Beacon Academy

Professor Port strolled into Beacon Academy's Botanical Gardens ten minutes late. With a hearty laugh he eyed the students who'd turned up for tonight's event: The semester's first "Supervised Unranked Sparring Session", or as the students who frequented it often joked, fight club.

"Hmmm. Ms. Schnee, Ms. Rose hasn't taken ill has she? I understand she missed History class today, and now sparring practice. It's not like her…" Port looked genuinely concerned.

"No Professor. She might be with her sister? I haven't spoken to her since lunch, but she was just fine earlier."

"Oh. Well I'll give her a few more minutes, but I'm afraid we'll have to begin soon. It's a shame, that magnificent scythe of hers is always a treat to observe! Ho! I remember the time I tried using a scythe! I was just a young man…." Whether anyone was listening or not, it didn't matter. Port was telling stories again, and it'd take a Grimm Invasion to even make him pause.

Huntsman Academy students faced each other often enough in practical skills classes, and team-on-team showdowns were frequent training for the Vytal Festival Tournament, where the best teams of each Academy vied to win glory for their academy and their team. The official sparring rankings, maintained by each school and honored with yearly ceremonies, were a matter of great pride for any combat-oriented Huntsman.

These official matches of skill had a few downsides as training though. Any ranked fight at Beacon had to have an equal number of fighters on each side, on even ground with no obstacles or obstructions. Typically Professor Port's classroom was used for this. These battles were tests of skill, but had little relation to real-world combat where things rarely began so evenly.

The faculty's solution was to host these weekly matches. The students got to use all sorts of unique spots around campus, from staircases to rooftops. They could fight anyone willing to accept, on any conditions, so long as they respected aura count and common sense. No intentional bloodshed or injury was allowed either. Fighting unarmed or with no dust reserves were quite popular as ways to practice real-world combat.

"Students! Who would like to fight first?" Standing under a vine-wrapped stone arch, Port started the evening's practice.

Weiss raised her hand, and there was definitely a devious glint in her eye.

"I would like to challenge Pyrrha Nikos to single combat, with dust or semblance usage restricted. Would the Warrior Maiden of Mistral humbly accept? " Weiss rose to her feet from the garden wall she'd been perched on. Flourishing her sword, she bowed towards Pyrrha.

Her medieval Atlesian performance left the assembled students at a loss for words. Nobody here had seen Weiss in a duel before. The opinion of the onlookers was split between those who felt the cocky heiress was mocking them by refusing to take this match seriously, and those scared she might be taking this far too seriously.

It seemed only Pyrrah was in on the joke. Stifling a laugh at a line ripped straight from one of Ruby's fairytales—So perhaps she reads those too?—Pyrrha played right along.

"Ahahaha, but of course, Lady Schnee of Atlas! If you wish to challenge me, I shall meet thee with honor upon this field!"

Professor Port directed the dozen observing students to a gazebo from which they could watch the duel. The older students chose their favorites as the Heiress and the reigning Mistral Regional champion stepped into the fighting ring.

Turning to Wiess and Pyrrah, Port explained the rules:

"Combat is a simulated duel. Victory will go to the first person to drop their opponent's aura by 25%.

There will be no dust usage. Pyrrha may not use her rifle, nor may Weiss use her glyphs.

There will be no semblance usage. Do you understand these rules?"

"Yes sir!" Weiss and Pyrrah nodded in unison.

"Very well. You may begin when ready."

Standing a few yards apart, the two warriors began their dance.

Weiss wielded a rapier, Myrtenaster. In skilled hands the rapier's point could take a life in a single fierce thrust. It was a duelist's weapon with a deceptively long reach. If it had a weakness, it was the blade itself—more of a spike, it sacrificed a cutting edge for a diamond cross-section that left jagged, difficult to heal wounds.

Pyrrah stood with a light shield Akouo and her weapon Milo. A transforming weapon that could go from rifle to short sword to javelin, it made Pyrrah capable in all ranges of combat. She began the fight with Milo as a short sword, her shield up.

Cautiously they circled each other. Weiss struck first. Seeing an opening in Pyrrha's footwork, Weiss burst from a low guard into a high angled strike. Even without dust enhancement, she moved with incredible speed. Pyrrha's reflexes saved her from a blow that could have ended the fight instantly, but left her off balance. Sweeping her sword to make space, she forced Weiss to evade and punished that sidestep with a savage bash from her shield.

Without the help of her inertia-canceling glyphs, Weiss managed to recover and turn her stumble into a backflip, as Milo's blade slashed inches from her face. A flick of her rapier deflected Pyrrha's next blow as well, but she was on the defensive now.

Pyrrha seized her opening. Covering the ground between them in two steps, she thrust Milo, now a javelin, towards Weiss's throat. The rapier flashed up, deflecting the thrust with perfect timing. Off balance now, Pyrrha earned a thrust to the side for her miscalculation.

She's faster than I expected…and I can't read where she's about to strike from. If I keep just reacting to her moves, I'll lose to her…

Pyrrha underestimated Weiss. Even without her glyphs, Weiss's reaction times were incredible. And her style defied the traditions of rapier dueling. She maintained enough control to make slashes by using the tip of the blade itself. In made her dangerously unpredictable.

The crowed grew silent as the watched the girls parry and dodge around the fight circle. The fight had become a blade dance, neither leaving an opening for any serious damage. Each anticipated the others strikes, counter thrusting and parrying almost instinctively as they tried to exploit an opening.

I bet she won't expect this!

Suddenly, Weiss lunged straight at Pyrrha's exposed chest. Bringing her shield to bear in a flash saved her from a knockout, but the hit knocked the shield from Pyrrha's hands. With her semblance restricted, there was no way to recover it in battle without exposing herself to another of Weiss's attacks.

Instead of drawing back for another thrust as Pyrrha expected, the Ice Queen of Beacon Academy just bludgeoned Pyrrah's head with her rapier's finned hilt, leaving her momentarily stunned.

Before Pyrrha could recover, Weiss was already in position beside her for the "killing" blow. Like a shark on the scent of blood, she knew this was her chance to end the match.

Just as she poised to lunge…

An unexpected voice burst from her scroll on an emergency line.

"Help, please! I've…I've been attacked!" Sounding week and feeble, it was none other than Ruby Rose, RWBY's team leader and absentee sparring partner.

"Stop the match!" Weiss called out instantly.

Pyrrah snatched her shield and rolled to her feet.

"Ruby, I'm coming. Where are you? Are you hurt?" Weiss put her on speaker to save time explaining the situation.

"I was attacked by…by a ghost. It ambushed me in the armory. I don't think I'm injured, but my Aura is really low."

"Ok, Ruby. I'm on my way." Weiss shared a knowing look with Professor Port.

"Ghost hmmm? So are they giving the White Fang thermo-optic camouflage now…" The old man had the look in his eye of a hunter scoping his prey.

"Are you implying what I think you are? How dare you! After all my family has suffered…" said Weiss, bitterly.

"No, I wasn't talking about Jacques little side business. Weiss, meet up with your teammates and get Ruby to the infirmary. I'm going to raise an alert in case our "ghost" returns. Team JNPR, head for the dining hall. Glynda should meet you there." Port turned to the crowd behind him. "Everyone else back to your dorms. This school is now on lockdown!"

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