Editorial Note: The next few entries will be focusing on the Freshman's Dance Night and the events leading up to it, which was first written three days after Team RWBY's investigation around Vale, starting at Friday's combat class.

To Survive and Prosper

CHAPTER 7

After that night, I had to spend the last couple of days giving a few hours of unpaid labor to make up for the repercussions we caused. It felt more like an extended detention session since I only work inside the academy. Honestly, it wouldn't have been that bad since all I had to do was work for a few hours inside the safety of Beacon had it not for the fact that word about my exploit was spread overnight with Nora gushing about it after I woke up the next morning while berating me for not taking Ren and her to the bank robbery. But if anything, she should be glad because she didn't have to get sentenced to community service just like I did. Pyrrha herself was fortunate enough not to be convicted because of her reputation added with the fact that she didn't really do much other than to knock down a few troopers and save my bacon from a four-foot, two-tone colored psychopath.

To make matters worse, it wasn't just Nora. People in Beacon who tuned in to the midnight and morning news applauded me and Pyrrha for foiling the bank robbery, unaware of my sentence and the fact that my presence there was unwanted, while never mentioning Team RWBY, Sun and Neptune's battle with a stolen Atlesian mech on the freeway even if it did result in a few civilian casualties. [1] I kept hearing it for the whole day, with everyone I came across approaching me and talking about it, telling me and Pyrrha that we did a great job while all I could do was smile and spout some self-deprecating bullshit about how I couldn't have done it without her help and cover my own ass.

Okay, it wasn't exactly bullshit; it's true that I really couldn't have done it without Pyrrha, but you get what I feel about this.

I had a feeling that my ignominious reputation as the Defender of Podunk was finally falling to obscurity, with everyone who brought it out forgetting about it five minutes after asking if I was him. Then I blew it by accepting to help out a friend with a task that was supposed to be a simple team investigation, following a peculiar girl for answers instead of checking records, 'borrowing' a stupid scooter and going the wrong way by following cop cars who I thought was heading to Team RWBY's location while they were fighting the Torchwick in his rogue mech. Now I'm on the godsdamn news again with my name spelled wrong as usual, [2] and it's bad enough that I've been getting reports of journalists trying to visit Beacon to get my interview.

Wonderful, here I am in the spotlight again. At least no one was told about my minor act of bike thievery, Yang still hasn't lived that one down yet probably because of being a motorcycle owner herself.

Pyrrha was also affected by this because not only did she fight alongside me, but it was also one of the rarest moments where the Invincible Girl of Mistral fought outside the tournament. Of course, it was too good of a story for journalists not to milk, so it wasn't just my reputation that was enhanced. At the very least, I have yet to spot a paparazzi trying to get some juicy details about my personal life for some dumbfuck article only people with no life would care about.

On the brighter side of things, I don't think I have to worry about who to look for to dance with this Sunday. That night kind of brought me and Pyrrha closer considering the stuff we had to deal with in its aftermath. That and I have attracted some girls who would kill to dance with me after hearing my supposed act of bravery. Chicks dig what I do.

I have to admit—after dealing with some missions within Pucelle and that aforementioned night, it was nice to feel the peaceful boredom of class hours again. Now I just need to enjoy every last minute of it until I get my first mission this upcoming Monday.

I sat beside Pyrrha at Combat Class after doing a few exercises as the class prepared for the sparring sessions. She smiled at me and I returned the gesture, knowing how much we comforted one another when dealing with the pressures of being on a pedestal. It showed that we do have some genuine partnership together and that we're paired up for a reason other than we just happened to be the first contact we made during the initiation.

I turned to check on Team RWBY. While they looked fine for the most part, they still appear to be recovering from that night. Ruby looked like she was back to her perky self, but I could still sense that she hadn't gotten over the civilian casualties she wasn't able to prevent. Weiss was maintaining her composure while she was infuriated that she had to do community service for several more days; Yang was doing her best not to show her displeasure at being banned from the city for a month in addition to her daily labor; Blake, meanwhile had it worst, she became much moodier since that night and appear to be lacking in sleep if her eye bags and the paleness of her skin did not give that away. She was occupied with her books, and while she was always like that, it was blatant that she was trying to ease her mind after what happened that night.

