Road to Hero: Jaune Arc (HIATUS)

On a night in the streets of the Vale, a young man with blue eyes and blond hair is sitting on a bench in front of a dust shop, in which It could be seen with a single customer who seemed to be listening to music with her headphones while looking at some magazines... but that doesn't matter... for now. The young man seemed to be thinking about how he ended up in this situation, after the many attempts he made... it failed... you could say that he didn't know what else to do, he was kinda… lost. The cause of this? Well...

POV' Jaune Arc.

Beacon, the best hunter academy located in the Kingdom of the Vale; a place that only accepts the best of the best, you could say that while it fulfills dreams of talented youth who wish to become the best hunters in all of the Remnant... It also crushes dreams of someone who only has the desire but not the talent to become a hunter... to become a hero... That was my case.

Hello there, I'm Jaune Arc, and I think I should say why I did this brief explanation of the Beacon Academy... as well as breaking the 4th wall (author here, don't worry, If you don't like this style of dialogue I'll stop immediately). I think that I should explain my situation... You see I want to be a hunter... a hero.

I think when I grew up hearing my grandfather's stories about my family, it made me believe that I could be a hero too, that I had all the capacity, all the talent... I had the desire, but that's all to get into Beacon?... No, it's necessary to have the talent... besides the minimum of having the aura released, something that I didn't, or rather... I COULDN'T, that was... Well, my mistake... You're confused, right? You might be wondering: What the hell did you do to not be able to manifest your aura? My answer:... I think I was too hasty... and I paid the price for my idiocy...

First of all, I must explain: What the hell is an aura? Well... the Aura is the manifestation of all living beings' souls... except to Grimm's. But back to the explanation... all living beings have souls, but their aura is not released, only those who have the aura released are those who have the "ability" to become hunters... to release the aura of an individual it can be done in two ways: the first one requires the help of someone with the aura already released reciting an old verse, this method is the most used as well as the safest by far...

But the other method It said that the one Who releases the aura alone will have a stronger aura compared to those who had their aura released with the help of others, that's why It's up to you to perform such a feat, of course, if you can do it you will be seen immediately as a strong person, many people will have high expectations of you, it's a method not used very much for a simple reason... The risk of you dying or at least going into a coma is high... Like VERY high, that's why even if you do the process of releasing the aura alone, you do it while being watched by someone with a released aura in case something goes VERY wrong... Of course, the 6 year's old me overlooked this EXTREMELY IMPORTANT part.

This brings us to my stupid idea of releasing my aura at the age of 7... alone and without anyone watching me. Let me tell you... It wasn't good, it hurt... and how it HURT, after that, I just remember closing my eyes.

Needless to say, when I woke up I was in a hospital bed... After 2 years in a coma... Seeing as soon as I woke up the looks of relief in my parents' eyes was something strange... But calming too.

I stayed in the hospital for a time recovering, and when I finally went home I was welcomed by my sisters who just cried... Soon after I got the biggest scolding of my life from my whole family... Justifiable of course, in the end, we hugged and stayed like that for a while. Two weeks passed and there I was asking my father to train me... What? Did you think that after my idiocy I would give up? Hell no, I may have grown up listening to stories of heroism, but I want to help people... Make the difference, I wanted that; even before I heard my grandfather's stories, I wanted to do something worth it... But my training was denied by my father... he said I wasn't ready to have my aura released yet... that I was too young.

Of course, that didn't disappoint me... not a lot... it's understandable after the disaster I made worrying everyone and putting in the hospital bed. But that didn't stop me from starting to train my body, of course, my family will disapprove... so I tried to do it as discreetly as possible... it started with 10 sit-ups, 10 push-ups, 10 squats, which I would do inside my room with doors and windows closed, and a short 2km run, in which I convinced my parents that it was just a short walk to stay "healthy".

I started this training regimen every day and tried my best to finish everything in less than an hour, no matter the weather or if I was too tired... after all, the determination was the only thing I had value...

But then a few months later this regimen of mine, when before I took about 1 hour to complete, now it only took about half an hour... that was strange because I was only nine years old... Yes, in the first days it was hell, I thought my muscles would tear and my bones break, when I came home I would pass out in my bed... but I kept going and after a while, I got used to it... it felt like something was healing me... no…it wasn't just healing…it was slowly improving my body.

