AN: Started writing this story solely on a whim, we'll see how it goes. The premise is that Jaune unlocked his semblance at the same time that Pyrrha unlocked his aura. It's a little different from the norm I think, hopefully interesting. This story should be quite different from canon, so take care if you want just a rehash. Spoilers for all volumes, 1 through 4 as of the time of this publishing, so take care.

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, and I have no funny jokes to post here. Boo x 2.

The Knight's Rise I

Even as Jaune Arc was launched into the air by some giant scorpion grimm, screaming his head off, he couldn't help but inwardly smile and laugh a little. He didn't know how he was going to land after being launched through the air for the second time that day, but he felt an inexplicable sense of budding hope growing within him. Back in his home town, no one had believed in him and his dream, and his parents had even told him that it was okay if he was sent back home. But in his short day at Beacon, he had found a new friend, a girl who seemed to like him, and a partner who he was sure he would get along well with.

Then again, his initiation had turned into a veritable battlefield with all the being launched around and giant human-hating monsters, so there were downsides as well as upsides.

Still, he didn't have long to think of any of this, as he soon impacted a similarly flying red projectile, sending them both into a tree. Dazed, Jaune looked down, finding himself on a tree branch, and saw his newest friend, Ruby Rose, lying on the ground. "Hi Jaune!" Ruby called out to him, hand waving, much too happy for having fallen out of the sky.

"Hi Ruby," Jaune sighed, waving his own hand at her. There wasn't much time for pleasantries however, as a familiar and refined voice called down from above them.

"I can't believe you left me up here!" Weiss cried out, barely holding on to a giant bird grimm that made Jaune think that maybe it was a bit too soon to have any kind of budding hope inside of him, considering how dangerous just initiation had turned out.

"I told you to jump!" responded Ruby, getting up from the ground and urging Weiss to come down with wide sweeps of her arms that sent the red cloak she was wearing flying around her.

"She's going to fall."

"Yeah, totally gonna fall."

Two new voices rang out, making Jaune finally take a good look around, seeing that he had somehow made his way to the ruin he and his partner where supposed to find, and that he and Ruby weren't the first ones there. Ruby's attractive blonde sister, Yang Xiao Long, was checking up on Ruby, and a girl he could just remember from last night, with raven black hair and a nice little bow on her head was right behind her. She must have been Yang's partner.

The ruins themselves were arranged into a circle, with short pillars holding little glinting chess pieces that had to be the relics they were looking for. Some were missing, showing that people had arrived even before Yang and her black-haired partner.

Thinking of what to do about his partner, who had been left behind when he had been unkindly launched into the air, his head shot up as a terrified scream came from above him. Weiss had finally gotten tired and couldn't hold on anymore, and was now plummeting towards the ground just like he and Ruby had.

"She's falling," remarked the bow clad girl, stating the obvious.

Wasting no time and ignoring Yang's partner, Jaune jumped up from his tree branch to catch Weiss, and once again wondered just how he was going to land as soon as he had her in his arms. Desperately trying to hide his panic, he weakly smiled. "Just dropping in?"

Before Weiss had a chance to do more than glare fiercely at Jaune, they had already reached the ground, his legs hurting more than he could ever remember, but miraculously not collapsing or dropping Weiss, a faint golden glow in his legs showing he probably had his partner to thank for unlocking his forcefield power. "You okay…?" Jaune gasped out, letting Weiss down with no little pain, before crookedly walking over to hold himself up against one of the nearby trees.

Not having stopped glaring at him, but somewhat grateful, Weiss grounded out her thanks. "I suppose you helped me out, thank you." Jaune's mouth was just widening into a large smile when Weiss continued. "But that is not to say that I couldn't have saved myself you know! Next time, refrain from giving me your aid unless I am to ask for it!"

Jaune only really heard one part of her sentence. "There's going to be a next time?"

Weiss let out a huff and made to turn away, but was distracted when a loud rumbling started to come from inside the forest. Before anyone could move, a large bear grimm came out of the woods, white light coming from its back, and it collapsed forward. An orange haired girl popped up behind it, evidently having been riding it. "Aww, it's broken…" she said, face showing her disappointment.

Behind her, a dark haired boy with a magenta stripe in his hair gasped as he caught up. "Nora, please never do that again." His words were quickly ignored as the girl, Nora, went skipping up to the ruins.

"Did that girl just ride in on an ursa?" asked the raven haired girl, her words directed at Yang, who shrugged, face set in fast growing confusion, and Jaune wondered if this was going to be a reoccurring thing with her.

Just as Jaune was about to decide whether he should join her, or worry about the circling and increasingly impatient giant black bird above them, his own partner finally caught up to them, the scorpion that had thrown him fast behind her.

"Is that a Deathstalker following that girl?" asked the raven haired girl again, making Jaune think that she really had quite the odd hobby. Beside her, Yang lost it.

"Will you people all just shut up for two seconds?!" Yang exploded, her blonde hair glowing so brightly Jaune almost thought it was on fire. Though Jaune agreed with her, none of the people at the ruins could oblige her, as Ruby ran off to fight the scorpion grimm advancing toward them, quickly getting knocked back and then fired at by the giant bird above them. With enormous black feathers Jaune noted, incredulous and gaping.

