Chapter 11 – The knight's plight

One could hear a pin drop in the dead silence that reigned in the auditorium. Everyone's attention was fixed on two fighters facing off against each other in the arena. Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester; both of them were leaders of their respective teams but that was about the only thing they had in common.

Jaune breathed heavily as he leaned on his sword in a kneeling position. His match against Cardin was not going well; no, it was a disaster. Since the beginning he had been pushed into defensive; everything he did was score few glancing blows at his stronger opponent while he himself lost at least a half of his Aura. At least Cardin was merciful enough to wait while his opponent struggled to catch a breath. Or maybe he took it as an opportunity to further mock him; Jaune did not care at the moment as he tried to force his exhausted limbs to stand up again.

"What's the matter, Jauney boy? I'm too much of a man for you to handle?" Cardin laughed at his tired out opponent, standing relaxed with his mace over his shoulder. Not even the beating he took from Roland a week earlier changed anything about his haughty demeanor. In fact, it only seemed to make things worse as the wounded pride compelled Cardin to vent his frustration on others; Jaune knew it too well because he took the brunt of the bullying during the last few weeks. He and a rabbit Faunus named Velvet; she was unlucky to have a different class schedule than her teammates and Cardin saw her as an easy prey because of that. Being a Faunus only made it worse for her.

Jaune scowled; it was bad enough that he was losing but Cardin's smug smile infuriated him even further. He wished to do nothing more than wipe that stupid grin off the bully's face. The problem was that while he was certainly angry enough to ignore all of his self-restraint (that kept screaming at him that violence was no solution to his problems), he was seriously lacking at strength and combat prowess. If Roland could beat him, so can I; this thought echoed in Jaune's mind as he picked himself off the ground and charged at Cardin, sword raised high and screaming at the top of his lungs.

Cardin simply took the mace off his shoulder, the annoying smirk never leaving his face. With all his strength he swung his hefty weapon at Jaune, intending to simply smack him out of the arena. Except the blow never struck its mark… Cardin never reckoned on his puny opponent stopping just outside the mace's range. Taking the opportunity, Jaune slashed at Cardin's broad chest. He was so overjoyed by scoring a hit at CRDL's leader that he left himself completely exposed in his lapse of concentration. Cardin backhanded Jaune across the face and sent him flying. Jaune landed painfully on his side near the edge of the arena. He looked up quickly to see Cardin advancing on him, his terrifying mace prepared to strike. Struck by a surge of panic, Jaune reached for his sword only to feel nothing but air; his Crocea Mors was lying just a few feet too far from him. Oh crap.

"This is the part when you lose." Cardin said with a sinister smirk and raised his weapon high, bringing it down upon his downed opponent.

At that point, Jaune already knew he had lost, even though he hated to admit it. But, in the last act of defiance, he lifted his shield over his body to protect himself from Cardin's devastating blow. The mace bounced off Jaune's shield in a shower of sparks.

Just as Cardin was about to strike again, a commanding voice stopped him in his tracks. "That is enough!" Professor Goodwitch walked onto the arena, shooting a subtle glare at Cardin; CRDL's leader rolled his eyes but lowered his weapon albeit grudgingly. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's Aura has dropped into the red. In a tournament style duel, it would indicate that Arc is no longer fit for battle and the official may call the match." The professor explained to the audience and then turned to Jaune who was rubbing his bruised cheek. "Mr. Arc, it has been weeks now. Try to refer to your Scroll during combat; gauging your Aura will help you decide whether it is appropriate to attack or whether it is better to move to more defensive strategy." Jaune glanced at the small device Goodwitch referred to; a small red sliver was all that was left of his Aura, while Cardin's had not even touched yellow. "We wouldn't want you to get gobbled up by a Beowolf, would we?"

"Speak for yourself." Cardin scoffed as he headed out of the arena, his voice dripping with disdain.

Goodwitch overheard Winchester's remark. "You'd do well to learn to show some respect, Mr. Winchester, not only to authorities but to your peers as well." She stated, seemingly calm but one could not miss the clear hint of irritation in her voice. Cardin simply kept walking without even looking at the professor, unfazed by her silent threat. The professor turned towards the audience again. "Remember everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away. It won't be long before the 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." Her speech elicited a wave of enthusiasm from the present students… except for one certain Sanctum graduate that gazed at her downtrodden partner.

