The early morning sunlight filtered through the tent walls. It stirred Jaune into consciousness, waking him from a dream he hoped would never end.

To his great pleasure, upon opening his eyes, he realized that it had not been a dream at all.

His partner was still asleep beside him, wrapped in his arms.

He ran his hand across her body, kissing the skin of her neck and conjuring a small smile on her face.

She rolled to face him and opened her eyes slowly, still waking up herself.

"Good morning," Pyrrha said as she tilted her face up to his.

Jaune brought himself down, gently taking her lips with his. "Good morning to you too."

Pyrrha yawned before sitting up and stretching. She knocked the covers off in the process. It had slipped his mind that they had fallen asleep in this state of undress.

"Beautiful..." Jaune whispered.

"Flatterer." Said Pyrrha as she looked down at her partner.

"Seriously, it should be illegal to look like that." Jaune continued.

She made it look effortless. She seemed unphased by everything that had happened like everything was as it should be. Jaune still struggled to believe it had been real. Last night he had been acting on instinct, relying on her reactions to guide him. Meanwhile, she always knew what she wanted and how to act. She always seemed in control.

"Where did you learn all of that?" he asked.

"The same place as anyone, I guess?" she replied, lying back down beside him.

"Walking in on your parents and sisters?"

"The internet," She corrected. "Sex is a great form of stress relief. Not that I'd had a partner until now."

"You mean you...?" Jaune asked eagerly.

Pyrrha nodded with a small blush already forming. "Less often now, since we share a living space. That's one of the few things that really took some getting used to. The shower is always good for some privacy though."

She hadn't even gone into detail, but the mere idea of it excited him. Based on her expression, it seems she noticed. It would be hard not to with him pressing into her core like he was.

"It's not like you're any different. I've heard boys are much worse actually," she asked.

"Probably. I've always lived with people; seven sisters, and both parents with no locks on our bedroom doors." He replied. "So..."

"Wait, never?" she asked in genuine shock.

Jaune nodded. "I never really felt I needed to. Training was always an outlet for me and it was enough. Most nights I go to bed so tired that I fall asleep instantly."

Pyrrha hummed to herself thoughtfully.

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Please visit AO3 for the unedited version of this chapter which has this missing scene included. Link in my profile.

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As Jaune waited for her to catch her breath, a scroll alarm sounded beside them.

"Shoot!" Pyrrha suddenly cursed. "I'm sorry Jaune, it's time to get dressed. If we want to pack all this up, have a shower, and eat something before the tournament we need to get moving now. I promise you'll get a turn another time."

Jaune grabbed his clothes and got dressed, though not before watching Pyrrha do so. He soaked in the sight of her naked form, committing it to memory with as much brainpower as he could muster.

Jaune went outside and stamped out the campfire while she dismantled the tent. He also picked up the log and dragged it back to where it had come from.

Together they both raced back to Beacon as quickly and quietly as they could. Jaune headed straight for the communal showers, letting Pyrrha head back by herself. It was both a calculated attempt to save time and to avoid returning together.

When he finally made it back to the dorm, he caught Pyrrha being grilled by Nora while Ren sat politely to the side.

Jaune spared a sympathetic look for Pyrrha and mouthed 'sorry'. He grabbed what he needed and ducked into the bathroom. Jaune wasn't about to throw himself under the bus by trying to distract Nora.

Nora didn't let up for the several minutes he was in there. So when he finally came out, Jaune gave it his best attempt to help Pyrrha out.

"Hey Ren, want to go get started on breakfast? I'm starving."

No sooner than he had uttered the 'b' word, Nora seemed to forget everything she had been saying. Instead, she made sure to list all the toppings she wanted this morning. They were safe for now.

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Breakfast had come and gone with no drama. Yang's keen intuition for gossip almost got them caught though.

Pyrrha and Jaune were first up according to the match schedule. So, he was once again waiting in the center of the arena.

