Author's note: Thank you, all of you. For all the support, all the favs, follows and encouraging reviews. Thank you all so much, for making this huge. This story's got places to go, and we're gonna go to 'em. Without further ado, let's get this show on the road!

Chapter 4: Faunus Rights and Disciplining Huntsmen

Jaune ate from the egg rice in front of him, relishing its taste and alternating between it and the smoked meat. He had to admit: whoever was in charge of meals at Beacon knew what they were doing. For a brief moment, he wondered how the school was able to afford all its facilities. He himself hadn't needed to pay any fees. He supposed that as a Hunter training institute, the place received grants from the government or donations from well-to-do folks. After all, it was in the interest of people to make sure that there were warriors who could keep them safe from Grimm and bandits.

And all the other threats roaming around in the wilds. Jaune had met more than one foe whose name and skills had no mention in any of the classes he had attended here so far. Like his own art of Hokuto Shinken, he suspected there were other forces out there that preferred to keep themselves secret. Like Jotaro's mysterious Stand, a guardian spirit capable of taking physical form, and enormously powerful. Or Vampires like Alucard, who lived among humans, blending in without being noticed.

Yeah, I wouldn't mind meeting either of those guys again.

Speaking of which, he had another class to attend after lunch, one he looked forward to.

Combat Training.

This class was taught by Glynda Goodwitch, and focused more on fighting other humans than on Grimm. Since the styles and weapons used by each student was unique to them, there were no combined drills. Instead, Goodwitch offered personalized advice and exercises to those in need of them. Various situations were simulated, and the basic principles for dealing with them were learnt. A lot of time was spent in one-on-one spars, duels between students. The participants and observers all had much to learn from them. Jaune had come to notice many things during these duels, details about the methods of Hunters, and individual tendencies of the various students, all of which he had filed away carefully in his brain.

"Jaune? You want some of these pancakes?"

He looked up to see the orange haired girl sitting across him. In front of her was a plate on which was a pile of pancakes about the height of an average computer screen, and layered liberally with a syrup so sweet, he felt a sugar rush coming on just from the smell.

How is she going to burn all these calories?

It was a question to which he had yet to find an answer. He suspected it might have to do with her perpetually hyperactive state, something he was gradually getting used to.

"Umm… no, thanks, Nora. I'll leave 'em to you."

She shrugged and proceeded to devour them, finishing off the pile in the space of about three seconds flat. The process was both fascinating and terrifying to watch, somewhat akin to a real-time display of a black hole consuming matter unfortunate enough to be within the pull of its gravity. He shot a look at Ren, who shook his head slightly, indicating it was best not to question it.

Such Zen-like calm. I have much to learn from him.

In the meantime, Jaune decided to stick to his personal needs of carbs, fats and proteins.

Next to him, eating much the same meal was the red-haired girl who had become his partner. Over the past two weeks, Jaune had discovered he had much in common with her. For one thing, she actively engaged in weight training, which he did as well, leading the two of them to work out together. Their diets were similar too. All of this was to maintain strength and muscle mass, which were crucial to both their fighting styles. Not enough warriors were mindful of the fact that the strength of Aura increased with one's vitality and health, and a stronger body had more Aura, which in turn, boosted one's physical abilities even further. It was a powerful loop, and one that both of them made full use of.

In addition to training, they had, despite widely varying methods, strangely similar views on life. They were both curious, and interested in learning more about different peoples, different creatures, different ways of life. They were also both calm and level-headed, something Jaune was thankful for, since he could always count on her opinion in any group exercise.

He shot her a quick glance, and was greeted with a questionable look, to which he responded by shaking his head.

She's reliable. And if it's her, I could probably share my true reasons for coming here. She'd understand. In fact, she'd even be a great help. But…

Jaune was reluctant to drag her further into his life, just as he was with everyone else.

"What's uuuuuup?"

A loud voice drew him out of his reverie. He turned to its source, and noted the arrival of the Gold Dragon of the first years, otherwise known as the Loud One.

Yang frowned slightly at him.

"Why do I suddenly feel the urge to punch you?" she muttered.

"Careful with that anger. Can't be good for the hair."

Almost immediately, Yang yelped slightly, face paling as she brushed her luxurious hair possessively.

It had taken Jaune approximately a week to learn this little hack, which had so far never failed to get him out of a verbal spar with Yang, where she would invariably dominate with a combination of poor puns and accurate one-liners.

"That's ten times now," Ruby muttered, taking a seat next to her sister. Of course, everyone aside from Yang was keeping count of Jaune's use of the method. While they had initially been sceptical, their disbelief had turned to awed admiration when they discovered that he had done the impossible: found a way to quieten the dragon.

