Courage

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A/N: Hey guys, well Quezan HighLordLoli TheDeadMeta1 that's it. I'm finally back from the exams. I had an event today at school so yeah. Thanks the rest of you guys who read, I don't mention you because I don't know who you are. Thanks again guys for reading and enjoy.
"... Rwby belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth... Man, I would love to cook some rooster.., oh yeah the OCs like me belong to ourselves, we've given Mile, the author, our permission to tell of our story. Though I am a little disappointed in him... I don't even have enough screen time. Come on, more Team BNHA!"
Sorry there Blanc. Just not enough plans...

Jaune... what happened... the Jaune I knew wasn't like this. Sure he may have had some bad times, but he had good times too. The spar earlier today was complete and utter annihilation. The only reason it was even a spar was because of Jaune's muscle memory. What happened Jaune? You won't even tell me... your best friend. The friend you've spent nearly your entire childhood with...
"Yo Phoenix, what're you so down about?" Van asks me. I ignore him and walk out the door, looking to the right. Van follows me, shutting the door behind me.
"Have a good night Jaune!" I see Ruby say to him. She doesn't seem to notice Van and I.
"Jaune. Tell me what happened. I know Cardin did something to you. So tell me." Jaune looks over to Van and I. Van stays in the back, all quiet.
"It's not-"
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT'S NOTHING! I'VE BEEN YOUR BEST FRIEND SINCE BIRTH, I'VE SPENT NEARLY MY ENTIRE CHILDHOOD WITH YOU! SO IF YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON THEN ARE WE REALLY BEST FRIENDS!?" I hit at the wall numerous times. So many times a crack appears. Van fixes it however. More like he covers it with ice.
".....I'll tell you in the field trip. Where nobody can listen in to our conversation."
"Promise. Swear on the Arc family's honour that you will tell me."
"I swear."
"Good. Good night." Van stands next to me looking on us. Jaune leaves after looking at his scroll.
"Van, I'm going to-"
"Not today Phoenix. I know what you do when you're angry. You mess up the courtyard in front of the Human, Faunus and Grimm Statue. Mess up Forever Fall."
"...Thanks Van."
"Let's get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a field trip."
"Yeah..."
~Timeskip due to Phoenix's anger~
Van Pov
"Forever Fall..." For some reason, I feel...weaker here. Not much, but I think my abysmally slow Aura rate is slower... though it has improved...
"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at 4 o'clock. Have fun!" Huh? Did Ms Goodwitch say something?
"Mile, did she say something?"
"Yeah, gather red sap in these jars and come back here. That's why Makoto's going to do most of the work..." Easy peasy.
"Yeah, she can stop time for all of us, then we can gather the sap while time is stopped... By the way, how can she let time flow like normal for certain objects but not others?"
"She just can."
"Plausible, okay Makoto now." And with Makoto's overpowered time saving ability we finish it up in an instant.
"You're done already?" Ms Goodwitch and everybody else looks surprised.
"Yeah, can we spend the rest of the time exploring?"
"Sure..." And we get permission. Yay.
"Okay everybody do what you want."
"Makoto and I will get some sap and save some for our team." So Mile and Makoto are going to save some? Blanc will love this.
"I'm going to talk to the other teams. Bye!" I look at Phoenix with a knowing glance. He's going to do something about Jaune. I just know it. Over to you Phoenix you're going to be more important in this arc...
Phoenix Pov
I've finally found where Jaune is. What are they doing, hiding over there?
"Last night, old Jaune here managed to round up an entire box of Rapier Wasps, and now, we're gonna put him to work. Now, according to one of the essays you wrote for me last week, these nasty things love sweets, so Jauney boi... you know what to do. See that red-haired bitch over there? Yeah, throw the sap at her. Make sure it gets all over her." Jauneeeeee.........
"I-I can't."
"What did you say?"
"NO!" Jaune throws the jar with the pommel throwing technique. Move Number 101 if I remember. Supposed to be a move to end your opponent rightly.
"You're going to get it now..." Cardin drags Jaune somewhere. Jaune, you have officially proven to me that you are still my best friend. I will help you. I should wait for the opportune moment...then..... no. I can't do that. Jaune will only hate himself more over it. Only he can get over it... I hate things like this. I can only watch...
Jaune Pov
"You are NOT MESSING WITH MY FUCKING TEAM!" I punch Cardin in the face. Fuck that guy. He punches me back, but I feel no pain from it, my previous injuries from their previous attacks are somehow already healed up. I punch Cardin again until he pulls out his mace. In response I pull out Crocea Mors and my shield.
