Chapter 314 - My OC Stash #14 - Tournament Arc by ImSoAwesome (RWBY) (2/2)

But she'd have to use her b_a_r_e arms as a conduit. She wasn't looking forward to that.

And of course there was her summoning...

”Weiss!”

Ruby's arms were held out, begging for an answer. ”Help me out here! What am I supposed to do?”

Weiss shrugged. ”I couldn't say. That's something you have to decide. Professor Goodwitch did say to focus on ourselves, didn't she? If I help you, then won't have earned your wins yourself.”

Ruby might have said something, but stopped. ”I mean, yeah but...”

Its not that Weiss didn't think Ruby deserved help. But she refused to treat her differently than all her other opponents.

”Damn, Weiss that was a little cold.” Yang said.

”Was it? Then I suppose that I won't see you or Ruby in Top 16.”

Yang's eye twitched, the bear had been poked. ”And what makes you so sure of that?”

”The fact that you seem to prioritize someone else's success over your own. I'm not saying its wrong, but don't expect to get far if you're always having to look out for your sister.”

”I'm right here, you know.” Ruby huffed.

”I know, I'm not going to baby her. But what's wrong with helping her figure something out?” Yang countered, ”Is it that serious?”

Perhaps not in the grand scheme, but Weiss always strove for the best. Even when she faced Pyrrha, she still gave it her all. Yang had the score advantage over Weiss now, but when it came to matches, they were hard tied.

Weiss Schnee did not settle for second best.

”Think about it like this: If you help Ruby develop a strategy, you would then know what strategy she is going to use. You're in the third event, and Ruby is close to winning with the strategy you suggested, but you know if she does win, you can't be in top 16. What are you going to do?”

”I'm going to try and beat her, duh.”

”How? By ruining the plan that you helped her come with? The one that she trusted you with giving her?”

Yang's eyes widened, mouthing a curse as she looked away, with Ruby giving out a little w_h_i_n_e as if she hated to admit that Weiss was right.

But they were her teammates. She couldn't help them, at least not directly. Ruby could do well in the tournament, she just needed to apply herself.

”You must figure something out on your own, Ruby. Thats the only way you keep an advantage over anyone. If you want to win, then you'd best stop complaining and come up with a plan. Because if we meet in the ring, I shall not go easy.”

Ruby flinched at that, fingers curled into fists as she looked back at her. Good, she was motivated now.

She'd need to be if she thought the win was going to be that easy. The ones that wanted to win badly enough would fight for it with everything they had.

And Weiss had her eyes on the prize.

~TA~

Here it is…

Jaune's hand was raised, but he dropped it again.

How many times had he tried to knock? Three? Four? He felt like he'd been at the door for centuries, struggling with whether to finally cross the boundary or run back to shelter.

In the end, he convinced himself to find Team CFVY's dorm. After what he saw, how incredible Velvet's moves were, there was no way he could pass up the chance to ask her. He didn't know why he waited until the evening to come to Team CFVY's dorm, but he hadn't been sure when to approach Velvet anyway.

Uh maybe right when she was in the open?

Yes, it was dumb that he'd run away, but she'd seen him! She probably thought he was a creeper or something!

Oh no, what if she still thought he was a creeper?

What if he knocked and the answer he got was mace sprayed in his eyes? What if she told everyone that there was a pervert named Jaune Arc that liked to peep on girls and had a sweat fetish!?

But he didn't have a sweat fetish! He swore!

Oh man, what was he gonna do!? This was bad, abort mission! ABORT!

”Whoa, you alright there?”

”Huh?” Jaune looked at the door. It was Coco, everyone knew her around Beacon. The most fashionable girl in school - the diva of divas, the venerable vogue, the superwoman of sass.

And also the girl who liked to touch people's butts for some reason.

”Y-yeah, I'm great! Hahaha...” Avoid eye contact, avoid eye contact!

”Hm.” The woman placed her finger on her chin, observing him up and down. Although, it seemed like those eyes lingered longer than they were supposed to, ”Tall, blonde, ooh I like those eyes.”

Was she talking to him or herself? And wow, actually that was kinda sweet to say -

”A little scraggly.”

Why does everyone say that!?

”I like guys with a little more muscle, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.”

”Uh, I'm Jaune. A first year.”

”A jail cell is just a room, babe.”

What was going on!? The whole point of his coming here had derailed too quickly! ”That's not what -

”Alright Jaune the first year, I like casual stuff. No fine wines and dines until the third date, and you pay, its customary and if you think you're getting a_s_s on the first date -

”I'm not here for you!”

Her jaw dropped, hand on her c_h_e_s_t as though offended. And at first Jaune was about to jump straight into an apology, but then the shit-eating grin appeared and he felt a lot less smart than he did before. ”Well damn, no guy has ever said that to me. You just became seventy percent more desirable.”

”Is Velvet here?” Jaune got to the point, ”I wanted to ask her something.”