"Yes," Jaune whispered, far too ecstatic at the simple victory, as he held out a fist under the table, and felt Pyrrha silently bump it while sighing.

"Sooner or later, she'll figure out your gimmick," she murmured.

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it," Jaune replied.

"Hello, Jaune," said a familiar voice as a presence slipped into the empty seat on his other side.

Almost immediately, he felt his face warm up. Turning his head just barely enough that he was able to make out her face in the edge of his vision, he looked, already knowing who it was.

Weiss gracefully sat down next to him, placing her plate on the table. The whole action was performed naturally, suggesting a sort of familiarity with him. Unconsciously registering that fact, his fact heated up even more. A part of his mind registered the fact that she smelled sweet without being cloying, and before he could stop himself, he took a deep breath. Still looking at her only out of the corner of his eye, he was able to make out that she smiled slightly at him.

Critical hit. Systems at risk.

"Er… hi-hello…" he was able to stutter out.

Real smooth, he chastised himself mentally.

This was sort of a regular thing now. To his relief, he had gotten more or less okay at dealing with the other girls. Weiss was the exception.

Whenever the two met now, she would give him the same slight smile while, almost sly in a way, while her eyes glinted. In a way, it felt like she was teasing him (which, of course, she was, though she wasn't going to admit that anytime soon). For her, it never ceased being funny that the reliable, mysterious one of their year was also a complete goofball when it came to girls. It was entertaining to see his stuttering attempts at maintaining conversation, but there were brief flashes where he occasionally revealed a little about himself, although not deliberately. To Weiss, this was a way to get to know him.

From across that table, Blake rolled her eyes, and Jaune shot her a pleading look, silently begging her not to say anything. She gave a subtle thumbs-up before proceeding to devour an entire fish in much the same way Nora had eaten the pancakes.

"... yo, check out these ears, man."

"Aaaanh! Stop it!"

Jaune heard the girl's voice, clearly in pain. Turning around, he saw what was happening.

It was a second year student Jaune had seen before. The girl was a rabbit Faunus, and at the moment, her ears were being grabbed by Cardin.

"Wow, these are sensitive, huh?"

The scene had clearly been escalating for a while: there was something a crowd gathered around. Which meant… no one had stepped in to do a thing. Blake bit her lips tightly, seeming like she was on the verge of intervening.

"These pigs…" muttered Weiss, also likewise about ready to give them a piece of her mind.

CRDL were known bullies, and more or less black sheep in their own year, due to being mostly disliked. However, they had enough friends in other years that they could continue tormenting people without fear. There were rumours about them being connected in other places too.

Jaune calmly wiped his hands and stood up. As he approached, none of the members of CRDL heard him, until he was standing right next to Cardin. Grabbing him by the wrist, he forced him to let go, and kept his grip on the boy's arm.

"That's enough."

Cardin frowned slightly, almost as if unable to believe anyone would dare stand up to him.

"You're feeling brave, aren't you-"

He stopped when he realized he was unable to pull his arm free. His eyes widened slightly. Jaune didn't appear to be trying very hard. Ultimately, he let go by himself, turning around a little to whisper quietly to the Faunus girl.

"Are you OK?"

She nodded.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"You can go if you want. I'll take care of the rest."

She appeared slightly fearful, until Jaune smiled reassuringly.

He was kind, but she noticed his back was broad… and there was something about him that said that he knew what he was doing.

She nodded and backed away, but didn't leave.

"Why, you little piece of shit, you think you're some kind of white knight-"

"Combat class is in ten minutes," Jaune said softly. "Why don't we settle it there?"

Cardin's eyes widened for a second, before they gleamed with malice as he grinned.

"Fine. We'll settle it there."

As he and his friends walked away, murmuring broke out. The scene had drawn several observers, all of whom were abuzz. While fighting was pretty much the order of business at Beacon, this fight was personal. And that meant there were stakes.

Which meant… this was going to be good.

First, second and third years texted each other, and within minutes, the news had spread like wildfire. By the time Combat Class rolled around, the Training Hall was packed.

Of course, there were no rules against students gathering to watch other classes. And at the moment, anyone who wasn't actually in class was in the Hall, in the stands.

Goodwitch, of course, was not part of the student rumour network, but looking at the jam packed Hall, she knew something problematic was about to occur. Shaking her head, she asked the question.

"Who would like to volunteer first?"

All eyes turned to the single raised arm.

Jaune Souther stood up.

"I'll go first."

Goodwitch's eyes widened in alarm.

Jaune had so far not fought a duel in Combat Class, and she had been happy about that fact. His abilities were unknown, different from anything she had encountered before, and she already knew that his skills were far above any first year student to match. It was to everyone's benefit that he had not chosen to take part yet: there wasn't an opponent in the year who was ready for him.