Jaune stood still, practically frozen and wondering when birds had developed the ability to shoot their feathers like bullets, as Weiss went out to help Ruby. She encased the large grimm in ice and helped Ruby get free of a feather that had gotten stuck in her cloak, then proceeding to have some kind of heart to heart with Ruby that he felt would be rude to eavesdrop in. Shaking himself off and turning his head upwards, he blanched, and looked towards the others nervously.

"Uh, guys, that things kinda circling back right now. What should we do?" Jaune asked, a slight sweat on his forehead.

Weiss turned back and spied the circling Nevermore. "There's no point sticking around here. We should just grab our relics and go." Ruby quickly agreed beside her.

"Run and live, now that's a plan I can happily go along with!" stated Jaune.

-A wild line break appears!-

This isn't just like a battlefield, Jaune remarked to himself, this is a battlefield!

Behind Jaune sat a broken bridge connecting a second set of ruins, which the giant black bird monster had broken just moments ago. His new friends had informed him that it was called a Nevermore. In front of him, he and his partner along with the green clad boy who's name was Lie Ren, and his own partner who was called Nora Valkyrie, were attempting to desperately survive against the giant scorpion that had sent him flying just a little while earlier. Apparently, it was called a Deathstalker, a name which gave Jaune no little fright.

Ruby and her sister Yang, along with the lovely Weiss and Captain Obvious, who Jaune now knew was called Blake Belladonna, were across the bridge fighting the Nevermore. He was a little worried about them, but he had his own large problem to worry about, he mused, as he blocked one of the Deathstalker's large claws. Well, the word blocked might have been a bit strong, as he was promptly launched onto his back, leaving Pyrrha to thrust and twirl her way around the claws, trying to hit one of its many eyes. It wasn't going so well for her either, as she was forced to block a thrust of its tail with her own round bronze colored shield, thrown back, but unlike him, landing gracefully on her feet with her weapons up and ready.

Ren was shooting at it wildly, trying to focus his shots on the thing's tail, but it was too small and too fast a target. Nora was swinging her large hammer around, doing the most damage, as she forced it to move with every strike of her large Warhammer. Jaune once again threw himself forwards, aiming to help Pyrrha hit its eyes, but gasped as the thing's tail hit him in his chest armor, forcing him to the ground and leaving a large gash that thankfully did not penetrate.

"Are you okay, Jaune?" called out Pyrrha, taking his place and far too busy twirling around the Deathstalker's attacks to go check on him. He grunted out an affirmative to her and got up, ignoring how his muscles were starting to burn badly now.

Ren was quickly tiring Jaune noted, panting more and more and his graceful movements becoming ever sloppier, though he hadn't been forced to the ground like him. Nora was cackling with every swing of her hammer, forcing the Deathstalker more and more back and leaving them with more breathing room, but even she would run out of strength eventually, he thought. His muscles burning and starting to gasp his breaths, he pulled Ren out of the way of the thing's fast moving tail and received another gash in his chest armor for his efforts, knocking them both to the ground.

"Come on, Jaune." Ren helped him get up, quickly rejoining the fight.

Throwing himself back at the giant monster's claws, Jaune tried to mimic Pyrrha's twirls but had limited success, being hit and pushed back with almost every attack aimed at him. His sword left not so much as a scratch on its thick armor, though his teammates fared no better. Nora's hammer was caught by a fast thrust of the Deathstalker's tail, making Ren catch her.

As the fight continued, Jaune's muscles were crying out for him to stop and rest, his breath came out in short gasps that didn't give him half enough air to breathe properly, and the rest of his team was fast tiring. Nora had stopped pushing the monster back, and in just a few moments he was sure that it would start forcing them back now, towards the end of the bridge and into a deep chasm.

Soon, the only thing Jaune could think about was how hard his heart was pounding in his chest, so loud he was sure the others could hear it if it weren't for the other sounds blanketing the battlefield. Ren's guns firing, Nora's heavy strikes and grenades, and the clangs of Pyrrha's part spear and part sword and part rifle trying to pierce or break the Deathstalker's strong armor. It was what he could only imagine a real warzone, like the kind his grandfather had always told him about in his stories would sound.

"This isn't working guys! Anyone got any ideas?" Jaune called out, desperate for anything. He received only the sound of grunts, and bullets, and steel hitting bone carapace.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come here after all, Jaune thought. Maybe mom and dad and my sisters were right. I'm not cut out for this. Everyone else got in fair and square, but I'm nothing but some faker.

Though Jaune was all scratched up and beaten, his impromptu teammates had yet to take a single scratch, though they had gotten knocked around a little. Each of them did provide something to the fight however, enough that they hadn't lost yet, though they would soon. He was clearly the weakest link there. A hero? How am I going to be a hero if this is all I can do? Jaune thought, starting to become lost in his own weakness. Just that morning he had felt an abundance of budding hope in his chest, but it was all but dead now.

Ren was the first of the others to take a direct hit, so tired he looked like he could collapse any second now. "Renny!" gasped Nora, leaving the fight to Pyrrha and Jaune to go help him up. "Come on Renny, up you get, it's not time to take a nap yet!" Ren groaned but got up.

