Jaune awoke to the sound of conversation outside the window of their room.

A small child was urging his mother to hurry so that they could get to their seats before the crowd got too big.

The mother was right behind him trying to make sure everything was organized. Honestly, she sounded like she needed a coffee, not the 6 am wake-up call she was dealing with.

"Do you think we'll get to meet the invincible girl?" The child asked. "I've always wanted to meet her! She is so cool and her cereal is the best!"

Jaune sat up and looked down at his partner as she slept. Or pretended to sleep at least. This room wasn't hot enough to justify her current level of blush. After last night he doubted he was the cause of her embarrassment.

Jaune poked her in the cheek, revealing the fact she'd been caught.

"If only she knew huh?" Jaune asked in a hushed voice.

Pyrrha cracked one eye open at Jaune, wincing at her first exposure to the early morning light.

"The younger fans were always my favorite. Not yet old enough to have anything taint their opinions. If they said you were cool, they meant it. It's one of the things I think I'll miss the most." Said Pyrrha.

"You don't have to miss it. You're quitting tournaments, not being a badass role model." Jaune countered.

"I don't think a six-year-old is going to be looking up to me after what I do to you, mister. Nor when they see me covered in Grimm essence."

"I don't see why not. Huntsmen are cool. Huntresses too, of course, you know what I meant. It never mattered to me growing up that they had to get a bit dirty to do their job."

"You're a boy, getting dirty is the goal for you at that age."

"I bet Ruby was exactly the same at that age. Hell, she's the same right now."

They both laughed.

"Alright, enough of that. We should get ourselves ready too." Pyrrha stated.

She pulled the covers off herself and moved to swing her legs off the edge of the bed, but paused.

"Is that from me, or is true what they say about guys in the morning?" She asked, now staring at him as much as he was staring at her.

"Yes." Was Jaune's technically appropriate answer.

Jaune could see the cogs ticking in Pyrrha's mind. The temptation was there for both of them to stay exactly where they were. Even if it was just for another ten or so minutes. Sadly, they both know they didn't have time like that to play with.

Unlike the 3 previous days, they weren't just going to be fighting 1 match and then getting the day to themselves. They would be fighting three consecutive matches, with only a few hours in between. Their body and aura needed fuel from start to finish to keep up the pace in the final rounds. Especially if a difficult match is fought early on.

Jaune learned very early on how important nutrition is for huntsmen. His diet had shifted radically from the days where he was auraless to his first few days in initiation. Generating aura was a metabolism super-booster. It chewed through calories to do what it did. It was what made it so easy for huntsmen to get such ripped physiques.

So, despite their hesitance, they both did get out of bed. The rate at which they dressed was, admittedly, slower than necessary. Each taking the opportunity to savor the lingering glances of their partner. But eventually, they finished that too.

Finally, they returned to Beacon.

Jaune collected his armor and got changed into his combat attire.

When he made it to the cafeteria, Pyrrha had organized his food for him. Not to say she cooked it of course. No, Ren was entirely responsible for that.

"Here, plenty of protein and slow-release carbohydrates. I even made you both one of my specialty health drinks." Ren happily explained.

It seemed like since he dropped out of the tournament, his enthusiasm for it had only gone up. Pyrrha slid the glass away from herself, killing that newfound passion somewhat.

"Will this stuff actually help? Or is it just, you know, one of those 'health alternative' things?" Jaune asked.

"It's packed with more vitamin A than polar bear liver! Well, not quite. I had to make some allowances."

"You mean on account of the whole 'too much of a good thing is occasionally enough to kill you' deal?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Now drink up! You know it won't kill you. Plus, you want to win, right?" Ren urged.

"I do want to win..." Jaune mumbled.

He looked at the delicious breakfast, then back at the congealed glass of slime. With a sigh, he steeled himself.

To say he drank it all in one gulp wouldn't be exactly accurate. More like it slid into his mouth in one piece before Jaune chewed it up and swallowed it. He immediately chased it down with the fattiest and saltiest items he could get off his plate.

