Chapter 27. Beacon Days 16

Clifftop, noon-ish by a certain blond's internal clock

The sound of groaning reached Sun's ears. A long, low thing, it rose in volume until it became a scream of frustration. Opening his eyes, Sun pushed up from the rock surface he was laying on to see a very angry Cinder Fall kneeling near the cliff's edge, peeking through a pair of binoculars at the battle down the valley.

He also thought he saw something at the edge of his vision, but it turned out to be some small red leaves blown by the winds.

"Your teammate has done something very unwise." She hissed. "He may well have ruined my PERFECT PLAN!"

"What? That can't be, Scarlet's a solid guy."

"I am talking about the blue one."

"Ohhhh. Yeah, I can see that. Did he get nervous? He tends to get nervous."

"This is the first I've heard of such a thing. He assured me that he was up to the task. A ' fellow intellectual', he always called himself. Now, I see him deciding to send forth one of our key fighters to be eliminated. She was to be held in reserve to help defend against a frontal charge. The exact thing that is happening!"

"See." Sun raised his hands in a placating gesture. "The thing about Neptune is that he can read between the lines. You said you wanted someone to implement your battle plans. What you really wanted was to win. My guess is that he saw the battle going wrong and tried to adjust. He meant well."

"If he had sent a message as I've told him to, I would have been able to give him new orders! Why else would we put someone who can control birds with him, if he wasn't going to use the boy?"

"Annnd that's the second thing about Neptune. He'd never admit to a pretty girl that he can't do something. Dug a lot of holes for himself back home because of it. Anyway, why didn't you put the bird-guy up here so you could send messages whenever you liked?" Sun waited for a reply. "Cinder?"

Nothing.

"You there? Cinder. Cin-Cin! Ci-"

"Shut. Up." Cinder gritted her teeth. "In any case, what's done is done. I expect you to impress upon him my disappointment."

Ahaha! Distraction, success! Neptune may have a few flaws-okay, a lot- but he was still a bro. Losing any chances with Cinder (though the chances were only ever in Neptune's head) would be devastating enough, putting him through one of Cinder's famed punishment (again) would just be cruel.

His work done, Sun laid back on the boulder, enjoying the sun…heh, he should tell Neptune that joke.

"Great, Shade and Beacon have just set the bridge on fire behind themselves. Could this get any- and now the silly girl from Atlas thinks she could salvage the situation, and your idiot of a teammate rolled over for her. What is she going to do with most of the Atlas forces on the wrong side of the river or in it? If I was there, things would never have gotten so bad."

Sighing, the blond swung his body upright once more. A cold wind blew more of those weird red leaves over him, and he shivered. Pulling his shirt shut, Sun called out to his fellow team leader.

"We're not going to be able to do much from here, so let them handle it. You did your best."

"Quiet. You may be content with coasting by, but I am different. I must be better, and this travesty is a poor reflection of my capabilities. I need to do something. I could…I could…"

Sun shared a glance with Sage, who gave a helpless shrug and went back to his daydreaming. Seeing that he won't get any help to deal with Cinder's new-erotic (or whatever the word Arslan had used) quirks, Sun tried for a Neptune favorite. In other words, flattery.

"C'mon, don't get so hung up on this. It doesn't suit your beauty. This is really only a practice round. We've gotten a good grasp of the rival schools, so in the long run you're sure to win in the tournament." He noticed a minute turn of her head, her ear in a better position to listen. "Don't try to tell me you haven't got more plans already cooking for this year. We both know your mind is sharp as tack. Ah, I see that smile, you do have something. And that's why we all agreed you should be the king."

In truth, she had the crown because she walked up all casual-like and took it while the rest of them were still groggy from the early morning. Afterwards, nobody wanted to be the person to press the point. Ever since Neptune first cracked Cinder Fall's outer shell, that lovely façade belying a cruel streak a mile wide, the students of Haven have learned just how vicious the woman could be.

Besides, Cinder made for a pretty good choice. If someone like Reese or Sage had claimed the crown? Sure, there would be objections. Cinder, on the other hand, had proven herself by spearheading the efforts to scout the tournament's competition. Arslan might have done better by dint of her Sanctum records, but she had graciously stepped aside in favor of keeping the teams united. It was a decision he agreed with completely.

For the sake of peace and quiet, the truth can take a backseat.

As he observed Cinder, Sun saw her stiff posture loosened a touch and he breathed a sigh of relief. Laying back down, he hoped that this would be the end of it at last.

