A/N: Sorry this is late, I know.
"L-let me out!"
Jaune banged on the inner door of the locker.
He'd been pushed inside it by someone - probably Cardin, and the guy had locked the door.
"H-hey!" Jaune called from inside as he heard the sounds of buttons being pushed, probably setting up a destination, "W-wait! Waiiiit!"
Jaune felt the Dust engine roar below his feet, shaking the whole locker and launching itself in the air.
"G-gah...!" Jaune gasped, feeling the brutal change of altitude.
Crap, Jaune had been through plenty of annoyances before, but this was just too much. He might actually die from this, since Jaune still didn't know how to land properly! Why was he doing this?
...Now that the locker was rising like a rocket in the air, there wasn't any risk of breaking anything else... so Jaune closed his eyes and channeled his semblance to break out.
Crack!
In a flash of white light, Jaune blew every part of the locker away as if he had exploded from inside it.
He opened his eyes in panic, and he was falling.
The world rushed around him in a blur, and he knew the painful crash was coming soon.
"Aaaaah!" He screamed in panic, his senses in disarray, mouth agape.
It went fast, yet slow, almost suspended.
Soften the landing. Jaune thought hurriedly. Turn it into sand...!
How did I do it the first time?
Jaune didn't remember! He couldn't think straight!
He was going to impact the ground!
"Aaah!" Jaune clenched his eyes shut.
His body suddenly stopped moving as he felt something catch him.
Jaune opened an eye, unsure of what happened.
"...?"
Someone had caught him in his arms right before he impacted the ground.
A giant man with a big sword.
Jaune sighed in relief, his body relaxing. What a scary experience.
"What do we have here?" A girl's voice called behind the big man.
"Don't know," the man grunted, putting him down on his feet. "He fell off the sky."
Jaune staggered for a moment as he restored his balance, still shaken by the experience. He took a look at the duo.
"People can't fall off the sky, Yatsu." The girl replied. "He fell down the sky."
The guy was tall and athletic-looking, with shaved-short black hair and tanned skin, wearing mostly pale-green and brown attire.
The girl had fair skin, short dark-brown hair, and wore sunglasses. She had wavy locks on one side of her face, dyed with dark brown and transitioned to a caramel color.
She also wore very stylish clothes and way too many accessories to count.
"...Hello there," Jaune greeted, waving his hand at her and turning to the big man. "Thanks for catching me, er..." He remembered his name. "...Ya... tsu...?"
"Yatsuhashi Daichi." He groaned.
"What?" Jaune blinked.
"Yatsu." The girl nodded.
"Oh."
"And I'm Coco."
"I'm Jaune Arc, nice to meet you."
"Oh, you're that guy in first year. I've heard of you." She looked him up and down, curious.
The teachers had warned the classes and informed them all of Jaune's dangerous semblance, so it was no surprise some people knew his name.
"So how come blondes fall from the sky nowadays?" She asked with a smirk.
"Um..." Jaune hesitated, "Remember that one bullhead, from the day before Initiation?"
"Yeah, the one that crashed?"
"Yes. That's how."
"Oh." Coco raised an eyebrow. "Where's the bullhead then?"
"It was a locker this time actually," Jaune said.
"Really. You decided to take a nice flight with a locker, huh?"
"N-no... Someone pushed me inside it."
"Couldn't you have gotten out before the locker launched itself into the sky?"
"The door was locked."
"But from what I've heard, that shouldn't be a problem for you, right? Words on the street you're a special student that can break stuff. Just break the lock or something."
Jaune narrowed his eyes.
So she was one of these people, that thought they always knew better, huh.
If there was one type of people Jaune didn't like, it was the ones telling him how to use his power.
"I could," Jaune admitted reluctantly, "But I would have probably destroyed a part of the building too. It's very dangerous."
"The building?" She chuckled in disbelief, "Surely it's not that bad."
"It is that bad." Jaune groaned.
"Care for a demonstration, then?" She dared.
This girl...
"No, sorry."
"Why not?"
"I just told you, it's too dangerous."
"You're no fun."
"...Semblances aren't supposed to be toyed with," Jaune stated. He was very serious about this topic.
"Damn. You're really no fun." She sighed. "Not like I can understand what you mean, I still haven't unlocked mine." She shrugged. "Still, you should loosen up a little, rookie." She suggested, "Get some nice clothes and go party."
"..." Jaune's eye twitched, starting to get annoyed. "Why would I waste my precious money on that? Not everyone can spend all their wallet on a handbag and pretty clothes."
Not like Jaune had any money to spend, to begin with.
"Hey!" She protested, putting her hands on her hips, apparently upset. "I'll have you know there are plenty of nice clothes around in Vale for an affordable price. Appearances count, you know, it would be like an investment for you."
"I can think of numerous things that would make for a better investment..." Jaune replied.
"Wow. I think we found someone worse than Velvet, Yatsu."
I don't like this girl, Jaune decided in his mind.
She probably was one of these rich girls who judged people by the clothes they wore.
"He's right, though," Yatsu grunted, making Jaune grin widely at the big guy. "You do spend too much on clothes and accessories."
"Yes, but better too much than strictly nothing." She replied. "I mean... Look at yourself, rookie."
"M-my name is Jaune." He corrected.
"Right. How old are those clothes, rookie?"
"...Uh... Two years old, I think?"
"What?" She gasped as if he heard him drop a particularly offensive statement. "Two years old?! What in the world- How - Did these clothes grow with you?"
"No, when I got them, they were extra large, so that I can grow into it, to make them last longer," Jaune explained, a bit embarrassed.
"...Maybe you should ask the school for better clothes, rookie." She suggested.
"But I don't need better clothes?" Jaune frowned, confused. "These fit me just fine..."
Why is this girl so obsessed with clothes?
"Listen here, rookie," Coco said.
"...Stop calling me rookie."
She grabbed his shoulder, drawing him closer.
"Have more confidence in your own value." She whispered as if she was telling him some important secret. "If the school went out of their way to offer you a scholarship, that's because they value your potential.
"Ask for some spare money to get better clothes. Believe me, they're not going to refuse if it's coming from you, the precious special student of the school."
Jaune hummed. "I don't think I'm that special, though..."
"Doesn't hurt to ask, right? Especially if you are so broke."
"But, asking something like this... Isn't it overstepping my boundaries?" He questioned, very reluctant at the idea of begging for money.
"Not really. They offered you a whole four-years scholarship, I would say a little spare money is nothing compared to that."
"Right..." Jaune nodded hesitantly, "I'll... uh... I'll consider it."
"Great!" She clapped his back.
Crack!
HIs semblance lashed out at the unexpected attack!
"Aouch!" She gasped in pain and staggered backward. Visible cracks appeared on her Aura and spread to her arm. "What the hell!"
"S-sorry!" Jaune raised his hands. "I didn't do it on purpose! Are you okay?" He asked, worried.
"Jeez, you're a real bundle of nerves, aren't ya." She groaned, shaking her arm. After a few seconds, her Aura glowed back and restored itself on her hand.
"The teachers were not exaggerating, I see," Yatsu commented.
"I'm really, really sorry..." Jaune apologized, ashamed.
Had she not have Aura, his semblance would have broken her arm.
"It's fine," She shrugged, rubbing her hand. "But, damn, that... that really hurt, actually." She groaned, checking her scroll. "Holy- I lost sixteen percent Aura from that...?!"
"I-is that a lot?" Jaune asked hesitantly, concerned.
"Considering you did not move a muscle, it is very powerful," Yatsu stated with a surprised expression on his face.
"E-er..." Jaune scratched his head bashfully, "Coco, please don't clap my back so hard again..."
"Well, it's a good thing I wasn't coming back from a combat class, or you'd have finished me off!" She laughed and slapped his shoulder recklessly.
"C-careful..." Jaune warned, stepping away from her.
This girl, even though she just got her Aura damaged, she didn't seem to mind...
Usually, people started avoiding him after something like that happened, but not her.
She was strong, huh... Maybe Jaune was wrong about this girl.
