Jaunedice
Ash sits with his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he observes the battle before him. Cardin Winchester has his mace perched on his shoulder and Jaune opposite him with Crocea Mors drawn, leaning on his sword for balance, both of them in the spotlight. Jaune briefly stops panting and looks at Cardin, who laughs mockingly. Jaune gathers his strength and charges forward with a roar. He swing his blade at Cardin, who effortlessly sidesteps. Jaune quickly looks back, surprised, as Cardin's mace slams into him and sends Jaune flying back. While in air, Jaune looses his shield. Jaune gets up and repeats his actions, but is blocked by the mace's hilt. With their weapons locked, Cardin forces himself up, towering over a struggling Jaune.
"This is the part where you lose." Cardin declares.
"Over my dead-!" Jaune begins.
Jaune is cut short as Cardin knees him in the stomach, making Jaune drop his sword and fall to the ground. Cardin raises his mace and is about to slam it down when the buzzer rings, the lights come back on, and Professor Goodwitch's voice causes him to stop.
"Cardin, that's enough!" She says as she steps forward, "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's Aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament-styled duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match."
Jaune still lays on the floor and Pyrrha Nikos stares at him sadly.
"Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now." Professor Goodwitch turns to Jaune, "Please try to refer to your Scroll during combat. Gauging your Aura will help you decide when it's appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more... defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf, now, would we?"
Jaune takes out his Scroll and looks at it as she speaks.
"Speak for yourself..." Cardin mutters as he turns to leave.
"Remember, everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale!" Professor Goodwitch says.
Yang punches the air in anticipation, Weiss shakes her fists with an excited smile, Ruby shakes her entire body with a soft squeal, and Ash sighs as he slowly opens his eyes. The bell rings, and students start leaving while Pyrrha continues to frown. Jaune, still sitting on the floor, hangs his head in shame. Ash glances back to Jaune as he walks out of the door. He scoffs as he turns back.
"So! There we were, in the middle of the night..." Nora tells.
"It was day." Ren corrects.
Blake pays no attention as she reads her book, and Yang is listening with interest as her hands cup her face
"We were surrounded by Ursai..." Nora continues.
"They were Beowolves." Ren corrects again with a coffee cup in his hand.
"Dozens of them!" Nora shouts as she stands up.
Weiss is ignoring Nora and filing her nails. Ash sits with his arms crossed and eyes closed, Ruby and Pyrrha are listening, and Jaune is messing with his food.
"Two of 'em." Ren corrects.
"But they were no match..." Nora continues as Ruby and Pyrrha glance at Jaune, "And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!"
"She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now." Ren says after sighing.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha calls, "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" Jaune asks as he puts down his fork, "Oh, yeah! Why?"
"It's just that you seem a little... not okay..." Ruby says.
"Guys, I'm fine." Jaune lies as the others look at him, except for Ash, "Seriously! Look!"
Jaune puts a thumb up and laughs nervously. Ash scoffs.
Jaune's attention is pulled to Team CRDL, standing around Velvet as Cardin laughs at her and Sky Lark holds up his hands to his head in a mock interpretation of her Faunus features.
"Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school!" Pyrrha states.
"Who?" Jaune asks, "Cardin Winchester? Nah... He just likes to mess around! You know, practical jokes!"
"He's a bully." Ruby declares.
"Oh, please!" Jaune challenges, "Name one time he's 'bullied' me."
Ash tunes out as he stares at Velvet. The others eventually look over as the laughing grows louder, mixed in with cries of pain from Velvet when one of her ears is pulled by Cardin.
"Ow! That hurts!" Velvet cries, "Please, stop..."
"I told you it was real!" Cardin says.
"What a freak!" Russel says.
Cardin stops, and Velvet stands up and hurries off, her head bowed and hiding her face from those watching, especially Ash.
"Atrocious." Pyrrha comments, "I can't stand people like him."
"He's not the only one..." Blake says.
"It must be hard to be a Faunus." Yang says resting her head on her hand.
"Ash?" Ruby calls, noticing his glare.
"Your eyes are...?" Weiss begins, seeing that his silver eyes are glowing.
