So, it's only been about two months since I said I would update. No big deal. In all seriousness, I did some major reworking of the first two chapters, and I haven't been idle in the meantime. I've got more chapters, both written and planned, and perhaps even two more fics in the works. I won't say what quite yet, but one may be a recursive fanfic, and the other might be a crossover involving a certain blood god. We'll see. Thanks for your patience, and please, enjoy.

Jaune stood alone in the auditorium of Beacon. He didn't know where Pyrrha had gotten off to in the crowd. For the last forty-five minutes, Ozpin had been calling out the team compositions for all the students who'd passed the entry trial. That included all of his and Ruby's groups, who'd made it to the extraction scot-free after the Nevermore attack.

However, none of those eight had been assigned a team yet, and the room was rapidly losing other unpartnered first-years. This auditorium was still almost at capacity despite that- it was a smaller affair, by Beacon's standards at least, and wasn't built to hold the entire student body. It was standing room only. A fair amount of the older students had turned up to see the "fresh meat," as they called it. They packed into the room, and Jaune could barely make out the ornate gray and steel blue mosaic on the stage wall behind Ozpin, the little columns lining the walls of the semicircular space, or the giant screens displaying images of each team as they were called up to the stage. He caught a glimpse of a team CRDL as he squinted through the mass of people in front of him. He was shocked to see his face pop up on the screen next.

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren as team JNPR, led by Jaune Arc." Ozpin called out their names, sounding out the combined name as juniper. Jaune could scarcely believe it as he fumbled his way over to the stage, through the crowd and towards the rest of the team that he was apparently supposed to lead. He smiled at the polite applause, and the more enthusiastic cheering from Ruby, as he went up to accept his role, quietly terrified. Pyrhha was the picture of composure. Ren looked completely calm and controlled, and Nora was all smiles. Jaune awkwardly waved at the assembled students, and then made for the doors. His first acts as team leader would be to find their dorm, and then figure out what the hell he'd gotten himself into.

"And next, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao-Long as team RWBY, led by Ruby Rose." Ruby's jaw dropped, then she turned to her sister with a broad grin and zipped up to the stage in a flash. Yang rolled her eyes with a smile and strode forward through the crowd of older students, seeing the other half of her team reluctantly making their way forward. Yang saw Weiss' superiority crack for a second, as shock and anger contorted her just looked uncomfortable with the crowd and the attention as she slinked onto stage ahead of Yang, muscles tense and eyes a little too wide. Her head twitched, and the little black bow on top shook. This is gonna be an interesting four years, Yang mused.

On a team lead by Ruby at that. Her sister was certainly a talented fighter, and a prodigious weapons engineer to boot. But a leader? Yang wasn't sure. Back at Signal, Ruby had been content to learn and play video games, and she hadn't had many friends. She wasn't worried about her sister facing down a Grimm, but talking down an angry Schnee? I hope Ozpin knows what he's doing. Still, Yang would be there for her. Besides, she'd hit it off with Blake and Jaune well enough. Plus, Yang realized, I'm doubting her before I've given her a chance to actually be a leader. These thoughts raced through her head as she climbed onto the stage, beaming, and wrapped Ruby in a hug. The sisters made for the doors with Weiss and Blake trailing behind.

/-/

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Yang decided that, if nothing else, she was right about this being interesting. The dorm itself wasn't anything special- it was a two room affair, one room holding four beds lined up against a wall with one window, a few small shelves, and a closet. The second room was a bathroom-small, and mostly empty since they hadn't finished unpacking, but it looked functional. At the moment, Yang's interest was drawn by her teammates more than the décor.

Weiss had started throwing barbed comments at Ruby as soon as they'd picked up their luggage, with Weiss begrudgingly pushing her own cart laden with suitcases. Before they'd even unloaded half the bags, Blake was checked out reading a book on the bed next to Yang's, and Yang was watching the main event. Weiss' cart sat abandoned in the middle of the room as she squabbled with Ruby in front of it. Funny as it was, Yang hoped that this wouldn't be a lasting problem. Yang didn't like what Weiss was saying, but this was Ruby's fight. Stepping in right now would only make them both upset at her. She still worried about Weiss' sentiments though.

