Chapter 12 – Jaune the unlucky disciple?
A/N: And we are back on track with the RWBY episode. From here it will diverge just a bit. Hope you like it.
It was Monday morning when Nara suddenly found himself hurled out of bed, before he could even register what was going on, he came face to face with Harima. A dark look on Harima's face made Nara swallow nervously.
"G... Good morning Harima." Nara would've said more if not for Harima suddenly grabbing his shoulder, he almost cringed under his grip. He honestly could not remember what he did to make Harima like this.
"Nara..." Wait! Could it have something to do with Ruby? That time when Yang got him by the balls was terrifying. He thought they were going to be ripped off! "Please make me a weapon."
And just like that the tension in the air dispersed. "Make you a weapon?" Nara was honestly surprised.
"Yes. I need one to... umm... Look good! That's it! To look bad ass!" Harima said with a serious expression.
"Well. Sure. Even thought every hunter made their own weapon, but there are exception. You got anything in mind?" Nara asked while trying to relax.
"Yes. I got my ideal weapon drawn up." Harima took out a paper with a very life like sketch.
"Well. This is actually really good. I can make something like this right away." Nara was honestly impressed with the drawing and the design.
"I got the money ready for you. How quick can you make this?" Harima took out several cards.
"One week. It won't take much material to make. It's simple construction, but very beautiful. I can get it done even faster, depend on the moulding and polishing of the blades." Nara said as he further exam the blue print.
"Nara. You are the man amongst men. If there is anything you need, just ask." Harima said with gratitude.
"Not a problem. I will get on this right away." Nara was completely absorbed by the blueprint.
(Line break)
Weiss's eyebrow twitch in fury as she sat next to Harima in history by professor Oobleck. Weiss was not angry due to Oobleck lightning speed speech in the Faunus Rights Revolution, or his ridiculous speed moving from one corner of the classroom to the next, Or his need to consume an ungodly amount of coffee.
No, Weiss was upset with Harima, because he was asleep behind his sunglasses. His upright and intimidating posture prevented anyone but her from noticing. After thirty minutes of Oobleck not noticing Harima was asleep, Weiss jabbed Harima in the rib.
"Wh... What!? Hey! Princess! What was that for!" Harima growled loudly. Forgetting he was in class.
"Ahh. Mister Kenji. Glad you could join the class." Oobleck said with impossible speed. As it turned out, he was aware of Harima sleeping in his glass. "Tell me. What was the turning point in the battle of Fort Castle."
"Urghhh..." Harima groaned. Weiss smirked as she thought he got his just deserve. "Well. One part was due to General Lagune sending his army against the revolutionary force at night. Even thought he should have known that Faunus have perfect night vision."
"Very good... wait, you said one part?" Oobleck was a little confused.
"The other part was General Lagune heard rumours of Kitsune was about to join the fight at Fort Castle." Harima added.
"Ahh yes. Kitsune... the mysterious Faunus grand master. Very little is known about her." Oobleck was contemplating what Harima just said.
"General Lagune got it wrong. When he sent his army for the surprise night attack. Kitsune was already waiting for him. She alone decimated ten platoons and personally captured General Lagune. That's one of the reason why the Faunus opposition suffered so little casualty." Harima said while picking his ear.
"Well done Mister Kenji, but please do stay awake for my class next time." Oobleck said while downing the coffee in his hand. Harima shrugged as Weiss tried to glare a hole into his face.
As the class finishes, Harima tried to get close and start a conversation with Ruby. However Ruby would have none of it. "Stop Harima! You shouldn't go chatting up any girl in the hallway. You'll upset Miss Scarlatina."
"But... That... I mean..." Harima could not say what was on his mind.
"No but! You made your choice. Now leave Weiss and Yang along." Ruby said with an almighty tone of an angry puppy.
Weiss sputter with indignation before being dragged away by a grinning Yang.
Harima had his hearts once again broken by Ruby. He wondered aimlessly and ended up on the roof. Alone. Harima thought to himself. 'How hard is it to say I love you. God dammit!'
"DAMMIT! I LOVE YOU RUBY ROSE! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU!" Harima yelled at the top of his lung.
