On the stage, Jaune and Cardin were fighting against each other as Jaune charges at Cardin, swinging his sword but Cardin dodged and knocked Jaune off his feet but the blonde didn't give up and instead got up and his sword clashed with the pole of Cardin's mace "This is the part where you lose." Cardin said, getting the upper hand on Jaune.

"Over my dead bo-" Before Jaune could finish his sentence, Cardin kicks him in the stomach and let's him fall to the floor and is about to strike him down but then the buzzer chimed and Glynda walks up to the stage.

"Cardin, that's enough." She said as she walks to the edge of the stage "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament style duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle and that the official may call the match." Ryu looks at Jaune, noticing something.

"Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your scroll during combat." Glynda advised as Jaune looked at his scroll "Gaging your aura will help you to decide when it is appropriate when to attack or when it is better to take a more… defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to get gobbled up by a Beowulf, now would we?" Everyone laughs at this, making Jaune feel humiliated.

"Speak for yourself." Cardin said as he got off the stage.

"Remember everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students from the other four kingdoms start arriving in Vale. So keep practicing." Team RWBY and the members of Team HORR felt so excited, that they were ready to fight others right now.

"Those who choose to fight in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale." As Glynda has finished up, the bell rings and the students leave, with Pyrhha giving Jaune a worried look.

At Lunch, Nora and her teammates were with Team RWBY and Team HORR, telling them all a story, with Ren fact checking "So, there we were… in the middle of the night."

"It was day." Ren said

"We were surrounded by Ursai!" Nora exclaimed.

"They were Beowolves." Ren said.

"Dozens of them!" Nora yelled.

"Two of them." Ren said.

"But they were no match! And in the end, Ren and I took them down! And made a boat-load of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!" Nora explained, finishing her story.

"Ah, she's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now." Ren said but Ruby, Ryu, and Pyrrha looked at Jaune with worried looks on their faces, not even listening to the story. This, of course, caught the attention of their teammates.

"Jaune… are you okay?" Pyrrha asks as Jaune looks up at her.

"Huh? Oh… yeah. Why?" Jaune asks.

"It's just that, you seem a little… not okay." Ruby explained as Jaune forced a smile on his face.

"Guys, i'm fine! Seriously! Look!" Jaune said as he nervously laughed, looking at Cardin and his teammates making fun of a girl with bunny ears.

"Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school." Olette pointed out.

"Who? Cardin Winchester? Nah, he just likes to mess around, you know, practical jokes." Ruby and Ryu then look at each other.

"Do you want to say it or should i?" Ruby asks.

"Oh no, please, I insist." Ryu said.

"Thank you." Ruby said before looking back at Jaune "He's a bully, Jaune."

"Oh, please. Name one time he's bullied me." Jaune said as Team HORR looks at each other before looking at Jaune.

"We can name multiple times he's bullied you." Riley said.

"On your way to class, he made your scabbard pop up in its shield mode when you approached the classroom's door." Olette said.

"He knocked a book out of your hands when you were coming back from the library." Hours said.

"He pushed you into a rocket locker and it crashed…" Ryu saw Jaune sweating "With you inside."

"I didn't land that far from the school." Jaune said as Pyrrha put her hand on his shoulder.

"Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask." Pyrrha said when Nora stood up.

"Oh! We'll break his legs!" Nora exclaimed.

"Um… no. That, Nora, would be assault." Olette pointed out.

"Guys! Really! It's fine! Besides, It's not like he's only a jerk to me. He's a jerk to everyone." Jaune said, when they heard the bunny fannus crying and saw Cardin pulling on her bunny ears.

"Ow! That hurts! Please stop!" She begged as Cardin laughed.

"Haha, I told you they were real." Cardin said, while his teammates laughed.

"What a freak." Russel said.

Ryu and Horus couldn't stand to see their fellow faunus, so they, their teammates, and Pyrrha stood up from their seats and walked over to Cardin's table "Hey! Let her go!" Horus yelled, getting the attention of Team CRDL.

"Hey, those guys have bird wings and a bug tail! What freaks!" Russel laughed, but Olette laughs, confusing her teammates, Team CRDL, and Pyrrha.

"Hey! Why are you laughing, bitch! We're the only ones who laugh!" Cardin yells, making Olette stop laughing and smirk cockily.

"I'm sorry, i'm sorry! It's just… it's funny that you guys think that messing with two faunus is a good idea…" Olette said, making Cardin smirk.