I knew these girls were resilient enough to handle this but I couldn't help but feel guilty that they have to go through all of that while I get all the glory. Having to serve labor in which sentence was half long as theirs wasn't enough to make us even. If anyone deserved to be called brave aside from Pyrrha that night—it should be them. They shouldn't have conducted the investigation in the first place, sure, but they still courageously faced a wanted criminal on a highway full of innocents and almost won, but instead, they were still penalized for casualties and damages they barely had control over.

I sighed and just told myself to focus on the present. I noticed I was also sitting next to the Haven team whom I bumped into last Monday; I saw them in their combat outfits for the first time, like some of the other students here, each of them wore something that complimented their hair color. They seem to be an okay bunch, despite being somewhat strange at times but that's probably just me. I've been on edge a lot recently.

"Man, all this exercising and team-building stuff is killing me. I think my legs are aching for some action," Mercury—the gray-haired one—impatiently uttered.

"Will you quit it? I could barely focus with your tapping," His green-haired partner—Emerald, I think—told him.

"Then hope for something exciting would happen and I will stop," he responded, making Emerald roll her eyes before turning at me. "Anyway, guess who we bumped into again."

"Well if it isn't Jaune Arc," A soothing voice stated. "Fancy meeting you again. It seems that you have been making moves a couple of days ago." I stared back at the beautiful raven-haired leader complimenting me, doing my best not to flush out of embarrassment at her flattering and her mention of that fiasco. Pyrrha turned her head to see who I was talking to, getting Cinder's attention. "And Pyrrha Nikos herself is here too."

"Uh, hello there!" Pyrrha waved to her fellow Mistralis.

"It's an honor to finally meet you face to face. We're Team Cinnamon from Haven." Emerald stirred near her partner and started covering his mouth before he would be able to make any further remarks. "Well, we prefer to call ourselves Team CMSN, but Cinnamon is fine I guess. By the way, my name is Emerald. This right here is my idiot of a partner Mercury," she continued as Mercury's eyes narrowed at her. "and this our leader, Cinder, and our other teammate, Nico!" she introduced her team as the very latter leaned in and joyfully waved at us.

"I see." Pyrrha nodded with her hand cupped to her chin. "It's nice to meet you, Team Cinnamon."

Mercury struggled out of Emerald's grasp and glared at her for a second before turning back at us. "Hey, you two did great back there. Never was a big fan of the White Fang myself. What a bunch of losers. Seriously, how are they going to achieve equality with that?" he said while his partner just rolled her eyes with a coy smile.

"Thanks, I guess. Couldn't just leave when I knew I could do something." I replied in a way they would expect from the Humble & Courageous Jaune Arc.

"How brave, I can see why everyone is hailing you as a hero," Cinder cooed suggestively. "Why can't Huntsmen be more like you?"

"You'll be surprised to know how many people said that to me," I scratched the back of my head and tried not to show my embarrassment. "I just did what a Huntsman would do."

"And you certainly show." Cinder and I continued to stare at each other. I was so stupefied by this woman's beauty and flattering that it wasn't until Pyrrha cleared her throat that I stopped spacing out. "By the way, it's nice to meet you in person, Pyrrha Nikos. We're huge fans of your work and we look forward to seeing what you have in store for the tournament."

"You won't be disappointed," Pyrrha replied as she tried to grin. Not too long after, Miss Goodwitch finally spoke up.

"Okay, students," she said, grabbing all of our attention. "As you know, the Vytal Tournament will begin within a few weeks, and only qualified teams are allowed to partake in it. Henceforth, the qualifiers will now begin. While some of you are sure to be in the Tournament, you still have to prove if you are absolutely worthy to be eligible for the most renowned tournament of the year, for we are looking for students who possess remarkable ability to show the world the capabilities of the Huntsmen of tomorrow."

I turned to Pyrrha and nodded to each other, I then looked at Ren and Nora who were unusually distant from our seats, with the latter giving a thumbs up with both of her hands and the former simply giving his usual disposed look.