Weiss stomped towards Ruby. "I will admit that you proved yourself a far more capable fighter than I expected, but that does not make you a good leader."

"What do you mean? It was my plan that killed the thing!"

"Was it part of your plan to wander aimlessly through the thickest part of the forest and get trapped in a rickety, decrepit castle while under attack by a Nevermore?" Weiss glared pointedly into Ruby's eyes.

"You didn't offer any alternatives!" Ruby jabbed.

"You didn't ask, and you wouldn't have listened to me if I did." She pointed to Ruby, emphasizing her point by poking her in the stomach. "You're a disaster waiting to happen. I'm going to the headmaster to get this rectified."

"Weiss, wait!" Weiss stomped over to the door, ducked out, and slammed it behind her. When Ruby opened it, she jumped back from the newly formed wall of ice blocking the door out of their room. Ruby grunted and yelled as she leapt forward and slammed Crescent Rose into the ice. Yang looked to Blake, who was interested enough to look up, and then right back down into her book. Yang stretched and stood from her bed, then walked over to Ruby. She threw a haymaker into the ice wall. It barely cracked. Looks like we'll be here for a minute. Yang looked to her sister, uncharacteristic anger contorting Ruby's face. "She's a little frosty." Ruby turned to her. "Oh, don't you start." Yang shrugged and threw another punch. "Tough crowd."

Weiss tapped her foot impatiently as the elevator rose to Ozpin's office. An excusable breach of etiquette, given the circumstances. Her new "leader" was impossible. Still, she was surprised how quickly she'd gotten an audience with the Headmaster- It had only taken a few minutes. As the doors slid open, she was met with a vast circular room, largely empty save the headmaster's desk on the opposite side. The desk was a sleek affair, with built in computer monitors. Ozpin closed his tabs as she entered. He needn't have bothered quite yet, as she was engrossed with the architecture. Behind the Headmaster sat a grand window, inlaid with thin, glimmering gold beams, that looked out over the entry to the campus and all the way out to the sea. Around the rest of the walls were several giant assortments of gears behind glass, spread in pockets amidst the elegant, smooth metal. She caught herself quickly, and turned back to the Headmaster, focusing on the purpose of this visit.

"Headmaster Ozpin, I have come to petition that I be installed as the leader of team RWBY rather than that insufferable Ruby Rose." Weiss chafed at the name- really, how could you substitute a U sound with a W?- but she wasn't here to argue semantics.

Ozpin clasped his hands in front of him. "My my miss Schnee. So soon? You've only been a team officially for about forty-five minutes."

Weiss sighed. "Yes. It's truly a testament to my resilience that I made it that long."

"It's that serious?", Ozpin queried.

Weiss hoped her icy stare didn't betray how stupid she thought the question was. "Undoubtedly. Ruby is fifteen. Her fighting style is brutish, her technique is amateur, and she takes entirely too many risks."

"A scathing assessment." Ozpin replied.

Weiss didn't let up. "Hardly undue. She put herself at extreme risk on two separate occasions, with a Beowolf and a Nevermore no less. Besides, do you think that Ruby's behavior is suddenly going to change? That she'll immediately become a cautious, calculating strategist just because she got accepted into Beacon?"

The Headmaster smiled at that. "There may be more strategy behind her plans than you give Miss Rose credit for. Her plan to kill the Nevermore was risky, yes, but it did work. She reacted quickly and came up with a solid tactic against an unexpected and frankly overwhelming enemy force in a very short time. I was pleasantly surprised by her aptitude, all things considered."

Weiss widened her eyes and stamped her heel on the ground, indignant. "She doesn't deserve to be a leader. She doesn't even deserve to be here! Why does she get admitted early? She's still a child. She blew me up ten seconds after her transport landed. She didn't even want to be a leader. Sure, she's excited now, but she hadn't even thought about the possibility!"

