Jaune Arc was not considered strong by any means. He had never attended combat school, to common knowledge he hadn't killed a grimm until the second day of Beacon, in fact he had forged his way into the school in which he was currently sitting. Most of his classmates viewed him as a leech upon team JNPR, his three teammates being absolute powerhouses in their own right: Pyrrha Nikos, the Mistral Tournament Champion, Lie Ren, the silent warrior, and Nora Valkyrie, the super charged berserker with a penchant for breaking legs. Unknown to all besides himself however, was the fact that Jaune was quite possibly the most dangerous of the team. His danger lied in his semblance, a rather simple ability. Jaune had the ability to take complete control of another living creature. His semblance was something that not even his family was aware of. Jaune was stronger than he let on, between training with Pyrrha and sneaking off to practice his semblance on Grimm in the Emerald Forest, he would be among one of the strongest fighters in the whole academy if he used everything at his disposal. His bottom ranking on the beacon scoreboard didn't bother him, in fact it only made his secret all the easier to keep. However today his ranking was part of the topic of debate at his lunch table.
"Team RWBY is the better team! We could kick your butts!" the miniscule leader of team RWBY declared, striking a dramatic pose on the table.
"JNPR all the way!" Nora responded, striking an equally dramatic pose face to face with the girl in red as her teammates grinned at her antics.
"We do have the strongest fighter," Ren calmly interjected, gesturing to Pyrrha across the table where Pyrrha simply waved in response.
"Yang and Blake could take her together," Weiss haughtily threw back to the black haired boy.
"Leaving it down to a two v three match," Pyrrha pointed out.
"Really a two v two," Blake stated, causing Jaune to grimace a bit. He didn't mind his ranking but, hearing it from the people that he called friends wasn't enjoyable.
"Yeah, Vomit Boy is a real weak link for you guys," Yang said jokingly.
"Let's prove it then," Jaune said softly, rapidly quieting the table. He knew he shouldn't. He was already and angry, and in the back of his mind he knew that his secret might come out. "Four v four, combat class, Goodwitch refs." RWBY looked at each other, hesitation clear on their face. Something about his confidence throwing them a bit.
"Alright, combat class it is" Ruby agreed.
The tension in Goodwitch's classroom was palpable. As team JNPR examined their weapons, preparing for the coming fight, Jaune looked across the room where team RWBY was going through their own preparations. As the sounds of the students chatter echoed through the room Jaune formulated a plan in his head. From the earlier conversation he knew that Yang and Blake would likely team up against Pyrrha, giving them a good chance to overwhelm the renowned tournament fighter. All he had to do was draw one of them off of Pyrrha long enough for the redhead to take care of the other while Ren and Nora handled Ruby and Weiss. His train of thought was cut short by Goodwitch announcing thirty seconds until the start of the match.
"Alright Ren, you and Nora will take on Rubes and Weiss. I'll try to get Yang or Blake off of Pyrrha." Jaune spoke quietly to his team as they approached the ring, "Pyrrha, as soon as you're done with whoever stays on you come help me." His team nodded approval to the simple plan he put forth. Jaune was nothing if not a strategist. The bell rang signaling the start of match.
"LET'S BREAK THEIR LEGS!" an excited Nora shouted as she bolted across the arena towards Weiss, hammer hefted above her head. By her side Ren engaged Ruby, shots from Stormflower peppering the girl in between dodges of the scythe. True to his predictions, Yang and Blake bolted towards Pyrrha, hoping to take her out of the fight early. Blake arrived at Pyrrha's position seconds before Yang, striking horizontally with Gambol Shroud at the champions waist. Just before making contact Pyrrha's shield slid into place, the barrel of her rifle peaking over the top of the hoplon. As Yang attempted to follow up the sword strike with a punch to the redhead's open side Jaune saw his opening and slid into place. The loud clang of Yang's gauntlet striking his shield reverberated across the arena. Yang's eyes widened in shock, not even having seen the other blonde a moment prior.
"Out of the way Vomit Boy, gotta deal with P-Money before before taking you down," Yang exclaimed confidently. Jaune's response came in the form of his sword swinging for her head. "Not messing around huh?" She quipped as she ducked easily beneath the old sword. Jaune didn't respond, wholly focused on keeping the blonde berserker off of his partner. Yang glanced at Blake, silently letting her know that she'd return to help with Pyrrha after handling Jaune. Receiving a subtle nod from the cat faunus she returned her attention to her new opponent. "So Jaune," she began, throwing a punch at his right which he narrowly dodged, "Xiao-Long have you been waiting for all this to be all over you?" She finished, hoping to break his unnerving silence with her trademark puns and meaningless flirting. For her efforts she took the shield of Crocea Mors to her chest, knocking her back a few feet. Jaune knew the silence would get to his opponent, he just had to keep her attention until Pyrrha could come pull his ass out of the fire.
That would, of course, only lend to his leech reputation he mused bitterly. The two blondes' exchange paused briefly as a blur of white flew between them followed by a cackling streak of pink and orange. Yang recovered from the sight first, her first making firm contact against his jaw. The impact threw him across the arena, slamming into Ruby and saving Ren from Crescent Rose mid-swing. "Sorry Sis!" Yang called as Jaune jumped back to his feet and rushed her, his aura protecting him from the normally debilitating strike. From the corner of his eye he noticed that Pyrrha and Blake hadn't made much progress in their fight. The smaller girl was clearly outclassed, but her shadow semblance had leveled the playing field a good bit. "You can't beat me Vomit Boy," Yang said, breaking him from his thoughts, "everyone knows you're JNPR's weak link, and that I always end a fight with a Yang," Across the arena he could hear Nora laughing at the bad joke even as his anger began to boil over.
"Once I beat you, I'll help Blake with Pyrrha and then the fight will be over!" The girl stated cheerily, throwing another punch at the knight. He could tell his opponent was trying to rile him up but that knowledge didn't stop his blinding anger. "How'd you get into Beacon anyways?" She questioned as she rushed Jaune, arm cocked back. The reminder of his forged acceptance was the final straw, and he snapped. The room stilled for a moment, everyone too shocked to comprehend the sight in front of them. The unstoppable Yang Xiao-Long seemed to be suspended in place. Her arm extended before her, her fist stopped just inches from Jaune's nose. Her eyes wide in confusion. Jaune's sword clattered to the floor, his now empty hand outstretched in his fellow blonde's direction.
Then the inconceivable happened. Yang, as if possessed, sprinted away from her opponent, tackling both herself and Blake out of the ring. The first to react in the ensuing chaos, Nora swung her hammer in wide arc, solidly impacting the Schnee heiress in the face. Almost simultaneously Pyrrha and Ren rounded on Ruby and the leader of team RWBY fell to hail of bullets from the pair. Silence sat over the room, but only for a few seconds, before many of the first year students began yelling over each other, while several groups of second years quietly muttered among themselves. After a few moments Goodwitch spoke over the racket.
"The victors are team JNPR," Confusion was evident in her voice. Jaune took a second to look around the room, taking in the faces of the students he could see. Team RWBY looked confused and afraid, a stark contrast to the excited glee of JNPR. In the crowd he noticed a pensive Yatsuhashi of team CVFY, and caught a respectful nod from his once antagonist, Cardin. What stood out the most however was the thoughtfully concerned expression that passed over Goodwitch's face.