For the first time ever, Yang found herself greeting a Monday morning without wishing that the weekend had lasted longer. Yesterday, the grades for Oobleck's exam had been posted, and Team RWBY had achieved what once seemed impossible: they'd each gotten an A. Even Ruby, whose had always struggled with history, had managed to earn an A minus because of how well she'd done on the extra credit question. Team JNPR had passed the exam with flying colors too, and they all had one person to thank. To celebrate, they all went on a trip down to Vale, where, at the city's best burger joint, they gorged themselves, buying whatever they thought looked tasty (and in Nora's case, paying it for it with a longer time in the restroom). Yang made sure that Jaune didn't have to spend a single penny. It was the least she could do, especially after all the hard work he'd been putting in with his sessions with her.

Afterwards, they continued to explore the city, enjoying the sights around them without a care in the world. It was the most stress free Yang had been in a long time. For a single afternoon, nothing was on her mind but having a blast with her friends. No White Fang threat to worry over, no schoolwork to stress over, no mother she needed to find. Even the trials she and Jaune would have to face in a few weeks couldn't have been the furthest thing from her mind.

It seemed to be a sign that their luck was changing. Being able to shape Jaune into a worthy huntsman and partner no longer seemed so daunting. And for the first time, she couldn't wait for what they could do together. It was amazing, really, how much of her views on him had transformed since that fateful date when he'd vomited on her boots. Now she proudly considered him a friend, no matter how many people looked down on him.

Even if he still doubts himself, she thought while she and the rest of RWBY had their breakfast. Maybe I can change that, too.

They ended up finishing breakfast quicker than usual, which meant they also got themselves seated in Port's earlier as well. Team JNPR would arrive ten minutes later. Jaune was happily chatting with Pyrrha, Ren and Nora trailing behind them. There was a bounce in his step now, his golden locks bouncing with it too, tousling in a airy manner as he walked. Once it caught her eye, Yang found herself staring at it, how it seemed to glow as he passed under the shafts of sunlight which shone through the window panes. That added to the new aura around him as well. He carried himself straighter as he walked, while also seeming more relaxed; the most he'd seemed at ease with himself since their training begun.

Yang couldn't help but smile at that, knowing he was further from the meek, anxious boy he'd been, and closer to the strong, confident huntsman she knew he had the potential to become.

Jaune looked up into the seats, at her, and gave her a little wave. Feeling a bit in the teasing mood, Yang returned it with a flirtatious wink, and when his face suddenly flushed red, she couldn't help but giggle a little. She certainly didn't have to worry about him being afraid of her anymore. Pyrrha also gave her a smile and waved back, though Yang noticed that she did so less cheerfully.

Could she have a crush on him? The thought struck her like lightning. It seemed so ridiculous she let it pass, but it also made Yang consider something new: what did the rest of Team JNPR think about her training sessions with him? Maybe I should invite them to sit in and see what we do, just so they don't worry. A hint of guilt passed over then at how hard she'd worked him in their first few weeks together.

As usual, their class would be disordered symphony of conversation until the professor entered the room. Usually, it would take some time for the room to quiet once that happened. However, when instead of the soft thumps of Port's footsteps, the instantly recognizable clackety clack clack of Glynda Goodwitch's heels echoed as she approached, never did the class fall silent so quickly. The steely, no nonsense professor was followed by Oobleck, then Port trailing behind him.

You could hear a pin drop the way everyone froze in place, their attention all on the three top staff together in the same room. Yang knew everybody had the same thing on their mind: three of the school's most respected senior staff unexpectedly entering a classroom meant something serious was about to be announced.

Port cleared his throat loudly. "Now children," he began. "I know that what was scheduled today was for us to go over chapter thirteen of our textbook. But over the weekend, I had a chat with the professors here, as well as Ozpin, to see what we could do to check up on how everyone has been working with their assigned partners. We decided that the best way to go about that was to throw our plans for today out the window and hold a surprise teamwork assessment instead!"

Yang's jaw dropped. Port had not given any indication that this would be happening, which was the point, she supposed; to catch everyone off guard and sort out those who hadn't been putting in the work to prepare. It was the sort of random, but ingenious event that the headmaster would approve of.

"Now, don't be alarmed," Oobleck reassured. "Your grade for this assessment will not count towards your final grade for the exam itself...unless your team has the highest or lowest score of the rest of the class, that is. Even then, we will only take off five points. We felt it would be enough for any of you who are struggling to take it seriously. It should give us enough of an impression of what to expect from you, and what you need to improve on moving forward."

"Now, to make things a little more fun," Port gleefully added, as if there was any sort of fun to be had in any kind of surprise test. He pointed to a tiny black cauldron on his desk. "Inside that cauldron are slips of paper which contain the names of each of your assigned pairings. I'm sure you all know how things will work from here."

He walked over to the cauldron and withdrew the first name. "And our first contestants are... my, what a surprise! Yang Xiao Long and Jaune Arc! Are you ready?"

