King: So, real quick, I wanted to do something else this time, but it's a little... very emotional. If I'm going to make them cry, I want them all playing with a full deck, so I needed something to get Yang out of the funk from the last chapter.

Knox: Huh... So that's where I get it.

King: So, obviously, I hope you enjoy. Also, Happy New Year. Welcome to the Year of Hindsight.

Knox: Hin... Oh! I get it~

Inspiration: Dragon Ball Super's Hit (RWBY)

(And I apparently forgot to change something in the early parts... Fixed it though.)

/\

King cleared his throat, despite not having one as a mystical fireball, and addressed the group, "Okay. Let's distract ourselves with the next run, shall we?"

As both disappeared again, the screen started to glow again.

Yang was still in a bad mood, and doubted this would really distract her.

The scene opened to show a very young Jaune, somewhere around 7 or 8, going through training with a wooden sword. As he swung his wooden blade, they heard the voices of his family in the background.

The first was the voice of his sister Penelope, "Don't get me wrong, it's great that he found his semblance and all, but I mean… it kind of sucks."

That just caused Jaune to deflate a little.

"Penelope!" His mother reprimanded, "This is a big moment for him!"

"I know, mom. But… come on. He can teleport like… a foot."

Nora took in a nervous breath, but had to say it, "I mean… Sorry, Jaune, but that's really not that great."

"On the contrary," this was where the professional fighter Pyrrha had to speak up, "It can actually be quite useful in combat."

As Jaune swung a heavy attack, they heard Leona interject, "A foot can mean the difference between a gust of air and getting hit." Leona had long shown an aptitude for combat analysis, so it would be hard to argue against her.

That made Jaune feel a little better. After all, two champion fighters did see value in something most saw as useless in a fight. It gave him hope.

Jaune continued to train, his face set in a determined glower. He clenched his teeth and swung his training sword hard enough to create a small gust of wind. He wanted nothing more than to improve and someday become someone you could look up to, like his father, grandfather, and so on. But his training was seeming to stagnate. His swings were rudimentary, barely showing any improvement over time. Unbeknownst to his family, this was deliberate.

Jaune looked back up to the screen, confused. "What does that mean?"

After a moment, Jaune's body relaxed, his weapon hanging from his hand at his side. He looked around before setting his training tool on the ground. With his hands free, he took up a fighter's stance and started to run through a series of punches against a nearby training dummy.

Yang raised an eyebrow, but was still in a mood, so she remained silent.

Ren thought for a moment before speaking, "It seems like this Jaune focuses less on a weapon and trained in hand-to-hand combat instead. But why hide it?"

Jaune moved faster than he had before, unrestricted. Soon, each punch against the dummy seemed to show him growing over time. A few strikes later and he appeared to be in his early teens. After some time, he was the seventeen-year-old they knew as he slammed one hard punch against the dummy for his final strike. By this time, his family had learned hos his fighting style and helped him improve as best they can. Soon, they saw him land another punch and the scene snapped to show Jaune his Beacon uniform, the dummy replaced with the familiar, and none-to-kind, face of Cardin Winchester.

This got everyone to jump at the sudden transition, but they also weren't complaining.

The scene played in slow motion, revealing it to be a moment in the Cafeteria where Cardin had been pulling on Velvet's ear.

This just pissed Coco off, making her more than happy about Jaune knocking him down.

As things played normally again, Cardin landed flat on his ass as he growled in anger. He was quickly on his feet and rising to the challenge. A heavy swing brought his fist into Jaune's jaw and starting a genuine fight between the two, which was soon broken up by Goodwitch with both being given a hefty punishment, though Jaune's was lessened for defending another student.

Ruby still didn't see why Jaune had to get punished at al for doing what a Huntsmen was supposed to, but she got the feeling that was the point. Really, Huntsmen weren't supposed to resort to violence against other people unless absolutely necessary.

News of this spread over the school, getting many to wonder just what Jaune was really capable of. Enter the challenger.

"You want to what?" Jaune was sitting at his desk in his room, interrupted from a video on his scroll.

Standing above him was Yang Xiao Long, "You heard me, Arc. I want a sparring match."

Ruby chuckled, "Classic Yang."

"Yang, we spar all the time." Given their fighting styles both rely on unarmed combat, that wasn't all that surprising.

