So, watched Glass recently. Have to say… I'm divided on it. On the one hand, the acting was excellent, especially James McAvoy's for once more cycling through multiple personalities on-screen in a matter of seconds, and Glass' little speech to the Horde about how comics and real life are related (relative to within the movie world) was oddly touching to me and certainly makes me wonder about a bunch of what-ifs.

On the other hand, well, I made the mistake of going into this movie thinking it'd have some pretty decent action and that wasn't quite the case since action in and of itself obviously wasn't the main draw of Glass. I honestly can't even remember if Shyamalan ever did an action flick, but even then I walked away disappointed in that respect.

Also, well, as is typical of him, there was quite the twist near the end of it and I'm certainly not alone in saying it really screwed with an otherwise good storyline, screwed with it so much in fact that even with hindsight clearing up some stuff, it's still quite frustrating. I rarely say things like this, but I feel like viewers were robbed of what could've and should've been a true ending to the trilogy.

Well, again, it's not a bad movie per say but not a great movie either… but it definitely could've been if not for his usual way of doing shocking twists for the sake of a shocking twist.

That said, if any of you guys have yet to see Glass but are interested, don't let me discourage you from doing so. After all, to each their own, right?

Well, my little spiel aside, not too much else to say other than thank you as usual for your continued support of this still newborn fic. Your reviews and favs and follows only fuel me all the more to tell as good a story as I can!

Now then, onto the chapter!

Chapter 4

The first week of classes go by with a shocking speed after the first day, so much so that Ruby found herself kind of taken aback when she realized the second week was already rolling around the corner.

And although she'd expected as much, her classes hadn't hesitated to heap the homework upon her and everyone else and oh lordie, why so much?! She wasn't prepared for this!

Well, at least when in regards to solely herself, she wasn't prepared for it.

"Weiss, please help me!" she shamelessly asked of her partner.

The W of team RWBY, who sat beside her at the lunch table rolled her eyes, clearly frustrated by her plea, but her action lacked the hostility from before.

Yes, following that first day of classes, things had certainly gotten quite strained between the two of them, but after a fateful chat with the headmaster himself, she and Weiss had been able to sit down in their dorm and share a brief moment with one another.

Saying they reconciled completely might be a little much – they still had their grievances with one another, thankfully minor though. However, Ruby could happily say she could somewhat tolerate the white-haired girl's perfectionist tendencies since it did help to drive the team to do their best and Weiss in turn put up with her goofiness so long as she at least tried to do what she could for her classes.

Alas, there really was only so much she could do on her own, hence why she was now asking her bestest partner in the making for assistance…. Again, that is.

"I've already helped you enough as it is," the girl said flatly. "Time for you to try on your own. That said, I'll admit your desire to get a headstart on our new assignments now of all times is admirable."

Ruby's eyes widened. She was being abandoned here! She couldn't let that happen! "No, please, just once more~! I'm still struggling here!"

"How'd you get into this academy again…?" Weiss murmured in mild annoyance.

"Cause of my awesome scythe skills! Not my writing skills!" Ruby retorted hastily. "Remember, I skipped two years!"

Her partner sighed, but the look on her face now told Ruby that she was caving.

"Ah, come on, ice queen," Yang spoke up with a slight grin from nearby. "Ruby does make a good point – can't just expect her to suddenly learn two year's worth of material in just a few days."

Yet another sigh from the W of the team. "I suppose that's true," she reluctantly admitted. There was then a pause. "Very well… However! This. Is. The. Last. Time! Understand?!"

Ruby bobbed her head up and down, totally not intentionally ignoring those last few words. "You're the best, Weiss!"

"H-Hmph, but of course…"

"And there's her weakness: flattery!" proclaimed a giggling Nora from where she sat at the table.

Weiss blushed in embarrassment and tried to mumble some objections to that, but all that did was earn some mild laughter from everyone else at the table.

Naturally, Ruby laughed the loudest. After nearly being bonked over the head by a truly annoyed Weiss now, she smiled apologetically at her partner and then proceeded to scan everyone else who sat at the lunch table.

There were her and Weiss and of course, her sister and her partner, Blake, but there was also team JNPR – Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha freaking Nikos, and Ren, all of whom had quickly become good friends of hers in the first week here.

Ah, but of course, Jaune held the special position of 'first friend' in her heart and so her gaze naturally gravitated towards him as the laughter of the others died down.

