Chapter Text
“For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee.”
‘Inhale…Exhale’
Jaune’s soul didn’t just awaken…it ignited. Blazing heat raced through his body, his nervous system pulsing from the crown of his head down to the soles of his feet. The shock of it caused him to take a deep unfettered breath. The vessels along his neck and forehead thickened and became more prominent with the increased blood flow of oxygen-rich blood. His aura flared a vibrant orange, like the flickering flames of a well-fed bonfire. His eyes opened, and he gazed at the forest around him.
Everything was so much more vibrant. As if his entire life he’d been living with his senses turned down, dull in a way you couldn’t perceive until it was suddenly thrust in your face. The colors of the forest popped with a clarity he’d never experienced. The earthy smell of the Emerald forest sharpened. His ears twitched as he caught the distant sound of gunfire and explosions. He even thought he heard a woman’s maniacal laugh, followed by a blast.
His eyes narrowed as he focused and took in his more immediate surroundings, searching for demons grimm that might have approached while he and Pyrrha were distracted with the ritual of unlocking his aura.
Such dishonorable creatures have a love for striking when their presumed prey least expect it.
‘Inhale…Exhale’
He took another deep breath, his muscles tensed and relaxed with corded tension, familiar, startling strength coiled in his frame. He looked down and flexed his hands into a fist a few times, trying to get a feel of himself.
He had done what he could in Ansel: basic body exercises and cardio. Copious, copious amounts of cardio in the hopes that it would get him to some level of fitness expected of a huntsman…or he could at least outrun whatever was after him. His combat training consisted of swinging sticks he could find lying around the wooded area of his home, in a pale imitation of what he’d seen his father do on the rare occasion he was provided the opportunity.
It was mediocre at best, but he’d been desperate to do anything he could to prepare himself. And when the man you look up to the most, your own father, refuses to train you, even tells you to give up…desperation becomes recklessness.
It is not the first time. Father refused to help my brother or me learn Flame Breathing. I had to train myself to become the Flame Hashira on my own with texts…It was arduous, but I percievered.
“Is this how people with an aura feel all the time? This feeling, it’s like I’ve become more aware of my own body…” Jaune shook himself out of his head.
His gaze went to Pyrrha, who was taking deep breaths of her own, sweat lightly dappled her brow. More than likely having something to do with the exertion of awakening his aura. She still carried herself as every bit the warrior princess, with her bronze armor and circlet, even while slightly out of breath. She was beautiful in a way he had noticed but didn’t quite appreciate as much last night. He was too focused on the white haired Weiss and the words she had said about him. He watched her spine straighten as she gathered herself, the momentary weakness replaced by the strength in her frame reasserting itself.
“Pyrrha, are you alright?” Jaune asked in concern. His eyes raked down her frame for any other ill reactions from his awakening.
“I’m fine, no need to worry. You have a large aura capacity Jaune, bringing it to bear took a fair amount more effort than I thought it would. The strength of your soul is impressive.” Pyrrha commented with a soft smile and a slight flush. The warmth in her tone was easily heard.
Of course it would be! One would not ascend to the rank of Hashira without the strength necessary. As Flame Hashira my soul burns brightest!
Jaune’s brow creased slightly as another fleeting thought whispered in the back of his mind, before it relaxed. His hand came up to brush the back of his head sheepishly as he smiled shyly at Pyrrha.
“Oh, I don’t know about all that Pyr. I’m just plain me, nothing to write home about here.” He couldn’t stop his chuckle from being a little self-deprecating. He shook his head, choosing to change the topic to something other than his so-called impressiveness. “So, I suppose we should get to looking for that relic, huh partner? I believe Headmaster Ozpin mentioned it was to the north.” He said, turning to start the slow trek through the Emerald Forest.
His left hand gripped right below the guard of the sheathed Crocea Mors, while his right hand came up to tug at his chest armor below his collar, trying to alleviate the constricted feeling that had come upon him. The armor that had felt snug, but comfortable enough, had become near stifling.