"COME AT ME YOU FUCKS!" I can win. Remember your sparring with Phoenix, Jaune. Remember your training with your best friend. YOU ARE JAUNE ARC AND YOU CAN FUCKING WIN! FUCK TEAM CRDN AND THEIR ENTIRE FUCKING FAMILY! And suddenly a huge Ursa comes out from nowhere. Just my luck. Oh no, it's almost got Cardin.
"Cardin... I just want to say this before I save you, but... FUCK YOU AND STAY AWAY FROM MY TEAM! DON'T TALK TO ME OR MY FRIENDS EVER AGAIN!" I charge at the Ursa from the back, trying to stab it, but it smacks it's claws into my shield... I get launched from the resulting impact. That...doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would...
"Oh, no!" I can hear people saying something... But I don't have the time for that. I have to rush over to Cardin and save him. The Ursa is so close to him, but I don't think I can... make it... I can if I jump!
"Come on!" I shout as I take the blow to my shield and get launched into a tree.
"Cardin! Run!" He's only being deadweight here... I have to think on how to kill it... it's surprisingly fast. It's strong. But... I'm smaller, so I have the advantage in movement. Also it doesn't have opposable thumbs. I breathe in and out a little bit. Right before I charge at it again. I'll dodge it's first attack and close in, trying to slice it's neck. Charge! I can do this.... The Ursa tries to slap me with it's claw. I can jump on it's claw and jump again to hit it's face. I rush at it and jump only to have my shield suddenly drop down? Huh? I get launched again. This thing is playing with me like I'm a ragdoll. If the shield is only going to cause problems, then I just don't have to use it. I throw my shield down onto the ground and charge once more. It swipes at me with it's two claws leaving the area in the middle open if I'm fast enough. I jump over the claws only for...
"Gaaaaah!" It, it bit me... it bit my arm and threw me away... my arm... I don't think I can use my left arm now... It's not much damage, but damn does this hurt... I have to end it here. There's still a move powerful enough to kill it in one shot.
"Move 99: Ultimatum!" The move has me use all my Aura to stab straight through an enemy's weak point. This being the head. Even though I have almost no Aura left, I charge, faster than I have ever charged in my life. I leap straight at it's head, stabbing downwards. It's claws may try to impede my stab but I can pierce through it...
"COME ON! WORK!" This is my final desperation move. It has to work. Come on... I use my left hand despite being injured? It's healed?
"Just a bit more..." I finally pierce straight through it's claws. Arriving at the head, I used all my Aura on piercing through it's claws... It can just bite my head right now... If it weren't for me stabbing my sword through it's jaw. I even twist it, just in case. I can see my sword through it's open mouth...gross. It dissolves... I've won. I'VE WON! I WON ALL BY MYSELF! I DID IT! I CAN BE A LEADER! I AM JAUNE ARC, LEADER OF TEAM JNPR!
"I WON!" I whoop around until I realize my left arm still hurts. The partial healing wasn't enough... the wound reopened from the pierce... I walk on over to my shield and turn it into a scabbard again to sheath my sword. And now, I'm going to need medical attention.
Phoenix Pov
"...Jaune... YOU FUCKING DID IT!" I shout as he gathers Crocea Mors into one again. Jaune is injured, heavily. He needs medical attention. Huh? Did Jaune just recover? Not all of it, but some of it... Makoto... she just seems to know when and who to stop time and bring with her.
"...Come on Jaune, I'll support you..."
"Thanks Phoenix, let's spar again for the Vystal Tournament..." Yet he still thinks of the Vystal Tournament... Prof Goodwitch finally appears.
"Jaune is injured! He needs medical attention but he got the jars!" The teacher nods her head and levitates Jaune with her.
"See you at Beacon Phoenix!"
"...Likewise..." I watch them fly off. Looks like Jaune is turning into a real Hunter in training.
Van Pov
Now... I'm alone... Let's review the data so far... I've met with all the faunus in school and none of them have anything to do with the White Fang and Bows. The ones that use a bow don't have relations with the White Fang. I haven't asked any humans, since that would require asking for their weapon, and some people are protective of it. It's been weeks since I've started Beacon Academy yet I haven't found my family's killer. She or he has to be in Vale somewhere. That's where the White Fang is operating so the killer has to be. The only one I've found is still Cinder, yet I feel like she doesn't go to Beacon. I can't find her... I stare at the Ursa trying to attack me. It's claws turn into stone. I stab it in it's eye. Another win.