It was then he heard someone coming up the stairs behind him. In panic he quickly hid at the top of the entrance, away from view.
"Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not that depressed." Jaune said as Harima peeked over his cover. "I could always be a farmer or something."
"What? NOOO!" Pyrrha then pushed Jaune away from the edge of the roof. Pyrrha then said to Jaune. "Jaune. I know you're having a hard time and you're not the strongest in class... but I want to help you."
"What?" Jaune asked with confusion.
"We can train up here. Where no one can bother us." Pyrrha said with a smile.
"You think I need help?" Jaune asked with a small voice. One filled with shame and uncertainty.
"No! No, that's not what I meant." Pyrrha said with concern.
"But you just said it." Jaune sounded hurt.
"Jaune. Everyone needs help from time to time. Everyone need a little push. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. The fact that you made it to beacon spoke volume of your ability." Pyrrha said with encouragement. Harima felt bad listening in on those two, It's almost like looking at some sort of romance drama unfolding.
"You're wrong. I don't belong here." Jaune said with a depressed tone.
"That's a terrible thing to say. Of course you do." Pyrrha protested
"No I don't!" Jaune said angrily. "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon."
"What do you mean?" Pyrrha said with confusion.
"I didn't goto any combat school! I didn't pass my test! I didn't earn my spot in Beacon. I lied. I got my hands on some fake transcript and I lied." Jaune said with shame.
"But... Why?" Pyrrha asked. Now everything made sense to Harima. Jaune was never a fighter, it was a miracle he didn't die in the initiation.
"Because this is what I wanted to be. My father, my grandfather, and their fathers before them were all hero... and I wanted to be one too." Harima could understand that desire. To achieve one's dream and what they wanted to do. Even if you had to put your life on the line. Jaune added. "I was just never good enough."
"Then let me help you." Pyrrha tried to reach out to Jaune.
Jaune rebuffed her. "I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be a hero."
"Jaune." Pyrrha tried to reach out again.
"No! I don't want to be the lovable idiot stuck in the tree while he's friend fight for their lives. If I can't do this on my own. What good am I." Jaune pulled away as Pyrrha tried to reach out for him. "Just leave me alone. ok."
"If that what you think is best." Pyrrha walked away sadly. Harima almost groaned at the scene before him. Jaune was a god damn idiot. Everyone needs help. Even the old... ok. That was a bad example. That was one man who never needed help.
"Hahaha. Jonny boy. I can't believe what I heard." Jaune paled as Cardin climbed onto the roof. "And Harima. You can stop hiding now."
"What?" Jaune said with shock as Harima came out of his hiding place.
"Tsk. That's a nasty habit you got there. Little-big man." Harima said with disdain.
"Coming from a guy who fancied a fourteen year old. That's rich." Cardin crowed.
Harima turned bright red. "How the HELL do you know about that!?"
"For starter. By not shouting your love for Ruby Rose on top of the roof just above my dorm. Damn near gave me a heart attack." Cardin said with a smug smile.
"Wait! You like Ruby. I thought you like... OOOF!" Cardin punched Jaune in the stomach.
"Wait your turn. Johnny-boy. I will get to you eventually." Cardin said as Jaune slumped onto the floor. "Now this is how it's going to work. You two are going to be my stooges. If you don't. Johnny here will be kicked out of Beacon and you Harima..."
"Tsk. You must be high on some serious shit. You really think something like that will reduce me to serving a piece of shit like you." Harima said with an intimidating aura. Both Jaune and Cardin felt cold sweat running down their back.
Cardin gathered his courage. "If you don't! Me and the boys will mess with Ruby Rose. You can't protect her all the time. And she will be a great stress relief during late nights. If you get what I..."
A dark aura exploded from Harima. Jaune was almost choking from the pressure alone. He looked up and saw Harima was covered in the stuff. Then it happened. Harima vanished from their sight, when he appeared behind Cardin a moment later. Jaune thought he was hallucinating, he was certain Harima was shorter then Cardin, or he should be. Harima suddenly stood at three meters tall glaring down at the back of Cardin's head.
A voice filled with malicious and deadly intent spilled from Harima's mouth. "If you think you can walk away unscathed after saying shit like that. You are a fucking idiot."