So I doubled my training regimen to 20 sit-ups, 20 push-ups, 20 squats, and a 4km run... And so I continued... until I completed everything in half an hour after a few months again. But at least it was only a few days before my tenth birthday, in which I would ask my dad again if he could train me to be a hunter, so I didn't change my training... so I waited.

On the morning of my tenth birthday, I was welcomed by all my family. And in front of them were my parents, Julius and Sarah Arc.

Julius: "Happy Birthday Jaune," said my dad as he handed me a small present after I got a hug from my mom... Probably a new scroll.

I looked at the present and then at my father... I wanted to say thanks, but first I had to ask...

Jaune: "Father… will you release my aura and finally train me today? I want to be a great hunter like you and mother were once! I want to surpass my entire family". Maybe I was too ambitious... Maybe naive... But the reaction I got... Made me doubt myself. As soon as I asked the question, everyone, my mother, my sisters, my grandparents... They looked at my father. For a single moment I saw my dad falter... but then he answered me.

Julius: "You're still too young– ". But my grandfather, James Arc, interrupted him...

James: "Július… it's time to tell him… he has the right… It was part of his dream…" He said looking at my father sternly. I didn't understand at first... but soon, I would know the meaning of those words.

Then my dad looked at me again. From the look he was giving, it looked like he didn't want to talk to me since he was reluctant to look into my eyes. But with my grandfather giving him a stern look... He began to speak the words that would shake my world.

Július: "Jaune... you better sit down..." I sat down and waited for him to continue. "According to the doctors, when you tried to release your aura by yourself... your soul didn't respond well, It was too unstable because you were pushing too hard... and as there was no one to stop you... your soul forced the way to manifest and as you had no control… you kept pushing until your aura ran out and as it was the releasing process you continued… until it started to damage your soul. When I heard your screams of pain it was you hurting your soul Jaune... you can't 'heal' a soul, the damage, if it's too great, is the user's death, but even the smallest damage to the soul..." he stopped… It seems like he didn't want to continue… but I need answers. (I know this is bullshit).

Jaune: "What are you telling me...?" I looked at my dad as I asked, my voice cracking, it felt like I had a huge weight on my chest. Then my father dropped the bomb.

Július: "Jaune... your soul refuses to manifest itself. When you were still in a coma some doctors advised releasing your aura to help you in the healing process... But when your mother or I tried... It didn't work. When the verse to release the aura is recited your soul reacts to the person's aura to manifest itself... the aura of the person reciting the verse acts as a guide for the closest soul to be able to manifest...but when we try with you... your soul didn't react... it was like It couldn't manifest. Neither we nor the doctors knew what was going on... the speculation is that the damage was great enough to damage your soul to the point where aura can't manifest ever again..." he looked at me with anguish "I'm sorry Jaune...but without aura...you can't be a hunter." he said sadly (Bullshit again).

I didn't know when I started to cry, I only realized when I was being comforted by my mother and sisters. The rest of the day I was silent... Not a single word... And then finally it was night; and as I lay on my bed looking at the ceiling of my room... I remembered my grandfather's stories... and my father talking to me about my situation... and I thought.

Jaune: [This is It?... Is this how my dream ends?... am I going to spend the rest of my life just watching other people follow their dreams while I mourn and go on with my life in silence?...]

My eyes were already full of tears again... So I spoke.

Jaune: "I refuse" With a frown.

I knew what I had to do... It was my own mistake that led me to this situation, so it's only up to me if I want to fulfill my dream. So I went in silent... after a long time, the idea finally came to me. So I said smiling expectantly.

Jaune: "If I can't manifest aura... then I will strain my body to the point where I don't need aura."

And so my journey began, I knew I would have to train until I was good enough to enroll in a prep academy... Obviously, without anyone in my family noticing, otherwise I'm sure they would discourage me… I love them, but I know they would never support this idea of ​​mine... Nor was I sure it would work... But I had to try... I don't know if it was the satisfaction I will get from proving to everyone was wrong... Or if it was the satisfaction I'll get from proving to myself that I can fulfill my dreams if I'm determined enough.

So I got up from my bed and went to a calendar on the wall of my room. I knew the period when preparatory academies would accept new students.

Jaune: "...I have almost 3 years until the application period for the preparatory academies... Ok I can do this! I'm sure I'll make it!". I smiled and went to bed, as soon as I closed my eyes to try to sleep I spoke again. "I need to increase my training regimen again…" I knew my path to being a hunter would be difficult…may be impossible… But no one can help you more than yourself, I was just determined... but for me... That was enough for my attempt to chase my dreams.