Winter Break 22

She then scuffed her shoe against the ground and gave a few sneaky glances to Jaune. While the silver-eyed reaper poked her fingers together, she mumbled, "Besides...he probably wouldn't find me very attractive."

Joan placed a hand on her chin and gave a one-eyed, "Hmm! Well, I don't think that's true at all…I'm sure Jaune will love you no matter what you look like." 

The granny smiled upon seeing Ruby blushed harder and looked at Jaune before saying, "I think I have just the thing."

"Have what?"

"Ruby, what I'm about to teach will help you develop your muscles in a different manner, that way there will be overall improvement per square inch of your muscles rather than you bulking up. It's hard, but the Arc family women have been developing this technique for generations. Just like you, they refused to turn into bulky monsters like their male counterparts."

"Ohh, now this sounds interesting!" Yang's voice interrupted the group. 

Apparently, she saw Grandma Arc heading over with Ruby and Jaune's weapons and wanted to see what was up before the rest of the team showed up for practice.

"Well…Overall, it's tougher training that focuses on building more inward than outward. Your bodies won't look like they've gained much muscle, but under the surface is a whole other story. In order to achieve a level of strength that matches body builders without building muscle, we had to make our muscles denser by reach a body fat ratio that's equal to or less than 10%. The women of the Arc household made this training method so they could keep up with the male heirs. It's also gifted to those who enter the household through marriage," Joan explained.

Ruby was genuinely interested, and Yang was as well especially when Granny Arc said, "Of course there is a downside. Since you have less fat for your body to cannibalize, we have to eat a bit more than others. However, since your new muscles burn more energy when in use, it really doesn't matter how much you eat. We really don't get fat."

"Is that the secret to Nora's unnatural strength and appetite?" The Rose and Xiao Long sisters shouted. 

"From what I've seen, that girl is pretty close to having less than 10%"

"Er…wait…S-o-o-o! Does this mean I have to marry Vomit...er, Jaune as well to learn this?" 

Ruby frowned as she glared at her sister.

Yang chuckled before she saw an opportunity to tease. She then turned to Jaune and grinned before asking, "Hey, why'd you run without me? I got the Aura Burst technique at level 1 already! I was hoping for a rematch! Weren't you looking forward to another chance to make me do anything you want?"

The blond brawler ran her hands across her sides and hips before blowing him a kiss with a seductive wink.

"What is she talking about, Jaune?" Ruby glared at her future husband and growled, she was trying her hardest to sound intimidating, but everyone couldn't help but awe in their hearts at her cuteness.

Jaune shook his head with a nervous blush and said, "We can make an exception for my sister-in-law and our teammates. No marriage needed."

Yang grinned, "You didn't answer my full question."

"Oh, look at the time! Hey grandma, let Yang teach Ruby some martial arts. She's Taiyang Xiao Long's daughter, he trained her himself, so her methods are solid," Jaune said before getting into a running stance, "Oh, and Ruby, learn footwork from Granny, she's a speed type too!"

Jaune blasted off and headed towards the house, leaving one final sentence as his voice grew more distant, "I'm off to go make breakfast with Ren!"

"The Crybaby Sun Dragon is your father?" Joan almost shouted.

"Crybaby Sun Dragon? Now THIS I got to hear!" Yang shouted as she finally found some good blackmail material on her father.

"Oh, he was called that because everyone considered him too soft for the job. He'd cry for his enemies, was way too nice to everyone, and honestly, he seemed like a harmless teddy bear. That is, until you pissed him off." Joan laughed recalling the tales from her son's exploits with their sister team. She even visited Lance from time to time and met them as a guest instructor for the school.

"Lance told me he got that nickname when Raven made him cry, and no offense, I think your mom is a capital S." 

"I beg your pardon?" Yang blinked with wide eyes.

"Apparently dragged him into the dorm room and locked the door for 8 hours. Something about Taiyang looking like a defenseless puppy must have, you know...?"

"Ew," Yang made an expression like she was about to vomit.

Ruby shook her head, "What's an S?"

Weiss was about to explain when Yang glared at her. 

