Sup guys, chapter 8. So this chapter happens in Jaunedice, Episode 11. This is the point where you see cases of bullying occur, and Jaye won't stand by and watch it.
Cardin raised his mace above his head. Jaune lay on the floor of the training room, cradling his torso. He watched, helpless, as Cardin raised his weapon.
'Cardin, that's enough.' Glynda announced as a buzzer rang, walking to the front of the training floor, addressing the other students.
'Students as you can see, Mister Arc's aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament style dual, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match.' The blonde teacher stated, tapping on her scroll. The other students stood in front of the raised platform that was the combat area, and Pyrrha looked on at Jaune with a pained expression on her face.
'Mister Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your scroll during combat. Gauging your aura will help you to decide when it is appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more…defensive strategy.' Glynda told the boy, still sitting on the ground, who'd finally pulled out his scroll to check.
'We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf, now would we?' She said sarcastically, and Jaune hung his head.
'Speak for yourself.' Cardin spat, huffing, swinging his mace up onto his shoulder and preparing to leave. Glynda stepped forward to the edge of the platform.
'We have time for just one more match. Any volunteers?' Glynda turned to the crowd, and Cardin smiled.
'Hah! I'll fight the next match. Find me a good opponent, I'm barely even warmed up.' He declared, grinning at Jaune, who was pulling himself off the stage.
'Very well.' Glynda took a customary glance through the crowd. Jaye turned away to avoid making eye contact.
'Mister Ryder, if you would.' She called, pulling out her scroll again. Jaye groaned, dropping his head into his hands, and Yang punched him in the arm.
'C'mon Jaye, give em hell! If you could beat Pyrrha, there's no way you'll lose to this chump.' Yang cheered, and Jaye groaned in protest. Pushing himself out of his seat, he climbed the short flight of steps leading up to the battle area.
Now he stood facing Cardin. The guy was huge, towering over Jaye. Jaye, who was only around five centimeters taller than Ruby, barely reached Cardin's collar. Jaye groaned in protest, and could already hear the laughter amongst the crowd.
'Ready? Begin!' Glynda announced, ringing the buzzer. Jaye immediately turned around.
'I forfeit.' He told her, walking towards the stairs. Glynda regarded him with mild annoyance.
'And why is that?' She asked, the irritation clear in her voice. Jaye paused for a moment mid-stride.
'Because I don't feel like it.' He declared, and resumed his exit. Cardin's face contorted with anger.
'Oh, but I do!' He yelled, charging his much smaller combatant. Jaye sighed, turning to face the maniac. Cardin swung his mace in a horizontal strike, intending to take Jaye's head off.
'Look out!' Yang cried, rising from her seat, and blinked in surprise as Cardin went flying over her head.
It happened too fast for Cardin to react, and far too unexpectedly. The instant before his mace connected with Jaye's head, the smaller boy had ducked, dipping his head slightly so the mace missed him by a hair's breadth. Turning on the spot, Jaye extended his leg in a spinning hook kick, catching Cardin in the face and sending the boy, mace and all, flying off the stage.
Cardin landed in the middle of the crowd, which parted to avoid getting smushed, skidding and bouncing across the ground, sliding to a stop several feet away from the stage. The boy groaned, shaking his head, and staggered to his feet, stumbling for a few moments, before his legs gave way and he dropped face first into the floor.
Glynda assessed the unconscious boy for a moment, looking at him like she was looking at gum on a pavement, before turning back to the crowd, uncaring.
'Remember everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away. It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing!' Jaye quietly made his way down from the stage, making his way as inconspicuously as possible to the door.
'Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale.' Glynda finished, her attention falling back to the unconscious Cardin still on the floor, and she rolled her eyes.
'Will one of Mister Winchester's teammates be so kind as to bring him down to the nurse's office?'
At Lunch
Jaye slapped a hand over his eyes, groaning. He'd intended to simply dodge the blow, but Cardin had moved much faster than predicted. He'd underestimated the towering boy, and thanks to that had reacted instinctively, kicking him to avoid any follow-up attacks. Though, he honestly hadn't expected the blockhead to fly quite that far.