"Hey, Jaune!" Cardin called out from the other side. He beckoned Jaune to come closer and approached the very center himself.

It wasn't against the rules per se to speak with your opponents before a match, though it wasn't common either. Still, Cardin wouldn't try anything illegal in front of everyone like this, so he obliged.

"Yeah?" Jaune asked.

"Care to do me a favor Jauney-Boy?" Cardin asked.

"What favor?"

"Your partner over there wiped our whole team by herself. How about you leave her out of this and give us a fighting chance?"

There was no way this wasn't a ploy. He served to gain nothing by letting them outnumber him. If they had some sort of plan for taking out Pyrrha, they would have to do it when he wasn't around to interrupt them.

With that said.

"Hey, Pyrr!" Jaune shouted back to his partner. "They want to fight me two on one! Do you mind? I figure you can always step in if I'm starting to lose!"

Pyrrha shrugged her shoulders. "Sure why not!"

"Well there you have it, Cardin, she doesn't mind," Jaune stated.

"Thanks, Jauney. You're a real pal." Said Cardin as he offered Jaune a hand to shake. "May the best man win?"

Jaune shook his hand. As he did so, Jaune tried to ignore the running commentary. Dr. Oobleck was very animated about the 'marvelous show of sportsmanship on display'.

"You confident you can handle this?" Pyrrha asked when he returned.

"After last night I've got confidence in spades," Jaune said, just loud enough for her and no one else to hear. "But, well, confidence isn't everything. The plan is to work out what their secret weapon is and try to defuse it before you get involved."

The terrain indicators began to spin, there was now less than a minute until the match would begin. Jaune had no plan to speak of other than the observe first and play it safe until he could act.

Directly behind him, a desert setting rose. The sand would do nicely if he wanted to try and disorient his opponents. There were stone outcroppings that could break the line of sight too. It was a good option to start the match.

To his left and right were ocean and geyser terrain. The water would do him no favors unless Cardin somehow managed to set him completely alight.

Finally behind Cardin and Russel was a ruined urban setting. It would be hard to get past them to get there if he wanted to use the buildings as cover.

"Without further ado, our first match! Cardin Winchester and Russel Thrush versus Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos!" Doctor Oobleck loudly announced as the timer began to count down from ten.

"Make sure you're watching them, not just me. Whatever they're planning, I'll try to work it out. It's better if I get caught in their trap than you." Jaune ordered.

Five.

"Got it. Time to show off what you've got Jaune." She replied.

Four.

Three.

Jaune channeled aura to his eyes and feet, preparing for a full-speed retreat. He needed to be ready for anything. If Cardin had taught his team to fight as he does, then he was about to face off with a wide collection of skills.

Two.

One.

A horn blared. Jaune instantly retreated to the desert and he hid behind one of the stone pillars.

Okay Jaune, steady now. Just like we practiced.

Jaune slowly climbed up the rocky surface of the pillar, placing himself a mere 8 feet above the ground. Just as he'd hoped, they had circled either side to form a pincer maneuver. Unfortunately for them, he wasn't just sitting there waiting for them.

Russel was the smaller fighter, and though not always the case, it was likely that he was weaker than Cardin. Jaune shuffled towards the aura that he could sense as Russel's. When in position, he kicked off the stone, launching himself into Russel from above.

Russel must have sensed something, as he rolled out of the way of Jaune's attack.

Jaune had a few seconds before Cardin reached his current position, so he tried to make the best of it.

With his shield in front, he charged, hoping to bowl his opponent over.

"Rend!" Russel suddenly shouted.

His dual daggers scratched the surface of Jaune's shield, barely even causing him to budge. Despite this, Jaune felt the sting of a sharp edge cutting his aura.

Jaune's counter-attack was sloppy in his surprise. He managed nothing more than a simple swing with his base strength. As a result, the damage from Russel's skill was greater even through his defense. Jaune might have greater reserves, but that wasn't a trade he would want to make too often.