The bell rung, signaling the end of the class. Jaune stood up and picked up his sword, keeping his gaze fixed on the floor. It was a month since Cardin started picking on him and he was powerless to put a stop to the relentless bullying. Every his attempt at resistance, including the duel mere minutes ago, ended up a failure and only seemed to further degrade him. Jaune trudged behind his teammates as everyone was leaving the auditorium, not noticing Pyrrha's worried glances. He was tired of being a punching bag to some self-important jerk, angry at himself for not being able to fight back. Not even long hours spent in a training room did anything to help him; while his own progress could be measured in strides, the others had already gone whole miles. Even his grades were becoming worse despite his best efforts. It would not take long before he found himself facing expulsion.

Maybe this whole 'becoming a Huntsman' idea was a terrible mistake; he thought sadly as he walked along with the crowd oblivious to his plight.

Roland clutched at his abdomen in a vain effort to silence his rumbling stomach. In truth, he was not that hungry but sometimes his body would just act on its own accord. Still, it was a good thing that lunch break always followed right after the combat classes. Nothing could be worse than trying to pay attention to a lecture while tired and hungry.

While other students would always rush into the cafeteria after the end of Goodwitch's class, team TNDR would make a stop in the locker room to put away their combat gear, a routine they observed since the first week. Tanya deemed it impractical to lug armor pieces and weapons around while outside of combat. Roland certainly would not argue with that, but sometimes he would rather skip the detour to the lockers in favor of having his lunch a bit earlier.

"Guys, I could eat a horse. Or two." Desmond grumbled as he was shedding pieces of his armor. As if on cue, his stomach rumbled, which kind of resembled a sound of an approaching thunderstorm.

"We can hear that, Desmond." Nicolaus chuckled good-naturedly. Since his 'secret' trip to Vale, he warmed up considerably to the rest of his team. "Besides, you're always hungry. I find it incredible that you aren't getting fat, with the amount of food you eat every day."

"Hey, with all our training, we'll never get fat. Besides, it's totally reasonable that a big guy like him would eat so much." Tanya replied, putting her shin and forearm guards back into her locker.

Roland noticed that his team leader and the best friend was in a really good mood. Sure, Tanya always seemed to be in a good mood, but this time she was more cheerful than usual. "You seem awfully chipper today, Tanya." He commented as he stripped off his ammo belt.

"I'm just excited about the Vytal Festival, that's all. I mean so many cultures in a single place, each one of them unique in their own way; that oughta be a sight to see, you know. And the tournament! So many people will come here when the festival starts; I bet that a lot of them will take part in the tournament. A perfect opportunity to put everything I learned to a proper test!" Tanya gushed, her enthusiastic grin growing wider with every second.

"Well, I wish you luck if you're going to fight in the tournament." Roland said with an amused smile. "But I think I'm gonna sit this one out. I'm not ready for this level of combat, not yet at least."

"Hey, you did pretty well in our last match against those guys from CFVY."

Roland scowled at the mention of their match some three weeks ago, a pair-vs-pair scenario. He and Tanya won that time, but only narrowly. "Ugh, don't remind me. I only survived by the skin of my teeth." He grumbled and sat on a bench.

"You're giving yourself too little credit, man." Tanya said and said next to him. "You made some solid progress since the start of the year. You're a better fighter than you think, Roland, and I'm not saying just to make you feel better." She finished and clapped him on the shoulder.

"You always know what to say, don't you?" Roland said, laughing a little. "But really, it's just… Every time I see the other guys fighting in the arena I can't help but feel kinda inadequate."

"Come on, maybe you never attended one of them special combat school but that doesn't make you any lesser. Cut yourself some slack sometimes, will you?" With that, Tanya rose from the bench. "Gentlemen, I think it's a high time to get some grub, don't you think?"

"Wait! Somebody help me!" Desmond cried in alarm, fumbling with a strap of his chest plate. "This stupid thing won't come down!"

Nicolaus shook his head and went to assist his clumsy partner. "Here, let me help." With ease he undid the strap that caused Desmond so much trouble and let the armor piece clatter on the floor. Desmond shoved hurriedly his gear into his locker and then headed with his teammates to the cafeteria.

Considering that they arrived later than most of their fellow students, team TNDR had to wait in a long line for a considerable amount of time. After picking up their meals, they looked around the packed cafeteria, searching for some unoccupied seats. Then Desmond pointed at a table where teams JNPR and RWBY were seated, nearly knocking over his plate.