'Still, I've never seen anyone beat Cardin with a single hit so far! That was amazing.' Yang slapped Jaye on the back, nearly making him spit out his mouthful of chicken. Grunting in annoyance, he swallowed, flicking Yang on the forehead. The blonde appeared unfazed by this, and just grinned at him.
'I didn't beat him with a single hit. He slacked his jaw, and he was off balance. That's the only reason he went flying, and the idiot probably panicked and released his aura fortification.' Jaye flipped his fork, trying to make it land point first in his potatoes. He grimaced as he missed for the third time, and the handle of his fork sunk into the gravy.
'That's why he got the crap knocked out of him when he hit the ground. Otherwise, he'd probably have been fine. I'm guessing he's not entirely used to flying.' He finished, attempting to scoop his fork out of the gravy with his spoon.
'Then again with his skill level, he'd better get used to flying. I'm pretty sure even Ruby could kick his ass.' Jaye thought, wiping off his fork. He glanced across the table, noticing Pyrrha staring at Jaune in the corner of his eye.
'So…like I was saying…there we were…in the middle of the night!' Nora continued her story, glaring dramatically across the table.
'It was day.' Ren interjected, sipping from his mug. Nora ignored him with a grin.
'We were surrounded by Ursai!'
'They were Beowolves.' Ren popped in again, his revelation of the actual events failing to derail Nora's storytelling.
'DOZENS OF THEM!' The over-enthusiastic girl shouted, rising from her seat for dramatic effect.
'Two of'em.' Ren shot in again, taking another sip from his mug. Nora continued, undaunted.
'But they were no match! And in the end, Ren and I took them down, and a made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!' Nora sat down, arms crossed, a satisfied look plastered across her face. Ren sighed, his mug now balanced on his palm.
'She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now.' He admitted, and Nora grinned even wider. Pyrrha glanced again at her team leader.
'Jaune? Are you okay?' Pyrrha questioned the dejected blond. Jaune, playing with his food, barely noticed her.
'Huh? Oh, yeah, why?' He replied, dropping his fork, his eyes darting back and forth. Jaye observed him quietly, raising his mug to his lips.
'It's just that you seem, a little not okay.' Ruby stammered, squirming uncomfortably. Jaune picked up his fork again, refusing to make eye contact.
'Guys, I'm fine, seriously look!' The blonde laughed nervously, thrusting up his thumb, grinning awkwardly. Pyrrha looked at him skeptically.
A bout of arrogant laughter distracted them momentarily, and the group looked over to see team CRDL surrounding a rabbit eared girl. Jaye didn't recognize her, so she was likely a second-year student. The four boys encircled the poor girl, trapping her from all sides, while she squirmed uncomfortably.
'Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school.' Pyrrha said, and Jaune clearly flinched at her words.
'Who? Cardin Winchester? Nah…he just likes to mess around, you know? Practical jokes!' Jaune waved his hand dismissively, and Jaye sighed at the blond's stubbornness.
'He's a bully.' Ruby stated, clearly angry, and Jaune avoided her gaze.
'Oh please…name one time he's "bullied" me.' Jaune challenged with nervous laughter, and the members of the table stared at him, Jaye included, incredulously.
'Really?' Jaye stared at Jaune, a look of complete annoyance plastered across his face. Jaune refused to look him in the eye, staring instead down at his untouched food.
'He knocks your books out of your hands when he sees you, he expands your shield when you're not looking, and he even shot you out of Beacon in a rocket-propelled locker!' Jaye slammed his fist down on the table, ready to strangle the boy.
'I didn't land far from the school…' Jaune reasoned unsuccessfully, and Pyrrha put a concerned hand on his shoulder.
'Jaune, you know if you ever need help you can just ask…' She told him, and Nora shot up from her seat.
'Oooh! We'll break his legs!' She suggested, a huge grin plastered across her face. Jaune stood, picking up his tray.
'Guys, really, it's fine! Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me; he's a jerk to everyone!' Jaye shook his head.
'Precisely why I'm with Nora on this one. We SHOULD break his legs.' Jaye told the blond, bumping Nora's outstretched fist in agreement. Their conversation was broken up by a cry of pain.
