Authors Note: Don't forget to leave a review and let me know your thoughts after reading, helps me polish the chapter and make them better for the future.

Crocea Mors cut a path downward, all his strength behind the swing as he set to cut his opponent down the middle. She danced out of the way before the hit could connect, leaving behind something else to take the hit instead.

The strike landed and cut deep. Jaune had the time to panic before his target exploded in fire. Blakes Shadow clones had a tendency to do that whenever she was fighting him.

She insisted it was simply her way of dealing with his large aura reserves. He was still not very sure of that excuse, by that logic she should have done the same with Yang or Pyrrha, but he was willing to accept it at the very least.

He held his shield up to block the shots he knew were coming as he struggled to regain his footing and breath. He was unprepared for the sudden strike to his shield but managed to keep himself from falling back, at least until the next strike hit and he lost his footing entirely, stumbling back.

Jaune pulled back and repositioned his shield in front of him, careful to keep his sword ready to counter attack in the break between his opponent's strikes. Blake was never a very hard hitter by Beacon standards, preferring hit and run tactics to brute force, but that didn't mean she was weak either.

When she wanted to she could really pack a punch, and he currently had the aura level to prove it, but she usually decided to wait to use that strength until her opponent was unprepared. She liked to wait for an opening, and unfortunately for him, he had a lot of them.

He saw the slight tension in her knees build just before she prepared to lunge, a subtle thing Yang had warned him to look for in spars with her partner. He was able to get his shield up to block the first strike and he used the second of pause to bring his sword around in a wide arc. It didn't connect with anything but he had been prepared for that.

Jaune stepped towards his opponent, forcing Blake to step back or risk losing her footing. It wasn't a difficult choice to make and she took a step back, then another when Jaune repeated the step forward. This time shoving his shield out to push her further.

Blake was paranoid at the best of times, and she suspected he was up to something before the third attempt. Her narrowed eyes betrayed her thoughts as she tried to unravel his plan. She was smart and had already started to pull back before Jaune was able to press her anymore.

It just so happened that his third shield bash had been meant as a feint.

This time he did more than push with his shield, instead he extended his arm out, forcing Blake to dodge to the right, leaving her unprepared for his sword to follow up.

It was an okay plan, something she probably wouldn't let him get away with again, and it might have worked, If she hadn't used her semblance the second she came to a stop, leaving a clone behind to take her place as she jumped back. His sword hit its mark and a second later it exploded.

Fighting Blake was like that, Ren was similar though a little easier without the convenient semblance.

Try to hit, miss, take hit, come up with a plan to land a hit, execute plan, miss, take hit. It was a tad bit frustrating to fight people who were just so much faster and more agile. It required him to think on his feet and not just muscle his way through.

He always enjoyed it despite the frustration, even when he lost. That wasn't to say he never won. Ren wasn't too bad, while he was agile Jaune could at least lock him down in an engagement and knock out a few hits. He'd managed a couple wins from their spars.

Blake was a different matter. Any time he started to back her into a corner, she could semblance her way out of it. Ruby was the same way, albeit for a different reason. Blake was a skilled fighter and she was more than smart enough to figure out his plans before he could really use any. Still, he had managed one or two victories, though none of them had ever been glamorous and had mostly just been luck on his part.

Still, he had managed to eke out a couple and most of their spars were fairly long. He took some pride in the fact that he didn't go down quick. Once the spar was officially over the rest of their teams made their way over, along with their new teacher.

"Alright alright, Broody wins." Qrow didn't sound impressed.

"My name's Blake."

"Right." Qrow took a swig from his flask. "Anyways, the knight lost. Suppose I should do the teacherly thing and explain why... Firecracker, why'd your boy toy lose?"

Yang blushed slightly, either at the sudden attention or what her uncle had called him, but she responded quickly. "He can't get past her semblance."

