When Jaune woke up this morning, did he expect to be faced with the sight of a titanium mace, wielded by the brute he had previously bumped into, quite literally so, leaving an understandably sour first impression, being swung down to crush his cranium and other vital parts of his skeletal structure?

No, no he didn't.

Just as it was about to come into contact, Jaune's instincts kicked in and he flung himself to the side into a roll, ending up crouched behind his opponent who was currently attempting to pry his obscenely destructive weapon from the wooden floor it had embedded itself in.

Taking this opportunity, Jaune pulled out his sword and swung it at the struggling teen, his aura and armor softening the blow but still managing to send him tumbling into a heap, his hand still firmly gripping the hilt of his trapped weapon.

Having finally toppled the goliath, Jaune raised his left fist, confusing those present as Jaune didn't strike them as the brute force type, however it turns out a simple punch was not what the boy had in mind as a powder blue mist appeared over his clenched fingers as they began to be enveloped in ice that formed and icy gauntlet around his fist.

From the stands of awestruck spectators, Blake remembered when she had seen it before, when she had attacked him in the forest and he used it as a substitute for his shield, but from the way things were going, it looked like he could use it for offensive purposes as well.

Seeing the icy structure hovering dangerously above him, Cardin tugged at the hilt once more, putting all his strength into one final effort as it began to give way, whilst Jaune, caught up in the joy he received from pulling off the technique, pulled back his fist before thrusting his arm towards the boy's face.

Only to be interrupted by a great mass crashing into his side, sending him barreling off the stage, hitting the ground with a dull thud.

Frustrated at the boy having, even if only temporarily, gaining the upper hand, Cardin heaved himself up with a scowl, lifting his weapon and approaching the edge of the stage where he would finish off the insect. Before he was able to drop his mace onto the groaning boy below, Glynda called out

"Enough!" she exclaimed as Cardin reluctantly returned his weapon, reassuring the professor that young Jaune's ribs would live to see another day before turning to the spectators "Now, as you can see, Mr Arc's aura has dropped down into the red, perhaps next time he should not let his confidence get the better of him" she spoke formally, though Jaune felt the sting from her passive aggressive berate.

Meanwhile, in the stands, a certain flame haired huntress and green suited huntsman sat in awe at what they had just witnessed, Ren looked contemplative, was Jaune really able to pull that power from his sword like he'd told them? Was that even possible?

Pyrrha was as impressed as she was when she first witnessed the spectacle, though he had told her immediately about his talent, so why had he told the others that it was from his weapon? She couldn't quite place a finger on a definite reason, but something told her it had something to do with the
Schnee Heiress that took up most of his time nowadays...

Both were led to the same hypotheses, was Jaune hiding something from them?

"So... do you have two sets of ears?" Jaune was sat with Blake in the cafeteria, having arrived earlier than the others and were currently sitting on their own, and Jaune decided that he just had to know. She looked back at him with a scowl.

"We are not discussing this" she spoke indignantly, turning back to her novel in an attempt to block out the boy's questioning.
"Sorry, I just thought it was cool, I wish I had four ears, I could hear EVERYTHING people said, like that Dare Rebel guy on Webflix" he fantasized as Blake looked up to him again with a sharp look

"You have ICE in your genetic make-up, I think you've got enough special abilities for the time being" she stated before returning to her book as Jaune shrugged, laying on his arms and looking off into space. Well, he supposed she was right.

Jaune sighed as he thought back to his fight with one Cardin Winchester earlier that day, he had taken on multiple assassins and come out on top but couldn't beat your everyday school bully, maybe he'd grown accustomed to fighting hordes of average Grimm and had lost his touch when it came to one on one combat.

Though from what he'd heard when half knocked out earlier, Glynda mentioned an upcoming trip to some 'Forever Fall' place, or maybe she was just giving a cute nickname to what Jaune had just been through. He really would prefer it to be the latter...