If only I could be like them, Jaune wished. Though the fight wasn't going so well, they all had their own looks of determination on their faces. Pyrrha's face hadn't changed since they had started fighting, and even Ren who had just been knocked down hadn't shown any sign of giving up. They would make much better heroes than him.

Everyone here is trying to be a hero, just like me. Everyone's much stronger than me, they've been training their whole lives for this, right? Jaune wondered, his dream dying. He watched Pyrrha's face, determined and strong. Is this really all I can do?

How was he going to be a hero like his ancestors if this was all he could do, Jaune wondered. His teammates were losing the fight, but they all wanted to win, to rise above this situation and become heroes, much greater than he could ever hope to be.

"Maybe we should just run guys," Pyrrha said, looking at them all, the least injured and the least tired. "It would be a shame, but this isn't worth our lives."

No! Jaune shouted in his mind. Pyrrha was strong; she would be a hero who saved many people one day, he knew. There was no way he was going to let her run just because they, because he, was too weak. Beacon was the premier school for hunstmen in the Kingdom of Vale. He had faked himself in to train because he wanted to be great someday, to live up to the legacy of his family. Pyrrha was surely there for the same reason, as was Ren, and Nora, too.

I'm better than this! I might never be as strong as Pyrrha, or even as Ren and Nora, but I can't just give up here! Not now, not when I'm just at the starting line! Jaune cried out in his mind. He wouldn't falter here, he would be great one day, like his ancestors before him. He would not drag his friends down because he was too weak.

Jaune slowly started to regain his strength as he watched the others, desperately fighting with determination he could only envy and hope to one day achieve a fraction of.

Why did I even come here if this is all it takes to bring me down?! Live and run? I can do more than that! Jaune raged against himself. "Gahhh, screw you, you giant bug!" he yelled as hard as he could, his sword coming down so hard a crack finally appeared on the Deathstalker's armored head. Everyone stared for a long moment, breathless. Having found his resolve, a golden glow began to suffuse through Jaune's body.

Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora all stopped fighting to stare at him, and the Deathstalker miraculously watched and waited rather than attack them while they were distracted. Jaune knew exactly what to do now. "Head in the game guys! Pyrrha, it's head armor is cracked, you can get it this time! Ren, distract it so Pyrrha can get at it! Nora, get over and behind it and stop it from moving around so much!"

Snapping out of it, his partner gave him a wide smile and shifted her rifle into its spear form. "Of course, Jaune!"

Ren, who had actually begun smiling, gave his acknowledgment with a simple nod and set to firing on the Deathstalker, making the Deathstalker ignore the orange-head who had launched herself up and above it with a grenade. Pyrrha finally took out one of its eyes, making it flail around hard, but Nora hit it so hard from behind it went forward a few feet. Jaune gulped at what he was about to do, sweat running down his arms and making his grip on his sword and shield feel quite loose, but held his face set as solidly as he could.

I have no idea what I'm doing here, and I have no idea how to really fight this thing and win. But how can I, we, be heroes if we're stopped by this much, this early on! Jaune argued at himself.

Jaune crouched down and readied himself, the golden glow around him strengthening. The Deathstalker clearly didn't know what to do anymore, and it was all but stuck into place as it was hit on all sides. It was shaking and trying to spin, claws waving around and tail trying to find purchase on one of them, getting angrier and angrier.

Jaune waited, and finally yelled and leapt up as hard as he could as soon as he found what he thought was a good opening. "Give me a boost, Pyrrha!" he cried, tears streaming down his face due to how frightened he was. She placed her round shield on her shoulder, and pushed up as he landed on it.

Didn't even know I could jump like this! he thought to himself, and then yelled one more time as he landed and furiously swiped his sword forward, severing the Deathstalkers tail in one slice, causing a large amount of black ichor shoot out. He froze for just a moment, watching the tail starting to fall and the ichor start to stain his clothes and armor, as the 'ground' below him immediately started spasming and trying to knock him off.

"Nora!" Jaune called out, voice starting to become hoarse. "Hit it hard!"

In a brilliant display of ability that Jaune knew he did not possess but didn't have even a fraction of a second to dwell on, he kicked the tail up high above him, as Nora came flying in and smashed it hard into the middle of the Deathstalker's back, causing more black ichor to shoot out and making him unceremoniously fall off. The Deathstalker gave out one last screech before it completely collapsed, dead.

Lying on the ground and watching black smoke start to come off the corpse and blood on his chest, Jaune finally relaxed and let go of both sword and shield of Crocea Mors in his hands. Breathing hard and fast enough he almost thought he was hyperventilating, he started to laugh. To the side, Nora was whooping with joy and hugging Ren, who was half-heartedly trying to shake her off and almost on his knees, but with his own small smile. Above him, his partner slowly filled his vision, smiling at him softly in a way that would have made him stutter and blush if he hadn't felt so tired and elated.

"Excellent work, Jaune. I can see why you were accepted into Beacon even without aura," she congratulated him, hand extended to help him up. Accepting both her thanks and help, not even thinking to feel guilty about her statement with the large positive emotion inside of him, he simply beamed at her.

