AN: Regularly scheduled chapter ahoy. This one was fun to do, since it was the first time we've jumped from team RWB(I)Y in perspective.
The Cardin part turned out about as well as I think I could have done it though. That was surprisingly difficult.
Ichigo Kurosaki
"Yang hits like a fuckin truck."
"Indeed."
"I don't think I've ever taken that hard a hit. I wonder if I can get her to knock some sense into the old man..."
"Nah, even that won't be enough Kingy."
Ichigo inwardly sighed, but didn't dispute the point. Isshin Kurosaki was the very definition of 'thick-headed' for a reason. Pushing that aside for the moment- he didn't really want his father near his teammates anyway -Ichigo sat down next to Ruby. He couldn't quite cover a small wince though, that got a worried look from the younger girl. His Hollow-derived enhanced healing was nice, but it wasn't enough to totally dull the pain. Especially not when he was getting physical and flame damage from Yang's punches. Sometimes he wished his spiritual powers worked the same as Aura...
Oh well, it was hardly the first time he'd been sore after a sparring bout. Ichigo just hadn't expected Yang to go ballistic on him just for a few cut hairs. Made him wonder why she was so overprotective of her hair...he'd only do the same if someone threatened his sisters. Then again, he wasn't a woman. Maybe that was why he didn't understand...
"You okay Ichigo?" speak of the devil, and she shall sit down next to you. Yang had a slightly guilty look on her face too.
"Eh, I'm fine," the orangehead replied, waving a hand.
"You don't look fine," Ruby broke in, her worried look transferring to her voice.
Considering he likely looked tired as his energy was being put to work healing bruised ribs- and possibly a cracked one -Ichigo didn't doubt that he looked like crap.
"Guys, I'm fine."
Didn't mean he wasn't stubborn enough to deny it, of course.
Yang still looked unconvinced, "Sure you are...sorry about that by the way. Uncle Qrow told me to control that better, but you touch the hair..."
"You get the horns?" Ichigo dryly replied, blinking when Yang and Ruby sent him confused looks. For their parts, Blake and Weiss were too busy watching as Jaune and Cardin moved to start their match.
"Yang doesn't have horns silly!" Ruby giggled, looking at her sister with a curious look, "Do you?"
"Of course not," the blonde sent her sister an incredulous look before turning back to the other teen, "why did you say that Ichigo?"
"Err...
"Ya need to be more careful what you say Kingy."
Ichigo could hardly deny that point either. He tended to forget that things he said may not have an equivalent in Remnant. Come to think of it...he hadn't ever even seen a bull in Remnant before. In which case, it wouldn't surprise him if Ruby and Yang had never heard that particular saying before. They might just have never had the opportunity...or it may just not exist in Remnant. Which could be a problem.
He already had Yang watching his every move, damn curious woman that she was. The last thing he needed was more reason for the girls to watch him. He still hadn't quite convinced them that he really didn't know what that old book was talking about. It was enough to drive someone mad. If he wasn't already mad anyway...Zangetsu wasn't exactly the sign of a healthy mind.
"I resemble that remark."
"Seriously," Yang broke in again, "I've never heard someone say that before."
"It's an old saying," Ichigo said, improvising on the spot, "Y'know, if you mess with a horned Grimm you'll get gored?"
"Uh huh..." clearly, the blonde didn't believe him.
Ruby looked between the two, a curious look on her face, "I think I get it! You have to admit Yang, if you cut your hair you do get angry."
"Of course!" Yang nodded, "You don't touch the hair."
The resident shinigami snorted, "And I would have appreciated being told this before I fought you with a sword."
Ichigo could make that joke, because he was happy enough to get onto a different subject. It was substantially better than talking about awkward things he couldn't easily explain anyway...
"Eh, didn't seem important at the time," the elder sister shrugged.
"I thought she had told you already..." Ruby added.
"She didn't."
Yang mock glared at Ichigo, before snickering as she slapped his arm. Holding his arm, Ichigo just scowled back at her. It was all in good fun though. If the blonde had actually been annoyed with him, the orangehead expected a lot more than a slap on the arm. By the same token, he was hardly angry at her for forgetting to mention her hair-triggered- literally -temper. It would have been nice to know in advance, but he could take a lot more of a beating than he let on so no harm done.
Even if it still hadn't been particularly fun, of course.
"The match is starting," Blake broke into the conversation.
Turning his head, Ichigo saw that the dark-haired girl was correct. Jaune had his sword out and his shield extended, as he stood across from Cardin Winchester. The latter teen had a massive mace with a red gem in the center of its...bladed...macehead. That thing looked more dangerous than Jaune's antique by far. Ichigo knew better than to judge a book by its cover...but then again...
"This isn't going to end well," he predicted.
