Chapter 2
The weekend went by fast for Jaune; at least for him it did. The excitement he had from going to Vale was stuck in his, even on a Monday. Usually the chivalrous teen loathed at the thought of morning classes because he had Dr. Oobleck and Professor Goodwitch back-to-back; his least favorite classes. This time things were different. While Dr. Oobleck was lecturing faster than an auctioneer, Jaune had been forming a plan about what he would do in a sparring match in case he was to be called to the stage. Luckily for him, the green haired professor did not catch the boy class was dismissed, it was immediately time to go straight to combat class.
"I'll be damned if this idea doesn't work." Jaune said to himself as he was walking past other students down the halls. He was looking over his battle plan on a sheet of paper, in which he was lucky not to bump into other incoming pedestrians. Ruby, Yang, and Pyrrha were coming from around the corner and saw their dorky male friend. When Jaune noticed the girls, he instantly stowed away his paper.
"Hey chess player!" Yang called out. Jaune was relieved to be by a more positive nickname instead of vomit boy.
"Hey girls. What a pleasant day it's been." Said Jaune
"You seem rather cheery today. Have you been training super hard for combat?" asked Ruby.
"Yes, I mean no! Ok fine dammit, you caught me! I forgot to practice over the weekend. There was too much on my mind. There, you happy?" Jaune stressed. The girls didn't say anything but simply shrug.
"Let's go ahead to class. We don't want to be late for Goodwitch." Said Pyrrha. The rest followed and made it to class in time.
During class, Jaune quietly observed every student's fighting style and jotted down notes on his sheet.
"They'll be in for a real shock when they see my new moves." Jaune thought to himself and smiled as he looked over his strategy guide. Suddenly, the stern professor made an announcement.
"Attention class. I know some of you are probably ready to leave already, but there is still 10 minutes left, and I think it would be appropriate if we had one more match to conclude the day." Goodwitch announced. The students except Jaune were all whispering amongst each other on whom they thought was going to get called up.
"Mr. Winchester." The tall cocky leader of Team CRDL got up from his chair and made way up front. "And Mr. Arc, please come forward."
"Game time." Jaune muttered with a serious tone. As the white knight stepped up, Cardin noticed something different in the situation.
"That look in his eye. Jauney boy's got somethin' up his sleeve. Whatever it is, I'm not fallin' for it." Cardin thought. Up on the giant monitor, Goodwitch generated the stats of both fighters and filled up the aura gauge.
"Fighters, take your stance…" The professor instructed. "And begin!"
Jaune took two steps forward towards Cardin and immediately stopped; while holding his shield raised but sword lowered. This caught the attention of everybody watching because they were so used to Jaune recklessly attacking from the get-go. Cardin took only one step forward, trying to que in on what Jaune was planning. The hero then stepped sideways twice and then one step forward, still focused on his opponent. Goodwitch was also baffled by the awkward choice of moves, but it only made things more interesting. Losing his patience, Cardin decided to heat things up.
"I'm not here to do the tango, Jauney. Come on kid, let's fight!" Cardin screamed. The big teenager took the offensive and executed a quick thrust. Rather than blocking, Jaune side stepped and counter slashed Cardin on the chest. Everybody gasped because they could not believe that Jaune got first blood against the notorious leader of Team CRDL.
"Lucky shot!" Cardin sneered. Jaune got back into his ready position to show that he was ready for more. This time, Jaune chose to go on the offensive, just to make sure that his strategy wasn't too predictable. He targeted Cardin's left shoulder, which prompted the latter to high block with his mace. Cardin broke away and triggered his weapon to blast Jaune, but the boy was too quick. After five unsuccessful shots, Cardin hurled his mace straight forward; forcing Jaune to bend his upper-body to the right. Instantly, Cardin charged forward and jumped forward with an impressive drop kick to Jaune's chest. The white armored teen went flying into the wall close to where his friends were watching. Cardin used the precious time he had to retrieve his mace and prepare for a follow-up attack. The aura bars were about even, and both fighters were already taking some deep breaths.