”Velvet over me? Its an unfair world, I tell you,” Coco shook her head as she closed the door, ”Hey Bun-bun! Get up! You have a booty call!”

Really!?

”Mff... a booty call?”

”Yep, you know the drill. Pants off!”

”My pan - no, wait, Coco stop!”

There was many a thing breaking inside the walls of Team CFVY's dorm, that much Jaune could hear clearly. And Jaune thought Team RWBY was crazy. But eventually the door opened again, and it was, thankfully, a much less intimidating girl.

She looked at him curiously, hair tied into a ponytail as her ears hung down lazily. ”Um... James, right?”

”Jaune. Nice to meet you.” The blonde shook her hand, only to notice that Coco was right behind her, not so subtly listening in. He gestured down the hall. ”Uh, can we...?”

”Good idea.” Velvet pulled the door with her as she stepped out, ”And don't follow me, Coco!”

”You guys are no fun.”

The door closed behind them but even as they walked Jaune noticed Velvet would look behind them. And Jaune could have sworn he heard her squealing in there something like ”Guys, we're going to have nieces and nephews sooner than we thought!”

A sane woman and a mad woman. That had to be hell.

”Sorry about her, she's... eccentric.” Velvet said with a grin, arms behind her back, ”She said there was something you wanted to ask me?”

”Yeah, its...” Jaune fought to find the right words, ”The tournament is coming up and I decided to enter.”

”Oh, well good luck.”

”Thanks. But I...” Jaune stopped and took a breath, ”I just don't think my chances are that great, especially with my ranking right now...”

”Those are just numbers - it has nothing to do with real ability, trust me.”

”Right, but still, it means I need to improve. And fast. I saw you in training room B earlier today and...”

”I know, I saw you back,” Velvet smirked, ”You like sweaty girls?”

”Ye - no! It's not like that!

”Its fine, I'm just messing with you. Honestly, you couldn't have been watching just to ogle, you don't seem the type. So I'm assuming you liked what you saw?”

”I'm beginning to wonder if maybe Coco isn't the most dangerous of you two...”

Velvet was holding her stomach with laughter. Sheesh, she never said much the first times he'd seen her around! Didn't everyone think she was shy or something?

”I liked the technique. With your aura, the... uh...”

”Its muscle augmentation, pretty basic stuff.” Her eyes widened as if connecting some unseen dot, ”You never learned it?”

”No... Pyrrha's been helping me train with my weapon and some close combat but my aura control isn't all that great.”

”What about your semblance?”

Jaune awkwardly looked to the side, Velvet quickly brushed it off with a hand wave. ”Oh, well nevermind that. Its not important.”

”Its not?”

”No, a semblance is a great asset, but its not necessary to be a Huntsman and definitely not to win a tournament. I won't lie, it'd probably be a lot easier with one but some go without discovering it at all.”

”Yeah...” Jaune said, dejectedly. He'd tried to discover it, that had been one of the ideas he first thought of. And he'd tried many ways to find it since Pyrrha started training him.

But he couldn't waste time when there was no surefire way to discover his semblance. He had to work with what would immediately give him results.

”I think you have a little over a week before the preliminaries, right?” Velvet asked, leaning against the wall.

Jaune nodded.

”Not a lot of time, but the technique I was using is easy enough to learn.”

”So you'll help me?”

”Sure,” The faunus shrugged, ”what time works best for you?”

Yes! Jaune stifled the urge to squeal. ”I can work around your schedule.”

”Great, then give me your number.”

”M-my number?” Jaune's cheeks reddened, taken aback by such a forward approach.

”So I can get in touch with you,” Velvet rolled her eyes, ”Easy there, I'm not asking you out.”

It was an odd combination of relief and dejection that left him wondering how exactly to take her words. ”Wow. You could have at least pretended...”

”You'll heal. Anyway, number please.”

They exchanged the numbers quickly enough and before she went off Jaune called out to her. ”Um, thank you - I'll pay you back, I promise.”

Velvet shook her head. ”Don't worry about it - this honestly keeps me busy since classes will won't be so regular with the tournament going on. I'll see you in the morning, alright? Dress light, you're gonna sweat.”

Jaune nodded, and then she was gone with the soft click of her door. The blonde turned to his scroll, Velvet now sitting readily in his contacts.

This was where it began. Aura control was his biggest issue right now, and that would be his single ally in the prelims. If he could learn to move and fight the way Velvet did?

Jaune eagerly clenched both fists.

Tomorrow couldn't come sooner.

~TA~

The light of dawn peeked through the windows of the training room, touching Jaune's face and forcing a yawn. How he could get through warm up exercises and a jog and still be tired was beyond him.

Jaune didn't know what to expect. How this muscle augmentation technique was supposed to be applied. Did it hurt? How much aura did it consume? He thought to look it up but opted to get as much sleep as he could instead.

