Winds of Change (Part 3)

"Victory through a simple, smaller soul."

Words that Ozpin had come to embrace as a maxim after thousands of years of bloodshed and tears spilt over fallen kingdoms, comrades, and lovers. The people who he saw die or fall from grace were all flawed humans or faunuses who got caught up in their own desires and their own egos and died.

He had clung to them for a very long time. Ruby Rose's admission and leadership status were primary examples of him acting upon his belief. Summer Rose-while she was alive-was a woman of unparalleled skill. Up until her death, she had never failed her team and her missions alike. A compassionate soul to be certain. Letting angst and anger into one's heart attracted Grimm, so it was necessary for a degree of simple-mindedness and idealism among their leaders to achieve victory against the enemy.

And for the first time in a thousand years, he doubted the validity of his mantra when his favorite student, Ruby Rose, came back beaten and broken from her most recent mission.

But Ozpin recognized that one incident didn't mean that his beliefs were wrong.

Jaune Arc, on the other hand, was a special case.

In a moment of curiosity, Ozpin Osbourne decided to admit a boy so recklessly flawed and selfish to the point where he could have potentially marked himself a criminal by forging transcripts for Beacon academy. Jaune had been accepted on a curious whim. Mostly because he found the boy entertaining for his own selfishness. He let the boy stay and placed him as a team leader to Pyrrha Nikos because he thought it'd be interesting, not because he saw some untapped potential or anything.

Glynda would be absolutely furious if she found out, but secrets were necessary for dealing with such a disciplined woman.

If the boy died, it'd be his fault, but what was one more body among the thousands of others who he had sacrificed for his goal? If he had to keep moving forward, then he was entitled to indulge some of his own curiosity.

Uniting the world didn't require him to be a good person.

Pyrrha's words chilled Jaune to the very bone.

Nervously curious, he opened his mouth to ask exactly what she was sorry for, and her guilty expression and somber tone made him hesitate.

He pushed forwards nonetheless.

"What're you sorry for, Pyrrha?" Jaune scooted up his back along the metal railing of the infirmary bed. "You didn't do anything, did you?"

Bringing her hand to her mouth, Pyrrha hiccupped as her frown deepened. She knew it was too selfish of her to want him to stay even though he'd likely die. Pyrrha hadn't heard of anyone who fought Grimm without the blessing of the Brothers, aura, yet her heart yearned…

When Dr. Monday told her of Jaune's condition, she was unsure of what she wanted, but…

"I'm so sorry, Jaune…"

Oh Brothers, she knew it was wrong of her, she really, really did…

She couldn't even admit it to herself. Her destiny was punishing Jaune because she foolishly believed even she could possibly fulfill it and get what she wanted too. Her hubris.

"You're scaring me, Pyrrha." Nora's and Ren's unconscious forms slumped in the cushioned chairs they had brought in from the dorm. "If this is about me getting hurt, this had nothing to do with-"

"You can't be a Huntsman anymore, Jaune!" Pyrrha cried. All those nights bonding. All those nights training. All those times she would teach Jaune and feel proud of him as he took another step towards his dream every night.

They were all worthless now!

Jaune's facial features darkened as he internally despaired. Even his loving, wonderful partner…

He couldn't finish that thought. It was too painful.

His voice squeaky and small, his frown had trembled as memories he tried so hard to repress overtook his mind.

"W...what do you mean, Pyrrha?" He trembled as he felt liquid build in the corners of his eyes. "I… I thought you'd support… I… I thought you'd believed… "

Pyrrha impulsively interrupted before she could stop herself. "I do! I really do, Jaune! I really do believe that you could become a very successful Huntsman!"

Ren and Nora started to stir.

"Then why?"

"Because your aura is gone, Jaune!" Pyrrha begged, "I don't want to see you die, Jaune!"

"Maybe I don't want to see my son die uselessly in a fight that's not worth it, Jojo!" His father begged his fifteen-year-old son, "so please, PLEASE! Listen to me for once, boy! You don't have the skill to be a Huntsman! You'll never be able to survive out there!"

The boy exploded. "Well, maybe if my dad would actually train me properly, I could actually do well! Maybe if my dad wasn't such a fucking cowardly piece of shit, I could actually stand a chance! Maybe if any of you actually believed in me-"

His blond father sharply slapped his arrogant, idiot son with a deeply miserable expression adorning his face.

Jaune exploded. "Who said I'll die?! Maybe if you-"

Pyrrha flinched in fear.

His eyes widening in shock, Jaune stopped himself by squeezing the right fist in his cast, pain flaring up.

Jaune took a deep breath as he buried his emotional turmoil again.

"I'm sorry, Pyrrha." He wanted to brush his bangs out of his eyes but couldn't. "You're right. If my aura is gone, then I'm basically a dead man if I were to encounter any Grimm or members of the White Fang. Anyone with a brain would leave Beacon if they knew what was good for them."

The fool continued regardless of the obstacles that would lay ahead, and he kept moving forward as he always wished he had.

"But I don't care about what's good for me anymore, and I never was very bright."