"So let us begin the matches and show me what you have learned these past months. This time, you will also be able to practice alongside students from other academies. Just remember that there is no competition as of yet. While you are to show your capabilities and prove your worthiness, you are still training. So please, keep these battles amiable while remaining as competent as you could," she said before she chose the first participants for today. "The first match would be Oriana Sullivan and Sandy Graves of Team TOPS (Topaz) going against Lambert Forrester and Rusty Dalen of Team BFYR in a two-on-two match."

During the matches, I kept notes on the participant's fighting as usual—especially with the transfer students, who I hold little to no information about their fighting ability. Aside from that, I didn't remember that much since I wasn't invested in seeing who would win; I only cared about how I could win against them. Having sawblades attached to your arm wasn't exactly the best weapon against someone with a polearm.

After a handful of matches, one of the last participants—Roy Stallion of Team BRNZ (Bronze) from Shade was getting dragged off from the arena after getting his butt handed by Sky Lark of all people. Yeah, you read that right; the very same guy who I remembered was the most timid member of Team CRDL.

"With that match, you are reminded to keep a distance from your opponent, especially if their weapon has a much longer range than yours." Miss Goodwitch advised the crowd of students. "Since we are running short of time, we would like to reintroduce Miss Umi Hisakawa."

As soon as her name was called, we knew exactly how this was going to go. Once she started appearing in the arena, I noticed Brook Lane almost fainting at the mere sight of her.

"I see everyone seems to recognize her, save for the transfer students. Since you have all managed to come this far, you might finally be able to defeat her after she left all of you speechless at her introductory match. But before any of you will be able to prove that, she will have to be set up against an opponent who was already on par with her from the start, as they were almost never chosen for a single match so far when it was something we were all looking forward to."

Miss Goodwitch began facing in my direction. I did my best to look calm while in a state of complete internal panic, until one reaffirming statement calmed me down in a matter of a second. "Pyrrha Nikos, would you kindly enter the arena?"

"Sure, professor," she said as she stood up.

"Good luck out there, Pyrrha." I nodded.

"I will, Jaune." She then stepped off the seats and into the arena.

The two Mistralis silently stare at each other in the middle of the combat hall. The audience just sat by the edge of their seats and gazed at the two warrior ladies, clearly anticipating fast-paced action.

"You both know the rules. You are given ten minutes to put your opponent's aura below fifteen percent before the timer runs out. The match will begin…"

Blades resonated as they both unsheathed their respective weapons and went on their stances while keeping eye contact with one another as they waited for the professor's cue.

"…now."

When the match started, none of the two attacked; instead, they slowly circled each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Umi tried to startle her by feinting, but Pyrrha's amazing reflexes and discipline kept her unflinching.

Finding out that Pyrrha was playing defensively, Umi changed her tactics and abruptly threw blades from her fan. Pyrrha deflected them with her shield before noticing that Umi tried to sweep away her feet, making her leap back and fire at her with her rifle, which Umi blocked with her fans as she walked slowly towards her. Pyrrha then changed her rifle to its javelin form and threw it at Umi, and since the javelin was too much for her fans to deflect, she jumped right away from it.

Pyrrha flew to retrieve Miló [3] and launched herself from the wall without touching the floor which would get her to lose by ring out. She changed her weapon to its xiphos mode before she used it to clash with Umi's bladed fans the moment she got next to her. The two fought in the center for superiority until Pyrrha managed to swipe away one of Umi's fans into the air. Umi didn't waste any time and leaped for her fan as Pyrrha changed her weapon back to a rifle and opened fire at her. Umi grabbed her fan in midair and used both of them to block off the gunshots as she descended towards her opponent. Pyrrha darted back before Umi got to the ground where she started spinning toward her with blades and knives being thrown at Pyrrha. Pyrrha deflected the blades by spinning her spear, making them fly around the arena, even hitting the transparent holographic walls that protect the audience. Once she was done, she raised her shield from the flurry of slashes from Umi's fans and pushed her back, and threw the shield at her. Umi was able to jump on the shield and flew toward Pyrrha and attempted to strike her down but she rolled forward and grabbed her shield before firing twice to her last ammo. Pyrrha changed her weapon back to its xiphos form for quicker melee and engaged her once again, only this time, Umi was struggling to block off Pyrrha's swift slashes.

