Editorial Note:

Since Jaune did not bother giving details of the rules of engagement during combat matches in his accounts, I took the liberty to add an excerpt of the handbook that was used in the previous section. It should satisfy the curiosity of readers who wish to know more about the procedures of class duels among Beacon students.

"Rules of Training Matches" from the Student's Beacon Handbook

[This version was the one used in Jaune's first year at Beacon. The current version being used today is more or less the same, with slight differences.]

Matches will consist of two opposing teams. Teams may consist of a single or multiple representatives. Usually, both teams must have a balance in quantity but if one member is proven to be too proficient, then they are to be pitted with additional opponents that could even range to an entire team as a handicap to maintain the balance of power.

The duration of the matches ranges from three to ten minutes. When the timer runs out, the team that holds the most aura combined wins. [1] Another method of winning is to deplete all of the opponents' aura to red (15% and below). Participants who wish to concede may do so by simply declaring themselves as such.

Be reminded that your performance during matches is graded.

Here are a few guidelines and regulations to follow during a match:

1. If a participant's aura is in the red, that participant must now exit the arena, and their opponent must cease attacking defeated participants to avoid serious injury.

2. Participants who concede are automatically declared as defeated and should be refrained from being harmed.

3. Likewise, participants who conceded defeat are not allowed to attack their opponent after doing so.

4. Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated.

5. The participant's team may cheer for their team-mate(s) but are not allowed to interfere as with the rest of the audience.

6. Do not attempt to attack the spectators, even if they are protected by transparent hard-light during the match.

7. Explosives are only allowed limited use as they may cause too much damage to the premises and possibly injure spectators on impact. Non-Lethal explosives are allowed but must have proper verification by the professor before being taken to the arena.

8. Be respectful to your opponents, the match should be treated as friendly competition, and as such, foul play and any other dishonourable and extreme methods will not be taken lightly.

9. Kindly follow all the commands issued by the professor with no exceptions.

10. No lollygagging. [2]

=o=

1. During team battles, teams have a separate aura indicator that measures all of the team member's auras into one. This was mentioned in an earlier section of the guidebook.

2. More specifically: Do not stall, thereby, making a mockery of the match. This was made more clear in later editions.

To Live and Learn

CHAPTER 8

"I am a Huntress. I will not undermine my free expression and individuality by having to follow a uniform.

-Layla Leroux before being shot by allied artillery due to being mistaken for wearing enemy colors

The warm-up exercises were tiring (especially for Ren) but I managed to get through them since Dad had to put me on the same thing. I had to go through push-ups, sit-ups, and some stretching, and we had to do it with our own combat outfits since the school doesn't provide P.E. uniforms, probably because the academy expects you to get used to sweating with whatever you chose to wear as a combat outfit. At least I didn't have to punch tree trunks hundreds of times; I still remember getting splinters from those things, somehow bypassing my aura. [1]

We were given time to rest before being sent back to the combat hall where the real action begins.

"Before we start selecting participants for the matches, will all of you kindly pull out your scrolls?" Miss Goodwitch commanded. "You may notice an application titled 'Team Status, tap on it."

I proceeded to do just that. My screen then started to display portraits of me and my teammates, each having its own full green aura gauge.

"As you see, you are now looking at you and your teammate's aura levels. You will be using this during combat situations starting today, I advise you to regularly refer to it during such circumstances."

So far, this was the most useful thing the school has given me. I always needed to keep track of my aura to make sure I wasn't close to becoming Grimm food. I wasn't sure how it got the scroll to read its user's aura levels though, [2] but as long as it works, I really don't care how.

"Now that you all know how to keep track of your aura, let us finally begin the matches," Miss Goodwitch announced.

"Alright!" Nora cheered along with the other students who were excited to see some action while I was still hoping that I didn't have to be randomly picked as I wasn't exactly in the mood for fighting despite being sharpened by the exercises.

"First off, I would like to introduce you to Umi Hisakawa," Miss Goodwitch gestured to a girl in a geisha attire, wearing a light-blue kimono. "She's a senior here in Beacon. She is selected to be your opponent for this day before you will be able to face one another. She will demonstrate some pointers to consider during battle." Miss Goodwitch continued as the girl pulled out a fan and cooled herself with it. "Would anyone like to volunteer?"

