314 My OC Stash #14 - Tournament Arc by ImSoAwesome (RWBY)

-I deeply regret ignoring this completed fic, it truly does feel like the true american shounen anime that RWBY was meant to be! Here's to hoping for a sequel~ Author heavily inspired by MHA in the fic's early days.

Synopsis: Jaune was tired of losing - tired of giving up whenever he felt he wasn't good enough. It was time to prove to himself, and everyone else, that he belonged at Beacon, and that he has what it took to be a Huntsman. The Vytal Tournament was coming up, but he wasn't just going to compete. He was going to win.

Rated: T

Words: 249K

Posted on: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13019685/1/Tournament-Arc (ImSoAwesome)

PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)

-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)

Chapter 1-3 (exceptional)

I wanna be a champion

Never give up.

When he struggled for breath and was crumpled on the ground, when he felt the cold floor on his cheek, Jaune would remember those words.

He'd taught himself that. He held to it as though he'd sworn it on his life. Jaune thought, if he held true to his promise, he could be someone one day.

He never stopped trying.

But then, he'd never been in this situation before, had he?

Jaune swirled the water in his glass - his fifth cup, and it a cool respite amongst stuffy smoke in the air. Bodies were all over the dance floor, music on the verge of ear shattering - if only it was louder. He could still hear his thoughts.

But he needed the escape, even if he hadn't done anything other than sit at the bar and swallow his sorrows.

It was easier than facing Pyrrha's scrutiny.

Couldn't she see he wasn't ready for this? Nevermind the fact that he'd cheated his way into Beacon, with naught but a sword and stroke of good fortune. His lack of optimal training was the killer, and without it, he didn't stand a chance.

The most he'd do was embarrass himself, and even though that wasn't new to him, it didn't mean he wanted to throw himself into the fire. The others would do great and by seeing them do well, maybe he could live vicariously through them. It was fine.

He wasn't made for the spotlight anyway.

"Want a refill, honey?" the bartender asked, a sweet older woman who'd been just kind or oblivious enough to ignore his sour mood. It felt like at the end of the day, his problems were small compared to the bigger world.

"No, I think I'm good. Thanks." Jaune went for the exit, and threw on his hood before stepping into the rain.

It was fine this way. He didn't need to enter the tournament.

What difference would it even make?

~TA~

"This is gonna be so awesome!"

Jaune couldn't resist a smile as Ruby skipped and twirled. If her big, goofy grin wasn't enough of an indication, she'd been total enthralled with the assembly.

But it wasn't just her, even as the entire school left the building, it was an uproar of excitement. And why wouldn't they be?

The Vytal Tournament was in a few weeks.

"It is time to kick butt and take names!" Yang said with gusto, whipping around to face her target. Her finger shot toward Pyrrha, "I hope you're ready, P-money, I'm about to snatch first place right out of your hands!"

"H-hold on," Pyrrha waved her hands in front of her, "there's no guarantee I'll make it past the preliminaries..."

"You're a great fighter Pyrrha, but a shitty liar."

"I-I'm not lying!"

Jaune listened to them go on. Yang would milk that until Pyrrha was sick of it, but she was still right, there's no way Pyrrha wouldn't make it to the finals. Nora pushed between them, puffing out her chest as though the spotlight was on her.

"Move aside, you peasants!" She announced boldy, "We all know who the real winner of this shindiggity will be!"

"Doesn't that mean you've gotta beat your little Renny-bear though?"

"I'm a tough lover."

"I should hope you are. It's an integral part of a Huntress-in-trainings career," Weiss suddenly spoke up, "The whole world will be watching, this is not only a competition. This is a presentation to the people of the strength of their future protectors, which means all eyes will be on those in finals."

"Don't worry, Weiss-cream. You're big and strong. I'm sure you'll make it into Top 8." Yang rubbed the heriess's hair, much to her chagrin.

"I shall settle for nothing less than first place, you buffoon."

"Hah, good luck, that means you'll have to get past me!"

"I like my chances then."

"Is that a challenge?"

Jaune shook his head as the girls fell into their usual bickering. He might have watched Yang pull Weiss into a headlock but for his partner nudging his shoulder.

"Are you excited for the tournament, Jaune?"

"Uh, yeah..." Jaune rubbed his neck, avoiding her gaze, "I guess. It's gonna be fun to watch."

Pyrrha's eyebrows rose. "Watch?"

Jaune smiled a weak smile. "Yeah... I don't think I'm gonna enter."

~TA~

The can clattered on the ground as Jaune kicked it again.

Even when the evening settled, Vale was still rampant with talk of the festival. Everywhere he went, people were talking about it. Huntsmen were going to look for potential trainees to take into their guilds when they graduated. Organizations and sponsors that used Huntsmen services would be looking for fresh potential.

Merchandise was already being made, he even heard that some businesses would be closed on the days of the tournament just to watch it.

Weiss was right. It wasn't just a tournament, it was a spectacle, a sneak peak at the heroes of tomorrow.

But so what? It didn't matter to him.

Jaune just wanted to be a Huntsman, he didn't really care about being the best one. What did having that title even amount to in the end?

That's why he never complained when he lost in sparring matches. What right did he have to be upset? His opponents were better than him, and fighting wasn't something he was good at anyway. Jaune never tried to hold himself to a greater standard than what he could reasonably achieve.

If he never expected anything of himself, he couldn't be disappointed when he failed. It was foolproof. Pathetic, maybe, but at the very least it protected whatever pride he could still muster.

And then it came again. The feeling of lying on the ground, tasting the floor while his opponent stood above him. He recalled his weak knees, his shaking hands - from sadness? Fear?

No, the feeling was hotter, it made him grind his teeth. It made him want to get up again and show his foe that he wasn't yet defeated.

But the most he usually accomplished was lasting longer than most. In the end, it hardly mattered if every other aspect of his abilities was subpar. It made him wonder why he never forfeited, one was allowed to surrender in the matches, all they needed to do was raise their hand.

Instead he raised his sword.

Only for it, and him, to be knocked onto the floor once again. But he'd still tried.

For a long time, he thought that was what made the difference. That if he tried hard enough, if he believed in himself, put in the work and never surrendered, maybe he'd pull off that win. Maybe he'd get to feel like a winner.

But one could only fail so many times before the confidence in those thoughts began to die.

The world was not a fair place. And so it made sense that not all men were equal.

Some people were made to be great, and the rest stayed insignificant. The winners and the losers. The latter was Jaune, and he was okay with that.

He really was.

The Jaune that kept getting up was the real idiot, he should have understood that no matter what he did, nothing would change.

Jaune kicked the can harder this time.

~TA~

"Because it would be pointless!"

He hadn't meant to yell, and seeing the way his partner flinched, it made him feel awful for doing so. Ren's and Nora's eyes were on him, spooked to attention at his sudden scream.

Jaune sighed. "I'm fine with just watching. I don't need to enter, besides if you don't win it, then it'll probably be Yang or someone else. And I can't beat them so why even bother?"

"Jaune, you don't know for certain what will happen. I think you should enter, your training has been going well, hasn't it?"

It wasn't enough, not even close. Their entire year was entering the tournament. Vacuo, Mistral, Atlas - all of their best first years were here and Jaune doubted they came this far to go home empty-handed. Everyone who entered planned to show the world who they were and what they could do.

What could Jaune show them? How to scream when his ass was on fire?

"i'm going to lose - that's obvious. There's no point in trying."

"There is a point! People will get to see how strong you really are, this is your best chance for you, for everyone, to prove themselves. I'm confident you will do well, Jaune."

"Yeah, well I'm not, okay?"

And as if he'd ripped any fight left out of her, Pyrrha was stunned. Bewildered like these were words she never expected out of him. Maybe he was too, that she could have such honest faith in him.

Pyrrha was sweet and kind. She dedicated so much time to helping him get better with no reward for herself, if anything, she was one of the few people who truly believed in him.

But she was wrong. Her words were hollow to him. Pyrrha could, and mostly likely would, win the tournament.

Jaune couldn't. And that was reality.

Which was fine, he could accept that - whether it pissed him off or not was irrelevant. "I'm going for a walk."

"Jaune, please just -

The door slammed before she could finish.

~TA~

What did Pyrrha expect?

Jaune couldn't help but feel angry. At her, at the tournament - screw it, the entire freaking world! Where did the faith come from? Was he the only one seeing the truth?

Even with Pyrrha help these past few months, Jaune still managed to fail. Whenever he lost in the ring, or didn't learn a technique she'd been teaching him for days, he couldn't look at her. He couldn't hear her encourage him to try again and not feel like shit.

He was going to let her down. If he entered the tournament, he'd soil her name with his performance. Many people now whispered about how Pyrrha Nikos had a failure of a partner, someone who didn't deserve to stand beside her. Pyrrha may not care what those people said, but Jaune did.

And not just her, this tournament represented the Huntsmen everywhere, and if people saw him being kicked around like a ragdoll, what would that say about his class? About the future of the Huntsmen?

Jaune felt he'd only bring them down with him. So it was best to go down alone.

The wind blew with the slow drizzle, Jaune just letting it splash his face to absorb the cold. He welcomed it, as it made that hot feeling in his heart not so painful. In fact, in the cool feeling, Jaune dared to think of a more positive outlook.

Even if he knew he would fail, what would it be like if he didn't? He'd think about that from time to time, fantasize about it every time he got through a hard day of training.

What would it feel like to beat Blake? Or Yang?

Or Pyrrha?

He could hear the crowd - a wave of applause as he appeared on the big screen. Jaune felt like he could soak it all up, fill him in a way that left him hungry for nothing else. Huntsmen from all over would look at him and think "That kid is the future" and "He'll be one of the greatest."

