Disclaimer: RWBY and all affiliated characters/titles belong to Rooster Teeth, those wonderful geniuses.

Jaune grunted and strained as he forced the bar up again and eased it onto the rack above his chest. It nestled into the holders with a satisfying clink noise that rang out to accompany the sounds of other students also using the gym. He sat and shook his arms out to the sides, trying to force the tingling sensation out as he felt his aura push down his arms and begin repairing his muscles, strengthening them already. He had noticed it more and more as he worked out, after Pyrrha had unlocked his aura at initiation he could push himself harder and harder, letting the energy soothe muscle aches, repair torn tendons and ligaments when he went too hard, it allowed him to work out so much more than he had realized. He stood from the bench and moved to put another plate on each side of the bar.

He could bench around one hundred and fifty pounds when he got to Beacon. But, he wanted to catch up to the likes of Yang and even surpass her and Nora and maybe catch up with Yatsuhashi, though he realized that might not be possible. He ticked off the weights with his finger to make sure he had counted right, three plates to a side, that put him at two hundred and seventy now. He had been repping around one hundred and eighty for a while now but it was time to step it up a this went well then maybe this weekend he would step it up again. Jaune laid himself back down on the bench, took a couple quick breaths to psyche himself up and pushed the bar back into the air.

He strained against the weight and lowered it slowly to his chest and back up again. He tried to remember everything Pyrrha had been teaching him about proper technique. He didn't lock out his elbows at the top, he kept breathing, he left his feet flat on the floor. He pushed the bar up fast, almost all the way and then lowered it slowly until the bar nearly tapped his chest. He kept his grip solid and made sure the weight fell back into his arms and didn't strain against his thumbs or fingers. Pyrrha had told him time and time again how important it was to protect his hands since he was a swordsman. If his grip or fine motor skills ever failed him, he would have to change fighting styles completely.

Several more reps and he felt himself really starting to strain. But, this was his first time at two-seventy, of course it was hard. If it wasn't hard then what was the point? Just three more he told himself. He lifted the bar again and eased it back down, his arms started to shake as he approached his chest. Jaune gritted his teeth and pushed for all he was worth, he could feel the twitching muscles in his chest, in his arms but the bar seemed to hover there above his sternum and refuse to budge even another inch upwards.

He started to panic, the bar was going to crush him because he couldn't lift it. He wasn't wearing his chest plate, it restricted his range of motion and his bones were soft and squishy compared to the hard steel of the weights. Jaune the Huntsman in training was going to be killed by a weight, a big stupid weight. He gritted his teeth and felt the tendons on the side of his head begin to bulge. Jaune had to force his feet back down to the ground as they started to pick up from the effort and throw him off balance. He couldn't cry out for help because he knew as soon as he did the bar would plummet on top of him. So he resolved to just push and he pushed and pushed as hard as he could, the bar creeping closer and closer to him. Until a third hand grabbed the center of the weight and pulled it easily up and away, resting it on the rack above him with a resounding clunk. Jaune pushed as the bar ascended above him, trying to help as much as he could, even now he didn't want to feel useless, to be saved.

"Jaune are you okay?" Pyrrha fell to her knee at his side and placed a hand on the bench next to him. He groaned internally as he realized that she had once again come to his rescue. Jaune let his shaky arms fall to his sides, spent and useless. Almost immediately he felt the steady trickle of aura run down his veins and push into his exhausted, most likely injured muscles and begin to repair the damage there.

Jaune let out a heavy breath, somewhere between a sigh and a groan as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. He rested his hands on his knees and looked down at his lap in embarrassment and shame. He even had to be saved in the weight room. The whole reason he was here was to try and make himself better but he couldn't even do that right.

"Yeah, I'm okay." He threw on his best goofy smile in an attempt to convince her. "Thanks a lot. I think I might'a died." Jaune patted the bar behind him and tried to chuckle nervously but Pyrrha's eyes remained focused and serious. Their crystal clear emerald piercing right into him, she always saw past whatever he was trying to put up. Jaune rubbed absentmindedly at his right arm in preparation for the stream of reprimands and corrections he was sure was coming.