'Oww! That hurts!' The rabbit-eared Faunus girl doubled over in pain as Cardin pulled on her ears. He only laughed harder at her cry of pain, tugging on it harder.
'Please, stop.' She begged, tears rolling down her cheeks, and Jaye had had enough. He rose from his seat, vaulting over the table.
'I told you it was real.' Cardin laughed even louder, persistently holding on to the girl's ear. Jaye shot his hand out, grabbing Cardin by the wrist.
'Leave. Her. Alone.' He spat through his teeth, tightening his grip till Cardin winced in pain. Releasing the faunus girl's ear, Cardin rose to his feet, pulling his arm out of Jaye's grasp. He squared up to Jaye, glaring down at him.
'Or what? What're you going to do about it?' Cardin shoved Jaye backwards, advancing on the smaller boy. 'You just got lucky earlier, that's all. Why don't you try me now, now that you have my full attention?'
Jaye rolled his eyes at the boisterous prick, shoving him back hard enough that Cardin nearly fell across the table.
'I'm pretty sure you were fully focused in that match earlier. But you still got your ass handed to you.' Jaye shot back, now advancing on Cardin like a tiger who'd found his prey. 'If you think for a moment I'm intimidated by your false confidence, you're dead wrong.'
Jaye stopped right in front of Cardin, bearing down on him. Now it was Cardin's turn to feel helpless. His hand slid across the table, his fingertips brushing against a mug. Grinning he grasped hold of it, swinging it in a wide arc at Jaye's head.
But Jaye had seen Cardin's hand, and had noticed the mug long before the boy had grabbed hold of it. He blocked it with his forearm, the mug shattering against his gauntlet. Cocking his arm back, Jaye socked his aggressor across the face, hard. Cardin stumbled slightly, swinging back wildly. Jaye blocked the blow, wrapping his arm over Cardin's and headbutted him in the nose. Following up by sweeping Cardin's front foot, Jaye grabbed him by the collar and promptly threw him over the canteen table. His team members stood there for a moment in shock, before advancing on Jaye, surrounding him.
Jaye assessed the situation. Three combatants, none armed. He hadn't seen them fight before, but none of them looked like hand to hand combatants. Jaye grinned widely; this was going to be easy.
He felt a brush of air against his hair, and ducked just in time as a fist went sailing over his head. Throwing his head back, he felt it connect with a nose with a sickening crunch. Spinning around, he threw a knee into the offender's gut, creating distance to move. Pivoting on his foot, he turned and threw a crushing left hook into his jaw. The boy, Russel Thrush, crumpled like a puppet whose strings had been cut. He turned to see a blue-haired boy whom he recognized as Sky Lark advance on him.
Blocking the wild haymaker, Jaye countered with a solid right cross to Sky's cheek. Ducking another punch, Jaye kneed him in the gut, doubling him over, and dropped a forearm across his neck. Sky dropped to the floor, leaving Jaye with one combatant.
Dove Bronzewing, the last remaining member of Team CRDL, was unwilling to engage Jaye in a fist fight, seeing that he was clearly outmatched. Swiping a fork off the table, Dove waved it in Jaye's face, earning a laugh from the dark-haired boy. He stabbed with the makeshift weapon, and Jaye grabbed ahold of his outstretched arm, twisting his wrist and removing the fork from his grasp. A swift kick to the midsection stunned Dove, and a spinning hook kick sent him flying over the table to join Cardin.
Russel, who'd managed to get off the floor, swung a tray at Jaye's head. Jaye slipped the blow, kicking the tray out of Russel's hands. Jaye spun in a tornado kick to hook kick combo. Russel managed to evade both, but failed to catch the spinning back kick Jaye executed with the spin from the failed combination. Jaye's foot planted itself in Russel's stomach, and sent him skidding across the floor.
At this point, Cardin had sobered up and regained his senses. Pushing himself off the ground and onto his feet, he flipped the cafeteria table at Jaye, who rolled under the table to avoid it, the table missing him by an inch. The unfortunate Sky Lark, who was in the midst of getting up, was pinned to the floor by the table and was down for the count. Jaye flipped over Cardin's head, kicking him in the back, sending him stumbling into the overturned table. Cardin and Dove, who'd managed to recover, charged Jaye. Jumping between the two boys, Jaye executed a split kick, striking Cardin in the chest and Dove in the head. Dove dropped unmoving to the floor, while Cardin skidded several feet away.