"Aw, you're all concerned for me." She teased, "That's just adorable."
"This is not a joke." Jaune insisted, seriously worried that he was going to break one of her limb, "This is very dangerous!"
"All right, all right." She chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Well, it was certainly interesting meeting you, rookie." She said, "We'll let you ride your lockers in peace now."
"R-right... Um, thanks again for saving me, Yatsu." Jaune said.
"Don't mention it, Jaune." He grunted back.
"See you later!" Coco waved. "Or not!"
With that, the duo walked away.
Jaune sighed heavily, looking down at himself.
A change of clothes, huh? Did he look that bad?
Should he really ask Miss Goodwitch for some money? Jaune didn't want to play the beggar.
Anyway, there were more important issues to take care of first.
Jaune sighed again as he thought back to Cardin.
Getting launched in a locker like that...
What was next? This needed to stop.
Later.
Jaune didn't share much of Cardin's annoyances with his team. He felt like this was something he had to deal with alone, and he didn't want to bother his teammates that he was already slowing down, to begin with.
Besides, they were already aware of it, so no need to complain again.
So, Jaune went back to his team without saying a word.
"And so this move will be called… Ice Flower!" Ruby exclaimed.
"I suppose it fits," Weiss allowed.
Team RABW was now gathered outside in the Emerald Forest, on their leader's demand.
According to Ruby, they needed to make special moves to better work in pairs, improve teamwork, and overall communication between teammates.
Practice makes perfect, Ruby had said, as the more time they spent dealing with Grimm in the Emerald forest – as a team – the better they became at making proper calls, and work all the more smoothly.
"Grimm to our right," Jaune called, "Behind the second rock."
"I see it," Blake confirmed.
Another idea that Ruby was slowly hammering into their heads: by quickly communicating an enemy's position to the team, swift and coordinated action became possible, allowing the team to work as a well-oiled killing machine.
"He's hurt," Blake said after landing a couple of gunshots on him.
"I got him," Weiss confirmed.
"Good job, team!" Ruby called. "Let's continue to practice. Separate in pairs again," She ordered, "Checkmate and Lancaster."
They all nodded and separated, Jaune and Ruby on one side, Weiss and Blake on the other.
Jaune looked at Ruby who walked rapidly in front of him, her scythe deployed.
She was taking this training very seriously. She had that little spark in her eyes, that made it feel like she knew exactly what she was doing, somehow.
As expected of a fifteen-year-old genius, Jaune supposed.
"Grrr…"
"I hear something!" Jaune called instantly.
"Me too!" Ruby nodded, narrowing her eyes. "From the right."
"And the left!"
"We're surrounded," Ruby stated, looking around them. "Perfect timing. Jaune!" She turned her eyes to him and smirked. "Crescendo Blast!"
Jaune perked up at the call, knowing exactly what to do as the Grimm was coming closer to them.
He slammed both his palms on the ground and channeled his semblance.
Crack!
The ground shattered in a wide radius around them, making all the adjacent Grimm lose balance.
Meanwhile Ruby had jumped right before Jaune created his seismic assault, which meant she had been unaffected.
Jaune quickly planted his feet into the ground, knowing what was coming.
Using her semblance, she dashed around him in a circle and spun her scythe around him several times, pulling the Grimm towards them with each hit. Like a reaping whirlwind, grasping all Grimm around and cutting some of them in half, while the others were pulled and thrown towards its center.
Then Ruby flew again in the air, leaving a mass of Grimm all around Jaune.
Jaune closed his eyes, remembering the face of Cardin Winchester.
And he channeled his semblance just as the Grimm were all about to tear him apart.
"Raaaah!" He screamed, releasing his anger and frustrations into the attack.
Crack! Boom!
The mass of Grimm exploded, blasted away from Jaune. Completely obliterated!
One of the only things he had learned out of Miss Goodwitch's training: if Jaune channeled his semblance with anger or rage, the effect became even more powerful.
Useful to know, but not helpful when it came to restraining his semblance and learning self-control.
"Few…" Jaune exhaled, glad that it was over, while a bunch of black limbs and blood rained around them.
"Got'em!" Ruby exclaimed as she landed back in front of him. "Hah!" They shared a high-five. "Gosh, I'll never get tired of that move! That was soooo cool."
Spinning around Jaune and using Ruby's scythe to pull the Grimm towards him, before Jaune blasted them all in one single, efficient attack.
Such was the move that they – well, mostly Ruby – had created: Crescendo Blast!
"And it has a cool name, too." Jaune smiled.
"Yeah!" Ruby grinned. "Now let's move on! We don't want to fall behind."
"Yes!" Jaune nodded.
At first, they had tried the move that Ruby had mentioned in Initiation: Ruby grabbing Jaune and making them go super fast with her semblance.
But... it just didn't work.
They had discovered, that when Ruby touched him, she could not use her semblance to make them go fast.
This was perhaps the greatest discovery about Jaune's semblance so far.
It seemed he could not be affected by other people's semblances.
This meant that Ruby could not make the two of them burst in rose petals, however hard she tried.
This included Weiss' glyphs. Jaune could not use Weiss' glyphs as platforms like Ruby and Blake could, if he tried, he would just break the glyph. And of course, he could not be buffed by her time-dilation glyph, either.
Same with Miss Goodwitch's telekinesis: it was impossible for her to lift him in the air.
At first, his teammates had been a bit disappointed to find that out, as Weiss' glyphs were very convenient to use for support and teamwork, but they quickly cheered up.
After all, Jaune may be unaffected by the positives, but the same went for negatives.
If a semblance that paralyzed a target existed, for example, then Jaune would probably be immune against that. As long as he had some Aura left, at least.
Was the problem that he could not 'actively' control his Aura?
Or was it just a 'passive' effect of his semblance?
Jaune did not know.
However, they had quickly discovered that the same could be said for Dust.
Jaune could not use Dust.
One would think that if Jaune were to touch a Dust crustal, then it would naturally break and explode, right?
Wrong.
If he touched a dust crystal, it would lose its energy without exploding and become transparent.
It 'broke' the Dust crystal, in such a way that it didn't explode, which made dust completely useless for him.
Jaune had a theory about this. After breaking so many things, he was slowly beginning to understand that the meaning of 'breaking' could vary greatly from one object to another.
One could say that the dust explosion was the expected use of a Dust crystal.
Then, 'breaking' the Dust Crystal would mean making sure it did not explode.
This was why sometimes when Jaune held a scroll, it was running out of energy. Because the Dust crystal fueling it had simply been depleted.
Well, it was much safer this way, Jaune supposed, so he was glad he didn't have an explosion on his hands every time he touched a scroll.
However, with each discovery, Jaune realized it more and more.
There was a lot of different ways to 'break' things.
Turning things into sand, dismantling a bed, breaking a scroll without touching it, damaging Aura, depleting dust crystals, negating semblances.
What else could be possible?
At this point, the possibilities might as well be infinite.
Right now, however, Jaune could not care less about all of this. He did not need all of this.
All he wanted, was to learn how to shut down his Semblance for good.
With Yang.
"Haaa!"
Yang dashed forward and threw a punch with all her strength.
"Oof!" Ren gasped as her fist impacted his belly, which sent his body crashing into the wall.
Their classmates winced at the brutal finisher move.
Well, calling it a finisher move was a bit exaggerated. The only thing Yang did was the usual punching, except her semblance had been enhancing her strength.
"And that's the match." Miss Goodwitch declared.
"Sorry, Ren," Yang said as she walked to him, giving him a hand to stand up.
"All good," He managed to smile, "A spar is a spar. I am slowly learning your fighting style, perhaps I will beat you next time."
"Dream on," Yang grinned.
Another victory in the bag.
She was ranked second best in combat class, with the first place belonging to the Invincible Girl, her dear partner Pyrrha.
The two of them formed the most powerful duo of Beacon and destroyed everyone else.
"Miss Xiao-Long." Miss Goodwitch called, "Until now you have not been punished by your strategy. However, such a way of fighting is punishable by someone with enough strength to match your own."