"Jaune, you have to be more careful. You know that if you asked I would have spotted for you." Pyrrha wasn't smiling, her lips were pressed into a thin line of concern that made Jaune sigh. Of course he had disappointed her again, he knew he needed to be a better partner for her but even when he tried his hardest, he always came up short. Jaune knew he was holding her back, if she had been paired with someone amazing like Weiss had wanted before initiation or really with anyone but him she would definitely be doing better than she was now. If she could spend the time she spent training him on something better for herself, like her own work or maybe even relaxation she would be better for it. But, she had to spend every second of her free time helping him catch up because he was a fraud.

Pyrrha began to rattle off instructions on proper weight lifting safety and telling Jaune that he needed to understand his own limitations and not push himself to the point of breaking. He let his gaze fall back to his lap as she counted off different ways he could improve this or that in his form. He was listening, but only half listening as he got lost in his own thoughs and let his mind wandered a little. He was always falling short of people's expectations. His family thought he would be a huntsman but he never had the abilities to compete. Apparently Ozpin expected him to be a leader, but the most he had really accomplished so far was managing not to fail his team miserably. Pyrrha expected him to grow and flourish under her incredible teaching and specially tailored training program and he was just managing to be slightly better than he was before. Ruby had expected him to be an amazing, caring, considerate boyfriend but he had just been clingy, creepy and pushed her too far too fast. Now, he had probably lost her completely and alienated the rest of her team as a result.

"Jaune, I know you're trying very hard to improve and I've been really proud of you the last few days. I mean, I was before, but you've really been committed since… well since this weekend." Pyrrha had moved to crouch in front of him so their heads and eyes were level. Those words hit home and pulled Jaune's eyes up to meet hers. She was proud of him? Not just this week but she had been before too? How could she be proud of him when he had been such an absolute failure so far? He couldn't even hold up his end in sparring matches, or take out hordes of Grimm on his own. Jaune couldn't even be left alone in the gym without hurting himself for Oum's sake. Sure he beat Cardin that one time, but Pyrrha beat entire teams single handedly, CRDL included.

"Why?" Jaune asked quietly and for a moment he thought Pyrrha hadn't heard him and decided it would be better to not repeat the question. She would probably just tell him he was being self-deprecating again and he needed to believe in himself more. Pyrrha was proud of him like a parent is proud of a toddler, he wasn't accomplishing anything yet, she was just happy he was trying.

"Why?" Pyrrha repeated his question back, as if for confirmation and Jaune's heart sank realizing she had heard him. "Jaune, because anyone else on Remnant would have just given up. They would have packed their bags and headed home after initiation. But you stayed on Jaune. You dealt with Cardin's harassment, you rose to the occasion and became our leader, you're working so hard to catch up where anyone else would have crumbled under the pressure." Pyrrha reached forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm proud of you because you refuse to quit Jaune."

Jaune's heart swelled with every example until he felt like he might burst. She was actually, legitimately proud of his progress and his attitude. Pyrrha Nikos, the most talented, fearsome, dedicated girl on campus had just said that she was proud of his resolve. Jaune stood up from the bench and Pyrrha mirrored his movement. She moved her hand once they were standing and Jaune balled up his fists in determination.

"What do we need to do partner?" he asked with confidence back in his voice. If Pyrrha was proud of his spirit, if his incredible partner believed in him, then he did too. He was going to double down on his routines even more. Jaune promised himself right there, staring into Pyrrha's glistening emerald eyes that he wasn't going to disappoint himself, Ozpin, his family , or Pyrrha. Not again.

"Well, first we need to rack your weights." Pyrrha slipped back into her coach voice easily, "It's irresponsible and rude to the other students to leave your equipment a mess." Jaune jumped at the criticism and hurried over to the bar to remove the plates he had put on earlier. It only took him a few seconds to move the weights off, on their own the forty-five pound discs were easy to move. He racked his weights, toweled off the equipment and gathered his water bottle and scroll from beneath the bench.

"Alright, ready to go." Jaune slung his small towel over his shoulder and threw his scroll into the loose pocket of his workout shorts. "What's next?" He had made up his mind and he was eager to be thrown into whatever was needed to follow through on that promise

"Well," Pyrrha put her hands on her hips, "What do you think you need to work on the most?" she glanced around the room where other students were lifting, stretching, pulling and pushing on all the various machines. "More strength training? Cardio? Sword Skills? Aura?"

"I honestly think I need to put more time into sword play." Jaune thought about it and that was definitely still his weakest area. Pyrrha's training had been amazing but his weapon was so simple and straightforward that to compete against others like her, Ren, Yang, Blake, even Weiss, he would need to be an absolute master of his weapon and Pyrrha was arguably one of the best sword wielders in the world. "I mean you've been great teaching me. But, I need to catch up a lot." Pyrrha laughed gently in response and waved his comment away.