———————————————————————-
Pyrrha stared at Jaune as he began walking away through the forest. For just a moment, when she had intermingled his soul with hers, coaxing his life energy to the fore, she had seen something. An image of a man with blond hair with red tips, kneeling on the ground, torso covered in blood. One eye was a vibrant red surrounded by orange, gazing ahead softly, while the other was destroyed and covered in even more blood. But the smile on his face was what captivated her. It was peaceful, in the face of what she knew was his death.
She didn't know what the vision meant, but she could feel it was important and had some connection to Jaune.
She shook her head of the thought and focused her vibrant emerald eyes to analyze his every movement. The effort it took to awaken his aura was genuinely surprising, considering her own aura supply was nothing to scoff at. And though she made no mention of it, simply because neither did he, she could have sworn she felt an increase in temperature around him when his orange flame-like aura flared.
She moved to follow him and noticed a few small details, curious things, noticeably different from what she’d seen of him last night, this morning in the locker area, and just before being launched into the emerald forest.
She studied him with a perception honed from countless hours of training and competitive tournament fighting that gained her the title ‘Invincible Girl’. She’d come to nearly loathe the title, but not the skill she’d cultivated to acquire it.
His posture which was previously slouched with shoulders drawn inward, now stood straighter, showing her that he was actually several inches taller than she first thought. The way he gripped his weapon in his left hand, while his right hand was ready to draw at a moment's notice. Loose and unassuming, with a lethality that was masked. His footing was assured as they made their way through the foliage, gaze focused and searching of his surroundings.
Even his breathing was different. Deep, controlled, and with continuous rhythm. It almost reminded her of certain Mistrali meditative breathing techniques. She had seen Lie Ren doing something not too dissimilar in the gathering hall before bed. All these little things were a stark change in him, done with what seemed like subconscious effort.
She caught sight of the Beowulf just as it shot out of the brush, the warning shout died at the tip of her tongue when Jaune’s sword arm whipped out, a silver flash sliding through the wolf grimm’s neck. Its headless body crumbled forward as its head spun in a lazy arc, hitting the soil with a muted thud. He gave his sword a soft flick before sheathing it home, muscle memory, she noted. She watched him stare at the dissolving grimm for a moment, then turn away to continue their trek.
Her intrigue grew. She had thought of him as someone in over their head. His demeanor and the shocking fact that he apparently entered Beacon’s initiation without his aura unlocked only reinforced that thought. It was incredibly reckless, foolhardy even. To be unaware of what an aura was, especially as an aspiring huntsman, was unheard of.
He had no idea who she or Weiss even were. Her fame, as grating as it sometimes tended to be, was widespread. The Schnee name spread even farther. Still…he didn’t know. She could tell his lack of knowledge of them was genuine. The fact that he had no clue endeared him to her almost immediately and was the reason she sought him out as soon as they were launched from Beacon’s cliff.
Looking at him now…she wasn’t so sure her first assessment of him being untrained was correct. That nervous, almost manic energy from this morning was replaced with something…sharper. She had heard and even seen people act differently after an aura awakening, running off that exhilarating high of acquired power. This…this felt different. Perhaps everything before was just nerves from pre-initiation anxiety. She somehow doubted it. Her intuition was rarely wrong when it came to a combatant.
They approached a cave entrance in a nearby outcropping, and she decided she would keep her observations to herself…for now. She watched him once again tug at his chest armor as he sighed in frustration. She wondered what was causing such irritation with his chest protection when there wasn’t any issue with it before. Another oddity.
————————————————————————
Jaune walked up to the entrance of the cave, briefly glancing over his shoulder to see Pyrrha eyeing the opening with wariness. He absently tugged on his breastplate, attempting to remedy the uncomfortable nagging sensation that had developed since his aura awakened.
Why have I not rid myself of this armor? Total concentration breathing is not as efficient with this restriction.
“What you think Pyr? Any chance this cave’s the place Headmaster Ozpin would stash the relic?”
