17

Chapter 17:

Then the lights above abruptly intensified. "That is enough, Mr. Winchester!"

Cardin's mace froze mid-swing, just inches away from Jaune's shield as an irate Glynda approached the pair.

"Unless you wish for an immediate suspension, I suggest you lower your weapon, Mr. Winchester," said Glynda sternly, her gaze daring Cardin to argue with her.

"Y-yes, Ma'am," said Cardin, lowering his mace to his side.

"Did you hear the buzzer sounding the end of the match?" asked Glynda.

"N-no, Professor," said Cardin nervously.

Oh...that was the buzzer, thought Jaune. He'd thought the buzzing in his ears had been the consequence of the fall he'd just taken. He hadn't realized that the five minutes were up. He'd lost track of time completely.

"Good, now then..." Glynda adjusted her spectacles. "The winner is Mr. Arc."

"What the hell?!" exclaimed Cardin, his eyes going wide. He wasn't the only one shocked by the outcome. The stands were erupting with shocked exclamations.

"When the match timer runs out, the combatant with the most remaining Aura wins," said Glynda matter-of-factly. "As things stand, that means that Mr. Arc is the winner."

Now Jaune felt truly befuddled, scarcely comprehending that he was the one who won, when he'd been on his back and, more or less, helpless. It felt like a lucky break. And, from the affronted shouts from the spectator seating, he wasn't the only one who thought that way.

"But he didn't do anything!"

"He just stood there like a chump!"

"Don't reward him for getting whaled on and not fighting back!"

"SILENCE!" thundered Glynda, glaring up into the seating. "The rules make the winner clear. It is Mr. Winchester's error in judgment for recklessly using a Dust attack against an opponent with an uncommonly strong defense. As a result of taking the brunt of his own blow, he lost more Aura than his opponent. This is not up for debate."

She then turned to Jaune, who was shakily getting to his feet. "Mr. Arc, your defense was excellent. That said, you had numerous opportunities and openings for counterattacking. In the future, if your opponent is so kind as to give you such openings, I suggest you take advantage of them."

"Yes, Professor," said Jaune, following his statement with a groan, slowly and painfully making his way back to his seat.

Coming up the stairs, he was greeted by an ecstatic Ruby, who threw her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly. Jaune flinched in surprise, before relaxing and hugging her back.

"You were great," declared Ruby, pulling away enough to look him in the eyes. "You were even better than I hoped."

"Thanks," said Jaune, unable to keep a smile from his face. "I mean...I didn't do all that much."

"But you did what you did really well," said Ruby. "That's what's important. You applied what you learned, and it worked out even better than we thought it would." Her smile took on a slightly vindictive quality. "I really didn't expect Cardin to blow himself up like that."

"Yeah that was pretty entertaining," said Jaune with a chuckle, before sighing. "I just wish I'd followed through."

"We'll get there," said Pyrrha from behind Ruby. "You did what we requested you do. That's what matters here."

"Now if the two of you would stop clinging to each other like a married couple and sit down," said Weiss with a smile that Jaune and Ruby might have actually considered teasing.

As it was, her remark caused them to realize they were still holding each other and they sprang apart, their faces red, much to Pyrrha's amusement as she hid her giggles behind a hand. Jaune and Ruby took their seats to wait for the next match.

As he did, Pyrrha reached over and rested a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "You did very well out there. Your technique was quite good."

"Yeah, but he overwhelmed me there, at the end," Jaune admitted.

"True," agreed Pyrrha. "But, even though you couldn't keep up with the pace of his attacks, you continued to try and apply the technique, which is what helped you last as long as you did. Most importantly, he didn't actually break through your defense. He never landed an actual blow to your body."

Come to think of it, he didn't, Jaune thought, feeling a small degree of pride. It certainly soothed the sting of the scathing looks he felt directed his way from people who clearly thought him a coward for not fighting back. But it didn't matter. His team was behind him, and the two people who were actually helping him to become better had essentially given him a passing grade for this lesson.

Both Pyrrha and Ruby looked at Weiss expectantly. She blinked and stared at them. "What? I'm not just going to start praising him for doing what was expected," she said petulantly. "That's how you give him a big head and make him think that he's better than he really is."

"Aww...but I have you for that, Snow Angel," teased Jaune.

"Shut up! Don't call me that!" exclaimed Weiss, her cheeks flushing. She abruptly turned her head aside. "But...I suppose you were...adequate. But remember that you only won because your opponent was such a buffoon that he hit himself with his own attack. If it wasn't for that and, frankly, the stupid amount of Aura you have, he would have won this match, nine times out of ten."

"Fair enough," Jaune conceded. At least she'd given him the tiniest hint of a compliment. He supposed that, so long as she was around, he wouldn't have to worry about his ego getting the better of him.

Glynda moved on to calling out the next match. A couple rounds later, Yang went into the ring with Sky Lark from CRDL, and dominated him mercilessly. Ruby watched her sister, taking note that Yang had apparently adopted her version of their father's fighting style, a brawling style similar to boxing, which utilized the explosive power of the guns mounted on her gauntlets.

She had to admit that Yang was both skilled and exceptionally strong, creatively applying the recoil of her shots to devastating effect, even when she wasn't striking with her fists directly. Yang could use the recoil to add power to an elbow strike, or enhance the spin she put behind a kick. In that way, it was a style that was utterly brutal in its efficiency.

Another round passed after Yang's, then it was RASP's turn again.

"Weiss Schnee...and Nora Valkyrie, please come to the ring," called Glynda, tapping her scroll.

"Go get her, Weiss," said Jaune.

"Hmph," Weiss snorted, strutting past him, though Ruby could see the smallest evidence of a smile on her face.

"Do your best," urged Pyrrha, somehow managing to make the relatively generic words of encouragement not sound perfunctory.