But he had volunteered now. And she had no way to refuse other than outright announcing that he outclassed all of them.

Biting her lips, she nodded.

"Very well, step into the arena."

Jaune began to make his way down, when Nora whispered.

"Break his legs."

Turning back, Jaune sent her a grin that froze her in place.

"I'll be breaking much more than just those."

He calmly walked down the stands and onto the platform.

Goodwitch looked around.

"And who would like to be his opponent?"

Cardin raised his hand, grinning.

"I'll do it. I'll take that punk on."

Goodwitch all but facepalmed. She knew exactly where this was going.

And once more, she couldn't stop him.

"Fine. Get in the arena."

As he began to come down, Jaune spoke.

Shouldering his mace, Cardin made his way down to the arena, clad in full armour. Jaune, of course, was wearing his leather travel clothes.

When the two of them were standing across from each other, Goodwitch spoke.

"Begin."

Cardin started to walk towards Jaune.

"So, Mr. White Knight. Guess we finally-"

He never finished what he was saying.

A foot smashed him in the stomach, sending him flying backwards. He landed on his front and skid back, armour scratching the ground.

"Slow and unprepared. How did you make it to Beacon?"

Jaune was advancing now, walking with his arms by his sides. His demeanour was completely different from his normal unassuming self.

Cardin struggled and pushed himself up to his feet.

The front push kick was a basic move. With his mace, he should have had the advantage in reach. In addition, the fear of getting hit with something that heavy should have prevented opponents from attacking head on. A move like that kick shouldn't even have happened.

But it had.

And it had been too quick for him to react to.

He shook his head.

Caught me off guard, he thought. Won't happen ag-

A fist hurtled towards his face. He felt his aura block the punch, but the force of it snapped his head back, and he had to tilt his body to avoid having his neck broken. Before he could even begin to think about what to do, a second punch connected with his solar plexus, denting his armour.

It felt heavier than a sledgehammer. All the breath had been knocked out of him, and the dented armour was making it hard to draw more in. The sheer pain of it temporarily robbed him of all thought and speech.

The crowd was dead silent.

Seniors had come expecting a fun show.

Instead, they were watching a systematic beatdown.

With his opponent incapacitated, Jaune casually stepped beside him, and effortlessly, contemptuously, swept his legs from under him while shoving his head, sending him sprawling on the ground.

While Hokuto Shinken had a myriad of lethal techniques, it drew techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Western Boxing, Wrestling, and many other schools. In other words, Jaune was more than equipped to discipline someone without killing them.

And… he was pissed.

He had seen it before in the wilds. Huntsmen taking advantage of the weak. Women, children. Those who couldn't fight. Faunus.

As then, so now.

He didn't tolerate it then, and he wasn't going to start now.

Cardin's aura was nearly in the red, but it didn't matter. The fight was already over, but not officially so.

Jaune reached out and pulled his mace out of his grip. Holding the head with one hand, he punched it with the other. An impact like hammer on anvil rang out.

"No way…" said Yang.

The mace's head had a fist shaped depression in it.

Again, Jaune struck it.

And then a third time. And a fourth. Finally, with one last punch, the former weapon was rendered about as flat as a frying pan.

Cardin at this point was backing away from him. He wanted to not be in the same room, school, or continent as this monster in front of him, that had managed to demolish a handcrafted reinforced Grimm killing weapon with his bare hands.

"What's the matter? You aren't prepared to die? That's a shame. Everyone else here is. That's the risk we all took when we came to Beacon. The rest of us are ready to die to protect the innocent. You're the harrassing them. You should be ready to die for that. So tell me: was it worth your life?"

Cardin looked towards Goodwitch, but she couldn't help. Jaune hadn't broken any rules, and psychological tactics such as words and intimidation were fair play in Combat Class.

Cardin backed away until he fell off the platform, with his Aura in the yellow.

Dead silence in the Hall.

"So a pathetic coward in the end. I hope you all saw that."

Jaune turned to everyone watching. He had made this a spectacle on purpose.

"This is what a bully looks like on the inside. Take a good look. It's the sort of scum you should strive not to be."

"The match is over," said Goodwitch. "Mr Winchester has lost via ring out."

She wanted to end this humiliating display as quick as possible. While it was clear there was some kind of subtext to this "fight", it had been hard to watch a formidable Hunter-in-training get utterly beaten in every way.

What made it even worse was that Jaune hadn't even been trying to defeat him. It was more like he was making an example out of him.

She received a message on her scroll and checked it.

"All right. We will move on to the next fight. Mr Souther, you should go see the Headmaster in his office. He has asked for you."