It's been two years since the day Miles Arc stopped Jaune's training. In those two years, Jaune had been mastering his dancing-combat, really-to its limit.
Deep within the forest outside of Orleans, the sound of sword swings and feet gliding across the ground could be heard over the gentle murmur of the nearby river.
Following the sound would lead to a boy, moving with unmatched grace as he swung his wooden sword in rhythmic motion, almost as if dancing with it.
As leaves drifted down from the trees, he moved through them fluidly, not allowing a single leaf to touch his skin while stabbing each one out of the air with his weapon.
Each piercing motion was precise and effortless, while his feet carried him silently and gracefully across the forest floor as he danced among the falling leaves.
After nearly forty minutes of this leaf dance, Jaune finally stopped. Looking at his sword with fondness, he smiled softly at the sight of dozens of leaves pierced through by nothing but his practice blade.
He swung his sword slightly to shake off the leaves, then performed one last flourish before beginning his dance once again.
At only nine years old, Jaune Arc-the only son of the Arc family-moved with grace and discipline far beyond his age.
As he moved to the rhythm of his own heartbeat, his thoughts wandered toward the newest addition to his family: Olivia Arc, his baby sister who had been born two months ago. She had their mother's green eyes and, even as an infant, the beginnings of the Arc family's golden hair.
Today, the entire family was planning to go on an outing to the mall-to relax, shop for supplies for the baby, and spend time together.
After the events two years ago, it was no secret in the Arc household that Miles had been distancing himself from Jaune out of guilt. Modred, meanwhile, harbored open resentment toward both Artoria and their father.
Modred's relationship with Miles was tense at best. Miles tried to reconcile with her, but she resisted him with just as much intensity.
Artoria, on the other hand, tried her best to be there for her little brother. It was somewhat amusing to see the normally stoic girl frantically searching for Jaune around the house just to spend time with him.
Everyone in the family noticed Jaune's renewed passion for dancing after the incident two years ago. They were happy that he had found direction again-that he had rediscovered purpose after Miles crushed his dream of becoming a Huntsman early on.
Surprisingly, Jaune and Modred had grown even closer since then. Modred often dragged him into secret training sessions, helping him refine his sword dancing. She was the only one aware of his technique, sparring with him and helping him gain practical combat experience.
In their spars, Jaune often managed to defeat her-even when she used her Aura for enhancement.
When Jaune once asked Modred how she had unlocked her Aura, she explained that their father had done it for her when she was ten. She also mentioned that someone could unlock their Aura on their own, and that doing so would result in slightly higher Aura quality than when awakened by another person.
Unlocking one's Aura alone was symbolic-breaking one's internal chains through one's own will and effort-but extremely rare. It usually happened only under conditions of mortal danger.
Modred had offered to unlock his Aura for him weeks ago, but Jaune refused. He wanted to attempt it himself once he turned ten. If he failed, he promised he would allow her to do it for him instead.
Meanwhile, Jaune's relationship with Jeanne remained awkward. Jeanne carried lingering guilt over their father's decision to stop Jaune's training, believing that her own accelerated progress had been part of the reason Miles had ended it.
Jaune had reassured her countless times that she wasn't to blame, but she couldn't shake the feeling of responsibility.
He smiled faintly as he remembered the time Jeanne had asked for help with her school dance recital.
Blancheur and Noir Arc, the twins, were just as opposite as siblings could be. Blancheur was gloomy and introverted, while Noir was outgoing and excitable. They looked identical-both with their father's blue eyes and blonde hair-but Blancheur wore hers loose while Noir kept hers in pigtails.
Saphron, the eldest, tried her best to be there for everyone in the family. However, between studying for high school exams and preparing to apply for medical scholarships, she was always busy.
Every so often, she would take breaks to dance with Jaune again, though most of her time went to her studies. Jaune couldn't hold it against her-her education mattered far too much to be jeopardized for his sake.
After reminiscing about his family for some time, Jaune placed his wooden sword inside the hollowed-out tree trunk he used as storage.
He couldn't help but think about how Modred had stolen that sword from the family's training weapon rack, lying to their father by claiming she had accidentally broken one during training. The memory drew another small smile from him.
Modred had been the only one who didn't treat him delicately after his training was stopped. In fact, she had secretly followed him into the forest to continue his training herself-only to find him already training alone.
At first, she was shocked to see Jaune practicing by himself, and even moreso to discover how he had combined his dancing into his sword technique.
She remembered watching him train with their father before and always feeling that Jaune looked restrained-like invisible chains held his movements back. When she saw him sword-dancing freely for the first time, her jaw nearly dropped. He moved unlike anyone else in the family of Huntsmen and Huntresses.
Modred often told him that their father had been a terrible teacher for not realizing how to merge Jaune's natural dancing rhythm with his combat training-and that Miles would regret stopping it if he could see the results now.
Jaune always replied with the same calm smile, saying that he held no resentment toward their father. Without that setback, he might have remained trapped in his old, rigid style instead of learning to move freely.
Modred had supported his decision to keep his sword-dancing training secret and immediately volunteered to be his sparring partner. Her encouragement only deepened Jaune's affection for her.
As he walked through the forest toward town, Jaune smiled, thinking about how far he had come on his journey to becoming a Huntsman.
From the boy who once struggled to hold his sword properly to the one who could now dance with it as gracefully as the wind, he had transformed completely.
Every day his skills grew sharper and smoother-and sparring with Modred, the most aggressive fighter in the family even at her young age, only honed him further.
His counters to her attacks were flawless; his footwork carried him effortlessly around each strike. The way he parried and redirected her blows had become both effective and mesmerizing.
Even when Modred used her Aura, she struggled to touch him. Without it, she lost every spar. With her Aura active, she could win only about four out of every six matches.
His skill, precision, and adaptability had grown too much for even Aura enhancement to close the gap.
(Author's note: The only reason Modred loses while using Aura is because of the "first-hit rule." In a serious battle or one to the death, Modred would win every time-her Aura simply makes her superhuman and also one of the biggest reason Mordred still lose even with her Aura activated is because she doesn't want to hurt Jaune.. its one thing to fight him without aura and another to fight him using Aura.. the risk is much greater..)