"Yeah... I don't see that happening though." Yang replied.
In terms of physical strength, Yang was the strongest.
Not just in Beacon. The strongest, period.
With her semblance boosting her, she was always coming out on top of any contest of physical strength.
"Just remember that you will not always be able to charge in so recklessly. Take your last fight against Miss Nykos for example." Miss Goodwitch said. "Speed and technique can easily overcome brute strength."
Yang winced. "Yeah, I know..."
Pyrrha, of course, was the exception. She dodged almost every attack, and even when Yang managed to land a blow, her shield tanked the majority of the damage.
"Good job, Yang." Pyrrha smiled when she and Ren came back, "You're really merciless."
"Just like you, Pyrrha," Yang replied, and they shared a smirk.
Being the two at the top, they felt a certain common understanding between them. Though Yang had to admit, Pyrrha was still a good cut above her.
"Ren!" Nora called her partner, "Are you okay?"
"I'm good, Nora," Ren replied. "I've still got some Aura."
"I can't wait for the Vytal tournament," Yang grinned, "We're gonna kick everyone's asses."
Pyrrha hummed in agreement.
"Nora," Ren protested in annoyance as the red-head continued to examine him. "I told you, I'm fine."
"But your face is all red. Let Nurse Nora take care of this for you..."
Ren shuddered at the name.
"I think he's going to be fine, Nora." Pyrrha laughed, coming to his rescue.
"How cute, you're worried for him~" Yang teased, poking Nora in the side.
"Gah! This isn't what you think!" She brandished her fist in the air, "If one of my teammates gets injured then I'll break the legs of the ones responsible!"
"Ah?" Yang paused, her grin freezing.
"Lucky for you, he seems to be just fine!"
"Eh? But I'm your teammate too!" Yang protested.
"Oh really? Nevermind! I think I'll punish you after all!" Nora grinned evilly, "Tickle attack!"
"Gaaah!" Yang giggled as Nora jumped on her and started grabbing her sides. This girl was crazy!
"Xiao-Long! Valkyrie!" Miss Goodwitch roared. "If you can't stay silent, get out of my class!"
"..."
"..."
Yang and Nora blushed in embarrassment at the call out, as the rest of the students turned to look at them.
"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha said her usual line and waved.
"Yaaang..." They heard Ruby groan under her breath.
"It's always these two," Weiss muttered to her partner. "Troublemakers..."
That's right. Yang and Nora were the troublemakers of the class and were giving Pyrrha and Ren plenty of trouble for it.
Though they didn't seem to mind it too much.
"Haaa, what am I going to do with you two." Pyrrha sighed under her breath.
"You'll get used to it." Ren chuckled, giving her a pat on the back.
"Haha..." Yang and Nora exchanged a nervous laugh.
Yeah... This team was awesome.
"She started it, though," Nora said.
"Wha-? You bitch!"
With Jaune.
It happened one day.
Jaune was checking his lockers as usual, though he did not have much stored into it.
It was a day like any other, in the middle of the week.
"Hm? What's this?"
Jaune frowned as he found an envelope inside his locker.
"Huh?" He picked it up to examine it.
There was a pink heart on it.
Eh?
"This…" Jaune widened his eyes.
This letter. Could it be…
Jaune's heart skipped a beat. He blushed and opened the envelope, gulping in anticipation.
There was a message inside.
He read it:
Jaune Arc,
I have seen how much you struggle every day, and you inspired me to do better. I think you are cute.
If it's okay with you, meet me in the Emerald forest this afternoon, I would like to tell you something.
Whaaaaaat?!
Jaune's face turned red as his imagination began running wild.
This really was a love letter?! To Jaune? Incredible!
"She didn't say her name…" Jaune wondered dreamily, "I wonder if she's cute…"
Later.
"Hmm, hmm, hmmm."
Jaune hummed a little happy tune under his breath as he sat with his team in the cafeteria.
"You seem in an awfully good mood," Weiss remarked.
"Did something good happen?" Ruby asked, curious.
"A-ah…" Jaune flushed. "Well… Hehehe… Huhuhu."
"…"
His three teammates exchanged a weird glance.
Jaune couldn't help the giggling. He was happy.
He had never been noticed by any ladies in the past, yet now he was being called cute and inspiring? He couldn't help but be ecstatic!
After all, he was at that age, where the notion of having a girlfriend - even for a very short time - meant everything.
His imagination was already running wild as he imagined himself going on dates with a girl he had never even met!
This was just the kind of normal thing that Jaune had always wanted to have, ranked up there right next to friends and family.
"What's so funny?" Ruby wondered, shaking his arm. "Come ooon. Tell us!"
"Ahaha…" Jaune scratched his head happily, "I'm just happy. I think... Someone is going to confess to me!"
"…What!" Ruby gasped, her eyes widening. "Holy crap! How did that happen?" She gushed, shaking his shoulder, "Tell me everything!"
"I received a love letter!" Jaune claimed proudly, pulling out the said letter. "Here!"
"Whaaat?" Ruby squealed and grabbed the letter. "I thought this thing didn't happen in real life and only in mangas!"
"A love letter?" Weiss frowned, exchanging a weird glance with her partner. "That… Seems…"
"Weird." Blake nodded, narrowing her eyes. "Who writes love letters nowadays?"
"Eeeeeh! It's not a love letter." Ruby protested after she read it. "She just gave you a rendezvous in the Emerald forest!"
"The Emerald forest?" Blake frowned. "Why there and not behind the dorms? Sounds sketchy to me."
"The hand-writing too is a bit…" Weiss wondered. "And why this afternoon? Why not right now?"
"Maybe she has class." Jaune shrugged, still grinning widely.
"During lunchtime?" Weiss raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"She may be busy eating, I don't know," Jaune replied.
"…And she didn't sign with her name." Blake frowned, her ears flattening on her head.
"But she called me cute," Jaune pointed out happily.
"...I have a bad feeling about this," Blake muttered, ignoring his comment. "This must be some kind of trap."
"A trap?" Ruby repeated, considering the idea. "Hmm… Doesn't that sounds a bit paranoid, Blake?"
"No, she's right. The more I think about it, the more it seems unlikely." Weiss mused.
Jaune narrowed his eyes at them, pouting.
"Is it really that unbelievable that a girl would write me a love letter?" He asked, a little upset.
"Well… Yes." Weiss answered bluntly.
"Pretty much," Blake agreed.
Wow… Okay then.
"Er… It does sound a bit weird." Ruby scratched her head, uncomfortable. "Not because it's you! Because it's a love letter. A love letter! I mean, I've never heard about that…"
"…I don't care." Jaune scoffed stubbornly and turned away from them. "You'll see."
"You're still gonna go?" Blake tilted her head to the side.
"It's obviously some kind of prank, Jaune!" Weiss warned. "You shouldn't."
"You don't know that, Weiss." Jaune cut her and stood up to leave. "On the off chance that it's not a prank, and a girl really is waiting for me to come, then it would be too cruel to ignore her anyway, right? So I have to go."
"I guess so…" Ruby nodded awkwardly, watching him. "Wait! Right now?" She called after him as he walked away, "You're already going?"
"No. Just taking a break from you guys," Jaune said, honestly fed up with them at the moment.
They watched him leave quietly, heading back to the lockers room.
"Umm… I think you guys were a bit too harsh," Ruby said to Weiss and Blake. "I mean... What if it really is a true love letter?"
Weiss and Blake gave her a flat, unimpressed look.
"I know you're younger, Ruby," Weiss sighed, rolling her eyes, "But surely even you know that writing a love letter is not… usual."
"It's just weird," Blake agreed. "It just doesn't happen for students like us. This isn't like some bad fanfiction."
"Then why didn't you tell him that, instead of bashing him?" Ruby protested, hands on her hips.
"Bashing? We only told the truth." Weiss replied, crossing her arms.
"He is too naive." Blake nodded along. "The world isn't like a fairy tale, he needs to understand that."