Ozpin interjected quickly and cooly. "What about you, Weiss? Have you thought about being a leader?" He pointed to Weiss with both pointer fingers as he finished, hands still clasped.

Where before her stare had been icy, Weiss was now desperately attempting to conceal bewilderment. "Of course! I practically planned on it."

Ozpin showed no emotion as he continued. "Very well. If I may ask you to humor me, why did you come to Beacon?" Weiss tilted her head. Ozpin clarified; "I don't mean to muse on why you became a huntress. I meant, why Beacon? Why not Shade, or Haven, or Atlas? Your family has more ties at all three of those schools, especially Atlas. Atlas Academy is close to home as well. Going to Atlas would have allowed you to stay with your family, and while I am very proud of Beacon's facilities, I don't presume that they are so much beyond Atlas' that you chose to come here simply for the resources on offer. Cost certainly isn't a problem- your father could probably buy an academy or build a new one from scratch if he wanted. So why Beacon?"

Weiss was thrown by the question, and took a moment to respond, measuring her words carefully as embers threatened to burst into an angry flame in her heart. "I wanted to be a huntress. Beacon seemed like the best place to do that."

Ozpin was stoic as ever. "But why?"

"Because…" Weiss hesitated, feeling the rising anger broiling in her chest. "Because I wanted more independence. I'm growing up. I'll be an adult soon. Father would stifle me at Atlas, and he has enough sway to meddle in Shade and Haven too. You're the only headmaster who won't bend to him."

Ozpin placed a hand on his heart. "I apologize Ms. Schnee. I did not intend to dredge up such a personal answer."

The bitterness and fury in her had bubbled over now, leaking through the wall of ice into her voice. "It's fine. I wouldn't expect you to know. Father puts a lot of money into keeping the right things in the public eye. He controls his public image delicately- hands in the tv news, in the papers, the online publications- the whole media really. He'll have everyone believing he wanted me here within the week."

Weiss stopped abruptly, and covered her mouth with her hands. "I'm sorry. I've said too much."

Ozpin replied warmly. "Your secret is safe with me. You're not the first to come here who wished to find their own way in the world. Though I will admit, not many are quite so high-profile."

Ozpin chuckled, then composed himself. "But to the matter at hand."

"Ms. Schnee, do you want to be a team leader?" Weiss shifted on her feet, suddenly remembering why she'd come here in the first place.

"Yes." She made her response quick, sharp, and cold.

Ozpin pressed her. "Truly? I do not hear passion in your voice. You say you have considered what it would mean to lead a team, but I do not think you understand. You have a bit of a temper-"

"Excuse me!" she interjected.

Ozpin continued. "-as showcased by your teammates, who are currently almost through the ice wall you left outside your dorm." Ozpin opened a tab on one of the monitors, and turned it to show Weiss a camera feed outside her dorm's door. "For today only, I will let such behavior slide. You know, your skill set is quite versatile. Your weapon's elemental effects have near limitless possibilities, and combined with the speed and gravity alteration for your glyphs, I'm sure you can come up with more... productive ways to use your power."

Weiss blushed and looked to the floor. "I see what you mean."

Ozpin returned to the topic. "But beyond that, why do you want to be a team leader? It's rhetorical, you needn't answer. I merely ask you to consider what your desire to lead stems from. Is it something you want, or something that's required of you? Are you here now because leadership is your goal, or because it is a qualification for success on a checklist?"

For a moment, Weiss made ready to give a sharp response, but she found that she could say nothing. The anger bled from her face, and morphed into a vacant stare. Weiss weighed what Ozpin had said, and realized the merit behind the words. Did she want the responsibility of leadership? She didn't have to carry that burden. And, since she was being honest with herself, would she be good at it? The only languages of persuasion she knew were intimidation and manipulation. Not a great foundation for healthy relationships.

Mind churning, the smallest hole in her icy barrier, the girl in white mumbled something like a thank you and made for the elevator doors.

