This chapter was hard to write.
The next two weeks passed relatively peacefully for Jaune and Manus at Beacon.
They continued their everyday morning training, albeit Manus reluctantly agreed to slow it down a little.
Sometimes, they met Nora at the gymnasium.
"Ah, my disciple, you have much training to do before being able to lift that!"
She lifted up what looked like very heavy dumbbells.
"Oh really?" Jaune smirked and put his right hand on it. Manus augmented his strength accordingly and lifted it up above Jaune's head.
Unfortunately, Jaune's body wasn't ready for the weight.
He collapsed on the ground, his legs couldn't support the pressure.
Jaune ended up laying on the ground, Manus still maintaining the bar above his head.
"What the hell, disciple!" Nora shouted, "You need to train the rest of your body, not just your arm!"
"Got it..." Jaune breathed as Manus dropped the dumbbell to the side.
The difference of strength between his right arm and the rest of his body was really too much. He needed to close the difference if he didn't want to injure himself.
After training, Jaune usually came back to the room to shower and then went to the cafeteria with ABYS to meet with RPNN. He and Nora gave up on doing pancakes competitions every morning, but she was still insisting on doing it once a week.
Just like Jaune promised to his team, he worked very hard to become a decent team leader. Listening to every lesson, even Port's. Training the morning, meditating the evening.
Meditation was a means of increasing one's Aura control and was also necessary to unlock his semblance, so Manus thought it important to start it early.
Jaune even proposed his team to exercise Aura control together every once in a while.
"What do you think?"
"That's a wonderful idea." Weiss nodded approvingly.
"I suppose it could be useful." Blake recognized.
"Ah, no, it sucks." Yang crossed her arms. "I don't need Aura control."
"Why not?" Jaune frowned, "It seems super useful from what I've heard."
"Because, my semblance screws with it." She replied, turning away.
"Sounds like you haven't much control on your semblance." Weiss raised an eyebrow.
"I can't help it. You'll see in combat class." Yang pouted. "There's no way I can control that."
"Aw, don't make that face," Jaune laughed and reached her hair with his hand. "You can always… Aouch! Did you just bite me?!"
"No one touches my hair!"
"..."
Jaune stared at Yang, his eyes shifting to her hair as a grin slowly made his way to his face.
"Don't… even think it!" She warned, taking a step back.
"Fine, fine." He surrendered, "I'll save that for another time."
"You better not!" She shouted, "Jaune! I'm not Jaune-king!"
"Uuuuuah." Jaune grimaced at the joke. "Was that your infamous sense of humor Ruby warned me about?"
"That pun was terrible." Weiss sighed.
"Yep! It was made of paper," Yang nodded.
Jaune, Weiss, and Blake stared at her, confused.
"Because it was tear-able!" She grinned, waving her arms around.
Jaune and Weiss groaned again, facepalming.
"Is this my partner?" Blake sighed, shaking her head. "I think it's broken. Can I trade with…"
"No." Weiss and Jaune refused at the same time.
"Ah, you guys have no sense of humor whatsoever." Yang shrugged happily. "You're stuck with me, grumpy cat!"
"I-I'm not a cat!" She hissed in a very cat-like manner.
"So you're just grumpy?" Weiss raised an eyebrow with a little smirk.
"No!"
"Hey, Blake!" Yang grabed her by the shoulder, "You should repeat that by replacing the word cat with pussy and adding-"
"Ugh! Let go of me!" Blake got out of Yang's hold.
"What's wrong, Blake? That's a perfectly innocent request." Jaune raised an eyebrow expertly, "Unless…" He gasped dramatically, "Surely a Huntress in training such as yourself didn't think of that…!"
"I'm sure you thought it first, mister Hand-Always-Stuck-To-His-Ear," Blake retorted.
"Ooooooh!" Yang whistled. "She got you there!"
"I-It's just a tic!" Jaune protested, having his excuse ready. "Surely you have those too, miss Tuna-For-Breakfast!"
"You're one to talk, Pancake Monster!"
"I'm flattered, but I am not yet at the level of a true pancake master…."
"I said monster, not master!"
"Excuse-me, Fujoshi? What was that?"
"I-I'm not a Fujoshi..."
"Ahah! I'm surprised you even know the meaning of that word!" Jaune laughed victoriously, "Tell me, miss Madonna, how come you know about such particular jargon, hmm?"