"I mean a real spar. I saw you just… jump over to sock Cardin. You never used your semblance in our matches. I want a real match!"

"You realize that spars are, by nature, not real matches, right?"

"Quiet Arc! I want a fight where you don't hold back on me!"

Jaune sighed and stood up from his desk. "Fine. I'll fight you with my semblance. But don't say I didn't warn you."

This got Yang to start to ignore her mother, but not by much.

The scene moved to show Yang in combat gear waiting in one of Beacon's arenas. The camera moved around to show Jaune's gear. He was dressed in a long dark coat with clear hardened plating within the fabric. Beneath his coat was a set of easy to move clothing with pants, a tight shirt (though mostly obscured by his coat), and a pair of combat boots. He placed his hands into his coat's pockets, his muscles relaxed for the fight ahead. Surrounding them in the stands were the rest of their teams and a few other students who make it a point to watch the brawlers fight.

Pyrrha examined the stance, or lack thereof. "It's hard to tell what he's up to."

"That's the point." Cue the voice that put Yang back in a bad mood. Raven glanced over to the screen again, "His coat obscures his legs, so it's harder to tell where he'll move to until he does. His fighting style likely focuses on ambush and counter attacks."

Blake looked over the stance and found herself agreeing, "She's not wrong…"

The Yang on screen smirked, "You always try to hide behind that coat."

Jaune turned his body slightly, sliding a foot back, but kept his hands in his pockets, "You have no idea what this coat really does."

This got Yang curious. She knew about Dust-weave clothing, but she never saw Jaune using anything like that. It likely had something to do with his semblance. "Then let's find out!" Yang jumped forward, firing her gauntlets to increase her speed and close the gap faster than most students could have. She fired her gauntlets again to leap over him and again to jump toward him from behind.

Nora took in a sharp breath to prepare for the impact, "This is going to hurt."

The camera cut away to the crowd as they heard the impact of the attack. The camera soon snapped back to a closeup of Yang's face, marred by shock. It pulled away to show had turned and landed a punch into her gut, seemingly without much movement or effort.

This got everyone to watch on in surprise. Even Raven, though she knew his fighting style, was in shock at the suddenness of the counter.

Yang's body seemed to shake before she coughed, winded from the attack. As Jaune stepped away, she was able to land on the ground again, her legs weak. As everyone in the stands was amazed by the display of power, Yang could tell something was off. After another cough, she turned back around to Jaune. That was way too fast. It's like he spun around at the last second. No… faster!

Ruby gasped, "No way! How fast is he?!"

"I doubt it's speed." Sun had crossed his arms in thought. "He can teleport about a foot, apparently, so he could probably look like he spun around super-fast, but he just teleported to face the other way."

Neptune shook his head. "I don't even think it's that."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Think about it, Yang didn't see him move from one direction to the other. Even teleporting would leave an effect in some way. But she's confused how he did it. I think there's something else. Something we're not seeing."

Jaune swung his hand to the side before returning it to his coat. "Are you satisfied now?"

Yang grinned, her eyes turning red, "Hardly." She leapt forward again; her semblance super-charging her. She swung faster and harder than before. If Jaune didn't move, it would likely knock him into next week.

Jaune had closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the camera hanging on a close up. When he opened his eyes, the camera fell away to show Yang frozen in midair and the world around them had an esthetic similar to that of breaking glass.

This caught everyone off guard.

"What just happened?" Nora's mouth was agape.

Blake's eyes went wide with a realization. "How he seems to skip from place to place… He's stopping time."

Yang stood, or more accurately sat, in utter amazement. Rather than the world going to muted colors like the last time they'd seen this ability, it was more dynamic.

Jaune didn't have time to dawdle, though. He landed a set of three quick punches before jumping to the side as time moved again and Yang sailed past him with three new pains along her side.

"Doesn't last very long this time." Sun deduced. "How long do you think he can keep that up?"

Neptune went over the scene and the previous time stopping. "I don't think it can be more than a second. Probably less. But he's fast enough that little window of time can be used to great effect."

As Yang landed, she groaned, holding her side. She thought over what she was feeling. It was similar to a pain she felt during another sparring match, when he struck her midair and left her to fall. He was fast, but this time it felt like she was hit by all three at once. She let out a breath and stood up again. If she was right about how he was doing that… She slid her foot on the ground and ran over toward him.

