Disclaimer: I own nothing of RWBY.


Lead

By: Imyoshi

Time to rewind a day.

To the day Jaune Arc's lie finally caught up with him—forced him to confront his fears—and toward his first steps to becoming a true team leader.

Thoughts breathed. Emotions rose. Recalling yesterday's meeting, Jaune allowed the pictures with Headmaster Ozpin to resurface. Every word and facial feature came back full force, and his team patiently waited for him to start, curiously wondering how their room suddenly got so cold. Their Fearless Leader never acted like this. It wasn't in his nature to be so distant.

None of them had to wait too long.

...

How strange.

Ozpin ever so blithely slanted his eyes, studying the student in front of him with his fingers laced together in a perfect knit. He hummed a light tune only he could hear, observing the student and his nervous tendencies to a high-degree. The Arc had something to tell him about his transcripts? Possibly a secret that affected both of them? Why else would the boy bravely venture into the lion's den? Such actions demanded his full attention.

Interesting.

"And what about your transcripts?" Ozpin inquired after a minute, leaning forward on his chair.

Jaune stiffened under his tone, but he reached down into his soul and found some hidden courage. Had to be his Aura. The Headmaster could have sworn Jaune Arc appeared to glow a healthy shade of white for the briefest of moments, but when he blinked, that skeleton of white vanished. In its place stood a person he feared might throw up.

"They're fake." Jaune told him boldly, feeling an invisible weight fall off his shoulders.

"... Come again?"

"They're fake! Okay!" Jaune repeated, throwing his hands up into the air. That felt great to say. "My transcripts are fake! I got into Beacon through forged transcripts. I've never attended any combat school before coming here. I never trained with some Huntsmen. I've done none of that. I snuck into this school with zero training backing me up. There! Now you know."

Glaring through his glasses, Ozpin calmly considered the implication of Mr. Arc's words. He fretted over them, mused over each one, searched beneath the subtext, and for the life of him, he could not deduce his line of reasoning. There was nothing to gain from that reveal, the exact opposite. Now he had more to lose than ever.

"Why have you revealed this to me, Mr. Arc? You could've continued attending Beacon without me ever knowing. So why now? What's pushed you to reveal your secret?"

A body turned rigid. Jaune got lost in the memory from earlier but straightened his back upon remembering a different thought, pushing him forward with his plan. None of this was about him, it was never about him, only his team. Whatever happened to him from here on out didn't matter. It did not matter! A leader must take responsibility for his teammates, and that included protecting them from even himself. Sacrifices were a given.

"I was still in Professor Goodwitch's class when you told her about those students who got expelled. How all of them got expelled."

"That still doesn't explain everything—?"

"You said the losers of the Vytal Tournament had to go under a strict reevaluation!" Jaune felt his heartbeat racing wildly. "And I've just told you that my transcripts are fake, but if I hadn't, and if—no! When I would've lost in the tournament, you would've found my fake transcripts." A fist formed from a combination of anger and grief. "I was okay thinking only I was going to be expelled. I was okay with that. That wasn't too much, but when I heard that the other student's entire team got expelled and..."

Ozpin caught up. "And your team knows of your fake transcripts. You've come to turn yourself in, hoping to take all the blame and protect them."

He couldn't look him directly in the eyes, finding his professor's chocolate mug a much better choice. "It's not their fault they got a liar for a leader. They shouldn't have to suffer for my mistakes."

Ozpin studied the boy with microscopic detail. "You appear tired, Mr. Arc."

He only sighed, not fighting such a claim. "It's been a very long day. I've had a lot to think about."

"I bet you have." Ozpin stood up, breathing in frustration. Forced calmness filled the air of his clockwork office, such a troublesome moment. "Revealing your fake transcripts without warning sounds like you've had a busy day. No person does that on a whim."

"So? Am I going to get expelled now?" Jaune cut straight to the point, using whatever fumes of courage he had left. "If I am, could you please leave my team out of it? They deserve to be here."

Headmaster Ozpin glanced down into the chocolaty depths of his beverage, twirling the seconds by spinning his mug. Jaune Arc had thrown away his future without an afterthought, only to avoid the off-chance of being discovered later on. A bold tactic. No other way of putting it, he was impressed with the leader's dedication to his team. Not many people put themselves as a shield. Choosing him as the leader proved to be the better call, even if others might be against his judgment, Ozpin only saw potential. A potential that could be nurtured into a respectable leader one day, maybe in another world, another time, he would have looked to Team JNPR as his peculiar team instead of Team RWBY.

Now, what to do with Mr. Arc? A slap on the wrist was inexcusable. No, not that. Glynda would never let him hear the end of it if she ever figured out, and that resolution sounded much too vague and monotonous. No fun. Proper protocol called for the Arc's immediate expulsion, like the student prior, cut-and-dry. However, a striking contrast existed between the two, Jaune possessed qualities that would be a waste throwing away and owning up to his faults deserved something. Not just any man did such a thing, only ones with a sense of justice and pride. Be such a shame to toss out such a student.

A quick sip of his mug allowed him to weigh in the pros and cons.

Immoral deeds faced punishment, and good ones got rewarded, but Jaune was stuck in-between. Maybe not a penalty or a reward, but a chance? An opportunity, a gentleman's game where bending the rules might be favorable for both parties. Sounded intriguing, sounded fun, and he had the perfect way for the Fearless Leader of Team JNPR to get into the spirit.

"The difference between that student and you, Jaune Arc, is that you came clean and told the truth. Instead of risking your team's future and safety, you've only risked your own, an admirable quality fit for a leader."

Recalling that Alpha Beowolf's sacrifice, Jaune learned from that experience. "A real leader sacrifices themselves for the good of his team, so they never have to walk over their friends' corpses."

"Well said." Ozpin both agreed and disagreed. Sacrifice should never be lingering in the minds of Remnant's youth. "Now it is indeed true that I should expel you on the spot. However..." He sat on his chair, grinning. "For your courage and selfless deeds, I won't reward you, but give the opportunity to prove yourself in the Vytal Tournament."

The poor fool found his willpower to breathe gone, stunned from the Headmaster's words. He stumbled, almost falling as his legs nearly gave out. The heart in his chest thumped loudly in his ears, drowning the room filled with tick-tocks, but Ozpin pressed onward. "If you lose, you'll be kicked out of Beacon Academy, not expelled. Any team that does not win will be put under strict reevaluation, that is true, but you'll merely not make the cut. Call it a gift for putting yourself ahead of your comrades." Ozpin offered him a smile that pushed the air back into his lungers. "Now, hypothetically speaking, if you should win, well then, there's nothing I can do to stop you from staying here at Beacon. It'll be out of my hands. After all, if you win, you deserve to be here."

Jaune remained at a loss for words, unable to believe his professor, but he ended up finding the most important ones in the jumbled mess. "And my team?"

Ozpin waved his hand innocently at the question, but never missed a beat at Jaune's focus on only his team. "As far as I'm concerned, you are the one with the fake transcripts and not the. They have nothing to worry about unless they do exceptionally poorly during the Vytal Tournament."

Hearing that from the Headmaster himself, Jaune carefully touched his chest, feeling an intense tug. It was both cold and warm, resembling his Aura and then not. Something unique swished awkwardly around in his soul, weighing down in a slow drift. A strange but familiar presence he only felt moments ago came and then went, as if he had been harboring there for quite some time until relief washed over him.

"The people of Vale favored your team, Jaune Arc, do not disappoint them."

...

Jaune lifted his head, returning from memory lane, and dared a glance at his team. Now with those secrets no longer dividing them, he breathed easily. Those lies had taken such a dark toll on his soul, robbed him of some of his Arc pride, and even if Ozpin hid some hidden message, he hardly cared to find it. Things were already better than he ever wished, why push his luck looking for red-herrings?

"And that about wraps it up." Jaune felt even more tension drop off his shoulders. "Either I win the Vytal Tournament or get kicked out of Beacon. And no one's expecting me to fight, and I'll probably lose, but in the end, you're all going to be safe. That's all that matters."

He met their series of mixed reactions, not knowing what to expect beyond this point.

Pyrrha fixed her sights on the ground, shuffling her feet with reasonable confliction. Ren acted indifferently, if not affected with his eyes set, but it was Nora who seized the moment-pancake, bawling her eyes out. Without warning—he still should have seen this coming—she lunged and captured him in a bone-breaking hug, shaking the poor Arc in a remorseless loop. A strange sight to see with him being much taller than her.

"You're the greatest leader ever! The greatest!" Nora shook him harder. He was slowly losing feeling in both his arms. "We'll make sure you win! Don't worry! Ren and I got this! Right, Ren?!"

Nora whimpered with her lip wobbling, and Ren couldn't crush her spirits and answer no. Truthfully, there was no guarantee he could do anything to help Jaune, even with a champion on their team, and saying no was the safest option, but Nora always looked up to him for all the answers. It was a troublesome job being the logical one because he wasn't allowed the opportunity to say no when it really mattered—ever!