"Well, yea-"

"No, shut the hell up. Here's what's going to happen. Me and the others are going to stomp you guys so hard, that your skulls will be the new bowls we'll eat our cereal out of. And yes, your blood will be the milk." Her teammates didn't know what to think. Olette's personality completely changed. Cardin was starting to get enraged by this.

"But… since i'm such a good girl, i can let you four off with that warning. If you let her ears go." Cardin had about enough with Olette's threat and got up from his seat… and slapped her.

"You dare talk to me like that?! Do you know who i am?" Cardin asks.

"Yeah…" Ryu then walked to Cardin "...You're dead meat." Ryu said as he kicked Cardin down.

"Hey! You can't do that!" Dove yelled as he and his teammates were about to throw their knives at Ryu but Horus used the bunny girl's trey and used it as a shield.

"...Or course we can. After all, it's called self-defense." Horus said as Cardin was about to get up but was then stopped by Ryu, who had his stinger in front of Cardin's face.

"If you mess with my friends or other faunuses again, i won't hesitate to stop you… got it?" Ryu said as he let Cardin go and the brown haired young man dusts himself off.

"I won't forget this, bug boy." Cardin said as he and his teammates walked away.

"You guys didn't need to do that." The bunny faunus said as Ryu and Horus turned to her.

"You look like you needed help." Ryu said.

"Yeah. We faunuses need to stick together!" Horus said.

"Anyways, sorry for ruining your lunch. I made extra food when i was making lunch for my teammates. You can have some, if you want." Ryu offered.

"Thank you. I'm Velvet, by the way."

"I'm Ryu Himura."

"Name's Horus Nudar!" Velvet followed the two faunus boys to their table, with Jaune just looking at what had transpired and sighs.

In another class, taught by Professor Oobleck, Jaune was doing his best not to fall asleep as the teacher speaks "Yes, yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, most popular known as the "Faunus War", human kind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing the faunus population in Menagerie." Before continuing, Oobleck took a quick sip of caffeinated coffee.

"Now, while this must feel like ancient history to you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events. Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen today." he once again takes a sip of his coffee.

"Now, have any among you been subjected or discriminated because of your faunus heritage?" Oobleck asks.

"I have when I was young, sir." Ryu said, raising his hand.

"Me too." Horus said, also raising his hand, much to his teammates' shocks.

"I-i also have, sir…" Velvet squeaks out, loud enough for the class to hear her.

"Dreadful! Simply dreadful! Remember students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance breeds violence." Oobleck again takes a sip of his coffee "I mean, i mean… I mean just look what happened to the White Fang! Now, which of you young scholars can tell me what many theorists believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war?"

"The battle at Fort Castle." Olette and Ryu said at the same time.

"Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General LeGume's forces?" Oobleck asks as Cardin throws a triangle paper at Jaune.

"Ow!"

"Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to this class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?" He asks as Jaune begins to struggle but then remembers something.

"The advantage of the faunus is that they had night vision. They can see in the dark." Jaune answered.

"Very good! But you and Mr. Winchester can see me after class for additional readings. Now, moving on!"

After class, Ryu and his friends were walking out when he and Pyrrha stopped in their tracks "You guys can go on ahead. Me and Pyrrha will wait for Jaune." Ryu said as the others nod in response.

Back in the classroom, Oobleck sips on his coffee before speaking to the boys "You two have been struggling in my class since day one. Now, i don't know if it's a lack of interest, or just your stubborn nature. But, whatever it is, it stops now." Oobleck then takes another swig of his coffee before slamming it on the table.

"You've worked hard to gain entrance to this school and we only accept the best of the best. So… I expect you to act like it. History is important, gentlemen. If you can't learn from it… you're destined to repeat it. Pages fifty-one to ninety-one, I want an essay on my desk by next class. Now, run along!" Jaune and Cardin leave the classroom but make Jaune trip on purpose.

"You know, I really will break his legs." Pyrrha said as she and Ryu helped Jaune up but Jaune just sighs "I have an idea! Ryu follow us!" Pyrrha then takes Jaune's hand and takes him back in the direction of the dorms, with Ryu following them.

On the roof of the dorms, Jaune and Ryu look at the Academy on the horizon, "Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but i'm not that depressed." Jaune said, making Pyrrha to push him away from the ledge.

"No! That's not why I brought you up here. 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!" Pyrrha announced to him.

"What?" Jaune asks.

"The three of us can come up here after class where no one can bother us." Pyrrha explains.

"You guys… think i need help?" Jaune asks.