"You've gotten better, Cardin." Said Jaune
"Same for you, Jauney. But enough talk!" Jaune and Cardin both charged at each other head-on and went into a melee frenzy. Right off the bat the two contestants looked like they were in a reckless brawl, but everyone watching realized that every attack, block, and counter attack was in perfect rhythm. Nobody, even Goodwitch, had a clear idea of who was winning since both fighters had their aura bars down in flashing red. In the middle of the chaos, Cardin horizontally swung his Mace at Jaune's head, but the blonde fighter anticipated this and ducked; with the idea that he would counter with a shield bash. Unfortunately for the swordsman, he forgot to side step, which left him completely exposed. Cardin took advantage of the opportunity by swinging an upward kick to Jaune's face. The force of the attack knocked Jaune off his feet, disarming his sword, and depleted his aura to a tiny sliver, putting the noble hero in a clear losing position. Cardin stepped over and pointed his mace down at Jaune, whom of course was down on his knees completely defenseless. With no options left, Jaune dropped his shield and bowed his head in resignation.
"I surrender Cardin. Good game." Jaune said humbly. Cardin approached his rival and helped him off the ground. The entire class clapped applauded the boys for a spectacular fight, one that they would all be gossiping about for the rest of the day. It was hard to tell whom they were more impressed with. Jaune for his distinctive improvement or Cardin for his unexpected courtesy.
"Still got a long way to go, Jauney boy." Cardin smirked. "You gave me one hell of a match." Cardin withdrew his mace and walked back to his desk.
"Well, at least I gave it my all." Jaune said with a half-smile. He walked back to his corner, picked up Crocea Mors, and took his seat.
"You two put on quite a show today." Goodwitch complimented. "Alright, class dismissed!" As everyone gathered their belongings and exited through the doors, the professor noticed Jaune was still lagging behind.
"Mr. Arc, a word please." Goodwitch beckoned. Jaune nodded and did as he was told.
"Yes ma'am?" asked Jaune.
"Mr. Arc. I can't help but notice that your fighting strategy was rather different today. Care to explain this?" Goodwitch interrogated.
"I know this might sound very ludicrous, but I imagined myself and Cardin in a chess match. Every action we make is like moving a piece. I had to plan ahead and try to predict what he would do and how I would respond to his attacks."
"Hmm, I do find your approach a little unorthodox, but at the same time respectable. Whether you realize it or not, both your skill and your confidence have shown great improvement."
"Thank you, Professor! That really does mean a lot!" Jaune said with happiness.
"Yes yes, now run along." Goodwitch replied. Jaune grabbed his bag and hurried out to the locker room."
"A very odd fellow, but he's still a good kid." Goodwitch said to herself. "Hold on, what's this?" It was the same paper that Jaune was looking over that had all of his tactics and ideas for sparring. Goodwitch noticed that it written exactly how Jaune was describing his thought process.
"This is extraordinary. The boy really knows how to analyze! I must tell Oz about this." Goodwitch said to herself. She folded the paper and tucked it away in her shirt pocket.
Jaune had managed to get changed back into his school uniform before heading to lunch. In the cafeteria hall, he sat with Team RWBY and his other teammates discussing his epic battle.
"Hey Jaune, I know you probably wanted to win, but I still think you were awesome in that fight!" said Ruby
"You've made some good progress this semester, I'll give ya that." Yang added.
"It was just a good day for me. Everybody knows I'm still the weakest student here." Jaune shrugged. Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren all frowned and broke eye contact, knowing that their leader still refused to give himself enough credit. Suddenly, Jaune's scroll vibrated which meant he had a message. Without pulling it all the way out of his pocket, Jaune took a quick peak and saw that it was a message from the headmaster.
"Um, guys. I gotta run to the bathroom!" Jaune said as he immediately bolted out of the cafeteria.
"That imbecile. We know he got a text from someone." Weiss scowled.
