A/N: This chapter takes inspiration from JJK's manga, so HUGE SPOILER WARNING for something that hasn't happened yet for people who only watch the anime or aren't caught up. It's not exact, but it's very clear where the idea came from as far as the power goes.
The winter break was over and the students of Beacon were returning to the campus for the start of the second semester, along with all the temporary exchange students and staff that would be present from the other three academies. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang were all taking the first steps into the courtyard before they caught sight of three members of their sister team, JNPR.
Making their way over to where their friends were, as they approached, their cheerful expressions changed as they saw the three talking to the Deputy Headmistress, Glynda Goodwitch, and judging by the looks on their faces, their conversation wasn't a pleasant one. But, as they stood a small distance away, unsure of whether or not now was a good moment to say hello, the combat professor pushed her glasses up before motioning them to join them.
"Ms. Goodwitch? Is…everything okay?"
Ruby's question went unanswered as she simply rubbed her temples, exhausted from having to deal with the three members of JNPR so far, before she turned around and replied.
"You seven come with me. I don't want to have to explain twice."
The girls of team RWBY looked amongst each other slightly worried before falling in step behind the disciplinarian with the three present members of team JNPR.
"Uh…Pyrrha? What's going on? Are we in trouble? And where is Jaune."
The spartan looked down to the ground as she grit her teeth, before Ren answered for her.
"We don't know. Nora and I were originally going to stay here for the break, but Pyrrha invited the team to go home and spend the break with her family. Jaune stayed here over the break so he could get private training from some of the professors. The four of us were supposed to meet in the courtyard, but Ms. Goodwitch came and told us that…that Jaune's been suspended indefinitely."
The eyes of the team RWBY widened at that.
"What! Why?! Jaune wouldn't do anything bad! He's…well, Jaune!"
Ruby's outburst became more subdued before she remembered one thing that he could potentially have gotten in trouble for. She decided not to ask Pyrrha since Ms. Goodwitch was leading them, and decided to wait and see if they'd find out why exactly Jaune was suspended.
A short walk later, and the seven students arrived in the headmaster's office with Ozpin waiting for them, along with a face familiar to two of the students.
"UNCLE QROW!"
Before anyone could react, Ruby shot across the room with her semblance and tacked her uncle with a hug.
"Hey Pipsqueak."
"Didja miss me!? Did you? Did you!?"
The man kept her in suspense for a moment before he smirked as he answered her.
"Nope!"
Popping the 'P' in his response, the man rustled the hair of the little reaper before Yang turned the man around and gave him a hug as well, causing the man to pat her back. The reunion was cut short at Ozpin's cough. The three separated before the two students returned to the other side of the headmaster's desk, while Qrow took his place next to Ozpin like Glynda.
There was a brief silence before Ozpin took a tortuously long sip from his mug. After pulling the cup away from his lips, he took his glasses off and cleaned them before returning them to their perch on the bridge of nose. Once ready, the man finally chose to address the elephant in the room.
"So, I'm sure willing to wager that the seven of you have questions, all relating to your blonde friend. So who's first?"
The seven looked amongst themselves before Pyrrha stepped forwards and addressed the headmaster.
"Headmaster, Professor Goodwitch told us that Jaune's been suspended indefinitely-Why?! Jaune isn't the kind of person who would do something to get himself suspended."
The man looked at her with an otherworldly calmness despite having the spartan girl losing her composure. He laced his fingers as she took a step back from his desk, remembering where she was and who she was talking to before Ozpin chose to speak.
"Well, normally, you'd be correct. The Mr. Arc you all knew was a young man of rather impressive character-aside from his falsified transcripts that is."
As he said this, the students all looked taken aback. Wide eyes, slack jaws, the whole kit and kaboodle. After a moment of letting the kids think about what they'd just learned, Ozpin decided to continue speaking.
"That being said, that particular infraction isn't why Mr. Arc has been suspended."
Weiss, the only one able to gather herself at the moment, shook herself of her disbelief before she decided to voice her question.
"Sir? The way you worded what you've told us makes it sound like you were aware that Arc was a fraud."
"But of course I did. His apparent lack of training aside, I've been the headmaster for quite some years, despite what my appearance may have you believe. Do you really think I wouldn't be able to spot forged papers?"
The man's smile as he answered them was unthinkable for Weiss, but before she could ask her follow-up questions, the man continued, preemptively answering her question.
"Jaune proved his worth by surviving through initiation. He was launched off that cliff without aura, and would've landed in some particularly comfy looking brush, if not for his now partner's timely intervention. That was the one of the only two kindnesses I was going to show him. I actually had a few students hiding in the forest ready to save any students-Jaune-that would've needed saving from a life or death situation. Had he needed saving, I would've personally sent him home with the experience being a wake-up call for him."
The man took another sip of his mug, or at least, he went to before discovering he was out of cocoa. Before having a chance to dwell on it or ignore it, a fresh cup was passed to the spectacled man by the drunkard next to him, who patted his shoulder before he took a step away. Ozpin raised his mug in thanks to the man before taking a sip and continuing to speak.
"But. He didn't require saving. Not once through a life-or-death exercise did he find himself in true peril. He acquired his aura, courtesy of his partner, and survived an encounter with two very old grimm. It isn't unfair to say that Jaune survived and passed initiation through sheer luck. But, there are two different kinds of luck."
The man leaned back in his chair as he took a bit of a lecturing tone.
"There's the luck you all think of when you hear the word: chance or other outside factors beyond anyone's control. Then there is the other definition, but I suppose it would be more apt to call that fortune, which is the result of intention. To simplify: think of luck as being at the wrong place at the right time, and fortune as being at the right place at the right time. Mr. Arc is both, to put it simply, ludicrously lucky and fortunate."
The man sat forward before finishing his explanation as to Weiss's inquiry.
"Being lucky is a talent, being fortunate is a skill. Both of them are useful to, well anyone, but especially so to huntsmen where the threat of danger looms over us so often. Mr. Arc has both of these traits, and he has them in spades-no pun intended."
The teens looked amongst themselves before Ren decided to ask a question that no one had thought of yet.
"Excuse me, Headmaster, but you said 'the Mr. Arc we knew.' What do you mean exactly?"
The students turned from looking at the quiet male of their group to the headmaster, and found themselves a bit worried when he took off his glasses and began to massage his temples as he started his answer.
"That is where things get complicated. Tell me, do any of you know of the correlation between semblances and behaviors/personalities, or rather, the theory and study of the connection?"
The students shook their heads slowly, and Ozpin took another sip as he thought of a way to explain it before speaking.
"I assume you've all heard the question, 'What came first: the chicken or the egg?' Well, it's essentially that. It's a theory surrounding semblances and personalities. The question that caused this study was: 'Is a person's semblance determined by their personality when their aura is unlocked, or are their behavioral patterns a byproduct of what their semblance always was?' This theory was never able to be completely proven or disproven, as fringe cases and extenuating circumstances will always exist."
Seeing that some of the students gathered in his office were having trouble visualizing this, he thought for a moment before looking them over and trying a different method of explaining.