"Everybody needs to improve. No one is ever done working Jaune. Come on." she stepped away towards the locker rooms where their gear was stashed and beckoned him to follow along. Jaune caught up and matched her pace as they entered the lockers together. Their lockers were on opposite sides of a pillar from each other, all of four of Team JNPR's were arranged in a little square. Nora and Pyrrha were on one side of the small pillar and Jaune and Ren on the other. This was done so that they could change as a team and still have separation of the genders for modesty's sake. Jaune though it was rather silly though, seeing as they shared a room anyways. Ren and Nora were dating so that shouldn't be that big of a deal and he and Pyrrha saw each other coming in and out of the shower in their dorm plenty. Plus, not everyone here at Beacon was interested in the opposite gender, so if they got put on the same side as each other then what were they supposed to do?

Jaune shrugged his shoulder, realizing there was really little they could do in the end because of how varied the teams were and all the different situations. He figured Ozpin must just assume they were all mature enough to handle things themselves. He opened his locker, threw his towel in and removed his jeans and hoodie. He began the short process of stripping off the soiled exercise clothes and getting himself combat ready, or at least as combat ready as sneakers and a worn sweater could be considered.

His gear didn't take long at all to put on and Jaune liked to think that he could get ready quicker in case of an emergency. He was almost always in his chest piece, only removing it for workouts, classes and occasionally on trips into Vale. His sword and shield took basically zero time to equip as he just had to grab them on his way out. Somehow though, Pyrrha and the others were always ready at the same time or even before him. They were just better at everything. He tried to hurry to strap his armor into place and swing the sword belt around his waist. He latched it on, tied his shoes and stepped around the pillar, fully expecting to find Pyrrha waiting patiently for him to finish.

Pyrrha was already wearing her shin plates, arm guard, chest plate and tiara, even her gorget was already in place around her slender neck. She had so much, complex armor to put on, how could she be ready as fast as him? The only piece she was still working on was the brilliant red sash around her waist. She was just tying it through the metal loop she used to hold it in place when his appearance from around the pillar caught her attention.

"Oh Jaune, are you ready to go?" She looked him quickly up and down as she finished tying the knot without looking. She didn't need to glance herself over to make sure she had everything, she knew she hadn't missed a single thing.

"Yep, I'm ready for whatever you've got in store for me." Jaune patted his shield and sword at his hip confidently. Pyrrha kept her eyes on him, looking him over once more to ensure that he was in fact, ready to go and hadn't forgotten something again, like the time he left his sword in his locker. She held her arms out towards her still open equipment locker and pulled her spear and shield into her hands with her semblance. They flew out of the locker and fell perfectly into place in her hands.

"Alright then, let's go."

Jaune fell to the ground with a huff, landing squarely on his butt with his hands out behind him. Pyrrha rolled her spear onto her back and extended a hand to help him up. Jaune grudgingly accepted her offer of help and pulled himself to his feet quickly, wanting to show that he was ready to keep going. He stepped back and readied his weapons once more, running through everything he could think of to try and prepare for her attack. Shield up, sword back, shoulders straight, feet wide, knees bent, watch her weapons and her limbs not her face. Jaune focused on her blade as she rolled the weapon off her back and into her hand, preparing to go another round.

Jaune waited for her charge. His shield against her thin spear provided a solid defense and he needed to just get in a counter attack. He had never even hit Pyrrha before, he had gotten close but he had never touched her with his blade. It wasn't that he wanted to hurt her or prove he could best her. No, it's just that if he could get a touch on Pyrrha Nikos of all people then he would know that he was at least passable at this. He knew only passable because he knew she wasn't competing full out against him, she was training him.

He didn't have to wait long, Pyrrha knew he wouldn't come in first and there was no point in them circling each other. It wasn't like Jaune's guard was so good or unfamiliar that she needed to take time to discover an opening or decide on how to attack. Pyrrha was on him in two steps, closing the distance between them and bringing her spear around to meet his shield. Jaune raised his arm high and caught the shaft of the weapon right in the center, stopping its motion midair.

