Chapter 4

Two months had passed since the Beacon Chess Open was announced. Jaune's training with Ozpin was helping him not only with chess, but also with his academics and personal relationships. His grades improved drastically, as well as combat abilities. Even the private sessions with Pyrrha were going great for the noble boy. Weekends were no longer wasted for Jaune; instead he utilized all the extra time he had to bond with his friends and other classmates. It was incredible enough to believe that even the infamous Team CRDL had more respect for the boy they used to bully. Another big change with Jaune was how he used to be coerced into hanging out with other friends, including his teammates. Things had taken a 180 turn because now Pyrrha, one of the most sensible students at Beacon, now had to convince Jaune to spend some time with himself now and then to help ease his mind. The only thing the leader of Team JNPR could think of for relaxation was to go to Vale by himself and chill in the park. Of course, when Jaune had the urge, he would challenge other park players to a quick game of chess. Win or lose, it was all about the fun.

"Good morning, Beacon!" Jaune woke up from the sound of his 8:00 alarm. He got out of bed quickly and changed into a white T-shirt and blue gym shorts. Everyone else was still asleep, much to Jaune's dismay. Once he got on his shoes, Jaune hurried outside for a jog around the campus. Every Sunday morning, he would jog for ten minutes around campus and do some quick push-ups and sit-ups. This was a normal routine for Jaune because he began to embrace the philosophy of a having a healthy mind, body, and soul.

"After my clean shower, I'll go pay Vinnie a visit." Jaune told himself. "If Pyrrha insists that I take a break from Beacon, I might as well hang out at the park." As soon as Jaune finished the shower and got dressed into a different casual wardrobe, he boarded the earliest Bullhead he could find.


It was already lunchtime. Jaune was finishing his ham sandwich while sitting at a park bench with Vinnie.

"I thought there would be more people here today." Jaune commented. "I was really looking forward to a good crowd.

"Meh, Sundays are always this quiet. How are classes coming along?" Vinnie asked

"Same as usual. I'm also training for the chess tournament this upcoming May." Jaune replied

"Good stuff. Don't go slackin' on your combat skills now. You'll need that for the Vytal Festival." Vinnie reminded. He had gotten to know Jaune well enough to know about Beacon Academy and the Vytal Festical that was scheduled for Fall.

"I hear ya on that. Pyrrha would whoop my butt if I slacked off. Haha, when it comes to aura training, she gets more on my case for that." Jaune joked. "Whatcha looking at, Vinnie?"

"There's a crowd over at Mikael's table." Said Vinnie. "That's definitely out of the loop."

"I remember him. He's the guy I played a few months ago." Said Jaune. "Who could Mikael be playing?" Jaune and Vinnie pondered for a while.

"A new chess player!" They both said at the same time and dashed away from their seats, sprinting towards the crowd. Jaune was getting antsy just thinking about what the commotion was all about. However, things turned out very differently than expected. When he squeezed his way in between a few spectators, Jaune's eager grin changed to a stunned gasp when he saw a mysterious woman in a red dress at the board.

"I don't believe. It's Mercury, Emerald, and…" Jaune did not know her name, but it was Cinder playing a blitz game against Mikael, the same homeless man that Jaune beat during his first park visit. All of the other park denizens and other pedestrians were surrounding the table and watched in aww. It was rare to see a strong chess player in the park, let alone a woman. Emerald and Mercury were standing behind Cinder with their classic smug expressions. Move after move, the pyromancer picked away pieces and had a clear advantage over the old man.

"That girl's good. She might be Vale's next champion." A spectator commented.

"You got that right. She's our mentor, and a very good one for sure." Said Mercury

The position ended with Cinder's Queen and two rooks mating the lone white king. Mikael was stupefied at how badly he was crushed against the dark-haired femme fatale.

"Trick or treat." Cinder said with a seductive and dangerous grin. Jaune thought he was hallucinating at first, but he could've sworn he saw the woman's eyes glow fiery orange.