"Umm, Jaune?" A red gloved hand waved in his peripheral vision, causing the boy to look up from his stupor to see the flame-haired girl looking at him with a worried expression.

"Are you alright? You haven't contributed to the conversation for the last five minutes" Initially confused by her statement, Jaune looked around the table to see 5 new pairs of eyes focused on him, causing Jaune to nearly shriek in horror.

"When did you guys get here?!" he questioned frantically as the remaining members of Lavender White and Pyro Black now joined them in the time he had spent in his stupor.

"The better question is, what kind of leader doesn't notice when the rest of his team sits at his table?" Weiss scorned, offended at the apparent lack of manners the boy was displaying.

"Well actually I'd say the best question is why you wear a mini tiara and high heels when fighting monsters, but you're right, sorry. Next time I promise I'll give you all the attention you want" Jaune responded honestly, not quite sure when he had started to question those kinds of things as Weiss glared at him for treating her as if she was a spoiled little girl.

"You obviously just don't understand the privileges of elegant combat gear, luckily you are in an academy which teaches you such things, and speaking of which" Weiss spoke, standing up and removing herself from the table before turning back to Jaune "We should get going, class will be starting soon and Oobleck is already half considering giving up on getting anything history related to remain in that skull of yours"

Jaune hastily swiped an apple from his tray and got up to join the heiress, but before the duo could leave, Pyrhha spoke up
"Wait a moment, we will come with you!" she cheerfully suggested as she began to sit up but as Jaune was about to reply

"We'll be fine on our own, thank you" and without any further explanation, Weiss had grabbed hold of Jaune's arm and begun to drag him out the hall who sputtered at her to slow down. Pyrrha's eyes drifted back to the floor as she sat back down, was Weiss really that distrustful of her?

Noting the evident sadness in her eyes, Lie Ren nodded as he confirmed it, something had to be done about the heiress's barrier, else she segregated their leader not just from his team, but all of them. This could not continue, as a teammate and a friend, he had to settle this.

"Throughout recorded time, there have been accounts of many great huntsman and huntresses, some famed for their minds, some for their might, however, there have also been those who were imprinted in legend as another kind of fighter all together..."

In the brightly lit classroom, a hyperactive professor zoomed around the class, conveying his knowledge at rapid fire speeds as a class of troubled students try desperately to comprehend it. Lie Ren was doing relatively well, marking down the main points of the incessant ramble as Nora, not quite as tactfully as she might assume, took quick glances at his paper before scrawling it down herself.

Next on the row sat one Weiss Schnee, sitting in between them and Jaune as always, keeping a hawk's eye on Jaune to make sure he was paying attention, having already made sufficient notes on the subject. Across the team sat their friend team, with Yang and Ruby giggling away, much to the chagrin of their more studious teammate, Blake.

The spartan in gold remained focused on her studies, which would seem normal to anyone, unless you were observant and had noticed that in previous lessons, Pyrhha had occasionally taken glances behind her to witness the antics of the snow haired boy and his overbearing guardian, but not today.
Perhaps she felt she was no longer welcome, this was another thing that had to be rectified.

"On some very rare occasions, there have emerged powerful huntsman and huntresses who possess a rather odd power. As we all know, aura is the power of the soul, and dust is the power of nature, but what if you were able to combine these two?" the professor stated as several ears in the audience piqued in interest at those words.

"Dust, is a resource we make use of all around the world, for garments, ammunition and weapons themselves, however there have been instances in which one has used the power of dust, to combine it with their very soul" with this, pairs of sharp lilac, icy blue and honest green eyes all turned to one boy before returning their attention to the lecture that was suddenly very intriguing.

"This has granted a great variety of powers, perhaps the most notably being granting the user synthesis with an entire force of nature, examples being synthesizing with dust forged from fire, granting you the ability to manipulate it at will or even perhaps make it a part of their very being.
Though scholars such as I have been skeptical of such a concept, it is a definite possibility.

