As a teacher invested in teaching students to survive their harsh world, Glynda Goodwitch is naturally aware of what easily motivates teenagers to do better. One of those is impressing their crush.
So when Glynda Goodwitch assigned Weiss Schnee to fight Jaune Arc, she thought it would be a good idea to have him do his best to impress the girl.
It has been widely known that the Arc had a romantic interest in the Schnee. And Glynda is just completely willing to use that interest to motivate the young Arc not just to do his best but to also overcome his trauma from last night.
She knows that the young man would obviously have trouble in attacking after cutting a man's hand off, but hopefully the realization that the only way to win this match is to attack would help him overcome his trauma.
Sure she could have pitted him with Cardin Winchester or Dove Bronzewing, people he has already beaten, but Glynda was afraid that the trauma would cause him to hesitate and therefore lose.
That loss would then completely destroy any confidence in his fighting skills he had gathered last week.
And so, it fell to Weiss Schnee as the one to help the young man overcome his trauma. It has the added benefit that even if he lost, the young man wouldn't lose his confidence as much knowing that Ms. Schnee is on a whole different level than Mr. Winchester or Mr. Bronzewing.
And who knows, maybe the young Arc might actually surprise them and pull out a win no matter the odds. Now wouldn't that be a surprising sight, but if there is something Glynda has learned about the young Arc it is that he is currently full of surprises.
So when Glynda called Mr. Arc and Ms. Schnee to the stage, she thought this would be the perfect matchup to finally inspire Jaune Arc to new heights while keeping Weiss Schnee on her toes against those she would think weaker than herself.
She thought wrong.
She forgot to take into account Ms. Schnee's….ill-feelings for the Arc shall we say. She also forgot that these are teenagers. Teenagers with access to Aura and explosive Dust.
"BEGIN!"
One second after uttering those words, Ms. Schnee was already flying forwards in a savage lunge.
Three minutes after that, Glynda Goodwitch was already regretting the fact she thought of this plan in the first place.
"BEGIN!"
The moment those words were uttered, Weiss Schnee was already lunging forward with a stab aimed for the villain's centermass with one thought in mind.
You can't hide from me! I'll expose the real you to everyone!
She knew the fiend was hiding his true abilities, why else would he suddenly start to get better and manage to defeat Cardin and Dove when he was leagues weaker than them? Probably to impress his audience, his targets, and make it easier to seduce them.
Was it paranoid of her to think so? Delusional? Or even perhaps insane? Some would say so.
But it is that mindset that prevents her from being surprised when Jaune Arc dodges her lunge, sidesteps her follow-up slash, and bashes her with his shield.
She expected this of course. She even let it happen. She could have avoided it but she needed him to be aggressive for the next part of her plan. Her plan to show everyone just what kind of person he is.
Remembering his fights from last week made it obvious that Jaune Arc favored unbalancing his opponents with a shield before following up with a slash or stab as a counterattack.
Which is why she already had her sword moving to slip through to his inevitable counterattack and hit him first.
Clang!
Her eyes widen when Myrtenaster is blocked by his shield instead of hitting its mark. Locking eyes with her enemy, Weiss has a moment to realize her mistake.
Moving her sword to slip through a counterattack that never came left her overextended! The fiend was waiting for this all along! Of course he would adjust his tactics against opponents better than Cardin Winchester or Dove Bronzewing!
Crap!
She grits her teeth and begins to jump backwards to at least minimize the damage from a slash or a stab….
A slash or stab that never came as she successfully creates space between the two of them. That sequence of events actually manages to confuse her.
While the potential counterattack wouldn't put her out of the fight, it would've still at least scraped off some of her Aura. Any warrior would have taken the chance to get one over their enemy, but he didn't.
What?
Taking notice of her opponent, Weiss Schnee sees Jaune Arc huddle behind his shield and clench his sword tight. She took note of his stance but that wasn't what got her attention. It was his eyes.
For some reason it is his eyes that bother her the most. Those dull blue eyes narrowed at her in what could perhaps be called worry.