When Yang's fist finally punched through the last of the ice, she didn't expect to see Weiss just standing on the other side, looking almost bored. Yang's eyes flared red for a moment, and Weiss took a step back as Yang wound up for a punch, and barely stopped herself from clocking the heiress in the mouth. "You?! Have you been standing there the whole time? You didn't try to help, or apologize, or even actually go to the Headmaster? Schnee, I want to melt you like the snow you're obsessed with."

Weiss looked back nonchalantly, her moment of fear apparently past. "That doesn't make any sense."

Yang stomped on the floor, shaking the entire room. "I don't CARE! Look, I was calm at first, but have you ever just punched a wall of ice for forty-five minutes? It sucks. My hands are freezing, and there's ice chunks and cold water all over me, and all in my hair!"

Weiss just looked at her nails and kept talking. "Look, I came back to apologize. If you want to shout, I can wait."

Yang's jaw moved up and down like a fish out of water, but no noise came out. When she regained speech, she replied: "Who are you and what did you do with Weiss?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Where's Ruby?"

"Where do you think, frost witch?", Yang spat. At that, Ruby poked her head through the open doorway, and Yang dipped further back into the room.

Ruby looked to Weiss, meeting her eyes with an intense stare, and muscles tensed. "Relax, I'm not going to attack you. I really did come to apologize. Look, I've been- not a very good teammate."

Ruby said nothing, though Yang snickered. Weiss ignored the blonde and continued. "I've insulted you basically nonstop, done nothing but criticize your decisions, and refused to acknowledge your successes. I'm- I'm sorry. I'm new here, and I'm used to things working a lot differently back home. That doesn't excuse my behavior. Don't get me wrong, I still have serious concerns about you, but thus far, you have been remarkably effective Ruby. Yes, your technique could use some work, but it still functions for you. I realize that we got off on the wrong foot, and since then, I've never really given you a chance. So. I will try to be cordial. I hope you can forgive my overreaction and harsh words."

Weiss stopped her speech and looked to Ruby. Ruby stood dumbfounded and still. Weiss was starting to get annoyed with Ruby's silence when she finally replied. "Seriously. Yang was right. What did you do with Weiss?" Weiss placed a hand on her hip.

Ruby threw up her hands defensively. "I'm joking!" Ruby extended a hand to Weiss, and the heiress took it. They shook. "Teammates?" Weiss asked. "Teammates."

Blake became vaguely aware that someone was watching her read, but dismissed it quickly, slipping back into her story as the hero investigated a religious cult under the capital city of an island paradise. Only after the figure refused to move for several minutes did Blake sigh and put the book down, looking up into the eyes of Ruby Rose. "Hey Blake."

Hmh. I expected the blonde one. "Hello Ruby." There was a silence just long enough to be awkward. "So, how's the book?" She gestured to the novel, the same one Blake had been reading last night. "I'm enjoying it. Not the best in the series."

"...right. Look, I guess I don't know how to put this delicately, but you didn't seem too interested when Weiss blocked us in here. You haven't shown much interest at all, really. You've been curled up back here all night."

Blake looked to the clock on the wall and saw that she had indeed been nestled away for six hours, and it was almost bedtime. She shrugged. "People aren't much my style. I prefer books most of the time. It isn't personal. You don't have to worry about me staging a mutiny like the ice bitch."

"Oooook. That came out of nowhere. I mean, I know you don't like the SDC, but what do you have against Weiss? You've barely talked to her."

Blake tugged at her hairbow, making sure it still covered and trapped her feline ears. "She's been nothing but adversarial. Acts stuck up all the time. Thinks she knows best and is the best at everything. Trapped us in our room in less than an hour. I don't see that being resolved with a handshake and an apology. Didn't you notice? She still didn't say she thinks you're a good leader, or even that she'll accept you in charge, just that she was rude to you."

Ruby looked off to the side, looking to Weiss as she spoke. "I mean… she hasn't been the easiest to work with, but neither of us got off on the right foot with her. I blew her up and you insulted her family and their life's work to her face within seconds of meeting her. It might just take a minute for her to warm up."

Ruby turned back to Blake. "What's up with that anyway? Are you from Atlas? Why do you know so much about the SDC?"