The other two teams did not notice them coming as they listened to Nora's story (some more intently than others), if it could be called as such. "Dozens of them!" The bubbly hammer wielder rose from her seat and slammed her head onto the table.

"Two of them." Ren droned tonelessly, kind enough to correct his partner.

"But they were no match and in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!"

Ren sighed, balancing a mug on the palm of his hand. "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now."

"'Sup, guys! Are the seats taken?" Tanya called out as she approached her fellow students, pointing at the empty seats near them.

The gang murmured greetings in return. "Hey! We saved you guys some spots!" Yang replied with a smile. "You took your sweet time, by the way."

"We stopped by lockers to put away our gear; didn't want to lug it around all day." Roland said with a shrug and sat down beside Ren. Tanya took a seat next to him while Nicolaus and Desmond sat opposite of them.

"So, what did we miss?" Tanya asked while her teammates began wolfing down their meals.

"Eh, nothing much." Yang answered. "Just girly stuff, random gossip, weird dreams, and… well…" The blonde brawler shot a subtle glance at Jaune. The leader of JNPR sat silently at the end of the table, poking mindlessly at the remains of his lunch without casting a glance at his friends.

"What's eating him?" Tanya asked.

Yang let out a soft sigh. "I think we can guess."

"Jaune? Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked his partner; seeing a complete lack of reaction, she poked him gently in the side.

Jaune finally snapped out of whatever occupied his mind when his partner poked him. "Huh… Wha? Oh yeah! Why?" He said confusedly, looking at his friends.

"It's just because you seem a little…" Ruby stopped mid-sentence, trying to think of a suitable word. "…not okay?" She finished, earning strange looks from others.

"Guys, I'm fine, seriously. Look!" Jaune flashed an unnaturally wide smile while giving a thumbs-up gesture. His friends just stared at him, unconvinced by his answer.

"Who are you trying to fool, Jaune? Us or yourself?" Roland spoke up, becoming interested in the conversation. A loud laughter sounded from a table nearby; a familiar rabbit Faunus sat there surrounded by none other than Cardin and his lackeys. The boys were making cruel jokes about Velvet and her ears; Velvet just sat there trying to ignore the insults and hoping the unwelcome company would leave her alone.

"Jaune, Cardin has been picking on you since the first week of school." Pyrrha said worriedly. She hoped that Jaune would open up to them instead of just bottling up his feelings.

His response was quite disappointing. "You mean Cardin Winchester? Nah, he just likes to mess around, you know, practical jokes!" Jaune answered, putting on a false smile.

"Right…" Roland scoffed, not believing Jaune in the slightest.

"He's a bully." Ruby objected with an uncharacteristic frown.

"Oh please, name one time when he was 'bullying' me!" Jaune shot back, acting like nothing was happening even though everyone else knew otherwise. One by one they started reciting every time Cardin messed with Jaune.

"He made you drop your stuff on several occasions."

"He puts a thumbtack on your chair whenever you aren't looking."

"He got you trapped in the door by activating your shield."

"And don't even get me started on that time when he shoved you into a rocket locker and fired you into the Emerald forest!"

"… I didn't land that far from the school." Jaune muttered and hung his head in defeat.

"Jaune, you know that whenever you need help, you can just ask." Pyrrha said, laying her hand on Jaune's shoulder.

"Ooh, I know, I know!" Nora shouted and sprang from her seat, grinning like a maniac. "We'll break his legs!" At her proclamation, everyone (except for Ren) shifted away from her.

Ren grabbed his partner by her shoulders and pushed her gently back onto her seat. "Nora, calm down. No one is shattering anyone's limbs, alright?" He said sternly, eliciting a pout from Nora.

"That's a little… extreme." Roland remarked, eyeing warily the pink grenadier.

"Well, we could always just put laxatives into his meal." Tanya suggested with an evil smile. "Trust me, it works every time."

"Now that's an idea!" Yang cheered, raising her fist.

"Guys, seriously, it's fine!" Jaune butted in, trying to stop any potential conspiracy against anyone. "Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me; he's a jerk to everyone."

"And you think that makes everything okay?" Roland snapped back a bit heatedly.

"OW! That hurts!"

More laughter echoed from where the Cardinals were sitting. The group turned around to see Cardin pulling forcefully at Velvet's ears while making offensive comments; his cronies did not do anything other than laughing at the poor girl. Eventually she somehow managed to free herself from the bully's grasp and ran out of the cafeteria, hiding her face from everyone present. Her tormentors only laughed harder and kept shouting insults at the retreating girl.