"Woah! I've never seen anyone other than Ren drink that without throwing up!" Nora cooed.

The mental image wasn't doing him any favors.

"Pyrrha, just so you know... what that drink is doing to my stomach right now, I'm going to do to you today," Jaune promised.

"I'll look forward to it then. I'm sticking to solid foods though." She replied.

I hope that was worth it.

/-/

"Welcome everyone! To the 4th and final day of the fortieth Vytal Festival Tournament!" Professor Port loudly exclaimed, riling the crowd up into a frenzy right from the get-go. "Are you ready to see our final eight contestants fight tooth and nail to claim victory?! Are you ready for these brave students to put their bodies on the line for their school?! Are! You! Ready!"

Their screams were deafening.

Jaune bounced from foot to foot, trying to copy his partner and keep his body loose.

Not that he particularly regretted it, but he hadn't exactly spent a great deal of time preparing last night. He was making up for it right now.

My best-case scenario is to get someone I know already. Yang or Blake are probably my best bets, but I should be fine with others too. As long as I don't get that girl from Atlas. She's probably going to be a finalist. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll get her partner, she hasn't fought this entire tournament.

"Well Peter, I think they're ready. So why keep them waiting? Let's get right to the action! The first match is..." Doctor Oobleck announced, pausing the match display began to spin.

The first profile appeared.

"Jaune Arc! And his opponent..."

First match, no biggie. That gives me more time to rest for the second round while the others fight.

The second profile appeared beside his.

"You've got to be joking..." Jaune loudly complained, earning a snort of laughter from Yang further down the line.

"Pyrrha Nikos!"

The first freaking match?! What are the odds?!

"1 in 28," Pyrrha stated, leaning over to him.

"Get out of my head! And stay out. I don't need you reading my mind right now." Jaune ordered in hushed tones.

"All other contestants, head to your waiting rooms. Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune Arc, please step to the center of the stage." Doctor Oobleck advised.

Jaune immediately raced over to the edge of the arena.

As fast as he could, Jaune removed all of his armor. With Pyrrha's Semblance, anything made of metal was a risk. Only his shield and sword were worth the potential cost. While he was at it, he removed his hoodie and shirt. Too many times had Pyrrha thrown him around using his clothing as a handle. The downside of this strategy was that he was now topless in front of millions. Thanks to Pyrrha, he had some confidence in his appearance, but it was still nerve-wracking.

"Mr. Arc! Centre of the arena, please. If you take any longer, you risk disqualification." Doctor Oobleck ordered.

"I'm coming!" Jaune shouted, throwing the pile off the edge and racing to stand opposite Pyrrha.

"Good of you to finally join me Jaune. I was beginning to worry." Pyrrha teased.

"I wouldn't get too confident just yet. It was a surprise for sure, but I'm in my best possible condition right now." Jaune fired back.

The outer ring of the arena dropped away. There was to be no unique terrain for Jaune to utilize in this fight. He would be fighting on flat, solid terrain, with nothing but his skills to aid him. Several microphones, lights, and cameras were raised and took position over them.

"I can't wait to see what tricks you've come up with, Jaune." Said Pyrrha. Her voice echoed as the microphones picked up every word and relayed it to the audience.

Jaune did have a few plans in mind. Strategies concocted long ago when he first started to truly think about this match. All of them started long before the match officially began.

Time for a little showboating.

"No tricks. I'm going to crush you head-on." The crowd oohed. "My best against your best. All I need you to do is stay right there and fight like you always do."

"And why would I do that? You've told me before my worst habit is letting my opponent dictate the terms of the battle. Perhaps I should just dodge and counter-attack. We both know who is faster out of the two of us." Pyrrha replied.

"That's exactly why you won't. You've been waiting for this for months. No. You've been waiting for this for years. You'll do this because I've got the power to give you the fight you've always wanted." Jaune stated with the confidence of knowing everything he said was a simple fact.