And in that moment, he could finally think that he deserved it. That he belonged at Beacon Academy.

But then the applause was gone - the people, the stadium, the trumpets, it all faded away. And he was back on the street, cars zooming on the overpass and only music to be heard was the rain pattering the pavement.

Jaune's smile dropped. How pathetic, just the thought of winning made him feel so good inside. But he wasn't going to win, so there was nothing to be happy about. It'd be satisfying enough to see one of his friends win. And Jaune would be fine in the background, clapping for them. No expectations, no responsibilities, no shining moment.

And that was perfectly fine.

Jaune continued down the road, letting drops of rain fall on his face as he listened to the sound of the city. Maybe if he was quick enough, he could catch a car and just let it take him someplace. It didn't matter where, so long as it wasn't here anymore.

He wanted to run. He was running. But he wasn't going to get away, not because he couldn't, but because he there wasn't anywhere to run to.

With most things, he knew that once the night was over, he'd feel better. He wouldn't care anymore.

Jaune grabbed a railing.

A small one that lead to an apartment complex, creating a small corner that could be occupied by any one person. A place no one would bother him. Where he could be easily ignored by the passersby.

Good enough.

Jaune sat in the corner, both arms wrapped around one leg. His leaned his head back, staring emptily at the dead sky.

He couldn't cry for some reason, maybe because he felt numb or too resigned to let out any emotion. But it felt good that think that the angels were crying for him.

The tournament was just a wake up call to his inferiority. But he knew that now, at least by not entering, he felt like he was in control. That he had decided what his fate would be before it could be slapped in his face.

"Hey, what's a kid like you doing out here?"

Jaune turned to see a man standing on the porch, back to him. He leaned against the railing himself with a cigar in hand.

"Nothing." Jaune responded hoarsely.

"Nah, it's never nothing. Thing is, people don't really come out here just to sit in a corner in the rain. You look like a teen angst protagonist."

"Or maybe I just want to be alone - and you're kind of in the way of it."

"Sheesh, no need to bite. I was just curious, kid."

Silence passed between them, with only the sounds of him puffing out smoke to interrupt it. Jaune looked at him again. He was just a stranger, its not like Jaune lost anything by just talking to him. Maybe he could at least blow off some steam with someone he'd never see again.

"I'm a little bummed out about the tournament. D'you know about it?"

"I live on Remnant, don't I?"

Jaune rolled his eyes. "My friend wanted me to enter, but... I'm not gonna do well. I know she thinks I can but she doesn't get it."

"Get it?"

"That there's no point in me trying, I'm gonna lose so it doesn't matter."

"Hm..." He gave a slow nod, "you're right, that makes sense."

Jaune's heart fell. "I-it does?"

"Yeah. If you already know what'll happen, why waste your time?"

Exactly, that's what he'd told Pyrrha. Jaune agreed wholeheartedly... so why did he feel that answer wasn't enough?

"I mean, I want to do good. I wanna be able to try my best but, that hardly amounts to what everyone else is capable of. I'm a weakling. The most I'd do is humiliate myself in front of the entire world so why even try?"

"Why try?" The man repeated, as if contemplating the words, letting the smoke slip out of his mouth. "You've got it all figured out now, don't you?"

For some reason that irked him, and Jaune wondered if the man was smirking. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. You have your answer, you know what you have to do. Why linger on it anymore?"

"Because I -" And Jaune stopped. Because what? What was he going to say?

"You're an idiot like the rest of 'em," The man drawled, "Tell me, have you ever thought you might be able to win? Have you at least considered it?"

He had. Whenever he hit a milestone in his training, whenever he learned something new, he'd think he was catching up. He'd imagine winning one day. Of climbing through the ranks and being the best he could be.

But they were just fantasies, there was no way he could pull them off in the tournament. So he wasn't going to enter.

"Yeah, I did."

"But you don't want to try?"

"What's the point?"

"Maybe there isn't a point, but maybe there is." The man shrugged, "What artist looks at their work and thinks 'that's good enough'. What mechanic finds a flaw in a machine and doesn't try to fix it? Some, sure, but those aren't the ones that get the promotion."

The man nodded as if reminding himself of that. "We've got very limited time in this world, so I take what I need. And what I want. No one cares for a street rat, so what is he to do? Crawl up in a corner and wait to die? No, that's what idiots and quitters do. I'm neither."

"I did what I told myself to do. I was a plucky little shit, good with my hands. And I made mistakes, but I also learned. Now, I've got everything I need, and the world keeps turning, so there is even more to want. And I'm not afraid to get out there and take it."

The man paused for a moment, as though he needed to find the right words to continue. "You want to be a winner, kid? Then quit whining. Roll up your sleeves and get to work."

"I... I'll fail."

"I'm not saying you'll win. In fact, I doubt a guy like you even has a chance."

"Thanks..."

"But I'm not saying you'll lose, either. So stop with your pity party, it's irritating." The man looked over, pointing his cigar at him, "Don't be the guy that lets good things slip away, and don't let your fear convince you not to fight for what you want."

Jaune just stared. Enticed by the single green eye that bore into his blue. There was a story there, hardship - someone who scraped the bottom of the barrel until he could build a kingdom.

That's what Jaune wanted.

"Build a palace out of the mud. Scrape strength out of blood and tears. You want to taste victory, so why are you out here wasting time?"

Jaune's mouth opened, but he found that he had nothing to say. Unsure what to make of his brazen but hardened advice. He made it sound so simple, like it the most obvious answer to his problem.

But it couldn't be. Right?

"Or you could just be the street rat, sit in your little corner and die," Then man flicked away his cigar, adjusting his hat as he walked off, "But if you ask me, that's a shitty way to go out."

Jaune stood, watching the man walk off. Was that all he had to say? Was it really as simple as he was making it sound?

No, it wasn't simple. He wasn't saying that at all.

"Who are you?" Jaune called out.

But he'd already vanished.

~TA~

Pyrrha's eyes flew open as soon as she heard the door creak. Thankfully she'd left a light on, otherwise she might not have seen his face.

"You're still awake?" Jaune asked, hair slicked to his face.

"Yes, I was waiting for you," Pyrrha sat up, "I wanted to say I'm sorry for earlier. It wasn't right to put so much pressure on you... I just wanted you to try. I wanted you to see the fruits of your training in a real competition, but I failed to take your feelings into consideration."

It was a failing of hers that she didn't expect to come out. She still thought Jaune was making a mistake, but it was out of her hands, she had to respect whatever choice he made.

"No, I'm sorry, Pyrrha." Jaune shook his head, "You were right. I need to try, no matter how much I think it won't matter. I shouldn't have let my anger out on you when you just wanted to help. So, I'm sorry - I should have listened to you."

Wait, really? Well, thats was great! Did that mean he...?

"I-it's fine, so... does that mean you are going to compete?"

"Better." Jaune said, shrouding them in darkness upon turning off the light. The boy laid on his bed, and even though Pyrrha couldn't see his face, it didn't take away the power in his last words of the night.

"I'm gonna win."

Welcome readers to my new fic, Tournament Arc.

The way the tournament was handled in canon wasn't exactly a flaw since its entire purpose served the larger plot, in that sense the tournament didn't have any real stakes or reasons for the MCs to win it.

So lets take out the main plot and make the tournament important.

So this story focuses on Jaune, but also other characters who want to win the tournament. I will say though that this will not be the same style tournament as we've seen in canon.

Hopefully you enjoyed it and I'll see you in the next one.

ISA

Chapter 2

The ones who want to win

A protest - her hands cried out for rest. And they'd get it. Later.

Arslan's fingers trembled as if they were going to break off, and even just holding up the spoonful of oatmeal proved to be strenuous on her. The burn in her muscles drove home the overexertion she'd promised not to put herself through again.

So much for that.

"Ars, you good?" Reese's voice drew her eyes, "Training again?"

"Yeah, I did it again," Arslan admitted, setting down her spoon to rub her wrist, "And I know I shouldn't have, no need to lecture me."

Reese's glare was a brief one, quickly replaced by an admonished sigh and a knowing wave of her fork, "You're really gonna bust up your arms, dude. Like, seriously."

"She's right," Nadir added sternly, "You remember what happened the last time you pushed yourself too far? Are you really trying to cripple yourself before the tournament?"

"I'll be fine," Arslan grumbled, "I appreciate it but I learned my lesson, I know when I've pushed myself too far."

Reese pointed at Arslan's hands. "And that isn't too far?"

"Do they look broken to you?"

It was a cheap thing to say, Arslan could admit, especially since they were only showing their concern. But it was for nothing, she was perfectly fine - the recoil effects would only bother her for another hour or so.

"Anyway, can we talk about something else?" Arslan pitched, "I heard you were exploring campus, Reese."

The girl brightened at that, as she usually did. The girl was an explorer by nature - hadn't been at Beacon for a day before the girl was zooming through the Emerald Forest to see the ruins. In seconds, the girl was deep into her tale, Bolin passively nodding as he ate his breakfast.

"You said you were gonna slow down." Nadir suddenly whispered.

"Yeah well, I lied. Sorry."

"Are you?"

She wanted to say she was, but knew by now that Nadir was not quite as gullible as Reese or passive as Bolin. She could have punched him in the face, and he would still call her out on her faults. He was lucky she appreciated a partner like that.

"You won't win the tournament like that."

"And what am I supposed to do, huh? Be lax? Maybe you don't remember who is in it."

Nadir's interlocked fingers tightened, though perhaps not for the same reason Arslan's did whenever she was brought up. "I get it, okay? But you are pushing yourself too hard. Start relying on us. You might be the leader but that doesn't mean you can do everything on your own."

"I've gotten everywhere I am today on my own, alright? I don't need your damn advice, got it?"