"For example, an argument for a person's semblance being determined by their personality would be Mr. Ren. I won't delve into your history too much as I know it's very personal for you, but with what you told us, you were always a more gentle, calm, and quiet soul. Your semblance is a reflection of who you were when you manifested it, and it rings true for who you are now."
The man pointed towards Weiss before he continued."
"Ms. Schnee however is an argument for the opposite. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm willing to bet you've always had a bit of pride in the Schnee family name and legacy, even when you were too young to really understand the meaning or weight of such things."
Seeing that the girl didn't correct him, the Headmaster continued.
"Your semblance is hereditary, so the argument could absolutely be made that your semblance shaped your personality. Ultimately, I don't put too much stock into either of these stances, or many of the subsequent studies that spawned in the wake of it. But, what was always interesting to me from these studies were the fringe cases, which is where Mr. Arc sits."
The teens' ears perked up hearing Jaune's name, and all attention was on Professor Ozpin as he returned his glasses to where they'd normally be before speaking.
"Since we're discussing the idea of how semblances affect personality and vice versa, it probably has dawned on some of you that during the time he spent here receiving private instruction over the break, he manifested his semblance."
They should be happy hearing this, and they wish they could be. But with all the long explanations and the fact that Jaune was suspended kept them from being so.
"His semblance is, and I do not say this lightly, one of the most ridiculous powers I've seen in my life."
The man gave a moment for the students to realize the gravity with which he said those words before he continued.
"His semblance isn't luck or fortune, but the ability to manipulate probability itself."
With that a few eyes widened astronomically, while others, namely Ruby, Nora, and Yang were a bit confused as to the implications of this. Weiss, seeing their confusion, decided to explain.
"Girls, imagine…Ruby firing at a target. From statistics, we know that she's almost guaranteed to hit her mark. Now, imagine Jaune being there, and using his semblance, and then, despite all the evidence that shows that Ruby is a crack shot, she misses a target she's hit thousands of times before.
Now apply that to…anything: Yang's gauntlet's malfunctioning, Blake getting a gun jam, the dust in my weapon leaking and having a misfire. If what Professor Ozpin is saying is true, then Jaune and whatever he influences with his semblance aren't bound by statistics. He…He can influence the future by toying with likelihoods."
Now that everyone had a fuller picture of what Jaune's semblance was capable of, Ozpin coughed, grabbing everyone's attention as he took over.
"Well put, thank you Ms. Schnee. But his semblance doesn't stop there. It affected his aura, has other abilities that are strange and no less powerful, but most importantly it changed his personality. Completely. And before any of you ask, no, the change in behavior wasn't due to him having a power trip or anything of the sort. He just…changed. He went from being selfless, polite, and meek, to self-centered, brazen, and…let's say passionate, in an instant."
The teens looked at each other before Blake spoke up.
"Is such a thing really possible though Professor? What if this is just how he always was?"
The man shook his head slightly in response before he gave his response.
"While that is a possibility, I believe it's a safe one to dismiss. We monitored Jaune extensively once he became a student due to his transcripts, just to make absolutely sure that he had good intentions in receiving hunter training. The Jaune we all were used to was very much the real him. That being said…"
The man felt another headache coming on and polished off his mug before watching as a pot of cocoa floated next to him ready, courtesy of Glynda. He allowed her to fill up his mug before blowing away some of the steam as he looked into the cup before responding.
"Jaune's family, the Arcs, are an old one, and every generation of them has been large. Out of eight siblings-"
"EIGHT!?"
The outburst from the students cut through a bit of the tension, something Ozpin was grateful for as a ghost of a smile appeared across his face before he continued.
"Indeed. Out of eight siblings, he is the sixth child. Out of his five older siblings, four of them became huntresses and all of them did so at this academy, where their father did the same when he was their age. The thing about all the Arc's that have come to this academy before Jaune, was that they all had something in common that I was quite thankful Jaune didn't share with them, at least until recently."
The man took a sip from his mug before he elaborated.
"To put it politely, they were and are difficult to get along with. To say what I mean truthfully, they are some of the most infuriating and disagreeable people with whom you can ever share the same space. Self-righteous, ill tempered, vainglorious, narcissistic to a fault, and powerful. Jaune was much the opposite. But the moment his semblance manifested…maybe it's unfair to say that he became someone he wasn't, rather, perhaps he became the person he was always supposed to be by his family's nature."
The students stayed quiet for a minute or so as they processed Ozpin's words, but then Yang decided to ask the question that ultimately resulted in this conversation being had in the first place.
"So, if Vomit Boy didn't get suspended for his transcripts…What did he get suspended for?"
The moment the question was asked, the room seemed to drop a few degrees as Glynda Goodwitch's expression darkened as she visibly grit her teeth and turned her face away from them with a…blush?
Ozpin coughed into his hand trying to figure out how to explain what led them to where things were currently, and began doing so very, very delicately.
"Well. Mr. Arc manifested his semblance during one of his training sessions with Glynda here. As a motivator, she offered to give him whatever he wanted if he managed to either impress her or discover his semblance. When he did, and she asked what he wanted, he requested-no rather, he demanded an apology for how he felt he was getting hazed by only being made to fight Cardin for nearly the entirety of the first semester."
The students looked wide-eyed yet again. The idea that someone could have the sheer lack of either self-awareness or survival instincts to demand something of the legendarily strict disciplinarian of Beacon was unthinkable, but it was clear that Ozpin wasn't done as he continued to speak.
"As I'm sure you all can imagine, Glynda didn't take too well to Mr. Arc's sudden change in attitude. She tried to remain candid and explain that it was for his own wellbeing and growth that he was forced to fight someone hopelessly stronger than him that wouldn't pull any punches, but after a few minutes of back and forth between the two, Mr. Arc decided to…how should I word this…He decided that instead of receiving an apology, he wanted to punish her instead. By…erm…"
Ozpin decided to trail off when he saw Glynda glaring at him from where she stood but only a few suddenly very short paces away. Unfortunately for the deputy headmistress, Qrow had no qualms picking up where the Headmaster left off.
"In the center of the training room they were in, he flipped her skirt, bent her over his knee, and spanked her."
There was silence. The faces of the seven students ranged from scandalized, shocked, awestruck, and intrigued. Ozpin wisely, sagely even, slowly and delicately pushed his seat back before taking a few steps to the side of the room away from what would likely become an area of collateral damage. Qrow however, drunk and thinking himself in a safe space, continued to open his mouth and verbally sign his death warrant.
"And I'm not talking like wimpy little play pats either. We're talking full contact, loud, and vindictive smacks. One for each time he had to fight the other guy. And he didn't just slap it either, he'd grab and hold onto it until the next one. Man, I'll tell ya the Kid's a riot! Had her red in the face and-where did everybody go?"
Qrow suddenly became aware that Ozpin and the students had all but vanished, leaving him alone with Glynda Goodwitch. A few seconds passed before he noticed the woman now holding her signature riding crop with her bangs covering her eyes. He sobered instantly as he realized his fate. No one was coming to save him, and no one could.