This moment mattered.

Seeing their leader losing the feeling in his upper body, and turning a shade of blue, Ren calmly sat on his bed and glanced around the room for inspiration. The answer came to him upon focusing on the poster hanging on the wall, the one with the Sloth King, the same one that hid Jaune's secret and destructive power from the outside world. Ren was now confident that their friend hadn't accidentally tripped on Nora's grenade canister and impaled the wall with Crocea Mors. Too circular for an edged sword. That was done by an Aura-based technique.

He gambled on that technique Jaune called Shooting Star.

Inspiration, Ren figured, and he got up to walk over and promptly rip the poster off the wall, allowing the sun's light to shine through and hit his leader on the face. Pink eyes narrowed, recalling the fight between Jaune and Pyrrha with minute detail. Maybe this bleak future could still be changed and salvaged? Possibly. Nothing was set in stone. Hope existed in the darkest times. Just like this poster that hid his friend's powers, even from them, it inspired the Lie to stick to his roots.

"Does anyone else know of your Aura abilities?" Ren asked, looking over to Jaune and Nora. He received a shake of the head. Good. That gave him a mad but smart idea. "Good. I have a plan."

Nora's eyes sparkled, tears all gone. "See! I knew Ren wouldn't let us down. He always has a plan."

Jaune wisely kept his mouth shut, afraid she might crush him more in a stronger snake-like grip if he so much as disagreed. Aura saved his fragile bones from cracking underneath the pressure. Ouch! Thankfully, the fight with his partner hadn't completely starved him of Aura, but he was nearing his limits.

"Here's my idea." Ren lifted the poster, allowing the words to roll off his tongue. "You're going to keep your Aura abilities a secret until the final round of the tournament. We're all going to lie about it if someone asks. Once the day of the tournament arrives, you'll use the element of surprise to gain an advantage and win the leader free-for-all."

Jaune frowned, feeling his spirits crushed between Nora's grip. "But I was planning on showing off in Professor Goodwitch's class tomorrow. I was going to wow the crowd!"

Ren thinned his lips with narrowed eyes, enticing a gasp from both the knuckleheads, though their reactions varied. Jaune looked impressed and attentive since he rarely frowned, more indicative to nonchalant-ness, while Nora drooled with something akin to hunger.

"Not anymore you're not." Ren argued for the sake of his friend's safety and future. "You said it yourself, Jaune, no one's expecting anything out of you, well, we're going to use that to our advantage, and surprise the other teams." He pointed reasonably at Pyrrha's bandaged form. His eyes softened as an apology for using her as an example. "Look what happens when you have the element of surprise on your side. You did that with your Aura weapons. Do you really want the other Huntsmen prepared for that?"

The answer was as transparent as the plan, but ingenious all the same. Of course, Jaune had trouble believing in a gamble.

"But we would still have to win the four-on-four and two-on-two." Jaune reasoned, but already noticed his argument falling apart the second Nora moved away to stand next to Ren and Pyrrha.

Nora's grin was wide and Pyrrha's was soft, if not warmer. Ren simply smirked, leaning on the way with his eyes closed. He even folded his arms together, gripping the poster as a means to an end.

This time Pyrrha broke the silence, holding Crocea Mors close to her chest. "You may have kept secrets and lied to us, but you also protected us by putting yourself in harm's way."

"Yeah! There's no way we're going to let Ozpin kick you out. Uh-uh!" Nora threw her thumb up. Losing wasn't an option. Nuh-uh! "That just means we'll have to kick everyone's butt in the tournament and win! And don't worry about the two-on-two! Ren and I got it covered!"

"What Nora said." Ren quickly agreed. He paused, roaming his eyes over to his friend's blade clutched in Pyrrha's hands. "But you will have to use Crocea Mors during the first round for this plan to work, Jaune. You can't give the enemy even one glimpse of your strength until the final round."

Being told that he had to use Crocea Mors a while longer barely upset the Arc, but he still felt his voice shrink in his throat. Of all the—choke! Here he was, prepared for the worst possible outcome, and his team didn't seem to think that losing was even a viable option. They believed they could win the Vytal Tournament without a shred of doubt.

Where was this same support from his parents?

"Guys?"

"We're Team JNPR!" Nora cried out, proclaiming to the world around them. She made them seem extraordinary. "We don't lose! And we're not gonna start now! We'll train until we're unstoppable!"

"The semester is almost up." Ren weighed in, staring down in thought. "We can train during our two-week break. Maybe leave Beacon and find somewhere where there aren't other people around?"

Pyrrha seemed to approve at that idea, nodding while adding her thoughts to the mix. A training break could improve their teamwork. Nora fussed about the potential fun. Jaune couldn't believe what he was hearing. He couldn't. After all the lies and secrets, after the fight, after everything, and they were still willing to help him?

Nora jumped right onto Ren's bed, bouncing multiple times and ruining whatever sense of order it once had. She was grinning openly and not in the way he liked. "We can train in Emerald Forest! There's no one there but Grimm! It's perfect!"

Ren was about to deny that crazy idea, but pieces of a bigger picture began to fall into place. No people around and only Grimm. Dangerous, sure, but it could prove to be the perfect place to train. No prying eyes to watch them practice only benefited their training. Team JNPR could even camp at Emerald Forest to save time between travels, and Nora would cherish the camping experience. She loved the outdoors.

Knowing his friend needed their help, and four heads were better than one, Ren figured now was the time to be active. He owed it to his leader for putting his enrollment and future on the line instead of jeopardizing theirs. Ren didn't know if Jaune would ever fully understand the weight of his actions he had done for both Nora and him, the sacrifices it entailed, but he was grateful to be serving under his leadership. Lie Ren couldn't ask for a better one.

"It is perfect." Ren agreed, standing before him. "You could practice all your Aura techniques without anyone seeing, and we could get some team training done as well."

The more Jaune stared at Ren, the more he realized how serious he was about winning the tournament, and he offered a small smile. "You already decided on this plan, haven't you?"

Another smirk. "Consider it a way of saying thanks for sticking your neck out for us."

"You sure have a funny way of saying thanks." Ren said nothing, so he waved his interest, intent to listening to this new plan. "Fine, I'm on board, so what's the first step to your so-called plan?"

Pyrrha grinned. Watching the two converse away, while she remained on the sidelines, almost made her feel bad for not contributing to a conversation about camping and roughing it in the woods. She was about to interrupt and add her input, but a small sigh caught her attention. A peek over her shoulder revealed the culprit, surprising her.

Nora was quiet and staring intently at Ren with a goofy smile plastered for all to see.

"Nora? Are you okay?" Pyrrha nudged her on the shoulder, and she responded by not taking her eyes off Ren as he talked in such a confident and powerful tone to their leader. "Nora?"

"I've never seen Ren so... so..." Nora failed to finish the sentence, awestruck by Ren's complete mood change from lazy and passive to confident and assertive. Her insides heated up in ways pancakes never could. "So serious."

Nora giggled. Even when he fought, he did as little as possible to win. So she had never seen this confident side of him before, never-ever, but she loved it. A lot! A lot-lot!

"Come one, Nora." Ren derailed her train of thought, moving toward the door. "We'll need to reserve some camping gear from Beacon's storeroom and find a map of Emerald Forest before heading out. It's best to be prepared."

Nora needed no persuasion and followed right behind him, arms playfully hidden behind her back, skipping on the soles of her boots. She stuck to his shadow, ignoring Pyrrha's knowing look.

Generally, Ren waited for Jaune and Pyrrha, but considering those two just fought a blazing battle, and he was on one of this rare non-lazy spur of the moment adrenaline boost, he went on without them. Let them rest from such a heated battle. Besides, he had a sixth sense about following the best course of action.

Jaune raised a brow as he watched them leave. Hn? Nope. Getting used to a serious and active Ren sounded impossible, like breaking a fundamental law of the universe or physics. Impracticable for him. The numbers didn't add up, no matter how one looked at them, be it sideways, diagonal, or upside down. Oh well. Best not to dwell too much on one of life's greater secrets. Not like he had much choice, not with the tenseness filling the room with his hairs rising on his neck.

"Our conversation isn't finished yet, is it?"

"No." Jaune stubbornly answered, knowing what his partner wished to avoid talking about and appeared to taste ash in her mouth. "If I remember correctly, right before Nora interrupted us, you're still mad at me for something. Wanna tell me what it was?"

Pyrrha answered with a soft no, looking away from him. That only lasted a brief second before staring back at him with hopelessly lost eyes. As if the next words for her to say were too hard to admit, but somewhere along the lines, she found the courage to speak. "Did you ever need me or was it all for nothing?"

He had trouble grasping the question? "What? What do you mean? I don't know what you're—?"

"The training! Was I ever needed!" Pyrrha roared in fury as he forcefully took a step back. The blood in her face boiled, but the sudden anger dissipated as quickly as it came, leaving behind a burnt shell. "Did you ever need me?"