Aura is a direct extension of our soul, and thus it is able to manifest and manipulate the physical world, so it is only natural that it can be, well, manipulated itself. It is unclear just how and under what conditions, but there have been cases in which a person has successfully done this and granted them self a power unlike any other.

However, due to the risks that come with it and the uncertainty of after effects, it is very dangerous and so it is heavily discouraged. It is also viewed in such a way because of certain... actions that have been carried out certain individuals who were consumed by their power and let it control them.

So, I beg of you, please refrain from getting any ideas" Oobleck spoke seriously as Jaune let out a nervous chuckle as Weiss looked... guilty all of a sudden.

"Huh, they sound like a bunch of freaks if you ask me" came the open-minded as always insight from one young Winchester as he laid back in his chair
"I mean the faunus are born that way so at least they have that, but these guys are doing it by choice, why would you voluntarily wanna become a circus freak like them? It's not natural" he scoffed, as a pair of yellow eyes bore into him from the front.

"And I suppose you've met your fair share? As you seem to have quite an imprinted opinion of them" Blake pried as Cardin simply scoffed
"Don't have to. Only a total wackjob would do that kind of thing to them self" he said as the girl besides Jaune looked down at her desk, her bangs hiding her expression from all except one.

A hand was suddenly on top of hers as she turned her head to see Jaune giving her a small sad smile, which she should have felt warmed by if not for the cold temperature of his touch being a cruel reminder of what she had made him become.

As the class filed out in the usual manner, Jaune was exiting with Weiss, with the casual bump on the shoulder from Cardin to send Jaune off on his way, earning a sharp glare from the heiress as she supported him to prevent him from falling down. He smiled gratefully at her but she simply sighed, sometimes the boy was just too helpless.

Just as they were about to make their way back to their dorm together, something took hold of Jaune's blazer and without time to even check who it was he was whisked backwards, away from the heiress who exclaimed "Hey!" as the huntsman was snatched from her grasp and pulled down the corridor and around the corner, out of sight.

Ren looked back, wide-eyed, he knew she was impulsive but this was rather extreme... maybe his intervention wasn't necessary after all.

Hearing the door to the rooftop slam shut, Jaune was finally released from his grip as he turned to face his captor, ready to defend himself if necessary. However instead of one of Cardin's lackeys like he would have expected, there in front of him stood a familiar girl smiling sheepishly back at him.

"...Flame-Girl?" he asked as she nodded, Jaune had wondered how one of Cardinal Red's members was able to attain such monster strength with such speed, this made more sense as he knew that this girl was in an entire league of her own when it came to that.

"I'm sorry, I know it was wrong of me to drag you here without asking but, I need to ask you something" she admitted bashfully as Jaune could hear the nervousness in her tone, he decided to hear her out.

"When you first showed me your power, I thought it was spectacular, even if it was a little unusual, I thought it was beautiful. You have a gift, Jaune.
So why, why are you hiding it from the rest of us?" At this, Jaune looked down, unable to meet her pleasing gaze.

"It's not like I enjoy keeping it a secret, but these powers, and the reason I have them. The reason... I stole them, they are personal, to me and to Weiss as well. It's something that I've done a lot of good with, but at a cost" Jaune grimaced as he thought back to the house he used to call home, the home he left behind.

"Jaune, I don't know what you've been through. But when we met I saw it, you were happy with your power, you felt joy from showing me what you could do, it is personal because its part of who you are, and none of us will judge you for that. And I think you think so too, so, is... is Weiss part of the reason you won't say anything?" Pyrhha asked, and was met with silence that told her everything.

"She's just looking out for me, you heard what Oobleck said. People who have done what I have are looked down upon, those certain individuals? They don't sound like your model huntsmen to me. I... I can't take that risk" Jaune spoke, though to Pyrrha it seemed as though he cursed the words that left his mouth, like they weren't his, but instead...

