Ruby quaked in excitement as she walked up to the raised platform of the sparring ring. She was going to fight Jaune! She couldn't wait to show him everything she could do!

During initiation, she put on a relatively poor showcase of her skills, even having to be saved by the blond knight when she got caught out. She was going to use this opportunity to redeem herself, to show her friend exactly why she got into Beacon two years early!

The teen in question stood opposite of her, standing silently with a troubled expression on his face. Ruby frowned: It was weird seeing Jaune with anything but a smile on his face. "Hey Jaune," she called out to him. "Is everything okay?"

He started for a moment, taking a moment to register her words. Jaune quickly gave her a reassuring, if somewhat dim smile. "I'm fine, Ruby. Just a bit anxious."

"Me too!" she laughed. "I'm really excited to fight against you! Don't hold back just because I'm younger than you, okay?"

Jaune chuckled, donning his helmet. "I wouldn't dream of it. No hard feelings if I win, right?"

"Nope!" Her hands tightened around Crescent Rose as she returned a saccharine smile. "None if I win?"

"I might feel a little bit embarrassed," He admitted. She couldn't blame him either: Who wouldn't after being beaten by a younger girl half their size? "But I think I'll get over it."

"Are the combatants ready?" Professor Goodwitch asked, interrupting their pre-fight banter. When both of them responded with silent nods, she returned them in kind. She stepped out from the ring, far enough to react to any stray attacks but close enough to intervene and carefully observe.

"Begin!"

Ruby immediately sprang into action, switching her weapon into rifle mode as she began strafing around the knight, rapidly firing large caliber bullets in his direction. Jaune calmly raised his shield, slowly rotating to match her position and deflecting each shot. Ruby disappeared in a cloud of rose petals, causing Jaune to momentarily lose track of her as she leapt into the air. She let loose a series of shots from above, grabbing Jaune's attention with the loud noise. He raised his shield to defend himself, obscuring his sight for a brief moment.

Twirling around, she loaded Gravity Dust rounds and fired at the ceiling, using the massive recoil to accelerate herself downwards towards the knight. Shifting her weapon into its scythe form, Ruby curled herself up into a ball with her weapon held out. She fired her weapon again, inducing angular momentum and causing her to spin. She began to spin faster and faster with each pull of the trigger, becoming a living circular saw within seconds.

When Jaune felt no more bullets pinging off his shield, he looked up to search for his opponent, only to go wide-eyed as the red wheel of death was nearly upon him. He just barely managed to dodge out of the way as Ruby crashed into the space he occupied a scant millisecond ago, Crescent Rose digging deep into the platform. With her weapon currently indisposed, Jaune charged at her, closing the distance quickly and thrusting Crocea Mors at her.

The petite girl dodged the thrust by lifting herself up with one arm, not once letting go of her weapon, then swung her lower body around and kicked at him. He blocked it with his shield, throwing her back and further up the scythe's haft. She flipped backwards, using herself as a lever to pry Crescent Rose out of the ground.

Ruby lunged forward, swinging her scythe around in a large arc and forcing him to block with his shield, catching it just below the blade. Grinning, she pulled the trigger, clipping his pauldron with a point-blank .50 BMG bullet. It glanced off his armor due to the pauldron's rounded shape, but imparted enough force to throw his left arm back nonetheless.

She attempted to follow up with a swing at his right flank, but Jaune wouldn't allow it. Stepping forward, he caught the attack on his forearm, his aura flaring with the use of his Semblance as he struck the haft before Crescent Rose's keen edge could cleave through him.

Dropping his sword, Jaune grasped firmly onto Ruby's weapon and yanked it backwards, pulling the girl towards him and delivering a vicious bash with his shield. A hand flew towards the side of her face as she cried in pain, but she did not release her grip on Crescent Rose. A knee found itself in her gut, sending spittle flying over Jaune's breastplate as the air was knocked out of her. Her hand slipped from her weapon as she staggered back, cradling her stomach. She barely managed to recover in time to dodge Jaune's armored boot to her face, falling backwards onto her butt.