What? He moved closer, now sure where this anger radiated from as he stood before her. "Of course I needed you. I'm here because of you."

She backed away, unable to grasp that. Green eyes looked away, choosing to sit on her leader's bed while rubbing her cheek from where Excalibur had cut her. "How? You figured out all these brilliant Aura powers on your own. I had no part in that." Pyrrha sadly dropped her head, sinking into his bed more. "What good was I? I failed as a teacher. You had no choice but to learn by yourself because I was such a worthless instructor. And look where it's gotten you?"

Thoughts racing, he thought back to her strained I'm Sorry smiles during training, her desperate pleas for him to back out of the Vytal Tournament, and the anger toward him when she discovered he had been practicing behind their backs—behind her back. Everything started to come together with a slow realization scratching at his head.

Was Pyrrha mad at herself?

"But that's my fault." Jaune countered firmly. He already ached over this issue since forging Excalibur. "I shouldn't have needed to be trained from the start... it's my fault for coming into Beacon with fake transcripts with zero Huntsmen experience to back me up. Not yours. I know that, and you know that."

He hoped that knowledge pulled her out of her funk, but the effect seemed to do the opposite. If anything, it sent her deeper. "... Why aren't you furious at me for being such a lousy teacher?"

Jaune paused. Hearing the question leave her lips made him silent, unable to feel this deep anger she thought he harbored for her. Whatever it was, whatever she thought it was, merely wasn't there, no matter what she or anyone else thought on the subject, and for a simple reason too. "Because you never gave up on me. You believed in me even with all these doubts you had. You assumed I could fight in the Vytal Tournament against all those leaders when I just asked you to trust in me. How can I even think to be mad at you?"

She remained unconvinced, so he decided to reveal a secret he kept to himself for various reasons. "Did you know that my own parents don't believe in me? They're expecting me to come home any day now and give up on my dream of becoming a Huntsman. At least you have faith in me. Them? Nope. I was on my own the minute I stepped onto a Bullhead."

Her lips curved downward. Pyrrha attempted to process what he just said, but for the life of her, none of it correlated. How could parents not believe in their child? She only made it this far because her family offered her unconditional support, but he walked his path alone until he bumped into her and the rest of their friends. No. The world could not be so cruel, but one look of his honest face and her heart broke a little. That devastating secret snapped her out of her funk, mildly.

"But I still couldn't teach you."

Seeing his chance to strike, he went in for the kill with free smiles. "Hey, cheer up! You're a great teacher! I'm just a bad student! I might have created an Aura sword, but that didn't mean I knew how to use it. All those amazing moves you saw during our fight all came from you. Those dodges back there, yours. Those swings with my swords, yours again. And guess what else? Who was the one that gave me my Aura in the first place? Come on! Tell me who!"

Pyrrha's eyes grew. She quickly looked away, unable to control the beginnings of a soft smile playing on the corners of her lips. Too late! He saw it. Finally! Still, she acted stubbornly quiet about the whole ordeal, and he wouldn't allow her to hide that grin. Nope! He earned that smile and was planning to pop that small bubble of insecurity bubbling up inside her if it killed him.

"C'mon, Pyrrha! I know you know." Jaune slid up to her on his bed, wrapping one arm around her torso, pulling her closer. She offered a weak struggle, even more so when he rested his chin on her shoulder. "What was it that gave me my power and hope in the first place? I'll give you a hint. She's the most incredible girl I know. Her face is even on my favorite cereal box." A soft mumble, but he didn't quite catch that. "Huh? What was that?"

"... Me." Pulling her closer, she turned over and hid her face in his shoulder. "Promise me you won't get too hurt in the tournament."

"Hey! I promised you I got stronger. What more do you want?" Pyrrha answered by turning her back toward him, and he was forced to laugh nervously, hugging her again like that time in the hallway. "Fine, fine, I promise."

"And no more lying."

Tightening the hug, he felt her relax along with her beating heart. "Arc's honor."

Pyrrha sunk lower into the promised hug, warming up into the embrace with her smile grand and impossible to miss. All the awkwardness and tension drifted away as the rest of the night passed by uneventfully. Ren and Nora returned with the latter slung over his shoulder after stopping her from breaking-and-entering Beacon property. Presumably, the store was closed for the day, pushing their plans back. Discussions would finish later.

Jaune had zero problems with that plan, instead wondering why Nora clung to Ren's body so tightly. By all forms of luck, she fell asleep on his back in the same position. Not like Ren pushed or even tried to stop her, which only stumped the leader more.

Maybe he would never understand those two?

...

The next morning, Pyrrha woke up first, a rarity, feeling brand new and pleasantly surprised to find all her wounds and burns healed from yesterday's brawl. Better news, she discovered that her Aura had reached the spot on her cheek from where her partner's sword had cut her. Phew! She had been worried there for a moment, scared that her Aura might never again reach that spot, but luck smiled upon her.

Not so soon after, the rest of her team woke up about an hour before classes started, giving them just enough time to accomplish little to nothing for the next half hour. Model students never. Sometimes, when the sun was high and the class tediously dull, Pyrrha wished to be outside, slaying Grimm instead of taking notes during Professor Port's morning class. Listening to him go on-and-on about his prodigal youth got old on day one, but voicing those concerns and asking such questions warranted at least a few oddball stares.

She envied Nora and her carefree ways.

Carefree? Check? A doting partner? Double check? Powerful? Triple check. Must be nice being Nora. Pyrrha shook her head, falling under the stereotypical green-eyed cliché. No! She focused on other things. Seeing her partner still fighting the edge between dream and reality with Nora tugging Ren back down for a few more minutes, she walked around the room, searching for her school skirt. As her hand checked underneath each person's bed, it came across a plastic bag underneath Jaune's bed, and she pulled it out. A From Dust Till Dawn bag hung loosely in her hand, and the memories of her leader buying an assortment of Dust crystals came back to light. After everything that happened, this little subject must have gotten buried and overlooked.

Huh? She hoped no one saw her embarrassing blush.

Checking the bag, she was shocked to find only white Dust shards. Dust crystals that were practically worthless for their impractical support in both battle and everyday life. Why would her partner want these?

"Jaune?" Pyrrha received a sleepy huh. "What are you doing with these white Dust crystals?"

He appeared to wake up more to the question, rubbing away the sand from his eyes. Just like Pyrrha, he had forgotten he bought those and sat up on his bed and took one out of the bag. He played with the shard between his fingers with the gem reflecting an image of his face off the corner light, and he thought back to his earlier idea. Humph. It seemed so long ago. Funny how the world worked.

Tossing the shard into the air, he grinned blandly. "I was going to do something with them, but it's just a crazy idea."

Crazy? Huh? Out of nowhere, Ren caught the crystal and carefully studied their leader and his seemingly innocent smile. If he learned anything from yesterday's events, it was behind that smile laid something greater than sheer curiosity, and he wasn't so quick to ignore it anymore. A simple flick of his fingers and the oh-so-useless Dust shard fell back into the bag.

"After seeing you create a sword and gun out of Aura, I'm willing to listen to your crazy idea." Ren reasoned while buttoning up his student outfit. Nora hovered over his shoulder, using his bed as a stand, humming along and half-dressed. Even Pyrrha wanted to know more about this so-called crazy idea. "So? What is it?"

Looking between his teammates, Jaune reached down and pulled out another Dust shard. "Well, you see, I want to find a way to store Aura into these Dust crystals and use them as a way of recharging when I'm running low on Aura since there's already nothing in them."

Nora cooed. "Oh! And how do you plan to do that?"

"I have no idea, but give me some time, and I'll figure it out."

No one doubted him for even a moment when it came to Aura—not anymore—and they generally accept that their leader probably could figure out a way to add Aura to a Dust crystal. If anyone at this point, it was him. That was their Jaune! A flavor of surprise with every bite! Grumble! Speaking of food, all four peeked down at their raucous stomachs.

"Well, we better hurry before they stop serving breakfast." Pyrrha said, finding her skirt underneath Nora's pillow. "I don't know about you, but I'm famished."

"I bet! Who wouldn't be after that amazing fight yesterday?" Nora grinned, leaning over Ren's shoulder, she then noticed Pyrrha's bandaged-free arms. "Hey! You're not hurt anymore!"

She looked down at her arms. "Yeah, it appears that my Aura finally got around to taking care of my injuries."

"Interesting." Jaune suddenly noted, losing all sleepiness in a surprise effort to study her arms. He glared up at her seriously, concentrating on his Aura. "Pyrrha? Can you focus your Aura for me real quick?"

Not use to her leader acting so pressing, she followed.

He immediately felt her enormous Space weighing down on him, but shrugged off that sensation, getting far too used to that feeling. Pyrrha's blood Aura appeared before him, all fine and gooey, unlike the day before where her Aura had taken a significant beating from Supernova. Not a crack to be seen with the cut on her cheek all healed from where Excalibur had cut her. A tiny smirk played on his lips with his eyes scanning every inch to make sure no lasting damage was to be observed. Nope! None.