"Follow me children. We have bigger things to attend to." Cinder ordered her two followers.

"Oops, I think he had a heart attack." Mercury smirked as she looked back at the defeated man. Jaune hid among the crowd of people to make sure he wasn't seen by Cinder or her flunkies. He then approached Mikael, who was still shaken up from the brutal loss.

"Mikael, who was that lady?"

"I don't know… I've never seen or heard of her. I could tell by the way she played that she was more than just a strong player… she's evil…" Jaune looked over in the same direction that Cinder's group headed.

"They lied to me." Jaune muttered.

"Who?" Vinnie asked.

"Nothing… I think I'm ready to call it a day." Said Jaune. Before he had the chance to leave, Pyrrha appeared unexpectedly to greet her leader.

"Hey, Jaune! I figured you would be here around this time." Pyrrha said happily.

"This is great timing, actually. Pyrrha, I'd like you to meet my chess bud Vinnie.

"Pleasure. You got a good man right here." Vinnie said proudly to Pyrrha. He then gave the blonde boy a wink, showing that he knew the connection. Jaune was gracious for the compliment and smiled back. All of the sudden, Jaune felt a wicked omen slowly creep up from the inside. An omen so dark it left a chill to the bone. If there's one thing Jaune did know, he and his friends were not alone.

"What's the matter, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked nervously.

"I don't know how to explain, but I think we're being watched. We'd better go now" Said Jaune. Pyrrha and Vinnie looked around and did not detect anything suspicious.

"You two go on without me. I'll be chillin' around here like always." Vinnie said.

"Bye, Vinnie. It was nice meeting you." Pyrrha said kindly. Vinnie waved goodbye and watched the cute couple leave for the Bullhead loading dock.

"Those are some good kids. They'll go far in life." Vinnie said to himself. As the upbeat park player turned around to walk back to his bench, he thought he saw a quick glance of movement in his peripheral vision. Vinnie looked around again, but saw nothing.

"It's just the wind." Vinnie said.


In the late afternoon, Jaune was finishing up another private lesson with Ozpin in the headmaster's office. This was the first time that Jaune had been summoned on a weekend; not that he had a problem, but he never expected it to happen.

"Sorry for asking this very late in the lesson, but is there a reason you called me in, sir? You're usually away on the weekend." Jaune questioned.

"I have some very important errands to address this week. I won't be back until this upcoming Thursday, so it's best that we cover as much as possible today." Ozpin answered in a very straight forward fashion. "I trust that your bargain with my lessons is still private knowledge."

"I haven't told anybody about this, sir, not even Pyrrha or my other friends." Jaune said.

"I noticed you were already studying the next position I have set up for you. It should be a good exercise to conclude today's lesson." Ozpin said. "White to play. Mate in four." Jaune concentrated on the board and. looked closely for tactics. "Don't move until you have figured out the entire sequence. Don't even lift a hand."

"But I can't do it without moving the pieces." Jaune complained

Ozpin sipped his coffee and then adjusted his sleeves.

"Well then. Let me make it easier for you." Ozpin swung his arm quickly across the board, scattering all of the pieces. Jaune sat in disbelief and shock as the last pawn rolled to the opposite side of the room. The only thing left on the table was an empty board.

"Oooookayyyy… I won't say that again." Jaune muttered. It then occurred to the noble boy what he needed to do. He got into his thinking position and concentrated deeply, even with no pieces on the board. Jaune recalled where every piece was placed before they were knocked off, and then he found the solution.

"Knight on B6 to C8!" Jaune answered. A smile slowly grew on Ozpin, who was incredibly happy for his pupil.

"That's it!" Ozpin rejoiced. He pulled out scroll and punched in a few numbers. "You've earned fifty points for solving that puzzle; putting you at 1550."

"That's great! Alright Professor, I should be getting back to the dorm now. I'll see you on Thursday."