Feeling annoyance bubble in her heart, Weiss lunges once more with a thrust but this time aided by her family Semblance to put pressure on him.
White sigils burst into existence as she is propelled forwards. This time though, instead of dodging, Jaune had to raise his shield if he didn't want to get skewered by her rapier.
Feeling Myrtenaster contact with his shield gives Weiss an insight about her enemy. This is the first time she has ever fought Jaune head on and what she discovers surprises her.
His earlier bouts against their peers showed her an unskilled swordsman. Someone a bit clumsy and a lot slower than her. She once thought him to be weak with how much Cardin was manhandling him inside the arena, but now she knows better.
Jaune Arc isn't weak. He is strong. Pushing against his shield, all Weiss manages to elicit from him is a grunt. Other than that he isn't budging. She didn't expect to throw him down to the floor but a Semblance accelerated thrust from her should have at least pushed it back.
Unwilling to let it end there, she flicks her wrist lazily three times just to bait him. If she can't pierce through his defense, then she'd have to slip through it either by speed or exploiting his mistakes. Hence, the feints, yet each slice she delivers is dodged in quick succession.
Dodged, not blocked, not parried, only avoided. Not once did he try to strike back even though his sword was already poised in his arm.
What is he doing?
Confused at the blonde's lack of aggression, Weiss ups the ante a bit just in case Jaune has noticed her baiting him.
Yet, three times did Weiss Schnee move to cut him, and three times did Jaune Arc avoid her. And each time that happened, Weiss started going faster and faster.
What began as a lazy drill of her swordsmanship for her slowly evolved into a fast-paced dance between the two of them. A fast-paced dance she would have enjoyed in other circumstances if she wasn't being humiliated right now!
It galls Weiss to admit this, but Jaune Arc's footwork has become sure and fluid in a short amount of time compared to the first time she saw him fight. It might not be as elegant or graceful as hers but he moves with sharp and quick steps just to avoid her.
The problem is that's all he did. No matter what she did to bait him into attacking, all he did was just huddle behind his shield and adjust his foot to avoid her next move.
She even exposed herself to him! Leaving herself vulnerable just to get him to attack! She even overextended herself intentionally, left a foot out of position deliberately, and even completely dropped her guard once or twice just to see what he would do.
Yet nothing! He did nothing! All that effort, wasted! It seemed like he was content to commit to dodging and defending. However, that wasn't even the worst! The worst were his eyes.
This close together, locked in close quarters combat shows Weiss Schnee just what hell is up with him. He's looking at her with eyes filled with a bit of fear but mostly worry. And it's not the worried for myself kind. It's the I'm worried for my enemy type.
She could see it in how his brows furrow and his sword hesitate. He hasn't even thrown any attack at her no matter what she did to bait him. As if he was afraid of hurting her.
That, most of all, is what grates on her the most. Fury fills her veins at her foe's audacity. Her blood runs hot as she gets faster and faster. Each thrust, each slash was meant to harm. No longer trying to lure him to make a mistake, Weiss Schnee pushes forward to humble this man.
Eventually, Jaune had to use his shield to block most of her strikes. Yet for every step forward Weiss Schnee took, Jaune Arc stepped back or to the side until eventually they circled the arena in a shower of sparks and steel.
Tired of this farce, she disengages in a quick but graceful twirl, letting her dress flow outwards with her movements.
"What in the world do you think you are doing!?" She yells at him across the arena as she raises her sword in a fencer's salute.
"Wh-what?" Jaune replies confusedly with his shield still raised towards her.
"You know what you're doing!"
"I-I really don't know what you-"
"Shut up! I see the way you look at me! Pity? Worry? Well, you should worry about yourself!" She scoffs indignantly at him, and just as she finishes she launches her attack that she's been preparing this whole time they were talking.
Fire Dust activates from Myrtenaster's Dust revolver, launching four streaks of fire at Jaune.
Shit.
Lie Ren was the first to realize what was happening.
His gasp of realization clues his friends in, prompting them to look away from the spectacle happening in front of them.
"What is it, Ren?" Nora asks quizzically, just as Jaune manages to avoid Weiss' thrusts, accelerating their dangerous dance even further.