Jaune hadn't thought to keep a close eye on the inside of his shield, so he missed exactly what happened. He knew that that skill could cut beyond the reach of the weapon. It had to be aura related. Not even the system was capable of magic. There has always been a logical process behind every technique.

Cardin had already caught up by the time he'd managed to process that exchange, so Jaune turned and slashed at him. Though he didn't want to do it so early into the fight he activated his muscle augmentation. Not including taking any future damage, he had 23 minutes on the clock. Half that if he chose to channel aura into his blade and even less again if he started throwing it around.

Jaune's blow collided with Cardin's vambrace as he blocked it with his bare arm.

Why didn't he block it normally?

"Reckoning!" Cardin shouted, answering his mental question.

With his aura sight, he could see Cardin's aura rippling outwards from where his sword had struck. Instead of disappearing, it flowed into his mace, causing it to glow slightly.

Cardin's following counter-attack dealt damage through Jaune's guard. Even with his boosted strength, he was sent rolling through the sand for several feet.

Cardin's mace had always been heavy, and his blows even more so. Even then, it was clear that his old 'sparring partner' had made leaps and bounds in his ability to dish out the hurt.

Thanks to the armor he wore, Cardin didn't even take much damage from his strike. Jaune couldn't just carelessly strike him anymore. Not when he had a skill that would turn his attacks against him.

"Everybody heard about your little training trip Jauney, but you're not the only one who works hard. We spent weeks hunting Grimm. We raised our levels and learned new skills, all for this tournament." Cardin stated.

Jaune ignored him, opting to focus on working out as much as he could. Russel was capable of strikes that penetrated his defenses. Cardin was capable of a revenge-skill that turned taken damage into potential damage. When they worked together, Jaune had neither offense nor defense to rely on. He would lose no matter what at this rate.

So he got up, and he ran.

Jaune outpaced them by far, but he couldn't do it forever. Every minute that passed was another point of aura lost. He had to come up with a plan.

He spotted Pyrrha a short distance away, keeping an eye on the fight from above. She mustn't have wanted to give her position away because when she knew he saw her, she didn't shout out to him. She pointed a finger to the ground, then closed that hand and lifted it with the other before pointing at him.

It had been months since he had learned tactical sign language in Dr. Oobleck's classes. He vaguely recognized 'need' and 'help'. He responded with what he hoped was the gesture for no.

He must have been right since Pyrrha simply raised her scope to keep an eye on the fight.

"Well this match hasn't gone as expected has it, Bart? Ms. Nikos is watching on the sidelines, while Mr. Arc is on the run." Professor Port announced.

"Indeed Peter, if they don't do something soon, then I fear this fight may be over before it's even begun." Dr. Oobleck replied.

"Yeah yeah, I'm working on it," Jaune mumbled under his breath.

Cardin had managed to block his attack with his arm. An aura slash wouldn't have enough stopping power to do anything. It wouldn't work on Russel either, he was too fast to hit from a distance.

With that troublesome speed, Russel broke away from Cardin as he tried to catch up with Jaune. When the distance between them grew, Jaune turned on his pursuer.

Being struck had caused him to flinch last time, but this time, he would grit his teeth and bare it. He was certain his strikes would deal more damage than Russel's.

Jaune held out the shield in front of him, providing a big target for his opponent. He held it loosely though, ready to move it out of the road and strike.

"Vulnerability!" Russel shouted.

Russel's dagger drove into Jaune's thigh. The strike didn't pierce his defences, but as if his aura had been broken his shield faded away.

"Combo skill; Lacerate!" Russel shouted once more, bringing his second weapon across Jaune's now unguarded flesh.

Jaune winced but managed to slam his sword into Russel's frozen body. His strike had managed to drop Russel into the yellow, almost to the point of eliminating him. Unfortunately, for the first time in a long time, he had the notification of an injury buzzing in the back of his mind.

