"Hey, Jaune!" Ahsoka sat down next to me in the library as I studied for my first test from Doctor Oobleck. "How's it going?" I looked up, stressed.
"I have no idea what Oobleck was talking about in his lectures! I'm going to fail this test!"
"Let me help." Ahsoka pulled out her notes. I was surprised to see how organized and in-depth they were.
"How..?"
"I had these friends back home, Artooey and Threepio. Talked very fast."
"Do all of the people where you're from have strange names?"
"Not all of them... I knew a Cody."
"That's the most normal name?"
"Hey, they'd think your name is weird!"
"Alright, alright... Let's look at these notes." I started studying with Ahsoka, and a few hours later, I was an expert. Then, I blushed, realizing that as she had pointed out and explained things to me, Ahsoka had started unconsciously leaning into my chest, her head resting on my shoulder. Uh-oh. "Well..." I stood. "I think that's enough studying for now. Thanks for all your help, Ahsoka!"
"No problem." Ahsoka nodded, not seeming at all phased. After that, I sped off. As I walked back to the dorm, my thoughts were swirling. I flirted with tons of girls! Why made Ahsoka any different?
/\/\/\/\
A few weeks later, I lost a fight against Cardin.
"That's enough." Goodwitch intervened, walking forward. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament-style duel, this would indicate the Jaune is no longer fit for battle and that the official may call the match." I saw Pyrrha look down from the crowd, and Ahsoka giving Cardin a really scary death glare from under her black hood. "Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your scroll during combat. Engaging your aura will help you decide when it is appropriate to attack or when it's better to move to a more defensive strategy." I looked at my scroll, seeing the bar under my picture in red and sighing sadly... "We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf, now would we?"
"Speak for yourself." Cardin scoffed. Okay, that was just mean. Goodwitch sighed and continued.
"Remember, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away. It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing. Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale." The bell rang, so Ahsoka and Pyrrha ran up to the stage, gently helping me to my feet.
"Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked. I nodded, looking down.
"Nothing hurt but my pride."
"Let's get going." Ahsoka smiled under her hood. "It's lunch time, and Nora promised us another good story, remember?"
/\
We headed to lunch, and...
"There we were..." Nora began. "In the middle of the night-"
"It was day." Ren interrupted. Nora continued.
"Surrounded by Ursai-"
"They were Beowolves."
"Dozens of them!"
"Two of them."
"But they were no match, and in the end, Ren and I took them down!" Nora finished, while Ruby, Pyrrha, and Ahsoka watched me pick at my food with worry. "And we made a boatload of lien selling Ursa-skin rugs."
"She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now." Ren explained, and Ahsoka burst out laughing. "Well, someone's feeling cheerful."
"Shut up, Flower-Boy."
"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked. "Are you okay?" I looked up.
"Oh, yeah!" I replied quickly. "Why?" Ruby sighed.
"It's just..." She began. "You seem a little not-okay."
"Guys, I'm fine." I tried to brush off their concern. "Seriously!" I put a thumb up and tried to smile. "Look!" Then, we saw Cardin and his goons picking on a Faunus, Velvet. Ahsoka gripped the table, and Nora grabbed her arm to keep her from attacking.
"Jaune, Cardin has been picking on you since the first week of school." Pyrrha stated. I freaked.
"Who?" I asked. "Cardin Winchester? Aw, he just likes to mess around, you know!" I grinned, obviously lying to myself and my teammates. "Practical jokes!"
"He's a bully." Ruby glared. Nora was trying to keep Ahsoka from attacking Cardin's whole team.
"Oh, please." I scoffed, frowning. "Name one time he's bullied me." Three painful flashbacks later... "I didn't land far from the school!"
"Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask." Pyrrha insisted. My teammates nodded.
"Ooh!" Nora stood, smirking. "We'll break his legs!" Ahsoka chuckled at Nora's enthusiasm.
"Guys, really!" I stood. "It's fine. Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me. He's a jerk to everyone."
"OW!" A voice cried. "That hurts!" We looked over to see Cardin pulling on Velvet's bunny ear and laughing. "Please, stop..."