"I told you guys they were real!"

"What a freak!"

The group watched the scene with mixed feelings of pity towards the rabbit Faunus and resentment at CRDL's behavior. Roland stood up, fists clenched in fury, probably to have some 'words' with Cardin and his team. Tanya grabbed him by his arm and forced him to sit down. "You're only gonna get into trouble." She said calmly though the edge in her voice betrayed the anger she felt.

Roland stared at her, as if he wanted to argue, but eventually he just sat down, frowning heavily. "Let's just have Nora break their legs." He said with an audible growl.

Nora became very excited over the prospect of beating the band of bullies senseless. "Please don't encourage her!" Ren pleaded, not daring to think about the possible outcome of Nora's actions. "I have enough trouble as it is to keep her in line."

"Atrocious; I can't stand people like him." Pyrrha said, upset by what she saw.

"You're not the only one." Blake spoke for the first time during the lunch, glaring daggers at Cardin.

"It must be hard, being a Faunus." Yang mused quietly as she looked out of the window.

"And this wasn't even the worst of it." Nicolaus muttered, his jaw set firmly in irritation.

Jaune rose up from the table and walked away without a single word. His teammates and friends watched him with worry and sadness as he left the cafeteria. Suddenly, Roland stood up and went after him. "Hey, aren't you going to finish that?" Tanya called out and pointed at his half-eaten meal.

"I'm not hungry anymore. You can eat it if you want." He replied and marched away, leaving others staring in confusion.

It took a while before he finally caught up with Jaune. "Dude, we need to talk."

Jaune just stared at him impassively. "About what?"

Inside his mind, Roland groaned; Jaune was not making this easy for him. He was in trouble and Roland wanted to help him somehow but that was hard to do when he just kept brushing everyone off. "For God's sake, Jaune, drop the act. We all know that something's bothering you. Or rather someone, to be precise."

"I told all of you that everything's fine!" Jaune argued, frowning a little. "Why do you guys care so much, anyway?"

"Because it's obvious that everything's not fine!" Roland snapped back. "Your grades have been dropping, you're spending less and less time with your team and now there's that thing with Winchester!"

"So?"

"I just don't understand why you'd keep things like that from your team!" Roland explained, a hint of frustration creeping into his voice. "Pyrrha already said she'd help you so why won't you let her?"

"I don't need help! I can deal with my issues on my own!" Jaune retorted, raising his voice. "Have you ever seen my family? My dad, and his dad, and people before them, all were renowned hunters; they're everything I want to be! How can I call myself a Huntsman if I can't solve my problems by myself?"

"So that's what this is all about? You're just gonna push your friends away and let Cardin walk over you because of your damn ego?!" Roland shouted incredulously. "You really think it would be so bad to swallow your pride and just ask for help?"

Jaune clenched his fists. "You just don't get it, do you? I'm sick of being helpless, of being a damsel in distress waiting for a knight in a shining armor to save me from my troubles!" He spat out, trembling with barely contained fury. "I'm a team leader, Dust-dammit, I won't let my teammates get hurt just because I wasn't good enough!"

Whatever patience Roland had left gave way to anger that was building up inside him. "And how the fuck do you want to defend your friends when you can't even defend yourself?! When all you can do is wallow in your self-pity and yet you can't stomach the thought of asking your friends for help? What will it take for you to pull your thick head out of your ass and start thinking rationally instead of feeling sorry for yourself and acting like a whiny bitch?!" At this point Roland did not really care about his choice of words; he just did not understand what was going on in Jaune's mind. Six years ago when Emilio offered to train him, Roland felt ecstatic, happy that someone out there actually cared for him. So when Jaune flat out refused the help others offered him, he just could not comprehend it.

For a moment, Jaune just stared, stupefied by Roland's outburst. Seeing Jaune's dumbstruck face, Roland knew he probably said something he shouldn't have but he was too angry to care. When Jaune finally regained his speech, his voice was cracking a bit, both with anger and hurt. "You know what, you jerk? I don't know why I'm even talking with you about this; my personal problems are none of your business, anyway!" With that, he made his way past Roland, bumping into his shoulder as he walked.

"Fine, as you wish, your Highness! But when things go tough, don't beg me to help you keep going!" Roland yelled after Jaune's retreating figure, throwing his hands in the air. Maybe it would have been better if he had left Jaune alone and let him handle the problem himself. Maybe then he would realize that he should have just listened to what Roland had to say; to stop thinking about his ego and admit that he needed help.