Remembering suddenly about his other friend fighting a giant bird creature, he let go of Pyrrha and frantically looked across the bridge, just managing to watch as Ruby ran up the cliff and decapitated the Nevermore. Mouth open, Jaune could only say "What the hell? Wow!"

-A wild line break appears!-

Jaune was exhausted. He and his friends were slumping against a wall in a large auditorium, caked in dirt and watching alongside an audience of what could only be older Beacon students, as the teams were announced in the front by the silver haired professor with the cane, Ozpin, on a large screen showing team names and faces. Despite the hard battle they had been through and his great exhaustion, the budding hope that had almost wilted and died during their fight with the Deathstalker had grown bigger and hotter than it ever had.

He had proven himself. Jaune Arc may not be the strongest one there, he may be the weakest link, but he had come up with the plan to save them. In the heat of battle, he had somehow grown stronger than he had ever been. He could only hope to ever be as great as Pyrrha, or Ren, or Nora, but he would be a hero, alongside them. He would be great, too. He just knew it.

The ceremony passed by rather eventfully, full of cheering and new happy huntsmen and women in training, until finally, it was his turn. The silver haired professor started listing off names, and he and his new team assembled on the stage before his new peers. "Jaune Arc. Pyrrha Nikos. Lie Ren. Nora Valkyrie. Having collected the white rook pieces, you will now be known as Team JNPR, led by Jaune Arc."

"Led by who?!" Jaune gasped, head swinging towards the screen with his team's faces and names. Me? The weakest out of all four of us? Nora cheered and started jumping, making him wonder where she got all her energy from. Ren gave him a nod of acknowledgment, a small smile on his face that Jaune knew was a cheer from anyone else. Pyrrha playfully bumped his shoulder, but tired as he was, he collapsed on the ground from it.

"Oh no! I'm sorry!" Pyrrha apologized profusely, helping him up, a blush of embarrassment on her face. The entire crowd plus Nora had started to laugh and Jaune couldn't help but join in with them, a wide smile on his face.

"Congratulations young man," came the soft voice of Professor Ozpin, shaking Jaune's hand once he was up.

Just this morning I would've been too embarrassed for words, thought Jaune, coming off the stage to watch the newly formed Team RWBY with his friends. But I've proved myself. Pyrrha even said so, and apparently, she's super famous or something. I belong here.

Jaune clapped for Team RWBY as hard as he could.

-A wild line break appears!-

The next morning, Jaune was the first to wake up. Having grown up with seven younger sisters, he was quite used to waking up early in the morning. He and his team had been led to their new dorm after the ceremony last night, right across from Team RWBY. It was small and didn't really have enough room for four people, but it had a small window looking over the Beacon grounds, and felt surprisingly homely.

By the time the others woke up and joined Jaune a short while later, he had already had a morning shower and was reading the new issue of his favorite comic, which he had picked up and promised himself not to read until he was safely accepted into Beacon.

"Morning guys," Jaune greeted them, sitting on his bed.

"Mornin', Fearless Leader!" was Nora's greeting, springing up out of bed. "I wonder what's for breakfast this morning? Ooh, I hope it's pancakes!"

"Good morning, Jaune," came Pyrrha's greeting to Jaune. She immediately started to unpack her things, starting with her uniform and toiletries.

Ren simply nodded, sleepily heading to the bathroom, clearly not a morning person. Jaune started to unpack his own things together with his team, having held back so he wouldn't wake them up. As they slowly worked, Nora volunteered to fill the silence.

"Man, yesterday was awesome, wasn't it? That Deathstalker didn't know what was coming! We all went like whoosh, and clang, and it went all 'Aargh, you've killed me!'" Nora happily chirped off. "Jauney, what was that golden glow you had on while you were fighting yesterday? It was so cool, and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, too."

Jaune's hands stopped as he considered her question, having noticed himself but dismissing it in the heat of the moment. "I dunno, I just figured it was my forcefield, err, aura. It looked kinda like when Pyrrha unlocked it."

"Pyrrha did? You mean your aura wasn't unlocked before yesterday?" asked Ren, who had come out of the shower and let Pyrrha in. He looked faintly impressed, and voiced so. "That's impressive, Jaune. Not many can claim to have been accepted into Beacon like that. Though, that wouldn't have been your aura, it would've been your semblance. Nora's right actually, looking at that golden glow, I remembered…"

Ren trailed off and looked at the grinning and happy Nora sorting through her things, clearly remembering something in the past between them.

Jaune laughed a little unsteadily, not wanting to pry and also remembering how exactly it was that he had gotten into Beacon. "Yeah, well, you know. I'm from a small village outside of the kingdom, and there was no one there who ever offered. To be honest, I didn't even know what aura was until Pyrrha told me about it. Which also means I don't know what a semblance is."

"Really?" asked Ren, puzzled now. "Didn't you hear of it in school? Every huntsman has aura, it's not something unusual to at least learn of in your classes."