"I told you it was real." Cardin smirked. His goons laughed.
"What a freak!" With that comment, Ahsoka stood.
"You're the freaks!" The hooded-girl snapped. "Leave her alone!" The goons oohed while Cardin smirked.
"Someone's snippy." Cardin commented, chuckling cruelly. "Why do you care, Snips?" The air turned cold, the room silent.
Ahsoka reared a fist back, socking Cardin in the face and sending him flying down the aisle, right into a garbage can. Everyone stared in awe.
"Never call me Snips again." Ahsoka glared, then walked over to Velvet, placing a hand on her shoulder and looking at the other boys. "Come on, Vel. I'll help you find your team."
Ahsoka began walking off, an arm around Velvet's shoulders, and she looked back cooly as Cardin got out of the trashcan. Cardin looked up, and when Ahsoka growled, he flinched. Satisfied, Ahsoka smirked and continued walking.
"Atrocious." Pyrrha muttered as Ahsoka and Velvet vanished into a crowd. "I can't stand people like him."
"He's not the only one." Blake glared, her eyes softening. "It was nice of Ahsoka to do that for Velvet."
"It must be hard to be a Faunus." Yang sighed, then smiled. "Did you see the look on Cardin's face? Burn!"
/\/\/\/\
A few days later, I was in class with my team, Team RWBY, Team CRDL, and Velvet's team (Team CFVY). Ahsoka sat next to Velvet, across the aisle from me.
"Yes, yes..." The professor, Doctor Oobleck, began while zipping around the classroom. "Prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popular known as the Faunus War, humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing the Faunus population in Menagerie. Now, while this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events. Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day! Now, have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?" Velvet slowly raised her hand. "Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence. I mean, I mean... I mean, just look what happened to the White Fang. Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorists believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war?" Weiss immediately raised her hand. "Yes?"
"The Battle at Fort Castle!"
"Precisely!" Oobleck grinned. "And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General LeGume's forces?" I felt something hit the back of my head, likely thrown by Cardin.
"Hey!"
"Mr. Arc!" Oobleck sped over. "Finally contributing to class! This is excellent, excellent! What is the answer?!" I had honestly been drifting off, so I had no idea what to say.
"Uh... The answer... The advantage of the Faunus... Had over that guy's stuff..." I noticed Pyrrha making motions. "Uh, binoculars?!" I saw Ahsoka slam her head on her desk as everyone laughed, and Pyrrha face-palmed.
"Vey funny, Mr. Arc. Cardin, perhaps you would like to share your thoughts on the subject."
"Well..." Cardin smirked. "I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." I saw Ahsoka grip the wood of her desk, livid...
"You're not the most open-minded of individuals." Pyrrha glared. "Are you, Cardin?"
"What?" Cardin asked. "You got a problem?"
"No. I have the answer." Pyrrha stated. "It's night-vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark." I heard Cardin groan.
"General LeGume was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep." Blake continued, looking like she knew a lot about this subject. "His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured. Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't be remembered as such a failure." Cardin got up, looking pissed-off.
"Mr. Winchester..." Oobleck sighed, annoyed. "Please, take your seat." I snickered. "You and Mr. Arc can see me after class for additional readings. Now, moving on..."
/\
After school, I went up to a balcony with Pyrrha. She offered to help me, train me to be a better fighter. I was shocked, and a little hurt. I finally lost it and confessed faking my transcripts, snapping at Pyrrha and chasing my friend away.
"Oh, Jaune!" I heard a voice chuckle. I turned to see...
"Cardin?!"
"I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm room. So, you snuck into Beacon, huh? I gotta say, Jaune, I never expected you to be such a rebel."
"Please, Cardin!" I panicked. "Please, don't tell anyone!"
"Jaune, come on!" Cardin scoffed. "I'd never rat out a friend like that!" Okay, that was confusing.
"A friend?" I asked. Cardin placed me in in a headlock.