"…You cold women! Don't be surprised when people call you Ice Queens!" Ruby pointed an angry finger at them, and…
Splashed them with a glass of water.
"Water Splaaashhhhh!" Ruby shouted the name of her special attack in a dramatic tone, and before anyone could react, she bolted away with her speed semblance.
"…"
"…"
Weiss and Blake glanced at each other, stunned by what just happened.
"Oooh! Looks like the pussy is wet and the ice queen has melted!" Yang's voice commented from far away, followed by a giggle from Pyrrha and a couple of tired groans.
"…"
"…"
Meanwhile.
Jaune sighed as he slowly walked back to his locker.
On the way, he kicked the ground, frustrated.
These girls, they seem so sure that no one would write him something sweet like a love letter.
What was so surprising about that?
Sure, it sounded a bit weird, but maybe the girl didn't know that. Maybe the girl was weird too!
Did they think he had no charm whatsoever? That no girl in their right mind would date him?
He was going to show them.
"..."
Jaune examined the letter again.
It looked like a girl's handwriting, it was very delicate. What was Weiss going on about?
Yeah, this really was the real deal. Jaune was certain of it.
He carefully put the letter inside his locker and closed it.
He didn't want to accidentally rip the letter apart with his semblance.
"…?"
Jaune suddenly spotted something weird to his right.
It was a locker.
For some reason, this locker's door had been blown wide open.
"..."
Jaune approached the locker, curious.
"..."
He recognized the location of this locker.
"..."
This locker, it was Ruby's, wasn't it?
"..."
And the door was... torn open...?
Hm?
"…This… is…" Jaune widened his eyes as he looked inside.
Inside the locker was Crescent Rose, Ruby's giant scythe.
The remnants of Crescent Rose.
The giant scythe was broken in multiple pieces.
"Huh?" Jaune blinked, his heart clenching itself, reaching his hand to grab one of the pieces.
It was completely broken. The pieces seemed to have been smashed with brutal strength, making the weapon collapse on itself...
"No..." Jaune lamented, already imagining Ruby's teary eyes in his head.
This… Did Jaune somehow break Ruby's scythe?
"...Did I do this?" He wondered.
Jaune was automatically blaming himself!
After all, when he came to breaking things, he was always the number one suspect.
But...
Jaune shook his head as he searched in his memories.
No, no, no, he didn't touch Crescent Rose...
He never touched Crescent Rose ever, actually! That didn't make sense.
Huh? What was this? Jaune didn't understand.
Why was Ruby's scythe all broken up like this?!
"Jaune!" Ruby's voice called from behind him. "I'm sorry if I… didn't…"
Ruby's voice died in her throat, her eyes widening, focusing on the remnants of her weapon.
Jaune looked back at Crescent Rose, and the broken piece in his hand, and then back at Ruby.
"J-jaune…" Ruby's voice shook as she looked at him, disbelieving. "What… What is this?"
Jaune dropped the piece and raised his hands nervously.
"It's…It's not what it looks like, Ruby."
"What is this!" Ruby raised her voice, dashing to her weapon.
She examined the parts carefully.
"M-my Crescent Rose…" She trembled, her eyes started tearing up. "It's all… b-broken."
"Ruby…" Jaune reached his hand to pat her shoulder in a gesture of comfort.
Ruby stepped away.
"Ruby?"
"What is this!" She exclaimed, holding the pieces of her scythe away from him, "What did you do!"
A sharp pain surged in Jaune's chest.
"I didn't do anything!" He protested, shaking his head wildly, "It was already like this when I found it!"
"Wh-what?" Ruby froze.
"I swear that's the truth!" Jaune claimed, "It was already broken when I came here!"
"Then how did Crescent Rose get like this?" She asked in disbelief. "Why is it all broken up!"
"I… I-I don't know. Please, you have to believe me, Ruby!"
Ruby closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
"Jaune… If you're hiding this from me…!"
"I'm not hiding anything!" Jaune insisted.
"Who else could have broken it? Why would anyone do this if it's not you?" She shouted, "It's been sitting in my locker all day! Do you know how hard my scythe is to break! It's super tough!"
"I don't know!" Jaune desperately screamed back, "But I swear, it's not me! It was. Not. Me!"
Ruby shook her head, a moment of silence passing between them.
"…Is it because we upset you?" She eventually asked quietly.
"N-no…" Jaune protested weakly, "It… It wasn't me." He repeated. "It wasn't me..."
"You're always breaking stuff! But that's okay, right?" Ruby declared, narrowing her eyes at him. Like she was trying to figure out if he was telling the truth. "We're used to it, we understand. So why are you lying right now!"
"…"
Jaune raised his hand, staring at his palm.
He was starting to second guess himself.
Did… Did I do this?
Did I actually do this?
"How could it just suddenly break like that, out of nowhere!" Ruby continued, trembling, "J-jaune… I thought we already went through this. You already explained everything to us."
"…"
A memory flashed in Jaune's mind.
...
"It's bugged." Miss Goodwitch frowned, holding the scroll close to his chest. "The numbers keep changing."
Dzzzt! Crack!
The scroll broke in Miss Goodwitch's hands.
"Eh?" Jaune blinked in surprise. "But...! I didn't even touch it! I-I'm sorry!"
...
Jaune realized it.
It was indeed possible for him to break things without touching them… But…
To break Crescent Rose? Like that, without any reason?
No…
No!
"No no no no no no, there's no way. NO WAY!" Jaune shook his head wildly, panicking and refusing to believe such a thing could happen. "It wasn't me. It wasn't meeeee! Please, Ruby, you're... You're killing me right now!"
"…" Ruby stared at him for a moment, uncertain.
She had a hurt, betrayed expression on her face.
"Ruby…" Jaune breathed and reached a hand towards her.
"No…" She muttered quietly, stepping away. "I don't know what happened... It doesn't matter what you say right now… because I'm too heartbroken to think straight." She sniffed, turning away, "I'll listen to you later, when I'm clear-headed..."
"Wait!" Jaune tried to grab her shoulder, only for her to bolt away in a burst of rose petals.
Jaune dropped his arm and breathed heavily, almost panting, his heart hammering in his chest.
Was he… responsible for this? Did he somehow wish for Ruby's scythe to break, and his semblance acted?
Was his semblance just that petty?
No way. No way. Impossible!
Or was it?
Am I in denial, right now?
No. No!
I refuse to accept this possibility!
Crack!
The floor under Jaune's feet suddenly cracked loudly.
"N-no… Calm down." Jaune took a deep breath. "Don't think of it yet… Just calm down."
Crack!
The cracks spread around the corridor, reaching the walls.
If he stayed here, the whole corridor was going to collapse.
"Crap…" Jaune groaned, glancing around him.
As expected, it was useless trying to control the spasms of his semblance.
I have to get away from the buildings.
Jaune carefully walked towards the exit, his semblance still cracking the floor, but slowly calming down in intensity as he tried to forget what happened and focus on leaving the building.
"You!"
Jaune froze as he was stepping out of the building, hearing the shout.
This voice… He recognized it. Jaune turned towards its direction, dreading what he would see.
A red-eyed Yang was stomping her way towards him.
"What did you do!" She accused.
"Wait!" Jaune immediately raised his hands defensively, taking a step back. "I-I didn't do anything!"
I don't think so, at least…
Yang grabbed him by the collar, raising him in the air.
"Bullshit!" Yang roared at his face. Her skin was very warm, she was radiating heat. "You just broke my sister's scythe, didn't you!"
"Nooo...!" Jaune groaned, "I didn't!"
"And the floor of the locker's room too, from what I'm seeing!" Yang shouted, glancing behind him.
"No! I swear I'm telling the truth!" Jaune insisted, his leg dangling uselessly in the air. He was praying whatever god was out there that she wouldn't try to punch him. "When I found it, it was already broken!"
"Do you have any idea how Ruby is feeling right now?" Yang asked lowly.
Do you have any idea how Ruby is feeling right now?