"Do you know why Jaune isn't attacking?" Pyrrha asks worriedly. She's just as amazed as everyone from their group that Jaune could apparently move this well but they've all felt something was wrong.
"Maybe he's too busy dodging and defending against Weiss?" Ruby pipes up hopefully, but even she knows that reason is weak especially when Weiss herself obviously dropped her guard completely just to get Jaune to attack.
"While I won't deny that his focus is making him keep his footwork this good, that's not the main reason Jaune won't think of attacking Weiss."
"Well, why else won't he try to attack Weiss?" Yang frowns.
"Last night…" Blake gasps.
The gasp from Blake tells him that he isn't the only one piecing things together. He remembers Blake witnessed Jaune almost get killed. It stands to reason that something back then happened that's been bothering her and is only starting to put together the pieces.
He doesn't know why Weiss is doing what she is doing, but he knows what is happening with Jaune. He's seen it before. Perhaps it was the relief of everyone being okay and everyone's shock at Jaune, Blake, and Pyrrha's new relationship but they've all forgotten that last night was harrowing.
They were all comfortable enough to sweep everything under the rug that they forgot that Jaune cut off a man's hand. It's not easy wanting to deliberately hurt someone when you've lived a comfortable life.
And from what he knows, Jaune did live a relatively comfortable life. A large, loving family even if they might've been overprotective and slightly neglectful of Jaune, it was very much a comfortable life to live in.
To suddenly go from that kind of life to one where in reality it is kill or be killed must come as a shock to Jaune. Lie Ren isn't a stranger to death. Living and traveling as orphans made them prime targets for slavers and bandits preying on the weak on top of the Grimm.
During that time, he's had his fair share of dealing death. Not something he really enjoys remembering. He won't say he killed many, but he will say he did what he had to do to protect him and Nora.
Still, even in that kind of environment it was hard for him to stomach what he had to do. He feels extraordinarily lucky that he and Nora are as adjusted as they are. He could only wonder how bad Jaune took it to suddenly have it shoved in his face that he could have killed a person.
Looking back at his friends right now, he could see them staring worriedly at him as they took in his grave and somber expression.
Yang and Ruby weren't there so they would have no idea what happened. But Blake, Pyrrha, and Nora were with them. Busy as they might've been with their own fights, surely they must remember something happened.
But their worried and confused expressions relay the truth. Only Blake's pleading face tells him that she's the only one who has a clue but doesn't exactly know what happened. They don't know.
Ren sighs, he doesn't blame them. Out of everyone there, he and Sun were the only two who managed to reach Jaune's side at the time. He was the only one to really see Jaune covered with blood not of his own.
He fixes his eyes on Ruby first. He wonders for a second if it would be appropriate to share it to her when she's even two years younger than all of them. But her being here in Beacon already proves that she's not an average 15 year-old.
Sighing to himself, he fixes them all with a severe look.
"Jaune cut someone's hand off last night."
The sentence is so unexpected to them that it takes a moment before it sinks in. He sees Pyrrha gasp in concern, Blake's eyes widen in guilt, and Nora frowns worriedly. Ruby and Yang's reactions are much more prominent.
Ruby visibly winces. To be honest, Ren was expecting a much more violent reaction than just a wince from Ruby, it seems she's not as innocent as they think she is. Still, both sisters go pale white at the revelation.
"When you say cut, you mean just injure right? Like there's just blood but the hand is still there, right?" Yang jokes in denial but even she can see the seriousness in his statement.
"Nope. Cut his hand completely off of his arm." Ren reiterates with a straight face.
"Damn…I guess VB knows how to disarm someone, huh?" Yang replies morbidly, rubbing her own arm as if it was the one cut off.
""YANG!"" Both Ruby and Blake admonish their teammate while the rest of JNPR just looks at her flatly.
"I'm sorry! I couldn't help it!"
Before they could talk further, they hear a yell from the arena.
"What in the world do you think you are doing?!"