"It's Belladonna!"
"What? Fujoshi? What does it mean?" Yang asked, looking between the two as Weiss covered her face from the side.
"Th-that's… Ugh, I'm disappointed in myself for knowing it too." The heiress sighed, embarrassed.
"Don't worry Kit-Kat," Jaune made to pat Blake's head, "You should just wholeheartedly embrace that part of yourself… figuratively, of course."
"K-Kit-Kat?!" Blake hissed as she dodged his hand.
"Obviously an abbreviation of kitty cat," Yang speculated, scratching her chin. "Hmm, your game isn't half bad, lady killer!"
"Thanks, Super-Saiyan!"
"Hey, I still don't get that one!"
Blake made a distressed noise as Yang and Jaune shared a high-five, laughing at her expense.
"This is my partner and my team leader…" Blake mumbled, suddenly depressed.
"I share your pain," Weiss sighed. "Four years… It's going to feel like a lifetime with these two."
Blake let out a sad growl.
"W-woah, Blake! How do you do that?" Jaune gaped, pointing at the black haired girl.
The girl was currently standing on the wall.
As in, on the wall.
Her body parallels to the ground.
"It's a basic technique of Aura control." She shrugged.
"That's awesome." Jaune gaped. "You're forgiven for everything you've said before."
"Great..."
"Do you really not have any training in Aura?" Weiss sighed.
"Well… No." Jaune admitted reluctantly.
"You should work on it on a daily basis then." She recommended severely, "Even if it's only fifteen minutes. Better practice two hours over the whole week than five hours just on the weekend."
"Is that really how it works?" Jaune wondered.
"Every training works like that, yes." She nodded. "You need to be consistent. That's the most important."
"I see..."
"She's right," Manus confirmed in his ear.
But Jaune was nowhere near ready to try such a technique with his non-existent control of Aura.
So for now, Jaune and Manus practiced meditation every evening after class.
In addition, it seemed Manus raised his hand during the lessons at each occasion he could. Each time a professor asked something to the class, Manus would always raise his hand. Same when they asked for volunteers.
Jaune answered their questions on his own half the time, while the other half Manus gave him the answer.
So, Jaune gained a reputation of a teacher's pet. But he didn't really mind. He was learning a lot.
Weiss, of course, took it as a challenge and competed with him during classes to answer the teacher's questions. She too raised her hand each time she could.
"Why are you answering all their questions?" Jaune had asked Manus once.
"It's a waste of time to wait for someone else to answer, Zone." Manus had replied. "It slows down the lesson."
…As expected of Manus.
So Jaune's dedication and determination increased so much he was able to work a lot more than he usually did.
"And why did General Lagune's forces get defeated at the battle of Fort Castle?" Weiss asked him the last question, testing him.
"Faunus night vision," Jaune answered simply, getting a satisfied nod from Weiss.
And he didn't even need to ask Manus!
Even though he was getting quality time with Weiss, because she helped him a lot with his catching up, he didn't let it distract himself from his goal.
Yes, he was happy to spend time with her. But he was a team leader. One that cheated his way in, and didn't study or train in any way before.
He had to work twice as much as the others to make up for it. No matter what, the promise he made to his team to become a suitable leader for them would always come first before his personal enjoyment.
So Jaune studied diligently.
"… Why are you guys learning something we're going to see in a month?" Yang asked, gaping.
Jaune blinked. A month, really?
"It pays to be prepared." Weiss huffed.
"You heard the queen," Jaune shrugged, making her roll her eyes.
"Jeez, talk about hardcore studying," Yang sighed.
"Once I'm all caught up you'll both be part of it too," Jaune warned.
"Eeeeeeh?! No way!"
Everything was going smoothly.
"So that's how my first two weeks at Beacon went." Jaune sighed. "It's very tiring. I never studied and trained so much in my life before."
"You seem to have a lot of fun," Tukson groaned behind his book, "Good. You're learning a lot."
He glanced at Jaune who put down a case of books and began to class them on the shelves.
"You sure it's okay for you to be here? You could use a break for the weekend from what I hear."
Jaune was exhausted by his first two weeks, to be honest, as he had spent the whole first weekend studying, but...
"I still need the money." Jaune shrugged. "And it's not like it's hard work, really."
Tukson grunted something under his breath as he dived back in his book.
"Nobody bothered you?" He eventually asked.
"Bothered me?" Jaune looked at the man, confused.
