Saturday morning came with the blessed absence of classes. Most students were sleeping in, recovering from their first week. Jaune was up at dawn out of habit, finding Yang already in the training room.
"Morning, Blondie," she called out, punching a training dummy with enough force to dent metal. "Couldn't sleep either?"
"Old training habits. My body doesn't understand the concept of sleeping in."
"Same. Plus I need to work on my combos." Yang demonstrated a series of strikes, each one building momentum. "Goodwitch said my technique is too reliant on brute force. Apparently I need 'finesse.'"
"Your technique works though."
"Yeah, but if I run into someone who can outlast me, I'm screwed." She threw another combination. "What about you? You looked pretty solid against Cardin."
"My dad was thorough. Six months of getting my ass kicked teaches you not to waste movement."
"Six months? That's intense. Most people train for years at combat schools."
"My dad compressed years of training into six months. It wasn't fun."
They trained together for an hour, Yang working on control while Jaune ran through his sword forms. Other students trickled in gradually. Pyrrha arrived around seven, looking surprised to find them already there.
"You're up early," she observed.
"Couldn't sleep," Yang said. "Plus I need to work on not getting hit. You wanna spar?"
"I'd be happy to."
Jaune stepped back and watched them fight. Yang's style was aggressive, overwhelming force behind every punch. Pyrrha was technical perfection, every movement precisely calculated. When they clashed, it was power versus precision.
Pyrrha won, but Yang lasted longer than most people would have.
"You're getting better at defense," Pyrrha said, helping Yang up. "Your guard is tighter."
"Still not tight enough. You got through it like three times."
"Three times out of forty exchanges. That's improvement."
More team members arrived. Nora burst through the doors with her usual energy, Ren following calmly behind. Ruby showed up with Crescent Rose, wanting to test some modifications. Blake appeared silently, heading straight for the agility course.
By eight AM, both teams were in the training room together.
"We should do team exercises," Ruby suggested. "Practice working together!"
"What did you have in mind?" Jaune asked.
"How about team versus team sparring? Four on four, non-lethal, stop when auras hit yellow?"
"That could be good tactical practice," Weiss admitted. "Learn to coordinate in actual combat conditions."
They set it up in the main arena. Team RWBY on one side, Team JNPR on the other. Holographic aura monitors activated above each fighter.
"Standard rules," Yang said. "No serious injuries, stop if someone drops to yellow aura. Winner gets bragging rights."
"And the losers buy lunch," Nora added.
"Deal."
They spread out across the arena. Jaune quickly assessed the matchups. Ruby was fast with that scythe. Yang was raw power. Blake was speed and misdirection. Weiss had range and versatility with her glyphs.
'Okay. Ruby's the biggest threat with that speed. Separate Yang from Blake, isolate Weiss. Standard tactics.'
"Nora, you and Ren focus on separating Yang and Blake," Jaune said quickly. "Pyrrha, can you handle Weiss?"
"Easily."
"Good. I'll deal with Ruby. Try to limit her movement. If she gets momentum with that scythe, she's dangerous."
"Got it, fearless leader!" Nora hefted Magnhild.
"Begin!" Glynda's voice came over the arena speakers. She'd apparently noticed them setting up and decided to supervise.
Ruby immediately transformed Crescent Rose and fired, using the recoil to launch herself forward. Jaune's Danger Sense screamed. He raised his shield just in time to block a scythe strike that would have taken his head off.
"Hi!" Ruby said cheerfully, already spinning for another attack.
'Way too cheerful for someone trying to decapitate me.'
Jaune blocked again, but Ruby was already gone, using her semblance to dash away in a swirl of rose petals. She reappeared behind him.
His Danger Sense pinged. Jaune spun and blocked the next strike on instinct.
"Wow, you're really good at knowing where I am!" Ruby sounded impressed rather than frustrated.
"Years of training with someone who liked ambushes."
They danced around each other. Ruby was faster, but Jaune's danger sense let him predict her attacks. She couldn't land a solid hit, but he couldn't catch her either.