His anger began slowly dissipating as the reality sank in; after this argument the two might never talk to each other again. Even though Roland did mean what he said to Jaune, criticizing him for picking his ego over his friends, he could not help but think he went too far. If he had at least tried to see my point, if he hadn't been such a stupid idiot, this would've never happened, he kept telling himself as he walked back to his dorm. Hopefully others would succeed where he had failed.

Slouching in the uncomfortable seat, Pyrrha rested her head on her hand and listened intently to the long-winded lecture on the history of Vytal, the last class of the day. She had already given up on taking notes, unable to keep up with the break-neck pace of the professor's speech. Most of the present students had apparently the same problem and opted to take notes later from assigned textbooks. Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck was probably the most eccentric member of Beacon's staff Pyrrha had seen so far; messy green hair, mismatching shoes, thick round glasses, creased white shirt half tucked into khaki pants and slack yellow tie. But the most peculiar thing was how incredibly fast he moved around the class, disappearing and then reappearing somewhere else just a split second later; always carrying that damnable mug of his liquid fuel, a strong black coffee. It was like a mere second wasted was a catastrophe to him.

There were many familiar faces amongst the audience; namely Blake and Weiss of RWBY, Nicolaus and Roland of TNDR, Velvet, the rabbit Faunus, the brute Cardin and Jaune who had fallen asleep in a sitting position. Pyrrha could not help but feel worried for her partner and her leader. Even though Jaune kept on insisting that everything was fine, she knew about his troubles in classes and his bullying problem. What she could not understand was why he always so stubbornly refused any aid she and her teammates offered him. He even started spending less and less time with them, always running off somewhere and getting evasive whenever they asked. Worse, all of a sudden Jaune and Roland seemed to start avoiding each other like a plague. Pyrrha had no idea what was happening and she was angry at being almost powerless when it came to helping her friend; however, she was not the type of person to give up so easily.

Thinking about her leader's predicament she spaced out until Oobleck's loud exclamation brought her back to reality. "This is prior to the Faunus rights revolution, more popularly known as the Faunus war! The humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie." The green haired teacher pointed at a large map placed onto the chalkboard before seemingly teleporting to the middle of the room. "Now while this must feel like an 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! Now, have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?"

For a moment, the class was silent. Then some of the students raised their hands in response to Oobleck's question, Nicolaus among them; even Velvet joined although shaking like a leaf. "Dreadful! Simply dreadful!" Oobleck commented, shaking his head in disgust. "Remember students, this is precisely the kind of ignorance that breeds violence! I mean, I mean, I mean, just look at what happened to the White Fang! Now, which one of you young scallions can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of war?"

Weiss raised her hand and answered. "The battle at Fort Castle."

"Precisely! Now, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

Cardin, not in the least interested in the lecture, chose that particular moment to flick a piece of paper crumpled into a ball at Jaune, who was sitting in the front row. The ball hit Jaune square in the back of his head. "Ow! Hey!" Jaune yelped and cast a glare at Cardin who just gave him a mocking smirk.

"Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to the class!" Oobleck exclaimed and materialized right in front of Jaune, startling the soul out of him in the process. "This is excellent, excellent! What is the answer?"

Jaune froze as the professor stared expectantly at him. After seconds of embarrassing silence, he asked hesitantly. "Uhh… What was the question again?"

Pyrrha sighed to herself while most of the class erupted in giggles, Cardin being the loudest of them. "Wow, way to go, Jaune." Came a humorless chuckle from Roland who sat just a few seats from her.

"How very disappointing, Mr. Arc." The professor said reproachfully. "Not only you show a complete disregard of the subject but you also disturb those who are actually interested in the lecture. I have to wonder what you hope to accomplish with such attitude."

"Heh, what a loser…"

While Jaune slumped in his seat, red from embarrassment, Oobleck rounded on Cardin, not missing his spiteful remark. "Would you care to share your thoughts on the issue, Mr. Winchester?"

"Well, I know that it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin said like if it was the most obvious answer in the world and earned several murderous glares from Faunus students. Even the professor narrowed his eyes at the bully with unconcealed resentment.

"I guess that makes you an exception, you big stupid gorilla." Nicolaus retorted, satisfied when he heard Cardin growl in irritation.