Jaune pulled back his shoulders and lifted his head before roaring to the crowd.

"Did you hear that?! We've all waited long enough!" Jaune pulled out his sword from its sheathe and holding it above his head with one arm. His blade was an antenna that he pushed his aura through. It spilled over the entire stadium, washing them all in his will. There wasn't a single person present who couldn't feel his aura radiating over them in waves.

"So start this match already!" Jaune shouted, hyping himself up while simultaneously backing himself into a corner.

After that performance, if he couldn't pull it off, he would be a laughing stock. The desperation he felt was the key he knew he needed.

His Semblance, the pool of aura that was hidden deep within his body, once again connected with his. The aura within his blade instantly doubled in size. It glowed brightly with intensity and thrummed with power. He could feel his Semblance like a restriction had been lifted. His mind was filled with the knowledge of several ways he could use it as the system kicked in.

Jaune grabbed his blade with both hands. Partly to steady himself and try to control the energy that begged to be released. But also to ready himself for the single most important strike of this entire tournament.

He could hear the professors speeding through their dialogue to accommodate his request. He used that time to sharpen his aura and his mind.

With his sword, he envisioned the perfect crescent moon arc. His aura would slice and grind and burn through any defense Pyrrha presented him.

And then the horn sounded.

Within a tenth of a second, Jaune activated every ability at his disposal.

His muscles swelled and compacted as he pushed himself to a sprint. The concrete ground beneath him was crushed as his maximum speed aura step proved too much to handle. His mind worked overtime processing every piece of information he could get.

She already had her Semblance active over her armor and weapons. She must have known her ordinary strength wouldn't compare to his. Where she was fast, he was strong. She held her sword in a reverse grip in front of her shield.

I can already tell she predicted this only uses her reverse grip when she is entirely focused on defending against a powerful blow.

Crocea Mors collided with Miló in a thunderous overhead blow. The resulting vibrations penetrated Jaune's bone marrow, but he pushed on. The second part was what mattered after all.

Like an afterimage or a clone of Jaune's slash, his aura appeared behind Pyrrha's guard, cutting into her shield. It was as perfect a copy of Russel's Rend skill as he had managed since he had started trying to emulate it.

Jaune had poured all the aura he could hold at any given moment into that strike. Triple what Pyrrha had in total devoted entirely to a single strike. On instinct, he condensed his aura, reducing it's volume threefold and honing its cutting edge.

Pyrrha's heels carved deep into the concrete as she tried to hold her stance against the blow. Meanwhile, she did her best to divert the strike with her shield. To make it go wide and waste its energy flying off to the side.

Let's see her deflect this.

Jaune spun on his heel, pushing the instantaneous movement of his aura step to its limit. The ground beneath him didn't just give way, but actually, burst. Cracks splintered out from where his feet once were as he disappeared with a cloud of concrete dust.

He appeared behind her, using aura concealment and his aura strike to hide his presence. An amateur fighter wouldn't have been able to follow him due to his speed alone, let alone with his presence concealed.

Pyrrha wasn't an amateur.

Her efforts were devoted to redirecting his blow to the side with her shield. Her attention however was pre-emptively placed where Jaune had appeared. Her body had spun, leaving her sword ready to defend whatever he had next.

Jaune initiated a horizontal slice with the intent to use Rend once more. He would bypass her defenses and land a hit while she was rooted in place with only a single arm to defend herself.

The second he did, Pyrrha reacted.

Veins popped out of the side of her head, and he could've sworn her whole body turned a shade of red as if she was blushing. Through gritted teeth, she uttered two words that shocked Jaune to his core.

"Double strike!"

She's using skills?

Pyrrha met his strike before it had even had the chance to build momentum, stopping his blade in its tracks. His aura slash generated beyond that. Pyrrha's arm blurred as her speed exceeded anything he'd ever seen her capable of. She met his aura with a second strike of her own.