"Why?" Weiss asked, finally looking over.
"Jaune is not a fighter," he repeated what he had said to Ruby and Yang at varying times.
Weiss just frowned, "Clearly he is if he got into Beacon. He's a dolt, but he has to have some skill."
"I don't know. You've seen me train...does that look like a combat stance to you?"
The rest of the team turned to look back at the match, where Jaune looked decidedly...nervous. His grip on his sword was weak, and his feet were placed entirely wrong. Contrast that with Cardin who just looked bored, but even then showed actual experience. Granted the latter's armor was just pointless dead-weight in a world of Aura.
"...I see your point," the heiress' frown deepened.
Ichigo didn't have any time to reply to that. For before he could, Professor Goodwitch walked into view again. The older woman looked at the two fighters on the stage, a fairly disapproving look at Jaune's stance.
"Begin."
With that single word, the match started. Cardin dropped his mace off his shoulder, a cocky grin on his face as he almost taunted Jaune to come forward. The blonde grimaced, but didn't falter. Or...at least he didn't falter in determination. Squaring his shoulders, Jaune let out a shout as he charged at the much bigger teen. The blonde brought his sword down, aiming directly at Cardin's shoulder. In the audience, Ichigo winced...as Jaune's sword hit nothing. Cardin was huge and wearing pointless armor, but that didn't mean he was slow.
Spinning his mace lazily, Cardin hit Jaune's shield with a resounding gong. The blonde's blue eyes went wide, as he went flying into the ground. It was a testament to his great-grandfather's skill that the shield didn't even show a dent after that devastating blow...but it didn't change the fact that getting hit like that hurt. He stumbled upon getting up, wincing slightly.
"Damn...that didn't look fun."
"Well we knew he wasn't a fighter...by the way, remind me to kick your ass if you ever get that rusty."
Electing to ignore that statement, Ichigo focused on Jaune. The other teen had just executed a surprisingly good roll away from Cardin, who's mace had impacted the floor where he had been standing. His own sword came down on Cardin once more...only for the armored teen to catch it on his own weapon. With a grunt, Cardin threw Jaune away from him, cocky grin never once leaving his face. It was almost painful for Ichigo to watch...such a mismatched fight. It reminded him of when he first started training with the old man.
Painful to watch or not, he had to give Jaune credit for raw determination at least. The blonde just picked himself right up off the floor, despite his Aura meter dipping into the yellow. Even if he wasn't a good fighter, he sure knew how to channel his stubbornness.
"Pot, meet kettle."
"Oi."
"He does have a point."
Damn mutinous spirit...
"Jaune doesn't look that hot," Yang broke in.
Blake's frown showed she felt the same way, "Yeah..."
For her part, Ruby looked torn between worry and trying to cheer Jaune on. Considering he was the second- and only one outside her team -friend she had at Beacon that was easy to understand.
"Come on Jaune!" eventually she settled for cheering.
It seemed like the blonde appreciated it too. He smiled up at Ruby, before squaring his shoulders again. It was clear enough that he was hurting from the panting he was doing, but the teen wasn't going to give up either. Jaune pushed himself up from his kneeling position, and jumped at Cardin one last time. A fierce shout came from his lips, as his sword swung down on the armored man...
Only for Cardin to smirk, as he neatly sidestepped Jaune's swing and knocked his shield from his hands.
Ouch...
Jaune stumbled back to his feet, but still refused to give up. Holding his sword with both hands now, he charged at Cardin once more. This time the larger teen didn't even bother dodging. He brought his mace up, catching the sword easily. Jaune pushed down with all his strength, but Cardin was that much stronger...as he pushed right back.
"This is the part where you lose," Cardin finally spoke.
"Over my dead bod..."
Before Jaune could finish that statement, Cardin kicked him right in the...family jewels. Even Ichigo winced at that one. Correction...even Zangetsu winced at that.
"Low blow man. Even I wouldn't do that!"
Considering the Hollow was all for winning at all costs, that said something about Cardin's tactics. As low a blow- literally -as that had been though, it wasn't what had Ichigo jumping up from his seat, his hands ready to make some sort of attempt at Bakudo. Which, it was worth noting, he was horrible at...unless it was the higher level ones he didn't want people seeing.
No, what had him jumping up in his seat was Cardin holding his bladed mace above Jaune, who was curled up on the floor without any defense beyond his sword. With his Aura in the red, a blow from that mace could do some serious damage right now. Was Cardin stupid enough that he would bring it down anyway? What if he killed Jaune!
That bastard better not...
Luckily for everyone involved, the lights snapped back on as Goodwitch walked into view again, "Cardin, that's enough."
"Tch," the armored teen backed up, looking thoroughly disappointed he couldn't hit Jaune again.