Nora's whoop of excitement echoed through the room as the orange-haired girl made her way down to the ring, practically bouncing with excitement as she took her position, spinning the shaft of her hammer between her hands.

"This might be a tough fight for Weiss," said Ruby.

Pyrrha nodded. "Nora certainly has the advantage in strength. From what I can see, she's deceptively fast as well."

Weiss' skill with her rapier was excellent, but it worked best when supplemented by her Dust, which gave Weiss numerous options for offense and defense. What remained uncertain was whether or not the complexity of Weiss' fighting style could hold up against the pure, functional simplicity of Nora's.

"Begin!" said Glynda.

"WHOO HOO!" cheered Nora, leaping up in an impressive jump that took her in an arc, bringing her down almost on top of Weiss' head. She descended, using the momentum of her fall to add to the speed and power of her weapon as she swung her hammer straight down.

Weiss darted to the right. With a flash, a shimmering Glyph, with its snowflake design, appeared right where she stopped and almost instantly reversed her direction, sending her flying back at Nora at practically the same time Nora's hammer impacted the ground, Myrtenaster extending in a thrust, Weiss aiming to land her blow before Nora could recover from her own attack.

Despite what should have been the surprise of her opponent dodging and countering so quickly, Nora's grin didn't falter in the slightest. Instead, the chuckle that left her throat was almost gloating as she squeezed the trigger on the hammer's shaft with a click. A pink explosion erupted from her hammer's head, the shockwave bursting out across the ground around her. Weiss' eyes widened and her momentum was stopped, then reversed as she was blown back by the explosion. At the same time, the explosion propelled Nora back into the air.

Weiss, knocked off her feet by the explosion, hit the floor, bounced, and managed to use her remaining momentum to come back up to her feet. Looking up, she gasped when she saw Nora's weapon transforming, shifting as it transitioned from a hammer to a grenade launcher, which Nora immediately aimed her way.

Nora fired several shots in succession, which streaked towards Weiss like rockets, leaving trails of pink smoke in their wake. A Glyph appeared beneath Weiss' feet and propelled her up into the air, the grenades exploding where she had landed. Up in the air, another Glyph appeared behind Weiss and allowed her to launch herself at Nora like an arrow.

Nora's weapon returned to its hammer form as Nora spun the shaft to intercept Weiss' thrusts. Weiss unleashed a rapid series of strikes, but Nora showed surprising dexterity with her heavy weapon, managing to fend off all of Weiss' attacks, before whirling it around to swing the hammer at the heiress again.

A Glyph appeared between Weiss and Nora, launching Weiss back away from Nora, so that the swing of the hammer just missed clipping her. As she fell back, Weiss leveled her rapier at Nora and unleashed a jet of flame what washed over the larger girl. Nora cried out and was driven back to the ground, hitting hard enough to crack the floor. Weiss landed a few seconds later, before launching herself at Nora once again.

Smoke streamed off the orange-haired girl as Nora rose up from the small crater she'd left in the floor. When she raised her head to look at an incoming Weiss, she merely grinned eagerly and raised her hammer to meet Weiss' onslaught head-on. What followed was a straightforward melee as the two fighters exchanged a rapid series of blows. Once again, Nora's skill and control with her large, heavy weapon was nothing short of astonishing, as she deflected thrust after thrust from Weiss, even though some of her consecutive strikes were so swift that the rapier practically seemed to be in two or three places at once.

Then Nora whipped her weapon around, spinning the shaft around her body so that the butt of her weapon knocked the tip of the rapier up, leaving Weiss out of position to defend as Nora's spin continued, bringing the hammer's head down below her hip and swooping back up in an upwards strike that connected with Weiss' chest. A pink explosion blasted Weiss into the air with a scream of surprise and pain, making her friends in the stands cringe.

Nora converted her weapon back into its grenade launcher form and fired several grenades after Weiss. Weiss managed to overcome the pain of Nora's hit, summoning a Glyph to launch her down and out of the trajectory of Nora's shots, which exploded harmlessly against the safety barrier behind Weiss. Touching down, Weiss launched herself at Nora again, the chambers of her weapon revolving so that the yellow chamber was aligned to deploy its payload.

Once again, Nora switched her weapon back into its melee form as Weiss closed in. This time, as Weiss extended her blade in a thrust and Nora blocked, a crackling stream of electricity ran down the rapier's length, transitioning to the hammer's shaft, then crawling up Nora's arms. Nora's entire body jolted as the electric current ran through her.

"Oh no..."

Ruby, Pyrrha, and Jaune all looked in confusion at Ren, the source of the voice as he looked down at the ring with a grave expression.

"What's wrong?" asked Jaune nervously.

"Nora's Semblance is what's wrong," said Ren.

"What is it?" asked Ruby.

"Her Semblance allows her to absorb any form of electricity...and channel it to directly enhance her muscle strength," said Ren.

"Oh dear," gasped Pyrrha, immediately returning her attention to the ring, the others following suit.

Down below, Weiss' sense of triumph at managing to hit Nora with her lightning-Dust was short-lived as she watched the yellow arcs of electricity crawling across Nora's body begin to take on a pinkish tinge. Nora grinned, her muscles tightening, then contracting explosively as she forcefully broke contact with Weiss' blade, the strength behind the move sending Weiss backpedaling. Then Nora brought her hammer around and down in a blow aimed, not for Weiss, but for the ring directly in front of Weiss. It struck with a thunderous impact, completely shattering the floor. Not only was the force of her swing increased, but her Semblance also appeared to enhance the power of the explosion her hammer unleashed as well.