Her feet no longer moved from where she had them planted, not even an inch. Slowly but surely, with her shield, she pushed the first strike's aura to her rear. With her blade, she forced his aura up and over her head. The two beams of energy flew off into the arena's barrier, leaving a scar even after several dozen meters.

She had successfully thwarted both of his best attacks. A full 60 points of aura erased, just like that, and for what?

Jaune checked the scoreboard. Her aura had dropped, a natural response to the several long seconds she had wrestled with his attack. But compared to the massive amount he had expended, she only reached about 70%.

Jaune didn't have time to be annoyed though. She had already recovered from her skill use, and with the ferocity of a wild animal, Pyrrha was on top of him. He could see clearly that the change to her body was no illusion. The sweat on her body created a thin haze of steam. Jaune could feel her body radiating heat that far exceeded the norm.

Jaune put as much distance between them as he could, tearing up the concrete as he went. Unfortunately, Pyrrha was right behind him.

Jaune's aura step was matched by her Semblance as she controlled herself like a puppet. Right now, she was even faster than he was.

Jaune managed to block her strike and push off with it, but the impact took a bite out of his aura. His backup reserves replaced it, but one more hit like that would leave him with nothing left in that tank.

Jaune's mind raced to come up with a solution. He barely stumbled upon one as the thought 'I can't keep defending these attacks' flashed through his mind.

Jaune let loose a miniature aura slash right up in Pyrrha's face. It was only about 2 points of aura, but for Pyrrha, it was a big enough threat.

As she double-blocked the first, Jaune followed up with another, and then several more. Each at different targets, forcing her to divide her guard. He focused on quantity over quality, blitzing Pyrrha with strikes that she couldn't block. A few managed to land on her armor as she took them as best she could, and her aura dropped to sixty percent as a result.

Of course, Pyrrha wasn't a strength-based fighter like he was, she didn't need to keep blocking these strikes like this.

Her movements were jerky and lacking her usual refinement. Even then, she weaved between Jaune's strikes dodging them entirely.

It was good for Jaune, that by focusing on defense she had to slow her approach. Jaune could stay out of range and keep up the offense. But with his strikes not dealing any damage, he was burning more of his aura than Pyrrha was earlier.

Jaune steadily replaced these attacks with feints. Pyrrha's knowledge of the damage he could cause with even a single hit meant she couldn't afford not to dodge. Without aura sight, she couldn't know which attacks were real or not.

Even still, Jaune's aura slowly dwindled. Every four or five strikes, another few points of aura crashed into the arena. Too much more of this and he wouldn't be able to maintain his aura augmentation.

Jaune was preparing for one last gambit, when all of a sudden, he felt the flow of battle shift.

Pyrrha took one of his strikes intentionally. It hadn't been infused with aura, but the weight of his sword still tore a chunk from her aura.

For a second, Jaune cheered. He had done what many others couldn't and reduced her aura to the point where it registered as yellow on the meter. But then he felt the crippling pain that spiked up from his left arm.

Pyrrha had taken that blow in exchange for completely mangling his arm. Though he hadn't managed to see it in the chaos of the moment, he could see the results.

His shield itself had been used against him. She had stowed her weapon and shield. With two hands, she twisted his shield a full ninety degrees while forcing his upper arm to stay in one spot. His elbow was instantly dislocated and now hung limply by his side.

Pyrrha must have thought she had won the fight. Despite the advantage she now held, she backed away, watching him. Compared to him, save for the way she sucked in deep breaths, she looked like she hadn't been fighting him at all. Like she was just engaged in another ordinary spar.

Wait...

She looks normal. Like, completely normal.

Jaune tried to focus his eyes as they swam from the pain.

Crap, she really did a number on me.

With a shake of his head, he managed to gather his wits enough to confirm his suspicion. The red skin, the increased vascularity, even the body heat, and steam was all gone.

She had once told him the adrenaline burst only worked for a short time. He swore he had seen it last longer in the fight against Yang and Blake though.