Pyrrha spun back around the opposite direction, hair whirling in a tight spiral around her as she twisted low and struck out with her shield to catch him in the ribs as she smoothly spun the weapon back from spear to sword. Jaune saw her coming and met the blow with the side of his blade. The force of the impact threw shivers up his arm but he gripped his sword tighter and brought his shield back in front of him to guard. Jaune let his stance slide back a step as Pyrrha stabbed forward with her blade. He took the blow and pushed it off to the side with his shield, letting the metal scrape along his guard, hoping to create an opening in her stance. He glanced up from her sword arm to her face to judge her reaction, she was as solid and steady as ever, not a hint of emotion in her eyes.

Jaune stabbed out with his blade in an attempt to nick Pyrrha in the side but his sword was deflected off to the side by a swift swing of her spear which he hadn't noticed her transform yet again.. Jaune was thrown off balance by the change in momentum and had to widen his stance to catch himself. He glanced at the ground for a split second to assure his footing but before he could bring his eyes back up he was sailing backwards through the air again, a sore spot on his chest where he assumed Pyrrha had just punched him in the chest with the rim of her buckler. His arms collapsed against the ground as he made contact and he fell all the way onto his back this time. Jaune groaned as he skidded across the floor of the combat room, his armor screeching against the hardened ground as he slid to a stop near the far wall.

"You have to keep your eyes on your opponent during combat Jaune. Be aware of your surroundings but don't constantly check them." Pyrrha sheathed her weapons once more and walked over to help Jaune up again. Jaune hurried to his feet and brushed himself off before she could get there so that she didn't have to help. He thought he saw her smile as he lifted off the ground and whacked at his legs to get any dust off, even though there wasn't any. But it had to be his imagination because she had just knocked him down him in all of two seconds. Why would she be smiling. "Use your peripherals to scan the area around you, don't turn away from your opponent. Keep track of the terrain as you move so that you don't have to check." Pyrrha reached him and folded her hands politely near her waist.

"I try, it's just hard sometimes. Like if I trip that's it right? So I need to know what's there." Jaune collapsed his shield and sheathed his sword when he saw that Pyrrha was making no moves to begin combat again.

"Jaune, look around." Pyrrha motioned around the small combat training room with a single hand and Jaune glanced around the incredibly nondescript, gray room. There was nothing of note, their water bottles, scrolls and towels in the corner by the door, a few windows set high into one side for natural light.

"Yeah?" Jaune turned back to her confused. He really had no idea what she was getting at as he looked around the room. The whole point of these training rooms was that there was nothing to give any fighter an advantage over any other. They were just for the most basic workouts and training possible.

"What do you see?" Pyrrha asked with incredible calm and patience. It blew Jaune away sometimes that Pyrrha could be so understanding of his lack of experience. Jaune looked around again to make sure he hadn't missed something. Was she going to point out some element of the terrain he could use to his advantage? No way, it was all just completely flat.

"Nothing, there's nothing in here, it's just flat." Jaune shrugged his shoulders in defeat. Whatever her lesson here was she was going to have to spell it out for him because he just wasn't getting it when she was being so vague.

"Exactly Jaune, there's nothing." Pyrrha held her hands out to indicate the room in general, "And you knew that before you looked around didn't you?" She leaned her head forward slightly, begging him to give the correct answer so she could make her point.

"Uhh, yeah." Jaune nodded, confident that he had known the room was empty before she had him look around. Of course it was empty, he had seen that as soon as they came in. "Yeah I knew it would be, plus I looked around when we got here to make sure no one forgot anything."

"So you didn't have to check your footing during our match just now. You already knew that the floor beneath you was flat, smooth and clear." Pyrrha pointed to the solid concrete ground at their feet. "You just have to be aware of your surroundings at all times and you won't need to check them. Take stock of your footing and the terrain around you at all times so if combat begins you don't have to bother with it." Pyrrha tilted her head off to the side just barely and smiled.

Jaune had to stop himself from gasping in realization at her point. He had known that the floor beneath him was clear because he had seen it before their fight began. He had only checked during the fight because he wasn't sure and he felt insecure about his fighting ability. But, he had already known what was there. She was completely right. If he had just trusted himself he wouldn't have looked down and he wouldn't have gotten hit. Well at least he might have seen it coming and been able to try and block it. He definitely still would have been hit eventually.

"Okay, I get it." Jaune smiled confidently and drew his weapon, ready to go again. Pyrrha grinned even wider and leapt backwards so they were a few paces apart. She drew her weapons and struck a ready pose.