Across the arena, the other fights were chaotic. Yang and Nora were having a pure power exchange, their weapons crashing together with thunderous impacts. Ren and Blake were engaged in a speed duel, both too fast for most observers to follow. Pyrrha and Weiss were displaying technical mastery, glyphs and polarity semblance creating a light show.
"Ruby!" Yang called out. "Switch!"
Ruby immediately disengaged from Jaune and darted toward Pyrrha. Yang charged at Jaune instead.
Clever. They were rotating opponents to prevent anyone from adapting to a single fighting style.
"Pyrrha! Yang incoming!" Jaune warned.
But his partner had already noticed and was repositioning. Team JNPR adjusted their formation without needing verbal communication. Ren and Nora shifted to keep Blake and Ruby occupied. Pyrrha moved to intercept Yang while Jaune provided support.
The fight became more tactical. Both teams were trying to outmaneuver each other, create openings, exploit mistakes.
Jaune spotted one. Weiss was separated from her team, focused on attacking Ren from range. Blake was providing cover but couldn't watch every angle.
"Nora!" Jaune called. "Fastball special!"
Nora grinned. "Really?!"
"Do it!"
Nora transformed Magnhild into grenade launcher mode and fired at the ground. The explosion launched her into the air. Jaune threw his shield like a discus. Nora caught it mid-flight, using it as a platform to redirect herself straight at Weiss.
"Incoming!" Blake tried to warn, but it was too late.
Nora crashed down with Magnhild, the impact creating a shockwave. Weiss barely got a glyph up in time to avoid being launched out of the arena. Her aura dropped to sixty percent from the impact.
"Nice one!" Yang said, laughing despite being on the receiving end.
'That actually worked. I should feel bad about making that up on the spot, but I really don't.'
The momentum had shifted. Team JNPR pressed their advantage. Pyrrha finally landed a solid hit on Yang, dropping her aura to fifty-five. Ren got past Blake's guard with a precise strike. Jaune managed to corner Ruby long enough for his team to coordinate.
But Team RWBY adapted. Ruby used her speed to disrupt JNPR's formation. Yang created space with explosive shots. Blake's clones caused confusion. Weiss used glyphs to control the battlefield.
It went back and forth for ten minutes. Both teams' auras were dropping steadily. Yang hit yellow first from accumulated damage, forced to step back. Nora dropped to yellow immediately after from her explosive exchanges with Yang.
Four versus four became three versus three.
The fight continued with increased intensity. Blake and Ren, both speed fighters, were locked in their own duel. Neither could gain a decisive advantage. They traded hits, their auras dropping in parallel until both hit yellow simultaneously.
Three versus three became two versus two.
Ruby and Weiss versus Jaune and Pyrrha.
Jaune's aura was still at seventy-eight percent. Ruby's speed was impressive, but his danger sense and superior training meant most of her attacks had been blocked or dodged. Pyrrha was at seventy-two percent, having efficiently dismantled Yang's aggressive style.
On Team RWBY's side, Weiss was at sixty percent and Ruby at sixty-eight percent.
"We need a new strategy," Weiss said to Ruby, breathing hard.
"I'm open to suggestions," Ruby replied, readjusting her grip on Crescent Rose.
"Coordinated assault. I'll control the field, you exploit the openings."
"Got it!"
Weiss created a series of glyphs across the arena. Speed boosts for Ruby, ice patches to limit movement, gravity wells to throw off balance. Ruby used them perfectly, her already impressive speed becoming nearly impossible to track.
But Jaune's Danger Sense kept up. Every attack was telegraphed just enough for him to react. And Pyrrha's technical perfection meant she could defend and counter simultaneously.
"They're too coordinated!" Ruby said, frustrated after another failed combination.
"Then we separate them," Weiss decided. She created a wall of ice between Jaune and Pyrrha. "Now it's one on one!"
Smart. Remove the tactical advantage by splitting the team.
Ruby charged Jaune while Weiss engaged Pyrrha.
One on one, Ruby pushed harder. Her scythe work was masterful, combining gun recoil with blade strikes in ways that should be impossible. She was clearly one of the most talented first years at Beacon.
But Jaune had trained with his father. Had fought Team Galactic. Had killed a Death Stalker. Ruby's attacks were fast, creative, dangerous.
