimson haired girl’s back with the hilt of what he assumed was a sword sticking out over her shoulder while Weiss had a very slender, needle-like blade strapped to her hip. It was a rapier of some kind with a strange chamber by the hilt and it wasn’t until he got closer that he realized that it contained Dust.

“Excuse me,” he said, drawing their attention. Weiss’ eyes narrowed instantly, sizing him up while the crimson haired girl gave him a look of trepidation. Now that he was right in front of her, he thought she looked familiar.

“Yes?” Weiss said waspishly. “Wait – you are that boy from last night. John, was it?”

“Jaune,” he corrected. “Can I get to my locker?” he gestured behind her. “I need to get my weapon.”

“Of course,” the other girl quickly stepped back, giving him space. After a moment, Weiss followed her example, creating enough room for him to slip between.

“Thank you,” he nodded, shooting them a quick smile before swiping his scroll and inputting the code. The door sprung open and he moved to grab Crocea Mors. His fingers had barely curled around the hilt of his sword when Weiss loudly cleared her throat.

“Don’t you know who this is?”

Jaune jerked back as Weiss leaned into his personal space, partly in surprise and partly because if she got any closer, she would definitely see the effect she could have on him. A thin, red scar marred her incredible features, cutting through the brow above her left eye and down onto her cheek. Strangely enough, he didn’t think it detracted from her good looks at all.

“Uh,” he glanced at the other girl. “No? She does look a little familiar, I admit – but I can’t quite place her.”

Weiss scoffed. “This is Pyrrha Nikos.”

“Hello,” Pyrrha greeted, giving him a little wave.

Jaune looked her up and down. “The name does ring a bell,” he admitted. He noticed quickly that this was apparently not what she wanted to hear, a small frown furrowing her brow. He quickly tried to salvage the situation. “Uh – I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Pyrrha graduated at the top of her class at Sanctum.”

“Oh,” Jaune gave Pyrrha a look of respect. “You must be pretty good then, huh?”

The startled look on her face was much more preferable to a frown.

“She has won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row. A new record.” Weiss continued.

He didn’t know what that was but it sounded impressive.

“Scratch that. You must be really good.” Jaune corrected. “I don’t know what the Mistral Regional Tournament is but winning it four times in a row sounds difficult.”

Weiss clucked her tongue irritably.

“Wait a minute,” he said before Weiss could continue her tirade, the figurative light bulb going off in his head. He knew why Pyrrha was so familiar now. “Aren’t you on the front of Pumpkin Pete’s Marshmallow Flakes?” How he hadn’t recognized her immediately was a mystery; he’d eaten his fair share of those over the years. “They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters.”

“Yeah – it was pretty cool,” Pyrrha smiled, slightly abashed. “Sadly the cereal isn’t very good for you.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. “That is what you know her from?”

Jaune shrugged. “Yeah. Aren’t you also pretty famous or something? Blake mentioned something about it last night when you were arguing with Ruby and Yang.”

He didn’t mention that Blake also seemed to have an issue with her, though Jaune couldn’t even begin to speculate on why. He had a feeling it went beyond the petty squabbles between teenagers like it was with Ruby and Weiss but that was the extent of it. She certainly had a talent of rubbing people the wrong way, though she didn’t strike Jaune as a bad person. Prickly? Definitely. But not bad.

Weiss raised her hand, finger pointed but when she opened her mouth, no words escaped, only a strangled sound that was an attempt at communication. Jaune gave her a worried look.

“I think you broke her,” Pyrrha said in amusement.

“I didn’t mean to,” he said, shaking his head. “Well – it was a pleasure to meet you, Pyrrha.”

She nodded gracefully. “It was nice to meet you too, Jaune.”

He spotted Ren and Nora as he was leaving the locker rooms, waving. Once Nora saw him, she made a beeline over to him, dragging her friend behind her.

“Morning~!” she announced, beaming.

“Hey guys,” he greeted. “Ready for the big day?”

“Are we ever~!” Nora pumped her fist, fired up instantly. “I hope we are on the same team. I don’t want to be paired off with jerks.” She pulled a face, poking out her tongue as if disgusted.

Jaune nodded. “Yeah, that would be great if we could stick together.”

The Huntsman that trained him in swordsmanship had mentioned that the academies tended to place them in teams but he hadn’t mentioned how these teams were formed. A four man squad, a pair of partners grouped together; from then on, they were to be your family away from home or so the man claimed. Jaune wondered if it had something to do with their grades, but he hadn’t gone to a combat school. How would they judge him? All the rumors he had heard from the other prospective students hadn’t done much to shed any light on the topic. They were all just as clueless as he was.