And as she looked at him, Ruby felt herself frown just a tad bit. Not because something bad was going on or anything, oh no, nothing like that. But Jaune had that same contemplative expression on his face that she noticed he usually had whenever he wasn't joining in conversations.

Though she wouldn't dare say it aloud, he was weird like that. It was as if he was always thinking about something deadly serious, though she couldn't even begin to imagine what that might be.

But! As her first friend, it was up to her to get him to loosen up! Isn't that what Yang was trying to do with Blake, after all?!

"So, Jaune, whatcha thinking about there?" she began in a chipper voice. "About who'll fight later in combat class?"

Ah, combat class. Truly, it was the only class that held her interest. As much of a nervous wreck as she is in her other classes – academics weren't exactly her strong suit – when it came to fighting, she was all for it. Nothing beat having her baby in her arms and ready to show their stuff. And as scary as professor Goodwitch was, she offered some pretty good advice too… though Ruby, having had to fight just a few days ago, didn't quite like how the blond professor had told her to stop relying on her baby so much.

Seriously, who would ever suggest such a monstrous thing?!

"Hmm, ah, no. Was just wondering if maybe Zephyr would need some help again," Jaune answered with a slightly apologetic smile.

"Ah…" went everyone.

That was perhaps another thing about Jaune that could be deemed weird. Well, okay, not weird exactly, but definitely kind of odd.

Though she hadn't exactly been around to see how it happened in the first place, apparently on the second day of classes, Jaune had seen one of the janitors struggling to move some stuff around to clean an empty classroom and had immediately offered to help.

Since then, her fellow leader had swiftly started to chat up the janitor, named Zephyr, as well as numerous other custodians and Beacon staff and lent his aid as needed without any prompting on their part nor with any intention of being rewarded.

Despite it only being the second week, Jaune's already developed a rather noticeable reputation as being a big-time boy scout, though Ruby, ever so socially awkward, didn't understand whatever the connotations were supposed to be behind that term.

What she did know, however, was that her first friend definitely had a strong case of Samaritan syndrome, something she could certainly sympathize with – it's why she wants to be a huntress, after all – but at the same time, the sheer lengths Jaune went to for the others… it was enough to make even her balk.

"You… you really can't help but help others, can't you?" Blake commented.

Jaune paused in his eating to look at her. "It's… it's just something I've always done. I mean, helping others is never wrong."

"While admirable, I personally think you should stop," Weiss now said. "It's their job, not yours."

"Hey now, if that's what he likes to do, just leave him be," Yang suddenly said.

"No, it's fine," Jaune said. "She's right; it is their job. It's just…"

"Just…?" Yang asked, confused.

Jaune shook his head. "No, forget it. It's nothing, really."

"W-Well, for what it's worth, I think there's nothing wrong with it," Ruby now found herself saying, feeling a little uncomfortable with the atmosphere hanging over the table now. "It's like being a hero of the people!"

Jaune froze at that and looked at her with wide eyes. It was enough to make her do mental backtracks here. Had she said something wrong?

"…Heh." E-Eh? Did he just chuckle at that?

Jaune looked almost amused now, but something about his eyes… they seemed sad. And he unconsciously traced his scar a little bit. "A hero, huh?"

"Jaune, are you alright?" Pyrrha now asked.

His team had been pretty quiet up until now. If Ruby had to guess why, it must be because they'd quickly gotten used to his quirks during the first week. Even so… they looked kind of tense about it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just been doing a lot of thinking lately." Jaune looked up at something now and blinked. "Lunch is almost over. We should finish eating."

Hastily looking towards the nearest clock, Ruby saw that he was right and the girl nearly squawked and practically inhaled her food. And when she nearly choked on a piece or two, her sister wasted no time striking her on the back hard to help it go down.

Somewhat thankful for the assist – "Your back pats really hurt, Yang!" "Heh, sorry!" – Ruby then took charge like the leader she wanted to be and swiftly herded her team out of the cafeteria and towards their next class.

But not before bidding team JNPR a hasty goodbye and promising to sit by them during combat class once more.

As she did so, Ruby eyed Jaune a little warily now.

In the short time she's known him, the two of them had certainly gotten to know one another, learning the simple things they liked and whatnot… yet the silver eyed girl couldn't help but feel that Jaune was hiding something real big from them all.

What that something could possibly be, she could only guess at.