Meanwhile, on the elevator heading down and away from the office was Ozpin and the seven students that chose life over death. A few of them wore blushes still over what they'd learned from Qrow, and Ozpin decided to finish explaining what happened, sans the less appropriate details.
"Anywho, while Glynda and Qrow settle their differences, I suppose there's no harm in telling you all where things went from there. After that training session, the next day Jaune went down to Vale to celebrate Christmas. He didn't return to campus the next day, so we assumed that he was either with some friends or less likely, sleeping off a night of partying."
The man moved through the elevator to look over Beacon before he continued.
"After he didn't return the second day after Christmas, I was getting worried, and was going to have Qrow go find Jaune with the last known position of his scroll. But, that ended up not being necessary. Qrow came stumbling into my office as I was preparing to call him, and when we asked why he was drunk-well, more drunk than usual, he told us about how he spent the night prior drinking with a blonde student of mine at a club run by an information broker."
At this, Yang's eyes widened as she was about to say something, but caught the Headmaster staring at her with a knowing smile, to which she attempted to make herself smaller behind her partner.
"Anyway, I was preparing to make a trip down to Vale to see if Mr. Arc was still there, or if anyone knew where he'd gone as he wasn't answering his scroll. Next thing I know, Glynda marches into my office on the warpath. Apparently, after what happened in the training room a few days prior to then, she began to look extensively into your friend."
The man chuckled as the teens looked to his back before he turned to face them as he kept explaining.
"She looked into Jaune's background, and happened upon his transcripts. She wanted to expel him immediately for using fraudulent means to enter my academy. I had to explain to her that I'd known all along that he faked his transcripts. He made a good amount of progress, but I knew that Glynda wasn't thinking clearly due to his…retribution methods.
I told her that I'd just suspended him and was going to go and have a meeting with him to see whether or not he'll continue to be one of my students. This appeased her a bit, but she insisted on coming with me, to which I declined. Once I made it down to the club where he was supposed to have been the day prior, I found him still there and looking rather comfortable. I wished him a Merry Christmas and explained what had happened with him being suspended.
I told him that he'd have to pass a test of mine to have his status as a student reinstated, to which he didn't seem bothered. Once I returned to campus, I made his suspension status official in our systems, which also locked up his scroll. And that leads us to now. We are all going to go and retrieve Mr. Arc and return to Beacon so he can have his test to see if he's grown enough to see if he deserves to continue amongst you all as students."
The outside of Junior's was rather unassuming in the daytime, though perhaps that was due to the lack of the usual line of nightlife enjoyers and bouncers standing outside. The seven students stood behind their headmaster as Ozpin knocked on the door to the club. They only had to wait a few moments before one of the twin doors to Junior's opened to reveal one of the informant's men with their signature red and black suits. He looked at Ozpin for a moment before he spoke.
"Club don't open till eight."
"My name is Ozpin. I'm here for Jaune."
"Ah, he said you'd be coming."
With that, the doors opened, and as the group was about to enter, the man held a hand out before pointing at Yang.
"She stays outside. After what she did the last time she was here, we don't want her stepping anywhere near the joint."
For a moment, the girl looked as if she was going to get angry before Ozpin spoke up in response.
"Good Sir, that girl is one of my students, as is Jaune. She'll be on her best behavior while we're here, and she won't ever return after today, you have my word. Right, Ms. Xiao Long?"
The girl looked to her Headmaster as he stood there with a look in his eyes that didn't match the gentle smile he was wearing, causing her to shiver as she nodded stiffly. The bouncer seemed conflicted before he sighed and moved to the side, allowing the eight of them in.
The group walked in, those that hadn't been here before taking in the impressive interior of the club, while Yang was simply surprised they were able to make this place look so much better after she trashed it. Ozpin looked around until he saw a blonde head of hair sitting in a booth against the wall with his head laid back staring at the ceiling. The group made their way over, and when they came upon Jaune, they found that he was dressed very differently, and very much not alone.
To either side of him sat two beautiful twins with black hair, cozied up against him and each of them dragging a finger across his chin or chest, and one of his hands on either of their hips. Ruby, Yang, Nora, and surprisingly Blake all stood with their mouths agape at the scene, while Weiss and Pyrrha looked a bit upset, though for different reasons, and Ren took in the sight before nodding his head silently at his all-but-blood brother. Ozpin chose to ignore the sight and address his student.
"Jaune, are you ready for the test today?"
The blonde groaned in response as he finally stopped looking at the ceiling. He was wearing a compression shirt along with some dark pants and boots. He took a sip from whatever was in the cup he had resting on the table before regarding the headmaster and his seven friends.
"Sure, but I'm not excited at all."
The girl to his right in the white dress snaked a finger down his neck as she spoke.
"Why's that Jaune?"
The finger on his chest from the girl on the opposite side of him began to draw circles into his shirt as she said something as well.
"Yeah, like, what Mel said?"
The blonde groaned before he gave a firm squeeze with either of his hands before he answered them.
"Luck is supposed to be tested. It's boring to gamble if you already know the result before it happens."
The tone and apathy Jaune was displaying was staggering for his friends, and a bit off putting if some of them were to be completely honest. Ozpin however, chuckled and took it in stride as he picked up his part of the conversation.
"Oh? You seem rather assured that you know the outcome of any fight I could give you, Mr. Arc."
The blonde moved his hands from where they were to being spread out as he began to speak, while the two girls adjusted how they sat and nuzzled their heads into his chest and neck.
"Despite how comfy I've been here at this club, it's not like I've been slacking off on learning more about my semblance. I doubt there's any student who could really get my fever going now."
Ozpin and the blonde stared at each other for a moment as the Headmaster seemed to be assessing him.
'He's ultimately sure of his victory, regardless of whoever he believes I'll send against him. And I can feel it too, it's not arrogance, it's confidence and conviction. And, maybe a hint of smugness.'
"Then what about a full team of students?"
The boy didn't miss a beat as he responded.
"The only teams that have a hope of standing a chance are all friends with me. Can't you do any better?"
"Well, the only other option for an opponent would be a teacher. There's Port, Oobleck, Peach-"
All of a sudden the man realized what, or rather who Jaune wanted as he cut himself off, causing the blonde to smile.
"Young man, I must tell you that is a terrible idea."
The blonde took his arms from around both the twins and leaned forward with a smirk.
"I mean, it'd be a good way to set things straight."
"Set things straight? After what you pulled, you could die. And I'm not sure I'm being dramatic either."
The blonde laughed as he stood from the booth.
"But you aren't saying no either. Looks like I have a chance for my fever to heat up after all."
Turning away from the group, he faced the two girls expectantly before they both looked at each other and nodded with a smile. Militia reached over towards the table and pulled a belt with many pouches attached to it before she sat forward and did something that had the seven students either blushing, looking away, or furious: she reached around the blonde's waist and fastened the belt slowly, all while keeping eye contact.
After she was done she winked before giving a tug to the strap, making sure it was tight and secure. After that, she moved to the side and stood up as Jaune turned to Melanie, who was holding a coat with fur lining the collar. She put it on him before picking up something from the table and tucking it into his pocket.