And he blocked every single one.
His aura dropped to seventy percent. Sixty-eight. Ruby was landing glancing blows, but nothing solid. Meanwhile, his counterstrikes were finding their marks. Ruby's aura dropped to sixty. Fifty-five.
On the other side of the ice wall, Pyrrha and Weiss were engaged in a technical masterclass. Glyphs versus polarity. Dust versus semblance.
Weiss's aura hit yellow first.
"Match paused for Miss Schnee," Glynda announced.
The ice wall shattered. It was now two versus one.
Ruby looked at Jaune and Pyrrha, both still well above yellow, and laughed.
"Okay, I'm definitely outmatched here. But let's see how long I can last!"
She attacked with everything she had, pushing her semblance to its limits. Rose petals filled the arena as she became a red blur, attacking from every angle.
Jaune and Pyrrha moved in perfect sync, covering each other's blind spots, creating an impenetrable defense. Ruby's aura dropped steadily. Fifty percent. Forty-five. Forty.
She tried one last desperate move, using her semblance to launch straight up, then diving down with a spinning scythe strike aimed at both of them.
Jaune's shield blocked her trajectory. Pyrrha's spear strike caught her mid-spin.
Ruby's aura dropped to yellow.
"Match over," Glynda announced. "Team JNPR wins. Excellent coordination from both teams."
Both teams collapsed to the ground, exhausted and laughing.
"That was awesome!" Ruby said, not even upset about losing. "Did you see that thing Nora did with the shield? That was so cool!"
"We need to practice that more," Jaune admitted. "I just threw it and hoped she'd catch it."
"Worked though," Nora said proudly. "Also, Team RWBY is buying lunch!"
"Worth it," Yang said. "That was the most fun I've had all week."
They helped each other up and headed to the showers. After cleaning up, both teams met in the cafeteria for lunch.
True to the bet, Team RWBY paid for everyone's meal. The conversation was energetic, everyone analyzing the fight and pointing out good moves.
"Your danger sense is kind of unfair," Ruby said to Jaune. "You knew where I was before I attacked!"
"Years of getting ambushed by my dad. You learn to feel threats or you get hit."
"Still cool though. Oh! Can you teach me that shield throw thing? I want to try it with Crescent Rose!"
"Pretty sure throwing your scythe would just end with you tumbling through the air."
"That sounds awesome though!"
After lunch, Teams JNPR and RWBY split up for individual training. Jaune found himself alone in one of the smaller practice rooms, running through sword forms.
His scroll buzzed. A message from an unknown number.
"Mr. Arc, this is Professor Ozpin. Please report to my office when you have a moment. Tower elevator, top floor. Password is 'skepticism.'"
'Oh. Oh no. This is either very good or very bad. Probably bad.'
Jaune stared at the message. Ozpin wanted to talk to him. Personally.
He headed to the CCT tower and took the elevator up. The password worked. The office at the top was exactly as he remembered from the show. Windows everywhere, gears visible in the walls, Ozpin standing behind his desk with a mug of coffee.
"Mr. Arc. Thank you for coming." Ozpin gestured to a chair. "Please, sit."
Jaune sat, his danger sense pinging softly. Not immediate threat, but definitely a dangerous conversation coming.
"I've been reviewing your performance this week," Ozpin said. "Quite impressive. Especially considering your listed background."
'Here it comes.'
"Your transcripts indicate you attended a small combat preparatory program. However, your skill level suggests considerably more extensive training." Ozpin sipped his coffee. "I'm curious, Mr. Arc. Where did you really train?"
This was it. The moment where his fake transcripts either held up or collapsed.
Jaune met Ozpin's eyes. Time to see if six months of preparation was enough to fool a thousand-year-old wizard.
"My father trained me personally," Jaune said calmly. "The transcripts are exaggerated, but the training is real."
Ozpin studied him for a long moment.
Then smiled slightly.
"I see. Well then, let's discuss why I really called you here."
Jaune's danger sense spiked.
'Okay. So the fake transcripts aren't why I'm here. That's either better or worse. Probably worse.'
This conversation was about to get interesting.