"Yeah, but there's something specific I'm looking for?" Qrow had said that he was a teacher at Signal, Jaune struggled to see how that could have been true. He knew what he was talking about, sure, and he respected the man… but his teaching technique was a little strange.

Strange in the sense that it didn't exist. The man seemed content to let them teach themselves, mostly through beating on each other. He'd offer the occasional advice or word of improvement, before falling silent once more.

It was a strange mix of efficient and annoying. Jaune struggled to tell if he liked it or not. Yang and Ruby seemed to have been used to it. Blake was by far the worse when it came to dealing with Qrow's unique... personality.

"He's fighting her where she's strongest?" Yang replied.

"Close, but not quite what I was looking for." Qrow shrugged his shoulders. "Anybody else?" When nobody said anything he continued. "She's faster, stronger, more skilled, and has more experience. Even with all of that, you're trying to fight her fair."

It took Jaune a second to figure out what he meant by that. "I'm not trying to use dirty tricks on my friends."

"So you're just gonna lose instead?" Qrow asked.

The group was silent for a moment before anybody spoke up.

"It's only a spar, Mr. Branwen." Weiss was the only one to insist on the formal title for the less than formal instructor.

"Here it's only a spar." Qrow gestured towards the main building of Beacon. "But out there, in the real world, there aren't second chances where you can decide to use that nasty trick you've been keeping to yourself. Mountain Glenn should have served as a lesson to you all, to show you that you can't always afford to be the honorable fighter." He turned towards Jaune. "You especially. Whether you want to admit it or not you're way behind everybody else in terms of raw skill."

"Uncle Qrow, that's not true!" Ruby was the first to try and defend him... but she was far from the only one. In fact, most of those present took some kind of offense to it.

In the end though Jaune couldn't disagree. He was weaker than the rest of them, no matter how much they might insist he wasn't. It had taken two of the strongest people in their year, one of them was even a renowned fighter, just to get him to the point where he could hold his own. He had come a long way, and his friends would insist on that fact,but at the end of the day he had a lot of work to do in order to catch up.

He felt like that fact should have, and it had once, but it no longer did. His partner had never been anything less than supportive and Yang had helped him adapt. He knew he wasn't as good as everyone else, but he also knew that despite that fact he was able to hold his own against people who had trained all their lives. It took time to wear him out and that was time that allowed others to act. It didn't leave him in the best place for one on one fights but made him a strong team fihgter.

His friends had helped him become something better than he ever would have achieved on his own. He owed them more than he thought he could ever pay back, Pyrrha and Yang especially.

His mind came back to Qrow's words. Who benefited from them holding back? Would the fact that they didn't give training their all hurt them in the future? Would it lead to somebody getting injured? Or worse?

Maybe he was overthinking it, looking into it too much, but he couldn't help but think Qrow had a point.

"Guys..." He didn't speak loudly, but it seemed the rest of the group had been waiting for him to speak. "I... I think he has a point." The group seemed surprised, even Qrow looked shocked that somebody had agreed with him. "Mountain Glenn was... not the ideal mission. Torchwick beat Pyrrha because he didn't fight fair, the White Fang managed to get away with the train because they didn't fight fair..."

The group was silent and seemed to struggle with his words. Ren was the first to speak. "Results are what matters?"

"Pretty much." Qrow was the one to respond to his friend's question. "Obviously you can't go sacrificing civilians for an advantage or anything, but being deceitful and manipulative in a fight can more than cover the gap in skill. I can't tell you the number of 'superior' fighters I bested when I was your age because I didn't fight 'honorably'." Qrow took a drink from his flask. "Copper you're up next."

His partner took a second to realize who he meant by that. "Who am I fighting?"

Qrow brought a hand to his chin. "Hmm, how about Yang and her boy-toy."

Jaune tried not to blush at that, he really did. Sadly he could feel the heat creep up his neck nonetheless.

"Are you sure I can't go against you?" Yang glared at her uncle. "Or are you just getting slow in your old age?"

"Careful there firecracker, might take you up on that." Qrow said. "Another time though."