"You know… since you're a… faunus."
Oh, right.
"Well, actually, there's this guy..."
Everyone, meet Cardin Winchester.
A tall guy covered in armor who loved bullying faunus.
Even better when they're weak girls and have big rabbit ears easy to grasp and to pull on.
Basically, the guy was an asshole.
"What are those, are they real?"
"Hah, what a freak."
"Please stop..." The rabbit faunus whined pitifully.
Jaune stood from his seat, stomped his way to their group and gripped Cardin's wrist.
"Stop, you fiend! I shall give you a lesson and win the damsel's heart, by the power of my right hand!"
Ah… That would have been great.
But no, the reality was far more pitiful.
"Out of my way, Arc!" Cardin knocked his tray, spraying pancakes on the ground.
"Goddammit." Jaune sighed and he began to clean the floor.
...
Jaune, Jaune!
Why do you accept this kind of treatment?
You should stand up to him!
Yeah… Well, no.
The situation was complicated. He wasn't sure what to do, so for the moment, he waited to figure out the best solution.
The problem was that Cardin thought he was a faunus.
He didn't tell anyone yet, but if Jaune stood up to him, he surely would.
So Jaune gained some time for the moment, to make the best decision he could regarding his 'race'.
There were two choices.
Recognizing he was a faunus.
Or say he was a human.
Saying he was human would make Cardin reveal to everyone that his arm was faunus, obviously. Which it was not...
Of course, he could deny it. However, there was no telling how many people would believe Cardin. That guy would surely try to prove him wrong somehow, and from what he'd heard, the Winchester family had contacts.
Plus, doing that would mean that he and Manus wouldn't get another chance to use his arm's transformation publicly.
Transforming his arm into a claw after saying he was human would raise questions.
On the other claw, claiming he was faunus would allow him to use his arm's strength completely without any restraint.
However, the headmaster would not appreciate him lying on his race.
Most likely, they would dig deeper in his transcripts.
Potentially, he could even end up getting expelled.
The worst thing was that no matter what he said, he ended up lying.
Because, while he was definitely no faunus, Jaune wasn't even sure he was completely human anymore.
Even though Manus and he were smart in their own way, they were both feeling confused on what to do with this situation.
Well…
Not exactly.
"Let's kill him." Manus decided.
"… We can't do that." Jaune groaned.
"Why not, Zone? Just go to the Emerald forest, in a place where there are no cameras, and kill him there. Claim the Grimm did it, which would actually be the truth..."
"Manus…"
"Yes, Zone?"
"You're an idiot."
"Explain to me then."
"No. Because no matter what, there is no way I kill someone."
"I can do it for you, Zone?"
"I said no!"
"But..."
"NO!"
The table stopped their conversations to stare at him.
Right. He should not have conversations with Manus when his friends were around.
"U-uh… Sorry."
"Jaune…" Ruby began, watching him in the eye. "You didn't seem okay these past few days... Cardin's been picking on you again?"
"I-I'll deal with it." Jaune stuttered when people stared at him with pity. "I just have to figure out… something."
"That guy better not be stealing my punching bag," Yang cracked her fists.
"Such a behavior is intolerable," Weiss nodded, "If you're not going to talk about it with the teachers, you better do something about it yourself before..." she paused, hesitating.
"Before?" Jaune prompted.
"Before we break his legs!" Nora slapped her hand on the table, getting cheers from Yang and Ruby.
"See, Zone? They get it." Manus said smugly.
Saturday night, at the Club
"Ugh, what should I do?" Jaune lamented.
"So that's how it is?" Melanie mused.
"How did you manage to pass as faunus?" Militia asked.
"It's a long story," Jaune sighed.
"So let me get this straight," Melanie said, "you're scared of beating him up because he's going to tell the school you're a faunus… even though you're not?"
Jaune winced. That did sound kinda silly when she put it like that.
"… It's not that simple." He protested weakly.
If he didn't have a Grimm in his right hand, he wouldn't be thinking about it so much. But he had to hide Manus.
Not only that, but anyone knowing the Arc family would notice both his parents were humans.
"I say, just wait for combat class and humiliate him properly in front of everyone," Melanie suggested.
"He seems to be all pride," Militia nodded, "If you're bothered by what he's going to say, you just have to silence him."
"Or blackmail him," Melanie smirked.
"… As expected of you," Jaune sighed.