Jaune looked at his clothes, a simple t-shirt and shorts. As light as he could dress for optimal training, though he did feel a lot less safe without his armor.

Just do your best today, Jaune reassured himself, I'm pretty sure its just gonna be a normal day of practice.

But like most things in Jaune Arc's life, his assumptions had a nasty tendency to blow up in his face. And usually he had no time to react.

But this time Jaune's eyes had been on the door, and so he raised his arms as something powerful burst through it, then straight into his arms - the resulting shockwave rattled his bones.

The pressure of the blow felt like it would force his boots into the floor and his eyes squinted as he fought against it. But then it was gone, his attacker flipped off to land behind him with her hands on her h_i_p_s.

Velvet smiled at him, brown eyes alight and ears perked with what he could only assume was excitement. There was a little of that for Jaune as well, but with it a daunting question at what he'd chosen to put himself through.

But he'd passed the proverbial event horizon the moment he signed up. The only way now was forward. So, squaring his legs, Jaune raised his arms into the best defensive position he knew and focused on his new teacher.

”Decent form, thats a good start,” Velvet nodded, ”Alright pupil, let's begin.”

Chapter 3

Jaune caught her ankle.

He was too slow on her other foot though, the blow sent him spiraling until he hit the floor. He got up quickly enough, just in time for Velvet to close the distance between them.

”Dodge.” she ordered.

It was purely on reaction that Jaune threw up his arms, then Velvet's foot slammed into them, and for a second he was sure she'd break his guard. Pushing her off before she could press another attack, Jaune moved back as he tried to guide aura through his legs.

From the stomach, guide it down and through the legs - like a river, got it? Velvet's words took to the forefront of his mind, calling upon the warmth of his soul's energy. He could feel it moving faster this time - good, he'd be ready before Velvet could recover.

The power crept into his feet, Jaune could feel it swimming from the soles to his toes, just like drops of water in a puddle.

This was it. Jaune bent his legs, watching Velvet as she dashed to him.

Now, spring! she commanded.

Jaune pushed off the ground, the floor leaving him as he sailed toward his target, fist reared back. He saw Velvet's eyes widen for only moment.

Before his body tilted forward.

He let out a yelp as his momentum halted, crashing onto the floor. What happened!?

”Balance your weight even after you jump!” Velvet called out from... above?

Jaune had no time to look, instantly pushing himself up. Just in time, as Velvet's axe kick shattered the floor. He might have gawked, but by now, it was just a routine. The most he could do was protect his face.

The girl had not slowed for even a second before she started pelting him with blow after blow. Jaune ducked to the side, letting her fist punch through the wall instead of his head. On top of that, she was quick, agile.. Jaune caught her fist, grimacing as the pain shot up his palm - still he pushed her back, the girl backflipping to right her lost balance. It truly was uncanny how agile and mobile she was, she didn't stay still even for a second.

She sprung off the floor the moment her feet touched the hard pavement.

”Use your aura!” She commanded.

”I'm trying!” Jaune shot back, keeping his a guard up, ”You're too fast!”

”No, you're too slow.”

The faunus threw a punch to his left, Jaune following it to intercept... and then his feet weren't on solid ground anymore.

”A feint.” Jaune gasped as he lied on his back, Velvet's foot pressed on his c_h_e_s_t, forcing him to look up at her.

Higher, pervert. Jaune quickly diverted his wandering eye.

”I told you to dodge.”

”I know.”

”I also told you to use your aura.”

”I did.”

”So what happened, then?” Velvet helped him up, ”When you're on the defensive, you must have your aura ready to protect you at a moment's notice.”

”I get that, but... its just not happening.” It feels like moving it against the river, doable but unnatural.

”It takes literally a fifth of a second for your aura to coat your entire body,” Velvet said with a shake of her head, ”There is nothing it can't reasonably protect you against, so why weren't you defending yourself?”

Jaune wasn't sure he could answer. Velvet made it sound so basic but for him it wasn't. It was hard to control his aura while moving at the same time - maintaining that constant flow required a focus he couldn't separate from physical actions. He had to stay still for it to work.

Jaune shrugged. ”Because you were kicking my a_s_s, I guess.”

”You wouldn't have taken as many hits if you dodged, you were keeping your aura flow steady, right?”

”Not really.”

The girl sighed, and Jaune wondered if she knew that hurt him a bit. ”I told you... just because the aura is in your legs, doesn't mean it will stay. When you park a car, you don't leave it in drive, right? Otherwise, it'll wander off and crash.”

”I know, it's just hard,” Jaune returned with more irritation than he wanted to let out, ”Like, even in just my arms, sometimes it feels the pressure might make them explode or something.”

”That just means you're putting too much there. It's always less than you think.”

”It doesn't feel like it is.”

”Then you need to push that feeling back, its hindering you,” The faunus held up her hands to suggest two things, ”You have to split the actions of your body and soul...” Then she combined her hands, ”...so that they can work together. Synergy. Without that, you won't have the speed or power to keep up with me.”