He caught her eyes narrowing on something that caught her attention near the cave entrance as she got a little closer. He turned back around, hearing her suggest they should completely avoid said cave, when he saw a multitude of blazing red eyes light up in the darkness.
Rock and stone crumbled as a death stalker burst from the cave entrance. Pyrrha’s heart leapt to her throat as she realized Jaune was directly at the mouth of the cave before she saw that he’d somehow jumped straight up when the giant scorpion-like Grimm made its move. One hand holding on to the stinger poised above its head.
“Jaune! Whatever you do don’t let-“ Pyrrha shouted as she got ready to advance, only to see Jaune lose his grip and be sent soaring into the distance when the death stalker whipped its tail to dislodge the grip its prey had on it.
“…go, shit.”
————————————————————————
Wind roared past Jaune’s ears as he sailed through the sky after being thrown by the death stalker like some kind of ugly living catapult. His clothes flapped erratically around him. He should be feeling the same fear he felt earlier when he got launched off of Beacon's cliff with no landing strategy, but it just wasn’t there. In fact, he couldn’t deny the hint of excitement he had been building up. He’d felt like a different person since having his soul awakened. He didn’t even feel his mouth quirk up and the smile on his face form.
It reminded him of his mission assignments for the corps. It was his duty to slay demons and protect humanity from their depraved hunger. The danger of a hunt was not new to him.
As the distance between himself and Pyrrha expanded, he heard the sound of feminine screaming rising in pitch. His head turned and his eyes locked on a steadily approaching streak of red. Watching his first friend at Beacon pin wheel her arms and calling out down below, he angled his body towards her and called out.
“Heads up Ruby!”
Silver eyes snapped in his direction just as he snagged one of her flailing arms and pulled her into his body, angling himself towards a tree they were now on a collision course with. He let his aura take the blunt force of their impact, its orange flame-like appearance cradling them in warmth like a lit hearth. She was cradled in his arms as they landed on a thick tree branch just below their point of impact.
“Hey there, crater-face.” Jaune smiled down cheekily at her rapidly reddening face. “I think your bird impression could use a little work.”
Ruby scrambled out of his grip utilizing her semblance. Rushing down to the ground in a flurry of rose petals, to where her sister and a few others waited. He chuckled as he saw and heard her being teased by her sister, Yang. He also saw Nora with her familiar orange hair, Ren with her stoic face, and the cool, mysterious Blake.
Yang smirked as she looked up to him in the tree, hand cupping her forehead to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun. “Nice catch Vomit Boy! Think you got it in you to catch one more damsel?” She said pointing upward.
He looked up and saw just how Ruby ended up with her impromptu flying attempt, just as Weiss came tumbling off the giant raven-like body of a nevermore. He crouched, counting off in his head before bursting forward and leaping off the tree into open air.
“Gotcha Snow Angel” he exclaimed as he snagged her out of the air and promptly slammed feet-first into the earth, digging furrows into the ground as they slid a meter or two.
Once Weiss realized they were on the ground she turned an embarrassed glare his way, “I’ll let you get away with calling me that once, only because you caught me. Now…put me down!” She huffed with a flushed face.
Just as he set her down he saw Pyrrha burst through the tree line and come skidding to a stop beside the group, breathing heavily.
“There..you are..Jaune” she gasped out.
He started to speak when the giant scorpion Grimm rampaged out of the tree line, accompanied by the sound of splintering wood.
“Great now the gang’s all here, we can all die together!” Yang exclaimed with false cheer.
“Not if I can help it!” Ruby yelled charging the death stalker with a battle cry, her scythe Crescent Rose, mecha shifting as she sprinted off.
“No Ruby wait!” Yang cried reaching out but was too slow to stop her.
————————————————————————
Ruby took this as her chance to show Weiss and everybody else that she belonged here. That it wasn’t a mistake for her to be admitted to Beacon early by Headmaster Ozpin. She fired a round from Crescent Rose for speed then went with a swift horizontal slash at the grimm, only to catch a backhand from its massive claw that sent her tumbling to the ground.