Jaune, being the kindhearted individual he was, had only been thinking about logical solutions and ethical possibilities or eventual agreements.
He didn't think about scaring Cardin in submission or blackmail him.
He didn't really want to do something like that, honestly. But it was an option if he had no choice.
"Enough of that. Guess who I have on my team?"
The third week of school, on Monday
"Each of you will be assigned one rocket-propelled locker to store your weapons and extra armor."
Miss Goodwitch was currently showing the class the lockers and their different functions.
That was when the bullying truly got out of hand.
"Additionally, your locker can be sent to a location based on a six digit code. Now, be careful that-"
Jaune didn't get to hear the rest. He was shoved into a locker and the door closed on him.
"Aouch!" He winced when his head bumped against something.
Before he could react, the locker was launched into the sky like a rocket.
That was most likely Cardin and his team's doing.
"Ugh..." Jaune closed his eyes, feeling the motion sickness kick in, "Manus… Manus!"
"Got it, Zone," Manus replied calmly.
Jaune felt his right arm increase its strength before pushing against the door from the inside of the locker.
With a metallic crack, the door was blown away and Jaune jumped out of the flying locker.
He started falling down towards Beacon.
Manus drew Crocea Mors as Jaune saw the building approach at alarming speed.
Jaune took the time to concentrate his Aura in his right shoulder, guessing what Manus was about to do.
Manus moved his arm in a flash and brutally lashed out.
Jaune gasped in pain as he felt his Aura endure the strain on his shoulder. Manus had driven Crocea Mors in the wall to brutally stop their fall, just like during Initiation.
"Nice one," Jaune breathed to his arm, before looking down.
The whole class was gaping at him.
"… Mr. Arc?" Miss Goodwitch raised an eyebrow.
"Oh."
Jaune extracted his sword out of the wall, leaving a giant crack, and landed on the ground.
"I'm sorry for that..." Jaune scratched his head, "Um… Who shoved me into that locker?"
"Mr. Winchester, Mr. Arc," the teacher sighed, making them both tense. She waved her crop to the wall and it repaired itself. Was that her semblance? "Next time you'll be kind to wait for combat class to settle your differences."
"Wouldn't be much of a fight," Cardin grumbled to himself and bombed his chest with a confident smirk.
"Detention, Mr. Winchester." Miss Goodwitch sniped, making Cardin grimace and Yang snigger. "Come see me after class... Now, I believe you know everything there is to know about the lockers, thanks to your comrade's demonstration," She glared at the both of them. How unfair, what did he do?! He was a victim. "Let us head to combat class. I think we have our two volunteers for the first match?"
"Of course," Cardin nodded arrogantly.
"If I have to?" Jaune scratched his head.
"Good."
They entered the combat class, Jaune, Cardin and Miss Goodwitch staying down in the combat area while the rest of the class took seats.
"Fight well." Weiss nodded to him as she passed near him.
"Kick his ass!" Yang cheered.
"… Destroy him."
What the… Did Blake really say that?
"Break some legs, disciple!"
Jaune nodded to his friends and glanced at his opponent, gauging him.
Honestly, this could be troublesome. It was his first combat lesson, he was probably going to lose.
"I will explain the rules to you." Miss Goodwitch started explaining the rules of the fight once they were facing each other in the fighting stage.
Jaune started analyzing the situation with Manus as the teacher was speaking.
Cardin Winchester.
A fully armored opponent wielding a mace.
Why had Miss Goodwitch placed him against this opponent? Was it really because they didn't like each other?
Jaune's transcripts were pitiful when it came to fighting ability, Miss Goodwitch knew that. However, his strategic skills were supposedly excellent.
If Jaune theorized that the teacher placed them against each other based on their transcripts, then it could mean Cardin was as weak as him.
With his cocky grin, he didn't look like he was going to think much before attacking either.
Most likely, he would charge him out of frustration for all the bullying. He would want to crush him under his foot.
With his armor and mace, he would be relatively slow.
"Are you ready?" Miss Goodwitch interrupted his thinking, looking at them both.
"Yes."
"Yeah."
"Begin!"
Cardin charged him immediately, holding his mace back to prepare a devastating blow.
How predictable, Jaune thought as he stepped back and let the mace impact the ground in front of him.
The mace glowed red.
Boom!
The ground exploded towards Jaune, sending him flying a few meters away.
His mace exploded?!