The majority of the class broke into laughter. "Nice one, pal!" Roland exclaimed and bumped fists with his teammate.

"You want me to deck you, Faunus trash?!" Cardin hissed at the fox Faunus, not used to being insulted like this.

"You're not the most open-minded of the individuals, are you, Cardin?" Pyrrha remarked flatly; she could not deny that she was enjoying seeing Cardin put down in such a fashion.

Cardin glared at the Mistral warrior. "You got a problem, Nikos?"

Roland smirked. "We all do, Winchester. First, your answer was incorrect; second, you're a goddamn idiot." The rest of the class laughed even harder as Cardin seethed, beet red in the face.

The laughter died down when Oobleck slammed repeatedly his fescue onto his desk. "Now students, if you're all done with insulting remarks, does anyone know the answer?"

"I do." Pyrrha put her hand up. "Night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark."

"Stupid know-it-all…" Cardin murmured to himself.

"General Lagune was inexperienced and made a mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep." Blake spoke up, adding to Pyrrha's answer. "His massive army was outmatched and the general was captured. Perhaps if he'd paid attention in the class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure." She finished with a pointed glare at CRDL's leader.

"In short: Suck it, Turdin!" Roland quipped.

"Alright, that's it! You're so-" Cardin roared in fury and shot up from his seat with clenched fists.

"That's enough, Winchester!" Oobleck commanded, stopping the enraged leader in his tracks. "Take your seat; you and Mr. Arc will see me after class for additional readings." Jaune groaned and let his head drop on his desk. Cardin just returned to his place, glaring daggers at those who humiliated him on front of the whole class.

With this matter settled, Oobleck continued his lecture. "Now, moving on…"

By some miracle, Pyrrha managed to go through the lecture without spacing out. After what seemed like forever, the professor finally dismissed the class and let the students leave for their dorms… except for Cardin and Jaune who were forced to remain in the classroom. Pyrrha decided to wait for her unfortunate teammate; she needed to talk to him and this time she would not let him brush her off like during the lunch break. But first, she needed to have some words with Roland; it was no coincidence to her that he did not say a word to Jaune since their chat in cafeteria.

Soon enough she saw him exiting the classroom talking with Nicolaus. "Roland, can I talk with you for a second?" Pyrrha asked politely, earning a curious glance from the fox Faunus.

"Uh, sure." Roland shrugged and turned to his teammate. "I guess I'll catch up with you later, Nick."

Nicolaus nodded and walked away. "See you later."

"So, what's up?" Roland asked once Nicolaus was out of sight.

"I've noticed you and Jaune haven't been talking much lately."

"'Cause there hasn't really been anything to talk about." Roland answered, not expecting her to ask about this. "It's nothing, really."

Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "Please, don't give me this 'everything's fine' nonsense. You two have started avoiding each other all of a sudden. I want to know why." She said sternly, a bit annoyed at being brushed off for a second time that day.

After a few seconds of silence Roland gave in. "After that scene in the cafeteria earlier I went to have a talk with Jaune about his bully problem. It didn't go exactly as I hoped." He said, sighing deeply.

"What happened? Did he refuse your help, too?"

For some reason Roland fidgeted nervously under Pyrrha's gaze. "Well, I… I tried to convince him to let you guys help, but he just snapped at me. He said he didn't want anyone's help and then… we kinda got into a huge argument. He kept screaming about how he hated being the 'damsel in distress' and how he couldn't be weak now that he has a team to lead. I tried to get him to see the reason but it had gotten out of my hand." He finished glumly without looking at her.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I really don't wanna go into details, Pyrrha. It was just…" Roland pinched his forehead in agitation. "Jaune wasn't making a goddamn sense when I tried to talk to him and it pissed me off so much. I- I blew up and ended up saying something I shouldn't have and now he won't even look at me, much less talk to me."

"I see…" Pyrrha nodded slowly in understanding. "Have you two tried to settle this somehow?"

"And what the fuck am I supposed to say?! 'Hey Jaune, I'm sorry for calling you a whiny bitch, I totally didn't mean to say that because I wasn't thinking clearly because I was infuriated by your overwhelming stupidity'?" Roland ranted exasperatedly. "I'm not good at this 'talking to people' stuff! Besides, what's the point in trying to help someone who doesn't even want help? If he thinks he can handle his problems on his own, then let him! Either he somehow solves the situation himself or he wises up and comes crawling back to you. Whichever comes first."