“Would all first year students please report to Beacon cliff for initiation,” the familiar voice of Glynda Goodwitch sounded out from the PA system. “Again, all first year students report to Beacon cliff immediately.”

“Well,” Jaune gave his new friends a smile. “That’s us.”

The walk over took a little under ten minutes, the winding path taking them from the school proper and through a grassy field filled with wildflowers and up onto a cliff ledge that oversaw a great forest spread out to Beacon’s south east. In the distance were the mountains that afforded the kingdom such great protection from the Grimm, towering along the horizon with snowy peaks. It was such a picturesque setting. When faced with something like this, it was easy to forget that those lush trees hid within creatures hell bent on their destruction. Remnant was so beautiful – and so dangerous.

The students that had arrived before them were lined up, shoulder to shoulder and Ren pointed out something interesting as they approached.

“What are those pads?” he asked, brow furrowed briefly as he examined them. They were small and square in shape, made of metal and not much larger than a foot across both ways. When Jaune stepped onto one of them, he tapped his boot against it and found them reasonably sturdy but hollow underneath.

Nora took a place next to him, while Ren stood on her other side. On Jaune’s left was a tall boy, the one he had spotted on the airship with the armor. Jaune was tall but this guy made him look short, a good head taller and built like a bull. When he glanced his way, Jaune noticed the cocksure grin and arrogant glint in his eye, his hands planted squarely on his hips. Further down he noticed Blake and when their eyes met, she nodded, a small grin tugging at her lips.

Pyrrha and Weiss lined up beyond Ren with Ruby and Yang hurrying into position after them, bringing up the rear. All in all, there were about fifty prospective students, human and faunus-alike.

“Good morning,” someone said from behind them, and then Headmaster Ozpin stepped out onto the cliff's edge, a steaming mug clasped in hand. Goodwitch followed after him, tablet cradled against her chest as she scanned the gathered students.

“For years, you have trained to become warriors and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest,” Ozpin started, his voice even as he surveyed the students much like Goodwitch had done before him. “I’m sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates – today.”

Ruby made a little sound of distress, obvious in the silence after Ozpin’s words. Goodwitch shot her a stern glance and the younger girl wilted.

“These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interests to be paired with someone with whom you can work well.”

Jaune quickly thought about it and came up blank. Ren and Nora will surely team up, meaning that he couldn’t choose either of them. That was unfortunate since he felt like they’d work well together, whether it was Ren’s calm, reserved demeanor or Nora’s bombastic personality, he had pretty good experience dealing with both types. His seven sisters had a wide range of personalities. The only other people he really knew were Yang, Ruby, Blake, Weiss and Pyrrha, and out of those, he probably knew Blake the most. That wasn’t saying much.

He hadn’t really spoken to Yang or Ruby much, even though they seemed like really nice girls. Weiss would probably be the most difficult to work with just because of how prickly she was but Jaune was pretty confident he could make it work if he didn’t put his foot in his mouth. Pyrrha was an amazing fighter according to Weiss, so there was always that.

Quickly looking down the line of students, he found that Blake was staring straight at him. Giving him a startled look, she hastily averted her eyes and Jaune felt a little embarrassed that she had caught him looking her way.

Blake also seemed like a nice girl and they’d gotten along well. Maybe she could be his teammate?

“That being said – the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years.”

“Whaaat?” Ruby whined while several others expressed their shock. The big guy next to him snorted in derision while Nora laughed, completely unconcerned with the idea. Weiss frowned at Ozpin, taking issue with the method.

“But that is completely random,” Weiss exclaimed. “How could you possibly--”

“After you’ve partnered up,” the Headmaster continued, ignoring her. “Make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path – or you will die.”

Not the most encouraging speech Jaune had ever heard. If anything, he felt his nerves fray a little and his adrenaline spike, even though dealing with Grimm was something he had some experience in. Grabbing the worn leather hilt of his sword, he squeezed it reassuringly.

“You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?”

No one said a word.

“Good. Now, take your positions!”

Positions? Jaune glanced around and saw everyone getting ready, bending their knees slightly in anticipation like the beginning of a race. Several of them even pulled out their weapons, keeping them at the ready. Were they to climb down the cliff? It was a pretty big cliff.

His answer came in the sound of a mechanical click and Jaune felt his jaw slacken as a random student was propelled into the air, the metal pad under their feet vaulting them out over the forest. The next person whooped as they were flung after them, and it continued like this, a random student selected from the line being tossed off the cliff at high velocity.