Jaune widened his eyes as he heard his opponent continuing his rush towards him, and rolled on the ground in reflex.
Boom!
Once again, Jaune was launched by the force of the explosion. His Aura wouldn't last long at this rate.
"There's dust in his mace, Zone," Manus informed him quickly as he stood up rapidly.
Jaune barely heard him before throwing himself to the side to dodge another strike. This time, he managed to escape the full scale of the explosion.
As Jaune tried to stand up again, he saw an iron boot coming to his face in a flash.
"Take this!" Cardin shouted.
Manus moved at blinding speed, catching the foot and raising it in the air, throwing the guy off balance.
"Nice one," Jaune grinned as he picked up Crocea Mors and stroke Cardin while he was down.
A metallic impact resonated in the room.
Cardin had blocked the blow with his armor and kicked Jaune away.
"This… I see." Jaune mused as he watched his opponent get up and stare at him cautiously.
He remembered his quick conversation with Manus before entering the class.
"No armor?" Jaune asked Manus as they made their way to the combat class.
"Your opponent wields a mace, its weight would crush your armor. Not only it would slow you down, but there's a chance your armor could get so crushed that it could keep you from breathing.
His armor, on the other hand, will be effective against your sword. Damaging him will be difficult...
Furthermore, if I had to attribute values on a scale of physical power, then you'd be at 10 while he's at 50. Most of the other students are above 100... We're completely out of our league in this class."
So basically, this was like Eren vs Reiner in their titan form.
Jaune was not able to deal damage to Cardin's Aura because he blocked it with his armor first. Most likely, he learned to engage his Aura without spreading it to his armor pieces.
That was troublesome. That meant he had to deal damage to the small parts his armor didn't cover. Or hit hard enough to break it.
Hm?
Didn't he face something similar before?
Jaune's eyes widened in realization as Cardin charged again, mace glowing.
He threw himself to the side again, this time standing back up rapidly with Manus's help and rushing to Cardin's behind.
"You're just like a small Ursa," Jaune smirked as he slashed behind Cardin's knees, which were not covered in armor. Cardin gasped in pain, his legs giving out.
Like with an Ursa, Jaune jumped on him and made to stab his throat.
Wait, no.
That was a lethal blow.
He couldn't do that, that was against the rules that miss Goodwitch had just explained!
Cardin groaned angrily and pushed himself off the ground, forcing Jaune to stagger away.
That was no good… Jaune could not strike the head with his sword because lethal blows were forbidden in combat class.
"You bastard," Cardin grimaced angrily. "You should just bow down and let me win if you don't want me to reveal your identity to the school!"
Jaune froze, eyes narrowing.
This guy… was blackmailing him now of all time?
That was why he didn't reveal it to anyone, he thought Jaune would let him win?
That made Jaune laugh a little.
"You don't realize what it means?" Cardin questioned with a disgusted expression. "Don't you have to uphold your family legacy, Arc? Does that even matter to you?"
"If you wanted to blackmail me, you should have come to see me when I was alone." Jaune pointed out. "Not in combat class where everyone can hear you."
"Oh, but that's the whole idea," Cardin smirked, resting his mace on his shoulder, staying at a safe distance of him. "That everyone can hear me. You think little Ice Bitch over there will be fine with what you're hiding?" He waved to Weiss, who appeared to be listening intently.
"What did you say?!" Jaune roared and charged in, seeing red.
"Zone! No!"
Cardin grinned and smashed his mace down. A series of explosions came towards Jaune in a straight line. He couldn't dodge it in time and took it completely.
Jaune gasped in pain as he felt his Aura endure the explosions, launching his body on the other side of the combat area.
"Ugh..." Jaune gasped on the ground.
"Stay down," Cardin threatened as he slowly walked towards him, "And surrender."
Jaune stood up, legs shaking.
He still had 60% of Aura.
Cardin was at 95%.
"Crap..."
"Calm down, Zone." Manus hissed in his ear. "If you let me control your strikes with the sword, I can be precise enough to injure his Aura."
"But I can't block his mace with my shield, I'm defenseless," Jaune argued.
"Even with my strength, I can't block his mace." Manus admitted, "Not in human form anyway..."
"Stop mumbling to yourself!" Cardin shouted and charged him once again.
Jaune felt Manus take control of his arm, pulsing with strength.
Jaune threw himself to the side to dodge the charge, and he felt Manus move.