Huh? So the effects of Aura based attacks weren't permanent? That was good to know.

His smirk turned into a grin. Concepts came to light. Searching for his Aura notebook, he found it beneath his pillow and began writing in haste. Sketches and footnotes! Uh? He stopped once he noticed no one was talking with all of his team's eyes upon him. Taking notes was so much easier when no one knew he had majestic Aura control. All the more reason to write in Doctor Oobleck's classroom. Ha. An irony, more than just a five-letter word.

Nora then awed at his notebook. "What's that?"

Holding the Aura notebook for his team to see, he shrugged. "It's my Aura notebook. Everything I've learned and discovered about Aura is all right here in my trusty notebook—oh! That reminds me! I got to add that Excalibur can cut through anything that has Aura!"

Scribbling down quickly in his notebook, the rest of Jaune's team couldn't help but stare at their leader, blinking not once, but twice in confusion. It was strange. Real strange. He had never been one to focus on notetaking before, preferring to being on the lazier side of the spectrum, but when it came to Aura, he acted like a totally different person.

Tap!

Jaune tapped the final period, finished writing down his newest notes before closing the notebook with a satisfied sigh. Excitement electrified his nerves. Learning something new about Aura always brought out the best in him, but for now, he was hungry! Fighting Pyrrha worked up a hell of an appetite. Time for breakfast, the single most essential meal of the day!

He grinned, finding his school outfit underneath Nora's dresser, and looked out toward the hole in their wall. Should he get that fixed? Nah! It gave the room character. At least he hoped it did. Never really understood what that meant as a child, like playing outside in the rain or making mud pies, but eh.

"Today nothing could go wrong!"

The rest of Team JNPR decided not to comment.

Famous last words.

...

So breakfast turned out to be a horrible experience with only cereal getting served to the students.

Beacon's chefs were still on strike from some flour-related mishap a few days ago—the leader knew nothing about it—and even Jaune felt sorry for Nora with her head sunk within the bland cereal bowl. On the plus side, at least he knew she was alive from the bubbles coming up from the milk. So, good news? Hard to tell. Oddly enough, both Ren and Pyrrha failed to comment on the strike, eating their bland cereal with stride and paranoid filled eyes that was uncommon on the both of them.

Probably best not to ask them about it.

Dipping his spoon into the meal, he enjoyed, to the best of his abilities, the tasteless breakfast, and by enjoyed, he meant grimaced as he painstakingly swallowed the nutritious, but dirt-tasting bowl of cornflakes. They could have at least served Pumpkin Pete. Sure, it wasn't the most healthy of cereal, up against to drinking four milkshakes, but it tasted good, unlike this slop. Another spoon and he was all but ready to throw in the towel. The third spoonful was what did him in, and when he pushed the bowl away, his stomach growled in protest, wanting food, dirt-tasting or not. Food was food! So he sighed with unpleasantness when he reached for the bowl again.

Breakfast turned out to be a major disaster, but he still held high hopes for the rest of the day.

...

Professor Port's class had a pop quiz that none of Team JNPR studied for thanks to a particular brawl.

Enough said.

...

Entering Dust class, Jaune sighed at the terrible day so far and went to grab the today's assignment, hoping to finish the work early and maybe get started on practicing adding Aura to some of the white Dust crystals he had brought with Pyrrha. Now that she knew about his Aura skills, he was hoping together they could find some way to get this to work. Aura exhaustion was a nightmare for an Aura-user.

He grabbed the assignment and only made it a few steps toward her before a hand came out from behind and wrapped itself around his neck. He saw Pyrrha waving nervously at him as he got pulled away while Ruby's pulling his partner away. That could only mean one thing.

"Good!" Weiss huffed, pulling him toward her work station with his head stuck in a headlock. She certainly wasn't stealing him away from Pyrrha in favor of his interest in the subject and her knowledge of the subject or for the fact that Ruby's a total klutz. Nope! "You got the assignment already. We can get started."

He escaped the headlock and was about to argue his way to freedom, but she glared at him adorably, arms folded in a tight coil, ready to burst if he even so much as complained. Weiss also had one leg bent slightly, ready for his poor shin. She practically dared him to fight back, itching to release adorable mercy.

Damn it.

"Fine..." Jaune breathed, waving the assignment for her to grab. She plucked the assignment from his hand, allowing her perfect eyes to scan the paper in a professional manner, and then tossed the paper away in complete disinterest. "Hey! We kinda needed that!"

"We can finish that later!" Weiss scoffed, pulling out a vial of blue Dust from her pocket. "But for now, I've been creating a new batch of Ice Dust, and I want to have someone to give me feedback. And Ruby's... not the best at giving feedback." There was a distinct Fire Dust explosion in the background and her glare slightly narrowed. "But you are, surprisingly. Now, all we have to do is see what happens when this Dust is tested on our practice dummy."

"... But we didn't get a practice dummy?"

Weiss pretended not to hear that, holding a veil of blue Dust in front of him with a small shake. She was waiting impatiently for something to happen with her cheeks slightly puffed out. A tiny hmm came from her small glare, and when he said nothing, the hmm grew in volume. Eventually, he figured it out and tiredly lifted his hand, sleeve pulled back.

Her mood brightened immediately. "You're so thoughtful, Jaune."

A dark cloud formed over him and his sad smile. "Yup, that's me alright. I'm just a bleeding heart of generosity."

Her new blue Dust creation had been terrifying cold. The results would lead to different, colder ice attacks for her, and his shin made it out perfectly fine that Dust class.

Kick!

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"You were staring at my scar! I don't like it when people do that!"

"Why? It really brings out your eyes. Really makes you look like a Snow Angel—no! Wait! I'm sorry—!"

Kick!

...

Lunchtime!

Probably the only highlight of the day so far, minus the tasteless lunch. What a miserable thought. What happened to his perfect day?

Now that he was away from his team, and alone in the room with Blake for a change after she had pounced on him from the shadows, he finally released he had been holding since the morning. It was funny, not ha-ha funny, but ironic funny, but around her, he felt like he could talk about anything, and she wouldn't judge or reply with earnest, and he had plenty to discuss of his team. Of course, he overlooked the fact that she only appeared interested in her tales of perversions.

So he talked about stuff and then non-stuff. Rambling, honestly. Only half-listening to his verbose, Blake occasionally answered in one to five worded responses. So far she hit the nail on the head each time. A professional in her regard with a rumor floating around that she even had a six worded response. Naturally, not a soul knew whether or not it was true. Still, she listened, somewhat. Ignoring his footsteps was an impossible task, that was for sure.

He walked around his room in a circle, unable to keep still. "So my team's been really great recently, and I don't know how I can ever repay them. What do you think I should do?"

Twitching her bow, she peeked up from her book. "How? Explain."

He rubbed his neck nervously, looking like a combination of happy and sad. "They learned about this secret I had that totally changes everything they knew about me, yet, they were so accepting! It was like dropping a weight off my shoulders when I told them. How can I ever repay them for that?"

She lowered her book with her eyes growing and bow twitching fiercely. Emotions ran rampant inside her, but that widening stopped for her to hide behind her book, never once splitting her vision. "How big was the secret?

He threw his hands up. "Big! Real big! Life-changing big!"

Blake's senses sharpened. Knowing exactly how he felt, but not knowing what advice she could offer, she decided to find her answer in her wise literature. "You could repay them by helping them get stronger."

Her nose twitched. Not the best advice. Why had her book betrayed her?

From the corner of her eye, she saw him freeze in place. He genuinely stopped to think about the idea, contemplating the actions of her words. A moment later, he became all energetic, almost reaching Nora-levels. Now any of all idea she once had flown out the window.

"That's perfect! I can help them get powerful. Thanks, Blake, you're a genius!"

Another job well done.

"I do what I can." Page Flip! "I do charge by the hour by the way since you're cutting into my reading time."

"What? I let you read in our room?" Jaune argued, pointing at the shelf of books that had steadily grown throughout the days. "You practically live here now! I've found some of your clothes in our closet. Those don't just get there by themselves!"

"You're just seeing things."

"What about the time I found you asleep on my bed?"

"That's because we're such great friends." Blake dawdled lazily. "... Buddy."

He paused, crossing his arms at his bookworm friend, realization slowly dawning on him. "Do you even know my last name?"

She, ever so slightly, peered up from her book, face canvas blank. "... I won't even dignify that with a response."

Remembering the perfect advice that she gave him, he decided to drop it. Plus that flour strike was still going on with the chefs—if only he had two minutes with the guilty party—and if he wished for a decent meal for both lunch and dinner, then he would have to run down and catch the next airship to Vale or go hungry for the night. Not to mention, he needed to pick up food for his team. A hungry Nora was a whimpering and loud Nora.

So the best he offered Blake was mild teasing.

"Oh! Okay." Grinning, he waved to her jokingly, unaware that she couldn't see his smile behind her book when he playfully gave her a warning. "Maybe I'll just have to kick you out then?"