For now, however, she just hoped that one day, they'd be good enough friends for him to finally open up about whatever he thinks of so much.

Maybe then, he'd finally be able to smile more freely.


It was with a great deal of subtlety that Blake occasionally glanced in Jaune's direction during their next class.

After everything she's been through to get to this point, she'd never really intended on getting too close to anyone much less even take any real interest in another person – Adam had just about quelled any desire she'd had of doing that.

However, despite having only been part of a team for barely a week so far, she had to say she was actually enjoying it somewhat.

Ruby with her childish but refreshing optimism.

Yang with her liveliness and good cheer, though her few and in-between puns really need some work.

Even Weiss, whom she'd instantly disliked due to being a Schnee, was amusing with how badly her expectations of being a Beacon student were being forcefully brought down by the other two.

But if Blake had to admit just one thing, it'd be that Jaune Arc held her interest the most as of now. He was quite an enigma in the same vein that she was unintentionally being with her team, only more so.

He was a rather awkward person in conversation though he'd sometimes have moments of naturally joining in as if he was just like any other average teen. But then there was him having noticed her still being awake the night before initiation followed by having seen her Faunus traits, which he didn't care about. He'd even been perceptive enough to realize her general goal and wish her luck.

Yes, he certainly was interesting enough with just that alone, especially with how intense his very presence was.

But what really had her trying to peek at him every so often right now was what she and the others had come to learn of him over the past week.

Like the others had pointed out during lunch just a while ago, Jaune had something of a hero streak in him… and it hadn't been limited to just the custodians and other faculty workers. Though the rest of her team didn't seem aware of it just yet, she's heard of and even seen him help out other students every now and then.

And by 'help,' she didn't simply mean holding open doors for them or whatever, but actually talking with them, offering some brief and quiet advice and lending his aid whenever they needed it for any reason. She's even seen him pay a considerable amount of attention to some Faunus students whenever human ones shot them nasty looks or uttered some equally disgusting comments.

That he seemed to be strongly pro-Faunus was something she could admire, but at the same time, made her a little wary in a way.

His heroism, if it could be called that right now, was admirable, but Blake's time facing discrimination both before and after joining the White Fang left her rather jaded on such a subject. 'Heroes' didn't do anything for free no matter how much others liked to play them up – they always had some inherently selfish reason to start with.

The question she was now faced with, however, was what was Jaune's reason? Did he help others because he felt guilty for something? Was he gaining something out of it that she couldn't tell?

She just couldn't tell. He was either too simple a person for her to see the obvious or had motives so complex that she couldn't figure it out just yet.

A part of her felt bad for doubting him – all things considered so far, he did seem like an inherently good person, but she really just felt something was a little off with him.

If nothing else, it was odd how he operated. No matter how quick he was to rush to the defense of others, no matter how intensely he stood up for them, not once did he exhibit any anger at the discrimination itself nor did he ever seem particularly satisfied with his efforts.

It was almost as if he was doing everything on autopilot or something.

Even now, as the professor continued her lecture, Jaune merely sat where he was, taking no notes but instead just listening intently. He looked more like a android than an actual person with how mechanically he seemed to function.

Then, suddenly, his stare flickered from the professor to her and Blake uncharacteristically turned away from him as though guilty of some horrible crime.

She took this time to pretend to take some more notes, trying to slow her suddenly beating heart at how much pressure seemed to be directed her way now.

It lasted only a second or two at the most, but to her it felt as though it'd been an hour or two. She exhaled quietly in relief when the pressure let up and Jaune turned his attention back to the professor.

That'd been a little close. Just because she was interested in seeing what made him tick didn't mean she was eager to actually confront him about it or anything. After all, interested or not, she still had her own goals to focus on.

Though she'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious if he'd be willing to help her out sometime.


It was now the final class of the day, that being combat class. And as was usual, pretty much everyone eagerly looked forward to it. Even if they weren't called on to spar at some point, the fights themselves provided some nice entertainment if nothing else.

Jaune, however, didn't share the sentiment.

Battle was never something he really enjoyed. Competition with others over anything was honestly rather dumb to him. Certainly, it helped to improve themselves, hence the usefulness of sparring, but obsessing over winning or having a good time during it was counter-productive in all sorts of ways, robbing them of what they should truly be focusing on:

Defeating 'evil.' Helping others.

He closed his eyes for a split second after sitting down in stands and took a deep breath.