Yang swallowed hard. She looked down below, to where Team JNPR sat.

"Jaune." Nora poked at his right shoulder. Oh no. "You there?"

But Jaune did not so much as blink, totally paralyzed he was from the shock of hearing his name called out. Any confidence he'd had that morning seemed to have left him, replaced with the fear Yang was all too familiar with.

"Jaune!" She ended up calling him a little louder than she liked. He jumped in his seat and yelped. A few seated near him burst into laughter. Yang grimaced. There goes our first impression.

Her partner turned around and looked at her dead in the eye, and swallowed, his face etched with fright. Yang leaned down from her seat to look at him straight in the eye. She managed to give him a small grin. "We'll show em," she said softly, so only he could her.

Jaune finally nodded. "Okay," he said, and stood up. He and Yang walked down the steps together, onto the center of the classroom floor where the professors awaited them.

Goodwitch raised her wand, sparks flying from it as she gave it a swish and a flick. Yang watched in awe as an enormous metallic box floated from the open doorway and right into the center of the room. At least twelve feet tall and twice as wide, the box had three small holes poked into the top of each side. Goodwitch slowly lowered her wand, so did the box also lower to the floor. Once it landed, it suddenly shook violently. A familiar hissing came from it as it banged from the inside.

A King Taijitu. Yang swallowed the lump that had begun to form in her throat. They had enough practice together to be familiar with each of their fight styles and patterns. Jaune, as a team leader, also had an eye for strategy. But she wasn't sure that would make up for the lack of experience together, and Jaune's.

She turned to her partner. He had his sword unsheathed and his shield up, gripping them tight, nervous. Yang walked over and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. His cerulean eyes met hers. She could hear how large his nostrils flared as his breathing quickened. They stayed like that for a moment, until finally Jaune's breathing slowed. He turned to the three professors. "We're ready."

Port nodded. He reached into his coat and took out a small remote. With a press of a button, semitransparent walls of blue suddenly fizzed to life, creating an enormous dome over the metal box and Yang and Jaune's heads, soaring a good twenty feet above them, just a few feet away from the ceiling. The Atlesian shield tech kept them separated from the professors and their classmates, whose watchful eyes waited eagerly for the fight to begin.

"You have five minutes to make your impression," Port said. "Defeating the Grimm is not a requirement. The purpose of this is to test how well you work with others, after all." He gave Goodwitch a nod.

With a wave of her wand, the box's lid flew off. Almost instantly, each of the twin heads of the fearsome serpent Grimm popped out from the top. They hissed with malice as it looked down at her and Jaune, a deadly glint in their glowing orbs of red. An electric shock collar had been installed around their necks, presumably to subdue them if necessary.

Not that we'll need it, Yang hoped. She was well aware of this specific Grimm's weaknesses and strengths, since it was one of the first she'd taught Jaune about during their training sessions together. Its scales were tough and slippery, which made slashing at its skin a pointless endeavor, though its underbelly, snout, and eyes were softer, each a more vulnerable, crucial target. It would take their best to defeat it, which could only be done by taking down both their heads or slicing it in half.

Each individual half and head operated independently of the other, though they fought as one with a natural coordination she and Jaune currently lacked. However, that didn't mean that they were totally defenseless. Jaune's more traditional weapons didn't give him much of an advantage, but his natural enormous Aura pool meant he could take a good deal of brunt damage, making him the ideal person to keep an enemy distracted. Yang would take the opportunity he afforded her to subdue at least one of the heads, which Jaune would do his best to act defensively against the other. His increased physical endurance from all their training would hopefully be enough to win.

There was a small comfort knowing this wouldn't count for any kind of grade… though Yang was aware that Jaune's reputation was also at stake. He wanted to make a good impression on his classmates too, and if they failed, it would be in front of everyone. It would be the talk of the town...

"I'll take the black head," he said, eyeing the black head as he raised his shield.

Yang nodded back, shifting her thoughts to more optimistic ones in order to calm her own nerves. "We've got this."

Their attention shifted back to the Grimm. Jaune began to bang at his shield, and Yang too, dashed to her right as the serpent finally attacked, the black head striking at Jaune, who had lured it to the other end of the arena so that she could have room to fight the white head without getting in the way. As it rushed towards her, Yang managed to dodge it and roll out of the way. A quick rush of cool wind whipped past her neck as the snake's head passed her, ruffling her collar. Once it missed, it quickly slithered and began to coil upwards around her, hoping to have her in its grip. She quickly threw her arm back and proceeded to land a well timed shotgun blast underneath its chin as it passed her again. The white head immediately fell on top of its own rolled up. It was only stunned, but gave her enough time to vault atop its body.

As she ran up the length of it towards the still unconscious head, she turned to check up on Jaune was doing. His hair was a blonde rat's nest from all the rolling and dodging he'd been doing, but he seemed to be faring well. Two meters away from him the black head opened its great jaws, letting out another angry hiss, and Yang saw that there was now an enormous slash underneath its chin. She grinned at the sight. "You're doing great!"