Coughing and looking away, Jaune felt chagrined. "Yes, well, I have seven younger sisters you know, and my family wasn't all that well off or anything. I didn't really focus on my schoolwork like I should've, since I spent a lot of time helping my family out and stuff."

"Well that's quite admirable," came Pyrrha's voice, done with her shower and drying her hair. "It explains some things a little more, too, I think. A semblance, Jaune, is a power manifests as a result of our aura. It is powered by our aura, and different for every person, with a few notable exceptions. Not everyone manifests one, so you should be proud of yourself."

Feeling pleased with himself, Jaune nodded and grinned happily. "So, what is my semblance then? A golden glow, making people feel warm and fuzzy…"

"I'm not sure, but I assume it must be a passive effect that activates during battle, and encourages your allies," explained Ren. "That's why Nora felt, well, 'warm and fuzzy.'"

"Not too shabby, and kinda good for a team leader, too," nodded Jaune. "Speaking of which, I wonder what's going to be expected of me as a leader. Well, I did get our schedule last night, guess that's the start of it…"

Jaune started looking through his things for the paper he was given last night, which contained their schedules for the day. Can't believe classes already start today, you'd think they would at least give us one day to rest after initiation… Jaune thought to himself as he found the paper in his sweater. Examining the names of the rather odd sounding classes, he noted the time for the first class and looked to the clock to see how much time they had left. Slowly, the blood drained off his face, leaving him pale like a ghost.

"What's wrong, Jaune?" asked Pyrrha, making her bed. "You've gotten quite pale."

"Uh, guys, I think we uh, should get a move on. According to this, our first class is in… five minutes." Jaune slowly explained. Everyone turned to look at him and no one moved for a second.

"What?! Does this mean we don't have time for breakfast?!"

-A wild line break appears!-

Luckily, they weren't the only ones with a late start. Team RWBY had joined them in their morning sprint to their first class. Apparently, they had solved the problem of their cramped dorm with bunk beds, and had thus been kept busy unpacking and assembling them. Jaune felt a little jealous, having not even considered such, but it was too late for his own team to do so, having already set their room up.

The first class of the day was called Grimm Studies, and was held in a classroom full of fake stuffed grimm heads, diagrams of common grimm, some of which Jaune recognized from initiation, and there was a huge axe on a mantle above the center of the whiteboard. The teacher was a pleasantly plump man called Peter Port, with a smile as wide as his handsome mustache.

Wonder if I'll ever be able to grow facial hair like that, Jaune thought, hand on his face and feeling nothing but smooth skin, as every time he looked.

"Welcome everyone, to Grimm Studies! Creepy crawlies, creatures of the night, demons, the grimm! Or as I prefer to call them, prey!" the professor started. One student sitting a little above Jaune started to laugh a little, but quickly grew quiet and coughed when no one joined him. The professor's smile faltered a little but immediately grew back to full strength.

"Ahem, well, yes, that is what we will be studying in this class. But before anything else, how about a small story, about me, as a young boy!" Professor Port continued. Jaune was very interested in hearing a story from a real live huntsman and readied his notebook and pen for notes, but was fast disappointed as the professor's very boring tale rapidly turned into white noise. Looking around, he saw others trying to take notes and failing like him.

Ruby down below him had already started doodling in her notebook. The lovely Weiss was being attentive, her and Pyrrha trying to take notes, but both seemed to be failing to find much of anything worthwhile to write down. Nora was snoring already, Ren futilely trying to discreetly wake her up, but Professor Port didn't seem to notice.

Jaune resigned himself to lay his head on his notebook and try to absorb as much of the fatiguing story as he could, but quickly fell asleep.

Some time later, Jaune awoke to a hand shaking his shoulder. "Jaune… Jaune… Wake up, Jaune…" Groaning loudly, he lifted his face up to see his not so amused partner. "You can't fall asleep in class, Jaune. I know the professor's story was a little… Well… Dull, but you should try to stay awake and take some notes anyway," Pyrrha scolded him, gathering her things. Beside her Nora was vibrating with excitement.

"You missed the big fight, Boss! Professor Blah Blah let out this wicked boar grimm and Weiss fought it!" Nora happily informed him of what he had missed, and he suddenly felt extremely disappointed at having missed a fight with Weiss. "She was all like, whoosh, whoosh, with her rapier, and then the grimm was like 'No!' and knocked it out of her hand, but then-"

"I think that's enough, Nora," Ren calmed her down smoothly. "We get it. Also, please try to call our professor's by their real names." Nora just threw a raspberry at him, quickly gathering her things.

"It was an interesting fight anyways, Jaune, I'd never seen that kind of grimm before, it was called a Boarbatusk apparently. You should try to stay awake next time. Well, not like you were the only one sleeping through most of the class anyway…" Ren trailed off, looking at Nora who had finished grabbing her things and was all but jumping up and down waiting for them.

"Oh yeah, what's our next class, we should get going," Jaune thought out loud, taking their schedule out. "History huh?"

Below JNPR, Weiss yelled angrily and stormed off from Ruby, taking Jaune's attention. "What's with her?" he asked, somewhat worriedly.