A stray thought hit him as his back touched the rock. That Ozpin guy up and dropped this on them with almost no warning. Who's to say the tournament would be spared from sudden changes?

Eyes snapped open. Sun pushed up again to ask Cinder's opinions on the matter.

His mind crashed to a halt.

On the cliff where only three people should have been present, there was a fourth figure frozen in their tracks. Putting their 'sneaky ninja' pose (that he didn't think actually helped with stealth) aside, the first important detail he noticed was the red cape. Next, a piece of what he previously believed were red leaves drifted before his eyes, revealing itself to be a rose petal. Lastly, he looked at the intruder's face, where grey eyes widened in shock met his own blue ones.

Ruby Rose lifted a finger to her lips in a shushing motion, shaking her head to tell Sun to stay silent.

The blond shook his head right back, denying her request.

Ruby gave him her best puppy-dog eyes.

Sun awww'ed. Then, he shouted.

"Intruder Alert!"

-o-

Jaune slapped a hand over his face when Ruby's third try at sneaking up on Haven's king ended with her discovery. What kind of luck did it take to foil all three attempts on complete coincidence?

He and his crown will be staying far away from the other blond, that was for sure. There's a better card to play against him, anyway. For the charmed life of Sun Wukong, a black cat's misfortune should tilt the balance the other way.

"Blake, he's distracted. Can you circle around and ambush him?"

Silence greeted him.

"Blake?"

Jaune turned to his right, where only empty air remained. Further away, her form was already gliding through the underbrush. She moved into Sun's blind spot, using the boulder to break sightline with Cinder Fall and Sage…something or other. There, she waited for an opportunity, giving him a nod to signal her readiness. In her hands, a wakizashi similar to the one he was holding. A choice Jaune very much approved of.

Further out on the cliff, Ruby had her own role to play. Leaving subterfuge by the wayside, she put a foot forward in a standing start facing Cinder, hands hidden in her cloak. Her intention to rush the woman seemed obvious.

As for their foes, Cinder was on one knee, looking down the sights of a rifle. On her hips sat a saber.

Sage held a greatsword with both hands, prepared to intercept Ruby. Whether or not he can keep up with the girl, they'd find out.

On the boulder, Sun sat on his haunches, a staff resting on his shoulder. What Jaune found interesting were the deep, even breaths he was taking. A method to calm the nerves, or…?

Cinder interrupted his train of thought, addressing Ruby with a triumphant tone.

"What are you going to do now, little girl?"

"I'm not little." Jaune could imagine Ruby's rising indignation, hearing it in the way she growled. She shouted her next words. "I. Drink. Miiiilk!"

As far as battlecries went, it could be better. As a starting signal, it did its job.

Ruby burst into motion, roses forming in her wake as she crossed the distance towards Cinder. The straight trajectory of her charge allowed Sage to intercept with ease, and he slid into position. His greatsword swept in a wide, low arc to shut down the spaces on either side.

Behind Ruby, likely intending to trap her in a pincer maneuver, Sun activated his Semblance. Hair and tail glowing golden, he shut his eyes and scrunched his face in concentration. Nothing happened for a few seconds, and Jaune relaxed, putting it down as a failure.

Two more Sun Wukongs appeared.

Jaune bit back a scream of horror. The bane of his existence can multiply himself. Visions of entire store shelves stolen away and a closet full of vandalized suits filled his mind. Nowhere was safe.

The clones winked out in the next second when Blake's boots met the back of Sun's head, and Jaune breathed easier. At the same time, Ruby pulled her arms out of her cloak to reveal two sickles. Sliding low, she hooked the blades onto Sage's ankles. Her momentum yanked the boy off his feet, and she took advantage of the opening to carve at his Aura. He kicked at her and clambered up, their duel starting in earnest.

That's one.

On the other side of the clearing, the Haven blond recovered quickly, rolling out of his fall to get back on his feet in one smooth motion. His staff came up to block the sword strike from Blake, and the two began their dance. The acrobatics on display boggled Jaune's mind, and they appeared evenly matched.

That's two. Which left their third party member.

Cinder swiveled her head from one fight to the other. Ruby stuck like glue to Sage, using her sickles as hooks to swing around his tall frame and tripping him up. Blake and Sun were locked in a whirlwind of combat, their positions traded often and they stayed on the move. A stray shot could find itself striking friend as much as foe in both situations.

Her dilemma was resolved by Jaune making his entrance into the battle.