Jaune kicked up Crocea Mors, tossing Crescent Rose behind him in favor of his family blade. Ruby seized the chance to retrieve her weapon, darting behind him in a flurry of rose petals. Just as her hands wrapped around her weapon's haft, something hard struck the back of her head. Her vision became blurry as she fell forward, her weapon skittering away from her as she impacted the ground. Dizzy and with vision spotty, she barely registered being flipped onto her back as a slight pressure weighed down on her chest.

"And that's the match." Professor Goodwitch called as the lights came back on.

"Wha...?" Ruby groaned confusedly, holding a hand to her head to stem the throbbing pain.

She… She lost? Already!? But she was only just getting started!

As her vision went back to normal, she could finally make out Jaune's armored form above her, his foot planted on her chest and sword pointed at her throat. He stepped off her and leaned down with his left hand proffered to help her to her feet. Though she couldn't see his face, she knew he was smiling at her somewhat apologetically. She saw him gesture towards the large screen displaying their Aura gauges, noting that while hers was still in the green, a decent chunk of it was missing.

'Twenty-five percent!?' She gawped. 'But I only got hit three times!'

Just how strong was Jaune that a few hits took out a quarter of her Aura!?

"As you can see, class," the blonde woman gestured. "Despite Miss Rose's Aura levels still being relatively high. Mr. Arc has her securely pinned and disarmed. In a tournament style duel, this is sufficient enough to procure a victory, though in a larger scale battle, Ruby would not be eliminated until she surrendered or her Aura was reduced to the red."

"That was an excellent display of close quarters combat, Jaune." Professor Goodwitch praised. "Discarding your primary weapon to rob Miss Rose of hers was a solid course of action, especially considering she did not seem to have a sidearm." Her jade-green eyes turned to her, causing her to wither under her gaze. "As for you, Miss Rose, entering melee combat is fine, but you must be careful of your opponent's attempts to disarm you, especially when they are physically superior to you. Additionally, you must not be so obvious in your attempts to retrieve your weapon. Despite your superior speed, Mr. Arc knew exactly where you were going to be, rendering your advantage moot."

Pressing a few buttons on her scroll, Professor Goodwitch brought up a replay of the ending of their fight on the large screen. When Jaune had tossed Crescent Rose behind him, he was already mid-pivot as he launched his shield at the spot he knew she would be. Ruby winced as the shield bounced painfully off the back of her head with significant force, landing somewhere offscreen.

"That said," She continued with a small smile. "That was still an impressive display of skill on both your parts. Well done."

Ruby felt an armored hand pat her back. She craned her head upwards to see Jaune's visage, his usual smile on his face. "Good fight, Ruby. You really caught me off guard there!"

She blushed, embarrassed by the praise. She pulled her hood over her head to cover her face, hiding her happy smile and red cheeks.

{ I }

Their teacher dismissed them, sending them back to their seats once Jaune retrieved his shield. They just barely caught sight of Yang begrudgingly slapping a twenty lien note into Weiss's hand, grumbling something inaudibly.

At their questioning gaze, Ren explained. "Yang bet that Ruby was going to win, so Weiss offered to quadruple whatever Yang bet."

Jaune looked at Weiss curiously. "Weiss, you have literally billions of lien in your bank account. Why gamble for something like money?"

"It's not about the money. It's about sending a message."

"And that message would be…?"

The heiress returned a smug smile. "That betting against you is a fool's errand."

"Ruby," Yang whined as her sister sat down. "Where were your bee's knees when I needed them!?"

"Gamble responsibly." Blake quipped. "A word of advice: If the stakes seem too good to be true, they probably are."

"How was I supposed to know that Mr. Knight in Shining Armor here was good at fighting people too?" Yang bemoaned.

"Maybe 'cause his last name is Arc?" Blake offered. "You know, the famous bloodline that fought in several different wars?" She turned to her partner with a small congratulatory smile. "Good fight, by the way."

"Yes, very well done!" Pyrrha nodded in agreement. "Do you often use your shield as a projectile?"

"Sometimes," He admitted. "Though I usually aim for the legs to trip people up."

"I could offer a few pointers," The redhead offered. "I have quite a bit of experience with the technique myself."

"Oh yeah, I noticed that during initiation!" Jaune exclaimed. "How are you able to throw it so it comes back to you? I can't figure it out."