Pyrrha stood proudly, unmoving as Jaune observed her. She did not attempt to approach him.

She said it lasted a short time, but maybe it's also based on how you use it. Maybe she can release it all at once for a larger increase to her strength instead of leaking it over time.

Whatever the case, there was one more thing she told me.

It leaves her exhausted.

Pyrrha wasn't just standing aside watching as a show of sportsmanship. She was doing her best to recover and catch her breath so that she could finish the job.

Jaune gritted his teeth and pulled his arm back into place. He turned his shield back into a sheathe and reattached it to his hip.

"I'll break the other arm next!" Pyrrha warned when Jaune took a single step forward.

"You're going to have to do more than that to stop me!" Jaune grunted before breaking into a sprint.

Pyrrha clicked her tongue and shifted her weapon into its javelin form.

With pinpoint thrusts that tracked his body, she kept Jaune at a distance. He was unable to block with his shield and just slide in like he normally would. But right now, his partner's movements were sluggish.

Jaune slapped her spear away by striking it upwards. Naturally, she brought it back down with a slash. The fraction of a second it took gave Jaune the chance to sidestep while breaking into his effective range.

Her weapon shifted, and she pre-emptively blocked with her shield as Jaune swung as hard as he could. At this point, he needed every point of aura he had to maintain his strength. Every minute that passed he grew weaker, and if he didn't press his advantage, Pyrrha would recover.

Jaune swung and swung, over and over. Pyrrha redirected blows as skillfully as her fatigued body could. The damage she sustained was reduced to barely a percent on the meter.

A thrust went under Jaune's armpit as he barely dodged by lifting his arm and swaying to the side.

Pyrrha flowed through the thrust until her arm interlocked with his own. She grabbed his left wrist and tugged, re-dislocating the injured joint.

"Fuck!" Jaune swore.

On instinct, Jaune swung out at her lead leg with his sword.

"Heavy Strike!" he shouted without actually activating the skill.

She reequipped her shield and moved it to block his strike.

Exactly what Jaune had hoped for.

Jaune released his grip on his weapon with a final push. His blade smacked uselessly into Pyrrha's guard. In the same instant, his hand snaked up, striking Pyrrha in the throat.

"Ack!" Pyrrha choked in surprise.

With a flash of her Semblance, she threw Jaune's sword off the arena's edge. In return, Jaune lifted her off her feet before slamming her into the ground head first. She blocked the worst of the damage to her throat and skull with aura.

Quickly transitioning into a mount, Jaune brought his fist onto Pyrrha's face over and over. He tried his best to seek out vital points like her nose, philtrum, temples, and jaw. In his rush, he was off-target nearly every time, but even then, with his strength, the blows ate away her aura.

Jaune suddenly threw himself away from his partner as his danger sense screamed. Looking back, his partner's hands were positioned where his eyes and groin were.

"Low blows are dirty fighting," Jaune complained.

"I learned from the best. Call it payment for teaching you how to fight like that." Pyrrha replied.

They each glanced at the scoreboard. In terms of pure aura, Jaune still had triple what Pyrrha did. But the scoreboard told a different story.

Both of their auras were blinking red. Each barely a millimeter away from the disqualification mark.

Jaune had long ago been forced to deactivate his muscle augmentation. From what he could see, Pyrrha wasn't using her Semblance to enhance her strength anymore either.

With no aura to spare on fancy techniques or Semblances, there was only one thing that mattered. Who could land their next hit first.

"Why not use your rifle?" Jaune asked, although he already had a good idea.

"And accidentally dip just below the disqualification line? I don't think so. As negligible as the amount of aura required to activate dust is, it's not zero. I don't have the aura control you do to perfectly measure it either. Plus we both know you've got the predictive and reactive skills to cut them out of the air with your sword." Pyrrha explained.

"True. I guess that means no Semblances or aura tricks then. My fist, against your spear." Jaune stated.

"Not quite!" Pyrrha shouted, suddenly stepping into reach.