“Ah, crap,” Jaune swore, a little panicked. He’d never done anything like this before!

Weiss was the first of the people he knew, the white haired girl rocketing into the air with her rapier pointed forward as if piercing the sky. She flew in a graceful arc, her momentum and diminutive size carrying her much further than the others. She quickly became nothing but a white speck and then Yang was airborne, following in her wake, a cry of exhilaration sounding as blonde hair streaked behind her in a wave.

The large boy next to him was selected next, then a random, and then Nora, her cry even louder than Yang’s. She was anything but graceful, tumbling through the air as laughter spilled from her lips. A faunus boy with scaly skin followed before Jaune felt his stomach jump into his throat, the metal plate under his boots clicking before propelling him into the sky.

There was a brief moment where terror overwhelmed everything, and then he clamped down on it viciously. He had experience with far greater fear than this. Wind roared in his ears as his eyes narrowed in concentration, thinking furiously as he approached the apex and began the inevitable plunge back down to earth. He wasn’t acrobatic and he had no particular skills to control his descent, and his weapon couldn’t help him. All he could do is land – and land hard.

Unluckily, his trajectory had placed him on a collision course with a very sturdy pine tree. The trunk was thick and weathered, old, the branches covered in a thick blanket of pine needles and cones. Focusing, he activated his semblance, a feeling of euphoria and power flowing through him. Aura bloomed thick and fast around his body, a shroud of protection. When he passed through the branches, they shattered under the force. When he hit the trunk, it exploded in a shower of chipped wood as a thunderous crack rang through the forest. Jaune grunted at the impact and then he was through the other side, sailing rapidly towards the ground. Pain flared briefly across his crossed forearms but it was soothed instantly, forgotten as he hit dirt and cratered spectacularly. Soil and stone flew around him, a cloud of debris raining down as he sunk a couple of meters in.

He was alive.

His semblance was the power to amplify aura. That meant that everything that aura affected, he could amplify; strength, speed, healing, the natural defense it afforded a person and even other semblances. He wasn’t limited to using it just on himself. But beyond that, Jaune noticed that it could do so much more. Aura was the manifestation of the soul, or so he was told. If that was the case, then it made sense that whenever he pushed his semblance further, it started to infringe on other aspects. Emotions, for one – if he was angry and used his semblance, it could amplify his anger. If he was sad, the same thing applied. One time during training when he was particularly downtrodden and used his semblance a little too much, it had sent him spiraling into a mini depressive state.

He was sure there was much more it could do, he just hadn’t figured it out or encountered it yet.

Coughing as he inhaled dirt and dust, he stood and climbed out of the hole of his making as the top of the pine tree crashed down several meters away. Birds cried in alarm as they fled in a flurry of wings and feathers, scared by his unceremonious landing. When he saw the scope of the hole he had made, he whistled in awe.

He wouldn’t get in trouble for this, right? It was their fault for tossing him off a cliff. Making sure his sword and sheath were still secured to his belt, he took a few seconds to look around and gain his bearings. The trees were thick here and tall; very, very tall. He couldn’t see the mountains or much of anything else. Even the sky was shielded from his eyes other than in the one spot he had crashed through, the unfortunate pine only three quarters as tall as it used to be.

“Sorry, tree,” he said, running a hand through his hair to dislodge any dirt. “Urgh, some of it got down my collar.”

There was a scuffle in the bush behind him, the sound of leaves and twigs being crushed. Not everything had fled his disastrous fall.

Crocea Mors sang sweetly from its sheath as a Beowolf roared, leaping at him with malicious intent. Jaune moved with practiced efficiency, the well cared for blade separating head from body in a single stroke as he spun. Dark blood splashed across his chest plate as the corpse collapsed to the ground in a heap, tumbling a couple of feet before coming to a rest. The head rolled a few feet further, the red eyes dimming as black inky smoke rose from its fur. It wasn’t long before nothing remained. Even the blood on his armor vanished as if it never existed in the first place.

He listened carefully, straining his ears for any other sounds. Further away he could hear the beginnings of gunfire, a cracking echo that told him they were quite far from his location but when nothing else revealed itself to him, he relaxed.

He had landed – what was next?

Ozpin had mentioned the northern part of the forest so that was obviously where he needed to go. It was still morning and the sun rose in the east, so if he could find it in the sky... no, he was being an idiot.

Jaune pulled open his scroll and opened up the compass app already installed. Once it loaded, he had his direction, facing a little to the right of where he was already standing. Technology really was something, wasn’t it? Stowing away his scroll and sheathing his sword, he began walking.