Ren shrugged. "She seemed to not take the advice of her teammates during her fight very well. You should probably leave them be to sort it out themselves. These things are to be expected with brand new teams." Jaune frowned but nodded his head, trying to look and see if Weiss was outside the classroom's door.

"I'm sure she'll be just fine, Jaune," said Pyrrha, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. He smiled at her and nodded, lifting up his bag and taking a look around. They were some of the last ones in the room. Blood draining from his face, he looked at the clock.

"We're going to be late again!"

-A wild line break appears!-

History had not gone so well either. They had rushed into the classroom, yet again, this time tripping on his way in the door and making the class laugh at him.

The professor, one Bartholomew Oobleck – Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck that was, talked, moved, and wrote his notes so quickly Jaune could barely catch up. He had at least not fallen asleep this time, but it was hard, and he had not taken many worthwhile notes despite being awake. A quick glance at his partner's notebook had shown that she had actually kept up, but Jaune felt embarrassed at the thought of asking her for help.

Team RWBY was one of the first to leave he noted, and he saw that Weiss was still quite angry. Jaune had seen her taking furious notes and felt a bit envious that she could keep up with the doctor even while so upset. It was probably to be expected of someone like Weiss though, and he felt his admiration for her grow a little.

He should make an example of her for himself, he thought, but let his face fall onto his desk with a groan, too tired to think on how he should improve himself right then and there.

"Everything alright, Jaune?" asked Ren, seeing Jaune's face hit his desk. Pyrrha laughed and slapped his shoulder playfully, aching more than anything playful had any right to.

"Yeah, it's just, I'm not doing so well so far, am I? Falling asleep in Port's class, tripping on my way here, and now this…" Jaune tried to explain. Ren nodded sympathetically.

"It's just the first day. You'll have plenty of time to make up for today even just the rest of this week. And we'll be right here to help you with your studies if you need it," Ren told him.

"Yeah, and besides, it's not like everyone was being mean to you! You gotta admit, you made quite the entrance! And anyway, your team's here if anyone does try to make fun of you for it, we'll break their legs if they try!" Nora told him, going on to describe the classroom when he had tripped and how much she had laughed, making his face redden a little, but he just smiled at her. Nora, he was coming to learn, was simply like that.

"That's right, we're a team after all, that's how this works. Though, we probably won't be breaking anyone's legs, Nora, that does not seem quite, appropriate shall we say," Pyrrha talked, swinging her bag on her shoulder. Nora groaned disappointedly, making them all chuckle.

"Now come, it's time for lunch, is it not? A full stomach will help your mind rest a little," Pyrrha finished reassuring him, and held a hand out to him. Grateful, Jaune took her hand and hoisted himself up.

Beacon's lunchroom was huge, with large tables lined up from one side to the other, large windows showing a great view of the grounds, and a multitude of vending machines for all kinds of junk food and drinks. There was a surprisingly large amount of variety in the food, Jaune noted as he ordered. He even thought he saw a swordfish being eaten by one of the teams near the counter.

It did make some sense; Beacon was the most prestigious of Vale's huntsmen academies. Not the only one, but the biggest and most important. People came from all over Vale, and even from other Kingdoms to attend it. Thus, there had to be a wide variety of food, and being as prestigious as it was, a budget large enough to do it.

"Jaune, over here!" called a certain girl wearing a red cloak even over her uniform, as soon as he and his team started looking for a table. She was with Yang and Blake, but Weiss seemed to be missing from her table. Wonder where Weiss is. And, is Ruby allowed to do that? Jaune wondered as he took a seat next to her. He also noted that one

"Hi, Ruby. Say, where's Weiss?" Jaune asked, looking around to see if he had missed her at the counter. "Shouldn't she be with you guys?" Ruby and her team looked at each other, clearly uncomfortable.

"Well, we had a bit of a, fight I guess," Ruby explained, face downcast.

"Yeah, the prissy little ice queen's upset that Ruby was the one made team leader instead of her," Yang explained, looking angry. Blake stayed silent, quietly eating with a book in one hand.

"Oh, uh, sorry I brought it up," was all Jaune could say, starting to feel uncomfortable. Well, it was natural to be upset about not being made leader if you were expecting it, he felt, but he also thought bringing it up like Weiss clearly had was a little rude. Well, it was Weiss, she probably had her reasons, he felt, she seemed intelligent enough for that, but said nothing. He looked away and started eating, the atmosphere turning slightly awkward.

"Well, if you want we can go find her and set her straight!" Nora offered, uncaring about the sudden silence. "We can go ahead and slap her silly 'till she sees the error of her ways!" Her suggestion was incredulous enough that everyone laughed a little, and the mood lightened.

No one brought up Weiss again, and they spent the rest of the lunch period talking about how they felt about their first day. Nora had a particularly interesting story about a fight with some grimm that left Ren groaning. Eventually, Jaune turned to the clock and felt a now familiar sensation in his face.

"We're gonna be late again!"

-A wild line break appears!-

Their final class of the day was a combat class with Professor Glynda Goodwitch, the blonde woman with glasses that had been with Professor Ozpin during initiation. JNPR and RWBY had once again just managed to not be late, though only by a hair. Jaune was glad for it, as the stern expression on the professor's face told him she wouldn't have been pleased if they had been tardy. The classroom was large, due to a stage in front of the seats, where he assumed they would be fighting, and it had a large screen on the opposite wall.

