What I might have neglected to tell Jaune was that training didn't end after one spar.
No. Training would end when he just physically wasn't able to push on anymore, and with Leona coming along for the trip fixing him up as needed, Jaune was able to go on for a much longer time than anyone on JNPR or RWBY had been expecting.
"Hurry up Jaune! One more beowolf and then you get a ten minute break!"
There was more than one beowolf in the clearing, but I was following some advice Professor Goodwitch had given me about giving students a high note to end on. She said forcing students to push past their limits was a good way for them to grow, but if done too early they could focus on a mistake they made towards the end and wind up in a negative spiral.
And since today was more about making sure Jaune had a solid grasp of the basics rather than pushing his limits, there was no point risking that happening.
Probably eager for that break, Jaune moved quickly towards a charging beowolf and swung at the creature's neck.
Too early, I noticed. His sword nicked the werewolf looking Grimm but didn't hit deep enough to kill the creature.
Jaune noticed too and quickly covered up with his shield, deflecting a claw strike up and away from the rest of his body before following up with a quick slash to the beowolf's chest. This time the beowolf attempted to cover its vital points with its other hand only to lose it from the wrist down as Jaune's blade cut through it. Jaune didn't stop there either and immediately spun his sword so he was able to thrust it through the beowolf's 'heart'.
Overall, slightly sloppy, slow, and more effort than a single beowolf should warrant, but leagues better than what Jaune was capable of at the beginning of the year.
"Alright everyone, thirty seconds!" I called out to the other students who were already moving to finish off the rest of the Grimm in the clearing. This was the third repetition so they already knew what to do. If they managed to kill the rest of the Grimm in the clearing before the time limit I set expired, they would get a small reward when we got back to Beacon.
Of course I was cheating, so at twenty seven seconds I snapped off an arrow that cored through the last beowolf's head half a second before Pyrrha took aim at it with her weapon's rifle configuration.
A disappointed groan came from both teams as they once again 'failed' to complete the challenge.
I actually had to hide a smile because Leona absolutely knew what I was doing and was giving me a bemused stare because of it.
Jaune might be at risk of negatively spiraling at any failure, real or imagined. But the rest of the students were past that stage and using their 'failure' as motivation to improve.
A little added training for them while I primarily focused on Jaune. As a treat.
-o-
"Ready stance!"
Jaune practically snapped into position. After nine spars he was pretty well conditioned to my sudden orders but that didn't mean he was perfect.
Without even really looking I could tell that he was still holding his weapons too low and had a few openings that could be taken advantage of, but the important thing is that he wasn't even thinking about how he should respond when I called out to him. He just moved.
And that was enough for me to consider today a success. Refinement could be done on his own with the help of his team.
Which meant this would be the last spar before we headed back to the Academy.
I readied Torashinai and quickly thrust the training blade at the leader of Team JNPR's face, not giving him any warning the spar was starting. And to his credit, Jaune managed to raise his shield in time to deflect the attack – if only just barely.
My follow up attacks were blocked more cleanly, but Jaune was still hesitant to counterattack. I couldn't tell if that was him being cautious about the deliberate openings I was presenting or if he just genuinely didn't think he had an opening to attack even when I mimicked openings he had seen on the Beowolves earlier.
Jaune's trait of being a total contradiction to teach was on full display once again.
"You got this Jauney!"
"Yeah, kick her butt!"
"You can do it!"
"Go for it, vomitboy!"
My eyes drifted over to the rest of teams RWBY and JNPR, who had once again formed something of a cheer squad for their friend. Unsurprisingly, Nora, Ruby, Pyrrah, and Yang were the more vocal of the group. Though I did have to chuckle at Blake and Ren unenthusiastically waving little flags in support even as Weiss stood off to the side, trying to ignore the whole thing.
Jaune noticed I wasn't paying attention to him and finally went on the attack. A half-hearted stab from me was deflected as Jaune shoved his shield across his chest and using the momentum to chain into a spinning slash.
It wasn't exactly the best executed attack of all time or anything, but if I did nothing it would go on to hit me in the throat. Not something immediately fatal unless he somehow managed to break through my aura at the same time, but still a well-aimed attack that would kill most Grimm and debilitate the majority of huntsmen. Aura blocked damage, not force or sensation.
I could have done several things. I could have blocked it by either using Torashinai or projecting another sword, I could have dodged, I could have even turned my own previous attack into a slash to push him away.