Right, right. He'd called home that first day, after classes had finished, just like he'd sworn to himself to do. And his parents had once more reminded him of his goal here, well, one of his goals, really.

Alas, achieving such a goal was much easier said than done. But for the sake of his family, he'll try. However, he'll still prioritize on his own goal first.

Seeing as he'll be here for four years, he should hopefully have plenty of time to do so. That said, he sure as hell hoped it wouldn't actually take that long to achieve it.

"Think you'll be called on today?" Pyrrha suddenly asked him as she sat by his side. Nora and Ren followed just seconds afterwards.

Jaune shrugged as he focused his attention on the redhead. "Maybe. Either way, it is what it is."

By this point, team RWBY arrived along with the few remaining teams and sat near them. And apparently they'd overheard Pyrrha's question and his answer somehow.

"Ah come on, Jaune," Yang began. "Not looking forward to some fun?"

Yang had already been called up during the first week and she'd most certainly enjoyed her time in the arena below, both the spar itself and when she'd won.

While he'd never condemn such behavior, it was again not something he'd condone either.

He shook his head. "Not really. Sparring isn't really something I enjoy."

"Really?" Pyrrha sounded genuinely surprised. "But competition is meant to be a good thing, Jaune. It helps us improve."

"The only competition I'm interested in is the one against myself," he said without hesitation. "It's one's own limits that one should be striving to triumph over. The competition you and the others think of is trying to beat someone else. And if you'll forgive my bluntness, I couldn't care less about that."

As was becoming common, his team and team RWBY were left silent in the wake of his answer.

"Whoa…" Nora said, breaking the silence between them. "That's pretty profound! But! Nothing wrong with wanting to break some bones, right?!" She said this with a hearty laugh that had some other people nearby hastily shuffling away from her.

Jaune smirked slightly, bemused. "If that's what excites you, I can't tell you otherwise."

"Hmm, still…" Weiss now spoke up, looking thoughtful. "What you just said… it's worth noting."

Ah, he could imagine why. Given the kind of person she seemed to be, Weiss was the type that felt she had to be better than others. Whether that was because she felt she had to live up to her own expectations or that of others was unknown to him, but it seemed his words had helped her just now.

"But there's also nothing wrong with wanting to show our stuff, right?" Ruby then said with a smile. "After all, there's nothing more awesome than two warriors clashing, exchanging blow after blow before eventually ending up in mutual defeat and renewed respect-!"

"Hey, easy there, Rubes," Yang interrupted teasingly. "This isn't like those martial arts movies you watch."

"She's not entirely wrong, however," Ren suddenly chipped in. "Competition can help build healthy relationships between individuals. And of course, it can also motivate them to improve even more."

From where she sat beside him, Pyrrha nodded enthusiastically. "Indeed! That's why competitions can be fun, Jaune."

Clearly, all that talk just now had been for his benefit, not necessarily theirs. Still, though he will admit they all had a point…

"And I understand that," he began carefully as the professor entered the arena below, the students settling in as class was about to start. "Still, it's just never been something that's excited me."

It was clear some of the others wanted to respond to his lack of enthusiasm, but by the time they looked ready to retort, class had already started.

And professor Goodwitch was nothing if not right to the point. Going over some additional tips and pointers from the last class they'd had, she wasted no time calling up students to spar.

The first week or two of combat class was said to first focus on getting every single student to engage in at least one spar, that way the professor had a rough idea of how they fought and start to pair them up later in the semester against others that were sometimes good matches for their abilities or bad matches, that way they could be made aware of their own strengths and weaknesses and learn how to adjust.

This was something Jaune silently approved of. Even if someone was, objectively speaking, more powerful and skilled than another person, the weaker individual may easily triumph over the stronger one simply due to their particular abilities or skillset being too incompatible with the other's.

For example, a powerful close range combatant may be felled effortlessly by someone who excels at long range combat or is exceptionally skilled at setting deadly traps. A jack of all trades, like his partner appeared to be, could be outdone by a true specialist in close, mid, or long-range combat, though to that same token, Pyrrha would have plenty of other options available to her in such scenarios.

Sadly, this didn't seem to be something most of the others realized. Instead, they seemed to focus more on having a good fight or being a bit too prideful in their victories right now. And so, as the spars begun and went on, several of the winners returned to the stands without having learned any real lessons and the same went for some of the losers too.

