RWBY: Legacies

Jaundice

Jaune staggers to his feet, tightly clutching the handle of Cicara Morz as his opponent stares him down. A chuckle escapes the man's lips as he looks at Jaune, seemingly unaffected by the weight of the large, spiked mace resting across his left shoulder. Jaune grits his teeth, drawing in a ragged breath before he charges forward with his sword held high, releasing a mighty battle cry. He swings down wildly but the man steps around the blow and bats his mace into Jaune.

The force of the blow knocks Jaune off his feet, simultaneously dislodging his shield from his grasp. He quickly recovers, charging in again, this time drawing his blade up and over his head before cleaving it down with both hands. There's a loud clang as his opponent blocks the blow with the handle of his mace. He is pushed back for a moment before he starts to slowly overpower Jaune, standing taller as he does.

"This is the part where you lose." He tells Jaune, a large grin plastered across his face. Jaune's blade is nearly pressing against his own shoulder as he locks eyes with the man, desperately trying to hold his position.

"Over my dead-" A knee crunches into Jaune's gut before he can finish. He drops his sword and falls to the ground clutching his stomach as the man stands over him, his grin twisting into a satisfied snarl. Jaune's eyes widen as the man raises the mace above his head, the light behind him creating a terrifying silhouette of the bulky armour protecting the giant body.

Just as he swings the mace down towards Jaune, the sound of a buzzer fills the room, halting the final blow.

"That's enough." Miss Goodwitch steps into the middle of the arena and looks around at the students lining the stands. "As you can see, Mr Arc's aura has fallen into the red. In a tournament style duel, this would indicate he is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may end the match." She tells them, though many are still looking at Jaune as he props himself up on the arena floor; His opponent leaning casually on his mace.

'I knew Jaune might need a little help when it came to formal combat training, but that was just... painful to watch.' Theodore thinks, looking at the holographic screens displaying statistics for each fighter. On the left was 'Cardin Winchester', with an almost full aura bar; Jaune having only been able to get a few light tactical strikes early on. On the right, 'Jaune Arc', with an almost empty aura bar, flashing red.

"Mister Arc," Miss Goodwitch continues, turning back to Jaune, "you have been here a number of weeks now, so you should know that you really must try to keep your aura level in mind during combat. If you don't, as was proven today, you are unlikely to decide on the best course of action." Jaune nods sadly and hangs his head for a moment. "We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowulf, now would we?" She adds somewhat wryly.

"Speak for yourself." Cardin scoffs quietly as he walks out of the arena, oblivious to Pyrrha's glare. Theodore also frowns at him, but quickly turns back to Eliza and team RWBY, who are more concerned with Miss Goodwitch and Jaune.

"Remember everyone, the Vytal tournament is only a few months away, it won't be long before students from other kingdoms start arriving in Vale. So, keep practicing." Many of the students cheer in excitement at Miss Goodwitch's words. "Remember, those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale and our expectations will be high." She finishes just as the bell rings, signalling the end of class and the beginning of lunch.

Theodore looks to his friends and smiles when he sees them brimming with excitement at the news; Eliza wearing a particularly confident smirk.

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