"Of course! We're friends now, Jaunie-boy! And the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you, we'll be friends for a long time." Cardin released me without warning, and I fell to the ground. "That being said, I really don't have time to do those extra readings Dr. Oobleck gave us today. Thing you could take care of that for me, buddy?" I didn't reply. "That's what I thought. Don't worry Jaune, your secret's safe with me." Cardin left the roof, and I returned to my room, eyes wide.
/\/\/\/\
A few weeks later, I was still on Cardin's leash, and my friends got worried about me.
"Are you avoiding us for a reason?" Ahsoka asked. "Is it because of me? Was it because of what I did to Cardin?"
"We'll really break his legs!" Nora offered. "Like celery!" Pyrrha remained silent, while Ren looked slightly amused.
"Jaune..." Ahsoka crossed her arms. "You're wearing yourself out. Can't you tell us what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong!" I protested, putting up a smile. Ashoka sighed, shaking her head.
"Okay, Jaune... I trust you."
... Don't.
/\/\/\/\
We went on a field trip, and Cardin wanted me to throw a jar of tree sap at Pyrrha so some dangerous wasps would attack her.
"Try to hit the hooded-girl, too." Cardin smirked. Ahsoka... Two of my teammates? Was I really throwing the sap at them? I was the leader...
"No."
"What did you say?!"
"I said... No!" I pitched the sap at Cardin, and he glared as he chuckled.
"You've done it now." Cardin commented, and his goons grabbed me. After getting the beating of a lifetime...
"I don't care what you do to me!" I snapped. "But you are not messing with my team!"
/\
After that, I got beaten some more, and just as Cardin prepared to knock me out, I activated my aura. Cardin gripped his hand in pain, dropping me, and I found myself perfectly healed.
I was kicked to the ground, and before they could attack me again, an Ursa Major burst from the woods. It sniffed around, then zeroed-in on Cardin.
Cardin's team ran off, and the Ursa Major attacked Cardin, ignoring me.
"Crap, crap, crap!" Cardin exclaimed as the Ursa beat the Hell out of him. Before he was killed, I intervened, blocking a swipe with my shield and attacking. I checked my scroll, seeing my aura in the red, but I couldn't stop fighting. I charged, and some strange force lifted my shield to block the Ursa's attack, and I finished the beast off. I helped Cardin up, glaring as he looked stunned by my actions. "Holy crap... Jaune?"
"Don't ever mess with my team." I ordered, livid. "My friends... Ever again. Got it?" I walked away.
/\
As I walked through the Forest of Forerver Fall, a figure cloaked in black stepped out of the woods.
"Is that you, Ahsoka?"
"Yeah." Ahsoka walked forwards, seeming timid. "Jaune, I... I... I was ordered by Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch to only show my face to the ones I trust... Jaune, what you just did for Pyrrha and I was amazing." I watched as Ahsoka raised her hands, pausing. "I trust you. Please, just... Don't be afraid of me." Ahsoka lowered her hood, and my eyes widened.
"Whoa."
"It's bad, isn't it?" Ahsoka asked. It was the opposite, actually. Sure, she was different-looking, but...
"No." I stared. "You... Um... Look... Um..." I turned red. "Nice?" Ahsoka's orange face grew darker, which I assumed was her blushing. "And, I'm an idiot." Ahsoka laughed.
"No arguments there, Jaune-y."
/\
That night, Ahsoka told the rest of our team her secret, and she explained her life story. We were all shocked, but Nora smiled brightly at the Togruta.
"Ever get abducted by another alien species?" She asked. "Or abduct someone?"
"I never abducted anyone." Ahsoka sighed, smiling at Nora's innocent question, her hood down. "But... I did get abducted. It's a long story involving giant lizards and a Wookiee, and I honestly don't feel like getting into it."
"Aw..."
"I'm so sorry, Ahsoka." Pyrrha frowned. "I mean... What about your home? Coruscant?"
"... They'll get on fine, without me." Ahsoka looked out the window, up at the night sky. "They've got Master, and General Kenobi, and Rex... They don't need me."
Aw... I own nothing. Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!