Raven scoffed, "Seems she doesn't learn."

Yang felt her eye twitch.

Yang moved low to attack him with a heavy uppercut. The world seemed to break as Jaune's semblance kicked in and he stepped to the side to counter, only to find Yang's fist pointed right at him. Jaune reflexively jumped back as time moved again and Yang fired a flare, hitting him in the chest. Jaune wasn't too affected by it, but lacking a larger aura pool, it was a heavy hit to him. Jaune growled and brushed off his coat. "Not bad."

Yang grinned and cocked her gauntlet again. "You're good Jaune, but you're predictable. That's why you hide behind your coat, to keep people from figuring out how you're going to move. I don't know all the details, but I figured I just needed to figure out where you'd be after your counter."

Port nodded approvingly. "An excellent show of combat prowess and strategy!"

Glynda, however, sighed, "On Ms. Xiao Long's part, of course. Mr. Arc being so predictable is a problem."

Jaune huffed and cracked his neck, not too concerned by what she said. "I should have guessed you'd be quick on the uptake. That's my fault." Jaune took his hands from his pockets and finally adopted a stance. His hands were held close, defensive with ease of movement for quick jab attacks. He slid his foot across the ground, widening his stance. "Time to go on the offensive."

The scene blinked and Jaune was suddenly directly in front of Yang. Now within her guard, and with her attempting to counter, he landed three hits into her arm before kicking her back.

As she landed, she moved to rear back her arm, but found feeling in said arm to be lacking. "What?"

Jaune was in her guard again and landed a strike into her thigh, forcing her to a knee with another strike knocked her other arm into a similar state. With a slight jump, he kicked Yang across her jaw and sent her sprawling to the ground.

Ren blinked, but soon found himself understanding what was happening, "He's using pressure points. But how is he getting through her aura?"

Coco tapped her chair in thought. "Based on what Fox told me, if you're precise enough, you can still affect your opponent, like a spear pushing through the joints in armor."

Nora crossed her arms, "Doesn't look like it does a lot of damage to her aura."

Coco shrugged, "More than when Fox does it, at least. Then again, Fox can't really incapacitate someone like that without their aura being seriously low, or even empty."

Jaune thought that over, but found a different answer, "Assuming it's only happening once…"

The feeling in Yang's limbs returned quickly thanks to her aura. On top of that, she was boosted by her semblance even further. She looked back over to Jaune in time for him to pause things again. He ducked forward and landed a heavy attack into her gut, but the force effect placed on the attack showed five individual impacts move through her body.

Ruby gasped, "He's hitting the same spot multiple times! He's fast enough that it seems like only one hit! I need to learn how to do that!"

Tai chuckled, "I don't think you can with a scythe."

"I'm not giving up Crescent Rose!"

As time moved normally again, Yang felt the impacts all at once and was forced to fold over in pain. She groaned but kept on her feet. "You're better than I thought you'd be using your semblance."

Jaune jumped back and stood with his hands in his coat again. He took a deep breath and slid his foot forward, ready to strike again.

"But," Yang's face was obscured by the camera angle, though they could see a grin, "that just makes my semblance stronger!"

Yang jumped toward him again faster than before using the recoil from her gauntlets. She was almost instantly in front of Jaune and slammed her fist square into his jaw.

That made Yang feel a little better, but Raven's presence in her mind was hard to ignore.

The world seemed to shatter for them before Jaune was gone from sight, leaving Yang confused. Soon, however, she felt a certain part of her body go taught. The camera snapped to show Jaune had moved behind her and currently had his hand wrapped in a chunk of Yang's hair.

Everyone who had ever seen Yang go berserk went stiff. They knew Yang cherished her hair, and so much as touching it can set her off. Yang in particular was taken aback at the audacity. She ended up shocked enough to forget her anger at Raven and return to her usual state. Granted, that still meant she was mad someone as messing with her hair.

Yang's eyes burst into bloody red, seeming to glow with fury. She tried to spin around to punch him, but he would just pull on her hair and force her into a realization, if she didn't want to risk him pulling out her follicles, she'd need to be more creative. She reared both arms back before firing them slightly downward, sending her flying back to slam her shoulder into his nose. The action caught him off guard for a moment, but he ultimately recovered and further wrapped his hand into her hair, using it as leverage as he kicked out her legs from under her. He swung her body over his shoulder by her hair and into the ground face first. He knew staying too close was asking for trouble, so he released her hair and kicked away to gain some distance.

