Good Enough…
"Faunus…" The energetic voice of a rather eccentric professor begins. He looks out at the accumulated students. "Though disparaged by some as beast men or half breeds, individuals with a single animal trait are known by the umbrella term of 'Faunus'." He zips around the floor of the lecture hall, disturbing papers on the main desk with his speed, his tie flailing behind him along with one flap of his untucked shirt.
"There was once a great war between the Faunus and the humans. A war that led to terrible losses on both sides. With the lessons gleaned from that terrible bloodshed, we now live in a society where humans and Faunus alike are treated equally and coexist peacefully." The professor tells them, raising his finger upwards as he now paces back and forth. Behind him hangs a world map of Remnant, various notes pinned across it that are connected by lines of string, like an intricate spider's web of information.
'Good old Bartholomew, always blissfully unaware that few people think as fast as him.' Theodore muses from one of the back rows. He looks down over the amphitheatre of students, amused by how many of them look a little lost. 'A shame he hasn't revealed the ingredients of his 'Special' brew; some of them might need it.' He thinks, glancing at the students that seem half asleep.
"But the gulf has not yet been entirely bridged." The professor continues, then pauses, the calm silence strange after the rush of speed. "Can anyone tell me which organisation demonstrates this best?" Professor Bartholomew Oobleck scans the faces of his students until deciding upon his unfortunate victim. "Perhaps you know the answer, Gray?" He points his finger straight at the poor boy.
"Uh, what?" Gray mumbles, barely awake.
"Incorrect! Amend your ignorance and produce for me a thirty-page essay by next week on the role of race within society from a historical perspective." Oobleck fires at him before taking a sip from his flask. Gray stares at him in dismay and confusion and a few of the other students subdue snickers. "My fine students, the future is no more than the accumulation of the deeds and misdeeds of the past. This is the ultimate truth," the professor adds, zipping back to his desk. "Those who take the past lightly will have no future to speak of."
"That's a little melodramatic," Eliza says, rolling her eyes in Theodore's direction. "Are you sure he's not just… yah know?" She swirls her finger beside her head and whistles quietly, disturbing one of her small plaits and earning a muted chuckle from Theodore; Surtur remains undisturbed, perched atop the railing behind Theodore's head.
"I suppose Bartholomew is somewhat of an acquired taste." Her partner responds, not taking his eyes of the professor as he repeats his previous question to the room. Eliza sighs with another roll of her eyes and puts her hand up to catch Oobleck's attention.
"It's the White Fang sir." She answers.
"Correct Marigold. Can you explain for us the White Fang's goals and the issues that have arisen around them?" Oobleck points his stick at her, taking another sip from his flask immediately afterwards. All the students look to Eliza as she stands, blowing a stray strand of hair from her face.
"Well," she raises a quick eyebrow at Theodore before turning back to the professor. "Their main goal was to address the widespread discrimination experienced by Faunus in society through peaceful means, like debate and negotiation." Eliza responds before she pauses and clears her throat slightly, crossing her arms. "But five years ago, a change in leadership led to a change in their strategy. They started stealing dust; smuggling it, dealing it on the black market… even kidnapping and murder became a part of their radical agenda."
Theodore spots Blake and Weiss shift as the explanation goes on, he can feel their unease. Blake looks down a little, flicking her eyes around before settling on staring at the map on the wall. Theodore wishes he could tell which location she's looking at, but he can't from this distance. Weiss almost winces, fiddling with her fingers and taking deeper breaths for a moment before she abruptly retreats behind her indifferent shell again.
"Unfortunately, the White Fang is little more than a terrorist organisation nowadays." Eliza finishes, her tone sombre as she looks at Professor Oobleck. She steals a glance at Theodore, who turns his gaze away from team RWBY's pew and back to her, smiling.
"Perfect answer Marigold, from you I'd like thirty pages on the fundamental societal issues suggested by the White Fang's existence, with potential solutions." From Oobleck, that's high praise. He again raises his finger skyward, resting his stick behind his back.
"Happily, sir." Eliza smiles as she sits down, already planning to coerce Theodore into helping her, and if that fails, she can claim Surtur burnt the paper. Not that she isn't planning to give it her best try, but… who likes essays?
"Now, have any of you been discriminated against because of your Faunus heritage?" Oobleck asks, looking around the room. There are only a few Faunus students present and even fewer raise their hands; Velvet being one of them. "Dreadful, simply dreadful. Remember students, this is exactly the kind of ignorance that breeds violence. Now, which of you young scholars can tell me what many theorists believe to be the turning point of 'The Faunus War'?"
Weiss's hand immediately shoots up. "The battle at Fort Castle." She states a little too smugly.