Weiss screamed as she was blown backwards, skidding across the ring, barely managing to get her feet back under her as she slid to a stop, just barely inside the edge of the inner ring. Just a few more inches back and she'd lose by ring-out. However, Weiss managed to get up, jabbing her rapier into the floor. It looked as though she needed its aid to stand up. However, that proved deceptive as, with a ringing sound, a wave of ice suddenly washed across the floor, heading for Nora.

Nora merely laughed and levered back her hammer, before swinging it with all her considerable might, shattering the incoming ice and sending a barrage of chilly shrapnel back at Weiss, who gasped and grunted with pain as the remains of her own attack pelted her body mercilessly. Then Nora closed in for the the finisher, leaping into the air as she'd done at the beginning of the match. At this point, when Nora's hammer descended, either the shockwave would knock off enough of Weiss' Aura to drop it into the critical zone...or Weiss would be blown out of the ring. In either event, Nora won.

"Weiss!" Jaune shouted, shooting to his feet. "Remember the Boarbatusk!"

Weiss' eyes widened as she recognized the hint Jaune was giving her. She'd killed the Boarbatusk in class by striking its vulnerable underbelly. This situation was only marginally similar in that she had an overwhelmingly powerful opponent coming almost right for her. But she had an idea of what to do now.

Leaving Myrtenaser anchored in the ground, Weiss changed up her Dust and triggered her weapon once more. A Glyph appeared in the floor about a meter in front of her, shimmering in a pale-green color. As Nora passed over it, a green cyclone exploded upwards, the wind lifting Nora from below.

"Whoops!" yelped Nora as the trajectory of her leap was suddenly altered, so that she flew right over Weiss' head and, consequently, landed outside the ring, the buzzer sounding and announcing Weiss' victory.

"Ms. Schnee is the winner," said Glynda as she entered the ring. "Well done, both of you. Ms. Valkyrie, your technique is exceptional, and it is good to see that you do not depend entirely upon power. That said, you would do well to consider a method of approach that does not leave you so vulnerable to attack from below."

"Okay," said Nora.

"Ms. Schnee," said Glynda, turning to Weiss. "Your skill with Dust is exceptional, but you would do well to consider more non-linear modes of attack, much like the one that allowed you to win this match."

"Yes, Ma'am," said Weiss, bowing her head slightly.

"And that concludes today's matches," said Glynda. "Now that you have all received your initial assessments, we will be able to adopt a more flexible approach for future matches."

She paused and took a deep breath. "Before I let you go, I have an important announcement to make. As you all know, the biannual Vytal Festival is coming up this fall. This year, Vale shall be hosting the Festival and the Vytal Festival Tournament. Students from all four Academies, along with visitors from all four Kingdoms, will be coming to Vale to attend both the Festival and the tournament."

Excited whispers rose up from the students in the seats.

"As always, students from all years shall have the opportunity to participate in the tournament," continued Glynda. "Should you choose to enter, you will be representing, not just Beacon, but all of Vale as well. Please keep that in mind.

"Aside from that, in a few weeks, we shall be hosting the first visiting students from the other Academies. During that time, they will be attending many of the same classes as you, so I expect you to uphold our school's pride and ensure that they are welcomed properly."

Glynda paused, apparently waiting to make sure that everyone had understood her message. "Very well, you're dismissed for the day."

Everyone got up to file out of the classroom. As he and the rest of his team made their exit, Jaune was surprised when Weiss brushed her hand lightly against his and gave him the smallest (and he had to admit, one of the cutest) smiles he'd ever seen.

"Thanks for your help," she said softly, before heading out the door ahead of him.

Grinning, Ruby gently elbowed Jaune in the side. "You might have a chance with her after all," she teased.

Jaune chuckled and blushed. "Maybe," he said, though he somewhat doubted it. For now, he was a little too busy to worry about dating, Ruby and Pyrrha were seeing to that.

Team RASP left the room, unaware that two people in particular had fixed Jaune's back with intense glares. One was Cardin, as might be expected, considering the humiliating nature of his defeat at Jaune's hands. The other was Yang, her eyes flickering red as she noted that Jaune had ignored her warning from the other day.

Bringing her hands together, Yang cracked her knuckles slowly. I guess I'll just have to remind him, she thought fiercely, looking forward to the next time she could catch Jaune alone.

"Rather unexpected developments?"

Glynda turned to regard Ozpin as he approached her from the floor-level entrance of the ring. "I will admit that Mr. Arc performed well beyond my expectations," she said with an impressive lack of reluctance. "His skills are still rudimentary, however. But I believe that, so long as he continues to train diligently, there may be a future for him here."

Ozpin smiled. "And it seems that his team is fully willing to support him. I believe that they will become one of the finest teams to emerge from this school."

"That still seems...somewhat overly optimistic," said Glynda. "It does seem that the techniques Ms. Rose has been instructing them in have been producing interesting results. I still have my reservations though."

"Of course," said Ozpin, nodding sagely. "However, it does give me high hopes for their future."

"You okay, Weiss?" asked Ruby, seeing Weiss stagger a little as they made their way down the hall.

"I'm fine," said Weiss.

"You seem rattled," observed Pyrrha. "I'm not surprised. Anyone would be feeling shaky after taking hits like that. Nora certainly has a lot of power."

"I-it's not like that," protested Weiss.

"It's fine to admit that you're not feeling your best," said Ruby. "Remember how I was, after the Initiation?"

"I...I guess," said Weiss.

"Speaking of that..." Jaune went and crouched down in front of Weiss. "I can carry you if you want."

"Absolutely not!" exclaimed Weiss, her eyes going wide. "I refuse to be hauled around like a common piece of luggage."

"Aww, come on, Weiss," said Ruby with a laugh. "Jaune's really good at carrying."

"I gave a lot of piggyback rides before I came here," admitted Jaune with a chuckle. "Besides, after everything you girls are doing for me, the least I can do is act as transportation."

