Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY

Chapter 9: Bully at Your Own Risk

Eight Years ago

In schools, teachers were not supposed to play favorites and were instead to treat all their students equally, but that was rarely the case. There were always that handful of students that went that extra mile, that were especially dutiful, diligent and respectful. Adults always took a shine to children like that and that was certainly the case for young Weiss Xiao Long.

Calling her a 'teacher's pet' would have been an understatement; she was the darling of the faculty at Patch Elementary. All of the teachers adored her, with her intelligence, diligence and eloquence leaving them stunned. She was already reading at a much higher level then any other of the nine-year-olds and there were already talks of her perhaps skipping some grades and graduating early. Weiss had so far rejected such suggestions, saying she wanted to stay with her sisters, but it was clear that she had an exceptionally bright future ahead.

That made it all the stranger that on this particular day Weiss, the Princess of the Playground, was sitting outside the principal's office with a black eye, busted lip and bruised knuckles.

Yang was sitting to her right occasionally standing up to pace angrily around for a few moments before sitting down again. She was the usual culprit and had much experience sitting out here after getting into a fight. However, in this instance she was completely innocent and that was the reason she was so angry.

Blake was sitting on the chair to her left but was wrapping her arms around Weiss and holding her so closely that she was almost sitting on her sister's lap. Her tears had stopped some time ago, but Weiss's shoulder was still damp. The white-haired girl gently stroked her twin's head, careful to not touch her cat-ears, all the while staring intently ahead.

It was this odd and concerning scene that Summer Rose saw as she arrived at the school, having hurried from the house when she got the call from the principal. When she heard that one of her daughter's was in trouble, she had immediately thought that it was Yang again, as her little spit-fire had a habit of solving playground disputes with her fists first. She was shocked and confused when the principal clarified that it had been Weiss who had gotten into a fight, with three older boys no less. Blake was also involved somehow and so Summer rushed on over as fast as possible.

Summer looked over her children, taking in Weiss's injuries while keeping emotion from her face. She calmly walked up and kneeled down in front of Weiss, looking her daughter in the eye.

"Weiss…can you tell me what happened?" she asked softly.

Weiss still had an intense look but was avoiding looking directly at her mother. Yang looked like she was about to speak up, but a sharp gesture from Summer kept her silent. The eldest sister was often trying to stand up and defend her siblings and that was an incredible and endearing trait but sometimes the others needed to stand on their own.

Weiss breathed deeply, still not looking at her mother. "I…they…they deserved it…"

'Weiss." Summer tone was hard. "Hurting people is never the right thing to do. There are other ways of dealing with a problem before turning to violence." This parental lecture may have been slightly hypocritical for a Huntress like Summer, who had fought both Grimm and criminals, but children needed a solid moral foundation to grow into good people; complicated grey areas could come later

Blake turned her head to look at her and Summer fully saw her red eyes and tear-stained face. "Please Momma, don't be mad at her" she pleaded in a shakily voice. "It was all my fault…"

Summer let out a sigh. "Honey, I'm sure that not the case. We need to take responsibility for our…" She was cut as Blake let out a yelp of pain. Summer had reached out to scratch Blake's cat ear, a common gesture of affection, but as soon as her finger touched the tip, her daughter recoiled away in pain.

"Oh! I'm sorry Sweetie!" Summer said hastily, concerned and confused as to what happened.

"They…they were pulling on her ears." Weiss said, balling her fists. "Those boys were pulling her ears and calling her a freak. I think they were really trying to tear them off. There were no teachers around and I didn't know were Yang was. I was so angry and I…hurt them. I hurt them for hurting Blake…and I kept hurting them until I knew they would never hurt her again"

Summer could only stare at her daughter, conflicting feelings swirling in her mind. She gently kissed Blake on the temple and Weiss on the forehead; this was a lot more complicated then she thought.

"Are these the little brutes that attacked my son?" a shrill voice filled the hallway and made the Xiao Long Family turn their heads. A group of adults were standing there, the parents of the boys who had been bullying Blake and who Weiss had attacked. At the head was a woman with far too much jewelry and far too much makeup on, a look of utter contempt on her face.