"He's my partner, I can't just abandon him in whatever he's struggling with!" Pyrrha objected a bit heatedly. For a brief moment, the sudden flare of anger at her leader being insulted in such a rude manner made her wonder whether she was taking this matter a bit too personally. Pyrrha could understand why Roland gave up on trying to reason with Jaune; she did not plan on following his example, however.

"Whether you want to talk to him or not is your business, not mine." Roland spoke up flatly, as though he could read her thoughts. "Though I guess you have a better chance of getting through to him than I do, being his teammate and all."

I definitely hope so; Pyrrha thought to herself. "I'll wait for him here."

Roland nodded subtly. "I'll be going then; still have to finish that paper on Beowolf pack structure. Good luck with Jaune." With these parting words he walked away, leaving her standing in the hallway.

Soon enough, the classroom door opened and professor Oobleck walked out on a brisk pace. Cardin and Jaune trudged right behind him; CRDL's leader shoved the blonde to the ground and stormed away.

Pyrrha immediately rushed to her leader's side. "You know, I really will break his legs." She remarked as she helped him up.

"He isn't worth the trouble, Pyrrha." Jaune said quietly and dusted himself off.

Pyrrha felt a pang of sadness; she hated seeing her partner, her friend dejected like this. It only served to strengthen her determination to help him. "I have an idea!" She exclaimed and took his hand into hers. "Come with me, I have something to show you!"

Before Jaune had a chance to ask what was going on, he found himself being dragged through the school's hallways.

Jaune did not even protest as Pyrrha led him God-knows-where, holding his hand like if he were a small kid. His mind was plagued by one seemingly innocent question; what would his partner consider so important to have him see it? Maybe it had something to do with the upcoming tournament… or was it something more personal, perhaps? Jaune blushed deeply at the thought despite not being sure why.

So when he found himself standing on the roof of their dorm, almost at the edge, while the stars flickered on the night sky, there was only one possible explanation in his mind. "Uhh, Pyrrha? I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not that depressed." True, it was incredibly morbid, but it seemed to be the only correct answer.

Pyrrha stared at him with a puzzled expression. "What?"

"I mean, I can always be a farmer or… or something." Jaune finished lamely, slowly realizing that he was completely wrong.

"NO!" Pyrrha screamed in terror and pulled him away from the edge of the roof as she finally understood the implication. "You've got it all wrong!"

"Then what…"

Pyrrha took a deep breath to collect herself and started anew. "Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class and that you're still not the strongest of fighters, so I want to help you!"

Jaune tilted his head. "What?"

"We can train up here after class, where no one can bother us!"

"You think I need help?"

Pyrrha seemed confused by Jaune's cold tone. "No! No, that's not what I meant…"

"But you just said it."

"Jaune, everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us." Pyrrha tried to reason. "You made it to Beacon; that speaks volumes of what you're capable of!"

"And that's where you're wrong." Jaune cut her off and turn away from her, finding it impossible to look her in the eye all of a sudden. "I don't belong here." He said somberly.

"That's a terrible thing to say, Jaune! Of course you do!"

"No I don't!" Jaune spun around and shouted in her face, oblivious to her shocked expression. "I didn't attend any combat school…

"Roland didn't either-" Jaune completely ignored Pyrrha's protests, unable to stop himself. Bad results in class, inadequate skills and Cardin's bullying; all of it was weighing down on him and he found himself no longer able to bear it. The mention of Roland's name only added to his frustration and reminded him of all insults he had to hear from him.

"I didn't pass any tests, I didn't earn my place at this academy…"

"Just what are you talking about-"

"I LIED!" Jaune had finally cracked. Every person had a secret they hid from the rest of the world, a skeleton in the closet; he had just revealed his. "I got my hands on some fake transcripts and I wasn't really accepted. I cheated."

And just like that, his secret was out. Jaune expected his partner to slap him, to curse his name or to just simply walk away from him and report everything to Ozpin. But Pyrrha just stood there, staring at him in silence. "I- I see." She finally said in a small voice. "But… Why?"

"Because this is what I always wanted to be! My father, my grandfather, his father before; they were all heroes! I wanted to be one, too!" Jaune paused and then added sadly. "Except I was never good enough…"

"Then why won't you let me help you?" Pyrrha said forcefully and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Jaune swatted her hand away. "You just don't understand it; not you, not Roland, not anyone! I don't need help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress; I want to be a hero!"