The terrain was relatively flat here but the underbrush was thick and bunched, making it more difficult than it should have been. The soil was soft and damp, covered in a carpet of pine needles and the fallen leaves of other trees. The further he walked, the more sounds of battle he heard. At one point the ground even shook momentarily and he wondered if that one was Nora.

He wasn’t sure how long he was walking before he came across a river. It wasn’t very big, more of a stream than a true flowing river, easy enough to cross with a single bound. He paused at the edge, suddenly aware of the deafening silence. All combat had ceased but it wasn’t just that; the general background noise of bugs and birds, of a living, breathing forest was absent.

The ground shifted once again and Jaune quickly realized that it wasn’t Nora after all but something far more sinister. Leaping away at the last moment, a towering Grimm burst from the forest floor with a crash, upending dirt and stone as it swiveled to face him.

The Grimm was serpentine in nature and large, twenty feet or more from its place in the ground to the tip of its head. It was pitch black with the typical bone white mask with red patterns, and when it opened its mouth and hissed, Jaune was greeted by rows of razor sharp fangs, each one nearly as big as he was. A long forked tongue darted out and tasted the air, red eyes gleaming as it swayed slightly from side to side, waiting for its moment to strike.

He’d never fought one of these before.

“You’re a big one, aren’t you?” he asked, readying himself. This time he unclipped his sheath and deployed it into its shield form, the white face flaring with the twin golden moons of his family. Gripping the hilt of his sword, he pulled it free with a rasp.

That was the signal.

For such a big Grimm, it moved swiftly and without warning. Jaune grit his teeth as he dodged, the massive maw snapping shut where he had been previously standing. Seeing a chance to counter, he darted back in but it was already retreating, Crocea Mors landing only a glancing blow. It drew blood but all it did was anger the creature, spitting at him in rage as it swung around like a massive club.

Activating his semblance, that familiar feeling of euphoria and power filled him as he tanked the blow with his shield. His boots dug deep furrows into the earth as he was forced back a few feet but his defense held strong. Pushing with all his strength, he shifted the large Grimm and stabbed with his sword. This time his blade plunged deeply into its flesh, a heavy stream of blood spraying out as he wrenched it free.

That definitely pissed it off.

Jaune moved as it slammed down hard enough to shatter stone. Curling around him, it attempted to trap him within its deadly embrace but he wasn’t having it, kicking off its thick body and up towards its face. It jerked back as he slashed it across the jaw before head butting him powerfully, sending him flying into a tree. His aura took the brunt, the trunk cracking, and he was on his feet instantly, unharmed.

The ground shook heavily and he watched in disbelief as another serpentine Grimm burst from the soil. This one was pure white with a gray bone mask covered in red etchings but otherwise identical to the first in every other way. It wasn’t until it completely came above ground that he realized that they weren’t two separate Grimm at all, but one and the same.

That wasn’t good.

Double the heads, double the trouble. The black head struck first and when he moved, the white one followed up. Jaune would be the first to admit that he wasn’t the most agile, much preferring a stable footing and a solid foundation. The white head hissed threateningly as he carved a long bloody rend in its neck but then he was set upon by the black, having to use his shield to hold it off.

The white one swung around and slammed into his back, and he was sent tumbling across the ground like a rag doll. Blinking rapidly, he rolled away as the Grimm tried to devour him in a single bite. Fangs lodged in the dirt, Jaune identified his target and struck. The black head howled in pain as his sword gouged out its eye, the red orb exploding in a ball of ichor. It reared back and Jaune quickly got to his feet, barely avoiding the white head as it tried to avenge the injury done to its other half.

This was getting tiresome.

This time he went on the offensive, darting in quickly. Instead of aiming for the heads, he went straight for its long, powerful body, striking where black met white. Digging his blade in deep, he amplified his aura and leapt with all his strength. He tore a massive wound as he became airborne, blood gushing across the forest floor thickly. The Grimm flailed and swung at him, but the white head ran straight into the point of Crocea Mors, the sword buried into its snout right up to the hilt. Twisting it viciously, he kicked off and landed several meters away.

He needed to finish this now.

“Look out down below~!” a feminine voice bellowed and when Jaune looked up, he got a clear view of a pair of white and pink panties set between two plump, delectable thighs. Jaune felt his mind momentarily blank and he almost missed it.

The massive head of a war hammer swung with furious precision, slamming into the white head with punishing force. Jaune heard bone crack and then the head exploded with a tooth rattling boom. The body reeled away, the face of the Grimm a bloody mess, missing half of its skull. It collapsed to the ground and wriggled in its death throes, defeated.