Jaune gritted his teeth.
"How she is... feeling...?" Jaune drawled. "Of course I know!" He shouted back, gripping her arm.
Crack!
Yang cried in pain as his semblance attacked her Aura, making her stagger backward, surprised.
"Just how many times do you think I've seen this?!" Jaune asked, his anger rising.
Yang looked at her arm, checking it carefully.
Visible cracks were spreading on her Aura around her arm, making the golden light flicker. Her eyes switched back to a lilac color.
Good... Her arm was not broken.
Crap, this could have been bad.
What if he had shattered her limb? All because he got angry.
Jaune immediately felt regret and shame washing over him.
"Yang... I-I'm sorry for that just now." Jaune groaned. "But this time... This time, I didn't do anything."
Yang's eyes focused back on him and switched back to red, and her aura lit up again, making her hair burst in flames.
"Jaune..." She growled lowly, taking a step towards him, "Can you swear to me, right now, that you did not break my sister's scythe?"
"…I…" Jaune hesitated.
Dreadful doubts suddenly came back to him, plaguing his mind.
…
"Eh? But...! I didn't even touch it!"
Did I actually do this?
Am I… in denial?
…
Jaune's words remained stuck in his throat.
"I knew it!" Yang roared and proceeded with the next sensible thing to do.
That was, punching him in the face, and sending him rolling on the floor.
A sharp pain surged in his jaw as his Aura flashed to protect him.
Crack!
His semblance fought back against the strike, causing Yang to groan in pain once again.
"Aaouch! You little…!" She shook her fist which glowed in a golden light, cracks spreading around her Aura once again.
Jaune staggered back on his feet, a bit dazed by the force her punch had been packing. Below his feet, the ground cracked loudly too.
Looking at Yang, he noticed her eyes had switched back to lilac and her hair had gone back to normal.
Why was it switching like this? Was Yang bipolar or something like that?
It's her semblance, Jaune realized in his pain. I'm... I'm negating it.
"That hurt... But I'll hit harder!" Yang proclaimed and dashed towards him.
Wait... If I'm negating her semblance, then her Aura... is it...?
"Don't!" Jaune gasped in panic, staggering backward as he tried to get away from her.
She ignored him and punched him again.
This time was not as painful, and Jaune withstood the blow. Yang's punch was much weaker than the one before.
And...
Crack!
This time, her Aura did not protect her limb.
His semblance poured itself into her arm, twisting it in a weird angle and effectively snapping it like a twig.
"Aaaaaargh!" She screamed. "M-my aaarm!" She cried in agony, holding her limb.
Meanwhile, Jaune had been simply been thrown on the ground.
"I-I'm so sorry!" Jaune cried, trying to stand up again.
"You hurt Yang!" Another voice called from behind him. "Then I'll break your legs!"
It was Nora.
Jaune's eyes widened as he saw her hammer being brought down on his legs.
"Aaagh!" Jaune winced in pain as he felt the hammer hit his knees, his Aura flashing to protect him.
Crack!
A burst of white light and the hammer was dismantled to pieces.
Everything was going wrong.
"Magnhild!" She gasped in surprise, "Ooooh, you've done it now!" She shouted angrily, clenching her fists.
"Nora! Stop!" Ren ordered, stepping between them.
Meanwhile, Yang was being held back by Pyrrha who had also shown up.
"Let me gooo!" She shouted, her arm still in pain. Her hair lit up in flames again and her eyes turned back to red.
Her aura was back to glowing in a halo around her body, healing her arm.
"No! You have to calm down, now, Yang!" Pyrrha insisted and looked at him. "Go!"
Looking at this scenery, and seeing the two crazy girls being restrained by their respective partners, Jaune took his chance.
He ran away as fast as possible.
"He's getting away!" Nora exclaimed, before being tackled down by Ren.
"You bastard!" Yang shouted after him.
Jaune kept running.
"Ngh… Haa..."
Jaune ran away as fast as he could, away from the buildings, into the Emerald Forest.
He ran until he was exhausted, the cold wind brush against his cheeks, feeling the pain in his legs from Nora's hit.
Ugh...
Why did his power have to break Ruby's scythe?
Why was this always happening to him?
And he had just been beginning to have fun with this life at Beacon.
Jaune eventually came to a stop, panting hard.
He closed his eyes, trying to calm down.
Crap... Crap... Crap. He kept screwing everything up over and over.
What was going to happen now?
I'm attracting Grimm... I need to keep moving and calm down.
This happened many times in the past... Just walk it off, Jaune.
"Ooooh? What's this?"
After a couple of minutes, a voice called from the bushes around him.
"…?"
Jaune opened his eyes, still trying to catch his breath.
"Cardin… Now is really not the time." Jaune growled a warning, "Can we do this later?"
His heart couldn't hold it all back anymore.
He was losing his patience. His mind, too.
Too many things were happening at the same time, increasing his stress.
"Really?" Cardin smirked, "I think it's a perfect time. I got a present for you."
"A present...?"
Jaune narrowed his eyes on the darkness within the trees, a muscular shape slowly stepping out.
"That's right, a present."
"P-please let go!"
Another voice begged.
Jaune's eyes widened as he saw them step into sight.
He was holding a rabbit Faunus by the ears.
"…Who is this?" Jaune asked, confused. "Why... What is this?"
"You tell me, Jauney-boy." Cardin chuckled. "This is your little secret admirer. Do you not remember?"
Secret... admirer?
Jaune widened his eyes, putting two and two together.
The letter...!
"Y-you…" Jaune stared at the girl. "It's you. You're the one who wrote that letter?"
She was cute...
" 'You're the one who wrote that letter?' " Cardin repeated with a high pitched voice, parodying him. "Hah, you really are an idiot, aren't you?"
"I-m sorry…" The girl apologized to him, tears in her eyes. "They… They made me write it... to lure you away. They said they would leave me alone… "
…What?
Cardin made her write this letter?
Just to make fun of him?
"..."
So…
Weiss and Blake had been right, huh.
"..."
Jaune gritted his teeth.
A trap.
This had been nothing but a cruel joke.
Why would anyone do this?
"Haaa." Jaune exhaled a slow breath. "Haha…" He chuckled dryly. "First the locker, now this. What have I ever done to you, Cardin." He wondered.
"Why?" Cardin asked and grabbed on the bunny-girl's ears.
"Aaah!" The girl screamed in pain. "Please, let go...! You promised...!"
"…" Jaune remained frozen, trying to tone down the urge of punching Cardin's face.
"This is why. Look at you…" Cardin scoffed with a disgusted expression, narrowing his eyes on him. "Come oooon, Jauney boy.
"Say something! If you aren't going to get angry, then take a laugh with us at least!
"You're like a statue. Why are you fighting so hard to go against the flow? Grow a sack! Stop being a coward, and help this girl as a true warrior should!"
Cardin tightened his hold on her ears, making the girl clench her eyes shut, tears of pain rolling down her cheeks.
Jaune remained frozen.
He remembered his fight with Yang and Nora.
He could not afford to have a repeat of this. This was why he had to remain calm.
But… Crap… I want to punch his face so hard right now.
Between the locker incident, the bunny-girl's fake letter, Blake and Weiss' disbelief, his fight with Ruby, and the usual daily annoyances that his semblance brought, he was going to...
Crap, no. Don't even think about it.
Jaune shook his head, his heart hammering in his chest, adrenaline pumping.
Breath in… Breath out.
"Why… are you... doing this?" Jaune articulated, trying to remain calm.
"Why? Because you do not deserve to be here! That's why!" Cardin shouted, and let go of the girl's ears, throwing her away towards him like some trash. "You're just civilian trash!"
Jaune looked at her, worried. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yes," She mumbled, teary-eyed.
"You can leave now," Jaune offered, "Go call Miss Goodwitch."
"Y-yes, I'll get help."
No need to tell her twice, she hurried away.
"Tch," Cardin stepped forward. "I hate people like you two. 'Go call Miss Goodwitch'... Really...? You're gonna snitch?"