Goodwitch sent a disapproving look at the teen, before turning to the other students, "As you can see, Mr. Arc's Aura is in the red. In a tournament style duel, that would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and an official can call the match."
As she said that, the woman turned to look at Jaune, who looked distinctly put out.
"Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please pay attention to your scroll during battle, it is helpful to gauge when to attack...and when to move to a more defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf now would we?"
Cardin snorted, "Speak for yourself."
Even Ichigo couldn't hold back his temper when someone said something like that. His amber eyes narrowed at the unrepentant leader of CRDL, as he walked off the stage. The shinigami noticed that Yang at least saw his eyes narrow, as she looked between him and the other teen. Then again, Yang had always seemed to be the most observant of his teammates, at least when it came to him. He had always wondered why that was the case too...
But that wasn't the issue at hand here. That was what to do about that jerk that just beat up on Jaune Arc.
"What an asshole," Ichigo ground out.
"No argument here," Yang agreed, cracking her knuckles.
Ruby just looked at her downed friend, "Poor Jaune..."
Before any more on that subject could be said, Goodwitch broke in once more. Though this time it appeared to be the last thing she had to say. If only because of the subject matter...
"Remember everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away. Students from the other Kingdoms will start arriving any day now," the Professor said, prompting everyone in team RWBIY but Ichigo and Blake to start acting all excited, "so keep practicing. Those who compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale."
As the bell rang, Ichigo sighed slightly. The festival wasn't as exciting for him as his team...he didn't want the attention that would come from it. He'd have no issues qualifying, and that wasn't his ego talking. But he didn't want the attention. And in any case, the tournament was the least of his concerns right now. For now...that was the teen struggling to his feet, and walking over to the rest of his team.
Something needed to be done about Jaune Arc. Ichigo wasn't sure if it should be him...but someone needed to get him up to par. He wasn't going to last much longer at Beacon, leave alone in actual combat, if someone didn't train him to fight better...
"You've got that right Kingy..."
And for once, all Ichigo could do was inwardly nod at his darker side.
Yang Xiao Long
"There we were...surrounded by Ursai..."
"They were Beowolves."
"Dozens of them!"
"Two of them."
In any other situation, Yang would likely have been listening to Nora Valkyrie with rapt attention. The girl was worse than Ruby on a sugar-high, something that Yang had never thought possible before. And it made her stories always amusing, especially with the way she acted them out. On top of that, Lie Ren was even more deadpan than Ichigo, which made the contrast between the friends amusing on its own. But, while the blonde made an effort to look interested- unlike Weiss who was filing her nails and Blake who was, surprise, reading a book -she wasn't really paying attention. Because right now, she had something rather more important to think about.
Or, more accurately, someone to worry about. Ever since Jaune's fight with Cardin, Ichigo had been...off. Like he was trying to think of something. He didn't share what he was thinking either, which was odd. He wasn't the openest person to begin with, but this was different. It was possible, likely even, that it had something to do with Jaune. Ichigo had been quite clear on how he thought of the blonde's fighting ability- or lack thereof. If he was thinking about that, it would explain a lot of things.
Still annoying though. I like talkative Ichigo. He's boring when he gets all moody.
"...but in the end, Ren and I killed them all and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs," Nora finished her tale, plopping down in her seat with a satisfied smirk on her face.
For his part, Ren just facepalmed, the motion becoming more and more common to Ichigo's amusement, "She's been having this recurring dream for well over a month now."
"A month?" Yang laughed, though her attention was still only sorta focused on the NR part of JNPR.
"Yes," the other teen sounded more exasperated than anything else.
Shaking her head in clear amusement, Yang grinned, "Sounds like Ruby when she was a kid."
"Hey," the girl in question complained, though her attention was only partly on her sister. In fact, just as Yang kept sending side-glances at Ichigo, Ruby was doing the same with Jaune.
Who, to be fair, was clearly in a bad mood judging from the way he picked at his food. Unsurprisingly, Pyrrha had easily picked up on that. She had always seemed closer to Jaune than anyone else, Ruby included.
"Jaune, is something wrong?" the redhead finally asked.
"Huh," Jaune asked, looking up from his food, "No, I'm fine! Why do you ask?"
Ruby clenched her hands, looking nervously at the table, "Well, it's just that you seem a little...not okay."
"Guys, I'm fine! See, look," as he said that, Jaune held his hand up, the thumb up in the universal 'everything's good' signal. Of course, it was rather ruined by his weak chuckle and fake smile.
Not to mention the fact he turned his head to look behind the two teams. And now that Yang looked herself, Ichigo- who hadn't said a thing -was looking in the same direction. And she could feel anger rolling off him in waves. Which was not normal...Ichigo was fairly chill. Yang should know, considering her own temper issues made her rather familiar with anger.