"Jaune, you know that's not what she meant." Ryu said.

"But she just said it." Ryu then sighs.

"You want to know how I unlocked my Semblance?" Jaune looked at him in confusion "When i was little, an evil woman tortured so many of my friends and i wanted to run away from it all. Then my mother came and helped me fight back and run head first towards my foes." Ryu explained.

"...Meaning?" Jaune asks.

"Meaning that everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon! That speaks volumes of what you're capable of!" Pyrrha said but Jaune sighs.

"You're wrong… I don't belong here." Jaune said.

"That's a terrible thing to say. Of course you do!" Pyrrha said but Jaune turns to her and Ryu.

"No, I don't!" Pyrrha and Ryu looked at each other and then back to Jaune with confused looks "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon…"

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asks.

"I mean… I didn't go to combat school, i didn't pass any tests, i didn't earn my spot at this Academy!" Ryu looked a little shocked "...I lied. I got my hands on some fake transcript, and I lied."

"But why?" Ryu asks.

"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! I wanted to be one too. I was just never good enough." Jaune explained.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha couldn't find the words to comfort him.

"Jaune… listen. I know how that feels. You don't want help to become a hero. I thought the exact same thing once." Ryu said.

"But the difference is-"

"This is no difference. I didn't go to a combat school nor did I pass a test. But I was accepted to this school anyway. Jaune… a true hero knows when to ask for help. My mother taught me that and now it's time I pass that down to you." Ryu said.

"But i don't need-"

"You need help Jaune. You don't want to get caught, right?" Jaune nods reluctantly "Then let me and Pyrrha catch you up to speed."

Jaune thought about this for a moment. He knew what Ryu was getting at. He didn't want to feel this way anymore.

"Okay… what do i have to do?" Ryu smiles and knocks Jaune down "Ow! What was that for?!"

"Lesson one: Always expect the unexpected." Ryu said as he helped Jaune up.

"And what's lesson two?" Jaune asks.

"Lesson two is to always count on your friends for help." Ryu said as he yawns "But lesson three will have to wait. We'll officially begin training tomorrow." Ryu said as he and Pyrrha walks back to their dorm rooms, leaving Jaune alone.

Cardin then climbs to the roof and laughs "Oh Jaune…"

"Cardin?!"

"I couldn't help but overhear you three from my dorm room. So, you snuck into Beacon, huh? I gotta say Jaune, I never expected you to be such a rebel." Cardin then gives Jaune a sly smile.

"Please Cardin. Please don't tell anyone." Jaune begged as Cardin walks towards him, placing his arm over Jaune's shoulder.

"Jaune, come on. I'd never rat on a friend like that." Cardin said.

"Huh? A friend?" Jaune asks as Cardin strangles him.

"Of course. We're friends now, Jaunie-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." Cardin said with a laugh as he let Jaune go.

"That being said, I really don't have time to do those extra readings Professor Oobleck gave us today. Think you can take care of that for me, buddy?" Jaune nods fearfully "That's what i thought. Don't worry, Jaune… your secret's safe with me." Cardin said as he climbed back into his dorm room.

However, without either of them knowing, Olette was behind the door to the roof and overheard the conversation Cardin had with Jaune Resorting to blackmail?! I knew Cardin was a bully… but this?! This is wrong! Olette thought as she heard Jaune coming towards the door and she used her semblance to teleport out of there.

Once back at her dorm room, She explains the situation with her teammates "You overheard us?!" Ryu exclaimed.

"Not just that, Jaune cheated his way into Beacon and he's being blackmailed by Cardin?!" Horus exclaimed as well while Riley just sighs.

"I knew it…" Riley said.

"So… what do we do? I mean, we can't go to my mom because if we do then she'll tell Ozpin and Jaune will be expelled." Olette said.

"And we can't stop Cardin either because then he'll just tell everyone that Jaune cheated." Horus pointed out.

"I think our best bet… is to see how the situation plays out." Ryu said as his teammates reluctantly nodded.

"Then, let's see how this goes tomorrow. But for now, let's get some sleep." Riley said as everyone gets into their pajamas.

"That's not a bad idea. We should get some sleep and hope for a miracle…" Horus said as they all lay on their beds and pull their covers over their bodies.

"Maybe an Angel can get Jaune out of this…" Olette said as she fell asleep already.

"Heh… yeah. If only Jaune was so lucky…" Ryu said as he turns the lamp off for the night, Jaune's fate being weighed in Team HORR's minds.