Pyrrha threw her shield at him while feinting with her spear. Jaune managed to read her intent and dodge the flying discus with a quick duck forward. With his momentum and body weight forward and low to the ground, Pyrrha thrust at the center of his body. It would be hard for him to dodge this attack.

So he didn't.

Jaune drew his sheathe from his belt like he was drawing a sword and batted the thrust aside. The look of shock on Pyrrha's face drove him forward as he realized this might be about to pay off.

Pyrrha choked the handle of her spear, reducing her reach but regaining control of her weapon. She would be able to pull off one more thrust this way. Jaune still was in no position to dodge, too focused on moving forward. If he tried to deflect with his sword, he would lose the timing to land his counter attack. Pyrrha's attack inched closer, moving in slow motion as Jaune's perception accelerated.

His thought process led him to a single conclusion. Jaune forced his already crippled arm in the road, absorbing the thrust without aura. With Pyrrha's spear embedded between the bones of his forearm, he launched the match-deciding swing.

The sound of wind barely reached his ears from behind his head. On instinct, Jaune activated his aura on the back of his skull.

Pyrrha's shield, wrapped in the black aura of her Semblance had yo-yoed back to hit him from behind.

"And the winner is Pyrrha Nikos!" the professors simultaneously announced the instant his aura flared.

The crowd was silent. Entire seconds passed, giving Jaune the time to process what had happened.

Finally, they erupted. The crowd was ecstatic; screaming, clapping, whistling, and cheering. But it wasn't for Jaune.

I lost...

The realization finally dawned on him. Whether by luck or skill, Pyrrha had managed to stay one step ahead of his predictions. she managed to pull one last trick on him to win the match.

What made it worse, was it was exactly the type of trick he specialized in.

She had admitted to lacking the control of her aura to measure how much she would use on a bullet. But in doing so, she only reinforced the incorrect assumption that she couldn't use her Semblance. She had enough to redirect her lightweight shield mid-air. With its bladed edge, she hadn't even needed much force to deal the amount of damage necessary.

Her weapon itself had been the feint, just like when he had thrown his sword and used his fist.

She had once again taken Jaune's greatest ability and beat him at his own game.

"Jaune."

Pyrrha stood before him with a hand offered for him to pull himself up with, a hand which he accepted.

Pyrrha pulled him onto his feet, then lifted his hand into the air. It was as if she was telling the crowd, 'even though he didn't win, he still deserves your applause'. The smile and wave he offered the crowd disguised the disappointment he felt.

Despite all the training and how often he had told everyone how important his promise was, he had failed.

"A match well fought-" Jaune tuned out the professors' dialogue and retreated further into his mind.

He racked his mind to see where he made the mistakes or what cost him the match. The downward spiral was leading him toward the hopeless thought that he never had a chance.

Vaguely he heard the professors instruct him to leave the stage. Pyrrha pulled him around by the hand, managing to get him back to a waiting room.

Something soft slammed into his lips and pushed into his mouth. The taste of iron invaded his senses shortly after.

Jaune pushed Pyrrha away from himself. "Pyrrha, what are you-"

Pyrrha was having none of it. She pulled him by the hair back into an even deeper and hungrier kiss as she straddled his thighs on the bench.

Jaune pulled away once more, managing to twist her head away from his with his hand.

"I don't want your sympathy damn it!" he shouted.

"I'm not giving you sympathy you idiot. You're amazing!" she shouted back just as loud and punching him in the chest. "I don't care if that match was called in my favor, it was a technicality at best. You kept every part of your promise that mattered."

"I lost!" Jaune enunciated.

"Yeah, you lost, but only because the tournament was set to exactly 10% as the cut off point. Only because I was able to abuse the system. To get you to 9.9% a fraction of a second before you caved my head in with your sheathe. Frankly, I don't care about that anyway, that's not the point. I didn't get the nickname 'Invincible girl' because I never lose. I got it because no one even came close. I've never been brought below half capacity, most of the time it doesn't even go below 70%. You destroyed all that and – sorry – you're a complete newbie. You've had aura for barely a year, a class for about the same. I've been training with both since I was six. How could I not be amazed at that kind of genius you stupid idiot!" Pyrrha shouted right in his face, emphasizing her points with repeated strikes to his chest.

