A/N: A bit longer chapter, but not as long as it was originally. Hopefully the next chap wont take as long. The fighting scene was a bitch to write. Please enjoy.

Chapter 3 - Showdown

Time: [1.09: PM]

Location: [City of Vale, Beacon Academy, Dueling class]

The class was filled with cheers, as two students battled against each other. The rapier, quick and precise, tried to thrust and penetrate the spear's defences but was easily staved off. She was parried, sometimes stopped with a shield. The spear user knew how to utilise his weapon's length and using wide sweeps, kept her opponent at an optimal distance. Though the rapier tried to find the angles, from which her opponent wouldn't be able to guard, the foot work of the spear user made it hard. Even the glyphs that accelerated and diversified her movements, seemed to be of no use. The crowd was going wild as the battle was going on, all eyes were tightly focused on the two fighters, except Weltraum's.

Weltraum had been absent-minded since this morning's heart-to-heart with Rust. He had originally hoped to reach some kind of understanding with them, to make his stay in Beacon much easier, for both him and the huntsmen, but apparently, that was not going to happen. His past actions had come to haunt him in the worst possible moment and he was at a loss for words. In their eyes he had done something unforgivable, and he was in no position to argue or explain, as he would most certainly only make the situation worse.

The huntsmen had kept silence since after breakfast and while Rust seemed to be back to his old self, Vermillion seemed gloomier than normal. Not that Weltraum could see his face under the hood, but he could feel his irritation in the air and in his impatient movements. He was sitting between the two, as he usually did, and it felt excruciating. For every second that passed, he could breathe in a little less. He felt like he was suffocating, pressured hard from each side by their cold, unwavering presence.

A rapier was flung through the air and hit the floor with a metallic clang, startling Weltraum. He shifted his focus on the stage where the battle had ended.

"Winner, Pyrrha Nikos" Glynda Goodwitch announced, accompanied with a roar from the crowd. She then began to analyze the match; "Miss Schnee, good use of glyphs and understanding what you were up against, yet you still remain easily readable. Try attacking in a way your opponent doesn't expect. Straight forward and proud are good qualities, but not always in a battlefield." She concluded.

"Yes, professor Goodwitch. I'll try to remember that." She answered, as she picked up her weapon.

"Miss Nikos, I noticed your improved foot work. Excellent mix of defending and attacking once again."

"Thank you, professor." Pyrrha said and proceeded to walk back to her seat with Weiss.

"I almost got you from behind." Weiss pointed out bitterly.

"Yes you did, but you used the same maneuver last week." Pyrrha remarked.

"I'll defeat you one day, believe me." She said proud.

"I believe you." Pyrrha said with all honesty.

Miss Goodwitch kept talking about efficient combat tactics and the classroom calmed down a bit. Student's were still excited about the previous match, still talking and arguing about it.

"That was awesome." Nora exclaimed, eyes glimmering with excitement. "Jaune, wanna go next?" She asked her team leader.

"Nora, people have their expectations after a fight. I can't top something like that." He said worried.

"Maybe not yet, Jaune. But you'll get there. I know it." Pyrrha assured.

Nora giggled and zoomed next to Jaune, putting her hand around his shoulder. "We are a team silly, what you lack, I compensate. Just stand there and let me smack you around. I'll make it glorious." She took her arm around him and mimicked an explosion with her hands.

This made Jaune even more worried. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"C'mon Jaune, what's the worst thing that could happen?" She smiled widely.

"You going berserk and wrecking the whole classroom again." Ren pointed out dryly.

"Once, Ren! Once!" She cried, posing overly dramatic.

Miss Goodwitch finished up her after fight monologue with a piece comprising of understanding and reading your opponent. She then announced; "Next pair up, any volunteers?" The crowd murmured.

Yang stood up, signalling her willingness. "I'm in."

"Miss Xia Long, you are always up for a fight, aren't you?" She shook her head.

"Yes, I am" She said smiling, while walking down the stairs to the middle of the room. She took her place in front of the professor.

"And who will be fighting against, Miss Xia Long?"

If there had been any eagerness or willingness to participate in the audience before, it was gone. Usually when her name came up as a combatant, not many wanted to fight her. She was known to be one fierce fighter, that not many could face with their pride intact.

"If there is no volunteers, they will be picked by me." Miss Goodwitch said sternly.

"How about the new guy?!" Cardin Winchester of team CRDL shouted from back of the class.

"Yeah, he's been bragging all week! It's about time someone kicked his noble ass!" Yelled Cardin's green team mate next to him.

Rest of team CRDL laughed in agreement. Everyone knew who they meant. People in the classroom seemed to like the idea of not having to go themselves and at the same time kicking the new student off his high horse. Nodding and voices of acceptance filled the crowd.

The professor fixed her sight on the young man between the huntsmen. "Mister Schwarz. How has your stay with us been so far."

Weltraum stood up and spoke. "It has been, for lack of a better word, exciting. The people here are fun, they speak what's on their mind unlike in Atlas. The change is welcome."

"That's good. Would you be willing to participate?"

"Only if I'm allowed."

To the people in the room that sounded arrogant, but the truth was that it was a question that needed to be asked.

Professor Goodwitch addressed the huntsmen. "You don't mind if we borrow him for a second?"

Rust looked doubtful. "Is that safe?" The question was not about Weltraum's safety even though the other student's thought so.

"Of course. As long as I am here no student will be hurt during these classes." She addressed the huntsmen.

