You strike at the dummy before you. Though your blow bounces off, it's only because the shields used are incredibly strong for training purposes; after all, pretty much every hunter had struck one at some point, so they were reinforced with all manner of Dusts and generators. Still, you feel like you would have cleanly cleaved it in two had it not been protected. Since class started, you've been bulking up and training to use your sword properly, trying to catch up to everyone else. After two days of proper schooling, you were beginning to start looking like a real fighter, at least against a mannequin.

"Congrats! You've graduated!" Yang says from behind, surprising you. You turn around, lowering your sword after the shock wears off. Having a hot muscly blonde walk up behind you in booty shorts helps with that. "On edge. Good in a fight, but you'll want to cool it if you're really gonna be a hunter; can't have someone so jumpy trying to save everyone!" She laughs. "Nah, just kidding. It's good you can react to surprises."

Processing everything Yang was saying, you shake your head and clear your thoughts. "I graduated? Wait, from what?"

Yang cocks her head to face the door to the training area and calls back, "Bring him in!" Smiling at you, she steps aside to make room for her entourage. Ruby walks in, followed shortly by a blonde kid you quickly remember is the leader of JNPR; you saw him fumble around during the initiation, managing to stay alive thanks to that redhead with the shield. You wonder why Yang and Ruby brought– CEREAL! That redhead girl was on the cereal boxes at the grocery store! She must be famous… Anyway, you wonder why they brought the blonde guy.

Yang looks down at your weapon and smirks. "You've graduated from stick fighting! If you wanna git gud, you need to get some real experience in you. Ruby and I are WAY too above your level, so I brought in our… I guess anti-ringer? Jaune?"

"Y-yes?" the blonde says. Jaune steps up and nods his head. Sticking out his hand, he waits for you to shake it. "I'm Jaune. Jaune Arc. I'm these two's friend."

"Briar Redfield," you say, meeting Jaune's introduction. "Same." Turning to Yang, you ask, "so we're going to be using our weapons? Like, actual weapons?" You look over at the rack of sticks on the wall; thus far, you've been getting smacked by Ruby and a long staff wielded sort of like a scythe.

"Yeah. Jaune here is… well, to be frank," Yang starts. You see Jaune hang his head, acknowledging what was coming. "He's not much better than you at fighting. That's why I've taken it upon myself to educate you two!"

"Hey, I'm here!" Ruby whines, shaking her arms.

"That's why WE'VE taken it upon OURSELVES to educate you two!" Yang corrects. "You aren't good enough to kill each other, so it ought to be decent practice. Your Aura is just about done, isn't it?"

You turn to a mirror. Though your Aura feels alright, you still are pretty scratched up from your scuffle the other day. You still have the remains of a black eye, though another day or two and you'd be back to normal. "I don't have time to waste, so I guess so."

"What DID happen?" says an unfamiliar voice. "I've been meaning to ask." From behind Jaune walks… her. The dark-haired girl– Blake, as you learned yesterday– steps out, putting a bookmark between two pages of a novel. Her motions were weightless, her step as quiet and subtle as breathing. "Yang mentioned that she spent most of yesterday with an, 'Eye Guy.' She made it sound like you were a cyclops." She puts on a self-satisfied smile, glancing towards the blonde.

After remembering to breathe, you glare at Yang. With a toothy smile, she shrugs. Facing Blake, you extend a hand and say, "Briar Redfield. You're… Blake, right?"

Blake grabs your hand and shakes it. "Belladonna, yes." Her hands are much rougher than expected, especially compared to Yang's surprisingly delicate fingers. You figure she was calloused from wielding a weapon; her lean arms were on display in her sleeveless black and white top, though they were also wrapped in ribbons. Her eyes were a piercing golden, contrasting brilliantly with her jet-black hair and soft, olive skin. Upon her head was an adorable bow, keeping her hair long and straight as it flowed down her back.

A bit nervously, you scratch the back of your head and answer how you ended up so hurt. "I got mugged. Took a wrong turn downtown and ran into some ra–" You remember that people aren't too kind to Faunus and that everyone before didn't know you were one. "–Some random gang members or something." Blake looks at the bruises and scratches on your arms, still not healed thanks to whatever your Aura was preoccupied with at the moment. Her eyes turn to your black eye, then up to your beanie. She raises an eyebrow.

"I thought you were in a crash?" Yang asks. "Is that why you're all messed up?"

"No, no, that happened too." Though you were covering for… well, you still don't know, but you imagine whatever put you in that crater was a crash of some kind. You aren't TOTALLY lying, and you did get mugged, if for race reasons rather than money. "Both happened."

"Well, you're a lucky one, aren't you?" Blake teases.

"Yeah," Yang snorts. "What black cat crossed your path?"

You suddenly feel aware of your blonde hair and cat ears. Well, you aren't a *black* cat… You should really figure out what kind of cat Faunus you are. You don't know if there are any tests for that.

"I'd consider my self lucky enough. Though I could do with a spot of something good happening."

"What, are we not the best thing that's ever happened to you?" Yang teases. "We brought you a punching bag and everything!"

"Hey!" Jaune yells. Yang raises an eyebrow, prompting to admit that he was lacking in skills.

"Meeting all of you…" you start, lingering a little bit on Blake. "That has been pretty nice, especially after being alone the past few weeks." Any company other than Ozpin was appreciated, and Glynda didn't exactly mesh well with a kid like you, so being surrounded by people your age was great. "So, you good to fight?" you ask Jaune.

Jaune pulls a sword out of a sheath and readies it. "Almost!" Grabbing his sheath, he flips it out to a shield. Huh, no gun? You thought you were alone in that. "Want to start?"