Weiss looked at Jaune's back, then down at her own legs, which, in spite of her reluctance to admit as much, were shaking from the simple exertion of holding her up. "Fine," she said in a resigned sigh, leaning forward and leaning onto Jaune's back, wrapping her arms around his collar and letting him hook his arms under her legs. "But you'd better not try and get handsy with me."

"Never," promised Jaune, standing up with a grunt.

"She's not too heavy, is she?" asked Pyrrha worriedly, thinking that Jaune had his own battering he was recovering from.

"Pyrrha!" exclaimed Weiss, her cheeks going red as Ruby giggled.

"Nah, she's actually really light," said Jaune with a chuckle. "She's lighter than Ruby."

"What?!" exclaimed Weiss in surprise, her shocked gaze going to Ruby.

"Jaune!" protested Ruby, her face going red, before she puffed out her cheeks and glared at her partner.

"Whoops..." Jaune grinned sheepishly as he saw the affronted look on Ruby's face, realizing he was probably going to be in for trouble come tomorrow morning.

"Strange..." mused Pyrrha, her eyes going to Ruby. She could understand Weiss being fairly light, but the idea that Ruby weighed more than a girl two years her senior was quite surprising.

Jaune decided to hold his tongue, not wanting to get further on Ruby's bad side by explaining why she weighed more than most people probably suspected, for all that he didn't think it was a bad thing. Instead, he carried on, Weiss resting on his back as they made their way to the library to take care of their homework for the day.

As they walked, Ruby carefully glanced behind her, sensing hostile eyes resting on them, Jaune in particular. Sure enough, she caught sight of a head of short, red hair pulling back behind a corner. Looks like Cardin's gonna hold a grudge, she thought. Still, considering the nature of the average bully, Cardin was the sort to look for a target of opportunity, namely when the object of his ire was alone and vulnerable. Ironically, with Ruby and Pyrrha speaking for nearly all of Jaune's free time, they were also inadvertently protecting him from Cardin's reprisals by ensuring that he was rarely alone. We'll have to be more careful about it in the future, Ruby added silently.

Still, there was no need to worry about that for the time being. For now, they had homework to get out of the way, so that they could keep up the pace of Jaune's intensive training. He'd already begun showing the fruits of his hard work, and it was still just the first week of school. Despite her initial reservations after finding out the truth about him, Ruby found herself having high hopes for him now.

"God dammit!" snarled Cardin, slamming his fist against the wall. "Just look at that stupid jerk, living it up, with three girls at his beck and call! Just who does he think he is?"

"I don't really think he's living it up," commented Dove, leaning back against the wall, just across the hall from his teammate, his expression carefully composed. Of course, as narrow and squinted as his eyes were, it was difficult to guess what he was thinking most of the time. "If anything, being the only boy in a room with three girls is probably one heck of a trial. I feel for him and Ren."

"Yeah right," scoffed Russel, standing next to Cardin. "You saw how they were hanging off him...literally in Schnee's case."

"Yeah, he thinks he's some kind of big shot, just because he won by a fluke," added Sky. "But he's obviously an amateur. He needs to be taught a lesson."

Dove looked from one teammate to another, then lowered his head and sighed softly. "Whatever..." he grumbled, not looking forward to the coming days.

Still, it didn't look like they'd have their chance soon. Jaune's teammates appeared joined at the hip to him. He'd noticed that they spent every free period together, for the most part. He always had at least one teammate with him.

"We'll keep watching," growled Cardin. "That little coward won't be able to keep hiding behind those girls forever."

"Don't they practice on our roof?" asked Russel.

"Yeah, I can hear them sometimes," muttered Cardin. "They keep doing some kinda weird stuff with their Auras, at least, that's what they seem to be talking about. Although, I heard something interesting last night."

"What?" asked Sky.

"Arc has some kind of secret," said Cardin. "They know they're on our roof, so they went somewhere else to talk about it. But, if we can find out what Arc's secret is, we'll have him over a barrel for sure."

"Just great," grumbled Dove.

"So how do we find it?" asked Russel.

"For now, we keep our eyes and ears open," said Cardin. "I'm pretty sure an idiot like that can't keep his lips sealed forever. He'll blab sooner or later."

Dove frowned darkly, not liking the direction this was going at all.

The next day took on what had become a familiar pattern as the four of them got up early in the morning for their daily workout. As Jaune had feared, Ruby worked him extra hard, clearly not forgetting his comment about her weight the day before. In the free periods between their classes, they continued to work on his technique-training, Pyrrha increasing the pace and force behind her practice-blows to help Jaune gradually adjust to the level of actual combat. She'd also begun teaching him basic offensive techniques. Given how hard he'd worked in the morning, it was surprising that, when their free period came around, Jaune was able to hold his weapons and react without faltering.

"It probably has to do with how much Aura he has," observed Weiss at dinner. "It seems to be boosting his physical recovery ability a great deal."

"No wonder he's progressing so quickly," noted Pyrrha.

"But that won't help him with technique," noted Ruby. "He's actually pretty talented. I don't know why his family didn't see it."

Jaune frowned. "They probably didn't want to see it," he said. "The way Dad was training me, it's nothing like what you girls have me doing, and I'm not just talking about having to work around classes. He used to just drag me out, put a couple of practice weapons in my hands, and bat me around for a while, then call it a day."

Ruby blinked. "That doesn't make sense," she said. "There's no way you can just go straight to sparring without covering basic technique first."

"Not to mention no physical training to build up your strength and endurance," added Pyrrha with a frown.

"That's what I've come to realize," grumbled Jaune. "Dad wasn't actually trying to train me. Back then, I just thought he had really high standards, and I just didn't measure up. But now I'm beginning to think he really just wanted to break me down, and make me think that I wasn't cut out for it."