This seemed to reassure Rust and he nodded in agreement. The young man weaved his way from back of the class in front of the professor, rolling the sleeves of his sweater.

"Oh, I should mention. My weapon got misplaced as I transferred here. So I will be fighting unarmed. Is that okay?"

"If you think you can manage. Yang, you have anything to say against?"

"Nope, as long as you don't disappoint me." She winked at him.

"I won't" Weltraum said with confidence.

Student's laughed in their seats while few grumbled. "He's gonna get wrecked."

"Yeah, he thinks he can fight bare handed against Yang."

"Or he is just arrogant."

"Or stupid."

"Go Yang! Kick his ass!"

"Yeah! Kick his ass 'till it's grass."

"Dude, no one says that anymore."

"Rest in pieces, new guy." The female student made a cross with her hands.

Weltraum observed his surroundings and listened. His opponent was named Yang and she was a capable fighter, according to the student's. But he was confident in his own skills, even without his weapon. He filled his lungs with air and fully exhaled, preparing himself for the fight.

"You know the rules?" Miss Goodwitch asked from the young man.

"Yes. Sparring match. First to drop his opponent's aura to red, wins."

Yang had brought her fist straight up in front of her, offering a fist bump. "Good luck."

Weltraum ignored her offer and stepped few steps back, raising his hands up and widening his stance a bit, showing his readiness.

"Okay." She said lowering her hand. She took few steps back too and took her own stance. Her Ember Celica transformed into their assault form with a few clicks and a whirs.

Miss Goodwitch verified both to be ready and stepped back to observe. "Begin."

Yang instantly rushed within striking distance in under a second. She tried to hit her still opponent with a heavy right straight, but Weltraum stepped in, dodging the blow. She did not expect him to get closer and Weltraum quickly kicked her left knee, forcing her to kneel and delivered a rising elbow to her chin. This staggered and pushed Yang back and she tried to defend, but he drove his heel into her upper chest with a fast side kick. She was sent flying across the room, finally hitting the floor with a 'thump' and sliding across it for a few meters.

Weltraum turned to speak with the audience smiling slightly complacent."As Professor Goodwitch explained earlier today, reading your opponent is important. I took notice of miss Xia Longs choice of weapons, her gauntlets and determined her to be an extreme close ranged fighter, most likely to be specialized to striking." He said playfully, knowing it would grind the gears of the audience. "Since she had her weapon, she thought the safest approach would be the close the distance and overpower me, but..."

Two shotgun shots sounded in the room and before Weltraum could react, a yellow gauntlet impacted into his temple. It fired again and ejected him into the air spinning.

In the meanwhile he had been talking, Yang had recovered. She had got up and launched herself with her gauntlets at great speed towards the young man and attacked fiercely.

The force of the punch was great, as it flew him across the room. His body came to stop at the opposite wall, hitting back first and upside down, denting it. He slid along the wall and landed head first into the floor. The crowd exploded into cheers for the blonde boxer. Members of team CRDL bursted out laughing and so did few others.

"Ooh, that must hurt." Jaune winced.

"I kind a feel bad for the guy, you should not hold your punches against someone like Yang." Pyrrha said.

"Go Yang!" Ruby cheered gleefully.

Yang smirked. "Professor Goodwitch also has reminded us multiple times to check our scrolls to see our and our opponent's aura levels. Being alert is as important as reading your opponent."

For a few seconds Weltraum did not move. Professor Goodwitch began to worry and she checked her scroll. Yang's aura had dropped less than a tenth of her total, while Weltraum's had dropped about the same, even though the attack he had sustained seemed to be way more powerful. After a few seconds, Weltraum flopped to his back and sat up, rubbing his neck and groaning.

"Come on, you're not done yet, are you?" Yang asked playfully and readied her stance again.

He rose up. "Okay, the kiddie gloves come off." His playfulness, unlike Yang's, was gone. His eyes were serious, with a hint of something intimidating. He started to slowly walk back to the middle, while Yang waited without attacking. He quickened his step, until he came to a sprint, closing the gap and began his attack again, but with greater intensity.

He kicked fast and accurately but either missed or was parried. He had underestimated her, but he wasn't going to let it happen again. He mixed jukes with his kicks, attacking from weird angles, switching between kicks and strikes. It was effective as he got few hit in, but her guard with her gauntlets proved to be too hard to penetrate without a weapon of some sort.

Yang on the other hand seemed to have fun, as she was smiling constantly. She attacked, feinting a punch herself. Weltraum fell for it and she was able to hit him in the head with a backhand strike directly from above. It was strong, making him slam the floor hard, crack it and bounce back because of the force. Their eyes met while he was in the air, where Yang struck him again with a strong uppercut to the chin. He flew up and then landed to his back. Weltraum groaned and was struggling to get up.

"You've been doing pretty well without your weapon." Yang complimented him. "But as you see, you should give up about now."

This condescending tone enraged him. He was losing to this girl younger than him and it irritated him to no end. He could not defeat her in hand-to-hand combat right now, not without his weapon, but martial arts was not the only tool in his arsenal.

She walked towards the young man and stopped couple of meters in front of him, laying her left hand on her side. "When we first met, you were really confident in your skills. I really hoped you would satisfy me." She said, sounding disappointed.

He rose up suddenly and looked deep in her eyes. "Then allow me to satisfy your interest." He brought his open hand forward and said; "Yang."

Yang's screams echoed in the class room.

Please comment and critique, as it will help me grow as a writer. Also please be grammar nazis.