"Is that your choice, or her's?" she questioned, Jaune didn't reply "Listen, I know you two are close but you can't let Weiss control you like that, she's not your only friend anymore, you have teammates now, and Ruby, Yang and Blake too. And me... Think about that, would you? Please"

Jaune looked up at her, he knew she was exactly right, but was it really that easy? Blake hid her ears behind a black bow, regardless of whether or not she was around friends. Still, a part of him still desired for the idealistic, for the possibility that he could truly believe in his new found friends...

"I'll see you later, then" Pyrrha placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder before turning and heading down the stairwell towards the dorms where no doubt a fuming Weiss was scouring the hallways for him.

As Jaune finally decided to follow , the sound of someone heaving them self up from behind caused him to turn to see none other than Cardin Winchester staring back at him with a less than friendly grin gracing his features.

"Oh Jaune" he chuckled, bringing himself up to tower over the teen "I couldn't help but overhear the two of you talking from my dorm room and I gotta say, I'm impressed, man. From what I heard and your little show during combat training, I have a sneaking suspicion that you have had a little, shall we say, fun with dust, and turned yourself into a human snowman"

"Cardin, please, just forget what you just heard, it's not important" Jaune attempted to reason with the taller boy, but was only met by another laugh
"Oh calm down, I'm not gonna rat out a friend like you, Jauney-Boy!" he exclaimed as Jaune eyed him suspiciously.

"Friends, us?" he asked, Cardin smirked and brought Jaune into a rough headlock, pressing him against his chest
"The best! And as long as you're there for me when I need you, that's not gonna be changing anytime soon!" he stated proudly, before noticing something off.

Was it getting colder?

Looking down at his arm, Cardin's eyes went wide as the spots where Jaune had been grabbing onto had begun to freeze over, causing Cardin to shove Jaune off of him, onto the floor as he pulled back his now frosty arm.

"Whoa, hey now Jaune. That's not the way to treat your best pal! You wouldn't want me to go show this to Goodwitch now would you?" he threatened, the previous sadistic joy temporarily slipping from his voice as he attempted to defrost his arm.

"Tell you what, I'll forgive you if you handle the extra readings Oobleck gave me to do, sound good?" he spoke, his previous smirk reappearing as he begun to climb down into the open window that led to his dorm room, turning back to Jaune one last time

"Be careful Jaune, you wouldn't want me as your enemy, now would you?" he jeered before disappearing into the building as Jaune clenched his fists, the area around him beginning to grow small layers of frost here and there as a light blue mist began to coat the air.

He sat in anger, not directed at Pyrrha or even Cardin, but at the boy that stared back at him through the frost.

He had thought that when he had changed, he would be different, but no, even after all he'd been through, he remained indecisive and weak, hurting those around him without a second thought. So far he had let this power overcome him, let it shape what kind of life he lived whilst he stayed the same timid blond underneath.

No more. The Jaune Arc in that reflection was not a stranger, it was him, he's not the same as he was before, but that just meant he had changed, the only thing he could do was make the most of it. He had promised Weiss he would become a great huntsman, and now he had a team to look out for as well, there was no sense in dilly dallying, as a certain someone might say.

This was it, he would not hide anymore, there was now nothing that could stand in his way!

From now on, he would make his own decisions, he would be his own man!

A beep from his pocket interrupted his inspirational musings as he pulled it out and opened the touch screen, suddenly, a familiar voice sounded
"Heyy, Jauney! Ice-man! It's Cardin, I forgot, rations are running a little low down here in Cardinal Camp, so could you go fetch us some snacks, buddy?"

...

Juuust as soon as he got Cardin some snacks...

The Next Day

Leaves of pure autumn red coated the sky, floating daintily down to the similarly shaded grass and trees as the group of twelve students plus Glynda trekked through the forest. Jaune whistled, Beacon was renowned for its beautiful architecture and state of the art facilities, but this place was like something out of a work of art.

Jaune struggled not to lose his footing as his new buddies had ever so generously allowed him to carry the crate and collection of glass jars for the entire journey there.