"Welcome, students. I am Professor Glynda Goodwitch. In my class, you will be learning to fight against human opponents," Professor Goodwitch started. "This class will be fairly straightforward, and mostly physical. I will tolerate no tomfoolery, as it could lead to serious injury. You will be fighting after all, with your real weapons. Look up here at this screen," the professor continued, pointing up behind her. There, her face and name appeared alongside a green bar that looked like a health bar from a video game.

"This screen will show everyone your aura levels, monitored by your scrolls. Should anyone lack a scroll, Beacon will provide one at no cost to you. There are three levels to this bar: green, yellow, and red. When your bar reaches red, your fight will stop." Here Professor Goodwitch snapped her whip at them, making no small amount of them jump. "After all, if your aura levels reach zero, there is a very real chance of serious injury."

Despite her rather harsh words, no one there seemed at all frightened at the prospect of being injured except for Jaune himself, who rubbed his shoulder and wondered if he would be one of the ones inflicted with a serious injury. He was probably the weakest one there after all. The professor went on like this for a good portion of the class period, explaining various rules and tournament regulations that made Jaune's head spin trying to keep up with them all. His team, especially Pyrrha, seemed quite excited. He spied Ruby bouncing on her seat, eager to get a chance to fight, even though she surely had to find the professor's lecture as boring as he did.

Speaking of Ruby, his eyes sought out Weiss, who had missed lunch, and found her sitting with her team, leaving him with a bit of relief. She seemed much calmer than she had when she stormed out of Professor Port's class, or when she was slightly fuming during Doctor Oobleck's.

Professor Goodwitch finally finished and took a look at the clock. "Well, we have time for one fight today. Let's see, who shall go…" She looked around, and Jaune immediately avoided her eyes, not half as eager to fight as Ruby had just seemed. These people were all trained at a combat school, and he was just some kid that faked his way in. He probably wasn't half as strong as the rest of them, trained heroes, unlike him.

Jaune had done relatively well against the Deathstalker, but that was probably thanks to his semblance and teamwork. What use did a semblance that inspired allies have in a one on one fight? His hopes at avoiding a fight that day were immediately dashed however. "Jaune Arc. And, Cardin Winchester."

Jaune looked around nervously, trying to find his opponent, and then felt nauseous when he saw him stand up. Cardin Winchester was a large, muscular boy with short burnt orange hair that he recognized from initiation. He was the leader of Team CRDL. Cardin saw Jaune looking and smiled mockingly at him. Jaune stood and gulped.

"You'll be just fine, Jaune. Just fight like you did in initiation against that Deathstalker and you will have nothing to fear," Pyrrha reassured him, seeing his nervousness.

"Yeah, Jauney! Don't worry, you totally got this!" Nora chipped in, giving him a thumbs up.

Over on the side, he could see Ruby also waving her arms at him, smiling widely and making Weiss frown at her. Jaune laughed a bit and smiled as cheerfully as he could at all of them.

"Yeah, I got this guys. No worries." Jaune's voice turned slightly shrilly at the end of his sentence, and he was sure no one believed him.

Making his way to the locker room in the back of the classroom to put his armor on and grab Crocea Mors, he could feel his legs shake a bit and tried to calm his beating heart, which was slowly starting to pump harder and faster.

Come on, I can do this. Who cares how big and scary and strong Cardin seems? Jaune tried to pump himself up, pulling his armor on above his Pumpkin Pete sweater. I fought that Deathstalker after all, how hard can it be to fight another person? Even if he is probably stronger than me?

Cardin finished before Jaune and made sure to push him with his shoulder a bit on his way out of the classroom. "Let's have a good fight, Jauney-Boy," Cardin told him on his way out, a smile on his face that made Jaune shiver.

Strapping his last buckle on tightly, Jaune calmed himself as much as he could while he headed towards the stage. Maybe I should call it a battlefield instead. Jaune laughed nervously to himself. Cardin's gonna be trying his hardest to hurt me after all, just like a real battle.

Professor Goodwitch was standing at the center of the stage with Cardin. "Okay boys, ready yourselves and remember the rules. In one, two, three, fight!"

Jaune unsheathed his blade and shifted his shield into place. At the corner of his eye, he could make out the green bars that indicated his and Cardin's aura levels. Out on the stands, he could hear JNPR and part of RWBY cheering him on.

"Go Jauney, you've got this!"

"Yeah Jaune, go get him!"

"Fight well, Jaune!"

Jaune nodded to them and smiled, grateful at their well wishes. Cardin only smiled mockingly at him, his own team similarly cheering him on. Cardin's weapon was a large mace that he readied in front of him, with only a single hand. Jaune would only barely be able to lift it with both hands, he thought in slight despair.

Slowly, they both advanced to the center of the stage, and Cardin was the first to strike. Yelping, Jaune hurriedly ducked and promptly slipped, falling on his face. The only reason Cardin didn't take advantage of his fall was because he had started chuckling. He thought he could even hear someone groaning out in the stands, but wasn't sure because of the blood pumping in his ears.