Following both the boys looks though, she could easily see why Ichigo was annoyed...if not why he was royally pissed off. Because the entirety of team CRDL was currently laughing and crowding in a Faunus girl, her race clear from the rather large rabbit ears on her head. The way they were crowding her in was enough to get a low growl out of Yang herself.
"Jaune, Cardin has been picking on you since the first week of school," Pyrrha commented, as the blonde boy clenched his fist.
"Who, Cardin Winchester?" Jaune tried to wave it off again, "Nah, he's just messing around. Y'know, practical jokes and all that."
Okay...that one sucked.
Even Ruby had no problem seeing through that, and she was notoriously bad at stuff like that. Yang blinked when she saw the fierce look cross her sister's face though. Apparently she was picking things up from Ichigo, if the scowl on her face was any indication.
"He's a bully," the leader of RWBIY said with absolute conviction.
Her friend wasn't giving up easily though, "Oh come on, name one time he's 'bullied' me."
The air-quotes Jaune broke out did nothing to convince, well, anyone of his sincerity. It wasn't like the rest of the teens were blind to things. It was quite easy to remember the times Cardin had picked on the 'vomit boy'. Knocking his books out of his hand. Messing with his extending shield to trap him in a door. And of course, the crown jewel of the bullying that the armored teen got up to. Locking Jaune in one of the rocket propelled lockers. Yang could have sworn Ichigo was going to catch on fire like...well, her...that time.
If nothing else, it seemed like Jaune realized what they were thinking at least.
"I didn't land that far from the school," he weakly attempted.
Pyrrha wasn't fooled, "You know Jaune, if you ever need help you just have to ask."
"I know!" Nora leaped to her feet, a scary grin on her face, "We'll break his legs!"
Everyone stared at the orange-haired girl, who just kept up the grin.
That was a bit scary.
Shaking her head, Yang smirked at the potential jokes she could make out of this one. She didn't get a chance to break out a pun though, because Jaune got to his feet, signalling the end of the conversation.
"Guys, I'm fine," the blonde said, "Besides, its not like he just picks on me. He's a jerk to everyone."
Case in point...
"Ow, that hurts!" the Faunus girl complained, her accent fairly odd. Not that her voice was the issue...that was Cardin tugging on her ear like he thought it was fake.
The armored teen and his teammates were just laughing up a storm, as the girl struggled to pull away, "What do you know, it is real!"
Yang felt her temper flaring up, and glared at the idiots across the cafeteria. But if her reaction was bad, it was nothing on Ichigo's. A snap announced him breaking his fork in two, as the orangehead got to his feet, anger practically flashing out of his eyes. Yang blinked rapidly, as her friend stomped around the table. Ichigo didn't seem to notice the attention he was getting though, as he stopped by Cardin. The other teen looked up, never once letting go of the Faunus girl's ear.
"What do you want orange boy?" Cardin laughed, "Come to join the fun?"
Ichigo didn't say anything, as his hand came down on Cardin's arm.
"Hey, what do you think you're do...ing!"
Without saying anything, Ichigo broke Cardin's grip on the girl, flipped him over the table, and stomped his back into the floor. Everyone in the cafeteria turned to look, as Yang's eyes widened. She knew Ichigo could fight with his hands- the best way for her and him to spar was hand-to-hand -but this...she hadn't seen him do something like that before. Maybe he wasn't bothering to hold back against Cardin?
Damn Ichigo! Someone's angry!
"Apologize," Ichigo finally spoke up, his voice low and faintly exuding the power that his team knew he possessed.
Cardin wasn't the brightest bulb in the bunch though, "Why should...I..."
The orangehead just drove his foot deeper into Cardin's back, "Because you're the one on the floor you idiot. Now apologize."
Shocked at what had happened or not, the rest of team CRDL recovered quickly enough. They rushed at Ichigo, fists raised to get him off their leader. Yang winced in sympathy...for them. This wasn't going to end well for the bullies...
And as Ichigo ducked under one swing and brought his fist up into the jaw of Dove, the point was brought home. The other teen went flying into the air, coming down on a table, sending a group of students scattering. Russel and Lark were a bit more cautious at least, circling Ichigo instead. As the students who weren't scattering started cheering 'fight', Russel moved forward. His fist came towards Ichigo's face, prompting nothing but a deeper scowl from the orangehead. Who ducked to the side, jumping into the air as Lark attempted to hit him from behind.
Spinning in midair, Ichigo's foot came down on Russel's face, sending him crashing into the ground...cleanly knocked out. Lark looked at his team, and made the wise decision to try running away. Try being the key word there. Ichigo kicked Russel into him, sending both to the ground.