Several eager students raised their hands. "Very well." Miss Goodwitch said before picking out one of them. "Brook Lane of Team BFYR (Bonfire), please come to the stage at once."

"Oh, hell yeah!" he cheered with his 'Mantlian tough guy' accent, which made it sound like he meant business while he sported that 'raised by tough streets' bravado. Once at the stage, Brook pulled out his spiked baseball bat and began facing his opponent.

"This will be a one-on-one battle. You will be given three minutes to strike your opponent down until they are unable to fight. If the timer runs out and none of you have still fallen, then whoever has the most aura wins." Miss Goodwitch stated. "You have read your handbook, have you, Mister Lane?"

"I have, Miss Goodwitch," he nodded, sounding polite for someone as hot-blooded as he is.

"Then I'm assuming you know the rules of engagement then?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good, then let us begin." Miss Goodwitch then leaves the stage before all the lights—save for the one above the arena turned off. Two screens appeared on the front of the hall, each showing one of the combatant's gauges, both of which were full.

"Hey, just so you know: I'm not gonna hit your pretty face, so don't worry." Brook flirted as he readied his bat. With overconfidence like that against a senior who presumably has more experience, it was easy to see where this match was going to end.

"That's a shame, I was hoping you'd be more of a challenge," Umi replied while still fanning herself as if he was nothing.

"Eh?" Brook look puzzled, but before he could think more about it, Miss Goodwitch declared the match.

"Begin!"

Brook held his bat with both of his hands as he started to charge at his opponent. Umi then fanned herself a couple more times before revealing blades coming out of her fans. Surprised, Brook halted when Umi started to fling the blades at him which he could barely dodge and deflect due to the weight of his weapon. Umi then pulled out another bladed fan and proceeded to dash into Brook while spinning. Brook deflected her strikes but had trouble trying to counter her attacks due to her speed.

He was then pushed to the ground, looking at his aura to see that it was already at 71%. He then angrily jumps back and changes his bat to an assault rifle and fires at the senior. Umi used her fans to shield her from the bullets while walking toward him. When his clip ran out, Umi stormed towards him as Brook quickly tried to change back to a bat while anticipating her next attack, only for Umi to swipe away his weapon up into the air before pulling a roundhouse kick in his face, knocking him again to the ground.

He went back up as swiftly as he could before he caught his bat while it was falling (and conveniently did not catch it on its spiked part.) He swung it towards her face which she blocked with both of her fans. Brook head-butted her, knocking her back slightly, he then swung his bat when Umi dodged right in time and used both of her bladed fans to slice his back multiple times. Staggered, Brook continued to swing his bat before turning around and seeing his face getting swiped by a fan and falling on his back.

Umi turned to the audience to give a bow as the buzzer and lights came back on. I wasn't exactly surprised at this outcome, but I don't think I could ever see pretty Mistrali girls in kimonos the same way ever again after witnessing this fight.

Miss Goodwitch stepped back to the stage. "Students, as you can see, Mister Lane's aura has now dropped into the red. This would indicate that Brook is no longer fit for battle and that the official may call the match. After witnessing this, you should have now learned that you should not underestimate your opponents and that one's appearance can be deceiving."

"Hmph." Umi put one of her fans back to her sash and fanned herself again with the other. Brook made an embarrassed chuckle while he was still on the ground.

"Mister Lane, you may now return to your seat." Miss Goodwitch looked at him before he nodded. He pushed himself up and trudged out of the arena while audibly grunting. "That was only the introduction to combat matches, while all of you may have proven yourselves to be worthy enough to be accepted into this academy, remember that you are still in training and that you have much to learn before you can be considered as full-fledged Huntsmen and Huntresses. Since we still have an hour before dismissal and Miss Hisakawa still has 96% of her aura left. Who else would like to volunteer?"

After the last match, the class became more hesitant when volunteering that no one raised their hand, and instead just glanced at one another. Even the most overconfident and arrogant fighters had given up trying to challenge the deadly third-year geisha.

"Became wary after the last match, have you?" Miss Goodwitch commented with a slight smirk. "Good. Now you know why you should refrain from being reckless and being too overconfident with your abilities. Worry not, you are not going to face Miss Hisakawa in a duel, instead, you will be training with her while she demonstrates some pointers for combat. Matches will resume next month. For now, you will need to hone your skills first."