You are suffering from Severe Laceration (Left Leg)
Mobility reduced by 80%.
Left leg strength reduced by 60%

Well, that's not good. That's probably how they planned to take out Pyrrha. An exchange of aura for an injury that left her slower. With coup de grâce feeding off her injury and any damage she has taken, that could be a real threat.

Wait…

Jaune had an idea.

It was their skills that were turning the tide of this battle. What if he were to use them too? He had stolen Cardin's skills once before, what was to stop him from doing it again?

It would require experimentation in the middle of combat. But with a bit of luck and his training in observation and mimicking other's styles, he thought he had a good shot.

Whether Cardin and Russel knew it or not, their skills used aura in new and unique ways to do the things they did.

Reckoning allowed Cardin to recycle his aura and effectively double his aura's efficiency. Any damage his aura absorbed was rebounded through his body and out of his next attack before the aura was expended. Rend was considerably simpler. It extended Russel's cutting edge beyond the blade. The final two, or perhaps three were more complicated. Vulnerability seemed capable of temporarily disabling aura where it strikes. Lacerate was able to leave a vicious injury wherever it landed. His ability to combo the two together without freezing meant he could maim or even kill with the smallest opportunity.

If he could just simulate these behaviors in his aura, he could replicate the skills.

Hell, if he was lucky, he might even be able to do it without the cool down. His aura slash wasn't that different from the Sunder skill Cardin had once subjected him to.

The only trick now was doing it.

"Cover me!" Jaune shouted out to his partner.

The injury they'd given him was a problem. He couldn't hold them off, experiment with these techniques, and stem the bleeding all at once.

Pyrrha was beside him in seconds, spear at the ready.

"Don't get hit. Not even your shield will stop the damage. I just need enough time to heal my leg, then we can finish this together." He ordered.

"Got it," Pyrrha responded.

Jaune deactivated his muscle augmentation and instead fully activated his aura healing. The cut was deep and would take a few hours to fully heal. He'd have to settle for just closing the wound superficially.

As it stitched back together, Jaune tried manipulating his aura to copy Russel's Rend skill.

He started by adding a few inches of aura to the end of his blade. He thrust the new edge against his shield as a test and the false tip held strong instead of penetrating. While it could have a use in extending his reach, the aura alone was weaker than his blade and dealt little damage.

Okay, it's not that then.

How does it work, how did it feel…?

I felt the impact of his blades and his actual slash separately. My shield barely moved while my arm was hit directly. The aura I channel into my shield blocks other people's aura from getting through. He can't be simply moving his aura through it.

Jaune suddenly had an epiphany. The skill was called Rend and that described not just what it did, but how it does it.

He had to separate the strike and the aura like an aura slash; the only difference was the timing and the distance.

Jaune attempted once more, but this time he left a gap between his aura and the blade. Materializing his aura without a direct connection proved more difficult than expected. He got it working, but not very well. He did manage to summon an aura slash behind his shield. But his lack of control meant the second blade of aura pushed more than it sliced. To make it worthwhile, he would either have to let the system guide him or charge it with a lot of aura. Neither option was ideal.

With the skill just barely prepared, Jaune tested his leg by putting his weight on it. It hurt like hell and if he messed up it would reopen, but it was functional, for now.

Pyrrha had done well holding her own, but her opponents weren't the same fighters she once trounced. They worked together and chained their usage of skills to keep her on her toes. Half her attention was devoted to Cardin whose blows threatened instant elimination. The other half was keeping Russel's position in mind and not letting him get behind her. There was no room for her to strike back.

"Hey, Cardin!" Jaune shouted from behind as he ran back into the fray.

Cardin turned to face Jaune and the dust crystal in his mace began to glow with aura.

Jaune took Cardin head-on, catching his blow with his shield. The flames rolled over him, but he held his ground and kept his thoughts focused. He was already familiar with the heat and his aura was more than enough to protect him.