Enraged, the towering boy charged in with rapid punches. However, his large and slow frame made it easy for Jaye to simply slip the blows. As Cardin's fists continued to hit air, he grew increasingly frustrated. Cocking back for a big punch, Cardin stepped forward, giving Jaye the opening he was looking for. Spinning on the spot, Jaye hit Cardin with a spinning hook kick for the second time that day, sending Cardin flying over another table and into Russel, knocking both the boys out. Looking at the groaning boys for a minute, Jaye smiled, satisfied with his work.
'Stop this immediately!' Glynda's voice rang out, and the cafeteria went dead silent. Glynda stalked up to Jaye, glaring daggers at him. Jaye looked at her uncaringly, raising an eyebrow.
'Mister Ryder. Headmaster's office.' The huntress demanded, waving her wand, returning the cafeteria table to its original place. She turned back to Jaye, who was staring at her in disbelief.
'Now, Mister Ryder.' She commanded, and Jaye sighed, scratching the back of his head.
Headmaster's Office
'Jaye, what did we say about behavior.' Professor Ozpin addressed the nonchalant boy, sipping again from his ever-present mug. Jaye shrugged, thrusting his hands into his pockets.
'What happened to behavior policies for the other students?' He shot back, glaring at the headmaster. 'I'm pretty sure bullying counts as a worse crime in the school system than stopping the bullying.'
Professor Ozpin sighed, placing his mug down (it's a miracle!), and pulled up a file on his scroll.
'Here in Beacon, we believe in letting students take the reign on their learning and treatment. If a student is being bullied, it is up to them to either address the problem themselves or voluntarily bring it up to a member of the staff.' Glynda said, walking into the office, stopping by Professor Ozpin's desk. Professor Ozpin sighed, observing Jaye's incredulous look.
'In the end, if the student is unable to stand up for his or herself, or the bullying gets too out of hand, then we will take action. This IS a combat school Mister Ryder, we cannot coddle our students, else how will they fare in the real world, violent and unforgiving as it is now?' He reasoned, his voice calm and level. Turning the tablet towards him, Jaye recognized the image.
'The girl you saved, Velvet Scarlatina? She's a second-year student here at Beacon, and she is by no means weak.' Professor Ozpin put down the tablet, leaning back in his chair. 'If she decided not to do anything about the bullying, then neither we, nor YOU, have any right to decide otherwise.'
'By acting as you did, you may have very well prevented her growth as a person.' The professor rose from his chair, passing around his desk to approach Jaye. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Ozpin observed him quietly.
'I know it's a difficult thing to swallow, trust me, it's difficult to watch these things myself, but we have to learn to discern when it is, or is not, appropriate to help.' He said, returning to his desk. Jaye turned away, refusing to meet the professor's gaze.
'If that's all, then I'll take my leave now.' Jaye muttered, starting toward the elevator. Ozpin watched him go, adjusting his glasses with a sigh.
'Jaye!' He called, and Jaye paused at the elevator doors.
'Please, try to understand. We all have to make hard decisions.' Jaye turned, looking just slightly over his shoulder.
'Yeah, sure.' He stepped into the elevator, hitting the button for the ground floor. Ozpin watched the doors close, retrieving his mug, and quietly sipped from it. Glynda gave a cautious glance at the headmaster.
'Perhaps we should heighten our watch of Mister Ryder, else he takes matters into his hands far more severely than before.' Ozpin looked at her for a moment, crossing his hands in front of his face. He pondered for a moment.
'Very well. But ONLY observation. We cannot interfere with his growth. He must realize his shortcomings on his own, or his enrollment here would be pointless.' The headmaster said, and Glynda nodded, leaving the office.
Professor Ozpin sat by himself, quietly, watching the boy in the elevator on his scroll, pondering.
Alright, that's the end of this chapter guys, hope you're having as much fun reading this as I am!