"It's a multitude of factors, really…"

Before they could go more in-depth with their discussion, Professor Goodwitch called for their attention.

"The combatants for our next bout will be…" The roulette system fired up once more. Jaune's gaze was drawn fully to the display once a certain teen's portrait came up. "Amon Mouse of Team Anonymous and Cardin Winchester of Team Cardinal."

Cardin swaggered up the stage with a confident smirk. His opponent, average in nearly all aspects sans the rodent-like tail that swung behind him, stood opposite of him, wielding a scimitar. The larger teen seemed to grin predatorily at Amon, causing the Faunus to shrink back with unease.

Professor Goodwitch held a wary gaze as she looked between the two students. "Are both combatants ready?"

"Ready to win, you mean?" Cardin clarified arrogantly. "For sure."

Amon merely nodded, falling into a low stance.

There was a moment of pause as the teacher repeated her earlier actions. As soon as she gave the word, both students charged at one another.

Amon ducked under Cardin's wide swing, darting to the side and slashing at his flank. He jumped back, dodging the Winchester's backhand before lunging forward again and stabbing at his face. Cardin tilted his neck to the side, taking a small nick to his cheek instead of a blade between the eyes. Amon was already out of reach again before he could retaliate.

"You're an annoying little rat-bastard, aren't you?" Cardin growled angrily. He charged forward again, mace crashing down in the spot his opponent just occupied. Amon leapt overhead, landing behind the armored teen and slashing at his ankles. Cardin's mace came around again, but Amon was already gone, rolling between the brown-haired boy's legs. The Faunus kicked upwards into Cardin's chest, sending the teen staggering backwards as Amon landed on his feet.

Jaune looked at the screen again, eyeing the combatant's Aura levels. Mouse was still completely full while Cardin's was slowly getting chipped away. His Aura was already hovering around half, so it would only be a matter of time before he fell into the red.

"Hey…" Yang murmured, catching his attention. "Is it just me, or does Cardin look like he's getting faster?"

Jaune's eyes flicked back towards the fight. Whereas at the beginning of the spar, Amon was handedly outspeeding Cardin and steadily whittling down his Aura, the mouse Faunus was now struggling to avoid getting hit, let alone make any attacks of his own.

"What's the matter? Getting tired?" Cardin taunted as his mace finally connected with his opponent, Amon being forced to block with his scimitar. Just blocking that hit had knocked Amon's Aura down 5%, which was quickly draining as Cardin pressed down harder on the desperate blade lock.

With gritted teeth, Amon managed to turn the mace away, the heavy weapon creating a visible crater in the platform as it hit the ground. The Faunus lunged forward, intent on stabbing Cardin in the gut. To his immense surprise, his blade found nothing but air as his opponent swiftly turned to the side. Amon made to leap forward to gain some distance, but gasped as he felt a hand tightly grip his tail. He craned his head back, a horrified expression on his face as Cardin grinned menacingly. "Got you."

With a ferocious roar of triumph, Cardin began to swing Amon in a circle around his head, causing the teen in hand to scream in pain and panic. He whipped his impromptu flail forward, slamming the Faunus into the ground and creating a visible indent in the ground in his shape. Amon weakly attempted to reach for Cardin's wrist, but the Winchester scion lifted the Faunus up into the air by his tail, dangling him like an angler would his catch. Cardin roared again, slamming Amon backwards in the opposite direction and onto his frontside. The Faunus bounced up into the air with the force of the impact. Time seemed to slow as Cardin swung his mace overhead, his thumb pressed against a button on the hilt as the flanged head made to bury itself into Amon's back, the Fire Dust crystal within glowing brightly.

'KABOOM!'

An explosion rocked the arena, sending up bits of debris and dust that clouded the stage. It dissipated after a moment, revealing a large purple barrier that covered Amon's body and pushed back against Cardin's mace.