Jaune moved over to the far side of the sparring ring they had been using over the last two hours. Yang joined him and they both looked across the ring at their opponent.

Jaune sighed. Pyrrha was one of the best people he had ever met. She was nicer than she had any right to be and was kind in a way very few people seemed to be. He considered her family, much like the rest of his team, and had attempted to avoid upsetting her. By, for example, holding her moniker against her.

The Invincible Girl stood across from them, as much as he hated using that name it fit Pyrrha perfectly. In combat she was amazing, leaps and bounds ahead of anybody else in their year, and now she was set to oppose them.

They would need a plan if they were gonna win, that much was obvious, sadly no plan ever survives contact with Pyrrha. That was just a fact. She was more than talented, she was intelligent, cunning in combat, and worst of all, she was experienced. Any plan you made, the odds were somebody had already tried it or she would figure it out soon enough.

Meaning your plan had to be adaptable.

Jaune had no such plan.

Yang stretched her muscles out a little as they got ready for the match, Pyrrha doing much the same from the other side of the arena.

She had hoped that Jaune had some kind of secret for fighting his partner, maybe a trick or two up his sleeve that he had thought about during their training. She had been hoping he would know how to win.

Unfortunately Jaune had no real plans. In the end they had decided on having her be the aggressive upfront fighter while Jaune would hang back and look for any openings he could find. It wasn't the most thought out plan but it had been necessary.

Jaune had already been in a spar with Blake and that had been a long one. Not only was he tired both mentally and physically, his aura was already starting off a little lower. Yang was fresh considering she hadn't done any spars since their uncle had come to get them. She was also one of the few fighters in their year who had been able to challenge Pyrrha.

She'd never won of course, but she had been a challenge.

Yang regretted that fact now as she stared down her impending doom from across the arena.

"Well... you ready?" Jaune kept his voice low.

"Oh yeah" Yang responded sardonically. "Who isn't ready to get beat into the ground?"

Jaune chuckled softly. "At least we'll be beat down together?"

"That isn't nearly as inspiring as you think it is." Yang held a hand over her eyes dramatically. "My will to fight has been ruined, you'll have to go on without me."

Jaune rolled his eyes before lowering his body slightly, holding his shield up in front of him. Yang fell into a low stance and slid her foot back some, preparing to rush in the moment her uncle called the match to start.

As the seconds dragged on she began to wonder if he ever would. Just as she was about to start the fight herself, her uncle finally spoke.

"Go!"

Yang pushed off her back foot, throwing herself forward just as Pyrrha did something similar. Pyrrha lunged with her weapon, striking towards her face. Yang ducked beneath the strike, striking forward with her fist towards Pyrrha's stomach.

Pyrrha's shield blocked her hit and deflected it to the side slightly as Yang followed up with her other fist thrown towards the girl's head. This time Pyrrha ducked back and kicked out with her feet.

Yang felt the strike land on her leg and just about buckled before regaining her momentum. Pyrrha was about to follow through when something off to the side flashed into view and another sword caught her own, giving Yang time to pull back.

The two locked blades for a moment before Pyrrha pulled back, stepping out of the way of the strike and blocking the follow up with her shield. Jaune charged in and caught her sword on his shield as he attempted to push it to the side and create an opening. It didn't work as Pyrrha stepped back rather than allow herself to be dragged around by her own weapon.

Jaune followed and Pyrrha moved her shield into her vision in order to block his strike. A strike which never came. To her credit, it only took a second for Pyrrha to realize something was wrong and she immediately rolled to the side. Saving her from a direct blast from Ember Celica.

The dust and rock kicked up allowed Yang the opportunity to push forward and force Pyrrha back some. Jaune moved to the side in an attempt to flank her. Again, to her credit, Pyrrha realized immediately. Unfortunately for her she was kept busy by Yang and unable to properly maneuver as she was pushed closer and closer to the edge of the arena.