"What did we do?" Jaune groaned, looking around him.
He needed to buy some time before running away back to Beacon and avoid a fight at all cost.
Honestly, he was starting to feel rather proud of his prowess of self-control right now.
All his muscles were tense, asking nothing but to let his fury out. Which he did on Yang, to a degree.
"What did you do?" Cardin repeated, grimacing angrily. "I'll tell you. You're weak, and yet, you got accepted into a school for the strong. And that girl, she is strong, yet she is acting so weak. It doesn't help that she's one of those animals, either." Cardin explained, scoffing. "Both of you, are an insult to Beacon. Both of you, are spitting in the face of people like me who seek true strength!" He declared, raising his clenched fist.
"Why do you care so much about strength?" Jaune scoffed, "To the point of doing this? There are more important things. Why pursue such a meaningless squabble?"
"Meaningless!" Cardin repeated, clearly offended. "Meaningless, huh! What do you know of meaningless!" He roared, taking a menacing step forward.
Jaune stood his ground. He was at a point where he wasn't sure he could move without triggering his semblance, his whole body tensed up, about to explode.
"Spend most of your life dictated by your family!" Cardin exclaimed, starting to pace around in a circle.
"Watch them dwindle to a handful, slaughtered by a bunch of mad beasts!
"Have your life spared because you are 'no threat'…
"And then, then tell me what has more meaning than your own, individual strength!"
He slapped his chest armor, "I have the blood of a Huntsman family! I have trained all my life!
He pointed a finger towards Jaune, "And you, you are nothing but a joke. A mere civilian, stepping foot into this prestigious academy that many dream to attend!
"No training!
"No will!
"No dreams!
"No motivation or determination.
"Do you not realize your own luck? Many have worked hard, and have had their dreams crushed.
"Yet I have to watch you spit on these people, these traditions? Every single breath you take, is an insult to the title of Huntsmen. An insult to us, my and everyone else's pride!
"You are trampling on everyone's hard work, and now, it's time for you to get what you deserve!"
"…"
So this guy wasn't just a giant jerk, he actually had some motivations besides just having fun.
'Pride' and 'honor'. Cardin was waving such concepts around to justify his actions.
...This was what he had been worried about when he had accepted Miss Goodwitch's offer.
Jaune hadn't earned the right to come study in this school, so it was not fair to the people who had trained hard.
"…I understand." Jaune slowly said, trying to drown his anger. "It is unfair that someone like me got accepted into Beacon… However, such a view, isn't it a bit selfish?"
"Haaa?" Cardin groaned aggressively.
"I don't think Beacon cares who has been working hard and who hasn't," Jaune continued, "If someone has the potential to save lives and kill Grimm, they get recruited, whether they worked hard or not. It is their decision, and I trust them.
"I've been cursed with a destructive semblance all my life." Jaune spat, clenching his fists. "In my opinion, I am the unlucky one. I was cursed! And I was offered a chance to go to an academy that could teach me how to stop it. I had to accept! I couldn't pass up the opportunity!" Jaune exclaimed, stomping the ground.
Crack!
The ground cracked loudly under his foot.
"Cursed?!" Cardin repeated, not paying it any mind and laughing sarcastically. "Cursed! Are you kidding me? Do you listen to yourself? How edgier can you get?
"Do you not realize how fucked up you are? Having such a toxic view of your semblance... It's no wonder you can't control it. There is no synergy with your soul, no acceptance in your mind.
"Hear this, Jaune."
He took a menacing step forward.
"This is not a curse! This is a blessing! Understand that! You have been blessed with power, yet you don't realize it."
Blessing? This guy… He didn't understand anything.
"No," Jaune replied. "You don't understand. This is not a blessing." He gritted his teeth.
"It is!" Cardin shouted angrily. "Ugh, you are pissing me off! And why the hell are you always like this?
"You let yourself be made fun of, despite having such power. You have no pride, no honor.
"Xiao-Long recognized this. The Schnee heiress recognized this. Everyone!"
Jaune winced, the words stinging.
Calm down. Breathe.
"Someone like you… Tch…" Cardin scoffed. "I get it now. You must not have any emotions. I bet you have no friends, either."
What's this now… What is this guy saying?!
"I have friends," Jaune growled lowly.
"Really? Then point them out to me! Are we talking about little red riding hood? She doesn't seem to be very fond of you right now!"
"That's…" Jaune's heart clenched, thinking back on Crescent Rose.
He looked down, remembering Ruby's betrayed expression.
It hurt, just thinking about it.
At this moment, Cardin took a step forward, smirking savagely.
"And you know why? Because I was the one who broke your partner's gardening tool!"
…
…
…
"Huh…?" Jaune breathed lowly.
Something lit up within him as he watched Cardin cackle in front of him.
"Hahaha, that shit was the best! I was there the whole time, watching everything! I set everything up!" He laughed. "Even my teammates thought it was too much!"
"…" Jaune clenched his fists, his heart pumping blood and adrenaline, his head pulsating dangerously.
The locker. Weiss and Blake. Ruby. Yang and Nora. And the rabbit girl.
This was all Cardin's fault.
Jaune's vision blurred. He was sweating, the temperature of his body skyrocketing.
Crack!
The ground below his feet shattered.
" 'Jaune, I thought we went through this! I thought we were friends, Jaune~' " Cardin mimicked Ruby's voice, delighted to see that his words were having such an effect on him.
"…"
" 'How could you break up my precious scythe, Jaune!' " Cardin continued imitating Ruby, a wide grin on his face, " 'Now I'll just whine at you with my annoying voice! I bet that will help for sure!' "
"… It was you." Jaune groaned ominously, feeling an unknown force break free within his soul.
He suddenly felt his mind detach itself from his body, instinct taking over.
"Yeah… It was me." Cardin sighed satisfyingly.
"You… You...!" Jaune's eyes flashed, a halo of white light surrounding his body.
Something ignited within him.
CRACK!
A giant flash of white light illuminated the Emerald forest followed by the sound of thunder,
A sharp pain erupted in his head, so excruciating that it felt like it was splitting his skull in half,
And everything faded away.
…
…
Ozpin watched the academy from his tower.
A peaceful day.
"Headmaster Ozpin?"
"Hm?"
Beacon's nurse stepped forward. "A student was just put in the infirmary."
"Hm."
"Yang Xiao-Long. Her arm was broken."
"..."
"It happened after she assaulted another student."
"...Who?"
"Jaune Arc."
"…"
Ozpin narrowed his eyes on the academy and took a sip of his coffee.
And so it begins.
"You told me to keep you informed of anything related to Mr. Arc, so… I thought you should know, headmaster."
"Yes. Thank you." Ozpin nodded.
The nurse bowed her head and left his office.
Ozpin hummed under his breath.
Glynda hasn't shown any progress with her private lessons, and Mr. Arc has started injuring his classmates.
Perhaps, it may be time… To call it off.
"…"
CRACK!
A loud thunder suddenly resonated through the whole academy.
Ozpin widened his eyes as he looked at the Emerald Forest, where a beacon of white light was shining through the trees.
He saw trunks being blown away all around the light, pieces of dirt shot in the air.
Like a miniature white star radiating destruction.
The light faded after a dozen seconds.
"…"
With this, it was very clear.
It's time to call it off.
Ozpin turned back to his office, grabbed his cane, and stepped into the elevator.
…
Jaune opened his eyes again, a painful headache surging in his temple.
His vision was blurry. His body was exhausted. His mind, too.
Yet he felt like he had been knocked out for only a few seconds...
What… happened? He didn't remember.
"Ugh…" Jaune sat up, his clothes dirty, and took a look around him.
His body was at the center of a giant crater.
Many trees around the areas had been blown away, numerous trunks laid around the crater. Some of them were burning, the flames cracking softly.
The dirt was oddly warm and had been turned all over. Clouds of dust and smoke were still lingering around the area, slowly dissipating.
"…" Jaune stood up, his heart clenching painfully in his chest.
He recognized this scene.