"Jaune, I-"

Jaune could not stop himself; words were coming out of his mouth faster than he could think. "Don't you get it?! I'm tired of being the laughable idiot stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives! If I can't do this on my own, then what good am I?"

A dead silence followed. Jaune just wished Pyrrha just left him alone; just close his eyes, open them a moment later and see his partner gone. But, in spite of the knowledge of a secret that would surely ruin him, she did not leave; even after how he shouted her down, his partner remained standing there. She gazed at him with what he saw as disappointment (not entirely undeserved), pity (oh, how he hated that) and… hurt?

"I don't understand, Jaune." Pyrrha finally said, her voice quivering a little.

"What's there not to understand?" Jaune retorted.

"Back during the Initiation when he fought the monsters, you could've run away any time. When we faced the Deathstalker at the ruins, you could've hid and left the fighting to the others. But you didn't. Even though you had known that your skills were… unrefined and despite all possible perils, you still joined the battle and led us against our enemy. Not everyone possesses this kind of courage, Jaune. I just can't understand where it had gone. There were times when you were willing to throw yourself into the fire for the good of others but right now you can't do anything except pitying yourself."

Jaune unwittingly clenched his fists, Pyrrha's words cutting deeply into him. Even though much better worded, the message was exactly the same as what Roland shouted in his face just hours earlier. Seeing her eyes brimming with tears was the last blow to his already crumbling resolve. Jaune had never seen the intrepid Amazon warrior look so vulnerable and it made him feel disgusted by himself. "I really wanted to help you and I still do, but if you want me to leave you alone… then I won't bother you." With that, his partner turned around and began walking away from him. Despite the sinking guilt clutching at his heart, Jaune still kept telling himself that this was for the best, that he needed to learn to survive on his own. But was it worth driving away everyone who cared about him? Was he even worth this kind of attention that he did not really seem to appreciate?

Jaune felt his knees were about to give out under him. "Pyrrha… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" He croaked in desperation as he sank to his knees, eyes fixed on the ground beneath him. Nothing could express how miserable he felt; first he had failed as a Huntsman in training, he failed as a leader and now he failed as a person. The edge of this roof seems awfully appealing right now, he thought cynically. "I'm a screw-up…"

His heart skipped a few beats when he felt an arm wrapping around his shoulders. Jaune looked up and found himself facing a pair of emerald eyes filled with unshed tears. "You have to understand, Jaune; no one has ever accomplished something without even a little help along the way. Not me, not anyone." Pyrrha whispered soothingly as he knelt beside him.

"But… I lied."

"Maybe, but it doesn't mean you can't earn your place here." She replied and held out her hand.

Jaune stared at her in amazement. "You mean… you won't tell anyone?" He asked hesitantly.

"What kind of friend would I be to rob you of a chance to prove yourself?" She remarked jokingly and pulled Jaune up to his feet.

"Let's head back to our room. I- I need to think." Jaune said weakly, although on the inside, he never felt more grateful.

Pyrrha shrugged. "I suppose we both could use some sleep." As they walked towards the exit, the red haired warrior spoke once more. "Remember, Jaune; if you ever need help, I'm here for you."

"I know, Pyrrha… and thank you."

As he walked behind Pyrrha, Jaune could not help but wonder what he had ever done to deserve a friend like her.

Unbeknownst to them, a certain boy sat at the open window of his dorm, unable to stop himself from grinning widely. He had overheard the whole exchange between the leader of team JNPR and the Mistral champion, including the part about Arc sneaking his way into Beacon. If the headmaster ever got wind of that, Arc would get kicked out of the academy faster than one could say 'failure'.

Cardin Winchester did not intend on doing that, however. This information simply had too much potential. Blackmail material; that sounded way better than stooping so low as to snitch on someone, even if the person in question was the pathetic Jaune Arc.

All Cardin had to do was to wait for the right moment to strike.

Author's note: Poor Jaune, he doesn't know what he got himself into... Anyway, there goes my take on Jaunedice; with the OC's involved it went differently than in the canon story. The PyrrhaXJaune talk on the roof was probably the hardest to write; I had an idea how it would go but I just couldn't word it quite right... I just hope I didn't make the characters too OCC.

And Jaune: I doubt you can actually read this, but... You are an effing idiot, chasing after the Weiss-Queen while you're so blatantly oblivious to your own partner totally having the hots for you... Welp, people don't appreciate what they have until they lose it. Wise up before it's too late, man!

Anyway, thank you guys for reading!