"My precious little boy is unconscious in the Nurse's Office because of you little monsters. Both he and his friends will probably have to go to the hospital; they're probably scarred for life!" the woman looked down at Summer. "Are you the mother of these children? What are you teaching them, making them into violent psychopaths? I'll see that they're expelled before suing you for everything you own and…"

Summer stood up and swirled around to fully face her. Her body language and face were still calm and collected, but her eyes screamed murder. They plainly said that if you tried to hurt her daughters, her babies, she would end you…slowly…

The gaudy woman fell silent and took a step back, losing her balance and falling to the ground. None of the other parents moved to help her, struck still by the gaze of the silver-eyed Huntress. The principal emerged from his office at the sound of the commotion but found he couldn't even speak despite not being the target of Summer's intent.

This continued for several very uncomfortable minutes until Taiyang came running in, having rush as quickly as he could from Signal after being called in by the principal. A quick look at the scene was all he needed before he slowly walked up to Summer and laid a hand on her arm. That broke the spell and Summer turned, breathing out angrily. Taiyang took charge, shepherding everyone into the principal's office so they get to the bottom of things in a more civilized manner. He made sure to stay between Summer and the gaudy woman, with his normally gentle lover giving one last murderous glare before following.

Going over the events, it because very clear that it was the three older boys who were at fault, having started the incident by bullying Blake and pulling on her ears. Weiss saw this and had thrown herself at them in defence of her sister, knocking all of them out while receive only fairly minor wounds in return, quite a remarkable feat.

Still, Weiss hadn't shown much mercy and violence was still violence. Stomping on one of the boy's ankles and kicking another hard in the crotch were pretty brutal attacks for a young child to do. The accusation that Weiss had picked up of the boys and suplexed him was however quite ridiculous and her parents successfully argued that it had been made up, though they privately had their doubts.

At the end, the three boys were suspended for a week while Weiss was given a month of detention. Privately, the principal assure them that if Weiss behaved herself, then they wouldn't put this down on her permanent record. Neither Summer nor Taiyang liked the concept of the teachers playing favorites but it was for their own daughter's benefit, so they accepted it for now. None of the other parents were very happy with this but no one wanted to risk Summer's rage again, so they accept this arrangement.

Afterwards, while Taiyang was finishing up with the principal, Summer return to her daughters and took Weiss off to the side. She kneeled in front of her again, trying to think about what to say.

"I hate them…" Weiss said softly. "I hate boys, all of them. Their dirty and gross and mean…their all just…fucking bastards."

"Weiss!" Summer hissed, making the white-haired girl flinch. Weiss tried hard not to swear, knowing that her parents hated it, but it still slipped out sometimes.

Summer could only shake her head angrily; she was seriously going to kill Qrow for teaching Weiss how to swear. She didn't care how much he said he was innocent; he was the only one who could have possibly influenced her like that.

Still, it was little strange that it was Weiss out of all her children that used words like that…

Summer focused back on her daughter. "Weiss, you should never be so free with hating people. The world has too much reckless hate in it already and so many good people are hurt by it. Please, my Little Snow Angel, don't add more to it. Make the world a better place with your actions, not worse."

Weiss stared back at her mother for a moment before nodding. Summer smiled and patted her head, which made Weiss smile in turn.

"Now, you still shouldn't have beaten those boys up. Yes, what they were doing was horrible, but you should have tried to find another way. And if violence is your only resort, then only use the bare minimum needed. A couple of hits and those boys would have probably run away; Blake would be safe and you would be facing a much lighter punishment".

The young girl frowned; part of her knew that but seeing her twin being tormented had caused her to throw all rational thought out the window.

"Still…" Summer continued. "I'm proud of you for sticking up for your sister when she needed you. Only by standing up to injustice can we stop it."

The Huntress gentled grasped Weiss by the shoulders. "I want you to promise me that you'll only use violence to defend others; never more then what is needed. You must use your abilities to help others, not just your family or close friends but anyone who is in need. Promise?"

Weiss nodded eagerly. Fight the bad guys to defend the weak? That basically made you a hero. Her parents were heroes she knew and she wanted to be just like them, so it was an easy promise. She stopped when she thought what 'everyone' would have to include.

"I still don't like them…boys I mean. I'll help them if it's the right thing to do but I'll never like them" Her father and uncle were obviously exempt from that rule, along with most of the male adults and teachers she knew, but boys her age just seemed to have no redeeming qualities at all.

Summer barked a laugh; Weiss was still a child after all.

"Oh Sweetie. You say that now, but in a couple more years, you'll be singing a different tune."

The look of serious skepticism on Weiss's young face made her laugh again. Standing up, she took her daughter by the hand, her shoulder still shaking with mirth. They walked down the hallway together, to where the rest of their family was waiting.

