The Grimm with a soul

Let the games begin.

The sun was high in the sky as hundreds of people began to pour into the Coliseum. The first day of the Vytal Festival Tournament was finally underway, and both the spectators and the combatants were on the edge of their seats. There were still thirty minutes to go before the opening ceremony, which all the students scrambling to get everything they needed in time, knew painfully well. Even if they would not be scheduled to fight today, they were nonetheless making sure they were prepared, for they knew full well they were going to be on television for the world to see.

The Coliseum, as it was called by the locals, was an arena built decades ago for the very purpose of the Vytal Tournament. Mistral already had such arenas, leaving Vale and Atlas to build their own, and with Vacuo to make due. Of course, these arenas were used for events other than just the annual tournament, though they needed to give the Vytal Festival a full month to prepare. Below the Coliseum were four large locker rooms, specifically made for Huntsmen-in-training and other participants to change and wait for their time to enter the arena. In the north locker were the Beacon students, with Teams RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, and CRDL, all waiting eagerly for the start of the tournament. Team CRDL was obviously keeping a wide birth, staying in the back corner of the waiting area, as they were not at all on good terms with the other teams. The only person missing was Jaune, who said he had to leave early in the morning to collect his new armor from the school forge but had yet to return.

The distinct sound of armor came into earshot, causing the others to look at the entrance of the men's locker room, as Jaune finally emerged.

The blond was armored in pieces of well-crafted steel, painted a brilliant white that was rather eye-catching. The cuirass, placket, pauldrons, rerebraces, counters, vambraces, gauntlets, poleyns, and greaves were trimmed with gold, which was not only accented the white well but Jaune's own golden locks and blue eyes. Jaune had been telling the truth about his hoodie, which was now replaced with a jet-black gambeson, though it stopped at the waist. His sword belt had also been replaced with one made of better quality leather, with a golden belt buckle made in the shape of a lion's head, and the tail of the belt looped and knotted traditionally. At last, his shoes had been replaced with proper leather boots, allowing his greaves to rest correctly on top of his foot, and were a good palette to build future sabatons onto.

Jaune: So, what do you think?

His friends were honestly a bit shocked. Jaune, unfortunately, appeared rather shabby in his former combat gear, causing others to see him as pitiful. Of course, unbeknownst to them, the clothes and armor he had worn were actually all the belongings that he owned, as he had to quickly leave his home to come to Beacon. All he had were the clothes on his back, his pajamas, some money, and Crocea Mors. Even his armor, which was actually training armor and not meant for combat, was hastily grabbed. He had thankfully been provided a uniform, but other than that, he didn't even have a set of casual wear, which meant that everyone mostly saw him in his poorly put-together combat attire. Seeing him in his new armor, however, was an entirely different story.

Jaune's new armor gave him a completely new ambiance; a more put-together aura that radiated confidence. And while the others saw this as a transformation, Pyrrha saw it altogether differently. While training with him alone, she had begun to see the real Jaune that was beneath the timid shell. The warrior he was meant to be was being forged, and the Knight she had seen a glimpse of when he had defended her honor at the fairgrounds, was manifesting. It now was emerging at last and stood proud for their friends and the world to see; proving once again she had been right about the boy she loved.

Nora: You look great!~

Cheered Nora, giving her captain two thumbs up.

Violet: Really nice.