A/N
Hello~ I told silver I would start this so~ long ago, wrote 2000 words, then never opened it again!
It's taking so long for me to write anything, and even then I rewrite so often...
Enough excuses, I really want some opinions on this chapter, as it will be the only chapter for this story until I can make a plot for it.
Do enjoy.
Narrator P.O.V.
Glynda Goodwitch's Combat Education Class
It all began like a normal combat class. Which means it ends with the humiliation of a certain blonde knight. It was probably unfair of Jaune to think so poorly of his teacher, but
she always seemed to want to pit him against the brutish leader of team CRDL, Cardin Winchester, who was always in an advantageous position with his large mace. In fact, he could confidently bet his next few weeks of lunch that he was made to face Cardin again today. It always led the same results, Jaune being beaten and Cardin grinning smugly at his downed opponent, before walking away with an (in Jaune's opinion) undeserved strut.
"The last match for today is Jaune Arc of team JNPR and Cardin Winchester of team CRDL. It will begin when both students are ready and I say go." After saying her piece, Glynda stepped back. As soon as she turned, mutterings sprung up around the bleachers. Jaune knew he didn't seem like the best fighter, and he lost every match so far, but he couldn't help it! His father, bless the old buggers heart, had only taught him how to kill, intimidate, and defend his own weaknesses properly, and he wasn't about to go on a killing spree in his combat class just because a few people insulted him. Listening closely, even if he didn't want to, he could make out what everyone was saying about him.
'Loser's up again, hopefully he puts up a fight.' 'Arc doesn't even stand a chance!' 'This should be over pretty quick.' 'Pyrrha, you and Ren might wanna get some bandages ready.'
That last remark sounded awfully familiar, and with a sinking feeling in his gut, he turned his head slightly to glance at the seats his team occupied. Sure enough he saw Yang sitting beside his partner with a concerned look, and he watched as Ren and Pyrrha hesitantly nodded. His self confidence sufficiently torn to shreds, he decided to get the fight over with.
Facing Cardin and drawing his weapon, Jaune brought the shield form of Crocea Mors up to his chest, leaving just enough room to look over it. Trying his best not to be frustrated by his opponent's insufferable, arrogant smirk, he thought back to his lessons in the woods with his father, willing himself to remember any non-lethal moves to take down his adversary. No such luck, but then again, luck was never on his side anyway.
Jaune could never afford to fight reactively, because all it would take is one twitch of the wrist while he rolled and, slash, off with Cardin's leg. It was better, in his opinion, to be a loser, rather than a murderer. Jaune had done great when fighting the Grimm, even coordinating his team in an attempt to keep them safe as well. Mindless Grimm were no problem for the knight, Deathstalker notwithstanding, but cocky, arrogant, ass-faces like Cardin, who always fell under the 'do not kill' list were another thing.
While on the subject of killing, why did it always seem like Cardin wanted him dead? It was an unnecessary aggression that puzzled Jaune. Maybe Cardin thought he was too weak? Or, just as a thought, Cardin might be just a bit of a pissant? Whatever the case, Jaune was getting sick and tired of it. Not that anything he could do would stop Cardin's attitude. Well, nothing short of a swift decapitation, but then he'd be back to the whole murderer subject and he really needed to get his thoughts organized before the fight.
"Are both of you ready to fight? Then go." Glynda Goodwitch was not a woman who liked to mince words, it seems.
Quickly clearing unrelated and unimportant thoughts from his head, Jaune focused on two things: His sword and shield. The shield needed to move constantly, providing different angles for Cardin's mace to slip off. All of his remaining attention would be focused on not killing Cardin with his sword.
Cardin chose to rush directly at Jaune, who forced himself to sidestep just like his Dad taught him. Minus the twirling backswing followed by a careless flick that would most likely leave a giant gash in Cardin's throat, if he's not outright decapitated. Forcing the grotesque image from his mind, Jaune back stepped twice to evade Cardin's surprisingly controlled swings. Jaune knew by now how much a solid hit from one of those swings would do to him, having ribs cracked and joints dislocated. He thanked Dust aura could heal people so quickly, or he would never leave a match without being crippled in some way.