Jaune prayed that such attitudes would change later down the line, if only for their safety when finally let out into the field.

Time went by quickly, and he critiqued every combatant he saw, judging their strengths, their weaknesses, and planning to give them some advice later if at all possible. Sadly, he knew his future errand wouldn't go too well; not many liked being told what they'd been too sloppy about, especially if told by someone their age. This went doubly so for those that won their spars easily enough.

From beside him, he could see Pyrrha , Weiss, and Blake taking mental notes on each student, but unlike him who intended to help the others improve themselves, they clearly intended to utilize that info to help them triumph over them in spars should they ever face off.

As for the rest of his friends, they were more focused on enjoying the combat down below, though Ren was the natural exception to this, more focused on keeping Nora under control. Other than that, his fellow male was clearly trying to study them for weaknesses too in the same vein as the other three.

Inwardly, he sighed. Again, it wasn't really his place to judge them, but seeing as they all intended to become huntsmen and huntresses, shouldn't it be better to help each other improve for the greater good?

Then, as if life itself wished to mess with him, the next sparring session was announced.

"Cardin Winchester and Jaune Arc," professor Goodwitch called out. "The two of you, please step up to-."

"May I face off against someone different, professor?" Jaune immediately called out to her.

Everyone turned his way. The professor locked eyes with him, confused to say the least, but her stern glare demanded an answer to her question. "And why is that, Mr. Arc?"

"Yeah, why's that? Scared to fight me?" a tall brunet – Cardin – called out from a few rows over. His very posture radiated arrogance.

Jaune shook his head in response to the latter's cocky question. "The purpose of these spars is for us to gain combat experience against a myriad of different opponents. Against those that our skillsets match up horribly against so that we learn how to adapt as needed," he replied to the professor as he calmly stood up. "And I fear that Cardin will not learn from losing to me nor I from winning against him."

Many 'Ooohs' and 'Aaaaahhs' and 'burrrnnnns!' echoed throughout the room in response to his words, confusing him.

As for Cardin, the large and brawny teen stood up, utterly pissed. "Oh, you're dead, you little shit! Professor, let me kick his ass!"

Jaune looked to the irate Cardin and then all around him at the clearly amused students in complete confusion.

It was obvious from even a glance what kind of person Cardin is – a cocky and hotheaded individual that focused more on sheer brute strength than on technique or strategy. He's met many like him before in his travels. Sparring with him would do nothing more than earn his eternal ire. Only a truly brutal experience would be able to teach one such as him the importance of expanding his horizons and that was something he couldn't provide his fellow classmate.

And he in turn wouldn't learn anything new from fighting Cardin. After all, he's fought many like him before, all of whom had been far superior to the teen currently in just about all respects.

It was therefore obvious that a spar between them would only end in one way and Jaune couldn't even remotely expect anyone else to learn anything substantial from it either.

So, it was equally obvious that for everyone's benefit, he should fight someone else… right? Right?

However, the professor didn't seem to share his unspoken sentiments here nor did any of the other students.

"While you make a point, Mr. Arc, you two are still among the few that have yet to fight at all, so it must be done. Also, how the spar between you both will go is not something that you can decide in advance without any prior reference." She glared at him as she spoke. "Now, go and change, you two. We've only so much time left until class ends. Ah, and Mr. Winchester, do watch your mouth. You're free to speak as you wish outside of class, but in here, I expect manners, understood?"

"Oh, perfectly," Cardin said with a vicious and angry grin on his face as he turned in Jaune's direction, glaring at him before walking off towards the locker room.

Jaune could only stare in mild bewilderment when the others around him looked at him and started to cheer. Apparently, his statements had been quite amusing to them.

His friends included.

"Nice one, Jaune!" Yang said, ribbing him a little. "Now hurry and go kick that prick's ass!"

"Hmph, rather arrogant of you to say such things… but I will admit you do make a point," spoke Weiss, bemused.

"Go kill him, fearless leader!" Nora exclaimed eagerly. "Break one of his legs for me!"

"Quite the challenge you've issued him, Jaune," Pyrrha said next, looking impressed for some reason.

"N-No, that's not what I-," Jaune began, wanting so badly to clear up this misunderstanding.

"Mr. Arc, do hurry and get ready," the professor interrupted before he could even continue.

"…Understood."