He should really thank Weiss for taking it easy on him at the beginning of the match. If she started the fight as seriously as she is taking it now, it would've probably ended in seconds. As it is, the time she gave him is enough for him to slowly get used to her movements.
As strange as it sounds, he has the distinct feeling that he's only managing to keep up with Weiss because there's a dance-like rhythm and grace to her motions. Jaune is just grateful that she's not adding jumps and flips because he doesn't think he'd be able to keep up if she did that.
Huh, maybe the talk with her went better than I thought if she's willing to take it this easy on me.
Busy by his introspection, he is caught flat-footed when Weiss disengages from their dance. He almost trips but he manages to regain his balance and keep his shield up just like Pyrrha taught him to.
"What in the world do you think you are doing!?"
All his good thoughts about the fight are suddenly blown away by her outburst.
"Wh-what?" Jaune is surprised by Weiss' sudden words that it actually snaps him out of his reverie.
"You know what you're doing!"
He absolutely knows what he is doing. He just didn't want to admit it.
How could he not want to if every time he thinks of swinging his sword, all he sees is cutting Weiss' hand off and the taste of blood on his mouth. He knows it's unreasonable. He's not a pacifist, and he already decided he's willing to hurt others if it comes to protecting his friends.
"I-I really don't know what you-" He denies, not wanting to admit his inner turmoil.
"Shut up! I see the way you look at me! You're worried about my safety? Well, you should worry about yourself!"
Jaune's eyes widen at her reply, yet before he could react further, Weiss throws fiery streaks at him. Ducking and rolling to avoid the flames, Jaune rushes forward to stop Weiss from throwing other attacks from range.
In response, Weiss charges forward to meet him in the middle. And thus, their dance begins again.
"Do you think this is a game?! That you could choose not to take this seriously?!" She yells, thrusting Myrtenaster at his face.
"I-I am taking this seriously!" Jaune replies as he staggers backwards to avoid getting his eye pierced.
"Then strike me, Jaune Arc!" Weiss drops her guard, spreading her arms completely, willing him to strike her body.
Jaune actually flinches at that, looking away from her gaze. Silence fills the whole classroom with neither of them moving. Weiss only glares at him as he clenches his sword tightly but doesn't swing it.
He could already imagine the gossip starting among his classmates and Cardin's insufferable smirk. Yet, all of those takes a backseat to the blood pounding in his veins. His face burns at the humiliation. Look at him, a big, bad hunter-in-training, afraid to swing his sword and strike his enemy.
"Whatever are you here for, Jaune Arc? Why are you even in Beacon?" Weiss scoffs softly at him.
He clenches his sword and shield tightly, his knuckles creaking at the questions as his thoughts race to find answers.
"I-I wan-." He starts softly, but is interrupted by Weiss.
"Speak up!"
Pathetic, how pathetic could he be that he needs Weiss to shout at him just to raise his voice.
"I-I want to be a huntsman!" He shouts, louder than when he started it.
"I don't believe you!" She replies to his surprise as she leaps forward again.
"Wha-what?" He responds in surprise as he raises his shield to block lazy strikes from her.
"Do you think a huntsman would wait for his enemies and the Grimm to stop attacking like what you're doing now?!"
His step falters as Weiss starts quickly speeding up her attacks.
"Do you think a huntsman would let his enemies beat him like what you're doing now ?!"
He grits his teeth as she starts to employ kicks that rattles his shield.
"Do you think a huntsman would let his enemies get past him and hurt the innocent?!"
"No! He would not!" She concludes with a twirl and glyph lighting up.
"A huntsman is strong!" She cries out with a grin.
This move is familiar to him now. He ducks under a thrust. His heart beats faster.
"A huntsman is brave!" Weiss exclaims with passion alight in her eyes.
He barely blocks a quick low sweep with his shield. His blood pumps harder.
"He does not cower in the face of his enemies to protect those behind him!"
A spinning heel kick almost launches his shield away from him but he manages to twirl with the momentum. His knuckles clench in anticipation.
"He must embody everything honorable and good!" Weiss finishes confidently, as she follows up with an overhead swing.
CLANG!