Umi was getting overwhelmed. Pyrrha's agility made it near-impossible for her to counter, and her shield barely gave her an opening. I know this because Ren, Nora, and I once sparred with her, and not once were we able to beat her in a serious match. But Umi wasn't giving up yet, having enough of Pyrrha's offensive she leaped back, and waved both of her fans as she took off towards the ceiling. Both Pyrrha and the audience looked up at her as she summoned a whole mass of blades coming from her fans, forming a shape similar to that of wings; she threw all of those blades towards Pyrrha. Pyrrha ducked with her shield as a hailstorm of a hundred blades fell towards her.

Unfortunately for Umi, she was barely scathed. Pyrrha stood up both gracefully and vigorously, sweeping away the blades on the floor as she walked forward and astonished the audience at how untouchable she was. Umi landed back on the ground, she lost her calm demeanor and displayed clear agitation toward her opponent. The last thing I saw was Pyrrha smirking before black outlines surrounded both her hands, as well the blades around her before they rose from the ground and began pointing at their former owner. Umi just stood by with a horrified look before Pyrrha launched them at her, draining all of her remaining aura to the red.

"Woah." I heard Mercury utter after the last blade penetrated Umi's aura.

"Impressive." Cinder remarked.

Umi was lying on the ground when the bell rang and the lights came back on. "And that's the match." Miss Goodwitch walked back into the arena.

Pyrrha was noticeably panting, not because of the fight but because of how much she used her semblance. She did tell me that it took some meditation to get a hold of and control her polarity and that the more metal she holds, the more aura it uses.

Nora stood up and hollered. "Way to go, P-Money!"

The auditorium roared with applause after witnessing a victory from The Invincible Girl. For Beacon students, it showed how amazing she was after beating a senior who had haunted us since the first day of combat training. Pyrrha just smiled and waved around the arena before walking to Umi, offering her hand, which she accepted. The two smiled at each other and Umi gave Pyrrha a bow of gratitude as her fellow Mistrali returned the gesture.

"Miss Nikos, that was incredible! It is without a doubt that you will be in the tournament." Miss Goodwitch commended.

"Thank you, professor." Pyrrha nodded.

"Your performance is no less exemplary, Hisakawa-san." Miss Goodwitch said to Umi with an approving nod. "You are both dismissed. Miss Nikos, you may now return to your seat."

Umi bowed once again before leaving the premises as she fanned herself. Pyrrha went back to sit beside me a minute later.

"Pyrrha, that was great! I already know you are a great fighter but...wow!" I complimented her. While it was not surprising given Pyrrha's record of being Goddess of Victory, I was still at a loss of words that it was the only thing I could say to her.

"Thanks, Jaune. Your support means a lot to me," she replied with heartfelt gratitude.

"Yeah," I restrained my own blush. "Just being a good partner."

"Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match. Any volunteers?" Miss Goodwitch said as she looked at the audience before noticing a certain faunus who was still hooked up on her book. "Miss Belladonna?"

Startled, Blake abruptly shut her book closed and put her gaze on the Professor.

"You've been rather docile for the past few classes." Miss Goodwitch remarked, making Blake look away in shame. "Why don't you—"

"I'll do it," Mercury interjected, raising his hand.

"Mercury, is it?" Miss Goodwitch adjusted her glasses before tapping her tablet. "Very well then. Mercury Black of Team CMEN from Haven Academy, you may now come down to the arena."

The audience began snickering as he stood up and went down, not only because of his team's name but rather because of how it's unfortunately spelled. No wonder why they prefer being called CMSN.

"Students, I will not repeat myself. Please stop this childishness at once! Might I remind you that you are all no longer in elementary school?" Miss Goodwitch growled.

The snickering stopped. Mercury didn't seem perturbed by it, if anything, he was just as amused as everyone. I cannot say the same for his teammates, who were covering their faces with their hands.