"That is quite enough, Mr. Winchester." Glynda stated firmly, her own weapon outstretched. She leveled a glare at the bulky teen as she began to speak. "As you can see, students, Mr. Mouse's Aura has dropped into the red." The gauge below Amon's portrait was just shy of being empty, with only a sliver of red suggesting otherwise. "When that happens, it would indicate that it is too dangerous to continue the battle and the presiding official may call the match. Had I not intervened, Cardin's attack would have likely gravely injured Amon. This is why it is important to constantly refer to your and your opponent's Aura gauges displayed on the above screens or on your scrolls to prevent any accidental tragedies.

"Team Anonymous, please come collect your leader and take him to the infirmary. I shall give Mr. Mouse his briefing later when he is feeling better." Three nondescript teens rushed down into the ring and carried away their leader, quickly exiting the classroom. Sighing, Professor Goodwitch turned to face Cardin, who was smiling in self-satisfaction while watching his opponent's limp form being all but carted away.

"Mr. Winchester, as it is the first day, I will give you the benefit of the doubt that you were simply not paying attention; but the next time you attempt to continue attacking a defeated opponent, you will be facing me. And I promise you, you will rue the day if it ever comes to pass."

"I understand." He said without any hint of regret in his voice. "I will endeavor not to let it happen again."

"See to it that you do not." She warned. "Now, as to your performance: You will need to work on your speed. Though you were much stronger than your opponent, you could not touch Mr. Mouse until your Semblance kicked in. Such overreliance on one's Semblance will hamper your overall growth. This goes doubly so for ones such as yours, which require you take damage to take full advantage of their effects. Remember, one's Semblance is a tool, not a crutch."

"I'll keep that in mind…" Cardin replied, his attention focused elsewhere. "May I go back to my seat now?"

The teacher frowned but nodded her assent as she went about repairing the arena with her Semblance. As Cardin sauntered back to his seat, he looked pointedly in Jaune's direction. The Winchester scion smirked, raising his thumb to his neck and tracing a line across it.

"That was… quite the comeback." Pyrrha said, unsure of how exactly to feel about the match.

"It was barbaric." Blake growled through gritted teeth, her concealed ears twitching upwards in anger. "Swinging him by the tail like he's some kind of toy…!"

"Winchester…" Weiss whispered, looking towards her leader and friend. "Jaune, isn't that-"

Jaune didn't pay attention to her, too engrossed in the fact that in only two hits, Cardin had brought Amon's Aura from ninety percent to one.

{ II }

The cafeteria boomed with activity as students aimed to relax and fill their bellies, recharging their energy before heading to class once again. The leaders of Teams AWBN and RRYN were grateful for the fact that Combat class was always held immediately before the lunch period, allowing them time to freshen up with a shower and a change of clothes.

Jaune had loaded his tray with an immense amount of food, his stomach roaring for sustenance after his fight. He glanced at Ruby's tray, which only consisted of chocolate chip cookies.

"Um, Ruby? Are you sure you're going to be fine with only that?"

Ruby smacked herself in the forehead. "Of course! How could I forget?" She reached over to grab a carton of whole milk. "Thanks for reminding me, Jaune!"

"No, um… No problem." He returned awkwardly, his concern going completely over her head.

They joined their teams at their table, sitting across from each other like the rest of their friends. Jaune began digging into his food with gusto, prompting Weiss to sigh with slight annoyance.

"Jaune, how many times have I needed to tell you? Slow down! You act like you haven't eaten in days!"

"But that's exactly how I feel!" He defended himself, at least having the decency to swallow before attempting to speak. Gods know how many times Weiss chewed him out for that as well.

"Regardless, you have an image to uphold! Not just for yourself, but for our team as well." She grabbed a napkin and dabbed at his lips and cheeks, brushing away stray bits of food.

"Aww, does baby need his bib?" Yang cooed, causing Jaune to fluster with embarrassment, taking the napkin from Weiss's hands and doing it himself.

"See?" Weiss said. "It doesn't feel so good when people besides me call you out on your sloppy behavior now, does it?"

"No…" he muttered begrudgingly, slowing his pace and refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

Ruby giggled at Jaune's misfortune; her laughter muffled by a mouthful of cookies. Yang noticed her out of the corner of her eye, then turned her gaze downwards towards her plate of cookies.

"Ruby, I keep telling you that a plate of cookies and milk is not a meal!"

"Ith todarry izth!" Ruby argued, spraying cookie crumbs everywhere.