The 'training' with Pyrrha must have desensitized him, as for the short moment it lasted, Jaune held strong. It seemed her and Neptune's theory of tricking the mind had some merit after all.

Jaune countered with a slash that Cardin once again blocked with his arm, taking a small amount of damage. This time though, Jaune had the advantage of a second slash positioned behind his guard.

Jaune released the aura, striking Cardin in the face where there was no armor to protect him.

The force and surprise of his attack knocked him backward and interrupted Cardin. Jaune used this momentary opening to wedge his shield between Cardin's mace and body. He then landed a second direct hit with his blade.

As Cardin buckled under the impact, Jaune began to pick up speed. Strike after strike landed as Jaune pushed his advantage. Cardin's aura was plummeting, already in the yellow, and heading for the red.

Jaune could see Cardin bunkering down, guarding as best as he could. Jaune's attacks were still getting through, but the damage was accumulating slower. Slow enough for Cardin to have charged up one final attack.

Cardin overcharged his dust crystal, causing it to shatter and explode. The flames that resulted were not his usual red, but a brilliant blue. Though they only lasted a mere second, the heat was unbearable. The sand beneath their feet instantly turned to glass. Jaune's aura mitigated the effects partially, but his hair was singed and his eyes dried out.

Cardin didn't have as much aura as Jaune did though.

When Jaune could see, he saw Cardin's skin was red and peeling in places. The display showed that his aura had run out completely.

"You idiot!" Jaune shouted.

He knew exactly what this felt like after all. When it had happened to him the payload had been larger, but Cardin's skill with dust had created a hotter flame that more than made up for it.

"It's just a stupid tournament, you didn't have to go this far!"

Jaune picked up Cardin and raced at his maximum speed over to the ocean zone and placed Cardin within the water. With any luck, the salt content would prevent him from getting an infection as he had. Hopefully, the exposure to the cool water would stop the damage at the surface level.

"Where did you even get a stupid idea like that?" Jaune said once he had laid his opponent down.

Cardin coughed as he tried to say something. The heat had probably done some damage to the lining of his throat too.

Jaune got closer to hear what it was he had to say.

"You," Cardin responded.

"Of course you'd say that. Anything to get results right?" Jaune sighed.

Jaune left Cardin lying there. The medics couldn't come to collect him until the match was over due to the danger of the battlefield itself. The best thing he could do for him now would be to end the match as soon as possible.

Jaune raced back as fast as his injured leg would let him. The impact of the explosion and the strain of dragging Cardin around had reopened the wound.

When Jaune arrived he saw something he hadn't expected.

Pyrrha was still fighting Russel to a standstill.

He had expected that with Cardin gone, Pyrrha would be able to end the match from there. This apparently, was not the case.

With two weapons that could inflict crippling injuries, Pyrrha was forced to fight in a style not her own. Normally she would dodge by the smallest distance necessary and counter between blows. Now though, she was completely evading each strike's entire path.

Jaune noted the interaction down for analysis later. If Russel could fight toe to toe with her as a rogue for this long, it might be worth trying the same strategy in the future. For now, Jaune decided it was time to finish the match.

With their combined offense and no one to back him up, Russel finally took a blow that removed him from the match.

"And the winners of today's first match; Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc!" professor Port announced.

Jaune spared a glance for Cardin as he left the arena. The medics were quick on the move and were already hauling him away to be treated. With his first aid and the quick medical aid, his recovery would be much easier than Jaune's had been.

"Well, that was a fun match," Pyrrha stated.

"Certainly a lot more interesting than the first round was. Russel held you off pretty well at the end there." Jaune replied.

"Yes, he did. Dual-wielding takes quite a lot of skill and he does it well. He's fast and his strikes can disable aura too. Speaking of, shouldn't you get that seen to?" She asked, gesturing to his leg.

"I'll be fine. I'll sit down for a while and watch the matches while my aura does its job. Who's up next, do you know?" Jaune asked.