Ruby was there now, having being excused from her class. The school day was almost over, so it was easier for them to all go home together. The little girl had no idea what was going on, being simply overjoyed to be getting out of class early and to be leaving with her entire family. She was hugging Blake by the waist and the cat-girl was already looking much better, the simple affections of her little sister doing wonders.

Weiss looked at her family, this group that had been complete stranger just a few years ago but were now the moist important people in her life. She gripped her mother's hand tightly as she swore to always protect her family and to always make her mother proud.


Present Day

The halls of Beacon were noticeably different from Patch Elementary but they gave off the same feeling, a feeling that seemed universal to all centres of learning. They were completely empty, as it was early in the morning on a Saturday, so Weiss was alone with her thoughts. Her mind wandered back to that day eight years ago when she had walked down different yet similar halls beside her mother, her feelings from that day were contrasting with what she was feeling right now and it was frustrating her to no end.

Her desires and conscience were battling with one another and it was the reason why she was up so uncharacteristically early. She had barely gotten any sleep last night and she had thrown on her clothes and left the dorm as soon as the sun rose, before any of her sisters had woken up.

Weiss almost growled out loud and had to resist the urge to pull on her ponytail. It shouldn't be this difficult of a choice to make and certainly shouldn't be making her lose any sleep over it.

Of course, it would be that Arch-Pervert that would be causing her this distress; that boy seemed to be a walking headache.

She didn't mean to eavesdrop on Jaune and Nora's conversation last evening. She had stayed behind in the library after the study group to get ahead on her classwork and it was evening by the time she headed back to the dorm. She spotted Nora out of the corner of her eye; she seemed to be looking for something. She followed her, struggling to keep up as the energetic red-head bounded through the halls, searching rooms and corridors quickly before moving on.

After losing her for a bit, she heard her talking with someone and followed the noise to the dorm's rooftop. Peeking through the doorway, she saw that Nora was standing beside Jaune and that the two were talking.

Weiss's curiosity got the better of her and she quietly listened in, catching Jaune's confession about his transcript. After the two were done talking, she quickly retreated back to her dorm before she was caught, a wide smile on her face.

Finally, she had a way to get rid of the Arch-Pervert and keep him away from Ruby once and for all. A tip to the faculty would get them to investigate Jaune and soon enough he would get expelled, free both teams from his vile lechery. Just that day, he had 'accidentally' brushed his hand against Ruby's as they both reached down to grab a pencil that she had dropped. It had taken the elder Xiao Long Sisters every ounce of willpower not to tear him apart right then and there.

These measures may seem extreme to some, but it was important to know that these were the same girls who once obliterated an apple tree after it dared to drop one of its fruits on their baby sister's head. Emotional overreaction was their bread and butter.

Weiss's own emotions quickly soured as she really started to think her plan through. It was a quiet way to get rid of Jaune without directly going their promise to Ruby, so everything should be great.

But why did she feel like such shit for wanting to do this?

All throughout the night and now into this morning, she kept mulling over the plan to get Jaune expelled, her desire to see the last of the Arch-Pervert was running up against the voice in her head telling her that it was wrong.

Walking through the halls brought her back to that day at Patch Elementary, where she got in trouble for beating the snot out of trio of bullies and when her mother gave her advice on when and where to use violence to protect people. Although her assertion that Weiss would eventually come to like boys had proven to be wrong, her words on protecting those in need had stayed with her for all these years. Knowing that Cardin was bullying Jaune brought her no joy, only the anger she felt whenever she saw someone being bullied by jerks.

Her plan amounted to hurting Jaune with information she had effectively stolen; how did that make her any better then Cardin? While his lechery was clear to her, he also just went through a week with a broken arm and was struggling to get by, so doing this would be like kicking him while he was down. Jaune had been a very kind and helpful person so far, and sometimes Weiss forgot that he was an Arch-Pervert.

That was actually quite strange and Weiss was beginning to wonder if she was missing something about him…

The white Xiao Long stopped in front of one of the classrooms and let out a deep sigh. She couldn't live with herself if she went through with this. Getting Jaune expelled like this would go against the promise she made to her mother; she would be hurting someone and not making the world a better place. She understood that there was a lot of nuisance in justice and right vs wrong but a large part of her still clung to the simple, child-like notions of what a true hero was.