"Make sure to record your fight so we can see your fever, Jaune."
The blonde just smiled confidently before he replied.
"Naturally."
With that the blonde turned to exit the booth before two pairs of hands encircled him, and a kiss was placed on either of his cheeks. Unbeknownst to Jaune, a certain redhead's hands clenched as she watched the scene unfold. The blonde smiled as the two whispered something to him that caused him to smile even further, before letting him go and waving to him as he led his friends and headmaster out of the club. After they were gone, Miltia looked to her sister as she spoke.
"You didn't wish Jaune good luck?"
The girl in white snorted as she responded to her sister.
"It's not like he can get any luckier."
Jaune and Ozpin disappeared after arriving back at Beacon, the Headmaster explaining that he was going to conduct all of Jaune's other aptitude tests somewhere that Glynda wouldn't find them. Throughout the day, the seven of the blonde's friends were waiting to see if their dear friend would be rejoining them, and eventually, there was only one class left for the day.
Combat class.
The first-year students were all told by their professors to report to the outdoor arena for Ms. Goodwitch's class in their combat attire. When they all arrived at the arena they were surprised to see the Headmaster standing in the center of the arena waiting for them with the Deputy Headmistress, who was shockingly donning her own combat gear. Accompanying the riding crop she had in her hand was a whip resting on the small of her back, along with some spiked heels.
Seeing that the freshmen sans Jaune were all gathered and curious as to why class was being held here, Ozpin cleared his throat before he addressed everyone.
"Good afternoon first-years, I'll keep this brief. You all, at least the Beacon students, are used to having combat class indoors, but starting today you will be having this class in this perfectly good arena that we haven't been using. The first match will be a special one as Glynda here will be one of the participants."
At this, the class erupted into excited conversations at the prospect of getting the opportunity to watch the famed Deputy Headmistress of Beacon in action. The blonde woman just let out a sigh before beckoning her teacher's aide, Velvet Scarlatina, to come over and take her scroll-pad from her before she began to stretch as she spoke to Ozpin.
"I figured you were up to something when you told me to have class here today, and to bring my equipment no less. So I take it this will be our monthly duel, Ozpin?"
The man turned to her as he responded.
"Actually, no. You'll actually be facing off against a student."
At this, both Glynda and the students seemed dumbfounded at that. The students were pitying the poor soul that would be unlucky enough to be pitted against her. Ozpin ignored everything and shooed the students to the stands so that they'd be out of the way before pressing a button on his scroll, causing the arena to morph to one an urban setting resembling a shipping dock, complete with obstacles and shipping containers. Meanwhile, Glynda decided to voice her reservations about fighting a student.
"Ozpin, you know that's highly unprofessional. How am I supposed to, in good conscious face off against a-"
A strange music seemed to get steadily louder, before she and everyone else save for Ozpin, looked to see someone fall from the sky and completely crush a shipping container beneath them. As the figure stood and the dust cleared, many who knew the blonde standing in the ring were flabbergasted at the changes Jaune had undergone over the break. The blonde cracked his neck before taking a step off the metal container as he walked with swagger towards the two professors, taking a headband from his pocket and using it to push his hair back.
Ozpin spared a glance to his deputy headmistress to gauge her expression, and found himself concealing a gulp as the woman's eyes were hidden behind the reflection of light from her glasses. As she pushed them up, a sickeningly sweet smile appeared on her face as any reservations she seemed to have evaporated in an instant. The last time Ozpin saw this expression from Glynda was when she earned herself an infamous nickname that few knew of: The Sadist. Before she could make her way to the boy, the Headmaster coughed and grabbed her attention before speaking.
"By the way, how is Qrow?"
The woman simply smiled at him before laughing behind her hand and proceeding to make her way to stand across from the boy. Qrow let out a small sigh before sending a silent prayer for the drunk, before moving to stand outside the ring with a microphone handed to him by Velvet.
"The first match of the semester will be Jaune Arc vs Glynda Goodwitch. Does either side have any conditions they'd like to impose for the match?"
All eyes were on both fighters as they raised both raised their hands, drawing a few eyebrows. Ozpin nodded before speaking out.
"Glynda?"
"No ring-out or time limit."
The man stared at her for a moment before looking in Jaune's direction and speaking.
"Do you object?"
The blonde simply shook his head before he called out his own condition.
"Valean Quarter."
Whispers ran through the students as the Headmaster batted an eye towards Glynda and saw her nod with that same expression she'd been wearing since she learned Jaune would be her opponent.
"Very well! The conditions for the match are no ring-outs, no time limit, and Valean Quarter. Victory is achieved only by surrender or if your opponent is unable to continue. If there's nothing else, I'm going to begin the countdown."
Jaune made an expression that said he'd remembered something before fishing out the camera he'd been given by the twins at the club and beckoning Velvet over. After asking her to film the match, which she agreed to, the faunus quickly exited the ring as the aura monitors came to life and the countdown started with sixty seconds on the screen.
"You know Mr. Arc, there's still time for you to make amends."
The younger blonde just smirked before running a hand through his hair as he responded.
"Oh? And what did you have in mind?"
"I'd be willing to forgive you if you bow your head and give me an apology, after kissing my shoes that is. Though, if you refuse, you'll be doing that anyway. So why not save yourself the pain."
The students shivered in their seats as they heard the Disciplinarian's offer, with Ruby whispering to her sister.
"Ms. Goodwitch is really…really mad, isn't she."
Back down in the ring, Jaune though was none too bothered as he simply smirked before responding.
"Nah, not my style. Besides, shouldn't you buy me dinner first before you start making kinky requests like that."
The woman across from smiled behind her hand again as she spoke.
"I'm glad you're still able to make jokes like that despite the danger you're in."
The teen simply let out a laugh before a thought came to his head.
"Know what? How about a bet? If you win, I'll do whatever you want to make up for what happened during our training session, if I win…"
Jaune's voice quieted down as he continued to speak so that no one else would hear the terms of their bet, but judging by the quick scarlet blush the teacher wore, and the dark look that came after, she didn't appreciate whatever he proposed. Looking to the side, Yang saw her partner with a nosebleed and a blush as she stared at the screen in disbelief.
"Uh…Blakey? Everything okay?"
The girl wiped away the blood before she answered her partner.
"We couldn't hear anything, but I was able to read Jaune's lips and um…"
To Yang's amazement, the secret faunus began to fan herself as she looked down at the arena focusing on the blonde.
Glynda however, smiled darkly before she answered the younger blonde.
"You have a deal, Mr. Arc. I'm going to enjoy beating the shamelessness out of you."
The clock reached ten seconds as Jaune replied to her.
"Man Ms. Goodwitch, you are exactly my type of woman."
Seven seconds.
"Oh? And what kind of woman is that, Mr. Arc."
Four seconds.
"The kind of woman that will actually just kill me."
One second.
"Is that so? Well then, I'd hate to disappoint."