"I don't get it. What's so funny about cinnamon?" Ruby asked with confusion in her voice. Poor little thing; she's too pure for this godsforsaken planet.

"You'll understand when you're older, sis. Just don't think about it for now and let's see what this dude's made of," Yang said to her sister with a grin.

Miss Goodwitch tapped on her tablet. "Now, let's find you an opponent."

"Actually. I wanna fight…" He looked around the audience before pointing toward me. "Him."

Aw crap.

"Me?" I gritted my teeth. I haven't fought in a sparring match since that time I have to fight all of Team CRDL. I guess I couldn't avoid the spotlight after what I did two days ago.

"Yeah, you."

"Is there a problem, Mister Arc?" Miss Goodwitch asked.

Well, it's too late to decline this now. "Uhh, no. I'd be happy to oblige."

"Very well, then. Jaune Arc of Team JNPR will be facing Mercury Black of Team CMEN from Haven Academy. Please come down the stage."

The audience applauded and began chanting my name, with some of the girls screaming out of admiration. Laughter over the latter team's name could still be audible, albeit muffled by the cheering.

Pyrrha gave an encouraging nod. "You can do it, Jaune."

"I'll be fine Pyrrha, but thanks anyway," I smiled at her.

"Good luck out there, hero." Cinder said. "I should warn you; Mercury may not be the brightest, but his skills are undeniable."

Duly noted. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind," I replied before heading to the locker room.

I grabbed my weapons and stepped into the arena. I went to my stance as Mercury walked to his side of the stage, smiling at me before going on his brawling stance. The two screens displaying our respective aura meters began appearing as all but one of the room's lights began closing down while both of our eyes mutually gazed toward one another.

"Show him who's boss, Fearless Leader!" Nora audibly cheered.

"You may begin!" Miss Goodwitch announced.

Mercury lunged and attempted to kick me as I blocked my shield and shoved him back, making him flip back to where he started. I chose not to use my laspistol yet as I didn't want him to recognize my strategy that early, so I charged at him with my shield on my front as he tried to shoot me down with it. I got near him as I kept blocking his kicks with my shield. I tried giving a few slashes only for him to keep dodging them around. So I bashed my shield at him, pushing him back once again.

This guy was tougher than he looks. I guess Cinder was right when she mentioned his skills. By the looks of it, Mercury is an unarmed fighter who primarily fights by kicking—judging by the guns attached to his boots, and with that, I felt like I knew what to do. He would need to have some happy feet if he wanted to win this.

Mercury spun as he jumped, once again giving another kick that I blocked with my shield, I began doing my best to avoid his series of attacks before I rolled back and readied my shield again as he to struck me with a flurry of kicks before I rolled under one of his kicks while collapsing my shield and grabbing my gun from my holster. I aimed my pistol and fired at him and he began swaying away from the laser fire before giving a flying kick which I avoided by side-stepping.

I was now parrying away his kicks as he tried to shoot me with it from time to time. He managed to strike me back, which was when I decided to set my plan into motion. I aimed my gun at his feet and repeatedly pulled the trigger. He started tap dancing in an attempt to avoid the lasers I fired as I rushed in closer and slashed him with his guard suppressed.

Once I knocked him down, he spun as he recovered quickly and flipped back away at a distance. Twirling my pistol back to my holster, I raised and expanded my shield and lunged at him. Mercury gave a dropkick on my shield, and fired a round that launched himself back. I raised my sword and began charging at him, but immediately stopped after hearing his abrupt statement when he stood up.

"I forfeit," Mercury declared as he turned to Miss Goodwitch.

"What?" I asked in bewilderment after pushing my brakes and halted.

"I underestimated you," he said after he faced me once again. "I can see why they are calling you the hero everybody is talking about. It's fun and all, but I don't really think I could beat you."

I just stared at him in utter disbelief. He was doing well enough that I was sure he could defeat me, provided he had the right tactics and since I wasn't invincible like Pyrrha.