He walked out of trees on a straight course to her, a hand in a pocket, the other resting a knife on his shoulders. A slight lean forward lent the air of a wolf eager to hunt. The same sneer as always edged his lips. Those who knew his habits well would see through the confident act and notice his urgency by how he dropped the slow swagger in lieu of a quick march. For a stranger like Cinder, he expected his image to hold up well. The trick was to keep up the sense of intimidation.

Bang.

Taking a bullet to the chest with merely a grimace just added to the effect.

"Cinder Fall, I've been looking for a chance to test my strength against you."

He had not, but if she believed he wanted a fight to Red Aura, then she may neglect to guard her crown. A bit of misdirection can go a long way.

"Have I caught your eyes? I'm so happy that the feeling is mutual. There are many rumors of your…prowess."

Oh, she was good. His heart skipped a beat on that one.

She did not so much walked as sashayed towards him. The rifle fell to the ground, and one hand grasped the hilt of the saber while the other hand came to rest on her hips. She looked every bit as confident of victory as he did. Was it real or was she, like him, faking it?

"Tell me, is it true that you had a part in the near-destruction of the White Fang in Vale? Their numbers in this city are said to have been depleted to the lowest levels in a decade."

Were they? He did not like thinking back on the events of that weekend, but the battle was winding down by the time he and the twins made their escape. That spoke of a lot of casualties occurring while he was lost among the shelves.

His part in what happened could never measure to what the gangs did to each other. But…it might not hurt to inflate his capabilities right now.

"I did what I had to do."

"Such a warrior~. Please, show me a good time." Was it him, or was there an edge to her smile?

Neither took any sort of combat stances as they drew close. Jaune only now realized how unnerving it can be on the receiving end of the move. He discerned no hint of her intention, her opening attack a mystery.

Simultaneous steps placed them within range, and their eyes gleamed with malice.

From Jaune, an old trick. Beacon students have wised up to it, some adopting it for themselves. The transfers have not witnessed the ploy yet, though. His hand left his pocket with a fistful of 1-Lien cards and he tossed them into the air above Cinder's head.

And this time, money failed to draw the eyes. The young woman ignored it to pull a trick of her own, and that was the moment Jaune suspected he was in over his head.

Because where Jaune threw Lien as a distraction, Cinder Fall hurled jagged shards of glass right into his face.

His eyelids squeezed shut under the assault of sharp edges. When next they opened, a hand has overtaken his field of vision, reaching for the crown he wore.

Jaune jerked his head away an instant before Cinder's hand found purchase. Dashing back, he swept his knife from left to right to clear some room. His heart thundered in his chest.

Close. Too close.

"Mr. Arc, are you too nervous to dance with me? Come closer, I won't bite." She showed a sweet smile before taking a small bite of the air. "Much."

Hot. So hot.

He was no stranger to alluring banter and gestures during fights, having eaten many a punch or kick while distracted by his teachers in their spars, but Cinder possessed a level of seduction Melanie and Miltia have yet to match. A potent weapon, doubly so when coupled with her willingness to fight dirty.

Testing out a straight approach, Jaune slashed wildly as he walked forward, and Cinder displayed a graceful mix of dodges and blocks. She ended his advance with a parry and another attempt at grabbing his crown, foiled by dint of Jaune skipping back.

He could add skilled and focused to the list. Her eyes were constantly on the prize. Which… just meant that those eyes did not move much because of the unguarded and rigid way he stood.

Adopting an actual stance, Jaune raised his left arm up, ready to ward off another grab. He began to duck and weave, keeping his head on the move.

Cinder's smile deepened.

She flourished her saber as she advanced, a performance hypnotic in its refined strokes. Circles led into figure-eights, snaking behind her back to- DUCK!

Dropping into a horse stance, Jaune bent low as the steel blade sliced through the space where his neck use to be. He felt the whoosh of displaced air, and winced as strands of blond hair drifted down in front of his eyes. He also had a good view of Cinder's belly undulating as she shifted her center and swung the saber back on a diagonal arc.

Atlesian metal screeched off his Aura as Jaune caught the blade on a forearm, accepting the pain with gritted teeth in order to step forward for a counter. His knife, chambered behind him, followed the motion to stab at her stomach. The tip barely touched her before Cinder spun away, making a halfhearted swipe for his head that he twisted out of.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he spied the fight between Blake and Sun. Theirs was a dizzying show of flips and spins that took them from the ground to the trees to the sky and back. Neither stayed still for more than a second, and they twisted their bodies in feats of acrobatics that looked painful from afar. In one instance, Blake could be upright. In the next, she'd be upside-down, kicking off Sun's face. The summoning and vanishing of clones added a level of confusion to the mess. The sheer unpredictability of it all was a sight to inspire, and something he sorely needed now.