Cardin screamed in fear as he spun to face Harima, fist raised. However he was too late, Harima fists slammed into either side of his temple with an almighty boom. Cardin's eyes rolled back into his head, drools dangled from his mouth as he fell face first into the floor.
There was a moment of silence as Jaune absorbed what had just happened. Then it was pandemonium. "Oh my GOD! You killed him. You killed him! You're a murderer! They going to take you away! They will take me away as an accessory! I'm too pretty to be in jail!" Jaune ran around the roof like a headless chicken.
"Will you cut it out. You idiot!" Harima hit Jaune on top of his head and made him fall to the floor.
"Oh God! Please don't kill me. I'm still a virgin!" Jaune cried.
"For the love of... He's alive! I didn't kill him!" Harima shouted at a hysterical Jaune.
"What?" Jaune looked over to Cardin and saw his chest rise and fall.
"I used one of the one-hundred and eight technique on him. The Shockwave of Forgetfulness. It's one of the old man's move to erase a persons memory. Now will you freaking calm down and stop screaming!" Harima said with annoyance.
"Oh. I see." Jaune said with some relief.
"He should wake up soon with the past hour erased from his memory... I think." Harima said with uncertainty.
"You think?" Jaune said with bewilderment.
"Look. I can't claim to master the technique. I might have erased an hour or his entire life worth of memories." Harima said uneasily.
"And if you erased his whole memory?" Jaune ventured.
"Then you're going to help me get rid of him. Preferably send him to Vacuo's desert community." Harima said seriously.
Before Jaune could express his bewilderment. Cardin woke up. "What the... What am I doing on the roof!?" Cardin took one look at Harima then scrambled to the exit. "Damn you Harima! I bet you have something to do with this... AAAHH!" Harima kicked Cardin down the stair before he could finish his sentence.
After Cardin unfortunate fall. Harima turned to Jaune. "Now that piece of shit has been dealt with... It's your turn to lose your memory."
"Wait! Wait! Why?" Jaune said with haste.
"Sorry little dude. But you must forget what Cardin said." Harima said with menace.
"Oh. You're in love with Ruby Rose. Nothing wrong with that." Jaune had an eureka moment. " Wait a minute. Is Ruby the reason why you don't like me?"
"Got it all in one little man. I might just erase your entire memory, since you're my rival and all." Harima said while cracking his knuckles.
"Hang on! I don't have a thing for Ruby. I like Weiss! I'm telling you the truth!" Jaune pleaded.
"Then how do you explain the kiss." Harima said menacingly.
"What kiss... Oh! That kiss on the cheek at initiation... Look man. That was just a kiss from a friend, she kissed me for luck. I swear!" Jaune begged.
The was a moment of uncomfortable silence between them. "Oh. My bad then Jaune. Sorry for all the hard time I gave you." Harima said while all the intimidation vanished into thin air. "But still. If you tell anyone about me being in love with..."
"Hey. They have to kill me first. I will not tell anyone. But still... why Ruby?" Jaune said with interest. It was actually quite disturbing to see Harima turn bright red and fidget... well, like himself!
"Everything about her is perfect. Beautiful, adorable, a sweet and wonderful girl with a flawless throw..." Harima then seemed to come to his senses. "Arghh! Anyway, don't tell anyone, specially Ruby! All right!"
"Ok! Calm down." Jaune reassured Harima.
Harima then sat down next to Jaune. "Hey. Since we're buddies again. I gotta be honest with you man. You need help in fighting."
Jaune became depressed. "Come on man. If you heard everything."
"Hey Jaune. There is no shame in asking for help in getting better. Do it alone and you are guaranty to get tons of stuff wrong. And I understand where you're coming from. We men got our prides too, you know." Harima said sagely.
"Thanks man." Jaune added.
"Don't thank me yet. I will train ya." Harima said with a grin.
"But you just said..." Jaune said with bewilderment.
"Nothing wrong with learning from the best. It's up to you to put in the effort. Don't think of this as me helping you. Think of this as surpassing the challenge I put before you. As one man to another. Are you up for it... Jaune Arc the hunter." Harima said with a charismatic smile.
Jaune laughed. "Then how can I turn down a challenge like that from a friend. You're on!"