The crowd jeered at him, and face a little red, Jaune rolled back and stood, somewhat unsteadily. He tried to take the initiative, but was quickly repelled. What followed was a series of blows from Cardin that filled his ears with the sound of metal clashing, as he desperately blocked each attack on his shield. Cardin at least didn't hit as hard as the Deathstalker had, but his arm still ached with every blow, and Jaune was soon starting to breath harshly, unable to do anything but block and stand his ground.

Jaune's ears were ringing with the sound of clashing metal and distracted him, leading to him taking one particularly strong blow on his chest armor, making him wheeze and almost drop to his knees.

"Is that all you've got, Arc? Are you just a little weakling?" taunted Cardin at him, his blows starting to come in slightly faster and harder. Jaune didn't respond and strafed back, trying to catch his breath, but Cardin immediately followed him and left him with no time to rest.

I don't know if I can do this, Jaune thought faintly, getting more and more tired. I thought I was every bit the hero everyone else is, but am I really?

Jaune was able to sneak a look at the giant screen during a small lull in Cardin's attacks, and was surprised to note that despite the aching and burning in his arm, and his own harsh breath, his aura was only just about to hit the yellow; his aura was still in the green, even after the hit in the chest he had taken. Cardin's aura had only taken one small hit, but the sight emboldened Jaune a little. After all, this was a huntsman in training that had gone to combat school. Someone with experience, probably stronger than him, who had come to be a hero, like him. To have kept up this long with him… It was a surprisingly good feeling.

Cardin followed Jaune's gaze and frowned, the first time the smile on his face had dropped. He's not doing as well as he had hoped! Thought Jaune in elation.

Taking one deep breath, Jaune caught steadied himself during a short lull in Cardin's attacks, and the next time Cardin's mace hit his shield, he threw him back with every bit of strength he could muster up. Cardin stumbled and lost his rhythm, eyes wide and face no longer smiling.

Jaune immediately followed through, and he was the one that took the aggressive side this time, sword repeatedly coming down on Cardin's mace. Face now set in a scowl, deep with concentration, Cardin tried to take the lead again but didn't have the room to move his mace properly with how close Jaune was to him. It was one of the small drawbacks of a longer weapon.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

The sound of metal hitting metal filled Jaune's ears, the ringing in them growing, but now comforting instead of distracting. It was the sound of warriors clashing, not of a fake being pushed back. Jaune started to glow, and the classroom grew silent, save for a few gasps of wonder.

Not able to do anything more than block Jaune's sword on the shaft of his mace, Cardin desperately tried to bring the butt of his mace up to hit him in the face, but Jaune took immediate advantage and hit Cardin in the stomach with his shield. Cardin fell to his knees and wheezed for breath.

Jaune ignored everything around him, the sound, the burning in his arms, the breath leaving his mouth in gasps, and completely focused on his opponent now that he was down. He focused so hard he couldn't think of anything but of winning. Cardin scrambled to get up, but he didn't let up like Cardin had at the start of the fight. He knew that he needed to take every advantage he could get, because he wasn't as strong as his opponent.

Jaune kicked Cardin's mace away and slashed at him with abandon, forcing him to bring his arms up to guard his face, until with a yell Jaune's legs were kicked out under him. No, not yet, I'm not done yet! Jaune fervently told himself, getting up despite the pain across his entire body. A memory came to him then, of Pyrrha spinning around the Deathstalker's claws during initiation.

With a loud grunt, launched himself forward as hard as he could in a brilliant swirl of golden flurries and spun, his sword hitting Cardin's chest with all the momentum of his sprint and spin. A golden explosion ripped into Cardin's armor, denting it and sending him flying back.

That's it, Jaune gasped, falling on his back and laying his arms out, completely spent. I can't do anymore.

When the ringing and pounding in his ears finally died down, the sound that met his ears was not the one he was expecting however. Wide cheers met his ears, and he could hear his team hollering at him, and Ruby annoying Weiss. Groaning and turning his sore neck up and to the side, Jaune's eyes widened, and his breath caught. Jaune's aura was in still in the yellow, a mere sliver away from the red, but Cardin's was completely gone, empty.

Jaune laughed. He laughed until he couldn't let out as much as a short gasp. It was the only thing he could do, as completely in disbelief as he was. He had won. Inexplicably, he was the winner, he, the untrained faker. He had beat Cardin. His teammates soon came running down to help him up, but Jaune could do nothing more than smile at their worried faces, as his tired vision slowly turned to black.

"Pyrrha, give him mouth to mouth, he's leaving us!"

-Knight's Rise I: End-

AN: And that's that. I'm not sure I have much else to say. I'm going to try to get the next chapter out in a week, but assume erratic updates just in case. As far as pairings go, you'll see, but I will say it's gonna be either Pyrrha or Weiss. Who, you'll just have to wait and see, but it's probably a long while yet for that.

Jaune's semblance is far from being completely uncovered, you've not seen all of it yet. It should easy enough for one or two people to guess what it is by this point I think, but Jaune will find out soon enough, I think.

I hope you all enjoyed this. 'Till next time.