"Unless his scroll knows his body." Nora joked.
"I think I just lost my appetite." Blake said in mild disgust. Shortly after, bell rang which meant that the lunch period was over.
"Hopefully Jaune can make it to class in time." Said Ren
"He'll be fine. Our leader never breaks a promise. We're talking about the guy who wore a dress over his own lost bet!" Nora laughed. With that said, everyone left the cafeteria.
Meanwhile, Jaune finally made it into a restroom without being detected by any of his friends. As soon as he got in an unoccupied stall, the blonde instantly opened his scroll. The voice message was from Ozpin and it read:
'Please meet me in my office after your last class for today. I'll explain everything later.'
"Alright Jaune, you've got a mission. Get through the day and see the big cheese." Jaune said to himself. He then proceeded to make it to his next class.
Once classes were done, Team RWBY and Team JNPR; minus Jaune, were heading back to their dorms. None of them had seen the boy wonder since he made the quick exit during lunch.
"I swear on Monty Oum's grave, if Jaune is still getting himself involved with Cardin and his goons, I'll…"
"Easy, Pyrrha! The Bully Arc is a thing of the past. Heh, Bully Arc! Get it?" Yang joked.
"Seriously though, Yang. We haven't seen Jaune since lunch. Where the heck could he be?" Ruby whined.
"Jaune seems way too relaxed around Cardin, anyway. I doubt there's any trouble between them. I'm sure he'll be fine." Said Blake.
"We're almost at the dorm. I'll be inside." Said Ren as he and Nora left the group.
"Ruby, there's something I've wanted to ask you." Pyrrha beckoned.
"I'll be in soon. You three go on ahead." Ruby said to her team. Weiss, Blake, and Yang went on ahead to their dorm to retire for the day.
"It's funny that you called me over, Pyrrha. Did you notice anything weird about Jaune during combat class? He seemed like a completely different person." Ruby noted
"My thoughts exactly, Ruby. When I watched Jaune spar against Cardin, I could tell that the way he was fighting was nothing like how I train him during our private sessions. His moves and decisions were all very well planned and coordinated. He only made one or two major errors that threw the match away." Pyrrha explained. Right after she finished her statement, the spartan remembered something else she had previously observed. "Now I understand! It's chess! Jaune is applying the same principles from chess into combat!"
"I think you're right, Pyrrha! If we know Jaune well enough, then he's probably hanging out in the library reading a chess book or playing a game with another student." Ruby assumed. "If that's the case, then we have nothing to worry about."
"Hmm, I guess you're right. Maybe I'm being a little too overprotective." Pyrrha said, trying to ease herself
"Well, I'd better be going now. Let me know if everything is okay." Said Ruby. The two friends waved goodbye and left for their dorms.
"He'll be alright… I just have to believe." Pyrrha thought to herself.
In the late afternoon, Jaune made it all the way up to Ozpin's office; a place that he would've never imagined being so high above the campus.
"Hello sir. I got your message from earlier." Jaune said nervously.
"Indeed. I received word Professor Goodwitch that put on quite a show today in combat class. She even told me your little secret to giving Mr. Winchester a good fight." Said Ozpin.
"Yes sir, about that…. I think I might've just had a lucky break. I have NEVER come this close to potentially beating Cardin. "Let alone all my other classmates."
"Still modest as usual, Mr. Arc." Ozpin commented. "Then explain this." The old professor whipped out the paper that Jaune accidently left behind in class that had his battle tactics. "It baffles me and my staff how incredibly analytical and imaginative you are, despite having the least amount of practical experience compared to your classmates."
"I really don't know how to describe it, sir. It is what it is." Jaune answered kindly.
"Regardless, this still impresses me. Out of all the years that Glynda and I have been at Beacon, we have never had a student use chess as a comparable medium. What inspired you to come up with that strategy, if you don't mind me asking?" Jaune took a deep breath and adjusted his composure to better comfort himself.