Doing this was not what a true hero would do, so no manner what she might want, this plan was out of the question.

She angrily rubbed her tired eyes. Belatedly she realized that she probably should have discussed this with Yang and Blake. They would have probably have gone through the same set of emotions; joy at having a way to get rid of Jaune before confusion and doubt set in. They would have reached the same conclusion as Weiss just did but it certainly would have been faster with all three of them. At the very least Weiss could have saved herself a sleepless night.

She stretched and let out a big yawn. There was nothing for it, so she might as well get some actual exercise in before heading back to the dorm. They had a big day today and she was planning on getting the most out of it as possible no matter what.

The classroom door swung open suddenly and a startled Weiss took a few hurried steps back. The lights were off inside the room and no one should be using it on a weekend. Her question of who could possibly be in there was answered when the boy she least wanted to see right now emerged form the doorway.

Jaune looked like he had gotten even less sleep then Weiss. He had dark bags under his eyes and his school uniform was amess, like he hadn't changed out of it since yesterday. He was shocked to see Weiss standing there and his mouth opened and closed a few times as he tried to think of something to say.

Weiss was at a loss for words as well; she had just been contemplating about how to kick him out of Beacon after all. She did notice that large jar of Red Sap held under his arm. A quick glance behind him confirmed that this was Professor Peach's classroom and she was known to keep a store room filled with various chemicals and ingredients that she used to teach her class.

Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Jaune…what are you doing?" she asked, her voice low and serious. If on top of everything he was also a thief, then she might just change her mind again on getting him expelled.

'It's…ummm…it's not what you think!" he stammered out.

"Oh really…. then what is it?" Weiss's icy glare made it clear that she expected nothing less then the absolute truth.

"I…I'm in trouble. Big trouble." He admitted, his shoulders shagging. "Some…someone found out something really important and they're blackmailing me. I don't know what their going to do or why they need a jar of Red Sap, but it can't be good."

Jaune shook his head and his voice grew frantic and pleading. "I don't know what to do! If I go to the teachers, they'll learn my secret and I'll be expelled. But I can't just dump this on my teammates. I'm their leader so I should be strong enough to deal with this myself. But I can't do anything right! Beacon is supposed to be for the absolute best, so where does someone as weak as me get off dreaming I could be more then I am? I should just quit and-"

The distressed leader of JNPR was cut off as Weiss slapped him hard across the face. Jaune staggered back a bit and look at the short, petite girl with a shocked expression. Weiss stared back, her eyes blazing with rage and her bared clenched tight.

"No…" She breath out, "No! You don't get to just quit know that things are a little hard. Being a Huntsmen isn't some game that you can walk away because it not going your way. I will not let anyone degrade what me and my sisters are trying to accomplish, have accomplished. If life hands you a bad hand, then you don't just throw in the towel; you make the best of it with what you got. If you just lay down and take it, then you deserve all the crap being handed to you. Nora, Ren and Pyrrha deserve much better than this, so for their sakes and yours, you should stop whining like a little bitch and man the fuck up!"

Weiss's face was flushed and she was breathing heavily as she finished. Her emotions towards Jaune had just gone through several roundabouts, so this sudden encounter made it all boil up at once. She knew that being a Huntsmen wasn't for everyone and that it was probably for the best for someone to quit if they weren't capable before they or another got hurt but coming from Jaune made it seem like one big insult. She and her sisters had poured so much blood, sweat and tears into getting this far, so Jaune's attitude seemed to be spitting on all their hopes and dreams.

She wasn't being fair to him, at all, but her feelings towards Jaune weren't very balanced or fair to begin with.

The blonde knight could only start at Weiss, shocked by both the slap and the harsh tirade that came out of the normally reserved and graceful girl. After several moments in stunned silence, his own eyes grew hard and he balled his hands into fists.

Weiss thought that he was going to retaliate and braced herself, not planning on giving an inch if it came to words or blows, but was surprised by what he said next.

"You're right" Jaune said in a loud whisper. "You're absolutely right. I can't just roll over and give up. You and everyone else are giving it your all and I can't do any less. Even if it kills me, I shouldn't just give up on this dream when it goes a little wrong; that would be letting not only myself down, but my team and my friend. If I did that, I wouldn't be able to call myself a man."

Jaune turned aside and let out a small laugh. "Geez, I came to this same conclusion yesterday, but I backtracked the moment things got a little tough again. I'm really pathetic, aren't I?" Jaune nodded to himself a few times. "Pathetic…but I'm still going to give it my all."