Jaune nodded, pursing his lips as his mentor went off to dry her face. She was totally right, of course - Jaune just didn't know how he was supposed to put that into play.

Dividing the actions of his body and soul seemed basic in concept, but it was harder to do than he thought. How did splitting them create the combined power needed to use the muscle augmentation?

”Come on, Jaune - lets try the technique again.” Velvet tapped his forehead, bringing him back to attention. He moved to stand next to her, pressing his ankles together, ”Breathe in and breathe out.”

Following her orders, the aura was traveling through him again. Like the layer of shell just under his skin, it seeped into every pore. And only got stronger.

”You only need as much as your legs can handle, if its too much, draw some back.”

”Got it...” Jaune let the order through, but there was resistance. Like the aura didn't want to move.

Fine, he'd just pull harder.

The energy was too much, and already it felt like his legs and feet might blow off. Jaune quivered, trying his hardest to tug the remainder of aura back but it was still not obeying. But it was his aura, his power, so why didn't it do what he wanted? Why!?

His toes curled. And that was all it took.

He hollered as the burst of energy shot him forward, as if suddenly being ejected out of a plane. But it wasn't a long flight, Jaune's back met the wall before he slid down onto his backside.

Wall: 2, Jaune: 0

It was an unfair world after all.

”Ugh...” Jaune g_r_o_a_n_e_d, legs trembling as he heard Velvet run up to him.

”You did it wrong.”

”Yeah...”

A small chuckle from the girl as she sat down with him. ”Well, at least now you know what can happen if you use too much power.”

”Yeah, flew a little too fast.”

”Hm? Oh, that's not what I mean.”

”Huh?”

Back where they stood, the floor had been crushed. Like a giant had stepped on it... all the way from the other side of the room.

Had he really crossed this entire room in a second?

”That's why you need to control the amount you use,” Velvet instructed, ”Too much at one point and you could blow your body parts up as you did that floor.”

”That totally doesn't scare me.” Jaune g_r_o_a_n_e_d, ”Yeah, totally not afraid now.”

”Good, then next time remember that feeling when you're controlling your aura” Velvet stood, ”Come on, let's try again.”

Jaune watched as the girl walked off and just stared for a moment. She was surprisingly insistent, by now he'd have thought she'd have given up on him. With the progress, or lack thereof, over the past few days, he wouldn't blame her.

And that raised a question…

”Velvet, why did you agree to help me?”

”Instead of asking questions, you need to get over here so we can practice. Hurry up!”

Jaune sighed, submitting to her orders.

Maybe it wasn't important.

~Not Dead Yet~

”Think she's gonna win?”

”Duh, of course. No one can beat her.”

Pyrrha let out a huff, blowing free a strand of hair before starting up her jog once again. She couldn't avoid being made a spectacle even when she just out for a jog? But ignoring commentary from onlookers was hardly problematic - could she really expect them to know better? They only saw the surface - the Invincible Girl, the Mistral Champion.

Telling them they were wrong would not sway their opinions.

Her throat burned as she pushed her legs to carry her further. Normally she stuck to her routine, as it wasn't worth doing extra when no substantial difference would be made. But everyone else was likely putting in the extra effort.

And Pyrrha would not lag behind.

But what did she have to worry about? She was the Pyrrha Nikos. She was impossible to defeat; the uncontested best rookie Huntress in the last decade.

She always won. Always. What effort did someone like her need to put in?

If she weren't so short of breath, she might have had a laugh.

There was no assured victory. No absolute outcome. But people talked like they knew the future simply because they compared statistics.

Not to say they didn't matter, but to Pyrrha? They were nothing. A generalized and biased view into the more complicated world of fighting.

And what she found so amazing about it.

The girl let out a breath as she stopped, biting back the sour taste from her negative thoughts.

Getting worked up about it again wasn't worth it. So, hungry for a distraction, the girl found a bench in the shade and laid on it, relaxing on the wooden surface. Green eyes stared at greener leaves - a light wind rustling the bush to give sound to an otherwise quiet campus.

Funnily enough, she still wasn't used to training alone.

Without a personal trainer or her teammates, she was lucky she paid attention to exactly what areas she needed improvement in. The tournament itself wouldn't be the most daunting part of the Festival - rather, the ambiguity of the preliminaries could very well put her in a disadvantageous situation.

A smart decision by the teachers, ensuring that everyone started off equal no matter what. And by taking away their weapons, they were forced to be creative. Pyrrha grinned excitedly. If their skills were being challenged, she was happy to prove herself.

How were the others taking it?

Her teammates were working hard. Ren and Nora came home exhausted pretty regularly, as Nora refused to let Ren be lax. Poor guy, he didn't care at all for the tournament and probably wouldn't have entered if Nora hadn't forced him to.

”It's for his own good! Our men must be strong, Pyrrha!” Was Nora's excuse, much to her friend's dismay.