The table shook as Nadir's fist struck. "Ars -

"Pyrrha! Hey, over here!"

Arslan tensed, looking over at Reese, mouth agape. What the hell was she doing? She might have told her to stop, but Pyrrha had already noticed, moving through the horde of students to reach them.

"Be nice." Nadir said, sitting back in his seat as the redhead approached. Arslan rolled her eyes, choosing to get back to eating her breakfast.

She had nothing to say to Pyrrha.

"Whats up?" Reese asked just as the girl arrived, "I saw you around ever since we got here but never got to talk to you."

"I suppose I've just been caught up with everything at Beacon, its a lot to keep up with," Pyrrha smiled, "Are you still doing missions for the AC?"

"You know it! Tell you what though, its hard to find stuff in Sanus. The whole countryside is plucked dry of anything good!"

Pyrrha chuckled. "Don't pretend you actually care about preserving ancient artifacts, Reese."

Reese feigned heartbreak, seething he teeth. "You hurt me. Anyway, how about you? Still kickin' ass at the top of the class?"

"Ah well, something like that..."

This again. It always came to this subject, and sometimes Arslan wondered if Reese purposefully did it just to get on her nerves. She wasn't of course, Reese was much more considerate than that, the problem lied in that she didn't think ahead. Didn't consider how her actions could affect people.

How they currently affected her.

Arslan did her best to tune out as her team conversed with Pyrrha (the traitors), trying to find a distraction in her breakfast. Their laughter ate her for some reason - like scratching styrofoam. Even her won't eyes betrayed her, sneaking a glance at the redhead as she listened to Reese's wild tales.

Whatever.

"Um... hello, Arslan."

Breathe.

"Pyrrha." Arslan responded curtly.

"How have you been?"

"Fine."

"That's good."

"It is."

Arslan's hadn't noticed how quickly heart was beating until then, and the very action made it feel like her hands were shaking even more. The feeling was familiar - like a pot of water left on the burner for too long. Sizzling like a flame gone on too long, a flame ignited by Pyrrha.

That Arslan wanted nothing more than to snuff out.

"I've heard you are doing great in combat class," Pyrrha continued, "Of course, you were always good at that. Every time I see you, you've gotten even stronger... I'm a little envious."

"Envious, huh? Thats funny."

"What?"

"I don't really see what you envy me for, Champion," Arslan's eyes narrowed, "Or are you just making fun of me?"

"N-no..." Pyrrha stammered, "I didn't mean it that way. I'm sorry."

I'm sorry. Even after months of being away from her, those words still made Arslan boil inside, still made her want to punch the girl in her teeth.

"Arslan, I wanted to -

"Pyrrha, go away."

The blonde ignored the shocked looks from her teammates, she couldn't blame them, they were on good terms with Pyrrha. But the champion herself didn't look at all surprised, she shouldn't have been - dejected, maybe, but she'd get over it. It didn't matter to Arslan.

Because Pyrrha had shown that it didn't matter to her either.

"Ars..."

"I told you not to call me that anymore. Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Its not like that, I'm just -

"Just what? Trying to shove your weight around? We get it, Pyrrha, you're the best, you can stop reminding us."

"Why does it always have to come back to that?" Pyrrha said a bit more forcefully, "Am I not allowed to come over and talk to you?"

"I'm going to let you figure that out. I don't recall your memory being so shitty."

"That was years ago, why does -

Arslan hit the table this time. And the power reverberating through it sounded like a firecracker. The murmurs of the cafeteria were silenced, the entire world on pause as Arslan stood before the enemy.

Yet another familiar feeling, standing face to face with the mistral champion. At the cusp of success, only she stood in the way. Very rarely was it anyone else, in fact, Arslan hadn't heard of anyone who had gotten so close.

But she was. Arslan was very close, she could feel it.

She wished she could see anger in Pyrrha's face, maybe irritation, anything other than that stupid blank stare, like somehow she was so better than everyone that she felt nothing toward them.

Oh but it would be soon that her stare turned to shock and defeat. Until then…

"Hit the road, Pyrrha. Now."

And a few moments later, she did. It was kind of funny, Pyrrha could stand her ground against any enemy in a physical fight. But she never stood a chance when her feelings and mistakes were challenged. It was perhaps her only real weakness.

But not even Arslan would resort to that in the ring.

"Arslan, what the hell was that?" Reese asked just as the cafeteria returned to normal.

"That's what i want to know," Arslan fired back, "If you wanted to talk to Pyrrha, then you should have gone to her. I don't know what possessed you to think I wanted her around me."

"I thought with all the time passed between you two, the tension might be gone..." Reese held her glare, "Guess I was wrong."

"You think?"

"This isn't somethin' to be okay with!"

"And why not?"

The two girls glared at one another, but Arslan refused to back down. She knew, maybe not everything, but she did know why Arslan refused to speak to Pyrrha. And that Reese had betrayed that, did she really expect to not be called out on it?

Nadir put a hand on his partner's shoulder. "Ars, let it go."

Arslan rolled her eyes and sat down. "Fine. Whatever."

Reese seethed. "You know what-

"Stop."

Everyone turned onto Bolin, the boy looking at all of them calmly. "Is this how you ought to act toward one another? I'm ashamed to call you my teammates if you so choose to act like children."

"Tch." Arslan's eyes lowered, pursing her lips as the weight of his words hit her.

"Damn, Bolin," Reese smiled weakly, "That kinda hurts..."

"Apologize, both of you."

"M-my bad, Ars, sorry..." Reese said, the worst part being that Arslan knew she was genuine.

Arslan held her tongue for a moment, looking at Nadir who gestured back to Reese. Then at Bolin, whose unwavering stare only punched a bigger hole in her gut. Did they have to make her look like the bad guy? She didn't have to apologize, she'd done nothing wrong. It was Reese's fault for bringing Pyrrha here.

But she was also her teammate.

"I'm sorry too," Arslan sighed, "I appreciate you thinking of me but I don't need your help with Pyrrha, alright? So don't do that again."

Reese nodded and Arslan could tell she was not at all okay with it. But that was fine, it wasn't her problem to deal with.

Arslan looked over to the tables in the distance to find a red ponytail, its owner laughing alongside her teammates and another group of friends.

How many times had Arslan imagined that laughter at her expense? That Pyrrha was hiding behind that kind facade someone who enjoyed tearing other's dreams from them? At times it felt real, other times she thought she was exaggerating, but either way it didn't change Arslan's goal.

Soon enough, Pyrrha would be the one looking up.

Not Arslan.

~TA~

"Ruby might be a tough one..."

Red dashed in the arena - Sky's head whipped around, trying to keep his eye on her. But it was fruitless, Ruby had him the moment he let down his guard. He cried out as the girl's scythe shattered his aura, and even though he ducked the follow up, Ruby stabbed the blade into the floor.

Then, pivoting off the handle, two boots slammed the last bits of aura straight out of him, left crumpled on the floor.

"And that's the match." called Goodwitch.

Jaune put his pencil in his mouth as he clapped for her, smiling as little as Ruby bowed before her pleased crowd.

Wish I had speed like that. Jaune thought, getting back to his notes. That was her greatest strength of course - a remarkable speed semblance that bordered teleportation at its peak. She was uncontested the fastest fighter of their year.

With her semblance, anyway.

She relied on it a lot, Jaune noticed. It was perhaps obvious to anyone who studied her long enough, but unfortunately Jaune was a slow learner. But he learned still, and what a better time to figure it out than now?

Professor Goodwitch called on the next pair but the most Jaune had heard was Yang, and unless it was Pyrrha or Weiss, he doubted it going any other way. He watched from the corner of his eyes as Ruby returned to her seat, her teammates praising her performance. All the while Jaune went over everything he saw in her match.

He'd only fought Ruby a few times and those had gone about as well as he expected.

With speed and such a big weapon at her disposal, Jaune could barely do anything against her. His defenses held strong, but only if he was fast enough to keep up with her. Not to mention her sniping skills, which forced him to stay grounded while she chipped at his aura.

She could be offensive or defensive and win either way.

But…

She's weak inside the range of her scythe, Jaune penned down. Crescent Rose was at its strongest in mid-range, since she could wall opponents out with the shaft while attacking with the blade.

In each match he'd had with her, he'd gotten a few hits in. Which almost even out their auras when he got a solid blow. While Ruby's strikes were fast, they were just scratches against his aura. Jaune could land one hit and make a significant dent in her weaker aura.

It really came down to who pressed the advantage first.

He'd gotten started on this process since the morning, and even all last night he could help but think about all the potential matchups he might struggle in. Unfortunately there were a lot.

His attention was drawn back to the arena as Yang faced some unlucky fellow. He must have known his fate, because the spear shivered in his hands.

Yang wasn't top three for no reason.

In retrospect, Jaune would have thought Yang was a tough matchup for him. He'd fought her plenty of times and got destroyed, but not as quickly as most did.

Her offense and his defense were hard counterbalances to one another. Yang's hits punched holes in his aura, but it still took the damage better than everyone else. He could even remember the times Yang was short of breath fighting him, he still got beaten in the end but the point was that, if he played it right, he could outlast her.

Unless she used her semblance.

In which case, he was screwed only if she managed to hit him. But Yang was also linear with her attacks and often telegraphed them with hard wind-ups. Of course, her speed was greater than his so it still made them hard to dodge.

He was simply too slow to evade.

In no less than a minute, Yang's opponent was down. A knock-out, not unusual for her. And Goodwitch called the boy's teammates to bring him to the infirmary.

"I feel you, brother." Jaune saluted him.

"Practice more restraint, Miss Xiao Long," Professor Goodwitch stated, "Emotions can give you strength in battle, but used carelessly, your opponent could take advantage of it."