Blake kept her voice intentionally deadpan. "The SDC is one of the largest, most powerful companies on Remnant. Everyone knows about them."

Ruby pushed a little more. "Yeah, but not like you. I heard rumors their conditions weren't good, but you talk like you've seen them firsthand."

Blake glared into Ruby's eyes. "Ruby?"

"Yes?"

"Stop talking."

"Oh. Um, ok." Ruby hung her head and plodded away towards her bed.

Finally, I can get back to my book. She needs to learn to take a hint. It had been a mistake getting so deep into that conversation with her last night. Ruby seemed to believe that made them friends. Blake wasn't here for that. She didn't even understand what she wanted to do with her life. Anyone trying to be her friend would get more than they bargained for or wanted. She couldn't drag anyone else into her mess- she didn't want any of them to become targets in Adam's eyes. She came to Beacon because she had no other place to go where her skills would get her food and a bed. Friends weren't part of the plan. But Ruby's already asking questions, her brain chastised. Blake groaned internally, a barely audible growl escaping her lips. Damn her rebellious mind. This was going to be difficult.

/-/

Jaune faced down Pyrrha Nikos outside their dorm. The others had already headed in, but Pyrrha had asked Jaune to stay behind. Pyrrha spoke up as soon as the door closed. "So, mister Jaune, where do we begin?"

He stared blankly. "I was hoping you would answer that."

Pyrrha continued calmly. "Well, I do believe that you might not be exactly who you say you are." Jaune's eyes went a little wider, and he tensed. "I'm not angry. I just want to know how- and more importantly, why- you came to Beacon."

Pyrrha's words hadn't done much to relax Jaune, and he responded in stilted, short words. "I told you. I got in with my transcripts."

"Your transcripts.", Pyrrha repeated. "Yeah." Jaune scratched his arm, and his eyes darted around the hallway.

Pyrrha didn't relent. "Alright. What pre-hunter academy did you go to that didn't unlock your aura, didn't feature shift-weapons, and didn't teach you a basic defensive stance to fight a Beowolf?"

Jaune laughed anxiously. "It was a small, local place. You probably haven't heard of it." Pyrrha didn't believe it, but she played along. "I'm a championship fighter. I've run into students from just about every school out there. Humor me."

Jaune shifted his weight and looked pointedly at the wall. "I- I can't."

Pyrrha knew she was almost to the bottom of his reluctance. "Why?"

"I just can't!" He looked her square in the face, a snarl on his lips.

One more question, and she'd be through. "That's not good enough Jaune. Why?"

"Because it doesn't exist, ok?! Is that what you want from me?!" He threw his arm out towards the wall as he shouted, tears welling in his eyes.

Pyrrha held her composure. "Then how are you even here, Jaune?"

The anger faded as he wrapped his arms around himself and stared at the floor, eyes shut to try and stem the tears as the words spilled from him. "I faked my way in. I got forged documents from someone down in the city to get me past the qualifying trials."

Pyrrha took on a gentler tone now that Jaune's pointless caginess had vanished. "Why?"

"Because I wanted to be a huntsman Pyrrha.", he spat.

Unfazed, she retorted calmly. "There are other ways to get into an academy."

"I didn't realize it was what I wanted until two years ago. By then I was older than all the other kids going into the pre-hunter academies, and my dad refused to let me go anyway. He refused to train me himself too. He's been a huntsman all his life. So was my grandpa, and my great grandpa, and half my family really. When I asked why he didn't want me to be a huntsman, he would never give me a straight answer. He only said that I was too old."

Jaune, eyes still wet, stared into a painting on the wall of the hallway, showing an old-fashioned knight facing down a horde of Grimm. "He never gave me a chance to prove myself or get better." Jaune was still facing the wall, and at this point Pyrrha felt he'd almost forgotten that he was talking to her.