Weiss looked back at him with obvious concern, he tried to return the most hopeful smile he could muster, she simply looked him up and down before turning and walking with the rest of the group, all the while still seeming isolated.

He had to admit, the last few days spent with Cardin and his group of jocks had been... well, as enjoyable as you might think as a slave under the threat of blackmail. Still, it wouldn't be much longer now, the faculty like Ozpin and Goodwitch already knew about his power so the only ones who don't know are the other students, and he'd already made up his mind about them.

Weiss was puzzled, and annoyed, about the sudden secrecy that had emerged from her partner over the last few days. It wasn't like him to keep things from her... well actually yes, it was. But not recently. Initial instincts of course led her to believe he was up to no good and required her intervention, but something about him that night stuck with her, and what he said...

"And just WHERE do you think you've been?" No later had Jaune entered the room had he been confronted by the steaming temper of the heiress as her index finger was now pointed directly at his face.

"Weiss, listen, I-"
"You get dragged off by some random student and don't come back for hours! Do you know how long I spent looking for you? I have studies to do you know, I can't always be frantically running around for you!" she interrupted, Jaune simply smiled at her words, seeing past the harsh tone she presented

"You could have been kidnapped, taken hostage, killed or worse and I wouldn't have the slightest idea! I... I was worried-"
It was her turn to be interrupted as Jaune suddenly sprung towards her with a surprise hug, causing her to go red in embarrassment "h-hey, what are you?"

"Sorry, Weiss" he whispered "I'm gonna have to go back on what I said earlier, but trust me, it's for the best, okay?"
Weiss didn't respond out of confusion but allowed the words to sink in.

For a while, they stood there, like they were the only two in the world... well, except for...

"...Sooo is he gonna notice that we're here too or...?" Nora asked Ren as he shrugged at her before returning to his desk as Nora copied the action, trying her best to ignore the love-birds at the door.

"Each of you will gather one jar's worth of red sap, however this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your team-mates, we will rendez-vouz here at four o clock, have fun!" the professor finished as Pyro Black set off together, whilst the three team members of Lavender White looked back expectantly at their leader.

"Come on buddy, let's go!" Cardin urged, grabbing Jaune by the shoulder as the teen looked up at him before turning towards his team, knowing which group he would rather spend his time with. "What's the matter? You frozen or something, come on, move it!" he barked.

Weiss's eyes widened, did he just...? Could he know...?

Jaune turned back to Cardin with a scowl on his face, just about ready to tell him exactly what the matter was when a voice interrupted him.
"Come on, get moving you two, stop wasting time!" Weiss ordered as she dragged the duo off, following the main group away from Jaune and the rest of Cardinal Red.

"...It's nothing, I'm coming" Jaune muttered, following after Cardin as they headed their own separate way.

"Umph...! Ugh, freaking slave-drivers!"

Part of Jaune was annoyed that he had been left to collect all the jars of tree sap for the group of lazy asses- ahem, best buddies, but a larger part of him was annoyed that he didn't see it coming, they did follow the typical bully handbook to the letter after all.

As he approached the quartet, resting at the bases of the dark red trees, he finally allowed his arms a rest as he dropped the jars of red sap by their feet with a grunt, happy that he was finally done.

Funny, in his old village, he seemed to remember being allergic to stuff like this, though it was probably something else that he had mistaken for the... unmistakable red sap... oh well, he was too tired to pursue that train of thought anyhow.

"Cool job, Jauney boy. Now was that so hard?" he jeered, pleased with his lapdog's work.
"Not as hard as shoehorning ice puns into all your sentences, but hey, all in a day's work as they say" he cheerfully responded, luckily Cardin didn't seem to be actually listening else he would have probably taken offence to that little comment.

"Great, great, great. Now, I bet you're wondering, why did my good ol buddy Cardin ask me to collect six jars of red sap, when there's only five of us" he spoke as smiles appeared on the rest of the team member's faces.

"That and why a school that trains young warriors to fight monsters of darkness would ever need a supply of red tree sap, yes" Jaune returned honestly, though the smirk that begun to grow on Cardin's face didn't exactly give Jaune the brightest of expectations.