After another hour or so of training, several more rounds of sparring, a plethora of new bruises for Jaune and a laundry list of pointers from Pyrrha, the partners stripped off their gear and made for the dorms. Pyrrha was back on her usual schedule, having recovered from the oversleeping incident, and had finished her entire routine before coming to get Jaune from the gym and even with his auric healing Jaune was just about beat to a pulp from sparring against his indomitable partner. They changed back into more casual clothes, grabbed their dirty gym outfits from earlier and headed for some overdue sleep.

"Thanks Pyrrha. I think training tonight went really well." Jaune hit the side of his leg lightly with his fist as they walked to try and loosen the muscles before they could tighten. If he could keep them loose for just another hour or so then they would heal before he slept and he wouldn't be sore at all in the morning. What was it Pyrrha had said made him sore? Some sort of acid or something and it was important to keep his muscles loose and eat plenty of protein to prevent the muscle aches. To get at both legs he had to pass his chest plate over to the other hand. Before he could sleep tonight he would still have to scrub it down and check all the straps to make sure it was in perfect condition just in case.

"Oh yes, it was splendid. You really are improving incredibly quickly." Pyrrha turned her head from the path to smile at Jaune. Even after all the work they had put in, the hours of full contact sparring, weight lifting, cardio, aura training and all the other work she put in on her own, she still looked fresh and ready to go. It was like she was headed to the gym, not away from it. Her ponytail was still perfectly kept, not frazzled and loose like Weiss's always looked when Team RWBY returned from training sessions. Pyrrha's skin was clean and clear, completely devoid of any scrapes, bruises or even smudges to show she had just been in an hours long fight. Jaune could swear she even still smelled like her perfume. How was that even possible? They had been working so hard, there's no way she hadn't been sweating that entire time. Was he really that easy of a partner to work with?

"You really think so? I still feel like I'm so far behind." Jaune pulled one arm across his chest with the other to try and stretch out the muscles in his shoulders. Hefting the heavy shield for that long really took its toll on his back. When he had started it was so bad some nights that he had to sleep on his stomach to let the muscles relax and he would still wake up so sore he couldn't cross his arms. Now he was strong enough that carrying his armor back wasn't even a laborious task. He used to wear it all the way back to the dorm because that was the easiest way to carry it. But now, he was able to heft it in one hand, using just the topmost back strap like a handle.

"Well you did start basically at step one Jaune. The rest of us have been training for years and years to get where we are. Yet, you are getting to the point where you can hold your own against some others." Pyrrha stopped and turned fully towards him. Jaune stopped and turned back around to face her. She had caught him off guard and he had carried forward another step or two past her, "That alone is amazing progress. You need to not doubt yourself Jaune, you have immense potential as a Huntsman."

Jaune felt himself flush at the praise. He knew that she was his partner and they were close and she was even his personal trainer, but hearing praise from someone as amazingly talented as Pyrrha still got to him every time. He simply couldn't believe that a girl who was literally in a league of her own would think positively of his meager abilities. She really was the greatest partner he could have ever dreamed of having. She began walking again and had just passed him when he finally responded.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune started just as she made it a pace or two away. He felt a little awkward so he spoke quietly and what he had meant to just start the sentence and get her attention back had come out sounding more like a question. Pyrrha turned back quickly, hands folded down just below her waist again and her eyes locked directly with his.

"Yes Jaune?" Pyrrha's voice was quieter now too. Gone was the stern, certain voice she used when instructing him. She sounded uncertain, nervous. Maybe she was more tired than she looked.

"You're the best partner ever." Jaune clapped a hand on her shoulder to reinforce his point. He wanted to make sure she understood how grateful he was for all the help she was always giving him. "Thank you so much. I just.. I could never have dreamed of being paired with someone as incredible as you and yet here we are."

"Yes Jaune, here we are." Pyrrha mumbled and they both turned to finish their trip to the dorms.

A/N - Jaune chapters are interesting to write. He's very insightful about some things but not about everything. He knows all about himself, his feelings and what he thinks, but outside of that…. Yeah he's just Jaune.

Some things happening here that are pretty exciting. There were some concerns early on about how Pyrrha might react to Jaune and Ruby breaking up and the reasons she did. Anyone who was in that line of thinking please let me know what you think now because we are finally getting more development on that storyline and I want to know what you think of where it's going.

Thanks so much for reading so far. Can't wait for the double chapter this weekend, Salon Day!

-Zach