Yang nodded but it looked like she was listening more to her applause than the advice. Poor Miss Goodwitch, barely anyone really took her teachings to heart right away. Jaune did however, he benefited the most from it. He looked at Yang's golden locks as he thought about what the professor said…

Restraint… Jaune penned it down right beside the girl's name.

"Whatcha working on, leader my leader?" Nora chirped suddenly.

"Uh," Jaune scrambled to close his book, "Nothing!"

"Nothing means something in bullshit-anese, Jauney," Nora reached for his book, "Reveal your secrets, mortal!"

"Nora!" Jaune struggled to keep his friend at bay. His teammates were totally not laughing at him right now, he was imagining it.

"Attention!"

The class hushed as Goodwitch called them to attention. "As you know, the Vytal Tournament is coming up in two weeks. Submissions will end three days before so if you wish to participate, do not forget to put your entry."

Jaune hadn't forgotten, he'd signed up this morning. Two weeks was a decent amount of time to get training done, he didn't know exactly what to focus on but he was figuring it out now. Maybe it was fruitless, maybe it would all amount to nothing.

But he wanted to win.

He wanted to show the world who he was and what he could do. And prove that he belonged at Beacon, there was no better way to do than to win the biggest tournament in history. Even if it was easier said than done.

A pale blue light projected into a big screen from Goodwitch's scroll, showing the Amity Coliseum. A tournament bracket showed up as well, with a visage of two fighters going at it.

"This year, the tournaments theme is 'individuality'. To test the limits of our first years as they stand alone. Consider it, at this time, the deciding factor for the true dominating students in your year's rankings."

So one on one matches... Jaune nodded. That made things infinitely harder, but also simpler. He could focus on beating one opponent at a time, which made strategizing much more important. Plus, the focus on who stood above the other made the competition more appealing.

It was an official declaration that the winner of the tournament would be considered the strongest rookie of the year.

Weiss raised her hand. "But would that not take a lot of time? If everyone who signs up competes in this format, it could take several days for the tournament to end. Which, with the allotted time the Festival provides, is more time than we have."

"You are correct, Ms. Schnee, but we have thought of that," The image switched, showing the huge arena and multiple black dots around it, "Of everyone that enters, only 16 will actually be competing. We have a large number this year, which is why we shall be having preliminaries."

Jaune's heart dropped.

Goodwitch held up three fingers. "3 events. All of which will test your practical skills as Huntsmen and Huntresses, with specific rules tied to each. But your goal is simple - remain within the top 16 by the end, and you will have qualified."

"Top 16..." Jaune murmured.

"Nervous?" Ren asked.

"A little..." The odds weren't quite so bad since it was 16 whole spots, but as Goodwitch said, their year was large. Everyone would be fighting for those spots which meant that placings would be erratic.

The preliminaries favored the consistent winners. Ensuring only the best won.

"Now, there are two preemptive rules that you must know before the preliminaries, be sure to remember them because they are key to ensuring you are prepared."

The word 'Teams' popped up on screen. A red slash cut through it.

"Number 1, for the remainder of the event: Teams are temporarily disbanded for the tournament and teammate bias is highly discouraged."

Everyone's questions fired off at the same time, and even Jaune had to wonder why such a rule was in place. Goodwitch silenced the crowd before resuming.

"As this tournament focuses on individual progress, it would do you well not allow feelings for your teammates to affect your performance. A Huntsmen strive must strive for self-improvement, to be ever better than his previous self. Comraderie is important, but over reliance on it can lead to a stunt in individual growth."

Glynda adjusted her glasses, those hawk-like eyes challenging them to argue. "I can assure you, no Huntsmen worth his salt would see himself less than his peers. So strive for the gold, because only those at the top can become the protectors our world needs."

Jaune let out a breath. She was absolutely right, none of them could afford to let personal feelings get in the way of winning. Going in, he knew that, otherwise why would he have said what he said to Pyrrha? If he wanted to win, he could not allow friendship to get in the way of that.

It was something he was sure everyone knew, but now it had been engraved into their minds.

From this point on, everyone was an enemy.

"The second and final pre-emptive rule: For first two events, weaponry is banned."

"…"

Wait, what?

"Wait, what!?" Ruby shrieked at the top of her lungs, "But thats - you can't... it's not fair!"

"I assure you it is perfectly fair. As I said before, these preliminary trials will test all of your abilities as Huntsmen. Weapons are important yes, but so is physicality, mentality, environmental awareness and the ability to adapt in a rough situations."

"B-but..."

"Those are the rules Miss Rose. Or am I to believe that you are incapable of performing without a weapon? Perhaps we ought to return you to prep school, that you may learn a Huntsman's job is not as simple as 'swing and slash'.

Humiliated, the girl sat down with her head hung. Jaune felt for her.

This drastically affected the both of them.

This would be rough on Ruby then since her greatest weakness was that she was weak without Crescent Rose. Jaune was pretty confident that even he could beat her if she didn't have it.

But of course, where did this nerf leave him? Without a shield to protect him or a sword to do damage, how was he supposed to fight?

The only tool everyone shared would be aura. And unfortunately that was where Jaune found an even bigger problem.

He knew basic aura control, using it to protect himself and even strengthen some of his swings. But it lacked depth and he was hardly consistent with it so he used it very sparingly. So without a weapon or a specialized aura mechanic, what did he have going for him?

"A Huntsman must be able to adapt in any situation and overreliance in one aspect is a surefire way to fail," The Professor said, "Use the time to you have effectively students, as only the most prepared shall grasp victory."

Jaune didn't miss the way her eyes roved over her students, over him. All of which she was accusing of this problem.

This was was a setback, but Jaune could still figure something out. He had time, he just needed a solid plan.

He would not let this stop him.

~TA~

Arrrgh! This was totally stopping him!

Jaune trudged the halls with the vigor of a slug, his shoulder dragging on the wall as he wracked his brain for answers. Ever since the rules were explained, Jaune had tried his best to figure out a solution to his problem. But nothing worked!

His team offered to help but he'd promptly refused. He'd have loved the help but didn't want them wasting their time on him, they needed to focus on their own training.

Plus, it was better that none of them knew whatever tricks he cooked up. And looking at his situation now, he was going to need a lot of them. His current obstacle at the moment was finding a broader application of aura, and using it more diversely than he had before.

Ren could project his aura through physical attacks, which Jaune was quick to do research on. But apparently those techniques took years to master and access to them was rare, so it would be utterly useless in battle for him.

And then he thought about Blake and her sword beam... thing. She used it rarely but when she did, not even Yang took the attack well. It could cut through almost anything, which would make it invaluable as an offensive move.

Unfortunately the technique was also hard to use and was extremely taxing on aura. Blake apparently learned it from an old friend but when Jaune had asked to see if she could introduce them, she got all flustered.

"Jaune, he's not going to want to meet you."

"Why not?"

"He's... shy..."

And then she ran away. Fast. Ruby always did say that Blake was a weird one.

Still that left him with pretty much nothing to go on, and Jaune shoved his hands in his pockets as he thought. There had to be something... something he could learn quickly enough that could give him a useful edge in the prelims.

But what? And who could teach it to him?

"Yaah!"

A yell, a girl. And as soon as he heard it, Jaune caught the sound of a crash nearby. From... one of the training rooms?

Jaune rounded the corner right away, stopping at the door to catch someone moving.

But not just moving. Jumping.

The girl was like a spring, bouncing from each end of the walls, kicking off with more force than the last. But it was elegant and clean, picking up speed like a runaway ball. She was a blur just like Ruby, but it felt more organic... more natural.

The girl landed and then Jaune saw it. Her feet.

And the aura that hugged them.

Like a thunderclap, she blasted off the floor leaving not a single trace. Her shorts and t-shirt flapped against the wind as she flew. She landed on all fours on the ceiling, then pushed off immediately to the left wall.

And she did it all over again, hopping like a frog. Abound like a kangaroo.

Bouncy like a…

"Velvet?" Jaune whispered.

He'd recognized her ears, the only rabbit faunus in school. She was a second year if he remembered correctly and early in the year had been harassed by Cardin. He couldn't lie, since that was his initial view of her, he thought she wasn't very strong.

But damn was he wrong.

How in the world was she doing that? Jaune marveled as he watched her go, the aura swirling about her bare feet as she speed blitzed the walls. She made it look so easy, and admittedly fun. With movement like that, she could probably dodge or outrun anything.

He could dodge or outrun anything��

Jaune barely noticed he was staring when Velvet finally stopped, the girl rubbing her face with a towel as she took a break. Jaune stepped forward, anxious to say something but he didn't want to interrupt her.

Brown eyes found his.

Startled at having been caught, Jaune made haste down the hall, shaking his head free of the thoughts. There was no way she'd help him. She was second year and probably had a much busier schedule than him.

Dumb. Idiot. It was a stupid idea.

And yet Jaune continued to look back.

~TA~

"This is gonna suck!"

Weiss shook her head as her leader ranted on and on. It had been nonstop for days, Weiss would've thought Ruby would get tired of it by now.

She'd underestimated her.

"Its not a big deal, Rubes." Yang said, dangling upside down from her bed. The younger sibling glared, "Alright, maybe for you it is but hey, you don't really care about winning anyway."

"But I still wanna try! What am I supposed to do without Crescent Rose?" Ruby exclaimed, "And fix your shirt, Yang."

"Oh my bad," The blonde grinned, "What, sometimes the girls gotta breathe a little, right Blakemeister?"

"Blakemeister?" The faunus questioned.

"It'll catch on."

"Guys, come on!" Ruby stomped her foot, which just so happened to land on one of Zwei's squeaky toys. It seemed not even the universe wanted to take Ruby seriously.

She'd realize sooner or later that she had to figure out something. Like Goodwitch said, a Huntress needed to adapt.