Yang proceeded to punch the ground and rise to her feet. Her hair was glowing, showing her semblance was at full power. "And here I thought you were smart enough to leave my hair alone."

Jaune returned his hands to his pockets, "And I thought you were smart enough to remember I'll use whatever advantage I get. Your hair is long, wild, and an easy weak point."

Weiss smacked her chair before gesturing to the screen, "Thank you!"

Yang, finally back to normal, finally spoke, "I'm not cutting it."

Jaune continued, "Not to mention that tamper of yours. It might not blind you per se, but you lose yourself to it. It's easy for me to take advantage of."

Yang growled but soon found herself grinning. She wouldn't say it, but she had a certain appreciation for how straightforward he was when they fought. He had a habit for being more underhanded than most of the class, but it was all a more honorable form of underhandedness. He wouldn't do anything illegal or act in a way that made people end up thinking left of him. He was strategic, taking advantage of weakness like a weaker arm, previous pains, or even long hair or loose clothing. It was all covered in regulations as being less ethical, but still legal for tournaments. All this led to him being her greatest challenge. A rival of sorts. Whether he felt the same or not, she constantly fought him in these matches to improver herself more than she could in a classroom with students who wouldn't push her the same way.

Yang slid her foot across the ground before charging again. As Jaune stopped the moment in time, Yang had predicted him again. His only real option was to get into her guard and try to attack her while she was off balance. As time moved again, Yang's eyes snapped to meet his, as if knowing what he would try. Her fist swung and met with his, sending a shockwave around them.

A loud tone rang out, signaling the end of the match. Weiss stood up from the stands with her scroll. "They're both at 15%. Tie match!"

Nora did not appreciate that, "Oh come on! Jaune totally won!"

"No way!" Yang was finally back to her old self, "If anything, an attack like that should have knocked him into next week!"

Blake rolled her eyes, "Welcome back, Yang. But it's clear their auras are at the same, or very similar levels while both being in the red levels. It's a tie, just accept it."

Jaune and Yang couldn't help but end their fight with a mutual glare into one another's eyes. Soon, smirks spread and the two shared a handshake. They always made it a point to end their matches with one as a sign of good will.

The scene faded to show the same arena filled the next day for combat classes. Goodwitch pressed a button on her scroll and the match was set up for the next run. "Jaune Arc will be facing Yang Xiao Long."

Yang grinned, "Already getting a rematch~!"

Jaune stepped into the arena, exactly the same as he had been. Yang, on the other hand, less so. As Yang stepped into the arena, the crowd was taken aback. Her hair was under control and tied into a braid to nearly half its size from before.

Yang shook her head quickly as if to make sure she was really seeing this. And yes, she in fact was seeing her alternate self, who seemed so similar to her, with her hair tied down.

Weiss nodded, a certain level of satisfaction in her demeanor, "See? That is how you handle long hair in a fight."

Yang took her place opposite Jaune, waiting for Goodwitch to call the start of the match.

Jaune wasn't as surprised as the viewers about her hair, or at least he didn't show it. "You got your hair under control. What's the occasion?"

Yang cracked her knuckles, "No occasion. Just taking away a disadvantage."

Jaune smirked and removed his hands from his pockets again. The two them then took up fighting stances. The two jumped toward one another into a freezeframe. Yang had leapt into the air, intent on slamming her fist down toward Jaune. Jaune, meanwhile, was moving lower to uppercut with an open palm strike. This soon faded into what looked like a painting of the scene. Behind Yang was a burning flame, a portion of which had formed a golden Long dragon. Behind Jaune, the scene had the effect of broken glass similar to his time stopping effect.

Ruby gaped at the scene, "Wow. That looks so cool!"

Yang smiled and nodded, "I really is."

The scene ended and faded to black, ending the screening.

"Oh, come on!" Yang huffed in annoyance. "I want to know who would win!"

Ren just shrugged, "I actually rather appreciate the ambiguity. In storytelling, it can keep people talking or leave an opening for a later interpretation. That said, while I understand the need for a conclusion, this is a story that doesn't necessarily need one."

Yang rolled her eyes, "I'm still probably going to challenge him with that hologram arena thing."