As the fight began, Glynda immediately snapped her riding crop and willed a few large stones out of the ground before flinging them telepathically at the first year. Those that were friends of the blonde worried about what he'd do here, before Pyrrha noticed something critical they'd all missed.
"Wait! Where's his weapon!?"
Everyone looked and noticed that the blonde was indeed without the ancestral sword he was known to have taken so much pride in. As the stones closed in on Jaune, more than a few onlookers averted their eyes to spare themselves the inevitable outcome of the attack.
But this was unnecessary, as the strange music that accompanied the blonde from his arrival returned full force as he dashed forward and punched through the stone chunks she sent towards him. Her eyes widened as smaller chunks of stone blasted towards her from Jaune defending against her attack, before she clicked her tongue and stopped all the stones with a wave of her semblance.
To her surprise however, when she looked towards where the now unruly blonde had been, it was as if he'd completely vanished. A sense honed from years of experience began to scream to her as she looked up to see her student bringing his hands down in a hammer fist. She managed to swerve her head out of the way, avoiding the attack, but the younger blonde moved with his momentum and landed on his hands before twisting and landing a kick on her abdomen sending her a distance away.
The other students sitting in the stands, specifically the Beacon students, were unable to pick up their jaws from the floor as they watched the student agreed to be the weakest of their year land the first blow in a match against their instructor. Glynda however, was focused on something different as she kept a hand over her stomach for a moment before standing to full height.
'I underestimated him, badly. That hit he landed on me hurt, even through my aura. I don't think it was his semblance though, so…his aura itself is just that rough. Even though he didn't leave any lasting damage, it felt like he hit me with a bat covered in razor blades. And what's with that music? Is it coming from him…'
The woman stared at Jaune as the air around him began to distort as he took a stance before her eyes, and the eyes of everyone around him widened. Glynda looked at the blonde with shock as she took in what she was witnessing.
'That's…pure aura. He's emitting so much aura that it's spilling out from him and into the space around him. Aura by itself isn't typically visible unless it flashes from damage, or because someone unlocks it. But this boy…his aura is blazing around him, visibly. I can feel it from here, it feels…endless.'
"Holy shit…Is that really Jaune?"
Yang's comment went unanswered, but the others of her team and team JNPR couldn't help but to agree with her.
Meanwhile, Glynda did something she hadn't in a while, something that had Ozpin fearing for Jaune's safety a tad. She took off her glasses and put them in her pocket before she licked her lips as she pulled her whip from her back and held it in her dominant hand.
"It seems I've underestimated you, young man."
Jaune raised an eyebrow as the woman continued to speak, cracking the whip once as she continued.
"Since you seem so eager to get physical with me, how about I make all of your dreams and desires come true."
The blonde smiled before he responded.
"Let's see if you can handle me and all my desire then."
With that, Jaune suddenly shot off towards Glynda, a burst of speed that took everyone by surprise except the Deputy Headmistress. With a wave of her riding crop, she recreated her earlier attack, this time sending many more large chunks of stone at the boy. Jaune laughed, thinking she was still underestimating him as he reared an arm back, preparing to destroy the stones as he had earlier, but found himself alarmed when he couldn't move his arm, and looked down to see Glynda's whip coiled around his wrist.
Thinking quickly, the blonde looked to the dangerously close chunk of rock and jumped before kicking out towards the stone and shattering it, the debris that was sent out from the destroyed chunk destroying another of the stones that were approaching him.
Unfortunately, as he was in the air, he noticed the whip coiled around his wrist began to glow purple, before he felt himself pulled into each of the remaining stone chunks that were in the air. The students in the stands grimaced as Pyrrha gripped her hands hoping that Jaune would find a way to pull through.
But Glynda wasn't done there, as she swung the hand holding the whip and dragged the blonde on the bad side of her whip into the wall of the arena, leaving a gouged trail in the rock before she released the unruly blonde and snapped her whip back to her hands. She let out a satisfied sigh as she breathed in deeply as she spoke to herself.
"That's much better. Now, let's see what his aura's at, I shouldn't be too rough with…him…"
She trailed off as she looked at the hard light screen frozen, causing everyone else to look up as well, and instantly they understood why. Being smacked into several chunks of stone flying towards him and being dragged through the arena wall should've-would've dropped anyone's aura significantly, at least, anyone aside from Jaune Arc apparently. As everyone looked up to the monitor, they saw that Jaune's aura was still firmly in the green, and hadn't moved the slightest bit.
But what shocked Glynda further was something that very few students noticed: the aura monitor wasn't showing a percentage next to Jaune's name.
As if on cue, the blonde pulled himself from the wall and walked towards her as he shook his head and hair of a few pebbles.
"Impressive huh?"
The Deputy Headmistress couldn't hide the excitement that crept onto her face as she saw Jaune strut back into the ring unharmed.
"You're a bit sturdier than the toys I'm used to."
The Witch of Beacon waited for a witty retort from the first year, before she donned a look of confusion. Across from her, the younger blonde who'd been cockily and steadily approaching suddenly stopped as a strange expression overtook him. His eyes drifted up with his arms spread wide as a loopy smile danced across his face, only one coherent thought on his mind at the moment.
'Ah…It's here. The surging aura…it's pulsing within me!'
The disciplinarian's eyes narrowed as she theorized what was wrong with him.
"He got high all of a sudden?"
Using a bit of her semblance, she propelled herself towards the blonde and with a spin brought the spike of her high heel boot to his temple, snapping his head to the side. She was quick to follow up and threw a swat towards his chin with her riding crop that turned his head to the other side, before coiling the whip around his neck and pulling his face down into her rising knee.
As her knee pulled away from his nose, a trail of blood fell through the air as the expression on his face never left.
'What's going on? Did he suddenly lose the will to fight?'
"How disappointing. And here you had me getting just a bit excit-"
All looked on in disbelief as Jaune righted himself in a blur before smashing his fist into the Deputy Headmistress's cheek, sending her crashing through a few large wooden crates. The Arc looked hyper focused now as he struck a pose before disappearing in a burst of speed to kick the woman in the stomach as she was still sailing backwards.
"Not bad, Mr. Arc."
The brazen teen simply smiled devilishly to her before they separated from each other and entered an exchange with Glynda using her whip to lash at her student rapidly while he either would evade or throw his punches where the whip would attempt to snap at him. More than a few times, the whip caught the blonde either in the face or chest leaving cuts on both his skin and clothes, not that the ones that caused him to bleed stayed long.
Eventually, Jaune managed to grab the whip and prevent the instructor from attacking him. There was a bit of a stalemate as Jaune prepared to turn it into a test of strength between himself and her, before a different idea came to him. Feeling inspired, the teen pulled tight, causing Glynda to match him, before he suddenly stopped pulling on the whip and kicked off towards her.
The woman's eyes widened as she just barely managed to evade the haymaker Jaune unleashed, which upon contact with the ground created a spider-web of cracks to spread. Where she landed, Glynda looked over at Jaune as she prepared to launch an attack with her semblance.
'Let's see how he handles this!'