"Who is it?" I keep asking myself. If only I could think faster, more creatively...
"I wish I could think faster..."
OkaysoIknowitcouldbeCinderandsheprobablyisbutIdon'thavetheevidencethatsheis.Ifsheisn'thenImighthavekilledaninnocent. Idon'twanttomurderarandomcivilliansoIshouldgofocusontheVystalTournamet. Soundsgood. MaybeCinderwilltrytosabotagethetournament,whoknows?... WhyismyAuragoingdown? What? Ididn'tinfusemyAuraintoanything, Ididn'tdoanythingwithitsoitcan'tbemanual, soitmustbeautomatic. ButIalreadyhaveanautomaticSemblanceanditisn'tfreezingmorethingsthanusualsocoulditbemySilverEyes? Idon'tthinkso. Itdoesn'treallyusemyAuranowsowhatcoulditbe...? Whatwasdad'spasswordagain? Ithinkitwas...W1N73R MA1D3N. ItwasWinterMaiden, MaidenofWinter. MomlovedWinter. IhaveIcePowers. MySemblanceisconvenientafandoverowered. IsmySemblancereallymySemblance? Gaaah...This is... that feeling Ozpin told me to remember... I want to run faster... I try running but it's the same speed as normal...
"I want to run faster than normal." I do so...Is this another ability or my true Semblance...?
"Stop using up my Aura. Don't do anything." My Aura's regen rate is... not slow? It-it's... fast now. It's not that fast but faster than most other people.
"OH OUM UP ABOVE YOU HAVE GRANTED ME MY WISH!" FINALLY.... But why was my other power... I'll name it then... how about...
"Absolute Territory, Target: Me, Improve Aura regen rate..." If this works... No, it's the same speed.
"Me, show the field Absolute Territory targets..." A bluish translucent field appears before me. It's like a sphere with me being in the middle. I can control how far it goes... So this is my... power... the Aura regen rate doesn't go down from it making itself visible to me. Great great.
"Now, stop time." ...Nothing happens.
"Target: Me and my surroundings, Stop time." It stops time for a split second. That leaf stopped falling for a split second... I wonder... can I grant myself abilities I didn't previously have?
"Target: Me, Give me Blossom Dance." I speed forward and crash into a tree. It really works...
"OH MY OUM IT'S AMAZING!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH! NOTHING CAN STOP ME NOW!
"Absolute Territory, Target: Mom's killer, Make her or him dead." Did it work? Maybe... But if it worked my field would have expanded until it reached the killer... I guess it doesn't work.
"Target: Me, make me kill all the Ursa in the vicinity." ... I guess it can't make me do that...
"Target: Me, Make me go insane but automatically stop me if I see another human." ...It doesn't work. I guess it can't control mental states... unless it can only do that to other people. Maybe it can emphasize a certain emotion?
"Target: Me, Emphasize my desire for vengeance for 3 seconds." I think it... oh yes... the thing CAN emphasize mental states... Ahahahahahahah.... it'll be piss easy to find that fucker and kill him or her and their entire family and then murder the White Fang and then... and then! Fuck, that was weird... yeah never doing that again... Hmm? My Aura is at 0%. So it should be... something like 50% from time stop... and the rest from everything else... I think the Blossom Dance took 10% and the emphasize took 5%. Pretty cool. I'm so going to try it out on one of my friends... okay that's just manipulative. Only something small. Like emphasizing Mile's love for Makoto. I know he has them. He must have. Otherwise that's kind of sad. Though it probably has to exist within them. If it doesn't but it works... then I'm only using it on the bad guys. Maybe I can improve Silver Eyes...? No, improvement without effort will only lead to laziness. I will use that way as I need to, but normally, no. Time to go back. It's like... 3:30. Do I have enough Aura to give myself Blossom Dance? Hmm... I'll wait for... a minute then I can tell my Aura recovery speed...
~Timeskip due to recovering~
20% in a minute... so 20 divided by 60 is... 0.33. So about a third of a percent per second. Every 3 seconds I recover a 1%. Nice. 10% to give me Blossom Dance for a while.
"Target: Me, Give me Blossom Dance." I think I can make it back with 10%. I put on my hoodie and rush back with Blossom Dance. Several minutes later... I arrive at the place where we're supposed to meet up and.... rose petals, behind me...