He turned back to Weiss and gave her a big smile. "Thanks, I really needed that."

"N-no problem…" Weiss muttered, very surprised with this turn of events. She had never been thanked for swearing at someone, let alone smacking them.

Jaune nodded, more to himself then to Weiss, and moved passed her into the hallway. "I have to take of this first. Tell the others to head out to the city without me; I'll catch up later."

With that, he took off running down the hall, leaving Weiss standing alone in the hallway. She realized only after he was out of sight that Jaune was still holding the stolen jar. She thought about going after him before quickly deciding that he could deal with the consequences of his actions himself.

With a spring in her step, she took off in the other direction, intending to take a nice long walk back to her dorms before heading out to the city with the others. After a sleepless night, she figured that she was more then entitled to take her time and just enjoy the day.


Jaune hurried down the hall, towards one of the smaller courtyards where Cardin had told him to bring the jar of Red Sap. He only now realized that he had gone through with the theft, but it was too late to go back now. He needed to see this through to the end, no matter what.

It seemed like Fate was being cruel to him, as right after Nora had left last night after helping him out of his depression, he was cornered by Cardin on his way back to the dorm. He had overheard Jaune confess about his transcripts and blackmailed him to steal Red Sap from Professor Peach's classroom and bring it to this spot by mid-morning. He claimed that this little thing was all he needed to do for Cardin to keep his silence. The bully then left before Jaune could get a word in, leaving him very distressed and uncertain of what to do.

Jaune was left in a very bad situation, with no clear way forward. He entered the dorm quietly and, seeing that the others were all asleep, laid down on his bed without changing his clothes. He didn't get any sleep, his mind focused on this new problem. He looked over at his sleeping teammates and couldn't help but feel that he was letting them down again. All the positive feelings he had felt after his talk with Nora had evaporated and he was back to feeling that he was unworthy of being at Beacon. Even before the sun had risen, he had gotten up and left the room, heading for Professor Peach's classroom while hoping desperately for some way out of this.

He was surprised to find Weiss standing outside of the classroom just as he was leaving and he didn't know why confessed all his feelings to her after deciding not to go to his teammates; the shock and stress of it all must have gotten to him. It turned out to be a blessing, as the hard slap and harder words were just what he needed to really wake up.

He had been only thinking about himself, about how this was affecting him. His doubts about letting his teammates down was really just another way to feel sorry for himself; if he truly cared about them, then he needed to stand up and act.

"Hey Jauney-boy. Looks like you got the goods. I just knew you had it in you."

Jaune turned to the side and saw Cardin with the rest of his team standing in the corner, smug grins on all their faces. Jaune only frowned in returned and held the jar out in front of him.

"Yeah, I got it. Why do you need this stuff anyway?" Jaune was curious as to what the hell Cardin was up to.

"Oh, I got a plan for it, I assure you." Cardin walked to Jaune and put a hand on his shoulder in what might to seen as a friendly gesture. The look on his face and the tone of his words was anything but. "I just need you to do one more thing for me."

"You said that this was all had I to do!" Jaune countered, angry but not surprised that Cardin was going back on his word.

"Well, I'm altering our little deal. I'd go along with it if I were you. If not, I may just let slip to the teachers that one of my fellow students is here on falsified transcripts." Cardin's grin widened at Jaune's angry silence. He took a few steps back and stood between Jaune and the rest of CRDL.

"It's going to be a real easy thing, I assure you. I got a really killer plan cooked up." Cardin's team looked on with eager expression; Cardin had apparently kept them in the dark as well in regards to what he was up to.

"All you got to do it hide that jar in a bag and go out with the others on that little trip to the city that you've all been going on about all week. All you got to do is keep quiet and wait for me to give you the signal."

Cardin seemed to revel in the confused looks, like a stage performer gearing up the crowed for the big reveal. "See, I know a guy who can get me a box of Rapier Wasps, nasty little bugs who love sweets things. They'll rush towards whoever is covered with that Red Sap and sting the crap out of them, making them swell up like a balloon."

"So, you want me to cover one of Team RWBY with this sap?" Jaune asked. He knew enough to know that all of this was just a mean to get back at RWBY for humiliating him earlier.

"Not just anyone one." Cardin had a truly cruel grin on his face now. "You're going to throw that jar at that cape-wearing Ruby. When those dumb bitches see their 'precious baby sister' in trouble, they'll rush to her side. That's when I'll released the Wasps and get all four of them at once. That will turn their 'best day ever' into a total nightmare."