"Precisely. Now, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagoon's forces?" Oobleck zips back to his desk. Before anyone else can answer, Cardin flicks a piece of paper down onto Jaune's head, making him mutter in annoyance and thus drawing the professor's attention to him. "Ah, Mr Arc, finally contributing to class. This is just excellent, excellent; and the answer?"
"Uh, the advantage that the Faunus had... over that guy was…" Jaune fumbles with his words as Oobleck leans in closer, his spectacles gleaming. Jaune flicks his eyes behind the professor as Pyrrha clears her throat, trying to motion the answer to him. She encircles her eyes, pointing at them and mouthing something that he squints to decipher. "Uh… Binoculars!" Jaune shouts, earning laughter from the other students.
Theodore sighs, seeing Pyrrha slap her hand to her face, embarrassed for their friend. Oobleck takes another sip from his flask and Eliza glares at Cardin when he cracks up at his own prank, eagerly awaiting their coming battle.
"Very funny Mr Arc." Oobleck zips back to the centre floor, and Cardin. "Mr Winchester, perhaps you'd care to share your thoughts on the subject." He commands, pointing his stick at the bully, who is now inspecting his nails as he lazily leans back in his seat, his feet resting on the desk.
"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin responds casually; Oobleck sighs and shakes his head.
Surtur growls, relaxing somewhat when Theodore immediately scratches him, as much to distract himself as the wyvern.
"Can I please kill him?" Eliza whispers. Garnering no reaction from Theodore or Surtur she adds, "Just a little bit?" in a pleading voice, pinching her thumb and forefinger together. This does get her a small twitch at the corner of Theodore's mouth.
"You're not the most open-minded person are you Cardin?" Pyrrha growls, looking the bully dead in the eye, her fist balled. Blake also cuts into Cardin with her deadly amber-eyed look.
"You got a problem?" Cardin scoffs.
"No, I have the answer, it's night vision." Pyrrha responds, turning to look at Professor Oobleck. "Many Faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark."
"General Lagoon was inexperienced and made the mistake of attempting to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmanoeuvred and the general was captured." Blake continues, proudly reciting the tale with a satisfied smirk at Cardin's incoherent muttering under his breath. "Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't be remembered as such a failure." She adds smugly, eliciting a laugh from the class.
At this Cardin practically launches from his seat, staring down the two girls, his own fists balled. An angry hiss captures the room's attention and all eyes turn to Surtur, who has smoke pouring from his nostrils and seeping from the side of his jaws. Cardin tries to stare down the beast for a moment before Theodore leans forward, calmly holding Cardin's gaze.
"Do you disagree Cardin?" Theodore asks. "Only, I wouldn't bet against Blake when it comes to the books if I were you." His mother had told him that Blake had taken out more books since being at Beacon than some students have returned in their entire four smiles as Surtur hops down to his shoulder, where he looks like a red devil whispering in Theodore's ear. Smoke swirls around the side of Theodore's head as he looks at Blake; she smiles appreciatively.
"Mr Winchester, please take your seat." Oobleck orders with clear exacerbation in his voice, giving a curt nod to Theodore. Cardin huffs and begrudgingly sits down, growling when Jaune snickers. "You and Mr Arc can both see me after class for additional readings." Jaune stops laughing and groans in disappointment.
From there the lesson continues without interruption, apart from Eliza giving Cardin a taste of his own medicine with a little paper ball.
Class ends and the two boys remain behind, Cardin looking bored and Arc dejected. "You two have been struggling in my class since day one. Now, I don't know whether it's a lack of interest, or just a stubborn nature, but whatever it is... it ends now." Oobleck tells them, slamming his flask down on the desk. "You've worked hard to gain entrance to this academy and we only accept the best of the best, so I expect you to act like you appreciate the privilege." He stares at each of them for a second. "I want an essay based on pages 51 to 91 on my desk before the next lesson." With that, he turns and briskly leaves the lecture hall.
Later that evening, Pyrrha decides to take Jaune to a quiet spot to discuss the difficulty he's having with his studies. Guiding him up to the roof, she pushes open the metal safety door and immediately feels the fresh air hit her skin. Jaune follows her wistfully to the edge of the roof, where the two of them look out across campus to Ozpin's tower, its many strange pendulums glowing a deep green through the darkness.
"Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not that depressed…" Jaune half-jokes, peering over the edge to the ground many stories below. He unbuttons his blazer with a small sigh. "I can always be a farmer or something." Pyrrha quickly looks between him and the edge.
"No!" She gasps. He gives her a puzzled look as she pulls him back with her. "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." She smiles kindly at him, her bright green eyes full of determination.
"What?" He asks quietly.
"We can train up here, after class, where no one can bother us." She elaborates, watching the wind gently rustle his hair as she waits for his returning smile. But Jaune's face falls, his eyes suddenly finding the ground very interesting. Pyrrha's smile fades and she clasps her hands together anxiously.