A metallic sound resonated once again. He missed…
Jaune ran to the other side of the arena.
"Coward," Cardin spit.
"We need a plan," Jaune muttered to his hand.
Think, Jaune.
Strength, stamina, skill, Cardin dominated him in all these areas.
Cardin was probably faster than him too, but he was slowed down by his armor.
He needed something to get through his armor. That was the main problem.
Jaune eyed the mace Cardin was resting on his shoulder.
"We're going to steal his weapon," Jaune decided.
"I see," Manus accepted, "If I have enough strength to wield it, it can win us the match because it's able to damage his armor..."
"Let's do it," Jaune nodded and dashed towards his opponent.
"Fool," Cardin smirked and raised his mace.
At this moment, Manus threw Crocea Mors.
It was a precise, powerful throw that came straight towards his head. Cardin just had the time to tilt his head to the side before the sword violently crashed into the wall ten meters behind him, leaving a cut on his cheek.
Cardin groaned in surprise but Jaune was already on him.
Manus drew the red dagger that Junior gave them.
In such close range, his mace would be useless while the dagger would be very useful to target the vulnerable spots between the armor.
As Jaune grasped his opponent around the waist, and Manus stroke several times Cardin's right arm, intending on making him drop his mace.
He did.
"You little..."
Jaune didn't see the blow coming, his elbow slammed on his skull, and a terrible hook targeting his face. Manus dropped the dagger to try to block it desperately.
Cardin grasped Jaune's right arm.
For a moment, there was a struggle of strength between the two.
Then Cardin headbutted him, making Jaune gasp in pain. Cardin kicked him away, before sending an uppercut in his chin.
Jaune's body raised in the air and crashed on the ground, his world swaying.
A foot settled on his chest.
He was still at 30% Aura, but he was completely dominated.
"B-bastard," Jaune struggled to get up, but Cardin's foot strengthened its position on his chest.
Cardin laughed loudly, delighted. "You're the bastard here, Arc. Am I not good enough for you to use it?"
"Huh?"
"Don't screw around with me, Arc! You're a faunus," Cardin accused. There were a couple of gasps in the crowd. "You're a freak of a faunus, but not just that!"
He paused to make a disgusted expression.
"You're the worst kind! You hide your true nature and pass for human."
He laughed again. "But I thought, how could an Arc be a faunus? So I did some research..." He turned to Miss Goodwitch, "It turns out, he lied in his transcripts! He stated to be human instead of faunus, and for why?"
Cardin knelt down to approach his face from Jaune's. "Because you're an illegitimate child," He smirked triumphantly. "Literally, a bastard. Your parents are both humans, and they wanted to hide their son's race, didn't they? You're a bastard that they didn't want to recognize, so they sent you to Beacon. Who knew the Arc family chief was so unfaithful to his wife?"
… What?
Jaune closed his eyes as Cardin raised his mace above him to strike down.
Jaune's father…
"Dad!"
"Woa, woa, don't push. My body's still recovering." The Arc father laughed from his hospital bed as his family surrendered him.
"You idiot! You…"
"Shhht, my angel," he grinned to his wife. "There was no other choice possible, you know it."
"You could have hidden with us!"
"I thought you died," One of Jaune's sister cried.
Jaune stared at his father with tears in his eyes as his family drowned his father in hugs and cries.
His father had pushed a Grimm wave away from their home, all on his own.
This… Was it what a Huntsman was? Risking his life to save others?
That evening, Jaune sneaked into his father's room.
"Jaune?"
"Dad… I want to become a Huntsman too."
The man stared at him with a long look. He sighed. "I see you've made up your mind... You idiot."
"Yes. The truth is, it's been my dream since I was little."
"It's too late for you to enter a combat school. I will not train you either. Jaune… If this is the path you choose, you will have to find a way for yourself."
Jaune looked down and grit his teeth.
"I will not support this decision." His father finished categorically.
"I will still become a Huntsman," Jaune swore, his eyes resolute.
"… That's fine. But listen, my son."
Jaune stared at his dad as the man redressed on his bed, wincing from his injuries.
"What I did yesterday. Those were not a Huntsman's actions."
"E-eh?"
"Those were a father's actions. To protect his family."
Jaune opened his mouth, but his father cut him before he could say anything.
"Even though I have been a Huntsman for many years… If you manage to become a Huntsman, remember this:
Family… always comes first. Don't throw away your life for people you don't know."