"What?!" Weiss crossed her arms, "She's not eleven. Didn't we talk about not treating her like a baby?"

Yang rolled her eyes before patting Ruby on the head, "It means…people that…er…get...off on seeing someone in pain."

Ruby tilted her head with a look of realization, "Ooh, it means Sadist, I get it."

Yang looked stunned as Ruby sighed and shook her head, "You do realize I've read Blake's books. And now that I know, Ew!"

Yang gritted her teeth and said, "That, damn..." she then let out a sigh, "Ruby, those books are..."

"They're not Smut! They're just books with spicy scenes!" Ruby shouted with red on her face.

"Can we please get back to training!?" Weiss shouted in frustration.

Back with Jaune, he had already entered the house and saw their resident spaz speaking with his twin. 

"I'm telling you, Violet, his pancakes are to die for, and I will KILL…" after an insane giggle, Nora finished the sentence, "…anyone that disagrees."

Violet laughed, "You know, I feel the same way about my Waffles."

Blake was chatting with Rouge, "So, I hear you write books; any that I might have read?"

Rouge tilted her head, "My Pen-Name is Patty Berdioler."

Blake's eyes widened and looked at Rouge then to Jaune, then back to Rouge again.

"Yep. I told you that you would be surprised," Jaune bragged.

"Omgosh, I'm ur, biggest fan!" Blake stuttered as she pulled out a copy from her inventory.

Rouge smiled and looked over the copy and saw that the pages were a little worn down, but despite constantly reading it as much as she did, the book had been kept in pristine condition. She could see the care Blake put into protecting this book.

"This is my first book, and it looks like a first issue release too." The author Arc commented as signed the book with a cheerful chirp.

Blake smiled happily while her ears swayed side to side,. She then hopped around and held up the signed book as if it were a holy relic. 

Rouge chuckled at her behavior before she held out her hand and said, "Well, I'm assuming you have the next two books as well."

The feline book enthusiast almost melted from joy as she pulled out the second and third novels from the Ninjas of Love series.

"Thank-you-so-much! I can't tell how much your work means to me!" 

After signing them, Rouge went to her room and pulled out a copy of the 5th installment in the series; Affair in the Moonlight Forest; Shinobi of Love Beware!

Rouge quickly signed the book and headed back down to Blake, "Here, this one hasn't hit the press yet. It's supposed to come out four months from now, but since you're such an advent fan and my brother's teammate, I'll let you have this. Just promise to take care of my bro while you're out there killing Grimm and saving the world."

When she handed it over, Blake jumped up and hugged Rouge before shouting, "I promise! THANK YOU!!!"

"So, cute!" Rouge thought as she started petting Blake's twitching ears.

Later, Blake would deny all claims that she appeared shy and nervous, regardless of the photo evidence and video footage of her purring, especially when Rouge hit that sweet spot behind her ear.

"Hey Nora, the girls are doing muscle training without you!" Jaune shouted to see a shocked Nora who looked heartbroken.

"They're out back, so if you hurry you can show them how it's done!" Jaune said giving a thumbs up.

In response to her fearless leader's information, the spazzy Valkyrie grinned and shouted, "Darn right, I'll show them the best way to work out without looking bulky, if you hadn't noticed, I'm a bit of an expert." 

Nora showed off her smooth arms and legs, there was a decent amount of muscle but nowhere near the amount of raw physical strength she was capable of producing.

"Seriously though, Blake, you should join them as well. The methods are suited towards female knights, you could learn a lot from my granny," Jaune mentioned.

Blake nodded her head and looked back at Rouge, "Can, we...talk later? About books…other than your own of course…"

Rouge nodded her head and said, "Sure. Now, go on. He's right, Granny is a veteran Huntress and a Knight of the Arc, Remnant's strongest order of Knights. She could teach you girls a thing or two about combat."

Blake nodded her head, giggled like a schoolgirl with a crush, and placed her new book in front of her face before running out the door.

Jaune headed to the kitchen and helped Ren make some breakfast. They prepped more than enough pancakes, eggs, sausage, and waffles to make for everyone to eat. For drinks, they had freshly squeezed orange juice, milk from the neighbor's farm, and Ren's new and improved health drink.