After all, the ruleset badly affected Weiss too.

Myrtenaster had been the conduit for her semblance and Dust manipulation. A focal point to focus on as she put years of mental training to use. The feeling of it in her hand, the handle she'd grown so accustomed to... would not be with her in the field.

Which was scary.

Thankfully, Weiss had thought ahead and asked Professor Goodwitch the specifics of the second rule when class was dismissed.

"To be clear, Professor, you said absolutely no weaponry, correct?"

"That is correct, Miss Schnee."

"Does that include equipment?"

"It does, armor and specialized tools are prohibited."

"And Dust?"

Professor Goodwitch grinned. "Very astute, Miss Schnee."

The lack of Myrtenaster would hurt her combat ability, but Weiss was confident that the preliminaries weren't strictly fighting. Goodwitch had said it challenged many aspects of their training, and each event had different rules.

Meaning they likely wouldn't be as predictable as fighting Grimm.

Weiss did have her semblance, it wouldn't be too hard to control without her weapon. Though with her average aura, she still had to worry about the cost of using it.

The girl looked at her arm, then the blue energy swirling inside a vial. Dust. It was archaic but it wasn't against the rules since it was not a weapon, but rather energy propellant. Ice was a key part of her fighting style, and she knew for sure she'd need it. Its versatility was too great to just leave behind.

But she'd have to use her bare arms as a conduit. She wasn't looking forward to that.

And of course there was her summoning...

"Weiss!"

Ruby's arms were held out, begging for an answer. "Help me out here! What am I supposed to do?"

Weiss shrugged. "I couldn't say. That's something you have to decide. Professor Goodwitch did say to focus on ourselves, didn't she? If I help you, then won't have earned your wins yourself."

Ruby might have said something, but stopped. "I mean, yeah but..."

Its not that Weiss didn't think Ruby deserved help. But she refused to treat her differently than all her other opponents.

"Damn, Weiss that was a little cold." Yang said.

"Was it? Then I suppose that I won't see you or Ruby in Top 16."

Yang's eye twitched, the bear had been poked. "And what makes you so sure of that?"

"The fact that you seem to prioritize someone else's success over your own. I'm not saying its wrong, but don't expect to get far if you're always having to look out for your sister."

"I'm right here, you know." Ruby huffed.

"I know, I'm not going to baby her. But what's wrong with helping her figure something out?" Yang countered, "Is it that serious?"

Perhaps not in the grand scheme, but Weiss always strove for the best. Even when she faced Pyrrha, she still gave it her all. Yang had the score advantage over Weiss now, but when it came to matches, they were hard tied.

Weiss Schnee did not settle for second best.

"Think about it like this: If you help Ruby develop a strategy, you would then know what strategy she is going to use. You're in the third event, and Ruby is close to winning with the strategy you suggested, but you know if she does win, you can't be in top 16. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to try and beat her, duh."

"How? By ruining the plan that you helped her come with? The one that she trusted you with giving her?"

Yang's eyes widened, mouthing a curse as she looked away, with Ruby giving out a little whine as if she hated to admit that Weiss was right.

But they were her teammates. She couldn't help them, at least not directly. Ruby could do well in the tournament, she just needed to apply herself.

"You must figure something out on your own, Ruby. Thats the only way you keep an advantage over anyone. If you want to win, then you'd best stop complaining and come up with a plan. Because if we meet in the ring, I shall not go easy."

Ruby flinched at that, fingers curled into fists as she looked back at her. Good, she was motivated now.

She'd need to be if she thought the win was going to be that easy. The ones that wanted to win badly enough would fight for it with everything they had.

And Weiss had her eyes on the prize.

~TA~

Here it is…

Jaune's hand was raised, but he dropped it again.

How many times had he tried to knock? Three? Four? He felt like he'd been at the door for centuries, struggling with whether to finally cross the boundary or run back to shelter.

In the end, he convinced himself to find Team CFVY's dorm. After what he saw, how incredible Velvet's moves were, there was no way he could pass up the chance to ask her. He didn't know why he waited until the evening to come to Team CFVY's dorm, but he hadn't been sure when to approach Velvet anyway.

Uh maybe right when she was in the open?

Yes, it was dumb that he'd run away, but she'd seen him! She probably thought he was a creeper or something!

Oh no, what if she still thought he was a creeper?

What if he knocked and the answer he got was mace sprayed in his eyes? What if she told everyone that there was a pervert named Jaune Arc that liked to peep on girls and had a sweat fetish!?

But he didn't have a sweat fetish! He swore!

Oh man, what was he gonna do!? This was bad, abort mission! ABORT!

"Whoa, you alright there?"

"Huh?" Jaune looked at the door. It was Coco, everyone knew her around Beacon. The most fashionable girl in school - the diva of divas, the venerable vogue, the superwoman of sass.

And also the girl who liked to touch people's butts for some reason.

"Y-yeah, I'm great! Hahaha..." Avoid eye contact, avoid eye contact!

"Hm." The woman placed her finger on her chin, observing him up and down. Although, it seemed like those eyes lingered longer than they were supposed to, "Tall, blonde, ooh I like those eyes."

Was she talking to him or herself? And wow, actually that was kinda sweet to say -

"A little scraggly."

Why does everyone say that!?

"I like guys with a little more muscle, but hey, beggars can't be choosers."

"Uh, I'm Jaune. A first year."

"A jail cell is just a room, babe."

What was going on!? The whole point of his coming here had derailed too quickly! "That's not what -

"Alright Jaune the first year, I like casual stuff. No fine wines and dines until the third date, and you pay, its customary and if you think you're getting ass on the first date -

"I'm not here for you!"

Her jaw dropped, hand on her chest as though offended. And at first Jaune was about to jump straight into an apology, but then the shit-eating grin appeared and he felt a lot less smart than he did before. "Well damn, no guy has ever said that to me. You just became seventy percent more desirable."

"Is Velvet here?" Jaune got to the point, "I wanted to ask her something."

"Velvet over me? Its an unfair world, I tell you," Coco shook her head as she closed the door, "Hey Bun-bun! Get up! You have a booty call!"

Really!?

"Mff... a booty call?"

"Yep, you know the drill. Pants off!"

"My pan - no, wait, Coco stop!"

There was many a thing breaking inside the walls of Team CFVY's dorm, that much Jaune could hear clearly. And Jaune thought Team RWBY was crazy. But eventually the door opened again, and it was, thankfully, a much less intimidating girl.

She looked at him curiously, hair tied into a ponytail as her ears hung down lazily. "Um... James, right?"

"Jaune. Nice to meet you." The blonde shook her hand, only to notice that Coco was right behind her, not so subtly listening in. He gestured down the hall. "Uh, can we...?"

"Good idea." Velvet pulled the door with her as she stepped out, "And don't follow me, Coco!"

"You guys are no fun."

The door closed behind them but even as they walked Jaune noticed Velvet would look behind them. And Jaune could have sworn he heard her squealing in there something like "Guys, we're going to have nieces and nephews sooner than we thought!"

A sane woman and a mad woman. That had to be hell.

"Sorry about her, she's... eccentric." Velvet said with a grin, arms behind her back, "She said there was something you wanted to ask me?"

"Yeah, its..." Jaune fought to find the right words, "The tournament is coming up and I decided to enter."

"Oh, well good luck."

"Thanks. But I..." Jaune stopped and took a breath, "I just don't think my chances are that great, especially with my ranking right now..."

"Those are just numbers - it has nothing to do with real ability, trust me."

"Right, but still, it means I need to improve. And fast. I saw you in training room B earlier today and..."

"I know, I saw you back," Velvet smirked, "You like sweaty girls?"

"Ye - no! It's not like that!

"Its fine, I'm just messing with you. Honestly, you couldn't have been watching just to ogle, you don't seem the type. So I'm assuming you liked what you saw?"

"I'm beginning to wonder if maybe Coco isn't the most dangerous of you two..."

Velvet was holding her stomach with laughter. Sheesh, she never said much the first times he'd seen her around! Didn't everyone think she was shy or something?

"I liked the technique. With your aura, the... uh..."

"Its muscle augmentation, pretty basic stuff." Her eyes widened as if connecting some unseen dot, "You never learned it?"

"No... Pyrrha's been helping me train with my weapon and some close combat but my aura control isn't all that great."

"What about your semblance?"

Jaune awkwardly looked to the side, Velvet quickly brushed it off with a hand wave. "Oh, well nevermind that. Its not important."

"Its not?"

"No, a semblance is a great asset, but its not necessary to be a Huntsman and definitely not to win a tournament. I won't lie, it'd probably be a lot easier with one but some go without discovering it at all."

"Yeah..." Jaune said, dejectedly. He'd tried to discover it, that had been one of the ideas he first thought of. And he'd tried many ways to find it since Pyrrha started training him.

But he couldn't waste time when there was no surefire way to discover his semblance. He had to work with what would immediately give him results.

"I think you have a little over a week before the preliminaries, right?" Velvet asked, leaning against the wall.

Jaune nodded.

"Not a lot of time, but the technique I was using is easy enough to learn."

"So you'll help me?"

"Sure," The faunus shrugged, "what time works best for you?"

Yes! Jaune stifled the urge to squeal. "I can work around your schedule."

"Great, then give me your number."

"M-my number?" Jaune's cheeks reddened, taken aback by such a forward approach.

"So I can get in touch with you," Velvet rolled her eyes, "Easy there, I'm not asking you out."

It was an odd combination of relief and dejection that left him wondering how exactly to take her words. "Wow. You could have at least pretended..."

"You'll heal. Anyway, number please."

They exchanged the numbers quickly enough and before she went off Jaune called out to her. "Um, thank you - I'll pay you back, I promise."