"Whoa..." Ruby muttered softly.
Because the impressive thing? Other than his jump, Ichigo had never once stopped standing on Cardin. Yang was almost jealous...if not for the fact that Ichigo didn't really have a set style to his fighting. Which gave her a bit of an ego boost...always nice to see one thing she had over the other teen, even if her own style was rather hodgepodge.
"Now, where were we?" Ichigo asked the teen at his feet.
Cardin growled, but knew when he was overmatched, "Fine, I'm sorry."
Ichigo clearly didn't believe him, but just sighed and kicked him again for good measure, "Whatever."
And with that, the orangehead left the cafeteria behind.
"What just happened?" Jaune spoke for everyone.
"I'm not sure..." Blake replied, though she sent an approving look at Ichigo's back.
"I'll find out!" Yang jumped to her feet.
Ruby blinked, "Wait...what?"
"Hey, I'm the best at getting something outta him!"
Yang didn't stay behind to see the reaction to that- mostly sniggering from Nora -as she ran after her friend. It didn't take long to find him, leaning against a wall and breathing a bit more heavily than normal. It wasn't from exhaustion either...if Ichigo hadn't been panting after their spar, he wouldn't be after that. The way he was acting was far more like he was trying to get his temper under control. The way he was holding a hand over his eyes was decidedly odd though...
That being said, after what he just did, he probably needed to rein his temper in. Yang had the same issue when she got really worked up over something. Controlling a temper after letting it lose took some doing, especially if it was something that really got it going. In her case, that was hurting Ruby or touching her hair in the wrong way. In Ichigo's case...well, that was the question wasn't it? What had set him off? The bullying...seemed like the logical option.
"Hey, Ichigo!" the blonde shouted.
A sigh answered her, as Ichigo got his breathing under control. He took his hand off his eyes, taking one last breath before turning around. Yang could have sworn she saw a flash of black in his eye...but when he fully turned towards her, it was just the typical amber.
"Yang?"
"Yup!" she replied easily, "What was that back there? I've never seen you blow your top like that."
"I can't stand bullies," Ichigo replied, his fist still clenched slightly, "Never have been able to. Picking on someone weaker than you...I hate it."
Well, that answered that question, "I can tell. How come it took this long for you to blow up?"
This time it was a snort that answered her, "You know how much I hate attention. Bashing those idiot's heads together isn't exactly doing me any favors."
"Good point..."
Sitting down next to the wall, Ichigo sighed again. Yang sat next to him, the place they were in out of immediate sight at least. She could recognize a nervous tick from Ichigo too, when he ran his hand through his hair. It was either that or scratching the back of his neck...when he did either, it was because something was on his mind.
"If you have power or skill," he began, out of the blue, "you should use that to protect others. Especially with the Grimm just outside the Kingdoms...we are here to learn how to protect others. That's all I've ever wanted to do..."
"Ichigo..."
"So why, then, are people using their power to hurt others?" a shake of the head accompanied the statement, "God, I sound all moody. Sorry about that."
Yang just patted him on the shoulder, "Nah, it's no big deal. I kinda agree anyway. Hopefully the Profs will do something now that you beat them up."
"Yeah, one can hope."
"Come on, let's get to class," Yang pulled herself to her feet, sticking a hand out to Ichigo, "Wouldn't want to be late."
"Yeah yeah, I'm coming."
Taking her hand, Ichigo pulled himself to his feet. Sending her a grateful look- that she answered with her typical grin -the two teens moved to meet up with the rest of their team. History class was next...and that was always interesting...
Pyrrha Nikos
"Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as the Faunus War, humankind was quite, quite adamant about confining the Faunus to Menagerie..."
Even Pyrrha Nikos had issues following this specific professor. Professor Oobleck was fast in more ways than one. He zoomed through his lecture, zipping about the room so fast that it looked almost like what Ichigo Kurosaki did. In point of fact...even that teen seemed to have just given up on following the green-haired professor. Then again, at least Ichigo was awake and taking notes. Pyrrha could see that was more than could be said for Cardin, who just lounged in his chair, sending dirty looks at Ichigo. Considering what he had done earlier, that was hardly surprising. Pyrrha still had to thank the other teen for that...someone had needed to put Cardin in his place, as he bullied anyone weaker than himself.
That being said, the bully was not a worry in this class. What had the redheaded Huntress-in-training worried was Jaune. Her close friend- her best friend -was dozing off in his chair. That really worried Pyrrha, maybe more than it should have. She knew better than anyone how her friend struggled with school. Pyrrha had watched as Jaune fumbled for answers to questions, and it had almost hurt to watch his duel with Cardin. So seeing him sleeping in class...
Jaune, please focus...