That was, until he turned back to her, having given up on wiping away the tears in the corners of his eyes. "But I realize now that this is what I want to do with my life. I'm absolutely terrified. I have no idea what I'm doing, or what I've gotten myself into. I've never been the brave or strong one. But I'm still here. It might be a fool's errand, I might have made the worst mistake of my life, but I want to be a huntsman. I want to protect people. Dad never talked much about the Grimm, but when he did…" Jaune's face went pale. "They're monsters. They exist only to kill. The world would be so much better off without them. I think I can do this. I have to try. I know I'm nobody's hero, but I want to be something. I don't have much going for me but hope-" Jaune stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Pyrrha had interrupted him. "Hope, determination- those are the most important parts." Jaune visibly snapped back into the moment, and then physically recoiled from her hand.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha was concerned, unsure whether to reach out to him again.

Jaune fumbled his words. "Oh yeah, no it's nothing, I'm fine."

He looked to her with fear. "You're not going to like, report me to the headmaster, are you?"

Pyrrha pondered it for a second. "No, I don't think I will."

Jaune visibly relaxed. Is he really that trusting? He's no guarantee I'm not lying to him.

Jaune brushed drops of sweat from his forehead. "I was afraid I'd doomed myself on day one by spilling my secrets to the first person to be mildly suspicious of me."

Pyrrha took on a mildly chastising tone. "That still probably wasn't a good idea if you want to stay here Jaune."

"Yeah, I know, I'm just- I'm in over my head." He smiled slightly, but he was staring at the ground and tousling his hair with one hand.

Pyrrha's response was immediate. "Of course you are."

He looked to her sharply, and narrowed his eyes. Pyrrha didn't relent. "Just because I don't want you expelled doesn't mean I think what you did is smart. You put your life at extreme risk in the forest. If someone hadn't found you with those Beowulves, you might have died on the spot."

She paused. "However, I respect your reasons. They seem genuine. You should not have tried to come to Beacon without any prior experience, but you're here now. And since I'm not getting you kicked out, we need to get you into huntsman shape fast. We've got one week before classes start properly. You need to pass for a trainee by then."

Jaune tugged at his collar. "Uh, what did you have in mind?" Pyrrha smiled, allowing a little smugness into her tone. "A crash course. Ever sparred before?" Jaune looked at her like she'd asked if he'd even eaten his shorts. "No."

"Well, today's the day."

Pyrrha flung open the door to their dorm. "Ren and Nora, we're going to the sparring rooms. We probably won't be back for a while." Nora shouted back a "Have fun!" and Pyrrha shut the door, then turned and started walking down the hallway towards the practice arenas.

Jaune stood stone still for a moment, and then stumbled into a jog to catch up. "Wait, you're serious? You don't even know me!"

"Or, if you don't feel like it, I could go talk to the headmaster?" Pyrrha teased.

Jaune yelled back, "I'm coming!"

/-/

There were only a few sparring rooms open at this hour, especially with the requirement that a staff member had to be present for any actual combat. Despite that, with most teams still settling in, it was easy enough to find one that was open. They'd only brought a few things- their weapons, armor, and a water bottle each. Nothing to distract Jaune from what was coming. He, Jaune Arc, was preparing to fight Pyrrha alone, with no training, as his first real human opponent ever. He gulped. The rules were fairly simple for this session. The fight would continue until you were knocked out of the ring, unless your aura fell into the red. They could keep track of their aura levels with a meter on their scrolls, and the arena supervisor kept close track to make sure any spar ended before anyone was at risk of permanent injury. The ring itself was a simple affair, circular, and fifteen feet across, the edge marked by a white line on the ground and the exercise mats surrounding the rim in case of any tumbles. Pyrrha and Jaune both picked a spot halfway between the edge and the center. Pyrrha looked to the observation stand, where Ms. Goodwitch sat, and nodded.