Letting out a quiet sigh, Jaune made his way from the stands and to the locker room, some of the other students shouting out some stock phrases of support as he left. And once he got to the locker room, it was just in time to see Cardin, having quickly changed and armed himself, walking out the exit that led to the arena.

"Don't take too long in here, Jauney boy – I want to enjoy this fight as much as I can before class ends," he growled out as he took off.

Alone, Jaune could only shake his head in sheer disbelief. This wasn't what he'd anticipated.

Alas, it'd be wrong of him to back down now that things have progressed this way. As such, all he could do was resolve to do what he could.

"…Maybe I can help him, after all…" he mumbled as he thought, opening the locker that contained his clothes and blades.

He unceremoniously changed, but as he did so, a certain look came over him.

Although resolved to see this through to the end now, he still stood by what he'd said just moments ago. Cardin was not someone who'd change his combat methods unless given substantial reason to. And again, that'd really only happen if he were to find himself in a true life or death battle, something he wouldn't wish on anyone.

But perhaps… perhaps if he forced him just hard enough… tricked him into viewing the spar as a truly dangerous situation for him, then maybe…

As he thought, Jaune's gaze sharpened.

While calling it a plan would be generous at best, he had an idea on what to do now. It was now a simple matter of executing it.

Fully changed into his combat clothes and armed, he marched forth with purpose.

Time to begin the lesson.


Glynda mentally sneered at the arrogance Cardin Winchester radiated.

Really now, it was too early in the year for this shit.

But it was hardly nothing new. Plenty of students, both past and current, were a lot like Cardin in some respects. It was only natural to desire being number one amongst their peers and with a certain level of strength and skill came great confidence, if not outright arrogance.

She'd been the same way once upon a time… at least up until her first true mission, where she'd nearly died. And thanks to her brashness back then, her teammates had been severely wounded. Though they'd thankfully pulled through in one piece, that event had been the wake up call she needed to realize how ridiculous she'd been acting.

Most of the new students were in dire need of this lesson, though she prayed it wouldn't be through the same way she'd experienced.

"He better not have run off," Cardin muttered from nearby, lazily holding his mace over his right shoulder.

Glynda tried not to roll her eyes. Yes, Cardin in particular needed that lesson.

And perhaps even one Jaune Arc as well. For although she silently agreed with his words, the matter-of-fact tone he'd spoken in had irked her somewhat. Granted, she'd no idea of his combat prowess – though Ozpin had looked impressed from whatever he'd seen during initiation – but even so, it was rather bold of him to claim victory before the battle even occurred.

In any case, he and Cardin were among the few left that have yet to fight, so might as well have this done here and now rather than let whatever animosity the latter now held for Jaune brew for any longer.

And speaking of the blond, he walked out onto the arena just now, dressed and armed.

Glynda blinked and almost unconsciously took a step back.

Back up in the stands, Jaune Arc had looked like a serious enough person, if somewhat awkward and quiet. But now, something about his very presence was different.

What she looked upon now wasn't a student, but rather a warrior, something she usually only saw amongst those her age.

His intense gaze was locked directly onto Cardin, who seemed to sense the same thing she did and took a slight step back, only to catch himself and forcefully step forward, grimacing in anger.

"Took your sweet time, Arc. Were you really getting cold feet?" Cardin called out.

The blond ignored his provocation and stood exactly ten yards away from Cardin, his posture straight, his body relaxed, but with an incredible deal of tension somehow visible all around him.

The students watching from the stands quieted down instantly as Glynda now stepped forward, looking in between the two teens.

"…Anything else to say, Mr. Arc?" she asked, somehow sensing him preparing to speak now.

He nodded and then proceeded to address Cardin. "I'll only be using one sword, Cardin. That, and perhaps my fists and legs as well. I'll make sure to call out my attacks, to give you ample time to prepare yourself…. I can only hope now that it'll be enough to help you."

The silence was absolutely deafening. Everyone was taken aback by his words, even Glynda herself.

The silence didn't last long, however as an irate Cardin bristled. "Oh, screw you! As if I'll need your advice to kick your ass!"

Jaune didn't immediately respond verbally. Instead, he took up a stance, drawing his right blade and wielding it with both hands. Cardin, still shaking with anger, took up a stance of his own, one that suited his aggressive personality.

"I'll start with an overhead swing," Jaune then said, his gaze never leaving his opponent. "Spread your legs a few more inches. Make sure to lean back when you block. Professor, we're ready."