"You mean he was trying to sabotage you?" gasped Pyrrha, her hands going to her mouth.

"The more I think about it, that's what it seems like," grumbled Jaune.

"That's...that's almost worse than what I went through," said Ruby softly. "At least my Dad just came straight out and said he wasn't going to let me be a Huntress."

"Have you tried talking to him about it?" asked Pyrrha.

Jaune shook his head. "I haven't talked to my family at all, not since I left. And, to be honest, I really don't feel like doing it either."

"You mean, you haven't told them you got through Initiation?" asked Pyrrha. "I'd think you'd at least want to let them know about that."

"I considered it, just to rub their faces in it," growled Jaune. "But then I got a text from Mom...and one each from about four of my sisters the night after it."

"About what?" asked Ruby.

"They wanted to know when I was coming back," growled Jaune. "They said they'd all be waiting for me when I got there. They said there's no shame in failing...and stupid platitudes like that. They all just...took it for granted that I was gonna fail. Hell! They probably didn't even think I was gonna make it to the Initiation. They just assumed I'd get there, be told my application bounced, and be sent straight back.

"And it hasn't stopped. The last three days, I've been getting messages, asking what I'm waiting for, telling me to stop being stubborn, saying that I need to get a move on and find something I can really do."

Jaune brought up his scroll, showing them a list of messages. "They're sitting there, thinking that I'm just up here, probably moping around in some hotel room. Dad's even threatened to freeze my spending account if I don't get my ass back home and stop wasting money."

"Well, Beacon's stipend is bi-weekly," said Ruby. "We don't get our first deposit until next Friday." She paused and frowned uncertainly. "Uh...Maybe you should open a new account, if your dad can just freeze yours. You'll want to be able to access the money you're getting from the school, at the very least."

"That's true," agreed Weiss.

"Um...Has it occurred to you that, maybe, you should just talk to them?" asked Pyrrha. "I mean, they are worried about you. Wouldn't it be better to let them know that you made it in, that you really are a Beacon student?"

"They'd probably just accuse me of lying," growled Jaune.

Pyrrha looked to Ruby for support, only to find Ruby nodding in agreement with Jaune's statement. "What?" she asked, meeting Pyrrha's gaze. "I'd rather have to sit through an entire day of Professor Port's lectures than talk to my, so-called, family." She flicked a hostile glance down the table, where Team RYNB was sitting.

Pyrrha looked to Weiss instead, only for her to sigh. "I honestly can't really disagree with them," she said. "I came here against my father's wishes. I don't exactly feel like talking to him either. Glass houses and all that..."

Pyrrha sighed and lowered her head. How was it that she, with the parents who'd pushed her into the celebrity spotlight so that they could enjoy the monetary perks of her success, somehow had the healthiest family relationship of the four of them? Certainly, her parents continued to call and message about sponsorship opportunities in Vale. But she'd at least been willing to reply and continue to inform them of her desire to focus on becoming a Huntress for the time being. Even if we've patched things up with each other, we've still got a long list of issues to work through, it seems.

"We'll talk to Professor Ozpin about your spending account tomorrow," Ruby told Jaune. "If we're quick enough, we might be able to transfer your money from your original account before your dad can freeze it."

"That's a good idea," admitted Jaune. "You have to open your own account, right Ruby?"

"Yeah," said Ruby with a sigh. "I haven't actually had money to deposit for a while."

Pyrrha sighed in defeat and planted her face in her hands. This is going to come to a head in a bad way, she thought mournfully.

"For now, let's just focus on training," said Ruby, patting Jaune on the arm. "I'm willing to bet that, sooner or later, some of them will come out to see how you're doing. Imagine the looks on their faces when they actually see you're in the school."

"That'd be nice," said Jaune with a chuckle. "But, yeah...let's talk about something else. What are we doing tomorrow? You'd said you'd be working me extra hard on Saturday."

"Right," said Ruby, beaming. "I'm thinking we could talk to Professor Goodwitch, and get her approval for a training excursion in the Emerald Forest."

"Training excursion?" gasped Pyrrha. "Are you sure?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah. I mean, there's no point in trying to block time in the sparring rings. They're booked solid all weekend, every weekend. Besides, there's nothing we do there that we can't do elsewhere, that we don't already do elsewhere, that is. I've heard they let students train in the forest regularly. It's just rare for first-year students to request it so early in their first semester."

"I guess that makes sense," said Weiss. "So you want to get Jaune more experience with Grimm?"

"Pretty much," said Ruby, smiling slightly at the look of trepidation on Jaune's face. "Don't worry, Jaune. So long as we don't pull a Nora, and wake up a nest of King Taijitu, we'll be fine." She paused. "Or if we don't pull a Weiss and Pyrrha, and wake up an Elder Deathstalker."

"Sh-shut up!" exclaimed Weiss, both her and Pyrrha's cheeks burning.

Jaune covered his mouth to hide a chuckle, while Ruby didn't bother to muffle her giggles. "Anyway," she said, after she recovered, "there are plenty of weak Grimm for you to practice on. The rest of us will whittle down the numbers, and make them manageable for you."

"I feel kinda bad," said Jaune, looking down. "I mean...you're going through all this trouble for me..."

"Don't feel bad about it. That's just a waste of time and energy," admonished Weiss. "If you really care about what we, Ruby and Pyrrha in particular, are doing for you, then make sure you make the fullest use of every chance we provide you."

"Yes, Ma'am," said Jaune, stiffening and resisting the urge to salute her.

Saturday dawned normally for most students. This was the start of their weekend. For most of the first-years, this was a time to recover from the strenuous first week of school. Some slept in late or lazed about. Others made their way into Vale to enjoy the amenities that the Kingdom had to offer. Others got a jump-start on their homework, or even did some extra training in the fitness center or the sparring rings. However, that morning, only a single team of first-years descended the cliff into the Emerald Forest.