"Two teams from Atlas-" Pyrrha replied, before being interrupted by her scroll. She pulled it out, giving it a quick read. "You'll have to watch them by yourself though. Professor Ozpin wants to see me in his office."

"You're not in trouble, are you? Did we get spotted last night?"

"He didn't say. Speaking of last night, it must have worked. Even I felt how hot that explosion was but you took it head-on." Pyrrha said cheerily.

"I won't say I'm completely over it. I think the whole situation was too familiar for me to ignore. I probably would have been worse off if I hadn't been distracted by the fact that Cardin was hurt. I still can't believe he did that…" Jaune admitted.

"Hey, Jaune right?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

Jaune turned to look for the owner of the voice, finding a group of four heading straight for him.

"I'll leave you to it Jaune, I don't want to make the headmaster wait too long." Said Pyrrha.

"Right, I'll see you later then?" Jaune asked and Pyrrha nodded. He then turned his attention to the group which had approached him. "Yeah, I'm Jaune. Are you guys fans or something?"

"Ouch, looks like he doesn't remember us." One of the boys said to his group.

"Tough break there Jade." Another said to the only girl in the group.

When Jaune laid eyes on her, he suddenly remembered who these people were. Most of them he had only seen for a few seconds, but the girl he had spent a considerable amount of time and attention on. It was going back quite a while though.

"You're the girl who got hurt in initiation!" Jaune said upon realization.

"That's right, and you're the one who gave me this," Jade replied, lifting her shirt to show off a gnarly scar.

Technically, Jaune had played a role in that scar, having cauterized it with burn dust. It was a little bit distressing that she blamed him for it instead of her attackers though.

"In my defense, it was either that or let you bleed out in the forest. It wasn't even my idea either, I just got conned into doing it." Jaune defended.

"She's just busting your balls, don't worry about it. I'm Nile by the way, and this is Lincoln and Gable. I don't think we ever did end up getting introduced." Nile said, gesturing to himself and his two male teammates. "Last time we saw you, you were just as banged up as Jade was. We thought we'd be in your class next year since we assumed you failed the initiation like us."

"Oh, you guys are retaking the initiation? That's cool." Jaune replied.

"Nah, we already have our team and we're older. We just have to pass a few tests and we're allowed to join up. We can even get placed in the second year if we do well enough." Lincoln explained.

"We've spent all year doing nothing but training, so we're going to smash it." Gable declared.

"That's awesome, I'm happy for you guys. Anyway, I should get going. I need to scout out the competition." Said Jaune.

"Wait!" Jade shouted.

"Hm?" Jaune prompted.

"We didn't just come to say that. I wanted to thank you properly for helping me." She bowed her head to Jaune. "Thank you!"

Her three friends stood around awkwardly until she coughed and elbowed the one closest to her.

They each bowed their heads as well.

"Thank you for helping Jade, and we're sorry for ditching you to deal with them." They all said in tandem. "We promise to pay you back somehow. If you ever need us, just ask."

"Uhh look, it's fine. I came out of it fine, even if I got a bit banged up in the short term. It's water under the bridge." Jaune awkwardly replied. He wasn't used to dealing with this. "I've got to get going though. It was nice to meet you all though."

Jaune rushed out of there, but as the situation was put behind him, he did feel some pride. It was nice being thanked, even if it could be awkward at times.

Jaune took a seat near Nora and Ren. Blake and Yang were seated just in front of them, while the other half of team RWBY was absent.

"Did I miss anything important?" Jaune asked.

"Nah, that match was a stomp. One took out their opponents without getting touched while the other stared at her watch. It was a pretty boring match." Nora answered.

"The one who fought will be an opponent to keep an eye out for in the future, but there wasn't much to learn about her," Ren added.

"Shush!" Yang shouted back at them. "She's coming on now!"

Jaune looked down at the arena to see Scarlet and Sage of team SSSN. From the other side, Ruby and Weiss walked onto the stage.