Everyone backs off as you nod. Ruby, Yang, and Blake take seats around a mock ring while you and Jaune get into position. You remove Synstylae from its sheath, acutely aware of how long it is and how bad that would be to get caught up with in a real fight. Hopefully Ruby would be able to mod it soon. Focusing your back-and-forth Aura towards your hands, you lift the sword and point it at Jaune. You're suddenly aware that this was a scenario in which you could theoretically severely harm him, or him you. You let out a strained breath and focus, knowing you can't be too careful. Though he didn't seem like an amazing fighter, Jaune had gone through initiation, and you saw him backing up his team fighting a large scorpion Grimm. He had actual experience, which put him above you.

"Okay, okay!" Yang calls. "Just duke it out for a bit. We can grade you and step in if we really need to, but just go all out." She, Ruby, and Blake relax and monitor you and Jaune's stances. "3, 2, 1, go!"

You and Jaune spend your first moments facing off, carefully analyzing each other's movements. Your combat senses, though limited, knew that he had a shield and a short sword; he could swing faster and also block easier. Your weapon is oversized, better for fighting big monsters and not humans. As such, you reach the conclusion that you should attack first, otherwise you would have to maneuver your 6ft sword to block quick strikes.

You take your sword and lower it, aiming to swing towards Jaune's sword arm. If you strike the other side, he could easily block it with his shield, and you'd be better attacking where he'd have to sacrifice attacking for defending. You let your momentum move your sword in a large arc, your blade aiming for Jaune's midsection. Jaune reacts by twisting his torso to block with his shield; though he blocks your sword, the weight of the strike knocks him off-balance, letting you follow up by shoulder checking him.

Jaune is sent sprawling backward, letting you take another wide swing. You get a decent hit on him, causing his Aura to flicker, but he quickly recovers. Taking up a phalanx stance, he starts stepping forward, blocking with his shield and aiming to stab with his sword. You start circling around his shield, not letting his sword arm get a good angle.

You realize that you are full of holes. You can't swing your massive sword without completely opening yourself up; it takes both hands to wield with any sort of efficiency, so Jaune would no doubt be able to counter that. You can't attack without leaving yourself open, so you can't attack. This leaves you in a stalemate until Jaune stabs at you. Once again, your oversized weapon means you can barely maneuver it in such a way to block, even then moving a direct shot to a glancing blow; you feel Jaune's sword slash at your Aura, wearing your guard.

Your dance continues for several minutes, mostly as a defense game. You and Jaune trade blows mostly equally, though his maneuverability trumps out, earning him the victory. The blonde throws caution to the wind, slamming one of your blows away with his shield and leaving you wide open for a head-on attack. You feel a heavy hit carve away your Aura, almost shattering it. Luckily, it lasts, but a sword to the stomach still knock all the wind out of your lungs.

"That ought to be good, boys!" Yang calls out, preventing you from any lasting damage. "Don't want to give him MORE black eyes." She and her team rise and circle the ring, resting on the ropes.

Panting, you plant your sword on the ground and prop yourself up. Jaune relaxes his guard and sheaths his sword, folding his shield back to a manageable size. You hop out of the ring and await your scores.

"Ruby, why do you start?" Yang says.

Though clearly shy about revealing your weaknesses, Ruby nods. "Uhh… Jaune!" Jaune nods. "You're already better than in initiation. You're learning to change strategies on the fly, which is good. Keeping your shield up is never a bad idea, especially against a larger weapon, but be careful."

"Yeah," Yang adds. "Sure you can block it, but any bigger and guarding might take out your arm. If he swung just a bit heavier, he could break your shield, your arm, whatever."

"Yeah, that. Also, you need to be lighter. You're not moving enough, but you're swinging a bit wildly."

Jaune nods.

"Pretty much," Blake says. "I guess I can add that you're relying on your shield. Best to not get hit at all than take hits, but you could do with a bit more dodging."

"As for you, Briar," Yang starts. "Seeing you use the real thing, I don't think that weapon is suited to you." You nod. Your weapon definitely wasn't suited to a one on one duel, especially if Jaune were more agile. "It's clunky."

"Definitely. If I were in the ring," Blake says, "I'd be all over you. I'm a bit more speed-focused that Jaune, so I'd take advantage of your wide swings and slow pullbacks." She mimics using a dual sword style to attack, which are way to fast to react to. "How long have you been using that?"

"Not long," you say. You've been training with your greatsword, but a dummy was way different than actual combat. You look at Ruby and ask, "You said you'd be down to you with it, right? I'd like to have it be a lot shorter so I can move it easier. Could you do that?"

Ruby glows up like a floodlight. "Oh, oh! I've been thinking about it all day! I should be able to mess with it tomorrow! I know the perfect way to shrink it down so it's easier to use."

"That sounds great!"

Blake giggles in an insanely cute tone. "Good for you! You get a second chance to impress me. Though, Yang made it sound like you barely knew how to walk; glad to see you can keep up with somebody!"

You glare at Yang. "Hey! I said he was a novice! That's all!"

"Yang has such a way of describing things," Blake muses. "And of that's where we're going to call it, I should be doing some training of my own. Yang?"

"Woo! Catfight!" Yang says, hopping into the ring. You jump a little at the mention of cats.

You take a seat and spend the next while watching Blake and Yang spar. Blake wielded an amalgam sword, kusarigama, cleaver, and pistol in the craziest combo you've seen yet, and boy did she wield it with grace. Yang went in at her with severe punches, but she deftly danced around them with a shadow's grace. You see the two girls fight at a level much higher than your own, captivating you with their skills. You also enjoy the sight of two beautiful girls with soft skin and tight bodies, which is also a step up from a gangly noodle boy. You pick up as much as you can, eagerly awaiting Synstylae V2.