As soon as she sensed that Jaune was either too confused or in agreement, she jumped him once more.

The sheer excess of emotion she felt for him had to be expressed or she seemed like she might explode. She barely even had enough restraint to care about his butchered arm.

"Ahem." An unknown voice made itself known from the doorway.

Jaune looked over Pyrrha's shoulder as she ignored the voice and continued making love to his face.

The man wore an Atlas doctor's uniform that he had seen before. They were in charge of treating the injuries of the fighters if necessary. Cardin had been collected by a team of people wearing this uniform after their match.

Jaune tried pushing Pyrrha away to explain. She was adamant that right now what she needed to do was give Jaune all of her overflowing appreciation. Jaune relented, neither seeing the point nor knowing how he could force her away in his current state. He gestured for the doctor to come in and just work around her as best he could with one arm.

The doctor sighed.

Setting up as best he could with Jaune mounted on a bench, the doctor set about stitching up the cut to his forearm. Then, with a squeeze, he reset the position of Jaune's radius and ulna.

Jaune hadn't even realized it had been injured. When Pyrrha wedged her spear between the two bones, she must have done some damage to his wrist. The ambient pain of the open wound that wasn't healing fast enough from his aura was enough to mask that.

"Don't bite your partner." The doctor advised.

Jaune quickly pushed her head to the side, letting her focus on his neck instead. The doctor pulled Jaune's elbow back into place and set it into a ninety-degree angle. Jaune groaned, gritting his teeth and thanking the doctor for the warning. The doctor wrapped a cloth around Jaune's wrist and tied it behind his neck as a makeshift sling.

He flashed the proper sling in front of Jaune's face before tossing it onto the bench beside him and muttering. Jaune managed to catch something about 'damn hormonal kids' before he left.

Jaune breathed a sigh of relief now that the first aid was finished. Although, he had to admit the feeling of Pyrrha kissing trails along his collarbone was nice too. It wouldn't take long for his aura to start regenerating and eventually healing his wounds at this rate.

Speaking of aura...

"Pyrrha, you should focus on recovering your aura. You have two more matches after this." Jaune reminded.

"I don't care about those. I need this." She hastily replied.

"I care though. Call me selfish, but I want to have lost to the girl who won the whole thing, not the girl who got 4th place."

To Jaune's surprise, that worked in getting her to stop.

"Is that what you really want?" she asked.

Jaune nodded.

"It is. Two more fights, a little over 7 hours. Then I'm all yours I promise."

"What about the transfer, we have to do that right after..." Pyrrha mumbled.

"After the transfer, we'll have the rest of our lives for stuff like this." Pyrrha looked unconvinced, so Jaune compromised. "I tell you what... You get your aura up to capacity, and I'm all yours. The faster you get it done, the more time we'll have. I'll even get us food while you rest up."

Pyrrha struggled with the options. She screwed up her face as she weighed the pleasure now against the reward later.

"Get me something sweet then. You made me bite my tongue when you throat-punched me and I want to get the taste of blood out of my mouth." She finally consented, stating that as casually as breathing.

Finally, for the first time since he lost, Jaune cracked a smile and laughed.

/-/

Jaune Arc

Level 14

Novice

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Strength: 30 (75)

Fortitude: 35 (88)

Dexterity: 23 (57)

Aura: 30/30 (100/100)

Base Aura Regeneration Rate: ~4/hour

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Known Skills

[Observe]
Focus on an item or willing creature to glean information about them.

[Construction: Level 0]
Reduced mistakes when performing construction or repair jobs.
An innate understanding of structures comes with skill level.

[Dedication] (Passive) (Class)
Double all base attributes.
Able to unlock all skills through training.
No benefits from leveling.