Pyrrha shook her head with a giggle.

It was pretty obvious that Jaune and she had to put their rooftop training to a halt for a while, and while she was concerned about how he'd find proper practice without her, it wasn't her problem.

She had to focus on herself.

Pyrrha expected no less of Team RWBY to enter. But only saw Weiss and Yang wanting to win badly enough to pose a threat.

Her biggest issue there was Yang, but only by a margin. Arslan went without saying. And if there was any opponent to be wary of, it was her.

If only due to her inability to take a loss. Pyrrha's eye twitched, thinking back to her last conversation with the girl.

About how badly she'd wanted to punch her.

She never would of course. It'd only make things worse. And it would only make her look bad in the end. Because that's what it always came down to, expectation and reputation. Pyrrha Nikos always won. She was always kind and never lashed out or did anything wrong. Others said Pyrrha liked to stomp on people's dreams - bask in the glory that no one her age could defeat her.

It wasn't true. It just wasn't. She could lose, it was just that no one had yet figured out how to do it.

If they were too weak to beat her, how was that her fault?

Pyrrha didn't think she could love competitions if she believed she couldn't be defeated. For what then was the point in the fight? Where was the meaning in the joy of overcoming your opponent?

Of achieving victory?

Her scroll buzzed in her pocket, and the caller ID made her heart drop.

Mother.

She was almost tempted not to answer. Pretend that she was busy... again. But it had been a while, and for all her mother's tendencies, she did miss her.

She owed her this.

”Hello, mother.” Pyrrha threw up a smile.

”Hey, honey.” Her face appeared, red hair tied in a bun as she smiled back, ”How are you? I've called you the past few days, you know.”

”I'm sorry, just busy. Classes and studying take up a lot of time. I just came from a run.”

”Always training. You are your father's daughter indeed.”

Pyrrha grinned, listening and responding to her mother as they spoke. The time seemed to fly as they shared story after story. And somewhere in it, the smile wasn't forced anymore - Pyrrha actually started to enjoy herself.

It was rare that it ever stayed that way.

”I will be watching the tournament. Are you excited?” her mother asked.

”Yes... I suppose.”

”You suppose?” That her mother could somehow look bewildered grated Pyrrha's nerves, ” This is another chance to win, honey. I thought you liked competitions?”

She did. She loved them. But…

”I am excited, mother. I'm sorry, nevermind.”

”What's wrong, sweetheart?”

”Its nothing, Mother. Really.” Pyrrha threw up her smile again, hoping she would think nothing more of it, ”I guess I'm just nervous.”

Her mother laughed. ”Nervous? What have you to be nervous about? You're the best Huntress they could ever have, don't forget that honey.”

I know, because you're always reminding me.

”You are so special, Pyrrha,” Her mother said lovingly, ”No one will ever shine as bright as you.”

Special.

Pyrrha wished she could tear that word in half.

”I have to go. love you.”

”I love you too, I'll talk to you soon, honey. And I'll be watching, do your best.”

And Pyrrha hung up, staring at the screen as if making sure she didn't come back before shutting it.

There used to be a time that it angered her. At least, much more than it did now. Her mother didn't do it on purpose, so Pyrrha ended up feeling guilty for feeling the way she did but… she did wish her mother understood.

Pyrrha thought back to her home. Her room, the staircase down from it, leading straight into the living room where her crowning moments sat in glory.

Trophies, medals, pictures with the Council and even the Headmaster of Haven. Glorious awards for her victorious and incredible infamy. A staple to the history of competitive fighting and a symbol of who everyone believed to be the definition of a champion.

Pyrrha Nikos was special. A winner.

But winning… was dull.

The end result held nothing for her, the awards, the press - it was all worthless. But the climb, the struggle, the pulse in her veins and the quiver in her hands.

That was it. That was the joy.

The girl picked up her run again with a sigh, dashing through the courtyard as fast as she could. Maybe, if she ran fast enough, she might forget to feel for a while.

~Tournament Arc~

The sting.

It didn't hurt as bad as she thought, even if the strange flow in her system mixing with her aura felt weird.

Weiss held her palm out to the tree - envisioning a stream of cold air bursting forth to close around the trunk. She was point-blank. Her target unable to move and her aim sure. She had tunnel vision of the d_e_s_i_r_ed effect and nothing more.

Make ice.

And... nothing.

The heiress huffed, consternately looking at her palm. She hadn't forgotten to inject the Dust, she could feel it in her arms. So what was going on?

Would this be harder than she thought?

A gunshot in the distance, like a firecracker almost. Yang undoubtedly, and Weiss could only hazard a guess as to what training she was doing.

It was a real inconvenience that she hadn't been the only one to choose the forest for private training. Weiss's initial idea had been to use the space for herself, since it wouldn't do to accidentally freeze one of the training rooms. But despite Beacon's huge campus, there were only so many places one could train alone.

Still, they'd all split off anyway, ensuring to respect each other's training.