"I know." Ash states, barely hiding his anger, "I'm concentrating."
Suddenly, the arm of Asher's armor comes out of the table, grabs Cardin's head and slams it into the table as it retreats back into Ash's pocket dimension. Ash's eyes stop glowing shortly after. Cardin's head is then shot by a gust of wind, also summoned by Ash's semblance. The force of the wind, pushes Cardin out of his seat and into the space between the tables. Ash then closes his eyes again.
"I thought you needed to make contact to use your semblance?" Weiss comments.
Ash says nothing as he gets up and goes to find Velvet. Cardin glares at Ash as he walks away. Jaune looks back at his friends and sighs to himself before leaving with his tray.
Ash eventually finds Velvet in the Amphitheater.
"Velvet?" He calls.
She squeaks in surprise as she turns to face him.
"Oh, hey, Ash." She says, sadly.
"Been a while hasn't it." Ash comments as he takes a seat beside her.
"How are you doing?" Velvet asks.
Ash looks a Velvet, disapprovingly.
"I'm fine." Ash answers, "And you're still soft. You don't have to take their abuse."
"Fighting them won't help." Velvet declares, "You know that."
Ash sighs.
"You've changed." Velvet comments, "You always had an uncaring attitude, but it used to be as if you were 'too cool for us' as Coco put it. Now you're just cold."
Ash glances at Velvet.
"Now that everything's changed, I've been holding on to the precious things that I can't protect." Ash declares.
"What do mean you 'can't protect?'" Velvet asks.
"I always break them." Ash declares, "Everything I tried to protect has died."
"You mean your team?" Velvet asks.
Ash clenches his fists.
"It was my job to take care of them." Ash declares, turning his head away from Velvet.
"You were a team." Velvet says, "It was your job to take care of each other, and you did until the very end. They gave up their lives for you, you have to honor their sacrifice."
Ash scoffs.
"To think I came here to comfort you." Ash comments, "You were always strong Velvet. Stronger than I could ever dream to be."
"That's not true." Velvet denies, "Last year you rarely lost any duels."
"Physical strength is meaningless without a strong heart and mind behind it." Ash says, "My mind is strong, but not my heart."
"You're stronger than you think, Ash." Velvet declares, "If your heart was weak, you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't carry on the legacy of Team SLVR."
Ash looks into Velvet's eyes and a small smile forms onto his face.
"Thank you." Ash says as he stands up, "I needed that."
Jaune sleeps in Doctor Oobleck's class as the lecture goes on.
"Yes! Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution-more popularly known as the Faunus War-" Doctor Oobleck says before rushing to the front of the map with a bunch of papers covering it, red tape marking links between them, "-humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie."
Oobleck zooms in front of his desk, which is covered with papers, and points to Menagerie on the map with a stick.
"Now!" The Doctor continues, "While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events! Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!"
Oobleck rushes from place to place as he talks before stopping in front of the class.
"Now!" Doctor Oobleck switches which row he is in front of, "Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?"
Some of the Faunus students raise their hands. Velvet, who Ash is sitting beside, does the same after a moment of hesitation. For once, Ash's eyes are open. However, instead of taking notes, he's marking Oobleck's path on a black piece of paper.
"Dreadful, simply dreadful!" Oobleck comments, "Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence!"
He takes a sip from his coffee.
"I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to White Fang!" Doctor Oobleck continues after moving once again, "Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the War?"
Weiss raises her hand.
"Yes?" Oobleck asks.
"The battle at Fort Castle!" Weiss answers.
"Precisely!" The Doctor says, "And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"
Cardin flicks a paper football at Jaune's head.
"Hey!" Jaune says as he wakes up, accidentally raising his hand.
"Mr. Arc!" Doctor Oobleck shouts as he rushes into his face, "Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?"
"Uhhhh... The answer... The advantage... that the Faunus..." Jaune stutters.
He looks at Pyrrha, who coughs and motions to her lips as she gives him the answer.
"...had over that guy's stuff..." Jaune sees Pyrrha cup her hands around her eyes, "Uhh... Binoculars!"