Jaune was never one for the air, being too heavy and tall to fight in the same style as his teachers. He also disliked the lack of control once his feet left the ground. But he saw something in their fight that he could use, a way to attack and still keep his crown out of harm's way.

On the fourth exchange, Jaune kept an eye on Cinder's off-hand. Its position on her waist suggested the imminent presence of more shards, proven as she unleashed another handful of the projectiles an instant later. Bereft of Lien cards to throw, he answered her attack by hurling his knife and dropping down to slide under the pieces of glass.

Cinder jerked her head aside, but the knife spinning end over end clipped her shoulder to elicit a wince. Reversing her grip on the saber, she stabbed down at his neck. The blade just starting to fall brushed past the already rising feet, as Jaune had planted his hands on the ground and kicked up at Cinder's chin with both legs.

His legs reached first, snapping her head back with their impact. The motion destroyed her momentum, and the sword scratched a shallow cut in his suit. Pressing his advantage, Jaune pulled his feet back into a ball before sweeping his left leg out to hook her ankle.

Credit to her, Cinder only needed to hear his shoe scrape along the dirt before she jumped high to avoid the attack. Her stiletto heels, and there was a reason why they're named after weapons, came down aiming for his chest.

Jaune rolled behind Cinder as her heels impaled the spot he previously laid. Bracing his head and hands against the earth, he kicked back and up with a leg. His shoe met her rear and sent her stumbling to her knees. He scrambled to his feet and lunged for her crown-

*THUNK!*

Her left hand, oddly encased in a thick gauntlet of glass that he was pretty sure she did not have a moment before, whipped out in a backfist to catch him on the jaw and send him flying. Crashing end over end along the ground, he slammed against the boulder Sun had napped on.

Sitting up, Jaune saw Cinder walking towards him. One foot in front of the other, her hips swayed as she strutted. Aside from some dirt staining her dress and hands, she appeared as hale and hearty as at the start of the fight.

I've been going about this the wrong way, haven't I?

It sounded easy at the start. He just had to survive long enough for an opportunity to steal her crown. Except, this has become a defensive fight where he could barely keep his own crown away from her. Cinder Fall was a cut above in terms of combat abilities and for all his efforts, he managed to land a grand total of one solid hit on her. Something had to change.

A certain ill-advised plan floated in his mind. It had been concocted by Ruby's mind, and discarded at his and Blake's insistence due to its high potential for failure.

Yet, if he amended the goal, a point of failure may well become the key to success.

It still left the question of how he can keep Cinder unawares. He tended to glow like a lightbulb when focusing Aura, after all.

Rolling to his knees, Jaune looked Cinder in the eyes, then shifted his gaze past her shoulders. He smiled.

"Hey, Cinder."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Hm?"

"Checkmate."

For one split second of hope, he thought his bluff would make her turn around. Her strut almost, almost paused. Then, she smirked and continued on. Her eyes never left his, merely narrowing with amusement.

"A commendable attempt. I especially enjoyed the chess term. It's an analogy that I find quite apt. However, it'll take more than that to distract-"

*BEEEEP* Brawnz Ni of Vacuo has taken possession of Atlas' crown. Atlas Academy is hereby eliminated. All students of Atlas Academy, please disengage from battle at this time. I repeat-

Brawnz Ni of Vacuo has taken…

The message continued to blare twice more from a faraway speaker. Turning from the direction of the voice to the column of smoke denoting the bridge, Cinder groaned in exasperation.

"I am surrounded by incompetents! When I get my hand on that blue-haired idiot-" She shook her head. "This game has gone on long enough. Time to end this."

She looked back at Jaune…to see a smirk, not unlike the one that was on her face a minute ago.

And two blue eyes shining bright.

"Ah."

The boy slammed into the girl in the next moment, taking them both right off the cliff.

-o-

Jaune's first thought after the world sharpened back into focus was...

Ahhhhhh!

At least, until he remembered that he has fallen from much higher places. In a calmer mindset, his next thought was...

Huh. I really would have overshot. I knew it.

The original idea had been one of many to spring forth from the mind of Ruby Rose. Since they had two people able to move at great speed, why not just take a dash at Cinder Fall to deftly swipe the crown from her head?

Counterpoint: why might it be a bad idea to run full tilt at a target standing at the edge of a cliff?