Pyrrha raised her spear, Milo, and shield, Akuou. She leaned back ever so slightly, a practiced defensive stance that let her stay agile. She analyzed Jaune's stance. Jaune clumsily attempted to mirror her, but his larger shield was bulkier, harder to maneuver, and he carried the weight of both halves of Crocea Mors with uncertainty. Seeing the opening, Pyrrha dashed in, her spear striking his shoulder, and swiftly followed with a shield bash directly to his jaw. Jaune stumbled back, stunned, only thinking to buy himself a second with a clumsy whip of his blade, easily sidestepped by the gleaming prize fighter. With his stance broken and sword arm overextended, Pyrrha went in for another strike. She was met by Jaune's shield, a surprising second wind taking the brunt of the blow. "Not a bad reaction time," Pyrrha commented, not even winded.

The blow's force still pushed Jaune to the edge of the ring, and Pyrrha quickly closed the gap. "Still, take a heavy hit straight on and you'll be knocked off balance. Try to deflect them." Pyrrha was calmly commentating as Jaune recovered from the attack. She waited a little too long, and Jaune raised himself back to an even footing. He met Pyrrha with heavy blows, each met with an expert parry or well-timed dodge. Pyrrha came in for another stab with Milo, but Jaune raised his shield just in time, and her blade slid across the hard metal, misdirected. "Yes! Like that." Pyrrha marveled- she was actually excited that he'd caught her off guard, her grin positively glimmering.

Jaune took the opportunity to bring Crocea Mors in for a swipe, but Pyrrha was too agile, avoiding the blade's sweeping arc with ease. "You don't need to follow all the way through with the blade. Make shorter, quicker strikes, and you'll be more able to adapt to counterattacks." Pyrrha critiqued. Jaune made the mistake of coming down for another strike, his shield left at a bad angle as he stepped forward, frustration plain on his face. Pyrrha found her opening, smiling subtly. Milo clicked into sword form as she slashed across Jaune's chest underneath his falling blow, then simultaneously dodged the descending sword and spun her weapon in her hand as she swung for the face, the hilt landing a decisive strike across his mouth.

Jaune went sprawling out of the ring, easily defeated. Pyrrha walked over to help him to his feet. Jaune lay there panting for a second, then grabbed Pyrrha's hand and rose from the mat. "So," Jaune wheezed. "What next?"

The redhead grinned. "You did very well for your first attempt!" The grin held as she continued. "But we're not done yet. These matches aren't meant to be aura intensive. We've both got plenty left." Indeed they did. He hadn't even hit Pyrrha, and Jaune had been knocked out of the ring with just a few attacks. Pyrrha drew his attention back from the aura meter. "I want to see if you've taken my pointers to heart. Five minutes, then we go again. I've always found that the best teacher…" She placed a hand on her hip. "...is experience." Jaune groaned quietly, and went to take a swig from his water bottle as he prepared for round two.

/-/

It was late into the night when Jaune and Pyrrha returned to their dorm. They'd only stopped sparring after Ms. Goodwitch had suggested they leave so she could get some sleep. Jaune was battered and exhausted. In the entirety of their matches, he'd yet to actually hit Pyrrha. Still, Pyrrha noted, he was a fast learner. Nowhere near able to beat another student, let alone her, but he'd tried to take her advice, and had been staying in the ring longer each spar, at least until fatigue began to eat away at him. As they finally got back to the dorms, Jaune bid Pyrrha enter their room first. She looked to him, raising an eyebrow, but obliged.

He stayed out in the hallway, and slumped against the wall as he stared at the ceiling. He sat there, alone and silent. Jaune thought about his current predicament, and then he smiled. He'd really screwed up this time. But he'd made it into Beacon, and he had someone willing to drag him along and train him. That was a mercy. Despite the ache in his everything and his brain calling out for him to rest, he knew. In that moment, he knew that he was where he wanted to be. The circumstances were shit, but Beacon was where he belonged.

He didn't expect the door on the other side of the hallway to open as he mused, and was further surprised to see Ruby stepping out into the hallway. They stared at each other for a second. "You look tired, Jaune."

"Right back at you Ruby." He wasn't exaggerating. She wasn't beat up or covered in sweat like him, but her shoulders were slumped, her indomitable energy seemingly exhausted. Ruby closed the door and sat against the opposite wall. She broke the silence first. "Being a team leader is hard." Jaune laughed. "You can say that again." He froze for a moment before continuing. "Still, I wouldn't trade it. I'm sore, frustrated, and tired as all hell… but right now, there's nowhere I'd rather be."