"Oh man Cardin, you're a genius. A tactical genius!" Russel exclaimed. The rest of CRDL shouted their approval as well, seeing it as the perfect payback prank.

Jaune didn't share their joy, horrified and sicken by what Cardin wanted to do. Ruby herself hadn't done anything to Cardin but he was going to hurt her as a mean to get at her sisters. He didn't care who got hurt, so long as he got his revenge.

And he wanted Jaune to help him do it.

"So, you see, it a real simple thing you need to-"

"Go fuck yourself, Cardin" Jaune said calmly, interrupting the bully in mid-speech. The larger boy looked over with a shocked expression; an expression that quickly turned to anger.

"I'm sorry Jauney-boy. I must have mis-heard you" he growled out. "What was that you said?"

"Sorry, I guess I must have mumbled." Jaune replied, still icy calm. "You should always be clear when speaking to others. What I said was…" Jaune suddenly grasped the jar of sap and hurled it at Cardin. It broke against his chest and cover it with its sticky contents.

"GO FUCK YOURSELF!" Jaune roared. He was done listening to this bastard. If he wanted to hurt and humiliate Jaune, that was one thing. But going after Jaune's friends and expecting him to help, that was another. No matter the consequences, he wasn't going to let anyone hurt his friend.

And there were going to be consequence, going by the look of pure rage in Cardin's face. No matter, Jaune would face it all if it meant protecting those he cared about.


Outside of Beacon's dorms, Team RWBY and JNPR, minus Weiss and Jaune, were getting ready to head out. They were all dressed in casual clothes and had everything they needed to go out; except for their missing teammates of course.

"Well, have you gotten hold of Weiss?" Pyrrha asked Yang, who was currently texting on her scroll. They were all a little worried as to where Weiss and Jaune were, and since Jaune had left his scroll in the dorm, they were hoping they could get in touch with Wiess and get some answers.

"Yeah, she says that she was just out for a morning jog" Yang answered. "That's weird; she never gets up before the rest of us. Anyway, she says she'll be here soon and that she saw Jaune on her way. He told her he as some business to deal with and that we should head out without him."

The others frowned at this information. The whole point of this trip was to go about together, all eight of them. Jaune hadn't mentioned anything about any 'business' he would need to take care of on the weekend. Nora was especially troubled, as everything had seemed fine when she left him last night. Could she have maybe missed something?

Pyrrha and Ren were also concerned and the look on their faces made it clear that they didn't like the notion of just leaving Jaune behind.

"How about we take a walk around the campus?" Ruby suggested. "We can meet up with Weiss and see if we can catch sight of Jaune and find out what's up; It won't take us that long."

The others nodded at this and they headed out towards the courtyards, hoping to find some answers.


Weiss put her Scroll away and continued to walk down the hallway towards the dorms. Soon, she would meet up with the others, head out to the city and finally put all this tiring business with Jaune behind her. From what Yang had texted, his team was pretty worried about him. It would probably be on her to reassure them that their 'fearless' leader was fine. She didn't see what the issue was, he was just going to dig himself out of the problem he had gotten into.

It was at this point that the gears in Weiss's super-genius brain started to turn and began to quickly connect all the dots in regards to Jaune's situation.

Jaune said that he was being blackmailed into stealing a jar of Red Sap for some less-then-good plan. Given what she had learned last night, it was most likely that he was being blackmailed over his false transcripts. Someone else must have been listening in to that conversation and cornered right after she and Nora left. The only person she knew that would do something like that was Cardin Winchester, who had proven to be nothing but a cruel bully.

If it was Cardin that Jaune was going to meet with, he would surely have the rest of his team with him; he always seemed to have his lackeys close by. If Jaune was going to confront him and take a stand, he would be going against four other guys by himself. He was going to get his ass handed to him…because Weiss told him to man up.

"Oh shit!" The white Xiao Long shouted as she pivoted around and started running in the other direction. She might not like Jaune, but she would be damned if she sat back while someone got hurt because of her. Her abandoning of Jaune in the Emerald Forest during Initiation was conveniently forgotten at this moment as she rushed to find Jaune and save him before it was too late.


Jaune stumbled backwards, blood streaming from his nose and mouth. Several dark bruises were forming on his face, the result of Cardin smashing his fists into it repeatedly.