The girl kept her own focus on the rapidly moving Professor, as he continued on his breathless lecture.
"Now, while this may seem like ancient history to many of you, it is important to realize that these are relatively recent events," Oobleck continued, "why the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!"
As he said that, the Professor stopped moving in the center of the lecture hall, "Now, have any of you been discriminated against because of your Faunus heritage?"
Only a handful of hands came up at that, including the poor girl Cardin had bullied earlier in the day. Pyrrha couldn't help a flash of indignation going through her body. She hated people like that...who discriminated against someone just because they had an extra body part or two. The Professor seemed to agree, if the slight frown he wore was any indication.
"Yes, yes...simply dreadful," a slight shake of the head accompanied that statement, "remember students, it is this type of thinking that breeds violence. I mean...I mean...just look at the White Fang!"
Zooming around the room, Oobleck shot off into another tangent as quickly as the last, "Now which of you can tell me what is widely believed to be the turning point during the third year of the war?"
That was a question Pyrrha could have answered. Her education had covered many things, and the Faunus War was second only to the Great War in its importance to Remnant's history. However, she didn't like the attention...it would seem odd those around her, but she got enough attention as it was. She didn't like being the center of everyone's eyes. So she didn't raise her hand, as behind her Weiss Schnee's hand shot into the air. The Professor nodded up at the heiress, as Pyrrha looked up at her herself.
If there was anyone in the class who would know, it would probably be her. The Schnee family was every bit as serious in their training as Pyrrha's educators had been.
"The battle at Fort Castle," Weiss answered with absolute certainty.
The Professor sipped his coffee, a smile crossing his face, "Exactly! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagoon's forces?"
As he asked that, Pyrrha saw Cardin flick something at Jaune out of the corner of her eye. She winced at the sight...as Jaune snapped awake and gained the Professor's attention. She had been prepared to answer the question herself, but now...
"Ah, Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent, just excellent! Now tell me, what is the answer?"
Jaune blinked, clearly flustered by the question. Pyrrha could only wince again in sympathy. His sleeping was going to hurt him here.
No...I can help him!
Bolstered by that thought, Pyrrha tried to get her friends attention as he stumbled for the answer.
"Um...the answer? The advantage the Faunus had was..." the blonde slowly spoke, as his blue eyes noticed Pyrrha's attempts to gain his attention.
Naturally, she knew the answer was night vision. For all the jokes made at the expense of the Faunus' animal features, that truly was their greatest advantage over human warriors. Being able to see perfectly in the dark was such an edge, that trying to do a night attack played more into their hands than hurt them like a similar move on a human army.
Of course, getting that across to Jaune was not the easiest thing in the world. Pyrrha pointed at her eyes and made circles over them, hoping her friend got the hint. Unfortunately for her...
"Binoculars!" the blonde shouted triumphantly.
As Professor Oobleck sipped his coffee, the sound of hands hitting faces echoed through the room. Much as she liked Jaune, Pyrrha couldn't help but 'facepalm'. The same went for Ichigo, who had long ago perfected the art of doing so. Jaune seemed to realize his mistake, as he slipped lower in his seat. That made his friend feel guilty over her frustration...it wasn't his fault. It was her fault for not making it more clear! Yeah, that was it. She needed to work on her miming then.
"Very funny Mr. Arc," the Professor sounded disappointed, as he turned to the teen above Jaune, "Cardin, perhaps you would like to share your thoughts on the subject?"
"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier," Cardin replied.
"You're an idiot, you know that?"
Pyrrha turned around, seeing Ichigo scowling fiercely at Cardin. She had been ready to say something to the bigoted teen herself...calling a Faunus an animal was an all too common insult. One that she could never stand. It would seem that her orange haired classmate was rather quicker than her however.
"Why you..."
Ichigo was unmoved, "Faunus are every bit as human as anyone else. They have an extra appendage or two, but calling them animals? Yeah, I'm sticking with you being an idiot. The answer was night vision, by the way. Right Sensei?"
Blinking at the odd term- and noting Weiss sending Ichigo a strange look -Pyrrha turned to the professor, "Indeed. The General was unprepared for the Faunus' ability to see in the dark."
"And he made the mistake of trying to attack the Faunus in their sleep," Blake continued, "his massive army was outmatched, and the General was captured. Perhaps if he had payed more attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as a failure."
That not so subtle jab didn't fly over Cardin's head, unlike most anything else. He growled and got to his feet, but a simultaneous glare from Ichigo and cough from Professor Oobleck made him back down.
"Mr. Winchester, please take your seat," the older man sounded quite disappointed in his student, "You and Mr. Arc can both join me after class."
"Aww..." Jaune looked distinctly put out by that, as the Professor continued the lecture.
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"You two go on ahead, I'll wait for Jaune."