A small voice in the back of the redhead's mind sighed in relief, but what Pyrrha wanted and what reality was like were two very different things that rarely ever agreed.

"Jaune please!"

Ren, having woken up from the noise at the beginning of the conversation, discreetly opened one eye as his blood went cold.

"I can hide the casts underneath my uniform and just avoid Goodwitch until it heals." Jaune resumed. "I'll probably tell Cardin for good measure since he still owes me big time for what he did, and it's clear he still feels guilty over it in his own way. I'm pretty sure he just doesn't like to feel indebted to someone else."

After everything and everyone he and Nora had lost, he couldn't afford to risk losing someone else important to him again.

"... I'm sorry, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha was far too kind-hearted to ever go to Ozpin with this news. She loved the boy, and it was clearly obvious, despite Weiss' protests to the possible concept.

"... But I refuse to be miserable again."

The shards of Crocea Mors sat alone, taunting him, and Jaune tossed them aside.

Ren loved Jaune too. Not romantically, mind you. Unlike the Valean language, the Mistralian tongue actually had four different words for each type of love, and Ren was of the opinion that Valeans often misunderstood how they really felt towards one another, especially when it came to relationships.

Storge. The kind of familial love one would share with a family member or someone who they relate to in familiar ways that have otherwise found themselves bonded by chance or fate-if one chose to look at it that way. For example, the kind of love shared between a parent and a child. Or between a brother and a sister.

Philia. The kind of platonic love friends as close as siblings share through a strong bond over common values, activities, or interests. A deeply appreciative love that Ren felt as though most people in the societies of Remnant took for granted.

Eros. The kind of romantic love shared between people who were quote-on-quote in-love or loving. The Valean word for love is often used to refer to this kind of love in particular, but because of the lack of vocabulary for the other types of love in the language, Ren speculated people often confused other types with eros. Note that this kind of love is not raw sexual desire. It's more of a companionship. Ren believed in the difference between "wanting a woman or a man" and wanting one specific woman or man in particular (which was why he found Yang's ideas about love so distasteful). One was purely hedonistic but not unimportant, and the other was spiritual and genuine with some sexual elements.

Then, there was Agape love. The kind of unconditional, divine love that exists regardless of changing circumstances. The most selfless kind of love that Ren personally believed one ought to continually, yet impossibly strive for in their lifetime. The type of love shown towards the Brothers or God by their followers.

Ren's father had a lot of books that Ren would immerse himself in before he died.

Whereas Pyrrha was in eros with Jaune, Ren was in philia with him. He didn't want to see Jaune die either, even if it meant that his relationship with his friend would become strained if he did what he needed to do. What Ren wanted wasn't relevant. He wanted for Jaune to stay, but he knew what was better for him.

Even if Jaune hated him for it.

The corners of Ren's mouth fell.

Nora would likely be upset with him too, at least for a little while, but Ren's own personal feelings were irrelevant to the inevitable fate Jaune would face if he stayed.

So why did his heart hurt like this?

Ren knew why.

But he chose to ignore it.

He wasn't going to lose anyone else.

Junior didn't know what he was looking at.

"Do you have a hitching post somewhere?"

The unknown man had brought a fucking horse into his club. A foul-smelling, hairy horse. On. His. Recently. Restored. Dance. Floor.

Dressed head to toe in a bizarre outfit, the blond man-

…

Junior's mind slowed down to a screeching halt as he registered his situation.

…

Did Junior just have really shitty luck with blonds?

Last time something like this happened…

He got his balls crushed, and his family got hurt.

"Get out."

The man adjusted his star-spangled wristbands, squeezing his right wrist with his left, tightening their grip. The black empty briefcase on the side of his horse told Junior that this man had either lost or been robbed of his cash and other belongings on his person.

The horse shat on his 19,500 lien dance floor before neighing irreverently.

"Oh! I'm sorry, she's normally a very sweet horse. My wife and I got her during our honeymoon, and I-" The man jumped off his horse as he took the leather reins into his right hand. His cowboy boots tracked mud on the dance floor, causing Junior's blood to boil even hotter.

"I don't care about your wife! She can go off and die for all I care! Get your horse out of my club!"

Jeez, where were Melanie and Miltiades when he needed them? Those girls were always off with some guy, gal or whoever or whatever they were into.

Junior genuinely wished his nieces were normal, but, hey, sometimes we can't have nice things.

Whoever this guy was, he clearly didn't like how Junior insulted his wife-his annoyed brow and neutral facial features made that obvious, but this guy was careful, calculating even. He wasn't the type to act irrationally over a meager insult.

"Whatever." The sailor-cowboy pointed at Junior's torso before stopping himself. "This saloon is definitely something else, but you wouldn't happen to have anyone who'd be willing to trade me for some information on this city, would you?"

Did he just call his club a saloon?

Man, Junior-sighing-thought he had enough of this kind of craziness after Roman first showed up.

"Yo, Jauney boy, what's with the cosplay?"

Cardin Winchester was the shit, and he knew it. The boy reveled in his notoriety.