Accelerating was easy. Stopping was not.

Ruby compensated for her poor control with Crescent Rose, a tool unavailable to her today. Jaune had a night of training in the art of not stopping, supplemented by luck (which may well be counteracted by Sun's presence). Moreover, he would quite literally be going in blind. The idea that he can do anything 'deftly' stretched the limits of credulity. It was back to the drawing board from there.

That was before Jaune discovered the difficulty in taking Cinder's crown. Now, disqualifying her through low Aura had become his goal.

And nothing beat a nice, long fall to put people other than him into Red Aura. Eminently survivable, too, so long as the person falling had reserves to burn.

He and Cinder both had plenty of Aura left, with his bet on him having more than her. From a similar height, at a similar falling speed, he should come out ahead.

Judging by the hands forming more glass shards to throw at him, Cinder Fall came to the same conclusion and seek to rectify that. A futile effort, since she was spending her Aura to chip away his Aura.

A stiletto heel smacked his face.

A cute attempt, but still useless because the ground was coming up to meet them in Three…Two…One…

Just before impact, Jaune swore he saw a purple glow around the two of them. He still felt the phantom pain of smashing into the earth, though, and his Aura level tanked as it kept him one piece. If the strange glow was not a trick of the light, its effects must be subtle.

Cinder made it out mostly fine, too, going by the way she was flinging invectives his way. Plus her other heel, which had just struck his ear. Still, if that was the best attack she can do to him, did that mean…?

*BEEEEP* Haven's leader has fallen into Red Aura. Haven Academy is hereby eliminated. I declare Beacon and Shade Academy, the winners of this combat exercise.

And Jaune Arc, if you EVER pull a stunt like that again, I will have you in detention for the rest of your time in Beacon. Understood?*BEEEEP*

Haha, ha...ha. Dammit, that did not sound like an empty threat.

Getting back on his feet, Jaune checked over the damage to himself, which was negligible, and to his suit, which was catastrophic. It had been stained with grass and dirt, with tears from top to bottom. One of his soles have come off halfway and his sock poked through, giving him that hobo look.

The battle-suits may be cheaper than his other outfits, but with how fast he went through them, investing in a tailor shop might not be a bad idea. Of the many paths his future may take, most involved him being rendered to a similar state as now on a regular basis. It'd make better economic sense in the long run.

He turned to where Cinder had fallen, and saw her glaring back from a sitting position. Rubbing the back of his head, Jaune chuckled nervously under her scrutiny. After a minute of silence, her face relaxed into a lazy smirk.

Somehow, he suspected that smile did not bode well for him.

"Congratulations are in order, Arc."

"Oh, uh, thanks! You did really well, too." Wait, is that something the winner can say? It sounded so condescending.

"That last attack of yours, I don't think I've ever seen you use it before. The odd fighting style you adopted halfway through was also something new, though it seemed appropriate for you."

Okay, so he felt less guilty now about being condescending, since she just implied rolling in dirt suited him.

On the whole, she was not exactly wrong in her point. Rolling, spinning, kicking, the moves he used were more akin to breakdancing than combat, yet he'd be a fool to ignore their merits. They offered new angles of attacks, and shone a new light on ways to protect his weakpoints during combat. It would need refinement, but the levels of variety and unpredictability these moves added to his repertoire may be worth the effort.

It paid dividends already by helping him survive a clash with someone as strong as Cinder.

"I have a lot more where that came from." He mirrored Cinder's smirk. "I like to win, you know." Cinder chuckled.

"What a coincidence." Her eyes narrowed. "So do I. I'll be keeping my eyes on you, Jaune Arc."

As if she had been keeping an eye on them, Goodwitch activated her Semblance from wherever she was. Her Telekinesis encased the girl who had been reduced to Red Aura, and evacuated her to the medical tent.

Leaving Jaune, and everyone at the top of the cliff, to trek back to camp with their own two feet.

Maybe, if he took another trip off the cliff, he can enjoy the express service, too?

The pensive faces poking over the edge up there seemed to be in agreement.

With the end of the combat exercise came the cheers of the winners and the outcry of the losers. Some students were loudly recapping their contributions, others were already putting it behind them to hang out with their friends. A not-so-small number of students were puffed up like peacocks and circling each other, because one did not simply instill in their young a warrior culture without accepting that there will be dominance displays.