"Don't talk with your mouth full either!" Her sister nagged. "Look, you even got chocolate smeared on your cheek!" She licked her thumb and tried to wipe it off.

"Noooo!" Ruby whined, fighting off Yang's hand as a wave of embarrassment washed over her.

Pyrrha and Nora laughed as their team leaders were scolded, with even the stoic duo of Blake and Ren smiling at their antics.

"Oww! That hurts!" A voice yelled, drawing their attention. A brunette rabbit-Faunus girl was surrounded by Team CRDL, desperately struggling to free her ears from their leader's grasp.

"Cardin…" Jaune growled, his fingers clenched tightly around his eating utensils.

"Absolutely atrocious." Pyrrha said, glaring at the bully. "I can't stand people like him."

"Agreed." Blake said, staring daggers at the scene. "There are thousands more just like him and his team."

"Please stop!" The Faunus girl begged, wincing in pain as Cardin tugged her ears just a bit harder.

"I told you they were real!" Cardin laughed.

"What a freak!" His partner, Russel Thrush added.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Jaune yelled, having had enough. He rose from his seat and stomped over to the bullies, pushing Cardin away from his victim. "Get away from her!"

Cardin staggered back a step, but recovered quickly. He snarled at having had his fun interrupted, but smirked once he realized it was Jaune. "Well would you look at that? Another freak steps in to protect one of their own. Are you hoping to get lucky with it, just like your grandfather?"

Sensing a fight was about to break out, a majority of students pulled out their scrolls and began to record them. Jaune bit his tongue, not rising to the bait and instead turned his attention to the girl behind him. "Are you all right?"

She nodded, painfully clutching her ears with tears in her eyes. Jaune slowly raised his hand towards her head, causing her to flinch back. He tried to give her a reassuring smile. "I won't hurt you. I promise."

He reached for her ears again, gently grasping them at their base and channeled his Aura through them. The Faunus's ears began to glow light blue as Jaune's Semblance went to work. She sighed softly, leaning into his touch.

From his back, he heard the entirety of Team CRDL laugh. "I can't believe it! He actually wants to fuck the filthy creature!"

"Goes to show that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Jaune tried his best to ignore them until he was done. Cutting the flow of Aura, he smiled at the girl. "Feel any better?" He asked her.

She nodded, smiling gratefully at him. "Much. Thank you."

"I'll take it from here. Go." The rabbit Faunus nodded, scurrying away. Jaune turned back to face the team of racists, his warm smile completely gone.

Carding stepped forward; arms wide. "Ah, so he finally deigns to give us his attention!"

"You've gone too far, Cardin. Attacking and harassing other students?" His eyes narrowed. "Disgraceful."

"The only disgrace here is you!" Cardin shoved Jaune back. "You and you're entire lineage of Faunus fuckers! That creature should be glad that I would soil my hands by touching it."

"You have an awful fixation for touching Faunus. I noticed how you loved to manhandle Amon's tail during class." Jaune gestured to his groin. "Would you like to handle mine as well?"

"Only in your wildest dreams!" Cardin roared, his face flush with embarrassment and anger. "Your grandfather was a fool to annul his marriage to my grandmother! But I suppose it worked out for the best: She doesn't need to worry about her husband going to the stables for a romp with the animals!"

"You keep insisting Faunus are animals," Jaune grinned viciously. "So what does that say about your grandmother's hideousness when my grandfather would rather fuck an animal than marry her?"

The entire cafeteria was quiet, save for a few who 'oooh'd' at the taunt. Even Cardin was stunned into silence. It was only after a moment longer of sheer appalment did Mount Winchester erupt, roaring with fury as he struck Jaune's cheek with a meaty fist, sending the blond staggering back into the table.

Everyone within the room gasped in shock. The nearby students began to vacate their seats. Team RRYN and the rest of Team AWBN all immediately rose from their seats, a righteous fire in their eyes as they made to assist their friend.

A hand rose to stop them.

"No." Jaune commanded, his voice holding an authoritative edge which rivaled Goodwitch's. He stood up, dusting himself off and fixing his tie. "This is my fight."