I didn't do any of those and instead… stood up slightly so Jaune's sword cut along the top of my chest instead of my neck.
The entire clearing froze at the sound of Crocea Mors actually making contact and the visible flare of my aura. So much so that when I glanced back towards the cheering squad, I saw Nora actually tipping over like someone had pushed a statue. At least until she hit the ground and then bounced up cheering louder than before.
Jaune himself was just staring at his sword like he had never seen it before.
I sighed and promptly smacked him on the head with Torashinai.
"Don't freeze up just because you managed to land one hit." I scolded, before giving him a smile. "Still, you made a lot of progress today. Good job."
If Jaune was going to respond, he never got the chance to say anything. Nora almost immediately tackled him to the ground with a flying hug, followed by everyone else swarming around him to congratulate him on his progress.
Meanwhile I walked over to Leona, who was packing up the few things she had brought out in case of a sudden Grimm attack or medical emergency.
"I think we're done for today. Once they're done celebrating, we'll head back to the Bullhead and drop them off at Beacon." I told her.
"Drop them off… so I take it we will be doing something else today?"
I nodded. "I want to follow up on the information we got about the White Fang before they can move again. We know their endgame, but disrupting things before they get that far means a lot fewer people wind up hurt in the end."
It was Leona's turn to nod at my words. "I'll let the professors know we're extending the Bullhead's reservation then."
Neither one of us noticed we were suddenly being stared at by the only black haired girl in the group.
-o-
After dropping off both teams and getting the Bullhead refueled, Leona and I quickly made our way down to Vale City and then over to the more isolated sections.
Thanks to the information I had from the last time I visited the city, I already knew where I was going and didn't hesitate to head for what seemed to be an empty warehouse with a few random men idly milling around the front gate.
To the casual observer, these would be either rough or threatening people that most civilians would want to stay away from. At a glance they might be homeless or the type to rob someone for a few Lien, but a closer look revealed flaws with those theories. They were too clean for one. Despite what looked like deep set stains on their clothes, none of their exposed skin showed signs of dirt or filth. They were also all wearing hats or things that covered up body parts.
It didn't take a genius to figure out those men were Faunus. Or that they were there to discourage anyone from getting too close to the building behind them. The one Leona and I just so happened to need to go into.
"Keep moving, ladies." One of the bigger men said once we were close enough. "This place is dangerous at night, and you don't wanna get burned."
Burned? That was odd phrasing, why would– oh, probably some sort of challenge they used to figure out if we were actually supposed to be her. Not every Faunus had immediately identifiable features after all.
Unfortunately, I had no idea what the correct response would be.
"Sorry boys, I'm here to talk to the one in charge. You can either call them out or I can go inside, but I'm not leaving until then."
The men were looking a whole lot meaner after that. They brought out bats, a couple metal pipes, and even a length of chain. But again, these were weapons mostly meant to scare off people getting too close to the warehouse, not to seriously fight someone with.
And it wasn't like they were going to get a fair fight anyway.
"Leona, if you could?"
My apprentice stepped forward, Triage unfolding into her hands. Before the White Fang lookouts could do more than flinch at the sudden appearance of her spear, she pointed it at one of them and said, "Slytha."
The man dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.
The rest of his friends understandably paused and looked over at him, wondering what the hell just happened to him while Leona pointed her spear at another one of them.
"Slytha."
Another dropped to the ground.
"Slytha."
A third joined them.
"Shit, Huntre–!" "Slytha." Leona interrupted the fourth lookout before he could finish yelling.
The last two didn't go down so easily. Leona pointed their way and repeated the same word only for both of them to completely ignore it beyond a hardly noticeable flash of Aura.
"Huntresses! Stop them before they get inside!" One of them yelled loud enough that he surely alerted whoever was in the warehouse. Which meant they were probably going to panic and either fight or try to escape. Not exactly ideal for having a conversation.
So I needed to get a move on.
"I'm going on ahead." I told Leona. "Come join me once you're done with these two."
"You aren't getting by us so – gah!"
The two lookouts tried to get in my way, but Leona managed to get in front of them and engage with her spear. She wasn't the best – only a bit better than Jaune skillwise, honestly – but the lookouts weren't exactly well trained fighters either. And Leona had more than enough trump cards up her sleeve that could win the fight if it came down to it.
While the sounds of fighting escalated behind me, I jumped the fence and ran towards the door leading to the warehouse.
It was time I had my first face to face meeting with the White Fang.
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