"Good. See you in the courtyard after class is over. By the time I'm through with you. You will take on an army of Grimm with you right hand tied behind your back." Harima said with a truly evil smile. Jaune wondered what the hell he had signed himself up for.
(Line break)
It was Tuesday afternoon when Pyrrha got wind of Jaune training with Harima. She wasn't angry, not at all. Who Jaune chose to train with was his business, she most certainly did not smash Jaune's locker in when she found out, it just caved inwards for no reason at all.
Ren and Nora followed after Pyrrha. Ren was keeping a respectable distance from Pyrrha, while Nora was complete oblivious to the angry aura being emitted by Pyrrha. When they finally reached the court yard, Pyrrha rubbed her eyes in an attempt to dispel the absurd image before her. Ren actually looked shock and intrigued. Less said about Nora squealing in joy the better it would be for their sanity.
They found Jaune with a rope round his waist, attached to a massive tire and Harima sat atop on that said tire.
Jaune said with bewilderment. "Umm Harima buddy. Why am I dragging a tire with you on top of it?"
Pyrrha said with as much confusion as Jaune, her anger completely forgotten. "Yes, I like to know that as well."
Harima looked very relaxed on his tire. "Then allow me to explain. We all know Jaune here has large reserve of aura, we can say it's one of the largest we have even seen." Everyone nodded at that. "And we can all agree that aura can increase your endurance, strength, speed and even protect you from harm."
"OK. Even I know aura does all that. But why..." Jaune asked.
"I'm getting to that. Jaune has one other property that is pretty rare even among those with aura. Regeneration." Harima said with a smile.
"Hey. You're right. After I unlocked Jaune's aura the cut on his face healed up instantly!" Pyrrha said with realization. Then she had a second realization. "Wait a second. How did you know..."
Harima quickly cut her off with a nervous cough. "Never mind how I knew, that's not important. The point is, Jaune has unlimited potential even if he didn't have a shred of talent in him."
"HEY!" Jaune complained.
"So I'm going to work him into the ground with good old martial art training invented by the old man. It's really the only way I knew how to train, so you will have to just bear with it Jaune. The theory is, whatever I break within his body will just heal up the next day and what can't kill you can only make you stronger." Harima explained.
"I don't agree with that saying. Besides, how will you make Jaune pull you? You know under that armour is just skin and bone, right?" Ren said with a small smile at the end.
"HEY! Not cool bro!" Jaune complained again.
"I got his motivation right here." Harima said as he dig something out of his backpack.
"What kind of motivation... Holy mother of..." Pyrrha said with shock.
Harima took out a vicious looking cat of nine tails. Jaune said with fear. "I.. I change my mind! Pyrrha HELP M...CRACK! EEEEYAAAA!"
Jaune bolted as Harima cracked the whip onto his back. He actually achieved a respectable speed considering he was also dragging a massive tire with Harima on top of it.
"Move it you maggot! An old granny can run faster then you!" Sound of whip being crack could be heard. "Move those puny straw like legs. I want to feel the wind on my face!" Another crack could be heard followed by Jaune's anguished scream. "You call that running! I want Usain Bolt! Not Forrest Gump!" The pair soon disappeared into the sunset while kicking up a massive dust storm.
Nora poked Ren in the side. "Ren... I want to give that a try, can I get my whip."
"No Nora... please just... no." Ren said with a resigned sigh.
A/N: Next chapter should be Forever fall. There will be a bit more detail on Jaune's training/torture. Now onto the review.
Bast234: True. Ruby can be rather socially inept, but the fact she could even get mad at Harima is quite an achievement. There is a misunderstanding between Ruby and Harima. Ruby assumed Harima to be a player gunning for multiple girls and Harima unable to express his feeling for Ruby. All is going according to plan. :)
freebyte: Sarah is a real nun in this fic. She will pop up now and again. As for Harima, sorry to say he's gonna get more bad ending then good ones.
rex: I gotta keep this fic with as few crossover as possible. I love Ranma, that guy is both an arse and good guy at heart. But not to worry, plenty of chaos will come soon enough.
Amvmaster: I got something even better in mind. Let's just say Harima had officially kick Jaune screaming down the cliff of martial art.