"And to fight them, let's hear it for Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee!" Peter announced, triggering a roar of applause from the crowd.

"Wooooooooooo! Kick their ass sis!" Yang very loudly screamed.

Jaune waited for the cheering to die down. "How do you reckon they're going to do?"

"Are you kidding? Ruby is untouchable when she wants to be. Not to mention Weiss's dust control." Yang replied.

"Untouchable? Surely you could handle her right?" Jaune asked, probing for information.

"Well duh, when she-" Yang was interrupted by Blake elbowing her in the ribs. "Hey!"

"I'm not letting you trick Yang into selling out our team members right in front of me." Said Blake.

"Meh. It was worth a shot." Jaune admitted.

There was a lot of very difficult terrain this time. In his fight, it had been entirely flat, though the sand was a bit of a slipping hazard. In contrast, the mountains and forests gave both teams a lot to work with.

Jaune hadn't seen much of this half of team SSSN. From what he had seen though, they weren't far from Sun or Neptune's skill level.

Sage wielded a greatsword that was almost as large as Yatsuhashi's. Scarlet on the other hand wielded a pistol and a cutlass. It was surprising his class wasn't pirate considering how he matched the aesthetic. Scarlet also would have to be the only student other than himself whose weapon wasn't 'also a gun'. He simply carried a gun in addition to his main weapon.

When the fight began, Ruby and Weiss were quick to divide their opponents.

Ruby drove Scarlet away from his partner, sending him retreating into the forest. If Scarlet thought he had the advantage there he was wrong. It was true that Ruby's scythe had difficulties in enclosed spaces. But he'd seen her slice straight through tree trunks as little more than a show of frustration.

Weiss meanwhile had set up a ring of twelve glyphs around Sage. She leaped from glyph to glyph, activating them as she landed and causing ice spears to fly at her opponent.

Sage of course wasn't an amateur. He quickly figured out that the attacks only came from the glyphs Weiss landed on, so he was able to pre-empt them. He managed to fend off Weiss' rapier thrusts and the projectiles with the flat side of his sword as a shield.

From where they were seated, Jaune couldn't see how Ruby and Scarlet's fight was going. He could see the trees falling one after another though. Ruby was going on an absolute rampage in there. If he was Scarlet, he would be doing everything he could to stay out of her way.

Jaune never did find out what the features of Ruby's class were. Her Semblance made her faster than anyone in a straight contest of speed. Meanwhile, her weapon was built for inflicting as much damage as possible to humans or Grimm alike. She didn't let just anyone handle it, but he remembered just how heavy it was. The fact she could wield it and absorb its recoil as easily as she did was proof that she wasn't just fast but strong too.

Most dangerously however was her mind and her charisma.

Jaune had been told that he had a great mind for strategy, and his team seemed to follow him in full confidence. But he would be lying if he said he didn't see all of that and more in Ruby.

Her team was full of such strong and varied personalities. She wrangled them all despite the age difference.

Jaune knew that Ruby would have to be one of the worst possible matchups he could get in this tournament.

With that in mind, it was no surprise when after a few short minutes, she caught Scarlet and eliminated him. Once the chase had finished, it had taken a single blow from the reaper's scythe to destroy his aura.

Weiss too had been steadily ramping up her attacks. All her ice spears had formed a ring around Sage that made it difficult to escape her. As time passed the space he had to move in began to shrink as the spears piled up. Weiss began to replace her thrusts with slashes of flame and balls of arcing lightning. The addition of curved and spiral attacks made it harder to respond properly.

After her first hit landed, the rest cascaded onto him and wiped him out as well.

Ruby and Weiss had once again won a match without taking even a single hit, and of course, the crowd was loving it.

Even Pyrrha didn't get this kind of applause and she always ended her matches just as flawlessly as they did.

"We better go get ready. We're up soon." Yang said as she stood up.

Jaune wished them luck. Their match was another that he was looking forward to. For now, he would have to wait.