"You racist piece of shit!" Blake Belladonna screeched at him as she ran over to his cafeteria table. "Go off and die!"

Believe or not, Cardin Winchester actually didn't give a shit if someone had animal parts or whatever. He just couldn't stand the sort of victim woe-is-me mentality that shy people used to cope with their own insecurities, and he just used whatever he could to tear them down. Mostly because he used to be that way himself before he got sick of the humiliation he experienced from bullies at his combat school prior to Beacon. His Ma actually always told him that he was a nice kid, and personally, at the time, he felt proud of himself, but now, he despised the idea that he was weak enough to show others something meaningless like compassion.

Compassion didn't make others stronger. One became stronger by facing opposition and humiliation like how he did as a kid before he got sick of it.

And believe or not, Cardin Winchester actually wanted to see others become stronger like how he did. That way, once they recognize their newfound strength, they'd come to agree with him. Made him feel like a proud parent really, whenever they stood up to him.

Cardin-after a long day of working out and playing FPS games with Sky-decided he had earned himself a drink, not that Sky or Dove would approve. Those two were honestly annoying with how well they followed their religious doctrines.

That was how he found himself outside of a club named Two of Hearts.

Spartan kicking the club doors open, Cardin strutted into the club right-foot first.

So imagine his surprise when he found his favorite future acolyte in the middle of the club with-

Wait, was that a horse?!

…

Wait, what was Jaune wearing?!

Brothers damn it, this boy was going to be the death of him. He thought the blond's girlfriend would have at least taught him how to dress himself like a normal person.

"Yo, Jauney boy, what's with the cosplay?"

'Jaune' twisted his head around before ignoring the brat in the armor behind him.

"Well, I know someone who can tell you whatever you need, but I'll be honest, you don't seem like you got the lien." The bearded man interjected. "I can set you up with some jobs, but I don't associate with morons."

"Hey, don't ignore me, Jauney boy!" Cardin walked over to 'Jaune' with a scowl.

'Jaune' turned around again. "Do I know you?"

That baby-dick fuck!

Junior grew more frustrated.

"You know what? I'm done here." Junior pulled out a large club from behind his bar. "I'm not going to entertain this prank anymore."

As Cardin grabbed 'Jaune's' shoulder before attempting to punch him in the face, the man grabbed his arm and-

'Jaune's' hand emitted a golden energy that spun around him at ludicrous speeds before transferring onto Cardin, launching him into the club manager and causing him to squeeze with his right hand onto Junior.

His hand turned and turned until Cardin finally realized what he had been squeezing and twisting simultaneously with the rotating flesh of his hand.

Ouch. That looked really fuckin' painful.

Junior screeched in pain as his aura failed to protect his testicles.

Whatever the man had done, Cardin recognized, was neither a semblance or some other usage of aura.

Aura typically had this static like quality to it that Cardin really couldn't explain, but this was obviously not that.

Furthermore, this was obviously not Jaune either. Was it his father? An older brother?

"LET GO OF MY FUCKING BALLS!"

Oh shit, that was right.

But as Cardin tried to let go…

His grip got even tighter the harder he tried to stop it.

"Now, you'll tell me everything I want to know unless you want your balls to fall off." Johnny Joestar threatened. "You have five minutes until things get really ugly, and I'd rather not see that if you mind, Junior Xiong."

"F-fine! W-what do you-HO-want to know?!" Junior stuttered.

WHY WASN'T HIS AURA WORKING!

"First, where can I find the nearest map of this city? Second, has there been anything strange occurring inside this city? And third, where is Beacon academy?"

"Is that seriously all you fucking wanted?!"

"Answer the question."

Cardin's hand clenched.

"FUCK! OKAY!" Junior's face was riddled with pain. "Men! Give him what he wants!"

Junior's (incompetent) men hesitated as they looked at Johnny fearfully, covering their crotches.

"I SAID GIVE HIM WHAT HE WANTS!"

One brave henchman whipped out a scroll before dragging both Johnny and his horse outside, explaining how it operated to an increasingly confused thirty year old man.

What the fuck was-

Cardin felt a lump before he was finally able to let go.

oh.

His face grew somber yet awkward as he attempted to think about how to break the news to this informant.

"So… how good is your Schnee-approved health insurance?"

"So, boss, I heard you were into younger men-"

"Fuck off, Melanie." Junior depressingly started as he pressed an ice pack to his family jewels.

"We're just saying, uncle, we won't judge-"

"Fuck off, Miltiades."

After Cinder's mysterious disappearance, Mercury Black had decided to crash along with Emerald Sustrai and leaned back in his cushioned chair.

"What's so wrong with two nieces-"

"FUCK OFF, MERCURY!" Junior finished.

Emerald looked at her partner with an amused but disapproving manner before scooting close to him to whisper into his ear.

"You only did that for the comedic rule of three, didn't you."

Mercury shot her a shit-eating grin.

"You know me so well."

Lie Ren stood at a crossroads in front of the Headmaster before summoning his courage to speak.