"Likewise. Oh, one more thing Jaune; Dr. Oobleck wanted me to tell you that he thinks you're doing a great job in class. Keep up the good work." Ozpin, raising his coffee mug to show praise.

"Thank you, sir." Jaune smiled and nodded as he exited through the door. Ozpin looked around and shook his head when he realized something he forgot about.

"I'll pick them first thing in the morning." Ozpin said as he looked at the scattered pieces on the ground.


Later that night, Jaune was up on the rooftop, resting his elbows up on the concrete edge. He used to go up there more often during his first semester, but the chess lessons and homework had taken most of that free time away. From behind, Jaune heard a pair of heels clacking that he knew were that of his best friend.

"Haven't seen you up here in a long time. It reminds me of our first semester." Said Pyrrha.

"Time does go by fast. It still feels like we only started a month ago." Said Jaune.

"There's something on your mind. I can feel it." Jaune was startled from Pyrrha's keen observation. The redhead blushed just a little bit. "I can read you like a book, Jaune. This is your favorite spot whenever you're in deep thought." Jaune and Pyrrha both looked at the stars and at the shattered moon for a while. "This night feels very familiar. It reminds me of our first encounter out here." Jaune slumped his head down recalling that moment. The flashback of him snapping at Pyrrha and calling himself a loveable idiot raced through his mind, and then the moment when Cardin climbed out the lower window and gave him a headlock noogie.

"I can never forgive myself for that!" Jaune cringed. Pyrrha was started by the sudden reaction, she was afraid that she had triggered a bad nerve. "The way I treated you back then Pyrrha, I deserved to be knocked off the rooftop. All because of my own insecurities and my self-inflated ego. The only thing that mattered to me was winning and not being weak." Once he finished his sentence, Pyrrha knew immediately that Jaune was mad at himself, not her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's cool. This might sound crazy, but that memory helps discipline myself. That way, I don't succumb to fear like I used to." Pyrrha was amazed with Jaune's maturity and his evident growth being presented right in front of her. "Anyway, I'll share with you my thoughts for today. Do you remember when I showed everyone the tournament flier, and then the two Mistral students came up to us?"

"I remember. It was Emerald and Mercury. What about them?"

"I know this is going to sound very off-the-wall but…" Jaune hesitated for a brief moment and then resumed his statement. "They're taking us for fools, Pyrrha. I saw them at Central Park earlier today, and they were watching their team leader play chess. It was clear to me that they understood the game, and they took a lot of pride in seeing their dark-haired friend stomp another player with ease."

"And that's bad because…" Pyrrha said, not seeing any harm in the scenario.

"It just dawned on me. I don't even know her name. She has black hair, wears a long red dress, and walks in high heels." Jaune said.

"If I'm not mistaken, her name is Cinder. She's one of the exchange students around here. Ruby is the only one that has talked to Cinder personally, and she didn't see sense anything wrong." Pyrrha added.

"Thanks. As I was saying, the whole reason I'm bringing this up is because when Cinder beat Mikael at the park, there was something different about her reaction after the game. Instead of having a sense of achievement for her win or showing gratitude, Cinder had this very snide expression as if she enjoyed seeing her opponent lose. And to be honest Pyrrha, that's the real reason I'm bothered about this, even more than Mercury and Emerald feigning ignorance."

"I know you've been working hard getting ready for the tournament. You don't think this might be a little bit of jealousy, now do you?" Pyrrha questioned.

"I promise you this isn't out of envy, and I would never try to slander someone to make myself look better." Jaune said with a very solemn expression. "You of all people have taught me how to defeat negative feelings." Pyrrha picked up on the vibe that her leader was being very dead honest in his brief monologue.

"Jaune. There's something I have wanted to ask you for a long time." Pyrrha contemplated about asking her next question, and then summoned the courage to do so. "Do you remember a lot about your childhood, and is there anything from the past that has made a big impression on you?" Jaune gave a good chuckle and smiled back at his teammate.

"You'd better strap on tight, Pyrrha. It's gonna be one hell of a story."