“I’m totally fine, don’t worry! Aura took the worst of it.” She shouted back at the others, pulling herself to her feet and dusting herself off. She glanced back at the now even more pissed off Grimm, then bolted towards the group as Yang sprinted to meet her, calling Ruby’s name.
The nevermore chose that moment to rear up and flap its wings, launching its large razor razor-sharp feathers at Ruby’s fleeing form. She dodged the best she could but one of them nailed her cloak to the ground like a railroad spike, choking her as she was yanked back from her own forward momentum. The rest of the feathers stopped Yang in her tracks, nearly skewering her.
“Ruby you get out of there right now!” She shouted desperately, watching her sister frantically tug at her stuck cloak. She knew she wasn’t fast enough to clear that distance in time.
The death stalker crept up to its easy prey, reaching out with its claw to slice into the trapped girl. Ruby distantly heard the faint sound of something metal clunking on the ground with a thump as she stared into Grimm's furious glowing red eyes.
“Honō No Kokyū, Ni No Kata: Nobori En Ten!”
————————————————————————
Jaune watched the death stalker close in on his first friend he made at Beacon. A younger girl out of her element at a new school surrounded by strangers, but still kind enough to help out a dork like himself. Her life was soon to be snuffed out like he’d seen happen to so many others. He felt rage and scorching heat rush through his veins. Blood vessels enlarged along his neck and forehead. His right hand came up and gripped his chest piece with crushing force.
ENOUGH! THIS IS IN THE WAY!
He tore the chest piece off his body, leather straps shearing apart, and threw it to the ground. Breathing completely unrestricted for the first time since his awakening, he inhaled deeply, crouched down into a half-lunging stance, and moved. His feet cratered the ground, leaving behind the indentation of his boot prints in the earth.
He was next to Ruby in a blink crouched low, eyes focused on exactly where he found an opening. His left hand tightly gripped his sword sheath as his thumb whispered Crocea Mors out a touch. His right hand gripped the pommel, ready to draw. He didn’t think, just struck with instinct and technique he’d honed for years.
“Honō No Kokyū, Ni No Kata: Nobori En Ten!”
His blade sang coming out of its sheathe, vibrant orange flames igniting along its length as he swept it upwards through the dark flesh of the grimm’s limb just after axa the bony ridge of its claw. Crocea Mors parted the flesh with ease, a halo of fire cauterizing the cut as it passed and severing it completely to crash upon the ground with a thunk.
The grimm screeched in pain and rage as it reeled, backing off to assess the new threat that appeared. Hatred burned in its glowing red eyes as it hissed.
————————————————————————
Ruby’s brain took a second to catch up that Jaune was suddenly next to her as she looked up at his face, her silver eyes locking with his burning red irises surrounded by a ring of gold. A confused frown appeared on her youthful face.
“Jaune’s eyes are blue…why are they a completely different color? Is he like Yang when her semblance is active?” She thought.
Jaune’s smile when he looked at her was radiant as he reached out with a hand, grabbing onto the shaft of the nevermore feather. His arm muscles tensed as he yanked it out of the earth and Ruby’s cloak both, then tossed it aside.
“Phew. Cut it a little close there huh, Rubes. How about we do this together, huh” Jaune said as he placed a hand on her head and ruffled her hair a bit.
Ruby swiped at his hand as she shot up to her feet with a blush, before her silver eyes lit up with a sparkle and she shouted at him with glee.
“Jaune that. Was. So. Cool! Is that your semblance?! Why are your eyes a different color? How’d you move so fast?! I totally take back what I said about you not being any good in a fight!” Ruby shot off in rapid succession.
Jaune’s smile still held but his eyebrows rose at the rapid-fire questions. What did she mean his eyes were a different color? And then what she said last made him pause “…I don’t remember you ever saying that I couldn’t fight.” He said deadpan with a flat stare.