I felt that everyone took a sigh of relief after hearing that. Miss Goodwitch continued and invited another student to carry on the class. "Now, would Luna Mona of Team VILE (Violet) kindly enter the arena?"

The rest of the class had us learn about combat moves and tips. I mostly paid attention to the other students' fighting styles, so in case I end up facing them, I would at least have a strategy. If there was anything I learned with Brook Lane's fight with Umi Hisakawa, that aside from being too cocky to think that he could match a seemingly passive Mistrali girl who happened to be hiding plenty of steel beneath that elegant eastern silk, was that brute-forcing would always end with you getting the short end of the stick especially if you don't know what you're doing. You need to choose your next steps carefully, and when the situation is dire, then you need to think quickly while trying to remain wise and prudent.

Eventually, the bell rang, marking the end of our first day at class. "Remember everything you've learned today, your future careers as Huntsmen will depend on it. I will see you all tomorrow." Miss Goodwitch said as the class dismissed. I left that combat hall with plenty to ponder on, but I won't be able to practice them freely if my team doesn't have a place to train. So we proceeded to look for one.

=o=

1. Probably because Jaune lost focus sometime during the exercise, thus, deactivating his aura.

2. Scrolls can be able to measure one's aura levels as long as it's in contact with the user. Since all physical apparel is connected to the wearer's aura, including various assortments of wearable equipment, the application will always read the user's aura until they are no longer holding the scroll.

The team and I spent the rest of the day looking for a vacant spot for team training. We've checked to see if students are permitted to use the combat hall to train after class hours, and it turned out that it was and it's also open during weekends in the afternoon but it was occupied by every other team in the academy so we wouldn't have enough time with the arena ourselves. That and that were rumors that students literally fight over who gets the arena, and I don't think we'll get proper training in that kind of environment. We were allowed to visit the Emerald Forest if we wish, but we were not going to train there because it still felt too soon to revisit that place and I wasn't that insane.

We soon split up and went on doing our own things while still trying to look for a place. When we gathered in our dorm room later, Ren and Nora told me that the good spots were taken by the other students, while Pyrrha said she was still working on it. I sighed and told them to resume this tomorrow and get some long-needed rest.

It was around ten o'clock, or 2200 hours if you follow the military time. I was sitting on my bed, updating this journal and reviewing the notes I have written during combat class and others based on observations of my teammates during their performance yesterday when Nora called me.

"Jaune?" she tapped my shoulder. She was wearing her pajamas which consisted of a black t-shirt that had a print that says 'boop' with her logo making up the second 'o' and a pink short patterned with white thunderbolts, which suited her, I guess.

"Yes, Nora, what is it?" I asked, putting down my notes for a second.

"Can you get me a glass of water? I know you might be busy but the fridge is empty; I would have told Ren or Pyrrha but they're both asleep and I don't want to bother them."

I would have asked if she could have done it herself, she's a grown woman for crying out loud, but I was patient enough to consider it, there wasn't any harm in doing it. As the team leader, it was my duty to look after my team. I felt like taking a quick stroll at Beacon during the night anyway. "Okay, sit tight, I'll get you something to drink."

"Aww~ Thank you, you're the best!" she said loudly while trying not to wake up the others before giving a quick hug.

I patted her back before letting go, she went back to her bed while I hid my journal and notes. I left the dorm with an empty glass cup in my left hand, slowly and quietly closing the door before walking to where I recall the nearest water dispenser was located.

As I was about to pass Team RWBY's dorm, the door suddenly opened causing me to stop out of instinct. Weiss walked out of the room and then stopped to say something. "Hey, Ruby… I always wanted bunk beds as a kid," she spoke in an amiable tone, which was something I wasn't used to hearing. I was happy for them though. Thank goodness for whatever made them get along. [1] I was worried that I would have to deal with drama in a neighboring team for so long.

She closed the door and saw me in the hallway. Thankfully, it wasn't that awkward, I was wearing the new PJs I bought yesterday, which were simply just a black T-shirt and blue sweatpants, so she didn't have to suffer into seeing me in those onesies unlike Yang the other day. I kept the bunny slippers though, which she didn't seem to notice or mind if she did. She was still wearing her usual outfit, which led me to assume that she was on her way to the locker room to clean up and change.