Cardin audibly scoffed. "Please, you wouldn't last two sec-" A fist found itself in his mouth, cutting him off and making him recoil back. His hands immediately rose to cover his mouth, his Aura being the only thing that prevented a busted lip. His gaze was drawn to Jaune's glowing right hand, which retracted back to his side.

With a ferocious battle cry, Cardin grabbed Jaune by the collar, picked him up, then slammed him into the table, splitting it in half. Wincing in pain, Jaune reached up to grab Cardin's tie, then yanked him downwards and delivered a savage headbutt to the bridge of his nose. The blond then reared up, planting his feet into Cardin's abdomen, then kicked up and out, launching the bulkier teen across the room,

A group of teens scattered as Cardin crashed through their table, sending trays of food flying and raining down over him. Both he and Jaune took a moment to climb back to their feet, eyes locking together full of scorn and rage. They roared at each other, leaping over tables to get at one another. They met in the air again, arms outstretched. They collided, knocking each other to the ground and began to fight for the higher position. Cardin got it first, straddling Jaune's waist as he rained blow after heavy blow down on the Arc. Jaune raised his arms, enhancing his limbs with his Semblance as he blocked each hit with gritted teeth, pain racing up them with every impact. After dodging a particularly strong punch, Jaune sent a right hook into Cardin's side, his Aura-enhanced fist successfully striking Cardin's liver and sending him sprawling. Jaune rolled them over and repaid Cardin with his own hail of fists. As his opponent was still recovering from the liver punch, Jaune had free-reign on Cardin's face, his knuckles thudding against the teen's face so savagely that, if not for Aura, would have broken the bones in both Jaune's hands and in Cardin's face.

Cardin barely managed to regain enough control of his body in time to catch Jaune's hammer blow with one hand. With his own Semblance working overtime, Cardin punched Jaune in the center of the chest, knocking him off and backwards. Cardin stood up, then pinned both of Jaune's legs against his waist as he began to spin, accelerating into a veritable tornado. Jaune ragdolled for a moment, struggling to lift his upper body up as he fought against the intense centripetal force. Just before Cardin released him, Jaune managed to reach up and grip onto Cardin's tie. Riding his angular momentum, Jaune swung around and wrapped his arms around Cardin's neck in a chokehold, his limbs closing in like a vice as his Semblance suffused him. Cardin sputtered and gasped as he struggled to breathe, clawing at Jaune's arms in a vain attempt to dislodge him. When that failed, he began to ram the walls back first, creating Jaune-shaped holes in the plaster and marble, but even then the Arc did not slacken his hold. Cardin's face was turning blue now as his oxygen began to run out, collapsing to his knees. Jaune still did not let go.

Suddenly, Jaune felt something encapsulate his entire body. A foreign feeling of complete weightlessness washed over him as he was pulled from Cardin against his will and suspended midair. He couldn't even turn his head to look around for what was doing this to him. To be fair, he hadn't needed to.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" Professor Goodwitch's voice boomed over the cafeteria, deafening within the silence that once again permeated the room. Below him, he could hear Cardin's frantic breathing and coughs, struggling to regain his composure. Jade green locked with royal blue, and Jaune was soon floating over to meet his teacher face-to-face. "Seeing as Mr. Winchester is currently indisposed, why don't you try explaining this reprehensible behavior first?"

No one needed to be a telepath to know exactly the thought running through Jaune's head at that moment.

'Ah shit.'

{ III }

Ozpin sighed, looking between the two tall boys sitting across from him. They pointedly refuse to look at one another, heads down and teeth grit with a smoldering fury. Behind them, Professor Goodwitch stood ready to intervene in case they devolved to brawling in his office. He pinched the bridge of his nose in disappointment and disbelief. "It is not even the end of the first school day of the year and I already have to hold a disciplinary meeting with two of my students."

"He started it!" Jaune pointed an accusatory finger at the boy next to him.

Cardin scoffed. "Your grandfather started it!"

"Enough!" Ozpin yelled in irritation, startling them into silence. "I do not care who started it. I am ending it." He sighed tiredly. "Again."

There was a look of curiosity from both scions, so he explained. "When your fathers attended Beacon, I had given them this exact same discussion during their first year as well, though at least they were able to contain themselves until at least halfway into the school year before I was forced to take disciplinary action!