There had been only one time in the past when Jaune had woken up in the middle of such desolation.
Jaune released a shaky breath, walking up the crater.
Let's not make any hasty conclusions… It could be a mistake.
Something like this did happen one time before. However...
Cardin… If it's that guy, he's probably all right.
He has Aura. He has armor. He's strong and tough.
Yeah… It's okay. He'll be all right.
It'll be okay…
"Gh…"
Jaune suddenly heard a groan. He immediately hurried in its direction.
"Ngh…"
It was Cardin.
…Right?
It was… Jaune had trouble recognizing him.
He no longer wore armor, and his clothes were torn apart in rags.
His limbs had been twisted in all manner of directions, and his skin had turned a dark blue and was partially burned, which was barely visible under all the blood.
Cardin was crawling on the ground with his chin, using it to push himself forward with the strength of his neck, inch by inch.
"Cardin…" Jaune gasped, kneeling beside him.
Such injuries. Was he going to die?
And Jaune couldn't help him… He couldn't touch him, it was too risky.
The bunny girl… She was not around. She had to have seen this. Anyone could have seen this, really.
Please, hurry up and come back with some help!
Jaune looked down at Cardin.
"Please…" Jaune begged, his voice shaking. "I won't get angry anymore, okay? So you have to survive. I'll do anything, just please survive… I'll do your homework and your chores if you want… Just… Don't die."
"Ngh…" Cardin groaned, trying to push on his chin.
He struggled for a moment, flexing the neck of his muscle, lifting his weight.
Then his body suddenly went limp, and he exhaled softly.
"H-hey… No…"
"…"
"C-cardin? You have to keep going…"
"…"
"This… This… Why?!" Jaune asked angrily.
Crack!
"…"
"You started this!" He shouted.
Crack!
"…"
"You requested it!"
Crack!
"…"
"You're at fault! You're responsible!"
Crack!
"…"
"Talk to me!"
Crack!
"…"
"The teachers warned you! You got under my skin, and succeeded! Now what?!"
Crack!
"…"
"Here it is! You asked for it. My emotions."
"…"
Jaune panted. "This… This is what happens… When I give in."
"…"
Something wet rolled down Jaune's cheek.
"Why… Why did you do this."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…Hah… Haha…Hahaha…"
Cardin started chuckling, coughing out some blood.
"…?" Jaune widened his eyes. He was alive! And in good enough condition to laugh...!
"…Hah… Hahaha…" Cardin continued to chuckle darkly with a depressed expression on his face. "I can finally see it now… I'm just… A normal average person… Even after all these years of training, I'm just… another one of those fucking normies… And…"
Cardin struggled to speak, "And… There are also… special people… In a league of their own."
"…"
"…Like you… You're special… You're a freak… A monster…! A fucking demon… is inside you…"
"…Yeah."
"…"
"You're right." Jaune agreed sadly. "I'm the worst."
Cardin closed his eyes. Almost peacefully, as if relieved to hear these words.
And he stopped moving, his body relaxing.
"…H-hey!" Jaune reached out his hand towards him, before stopping himself from touching him at the last moment. "H-hey! Cardin! I'm an asshole, right! Keep talking! Don't stop!"
"…"
"Come on… Are you gonna leave your team like that? Where's your honor as a Huntsman?"
"…"
It was no use. Cardin was no longer moving.
He was resting.
An idea suddenly surged in Jaune's mind.
"Y-your family. Cardin! Earlier, you were talking about how your family dwindled to a handful."
"…"
"You can't die on them too, right?! Cardin, are you gonna leave your family alone?"
"…"
Miraculously, Cardin slowly opened his eyes again.
"Ngh… I…" His eyes looked so tired. "I… don't want to die…"
"You're not going to die!" Jaune desperately latched onto his words. "You're not going to! You've got family!"
"Y… Yea…"
"They don't want you to die, Cardin! You can't leave them alone."
"…They… They…" Cardin's gaze was dazed. "They're not like… me. They're… good people."
"Right, so you have to be there for them! You have to!"
"…"
"Jaaaune!" A voice called from somewhere around them.
"I'm here!" Jaune screamed desperately, his voice cracking, "We're here! We need help!"
"…Ng… ah…"
"You heard that, Cardin?" Jaune reassured him, "People are coming. Hold on, just a little longer!"
"Haa…" Cardin sighed.
"They're here!" Ruby's voice called.
"Oh my god…!"
"What happened!"
A bunch of people arrived. Jaune could barely hear or see anything, he remained focused on Cardin's body.
Miss Goodwitch levitated Cardin's body, carefully holding his position.
"Mr. Arc!" Ozpin reached him, grabbing his head in his hands, and forcing him to look into his eyes. "Mr. Arc! What happened?!"
Jaune looked away, his eyes locking on the ground.
"It was me…"
"Wh-what?!" Ruby's voice gasped. "What did you say?"
"I DID THIS!" Jaune screamed.
"…"
"…"
"…"
Later.
Miss Goodwitch was talking to the headmaster in the infirmary. The rest of his classmates had already been dismissed in their dorms.
Jaune couldn't hear what was being said from where he was.
Even if he could, he wouldn't listen.
Images of Cardin's injuries were stuck in his mind.
"..."
After a moment, the headmaster nodded, and they parted ways.
Miss Goodwitch went back to the nurse.
"Will he live?" Miss Goodwitch asked anxiously.
"Yes." The nurse nodded.
Jaune's shoulders relaxed a little.
Cardin was going to live… Thank god.
"However, I do not know how many time he will need to recover, even with Aura and dust to help him heal." The nurse continued, before lowering her voice. "This is insane, Glynda… Much worse than Xiao-Long's arm, which is much cleaner… I've never seen anything like this. It's like something exploded from inside his bones… It's a miracle he survived. But I do not think he'll be able to continue his life as a Huntsman..."
Jaune's heart stiffened, and he lowered his head.
"…Thank you." Miss Goodwitch nodded, schooling her expression.
Miss Goodwitch and Jaune left the infirmary.
They passed in front of Yang's bed, but Jaune didn't look at her, he was too scared of seeing what kind of expression she had on her face.
"Mr. Arc…" Miss Goodwitch turned to him once they left the room.
"Yes…?" Jaune's eyes were fixed on the ground.
He already knew what she was going to say.
"We have gravely underestimated the hazardous nature of your semblance." She declared, "The headmaster and I have come to a difficult decision."
"…"
"Letting you come here like this… It was a mistake." She sighed, shaking her head regretfully. "I'm sorry, Mr. Arc… But… You will have to go pack your things in your dorm."
"..."
"You cannot stay among your classmates anymore." Miss Goodwitch explained.
"…"
A heavy silence fell on them, as a fog started enveloping Jaune's mind.
Ever since Initiation… Three and a half? Four weeks, right.
Four weeks, huh… Not even a month.
That was shorter than average.
Haa… They had even come up with some cool team attacks. But it couldn't be helped.
Oh, well… It was fun while it lasted. His lessons with Goodwitch had been useless, so something like this had been bound to happen eventually.
This was just another repeat of all the other times. Jaune was used to this.
"…Okay." Jaune nodded numbly, surprisingly calm.
He had always been, in these moments.
"I'm sorry, Jaune." Miss Goodwitch said, her voice faltering.
Like they always did when the time comes.
"No, it's only natural. I'm sorry for what I did." Jaune apologized, his eyes fixed on the ground.
His mouth was working on auto-pilot.
He had lived through this so many times.
It was like hitting a replay button. He had grown numb to it.
Jaune just repeated the same words as always.
Later.
"..."
Jaune hesitated for a moment in front of the door of his dorm.
He could hear the faint voices of his teammates coming from behind it.
He closed his eyes for a moment, laying his forehead against the door.
"..."
Okay... Close your heart to it.
Let's go.
Taking a deep breath, Jaune opened his eyes and stepped inside.
This caused silence to fall on the room.
"...Jaune. What are you doing?" Weiss asked as she watched him grab his bag.