"Me, don't do anything." And Aura regen rate increases again. Amazing how much Aura Blossom Dance uses... 10% to give me the ability but it took like 5% to make it all the way over here...
"...Why are there rose petals behind you? Far as I know, that's Ruby Rose's thing..." and Phoenix knows. That was fast.
"I'll explain it later at the dorm room, come on we've got to head back."
"Yeah." Mile.
"Yeah!" Makoto.
"Sure..." Phoenix.
"Let's." And Me, Vanilla. Together we are team VAMP and we will damn right protect the people.
Jaune Pov
I'm standing in front of the Hunter, Faunus, Grimm statue looking at Pyrrha. My left arm not in a sling, because I recovered from it fast for some reason...
"I'm sorry Pyrrha for being a jerk... You were only trying to help me..."
"No! I'm the one that's sorry! I nearly let you die!" Huh? When did that happen?
"When did that happen?"
"I used my Semblance to control your shield to help you block the claw strike, but you then jumped up then got launched because I controlled your shield and I-"
"Woah there. It's my fault because I didn't tell you to not help. It's my fault that I got bit on my left arm and might have contracted rabies." I was really worried if I contracted rabies from the Ursa after the fight.
"But you could've died!"
"I threw down my shield on my own okay? If you came in and helped me back there, I'd probably still hate myself. But you didn't. You helped me. Got it? You helped me by not helping me." Wait, that doesn't make sense...
"Pfft... hahahahahhahaha!!!!" Pyrrha starts laughing at my previous sentence. Was it really that bad?
"Pyrrha! Stop laughing!" I can't get her to stop.
"Pyrrha please I've got to talk about something important." And that Pyrrha stops her laughter and listens seriously.
"I know I don't deserve it after all that happened, but... would you still be willing to help me... to help me become a better fighter?" I really don't... Pyrrha says nothing and walks to my side. She pushes me on the ground.
"What was that for?" I get up.
"You need to fix your stance."
"I have. I just wasn't ready, that's all."
"Really?"
"Yeah, watch." The Arcdragon Sword Style has many different stances but I prefer... the traditional one.
"It seems pretty normal..." So she says... but she doesn't realize the true power of this stance. You see this stance was the same stance my ancestor used mostly, so it has to be good...
"It was the stance my ancestor used, so it has to be good." Pyrrha's going to be so shocked.
"I don't see anything much different..."
"Well, that's because... it's secret! That's it's power! It looks like a regular normal stance but it's actually much better!" I don't know how long I can keep bullshitting for...
"Pfffttt....."
"Hey! Pyrrha! Oh come on!"
"Let's think over stances later... we have pancakes. Though there's no syrup because of Nora."
"But pancake's no good if there's no syrup..." It's bland. Who eats pancakes without syrup? Who does that?
"Come on Jaune..." Who the fuck does that?
"We should get some syrup first."
"It's already pretty late Jaune, do you think we have the time to get syrup?"
"Yes."
"Nora will eat all the pancakes if we don't hurry..."
"Crap, you're right! Let's go!" We have to hurry before she finishes all the pancakes. But we don't have syrup... We can't have pancakes without syrup... but if we get syrup, there will be no pancakes... An easy choice really.
~Pancake Timeskip....~
"Nora, stop eating the pancakes! I want some too!" I loudly say as I open the door to our dorm room. Pyrrha close behind me.
"Hey." I hear something being thrown. I catch the object as I turn around.
"Phoenix...Move 1: End Pommel..." Phoenix threw me a jar of the red sap he collected. Wait is this even edible? I saw Nora eat it, so it could be... Then again, it's Nora. End Pommel is a move supposed to be used to end someone quickly. If you have two pommels, you can combine Move 1 and Move 101.
"That's the one. You can use the sap to eat with the pancakes, by the way... Did you ever tell me what happened?" OH COME ON! I FORGOT!
"Er, I forgot."
"....." Phoenix is giving me a deathstare...
"Ph-Phoenix... Please stop. I'll tell you, I'll tell you okay? Okay?" I say in an effort to calm him down. Phoenix is always like this, when he gets angry over something, he just has the urge to destroy a lot of things... despite him normally being quiet and calm...
"Okay..." I have to tell him my decision. Even after I told Pyrrha if she would help me, on the way here, I realized something... I think it's better for me to come back next year as a good leader than fumble about for a year...