"HAAAAAAAA!" shouted Jaune as he lunged forward with a sideways slash, angling his blade to slice the head off an attacking Beowolf. Another lunged in from a different angle. Quickly executing the cross-step that Pyrrha had taught him, Jaune turned to catch the beast's swiping claws on his shield, angling and shifting it so that they skidded off without causing his arm to strain in the slightest. With another shout, he stepped forward and drove his blade into the Beowolf's chest, causing the entire monster's body to jolt, before going limp. Jaune withdrew his blade and stepped back, before the Grimm could fall over him and pin him beneath its corpse.

"Good work!" called Ruby from her position at the edge of the clearing.

Jaune would have basked in the praise more, had it not been for the dissolving corpses of a full seven other Beowolves behind her, in comparison to his two. And those had just been the two that she'd let past herself for him to fight, while making sure to dispose of the others.

Ruby pulled out her scroll. "Anything else coming, Pyrrha?"

"I see a small group of Ursai coming," Pyrrha replied over the device. She was presently acting as the team's spotter, having situated herself in a tall tree to spy on incoming Grimm, and report what was inbound. "I see one with more spikes than the rest. It may be a Major."

"Roger that," said Ruby. Then she turned to Jaune. "Okay, I'll let one Ursa through, and take care of the rest. Keep on your toes. Ursa are similar to Beowolves overall, but different enough to throw you off."

Jaune gulped and nodded, still feeling somewhat disappointed with himself that he was essentially only being allowed to deal with Ruby's leftovers.

"It's all right," said Ruby, noticing his dissatisfaction. "You'll get there, but only if we work hard and smart."

Jaune nodded. Compared to the training he'd done over the week, the overall amount of activity he'd been through should have been less, but he already felt considerably more drained. The experience of fighting real Grimm was far more stressful than simply practicing fending off Pyrrha's swings, or even standing firm against Cardin's attacks. After all, the Grimm didn't care about rules and regulations...only about killing. While Ruby was trying to keep things to a level he could handle, if he made a mistake, it could potentially cost him his life.

The sound of breaking undergrowth reached his ears, and Jaune focused on the shifting foliage as it parted to reveal the herd of bearlike Grimm, bounding forward with boundless enthusiasm, roaring triumphantly at the sight of prey.

Jaune gulped. These were a lot scarier than Beowolves.

Ruby cut across them in a streak of red, slicing one in two across the torso with a single slash of her sword. The one next to it wheeled about to target her, but she dodged its slashing claws to launch small attacks to catch the attention of a third and fourth. The last one barreled past her unimpeded, heading straight for Jaune. As it closed in, Jaune noticed that this one had numerous bone spikes protruding from its back, and that it was a good bit larger than the others. Oh God! She left me the Major!

The massive Grimm bore down on him like a truck, roaring. Sweating and swallowing, Jaune took his stance and readied himself. The Ursa Major reared up on its hind legs, its remaining forward momentum carrying it for the last two lumbering steps to bring him in reach as it swung at Jaune with a paw almost as wide as his torso was tall. Jaune shifted his shield upwards as the attack struck, trying to deflect it over his head. The force behind it was unreal, far more than any of Cardin's mace strikes had carried. Jaune found his feet being driven backwards, but he managed to succeed in deflecting most of the strike.

Unfortunately, the Ursa immediately followed up with a second from its opposite paw. Jaune managed to deflect that one as well, but the Ursa simply followed through with yet another, the force behind each blow being enough to unbalance him so that, by the time he recovered, he had no time to counterattack before the Ursa's next attack came.

Grimacing, Jaune decided he couldn't simply keep playing the defensive. When the Ursa's next slash came at him from his left, he stepped in, taking the attack fully on his shield. His knees almost buckled beneath the incredible force. But the Ursa itself was stymied, having its claws halted, rather than redirected. Jaune grunted and, with a roar, forced his foe's paw back, before jumping up and in to swing his sword up to take off the beast's head. The decapitated Ursa fell to the earth with enough force to make it jolt.

"That was great!" cheered Ruby, waving from in front of the dismembered corpses of the four Ursai she'd handled. Granted, Jaune's had been the biggest, meanest one of the batch, but it still made him feel pretty low that she'd managed four and looked like she'd hardly worked at all, while he'd only gone up against the one and felt like he was currently made of jelly.

"Anymore coming?" Ruby asked into her scroll.

"I don't see any movement," said Pyrrha. "I think we've cleared them out for the time being. We can send up another lure in a little bit."

"Okay, come on down," said Ruby. She waved past Jaune at the far side of the clearing. "Weiss! We're taking a break."

"All right," said Weiss, coming from where she'd been standing, a ways behind Jaune.

Weiss had basically served as insurance for Jaune, in case he got in over his head. She also guarded the opposite end of the clearing, in case any Grimm came from that direction. Since they were just a short distance from the cliffs, that was less likely, but a precaution they took all the same.

"Okay Jaune, we can relax a little," said Ruby.

Jaune didn't need anymore urging than that, practically falling onto his butt with a tired gasp, pulling out his canteen and taking a swig of water.

"How are you feeling?" asked Ruby, sitting down by Jaune.

"Pretty shaky," Jaune admitted. "This is way scarier than dealing with Cardin."

"That's good to know," said Ruby with a giggle. "The shakes are adrenaline wearing off. You'll learn to manage it eventually, but there's no rush."

Pyrrha and Weiss joined the group, all of them, even Weiss, taking seats on the ground near Jaune and Ruby.

"You're doing great, Jaune," said Pyrrha, beaming at him. "You've managed everything so far."

"I know you probably feel bad that Ruby is mowing down Grimm, while you have to keep slogging through just a couple at a time, but you're definitely making progress," added Weiss.