And as the burning bridge at the center of the valley got doused by a combination of water, ice, and the Beacon Vice-Headmistress's Semblance, two former opponents rested on the slopes of a hill. The first, May Zedong, alternated between delight and a red-face embarrassment. The second, Ciel Soleil, sat primly and appeared to all intent and purposes detached from the scenes of chaos below them.

That is, unless one passed by close enough to notice her lips seeming to almost, almost pout.

"That was a dumb move."

"I know."

"No tactical acumen. Pure brute force. Like barbarians."

"I know." May groaned, putting her face in her hands. "My classmates will never let me live this down."

Seeing the other girl turn crimson, Ciel chuckled in satisfaction.

"It was quite inspired, though. I thought I had you."

May lowered her hands. Looking at one of the crowns lying next to her, she flicked at the inlaid gems on the captured Atlas crown. It was just pretty glass and not worth much, except as a symbol of her victory.

"You almost did. And if I had kept on being stubborn, you would have."

"What changed your mind?"

"I weighed my pride against my friends, and threw one away." She searched the crowd, and saw a cheerful Yang standing in a circle with Brawnz, Nolan, and Roy, messing around and boasting of their performance. "And…I was reminded of someone I've met recently."

If Ciel had cat ears, they would have pricked in attention. Barring such, she betrayed no outward interest but for a subtle turn of the head. All the better to hear gossip with.

"Oh?"

"Overturning the odds are kinda his thing."

"Would you happen to be talking about Jaune Arc?"

May nodded, and Ciel hummed in thought.

"I had hoped to see him in action. The rumors made him out to be unbeatable, but he didn't seem all that impressive in combat classes. He… I'm sorry to say, but he tends to use low tricks that I find distasteful." Ciel observed the other girl, and wondered if May realized she had smirked at Ciel's words. It wasn't a look she expected from such a meek person.

"Don't underestimate him. What I did only when I'm at the end of my ropes, Jaune would do without batting an eye. He'd take any chances of victory and throw himself into fire if it meant taking down his enemy, let alone discarding something like pride. You heard the announcement. He's the reason Haven lost. "

"Huh. That is an altogether more…heroic description than what others told me. Even his professor made him out to be a troublemaker."

"Pffft. Yeah, that's him, too. Some of the things he did in our detention was downright silly." May stopped abruptly, and tilted her head in contemplation. "Y'know, he wasn't the only one with an idea I liked."

May hopped to her feet, picking up the crowns next to her. Turning to where her friends were, she called out.

"Yang, boys, get over here. Selfie time!"

Crossing her arms, Ciel Soleil gave May Zedong a deadpan look.

"Really? I'm standing right here, and you're going to do this?"

"I'm not gloating over your loss, I'm celebrating my win. So there."

"Whatever."

"Want to join the picture?"

"…Sure."

The following weekend, a rooftop café

"…and we went back to the cliff to grab a few pics. Here, see? And here's the cookout we had after."

Hearing no answer, Jaune looked up from his scroll.

Sometimes, it would slip his mind that Melanie and Miltia were identical twins. It might be because they coordinated their styles to clash, or maybe it was just the differences in how they interacted with him. Whatever the reason, Melanie was obviously Melanie and Miltia was unmistakably Miltia.

But at other times, they were so alike down to their very thoughts that it left him astounded. Growing up and doing everything together must have made its mark.

With the same glare, sporting the same puffed-up cheeks, Melanie and Miltia Malachite pouted at him.

"Jaune."

"Yes? Am I in trouble?"

"Clear your schedule next weekend."

"You're taking us camping, disciple."

Author's Notes:

"Yes, Cinder, I destroyed the White Fang in Vale. All me. Aren't I so impressive?"

Could Cinder have made the glass shards explode? Yes. Could Cinder have burned Jaune to a crisp? Yes. Why didn't she? It would out her as the criminal who fought Ruby and Goodwitch from RWBY Episode 1. She sandbagged quite a bit to match the levels of other students. Still, Jaune would have lost had he not discovered her secret weakness to gravity.

A total bro, lucky as can be, smooths out other people's problems, and wins in any personal encounter between him and Jaune (for now). Those are the rules for Sun Wukong. With the flip of our viewpoint, he would have fit the mold of a hero, with Jaune behaving more like a rival character.

Mini-arc done!

The Good: It's nice to somewhat slow things down instead of trying to fit it all in a double-length chapter. Little details can be worked on.

The Bad: Being locked into a plot, and trying (and failing) to keep the same tone between chapters. Single chapters allow adjustments to the plot or having it redone altogether, and fits better overall with this story.

Still, it's good practice for certain developments later on.