It was rather rude to just pass her without saying something, sure our first impressions weren't good, but being uncivil would only infuriate her and I couldn't bear with an ice queen this late at night. She seemed to be in a good mood, so I thought it was appropriate to show a little courtesy. "Hey," I greeted.

"Hey," she fixed her bangs with one of her hands while hesitantly making eye contact. I could tell that she also wasn't used to being friendly with me but with the right circumstances, we might be able to fix that.

"So… how are the beds?" I asked the first thing that came to mind that wouldn't be too much of a sensitive topic when bought up.

"We got real bunk beds now," she answered. "I wouldn't say Miss Goodwitch was happy when she saw our room in shambles though."

I slightly chuckled at that remark before remembering why I was out in the hallway. "At least you got what you guys wanted. Anyway, I… uh, gotta go. The Valkyrie needs her water." I stuttered, showing her the empty glass as I passed through her before I could make this encounter any awkward.

"Jaune?" she called.

"Yeah?" I stopped in my tracks and turned back at her to hear what she had to say.

"When Pyrrha said you'd make a great teammate… Well, I hope that she's right. You seemed to be a lot more capable than you look. Don't take this the wrong way, but if it wasn't for the skills you displayed, I would have thought of you as some unqualified idiot who somehow cheated his way into Beacon," she admitted.

Me? Cheating into Beacon? I would have been more likely to end up in the Top 10 of The Gallics' Most Fabulous Male Crossdressers than to pull a stupid stunt like that, and even then I'll just be a farmer or something. Anyway, I'm glad that she was starting to appreciate me, even though I wasn't worthy of such credit.

"I just hope you continue whatever you're doing that keeps your team afloat," she continued. "…and I mean it. Look, I'm sorry about how I acted earlier and I know our initial meetings weren't exactly ideal, I let my temper get the better of me. Now, everyone must think I'm sort of a snob."

I was able to understand where she was coming from, stress can bring out the worst of people, and it was apparent that her life wasn't as luxurious as it looked. "Must be rough being an heiress, huh?"

"Exactly. People want to live like royalty, but they do not know the everyday stresses and burdens as one. My father, for instance, for all his flaws, at least wants the best for us, but I could barely go a single day without hearing him yell because of what he had to go through daily. It doesn't help that people always seem to remember our shortcomings, but always forget when we do good."

I can't help but agree with her. I've seen a few individuals being portrayed based on one of their actions, and people think they've become experts on that person when in reality, there was more to it than that. Some impressions are going to last longer than others which is why I am very anxious about my reputation and how it could affect the Arcs as a whole.

She then took a deep breath and looked back at me. "I think I'm getting carried away. All I'm saying is… thank you for understanding. I guess Pyrrha was lucky to have you all, huh?"

Maybe. I subtly looked down at that. I don't know if getting paired with and being led by someone like me was beneficial for her.

"It was my pleasure… Snow Angel." I slipped out a nickname out of habit. I realized this and then smacked myself as I wasn't supposed to call anyone with sardonic nicknames as they could contradict my charade as a somewhat wide-eyed altruist.

"Jaune, people call me a lot of names but that's probably the worst one yet," she remarked with slight irritation, although thankfully not noticing that I acted snide for a second there.

"Sorry. I didn't know what was on my mind." I sheepishly apologized.

"But still, thank you. I really needed to get that off my chest."

"You're welcome." I nodded.

We smiled at each other before going our separate ways. It was actually nice to have a chat with Weiss while she's not acting like some anger-management attendee. But I should remember that this was only one time and she was in a better mood, as far as I know, her cold heart was still far from melted. Still, I consider this a step up from our previous interactions and hope that the belligerence between us is eventually shaken off so we could finally act like allies and not like children squabbling over petty things.

=o=

1. After Grimm Studies, I was given a talk by Professor Port. He convinced me to savor what I had and continue what I do best as a huntress instead of complaining about not being chosen as a leader. Say what you wish about Professor Port and his tall tales but he knows exactly what he is talking about, and I highly respect him for that.