With a snap of her riding crop, she sent a wave of her semblance at Jaune, wanting to see how he'd respond. Jaune figured out that something was about to happen when a strange force passed him followed by a sickening sound. He looked down to his arm and saw it completely bent the wrong way at the elbow, not that he was reacting to it aside from staring.
The students in the stands made various hissing noises as they saw his arm, and Nora whimpered into Ren's arm as the black haired teen grimaced at the sight of his leader's injury. Ruby felt a bit nauseous at the sight of his arm, causing Yang to rub her back. Pyrrha? She was gripping the railing, wanting nothing more than to leap over the metal and assist her partner. But she couldn't, because she knew that he had to do this on his own if he was going to continue being a student.
Meanwhile back in the ring, seeing what she could only imagine was pure shock consume the teen, she was just about to take a step towards him to apologize and attempt to calm him down, before a boot snapped her head to the side and a few yards away from him.
'He's still focused on fighting?!'
As she landed, her huntress instincts were on high alert after taking such a heavy hit for free, before she looked up to see a fist flying towards her. A fist attached to the same arm that she'd broken just moments ago. Just barely did she manage to raise her arms to block the attack, which created a small space between the two of them as the blaze of aura around the blonde began to slow and dim significantly at the same time the music began to die down.
Glynda noticed this too, but before she could look up to the aura monitor to see if anything changed, Jaune moved both of his hands into some kind of position as she felt him pooling his aura. In the stands, Ren's eyes widened as he recognized the symbols Jaune was making with hands to be mudras, but he couldn't recall which ones or what they were for. Glynda readied her whip and riding crop for whatever the blonde was preparing to throw at her before he said something that shook Ozpin to his core.
"Domain Expansion: Restless Gambler!"
Everyone present watched in shocked fascination as a black mass shot out from behind Jaune and enveloped both him and Ms. Goodwitch in a black sphere at the center of the ring. Ozpin stared at the orb, breathless for a few moments before an intense nostalgia took over as he spoke to himself.
"To think there are still people capable of projecting their souls like this…"
Meanwhile inside Jaune's domain, Glynda was in shock at whatever this was, before a rush of information deposited itself in her brain. After processing it all, she looked to her student who now had his hands in his pocket, completely taken aback by him.
'It wasn't that he had a ridiculous amount of aura, it was infinite because he hit a Jackpot!? And that unbelievable healing factor was a byproduct of having too much aura for his body to handle, causing it to regenerate from any injuries he sustains, making him…effectively fucking immortal for the four minutes and eleven seconds of his infinite aura bonus, and not just that, there are various rewards he can earn from a jackpot, but it's all random, even to him. The state of his domain directly follows the last time he expanded it, and last time, he matched an odd number. So the next thing on his route to a jackpot is…'
Jaune tossed away his coat before tearing off the remainder of his shirt, proceeding to point at his professor before speaking and causing the domain to respond accordingly.
"Enter, Probability Shift!"
'Right now is my best chance to do any damage to him that will keep him out of the fight. If he lands a jackpot, I'll have to wait for the window that opens when he either is about to lose his bonus, or when he's about to redeploy his domain. The most irritating part is that if he misses a jackpot, regardless of whatever stage his domain is in, we'll return to the regular stage and keep repeating the loop until he inevitably lands a jackpot…'
"Gambling responsibly or whatever…it's impossible."
Glynda gave her sadistic smirk as she responded to his off comment.
"Is that so? Let's see if you still think so when I'm done with you."
As confetti began to fall between the two of them in the domain, their battle within Jaune's domain kicked off. Glynda was glad to see that her attacks were finally having some effect on the younger blonde as one of whip strikes left a red mark on his cheek as he spat out some blood. Following up her previous attack with another whip strike, she used a bit of her semblance, causing the end of the whip to strike him with concussive force.
As the teen seemed to waver, cracks appeared in the air where he was before shattering, showing him perfectly fine with an excited look on his face, pointing at her with both hands and a 'times two' mark hovering above them both.
"Keep going!"
The woman's eyes widened in response as she combed through the information provided from the domain expansion, and figured out what happened.
'A Pseudo Roll?! Extremely high hype previews, but with how high the chance is for them to be a dud, he probably won't use them outside of probability shift.'
She didn't hesitate for long and this time got close, using the spike on the bottom of her whip in tandem with her riding crop to go toe to toe with her student in close quarters, throwing in some dangerous kicks for good measure. Jaune was handling himself fantastically, before a swipe of Glynda's leg caused him to fall down towards his back. Glynda wasn't one to let an opportunity such as that go to waste, and immediately jumped over and stamped down with her boot.
As the spike of the boot made contact with his chest, the same cracks appeared in the air before the scene shattered. Turning around, she saw her student flexing as he struck a pose, now a 'times three' hovering above them both.
"Keep! Going!"
The sound of the slots stopping drew Glynda's attention, and she looked up to see that the number one had matched twice; two portraits of beautiful black-haired twins greeted her before Jaune shouted out.
"Reach!"
Suddenly the space around them changed as she was suddenly standing at a blackjack table in a casino, surrounded by a crowd of shadowed silhouettes.
"Like it?"
Glynda swung her head around to see her student leaning his head on his hand, that same smug look on his face. She prepared to attack, before some information came to the front of her mind.
'There's no point in attacking him during reach scenarios, or rather, I can't harm him, despite him being able to do so to me. This is the 'All-In Last Hand at the Blackjack Table' Reach scenario. We'll both play a single round of Blackjack, with me going first. Whatever my cards add up to is the score for him to beat, and if I get a Blackjack in the opening hand, unless he has one as well, then the reach will end with him having a guaranteed miss at his Jackpot. But if he beats my score, or opens with a Blackjack when I don't, this reach will result in a Jackpot.'
As the older woman was still on her guard, Jaune smirked, seeing the shadow dealer beginning to go through the slow and anticipation building process of shuffling the deck. Jaune reached into one of the pouches on his belt before revealing a hand full of metal playing cards, before channeling his aura into them and sending a flurry in his instructor's direction.
Glynda used her semblance to pull an idle table from the reach scenario into the path of the bladed cards, before beginning to dodge and backstep as the illusory crowd around them cheered. Only a few cards managed to nick her aura before finally, the dealer dealt either of them two cards.
Wanting to make it to her hand but currently unable to, more information came to the woman's head as she was made aware of what the cards were, before she called out to the space.
"Hit Me!"
As another card was passed over to her starting hand, she saw the result in her mind before she shouted out another command.
"Stay!"
At this, her hand at the table was revealed to show that her three cards added up to twenty. Jaune, seeing that, whistled before abruptly ceasing his offensive and making his way over to the table. The blonde kept his eyes on the Deputy Headmistress after peeking at his cards, before smiling widely.
"Hit me!"
Glynda watched as a card slid over to him, showing itself to be a seven of clubs.
"Hit me!"
This time, an ace of hearts. As she looked up, wondering what his hand could possibly be, she saw the confident smirk on his face as he spoke one more time.
"Hit me."