Jaune stepped forward and was about to strike when he suddenly dived to the side, just as Pyrrha's shield came flying in his direction. He managed to get mostly out of the way but it still managed to hit his leg, chipping away at his aura once more.

A second later the shield was back in Pyrrha's hand. She spun with the momentum, using it to launch a kick towards Yang's legs. She managed to brace herself and keep her ground but a shield came flying towards her face immediately after.

Yang managed to get her arms up to prevent it from slamming into her face, her aura taking the hit. She took the follow up strike on her right arm, driving the left towards her opponents face.

Pyrrha bent backwards, kicking up with her legs and driving Yang back. Jaune moved in with a swing of his sword, forcing her back farther. She brought her sword up and caught his, sliding it down her blade before pushing it to the side, leaving Jaune open.

Yang rushed in to try and force Pyrrha back but was caught off guard for her shield to catch her fist.

Pyrrha lowered herself and swung her legs around knocking Yang off her feet. She switched her weapon into javelin form and Yang barely managed to roll out of the way in time to avoid it stabbing through her chest. Yang attempted to get back on her feet but a shield smashed into the back of her leg and she was forced back down.

Yang twisted over, prepared to try and push Pyrrha's blade to the side. She heard somebody yell from the side and Jaune crashed into his partner. Rather than trying to push her back and use his sword he tackled her to the ground.

It took Yang a second to get to her feet and during that time Jaune was attempting to keep Pyrrha from disengaging, in doing so he was taking a number of hits that looked like they hurt. Without an aura meter she couldn't tell what Jaune was down to but it had to have been getting low.

Jaune threw himself to the side and Yang used the opportunity to fire several shots at their opponent, forcing her back some and closer towards the edge of the arena. It had become clear that they weren't going to beat her the way they had been attempting. Wearing Pyrrha down took far too long and an entire team of huntsmen, albeit ones in training.

Jaune caught her eyes for a brief second and subtly nodded. They were gonna try to push her out of the ring, of course that was easier said than done. Usually Pyrrha had a solid control of the ring allowing her to dictate where the fight went in the ring, keeping her safely away from the edge of the ring and where she had the advantage.

She and Jaune weren't the standard opponents though. Both were strong and capable and they had a solid understanding of how each other fought.

Of course Pyrrha noticed their not so subtle look and was quick to figure out their plan. She seemed to know where she was standing and just how close to the edge. She began to step forward and Jaune charged her.

The engagement was incredibly one sided, Jaune trying to match his partner in terms of sword skill and failing spectacularly. It didn't matter though because his fighting style was very stationary, and despite her power, Pyrrha wasn't able to force him back. When she tried to step around he forced her back, or failing that Yang jumped in with the added benefit of giving Jaune a second of rest.

Even still, it took a couple engagements to force her back just a couple feet, and the closer she got the harder she fought. Eventually they couldn't push her any farther and it began to look like they were fated to lose. Jaune brought his sword down and locked it against Pyrrha's, then let go.

The sudden shift was enough to have Pyrrha fall forward and bring her sword down. Jaune cried out as her sword struck his shoulder, and his aura flared. A second later Jaune threw himself down, causing his partner to stumble forward once more.

Yang took the opportunity for what it was and fired all the remaining shots from her gauntlets.

As the smoke cleared she saw Pyrrha holding her shield in front of her face and her feet firmly planted... just outside the ring.

Author's Note: This chapter… gave me so many issues. I… I just cant express… I had to call in my entire team of editours for this one just to get the fight scene coherent… They did a good job of helping me polish it but I'm still not super happy with how it turned out.

Other than that though things have been going good in real life, got promoted on the 1st… no, really. April fools day is my new date of rank… I SWEAR. Got waived to PFC, not a big deal for most but hey I'll take the extra money. Kinda need it because I'm throwing like 400 a month into my retirement plan… man, and to think, less than a year ago I was in High School.

Your reviews and thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

SIncerely SE