"If that's the case then I have to declare Jaune Arc to be the victor of this match. Marking the second time he won after his opponent declared themselves forfeit. Once again, a viable tactic in a hopeless fight, but I find your decision to forfeit to be very sudden Mister Black; you still had a chance to defeat your opponent." Miss Goodwitch asserted.

"Eh, wasn't feeling it," Mercury responded. "Guy was leagues apart from me. I just wanted to challenge him for a bit before realizing he really was too much for me."

"Well then, I advise you to pick your opponents more carefully from now on."

"Got it, teach," he said before walking away.

"I guess you need to kick it up a notch," I cheekily told him as he left the stage.

"That is all for today." Miss Goodwitch declared. "And remember, the dance is this weekend. But you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses."

Ah, yes the Sunday dance, which the way I saw it was a chance for students to celebrate and maybe get a date they never had before getting thrown off on a mission with a chance of actual death.

As I made my way out of the combat hall, I reunited with my team and Nora began gushing once again. "Whooo! Jaune Arc strikes again! Oh, it's wonderful to see you fighting again, Fearless Leader! You did great too, Pyrrha! You really showed that geisha chick. I can't wait for us to finally go on our first mission and fight alongside you guys again!"

I could only smile at Nora's enthusiasm, even if she was excited for an assignment with a chance of death that varies on how hazardous the mission is.

We were heading out of the hallway when I once again crossed paths with that irritatingly alluring leader of Team CMEN.

"Why, you certainly don't disappoint." Cinder remarked. "I can see how both of you are the most talked-about freshmen in this academy. The Goddess of Victory and The Hero of Podunk, one who recently stopped a terrorist's robbery. You are shaping up to be the freshman team of the year."

I was only able to stare at her, stupefied at her astounding beauty. "Oh boy, do we ever! The untouchable beauty, the bravest knight of them all, and the bestest of friends ever!" she said as she started hugging Ren at her side. "You might as well start calling us Team Awesome! Scratch that, we ARE Team Awesome! It's our second name! Don't care if it's not a color or a name formed with our first letters. We're Team Awesome!"

I snapped out of my paralyzed state and was about to respond before Pyrrha came to my front and spoke on my behalf. "We appreciate your support very much. But for now, we got to go. See you later!" she said as she began dragging me away, with Ren and Nora following us as Cinder waved at me.

I did not bother asking why Pyrrha abruptly dragged me out as if she doesn't want me talking with her since I know that she would not rather talk about it.

"Pyrrha's jelly!" Nora teased, to which Pyrrha only responded by rolling her eyes. "I'm kidding. I know how you feel. I would have done the same thing if she tried to flirt with Ren. Who does she think she is that she could just take Jaune away from us?"

Well, whatever Cinder is planning with me, I really couldn't answer that myself.

=o=

1. If you read the excerpts from the last chapter, you'll know that Jaune's description of that event was inaccurate, since while the chase did happen on the freeway, the battle did indeed occurr below it, with both Sun and Neptune being put out of commission early. And the reason why no one approached us about the incident is that there was barely any footage that showed Team RWBY engaging the Paladin, and the eye-witnesses' descriptions of everyone involved were vague. Additionally, Headmaster Ozpin persuaded the VPD to keep our identities anonymous, the same unfortunately cannot be said for Jaune, due to testimonies from several police officers and civilian witnesses confirming his and Pyrrha's presence at the bank heist.

2. Jaune's name is usually misspelled as "John Arc", due to how little reference journalists possess aside from its pronunciation.

3. The name of Pyrrha's weapon, which is paired with her shield, Akoúo.

[Note from the old version:

I was hesitant to make Pyrrha use her semblance at a public match since Emerald said that she doesn't broadcast her power but I decided to say screw that and make use of it anyway because it was too much to pass the opportunity for her to use it against Umi's blades. It would have made a better discovery for Cinder's faction than 'oh shit, she moved a leg slightly with the Force'. I'm pretty sure the people of Remnant are already aware of Pyrrha's polarity, it's not something Pyrrha could hide especially with her fame, they just don't see her using it that much since she mostly uses it for desperate or situational attacks, and is conservative of her aura.]