For the first time in the fight, Crocea Mors engages Myrtenaster just as two pairs of blue eyes lock together in a contest of their own.
Sparks flash as Jaune deflects Myrtenaster downward, sliding it off of his blade and into the ground.
"Do you think you're a huntsman, Jaune Arc?" Weiss asks with a smirk just as she swipes her Myrtenaster upwards to lock with his Crocea Mors.
For a second there, Jaune's heart skips a beat. A smile creeps involuntarily on his lips as he gives his answer.
—-
"No, I'm not." He declares with a smile.
Finally, you admit it. Weiss chuckles victoriously to herself.
When she realized that Jaune Arc wouldn't be goaded into showing his aggression by actions, she resolved to do it by words. Attack his persona and supposed reasons to be here, then he is liable to defend himself.
What better way than to compare him to an ideal that a villain like him will never live up to? A white-haired, tall, muscular man comes to her mind. Nicholas Schnee, her own grandfather. Courageous, ambitious, strong, determined, and hard-working enough to build an empire. The Schnee Dust Company.
Jaune Arc's reaction does not disappoint as he locks swords with her for the first time. While the admission of not being huntsman material is a pleasant surprise to her, his additional response is entirely not pleasant at all.
"I'm not a huntsman yet but I will be!" He finishes as he shoves Weiss with his strength.
In response, Weiss flips backwards, bleeding off her momentum and landing gracefully on her feet. Frowning at his continued denial, she faces him with a fencer's salute, spinning Myrtenaster's revolver to the correct slot.
Hmph! Keep dreaming! I know who you are, Jaune Arc. I will expose you for the fiend you are! She scoffs to herself.
"Hmp! I see you, Jaune Arc! I see you for who you are! Show me! Show everyone just what kind of person you are!" Weiss Schnee huffs at him as she sees him take a stance of his own.
A stance not familiar to her. In a move uncharacteristic of himself, Jaune Arc adjusts his shield, bracing it with his forearm and uses his newly-freed hand to hold his sword. He now holds both sword and shield on his left arm, leaving his right hand free.
Weiss sees him fish something out of his new holster, whatever it is, it is probably something she should be wary of.
Not willing to let him do anything else, she activates her family Semblance and charges forward with Myrtenaster glowing white only for him to also charge and meet her in the middle.
Thank you, Weiss. Thank you for reminding me why I'm here. You really are amazing, you know?
Jaune thinks to himself. While he might not be strong or brave right now. But he will be. Trust him, he will be. He could see her confusion despite the distance between them. Still, he does not let it stop him when he sees her activate her own Dust along Myrtenaster.
Breaking the vial of Fire Dust in his right hand, he remembers Ren's lessons from earlier this morning.
"So you want to learn how to attack with Aura?"
"Yeah! Don't you use it against Grimm? Plus, I think my Semblance would be useful in making Aura attacks stronger."
"Hmmm. You're definitely right about that. Okay, I'll teach you one of my techniques."
"Thanks, Ren!"
"Alright, so this is relatively hard to master but you could probably brute force it with your huge Aura reserves and Semblance."
"What's it called?"
"Aura Strike."
Aura Strike. A versatile application of Aura that can be applied to any part of one's body and sometimes even weapons.
The world slows down as Jaune charges forward, each step feeling like a large bell tolling.
"Gather your Aura at the desired body part but don't release it yet." DONG!
His hand glows white with embers escaping out of his fist from his poor Aura control coming into contact with the Dust.
"Hold it. Condense it. Be careful not to let your Aura go out of control, focus on the body part." DONG!
Staying low, he focuses on his fist as fire now spreads along his arm as he and Weiss come closer to each other.
"Good, now Fire!" DONG!
He throws his sword forward with his left arm.
Clang!
"Wait, what happens if I add my Semblance to it?"
Keeping his right hand cocked at his hip as Weiss instinctively deflects Crocea Mors with a glowing Myrtenaster, ice starts to form from where his sword makes contact with hers in slow motion.
"Let's find out."
When Jaune swings his hand into an uppercut straight into Weiss' chest, he yells with everything he has. His soul reacting to his wishes, as he screams.