Jaune, curse his naivety, meant it as a joke, but she didn't hear like that. No. For her, nothing major happened except one her nine lives just kicking the bucket from the surprise heart attack! Palms shaking in fear, Blake lowered her book just in time to see him shut the door with a soft click, and her doubts skyrocketed!

"No."

No! Not this room! She could not lose this room! Half her books were here already, and she already set up a comfy corner in their closet to take nice catnaps! Catnaps! Uh-uh! She couldn't go back to reading outside. No siree, that was plain crazy. Yang was out there, that dumb corgi was out there, everyone was out there. Options limited, there was only one sane thing left to do!

Getting to her feet, she shut her book closed, glaring at the door from where he left. A blazing fire burned in her commonly passive eyes, inflaming her passion!

Team JNPR, minus their leader, ate away at their bland, tasteless, nutrient-free grub that was, by all definitions of the health board committee, food.

They weren't the only ones to suffer the flour strike, the entire student body groaned from eating the slop. Only the health nuts, like Lie Ren, flourished in the harsh environment, eating rabbit food with a soothing stomach. Although, some veggies were scarce thanks to some braver souls indulging in the salads with nervous tongues and weaker stomachs.

Just his luck.

Pyrrha poked experimentally at her food. She shivered when it bounced back. "Maybe we should come clean about the flour incident?"

Ren shared a glare with the champion as he devoured a leaf, fork between lips. "And have the entire student angry at us? We're trying to help Jaune by lying low, not by becoming public enemy number one."

"There's got to be something better than this?"

He shifted back to devouring his food. "When you figure that out, I'll be right here."

Nora groaned beside him, dropping her head against the table. Her empty stomach growled. "So... hungry."

Ren swished his salad around, patting the poor girl on the head. "I think you're over exaggerating, Nora. Do you see anyone else acting like this?"

Across the Mess Hall, Ruby dropped her forehead to the table, stomach grumbling. "So... hungry."

Weiss loathed cold cereal for breakfast, but a wholesome salad made lunch and dinner bearable escapades. So to see her partner groan, along with Yang, well, she chewed thoroughly on her tomato while offering her a comforting quip.

"Eat a salad. It's good for you."

More groaning, more moaning, more stomach grumbling. "Bleh! That's rabbit food."

"As I recall..." Weiss smirked, one eye open with a fork dancing on her lips. "Rabbits are notorious for being quick. So this rabbit food should fit just fine with you."

"Do you like kicking me while I'm down?"

"I'm only trying to help you by bettering your diet." A pause. "Now eat your veggies."

"Or what?" Ruby challenged. "They'll get cold?"

The Heiress frowned and poked a cucumber against Ruby's lips. The stubborn leader twisted her face the other way, refusing the health benefits of good eating. Such a troublesome partner, last time she tried to help. Maybe Yang might appreciate her efforts, but the girl foresaw such a plan and already had her head turned. Humph! Fine then! More food for her. So she devoured the item, enjoying the exotic crunch only a cucumber made, and then Blake showed up at their table with a foul-smelling cake in her hands, covered in questionable ingredients. She reached for some utensils, appearing in a hurry.

Yang was the first to ask. "Hey, Blake, who's the cake for?"

"Jaune." Blake paused. "Just Jaune. I made it using fish. Later."

Weiss threw a tongue out of the idea of eating a fishcake. Not the most delectable meal to grace her taste buds. Not everyone possessed the palette to enjoy the flavors of fish, her included. By all means, she hoped Jaune owned such a refined taste. Why her teammate baked such a concoction demanded answers, but perhaps it was a form of thanks for the room? Either way, her thoughts were clouded upon hearing Yang's growling.

"He got cake."

Uh-oh. Time for damage control. "A fishcake. He got a fishcake. Fishcake." Weiss stressed. Nope. Too late. "Yang? Are you listening to me?"

"He got cake, and we're stuck eating this."

"Fishcake!"

"So... hungry."

...

Returning from Vale with time to spare before lunch ended, Jaune entered his team's room, whistling a joyous tune, only to find a huge banner hanging on the wall with his first name written in bold black letters. His last name had been cruelly crossed out, like if someone didn't know what his last name was and had hoped he accepted a big black smudge next to his name. A weird sight to behold upon entering a room, but it was the lingering smell of something disgusting that captured his other sense more compelling than the crudely drawn banner.

It almost made him gag his recently devoured meal.

"Welcome back." Blake popped out of his team's closet, shutting it before he could see inside. "I made you a cake because we're such great friends."

The hairs on his neck raised. His heart skipped two beats. He couldn't help but smile with a nervous twitch. Something wasn't right. Pausing, his throat dried, in fact, all his instincts screamed at him to run. Like now! Her voice sounded too robotic to the point of a B-level movie actor. Presumably, she had been practicing for something, and he had a sneaky suspicion it had to do with that banner that spelled Jaune Black Smudge, the terrible smelling cake in her hands, and that forced smile that looked like it hurt. Maybe if he turned around right now, he could get away. A good plan. So why wasn't he moving?

Move! His feet screamed at him to turn around and run, but the predator pounced.

"Here." Blake said flatly, giving him a piece before he could reach the handle. "Try some."

Did he have a choice?

Sighing, he took a bite, and his taste buds exploded with an avalanche of flavor, and not in a good way. Tears swelled up in his eyes, and he forced himself not to cough to avoid being rude. Even when the cake tasted as if Death itself had personally blessed the morsel. Oh, sweet, sweet merciful death, what a miracle that would be right now.

Swallowing the cake, he shivered. "What's in this?"

"Oh?" Blake thought out loud, enjoying her creation with a simple spoonful. That just wasn't right. "Well, there's eggs and milk, but there wasn't any flour, so I needed a substitute. I used fish. I really like fish, so I thought it would taste great in a cake, and it does."

Fish? In a cake? As a substitute for flour? Bleh! He almost lost his lunch.

"That's wonderful, Blake!" Jaune grimaced, feeling the salty fish cake travel down into his unsuspecting stomach. He suddenly missed the taste of dirt-flavored cereal. "If you would excuse me... I need to meet Pyrrha before combat class starts."

"Aren't you going to eat anymore?"

He waved. "Oh? Uh, I'll eat it later." Shut up, mouth! "After classes are over, don't want to get too full before that class."

"Really?" Blake sniffed, finishing her slice with posthaste. So far, so good. Operation: Stay in the room was on track. "Very well, I'll wrap it up and save your half for later."

"... Great."

...

Jaune never ran so fast to class before.

He had never been this early either, but he didn't care. The taste of fish still sedated his mouth and—ugh! Yup, the fish cake just landed in his stomach. Already his Aura worked overtime to expel all the deadly toxins of whatever else Blake added to that death cake. Groan! He needed to sit down before he lurched. So he took a seat to give his Aura time to work and relaxed into a hard chair with a sweat, glad that class didn't start for another ten minutes. It wasn't until he was gently shaken away by his partner did he realize that he had fallen asleep or passed out. Both worked fine.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha appeared concerned, noticing her partner's pale face as she rested a palm over his forehead. "Are you okay?"

His heart was racing, his stomach might explode at any given moment, and he felt cold everywhere, but that might be from Weiss' experimental Dust shard, however, no, was he wasn't okay. Not even close. If she cared about him at all, she would do the merciful thing and put him out of his misery. Send him to the great beyond.

Death pitied him because before he could voice his concerns and ask for a hug, everyone was entering the class with Professor Goodwitch already waiting down at the combat arena, waiting for the bustling students to take their seats. Pyrrha never had the chance to ask again as Nora bounced her way between them, shuffling her feet. Ren hovered near her shadow, ignoring the way a pair of silver-colored eyes seemed to be trying to glare a hole through his skull from across the room.

To make matters worse. "Jaune Arc! You are up first!"

His stomach grumbled in misery. Of all the—huff! No point. Feeling his luck plummeting faster by the moment, he wondered why this day, of all days, appeared to be turning out bad. Why. Whelp. It couldn't possibly get any worse. He already had Blake's cooking slowing him down. How much lower could a friendly spar sink him?

Jaune breathed, accepting his fate before focusing entirely on blocking out Blake's fishcake's side effects. Burping somewhat, he felt his muscles and senses boost from the added Aura control. He only made it down to the arena when their professor slid up her glasses in a misty fog.

"My. Arc? Where is your weapon?"

Oh? Right! He forgot all about that. No using his Aura abilities thanks to Ren's plan, leaving one glaring problem. "Pyrrha's using it."

There was a general pause in the room before their professor continued, ignoring Yang's snickering coming from the stands. "And why is that?"

"Uh—?"

"Because it's a team exercise!" Nora shouted, quick-thinking to the rescue. Ren's hands never had a chance to stop her. "We're switching weapons! Pyrrha's using Jaune's, Ren's using mine, and I'm using Ren's!"