"You call that a punch? My little sister hits harder then you!" Jaune said, swaying as he tried to stay on his feet. Another blow sent him reeling, but he continued to stare back defiantly. "I've hurt myself worse by stubbing my toe. Come on!"

Cardin obliged and his next punch sent Jaune to the ground. The larger boy stared down at the fallen knight, his eyes blazing with rage and hatred. Everything was coming to a boil, the humiliation he had been dealing with returning now that this weak, pathetic loser standing against him. Cardin had solved most problems in his life with his fists and this time was no different.

Jaune got to his knees and lifted his head up. His lack of control of his Aura meant that he was taking these blows fully, but he accepted that this was something he had to bear. He looked up at the looming Cardin, his eyes shining with defiance.

"Do what you want with me…but I won't let you hurt my friends, you bastard!"

Russel, Sky and Dove, while pissed at Jaune for the lip he was giving their boss, were also getting unsettled with how this was escalating. This wasn't the best place to beat some sense into someone and they could easily get in trouble.

'Hey Cardin. Let's get out of here before someone shows up. We can deal with him later." Dove suggested. If they had to, they could go through with the threat and get Jaune expelled, but this was a bit much right now.

Cardin didn't appear to hear him, simply glaring back at Jaune. He wasn't really thinking about anything else beside his burning desire to hurt Jaune as much as possible. He clenched his fist and pulled his arm back, intending to put his full weight behind this punch.

Just as Cardin threw out his punch, a white figure dash into the courtyard and stood in front of Jaune. Cardin didn't have the time or frame of mind to stop, so his fist collided right into the newcomer's face.

A long moment passed as everyone present tried to process what just happened. Jaune looked up in shock at the back of the familiar white lab coat and Cardin was flabbergasted that instead of punching that dork knight's face, his fist had impacted the left cheek of Weiss Xiao Long.

He had thrown everything he had into that blow, and he was much bigger and heavier than the small girl and yet Weiss hadn't moved an inch. A dark bruise began to form on her cheek as Cardin slowly pulled his arm back; she had been so focused on getting here that her Aura hadn't activated.

But her eyes were blazing with anger and contempt and the larger boy found himself slowly backing away. He only got a half-step back before Weiss kicked him in the crotch so hard that he was lifted a few inches off the ground.

All the males present were winced at this and Cardin immediately bent over double. The sheer shock of the impact was what was taking his breathe away rather then any acute pain; that would come later. He struggled to raise his head and when he did, he saw Weiss looking down at him, her eyes still holding only cold rage towards him.

Weiss suddenly pulled her head back and slammed her forehead onto Cardin's in a vicious headbutt. The bully collapsed to the ground and his eyes rolled back as he was knocked out cold.

CRDL immediately rushed to their leader's side, pulling him to his feet and trying to wake him up. Any thoughts of retaliating were quashed as the rest of Team RWBY and JNPR walked into the courtyard. The six students took in the scene, the sight of their teammates bruised and injured and CRDL had six furious glares stopping them in their tracks.

"Get lost" Weiss said, throwing her ponytail over her shoulder in a decisive manner. "But remember to tell Cardin this when he wakes up; if he thinks of ever hurting Jaune or anyone else again, if he says anything against him…I won't be as kind and merciful next time. Got it!"

CRDL all nodded and hurried to leave the area, dragging Cardin's limp body between them.

Jaune and Weiss's teams immediately rush to their sides and began fretting over them. Nora quickly hauled Jaune to his feet and began trying wipe the blood from his face while Blake fussed over her twin.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." Jaune and Weiss said in unison, causing the two to look at each in surprise. Jaune gave a big smile and Weiss felt a slight tug on her lips, though she kept herself composed.

"Jaune, let me add something to what I told you before." Weiss's words made everyone stop and look at her. "You need to stand up for yourself yes, but you don't always have to do it alone. You have a great team to help bear any burden, as long as you let them. One's the loneliest number, believe me, so don't be afraid to stand up on your own while leaning on others for support. That's the best way I found to be the best you can be."

Jaune looked at Weiss for several moments before nodding determinedly. The others were a bit lost on all this but were happy that things seemed to be okay now.

Jaune looked at his teammates before nodding to himself. "Yeah, I'll do that. I got something really important to tell all you guys later, along with a real big favor."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's fine but we should get you taken care of first." Pyrrha said. Jaune's face had several bruises on it, but thankfully it didn't look too serious.