She spotted a burst of rose petals from over the canopy. So Ruby opted to train her semblance? Not a bad idea.

The last she'd seen of Blake, she'd been jumping from the branches. She was definitely the best of them when it came to movement and evasion - and if there was an event that gave an advantage to her stealth skills…

Weiss would need to figure out something for her.

The days went by slowly - and yet mercilessly left the tension of the approaching events to marinate. But it gave Weiss all the time she needed to pay attention to the details, to work out the finer points of Dust manipulation. Which, she bitterly admit, was hard without Myrtenaster.

Ruby was right - not having a weapon s_u_c_k_e_d.

The energy inside rippled like a wave, at times it felt like it would tear out of her skin.

Weiss swallowed. The risk of injuring herself was high. But sheer capability of ice dust circ_u_mvented many of the weaknesses she had. Defense, offense, even mobility - all of that had been weakened with rules of prelim.

I don't have a choice, I must master this.

Getting to her knees, the girl placed her hands on the grass - breathing in, then out as aura filled her arms.

There was a soft hiss, gas emitting from her hands as the cold feeling enveloped her palms. A layer of aura before the Dust was necessary so she didn't accidentally freeze herself, because unfortunately there was no way to make herself immune to the Dust's effects if it backfired.

If she wasn't careful, then her defeat in the prelims would come from her own lack of control.

The girl bit down, eyes squinted as the ice began to form like a puddle, spreading out slowly. Slower than she was used to, but Weiss was confident that after a few more tries she could speed it up.

Right now, she just had to maintain it.

The circle eventually got big enough to surround her, but after that - Weiss found her control waning. The sheet wasn't expanding anymore. A bead of sweat rolled off her forehead, and she looked at her arms as she pumped more energy into them.

The ethereal glow was a sure sign that it was working, even if the way it highlighted her veins looked gross. She could feel her flesh pulse, like it was trying to devour the elemental energy. There was only so much pressure she could put on her arms.

Perhaps if she were more muscular...?

Doubtful. More muscular did not equate to dust resistance, and while she didn't prefer to have a weakness in physical strength, her fighting style was better suited for her lithe body. It was impossible to not have a weakness.

She just had to be strong enough to ensure her opponent couldn't exploit it.

Focus, Weiss. You must command the Dust. Do not let it command you!

”Grrr...!” Weiss growled, squeezing at the grass as she forced the circle of ice to expand. A small crack all of a sudden, followed by several others that told her the strength of her control was failing.

It was so... annoying!

The following burst kicked up the wind, a spire of twisted ice shooting out of the earth and through some nearby trees. And Weiss could only swallow... the new cut on her cheek stung.

That had almost run her through. It might have actually killed her.

The girl slowly retracted her hands - maybe there was another option. Another Dust that she could use…

No. She would not falter here.

She had to be calm.

Calm.

Calm…

Silence. Emotion fueled chaotic output, if Weiss was to attain absolute control, then she had to create an absence of emotion. A total disillusion to her frustration.

Myrtenaster wasn't here, but Weiss still had everything she needed.

Hard work hadn't let her down before and it wouldn't start now.

In and out. In and out. One breath, two breaths - a call on her aura, the reigns of the horse were whipped, ordering the beast into action.

And it obeyed.

The heiress shrieked as she was blasted back, a shower of flying ice shards rained about her and she hit the ground. Weiss g_r_o_a_n_e_d, looking at her arms as she pushed herself to sit up.

”Ow...” A coating of ice covered her forearms, numbing the skin and they shook uncontrollably.

Damn it. She would need fire Dust after all.

Wess looked at where she'd been launched, spotting the great behemoth that spawned. A broken spire of ice stood up from the ground, coating a layer of trees in its claw-like grip.

”Well, its something.” Weiss sighed. It had taken a few days and it wasn't exactly what she was looking for, but something like that could work. Creating traps with the Dust would come in handy during the elimination rounds.

Wait, what was that?

From the spire of ice a small trail of ice stretched out to her, and Weiss followed it until it ended her she'd been lying down. More specifically, where her hand had been.

Had that been created from the excess of ice? Or was it a continuation of her attempt to make a thin sheet? Weiss gently touched it, noting how hard but slippery the surface was. That was the usual result, as it was perfect for making enemies slip and lose their balance.

Wait... slipping. Sliding. Skating.

How had she not thought of this!?

The girl stood, looking over her control of the ice as she let the ideas swim in her head. If she was thinking of this right, then this fixed one of her biggest problems right away.

”Weiss!” Yang and Ruby ran up to her, ”We heard an explosion. Are you okay?”

”Yes, I'm fine.” Weiss continued to rub the ice trail. The first two prelims would prohibit custom clothing in favor of school issued combat outfits, to ensure no one cheated in equipment or dust infused clothes.

Meaning she wouldn't have her combat heels.