Hearing that Pyrrha was going to handle Jaune's sword, Yang offered the girl a teasing wolf call, smirking guiltlessly at Pyrrha who suddenly grew three sizes smaller. When her face turned red, the blonde bombshell stretched her grin. Glynda, on her part, decided to let Yang slide this time, more interest in this new team exercise. It sounded oddly appealing. Productive, too. A lesson on not only using one weapon, a good teaching experience, she might even implement it into the school curriculum for next semester.

"... And is Mr. Arc using Miss Nikos'?"

"Nope!" Nora paused, tongue sticking out. "Jaune thought it would be a great idea to practice using his fists! Between you and me, he's not that strong!" Only his team and Professor Goodwitch didn't laugh out loud in the room. Damn it, Nora! "Go get them, Jaune!"

Jaune twitched with a vein filled smile directed at his bubbly teammate, feeling crushing defeat before the match even started. "Thank you, Nora."

"No problem!"

He knew better than to believe that innocent smile of hers. Nothing but a promise of ill-intent existed between those pearly whites. It screamed guilty! He would sooner trust a Beowolf not to claw his face out.

Coughing into her hand, the room grew quiet, and Glynda flipped through her Scroll. "Very good then. Now, how about Russel Thrush? Are you prepared to fight?"

Russel nodded and called for his daggers. A confident smirk was evident, something everyone, including Jaune, expected of Team CRDL, but Cardin himself lacked any facial cues. He frowned, he always frowned, but he observed Jaune with careful eyes and crossed arms. The way he failed to make a snide comment told of his maturity. The Arc appreciated it.

Russel switched his daggers to a blue setting that functioned very much like Weiss' weapon. He stepped into the arena, twisted the handle on his armament to flip the knives, and waited. A moment passed, tenses filled the air as Jaune gripped his fists, and then their professor signaled them to begin. Immediately, Russel charged at him, point-of-pivot basic. What he found strange was that his opponent wasn't actively using his Aura since he felt no Space, nor saw any of his Aura.

A fluke? His body reacted from an increase of Aura and dodged the first swipe of Russel's daggers with a casual sidestep. Compared to Pyrrha's agility, Russel's speed was lackluster. The difference couldn't be further apart, or maybe his Aura manipulation gave him an unfair advantage. Didn't matter, he dodged another swipe, left-right, left-right, and another one before ducking under a missed slash aimed for his chest. He then pushed his opponent back by shoving his hands into his chest, before glaring down at his fists with a cocked eyebrow.

Funny.

He did want to practice with his fists. If there was ever a better time than now, then he didn't see it.

Russel shook off the shove, dashing forward with his daggers thrown out. Jaune moved between his arms, landing a sloppy strike on his chest, but the amount of force he unleashed on Cardin's teammate surprised him, pushing him more forcefully back than he expected. More so, he hadn't anticipated Russel's Aura finally kicking in, surrounding him in a decent wave of Space. Now his olive green Aura was out for him to see, random in shape. Well, random was an understatement. It moved like the wind, flowing in whichever direction it so pleased.

Still, the Arc grimaced.

The entire time Russel wasn't using his Aura against him? Thinking he was weak!

Nerves burst. Blood boiled. Aura almost flared. Concentrating on his Aura, while making sure to hold himself back, stepped on his toes. Jaune really fought the urge to create Excalibur and charge straight for Russel, dodging another slow slash while countering with a fist to his chest, following up with a quick swipe of the legs, but appearances had to be kept for the plan. So he pursued halfheartedly, taking advantage of Russel's stumbling by throwing an efficacious fist, that he narrowly blocked by using his weapons as a makeshift shield. Then he managed a counterattack, cutting the dagger up his forearm.

Huh? The cut was cold, but not as freezing compared to Weiss' experimental Dust—now that made his teeth chatter—and his Aura healed the injury in seconds. Heck, he fought a disapproving frown, that cut hardly went skin deep. Barely worthy of being called a cut, more of a scratch. Without his great-great grandfather's blade holding his Aura back, he moved so much faster with greater strength. Double huh? Was this how powerful his Aura manipulation was without Crocea Mors around to regularly reject and throw off his control? Did he honestly improve this much?

Tch! Did Aura grant such power?

Dodging another swipe aimed for his lower chest, he grabbed Russel by the wrist and pulled him with his foot out to drop him to the floor. The move worked, but with Russel twisting his body during the fall to cut his right hand, freezing it into a block of solid ice.

Russel smirked upon Jaune casually glancing at his hand before the Arc shrugged harmlessly and delivered a devastating blow with his frozen hand at his stomach, breaking the ice in the process. Without a shadow of a doubt, his Aura control offered him an edge on weaker opponents. Made him miss Excalibur, Supernova and Shooting Star more, it felt wrong to fight without them.

They were a part of Jaune Arc—a part of his soul.

"Winner! Jaune Arc!" Glynda called the match, pushing her glasses up with a small smile. She stopped the boy before he made it to the stairs. "I must say, Mr. Arc. You've certainly improved. I'm a little impressed."

Jaune grinned at the rare praise, looking embarrassed with the blood rushing to his face. Honestly, after fighting Pyrrha, this brawl wasn't all that challenging. His opponent had been neither fast nor powerful. "Thanks, Professor Goodwitch. I've been practicing."

"And it shows."

More blood rushing to his face, more awkward grinning. Glynda nodded before flipping through her Scroll for the next round. Meanwhile, as he dusted his clothes, Jaune thought maybe he should practice with his fists. Never know when they might come in handy. His moves might have been sloppy at best, but his opponent hadn't given him much of a problem, so it balanced out. It wasn't like he was planning on using Crocea Mors in the foreseeable future.

Hn? He would think about it.

Walking up the stairs, he passed by Team RWBY, not paying them much attention until something peculiar caught his eye. Sitting there in a Go Team JNPR shirt was Blake. To go with the outfit she even had a hat and flay with their name proudly on display, mainly for her confused and peeving team members. Not that he blamed them. Blake paid them no attention, waving around the flag in more spirit that he had ever seen her show.

No.

No, no, this could not possibly come back to bite him, right?

"Go, Jaune!" Blake praised flatly, waving her flag somewhat faster. "You're the best when it comes to fist fighting."

Damn it!

The air turned cold, colder than Weiss' Dust shard with his boiling blood freezing in hypothermia. He couldn't ignore the intense glaring coming from Yang sitting right next to Blake, burning up with her hair ablaze. Ha-ha. He tried anyway, not once peeking back at Yang. He positively missed the way her nose scrunched up as her face contorted into seriousness with whatever misplaced idea was floating around in her noggin. Nope, ignoring it! He whistled that merry tune from lunch, barely sitting down as the next fighter got called on stage.

"Lie Ren! You're up."

He predicted the sigh before he heard it. That rare bust of energy must have died out in the morning? Ren stood effortlessly and looked to Nora, waiting for her to call Magnhild since he was stuck using it for the foreseeable future. It came, he grabbed the handle silently, and Jaune felt his Aura react to lift the massive weapon, throwing it over his shoulders in a typical cool-guy pose. Aura fluctuated to compensate for the sudden weight change. Thing must weigh a ton.

Ren casually strolled down to the arena, leaning on the handle of Magnhild when he reached the stage, using the weapon as a post to support his weight and laziness. He waited impatiently for his opponent, purposely overlooking a pair of silver-shaded eyes glaring down at him from the stands with unchecked eagerness. Energy practically vibrated between each of her molecules, and he considered forfeiting right here and now.

Glynda glanced up from her Scroll. "Any volunteers to fight—?"

"Me! I'm ready!"

Ruby Rose appeared in the battle stage in a flash of rose petals with Crescent Rose locked-and-loaded. She moved to stand never to him, glaring in all her five-foot-two wonder, but he ignored her glare to scratch the side of his face. She frowned, pouting because of how easily he pretended she didn't exist, but that only made him disregard her presence more.

Glynda hummed. "Very well, great ready."

Ren sighed dejectedly, hating the problem Nora roped him into this time. Oh well, no point in complaining, not with Ruby shaking in excitement. He gripped the handle firmly, concentrating on his Aura to life the massive weapon, having no clue whatsoever to how he was going to hit a sugar-powered, super-hyper, sonic-speed cinnamon roll. They might as tie led to his feet and set him on fire.

"Begin!"

Disappearing in a flash of rose petals, she appeared right behind him, swinging Crescent Rose at her rival who was busy trying to lift the hammer. No time to block or dodge! Ha!

Revenge was all hers!

Ren sent the blade incoming a sideways glance. His lips dipped downward. Giving up on attempting to lift the hammer on time, he weakened his grip on the hilt and used it as a swing to propel himself forward, dodging not only her scythe but doing a one-eighty degree turn, coming up to her opening as her weapon clashed against Magnhild's handle. He aimed a well-timed fist for her nose, casually touching the metal blade of her weapon still connected to Magnhild. She dodged his fist, feeling the rush of air passing her skin, but he anticipated such a move and released some of his unique energy into her scythe, same tactic as before. Only Jaune saw that happen with Nora twitching in her seat from excitement.