Pyrrha smiled at her teammates, as she decided to wait outside the classroom. Jaune would do good having a friendly face waiting for him. She could only imagine he wasn't having a fun time in there, with the Professor telling him off and Cardin as his only company. She knew she would love having him waiting for her if the situation was reversed. And she knew Jaune would appreciate the gesture too, since that was just his personality. He was always thankful, even when he didn't need to be.
It was a refreshing change of pace really.
"Ow," speak of her friend...and he shall be pushed to the floor by a smirking Cardin.
Sighing softly, Pyrrha picked Jaune up to his feet, "You know, I really will break his legs. Ichigo would probably hold him down too."
Jaune just sighed in response, looking distinctly downtrodden. It heart Pyrrha, more than her friend could possibly know, to see him like that. One of the things she loved about Jaune was his endless optimism and joking personality. Seeing him depressed...was not something she ever wanted to see. And certainly not something the Huntress-in-training would let continue if she could avoid it!
"I know! Come with me!" Grinning widely, she tugged on the blonde's arm.
"Wait...what?!"
Charging through Beacon's halls, Pyrrha soon came across her destination. The roof, a place she liked going to stargaze on occasion. It was relaxing up there...when it was empty.
"Oh, hey Pyrrha."
"Hi Jaune!"
Blinking slowly, the redhead saw a surprising sight when she opened the door this time however. Team RWBIY was on the roof, in the middle of practicing...something. She wasn't quite sure what, considering all of them were sitting on the ground, though Ruby had jumped to her feet with a wide grin on her face.
"What..."
Ichigo scratched his head sheepishly, "Sorry, did you need the roof?"
"I was going to use it, yes," Pyrrha nodded slowly.
"We'll go then," the orangehead replied, "Come on, we'll finish this tomorrow."
"Aww...I was having fun," Ruby pouted.
Yang grinned at her sister, even as Jaune laughed in the background, "Come on sis, you can take a break for once."
"Lord knows you need it," Weiss added.
Blake remained silent, though she nodded with a small smile at the members of JNPR. Pyrrha smiled back, as the female members of the other team left the roof behind. Ichigo placed a hand on her shoulder as he walked by though, leaning over to whisper in the girl's ear.
"You've got a little birdy eavesdropping on you," Ichigo said, nodding at the edge of the roof, "I'll get him outta there. Wait for my signal before you say anything you don't want him hearing."
Pyrrha blinked again, "Okay?"
Because Ichigo could only be talking about Cardin. No one else would have reason to listen in to what she and Jaune would talk about. But why would he be...and how did Ichigo know he was there? Before she could ask, the orangehead had vanished through the door though. All she could do was look at the door, and then at Jaune who looked just as surprised as she felt. Ichigo was fast when he wanted to be. Not to mention neither of them had the slightest clue what was going on.
Clearly, team RWBIY had been training. But...why? That was something Pyrrha didn't understand.
"What just happened?" Jaune finally asked.
"I...am not sure," Pyrrha replied, before a flash of blue came from the ledge.
Rushing over to look down, the redhead saw Ichigo's head sticking out a window. A window to a dorm...had he just dragged all of CRDL out of their room, just so she could talk to Jaune in peace? He sent her a thumbs up, before vanishing from sight. Evidently that had been the signal then...
"Um, why did you bring me up here?" Jaune asked, as he moved next to her, "I'm depressed, but I'm not that depressed."
What? Does he mean...
"No!" pushing her friend away from the ledge, the young woman sent him an incredulous look, "That's not why I brought you up here!"
A raised eyebrow answered that statement, her friend clearly confused as to why he was up here. Pyrrha couldn't blame him really...it was probably odd from his perspective after all. But she had a good reason for bringing him here.
"Jaune...I know you've been struggling in class, and you still aren't the strongest fighter," she said nervously, before grinning at her friend, "So I want to help you!"
"...what?"
Keeping up her smile, Pyrrha looked around, "We can come up here after class, and train! I'm sure team RWBIY won't mind."
Jaune just frowned, "You...think I need help?"
The tone in his voice made Pyrrha's smile falter. He sounded...depressed...at the idea. Why?
"No! No...that's not what I meant."
It really wasn't. She wanted to train with him. She didn't want Jaune to feel self-conscious about it. They were friends, and she thought they could train together and improve both their skills. It was a win-win really. Not to mention it would mean spending time with Jaune alone...and the thought of that really appealed to her, for reasons she wasn't quite sure about. All Pyrrha knew, was that spending time working on their skills up here, under the stars, really sounded good to her. So why was Jaune looking like she had kicked him?
"But it's what you said," the blonde replied, his voice soft.