Velvet shook her head. "Don't worry about it - this honestly keeps me busy since classes will won't be so regular with the tournament going on. I'll see you in the morning, alright? Dress light, you're gonna sweat."

Jaune nodded, and then she was gone with the soft click of her door. The blonde turned to his scroll, Velvet now sitting readily in his contacts.

This was where it began. Aura control was his biggest issue right now, and that would be his single ally in the prelims. If he could learn to move and fight the way Velvet did?

Jaune eagerly clenched both fists.

Tomorrow couldn't come sooner.

~TA~

The light of dawn peeked through the windows of the training room, touching Jaune's face and forcing a yawn. How he could get through warm up exercises and a jog and still be tired was beyond him.

Jaune didn't know what to expect. How this muscle augmentation technique was supposed to be applied. Did it hurt? How much aura did it consume? He thought to look it up but opted to get as much sleep as he could instead.

Jaune looked at his clothes, a simple t-shirt and shorts. As light as he could dress for optimal training, though he did feel a lot less safe without his armor.

Just do your best today, Jaune reassured himself, I'm pretty sure its just gonna be a normal day of practice.

But like most things in Jaune Arc's life, his assumptions had a nasty tendency to blow up in his face. And usually he had no time to react.

But this time Jaune's eyes had been on the door, and so he raised his arms as something powerful burst through it, then straight into his arms - the resulting shockwave rattled his bones.

The pressure of the blow felt like it would force his boots into the floor and his eyes squinted as he fought against it. But then it was gone, his attacker flipped off to land behind him with her hands on her hips.

Velvet smiled at him, brown eyes alight and ears perked with what he could only assume was excitement. There was a little of that for Jaune as well, but with it a daunting question at what he'd chosen to put himself through.

But he'd passed the proverbial event horizon the moment he signed up. The only way now was forward. So, squaring his legs, Jaune raised his arms into the best defensive position he knew and focused on his new teacher.

"Decent form, thats a good start," Velvet nodded, "Alright pupil, let's begin."

Chapter 3

Jaune caught her ankle.

He was too slow on her other foot though, the blow sent him spiraling until he hit the floor. He got up quickly enough, just in time for Velvet to close the distance between them.

"Dodge." she ordered.

It was purely on reaction that Jaune threw up his arms, then Velvet's foot slammed into them, and for a second he was sure she'd break his guard. Pushing her off before she could press another attack, Jaune moved back as he tried to guide aura through his legs.

From the stomach, guide it down and through the legs - like a river, got it? Velvet's words took to the forefront of his mind, calling upon the warmth of his soul's energy. He could feel it moving faster this time - good, he'd be ready before Velvet could recover.

The power crept into his feet, Jaune could feel it swimming from the soles to his toes, just like drops of water in a puddle.

This was it. Jaune bent his legs, watching Velvet as she dashed to him.

Now, spring! she commanded.

Jaune pushed off the ground, the floor leaving him as he sailed toward his target, fist reared back. He saw Velvet's eyes widen for only moment.

Before his body tilted forward.

He let out a yelp as his momentum halted, crashing onto the floor. What happened!?

"Balance your weight even after you jump!" Velvet called out from... above?

Jaune had no time to look, instantly pushing himself up. Just in time, as Velvet's axe kick shattered the floor. He might have gawked, but by now, it was just a routine. The most he could do was protect his face.

The girl had not slowed for even a second before she started pelting him with blow after blow. Jaune ducked to the side, letting her fist punch through the wall instead of his head. On top of that, she was quick, agile.. Jaune caught her fist, grimacing as the pain shot up his palm - still he pushed her back, the girl backflipping to right her lost balance. It truly was uncanny how agile and mobile she was, she didn't stay still even for a second.

She sprung off the floor the moment her feet touched the hard pavement.

"Use your aura!" She commanded.

"I'm trying!" Jaune shot back, keeping his a guard up, "You're too fast!"

"No, you're too slow."

The faunus threw a punch to his left, Jaune following it to intercept... and then his feet weren't on solid ground anymore.

"A feint." Jaune gasped as he lied on his back, Velvet's foot pressed on his chest, forcing him to look up at her.

Higher, pervert. Jaune quickly diverted his wandering eye.

"I told you to dodge."

"I know."

"I also told you to use your aura."

"I did."

"So what happened, then?" Velvet helped him up, "When you're on the defensive, you must have your aura ready to protect you at a moment's notice."

"I get that, but... its just not happening." It feels like moving it against the river, doable but unnatural.

"It takes literally a fifth of a second for your aura to coat your entire body," Velvet said with a shake of her head, "There is nothing it can't reasonably protect you against, so why weren't you defending yourself?"

Jaune wasn't sure he could answer. Velvet made it sound so basic but for him it wasn't. It was hard to control his aura while moving at the same time - maintaining that constant flow required a focus he couldn't separate from physical actions. He had to stay still for it to work.

Jaune shrugged. "Because you were kicking my ass, I guess."

"You wouldn't have taken as many hits if you dodged, you were keeping your aura flow steady, right?"

"Not really."

The girl sighed, and Jaune wondered if she knew that hurt him a bit. "I told you... just because the aura is in your legs, doesn't mean it will stay. When you park a car, you don't leave it in drive, right? Otherwise, it'll wander off and crash."

"I know, it's just hard," Jaune returned with more irritation than he wanted to let out, "Like, even in just my arms, sometimes it feels the pressure might make them explode or something."

"That just means you're putting too much there. It's always less than you think."

"It doesn't feel like it is."

"Then you need to push that feeling back, its hindering you," The faunus held up her hands to suggest two things, "You have to split the actions of your body and soul..." Then she combined her hands, "...so that they can work together. Synergy. Without that, you won't have the speed or power to keep up with me."

Jaune nodded, pursing his lips as his mentor went off to dry her face. She was totally right, of course - Jaune just didn't know how he was supposed to put that into play.

Dividing the actions of his body and soul seemed basic in concept, but it was harder to do than he thought. How did splitting them create the combined power needed to use the muscle augmentation?

"Come on, Jaune - lets try the technique again." Velvet tapped his forehead, bringing him back to attention. He moved to stand next to her, pressing his ankles together, "Breathe in and breathe out."

Following her orders, the aura was traveling through him again. Like the layer of shell just under his skin, it seeped into every pore. And only got stronger.

"You only need as much as your legs can handle, if its too much, draw some back."

"Got it..." Jaune let the order through, but there was resistance. Like the aura didn't want to move.

Fine, he'd just pull harder.

The energy was too much, and already it felt like his legs and feet might blow off. Jaune quivered, trying his hardest to tug the remainder of aura back but it was still not obeying. But it was his aura, his power, so why didn't it do what he wanted? Why!?

His toes curled. And that was all it took.

He hollered as the burst of energy shot him forward, as if suddenly being ejected out of a plane. But it wasn't a long flight, Jaune's back met the wall before he slid down onto his backside.

Wall: 2, Jaune: 0

It was an unfair world after all.

"Ugh..." Jaune groaned, legs trembling as he heard Velvet run up to him.

"You did it wrong."

"Yeah..."

A small chuckle from the girl as she sat down with him. "Well, at least now you know what can happen if you use too much power."

"Yeah, flew a little too fast."

"Hm? Oh, that's not what I mean."

"Huh?"

Back where they stood, the floor had been crushed. Like a giant had stepped on it... all the way from the other side of the room.

Had he really crossed this entire room in a second?

"That's why you need to control the amount you use," Velvet instructed, "Too much at one point and you could blow your body parts up as you did that floor."

"That totally doesn't scare me." Jaune groaned, "Yeah, totally not afraid now."

"Good, then next time remember that feeling when you're controlling your aura" Velvet stood, "Come on, let's try again."

Jaune watched as the girl walked off and just stared for a moment. She was surprisingly insistent, by now he'd have thought she'd have given up on him. With the progress, or lack thereof, over the past few days, he wouldn't blame her.

And that raised a question…

"Velvet, why did you agree to help me?"

"Instead of asking questions, you need to get over here so we can practice. Hurry up!"

Jaune sighed, submitting to her orders.

Maybe it wasn't important.

~Not Dead Yet~

"Think she's gonna win?"

"Duh, of course. No one can beat her."

Pyrrha let out a huff, blowing free a strand of hair before starting up her jog once again. She couldn't avoid being made a spectacle even when she just out for a jog? But ignoring commentary from onlookers was hardly problematic - could she really expect them to know better? They only saw the surface - the Invincible Girl, the Mistral Champion.

Telling them they were wrong would not sway their opinions.

Her throat burned as she pushed her legs to carry her further. Normally she stuck to her routine, as it wasn't worth doing extra when no substantial difference would be made. But everyone else was likely putting in the extra effort.

And Pyrrha would not lag behind.

But what did she have to worry about? She was the Pyrrha Nikos. She was impossible to defeat; the uncontested best rookie Huntress in the last decade.

She always won. Always. What effort did someone like her need to put in?

If she weren't so short of breath, she might have had a laugh.

There was no assured victory. No absolute outcome. But people talked like they knew the future simply because they compared statistics.

Not to say they didn't matter, but to Pyrrha? They were nothing. A generalized and biased view into the more complicated world of fighting.

And what she found so amazing about it.

The girl let out a breath as she stopped, biting back the sour taste from her negative thoughts.

Getting worked up about it again wasn't worth it. So, hungry for a distraction, the girl found a bench in the shade and laid on it, relaxing on the wooden surface. Green eyes stared at greener leaves - a light wind rustling the bush to give sound to an otherwise quiet campus.

Funnily enough, she still wasn't used to training alone.

Without a personal trainer or her teammates, she was lucky she paid attention to exactly what areas she needed improvement in. The tournament itself wouldn't be the most daunting part of the Festival - rather, the ambiguity of the preliminaries could very well put her in a disadvantageous situation.