Rose petals appeared in his blind spot, then to his side, and his next corner, and so forth. Predictable. She was using her super-speed to confuse him, but he was too sluggish to try and keep up with her. He only managed to track her increasing rose petals. So he silently waited for his opening, finding it when Ruby crashed right into his body, gun barrel pressed directly at his chest while she grinned like a madwoman, and he thought Nora had an itchy trigger finger.

"Got you!"

Click!

Ren fought a smirk, nothing happened. A repeat performance of their last fight.

"What?!" Ruby cried out, clicking her trigger endlessly, unable to fire even from point-blank range. No! It wasn't fair, she growled, not fair! "Come on, work! Crescent—gah!"

The tables turned. Ruby's eyes widened when Ren grabbed her by the collar of her hood and pulled her closer for another well-timed fist, this time planning to leave a mark on her adorable nose. A marshmallow panicked. She barely managed to escape, leaving nothing behind except a rose petal, but not before he added more of his secret Semblance into her cape. The gesture deserved some gratifying mocking.

"You're too slow." Ren said flatly, fighting back a smirk when her cheeks puffed out.

Ruby blinked. What? What! Silver sharpened to that of steel. This dumb jerk was dissing her super-speed? No! First, he denied her rightfully earned rematch, and now he was mocking her Semblance? Grrr! Now it was personal.

"I'll show you fast!" Ruby vanished with petals littering the arena floor. "Just you wait!"

Ren, not able to keep up with her speed, casually strolled over to Nora's hammer and barely lifted the weapon. Classic bait-and-switch. Then he felt his Semblance, waiting for the right moment to strike—and that moment was now.

Predictability, thy name was Ruby Rose.

Coming up to his blind spot, she switched Crescent Rose from scythe to sniper-mode as she sped around his prone form in super-speeds. Up, down, left, right, zigzag, she maneuvered in all conceivable directions to get the best possible shot. Ren calmly waited in the dome of rose petals for the inevitable not again and smirked when he heard her yell in a sudden panic from possibly stumbling on her red hood. No. He knew full well she tripped on her cape.

A trip, a stumble, a fall, Ruby Rose did all that upon slipping on the threads of her cloak. She tumbled across the floor, skidding a few feet from her momentum as she lost control over Crescent Rose from another weapon jamming. She ended up laying flat on her back, eyes shut from the dizzy pain, wondering, just wondering, where it all wrong. What happened to her precious baby this time? Then she remembered she was still in a fight, but her reaction time failed her. A mighty hammer dropped on her stomach with a massive thud.

Oof! Ruby felt the air knocked out of her lungs as Ren held Magnhild over her tiny form with handle pressing down. He then calmly sat down on the hammer's head as she struggled fruitlessly to get free from the added weight, kicking her feet adorably in protest. A futile effort at best, noble, yet wasteful, and he decided to reward her for her brave, but pointless endeavor by softly poking her on the forehead.

"Sorry, Ruby, perhaps another time?"

"Winner! Lie Ren!"

"No!" Ruby stopped her struggle to melt into a glob of sadness and grief with a raincloud hovering over her form. She had this slight twitch, and he worried over that, well, only a little. Ruby wasn't his teammate. Not his problem. Let Yang deal with her antics. He already had Nora.

Coolly standing up, he balanced Magnhild on both his shoulders with only one hand holding the hammer steady. Somewhere in the background, he heard Nora cheering, and Blake, too? Odd. Yes, her cheering consisted of emotionless go's and yeah's, but it was cheering. How strange.

Best to ignore it.

Ren passed by Team RWBY while using his Aura to carry Nora's hammer up the stairs, somewhat interested in their conversation when his name popped up again, moreso with both Weiss and Yang glaring at Blake. She pretended not to notice, relating to him in many ways as she favored his attention with that Team JNPR flag.

"Way to go, Ren. You showed Ruby." Another emotionless cheer came from Blake as she waved that flag, and Yang was immediately on her case.

"Blake! Whose side are you on?!"

"Yup." Ren thought. "Definitely strange."

...

History class couldn't come fast enough for Jaune Arc.

After experiencing what he dubbed his worst day at Beacon Academy, the Arc was more than ready to sit back and relax in Professor Oobleck's class. Maybe take some notes. Perhaps listen to some gruesome history lesson, anything to make the day end that much faster. On the plus side, his stomach finally finished breaking down the contents of Blake's fishy cake of death.

Head thrown back, the Arc sighed, mood effectively killed. His teammates were acting differently. Nora was gushing over Ren's usage of her hammer in combat class by attempting to squeeze his muscles. Said Lie calmly allowed her to do so, cheek rested flatly on his palm while Nora poked-and-prodded to her evil heart's content. He had this little smile that was almost hidden from the world. It resembled an oasis in a desert.

An amusing sight to see, what else he could spot? Wondering what his partner was up to, he glanced over and found Pyrrha preparing for class, notebook, and pencils neatly stacked together. How she did such a thing forever remained a mystery to him, but it did inspire him to reach into his bag and pull out his Aura notebook. Jaune wanted to brainstorm over some ideas for his Aura-to-Dust theory.

Not to mention he needed to add the term Supernova to his list of Aura-based techniques because he forgot to do so in the morning. He admitted that it did have a pleasant ring to it, rolled off the tongue quite easily. Much better than the unnamed Aura attack. It was just better.

Writing ideas and finalizing little notes from yesterday's fight, he didn't notice Ren's eyes focused on his notebook. The attention didn't last long, but the Lie was genuinely interested in reading what his Fearless Leader had written from his Aura studies. Naturally, who wouldn't after witnessing his amazing feats. Maybe, just maybe, he might be able to solve a specific issue he had with his Aura, and possibly get a boost out of it. Couldn't hurt to try.

"Ren?" Nora asked, squeezing extra hard on his arm. "What are you looking at?"

Finding his attention captured once more, he lightly smiled at the ecstatic girl and calmly booped her on the nose. "Nothing, Nora."

She pouted. "You're lying."

"Am I? I didn't notice."

She had a hard time being angry at his handsome smile.

...

Time for dinner!

Jaune and Ren were ravenous.

Not to say there weren't downsides, there were downsides. Reaching an empty, table, they waited for Pyrrha and Nora to grab their food, still bland. No taste, no flavor, no seasoning, darn this strike. Jaune grumbled. It was only flour, how bad could the problem have been? What? Did some irresponsible students cover the entire kitchen in flour? What he wouldn't give to be their leader. He would make them do things. Things!

Sigh. Wishing had its moments, but now wasn't one of them. Poking his sandwich with a spoon to kill some time, and because he dared not trust that lettuce, a preemptive fist slammed down onto their table, earning a yelp from him and nothing from Ren. He was much too busy checking his sandwich contents for mayo, despising the condiment more than the Grimm. Bland was one thing, but mayo was another, so unhealthy.

Now, to check who cracked the bark of their table. Looking up, Jaune came face-to-face with an angry Yang, Weiss who appeared confused to the situation, and a fuming Ruby who would not stop glaring at Ren.

"We need to talk." Yang demanded, sitting down. He never got the chance to ask why. "I'll cut straight to the chase! There can only be one fist-fighting blonde in this school, and it's me! So stop trying to steal my image. And don't lie! I know you are."

"What?" Jaune asked, beyond confused. What the heck? "I have no idea what you're talking about, Yang. What image? And why would I want it?"

"I don't know..." Yang admitted, but she pointed her finger at him anyway. "But I know you are! Admit it!"

"Now look..." Jaune waved his hand and thought maybe a good joke should diffuse the tension. She loved jokes. "Just Yang on for a second."

A weak pun. Nothing serious. The effect might have possibly calmed Yang down if Weiss hadn't chosen that moment to laugh. Even if the chuckle had been a soft giggle at best, it was still a laugh, not a groan or a moan, but a genuine laugh, at a pun no less. On the plus side, ha, that was three! Take that, Yang. On the negative side, Yang's eyes turned into a lovely shade of red.

Nora and Pyrrha, their presence would be most welcomed! Any time! Now would be phenomenal. Phe-nom-e-nal.

Not a chance. His clock was running out, but what hammered the final nail in Jaune's coffin was Blake walking over to him with a forced smile that filled his stomach with nothing but the taste of impending doom. Then she hammered the last nail shut by lightly bumping her fist against his shoulder.

"Hey there, best buddy."

No! Dear Monty! No! Not in front of Yang Xiao Long! Why him! What did he do or say to deserve this?!

Goodbye, cruel world.

Faking a heart attack, Yang counted down with her fingers the unforgivable crimes Jaune had committed. "First you hate dogs, then Blake bakes you a cake, then you start to copy my fighting style, then my hair color, next my jokes, and now you're trying to steal Blake!" A finger pointed accusingly at the guilty-innocent Arc. "That's one thing too many! Right, Weiss?"