"Wow, that actually sounded like praise, Yukihime," said Ruby, earning a giggle from Pyrrha.

"I-I'm just making a realistic assessment," stammered Weiss. "And stop calling me that...whatever it is you're calling me."

"It's one of the old tongues from around Mistral," said Pyrrha. "'Yuki' means snow, and I think 'hime' means princess...right?"

"Yep," said Ruby with a giggle.

"So you're calling me Snow Princess?" asked Weiss, glaring at Ruby.

"It suits you," teased Ruby.

"You insufferable, little red..." growled Weiss.

Pyrrha gently patted her shoulder. "Let it go."

Weiss sighed as Ruby giggled and Jaune chuckled.

"Though I didn't expect you to be familiar with Old-Mistralian," said Pyrrha, giving Ruby a speculative look.

"The people I trained with still use it," said Ruby. "They just call it the Old Tongue, but they use a lot of it in their terminology, and it's taught in their schools alongside Common. I've heard its usage is fading, but a lot of people are still fluent in it."

"Including you?" asked Pyrrha.

Ruby nodded slowly. "Spoken mostly. Learning to write in Old Tongue is a lot harder, because most of their written language is logographic."

"What's that mean?" asked Jaune.

"It means that written symbols stand for words and ideas, rather than sounds," said Pyrrha. "It's harder to learn, because you need to memorize a much larger number of symbols to be fluent."

"Who are these people?" asked Weiss, before catching herself. "I'm sorry." She looked away, remembering one of the painful triggers of her previous angry arguments with Ruby.

"It's okay," said Ruby. "I think I can tell you guys about it. We don't have to worry about eavesdroppers out here, at least."

"We certainly seem to be the only team in this section of the Emerald Forest," noted Pyrrha.

"Why are you so worried about people overhearing this?" asked Weiss.

"Well...the Mibu Clan, the people I lived and studied with...don't have the best relationship with the Kingdoms," explained Ruby. "Most of the people in the Kingdoms who know about them prefer to pretend they don't exist."

"That sounds...petty," said Weiss.

"It pretty much is," said Ruby. "Because of that, and because the Mibu don't have access to the CCT, they're sometimes called the Silent Kingdom. They control the entire territory of the continent of Leng, which is the real reason Leng is called the Forbidden Continent."

"I thought it had to do with the Vytal Treaty," said Weiss with a frown.

"That's just one of the excuses," said Ruby. "It's true that the treaty divided Leng and its resources between the four Kingdoms, but that was before anyone bothered actually trying to see if anyone actually lived there. Both Vale and Atlas went and tried to found settlements, only to find that another group had already established control of the entire continent."

"The Mibu?" asked Pyrrha.

"Uh huh," said Ruby. "The problem was that the leaders of the two expeditions didn't want to give up their claim. And they figured that, since the Mibu didn't have any Dust-tech, they'd be able to easily overwhelm them and conquer 'em basically."

"Wait a moment!" interjected Weiss. "These Mibu you lived with...they don't use Dust?"

"Nope," said Ruby.

"B-but...wha-how?" gasped Weiss.

"I'll get to that in a bit," said Ruby.

"So they got into a fight with Vale and Atlas?" prodded Jaune.

"Yep," said Ruby. "And both expeditionary forces got their butts handed to them. The Mibu crushed them completely."

"That's...that's impossible!" exclaimed Weiss. "Even if it wasn't that long after the Great War, the weapons of the Kingdoms should have been leagues above that of a people that don't even use Dust."

"Well, they did," said Ruby simply. "That's because the Mibu study Aura...more than anyone else, they know what Aura's capable of. They've developed it to the point where it's way more powerful than any Dust weapon, even those that exist now."

"Impossible!" scoffed Weiss, in spite of herself.

"Like creating lightning without Dust?" commented Pyrrha, with an amused sidelong glance.

"That's right," said Ruby, swelling a little with pride, while Weiss deflated. "But I'm not very good with it yet. You should hear some of the stories about what the real masters of that technique can do…" She sighed with envy, a far away look on her face.

"So the Mibu won then," said Jaune.

"Yeah," said Ruby. "After that, word covertly spread to Mistral and Vacuo that Leng was already taken. But no one, especially not the leaders in Vale or Atlas, wanted to admit that their great weapons and airships had been beaten by a bunch of 'primitives.' So they just decided to make up excuses for why Leng was off limits, and pretend that no one was there at all. Because the Mibu don't have the CCT, it was pretty easy."

"That's terrible," said Pyrrha.

"The Mibu prefer it that way, honestly," said Ruby, a more sober expression on her face. "The one thing I've learned about them is that they're really...really isolationist for the most part. Some of them would like to open up to the outside world more, especially the clan's leaders. But most of them don't want to have anything to do with the Kingdoms, so they're fine with the way things are."

"I see..." said Pyrrha with a frown.

"I'm still having difficulty accepting that they could match a Kingdom's military force without Dust," said Weiss skeptically.

"Well, like I said, the more powerful members of the clan can do way more than I can," said Ruby. "Their military is basically a warrior class, so their lowest ranks are Huntsman-class fighters."

Pyrrha gasped in amazement.

"But their strongest members, the leaders of their military, and even their government, the Five Stars and the Four Elders...they're equal to entire armies!" said Ruby, her tone growing excited. "And that's not even covering what the King can do!"

"They still have a monarchy?" asked Weiss, surprised by the notion.

"Yeah...sort of," said Ruby. "It's a little weird. One of the two who found me, Kyo-nii, his father is the Crimson King. He's the King, but he doesn't actually rule."

"Why not?" asked Jaune.