A smart decision by the teachers, ensuring that everyone started off equal no matter what. And by taking away their weapons, they were forced to be creative. Pyrrha grinned excitedly. If their skills were being challenged, she was happy to prove herself.

How were the others taking it?

Her teammates were working hard. Ren and Nora came home exhausted pretty regularly, as Nora refused to let Ren be lax. Poor guy, he didn't care at all for the tournament and probably wouldn't have entered if Nora hadn't forced him to.

"It's for his own good! Our men must be strong, Pyrrha!" Was Nora's excuse, much to her friend's dismay.

Pyrrha shook her head with a giggle.

It was pretty obvious that Jaune and she had to put their rooftop training to a halt for a while, and while she was concerned about how he'd find proper practice without her, it wasn't her problem.

She had to focus on herself.

Pyrrha expected no less of Team RWBY to enter. But only saw Weiss and Yang wanting to win badly enough to pose a threat.

Her biggest issue there was Yang, but only by a margin. Arslan went without saying. And if there was any opponent to be wary of, it was her.

If only due to her inability to take a loss. Pyrrha's eye twitched, thinking back to her last conversation with the girl.

About how badly she'd wanted to punch her.

She never would of course. It'd only make things worse. And it would only make her look bad in the end. Because that's what it always came down to, expectation and reputation. Pyrrha Nikos always won. She was always kind and never lashed out or did anything wrong. Others said Pyrrha liked to stomp on people's dreams - bask in the glory that no one her age could defeat her.

It wasn't true. It just wasn't. She could lose, it was just that no one had yet figured out how to do it.

If they were too weak to beat her, how was that her fault?

Pyrrha didn't think she could love competitions if she believed she couldn't be defeated. For what then was the point in the fight? Where was the meaning in the joy of overcoming your opponent?

Of achieving victory?

Her scroll buzzed in her pocket, and the caller ID made her heart drop.

Mother.

She was almost tempted not to answer. Pretend that she was busy... again. But it had been a while, and for all her mother's tendencies, she did miss her.

She owed her this.

"Hello, mother." Pyrrha threw up a smile.

"Hey, honey." Her face appeared, red hair tied in a bun as she smiled back, "How are you? I've called you the past few days, you know."

"I'm sorry, just busy. Classes and studying take up a lot of time. I just came from a run."

"Always training. You are your father's daughter indeed."

Pyrrha grinned, listening and responding to her mother as they spoke. The time seemed to fly as they shared story after story. And somewhere in it, the smile wasn't forced anymore - Pyrrha actually started to enjoy herself.

It was rare that it ever stayed that way.

"I will be watching the tournament. Are you excited?" her mother asked.

"Yes... I suppose."

"You suppose?" That her mother could somehow look bewildered grated Pyrrha's nerves, " This is another chance to win, honey. I thought you liked competitions?"

She did. She loved them. But…

"I am excited, mother. I'm sorry, nevermind."

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"

"Its nothing, Mother. Really." Pyrrha threw up her smile again, hoping she would think nothing more of it, "I guess I'm just nervous."

Her mother laughed. "Nervous? What have you to be nervous about? You're the best Huntress they could ever have, don't forget that honey."

I know, because you're always reminding me.

"You are so special, Pyrrha," Her mother said lovingly, "No one will ever shine as bright as you."

Special.

Pyrrha wished she could tear that word in half.

"I have to go. love you."

"I love you too, I'll talk to you soon, honey. And I'll be watching, do your best."

And Pyrrha hung up, staring at the screen as if making sure she didn't come back before shutting it.

There used to be a time that it angered her. At least, much more than it did now. Her mother didn't do it on purpose, so Pyrrha ended up feeling guilty for feeling the way she did but… she did wish her mother understood.

Pyrrha thought back to her home. Her room, the staircase down from it, leading straight into the living room where her crowning moments sat in glory.

Trophies, medals, pictures with the Council and even the Headmaster of Haven. Glorious awards for her victorious and incredible infamy. A staple to the history of competitive fighting and a symbol of who everyone believed to be the definition of a champion.

Pyrrha Nikos was special. A winner.

But winning… was dull.

The end result held nothing for her, the awards, the press - it was all worthless. But the climb, the struggle, the pulse in her veins and the quiver in her hands.

That was it. That was the joy.

The girl picked up her run again with a sigh, dashing through the courtyard as fast as she could. Maybe, if she ran fast enough, she might forget to feel for a while.

~Tournament Arc~

The sting.

It didn't hurt as bad as she thought, even if the strange flow in her system mixing with her aura felt weird.

Weiss held her palm out to the tree - envisioning a stream of cold air bursting forth to close around the trunk. She was point-blank. Her target unable to move and her aim sure. She had tunnel vision of the desired effect and nothing more.

Make ice.

And... nothing.

The heiress huffed, consternately looking at her palm. She hadn't forgotten to inject the Dust, she could feel it in her arms. So what was going on?

Would this be harder than she thought?

A gunshot in the distance, like a firecracker almost. Yang undoubtedly, and Weiss could only hazard a guess as to what training she was doing.

It was a real inconvenience that she hadn't been the only one to choose the forest for private training. Weiss's initial idea had been to use the space for herself, since it wouldn't do to accidentally freeze one of the training rooms. But despite Beacon's huge campus, there were only so many places one could train alone.

Still, they'd all split off anyway, ensuring to respect each other's training.

She spotted a burst of rose petals from over the canopy. So Ruby opted to train her semblance? Not a bad idea.

The last she'd seen of Blake, she'd been jumping from the branches. She was definitely the best of them when it came to movement and evasion - and if there was an event that gave an advantage to her stealth skills…

Weiss would need to figure out something for her.

The days went by slowly - and yet mercilessly left the tension of the approaching events to marinate. But it gave Weiss all the time she needed to pay attention to the details, to work out the finer points of Dust manipulation. Which, she bitterly admit, was hard without Myrtenaster.

Ruby was right - not having a weapon sucked.

The energy inside rippled like a wave, at times it felt like it would tear out of her skin.

Weiss swallowed. The risk of injuring herself was high. But sheer capability of ice dust circumvented many of the weaknesses she had. Defense, offense, even mobility - all of that had been weakened with rules of prelim.

I don't have a choice, I must master this.

Getting to her knees, the girl placed her hands on the grass - breathing in, then out as aura filled her arms.

There was a soft hiss, gas emitting from her hands as the cold feeling enveloped her palms. A layer of aura before the Dust was necessary so she didn't accidentally freeze herself, because unfortunately there was no way to make herself immune to the Dust's effects if it backfired.

If she wasn't careful, then her defeat in the prelims would come from her own lack of control.

The girl bit down, eyes squinted as the ice began to form like a puddle, spreading out slowly. Slower than she was used to, but Weiss was confident that after a few more tries she could speed it up.

Right now, she just had to maintain it.

The circle eventually got big enough to surround her, but after that - Weiss found her control waning. The sheet wasn't expanding anymore. A bead of sweat rolled off her forehead, and she looked at her arms as she pumped more energy into them.

The ethereal glow was a sure sign that it was working, even if the way it highlighted her veins looked gross. She could feel her flesh pulse, like it was trying to devour the elemental energy. There was only so much pressure she could put on her arms.

Perhaps if she were more muscular...?

Doubtful. More muscular did not equate to dust resistance, and while she didn't prefer to have a weakness in physical strength, her fighting style was better suited for her lithe body. It was impossible to not have a weakness.

She just had to be strong enough to ensure her opponent couldn't exploit it.

Focus, Weiss. You must command the Dust. Do not let it command you!

"Grrr...!" Weiss growled, squeezing at the grass as she forced the circle of ice to expand. A small crack all of a sudden, followed by several others that told her the strength of her control was failing.

It was so... annoying!

The following burst kicked up the wind, a spire of twisted ice shooting out of the earth and through some nearby trees. And Weiss could only swallow... the new cut on her cheek stung.

That had almost run her through. It might have actually killed her.

The girl slowly retracted her hands - maybe there was another option. Another Dust that she could use…

No. She would not falter here.

She had to be calm.

Calm.

Calm…

Silence. Emotion fueled chaotic output, if Weiss was to attain absolute control, then she had to create an absence of emotion. A total disillusion to her frustration.

Myrtenaster wasn't here, but Weiss still had everything she needed.

Hard work hadn't let her down before and it wouldn't start now.

In and out. In and out. One breath, two breaths - a call on her aura, the reigns of the horse were whipped, ordering the beast into action.

And it obeyed.

The heiress shrieked as she was blasted back, a shower of flying ice shards rained about her and she hit the ground. Weiss groaned, looking at her arms as she pushed herself to sit up.

"Ow..." A coating of ice covered her forearms, numbing the skin and they shook uncontrollably.

Damn it. She would need fire Dust after all.

Wess looked at where she'd been launched, spotting the great behemoth that spawned. A broken spire of ice stood up from the ground, coating a layer of trees in its claw-like grip.

"Well, its something." Weiss sighed. It had taken a few days and it wasn't exactly what she was looking for, but something like that could work. Creating traps with the Dust would come in handy during the elimination rounds.

Wait, what was that?

From the spire of ice a small trail of ice stretched out to her, and Weiss followed it until it ended her she'd been lying down. More specifically, where her hand had been.

Had that been created from the excess of ice? Or was it a continuation of her attempt to make a thin sheet? Weiss gently touched it, noting how hard but slippery the surface was. That was the usual result, as it was perfect for making enemies slip and lose their balance.

Wait... slipping. Sliding. Skating.

How had she not thought of this!?

The girl stood, looking over her control of the ice as she let the ideas swim in her head. If she was thinking of this right, then this fixed one of her biggest problems right away.