After taking a sip, Jaune noticed that Ren's potion craft was really starting to improve. It didn't have that same taste of dirt and plant, but now tasted like mixed berries and wheatgrass.

The upside is that it improved overall stamina along with improving muscle health.

Jaune stored a cup in his inventory to inspect it.

[Ren's Special Health Drink Mrk.315: Made up of healthy proteins, antioxidants, and other vitamins to grant a variety of bonuses, such as; denser bone strength, improved muscle growth and health, stamina capacity, and cleaner organs. Taste like mixed berries and wheatgrass.]

[Effects are permanent, but slow to manifest and must be taken daily to see improvement.]

After around 45 minutes, they finished cooking enough food for the entire family and friends to eat. All of Jaune's sisters sat down and saw the full course meal prepared in awe.

"I know Jaune has always been good at cooking, but when did he get this good?" Claire asked as she chowed down.

"Must be because of that Ren guy, these pancakes are phenomenal!" Noire said as she put another piece in her mouth and chewed with a blissful expression.

"Ren taught me a lot about cooking," Jaune said as he patted his brother's shoulder.

"I'm sure you taught me as well Jaune if your cooking is anything like your mother's than I must have been impressed enough to share recipes," Ren responded.

"Food!" Ruby's voice echoed throughout the kitchen as she and the rest of the girls looked utterly exhausted. Nora on the other hand, seemed to be perfectly fine.

"Sweet! Now, my lovely pancakes. Come to mama!" Nora shouted as she took her seat at the table.

Jaune noticed that the whole team was covered in sweat, bruises here and there, and their clothes were filthy. His grandmother was chatting away with the exception. Clearly, she was impressed by how much energy the orange-haired spaz had.

"I see, you used lightning to work out every inch of your body's muscles. Such a method would only improve the rate of our training method. I find it very impressive, Nora. You're a natural at this. As long as you have a source of lightning, you'll probably be the first to complete you training. Hmmm, maybe I can make some shock Dust Symbols into a workout outfit for the rest of the girls." 

Joan turned to the girls and made them quake in fear, "It would increase the speed of their training time by quite a bit."

Nora seemed thrilled at the idea, but not so much the rest of the girls, they glared at Jaune who moved over to heal Ruby with his Semblance.

"Oh…yeah, that's the stuff…" Ruby sighed as she felt her muscles relax. 

The other girls looked to him with pleading eyes that begged for mercy, but all he could do was hold his hands up while shaking his head. 

"Sorry girls, I know grandma's training is tough, but the results are worth it," Jaune commented. 

He used his Aura Amp on them as well, "But, I can make the hurt go away."

"I'm not sure I'll ever get tired of having my Aura amplified," Yang yawned as she watched all the bruises fading. 

"I know, right?" Blake groaned as her body rapidly healed itself.

"Like taking a dip in a hot spring after a stressful day," Pyrrha sighed in relief.

"It certainly doesn't feel bad," Weiss followed up.

"I could get used to this," Nora commented as she threw her hands into the air.

Once their stamina returned and muscle fatigue faded, they thanked Jaune and joined everyone at the table.

"I gotta say, you were right, Jaune. Granny's training is tough. She even made me break a sweat!" Nora chimed out, earning a collective 'Ugh!' from the other girls.

"I didn't even know I had muscles there!" Weiss said almost face planting her pancakes.

"My muscle's muscles hurt," Blake moaned.

"My limbs felt like they were going to fall off!" Ruby whined.

"And I thought Qrow's training was tough." Yang stretched as she ate, appearing much more compliant about the methods of training.

"I thought it was helpful and I enjoyed it a lot!" Pyrrha added as she ate her breakfast.

"I never thought physical training could be so exhausting! Winter told me the Arc ladies were all monsters, and now I know why," Weiss added.

Jaune chuckled and said, "Well, you still have the rest of the week to train, it's only going to get tougher."