Team RWBY looked on, happy that things appeared to be okay. Yang turned to look at Weiss, an amused smile on her face. Her odd behavior this morning was starting to make sense now.

"If you knew something was up with, maybe you should have followed your own advice and let us know." Yang poked Weiss's injured cheek lightly, making the girl flinch back.

"Hey! It wasn't my fault; things just happened quickly and all at once." Weiss's defence rang a little hollow, but her sisters knew it wasn't a big deal.

"Well, if we want to go out today, we should probably get some coverup on you" Blake suggested as she too poked Weiss's cheek, causing her twin to slap her fingers away.

"I'll probably need some as well. Don't think they'll let us into the café if I look like I just came out of a prize fight." Jaune said, using a handkerchief Ren gave him to wipe the remaining blood from his face.

"Oh, you're an expert on this are you?" Yang asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, I am" Jaune shot back. "Remember, I got three moms and seven sisters. I know more about make-up, cover-up and other beauty products then I would ever want to know. Give me the tools and I can do it myself easily."

The girls all nodded, impressed by this. They started heading back towards the dorms, Yang running ahead to get their makeup kits ready while Nora insisted that Jaune lean on her for support. The blonde knight kept saying that he could walk on his own, but didn't try very hard to dissuade her. With any luck, they could get everything fixed up and be on their way for their day trip without any serious delay.

Before Weiss could follow along, Ruby ran up and kissed her gently on her uninjured cheek.

"What was that for?" Weiss asked.

"Just…an thank you for sticking up for Jaune when he needed it. I'm so happy that you've become such good friends with him." With that, Ruby dashed away to follow the group, leaving Weiss standing alone in the courtyard.

What was she saying? She wasn't friends with that Arch-Pervert! All she did was give him serious advice when he was down, slap some sense into him, protect him against bullies and…stick up for him when he needed it….

"Oh shiiiiiii-" Weiss barely bit back the curse as she realized that yes, she was now friends with Jaune. And friends don't let each other down, or conspire to get them killed and or kicked out of school. This meant that any future plan to get rid of Jaune was out of the question; her conscious would never let her do anything bad against him now.

Weiss slumped and let out a long sigh. There was nothing for it, she would just have to be the best friend to Jaune she could be. This whole situation had been pretty crazy and thinking about it, she could have probably solved it all without resorting to violence; Cardin was a coward and a hard stare would have probably sent him packing.

She straightens up and hurried to catch up with the others, a smile on her face.

She still felt satisfied with how things turned out. Ruby was happy, Jaune and his team were happy and somehow, she just knew her mother would be happy with her.

For now, that was enough.


Two years and only nine fairly short chapters released; not as good as I would have liked. Life, school and work have been a constant factor in limiting how much I can write, but I do want to do better. I'll be taking a short break from writing to deal with real-life stuff and then I want to get into a regular schedule of writing, which hopefully will result in a faster turnaround but I can't promise anything.

With this chapter we deal with Cardin's bullying and begins to end Jaune's tenure as the 'Arch-Pervert'. I had initially planned to have Yang, Blake and Weiss think he was a bad guy for much longer and even prank him and such, with Ruby being blissfully unaware. But I also want Team RWBY and JNPR to become very close to one another and that can't happen if most of RWBY thinks Jaune is bad news, so the next chapter will pretty much end this gag.

Next chapter will be bit of a time-skip to Volume 1's finale, which will see Blake get some of the spotlight and get the main plot of the series rolling. It will be a fairly long chapter, so I have no idea how long it will take to make.

Some I had originally planned was to start off every chapter with a short flashback scene to the girls growing up and dealing with an issue that was related to what the chapter in the present was going to be about. That didn't happen but I may have a couple future chapters framed like this one, so tell me what think about this style of storytelling.

Again, I welcome any and all idea for this story, as they have really helped me develop this story for the better. Particular shout out to Blooming Dark Flower and MaracaRin for the creative ideas in their reviews, as they really helped look at this story from an angle that I hadn't considered and develop this story into something better. That goes for all the reviews and PMs for this story, as they really motivate me and having another set of eyes read this story and make suggests on where it should go is very helpful. I have a good portion of this story figured out, so there are lots of ideas and paths that I won't be going down, and I may not be able to immediately explain why because of spoilers, but there is still lots up in the air. Either way, any thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

That's all for now, so please leave a review or PM and tell me what you thing. See you next time.