Specially outfitted to slide on ice surfaces due to her proficiency in ice Dust. Perfectly weighted, it was a perfect ally in keeping her balanced when she needed to use her Dust for movement. The lack of a them meant her balance and traction on ice would not be as good, so initially she thought it best to just forget about it.

But... what if she made her own?

Weiss looked at her arms, both still shaking and numb. It was very self-sacrificial, but if she won quickly, then the aftereffects wouldn't be so bad. And Fire Dust would speed up the recovery time.

It might work as some kind of slipper or sole... and with that, she'd have access to the same maneuverability and speed she normally had!

”Weiss, what are you doing?”

The heiress threw her boots aside, grimacing at the dirt and grass that touched her feet but she didn't want to go back for running shoes. She needed to test this now.

”I'm fine, I said,” Weiss said, ”You two can go.”

Yang shrugged, Ruby giving her another look before they left. Weiss waited until they were out of vision.

Then threw her hands together.

She found the feeling of the Dust soon enough, letting the icy steam cover her hands.

The girl pursed her lips, putting her aura in her feet to give them warmth. Then she put her hands on them, letting the ice spread about her soles. It bit at her skin, but it was tolerable. She could still move.

Retracting her hands, she looked at her creation. Thin sheets of ice under her feet - perfect for gliding across a frozen surface. It deadened the feeling in her soles, and weren't very beautiful looking either, but aesthetics didn't matter.

Functionality did.

The girl pushed into a run, leaping forward to carry her momentum as she landed on the platform of ice. She instantly broke in a smile.

It works! Weiss could almost laugh, but focused to keep her balance as she slid around the grass like she was ice skating again. A worthless hobby at the time - and never did she think it would become an integral part of her fighting style. With this, she had all the speed and agility she needed.

And the best part? This didn't even include her semblance.

The girl brimmed with excitement and she wasted no time summoning a glyph.

Her smile only got bigger.

~Tournament Arc~

”Ouch.”

Jaune rubbed his ankles, more than glad that they'd wrapped up training for today. The yellow light that had covered his world this morning was replaced now by the red-orange, the day finally coming to its close. He'd gotten an entire day's worth.

Which amounted to nothing other than his feet throbbing in pain.

”Don't worry, that's normal,” Velvet explained, as she packed up her things, ”But its not broken so you're making progress.”

”I don't know if I am.”

”You are, believe me. You learn faster than you think.”

Jaune just wished he believed her, personally unsatisfied with how very little he'd learned in the past few days. Sure, it was unrealistic to expect immediate results, but he had a finite amount of time.

The blonde seethed as the flesh in his legs ached, stretching out in the hopes that he could relax them.

”Its over usage of your aura,” Velvet said, ”Too much power output equals less control, same as Dust. So you end up hurting yourself. With this, its just that you aren't naturally using the technique yet so it'll hurt for a while.”

”Great...” Jaune sighed. That didn't bode well for future training, and it would be just his luck to get a serious injury before the prelims.

But Jaune could not afford that.

Which meant he couldn't waste time in this 'getting used to it' stage.

”Hey, I'm gonna go on a little more.” Jaune said to Velvet as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

”Are you sure?” She asked, looking a little concerned, ”I wouldn't advise it. You might break something.”

”I know, but... I need to,” Jaune nodded, ”I need to get as much out of this as I can.”

”Well, alright. Just don't make this a regular thing. It's fine this time, but not again, okay?”

”Yes, ma'am.” Jaune chuckled.

Velvet grinned. ”Well then, good night. Tomorrow after class, right?”

”I'll be here.”

”Dress light.”

”You tell me that every time,” Jaune laughed, ”I'm starting to think you're the one that likes sweaty people.”

”Maybe I just like seeing your muscles.” She stated, tapping his biceps humorously.

”Hey, cut it out!” Jaune swatted her hand away, ”I'm still tender.”

”I'm tender,” The faunus mocked, ”That is, for sure, the most manly thing I've ever heard.”

Jaune shook his head. ”Yes, pick on the guy in pain. You're so tough.”

”It's a talent - blame Coco though, its her way or the highway.” Velvet shrugged, ”Hey by the way, she was wondering when you were going to take her out.”

”She's just joking... or delusional,” Jaune rolled his eyes, ”She got me, by the way.”

”Really? When?”

”After the first day we trained - she struck when I was weak. My b_u_t_t was wide open.”

Velvet burst into laughter, and Jaune wondered if she knew how infectious that laugh was. The girl really hadn't been the kind of person he expected - It was honestly more of a relief than he realized.

”But hey, you at least know she's playing around. Most guys don't, which means you pay attention,” Velvet settled down, ”Sorry to say, a lot of people think you're a bit... dim.”

Jaune shrugged, not exactly a surprise. Since he first came to Beacon, he was out of his element, his grades suffered alongside his combat ability. It didn't help with Cardin and his ilk spreading it around.

With a shrug, he placed his chin in his palm. ”That's fine - a dim light can still shine.”