Weiss shared a look with the guilty party, misinterpreting those pleading eyes for help, rather than a silent plead to keep her mouth shut or entice the fury of a disgruntled Yang. Eyes narrowed, lips pursed, and a back straightened.

It really brings out your eyes. Really makes you look like a Snow Angel.

She ultimately looked away. "Jaune's… not that bad."

Gasp!

"Not you, too!" Yang shivered in building fury. Her fist slammed against the battered hardwood. "Now you're trying to steal my team away!"

"Yeah!" Ruby added, not offering Jaune any attention as she glared adorably at Ren from the other side of the damaged table, cheeks very much puffed. "We're onto you!"

Team JNPR's half shared a look between one another, sideways, silently wondering how they got themselves into these messes. Did some celestial entity have it out for them? Did Monty Oum not approve, or was it Nora's fault?

"I'm watching you! Come on, Ruby!"

Yang looped an arm around Ruby's waist and carried her underneath her arm with the latter glaring only at Ren. Weiss shook her head and followed after the two knuckleheads. Only Blake remained, sitting with them as she read one of her books due to the rare occasion of an absent of Ruby and Yang, eating some of her portion of the leftover fishcake. Had nothing to do with becoming Jaune Black Smudge's new best friend. Nope. Poppycock.

She wouldn't even dignify with an afterthought.

"Ren? I think I just made a rival?"

"Join the club."

...

Running up to Yang and Ruby, Weiss grabbed Yang's arm, turning her around to meet her face-to-face. She had questions, and they had the answers, but mostly she had inquiries. "And what was that back there?"

"Payback." Yang huffed, frowning in a hostile way as she released Ruby.

Weiss felt the need to pull her hair. "Payback for what?!" Yang refused to answer, drowning in silence. Perhaps she might need a different approach? "Look, you're both clearly not thinking straight. How about we go to our room and relax? Then we can talk about your random outburst with Jaune back there."

"You would take his side."

Oh, for the love of—she threw her hands up. "I'm not taking anyone's side, because there is no side to take! You're not making any sense right now. Both of you aren't!" Pausing, she pointed at her careless leader, being calm and rational. "I can sort of understand Ruby with the way Ren keeps wiping the floor with you—!"

"Hey!"

"—But I'm not seeing the connection for you?"

Yang pouted stubbornly, looking away with her arms crossed defiantly. Weiss refused to fold, tapping her foot with all the patience of an angry saint. Ruby had trouble deciding which person to root for, partner or sister, partner or sister, the starving leader almost blew a casket. Finally, after realizing Weiss most likely had training to deal with uncomfortable situations, and could outlast her in stubbornness, she relented but declined to look in her direction.

"He hurt Ruby's feelings and hates dogs."

She snorted, not believing that lie for a second. "I'm confident I recall hearing Jaune apologize for that incident. And so what if he hates dogs. Blake hates dogs, but you don't hate her?"

"He's copying my fighting style!"

"So? You should be flattered. Intimidation is another form of flattery, and it's not like he's very good at it. The dunce is only trying to learn something new. You don't own fisticuffs. You should be more supportive like Blake." Yang's eyebrow twitched at the sound of her partner's name, and she narrowed her suspicions. A silver-tongue clicked. "And Blake appears to like him. She did make him a fishcake."

A tick mark appeared about Yang's eye. "Will you shut up about Blake!"

Oh? Delicate lips thinned, rattling her head for possible reasons, a Lighting Dust shard then sparked above Weiss' head, and a rare, teasing smile dawned with all the irritation turning into humor-filled joy. She hid a chuckle behind her palm, eyes curving upward. Nothing prevented her chest from heaving with uncontrolled laughter.

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe it! This has nothing to do with him learning to fight with his hands, hurting Ruby's feelings, or even Zwei! You're jealous he's stealing your partner's attention!"

"I am not!"

Weiss ignored her, smiling such much that it hurt. "Wow! Yang Xiao Long jealous of Jaune Arc, of all people, and all because he's stealing a little bit of her partner's attention."

"A little bit?!" Whelp, Weiss finally got Yang to look at her. Whoa, those eyes were red. "Ever since he allowed Blake to read in their room, that's all she ever goes and does! First, it's breakfast, and then classes, then his room for lunch, and finally more classes, followed by dinner and then sleep. He sees more of her than I do! And we're on the same team!"

Laughter soon stopped. Weiss frowned. On some strange level, she understood where Yang's anger burned from, yes, from a weird point-of-view, it did look Jaune Arc was trying to steal away Blake's attention. Facts didn't lie, but she might have reserved the results. Blake sought out Jaune, not the other way around. Yang overlooked this result. The fighting with his fists must have been the tiny nudge needed to push her over the edge. Still, on a technical standpoint, Weiss understood Blake's plight, too. She never liked their room since Zwei occupied the dwelling since day one. However, none of that excused her teammate's unfair treatment.

"That's still hardly a reason to declare a rivalry with the guy."

Yang reached for the door to their room, casting Weiss a glare over her shoulder. "Whatever happened to him being Mr. Tall, Blond, and Scraggly?"

She hummed innocently enough, crossing her arms in a way that diverted attention away from her stretched cheeks. "He's still all that... just surprisingly pleasant and fun to talk to once you get past all the obnoxious flirting."

Humph! "I can see arguing with you is pointless."

"You're acting like a child—!"

Slam!

A door slammed in both Weiss and Ruby's faces. Sigh. Taking a deep breath, Weiss rubbed her temple as a headache began to cumulate. She glanced over when her partner cleared her throat, pretending for a split-moment, wishing even, that she was back at the Schnee Dust Company, and not dealing with all this melodrama nonsense. Attempted corporate takeovers and strikes weren't as headache-inducing as dealing with jealous teammates.

Ruby fidgeted in place, eyes stubbornly glued to the floor as she twiddled her fingers together. "Ren doesn't really wipe the floor with me, does he?"

Weiss huffed with a deadpanned expression. "Ruby, he literally dropped a hammer on you and then sat down while you struggled to move."

...

Jaune Arc never looked so forward to his bed in all his life.

That included the day of initiation, which was no way near as nerve-wracking as today. His feet trudged silently to his team's room, exhausted with the horrible turn of events. Reaching his room's door, he decided right then and there to ignore everything and sleep. A good night's rest should wash away all of his troubles. Yes. Rest. The ultimate cure. So he tried not to be surprised when he entered his room to find Blake reading a story to a sleepy Nora and nobody else.

"And the big bad Ursa knocked on Blue Riding Cloak's leaf house, demanding she open up or he would burn her house down with his laser eyes."

"Really?" Nora asked, holding her blanket over her chin. "She didn't let him in, did she?"

"I'm not sure." Blake teased, turning the page. "Let's find out."

Nope! He shook his head stubbornly at the scene. He never saw anything. Move on and pretend it didn't exist.

His feet moved for him, heading straight for bed while refusing to acknowledge Blake's presence. Instead, he hid beneath his covers and waited for Ren and Pyrrha to show up and get the world to make sense again. A good plan, a foolproof plan, a perfect plan, but a doomed one. His sweet covers, while protecting him from the outside world, failed to alleviate the telltale poke by Blake. Had to be her, Nora went for the ribs. Maybe if he closed his eyes extra-tight, counted to ten, and gripped his pillow, she might go away.

"Hey? Aren't you going to finish your piece of cake? It'll go bad if you don't."

"Cake?" Nora bounced from her bed, sleepiness but a dream of the past. "You have cake! Can I have some?!"

The Arc was tempted to allow Nora to indulge her fill with that stomach-destroyer after that stunt she pulled in class, devilishly tempted, but pesky memories always chose the worst time to resurface.

You're the greatest leader ever! The greatest! We'll make sure you win!

A good leader sacrificed himself for the good of his team. Those were his words? Weren't they? He said that to Ozpin's face.

Damn it, Nora!

When Pyrrha entered their room minutes later, she spotted her partner hiding underneath his bed covers, shivering like a leaf. She silently crossed the room, noting a snoring Nora, and gently tapped him on the shoulder. "How was your day, Jaune?"

"I don't want to talk about it!"

...

Waking up to the bright, morning sun, Jaune quickly hid under his covers from pure instinct, expecting Blake to pop out from some hidden shadow, lurking with promises of fishcake and who knew what else she had tucked away in her bag of not-goodies! He didn't know why, but she had gone mad! Mad he said!

Eventually, when he believed the coast was clear, he came out from under his covers and found only Ren in the room with Nora and Pyrrha nowhere in sight. Whoa? He woke up last? The day was still early with classes about an hour away, and the Lie was casually flipping through his Aura notebook, looking positively interested in the words he had written. He was already dressed in his school uniform, making the Arc wonder if Blake's concoction kept him from beating Nora and Pyrrha awake. He wouldn't be too surprised if that turned out to be true, and it wasn't until Ren looked up from the notebook with a look on interest and whimsical spark that Jaune felt his luck finally turning around.

"I might have a few ideas."


Author Notes: Rewritten.