Ruby smiled at that. "I think I know what you mean. It's still hard, though. I mean, my team- well, Yang is fine. She's my sister, she's strong, I'm not worried about her. Weiss and Blake though? I don't understand them. Weiss was putting me down every chance she got, and stormed out by throwing an ice wall in my face, then when we broke through she was just waiting on the other side. She apologized, and she's been nicer since, which would be great, if I understood why!"

"And Blake- she went out of her way to help me on the day before the trial, and that night we talked about one of her favorite books, but today I asked her why she cared so much about Weiss being a Schnee and she shut me out immediately. Weiss is warming up to us, and Blake is shutting herself away, and I have no idea why any of it is happening!"

Jaune took a deep breath. "Yikes. Sounds like a fun time. Still, I'm sure you'll work it out. You don't strike me as the kind of person who gives up that easy, and I think you can do it. I, on the other hand, have absolutely no idea what I'm doing leading a team."

"What do you mean? You guys did fine in the trial. You personally faced down a Nevermore one on one and walked away."

He dismissed the notion. "So did you. That was luck, and I didn't lead anyone. Everyone did their own thing and it happened to work out."

Ruby glared into his eyes. "You killed your Nevermore faster than we did!"

"Because Nora nearly threw herself off a cliff to hit the thing in midair."

"Ok, then what about the part where you climbed onto its back and stabbed through its whole head?"

"Did you mean the part where I risked my life on a dumb gambit?"

Ruby huffed. "You don't take compliments do you?"

Jaune laughed. "Well what about you? You beheaded a Nevermore."

"With the help of everyone else in a move that could've killed me through gravity, getting crushed against the cliff, or the beheading not working!"

"None of that happened though."

Ruby threw her arms wide. "Exactly! That's my point! Nothing bad happened with your plan either."

Jaune tilted his head at her. "Nora nearly fell."

"So did Yang! Look, can you just cut the crap? I hate to see people not giving themselves credit for their successes. I don't like you calling yourself a bad leader, but I draw the line at ignoring what you've done right, so shut up and let yourself be happy!"

Jaune was quiet.

Ruby covered her mouth and reached out a shaky hand.

He started laughing.

"I- I'm sorry, just-" another laugh interrupted him. "Look at us. Encouraging each other to high heaven but refusing to take any compliments ourselves." Ruby thought about it for a moment, then giggled too, and her stress seemed to dissipate with the happy spasms.

They waited to calm down, and Jaune looked into Ruby's eyes.

"Thanks for that."

"It's no problem. I'm sorry for ranting about my team."

"You're fine. You needed out of your own head. We all do sometimes. And maybe you should take your own advice there. Class hasn't started yet. Take some time to enjoy your victory too."

Jaune rose from the floor and headed to the door, and Ruby did the same. They turned back to each other. "Good night," came both voices, almost in unison. They snickered again at the coincidence, and then headed in to their rooms.

Jaune entered his dorm to find Ren and Nora passed out, Nora curled up next to Ren in bed. Pyrrha was sitting on the side of her bed, and waved when Jaune came in, then yawned and leaned back onto the mattress, getting situated under the covers. Jaune headed for a quick, hot shower, and then changed into his pajamas and flopped into his bed across from Pyrrha's, quickly drifting off as his tired muscles breathed a sigh of relief.

Ruby returned to find Weiss sound asleep on the leftmost mattress. Yang was snoring on the rightmost, and Blake was still reading by a little flashlight in the darkness on the bed next to Yang. Blake looked up, but didn't otherwise respond. Ruby sighed quietly, changed, and slipped into bed. She laid there awake for a while, eventually drifting off to sleep despite the snoring, the flashlight, and the doubt eating at her heart.

A quiet chapter overall, though some bumps in the road for the teams settling in. Thanks again for your patience. I've really been enjoying this series. Let me know what you thought!