Semblance: Aura Amp
Increase the effect of aura skills by condensing aura.
Aura can be condensed x2(3.2) based on aura control.
Aura consumption is increased by the current aura density multiplier.
Effect of aura skills is increased by the current aura density multiplier.
Aura skills can gain unique features at higher levels of aura density.
Secondary pool of aura (70) can be used to refill or condense reserves.

[Aura Control: Level 6]
Able to feel and manipulate aura.
All stats increased by 26%
All Aura abilities are 60% more efficient.

[Aura Shielding: Level 4]
While active, aura will be absorbed to mitigate damage. 10 Aura: 14(22) Damage

[Aura Channelling: Level 4]
Aura can enhance weapon attacks. 1 Aura/minute: 14(22) % Increased weapon damage.

[Aura Healing: Level Max]
Passively siphon up to 50% of aura regeneration to heal injuries or recover stamina.
Active use of skill can siphon 200% faster.
Recovery speed is equal to +150(240)% per aura/hr drained.

[Aura Awareness: Level 4]
You can feel the shape and movement of anything within the area covered by your aura. Additionally, within the same radius, you can observe aura in all creatures that have it.
Precision: Low.
Maximum Radius: 100(160) cm.
Drains 1 Aura/minute/meter when using aura.

[Aura Emission: Level 5]
Disconnect your aura from its source and project it outwards.
Aura Emission techniques cost 50% more aura.
Aura Emission techniques weaken over distance. 5% reduction over 1(1.6) meters.
Aura Slash: For each 1(1.5) points of aura used in this technique, deal base attack damage + base aura spent x0.6

[Aura Step: Level 5]
Channel aura through your feet into a surface to generate increased friction and force.
Error margin : 5%

[Aura Concealment: Level 0]
Aura Recovery while aura is concealed +10%
Internal aura skills efficiency increased by 10%
Aura awareness while aura is concealed improved by 10%
Concealed aura is harder to detect.

[Muscle Augmentation: Level 5]
Strength and/or Dexterity increased by 15(24) % per aura point used.
Aura depletes at 1 aura/minute while active.
If Strength and/or Dexterity exceed 2xFortitude, injury can occur.

[Meditation: Level 8]
Aura Recovery Rate +180% while meditating.
Base Aura Recovery Rate +20%

[Footwork: Level 9] (Passive)
Affects hit and dodge rate.

[Sword Skill: Level 9] (Passive)
Increase damage with all sword-type weapons by 90%
Increase hit rate with all sword-type weapons by 9%
Increase parry efficiency with swords by 45%

[Shield Skill: Level 7] (Passive)
Increase damage reduction of blocked strikes by 70%
Increase damage with all shield attacks by 35%

[Hand to Hand Skill: Level 4] (Passive)
Increase damage with all unarmed attacks by 20%
Increase hit rate with all unarmed attacks by 4%
Increase unarmed defense efficiency by 20%

[Willpower: Level 1]
Force your will onto others through your aura.
Can simulate emotion or even cause a variety of mental conditions in the target.
Use of this skill is also the defense against this skill.

[Heavy Strike]
Increase the force of your blows by using the full potential of your weapon's weight.
Deal 10% extra weapon damage per pound of your weapon's weight.
Cooldown 1 second.
Recharge 3 seconds.

[Leap Slam]
Jump and Strike! Put the weight of gravity behind your swings.
Leap a horizontal distance of up to 10% of your strength.
Upon landing, attack with increased damage. Damage increase is based on your weight.
Current damage increase: 20%
Current distance: 9 meters.
Cooldown 1 second.

[Coup de grâce!]
A finishing blow to an injured opponent.
Deal 2% bonus damage (max 50%) with a strike for every point of damage a target has taken.
Deal 100% bonus damage if target has an injury.
Cooldown 3 seconds.
Recharge 60 seconds.

Super stressed about this chapter not having lived up to the hype. Let me know what you think.