Realizing he had lost focus in the fight, Jaune felt his face turn red, before immediately going pale at the sight of Cardin's mace, barely 10 inches from his face. Panicking, Jaune brought his sword up with a twirl, aiming for his opponent's wrist. Less than a split second later, he pushed his shield arm up while retracting his blade from the crippling hit, causing himself to lose balance and be unable to defend against Cardin's deadly mace.
*Smack*
Jaune took the brunt of the hit on his chest, hoping he wouldn't be too hurt from the impact. He was painfully disappointed when searing pain shot from his torso, leaving him unable to breathe and making it very difficult to think properly. Pushing most of his aura to the source of his pain, Jaune tried to push his focus outside himself, to see if the fight had been called off yet.
Sure enough, Goodwitch stood over him, firm glare in place, directly solely at him. She was blaming him, not verbally, but he could feel the intent, as if she thought he wasn't trying hard enough! Didn't anyone understand how deadly his weapon was? Crocea Mors: The Yellow Death?! Named not by Jaune, but by his ancestors!
He needed to calm down, to stop being so mad at them. He was just angry in general, and the more anger he felt, the less aura made it to his wound, which made it hurt longer, and that ultimately pissed him off even worse! It was a downward spiral he definitely needed to stop, but he couldn't find a good enough reason to do so. Cardin had definitely just gone for a death blow, obviously banking on Jaunes inattention to the battle to react properly. It had almost cost him a hand, but it seemed like Jaune was the only person with an idea of what might have happened if he wasn't so quick.
"The victor is Cardin Winchester. If you could stay after class, Mr. Arc? I feel we need to have a conversation about basic combat skills." Glynda Goodwitch sounded far away to him, but that could just be him collecting all the aura he could to focus on healing his body.
He couldn't hear anything outside of the ring, but he could feel all the stares, the unspoken accusations and insults were common, but there was a hidden atmosphere making him tense that he could only describe with one word; Expectancy. People were expecting him to lose, already assuming that he was weak, worthless, skill less, maybe some kind souls attributed it to inexperience, but that was still unfair in his mind. At no point had he done anything reckless, or unplanned. He had never been physically beaten in strength, and he sure as hell didn't get touched by the mace until the end.
Another thing: why wasn't Cardin getting in trouble even though he nearly killed a classmate. He'd have to ask that as soon as he could breathe clearly again.
It had only taken a few minutes to get everyone out of the classroom, mostly because Glynda Goodwitch's hawk-like glare promising detention to anyone who wasted time. Turning back to face Jaune in the arena, she took on a more contemplative expression. In all honesty, she knew exactly what she wanted to say, just not how to say it. Best to just spit it out and work out the kinks on the way.
"Mr. Arc, I'm afraid I'm going to have to remove you from my classes if this is the best you can perform. I don't know if you just aren't skilled enough or if you think my class is some kind of joke, but I will not tolerate a student who doesn't apply himself!"
Jaune was stunned speechless. He couldn't understand how she got to her conclusions. Did she really think he came to class just to get his ass kicked by Cardin? He might not have been the most astute student, but he didn't have a death wish! Maybe he would just have to prove himself to everyone, but there weren't many ways aside from doing better in class - and inevitably injuring another student. Maybe he could reason with her?
"Miss Goodwitch, I promise I take your class seriously, I always pay attention during lectures and when the students spar!" He would not be kicked out of this class for being lazy, that would be a death wish for when he returned home.
"How am I supposed to believe that when you are defeated in every single match you have against Cardin? I have never seen improvement, not even enough to know you're learning from the experience!" She shouted as she began to get angry.
"Maybe letting me spar against a different opponent, or sending me against some training dummies, or-or anything but a living, breathing human being! Crocea Mors is a powerful, sharp, deadly instrument used in the art of killing grimm! It's been finely crafted to carve through anything it gets swung at, usually grimm bone armour. Flimsy plate metal would be easily torn!" Jaune ranted and fumed at his teacher, hoping she could understand where he was coming from.
"No weapon will cut directly through aura, Jaune. I don't care if your sword is made of the toughest material in remnant, it won't go through both Cardin's armour and his aura. Even if, by some miracle, your sword does manage to hit Mr. Winchester, it should lose enough power for him to be safe." She tried to sound diplomatic, but to Jaune all she was doing was saying that he couldn't hurt Cardin if he tried.