An ace of spades. He waved his hand, signaling he was staying, before his cards were revealed to be a jack of hearts and a two of diamonds, adding his hand up to a total of twenty-one. The silhouette crowd erupted into cheer before the reach scenario faded away as Jaune put his hands back into his pockets, the slot in the air above them showing that a Jackpot hit off a trio of fours, or as the slot portrayed it, a trio of portraits showing Pyrrha in her armor and blushing.
The space around them began to crack, both on the outside and inside, before the domain fell away to show them back in the ring with the students and headmaster looking at them both none the worse for wear on bated breath, though Ozpin was considerably more confused due to his knowledge of Domains and how they usually meant the end of a fight.
Jaune took a deep breath in as he opened his eyes slowly.
"Music…"
Glynda gave an exasperated look to her student before beginning to tie her hair up into a bun, proceeding to send a nod over to her student as she prepared what came next.
"START!"
Aura exploded outwards from Jaune as he began to dance suddenly, the music from before having returned and at full blast. But as Jaune was on cloud nine from the aura bonus, Glynda was busy thinking.
'This jackpot matched even numbers…so even if he redeploys his domain the instant the four minutes and eleven seconds are up, the probability shift will have ended, meaning that his next jackpot won't be immediate like this one. Meaning, if I delay him until his aura bonus ends, I win.'
A psionic wave came forth from Glynda as many of the crates and smaller obstacles in the ring began to float as she leaned forward, her eyes starting to glow as the tendrils of her cape began to snake in multiple directions.
'At least, that's the correct line of thinking for someone weaker than him.'
"Turn up the music why don't you, Mr. Arc. We wouldn't want to frighten the children with your screams now, would we?"
Jaune gave her a look of anticipation before the two began to run parallel in the ring. Glynda kicked up her speed before ducking behind a shipping container, but as she did, Jaune had already launched himself towards the large steel box with an arm pulled back. With a mighty swing and a sound between him roaring and rapping in tune, Jaune punched the shipping container with enough force to give it a heavy dent, sending it hurting towards his opponent.
Glynda skidded to a stop before coating her riding crop with her semblance and swatting it at the approaching mass of steel, denting it on her side as well and sending it back towards her student. Jaune smirked at the challenge before rushing towards the container that was flying back at him as Glynda did the same, additionally coating her whip in her semblance to ease the load of competing with Jaune's rapid aura enhanced punches.
The students watched in awed silence as the two began to crumple the shipping container from either of their sides. Ozpin could barely contain his growing feelings of approval and excitement as the fight pressed on. The students glanced up to the aura monitor to see that Jaune was still in the green somehow, while Ms. Goodwitch was hovering around the mid-sixties, and dropping slowly with each use of her semblance.
Jaune grinned wide as he winded up for a big strike, before unleashing it on the container, completely blasting the center section apart, before he realized that the combat instructor was no longer there. His instincts told him to look up, unfortunately a bit late, as she was finishing a swing of her riding crop in a wide arc causing him to look to the side.
As he did, one of the doors from the shipping container crashed directly into his face. As it fell away, the students were a mixture of disgusted and horrified to see the state Jaune was in. Jaw dislocated, a few teeth missing from that side of his mouth, nose broken, a bit of skin missing, and one of his eyes looked a bit sunk into his socket.
Pyrrha looked like she was going to throw up as she gagged through her tears. Ruby began to dry heave as her team surrounded her, while the rest of the students in the stands were simply shocked that a teacher would use this level of force on a student. But then, before their eyes, they watched as Jaune's face began to repair itself as all the damage their teacher had inflicted basically disappeared.
As this was happening, Glynda wasn't standing idly by. She discovered a weakness, regardless of how difficult it'd be to exploit for most. Jaune was likely not used to multitasking his aura, and while he'd come a long way, he wasn't experienced at using that literal bottomless well of aura at his disposal to shield himself from damage, instead putting his heart and soul entirely into attacking.
'That is one thing I'll have to make him aware of once he's in the infirmary however. It's reasonable to believe that a single attack, if it's strong enough, could be deadly for him despite his infinite pool of aura during the bonus.'
She started to use her semblance, this time directly on the blonde himself, preparing to apply an application of it she'd created to deal with human enemies to immediately incapacitate them. To her surprise, as Jaune snorted blood from his nose, the blaze of aura that surrounded him became even more turbulent, and completely nullified the Deputy Headmistress's semblance.
"That's it! Keep it coming Glynda!"
Glynda was suddenly in close range with him and kicked him in the solar plexus with her spiked boot heel.
"That's Ms. Goodwitch to you, young man."
'The aura bonus is going to end in eighteen seconds.'
The Disciplinarian's thought was accentuated by Jaune beginning to attack her even more fervently. Their exchange continued at this high pace as Glynda was preparing for her window to appear. After stabbing the blonde in the shoulder with the spike on her whip, she saw an opportunity.
She let go of her whip, causing the blonde's eyes to follow it for the briefest of moments, believing she'd use her semblance to manipulate it into attacking him from his blind spot, before he turned his head back to her.
Glynda had removed her cape, and used both her semblance and aura to straighten and stiffen the cape into being like a blade, before swinging it at her student as he turned back to face her, and cut right into both of his eyes.
Truly blinded for a moment, Jaune lashed out with a kick, managing to catch the older blonde and creating some distance between them. But just as his aura was beginning to heal his eyes, a sharp pain erupted from his abdomen, and the arena silenced as Jaune looked down to see Ms. Goodwitch's whip covered purple from her semblance piercing his body and snaking around. He spit up a bit of blood as the pain from having some of his internal organs moved around or squeezed finally hit him.
At the same moment, the music ended, and so did his immortality.
"Seems our dance is over, Mr. Arc."
Knowing that the pain he was feeling would either cause him to pass out or surrender, she glanced up to the aura monitor to see Jaune's aura finally displaying a percentage, one that was rapidly dropping as the bar went from the green down to the red in seconds. She was expecting to see him ready to surrender or trying to use his aura to keep himself together.
"Domain Expansion: Restless Gambler!"
"What?! He can still-Is fighting the only thing he cares about!?"
As the black mass appeared from behind Jaune, this time, he didn't have the presence of mind to control its size, and this time, he brought everyone present in the arena into his domain.
As the students, as well as Ozpin, looked around to the empty space of Jaune's domain before the rush of information that accompanies the expansion of his domain flooded their brains. After they acclimated to it, Ozpin looked at his student with a smile as he gripped his cane hard enough that splinters could have appeared on the handle.
"He might just be what we need to turn the tables…"
As everyone now understood the rules of Jaune's domain, everyone save for Glynda looked up to the spinning slot reels with their breath in their throats, wanting to see what the outcome would be of Jaune's last ditch effort. The Deputy Headmistress kept her eyes on Jaune as he began to sway.
"How pointless. What starts next is 'Time Reduction', not 'Probability Change'. Even if the spins are faster, the odds of hitting a jackpot are still one out of two hundred thirty-nine. But you should be proud of how you've performed, Jaune. You've pushed me more than any other student would've been able to."
As she looked up, her and everyone else's eyes widened as the slots stopped to reveal a jackpot off the number five in the form of a trio of portraits showing Ruby Rose with a huge smile waving.