"Hurry though!" Jaune yelled black as the black head struck again, its jaws closing around his shield. "You don't have forever, you know?"

The white head suddenly awoke. As it rose the rest of its body beginning to incline. Yang ran faster. No was she could let it make her fall, not when she was so close. When it had reached an incline too high for her, she focused her energy on creating on enormous blast with both her shotgun gauntlets, the kickback quickly vaulting her high into the air. The snake hissed from the impact. As she soared, Yang roared, diving onto the head. She landed on her feet as she punched the very top of its skull. It dissipated to shadow, leaving the Grimm with only a normal snake tail at the end of the white half. She smiled at her work. One down, another to go.

"Yes!" Jaune cheered. But the black end did not seem to mourn the loss of its other half, for it immediately struck Jaune again as he was distracted by the sight of her victory. This time, the force sent him flying ten feet into the air. The shield wall made a sickening crunch sound as it crackled and rippled around him when he crashed.

"No!" Yang tried to rush toward him as he began to fall, but the white half of the snake immediately coiled around her body, pinning both of her arms in its grasp, blocking her view of Jaune. The black head suddenly soared up to greet her. Helpless, Yang could only squeeze her eyes shut as it reared back, hissing as it prepared to strike again…

Only for it to screech as its shock collar activated. Yang felt her arms go free as the Grimm uncoiled, loosening enough for her to wriggle free. She vaulted over its body towards where she thought she saw Jaune fall. Professor Goodwitch was inside the shield stadium now. Explosions of purple fireworks flew from the end of her wand as the professor attacked. The Grimm retreated towards its metal container, finally sliding back into it. Goodwitch waved her wand once more, and the lid sailed into the air and covered the box with a loud clang.

"Jaune!" Yang ran towards Jaune's crumpled form as the shields deactivated. There was no blood around him, but he had landed on his back: he had to have hurt something. His eyes were closed, but relief washed over her as he began to stir. Then Goodwitch spoke. "You had a minute left, but I think we've seen enough for today."

Yang's heart immediately sank. But her focus was now on Jaune as she checked as to whether he was seriously injured. "Say something, Jaune," she pleaded. "How do you feel?"

"…In one piece, I think." Relief flooded her as Jaune groaned and slowly heaved himself into a sitting position. "Nothing's broken," he added.

"Miss Xiao Long. Mr. Arc." Port interrupted.

They turned to him. Yang let out a sigh, clenching her jaw as she dreaded what he had to say. What they all had to say after how quickly they'd failed.

"Yang, while you were successful in taking out one of the Grimm's heads, relying on Jaune as a defensive decoy while you go solely on the offensive isn't going to be enough for every opponent. Both of you need to work on exchanging roles and having a backup plan in case one of you goes down. As a result, I can't recommend anything higher than two out of Five points."

"I agree with Professor Port's assessment," echoed Oobleck. "My score is the same."

"One and a half," Goodwitch said, her bluntness only adding to a feeling Yang had that could be best described as a knife in her heart. "I expect better from you two moving foward," she added,

As she felt a pit beginning to form in her stomach, Yang closed her eyes. She was afraid to open them, not because she was afraid of facing her classmates. It was Jaune she was afraid of facing; of seeing him completely crushed by the verdict the Professor had just delivered. He had put all of his stock in her coaching. He'd committed to all the training she put him through, with barely a single complaint.

But it hadn't been enough. His faith in her, and it seemed, her own in herself, had been misplaced. Now, they would definitely end up being the lowest scoring duo in the class.

"I'd like to use the restroom, Professor Port," she heard Jaune say. Yang knew that was a lie, and he had a feeling the professor knew it too, but he seemed to not care.

"Permission granted," Port said. "Better luck next time, the both of you."

Yang opened her eyes. Jaune was already at the door, his back facing him, his eyes glued to the ground as he walked.

"Jaune, I'm—" Yang stepped forward, reaching out to him. But either Jaune hadn't heard her, or was choosing to ignore her, because he left the classroom without another word.

Listening to the sound of his footsteps begin to quiet as he walked further and further away was what did it. Yang sniffed, squeezing her eyelids shut before the waterworks could spill out. Not that it would hide much, anyway.

"Would you like to go with him, Miss Xiao Long?" Port asked her.

A brief urge sprung into her head. For a moment, she wanted nothing more than to dash out of the room, find Jaune and give him the biggest hug she could offer, then tell him that he had done an incredible job, so much more than she'd thought was possible, and to apologize again and again and again.

But she knew better than to believe any of that would make Jaune feel any better.

"No, Professor." She gave him and the other professors a low bow. "Thank you for your feedback."

The class was silent as she made her way back to her seat, her eyes still glued to the floor as she walked. She didn't lift her head for the rest of the class, nor could she so much as look anyone in the eye.

Jaune didn't return either.