"Jaune...everyone needs a little push from time to time," Pyrrha tried, "even me. That doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it into Beacon...that alone says volumes about your skills!"
As she said that, Jaune turned away. Pyrrha frowned herself, at the way his shoulders tensed. She had gotten good at reading her friend's moods...and this was odd. He never looked this...vulnerable. Like something was weighing him down. Did Ichigo know something she didn't? It would explain the way Jaune was acting and why he had said to wait to say anything until he got Cardin away from them...
"I don't belong here," he finally said, voice low.
"That's a terrible thing to say! Of course you belong here."
Spinning around, Jaune looked angry for perhaps the first time she had ever seen, "No, I don't!"
Pyrrha took a step back, the hostility in Jaune's voice surprising her. It quickly faded to nervousness, but the fact it was there at all...
"I wasn't really accepted into Beacon..."
Blinking slowly, the redhead replied the only way she knew how, "What do you mean?"
"I mean I didn't go to combat school. I didn't train. I...I..." Jaune struggled to find the words, "I lied. I got my hands on some false transcripts, and I lied."
Jaune...you can't mean...
"What? But...why?"
Sighing and running a hand through his scraggly hair, Jaune smiled weakly, "Because this is all I've ever wanted to be! My father, my grandfather, and his father before him...they were all heroes! I always wanted to be one too. But I was...never good enough."
The hurt in Jaune's voice brought pain...unfamiliar pain...to Pyrrha's heart. She never wanted to hear him sound so...broken. She didn't care if he snuck into Beacon. It would have been hard for her to care about something like that. If this was his dream, then she would just have to help him fulfill it. Jaune was far too important to her to let him fail something so important to him.
"Then let me help you!" Pyrrha placed a hand on his shoulder, only to flinch back when her friend pulled away.
"I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress, I want to be the hero!" now there was hurt in his eyes and his voice.
"Jaune...I..."
Shaking his head, the other teen looked anywhere but Pyrrha's eyes, "I'm tired of being the loveable idiot stuck in a tree, while his friends fight for their lives! If I can't do this on my own...than what good am I?"
You're good as you are! Pyrrha mentally shouted, You're my best friend! I don't pity you or think you're any less because you don't know how to fight. I just want to help you improve Jaune. Please...just let me help you.
Reaching a hand out, the redhead flinched again as Jaune pulled away.
"Just...leave me alone, okay?"
Feeling like her heart had just been hit by a hammer, Pyrrha nodded weakly. If Jaune...
"If that's what you want."
Not quite able to keep the pain from her voice, the teenage girl spun around, and left her friend alone on the roof. She didn't know what she could do to change his mind...and it hurt more than she could have ever expected it to.
AN: And there we go. We also have another little break from canon here...no Cardin blackmail material. Obviously, Forever Fall isn't going to be the same taking this into account. Let's see how that goes.
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! Onto the reviews:
PersonaQeminod1, MEleeSmasher, AnimeA55Kicker, BANKAIZEN, Telron, The Digger92, Ranmaleopard, desdelor97, Matt, .796, Guest, gatesofhellkeeper, Zackmon, JJN37: Thanks for the reviews!
Kragh50: While it was after your review, RT did confirm that V3 is coming. I had some nebulous plans for an original story past V2, but it's nice to know that isn't needed now.
duskrider: Right now, I don't have plans for them to develop spirits in the weapons. Aura is similar in function to spiritual power, but not quite the same. So melding the weapons isn't the same as attempting the same with Bleach-powers.
Natzo: As above, no plans right now for pseudo-Zanpakuto.
kroz phantomville: As this chapter said, Ichigo can kinda-sorta do Kido. Not well though. As for the bow...he doesn't have a pendant, so he can't form one.
liberty86: In this case, the different translations helps matters. We can have stuff that even Ichigo doesn't know, but is still Bleach related.
hollowichigo12: I hope the Cardin bit didn't disappoint.
Gravenimage: Well, Yang's already been shown. But yeah, I had fun with developing those powers.
yiggdrasill: Well, as we well know, Kisuke has his fingers in everything.
Drake93: Whoops, my bad. RWBY timeline will follow the canon one, as for the subarcs:
Generally speaking, the subarcs will be placed in areas where RWBY-proper had a time skip. This last one, for instance, was placed between the first day and Jaune's Arc. The next will be between the end of V1 and the start of V2.
Krazyfanfiction1: His Hollow powers are limited insofar as...well, actually I can't say without spoiling things. Suffice to say, he isn't going to be doing really outlandish things.
He does have the regeneration though.
The10thDoctor1964: Yeah, I expect Ichigo to go Bankai fairly soon. Though, granted, the last chapter...whoo boy.
AN: Thanks for the reviews once again. I hope we can keep that momentum going!
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, and see you all next time.