Glynda narrowed her eyes, not in anger, but in concentration. Once again, there was no hint of arrogance in the blond teen's voice. He was dead serious.

But why act this way? For what purpose?

"…Remember," she began, pushing these questions to the back of her mind for now. "Keep track of how much aura you have. The very second either of your gauges fall to the red, I will stop this battle immediately. I will also stop it the very second I think things have escalated too far… and the offender will be punished appropriately. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Yeah."

With the two teens' answers, Glynda stepped back until she was to the side and glanced up at the monitor above as their aura gauges appeared on it.

And then…

"Begin."

Cardin made the first move – or rather, he tried to.

But Jaune was much faster.

In a veritable instant, he closed the distance between them and went for an overhead swing, every muscle in his body dedicating themselves to the action. His blue eyes practically glimmered with determination.

The way he moved, the gleam in those eyes… in the split second that Glynda took this all in, she immediately felt the urge to step in and stop him, fearing for Cardin's safety.

So did Cardin, the armored teen only barely able to guard against the strike – and by doing the very same thing Jaune had advised him to do.

Sword met mace, metal booming against metal with such force and volume that it was like hearing thunder. The arena itself seemed to rattle from the power behind the blow.

Cardin, having been unprepared for that kind of strength, could only stumble back with wide eyes full of shock, even a smidgen of horror.

Jaune began to close the distance yet again, his eyes blazing. "Guard your right," he commanded.

There was a millisecond long lag as Cardin processed that simple command before he immediately acted on it – and once more, proved to be wise in doing so. For Jaune spun and slashed with his sword, striking against Cardin's mace.

But this time, Cardin wasn't able to block fully. Having hastily tried to block with just one hand on his weapon, his mace was knocked aside and the sword grazed his side. It really only nicked his armor, but judging by the gash that appeared on it as it made contact, everyone watching would swear he took that hit head on.

It sent Cardin sprawling to the floor with a yelp and he wildly started to scramble for his mace.

"I'm going to stomp on your left hand," Jaune said, his voice ever so calm. "Move."

The very hand that had reached out for the mace immediately retreated just in time to avoid being crushed, Jaune's boot smashing into the floor with terrifying force. Aura or not, that would've crushed bones with ease.

"Going to swipe outwards… roll!" Jaune didn't even give Cardin a full millisecond to do so, already swiping to his side with just one hand on his sword.

Cardin did manage to roll, however, but the strength behind the swing was great enough for the resulting air pressure to send him flying.

He smashed into the nearby wall, his aura gauge dipping from the impact.

Glynda, utterly speechless, could only watch as Cardin recovered and stood, just in time for Jaune to lightly kick the mace back to him.

She watched as the brunet caught the weapon with a stupefied and terrified expression on his face. And this time, when he backed up, he didn't try to take any steps forward.

"Your back is to the wall now," Jaune called out as he approached. "What'll you do, Cardin? Charge at me? Wait for me to attack then deflect it at the last possible second? Dodge outright?"

Jaune's pace picked up while Cardin started to move to his left, trying to get away from the wall. "…I'm going to throw my sword, then hit you with a left cross."

He then threw his sword with great ferocity, the blade little more than a wisp of light as it flew towards Cardin.

The teen in question tilted to the side to avoid being struck then tried to outright jump further to the side, but by the time he did that, Jaune was already up in his face, left fist cocked.

Rather than try to block or dodge, Cardin let out a battle cry and tried to attack, hoping to hit him before he got hit. He swung his mace with both hands, his muscle bulging from under his armor as he put his all into it…

Only for Jaune to reach out with his right and stop the attack by grabbing onto the mace's hilt. Then he pulled on it, bringing Cardin ever closer and struck him with a left cross.

Jaune let out a loud grunt as he did so, his very form seemingly glowing as he did so, a possible sign of how much strength he was using.

The sound the blow made on impact was great enough to make even Glynda wince as Cardin smashed into the floor and literally bounced off it like some kind of human ball. His aura dropped well into the yellow, the few blows Jaune had unleashed having been so strong that even when blocked or narrowly avoided, Cardin's aura had suffered for it.

More over and much to Glynda's amazement, when Cardin slowly got up, it was with a quickly forming bruise on the side of his face now.

Aura was something akin to a cushion, able to hamper any and all incoming damage enough to avoid injury for the most part, even lessen how much pain one would normally take. But like any actual cushion, aura had clear and defined limits. It could only cushion so much force.