"You… think I need help?" His tone is low and full of self-doubt as he awkwardly scratches behind his ear.
"Well, I… No, no that's not what I meant." Pyrrha waves her hands, reaching out to him tentatively. She sees his body shift, an apprehensive tension quickly falling over them.
"But you just said it."
She takes a few seconds to find her next words. "Jaune, everybody needs a push from time to time, it doesn't make you any different from the rest of us." She assures him with a small smile, pausing again to consider how best to lift his spirits. "You made it into Beacon," she leans forward, "that speaks volumes about what you're capable of." Her shoulders dip when Jaune sighs and turns away from her to look back at Ozpin's tower.
"You're wrong… I don't belong here." He says quietly, rubbing his thumb into his palm. He briefly wonders how people like Ozpin, and Theodore and all his friends do it, how they make it look so easy while he's… left in the dust.
"That's a terrible thing to say, of course you do." Pyrrha retorts, taking a step toward him.
"No, I don't!" He barks, whirling back around with a deep frown. He immediately regrets his outburst when he sees her face, quickly dropping his glare. "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon…" He sighs, looking off to the side.
"W-what do you mean?" Pyrrha asks, her shock quickly becoming confusion.
Jaune's shoulders tense. "I mean, I didn't go to combat school; I didn't pass any tests; I didn't earn my spot at this academy!" Jaune shouts, abhorred by that fact now that he's said it out loud. "I lied. I got my hands on some fake transcripts… and I lied." He finally meets Pyrrha's eyes, his hair slightly obscuring his own.
"Why?" She asks, brow furrowed, jaw set as she momentarily reconsiders her assessment of Jaune.
"Because this is what I've always wanted to be. My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors. They were all heroes." He turns away from her again, his shoulders slumping slightly as his voice cracks. "I wanted to be one too. I was just, never good enough." A sense of relief comes over him now that he's finally told someone, though it doesn't take away the sting of the truth.
"Then let me help you." Pyrrha offers again softly, placing her hand on his shoulder only for him to shrug it off.
"I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress, I want to be the hero!" Jaune cries, slamming his hand to his chest. Pyrrha tries to interrupt him but he continues. "I'm tired of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives. Don't you understand? If I can't do this on my own, then what good am I?" Tears well up in his eyes, but he blinks them away and lets his torso sag in defeat.
Pyrrha steps forward and reaches for his arm but he shies away, stepping back and turning his side to her. "Just leave me alone, ok?" He can't bear to look at the sorrowful compassion in her face, crossing his arms and looking out into the darkness.
"If that's what you think is best." She responds gloomily. After a slight pause, she layers her hands before her stomach and walks towards the dorm building, her heart heavy, unsure what to do. She looks back at him for a moment, one thing she is sure of is that Ozpin chose him for a reason, he just needs to find it.
Jaune watches her go, her long red hair and silhouette disappearing down the roof stairs. For a moment he considers going after her but decides against it. He sighs and takes a step towards the same stairs, but he hears a deep unnerving laugh that makes him jump.
"Oh, Jaune. I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm." Cardin smiles darkly, crossing his arms and walking up to him, towering over the smaller man. "So, you snuck into Beacon huh? Gotta admit, I never expected you to be such a rebel." He scoffs with a modicum of respect that Jaune is too startled to notice.
"Cardin, please," Jaune begs, "please don't tell anyone."
The bully chuckles. "Jaune, come on, I'd never rat out a friend like that."
"Friend?" Jaune asks, confused.
Cardin smiles innocently at his expression. "Of course, we're friends now Jauney boy, and the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you, we'll be friends for a long time." He grabs Jaune in a tight headlock, holding him by his waist for a few seconds before releasing him coughing and spluttering to the floor.
"That being said, I really don't have time to do that extra reading and the essay Oobleck gave us today. Think you could take care of that buddy?" The bully asks, leaning over Jaune as he rubs his neck. Cardin grins at Jaune's silent acceptance. "That's what I thought. Don't worry Jaune, your secret's safe with me." He jeers before hopping back down to his dorm.
Jaune continues to sit on the cold concrete roof, staring at the spot where Cardin had been standing, silently cursing his stupidity and how loud he'd voiced his biggest secret. Eventually, he gets up and dusts himself off, stopping to look around the roof when a soft rustle hits his ears. He shakes his head and pauses to look at the stars; he blinks as the stars disappear for a brief second as if he could see a shadow skimming across them? He blinks again and rubs his eyes before heading back inside. Not looking forward to the inevitable tension with Pyrrha.
Hello. This chapter followed the main show a little more than previously, but that is mainly because I don't want to just cut out Jaune's development arc. I think his motivations and why he hides them are an interesting revelation for his character. That being said, I also took the opportunity of the roof scene to try and improve my purely descriptive writing.
Thank you again for reading and have a nice day.