They both wilted under his scolding, somewhat ashamed of themselves but not for the reasons he would have liked.

"I suppose it was too much to hope that you would have cooler heads than your predecessors. This generational feud is a product of an unfortunate series of circumstances that have little to do with either of you. They are choices and actions made by men and women whose age has long since passed. Despite what you might think, neither of you hold any obligation to perpetuate it."

Both of them looked unconvinced, invoking a frustrated sigh from the older man. "I wish it hadn't come to this, but I suppose I have no choice. I know for a fact that any other course of action will not work. You have your fathers to thank for that."

He stood from his seat, downed his entire cup of coffee and slammed the mug on the table, drawing their attention.

"The both of you will settle this feud in a school-sanctioned duel at the beginning of next week. The winner of this duel shall have their family vindicated of all accusations by the opposite party. Regardless of the outcome, there will be no more conflict between the two of you regarding this matter for the rest of your time at Beacon. Do you both accept these terms?"

The boys shared a look, seemingly agreeing on something for the first time since they met as they both nodded in assent.

Ozpin took a deep breath as a reluctant satisfaction welled in his being. "Until then, you are to avoid interacting with one another at all costs. Failure to do so will see the offender expelled immediately without hope of recourse. Additionally, any other infraction within the time period will lead directly to a month's worth of detention overseen by either me or Professor Goodwitch. Am I understood?"

"Yes, headmaster." They said in unison.

"Mr. Winchester, you are dismissed. I would like to speak with Mr. Arc a bit longer."

The larger teen nodded, standing from his chair and exiting the room via the elevator. When the lift began to descend, Ozpin turned his back to Jaune to gaze out his window.

"I am severely disappointed with you, young man."

"Why?" Jaune asked angrily. "Because I got into a fist fight with a racist? I was stopping him from harassing another student!"

"I am not upset at you for defending Miss Scarlatina. I am upset that you would continue this nonsensical strife between the Arcs and the Winchesters."

"He insulted my grandparents!"

"And so you insulted his grandmother."

"I'm only repaying blood for blood!"

"An eye for an eye would see the whole world blind."

"Then what would you have me do!?" Jaune yelled, slamming his fist down his chair's armrest. "I tried to not to escalate it, but you can't expect me to not retaliate after being struck first! I do not have an infinite amount of patience!"

"No," Ozpin sighed, turning back to sit down in his chair again. "No, I suppose you do not. Forgive me, Mr. Arc. Sometimes I forget that you are still but a young man at the cusp of adulthood. I cannot always expect you to make the mature decision."

Jaune also sighed, his anger replaced with exhaustion. "Please believe me when I say that I am trying my best, headmaster. I really am. Just this morning I had to deal with a cooperation issue with my team."

"Ah, yes. Miss Belladonna, correct?" Jaune nodded. "I suppose considering her past, she would have some issues being on a team with Miss Schnee. I hope everything is well now?"

"They have agreed to be polite, and are willing to give each other a chance to prove they are not what the other thinks they are."

Ozpin nodded approvingly. "That is good. I'm glad that you are slipping into the role of team leader so smoothly."

"Weiss helps keep me in check," he said with a smile. "Though I'll admit she reminds me a bit too much of my mother at times."

The older man chuckled. "And how is Miss Nikos? Is she fitting in well?"

"Pyrrha is doing fine. She seemed to be a bit standoffish with Weiss at first, but it seems like they're getting along much better now."

"Good. That is good. I'm glad you at least have some semblance of peace on your team. It is not often that teams are able to resolve their issues so quickly early on in the year." The elevator dinged as it came back to his office. He gestured towards it. "You are dismissed, Mr. Arc."

"Just like that?" Jaune said in surprise.

"I held you here mostly to avoid you and Mr. Winchester having to share an awkward elevator ride down." Ozpin admitted with a sly grin. "The best way to avoid temptation is to remove the source of it all together."

"Thank you, headmaster." Jaune made to leave, only for Professor Goodwitch to place a hand on his shoulder.

The blonde woman turned to her superior. "If it is all right, Ozpin, I would like to escort Jaune to his dorm room."