"Well... come with me, and you'll find out"

Making their way up to the top of a hill overlooking a large clearing, Cardinal Red lay themselves down to hide them from sight.
Jaune eyed the team leader suspiciously "Cardin... what exactly are we doing here?"

Cardin's eyes shone with malice, he brought out a familiar cardboard box and held it in front of him
"Payback" he stated simply, eyeing up a certain member of the crowd as Jaune followed his gaze. He froze when he saw her.
"...Weiss?" he whispered, Cardin grinned at him.

"Yeah, big rich snob. Walking around like she owns the place, and to make it worse, she is constantly harassing our good friend Jaune here, always pushing and ordering him around, with no regard for what he wants, treating you like dirt, now it's your turn" he patted Jaune encouragingly.

Jaune's eyes went wide, a cold fury began to build up inside him like a storm. That bastard! He knew that Weiss and him weren't like that, he was doing this just to get at Jaune, for revenge against the boy who dared to almost make him lose a fight, and most likely for a few laughs as well.

"Jaune here managed to gather up a whole bunch of rapier wasps the other night and now we're gonna put them to work!" Cardin smiled, shaking the box a little to anger the things that resided inside.

"How the hell do you collect wasps in a cardboard box?" the one with the weird fringe, Dove, Jaune believed, asked Russell.
"The same way you are able to see without opening your eyes" he retorted, having always been confused by that.
"Fair enough" Dove nodded as Cardin smacked Dove up the head.

"Shut it, you two" Cardin barked "Now according to one of the assignments Jaune wrote for me, these nasty little guys looove sweets, and I think it's time Jaune taught her a thing or two about respect" standing up, Cardin offered a hand to Jaune, who hesitated before taking it and allowing himself to be roughly pulled to his feet.

This was it, this was the moment, as rage filled his entire being, he steeled his resolve, feeling the anger empower him as he felt the air around him begin to cool and sense the power coursing through him like it had done only once before.

"You should know, Jaune" Cardin thrust the jar into Jaune's hands "Revenge is a dish best served cold"

To that, Jaune turned to him, his snow white hair flowing unnaturally in the wind with eyes that glowed a terrifying icy blue glare as a visible mist began to emanate from the boy as he raised an arm towards a shocked Cardin.

"I couldn't agree more"

Hello! Miss me? No? Forgot completely that this story existed? Fair enough.

Been a while since I had an update, sorry about that but with end of year exams and other unrelated excuses, I have found myself a tad pre-occupied, but I hope to get back on track for now at least.

Plus, a 5000+ word chapter isn't too shabby, don't you think?

As always, I wanna take a little time to respond to the wise words of the reviewers, so here we go

Orion's Left Arm: You see, the show was a little vague about the procedure itself, I think the reason is because they want to reveal that Cinder had done it with Fire Dust Crystals and didn't want to give too much away too soon on the complexities.

For Jaune, I was deliberately vague because I didn't want to stray from canon TOO far but I hope Oobleck's little talk in this chapter gave a basis for it.

About the grammar, yes, I have noticed that when looking back at chapters, I am a relatively unexperienced author so I hope to improve over time, and I do try to amend my grammar when I see mistakes, but sometimes the doc file has been removed by the time I see it and it is rather troublesome to mend. But I will keep a closer eye on it from now on.

Thank you and I hope you enjoy the story, Orion.

Guest (about the shield) : I'm sorry if it was not to your liking but for my Jaune, I wanted to have freedom in which to vary his fighting style to accommodate for his newfound abilities. I am glad you are enjoying the story, though.

Guest (about Bro/Sis Jaune/Blake): I also enjoy the concept, I hope you enjoy their furtherinteractions and development as the story progresses!

If anyone else has any queries or comments, leave a review and I promise to get back to any questions either through PM or in my next chapter.

THANK YOU FOR READING (AS ALWAYS)!