"During my visit in Vale, I played a homeless man in chess at the Central Park. I won the game, but I wasn't expecting to win. I haven't played the game since I was 10 years old." Jaune explained. "He said that I reminded him of someone from his past." Ozpin glanced back at the student.
"I know this might sound very cliché Mr. Arc, but the stranger was most likely referring to a former prodigy that changed the future of chess."
"And who might this person be?"
"His name." Ozpin then took a quick sip of his coffee. "Is Bobby Fischer."
"Wait a minute, I remember now! My father used to tell me stories about how he was the first Remnant champion from Vale! Bobby Fischer defeated the reigning Atlas champion Boris Spassky!"
"Correct, and the reason that victory was so significant was because Fischer made chess become much more popular in Vale. Even I will admit that he influenced me to some extent. Just take a look at the relics in Emerald Forest. Do you think it was just mere coincidence that I chose chess pieces?" Jaune shook his head, knowing that Ozpin wasn't just talking nonsense. "If I recall, you and your other teammates choose the white rook, which also happens to be the same piece on the shirt you wore last Saturday, am I correct?" Jaune nodded.
"Hey, how did you know about the shirt I was wearing!?" Jaune freaked.
"I know what goes on around my school; more than you can imagine." Ozpin chuckled. "Back to what I was saying. The truth Jaune, is that I chose chess for the team inductions not solely because of Bobby Fischer, but really because the pieces symbolize the roles that we play in life as well as the decisions that we all have to make. We are all kings on our own board, but you might be a different piece on someone else's. The board symbolizes life while the pieces represent who we know in our lives.
"Gosh Professor, I never knew that chess could be so, deep. And about Fischer. What happened to him after he beat Spassky." Jaune asked.
"He disappeared. Nobody knows where he went, how he did it, or why." Ozpin said while putting his empty cup back on his desk. "Twenty years later, he resurfaced and challenged Spassky to an unofficial championship match. He won again but it costed him citizenship, due to an embargo law that was enforced between Vale and Vacuo. After Fischer refused to pay the tax from his winnings, he never returned to Vale and has since stayed out of the public eye. Nobody except for only his closest friends knew of his whereabouts until he died from health issues." To Ozpin's surprise, Jaune became more fascinated with story.
"After listening to this, it makes me think about what kind of person Fischer was in the inside." Jaune pondered. "What do you think was his incentive to become the first world champion from Vale? Did he do it for his pride, his family, or maybe something else?"
"All I can say about Fischer is that he was a very complicated person. A genius with raw talent, but also very reclusive and troubled." Jaune couldn't help but feel empathetic towards the legendary chess player after hearing all of this. "Mr. Arc, if I offered to coach you in chess, would you accept the offer?" Ozpin proposed. Jaune's face beamed up and looked even happier than a kid walking into a candy store.
"Absolutely! When do we start?" Jaune quickly asked.
"Easy there, Jaune. I applaud your enthusiasm, but we need to lay down some ground rules. First and foremost, this does not come before your studies under any circumstance. Secondly, I must warn you that chess can be very addicting game, especially at the competitive level; believe me, I am no stranger to this. Of course, that was years ago and now I'm way too old to compete like I used to."
"That's great, Professor! Is there anything I need to provide?"
"I already have a board that we can use in my office. Normally most private instructors charge an hourly fee for their lessons; however, I will make an exception with you." Jaune was speechless, honored, and humbled from Ozpin's offer. "BUT! You must NOT tell anybody about this. Glynda would kill me if she knew I was giving freebies, even to one of our own students."
"I promise, sir." Jaune stated.
"Having said all of this, are you sure that you still want to press on with training? Jaune returned a serious nod to signal his confirmation. "Very good. We shall start tomorrow at dusk." Having said everything necessary, Jaune gave a polite bow and exited the office. Ozpin picked up his coffee mug and looked out the window.
"He has only four months from now until the big day." Ozpin said to himself, taking one more sip of coffee. "I hope he can do it."