"Because he doesn't want to," said Ruby. She giggled. "So he teaches elementary school instead. He doesn't really need to do any king-stuff anyway, 'cause the Mibu have the Taishiro, the Four Elders, for that. Those are basically the equivalent to their Council."

"I see..." said Weiss with a frown.

"That sounds like an...odd arrangement," said Pyrrha.

"Yeah, it's kinda weird," admitted Ruby. "But it works, so I can't really complain. The Elders are really strong too. They're the most powerful Aura-users in the clan. The things they can do...it's like magic. In fact, they're better at what they do than someone with actual magic."

"That's impressive," said Pyrrha. Then she tittered. "Though I don't think there is anyone who can use 'actual magic.'"

"Oh y-yeah...right," said Ruby, blushing slightly, realizing she'd almost said too much.

"So you're saying that, because these Mibu use their Auras so extensively, they've never needed to rely on Dust," said Weiss, her tone so skeptical.

"Yep," said Ruby. "Their power is real. I'm nowhere near that level myself."

"Well, you are still learning," said Pyrrha, patting Ruby's shoulder. "I imagine that, with more training, you'll become as strong as those people you admire."

"I hope so," said Ruby. It'll probably take a lifetime though.

"I still have my doubts," said Weiss with a frown. "I suppose that, maybe, in the future, we could visit these people, and I could see for myself."

"That'll be hard, since they don't really like visitors all that much," said Ruby. "But it might be doable. You'll get to meet one of them soon, though."

"Really?" asked Pyrrha.

"Yeah," said Ruby, perking up. "Sasame-nee learned I got into Beacon, so she's on her way to Vale to visit and see how I'm doing. She'll be here in less than a month."

"What's taking her so long?" Weiss wanted to know.

"She's walking," Ruby deadpanned.

"Oh...right," said Weiss, remembering how Ruby had gotten to Vale herself.

"I look forward to meeting her," said Pyrrha congenially.

"You'll love her, she's really nice," said Ruby with a giggle.

"I'm sure I will." Pyrrha paused and looked around. "We've probably waited long enough. I'll send up another lure, and see if we can draw in some more Grimm."

"Oh boy," breathed Jaune.

"You've just gotta bear with it, Jaune," said Ruby, patting his shoulder. "You're doing great so far."

Pyrrha reached into the pack she'd brought and produced the lure. It was a surprisingly simple object, consisting of a canister, mounted on a thin, metal rod, with a pull-string dangling from the back end of the canister. For all intents and purposes, it was nothing more than a miniature firework. Pulling on the string caused a small, Dust-propelled round to fire up into the air and explode with a loud bang. Naturally, a noisemaker like that was practically ideal for drawing in the aggressive Grimm.

Pyrrha held the rod in one hand and aimed the device skywards, pulling on the string. The round expelled from the canister with a hiss, leaving a trail of white exhaust behind it, spiraling up into the sky, before detonating like a thunderclap. Birds scattered from trees in the vicinity, startled by the sudden sound.

"I'll get into position," said Pyrrha, heading for her perch once more.

"Get ready," said Ruby to Jaune, as she and Weiss headed for their positions.

"Great," muttered Jaune, taking up his weapons once more, shaking out his arms to get them used to fighting again. He felt pretty good, all told, his Aura boosting his recovery speed.

"What've you got for us, Pyrrha?" asked Ruby over her scroll.

"I see a few Creeps coming," said Pyrrha. "I think I see some more Beowolves too. There's a Nevermore on the way as well."

Hmm...The Nevermore might be a little much for Jaune, thought Ruby. For all that Jaune was doing well against simple opponents, like Beowolves and Ursai, a Nevermore, being a flier, would be a lot more difficult for him to defend and attack against, easily maneuvering around him in a way that ground-bound opponents couldn't match. But it would still be a good idea to at least let him have a go at it, so long as there was only the one.

I'll let him have the Nevermore then, she thought, So long as it doesn't come while he's dealing with any of the other kinds.

A couple minutes later, the first Grimm arrived at the clearing. Jaune handled three Creeps with surprising ease. He had a good handle on the Beowolves that came after that, Ruby allowing him to fight four at once this time. To her confusion though, the Nevermore failed to show.

"Pyrrha? What's up with that Nevermore?" asked Ruby. "Did it go somewhere else?"

"No, it's still on the way," said Pyrrha. "It must have been farther than I thought."

Ruby frowned. That didn't sound right. "Hey, Pyrrha...? If that Nevermore is still coming...how far away was it when you spotted it?"

"Uh...I'm not sure," said Pyrrha. "It was a little too high up, so I didn't get a proper measure of distance."

Uh oh... "I'm guessing you didn't get a good measure of its size either," said Ruby.

"No. But if it was farther than I thought it was when I saw it, then..." Pyrrha's voice trailed off as she realized the implication of what she was saying. "Oh dear..."

"Ruby? What's wrong?" asked Jaune, not liking the nervous look on her face.

"What is it about this Nevermore?" asked Weiss, coming to join them.

"It's bigger than we thought it was," said Ruby with a sheepish grin. "I think we're about to have a hard fight on our hands, all of us...not just Jaune."

"Um...What's going on?" asked Jaune.

"I think the Nevermore Pyrrha spotted is a lot bigger than we thought it was," said Ruby.

"It is," confirmed Pyrrha, having descended from her perch to join them. "It's huge!"

Weiss' eyes narrowed in a glare at Ruby.

"Hey!" Ruby protested. "It's not a King Taijitu nest or a huge Deathstalker!"

A screeching caw made all of them flinch and cover their ears. An enormous shadow swept past overhead, the wind of its passage buffeting their bodies with enough force to nearly knock them off their feet. They looked up to see a truly colossal Nevermore swoop past overhead, its four, glowing, red eyes glittering with malice as it banked around for another pass.

"No...but it's bad enough," declared Weiss.