Failure….
The word has been repeated throughout his head. It happened everytime he made a mistake.
He stumbled…Failure.
He got rejected by Weiss…Failure.
He failed in…. Failure.
He lost to Cardin… Failure.
Failure
Failure
FAILURE!
FAILURE!
FAILURE!
COWARD!
VOMIT BOY!
He was weakness incarnate. A small bug in a big world. He knows his friends mean well, but are they faking it? Pyrrha freaking Nikos trains him and he STILL CAN'T FUCKING BEAT CARDIN! The training seemed pointless, the classes seemed pointless as well. So that's why he was here on the roof, to get away from it all.
He had a pack of cigarettes in his pocket but didn't pull it out yet. He just got lost in the scenery of Emerald Forest, how it reminded him of when he was useful. When he commanded his teammates in order to kill a Deathstalker. It felt good to help everyone do their part in order to kill the Deathstalker.
So why couldn't he show the same amount of skill against Cardin of all people? Why couldn't Weiss see he was trying his best? It hurt whenever Goodwitch chastised and criticized him, pointing out on all of his mistakes. He reached into his pocket and pulled his cigarettes and lighter.
He placed the cigarettes in his mouth and before he could light it, a voice that made his head hurt every time they uttered a pun.
Yang Xiao Long.
"What are ya doing Vomit Boy?".
'Even after all that time, she still won't let go of that nickname?'
"Nothing much Yang. Just looking out at the Forest."
"Really? Cuz' it looks like you're smoking."
Damn it. He thought he hid it well. He guessed that hiding something is another thing he couldn't do well.
Yang walked up next to him. He noticed that she was wearing a tank top and yoga pants. He figured that she just came from exercise or something.
"What are you doing up here Yang? Aren't classes supposed to be starting soon?"
"They cancelled Combat class, saying something about 'heart shaped explosions'. I took as a chance to do some Shadow Boxing and yoga"
He smiled, genuinely amused.
"Never took you for the Yoga type."
Yang laughed dryly.
"Ha ha, very funny. You got a spare cig'?"
He pulled out a single cigarette and lighter, then gave it to her.
"Thanks."
She put in her mouth, lit it, and took a breath of smoke. She enjoyed smoking from time to time, but doesn't do it in front of Ruby, in order not to become a bad influence.
"So, what's wrong? And don't give me that 'Nothings wrong Yang' or 'I'm fine' bullshit, because it's very obvious that you're not."
"I-I uh I…"
He could feel Yang's eyes turning scarlet red with fury.
"Tell. Me. There isn't anyone here, just you and me. If you're wondering why I'm asking, it's because I've seen my old man like this. Slumped shoulders, cigarette pack, and in a gloomy mood. My team and yours have seen you like this ever since the start of the semester."
He wasn't going anywhere now. He and everyone else already knows when Yang wants something, she ALWAYS gets it. He decided the best course of action is to come clean.
"Have you ever felt useless and weak before Yang? To be able to beat the toughest of Grimm without much effort, but always failed when it came down to anything else? I've been experiencing that feeling ever since Cardin started bullying me, ever since Weiss rejected me, that feeling started to show."
Yang stayed silent, interested in what he had to say.
"Its hurts so much to not be able to do anything else. To have so many people not believe in you because you're not important to them. Because you weren't born like them. Or because you can't be them. Have you ever felt like that Yang?"
At this point, Jaune was crying. But he didn't sniffle nor did his voice break. He steeled himself because he knew that crying won't get him out of this situation, no matter how much he wanted to.
"Believe it or not, yes. Yes, I have felt like that before. So many times, it hurt so much because I was useless and weak. When my mother left my Dad, it hurt him so much. To the point where he would drink himself under the table. It took my Uncle Qrow, the fabled drunk of the family, to get him to stop."
"I felt like I was second in command when my Mom left us. I let that feeling get to my head when I took Ruby with me to look for my mom. I almost got my little sis killed because if my decision. Luckily, Uncle Qrow killed the Grimm before it could get us."
Little did Jaune and Yang know, a certain Valkyrie was listening on their conversation with increasing interest. She just on way to 'convince' her Fearless Leader to train with her, when she heard him and Yang talking. She was about to intervene, but when Jaune talked about him being weak, she listened in.
"Afterward, my Dad hugged me saying he was so worried about us. Saying that he was sorry for being such a bad parent and made me promise not do that again. He the looked at me dead in the eyes and asked me, 'Do you want to protect Ruby'. Of course I wanted to, she was my family. After that point, he trained me and Qrow trained Ruby. So, here we are, proud students of Beacon and members of Team RWBY."
Jaune was looking at her with a sympathetic look after the sob story. He never thought that Yang was actually afraid before or that she felt useless. He now knew that he had nothing to complain about.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that Yang. I never realized that even the most professional huntsman never started out like that in the first place."
"Let me tell you tell you something Jaune. Nobody can protect everyone or make the word a better place just because they put in hard work. Ruby's dreams and ideals are childish and stupid even if my is just as bad, because in this world you're either born a person who never gives up or a pushover. Its not my choice, not your team's choice, it's YOUR choice."
Yang leaned her back on the railing, looking directly at Jaune.
"So, what's it gonna be?"
Jaune was silent. Until he mumbled something.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"I'm someone who never gives up."
"HUH?! Louder, I still can't hear you!"
Jaune's cigarette fell out of his mouth.
"I'M SOMEONE WHO NEVER GIVES UP!"
Yang's eyes got red, not with anger but excitement.
"WHO ARE YOU?!"
"I'M JAUNE ARC!"
"WHO ARE YOU?!"
"I'M JAUNE ARC!"
Nora was smiling so much to the point where it looked like it was gonna split her face. She never felt so happy for someone in all her life! He really is a Fearless Leader.
So that's what that feeling in her chest was…who knew?
She decided to let them scream to the heavens, as much as she wanted to join in, it was currently Pancake-O-Clock and she was 30 milliseconds late! She got to hurry!
Omake!
Ozpin liked games.
His favorite game was checkers. It was simplistic, it was all about predicting and strategizing.
But no one else knows about his top top secret game to play. One so rage inducing, not even his calm-ass could keep his composer.
So horrific.
So much spilled coffee.
That's he was in his private game room playing a game on his scroll. He was gripping the scroll so hard, he was on the verge of breaking it in half. His face was beet red with anger and his eyes was bloodshot.
"C'mon, just one more pipe to pass my record."
He was playing Flappy Bird.
LOW BATTERY
DEAD. PLEASE PLUG UP SCR-
BREAK
Ozpin had a blank expression on his face as he slowly put down the two halves of his scroll, breathed in deeply.
And screamed