The class laughs at him and Oobleck sips his coffee. Pyrrha sighs and facepalms as Cardin pounds his fist on his desk while chortling.
"Very funny, Mr. Arc!" The Doctor comments as he goes behind his desk, "Cardin! Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject!"
"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin responds.
"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?" Pyrrha says as Oobleck shakes his head.
"What?" Cardin asks, "You got a problem?"
"No, I have the answer!" Pyrrha states, "It's night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark."
Cardin growls.
"General Lagune was inexperienced," Blake adds, "and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured. Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure."
Cradin stands up with his fists clenched.
"Mr. Winchester! Please take your seat." Oobleck orders.
He then rushes to Jaune.
"You and Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings." Oobleck adds as he sips his coffee.
Jaune moans in disappointment.
"Now! Moving on!" The Doctor continues after zooming away.
When the lesson ends, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren come out of the classroom, only for Pyrrha to stop near the doorway.
"You go on ahead." Pyrrha says, "I'll wait for Jaune."
"You're leader's not very impressive, is he?" Ash asks, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed and arms crossed.
Pyrrha jumps in surprise, not noticing Ash's presence until he announced it.
"Tell me, Pyrrha, what are the fundamentals of combat?" Ash asks.
"Offense, defense, maneuverability, knowledge, and leadership." Pyrrha answers.
Ash shakes his head.
"I'd expect that answer from an Atlesian." Ash comments, "Yes, and no. There are only three fundamentals of combat: Body, mind, and soul."
Pyrrha raises an eyebrow.
"Jaune has shown weakness in the first two, I hope he has a strong soul." Ash comments as he gets off the wall, "Or your leader may be doomed to fail. And if he doesn't strengthen the other two, then he's doom to fail regardless of the power of his soul."
"Then help him." Pyrrha suggests.
"I have my hands full at the moment." Ash declares, "You help him."
Ash walks away, leaving Pyrrha to wait by herself. Shortly after, Oobleck zooms out of the classroom . Jaune comes out first with Cardin behind him. Cardin pushes Jaune to the ground and laughs before walking away.
"You know, I really will break his legs." Pyrrha says as she helps Jaune up.
Jaune sighs, and Pyrrha glances at Ash, still walking down the hallway. She remembers what he said and gets a look of inspiration.
"I have an idea!" Pyrrha grabs Jaune's arm, "Here, come with me!"
Ash turns and watches as Pyrrha drags Jaune away.
Ash spots Pyrrha on his way back to his dorm. She walking slowly and dejectedly.
"I take it that something went wrong?" Ash asks.
Pyrrha jumps in surprise.
"No, it's just that..." Pyrrha stops.
"He told you something you shouldn't repeat." Ash guesses.
"How did you know?" Pyrrha asks.
Ash places his hand on Pyrrha's shoulder.
"Come with me." Ash says as he leads Pyrrha to his dorm.
"What is it you want?" Pyrrha asks.
"A secret for a secret." Ash says, "You tell me what's up with Jaune and I tell you a secret of my own."
Pyrrha sits on one of the beds, contemplating if she should tell him.
"Jaune faked his transcripts to get into Beacon." Pyrrha admits, "He wants to be a warrior like his ancestors."
"And he wants to do it on his own." Ash continues, to which Pyrrha nods, "Blinded by his own pride. So he does have a strong soul."
Ash sighs in acceptance.
"Kermes." Ash says.
"What?" Pyrrha asks.
"My name." Ash states, "It's Kermes, not Ash Snow."
Pyrrha opens her mouth, but Ash interrupts her.
"That's all you're going to get on the subject." Ash says.
Pyrrha nods in understanding and leaves his dorm. Ash sighs as he lies down on his bed.
'Jaune, what am I going to do about you?' Ash thinks to himself.
As a writer, I like inputting subtle details. For example, Ash's name. Ash is a light shade of grey. Snow is white. Ash's color scheme is primarily white with some black, which when mixed together would make a light grey. Kermes is a shade of red that was once known as crimson, which is why Ash's outfit has red lining between the black and white. It's also why crimson is mentioned twice in Ash's introduction.