Another round of 'Ughs!' was heard coming from the girls. However, they knew they couldn't pass up the training, not with results they were seeing and the images of the future they were shown.

Some may have disliked it, but, their determination to better themselves and the 

After a lengthy meal and chatting with his family and friends about various things, Jaune finished eating and decided to join Ren in his morning meditation.

The two found a nice large rock to sit on in the middle of the grassy field behind the Arc household. 

Jaune had asked Rin to help him in meditating for more than a couple of reasons, mainly because it was Ren's area of expertise, but mainly, it was because of Jaune's desire to uncover his second Semblance. He needed to better know himself and his current state of being. 

Hanging with Ren and relaxing was something he did with Ren often in the future, he was especially fond of their talks and nuggets of wisdom Ren rarely imparted. The blond knight figured if had chatted with him, it might lead him to an epiphany. 

Jaune had changed from when he was a youth, the new Semblance is based on his current personality and altered soul. While they meditated, Jaune focused on searching his feelings and trying to ascertain what triggers his new Semblance.

After a good 40 minutes or so, Jaune opened his eyes and let out a depressed sigh.

Ren smiled and said, "Eyes closed."

Jaune stood and said, "Nah, I'm done for the day. I haven't made any headway. I'd rather work on bouncing ideas off of you."

Ren opened his left eye and looked at Jaune, "Okay, shoot."

"I think I'm on to something now, so hear me out." Jaune focused his Arua around his body, "The Aura Shell that we wear to shield us from damage. I thought that if we take damage in this state it would be kind of like toughening training."

"Plausible, but still dangerous. Isn't the point of you making an Aura Capacity Training Routine, for it to be safe for any Hunter to use? If your training partner makes a mistake and hits too hard, won't it still result in their Aura shattering or worse? Next idea."

Jaune scratched his head, "Okay then, how about this."

Jaune sat down in the lotus position and forced himself to push all his Aura beneath his body, after a few seconds, Jaune began to hover a few inches over the rock, "If I maintain this, it can be like lifting weights for Aura," Jaune fell down and picked up a small rock and made it float in the palm of his hand using only his Aura.

"You can also literally lift weights," Jaune added.

"Have you had any success with raising your Aura Capacity using this method?" Ren asked.

Jaune frowned and shook his head, "No, I haven't seen any real changes yet through doing it this way. However, all my instincts tell me that there is something to this method. I think it can allow my Aura to become more stable ... more robust."

"Still not capacity wise though, but useful, what about compressing your Aura outside your body and into a single point, and concentrating it until it becomes as dense as can be," Ren suggested.

Jaune gave Ren a funny look before saying, "So... what do you think doing that will accomplish? I mean, the more you tell me, the better my ability allows me to pick up on clues."

"I think if you work out and use Aura at the same time, the benefits will be better, remember, soul and body may be separate, but they are also one. Also, compressing all your Aura into a single point would be like a flex of sorts, working the whole muscle rather than just a part of it," Ren explained.

Jaune scratched his head, he held up his hand and created a tiny sphere of Aura, it ran across his hand and focused into a single part on the tip of his finger.

"Okay, I've redirected all of the Aura in my body to the tip of my finger," Jaune placed his finger on the ground and slowly started to put all his weight on it.

With a single motion, Jaune lifted his body off the ground and stood erect on his finger.

The blond held his Aura in place as he felt the weight of his entire body pushing down on him. His elbow then slowly leaned outward as his body got closer to the ground. When Jaune's nose almost touched the ground, he lifted his body back up in one fell swoop.

He did ten sets of 30 before switching hands and doing the same. When he finished, Jaune stood up with a funny expression on his face and started to do push-ups instead. This time, however, he was focusing his Aura into his palms and the tips of his toes.

Once he finished off a rep of 30 sets, Jaune stood back up and used his perception to feel for minor changes in his Aura. "Working out your body and using Arua at the same time, huh."

Jaune sat back down and sighed, "It definitely has better effects than just using Aura alone, but I don't feel like my Aura grew in the slightest amount."

Jaune placed his arms behind his head and laid on his back to watch the clouds, "This is making me go stir crazy,