Velvet burst into laughter. ”Was that your attempt at wisdom?”

”Shut up!” Jaune pushed her, hiding his face incase he turned red. The girl headed off, still giggling the whole way. Sheesh, he never got a break with her, ”Velvet, you never answered my question.”

The girl turned. ”From earlier?”

”Yeah. I mean... I guess I just didn't expect you to help me,” Jaune admitted, ”I feel like I'm wasting your time. That you put all this effort into me and I might still fail, you know?”

”Hm. Well if you fail, I'm not gonna lie, I'd be disappointed,” Velvet admitted, ”But that's okay, we all fail. I guess, I just saw how earnest you were. It's no secret how you are in combat class but you're still aspiring to win the tournament.”

The girl looked down as if lost in a memory, a memory that made her smile wider. ”I... I can relate to that.”

”Really?”

”Yeah, it is an uphill battle. And the underdog always has it the hardest.” The girl said sincerely, ”But I guess I want to see the guy who everyone isn't looking at, to be looked at. Is that weird?”

”N-no, I don't think so.” Jaune stammered, scratching his ear as he looked away from her.

”Well, weird or not. That's my reason. Anyway, good night.”

”Good night...” Jaune watched as she went off, only going back to his thoughts after she was out of sight. Jaune looked at his legs, they hadn't stopped aching yet.

But Velvet wanted to see him succeed.

Then let's keep going. Jaune nodded, pushing himself up and back to the nosegrind.

~Tournament Arc~

”Heaven...”

Jaune couldn't have felt better walking into the cool air of the dorm, but shut the door quietly as he looked at his sleeping teammates. Ren's hair dr_a_p_ed over the side of his bed, and Nora was a tangled, snoring but smiley mess.

Jaune wanted nothing more than to crash in bed right now. But not while he was drenched and nasty.

He grabbed his sleepwear, jumping immediately into the shower. Short but sweet, Jaune was out right away, throwing on his pajamas before heading back into the dorm. He immediately spotted the red hair of his partner - had she just gotten in too? Pyrrha hadn't noticed him, her back turned as she stared at something in her hand.

Despite his exhaustion, Jaune couldn't resist the opportunity of mischief, tiptoeing up to her and leaning in.

”Hey, Pyr.” He whispered, eliciting a jump from the girl.

”Oh... Jaune, you scared me.” Pyrrha turned to him, folding up the photo.

Jaune exaggerated a shrug. ”Can't help it. I am pretty intimidating.”

”I'm sure you are. I haven't seen you around. Were you training?”

”Yep, all day,” Jaune flopped on his own bed, hugging the cool comforter tightly, he already dreaded the morning, ”Kill me Pyrrha, so I don't have train again tomorrow.”

The girl chuckled. ”I'd be out of a leader then. That would be pretty hard to explain to Professor Goodwitch.”

”It's fine, just tell her I slipped and fell or something.”

”You slipped and fell...” Pyrrha grinned, ”onto my spear, I presume? Not one of your better plans, Jaune.”

”Everybody's a critic. Anyway, how about you? Did you do anything other than train?”

”... not really, just training.”

”Guess we're both working hard,” Jaune yawned, fl_i_c_k_i_n_g off his light, ”Well, I'm gonna hit the Z's then. Night, partner.”

”Jaune?”

Jaune turned back to her. In the darkness he almost couldn't see, but the moonlight illuminated her face. Accentuating the emeralds in her eyes as she looked at the floor. ”Yeah?”

”I...” His partner seemed to fight for the words, like she wasn't sure if she could talk to him. That was weird, was something wrong with her?

”What is it, Pyr?”

”Its...” The girl sighed defeatedly, ”I wanted to say, do your best in the preliminaries.”

Jaune quirked an eyebrow at her. ”Uh, yeah. Absolutely. Make sure you make it too. No being lazy!”

The girl smiled. And somehow that smile seemed to brighten her mood, like she'd forgotten about whatever bothered her. ”I'll be sure not to disappoint.”

Jaune nodded, turning over and throwing his comforter on. He'd thought to ask her what was wrong again, but decided against it. If she didn't want to talk about it, then it wasn't his place to pester her.

Perhaps it was nothing.

With a yawn, Jaune let his head sink into the pillow, eyes sealed shut.

He was asleep in seconds.

You're still reading? Chapter is over, ya fool.

Nah but seriously. Some introspection on Jaune, Weiss and Pyrrha - all working hard to get that tournament win. Some details about aura and Dust, yadda, yadda.

My apologies about the shifting perspectives. Some chapters will need to be like this since its important to see other characters' actions. Note though that this won't be normal, Jaune will be the primary focus of most chapters.

Pyrrha is a character I have not given justice to yet. So her development is something I'm excited for with this fic. I hope I portrayed her well, but honestly since she's kinda a blank slate in the first place, there is a lot of room to go wherever you want with her.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next one.

ISA