Jaune opened his eyes.
"Now, use it!" Cardin shouted angrily. "A victory is meaningless if my opponent doesn't give it his all, faunus or not!"
The mace finally came down.
In a flash, Manus and Jaune moved his right arm at the same time.
Jaune's arm doubled in size, revealing sharp fangs and pulsing muscles.
The claw easily blocked the mace.
The resulting explosion engulfed them both.
Cardin let out a surprised groan before his mace was snatched away in the smoke.
"Yes, that's it!" Cardin laughed triumphantly. "Show it!"
Shut up... Jaune was so angry he wanted the guy to suffer for what he'd said.
Jaune's right arm waved the weapon in an arc and hit Cardin in his side.
How dare this guy talked about his father like that!
Cardin was thrown several meters away.
Jaune finally stood up, raising the mace and facing Cardin's charge again.
Jaune's father would never cheat on his wife! He'd rather die than make his family suffer!
The mace caught Cardin in the chest with an explosion, Manus releasing the weapon at the same time.
Cardin was thrown on the other side of the arena, crashing into the wall along with his weapon.
Another explosion was released from the weapon as if sealing the match.
No, he had to suffer more than that. How dare he humiliates Jaune's family in front of the whole class?
"Winner, Mr. Arc..."
"Zone! Zone, calm down!"
Jaune blinked, his breathing slowing down.
Cardin's Aura was at 14%. He was not moving.
They just… took 40% of Cardin's Aura in a single blow?
That mace was definitely powerful.
Jaune looked down at his arm in panic.
Zzzzzzzzzuuu. His arm came back to normal.
There was a silence as Jaune panted, slowly coming back to his senses.
Then he finally realized what he just did.
Regret and shame instantly rushed over him. He did it again… He lost control of his emotions.
Dammit! Why did he let anger control his actions again? Even though he did meditation… Even though he swore to himself he wouldn't do it again!
Jaune was sure of it now. Having a Grimm in his arm definitely made him more impulsive and hotheaded. This was just a sparring match, and he had let Cardin get to him with his taunts.
He turned to Miss Goodwitch, sending her a pleading look.
"Mr. Arc…" She eventually hesitated.
Jaune tensed. "Y-yes?"
"You're… going to the headmaster's office." She sent him a sympathetic look and added, "I'm sorry."
A pit opened in his stomach.
That was it… He was going to get expelled?
No, d-don't cry Jaune. Wait for the corridor.
"Would someone care to accompany Mr. Arc?" Miss Goodwitch demanded, regarding his team.
He slowly picked up his sword and dagger before risking a glance to his friends. They all had supportive expressions.
Except for Weiss.
She couldn't meet his eyes.
A sharp pain surged through his heart. He looked away, breathing deeply to keep his emotions in check.
"I will." Blake stood up and walked to him, grabbing his arm. "Come on Jaune..."
They left the hall together as they heard Cardin let out a last snicker behind them.
"That Cardin…" Blake hissed angrily. "I can't believe someone like him is in Beacon.
What he said, is it true?" She asked as they walked.
Jaune stayed quiet and looked away, unable to answer.
No, of course, it was not true. His father was an honorable man and never cheated on his wife.
Jaune was the cheater. He faked his transcripts. He wasn't a faunus, his arm was just possessed by a Grimm.
He wanted to say that. Really.
But Manus raised his arm, opening a red eye in his palm to glare at Jaune.
He remembered what happened just before going to Beacon.
"Let this be a warning, Zone… No one must know."
He gulped.
Manus didn't care about Jaune's family, he would use any excuse available.
No, Jaune couldn't say anything.
And if he didn't deny it, his family's reputation was going to take a blow.
No matter what, an Arc was never supposed to betray his family.
But he had no choice… Oh man… If his family ever found out, he was screwed.
It was a disgrace. He would probably get disowned or something like that.
Even worse, a single call from the headmaster to his father and everything would be over.
His career as a Huntsman, his relationship with his family, his friends...
"I get it," Blake patted his arm with a sympathetic expression, "You don't have to say anything. I understand."
"..."
Jaune stayed quiet in shame and disgrace as they made their way to the headmaster's office.
Thanks for reading, been sick the whole week.
Not really satisfied with this chapter, but I had to get it out someday, so here it is.
I'm also wondering if my chapter titles are too spoilery.