Ozpin waved her off with a knowing smile. "That is fine, Glynda. I'll see you in a bit."

The two blondes entered the elevator, the doors closing as Jaune pressed the bottom to the bottom floor. There was a moment of silence as Jaune waited anxiously for his teacher's words.

"… You know, I can't say that I didn't expect this." Professor Goodwitch began. "During my time at Beacon with your father, almost this exact same thing happened." She laughed to herself. "I've always wondered what Ozpin said to Hawke and him in his office. Now I know."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure dad didn't make nearly as much of a scene as I did." He grimaced, bowing apologetically to the older woman. "Nor make as much of a mess. I'm sorry you had to clean that all up."

"I've cleaned up worse." She chuckled mirthfully "Between you and your sisters, I've had much practice. Though your father did make it easier on the custodians by having his little scuffle in the courtyard instead of the mess hall."

"… I'm sorry," he said after a moment. "It must have been so embarrassing having your son cause so much trouble on the first day of school."

"I'm not embarrassed." She replied. Jaune gave her a deadpan stare. "… All right, only slightly embarrassed. But more than that, I'm proud that you were at least trying to do the right thing."

He beamed at her, enveloping the older woman in a hug. "Thanks mom."

They stayed like that for a moment before separating. A curious thought suddenly crossed the younger blond's mind. "Hey, the headmaster said that our dads already dueled before, right?"

"That is correct." Glynda reaffirmed.

"How come this whole thing wasn't resolved then?"

The older woman sighed, closing her eyes as she remembered that day so long ago. "Because it was a draw."

Jaune's eyes widened with incredulity and disbelief. "A draw?!"

"I know it may be hard to believe, considering how dominant your father seems, but he is not infallible. This was true even more so when he was your age. Hawke Winchester was just as capable a fighter as Ferrum, with a Semblance equally as powerful. He was perhaps your father's only equal in our year."

His mother placed her hand on his head, stroking it comfortingly. "That is why, when this duel comes to pass, you must not underestimate your opponent. Cardin may act like a brute, but he is an adept fighter. His Semblance, too, is a considerable threat that you must ever be wary of."

"I understand."

"Good." She gave him a peck on his temple. "Now, I expect you to be on your best behavior until the duel. If Mr. Winchester acts up or attempts to bait you, you come to me or one of the other faculty here. With any luck, he will slip up before the fight starts and we can put this foolishness behind us."

"I thought you weren't supposed to play favorites." He said. It was part of the reason why his mother had signed on using her maiden name instead of his father's.

The elevator dinged as they reached the ground floor. They separated from one another, putting on their professional façade once more as the doors slid open.

"I'm not." She replied. "I'm just a mother hoping that her son doesn't need to get so embroiled in his father's blood feud."

{ IV }

"Jaune!" His team surrounded him as soon as he entered their room. The commotion drew the attention of their sister team across the corridor, who rushed in after him.

"Gods above, Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, Pyrrha, just-"

"Jaune!" Ruby cried. "That was crazy! Did you get in trouble?"

"No Ruby, I-"

"Jauney!" Nora yelled. "Do you want me to break Cardin's legs? I'll totally do it, free of charge!"

"Nora, no, please-"

"Could everyone please just shut up!" Weiss yelled, shoving her way through the crowd and dragging Jaune out. "He can't answer you if you don't let him breathe!"

Jaune sighed in relief. "Thanks Weiss." He turned back to the rest of his friends with a placating smile. "Let's try this again, one person at a time please."

"What was that?" Ren stepped forward. "Back in the locker rooms, you said you'd explain. What exactly is the deal between you and Cardin?"

Jaune sighed tiredly. He walked over to his bed and sat down, gesturing for all of them to take a seat.

"It's a long story…"

A/N: Crazy first day, amiright?

Cafeteria fist fight, insight into the Arc family's past, and Glynda revealed to be a mother of 8... Honestly, I think the last part is gonna be what raises the most eyebrows. It certainly caught my betas off-guard.

That one line about Cardin's grandmother comes courtesy of The Sinful, one of my betas and a good friend. Please be sure to check him out!

Hope you guys enjoyed. See you guys next time.