Ruby froze in realization. “Eheh, of course not! Because I totally didn’t say that!” She countered. “I only thought it.”
The death stalker suddenly decided to press forward towards them striking with its stinger, only for a glowing sigil to spawn in the air and a small glacier to streak out, forming a bulwark. The dagger-like tip of the stinger stopped in its tracks.
Weiss appeared beside them, her dust chambered rapier, Myrtenaster drawn and pointed toward the grimm. Her gaze went to Jaune and he could see her brows furrow as she gazed into his eyes.
“Now is not the time to stand here and chat. In case you’ve forgotten, we have two very large grimm intent on killing us. Let’s focus shall we? Your semblance has to do with fire, yes?” She directed her last question at Jaune.
Ruby saw Jaune pause before answering. “…yes it does.”
Weiss narrowed her eyes at his hesitation, but chose not to call it out. “You prove to be more capable than I first assumed. A pleasant surprise, given the situation.” She dismissed him and turned her attention to Ruby.
“Ohh no, I feel another lecture coming. Why meee?” She whined in her mind.
————————————————————————
Jaune ignored Ruby and Weiss’s conversation as he looked down at the weapon he held, his family's ancestral blade. “Having a blade in my hand feels natural, though this one seems…off. Its weight and shape don't feel right, the way it rests in my palm…the wrongness is tangible. But it will do, for now.”
He thought of the flame he conjured when he swung his sword. “I have no idea what a semblance is, but the flame must be connected somehow. Does that have something to do with why I feel so different? Why I feel so much, more. These sensations feel like they’re mine, but that doesn't make sense.”
He had decapitated a beowulf on autopilot earlier, his body moving before his brain even registered the danger. But that was the thing, he didn't feel threatened. A demon that weak was no threat to him without significant numbers on their side, and even then, his flame would burn them all away.
The death stalker was still trying to free itself, its stinger stuck fast in the glacier. Up above the nevermore gave a piercing screech, and Jaune’s burning red and gold eyes went skyward, hand going to his weapon.
“The beast in the sky is circling back. We must face it.” The others approached and a few of them paused when he averted his gaze from the nevermore to look at them. Their brows furrowed as they made eye contact with him, much like Weiss’s had.
“That isn't our concern at the moment. Our objective is right in front of us.” Weiss said impatiently and flicked her chin at the pedestals holding what must be the relics, which were actually chess pieces.
Ruby chimed in, “She’s right, our mission is to get a relic and get back to Beacon’s cliff. There’s no sense in fighting these things.”
A barely visible heat haze rolled off Jaune’s body and he grinned, though it was sharp compared to other smiles those assembled had seen of him give, “It's our duty to hunt demons. Ridding the world of them makes perfect sense.”
Nora gave a confused head tilt, “I’ve never heard someone call them demons before, have you Renny?!” She turned to her best friend and asked, receiving a soft head shake from her lithe and stoic friend.
Pyrrah walked over and placed a hand on Jaune’s shoulder, looking him in the eye. So different from his azure orbs of before…and so similar to the man’s she saw in her vision. She felt the heat that rolled off of him lessen to a simmer. “It is our duty yes, but we have also been tasked with a mission to ensure our enrollment. We mustn’t lose sight of that.”
She maintained eye contact until he nodded and moved to a pedestal, picking up the rook, with its castle-like crown at the top. Nora came bouncing up to him after he made his choice. The movement was doing things to her large bust situated on her small frame that he studiously tried to ignore. She looked him up and down, tapping her foot in place with her fingers gripping her chin.
“Hmmm, you’ll make a fine Prince while I remain Queen of the Castle!” She nodded her head in affirmation. Ren pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head softly.
The sound of ice cracking served as a reminder to them all that they were still in the middle of initiation, with a giant murderous scorpion still very much wanting to kill them.
“Alright people move it or lose it! That ice won't hold much longer, and we’ve got an overgrown bird in the sky!” Yang called out and took off in a run, the rest of them following in her wake.