"I'm packing up," Jaune answered with a monotonous voice, not looking at her.
"Packing? For what reason?"
"I..."
"Jaune!" Ruby hurried to his side, "I'm sorry I didn't believe you... The headmaster showed me the camera footage, it was Cardin who broke my scythe, not you..."
"..."
"U-um... I-I understand you're mad, but please don't pack your things..." Ruby looked down with a regretful expression.
"I'm not mad," Jaune said.
"Then why are you packing?" Blake asked.
"I've been expelled," Jaune answered on the tone of the conversation. "I've sent Cardin to the hospital for god knows how much time, and I've injured Yang too, so now I'm considered too dangerous to stay here."
"…What?!" Weiss gasped.
"That doesn't make any sense!" Ruby protested.
"No, it makes sense," Jaune replied, quickly increasing his pace and closing his bag.
He had to leave fast. He could feel himself wavering.
"Th-this can't be happening…" Ruby whimpered, latching onto his arm. "I won't let you go!"
"Stop! It's dangerous to touch me." Jaune warned, trying to peel her off his arm.
"No, no, no!" She whined like a spoiled child, tightening her hold on his arm. "I don't care!"
"Ruby! Let. Go!" Jaune demanded sternly.
"No! That's not fair!" She insisted, "It's not your fault!"
"Yes it was!"
"I can try talking to the headmaster." Weiss offered. "Surely this has to be a mistake."
"There is no mistake," Jaune stated.
"How can you be so calm?" Blake suddenly asked him, having remained quiet until now.
"I know… I'm calm." Jaune sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted for some reason.
She was making this harder than it needed to be.
"I'm used to it…" Jaune tried to look away from them. "Now get off my arm, Ruby."
"N-no!" Ruby cried, her eyes tearing up. Jaune's heart clenched at her pitiful expression. "If you're used to it, and it doesn't affect you anymore, then you're… you're already broken, Jaune..."
The fog in his mind cleared for a moment, and Jaune suddenly realized just how horribly right Ruby was.
It was true, he had been expecting something like this to happen.
So he had been careful to not let himself hope too much.
Perhaps, after all this time, wherever he would go, he would always feel prepared to leave.
"Mr. Arc!"
Miss Goodwitch suddenly called from behind their door, making the four of them pause.
"Are you done packing up?" She asked.
"She's here!" Ruby hissed, panicking. "Quick, we need to hide him!"
"The bathroom!" Blake suggested.
"Wha- Hhmmm!" Jaune tried to protest but his mouth was instantly covered up by a sock. "Mmm!"
"What are you idiots doing?" Weiss exclaimed, exasperated. "Let him go, This won't change anything."
The heiress opened the door, revealing Miss Goodwitch.
The teacher raised her eyebrows at Blake and Ruby trying to tie up Jaune.
"Jaune… It's time." She sighed, "Pick up your bags."
"N-no!" Ruby protested desperately. "Miss Goodwitch, this has to be a misunderstanding!"
"He was not at fault," Blake pointed out, "Cardin provoked him, and he couldn't control his semblance."
"Surely you can't expel him?" Weiss tried. "Letting him roam freely in town? You have all interest in keeping someone like him at Beacon."
"Expel?" Miss Goodwitch blinked. "No one was expelled."
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
"What?"
"…" The three girls turned to stare at Jaune confusedly.
"You're raising a good point, Miss Schnee." Miss Goodwitch acknowledged, "Mr. Arc cannot roam free in town."
Weiss puffed her chest proudly.
"However, neither can he roam free in this school." The teacher continued. "It was decided that Mr. Arc will move to an isolated part of Beacon, away from the other students. Which is why he needs to pack up his belongings." Miss Goodwitch explained, adjusting her glasses. "He will no longer take lessons with his classmates, either. His scholarship will be completely specialized."
So he was not expelled?
"Wh-what?" Jaune stuttered, his mind still trying to catch up to what was being said.
"We will focus all of our time on training." Miss Goodwitch declared. "I'm sorry Mr. Arc, but after such an incident, we cannot let you live with the other students anymore."
Jaune remained quiet.
"Oh." Ruby blinked. "Well… That's not too bad, Jaune." She finally let go of him. "Will we be able to see him?" She asked.
"No." Miss Goodwitch replied categorically. "No visits until he can control himself. If you have anything to say to him, say it now."
"O-oh…" Ruby winced, and looked at him for a moment.
What was she going to say, Jaune wondered?
The team?
Crescent Rose?
Cardin's injuries?
Yang's arm?
There were many reasons to be upset.
"…" Ruby narrowed her eyes at him. "No… I have nothing to say."
"…Are you sure?" Miss Goodwitch raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"Yes." She replied.
Miss Goodwitch narrowed her eyes, leaning forward to stare at Ruby from above her glasses, trying to decipher her expression.
Ah, Jaune widened his eyes, recognizing Ruby's expression. This face... This is her lying face.
"Right, guys?" Ruby turned to Weiss and Blake.
"…Right. Work hard, Jaune." Weiss waved at him.
"Take care," Blake replied.
Just like that, huh?
"Okay…" He sighed.
"Let's go, Jaune." Miss Goodwitch ordered.
And so, Jaune walked away with Miss Goodwitch.
He looked back to his team one last time before leaving.
They were muttering something among themselves.
Ruby noticed him staring back at them, and gave him a smile and a thumbs up.
Jaune didn't have it in him to reply back. He looked away and continued to follow after Miss Goodwitch.
He was silent all the way, still feeling numb to the whole situation, until they reached a new building that Jaune didn't recognize.
"This is the apartments for Beacon's staff and guests." Miss Goodwitch declared as they stepped inside. "Here, there's always going to be someone available to help you."
They climbed the stairs, Jaune spotting teachers like professor Port and doctor Oobleck around. Miss Goodwitch led him to a guest's apartment.
Quite luxurious, but right now Jaune didn't care.
"…Miss Goodwitch…why was I not expelled for this?" He asked tiredly as he sat on the bed, not even caring to look around the apartment. "I deserve it... It's going to keep happening."
"It's not your fault, Mr. Arc." Miss Goodwitch replied.
He scoffed and remembered Cardin's injuries.
"No, it's definitely my fault." He replied.
"It's not your fault." She repeated.
"It is!" Jaune insisted. "I… This is all my fault."
"It's not your fault."
"…" Jaune shook his head, turning away.
"Jaune." Miss Goodwitch called. She sat beside him on the bed. "It is not your fault."
"…"
"Jaune?"
"…"
"It really is not your fault, Jaune."
"…Yeah." Jaune muttered, "I know." He lied to make her happy.
What did she know of this?
Can you leave now? Thank you.
"It's not your fault." She repeated.
"Yes. I know that already." Jaune nodded, still looking away from her.
"It's not your fault."
"I. Know. That!" Jaune raised his voice, clenching his fists. Was she taking him for an idiot?
"It's not your fault."
"Stop messing with me...!"
"…Look at me in the eyes, then." She requested.
"…"
With some hesitation, Jaune turned around and stared into her eyes.
They looked pained.
"Jaune… It's not your fault." She repeated.
"I-I… I know…" Jaune's voice started trembling.
"No… You don't." Miss Goodwitch stated sadly.
"…" Jaune opened his mouth.
And then closed it.
He couldn't trust his voice.
"It's not your fault." Miss Goodwitch repeated softly.
Something broke inside him.
He looked around for a moment, desperately averting his eyes.
"It's not your fault."
Jaune covered his eyes with his hands.
He started crying.
Miss Goodwitch put her arms around him, embracing him tightly.
Jaune broke down in tears, wrapping his arms around her.
"O-ooh god...!" He gasped, suffocating with each breath he took, and cried on her shoulder, clinging to her. "I-I'm so sorry...!"
"I know," she whispered with a soothing voice. "I know."
Sometimes, you have to repeat the same thing over and over, to show how much you mean it.
"It's not your fault, Jaune."
A/N: Fuck, this was hard to write.
Edit: Hiatus until June. Got a lot going on. Apologies.