So for Jaune's punch to deal a bruise even though Cardin obviously had his aura up…

Up above, some of the students gasped and whispered as they saw this.

By all rights, Glynda really should step in now, stop the spar before it continued. But for some reason, she remained rooted to where she stood.

And so, all of them merely watched as Jaune calmly picked up his thrown sword and walked up to Cardin as the teen took up a hesitant stance.

What followed next was now obvious to them all.

"Diagonal slash to your leg. Deflect it."

"Upwards swing to your chin. Tilt your head back."

"Spin kick to the midsection. Guard."

"Elbow strike to the face. Intercept it."

And on and on Jaune went, uttering what attack he'd unleash next and how to react to it. Minutes stretched on as he simply kept on going, always attacking while Cardin remained constantly on the defensive.

At some point, Jaune stopped providing his opponent any time to comprehend his advice and prepare accordingly. And not long after that, he stopped providing advice outright.

He attacked with his sword, then with his fists over this brief period of time. Cardin was forced to be ready each and every time for the unrelenting force behind each blow, which rattled his bones whenever he had no other choice but to block them head-on.

And to everyone's amazement, especially Glynda's, Cardin started to improve noticeably, his form becoming more sure of itself every time he was able to semi-successfully avoid being struck directly. Though still slow and sloppy overall, it was already a far cry from how he was in the beginning.

But as good as he was becoming – forced into becoming – his expression was still one of frantic terror, the brunet no doubt believing himself to be in genuine danger as Jaune's assault continued. The nicks and scratches on his mace and armor didn't help at putting him at ease nor did the bruises all over keep him from wincing in pain every now and then.

Then, as suddenly as this all had begun, it came to a stop.

Striking with one final overhead swing that was blocked, Jaune promptly kicked Cardin hard in the gut, dropping his aura dangerously low into the red zone as he went tumbling onto his rear.

Cardin could only sit there as Jaune rested his blade right over his shoulder. With how low his aura now was, it'd be so very easy for the blond to cut into him for real this time. So, naturally, he froze in place.

And Jaune merely looked down on him, literally, that is, his blue eyes boring into his very being it seemed like.

"I believe that's the match… right, professor?" he said a few seconds later as everyone seemed to come out of the trance they'd ended up in.

"Yes," Glynda replied after a second's delay. "I believe it is."

Nodding, Jaune sheathed his sword and then, much to everyone's surprise, held out a hand to Cardin, who stared at it as though it wasn't real. But after a moment, the burly teen reluctantly accepted it and was helped back onto his feet with ease by the blond teen.

"I hope I was able to help, Cardin…," Jaune murmured quietly, though everyone heard thanks to how silent they all were. "…And that, should you so desire it, we'll be able to get along from now on. You've the potential to be a great huntsman… and I'd like to help you achieve that potential, just as I want to help everyone else too."

Cardin, on his part, could only gape, unable to so much as sputter out a single word, not even make a single sound.

Not that Jaune waited for a reply, for he began to walk off back to the locker room to change, but not before nodding respectfully to a still stunned Glynda.

And as Jaune left the arena, the bell signaling the end of the class rang out, startling them all. It would take them all a few minutes before finally finding it in themselves to leave, talking quietly amongst themselves over what had happened.

While Cardin's teammates came down to help him to the locker room and then to the infirmary to get his bruises looked at, Glynda watched as Jaune Arc emerged, dressed in his uniform and strolled over to where his team as well as team RWBY were waiting for him.

She eyed the blond teen with a whole new perspective in mind.

Looks like there truly was more to him than what meets the eye.


So, as can be clearly seen, Jaune is definitely no pushover, ha ha. That said, wouldn't quite say he's outright OP, at least not in the grand scheme of things. Certainly, compared to other students, he's strong, but not completely unstoppable. Future chapters will show him struggling against certain other characters, and struggle greatly at that too.

Also, expect future action scenes to be equally more epic. What was seen in this chapter is yet another small little taste of what to expect. Once Jaune really gets going is when the action gets a bit more… well, absurd, I suppose would be the appropriate word, though maybe not in the way you guys may be expecting now.

In any case, to sum this all up, Jaune's nowhere near his full potential just yet. And he'll have plenty of challenge to help stimulate his growth… both in power and as a character. Hope you'll look forward to it.

Until next time, everyone. Take care!