"Miss Goodwitch, you're underestimating my strength and the power of my blade! I don't want to-" Jaune began to plead his case again, but was cut off by Glynda, who just wanted Jaune to try harder in class. Maybe the threat of expulsion would be a good motivator?
"Jaune Arc, I have said my piece about how I want you to act in my classroom. Either you conduct yourself appropriately in my class and improve, or I will be forced to have you expelled. Your choice, Mr. Arc." With that said, she left the arena.
"Great, expulsion, just what I need. Anything else you want to fuck me over with, Murphy?" Jaune shouted angrily into the air.
That Night, Team JNPR's Room
"Listen, all I ask is that we give the problem a few days before we have to go out and force them to fix it ourselves. There's no reason for this behavior to continue in a school made for professionals." Pyrrha Nikos, Mistral Champion, was apparently also tired of the one-sided matches Jaune seemed to have against Cardin.
Jaune had just walked up to his dorm room door when he heard his partners words. He knew that she was most likely talking about Cardin's attitude, or maybe even Glynda's constant insistence that he fight the Boarish leader of team CRDL, but there was still that spark of aggression that came from their mistrust in him. Sure, he probably hadn't made an impression of being the most skilled fighter, but he tried to make up for it by trusting his teammates to watch his back while he made a plan to kill the Deathstalker on the bridge. He had faith in their abilities, and they trusted him to lead them through a plan to kill the Grimm. That had been the time they came closest to resembling a team, trusting in each other and moving like a machine.
Anymore it seemed like Pyrrha always had an eye on him when she thought he wasn't paying attention, and she always seemed to be jumping at the chance to help him with anything. While that might have been appreciated, it could only be so when in moderation. The way it was at the moment, Jaune was afraid she'd be asking if he needed help changing soon! (Not that Pyrrha would necessarily deny him help changing, but she would be far too embarrassed to ask!)
Deciding to pretend he hadn't heard anything about their plans, in the hopes that they would come to him first before causing a scene, he entered the room as if sleep was the only thing he desired. Making a wobbly beeline for his bed, he ignored his teammates looks of concern. He had almost made it to the safe haven of the covers when Pyrrha asked the question he had been expecting, followed by a concerned statement by Ren.
"Jaune, is everything alright? You were down there with Goodwitch for quite awhile."
"You seem... immensely tired."
It was the same routine he had found himself in for the past week. Fight Cardin, lose, be coddled by team. It was as if he was a child with three overprotective siblings! They wouldn't give him the chance to prove he would be fine without them, they were always watching him carefully, asking if he needed help with any and every little thing.
He tried to think of an inconspicuous answer quickly, and came up with something he was fairly proud of. After all, the only part he didn't want everyone to hear about was the slight chance he could be expelled. He didn't really belong at Beacon anyway, as he forged and lied his way in.
"Miss Goodwitch just held me over to lecture me on my participation. I think she's worried about my lack of progress."
Not exactly a lie, but definitely not the whole truth. He only withheld her threat, which seemed fairly empty in the first place. If she tried to expel him, she would need the approval of the headmaster. Maybe she thought he would be worried about being kicked out and he would try harder in class? That kind of manipulative behavior really pissed him off, but he wouldn't just call her out on it. She was a teacher after all.
"I wish she would be a little more lenient for you."
He almost scoffed. It wasn't that Goodwitch was singling him from the group, she just wouldn't listen to what he wanted to do. In a way, that was understandable, she was the teacher. He just couldn't fathom why she wouldn't let him prove he could fight any other way, such as Grimm, or maybe training dummies.
"Don't worry about it, Pyr, I can handle it." Or he hoped so, or else he might not make it through to the end of the year.
Laying down without removing his armor, Jaune figured he just needed to get some sleep and relax. Maybe Tuesday would be so much better?
A/N
Careful what you ask for, Jaune. I'm not done with you yet.
Yes, new story, first chapter, but I'm a little stuck where I am with Champion, so I decided to see if anyone had any challenges up. Luckily for me, Silver Truth had a few prepared already! (Yeah, like two months ago. Maybe four.)
Thank you very much for reading this, review if you could please, I just want a little bit of feedback, in case I've misspelled something, or used incorrect grammar.
Have a wonderful day.