Nora landed with a little twirl and pointed a finger at him, cocking her thumb back in imitation of a gun as her hammer lay casually across her shoulders.

“Howdy, partner~!” she said cutely, jerking her finger up as if firing a shot.

“Nora, watch out,” Jaune quickly shouted, leaping forward.

The black head was still alive and kicking, and swooped in behind her like an out of control freight train intent on retribution. It was almost upon her when Crocea Mors sliced through its neck, cleaving out its throat as deep as it could reach. It twisted and thrashed, gurgling and spraying blood everywhere as it finally died, succumbing to its wounds.

The body began smoking.

“Oh,” Nora said, whistling in awe. “It wasn’t dead yet.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Jaune replied, his heart racing. He had feared he wouldn’t be quick enough. “Thanks for the assist.”

Nora smiled widely.

“No problem, partner.”

Jaune blinked.

That’s right – they were now partners. Jaune took her in from head to toe, feeling a little hot under the collar when he remembered her dynamic entrance. He’d seen straight up her skirt and saw things he really shouldn’t have, but Nora hadn’t noticed. Should he say something?

Sometimes he was honest to fault. It was just in his nature.

“Uh – you should really think about how you join a fight in the future,” he began, rubbing his neck.

Nora tilted her head. “What do you mean? I thought I was totally awesome. Wasn’t I?”

“You were,” Jaune reassured her. “Totally awesome. It’s just that... I kinda saw up your skirt? I didn’t mean to but when you yelled, I looked up and it was hard not to see, you know?”

Nora stared blankly at him.

“Um – so yeah, just for the future,” he chuckled awkwardly. “So it doesn’t happen again. You don’t want to flash people unintentionally, right?”

“This is a combat skirt,” Nora patted the material lovingly. “You can’t have seen that much. It protects against stuff like that.”

“Pink and white stripes,” he said, and Jaune watched in slow motion as her cheeks filled with color. She inhaled sharply, a gasp caught in her throat as her face blazed red in embarrassment or rage, he wasn’t sure which.

It was the first time he had seen her show such an expression before and he couldn’t help but think that she looked really cute.

“You saw,” she finally choked out.

“Yeah.”

The head of her war hammer dropped to the ground with a thud, sinking a little into the soft soil.

“I can’t get married anymore,” she muttered despondently.

“I don’t think it is quite that extreme,” he tried to cheer her up. “It was just a mistake. It could happen to anyone.”

“But it didn’t happen to anyone – it happened to me,” she covered her face, squirming wildly. “Ahh, my partner saw my underwear and it’s only the first day. I’m not a bad girl, I swear~!”

This conversation was getting stranger by the moment.

“I won’t tell anyone,” he tried.

“Forget it happened,” she ordered.

“Done,” he replied at once, though it was a bold-faced lie. He wouldn’t forget that sight anytime soon – or ever. Even if he wanted to. Which he kind of didn’t?

Jaune frowned. Was he a pervert?

“What do you mean you’ve forgotten already?” Now she looked angry. “Was it really that forgettable?”

He couldn’t win.

Thankfully, it wasn’t long before she was smiling again even if her cheeks were still rosy, even laughing at his panicked expression. “Hehe – I’m glad you’re my partner, Jaune.”

Jaune returned her smile with a grin of his own. “I’m glad you’re my partner too, Nora – but, uh, didn’t you want to be partnered up with Ren?”

Nora nodded. “He was my first choice,” she didn’t bother hiding it; of course he was. “We even established a signal so we could find each other but he wasn’t reacting to it. I called and called but when he didn’t come and then I found you fighting that big ol’ snake, I couldn’t help myself.”

Jaune supposed that made sense. “What was your signal?”

Nora made a trilling sound, a little like a bird.

“What is that meant to be?”

“Whaat? Can’t you tell? It’s a sloth~!”

Nora looked so utterly confident that Jaune didn’t know how to answer that. It wasn’t like he knew what a sloth was meant to sound like but he was fairly certain it wasn’t that? Maybe he was wrong, though? He wasn’t an expert at animal calls.

“Well,” he said, sheathing his sword. “We better get moving. We need to find ourselves one of those relics.”

Nora nodded, hauling her weapon up onto her shoulder. “Lead on, leader man.”

“Leader man?” he asked with amusement.

“Just get in front so I can stare at your ass in those tight jeans,” she said in all seriousness. At his shocked look, she smirked. “Well, you saw me so now it’s my turn to have a little looksie. Don’t be shy, Jaune. You have a very nice butt.”

Having Nora as a partner was going to be an experience, he just knew it.