Jaune looked back to the trapped death stalker, wondering why he had to fight the urge to disregard what his newfound allies had said and engage the grimm anyway. He ‘tsked’ and sped off, catching up so quickly that even Ren’s calm face registered a minute amount of surprise.
The forest blurred past them and they could see remnants of ancient ruins in a clearing just passed the treeline in the distance. Three Beowulfs emerged in their path at the edge, their howls reverberating off the trees.
Jaune didn’t fight the urge this time, trusting the instincts that had been pulsing through his being like the fire of a forge being stoked, growing stronger with each breath. Becoming more himself.
“Honō No Kokyū, Ichi No Kata: Shiranui!”
Flames trailed off his form as he accelerated, blazing past everyone, and overtaking Ruby who was in the lead of their group, a scorching line of fire burned in the path he traveled.
Crocea Mors flashed out in a horizontal swing, flames undulating along its blade as he decapitated all three in one stroke. Letting the momentum of the strike carry him into a spin, he skidded to a stop in the clearing with his blade held high. The black bodies of the grimm burst into flames, the heads already ashes in the wind before they hit the forest floor.
He sheathed his blade and fell back in line with the group, leading with the Ruby as they passed crumbling stonework of some ancient city.
“Damn Vomit Boy you really turned up the heat on those grimm huh!” Yang laughed as they ran, and Ruby’s groan came from deep in her chest.
“Why are you like this?” She whined embarrassed.
“Oh come on Ruby, when it's this easy how am I supposed to resist?” She said back, with an unapologetic grin.
The overbearing shriek of the nevermore cut off the rest of their banter, flying overhead to settle on a broken tower overlooking a bridge up ahead of them. The group split off on opposite sides to take cover behind pillars of stone.
As he and Pyrrha settled against rough stone, Jaune’s ear twitched, catching the familiar sound of snapping trees rapidly getting closer. His red-gold gaze locked with her emerald orbs.
“The scorpion grimm is coming.”
Her eyes flicked to the trees and saw its dark silhouette just before it crashed into the clearing with a hissing screech, accompanied by the nevermore’s answering call.
They broke out of cover with the others, running for the bridge that crossed over the chasm, connecting the tower that the nevermore used as its perch, to the clearing they were in. The raven-like grimm took to the sky, rearing its wings back to let loose its projectile feathers as they approached.
Jaune heard Ren’s shout for Nora to distract it, turning to see her split off from Ren, pulling Magnhild in its grenade launcher form off her back as she ran. Her foot caught on a piece of stone debris embedded in the ground, and she stumbled but caught herself. Her head snapped up, pupils shrinking to pinpricks as razor-sharp feathers headed for her.
“I’m so sorry, Renny.” She thought, knowing her aura wouldn't hold out to that many projectiles.
“Honō No Kokyū, Shi No Kata: Sei En No Uneri!”
Jaune was there, in front of her. Blade held in two hands as his arms blurred in circular motions, deflecting the feathers off to the sides of the two of them with a swirl of flames. He shifted his hip to have one of the feathers he missed with his blade scrape against his side, rather than hit Nora behind him. A grunt was the only acknowledgement he gave to the impact as the assault ended.
He kept his blade held off to the side and ready as he looked over his shoulder into Nora’s aqua eyes. She could just make out the corner of the grin on his face, the corner of his mouth quirked up. She could see the sweat beading on his forehead and his breathing was harsh. Her eye caught his pulse thumping in the veins that stood out along his temple and neck, but still he was smiling.
“A Prince can't let his Queen come to harm now can he?” He told her.
Nora flushed and felt her heart skip a beat as she gazed into his eyes, her body flooding with heat, which was definitely not helped by the warmth that radiated off of him. She shook her head and raised her grenade launcher to the sky, aiming at the bird grimm.
“You’ve done your Queen a service Prince Arc, I will remember this day.” She said in a fake haughty tone. Jaune laughed, facing forward, and her smile at his back turned soft.
Nora looked back up to the grimm…and pulled the trigger.