"FIREBOLT!"
At that moment, Weiss Schnee had a moment of realization.
The thing he fished out from his holster? A vial of Fire Dust.
His hand starting glow white? His Aura coating his hand, the glow is from his poor Aura control as evidenced by the embers starting to fly out in contact with Fire Dust in his hand.
The sword flying towards her head? A distraction which she completely fell for, making her sweep Myrtenaster out of position.
His right arm now completely on fire and glowing like the sun? Fire Dust added with Aura then multiplied by his Semblance.
When Jaune Arc swings his arm into an uppercut connecting with her chest, it was at this moment she knew she fucked up.
"FIREBOLT!" is the last thing she hears as the world drowns in colors of white and red.
Omake 1:
He throws his sword forward with his left arm.
Clang!
"Wait, what happens if I add my Semblance to it?"
Keeping his right hand cocked at his hip as Weiss instinctively deflects Crocea Mors with a glowing Myrtenaster, ice starts to form from where his sword makes contact with hers in slow motion.
"Let's find out."
When Jaune swings his hand into an uppercut straight into Weiss' chest, he yells with everything he has. His soul reacting to his wishes, as he screams.
"Shoryuken!"
The world drowns in colors of white and red.
Omake 2:
He doesn't have any Dust left but what he has is his fist, his Aura, and his heart. It would have to be enough.
He throws his sword forward with his left arm.
Clang!
"Wait, what happens if I add my Semblance to it?"
Keeping his right hand cocked at his hip as Weiss instinctively deflects Crocea Mors with a glowing Myrtenaster, ice starts to form from where his sword makes contact with hers in slow motion.
"Let's find out."
Adding a twist of his own he spins the compressed Aura in his hand and pushes it with an open palm to Weiss' chest. His soul reacting to his wishes, as he screams.
"Rasengan!"
The world drowns in colors of blue and white.
Omake 3:
He doesn't have any Dust left but what he has is his fist, his Aura, and his heart. It would have to be enough.
He throws his sword forward with his left arm.
Clang!
"Wait, what happens if I add my Semblance to it?"
Keeping his right hand cocked at his hip as Weiss instinctively deflects Crocea Mors with a glowing Myrtenaster, ice starts to form from where his sword makes contact with hers in slow motion.
"Let's find out."
Not satisfied with just his Aura, he pushes everything he has in his fist. His dreams, his hopes, his feelings, together with every bit of his Aura before his fist makes contact with Weiss' chest. His soul reacting to his wishes, as he screams.
"ONE For ALL, 100%"
The world drowns in a white explosion as red lightning surges through his arm.
Omake 4:
He doesn't have any Dust left but what he has is his fist, his Aura, and his heart. It would have to be enough.
He throws his sword forward with his left arm.
Clang!
"Wait, what happens if I add my Semblance to it?"
Keeping his right hand cocked at his hip as Weiss instinctively deflects Crocea Mors with a glowing Myrtenaster, ice starts to form from where his sword makes contact with hers in slow motion.
"Let's find out."
In a flash of insight, he retracts his Aura completely before releasing it at once 0.0000001 seconds before his fist makes contact with Weiss' chest. His soul reacting to his wishes, as he screams.
"Black Flash!"
The world drowns in black lightning.
A/N:
Did I really just use Bell Cranel's Argonaut enhanced Firebolt from Danmachi? Yes, yes I did.
Sorry for a bit of the lateness but chapters are gonna be slow for a while. I'm currently building a team for my second job and I conducted a lot of interviews. Not to mention I'll be going on my first wedding anniversary with my wife. This will obviously impact the time I write but don't worry, I won't be dropping this story. Just saying this as a warning so you don't freak out if I don't post for more than a week.
Anyways,
The next two chapters are already available. Want to see them early? Please consider supporting me in my P a tr eon or subscribing to a tier in ko - fi.
Here's my ko-fi for anyone who wants to send me some COFFEE and early access.
(slash) lightbringer0
And my pa tr eon:
(slash) MrLightbringer0