"R-right. Phoenix, I was blackmailed by Cardin. He managed to blackmail me using... the fact that my transcripts to get here are fake... I lied to get here... I managed to get fake transcripts and used them to get here. So, I lied to get here! Tell the teacher what you want! I don't even care if I get thrown out...just... take care of my team. I'll be back next year! I'll make it back here! So take care of my-Owwwwww......" Phoenix punched me in the face.
"You know what fine! If you don't care about your team then just leave!" I punch him in the face the same way he did to mine.
"I'm trying to help my team! If I just drop out now, then I can train for a year! And come back! I'll put 100% into my training!" I shout as I punch him again in the stomach. His face contorts in pain as we don't use Aura.
"Then stay here! Learn alongside your team! Do you think that your team will accept a stranger as their leader for a year!?" He punches me in the chest. I get knocked backward.
"BUT I'M NOT STRONG ENOUGH!"
"THEN TRAIN HERE TO BECOME STRONG! JUST BECOME STRONG HERE!" We both punch each other in the face. At the same time. We both fall down onto the ground. Beaten up. I have to get up...
"Stay here you dipshit. Your team can't handle being without you. Ren, Nora and Pyrrha need you. I need you. You're my best friend, life wouldn't be the same without you around! SO STAY HERE!" He shouts into my face as we get up.
"BUT I CAN'T! I'M NOT STRONG ENOUGH!"
"I'VE ALREADY TOLD YOU THE SOLUTION! JUST GET STRONG HERE! TRAINING WITH YOUR FRIENDS IS MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE THAN TRAINING ALONE!"
"BUT THEN I CAN'T....." I... I must be really stupid to think that... Phoenix is right... Training with my Team is much more effective than training alone... but...I'm not good enough to be their leader.
"I'm....I'm... still not...."
"It doesn't matter if you're good as a leader or if you were absolute trash Jaune. You are not a failure. You are not allowed to be a failure. You are not allowed to quit, even if it is better for you to quit. Because you are leader for a reason. You are a leader for the sake of leading. So what if Headmaster Ozpin is wrong about you. You have to be a good leader and a good leader sticks by their teammates. Ask your teammates. They will say,' We want you as our leader Jaune.' Go on, ask." A-ask?
"I want you to be our leader Jaune. We want you to be our leader, just ask the others..." Pyrrha opens the door, only to have Nora and Ren peeking at us.
"... Yes. You are the best leader for us right now." Ren...
"Yeah! We want you to be our leader! We aren't a team if you aren't leader! We couldn't have defeated the Deathstalker if you weren't our leader!" Nora... that was pretty bad at motivating but it still worked...
"...Take it from me, your best friend.... I've got nothing. If after all that, you weren't persuaded, then nothing can." Phoenix...
"Guys.... I LOVE YOU ALL!"! I try to pull all of them into a hug. Phoenix and Pyrrha complies, leading Nora to grab Ren to our group hug. They're right! I can't just leave them! I have to support them as a leader! I'LL BE THE BEST DAMN LEADER I CAN EVER BE!
Third Person Pov
Ozpin walks near the dormitory where Teams VAMP, RWBY, JNPR, and BNHA live in.
"So.... Phoenix and Jaune have finally opened up... and Van finally realized his True Semblance... We still need to prepare more... let's see... I think at this pace, Van, Jaune, Phoenix and Makoto will be ready. Mile isn't trying, so we need to motivate him. The rest of Jaune's team need more effort, Team BNHA all need more effort... and Team RWBY... Ruby will need to train even harder for her Silver Eyes... Weiss needs to realize her Glyphs... Yang and Blake need more training..." Ozpin walks back to his tower.
"How will I do that... Oh, I know, we can solve Weiss' problem when Van's Dust shipment arrives. I told them to delay it for longer because... some reason... I think I wanted Van to train more... I need to motivate them to train as hard as they can... but there's no sign of emergency... though Van's the most likely to do that. Eventually he will realize his secret and train harder than ever. All his friends will need motivation... Maybe if Beacon is destroyed? Nah.... I won't let that happen as long as I'm alive..."

Man, I would love to see if a girl could tame Van. I mean he's cold as fuck.

A/N: Man, does it feel good to finish the exams... By the way... the event was an art auction. Several grades had to perform some music and our grade did perform... Anyway... I managed to snag some pics of the paintings I like in the art auction. They really shouldn't have put the art up before the actual auction... Anyway thanks for reading this far! Keep your eyes open for a different story! I have ideas up for a different one and I'm going to try for a new style. Third person most of the time! Its cultivation by the way. Just... different...

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