'A sudden jackpot hidden in Time Reduction?!'
"Jaune Arc, you might just be the luckiest man alive."
As those words left her, they were followed by a chuckle full of mirth and disbelief as her student suddenly leaned back and roared, as the music returned and his aura autonomously repaired all the damage he'd suffered.
Just like that, the blonde spat out a glob of blood as the student cheered in the background of the domain, even Ozpin clapping for Jaune as he regained the advantage. As the domain shattered, Glynda prepared for the battle to resume, but once the students and Ozpin were back where they were originally, Jaune surprised her again.
"Domain Expansion: Restless Gambler!"
The domain expanded once more, and as the reels began to spin, Glynda realized why he redeployed his domain.
"You're trying to get an additional bonus now that your aura pool is refilled and infinite for the moment."
"If you aren't willing to go all-in, you don't deserve to sit at the table."
Jaune jumped forward and threw a few punches at her, one of them lingering behind her for a moment before the combat instructor kicked him away. As Jaune landed skidding back, he turned and began to spin like he was about to throw a discus. Suddenly, in his hand a golden roulette wheel appeared as he slung it towards her. She ducked under it before Jaune pointed up towards the sky and shouted.
"Reach!"
The space around them changed as they were back at the 'All-in Last Hand at the Blackjack Table' Reach scenario. They both stood at the table as they waited for the shadowy dealer to toss them their cards. As they both received their hands, the lights around them dimmed before a pair of spotlights hung over her and Jaune. Glynda peeked at her cards before turning them over.
"Blackjack."
All eyes were on Jaune as he turned his hand over to reveal…two aces. Seeing that Jaune had failed to prolong the reach, Glynda quickly vaulted over the table and kicked him in the chest with her heel.
"That's too bad, Mr. Arc. Had your skills matched your luck, perhaps you may have won."
As Jaune held his chest, suddenly he smiled as he was looking to the side. Glynda looked confused before turning where his eyes were to see the last thing she could've expected. Standing there were the forms of his teammates and friends from Team RWBY, along with Ozpin, the same black-haired twins that were portraits for one of jackpots, and most surprisingly, herself.
"Don't give up Fearless Leader!"
"You can do it Jaune!"
"Don't stop now, Vomit Boy!"
"You heard her Arc, you can keep going!"
All eleven of the flickering forms were shouting similar encouragement as Glynda realized what was happening.
'The 'Precious people who gave me the strength to change' Chance-Up…this one gives him another attempt during a Reach scenario with increased odds!'
As all the chips on Glynda's side of the table were pushed forward, the aura surrounding Jaune coalesced into a rainbow colored poker chip as he pushed it forward, the shadow dealer seemingly nodding that he met Glynda's bet.
As the two received their hands and peeked at them, Glynda didn't even bother drawing as she had a feeling she knew what was coming. With a smile, Jaune looked over before flipping both of his cards and revealing the queen and ace of spades.
"Blackjack."
The eleven forms that appeared from the chance-up all started to cheer, the most surprising one was the flicking form of herself.
"Congratulations Mr. Arc."
Something as small as that apparently meant the world to Jaune, and as the slots began to stop above them as they returned to the normal stage, she looked up to see he'd landed a Jackpot off matching three of the number two, which showed pictures of herself giving a ghost of the smile as she pushed up her glasses.
In Jaune's hand, a card appeared, and he looked at it before holding it in his hands similarly to a knife. Looking over the card, he looked at Glynda before he shot towards her in a burst of speed. She prepared to counter, before a small explosion went off behind her. She looked down to see what had caused it, and saw a pair of red dice charred and smoking.
'When did he-Wait! Don't tell…that punch he threw earlier!?'
As she turned back to face Jaune slash at her with the card. For a moment everything was fine, before she felt her aura completely shatter under that single strike as she fell to her knees. The card in Jaune's hand dissipated before the domain began to crack apart again.
As the domain finally collapsed, everyone saw a sight they never thought they'd come across: Ms. Goodwitch, the infamously strict and powerful combat instructor of Beacon, with her aura broken and at the mercy of the once thought to be weakest first-year.
Jaune walked up to her before looking at her silently, waiting for something. The woman stared deep into his eyes from where she knelt, before taking a deep breath.
"I surrender."
With that, the crowd of students jumped to their feet as they all began to give their applause for the amazing fight they'd gotten a chance to witness. Tuning them out, Jaune helped Ms. Goodwitch to her feet before he spoke.
"That was the greatest fight I could've ever hoped for, Ms. Goodwitch. Thank you for taking me seriously."
The woman looked at him before pulling her hair out of its bun tiredly and giving Jaune one of her small smiles.
"Glynda. After that, I think you deserve to call me by my first name-well, when we're out of school hours that is."
"And you didn't forget about our wager did you?"
The woman blushed before coughing into a hand to regain her composure, before she spoke, looking away from him as she did.
"I am a woman of my word, Mr. Arc."
"Jaune."
The woman looked at him confused before he explained.
"Mr. Arc is my father's father. Just call me Jaune."
"Jaune it is then."
The lucky blonde gave a small chuckle before a smile, a real one without any smugness or heat behind it, showed on his face.
"You know Ms. Goodw-no, Glynda, I never knew how much I liked hearing you say my name till now."
"Ah, to be in love."
Jaune and Glynda turned to the side to see Ozpin standing there with his all knowing smile before the two of them looked as if they were about to deny anything, but before they could, the spectacled man began to speak.
"Jaune, needless to say, you passed your assessment with flying colors. Why don't you go and take a shower and get something to eat. I imagine after that performance you gave us, you're probably in the mood for some food and rest. Take your team with you if you'd like."
The young man looked as if he wanted to argue, before his eyelids suddenly dropped a bit as the aura bonus expired at that moment. Jaune didn't even bother responding as he began to rub his eyes as if to keep himself awake before making his way to the arena's exit as his team leapt over the bars of the spectating area to walk with him.
As the two professors watched Jaune walk away, Ozpin leaned over to his longtime associate.
"You know, there aren't any rules against relationships between teachers and-"
"Finish that sentence and they'll never find the body."
Ozpin widely chose to remain silent in the face of that very real threat, before looking up at the sky as he began to ponder.
'I thought the ability to project one's soul was dead aside from myself and Salem. Could this be a prelude to something bigger? If others begin to exhibit this ability, the scales are going to shift drastically, and lines are going to be drawn. I'll need to prepare, and determine whether or not Jaune would be a good fit for my circle.'
"I have a feeling that things are going to be very busy soon."
If only they knew.
(A/N)
I was working on the next chapter for 'It Never Came Up' and 'A Second Chance', when this popped into my head and basically gave me brain rot. This would not leave me alone until I got it out, and now, I feel way better about leaving this little idea for a story here for someone else to expand on if they wanna. Beside that, not much for this one, but surprised how quick I can type up over 10k words when I'm motivated. Anyway, hope everyone finds some enjoyment outta this one, leave some reviews so I can get your thoughts about this chapter, and I'll see y'all again soon!
BJH.