"Weiss!" Yang and Ruby ran up to her, "We heard an explosion. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Weiss continued to rub the ice trail. The first two prelims would prohibit custom clothing in favor of school issued combat outfits, to ensure no one cheated in equipment or dust infused clothes.

Meaning she wouldn't have her combat heels.

Specially outfitted to slide on ice surfaces due to her proficiency in ice Dust. Perfectly weighted, it was a perfect ally in keeping her balanced when she needed to use her Dust for movement. The lack of a them meant her balance and traction on ice would not be as good, so initially she thought it best to just forget about it.

But... what if she made her own?

Weiss looked at her arms, both still shaking and numb. It was very self-sacrificial, but if she won quickly, then the aftereffects wouldn't be so bad. And Fire Dust would speed up the recovery time.

It might work as some kind of slipper or sole... and with that, she'd have access to the same maneuverability and speed she normally had!

"Weiss, what are you doing?"

The heiress threw her boots aside, grimacing at the dirt and grass that touched her feet but she didn't want to go back for running shoes. She needed to test this now.

"I'm fine, I said," Weiss said, "You two can go."

Yang shrugged, Ruby giving her another look before they left. Weiss waited until they were out of vision.

Then threw her hands together.

She found the feeling of the Dust soon enough, letting the icy steam cover her hands.

The girl pursed her lips, putting her aura in her feet to give them warmth. Then she put her hands on them, letting the ice spread about her soles. It bit at her skin, but it was tolerable. She could still move.

Retracting her hands, she looked at her creation. Thin sheets of ice under her feet - perfect for gliding across a frozen surface. It deadened the feeling in her soles, and weren't very beautiful looking either, but aesthetics didn't matter.

Functionality did.

The girl pushed into a run, leaping forward to carry her momentum as she landed on the platform of ice. She instantly broke in a smile.

It works! Weiss could almost laugh, but focused to keep her balance as she slid around the grass like she was ice skating again. A worthless hobby at the time - and never did she think it would become an integral part of her fighting style. With this, she had all the speed and agility she needed.

And the best part? This didn't even include her semblance.

The girl brimmed with excitement and she wasted no time summoning a glyph.

Her smile only got bigger.

~Tournament Arc~

"Ouch."

Jaune rubbed his ankles, more than glad that they'd wrapped up training for today. The yellow light that had covered his world this morning was replaced now by the red-orange, the day finally coming to its close. He'd gotten an entire day's worth.

Which amounted to nothing other than his feet throbbing in pain.

"Don't worry, that's normal," Velvet explained, as she packed up her things, "But its not broken so you're making progress."

"I don't know if I am."

"You are, believe me. You learn faster than you think."

Jaune just wished he believed her, personally unsatisfied with how very little he'd learned in the past few days. Sure, it was unrealistic to expect immediate results, but he had a finite amount of time.

The blonde seethed as the flesh in his legs ached, stretching out in the hopes that he could relax them.

"Its over usage of your aura," Velvet said, "Too much power output equals less control, same as Dust. So you end up hurting yourself. With this, its just that you aren't naturally using the technique yet so it'll hurt for a while."

"Great..." Jaune sighed. That didn't bode well for future training, and it would be just his luck to get a serious injury before the prelims.

But Jaune could not afford that.

Which meant he couldn't waste time in this 'getting used to it' stage.

"Hey, I'm gonna go on a little more." Jaune said to Velvet as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Are you sure?" She asked, looking a little concerned, "I wouldn't advise it. You might break something."

"I know, but... I need to," Jaune nodded, "I need to get as much out of this as I can."

"Well, alright. Just don't make this a regular thing. It's fine this time, but not again, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." Jaune chuckled.

Velvet grinned. "Well then, good night. Tomorrow after class, right?"

"I'll be here."

"Dress light."

"You tell me that every time," Jaune laughed, "I'm starting to think you're the one that likes sweaty people."

"Maybe I just like seeing your muscles." She stated, tapping his biceps humorously.

"Hey, cut it out!" Jaune swatted her hand away, "I'm still tender."

"I'm tender," The faunus mocked, "That is, for sure, the most manly thing I've ever heard."

Jaune shook his head. "Yes, pick on the guy in pain. You're so tough."

"It's a talent - blame Coco though, its her way or the highway." Velvet shrugged, "Hey by the way, she was wondering when you were going to take her out."

"She's just joking... or delusional," Jaune rolled his eyes, "She got me, by the way."

"Really? When?"

"After the first day we trained - she struck when I was weak. My butt was wide open."

Velvet burst into laughter, and Jaune wondered if she knew how infectious that laugh was. The girl really hadn't been the kind of person he expected - It was honestly more of a relief than he realized.

"But hey, you at least know she's playing around. Most guys don't, which means you pay attention," Velvet settled down, "Sorry to say, a lot of people think you're a bit... dim."

Jaune shrugged, not exactly a surprise. Since he first came to Beacon, he was out of his element, his grades suffered alongside his combat ability. It didn't help with Cardin and his ilk spreading it around.

With a shrug, he placed his chin in his palm. "That's fine - a dim light can still shine."

Velvet burst into laughter. "Was that your attempt at wisdom?"

"Shut up!" Jaune pushed her, hiding his face incase he turned red. The girl headed off, still giggling the whole way. Sheesh, he never got a break with her, "Velvet, you never answered my question."

The girl turned. "From earlier?"

"Yeah. I mean... I guess I just didn't expect you to help me," Jaune admitted, "I feel like I'm wasting your time. That you put all this effort into me and I might still fail, you know?"

"Hm. Well if you fail, I'm not gonna lie, I'd be disappointed," Velvet admitted, "But that's okay, we all fail. I guess, I just saw how earnest you were. It's no secret how you are in combat class but you're still aspiring to win the tournament."

The girl looked down as if lost in a memory, a memory that made her smile wider. "I... I can relate to that."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it is an uphill battle. And the underdog always has it the hardest." The girl said sincerely, "But I guess I want to see the guy who everyone isn't looking at, to be looked at. Is that weird?"

"N-no, I don't think so." Jaune stammered, scratching his ear as he looked away from her.

"Well, weird or not. That's my reason. Anyway, good night."

"Good night..." Jaune watched as she went off, only going back to his thoughts after she was out of sight. Jaune looked at his legs, they hadn't stopped aching yet.

But Velvet wanted to see him succeed.

Then let's keep going. Jaune nodded, pushing himself up and back to the nosegrind.

~Tournament Arc~

"Heaven..."

Jaune couldn't have felt better walking into the cool air of the dorm, but shut the door quietly as he looked at his sleeping teammates. Ren's hair draped over the side of his bed, and Nora was a tangled, snoring but smiley mess.

Jaune wanted nothing more than to crash in bed right now. But not while he was drenched and nasty.

He grabbed his sleepwear, jumping immediately into the shower. Short but sweet, Jaune was out right away, throwing on his pajamas before heading back into the dorm. He immediately spotted the red hair of his partner - had she just gotten in too? Pyrrha hadn't noticed him, her back turned as she stared at something in her hand.

Despite his exhaustion, Jaune couldn't resist the opportunity of mischief, tiptoeing up to her and leaning in.

"Hey, Pyr." He whispered, eliciting a jump from the girl.

"Oh... Jaune, you scared me." Pyrrha turned to him, folding up the photo.

Jaune exaggerated a shrug. "Can't help it. I am pretty intimidating."

"I'm sure you are. I haven't seen you around. Were you training?"

"Yep, all day," Jaune flopped on his own bed, hugging the cool comforter tightly, he already dreaded the morning, "Kill me Pyrrha, so I don't have train again tomorrow."

The girl chuckled. "I'd be out of a leader then. That would be pretty hard to explain to Professor Goodwitch."

"It's fine, just tell her I slipped and fell or something."

"You slipped and fell..." Pyrrha grinned, "onto my spear, I presume? Not one of your better plans, Jaune."

"Everybody's a critic. Anyway, how about you? Did you do anything other than train?"

"... not really, just training."

"Guess we're both working hard," Jaune yawned, flicking off his light, "Well, I'm gonna hit the Z's then. Night, partner."

"Jaune?"

Jaune turned back to her. In the darkness he almost couldn't see, but the moonlight illuminated her face. Accentuating the emeralds in her eyes as she looked at the floor. "Yeah?"

"I..." His partner seemed to fight for the words, like she wasn't sure if she could talk to him. That was weird, was something wrong with her?

"What is it, Pyr?"

"Its..." The girl sighed defeatedly, "I wanted to say, do your best in the preliminaries."

Jaune quirked an eyebrow at her. "Uh, yeah. Absolutely. Make sure you make it too. No being lazy!"

The girl smiled. And somehow that smile seemed to brighten her mood, like she'd forgotten about whatever bothered her. "I'll be sure not to disappoint."

Jaune nodded, turning over and throwing his comforter on. He'd thought to ask her what was wrong again, but decided against it. If she didn't want to talk about it, then it wasn't his place to pester her.

Perhaps it was nothing.

With a yawn, Jaune let his head sink into the pillow, eyes sealed shut.

He was asleep in seconds.

You're still reading? Chapter is over, ya fool.

Nah but seriously. Some introspection on Jaune, Weiss and Pyrrha - all working hard to get that tournament win. Some details about aura and Dust, yadda, yadda.

My apologies about the shifting perspectives. Some chapters will need to be like this since its important to see other characters' actions. Note though that this won't be normal, Jaune will be the primary focus of most chapters.

Pyrrha is a character I have not given justice to yet. So her development is something I'm excited for with this fic. I hope I portrayed her well, but honestly since she's kinda a blank slate in the first place, there is a lot of room to go wherever you want with her.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next one.

ISA